Markit
Don't usually cut and paste but thought everyone should see this:Scientists note that [URL="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/11/investor-psychology-fear-turns-people.html"]fear of terrorism makes people stupid[/URL].As I've [URL="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/07/constitutional-expert-government-was.html"]repeatedly noted[/URL], FBI agents and CIA intelligence officials, constitutional law expert professor Jonathan Turley, Time Magazine, and the Washington Post have all said that U.S. government officials "were trying to create an atmosphere of fear in which the American people would give them more power". Indeed, the former Secretary of Homeland Security - Tom Ridge - [URL="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32501273/"]admits[/URL] that he was pressured to raise terror alerts to help Bush win reelection.In the real world, as the National Safety Council [URL="http://classic-web.archive.org/web/20080508135851/http://nsc.org/research/odds.aspx"]notes[/URL]: [INDENT]-- You are 17,600 times more likely to die from heart disease than from a terrorist attack -- You are 12,571 times more likely to die from cancer than from a terrorist attack -- You are 11,000 times more likely to die in an airplane accident than from a terrorist plot involving an airplane -- You are 1048 times more likely to die from a car accident than from a terrorist attack --You are 404 times more likely to die in a fall than from a terrorist attack -- You are 87 times more likely to drown than die in a terrorist attack -- You are 13 times more likely to die in a railway accident than from a terrorist attack --You are 12 times more likely to die from accidental suffocation in bed than from a terrorist attack --You are 9 times more likely to choke to death on your own vomit than die in a terrorist attack --[B]You are 8 times more likely to be killed by a police officer than by a terrorist[/B] --You are 8 times more likely to die from accidental electrocution than from a terrorist attack -- You are 6 times more likely to die from hot weather than from a terrorist attack[/INDENT](Moreover, the chair of the 9/11 Commission said that [URL="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/12/17/eveningnews/main589137.shtml"]the attack was preventable[/URL]).Indeed, [URL="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2011/06/chinese-rating-agency-says-us-has.html"]much of our debt is due to the wars[/URL] in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and elsewhere.And yet the top American military and intelligence officials say that debt is the [B][I]main threat[/I][/B] to our national security. See [URL="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2010/09/united-states-joint-forces-command.html"]this[/URL] and [URL="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2010/08/chairman-of-joint-chiefs-pentagon-must.html"]this[/URL].So by over-reacting, we are causing real, substantial and lasting damage to our country. (It is [URL="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2011/06/911-didnt-change-anything.html"]admitted[/URL] by Bush, Cheney and others that the Iraq war was actually about oil, and the Afghanistan war was planned before 9/11, but this essay takes at face value the government's claims that the wars have been for self-defense.)Reason [URL="http://reason.com/archives/2006/08/11/dont-be-terrorized"]noted[/URL] in 2006:[INDENT]Already, security measures-pervasive ID checkpoints, metal detectors, and phalanxes of security guards-increasingly clot the pathways of our public lives. It's easy to overreact when an atrocity takes place-to heed those who promise safety if only we will give the authorities the "tools" they want by surrendering to them some of our liberty. As President Franklin Roosevelt in his first inaugural speech [URL="http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5057/"]said[/URL], "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." However, with risks this low there is no reason for us not to continue to live our lives as though terrorism doesn't matter-because it doesn't really matter. We ultimately vanquish terrorism when we refuse to be terrorized.[/INDENT]In April, Reason [URL="http://reason.com/archives/2011/04/12/fear-itself"]pointed out[/URL]:[INDENT]"Many people will focus, much of the time, on the emotionally perceived severity of the outcome, rather than on its likelihood." They add, "With respect to risks of injury or harm, vivid images and concrete pictures of disaster can 'crowd out' the cognitive activity required to conclude and consider the fact that the probability of disaster is really small." Activating the emotional centers in the amygdala shuts down the operation of the executive functions of the pre-frontal cortex. Taking advantage of this flaw in reasoning, the researchers observe, "In this light, it should not be surprising that our public figures and our cause advocates often describe tragic outcomes. Rarely do we hear them quote probabilities." In other words, politicians and activists deploy sob stories to scare the public into demanding regulations on activities they dislike.***"If we look across dozens of cases, we can observe a pattern in which salient but extremely low probability risks are sometimes met with excessive responses,"***Satirist H.L. Mencken memorably summarized this democratic dynamic: "The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary."[/INDENT] Indeed, politicians have known for [URL="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2010/02/governments-from-around-world-admit.html"]thousands of years[/URL] that playing the fear card gives them more power and makes their subjects more compliant:[INDENT][COLOR=BLACK]"This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector."- Plato"If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."- U.S. President James Madison"Terrorism is the best political weapon for nothing drives people harder than a fear of sudden death".- Adolph Hitler"Why of course the people don't want war ... But after all it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship ... Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country."- Hermann Goering, Nazi leader.[/COLOR] [COLOR=BLACK][/COLOR][COLOR=BLACK]"The easiest way to gain control of a population is to carry out acts of terror. [The public] will clamor for such laws if their personal security is threatened".- Josef Stalin[/COLOR][/INDENT]Unfortunately, while politicians regularly terrify people with gruesome reminders of 9/11 and exaggerated stories about [I]future [/I]terrorism risk, they ignore the [B][I]high-probability [/I][/B]risks - like the [URL="http://www.examiner.com/economic-policy-in-national/nobel-prize-winning-economist-described-the-root-of-the-financial-crisis-1993"]destruction to the economy through unchecked fraud and corruption[/URL], nuclear plant and deep sea oil rig operators which [URL="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2011/04/japans-nuclear-melt-down-economic.html"]cut every corner in the book[/URL], and the [URL="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2011/05/weve-gone-from-nation-of-laws-to-nation.html"]loss of our liberties and the rule of law[/URL].Worth a read just to remind ourselves why we are in Bali - if we needed reminding:icon_lol:https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/53246864840716464-6345647501963780200?l=georgewashington2.blogspot.com[/IMG]
gilbert de jong
like some Balinese/Indonesians say, 'topmarkotop' have till this day no clue what it actually means, but they say it when they like something very much :icon_lol:
scout
Interesting read, thanks for that Markit
Markit
thank you both :icon_lol:
Ricbali
As an American I can tell you that they thrive on scare tactics. Love the line ""Tom Ridge - admits that he was pressured to raise terror alerts to help Bush win reelection". American tend to believe anything Fox News put out. Sad:icon_sad:
fordprefect
As an American I can tell you that they thrive on scare tactics. Love the line ""Tom Ridge - admits that he was pressured to raise terror alerts to help Bush win reelection". American tend to believe anything Fox News put out. Sad:icon_sad:[/QUOTE] Not THIS American. And not these Americans either: [url=http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/actual-news-headlines-vs-fox-news-headlines]Actual News Headlines Vs. Fox News Headlines: Pics, Videos, Links, News[/url]PS- Thx for the post Markit, entertaining, provocative, and informative all at once- just what I've come to expect from you.
coltleader
like some Balinese/Indonesians say, 'topmarkotop' have till this day no clue what it actually means, but they say it when they like something very much :icon_lol:[/QUOTE] Interesting read.
rickerw
That was a very good cut and paste and very worth keeping in mind..
SHoggard
Like this one Markit;As I commented on another forum when Bush announced the [I]War on Terror[/I] in his 'Root & Branch' speech."Excellent decision! So start tonight in NY, Boston & every other major city with raids on the Irish bars with collection tins on the counter for the Freedom of the Old Country as funding terrorism. Round up the boys from Noraid, the IRA, UVF, doesn't matter what religion or faction. There are probably a couple of Congressmen & Senators who should be picked up for providing aid & support to terrorists - they're called Paddy Wagons for a reason, use them! No? So I guess this isn't really a serious war on terror"
penyu
"were trying to create an atmosphere of fear in which the American people would give them more power". How true is this.....all about eroding an individual's freedom and privacy.Most democratic governments are guilty of manipulating the people to some degree....unfortunately.
balibule
How about this for terrorism[URL="http://rt.com/usa/news/swat-teenage-girl-hughley-906/"]SWAT team fires semi-automatic weapons at unarmed teenage girl — RT[/URL][COLOR=#695B4E][FONT=Arial]Members of a SWAT team opened fire on an unarmed teenage girl this week when police officers outside of Washington, DC attempted to serve an early morning search warrant.[/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=#695B4E][FONT=Arial]Myasia Hughley, 18, is recovering from flesh wounds following Thursday morning's events in District Heights, Maryland. She was asleep in her bedroom at her family house when 15 FBI SWAT agents stormed the house with guns drawn.[/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=#695B4E][FONT=Arial][I]"I'm shouting 'Nobody is armed, nobody has a gun!' and then all of a sudden I heard 'She's got a gun!' and they just opened fire,"[/I] Emory Hughley, Myasia's father, tells local station WJLA News.[/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=#695B4E][FONT=Arial]Myasia didn't have a gun, though, nor did any other member of the Hughley household. The authorities allegedly saw something, and in their minds had enough reason to unleash a barrage of bullets at the girl. Mr. Hughley tells Washington's NBC News4 that he saw one agent even fire off around seven shots himself using a semi-automatic weapon.[/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=#695B4E][FONT=Arial][I]"They almost hit my daughter, man,"[/I] he adds to WJLA. [I]"If I hadn't told her to go back in her room they probably would have shot her."[/I][/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=#695B4E][FONT=Arial][I]"I've got eight holes in my wall. One bullet went past my head, almost hit me, ricocheted off my brick wall and some of the shrap metal hit my little daughter in the back of her neck, all for nothing."[/I][/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=#695B4E][FONT=Arial]The Hughleys are now asking for answers from the FBI, but so far the authorities have stayed silent as to why they were raiding the home. Mr. Hughley says a day later that he has yet to be told why his house was visited in the early morning hours by more than a dozen heavily armed FBI agents other than they were executing a search warrant. The FBI's Washington Field Office has deferred from answering pleas from the press to explain what the judge-approved order was for.[/FONT][/COLOR]
Markit
Couple of mistaken shootings a day or week, a murder here and a robery killing there. Mounts up to 14,000 + deaths a year from guns in the "Land of the Free, Home of the Brave" (LofhoB). Equals 35 Jumbo Jets going down with all on board dying - [U]each year![/U]Remember [I]only[/I] 3000 died 9-11Americans are continuously told that "this is the price of freedom". Don't know about you but I prefer the abject bondage here on Bali?
SHoggard
Abject bondage, eh?1st it was girls & car washing, then a somewhat unhealthy interest in cheese, now it's 'abject bondage' in Bali (I'd have thought that was more a Japanese thing, still, 'there's nowt as queer as folk' as my old Yorkshire granny was prone to say as she ironed grandpa's liederhosen ) Is there no end to this deviant behavior?
Markit
Hope not, haha. But in all honesty and opimism I do think it's all going to end horribly. For everyone!But that's normal, isn't it?
