6 ms·

finally. Can we stop the stupid patdowns of innocent travelers and disconnect the porno scanners at the airports now? I have to travel tomorrow and I'd rather

finally. Can we stop the stupid patdowns of innocent travelers and disconnect the porno scanners at the airports now? I have to travel tomorrow and I'd rather not go through that crap again.

zyphlar 15y ago
No, because terrorism is decentralized and the millions of people who (rightfully) hate us now will be even angrier. Which will justify further control of the populace for safety.
- joezydeco 15y ago
  I'm with ya, even through the downvotes. Why does everyone think the rest of Al Qaeda is going to just give up and go home?
  - marshray 15y ago
    Because the ones smart enough to organize, finance, and lead the operation will see it as a suicide plan, one that they won't be able to pass down to others. There will probably always be some dudes thinking of themselves as part of the franchise, but without photos and tapes they won't really know who they're taking orders from. They'll have an authentication problem.
    - memoryfault 15y ago
      You are assuming that we are dealing with rational people who have rational thoughts. That couldn't be further from the truth. People who plan the mass-murder of others around the world are completely irrational, and I am very confident that there are tons of people with money, organization, and leadership that will step up and try to continue Bin Laden's efforts.
      - danenania 15y ago
        "People who plan the mass-murder of others around the world are completely irrational" Clearly untrue. Perhaps it is easier for you to view an enemy as a lunatic monster bent on senseless destruction, but nearly every mass murdering organization in the world, whether it's a terrorist group like Al Qaeda or a military power like the US, has very concrete motivations and objectives for its actions, and is well versed in the logic of power. Realpolitik is deeply rooted in a rational worldview. You may disagree with the premises or the reasoning (I certainly do), but calling Al Qaeda 'completely irrational' is way off.
        swombat 15y ago
        Actually, I think it's one of our great strokes of luck that the people who do this are largely insane and irrational, rather than careful, methodical, intelligent planners. For example, the shoe bomber, the underwear bomber, the guys who tried to drive a burning car through the too-narrow entrance of an airport, and so on. Most of these people are irrational, and that's incredibly lucky for us.
        khafra 15y ago
        http://www.gwern.net/Terrorism%20is%20not%20about%20Terror.html http://www.gwern.net/Terrorism%20is%20not%20about%20Terror.h...
      - deleted 15y ago
        [deleted]
      - marshray 15y ago
        I'm sure many will try to follow the old AQ and some will try to lead the new AQ. Probably someone claiming to be AQ will claim responsibility for some acts of terrorism. But how will the bottom- and middle-tier guys they know they're taking orders from Bin Laden's designated successor and not agents of some country's (you name it) intelligence services? It takes a nontrivial amount of planning, preparation, money, and coordination to pull off the kind of simultaneous suicide operation we saw in Sept 2001.
    - intended 15y ago
      They already see it as a suicide plan and manage their expectations from there.
      - marshray 15y ago
        I see OBL living in a cozy compound in a high class gated community among the military elite of Pakistan, not blowing himself up in a crowded unemployment line. Some of his followers might see it too.
        intended 15y ago
        Its a cause, and they accept that they may have to face a violent end to achieve it. Their grunts may be more normal, but the ones on top are quite committed. Plus, dying for the cause ensures that you are rewarded, so its a pretty hard system to beat.
- zheng 15y ago
  The downvotes aren't for the idea of decentralized terrorism (which is correct to a degree), but I think for the possible misinterpretation of the sarcasm at the end of the post as being not such.
- joe24pack 15y ago
  The way things are going, who knows perhaps this will mean ordinary travelers will now have random mandatory body cavity searches before being allowed to board a commercial flight. Like the saying among politicians goes, "Never let a good crisis go to waste." If I'm too cynical or sarcastic for your taste, I apologize preemptively and profusely.
- jpr 15y ago
  You are implying that TSA etc. were established due to legitimate risk/benefit analysis, not blind fear. I don't think that's true.
Apocryphon 15y ago
Gaddaffi is still out there, sorry.
Osiris 15y ago
The first thing I said to my wife when I saw this was, "Maybe I won't have to take my shoes off at the airport anymore."
joeguilmette 15y ago
I have a feeling that this is going to result in an increase in security procedures.
- mattberg 15y ago
  agreed, almost seems as though the taliban would act out in order to prove they are still relevant without osama.
- winestock 15y ago
  I hate you for saying that, but I fear that you're right. I forget who noticed this (perhaps it was George Orwell), but the bureaucracy of the British Navy kept growing even as the British Empire collapsed. The response of any bureaucracy is to double down. Back in my days as a Catholic seminarian (don't ask), I met a well-connected priest who told several of us that the Catholic Church in the United States is going bankrupt, not because of lawsuits stemming from pedophile scandals, not because of the cost of supporting priests or other religious, but in order to make payroll for laymen working in diocesan bureaucracies. He gave the example of the diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, saying that there were a thousand laymen working full-time in the chancery alone. I still have trouble believing that number. What does it take to get a business with that many employees? In any case, the principal way in which Catholic dioceses have been responding to the lack of funds is to shut down parishes rather than scale back the bureaucracies. So, yes, I'm afraid that you're right. The TSA will only get more intrusive.
  - tokenadult 15y ago
    I forget who noticed this (perhaps it was George Orwell), but the bureaucracy of the British Navy kept growing even as the British Empire collapsed. That was Cyril Northcote Parkinson, whose writings on the issue are summed up as "Parkinson's Law," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson%27s_Law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson%27s_Law "Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion."
    - mmavnn 15y ago
rdtsc 15y ago
Tomorrow morning on the White House to-do list: 1) Quickly find (or make up) another evil empire or shadow enemy to be afraid of. Suggestions: Wikileaks, music pirates, subversive citizens, militias, Arab dictators, nullification by jury educators ...
Rariel 15y ago
That was one of my first thoughts upon hearing the news! "Can we go back to walking people to their gates?" Part of me is afraid of retaliation, however,...
axomhacker 15y ago
It is very likely that there will be retaliation (or at least some forms of trying to retaliate) in the immediate aftermath. So increased alert levels are more likely.
mikle 15y ago
You know, as someone who lives in the most terror stricken country in the world (well, probably): Israel, I never had to take my shoes off, have a full body scan taken, no pat downs either. I'm gonna go on a wild guess and say that Ben Gurion airport is one of the most secure airports on Earth. I don't see any justification for all the above stuff.

finally. Can we stop the stupid patdowns of innocent travelers and disconnect the porno scanners at the airports now? I have to travel tomorrow and I'd rather not go through that crap again.

zyphlar 15y ago

No, because terrorism is decentralized and the millions of people who (rightfully) hate us now will be even angrier. Which will justify further control of the populace for safety.

joezydeco 15y ago
I'm with ya, even through the downvotes. Why does everyone think the rest of Al Qaeda is going to just give up and go home?
- marshray 15y ago
  Because the ones smart enough to organize, finance, and lead the operation will see it as a suicide plan, one that they won't be able to pass down to others. There will probably always be some dudes thinking of themselves as part of the franchise, but without photos and tapes they won't really know who they're taking orders from. They'll have an authentication problem.
  - memoryfault 15y ago
    You are assuming that we are dealing with rational people who have rational thoughts. That couldn't be further from the truth. People who plan the mass-murder of others around the world are completely irrational, and I am very confident that there are tons of people with money, organization, and leadership that will step up and try to continue Bin Laden's efforts.
    - danenania 15y ago
      "People who plan the mass-murder of others around the world are completely irrational" Clearly untrue. Perhaps it is easier for you to view an enemy as a lunatic monster bent on senseless destruction, but nearly every mass murdering organization in the world, whether it's a terrorist group like Al Qaeda or a military power like the US, has very concrete motivations and objectives for its actions, and is well versed in the logic of power. Realpolitik is deeply rooted in a rational worldview. You may disagree with the premises or the reasoning (I certainly do), but calling Al Qaeda 'completely irrational' is way off.
      - swombat 15y ago
        Actually, I think it's one of our great strokes of luck that the people who do this are largely insane and irrational, rather than careful, methodical, intelligent planners. For example, the shoe bomber, the underwear bomber, the guys who tried to drive a burning car through the too-narrow entrance of an airport, and so on. Most of these people are irrational, and that's incredibly lucky for us.
        khafra 15y ago
        http://www.gwern.net/Terrorism%20is%20not%20about%20Terror.html http://www.gwern.net/Terrorism%20is%20not%20about%20Terror.h...
    - deleted 15y ago
      [deleted]
    - marshray 15y ago
      I'm sure many will try to follow the old AQ and some will try to lead the new AQ. Probably someone claiming to be AQ will claim responsibility for some acts of terrorism. But how will the bottom- and middle-tier guys they know they're taking orders from Bin Laden's designated successor and not agents of some country's (you name it) intelligence services? It takes a nontrivial amount of planning, preparation, money, and coordination to pull off the kind of simultaneous suicide operation we saw in Sept 2001.
  - intended 15y ago
    They already see it as a suicide plan and manage their expectations from there.
    - marshray 15y ago
      I see OBL living in a cozy compound in a high class gated community among the military elite of Pakistan, not blowing himself up in a crowded unemployment line. Some of his followers might see it too.
      - intended 15y ago
        Its a cause, and they accept that they may have to face a violent end to achieve it. Their grunts may be more normal, but the ones on top are quite committed. Plus, dying for the cause ensures that you are rewarded, so its a pretty hard system to beat.
zheng 15y ago
The downvotes aren't for the idea of decentralized terrorism (which is correct to a degree), but I think for the possible misinterpretation of the sarcasm at the end of the post as being not such.
joe24pack 15y ago
The way things are going, who knows perhaps this will mean ordinary travelers will now have random mandatory body cavity searches before being allowed to board a commercial flight. Like the saying among politicians goes, "Never let a good crisis go to waste." If I'm too cynical or sarcastic for your taste, I apologize preemptively and profusely.
jpr 15y ago
You are implying that TSA etc. were established due to legitimate risk/benefit analysis, not blind fear. I don't think that's true.

Apocryphon 15y ago

Gaddaffi is still out there, sorry.

Osiris 15y ago

The first thing I said to my wife when I saw this was, "Maybe I won't have to take my shoes off at the airport anymore."

joeguilmette 15y ago

I have a feeling that this is going to result in an increase in security procedures.

mattberg 15y ago
agreed, almost seems as though the taliban would act out in order to prove they are still relevant without osama.
winestock 15y ago
I hate you for saying that, but I fear that you're right. I forget who noticed this (perhaps it was George Orwell), but the bureaucracy of the British Navy kept growing even as the British Empire collapsed. The response of any bureaucracy is to double down. Back in my days as a Catholic seminarian (don't ask), I met a well-connected priest who told several of us that the Catholic Church in the United States is going bankrupt, not because of lawsuits stemming from pedophile scandals, not because of the cost of supporting priests or other religious, but in order to make payroll for laymen working in diocesan bureaucracies. He gave the example of the diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, saying that there were a thousand laymen working full-time in the chancery alone. I still have trouble believing that number. What does it take to get a business with that many employees? In any case, the principal way in which Catholic dioceses have been responding to the lack of funds is to shut down parishes rather than scale back the bureaucracies. So, yes, I'm afraid that you're right. The TSA will only get more intrusive.
- tokenadult 15y ago
  I forget who noticed this (perhaps it was George Orwell), but the bureaucracy of the British Navy kept growing even as the British Empire collapsed. That was Cyril Northcote Parkinson, whose writings on the issue are summed up as "Parkinson's Law," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson%27s_Law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson%27s_Law "Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion."
  - mmavnn 15y ago

rdtsc 15y ago

Tomorrow morning on the White House to-do list: 1) Quickly find (or make up) another evil empire or shadow enemy to be afraid of. Suggestions: Wikileaks, music pirates, subversive citizens, militias, Arab dictators, nullification by jury educators ...

Rariel 15y ago

That was one of my first thoughts upon hearing the news! "Can we go back to walking people to their gates?" Part of me is afraid of retaliation, however,...

axomhacker 15y ago

It is very likely that there will be retaliation (or at least some forms of trying to retaliate) in the immediate aftermath. So increased alert levels are more likely.

mikle 15y ago

You know, as someone who lives in the most terror stricken country in the world (well, probably): Israel, I never had to take my shoes off, have a full body scan taken, no pat downs either. I'm gonna go on a wild guess and say that Ben Gurion airport is one of the most secure airports on Earth. I don't see any justification for all the above stuff.