Out of Pod Experience

I don't know. There seems to have been an acceleration since 9/11, and even another acceleration since the Aurora Theater Massacre. Although rarely repeated by the same persons, it is obvious that success can be had with this behavior.

I just don't think we can rely on past responses and 'determination' when moving forward from all this. I believe this has entered an entirely new dangerous paradigm.

Burying our heads in the snow, and pretending it's all going to be alright, is actually a dangerous idea at the moment. And pretending is all it is.

When a piece of **** speaks, only **** comes out.

No surprises there.

Well of course. He can hardly admit that the children of expatriots who have only tenuous connection to their ethnic homeland have gone off an all on their own done something horrible. That would make Chechnya look... Innocent?

Actually, I *would* recommend pretty much something very close to exactly that. Living normally, and refusing to bend to these kinds of things is a great big F*SK YOU! to the people who do them - They want to make us change - Screw that!

Common-sense actions and precautions that do not interfere with life as lived normally are fine. But panicking into making serious changes to our social structure and behavior is surrender. I frankly find the DHS to be one of the most humiliating defeats forced on us by terrorism. The Patriot Act is another.

You cannot prevent whackos - they exist now, and always will, in every society, no matter what the precautions. But there are people out there who hate us simply for being us. The best way to stave them off whilst getting revenge on them is to keep on being what they hate.

I'm about to say something rather controversial, so before I continue I do not mean to insult anyone.

I think the fundamental difference we are seeing here in attitudes is that Silens and I are / were soldiers )for simplicities sake I know you were a squid), and to my knowledge Krix you've never been in the military.

Soldiers have to accept the risk of death as part of their job, a civilian does not. I do not want to diminish the risks that many civilians have dangerous jobs. The factory in Texas shows us this. But a soldier accepts this from the moment he takes his shilling. While you never think of it, you know that in the back of your mind it might well happen to you or "someone other than me, because im me". Its part of daily life, soldiers dont just die in battle, there are hundreds of ways to die a hundred miles away from the enemy. You develop a kind of fatalistic attitude that protects you from this. A civilian does not face this willingly have to put themselves into this situation.

Now, I'm not trying to say a soldier is better than a civilian, far from it. I've met many a man in uniform who I would happily describe as being scum, and unworthy of everything he stands for. A soldier is not braver than a civilian, the events of Boston this past week have shown to reinforce this. But the fundamental difference is a soldier knows, accepts and understands that death is likely.

I dont mean to not include all the other civil services such as the police force, fire, ambulance etc who put their lives on the line daily like the poor sob who was gunned down at MIT in his patrol car simply because of his uniform. Death is just as much a reality for them as it is for a soldier.

But a civilian can nurture a kind of naivety that is a wonderful thing. And when this is shattered it can be very difficult for it to be repaired and this is how things like the PATRIOT Act come about. A soldier even after he has left the service shall forever be a soldier, they can never have the wonderful gift that civilians have where they can settle down into their new lives. They know the world is a scary, nasty, dangerous place and have a kind of built in pessimism.

I dont see there being any kind of peace in my life. I hope there will be, I truly do. But I do not. A civilian can believe in the dream of peace around them and it is a great thing. It's not a case of ignorance is bliss, America is a safe country for the most part, and it is a safety that has been built by both civilians and soldiers. You should feel safe going to the threatre, the mall, the barber, the supermarket. the day civilians do not that is the day that soldiers know they have failed.

But as Jefferson said, he who would give up a little liberty for a little security, shall gain neither, and lose both.

In lieu of a better answer to the current challenges faced, it might be time to borrow a page from the UK during world war 2.

Keep calm and carry on.

As at the end of the day, panic, fear, and paranoia will do far more damage than any home made bomb or shooting ever could.

Well, they have managed to make it obvious how willingly Americans are to sacrifice those freedoms and take an entire city into lockdown mode. That's already here.....and now proven as do-able.

Terrorism isn't a big problem in the United States, falling down the stairs is much, more likely to kill you. The US needs a war on stairs, have a steep alert, pay big bucks into contractors to built elevators. War on stairs would be the greatest single story in American history. There is an endless list of things at home more likely to kill you than a terrorist attack. Higher chance of being shot by a "Loyal American".

A police state for terrorism is like a sledge hammer for a fly, you won't hit the fly any better and you'll wreck your home.

Amen, brother.



Not particularly offended that this happened - someone following the chase to the scene reported a 'half dozen' cars - that's maybe 12 officers? They're recieving hot fire, and explosions are going off. Other officers were close behind, but they had to get oriented to the action, determine where their fellows were, and where the bad guys were, before they could deploy to isiolate and contain.
Not at all hard to see how the second suspect could've broken contact in that.
The smaller the unit, the better the unit coordination, thus the faster the reaction.

The alternative is to 'mob-on' and that risks a LOT of unnecessary casualties whilst the suspect may still manage to break contact. Not a good choice...

Theres a twisted irony in here somewhere.



Think we found a case of indoctrination here. Go home, become radicalised, return.

In my 48 years, I have yet to see any genie go back into the bottle. Not once.