I was listening to a radio talk show yammerhead this morning, and the subject of "if hijackers did a 9/11 every day, how likely would the average passenger be to be on one of those planes?" The answer (from an airline pilot) was 1/3000.
Yet a lot of people are afraid of terrorist incidents, and willing to give up our precious freedoms to gain the illusion of safety. Yet, you're more likely to be run over by a drunk driver...
In my nearly 30 years living in California, there have been several earthquakes in the state, a couple of which have killed people, and smashed a lot of property. Other states have hurricanes and tornados, plus the generic fires and floods. All of these actually pose more risk to us than the average terrorist.
Then lets talk about drunk and incompetant drivers and shoddy maintenance shops. How many people do they kill every day, without any terror or political motivation at all? People talk about being afraid of being on landmark bridges or tunnels. Well, in this state, the risk would be greater from "the big one", or a stupid driver nearby, than a terrorist attack.
Then let's look at terrorism and violence. Due to the general disarming of America, when some joker goes nuts with a gun, all people near him can do is die. You want to know an easy mark for nutjob shooters and terrorists? Schools - they're "weapon free zones" - unilateral disarmament of students and teachers.
The 9/11 terrorists used box knives to subdue entire planeloads of passengers! Only flight 93 had the guts to fight back! Against box knives! For crying out loud, you use bigger blades to cut your steak or bread loaf with!! So what do we do? Ban any edge including nail clippers from airplanes! Because we're too chicken shit to realize that even a heavy briefcase can be an effective weapon, and we like the illusion of safety. I'd really like to see how you can hijack a plane with a nail clipper. Really.
If you tried the box knife stunt on me, I'd laugh at you, and then break something on you, just to make my point. You might be able to overpower me, because I'm a wimpy gimp, but that assumes that every other passenger was a chicken shit - which is not likely now!
When people are threatening someone's life, the odds are that that person is dead anyway, and the only way that you can help is by trying to take the bastard out before he disposes of his first hostage, and comes for you.
But back to odds. The fact is, even with a whole lot more terrorism than we have now, you're more likely to be killed by a drunk/incompetant driver, a natural disaster, or a jilted lover on a rampage than a terrorist.
So drive safe, be prepared for natural disasters, and watch out for unstable kooks, or people who have relationships with them. Furthermore, be very, very wary of people who want to steal your rights to make you "safer" - they are lying and want to control you to gain power. Period.
Yes, I know I haven't updated in a week. This last week just plain sucked. Gods, I need work!!
Yet a lot of people are afraid of terrorist incidents, and willing to give up our precious freedoms to gain the illusion of safety. Yet, you're more likely to be run over by a drunk driver...
In my nearly 30 years living in California, there have been several earthquakes in the state, a couple of which have killed people, and smashed a lot of property. Other states have hurricanes and tornados, plus the generic fires and floods. All of these actually pose more risk to us than the average terrorist.
Then lets talk about drunk and incompetant drivers and shoddy maintenance shops. How many people do they kill every day, without any terror or political motivation at all? People talk about being afraid of being on landmark bridges or tunnels. Well, in this state, the risk would be greater from "the big one", or a stupid driver nearby, than a terrorist attack.
Then let's look at terrorism and violence. Due to the general disarming of America, when some joker goes nuts with a gun, all people near him can do is die. You want to know an easy mark for nutjob shooters and terrorists? Schools - they're "weapon free zones" - unilateral disarmament of students and teachers.
The 9/11 terrorists used box knives to subdue entire planeloads of passengers! Only flight 93 had the guts to fight back! Against box knives! For crying out loud, you use bigger blades to cut your steak or bread loaf with!! So what do we do? Ban any edge including nail clippers from airplanes! Because we're too chicken shit to realize that even a heavy briefcase can be an effective weapon, and we like the illusion of safety. I'd really like to see how you can hijack a plane with a nail clipper. Really.
If you tried the box knife stunt on me, I'd laugh at you, and then break something on you, just to make my point. You might be able to overpower me, because I'm a wimpy gimp, but that assumes that every other passenger was a chicken shit - which is not likely now!
When people are threatening someone's life, the odds are that that person is dead anyway, and the only way that you can help is by trying to take the bastard out before he disposes of his first hostage, and comes for you.
But back to odds. The fact is, even with a whole lot more terrorism than we have now, you're more likely to be killed by a drunk/incompetant driver, a natural disaster, or a jilted lover on a rampage than a terrorist.
So drive safe, be prepared for natural disasters, and watch out for unstable kooks, or people who have relationships with them. Furthermore, be very, very wary of people who want to steal your rights to make you "safer" - they are lying and want to control you to gain power. Period.
Yes, I know I haven't updated in a week. This last week just plain sucked. Gods, I need work!!