I am surprised by her though.

My expectation , falsely I guess, was that Obamam was going to bring in a better quality of people.  More intelligent and reasonable was certainly how our media protrayed it.  One of the good things with their system is the ability to hire the brightest and best to lead portfolios rather then choose amoung the elected MP's

And yet here we have another idiotic "Palinesque" statement from the person who is supposed to know better.  And not alot of uproar over a very "Palinism"

A person who has yet to even try to cross and ground border at the US/Canada crossings.

at a time when Obama appears to be at least going through the motinos of a kinder gentler USA this person thinks the border issues with Canada and Mexico are the same?  and is still hawking the old 911 fear mongering? 

graeme, I  agree with your  past statements of Obama just being more of the same in a different package is pretty correct.

He should turf this ex govenor and perhaps get one of the intelligent folks we were all expecting.

The proletariat needs to be convinced to look left (fear), else it look right and rebel against the power structure of the status quo. Communism, the russians, oil cartels, drug cartels, homosexuals, science, terra-ists (love the slang), african killer bees, pedophiles, prolonged economic recession... the list goes on and on. Pick your poison.

I remember reading a comical theory that had Louis XI and the aristocrats had mass media at their finger tips, "La Revolution!" never would've happened.

Machievelli discussed the statesman's principle role of providing security to the people. If illusory fears creates illusory security - then all is well.

About 11 years ago or so, I was taking the train home to the maritimes from Ontario and I actually met an American border patrol guy who had worked both the Mexican and the Canadian borders.  He was a big hit on the train because of all the colourful stories that he shared about his time on the Mexican border.  The only story that he had about the Canadian border was one night there was a woman wandering back and forth across the border in her nightgown.  I can't remember if they ever found her.  The borders are not the same and this whole thing is just ridiculous. 

Wasn't it Franklin who said that those who would give up freedom for security deserve (or would have) neither.  I heard on the radio that all their security measures haven't done a whit of good because they tested them and every single person that was sent though the security measures in the airports with a false passport got through.  I guess that appearances really are everything.

gee, I find myself defending Obama. He has to tread very, very carefully. He is already deeply suspect to millions of Americans who are convinced he's a secret Moslem and,  therefore, practically a homosexual companion to ben laden.

He has to put nutbars in some of the important jobs to maintain his credibility.

I don't know. I hope that both last pointe and I have been wrong on Obama. But it's mostly hope.

graeme

The Homeland Security secretary was wrong and I believe has apologized. As an American I want to say that unfortunately there is a lot of truth is this. Some politicians use fear as about their favorite tool. It's a heavy blunt object they don't need any real skill to wield. It isn't unanimous though. Some like Pres. Obama build on faith and optimism, rather than fear. I'd like to believe that in time more Americans will embrace what we can do better rather than what might go worse. Only time will tell. I also want to thank Canada. It wasn't reported enough but on 9-11, in those first hours when nobody knew what was going on the decision to ground all flight was made and many aircraft were diverted to Canada, and Canada accepted showing incredible bravery and friendship. I have only ever heard good stories about the kindness and sympathy that Americans received that day. Thank you.

I hope Obama does well too Graeme.  In alot of ways, he simply has to.

I find the whole "homeland security " thinkg very odd actually.

It has such an odd ring to it to me.  the whole german "fatherland"  Russian "mother land"  tone.

So home land security, as opposed to regular security.  The ports and airports and FBI and CIA and whatever other alphabet agencies there are. 

It just  kind tastes odd to me.  I can see that 911 showed the american government that there needed to be a way to share info better and cut out turf wars between teh various arms of the massive government but this doesn't seem to be doing that.

however, I hope Obama does well.  What they do to the borders will have an effect on trade and flow of goods and people.  Lets just hope it's not a dire negative effect.

On a related note, i see the Globe in a lead editorial said we should not prosecute bush and others over torture. After all, we should first check to determine whether torture prevented further attacks.

So torture is okay in the Globe.

Interesting. So if there were evidence of a serial killer in a town, the police would be justified in torturing any people they wonder about - even the whole town - and it would be justified if they got the murderer.

The politics of fear.

I used to wonder how a people so well educated, so civilized, etc. as the Germans could have fallen in behind all the horrors preached by Hitler. It took me a long time to realize that for all the evil that was done in Hitler's Germany, it was not done by evil people but by ordinary and conventionally decent people. Just like the editors of the Globe.

Just like us.

graeme

Wow, thank you for starting this Graeme. I agree with your opening statements and the responses that have been posted. Jon, I am glad you piped in! Thanks for taking my invite to come to WonderCafe!

I do some work at a local First Nations community. I am seeing first hand how using fear and shock and awe tactics can be used to keep power. Some people can only rule through chaos and fear. If things are cleared up, and people own their own power, this type of "leader" will not survive. Fear is a wonderful way to keep people off balance so they will not question insane policy decisions.

Ummm  except that terrorism is a very real threat facing every signle person in the world. There was never a "Jewish threat". And that is why that comparison does nto work... But interesting post nonetheless!

ummmm, except that terrorism is a very real threat depending on who is defining it and where.

It was not a threat when the CIA and the Guatemalan army tortured and murdered over 200,000 Maya Indians, and an assortment of priests and nuns.

Terrorism was not a threat when the US subjected an almost defenceless Cambodia to the most concentrated bombing campaign in history, killing at least 600,000.

It was not even called terrorism when the US launched its "shock and awe" bombardment of Iraq - ultimately killing over a million.

It was not called t errorism when Israel invaded Gaza, quite deliberately killing hundreds of civilians.

Similarly, whether the Jewish people consituted a threat to Germany is not something you or I would agree to. But the study of whether there was a threat is always up to the people who launched the fear campaign. And they will always find there was, indeed, a threat.

And they saved us just in time.

graeme

That's all a very nice sentiment.  Just remember it was the religious right who voted a George W. in.  One of the stupidist leaders of all time.

LL&P

Spock

Gee, spock, I always understood George Bush was a humanist. 

graeme

No, no Graeme, he was a Compassionate Conservative - please note the Capital C.

Wonderful thread by the way, and a position I agree with completely.  Fear will imprison us all if we allow it.  Ignorance and isolation forge the chains of that prison.

LB

And saw that mean man for one moment crowned.
I turned and laughed: for there was no one by—
The man that I had sought to slay was I.

     G. K. Chesterton, Thou Shalt Not Kill

The question we should be asking isn't if terrorism is real, it's if the government should be able to terrorize to fight terrorism. 

If an officer of the law busted into my home unwarranted and verbally, physically, mentally or emotionally abused me or my family based on his assumptions that I was a terrorist, he may think that he is fighting against terrorism, but in reality, because he is driven by negative means (fear, control, manipulation, brainwash...whatever) he would be the real terrorist, not me. 

It's how you go about things, and it seems that the US is willing to become terrorists themselves in order to fight these evil terrorists that they are accussing....sounds kinda like a world wide witch hunt. 

Isn't war inhumane? Why do so many people support it?  How can any "humane" government support such uncivil and monster-like actions over and over and over and over and over...

Thanks,

Bishop B

You apparently misunderstood, then.

LL&P

Spock

bishop has it. all war is terrorist. always has been.

and terrorism as a deliberate choice has always been with us. In the American revolution, The Sons of Liberty, heroes in american history books, were terrorists.

The great slaughter of native peoples from 1865 on, the stuff of a thousand western films with John Wayne, was pure terrorism.

But to generate fear and get consent for barbarous action, you have to invent terrorism as something only the other side does, and you have to pretend that is what you're fighting.

graeme

You're right. I do like to point out that not all Christians are the "religious right". About 1/3 of Christians are liberal, 1/3 moderate, and 1/3 conservative. Of those that are conservative about 1/3 of them are very conservative or fundamentalist (that Pat Robertson and James Dobson, etc.). In my opinion I think Pres. Obama is a much better example of a Christian man as well as he will be a far better president.

It's sad that there is so much truth in what you say. I hope we are leaving the old tactics of fear and deceit behind but I know that's a really tall order. I expect some progress but total success on that count is distant.