Use these and become a suspect
Chicago Tribune news : Nation/World — While this story about how bird watchers are potential terroists might have some rationale since there is a Navy base involved, stories are cropping up everywhere like this. Apparently anyone floating around with binoculars is going to be seen as a potential terrorist. This is despite the fact that Arab terrorists don’t go around with binoculars looking at birds. In fact they don’t go around with binoculars anyway. What the US government thinks of as a potential terrorist seems to be based on WWII Hollywood movies. My prediciton: expect to have to fill out a form and get a background check to buy binoculars.
Meanwhile the borders are wide open.
Birders say they are being targeted for restrictions. But bridge-tunnel officials say the crossing is a critical link to Hampton Roads–location of the Navy’s largest base–and must be protected from a potential terrorist attack.
The decision last week was part of a compromise between birders and bridge-tunnel administrators, who agreed to limited access after initially forbidding any access to the three islands.
The rules that go into effect July 1 require bird-watchers to give advance notice of visits to three of the 17.6-mile crossing’s four islands and pay $50 an hour for a security escort. They also must provide photo identification and be willing to have their belongings checked. Researchers and scientists will pay $50 for a yearly pass that may require a background check and references.
found by P. Saffo
“My prediciton: expect to have to fill out a form and get a background check to buy binoculars. Meanwhile the borders are wide open.”
I guess bird watchers arn’t a big voting block, hispanics are.
I know some very bright, good-hearted folks who took jobs at the Los Alamos National Labs just before Bush was [more or less] elected. Foolish and naive, they actually thought that peace breaking out meant peace was going to be allowed to prevail. They signed contracts. They have to stay the course — even if, say, they were told they’d be working on something as useful as geothermal energy production — and, now, they have to help develop new and interesting ways to poison the world with plutonium. As an example.
I mention this over here because [1] many of these folks are terrific athletes. One reason LANL attracts lots of bright, young scientists is the life outdoors. [2] Many of these folks have a fey, unremitting, sense of humor that suggests they keep saying public things about democracy, civil liberties, old-fashioned stuff like that. I’m certain it gets them extra attention.
Some of them are bird-watchers. I guess we’d better get a bail fund ready.
“This is despite the fact that Arab terrorists don’t go around with binoculars looking at birds.”
Oh god. Because to be a terrorist you have to be a Arab. It’s this exact kind of thinking that makes most other countries hate us.
HUH? Saying “Arab terrorist” is why people hate us? It’s that simple? We’re hated because of that?
Are you clinically insane?
If you haven’t noticed the airline bomber and the guys who tried to bomb LAX were Arabs. Bin Laden, hello, is an ARAB! I suppose Dvorak could have been politically correct and not used the word, thus Americans would be loved.
Just more evidence pointing to the fact that the terrorists have already won. They’re just sitting back now and letting us destroy ourselves with fear and paranoia. Furthermore, it’s pretty sad that our security is determined by the prevention of people looking at things rather than actually securing them.
Birdwatchers aren’t the only suspicious characters about. There are also the dreaded plane-spotters!
Mister Moto
You have a good point, though this is off topic. Terrorists do not need to be any specific race, color, religion, sex, or nationality. All they need do is indiscriminately kill in order to be called a terrorist.
If someone who strapped some explosive to his body or a 500 kg bomb indiscriminately dropped from an airplane kills a civilian, it makes little difference. The result is that you are dead. The suicide bomber is called a martyr by his cause and the airplane pilot is a hero doing his job.
So who is the terrorist? Is it those with the multi-million dollar planes and weapons or those fighting with the simplest weapons available?
I wasn’t aware Timothy McVeigh was Arab, but what do I know?