[Sixstrings]

More Americans Killed by Bees and Wasps or Falling Televisions than by Terrorists

Statistically, falling off household ladders is a big threat.

[Newfie]

People are not "entitled" to anything. PC baloney.

So what do you want to do, institute thought police to force people not to fear what you feel isn't a reasonable fear?

People don't fear based on looking up a statistical chart. Demanding they scale their fears according to some math formula shows a complete lack of understanding of the human animal. You can decry it all you like, but it is the way it is.

People are irrational scary cats. Yeah, I get that. They are a lot of other things also. So what.

They are entitled to NOTHING because they are irrational scaredy cats.

[Plantagenet]

Haha, Lore and Cog are going at it like Ennui and Pstarr. The poll/survey that was taken recently stated that Americans saw Terrorism as the biggest threat. I said hardly and was scolded by Ennui for downplaying terrorism. Well according to statistics I am not.

Of course terrorism is a problem. Our idiotic leaders have got the US involved in multiple endless wars on terrorism ----thats a major problem. People elected Obama to end the wars, but instead he's expanded the war on terrorism to even more countries----thats a problem. We're in an election, and none of the candidates have a plan to end the wars----thats a problem. Rather then stopping Islamic terrorism, it seems to be getting worse and worse around the world----thats a problem.

Cheers!

[Lore]

Terrorism is a tactic not a people. You can't defeat it by war or building walls.

[onlooker]

Terrorism is a tactic not a people. You can't defeat it by war or building walls.

Now there is a wise man talking. It is a tactic that suits the US to project its military might abroad and secure resources as well as maintain power internally by seducing the population into desiring security at any cost. Oh and its pads the bottom line of corporations and banks. So yes I would say it is a pretty effective and lucrative tactic to achieve those ends. Oh I am sorry worry you talking from the point of view of terrorists?

[onlooker]

I will add thank goodness one can still talk freely about these things in this country maybe in a short while we will NOT be able too.

[PrestonSturges]

More Americans Killed by Bees and Wasps or Falling Televisions than by Terrorists

Damn, I was going to use the "falling televisions" thing but you got there first.

[Timo]

Terrorism is a tactic not a people. You can't defeat it by war or building walls.

Now there is a wise man talking. It is a tactic that suits the US to project its military might abroad and secure resources as well as maintain power internally by seducing the population into desiring security at any cost. Oh and its pads the bottom line of corporations and banks. So yes I would say it is a pretty effective and lucrative tactic to achieve those ends. Oh I am sorry worry you talking from the point of view of terrorists?

There's actually a lot of truth to that.

It's a sad truth, but true, nonetheless.

Keep the oil flowing. Keep the sheeple happy.

Scare them into conformity.

[Newfie]

And it sooooo easy to do.

I feel less and less connected to humanity in general.

[Plantagenet]

Terrorism is a tactic not a people. You can't defeat it by war or building walls.

Of course.

Thats why its positively Orwellian that Obama can't bring himself to say the words "Islamic terrorism".

As Orwell said, "In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act." By perpetuating a deception that he is at war against "terrorists" instead of Islamic Terrorists, obama obfuscates reality and confuses folks like you who believe what Obama says and accept Obama's claims that he is prosecuting a war against "terrorism".


Obama says he is fighting a war on terror----but terrorism is a tactic not a people. You can't defeat "terrorism."

[ennui2]

Terrorism is a tactic not a people. You can't defeat it by war or building walls.

It won't be defeating it by playing apologist or laying out tinfoil either.

[Ibon]

I was thinking that this is right, terrorism is the no. 1 US problem..... not the real terrorists but the ones in peoples heads.

[Outcast_Searcher]

Absolutely, Ibon. Fear distorts ones rationale and reason just as I think too much addiction or desire for pleasure does also. Both pleasure seeking and fear are powerful drivers and feedbacks that cloud our mental perspicacity.

There's an entire thread here devoted to psychologically dissecting doomers as well. So let's not feel too superior to the sheeple here. It cuts both ways.

+1

[Outcast_Searcher]

Muslims taking over a country and terrorizing the women by raping them is rapidly becoming a concern in Europe. And it should concern Americans if the trend of settling hundreds of thousands of them here like Bernie and Hillary are wanting to do.

Yes, but that's not terrorism, it's stupid.

Islam, by its very nature, is terrorism.

You could say the same thing about Christian fundamentalists.

+1

[Plantagenet]

Lets not get carried away here. A Gallup poll taken JUST AFTER the Islamic Terror attack in Paris and the terror attack in San Bernadino showed that about one in six Americans, 16%, identified terrorism as the most important U.S. problem.

Chances are that was just a temporary blip caused by all the media coverage. In the same poll taken the month before only 3% of Americans said terrorism was the number one problem.

Chances are the first poll is right, and 97% of Americans don't think terrorism is the #1 problem.

Cheers!

[Outcast_Searcher]

Then who says all of Islam lives under the old law, you?

I judge them on what they do. Rape and murder seems to be their MO wherever they immigrate to. Ask the women in Europe what they think of their new guests.

Jeez Cog. You are judging an entire culture by a tiny fraction of extremists.

This is as "reasonable" as PrestonSturges frequently calling the entire GOP "racists", whether implicitly or explicitly.

This does NOT mean I don't consider terrorism a problem. I just don't mistakenly believe only Muslims are terrorists, nor do I believe more than a very small fraction of Muslims are terrorists.

Given the data, neither should any rational person.

[Outcast_Searcher]

You forget the crusades. Same thing, different time and same God.

You could put the Spanish Inquisition in that category as well. In this case you had the leaders spreading terror -- because, you know, God needed the help, apparently.

[Plantagenet]

I just don't mistakenly believe only Muslims are terrorists, nor do I believe more than a very small fraction of Muslims are terrorists.

Given the data, neither should any rational person.

Bill Maher has claimed that "hundreds of millions" of Muslims support terrorism, and Bill Maher seems like an eminently rational person to me.

Soooooo.....is Bill Maher right that “hundreds of millions of Muslims” support violence such as the attack in Paris?

-what-muslims-really-believe

The Pew report, which appears to be the best data currently available...... There are approximately 1,083,021,825 Muslims in the 21 countries they polled—68% of the global total. Based on the country-by-country percentages in the Pew report, that means about 133 million support the suicide bombing or other forms of violence against civilians. Extrapolating the data ..... means about 195 million Muslims worldwide support suicide bombing and other acts of violence against civilians.


Its not very rational to claim that Bill Maher isn't a rational person

[Outcast_Searcher]

People are not "entitled" to anything. PC baloney.

So what do you want to do, institute thought police to force people not to fear what you feel isn't a reasonable fear?

People don't fear based on looking up a statistical chart. Demanding they scale their fears according to some math formula shows a complete lack of understanding of the human animal. You can decry it all you like, but it is the way it is.

And if you want a PERFECT example of that, the hard crash doomer fears on this board, constantly, of a short term global or US economic implosion, certainly fits that.

Of course they have lots of company, zerohedge being a classic example, and a bunch of long term permabear economic "newsletters" (which manage to survive, despite their lack of success in forecasting -- since rooting for economic doom is such a popular sport) is another.

In fact, you could argue that the entire range of global problems humanity shares from overpopulation to consumption overshoot is based on irrational thinking. Fear/adrenaline/emotion is great for, say, outrunning the bear when it attacks. Not so great for solving complex problems in the modern world.

[Outcast_Searcher]

Invite a snake into your country and don't act surprised when he bites you.

Snakes get quite the bad rap. Most aren''t poisonous, and like all sub-human creatures, they're just trying to earn a living.

I almost had my hand broken by irrational women trying to mash a poor garter snake with a croquet mallet, while I was trying to rescue it from their hysteria. Apparently ONE TIME one of the women had found one in her shower. You'd have thought it was a Sabre Tooth tiger eating her children.

I think comparing a terrorist to a snake is VERY unfair to the snake.