[geeks] Retiring-in/Visiting the USA (was: FS: iPhone 4)

[Mike Meredith]

On Mon, 19 Dec 2011 20:26:19 -0600 (CST), Jonathan Patschke wrote:
> China (which is big, powerful, and Right Over There).  Even in the
> wake of the 2005 attack in London, it was nowhere nearly as
> locked-down and paranoid in 2009 as New York City and DC are even
> today.

The two situations are not directly comparable, but I wonder how much
of the 'over-reaction' in the US is due to the Department of Homeland
Security. A new organisation will have an unconscious tendency to
over-react to demonstrate it's effectiveness whereas an existing
organisation may be more level-headed.

It's an unwritten[0] rule of combating terrorism that the most effective
counter-measures are human intelligence, and 'hearts and minds' missions
rather than defensive measures (such as banning 'trash cans' in train
stations). After all a terrorist bright enough to make a bomb is
usually bright enough to pick another target when the 'trash cans'
disappear rather than simply give up.

0: Because I don't have a quote to hand. It's probably been written any
   number of times.



-- 
Mike Meredith (http://zonky.org/)
 Most politicians think that "ethics" is a county in the south of
England.