Sunday, March 16, 2003

Putting the boot in.... The British commander of troops in the Gulf admitted yesterday that he had been forced to borrow a pair of American desert boots because of a foot injury. Air Marshal Brian Burridge, asked how he had come by the injury, replied: "Kicking a journalist."... [Samizdata.net] There's no attribution, so this may be someone's idea of a joke. I certainly hope it is, anyway. If it's not, the British troops and their commander should be sent home. The conduct of the British will undoubtedly be blamed on America, and if they can't behave like civilized people it's best to get rid of them before they have a chance to commit any attrocities. 10:48:13 PM    comment () Jerry Pournelle - A Defense of the TSA - some reader mail concerning Dr. Pournelle's anti-TSA commentary with responses from him (TSA = Transportation Security Administration): [pournelle] Third: the attacks in September were successful because people had been lulled into believing that in a hijacking situation they were better off doing nothing and acceding to the hijacker demands rather than resisting. The disaster came not because the planes crashed -- airplanes are always vulnerable to those determined enough and willing to be killed in the process of destroying them -- but because the hijackers were able to gain control of the airplane. Better passive security measures such as stronger cockpit doors; and instructions to flight crew and passengers not to give in but immediately to not only resist but resist with deadly force any attempt to take over an airplane would have resulted in a few dead passengers, more dead hijackers, and an unaltered New York skyline. If you want security heroes, that would have generated s0me very real heroes. ... The TSA is the result of enemy action. Getting us to establish the TSA was most effective use of economic ju-jitsu I have ever seen, making us use our own strength against ourselves. The TSA has cost us far more than 9-11 ever did; a 9-11 every year would cost less than the TSA. [End the War on Freedom] In addition to the cost of the TSA, there's also the economic impact from all those people (including myself) who don't fly any more because we refuse to subject ourselves to what airports have become. 1:55:00 PM    comment () US peace activist killed in Gaza. An American peace activist has been run over and killed by an Israeli army bulldozer in Gaza. [BBC News | Front Page | UK Edition] I'm mildly surprised that one of those silly "human shield" types actually managed to get killed. Usually they just make a lot of noise and then go home when it looks like they might be in danger. However, I'm still waiting for news that any Crusader has picked up a rifle and gone off to fight Saddam himself. I expect I'll have a really long wait for that to happen. 1:44:33 PM    comment ()

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