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The paranoia level has been raised from 'elevated' to 'farcical'

bilby

bilby

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In the run up to the G20 summit, and in the wake of the commencement of airstrikes in Syria, and of a knife attack on police in Victoria that led to the perpetrator being shot dead, the Queensland police force have officially raised the paranoia level to 'batshit insane', with the Police Commissioner warning the public that his officers "will be obviously nervous", and that "they are going to be requesting people to be very compliant in their dealings with them" - despite his admission that he has "no information about any specific threat against Queenslanders or assets in the state at the current time" (source).

So in a country where the total death toll from terrorists is zero, we now need to accept that armed police who are "obviously nervous" will be walking amongst us, in an attempt to make us feel safe. Is it just me, or is that less then entirely reassuring?

In a further attempt to persuade the Queensland public that they are competent to assess and deal with threats to our safety, police this afternoon closed three streets in the heart of Brisbane during the middle of the working day, to defend us against the clear and present threat posed by a Korean tourist's socks and undies.

None of the costs of this paranoia appear on any police targets or government balance sheet, so apparently it is just fine to disrupt a huge number of people's lives; and to increase the risk that one or more innocent citizens might be shot by police, in order to mitigate a threat so severe that the Police Commissioner himself is at pains to point out that he has no evidence it exists outside his fevered imagination.

This is literally insane. Our lives would be dramatically improved by the dismantling of almost all of the paranoid 'security theatre' that has been put in place since 2001; If the police or the government want to continue to impose this shit on us, it is about time they came up with some credible and specific threats to justify it. Right now, I reckon I am at greater risk of being struck by lightning than I am of being a victim of terrorism. Indeed, if what Commissioner Stewart said today is true, I reckon that in Brisbane, I am at more danger from the Queensland state police, than from all the world's terrorists combined.

How do we, the people, get the vested interests of security theatre to back off and let us live in peace?
 
IMO, the combined governments of the world are using scare tactics to escalate matters to bring about WWIII.

There haven't been any specific threats, to any government leaders - only to individuals. Are these acts against individuals designed to ignite fear and anger within their countrymen so that the governments are called upon to act?
 
It's refreshing to hear others have joined me in my paranoid delusional world. We are redefining normal.

I search for background, for a reason why. Some dude stabbed two cops. Some dude died for it. Was he a terrorism suspect before the act or because of it? Can I at least assume he wasn't your average white dude? Inquiring minds want to know. What a crappy story. There's no background save for this:
Article said:
"The only issue is that we have now seen someone react in exactly the way that the ISIS spokesperson came out two days ago and asked people to rise up."

He was referring to a rallying call, issued on Monday by Islamic State spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, which urged supporters to kill non-believers in the West, including in Australia
Click to expand...
Unless I'm missing something, put me down for a farcical insanity with a side of batshit.

This ISIS crap does not past the smell test. Are they real? Yes. Are they a threat? Maybe not so much. At least not to the extend we are reacting to the threat. I'm getting WMD déjà vu all over again.
 
Quite.

A nutter stabbing a cop (and getting shot dead for his trouble) is a serious crime, but not an act of terrorism. It's not likely that he will stab any more cops now; and he doesn't seem to have anyone else backing him up by trying something similar.

Terrorist attacks are unheard of in Australia - the closest we have come is the infamous Hilton hotel bombing, which was staged by the security forces to show how necessary they were. But every politician and talking head on TV is waving their hands in the air and running in circles screaming "We mustn't panic! Be alert, not alarmed!".

Fuck that. There is exactly zero reason for the public to even be alert to this non-threat. As far as I can see, the only purpose to any of this shit is to get more cash for the police, and more votes for the hardline politicians who support them.

Giving up freedom for security is dumb. Giving up freedom when there was plenty of security in the first place is insane.
 
Welcome to the club folks.

This describes the US for the last 13 years.
 
You think you've got it bad? Try getting through security at a US airport.
 
You probably have better chance of getting killed by a cop than of even being within 20 miles of a real terrorist.
 
ksen said:
You probably have better chance of getting killed by a cop than of even being within 20 miles of a real terrorist.
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And you probably have a far better chance of failing math than passing it.

Remember, the 9/11 terrorists were in the US for some time. *LOTS* of people were within 20 miles of them. (And since they were reported as having come here I count myself as one of those who was within 20 miles of them.) Only a few hundred people a year are killed by cops and the vast majority of those are hardcore criminals or major druggies.

Add to this that I have had a plane connection in Tel Aviv once long ago. That certainly put me within 20 miles of terrorists.
 
bilby said:
Quite.

A nutter stabbing a 2 cops (and getting shot dead for his trouble) is a serious crime, but not an act of terrorism. It's not likely that he will stab any more cops now; and he doesn't seem to have anyone else backing him up by trying something similar.
Click to expand...
Fixed it for you.
While I am in favour of un-necessary panic or paranoia we do need to be prepared, an insurance policy if you like.
According to you what is an act of terrorism? A definition will help us all. Is it based upon number of dead, weapons used, type of aggressors etc.?
bilby said:
Terrorist attacks are unheard of in Australia - the closest we have come is the infamous Hilton hotel bombing, which was staged by the security forces to show how necessary they were. But every politician and talking head on TV is waving their hands in the air and running in circles screaming "We mustn't panic! Be alert, not alarmed!".

Fuck that. There is exactly zero reason for the public to even be alert to this non-threat. As far as I can see, the only purpose to any of this shit is to get more cash for the police, and more votes for the hardline politicians who support them.

Giving up freedom for security is dumb.
Click to expand...
Agreed
bilby said:
Giving up freedom when there was plenty of security in the first place is insane.
Click to expand...
 
Warpoet said:
You think you've got it bad? Try getting through security at a US airport.
Click to expand...

I'm still surprised the crazies haven't tried to utilize another rectal bomb, but on a passenger plane.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_al-Asiri
According to early and the most recent reports, Asiri's older brother had hidden one pound (0.5 kg) of PETN plastic explosives in his rectum and anal canal, which security experts described as a novel technique. Asiri had passed through a metal detector and remained in the security of the Prince's bodyguards for over 24 hours before gaining the audience
Click to expand...

Then, we could have "please pull down your pants, and bend over for one more check" as they slip on the glove...then we could all go to the airport in flip-flops and Scottish kilts to make air travel a little more bearable :D
 
I am watching an episode of an Australian Drama called All Saints at the moment. It is set in a hospital and is about the patients and staff of All Saints General Western Hospital in Sydney.

The episode I am watching at the moment was filmed in 2000 and about a man who thinks the doctors and nurses consider themselves to be 'Gods' so he decides to blow up the hospital.

If something like that happened in this day and age, it would be considered an act of terrorism, but a scant 14 years ago, it wasn't.

Yes, our levels of paranoia about terrorism has gone slightly completely skewiff. We need to reign it in before we all become totally paranoid and begin thinking that the tosser next who plays his bass heavy music in his car at full pelt is a terrorist hoping to disguise his actions with loud music so as to drown out a potential explosion!
 
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