Track Records Don't Count in a Town that Likes Pretty Faces
September 30, 2001 11:00 AM   Subscribe

 
The writer ought to take some meds and calm down before writing. He divides the world into the pundits (the guys who don't agree with him) and those with a close grip[ on reality (he is one), dismissing any chatterers as dolts--yes. But they make a living doing this on TV.
As for all the inside stuff that the intelligence community is aware of and that he shares with us: this was pretty much all said in a much more subdued voice by E.O. Wilson a few years back in his outstanding book Consilience (and the issue was only peripheral to his subject He did not go into the subject of terrorism etc
No need for Americans to fear a water shortage: Coke bottles water and we can buy from them.
posted by Postroad at 11:07 AM on September 30, 2001


sorry forgot this: all the intelligence stuff in the world won't help if we have dummies like this! This, and Bush says he has confidence in our intelligence!
http://www.observer.co.uk/Distribution/Redirect_Artifact/0,4678,0-560624,00.html
posted by Postroad at 11:10 AM on September 30, 2001


Mr. Spinney does seem a little overwrought. The article Postroad noted is frightening. The stopping of face to face spying in the late 80's seems not be have been a good idea now, placing all our eggs in the techno spy basket may have backfired. All this is hindsight.
posted by bjgeiger at 11:27 AM on September 30, 2001


Almost 6,000 Americans are dead; the World Trade Center is a pile of rubble; even the Pentagon was hit (something Hitler was unable to do.)
The author is made an unwarranted comparison to Hitler in the fourth paragraph. Therefore, by Godwin's Law, he lost the argument before the essay was one quarter over.
posted by SergeM at 12:42 PM on September 30, 2001


sorry forgot this: all the intelligence stuff in the world won't help ...Yikes! Kestone Kopperies--but as for, He divides the world into the pundits (the guys who don't agree with him) and those with a close grip[ on reality (he is one), dismissing any chatterers as dolts...and your point is? I mean, who doesn't? As for the water comment, I believe the reference was to Israel/Palestine although it applies to India/Pakistan or even Iran/Iraq, all including actual or potential nuclear weapon states...All the Coke bottled water in the world won't help us if even one nuclear device is ever detonated: You think the economy's in the toilet now? And it's the Para-state Entity list that' scariest to me..
posted by y2karl at 12:49 PM on September 30, 2001


There is at least one error in the linked materials: 6000 Americans are not dead from the terrorist attacks. According to Cryptome, there are 3061 estimated foreign casualties, not including Canadians, and 2589 Americans.

This fact is frequently missed, disguised, forgotten and ignored because most people--particular Americans--can't get their minds around the fact 40% of New Yorkers were born in another country. Another 20% were born in another state. Out of the remaining 40%, a substanstial number (to which I do not have the exact number) are children of New Yorkers born in another country. This is, and has been since the beginning, a city of immigrants.

By the way, y2karl, your post is virtually incomprehensible.
posted by Mo Nickels at 3:29 PM on September 30, 2001


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