Day-to-day thoughts, technical information, a random grab-bag of thoughts, discoveries, and interesting little tidbits.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Emmanuel Goldstein

"The programmes of the Two Minutes Hate varied from day to day, but there was none in which Goldstein was not the principal figure. He was the primal traitor, the earliest defiler of the Party's purity. All subsequent crimes against the Party, all treacheries, acts of sabotage, heresies, deviations, sprang directly out of his teaching. Somewhere or other he was still alive and hatching his conspiracies: perhaps somewhere beyond the sea, under the protection of his foreign paymasters, perhaps even -- so it was occasionally rumoured -- in some hiding-place in Oceania itself. . ."
- George Orwell, "Nineteen Eighty Four"

Behind the hysteria of terrorist claims is one single face, Usama Bin Laden. A man who is claimed to be behind the terrible events of 9/11. He may even be as deadly and as guilty as they say. However, it's amazing just how many people just focus on the race, associating it with religion, which they further associate with terrorism, and always link them up with the name of Usama Bin Laden.

Results of calculations: All people of middle-eastern descent are terrorists, or in league with them, and should be suspected for violent crime. Therefore, we will send huge military forces into the middle east to... secure its freedom.

Just a second... what about Jose Padilla? Jose was of hispanic descent, and hispanics mean Mexico, so that must mean that terrorists are coming from Middle America, too. Suddenly, border security must be increased to keep illegal immigrants out, lest a terrorist slip through.

Wait, what about "Jihad Johnny?" Here's an American man who was found to be alongside the terrorists. So... terrorists aren't just those of Middle-Eastern descent, but also Americans? Wow... we'll really need to up internal security in the States. National Identity cards, electronic surveillance, telesc... er... cameras, secret courts, extraordinary rendition, and the ability to send state militias to other states, as a matter of fact. Might as well beef up those police forces while we're at it. Oh, and let's not forget about cracking down on drugs... they support terrorism after all!

Be careful. Usama Bin Laden and all his agents are out there. They could be anywhere. They could be anyone. Even... me.

Even you.