A little controversy, anyone?;)
The terrorist threat is virtually nonexistent
What are the chances of dying in a plane crash caused by a terrorist attack? According to Prof. . Paul Campos, a lawyer at the University of Colorado (Boulder, Co.) are 1 in 25 million, or almost close to zero.
In comparison, the chances of dying in a plane crash "standard" one in 9.2 million, according to data compiled by the database "OAG Aviation Database" in the United States. This means that, on average, an airplane pilot kills far more people than a terrorist. In the same
vein, the United States, you have 87 times more likely to die by drowning in a terrorist attack and 50 times more likely to die by being struck by lightning. As for the victims of police misconduct, they are 8 times more numerous than those terrorists, if one believes the figures for the 2004 National Safety Council . In the U.S., so the police kill eight times more people than do the terrorists - and these figures include deaths of September 11, 2001!
For Professor Campos the risk of a terrorist attack is so infinitesimal and its impact so insignificant a relative point of view, there is no rational justification to accept a violation of our civil liberties to a degree such as we see these last 10 years simply to try to avoid occurrence of a statistical anomaly.
a time when governments are investing billions of taxpayer dollars in surveillance technology more sophisticated, on behalf of our "protection", it is worth asking the question about what exactly is the reality This threat, against which it is claimed to protect us ... a like anti-missile batteries that the United States install in Europe to prevent an attack from Iran .... which has no missiles capable of reaching Europe!
Gregor Seither
IES News Service - 07/12/2010
IES News Service - 07/12/2010
only 25 Americans have died because of terrorism last year, less than car accidents, influenza, or dog bites
Zaid Jilani (*) Think Progress , August 10, 2010
One of the most common themes among the political issues post-September 11 is for politicians to campaign based on fear of terrorism. Candidates of all stripes are regularly referred to increasing threats from terrorists within the country and abroad as a reason to elect them to ensure our security.
While combating terrorism is important and fundamental to our national security strategy, the annual national report of the Secretary of State (impossible Hillary Clinton, current No. 4 Administration American equivalent of our Foreign Minister doubled certain responsibilities assigned to a prime minister) on terrorism, which was released last week shows that its importance as a subject of public interest factor is probably exaggerated. ; Warren P. Strobel of McClatchy report notes that the State Department has recorded worldwide, 25 American civilian victims of terrorism in 2009:
"There are only 25 non-combatant victims terrorism worldwide. (The definition of terrorism for the U.S. government excludes attacks on military personnel). While we do not have numbers available, there is no doubt that more U.S. citizens died abroad of car accidents, or intestinal fevers that of terrorism. "
Matt Yglesias Comparing the figures and believes that the feeling of Strobel on car accidents is correct. He writes: "26 Americans died in car accidents in Mexico City between 1 August 2009 and 1 January 2010, it is ; therefore proved to say that you are more likely to die overseas in a car accident than a terrorist attack. "
But it's not only car accidents abroad who are more deadly as terrorism. According to the Center for Infectious Disease Control, more than 13,000 Americans died of the common seasonal flu between January and April 2009, with "not less than 800 deaths per week in direct link with the flu This means that 32 times more Americans died of influenza in a single week during this period of 2009, that terrorism in one year complete.
Yet if Americans want to find a more dangerous threat to their lives than terrorism, they do not even need to leave their cars or communicate with their neighbor to catch the flu. All they have to do is watch their canine companions. Dogsbite.org, which brings together all the press reports concerning the victims of dog bites, has recorded 32 accidents involving dogs killing humans by the bite last year.
Again, the threat of terrorism is a serious matter of national security and must be treated as such. But given its death rate relatively low compared to other threats to humanity - the State Department report found that 58,142 people were killed by terrorist attacks worldwide in 2009, representing a tiny fraction of the 3 million children died of malnutrition and hunger easily treatable one year earlier - we must reconsider our priorities in more reasonable.
Zaid Jilani
Think Progress ; , August 10, 2010
Translation BlueRider for ReOpenNews
