The increased terror threat and what it means for the AFL finals

[Croweater]

The chance of being killed by a terrorist attack is very small.
We should be worried about terrorism as much as we should be worried about being killed in an airline accident, probably (almost certainly)less.

You're a terrorist's dream: not only are you overstating the threat but you're trying to make others share your level of fear too.

I'm not overstating anything. I said that the government is right to place increased focus on terrorism activities.

I'm not worried. I just understand the complexities of strategic cultures and the need for preparedness.

 

[Smiling Buddha]

If we do get attacked it will be of our own making.

While I agree with you and the growing numbers of people who share this view, my experience is that most people don't realise just how literal such predictions might be.

Here is some introductory information to a topic which every adult ought to be familiar with.

 

[Roobs321]

With many people at family/friend bbqs for Grand Final day, there will be more empty homes for the police to break into in plain clothes without permission or notice.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/25065956/australia-to-toughen-up-anti-terror-laws-after-is-threat/

These 'ISIS beheadings' are hoaxes and the 'terror raids' a blatant stunt which only the young, naive or those of arrested mental development could believe. Our nation is in a bad way, and these new 1930s Germany-type 'anti-terror laws' have 'bipartisan' support i.e. both branches of the ruling political class (which some people believe to be 'different parties' lol) are on board.

Haha, even by your usual standards, that is just chock full of comedy.

 

[The GOAT]

Noticed literally no difference getting into the ground today. GF may be different I guess

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

Just getting a little political for a moment. I see where the authorities have announced that anyone involved in terrorist plans or activities face a MAXIMUM or 5 years imprisonment. FIVE YEARS!!!! Just another example of the softly softly approach from our legal system. We see other countries imposing death penalties and 20 year prison terms for people smuggling drugs, but we deem a piddling 5 years in gaol as appropriate penalty for people planning the death of thousands of people? Anyone found guilty of terrorist activity should suffer the same fate they had planned for others.

 

[Smiling Buddha]

Hey Adelaide Hawk, I say we go one better and develop sophisticated psychological profiling systems to predict which people might take part in making plans to make plans to commit terrorist acts, before they have even thought about it. Swift executions of such people, preferably without trials beforehand (which can be lengthy and costly), will keep us all much safer from the evil terrorist threat. If thoughtcrime isn't a crime then what is a crime, I ask?

You know it makes sense.

 

[barmy44]

 

[andrew99]

Just getting a little political for a moment. I see where the authorities have announced that anyone involved in terrorist plans or activities face a MAXIMUM or 5 years imprisonment. FIVE YEARS!!!! Just another example of the softly softly approach from our legal system. We see other countries imposing death penalties and 20 year prison terms for people smuggling drugs, but we deem a piddling 5 years in gaol as appropriate penalty for people planning the death of thousands of people? Anyone found guilty of terrorist activity should suffer the same fate they had planned for others.

Minimum sentencing has been a disaster in the US.
It takes away the ability of judges to use discretion.

The vagueness of the term 'terrorist activity' kind of exposes how ill-conceived such a law would be. This idea could potentially endanger our country if it was used by the wrong people.

One of the problems with the American justice system is that judges and prosecutors are elected, so they tend to pander to public outcries on issues of crime and punishment that are not always driven by logic. Minimum sentencing is one such example. A badly designed law with negative repercussions for society.

There's non-violent offenders doing 100 year sentences in the US thanks to minimum sentencing guidelines.

btw, which Australian terrorist got 5 years in jail for planning a terrorist attack? If you could provide a link.

 

[andrew99]

Hey Adelaide Hawk, I say we go one better and develop sophisticated psychological profiling systems to predict which people might take part in making plans to make plans to commit terrorist acts, before they have even thought about it. Swift executions of such people, preferably without trials beforehand (which can be lengthy and costly), will keep us all much safer from the evil terrorist threat. If thoughtcrime isn't a crime then what is a crime, I ask?

You know it makes sense.

I've read so many conservative legal blogs that it's almost impossible to tell if you're being flippant or not!
The ideas of Adelaide Hawk and his ilk are more dangerous than any terrorist could ever hope to be.

 

[maxmustard]

Noticed literally no difference getting into the ground today. GF may be different I guess

This. Absolutely nothing changed in regards to security.

 

[Jaffa Fan]

Tonight, a mere 10 kilometres away from the demonstrations in Lakemba, roughly 50,000 supporters are expected to attend the Sydney vs North Melbourne clash at Homebush.

Ironically 24 hours later a large number of the demonstrators were at Alliance Stadium cheering on the Bulldogs.

 

[radiojake]

It has nothing to do with politics...

Ha!

You're pretty gulible, then

 

[General Soreness]

Stopped reading there, economic prowess meaning 17 trillion in debt? A few too many holes in that story im afraid.

No holes at all. Ever wondered why client states like Australia and why ordinary people have screws put on them to pay their debts but the US doesn't? The US debt services the military that makes sure that countries keep using the USD as the reserve currency. US power (economic and military) doesn't stem from having a surplus of money, it stems from making sure people use ITS money. When countries try to use an alternative reserve currency for their transactions (like Iraq in the early 2000's and Libya more recently) they find themselves getting torn apart from within and/or getting the crap bombed out of them from without. The USD isn't tied to gold - hasn't been for about 35 years. It's tied to people's confidence in using it. The US keeps that confidence up by making sure that people use it. Forcing people to use the USD means that the US can run up fantastic debts (it's been running a war debt since the late 18thC) as being a fiat currency there's not much you can do with it but invest it back into US bonds. The US is never going to pay those debts back, nevertheless it does work hard to ensure that those countries using the USD as a reserve currency put austerity measures in place, Such measures are, among other things, a convenient way of laying blame for any economic collapse at the feet of those most exploited by a fiat currency that they are forced to use.

To put it more succinctly: US economic power isn't a function of how much money it has, it's a function of having ways to make sure it doesn't have to pay its debts.

 

[andrew99]

No holes at all. Ever wondered why client states like Australia and why ordinary people have screws put on them to pay their debts but the US doesn't? The US debt services the military that makes sure that countries keep using the USD as the reserve currency. US power (economic and military) doesn't stem from having a surplus of money, it stems from making sure people use ITS money. When countries try to use an alternative reserve currency for their transactions (like Iraq in the early 2000's and Libya more recently) they find themselves getting torn apart from within and/or getting the crap bombed out of them from without. The USD isn't tied to gold - hasn't been for about 35 years. It's tied to people's confidence in using it. The US keeps that confidence up by making sure that people use it. Forcing people to use the USD means that the US can run up fantastic debts (it's been running a war debt since the late 18thC) as being a fiat currency there's not much you can do with it but invest it back into US bonds. The US is never going to pay those debts back, nevertheless it does work hard to ensure that those countries using the USD as a reserve currency put austerity measures in place, Such measures are, among other things, a convenient way of laying blame for any economic collapse at the feet of those most exploited by a fiat currency that they are forced to use.

To put it more succinctly: US economic power isn't a function of how much money it has, it's a function of having ways to make sure it doesn't have to pay its debts.

US debt does not harm its economy or attractiveness as an investment destination primarily because this debt is borrowed from its own citizens. EG, china only owns a small part of this debt despite common perceptions.

The Iraq war and the way the Afghanistan war has been handled had more to do with the whims of the president at the time, G. W. Bush.
Bush was warned the Iraq war was ill advised by his generals and experts on the Middle Eastern' geopolitical scene. These wars have gone along way to ensuring the decline of American power and will have far reaching consequences for the West for generations to come, the increased threat of terrorism being one of the prices we will pay.

 

[rippersnipper]

I lol at the security guards who check bags before entering the 'G. They dont even have half a look, it wouldn't be hard to do damage with that level of security.. Anyway there's not much point entertaining the idea as others have said, it just feeds any such threat that exists

 

[kempy]

See the link below to see what happens when people lose all perspective and government dog-whistling hits the target.

Link

 

[radiojake]

tiger would look for any reason to kick you off a plane..

their business model is built on people missing their flights...


but who was the fuddy duddy dobbing him in.. geez...

this country is a nation of snitches... absolute scumbags

 

[Docker Alyssa]

That was the opinion before 9/11. "No one's going to bomb us, we're all safe".

You know what 9/11 taught us? Hope for the best, plan for the worst. Assess threat with a clear mind, but in no way underestimate the capabilities of people.

Which is what they're doing. Assessing a threat and reacting in a clear and coherent way. I didn't say we will get bombed, rather that the increased terror level could impact the AFL Finals Series.

Just yesterday, 10 kilometres from a venue which tonight will have 50,000 attendees, ISIL supporters and even extremists held a significant demonstration.

You think increased focus isn't warranted?

9/11 taught smart people that a high level government conspiracy to allow a terror plot could happen in the 21st century of 24/hr news cycle and "informed populous" (turns out the part in commas is a tiny minority of people). It taught us that people could still blindly accept a "story" that said terrorists were able to fly planes around at will, with the best jet fighters in the world somehow powerless to stop it even though they are meant to be given shoot-down orders on any unidentified/unauthorized flight paths, on any given day regardless of an attack. It taught us a lot of things I'm not sure too many learned.

It taught us (hopefully) not to elect an official that wanted revenge on a people for how things went down with his father. Hopefully also showed we shouldn't elect officials with daddy complexes, and not look into the competency of his past independently of what his campaign or a media touts about him.

 

[Adz]

This thread really does not belong on the main board at all.

 

[Croweater]

This thread really does not belong on the main board at all.

Sure it does. It's just that these morons are getting all political whilst misunderstanding the topic at hand.

It's got nothing to do with the thread.

 

[Furn2]

There was more emphasis on bag searches this week.

The announcer kept making a point that they needed to see all the way to the bottom of your bag and they made me take stuff out so they could.

Usually I have a few 600ml "cokes" in the bottom and they don't even get seen but this week they they found them, still let me in but I stressed a bit as usually I just cover them up.

 

[POKsPies252]

I don't know much about it but I would have thought that if there was ever going to be a terrorist attack in Australia then it's going to be on Saturday at the G'

 

[base615]

I don't know much about it but I would have thought that if there was ever going to be a terrorist attack in Australia then it's going to be on Saturday at the G'

Should make for some explosive footy then

 

[barmy44]

http://www.theguardian.com/commenti...errorism-raids-why-now-and-why-so-few-answers

We don’t actually know the details of the evidence against Azari, and because it is wrapped in the shroud of counter-terrorism some of the proceedings against him will be in-camera on the tenuous ground of national security. This could all have been achieved much more stealthily and proportionally, but that would have stripped the occasion of the opportunity for some serious theatre.

The media were duly recruited and the major mainstream TV outlets supplied with footage of the commando-style operations, filmed and supplied by the police themselves. The police also helpfully supplied still shots of the action to the newspapers.

Most of the media laps this up with its ears back as willing pawns in the politics of terror drama – a readiness to be used by the very governments which go to extraordinary lengths to deprive journalists and the public of information.

If a little scepticism was applied, questions would be asked as to why we had this sudden splash of commando bombast when this particular group in Sydney had been under surveillance since May. Suddenly it is crystallised into the need for immediate action – no questions asked.

http://www.theguardian.com/commenti...errorism-raids-why-now-and-why-so-few-answers

 

[Collingwood 4 eternity]

I don't know much about it but I would have thought that if there was ever going to be a terrorist attack in Australia then it's going to be on Saturday at the G'

When they introduce laws and stop you taking into any venue any liquid/water/drinks more than 100ml , just like on international flights to the US , then I might start to believe any of this.