[HARDCORE]

?Even with all of the intense security, a chink in the armor of airports seems to have materialized!?? For the second time in a week, a man has expired from oxygen deprivation and exposure in the wheel-well of an airliner! This time it was a man in his 30s that was found dead on (or rather under) a flight from London to New York!!

This tragedy naturally punched some gaping holes into airport security, not only because of the fact that the (now) expired stow-away made it into the wheel-well of this airplane undetected, but also because - ?If he made it onto the plane at all, he could have also carried explosives or weapons aboard with him!? And had this been the case, this incident could have been far, far worse! Instead of but one fatality, the entire passenger list could have become naught but obituaries in the blinking of an eye! (Tragic indeed!)

Now I fully realize that our economy has been somewhat compromised by terrorist activity, and that the airline industry has been especially hard hit, but there is a message here! With all of the metal detectors and other equipment and personnel employed to insure the safety of flights, there are still a few holes in the overall plan! ?And just how many of these holes does it take before the whole system resembles a giant Swiss Cheese??

I agree with the President in this respect - ?We can not let maniacs or fanatics dictate our every movement. For should this occur, our society would grind to a halt in short order!!? But the grandiose analogy that we can win a war, even a war upon terror, by fighting by the other guy?s rules, is faulty at best! We are, in my opinion, spending far too much time, effort and money, in trying to appear to certain elements of the world as ?Captain America or Mr. Eternally Clean!?

AS IT NOW STANDS -

?They attack us, we send them billion$ in relief money! Bottom line - they attack us again!?? (Nothing new here!!)

?They spit in our faces, we extend the hand of friendship and continue to try to democratize the entire planet!? (This ain?t never going to happen in my opinion!?)

?We get bloodied, we seek the permission or the blessings of the world community before defending our own people and their interests!!? (As such, I can only assume that politics and diplomacy is sometimes defined as ?The Absence of Logic or Common Sense?"

1- When the Brits, now our staunchest ally, attempted to crush us under their heels (Revolutionary War), did we respond with an olive branch?

2- When Mexico invaded the Southwest with an army under Santa Ana, did we pull out and say ?To Hell With It All??

3- When Spain (?) blew up the U.S.S. Maine back in the late 1800s, did we send them a thank-you note?

4- When Germany (twice) decided to gobble up vast sections of the Earth, did we merely sit back and observe?

5- When the Communists of Europe and Asia threatened our very existence, did we just capitulate and bow at the waist?

Is the media (and other Powers That Be), always truthful and forthright about what is really going on around us? Or is there sometimes a method to this vested madness? ?What do you think?? It is my opinion that this righteous war against terrorism is like the common cold! It will be there until the world itself ceases to exist? ?And in my opinion, this pleases some international politicos no end!!?

In closing, let me add that, right or wrong - ?We Are Now Fully Committed To This War!? An open-ended conflict that could conceivably go on for decades! And granted again, we can not merely pull up stakes like we did in Vietnam, Korea or Somalia! ?This enemy (terrorism) is everywhere!!?

As such, I fear that a scant few within international politics could eventually use this fact as an opening or excuse, and attempt to hold onto absolute power infinitum? ?Hell, the United Nations does it every day!??

?Of course this is only my paranoia bubbling to the surface, it may happen elsewhere in the world, but it could never come to pass here!? Our system of checks and balances, majority rule, and Constitutional values, will always remain the law of the land!?



VERITAS & A SAFE AND SECURE NEW YEAR