Slashdot Mirror

If the point is to spread terror, the destroying an aircraft seems to be more effective than blowing up a queue. Not only is the visual of an aircraft crashing to the earth more vivid, but it demonstrates that security itself is ineffective.

That assumes the terror planners are competent.

The "DC sniper" attacks had the Washington, D.C. area in a tizzy for three weeks. They required two "operatives", a rifle, and an old car. No training or planning. And if Muhammad and Malvo hadn't gotten greedy, they could have kept it up for years, particularly if they occasionally moved on to other cities.

There are plenty of other well-known terrorism strategies that have low initial and ongoing costs and don't require suicide operatives (a high cost in itself). Think tanks like RAND have been writing papers on them since the 1960s. A number of the "movie terror plots" from the contests Schneier used to hold are practical. Any so-called mastermind should have been able to achieve out dozens of effective attacks, with considerable dismay among the populace, in any country of his choice.

The evidence suggests that most of the people interested in conducting terror attacks wait for instructions from the planners, and the planners are obsessed with a relatively small class of attacks that are based on irrational emotional positions rather than any rational calculus of potential affective or material effect.

Unless, of course, their real goal is just to annoy us.

Wondermark, #566. Supernatural collective nouns.

How about a malevolence of Trolls?

Agreed. Here is a relevant Wondermark cartoon to accompany your thoughts. I long for the day when I don't have to hear internet pedants correcting people about the meaning of "begging the question".

Can someone enlighten me as to approximately when the expression "begs the question" started to mean "raises the question", instead of the informal fallacy of assuming that an unproven premise is true as part of a conclusion?

This may help: http://wondermark.com/c1234/
as you can see, it started it the 19th century

I could do without sea lions,

You're kinda like a sea-lion!

Maybe if you read this cartoon you'll understand my previous post a bit better. And maybe you should have a think about who Brin and Gates are. Thanks for proving my original point so well. This thread is one for the wall.

This comment reminded me a little of this Wondermark comic.

Freedom of the press as named in the freakin First Amendment of the Constitution, you sea lion.

It's more like social media site Facebook

And quantum theory!

By far my favorite web comic, and some of favorites are from this year, like the one below about tic tacs. The link is for the first of a four-part series, so hit next to see the rest. And don't forget the alt text.

http://wondermark.com/813/

Questionable Content just has a banner; they aren't actually blacked out. More that are blacked out:

• Calamities of Nature
• Wondermark!
• The Non-Adventures of Wonderella
• Grrl Power
• Hero Happy Hour.

More that have a banner like Questionable Content:

• Girls With Slingshots
• Automic Laundromat

I hate to tell you this, but this has already happened with regular-government issued legal tender.

As said in wondermark

the wheel tends to gum up after 18 months

You may find keeping wet wipes on your desk and wiping your fingers off after every 10th Cheeto or so clears that problem up.

there's a much better approach to Cheeto eating: http://wondermark.com/601/

http://wondermark.com/162/

You and everyone else.

LIPTON

We know tea.

(We just don't use any of that knowledge in its manufacture.)

http://wondermark.com/557/

http://wondermark.com/555/

Exactly. Here is how the process works: http://wondermark.com/555/.

Wondermark also has mouseover text like XKCD's.

GINORMOUS !

I'm sure there are some very naive book publishers would love to see a world with no libraries.

Then there are other publishers and authors for whom libraries garner them additional sales

Ginormous!

Not quite good enough.

http://wondermark.com/d/416.html

While I don't like to cite webcomics, girlfriends will not like that.

Wondermark is already on it.

Wondermark has patented this one already

My father forwarded this on to me and I think it's a perfect appraisal of the situation. The goal isn't necessarily to kill anyone but rather just to keep everyone riled up and unable to focus on what's important.

http://www.wondermark.com/d/220.html

Yeah, I can't wait to pay for the privelege of downloading music from artists so indie they can't even get signed to a boutique label.

Now a question for you: What happens when a plane runs into the Space Shuttle during launch? It only takes on crazy pilot.

The terrorists have already thought of it.

> Does anyone else think that these terrorists' true purpose is not to kill the passengers on a few
> planes but to inconvenience travellers for years to come?

This cartoonist does:

http://www.wondermark.com/d/220.html

You just described the plot of a very funny comic by David Malki called wondermark (an illustrated jocularity). It's hilarious, check this out: http://www.wondermark.com/d/220.html

You'll love this