{"id":14332,"date":"2009-03-25T09:02:05","date_gmt":"2009-03-25T15:02:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/?p=14332"},"modified":"2009-03-25T09:01:24","modified_gmt":"2009-03-25T15:01:24","slug":"be-scared-be-very-scared","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2009\/03\/25\/be-scared-be-very-scared.html","title":{"rendered":"Be scared. Be very scared."},"content":{"rendered":"

That seems to be the message from the London Police with these lovely new counter-terrorism posters<\/a> they’ve been putting up.<\/p>\n

\n

Don’t rely on others. If you supect it report it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Yes, let’s not rely on others. That’s how we bind and protect and nurture a society.<\/p>\n

\n

Londoners are being asked to trust their instincts and report suspicious behaviour to help combat terrorist activity.<\/p>\n

Just one piece of information could be vital in helping disrupt terrorist planning and, in turn, save lives.<\/p>\n

This national publicity campaign across England and Wales raises awareness of the Anti-Terrorist Hotline and gives the public examples of suspicious activity and behaviour. The public are encouraged to trust their instincts and report anything confidentially to the Anti-Terrorist Hotline, where specialist officers will take their call.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The link above show the posters, juxtaposing neighborhood scenes with DARK RED TEXT BOXES, including one<\/a> of some trash cans with various bottles and boxes, near which a woman pushes a tot in a pram …<\/p>\n

\n

These chemicals won’t be used in a bomb because a neighbor reported the dumped containers.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

… and one<\/a> of some families with kids on a busy urban street …<\/p>\n

\n

A bomb won’t go off here because weeks before a shopper reported someone studying the CCTV cameras.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

So the lesson is clear — the only way to be safe from bombings (which, as we know, are happening in the UK on an hourly basis<\/em>, right?) is to snoop in your neighbor’s trash for unexplained chemical bottles, or take notes as to who is glancing at the closed circuit TV cameras the police have set up to monitor passersby. And, if you’re not sure, call the police<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Cory Doctorow nails it<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

It’s hard to imagine a worse, more socially corrosive campaign. Telling people to rummage in one another’s trash and report on anything they don’t understand is a recipe for flooding the police with bad reports from ignorant people who end up bringing down anti-terror cops on their neighbors who keep tropical fish, paint in oils, are amateur chemists, or who just do something outside of the narrow experience of the least adventurous person on their street. Essentially, this redefines “suspicious” as anything outside of the direct experience of the most frightened, ignorant and foolish people in any neighborhood.<\/p>\n

Even worse, though, is the idea that you should report your neighbors to the police for looking at<\/em> the creepy surveillance technology around them. This is the first step in making it illegal to debate whether the surveillance state is a good or bad thing. It’s the extension of the ridiculous airport rule that prohibits discussing the security measures (“Exactly how does 101 ml of liquid endanger a plane?”), conflating it with “making jokes about bombs.”<\/p>\n

The British authorities are bent on driving fear into the hearts of Britons: fear of terrorists, immigrants, pedophiles, children, knives… And once people are afraid enough, they’ll write government a blank check to expand its authority without sense or limit.<\/p>\n

What an embarrassment from the country whose level-headed response to the Blitz was “Keep Calm and Carry On” — how has that sensible motto been replaced with “When in trouble or in doubt\/Run in circles scream and shout”?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Very, very sad. And scary (though not in the way that it’s intended <\/em>to be scary).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

That seems to be the message from the London Police with these lovely new counter-terrorism posters they’ve been putting up. Don’t rely on others. If you supect it report it. Yes, let’s not rely on others. That’s how we bind and protect and nurture a society. Londoners are being asked to trust their instincts and … Continue reading “Be scared. Be very scared.”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homeland-security"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":33734,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/05\/14\/take-a-bridge-picture-get-eyed-as-a-terrorist.html","url_meta":{"origin":14332,"position":0},"title":"Take a bridge picture, get eyed as a terrorist","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 14-May-13 8:32am","format":false,"excerpt":"Because why would anyone be taking pictures of bridges, if they weren't planning on BLOWING THEM UP? And if you're taking pictures of bridges without your wife and kids in the foreground, then it's REALLY suspicious! \u00a0Because .. bridges! View this post on Google+ Palm Beach Sheriff warns of terrorists\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24110,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2011\/11\/28\/clickable-anti-terrorism-yeah-right.html","url_meta":{"origin":14332,"position":1},"title":"Clickable anti-terrorism? Yeah, right","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 28-Nov-11 10:23am","format":false,"excerpt":"Another for the \"what could possibly go wrong?\" file, Sen. Joe \"Hasn't he retired yet?\" Lieberman argues for a way to report blogs as being terrorist, extremist, etc. And I'm certain that false positives won't be an issue here, right?My favorite bit from the article: By all means, Google could\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43476,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/07\/10\/when-suspicion-turns-to-a-permanent-record-of-suspicion.html","url_meta":{"origin":14332,"position":2},"title":"When suspicion turns to a permanent record of suspicion","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 10-Jul-14 6:46pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Also known as \"Don't take pictures of stuff that a terrorist might take pictures of\" and \"if you covert to Islam, nobody better catch you playing 'Flight Simulator'\" -- unless you want your name put onto a Suspicious Action Report (SAR) by some local law enforcement busy-body, sent to a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":49947,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/03\/28\/learning-how-one-can-act-like-a-terrorist.html","url_meta":{"origin":14332,"position":3},"title":"Learning how one can act like a terrorist","author":"***Dave","date":"Sat 28-Mar-15 12:47pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Clearing your throat? Looking nervous? Recently shaved your beard? Wearing inappropriate clothing to the airport?Just step over this way, sir.On the one hand, looking for people displaying \"suspicious behavior\" seems common sense. On the other hand ...... a lot of the behaviors are pretty common at an airport, especially with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12191,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2007\/10\/26\/i_have_a_little_list.html","url_meta":{"origin":14332,"position":4},"title":"“I have a little list …”","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 26-Oct-07 7:56am","format":false,"excerpt":"How can anyone think that the anti-terrorist \"watch list\" can be at all helpful, useful, or manageable when a name is added every three minutes, ever hour, every day?\u00a0...","rel":"","context":"In "Homeland Security"","block_context":{"text":"Homeland Security","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/politics-law\/homeland-security"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/images\/tsa-plastic-bag.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13547,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2008\/11\/18\/show_your_id_but_no_fear.html","url_meta":{"origin":14332,"position":5},"title":"Show your ID, but no fear","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 18-Nov-08 6:44am","format":false,"excerpt":"Lady on plane: Nervous? Striker: Yes. Lady on plane: First time? Striker: No, I've been nervous lots of times. -- Abrahams\/Zucker\/Zucker,\u00a0Airplane! (1980) \u00a0 The TSA has touted its behavioral observation...","rel":"","context":"In "Homeland Security"","block_context":{"text":"Homeland Security","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/politics-law\/homeland-security"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/images\/tsa-plastic-bag.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14332\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}