{"id":1512,"date":"2009-12-30T09:08:00","date_gmt":"2009-12-30T16:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.harmonicminer.com\/wordpress\/2009\/12\/30\/the-cause-of-terrorism-is-not-poverty-the-fix-is-not-to-restrict-the-freedom-of-normal-people\/"},"modified":"2009-12-28T19:56:48","modified_gmt":"2009-12-29T02:56:48","slug":"the-cause-of-terrorism-is-not-poverty-the-fix-is-not-to-restrict-the-freedom-of-normal-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.harmonicminer.com\/wordpress\/2009\/12\/30\/the-cause-of-terrorism-is-not-poverty-the-fix-is-not-to-restrict-the-freedom-of-normal-people\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cause of Terrorism is not poverty; the fix is not to restrict the freedom of normal people"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In a refreshing break from its usual mantra of &#8220;terrorism is just a natural response to poverty and oppression,&#8221; the AP reports that the <a href=\"http:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/ap\/airliner_attack_profile\">airline bomb suspect came from an elite family and the best schools<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>As a member of an uppercrust Nigerian family, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab received the best schooling, from the elite British International School in West Africa to the vaunted University College London.<\/p>\n<p>But the education he wanted was of a different sort: Nigerian officials say his interest in extremist Islam prompted his father to warn U.S. authorities. As Abdulmutallab was being escorted in handcuffs off the Detroit-bound airliner he attempted to blow up on Christmas Day, he told U.S. officials that he had sought an extremist education at an Islamist hotbed in Yemen.<\/p>\n<p>A portrait emerged Sunday of a serious young man who led a privileged life as the son of a prominent banker, but became estranged from his family as an adult. Devoutly religious, he was nicknamed &#8220;The Pope&#8221; for his saintly aura and gave few clues in his youth that he would turn radical, friends and family said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In all the time I taught him we never had cross words,&#8221; said Michael Rimmer, a Briton who taught history at the British International School in Lome, Togo. &#8220;Somewhere along the line he must have met some sort of fanatics, and they must have turned his mind.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>At what point will the west, particularly the leftist elites, stop trying to tie terrorism to poverty or &#8220;oppression&#8221;?\u00a0  This nonsense arises in part, of course, to find a way to blame the Israelis for defending themselves, and refusing to continue to allow their opponents advantages in land and ability to pre-position forces that nearly led to Israel&#8217;s destruction in earlier wars.\u00a0 The real enemy is a mosque-induced death cult, whatever the economic status of its members.<\/p>\n<p>This 23 yr old wannabe mass murderer had privileges I can only dream about.  Something poisoned his mind.  That something was radical Islam.<\/p>\n<p>Abdulmutallab <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/sol\/homepage\/news\/article2785733.ece\" target=\"_blank\">is not the only one<\/a> with such ambitions.\u00a0 His colleagues in hopeful horror are, like him, &#8220;students&#8221; from families that are wealthy enough to send them abroad for world-class educations.\u00a0 The thing they have in common is that they take 7th-century Islam extremely seriously.\u00a0 They actually believe the words of the &#8220;Prophet,&#8221; and have chosen to live &#8212; and die &#8212; in response to that belief.<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, ever more restrictive airport boarding regulations seem a certainty, and <a href=\"http:\/\/muslimsagainstsharia.blogspot.com\/2009\/12\/what-next-body-cavity-searches-at.html\" target=\"_blank\">ever more intrusive searches<\/a>, until we figure out that we have no choice but to identify who is more likely to have evil intent, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.smh.com.au\/technology\/technology-news\/naked-airport-scanners-in-child-porn-uproar-20091016-h02h.html\" target=\"_blank\">give them more scrutiny<\/a>, because we surely don&#8217;t have the resources or the time to give the necessary scrutiny to everyone, including your grandmother in a wheelchair from Peoria, or Trenton, who may choose not to visit you next Christmas due to a distaste for body cavity searches and x-ray glasses (like <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/X-Ray_Specs_%28novelty%29\" target=\"_blank\">the ones they used to sell in D.C. Comics<\/a>, except these will work) in the hands of prurient security types.<\/p>\n<p>The feckless belief that we can solve our security problems by restricting carry-ons and on-board behavior even more than we already have, and by searching everyone even more thoroughly, is yet more &#8220;Powerpuff Policy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Sooner or later, someone is going to figure out how to make high-explosive dentures and hip\/knee replacements.\u00a0 While Christian &#8220;fundamentalists&#8221; will be getting only fluoride treatments, young adult male Islamic fanatics will be lining up to have all their teeth pulled and get dental implants made of enamel coated <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Plastic_explosive\" target=\"_blank\">plastique<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0 I predict an influx of wealthy foreign nationals, of Islamic extraction, into European schools of orthopedic surgery, particularly focusing on lower extremity joint replacements.\u00a0 Our too-faithful recent oral surgery patients, who will not have flossed much, will enter airplanes with a slight limp.\u00a0 It&#8217;s tough to recover from double knee\/double hip transplants, especially when it hurts to eat.<\/p>\n<p>The other passengers will feel sorry for them, briefly.<\/p>\n<p>Eventually, the only people on airplanes will be strip-searched people with no scars, who just endured body cavity searches and had their stomachs pumped.\u00a0 But they will be very, very safe, wearing their airline-issued flying uniforms.\u00a0 When they land at their destinations, they will report to the changing room\/luggage area, where they&#8217;ll get their clothing back, which was sent in a transport plane.\u00a0\u00a0 Cost of a ticket from L.A. to Phoenix?\u00a0 About $1,000.<\/p>\n<p>Coming up next:\u00a0 explosive hair.<\/p>\n<div class=\"zemanta-pixie\"><img class=\"zemanta-pixie-img\" src=\"http:\/\/img.zemanta.com\/pixy.gif?x-id=e1a4485b-d22a-804e-94a4-88c31d15c317\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled\"><div class=\"robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon sd-sharing\"><h3 class=\"sd-title\">Share this:<\/h3><div class=\"sd-content\"><ul><li class=\"share-facebook\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-facebook-1512\" class=\"share-facebook sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/www.harmonicminer.com\/wordpress\/2009\/12\/30\/the-cause-of-terrorism-is-not-poverty-the-fix-is-not-to-restrict-the-freedom-of-normal-people\/?share=facebook\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Facebook\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-twitter\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-twitter-1512\" class=\"share-twitter sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/www.harmonicminer.com\/wordpress\/2009\/12\/30\/the-cause-of-terrorism-is-not-poverty-the-fix-is-not-to-restrict-the-freedom-of-normal-people\/?share=twitter\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Twitter\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-linkedin\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-linkedin-1512\" class=\"share-linkedin sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/www.harmonicminer.com\/wordpress\/2009\/12\/30\/the-cause-of-terrorism-is-not-poverty-the-fix-is-not-to-restrict-the-freedom-of-normal-people\/?share=linkedin\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on LinkedIn\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-reddit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-reddit sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/www.harmonicminer.com\/wordpress\/2009\/12\/30\/the-cause-of-terrorism-is-not-poverty-the-fix-is-not-to-restrict-the-freedom-of-normal-people\/?share=reddit\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Reddit\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-print\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-print sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/www.harmonicminer.com\/wordpress\/2009\/12\/30\/the-cause-of-terrorism-is-not-poverty-the-fix-is-not-to-restrict-the-freedom-of-normal-people\/\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to print\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to print (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-end\"><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a refreshing break from its usual mantra of &#8220;terrorism is just a natural response to poverty and oppression,&#8221; the AP reports that the airline bomb suspect came from an elite family and the best schools. As a member of an uppercrust Nigerian family, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab received the best schooling, from the elite British [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled\"><div class=\"robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon sd-sharing\"><h3 class=\"sd-title\">Share this:<\/h3><div class=\"sd-content\"><ul><li class=\"share-facebook\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-facebook-1512\" class=\"share-facebook sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/www.harmonicminer.com\/wordpress\/2009\/12\/30\/the-cause-of-terrorism-is-not-poverty-the-fix-is-not-to-restrict-the-freedom-of-normal-people\/?share=facebook\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Facebook\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-twitter\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-twitter-1512\" class=\"share-twitter sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/www.harmonicminer.com\/wordpress\/2009\/12\/30\/the-cause-of-terrorism-is-not-poverty-the-fix-is-not-to-restrict-the-freedom-of-normal-people\/?share=twitter\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Twitter\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-linkedin\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-linkedin-1512\" class=\"share-linkedin sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/www.harmonicminer.com\/wordpress\/2009\/12\/30\/the-cause-of-terrorism-is-not-poverty-the-fix-is-not-to-restrict-the-freedom-of-normal-people\/?share=linkedin\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on LinkedIn\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-reddit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-reddit sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/www.harmonicminer.com\/wordpress\/2009\/12\/30\/the-cause-of-terrorism-is-not-poverty-the-fix-is-not-to-restrict-the-freedom-of-normal-people\/?share=reddit\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Reddit\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-print\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-print sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/www.harmonicminer.com\/wordpress\/2009\/12\/30\/the-cause-of-terrorism-is-not-poverty-the-fix-is-not-to-restrict-the-freedom-of-normal-people\/\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to print\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to print (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-end\"><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[32,229,9],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2fhbS-oo","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.harmonicminer.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1512"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.harmonicminer.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.harmonicminer.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.harmonicminer.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.harmonicminer.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1512"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.harmonicminer.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1512\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1513,"href":"https:\/\/www.harmonicminer.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1512\/revisions\/1513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.harmonicminer.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.harmonicminer.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.harmonicminer.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}