On the terrorism of stories 31 Dec 2009 That purveyor of stories that scare and delight us, CNN, hosts a thoughtful column by Bruce Schneier, in which he points out that the so-called security at airports in the light of terrorism, is really just about telling comforting stories. The money quote: Despite fearful rhetoric to the contrary, terrorism is not a transcendent threat. A terrorist attack cannot possibly destroy a country’s way of life; it’s only our reaction to that attack that can do that kind of damage. The more we undermine our own laws, the more we convert our buildings into fortresses, the more we reduce the freedoms and liberties at the foundation of our societies, the more we’re doing the terrorists’ job for them. Politics
Politics A bridge to nowhere 17 Sep 2010 The title of the head of the Roman Catholic Church is “pontiff”, which means, basically “bridge-builder” (in Latin: pontifex; I gather it’s thought by some that the Roman priests would bless new bridges, and the bishop of Rome inherited the term when ROme was Christianised). Evidence that the title is… Read More
Censorship How to tell if your country is illiberal 2 Jul 2009 When the People’s Republic of China is less censorial censorious than your own country, you might be living in an unfree country. Read More
Australian stuff This man is the best of Australia’s political landscape 10 Oct 201110 Oct 2011 I used to hate him, but I have come to the realisation that Malcolm Fraser is the very best Prime Minister, politician and senior statesman Australia has produced in my lifetime. He criticises his own party for its demagoguery and race the the lowest common denominator, and defends the rights… Read More
Bruce Schneier takes the cool-headed long-term view of security. Always sees it as a trade-off, not as an absolute. His most memorable aphorism is that a security system should “fail gracefully,” because no security system can ever be fail-safe.