Aeroplane bombing

[HowardKennitby]

The next stage has begun?

http://uk.news.yahoo....b-plot-202723870.html

[andy-hughes]

AOG - "It is time the authorities thought up new ways of punishing these terrorists when caught and convicted, it is no good executing them because they obviously do not fear death.

And locking them up for life is not the answer, perhaps punishing them through their religion might be the answer, such as a life sentence working in a pig farm, that might scare the hell out of them?"

Why do you persist in viewing other races as some kind of inferior life-form that are 'ours' to punish as we wish?

The extremists that perpetrate these evils against The West perceive us as arrogant war mongers who think they world should bow down to democracy because we think it's a good idea. They hate us with a venom that we can't even imagine. They will never ever stop if simple military battering, and 'punishments' are what they receive from us.

Dialogue and education is the way forward.

We should be talking to Al Quaida about our differences and stressing that we are not keen to enforce an alien way of life onto their people simply because we feel they need it.

If we can learn to co-exist without hatred and fear, then we can end terrorism, but it thrives on ignorance and force - the very ideas that you put forward as solutions.

A little repsect for others' ways of life that are different from ours will go a long way towards stopping violence, and from there, we may even pursuade the Muslim community that some of our ideas and lifestyle may be good for them, but we simply cannot force people to live like we do, it is arrogant, and it ends in violence and terrorism.

We should have learned from Viet Nam - we didn't - so when we realise that military action and scare tactics are not the way forward, and that compromise and dialogue are the only solution, we can start to get somewhere.

Sadly AOG, more people who think like you than I are in positions of power in Western governments, so I do not expect to see any peace in my lifetime.

[naomi24]

It does? :o/

[jomifl]

Andy, the reason the bombers are attacking western society is because we are tolerant and liberal and try to understand them. They see it as a sign of weakness so we are fair game to them.

[EDDIE51]

It has been possible to construct a no metal bomb for centuries , think of the old fashioned firework 'bangers' . Carbon Sulfur and saltpeter in a cardboard case lit by a fuse. A couple of 'Display standard' firework mortar shells have no metal and could be lit by smuggling a box of matches or cigarette lighter on board a plane , they would do a huge amount of damage and even if they did not cause a sufficient amount of damage to cause a crash they would virtually certainly start a fire that would bring the plane down.
I was in Saudi Arabia when there was a Pakistan International crash killing over 230 people , the cause was that some pasengers had lit a picnic stove inside the plane to cook a meal! I know security has been stepped up since then , 1980s, but who is to say a couple of fireworks could not be sneaked onto an aircraft ?

[d9f1c7]

AOG, terrorism has achived it's aim if we have to body search everyone on every flight. That would end air travel. I'd rather take my chances that suffer the ritual humiliation at airports.

[andy-hughes]

jomifl - that beggars the question of what came first?

I don't think invading a country and propping up a puppet government purely by military force makes the West look 'tolerent and liberal' - do you?

Trying to conduct a 'war on terror' to use Bush's ludicrous phrase is about as possible as conducting a war on sunshine.

We have to learn to co-exist and elminating the ignorances about each others' cultures would be a very large start. Lord knows, we can barely co-exist with the Muslims who live here, so we are some way from getting to talk with people who loathe and dedspise us in the way that the Taliban do.

This is not 'our' world, to bend to our will as we see fit - other people have a right to live here and live their own way as well. No-one made western democracy king of the hill, it's time to climb down, calm down, and start talking.

[naomi24]

Jom, absolutely right. And andy-hughes is right in saying //They hate us with a venom that we can't even imagine. //

They have their rules - neither tolerance nor fairness enter into them - and we're fools if we think they do.

[emmie]

Naomi, too many do think that though, i can't see there being an end to this in my lifetime. Just more bloodshed on all sides. Whilst we are about it, for those who don't want to go through these scanners, the only option appears to be stay at home. Which means they win, so why not simply go about one's business.