[ RadSafe ] " Technology to detect radiation has progressed "

Tue Aug 21 20:03:20 CDT 2007

Aug. 21

         Your comment on people going to work on the morning of Sept. 11 
has no bearing on anything.  No one knew the suicide bombers were going to 
attack the World Trade Center (or anyplace else) that morning.  No one had 
any reason to fear anything.  The fear I am talking about is the fear and 
paranoia that is beginning to permeate the United States, and an unknown 
number of Western countries -- perhaps even Australia.  Furthermore, it is 
now common knowledge that our so-called protectors had repeatedly *ignored* 
warnings about suspicious persons who only wanted to learn how to fly 
airplanes, and not how to take off or land.  Who are the guards guarding?

         In an attempt to answer your question about being prepared for 
contingencies, first, the Atlanta Olympics is a vastly larger event that 
the Little League World Series.  I did not know the latter event existed 
until a few days ago when it popped up on RADSAFE.  Terrorist attacks are 
more than likely going to be carried out at large and well-known events.

         I consider your question about being prepared for contingencies to 
be so hypothetical that it does not warrant serious consideration, and I 
reiterate what I said earlier:  "To answer what I consider to be the most 
important question, how many contingencies do you want to prepare 
for?  Shall each of us be assigned a policeman, or FBI agent, or BATF 
agent, or Homeland Security agent, or *someone*, to accompany us everywhere 
to make certain we don't blow someone up?"  The only way to be prepared for 
every contingency is to establish a police state, or to never have any 
public events or gatherings.  I say the latter because it is physically 
impossible to monitor every meeting, sporting event, convention, etc., 
etc., in any nation to the degree necessary to screen everyone attending 
the event to make certain that he is not going to blow someone up, or 
commit some other type of terrorist act.

         I further reiterate that we need to get a grip on ourselves.  If 
we don't we will make ourselves crazy looking for terrorists 
everywhere.  Left-wing extremists used to rant and rave about people 
looking for "Reds under the beds."  Get the point?

Steven Dapra


At 12:50 PM 8/21/07 +1000, ROGERS, Brent wrote:

>Franklin Roosevelt said "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
>
>I'm sure 3000 people cheerfully went to work one glorious late summer day 
>in NYC thinking the exact same thing.
>
>PS:  You answered my "most important question" with a question of your 
>own.  A new question, is not an answer.  I ask again:  If you were 
>responsible for safety and security of Williamsport, would you be willing 
>not to be prepared for that contingency?
>
>Brent Rogers
>Leader Commercial Radiation Safety Group
>Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
>PMB 1, Menai NSW 2234
>T +61 2 9717 3251
>F +61 2 9717 9266
>M +61 4 1723 1879 (0417 231 879)
>E <mailto:brent.rogers at ansto.gov.au>brent.rogers at ansto.gov.au
>www.ansto.gov.au
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Steven Dapra [mailto:sjd at swcp.com]
>Sent: Tuesday, 21 August 2007 12:30 PM
>To: brent.rogers at ansto.gov.au; radsafe at radlab.nl
>Subject: RE: [ RadSafe ] " Technology to detect radiation has progressed "
>
>
>
>Aug. 20
>
>         To answer what I consider to be the most important question, how 
> many contingencies do you want to prepare for?  Shall each of us be 
> assigned a policeman, or FBI agent, or BATF agent, or Homeland Security 
> agent, or *someone*, to accompany us everywhere to make certain we don't 
> blow someone up?
>
>         There is a problem with the business of guarding everyone:  "Sed 
> quis custodiet ipsos custodes?"  ---  "But who is to guard the guards 
> themselves?"
>
>         Franklin Roosevelt said "The only thing we have to fear is fear 
> itself."  Thoreau said, "Nothing is to be so much feared as fear."  As a 
> people and as a nation, we need to get a grip on ourselves.
>
>Steven Dapra
>
>All quotes are from Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 16th edition.
>
>'Guarding the guards' --- Juvenal; p 109:3
>Roosevelt --- 648:18
>Thoreau --- 476:26
>
>
>
>At 11:58 AM 8/21/07 +1000, ROGERS, Brent wrote:
>
>Steven
>
>If a crackpot/terrorist with a strange combination of dislikes (abortion
>clinics and lesbians) is willing to blow up a bag of nails at an event
>related to neither of these activities, the Atlanta Olympics...  It's not a
>far stretch to think something similar involving radioactive material might
>occur at the Little League World Series.  That foolishness occurred 5 years
>before 9/11.
>
>If you were responsible for safety and security of Williamsport, would you
>be willing not to be prepared for that contingency?
>
>Brent Rogers
>Leader Commercial Radiation Safety Group
>Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
>PMB 1, Menai NSW 2234
>T +61 2 9717 3251
>F +61 2 9717 9266
>M +61 4 1723 1879 (0417 231 879)
>E brent.rogers at ansto.gov.au
>www.ansto.gov.au
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Steven Dapra [mailto:sjd at swcp.com]
>Sent: Tuesday, 21 August 2007 11:40 AM
>To: Brian Rees; radsafe at radlab.nl
>Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] " Technology to detect radiation has progressed "
>
>Aug. 20
>
>          I may (or may not) be willing to concede a small amount on this
>one.
>
>          A little more to the point, why are people being screened when
>they are going to a Little League World Series game?  Is the post-Sept. 11
>paraonia so bad that our ostensible protectors believe terrorists (or
>perhaps run of the mill crackpots) are going to be throwing around 'lethal
>radioactive substances' at a Little League game?  Does anything think this
>may be getting a little out of hand?  And if not, what *does* constitute
>getting out of hand?
>
>Steven Dapra

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