More on American Paranoia

I was astounded to learn that there are about 44,000 names on the U.S. no-fly list. Should I have been surprised? There is such pervasive fear - a terrorist behind every tree and around every corner. There are people who fit the category, I'm sure, but 44,000?

There is a belief among many that this atmosphere of fear is a deliberate ploy of the Administration to further their aim of permanent warfare, for the benefit of the defense industry, (offense industry?) and such entities as Halliburton, Brown & Root, etc. Where would the U.S. economy be without them? To justify this, an enemy is required and the best that Dick Cheney and his fuzzy little friend can come up with are "terrorists". I've heard the word so often I want to puke.

Now Bush's friend "Steve" Harper wants to establish a Canadian no-fly list. Brilliant! Are there not enough impediments to air travel already? How many bad guys would this nab? Check out this article

Critics claim that the no-fly list would be ineffective because a terrorist could easily hide his/her identity. Besides, there are many people with identical names. Just out of curiosity, I picked out a name at random - Harold Cameron - and found by searching 411.ca, there are at least 23 people of that name in Canada. If one of them is on the list, it spells trouble for the other 22 if they choose to fly.

The whole thing is seen as an appeasement to the U.S. so they will get off our backs. But what happens to our "moral leadership" (pardon me while I snicker) in the world? Should we sometimes not defy our all-powerful neighbour, if only for our national pride and to gain the respect of other nations? Would there be tragic consequences? If anyone happens to read this, I would appreciate your comments and opinions.