achieving world piece ...

Jasperhobbs,

Thanks for your thoughts.

AIDS: Do people suffer from it? Yes. It it caused by HIV - note my specific use of the term HIV/AIDS? The answer is NO.

SARS: More people die from pneumonia each and every day than died of SARS during the entire scaremongering fiasco, or even since SARS was first Identified.

WAR ON TERROR: Terror is an Emotion. You cannot have a war against an Emotion. If you say it's Terrorism, I debate that. The word Terror has been Cleverly Chosen. If it was Terrorism, then that too would be equally as useless because Terrorism is an Action, a Style of Warfare. It's as equally silly to declare a War On Running or a War On Sniping as it is a War on Terror. A War On Terrorism is like saying a War on War Tactics. And that's absurd.

Why not call it a War On Terrorists? Because then the Enemy could be Clearly Defined and we would all know whether a Government Decree would be a step in achieving the object. But "Terror" muddies the waters and the Govt can define it however they please.

Let me give you the definition of Terrorism...

The US Department of Defense defines it as "the unlawful use of -- or threatened use of -- force or violence against individuals or property to coerce or intimidate governments or societies, often to achieve political, religious, or ideological objectives."

Please note very carefully the term "unlawful" in there. It is there to Allow the Powers That Be to commit the same Acts, but deem them Lawful, isn't it?

If you remove that word - unlawful - then you Broaden the scope. And you see that what the US, Britain, Australia, Poland, are doing in Iraq, what Mugabe is doing in Zimbabwe, and so on in other parts of the world, all fall under the blanket term of Terrorism. And whether a person is called a Terrorist or Freedopm Fighter or Resistance, all depends on which side you are on - To Hitler, the Resistance were Terrorists.

This WOT is just Another Sounds-Good Reason to Limit your freedoms - freedom of movement, freedom of financial secrecy, and so on. It's all a bunch of small steps.

Michael Ross