MN: Gecko45 on steroids

[seamusTX]

The Mall of America in Minnesota claims to be the largest mall in the world. (That alone is enough reason to avoid it. Also it is located in a frozen wasteland near the Canadian border.) It is entirely private property and has its own security and counterterrorism unit.

Several people have reported being detained, interrogated, having cameras seized, and having police or federal authorities called for suspicious activity such as "looking nervous."

This has been percolating for a while, but I just heard of it (obviously listening to NPR).

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- Jim

[PBratton]

I have been in the security industry for many years, I sat through a presentation recently with the head of this security unit. He is Israeli and is using Israeli tactics to observe and detect suspicious behaviors.

With my security hat on, I see this as an extremely effective way to screen and approach those who are exhibiting suspicious behaviour. Personally, I'd rather see this kind of protection in place at our airports than what the TSA is doing today... (Ever notice how NOBODY messes with El Al? El Al also has it's own security, using these vary tactics, at every airport it flies to, they do not rely on TSA...)

I can also see where us Americans would view this as an invasion of our liberties. It's a real shame, the Israeli's could teach us a whole lot about security and protection of assets...

Ok, I've got my armor on, fire away

[seamusTX]

Freedom is risky. People who would rather feel safe than be free probably will win the contest. Government never will lean in the direction of freedom. Corporations want freedom only for their own operations.

Let me try to put this into historical perspective. Some people treat the U.S. Constitution like holy scripture. It isn't. It was written by men and intended as a provisional document that could be amended.

However, much of it has been preserved through 220-some years. The core freedoms are freedom from being muzzled, detained, handcuffed, searched, and accused of crimes without good cause.

In the 18th century there was no telecommunications. The best they could do was a loud bell that could be heard a mile away on a quiet day. People risked hostile attacks by men and animals, floods, fires, and disastrous weather. They dealt with it. They accepted mortality as the fate of sinful mankind.

Now we are having a protracted national anxiety attack about the possibility of terrorist attacks that at worst would kill or injure fewer people than the annual toll in automobile collisions and ordinary criminal murders.

We seem to have forgotten that terrorism requires that the target audience feels terror.

Israel does not skid to a halt and wring its collective hands over every shooting and bombing, much less the possiblity. Israel could not operate with that kind of reaction. It has been at war since the day it was founded in 1948. That country suffers anywhere from a handful to over 2,000 terrorist deaths per year in a country with a population of 7 million. In proportion to population, 2,000 deaths in Israel are equivalent to about 85,000 in the U.S.
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Carry on.

- Jim