Oceania When will it happen

with the bombing in London and madrid now the question on everyones minds now who is next. I believe the question for Aussies isnt going to be if but when.

Tell me your thoughts. And do you think australia is ready to stop it or contain terrorism.

 

Unfortunately I don't think any country or person can stop terrorism. George W thinks he can, but then again he's delussional.

All we can do is exactly what Londoners did and are doing. Be prepared to deal with the aftermath, don't let the B@$#%!*?s win and get on with living as quick and as best we can once it has happened.

 

I'm reminded of advice from a very very bad telemovie:

"Do not worry about your problems. If they can be solved, solve them. If they cannot, worrying will not solve them."

 

I am honestly shocked it has not happened yet over here. All they have to do is one incident to put the whole nation into damage control, and then random attacks for as long as they decide. We would be such a soft and easy target.

 

Actually, there have been 1 or 2 incidents here in Australia that were caught and stopped before being but into action. So for all the crying and whinging about ASIO being able to detain people for 24 hours, search un-warranted, etc.. we've been kept safe.

 

Oh yes imagine the things that we don't hear. Although no charges lately have seemed to have been laid.

 

I overheard some qld rail staff talking about kicking out some guy taking photos at central station when I was waiting for my train home. They said something about him not seeming to have a reason to be taking photos. This was before the whole london thing.

 

Yay! Paranoia thread!

That's it people, scuttle about like the sky is about to fall on your head, stop using public transport, start being suspiscious of everyone around you and breed that culture of fear, that'll teach those terrorists!

 

Frankly, if we're going to be hit the decision has been made for some time and all we can do is prepare that should ASIO fail - and they are not omniscient - we will need to deal with it.

Being afraid simply affords terrorists victory. And I find it amusing that people assail Mr Bush for wanting to eradicate it, when so does Mr Blair and M. Chirac, as well as just about every world leader and the United Nations. Bias is a wonderful thing, isn't it...

I refuse to be intimidated by terrorism.

E_S

 

I'll admit how discouraged I was when I heard about the London attack. Not so much about Australia being hit, but just that I should have been in London when it happened. Makes me a bit iffy about travelling.
But ofcourse if you live your life in fear then we've already lost.

Australia was, in theory, already hit when Bali was bombed...but yeah, it's only a matter of time before it hits Aussie soil, and there is no way to stop it. We should be focusing our money and forces on preperation, not prevention. Probably sounds stupid, but it seams logical to me.

 

I really didn't think I needed to pop a 'short example about the fact that public transport service providers are already keeping an eye out for suspicious activity' header on my post.

I'll know for next time. Thanks for the heads up.

 

Anytime Kahli, anything I can do to stop your post sounding like paranoid fear mongering.

I agree wholeheartedly with Ender (Yes, the apocolypse is upon us) There's no reason we should go about in fear and all we really can do is trust in the authorities who's job it is to protect us from such harm. A scary prospect I know, but what's different now to last week? Honestly?

 

Well, you can agree with me on this because this is something I am actually well qualified to talk about.

Australia wasn't hit, some Australians were with Bali - but of course the Indonesian incident is a different manner - but if it happens, nothing much we can do about it 'cept move on.

E_S

 

I guess I should ignore the media more (obviously...it's 50% BS) considering everyone was claiming it an attack on Australia, considering it was an Aussie hotspot.
Either way.

 

a friend of mine who is a train fanatic was taking pictures of a bridge down Melbourne last year and within 10 mins was surrounded by 4-5 armed police with pistols drawn! Someone walking past dobbed him in lol

 

I disagree that Australia is a soft-spot for Terrorists! When the Bali attacks happened, many Australians were killed and many more affected by that tragedy, regardless of whether or not we were the intended targets. And did we scream and panic. No. Did we live in fear. No. Did we mourn the dead, and then get on with our lives as normal. Yes.

America after 9/11 was a completely different story ... a friend in America told me it was like total chaos and bedlam, everyone living with deep fear when going about their daily lives. Exactly what the terrorists wanted, really, and they know if they made another attack that they'd definitely get the same reaction.

But with us, they know that we don't scare too easily! I'm more scared of funnel webs than of ******* terrorists!

That better have been a joke...

 

Oh good, the government's "be on the lookout" scheme is working then.

For once, I'm going to agree with Ender - if it happens, it happens. I know too many people that were afraid to even go to the shopping centre after September 11 because of stupid hoax emails saying there were terrorist threats against them, and it's absurd to live your life like that. Good on the Brits for getting on with their lives and not letting it alter their society, I can only hope that we'd do the same.

 

I agree, and the best thing about this horrible situation is that the Brits have shown that they have the courage to ignore the threats of terrorism, which means that it is unlikely that they will be a target of any future attacks.

And neither will we ... statistically how likely is it that one will be killed in a terrorist blast? I don't want to figure out the maths, but I'm betting you're more likely to be offed by Hannibal Lecter than by a terrorist ...

 

Did we live in fear. No.

Well yes...so many people refuse to go to Indonesia now because of it.

I'm more scared of funnel webs than of ******* terrorists!

Nice way to generalise.

but I'm betting you're more likely to be offed by Hannibal Lecter than by a terrorist ...

Tell that to the countless people killed by terrorists. Sure, it's no good living in fear, but just assuming it'll never happen (ignoring the warning signs) is just going to make it more probable.

 

If Australia ever did get attacked it Perth would be safe. I don't think the rest of the world knows that it exists. So if there ever is any serious threat, everyone can just pack their bags and walk through the desert to join us.

 

Picking up their bags, walking through the desert to get to Perth. Reminds me of Gallipoli.

 

Breaking news, boys and girls: Perth Magistrate's Court, Perth District Court, and Joondalup Magistrate's Court have all received this morning envelopes containing white powder. As at the time of writing Joondalup's Court has been cleared, but the Magistrate's Court and District Court registries are currently closed.

I've tried "Has anyone seen my lost bag of self-raising flour" jokes with some of the security guards. They haven't thought of it as especially funny.

 

FA, you were saying something about Perth being safe?

 

Fine Saintheart, just prove me wrong.

 

Bali was not on our home soil or against Australians as a whole. An incident in our own country would cause much fear and panic. How easy would it be for example for an extremist to simply walk into a shopping centre loaded with guns and explosives and take out as many people as he/she could before being gunned down or suiciding!. Do this once a year in different locations etc, combined with the odd bomb, the odd intentional hoax etc and our lives here would be very different. I am not detered from traveling OS though by any of the terrorist actions.