Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 15:04:56 -0500
From: "Michael Walsh" <MJW at mail.press.jhu.edu>
To: <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Security in Non Fannish Socieity
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

Lee Strong set electrons to glow with:

>	Keith Lynch rightly points out that con security and security in
>larger society are quite different things, but then opines that using =
watch
>lists is folly.  I must respectfully disagree.  Police agencies invented =
and
>maintain watch lists precisely because they are useful tools for =
identifying
>and arresting suspects.  I seem to recall, contra Keith, that at least 3 =
of
>the 9/11 terrorists had raised security flags.  However, we as a society
>were not treating security as seriously pre 9/11 as post 9/11 with tragic
>results.  While Keith Lynch is unlikely to blow up or crash an airplane,
>other people are more so inclined, and it's those other people that we =
are
>trying to stop.  The inconveniences imposed on Keith (and, of course,
>everyone else) are society's best effort to prevent a recurrence.
>

The current issue of the Economist, which Alexis receives, has an =
interesting essay on rights & freedoms in the post 9/11 US.  Fairly =
interesting reading.

mjw