X-Message-Number: 18780
From: "George Smith" <>
References: <>
Subject: Re: CryoNett #18774
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2002 11:34:24 -0800

In Message #18774 David Verbeke was precisely right.  I fully expect that a
major European city along the coast most probably will be the first
terrorist nuclear attack on a city.  London or Paris seem likely targets.

The current crop of Europeans as a whole now lacks the survivors of WW II to
personally remind them that the world remains a brutal place due to the
immaturity of short lived human beings.  Hitlers happen.

The current crop of Americans are sustained by a mythos of military macho
which fortunately serves the purpose of inserting a safety net of honesty
regarding combat and self defense.  John Wayne and Rambo movies, along with
the Davy Crockett and Zorro stories on television and in the cinemas keep
the US population as a whole pro force in regard to war.  My European
friends do not yet grasp that almost every home and vehicle in the US has a
displayed American flag now.  "United We Stand" is not an idle phrase but a
deeply held American attitude now.  It is not 100%.  But it is definitely a
majority.

What is not yet understood by the now pacified and disarmed civilian
populations of Europe is that WW III has begun.  And it is not over.
Whether through insight or naivete, Americans DO as a whole understand the
authentic stakes in this "game".  The stakes are survival.

That Israel has acted as a lightning rod for radical Islamist aggression
seems to be missed by most.  If there had been no Israel where would that
focus of hate been placed all these years?  The belief that Israel CAUSES
this hate seems clearly to stem from a lack of understanding in regard to
the MOTIVES behind Islamist hate.  If it wasn't Israel, they would find
someone else to blame.  If there had been no Jews in Germany, Hitler would
have picked some other group to blame.

However, the distance the North American continent has from the Euro-Asian
hotbed remains a formidable defense in its own right.  It is simply easier
(now) to lob a nuclear missile from Iraq to Paris than to Detroit.  It is
simply easier (now) to load a nuclear weapon on a ship and cruise it up the
Seine or under London Bridge than to cross the Atlantic to New York harbor.

I have no doubt that China has already targeted for about two years US West
coast cities.  For the US this is a serious problem.  Hopefully capitalism
will eventually undermine the communist autocracy in that never changing
nation of China before something "bad" happens.  Hopefully Coca Cola will
eventually undermine communism.

Frankly I can think of no location in the world better for storing cryonics
members that the US.  Better to place your assets and loved ones in an armed
fortress than in the center of the armed conflict.  In this regard I see the
governments of Europe overall in denial.  I hope they can sleep through the
present dangers and never have the rude awakening I see as likely.

This is a bottleneck in history.  But the belief that politics can continue
as usual in Europe (see this week's Economist for a fair run down on this
issue) and that the problem simplistically stems from supporting Israel, is
not supported by the evidence of history.  Daniel Pipes is a recognized
authority in this area and he has consistently expressed the  view that
force is required to control the Islamist radical movement.

It is the only thing which has EVER worked.

If we can get past this bottleneck and grow up as a species, things can and
will be different.  I would suggest that it is important to not let the
whims of national identity cloud our minds.  We are not Belgiums, Americans,
French, British, etc.  We are Immortalists.  We need to try and identity the
authentic trend of things so we can realize our personal goals in a world
still run by children.

I remain optimistic.  I want to mine the asteroids.

George Smith
CI member

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