Presumably Cohen, unlike many of his readers, is aware that "to contrive" means "to plan or plot", and it is dumbfounding that no one at The New York Times thought fit to rectify this error.
Be that as it may, a mere day has gone by, and the following Associated Press story is now appearing online in The New York Times:
"Undercover agents in a sting operation stopped a Somali-born teenager from blowing up a van full of explosives at a crowded Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland on Friday, federal authorities said.
. . . .
U.S. Attorney Dwight Holton released federal court documents to The Associated Press and the Oregonian newspaper that show the sting operation began in June after an undercover agent learned that Mohamud had been in regular e-mail contact with an 'unindicted associate' in Pakistan's northwest, a frontier region where Al Qaida and Afghanistan's Taliban insurgents are strong.
. . . .
U.S. authorities have been struggling against a recent spate of terror plans by U.S. citizens or residents."
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/11/27/us/AP-US-Portland-Car-Bomb-Plot.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=print
No plans or plots? Yeah, right.
Cohen said in his op-ed that "America is a nation of . . . risk-taking." Anyone still interested in boarding a flight without security checks?
Jeffrey,
ReplyDeleteYou are saying somebody wanted to blow up the Christmas tree, so there should be security checks at the airports? How about total frisks at the Christmas trees? I doubt that all the security checks we undergo have much to do with our security. Government always spreads its power over citizens as far as it can reach. It would be much more effective to register all Muslims (as members of an extremist organization) and search them only.
JG,
ReplyDeleteYou've really got to grow up and become a man. Life is risk. Get out from behind computers and meetings with manicured pinkies all day long and do some real living outside on the firmament. Grow your own food. Build your own house. Create your own water supply. Take on life directly and quit the scared little kid shtick.
RW,
ReplyDeleteI served almost 30 years in the military, mostly in an active combat unit and have watched as friends were maimed and killed (how long did you serve?). I have grown my own food (mostly organic), and built at least part of my current house. Sorry if I didn't create my own water supply. And I still believe that life is precious. Is your point that flying without a security check will now make me into a "man"? Query: Do you drive without a seat belt? Does this make you a "man" or a "fool"?