toronto

[EC]

so, if you don't know what i'm talking about, just google news "toronto"  - you could punch in terror as another option.

anyhow, the story keeps changing slightly with each newspaper, but it looks like we nearly missed a couple of pretty big attacks in toronto and ottawa.

and now a toronto mosque has been vandalized.

honestly, i really wouldn't have thought toronto was a target.  perhaps this is naive of me.  i'm wondering how we're going to handle this situation - considering we've been able to watch other cities deal, hopefully we'll learn from mistakes.

:(  b.a.d. news :(  very sad.

[dragonboy]

Here's a story from BBC:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5044560.stm

Raids took place in London over the weekend too:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5042724.stm

Who knows where terrorists might strike next?
The world simply isn't as safe as it used to be, which is a sad & very scary fact...

[wellfleet]

EC... this story hit close to home. ugh, a pun seems inappropriate now. but even though NYC is almost as close as toronto to montreal, i think i would be devastated if something happened in canada.
i *do* think we're immune. i want to... i want to think that canadians enjoy a better reputation across the globe. i hate to think this may be because of harper playing up to the american government. i would hate to think that more US-friendly policies have made canada a target for terrorists...

then there's my nagging, disturbing, awful suspicion that this whole story is mostly bullshit. that's it's INCREDIBLY convenient that with border security being such a hot topic in the US lately, and with the government wanting to continue to justify an increasingly suspect war... wouldn't a possible terrorist cell IN CANADA rattle all those cages? some time back there was a supposed threat to baltimore, it was nothing. during march madness in san diego, it was nothing.

at this juncture, how difficult is it to arrest a bunch of arab-looking men and imprison them? i hate to sound like such a montana-bunker-conspiracy-girl, but it all rings a wee bit off.

i hope and hope and hope that it never comes to canada, as much as i hope and hope and hope it never comes to the US, uganda, indonesia and holland...

let's just all love on one another as hard as we can and hope it gets us through the days...  :-/

[Form91225]

i agree with wellfleet. i think this is all a load of crap. like the "election threat" or any number of these things. all designed to keep people scared and willing to continue to give up basic rights.

some day....

[corey]

Hope everything is cool in your neck of the woods, Meg. I need to send you an e-mail, but we just got in and it may be tomorrow before I have the energy to type a bunch of stuff.
(Remember I can be longwinded sometimes.)

[MMJ_fanatic]

Great job on the Canadian authorities part here--thumbs up!

[Jaimoe]

If you think Toronto isn't a target/locale for terrorist activity, then naive you are (and I'm not directing this comment at anyone). However, I love that the Mounties and local police busted up the alleged ring. I'd rather have a ring busted up than having something worse occur down the road. My friend is a Mountie and he told me two years ago that Toronto will be "hit" by terrorist activity at some point in the near future. Hopefully, this bust will divert a violent attack, at least for a few years.  

[EC]

yeah, i guess.  i think my naivete lies in my assumption that everybody likes us, or that we're always known as the ones who don't really rock the boat, or we're the quiet cousin.

so then, i was okay yesterday, but now i'm starting to feel a little freaked out.  

and to wellfleet and form91225 - i don't think this is a big political move.  ie: all paths seem to lead that there could've been a pretty big problem here.

[Jaimoe]

This is not a political move. It's the right move. I don't feel freaked out by the bust. I feel freaked out that Canada is the 2nd largest terrorist harbouring country, second to the USA.

[EC]

there are a lot of freaky things.  this is a good test, though.  like a good personal test.  if i agree with a lot of what's been said about the u.s. using fear to keep its citizens in check (a la michael moore et al) then i better really keep myself in line.

for example: i've already started questioning whether i'll ride the subway.  (regardless of the strike)  i've thought that maybe i should move.  i'm thinking of not going downtown, etc.

i think those are normal, and clearly jaimoe you've got a better understanding than i do about the whole picture.  the idea that toronto is a hiding place for terrorists, and the idea that they WANT to blow up places in our city, is a new idea to me.  fresh, if you will.  so i'm monitoring myself and how i'm reacting.

[Jaimoe]

No EC, you should keep riding the subway and living your life in one of the safest big cities in the world. And don't move to the suburbs. Suburbia is a cultural wasteland which BTW, harboured the alleged terrorists that just got busted.

[peanut butter puddin surprise]

I have two theories:

1.  Anywhere in the free world is a target.  The easiest, most collateral damage targets in the world are large cities with large populations.  We're not doing enough to find the bad guys, right here in the good ol USA.  Instead of snooping on phone records and web history,  do an inventory of each and every human being in the country.  Eventually, we'll find the bad guys.

2.  Fuck it all.  They can't get everyone, can they?  I'm not changing one goddamn thing about my life....they will not win with me.  but gathering from the paranoia and fear they have already inflicted here in this country, they've already won.  

[Jaimoe]

One of the punks that got nabbed was born and raised in Canada. Most of the others came here when they were really young - which raises the point that terrorist organizations have targeted/recruited young impressionable people in Canada for a very long time.

[Jaimoe]

Another thing that is totally terrible about all of this, on an economic scale, tourism revenue in Canada will yet again suffer because of the myopic US and Asian media. SARS wasn't a real threat to anyone outside of one hospital, but don't tell that to the panic-stricken Asian media and the news hungry CNN, which envelopes the entire country under a Toronto banner.

[marktwain]

and to wellfleet and form91225 - i don't think this is a big political move.  ie: all paths seem to lead that there could've been a pretty big problem here.

I don't think so either, but I'd be lying if I said it hadn't crossed my mind.  The sad thing is, we've been lied to so many times about so many things that it's hard to believe anything anymore.  

Bush has done much to wreck whatever credibility the office of president ever had (same with Blair, et al), and has turned my personal skepticism into something approaching conspiracy theorizing.

But enough of that.

congratulations to the authorities for doing their job well.  I think you folks in Canada should be reassured by this, though I can obviously understand why you would feel rattled.

[ycartrob]

This is what helps me sleep at night:

The percentages of getting mugged, maimed,or killed by a fellow US citizen are far greater (far, far, FAR) than getting whacked by a terrorist.

That's how F'd up things are. I find solace in the odds of being killed by a terrorist...

The odds were much greater before 9/11 and are still much greater. Fear has been introduced and perpetuated by the powers that be (US government), so terrorism is now a real threat. However, in reality, you should fear an American more (unless you're in Iraq, where the US is trying to force democracy).

Go downtown.
Go to the subway.
Ride the buses.

The real change that has needed to happen (for decades) is happening, that is, law enforcement agenices sharing information without as much buereaucratic red tape. That is a direct result of 9/11. And that is a good thing and you have intelligent, driven and dedicated people on the job. Will another terrorist strike happen? Yes, it will.

US citizens kill thousands of more US citizens evey year than terrorists do.

I know this thread was about Totronto, but I am not Canadian. Just my 2 cents.

[EC]

yeah, i hear all y'all, and you're right.  what i found interesting was observing my thought patterns.  obviously these threats are not new in the grand spectrum, and we've all watched other cities go through them.  but then seeing myself think "man, maybe the subway is not the best way to get to work today", it was different.  it just feels different, and i'm getting a better sense of how fear can shape your life if you get caught up in it.  i'm certainly not saying that i'm going to let it, but i was a little surprised at some of my reactions.

i guess it's more of an emotional response when it's in your city, which, of course, rationally, we all know, but you know how it is when it actually happens to you.

anyhow.  

[peanut butter puddin surprise]

This reminds me of when the "sniper" was out there in Maryland, murdering random people at gas stations and whatnot.

I saw a GBV show in the midst of it, and Pollard said it best.  "I will not fear the fucking sniper.  I will not fear the fucking terrorists.  I will not fear fucking George Bush.  I have no fear, and they can go fuck themselves."  A lot of f bombs, I know, but that moment in time is crystallized in my mind, and he's right.

[MMJ_fanatic]

lots of bravado in his little rant but you can't be afraid when your dead either...

[BH]

I'm thinking maybe President Logan had something to do with this.....