"You may be asked for your Cingular account number again for security purposes", said the recorded voice. What's the security purpose of asking again for a number that was already entered through the dialpad, you may ask? Wipe out the dyslexic identity thieves who cannot repeat one, or simply discriminate against the speech-impaired? The answer is it's not a security purpose at all -it's a disguise for the incompetence of systems that sometimes do not work as well as they should. But with the Bush administration disguising its own incompetence in Iraq as being in the interest of national security, disguising incompetence as security seems to be becoming a fad. So next time a politician tells you that occupying a foreign territory such as Iraq is the way to combat terrorism, ask them why it is that there are more terrorists in Iraq today than there were before US occupation. Why foreign perception of America has dropped following the invasion. And how all of those lives lost and money spent that could have been spent elsewhere are making you more secure. And when the voice comes on at the other end of the line, ask them what the security purpose of repetition is. Demand the truth. It's the only way to make it fashionable again.
For another example of routine skipping of the truth, read The Economist's Welcome Aboard article last week. An extract is offered below:
Please switch off all mobile phones, since they can interfere with the aircraft's navigation systems. At least, that's what you've always been told. The real reason to switch them off is because they interfere with mobile networks on the ground, but somehow that doesn't sound quite so good. On most flights a few mobile phones are left on by mistake, so if they were really dangerous we would not allow them on board at all, if you think about it. We will have to come clean about this next year, when we introduce in-flight calling across the Veritas fleet. At that point the prospect of taking a cut of the sky-high calling charges will miraculously cause our safety concerns about mobile phones to evaporate.
For yet another example, read Demand The Truth.