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| No | 51% | 395 votes | Total: 778 votes | |
| Yes | 49% | 383 votes |
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Add to FavoritesWe are living in an extraordinary period of human history. It is one filled with the joy that comes from the exploration of new places as well as fear of common individuals. I would not hesitate to agree that Muslim extremists have rained on the parade of otherwise enthusiastic globe-trotters, and there is more uneasiness than ever before because these radicals operate with impunity in many countries.
Despite all of the horrific and nightmarish terrorist attacks in the United States and elsewhere, there are many places which can offer you a worry free vacation. Like me, you are probably keeping up to date with the latest travel warnings and advisories published by the U.S. State Department and the Canadian Office of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. If you're going abroad check those websites. There's lots of information about which places are safe and which ones to avoid.
If you are still unsure about where to go, buy a world map then take it home and look at it very carefully. Now, obviously you'll want to avoid several countries in the Middle East and possibly Africa. Most of these places are always in some kind of trouble. Europe still has many attractive destinations, and most of Asia is relatively free of insurgent activity apart from Nepal, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and some areas of the Philippines.
Of course, if you really want to get away from it all you can choose one of the South Pacific islands. As far as I know nothing bad ever seems to happen in these countries, the same goes for Australia and New Zealand. Budget travellers can stay here for prices which are not too steep.
Unfortunately, terrorism will likely be a danger for some time to come. There's nothing we can do to stop or even to lessen the number and severity of these attacks. What we can do however is to make better decisions about where we go for that next holiday. As I've already mentioned, stay away from the countries which are considered dangerous. Some people would argue that every nation is unsafe to some degree, but I don't think that's true. You have to keep your eyes and ears open, and use your common sense.
There are some folks who don't have a choice. If they are working for one of the big oil or mining companies, they will be sent to some of the worst places whether they want to go or not. Logistical problems must be resolved, dams and bridges must be built and minerals have to be extracted from the ground.
If you're not comfortable about going abroad, staying in your own country is another good option. I haven't seen very much of my own backyard, yet I've visited five continents. In fact, many people are choosing to stay at home so they don't encounter too many difficulties with language, customs and other dos and don'ts.
We can still enjoy ourselves. The globe is still beautiful and filled with wondrous places.
Bon voyage!
Learn more about this author, Scott Hayden.
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Yes
Most people think that the events of 9/11 were all about the loss of lives from the various airplane crashes, and of course the loss of thousands of lives; military, extremists and civilians, involved in the war against terrorism only. The truth is that the damage was deeper, way deeper than the government and corporations care to admit, and the damage spreads and continues to increase, regardless of the time passed.
Let's not forget that Wall Street was also masterly attacked by these criminal minds who profited from the events making a lot of people who had invested in the stock market lose their money.
The strike to the airline business had a domino effect since there were millions employed by airlines around the world, and has since then gradually lost their jobs due to the fact of the people's fear of flying. These people who lost their jobs, lost their pension, health benefits, savings, hence lost their power of acquisition.
Derived from the airline crisis, the food industry that used to provide for the airline industry has suffered too. Before the infamous attack, meals were served aboard every flight longer than an hour long, now, not only breakfast, lunch nor dinner is served, but the famous bags of peanuts served for free in every flight are gone too. Now, airlines offer two or three options for snacks and they are all charged to the flyer.
The laundry service that took care of the cleaning of the napkins served in every tray, the plastic companies involved in the manufacture of these trays, all these people lost their jobs, and many entrepreneurs of such companies had to face bankruptcy for this same reason.
A big part of our Real Estate crisis derives from these events; most of those affected by the attack, directly or indirectly faced foreclosure way before the crisis was apparent or even known to the public.
9/11 was a master attack designed not only to end as much lives as possible, but to enter the United States in the recession which it's going through today. The only airlines benefitted by these events are those from Muslims countries, because those will not be a target of a terrorist attack, hence it makes them the safest way to fly, Korean airways, has had an increase of 50% in their gross income because of their allied links to the Muslim world.
Because of the loss of power of acquisition of all these millions of people connected directly or indirectly to the airline business, many businesses which provided services or goods to these people have suffered too.
The effects have been slowly emerging and building up, this is a crisis that did not come to be in one year, it had its beginnings back in 2001, but for the government to admit this publicly would mean to admit that the master minds planning the attack made a move that put the US on Jacque Mate, and that no matter how many more soldiers are sent to the Middle East to end extremist terrorism, it is a war that was already lost the same day of the attack.
Learn more about this author, Brenda Lachman.
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