Tons of work lately, and not much time for the blog but, for your entertainment, two sort of counter-intuitive emergent menaces to humanity in the news (both from the Economist):
First, the ban of smoking in public buildings enacted in... Iraq! Well, yes, why not? The authorities say that an average of 55 Iraqis die every day, which is larger than terrorism toll - though I feel a little concerned about the method to come up with that number. But as you may suppose, people is not quite happy about this, specially because perception on the priority of threats is quite different - and I think yours too. So, has this something to do with human security? Sure, it tells us a lot about hidden threats and the effects of fear: uncertainty pushes people to risky behaviors that can make them more insecure than what the perceived threat actually does.
Second, a story from one of those places where the "absence of threats" claims for some new. What else can you think when you read the Danish Prime Minister saying: “We don’t want a society where you cannot go walking with your child or your poodle without risking an attack.” Maybe this is not so uncommon in the first world, but I think this politician goes too far with his idea: not only banning certain breeds, but killing all the mongrels. “We will surely see lots of press photos of sweet little puppies being put down but we must be determined.” It should be hard to make politics out of no threats but, you know, you even have Copenhagen meeting in two months...
See you!