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The New Magic Word - Terrorism

"THE magic word used to be abracadabra. Say it while waving his wand and an illusionist could make an elephant vanish or a conjuror could pull a rabbit from his hat.

Now the magic word is terrorism. That black magician Bin Laden used it to make the Twin Towers disappear, dramatically changing the Manhattan and political landscape. And by repeating terrorism almost as often as he says "God" or "America", George W. Bush has changed the rest of the world."

Phillip Adams, in his latest opinion-piece in The Australian, "Terrorism is a Tricky Business", raises some critical issues in relation to how "terrorism" has become the thing to mask and cover a host of matters.

As Adams says, amongst other things:

"The truth of the matter is that terrorism doesn't frighten Western leaders as much as they pretend. Rather it's a potent weapon for political incumbents. Any magician will tell you that the secret of all conjuring tricks and illusions is misdirection. The audience is tricked into looking away while the switch is made or the trapdoor opened. Thus terror is used to trick the terrified, distracting attention from more urgent issues."

Think about the full Adam's piece here - and reflect on how accurate Adams is in what he is saying.

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