"If you inform yourself, the terrorists win"

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The time has come for extreme measures. It is now no longer enough to simply watch the news, hope and pray that something terrible doesn't happen to you, either on home soil or visiting Asian tourist resorts very much resembling Queensland. No, dear readers, desperate times have arrived and I think this much is clear: if you're informed, the terrorists have won. Yes, you read that right. If you watch television, read newspapers and talk to people about current events, you may as well be harbouring suicide bombers under your stairwell.

I think it is obvious that with every 'news' report that flashes across your TVs, the terrorists smile. If you, as a Westerner, allow yourself to become engaged with the world in which you live and accept that things actually are happening outside your front door, you are devoting your precious thoughts to the terrorists' cause and therefore supporting them mentally: even if you don't know it.

Thinking about terrorism, knowing about previous terrorist attacks and predicting future attacks only encourages them. Can you not see that every time the Herald Sun prints a front page stating "Bali Bombs - Not an anniversary issue; a new attack", the terrorist gods smile upon our foolishness? The people in charge of the media conglomerates really ought to be rethinking their dissemination strategies. One suggestion from this humble commentator: repeats of 'Hey Dad' all day, every day. That will stop people thinking about terrorism. Of course, they'll have to censor that final season where Mr Kelly goes to live in Saudi Arabia.

So, what am I suggesting? Well, I'm glad you asked. The only way we can beat the kind of people who would walk into a bar with a backpack - speaking of which, what is the dress code up there in Bali, anyway? - and blow themselves up is to not regard them. That means cut off communication with friends, family, neighbours, internet, newspaper, television and radio. The situation is too dire to allow yourself to even think about this. All right. Now turn off your computer.

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