Paranoia / Security games in Bogota / Bogota

Paranoia

Strange, totally automated and anonymous internet-cafe in 42nd street in New York, near Times Square. They say that this city never sleeps, but I did not find it really awake when I arrived in Grand Central Station at 6.45 am today. No cafe was open at the station. Well, there must be an open cafe somewhere, these people must get their drink-on-the-go cafes from somewhere. Otherwise they will get desperate. So, I thought of checking in my backback, 15kg, to the cloakroom at the station. But there is none! Since the infamous 9/11 there is none in the whole city! Totally paranoid. The only thing I can note is that the French did even better in 1980's: they removed all wastebins from the whole country, since one of them had been dynamited by some local terrorists. After some months of total chaos, they came to their senses. So, there is still at least one level of paranoia for American to explore.

Speaking of paranoia, I may as well add a note on the "Department of Homeland security", which claims to keep USA open and safe. Fair enough, but I do think that they could prevent much more damage and loss of life, if they instead of devoting countless resources on airports, would fix the gun laws, health system, and social security. More intelligent drug-laws would not hurt, too. Also, promoting contraception instead abstience would do no harm. Only puritan utopians can dream of a world without sex. For others, it is a nightmare.

Security games in Bogota

In Bogota, Colombia, the security checking was just a comedy, or should I say tragi-comedy. There, one must pass metal detector and place luggage in X-ray-machine before getting to the waiting rooms by the gates. There one can stay totally in peace for several hours, until suddenly they order everyone out and drag their detectors and machines to the door of the gate area. And they check everyone again. So, they must assume that the first time was not enough, that somehow someone got some guns or explosives through to the gate area. But if this is the case, why do they not check the gate area at all? If one is clever enough to get guns through x-ray and metal detector, one should be clever enough to hide them in the gate area. I do not mind security measures as such, but I do mind wasting security resources for nothing.

Bogota

Bogota lies in a valley, at 2600 meters above sea-level, surrounded by forested mountains, which rise up to additional 700 meters from the valley. The location is beautiful, the eqvatorial sun shines nicely in the afternoon and the occasional thundercoulds are, well, formidable. I met my driver and guide, Sandra Nunez, at the airport. She does not speak any English and my Spanish is next to non-existent. But somehow we managed. She tried to use the most simple Spanish and I tried to pick up the meaning and reply by using the odd words of Italian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese I could remember. It worked rather well. I got to know something about the historical buildings in the centre, and even something about the society (like that half of the students drink too much, that private universities are good and expensive, and that there are too many criminals). One can figure out the prevelance of crime easily, since the whole centre is full of policemen and soldiers toting their machine guns. I am sure they have live ammo! And one must walk on the opposide of the presidential palace. Just like in Maputo! But the city is nice, there are interesting museums ( I visited a museum exhibiting Indian clothes, jewelly, canoes etc. I also visited a museum of Botero, whose collection is respectable). We also visited the Teatro Colum, the local Fenice. I could even visit backstage, see the stage mechanisms etc.

Later, dinner at a local Italian restauranta. They served decent Risotto di Fungi Porchini. It was actually surprisingly good.

Alun perin julkaistu kuukausikoosteessa "Blogs November 2004".