Definitly a terrorist attack.
The United States have aggrevated the prolem so much and also the citizens of many countries that got involved, in my case Italy, had no say in beng involved. They always target theinnocent and not those responsible.
I fear all travel.

Personally I fear a recession the most. Probably because there is a greater chance than me or someone close to me will be affected by it.
On the other hand, terrorism, as horrible as it is will most likely wont affect me, and if it does to some extent, as long as I don't die I will be able to recover in a short term, and live my life as it was.
A recession will be far more hurtful to the majority of Americans and the world, in addition jobs will be lost, prices will go up and people in the third world will starve to death.
A recession will affect the American way of life more than terrorism will ever do.
Maybe I am wrong, but I think Americans can endure terrorism more than an economic recession.

Recession is far worse for the average person. The cameraman had the right approach, of objectively weighing up both sides, rather than reflexively giving the answer the media and quite a few politicians seem to be pushing.

Also, and I could be completely wrong here, isn't it true more people die, worldwide, from accidental drowning in bath tubs than from terrorist attacks?

Human fear is irrational though. It is accepted that more people die from dog attacks than snake attacks, but fear of snakes is almost universally higher than fear of dogs.

I guess fear of terrorism is similar to fear of snakes – it's one of the many irrational elements of human behaviour. Good blog post, though.

Due to the Bush administration, I think that both terrorism and recession are very likely. Bush has done nothing to make the world a safer place to live in. He has also put the USA into massive debt, destroyed the US dollar and put the USA into recession. Bush has made the US a much worse place to live in. Now we have McCain, who will more or less, follow in Bush's footsteps. The US is in trouble.

Recession is a form of terrorism. The few who have a lot of money keep making more and more, while the rest of the people suffer greatly! "Average" Americans are now terrified that they will not be able to keep their jobs – and the cost of getting to work and feeding a family are forcing many to make extreme sacrifices. The rich people who are artifically raising the price of fuel (to make themselves richer) are equal to terrorists! Think about that...

I fear recession more than terrorism. And it's not like I live in a remote location where I can feel hidden. I live in London, and before that I lived in New York City and Chicago. Still, I fear a recession more than being a victim of a terror attack.

It's a matter of mathematics and statistics. More people will be impacted by a recession than a series of terror attacks. And yes, while being a terror victim could mean death, a recession means certain and painful economic reality alive.

Shaloom:

I'm an American citizen living in Jerusalem.

In answer to your question, the recession, obviously.

On The Cognitive level(s), mans two major economies are collapsing, as the G-9 follows, as all NOW need the NEW economic paradigm, that REPLACES the old model of ‘division of labor,’ to attain the NEW world economy’s NEW world class ‘international content’ operationally as its new Global Technologic Infrastructure-GTI, that devolves and becomes the Internet 3 model, ONLY when based on Humanomics NEW economic paradigm…

SOLUTION – old ‘division of labor’ model is REPLACED with the NEW economic paradigm model, that is the “Integration of Labor-sm,” in the G-9 first, and subsequently globally in all the world’s economies, delivering the positive effect(s) of globalization.

As it's author, I'm shocked how little the media is doing to ask the big questions and DEMAND coherent and clear macro solution(s), as without such solution(s) one or the other does NOT deserve to be elected, perhaps both, if neither has the answer(s) nor advisers who can provide such answers for them.

Shalom, Yehoshua

I fear terrorism more than a recession. Even though I believe America is headed for recession, terrorism is a greater evil in the world than economic despair. I was a block away from one of the London underground bombings on July 7, 2005 but this event did not solely influence me in why I believe terrorism is more fearful than recession. Terrorism does not directly effect everyone but indirectly it affects all. Terrorism affects America as a whole as does recession but terrorism is a global issue; recession is not. Terrorists from many countries in the world have DECLARED WAR against America and the West. They [terrorists] seek our destruction, which I believe poses more of a threat than a recession ever could. America will unite to fight against recession if we ever fall into it. We are the United States of America. We will stand strong together. We must stay strong and united against terrorism as it poses more of a dire threat to not only America, but the whole free world.

Linda, wake up. If the USA didn't take the leadership position in it's fight against terrorism since 2001, no one would and the Mouslim radicals would be running Italy and most other western nations. I realize the western liberal press and readers will jump all over me but look at the facts, not what the press leads you to believe, but the real facts. And as far as the question goes. Recession is the big one here as we are taking the leadership in the fight against terrorism.

Ray

Well, at first intance I thought this question doesn't make sense, but after reading the whole blog. I would definately fear recession more than anything.
As I am an overseas student in UK. My university fees are going up each year, but this time as dollar is going down and economy of deveopling countries are hit by recession, it has been really hard for my parents to pay for my tution fees.
I think I am already target of recession as my working hours are being cut by the retail store I work for, the reason they give is there is not enough sale.

The government wants us to fear things, that is how they can control us, take away our freedoms, and become more powerful. The likelihood that anyone in the US will be involved in a terrorist attack is so tiny, that it isn't even worth thinking about – it is more likely that you will win a multi-million dollar lottery. While a recession is definitely more likely to affect each of us, but we should be working towards correcting it not fearful that it might come. Fear makes us freeze from action, but that is not what America or humans are all about. We move forward, we progress, and we do it regardless of the fact that we don't control much of our world or even our lives. Don't fear the world, be apart of the world. Live your life with sincerity, with humor, and with laughter because that is what matters the most. Not wasting valuable time and energy worrying about what could possibly, maybe some day, if the stars are perfectly aligned happen.

I'm not so sure that is a sensible question.
If I asked you – presuming you're healthy – what you fear more: a recession or a heart-attack, you'd probably say a recession. Yet your chance of getting a heart_attack is much more likely than getting in- volved in a terrorist-one

I fear a recession more. Especially considering it won't just affect America, it will affect the entire western economy. Then how will we finance any struggles against terror?

I fear recession more. Terrorism is usually sensational, and good business for media outlets like cnn, -people are curious and that means ads. But recession has no sensation involved. And recession in a socially unbalanced country will also mean rise in crime. In capitalism, recession can quickly lead to chaos. California is robbing highway tax dollars (which could pay for new busses) to pay for govt officers and police and the like. A thoughtful centrally planned economy would realize that this is not the time to cut busses and trains, -but a capitalist democracy is not very thoughtful. So, people hurt more, the recession bites more, and quality of life goes down. And there is no one you can shoot at to feel good. Terrorism, on the other hand, is easy, -you go and bomb someone and you feel good :)

I fear a terrorist attack more. Being poor I could recover from (hopefully), but losing the people I love would devestate me and I would never recover from that. I could not even think of losing my husband or children. I live in the middle east but feel that terrorist now attack anywhere not just America or UK. So their are more terrorists around and the chances go up for anyone in any country to be killed or maimed.

Am here in London and fear recession,i dont want to loose ma job and home,

I definetly fear recession more. Terrorism, as awful and devastating as it is, is not as common and usually does not have as far reaching an effect as recession does. Recession happens in one place, its bound to spread to other places and it affects the lives of nearly every person living in the suffering location.

Neither. We will get over a recession, and terrorism is not nearly as dangerous as road traffic.

I fear global warming.

I'm a psychologist and what I fear is what we do not fear but should. We fear what was a danger to us at the time of our evolution, but little else. For example, even if we know a particular snake is harmless, it still gives most of us the creeps. That there is more CO2 in the air than ever before in 800,000 years, though, that remains rather abstract for us. We understand, but still hope the price of oil will go down so that we can fill up again.

I think it wouldn't be inaccurate to say that the ripple effect of economic woes would cause far more deaths due to suicide, crime and poverty stemming from a recession than the casualty count of an average-scale terrorist attack.

I fear a recession the most definetely. I already know several people that are beginning to feel the paining failure of the housing sector in addition to the continous rise of the price of oil.
Worrying about terrorism is silly and useless since no government on Earth can really do anything to appease it or prevent it. In addition, terrorists no longer have any real reason to attack us anymore simply because of our failures in Iraq and Afghanistan. To think there are crazy "evil" men out there sitting in caves plotting to destroy our civilization because they "hate freedom" is not only naive but stupid. It's completely foreign policy based, and now that our military failure in the Middle East is becoming more apparent, their reasons to attack us have come to a decline.
Americans need to wake up and start thinking about issues that actually matter; like our economy, future city planning, education systems, inflation, housing, and credit security. The silly issues voters cared about in the very recent past (abortion, terrorism, war, etc..) are finally starting to disappear as a fairly obvious more ominous danger in economy begins to show its ugly face. Recession is upon us, wake up and deal with it.

Very intriguing question, which makes me want to share an observation with my fellow readers.

Whenever terrorism is talked about Madrid, London and NY takes center stage and terrorism events in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Indonesia (all Muslim countries) are mentioned as OTHERS.

9/11 events and following US reaction has caused deaths of over 1 million civilians in last seven years. But what seems to matter to people here is only the people who have died in US, London or Madrid.

This observation makes me feel equally sad for people in US, Europe and people living in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. We are becoming more and more incapable for feeling the pain of humanity because of this polarization.

I don't fear either.

What I do fear is the ignorance and arrogance of governments, corporations and special interest groups.

We live in a dysfunctional world.

Recession.

The risk from terrorism is totally overblown – and in the UK at least, is used as a pretext for all kinds of unpleasant stuff.

Both, for Heaven's sake! Both!

I fear a terrorist attack more than a recession. Why? It´s simply because my wife and I have spent the last 15 years investing and saving in order to have a decent retirement and face an oncoming recession, which is where Spain is today, with a clown for president.
By the way, it´s absurd to think that President Bush or any other president would not react to the terrorist attack in the States. If he did overreact, that´s understandable too. What is not understandable is for so many people to ignore that we are in a war against terrorism - a war we cannot afford to lose.
Ron Watson
Madrid, Spain

It is a strange question,you can not compare the life of a person with money that he earns these are two different things i consider,the life is everything but job is not everything ;)

I'm with Eli. (S)he nailed it right on the head.

That's simple. Neither.

Yes, a recession is a greater threat than terrorism right now- Those who are holding jobs are more concerned about a future without a job or loosing a home etc. Being retired, I also have my fears because everyday seems that prices rise and others as myself live on a fixed retirement income.

It is a big question mark, about how would we cope with a real
recession......and we just have to be aware that lifestyles change
and we need to prepare.

We can't fight terrorism with a recesion.

RECESSION STRAINS MONEY. PROFIT IS DOWN SO SECURITY WILL BE LESS OF A FOCUS AND TERRORISTS KNOW OUR VALUES!

Recession is what I fear most. Since the world is world, terrorism has existed in one way or another. Whether you call it revolution, civil war or any other term, it is always a form of terrorism in the eyes of the opposition. That's why Dems are terrorists in the opinion of the Reps, although they will use other abject terms to call them, like the word "liberal" which they really are not.
Today, though, it's the recession to fear the most because now that Bush has messed up our standing in the world, and his buddies the Saudis tell him in his face to f*** off in not small terms, the USA, nay the world, is now at the mercy of OPEC. After we spent trillions to help them with Iraq and Koweit, they turn their back on us and are bringing us to the verge of economic collapse.
Bush lied, people died and we're all going to pay for it all.

The only thing we have to fear...

Well, as a US Citizen living abroad, I definitely fear a recession much more. As cameraman in the article said, the chances of being hit by a terrorist attack is pretty low, and, sadly enough, the impact is generally confined to the target of terrorism. The impact of a recession, however, has much further reaching implications.

I'm frankly amazed that anyone would consider this question contraversial? Terrorism is a tiny tiny danger to Americans compared to driving a motor car, smoking cigarettes or a host of other risks that people think little of. In many parts of the world earthquakes would be a far greater threat.

It is time that Americans got a bit of perspective. In the annals of human suffering 9/11 was a small tragedy. I'm really sorry that it happened, but get real.

What is the point of fearing, it only gets in the way of progress.

I fear terrorism more. Monetary markets , economies can be better in
the future altough oil prices are soaring up. But when terrorism occurs there is no return. Terrorism and regression is
vital concept that threatens humanity . But I am taking terrorism
into account more seriously.

I fear terrorism, only because I live and work in Baghdad. I have felt insurgent rockets, mortars and car bombs regularly detonate in my vicinity. Last year working in the states, I already felt like I was living through a recession. I took contract work in Iraq to get away from it. I prefer the rockets.

I am a professional soldier and I also definitely fear recession more than terrorism. What I fear more than death will be that I will have to stand by while the ruined economy destroys everything that I have sacrificed so much for. Already I can not afford to live in an area with good public schools, afford to send my children to private schools, afford a home in a nice area nor make any real progress saving the hundreds of thousands it now takes to send a child to college. We should all walk to D.C. and slear out the House in Senate because we have allowed rich lobbiests to steal the American Dream and way of life right from under our noses. From being the leader for over a hundred years in education, health care and workers rights we now reside below almost every industrialised nation on most international reviews of quality of life. We currently work more per week than any other nation (aside from Japan), yet rank behinde most 1st wrold nations in vacation time (family values my butt), income, access to a college education and healthcare. Tens of millions of hardworking Americans do not have any healthcare yet huge oil companies like Exxon, Phillips, etc are given tax breaks saving them millions of dollars. Multimillionaires with fortunes worth hundreds of millions of dollars escape paying taxes through fancy accounting while the IRS goes after middle class workers who make $30,000 a year. The IRS's responce, the middle class worker will not fight the judgement while the rich will entagle them in expensive legislation that the poor can not afford.

Citizens must step up and force term limits down corrup Washington in order to break the backs of the lobbiest system that has corrupted our goverment and slanted our policies and priorities against our citizens. There is not reason that the United States can not do what almost all of Europe has done for a hundered years; provide free college, free healthcare and enough vacation time off to actually promote family values.

Recession is to be feared much more because it contributes to the dessimation of the American way of life which is rapidly becoming but a dream.

I fear terrorism more. Monetary markets , economies can be better in
the future altough oil prices are soaring up. But when terrorism occurs there is no return. Terrorism and regression is
dangerous concept that threatens humanity . But I am taking terrorism
into account more seriously

As a European I don't fear a recession in the US. It was bound to happen and will be a test case for the world to show it can do without the US. And why should anyone, Americans included, fear "terrorism"? Life is life-threating and dangers are everywhere, in our homes, workplaces and most of all on our roads. Most of my personal "near-death experiences" were so far related to driving, involving my own and other people's mistakes. In contrast, running for cover upon hearing the words terrorist or bomb is paranoid and extremely naive. If I flew to the US with US carriers on a daily basis, my chances of dying in an air-accident would be so much greater than being blown up by someone seeking revenge against the US. And it is less than a one in a million chance to crash with plane today! And isn't gang violence in big US cities a far bigger threat as well, and still a small one?

I fear recession the most . I am an engineer holding my master degree and I have a hard time finding a job and I struggle every day just to survive . There are so many educated people out there without job .Gas price is ridiculos and food is getting more and more expensive . I think the whole terrorism is caused because of recession.

I'm an American student living in central London. I walk daily through the places where the London bombings took place, and I still think a recession (which the US is in right now) is much worse.

The dollar value is absolutely killing me (and the other 40,000 Americans) living in London, and the US economic policies are not helping. Some of the things that have gone down hill just in the past year since I've been here:
-cost of food/gas/etc is rising
-job market is looking increasingly bleak (even for my engineering degree, which is supposed to be one of the best degrees to have coming out of college)
-harder to get student loans due to the "credit crunch" (b/c it is bigger then just the "housing market crunch" now)
- and our overall respect by the international commmunity (see the article "http://www.newsweek.com/id/137146" for a pretty good description of it)
-I'm sure there are more people can come up with...

Hopefully we can turn this around, but it's going to be a long process.

Terrorism was died right now ...
Recession was died step by step ...
I fear all of them , my God !

Recession is not something that should ever be feared. It is a natural tightening/contracting/consolidating economic stage which is part of a growth pattern. Without recesison we'd have runaway inflation, and unchecked economic excesses. It may not be politically correct to say this since there is always human suffering involved during recession, but there is no non-inflationary way to avoid it. In order to avoid recession the US would have to continuously devalue the US dollar which ultimately hurts everyone. That has been the strategy so far, and now we have a worthless dollar. Bring on the recession instead.

I am currently living in Japan. I am American and would like to return home with my children and wife. But, as a recession seems very likely,
I am reluctant. Working in another country allows me to live comfortably.
Yes, I fear recession! I want to return home someday if I could earn a living.

I am worried about oil prices which will bring recession. Bush has no solution to control oil price neither Obamama. Obama recently opposed Hillary proposal who wants to eliminate oil tax for short time. But Obamama like Bush did not offer short term solution. Every thing is going up and our goverment sitting back and watch suffering people and doing nothing. I do not know what to but hopping some one will come up with up quick solution.

I fear recession more in that it is more invasive upon all Americans than a terrorist attack.

I fear a terrorist attack more, at least within the next couple of months. A recession may help to force attention on the struggling middle and lower classes, and less on the thriving upper class. A terrorist attack, on the other hand, could have a much worse effect on the country. Bush has until July to get his goals achieved, and few people believe in those goals any longer, which he drives home in every speech that the terrorists are to blame for the world today. Another attack would be harmful to our country not because it would instill fear in Americans once again, but because it would give the Bush administration that sweeping power that it once had during September 11 that led to the Patriot Act and the Iraq War.

bush-bush-bush-bush

I fear both... a terrorist attack during the recesion we are in. I think a well planned attack like the one shown in the "We Were Warned, Out of Gas" special CNN showed could seriously create chaos in the US and in the world.

Fear terrorism, and the Terrorists have won.

terrorism is the least of my worries, heck, i'm more worried about my plane crashing due to technical problems than from a terrorist hi-jacking..

Terrorist attacks directly affect very few people, ie – the immediate victims. A recession on the other hand will affect the nation, then, looking at things from a 1920's point of view, the rest of the world.

I would fear a recession more. I think what a terriorst can do is very limited, unless they can set off a nuclear device. This is why we should protect our ports.

If we were attacked by terrorists, we can find out what country is behind it and take that country. out. In the 9/11 situation, Iraq had nothing to do with it. Look at the people involved, they were mostly Saudis, so we should attack Saudi Arabia and that would also solve our oil problem. Pakistan is also another country that was involved and still harbor Al Quida and most of their top leaders. In both of these country, Bush is pandering to them. He is kissing the Saudi's ass by begging for oil and spending billions in Pakistan to fight terrorist, money which is mostly wasted.

A recession will affect millions of Americans. It will cause misry that many people will not be able to survive. Even the worst terriorist attack only killed 3000 people. The disruption that followed 9/11 was more of an over reaction than actual. A terrorist attack will unite the country, like what happened after 9/11. If we had a great or even a passable leader instead of Bush, we could have also united the world against terrorisim. Many countries backed us after 9/11, now we are one of the most hated countries in the world.

Recession. It's incredulous to say the Bush administration's policies have increased terrorism worldwide. This dissonance between perceived theories and actual historical facts and trends reflects as much. What did his policies do to incur 9/11? The USS Cole bombing? The Africa Embassy bombings? Khobar Towers? Lebanon?

It's easy to blame President Bush: his administration was the first to proactively and premptively go after regimes that have threatened America with violence. Not surprisingly, this has not worked out very well and the toll in blood and treasure have been intolerably high. But, there's nothing we can do about terrorism. Terrorists do not hate the West because of President Bush's policies, they hate us fundementally, they hate the us for who we are and what we represent. So there will be conflicts, there will be clashes – there's nothing to fear when you come to realization.

The recession, on the other hand, is more predictable. We're in a downward cycle and it will hit us hard. Prices on everyday items have increased. People have to choose between dinner and filling up to go to work tomorrow. To me that is much more scary: to focus on the worsening economy rather than the inevitable.

I though the obvious question was recession.

I have a better chance of winning the lottery than being a victim of a terrorist attack. The recession however...

It has to be recession. Strong economy can help countries to cope with terrorism. But even if all is peace(which is unlikely) it is hard for countries to stop recession. It affects millions. Better border security and stringent terrorist laws may help reduce effect of terrorism. But if you lose your job, you are helpless. Prolonged recession period can lead you and yours to depression.

I must thank Todd for drawing our attention to such a poignant account. Think the ballyhoo drawn out of these isolated terrorist attacks and depreciation of the greenback, along with the "devastating" effects that seemingly ensues make us think that we are actually living in a despondent and hopeless world en-route to apocalypse.

Think again.

The general malaise is virtually uncalled for. What is 911, Madrid and London as compared to Holocaust or the Nanking Massacre, events that happened in the past century too. Didn't the world recover from all that, with both the victim and the culprit enjoying unprecedented economic growth today?
As for all the hysterics behind the mortgage crisis, will it be ever more depressing, pardon the pun, than the Great Depression? The world bounced back into vitality even when the US was the one and only economic powerhouse back then. Look at the world today, China, India, Russia; would the existence of all these economic potentates render the world MORE vulnerable to such a crisis?

The above is precisely why i don't fear either. What i DO fear is that of the mass media and its ability to instill fear in many of its readers.

Terrorism can end your life – if you're dead a recession doesn't matter.

Recession. Terrorism is something that does indeed exist, we've all felt it here in the city, but the fear of terrorism has become marketed by the Bush administration as something that is emminent when it is not.
Recession is here now, and it hurts and very possibly going to get worse. What happens when the economy goes down? Domestic crime goes up. What is far more likely to happen? A local hoodlum looking to rip off or mug you or the the possibility that 9/11 will happen again?
The problem with targeting terrorism as our biggest fear is that the governing parties begin to neglect domestic issues, crime will inevitably rise while all of our resources are focused on terrorism that will most likely not happen. We need financail relief and government support here in the US.

Personally, I fear recession more. I live in Moscow, and having seen terrorist attacks first-hand here (Chechnyan suicide bombers) a few years ago, you can say that this is something I know about. Sure, having then been a foreign student here, it was pretty scary (and it happened down the road from the university), but we all still went to class, had a good time, walked around the city and such. We were a bit wary of people, but it was nothing we couldn't cope with. But a recession would mean the disruption of a lot of things in my life, things would like to think I have control over. I have a family to feed.

The fear of not being able to care for my daughter and not give her a good start in this life scares me more than any thoughts of dying on the metro (Moscow tube) or of being killed in a cafe or market by a suicide bomber or other terrorist attack. The latter is just too random, while a recession is in the hands of the government. Governments don't tend to be in touch with the thoughts of the average citizen – not in any country (with the possible exception of Sweden).

I fear a recession more. The probability of being killed in a terrorist attack is very low; more chance of getting killed in a car accident. A recession, however, is affecting ALL of us, it is already here and we cannot escape it. Our pay remains stagnant yet our expenses have increased by at least 5% in most areas (gas, food). I know of NO ONE in my immediate circle of friends and family who are not suffering a suffering badly in the current economic conditions. This is the worst I have experienced in my adult life and I am 53 now. Our economy is in the toilet and someone needs to admit it and do something about it.

Praise the Good Lord! Finally someone got it right, someone has seen through the veil these fear- and warmongers have put over our eyes after 9/11. Terror is nothing! Terror only works if you LET them terrorize you. Look at what Londoners had to endure during the Battle of Britain (bombings, V1, V2), that was Terror from 10000 feet and it NEARLY broke their fighting spirit. But it didn't, and the rest is history...

Definitely a recession....A terrorist attack is so unlikely, that its laughable...A recession can be prolonged torture

I have to tell you, my response to the first sentence in this article is probably shared by most non-Americans. I laughed out loud. To say it's controversial to even -suggest- that the recession could be a more pressing fear than terrorism illustrates perfectly the culture of fear that the Neo-Cons have instituted in America. The reason why the Londoners went about their business just -days- after the London bombings is simple : they've seen it all before, and realise that the best way to let the terrorists win is to let your society be crippled by fear. They lived through the blitz, they know all about getting on with things. And as people here have pointed out, statistically, you're about as likely to be hurt in a terrorist attack than you are to be struck by lightning. So why the fear?

Ray,
You cannot be serious. Radical muslims running western countries because a few terrorist attacks? Rubbish!!!
As for looking at the facts, the real facts, do you care to share them with us. Having lived around the world and being very familiar with many cultures, I seriously doubt your assessment about Muslim radicals capabilities. Firstly, because none of these countries has enough muslim population to form an to effectively rule over a largely christian majority. Secondly, despite the fear mongering message of some politicians and publications, the objective of muslim radicals is NOT to rule the world, but to get the west out of their lives(ie. US bases out of middle east and US funding which enables Israeli aggression). Any other assessment is spin to create fear.
Again, I would be VERY interested in what you see as the REAL facts rather than blanket statements that other facts are not quite REAL enough.
JG
Sydney, Australia

Todd bowls a doosra over here... Terrorism or recession... Rather we people sitting and making perceptions that wont matter a lot, ask from the ones who are suffering terrorism on regular basis... Iraq, India, Afghanistan, Palestine, Lebanon, Sri Lanka among many others. As far as recession is concerned if it affects the super powers its more dangerous than terrorism coz these super powers have seen limited terror activities so far as compared to regular ones which are always on hit list. For me terrorism should be dealt with iron hands and recession can be controlled by smart thinking...

depends on where you are, in the war infested areas of africa people have not seen food , for them "terrorism " mainly state sponsored is the problem. If you ask a Japanese they will say recession. I am from India, though it is not documented enough , India has been suffered the most due to terrorism. Last tuesday we had a bomb blast in one of our major cities,saturday the stadiums were packed and life went along, its not that we are not emotional people, but we have coped with terrorism, much like the english during the IRA campaign. Ask the question to a average Indian he will say what is recession, we think 4% growth is a recipe for disaster. We are used to terrorism , recession is an unknown for us and we fear the unknown.

I personally fear none of them, Both of them has nothing to do with my average and ordinary life.

Recession
The name says all no matter whatever happen in the world but if you cannot control anything every next person will be consider as an enemy. Specially when you are living in multiculture and multi religious countries you will find it more and from that place it will grow.
Only we can control and only we can spread it, its our choice.
SO BE MATURE AND IGNORE THIS PLEASE FOR ALL OF US.

I agree with the statement Sam, above, made. That recession is a form of terrorism and I believe that George Bush is a terrorist. He has destroyed the country we love. I am teaching in another country and was to return after a year, but now I am going to stay out of the country longer, until we elect a new democratic President who can hopefully get the country back on track. It may be years now until I return, and in the meantime I am spending my money in another economy when I'd rather be spending it at home. Living here in South Korea shows that living can remain affordable for the "average" person and we shouldn't have to struggle. The US needs to improve it's public transportation and look to other means that guzzling gas daily. It's become almost embarresing to admit I am an American, and if you have done any overseas traveling, you know what I mean. Let's get rid of Bush and hurry to clean up the mess he made!

Definitely fear recession more. It strikes everyone and the poorest most. Terrorism strikes very few and in isolated areas. Unfortunately the excessive money spent in a poorly planned and executed so-called war on terrorism wastes so much of the worlds human and financial resources that it has become a threat in itself. Result is more devastation of the economy and inhanced risks of serious recession. If we spend more time, effort and money on imorving the economic condition of peoples lives around the world, then we will lessen the potential for terrorism.

Of course the normal person would feel recession more. I mean when was the last time a terrorist attacked any of the million rural homes in the US? Seriously, and when was the last terrorist attack in the US since 911? And b4 911 that actually shook the country.

I do not find the question contraversial, only a reflection of reality

Definitely fear recession more. It strikes everyone and the poorest most. Terrorism strikes very few and in isolated areas. Unfortunately the excessive money spent in a poorly planned and executed so-called war on terrorism wastes so much of the worlds human and financial resources that it has become a threat in itself. Result is more devastation of the economy and inhanced risks of serious recession. If we spend more time, effort and money on improving the economic condition of peoples lives around the world, then we will lessen the potential for terrorism.

I fear both but more of terror attacks than that of recession. I know I will die one day, I would prefer a natural death rater than a death by some crazy individual. Recession you make your earns meet some how and still enjoy your daily life with your family.

I am from India but regularly visit cnn site. I think recession is far more dangerous than terrorism. The bush administration has amplified the word terrorism and what solution they have given FIGHT... Can fire stop fire ?? India got freedom due to non violence teachings of Gandhi. Trust it , it is tested and initiate dialogue and other non violence process. Violence / fight only elevates the situation.

If some person bigger than you attacks you or your house what is your reaction , you try to teach him some lesson by any means .. this is happening here. What reason all the terrorist give ?? US attacked us so we are taking revenge ... don't involve for few years, take this reason out of ther head. A snake will not attack a person without no reason. Think the terrorist as a snake.

Terrorist attack is like a spike it effects the victims and their families but recession effects the whole country and the future generration.

I believe that ignore the terorist things, come out of the countries where army is deployed, invest in your economy first and make it strong. Every one believes in US and wants to lead but not in this way ..
Some steps I would suggest:
1) Come out of the countries where arms are deployed.
2) Initiate dialogue .. or ignore it , The terrorists does not want fight they are also far away from their families and they are poor. I have seen some documentries that some sucide bombers just to make sure that their family is taken care, with a petty amount of money, they do that sort of things.
3) Cultural exchange, games etc ..
4) Help them with jobs etc and try to repair their damage, this way you win their heart.

There are lot many bigger issues at our doorsteps like global warming, depleting fossil fuels,, which is slowely engulfing us like a dragon. Action on those first.

Recession! The 9/11 terroist act in hindsight now was primarly to damage the US economic power. (Why did they pick the Twin Tower in the heartland of capitalism???) Lifes lost were just collateral damage to achieve that goal.

US won the coldwar by bankrupting Russia.

US feared China due to its economic prowess...

the answer is obvious.

Fear is Personal's,
both could be come, but don't fear about who kill the your body but fear about who kill your soul and spirit !

My biggest fear is what the so-called leaders of this country are capable of doing as long as they continue unchallenged and unpunished.

If they take our country to war with Iran, recession and terrorism will seem like a Sunday afternoon in the park!

Sincerely

CChristian

I fear recession. I fear this because I feel it is the presidents form of terrorisim. He has but this country into a state of fear. He has ruled by fear and has driven the United States into near bankruptcy, much like what happened to Russia.

I fear a recession more than a terrorist attack. Even a tragic event such as 9-11 only had a direct impact on part of the population (those who perished, their friends and family), but in a recession, everyone is a victim.

What I fear most? Americans !

The only thing I fear is that Americans have completely given in to fear itself.

I'm sick of this country defining itself based on what its people are afraid of: terrorists, gay marriage, immigrants, economic downturn, China, people with unfamiliar names... the list goes on and on. These are not signs of a strong, healthy, vibrant country willing or able to lead in the 21st century.

I fear terrorism to a lesser extent ( because these are things that only happen to others) and recession and inflation more because it affects me and everyone on a daily basis , however what I fear most is the intolerance of every man for , the way of life ,religion,way of thinking and freedom of his fellow human being.

Fear is how they control you. I'm not scared.

Terrorism! First its retarded and terrorist are brain washed and scary, second, the more terrorism the more inferior i will be to others, because terrorism is associated with arabs and muslims, and im from lebanon, and i agree that thats they case and its sad. So yeah, terrorism is a disaster both ways...

I disagree with Gene. I feel that McCain is right for our country in regards to Forgein Policy, and the war in Iraq. He has served and was a POW, Bush had no military experience.
I fear "terrorism" more than a recession. We are a country that can get ourselves out of a recession. Terrorism can not be stopped no matter what we do, we can better prepare, and try to make more friends so that something like that does not happen, but we cannot prevent one.
A reccession on the otherhand that is in our complete control, and it is us being the American people. We buy things we cannot afford, like houses, cars, then we put all that on credit. Then we ask the Government to help when we over send. Tell me this, were does that money come from, my taxes, your taxes? If we live within our means, and save then there is no recession. If we read what we are signing, before we sign then we have no else to blame but ourselves. Quit buying crap that later will be of no use, and save. Stop buying SUV's gas guzzling cars, take your lunch to work etc... That also might make for a better world for us all, and help curb Global Warming.

I don't fear either.

Thanks to media for making every muslim in the world a TERRORIST
I don't fear terrorism and recession i fear being muslim .

Waheed

This is even under the assumption, that a recession costs no lives:
* People are depressed or angry more of the time. Depressed and angry people are more likely to cause accidents (plus there may be an increase in crime also)
* Cheaper cars have fewer built in security
* greater pressure on companies for low prices -> greater pressure to only fulfill the required minimum for security at the workplace.
More stress -> more accidents, more heart problems
People have to buy cheaper food -> heart problems (this, i think, is a big one)
* more people, who cannot survive financially without crime (or, at least, who see no other possibilities)
....
If you have these changes in statistics in a big population, like the whole US, i think it will add up to more fatalities than some terror attack easily.

l think this seems crazy, for so long USA has been in war with Afghanistan, lrak and so on we haven't see any changes since then. My only fear is that USA could not solve this war. The leaders must leave them and contribute better securities to their own country.

Neither! Fear of terrorism is irrational. I am more afraid of random violence by our very own citizens than "terrorists".

Terrorism and recession are inter-related. Either causes the other.
Peace is a must for development . Throughout history, the lack of the other has come handy to power-seekers in bullying the masses.

I certainly agree with recession. Being professional i dont want to loose my identity as i've tried lot to gain it. Terrorism in other hand is also serious. Chances of victim of terrrorism is 0.001% where i currently facing recession. Afterall i am residing in western world.
But i think there is no comparision of these two topics as it doesnt make sense to compare economy and threat.
hope you dont mind but recession is created by US to make more money on oil prices.

Both, in equal measure.

A recession is what I fear most at this time.

Ray, I am a conservative living in the US. You were talking about "the real facts". Where are you getting the "real facts" from? Bush? Michael Moore? Fox News? CIA (who told us about the WMDs)?

Also by definition a Leader should have followers. I do not see many nations following the US in the current war. Then how can you talk about the US taking the "leadership"?

Recession impacts the population as a whole. Terrorism, as terrible as it is, is as isolated as a house fire, a train wreck or an earthquake. More or less, you have no control over isolated events and you can't let them dictate the way you live your life. The effect of a recession on the other hand, injures across all demographics. Unless you live in a war zone, an individual's chance of dying in a terrorist attack is still less than dying in a plane wreck, a rare disease or a shark attack.

Todd you ask the right questions. What I fear is the incompetent President and administration that has killed more Americans by war, poverty, famine or natural disaster in the last 8 years than terrorism has killed Americans in 30 years and has brought us to the worst financial crisis in modern times. We are in a 21st century depression, just look to the bank bail outs, echoes of 1934! Fear not the words; fear the people who’s evil deeds bring them upon us, and who use them to control us.

This is an interesting question and even more interesting if you consider the economic consequences of each one. A recession has direct consequences for a large number of people and as such could reasonably be viewed as the threat which has the widest impact. On the other hand, the probability of being impacted by the initial terrorist incident is relatively low (.......but higher than being struck by a meteorite) however the spinoffs of such an attack can be much worse than a recession. Uncertainty, drop in asset values, decreased value of investments, hassles in travelling for business and pleasure, pessimistic outlook and suspicions can significantly impact our economies and in turn us. While not fearing being directly caught up in an attack most of us would be caught up in the aftermath.

i believe sadly and unwisely,the wrongful strategy of combating terrorism is the one that soared up the oil prices and led to recession.
nevertheless recession affects more than terrorism(till now),it affects education an essential tool used to fight the ideology of terrorism,not just gun against gun,its thought against thought.

I don't fear either one. Recession happens just like terrorist actions and both can be prevented. I'm not sure how to prevent either but I don't believe any goverment in the world is capable of preventing either forever.

While Waheed's comment above is regrettable it is also true. The media has made muslims in general out to be terrorist. But... Most terrorists are unfortunately muslim.

I do not fear either. Let's face up to something that no politician will ever say: Terrorism threats will always be here because there will always be a group of individuals with vast monetary resources that is unhappy about something and a will to make a statement. .

Recessions happen because of bad monetary policies, be it personal, corporate, or governmental so no stopping it.

What I do fear is an affliction that we can't seem to cure............. Human Ignorance. It ranges from electing incompetent leaders, to creating false wars, to humans acting like sheeple (people following along in a heard with out invoking critical thinking), to passively attempting peace just for your own legacy. If we cure human ignorance, then we will no longer have the need to ask such questions.

i would say, recession. i am from Brunei Darussalam an islamic country. we are a very small and peaceful country population of under 400 thousand,and we do not tolerate and undesirable activities.

the ever increasing global prices recently affected us more than terrorism.being a very peaceful country, we are more concerned with the increasing prices in staple food which does affect the whole population here.

I truly resent the framing of the question. Frankly it trivializes both and guides the reader into an emotional responsiveness . Acts of terrorism may be terrible for you if you are the direct victim but frankly are meaningless in the greater stream of our daily lives. A worldwide recession touches each one of us at the core of our being and threatens our daily peace of mind . The financial threat is more powerful by orders of magnitude. By framing the question as was done I must wonder if you, the author , are some sort of propaganda monger for the existing political leadership. The only people benefitting from the stupidity of the fearmongering that this kind of question represents are our modern political leaders.

I believe that recession is the greater worry. With the cost of living rising, people have less to give those in need. Those in need are often the same people that turn to terror to get what they believe is theirs. Recession has a direct influence on political decision making as Western governments will have less to spend on programs to lessen the causes of terrorism.

The data from the USA points to the economy being the biggest decider in the upcoming election. One of the main reasons people are calling for the troops to come home is not because they believe the war has been won, nor that the Iraq can handle the country themselves but that the war is costing too much and that money could be best spent elsewhere.

So if you fear terrorism then you better hope that any recession doesn't slow down any progress being made to combat it.

I am more afraid of a terrorist attack. A recession doesn't cause death, at least not directly, but a terrorist attack causes death and economic chaos. I dont think anyone can live with the horrors of witnessing those heinous things firsthand but we can always recover from a recession. I hope we all find ways out of these quagmires whenever we are unfortunate to be victims of them.

Living oversea's you would think that the threat of terrorism would be feared most but I can say for certain that while living oversea's has its risk, I personally have not felt the fear of terrorism like I have felt the fear of recession. Daily we are reminded how far the USD has dropped, the cost of living oversea's is incredible. The cost of fuel hear is $7.00 per gallon. The USD copmpared to the EURO is $0.62, and in the UK we are talking about a 2-1 ratio, that is scary, especially when you see the second world countries joining the European Union and immediately their currency is worth more then our own....

We need to quit spending money on this so called WAR on TERROR and start working on gettnig the US Economy up to par with other countries around the world or soon enough America will become less of a Super Power then what we think. We need to spend money on education, health care, housing and worry about protecting our economy.

Recession by a long shot, and most people should too. I was in a terrorist attack in Egypt in 2005 and believe me while it was awful, the likelihood of it happening to me personally again are very small. And I rationally know that. However, having also been mugged and beat up for my mobile phone, I know that the worse that the economy becomes the more likely I am to be assaulted for my personal possessions as fewer people have economic security and more people become desperate for honest opportunities. I think this is a major flaw of the public especially in this American political campaign, to focus on the more dramatic, but less likely event and downplay the more common and widespread issue and consequences of economic hardships and the pressures it places on people that are already vulnerable.

The American government has definitely overplayed the threat of terrorist attacks: the alert colors are just a sign of trying to use it to keep people afraid of the real situation. In small towns of just a hundred people, the inhabitants claim they are afraid of terrorism. People say they fear travel, yet more people get killed in accidents every week commuting privately than in public transport, with more people dying in car crashes weekly in the US than any given terror attack in the US. And politicians use it – 'I am tough on terror'. It is truly a culture of fear, propagated by the media and government.

the recession brings poverty. That is is only danger, eventhough it may not go that far
the terrorism brings death. That is its only danger but it may, too, not go that far.

Therefore i ask myself, why does a person have more fear to confront poverty, than to confront death.

In my eyes this means not only a materialistic mind but a particular arrogant pride.

I think the question should be "Which do you fear most Bush, Terrorist attack , recession?". I think the answer would be both as Bush stands for both.

Are these the Signs of the Times ? Is this the end of the world spoken of ?

The world is in chaos. Food riots, Earthquakes, Recession, Political chaos, etc. Open your eyes and you will see. THE END IS HERE!!!

Terrorism takes lives quickly. Recession cost lives too: Food Riots, Coups, etc. Recession is a slow death. It depends how you wanna die...

South Africa

I do not fear words or concepts. To do so, is to prepare yourself to lose. Instead, my family and I commit ourselves to preparing for life and then living in the way WE choose.

Fear nothing, gain everything.

No contest...Republican politics worst exemplified by this Bush administration's policies, or lack there of, which have "managed" to put the fear of recession and terrorism in the heart and mind of every American.

I find it very disturbing how we are programmed into thinking from day one how rosey the world is and how goverment officials run hand in hand through a field of daiseys, wake up people the uk and the us are heading into a police state. We are being run by elite bankers ie Jp morgan, rockafella's, its documented that Prescott bush ( george w bush's grandad ) was involved in money laundering for the nazis its a fact. Dont think for one moment that although the 2nd world war was over sixty years ago that history wont repeat itself. Alex jone's ( look on google video ) has been researching this for years alot of people have said he is crazy but i've checked everything he says and everything checks out. I live in England and it's becoming quite scary to live here now, i'm not talking bomb's going off i'm talking about our goverment and police force's. Stop watching reality tv shows and get educated in politics and history.

Americans worst enemy are themselves. And I'm an American. I live in Italy. You get a whole different perspective when you're not living in the states.

It's nice to be living outside of the fishbowl. I recommend it to everyone.

Oh...I fear the American recession and the collapse of the USD....

Personally I fear a recession and republicain administration the most,because with this adminstration I'm sure that they can do everything to prevent recession and the terrorisme at beautiful day in front of him to expand and rising in the world and also Iraqi peoples can not live in peace like the other nations with the certainty to be made steal their oil to the detriment of their misery.

as always American peoples think only for their interest.

From the answers I have read we seem to be worried more about our money then living, to me this is what is wrong with the world its all about money, one day we all will die and guess what you can't take it with you. Live life to the fullest and who cares about the money. We seem to blame everyone else for all the problems in the world, but we should just look in the mirror its all of our fault we created this mess not Bush or Big oil. Everone is out for themselves, bigger cars, bigger houses, bigger tv more more more. MORE MONEY!!! So to answer your question which I fear more neither. I have only one fear not living my life to the fullest.

Recession for sure. I do quite a bit of traveling and not being able to afford travel fares is a much scarier thought that the remote chance I get stuck in the middle of a terrorist act.

I fear recession more . The recession in the states has a knock on effect the world over and we in other countries are feeling the heat just as much as the people in the states . People who have just eased into new jobs are no longer sure of hanging on to it and those who have been at their jobs for so long now dread severe pay cuts . Young students graduating out of college are not assured of a job despite being offered jobs by many Co.'s just a few months ago.

Its all very uncertain. A prolonged period of tension and anguish – its like a bad headache that is ringing a bell in your head and it wont go away .

Terrorism ? The fear of being a victim is ALWAYS there but it doesn't affect you everyday as the recession is right now.

Recession for me is worse. I travel every month through London and Madrid. I live most of the time in Germany. I felt terrible for the actual victims of 911 and London, but it had no effect on me other than minor inconveniences and travel adjustments.

Recession maybe is feared as we know little of what it means for the economies of the US and western europe to suddenly flip out. We have had a lot of experiences with Terrorism since the 70s and the Pan Am flights. We are comfortable with the model. Bad people bomb a church, hijack a plane, or underground. People will get killed and we hope its not our own skin. But each time from Northern Ireland, London, New York and Madrid, we see people get over it and go on.

Recession on the other hand we dont know much about. We live through minor ones, but we keep waiting for the big one. Will the next recession just be a small 2.0 on the Richter Scale or the mad slipping of California into the Pacific kind of economic change. The thoughts of an organised germany suddenly in absolute chaos because of a collapsed economy, is more threatening then a few freak terrorists.

911 quickly faded from my mind when America became a terrorist nation by attacking Iraq on trumped up causes. I would imagine that the hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqis bear stark testament to this.
However, reccession will have its greatest affect on capitalism, which has long been in need of burial. I will find a spade and help.
Des Currie

Recession is the greater evil – it has a wider impact and does not trigger the same selfless response as a terrorist attack. Will the recession inspire a 911-type all-hands-to the wheel response? I think not, it will be every-man-for-himself.

Terrorism is the making of governments and conspiracies. Dont you think for one moment that the issue is simple as that: terrorism or recession.
things are not as black and white as it might seem.
and also your government as well as mine as well as most governments with power and money feed on terrorism and the fear of terrorism and actually fund the so called "terrorists" (CIA giving weapons to many terrorists or american called terrorists organizations) because they profit from the fear and the mayhem it produces.
so please be smart and stop seeing things as stupidly simple as it has been portrayed in this silly question, recession or terrorism....
my dear reporter, they r both illusions, the real question should be: what do u fear more: ur government or ur next government

Definitely recession.

A son can bear with equanimity the loss of his father, but the loss of his inheritance may drive him to despair-Machiavelli

Kathleen, if you are embarrassed to be an American than by all means stay in South Korea. I lived there for three years and will never step foot in that country again. The reason the Koreans have such a good public transportation system is because they weren't allowed to own cars until about 20 years ago; public transportation is all they had! For all of you Democrat lovers, think about his: Democrats have controlled Congress for two years and look where the country is now..just think about it instead of listening to the Liberal press 24/7. Congress makes the laws and controls the purse strings, not the President! The difference between Democrats and myself is I actually listen to all sides and look for the facts.

Definitely a recession......if the Neo-Cons were to re-think their strategy in the Middle East and stop babysitting Israel,then the threat of a terrorist attack would indeed be lessened.A pullout from Iraq and Afghanistan coupled with a fair and balanced policy on the "Israel-Palestine" issue will only bring peace.As far as the Recession is concerned,I think it's going to take time and we must be patient with the "trade cycle".Its tricky this time because there are fears that a low interest rate environment could fuel inflation.With sky-high crude oil prices and a weak dollar....I wonder where we're going......someone please tell me :-)

My answer was a terrorist attack, but I asked my husband and he said
" If you see a terrorist attack on tv, then your fine. If you see a recession on tv then your @#$%&%"

I thought that was funny but it got me thinking. Why was I more worried about losing loved ones. Is it because I'm more emotional and think rather of my husband as the main bread winner. Maybe as a man he worried more about the recession. What do you guys think?

Todd, what if there is no recession. You have been saying it for several months now and still no evidence of one. Market has rallied about 11% since January and you are still stuck on this broken record. Have you ever heard the expression that "once the R word is spoken the recession is already over?"

Recession, always. If you want to connect the two, you could easily say that a bad recession would create an inability for the US to fight terrorism. However, at this point in time I am living in Italy, getting paid in euros and getting a "discount" as it were, on my US bills (which is admittedly, a little fun). While I am doing well, my mother, a registered nurse who works in home healthcare, has recently been laid off, and will almost certainly lose her home. So, while I'm able to pay off my bills rapidly and get ahead, my family is losing the things they've worked so hard for. It isn't going to be an easy year for anyone.

Although the undercover agent that al-Qaeda has managed to plant as President of the US has done his utmost to further terrorism, the most damaging effect of his actions has been to stall the economy. The debt he created will be with us for generations.

To Todd:

POEM

If recession comes again

We will loose our money, and than?

But if terrorism kills all of us

We won't buy our dreaming house!

Maria Giovanna

ps. Can I have Michale From email or phone number? Is he really in Naples? Hilarious!

Bush Terrorism is economic collapse, what a mighty leveller he's been.

Prohibition and the oil wars are already a failed policy; but bankrupt
fools will cost us all dearly. Ever since the bush-saudi planned 911
attacks, the country has been under assault from the criminal PNAC
American Talibans. And Until these taliban are shamed out of office, the embarassment is all of ours.

Not being a reserve currency is a one way street indeed.

I can't imagine not fearing terrorism more.....we have lived through recessions and depressions and the majority of people have coped and life carries on albeit without all the extras we all seem to need to live these days! Terrorism is loss of life, loss of family, loved ones, and especially our loss of freedom....I am a native New Yorker who still cries about the Twin Towers....my brother was in the second tower and only because of his good sense to ignore the announcements that "the tower is safe" is he alive to tell his tale. I never, ever felt safe in NYC again....the joy and spontaneity we all lived with was taken away that day. I left New York – and the USA – a year ago and now live in a small town in Ireland where sometimes I still feel the anxiety that September 11th has left with me. Recession will happen and we will go on living and loving and feeling – terrorism happens and the world is never the same.

If you ignore the demolishing of civil liberites and privacy, terrorism only directly affects a relatively small number of people.
Recession directly affects the lives of everybody. Except perhaps the very rich.

The so-called war on terrorism is wasting billions on fighting the wrong enemy. War should be declared on poverty and recession, even if it means that the rich must pay taxes – heaven help us.

Best regards

Peter

Of course recession (stagflation caused by energy prices). Ression in the US is recession in the world. Recession = more terror, as described in the Global resources Analysis 2008 (www.induscorporation.com/downloads)

That's easy............recession. A recession effects EVERYONE in every part of their lives.....their present and their future. Terrorism is devastating when it happens, but random in nature...................

I remember way back when I was studying gothic literature learning about the definition of terror and horror. Horror is by definition the act that occured on 9/11 and the scenes that were played out in front of millions of people on their TVs at home. Terror on the other hand is the fear of what might happen, it is the thump thump in the corridor that the brain starts to build into some sort of monster or burglar or otherwise, when in fact it's just the dog that is wagging it's tail on the ground. That's what terrorists play with. I'm not downplaying the events of 9/11 in anyway, terrorists have to mount things like that to 'prove' what they are capable of, but the way terorrism works is that it gets a grip of people, makes them uncomfortable on the subway or bus when a young asian man gets on with a backpack, when a group of muslims are on a flight, it makes you fearful and it makes you wonder and it makes you take precautions. Your heart beats a little faster, you look for the exit, you get your phone ready just in case.

I say, don't give in to them, don't be afraid of terrorism, that is their aim. Recession is far more relevant to our every day lives. It will affect us all, but it is something that can and must be controlled.

A recession, whether localised or global can be fixed through smart thinking by authorities and hence there is no history of prolonged recessions. In a recession you can survive by changing the employment of your resources/savings and your life style. On the other hand under terrorists conditions you would be dead. I would therefore prefer to live under recessionary conditions(which i know would soon be corrected) than to be dead outright.

I fear recession more than terrorism, although as was stated I cried when I saw what happened at the World Trade Centre and in London,especially as I was just a few minutes away from the locations. But the real question is do you fear Terrorism or the governments fighting of terrorism.

I can survive the terrorist, and the recession but the governments strangle hold to fight terrorism is another thing.

It’s Recession undoubtedly – It affects far more people globally and for a much, much longer duration.

That said, the sad part is that both are preventable or at least controllable.

Terrorism – by fairly and justly addressing the Root Causes rather than just tackling the effects of terror attacks. The policies of the current US administration and it’s “allies” in this regard have been an unmitigated disaster – only creating more terrorists rather than curtailing their growth making the entire world more vulnerable to terror attacks.

Recession – has been brought on again by the current US administration’s economic policies of unabashed wasteful spending of largely borrowed money, a total lack of fiduciary responsibility and other bubble creating actions.

We're being sold both, by bankers and governments. The bankers caused the recession and the government caused the terrorism. Its the same with the global warming threat – we are told we have to do this and do that to stop it, but its not us, the man in the street who caused it, its big business and governments everywhere

Another person left this comment: "Due to the Bush administration, I think that both terrorism and recession are very likely. Bush has done nothing to make the world a safer place to live in."

I understand that point of view, but it is basically way to early for such a claim, because combattling terror will take a long time. Atleast a few decades or more. Expecting terrorism, in its persent form, to go away within a few years was and is naive.

While London was being bombed in WWII, no londoner would have had the oppinion: "Yes, the world is a more peacefull/safer right now, then before the war started", and neither should we today. The struggle is ongoing, and will take time. I am optimistic about the future though, and I firmly beleive that spreading democracy will in the end make the world a more peacefull/safer place.

The millions of iraqi and afghan inkstained fingers are a true testiment of their will to live in peace and democracy, and its important we do not let them down!

To answer the question, I do not fear terrorism at all. I use the trains every day, and I cant remember ever worrying about being blown up. I have often worried about being a victim of a (violant) crime on those trains, which is much much much more likely, then becoming a victim of terrorism.

Recession is going to have a much bigger impact on alot of people lives, then terrorism ever will. I dont fear recession either though.

I'm more concerned about recession. We have lost control of our responsibilities in managing the system.

We can handle anything any terrorist want to try and dish out.

hpb

Most interesting replies here indeed – to add (some ancient proverb...)

What you fear will overcome you.

The only real fear i have is – The lack of future for all the peoples of the this once great planet. If one considers the fundamental flaws of their ideologies you'll realise they have nowhere to go and nobody to lead them.

Never underestimate the power of human stupidity..!

i'm lucky i live in nz where the likelihood of a terrorist act is pretty slim so i dont worry bout this and even if by some random chance this happened it is not something i can control. My motto is if i cant control it then i wont worry about it. If it is in my control i will worry cause i want to make it right. I have made up my mind not to worry about a reccession however i am living like we are in one finding and making ways to stop spending money, to pay off my debt and save – and i am enjoying the learning process in as much as i realize the difference between a want and a need, and that i am a good mother as i am, it is not dependent on all the things kids say they need (want) that makes me a good mum and that i am no longer dependent on shopping to make me happy or to feel valued by friends and neighbours. All good things as far as i am concerned and very long overdue in the education of what is important.

I am from Mozambique.
Firstly I don’t believe that terrorism can not be avoided, of course there are some situations that are out of our control, but for example terrorism in Africa is a fact that can be strongly minimized.
About your question what do I fear more, for me what is really dangerous is a terrorism attack, because does not affect the real target It can harm anybody.
Although knowing that what happens after will not have a direct affect in our life.
In another view what can affect me strongly is the recession, because in the world that we leave, around me, we don’t have enough funds to survive at last until the day after, it really make leave us with no defense against recession what is the terrorism for an African person.

Shalom, Yehoshua, unfortunately 99% of people don`t understand the changes that will be necessary in the future. As Prof. Michio Kaku said, the change from a T0 to a T1 civilisation will be very difficult % extremely dangerous. Best wishes, Irish.

It is imperrative for our governments to keep us in fear of a common evil. Before it was terrorism it was the Soviet threat – when the Soviet Uuion collapsed the US and UK and others, had to find a replacement enemy and terrorism was the ideal candidate. It is plausible, capable of being massively exagerated and, by definition can be made to live in the thoughts of the general masses so as to enable control and legislation otherwise beyond reach to governmentsand is largely invisible until on rare occasions it does something. Recession is a far worse thing to fear.

I fear George Bush and Dick Cheney 1st and foremost, recession 2nd and terrorism a distant 3rd. My reason is quite simple. One can not live in fear to cope with Terrorism but that's the current policy of the administration in the USA.

Todd, as a brazilian I could say, as we haven´t been involved in any act of terrorism, recession is what I fear more. But we do live surrounded by a civil war with organized crime and drug dealers, special in Rio and Sao Paulo, where I live now.
But as I grew hearing Brazil is the country of the future, and it seems now that this future is near as our GDP grew steadly for the past two years above 4%, what i fear more now is a downturn caused by a recession. I don´t know if we could live another "okay, let´s recover and start all over again". Maybe, what we fear the most is inflation.
Even down here, where the recession fear is far, recession, as I see it, is what people feel more.

Why would you fear either? Recessions come and go, and most people manage. The real probability of being harmed by a terrorist is similar to the probability of being struck by lightning, and much smaller than being killed in an automobile accident.

I think both are very scary to me, both are man made problems, it need to be fixed through a collective action, discussions, encouraging people to work hard and talk on issues.

Without a doubt I fear recession more than terrorism. Until we get a new president I will continue to worry about the economical rut our country has fallen in to. So many people ignore the problem or do not even acknowledge it as a problem. This will be the first election I can participate in and by far the national economy and human rights violations taking place all over the world are my biggest concern.

I fear neither.

What I do fear is Peak Oil (google it, you'll be so scared).

Terrorism and Recession in that sense would both be beneficial.

Terrorism would mean that the US would invade hostile countries, which just happen to be in the biggest oil producing regions of the world, in order to secure these areas for 'security' reasons and would in turn secure oil interests.

A recession would also be beneficial because any form of economic slowdown would help to alleviate the amount of oil we are guzzling up, not to mention the negative externalities present from things such as global warming.

If forced to answer, I'd have to say I "fear" terrorism more (if I can even call it "fear"). I don't "fear" recession at all. But there are plenty of things I am much more nervous about than either. For example, what if I come down with a dreadful disease that my health insurance decides is not covered; or what if the deductibles completely wipe out my family's savings? What if John McCain somehow manages to fool people into believing that he is not a near-clone of George Bush and we elect ANOTHER Republican to do further global damage??? (McCain offers the same exact policies, with a mild hint of intelligence) What if global warming gets so bad that I never down-hill ski again? What if the billion-plus citizens of China all get cars (right now it's still much less than half)?? (You think gas prices are high now?!!!!)

This is not meant to trivialize terrorism or the recession. Both are real sources of anxiety to people. But in the grand scheme, they are just two of many potential threats. One has an extremely low chance of affecting me or anyone I know; and the other will have a relatively low impact on me.

C. Boyle

There´s no point in "fearing" either.

Both are inevitable.

state terrorism for plundering of natural resources and exterminating minor nationalities are more dangerous.

FEAR = False Education Appearing Real...we fear things that we're taught to fear...unfortunately world leaders tend to use fear as the most compelling vision of where they don't want to lead us!
I believe it would be better if not only the leaders but also extra ordinary people like you and me would spend more time discussing a more ideal picture of the world as we would like it to look like...here and elsewhere...you cannot motivate anyone on the opposite of an idea...not possible.
The truth is that many of the fears taunted by the press (as probably the worst preachers of fear) as well as world leaders, somehow end up becoming selffulfilling prophecies.
Terrorism is a phenomenon that is constantly fed by pressure and counterpressure between political and religious interest groups. Maybe the "hardline" in fighting terrorism is the "fastline" to provoking more of it? Looking in the rearview mirror (which of course is the easier thing to do) a lot of the justification used by the US for attacking Iraq, can hardly be said to have been factually proven...does it stimulate more terror or not?
The recession as scary as it may seem, is nothing more than a temporary inconvenience that we'll all survive...it hurts (personally I lost big time on my investments) but it makes us stronger...real problems are the ones they are currently suffering in China and Myanmar...wake up! Until the middle of last year noone was really talking about recession but suddenly the "credit crisis" (by the way: amazing how irresponsible these banks can be when thinking about how they treat their customers) became the favorite subject...and voila...it escalated to a worldwide financial crisis...I really wonder if it would have happened if we had all been focusing on the positive side of life?
All the negativity feeds the negative spirals which we suddenly find ourselves as part of...let's deal with our fears and rather create some positive winds! It's all a matter of perspective and perception...americans, for example, are whining about the price of gas while we in Europe are paying twice as much when we are tanking our cars...who is showing more responsibility in solving the oil problems? Buy smaller less consuming cars and turn on the air conditions only when needed...increase the price at the pump to envoke a sense of responsibility...it's really not so difficult to solve some of these "problems"!
In the words of Einstein: "Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them from happening".

TERRORISM BRINGS RECESSION !
RECESSION BRINGS TERRORISM !

I live in Taiwan now.
If my husband had stayed at his job in San Diego, his company would have had to declare bankruptcy, I have no doubt.
He saved the (engineering) company by opening an Asian branch.

I'm amazed.... living life in any kind of "fearful state" is bad enough in and of itself. However, if you're forced to fear one or the other – that anyone would fear recession over terrorism is astonishing. If you're the victim of one, which would have the more lasting affect? Recession is temporary – it can change your economic situation, sure, but beyond that, there's all kinds of opportunity that can arise out of economic uncertainty , and it doesn't potentially cost you or your loved ones life, as being the victim of terrorism can and does...

Ray you need to wake up. You don't put a fire out with fire!

Recessions are temporary and a (sometimes) necessary part of a working economy

Terrorism kills people

It really is as simple as that. I personally don't understand how anyone could fear a recession more, but tis each his own..

Recession, of course: it is why I have just returned to Europe, after working in the US for 4 years. I felt engaged in a moral struggle with myself for paying taxes for useless wars, which in turn contributed to weaken the dollar. Please, dear americans, think twice before (re)electing presidents who destroy your economy, your dollar, and global peace! In the meanwhile, I am more than happy to be working overseas.

Kris

Neither. I fear the most our boneheaded responses to the earlier terrorist attacks, which have killed more Americans (and at least an order of magnitude more other people, although apparently that does not count for us), obliterated principles on which our country was founded, raised the price of oil, imposed a heavy economic price, made us a world pariah, and, although I hope not, possibly encouraged new generations of terrorists against us.

over the last 20 years, more people have died of broccoli than terrorism (in the US or Europe). The word "terroism" is now being used as more of a fear mongering tactic or a catch phrase than a useful or definable term. I dont think the "war on terrorism" is real as much as it is a political stunt.

My fears are in this order

This is controversial, but I think that the 9-11 attacks were not from terrorists. I think they were exactly what the sinking of that fake ship off the coasts of Vietnam was – a planned incentive to get our feet planted firmly in the Middle East, for oil out there, and for more control of civilian´s rights here.
Let´s talk about that a bit more, shall we?
Therefore, I fear recession more. Living in Argentina right now, I´ve seen the chaotic effects of a drastic recession, and I think our global economy is heading for a global, drastic recession as oil peaks and dies, and strains on food and water increase.

Recession without a doubt. If i am affected by terrorism it would be undoubtfully quite tragic but atleast life would go on somehow afterwards. With recession how to go on would be the number one fearsome question to ask every single awake minute! money is a power which a lot of us underestimate, agreed money can't buy 'everything' and all that but it certainly makes life livable.

I fear the United States Government, the greatest terrorist organization in the world.

I fear recession more. When parents can 't feed their children they become angry. When the jobless feel hopeless they become angry. When the sick can not get care they become angry. During periods of recession/depression angry and fearful people listen to the racists, anti-semitics, and religious fundamentalists who blame all their troubles on, well...(well, you know who.) We become uncivilized. We sin against our neighbors. We sin against God.

ofcourse R E C E S S I O N !!!
Our decision makers are clueless of the hardships and sufferings our fellow human beings are going through due to their wrong priorities.

I fear recession more because terrorism seems so far away from me (I live in Hong Kong), and recession can be just outside my front door! If I am a victim of terrorism, it is very very likely that I will be back in the arms of God as HK is so small and full of high rise buildings!! So no worries about the life afterwards. Besides, terrorism is a one-time and sudden thing, so no need to be tortured by the fear of the coming of it.

Recession is definitely on the down side on my own scale. It affects my daily life, and we have to feel and face it, which is a psychological pain. Not to mention the pressure coming along with it – no money for this, no money for that. This is a very serious thing when you can't even fulfill the basic needs of yourself and your love ones. So scary....

If our economy tanks any more we won't have the money for a war on terror.Wake up ,or the recession we are in will be a depression and then everyone can through rocks at each other, because we won't be able to buy bullets.

I fear terrorism more.
I pray that the people will arrest, prosecute and hang the terrorists.
So when will you start with the terrorist leader Bush and his cronies?

ofcourse R E C E S S I O N !!!
obviously some people are clueless of the hardships and sufferings our fellow human beings are going through due to wrong priorities of our decision makers

Definitely, I fear recession the most. Recession definitely strucks you, terrorism is like an act of nature, though acts of nature are definitely worse but since no politician can blame God or do a thing about them (well, they could be prepared at least....think Katrina) they don't come out in politics. I am a peruvian that has lived through recession all my life, through very nasty terrorism (Iraq like) for 10 years an thru four mayor earthquakes. Earthquakes scare me the most, then recession, then terrorism, and this is from someone who's office was bombed 4 times, and drove through a car bomb 5 minutes before it exploded.

Well the way I see it...
A recession is a reality. It´s here and it´s now. Terrorism is something that mainly in manefested in your mind, actually it´s a state of mind. You can allow yourself to be terrorized by the actions of someone else, and it probably will never affect you directly. However with respect to economic recession, if it doesn´t directly affect you it no doubt will affect someone close to you, if not someone in your family.
Fortunately the terrorism isn´t likely to affect you directly nor adversely and for the millions of folk who lose their homes, cars, have to tighten the belt another notch, this is a reality and not just some fanatic blabbering away on YOUTUBE or similar.

There are about a hundred things an average person living in america or elsewhere on the globe should fear more than terrorism. Traffic for example, kills as many in a month in america as the total number of people killed in the terrorist attacks on the 11th of september 2001. So why the fascination with terror? Some people talk about the horror, but would you say to someone that just lost their family in a car crash? Some say it's because attacks are deliberate, but some 11 000 people are shot and killed in the US every year (yes since 9/11 thats more than the number of US soldiers killed in Vietnam). I wonder of someone stood to gain by keeping people scared of something they have relatively little reason to fear?

I fear recession more .This will affect everyone and will also affect the other countries. It will create a series of distruction, aces and pains especially if during that particular time a natural disaster should strike. This will cause people to turn to other means of staying alive.

Tough choice. Picking between a rock and a hard place is never easy, but I would have to say terrorism as I think I could recover from a recession, but the thought of losing either my life or my loved ones fills me with dread.

What an interesting question. It really has made me think about what matters most. While I don't welcome a recession and the hardships it brings, at the end of the day, an act of terrorism could have a level of finality that I wouldn't want to deal with.

I'm a Nigerian studying in Malaysia. I'd considered transferring to a U.S school but as it stands now I'm discouraged.

Get rid of Bush , he stands for both TERRORISM AND RECESSION

I fear terrorism just as I fear eathquakes, hurricanes, or just driving to work. But I fear recession more. I've been through it once and I hope not to have to suffer like that again. Sadly, the recent politics of fear mongering by the Republican's to to tout their "supremacy" in national security has resulted in a great exaggeration and misunderstanding of the terroist threat on US soil. Millions of people get dislocated during recessions. Over 30,000 people a year die on America's highways. Now those are fears worthy of a lot of attention.

recession will be devasting!!!!!!

Definitely a recession.

Terrorism is a manageable problem. Sort of like cockroaches. You can mostly keep them out of your house but they will never be completely rooted out from everywhere. The chances of dying in a terrorist attack are lower than even dying in an ordinary plane crash, let alone in a car crash.

My worry is that the US does not take a long term approach. All this talk of "getting out of Iraq" and so forth is frightening. The problems in Iraq and Afghanistan can't be solved in a few years. Try two or three decades.

Terrorism is manageable. Recession is much worse.

67% fear recession more, which is why any Democrat can and will beat any Republican in nearly every race this coming election. It is Hoover vs. FDR redux.

I fear neither. I fear the fact that the leaders of the Western world – U.S. and the UK are people beyond the scope of law and justice. How can we (the United States) regain our credibility in the world and end potential terrorist attacks? Simple. Send those responsible for the illegal wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to prison. Stop supporting defacto "democracies" with puppet dictators (Pinochet, Noriega, etc. etc.).

If one really studies the history of US Foreign Policy, it is easy to see why America is the most hated country in the world. Our leaders and the Transnational corporations treat the world (and all that is in it) as if it belongs to them and them alone. The world will not tolerate this – not any longer. People will take up arms and fight before they will watch their children, mothers, fathers and families die of starvation. US Foreign policy, the World Bank and the IMF serve only to create and perpetuate terrorism.

What do the following three people have in common? Manuel Noriega, the Shaw of Iran and Osama bin Laden...

They were all formerly on the CIA payroll. Think about that.

Recession.

Terrorists attacks are somehow boiled down to extremists trying to put their word across to the world to respect their opinions, beliefs and religion. The US government presence in certain countries have often been labelled offensive and intolerant to their locals whom may have or want a total different way of life. I'm not making light of terrorists attacks in anyway, lives lost are always a tragic moment for us. With that said, lets consider the occupation in other countries; have we spared a thought for innocent families caught in the cross fire or even fall victims of a stray or misguided missle? The question of "Why did it happen?" should be answered. Less finger pointing and being more tolerant of other cultures, races and religion may just be the turning point of ending current terrorist threats.

Recession is slower yet prolonged, more painful and more real disaster to more people on a worldwide basis. Of course the middle to higher incomed individuals may be softer hit, but think about the less fortunate whom may have to go without shelter, food and medical treatment for months or even years. Just imagine how would one feel, having to watch your loved ones pass away right in front of your eyes due to being starved or just being unable to get medical attention for a simple cold/flu? And lets not forget how it may affect us on a social level, with the poor being hit harder, we can expect crimes to go up. Thefts, rioting, looting, murder... are just some of the desperate ways to get by. This may make it an even more possible and real threat from dying in a terrorist attack.
Don't expect them to be robbing/killing from the poor too...

First and foremost, I fear intellectuals being devalued by 'folks'. I shudder to think that being average and 'like us' is what we want in our leadership. Second, I fear recession. Terrorism is like being in an airplane crash, but recession is more like being in a car crash. You're much less likely to be impacted by the former than the latter. There are going to be a lot of air bags going off in the coming months...

I fear terrorism more than recession. All original life's instinct is living.
We could image that if you get two choices of meal as below:
1. Luxurious meal but maybe with poison
2. Common meal but definitely safe

Which one will you prefer under the condition if you don't eat you will die from starving?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7409593.stm

This will get worse on a global scale!

It's a stupid question. Think about it. Does the respondent factor in the likely of such an event occurring, or of its effect on the respondent's life?

So why ask a question such as "which would you prefer, living to a healthy, prosperous ripe old age, or being infected with HIV before you're 30" when the answer is obvious. Any reasonable person would be more afraid of a recession because (a) it is more likely to occur, and (b) it is more likely to affect any given individual when it does occur. Get it?

As a well-read expatriate living in Mexico, my answer would be this... One should fear the reason behind both problems, TERRORISM and RECESSION. That reason would be U.S. Foreign Policy. Neo-Con's are making America less safe while simultaneously bankrupting future generations because we are swimming in debt. The so-called "War on Terror" is shredding the U.S. Constitution while making the United States the most hated country on earth, all while bankrupting our economy. But hey, don't believe me, do a little reading of your own...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Condor

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Northwoods

American forces killing Americans to justify a war with Cuba... Sounds a little familiar. If anyone really believes that Muslims, Al Qaeda or Osama bin Laden were responsible for 911, well, they should turn off "American Idol: and read a few books... In reality, anyone who continues to vote for the war-monger, Neo-Con hawks are partially responsible for the mess we are in today.

Overeating, driving, smoking, drinking and just poor health practices kill more of us than terror. More of us die because we don't have health insurance than have ever died in terror attacks. Yet we have spent the last several years living in mortal fear and allowing that fear to motivate us into a lot of bad choices.

Is terror a threat to us. Yes. But we have more to fear from a recession because many more of us would suffer from one. People will lose everything and some may take their lives or other's lives as a result. The impact of recession can be long and painful and is a far more clear and present danger to you or me than terror ever will be. We need to have a better sense of perspective.

please see the youtube movie: "loose change final cut" this is an investigation about what really happened at 9/11. The Joe sixpacks and their allies are all manipulated by a new world order which uses terrorism and recession to let you all bow down to their plans. There did not happened such a thing a terror bombings by bin laden and co. Investigate the truth if you dare and you will be shocked by this mind game

I think the same force manipulates both

In my opinion, recession is more dangerous, because it is an issue tied directly to the structure of society: buying and selling, supporting your family, etc. If the structure of civil society collapses, consequences are dire. In your broadcast today, one of the anouncers mentioned Gaza as a place where the recession would have little effect, because things are already so bad there. But that observation only strengthens my argument, as a major cause of the suffering there is the lack of a healthy, structured economy. Options are few, and growing fewer, for so many who need to support their families. In such a situation, people grow desperate, and may choose desperate measures. Measures that, in some cases, lead to terrorism. This is not to excuse terrorism, but one must examine the causes of a disease before one can cure it, and poverty is known to be one of the reasons some people are ripe for the message being spread by terrorist leadership. Give a man a job, the ability to support his family, the strength of a dignified livelihood, and he's less likely to resort to violence. So, my vote for the big scare goes to the recession, a virus that can infect the body of society far beyond our neighbors' ability to refinance their mortgage.

The fear of terrorism is worse than terrorism itself.
While the dead has nothing to lose; the living has everything to lose.
For the greatest number, recession erodes the 'shine' from life; and could make the dead, the envy of the living.

What worries me most of all is what happens when we try to avoid ********* at all costs! ... and the dangerous consequences of letting our FEARS lead the way. What is required of a free society? What is required of a free market? The courage to face the present dangers and risks without looking away. ...without loosing our way of life.

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Ben F.

Quite thought provoking, Todd. ...keep 'em coming!

For us in Africa, Terrorism is not a threat. But recession affects everyone. Those who earned a dollar a day, do not even have a cent in their pockets anymore. This means that there are more people dying from hunger than terrorist acts. Recession is a new form of terrorism but on a larger scale. I hope Obama and his government will reverse things before millions of Africans die.

Recession of course.

Living in Europe as I presently do, terrorism is a lot more likely of a scenario than it is to the average American, but it doesn't change anything in my thinking. A terrorist act, despicable as it is, happens in a moment, you don't see it coming, you only deal with it afterwards if you are one of the small minority that it directly affects. Recession is something you see coming, it creeps in and gives you time to see its affects on others before it comes home to roost with you personally. It affects everyone as well, not just a small minority. Far more frightening to me is anything I get to think about before hand. If it just happens, then the worst is already come and gone and I simply have to pick up the pieces and move on. There is no terror in it. Seeing it coming and being powerless to do anything about it is far more terrifying to me.

You are joking right? 67% are more "afraid" of a recession than terrorism. Some people experience hardship in a recession, most are inconvenienced (can't buy as many DVDs as they want). However, people die from terrorism. And guess what, a significant terrorist attack will probably cause a recession or worse.

Recession is real where as terrorism is mainly manufactured by governments in order to keep us scared and to make us feel that we need them and are protected by them.

The fear of terrorism is itself terrorism and our media is playing its part in this crime.

95% of terrorism is perpetrated by those who claim to protect us from it. Without the fear of terrorism there would be no invations into oil rich nations, emergency control orders, patriot act and huge private and government contracts, massive milatry budgets or a New World Order. So you can see, who has the most to gain from terrorism.
.

I fear recession more than terrorism. Because it affects people across the globe for a longer duration of time. Moreover, severe recession will make the poor more poorer and thereby increases the chance of these people joining hands with terrorists in exchange to money and food for their families.

Americans will be smart enough this time, finally, to go democrat. And they will be smart enough to go Obama.

With Bush being removed, and McCain not given a chance, terrorism is removed ... because with this new democrat president, with the removal of the troops from the Iraq, with this sign of a renewed US, terror acts will end. The US will set new signals and re-strengthen to their former reputation. Dont forget what causes terror acts.

With the war finally ended even if "unsuccessful", more money stays in the US ... imagine the 600 billion spent uselessly in Iraq over the last years could float into your countrys needs ... dont make it another 600 billion.

so fear neither terror nor recession ... just a few more month to go.

To me recession coz that will effect anybody and everybody
terrorism do not, that is answer for ur question.

easy. recession.

this would have been a decent article, even for CNN, had the author not pandered so much to the right wingers who demand that the one and only fear of americans everywhere should be terrorism....

a recession affects many more people and is far more devastating.

Absolutely a recession.
This hits you where you eat, sleep, and work.
It affects your quality if life fundamentally.

Terrorism does it conceptually it gives many fear,
but it actually hurts a relative few.
A recession makes your getting on with life harder,
it makes your child look at you and say 'Daddy why can't
we go visit grandma like last year?' And all you can say is;
Sorry honey the economy is not good this year
we don't have the money. You have the same job,
but it doesn't get the same 'level of subsitance' as
it did before, and you work JUST AS HARD.

And it's WORSE for grandma she's on a retirement
check or fund that USED to be enough... But come
a recession, and it's living on the edge and scraping
the piggy bank for medications and heat bills.
And more than a few grandma's pass away from
lack of cash for necessities during recessions.

The percentage of people getting pain caused
by a recession is MUCH, MUCH greater than the
few dozens of people injured in all the terrorist attacks
in any year. Yes it IS horrible and people die for no
reasons beyond ideological claptrap and gibberish,
still MOST people have nothing to really fear from terrorists.
But a recession hits them where they live, day in and day out.

Well, coming from a country like Bangladesh which used to be a breeing ground for 'perverted' militants who kill in the name of Allah, terrorism is a big threat!It does not come to me as a surprise that most terrorists hail from third-world countries with failed economic systems.Most of the suicide-bombers who can't cater to their families' basic needs, are assured that their families will be taken care of which leads them to making the ultimate 'sacrifice'.This is all an after-effect of a low satndard of living where people are forced to live from hand to mouth.Ths recession in a country's economy builds up frustration in the people and may provoke them to take extreme measures.I would like to conclude by saying that I fear recession more as it may prove to be a catalyst for acts of terrorism and because it affects people at a larger scale whereas terrorists have their own 'intended audience'.

the rising gas price might be a good thing , since its the only thing we depend on , now we can , find another resource of how we live and go about making it better for the enviroment ..

blame no one blame bush only stupit bush

I would fear terrorism as it would hit you like a thief in the night. Recession can be seen and therefore you can make plans to accommodate the situation.

Myself I fear our government more than any other problem that we may approach. Who do they care more for us or themselves. There actions really explain it for me. Greed and Power has destroyed our so called caring government. GOD PLEASE BLESS THE USA we need it now more than ever.....................

If both come together that would be worse.

Absolutely RECESSION !

Terrorism, unfortunately, only has an immediate effect on those involved at the time. That is not to downplay it's importance though !.
Recession,on the other hand, effects everyone to a greater or lesser degree.
What concerns me though, is the fact that financial pundits continually talk down the economy, promoting unease and indeed panic in certains sectors.
Today, the Bradford & Bingley Bank appear to be in dire straights, following their policy of concentrating their lending to the Buy-to -Let market. But why the panic?. If the borrowers are unable to keep up the repayments on the loans; the Bank still hold the equity in the property and as we all know "Property " is a long term investment.
Whilst values may dip, in the short term; demand will step in and cause prices to rally again as soon as the Banks are back in their primary business of lending money.

Current interest rates are still relatively low, employment is still relatively full and demand is growing daily fuelled by the influx of immigrants, all of whom will need housing.

So to all of these pundits, keen to sell column inches in our "Daily Rags"; I would say calm down, return to realistic reporting and stop talking down a volitile market unnecessarily.

Then, and only then, will sanity return to our financial markets.

I'm an American soldier living in Cairo, Egypt. I'm surprised that so many people care more about their money (most of these people would probably benefit from a financial management class) than another terrorist attack. Is your money more important than the lives of your fellow Americans? Your friends? Family? Thats sad. If you're directly affected by a terrorist attack, it kind of affects your whole quality of life too, more than in just a financial way.

Actually, I believe it would be more appropriate to ask if we should fear an economic depression rather than a recession, since we're arguably already in a recession and the economy is showing every indication that it will get much worse. Despite his upbeat speech earlier this week, Ben and his associates at the Federal Reserve appear to be just as concerned as I am when you look at their actions rather than words. Why else would they have loaned more money to our banking system than in any time in history; driving the amount of Free Reserves to a record -77% deficit of Total Reserves. This represents a $110B deficit, and that is before the $75B auction that the Fed announced yesterday. The last time the Federal Reserve was running any deficit was in 1933 and it never ran greater than -44% at it's peak in 1929, if that's any indication as to the magnitude of concern the Federal Reserve Board has about our current banking liquidity issues. Even more troubling, is that what the Federal Reserve is accepting in exchange for these bank loans are growing in diversity and now include large quantities of OTC derivatives ... like the CDS (Credit Default Swaps) that bankrupt Bear Stearns.

A truthful Fed would be advising it's citizens to buy down any debt you have quickly and prepare yourself for a protracted (3+ years ?) very painful economic downturn.

But it is an election year, so I do understand why Ben can't simply say that.

I agree with Marty Ressinger.
He knows everything.