The Voice of Pure Evil (Part 3)

There is yet a further reason why the recent release of the Flight 93 recording is worthy of mention and I draw attention to it. As I mentioned in Part 1, this recording is exceptional in that it offers us the opportunity to listen to a particularly well documented...lie. And we are not just talking about a minor stretch of the truth:

Ziad Jarrah: "Hi, this is the captain. We'd like you all to remain seated. There is a bomb aboard. And we are going to turn back to the airport. And they have our demands so please remain quiet."

There is murder behind this lie. Despite its seeming innocuous appearance we already know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the speaker fully intends to murder every single passenger on that plane, and in fact did so. But it is not for its vulgarity or its shock appeal that I post it here, but rather for its profundity.


What does evil sound like?

What does it look like?

What does it encourage us to do?

How do you know it when you see it? When you hear its voice?


An old adage has been circulating for some number of years now about how bankers first learn to identify counterfeit currency. As the saying goes, new bankers are trained to recognize counterfeits simply by closely studying the genuine article. Having studied the real thing long enough, they are then able to pick out the frauds on sight. Unfortunately, the adage itself is only partly true. Talk to a banker, they will set you straight.

Bankers learn how to identify counterfeit notes both by studying the look and feel of currency through frequent handling and also by learning the common techniques that counterfeiters employ and the clues they inevitably leave behind. The question a new banker ought to ask is "What are the telltale signs of a counterfeit note?" By studying the techniques used, and the clues a counterfeiter often leaves behind, you will be in a position to frustrate their efforts.

It is a nice idea to be able to ID fake notes by simply spending time looking at the real thing. But that's all it is - a nice idea. When you are dealing with an amateur, it may work just fine. But when you're dealing with the pros....the idea doesn't hold water.