Security: The glass is netted on the other side

An interesting comment from Ryan McCannell, a USAID officer on other countries' perspective on the American threat, and the effective “form and function” of Dutch architecture:

"On the subject of security, I forgot to mention the most memorable thing that happened to me during my whole stay in Lusaka (next to diggin' in the dirt with you, Sean). I went to the Dutch Embassy, two doors down from the U.S. embassy, for a meeting with the political officer on donor coordination efforts in the democracy and governance field. Blah blah. Anyway, they have an interior courtyard with a glass-covered roof, creating a sort of atrium in the center of the staff area of the embassy - very clever and Dutch - they're always reclaiming extra space through ingenuity and blocky furniture.... Anyway, it wasn't until I was on my way out that I noticed they had rigged up an elaborate net a few feet under the glass, high above where we were on the ground floor. I jokingly asked if they had a trapeze routine during embassy receptions, and the guy chuckled but then said ~ No, that's to keep the glass from falling on us if it shatters... because, after all, you know what our biggest security threat is here.... (Pause while we all guess) - That's right: their proximity to the US Embassy! So think about this - some Dutch security expert came in and went through the trouble of installing a net, so that when our embassy gets blown sky high, THE GLASS WON'T HAPPEN TO FALL ON THE DUTCH PEOPLE standing around inside that courtyard! How freakish is that!?!"