Audiovisual treats for the terminally conspiratorial

Well, one thing’s for sure, this month’s terror alerts have served as a nice preamble for the 5th anniversary of the 9/11 next month. Which leaves plenty of scope for journalists and politicians to come up with lines like…

‘five years on and the threat of terrorism is as strong as ever’

guff like that

The chances of any of them going further and concluding…

‘So, all those invasions, changes in legislation and arrests over the last five years haven’t made us any safer so maybe we should think about getting rid of a few of the fuckwits behind all of that and trying something else instead’

are, however, slim.

It’s not all bad news though. Two members of the 9/11 Commission and Popular Mechanics magazine have recently published books about 9/11, tastefully timed to coincide with the anniversary – purely as a public service I’m sure and not as a shameless cash-in or anything tawdry like that. The PR campaigns for the two books have resulted in some amusing viewing and listening for hardcore aficianados of 9/11 scepticism.

First up, the Popular Mechanics book ‘Debunking 9/11 Myths’ which supposedly demolishes all the key 9/11 conspiracy theories with the aid of hard facts and science.

I’m working on a theory that the Forces of Darkness were a bit short-handed over the Summer Holiday period and had to field members of their graduate trainee program to fill in the gaps over August. What other rational explanation can there be for this woeful performance by the guy responsible for ‘fact checking’ the book on a Arizona talk radio station?

The Charles Goyette Show, Wed Aug 2

– A recommended listen for fans of ‘insane 9/11 conspiracy theories’ everywhere

And then there’s the book written by two 9/11 co-chairmen. That famous conspiracy-loving, pinko lunatic Lou Dobbs had a few amusing things to say about that…

Maybe in another four or five years some people with a voice in the mainstream media on this side of the pond will get their heads out of their arses and start thinking, and talking, about all the bullshit surrounding 7/7 in a similiar way

Maybe

But before that we would, of course, actually have to have an official inquiry into 7/7 so that our politicians and security chiefs are actually obliged to say something on the record and support that something with some actual evidence, rather than making do with leaking insane anonymous crap to the Daily Express and The Sun.

Dream on

In the meantime, the folks at 7/7 Truth have set up an on-line petition calling for an official inquiry into 7/7 which takes about 2 seconds to sign onto.

Release the Evidence!

I can vouch for the speed of the process from direct personal experience as I only got round to signing myself about 10 minutes ago.

It didn’t hurt

\ world’s greatest procrastinator

A magical time of year

Things that make me happy pt.23 ...

Mushroom hunting

A nice 1930s retro-vibe going on at The Sun

Occasionally, just occasionally, I think to myself that maybe I’m over-reacting just a little bit when I start comparing what’s happening in the UK and US today with what happened in Germany, Italy and Russia in the 1930s.

And then I come across articles like this in The Sun and any self-doubts rapidly disappear…

Typical Muslim child complete with bomber jacket

Hunt on for baby bombers

By JOHN KAY

Chief Reporter

and SIMON HUGHES

HATE-filled mums willing to sacrifice themselves and their BABIES are being hunted in the war on terror. Security sources confirmed last night that alleged "baby bombers" were among those arrested over the plot to massacre thousands by downing transatlantic flights. Those being quizzed included a husband and wife with a six-month-old infant.

The discovery prompted fears that there were fanatical mothers in secret al-Qaeda cells in Britain ready to become suicide bombers — and to die with their tots in their arms. And it emerged as the reason why women at airports were ordered to drink from their babies’ bottles before being allowed to board flights during last week’s massive alert.

One senior Government security adviser warned of a race against time to identify individuals who might pose a threat. The adviser said: "It may be beyond belief, but we are convinced that there are now women in Britain who are prepared to die with their babies for their twisted cause. They are ruthless, single-minded and totally committed."

The nightmare is that mums carrying tiny tots would provide "very good cover" and not raise suspicions among even the most alert security guards. The threat was identified along with an additional warning that as many as two dozen terror cells may still be active in Britain.

The source added: "We believe all the known players involved in last week’s plot have been detained. Our biggest concern now is all the unknown players who may be out there. "And that includes mothers who are ready and willing to see their little ones die. It is a race against time." Women around the world have carried out suicide attacks in the past.

Two female Chechen terrorists blew themselves up on separate flights in Russia two years ago.

An intelligence source said: "Al-Qaeda specialises in attempting the unexpected. What could be more unexpected in Western eyes than women willing to die with their babies?"

MI5 chiefs are jubilant over cracking the plan to disguise bombs as soft drinks or baby bottles — but warned that other forms of transport are massively at risk from suicide attacks. The Government source said: "There are dozens of other outrages being plotted on all forms of transport because they offer the highest potential body count."

another typical Muslim child in a bomber jacket
- best kept off the plane

Connoisseurs of the 1930s may have started to notice that The Sun is reading more and more like Der Sturmer every day -

Der Stürmer ("The Attacker") was a weekly Nazi newspaper published by Julius Streicher from 1923 to the end of World War II in 1945, with a brief suspension in circulation during the 1936 Berlin Olympics. It was a significant part of the Nazi propaganda machinery and was vehemently anti-Semitic. Unlike the Völkischer Beobachter, the official party paper which gave itself an outwardly serious appearance, the tabloid-style Der Stürmer often ran obscene materials such as pornography, ran anti-Catholic and anti-"reactionary" material, mixed with extremely anti-Semitic caricatures and open, undisguised hate propaganda like accusations of blood libel.

Of course, to really understand the similarities between the two newspapers you have to perform a challenging feat of mental gymnastics and swop out Semitic for Islamic. I say challenging because a lot of people seem unable, or unwilling, to do it.

I always thought that the expression 'Never again' was supposed to be a universal one.

There is a tendency on the part of the chattering classes to dismiss the kind of foaming hate-filled insanity printed in The Sun as being of not much significance.

as I’ve said before Cognitive Dissonance is a very wonderful thing

The stark truth is that The Sun is -

• The most popular newspaper in the country, with all the influence that goes with that
• Owned by a man who’s probably going to give our Prime Minister a job once we’re finally rid of him
• Owned by the same man who owns lots of other of our newspapers and quite a lot of our television as well

In all meaningful respects, the demented racist shit printed in The Sun is not really any different to the demented racist shit promoted by plenty of other outlets, including our government. The only real, and relatively minor, difference is that The Sun is more honest about it.

OK, maybe I’m being a little over the top with the comparison with Der Sturmer thing. The Sun and Der Sturmer aren’t exactly the same

Der Sturmer only came out weekly.

Away with the Fairies

I’ve spent a fair chunk of the last couple of months in the company of very sick old people. And when you’re a very sick old person who’s consuming some seriously potent medication, occasional bouts of delusional confusion come pretty much as standard.

Or, as a nurse said to me, when referring to my sick relative a few weeks ago, ‘I think he’s away with the fairies’.

For some reason that expression has lodged in my brain ever since and I’ve found myself using it two or three times a day.

There’s been no lack of opportunity.

Which gets me onto to the subject of our beloved and revered Head of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Ian Blair.

He’s definitely off on a weekend break with our dainty, winged friends.

Commissioner Sir Ian Blair - helping to keep Fairyland
safe from crime

According to an interview he gave recently…

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair has said parts of London are returning to an era of neighbourliness and low crime. He said residents in Haringey, north London, are now happy to leave their front doors open and unlocked. Sir Ian said community-based Safer Neighbourhood Teams were making people feel as safe as they did 25 years ago. He also likened neighbourhood police team leaders to "the sheriff" who dealt with matters in their area

Is there no end to this comedy prank monkey’s versatility?

The face of modern policing in North London 2006

I particularly like the way this interview dovetails nicely with my last couple of posts about insane police edicts in Haringey and people still having a residual faith in the integrity of the people who run our police that harks back to gentler times.

Maybe Sir Ian and I have some kind of psychic bond.

\ scared now

But just to keep you from danger I am the Law

It’s a few days on from my last post and there does seem to be widespread acknowledgement that a large number of ordinary people really are quite sceptical about the latest terror scare.

So much so that the paranoid in me is getting a little twitchy.

Maybe ‘They’ want us to be sceptical this time around.

But I’m consciously trying to shelve that idea.

Thinking like that could send you round the twist.

Besides, there are still plenty of people out there backing the government position 100%. Most of their on-line responses fall into a handful of categories…

• Anybody who is sceptical about the current security flap is a conspiracy theorist
• If the threat has been deliberately exaggerated thousands of police and public servants would know about it. Someone would have said something by now
• If the police didn’t act on intelligence everyone would blame them if a bomb went off. The police are damned if they do and damned if they don’t
• Public safety is paramount. You wouldn’t be so worried about civil liberties if it was you or someone you cared for in a shattered 747 plummeting towards the Atlantic
• You just love terrorists don’t you

Plus, most recently in the context of the botched Forest Gate raid, I've also heard versions of that tired old chestnut - "Everyone in the area knows those two blokes are into something dodgy. The police wouldn’t have arrested them if they didn’t have something on them". Oh yes, the Spirit of Tacit Approval for Police ‘Fit Ups’ is still alive and kicking. How very 1970s.

None of these arguments against domestic War on Terror scepticism are the slam-dunk intellectual tour de force some of the people parroting them seem to think they are. There are reasonable responses to all of them. And, without claiming that all Muslims are angels or denying that they are murderously potty people out there, including some Muslims, I’m still baffled by the level of trust shown by some people in our government and security forces.

It’s not as if the likes of Tony Blair or Ian Blair are without ‘form’ when it comes to taking a few liberties with the Truth is it?

So why isn’t everybody at least a little bit sceptical about what’s going on in our airports?

The classic scene from ‘Carry On Luggage’ where Jimmy Logan hand searches
Barbara Windsor's gel bra for explosives before the pair take off

Part of the explanation lies, I think, with plain racism and concerns about high level of migration into the UK. I too have issues with the way migration has been handled over the last ten years and I can understand why some people feel insecure and afraid. But singling out Muslims as being some kind of Judas Goat when it comes to cultural insecurity and conflating those worries with terrorism is straight bollocks.

A more significant possible explanation why more people aren’t up in arms about the Liquid Terror nonsense may be something to do with trust.

British people are accustomed to trusting authority.

And the thought that some of the people in charge of our security forces aren’t acting in our best interest doesn’t bear thinking about.

So we don’t.

Easy peasy.

Cognitive dissonance is a very wonderful thing.

The problem is that our public services, and public servants, have been corporatised, privatised and politicised like never before in living memory. And people who refuse to face up to that are living in the past.

A very cosy past.

Fear is now a business and it conveys profit and power to those who promote it.

A nice little example occurred on first day of the current outbreak of insanity when Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson said the alleged plotters had intended "mass murder on an unimaginable scale".

Unimaginable?

Really?

That wasn’t a policeman talking. That was a politician in a policeman's uniform at work and it was disgraceful, and unforgivable.

There’s a fine balance that needs to be struck when spouting this kind of manure and scaring the bejesus out of the people you’re supposed to protecting. On one hand you’ve got to serve up helping after helping of delicious Fear Pie. But, on the other hand, you don’t want to make the situation sound so bad that people start to doubt your competence to deal with the alleged threat.

... Scary but not too scary

Hence lines like this from our Home Secretary, John Reid…

"While I am confident that the security services and police will deliver 100% effort and 100% dedication, they cannot guarantee 100% success."

Well, I'm convinced.

There was a blinding piece by Keith Olbermann on MSNBC last week where he presented a top 10 list of occasions, including last week’s Liquid Terror nonsense, that the Bush Administration has gained political benefits around the same time that the public's fear of terrorism was at a peak. Sadly, no one has produced a British/ Blair equivalent though the material is there and the conclusions would be the same. As Olbermann said at the end of his report…

”If merely a reasonable case could be made that any of these juxtapositions of events are more than just coincidences, especially the one last week in which terror policy was again injected directly into a political race, it underscores the need for questions to be asked in this country, questions about what is prudence and what is fear-mongering.”

You know I am no stranger I know rules are a bore...

Thanks to a special anonymous correspondent (anonymous because he has over-active eyebrows and is kind of swarthy looking) I have been enjoying this extract from a Neighbourhood Watch circular, written by a middle-ranking police officer, sent to people in Haringey, North London, shortly after we all discovered that not all liquids are our friends (my choice of bold/ links)…

These people are not part of cohesive communities. They are criminals and terrorists bent on mass murder, they have no part to play in any communities in Haringey. There have been over 20 arrests made, but no addresses in Haringey have been involved in the raids that occurred.

If you have any information, no matter how small or insignificant you may think it is, please do not hesitate to contact police on 0800 028 2390.

Below is a briefing from the Assistant Commissioner that may be of interest to you and your community:

The following document contains some details about the counter terrorist operation, which took place overnight. It is suitable for verbal dissemination amongst your Community Policing Teams, trusted partners and Local Members of Parliament. It is focused purely on the criminal investigation. As always, there is a need for restraint in the reporting of events so far as they relate to those who have been arrested. We must all, please, be careful to say or do nothing that might prejudice the right of any individual to a fair trial.

• The investigation has focused on intelligence, which suggested that a plot was in existence to blow up transatlantic passenger aircraft, in flight. The intelligence suggested that this was to be achieved by means of concealed explosive devices smuggled onto the aircraft in hand baggage. The intelligence suggested that the devices were to be constructed in the United Kingdom, and taken through British airports. The number, destination and timing of the flights that might be attacked remain the subject of investigation.
• This has been, and continues to be, a fast moving investigation.
• Today marks the culmination of one phase of what is a major operation that has already lasted several months, and will undoubtedly last long into the future.
• During the investigation an unprecedented level of surveillance has been undertaken and our objective is to gather intelligence and evidence in support of the investigation. We have been looking at meetings, movements, travel, spending and the aspirations of a large group of people. This has involved close co-operation, not only between agencies and police forces in the United Kingdom, but
• also internationally. As is so often the case in these investigations, the alleged plot has global dimensions.
• The investigation reached a critical point last night when the decision was made to take urgent action in order to disrupt what we believe was being planned. As always in these cases, the safety of the public was our overriding concern.
• Throughout the night a significant number of arrests were made. All the arrests were made on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of Acts of terrorism under the Terrorism Act 2000.
• The people arrested remain in custody in London where officers will pursue the investigation from the Metropolitan Police Anti-Terrorist branch.
• Searches are also underway at a number of business and residential premises in London and elsewhere. We anticipate that these will take some time to complete.

You will realise that this is a very early stage in what will be a meticulous, painstaking criminal investigation. We will now be embarking on the next stage of the investigation, an investigation that will take us wherever the evidence leads. As and when I am able to do so we will give out information on the progress of the investigation. But please be aware that we will only release specific information when we are sure it is correct. At this point we must focus on the criminal investigation and any subsequent legal process, and refrain from speculation.

There's a special mystery prize to anyone who can logically reconcile the line 'These people are not part of cohesive communities. They are criminals and terrorists bent on mass murder' with 'We must all, please, be careful to say or do nothing that might prejudice the right of any individual to a fair trial' without reverting to sarcasm.

Even if you tried really, really hard you couldn't make it up. You really fucking couldn't.

Special mystery prize, as found clearing through some of my nan's
old stuff the other day - essential for those long flights.

Worse than a brain dead action movie - much worse

A few days ago I wrote a post despairing over the thought of so many ordinary people offering little or no resistance to the more extreme aspects of the War on Terror.

What a difference a few days make.

One truly positive aspect of this whole Liquid Terror business has been the fact that more people than ever before have decided enough is enough. The Internet, and even the peripheries of the mainstream media, have been ringing with cries of ‘Bullshit!’ for days now.

That is truly heartening news.

And some of the establishment responses to the cries of ‘Bullshit!’ have been a little more subtle than usual. Sure, there have been the usual lazy accusations of ‘tinfoil hat conspiracy theories’ but those vacuous insults are looking lamer and lamer with each ballsed up, high profile terror raid. However, I’ve also seen some more reasoned responses to War on Terrorism cynicism than usual. It’s possible, just possible, that an increasing number of people, whether they are pro or anti War on Terror, are beginning to realise where this is all going and want to discuss the issue like grown ups.

Which would be a nice idea.

Matthew Parris is as articulate, as always, on the subject of the latest terrorism flap. Unsurprisingly perhaps, Craig Murray’s bullshit detector is also working overtime.

Even though I class myself as a War on Terror cynic I try not to be dogmatic about my beliefs. And I’m open to see what comes out of the latest round of arrests. Maybe we’ll finally see some evidence that the specific threat portrayed by our government is real.

I’m not talking about evidence that bombs have gone off and that people have died or that more bombs will go off and more people will die. I think everyone can agree that this is a ‘given’. I’m talking about the other stuff – the identity of the perpetrators, their motivations, their objectives, their capabilities and, off the back of all that, the best way of dealing with them.

I want to see evidence of all those minor details before I can listen to John Reid spout manure like this…

"We may have to modify some of our freedoms in the short-term in order to prevent their misuse and abuse by those who oppose our fundamental values and would destroy our freedoms and values in the long-term"

… and not think that he and all his mates are the real psychopaths who threaten my way of life

What the sponsors of the War of Terror have conspicuously failed to do is prove that there is an awesomely scary global terrorist conspiracy being waged against ordinary citizens of the Western World because the global terrorists 'hate us for our freedoms'. This is the fruitiest conspiracy theory of all and like some bizarre cross between an old James Bond novel (secret bases / global criminal networks) and a brain-dead Simpson and Bruckheimer-style action movie (Arab nutcases).

No, on second thoughts it’s worse than that. The people behind brain dead action movies at least give their Muslim fanatics tangible motives; the release of prisoners, revenge for American aggression, whatever. Not even the dumbest beer-sodden fuck watching the dumbest fucking movie would be expected to swallow something as stupid as ‘they hate us for our freedoms’ as a credible motivation for 120 minutes of on-screen fantasy mayhem.

Politicians, unlike Hollywood producers, have no such inhibitions when it comes to assessing the gullibility of their target audience.

Nor have the War on Terror advocates made a credible case for the actions they are taking to counter the threat of this supposed global Islamic conspiracy. Quite the opposite. Virtually everything our governments have done is guaranteed to increase the numbers of people with a grudge against us. And the longer our governments continue to behave this way the more likely those actions will help make the Phantom Menace a reality.

Given that blowing Middle Eastern countries away and identifying entire communities of being responsible, either by action or omission of action, for terrorism are so patently counter-productive, I personally have absolutely no doubt that The War on Terror is, and is meant to be by some people at least, a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Stark bollock naked - it's the only way to travel

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Just when you thought British investigative journalism was dead...

(shamelessly lifted from Bloggerheads because I'm way too tight to buy my own copy of today's Sport)

Life in New Britain - like one very long very bad movie

Plot Summary for Live Wire (1992), possibly one of Pierce Brosnan's worst films - scoring 5.3/10 on the IMDB, which is bad for a film but actually very good in a General or Presidential Election...

Danny O'Neill is a bomb disposal expert assigned to a case where terrorists have developed an "invisible" liquid explosive which is activated within the human body. The target of the terrorists are US senators, one of which is having an affair with Danny's wife.

and remember

"Your body is 93% water. No one is safe"