Over at Making Light, they're discussing the terrorists
who don't count, in this case anti-abortion nutcase David McMenemy who tried to blow himself up in his car at the Edgerton Women’s Health
Center. It's a classic suicide bomber tactic and one that would've been called terrorism had it happened in Israel or Iraq, yet barely raised
a mention in the US media, even though it happened on the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks...
In this it resembles the terrorism related arrests that happened in the UK in early
October, in which a whole arsenal of weapons, including a rocket launcher and NBC suit were found, yet which was barely covered by the UK
media. The suspects in question have not even been brought up on terrorism charges, just explosive charges. Compare this to the
Forest Gate raid with its massive publicity and stunt policing.
The reason for this discrepancy is simple of course: the cases abovew do not fit the image of terrorism the UK and US governments wants its
citizens to have. Homegrown terrorists don't let you invade other countries after all. It's foreign policy that drives the publicity hype
around things like Forest Gate, but keeps quiet when there aren't any scarey Muslims to stitch up. This is a deliberate strategy that dates
back to the direct aftermath of the September 11 attacks.
Back then the Bush government had a simple choice: to treat the attack as a crime, or as a military attack. They of course chose the second
option, soone after invaded Afghanistan, then two years later Iraq, with the UK and most other western governments following these two at
least part of the way. This option had the attraction of allowing the US ot expand its presence in the Middle East dramatically at a time
when oil was getting scarce again, increased military budgets and provided Bush's friends with more fat government contracts and, by
presenting a reasonable coherent story of who the enemy supposedly is, provides the peons with a nice object of hatred to distract them
from what's happening to the country they live in.
From that point of view, the problem with the cases mentioned above and others like them is that they undermine the official narrative of evil
Islamofascists wanting to destroy western civilisation and they show that it is indeed possible to stop terrorists from striking
through run of the mill police work. Better not let the voters hear about that, or they might realise that the whole war on terror is a sham.
This is just a place for me to jot down some random thoughts and reactions to the news so I don't have to yell at the television or radio, or mutter to myself whilst reading the news.
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Deltoid
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Encyclopedia Astronautica
Incredibly cool site about the history of space travel, with lots of info about
the various space programs. Recommended for all spacenuts.
The Loom
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Panda's Thumb
On evolutionary theory and the fight against the intelligent design loons
Pharyngula
Science, politics and the intersection between them. By PZ Myers.
Real Climate
A commentary site on climate science by working climate scientists.
