Images of the Day

[liadnan]

The caption of this image on the BBC's Pictures of the Day is "Shortly before 9am, Heathrow was partially closed to flights other than those already in the air."

If that's a sensible caption for the picture then this police officer's stop signal is, err, obviously directed at pilots of planes on the ground. In New York. I fear she may be a tad optimistic.

ETA: Elsewhere the BBC reminds us that "Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott is in charge of the day-to-day running of the country." Honestly, don't they know better than to raise panic levels at a time of crisis?

Comments

[chiller.livejournal.com]

I had exactly the same thought.

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

I think what is troubling me is that we get hyperbolic announcements about arrests and the suppression of plots of unimaginable enormity and then it all goes dead. One would think that if alleged terrorists had been under surveillance for extended periods then, ipso facto, the evidence for their prosecution exists at the time of their arrests. Yet, apparently, it still takes a year or more to bring anyone to trial (AFAIK no-one has yet been tried for last July's failed suicide bombings). In the meantime one naturally grows more sceptical, especially if one's memory goes back to the great state trials of the 1970s like "ABC" and "Persons unknown" which would have put a Stalinist prosecutor to shame.

[liadnan]

I think the security services answer, which may have some merit is, yes, we know the footsoldiers but we want to track it back to the higher ups.

Today's thing has apparently been under surveillance for a while but was stepped up five days ago when new intelligence came in. I don't myself have any doubt that this was a genuine alarm though (ie that MI5 & everyone else involved genuinely have reason to think there was a plot, whether there actually was remains to be seen but even then my gut feeling is yes).

"Unprecedented" certainly smacks of hyperbole. Also the argument seems to be spun that "because we have stopped these plots it is clear we need more powers to stop plots."

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

yes, we know the footsoldiers but we want to track it back to the higher ups.

But for how long? Ten years before they get around to prosecuting?

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

I always feel safer when Prescott's in charge - you can't look at the man without thinking, "Now there's someone who definitely COULD organise a piss-up at a brewery."

[nicnac.livejournal.com]

Damn you, you both made me laugh whilst on the phone to a customer.

(I know that technically I shouldn't be browsing LJ whilst speaking to customers, but I need something to keep my brain ticking over and dithering between blue stars and pink stars doesn't cut it.)

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

Serves you right for multi-tasking: I keep telling myself "no on-line chess during telecons", but do I listen?

[rparvaaz.livejournal.com]

The last sentence made me laugh out loud.

[brelson.livejournal.com]

And me...