uk on critical alert

[BigTomatoes]

 '' those who give up their liberties for security deserve neither liberty nor security. ''

 dont listen to the fearmongering propaganda bullshit.

 is this the same intelligence service who said there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq capable of attacing us in 45 mins?

 or the intelligence services which shot Jean Charles de Menezes 10 times in the head - an innocent man.

 or the intelligence services who shot the lad in the house in London yet found no '' Biochemical weapons '' inside the house. ?

 why are they called intelligence?

 nothing they do ever seems intelligent to me.

[bolt pp]

 '' those who give up their liberties for security deserve neither liberty nor security. ''

 dont listen to the fearmongering propaganda bullshit.

 is this the same intelligence service who said there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq capable of attacing us in 45 mins?

 or the intelligence services which shot Jean Charles de Menezes 10 times in the head - an innocent man.

 or the intelligence services who shot the lad in the house in London yet found no '' Biochemical weapons '' inside the house. ?

 why are they called intelligence?

 nothing they do ever seems intelligent to me.

doesnt all of the above just mean they're due to be right soon?

[Alex B]

And if they're only right 1 time in 5, or 1 time in 10, won't that be enough?

[BigTomatoes]

 '' doesnt that mean their going to be right soon ''

 '' if their right once out of 5 thatll be enough ''

 that makes it ok then.

 roll on ID cards , biometric scanners , armed police patrolling every airport , train and bus station , cctv watching us 24/7

 its all worth it if they stop the big bad terrorists , why should we have a life?

 why should we have privacy and freedom , when '' they '' could strike at anytime.

 you give up your freedom if you want , but I for one certainly wont be.

[ariston]

 or the intelligence services which shot Jean Charles de Menezes 10 times in the head - an innocent man.


 why are they called intelligence?

 nothing they do ever seems intelligent to me.

and yet when challenged by armed police he decided to be on his toes at a time when everyone was quite nervous/triggy happy- he was definately an intelligent bloke.

Maybe if they had acted on "intelligence" before 9/11 or 7/7 thousands of people would still be alive. Carry on reading your Guardian tomatoes and maybe one day you can fulfill your dream and  march on parliament waving your CND badge.

[BigTomatoes]

 sure, and you keep living in your little bubble , and believing everything the government tell you, theyll keep you safe.

[ariston]

 roll on ID cards , biometric scanners , armed police patrolling every airport , train and bus station , cctv watching us 24/7

 its all worth it if they stop the big bad terrorists , why should we have a life?

 why should we have privacy and freedom , when '' they '' could strike at anytime.

 you give up your freedom if you want , but I for one certainly wont be.

If thats what it takes, a minor inconvenience, to make sure I dont get blown up while taking a flight or train journey then so be it. Its not going to take my life away it is trying to protect my life you cretin. More and more people seem to think the government are to blame and not "them" (meaning the terrorists). Any man who is willing to give up his own life in taking yours is very hard to stop, if the intelligence gets it wrong a few times yet stops just one attack they have done their jobs. 20 people have been nicked today- in standard cells or 4 or 5 people thats 4 or 5 planes (around 2000 people) could have been brought down.

[Rooky9]

Whether it is true or not is irrelevant.

The fact is there is heightend security and the level of awareness has been topped back up can only be good, and, for the cost of a couple of extra hours at an airport and not having your hand luggage! Seems fair to me!

As it happens I dont think there is any doubt they believe something was happening - which is obviously different to actually finding a load of explosives.

[NoflopsHomer]

Throwing out patchy generalisations of who you perceive the other person to be really improves both your arguements...

[Rod Paradise]

'Intelligence'? Wonder who's thesis they've ripped off this time? This is all a fabricated smokescreen to take the focus off of Israel/Lebanon IMO. I'd fly anytime anyplace, no fear.

If the 9/11 or 7/7 bombers had been apprehended in the days leading up to the attacks some people would have been jumping up and down and saying how wrong it was blah blah blah. It seems the only proof acceptable to these people is actual video footage of the terrorists  doing the job but by then they already blame someone for not stopping them. Never anything to help stop it or help it not happen again.

Sandy

Maybe we should be looking at root causes?

Instead of backing invasions of people we're not too keen on for spurious reasons?

[Rod Paradise]

 or the intelligence services which shot Jean Charles de Menezes 10 times in the head - an innocent man.


 why are they called intelligence?

 nothing they do ever seems intelligent to me.

and yet when challenged by armed police he decided to be on his toes at a time when everyone was quite nervous/triggy happy- he was definately an intelligent bloke.

Maybe if they had acted on "intelligence" before 9/11 or 7/7 thousands of people would still be alive. Carry on reading your Guardian tomatoes and maybe one day you can fulfill your dream and  march on parliament waving your CND badge.

Identifiable police? Or a bunch of white guys with short hair?

[bolt pp]

 '' doesnt that mean their going to be right soon ''

I wasn't saying this to justify ineptly executed attempts by the police to protect the country, just to highlight the fact that they're due a result soon down to trial and error.

What i will say is that i dont usually have cause to sympathise with the police but with regards to the charles de menezes case i thought they were in an extremely "difficult"  and unenviable position.

[BigTomatoes]

 they werent in a difficult situation , the intelligence service identified the wrong guy and executed him.

 rooky says its good the alert level went up , and fair to have to wait longer and have no luggage

 what exactly is good and fair about having your life controlled by fear ?

[ariston]

I don't know why people put Iraq and this in the same argument. I don't think we should have gone into Iraq let alone still be out there. The things that our being done worldwide by extremist groups aren't anything to do with wars, there are a small number of religous nuts who will do anything to prove their beliefs.
Many years ago I was in a building blown up by terrorists. The IRA was really a business and although they "fought" under the banner of religion it was still run as a protection racket/money making organisation. The terrorists nowadays just want to cause as much carnage as possible and dont care who they take out, as long as you are an infedel you are a fair target.

[Colchester Kev]

Maybe the fact that we were terrorised for many years by the IRA explains our willingness to accept the word of our government in dealing with these would be mass murderers.

If a few hours hassle at airports and extra security checks in place at big events lessens the chances of me or my loved ones being cold bloodedly murdered, then it is worth EVERY SINGLE SECOND !!