Which unit would have been torn new arseholes for this
Singapore says suspected JI leader escaped from toilet:
Wong Kan Seng, Singapore’s minister for home affairs, told members of parliament that Mas Selamat bin Kastari escaped from the toilet of a police detention facility, in the middle of a posh residential area, on Wednesday afternoon.
I’m trying to think of posh residential areas with ‘police detention’ facilities within them — considering the only posh areas I can think of are in Bukit Timah, I’m quite crap.
So malu*, lah. But surely there are very few places to hide? Unless he has an accomplice! And they are hiding with the monkeys on Bukit Timah Hill?!
Ah, it was in Whitley. ‘Still at large’, eh. Must be hiding in CJC. Hehe.
* Embarrassing.
Quick, press the hijack button so we can be shot down
It may be a serious issue, but it makes me snort with derision giggle.
Apparently terrorists hijacking a passenger plane is a “perceived new threat” — huh?
Very specific
Neil points out that describing the failed Glasgow bombers as ‘Asian’ doesn’t exactly narrow things down much. Asia stretches from one end of Turkey to Japan, as far north as the former USSR, and south as far as Indonesia (I reckon Australia would’ve been considered part of Asia had it not been colonised by the Poms).
Bomb it all! Bomb us all.
(I’m the ‘right’ kind of Asian at the moment, so no petrol bombs will be lobbed at me. The worst racist treatment I get is shock that I’m on the wrong side of the counter at the Chinese takeaway.)
Letting terrorists terrorise to capture eyeballs
The sky is falling, al-Qaida is to blame: “The worst the present crop of maniacs appears able to do is kill people… Terrorism cannot work without the fear engendered by publicity and the clamour for revenge.” — Simon Jenkins, We are offering the terrorist a megaphone for his cause
Glasgow bombing
Jeff sent an e-mail, seeing if I had any reaction to the Glasgow attack. My main one was (without knowing too many details last night),
What a bunch of lousy terrorists. The bombs either don’t go off or they set themselves — no one else — on fire.
The media are going nuts, reporting as many sordid details as they can get their hands on. From the witness interviews I’ve seen, they’ve betrayed more feelings of… inconvenience, not out-and-out panic.
Alex Salmond and Mohammad Sarwar have said the attackers were not Scottish, which is good because no one could conceive of a Scot deliberately trying to kill other Scots (heard Sarwar say this on STV).
<sarcasm>Yeah, the Scots are such pacifists who never deliberately cause harm to others.</sarcasm>
Neil had to drive to Prestwick to pick his sister up at the airport last night (great timing, huh), and he reported that there were a couple of police cars, someone checking every car that came in (and directing them to the correct car parking areas), and police stationed at every entrance. This afternoon, there were a few police officers walking around in Livingston, but things have been extremely calm.
So far, while the media seems to be hoping to be able to report the kind of widespread panic Americans are known for, I don’t think the people are letting them have it. Neil reckons it’s because the UK has had so many years’ experience with the IRA.
The terrorists? They’ve definitely beaten the United States of America
Idiots, the lot of us: “But in this country, while you have to be competent to pull off a terrorist attack, you don’t have to be competent to cause terror. All you need to do is start plotting an attack and — regardless of whether or not you have a viable plan, weapons or even the faintest clue — the media will aid you in terrorizing the entire population.” — Bruce Schneier, Portrait of the Modern Terrorist as an Idiot
I predict a move to arrest industrial designers
19 suspects in British terror plot ID’d:
The bombs were to be assembled on the aircraft apparently with peroxide-based solution and everyday carry-on items such as a disposable camera or a music player, two American law enforcement officials told The Associated Press. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because Britain asked that no information be released.
…
The threat of liquid explosives led to a ban on carrying nearly any kind of fluid aboard an aircraft. Mothers tasted baby bottles in front of airport security guards to prove it contained milk or formula — not a component of an explosive.
(FYI, all the Chinese airlines I’ve ever boarded forbid the bringing of any liquid into the passenger cabin. They were perhaps on to the right idea — maybe the fumes from dried fish and liquids don’t mix?)
Neil reckons companies like P&G are behind the terror plot; they stand to benefit greatly from people being unable to bring their toiletries on board. I reckon there are going to be loads of people applying for jobs as baggage handlers. The stolen goods black market is going to be saturated!
Perfect timing
My uncle woke me this morning to ask if any of us were going to be flying through London this weekend. I’d only glanced briefly at the news last night, and only just caught a glimpse of the British authorities announcing something. I didn’t know it was this serious.
Five still at large? A Plan B?!! What the fuck? Goddamn it. (I’m listening to the BBC.)
And when did I book my flight (Edinburgh via London)? Last night. Fucking hell. There are ridiculously high fuel surcharges as it is; now we have to spend extra money on couriering (I don’t think that’s a word, but it’ll do) our laptops to the UK (because checking a laptop in is like giving it away).
Fucking unbelievable. I suppose I’m lucky I’m not flying this weekend, as my cousin’s family was scheduled to (they have three young children, too). Maybe the plotters work for the airline unions, trying to secure more jobs within the industry.
I do jest.