Breaking the Glass

Blood and bone mingled with metal and concrete as London, the multi-faceted Metropolis I call home, was finally attacked. Watching from my Window and on the flickering computer screen, the attack which had been inevitable unfurled its wings over the City. Media Talking heads (specialists in terrorism who seems to know about as much as our Cabbies [black taxi drivers] do…) spitted out rather meaningless statements as people tried to grasp at the logical from the ineffable. Such attacks are simply horrific and shocking. All those close to me are safe, although one friend was close by when Kings Cross (long time home; and close to my heart) was hit. I feel no fear for my own safety (statistically I’m sure crossing the road is far more dangerous), but I feel a big fear for the aftermath.

A few desperate individual with little power to engage in a sustained attack will cause a large Political aftermath. I can see the fight to maintain Civil Liberties (which is supposedly part of the culture they attacked) will become harder. The Government will knee-jerk into leading a nation of greater repression. ID cards will jump back up the agenda, allowing State control with little other benefit.

I was disgusted when Blair attempted to make political capital out of this. To paraphrase that Vulture:

These people are despicable, for when we have be trying to eradicate global poverty, to combat Aids and to save the environment and make the world a better place, these barbarian attacked with brutality.

As we know full well, their Debt relief is simply more of the same Sovereign interference and market led privatisation through the back door. Giving with one hand (after bleeding Nations dry with exorbitant compound interest on loans given to Dictators), they will keep taking with the other as Markets open ripe for plucking by European and American Companies. Real moves on climate are nothing more than hot air, itself only contributing to global warming. For Blair to try and sell these bunch of Arch-cronies as compassionate savers of the world¹, when talking about the horrific bombings was sick politicism.

How many people still believe in such pathetic non-crusades as that of fighting “Terror”? What a joke. Fuck political and religious extremists (including Neo-cons and opportunists like Blair and Berlusconi into the heady mix of Nationalist and religious fundamentalism) of all forms.

¹ Though Blair is a master orator, the Vulture’s pauses and furled brow when giving his statement were near perfect.

Posted by Ian at July 8, 2005 12:29 PM | TrackBack §