UK terror threat level raised to 'Severe'

[ExRes]

Call me a pragmatist, I don't believe in dying for a cause. However, if the guy who wants to kill me is prepared to die for his cause, I'm happy to see him obliged!

I love threads like this, turn the whole thing into a joke and totally ignore reality, ask those who were killed or maimed in London just a few short years ago if they were happy seeing the bombers dying for their cause
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Realistically, what is the chance of me dying in a road accident or from cancer compared to me dying in a terrorist attack? It would be nice to have some actual perspective, rather than being told when I should or shouldn't be afraid.

How do you get perspective ?, be afraid or don't be afraid as you please, if a terrorist bomb ever goes off near you then you won't need to be told the odds of it against cancer

 

[21C101]

Or it could be those people that joined up to fight in Ukraine.

Oops sorry, nobodies supposed to know that.

I thought you were joking but, it seems that it is happening hock: . Extracts:

"European volunteers are streaming into Ukraine to join the fighting on both sides. While Kiev’s forces are beefed up with mercenaries from private military companies, Europeans have also come to defend the rebel Donbass region of their own free will.

One of the latest reinforcements of anti-Kiev troops in Eastern Ukraine are four French ex-serviceman who have come to fight this war, thousands of kilometers from home...."

"RT’s Paula Slier found out that volunteers are coming to the Donetsk frontline not just from France, but also from Spain, Poland, Israel and the United Kingdom."


http://rt.com/news/183864-ukraine-european-volunteers-fighting/

 

[ExRes]

The government would save more deaths if they redeployed a large number of police from anti terror duties to traffic patrols to take numpty drivers off the road.

If they were serious they would have not have armed and supported the authoritarian absolute monarchy regime in Saudi Arabia which is funding and prosletysing puritanical wahibi fanatiscism and sectarianism.

To be honest i would not be surprised if the real reason for this announcement was to divertmedia attention from one of camerons mps joining ukip.

Did those London bombings divert media attention from politics ?, if they did then that's the obvious way forward for politics in this country, just hire a few Arab terrorists, give them some bombs and that should make the public miss the next budget, you're so clever you should try running for parliament yourself

 

[NSEFAN]

How do you get perspective ?, be afraid or don't be afraid as you please, if a terrorist bomb ever goes off near you then you won't need to be told the odds of it against cancer

And if I get run over tomorrow by a bad driver, I won't need to worry about being blown up by terrorists.

Some statistics would be nice, perhaps a probability of being killed by terrorists today? Is it 1 in 10? 1 in 42? 1 in a billion? Then compare that with other unnatural causes of death.

 

[Flamingo]

I love threads like this, turn the whole thing into a joke and totally ignore reality, ask those who were killed or maimed in London just a few short years ago if they were happy seeing the bombers dying for their cause
r

If you got off your high horse and read the post, what I said is that if somebody wanted to kill me, and they were killed instead I would not really care if their rights were breached by whoever killed them. I'd go so far as to say that a LOT of people would be very happy if the scum that killed so many others had just gone and hung themselves as a "protest" or whatever it was their sick cowardly minds thought they were doing.

As regards the poor unfortunates who were killed and maimed, I've met some of the survivors, heard their stories, and admire just how they coped. Believe me, I am very far from taking this as a joke - and it is way to serious to use it for cheap quasi-political point scoring like a lot on this thread are.
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I thought you were joking but, it seems that it is happening hock: . Extracts:

"European volunteers are streaming into Ukraine to join the fighting on both sides. While Kiev’s forces are beefed up with mercenaries from private military companies, Europeans have also come to defend the rebel Donbass region of their own free will.

One of the latest reinforcements of anti-Kiev troops in Eastern Ukraine are four French ex-serviceman who have come to fight this war, thousands of kilometers from home...."

"RT’s Paula Slier found out that volunteers are coming to the Donetsk frontline not just from France, but also from Spain, Poland, Israel and the United Kingdom."


http://rt.com/news/183864-ukraine-european-volunteers-fighting/

So a Russian-controlled news source is trying to claim there is wider support for their aggression against their neighbours? Not exactly an independent source, is it?

 

[St Rollox]

You can bet every nasty little and not so little war on the planet attracts outsiders either for money and/or politics and religion.
Most soldiers of foreign wars will return and blend in.
The saddest bit is that victims family/friends will never ever know who exactly killed them.

 

[21C101]

So a Russian-controlled news source is trying to claim there is wider support for their aggression against their neighbours? Not exactly an independent source, is it?

Indeed, the mistake people often make is not reading BBC and other western media reports with the same level of caution, naievely believing that they are broadly objective and propaganda free.

Luckily since invention of T'interweb we can read sources from both sides and neutral sources and come to a judgement.

 

[St Rollox]

Btw, this alert didn't come via Saudi by any chance.

 

[kylemore]

As British passport holders fighting for ISIS in Iraq, would somebody injured by say an American drone attack be entitled to a mobility car on return from Iraq?

No but they might be entitled to redundancy pay from MI6!

Tee Hee....

 

[Hadders]

I suspect that the threat level's been raised because of the NATO conference being held this week.

Didn't the 7/7 attacks happen during a similar major political conference.

I was in Newport yesterday morning and the place was crawling with police.

 

[Tetchytyke]

The one thing I would say is that this level was increased upon advice of the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, which advises the Gov and other bodies. So, it wasn't just a decision made by Cameron and May.

Ah yes, the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre. The spooks have been getting something of a grilling recently, what with them spying on everyone on the internet.

The spooks want more power and less scrutiny, so time to scare the proles.

We didn't have any of this rubbish when the Irish were blowing us up.

 

[fowler9]

Ah yes, the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre. The spooks have been getting something of a grilling recently, what with them spying on everyone on the internet.

The spooks want more power and less scrutiny, so time to scare the proles.

We didn't have any of this rubbish when the Irish were blowing us up.

Spot on, I grew up in a country that was constantly being bombed by the IRA. You can still go to many bars in Liverpool on any given night and hear people singing pro IRA songs, but no, we now have a severe warning. It is utter garbage. The government are doing what they do best, keep the people scared, it makes them more compliant. Blame the countries problems on some "other". Convince the population we are surrounded by screaming Jihadis.

 

[ainsworth74]

Blimey I think I should go into business selling tin-foil hats going from this thread I'd make a killing!

 

[fowler9]

Blimey I think I should go into business selling tin-foil hats going from this thread I'd make a killing!

Ha ha, I guess it depends what you mean. You can find photos on the internet really easily of John McCain hanging out with ISIS. They are telling us about this massive terrorist threat, how do they know? Well they sold them the weapons over coffee in Damascus a few weeks back.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

I have never been able to work out why skepticism of government makes someone a tin foil hatter. Perhaps ainsworth or Flamingo would like to offer their reasons? Like I've said up-thread, the only thing I've learnt about politics over the years is never trust them!

 

[fowler9]

I have never been able to work out why skepticism of government makes someone a tin foil hatter. Perhaps ainsworth or Flamingo would like to offer their reasons? Like I've said up-thread, the only thing I've learnt about politics over the years is never trust them!

I guess it just feels safer than accepting that the people in power don't necessarily have your best interests at heart.

 

[ainsworth74]

I guess it just feels safer than accepting that the people in power don't necessarily have your best interests at heart.

Where did I say I think that? I certainly don't believe they have my best interests at heart. I also don't think they're as evil or as 'out to get me/us' as sometimes it seems they're held to be in certain circles.

 

[fowler9]

Where did I say I think that? I certainly don't believe they have my best interests at heart. I also don't think they're as evil or as 'out to get me/us' as sometimes it seems they're held to be in certain circles.

I never said you said that. Talk about tin foil hat brigade.

 

[ainsworth74]

I never said you said that. Talk about tin foil hat brigade.

Touché

 

[fowler9]

Touché

Ha ha. Nice photo by the way.

 

[ainsworth74]

Ha ha. Nice photo by the way.

I can't take credit for it I believe it was one just available to use when I first joined the forum

 

[bb21]

I love threads like this, turn the whole thing into a joke and totally ignore reality, ask those who were killed or maimed in London just a few short years ago if they were happy seeing the bombers dying for their cause
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How do you get perspective ?, be afraid or don't be afraid as you please, if a terrorist bomb ever goes off near you then you won't need to be told the odds of it against cancer

The reality?

The reality is that the UK has not suddenly become infinitely more dangerous overnight because the terror level, whatever it is supposed to mean to the average man on the street, was upgraded. Whatever the terrorists were planning they have been planning for months, or years.

Regardless of whether this announcement was made or not, I would still go about my business as normal, as would virtually every other person in this country. I will still be as vigilant as I normally am, but if a bomb explodes near me, then it explodes near me. There is zilch I can do about it.

No one is dismissing the importance of the fight against terrorism, but what is the point of this announcement? Why can't the government just go about their businesses in the most appropriate way, and just quietly get on with it? You can't blame people for being cynical.

 

[ainsworth74]

No one is dismissing the importance of the fight against terrorism, but what is the point of this announcement? Why can't the government just go about their businesses in the most appropriate way, and just quietly get on with it? You can't blame people for being cynical.

Whilst this is most certainly true I think the most discussion on the announcement I've seen is on this forum! Certainly it didn't appear to make much in the way of waves in the media.

 

[Abpj17]

Why can't the government just go about their businesses in the most appropriate way, and just quietly get on with it? You can't blame people for being cynical.

Transparency? By the time the armed forces and the emergency services know; it's easier just to publish. The alert status has been on display at public buildings for years. Part of the change is simply publishing it and the descriptions. In a sane world, that would reduce, not increase conspiracy theories.

 

[bb21]

Transparency? By the time the armed forces and the emergency services know; it's easier just to publish. The alert status has been on display at public buildings for years. Part of the change is simply publishing it and the descriptions. In a sane world, that would reduce, not increase conspiracy theories.

It's a funny thing this "transparency" business. We live in an age nowadays that the importance of being vigilant is widely understood. I don't see much to be gained by giving this news headline status. Perhaps that speaks more of the BBC than the government itself. We have learnt nothing from this piece of news.

I personally don't think there is much to it other than what is on the surface, but I can certainly understand why people get cynical. I don't think the criticism of cynicism from some quarters on this forum is fair.

Whilst this is most certainly true I think the most discussion on the announcement I've seen is on this forum! Certainly it didn't appear to make much in the way of waves in the media.

Well, the BBC giving it headline status is sure to generate discussions.

 

[ainsworth74]

Well, the BBC giving it headline status is sure to generate discussions.

Oh quite! I don't mean it didn't get any coverage only that I'm not sure the level of attention it's getting on here is proportional to the level of coverage it actually got.

 

[Oswyntail]

....We didn't have any of this rubbish when the Irish were blowing us up.

Yes we did.:roll:

 

[bb21]

Another problem is that of course it is not always easy to tell whether this was deliberately "leaked" by the government or whether the press just made a mountain out of a molehill. I am sure everyone will have their own opinions on that.

The bottom line is, whatever the threat levels (or whatever they would like to call it), it means very little to someone going about their daily life, particularly outside of work. I couldn't care less.

 

[Abpj17]

It is pretty easy to tell. It's published.

https://www.mi5.gov.uk/home/the-threats/terrorism/threat-levels.html#history since 2006. (As I said, visitors to a long list of public buildings could have seen the threat level on door signs before that)

 

[Oswyntail]

Another problem is that of course it is not always easy to tell whether this was deliberately "leaked" by the government....

Simple cynicism is a fair starting point - though, for some, it seems to have become the only analytical tool they are capable of using - but this sort of assertion is plain daft. There has been a system of classifying the current risk of terrorism in place since before I started work, in 1978. For many years, it has been official policy to make a brief public statement when the level has changed, whether or not it is for the worse. This is in no way a "leak", which implies some ulterior motive.