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Sunday, July 1. 2007

Vigilant, But Not Afraid

Posted by Joerg Wolf in on Sunday, July 1. 2007

After three failed terror attacks in London and Glasgow, the Brits continue with the big public events this weekend, like the Gay Pride Parade, Wimbledon and the concert for Diana. The German paper Tagesspiegel praises the "stiff upper lip." The Nosemonkey in London has the right attitude and writes "Terrorists these days are rubbish."
Would Germans and Americans be as cool and continue with business as usual?

Werenot AfraidShortly after the London attacks of 7/7/2005, the We're not Afraid campaign started. Remember the funny pictures demonstrating fearlessness in solidarity with Britain and in defiance of the global terror movements? A good reminder from the "We're not Afraid" About us page:
We refuse to respond to aggression and hatred in kind. Instead, we who are not afraid will continue to live our lives the best way we know how. We will work, we will play, we will laugh, we will live. We will not waste one moment, norAlan Johnston banner sacrifice one bit of our freedom, because of fear. We are not afraid.
Related posts in the Atlantic Review:
• Responding to "Al-Qaeda's Revival"
• The State of Emergency Infrastructure
• Increased Terror Threat: Germans in Pakistani Terror Camps
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Pat Patterson - #1 - 2007-07-01 20:17 - (Reply)

This fortitude in the face of adversity seems also to be tied to the fatality rate. The US stock market, over the succeeding week of 9/11 lost almost 14% of its value. While the earlier bomb attack on the WTC, 2/16/93, with minimal casualties, resulted in a stock market drop of only .002%. The European markets lost around 9.5% after 9/11 but only 3-4% after 7/7. It will be interesting to see what the FTSE will be on Monday after the markets reopen.

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Anonymous - #2 - 2007-07-02 02:44 - (Reply)

We’re more worried about the goddamned rain at the moment. [url]http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/07/01/email-of-the-day-2/[/url]

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alec - #3 - 2007-07-02 18:40 - (Reply)

Joerg: Good post. I suggest you check out an article from the Register a few days ago called [url=http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/06/29/more_fear_biscuits_please/">Beavis and Butthead Do Jihad[/url].

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alec - #3.1 - 2007-07-02 18:46 - (Reply)

Ah, my BBCode got garbled, it's:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/06/29/more_fear_biscuits_please/

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antonym - #4 - 2007-07-03 02:03 - (Reply)

Don't worry dear Anglo-Fascists, your brave soldiers kill a few hundred 'brownies' daily in preventive retaliation for such things as this. Business as usual, colonialism still pays well enough I'd assume.

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Pat Patterson - #5 - 2007-07-03 02:28 - (Reply)

That's odd I was always lead to believe that state run monopolies, of perhaps oil and pistachios, were indicative of fascist states. Plus we're killing Brownies?

[url]http://winchcombe.info/images/brownies.JPG[/url]

Anyway the FTSE was down only 1% mainly on 7-10% drops on airline stocks after the weekends excitement.

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Flocon - #6 - 2007-07-03 08:40 - (Reply)

"Would Germans and Americans be as cool and continue with business as usual?"

It's the usual cliche about the Britich coolness etc. And the Germans are disciplined and the Swedes are cold and the Brasilians are exuberant and the old MSM BS.
What would you expect the Brits to do? Run through the streets yelling how scare they are? Climb on top of moutains? Commit mass suicides?
There were terrorists attacks in France in the 80' and 90' and nobody in the Anglo-Saxon world even knew nor care. And what were the French doing? Just business as usual of course.
Death in car crashes in GB each year: about 3500. In France: 5000, in the US: 40.000.
Terrorist toll is just a joke by the media playing the "be scare, be very scare" game.
The RAF in the 70' in Germany was responsible for about 10(?) murders. Excuse me, there are more pressant issues. How many die from cancer? AIDS? etc. Notwithstanding the usual crimes and assassinations by non terrorists.
For your information, the supposed coolness of the Brits was an invention of the British propaganda department of the Army during the summer of 1940 to boost the moral of the population and make them feel proud and more resilient. You're a great, courageous people. And the myth has survived ever since...

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Zyme - #6.1 - 2007-07-03 09:50 - (Reply)

In a way you are right of course. The death toll compared to the public and political attention from a rational perspective is nothing more than a big joke.

But we can´t change it, it does interest the population more than car accidents do.

Apart from that I do think the British government is reacting in a cool way. Have they quickly announced an entire series of legal changes to "improve" public security?

And that is a point at which the Brits are different from Americans or Germans. The latter two always seem to have a whole catalogue of tighter security measurements ready to pull out of the drawer just in case something happens.

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JW-Atlantic Review - #6.2 - 2007-07-03 10:08 - (Reply)

@ Flocon

"What would you expect the Brits to do? Run through the streets yelling how scare they are?"

They could have cancelled the Gay Pride Parade, Wimbledon or the Diana Concert at Wembley.

The brave French cancel much smaller events in case of a threat, for example:

[quote="Guardian Unlimited from May 21, 2007:"]"A festival due to be held in Paris this weekend to celebrate American music and culture has been called off after death threats from an anti-US group claiming links to al-Qaida."
[/quote][url]http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2084915,00.html[/url]

This was "just" a death threat! In Britain there were three real failed attacks. I am sure there are dozens of idiots, who write death threats every day after those attacks.

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Flocon - #6.2.1 - 2007-07-03 20:48 - (Reply)

There was a poll last month which indicated that 77% of the Germans had a positive opinion of the French.
Your delicate and subtle sarcasm about "the brave French" seems to be an indication you don't belong to these 77%. Too bad...
As a "brave French", am I allowed to make a distinction between security measures to be taken BEFORE a terrorist attack occurs and AFTER it has happened, when there's not much to be done?
Would you mock the Americans for proceeding to evacuate the twin towers after they'd receive a warning that there was an impending terrorist threat?
I thought your blog was free from vicious anti-French remarks, obviously it's not. Shall I expect something along the line of "cheese eater surrender monkeys"? The French stink (they don't take showers), they're sissies etc?

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JW-Atlantic Review - #6.2.1.1 - 2007-07-03 22:31 - (Reply)

"Would you mock the Americans for proceeding to evacuate the twin towers after they'd receive a warning that there was an impending terrorist threat?"

Wrong comparision. There was nothing about an impending terrorist attack for the festival in Paris. There were just some anonmyous letters, which were taken seriously because Al Qaeada was mentioned and there were many spelling mistakes. The number of spelling mistakes is a big issue in the article.
Memo to the crazies: If you want to scare someone, mention Al Qaeada and make many spelling mistakes. Otherwise you don't sound authentic, at least to some folks in France.

No, I am not making fun of the French. German authorities would probably react in a similar way. Remember the Mozart opera last year, which got canceled because of some anonymous death threats?

This would not happen in Britain.

I bet there were dozens of threats to the Gay Pride Parade and the Diana concert. The British authorities increase security rather than cancelling these events.

You wrote:
"There were terrorists attacks in France in the 80' and 90' and nobody in the Anglo-Saxon world even knew nor care. And what were the French doing? Just business as usual of course."

Sorry for the lack empathy you had.

My point was that recently there is not "business as usual" as you claim but a festival gets cancelled after some silly death threats, which would not happen in London.

After the failed car bomb attacks, the London authorities would have had reason to take every threat more seriously and cancel the event just as France has done, but they did not. I think that is cool! I applaud the British.

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antonym - #7 - 2007-07-03 13:45 - (Reply)

The delusional state of the Anglos is outright scary. Britain is generally seen as one of Europe's most backward countries, the monarchy rules the state church and dictates to the parliament, a very strange interpretation of democracy with a 19th-century voting system.

They have pioneered total video surveillance of public space, they even have the Nazi-imitation smoking bans to discipline the public into submission.

Fascism is an ideology of corporatism and militarism - nothing describes Britain better.

And that's supposed to be cool?

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Anonymous - #7.1 - 2007-07-03 15:18 - (Reply)

Supercilious twit.

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antonym - #8 - 2007-07-03 16:44 - (Reply)

Well anger can be a release for the oppressed, just don't shoot the messenger. Thats bad manners lad.

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Pat Patterson - #9 - 2007-07-03 17:26 - (Reply)

As of 2001 the UK has passed at least 7 laws, one renewed twice one overturned by the Law Lords, that are just as Draconian as anything the US has passed. From the beginning with the Anti-Terrorism , Crime and Security Act of 2001 to the Prevention of Terrorism Act in 2005 there are a whole host of new laws that allow for detention (in some cases indefinite), freezing of assets, surveillance (phone, mail, e-mail and financial activity), cooperation with banking and financial institutions of other countries to hinder the transfer of money, extradition of foreign nationals to other countries, tightening of the definition of aliens and subjects of the crown and identity cards. The UK needed enact a host of laws in some kind of panic the needed laws are already there, just like the US and Germany.

As to antonym one can only take pity on someone who has formed an opinion of the UK based on Tom Brown's School Days.

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JW-Atlantic Review - #9.1 - 2007-07-03 19:36 - (Reply)

"new laws that allow for detention (in some cases indefinite)"

In which cases?
I thought Blair wanted 90 days detention without charge, but only got 28 days.
You say that there are exceptions?

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Pat Patterson - #10 - 2007-07-03 21:19 - (Reply)

Under thr renewed provisions of the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act of 2001 there were sixteen cases of detention without charge but two were either released or charged. That leaves fourteen still in detention.

I think what you are referring to was the attempt by PM Blair was asking for this 90 day detention that would have included British subjects which did not apply to the original act. The former still had to have a hearing to determine if the Act applied to them and then held without informal or formal charges. Those fourteen still detained are not subjects but either resident aliens or aliens awaiting court cases concerning legalizing their status or appeals against denial of legalization of status.

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antonym - #11 - 2007-07-03 21:41 - (Reply)

Well, pity anyone you like. So do I.

Anyway this blog mainly tries to sweet-talk fascism and ultra-rightwing backwardness by presenting them as somehow normal and pseudo-civilized.

It is full of vicious English and Americans with their usual lofty insults, racism etc etc so bye bye. Have fun ruining yourselves.

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ADMIN - #12 - 2007-07-03 22:34 - (Reply)

Please note that by default the comments in this blog are threaded rather than linear, i.e. some of the latest responses to comments are not at the bottom, but in the middle of the thread right behind the comment they respond to.

At the top of the comments section you have the option to change the view from threaded to linear (=chronological), which enables you to see the latest comments at the end of the thread.

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JW-Atlantic Review - #13 - 2007-07-04 10:55 - (Reply)

Anne Applebaum: "At least this time around, the correct reaction to the London bomb attempts was not to keep children home from school, not to call in sick at work, [b]not to rush out and purchase duct tape[/b], but to complain about the traffic. The London bombs are indeed an ominous reminder that the terrorist war on the West continues. They were also an excellent reminder that we --- and our open societies and our liberal values --- are still winning."
[url]http://www.slate.com/id/2169614/[/url]

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