bomb alerts and stuff

Now, you're misquoting him. He said people were welcome to stop his blog from time to time.

Darcus "Thickus Pigshit" Howe: "We need to understand why some of our young people are prepared to kill themselves for the reward, in heaven, of seven Vestal virgins."

Bloody Latin extremists. If they like Ancient Rome so much, why don't they go and live there? We're all going to hell in a chariot etc etc etc etc

I blame Procul Harum.

"One of the men accused of taking part in the failed terror attacks in London on 21 July has claimed the bomb plot was directly inspired by Britain's involvement in the Iraq war.
In a remarkable insight into the motives behind the alleged would-be bombers, Hussain Osman, arrested in Rome on Friday, has revealed how the suspects watched hours of TV footage showing grief-stricken Iraqi widows and children alongside images of civilians killed in the conflict. He is alleged to have told prosecutors that after watching the footage: 'There was a feeling of hatred and a conviction that it was necessary to give a signal - to do something.'"

"People from certain ethnic groups are more likely to be stopped and searched on London transport in the wake of the bombings, British Transport Police say.

A force spokesman said communities were not being singled out, but police have to "target the people we think may be involved" in bomb attacks.

The policy has been supported by Home Office minister Hazel Blears."

Fucking great.

One thing to arise from all this - the morning sunshine in Rome is very pleasant, as seen on breakfast television.

yes, what a remarkable insight.

uh, sarcasm?

but doesn't his defence seem to be resting on the 'we never meant for the bombs to explode' angle? something big = fake bombs?

like any life decision, you follow a kind of logic that isn't yours. this guy's logic said that images of dead civilians in iraq meant he must kill civilians here. tony blair's logic said he had to kill civilians there -- but no-one would take blair's account of his actions as the real reason for the war. not because he's 'lying' (he's a sincere idiot) but because things are more complex than that -- even small-scale terrorist attacks. no-one likes seeing dead civilians in iraq, including the perpetrators, yet these things happen. somehow the bomber ended up in a place where this seemed like the thing to do.

i'm not discounting iraq as a subjective motivation, but other concrete causes (by his account *not* islamism -- i guess we'll see about that, and the 7/7 bombers' possible visits to madrasses in pakistan) will be *at least* as important.

My take on it is that he failed in his attempt to blow loads of people up (who makes fake nail bombs?), so now he is causing as much mayhem as possible by shifting the blame to Blair and Bush, causing a schism in the united front, blah blah blah.

This seems very obvious to me, so I'm probably wrong. But it's like if these people in Huyton say, "Oh, we just meant to give him a bit of a warning, put the wind up him a bit."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/essex/4738195.stm

"Born in Ethiopia as Hamdi Adus Issac. Arrived in Italy as a teenager in 1991. Lived in Colleferro, a town 40 miles south of Rome. Residents recalled a taciturn youngster who made extra cash selling plastic lighters in shops and bars, but disagreed over whether it was Hamdi or a brother. At some point in the 90s, Mr Issac moved to the big city.

There, he attended school and, according to a former girlfriend interviewed by the newspaper La Repubblica, hung out with friends at a spot near the entrance to the Villa Borghese park, not far from the tourist-packed Piazza del Popolo. His nickname was "Bambi".

"We called him that because of his big dark eyes, like those of a fawn, and his long, thick eyelashes," said the woman, now aged 26, whose name was not given by the newspaper. The nickname seems to have fitted with his personality in those days too.

"He didn't mix in bad company. If a fight broke out, he'd always step in to make peace," she said. After they started to go out, "we went to a disco every Saturday afternoon. He was obsessed with America. It was his dream. The music. Hip-hop.

"He dressed rapper-style. Trousers with a dropped crutch and a basketball vest. He drank alcohol: beer. He danced really well."

Mr Issac's former companion continued: "Everyone knew he was a Muslim and a believer, but he never talked about it to me, nor did he have any problems going out with those of us who were not Muslims. It was just that he didn't eat pork.

"As far as belief was concerned, we used to talk about what we believed in in life and whether we believed in God or not. He did."

But more than anything he was known as a rimorchione, an able and enthusiastic puller of the girls.

His idol in those days was the US rapper Tupac Shakur, the son of a Black Panther, who was killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles in 1996... The man who was later to become a terrorist suspect was entranced by African-American culture, including gangsta rap. He and some of his friends even added a "g" to their names as a tribute to their heroes.

But, said his former companion, their entire circle was entranced by rap, and "Hamdi was not a violent person".

She and other Italian friends kept in touch with the handsome young Ethiopian after he moved to Britain and became Hussein Osman. "Every so often, Hamdi came back to Rome for holidays and we saw each other again."

It worked the other way too. Sometimes, an Italian friend on a visit to London would look him up. Which is how they found that he seemed to have changed more than just his name.

"They told me Hamdi had imposed the veil on his partner", said his former girlfriend. "I don't know if it's true."

"I don't think we should jump to any conclusions," a police spokesman said, adding that a van from the bomb disposal unit was on its way to the scene as a precaution.

Someone forgot to check the oil.

"I don't think we should jump to any conclusions," a police spokesman said, adding that a van from the bomb disposal unit was on its way to the scene as a precaution.