NEWS: Attack on Tony Blair in British Parliament, Substance Harmless, No Injuries

Originally posted by CommonSense
We'll have to see how this plays out with the Brittish people. It may have the impact of uniting people in the war on terror as opposed to the Spanish response of ousting the government and turning tail. My bet is on the uniting factor.

CS', no dis' but my bet is someone succesfully breached U.K. gov'
security as a demo' of how easily it can be done. I have friends who
are British ex-pats' and they tell me the Brits are flaming Blair.
Sanc'.

OK Simon,
Let's just let you have your own little way with things. No problem there was an attack on Commons, I'm sure they had a very good reason for it so it must be OK. And remember the Germans and the blitz, well that was OK to because afterall they were trying to win a war. What's a little indiscrimanate bombing of innocent people when you're trying to make a point. Well enjoy yourself sitting in the library this evening.

Sanctum,
I'm quite sure it was a test. The solution though isn't flaming Blair, IMO, because the problem is much larger than that. There's far too much apathy towards these kinds of events. Sure Simon will say we're paranoid, but that's hardly the case.
CS

First of all lets get our facts straight:

news.bbc.co.uk...

Next lets look at the security measures that are taken:

news.bbc.co.uk...

And lastly lets get some perspective.

Commons isn't a sealed bunker. There's a public viewing gallery, the protestors didn't "breach" anything, infact I believe they were in the VIP area.

Secondly our Politicians have a fine tradition of having things thrown at them but strangely only one has ever been assassinated, and that was 200 years ago.

Not sure why possibly because our system is structured in such a way that killing one doesn't actually change the country in any fundamental way.

I think that our "meh, so ?" response is probably due to both these factors.

If it turns out to be Anthrax or something then you will get a bigger "good lord, look what just happened" type reaction, but your simply not going to see the sort of mass hysteria you might get in other countries, we're just not that way inclined.

I always wondered what would happen if there was a terrorist attack of the same scale as the one on the WTC here in the UK.
I'm pretty sure it would be seen as a jolly bad thing to have happened, and then we'd have got on with our lives.
Certainly I doubt we'd have gone to war over it.

"Let's just let you have your own little way with things. No problem there was an attack on Commons, I'm sure they had a very good reason for it so it must be OK."

First of all, there was not an attack on the commons. Someone threw something at the priminister. There wasn't an "attack" on Prescott when he was egged, there wasn't an "attack" on Thatcher when she had the carton of milk thrown at her. Both these situations and in all likelihood today's situation were "protests"

"And remember the Germans and the blitz, well that was OK to because afterall they were trying to win a war. What's a little indiscrimanate bombing of innocent people when you're trying to make a point. Well enjoy yourself sitting in the library this evening."

I have no idea what you mean by this paragraph, I can only state that if you see Tony getting hit by an ink balloon as being an event on the same scale as the Blitz then you have some serious perspective issues.

Simon what CS is trying to say that the houses of Parliament is supposed to be a safe place thats all.This event shows how easy it is to get in there.

"The House of Commons has been suspended during Prime Minister's question time after what appeared to be purple powder was thrown at Tony Blair.
Mr Blair was speaking during his weekly half-hour appearance in the Commons when a projectile filled with purple powder hit him on his back.

MPs were immediately evacuated. Early tests suggest the powder was "benign" and not dangerous.

Fathers 4 Justice claimed responsibility for the incident. "

And here are your big scary terrorists:

www.fathers-4-justice.org...

This is interesting though...

Didn't the original post have a report saying it came from some palistinians in the VIP area ? If it did, they've just changed it.

"This event shows how easy it is to get in there."

Yes, that is worrying, how on earth did the terrorists manage to get into the house of commons...

www.parliament.uk...

oh... maybe they booked in advance.

Originally posted by CommonSense
Sanctum,
I'm quite sure it was a test.
CS

I agree, and this may make U.K. Govt' security review their ops.
Which in hind sight, is probably a good thing.
S.

"I'm quite sure it was a test. "

Do you really think so...
So your saying that now Fathers for Justice have proved they can flour bomb the PM they're next planning to shoot him or something ?

Christ thats worrying... I mean its a pretty big upscaling of their techniques from scaling London Bridge dressed as spider man!

The Brits are a lively bunch anyways, always yelling and booing...lol

So in that respect, this isnt anything new, the security issues it raises are though.

I think a lot of the brittish public maybe still doesnt understand or still refuses to understand about the new world we are living in.

Things like this help to make them aware that there are some very serious issues, that thier Gov takes very seriously.
This might of seemed like a harmless action to the one who threw the powder,but as you can see by the story, it wasnt harmless at all, and good thing it wasnt a bomb or bio weapon.
As an observer watching the changes after 9/11,
I think a lot of the free world hasnt adjusted yet.
A lot of the people havn't realized that it is effecting them too. The Brittish have always been able to get closer to thier leaders, and now, some are realizing that they can't.
Just my own armchair observation

Originally posted by Darkblade71
. The Brittish have always been able to get closer to thier leaders, and now, some are realizing that they can't.

Db71, do you mean '#10' or the House of Windsor.
Or, a combo' of both?
Sanc'.

Simon,
It pleases me to see you so peaceful. So, if it wasn't a test, the same end was accomplished. Televised for all to see just how easy it would be to carry out an attack. But, not to worry, something like that would never happen. I think I may have had enough of this thread.

Originally posted by sanctum

Db71, do you mean '#10' or the House of Windsor.
Or, a combo' of both?
Sanc'.

I mean like the pimeminister, cant get near the queen. Or so it seems to me.

we don't live in a new world.
Nothing fundementally changed after 911
and, once Bush is out of the way, all this whoo-hah about terrorists and wars on terror will die down and we'll go back to a rational perspective on the world.

I fully understand what you're saying Simon. I also understand the concerns of others as well. However, there is one important aspect of what Simon here I think is grasping that is being missed. Stop and ask yourself, "What is the Goal of Terrorism?" Possibly to create a state of Terror, Fear, Panic, etc., ya think?

I'm not trying to play down an obvious Security Loss in the fact that people beaming the Prime Minister with an unknown object, possibly poisoning an entire group of Parliament should not be happening. However, it's not exactly a new event either. Whether it's some stupid kid mailing himself home undetected through security or whatever, getting all worked up and giving into EXACTLY what potential Terrorist are trying to achieve may not be the best reaction either.

Throwing rotten fruit, eggs, or whatever at officials who are repeatedly failing to deliver on their claims and causing Nation after Nation to live in a confused and stressful world might be just what they deserve. Apparently all this attention to Security and all these resources that are being thrown into the fire seem to result in Nothing. Grabbing the hunting rifle and running off to play commando out of Fear or Anger is only going to cause more problems. I don't think Simon is apathetic about what is happening, I just think he has realized the importance of Living Ones Life in the way One should do as a Free Individual.

These Officials are the ones who've set up all these New Security Measures ans so forth which have failed continuously. They may just be getting a glimpse of what happens when you try to B.S. your way through your job, with lies and cover-ups. Personally, I'm not going to give any Terrorist or anyone else the satisfaction of even playing their games or changing my Life of Freedom and Pursuit of Happiness, giving in to their tactics. F*ck them and their MonkeyMan Methods of Terror, War, Genocide, and so forth. I'd rather live by my own rules for one day, Free and Happy, than live by someone else's rules and control just so I could continue another day, month, year, etc. I simply will not admit that a repressive regime of whoever, is significantly important as it only adds to their satisfaction. Until the rest of humanity can mature and wise up, getting past this stupid failure of a fantasy that War and Killing is Fun and/or necessary, I will continue to treat them as the pathetic annoyance that they are and deserve.

If the Warmongers have a problem with that, let them shoot their phalic shaped Missiles and Toys at me in frustration over there lack of any real Intelligence and Manhood. I'll be enjoying myself, on my terms, having a pint with Simon awaiting either for them to Wake Up or for my surrounding to Blow Up. Either way, when that time comes, I will be smiling' because of the fact that, to quote Sinatra, "I did it my Way."

"So, if it wasn't a test, the same end was accomplished. Televised for all to see just how easy it would be to carry out an attack."

And the world didn't know this before someone threw an ink bomb at him ?

I am absolutely certain that if someone wanted to assassinate Blair they could.

He's out in public quite a bit, he speaks at public gatherings, he goes on holidays.

If I wanted to shoot Tony Blair I'm pretty sure I could do it given a little time and money.

"Terrorists" have even more time, even more money and far better training and information than I have, I am 100% positive that a terrorist organisation could kill Tony Blair.

But they're not going to.
Why would they ? what's the point ? In fact why aren't terrorists running round the world picking off our leaders ? Why do they go for car bombs in civilian areas rather than political assassinations ?

Why ?

Because they're not trying to scare the politicians, they are trying to scare the public. Killing Tony Blair doesn't't scare the populace of a country, it actually makes them feel a little safer because "normal" people are no longer targets.

Killing Bush may be a different matter, But Tony ? what's the point.

Originally posted by Simon
we don't live in a new world.
Nothing fundementally changed after 911

Thank you,
you proved my point LOL

Could be another thread, probibly is one about this somewhere.
My life changed after 9/11, my country changed after 9/11,
In a very fundimental way.

It could be a scare tactic to keep him in power. How else would you explain them getting into such a secure meeting.

It's allways small incindents we are seeing. Just enough to keep us all in fear and fuel the war on terrorism. Doesent is seem strange?

The powers that are behind all this don't want the existing leadership replaced do they.

"I did it my Way."

Here here.
To be honest If protecting Tony from "terrorists" results in me having to live in a prison state experiencing crippling paranoia and fear 24 hours a day, ducking every time I hear an airplane, not talking to anyone I might think is a "stranger" locking myself in my house eating survival rations and listening to the radio for reports on the current state of emergency then screw it, Invite Ossama to the UK and hand over the country to him, I think I'd rather be a fundamentalist muslem.