Is the police response the same all over London or is it more severe in Brixton? I am tempted to believe the latter, it seem as if the police presence in Brixton even has increased, compared to last year.
This week, I saw three massive police responses. The first was at Windrush Square, where three police cars and one van was dealing with something serious, I gather, or?
The second response was outside my neighbour’s house across the street, where three police officers lingered about. Where they involved in crime prevention or harassment?
The third occasion was on Coldharbour Lane. I was on my way home as a group of ten to fifteen young men, all between the ages of 13 and 15, passed me. It reminded me about myself at that age and how tuff I felt when I walked down the road with my friends. However, suddenly police came and started to chase the boys on foot!
How could they have possibly committed a crime in the two minutes it took for them to walk pass me and to the police chase started?
I like to point out that in all the above occasions the “perpetrators” where black men. The question is, were there any real crimes committed, or was it just the erratic actions of a racist police force?
I was in Ritzy Café and a very handsome man sat next to me, or so I thought until I spotted his nails. He had long nails like a girl! It completely turned me off him. Why do I find men with long nails disgusting? I couldn't even look at him.
I see myself as a feminist that believes in equality between the sexes so why does a man with long nails repulse me. Even the well manicured ones. Female long nails, on the other hand, are only nice. Does that make me a female chauvinist?
I had a really scary bus ride this week. The driver was shouting at the traffic, hit the steering wheel, and made lots of angry noises in his little driver’s cubicle. It was very unsettling being at the mercy of a mad bus driver! He had definitely chosen the wrong career for his mental wellbeing. Usually the bus drivers in London are really cool tempered and I am impressed with the way most bus drivers manage all the idiots that are out and about in the city.
I, myself, would definitely behave like the mad driver – that's why I am not a bus driver.
I went for a BBQ with more than 60 guests. It was nice weather, good food and a great turn out. However, I could not stand it! I found myself walking around with a grin on my face that felt more and more plastic as the day went on. People just mingled and talked about rubbish like the weather and the food. Every now and then you could hear a, “Oh helloooooo, how are youuuu!”
After two hours I had enough and went home stuffing my face in front of Iplayer. Thank God for BBC!
Terrorism
This week I went to a talk about wrongful incarcerations in the UK. This is when innocent people are locked up in prisons on terrorist charges without a shred of evidence. Some people are locked away for years and in some cases, even being tortured in the process!
I remember a time when torture was officially seen as something bad. However, today it has become more and more common that states, particular USA and UK, send terrorist suspects to foreign countries to be interrogated there. As I understand it, that basically means that the prisoner is sent abroad to be tortured so that the sending country (USA and UK) can deny any knowledge of torture. Interrogation has become the new word for torture. The whole process is called rendition.
This is made possible under the Terrorism Act 2000, which extend the detention period of the suspect. Basically, we can all be potential suspects and the state can detain us for as long as they please. A very convenient way to get rid of the opposition.
It is interesting to look at the word terrorist, which according to the Oxford dictionary, means “a person who uses terrorism in the pursuit of political aim”. When you look up the word terrorism, you can read “The unofficial or unauthorized use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims”.
The interesting point is that, what defines a terrorist or terrorism is a subjective issue rather than a factual issue. It can never be an objective issue since terror means extreme fear and humans are afraid of different things. In the Oxford dictionary, terror means “the use of extreme fear to intimidate people, especially for political reasons”. So if we look at terrorists, terrorism and terror in a class struggle situation then the ruling class will feel intimidated by any political resistance from the working class. If we use the words on feminism, then many men may feel threaten by feminists and feel that they will loose power. If my political view scares others, and fills them with terror, then it's not my fault that they feel fear! I have no control over other people’s feelings. Their terror is coming from inside their own head. Terrorism is therefore always a mind-ghost of the accuser. It is a product of the accuser’s fear of the unknown rather than any factual or real danger.
When the state has the power to define what political views or groups are to be classified as terrorists then it is very important to ask yourself, what is it that the state is afraid of?
In addition, where does the so-called intelligence about a specific terrorist come from?
It's a known fact that CIA is flying people across the world to be interrogated in countries outside the western hemisphere. This interrogation happens in Somalia, Pakistan and other countries and we can all be pretty sure that the information received from the poor prisoner is a result of torture.
So what do you gain from torture?
The witch-hunt that spread through Europe during 15th century and the 18th century shows the devastating consequences of taking information from torture victims. In the witchcraft trials people were tortured by religious leaders, to find out who is a witch (witch can be replaced by the word terrorist in this case) or not. The interrogators put innocent people in a situation where they had to come up with a name in order to make the torture and pain to stop. The only way for the accused witch to be released was to produce a name of another witch. The torture, as a result, only led to that, more innocent people were tortured by the Church, for them to get yet another name of a witch. The witchcraft trials led to tens of thousands executions across Europe. The hunt for terrorists to day has a scary resemblance with the witch-hunts.
Many of the poor beggars detained at Guantanamo Bay are probably just innocent people that have been named under CIA interrogations in some God forsaken place in the Middle East. They have been there for years now and still no trials. Where are the proofs of the crimes they are supposed to have done?
I think it is time to put the threat of terrorism in perspective. For example, compare the death toll caused by terrorism in the UK, or USA, during 2010 (which is zero) with deaths in cancer, car accidents, youth stabbings and gun crimes, alcohol related deaths, women killed by their partners or ex partners, child poverty and the list can go on forever. Surely, we need to put more money into preventing these issues rather than spending money decreasing the democracy, the democratic freedom rights and the human rights with silly legislation.
The question is who is gaining from making us scared of terrorists? I leave you to answer that for yourself…
I remember a time when torture was officially seen as something bad. However, today it has become more and more common that states, particular USA and UK, send terrorist suspects to foreign countries to be interrogated there. As I understand it, that basically means that the prisoner is sent abroad to be tortured so that the sending country (USA and UK) can deny any knowledge of torture. Interrogation has become the new word for torture. The whole process is called rendition.
This is made possible under the Terrorism Act 2000, which extend the detention period of the suspect. Basically, we can all be potential suspects and the state can detain us for as long as they please. A very convenient way to get rid of the opposition.
It is interesting to look at the word terrorist, which according to the Oxford dictionary, means “a person who uses terrorism in the pursuit of political aim”. When you look up the word terrorism, you can read “The unofficial or unauthorized use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims”.
The interesting point is that, what defines a terrorist or terrorism is a subjective issue rather than a factual issue. It can never be an objective issue since terror means extreme fear and humans are afraid of different things. In the Oxford dictionary, terror means “the use of extreme fear to intimidate people, especially for political reasons”. So if we look at terrorists, terrorism and terror in a class struggle situation then the ruling class will feel intimidated by any political resistance from the working class. If we use the words on feminism, then many men may feel threaten by feminists and feel that they will loose power. If my political view scares others, and fills them with terror, then it's not my fault that they feel fear! I have no control over other people’s feelings. Their terror is coming from inside their own head. Terrorism is therefore always a mind-ghost of the accuser. It is a product of the accuser’s fear of the unknown rather than any factual or real danger.
When the state has the power to define what political views or groups are to be classified as terrorists then it is very important to ask yourself, what is it that the state is afraid of?
In addition, where does the so-called intelligence about a specific terrorist come from?
It's a known fact that CIA is flying people across the world to be interrogated in countries outside the western hemisphere. This interrogation happens in Somalia, Pakistan and other countries and we can all be pretty sure that the information received from the poor prisoner is a result of torture.
So what do you gain from torture?
The witch-hunt that spread through Europe during 15th century and the 18th century shows the devastating consequences of taking information from torture victims. In the witchcraft trials people were tortured by religious leaders, to find out who is a witch (witch can be replaced by the word terrorist in this case) or not. The interrogators put innocent people in a situation where they had to come up with a name in order to make the torture and pain to stop. The only way for the accused witch to be released was to produce a name of another witch. The torture, as a result, only led to that, more innocent people were tortured by the Church, for them to get yet another name of a witch. The witchcraft trials led to tens of thousands executions across Europe. The hunt for terrorists to day has a scary resemblance with the witch-hunts.
Many of the poor beggars detained at Guantanamo Bay are probably just innocent people that have been named under CIA interrogations in some God forsaken place in the Middle East. They have been there for years now and still no trials. Where are the proofs of the crimes they are supposed to have done?
I think it is time to put the threat of terrorism in perspective. For example, compare the death toll caused by terrorism in the UK, or USA, during 2010 (which is zero) with deaths in cancer, car accidents, youth stabbings and gun crimes, alcohol related deaths, women killed by their partners or ex partners, child poverty and the list can go on forever. Surely, we need to put more money into preventing these issues rather than spending money decreasing the democracy, the democratic freedom rights and the human rights with silly legislation.
The question is who is gaining from making us scared of terrorists? I leave you to answer that for yourself…
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