BOF Posted July 5, 2012 Moderator Share Posted July 5, 2012 If nothing else it shows how jumpy the public are. So job done. I go back to what Chindie said elsewhere. We really are too stupid to exist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 We really are too stupid to exist. Lucky God felt otherwise hey :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted July 5, 2012 Moderator Share Posted July 5, 2012 Lucky God felt otherwise hey True. We owe Him everything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMilnereatsnails Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 Turns out it was the vapour off one of those fake cigarette thingymabobs. I **** hate this country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blunther Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 If there's not a terrorist attack at the Olympics, then I can only think there is pretty much no threat. It's not hard to make an explosive device and shove it in your backpack. If there's such a great threat, these things would happen at football matches (if not inside then outside), shopping centres, markets all over the place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b6bloke Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 If there's not a terrorist attack at the Olympics, then I can only think there is pretty much no threat. It's not hard to make an explosive device and shove it in your backpack. If there's such a great threat, these things would happen at football matches (if not inside then outside), shopping centres, markets all over the place. I cant agree with this more! Most terrorists attacks have been carried out by the homegrown and if like us you put yourself in a position to cause massive high profile loss of life a football match would come to mind straight away, I mean the Premier League is the biggest in world. Like you say if it dont happen duringthe olympics then the chances are it wont happen at all. It actually transpired that this guy was smoking a electric fag and blowingit into a bag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted July 5, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted July 5, 2012 There isn't a great threat. It's massively overplayed. In the US, every year apart from 2001 (upto about 2006 IIRC the textbook I got this little factoid from was published around then), you were more likely to die drowning in a public toilet than you were of a terrorist attack. There is clearly a threat and our security services have to be (and indeed, are) aware and mindful of it - but there are threats all the time we (the public) aren't particularly scared of. Russia and China are constantly attacking our computer systems, if they got through they could potentially pose an absolutely enormous risk to the entirety of the UK. War is always just round the corner, even in the relatively stable environment we have now, but we aren't worried about that massively either. Compared to your chances of being killed in a terrorist attack, doing more or less anything looks positively dangeorus - cooking dinner tonight is more likely to kill you than a terrorist is in your entire lifetime. Terrorism however possesses a unique nature that makes it grab headlines. It's in it's nature for a start - the point of terrorism is make people look and see your message and enforce it in them, and it's bloody effective at that. And the idea that it can theoretically occur anywhere, any time... It's the boogieman that keeps giving. I would be amazed if there weren't a little cadre of nutters somewhere who want to blow away people for whatever reason during the Olympics. I'd almost be disappointed if they weren't - if you're into terrorism, the Olympics is like... perfect for an attack. The entire world is watching, it's a massive celebration of Britain at some level and at another its draped in the kind of pro-Western way of life that are going to get, for instance, your standard 'down with the infidel' nutter's blood boiling. They'd be thick to not have ideas of trying it on (and equally they'd be thick to not realise chances are they'll fail - because you can guarentee that we also know all the above and we don't want our party spoiled, so to speak... but a lot of these people aren't the sharpest knife in the drawer, a lot of them are as dumb/dumber than Joe Bloggs, hence their ability to be convinced that blowing themselves up is a bloody good idea). It's not something to worry about, don't buy into the fear the media likes to stir up and the government are happy to play up too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awol Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 What was interesting about the M6 incident was the scale of the response and the clear level or preparedness for an event, even in a relative backwater like Staffordshire. The powers that be are expecting trouble and as an example of their reaction times, coordination and deployable assets (including chemical decontamination facilities!!) it was frankly impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 I can only suggest that anybody using one of those electric quit smoking gadgets gives the surface to air missile batteries around the Olympic Park a wide berth. Oh, and try not to be a Brazilian plumber too, and don't send any sarcastic texts about blowing up the hot dog booth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterms Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 When I heard the rumour about someone making a cup-a-soup on a crowded coach, I thought it was an appropriate and proportionate response. Now, I'm not so sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethRDR Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 including chemical decontamination facilities!!SOP for dealing with a Megabus, surely? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted July 6, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted July 6, 2012 I'd rather the authorities were overprepared and overplaying the threat level than the other way round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houlston Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 Surely there is more to this than the explanation given. I just dont see how it could have escalated so rapidly without anyone on the bus knowing what was going on. If I was on a bus and saw a bit of smoke coming from someone's bag I wouldnt phone the police. I'd tell the person they had smoke coming from their bag. It might well be that their reaction leads me to call the police, ie they get really shifty open up the bag and I can see wires and a flashing light. But if I didnt see that mission impossible scenario and they just responded aggressively I wouldnt call the police, I'd either retort, dependant on size of person, or sit back in my seat and just think dickhead. People on the bus dont even know who the bag belonged to but surely someone was being questioned by the police more, would that not give a hint of who the culprit was. Just seems a bit ott and far fetched for all of it to happen, so quickly, without anyone knowing, with so many involved and whilst shutting a motorway all because a small amount of smoke may or may not have been seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted July 6, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted July 6, 2012 Surely there is more to this than the explanation given. I just dont see how it could have escalated so rapidly without anyone on the bus knowing what was going on. If I was on a bus and saw a bit of smoke coming from someone's bag I wouldnt phone the police. I'd tell the person they had smoke coming from their bag. It might well be that their reaction leads me to call the police, ie they get really shifty open up the bag and I can see wires and a flashing light. But if I didnt see that mission impossible scenario and they just responded aggressively I wouldnt call the police, I'd either retort, dependant on size of person, or sit back in my seat and just think dickhead. People on the bus dont even know who the bag belonged to but surely someone was being questioned by the police more, would that not give a hint of who the culprit was. Just seems a bit ott and far fetched for all of it to happen, so quickly, without anyone knowing, with so many involved and whilst shutting a motorway all because a small amount of smoke may or may not have been seen.ISTR it wasn't anybody on the bus, but another motorist overtaking the bus who saw the bloke with a smoking bag and phoned the police. Idiot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ingram85 Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 The thing to remember is that the vapour on those things is odourless, fags smell, tea and coffee smell, cup a soups smell etc...... If it was me who saw the odourless smoke I'd be in two minds about asking the person, as if they were challenged and if it was a bomb they'd likely detonate it there and then I think this particular situation was just unfortunate in that it wasted people's time, they investigated, nothing was found, people went on their way. No one would be moaning if it turned out to be serious. In this particular instance the Police can't win. Getting criticised for overreacting, what if they didn't send enough resources and it was a real threat? It's easy to say 'what a joke' about it all now we know what caused it but the police acted on a call from the public, sorted it, sent people on their way. Just an unfortunate judgement call from a panicked person on a coach who saw odourless smoke in a tightly packed environment and didn't ask in case it as real and they all got blown to shit. Lessons will be learned I'm sure but the public will 'demand answers' and want someone to blame for the fact police wasted our time tying to keep us safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrentVilla Posted July 6, 2012 Author Moderator Share Posted July 6, 2012 7 arrests today... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted July 6, 2012 Moderator Share Posted July 6, 2012 Due to it's heat, McDonalds coffee emits a disproportionate amount of steam. Be careful if removing the lid around the Olympic stadium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted July 6, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted July 6, 2012 I'd be careful farting around the Olympic Stadium. Someone will smell something funny and the next thing you know Special Branch will have a MP5 digging into the back of your head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrentVilla Posted July 6, 2012 Author Moderator Share Posted July 6, 2012 Better that than them emptying the MP5 into your head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted July 6, 2012 Moderator Share Posted July 6, 2012 Oh and don't be Brazilian. Frankly I fear for their football team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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