Religious Make-up of the UK

• In 2001 UK census, 72% of people were identified as "Christian"
• In 2002, a "New Scientist" survey showed that "55% of the British public do not believe in a higher being"
• In 1948, George Orwell wrote "Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them"

What is the phoney "war on terror?"

My view is that the phoney "war on terror" is being waged between two groups: a set of Muslim extremists on the one side, and Christian Evangellical extremists on the other. In the mean time, the moderate majority in the world is being crushed - deprived of justice, freedom and liberty.
What is your view?

Another Police Shooting With No Reason?

On Friday 2nd June, a man was shot by armed police in London, during an "intelligence-led" house raid involving 250 police officers. We were told that they were expecting to find a chemical device or evidence of a homemade chemical bomb being manufactured. Four days later, it is becoming clear that there is no such evidence in that house.

I find disturbing parallels with the Menezes murder:

• Immediate self-justification by the police, which evidence soon begins to whittle away
• Active dis-information from within the police:
  Menezes: unofficial sources suggested he had jumped the ticket barrier, that he was wearing a heavy coat, that he was challenged, etc, etc. All these were shown to be false.
  Forest Gate: unofficial sources suggested that there was a warning (strenuously denied by the victim), that the gun was wrestled from the police officer in a struggle in the dark. It sounds quite incredible to me.
• The Menezes shooting had clear evidence of a cover-up: CC-TV recordings going missing, clear evidence of the falsification of police officers' notes; without even taking into account the "usual" corrupt police practice of writing up contemporaneous notes after the event and after reaching a concensus with their colleagues.

There certainly aren't the independent witnesses in the case of Forest Gate shooting to get in the way of a police cover-up. What we certainly know is that there are to be no prosecutions as a result of the John Charles de Menezes murder, in spite of the huge amount of condemning evidence.

Ok, here's the bit to read before arresting me for "glorifying terrorism"... when justice is not applied by the justice system, I find it extremely easy to understand the motive of individuals or groups who make their own justice. The government entirely deny that their illegal war in Iraq has any connection with the "London bombings". But we've heard for ourselves in a video of the bombers (now deceased) that this was high in their motivation. It is very clear that when Brush and Blair stand down there is no intention to take them to face trial at The Hague on war crimes charges. How could I condemn revenge for the murder of an innocent Brazillian guy when justice declines to involve itself? How could I condemn revenge for the Forest Gate shooting, if all the evidence turns out to be that a guy who was not involved in any terrorist activity is shot in his pyjamas, without warning, after what we are told is months of careful intelligence gathering by MI5?

I could understand all of this, because if any country were to attack Japan, I swear that country would find me one of the most dangerous people on the planet.