Just a Substantial Threat
PHEW.
THANK GOODNESS.
The threat level in the UK is now only Substantial, having been officially lowered from Severe by the government.
This is greatly relieving, as the level hasn't been that low since 2005, and if things follow the same course as they did back then, we can only expect one or two major suicide bombing attacks to follow imminently.
You will be gratified to know that the police respond to the changing threat level with well-rehearsed procedures. For example, now that the threat has decreased, the following can be expected within the week:
- The superintendent puts all his red pens away in a drawer and gets out his orange ones.
- Someone changes all the notices in the entrance hall to remind us not to be vigilant and challenge all strangers, but merely to keep an eye out and politely enquire what strangers are up to.
- All overtime for operations run by the Home Office decreases from double-time to time-and-a-half.
As you can see, it is vitally important to have a national threat level and it has nothing to do with national reassurance, national panic, or any other political motive whatsoever.
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'Diary of an On-Call Girl' is available in some bookstores and online.
posted by PC Bloggs at 20:13
6 Comments:
only the pressure from explosives goes upwards--"senior"ranks are well aware that sh*t obeys the law of gravity.
21 July, 2009 00:54
ROFLMFAO, ohhhh so true.
21 July, 2009 11:20
Surgeon to patient: "There's good news and bad news. The bad news is I amputated the wrong leg. The good news is that the other one will get better"
22 July, 2009 12:52
LOL!
As you eloquently put it, absolutely nothing changes at ground level when the threat changes.
The other thing that bothers me is this. The highest level (can't remember what it's called) effectively means 'we've got wind of a plot and are expecting an attack on the mainland imminently'. If the security services had that knowledge, would they really tip off the suspects that way, particularly as it's unlikely that at any one time there are more than one unrelated planned attack about to come to fruition. But if they DO have that information and DON'T raise the threat level, what's the point of having it in the first place?
Sorry, while typing I answered my own question...it's window dressing (spin) designed to reassure the public that the security services have their finger on the pulse. They probably change it from time to time just to give the impression of feverish activity behind the scenes.
22 July, 2009 15:43
Not at all convinced that the announcement of a downgrade of the threat to "Substantial", is the security services attempt to reassure the public, that they do have their finger on the pulse. [Now, after the mistakes of 7-7 etc]
The 'spin' is a part of the planned deception by government, of oportunistic exaggeration, about the 'terror threat', so they can justify undue, extreme and totally unnecessary intrusive surveillance upon the population......The Big Brother snooping state. The government have since 7-7, 'sexed up' the terror threat and have used media spin to spread fear of attacks, to justify draconian laws, and the blatant oppression of a previously free people, whose civil liberties have been undermined by stealth.
The security service DO have their finger on the pulse, and HAVE prevented numerous plots since 7-7.
And didn't Gordon Brown explain to the press, that our soldiers are fighting the terrorists on their own turf, in Afghanistan, to prevent further terror attacks here?
And didn't the new Home Sec, Alan Johnson admit, that the 'terrorist threat' reason, given to justify biometric I.D cards, was an exaggeration. Gordon must think that we all have the memories and attention span of goldfish!
23 July, 2009 02:39
Thank GOD!! I am incredibly relieved. Now I know that the super will be using orange pens I can sleep easy
Sarah
23 July, 2009 16:50
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