Prediction - The Demise of Family First...

Like Meg Lees and The Democrats before them, Johnny has pulled the rug out from under Mr Fielding and Family First - and the poor fool doesn't even know it. Whilst his actions (which is most likely in support of the Government to pull the rug on RU486) might get backing from the Religous Right, his "Family Impact" strategy will now be bunkem as a weapon against the government as Universities start to slash on-campus facilities in reaction to the new Bill.

Surely we had to see it coming? So well laid up by the government. Putting RU486 up on a media platform - scaring the begeesus out of the anti-abortionist in his party, probably working them into a fever pitch (look at the US problems with this - forget about killing thousands in the Iraqi War (including your own people) - as long as Mr Bush says he'll fight Roe, then we'll back him).

So what a great three card trick? Use RU486 as a rouse to stir up his support base, then land the VSU stuff on his lap - it's either VSU or the unborn kids - take your choice.

So, those "family" folk who originally supported them on their "non-religous footing", Howard has simply outed them on their position on Abortion (thus turning them into a future political basket case), he gets to water down RU486 for a few more years (and don't be mistaken, it'll become legal at some stage - but it'll get Abbott & Costello happy for a bit) and tops it all off with the VSU legislation.

So in just 6 months, Howard has effectively managed to wipe Unions from the Australian political landscape...

Oh, are we in deep poo in this country or what ... ???

PS - Await the announcement over Xmas for Johnnie to retire - he must be like a pig in mud right now.

Reap What You Sow - Racial Violence in Sydney

Following the riots in Sydney this weekend, even Mr Howard is concerned.

Sorry Johnny, but you reap what you sow...

Years of expousing hate and fear by our national leadship and their rampant hype of nationalism has surely had some effect. It all started with Hansonite politics when Howard first came into office - his failure to neuter Hanson opened the door on intolerence in this country and Howard has been cajolling it ever since for his own end (Tampa, Iraq, Terror Laws, etc).

Problem is, where will it all end? Must be a sure bet that the communities targetted by the mob on Sunday will likely react...??? The genie is out of the bottle and it will take something special (like real leadership) to put it back in.

Update 16/12/2005: Even Laurie Oakes is coming around that we've all been duped...

Orwellian Speak - "Outrageous/Outlandish Claims"

In recent months I've notice ruling governments the world over lambasting a rash of "outrageous/outlandish" claims against them (for example):

• Downer refuting allegations of DFAT's involvement in the AWB scandal in Iraqi Wheatgate - "Wheat kickback claims outrageous: Downer"
• Rumsfeld's reaction to claims Bush wanted to dump on Al-Jazeera - "We are not going to dignify something so outlandish with a response," a White House official told CNN.

So, is this a new double-speak? It sounds like a denial yet it completely lacks one! So, it's a great way of defusing an issue by appearing to refute the claim yet does nothing of the sort. Anyone can claim something is outrageous or outlandish, but that doesn't mean it's not true. The language we should be looking for is "we completely refute this claim" or "this claim is not true".

So, all Joe Public hears is the "outrageous/outlandish claim" and a few more soundbites thus crushing any chance for the truth to be told.

Prediction - Howard's About to Resign...

Three reasons why I think we're about to see a leadership transition in the Libs:

1. The huge rush on to push through a raft of legislative changes before Xmas. Why? Because Johnny wants to wear the mantle on these for prosperity (oh, and it also lets Costello/Turnbull argue that they didn't guarantee that "no one would be worse off").
2. Recent turmoil with Costello being sent to the cleaners on the appointment of Robert Gerard to the Reserve Bank highlights leadership tensions within the Libs. This surely was an internal knife in the back - Labor completely missed it for 3 years and it wasn't till the Fin Review published the story that it all come to light. No, my bet is it was either Malcolm Turnbull's supporters or someone else jockeying into position - with the expectation that Howard was about to "walk the plank" so they're getting in early to undermine Costello's chances.
   
3. Yesterday's announcement by Costello that he was going to be working on the Budget and that he would deliver the budget next year (i.e. won't be leader) is such a classic political move I'm amazed that everyone's taken it hook, line and sinker. Ever since it's been an issue, Costello has always been obscure with remarks about the future - now suddenly it's definately not on - yeah, right!!!

No, clearly Howard's clearing the way for Costello (after many years promising it too him, he has to deliver) so I suspect all of this is simply to take the press hounds off Howard so he can make the announcement at his choosing.

Thoughts - Outsourcing Justice (or just Execution's)

The recent controversy surrounding the hanging of Van Nguyen by Singapore has (yet again) exposed the crass underbelly of the Australian psyche and the Howard government is using it to great effect.

A number of things have me worried about the direction (and again, failure in leadership) we, as a nation, are headed and it has me asking the question - "has the Howard Government decided to outsource our Justice (well, execution's at least)?"

Despite a long history of the Liberals voicing their opposition to Capital Punishment, we have seen an almost deliberate watering down of that long held position in recent months. Like "Tampa" before it, they aren't coming straight out and saying they support it, but the comments they are using are enough to tag at the heartstrings of the Hansonite's in our midst, further entrenching the government in the community. It's politics at it's lowest and dangerous to boot as the Libs go about selling out on what they stand for to secure their political future - and that can only lead us into worrying territory.

So, I'm starting to wonder, how can the government back capital punishment (and thus reengage with the Hansonite sympathisers) without appearing to change a long held Liberal policy? Well, I suspect they've taken a leaf out of Bush's policy of outsourcing torture to Eastern Europe which allows the Bush presidency to claim they do not support turture in America.

Similarly, we are seeing the Howard government outsource punishment for drug crimes to our Asian neighbours, without so much as a whimper of complaint. Proof of this?

• Despite Van Ngyen being sentenced in 2002, it has only been in recent months that anyone in government appears to have made any attempt to challenge this. Why weren't attempts made immediately for his transfer to Australia to answer charges here?
• Why dob the Bali 9 into the Indonesian's? If the AFP knew of their movements (and if I recall, even their flights back into OZ), why not simply pick them up off the plane back in OZ? Surely the deliberate act of informing the Indonesian's about their plans was tand amount to signing their death warrants.

Both appear to be deliberate acts to ensure these individuals are sent to their deaths. Now, I don't particularly have a problem with another country enforcing its laws as it sees fit. And we all know you'd be stupid to even consider touching drugs in any Asian country for fear of capital punishment - yet it still happens (so not much of a deterant).

My concern is that, in both of these cases, the most harm was not going to occur to the local population - no, instead these "mules" were returning the drugs to Australia for our population to suffer the consequences. So, why are we not insisting on setting the punishment? Why aren't we dragging them back to OZ to face our justice system? Why? Because many of us (and the this is the bit the government are sucking up to) clearly think this is a suitable punishment so Howard is playing the Hansonite card yet again to sure up his support base.

Other things that concern me about this include:

• The use of language - it's been very Orwellian again - remanicant of Tampa - not admitting they support Capital Punishment but doing everything in their efforts to suggest they actually do,
• The clear lack of leadership (by both sides of politics) to support our long held position against capital punishment. Again, this is reminicent of Hansonite politics - how Howard allowed Hanson to express her view unchallenged in the parliament.
• The move by the Lib/Nats in Queensland to boycott the minute silence as a protest. Again, it sets a tone in the community and offers tacit support to that ugly underbelly.

So where too now? I suspect/worry we're on a slippery slope. The actions we're seeing appears to highlight peoples desire for revenge over than justice. How anyone could believe that death was a suitable punishment for simply carrying the drugs is beyond me. We don't see the masses demanding the gallows for tobacco exec's? Yet their "legal drugs" kill many more Australian's every year (as the argument goes that the drugs they are carrying will kills Australian's after all).

So, given the recent turmoil surrounding Howard's devisive policies (IR, terror, welfare to work, etc) which will clearly work against the government, are we seeing a return to wedge politics to divert attention away from their current failures?

My concern with this is that we're playing with fire. Once we start to encourage the ugly side of the Australian Psyche out into the open, it will be a difficult to put it back into the box - and that scares me no end.

Prediction - Telstra Loss of Core Business

Telstra seems to be doing it's darnest to scare away customers with its outrageous pricing plans for land line rentals. What I can't work out if this is deliberate or accidental - but I'm starting to think it's deliberate.

We've seen recent reports of people dropping Land Lines in favour of Cheap Mobiles and of VoIP using Broadband over Powerlines in TAS - all of which will eat into Telstra's bottom line. Why? Because if people choose Mobile over Land Lines, consumers go from a monopoly market to a very competative market - so many will NOT choose Telstra.

So what's the deal? Perhaps Telstra is trying to buy out of the Land Line market completely? Or at least put so much commercial pressure on it's existance that it forces the governments hand. Either way, I suspect more is at play than lousy business decisions.

Proven - Telstra's Plans...

Unremarkably, Sol Trujillo today announced plans to Axe 12,000 Jobs - well, we said 14,000 and no-one believed us...

Worse is that Barnaby Joyce was shocked by the announcement. Sorry Barnaby - you surely can't be that stupid can you and not know that this would happen? It's going to be a private company you goose - what did you think would happen - they would expand?

So, what does that mean? Well, I'd say Countrywide is pretty well gone. In fact, I was talking to an ex-Telstra employee recently and they seemed to be saying as much. I just hope Barnaby isn't so surprised when it happens - make's him look pretty foolish.

Supporting Commentary - Living Beyond Our Means...

On the Sunday program yesterday, we had the proverial "sky is falling" story, Safe As Houses, about the housing bubble about to burst (with some encouragement from Aussie John Symonds).

It was interesting to hear many of the comment (some from reputable people) that seemed to coincide with the concepts of Affluenza and/or Living Beyond our Means.

But isn't this the global panacea for growth? Complete unfetted, unabashed consumption and debt growth. I'm really keen to see the Right Wing hawks decend upon the show to pull it to pieces (I'm sure it'll be labelled as a left wing rag before too long) as the implied sentiment was that some form of regulation and control is needed.

Pity it'll never happen - so when it bursts, we'll just sti by and say "I told you so"...

Prediction - Paris Riots - Our Turn Next?

For some time I've been pondering the future of the country (or any country) where we actively leave the "underclass" behind. It's evident in OZ today that unless you're skilled you're stuffed - but to get skilled you need money and the proverbial "chicken and egg" problems that result.

We see increasing moves to jail anyone that moves for trivial crime and we're increasingly hiding behind our elite "gated" communities so we can ignore the plight of others.

New Orleans was a classic for this - but it's equally true in Brisbane, Sydney and no doubt within other communities around the country (take Palm Island for example).

At some point, it has to crack - Maquarie Fields in Sydney and now of course, Paris.

So I'm waiting to see everyone claim Paris is just a French problem - please don't be so blind to see that it could (and probably will) happen here. Just let Johnnie get away with his IR changes and it might happen sooner than you think.

Prediction - Cruiseship Terminals - Vapourware?

We've seen a couple of "stunning" announcements in Queensland in recent weeks regarding new Cruiseship terminals for Townsville and the Gold Coast. This after many years of hounding by both municipalities but stunned silence from above.

Now suddenly BOTH are "going to happen"? I somehow doubt it - they seem too nicely packaged as diversionary ploys for the government during a bad news week/month/year as well as a "welcome to leadership" announcement for Anna Bligh.

Why the skepticism? Well, both are $1bn projects - so clearly we're talking about private funding, not government - but what makes it "so attractive" now? But what really put me off was the dodgy "artistic impressions" provided for the projects. Certainly the one in Townsville looked absolutely crap. I recall the original concept drawings made for the CBD Renewal taskforce back in 2001/02 - they looked "thought out" - these ones look like "ah, just throw in a bunch of canal estate homes and see what happens".



You see, the problem stems from location - we're talking about the outer breakwater - yet we have townhouses within metres of the rocks!!! Clearly not well thought out in a cyclone prone city. Yet the original concept kept this area as a buffer, with parkland at the very front and buffer zones for housing. It was actually a smart balance.



So that's why this crazy "impression" is just vapourware - it keep the punters happy (for now). But don't expect anything to happen for years (if ever).

Thoughts - Materialism & Individualism

Thanks to Mark Latham, I now have a reason to rant about these two topics.

Individualism has been growing rampant since the late '80s, but I think particularly so in the '90s when the ALP rolled out the public selloff bandwagon and folks jumped onto Telstra, et al (or was that the Libs?). Which concerns me because isn't this reflective of Latham's "Ladder of Opportunity"?

Anyhow, you see it in so many ways these days:

• Disregard for others (particularly Aboriginal people, boat people, immigrants, etc)
• Lack of empathy - I can remember a time when, if a company said it was going to lay-off a thousand people, there would be a general outcry. Today, people say "well, that should help their share price" and think nothing of it.
• A general unwillingness to engage in the community (volunteering, participation, etc)
• Favouring private schooling funding ahead of public schools.
• Expecting Uni Students to fund their educations "because they're going to earn all this money" - what rot.
• The apparent lack of concern shown about the sell off of Telstra!!!

And surely materialism is driving all of this. Our greed for more and more - a pandemic of affluenza - is driving us into American ideals at a rapid pace. It's all about me and what's in it for me and bugger anyone else who happens to get in my way.

I've mentioned it before (elsewhere), but look at kids today - they're wealthy. How do I know? Well, go into any shopping centre and tell me who the majority of shops are targeting? You, me? Not likely - its teenagers. And they're only doing it because they're cashed up.

So, why is this relevant? Well, because we're starting this cycle of greed at such an early stage in life - and that's a concern for the future because this trend is only going to get worse because these little suck ants are going to be so up themselves and so self-centred it beggars belief. Can you imagine what they are going to be like when they start buying shares? Actually, what am I saying, the probably have them already...

Question is, if we're suffering an affluenza pandemic, what's the cure?

To be honest, I don't think we're likely to see an anti-viral agent - no, I think we're going to see something big drag us all back to earth, like...

• Peak Oil?
• Dual Income Blowout (what happens when 2 earners isn't enough)?
• Property Crash?

History tells us that #3 will happen one day. I really worry about #2 because I think people will kill themselves in work (i.e. >1 jobs, etc) before they realise they're actually killing themselves. And besides, if you want that greed, you need to work harder and harder (don't you?).

But #1 worries me the most because as obvious as it is (to any fool with half a brain), we're so blissfully ignorant of it. Why is this a problem? Well, surely our government's WILL know about it and consider it has some merits (for goodness sakes, just look at Iraq). Only a fool would think we have a bottomless (oil) well so it has to peak someday. And when it does (and maybe it has already), the consequences are too scary for thought:

• Increasing oil wars?
• Living in denial about sustainability?
• Ignoring viable alternatives in favour of evil ones (e.g. Nuclear)?
• A changed society completely?

The only thing in its favour is the comment I heard recently (and I can't remember who) that said "our generation will witness the end of the motor vehicle". That great bastion of individualism, the personal car(s), is about to come to an end. And when that happens, we are going to be forced to communal transport systems (e.g. buses, trains, boats, etc) - any form of mass transit.

Problem is, at what cost? How many wars? How many will die? How much will our societies collapse? Yet, we all know its coming and (like all good pollies) they've buried OUR heads in the sand with OUR arses in the air waiting to be screwed...

Thoughts - Latham's Comments

I've just finished watching Mark Latham's comment on Enough Rope and a few thought's come to mind.

1. He clearly wasn't up to it. A lot of what he discussed was no real surprise, and I would have thought him a little niave to think it would be any different. Which makes the question put by Andrew all the more telling - "why run for leader"? Was he depressive? He certainly had mood swings - big swings. So perhaps he just wasn't leadership material.

2. That said, his closing comments were so empathetic to my own. He said that he really worried as Australian's rushed to be "materialistic and individualistic" and how that is killing the Australia we all love.

And yet, it is this feeling that I think many of us reflect - even the Nat's (perhaps particularly so) and disappoints me that he has nothing to offer in this regard. Are there solutions? Ummm, gee can I think of any? Well, there has to be and that's something I'll be putting my thoughts to in coming weeks.

Meanwhile, have we kissed the next election goodbye? Actually, an interesting thought - could the government rushed out Telstra to get out ahead of this mess? Who has most to gain though? There's no elections looming and it'll all blow over in a month or three. Actually, there may even be a degree of sympathy voting??? I doubt it somehow...

Prediction - Sale of Telstra Outcomes

Well, well, well. Poor old Barnaby couldn't hack it and sold us out. It will be interesting to hear who much the NFF have been paid off - talk about changing their tune very quickly.

Anyhow, as it now a fait a compli, lets consider the downstream effects.

1. Telstra Countrywide - Closed

An easy buy in and previously discussed. It may "continue" but it will be based out of a capital city (perhaps Adelaide to give the feel it still is in the country).

2. Massive Job Losses

I know a figure of 14,000 has been mooted - who knows what it will be but we all know it WILL happen. Again, look at the track record of the banks. Every time the market sneezes, they slash another 1000 jobs. They won't all go at once, but over 4-5 years...

3. "$2b Fund, What $2b Fund?"

The "up to $2b" hint in the initial legistation was the key here. You watch the pollies start backing out of the "promise" over the next 18 months. Remember Keating's L A W law tax cuts? What is it with people? Are they just ignorant?, do they have short-memories?, are they just thinking about their back pockets? But let it be known, if it get anywhere NEAR $2b I'll be amazed.

The other factor here is how much will actually get spent in the bush? You watch it get hung drawn and quartered for every pot-belly excuse for a problem in the future. Perhaps even for water problems et al...

4. $1b Infrastructure Boost

Another area to keep an eye on. It's going to cost the government a pretty penny to push this out as a prospectus - keep an eye on how much of the $1b gets drawn away in pre-Sales charges...

5. What About The Future???

And this to me is the biggest problem. Even if they score the whole $2b for future investment, what happens when the next BIG infrastrucure change happens in telephony? Back in the '80s Telecom funded the entire replacement of exchanges to become digital. What happens if we need to do that again? Will Telstra bankroll the deal? You've got to be joking...

So what does all this mean? Well folks, lets just hope everyone remembers WHICH party backed the sale (Libs) and WHICH party allowed it to happen (Nats) - and lets run 'em out of office ASAP.

What If: Two Aren't Enough

I missed most of a discussion this morning on Radio National but I think it was about families, being "more productive" and dual incomes. The jist of it was that we need to have dual income families to be more productive and provide for our families.

And it suddenly hit me - what happens when two incomes is not enough? Single income families sufficed for many years, now suddenly we can't survive without two. So, like all good capitalist practices where endless growth is the goal, how do we grow into the next phase? Is polygamy the next thing on the government agenda? Will it be lowering the age for children can work or perhaps making schooling only compulsory till primary?

Surely, like all crud policies bases on pure growth that there has to be a point when it's not sustainable. Question is, what happens when it hits?

Prediction - Telstra to Close Countrywide

If Telstra secures it's final sale (as appears to be a fait a compli) and once the last share is pried out of government hands, Telstra will abandon its Countrywide operations quicker than you can say "I thought Barnaby was going to protect all of this?".

Why? Well, why wouldn't it. As a commercial operation, the nearest "equivalence" we have to them in size would be the big banks. And how many big banks have retained a significant presence in regional and particularly rural Australia? So why would/should Telstra be any different.

You don't need to be a complete dill to realise that Countrywide is simply a political device to sure up support for the sale - and as a commercial entity, it has to make absolutely NO sense to operate when everything it does could AS EASILY be run out of Sydney, or Melbourne, or India...

Oh, why are people so ignorant to the obvious - it beggars belief sometimes...

Prediction - Nuclear Weapons in OZ (one day)

In the rash of debate surrounding the sudden acceptance of Nuclear Energy in this country, it would seem that it's only a matter of time before we see our first commercial nuclear power station on native soil.

My prediction is that soon after, we will have our own nuclear weapons. Why? Because the pollies can't help themselves (particularly the RIGHT).

But why might this happen? Well, apart from the (already socially stable) Scandinavian countries that have nuclear power stations, I'd have it a guess that nearly all other countries with nuclear power now have the bomb (or trying to get it). It's surely a natural progression. You have all this lovely radioactive leftovers that you have to do something with, so why not refine it to grab that lovely plutonium and drop 'em into bombs.

By then the RIGHT will have us all in a sweat about our nearest neighbour so it won't take much to push the right buttons (and create fear) that will allow them to take that step.

So, let it be known that we weren't warned. Would you trust the pollies with a big pile of plutonium in their care? I wouldn't...

DEBUNKED - July 7 Bombings

Okay, recent envents now prove that this entire "conspiracy theory" is probably bunkem. Most notably is the recent footage of Sidique Khan in a traditional "pre-suicide" rant about how "We are at war and I am a soldier. Now you too will taste the reality of this situation." As Khan was responsible for the Edgware Road attack it seems less likely that the others were "unknowing" of their plight - had he been on the bus it may have been different. Anyhow, it's complete bunkem so please ignore.

The general consensus at present seems to be that at all 4 bombers on July 7 were locally grown suicide bombers. I don't doubt they were Muslim and locally grown, but what if...???

What if they were under someone's influence and they had been told to expect a completely different outcome? Perhaps they thought they were going to follow the same M.O. as the Madrid bombings - i.e. drop bags onto Trains and leave the scene? Perhaps they had no idea at all???

So, why this angle? Well, it seems ludicrous that they'd leave a stack of bombs in their vehicle at the station at Luton. If it was left for another cell (as has been suggested) then why didn't they take it - it wasn't traced till days later so plenty of time for it to go walkies. So could it be that they (the 4 bombers) thought they would be returning? How better to create an illusion that you wouldn't be hurt by making them think this was "just the start"? But then again, we don't know a great deal about this vehicle - was it the car that all 3 came down from Leeds in? Or was it just the 4th bomber's car?

Another "unsettling" picture in my mind - look at the relaxed swagger of the group on the closed circuit camera's - these guys are either dead cool or are they completely unsuspecting of what's about to happen? I can't speak for the experience, but if I know if I was about to kill myself, I'd be pretty pumped with adrenalin - I'd be showing some form of nerves.

So, possible scenarios?

1. Madrid MO Turned into Suicide Bombers by Third Party

Group arrives in London and they spread out on arrival with the intention of dropping their bags at designated locations (before some cutoff time). However, someone triggers the bombs ahead of schedule (perhaps the 4th bomber on the bus, possibly someone else) but it's done way ahead of schedule. Why? Perhaps they struggled to win over "locally grown" youth into killing themselves - yet, as we've well scene, it's exactly that thought (locally grown suicide bombers) that scares the living bejebus out of westerners. So, by killing the "unsuspecting couriers" they are turned into instant "suicide bombers".

Okay, but what about the 4th bomber? Well, that's where it may all come unstuck. If this was meant to be a deception, then his late detonation either completely rules out this theory ... OR, perhaps he was the "trigger" (the person who "lured" the other 3 in and triggered the bombs early) thus making him more significant in the scheme of things and eventually committed suicide himself... OR, what if his just didn't fire like the others did (maybe he had one of the dodgy detonators like those carried on July 21st)? What if he was suddenly witness to the deception/double cross? What does he do? He could run for the police? Nah, he's already committed to killing people - he just hadn't counted on him being one of them. So, does he continue (as best he can) onto his target? The train won't get him there anymore, so he jumps a bus. Then, as he crawls through the chaos that is London following the bombings, he sits there paranoid about when his is due to go off. Perhaps the 4th bomb was the real scheduled time? No. If that was the case then all he needed to do was jump off the bus ahead of this time.

But what about a dodgy SMS? Ever had an SMS turn up late on your mobile because you were out of range when it was sent? I get 'em all the time (sometimes days later). What if he was out of range for the original bombs causing the SMS to be queued. Then perhaps he met a sudden burst of mobile frequency (or someone sent a 2nd SMS - perhaps someone rang his mobile) and boom - another one gone. Who knows, perhaps he was trying to back out of the attack, realising the deception and thinking (luckily) his device had failed, and was trying to get back to Luton? Then in his effort to cradle it on the bus, he set it off???

Yeah, I know, it's quickly falling apart, but I can't get past the sight of the cool and collected nature these guys exhibited when they were caught on camera - they really do look like they are on an excursion - they look like they have no idea what's about to hit them...

So that makes me wonder - did they know at all?

2. Completely Unsuspecting Fools?

Could they have been completely unaware of what was about to happen? Was their excursion to Wales a way of creating a false sense of security and trust in a group (and to another third party - who was manipulating them) - as opposed to a pre-bombing "bonding session"/last rites? And, having established a sense of trust in the group, perhaps they just thought they were heading off on another excursion? Perhaps off to a day at the cricket (douh, cricket was in Leeds that day wasn't it)? Okay, so I'm clutching at straws here...

Again, they look like a bunch of guys heading out on an excursion - who knows, maybe it was meant to be a treasure hunt or something with each one sent out in different directions looking for clues?

Yeah, it starting to stink this theory as they would have had to have known what was in the bags - yeah, they could have been handed them at Luton but I'd have looked (they had time to kill on the train) so they would have known something wasn't right - so I tend to favour the Madrid MO Deception. But I still think they were unsuspecting of their "plight".

So, did we see similar behaviour in the July 21st (attempted) bombings? These guys looked far more like nervous terrorists (but then we've not seen any footage of the other guys just prior to the bombing). Were they thinking - drop and run? Doubt it, some of the accounts sounded like they went off with it on their backs - so you'd assume they either knew it was coming or (again) had no idea what was inside (again unlikely- you could fool a group once but not after July 7th). No, they went off (the bombs) with them around and they bolted - they had to know what was going off - so they had to have known about the "bombs" - so that would tend to indicate they were going to suicide...

So, July 21st probably blows the original theories out of the water - so ignore both then.

However, in another twist ...

3. Any Relationship to Cricket?

1st bombing - England plays Australia in Leeds (Headingly) - the home of the 1st group of bombers.

2nd Bombing - England plays Australia in London - home of the 2nd group of bombers.

3rd bombing ??? - England is playing Australia in Birmingham RIGHT NOW!!! (4 weeks since the 1st). Now, there's a lot of focus in London at the moment (expecting another attack) but is anyone watching things in Birmingham????

Yes, yes, all grand theories and all as lousy as the other. But, time to put it on the record so I can tell you all "I told you so" later on...