The Bombs and the Backlash 07/05

And so the inevitable happened. On the morning of July 7, as rush-hour commuters headed to work in the sunshine, London was hit by a series of simultaneous bomb blasts on the underground (and another shortly afterwards on a bus), killing 55 and injuring hundreds more, with the death-toll looking likely to rise. Al-Qa'ida had brought their bloody terrorist campaign to the heart of the nation's capital. The murder was indiscriminate, the victims arbitrary - colour or religion unimportant.


London had been in euphoric mood before the attacks, having staged the impressive Live8 concert, and just the day before, having been awarded the 2012 Olympics. This had no bearing on the timing of the bombings though. With Tony Blair currently chairing the G8 summit in Scotland, world-leaders including Bush, Chirac and Putin all on British soil, the eyes of the world were already watching us. This is what makes it hard to understand why the security-alert level wasn't at its highest - with so many powerful politicians here and countless police officers north of the border in Gleneagles.

So why are we a target?

We had been told it was not if but when we would be hit and apparently there is absolutely nothing we can do to stop this. Blair has also claimed that the attacks have nothing to do with the war in Iraq. This is a display of breathtaking arrogance. When you declare an unprecedented pre-emptive war on an Islamic nation there are surely going to be factions that fight back. This is the nature of war. It is a two or more-sided grisly affair. After the London bombs, Blair has said that the killing of innocent civilians is 'totally unacceptable', yet under his (and Bush's) orders, nearly 100,000 innocent civilians have been killed in Iraq. Over there they are regarded as 'collateral damage'.

Iraq is the new breeding ground for 'Islamic' extremists and Mr Bush and Mr Blair have given them their cause. The continued killing of Muslim civilians (not only in Iraq) gives al-Qa'ida the potential, which is rising exponentially, for the recruitment of operatives. The extremists are of course completely un-Islamic and to give them a title pertaining to Islam is unfair to Muslims everywhere.

The backlash has already begun with mosques in Leeds, Birkenhead and Bristol being subjected to arson attacks by right-wing groups. The Muslim community should no more be under suspicion for the atrocities in London than the indigenous-white, heterosexual population were in 1999 when right-wing extremist David Copeland was placing nail-bombs in Soho, Brixton and Brick Lane, targeting ethnic minorities and homosexuals. The Muslim community at large have no more influence over the radical extremists than I do over the activities of Combat 18 and their political wing The British National Party. These attacks were an attempt to cause suspicion and mistrust - to divide people. They have sectarian violence in their plans. It is wrong to say that to be critical of the war in Iraq is to legitimise al-Qa'ida's agenda. It has gone beyond that now. We have seen bloodshed on the streets of London, suicide-bombers committing cold-blooded murder that was previously confined to places like Jerusalem, Grozny, Bali or Beslan.

Clearly the War on Terror isn't working. We need to look at our alignment with US foreign policy. We need to address the issue of the withdrawal of Israeli settlements in Gaza with more veracity.

The problems are multi-faceted. They need to be tackled at the root-causes. These suicide-bombers were homegrown. We need to address the poverty and social deprivation of a large majority of the young British Muslim population - the disaffected youth who are vulnerable to being coerced into committing atrocities in the name of a twisted version of the Koran by nihilistic criminals with promises of being martyred for the worldwide jihad, thereby cementing their place in history.

Londoners have of course reacted with bravery and dignity.

Did the cowards of al-Qa'ida really expect anything less?

Northern Ireland: A Very Concise History

Following Northern Ireland's shock 1-0 victory over a lacklustre England side in a World Cup qualifier at Windsor Park on September 7 (their first against the old enemy since 1972) it was easy to imagine a jubilant mood that would sweep through the province uniting people, regardless of religion.

This of course did not transpire, when on Saturday 10, the people of Belfast witnessed rioting, involving gun and grenade attacks, that went on until the following Tuesday. During this time, more than sixty police officers and several dozens of civilians were wounded. The trouble began when the British authorities refused to allow a Protestant march to walk along the edge of west Belfast, a Catholic area.

There are still deep divisions among the people of Northern Ireland, but where did it all begin?

During the reign of Henry VIII (1509-1549) Catholic Ireland was brought under the rule of Protestant England and so began the tensions that have existed to this day. Some fifty years later, with James I (1603-1625) perched on the throne, a Protestant majority was created in the north of the country, which still exists today.

Another fifty or so years later, Catholic James II (1685-1688) was to only briefly sport the shiny hat before being defeated at the Battle of the Boyne by Protestant William of Orange (1689-1702) and the Protestants again took control.

In 1920, The Government of Ireland Act decided to split the country in two due to the religious divisions, creating a predominantly Catholic south and a predominantly Protestant north.

In 1949, the south cut all ties with Britain and became the Republic of Ireland. The six counties that make up Northern Ireland - Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone - remained part of the United Kingdom. Unsurprisingly, not everyone was happy with this political and religious division, with the minority Catholic population in the north preferring to be part of a united Ireland, while the Protestants are staunchly determined to stay part of the UK.

This eventually led to the forming of paramilitary groups on both sides of the sectarian divide.

The period known as The Troubles refers to the last thirty-five years or so, beginning with the Civil Rights marches of the late 1960s up until 1998's Good Friday Agreement, which created a 108-member Assembly and 14-member executive body which represented both Catholics and Protestants.

Three months after the signing of the agreement, the worst single atrocity of The Troubles took place with the Omagh bombing which claimed the lives of 29 people.

With the IRA now deciding to lay down their arms and choose dialogue over bombs and bullets there is much more hope for the future of Northern Ireland, but these ceasefires are always uneasy.

Following the rioting in Belfast this September, which left police vehicles riddled with bullet-holes, the British Governer, Peter Hain has said that the outlawed Protestant group, 'The Ulster Volunteer Force' had effectively broken its ceasefire and that Britain no longer accepted it as valid.

So the undoing of centuries of animosity is not going to happen overnight, when not all paramilitary groups have laid down their weapons, murders and punishment beatings are still commonplace and there is a frightening rate of suicide by victimized teenagers. Since 1966 more than 3,500 people have been killed and over 36,000 injured.

When Mr Bush and Mr Blair have finished sorting out the sectarian violence, power-sharing issues and religious mistrust between the Sunnis and the Shias 2,500 miles away in Iraq, perhaps they could tidy things up here too?

Heaven for the Half-Pipes?

On Sunday, October 10, twelve years of grinds, ollies, kick-flips and tail-slides were brought to an end with the closure of Radlands Skateboard Park, leaving hundreds of local extreme sport fanatics to find somewhere else to pull off their tricks. No easy stunt when you consider the legality of skateboarding, inline skating and BMXing in Northampton town centre.

Radlands was opened in November 1992 on Studland Road, Kingsthorpe Industrial Estate in a 10,000 square ft warehouse just a short bus ride or swift skate from town. It was at the heart of the British underground skateboarding scene and was the country's first indoor skate park to host internationally renowned events. Since its opening, more than a quarter of a million people have scaled the ramps, pipes, grind-boxes and wall rides.

Two weeks ago over a thousand of the baggy-jeaned brigade signed a petition that was presented to the council, showing their support for the reopening of the park. How many more people can we make room for outside Spinadisc? Radlands regular Will Marshall echoed the thoughts of many:

'Why close the skate park? Where else are we supposed to go? Skating's a way of life.'

All local political parties support the sentiments of the petition but cannot buy or manage the park under a council-run program. Councillor Anthony Wood, St David's Ward called for volunteers to form a committee to campaign for reopening and around twenty people put themselves forward, including Damien Ince (former centre manager whose dad originally opened the park twelve years ago). The group has now been properly established into key members (professionals of the Radlands community) to form a legitimate business plan.

They're calling themselves The Radlands Action Plan Comittee and are trying to find support, sponsorship and exposure from individuals and/or organisations to help get their community project up and running. We think that they deserve all the help they can get. They've shown a great enthusiasm and passion for their sport and provided a constructive and enjoyable refuge for people of all ages, but particularly for the kids who saw the park as a second home.

Speaking in The Herald & Post recently, Cllr Wood said:

'Things are definitely moving forward, we have got the guys from Enterprise Northamptonshire, who help with social projects, to help us,' adding, 'If it opens as a social enterprise we can make it so it becomes the centre of activity for young people in the town.'

The owners of the premises, WG Grose, who have been approached by a businessman expressing an interest in the building have put the sale on hold temporarily and the committee are currently holding disussions about the plans for a possible reopening. It is going to cost a vast amount of money to renovate the site into a warehouse (somewhere in the region of 50k) so the owners would like to see it reopened as a skate park.

I spoke to Jamie Brown, aka Crazylegs, a commitee member and former employee of Radlands to try and find out what progress was being made with the community members' scheme. He told me:

'Things are going okay but it can be difficult when we've all got full-time jobs to hold down as well. We need people to add comments to our online petition - particularly parents, so we've got hard copy evidence of thoughts and opinions. We are also looking for local donations to get the ball rolling in attracting corporate interest. We've got a very good business plan but it's just going to take some time and a bit of support.'

As skateboarding continues to grow in popularity and becomes a sport that is taken seriously by the British public, we are going to want to see homegrown world-class talent. It's moved on from the narrow, plastic boards with rusty wheels of the 80s you know? Check how we are currently represented in the world of tennis. This is surely due to a lack of free courts for the keen young tennis enthusiasts of the last few years who couldn't afford to pay high hourly rates and wear the appropriate footwear/whites/yawn to practise as much as they needed to. All sports should be available to the youth of our town to encourage kids to spend their time constructively and hone their talents and skills (and I don't mean on Tony Hawke's Underground - their thumbs are adept enough already).

So we need to provide a place for the skaters to go because they're not just going to pack their decks away and give up. They're going to use carparks and graveyards and Abington Street on Saturday afternoons. They need somewhere safe, supervised and appropriate to go. Somewhere designed for this purpose. Hmm? Now where could that be? They need your help.

Crazylegs:

'Radlands has played a huge part in the last decade for so many underprivileged kids and had a real positive effect on them. I wouldn't be where I am today without it.'

If you would like to find out more or have any ideas for sponsorship or fundraising then go to:

http://www.radlands.com/ or http://www.norfampton.com/.