Tanks in London: come off it!

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Is anyone buying this? What kind of threat would be foiled by tanks?

― Eyeball Kicks (Eyeball Kicks), Tuesday, 11 February 2003 19:23 (twenty-two years ago)

chinese students? *ducks*

― James Blount (James Blount), Tuesday, 11 February 2003 19:28 (twenty-two years ago)

i didnt think it was real - i thought they were just using rushes from Citizen Smith

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 11 February 2003 19:29 (twenty-two years ago)

it is very odd though; did they ever pull tanks out for a threat from the IRA?

― James Blount (James Blount), Tuesday, 11 February 2003 19:29 (twenty-two years ago)

IRA weren't big on suicide bombers were they?
Probably just a psych measure.
Cant you see the threat is real don't you see?!?!

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Tuesday, 11 February 2003 19:31 (twenty-two years ago)

actually, I think that they did trot out tanks when the IRA was attempting to mortar Heathrow runways.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 11 February 2003 19:33 (twenty-two years ago)

I've just come from my friend's house, and while I was there, his neighbour, a postman working at M0unt Ple@s@nt, called in to see him. The postie told us that today at his work, there was an anthrax scare because some twat had sent an envelope full of talcum powder to Tony Blair. Five extremely serious police cars drove up, discharged officers who changed into decontamination suits and went to the sealed-off area of the sorting office and went to work. The response time: three minutes.

― suzy (suzy), Tuesday, 11 February 2003 19:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Did they put the full postcode?

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 11 February 2003 19:41 (twenty-two years ago)

*ker-ching Dastoor*

― suzy (suzy), Tuesday, 11 February 2003 19:42 (twenty-two years ago)

must be something to do with the congestion charging.

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 11 February 2003 19:42 (twenty-two years ago)

i went past mt pleasant on the bus this evening and there were a LOT of postmen!

― gareth (gareth), Tuesday, 11 February 2003 20:09 (twenty-two years ago)

I went into the H's of P tonight and there were a LOT of policemen.

― Simeon (Simeon), Tuesday, 11 February 2003 20:12 (twenty-two years ago)

there's always a lot of postmen at mt pleasant gareth

― mark s (mark s), Tuesday, 11 February 2003 20:47 (twenty-two years ago)

why? I thought groups of more than five postmen were banned!

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 11 February 2003 20:49 (twenty-two years ago)

http://freespace.virgin.net/d.gardiner/Haphere.jpg

― Amateurist (amateurist), Tuesday, 11 February 2003 20:51 (twenty-two years ago)

why? I thought groups of more than five postmen were banned!

but maybe they'd be more effective if they hunted in packs

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 11 February 2003 20:52 (twenty-two years ago)

The German solider on the left is doing robotics

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 11 February 2003 20:53 (twenty-two years ago)

they're on their way to nag nag nag

― gareth (gareth), Tuesday, 11 February 2003 21:40 (twenty-two years ago)

Shouldn't the name of this thread be "Tanks for Nothing"?

― Nemo (JND), Tuesday, 11 February 2003 21:52 (twenty-two years ago)

yes, yes it should *pats Nemo gently on the back*

― Fuzzy (Fuzzy), Tuesday, 11 February 2003 22:38 (twenty-two years ago)

that is Graham Chapman right?

― James Blount (James Blount), Tuesday, 11 February 2003 22:39 (twenty-two years ago)

If there were nudist protestors it should be 'Tanks for the Mammaries' but I guess there weren't.

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 11 February 2003 22:40 (twenty-two years ago)

I am arresting the lot of you for old jokes.

― Ed (dali), Tuesday, 11 February 2003 22:41 (twenty-two years ago)

What jokes on the internet used to look like.

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 11 February 2003 22:48 (twenty-two years ago)

My apologies. I couldn't resist.

― Nemo (JND), Tuesday, 11 February 2003 22:56 (twenty-two years ago)

http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?sid=44468&nid=25

― James Blount (James Blount), Wednesday, 12 February 2003 04:37 (twenty-two years ago)

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/38808000/jpg/_38808769_heathap300.jpg

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 12 February 2003 12:35 (twenty-two years ago)

They're being posted at Manchester airport too, I heard this morning.

― chris (chris), Wednesday, 12 February 2003 12:37 (twenty-two years ago)

and still parliament does not get to vote.

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 12 February 2003 12:38 (twenty-two years ago)

No one has yet explained to me how a tank is supposed to stop a suicide bomber or ricin attacker. I'm dying to know.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Wednesday, 12 February 2003 12:48 (twenty-two years ago)

These are the questions you are not meant to be asking. You're meant to think, 'Tanks, I'm safe now'

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 12 February 2003 12:49 (twenty-two years ago)

Actually, I'm probably more likely to think "wroaaaaah! A TANK! COOL!" whilst conveniently distancing it from any actual military or terrorist or other violent associations - ie the same irrational moment of excitement as when I first saw a Green Goddess during the fire strike. Sad, isn't it?

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Wednesday, 12 February 2003 12:53 (twenty-two years ago)

I wonder if we aren't supposed to think "Tanks! The war has started! Thank goodness for our plucky tommies!" since, according to pollsters, support for wars always goes up once action is seen to have begun.

― Jerry the Nipper (Jerrynipper), Wednesday, 12 February 2003 12:58 (twenty-two years ago)

i think jtns answer is closer. i dont think its being done to make us feel safe. but to make us feel worried

― gareth (gareth), Wednesday, 12 February 2003 13:01 (twenty-two years ago)

yeh its hardly re-assuring is it, maybe if they put the tanks in Kew Gardens or Windsor Great Park then terrorists wont be parking their vans there to launch missiles at planes as they take off and land from Heathrow

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 12 February 2003 13:05 (twenty-two years ago)

manchester airport ?!! oh. where my dad works.
and i work next to.

― piscesboy, Wednesday, 12 February 2003 13:43 (twenty-two years ago)

Does anyone know if any tanks are stationed on the route of saturday's march?

http://www.stopwar.org.uk/images/routemap.gif

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 12 February 2003 13:57 (twenty-two years ago)

From what I can make out they're concentrated at airports and the city but hey, that March goes *so* close to the barracks of various guards units.

― chris (chris), Wednesday, 12 February 2003 14:00 (twenty-two years ago)

one of the ppl i'm meant to be meeting keeps telling me she is starting the march from highbury and islington (at 2!!)

where d'you think she actually means?

― mark s (mark s), Wednesday, 12 February 2003 14:12 (twenty-two years ago)

She doesn't know when and where the march is I would gather.

― Pete (Pete), Wednesday, 12 February 2003 14:54 (twenty-two years ago)

she's marching to waitrose on the hollaway rd?

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 12 February 2003 15:00 (twenty-two years ago)

she's marching to waitrose on the holloway rd?

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 12 February 2003 15:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Ed's singing the N. London marching anthem.

― Tim (Tim), Wednesday, 12 February 2003 15:01 (twenty-two years ago)

Hi ho, hi ho, we're marching to waitrose on the holloway rd....

― smee (smee), Wednesday, 12 February 2003 15:01 (twenty-two years ago)

he's got no hair but we don't care

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 12 February 2003 15:23 (twenty-two years ago)

yes. but I feel it too. you should go on holidays to the Lebanon, they have tanks everywhere there.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Wednesday, 12 February 2003 16:54 (twenty-two years ago)

Look, it's obvious. 'Colin' 'Powell' showed the world proof of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction recently. Proof, I tell you. The most destructive thing I could see in any of the proof photos was a bulldozer. I was dismissive at first, but then I realised that you get one of those up on the pavements at Oxford Street in the busy shopping times, you could do a lot of damage. And obviously a tank would be a really good thing to deal with a suicide bulldozer. QED.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Wednesday, 12 February 2003 20:58 (twenty-two years ago)

There's a point. Are we supposed to be against bulldozing Oxford Street?

― Eyeball Kicks (Eyeball Kicks), Wednesday, 12 February 2003 21:00 (twenty-two years ago)

When I'm shopping there, I'm against it.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Wednesday, 12 February 2003 21:22 (twenty-two years ago)

That's moral certitude if I ever heard it.

― Eyeball Kicks (Eyeball Kicks), Wednesday, 12 February 2003 21:28 (twenty-two years ago)

Apparently Blair ordered the regiment guarding Heathrow in personally, thinking they were a standard infantry outfit. Imagine his surprise upon getting out of his car at the airport to see the tanks of the armoured recon unit he actually ordered in. He was less than pleased.

― chris (chris), Thursday, 13 February 2003 14:05 (twenty-two years ago)

haha cannot someone clap a virutal reality visor over this man's head* and steer him towards a cupboard where he runs the entire world solo ON HIS OWN AND CYBERNETICALLY?

blair = proof that if you grow up NOT playing playstation shoot-em-ups it screws you up as an adult

― mark s (mark s), Thursday, 13 February 2003 14:08 (twenty-two years ago)

*blair not cabbage — cabbage is ok

― mark s (mark s), Thursday, 13 February 2003 14:08 (twenty-two years ago)

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