Intelligence or lack of it?

Officials admit doubts over chemical plot

The British media have spent some days indulging themesleves with last week's anti-terror raid in London. 250 police and intelligence personal on the scene, a thankfully non-fatal shooting and still no clear evidence that anything was amiss. Today's headline from the Guardian above brings us up to date and questions whether there was any real justification for the exercise at all. Most disturbing was the news that the occupants of the next door house were also incarcerated incommunicado for 12 hours just for living in an adjacent building.

One wonders whether the surveillance state is becoming the cause of its own problems. Data is great but we still don't have powerful enough AI (Artificial Intelligence) to sort it accurately. Thus it is left to beaurocrats and mere mortals to analyse and interpret. Increasingly they seem less adept at the task.

Radio news here just reported that a group of travel agents have been kidnapped in Bagdad by insurgents posing as police. Such stories have become a daily event these days, but I find this curious. No details yet, but of all the places on the planet one might NOT expect to find travel agents, surely Iraq is number one. Smells like a cover!

Later.