Ahh this day is unfolding slowing into some semblance of normalcy throughout this island.
Those in the City delayed by the shutdown of two of the Tube's main Central Lines have by now likely staggered to their desks, already exhausted with most of the day still ahead. The FTSE continues to fall, as those who're watching and playing bring the prices lower and lower in preparation for a war footing.
By the bye, watch the markets the day war is formally declared. If you have stocks in North Sea Oil, take out more on margin.
The stress level throughout the nation continues to rise on a gradual, almost imperceptible curve, as the threat of terrorist attacks and another foreign war settles into the national consciousness. But this is something this nation, as a people, is better prepared for than their allies in North America. There isn't a family on this island that doesn't have somewhere, a living relative who can sit, and describe what it sounds like when a one tonne bomb explodes, or what it looks like to see one's street flamelit in the early hours, or what it feels like to know a neighbour, a friend, simply isn't there anymore.
But, back for a moment to this upcoming conflict. As mentioned, the facts have been plainly reported in various national media, yet for most it would seem, there is an inability to see the whole picture, to take these snippets of information as only a part of the entire puzzle, with a place which must be filled, but in itself only a very small, and partially misleading factor. Alone it may seem innocuous. Put beside the next piece, and the combination gives a deeper picture.
Lets take the formal dance the West is performing before it mounts it's attack.
We're still assuming of course, there will be one.
Germany and France have played out their parts, doubtless the dialogue discussed at great length with the US and the rest of NATO, and thus have raised the value and the credibility of the Euro. Their eventual role in this will doubtless be unimportant, as they have only financial roles to play. We're seeing the financial setup as we write, with the debasement of stocks, and the 'uncertainty' over oil.
One must apologise, for that was news-speak. There is no 'uncertainty' over the oil situation, it's merely a catchphrase which can be tossed out willynilly by the cognoscenti thus placating the 'need to know' syndrome.
Britain has for some reason followed the band, without telling the boys at home what they're going to be heading into.There's a rush order for some 185 thousand pairs of desert trousers, and some 40 thousand pairs of desert combat boots, because the QuarterMaster General's orders are likely filed with the 'Official Reports' of the last American campaign. Not to mention gas and biological protective gear which, at the moment, we don't seem to have at hand.
Ahh well.. it'll all work out. Lets have some tea...
We'll have a glance at the Times morning edition, and see what's going on in the world..
But before we leave this time, a question. Who among us recalls the USS Cole, where and why it has present implications?