A Dance To The Beat Of Security

The present fuss over the holding and questioning at Heathrow Airport of David Miranda the Brazilian partner of a Guardian journalist, Glenn Greenwald, related to security issues is intriguing in many ways. 

At the time of the London bombings the government of the day were berated for failures in preventing it and banged through a large chunk of confusing legislation.  For the 2012 Olympics security almost anything went.

But Miranda  as a result of his interest in security matters and his Guardian partner were given cause to worry when he was taken in for questioning and his laptop checked out.  The emphasis accordingly is that this should not happen at any time to people of this kind. 

It has raised all the questions again about the powers of the state, the manner in which they are applied and who they might be addressed to.  But I have little doubt that if I began sniffing around some things others would return the compliment.

Especially if there might be any question about whose side I was on and uncertainty about my real intentions. 

So we have a journal anxious to insist on cracking down hard by the State on tax avoidance, dictating what some might say and think on certain matters, hacking away with the searching iron itself complaining when it happens to them.

It is a strange world we live in.  The name of the person involved struck a long forgotten chord in the memory.   It is a poem called Tarantella by Hilaire Belloc from long ago when everything was so different

It seems to have a relevance to the dances between the problems of security in London and the wish of the London media to be free from its hindrances.

There are no right decisions.