large bomb apparently found, not many informed

OK, two members and/or affiliates of an extremist group are discovered with what the police describe as a “record haul” of bomb making components and ingredients. The prosecution also says:

a search of Jackson's home had uncovered rocket launchers, chemicals, BNP literature and a nuclear biological suit.

Hmm, kinky. One of the accused stood in the last local elections for the BNP. Naturally it’s front page news in the local rag, Pendle Today. Here in Manchester, 30 miles from where it happened, nothing in the local BBC or the Manchester Evening News. Nothing either in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, the main evening paper for the county. And as you’d expect, given this, nothing in the nationals.

Lots of stuff in all of them about peeping Jack though. I don’t normally like “you’re covering this when you should be covering that and this proves the other”. It’s not really about keeping scores, though I'm pretty sure the story would have got a bit beyond witch burning country if the persons allegedly responsible had been Muslims.

But when does having rocket launchers in your shed not count as news? If someone is planning to start a race war a few miles up the road, I’d quite like to hear about it.

Comments

[Phil]

Lots of stuff in all of them about peeping Jack though. I don’t normally like “you’re covering this when you should be covering that

Had to read that twice.

[jamie]

Damn, yeah...got veils on the brain.

[Chris Lightfoot]

As you say, a touch surprising this hasn't been reported outside Pendle. On the other hand you can never trust anything that is reported about "chemicals" being found anywhere in these sorts of cases -- usually the scientific ignorance of the journalists combines nicely with the desire with police desire to obfuscate matters. Similarly the "rocket launchers" could be bits of PVC drainpipe for all we know.

[thabet]

On the other hand you can never trust anything that is reported about "chemicals" being found anywhere in these sorts of cases

But that's the whole point being raised here isn't it? That if the two men arrested -- who are innocent of all crimes until proven guilty in an open court of law -- had been, lets say less Anglo-Saxon, this would have been everywhere, and they'd have been guilty until proven guiltier.