How do you define terrorism?

October 23rd is the day that Robert Cottage and David Jackson have a date at Burnley Crown Court , charged under the Explosive Substances Act of 1883 and remanded in custody around the 3rd of October 2006, according to very limited reports in the British media.

Mr Cottage is alleged to have been found with a huge amount of chemicals. According to local news "the 22 chemical components recovered by police are believed to be the largest haul ever found at a house in this country". Mr Jackson , a retired dentist , was claimed to be in possession of rocket launchers , chemicals , British National Party literature and a nuclear biological suit.

These two gents deserve a fair trial and protection from a media circus that might prejudice their case. What is extraordinary, in this instance, is the almost complete lack of coverage of what appears to be a massive threat to the general public. Mr Plod has assured all and sundry that "it is not a bomb making factory" and added that it was not related to terrorism.

Superintendent Neil Smith said , concerning Cottage , ...............
"He's not a terrorist and it's not a bomb factory but we are interested in what we have seized from his house. It will take expert advice to establish exactly what he has got. He was arrested under the Explosives Act on suspicion of possessing chemical substances that aren't in themselves an offence to possess but if combined may be capable of making an explosion."

"Scuse me ossifer but who is it that makes this decision?", asks a fairly bewildered me. How come when two people are found with enough combined weaponry to cause massive damage , they are immediately ruled out as 'terrorists'? Afterall , prosecution lawyer Mrs Christiana Buchanan saw them as working towards "some kind of masterplan".

Since I first became aware of this case I have attempted to chase it via google , local British newspapers and major dailys. There are no reports in "The Independent" archives. In The Guardian , I came across this fragment from a diary by one Jon Henley on Oct 13 , 2006.

" An extensive search of our extensive archives has failed to find a single mention of this in any national daily. Furthermore , Mr John Reid has not , to our knowledge , appeared on our TV screens to enlighten us as to the terrifying extent of this new threat to our nation's security. Then again, no one involved was a Muslim. Arf arf. "

The two men charged have links to the BNP , despite attempts by the organisation to distance themselves . Cottage stood for a position on the local council as their representative. It looks a bit like British political masters have a definition of terrorism that only includes those parties that suit their purposes. How even the so called progressive media completely ignores this, is deeply disturbing. As a p.s. I thought there may be a report, somewhere, about the continuation of this court case but I am not holding my breath.