*Holy mackerel, look at this. Those habits of backstabbing centipede intrigue... we're literally watching a political party structure devolve into a covert hacker network and sting itself to death.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jun/04/gordon-brown-rebel-plot-purnell-resigns
"The resignation of cabinet minister James Purnell from the government changed everything. Westminster wits had taken to ridiculing the rebel movement against Gordon Brown as a "peasants' revolt", a cohort without influence. One thing 39-year-old James Purnell has never been described as is a peasant. (((Burying the lede here – this isn't about one cabinet minister among many. This is straight outta global-guerrilla doctrine.)))
"As observers digested the emerging details of the backbench plot, that was just the start of the sneering. One cynical MP said an attempt by email to solicit support for the prime minister to resign was the equivalent of receiving an email from a Nigerian asking for financial assistance: not very convincing. (((At least he's *sorta* catching on: 411 predation thrives on the Internet for a reason.)))
"Two MPs reported receiving an email sent from the address [email protected], asking them to join the rebellion. They didn't know whether it was a joke or not. (((Maybe there's humor in it, but I'm not chucking. This is another major G-7 power going into a "vast conspiracy" network-centric tailspin.)))
"And then there were further fears within the ranks of the plotters themselves. One rebel even admitted that the coup attempt was something of a work in progress. (((You might wanna check into the long-established habits of hacker networks and their endless paranoiac eagerness to "hunt the feds.")))
"Speaking from the constituency office where they had decamped for the day of the local and European election polls, the rebel said: "We are a bit unsure about how to deal with the problem of receiving hoax emails. You know, how do we check the email is real?" The chosen device for the Hotmail plot, or "plotmail" as one dubbed it, was not being seen as particularly effective. (((Like the schemers are gonna run out of Hotmail addresses? Al Qaeda loves those for a reason.)))
"And then there was the rearguard action from the government's whipping machine. (((In the Red Corner, a political machine. In the Blue corner, a decentralized net.))) The night the Guardian reported the existence of a plot, it also reported that the chief whip, Nick Brown, had diagnosed the troublemakers and was onto them, in an attempt to flush MPs out.
"At 10.45pm on Wednesday night, the Guardian received phone calls from distraught MPs who had been named as rebels, they said erroneously, (((I've taken part in wargame futurist exercises where this happens. I really hate to see this cyberwar speculation blossom into reeking political reality))) and were frustrated at their names being put about by Brown. One MP was rung by the Press Association at 2am. They insisted they had seen no email and were furious Brown was allegedly using such dark methods. (((And why would they suspect such a dark thing? Merely because party operatives loudly dabbled in web-based centipede sex-smear operations?)))
"By this afternoon, after a day of strange calm, Labour networks had worked the phones and were worried. (((In the Red Corner, telephones; in the Blue corner, Hotmail.))) The intentional invisibility of the plot was starting to become a problem, morphing into the shape of whatever phantom a particular MP hated most about their party. (((If there's a bright spot to this, and there are few, perhaps Britons will now come to understand why American politics has been declining into apparent open lunacy for so many years now. It's not about national character, ladies and gentlemen of Britain. It's about the infrastructure of power.)))
"The names on the list are all right-wing," said a high-profile activist on the left on the party, seizing on a redacted list of some of the names being bandied around. Never mind the fact that no comprehensive list has ever been assembled. "We're not going to be part of some Blairite plot," the activist threatened. (((Like Blair has got something to do with destabilizing his own legacy? Last thing I heard, the guy was going to Mass.)))
"Then, five minutes later, from a high-profile activist on the right of the party, typically described as a Blairite: "The names on the list are all leftwing usual suspects" – before the individual went on to produce a similarly selective list of names to augment their own point.... (((This is carrying palace intrigue to new, abysmal levels of despair. Call a vote, people. You've gotta take it to the population; civil society is the only decentralized network left that has any moral credibility. Use the ballot box. It's the last piece of network hardware that hasn't been hacked to shreds (so far).)))
((("Disintegration or regicide," the British government's glamorous choice:)))
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jun/04/gordon-brown-purnell-polly-toynbee
(((More:)))
http://isgordonbrownstillprimeminister.com/
