Breaking: Explosion Reported at Boston Marathon's Finish Line

[Anthony Thorne]

[B]What Is a 'False Flag' Attack, and What Does Boston Have to Do with This?[/B]

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/...ing/64260/

[Magda Hassan]

Boston runners were warned: Squamish man

Heiliger, 'stunned' by explosions, was back at hotel when marathon blasts occurred

Runners getting set to take part in the Boston Marathon were warned beforehand that they were going to die, said a Squamish resident who took part in the race.
Three people were killed and more than 140 were injured when two bombs exploded near the finish line of the famed 42.2-kilometre running event on Monday (April 15).
Mike Heiliger, 59, said a woman holding several bags was telling runners who were picking up their pre-race packages in downtown Boston on Saturday (April 13) that they were going to die if they participated in the event.
"I was downtown on Saturday and you know, you see these people on the street and think it's just some nutbar," he told The Chief from his Boston hotel on Monday. "It was a little creepy because you can identify who the runners are and I heard her say to this runner two feet away from me that, 'If you run tomorrow you're going to die.'"
At the time, Heiliger said he thought about telling the woman that the race was Monday, but decided not to correct her.
Heiliger was in the process of calling the police after his conversation with The Chief.
"I thought it was just a nut and maybe she was a nut but she was holding a couple of bags like she just got off a plane and was accosting runners on Saturday," he said.
The Squamish resident was one of a group of about 15 runners from the North Shore and he said they're all fine.
"We all run in a run club and as far as I know all of our people are OK," he said. "Some of them didn't get to finish, unfortunately, because when the bomb went off that was it. They [race officials] stopped everybody."
Heiliger finished the race in 3:29:51 and was making his way back to his hotel when the explosions went off.
"I was just coming to the hotel and I heard all these sirens," he said. "But you're in a big city and when you hear sirens you think nothing of it."
It was the fourth time Heiliger had raced in Boston and said the scene was disturbing.
"I'm just stunned right now," he said. "It's a terrible situation. Boston has really embraced this race, they really get up for this thing and they're so friendly. For something like this to happen it's mind boggling."
He said whoever set up the explosions had put some thought into it.
"Whoever did this knew what they were doing," he said. "They knew where to put it where the most people were."
Despite the disastrous day, Heiliger said the tragedy will not dampen his enthusiasm for the race.
"I think I would still come back to Boston," he said. "I bet security will be insane from here on in but I take the attitude that if you stay away, you let the crazies win. Time will tell what comes of this. This is huge. They [locals] want to hang someone out on the streets."
http://www.squamishchief.com/article/201...uamish-man

[Magda Hassan]

Hunt for the man in black: Feds raid apartment in search for 'dark-skinned male' as Saudi suspect is under guard in hospital... but were Boston blasts the work of right-wing extremists?

• Bomb squad among 20 officers combing flat, bags of evidence removed
  
• Police swooped after arresting man driving erratically around police barrack
  
• Speculation mounts over who could be behind the attack that left three dead
  
• Fingers point towards Islamic militants, who have attacked America before
  
• But apparent lack of suicide bomber could suggest domestic attacker
  

By Katie Davies and Matt Blake
PUBLISHED: 20:40 GMT, 15 April 2013 | UPDATED: 09:34 GMT, 16 April 2013

Detectives investigating the double bombing that tore through crowds at the Boston Marathon swooped on a flat yesterday amid claims the attack had hints of a right-wing terrorist attack rather than al Qaeda-inspired extremism.

Around 20 police and federal officials, including members of the bomb squad, combed the apartment in the suburb of Revere after questioning a man spotted driving erratically around state police barracks around the time of the blasts.

They are also hunting a mysterious 'man in black' who was seen loitering suspiciously in the area and tried to gain access to a restricted compound but was turned away moments before the blast.
While there were no immediate claims of responsibility, speculation is mounting over who could be behind the attack which left three people dead, including an eight-year-old boy, and injured 144.
Al Qaeda and affiliate terrorist cells have unleashed attacks on America in the past, but the apparent lack of a suicide bomber has triggered claims it could as likely be a domestic radical, perhaps from a far-right extremist group.
Scroll down for video


Evacuation: Police were desperately trying to evacuate the area following the explosions



Pictured: Images of a man in cuffs were posted online but police were keen to underline there had been no arrests. Officers said they were speaking to several people as would be expected in any major incident


Bill Bratton, a former head of Boston police who is now based in London, told Sky News: 'Unfortunately in my country there are no shortage of potential suspects, if you will.'


Counter terrorism expert Rick Nelson, of the Center for Strategic & International Studies, said the number of co-ordinated blasts suggested a 'complexity' that would be difficult for an individual to carry out alone.


'It was perhaps not one person but a group who were involved,' he said. 'The location suggests they were looking for maximum media value so that the explosions were caught by television cameras.'
Detectives were led to the Revere apartment, which is five miles from downtown Boston, after officers noticed a man driving erratically near the scene and pulled him over telling WBZ-TV he displayed a 'nervous demeanor'.

'Crude bombs': Both of the bombs were small, likely homemade devices and initial tests showed no C-4 or other high-grade explosive material


Moments after: Smoke billows from near the finish line after the bomb was detonated, inflicting tragedy


Massachusetts General Hospital, where 22 victims of the bomb blast are being treated, was locked down for two hours after a suspicious package was reported in the parking garage across the street

The driver then led police, as well as the FBI, to a home in the area of Ocean Avenue and Beach Street - which was then descended upon by Boston Police K-9 units, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as Homeland Security investigations around 5.30pm.

A source confirmed that the large police presence at the home in Revere was related to the Boston Marathon bombings.
Boston Police Crime Scene Response unit arrived and two members of that unit took several brown paper bags, normally used to store evidence taken from the scene, into the building and left with them full afterwards.
Police had said earlier Monday that they were searching for a 'dark-skinned or black male' wearing a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt and a backpack in connection with the twin explosions, which killed three people and injured at least 141.

They did not say whether the person they pulled over matched that description.
The hooded suspect was spotted at the scene of the twin explosions at the Boston Marathon finish line wearing a black sweatshirt with a hood, according to authorities.
Five minutes before the first explosion, officials said the person attempted to gain entry to a restricted area and was turned away. Authorities say he may be a foreign national, based on his accent.
Another potential suspect questioned by police at an area hospital Monday afternoon. Several news outlets reported that he is a 20-year-old Saudi national in the country on a student visa.
The person was among dozens injured - at least two fatally - by the blasts and he was being treated at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.

A civilian at the scene of the blasts claimed the student was acting suspiciously and reportedly chased him down and tackled him.
Authorities were still denying around 9 p.m. Monday that they had any definitive suspects in custody. They said they were questioning several people Monday but had not yet labeled anyone a suspect.

Pictures of a man in handcuffs surrounded by law enforcement officials circulated Twitter Monday, but authorities didn't identify the man or say whether his arrest was related to the blasts.
'At this time, we haven't been notified of any arrests or anyone apprehended,' a police spokesperson said.
Other reports suggested one line of inquiry was an individual caught on camera before the attack carrying multiple backpacks into the area 20 minutes before the deadly blasts.

It came as police were believed to be looking at whether bombs were planted in trashcans along the route.

The two blasts Monday occurred almost concurrently near the finish line of the marathon.

Police initially said a third blast occurred at the John F.Kennedy Presidential Library but later reported it as an unrelated fire.
Cell phone service was shut down across the area to prevent any potential remote detonations as police feared there were secondary devices.

Police were in a desperate race against time to find any additional devices this afternoon and said the task had been complicated by the items discarded by spectators fleeing the scene.


Multiple reports were flooding in in the moments after the attack saying there were devices reported outside Harvard and other sites along the marathon route.

Massachusetts General Hospital, where 22 victims of the bomb blast are being treated, was forced into lock-down for about two hours after a suspicious package was reported in the parking garage across the street.
Bomb sniffing dogs from the Rhode Island State Police, SWAT officers from the Boston police department and bomb squad officers searched the entire parking structure, floor-by-floor.

Authorities found one bag, but determined it was not a threat and contained nothing suspicious.
As the investigation continued into Monday night, all off-duty officers in the city were called back on duty and dog units were sent in to help the emergency response.
The scene of the blasts will remain cordoned off for at least 24 hours as forensic work continues.

Police were pleading with onlookers to head home over fears the dangers remained in the downtown area of the city.

NBC reported that the devices which caused the blasts were small homemade bombs' as the FBI referred it as a terrorist attack'.
Police departments across the country including San Francisco and New York have been put on heightened alert.

Controlled explosions: Officers were said to be carrying out controlled explosions on three secondary device

In London security will now be assessed ahead of the marathon being held there on Sunday.
A no-fly zone was temporarily introduced over the city and has now been lifted.
Runners still on the course were being bussed out this afternoon as officers begun the hard task of trying to work out who would cause such an attack.
Early indications suggested the bombs were planted at the finish line rather than being suicide attacks.

U.S. President Barack Obama was notified and directed his administration to provide whatever assistance was necessary, the White House said.
No groups have claimed credit for the attack and officials say no intelligence alerted them to a threat prior to the marathon.

Anyone with information about the explosions should call 1800-494-TIPS.


Boston Marathon bombing caught on video WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT









Stay home: Boston officials react to Marathon bombings
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...-male.html

[David Guyatt]

[B]What Is a 'False Flag' Attack, and What Does Boston Have to Do with This?[/B]

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/...ing/64260/

That told everyone didn't it. The Governor still doesn't know whodunnit, but he knows who didn't dunnit. That's one clever guy. No wonder he's a Guv'nor - with precognition and clairvoyance being a requirement for the job.

Even discussing a plunging gold price means you are a "conspiracist" --- which is going to come as a surprise to untold numbers of goldbugs who are aware that the price of gold has been fixed for many decades. It even used to be called the "London fix". Can't be clearer than that.

I did notice that the above piece avoided mentioning the most famous and well documented examples of false flag activities, but saw fit to drag the Reichstag fire out of the dusty cupboard. Blimey. Good ol' Reichstag fire - had to be a use for it sometime, I suppose. Still, we are told that even this false flag operation is still open to debate by some academics.

MOVE ALONG FOLK, NOTHING TO SEE HERE...

[Dawn Meredith]

Global Research reports that the Boston Bomb Squad was conducting "controlled demolition test" today.

I heard that last night too and my first thought was "just like 9-11".
I suspect this has something to do with Homeland Security buying up all the bullets, and that this one will be blamed on a home grown group. (Fema Camps next?)
At least that was my first thought.
Like all such events the story keeps changing. Especially the "event" at JFK liab. now being unrelated.
Sure, for the first time ever, a fire suddenly breaks out ana hour before the bombs go off in Copley Square.
What a coincidence.

Dawn
Did anyone notice during the press conf last night the first question asked was if this is another false flag.
The question was left unaddressed.

[Peter Lemkin]

Official Story Unraveling for Boston Marathon Bombing; Clear Evidence Points to Bomb Squad's Prior Knowledge
By Mike Adams
Global Research, April 16, 2013

GR Editor's Note: Important questions raised in this report regarding the official version of events.

A number of central issues, however, remain to be substantiated.

* * *

It's now becoming clear that members of the Boston bomb squad had advanced notice of the horrific bombing that took place at the marathon today. As an eyewitness reports, once the bombs went off, officials began announcing, "this is just a drill!" This logically means they were all informed of the "bomb drill" beforehand. Otherwise, why would they respond with, "this is just a drill" ?

According to Local15TV.com, a University of Mobile's Cross Country Coach said there were bomb-sniffing dogs at both the start and finish lines, long before any explosions went off. He said:

"They kept making announcements on the loud speaker that it was just a drill and there was nothing to worry about. It seemed like there was some sort of threat, but they kept telling us it was just a drill."

The official story of the bombing is that terrorists detonated two bombs at the marathon finish line and that the Boston bomb squad magically located a third bomb one mile away, identified the bomb, rigged it with explosives and initiated a "controlled explosion" all in less than an hour! (Absurd.)

The official story sounds like nothing more than a cover story.

Here are some of the facts we know so far

1) Bomb-sniffing dogs were present at the start of the race and the finish line, even before bombs went off.

2) The reported arrest of a "Saudi national" has now been retracted. Apparently that was a mistake published by the NY Post.

3) Instead, the mainstream media is pushing a new narrative that blames "right-wing extremists" for the bombing, even without a shred of evidence to back that up.

4) It is impossible for a bomb squad to have located, analyzed, rigged and detonated the third bomb in under an hour, especially when it was located one mile away, at the Kennedy Presidential Library.

See the map, below:



Why did the Boston bomb squad know all this in advance?

Given these facts, ask yourself: Who is the most likely culprit in the bombing?

The Boston bomb squad clearly had advanced notice of the presence of the bombs at the marathon, and they also had advanced notice of the location of the bomb at the Kennedy Presidential Library.

There are two reasonable explanations for this:

1) Someone called in a warning and threatened to bomb the event, which is why the bomb squad was on scene.

2) The bomb squad carried out the bombing as a false flag operation to achieve a political goal (unleashing TSA on the streets, blaming right wingers, increasing the bomb squad budget, etc.).

For explanation number one: If a credible threat had been called in, why didn't the Boston police cancel the marathon or try to warn runners about the security threat? Is it their policy to allow people to jog right into a massacre they've already been warned about?

For the second explanation, there are all sorts of reasons why the Boston bomb squad might have placed the bombs at the marathon. It could have been a drill that went terribly wrong (i.e. no explosions were planned but they accidentally went off), or it could have been a deliberate attempt to terrorize the American people and justify armed TSA agents on the streets for all future sporting events.

This looks more and more like a planned event to justify a TSA lockdown

Although it's still a bit early to know for certain, this looks more and more like a planned event that was deployed by the Boston bomb squad, called a "drill," then used as a pretext for the President to call for TSA agents to be on the streets at all future sporting events.

And that, in turn, is the run-up to the TSA occupation of America, which has always been the goal of Obama. Remember that back on the campaign trail, he announced he wanted to build a "civilian national security force."

Click here to watch the video where Obama says:

"We've gotta have a civilian national security force that's just a powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded…"

The fastest way to build a domestic national security force is to stage domestic bombings as a pretext. More and more, that seems to be what unfolded today in Boston.

Remember, too, that DHS has now purchased over 2 billion rounds of ammunition to be used domestically, against the American people. (The number was 1.6 but has now been upgraded to over 2 billion.)

The real proof is in what happens next

Regardless of what you might think is behind this right now, the real proof will be found in what Obama calls for in response to the bombings.

If he calls for TSA on the streets of America to "keep everybody safe" at sporting events, then it's all clearly a false flag rolled out for a political purpose. It was all a pretext to justify a TSA lockdown.

If the bombing is used to frame and blame veterans, patriots or "right-wing extremists," then it's clearly a false flag, too. Veterans and patriots have been severely demonized by the Obama administration as well as the leftist media.

If the administration avoids using the bombings to roll out its political agenda, then it might have legitimately been a random terrorist attack by a deranged individual. We'll have to wait and see what Obama calls for in reaction to the attacks in order to know their true political purpose.

[Dawn Meredith]

Speaking of the Irish 'troubles' [and digressing a bit - but only a bit], are most in the UK aware that a large number of the senior 'terrorists' [and some of the subgroupings] were actually agents-provocateurs of the UK military and intelligence, etc.? - [i.e that is was mostly a false-flag/phony 'war']

Absolutely not. These things are rarely made public by the media, and when they are, they are quickly forgotten, or placed in the "never happened" pigeon-hole.

People have a need to trust their government. It's what allows these things to happen, time and time again.

Speaking of Irish things, think Boston and it's old Irish community. Just saying...

SHIT!!!! In the "never happened" catagory here's a true story. In 1996 when Erick and I first got together he would turn tv on at 5 every am to CNN. One morning there was a news report that the wife of former CIA director Stansfield Turner had been killed in a plane crash. I watched and watched for an update. Nothing. Finally I called CNN to ask about the story. I was told they had not reported such a story. This all happened in 1996, when Erick and I first got together.
Now I go to google and see the report below. Reported four years after CNN reported it. Then denied it.

Couple killed in air crash ran travel firm in S.F.
Gregory Lewis, OF THE EXAMINER STAFF
Published 4:00 am, Tuesday, January 18, 2000

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Siegfried and Therese Richert, owners of the San Francisco-based Peck Judah Travel Service Inc., developed a friendship with Adm. Stansfield Turner and Turner's wife as the former CIA director served as a lecturer on a number of the trips sponsored by the Richerts' travel agency.

The two couples were traveling together in Costa Rica Saturday when their plane crashed, killing the Richerts, Turner's wife, Eli Karen, and Antonio Snchez Daz of Spain. Turner, 76, was in critical condition, having suffered injuries to his chest and head, said Dr. Deborah Beaychan of the emergency surgery unit at the Hospital Mxico in San Jos, Costa Rica.

The Richerts and the Turners had just cruised together through the Panama Canal and decided to extend their trip with additional time in Costa Rica, according to a prepared statement from the Peck Judah Travel Service issued Monday.

The couples had traveled together before, the statement said.

"Admiral Turner had been the lecturer aboard the ship on which the Richerts had been traveling. The Richerts and Turners had been acquainted for several years. Their relationship had developed as a result of Admiral Turner's having served as a lecturer on a number of Peck Judah's travel programs."

The Peck Judah travel agency, formed in 1856, is the oldest travel agency in San Francisco, according to Art Lloyd, a member of Skal, an international organization of travel industry executives. Under the Richerts' guidance, it was one of three agencies in the country authorized to book tours to Saudi Arabia.

"It's been around forever. Highly regarded," Don Langley, retired editor of Travel Age West, said of the Richerts' business. "Therese was from Vienna so they knew Europe like the back of their hands.

They provided upscale tours."

Siegfried Richert, 77, joined Peck Judah Travel in 1960 as manager.

"He greatly expanded the agency's business, eventually purchased Peck Judah, and continued to run it on a daily basis until his death," the agency's prepared statement said. "A man of great energy, possessing a wealth of knowledge and a deep commitment to Peck Judah and the travel business as a whole, Mr. Richert ran his agency with enthusiasm, dedication, integrity and tremendous skill."

The Richerts lived in Lafayette, but last year their home "burned down to the ground and they had to redo the whole thing over again," said John Holmgren, editor of the Skal directory.

Also, in recent years Ziegfried Richert had battled cancer, which kept him from attending Skal meetings. But after he completed chemotherapy he returned to the club, Langley said.

Shelia Hyman, who along with Siegfried Richert was a member of Skal, said Peck Judah's owner was "a well respected, highly ethical travel agent and a lovely man."

Investigators are still looking into what caused the plane carrying the Richerts and Turners to plunge into a house in an upscale neighborhood of San Jos, Costa Rica, near the Tobias Bolanos airport, Red Cross officials said. Three people were in the house, including a Nicaraguan housekeeper who suffered minor injuries.

In addition to Turner, the injured passengers and crew included nine Spaniards, two French citizens, one Salvadoran and three Costa Ricans, the Red Cross said. Most were in stable condition in San Jos hospitals.

The Costa Rican pilot was seriously injured, according to Pamela Villalta, spokeswoman for San Juan de Dos Hospital.

The plane had been destined for the Tortuguero national park on

Costa Rica's Atlantic coast. <

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Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Coupl...z2Qd44v4qm

[Dawn Meredith]

Yup...just a coincidence. From The Boston Globe:


At first, fire at JFK Library heightened fears
No one hurt, but building cleared; inquiry underway
By James Vaznis
| Globe Staff

April 15, 2013

Article
Comments

The fire at the JFK Presidential Library and Museum caused some damage to the exterior of the building (far left), blackening the area of what appeared to be a side entrance and shattering some windows. Inside, damage was caused mostly by smoke and water and not that much from the fire itself.

PAT GREENHOUSE/GLOBE STAFF

The fire at the JFK Presidential Library and Museum caused some damage to the exterior of the building (far left), blackening the area of what appeared to be a side entrance and shattering some windows. Inside, damage was caused mostly by smoke and water and not that much from the fire itself.

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A fire and possible explosion Monday afternoon at the JFK Presidential Library and Museum prompted a full-scale investigation by local, state, and federal authorities to determine whether the incidents were linked to the deadly Boston Marathon blasts.

The fire broke out shortly before 3 p.m. around the same time as the Marathon explosions several miles away in an HVAC system in a section of the complex opened in 2011 that houses offices, a classroom, and some archival material, said Rachel Flor, a library spokeswoman. Everyone evacuated the building in Dorchester safely and no injuries were reported, she said.

"There was a fire, and it's still unclear how it began," Flor told reporters. "We did hear something that sounded like an explosion."

Throughout the afternoon, library officials emphasized the blaze appeared to a "mechanical fire."

Thomas Putnam, the library's director, told reporters around 4 p.m. that a bomb squad was coming in as a precautionary measure in light of the Marathon blasts.

Shortly afterward, Boston police and State Police cars swarmed the library parking lot, along with authorities from the US Secret Service and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

They ordered all employees and visitors off the property, as they conducted a full sweep for bombs.

Concern about a possible connection to the Back Bay explosions escalated in the afternoon when police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said during a televised press briefing there had been a possible explosion and a possible incendiary device at the library. That caused reporters to flock to the library.

But by evening, Davis appeared to back away from his earlier statement, saying only that authorities were investigating at the scene. "The preliminary investigation indicates the JFK incident may not have been an explosion. It may have been a fire," Davis said.

The fire caused some damage to the exterior of the building. It blackened the area of what appeared to be a side entrance and the windows were shattered.

Inside, damage was caused mostly by smoke and water and not that much from the fire itself. "We don't anticipate damage to the collections," Putnam said.

James Benton, a doctoral student from Georgetown University who was doing research at the library, was in the cafeteria when the fire alarm went off. "The evacuation was very orderly," he said. "It was not high drama."

Once outside, he said he saw a couple of people trying to put out small flames with extinguishers.

But then the flames abruptly grew very large and the smoke turned from white to black. Benton compared the sudden escalation to the lighting of a barbecue grill.

"Suddenly, a big whoosh," he said.
James Vaznis can be reached at jvaznis@globe.com.

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In this section: Metro

[Lauren Johnson]

Scott Creighton doubts there is any evidence yet that this is an inside job.

Also, the fact that there were bomb sniffing dogs out at the start and finish lines prior to the event does not suggest it was an inside job as Mike Adams claims. Quite the opposite actually. It's as if they were trying to put on a big show of doing everything they could prior to the mass casualty event in order to deflect blame and potential legal action. But in and of itself, it does not suggest it was a drill gone live.

The one puzzling aspect is that the timing and location of the bomb seems to minimize the number of casualties.

That supports my earlier conclusion that the timing of the attack and the locations point to this being what one might call being more symbolic. Again, that doesn't prove it was not done by a terrorist group but it does make one wonder why a so-called "terrorist" would purposefully take steps to reduce the number of casualties in this attack.

http:// http://willyloman.wordpress.com/...more-24179

[David Guyatt]

The Global Research piece posted by Pete at No. 26 above appears to have some important variations in the reporting of facts, which I would expect in a false flag situation.

The first thing that seems to happen is for the media to point the finger at Jihadists/terrorists. Even when it's not possible for the facts to be properly gathered, people state categorically that someone is to blame, or someone else is not to blame (as in the case of the clairvoyant governor in a preceding post)

However, I have to say that I find the Global Research analysis and reasoning more than a little suspect. I just can't buy the idea that the Fire Department would be knowingly involved in a deep political event, or to increase their budget. The second "reasonable explanation" doesn't jibe either. Having advance knowledge and publicly announcing "it's a drill" is too way out to be credible.

However, I can buy the prospect of them having foreknowledge of a drill, that was used to camouflage the real thing, as this has happened before - 911 and London 7/7. And the game-book of these FF guys doesn't seem to markedly change very much -- they're not creative thinkers, just killers.

I'm also not sure the reason, if it was a FF operation, would've been to create a TSA lockdown at the present time, because I think all the legal powers and firepower are already in place to do this whenever needed. There's no need to strengthen what is already as strong as you can get.

For me, creating panic and fear would have been the probable objectives.

Because I suspect there's something else coming along down the road.

And whatever it is, it's not going to be in the best possible taste, as Kenny Everett's character Cupid Stunt, used to say.

That's my tuppence worth anyway.