ATHENS, GREECE – Just because a terrorist group adopts a cool name does not mean it is very good.
If you are trying to sell something the way you choose to do so can make all the difference. Do you create a Website? If so, do you make it up yourself, or do you hire a professional? Hint, hint I recommend the latter as my first attempt at drafting Borealis was a disaster!
Another way to market yourself is to choose a distinctive logo (I happen to LOVE the Borealis one I had designed) or a catchy name (again, I like Borealis: it evokes the north, a spectrum of threats, etc.). Some products are so well known – think the Nike Swoosh – that they almost become unconscious.
The same goes for terrorist groups. There has to be some consideration given to what is being advertised, what messages the leadership wants to convey.
Not all groups get it right, as a couple of previous Borealis Top Ten podcasts illustrated. And, as it turns out, one of the worst terrorist group names is featured here.
On this day in 2016
Greek police destroyed a suspected bomb planted outside the Labor Ministry in central Athens, after a warning telephone call had been made to a newspaper. Authorities had been alerted following an anonymous call at 1 AM in which the caller said a bomb was to explode in 40 minutes.
Greek security services attributed the lousy bomb to the Conspiracy of Cells of Fire (CCF also known as the Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei), an urban anarchist group that has been around since 2008. This bunch has been hard to nail down as it has been disinclined to release any information other than its aims, which are to be in a constant state of revolt and carry out small, “havoc-wreaking” actions.
We dedicate the attack at the court house to our brothers.
CCF statement targeting a court before the trial of 13 of its suspected members on January 17, 2011
The US listed the CCF as a terrorist group in 2011. Really? Does a gaggle of anarchists who have done little damage rate that attention? Maybe if they changed their name to sound less dorky…
Read More Today in Terrorism
May 31, 1906: Spanish anarchist bombs royal wedding
On May 31, 1906 a Spanish anarchist threw a bomb hoping to hit King Alfonso XIII, killing 24 and wounding more than 100.
May 30, 2009: Anti-government group bombs TV station in Ecuador
On May 30, 2009 two pamphlet-bombs exploded outside an Ecuadorian TV station and ministry: no victims or significant damage ensued.
May 29, 2016: ISIS uses chlorine gas in terrorist attack
On May 29, 2016 35 civilians were wounded in an ISIS attack using rockets containing chlorine gas in Iraq’s Nineveh Province.
