Explosions in London

[Wombat]

Dale,

I'm not screaming but a terrorist attack is a political statement, therefore this is a political thread,....

False. This event has a political dimension of course. That can be discussed elsewhere. This is a thread expressing distress and concern for human beings. It is a shock and compassion thread, for want of a better word or phrase.

When 99% of us can grasp the difference, why is here always the 1% who can't?

[jGilder]

Dale,

I'm not screaming but a terrorist attack is a political statement, therefore this is a political thread,....

False. This event has a political dimension of course. That can be discussed elsewhere. This is a thread expressing distress and concern for human beings. It is a shock and compassion thread, for want of a better word or phrase.

When 99% of us can grasp the difference, why is here always the 1% who can't?

Terrorism is in it's essence political in a very tragic way as demonstrated by recent and past events. If anyone is interested in moving the discussion in that direction perhaps a new thread can be opened to discuss it. Here is Wikipedia's page on terrorism. Even trying to define the word becomes political, as you'll see if you read the page. If anyone would care to comment about it -- please open a new thread. As Wombat correctly points out -- this thread is about compassion.

[mukade]

I just wanted to say thank you to all those who posted information on this thread (especially Avanutria).

I have friends in London, and when he main news sites are jammed it is difficult to get news. Small sites like this come into their own at times like this.

Thanks again everyone.

Mukade

[Blackwood]

i'm not taken offense or intend to give any,but the original posting implied a news report and then it took on a political component which i then sense was not desired by some so it was changed..
...no need to be insulting Wombat or are you implying you yourself are part of your quoted 1%?

[Wombat]

i'm not taken offense or intend to give any,but the original posting implied a news report and then it took on a political component which i then sense was not desired by some so it was changed..
...no need to be insulting Wombat or are you implying you yourself are part of your quoted 1%?

Your claim was patently false. You declined the invitiation, repeated by several people over several pages, to take political issues elsewhere. That isn't censorship nor even disagreement but a request to respect people's feelings.

That people continued to argue the toss when politely asked to desist from politicising this thread was obvious from numerous posts and was obviously causing offense. I'm afraid it did seem necessary to spell it out a bit more bluntly. And still you argue the toss ..... If you want to reply to this post, although about what I can't imagine, do so on another thread please.

[Martin Milner]

Eight pages and I'm mainly wondering if Redwood is okay.


I hate to reduce it to one person, but sometimes it's all you can do.

As soon as Beth or I hear from Redwolf, we'll be posting here to let you guys know that she and her party are OK.

[amar]

damn..it's about time redwolf posted here!!

[avanutria]

Maybe it's just been hard for her to get to a computer. There aren't a huge number of internet cafes to be seen if you're not familiar with the area, and she's got a bunch of kids to mind as well. Add in the fact that yesterday many businesses were closing early so people could get home, and most internet cafes don't open till noon, and it becomes hard to get online.

She has my phone number in her email but if she forgot to write it down or mislaid it, she might not be able to get to it. I'm going to assume they're fine, having fun, and spent all day yesterday soothing worried parents.

[David Lim]

Just thought I would pass on a story of some good luck.

I was involved in organising a gig in Manchester last night for an excellent London based guitarist. He was in his car, coming back from an early morning visit to the studio, when one of the bombs went off 100yrds away.

He later phoned to cancel the gig but said if he hadn't been planning to coming up to Manchester later than day he would have taken one of the underground trains that was hit.

David

[Flyingcursor]

Here's something I find curious. The bombing in Madrid caused interest, some sadness here in the US and of course the news channels gave a bit of extended coverage, yet the reaction I've seen here in my little corner as well as on the news regarding London are nearly as outraged as during 9/11. It's almost as if an enormous portion of the US population consider the attack on London as a personal attack. I feel the same way.

By the same token, I recall, during the Falklands war the US news acted as if it were our own troops. I distinctly remember a friend of mine saying, "They may not be the Empire anymore buy you don't mess with England."

Why this sense of kinship?

[Martin Milner]

Why this sense of kinship?

Because we're two nations divided by a common language?

[perrins57]

Here's something I find curious. The bombing in Madrid caused interest, some sadness here in the US and of course the news channels gave a bit of extended coverage, yet the reaction I've seen here in my little corner as well as on the news regarding London are nearly as outraged as during 9/11. It's almost as if an enormous portion of the US population consider the attack on London as a personal attack. I feel the same way.

By the same token, I recall, during the Falklands war the US news acted as if it were our own troops. I distinctly remember a friend of mine saying, "They may not be the Empire anymore buy you don't mess with England."

Why this sense of kinship?

I think most Brits feel a certain loyalty to America because in two World wars many young Americans gave their lives in conflicts you could easily have stayed out of. I think Americans are aware of this. I certainly resent some continental European attitudes towards Britain and America, they seem to want us to help them when they need it and stay out of things when they dont want our input. You cant have it both ways! The French, although grateful for being liberated, seem to value their right to independent thought above loyalty to those who have helped them in the past.
Whilst there is much disquiet here about our involvement in Iraq, and some concern about what is seen as American "imperialism" most British recognise the importance of building in peace time, relationships that stand the test of troubled times. Britain and America's relationship has stood the test of some hard times and come through, I hope it continues to.

[GaryKelly]

Why this sense of kinship?

Because we're two nations divided by a common language?

And because we're such jolly decent chaps?

[emmline]

It's almost as if an enormous portion of the US population consider the attack on London as a personal attack.

I just don't know anyone in Madrid, and have never been there. That doesn't make it less bad.

[Tyler]

Here's something I find curious. The bombing in Madrid caused interest, some sadness here in the US and of course the news channels gave a bit of extended coverage, yet the reaction I've seen here in my little corner as well as on the news regarding London are nearly as outraged as during 9/11. It's almost as if an enormous portion of the US population consider the attack on London as a personal attack. I feel the same way.

By the same token, I recall, during the Falklands war the US news acted as if it were our own troops. I distinctly remember a friend of mine saying, "They may not be the Empire anymore buy you don't mess with England."

Why this sense of kinship?

I think most Brits feel a certain loyalty to America because in two World wars many young Americans gave their lives in conflicts you could easily have stayed out of. I think Americans are aware of this. I certainly resent some continental European attitudes towards Britain and America, they seem to want us to help them when they need it and stay out of things when they dont want our input. You cant have it both ways! The French, although grateful for being liberated, seem to value their right to independent thought above loyalty to those who have helped them in the past.
Whilst there is much disquiet here about our involvement in Iraq, and some concern about what is seen as American "imperialism" most British recognise the importance of building in peace time, relationships that stand the test of troubled times. Britain and America's relationship has stood the test of some hard times and come through, I hope it continues to.

I feel a great sense of closeness with the UK because I have spent a great deal of time there and made many friends in England, and have relatives in Wales. I consider the UK to be my third home (after Vancouver). I've been to Spain before, but the attacks in London just hit home for me more because I'm more familiar with the UK.
Have since heared from two close friends in London, Ben and Thom, late last night. Felt the most overwhelming relief, yet still very pained for those who did lose someone in this attack.
Was speaking with Thom until I had to get ready for work this morning, trying to make sense of it all. Told me he was on his way to see relatives in Surrey instead of going to work.... I dont know what he meant by that, he didn't really elaborate, but I take it to be another story of good luck or provedence or what have you.
I hope those of you residing or with friends and relatives in London are ok. I send my love and prayers to you and hope that all is well with you in the days to come.