Thanks for the thoughts, guys! My husband has just headed off to work at Liverpool St (bomb number 1) and I'll be headed towards the Bloomsbury (the bus bomb) in about two hours for a summer school. Angela
Amen to that,Uncle. Lives have been lost; lives ruined forever through injury and loss, and innocent civilians facing the future feeling a little less secure... We feel deeply for you, England
I'm always impressed by the British people. It is heart warming to see them pull together in this time. I think the terrorists have made a very big mistake.
I was very impressed when I read about Britian's survallence technologies put into place after the IRA bombings. They have a good chance of identifying the bombers. Unfortunatley, terrorism is nothing new to London. Wasn't during the mid-80's when Harrold's Dept Store was bombed by the IRA?
I strongly agree. The British people were there for us in support on 9-11, and the American people are there now for the Brits. We care. This is something that all of us face together. Living in London must have been an emotional roller-coaster the last couple of days. First, winning the Olympics. Then this.
Actually, most of us who live in London were rooting for the French when it came to the Olympic bid ;-) A large number of us aren't that keen on the increases in the council tax (the UK's property tax) and the disruption that the Olympics will bring. Many thanks for your best wishes. Over here, it's just route around the problems, report any bags left alone and watch the streetside rubbish bins disappear again. It's not as if we're unused to this problem, as the IRA only finally gave up in the mid 90s. Generally speaking, the British response to terrorists is one of extreme irritation . . . how dare you ruin my plans for the day, you irritating little person! The London response is even more extreme: it's to be irritated and immediately look at a tube, train and bus map to see how you can get where you're going because you're already bloody late! The bit of UCL I'm doing a summer school at is about 100 yards away from the site of the bus bomb (currently heavily screened as they're still doing forensics), but most of us were there today and we were all complaining about various features of the journey in . . . terrorism cannot stop the great British tendency to complain about the transport system, in fact it probably intensifies it! Angela
Normal service resumes I have to agree with Angela's sentiments on everything but the Olympic bid! Seb Coe and the gang made most of London very proud. On a serious note - the University should be back to more or less normal service today. The External System and several of the Colleges of the University have offices on Tavistock Square which are still closed due to the forensic sweep around the bus bomb. Office closures, travel difficulties for staff and delays in the postal system (Royal Mail were unable to deliver / had reduced services in central London on Thursday and Friday) will undoubtedly increase response times from the University. We would therefore ask all who are contacting the university (especially applicants, applying for courses with upcoming deadlines, e.g. the LLM) to please bear with us at this difficult time. Thankfully I think all of my colleagues and friends are accounted for, however my sympathies go out to those who are still missing family and friends. Brendan University of London External System
It looks like another terrorist cell tried to duplicate the London attack of two weeks ago. (Three tube trains and one bus.) But by amazing luck (and/or ineptitude), none of the bombs went off (though their detonators did, with loud pops). Copy cats? (Apparently at least some of these individuals intended to blow themselves up.) A 'professional' terrorist cell supplied with bad explosives? Whatever, the British security agencies have more leads to chase down (including their recovery of unexploded bombs this time) and the London people have more aggravations. The terrorists are still out there.
Thanks for all the kind words from our American friends. Us Brits are slow to anger, but it is zero tolerance now. One suspect shot dead on the tube today. I see no solution for this nonsense. Let's hope it's just a small cell that will soon run out of supplies and personnel.
Congratulations to our Brit posters Todays it looks like congratulations are in order, instead of condolences. In a series of raids all over London (and in Italy!), the three remaining 7-21 bombers have been rounded up, along with a bunch of their associates. Hopefully the security services can follow the trail back to the bomb makers and the organizers. And to the "clerics" (yeah, right) who inspire young men to want to kill themselves and lots of other people for their religion. But realistically, there are probably more terrorist cells festering and spreading out there, both in Britain and elsewhere (including here in the US).
Congratulations! ............ ......to the British Police and Intelligence apparatchik for their superbly magnificent performance in capturing the 7/21 criminal four (and some of their equally-criminal accomplices and enablers). Our (US and world) support are with the Brits in this ...... their time of national stress and resolute resilience. Peace. (May it begin, and not end, with me). Thanks, Uncle Janko, for starting this (solidarity and empathy) thread.