I work within walking distance of Liverpool Street Station and Aldgate and, though I arrived at work without any problems via the train lines, there were a hell of a lot of sirens flying about. Our building was evacuated at 12 on the advice of the Police as we were so close to the stations, so I decided to head home on foot to Waterloo station. At least the Waterloo trains are running so I got home easily.
No one was panicking, where I was, just a determination to get on with the job. Which is good, I mean there's no use running around like headless chickens if you can't do much.
It looks like Londoners still have stiff upper lips!
Originally posted by howitzerTony Blair's first responsibility is to show support for people affected by disasters such as this, it's what his party was elected for in the first place. Any other leader in his position would have done exactly the same thing. If he hadn't, he would have been criticised quite heavily for not showing concern for the people he's supposed to represent.
It seems that Mr Blair has an elevated sense of his own ability in a disaster zone and a lack of responsibility to the G8 debate.
I am always left wondering what use someone like him can be at the site of a disaster - I mean, what can he do there that cannot be done from a distance. Support victims personally, yes, but is that going to limit the risk of ...[text shortened]... esponsibility of the world leaders away from money and towards genuine care for the needy.
So your criticisms are quite unfair.
Don't know what to say to all of you in the middle of this hell over there . My heart aches for all of you .
God I hate CNN . They're talking about the bombings some , but are giving equal time to the markets , Dennis , and insipid stories about travel deals . The commercials are still running as normal .
Be well and safe over there .
I've just got back from school (in london) now and have a few things to say.
Firstly, I am deeply sympathetic to all who have been affected by the atrocities. My friend was on the platform at Russel Square when the explosion happened and when i called to check up on her she told me the situation. There were apparently people screaming, crying, smoke everywhere and police apparently handling the situation very well. Her mother on the other hand worked in Tavistoc Square and was not able to contact her daughter for several hours. My friend was in hysterics on the phone, convinced her mother was dead. It was terrible and I am shocked and saddened by the events.
My second point is that i must congratulate the emergency services on putting into place a highly efficienct and well worked operation to clear the areas and protect civilians.
I am also pleased to hear that Tony Blair has taken the correct measure of returning to London from Gleneagles. To have stayed in Scotland would have been political suicide in my opinion, and i was shocked to intially hear that he may have been staying in Scotland "for his own protection"!
A few things to get off my chest: One is that I annoyed by the obscene extremity of the police's suggestions to remain indoors and at your place of work/study/home, regardless of your geographical position in London. The fact that some people who live in the southern most parts of London: 5/10 miles from the blasts, have taken this advice seriously is rediculous. A friend of mine who i work in theatre with was "unable" to attend a rehersal today, even though he lived 5 minutes walking distance from school, because " the police said to remain indoors". I am afraid I cannot condone this rediculous beahavior.
And now a few queries about the attacks. I am sure that we have all seen the pictures of the double decker bus with it's roof blown off. My first query is why did the apparent suicide bomber sit on the top when he/she could have caused far more damage and fatalities sitting on the bottom of the bus. My other "worry" is that this is not the end. These attacks are apperently the work of the same extremists who were to blame for 9/11 and The Madrid Bombings, yet the attacks in London today were of no where near the same scale as the other two attacks. This is where my worry lies: that there will be more to come. I am sure that within the next 6 months there will be more attacks on London, not just on our transport systems (as these attacks appear to be) but more concentrating on attacking the population.
My other concern is that the reason these attacks "appear" so small is because there is something else behind them: e.g. biological or chemical weapons which have not yet been detected. If this is so there could be huge repreccusions for the public of London and possibly the surrounding area.
I cannot believe that as I look out of my window across London there are people dying because of militant extremists who want to force their policital and religious fundamentalism upon us. If this is a warning as the message on the Islamic website suggested then I fear more attacks as it is certain that Blair, nor any other Government will back down from the fight against terror.
Originally posted by DOlivier2004You are absolutely right. But he could show concern from Gleneagles.
Tony Blair's first responsibility is to show support for people affected by disasters such as this, it's what his party was elected for in the first place. Any other leader in his position would have done exactly the same thing. If he hadn't, he would have been criticised quite heavily for not showing concern for the people he's supposed to represent.
Originally posted by Freddie2004i think if you read the latter part of your own post you will see you have answered your own question. The authorities were not in a position to know whether or not there would be another wave of explosions and where these might occur, and rightly warned people to remain indoors.
A few things to get off my chest: One is that I annoyed by the obscene extremity of the police's suggestions to remain indoors and at your place of work/study/home, regardless of your geographical position in London. The fact that some ...[text shortened]... oors". I am afraid I cannot condone this rediculous beahavior.
EDIT: Missing a rehearsal is small cheese on a day like this. There are at least 33 people who won't be doing anything again. Ever.
Originally posted by Freddie2004The suicide bomber may have gone off prematurely or it may have been intentional, if the top of the bus comes off it looks more spectacular. They really didn't care either way how many they killed, the purpose of terrorism is to induce terror.
I've just got back from school (in london) now and have a few things to say.
[I cut out the bits I don't want to comment on]
And now a few queries about the attacks. I am sure that we have all seen the pictures of the double decker bus with it's roof blown off. My first query is why did the apparent suicide bomber sit on the top when he/she cou ...[text shortened]... is certain that Blair, nor any other Government will back down from the fight against terror.
If they were using biological or chemical weapons we'd know by now.
Don't be fooled by the "war on terror". The fight against terror isn't really against terror it's a method of controlling the oil supplies from the middle east, which if you remember was originally to do with the weapons of mass destruction that we now know Iraq clearly didn't have. The stuff about terror from Blair is a justification to introduce more and more restrictive legislation and for more and more military adventures abroad. Are we going to start seeing armed police on the streets on a regular basis?
Incidentally - I agree with the idea of keeping people off the roads as ambulances had trouble ferrying the wounded to hospital because of traffic congestion for pity's sake. But not because there'll be more attacks - there's no reason to believe that they are trying anything more than they did in Madrid.
By the way - if you are crossing the street in London - expect police cars on the wrong side of the road - I nearly got flattenned earlier...
Originally posted by dfm65missing a rehersal IS small cheese, but the fact of the matter is that it is stupid to take the advice of the police because it just not neccessary for people to stay indoors so far away from where the attacks happened.
i think if you read the latter part of your own post you will see you have answered your own question. The authorities were not in a position to know whether or not there would be another wave of explosions and where these might occur, and rightly warned people to remain indoors.
EDIT: Missing a rehearsal is small cheese on a day like this. There are at least 33 people who won't be doing anything again. Ever.
Originally posted by Freddie2004Stupid, eh? How would you like to walk out of your house and die in an explosion? You have the audacity to complain about people being kept in their houses while others are being murdered? Open your eyes to the issue at hand! The police are doing what's best for everybody, so just shut up and deal with it.
missing a rehersal IS small cheese, but the fact of the matter is that it is stupid to take the advice of the police because it just not neccessary for people to stay indoors so far away from where the attacks happened.