Tube Chaos In London

christophe · 07 Jul 2005, 16:56

I just heard when I got home from work a hour ago, for some unknown reason I put on the television (what I normaly never do) and put on CNN. I'm trying to get some info at the moment, reading this topic gives me a good idea of the situation.
thank God no one of the forum was harmd, or lost anyone....
for all of you in the area I hope you and your friends/familly are doing well.

aims · 07 Jul 2005, 16:57

Silence is platinum wrote:Same s**t as in Spain...

Au contraire.

Far more strategically targetted and far smaller loss of life. Granted, it's an atrocity, but it was very different from Madrid at anything other than a superficial level.

Dark · 07 Jul 2005, 17:16

Loads of people at school were crying and worrying about their relatives. 40 or so dead, and about 16 million in London, all the tourists too. Chances are minimal their families were injured.

My sister was on the Underground at the time, and is walking home now.

Now we've got all the hype up, it'll seem like justification for the war. We've gone for about 3 years in a war with no attacks on our country.
Did Iraqi people get this wound up when American and British troops opened fire on non-military targets? We've invaded two countries and NOW we're outraged because they dare to counter-attack?

All I can say is this, in the words of Eldritch:

INCOMING!!

Obviousman · 07 Jul 2005, 17:17

Glad to hear everyone seems to be okay, me mum gave me a call when I was on the bus coming back from work, and it made me quite anxious...

Luckily it does not seem to be as big in terms of death toll as eg. Madrid and NY...

Now the question is when the first idiots will come up with numeric theories like 'x days from this or that'

James Blast · 07 Jul 2005, 17:58

I really don't know what to say that hasn't already been expressed.
I'm concerned for Burn, I know he lives outside London, but I think he works there.

lazarus corporation · 07 Jul 2005, 18:11

Just spoken to Burn on the phone - he's fine - he wasn't in London today.

Andrew S · 07 Jul 2005, 18:21

I hope everyone here and their friends/family are OK. I was supposed to be going to London today. I got on the train this morning, blissfully unaware of all this until the train left Glasgow Central. After hearing enough to know that London would be in utter chaos, I decided to turn back at Carlisle (unfortunately the first stop). My sister lives in London but is thankfully up in Glasgow just now.

James Blast · 07 Jul 2005, 18:27

looks like we're all OK, so far

@ Paul thanks for the PM
@ Andrew bummer Dude!

man's inhumanity to man pt. 89,467,531

aims · 07 Jul 2005, 18:28

Dark wrote:All I can say is this, in the words of Eldritch:

INCOMING!!

Sick bastard

Dark · 07 Jul 2005, 18:46

I was referring to the fact that we're going to be swamped with anti-Islamic propaganda and hate groups, justification for the war, and all.

If you thought I meant BOMBS incoming, then maybe I'm not the sick bastard.

James Blast · 07 Jul 2005, 19:17

isLAMExcuse

CorpPunk · 07 Jul 2005, 19:42

It's all very upsetting, and makes me somewhat queasy about flying to London in September. But, you know, that's why God made sleeping pills.

Delilah · 07 Jul 2005, 19:42

I'm still shocked... Glad that all London Heartlanders are OK... Love to you all! Managed to contact all my friends in London, all of them are fine, thanx God, but they are shocked and scared...

Was suppossed to go to London on Saturday, anyone has any ideas when public transport is supposed to go back to normal? I'm scared to go there now though...

aims · 07 Jul 2005, 19:45

Dark wrote:I was referring to the fact that we're going to be swamped with anti-Islamic propaganda and hate groups, justification for the war, and all.

If you thought I meant BOMBS incoming, then maybe I'm not the sick bastard.

Sick? Moi?

Just be thankful that I've withheld the "Overbombing" jokes

Major de Coverly · 07 Jul 2005, 20:17

All this hysteria. Not the spirit with which we won the two world wars and one world cup.

I'm stuck in my office by Liv St. Secretaries have gone home early and all the takeout places have closed down for the day. I'm hungry, bored and busy.

Tomorrow, I would guess that the tubes will still be down for no valid reason (other than the lines which were bombed) and we'll have another holiday day with people speculating as to what it all means, and not doing their jobs.

Let's quit the hysterics and biff on, I say.

CorpPunk · 07 Jul 2005, 20:28

Don't be so grumpy. People should not be doing their jobs on Fridays anyway. If I were Supreme SpacePope I would forbid it!

Johnny M · 07 Jul 2005, 22:48

It's been a a very surreal day. Physically and emotionally draining.

Seeing the streets empty of traffic but everyone determined to walk home no matter how long it took.

When I got to Kings Cross this morning at 0900 and the tube was shut, I didn't realise 21 people had already lost their lives in a tunnel.

When I got to work and started to hear about the 'power surges' at Liverpool Street and Edgeware Road, I think we collectively realised what was happening.

When the mobile networks went into meltdown it was hard to control the hysteria. I have 47 staff, 85% female. The landline phone system crashed as well. Everyone trying to get in touch with their nearest and dearest. When the bus bomb in Tavistock Sq went off we heard it. Only 800m away as the crow flies.

It was getting f*cking scary.

I kicked everyone out out at 3pm and I left at 4pm.

I met a stranger at (400m from) Kings Cross (because it was cordened off) who'd already done 1.5hrs from Green Park, who told me about trains running from Finsbury Park to my/her part of the world, so we decided to walk it.

Kings Cross to Finsbury Park doesn't take you through the nicest areas in London, but anytime we looked confused or lost, the locals were quick to approach us to offer walking travel advice.

2hrs later for me, we made it. 3.5hrs for her.

Stranger to stranger helping out.

I've never considered myself as a Londoner even though I spend most of my waking hours there but after today I do.

Planet Dave · 07 Jul 2005, 22:57

Glad your back and in good shape, mate.

Delilah · 07 Jul 2005, 23:02

@ Johnny, I am so happy you are safe and well... Sick, sick people....

eastmidswhizzkid · 07 Jul 2005, 23:54

FFS Dave wrote:Glad your back and in good shape, mate.

Ditto John.

...and to all Heartlanders living/working in london .

Ocean Moves · 08 Jul 2005, 07:15

Motz wrote:
Silence is platinum wrote:Same s**t as in Spain...
Au contraire.

Far more strategically targetted and far smaller loss of life. Granted, it's an atrocity, but it was very different from Madrid at anything other than a superficial level.

A carefully planned set of explosives, placed on public transport,
in the rush hour, remotly detonated at separate locations.
And instigated on a politcally devisive day (G8) when world focus
is already on the country? I'd say it was pretty similar to Madrid
myself.

lazarus corporation · 08 Jul 2005, 09:04

Daily Mail - 8th July:

Make no mistake Britain will almost certainly have to sacrifice some of
our ancient legal rights if we wish to protect our citizens

Didn't take longer for those right-wing bastards to spot an opportunity to exploit, did it.

ruffers · 08 Jul 2005, 09:11

Ocean Moves wrote:
Motz wrote:
Silence is platinum wrote:Same s**t as in Spain...
Au contraire.

Far more strategically targetted and far smaller loss of life. Granted, it's an atrocity, but it was very different from Madrid at anything other than a superficial level.
A carefully planned set of explosives, placed on public transport,
in the rush hour, remotly detonated at separate locations.
And instigated on a politcally devisive day (G8) when world focus
is already on the country? I'd say it was pretty similar to Madrid
myself.

A key difference is that the Spanish then changed their policy re Iraq and that ain't gonna happen here.

Like I said earlier I'm in London and the reactions were strange in the office. Some of the older people including me (unfortunately;-) ) have grown up with IRA on the news every day, bombs in London etc, and we've had a few years off from all that. With this happening we just go for business as usual.
Some of the younger ones, particularly foreigners as we're about 50/50 UK vs European here were getting really upset.

At first I that I had it right but on reflection maybe it's them that have got the right attitude. We shouldn't allow ourselves to become inured to this.

08 Jul 2005, 09:56

lazarus corporation wrote:Daily Mail - 8th July:
Make no mistake Britain will almost certainly have to sacrifice some of
our ancient legal rights if we wish to protect our citizens
Didn't take longer for those right-wing bastards to spot an opportunity to exploit, did it.

Now that is pretty damn sh*tty.

If we "sacrifice some of our ancient legal rights" then the ba$tards have won. No. F*ck them.

If they think that we can be bombed into submission, well, there was some other guy a few years back with a funny little moustache who thought the same. What happened to him?

I will not be frightened, I will not be terrorised, I will not surrender.

</jingoism>

Where did that come from?

But I'm not editing it out; I stand by it.
========
As for Islamophobia, I'll freely admit to being "Islamophobic" in the literal sense; the religion scares the willies out of me. (OK, obviously there are moderate muslims; I'm talking about the extremists here.)

Leaving aside the reasons and "justifications" (how can you justify this?) there is nothing more dangerous than a fanatic who knows he is right. A suicide bomber who knows he's going to wake up in paradise with 72 virgins? How do you fight that? Tell him he's wrong? Then to him you're just a "godless infidel" and deserve no better

Unfortunately Islam holds no monopoly on extremists; eg:

Pat Robertson: The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.
Pat Robertson (again): Planned Parenthood is teaching kids to fornicate, teaching people to have adultery, every kind of bestiality, homosexuality, lesbianism -- everything that the Bible condemns.
Pat Robertson (yet again): Many of those people involved in Adolf Hitler were Satanists, many were homosexuals -- the two things seem to go together.
Jerry Falwell on 9/11: And, I know that I'll hear from them for this. But, throwing God out successfully with the help of the federal court system, throwing God out of the public square, out of the schools. The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad. I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way--all of them who have tried to secularize America--I point the finger in their face and say "you helped this happen."
Jerry Falwell: The homosexual community must stop their assaults on Christians.
Jerry Falwell: It is true that the Bible does not document any statements of Jesus specifically condemning or condoning homosexuality. However, there is no record of Jesus' statements on other sexual practices like rape, incest, bestiality, etc. Yet it is unlikely that Jesus sanctioned these behaviors.

I could go on...

Black Biscuit · 08 Jul 2005, 10:15

I am of the opinion that some of the things said by feminists and lesbians are indeed crap. But that doesn't make me a Falwell supporter.

So, is the killing of innocent commuters, rather than high-profile politicians, 'safer' because there is less retribution, or is it coz pollys can't be as easily accessed?