CovenantJr wrote:I'm aware of this. But various active groups always claim responsibility for these things; it doesn't mean a thing. It's usually either an IRA offshoot or a bunch of random nutters.
Either way, as you say, it doesn't matter to those affected.
It matters a great deal if you want to catch the perpetrators. And this definitely is al-Qaeda's style, and not the IRA's.
Whatever it is, it isn't random nutters. Random nutters wouldn't have the resources to set off so many bombs in so calculated a pattern.
One thing we have been mercifully spared today, so far as I know, is the handwringing of the chattered classes wondering what the victims did to deserve being blown to bits. That has been a depressingly common feature of terrorist attacks in recent years.
One thing we have been mercifully spared today, so far as I know, is the handwringing of the chattered classes wondering what the victims did to deserve being blown to bits. That has been a depressingly common feature of terrorist attacks in recent years.
This is terrible news! I'm fortunate that I don't know anyone who lives or works in London, but there's millions of people who do, and who will be worried about their loved ones.
My thoughts are with them, and I hope that as many of them as possible will get their loved ones back safe and sound, and that those who don't will have the strength to cope with their loss.
[spoiler]If you change the font to white within spoiler tags does it break them?[/spoiler]
I'm a little behind- I posted this in the think-tank. Hope everyone from our little family here is OK. What a sad day............ Blessed be and be strong, London......
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and a leaky tire.
Interesting that you think it was the IRA. I thought they'd been quiet since Omagh in 1998.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." - PJ O'Rourke
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"Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas." - Charles Stewart
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"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
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Variol Farseer wrote:It matters a great deal if you want to catch the perpetrators. And this definitely is al-Qaeda's style, and not the IRA's.
That's the view I'm taking too. The IRA never planned their attacks with the intention of maximizing civilian casualties (although the Real IRA's bomb in Omagh may have been) as has obviously been the case here. Indeed, Republican groups commonly phoned in a warning, coded or otherwise, before detonating the device to allow a degree of evacuation.
I have an instinctive feeling that this will be the work of an al-Qaeda splinter group, not al-Qaeda itself.
Q. Why do Communists drink herbal tea?
A. Because proper tea is theft.
"The Cheat is GROUNDED! We had that lightswitch installed for you so you could turn the lights on and off, not so you could throw lightswitch raves!"
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- I'm always all right.
- Is all right special Time Lord code for really not all right at all?
- You're all irresponsible fools!
- The Doctor: But we're very experienced irresponsible fools.
I'd just like to add my condolences to all the families of the dead and injured.
I hope that the people responsible for this endure as much misery and pain as they have inflicted on the innocent bystanders who have been caught up in this madness.
Myste wrote:I lived in London during the '96 IRA outburst ... Canary Wharf ...
Ugh. I remember Canary Wharf. It was unsettling up here, it must have be terrifying in London.
I heard from someone who lives in London that someone he knows witnessed a suicide bomber just outside of Canary Wharf being "brought down" (in the nastiest possible sense).
The best quote I've heard today regarding this event: "What the f*ck is wrong with people?"
My heart goes out to everyone there.
Life is a waste of time
Time is a waste of life
So get wasted all of the time
And you'll have the time of your life
My deepest sympathies to our British brothers and sisters. I echo Myste's eloquent post on page 1 and applaud Ken Livingstone for his clearly spoken and courageous sentiments.
Based on Livingstone's reaction, the UK's history of dealing with terrorism and stories I've heard of the British response thus far, I fear that Al Qaida may have sorely miscalculated the British reaction to this cowardly act.
May the scourge of terrorism be forever wiped from the face of this Earth.
God Save the Queen!!
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.John Stuart Mill
The one thing pointed out by the 'terrorism analysts' that were on GMA this morning that made them believe it was an al-Quada splinter group was the timing of the explosions.
The first plane hit the twin towers about 8:50 in the morning...
I think they said the explosion in Madrid occured around 8:50 in the morning...
And now today's explosions...
All timed to take maximum advantage of commuters/civilians already arrived or hurrying to work.
I live and work in married student housing here at UF. The majority of our residents are international students. While most are Asian, we do have a good population of Muslims from various countries around the world. Without exception, all those who have expressed views on today's events are shocked, and say such treatment of society goes against anything taught in the Koran.
Is there anyone here who can justify the claim of jihad in these attacks? I've read the statements, and understand the claims that the affected countries are under occupation. But, how does jihad come into all this?
I'd love to see the entire muslim world condemn these barbaric attacks but I'm not holding my breath. Dissent and varied opinion are not exactly encouraged in a good portion of the muslim world.
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.John Stuart Mill
Menolly wrote:The one thing pointed out by the 'terrorism analysts' that were on GMA this morning that made them believe it was an al-Quada splinter group was the timing of the explosions.
The first plane hit the twin towers about 8:50 in the morning...
I think they said the explosion in Madrid occured around 8:50 in the morning...
And now today's explosions...
All timed to take maximum advantage of commuters/civilians already arrived or hurrying to work.
Now that it's been pointed out, it does seem an obvious pattern.
I wonder if this means from now on, at 8:50 AM on any working day anywhere, we'll all be just a little more anxious, waiting for something to happen...
My friends who are Muslims all say that terrorist attacks are a perversion of their religion. So I cannot even begin to guess the justifications behind them, Menolly.
..Right from the get go..the word "jihad"...My understanding of the word is that it is a Personal Cleansing..make oneself clean , presentable to Allah, in spirit and body...so any adhereing to jihad against a society or peoples,,instant red flag.
..That these acts of cowardice have befallen the British is sad and unfortunate,,and I extend my sympathy and caring to all so scarred.
The loss of life is wasted. It is done in the name of a desert tribal mentality. Stark, no subtlety, viscious, and an application of the eye for an eye perspective,,devoid of humanity. It takes more personal strength,,endurance for the long haul,,to get the change these "terrorists" want, than they have, or can conceive they need...
... The west doesn't understand or live by the same level of committment to a religous book that the Moslem has for the Koran,,or at least is forced to say he has...and the Moslem world doesn't understand the west's profession of christian virtues but living "secular" dailey lives. We say we profess liberty and justice and freedom,,but we back tyrants...even after we Liberate, we are seen to " dictate".
...IMHO,,There is a long record of Iranian financial support to any who would like to unseat the powers that be. Oil finances the Mullahs Isalmic Jihad. The " Islamic Jihad" has been brainwashed into a whole generation now. The Mullahs of the Iranian Revolution have been successful in executing Lenin's fact...give me a child for 5 years...Look at what is going on in Iraq..The suicide bombers aren't even from Iraq..the insurectionists aren't even from Iraq...Hey gang,,this schitt is going to go on for quite some time. Remember,,we're dealing with a desert tribal mentality that keeps it real simple, as in..if it takes 500 years for an opportunity to arise for a pay back to ones enemy,,then so be it....Not fun to think about, but since we're already in a mood...
...Anyway,,lets start facing reality. The west has got to do some serious rearrangement of how we are being perceived, The first thing to do is stop talking out of both sides of our leaders mouths. Spare me the bravado. We are seeing what happens when the last idiot said, " bring it on! "...MEL
and sad 
Now that it's been pointed out, it does seem an obvious pattern.
