Met thinks there have been 6 explosions - 5 on the Tube, 1 on a bus.
Official list of explosions

Aldgate East
Norgate
Russell Sq
Liverpool St
Edgware Rd
Kings Cross

Met asking media not to speculate!


My bad wolf ate my inner child. -Damnit Janet

We are condemned to kill time, thus we die bit by bit - Octavio Paz / Latino Político

Obviously clear that there have been terrorist attacks. People have died and been injured. It is my intention to leave G8 and go to London. .... Meeting will go on in his absence. ...

It is reasonably clear that this is timed and aimed to coincide with the G8. It's important that those engaged in terrorism understand that our determination to .... blah, blah, sounding like Bush. It is our determination that they will never succeed. Sounding entirely too much like Bush... so much so that my inclination is to think that Blair is behind these attacks...

My bad wolf ate my inner child. -Damnit Janet

We're staying the course, got them on the run.
BTW What was the link Iraq - Saddam Hussein and 9-11 attack?
George just last week motivated the brilliant counterattack of pre-emption to occupy Iraq in order to fight the terrorists on their soil.

The 45 minute time frame of Tony Blair was in fact 841 days 7 hours 16 min 30 sec.

       

DEFENSE SECRETARY DONALD RUMSFELD: I think we're probably watching something that is somewhat historic.

TERENCE SMITH: Defense Sec. Donald Rumsfeld acknowledged the importance of the embedding process, but cautioned that the close-up view is not always complete.

DONALD RUMSFELD: And what we are seeing is not the war in Iraq; what we're seeing are slices of the war in Iraq.

We're seeing that particularized perspective that that reporter or that commentator or that television camera happens to be able to see at that moment, and it is not what's taking place. What you see is taking place, to be sure, but it is one slice, and it is the totality of that that is what this war is about.

UK and Great Britain civilians just got served another slice of the totality of what war is all about, when you invade a sovereign nation after all deceit and lies.

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But this dynamic is very predictable.  And we're fighting against a dynamic, not against any one particular terrorist group.  In order to break the dynamic, the only way out is to not fight back militarily (or, if you must use the military, to use it very wisely).  The way to break the dynamic is to alter policy.  Because in the end, terrorists are not really after the "downfall" of the U.S. or any other country; they are really after personal power, and terror creates a world where they can have that power.

The London terror attacks (as they appear to be terror attacks) are not an attack on the U.S. military alliance, but rather an attack on those who wish the Iraq war stopped and superpower and corporate policy changed.   As soon as these voices became more powerful and gained some of the upper hand, becoming more legitimized, they needed to be blotted out - with more terror and human suffering.  Because these voices for change destabilize the terror dynamic - they eventually put terror out of business.

And terror is a big business.  It gives fringe elements in the Islamic world the reason to exist and thrive and gain power and influence in their societies.  It gives the Bush gang and Halliburton a reason to exist and thrive and profit.  Terror is, in fact, a very attractive racket; although, as we see, one that the racketeers cannot control.

You would have seen the same result if John Kerry had been elected president, which would have inevitably moved the public discourse toward ending the war in Iraq and adopting new foreign policies, new energy policies, etc.  The election of Kerry would have destabilized the dynamic of terror.

With Bush's approval ratings sinking, renewed terror attacks were inevitable, almost predictable.  (Small comfort to Londoners...)  Not because the Bush Administration does anything like planning terror attacks to happen, but because the terror dynamic has to respond to the threat of unjust wars being called off, energy policy being changed, etc.

It may seem strange to think of the terror dynamic as an entity unto itself - it almost sounds like I am ascribing intelligent motives to collective human behavior, I suppose.  But it becomes a lot clearer how we have to respond when we understand that it is the dynamic that we are fighting; that Bush, Halliburton and Al Qaeda are all just merely tools of the dynamic.

Since no nation or other powerful group has stepped up to break the back of the terror dynamic, eventually this struggle may come to your own doorstep.  You may be asked to sacrifice your children for war, or you may be pressured to discriminate against minorities or look the other way while others do it.  Then what will YOU do?  Will you submit to the dynamic, or will you go along with it?

Well, as long as the terrorists stay out of America and keep killing foreigners, we've done our job...
<sarcasm alert>

Your concepts are like a stake that a donkey can be tethered to for 10 million years ~ Zen saying

Anybody else have an icky feeling about this event, as a possible insider job, much as I feel about 9/11? Is this the 9/11 of Britain? Couldn't come at a more favorable time for Blair.

The Londoners being interviewed are remarkably calm.
They shared water with strangers on the underground
while sitting in the dark, covered in soot.

To thine own self be true. W.S.

Colman comments at EuroTrib that they're awfully quiet about King's Cross...

This is horrific. My thoughts are with all Londoners and anyone who is touched by this tragedy. I just don't know what else to say right now.

London's police chief has gone on record mentioning the suspicion of attacks, and Jerusalem has spoken about Scotland Yard mentioning the threat of attacks.

My bad wolf ate my inner child. -Damnit Janet

London police chief - saying evidence of explosives at the sites.

Blair expected to speak soon.

My bad wolf ate my inner child. -Damnit Janet

There are still people trapped underground. Sniffer dogs are out, there is the possibility of further explosives.

My bad wolf ate my inner child. -Damnit Janet

"clear that there are a series of terrorist attacks in London....it's my intention to lead the G8 and get a report face-to-face....and then return later this evening....the meeting will continue in my absence....each of the countries at the table have experienced the effects of terrorism....share our complete resolution to defeat terrorism....barbaric that this has happened today....clear that it has been designed to coincide with the opening of the G8....it is our determination that they will never succeed in destroying what we hold dear in this country and other civilized nations....  (best I could do)

We are condemned to kill time, thus we die bit by bit - Octavio Paz / Latino Político

Al-Qaeda has been mentioned.

My bad wolf ate my inner child. -Damnit Janet

I just crossed the border into Detroit and back, traffic was light and I saw a fairly large number of cars pulled over to secondary.  I don't normally travel at this time, so I don't know if that was a "normal" level of activity at secondary.

Visit me at Tunnel Traveller

London police press conference on CNN TV right now.

An Arab specialist in The Netherlands, executive manager for RNW Radio Netherlands World gave same assessment on European Al Qaeda affiliate as credible.

The rhetoric is identical, indicated the reward came after overcoming many hardships to hit at the heart of "Zionists and Crusaders" in Great Britain as had been promised. A day to rejoice. Indeed named two countries Denmark and Italy, where similar attacks will take place.

No mention of martyrs, what would be the case of suicide attacks. The level of sophistication is high, that indicates the presence of a large group involved in the logistics. Similar to Madrid bombings, this would be a group of 20-50 terrorists.

The Netherlands have gone into state of high alert in coordination with all EU countries. All border crossings and public transportation will be under extra security and scrutiny. These attacks are unavoidable, London was a likely location, not only because of involvement in Middle-east, but because of decades of Islamist support groups and large number of Muslims within the UK.

See European Tribune for full coverage and Al-Qaeda message posted by Soj.

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