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So London was attacked and hundreds were killed or wounded by Islamic fanatics (showing incidently why we are utterly right to be fighting these vermin wherever they are to be found)… and having ID cards would have made not one damn bit of difference. Next time some pontificating dissembling jackass holds up ‘terrorism’ as why Britain need these odious things, I am likely to spit in their face. July 8th, 2005 | 71 comments - (Comments are closed)
 Despite the byline, this is being posted from London The train and tube that I caught in to work this morning were significantly less crowded today than is usual – carrying maybe two thirds to three quarters the normal number of passengers. The atmosphere on the trains was pretty serious. People were sitting pretty still on the train with pretty serious faces and eyes even more than normally fixed on newspapers. The British air of “We are going about our business, damn it” stoicism came through pretty strongly. There were more police in London Bridge station than is usual. Advertising placards for the Evening Standard were rather incongrously still proclaiming “London’s Victory: How We Did It” or some such. These had been advertising the Wednesday edition of the paper (or perhaps the earliest Thursday edition) and rather unsurprisingly nobody had been selling the Thursday edition inside the station. They have probably been replaced by now with placards advertising the first Friday edition of the paper. While standing on the Jubilee Line platform, the announcements were fairly normal, except that the standard, very mechanical sounding “Please make sure that you keep all packages and other personal possessions with you at all times” was replaced by a slightly more human announcement of “Obviously I don’t need to tell you that you should keep all packages and other personal possessions with you at all times”. The large international bank I work for instituted very tight and very visible security for getting into the building after September 11. It was only two or three months ago that this was relaxed, but I found that the tight and visible security regime had returned this morning. I was required to show my company ID card several times before being able to reach my desk. Upon getting there, I found that about half of the people in the team I work for had come to work – several of the rest have logged into their work computers from home and are working remotely. However, I hadn’t been at my desk long when an important piece of information flashed around – there was free food in the cafeteria. Management were making a friendly gesture to the employees who had made it in today, or something. I went down to the cafeteria and discovered that the number of people queueing for food and eating in the cafeteria was at least twice as long as it would be on a normal day, despite the number of people at work being much smaller than normal. Many of the people in the queue were no doubt millionaire investment bankers, but the opportunity to have free bacon and eggs was clearly not one to be sneezed at. The queue was long, but people remained in it patiently and good-humouredly. And I didn’t sneeze at it, having a helping of free bacon and eggs myself. So, the British people have survived this terrorist attack in good shape. They are still stoic, very angry about the people who attacked their city (although it would be bad manners to show it directly), determined to go on with their lives, are still the great queueing culture they always were, and are still also profoundly cheap. I’m not British, but it makes me proud to be a Londoner. July 8th, 2005 | 39 comments - (Comments are closed)
I have just had my attention drawn to this rather startling claim:
The link is to a US website called ‘Northeast Intelligence Network’. Are they really high-level security operatives or just a bunch of wannabes? And is this ‘Pentagon source’ actually some filing clerk with ‘Deep Throat’ pretensions? Even assuming that these people are the genuine article, how can they possibly know this after just a few hours? As far as I can tell, there is no mention anywhere in the UK press about the identity of the suspects at all. On the other hand, the British security services are notorious for a culture of secrecy and, if the story is true, it is typical of them to bury it, at least for a while (and in some cases for years). I lean towards the view that this is fabrication, the chaff from the grinding wheel of the rumour-mill. But can anybody else shed any light? July 8th, 2005 | 40 comments - (Comments are closed)
We Samizdatistas have not managed anything so far by way of photo-blogging of yesterday’s dramas. However, those wanting to get a pictorially illustrated feeling of what it was like might like to take a look at Adam Tinworth’s blog, starting here, and scrolling upwards.  That is one Adam’s photos, which has a nice stiff upper lip feel to it, I think. I also liked the one of people crowding into Dixons, just to watch the tellies in there, to find out what was going on. With regard to my title above, I suspect that 7/7 is more likely to end up being the name we give to yesterday’s bomb attacks than David’s 07/07. Either way, a small thing to be thankful for is that it happened on the Xth day of the Xth month, so to speak, and we do not have to get involved in transatlantic bickering/explaining about which comes first, the day or the month. July 8th, 2005 | Comments are closed
I am still feeling pretty shaky after what happened this morning. I was on the Central Line tube train and got off at St Paul’s at 08:45, just two stops before Liverpool Street station, near where one of the attacks took place. Like most Londoners I will be walking into work tomorrow. Many will stay at home, advised to do so by the police and their own employers. I regularly use the King’s Cross tube station and may want to give the underground metro system a miss for a while. The atmosphere is pretty strange this evening. As I walked along the River Thames on my way home I noticed a lot of pubs were packed, as people no doubt wanted a drink and a chat and see a friendly face. Traffic is way down, but there are still lots of police cars, ambulances and unmarked cars with blue flashing lights zooming about. Most people I see appear calm and pretty resilient about it all. I suppose it will take a while for things to sink in. Mobile phones were knocked out, and I was not able to get in touch with my other half, my family or friends for several hours. The Internet has worked well. No doubt much ink is going to be spilled in the next few days about the ramifications, the likely political fallout, the civil liberties implications, and all the other stuff we scribble about. All I want to add now is my condolences to those who have lost loved ones or been injured in these terrible attacks. And spare a thought for the doctors, nurses and other emergency workers dealing with the human wreckage caused by these scum. July 7th, 2005 | 19 comments - (Comments are closed)
The official casualty roll from this morning’s attack now stands at 37 dead and 700 injured to varying degrees. It now appears that there were four separate explosions, three of them on undergound trains at Aldgate, Kings Cross, Edgware Road and one on a bus in Woburn Place near to Russell Square. The BBC website is carrying some photographs of the chaos, many of them taken on the spot with camera-phones. July 7th, 2005 | 10 comments - (Comments are closed)
The German magazine ‘Spiegel On-line’ is reporting that something calling itself ‘The Secret Organisation of Al-Qaeda in Europe’ has claimed reponsibility for this morning’s attacks on London. Allegedly the triumphal claim was made on a website. The article does not link to the website but does include an apparent screenshot of the relevant posting. This is all unsubtantiated and could be complete bunkum. Who knows? UPDATE: I have just had a call from a friend who has been stuck down in Aldgate all day. He was on his way to work when the attack occured but was unscathed. Apparently the police are now allowing people to travel home from Central London. The cops he has spoken to have told him that the death toll is now 45 but this is unconfirmed. July 7th, 2005 | 38 comments - (Comments are closed)
For anyone who may be worried about relatives or friends in Central London, the Police Casualty Bureau hotline number is now open on 0870 1566 344. UPDATE: 33 fatalities now confirmed. I hope this figure does not inflate but I rather fear that it may. July 7th, 2005 | 9 comments - (Comments are closed)
Things look pretty normal round here but then I am stuck in the North London ‘burbs and the carnage is all concentrated around Central London and the West End. My mobile telephone appears to be working just fine but the public transport network has been shut down entirely. The MSM is still reporting 2 fatalities which seems mercifully low given the timing, location and nature of the attacks. Maybe this figure will rise as the day passes, but I profoundly hope that it doesn’t. Tony Blair is winging his way back to London from the G8 summit in Edinburgh and George Bush is about to make a statement. More later. UPDATE: Unconfirmed reports that death toll has risen to 10. ANOTHER UPDATE: The MSM is now reporting ‘many fatalities’ but no numbers. Either they genuinely don’t know or do know and won’t say. July 7th, 2005 | 54 comments - (Comments are closed)
The entire London Underground network is closed following explosions at Update: A bus has exploded in Russell Square and there are reports of two more buses having been bombed elsewhere in London. Looks like it is a terrorist attack. (Note: This is one of the regular Samizdatistas blogging from the Canary Wharf office district in London – anonymously because he is at work). Update:Sky News is reporting “90 casualties” at Aldgate. Transport unions are reporting “some fatalities”. The Home Secretary has referred to “terrible casualties”. There are apparently two trains trapped underground at Edgware Road. I have heard a hearsay report that three unexploded bombs were found at King’s Cross. July 7th, 2005 | 83 comments - (Comments are closed)
July 6th, 2005 | 85 comments - (Comments are closed)
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