London power surge/bombing of underground
Posted by: Hawk on 07 July 2005
Not sure what to believe of whats being reported at the moment in the news but either way I hope that the casualty count doesnt rise terribly.
I dont want to speculate at this stage, i just feel bad for the unfortunates caught up in this disaster...
Hawk
Posted on: 07 July 2005 by Berlin Fritz
Berliner's were quick off of the mark to express their respects today by putting flowers in front of the Embassy here. Many Boroughs here are twinned with parts of London too, My own dear Charlottenburg with Lewishham !!! Wot ? Well it's better than Swindon at least, innit
Posted on: 07 July 2005 by Berlin Fritz
Lord Bono and his mates will be kicking off down the road from here very shortly in front of 60,000+ lucky fans at the beautifully renovated Olympic Stadium (venue for next years World Cup Final: Who will it Be ? Will Our Mat be Ref ?). I expect there'll be a minutes silence (Berliners are very shocked by this action today) and then on with the show. It ocurred to me Berliners like Londoners are quite a hardy lot and won't jump on the big ole emotional bandwagon like with the greatly over-reacted upon Ken Bigley Tragedy in Liverpool.
Fritz Von The Boys are back in town
Long live Phil's spirit too, and I'm looking forward to the firework show later, that I can watch from my kitchen winder, innit
Posted on: 07 July 2005 by Not For Me
I have just got back from London,
Everybody has taken to the streets and is walking home. I walked from Berwick Street to Paddington BR.
I was impressed at the calm and helpful atmosphere shown by the emergency services and Londoners.
I hope anybody else affected by this gets home safe and well, and my thoughts go out to the people more than inconvienienced but tragically involved in this.
DS
Posted on: 07 July 2005 by Berlin Fritz
Nice One Sir, I trust whatever is your fancy this evening when you've wound down will taste exceptionally good !
Fritz Von My Mother's Ok too, she got chatting to a Polish Gentleman Uni-chappie in/near Dirty Dicks, and rolled back to Essex fields on the whatever whatever to Shenfield, luvvly jubbly
Posted on: 07 July 2005 by JonR
Nice one Fritz, good to hear yer mother's ok
I've watched a lot of the news coverage today and two groups of people shine out for the way they have handled the atrocities today...the emergency services, including a group of doctors at the British Medical Association outside which that bus exploded, and the hundreds and thousands of commuters and workers who were caught up in the blasts yet did not panic, and instead as calmly as they could just let the emergency services get on with their job.
Cheers,
Jon
Posted on: 07 July 2005 by Berlin Fritz
Quite right Jon, but please let's not let the moment of truth blind us from how the NHS is financed and missmanaged by the non medical staff, not a whisper of who'm were to be seen today I might add
Posted on: 07 July 2005 by Nime
Can we cut the shallow political point-scoring please Phritz? I can feel a cliché, or three, coming on.
Every premature death is a horrible personal tragedy for those around them. But it is also a tragedy for the human race. One can never be sure how the world might have been changed for the better by someone who simply didn't make it to old age.
Did she who held the answer to a common but incurable disease travel on that bus? Did he would have taken us to the stars take the tube instead of his usual walk through the park? She who had been working on a simple means to free, clean and inexhaustible power in small packages sit doodling quietly in her seat? Was the teenage Bill Gates successor visiting London today?
Let us also think of the millions of premature deaths to hunger and disease in Africa. Any of whom who might have held the clue to transforming our world into a better place. Given just enough time to get an education and a few more years for research. Is it really too much to ask that every human being on this earth is given the chance to participate? To contribute to our great store of knowledge? To share their astonishing artistic talents? Or to be a great mother or father or a teacher with a following of billions of avid readers of her books?
Man has been committing unmentionable atrocities on his fellow man (and woman) since dragging himself by the knuckles out of the jungle. For hundreds of thousands of years he has killed, maimed and tortured for an imagined belief that he is superior in some way. He still imagines that he holds some great truth handed down to him from the stone age. Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Aztecs, Christians and others have all slaughtered each other for so long that the pure and simple truths behind their original beliefs have long since vanished. Or become so corrupted that it would be unrecognisable to their own blessed prophets.
And still we do not learn. Every human being is a branch in our tree of life pointing to our infinite future. How dare we fell vast forests of human potential?
Posted on: 07 July 2005 by MichaelC
A bad day, a very bad day. My thoughts are for those who perished or were injured and their families.
Posted on: 07 July 2005 by Don Atkinson
For hundreds of thousands of years he has.....
I can fully understand your emotion.....but lets not exagerate...
.......man has only been around for about one hundred and fifty thousand years. And he probably inherited some of his dispicable traits from the apes.
The civilised world is far from perfect, (and we must change it) but its a dam site better than the evil world that today's cowardly murderers would have us inhabit.
Cheers
Don
Posted on: 07 July 2005 by Berlin Fritz
Nime, Lovely sermon, and no, no sarcasm there or smartie points being made, as I said again and again, I have no agenda, and for the Hampshire wit earlier in the week, my big ego is my survival, and I live with it. Missing the point ot he whole thing is seemingly this forum's 'speciality' on many an occassion, and yes Adam, thank you for your administrative tolerance, I owe you a Brasso mate.
Hypocrisy is, & always has been my greatest personal bugbear, and although this is obviously only an internet virtual website I think certain thoughts have to be challenged for there worth on occassion, innit.
Sincerity, ascertaining the 'real' motives of why and what people say refarding serious subjects as this have always interested me greatly. as I often see, just a repetition of the same old stuff happenning again and again and again, and amongst reliably intelligent/well educated folk (relative of course)is a tragedy that only passes on to arrogant ignorant kids to do the same thing all over again, innit.
Fritz Von My erased Scouse comments were meant in this very vein, in that Our Mick etc, should know better, and know exactly where I'm coming from I'm sure, unless they're doing a Churchill rebirth concert for the punters ? I concure gentlemen
Posted on: 07 July 2005 by Adam Meredith
"Hypocrisy is, & always has been my greatest personal bugbear, and although this is obviously only an internet virtual website I think certain thoughts have to be challenged for there worth on occassion, innit."
Sometimes we should be wary of the justification that comes from being right.
"This is some fellow,
Who, having been praised for bluntness, doth affect
A saucy roughness, and constrains the garb
Quite from his nature: he cannot flatter, he,
An honest mind and plain, he must speak truth!
And they will take it, so; if not, he's plain.
These kind of knaves I know, which in this plainness
Harbour more craft and more corrupter ends
Than twenty silly ducking observants
That stretch their duties nicely"
Posted on: 07 July 2005 by Berlin Fritz
Luvvly Jubbly, soundeth Chaucereque dunnitm though I's probably wery wrong, innit ?
Time for bed, BBrrrp, Cheers,
Posted on: 07 July 2005 by Andrew Randle
quote:
Originally posted by Nime:
Can we cut the shallow political point-scoring please Phritz? I can feel a cliché, or three, coming on.
Every premature death is a horrible personal tragedy for those around them. But it is also a tragedy for the human race. One can never be sure how the world might have been changed for the better by someone who simply didn't make it to old age.
Did she who held the answer to a common but incurable disease travel on that bus? Did he would have taken us to the stars take the tube instead of his usual walk through the park? She who had been working on a simple means to free, clean and inexhaustible power in small packages sit doodling quietly in her seat? Was the teenage Bill Gates successor visiting London today?
Let us also think of the millions of premature deaths to hunger and disease in Africa. Any of whom who might have held the clue to transforming our world into a better place. Given just enough time to get an education and a few more years for research. Is it really too much to ask that every human being on this earth is given the chance to participate? To contribute to our great store of knowledge? To share their astonishing artistic talents? Or to be a great mother or father or a teacher with a following of billions of avid readers of her books?
Man has been committing unmentionable atrocities on his fellow man (and woman) since dragging himself by the knuckles out of the jungle. For hundreds of thousands of years he has killed, maimed and tortured for an imagined belief that he is superior in some way. He still imagines that he holds some great truth handed down to him from the stone age. Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Aztecs, Christians and others have all slaughtered each other for so long that the pure and simple truths behind their original beliefs have long since vanished. Or become so corrupted that it would be unrecognisable to their own blessed prophets.
And still we do not learn. Every human being is a branch in our tree of life pointing to our infinite future. How dare we fell vast forests of human potential?
Agreed Nime. We are born to learn and advance ourselves. Those who purposefully cut that short can find that they will no longer be allowed to continue after death.
Those moral degenerates have become the very people they despise.
Andrew
Posted on: 07 July 2005 by wellyspyder
It continues to be another sad moment in time. The death toll continues to climb. Even with progress on civilisation, we are not civilised if these atrocious acts continue. Religion is only a convenient excuse for those henious acts. 2000 years later and this situation still the same.
The "martians" are seeing how we are treating each other/brother/sister etc and are having a good old laugh, destroying each other, they will wait till we are doomed killing each other before they will invade!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Watch out
................spyder spills
Posted on: 08 July 2005 by Nime
quote:
Originally posted by Don Atkinson:
.......man has only been around for about one hundred and fifty thousand years.
I hope you're not talking about our Lucy! Unless you were discussing Homo sainsburii?
http://www.evolutionnyc.com/IBS/SimpleCat/Shelf/ASP/Hierarchy/020Q00/pg/2.htmlquote:
And he probably inherited some of his dispicable traits from the apes. Don
Phritz? Oh! You mean the thin veneer of civilisation. I have to agree there.
Posted on: 08 July 2005 by Berlin Fritz
quote:
Originally posted by Adam Meredith:
"Hypocrisy is, & always has been my greatest personal bugbear, and although this is obviously only an internet virtual website I think certain thoughts have to be challenged for there worth on occassion, innit."
Sometimes we should be wary of the justification that comes from being right.
"This is some fellow,
Who, having been praised for bluntness, doth affect
A saucy roughness, and constrains the garb
Quite from his nature: he cannot flatter, he,
An honest mind and plain, he must speak truth!
And they will take it, so; if not, he's plain.
These kind of knaves I know, which in this plainness
Harbour more craft and more corrupter ends
Than twenty silly ducking observants
That stretch their duties nicely"
Looking at it again in the cold light of day Our Adam, I reckon it's probably more a case of
Thomas The Wyndup I hope you've cleaned those piped right through before you start serving that ale O'yourn again ?
Posted on: 08 July 2005 by Berlin Fritz
I just had a little suprise on the news there. The bus that got blown up yesterday was the number 30 going to Hackney Wick, and as they showed the film close up the upper part of the destinations thingy was blown away showing also the name Chadwell Heath, where I spent a lot of my teenage time trying to grow up, most strange, almost surreal, even from this distance, innit
Poor Bastards²
Posted on: 08 July 2005 by Mick P
Chaps
I decided to go into the London office today.
It was quiet and the carriage of the train that I travelled in had only 5 passengers instead of the usual 75% full.
I walked into the office from Paddington, mainly to have a think about all this.
London is a strange city, it has crime, dirt and all sorts of problems but it also has a living multi cultural society and bussling like no other city on this planet.
I recognised a few people walking in and for the first time talked to them. The conclusion was that we will probably never find those who caused the explosion and most certainly will never be truely sure of their motives.
I did my work, I had a pint (well 3 to be honest) in the local pub and found that the spirit of London is coming back fast. It was good to see that it was mainly the young people in their twenties who were there. There seemed no hatred, just surprise and above all a willingness to go on and live life as normal.
London is too big a city to be threatened by terrorist and if they thought they could scare Londoners, then they are wrong.
I am not a Londoner but just a Swindoner who happens to work there now and then. My admiration for Londoners has risen beyond belief because of their stoicism and determination to carry on regardless.
A city is but an oversize lump of concrete but it is the people who make it what it is.
The people of New York showed that they would not be cowed and neither will the people of London.
There are times when you can despair for mankind and there are days when you are bloody proud to be a member of the human race and for me at least, today was when I was proud to be a visitor to London.
The people of London have shown what they are made of.
Regards
Mick..who for once felt bloody humble.
Posted on: 08 July 2005 by Martin D
MP well said
Posted on: 08 July 2005 by Berlin Fritz
I think it's very likely, as well as well as most correctly that many New 'George Medals' (Britain's highest Non Military Award) will be struck and distributed within the next few months or so as a result of the present 'selfless actions' of the many involved innit.
Fritz Von The Country's Official thanks to many an invisible Star²
Posted on: 08 July 2005 by Hawk
quote:
Originally posted by Martin D:
MP well said
Seconded...
I work just ouside london and many of my workmates live in town. I have to admire their reserve. They thankfully all made it to work, made it home (eventually!!) and were here this morning just quietly getting on with it. If anything it was the non londoners making the most fuss in our building...
Hawk
Posted on: 08 July 2005 by Don Atkinson
Mick,
Well said.
I was in London yesterday, (Bishopsgate), and again today. More quiet than usual, people taking notice of their surroundings, but no sign of anger. Concern for those affected? yes, but no real self-concern. I would say it was very civilized.
Nime,
Australopithicus in all its various guises is not man. Nor were Neaderthals. Close realatives? possibly. Man? most definitely not. I'm afraid man has only been here for circa one hundred and fifty thousand years. And most of that time was spent hunting. Only the last ten thousand years was spent farming, and even less with accountants and armies. Let's call this last 10,000 years "civilisation". And don't ask me where all this "farming, accountancy and soldiering" started, because I don't think you will like the answer. But just think, at 25 years per generation, that would make 400 generations of "civilisation". At 50 lines per A4 page, that's only 8 pages to trace your lineage back to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.....
And i don't agree that its only a thin veneer of civilisation (not "civilisation" this time), although, as I said, there is plenty of room for improvement.
Lets keep a sense of reality. On, Wednesday, Yesterday and Today, London was civilised. Terrorists are not.
Cheers
Don
Posted on: 08 July 2005 by Martin Payne
On Thursday I watched the coverage thinking of my sadness for the victims, but secure in the knowledge that my family were safe, and well away from London.
Imagine my shock when I found that my mother and many of her friends would have been on a train into Liverpool Street station that day, if only she'd been able to buy a big enough block of theatre tickets.
My thoughts lie with the victims, their families, and all those caught up in the turmoil and distress on the day.
Martin
Posted on: 09 July 2005 by Nime
There are many thousands of Danes living, working and holidaying in London at any one time. It is an international meeeting place where the entire world comes together to live and work and study and visit.
The danish papers had a front page picture of an injured asian women (another victim) being led away from the carnage. I thought it apt.
A muslim was talking on danish radio yesterday: He said that the Koran expressly forbids the killing of the old, women and children even under the exceptional conditions of war where a muslim must fight for survival against an aggressor.
