Explosions In London

My heart hurts so much. I hurt for those whose family members left for work today and won't be coming back home. I hurt for those whose sense of security has been rocked. I hurt for those who had to witness such suffering and will never be whole again. I hurt for London.

I send out my love and prayers and support to all of you. It saddens me that simple people on their way to work can be hurt like this. Getting up and going to work in itself is hard enough. Wake up on time, get dressed, get everything ready, get out the door, catch the train. Just to get to work. It is horrific to go through all of that and while sitting there reading the paper, thinking of the things you need to get done once you get to work, and then to have to deal with living hell.

Not that there is a good time for this to happen but my heart aches for these commuters.

I am at work. I work for a train company, in a train station. We have cops galore around us, security measures are in place. A part of me says, nothing will happen, everything will be okay, but a part of me is holding my breath. A door slams too loudly and I think, is that an explosion. I feel silly and sad and scared. They all say it can't happen here, and I nod my agreement. But...

Hugs to everyone everywhere. I wish my arms were long enough to hug the earth.

For those that might not have heard yet...LL Was kind enough to grant us a peice of land in which a make-shift memorial has sprung up. Please feel free to attend today's second candlelight vigil later this evening.

Date: Thursday, July 7, 2005
Time: 6:00PM - 7:00PM
Location: Fame (122,115)

Please come and join avies from around the world as we take a moment to show our support for those lost and affected by the horrible terrorist attacks in London.

The newly named Memorial Park will be available for a week for those who wish to leave momentos and messages.

Today we may say aloud before an awe-struck world: "We are still masters of our fate. We are still captain of our souls."

"Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, This was their finest hour."


"Never give in--never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.''


-- Winston Churchill


Our thoughts and prayers are with our incredibly strong and stalwart friends of the British Isles.

I have two brothers, two sons, and a pregnant daughter-in-law living in London. The father-to-be was on the underground, following one of the bombed trains just 5 minutes behind it, and was marooned in the immobilised tunnel for over an hour.

Yet every one of these now vulnerable relatives of mine has the same view. The US and UK governments have followed devious and murderous policies in Iraq, lying knowingly to their people to suck them into an unjust and illegal war. They have created this terrorism problem, by giving hundreds of thousands of people good reason to hate us, and to want revenge.

Madeleine Allbright admitted on camera that sanctions killed 500,000 Iraqi children, but that it was "worth it". Their relatives hate us.

This clip is so critical, please view it, whichever side of the argument you are on. It had a big effect on me.
http://home.comcast.net/~dhamre/docAlb.htm

The Lancet estimates we killed 100,000 civilians in the latest Iraq war. Their relatives hate us.
http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=Lancet+deaths+iraq&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

Plus perhaps 125,000 Iraqi soldiers killed, who were also partially innocent by our own criteria, since they had been forcibly conscripted by a dictator. Their relatives hate us.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_invasion_of_Iraq_casualties.

We elected successive governments which followed policies leading to death for maybe as many as 725,000 people who were minding their own business elsewhere in the world. Our true motives were almost certainly economic, and nothing to do with freedom, which is much more sorely needed in any number of other countries of the world. We (even those of us individually totally opposed) must therefore expect the hatred which this has created to flower into frightful terrorist acts against us. Unless every single one of our victims is absolutely free of any desire to seek vengeance by exchanging innocent blood and broken bodies for innocent blood and broken bodies.

Such sainthood and forgiveness would be wonderful and amazing, but given their human nature, and ours, it's hardly likely.

So I have to accept my share of the guilt, and live now in fear for my loved ones' safety. Exactly as the people of Iraq (and of many other countries where we have meddled) have been doing for years.

And don't anyone dare tell me this posting is inappropriate. I utterly condemn EVERY act killing innocent civilians, and I utterly condemn this one. I was only five minutes from losing a son this time, but that doesn't justify my blinding by emotion. It means I should look even more closely to find the causes and underlying injustices, to understand why.

When something like this has happened, and this close to one, is EXACTLY the time for one to reflect on whether one might personally share any of this awful burden of guilt, and to reflect with all the wisdom and justice and calmness one can command.

Don't you have a single shred of shame? A bit of human decency? People went out to go to work this morning and tonight their torn bodies lie cold in a morgue and their families are bereft. Shame on you for dragging politics into their grief.

My thanks to YOU ALL for your kind thoughts toward my fellow Brits. Although we've suffered worse, it doesn't take away the fact it's another atrocity and people and families and friends suffer again

And to those who think it's 'right and cool' to bring politics and apologies for terrorism into this thread?

FUCK OFF and get back under the stone you crawled from!!

i work for DWP and we have just been placed on Amber alert, uh oh

For those of us that are unfamilar, what does that mean exactly?

what does DWP mean? or Amber Alert mean?

Lets just explain both.

Well I do not know what the DWP is, and I am assuming that you do not mean the same Amber Alert that we have in the USA when a child has been kidnapped.

Department of Work and Pensions?

DWP is Department for Work and Pensions. Not exactly likely to be a target, even if it is government related. There are a thousand other much more high profile and likely targets.

So "Amber Alert" just means someone high up there is getting twitchy and evidently wants to instill panic and fear in their workers and customers on a day when they're already going to be feeling vulnerable and uncertain. And they obviously want to have a very serious and official sounding name to give a status of "be vigilant" or, as we like to call it "stating the fucking obvious the day after a terrorist attack".

Kris got it spot on

you work for them too? you basically just said what they said over the tannoy lol

To those in London, I want to send my condolences. What a horrid day it is for everyone involved. You are all in my prayers.

LATEST: death count now at least 50

I can't help feel some people kind of... pardon my saying... get more out of these kind of big exciting events than they should... these death counts and things, come on people let's get our heads out the graveyards and move on. If the people of London can get back to work and do a day's graft, what's your excuse? I mean, most of the people watching London like hawks are from the USA.

I know the intentions might be well, but really now this just glorifies the scum that did it. Move along please, the show is over. Nothing to see here.

Naw. I work for Lloyds of London. Now that IS a target

I still haven't heard anything from Caitlin. ;.;

People grieve and mourn in their own way and along their own timeline. It is not for you or anyone else to tell a person when it is time to move on from such a thing.

Oh dear! And I still see no word on Zap either.

The London Candlelight Vigil and memorial last night was really beautiful and moving. Thank you again to ReallyRick Metropolitan for hosting it. For those who may not have seen it yet, here is the one shot I got of the memorial:
http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/pic.aspx?id=18328&sort=PictureID+desc&Search=london

I would like to extend my thanks to the more than 80 avies (many of whom where in London at the time of the attacks) who took time out to join us at the vigils. It was totally awesome to see how the memorial grew into this beautiful organic, SL avie created tribute to those in London. Also that we all could have such a respectful event atleast for this one moment in time.

Thanks go out to Robin Linden for help in finding the spot and allowing its use. FlipperPA Peregrine who donated the structure that you all can place your tokens on. Pathfinder Linden for setting up the condonlence boards scattered on the structure for those to leave a message. And to those who got up and shared their own personal thoughts.

I know that, but I think we can lose the updates hour by hour of where the body count is at. I don't see that's really necessary.

Then don't read it. Every one grives there way. Some feel the need to have that number every second. Some feel the need to shear it with others. If that is not your thing good, not mine, then don't take part in it.

Pendari, just checked Zap's forum profile and it looks like he's on the board now, or has been in the last 5 mins