Thoughts on 7/7

[imomus]

1. Is everyone I know okay?

2. Why do the fuckers always hit public transport?

3. Only two reported killed right now, which is no more than traffic accidents might have killed (the deaths of two pedestrians under cars would have gone pretty much unreported).



4. I suppose this will just click more locks on the manacles of the "security state". The tedious bag checks, citizens treated as potential criminals, the erosion of the civil justice system, queues and paranoia, the compulsory carrying of ID cards. We're all now guilty until proven innocent, and especially those of us who look like strangers, who look like people who think differently. Higher suspicion means higher anomie and higher stress. The delights of the high density city are displaced by the stresses and (still largely imagined) dangers of the high density city. The high density city is always poised delicately between heaven and hell; this tips things over to the hell side. And yet I still believe in the utopian potential of big cities.

5. London going to work is rational, but these attacks are rational too. The attacks are not "crazy" or "meaningless" or "deranged" or "the work of lunatics". One rationality is imposed on another. Two incompatible rationalities in one place. A sign that different rationales exist. But a bad day for difference and for pluralism, when the idea of difference is tainted with the idea of murderousness. Difference is not automatically murderous, just as unity is not automatically benign.

6. Of course it's Al Qaeda. It's not the IRA, it's not some lone hater (like the tube train driver who planted the Admiral Duncan and Brick Lane nail bombs because he hated immigrants and gays). The motive was clearly to send a message to the G8 meeting. Terrorism had slipped a bit on the agenda, replaced by climate change and African debt relief. 7/7 puts terrorism back on the agenda. It will give the Western leaders a pretext for more bold, nakedly aggressive acts which escalate the Middle Eastern situation. It makes an invasion of Iran, for instance, more likely. Bin Laden would love that. His agenda is served by goading the West into acts of aggression which polarize and radicalize "the Arab street". No more middle ground, no more tolerance, no more openness.

The precarious delights of the city tip over into some kind of Hieronymous Bosch hell scene, and suspicion attaches with tedious inevitability to otherness.

Comments

[leunnammi.livejournal.com]

london_070705
with roll calls
full: http://www.livejournal.com/community/london_070705/2794.html
A-M: http://www.livejournal.com/community/london_070705/20464.html
N-Z: http://www.livejournal.com/community/london_070705/20636.html

[loosechanj.livejournal.com]

At this point I'm hoping they don't find a dirty bomb has gone off, although I'd think we'd have heard about such a thing by now. That's how I imagine a dirty bomb attack though, immobilize a city with attacks on mass transit, one of which is radialogical. Everyone's focused on the obvious stuff, people can't move around very well, and getting cooked.

[mcgazz.livejournal.com]

According to the research done on dirty bopmbs, the commuters would have to stay in the city centre for a full year before they died of radiation-related effects. I'd imagine even London could get its public transport up and running again by then ;-)

Also, if you're trying to spread material as far and as wide as possible, surely the last place to blow up your bomb would be down a tube tunnel?

[kineticfactory.livejournal.com]

Then again, al-Qaeda generally go for spectacular attacks with mass casualties, and this wasn't one of those; it was, by all accounts, fairly small-scale compared to Madrid or Bali. Unless it's a feint to draw out the emergency response and help plan a later, more devastating, attack.

From the Washngton Post

[nightspore.livejournal.com]

`A group calling itself "The Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe" posted a claim of responsibility for the blasts, saying they were in retaliation for Britain's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Web statement, republished on the site of the German magazine Der Spiegel, could not be immediately confirmed.'

[nickink.livejournal.com]

I agree with you completely about 4. and 6., but re 3.

sadly, it looks like many more than 2 people have lost their lives now...

[leunnammi.livejournal.com]

at least 10 on the bus

the tubes are designed to be largely bomb resistant due to the IRA heritage.

G8 plus Olympics

[nightspore.livejournal.com]

Probably hastily decided on, as the first step in making the Olympics an occasion of fear. Like 9/11 this is bad all around, locally and globally.

[fengi.livejournal.com]

Very articulate. My sympathy goes out to you.

Point to add: I really think the rest of the world is now trapped in a self-fulfilling vision of an epic struggle possessed by the Bush and Bin Laden. We expect such summer blockbusters, and drag the rest of the globe along.

[caoilte.livejournal.com]

Bad as it is, I'm most worried that there'll be lynchings of Muslims. I hope we're better than that but that will be the true test of our national character.

[klasensjo.livejournal.com]

The train jolted to a stop and people used umbrellas to smash windows to escape.

Umbrellas. So very London. Hope you get well soon.

[leunnammi.livejournal.com]

and local hotels have been supplying tea to walking wounded

Al-Queda claims (allegedly)

[emilyfurrybear.livejournal.com]

from: http://europhobia.blogspot.com/2005/07/london-tube-explosions.html

Jamaat al-Tandheem Al-Sierri (secret organization group)
Organization of Qaeda't al-Jihad in Europe

In the name of God the most merciful...

Rejoice the nation of Islam, rejoice nation of Arabs, the time of revenge has come for the crusaders' Zionist British government.

As retaliation for the massacres which the British commit in Iraq and Afghanistan, the mujahideen have successfully done it this time in London.

And this is Britain now burning from fear and panic from the north to the south, from the east to the west.

We have warned the brutish governments and British nation many times.

And here we are, we have done what we have promised. We have done a military operation after heavy work and planning, which the mujahideen have done, and it has taken a long time to ensure the success of this operation.

And we still warn the government of Denmark and Italy, all the crusader governments, that they will have the same punishment if they do not pull their forces out of Iraq and Afghanistan.

So beware.

Thursday 7/7/2005
Jamaat al-Tandheem Al-Sierri (secret organization group)
Organization of al Qaeda't al-Jihad in Europe.

Re: Al-Queda claims (allegedly)

[jermynsavile.livejournal.com]

'And this is Britain now burning from fear and panic from the north to the south, from the east to the west.'

Well, hardly...

Rather prone to hyperbole aren't they.

[imomus.livejournal.com]

The official G8 statement, according to the BBC, "condemns the barbaric attacks on London". "Barbaric" already contradicts my point 5, the idea that the attacks were, whether we like it or not, rational. "Barbaric" already contains in it the idea of a higher and a lower level of civilisation living side by side, at the same time. The "civilised" and the "barbarians". Already we see a denial of the idea that there might be rationalities hostile to our own, a rejection of all relativism. Already there's preparation for "civilised" bombs to fall on "barbarian" peoples in far-off lands, preparation for torture and inquisition and crusade.

I would prefer a statement which condemned the attacks as "rational", or a statement which admitted that the attacks used the same language of violence that the G8 nations themselves use when they bomb civilian areas from 50,000 feet.

[stanleylieber.livejournal.com]

I think your analysis of this is spot-on. There are larger symbols being manipulated here.

[jermynsavile.livejournal.com]

It seems that London has got off relatiively lightly. The only significantg thing that distinguishes this from the IRA's escapades is the attempt to co-ordinate explosions. I think that the reason for this is largely logistical. The IRA were rather more concerned about 'getting away with it'. Multiple bomb plantings increased the chances of getting caught. This lot have less of a concern. Off course I'm not ignoring the effect that the intention of creating terrorist 'spectaculars' has on this as well.

I worry about the effect on our liberties. Defeat isn't in these pigs winning anything through activities like this, defeat can only come from how our societies react.

Got off lightly ?

[darrenco.livejournal.com]

I hardly think so. The IRA were despicable, but at least they always sent warnings. They knew they would 'get away with it' just as much as the mad Islamists do - they were a political concern and to that end claimed it as a legitimate rationale.

[(Anonymous)]

'London got off lightly'...- as in - this is the extent of terror attacks here? No, just the opposite - makes you scared that worse is to come for our crazy fair city.

[jermynsavile.livejournal.com]

I dare say. I don't kid myself that this is likely to be the end of it for London, or anywhere else.

[dzima.livejournal.com]

Just heard on the news that the G8 leaders were going to talk about global warming (and America's stand about it) today at their meeting but due to the attacks this has been scrapped and they are now discussing "The War on Terror". It's unbelievable.

[imomus.livejournal.com]

That's infuriating. It almost makes you think they arranged it themselves so they could talk war war instead of car car.

[kaipfeiffer.livejournal.com]

spiegel online just reports statements, that 40 or more people died.
i had hoped #3 of your entry could have stayed true ...

[ghost--stories.livejournal.com]

isn't the death toll suspected to be around 45 to 50 now though?

[sparkligbeatnic.livejournal.com]

This from a friend at ucl (a regular commuter)

We're all fine - thanks for your concern.. the 'war on terror' always looks most frightening from a distance.. that's why the 'war-on-terrorists' keep gaining ground..

At least some are not falling for the terror rhetoric. Hopefully this attitude is widespread.

[stanleylieber.livejournal.com]

A friend reported that a mile away from some of the blasts, a roof repair team continued their work and children continued with their classes.

UK Needs to Relook at Immigration Policies

[(Anonymous)]

Hopefully this will afford Great Britain the chance to rethink its immigration policies. Unfortunately, you can only let in so many hate-spewing clerics, who poison the well of young muslim residents, before it spills over into violence.

Re: UK Needs to Relook at Immigration Policies

[jbmurray.livejournal.com]

and you are an arsehole.

[(Anonymous)]

It really pisses me off that now the Gleneagles summit is going to prioritise the 'war on terror' instead of climate change or third world debt. The balance of priorities is incredibly difficult but all they're doing is playing into terrorists' hands by doing this. Terror attacks are gonna keep on happening and the more we declare 'WAR' against terrorists the more attacks will happen (boys in playground who really hate each other do the worst kind of competitive one-up-manship and don't care who dies on the sidelines)...meanwhile the peaceful and important issues we care about get shoved aside so they can play this game.

[la-aquarius.livejournal.com]

And guess who's probably relieved by all this, since he's the President of the only G8 nation not to ratify the Kyoto protocols?

[turkishb.livejournal.com]

I remember being fed slices of clementine over the shoulder of a beautiful girl as the sun rose on Tavistock Square. I thought nothing could touch this precious memory of mine, of my London. But I was a fool.

[niemandsrose.livejournal.com]

Nick, re: NYC, I heard on NPR that security personnel were carrying machine guns on the subway there this morning? Can you confirm?

no machine guns

[(Anonymous)]

I can report that on my way to work 8AM-9AM on A & L trains there were no machine guns. Little numbers of police too. And little passengers. Guess everyone got out of dodge. At least on those subway lines.

[k-arjuna.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure how the situation was over there before this attack, but I sincerely hope this does not spur Londonites into the same sort of reactionary racist backlash against Muslims that we got here after the Oklahoma City and WTC attacks.

It's bad enough that the US government instituted policies of racial profiling, etc, but it's even worse when random strangers think "Terrorist" whenever they see someone with dark skin. Shops and mosques being vandalized, people getting death threats, etc...

I sincerely hope the people over there act a bit more rationally than those over here and avoid the interpersonal terrorism of racism.

Lousy strikes

[(Anonymous)]

I think the terrorists failed this time in a certain sense, when the attacks were put into practice mainly underground, hidden from the vast groups.

I don't know, if this is too early cynicism, but was the Madrid strike 2003 or 2004? Will the London attacks be *emotionally* forgotten (by everybody else but the poor British people) even more soon than that?

Only the bus explosion offered in London some potential material for emotionally touching home-videos shot by soem coincidental passer-by, the material which was available in loads all during and after the WTC 9/11. An important factor for the internet era digital-media-web-people globally.

No lots of home-video footage in the web; no unforgettable quality in the long run.

From far-away,
East

Hmmm

[cap-scaleman.livejournal.com]

Atleast we can't forget that England and the US can blame either "Left-wing extremists and/or green politics extremists" because it all happend close to the date of the G8 meeting.

Not that there is big possibility that it would exists extremists of those kinds doing this. But then there is a possibility that they would blame "those kinds of people" and make the middle-classers believe even more in the "truth" that if the left-wings or the greenies get the power chaos will will emerge.

the power of nightmares

[dr--ben.livejournal.com]

isn't "al qaeda" a bit too easy for the dynamic allegiances and widespread discontent about our behaviour on the global stage?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/3755686.stm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,12780,1327904,00.html

Re: the power of nightmares

[(Anonymous)]

From the link you've provided:
"In a new series, the Power of Nightmares explores how the idea that we are threatened by a hidden and organised terrorist network is an illusion."

Was what happened "real" enough for you or is it an "illusion"?

[depechenick.livejournal.com]

London going to work is rational, but these attacks are rational too.

a small but crucial difference: terrorists kill innocent men, women and children on purpose.

[(Anonymous)]

"London going to work is rational, but these attacks are rational too."

I was at Liverpool Street. Missed the bomb by one train. My first thought was someone did themselves a good job.


Rob.