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Blogcritics On London Terror Attacks

Three bomb blasts struck the London subway and one tore open a packed double-decker bus during the morning rush hour Thursday. Reports estimate at least 45 are dead and 1000 wounded.

Prime Minister Tony Blair called the terror attacks “barbaric” and said, “We shall prevail and they shall not.”

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.

German magazine Der Spiegel posted the text of the group’s claim on their website:

“Rejoice, community of Muslims. The heroic mujahedeens today conducted an attack in London. All of Great Britain is now shaken and shocked, in the north, the south, west and east. We’ve warned the British government and the British people time and again. We’ve kept our promise and have carried out a blessed military operation.

“We continue to warn the governments of Denmark and Italy and all other crusader governments. We demand that all countries pull their troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq.”

Shane Brighton, intelligence expert at the Royal United Services Institute for Defense, told Reuters, “If what we are looking at is a simultaneous bombing, and it does look like that, it would very certainly fit the classic al Qaeda methodology which centers precisely on that: multi-seated hits on transport and infrastructural targets.”

The attacks appear designed to coincide with the opening of the G-8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland. They also came a day after London won the bid to host the 2012 Olympics.

We will continue to cover the tragedy and its aftermath:

London bombings: the police tactics
Any time I walk through a Tube station these days I see at least four police officers (and sometimes more). What are they doing? They’re chatting, studying their nails, shifting from foot to foot, or simply looking bored and pissed…
Posted to Politics by Natalie Bennett on August 6, 2005 10:14 AM

Sources of Terror
The Times of London has an essay on the Sources of Terror that looks at the success in rounding up the bomb suspects of 7/21 and the laying down of arms by the IRA this week….One reason for the…
Posted to Politics by Aaman Lamba on July 31, 2005 12:45 AM

London Terrorists: Do they have the right Suspects?
It was a humiliating end for the London terrorist suspects. Would-be martyrs becoming humiliated flashers paraded in all their glory for the whole world to see. So much for going out of this world in a…
Posted to Politics by Blog Bloke on July 30, 2005 09:22 PM

Why can’t they admit the terrorist threat?
I have nothing personal against Natalie Bennett, but her latest entry is frightening given its disregard for the terror threat, which she has made clear that she thinks doesn’t exist and is the product purely of media hype. …
Posted to Politics by Mark Edward Manning on July 30, 2005 01:34 PM

Time to end the London bomb hysteria
I’ve been calling for the past three weeks for calm and commonsense over the London bombings. The fact is, whatever might have happened; however many scary photos of nail bombs might have been leaked by the American security services to…
Posted to Politics by Natalie Bennett on July 30, 2005 06:46 AM

Learning from the British Stoic Reaction
From THE VN/VO:Shortly after the July 7th attacks on London, I emailed an associate who works downtown in the British city. Half of the reason behind the email was to make sure that…
Posted to Culture by Christopher J Falvey on July 29, 2005 06:34 PM

New sign in the Underground (London)
From Reading Politics, Government & Law: I don’t know about you but where I live, those are the students going to college.
Posted to Politics by Jeliel on July 28, 2005 04:40 PM

Aussie Muslims do their part
Regarding terror, it is the job of all Muslims to root out the extremists in their midst. As a community, the onus is on them; they are being watched and though it sounds prejudicial, so be it – we are…
Posted to Politics by Mark Edward Manning on July 28, 2005 09:55 AM

Do not slay shoot-to-kill policy
LONDON, U.K. – As horrible as it was that an innocent man was shot dead at a London subway station last Friday, July 22, the police have maintained a shoot-to-kill policy.If the job of the police is to protect…
Posted to Politics by Mark Edward Manning on July 28, 2005 09:51 AM

RINGS OF STEEL
“Just like the image of the Luton four, like the frozen frame of Mohamed Atta, one of the 9/11 hijackers, as he strolls through the airport, we are confronted by the impossibility of divining evil intent. There is nothing in…
Posted to Culture by Kable on July 28, 2005 04:27 AM

Terrorism and Its Enemies – An Alliance of Civilizations
In the past, the more enlightened of us could comfort ourselves with the thought that poverty and social repression produce malcontents and terrorists. Unfulfilled aspirations of statehood were also considered as contributing factors. Even then, though, this was not entirely…
Posted to Politics by Aaman Lamba on July 27, 2005 03:43 PM (Score: 4)

RESERVOIR OF TEARS
Memo To: Jonathan Safran Foer. Subject: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. Jonathan. Your words made me cry. Last night. Dammit. You made me think again. Feel. Grieve. For a world So at odds with itself. Thought of human casualties. Endless walls of posters. Of strangers missing. And missed. Epitaphs lining London’s Tube. Where suicide bombers surf. On…
Posted to Books by Kable on July 27, 2005 11:46 AM

Journalists cover shooting victim Charles de Menezes’ family, but not the police
Talking with the friends and family of Charles de Menezes is a record of compelling history and so it is being recorded. The 23-year-old Brazilian shot by British police last week in an Underground subway car sent money to his family,…
Posted to Politics by Temple Stark on July 26, 2005 03:50 PM

Shoot To Kill Policy
Source: CNN Quick News As you all know, the British police shot and killed a person in the Subway they thought was a terrorist. Turns out this person was innocent and in no way connected to the terrorist bombing. England…
Posted to Politics by Mojoala on July 25, 2005 01:03 PM

Is Canada Next
While we play a waiting game with terrorists and in light of the recent attacks on England and Egypt, it makes me wonder if we are slated to be the next victims. For a time, Canadians believed that a…
Posted to Politics by Cher Gruener on July 25, 2005 11:03 AM

What About Egypt?
Nearly thirty years ago a leader of a country that had been at war for the previous thirty years took the courageous stand of extending his hand in peace. That he was Anwar Sadat of Egypt and the person he…
Posted to Politics by gypsyman on July 24, 2005 05:49 PM

London Being Awakened Like Israel
The time has come for us to realize that our individual and collective fates are bound to one another and that there is no escaping from our natural progression to the next phase of our development: spirituality. We can either
Posted to Culture by Josia Nakash on July 24, 2005 09:01 AM

“Attacks On UK Will Continue”
A popular and prominent cleric in London, Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed, warned that Muslims will continue to attack the capital until British troops are pulled out of Iraq and Afghanistan. He went on to condemn the killing of innocent…
Posted to Politics by HE!D! on July 23, 2005 08:18 PM

London police shoot wrong man; the downside
They tracked a man from his home, to an Underground train and shot him to death.
Posted to Culture by Temple Stark on July 23, 2005 02:44 PM

London attacks: facts
Much of the reporting about the terrorist attacks has been shown later to be total tosh …
Posted to Politics by Natalie Bennett on July 23, 2005 02:33 PM

Not Iraq? Blair Denies British Involvement Caused Attacks
It’s quite amazing how people can get up in public and say certain things with a straight face. Don’t they have people who tell them how ridiculous they sound? At the very least you’d think they would try not to…
Posted to Politics by gypsyman on July 23, 2005 07:30 AM

White House, DHS Spin Chertoff Comments Comparing Aviation, Mass Transit Needs
Yesterday’s attempted terrorist attack on London mass transit — coming just two weeks after a successful terrorist attack killed 50 — has once again raised the question of what the U.S. is doing to protect its mass transit systems. Rather than…
Posted to Politics by David R. Mark on July 22, 2005 11:45 PM

British Muslims
From here: YouGov sought to gauge the character of the Muslim community’s response to the events of July 7. As the figures in the chart show, 88 per cent of British Muslims clearly have no intention of trying to justify…
Posted to Politics by RJ on July 22, 2005 10:37 PM

Mammalian Biology, Demagogues, Fake Saviors and Real Danger
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and…
Posted to Politics by Al Barger on July 22, 2005 02:13 AM

London Stands Firm In Face of New Attacks
Another set of suicide bombers attempted to disrupt the London transportation system during today’s lunch rush – three bombs at tube stations and one on a bus – as reported by The London Telegraph. These four…
Posted to Politics by Dave Nalle on July 21, 2005 11:13 PM

London – Cottage Industry: “Homegrown Terror Suspects”
Terror is a cottage industry now, apparently.
Posted to Politics by Jude Nagurney Camwell on July 21, 2005 01:36 PM

london attacked again| weary & wary
London terror alerts My London is weary and wary; it has been exactly two weeks since the last terror attack on July 7th. Today, four detonating devices went off but the bombs attached made with a chemical compound did not go off…
Posted to Politics by Sadi Ranson-Polizzotti on July 21, 2005 12:00 PM

Breaking News…more attacks in London
There are reports of 4 more attacks in London. Three tube attacks and one incident on a bus. A nail bomb was used in one incident. No reports of injurty and the locations a bus in Hackney and tubes…
Posted to Politics by Marty Dodge on July 21, 2005 09:44 AM

A few minor pops in London
There have been a few minor pops in London, with no one hurt.
Posted to Politics by Natalie Bennett on July 21, 2005 09:23 AM

What Do the Terrorists Want?
Chatham House, a UK think tank, has just released a report on the London terrorist attacks. In this report, the authors decry Britain’s role in the War on Terror, saying,the UK government has been conducting counter-terrorism policy “shoulder…
Posted to Politics by Pete Blackwell on July 18, 2005 09:32 PM

Pew Poll Says Support For Bin Laden Is Down But Is No Reason To Gloat
It’s beginning to look like we’re making progress. The tide may be turning against the terrorists but there’s no reason to gloat. An encouraging survey reveals support for Osama bin Laden has dropped significantly in pivotal Muslim countries, while support…
Posted to Politics by Blog Bloke on July 16, 2005 04:54 PM

After London, Just As After Madrid, Our Republican Leaders Fail To Take Mass Transit Security Seriously
What will it take for our Republican leadership to increase spending on mass transit security?
Posted to Politics by David R. Mark on July 16, 2005 12:40 AM

Pew Study Finds Support for Terror Waning Among Muslims
Pew’s Global Attitudes Project has just released a new study called “Islamic Extremism: Common Concern for Muslim and Western Publics,” which finds that support for terror is waning among the sampled Muslim public, lending some objective support to those…
Posted to Politics by Eric Olsen on July 15, 2005 01:13 PM

Ya Get What Ya Pay For
The jihadists that bombed London last week were “radicalized” and recruited at a government-funded youth center. It was well-known as a hub of Islamic activity in Leeds. So the citizens of London got exactly what they paid for…
Posted to Politics by HE!D! on July 14, 2005 05:48 PM

Death by Stupicide
Home-Grown Terrorism: Call 1-800-TERROR and Free the Culture of Paranoia. Before the recent London bombings we thought we had all the answers covered. But today’s news reveals the plot has somewhat thickened. That nice clean-cut boy next door you watched grow…
Posted to Politics by Blog Bloke on July 14, 2005 02:45 PM

Queen – the band – Hails London Emergency Workers
Queen, the newly crowned all-time British album chart champs, had their concert scheduled for July 8 at London’s Hyde Park postponed a week by the terrorist attacks. New lead singer Paul Rodgers (Free, Bad Company) announced that the concert,…
Posted to Music by Eric Olsen on July 14, 2005 02:21 PM

Make Terrorism History
Via:
Posted to Politics by Marty Dodge on July 14, 2005 07:05 AM

Twenty-Seven Iraqis Murdered By Car Bomber
Are we all Iraqis today? Not surprisingly, Americans opened their hearts last week to our British friends in the wake of the barbaric attacks in London. We saw many expressions of support, but the most common was along the lines of…
Posted to Politics by Earvolution on July 13, 2005 12:01 PM

Why Do Attacks in London Matter More Than Ones in Baghdad?
Phillip Adams of The Australian has an article that raises a good point in the beginning: IT’S a quiet, ho-hum, run-of-the-mill day in Iraq. Just a few bombs will explode in Baghdad. Only a few dozen will be killed…
Posted to Politics by Art Green on July 13, 2005 08:50 AM

Kennedy Says Iraq War Fuels Terrorism
This, the image of the US occupation in Iraq so far. The image shocked the world, and no doubt fuelled hatred against our so called “civilised societies.” There…
Posted to Politics by Voice 1 on July 13, 2005 08:01 AM

UPN and WWE Under Attack For Terrorist Match
UPN and World Wrestling Entertainment are being attacked because of last week’s “Smackdown” episode where it showed WWE wrestler, the Undertaker, being the victim of a terrorist attack. It also just happened to be July 7th, the day of the…
Posted to Video by Jones Violet on July 12, 2005 03:31 PM

Review: Funding Evil
Funding Evil (How Terrorism is financed and how to stop it…) Ratchel Enrenfeld I can quite understand the claim on the front of this book that this is The Book the Saudis don’t want you to read. It’s pretty explosive stuff detailing how…
Posted to Books by Marty Dodge on July 12, 2005 09:53 AM

Are Blair and Bush Responsible For London Attacks?
Well, if you’re a far-leftist, you believe that they are behind the attacks. John Pilger writes an article from the group “TRUTHOUT,” named Lest We Forget; These Were Blair’s Bombs In all the coverage of last week’s bombing of London,…
Posted to Politics by Art Green on July 11, 2005 08:18 AM

FOX News and the London Attacks
John Gibson of the FOX News, the epitome of fair and balanced news, had this to say regarding the London terrorist bombings. Another Fox News host, John Gibson, said before the blasts that the International Olympic Committee “missed a golden opportunity”…
Posted to Politics by Fei on July 9, 2005 10:03 PM

Terror Interrupted in Birmingham
The entire city center in Birmingham has been evacuated and there are reports that the police have conducted controlled explosions. The evacuations were the result of “intelligence.” The controlled explosions suggest that it was not a false…
Posted to Politics by Justene Adamec on July 9, 2005 05:30 PM

Weekly BlogScan: Live from the London Blasts
When the purpose is to create terror, nothing works like having a mundane, every-day environment suddenly turn deadly. That’s what happened this week in London—in the midst of pleasure about the selection of the city for the 2012 Olympics, mayhem…
Posted to Culture by DrPat on July 9, 2005 02:43 PM

We need leaders who prevent terrorism, not cause it
There is a massive failure of leadership in the U.S. and U.K. When our people die, what we get from blowhards Bush and Blair is nothing but therapy, about how the terrorists hate our freedoms, and that we will stand…
Posted to Politics by Adam Ash on July 9, 2005 09:56 AM

In Wake of London Bombing, Senate Republicans May Take Rail Security Seriously
Of all people, it was Joe Scarborough who may have said it best. On the July 7 edition of MSNBC’s Scarborough Country, the conservative broadcaster said: “(U)nfortunately, friends, too many of us are not serious about this war on terror.” The Bush…
Posted to Politics by David R. Mark on July 9, 2005 03:31 AM

New Media Reporting From London
Over 50 people were killed and 700 injured on Thursday July 7, 2005 when four bomb explosions ripped through three subway trains and a double-decker bus in what appears to have been a coordinated terror attack during London’s morning rush…
Posted to Culture by Margaret Romao Toigo on July 8, 2005 06:53 PM

G8’s Perhaps Good, Not Great, Day
The G8 summit in Scotland is over. Hopes were high that the leaders of eight of the world’s most powerful nations would create significant, positive change in addressing major issues, including African poverty and climate change. The fact that there…
Posted to Politics by Natalie Davis on July 8, 2005 03:23 PM

London bombings leading to global cooperation?
Hearing about the bombings in London, almost immediatly after they happened, is not what one would like to start his/her day whith. Reading what is currently known and is still under investigation did point to some intresting thoughts. Inquiry so…
Posted to Politics by Floris Vermeir on July 8, 2005 12:27 PM

Terrorists Bomb London – RETALIATE!
Do I hear gloating? Sad to say, but yes, I’m pretty sure that’s what I hear. The wild, wild Left is full-swing into their “I told you so agenda” before the bodies are even cold. Those Islamic…
Posted to Politics by HE!D! on July 8, 2005 11:13 AM

Middle East Condemns The London Terror Attacks
I have nothing personal I can add to the terror attacks in London that would be significant. Suffice to say that for many people this matches the level of abhorrence reached during The World Trade Center attacks and Spain’s bombing….
Posted to Politics by Jeremy H. Bol on July 8, 2005 04:41 AM

The London bombings and the national mindset
here is Scotland Yard’s transcript of events, which gives a basic summary of what’s happened. Four separate explosions over the course of 45 minutes and 33 fatalities. I’ve heard figures as high as 50 fatalities. So, that’s it…
Posted to Politics by Leoniceno on July 8, 2005 01:23 AM

End the War on Terrorism
It is an error to confuse terrorism with war, despite the lethal means they share. According to General Schwartzcopf, war requires “killing people and breaking stuff.” But that is where the similarity between war and terrorism ends. Terrorism…
Posted to Politics by James D. Carmine PhD on July 7, 2005 11:51 PM

A plea for proportion
Before everyone runs around proclaiming that the world’s going to end, that we really have to have ID cards now, and abolish the civil liberties built up over centuries, can I just step back and point out the actual scale…
Posted to Politics by Natalie Bennett on July 7, 2005 10:24 PM

London Terror
Can Terrorism Defeat Terrorism? You can’t beat terrorism with shallow words of bravado or military reprisal. There, I’ve said it so it all you war mongers out there can…
Posted to Politics by Blog Bloke on July 7, 2005 10:15 PM

Infiltration
I have been trying to find time to write this review for over a week now. I have to get this done today after the bombings in London. This book is so pertinent to what happened it’s scary….
Posted to Books by Lennie on July 7, 2005 09:52 PM

Muslims respond to London bombings
A few uninformed people still claim, incredibly, that they have not seen any Islamic leaders condemn such attacks.
Posted to Politics by Victor Plenty on July 7, 2005 08:10 PM

war of the worlds?
Besides New York, London is probably the only other city in the world that can claim to be a contender for the title of “capital of the world”. London has this uncanny ability of being irrepressibly modern and yet steeped…
Posted to Politics by gsood on July 7, 2005 07:35 PM

A world under attack: My reaction to the London bombings
Since this morning, I’ve been trying wrap my mind around the events of the day. Moments before I found myself retiring to my bed to sleep away what to me was a bad day, I heard of the bombings in…
Posted to Politics by Regina Avalos on July 7, 2005 06:48 PM

London Eternal
Although I’m an American and live in Texas these days, I sometimes think I may always be a Londoner at heart. I lived there in the early 1970s and again for a bit in the 1980s…
Posted to Politics by Dave Nalle on July 7, 2005 04:46 PM

Terrorist Attacks, Shut Up Already
My parents are in London. I wrote that sentence in past tense first. Stupid me. My parents are in London and I have yet to know whether they are awesome, never better, great, fine, OK, bleh, or dead. It’s 13:10 Pacific Coast time…
Posted to Culture by Temple Stark on July 7, 2005 04:24 PM

London Calling: A Time for Peace
The world, for the most part, is in mourning for the horrific attacks that took place in London this morning. In…
Posted to Politics by Natalie Davis on July 7, 2005 04:18 PM

Freedom Is The Best Defence
Well another group of cowards has struck. Three bombs were exploded in the London rush hour killing at least 40 people on a double Decker bus, and in two underground stations. A terrorist group claiming affiliation with Al-Qaeda has…
Posted to Politics by gypsyman on July 7, 2005 04:18 PM

After Today’s Attack in London, A Prayer For Our Leaders
I don’t pray often. But I pray that our leaders will gain wisdom after today’s London bombings.
Posted to Politics by David R. Mark on July 7, 2005 02:41 PM

Al Qaeda Bomb London
Current reports number thirty seven confirmed fatalities.
Posted to Politics by Greg Smyth on July 7, 2005 02:23 PM

London Attacks – Evil Does Exist
Will there be a 3rd World Jihad and another Crusade? Or are we already in the midst of one now? Do the G8 nations represent a modern day “Round Table” of sorts as in King Arthur lore? The following article,…
Posted to Politics by Z.Z. Bachman on July 7, 2005 12:28 PM

“wear a normal face” | britain july 7th attack
This morning, July 7th in London was “A callous attack deliberately designed to kill and injure innocent members of the public.” as succinctly stated by Officer Brian Paddock of the British Metropolitan Police. This morning’s attack on the British Transit…
Posted to Politics by Sadi Ranson-Polizzotti on July 7, 2005

London
A day after the announcement of yesterday’s awarding of the Olympic hosting privilege for 2012, and in the shadow of the G8 Summit London has been rocked by a series of explosions. Dozens of injuries have already been…
Posted to Politics by theco on July 7, 2005 08:47 AM

Islamists hit London
Needless to say there is a lot of worry in this flat as both my flatmate and I have many friends (and for me bandmates) who work in the city. Our thoughts go out to all those with loved-ones and…
Posted to Politics by Marty Dodge on July 7, 2005 08:22 AM

London Is Exploding
Seven bombs sources say have exploded across the Tube in Central London.
Posted to Culture by sungoddess on July 7, 2005 07:46 AM

About Eric Olsen

Career media professional and serial entrepreneur Eric Olsen flung himself into the paranormal world in 2012, creating the America's Most Haunted brand and co-authoring the award-winning America's Most Haunted book, published by Berkley/Penguin in Sept, 2014. Olsen is co-host of the nationally syndicated broadcast and Internet radio talk show After Hours AM; his entertaining and informative America's Most Haunted website and social media outlets are must-reads: Twitter@amhaunted, Facebook.com/amhaunted, Pinterest America's Most Haunted. Olsen is also guitarist/singer for popular and wildly eclectic Cleveland cover band The Props.

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