I am truly sorry you had to endure that tragedy yesterday in London.
I sincerely hope the police and the rest of the investigators are able to find out who did this. I had the extreme pleasure of watching BBC Newsnight last night. C-Span broadcast it. Best source for the very best and balanced reporting is the BBC. And it reflects the mood of the UK too. Although you have several other news providers there, at times of crisis the majority in Britain seem to always turn to the Beeb.
Like the emergency services, the doctors, nurses and the public at large, the BBC did an outstanding job yesterday and is continuing that today.
The American media is to blame for the mentality of so many in the states. They spent the entire day in "analysis" and "conjecture" about something that had just happened. The police have no idea yet as to who committed this awful crime. Only the American media seem to know. The same way they analyzed the Oaklahoma City Bombing and came to the conclusion that it must have been the work of Islamic Fundamentalists.

John

Best wishes to all in London in these difficult and trying times.

I long for the day when innocent civilians EVERYWHERE in the world, be it London, Baghdad, New York, Madrid, Jerusalem, Medellin, Rizah, Mogadishu, Montenegro, Kandahar or East Timor can live their lives peacefully without having to worry about being blown to bits.

Don't forget the 350 wedding guests we wiped out in Afgahnistan.

"Don't forget the 350 wedding guests we wiped out in Afgahnistan."

Now why you gotta go there? Why do you have to act as if we attacked those wedding attendees out of hatred? We're in a war, and that was a big mistake, but it wasn't out of our arrogance. We didn't kill those people because we think our god tells us to kill anyone who isn't a Christian. C'mon, our brave men and women in the armed forces are human too. Don't you think that the people who 'organized' that bombing feel remorse? The thought they were getting terrorists that were killing our American troops, innocent Afgahni lives, but made a tragic mistake. COME ON! My family members and friends didn't sacrifice their lives in Afgahnistan and Iraq so that you can pounce on every mistake made and make it seem purposful, or out of a deep hatred. That's the terrorist's motive. Not ours.

Get a life man and have some respect. War isn't easy. Mistakes are made and sadly, lives are lost. I as an American mourn the wedding family's loss. And for those who killed Americans, I pray for them. I pray that they wake up and realize their mistakes, that they've been committing murder in the name of their religion. A prayer ain't much according to the 'world's' standards, but to me, a prayer is a whole lot. It's a start.

Don't forget the 350 wedding guests we wiped out in Afgahnistan.

Everyone who relies on the Internet (or forums like these) for information needs to be very careful these days. I invite everyone to do a search, using the Google News search facility, and use the search words

wedding Afghanistan killed

(you have to spell the name of the country correctly). You will not find any hits from the New York Times, the Washington Post, or any other paper you recognize. What you will find is (and I list these in the order listed by Google):

jihadunspun.com
Workers World
People's Daily Online, China
PakTribune.com, Pakistan

You get the idea.

Here's the link to the Google News search so you can check what I am saying:

Google Search

I then searched the NY Times and found its version of the story:

Afghans Link Civilian Deaths To U.S. Bomb

I have two points in posting these links:

1. Be very careful about what you choose to believe. Check the sources.

2. There is NO justification for the planned murder of innocent civilians. Even if you take at face value the obviously exaggerated reports (10x the actual casualty figure), what really did happen -- three years ago -- was an accident, in a war zone, and was prompted by reaction to ground fire aimed at the aircraft. By contrast, the London attacks were deliberate acts of mass murder. Obviously the people in each case are equally as dead, but the moral values behind each story are completely different. If you don't understand the difference, then, well ...

Don't let anyone tell you that this is my fault, or your fault, or the Brit's fault, or Tony Blair's fault, etc. Even in polite conversation, when someone makes these statements, it is time to, politely, point out that they are false -- or at least tremendously misleading -- and, ultimately, are exactly what the bastards that did this are trying to achieve: Break our society down from within by creating self-doubt, self-loathing, and alienation from the very values that make our society so wonderful.

Don't let it happen.

You know John, I heard about this story 3 years ago on the news, I think CNN, when they were heavily bashing America's war efforts. Thanks for the research. It ticks me off to see someone make a statement lashing out to our very own countrymen. Like it's cool to bash America. It's the 'hip' thang. What bothers me most is MH_Stevens put 'we' in his/her sentence. Mr/Ms/Mrs. Stevens, you have your freedom of speech. Remember that you can say what you say over the blood of honorable and brave people who died to make that possible. It's easier to side with those who are lashing out against America, than to stand with the very people whose been backing you up.

"There is NO justification for the planned murder of innocent civilians."

Check out www.iraqbodycount.org. According to compiled reports from established international media, at least 22,000 civilians have died as a result of the hell we've unleashed in Iraq.

Now check out: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3118262.stm. Even George W. Bush has been forced to deny any connection between Saddam Hussein and September 11th.
Then, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/vote_2005/issues/4481139.stm. The other justification for the Iraq war was to destroy the threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Evidence at the time was "thin," and no such weapons have ever been found. So, what exactly is our justification, now?

The point here isn't to bash the U.S. or its allies. Nor is it to make heroes of the criminals who bombed King's Cross. The point is that, from some perspectives, our deeds appear as horrible, and our motives as dubious, as those of our enemies. Therefore, we should not be surprised when they retaliate in kind. We will never see an end to these kinds of incidents until we all accept moral responsibility for our actions. Killing is wrong. Moses made "Thou Shalt Not Kill" the first commandment for a reason. If you're going to break that commandment, you better be sure you have pretty good reason.

"Moses made "Thou Shalt Not Kill" the first commandment for a reason."

ummm, sorry Brian, but God made that commandment, not Moses. He was just the messenger...

Good point tho. You go with your 'activist' bad self. I don't agree, but hey, you got your opinions and sources, and I'll respect that.

I don't want this to turn into a war debate. MH_Stevens made a comment that I feel was directed toward our men and women who are in the armed forces. And during a time like this when we're at war, that comment is not fair at all.

Thanks, bigsole. You go, yourself, and I respect that as well.

I don't really want to turn this into a war debate, either.

I just wanted to express my sadness and dismay at yet another example of insane, needless loss of life. I think all the dead, on all sides, deserve to be mourned.

I wish I could see a way out of this, but I'm deeply afraid we're stuck in a perpetual cycle of atrocity and atrocious retaliation. I'd love to find a ray of hope I could give to my 4-year old son, but, frankly, I don't see one right now.

The facts as I understood them... Iraq invaded Kuwait ...American forces along with its Allies freed Kuwait ..Then stopped, on condition sadam allowed weapons inspectors to make sure no Nuclear weapons were developed.. Sadam threw the inspectors out..and America and allies enforced UN Resolutions...What would happen if sadam had got hold of Nuclear weapons ? is that a risk the world could take ?

Actually, Saddam did not throw the weapons inspectors out. They were evacuated after the U.K. and U.S.announced that "diplomatic options were over," over the objections of chief weapons inspector, Hans Blix. Bombing began three days later, with no U.N. support. See:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/country_profiles/737483.stm

And, as cited above, the evidence for a restarted Iraqi nuclear weapons program was exceedingly thin.

Mark, Mark... Mark...
Let it go... just let it go...

Both sides got their views... and noone's gonna budge. Just come up with more articles and theories.

Hope all goes well with raising your family Brian. Got kids myself, and although we got different takes on world events, at least we got da kids as our common ground. It's all about their future.

Awww-riiigh!

The weapons Inspecters were thrown out in 1998 they returned later only to play a cat and Mouse game where they were constantly Hampered with sadam refusing to fully co-operate...My take on this is America with all its Technology didnt know whether he had Nuclear Weapons...Certainly there is a black market for nuclear weapons not least from russia who had plenty of surplus stock.. I recall a documentary where the reporters found a willing supplier ! Of course this is all conjecture and is not evidence That sadam had these weapons but neither does it prove he didnt...

The rules were clearly laid out after freeing kuwait ..The UN had resolutions in place that would allow sadam to carry on in peace.. He flouted the terms... There is little doubt that he would have tried to equip himself with weapons of mass destruction sooner or later he would suceed in getting rid of the weapons inspecters.. His non compliance meant there was a trade block in place even so he continued to flout UN Resolutions making his own people suffer .... He must have had reasons for this...

This was a Man who s Public image was to dress in a suit holding a shotgun... I dont think its worthwhile for me to list his crimes but they do go on a fair bit..This was someone in charge of a very large Country who could very easily have made nuclear weapons if left to his own devices..

My opinion is he would... That was the opinion of America and MANY OTHER Countries..

Whether the War was right Is not for me to Judge... Perhaps there may have been better ways of dealing with it... Of course his Human rights abuses made him a difficult person for governments to befriend although he would still probably have carried on developing WMDs even if they did...

Hi Bigsole

Actually I dont really have a view I fortunately dont have to be a judge in such awesome decisions..I try to understand how things happen..Bush takes a lot of stick as does Blair and I think Blair should face criminal proceedings after lying about iraq having WMDs ready to go in 45 Mins... Im also very uneasy about G8 And its potential for one person to rule the world We should all strive to be individuals and revel in our cultures and variety we can all bring to the world NOT become the Minions of a global leadership being led by industry..