Dream

I was travelling back to the UK by myself. Everything was normal about the getting onto the plane in the airport, presumeably in the USA, though the airport itself wasn't familiar to me. Infact it looked like one I had in a dream a while ago, not that it exists... or at least I've not visited it yet. I land in the UK, after what seemed a very fast flight, which I acknowledged in the dream. I said I must have slept most of the way. Not sure who I said this to. I may have made a phone call to my parents. I would assume I landed in London, but again the airport wasn't anything I recognised. I didn't have any checked luggage either. The airport seemed to lead into a shopping center, with out getting on any transport or having to go through customs. I went into a department store and I was on one of the upper floors. I resembelled a Marks & Spencers. I looked for the stairs/escalator down. When I did, I kept making my way down to the ground floor, 3 or 4 floors down from where I started. I came out in what looked like a more trendy mens clothes store, as if not part of the department store I had been making my way through. The floors and shelving was dark wood, with large windows on two sides. Outside, it looked like Leeds city center. The shop I'm now in does look like something you'd see in the Victoria Quarter, and I appeared to be opposite Leeds Market. I looked around for only a moment when I bumped into Lee! I was so much more surprised than he was me. I seemed to understand how much of a chance encounter this was, but he didn't, as if I was still living in the UK, but he said hi and asked how I was etc. He turned away to talk to the people following. There was Poll and Marshy. I think there was one or two more people but I don't remember their faces. It seemed like they had just finished work and met up. Lee and Poll were bickering. Lee wanted some jeans or something but he wasn't being quick enough about it and Poll wanted away. Marshy was just taking it in his stride and talked to me. When Lee was done we headed to a pub. Then I woke up.

I remember a dream from a while ago where I was in Leeds with the same people. The way I remember it, it seems to start where this mornings dream finished. We were following Poll who had arranged to meet some people in a bar, but we didn't know exactly where it was. We trapesed around and caught up with some people on the street we were meeting and eventually ended up in this strange seedy looking bar, that was just a non-descript doorwayfrom the front and you had to go up a flight of stairs to get to the bar... it was more reminisent of a working mans club. That's where that ended.

Help the UK Police

London Bombings Rumor-mill

During the London bombing and investigation coverage, there were many rumors reported, that were probably false, but there wasn't any follow up to confirm they were false. Common sense can answer some of them though.

7 July

One of the London bombers was taken as injured and is in hospital. Can't be true. Unless there was an accomplice, but CCTV footage doesn't suggest this.

The bomb on the bus was meant for a tube train too, but the bomber was caught up in the evacuation of the station he was in, Edgware Road I believe, and got on the bus. Sounds likely, though I've not heard confirmation of this that could maybe be obtained from CCTV footage, but it would be easy to disappear in the crowd.

The explosions were to form or have formed a holy cross across the Tube network. It's a bit tenuous to think this from where the explosions took place. The bombings seemed to be carried out at places that were optimal targets for destruction and disruption, so it maybe a coincidence of what pattern is formed across London. The bomb on the bus disrupts the holy cross shape, and the pattern is more of a 'T'. If the bomber had remained on a tube train, he would have had to have gone north from Kings Cross to form the cross. This doesn't look likely, given where he got on the bus.

21 July

The explosive materials were present at the locations but didn't detonate, due to malfunction or interruption. Pending.

The small explosions from the detonators were to let off a chemical. Guys in hasmat suits were seen entering Warren Street street. Probably just a cautionary measure, but it's a good point.

UPDATE: Hasmat unit confirmed there were no chemicals present at Warren Street Tube station.

Man detained in the Warren Street area by police which was caught on camera. Still waiting to see if he is anything to do with this.

Man taken away by armed units at one end of Downing Street. This was caught on camera. An armed policeman was shown aiming his gun at the suspect (off camera), then another policeman escorts the suspect away, into the view of the camera. Suspects shirt was undone, probably as a result of a search. Is this man connected to today's incidents? What was he doing very close to Downing Street, on his own?

University College Hospital in a state of lockdown because one suicide bomber is on the loose inside the building. Unconfirmed as to why the hospital is in lockdown.

A black rucksack was seen being thrown into a tube carriage or a man left a black ruck sack in a carriage then moved on into another one.

Suspicious package left on the pavement about 80 yards from St Albans.

One of more of the bombs found today contain nails i.e. a nail bomb.

The suspect that ran from Warren Street Tube station ran into University College Hospital because he was injured.

UPDATE: During a press conference, the Police Comissioner, Sir Ian Blair, said that the arrest at Downing Street and the chasing of someone into the Hospital were entirely unrelated events.

A bomb exploded in a rucksack on someones back.

Police are on the hunt for an unkown number of fugatives.

A man was chased down Totenham Court Road. Not related to todays incidents apprently.

What the 'Mericans say

Watching the 'Merican news coverage of the London bombings and the investigations and incidents since then, we've noticed a few things that maybe could have been said better, not at all...

Thursday, 7 July.
"People in London are used to this." Charles Gibson, ABC news, in reference to the bombings carried out by the IRA in the past. This is an astonishing thing to say. Londoners are probably used to rain or three busses arriving at once after waiting 45 minutes or paying £3 for a pint, but bombs?!? Who would be so balze to say they are used to bombings? I'm sure there are people in Bagdad that wouldn't even say that.
"'The Tube' is their name for the subway." ABC & Fox news. This was reiterated over and over and over... Not once was it referred to by it's propper name, 'The London Underground.'

Monday, 11 July.
"The raids happened in a community north of London, called 'Leeds'." Charles Gibson, ABC news, trying to explain to America that there are other places in England other than London. Leeds was also reffered to as a town, and less precisely as just West Yorkshire. 'Mericans have more likely heard of Yorkshire than Leeds though. We know what kind of areas of Leeds these raids took place in. Some of the neighbours of the raided houses were interviewed by the 'Merican news networks as they all had reporters out there. There was a young girl with a really broad Yorkshire accent, fully fitting the term 'Loiner' describing one of the suicide bombers; "He din't do noffin'. He just had a kid... that were it." She was the best character witness they could find? A couple of days later another local was featured. A woman who had looked like she had litterally been dragged through a hedge backwards before getting infront of the camera. She had various front teeth missing and they had to give subtitles to what she was saying! Very funny, from my point of view. God knows what 'Mericans thought when watching this representive of the British public. I don't feel too ashamed though, when watching the local news here, and a local or a neighbour is asked to comment on camera, they typically look like they have just stepped out of their trailer, wearing a string vest and a beaten old, oily, red baseball cap and have at least one of their chewing tobacco stained teeth missing. The men don't look too good either... =) I know living here that these people don't represent the population at large but it's easy to judge when you see someone on TV from somewhere you've never been.

Today, 21 July.
"People were rushing from one carriage to the next. Carriage is what they call a subway car." David Wright, ABC news.
"...There is a degree of certanty that there are other terrorist cells operating, or at least 'sleeping' as they would say here in Britain." David Wright, ABC news.
"Sky News has been very spot on with their coverage, as they say here in the UK." Fox News.

BBC vs. Fox News

Guest: Fox News analyst Michele Malkin
The Factor has criticized the BBC for refusing to use the word "terrorist," and some Factor guests have accused the BBC of treating Islamic terrorists with kid gloves. The network has now fired back - BBC executive Roger Mosey wrote that "the comments made on Fox News are beneath contempt." Mosey declined an invitation to appear, and Fox News analyst Michelle Malkin heaped more criticism on the BBC. "The BBC has a long history of having soft-peddled terrorism in the Middle East. And the London attacks have exposed them as an unfair, unbalanced, and unreliable journalistic enterprise." The Factor extended an open invitation to the BBC to appear, and again pledged to monitor the network. "I took the New York Times to task for calling Zarqawi a 'Jordanian fighter,' but the New York Times is not nearly as bad as the BBC." [BillOReilly.com: The O'Reilly Factor Flash]

Watching the O'Reilly Factor on Fox News, probably one of the better shows on there, I find that Bill O'Reilly is sometimes wise in his comments, but he's often an ass, despite being the voice of the 'people'. He's un-biased but seems to argue for the sake of it sometimes, often belittling his guests.

I do think the BBC is weird for not wanting to use the word 'terrorist' during its reporting of the London bombings, though I don't at all think the BBC is softening who these people are, the BBC just doesn't get over excited and use excentric expressions and opinions like Fox News does very well.

See also The BBC vs. America "...The Factor vowed to monitor and expose the BBC's biases. "We're going to take them on and watch what they do. So the BBC is going to come under our microscope, and we'll report accurately and fairly on how they report the situation." [BillOReilly.com: The O'Reilly Factor Flash]

Trafalgar Ancestors

Me. 200 years ago! [The National Archives | Trafalgar Ancestors]

2 minutes silence

I have just watched on BBC America and observed the 2 minutes silence in memory of the victims of last weeks London bombings. It was quite amazing and moving to see all the camera shots from around Brtiain showing people observe the silence, especially people walking or in their cars who had seemingly just stopped in their tracks, such as at Liverpool Street station and Pacadilly Circus. A camera shot was shown from Edgware Road too of similar scenes, but their appeared to be some ignorant, arogant or just plain dumb people who weaved between people observing the silence. This is perticularly rude in London, not to mention at one of the bomb sites. At the very least they should have stopped in respect of the people around them, there are very very few things that would demand them to keep moving during this time and disturb those, who this 2 minutes silence meant something.

London bombing victims remembered [BBC NEWS | UK]