London Bombs

[Lafleur]

[QUOTE=Raiyuu][font=Trebuchet MS]All evidence points to these attacks having been perpetrated by an entirely different cell of bombers to those of two weeks ago. And I'm fairly sure they [b]were [/b]idiots, or their bombs would have actually done some damage, instead of frightening a few grannies and blowing holes in their own backpacks. Not a single one of the four bombs detonated properly, only the detonators went off, without igniting the main body of explosive as is the intention; this suggests these new bombers were pretty incompetent.

[font=Trebuchet MS][color=black]I wish they thought like that. I could deal with terrorists [b]not [/b]killing people every two weeks. The fact is that terrorists believe killing innocents [b]is [/b]the only way to gain attention.

[/color][/font][/color][font=Trebuchet MS][/color]
[font=Trebuchet MS] Whatever they may have been trying to proclaim, all they've managed this time is to disrupt the tube network, dump their failures of bombs for the police to examine at their leisure, and get the whole country chuckling with relief at their puny efforts.
[/font][/QUOTE]
[COLOR=DarkRed]
Come now, it doesn't take Einstien to stick primer cord into explosives. Don't you think it's a little convenient that not ONE bomb went off? I don't think examining the bombs will make a difference, bombs aren't that complex, especially the simple ones used by the Terrorists (Basically just primer cord and plastics)[/COLOR]

[Lord Dante]

They caught and Shot dead one of the suspected bombers (second bombing) today, scotland yard confirmed this on BBc news 24.

Tube drivers are now complaining that their job isn't safe, and so are petitioning for a pay rise, personally i think that that is in very bad taste, all things considered.

[Roxie Faye]

[QUOTE=Sage]Well that was a cruel thing to say, Roxie! Don't tell me you're one of those "France is against freedom, they don't approve us bombing Middle East into ruins!! They must die like their Muslim pals!!" -type of people! I can't believe it of you... :(

Of course the extremists bomb England and USA instead of France, because those two are the most influential countries involved in this whole lunatic "Anti-terrorist war"!

Anyway, it's very sad that you Americans hate French only because they don't agree with you. FYI, most Finnish people don't agree with this war either. War has never solved anything in the entire history of mankind. It only spreads hatred and ill will.

You should think more about what you say, Roxie, because with your comment you might've just made somebody feel even more against you Americans.[/QUOTE]
[color=#9933ff]...? ..........? .......................?

Chill. Don't assume things, because we all know that just makes an *** out of you and me.

When did I ever say that in my post? Why the heck are you even drawing that conclusion? I think carefully about a lot of the things I say, and the only way for it to offend someone properly is if they're running off with it and taking it the wrong way.

I don't like France because they're a bunch of idiots, and arrogant jerks, that have absolutely nothing good except maybe fashion. Of course, we're arrogant jerks, but the last time I checked, we had one of the best armies in the world. The last time France achieved greatness was under the rule of a short army man, Napoelon, which happened after chaos in which the bastille got stormed by people demanding lower prices for bread, and the guillotine that chopped everyone's head off.

I don't hate France solely because they didn't support us in the war (if it was another country, they wouldn't support them, either, because they're jerkfaces). They do other things that annoy the hell out of me. How about being the only ones not approving the EU charter? They're too nationalistic and proud - moreso than we are.

I mean, if you walk into a place where you [i]know[/i] they speak English in Paris, because maybe your french sucks, they will purposely speak in French, and pretend they don't know English. I mean, at least in America, we'll try to help you out, or if you're buying something in a store, we'll get you a salesperson that speaks Spanish (there's a lot of cubans, mexicans, latinos, etc. in America).

I don't feel I owe anything to France for saving our ***** in the American Revolution. Nothing. They did it to get back at England (countries that are always feuding - not to be mean, but it's rather funny to see all their tiffs in history. "Oh look, there's another France/England war!"), plain and simple.

I hate France as a country and as a government, and the first experience I had with someone who was French was rather iffy. (She was my Spanish teacher. I learned a lot from her, but she gave me detention because I didn't do my homework - once!) Everyone else that I've met who's french? Didn't speak, so they were very nice. ^_^

Long story short: I hate France as a nation because they're arrogant, they're prissies, and they just annoy the hell out of me. You don't even understand how hard I've tried, in the past, to come up with redeeming qualities for France, and every time I've come up empty handed. Then I try and like them, and they do something to just piss me off to no end, so I've come to terms with the fact that I hate them. Don't assume it's just because they don't agree with Americans - in fact don't EVER put me in that category. Why? Because assuming makes an *** out of you and me. ;)


[quote name='Zidargh']Regarding NYC's random checks, I don't understand how that's going to work. Why not search people who resemble the suspects rather than a kid with a Japanese, yellow bum-bag?[/quote]
Me neither. Nothing in America ever works. Really. Our airport security is craptastical, and was, even after 9/11. I doubt anything is going to really happen. :/


In other news, I was typing up that long France rebuttal when my dad called. He said that there was some sketchy looking guy on the underground. And he was wearing a lot more clothes than people do, in July. The police were chasing him around the underground. Now obviously he may have had a bomb, so when that's the case, you try and shoot at the head, and not the body. They finally caught up to him, pinned him down, and THEN put five bullets in his head. Whether or not he had a bomb remains to be a mystery.

Of course, details are currently unfolding, so my story may be completely wrong except for there being a man on the underground. lol. [/color]

[Dagger]

[quote name='MistressRoxie][color=#9933ff]I mean, if you walk into a place where you [i]know[/i'] they speak English in Paris, because maybe your french sucks, they will purposely speak in French, and pretend they don't know English. I mean, at least in America, we'll try to help you out, or if you're buying something in a store, we'll get you a salesperson that speaks Spanish (there's a lot of cubans, mexicans, latinos, etc. in America).[/color][/quote]
Not to go on a huge crazy topic drift here, but my experience was completely different. When I stayed in Paris I had a hell of a time trying to practice my (rather poor) French, because virtually every time I talked to someone, he would immediately switch to impeccable English. Of course I'm sure the opposite tends to happen in some places, as well.

You have to realize that judging an [i]entire country[/i] off of a) your personal experience (unless you lived in France for, like, two or three years, in which case I suppose I'll have to back down), b) the news or c) other types of second-hand stories is really pretty silly. You're showing the same kind of attitude demonstrated by certain Europeans when they brazenly assert that all Americans are gun-toting, Bible-thumping hicks. (Not to imply that there's anything inherently wrong with either toting guns or thumping Bibles, but those are subjects for a different thread.)

I don't quite get where you were going with the paragraph about having met nice French people or whatever, haha. I could just as easily say, "Oh, I've met some nice Japanese people, but as a nation they're a bunch of racist wimps and I hate them." See? It doesn't exactly follow.

[b]Zidargh[/b]: This is just a guess, but the random checks may have been instituted so that people wouldn't complain about racial profiling or whatever.

~Dagger~

[Retribution]

[quote name='Sage']Anyway, it's very sad that you Americans hate French only because they don't agree with you. FYI, most Finnish people don't agree with this war either. War has never solved anything in the entire history of mankind. It only spreads hatred and ill will.[/quote]
[SIZE=1]Just thought I'd chime in real quick -- [i]us[/i] Americans don't hate France. [i]Some[/i] Americans hate France, just as [i]some[/i] people hate [i]some[/i] other people. Generalization is never a smart route to take.

And that group of Americans who hate France, hate France because they got completely decimated in WWII, even with England's help. The rift just gets deeper with all this current jazz.[/SIZE]

[Lafleur]

[QUOTE=Retribution][SIZE=1]Just thought I'd chime in real quick -- [i]us[/i] Americans don't hate France. [i]Some[/i] Americans hate France, just as [i]some[/i] people hate [i]some[/i] other people. Generalization is never a smart route to take.

And that group of Americans who hate France, hate France because they got completely decimated in WWII, even with England's help. The rift just gets deeper with all this current jazz.[/SIZE][/QUOTE]
[COLOR=DarkRed]
So did the Swedes, the Danes, the Polish, and the Swiss just let the Germans walk right through their country... Besides, the French held off the entire German onsluaght during WWI without losing much ground, I dont get why people diss them more than the Swedes... Than again, the Swedes DID stand and fight whereas the French just looted Paris and ran for the coast... I stand corrected...

But it is true, the US (A generalization) have a tendancy to have a mob mentality againts a country just because they dont agree or dont fight when asked (Which is, more or less, at gun point) or somtimes they just hate other people for no reason at all (For example, I generalize, Canadians) and it is sad... The Muslim population is probably one of the worst sufferers from this mentality and my condolences go out to them.[/COLOR]

[Roxie Faye]

[quote name='Dagger']Not to go on a huge crazy topic drift here, but my experience was completely different. When I stayed in Paris I had a hell of a time trying to practice my (rather poor) French, because virtually every time I talked to someone, he would immediately switch to impeccable English. Of course I'm sure the opposite tends to happen in some places, as well. [/quote]
[color=#9933ff]Mmm, really? I don't think you're lying, but that is rather odd. My sister said they spoke French to her the whole time she was there. (She never took it in high school and had to rely on her friend to speak for her.) I can also remember one of my teachers telling me they went to Paris, once, and they had the same type of experience. Hmm...

[quote]You have to realize that judging an [i]entire country[/i] off of a) your personal experience (unless you lived in France for, like, two or three years, in which case I suppose I'll have to back down), b) the news or c) other types of second-hand stories is really pretty silly. You're showing the same kind of attitude demonstrated by certain Europeans when they brazenly assert that all Americans are gun-toting, Bible-thumping hicks. (Not to imply that there's anything inherently wrong with either toting guns or thumping Bibles, but those are subjects for a different thread.)

I don't quite get where you were going with the paragraph about having met nice French people or whatever, haha. I could just as easily say, "Oh, I've met some nice Japanese people, but as a nation they're a bunch of racist wimps and I hate them." See? It doesn't exactly follow.[/QUOTE]
Yes, well, I do think I rushed through that paragraph too quickly, and didn't express everything that I wanted to, correctly. What I meant to say was that I do not like France as a whole, and I don't like their government, and the things they do, but there are a ton of very nice individuals that are French. For example, we had French exchange students at our school. Some of them didn't talk at all, but others were very nice. =D

I don't think judging other countries by the news is pretty silly. lol. The news tells everything important that countries do, it defines their actions, and it makes history. If we didn't have the news to tell us what was going on, how would we learn anything about other countries?

And you know what? I judged France by their government and also as a whole (you know, democracy, people, what the majority thinks, going back to government...). I will judge my own country in that way, too - I really do think we are a bunch of self-centered idiots, and I think our government is crap right now too (actually, it's usually crap).

By the way, I never said France was racist ([quote]"Oh, I've met some nice Japanese people, but as a nation they're a bunch of racist wimps and I hate them."[/quote]), cause they're not. They're extremely nationalistic to the point where they surpass all the nationalistic pride of America, which is hard to beat, but they've done it, and it annoys me. America's nationalistic pride annoys me sometimes, too.

I'd also like to ask everyone (not just you) - did you skip over my paragraph where I've said that I've tried to like France a lot, and it just doesn't work out? They (meaning government) end up doing something to totally annoy me.

I can't believe that just because I say one thing, and I was half joking (well, I do hate France, but I know that the terrorists just wouldn't bomb them anyway - they don't have a reason to because France didn't support the war in Iraq), someone goes and assumes "Roxie hates them because they don't support America." *rolls eyes*

P.S.: I think I know why you're all jumping down my throats, so I'll try to clarify. I think what you hear when I say "I hate France" is that "OOOH I HATE EVERYONE, EVEN THAT PERSON OVER THERE THAT I'VE NEVER MET!!!" and [b]that[/b], aside from being completely absurd, isn't what I mean. What I mean, for any country, really, is that "I hate the policies of XXXX country, I don't like how their government acts, or how XXXX country acts on a world stage." Doesn't mean I still can't like people from that country.

[quote name='Ilium][COLOR=DarkRed']But it is true, the US (A generalization) have a tendancy to have a mob mentality againts a country just because they dont agree or dont fight when asked (Which is, more or less, at gun point) or somtimes they just hate other people for no reason at all (For example, I generalize, Canadians) and it is sad... The Muslim population is probably one of the worst sufferers from this mentality and my condolences go out to them.[/COLOR][/quote]
...What...the...heck? When is this true? And for what muslim countries? I honestly don't know where you're getting this from, and it makes no sense to me...

I also can't think of a country we hate for no reason. Canada? We more or less poke fun at them (WHICH IS SAD - STOP MAKING FUN OF CANADIANS CAUSE THEY'RE COOL! :O ), but we don't hate them. Um... who do we hate? Um... France (I've explained that quite thoroughly I think). Um... some places in the middle east because they were HARBORING TERRORISTS! Um... oh, and DPRK because Kim Jong Il is a whack job. No one else likes DPRK, either, though. [/color]

[Baron Samedi]

[size=1]So Roxie, you hate France because they come across as being a bunch of idiotic, arrogant jerks, who are incredibly nationalistic, and have a Government that routinely does things that annoy you.

Now, if they had the 'greatest army in the world', they'd be another country which I'm sure we all can think of.[/size]

[omegax]

I feel sorry for London right now, because they're being victoms. It's 09/11 all over again.

[ChemAngel]

i really don't know how this exactly got into a political discussion about nationalities but that isn't the real issue.

The real issue is that terrorist are attacking all type of countries all over the world. I just found out that they attacked an egyptian hotel the other day.

I don't care whether the terrorists are musilum, catholic, french, american, german, or any other race or nationality....THAT DOESN'T JUSTIFY KILLING INNOCENT PEOPLE!

The people of London were attacked, very hard. My belief is if you are harboring these people...who have attacked other people and have killed non-soldiers....i don't care WHAT NATIONALITY or RELIGION you are.....you are WRONG!

I'm American, and I love america. Granted we have our bad stuff...but so does EVERY OTHER COUNTRY. I don't believe in knocking down the French for choosing to not side with the americans (though...if france was hiding terrorist...THEN they would be in the wrong). They have every right to not want to participate. But on the same token...we AMERICANS have a right to hunt down the people that have done us misjustice.

now, do I agree with the methods in which they are doing it.....not necessarily. But there really is NO real good solution. It is a double edged blade.

People are so quick to criticize goverments (whether it'd be theirs or others) but none of those have been able to come up with a sensible solution.

[Roxie Faye]

[color=#9933ff]When the heck did I say we had the greatest army in the world, Baron? I said we had ONE of the best. We do - I'm not being a pompous jerk - it's a damn [b]fact[/b].

No - having a large army doesn't make us the greatest people in the world, either - it gives us more leverage than France, however. I mean, we have an army so we are able to wrongly push people around. France has nothing - and they still think they should be listened to. It's like the shrimpy nerd trying to be the bully - not working. (Oh god, don't even go on a tangent about nerds. I [b]am[/b] a nerdy weirdo so there.)

And I totally agree with Chem Angel - I think what she had to say was very valid, and very insightful.[/color]

[Baron Samedi]

[size=1]I was merely paraphrasing to prove a point Roxie. I know that you only said 'one of the best'. But the point remains.

Now, I'm sorry to play devil's advocate, especially with a case as delicate as this, but don't forget that one person's terrorist is another's freedom-fighter. I don't honestly believe that despite all the damage it causes, terrorism actually furthers anything on the side of the terrorists. However, you cannot say that they are evil monsters for doing what they do. They do it because they've been indoctrinated by extremists, who mistake the word of Islam for free leave to kill others. But these people are not monsters. They are people, but they're just on the other side of this particular war. The monsters are not those who have been mislead. The monsters are those who willingly mislead them.

It is typical to think of the other side in any war as being evil monsters, capable of horrendous acts. But don't ever assume it to be objectively true, and don't ever forget that they think the same things about [b]you[/b].[/size]

[Zidargh]

[QUOTE=Ilium][COLOR=DarkRed]
So did the Swedes, the Danes, the Polish, and the Swiss just let the Germans walk right through their country... Besides, the French held off the entire German onsluaght during WWI without losing much ground, I dont get why people diss them more than the Swedes... Than again, the Swedes DID stand and fight whereas the French just looted Paris and ran for the coast... I stand corrected...

[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

I thought Sweden and Switzerland stayed neutral throughout that of World War II, despite harbouring Allied POW's.

Anyway, back on topic, I'd like to know how people feel about the shooting of the man who supposedly had 'no links to the terrorist acts'. Either way, the man was a fool to ignore plain clothed policemen's orders in a state of high alert. What do you expect? Chances cannot be taken.

However, now it turns out the man had nothing to do with the bombings, it becomes a slightly different situation. But then again, I was very impressed with how sharp the policemen were. But once again, this brings the argument for how they executed the man. By pinning him to the floor and shooting five bullets in front of the public eye. Controversial?