Twitter is reporting something is going down on London Bridge:
BREAKING: 'Van hits pedestrians' on London Bridge. More to follow. pic.twitter.com/OY4jJMED47
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) June 3, 2017
by John Cole| 40 Comments
This post is in: War on Terror aka GSAVE®
Twitter is reporting something is going down on London Bridge:
BREAKING: 'Van hits pedestrians' on London Bridge. More to follow. pic.twitter.com/OY4jJMED47
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) June 3, 2017
Comments are closed.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
Jesus, not this shit again.
Villago Delenda Est
Or just a traffic accident?
efgoldman
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.): Who knows. But why not? It’s much easier to get a vehicle than it is to get a firearm, especially over there.
SiubhanDuinne
Oh god.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
MSNBC live coverage: Lots of sirens and police lights, most people walking very calmly away from the site, a few jogging, one guy drinking out of a can as he walks, another with one hand in his pocket, texting with the other
satby
I hope it just turns out to be a tragic, horrible accident and not some demented terrorist attack. And how fucked up is it to have to hope for that?
JPL
cbsnews.com has good coverage for those who don’t have cable, and want to stream the news.
SiubhanDuinne
Here’s a tweet from the London Metropolitan Police, 15-20 minutes ago.
“Our info must be accurate.” Can you imagine?
Mike J
When I lived in Southwark I walked over that bridge every day on my way to The City.
Mike J
@SiubhanDuinne:
And we know they won’t be sharing it with US intelligence agencies.
amygdala
BBC live coverage
trollhattan
“Lucky” is the wrong word but a BBC reporter happened to witness it.
Will opine going 50 makes it seem intentional.
PsiFighter37
@trollhattan: Going 50 in that part of town – definitely.
D58826
@trollhattan: Maybe or just dead drunk
JMG
It could well be terrorism. But it was also Saturday night in a city famous for binge drinking, so it could also be DUI.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@D58826: I had to turn off the TV, but they were starting to report the knife attacks were at a separate but nearby location. If that’s true, sounds like a two-person (at least) coordinated attack.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@D58826: Drunk on a Saturday night, unpossible.
M. Bouffant
@efgoldman: A single driver can do much more damage than a single shooter, too.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Or two entirely separate incidents.
Gravenstone
@efgoldman: Welcome to the new “normal”. Much easier to weaponize a vehicle. And bridges afford a very constrained target environment – very little opportunity to evade someone intent on mayhem.
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
@efgoldman: I know. I’m just sick of assholes killing random people. How many assholes have run people down on crowded streets in the last year or so? It seems to be the new thing.
goblue72
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.): This stuff seems to go in copycat waves. Back when the Libyans & Palestinians were the terrorists du jour, it was all about hijacking – airplanes and the occasional cruise ship.
efgoldman
@goblue72:
Oh, hell. Before that.
“Take this plane to Cuba” got to be a meme.
Achrachno
@Gravenstone: Perhaps the sidewalks need to be protected by rails or bollards. Might help.
SiubhanDuinne
@efgoldman:
I’m so old, I remember when the term “skyjacking” was coined (1961 AFAICT).
?BillinGlendaleCA
@efgoldman: That’s when they put in metal detectors.
randy khan
It’s terrible regardless of whether it was a drunk binge driver or someone intentionally trying to hurt people. It’s strange to be hoping for the former.
Luthe
There are now reports of stabbings at Borough Market and Vauxhall.
Aleta
David Beard @dabeard
Challenger to immigrant-baiting Iowa Republican Steve King drops out, citing death threats. Kim Weaver’s statement: (link: https://www.facebook.com/KimWeaverIA/)
. “Over the last several weeks, I have been evaluating personal circumstances along with the political climate regarding this campaign. After much deliberation, I have determined that the best decision for me is to withdraw my candidacy for the US House race in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District.
One consideration has been raised again by recent events at my home. Beginning during my 2016 campaign, I have received very alarming acts of intimidation, including death threats. While some may say enduring threats are just a part of running for office, my personal safety has increasingly become a concern.
…
Although I’m stepping down as a candidate, I still passionately support the defeat of Steve King. I will remain a part of the effort for a future candidate in this district, as well as help to elect a Democratic Governor and other Democrats across Iowa.
In this effort, the funds we raised will be distributed within the district to continue to oppose Steve King.
We’ve started a significant movement in this district, and it’s important to see that progress continue. I’ve said from the beginning that this isn’t about me–it’s about unseating Steve King and gaining real representation for the 4th District of Iowa.
I humbly ask for your support and understanding during this difficult time, as well as your continued support with the effort to unseat Steve King.”
Villago Delenda Est
@randy khan: The news media, in its endless efforts to do its real job, attract eyeballs that can be monetized, will hype this shit as much as possible.
Brachiator
@goblue72:
Apparently, ISIS and Al Quada are encouraging opportunistic improvised attacks using whatever is on hand. Intelligence and police work make it tougher for groups to get together and plan an attack. A so-called lone wolf attack is one of the remaining options available.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Brachiator: They’re also likely to take credit for them when they can.
SiubhanDuinne
Apparently the Trumpet is tweeting about the wonderfulness of his travel ban, in light of the London Bridge incidents. Have not seen them myself, just a glimpse of a CNN headline.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@SiubhanDuinne: Hair Furor is confused about where London is, thinks he knows what happens and who did it
mdblanche
Another Scott
@SiubhanDuinne: “We need the courts to give us back our rights. We need the Travel Ban as an extra level of safety!”
By “give us back our rights” he means “let me – The Great Donald – do whatever I want”, of course.
Funny how the “temporary” 90 – 120 day ban was need until “we know what the hell is going on”, but he’s still fighting/arguing/whining about it months later.
Have you figured out “what the hell is going on” yet, Donnie? No? Why not? It’s been 133 days, Donnie…
Clowns. Dangerous, incompetent clowns…
Grrr…
Of course he’s twittering about the tragedy in London, turning it into more butthurt that he’s suffered. It’s what he does.
Cheers,
Scott.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
This wouldn’t be happening if the US president used the words “radical islamic terrorism”.
oh wait….
Pat
Bollards could be used in every city street to prevent cars from running onto sidewalks to target pedestrians. U turns on bridges can also be prevented with better use of traffick controls. Why allow terrorists the opportunity to do the greatest harms in the first place. Second to defensive driving is defensive pedestrian-ing. None of our cities are organized to prevent hazards, by terrorists, or wayward drivers.
Another Scott
@Pat: And if you put them on all the bridges, then you need to put them on the sidewalks leading up to the bridges. And pretty soon you have them on every important sidewalk in the country…
And the money spent on bollards is money that isn’t spent on things that would make a bigger difference in the quality of life for more people.
We shouldn’t forget that this was carried out by 3 people (though apparently 12 others were arrested).
There’s only so much that can be done to protect crowds of people. Even something like turning every bridge into pedestrian-only traffic would just shift the target elsewhere while introducing other costs and issues. There will always be “soft targets”. If a country over-reacts in hardening the “last target” it just means that less thought is given to others which might be more disruptive.
Cheers,
Scott.