Since my satire-meter is busted today (can’t really help it living in America) I’ll assume this was meant somewhat seriously. And note that it seems like a rather odd position to take given that the parliament also features a statue of Oliver Cromwell href=”http://www.london-gb.com/pictures/olly.html” rel=”nofollow”>http://www.london-gb.com/pictures/olly.html. I guess some will want to say that Cromwell was not a terrorist but a war leader, since he had an army, but personally I wouldn’t stop calling Osama a terrorist if he had an army the size of the Soviet Union’s.

->And though I am a foreigner, and a german one on top of that

->did you bomb my chip shop?

If you refer to the blitz: most likely not, as I was not even born then. And neither of my siblings, as they were in Hitlers KZ’s by then for being catholic and dissident.

did you bomb my chip shop?

“Sergeant Steve Betts of the British Transport police was one of the first rescuers to reach the Piccadilly line train between King’s Cross and Russell Square on Thursday. This is his harrowing account: . . . ”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/attackonlondon/story/0,16132,1524834,00.html

On terrorism, I think Confucius was about right:

Confucius Analects XV.23: Tzu-kung asked, saying, “Is there one world which may serve as a rule of practice for all one’s life?” The Master said, “Is not reciprocity such a word? What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.”
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/CHPHIL/ANALECTS.HTM

By this account, the Romans treated the daughters of Boudiccea shamefully after the death of Prasutagus, her husband.
http://www.thorthebarbarian.com/chronicles/April05/Barbarianmusings.htm

There is more than one type of bad thing in the world, so to get the most basic of understandings of it, you have to be prepared to use more than one word.

soru

Everything free and easy,
Do as you darn well pleasy,
Why don’t you make your way there
Go there, stay there.

Once you get down Lambeth way
Ev’ry ev’ning, ev’ry day,
You’ll find yourself
Doin’ the Lambeth Walk.

As I was born in Lambeth many decades back, this old musical hall song has a special personal resonance but its evident anarchic under- or overtones seems to reflect something that is historically distinctive about the character of Londoners, which perhaps helps to explain how John Wilkes became Lord Mayor of London in 1774:
http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/adw03/c-eight/people/wilkes.htm
http://www.steeljam.dircon.co.uk/lordmayorchrono.htm

Notice also in the second link the name of Richard Whittington, a country boy from Gloucester who came to London to seek his fortune and became Lord Mayor four times, twice in 1397, and then in 1406 and 1419. We still celebrate this in a perennial Christmas pantomime – Dick Whittington and his Cat – which says something about the age-old legend of London as an open city:
http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/MOLsite/learning/features_facts/viking_1.html

However, a challenging question: was Boudiccea a terrorist?

Boudiccea’s Revolt 61 AD

“Boudiccea and her husband headed the old tribe Iceni and they wanted to keep their culture when the Romans came. The Romans were not happy with those people and so they attacked the Iceni culture after Boudiccea’s husband had died. But Boudiccea rebelled with the help of her nation. The Romans made no differences when they fought against women. According to Dioderus of Sicily:

“’Among the Celts the women were nearly as tall as the men, whom they rival in courage …’ and by Ammiamus Marcellinus the Roman, ‘… in a fight anyone of them can resist several strangers at a time, with no other help than his wife, who is even more formidable.’

“With the help of the army of the Iceni and Trinovantes tribes, Boudiccea sacked the Roman cities of Camuldodunum, London and Verulaminum. Her army consisted of well trained warriors, common people and no doubt women. They used shields, spears knives and swords in their fights. Horses were also very important. But then the Romans attacked and defeated her army. Boudiccea committed suicide. But Gaul and Britain were never truly romanised. The Roman Empire disintegrated and the people of the land had not forgotten their heritage, and the land was once again a place of a golden Celtic age.”
http://www.uni-duisburg.de/SCHULEN/STG/Irland/Celts/Timetable..htm

The little worry about that historical take is that the Celts were not native inhabitants of Britain. In fact, Celts migrated to Britain to settle here. They didn’t build Stonehenge, which long preceded their arrival.
http://www.great-britain.co.uk/regions/southern-england/stonehenge.htm

It’s most likely a fake al-Qaeda statement.

Anyway, whoever wrote it must feel rather stupid now.

One more lesson why you should be careful with the “send it” button on the Internet…

I’m a german journalist who works in London. Having ceaselessly covered the going ons of this place, and having done so for the last some 60 hours, having seen how London deals with this atrocity, having felt the defiance, the stubbornness of London, I want to express my great admirance for all of you.
And though I am a foreigner, and a german one on top of that, it fills me with pride to be in London right now.

Let’s raise a virtual glass
To London!

Bertram Quadt, German Broadcasting

“The only thing we have to Fear, is Fear, Itself!
FDR, 1st Innagural Address, March 4th, 1933.

I was quoting from Disraeli’s novel: Tancred (1847)

One of the joys of being British is that parts of the media here, including the BBC, spend much time, space and energy to disputing the official claims of governments and we have periodic opportunities to vote our government out of power if we so choose.