major incident in London

isn't material girl in london? have we heard from her? i can't remember exactly where she was.

Tarah? Spendius and mathos?

8.56am - Between King's Cross and Russell Square stations

[..] "It was just horrendous; it was like a disaster movie. You can't imagine being somewhere like that - you just want to get out. I kept closing my eyes and thinking of outside. It was frightening because all the lights had gone out and we didn't hear anything from the driver, so we wondered how he was.

"Some people were very calm and were telling everybody not to panic, and after a few minutes we started to get messages that we would be unloaded from the back of the train and walked to safety. It took about 15 minutes to walk along the track to King's Cross." [..]

9.17am - Edgware Road station

[..] The blast blew through a wall onto another train on an adjoining platform and in total three trains were affected. [..] At that stage, somebody, a man I think, was blown out of the door of the train. He was under the carriages. Everything was black, and filled with smoke for a while. We were on the train for 20 minutes to half an hour before people came down the track and gradually escorted us to Edgware Road.

"It was terrifying. People were incredibly calm but very, very shocked. The screams from the guy who was under the train obviously made the whole incident so much worse." [..]

Inside the nearby Hilton Metropole, the entire reception and lounge bar was overrun with injured passengers. Shopping trolleys filled with medical supplies were parked near reception as a steady stream of people were treated. One man left the building with a bandage wrapped round his head and his shirt drenched in blood.

8.51am - Between Aldgate East and Liverpool Street stations

[..] One woman caught in the explosion said: "There were people there screaming out in agony. There were parts of the train all over the track."

Loyita Worley, 49, was on the train when the explosion went off in a nearby carriage and said the carriage that was hit was torn from "floor to ceiling". [..]

Initially it was thought that there had been separate incidents at the two stations as well as nearby Moorgate, before it became clear it happened in the tunnel between stations. The first reports said the explosion was caused by a power problem. [..]

Hospital officials said three double-decker buses loaded with casualties were brought to the Royal London. [..]

9.47am - Tavistock Place, near Russell Square

[..] Bob Mills, a producer for Sky News, said: "I was one of those who had to be evacuated, walking towards Russell Square, when, suddenly, there was a huge explosion on the street up in front of me and all I could see was the top of a bus completely destroyed.

"We all heard an explosion and everything just disappeared in front of me, and I'm looking at people with blood injuries and walking away from the scene." [..]

"People lying on the ground. Absolutely terrifying. People were just staggering off that bus in a complete state. One woman I spoke to said she could not hear anything any more, her partner was still on the bus." [..]

Walter, did you see my message about John <oldandknew>?

Who else was at the London gathering?

While expressing my sympathies for all Londoners and Brits everywhere, I left out what I was really thinking. My apologies for this belligerant US administration for further polarizing the world after 9/11.

I wonder if this might be a turning point in realizing how destructive and damaging our invasion of Iraq was, including the resulting, deadly repercussions. Perhaps now the rest of the world will decide to follow another path, one of solidarity and concern rather than invasion with a sort of manifest destiny in mind. They might actually forget the oil and help the people. Dream on.