UK - Gunshots fired outside houses of parliament in London. 22 Mar 2017

[CoolJ]

I am not sure if I am remember this right or not but wasnt there some sort of practice mock training in another terrorist attack right before the attack happened?

I think I recall in another attack that LE just happened to have some training going on either the day before or the day of even.

Cant remember which incident.

Maybe there is some sort of connection to cause terror in the face of people training to stop it.

Does anyone remember which one or the training it was in the other incident?

I could have sworn it was similar type thing about training or mock training and then terror happened.

Many of the major terror attacks / mass shootings had mock exercises in the days preceding:

9/11
Boston
San Bernardino
Sandy Hook
7/7
Aurora
Charleston Church Shooting
The French nightclub (the eagles of death metal concert)
Charlie Hebdo

Its another pattern we should all be noticing by now.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

One thing I notice from these incidents is just how magnificently ordinary civilians step up to the plate amidst all the horror. When every instinct must be to get the hell out of there, they stay around in great numbers and attempt to provide assistance or at least comfort.

I'm convinced, more than ever, that no child should leave education without gaining a first aid certificate.

 

[Inthedetails]

One thing I notice from these incidents is just how magnificently ordinary civilians step up to the plate amidst all the horror. When every instinct must be to get the hell out of there, they stay around in great numbers and attempt to provide assistance or at least comfort.

I'm convinced, more than ever, that no child should leave education without gaining a first aid certificate.

That stood out to me, too, when looking at the photos yesterday. No cowards in that group in London!

jmo

 

[CoverMeCagney]

The Queen has sent a message to the Met's Acting Commissioner Craig Mackey:

"Following the shocking events in Westminster, Prince Philip and I are sorry that we will not be able to open the New Scotland Yard building as planned today, for very understandable reasons. I look forward to visiting at a later date. My thoughts, prayers, and deepest sympathy are with all those who have been affected by yesterday's awful violence. I know I speak for everyone in expressing my enduring thanks and admiration for the members of the Metropolitan Police Service and all who work so selflessly to help and protect others."

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Many of the major terror attacks / mass shootings had mock exercises in the days preceding:

9/11
Boston
Sandy Hook
The French nightclub (the eagles of death metal concert)

Its another pattern we should all be noticing by now.

What we don't know, though, is how many such exercises were not quickly followed by an attack.

Here in the UK we've been holding massive exercises like those since the mid-1990s following the devastating IRA bombs in the City. Back in the 1980s I knew a woman who had been an A&E nurse in Belfast during the worst of the Troubles. She said the NHS had already been practising mass casualty responses for decades before, not only for terrorist attacks but for things like air and train crashes.

We've had a lot of time to develop work-rounds, not only official and corporate level but at an individual one. After the 2005 bombs, for example, many women working in the City found themselves having to unexpectedly walk miles home in stiletto shoes; now it's normal for them to carry a pair of flat shoes in their tote bag or keep a pair in a desk drawer for emergencies.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

That stood out to me, too, when looking at the photos yesterday. No cowards in that group in London!

There was a photo going around Twitter yesterday, retweeted in anger. It showed one of the casualties on the ground with people kneeling around the. In the foreground, walking past unconcernedly and fiddling with her mobile, was a Muslim woman in a hijab.

 

[Inthedetails]

The Queen has sent a message to the Met's Acting Commissioner Craig Mackey:

"Following the shocking events in Westminster, Prince Philip and I are sorry that we will not be able to open the New Scotland Yard building as planned today, for very understandable reasons. I look forward to visiting at a later date. My thoughts, prayers, and deepest sympathy are with all those who have been affected by yesterday's awful violence. I know I speak for everyone in expressing my enduring thanks and admiration for the members of the Metropolitan Police Service and all who work so selflessly to help and protect others."

What a lovely note by a leader - personable, kind, warm, well-written, with the undernote of "we carry on."

jmo

 

[Inthedetails]

There was a photo going around Twitter yesterday, retweeted in anger. It showed one of the casualties on the ground with people kneeling around the. In the foreground, walking past unconcernedly and fiddling with her mobile, was a Muslim woman in a hijab.

Perhaps she was texting her family to let them know she was okay. We have no idea what she was doing. JMO

 

[CoverMeCagney]

What a lovely note by a leader - personable, kind, warm, well-written, with the undernote of "we carry on."

jmo

I know, it almost feels like it should be signed off "Love, Liz xx"

 

[Elley Mae]

Can't link but dailymail has article, he had been investigated by MI5 was known to have ties to islamic extremists group. Also multipy arrest over night, not sure where that will lead. Jmo

 

[CoolJ]

What we don't know, though, is how many such exercises were not quickly followed by an attack.

Here in the UK we've been holding massive exercises like those since the mid-1990s following the devastating IRA bombs in the City. Back in the 1980s I knew a woman who had been an A&E nurse in Belfast during the worst of the Troubles. She said the NHS had already been practising mass casualty responses for decades before, not only for terrorist attacks but for things like air and train crashes.

We've had a lot of time to develop work-rounds, not only official and corporate level but at an individual one. After the 2005 bombs, for example, many women working in the City found themselves having to unexpectedly walk miles home in stiletto shoes; now it's normal for them to carry a pair of flat shoes in their tote bag or keep a pair in a desk drawer for emergencies.

There are probably hundreds or thousands of exercises not quickly followed by an attack. But unless there are mock terror exercises in all major cities on consistent and at least weekly basis, the coincidence of a training exercise happening in the days leading up to many major events needs to be brought to attention of everyone who doesn't seem to see the patterns.

It is a series of alarming coincidences played out over decades. I don't know what it means, but I sure am aware of it.


ETA - another thing to note is that these exercises don't just happen in the same cities as the proceeding events, they happen in the same vicinity.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

There's a Just Giving appeal to raise funds for the family of the police officer who was killed yesterday:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/keith-palmer

 

[CoverMeCagney]

There's a Just Giving appeal to raise funds for the family of the police officer who was killed yesterday:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/keith-palmer

Wow. £48,000 in just 4 hours.

EDIT, an hour later it's over £70,000

 

[AmyPond]

Apparently affluent background.

The Eiffel Tower turned off its lights Wednesday night to pay tribute to the victims of the London terror attack.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/03/23/eiffel-tower-paid-tribute-london-terror-attack-victims/99523160/



Just saw first closeup of car - he was going fast

i wonder if he lost control or was trying to crash in??

Um....he didn't lose control of the car. This was an attack. It was intentional.

The killer began his rampage at the south side of Westminster Bridge.

• One of his first victims was a blonde woman. She was seen lying on the ground with blood pouring from a head wound – and shock in her eyes.
• A few feet away another person lay on their back, surrounded by people trying to help.
• A man appeared to have either jumped or been thrown from the bridge, and had fallen to concrete steps about 18ft below. He lay motionless with a dark pool of blood around his head and his leg obviously broken.
• Moving along the bridge, a bald man lay on the white line between the bus lane and main carriageway, clutching his head.
• One of the most harrowing scenes was the sight of a woman’s legs poking out from under the wheel of a London double-decker bus. It appeared she was either struck by the terrorist or may have tried to dodge him, only to run into the path of the No 53.
• A few feet further along was a man on his back. His trainers were scattered nearby and his socks torn. He held one bloodied hand up in the air. A smartly dressed woman was crouched by his head, cradling him, bent over so her face was almost touching his.
• Then there was a shell-shocked person with curly hair, sitting up. Nearby on the pavement lay fragments of what looked like parts of the car, possibly the bumper.
• A little further along was a bearded man, wearing a black blazer, lying on his back with his face smeared with blood. He was surrounded by passers-by, one of whom appeared to be taking his pulse.
• A woman in long black boots was next, lying on her back as people tried to help her.
• The last victim on the bridge, on the Palace of Westminster side, appeared to be a man who was receiving urgent treatment from paramedics administering oxygen and inserting a drip into his arm.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...indness-Westminster-Bridge.html#ixzz4c9BrmZzO

There were also 3 policeman hit and 3 French schoolchildren. I hope all those that are injured make a full recovery and the death toll does not increase.

RIP Keith Palmer, 48, police officer just doing his job
RIP Aysha Frade, 43, on her way to pick to her kids up from school

I believe the two I put in bold are the two from the bridge area who are deceased. I saw an overhead photo where the man at the bottom of the steps was covered with a sheet. And a photo of the woman under the bus with no one tending to her at all.

Heartbreaking.

 

[AmyPond]

8 people have been arrested after overnight raids. But they are saying this man acted alone.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/uk-parliament-shots-fired_us_58d28ea0e4b02d33b7477c2d

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Um....he didn't lose control of the car. This was an attack. It was intentional.



I believe the two I put in bold are the two from the bridge area who are deceased. I saw an overhead photo where the man at the bottom of the steps was covered with a sheet. And a photo of the woman under the bus with no one tending to her at all.

Heartbreaking.

Yes, both of those people died. I hope the newspapers have removed those photographs.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

There are probably hundreds or thousands of exercises not quickly followed by an attack. But unless there are mock terror exercises in all major cities on consistent and at least weekly basis, the coincidence of a training exercise happening in the days leading up to many major events needs to be brought to attention of everyone who doesn't seem to see the patterns.

Or it could simply mean that public and corporate bodies are getting their war gaming right. If you want to cause maximum disruption on the Tube, there are stretches of line that will cause most chaos, and you test for the worst case scenario. Terrorists are out to create the worst case scenario.

It's the same with the motorway network. A couple of years ago, a man undergoing a mental health crisis stood on a bridge over the M42 near Bromsgrove and brought the local road and motorway network to a near tandstill for more than 24 hours until he was finally talked down by the police and ambulance staff. This has happened on other stretches of motorway around the country from Kent to Glasgow. It struck me at the time that half a dozen terrorists doing the same, simultaneously or staggered, at strategic points on the motorway network could bring it to a complete halt.

The thing is that all large companies in the UK will carry out business continuity, crisis management and disaster recovery exercises of various sizes and using various scenarios several times a year. Major charities do them. All emergency services do them. There are probably half a dozen going on every day somewhere in the UK. How do we respond to a bomb going off 100 yards away and not having access to a building for a week or more? Can we guarantee that our DR plan works seemlessly if the HQ burns down overnight? Does the battle box have everything we need to pick the business up at the DR recovery site? Can we switch seamlessly from our normal servers to the backup servers without losing data or functionality?

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Wow. £48,000 in just 4 hours.

£55k now. It will reach its target by tonight, I'm sure.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Perhaps she was texting her family to let them know she was okay. We have no idea what she was doing. JMO

That's obviously possible, but as a snapshot it did look insensitive.

 

[guruagain]

Breaking News
A man has apparently tried to drive through a crowd in Belgium.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/23/belgian-police-arrest-man-trying-drive-crowd-antwerp/