Mark Steyn: Mugged by reality?

Letter from Londonistan – Irwin M. Stelzer examines the British reaction to 7/7 and makes some intriguing compaisons with America’s response to 9/11 (via Galley Slaves)

Victor Davis Hanson: And Then They Came After Us – The subtitle sums it up nicely: “We’re at war. How about acting like it?”

Roberts will redefine ‘mainstream’ – Michael Barone makes a couple of predictions about John G. Roberts (via Instapundit)

Eyewitness report of the police shooting a suspected terrorist:

“It was no more than five yards away from where I was sitting as I saw it with my own eyes.”

He added: “As the man got on the train I looked at his face. He looked from left to right, but he basically looked like a cornered rabbit, like a cornered fox. He looked absolutely petrified.

“He sort of tripped but they were hotly pursuing him and couldn’t have been more than two or three feet behind him at this time. He half-tripped, was half-pushed to the floor.

“The policeman nearest to me had the black automatic pistol in his left hand, he held it down to the guy and unloaded five shots into him.”

Here’s another article with more eyewitness accounts of the incident.

More of the eyewitness account and details on the shooting from the BBC.

The BBC also has a story with eyewitness accounts from one of yesterday’s incidents. Police are also continuing the manhunt for the four would-be suicide bombers.

Captain Ed has more details and links.

UPDATE

The same group which claimed responsibility for the July 7 bombings has taken credit for the second attacks in London (via The Command Post).

Local coverage from a British Blogger (via Roger L. Simon)

UPDATE II

Michele Catalano has more details on a house search in London.

And here is a story from the Times Online with plenty of details about today’s events.

2005 Marine Corps Silver Dollar Unveiled – I want one of these, too! (Via Lorie Byrd)

Bloggers following the story of the latest bombings in London:

• James Joyner

• Stephen Taylor

• Damian Penny

• Paul at Wizbang

• Jon Henke at QandO

• La Shawn Barber

UPDATE

More: Jeff Quinton (links to other news sources), Captain’s Quarters, Tim Worstall (via Glenn Reynolds), The Counterterrorism Blog (via Michelle Malkin).

UPDATE II

Lorie Byrd describes John Howard’s reply to a reporter’s question about the speculation that this attack and the one two weeks ago were related to the Iraq War.

Until then I will just say that he told the reporter that the war on terror would be lost if we ever started deciding the foreign policies of our countries according to what terrorists dictated. He pointed out many of the terrorist attacks that had taken place prior to the action in Iraq. He specifically cited Australia’s action in East Timor which was given by bin Laden as the reason behind an earlier attack on Australians and asked it that meant they should not have intervened in East Timor. He said that the evidence showed that the action in Iraq was not the start of terrorist attacks and that questions like the reporter’s were not based on evidence, but on supposition. Howard reminded me of a wise old man patiently lecturing a child who had just asked an incredibly stupid question.

Here’s a direct link to the C-SPAN video of the press conference (requires RealPlayer). And here’s CNN video of the press conference (requires Windows Media Player).

The Anchoress links to this transcript of Howard’s remarks. Also read: Everything that came before Iraq War.

UPDATE III

Reid Stott has some thoughts on today’s events in London.

Background information from Hyscience (via Michelle Malkin) on the explosive used in the London bombs.

Charles Johnson links to a Times Online article, which quotes a terrorism expert speculating that the same terrorist cell is responsible for both London attacks. The article also details some speculation about the reason this attack was less succesful. Stephen Taylor also points to an AP story noting the differences in the two events.

Reports of what appear to be more mass transit terrorism in London, although details are very sketchy. Three London Underground stations have been evacuated as a result.

Three London Underground stations were evacuated at midday Thursday following reports of incidents, British Transport Police said. The Fire Brigade was investigating a report of smoke at one station.

Emergency services also were responding to a report of an incident on a bus in east London, police said.

A London Underground spokesman said there were no reports of casualties in the unspecified incidents.

“He said that a man was carrying a rucksack and the rucksack suddenly exploded. It was a minor explosion but enough to blow open the rucksack,” McCracken said.

“The man then made an exclamation as if something had gone wrong. At that point everyone rushed from the carriage.”

Services on the Victoria and Northern lines were suspended following reports of a number of incidents, the London Underground said.

UPDATE

• More from the Telegraph.

• The BBC is reporting one injury and that the police are not classifying the attacks as a major incident.

• MSNBC reports that a possible explosion may have occurred on a bus.

From what I am reading, it certainly sounds like something went wrong.

More on the incidents from the Guardian.

UPDATE II

Latest details from This Is London.

Update 16.50hrs: FOUR bombs were planted and at least two exploded on London transport early this afternoon. There are also unconfirmed reports that a bomber was cornered and arrested having fled into University College Hospital.

One person was injured in the attacks that were described by Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair as “smaller than before”, but still a “very serious incident”.

A nail bomb exploded on a Tube train at Warren Street, where eye witnesses reported seeing a young Asian man dump a rucksack and run from the scene.

A second bomb exploded on the top deck of the No.26 bus on Colombia Road in Bethnal Green, blowing out the windows.

Bombs were also planted at Oval and above ground at one of the Shepherds Bush stations, which were also evacuated and cordoned off.

Witnesses at Shepherds Bush reported a man had threatened to blow himself up before fleeing the scene.

Armed police and dogs were deployed at University College Hospital, near Warren Street.

Three armed offices were seen going into the hospital, and there have been unconfirmed reports of a man with wires protruding from his jacket being sought and arrested.

Two other men of Asian appearance were arrested in Whitehall, one near Downing Street, but police have not confirmed their involvement.

Thirty-six years ago today, Neil Armstrong uttered those famous words, as he became the first man to walk on the surface of the moon. To celebrate the anniversary of the Apollo XI lunar landing, here’s a QuickTime video of that historic moment. (An MPEG version is available, too.)

Rand Simberg has some thoughts on the past, present and future of space travel. He also mentions some other anniversaries that share this date.

James Doohan has been beamed up for the last time.

James Montgomery Doohan was born March 3, 1920, in Vancouver, British Columbia, youngest of four children of William Doohan, a pharmacist, veterinarian and dentist, and his wife Sarah. As he wrote in his autobiography, “Beam Me Up, Scotty,” his father was a drunk who made life miserable for his wife and children.

At 19, James escaped the turmoil at home by joining the Canadian army, becoming a lieutenant in artillery. He was among the Canadian forces that landed on Juno Beach on D-Day. “The sea was rough,” he recalled. “We were more afraid of drowning than the Germans.”

The Canadians crossed a minefield laid for tanks; the soldiers weren’t heavy enough to detonate the bombs. At 11:30 that night, he was machine-gunned, taking six hits: one that took off his middle right finger (he managed to hide the missing finger on screen), four in his leg and one in the chest. Fortunately the chest bullet was stopped by his silver cigarette case.

I never knew that he had fought in Normandy, much less, that he was wounded.

In a 1998 interview, Doohan was asked if he ever got tired of hearing the line “Beam me up, Scotty.”

“I’m not tired of it at all,” he replied. “Good gracious, it’s been said to me for just about 31 years. It’s been said to me at 70 miles an hour across four lanes on the freeway. I hear it from just about everybody. It’s been fun.”

It was fun for us, too.