News London Bridge incident.

[Notebook]

Report of people stabbed and shots fired at London Bridge this afternoon.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-50604781

This was the scene of a major incident two years ago.

 

[Urwumpe]

Report of people stabbed and shots fired at London Bridge this afternoon.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-50604781

This was the scene of a major incident two years ago.

I just wanted to ask after reading the title: Again?


Well, we should feel lucky that this is the best plan that the terrorists came up with then: Sending out the first suicidal jerk they can find.

 

[Notebook]

indeed, though it doesn't seem two years ago.

Might be a lone-wolf action. Looks now as if members of the public struggled with him before armed police arrived.

You get a lot of tourists on London Bridge, gives the best view of Tower Bridge and HMS Belfast is moored near.

 

[Marijn]

And also a stabbing at random people in The Hague tonight. Wasn't the first time neither. These are not lone wolfs. That term makes me sick. This is organized murder.

Edit: random should be between quotes.

 

[Urwumpe]

And also a stabbing at random people in The Hague tonight. Wasn't the first time neither. These are not lone wolfs. Tha term makes me sick. This is organized murder.

Not sure. Too often, those attackers really never received orders. They are self-organized.



But still there seem to be people who decide the targets in private chat groups without ever really getting their hands dirty, leaving it to others to spread the word in the public chat groups.

 

[Notebook]

Two people killed and the perpetrator.

There were reports earlier of a man with a knife at a nearby Tube station.
Looks like he started there and was chased by members of the public.

 

[Urwumpe]

Two people killed and the perpetrator.

Two people too much. Anything known about the attacker yet? Known psychological issues? Many of those had been in therapy before, looks like all the extremists try to recruit those for doing the dirty work for them.

 

[Notebook]

Attack began in building holding criminal justice event
The BBC has spoken to witnesses who were inside the building next to London Bridge in which some of the attack took place.
The witnesses, who wished to remain anonymous, say they were at a criminal justice event in the Fishmongers’ Hall - on the north side of the river - attended by dozens of people, including students from Cambridge University and former prisoners.

Latest on the news. Could be ex-offender, grudge?

Fishmongers' Hall wouldn't be a market. Probably a meeting place for one of the old guilds of London.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishmongers'_Hall

 

[Urwumpe]

Yeah, an old guild hall. I once dined in a similar place in Ulm, though far less classicistic architecture there.

The failed attack at Limburg also happened near a justice building, the attacker ran into a group of police cadets training nearby after hijacking a truck and finding out that modern trucks have an automatic collision avoidance system. That one had also a long history of psychological issues and drug abuse.

 

[Notebook]

If the attack started there, I don't think it is random. I'm not sure what a criminal justice event is? A discussion, conference, presentation. Judging by the audience the hall was just a venue. Most folk wouldn't know about it.

 

[Notebook]

Murderer is now known as a released terrorist offender.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-50610215

As you can imagine his release on licence is being debated now.

One witness described how a man at the event at Fishmongers' Hall grabbed a narwhal tusk - a long white horn that protrudes from the whale - that was on the wall, and went outside to confront the attacker.

.
Good for him. Could be the first terrorist to be harpooned

 

[Urwumpe]

Good for him. Could be the first terrorist to be harpooned

You know that Vikings used to sell those horns to the Englishmen as "unicorn horns" and "unicorn horn artifacts", because they sold at a much higher price that way.

So, you could say, he was stabbed by a unicorn horn. :lol:

 

[Notebook]

The Vikings had a wicked sense of humour.

 

[Linguofreak]

You know that Vikings used to sell those horns to the Englishmen as "unicorn horns" and "unicorn horn artifacts", because they sold at a much higher price that way.

So, you could say, he was stabbed by a unicorn horn. :lol:

Well, I mean, the narwhal is basically a mer-unicorn.

 

[jgrillo2002]

I cant even state my thoughts on this without getting risked of being censored or banned from here.

 

[Notebook]

I didn't know about the automatic early release after half the sentence is served.
Can understand it for non-violent crimes.
Why it would apply to violent crime especially terrorism where the intention is to cause as much death and destruction as possible, is beyond me.

 

[tl8]

I didn't know about the automatic early release after half the sentence is served.
Can understand it for non-violent crimes.
Why it would apply to violent crime especially terrorism where the intention is to cause as much death and destruction as possible, is beyond me.

I keep hearing that one of the people (on the good guys side) involved was also out on day release. If true, a really interesting set up.

 

[Notebook]

In the news here, it seems quite a few offenders were attending the seminar.
Sadly the man killed was trying to help them.

A law and criminology graduate, Mr Merritt was a course coordinator for the University of Cambridge's prison rehabilitation programme.
The project, Learning Together, gives students and inmates the opportunity to study together, to help reduce re-offending - something Mr Merritt had a "deep commitment to", according to people who worked with him.

Tragic isn't enough to describe it.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-50617991

 

[Linguofreak]

I didn't know about the automatic early release after half the sentence is served.
Can understand it for non-violent crimes.
Why it would apply to violent crime especially terrorism where the intention is to cause as much death and destruction as possible, is beyond me.

Well, I'm not sure "terrorism" should really be a separate offense. But your point stands for premeditated murder, or attempted murder, or conspiracy to commit murder, at least one of which terrorism generally involves.

As far as prison sentences and early release go, I knew a guy once that had grown up going to a Catholic school, and said that when given a choice between corporal punishment and detention, he always chose the former. And what I've heard about what long prison sentences tend to do to people isn't pretty. It really makes me wonder if the popular view in the West that prison time is a humane alternative to corporal punishment, or even that a life sentence is more humane than capital punishment, really holds water. Sure, people like you and me that probably won't ever face either tend to think prison is the more humane alternative, but I wonder if a survey of prison inmates would bear that out.

 

[Notebook]

I think the UK has the highest prison population in Europe so there is pressure to keep sentences short.
Also, the Prison Service like most of the Public Services here has had real value cuts to their budgets
Result, more violence in prisons, more riots, difficulty in recruiting.
With a General Election in less than two week you can imagine what the political parties are doing with this.

I didn't mean to imply I think terrorism should be a separate offence to murder. I don't.

Here there are various laws relating to terrorist "actions". Seems to be a catch-all especially regarding planning and preparation.