London

We're getting the same news as everyone else so not much point in posting about actual events. Instead some relevant previous posts:

1. Selective interpretation of claims of responsibility -- the case of Abu Hafs al-Masri [Brigades, that is, not to be confused with the similar-sounding Abu Hamza al-Masri, the loony cleric, who like the Brigades, is nicknamed for his nationality, Egyptian].

2. Flypaper

3. Terrorism as an "Epiphany"

4. Madrid.

UPDATE: Our first note of what will be many entries in the annals of reactionary idiocy: Christopher Hitchens, who can't get his facts right:

Looking for possible timings or pretexts, one of course comes up against the meeting of the G8 powers in Edinburgh and perhaps the imminent British spot in the rotating chair of the European Union.

Imminent? It already is.

2ND UPDATE: Send in the buffoons -- Rummy shows the poor adaptability of rhetoric across borders:

Statement by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld on London Bombings

... Before long, I suspect that those responsible for these acts will encounter British steel. Their kind of steel has an uncommon strength. It does not bend or break.

The problem is that for many people, mention of "British Steel" invokes two things: Judas Priest, or the bad old days of British industrial collapse.

UPDATE 10 JULY: Our item #1 above has increased in relevance; the Brigades have now claimed responsibility for the bombing. And UPDATE 20 JULY: The Brigades issue a threat -- one month for UK, Italy and Denmark to withdraw from Iraq or further attacks will take place.