Tube shooting

In relation to this debate, someone has said to me something to the effect of “what about innocent until proven guilty”? My response is that “innocent until proven guilty” has nothing to do with it. According to the law, one is entitled to use such force as is reasonable in the circumstances for the purpose of defence of others. That applies to cops and civilians alike. In assessing the reasonableness of the force used, the two questions are:

1. was the use of force justified in the circumstances, i.e. was there a need for any force at all? and
2. was the force used excessive in the circumstances?

If you end up in court for your actions, the courts say that both questions are to answered on the basis of the facts as the accused honestly believed them to be. The jury must then go on to ask themselves whether, on the basis of the facts as the accused believed them to be, a reasonable person would regard the force used as reasonable or excessive.

The result of all this is that if you honestly believe that a guy has a bomb that he is about to detonate on a crowded tube carriage, you are entirely within the law to take the guy out using lethal force and ask questions afterwards. It’s damn harsh, and I really am sorry that Mr DeMenezes got shot, but we are under attack by ruthless, dangerous people here and the stakes have unfortunately been raised beyond the whistle and the truncheon.

Tube shooting

It is being reported that the guy who was shot dead on the tube on Friday might have had an expired visa. In the context of recent immigration checks being conducted at tube stations, one might surmise that this was why he ran when challenged by officials. Unfortunately for him, it was the wrong time to run away from the police onto a tube.

Of course it’s very sad that Mr DeMenezes got shot, but I wouldn’t point the finger at the police here. The guy who pulled the trigger had to take a quick decision, in the context that our public transport network is currently under attack from people whose aim appears to use explosives indiscriminately to kill as many of us as possible. Hell of a decision. I doubt that it will be last time that someone is going to have to make a tough decision and maybe get it wrong before this thing is over. The stakes are people’s lives. Now, we’ve got another factor to take into account when going about our daily business in this town — if you decide to disobey the police, you may get shot. Just like if you decide to ride the tube, you may get blown up. You pays your money, you takes your choice.

Bad musicians

I’ve been trying to learn to play the drums for two years now and I’m wondering where to go with it. This would have been easy when I was 14, because I could have found many similarly crap musicians who had been playing guitar, bass, spoons for a couple of years and formed a rubbish band. But because I left it so bloody late in life to start, it’s more difficult. Is there any point being a bad musician, aged 30?

Tube

Back on the tube at Aldgate for the first time since 7 July 2005. Lots of police on the station. Predictably enough, a young Asian bloke with a rucksack had been stopped for a quizzing. I got a cheery “good morning” from another officer on the tube, casting considerable doubt upon Grovesy’s theory (the cheeky Southgate–a–like git) that I am the dead spit of one of the 21 July 2005 dickheads.

London bombing

There is a bunch of plain clothes police officers who periodically roar off past my house in flash–looking unmarked Audis, BMWs etc. Seeing a bit more of these guys lately. Saw them deploying in numbers on Friday morning and again on Saturday afternoon. Although on Saturday, one of the vehicles in the luxury car convoy was a rather incongruous old Sherpa van with a ladder on the top. I suspect that these guys must be engaged in the search for the 21 July bombers. I suspect that the police are all pretty busy at the moment.

Tube madness

Never mind “penalty fare, mate”. People who jump the turnstiles without a ticket WILL BE SHOT.

London bombing

All tube travel has been suspended. The police are advising everyone to stay where they are until further notice.

Backlash

I’ve also heard a “mate of a mate of a casual acquaintance” report that the skinheads are going to mount a major revenge attack on Regent’s Park Mosque this weekend. This intelligence has been passed on to the Met, although I’m sure that if it’s got as far as the rumour mill, the Met are already all over it. Attacking one lot of innocent people as revenge for an attack on another lot of innocent people isn’t the most intelligent thing to do, but once it starts getting tit–for–tat it’s easy to lose sight of that. What we absolutely don’t want to end up with here is any more of a “them” and “us” mentality than we already have, because that is clearly likely to lead to a cycle of violence that will generally suck.

London bombing

According to the City of London Police, “there are confirmed reports of explosions having occurred at Oval and Warren Street underground stations. There are unconfirmed reports of further explosions at Shepherds Bush underground station and also in Hackney. The current situation is unclear, and we are trying to establish the facts”.

Phone network is overloaded. Sirens outside. Will these dickheads please fuck off already?

Prague

Pictures from the stag are now up on Tumblage.

Bombs?

Bank tube cordoned off by the police again ten to nine this morning. Fairly mob–handed — one police 4x4, a van and a motorcycle. On a lighter note, one of the officers was the fittest female copper I can ever remember having seen.

Prague

Just returned from a stag weekend in Prague, in relation to which I was best man and therefore in charge of organisation. Good weekend. Nice city. Hopefully, some pictures will turn up on tumblage soon.

Places visited included U Sadlu 2 for dinner on the Friday night, which was excellent and Hergetova Cihelna for dinner on the Saturday night, which was outstanding. When we arrived at the latter venue, with views over the Charles Bridge, I thought for a horrible moment that I had missed a decimal place when considering the prices on the menu prior to making the reservation and had inadvertently reserved a table for a stag party at the equivalent of the Waterside Inn. Two decent clubs, a good strip bar, a spiderman suit and plenty of Pilsner Urquell completed the arrangements.

Bombs?

Young man of (I think) Pakistani extraction being handcuffed by four coppers at Bank tube at 8.20 this morning. Many people are understandably jittery at the moment, including, probably, the police. The difficulty is going to be protecting ourselves as much as possible without descending into racial prejudice and paranoia.

London bombing

This has developed into a major disaster. Reports from a contact at the Royal London Hospital, which is just one of a number of hospitals that are likely to be dealing with the casualties, suggest that the place is like a war zone. People arriving with missing limbs, lost eyes and reports of double deckers being used to get people to the hospital as they cannot cope using the ambulances. Some 30 fatalities reported at that hospital alone.

London bombing

You will have seen on the news that bombs have been going off on public transport in London. For the benefit of anyone who knows me and my other half; we’re OK. Had a “there but for the grace of God” moment on the way into work. I was just crossing the road to go into Aldgate Station at ten to nine this morning when police cars and fire engines started rolling up. A fireman started turning people back and the police began putting a cordon in place. Not wanting to hang around rubbernecking, I walked off in the direction of the office via Petticoat Lane.

I see on the news that the reason for all this was that a bomb had just gone off in Aldgate tube and subsequently ambulances arrived and the injured people started getting brought out of the station. Not being overly melodramatic to say that I might have missed being blown up by a couple of minutes there. Be safe, people.

Live8

This is good.

Pictures

Cool safari pictures on Virtual Traveller.

Live8

Alexis Petridis review of Live 8 in the Guardian. Snoop Dogg is criticised because “he never mentions the concert’s aims”. Good for him, I say; we didn’t need a lecture from every damn artist on the bill, we’d got the point.