New bombs planted on Spanish Train lines.

[bloodbob]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1080251.htm

A bomb has been found on a Spanish high-speed railway line between Madrid and Seville, Interior Minister Angel Acebes said.

Mr Acebes says a railway worker found the bomb in a sack containing some 10 kilograms of explosive and linked by a 136-metre cable to a detonator.

The device is reported to be similar to the devices used in the March 11 bomb attacks on the Madrid rail network which killed 191 people.

Also other sites like cnn have stuff up

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/04/02/spain.bombings/index.html

 

[epicstruggle]

I was planning on meeting my wife for an european vacation. Decided it wasnt the best of times. With the madrid bombing, the planned bombings of french rail lines, the UK terrorist arrests, and now this. I think we made the safe choice.

Those of you in Europe, are you feeling less safe? Any change in attitudes? Any backlash against the muslim comunity?

later,
epic

 

[digitalwanderer]

I'm just glad they found it before it blew up, I really am.

 

[RussSchultz]

Hrm. I just booked a cruise in the mediterranean, with a followon tour of Italy by train.

Meh. I've "cheated death" once before on European trains, I'll do it again.

(I took that overnight train that derailed in Germany a few years ago the night before it derailed)

 

[Simon F]

I was planning on meeting my wife for an european vacation. Decided it wasnt the best of times. With the madrid bombing, the planned bombings of french rail lines, the UK terrorist arrests, and now this. I think we made the safe choice.

Those of you in Europe, are you feeling less safe?

What? Feeling less safe because you're not coming over?

 

[Druga Runda]

I was planning on meeting my wife for an european vacation. Decided it wasnt the best of times. With the madrid bombing, the planned bombings of french rail lines, the UK terrorist arrests, and now this. I think we made the safe choice.

Those of you in Europe, are you feeling less safe?

What? Feeling less safe because you're not coming over?

not me

seriously though...

no why? most of the muslims here are normal, so why bother... the whole idea it is for the police/ intelligence to catch the terrorists and I am glad they are doing an excellent job. And suprisingly there is many more "attampts" to do something here in Europe than in the US as far as i can see... I guess the fact we are closer and cheaper to get to counts :? + larger communities and more extremists material by default I guess...

 

[Evil_Cloud]

I was planning on meeting my wife for an european vacation. Decided it wasnt the best of times. With the madrid bombing, the planned bombings of french rail lines, the UK terrorist arrests, and now this. I think we made the safe choice.

Those of you in Europe, are you feeling less safe? Any change in attitudes? Any backlash against the muslim comunity?

later,
epic

I live in Belgium, but I don't feel less safe after what happened in Madrid. Look, there's more chance you die in a car crash, plane crash, accident at home,... or whatever, then you die because of a terrorist attack.

The media contributes of course a lot with frightning people. Yes, terrorist attacks happen, but you don't run a greater risk of being killed more when travelling in Europe then in the US.

I am also glad Europe isn't taking totally paranoid measures to prevent terrorism... :/

 

[nutball]

IThose of you in Europe, are you feeling less safe? Any change in attitudes?

Not from me. In the UK terrorism has been part of our way of life for over thirty years now. You get used to it. We rely on our police and intelligence services to do the best they can to prevent any attacks, and so far they've been successful. One day something will slip through the net, but that's life. It's happened before, it'll happen again.

No point worrying about it. Certainly no point changing your travel plans. That's precisely what the terrorists want -- to disrupt our normal lives.

You're more likely to die in a perfectly accidental plane crash flying over here than any terrorist activity. You're even more likely to die in a perfectly accidental car crash on your way to or from the airport! People get the true risks associated with terrorism wwaayyy out of perspective.

Any backlash against the muslim comunity?

The usual nonsense from some of the xenophobic newspapers, but then they'd probably be spouting that sort of crap regardless of whether there was a terrorist threat or not.

I live in a city in the UK with one of the largest Muslim communities, and my perception is that the vast majority of Muslims are very much against the violence. There are a few hard-liners, and in particular the younger generation seem more radical in their views, but I don't think there any more Muslim nutters than there are Christian nutters, or any other type of relgious nutcase.

 

[Nil Sanyas]

I was planning on meeting my wife for an european vacation. Decided it wasnt the best of times. With the madrid bombing, the planned bombings of french rail lines, the UK terrorist arrests, and now this. I think we made the safe choice.

Those of you in Europe, are you feeling less safe? Any change in attitudes? Any backlash against the muslim comunity?

later,
epic

Nothing.

We aren't afraid about that (the recent "terrorists" in France don't seem really serious )...

Nobody has panic-stricken...

 

[bloodbob]

Well apparently on a recent hitlist thing printed by terrorist good old australia rates just under spain which sucks :/.

On France the french government appears to actually doing an alright job in regards to finding out information on terrorist they have tipped off australia and england about terrorist in the respective countries.

 

[Fred]

France has a pretty strong secret service, they've always had good ties to the underpinnings of the Muslim world. I suspect b/c they kept their old Algeria connections, and the cold war days of Carlos and others were such a thorn in their side.

I'd trust them more than the CIA at least, at least in so far as field reports from agents are concerned ;x The CIA post cold war is a string of blunders.

I've been pleasantly surprised by the German secret services otoh, and the arrests they've managed to be a part of.

 

[Dave Baumann]

I was listening to the radio on the way home from work just after the Madrid bombings and obviously the reports were dominated by that. During the same day there was also some discussion about new power the UK Police will have for charging drunk drivers - in that report they had a throwaway quote stating that 14 people per day die on British roads. 14 people per day dead from roads - what the average for death in the UK due to international terrorism?

If you're scared of coming to Europe be more afraid of dying crossing the road or driving the hire car than dieing from a terrorist attack!!!

 

[K.I.L.E.R]

Well apparently on a recent hitlist thing printed by terrorist good old australia rates just under spain which sucks :/.

On France the french government appears to actually doing an alright job in regards to finding out information on terrorist they have tipped off australia and england about terrorist in the respective countries.

Even if a terrorist attack occurs taking 50,000 lives I wouldn't feel any less safe and I will continue to do what I always do.

 

[epicstruggle]

Even if a terrorist attack occurs taking 50,000 lives I wouldn't feel any less safe and I will continue to do what I always do.

Interesting, 50k is alot of people. Would the method to the way they died matter to you? What if the terrorist blew up downtown melbourne, would that effect you, your university, your work? How about if they said that they had more bombs that they had ready to use? Nothing would make you feel less safe?

later,
epic

 

[epicstruggle]

If you're scared of coming to Europe be more afraid of dying crossing the road or driving the hire car than dieing from a terrorist attack!!!

I can deal with drunk drivers, that is something that is small in my daily life, as I have to deal with that here too. However going on vacation in Europe means I would be hostage to your mass transit system (driving would be a bit to stressful and expensive). If trains are being blown, bombs are being found, and 1/2 ton of explosives material are found, that is a tad scary. Maybe in the grand scale of things, that is a small number of deaths.

Anyways, we are still considering what to do. If more of these types of events occur over the coming months, then we might not go this year over there.

later,
epic

 

[K.I.L.E.R]

Even if a terrorist attack occurs taking 50,000 lives I wouldn't feel any less safe and I will continue to do what I always do.

Interesting, 50k is alot of people. Would the method to the way they died matter to you? What if the terrorist blew up downtown melbourne, would that effect you, your university, your work? How about if they said that they had more bombs that they had ready to use? Nothing would make you feel less safe?

later,
epic

It wouldn't matter then if they destoryed all of Melbourne because I'd be dead anyway.

If they had more bombs ready to use I still wouldn't feel less safe. Why should I? Because I could die or become injured by the bombs?

I'm more worried that an asteroid may come and strike me while I'm awake.

 

[epicstruggle]

why would an asteroid worry you?

alter,
epic

 

[K.I.L.E.R]

A country can recovery from a terrorist attack. People can recover from injury and with increased research funds into more effective medical technology it will be even better in the future.
People can recover from death with either re-incarnation or living in heaven or something.

An asteroid may will leave nothing behind. Maybe Earth will be a bunch of floating debris?
If the Earth isn't destoryed then any survivors are going to go through craploads more hell than 100,000,000,000 9/11s.

 

[Humus]

What? Feeling less safe because you're not coming over?

Yes, if epicstruggle came over he would be our human shield.

Nah, seriously, one need to put things into perspective. I could be hit by a car and die any day of the year. That risk is way much higher than dieing because of terrorism. Recall that earthquake in Iran in december? 30,000 dead. That's probably more than all people that have died because of terrorism through the last 100 years. You could probably add the Iraq war into the terrorism-related deaths too and still get that earthquake to be more deadly. The threat from terrorism is not so much the actual damage they cause. What we should fear is fear itself. The real damage is cause by people worrying about it. It can lead to anything from eroding democracy to destabilizing the economy.

 

[nutball]

The threat from terrorism is not so much the actual damage they cause. What we should fear is fear itself. The real damage is cause by people worrying about it. It can lead to anything from eroding democracy to destabilizing the economy.

Indeed. Which is why people going non-linear over the true scale of the threat, and changing their plans and life-styles en-masse is playing into the hands of the terrorists.