http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/h...668683.stm


I know this news is a few days old now, but I wondered if any UK orgers had heard of this and any thoughts they may have..


Birmingham, for those of you outside the UK, whilst you may not have heard of the place is actually the country's "second city" after London.

The whole of the city centre was closed by police on Saturday evening following "credible intellegence" of a terrorist threat.

20,000 would-be drunken revellers were unable to enter pubs/ restaurants/bars/clubs and busses and train services were halted.


Controlled explosions proved to reveal nothing but left-behind baggage, but police are adamant that the information they received justified the disturbance.


Thank goodness nothing happened and no-one was hurt.








oops spelling edit
[Edited 7/12/05 2:51am]

rocknrolldave said:

I heard about it my first thoughts were to you, Simon and Toni...so glad everything is ok there now

EarthAirFireWater said:

Thanks. My brother lives in Birmingham, so I was concerned. Concerned rather than out-and-out worried, cos I am never that convinced that Birmingham would be a realistic target for terrorism by Islamic extremists.

It has opened up the old "better to be safe than sorry" versus "no need to overreact" debate here, though

rocknrolldave said:

I saw it on sky news....

...I think it was right at the time to be cautious....

...Most people I beleive will avoid causing undue concern/panic....

....Though it doesn't detract from the worry felt...


...As a footnote....in case you haven't heard ....

...The investigations have moved North...








spelling edit
[Edited 7/12/05 3:30am]

Steadwood said:

Yeah, I heard that this morning.... I think investigations are inevitably gonna centre on areas with large Muslim communities, so I guess parts of Yorkshire and the North West will be included as well as the Midlands and London.

I just hope that anyone who has the finger pointed at them genuinely has evidence against them.


I hate the whole Gunatanemo Bay thing of "Well, we have the tiniest shred of info, so we'll hold them indefinitely with no trial just in case" - That just paves the way for everyone with dark skin to be held to ransom for the acts of a tiny minority.

rocknrolldave said:

Yep ....Five houses have been raided.....

...But it's too early to speculate ...there's a news conference planned later....

...I also think it's important to avoid drawing associations to skin colour...

...I witnessed some racial abuse from a pensioner of all people the other day...I was Bloody Disgusted ...

Steadwood said:

Rather than furthering the cause of Islam, these terrorists risk setting it back years in terms of tolerance and understanding.


Fools.

"Birmingham, for those of you outside the UK, whilst you may not have heard of the place is actually the country's "second city" after London."

drcoldchoke said:

Size-wise, Birmingham IS England's Second City.

Manchester and Liverpool, to name just two, may be more recognisable names outside of the UK and may have a more famous cultural influence (Man Utd, The Beatles etc etc), statistically Birmingham has always made the claim "Second City"

rocknrolldave said:

Not to insult anyone's intelligence...just a little more geographical perspective

http://maps.google.co.uk/

The raids are 200 miles North of London

rocknrolldave said:

ahhhhh size wise. Thats about it though no?
Birmingham would claim 2 b the "Second City"
That place just seems to breed stupidity.

rocknrolldave said:

Your not from Birmingham are you?

drcoldchoke said:

I don't think this thread is the place for that kind of post, sorry.

rocknrolldave said:

G you're a lovely guy but I agree with Dave...not the kind of thread for it

sorry

rocknrolldave said:

No need 2 b soo negative,
now that aint rocknroll....

EarthAirFireWater said:

sorry.

drcoldchoke said:

's ok...just a touchy subject is all as a Londoner you'd be feeling that too after Thursday