Brilliant quote for London's mayor

[academic punk]

London Mayor Ken Livingstone said:

"I want to say one thing, specifically to the world today — this was not a terrorist attack against the mighty and the powerful, it was not aimed at presidents or prime ministers, it was aimed at ordinary, working-class Londoners, black and white, Muslim and Christian ... young and old … that isn't an ideology, it isn't even a perverted fate, it is an indiscriminate attempt at mass murder."

"They seek to divide London, they seek Londoners to turn against each other ... this city of London is the greatest in the world because everybody lives side by side in harmony. Londoners will not be divided by this cowardly attack."

Livingstone also had words specifically for the terrorists: "I know that you personally do not fear to give your own life in exchange to taking others ... but I know you do fear you may fail in your long-term objective to destroy our free society ... in the days that follow, look at our airports, look at our seaports and look at our railway stations ... you will see that people from the rest of Britain, people from around the world, will arrive in London to become Londoners, to fulfill their dream and achieve their potential … whatever you do, however many you kill, you will fail."

[Guitar Shark]

Agreed, that's a cool statement.

[Phil theStalker]

Re: Brilliant quote for London's mayor

Originally posted by academic punk
London Mayor Ken Livingstone said:

"I want to say one thing, specifically to the world today — this was not a terrorist attack against the mighty and the powerful, it was not aimed at presidents or prime ministers, it was aimed at ordinary, working-class Londoners, black and white, Muslim and Christian ... young and old … that isn't an ideology, it isn't even a perverted fate, it is an indiscriminate attempt at mass murder."

Is da goode mmayor implying t2o da terrorists dat prime mministers and presidents should be da targets and not ordinary peeps? huh

It could be a base message dat THE PEOPLE, da ordinary people, should be in cuntrol aff their governments, mmaybe, huh?

[Hardrock69]

Sur wood b nise iff duh normul peepuls kood b in kuntrole of dat gummint fo a chanje...

[Phil theStalker]

Originally posted by Hardrock69
Sur wood b nise iff duh normul peepuls kood b in kuntrole of dat gummint fo a chanje...

i kno wot u meen..

[Warham]

Did the mayor of Madrid say words similar to those?

[Nickdfresh]

He's quite right.

I wish all people in positions of power could be so noble and far-sighted, unlike a lot of the petty bullshit lately.

[Warham]

Didn't Bush say words similar after 9/11?

I can't remember, perhaps you could refresh my memory.

[Nickdfresh]

Originally posted by Warham
Didn't Bush say words similar after 9/11?

I can't remember, perhaps you could refresh my memory.

Actually, there was a moment right before he began stumping for the IRAQ abortion where he was making sense.

[academic punk]

Originally posted by Warham
Didn't Bush say words similar after 9/11?

I can't remember, perhaps you could refresh my memory.

Not really.

On 9/11 he gave a national address, and he seemed pretty shaken and tentative.

On 9/14 (I think) he gave a VERY good speech, assuring America that this would be set right. Then he went to Ground Zero and gave his "I hear you, the rest of the world hears you, and soon the people who knocked these buildigns down will hear all of us" speech.

After that, it was all "Go spend money".

He had an incredible opportunity to unite the country and the world, and instead his grand statement was "There's a lot of good movies in the theaters right now, why don't you take the family to see one?" It was one time where his folksy style worked against him (in my opinion).

[Redballjets88]

it was good 1. he was getting people out of the house
and 2. he was showing the world that we would hide or be affraid

[academic punk]

Originally posted by Redballjets88
it was good 1. he was getting people out of the house
and 2. he was showing the world that we would hide or be affraid

Okay, but if you live fifteen blocks from Ground Zero, it was a massive "WTF is he talking about?"

His appraoch honestly sounded scared re: the potential collapse of the US economy. He didn't come across as authoritative. And at a time when we needed answers and not what thus far have been empty promises, it was important to hear the president say something more than "Can't wait for that sequel to Terms of Endearment" to come out. Boy, that Shirley Mclaine..."

It was a time to sound...well, like Ken Livingstone.

[Redballjets88]

i think if he would have kept all that up and never gone to iraq people would have thought of him very highly as a president in the long run

[academic punk]

Originally posted by Redballjets88
i think if he would have kept all that up and never gone to iraq people would have thought of him very highly as a president in the long run

Could be.

But I still think his domestic policies would have been as divisive as they've been. In fact, probably even moreso.

And if some theorists are to be believed (and their theories do seem to have validity: the Downing Street Minutes, the entire Plame case, the Bush family history with Hussein), the plan all along was to invade Iraq regardless.

[Redballjets88]

shit happens only have 2 years left