But just because the cars didn’t have a giant fuse coming out of the top and the word “Bomb” painted on the side in a cartoon style I don’t think it’s outrageous to call them car bombs. I’m commenting on a blog, not writing the news headlines. “Improvised explosive device” is a bit of a mouthful and “car filled with volatile fluids and a bag of nails in the hope it’ll go bang” is just silly.

Post your style guide and I’ll try to stick to it

(this is a different James).

Peter - You’re quite right and I’m not at all trying to say that the IRA weren’t deadly. Quite the contrary, I’m trying to put the current situation into context by using them as an example of how a serious sustained threat can be posed by an organisation with much more limited resources that Al-Qaeda is supposed to have. In my mind I was also using them as an example of something closer to what the word ‘terrorist’ means to me in that they had a specific political objective. As far as I know these Islamic militants have no specific objective apart from a general desire for an imaginary medieval utopia in which there would be no blogging, or other naughty self-expression. We can but dream.

Othermachines - If it’s not in the next issue of Private Eye they’re losing their touch.

They’re using terror as a weapon, which was the point my original comment was trying to make. You can spread terror without killing. I have a couple of colleagues making the trip to London this week and I know they’ve been put off by what’s happened over the last few days. They’ll still go, but they’re not looking worward to it. They won’t be the only ones looking again at their travel plans.

Meanwhile, a clarification on the IRA killing numbers. 27 in London, maybe, but the IRA also killed 21 people one one evening in the Birmingham pub bombings in 1974. And in many other places like Brighton, Warrington, and that’s not including all the deaths in Northern Ireland. Sometimes they gave effective warnings (Manchester), and sometimes they didn’t.

Anyway, you’ve inspired me to write something about what exactly the word ‘terrorist’ means. What definition are you using?

If tourists stop visiting the country or people become affraid to travel to London or use the transport infrastructure then the terrorists are winning.

Your response is right - at an individual level we should stick two fingers up to them and carry on doing whatever we do. Don’t be put off visiting London or catching a plane. Doing stuff now is no more dangerous than it was at this time last week, so let’s all get on with our lives.