Honouring the dead in London (Terror attack)
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I thought I would post this in a non political way.
London came out in full force in honour of the deceased from last week's terror attacks. I work in the city and the streets were packed. The two minute silence seemed more like ten.
My thoughts go out to anyone involved in any way as I am sure do all the users of this forum.
Life goes on as usual for the rest of us and so it should. Terror is put upon us to destabilise society and as such we should do as much as we can to defeat it.
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The Users are always right - when I'm not wrong! -
Couldn't agree more. Well said.
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I will (exercise the utmost restraint) & strive to maintain the tone of non political sentiments...for after all, this IS about the senseless killing of innocent victims who were caught in the crossfire of fanaticism and foreign policies...
What happened last week was awful and tragic - and it took on nightmarish proportions after the investigations revealed not only the involvement of the suicide bombers but also their profiles which could easily fit a global "kid next door" one!
And Jonathan - you're right - Life goes on for the rest of us - mainly because we all have an inbuilt defense mechanism that makes us focus on the day-to-day events - for dwelling on the horrors of the world leads nowhere...besides, it drives home the fact that here's yet another way that Life can be cut short unexpectedly so we all need to hang on to the carpe diem philosophy...
Lastly - this may not be as "apropos nothing" as it may sound...what makes Costa Rica tick ?! This country has long intrigued me with its' lack of military...how do they defend themselves and why has no one attacked them ?! If anyone knows please clue me in...ever since I heard of CR's non-military status, it's replaced my fantasy "remote Greek isle" retirement destination...
**ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI !!!** -
re CR: its probably because of the coffee... costa rica was attacked by good old christopher columbus and the spanish smallpox... britian then took out spain ... the central americans revolted ... lacks natural resources...
been quiet ever since...
I'd go for the small greek isle... in contrast... or maybe malta...
back to the topic ...fear of pluralism seems to drive most of these zealots well at least for a short while... i'm not sure its treatable...
i feel sorry for those who see no other option then to call it a day... its really bad decision on a really bad day.... that really suggests these people need help... medical treatment...
I'm not sure silence is whats necessary... although respectful... but increased communications ... greater spending on social treatment and greater marketing of pluralism... starting younger... sounds a little cold but might just wake up those who might be spreading these acts as acceptable into seeing we are all one and then reason and hope can be realised.
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EBS....so CR is safe because it has nothing to offer but coffee ?! You left out rum...a liquid staple of many
- seriously though - I cannot believe that's the only reason CR has been safe from invasions and take-overs!And why Malta - any particular Maltian virtues to be extolled that I am unaware of ?!
It's interesting...your theory of "fear of pluralism"....first I've heard of this viewpoint..but then we don't want to change the tone of this post and have it metamorphose into a political discussion/arguement, do we ?!?!
I know MOST posts undergo the tangential skid several times before dying a natural death but maybe this one time we can stay on course ?!?!?!?!?!
**ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI !!!** -
Getting rather informal with the EBS or a lucky guess on the B.. I'll take it as endearing...i was implying that CR was invaded and taken over... historical reasons for Malta.. and I hear its rather nice despite being taken over many a time...
More philosophically though is anything really ours to own, land wise... the borders we create on globes and maps are really only for bureaucratic and administrative reasons. A side effect is of having a lot more flags at the olympic games, which really were competitions between cities not countries... Another; keeping those without the means to live elsewhere in their places, and to label properly the criminals. For example, try getting into the States with a drug conviction. I gather they only like homegrown stuff, no imported 'business' personnell. No issue for me but seemingly an interesting prohibition on certain classes at least in the land of the free, but in contrast try taking a Bible into the Middle East. So we get absurd fighting absurd over imaginary lines. And people wonder why kids might have trouble figuring out sensible ways to resolve problems.
Well Hobbes and the like would put forward the below...
" Belief in the right of choice does not logically provide a limitation of the range of choice. The difficulty occurs if we envisage a situation in which the people may choose not to choose. The contract of submission can be a self-annihilating contract, in the same way that freedom to commit suicide can be a self-annihilating freedom, or the choice of Bonapartist or totalitarian governments can be a choice annihilating use of democratic rights. The contract of submission, then, is an extreme; it is an act of voluntary surrender on a par with the democratic choice of governments which destroy democracy. Freedom, at its full extent, includes the freedom to extinguish freedom. This paradox is shared by both Social Contract theory and democratic theory, and as such serves to demonstrate their similarities rather than their differences."
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/cgi-local/DHI/dhi.cgi?id=dv4-34
Ultimately the Social Contract is the device that we all choose to abide by... which maybe include not choosing at all.
Hopefully we will all find some rules that we can live with, with the worst thing to happen is one spilling the rum or coffee while sitting by a quiet campfire up north of whereever we live or maybe in Malta with friends and/or family.
Cheers
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My my - this is getting rather profound, isn't it?! But since it's an "almost weekend" I guess I'll take it in my stride...
Philosophically - most (if not all) of what you said is true...I have my own personal little theory about how world peace will always remain an unattainable dream (and this is one topic I almost never discuss - even with myself in my own head - because it is all about the gender divide ...about how Men cause war and strife - the days of the Amazonian women have come and gone and was very shortlived in the grand scheme of things...)..
but then I ramble...my apologies on the informality...
**ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI !!!** -
If you compare women and men as leaders, women are more likely to go to war than men. Mind you the sample might be skewed due to the actual numbers.
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"skewed" - what a masterly understatement!
Pax!
btw - "...the worst thing to happen is one spills the rum or coffee while sitting by a quiet campfire up north of whereever we live or maybe in Malta with friends and/or family..." - yes indeed, we should all be so lucky!
**ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI !!!** -
Thoughts and prayers to those in London and their loved ones.
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Costa Rica doesn't have a formal military, but it does have "military" forces:
CIA - The World Factbook: Costa Rica
My thoughts and prayers are with the folks of London. Innocents died. That's never acceptable.
K. Brian Kelley
@kbriankelley -
I'm not sure what military forces means ?! Also, even the CIA factbook refers to CR as a Central American success story!
My question is how and why ?! what are they doing different ?!
**ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI !!!** -
I don't think Costa Rica has had the insurgency problems like El Salvador. Also, we've not had a major issue with it like we did with Panama under Noriega. No, I'm going to get into the politics on that one.
Military forces... keep in mind that Los Angeles Police Department and many other larger cities in the United States have S.W.A.T. teams. These are police. However, they train in military tactics and are better trained and better equipped than quite a few militaries around the world. However, they are still technically classified as police forces and not military forces. Some have military grade helicopters and armored personnel carriers. So you see how easy it is to blur a classification...
K. Brian Kelley
@kbriankelley -
The London attacks could have been so much worse, however the most damaging thing has been that the bombers were home grown and from an identifiable section of society.
The harm that these bombers have done by stoking up prejudice against their own community cannot be measured.
It is an animal reaction to be prejudice; its a survival trait. What makes us human is to see beyond prejudice and if ever we need such humanity it is now.
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I couldn't agree more! Another sad part of this whole terrorist issue is how quickly we have lowered the perceived importance of the "gang" crimes that take the lives of so many innocent children in our cities!
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