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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / July 2005Where is safe these days (OT)
So my train line and sometimes bus were bombed last week. Turns out the bombers lived in the city I grew up in where my family still live, and a car with explosives found in the town my partner comes from, where his family still live - anyone got an island going spare I can live on please? Marcia > So my train line and sometimes bus were bombed last week. Turns out > the bombers lived in the city I grew up in where my family still live, [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Marcia I find it helps to put things into perspective. The chances of *you*, or I for that matter, being bombed are in reality vanishingly small. We can choose to live in fear, or we can accept that the real risk is tiny and get on with life. There are an average of 10 people a day, each and every day of each and every year killed on UK roads, with many more injured, yet we all go out in our cars without so much as a second thought. Life is a risk. Enjoy life - there is only one certainty in life and that is that one day, we are going to die. How, where and when is not something we normally know about in advance - so enjoy life! Cheers, helen s > > So my train line and sometimes bus were bombed last week. Turns out > > the bombers lived in the city I grew up in where my family still live, [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > Cheers, helen s That's a great philosophy, Helen. I wish more people would feel that way here in the states - instead of letting their freedom be leeched away by our government because of their fear. "The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary" ~ H. L. Mencken Although terrorism isn't imaginary, the risk of any one individual being harmed by terrorism is vanishingly small. So allowing the Patriot Act, and like legislation, is allowing harm for *no* greater good. <stepping off of soapbox now> Hugs, CatNipped http://www.werenotafraid.com/ Great site. > http://www.werenotafraid.com/ > > Great site. Yep. Here's the picture I sent in: http://www.possibleplaces.com/CatNipped/Bandit5/BikerBitch8.jpg Hugs, CatNipped I love that one Catnipped, did you "touch up" kitties eye colour, if not they're amazing! > I love that one Catnipped, did you "touch up" kitties eye colour, if > not they're amazing! I don't know whether it's because of her age, her eye color, or what, but she always has "red eye" when I take her picture. So I try to normalize her eye color to what it looks like in "person". The first thing anyone says when they meet here is "Look at those green eyes". So, yes and no. They're "touched up" but she has that color green eyes in real life. Also, they tend to vary in intensity in "real life" depending on the background and lighting. Victor or Bonbon - you've seen here, did I get the color right? Hugs, CatNipped > Victor or Bonbon - you've seen here, did I get the color right? I think so. Luna's eyes vary in color significantly according to the ambient light.  SignatureVictor M. Martinez Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM) Send your spam here: uce@ftc.gov Email me here: pistorLITTER@BOXaustin.rr.com Frankly, nowhere is ever "safe". I was attacked (choked) as a child in my parents' own home. Disasters can always strike any time, any where. The key is to learn to defend yourself--remain alert about your surroundings, walk with confidence, be aware of who is around you and what the fastest route out is, etc, and then, when you've done all you can to prepare, put your faith in Goddess/God/chance and go about your business. My partner's a doctor-in-training. He works with people who are going about their business and suddenly drop with massive strokes wiping out part of their brain--no warning, no "reason." If you think about how unsafe everything and everyone really is, you go nuts. --Fil I totally agree, they will probably rush in new anti-terrorism laws over here, and legally begin tapping our phones and reading our emails (which I believe they're doing anyway, and no I'm not paranoid) - it won't make the blindest bit of difference, and we will probably find another oil rich country to wage war on, conveniently. "The war on terror" - if you ask me we ain't winning it and never will. Rant over > > So my train line and sometimes bus were bombed last week. Turns out > > the bombers lived in the city I grew up in where my family still live, [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > Cheers, helen s Marcia, I don't want to minimize or negate your fears--I think it's a totally natural reaction after what happened in London last week. ((Hugs)) You and everyone else in the U.K has my deep sympathy. However, I do think Helen has the right idea. Terrorism is a real threat, and sometimes, I want to find a whole new PLANET to live on, and leave old Terra to the Neocons and terrorists to fight over. Alas, this is impossible, so here we all are still on Earth. But... one can't live under the bed, even when there are moments when we all want to. The feelings of fear, anger and loss of security after the bombings in the minds of the survivors are nearly as bad as the bombing itself and they last longer. And that's precisely the effect those (BASTARDS!) responsible are hoping for. Getting on a plane for the first time in 2001 after 9/11 was very hard, but I made myself do it, as I refused to let myself be grounded when travel is one of the pleasures of my life. Feel the fear, but live anyway! It will infuriate those who want to end or ruin our lives through fear. Melissa > > So my train line and sometimes bus were bombed last week. Turns out > > the bombers lived in the city I grew up in where my family still live, [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > Cheers, helen s That's my philosophy too, Helen. If you look at it one way, no place is completely safe. However, if you look at it that way, you live in fear, and the terrorists have won. I thumbed my nose at them a month after the 9-11 attacks by flying from California to Alabama to visit a friend. I hadn't been planning the visit, but I wanted to show they couldn't scare me. Joy > So my train line and sometimes bus were bombed last week. Turns out > the bombers lived in the city I grew up in where my family still live, [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Marcia It's horribly frightening for us, isn't it? Although I live 100 miles or so away from London, my elder brother works there, he is safe luckily, and I found out on Sunday that the evening before the bombings my cousin was driving down the Edgeware Road, having gone to London to get an engine for his old Jaguar car which he is restoring. The latest forensic enquiries suggest that all the bombers died carrying out their atrocities. There will be more young British born Muslim men prepared to take their place, though. I used to accuse my late mother of being racist when she said to me "Muslims will be the worst threat we have ever known." I know very well that almost all Muslims are peace-loving, but this fundamentalist stuff is something else. I don't understand such hatred. Apologies if this seems racist to anyone, it isn't meant to be, I am just stating facts. Tweed <snip> > "Muslims will be the worst threat we have ever known." > I know very well that almost all Muslims are peace-loving, but this > fundamentalist stuff is something else. I don't understand such hatred. > Apologies if this seems racist to anyone, it isn't meant to be, I am just > stating facts. It's both simpler and more complicated than this. More complicated because the violence is related to politics, economics and culture as much as or more than religion. And simpler, because the desire and will to use violence to achieve an end is part of human nature that seems ineradicable, even though different societies have a whole range of methods to control and channel it. You can trace violence throughout history in all kinds of forms, from legitimate war to crime carried out for political ends. It's part of humanity; only the names of the groups and the causes change. I don't think there's much an individual can do, other than participate in their own political systems to try to elect good people to deal with the running of the country. Also, people can become informed and try to understand issues - actually, that should come before the voting, I suppose! No one and no government can guarantee safety - not from terrorism, and not from the more mundane threats like accidents and diseases. And live each day as though it were your last, because with or without terrorism, it might be your last. I used to think these sorts of cliches were silly, but the older I get, the more sense it makes. It's like I'm becoming more aware of the uncertainty in life, and happier to think 'I've got this moment, this hour, and I'm enjoying it, whatever comes later!' SignatureCheryl > > So my train line and sometimes bus were bombed last week. Turns out > > the bombers lived in the city I grew up in where my family still live, [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > > Tweed It sounds like now they aren't even really sure what this group is or who it is connected to. Kudos to the authorities for getting somewhere very quickly though. Your guys are good! Luckily (bad choice of word) we've been through bombings before, with the IRA, so I guess we were more prepared. Since 9/11 it was always a case of "when" and not "if", and the transport system was a soft target, so they've been doing practise runs with the emergency services etc. for quite some time. Thank goodness the heatwave hadn't started yet, as we don't have decent air con on the underground (if any) and I think more people would have died if it was as hot as it was today. I went back to work the day after and used a bus and a tube as I was scared and decided I was going to do the "getting back on a bike after you've fallen off" thing. I was scared, I'm not going to deny it, and the train was really quiet, but people seemed nervous, and London had a strange atmosphere that day. The one thing that still gets me though is that you can't talk to people on public transport. I'm originally from Leeds (up north) and you always chat to people up there, but in London everyone keeps themselves to themselves (until something dreadful happens) - just a thought but perhaps if people were more friendly... >Luckily (bad choice of word) we've been through bombings before, with >the IRA, so I guess we were more prepared. Since 9/11 it was always a [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] >dreadful happens) - just a thought but perhaps if people were more >friendly... Which reminds me of a story, which has absolutely nothing to do with the thread. Back in '78 the Army sent me to Germany, which was my first assignment overseas. After some initial paperwork in Frankfurt a driver delivered me to the train station, with the parting comment along the lines of don't fall asleep or you'll end up behind the wall in East Germany. Course I wasn't too worried about actually ending up on the wrong side of the wall, but I HAD up for something like 36 hours without sleep, so I was worried about missing the Ludwigsburg station. Anyway, a German lady and her teenage daughter joined me in the compartment and surprised me by speaking perfect English - later on I would learn that it's not at all uncommon for Europeans to be friendly and be fluent in multiple languages. After chatting for awhile they could tell I was about dead on my feet, so they offered to wake me when we got to my stop, since they would be on the train until it got to Stuttgart. I got a little nap and they woke me as we pulled in to my stop. That was my first interaction with our host country, but all in all about on par with all my experiences there, and in Europe as a whole. I truly enjoyed my three year European tour and got to see most of the non-communist block, except I never made across the Channel or into Portugal, or up to Marina's part of the world. Someday I'd enjoy going back for a return visit, and seeing those countries. SignatureSteve Touchstone, faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit and Spot with loving memories of Rocky (RB) stouchst@JUNKsirinet.net [remove Junk for email] Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html >>Luckily (bad choice of word) we've been through bombings before, with >>the IRA, so I guess we were more prepared. Since 9/11 it was always a [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > into Portugal, or up to Marina's part of the world. Someday I'd enjoy > going back for a return visit, and seeing those countries. I like Portugal, the people there are very friendly, compared to some other European countries. Many Canadians spent their winters in Portugal. Winnie Unfortunately I think your mother was wrong, I think America is the biggest threat to the world we've never known. I'm not talking about the citizens - just the politicians, and the multinationals who really run the world. It's very scary Marcia, I live in the same town where your partner grew up and the railway line (not the station which is about a 25 min walk) is only a few hundred yards from where I live. I was waiting for a bus in town when the controlled explosions were started. The police helicopter was hovering over my part of town for quite a long time yesterday afternoon - if you find that island......... Shirley http://community.webshots.com/user/shirleycatuk > So my train line and sometimes bus were bombed last week. Turns out > the bombers lived in the city I grew up in where my family still [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Marcia > So my train line and sometimes bus were bombed last week. Turns out > the bombers lived in the city I grew up in where my family still live, [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Marcia I really don't know. We haven't had bombings here in Edmonton, but E-town is apparently the murder capital of Canada. Just a couple of weeks ago, i witnessed a mugging from a block away while downtown changing buses. Three guys attacked a man and took what looked like his laptop case away. Another man stopped one of the thugs, and got the case back. By the time i got there, the robbed man was just sitting on the ground looking stunned, I asked him if he was ok, and what had just happened, because i didn't really realize what was going on fully until then. He answered, Yes, i'm ok, i was robbed. Then I helped him get up, and the other man came over and gave him back his latptop/brief case. The robbed man thanked him, and we all went on our way... Freaked me out though, I'd never been that close to a crime before (unless you count the pot i've smoked over the yrs) Kristy thank goodness our neighborhood is nice and quiet. news:1121261904.674405.306540@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com... > So my train line and sometimes bus were bombed last week. Turns out > the bombers lived in the city I grew up in where my family still live, [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Marcia>>. Maybe the photos on the We are not afraid website will cheer you up. http://www.werenotafraid.com/ Alison > So my train line and sometimes bus were bombed last week. Turns out > the bombers lived in the city I grew up in where my family still live, > and a car with explosives found in the town my partner comes from, > where his family still live - anyone got an island going spare I can > live on please? Do not let the terrorists have the pleasure of your fear - because thats *exactly* what they want. Most of the time, I think of myself as an Aussie, but my Pommy blood also runs deep. So I say this as an Englishwoman: Londoners, indeed, the British people, held their chins high and lived as normal a life as possible through both The Blitz and the IRA bombings. As horrific as it was, this latest bombing is nothing new to the British, and like times before, I'm sure we'll show the terrorists our strength and perserverance by continuing life just as normal. We won't let the b*st*rds get us down; indeed, we will continue to live happy and peaceful lives in direct *defiance* of their attempts to drag us down. They *will not* acheive thier objectives. Yowie >> So my train line and sometimes bus were bombed last week. Turns out >> the bombers lived in the city I grew up in where my family still live, [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > Yowie Charlie's comment when he heard about the London bombings. "That is certainly not the way to get the English to go away and leave you alone" > So my train line and sometimes bus were bombed last week. Turns out > the bombers lived in the city I grew up in where my family still live, > and a car with explosives found in the town my partner comes from, > where his family still live - anyone got an island going spare I can > live on please? In 1932, a just-retired British Colonel saw what was coming. Although he was patriotic, he was tired. He was also heartsick over all the men he'd led and lost in the War To End War. He was determined to live out his life in peace and quiet. So, he researched all possible places to live - hunting for one where there couldn't possibly be a war, a place so insignificant that NO one would ever want to take it over, so it would be left alone. He finally found it - a tiny island in the most insignificant cluster of islands anywhere. Packing up his family and everything he owned, he informed HM Treasury of where to send his pension and moved. He then lived out the rest of his life in peace and quiet ... on Guadalcanal. SignatureOnce a suicide bomber, always a suicide bomber > He then lived out the rest of his life in peace and quiet ... > on Guadalcanal. There's a similar story about the guy who was looking for a spot that was perfectly safe from any danger of nuclear bombing (I guess he really couldn't get over the Cold War, or maybe it was environmental devastation he feared) so he moved to the Falkland Islands. SignatureCheryl > > He then lived out the rest of his life in peace and quiet ... > > on Guadalcanal. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > couldn't get over the Cold War, or maybe it was environmental devastation > he feared) so he moved to the Falkland Islands. Ha! The Brits and Argentineans won't recognize the true owners. >>> He then lived out the rest of his life in peace and quiet ... >>> on Guadalcanal. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Ha! The Brits and Argentineans won't recognize the true owners. ??? Huh? Who, other than the Limies and the Argies, has a claim there? SignatureOnce a suicide bomber, always a suicide bomber > >>> He then lived out the rest of his life in peace and quiet ... > >>> on Guadalcanal. [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > ??? Huh? Who, other than the Limies and the Argies, has a claim there? Read my name again, and tremble. The sheep? >The sheep? It helps if you quote at least some of what you are responding to. In this case, I was able to figure out from context that you meant the sheep might have an independent claim to the Falklands, separate from the British or Argentineans. SignatureJohn F. Eldredge -- john@jfeldredge.com PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu "Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria >> The sheep? > > It helps if you quote at least some of what you are responding to. In > this case, I was able to figure out from context that you meant the > sheep might have an independent claim to the Falklands, separate from > the British or Argentineans. It's kind of like playing Jeopardy or something. > >> The sheep? > > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > It's kind of like playing Jeopardy or something. Merely the sheep? We provide them with diplomatic representation. >> He then lived out the rest of his life in peace and quiet ... >> on Guadalcanal. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > really couldn't get over the Cold War, or maybe it was environmental > devastation he feared) so he moved to the Falkland Islands. I suspect there's one of these in every generation. SignatureOnce a suicide bomber, always a suicide bomber >So my train line and sometimes bus were bombed last week. Turns out >the bombers lived in the city I grew up in where my family still live, >and a car with explosives found in the town my partner comes from, >where his family still live - anyone got an island going spare I can >live on please? How many people died on the highways last year? How about a little perspective? Frankly the only way to stop terrorism would be stop reporting it. It would have no hold if not for the mass media. >>So my train line and sometimes bus were bombed last week. Turns out >>the bombers lived in the city I grew up in where my family still [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > reporting it. > It would have no hold if not for the mass media. Not quite the same unless you equate accidents to mass murder. SignatureShirley http://community.webshots.com/user/shirleycatuk > "AZ Nomad" <aznomad@PmunOgeBOX.com> wrote in message <snip> > Not quite the same unless you equate accidents to mass murder. From the point of view of the dead and their relatives I can see some strong similarities. The difference is in the existence of motivation in the killers. And the terrorist, unlike the accidental killers, want something from us - usually some recognition of political legitimacy or a policy change. All the more reason for us to define them as nothing more than murderers, and their victims as people who were, tragically, in the wrong place at the wrong time. The different between death by accident and by terrorism in in how you regard the killers, not the victims. SignatureCheryl >> "AZ Nomad" <aznomad@PmunOgeBOX.com> wrote in message > <snip> [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > something from us - usually some recognition of political legitimacy or a > policy change. Couldn't have put it better. I have been known to say that here in the UK, if you want to have a better than evens chance of literally getting away with murder, use the car as weapon of choice. Over here it is *ludicrous* that when drivers kill and it is obviously not an 'accident', they can and do get off with pitiful fines. And if it's a cyclist they happen to kill, it might well be as little as a £200 fine... I kid you not. > All the more reason for us to define them as nothing more than murderers, > and their victims as people who were, tragically, in the wrong place at > the wrong time. The different between death by accident and by terrorism > in in how you regard the killers, not the victims. Quite. Cheers, helen s >> "AZ Nomad" <aznomad@PmunOgeBOX.com> wrote in message > <snip> [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > the wrong time. The different between death by accident and by terrorism > in in how you regard the killers, not the victims. As the character Amelia Peabody says "This was my first air raid and I hated it - not only the feeling of helplessness, but the remoteness of the business. If someone is going to kill me, I want him to take a personal interest." It's funny but, I think it is also oddly true. >>> "AZ Nomad" <aznomad@PmunOgeBOX.com> wrote in message >> <snip> [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > business. If someone is going to kill me, I want him to take a personal > interest." It's funny but, I think it is also oddly true. That really does put it well. Must be in on of the books I haven't read yet. I know none of us get out of the alive, but I really dislike the idea of dying as part of a group project, Some thing's just aren't meant to be shared. Jo > >>> "AZ Nomad" <aznomad@PmunOgeBOX.com> wrote in message > >> <snip> [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > dying as part of a group project, Some thing's just aren't meant to be > shared. This is an excellent observation and something for the group to think about. >>>> "AZ Nomad" <aznomad@PmunOgeBOX.com> wrote in message >>> <snip> [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > > Jo I hadn't read her newest books for some time, so I've been catching up. I believe that is from Lord of the Silent. Peter's books just never get "tired". Her ability to keep the family growing really works. "Karen" <kchuplis@alltel.net> wrote in message news:BEFEF5F0.7C2DD%>>> >>> As the character Amelia Peabody says "This was my first air raid and I >>> hated [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > believe that is from Lord of the Silent. Peter's books just never get > "tired". Her ability to keep the family growing really works. I've been reading her books for years. And kind of hold off on reading them till I need something really good. She never disappoints. Jo > So my train line and sometimes bus were bombed last week. Turns out > the bombers lived in the city I grew up in where my family still live, [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Marcia I was listening to a radio program today, Dr. Laura (http://www.drlaura.com/main/ people call in and ask for advice). One lady called in, her family had been planning a vacation to London for over a year. Now that the bombings happened she was "afraid" to go. Dr. Laura asked her if she had been to NYC/Washington DC since 9/11/01 - the lady replied yes. Dr. Laura asked what the difference was? Was she going to hide in a hole the rest of her life? This is exactly the reaction the terrorists are looking for - did she want to prove them right? Sr. Laura told this lady to suck it up & to take her family on a lively vacation & enjoy herself! SignatureThe ONE and ONLY lefthanded-pathetic-paranoid-psychotic-sarcastic-wiseass-ditzy former-blonde in Bloomington! (And proud of it, too)© email me at nalee1964 (at) insightbb (dot) com http://community.webshots.com/user/mgcmdjeep |
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