In the end most of us want peace

It is indeed a vicious circle. No one can guess for how long intelligent people have been saying: Violence begets violence. But it is also very much a catch 22. If the USA had not responded to Saddam and Iraq. Ten years down the road all of the people that were protesting against the invasion would have been saying :"Why didn't you save them? You the big and "powerful" USA."

The USA is one of the few countries that could finance the upsurp of a psychotic, egomanical, murderous dictator. Canada surely couldn't. We are just now digging ourselves out of our own debts and rebuilding a decimated military, brought on by continuous financial cuts by past governments. Other countries couldn't as well. Some due to their simple geographical closeness to the problem which would put them in a precarious position, exposing their general population to much more of a risk of being utterly devestated by any war.


The problem the USA faces now is, how do we get out of this? More and more people in the USA are becoming disillusioned with it all. Families and friends just want their soldiers home now. But if the USA leaves too quickly, and another fatalist regime takes control, the USA will be blamed for that as well. Then all of the same anti-Iraq war people would be saying, "It's your morale responsibility to take care of them."

So where, pray tell, is the line to be drawn?

The London Bombings

WARNING: Serious post follows

I've been watching the news coverage, almost obsessively. It's not that I am terribly morbid or anything. I think it's a need to know everything that has happened and everything they went through....to acknowledge their lives and deaths, to know every awful little detail...in some way helps to pay tribute to their tribulations and tragedy. So this big cosmic universe knows that they did not die and hurt alone. That we, half way around the world, felt it too on some level.

I know it seems strange. I guess part of it is also because on a smaller scale, I know some of what they felt. The victimization, fear, bewilderment and loss of control of a situation. It makes me reflect on my own traumatic little crisis, when I was held hostage by a convicted felon....some of you will remember, some of you will find this new information about me (and no I will not recount that tale, it's one that I prefer to leave in the past). I do still, now and then, find myself with residual effects of that incident. It seems the little things can bring back the panic and loss of control. I am very uncomfortable around men in green parkas (he was wearing one) and lord help you if you come up behind me and put your hands or arm near my neck.

In the end...you have to shake it off and move forward. While you take these things with you , and although they change you in some way...you must move forward and not allow it to 'own' you. I see that London is doing that and they are trying very hard to gain back some normalcy without fear. I hope that their strength does not faulter and I pray for everyone affected by this.

Right after this attack, extremist groups were on the net and posting comments along the lines of: "London is burning. The infidels are filled with fear." In response this website, http://www.werenotafraid.com/ , was created to show strength and defiance to these murderous, violent criminals. Visit it. Buy something if you can. Portions of the profits are going to the Red Cross London Bomb Relief Fund (or you can go directly to the Red Cross site if you want to help that way )

The appropriate saying for this time, I think, is: They can break our bodies but they can not break our spirit.