Terrorists, Books and Children

[alexandral]

OK. Terrorist threats. But not today, when our Russian friends were going home by plane, PLEASE! The ladies went home with the delay, but our pastor (he was supposed to fly to visit Russia today too) had to stay behind.

I am starting to feel affected about this situation. I am largely politically dumb generally but some immediate questions come to my mind:

- What do terrorists want? OK - I think I know what they want - Palestine, etc., etc. But surely they can't think that western countries will just change their policies because of the terror? If anything, actually the opposite is more likely to happen. And DO the terrorists actually want the GLOBAL war? Hmm

- Or is it elaborate government propaganda and the government mean to make everybody feel afraid so that they can propose some crazy laws? Hmm

- No, I don't feel good about the cause which has to be proved with terror. At all. Opposite is true and makes me swing my opinions against Palestine.

But to the happier things - EEEEEEEEEE!

We are having our mandatory Staff development festival soon. It is usually a pain but this year we have reading and writing festival as the part of it. And the book to be read and discussed is - "A short history of tractor in Ukranian!!! I just have received my copy. FREEE!!!

Plus I am reading Sabriel And loving it!!!. It is infinitely better for me then I–have-a-bee-in-my-bonnet trilogy of “Northern lights” by Pullman. Which I liked very, very much at first.

Plus - This is the time of children’s holidays. I am looking after Sasha and her friend Ben during the days I am not working. His mother looks after them when I am working. They are hilarious, because Sasha is a mastermind and Ben is her faithful hand and does all the naughty things she tells him to do. When they don’t argue, that is. But we went to see Garfield 2 and it was the great fun.

Comments

[maddeinin.livejournal.com]

I loved A short history..., it was both funny and heartbreaking. I hope you like it!

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

It looks like I am going to like it - I have sneakily read a couple of pages and it feels really funny.

[endlessdeep.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure what terrorists think they are going to accomplish either. Other than terror. And maybe that is it. They just want to make our lives miserable and make us afraid. But I know that not all it is either.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Sometimes I think about "the mind of the terrorist", and I guess it is like the mind of any killer - obviously psychotic. Something has changed in the person to make him/her to accept the murder as justifiable course of action. Hmm

Your icon is beautiful , BTW!

[endlessdeep.livejournal.com]

I think something is wrong with people when they take such drastic actions to accomplish their goals. They are fanatical.

dactyliotheca made that icon. I have know idea who that person is. I just ran across her icons in one of the stock photography icon communities. They are beautiful. Another one of my favorite stock photography icon makers is mariarita, although you have to join her icon journal to see her stuff. I thought it was worth it though. :)

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I have come across icons of mariarita - they are fabulous, but I can't get beyond the fact that you are supposed to join their community to see them. I don't feel particular good about it (but these are just my feelings) - it does come across for me as somewhat strange thing to request in this context.

[endlessdeep.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean. I was actually kind of annoyed that I had to join her community to see her icons. But her icons are worth it.

There are only a handful of icon makers who I think are good enough to warrant joining their communities to see their icons. Most are good, but not that good. I usually feel the icons are not worth the trouble.

But I kept seeing Mariarita's icons and was fascinated every time. So I had to cave. :)

I think these people like to keep tabs on who is using their icons. Sounds like a big waste of energy. I may ask for credit, but in general it's not really a big deal. I feel that credit is for the sole purpose of being able to tell people, if they ask, where you got that icon so that they can go get one too. :)

Anyway, I would never keep my icon journal closed and make people friend me to see my icons. That would be very silly.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Yes - I absolutely agree! I don't feel I need to insist on crediting because I view LJ like a community of some sort and can't feel much drama if somebody uses my icons without credit.

I am also "strange" with icons in the different way - I only use icons of my LJ friends. I feel I need to "know" the author and share their views, and then icons "speaks" to me.

[endlessdeep.livejournal.com]

When I first got on LJ I didn't know anything about icons or crediting. I found a Bono icon that I really liked and I thought I had credited the correct person. Well it must have been about a year later someone saw a comment I left in a community where I used that icon. They responded and said that the icon had been made for someone else by someone other than who I had credited and that I should get permission to use it. I just deleted it from my user info. I could have just gotten the picture and made the same exact icon. But I didn't. it's all a little ridiculous.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

O dear! I would have been totally mortified. I am absolutely opposite - I have seen couple of times my icons used without commenting and I thought - YAY! People like them!

[endlessdeep.livejournal.com]

I have found that most people who use my icons give me credit. I don't think I would really say anything if I saw that someone didn't give me credit. If they credited someone else I might say something though.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Yes , I noticed the same - that normally people do give credit which is really nice, I think!

[syliasyliasylia.livejournal.com]

OH MY! I've just read about the "mass muerder" plane plot foiled by the British police on the Yahoo news. This thins scares be big time...

*hugs*

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

For me it hit home because my friends were involved. My husband went to take them to the airport. British airports are in chaos. I imagine train stations are full of police as well. I
** hugs **

[kiaforrest.livejournal.com]

Those who give up their freedom for a little security deserve neither freedom or security. Ben Franklin

The more you tighten grip, the more systems will slip through your freedoms. - Leia Organa

::grin:: It's a serious topic - and I can only ponder the truth that when we give away our Rights/ Freedoms in fear of 'everyman' we affirm the terrorist philosophy that 'everyoman' is unworthy to determine the route of their own path. We make it possible for a more subtle form of terrorism to haunt us all - freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose.

Loosing the freedom to move about the world without extreme harassment either from terrorist or paperwork or having your belongings, including infant formula and paperback books, 'confiscated as potential hazards' is a LOT to give up in the name of security.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

and I can only ponder the truth that when we give away our Rights/ Freedoms in fear of 'everyman' we affirm the terrorist philosophy that 'everyoman' is unworthy to determine the route of their own path.

This is what worries me apart of the fact that there are these people living next to us who for some inexplicable reason hate our guts (one of the London bombers graduated from the University I work in) ; my worry is that the government will promote ID cards in UK because of the "threats". I am very very against giving my biometrics to the government so that they will be able to trace me everywhere.

Thank you for your thoughts about it!

And my Russian friends (poor girls!) are still stuck in Amsterdam where they were supposed to change plains. ** Hugs to the ladies **

[teh-haley.livejournal.com]

I think that there was no real threat in these supposed-to-be events, as we don't have any proof about them, and the fact that the inquiry about them will remain "a matter of Home Aaffairs" (as governants said) will give us no proof that they would have happened... but about Palestine, there's so much pain in its history, I took an examination about all its history... even if obviously it's not right to act by using terror!

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I know history of Palestine a little bit too - it is "a cup of trembling" for everybody!

My Russian friends are stuck in Holland ( they had a connection there) .Poor girls!

I hope your exam went well !!!!!!!!!

[teh-haley.livejournal.com]

One of my best friends is stuck in Holland, too! Poor Silvia...
My exam went very well, but bureaucracy is driving me mad about my academic life, my plans are a little bit "upsetted", but I'm gonna survive ;)

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

It is great to hear that your exam went well. I hope all the bureaucracy traps will be over soon too!

[teh-haley.livejournal.com]

I'm acting as an Alias spy to survive, but I will ;)

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Hee! Now I am forever going to imagine you looking like Sydney. :D

[teh-haley.livejournal.com]

Hehe, I'd be lucky ;)
I'm gonna post some pic so you'll see me ;)

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

That would be very nice!!!!

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

As I just commented to another friend, and as my sister and I were saying to each other earlier, I've never felt so scared and despairing about the state of the world. And I can't think of a single solution, which just makes everything worse. My response seems to be to behave like an ostrich and hide from reality as much as humanly possible. Not very helpful, but all I can manage,

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

The world seems to be changing so much. My response is not watching TV news ever again. ** sigh **

My friends were stuck in the terminal in Holland for 24 hours - they don't have EU passports to go and stay in the hotel. And one of the ladies lost her luggage now. But they are safe!!!