22 Mar Some Things Never Change
Some Things Never Change
I really dis-like having to write in times like these, but I feel the need to say something, even to try in my own little way to put it into some form of context.
Unfortunately we have seen terrorism raise its ugly head again overnight with the bombings in Brussels. 31 people dead and 230 injured from senseless violence imparted upon us from people who well they just don’t value life at all.
Having been in New York, London & Paris recently we have seen armed security & defence personnel everywhere. You can see this by way of my attached photo of a “selfie” taken out the front of the Louvre (please however excuse the unshaven look – well I was on holidays & I could say that I was trying to ingratiate my way into French society LOL). This scene was repeated over & over again in New York, London, Paris & the South Of France where we would see armed personnel in shopping malls, airports, trains stations, sporting arenas in fact any area where large members of the public would visit or use on a regular basis. The unfortunate thing is we cannot guard all things at all times, especially busy train stations, airports, bus stops, etc. The public transport system is the beating heart of major cities & people rely on this to go about their daily lives.
In Paris & London we attended soccer matches and had to provide photographic ID, together with tickets & were frisked 200 metres from the gate & then had to go through metal detectors & ID checks again at the gate before we could enter the ground. In New York it is par for the course that everyone has to go through a metal detector before entering any sporting event.
In talking with French people in Paris (or in my best attempt in my hopeless French – my favourite saying as Silvia can attest to was Je Ne Comprends Pas), they exhibited a steely resolve to continue on with their way of life & to not be affected by the threat of terrorism. Unfortunately as the French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has said “We Are At War”. The problem is that this is not a known assailant on the other side of the enemy line but one which tries to infiltrate itself into the fabric of Western society & attack us from within.
ISIL/ISIS has its genesis in the Middle East & funding is believed to come from countries which are just to the western & northern sides of the Persian Gulf. The problem is that they have now created a behemoth run by a bunch of merciless thugs (for a historical refresher go back and read my blog from June 2014 “ISIS What Crisis”) that even Al-Qaeda has disassociated itself from (think about that statement again – Al-Qaeda were responsible for Sept 11 & Public Enemy No. 1 not that long ago). The Americans after ignoring ISIS initially started bombing them in Iraq in 2014 and you have seen recent concerted attacks in Syria by both Western & Russian forces (both with differing agendas). With this further attack in Europe how long do you think before there is talk about putting boots on the ground in Syria to attempt to destroy ISIS ?
There is however no easy solution to this issue and something that we must remain vigilant about here too in Australia, given the Lindt Café, Parramatta Police Station, etc. You only have to look at flares being let off at soccer matches in Australia to think what could happen here & I am sure our authorities & intelligence agencies are working overtime to identify any risks that they can .
Finally I would say that this is not something that we should let affect us in our normal day to day activities and our way of life. As Australians we embrace a freedom & lifestyle that many other people around the world would enjoy.
Stay Safe & Well or as the French would say Allons danser, boire et prendre du bon temps
Richie
Photo Out The Front Of The Louvre