The JaYmes Escape

It’s fascinating to be staying in a country and watching the British media covering a domestic news event. Contrary to the picture painted by the BBC Sydney isn’t overrun by swarms of racist thugs. If you’re really interested in what happened have a look at the Sydney Morning Herald for a more balanced picture.

Pictures of paintballing, the Hawkesbury River, and various other madness now online.

So Mohammad Sidique Khan says that ordinary Britons are responsible for the errors of our government’s foreign policy. How dare he kill innocent Londoners simply because he has a dispute with the government? That would be like us killing innocent Iraqis because we had a dispute with Saddam Hussein…. oh, damn, we did that. But then the allied armed forces in Iraq aren’t morally equivalent to suicide bombers are they? Suicide bombers are pure evil, they do things like embezzling money and raping children…. oh dear, well… that’s not the point though is it, we meant well, didn’t we?

Some words from John Pilger and various others. Plenty of speculation, plenty of nonsense, but some definite food for thought. Dismiss these as crazy conspiracies if you like, but never let the power of rational thought elude you for fear of what it might mean.

I’m still in Sydney, currently in the process of securing employment. When I have some news, you’ll be the first to know.

One of the most disturbing things I’ve seen in recent days is the political reaction to the London bombings from outside the UK, and particularly from west of the Atlantic. For some seem to be reacting with the sort of secret smug glee you might feel when your disliked neighbour’s house gets burgled instead of yours. On America’s Fox News an anchorman declared that it ‘works to our advantage, in the Western world’s advantage‘, the implication being something along the lines of ‘maybe those inconsiderate Brits will understand now’.

Meanwhile our old and beloved friend George W Bush is Read the rest of this entry »

No need to say that I feel very uncomfortable about yesterday’s events in London. Edgware Road station is particularly close to home for me, having worked in that vicinity for over six years. My thoughts are most definitely with my former colleagues at UBC who are undoubtedly feeling very close to this.

Still, very important to keep a sense of proportion. It is of course a tragedy for those directly involved but it could have been a whole lot worse, and London has experienced many disasters in recent years. The death toll doesn’t seem that far removed from the Paddington rail crash, for example, and terrorism is nothing new to Londoners either.

If I was still there today I would be determined to take a deep breath and carry on living my life as before. There is no reason to let a wimpy little bomb attack change things, and anything it does change is a success for the perpetrators. Stay away from the media frenzy and keep it real. Life must (and will) go on.