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London Bridge Incident ..Stay Safe Londoners...
Shoshin
No one in particularNowhere Special Veteran
Just watching Al Jazeera news an incident on London Bridge....Stay safe Londoners ....
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/06/van-rams-pedestrians-london-bridge-170603214507949.html
Metta
1
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Comments
?♀️ not again ?
Yup.
We had a really high Armed Police presence in our town over the Bank Holiday weekend.
Needless to say, all was quiet on the West Midlands front....
Just goes to show though, you can't be in all places at all times, and you never know when or at what time of day things will happen....
That's the whole point.
Element of surprise.
Nobody expects the unexpected.
Seems nobody expects the expected, either.
May you folks be well...
Useless, destructive people again? Six people stabbed to death and three knife attackers with dummy explosive vests shot. Many injured. Pah!
For most of us it was a wonderful day in London. Keep that in mind.
London Borough Market is so diverse and interesting. I regularly cycle by London Bridge, very busy like all of London. Southark Cathedral is nearby, beautiful church.
Yesterday was a glorious sunny day, Londoners like the enclosed occupants of Richmond Park were enjoying the light. The deer were entertaining diverse Londoners just by their presence. The bunny was chomping grass and buttercups in Isabella Plantation. We had a great, peaceful time, with young and old, many nationalities and diversity ... Dawn now. Time to meditate peacefully ...
It looks like our tea in Harrods will not be taking place any time soon, @federica ...
???
You think I'm gonna let a stupid bunch of mindless, misguided, so-called terrorist jerks spoil my day in London - think again! That's exactly what they want!! No way am I changing any plan of mine simply because of some stupid morons !
@federica and @lobster. You are right! There is so much more beauty out there in the world. Communities coming together at times like this shows up these people who commit these acts for what they really are. We shall not live in fear or intimidation in our daily lives.
@lobster thanks as always for your photos and connection to wildlife and the natural world. A connection with nature brings peace and a reminder to our species Homo sapiens, how it is possible to live in balance and harmony.
Peace, Strength and Love to all.
Manchester is Strong.
London is Strong.
Together We are Strong.
My sister regularly uses London Bridge Station as it is a 16 minute train journey from her nearest rail terminal.
Being naughty I sometimes cycle through the station as it is a less crowded shortcut that avoids the tourists.
Here is Southwark Cathedral, with dawn coming up over Borough Market, on a Sunday ...
This is our city. It does not belong to the angry and disturbed. This is
London 
People waking up and playing music. People running for health. People who are drawn together not apart ...
Well said @federica, London endures and the sun is shining ...
It has been somewhat surreal in the UK recently, we've had BREXIT, a sudden general election and also these incidents of terrorism by Islamist nutjobs.
Never mind, there is always a nice cup of tea.
Well said.
My sister made me a cup of tea yesterday. It was an act of terror. Made in a pot but poured immediately without any time for brewing. When I added milk (it came without milk) I realised it was a travesty. I took a couple of sips but had to throw it away. As the Anti-terrorist police are busy, I will not be reporting this incident
London humour guys. Critical!
I am currently immersed in what I think are known as "1st-World Problems". The Lawn needs cutting, and I have to get a bigger jar to make my dill-pickled gherkins.
In the meantime, I have taken possession of a food mixer kept for me by a Charity shop, which I haggled down from £20 to £15. It came without its supposedly included special spatula.
Naturally, I am quietly seething at the omission. But I got my money's worth.
I mean, fancy not supplying the spatula!
Yup.
In this day and age, humour is unquestionably of the essence.
My wife and daughter happened to be in a cab in the vicinity after going to the theatre last night (It was such a relief when they arrived home!!!!!!!!).
The pub in Borough Market that was targeted (it makes me sick thinking of what actually happened) is one we and friends frequent - thankfully no one we knew have been affected, but my heart goes out to those who were. Just thinking of the screams of terror and violent acts intentionally inflicted on innocent people makes me reflect on things in a way that might give the perpetrators a degree of understanding, yet I have been discovering that on Facebook and other social media outlets which describe (I can't be bothered to view them) people having parties in their honour, just makes me feel that they deserve no understanding, nor support, but I have compassion for their isolation, ignorance and hatred.
The Manchester concert tonight shows us one thing People standing together make a difference, it is a united humanity that makes us able to coexist.
I stand with Manchester, London and the world that wants peaceful coexistence!
It just needs a simple shift in mental attitude that comes to understand we are all part of the same thing (call it god/buddha/allah/you/me/us etc) that is existing here and now - not depressed, idealogicall or isolated individuals (although we can be at times).
Enough of my ideas!
I would like to say a simple prayer to those who have died and suffered in the latest (of what will probably not be the last) attacks of mindless violence:
Commit not a single unwholesome action
Cultivate a wealth of virtue
To tame this mind of ours
This is the teaching of the Buddha
Life goes on...with or without the ego....
I just thought this Dharma Talk would be helpful to some....
"Transcending Fear" (Taking a break from the ego )
~Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche~
Metta
Glad your wife and daughter are safe.
We all get an attack of the trumps fear when our emotions are tried, tested and directly involved ...
Well said. Good prayer.
Do not dwell (think on the hell realms) of your imaginings.
Easy to say.
Please go back about your market, your theatre going, visiting, life etc. We the Buddhists, we the people, we the Internet, we the positive will prevail. Today in South London, living in a very diverse area, everyone is happy to be in a great city.
I have already voted for a new government (postal vote). As usual I will be thinking of far fetched security measures eg:
????
Another tragedy. The third in three months (just in England) and because of what? My imaginary friend is better then yours. Fools.
I doubt that actually even enters their heads. They may well go round yelling "Allahu Akbar!" (Which actually means 'Allah is greater') but according to many countless law-abiding peace-loving ordinary Muslims, they're posturing, and they're no more Muslim than you or I are.
Possible copycat attack in Melbourne
It's more complicated than that. Terrorism is not about religion; it's about politics. Terrorism is often a reaction to draconian foreign policies.
Question:
Does the extensive media coverage of these kind of incidents help overall?
Do you think it glorifies it to some and inspires some would be terrorists to act?
For example, a man drove through a pedestrian mall and killed six people in Melbourne earlier this year. There was no link to terrorism, he was just crazy.
Obviously there was a lot of local news coverage but if he'd been flying an Islamic State flag out the window of his car, I am sure the international media coverage (if there was much) would've been far greater!
1) Well apart from informing the general public of what's happening in the world, as it happens ...
2) However, the way it's portrayed by some media outlets tends to glorify the act and no doubt does incite other mentally challenged people whom sadly (for whatever reason)are already feeling depressed and suicidal and are easily influenced into becoming lethal cannon fodder for some warped ideological idiotical cause ....
I have often wondered this.
On the one hand, yes, we need media coverage of these acts, otherwise we would have no idea of what goes on in the world.
But on the other, the news does spark wrong ideas in the wrong minds.
It is well-known that many Islamists are individuals acting on their own: they simply come up with some idea of how to carry out an action that could cause the most damage and put it into action.
Last year, in a little village in France, a couple of police man and woman were killed in their home, by a young man who was radical Islamist.
He had no affiliations, no police record, nothing.
He simply woke up that day and wondered what isolated criminal act he could commit in the name of his ideas.
That's what renders these acts so difficult to foresee.
I don't think it's as simple as that, and the jihadists clearly see themselves as Muslims. It seems they are inspired by the Wahhabi sect in Saudi Arabia.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/03/29/what-is-wahhabism-the-reactionary-branch-of-islam-said-to-be-the/
A related problem seems to be the inteminable conflict between Sunni and Shia Muslims.
I think Islam is in urgent need of modernisation, it reminds me of Christianity in the medieval period. For example attitudes toward women and gays are atrocious in some Muslim countries.
It probably is, but the attitudes towards the discussion of religious thought and cross-pollination with other forms of religious thought is such that the essential debate, of which direction to move into, is only happening very slowly.
It is ironic that Christianity, once the aggressor religion, is now the more progressive of the two, having taken on board ideas from science and philosophy which is leading it to abandon sections of its once holy book in favour of an allegory-based interpretation.
I totally agree with the modernisation needed that @SpinyNorman mentions.
... the greatest gift we can provide is the ability to calm and ease the turmoil, confusion, alienation etc. That becomes a presence and counter-hate force ...
I don't really care how they see themselves. According to many Law-abiding, Peace-Loving Honest-to-goodness Modest Muslims - they ain't.
Great. Now we've got in-fighting. Only to be expected.
This is what will naturally happen if - as predicted by a young Muslim many years ago (who said to me "We don't need to kill anyone, we'll just out-breed you") if Muslim numbers eventually get so huge that every other faction, religion, society or culture is wiped out or beaten into submission. With no 'Infidels' to cleanse the world of, they';ll start on each other.
I think Islam is in severe need of restructuring and amputation, frankly. On a huge scale.
Are the rabble-rousing monks in Myanmar not Buddhists then?
Are Ultra-Orthodox Jews prone to violence not Jewish?
What about extreme forms of Fundamentalist Christianity?
Who determines what a true Christian/Buddhist/Jew/Muslim/Hindu/(insert any belief system or religion here) is? The silent majority within each group? Maybe they need to be not-so-silent then?
I guess it's more of when a person does something and uses their religious belief, ie, uses their 'faith' as an excuse to carry out atrocious acts of violence... In the name of.......
I guess it's all about how one chooses to interpret the text/teachings....
Yes. But they're not the kind of Buddhists one thinks of when someone talks about Buddhists.
Buddhism by tradition, habit and instruction, has always been regarded as peaceful, meditative, contemplative and non-harming, which is what makes the Monks in Myanmar all the more incongruous in their behaviour.
You'd have to ask a Jew of their opinion. I think Judaism is probably as misunderstood as Buddhism is by some.
It would help if you supplied current data of any Christian faction around at the present, that encourages self-sacrifice and suicide with as much collateral damage done as possible, and as widely spread as Islam in its influence. Then, I could answer that more constructively.
Maybe so.
When did you last speak out and transmit your defiance to the Myanmar Monks and relay to them the distaste of Buddhists everywhere, and an exhortation to stop?
Are you outspoken or silent?
Perhaps @Walker is thinking of fundamentalist Christians who bomb abortion clinics and shoot doctors and staff ....this according to some is what's known as "Special-Interest Terrorism"
I don't think people are really interested in a Jew's opinion to be blunt. Or at least not this Jew's opinion.
It doesn't matter if the majority are silent. I myself got attacked in the carpark of my local shopping centre last Thursday for nothing other than being a Jew shrugs My solution is to wear NO identifying jewellery, Jewish, Buddhist or otherwise and to not go anywhere on my own anymore. My guess is that a lot of mainstream Muslims may feel the same. I know how they feel. Of course, the fact that I am not usually silent or hidden may have contributed to my getting attacked.
Who knows?
I don't want to sound discriminative here, but I have the feeling the world is living under a tacit dictatorship.
Muslim immigrants strive to impose their laws wherever they go.
In different countries of Europe and Canada, they have tried to pass a law forbidding pork meat in the schools.
They complain of crucifixis in the walls of classrooms.
Imans are imported from different countries of the Middle East, who teach men how to beat their wives without leaving any visible trace.
There was even a recent case in Scotland of an Iman who told his male community that in the case of a holy war, they were entitled to treat hostage women as sex slaves.
A year ago, a Jew was stabbed in the street in France because the quipah on the head gave him away as Jew.
So the French government advised the Jew population not to wear any visible Jewish symbols.
We have to put up with women in burkhas, or covered up to the head in headscarves, but we can't watch a rabbi walking down the street...
Great.
At the turn of the 20th century, South and Central America received massive immigration from the Middle East countries and Turkey.
There was no tolerance for their customs and usages: they arrived in our continent, they had to adapt and comply with our laws.
And integration worked far better.
These people identify with their hosting countries.
Watch Shakira or Salma Hayek: both of them are proud to be Colombian and Mexican.
In different countries in Europe, people who are second or third generation European, still call themselves Moroccan or Argelian.
Yes @Shoshin, but if you read my question again, I specifically asked @Walker to supply "current data of any Christian faction around at the present, that encourages self-sacrifice and suicide with as much collateral damage done as possible, and as widely spread as Islam in its influence."
Those incidents, while abhorrent and utterly criminal, are nothing of the kind.
What draconian foreign policy does the Philippines have?
http://www.ibtimes.com/isis-philippines-how-islamic-state-group-expanding-its-base-southeast-asia-2544951
https://news.vice.com/story/isis-expands-its-global-battlefield-to-the-philippines
http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/marawi-militants-dig-in-for-protracted-battle
In certain cases, it's domestic policies - institutional racism, or economic/social reforms may not benefit the minorities, and so on.
And you began the post by writing that you didn't want to sound discriminative, lol.
I have written about facts.
Nothing that you cannot read on the newspaper, @techie
Errr.... if they aren't seen as Muslims by the Modest Muslims, then there isn't anything to cut away or restructure then, is there?
They're the embarrassing, eccentric relative. Secretly hated by the rest of the family, who are too scared to confront them. And for good reason. But they're still part of that family, whether the rest will accept them as such, or not.
Yes of course there is. Don't confuse 'Muslim' with 'Islam'. Just as many other Religions have, for one reason or another 'moved the Goal Posts' so can Islam 'restructure' its Dogma and Creed to be more in line with Peace, rather than War.
You're bringing in arguments of familial ties where there were none before. I'm not sure what the point is of introducing smoke and mirrors, frankly. We're not even dicussing anything to do with inter-familial relations.
This is irrelevant.
We're discussing the Unacceptable Face of Islam, as these dissident, terrorist, criminal factions purport to represent.
They're the symptom.
In order to eliminate the symptoms, you have to first cure the disease.
Thanks @techie for looking a little deeper
As well as those murdered, three angry, unstable individuals were shot (fifty times by our traumatised armed police)
Most tragically it seems the disturbed terrorists were practicing chanting (zikr) and at least one of them went into a kind of euphoric peaceful trance, ready for death. Sounds dangerously zen to me ...
So any compassion for the crazies? No? ... clearly demented demons?
I think it was Ghandhi who said and I misquote:
“I like your Buddha, I do not like your Buddhists. Your Buddhists are so unlike your Buddha.”
Us and them guys? ... nobody here but us Bodhis ... too hard?
Jesus! Luckily I left the identity of my attacker out. Techie would be lynching me by now......
We live in a state of siege, certain communities fear to go out with symbols that identify their religion, individuals blow themselves up anywhere and any of us could be among the casualties anytime...
But naturally, bad Buddhist, you are discriminating...
Yes, @techie definitely has a clinical eye...
You might. I don't. So no universal Wii fit
My neighbours on one side are Muslim, on the other side young hedonists. I have a Buddha in the garden. My sisters feel under siege from noisy toddlers, my mother from free ranging dogs. Me from those with seige mentality ...
Today many of us 'siege city' (pah) Londoners will vote ... how dangerous might that be?
Viva la Revolution
In these cases, they are not the minority even. Moderate voices are being drowned out.
http://www.asiasentinel.com/society/wahhabism-in-southeast-asia/
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/what-you-think/article/theofascism-and-the-myth-of-moderate-malaysia-dr-mohd-faizal-musa
I think you should read up on persecution complex.
This is all tangential. You asked about terrorism, and I replied that terrorism is a reaction to draconian policies. It doesn't happen in a vacuum. If certain countries start wars, is it really surprising that some people from those war-torn countries become militants? Or if a certain country oppresses a certain community, is it really shocking that some members of the oppressed community take up arms? Cause and effect. Do not just look at the effect (terrorism), try to analyze the causes and conditions as well.
hands you a mirror
I think you should pull your head in in general shrugs
I find Gandhi's example of peaceful resistance much more compelling, or Thich Nhat Hanh's retreat on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Violence spawns more violence, it is not really a means to progress, it is usually counter-productive.
What they should do is another matter entirely. I was simply pointing out that people who lose their homes (and their hopes) are going to be resentful. And in their resentment, they might grab any opportunity they get to hurt someone, anyone, just to find an outlet for their pent-up frustrations. When emotions are involved, things are hardly rational.