h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'm sorry. It's not going to be easy.
But I'm already used to it. Like everybody else in Israel.
Everyday people die here, and all you think is someone should do something.
Now you all know what it feels like. Not going to the movies because it's a public place. Not going on shoping because there might be a bomb somewhere out there. Not even living your HOME because a PLANE might come crashing down on you.
I'm sorry you had to find it out that way.

And now wait.

Wait a weak, maybe even two. Even a month.
And then look out of your window. See policemen standing in every corner of the street.
Wait 6 more monthes, and watch them run up and down the street. Opne the newspaper and read about the police troops falling apart, too exhausted to operate.

And then remember me. Remember Israel.
Ask yourself why didn't you help us then, when it wasn't TOO LATE, when the terror havn't touched you yet.

remember...

People should not die...
The Earth is mostky harmless.

Hatifnat (from Estonia)

lior2001, with all due respect, I suggest it is your memory that could use a little work

If your posting is intended as an offering of comfort and sympathy, if falls grieviously short of the compassion and concern which has been demonstrated by your countrymen in response to this heinous act.

You might ask yourself where you and your country would be today without the compassion, not to mention the massive aid, given by the people who have just suffered a terrible loss.

The entire middle east has been and continues to be of major concern to the rest of the world. Not only do we *think* someone should do something, we *do* something. A great many *somethings*, not only for your country, but for all those involved. We are all one family, after all.

The terror you speak of touches everyone in the world, and has done so for some time, because we are aware of how small this earth is, and how fragile we all are

Hopefully, in the coming days and months, the human race will survive despite this fragility.

Peace

Amen to that.

You're not doing much here to allay suspicions already creeping in re the mossad in these events.

Sorry, with all due respect - it's a bit difficult to understand the point of this; my mistake, surely. I've no pre-formed opinion, and any information would be illuminating.

What might have been done that hasn't? I guess that's the question.

What might have been done, is that the religous fundementalists(christian) might have used their influence (financial and military ) more evenhandedly when 'trying' to arbitrate between the religous fundementalists (muslem) and the religous fundementalists (jewish), but then again, even the bbc's moderators wouldn't stand a chance at moderating any of that lot.
If you think this is an oversimplification, you must be able to read.

Thank you for your reply. I too have lived with terrorism - lost my office windows twice from car bombs and had the back window in my car shot out from a stray 9mm bullet, felt the floor shake and the windows rattle from a bomb that was close or big, or both; and knew that people, men women and children were being killed at that moment. As we all know that have felt that, too many people are doing the wrong thing and too many people that think they're doing the right thing are really doing the wrong thing. Your right, it's because they don't know, and can't feel what it's like.

Maybe one doesn't know about terrorism until one has lived with it, and when you live with it, you know that no one from the outside comes even close to understanding. And you know that no one really cares enough to understand the problem - the people that seem to care have a personal agenda.

It's unfortunate that Americans, my countrymen, are going to have to learn a very, very hard lesson if they want to fight this, and you're very right in saying that it's really not going to be easy to make them understand.

...them???

alec.

Problem definition

Though religion as such is a problem (for its also (but not exclusively) through this ‘power’ that people can be rallied behind dubious causes), it's the 'human condition' that makes raping essentially well meant rules (religion) an everyday part of L.U.E.

But that’s just one of humanity’s features

It seems to be just as easy for a human mind to simultaneously bomb a country and covering the collateral damage by throwing some propaganda-rice trying to win this 'folks' affection, as telling journalists bombing is wrong and people should talk this out whilst turning around, throwing rocks at Pakistani policemen, burning Bush-dolls and other symbols.

Children who fight are often told they 'have to be the wisest' i.e. the one who stops fighting, accepting 'temporal defeat' (but, of course, only on the physical side, on the other side it's a mental victory). As people grow up however, this lesson is still lingering in backward parts of minds, ready to be told, not practised - saying 'now you know what it feels like' is just such a reaction, and under ‘normal’ circumstances considered either childish behaviour or bad parenting - . IR(grown-up)L the message becomes, as we have seen demonstrated again 'We won't stop until they do' or 'We don't stop until their are stopped'. It's what people want. It only takes some justification for action that in some way makes flocks of people feel superior over 'the other'.

'Pointing at the other is a sign of weakness', it's done to disguise one's own weakness by highlighting the flaws of the other. It's not the Talibans fault Afghanistan remains one of the poorest countries in the world and hey, if someone steals, it's because of this person's own doing his hand and foot are surgically removed (very modern). How is this man ever going to plough his little poppy field again? They need an enemy to be able to keep oppressing, book in hand, their folks and by making this seem a religious affair their flock is growing. Likewise it's okay for consecutive American governments to make national interest the biggest part of the office of foreign affairs, secretly supporting rebels with dubious and/or heterogeneous causes simply because they are against what they are against which is opposition to American National Interest (the Mujaheddin fell apart fighting amongst themselves; one of those selves is America). They need an enemy to disguise their past mistakes (and, of course, small internal injustices like an eye for an eye legislation or unrightful monosyllabic presidents) and by making this a global 'war on terrorism' their flock is growing.

How sad it may seem Douglas Adams put the problem definition in the mouth of Gag Halfrunt and disguises it as an answer. It's perfectly normal behaviour for humans. The problem will eventually eradicate itself, be it through hanging people from (or nailing people to) trees, or by doing away with all trees while not ratifying the Kyoto treaty (probably the cleanest and quickest solution as our problems will be washed away on the one hand and burned on the other).

I think the sudden extinction of Dinosaurs must have had something to do with some kind of religious or cultural stupor as well.

That will be six million Altarean dollars.

At last, somebody on this site who not only has a bit of intelligence, but knows how connect things together and isn't afraid of being a critical voice in the wilderness. For the most part, the world is composed of two groups of people - those who want to tell others how to think and behave, and those who want to be told how to think and behave. It's time the minority, who can and do think for themselves,started to become more vocal.Say it out loud America is bent, Afghanistan is twisted-Bush is evil,the Taleban are evil.Sept 11th is an open sore on the face of the world, Americas, reaction to it is to rub, not just salt, but caustic soda on the sore. The first is a symptom of cancer, the second, cancer induced insanity. This illness can be cured, but not in a climate of fear and hate, and the first step must be awareness of the problem.And the problem is greed, and self interest and insularity, and I personally have all these problems as well, but as I say, the first step is simply awareness.

At last, somebody on this site who not only has a bit of intelligence, but knows how connect things together and isn't afraid of being a critical voice in the wilderness. For the most part, the world is composed of two groups of people - those who want to tell others how to think and behave, and those who want to be told how to think and behave. It's time the minority, who can and do think for themselves,started to become more vocal.Say it out loud America is bent, Afghanistan is twisted-Bush is evil,the Taleban are evil.Sept 11th is an open sore on the face of the world, Americas, reaction to it is to rub, not just salt, but caustic soda on the sore. The first is a symptom of cancer, the second, cancer induced insanity. This illness can be cured, but not in a climate of fear and hate, and the first step must be awareness of the problem.And the problem is greed, and self interest and insularity, and I personally have all these problems as well, but as I say, the first step is simply awareness.

At last, somebody on this site who not only has a bit of intelligence, but knows how connect things together and isn't afraid of being a critical voice in the wilderness. For the most part, the world is composed of two groups of people - those who want to tell others how to think and behave, and those who want to be told how to think and behave. It's time the minority, who can and do think for themselves,started to become more vocal.Say it out loud America is bent, Afghanistan is twisted-Bush is evil,the Taleban are evil.Sept 11th is an open sore on the face of the world, Americas, reaction to it is to rub, not just salt, but caustic soda on the sore. The first is a symptom of cancer, the second, cancer induced insanity. This illness can be cured, but not in a climate of fear and hate, and the first step must be awareness of the problem.And the problem is greed, and self interest and insularity, and I personally have all these problems as well, but as I say, the first step is simply awareness.

(sorry about this, I certainly didn't mean to post this three times, I'm still not quite used to this info tech stuff)

LOL

Actually, there are three kinds of people in the world: Those who know how to count, and those who don't

The first step, awareness, requires each of us to awaken. Each of us must cease blindly accepting what the religious and political leaders tell us, and actively seek the truth.

Read, study, explore, and above all communicate with your fellow humans. Remember that many other humans are trying to awaken, too.

Be aware that the religious and political leaders may not necessarily be evil, merely deluded, and are no more or less important than you and I, and that as humans they have the potential to awaken, as much as do you and I.

I am an American, and I'm sorry.

I'm sorry that people from nations all over the world have been affected by terrorism all their lives and have become desensitized to it. I'm sorry that I take for granted my safety, and the fact that I do not have to worry about getting shot on my way to the movies, which I am sorry that I can go to without fear. I'm sorry that people in my country have, for the most part, learned to get along, regardless of race, religion, or political beliefs. I'm sorry that you do not realize how much The United States has done to try and protect Israel from the Palestinians and their violence. I'm sorry that ordinary citizens from the USA risk their lives every day on mission trips to Israel, to help in any way that they can. I'm sorry that the Jewish community of America, regardless of how much they try to aid the Israeli cause, cannot reach you. I'm sorry that the reason we were attacked is due to our humane approach to the situations in your area of our planet. I'm sorry for living in ignorance of my comfort, and for going on in my own life, reassured in the fact that Troops from my army are out protecting the free world and ensuring their safety against dictators of all fashions. I'm sorry that we are the most financially secure and stable nation in the world. I'm sorry that, despite our multi-billion dollar debt, we are in the process of eliminating the outstanding money owed to us by all third world nations. I'm sorry that we are a beacon of freedom in a harsh and cruel world. I'm sorry about the thousands of immigrants, refugees, and fugitives of crimes like journalism and Christianity that flock to our shores every year, attempting to start a better life for themselves in "The Land of the Free." I'm sorry that thousands of Afghanistan's people now have to fear American cruise missiles because of the acions of one man and his brainwashed militia.

I am sorry for all these things.
I am not sorry for being an American.

AmericanNamedBob

Well Bob,
I'm sorry you take such a simplistic view of it.
If I interpret the the general tone of your posting, you feel resentfull about the the idea, that as an American , you should have anything to feel sorry about. DON'T WORRY Real people understand that we're all in the same boat with regard to the difference between people, and their government.
There are a lot of different attitudes to America.To try to understand some of them I recomend an editorial in the JapanTimes Online dated Oct 23rd 2001 called "How America Fuels Anti-Americanism"
I'm rather sorry to see the word used in such an ironic style.

Rather lacking the knowledge of how to create big freindly letters here, I can only repeat the essential message of "The Guide"

DONT WORRY

Philex.

Actually, Researchers are encouraged to worry. It tends to stimulate thoughtfulness, and even sometimes helps people to come up with answers..

The essential message of the Guide is 'Don't Panic!', and before the BBC acquired h2g2, the 'help' button was actually labelled, 'Don't Panic!'

So, Don't Panic! Be as sarcastic as you wish, but please, don't panic.. it rather upsets the

HiTal,
As usual, I can't fault your excelent common, and wise sense .
I would argue though, that political and religous leaders, while having the same potential as anyone, stand less actual chance of receiving any enlightenment due to their preoccupation with
everything else.

I was a little shacky with the implication that the political and religous leaders, should cease blindly accepting what the religous and political leaders tell us.
But now I'm happy with that as well.
Philex

PS the above was written before I read your posting.
The gaff about the 'don't panic' quote is unforgivable,, I crawl.