Notes from the Road

This quotation seems eerily consistent with the current British and US approach to communicaton with the electorate:

“Of course the people don’t want war… That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it’s always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it’s a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.”

I was in Brittany last week at a wedding (a wonderful experience in itself!), and I met a person who leads a foundation focussing on teaching and promoting peace with children. The website is http://www.graines-de-paix.org, and it’s a multi-lingual site. (more…)

We came in from San Francisco without event. The security here was a little tougher than we’d seen at Heathrow – our carry on bags were briefly searched at the gate right before we climbed on the plane.

We travelled to the US a few days after the height of the crisis – they had just allowed one small carry-on bag.In fact to my surprise the security process was no more onerous than usual – we were never searched, and the only change was the additional question (and restriction) related to liquids.We made it to the airport with 3 hours to spare and ended up with a lot of time to waste in the departure lounge.

It’s hard to judge if there were additional checks that we didn’t see, but my experience of the trip was no material difference from normal international travel.

We’ll see how it is on the way back…

The government response to the Moslem leaders’ letter is remarkable for its defensiveness. The letter suggests that Britain’s foreign policy is not working, and asks for change. As evidence it points to the failure of our policies to create a solution in either Iraq or the Middle East, and to the rise in terrorists targeting Britons.

We should change our policy because it is not working. There is no evidence that the kinds of force Britain and the US are deploying can successfully conclude a guerrilla war, as these are decentralized and driven by passionate belief (rightly or wrongly) in an injustice needing a remedy. Shifting to compassionate aid, collaboratively delivered, will yield faster results.

This was published earlier today by Moslem leaders in the UK:

“Prime Minister, As British Muslims we urge you to do more to fight against all those who target civilians with violence, whenever and wherever that happens.
It is our view that current British government policy risks putting civilians at increased risk both in the UK and abroad.

(more…)

During the late 1980s, I was working for Schlumberger in Cambridge, and they gave us training in how to behave in a world where terrorism was a risk. I thought I’d pass on the elements that I remember. This was the era of hi-jacking, when we had to worry both about bombs and about being taken hostage when travelling by air.So here are some of the points I remember: (more…)

United says our flight will leave only a few minutes late, but we decided to stay home until we know more. We may travel next week, or perhaps just I will go – it depends on what we can get and our assessment of the risks.In reality it’s unlikely that anything untoward will happen. The controls are very strict, and in any case the chances of being on an affected flight are very small. How should one look at these risks?

(more…)

Today we see headlines about the foiling of a terrorist plot to blow up planes flying from the UK to the US. This resonates with me as I’m supposed to make that trip tomorrow. I will probably delay my flight – both to minimize risk and to avoid the hassle of extra security.One of the key elements of the heightened security is the banning of carry on luggage – down to elements like spectacle cases. It’s obvious that there are many ways for a suicide-bent terrorist to create something poisonous or damaging from apparently innocuous carry-on items, so these restrictions are not surprising. But they do make travel very unpleasant for all of us. (more…)

I’ve started a second blog – this is about my experience of digital photography with Nikon DSLR cameras. As I learn more I’ll publish my discoveries. You can read it here.It’s a complex field – from camera to lens to backup of photos to developing and printing – lots to learn and share.