Sad day

There's just been a terrorist attack at one of Moscow's largest airports, Domodedovo. Right now they're saying 35 are dead and 51 injured, some 30 critically. They aren't sure exactly if it was a suicide bomber, but it occurred near the baggage claim, probably where people wait for arrivals. They hit at rush hour. This is the busiest international hub for the city and it isn't the first time terrorist attacks have occurred in Moscow. Just last year in March,  they hit a busy metro station. At that time a group from the Caucasus claimed responsibility. It's likely that a similar group, or the same, is responsible now.

Petr is busy at the office. They're trying to figure out if any Czechs were caught up in it.

The world is getting scarier and scarier. When I was in Idaho, it wasn't so close. Who would target Idaho? But now I'm living in a major metropolitan city, and one with a history of terrorists attacks too. I am traveling internationally at least once a year. I use public transportation. What can one do? It's horrible that every time I fly or see sort of sketchy men in the metro I consider that someone could blow us all up. I'm not going to pretend that intimidation through terror is something new. My parent's generation hid under their desks from atomic bombs. But since 9/11 I have been acutely aware that there are people out there who would give up their lives in order to take mine.

And it's not as simple as blaming a nation or a religion. These are small groups of extremists with a flare for the dramatic. The sad thing is that they can cause fear and pain, but they can rarely get things changed. And so more and more occur. It's a horrible cycle. What can we do? If we ignore their requests, more will come. If we bring negotiations to the table, they get the message that if something isn't going their way, bombings bring results. Either way, innocent people die. It makes me sick.

Anyways, my heart goes out to the families of the victims. This is a sad day.