At least 11 casualties reported, 35 injured at the airport. Fuck.
http://twitter.com/infos140/status/712196980651466752/photo/1
edit: 10 more deaths confirmed at the Maalbeek subway explosion. Total 21.
edit2: Brussels in lockdown, cellular network at capacity. Another explosive device went off because of bomb squad trying to disarm it. IS claimed attacks.
edit3: Latest numbers are 26 killed, 130 injured.
edit4: Reports now say 2 explosions at the airport departure hall, 1 at the subway station. Lots of reports of suspicious packages. House raids have been started.
Damn. theadvancedapes, hope you're out of harm's way, my friend.
Thanks b_b -- I'm all good. Actually the scary thing is that the Maelbeek/Schuman metro area is a line I take everyday. Luckily I have a pretty bad flu today so I decided to stay in...
Luckily I have a pretty bad flu today so I decided to stay in...
Thankfully. I'm glad you are alright my friend. I'm sorry for those around you that aren't. Thanks for stopping by and letting us know. Be well and be safe. This is awful.
I tried to sort out some thoughts in a private message, below, but couldn't come to any conclusions. Maybe someone else will have a good idea. My way of dealing with this is the soothing rational argument that these events are less common than other killers like deadly bee stings, shark attacks, or lightning strikes. The problem is that we give these attacks so much attention. It's the media, etc. But maybe the world is the rational one. These deaths disturb me far more than those from bee stings. Why? We are supposed to be adept at dehumanizing the out-group, and terrorists are the ultimate out-group. That term is the de facto label for anyone the authorities want to prosecute without retribution. (In the French press, the attackers are called kamikaze, which is weird.) Why don't we simply perceive suicide bombers and bombings as inhuman, unpredictable forces of nature, like volcanoes, that we just have to rue and tolerate? Another thin comfort is that these attacks rely on a supply of people with a compromised instinct for self-preservation. I can't convince myself that this supply is not on the rise. I don't know why we don't see more of these attacks than we do, which would be good knowledge to have. I tend to favor less strict border control, and like to think that migration and trade will mitigate the extreme differences that might fuel this kind of attack. But it's hard to formulate a convincing argument. User b-612 tells us that "most of the terrorist had Belgian passports and been living in Belgium almost all their lives," and is rightly praised for caring about facts. Yet b-612 provides no citation, and my casual reading of coverage suggested that the authorities had only the usual fuzzy security photos and, I suppose, some shreds of meat to go on at the time b-612 made the comment. Another in-group/out-group reflection is that a similar attack occurred recently in Ankara. I see no mention on Hubski (though search is not reliable). A British expat got some shares on the other social network asking "You were Charlie, will you be Ankara?" The Turks, long standing at the door of the European Union, chafe at the perception that they are not good enough for the European "Christian Club." The question of whether an Us-Them mentality contributes to an atmosphere in which mistrust and hatred festers is a touchy one. Rebuffed by the West, the present regime has turned east, cozying up to Russia and Iran, to the consternation of many Turks. The arrest in Miami last week of a previously untouchable businessman/insider made a U.S. Attorney a Twitter sensation in Turkey. Reza Zarrab is accused of evading sanctions by paying Turkey's gas bills from Iran in gold, with boxes of dollars stashed on the side. For now, b-612 looks more and more attractive, despite two active volcanoes and one extinct. Mais, comme il disait, "On ne sait jamais!"
Because it does harm far beyond the victims, their families and relatives. Because bee stings aren't intentionally done to disturb you and your society. They aren't intentionally pushing people towards extremism. The hopelessness that many feel is hard to take, let alone to reconcile with.These deaths disturb me far more than those from bee stings.
another link here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/brussels-airport-explosion-reports-1.3501831 This is a whole lot of bad news not just for Brussels, but for the tide of humanity attempting to escape from Syria, for the tone of dialogue in the American Presidential race (as if it wasn't bad enough). The fallout from this is going to be catastrophic. My heart goes out all people affected.
this is why this environment is the healthiest medium of social engagement I have ever found. After my own emotional polarity dies down from this event - and I can see this event in a more objective bias akin to my values, I cannot wait to see how this event is understood and received on this site.
Ya I was already avoiding other sites because the Trudeau government is supposed to table their 1st budget today and I have no interest in hearing what people who don't know anything about the matter have to say on it. Now this is just another reason to avoid the comment sections today. Except hubski, good old hubski.
While I expected political actors to take advantage of this tragedy, I'm still disgusted by Trump calling the border policy lax and foolish, UKIP doing the same and right-wing populist Wilders calling for closing of our borders. It's a truly destructive fear ruling politics at the moment.
