OVERWHELMED BY WORLD EVENTS

This video shows what happened in London at the weekend. The Police seem powerless and my neighbours in Golders Green now live in fear. Is this the future in our capital,city? I hope this works as I am technically incompetent!

twitter.com/Emily8275/status/1712435095733514657/video/1

It does feel sometimes as if the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are on the move.

I agree DOWNANDOUT. Watching this unfold on the news is heartbreaking. I can’t bear the thought of children, or indeed anyone being bombed and attacked. To prevent water supplies, food and much needed medical supplies from being ferried into Gaza is beyond belief. Hamas are evil beings, but the people in Palestine don’t deserve this, in the same way that ordinary Israeli’s didn’t deserve to be tortured and murdered or taken hostage.
Like you, I fear for our children and grandchildren. DH tells me not to read or watch it, but how can we not?

Another proud Humanist here Franbern. So many deaths and maiming done in the name of religion and male ego.

I don't feel overwhelmed, just angry at what is happening and grateful that I have the luxury of choosing whether or not to be aware of it all.

My father served all over the world in WW11 and I recall him saying that WW111 would start in the middle east. I hope was wrong. I have always been on tenterhooks when there has been "trouble" in the middle east.
I am wondering who is going to take advantage of this distraction. Will China invade Taiwan,or Russia and Belarus escalating the war in Ukraine

Grantanow, another post carefully written to criticise Conservative leaders. You are so one sided like others. The post about the Falklands was short on fact until someone corrected it. Men become leaders because few women feel the need to lead their political parties and no doubt do wonderful work in other roles. The situation in Israel and Gaza is horrific. Hamas is a cruel terrorist organisation which cares not a fig for thr Palestinians in Gaza. Now the awful,destruction of the hospital in Gaza. Hamas immediately blamed the Israelis and stirred up other Middle Eastern countries. If you think logically then it would have been extremely stupid for Israel to have bombed the hospital. First they have the Israeli hostages taken by Hamas to free which such a shocking bombing would not help. Then they had the US President visiting Israel and other Middle Eastern countries. It would have been completely against Isreal’s aims. So it suited Hamas to give out this story that Israel bombed the hospital. If you cannot see how stupid it would have been for Israel to perpetrate such barbarity then there is no hope for any useful argument. There is just not any way for Hamas and Hisbollah to reach any agreement to allow Israel,and the Palestinians to live peacefully. It is a complete tragedy.

TanaMa

Why do some people criticise Margaret Thatcher and the Falkland war ( on behalf of people who considered themselves part of UK) but do not do the same to Tony Blair who took the country into a war based in false propagander. He was a real warmonger!!

It's worth remembering that Blair was re-elected for the third time by the British people with a substantial majority AFTER the Gulf War. Most of the criticism directed at him was from the Left which resented his popularity and dominance of the Labour Party.

Too many vapid generalisations above about men, etc. I agree voters have been gulled into voting in some appalling populist politicians - Thatcher, Johnson, Trump, etc., 'strongmen' such as Netanyahu, Putin, Bolsanaro, etc. and incompetents like Truss. Our education system doesn't seem to arm future voters with the ability to make political judgements. And it's true that the media and press love bad news because it increases readership and advertising revenue for their profits. Also there is far to much opinion in the media and press which passes for news in many people's minds and much of it is biased according to the owners' views and political allegiance. BBC News is fairly reliable but offers too much opinion from those on the ground and it's local news teams may be influenced by their allegiances as may be the case for other TV channels.

TanaMa

Why do some people criticise Margaret Thatcher and the Falkland war ( on behalf of people who considered themselves part of UK) but do not do the same to Tony Blair who took the country into a war based in false propagander. He was a real warmonger!!

No-one knows exactly how many people died in the 2003 Iraq war - estimates are in the hundreds of thousands. And the invasion set off decades of brutality and chaos. For all the rhetoric being bandied about at the time, including that on Saddam Hussein, it does look like Bush and Blair were indeed warmongering.

Much as I disliked Thatcher - the Falklands was a different situation all together.

You can argue that the island should have been Argentina's territory, but when the military junta invaded it - what else was she supposed to do to protect the islanders who saw themselves as British?

I’ve thought a lot recently about why some people never learn from history and the devastation of war on every level.
Men are “mainly” responsible, their egos and in some cases they are just unhinged and deluded, my opinion of Trump for example.
I had this sent to me this week “ people are not happy in Gaza, in Libya, Iran, Yemen, Afghanistan, Syria etc So where are they happy ? They’re happy in Australia, Canada, England, France, Italy, Germany, Sweden etc Basically is there is no happiness in any Muslim country …., and who do they blame ? Not Islam, not their leaders, not themselves….. they blame the countries where people are happy in, and they want to change those countries, to be the same as their countries, that they’re not happy in.”
Please don’t start bombarding me with this quote, I did not write it. Is there an element of truth ? What is the answer to it all ? Religion certainly causes more wars, unrest and unhappiness than anything else. I’m a humanist, I’m a spiritual person, and I dont care what colour or religion people are, I just care about love, kindness and tolerance.

Why do some people criticise Margaret Thatcher and the Falkland war ( on behalf of people who considered themselves part of UK) but do not do the same to Tony Blair who took the country into a war based in false propagander. He was a real warmonger!!

I had son and nephew in armed forces, one clears mines for the Halo trust nowand a diplomat father, have been well aware of devastating World events for years, and this Israel/ Hamas nightmare is a repeat of other ghastly horrors still going on.I didn't sleep well when family were in Eg Afghanistan etc, still not sleeping well..

Callistemon21

^Truss certainly has an ego - keeps popping up like an unwanted mole on your lawn... If I'd mini-tanked the economy and caused millions of people a surge in their mortgage repayments, I'd be keeping a very low profile.^
I was astonished to see her at the Tory Party conference holding forth.

If I may use a Yiddish word - she certainly has chutzpah.

If I may use a Yiddish word - she certainly has chutzpah.

You may - and she does

lixy, I haven’t seen or read about Dumbledore’s death and I really appreciate the idea of students using their wands to create a shield of light against the darkness.

If only this imagery could be utilised - the world would be a better place. I know not enough about Buddhism but my understanding is there’s an emphasise on compassion for all people. That’s needed more than ever

Anxiety is such a corrosive emotion. Please, for your own health, try to do the mindfulness routine of listing three good things that happened today.
Mine - a robin was singing in the garden, the sun shone, I finished a piece of knitting.

I know it seems trite but I keep thinking of the Harry Potter scene when Dumbledore dies and the students, one by one, use their wands to create a shield of light against the darkness. It's the only form of resistance to the current world news that I have.

Truss certainly has an ego - keeps popping up like an unwanted mole on your lawn... If I'd mini-tanked the economy and caused millions of people a surge in their mortgage repayments, I'd be keeping a very low profile.
I was astonished to see her at the Tory Party conference holding forth.

If I may use a Yiddish word - she certainly has chutzpah.

karmalady

No children means less worry in many ways. I certainly understand the thinking behind the choice to be childless.

But it’s not for everyone, obviously. Bringing up children, and then supporting them as young adults can be very demanding in all sorts of ways - but (usually) very rewarding too.

No children means less worry in many ways. I certainly understand the thinking behind the choice to be childless.

SporeRB

Me too. Overwhelmed by the news, feeling despondent and tearful. I remember feeling this way for weeks when someone at my office die during the 7/7 London bombing.

Does not help that someone on GN accused me of being anti semitic, when I consider myself a tolerant person having a potential SIL with Jewish ancestry.
Plus I grew up in a multicultural country and have been exposed to different cultures and have attended weddings and funerals of a number of faiths – Muslim, Christian, Buddhist and Hindu.

The world is so chaotic right now, we have just been through a pandemic, cost of living crisis, Ukraine war and now facing the potential of a war that can lead to WW3. It can wear you down.

I agree with you Downnotout, if men want to fight, why don’t they put on their army uniforms, go to a battlefield somewhere and fight like men and leave the women and children alone.

Not sure, whether the world will be better place with women in power, might attract the wrong type pf women - women who are just as egoistical as men, women like Liz Truss.

I was about to disagree somewhat with you - then I saw this...

...women who are just as egoistical as men, women like Liz Truss.

She's a very singular individual that one isn't she!

As The Spectator said:

She campaigned hard and sometimes dirty to obtain a job for which she was manifestly out of her depth. Once in that job, she exercised power with peremptory arrogance. She rewarded people who had sucked up to her, cast out anyone who had spoken up for her rival, and allowed experienced civil servants to be hoofed ruthlessly out of their jobs.

Watching her on TV - I don't know about anyone else but I always get an impression of someone 'acting the part' - the way she she attempts to encompass her audience with a 'questioning' look turning her head from one side to the other, as if to say, "I'm-right-aren't-I?", coupled with a look which is meant to deter anyone from questioning her assumptions.

... like this...

www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/liz-truss-allies-set-to-publish-growth-budget-days-ahead-of-autumn-statement/ar-AA1iff9M

So, you could be right. Truss certainly has an ego - keeps popping up like an unwanted mole on your lawn... If I'd mini-tanked the economy and caused millions of people a surge in their mortgage repayments, I'd be keeping a very low profile.

I am concerned, distressed at times angry or bewildered by what’s happening in Gaza and Israel. I don’t feel hopeful for a resolution, I’m scared it will get even worse.
I understand why Israel wants to destroy Hamas but don’t believe their bombardment of innocent civilians will achieve this.
But I’m not overwhelmed by world events. Being overwhelmed suggests not functioning.

biglouis, your choice not to have children. Should you ever need care or medical treatment, it’s likely to be provided by the adult children those of us who chose to have babies and nurture those babies to grow into caring adults who co tribute positively to society.

Callistemon21

You have told us many times how wise you were not to have children biglouis and that was your decision.

However, just because it was wise for you does not mean it is necessarily the same for everyone.

This.

Me too. Overwhelmed by the news, feeling despondent and tearful. I remember feeling this way for weeks when someone at my office die during the 7/7 London bombing.

Does not help that someone on GN accused me of being anti semitic, when I consider myself a tolerant person having a potential SIL with Jewish ancestry.
Plus I grew up in a multicultural country and have been exposed to different cultures and have attended weddings and funerals of a number of faiths – Muslim, Christian, Buddhist and Hindu.

The world is so chaotic right now, we have just been through a pandemic, cost of living crisis, Ukraine war and now facing the potential of a war that can lead to WW3. It can wear you down.

I agree with you Downnotout, if men want to fight, why don’t they put on their army uniforms, go to a battlefield somewhere and fight like men and leave the women and children alone.

Not sure, whether the world will be better place with women in power, might attract the wrong type pf women - women who are just as egoistical as men, women like Liz Truss.

I listen to the headlines but cannot cope with the detail and "human interest" stories. If there is nothing I can do to make a difference I try to put it out of my mind. We have too much information now and it is impossible to digest it all. I suspect the world has always been this violent but we were simply unaware of it.

I think the older we get, the more we see the futility of violence, whether wars, hooliganism or whatever other form it might take.

As teenagers and young adults, most of us, and certainly me, tend to see everything in black and white / right or wrong. Now we see many more nuances.

It is not fair, or probably even strictly speaking true to blame men for wars or violence. Women in power have instigated conflicts too, or carried them on. There just have not been so many women so placed that they had that power.

And until very recently women were largely responsible for the early education and upbringing of both boys and girls, so as a sex we could have changed things if we had seen the need. At best women (as a sex) have been complicit in bring boys up to fight and girls to sit at home .

The oldest written Danish law (from the 12th century) starts with the words that the law builds up the country, but if everyone would make do with what is actually theirs, we would not need a law.

A perfectly true statement, I assume, but no society has yet managed to abide by it, so I may be wrong.

The 10th commandment warns us against coveting our neighbours' possessions - if mankind as such had ever really tried to obey that we might just have a solid chance of living in peace.

I shall soon be 72 and grew up in what is termed "peace-time", which when you, my contemporaries, think about what we actually have lived through, just means we were so fortunate that the fighting went on in countries we didn't live in and has not yet escalated in our lifetime into a world war.

Life is no harder now, then it was on the day in 1917 when my great-grandparents received the notification that one of their sons had died on the Somme and the other was battling to survive mustard-gas poisoning. And, my grand-parents were only one set of parents out of Heaven alone knows how many who received that kind of news on that day,

Today we know that fighting is going on in far too many places practically at the same time as the battle commences, but the suffering is just the same, irrespective of which war we are talking about. The news just used to take longer to reach us.

In the interests of remaining sane, we just have to switch off the many forms of news distribuation at times.