Haunting....

Hey friends,

The nation of UK observed a two-minute silence today at 12pm GMT. I saw the images on BBC News and the scenes were haunting at the most. The entire nation had stopped doing whatever it was and stood still. All the people just stood still when the clock struck 12. It was a sight to see as it looked something right out of Twilight Zone. Images from around London, Leeds, Belfast and other places showed people still, heads bowed down in respect to honor the dead and wounded in the London attacks. There were people of all background and religion. There were even Muslim students in Leeds who observed the two minutes silence. Those two minutes seemed like the longest two minutes ever.

Ok, so I think it is great that a nation would do something like this. I remember London also did a three minute silence for the tsunami victims.

But what about when 24 Iraqi children die? Don't we have any sympathy for them? Don't get me wrong, I have as much sympathy for those killed in the 9/11 attacks and the London attacks, but I find it a little disturbing when the deaths in London are elevated, with all the memorials and flowers and candles laid out in the open, while the deaths of Iraqis are treated as they were cheap lives. 24 children, some as young as 4 and 5 were killed when a suicide attacker rammed his car into the American humvee around which children were gathered to get candies from the soldiers. I still fail to grasp how a suicide attacker could do something like this. I guess because we see so many senseless deaths in Iraq each day, the initial shock effect has worn off. It should not be this way but unfortunately it has.

Double standards exist in the media. There is nothing new about that. Everyone knows. There is no impartial news channel out there as there are always subtle hints which reinforces their beliefs.

Here is my 2-minute silence for the Iraqi children who were killed......

Mansur