Ach, it's hard to know what to write after all that's happened in the world this weekend. It seems that every time I check my facebook or twitter feeds there's a link to a new article that expands my view a bit more, each one making it more complex. So, here are some random thoughts.

1. It's very scary how many people conflate Muslim with terrorist, thereby displaying a fundamental ignorance of the world outside their own narrow confines. Actually, I don't know how many, or what proportion they are of the non-Muslim population, but they're popping up making war-mongering comments below the line on all kinds of articles.

2. I fell out of love with Obama when he said, "This is an attack not just on Paris, this is an attack not just on the people of France, but this is an attack on all of humanity and the values we share." I mean, he's not wrong, but it's fucking rich from a person who authorises drone attacks which have so far killed over 200 Pakistani children amongst the tens of thousands of civilians. What are these values, Barack? Yours seem a bit too fucking flexible for my taste. Drones have to be at least as bad as suicide attacks, surely?

3. I have family (nephew and nieces) and friends who live in or near Paris, which is less than an hour's flight from here - it felt very real and personal.

4. I didn't know about the bombings in Beirut and Baghdad which also happened on Friday until I saw a very moving post from a woman who had family in both places, asking why there hadn't been international outrage and grief for them. They were reported, but buried in the foreign news, which I mostly stopped reading a while ago, and it's a very good question. Facebook made an app enabling Parisians to post that they were safe (for which I was grateful as my niece used it), but this was not extended to residents of Beirut or Baghdad. Do we care less about them? If so, is that because of the way such stories are covered, or are they covered like that because we don't care? They're getting bombed all the time, all the fucking time.

5. I don't know enough about any of it, not even Israel and Palestine, because it's all too complicated to be able to form an opinion that I can trust, given the dodgy nature of the press.

6. I do know that I have met people from all over the world and there are ALWAYS differences and things we have in common, whoever they are, wherever they come from, however they live, whatever they believe. We are all human. I think of the Muslim kids I taught, who were just as varied but similar to all the other kids I taught.

I am grateful for: being alive still, in this dangerous world; having had an education worthy of the name; having had YD, H and GS round for Sunday lunch today; the milky drink I am about to make; the bed I am going to sleep in

Hope you are all safe and well xxx