Paris hostage crisis ends.....

This was all too close to home...... I have family living in Paris, indeed one is a policeman and one more was on a plane on Tuesday from there, less than 24 hours before it all went off.  Watching the pictures all day on France 24 left me empty at the uselessness of it all.  It all felt way to familiar for me and took me back to the bad old days of  9/11.  I just hope the French nation don't opt for a Bush-style knee-jerk reaction.  New security Laws are needed, of that there is no doubt, but hopefully nothing as extreme as the US Patriot Act. Thankfully President Hollande doesn't seem the type and Manual Valls is way to smart for anything too outrageous, and anyway the French people have a much more rounded outlook towards freedom than perhaps does your average American and I couldn't see the French standing for anything as outlandish as French Patriot Act.  But time will tell......

For now, I'm sitting here waiting for President Hollande's address on the current state of affairs.  Reports are still sketchy and the numbers of dead (aside from those who asked for it) are not confirmed yet, and to the families of all the victims I can only offer my deepest condolences and hope that their deaths have not been in vain.

This is not the time for Politics or separatism.  Let's learn from the mistakes of 9/11 and let's come together in peace, everyone who believes in freedom and liberty, regardless of skin colour, nationality, race or creed. Let's begin on Sunday....attend the rally in support of the all the victims that is nearest to you and for one day let's forget our differences, forget our fears and come together in love.  We're all the same under the skin, we're all one under the sun and let's show our solidarity and move forwards in love, united across the oceans, under the skies and stand proud and fear-free and tell these fanatics who bring death to our streets that they cannot win, they will not win.  Let's fight with our words, not with guns; with love and not with hate; with togetherness and solidarity and we will win.  Lets #StoptheHate .