Day 14: Alert Levels Raised

The world is not a safe place anymore - this is what we're told now, day in and day out (perhaps a bit less over here in the UK than in the US). Not that it ever really was that safe a palce to begin with, as let's face it, wars seem to erupt at the drop of a hat these days. This was all somewhat bought home a bit today with the news that a 'significant terrorist plot' (this should be trademarked) was foiled by British police and intelligence services with a number of arrests in the London area occurring in the London area. It seems that there were plans to smuggle liquid explosives aboard commercial flights from US to UK in hand luggage and then detonate them somewhere over the Atlantic ocean. Kudos, i guess, has to go to the security services for disrupting these plans.

Of course, this means that the UK airports are somewhat chaotic right now - flights from UK to US (from Heathrow at least, poossibly other airports) have been cancelled and all incoming flights (from US) have been cancelled - save for those already in the air. A number of domestic flights and european airline's flights into the UK have also been cancelled or delayed indefinitely. From my point of view, i'm not too worried - stiff upper lip and all that - but also because i'm not flying out until next week and hopefully this will all be cleared up by then. My mother is somewhat more perturbed than i am, quite understandably i guess, but as i pointed out to her, this is also what some aim of the terrorists will be - merely to cause panic and raise alarm. If a plot has been foiled, then great - but then you sometime have to wonder if there was a 'plot' to begin with - either on behalf of the terrorists or the services. Maybe i'm just too cyncial. Come what may, i'll still be in the check-in queue in a week and a bit.