I have decided not to write anything about Norm immediately, letting my thoughts to coalesce first and, of course, peeking into what other bloggers have to say about passing of this remarkable man. Characteristically, many of the bloggers who, like I, never met Norm in person and conversed with him only via their posts and, less frequently, via emails, tell about the impact Norm had on their writing, their way of thinking, their politics. Many have thanked him for the attention he granted them, his always busy daily schedule notwithstanding (and so do I). Of course, blogging being (for many of us) the shelter of an ultimate egotist, most of us are not writing about Norm only, but about his influence on our lives. Which is, at the end of the day, how it should be, and I hope he will recognize in this our sincere gratefulness.
So how do I see Norm? First of all, as an exceedingly kind person. His kindness (and I am more than sure that it was true for everything he has done in his life) was automatically offered to people whom he never seen, always ready to lend a hand or say a supportive word. When dealing with his opponents, he has never crossed the line between razor sharp criticism of what a person stands for and the (always available and attractive) domain of juicy ad hominems, even when richly deserved by that person. The art of self-restraint that I, as many other run of the mill bloggers, never mastered.
And his writing: where do I start? His ability to say what he intended to with as few words as possible, in fact to say in one sentence more than many of us (yes, mea culpa too) use ten or twenty... that amazing brevity was nothing short of magical. Each time I happen to open a book written by one of the proponents of so called "hysterical realism", I think about Norm and smile inwardly. Frequently, looking at my own stunted and overly verbose posts, I ask myself "What would Norm think about it?", but then I excuse myself (second language, natural awkwardness etc.), knowing that I can never dream of really applying such an exacting standard to myself.
During all these years of surfing and blogging, I have encountered many a person of the left wing persuasion, frequently clashing with them on finer points of their beliefs. The acidity of these exchanges and the fights certainly leave their imprint. I know that I could never share (again, in my personal history) their version of Marxism and their religious and uncritical beliefs in the dogma. To my continuing surprise, it was absolutely different with Norm. The greatness of his mind, his ability to separate the wheat from the chaff and his humanity more than compensated for me this specific insolvable rift in our politics.
There are at least two things that I will always be sorry about. The first is that my acquaintance with Normblog started a few years later than Norm started it. But this is repairable, as long as this treasure is accessible.
The second sorrow has to deal with that e-mail from Norm about his planned visit to our neck of the woods, the incompatibility of possible meeting dates, the missed opportunity - this one is beyond anyone's ability to put right.
RIP Norman Geras. Thank you for being. See you later.
The initial report:
Several Israelis were killed and wounded on Wednesday in a terror attack on a tour bus in the Burgus airport in Bulgaria, local media reported. An Israeli who witnessed the event said that one of the buses that carried Israelis across terminals in the airport blew up and went up in flames.
6:54 P.M.: Death count reaches seven, according to Bulgarian television.
7:13 P.M.: Burgus Mayor Dimitar Nikolov says explosives were placed in the trunk of the bus.
Ynet
reports differently:
According to media reports, a suicide bomber boarded one of three buses shuttling Israeli tourist across the terminal at around 5:30 pm and then detonated an explosive vest. Bulgarian media said 44 people were on the vehicle at the time of the explosion.
Speculations about the perpetrators of the attack have already started in the media, with Iran and its trusted arm, Hezbollah, being mentioned as prime suspects. However this should be mentioned:
Security sources said that there was no intelligence indicating that Israelis traveling in the area may fall prey to terror attacks.
Update: according to
Maariv (Hebrew):
A female suicide bomber who stood at the terminal, approached the buses with Israeli tourists and blew herself up.
And a timely reminder from
Fox/AP:
The attack comes on the anniversary of a 1994 attack on a Jewish center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, that killed 85 people. Just this morning, relatives of the victims implored the Argentine government to pressure Iran to turn over seven suspects accused in that attack.
Update:
Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov arrived at the site of the attack and called Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman in order to report to him that explosives placed in the trunk of the tourists’ bus were the cause of the explosion. Mladenov told Lieberman that six people were killed in the attack while another died of in the hospital. Two other individuals were in critical condition in the emergency room. 30 others were being treated at the city’s hospital.
Update. More confusing reports:
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said Thursday that the terror attack at the Sarafovo Airport terminal was likely the work of a suicide bomber, and not an explosive device planted on the bus, as previously assumed. Seven people were killed, six of them Israelis, and 34 others were wounded in the blast.
More on the suicide bomber version:
Bulgaria's Interior Minister Tsvetanov told reporters on Thursday that the suicide bomber who carried out a terror attack against Israeli tourists in Burgas on Wednesday "looked like everybody else - a normal person with Bermuda shorts and a backpack," he said.
An investigation suggests that the terrorist was waiting near the bus for over an hour.
Update: a video clip of the alleged suicide bomber was posted:
And meanwhile politicos compete in colorful threats:
Benjamin Netanyahu:
"All signs point to Iran," he said. "Only in the last few months we’ve seen Iran trying to target Israelis in Thailand, India, Georgia, Kenya, Cyprus and other destinations."..."This is a globally expanding Iranian terrorist attack. Israel will retaliate."
Ehud Barak:
Our defense forces will act to track down the perpetrators and masterminds behind this act of terrorism.
Interior Minister Eli Yishai
Today is a sad day in which the terrorists' hand triumphed, but it is doomed to be cut off.
Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch
said Thursday that Israel will "settle the score" with those responsible for the terror attack on Israelis in Bulgaria. He too pointed the finger at Iran.
Etc.
They don't have the mold anymore to make another one.
Now just close your eyes and listen:
And remember.
This news strangely (or not) didn't make many headlines.
Authorities investigating the 2008 crash of Spanair flight 5022 have discovered a central computer system used to monitor technical problems in the aircraft was infected with malware.
An internal report issued by the airline revealed the infected computer failed to detect three technical problems with the aircraft, which if detected, may have prevented the plane from taking off, according to reports in the Spanish newspaper, El Pais.
Flight 5022 crashed just after takeoff from Madrid-Barajas International Airport two years ago today [August 20] , killing 154 and leaving only 18 survivors.
It's easy to see why airlines and airplane builders wouldn't want that kind of news to spread. And there is another
article, linked from the above one.
Modern malware uses a variety of methods to conceal itself. As a result, even the most advanced antivirus software only detects between 40 and 70 percent of infections, said Danny Quist, a malware specialist and founder of Offensive Computing, LLC.
Quite bleak, isn't it?
