Another Incident in Madrid!

Well, as I am sure many of you know, there was another terrorist related incident in Madrid. It happened as police closed in on "suspects" in Leganes (quite far from the center of Madrid, so I was never concerned about Meg thankfully). Clearly the police "had the right guys" because when they evacuated the block, and cornered them, they tried to take the building down with them killing themselves, one policeman, and injuring others. I can not describe how this makes me feel because it is so outside the frame of reference for "a dude from Vancouver." A little angry, confused, sad, and worried to begin with... Adding to the bizarre feelings is that my thoughts of Madrid are so disassociated with this craziness. They are of entirely pleasant times and immersion in a foreign culture, and in an endearing city that grows on you as you come to know it. As you may imagine, a lot of folks have asked me how this will affect Meg and I's plans. For the moment, the only correct answer is really that we don't know - how can you know? And that it has not changed anything at this time. In talking to Spanish friends at The Moving Picture Company I have come to the conclusion about one thing, however. Given Spain's aging population and none too spectacular track record with respect to immigration there is a concern about people in Spain retreating from the current trend towards more open immigration. This will be a shame because Spain needs immigration to thrive and there are so many deserving individuals who could take advantage of Spain's relative wealth in the world. If the people of Spain do change their attitudes this will surely be one "accomplishment" of the terrorist acts.