South Korea: Brawl Over Speaker’s Chair
Democracy in Action
South Korean lawmakers start a brawl over the Speaker’s Chair.
Too bad our own Congressman and Senators don’t engage in this kind of activity every once in a while…
Jawa Report Banned in India
The Jawa Report and, according to the Wall Street Journal Online, a number of other blogs have been banned by the Indian government:
India has banned a number of websites by domain, but has only singled out 17 websites by name, including this one. Among the American websites all are connected in some way to The Jawa Report.
Why did India ban this website? And what is the larger meaning of this action?
The short answer to the first question is that we offended Islamists and India is afraid of its own Muslim citizens. The short answer to the second question is that, sadly, it is increasingly becoming evident that liberty may not be able to exist wherever there is a large population of Muslims.
What, specifically, did we do to offend Islamists and their supporters in the Muslim world?
Some time ago a story began to be circulated in the mainstream press that a detainee's Koran had been put in a toilet at Guantanamo Bay. It later turned out that the story was false.
Nevertheless, the reaction from many in the Muslim world was quite revealing about an alleged 'tiny minority of extremists'. Riots erupted all over the world by people who were offended. Thousands marched, caused property damage, and some were even killed.
Over what? A story about a book being put in a toilet.
You can read more at the Jawa Report.
Bloggers Help Mumbai Bombing Victims
My heartfelt condolences and prayers go out to every Indian family affected by the recent transit system bombings and grenade attacks in Mumbai and Srinagar, India.
Bloggers from around the World have posted varying report, thoughts and commentary all in support of the victims of the attacks.
One group of bloggers in particular have set up Mumbai Help. The blog is designed to function as a portal helping people trace missing relatives and express their grief.
We can help them, help others by spreading the word…
Mumbai Blasts: Latest Body Count
This is an update to my previous post: Religion of Peace Strikes Again in Mubai (Bombay) India.
People killed: 140, Now over 151, 183, More than 200
Person's injured: 257, More than 300, More than 714
Source: The Hindu News, The Times of India, PTI
Interested Participant is quoting sources that report more dead and injuired.
Bomb Blast at Mahim in the train Mumbai on Tuesday . (TOI)
The Times of India ran a story indicating early intelligence reports point to the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Toiba as the people responsible for carrying out the attack. Lashkar-e-Toiba means "Army of the Pure" and was formed in the early 1990's in Afghanistan. They are active in the Jammu and Kashmir regions. Although not openly known, LeT has formal ties with al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. The group has provided operational security to many of AQ's terrorist-cell members.
Bill Roggio has more details about LeT at the Counterterrorism Blog.
NEW DELHI: The terror attack on Mumbai trains was carried out by Lashkar-e-Toiba and local Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) activists and was designed to trigger communal conflagration in the country’s financial capital, intelligence sources said.
While still waiting for clues to emerge, top intelligence sources in New Delhi seem pretty sure the blasts on the trains were plotted by Lashkar modules which are increasingly collaborating with activists of SIMI, which boasts of strong pockets of influence across Maharashtra.
Read the whole article.
So far it is being reported that 105 innocent people died in the blasts, with 230 men, women and children wounded and counting…
A first class bogie of a suburban train ripped apart in a bomb blast at
Mahim, Mumbai, on Tuesday evening. Photo courtesy: PTI
Update from The Hindu News Service:
105 dead, 230 wounded as explosions rock Mumbai trains
Mumbai, July 11 (PTI): At least 105 people were killed and 230 injured in a string of seven terror blasts in first class compartments of suburban trains around 6PM during the peak hour traffic here today.
As the blasts ripped apart train compartments, mangled bodies of passengers were hurled out and survivors, many of them bleeding profusely, jostled to come out leading to chaotic scenes.
Maharashtra Chief Secretary D K Shankaran put the figure of dead at 105 and the injured at around 230.
Read the whole story here.
Mumbai Terror Attacks: Video Updates
We've collected open-source video footage related to the Mumbai terrorist bombing of 8 passenger train cars in Mumbai, India on July 11th, 2006. The number of people injured and killed are posted here.
A few minutes after the blast:
First-person account of Bombay train bombing:
Breaking News:
30 injured as militants attack tourist buses in Kashmir
From M&C News:
Srinagar - At least 30 people were injured when suspected Muslim militants hurled powerful grenades at two tourist buses in Srinagar, capital of India's Jammu and Kashmir state Wednesday, police said.
The buses, carrying tourists from eastern West Bengal state, were attacked within five minutes of each other Wednesday evening in the busy Dal Gate area of Srinagar.
Two tourists were killed according to NDTV news channel. The police, however, did not confirm any deaths. One person was critically injured, a senior police official said.
The bleeding victims, including several women and children, were rushed to hospitals, eyewitnesses said.
This is the third major attack on tourists by rebels in the past 10 days.
The economy of the scenic Himalayan state of Jammu and Kashmir is heavily dependent on the tourism industry, which has been badly hit by two decades of a violent, secessionist militant movement.
According to the state government, the industry has been picking up over 2005 and 2006 and hotels are heavily booked this summer in Kashmir's peak tourist season.
