As I type this, 160 people are dead and 327 wounded due to the attacks on three locations in Mumbai—the Taj Mahal Hotel, the Oberoi Hotel and the Chabad House, a Jewish center. Sixteen police officers are dead, as are the chief of Mumbai's police anti-terror squad, and two commando attackers.
The dead include 15 foreign nationals—three Germans, one Italian, one Australian, and one Chinese. Murdered Americans include Alan Scherr and his daughter Naomi, and Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg (a native of Israel who had lived in the U.S. from the age of 9) and his wife Rivka (also born in Israel but residing in New York). Seven Britons, three Americans and two Australians were among the injured.
This was no random, spur-of-the-moment attack. A little-known militant group called the Deccan Mujahedeen is taking credit, though United States officials and security experts think a more established group may have been involved. The gunmen had even set up "control rooms" in the two targeted hotels. In a restaurant near the Taj Mahal Hotel, authorities found 17 pounds of RDX, a powerful military-use explosive.
The attackers entered Mumbai by water, and a ship from Karachi, Pakistan is said to have been the source of the smaller attack boats. Methinks India is going to have to do a better job of securing its borders, not only the land ones, but the waterways too. A cautionary lesson about what can happen when your nation's borders aren't secure.
So we have another attack against the "infidels" in the name of God. It's sometimes hard to remember that these extremists DO NOT speak for the majority of Moslem people. I have Moslem friends and co-workers and they are embarrassed by things like this. I don't want my friends to become victims of suspicion and hatred which of course is the knee-jerk reaction we tend to have. That's probably the worst thing that will come out of this mess.
Because U.S. intelligence really has NO idea who is currently in the United States, aren't you concerned that a similar cell of Moslem extremists is in a major town near YOU putting the finishing touches on a personalized attack on America citizens? Sadly I fear a repeat of 9/11, maybe not with jet airplanes crashing into buildings, but I expect the same thing that happened in Mumbai to happen in multiple locations in the U.S. And I expect it won't come out of nowhere, but there will be smaller attacks on European and American soil, leading up to the big bang. And then as things shake out, we will learn the CIA and other agencies knew something was fishy but just couldn't connect the dots.
This is one time I pray I am wrong, but there is reason we study history—to avoid repeating it. And as you well know, we seem to repeat history a lot, never learning much from our past. We are beyond that, many thing. We are far too civilized to do these things again.
God help the U.S.A.
Friday, November 28, 2008
more musings on Mumbai
Posted by CaliGirl9 at 12:30 PM 0 comments
Labels: 9/11, Mumbai, unsecured borders
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Mumbai attacks
I have been wondering how long it would take for an attack on Americans, albeit that attack was on Indian soil.
Posted by CaliGirl9 at 11:09 PM 0 comments
Labels: Mumbai, terrorists
Saturday, November 22, 2008
so, Mr. President-elect, what job are you creating for me?
The LA Times has an article discussing how the messiah's economic aid plan will create 2.5 million new jobs by 2011. According to the article:
Posted by CaliGirl9 at 7:50 PM 1 comments
Labels: age discrimination, disability, employment, prejudice
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
scary ... and nothing surprising.
Posted by CaliGirl9 at 6:27 PM 0 comments
Rantings ...
More on Saturday's entry about the Santa Clara killings ...
Posted by CaliGirl9 at 5:12 PM 0 comments
Labels: Chinese nationals, investment property, workplace killings
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Fears
I suppose I should start talking about my fears for the United States (and my way of life) during the rule of the newly-elected messiah.
Posted by CaliGirl9 at 10:58 AM 0 comments
Labels: baby boomers, employment, unions
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Kooks ...
Yesterday in nearby Santa Clara, a recently-fired high-tech employee, Jing Hua Wu, assassinated the CEO of SiPort, the company VP and the HR chief. I went to bed thinking this was sad and ridiculous and hoped the perp would be found soon.
Posted by CaliGirl9 at 11:58 AM 0 comments
Labels: Santa Clara, workplace murders
Thursday, November 13, 2008
say it isn't so ...
Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State?
Posted by CaliGirl9 at 11:39 PM 0 comments
still having bad back day ...
I'm still having a bad back day going into a bad back week ... and the first available appointment with my surgeon isn't until December. Oh well. Nothing new really, he told me the block might be good for only a year.
Posted by CaliGirl9 at 1:05 PM 0 comments
Labels: back injury, malingerers, Workers' Comp
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Still a bad back day, but thinking about the CSU cuts ...
I'm still trying to get my wonky back under some semblance of control today ...
Posted by CaliGirl9 at 12:39 PM 0 comments
Labels: CSU, vocational education
Monday, November 10, 2008
today is one of those days ...
Today is one of those days when I am so rudely reminded why I can't work full time. It's a bad back day. Can't say as I know why, but it is.
Posted by CaliGirl9 at 12:44 PM 0 comments
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Things I am happy about as a result of this month's elections
There are some things I am happy about following last week's election.
Posted by CaliGirl9 at 7:13 AM 2 comments
Labels: animal rights, California propositions, taxes, voting
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Scared Moderate Female: The concerns of a middle-aged underemployed moderate Republican female
I figured it best to wait a couple of days after Tuesday's election to start this blog, just to make sure this wasn't some sort of knee-jerk reaction to what happened in the United States on November 4, 2008.
Posted by CaliGirl9 at 5:12 PM 0 comments
Labels: fiscal conservative, Republican, social liberal