Blasts hit Mumbai trains
July 11, 2006 – 4:10 pm..Breaking news.. explosions on commuter trains in Mumbai. Nothing much seems to be clear yet - the BBC’s reports indicate that the first blast was at around 6 pm local time ( 1 p.m. here)
According to Sploid - there were seven separate explosions - and they also have a bit more on the recent events in Mumbai (something to do with a fuss about statues and the Shiv Sainiks..) Reuters’ reports suggest about 135 deaths.
Terrible..
The Mumbai Help blog has live updates - hopefully will be helpful for those trying to get more information on their loved ones ( thanks to Neha for the tip)
12 Responses to “Blasts hit Mumbai trains”
This is terrible. After remembering the victims of 7/7 the stupidity goes on. Bombs in Mumbai help nobody. My thoughts are with the victims. It all seems so senseless.
By Ceridwen Devi on Jul 11, 2006
Let’s continue to work for enlightenment and that conflict and disputes can not be solved by carnage! I sincerely hope nobody you know was affected.
By Daniel on Jul 11, 2006
You guys are right - this is so terrible. I shudder to think.. As you say Daniel - it becomes clear how pressing it is to resolve disputes peacefully.
A lot of armchair theorists leading peaceful lives often don’t seem to get this..the thing is at the end of the day if your skin is going to be ruptured, you aren’t going to like it. you can retaliate and rupture someone’s else skin so they are in just as much pain as you, or you can all agree that having ruptured skins isn’t much fun. ..can’t beat the meat as vivian sobchak put it. the way i’ve experienced it, war either turns you into some sort of psychopath, or a peace activist. ( i’m hoping the latter is true in my case ..though sometimes i scent shades of post-traumatic stress disorder of some kind..)
I’m hoping no-one I know has been involved - but it’s hard to get news. Fingers crossed.
By sonia on Jul 12, 2006
We have Rachel as an example of a terror victim who has become a peace activist. Each one of us as individuals can make the choice for peace. The sad thing is that the system overreacts every time with more security measures and limitations on our freedom. War only perpetuates war. It’s a weary cycle of delusion. I refuse to live in a climate of fear.
By Leighton Cooke on Jul 12, 2006
well said.
it heartens me to hear the words of those of us who don’t give up on peace, and don’t give in to violence. it disheartens me when i hear people with safe lives who aren’t in much risk of having their lives taken apart encourage ‘legitimate’ violence. there may come a time when one has to fight for one’s life - but it’s like self-defense - …very last resort type of situation. then i hear others talk about soldiers who put on a uniform to ‘kill for their country’ and they take their uniform off, and how this fixes everything. i wonder if those people realize how the killing has changed the soldiers, made it difficult for them to deal with ‘normal life’ - just basically understanding that you can’t take life and not be changed in the process..
in any case. perhaps it would be interesting to document individual circumstances/stories ..of people for peace.
By sonia on Jul 12, 2006
Sounds like a good idea. The war that changed my life was the one in Bosnia as I had friends who were victims in that struggle. Some of them are now among the best activists I know.
By Leighton Cooke on Jul 12, 2006
On the Gary McKinnon front MPs showed by a 242 majority their disapproval of the Extradition Treaty. Not a good day for Tony Blair.
By Leighton Cooke on Jul 12, 2006
Leighton, while the MP’s coming out in disapproval against the Extradition Treaty is encourging for Gary McKinnon, I think that the shock and disapproval of MPs over the extradition has been sparked more by the possibility of ‘respectable’ bankers being extradited than little known hackers and suspected sympathisers with islamic charities which might possibly have a link to a terrorist organisation somewhere. What is most shocking is that the American’s expect us to extradite UK citizens without them even presenting any evidence at all. The American administration have made it clear in the “war on terror” (oxymoronical war), that having some association with someone, who has an association with someone who is a terrorist, is a crime equivalent to being a terrorist. This of course has the interesting implication that the entire staff of the cia are terrorists. So this classification of terrorist comes with the prerequiste - “If we feel like it”.
By tom on Jul 13, 2006
Yes, this is terrible.
Todays evening standard has a terrible story in it too, about a british asian woman who was strangled and stabbed (18 times) to death by her father, brother and cousin while her mother looked on. Sigh. This is a crazy world.
By Josef Davies-Coates on Jul 14, 2006
Just noticed that the article I linked to doesn’t mention Samaira Nazir’s father nor mother, though the article in today’s evening standard does. I wonder why the father didn’t get life too?
By Josef Davies-Coates on Jul 14, 2006
The human condition is a very broad church as Harold Wilson once said of the Labour Party, which is now a very small church. For me Albert Camus got it right with his concept of the absurd, which can only be transcended by compassion.
By Leighton Cooke on Jul 15, 2006
How awful! Disgusting. Sounds like her family were a bunch of psychopaths to say the least. Shudder.. ( and they didn’t like asylum seekers much either! - it said they wouldn’t have her marry outside her ‘caste’ or ‘tribe’..goodness)
According to the Times - “The father was also charged with the murder but fled to Pakistan, where he has gone into hiding”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2229505,00.html
Leighton - Interesting what you say there. will be reading this..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absurdism
By sonia on Jul 17, 2006