Quick notes: High-speed rail, Shia slaughter...

• Made-in-China: First high-speed line in U.S built by Chinese -- from LA to Las Vegas.



• Suicide bomber kills 22 Shia marchers: A day after 10 people were killed at a mosque in Balochistan province by another suicide bomber..
  
  As Rajeev Malhotra says, there is no need for Hindus to take sides. The sub-continent's ungrateful Shias are always a threat to Hindus.
  
  Another issue: the Sunni shade of the Baloch movement presents a dilemma for India's support to the Baloch liberation movement.



• SP Jain School of Global Management: ranked among the world’s top 100 MBA institutions.



• BJP's foolishness:

In war you cut supply lines of enemy. Here BJP provides oxygen cylinders to enemy on retreat. #RavishankarPrasad

— iMac_too (@iMac_too) October 22, 2015




• Genuflecting before the Chinese:

  I like this image of Britain as a nautch girl desperately gyrating her skinny hips, hoping the great man will notice https://t.co/DRBmluwap9

  — राजीवः श्रीनिवासः (@RajeevSrinivasa) October 23, 2015

One rule for a Dutt, another for a Sadhvi?

"Katju has written a wholly misconceived letter to the Governor and others, including Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and I&B Minister Manish Tewary, members of film fraternity and office bearers of Congress, NCP and Samajwadi parties have jumped on to his ex-Lordship's bandwagon".

"For their part, Kumar and Tewari, both eminent men of law, would serve the interest of the nation better if they applied their energies to upholding the law, rather than blindly seeking exoneration for a convict who by design or dim-wittedness facilitated the death of so many innocent victims on that fateful day in Mumbai", he said.

Deccan Herald: Guv cannot pardon Sanjay Dutt, says Jethmalani

Hazare Calls for Kasab, Afzal to be Hanged

Anna Hazare has called for terrorists Ajmal Kasab and Afzal Guru to be hanged:



In blunt comments made to the media following the bomb attacks on the Delhi High Court, where anti-terror trial proceedings were taking place, Hazare said the terrorists should be hanged in the best interests of the nation.

Indian Govt Wasn't Serious on Headley Extradition

Now that the entire WikiLeaks repository has been exposed to the public, further perusals of US diplomatic cables have exposed that the Indian govt wasn't really serious about extraditing 26/11 accused David Headley. M K Narayanan is quoted as saying to US officials that his govt merely needed to keep up a false front for the public's consumption, and that Headley's extradition was not being sought.

Will Kasab ever hang? Or Afzal Guru?

It's That Time Again... Time to Get Bombed

Yes, it's that time again, folks - it's time to imbibe that 'Mumbai Spirit' once more (ie. suffer another terror bombing.) You see, the more time that goes by, the more the ruling govt in New Delhi and its partners in Islamabad get very itchy to have another one. In the previous Mumbai attacks, it took the ruling govt practically no time at all to blame it on 'Hindutva fanatics', with Rajdeep Sardesai and Barking Mutt rushing to claim that Hemant Karkare was a 'sekoolar' hero gunned down by 'saffron militants' for investigating them over the Samjauta train blasts.

A Washington Post blog says that these blasts are in fact occurring on Kasab's birthday.

Meanwhile, Stratfor's Reva Bhalla claims it had to be the handiwork of local 'homegrown' jihadis, because Pakistan's Lashkar-e-Taiba is allegedly 'defunct'. How does she figure that LeT is defunct? Well, because the current bad state of US relations with Pakistan would suffer complications if Pakistan were to be faulted for these blasts. Concerns guiding a conclusion - sounds like backward analysis to me.

Pak to Defend ISI in US Court Over Mumbai Attacks

The govt of Pakistan has announced that it will defend the ISI from a lawsuit filed in a US courts by Jewish families killed in the Mumbai attacks.

http://bit.ly/eqRqQa

http://bit.ly/fEAdRD

http://bit.ly/dGzYhk

Notice that no Indians have ever tried to similarly hold ISI to account in this way. This should boost the ratings on Court TV quite a bit.

ISI's Role in Mumbai Attacks Revealed

The ISI's relationship with Lashkar-e-Taiba and its role in the Mumbai attacks is revealed in this report.

Headley admits role in Mumbai attacks

US citizen David Headley admits his role in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Yet it's the US which tries to put India on its travel advisories, instead of the other way around.

14 year Hindu boy brutally murdered, gets his face smashed by mohammedans for 'befriending' their 'sister'

The 'secular' spindian express glossed over the mohammedan angle
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/missing-schoolboy-murdered-body-found-with-face-smashed/466487/

The DNA reported the facts but ignored the 'communal angle'.
If a hindu had done this, this would have been a "brutal honour killing"
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1259311

"Fahar Sheikh, 21, Farhan Sheikh, 20, and Salim Malabarwala, 20, were arrested for Amandeep's abduction and murder. The trio were final-year Commerce students, while Amandeep was studying in std X in Holy Cross High School, Kurla," said sub inspector RR Sawant of Vinobha Bhave Nagar police station. The blood-stained stone used for the crime has also been recovered.

Emphasis added. The moh'dans are laying down the law: Latikas (of slum-kutta fame) wanted to continue our 'islamisation by impregnation', hindus interested in mohammedan women have to cease and desist or will cease to exist.

The cruelty of these monsters boggles the mind.

Of course, no 24-7 news coverage here.

Mumbai Terror Controllers Ordered Chinese Shot

Check out this podcast from Stratfor, which describes how the controllers of the Mumbai terrorists directly ordered that Chinese and Singaporean women hostages be shot. As pointed out in a previous post by me, former ISI chief Hamid Gul was one of those controllers on the phone with the terrorists during the attacks. This is the reason why the US and India sought to have the UN Security Council place Hamid Gul on a list of international terrorists to have his assets confiscated. But, as I pointed out in another previous post, China used its position on the Security Council to block this move. I wonder whether China knew about Hamid Gul's complicity in the murder of Chinese hostages when they acted to protect him from UN sanctions.

Hamid Gul Participated in Mumbai Attacks

The Long War Journal, which has contacts with US intelligence circles, says that Hamid Gul directly participated in the Mumbai attacks:

Six Pakistani handlers monitored the news coverage from Mumbai and kept in constant touch with the terrorists holed up in Nariman House and the Taj Mahal and Trident hotels during the three day siege. The handlers are identified as Zarar, Kafa, Wassi, Jundal, Buzurg, and “Major General.”
...
The identity of the other handlers has not been provided, but India has accused elements within Pakistan’s intelligence service and the military of supporting the attack. The handler identified as “Major General” implies the involvement of a current or former military officer. The Inter-Service Intelligence agency is a branch of the Pakistani military. The ISI chief and Army corps commanders achieve the rank of Major General or Lieutenant General.

A senior US military intelligence official familiar with the dossier said that the "Major General" is indeed Hamid Gul, the retired former chief of the ISI. "It's Gul," the official told The Long War Journal. "This is why the US is trying to get him on the UN list of terrorists." In December 2008 the US attempted to get Hamid Gul and other former military and intelligence officials added to the UN list of designated terrorists but has so far been rebuffed.

The Pakistan-based handlers provided real-time intelligence and directed the terrorists to killed specific hostages.

CNN's Fareed Zakaria interviews an expert who claims otherwise:


Oh look - that expert happens to be Hamid Gul as well. A man who carries out terror attacks, and also helps news media to analyze them. Gee, talk about a full-service complete package deal.
Who could ask for more? :P
"And now for a word from our correspondent in Afghanistan... over to you, Osama..."

Sainiks Helped Fight Mumbai Attackers

Since Maharashtrians are being bashed in the media a lot these days, it's worth mentioning this story about how some Shiv Sena members went above and beyond civic duty during the Mumbai attacks.

26/11 Attacks Prosecutable in US

Apparently, India's inability to get Pakistan to hand over culprits in the Mumbai attacks means that it may fall upon the US to demand Pakistan extradite them for prosecution in the US. Isn't it pathetic how completely India is relying upon riding on US coattails to see the guilty punished?

Pak Admits Terrorists Confessing - Why?

Suddenly we’re seeing confessions from Pak-based Lashkar terrorists being aired by Pak police. What gives? Why would Pak now be suddenly looking to publicize confessions of involvement in Mumbai by its own homegrown terrorist groups?

Is it possible that the civilian govt of Zardari is making a move against the generals and their precious jihadi apparatus? Why now? Is it because of new US pressure/threats? Or is it possibly because of a new US carrot — ie. the announcement by the UN of a probe in Benazir’s assassination?

I’m thinking that if a UN probe is conducted into the Benazir assassination, then it holds the prospect of Zardari/PPP coming out a big winner, benefitting politically from a public backlash that puts its military/ISI chaperone on the ropes.

But would the Pak military allow this plan to succeed? Would it just sit around meekly, waiting for the axe to inevitably fall on it through damaging UN revelations? I’m thinking that if the investigation came anywhere near implicating the hyperaggressive Musharraf, that he’d quickly go running around to cobble together another coup. I’m thinking that the Pak hardliners would attempt to pre-empt their fate by some kind of stunt, rather than allow themselves to be cornered. For instance, they might seek another Mumbai attack or some other pretext for war with India, or otherwise do something to keep their necks away from the noose.

No Easy Choices for India

There are no easy choices ahead for India, writes Somini Sepoy in NYT. Nevertheless Arun Shourie offers some:

“You can’t fire the same bullet twice,” said Arun Shourie, a member of Parliament from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, or B.J.P., which was in power at the time. In a speech in Parliament last week, Mr. Shourie said neither a punitive airstrike nor a conventional troop mobilization was viable now.

The only safeguard against a future attack, he offered, would be to “do a Kashmir on Pakistan” — to provide aid to insurgents against the Pakistani state inside its restive provinces, including Baluchistan in the west.

Anyway, as I've said, destabilization of Sindh should be used to turn it into a conduit for destabilization of Balochistan, with which we have no direct border. This would be just like how Pak used Khalistan to eventually set J&K on fire. If Pak strikes back in India, it will only hurt its ally Congress in the polls - our enemy within.

Indian Strike Imminent?

Stratfor feels India is about to launch military strikes against Pakistan. They feel India has been using the talktime thusfar to make preparations for war. I think he's giving us too much credit. On the other hand, the US did announce its plans for alternate supply routes some weeks ago.

Qasab Asks Pak for Legal Aid

Surviving terrorist detainee Ajmal Qasab has written a letter to Pakistan requesting legal aid, reports CNN.

UNSC Bans Lashkar Fund-Raising Arm

The UN Security Council has just banned Jamaat-ud-Dawaa, the fund-raising arm of Lashkar-e-Toiba. There's no more room for turning a blind eye to them anymore.

Where Are the Other Attackers?

9 or 10 are accounted for, but where are the others? Which targets are they waiting to strike?

If India Retaliates

Notice I have to say 'if' and not 'when'.
Stratfor examines the possibility of Indian military retaliation against Pakistan for the Mumbai attacks.

About 2/3 the way down, they mention that the US's main achilles heel in Pakistan is in the main port of Karachi, which it would not even be able to seize if Pakistan fell apart. Big deal, I think the US could seize Gwadar fairly easily, and then use Baluchistan as its supply corridor. Fine, it's rough terrain, but it's not totally intraversible. Call it a Hail Mary play, like Schwarzkopf did.