http://www.hindustantimes.com/storypage/storypage.aspx?sectionName=&id=c9cec637-b51b-4c85-b6d7-9066ab8036ae&&Headline=What+is+X,+Y+and+Z+security+category?&strParent=strParentID

According to this article:

Z+ category has a security cover of 36 personnel.
Z category has a security cover of 22 personnel.
Y category has a security cover of 11 personnel.
X category has a security cover of 2 personnel.

Isn't it sickening?? It took 200 NSG commandos to take care of all incidents in bombay where as each and every VIP is given cover of 36 SPG personnel !!!!!!!!! No wonder these people cannot feel the security lapse and terror for common man on the street.

How do we tell that NONE of the politicians is worth even a single SPG commando cover. I am quite okay if these people come under attack from terrorist! After all such small incidents do happen sometimes in big cities!!!!!!!

How Patil and Deshmukh could have reacted

Well, I thought a lot about the public outrage against the politicians, they are not wrong but keeping in mind that yet these people are also humans with limited resources and working inside the system. IF they were really remorseful and wanted to show ownership and responsibility, they could have done it. Putting myself in their shoes, I thought. This is my thinking. Shivaraj Patil, Deshmukh and RR Patil should have been at the scene of action [ well not literally but at least in the area.. maybe inside gateway of India or even in sea next to Apollobunder ]. Even with their big contingent of security personnel or even only say two gaurds, As it is the whole areas of action were cordoned off by local security agencies, what fear they had? They could have sat in the media area and spoken about their concern and things which were done and steps taken to stop this kind of terror act and why they failed and scarcity of funds or resources. Whatever it took to explain their situation and demonstrate their solidarity with the people affected and people at large. They could have sat there for at least couple of hours every day or night and showed their concern.

Instead, Deshmukh and Shivraj Patil went in hiding; R R Patil repeatedly put his foot in his mouth with his arrogant stance. Not once they were any apologitic! Shows they are completely worthless. This I say to them:
Any shame in you, resign and go away!

Edit: 1/12: Good news: Shivraj Patil lost his Home portfolio to P Chidambaram. Also it is very likely late today, Deshmukh and RR Patil will also be asked to step down.
Interestingly and very sadly, I would like to add that, the cheapness of politicians is not limited to specific party. Others are also equally worthless, shameless and good at putting thier foot right into their mouth.
Mr L K Advani and Rajnath Singh has no time to attend all party meet on security today; busy campaigning you see, of course with his Z level security through NSG commandos - after all votes is more important than any security for people at large
Mr Narendra Modi offers 1cr compensation to Mrs Karkare widow of ATS chief Karkare! Surely Mrs Karkare threw back the money offered right back at his face!
Mr VS Achudanandan lands up at Mr Unnikrishnan, Sunil Unnikrishnan's, home uninvited! Mr Unnikrishnan quite right showed him the door!
BJP ofcourse wants to make hay while the sun shines, hoping for this terror attack to bring down UPA govt; BJP spokesperson Prakash Javdekar, demanded that the UPA government should resign taking responsibility for its “failure” to handle internal security! Well it does sound great but my question, why did Narendra Modi and Vijayraje Scindia not resign after the bomb blasts? Even LK Advani did not resign after the Parliament attack. Also what exactly did they do after it? Except ofcourse spend tons of money and put troops on the border to do nothing!
So this is what I have to say next:
Please Mr Politician do not open your mouth to put your foot right into it. Its just to sickening to hear conscienceless people. We, the people of India, do NOT want to hear stupid remarks and political statements.

FIGHT BACK! BUT HOW?

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/angry-india-asks-how-much-is-too-much/79401-3.html
Underlining the popular sentiment, Shobhaa De began the debate with a "fight back" war cry. “Mumbaikars are burning with rage and are looking for leadership that the city has spectacularly failed to provide. Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh says there was information but not specific ones. As if terrorists will call and inform the CM about the locations they intend to strike! I have never heard such a ridiculous statement," she said.

I can agree too much with Shobha De! Its not a failure of any security group at all, it is failure of our security establishment as a whole. We need some different way of handling this kind of terror, the old police and intelligence will NOT work.
The other questions which comes to my mind are
1. Why did Vilasrao had to physically land in Mumbai to take decision? Had he left back his brains and mouth in Mumbai? If he had them where ever he was ( in Kerala reports say) why his brains didn't tell him that strike at multiple places is not something his resources can handle and ask for NSG immediately? He called Home minister Patil at 11pm! That is like at the least 1hour late.
2. Why NSG needed IL76? Why couldn't a private airline boeing be asked for? It took from 11pm to 5.25am to reach Mumbai? Why couldn't security agencies think of better logistics? Also the basic question, if NSG is based at one location, Why do they not have their own transport? Did the home minister need a mainframe computer to tell him that it is logical requirement for a security agency of this kind?

I understand Shivaraj Patil the National home minister has resigned. I demand for whole of Maharastra government's head. They need to go. In fact I demand even Indian Prime Minister should submit his resignation and work as 'care taker' government for 2-3months which is time left for national elections. Go away Deshmukh, R R Patil and Mr Singh.

More questions:
3. Why the same old lethargic people being considered for Home Minister post? P. Chidambram? How is he going to give fresh ideas on security? Why is no security specialist being considered? Why can't someone from outside (maybe a career IPS?) being considered? Why no out of box thinking? [The basic parliament membership need can be easily handled through Rajya Sabha membership?] I would be happy even if at the least someone young someone of this century like Rahul Gandhi or Milind Deora could be considered, the likelyhood some 'fresh' ideas could be much more.

Could the answers be..

1. to bring peace in region by converting the LoC to international border? This will remove the 'dispute' status and maybe reason for special focus on India from extremist organization. No, this will NOT be giving in to the extremist forces. We have to realize we have not had those regions outside of LoC for more than half a century! We are not really losing anything. Yes the logistics of such declaration should not escalate into another 1947, for which this will need to be done under eyes of UN or even a special body under UN.

2. Then we can look at strengthening our borders and coastline. Maybe even having constant patrolling in areas in high seas near international border with Pakistan.

3. A strict decision to NOT allow any movement of people across borders, maybe for a decade to start with. Its just too risky!

‘Don’t give air time to politicians’

India Today reports that TV channels across the country have been flooded with calls, text messages and emails from angry and disturbed citizens asking for politicians not to be given any air time to express their grievances, views, or political statements.
A text message from fashion designer Wendell Rodricks reads, "Dear friends, please use your influence with friends in media, especially television for not giving any coverage or sound bytes to politicians who will now come crawling out with their excuses and accusations as well as hiding their own inefficiencies."
Well I'd like to agree completely! PLEASE yes just as a dedication to the hundreds of people who got killed or injured in this attack, if nothing else, let us NOT allow these politicians to make a mockery of this loss!

Type 'SALAAM' and sms to 56388 to dedicate your thoughts to the heroes of the country. This is a service done to nation by NDTV

Hamare liye kuch mushkil nahi hai

The words ring in my brain, these are the words of a NSG commando, just after the Taj operation which last the longest for 59hours and also was most difficult due to layout of the oldest hotel of India, Taj Mahal Palace; as he finally reacted to Times Now reporter persistent asking about how difficult the whole operation was !!
Isn't it amazing, an immense amount of learning, some sort of mantra! This is the way to live!
Hamare liye kuch mushkil nahi hai

Save Pakistan To Save Us All

Well I echo thoughts of writer of this article. There is no way any government, any security agency beat the terrorist in this cat and mouse games in wide coastline and humongous populated country. How can one keep eye on every inch and every person of the country. Terrorism cannot be answered with traditional methods. The way I can think is by going to the crux of the matter and thus pretty obviously to our neighbor Pakistan!
I have copied the editorial in verbatim and acknowledge it as the writer Gautam Adhikari IP.
Save Pakistan To Save Us All
9 Nov 2008, 0034 hrs IST, Gautam Adhikari
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Editorial/TOP_ARTICLE__Save_Pakistan_To_Save_Us_All/articleshow/3770216.cms
The ferocious cruelty and unprecedented nature of the terror strikes in Mumbai may have left many in the world gasping at the daring and meticulous planning of the operation. There's also some mud on India's face as a result. But this is an excellent opportunity for New Delhi to try bold thinking and some sorely necessary plain speaking.
To start with, call a spade what it is. It's Pakistan. Much of global terrorism today, not just what hits India, emanates or is planned from Pakistan. Just take a few instances that are obvious to all in the know but the world's eyes seemed, till recently, reluctant to see.
Look at how Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who masterminded the 9/11 operation of 2001, was captured in Pakistan; notice how Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri are hiding and leading al-Qaeda from Pakistan, or the Pakistan-Afghan non-existent border, for years; count the jihadi terrorist groups that work from inside Pakistan who seem to enjoy considerable flexibility of movement within that country despite promises of crackdowns made periodically by the Pakistani security forces. And that's not all.
Recall that the US confronted Islamabad, to apparently little avail, with evidence of the involvement of Pakistan-inspired elements in the July bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul; wonder how the world's premier nuclear smuggler and rogue proliferator, A Q Khan, can lead a low-profile, yet comfortable and virtually unexamined life in Pakistan while being under so-called house arrest, with no one from the rest of the world allowed to go near him; and, to gently remind everyone of India's concerns, Dawood Ibrahim a terrorist by any official standard continues to be sheltered by Pakistani security forces.
No, Pakistan's people are not the problem. To the contrary, it is the people and their future in other words, the viability of Pakistan's state and economy that the world must get together to stabilise and help prosper. There's no time to lose.
The world doesn't have to believe New Delhi, which has been warning about the threat of an unhinged Pakistan for years. Everyone in the know of things now sees the threat clearly; the point is to undertake a global approach to tackle the problem head-on.
Stabilising Pakistan which means genuinely democratising its polity and helping its economy grow back to a sustainable level of prosperity in the medium term will help ensure a viable future for the nation and its people, thereby beating the menace of Islamist extremism that provides ideological energy for jihadi terror. An unstable and economically desperate Pakistan, on the other hand, will continue to promote terrorism under the guidance of the ISI, which helps a corrupt military establishment keep its stranglehold on power by citing external threats and warning of chaos as the alternative to their remaining in effective charge despite the recent transition to civilian rule.
The world must call the Pakistani military's bluff and quickly. But the answer can't be a military one, except in the very limited sense by which sporadic raids are carried out by outside forces and unmanned aircraft or missiles into the badlands on Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, where the Taliban and al-Qaeda leadership run free. US president-elect Barack Obama perhaps sees the problem of Pakistan in stark outline, more so than the Bush administration for most of its tenure had cared to see. But increasing allied troop levels in Afghanistan alone won't be able to deal with the crux of the problem.
The crux of Pakistan's problem lies within that country, specifically in the country's military establishment. Remember it ain't Iraq, which itself is still not amenable to a military solution after five years of fierce armed intervention. This is a larger country, with a complicated terrain, and it genuinely has weapons of mass destruction which its armed forces would cleverly threaten to use if push ever came to real shove.
No, the answer might lie in a concerted global effort, at ensuring, first, the sustainability of Pakistan's democratic experiment. And, second, in pouring in as much assistance as required, under strict supervision of not just the IMF but perhaps a specially designed international political-economic authority that would oversee the country's direly needed transition from military domination to democratic viability.
In short, the world, under the newly assertive leadership of an Obama-led United States, must devise a Marshall Plan for Pakistan. Such an effort will require the support of not only the traditional G-7 powers; it must have the cooperation of India and, most importantly, China, which is Pakistan's all-weather friend.
If China, and to a large extent Saudi Arabia, can be persuaded to weigh in with their considerable influence financial as well as strategic over Islamabad, implementing a global plan to pull Pakistan out of chaos might actually succeed. And India should quietly help such a plan from the sidelines as a close ally, as it has become today, of the US.
If, however, China and Saudi Arabia choose to continue to offer their shoulders for Islamabad's military establishment to lean on in order to extract sustenance financial and strategic indefinitely, there won't be any hope of devising a global rescue plan for Pakistan. In which case, we might as well give up any serious hope of fighting terror. The export of the Pakistani-Afghan mayhem to the rest of the world will continue merrily.

Is anyone listening?

Terror attack on Mumbai

I have no words to explain the pain and anguish at this act of cowardly terrorists! My prayers for all who have been affected by this tragedy.
Edit 28/11:
Oh the sights on TV about terror still alive in Mumbai! My heart goes out to the hostages still in the hotels and Nariman House.
I REALLY wish if there was a way out! There is NO point blaming the government or security agencies or even intelligence. The circle of hate is coming back to hit us. Yes, deep inside I do think the 'Babri Masjid' incident was the ignition to this extreme terrorism in India. IF only it had not happened! I can debate that the terrorist strikes won't have been even 5% of what they are now. Anyways what is done cannot be undone!
Interestingly the game of politics is probably the only gainer of this terror strike! Various politicians are trying the gain political mileage and are shooting off their mouth and even trying hard to accomodate their feet there! One such politician claims "Islamabad's "blatant violation" of UN conventions" !!!!!! I can only embarrasingly laugh, IF Islamabad had any control on all this terror would they have let their Mariott be bombed? Would their own daughter of soil lost her life? Sheer stupidity! Sadly a big chunk of population in that politician's home state, listens with admiration! I would rather listen to Prime Minister's "disappointing" address than his extremely shameful speech which only points finger at everyone else! I would like to know what was he upto when his own city was being bombed in serial blasts!

Well, let me not fall prey to such cheap and senseless political environment.
What can I do? Is there anything which I can do to reduce the terrorism even by an iota?

Cruelty

This is second case which I have come across where normal looking, seemingly educated people have meted out immense cruelty on their under-aged servants. The question is not whether they worked according to the requirements of the employer or not, even not whether they might have stolen money or other items; Question is does the employer has any right to beat the under-age servant? Another bigger questions is, how long will we turn blind eye towards child labor? Why did the neighbors and relatives not question the employers?

Boy pays heavy price for Rs-5 bread
http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Nov242008/scroll20081124102462.asp?section=updatenews
On Saturday evening, Latha asked Vijay to buy some goods from a nearby shop. The boy went to the shop and bought the goods. The shopkeeper returned him a balance amount of Rs 5 which Vijay used to buy bread as he was hungry. When he returned home, Latha asked him for the balance amount. When the boy said he had bought bread with the money, a fuming Latha beat him black and blue and hit him on the head with a piece of wood several times and put him in a room. After some time, she branded him with a hot iron on his legs, hands, stomach and face.

Minor girl working as help rescued in Gurgaon
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Delhi/Minor_girl_working_as_help_rescued_in_Gurgaon/articleshow/3689889.cms
Reportedly, one of Lakhi's eyes was swollen, three of her teeth were broken and there were burn marks on her arms and back. Lakhi complained it was because she was burnt with a hot pan on several occasions. Worse, she had head injuries as she was reportedly thrashed against the wall.

I have taken a decision, if I ever come across child labor; I am going to question the employer even if it is my neighbor or relative AND report it to police.
My request = You also do the same.

History made

Congratulations to Americans and Obama for making history - first African-American to hold the nation's highest office!