Where's the Outrage?

Book Report - The War Within

ecthompson — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 12:14:12 +0000

Bob Woodward’s new book The War Within is different than his last three books on the Bush administration. This book was touted as the smoking gun. It was going to explain how we went so wrong in Iraq. At least this was the scuttlebutt. This book does not even attempt to tell us why we got in Iraq nor why we are staying in Iraq. Instead this book explains how we settled on “the Surge.” Just as with every other major decision that the president has had to make over these last seven and a half years, there was never a major meeting in which ideas were batted around. Instead, as President Bush was telling us that we were winning the war in Iraq, privately, he began to come to the conclusion that we needed a change in “strategy.” (The Surge is not really a strategy. Our overall plan had really not changed. The Surge was a tactic.)

It should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed the Bush administration that this policy really wasn’t driven by President Bush. Others enact a policy that they think he wants. In this case, National Security Adviser Steven Hadley was the person that “sensed” that the president wanted a change. He’s the one that called the meetings and steered the meetings in the direction that he wanted them to go. Chuck Robb and Edwin Meese also come out as major players. They were both on the “Iraq study group ” and pushed for language that supported a “temporary increase in troops” that could quell the violence. Finally, retired General Jack Keane plays a major role not only in getting General David Petraeus chosen to run Iraq but he also is extremely important at getting him placed at the head of Central command. Through back channels it is General Jack Keane who drives the bus. He is one of the few people who can walk into Vice President Dick Cheney’s office and get things done. His influence on the surge can not be underestimated.

This book does NOT deliver the smoking gun but instead gives us another inside look at the Bush White House. This book isn’t for everybody. For those who beleive that George W. Bush is a strong leader, this book ain’t for you.

In Support Of Loans For The American Auto Industry

Texas Liberal — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 05:22:08 +0000

I support the extension of loans by the United States government to help save the American auto industry. What the auto companies are looking for are loans and not handouts.

The United Auto Workers union has agreed to major concessions to help the big three car makers and to help gain approval in Congress to pass the loan package.

Republicans in Congress would love to see the UAW go away as payback for its support of Democratic candidates. Revenge is not a suitable justification for endangering the jobs of hundreds of thousands of people.

One poll suggests the American people are currently opposed to what is being termed–incorrectly–as a “bailout.”

One can understand the fatigue with government money for private concerns. But where are we going to work in this country? How are we going to live? Where are decent jobs going to be found?

I think most people understand–on some level they understand–that what is at issue in this current economic downturn is not simply ”when will it end” or “how will I get by for the next few months.”

Rather, the issue is that when the recession has passed as determined by the so-called economic experts, will we as individuals, as families, as members of a community, have viable economic futures? What jobs will be left with salaries and benefits able to sustain us?

I’m not going to oppose this loan package because of private jets, or political calculations, or pointless resentment over what UAW workers are earning. Instead, I’m going to support the future well-being of American workers.

By advocating for other working people, we are advocating for ourselves. By supporting this temporary assistance to the American Auto industry, we are backing the long term economic future of all Americans.

My Blog is finally working better…I promise!

ecthompson — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 03:13:01 +0000

The server has been upgraded. We are now faster, stronger and smarter than ever. Ok…maybe not smarter, but you get the idea.

FOUR people have signed up for this week’s podcast contest. You too can sign up and subscribe and make it five, then six… This is a simple two-step process. Place your e-mail address into the window on the sidebar. Hit the subscribe button. Look for the e-mail (may very well be in your junk folder), and then click the link and you are subscribed. Win $50 just of subscribing!!!

Chambliss wins

ecthompson — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 04:28:32 +0000

This was a race that the Dems weren’t all that whipped-up about. Democrats needed a great candidate and Jim Martin wasn’t it. Saxby Chambliss has won. This doesn’t mean that Barack Obama doesn’t have coattails and it doesn’t mean that the country is leaning back(wards) to the right. It means that we are all tired of Election 2008 and that Georgia has a long way to go before it turns even a slight shade of blue.

BTW, Al Franken, in the race that will never end, has picked up 37 votes.

From AP:

Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss won re-election Tuesday in a runoff, dashing Democrats’ hopes of capturing enough seats in the U.S. Senate to thwart Republican filibusters.

Chambliss’ election to a second term gives the GOP a firewall against Democrats eager to flex their newfound political muscle in Washington. The monthlong runoff battle against Democrat Jim Martin captured the national limelight, drawing political luminaries from both parties to the state and flooding the airwaves with fresh attack ads.

Minnesota — where a recount is under way — now remains the only unresolved Senate contest in the country. With 92 percent of the recount completed, the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s tally had Republican Norm Coleman leading Democrat Al Franken by 340 votes, with nearly 6,000 ballots challenged. (more… )

Subscribe and win

ecthompson — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 04:16:40 +0000

As I mentioned yesterday, I’m starting a Christmas contest (yep, I said Christmas. I’m a liberal progressive and I said Christmas. Bill O’Reilly can stick that in his pipe and smoke it). Subscribe to my Podcast (see the sign-up box in the right hand column) and you are entered to win an Amazon.com $50 gift certificate. Everyone who subscribes will be entered to win. Every Saturday night at nine all the entries for that week will be placed into a hat and one name will be drawn at random (no family or friends can enter, of course). The contest ends on December 23rd. Everyone who signed up between now December 2nd and December 23rd will be entered into a final drawing. The randomly selected winner will win an iPod Nano!!!

New Shopping Carts

Texas Liberal — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:06:59 +0000

I was at my grocery store this morning, and saw that they had a number of new shopping carts. I was surprised because we’re in hard times. One figures shoppers would have to make do with old carts until a better day arrives.

The new carts are more shiny than the ones they replaced and have battleship gray handles. There are large speckles–or maybe small splotches–on the handles.

The shopping cart was invented by New Yorker Sylvan Goldman in 1937.

From The Great Idea Finder–

One night, in 1936, Goldman sat in his office wondering how customers might move more groceries. He stared idly at a wooden folding chair. Put a basket on the seat, wheels on the legs. . . Wait a minute. Goldman and a mechanic, Fred Young, began tinkering. Their first shopping cart was a metal frame that held two wire baskets. Since they were inspired by the folding chair, Goldman called his carts “folding basket carriers”.

You don’t really think of something as obvious as a shopping cart being “invented.” Yet I guess shopping carts were not created with the Big Bang. Maybe the trick to genius is to find something obvious but not yet done.

If you read the first link of this post, you’ll see that in the beginning people did not want to use the carts. Men thought they could hold all their groceries without help. Women thought them unattractive to be seen wheeling about.

I used a shopping cart this morning because I needed somewhere to put all my Little Debbie products. I bought the Christmas Tree Cakes and the Cosmic Brownies.

Non-announcement

ecthompson — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 04:15:33 +0000

If my blog can remain stable for another 24 hours, I will announce an easy contest where you can win an Amazon gift certificate for $50 or a grand prize of an iPod nano. How’s that? More information tomorrow evening…

A few thoughts on Plaxico Burress

ecthompson — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:47:22 +0000

Plaxico Burress, star wide-receiver for the world champion New York Giants, turned himself in to authorities today after accidentally shooting himself in the leg Friday night at a Manhattan nightclub. (I don’t believe this story for one second.) Burress’ lawyer argued that “he had 35 million reasons to come back to court.” Therefore, no bail needed to be set. (Wouldn’t he have those $35 million reasons NOT to go to a club with a gun?)

It is a privilege to play in the NFL. Plaxico Burress, Adam “Pac Man” Jones and many others need to try to grasp that playing in the NFL is not a right. The enormous stupidity shown by some of these athletes is almost understandable. Yes, I said it was almost understandable. These athletes get (and get away with) everything in our society. In junior high school and high school, teachers go easy on them. Other students do their homework for them. They are treated a little bit like royalty. All they have to do is make some impressive baskets or throw a football well. When they get to college, the treatment continues. They get paid to turn on sprinklers. Alumni will try to figure out a way to slip them some cash or a car or even a house — ask Reggie Bush. Yep, I’m playa hatin’!!

Then they get to the NFL, where the spotlight of celebrity is now upon them. Local newspapers cannot or will not cover up their shenanigans. As a matter of fact, the local newspapers try to expose their exploits. Now everything is different. Unfortunately, these athletes who’ve gotten away with everything have a hard time adjusting.

Let me ask three basic questions, Mr. Burress. First, why do you need to go to a club where you think you have to have a gun with you? Secondly, you make a lot of money . Why not hire bodyguards to protect you? Let them get in trouble for carrying concealed weapons. Finally, two days before the big football game against your arch rivals, the Washington Redskins, why are you out at the club anyway? (Could this be why your production has fallen off this year?)

I don’t think that I’m going out on a limb by saying that Plaxico Burress is no genius. Nowhere else in the world could he make $35 million in three to five years. He can’t make that kind of money working at Wal-Mart or at Sanford’s junkyard or on Wall Street (especially these days). Plaxico Burress and athletes like him should fall on their knees and thank God that they can run and catch a football and get paid so very handsomely for it.

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What’s going on - News Roundup

ecthompson — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:11:36 +0000

Monday Evening News Roundup

It appears that the United States warned India back in October that there was going to be an attack on the hotel and business centers in Mumbai.

Contrast the above intelligence “success” to President Bush’s interview with Charlie Gibson last night. Bush admitted that the biggest failure of his presidency was the cataclysmic lack of weapons of mass destruction. Bush had the audacity to place the blame for that travesty at the doorstep of the CIA, when in fact the blame is entirely his. It was his job to look at all the information. It was his job to weigh the pros and cons. He abdicated that responsibility.

The indictments that a Texas grand jury turned in against Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have been dismissed. Who’s surprised?

Blogger Glenn Greenwald, who has been on my radio show on a number of occasions, had another great post yesterday. He commented on an issue of the New York Times in which an article brought attention to a number of conflicts of interest regarding General Barry McCaffrey. General McCaffrey is on the payroll of NBC News. Glenn does an excellent job highlighting the hypocrisy of NBC. Generals who show up on the evening news should really be free of conflicts of interest.

The National Bureau Of Economic Research has now officially stated that December 2007 was the start of this recession. So what has the Bush administration been doing for the last year? With the stock market dropping almost 700 points today, I must say I do not believe Bush administration has done enough.

Barack Obama has announced his national security team. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates will continue in his present position. Eric Holder will be the Attorney General. Former General James Jones ( see the Jones commission report) will be his National Security Adviser. Janet Napolitano, governor of Arizona, will become Secretary of Homeland Security. Susan Rice will be nominated for Ambassador to the United Nations. Finally, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton will serve as Secretary of State. This team is tremendously qualified. As usual, however, I have some questions. Where is General Wesley Clark? I really thought Senator Chuck Hagel would be appointed to Defense. Is there a spot for him in the administration? (By the way, the “fair and balanced” Fox News didn’t even cover the Obama press conference.)

Almost a quarter of United States employees who use the Internet at work spend a little time during the workday looking at on-line pornography. :-) Nice. Nothing else need be said.

GM drop kicks Tiger Woods

ecthompson — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:49:59 +0000

As humans, we are supposed to learn from our mistakes, having larger brains than most other mammals. When I see us making the same mistakes over and over again, though, I just have to wonder if our larger brains are working.
Although Tiger Woods is an athlete, he seems to be someone who has at least a few neurons that work. Why wouldn’t someone want to make an alliance with Woods to strengthen their company? How about adding Tiger Woods to a creative team to completely re-do the Buick line? How about using Tiger Woods is an example of someone who does not rest on their laurels, but instead tries to get better every day?

Instead of doing any of the above, GM has decided to cut their contract with Tiger Woods. They are saving money, they say. Give me a break! Fire a couple of executives who continue to make bad decisions again and again… now that would save billions.

From AP:

Turns out, Tiger Woods wouldn’t really rather have a Buick. At least not anymore.

When Woods ended his nine-year relationship with General Motors Corp. on Monday — a mutual decision between a megawatt celebrity who doesn’t need the work and a teetering corporation that needs every penny — it offered yet another snapshot of how badly the American economy has deteriorated.

Woods is the world’s most marketable athlete with an estimated $100 million endorsements a year. If his agreement with one of the world’s most active sports sponsors broke apart, some experts to wonder if any endorsement or sponsorship deal is really ironclad in these tough times. (more… )

The Shuttle lands safely

ecthompson — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 02:53:22 +0000

From AP:

Space shuttle Endeavour and its seven astronauts safely returned to Earth on Sunday, taking a detour to sunny California after storms hit the main landing strip in Florida.

Endeavour wrapped up a 16-day trip that left the international space station freshly remodeled and capable of housing bigger crews. The shuttle dropped off all kinds of home improvement equipment, including a new bathroom, kitchenette, exercise machine, two sleeping quarters and a recycling system designed to convert astronauts’ urine and sweat into drinking water.

But the mission wasn’t without its problems. Astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper let go of a $100,000 tool bag during the first spacewalk, muttering “Oh, great” as it floated away. (more… )

Making Up

Texas Liberal — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 16:31:19 +0000

It appears that President-elect Barack Obama is going to select Senator Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. Without forgetting that political relationships are about using people, there is a lot to be said for moving ahead after a hard fight and hard feelings.

Given this reconciliation between Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton , it is a good time to think about who in our lives we can move ahead with, past bad times, to a better relationship.

When we are in our graves, how will our anger and our grudges serve us?

Western Governors are thinking about energy

ecthompson — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 11:13:06 +0000

From DailyKos (McJoan is on it again):

Recognizing the key role western states are going to take in the nation’s potential energy revolution, the Western Governors are weighing in with their recommendations for the Obama administration’s national energy policy, and for action that should be taken in the first 100 days.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The governors of the nation’s largest energy-producing states are encouraging President-elect Barack Obama to quickly adopt a national energy policy that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The bipartisan Western Governors’ Association has delivered Obama a four-page letter outlining what steps it believes his administration should take in his first 100 days in office to address the issue….

“We must not repeat the mistakes of the past,” says the letter signed by association chairman, Republican Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah, and vice chairman, Democratic Gov. Dem Brian Schweitzer of Montana. “The future of our nation depends on it.”

Huntsman said Obama’s administration should listen to the WGA because its 19 states are responsible for 94 percent of the country’s onshore oil reserves, 66 percent of its coal reserves and 100 percent of its installed solar generation….he told The Associated Press.

The WGA is encouraging Obama to improve mass transportation, bring more fuel-efficient and near-zero emission vehicles on to the market and develop renewable resources such as wind and solar energy.

The governors propose an ambitious 100 day plan (pdf, via New West):

Establish an aggressive and achievable national greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal that will put the United States on a path to contribute to global climate stabilization.

Propose a mandatory national system for reducing greenhouse gas emissions that makes maximum use of market-based mechanisms. Revenue raised should support the energy policy principles in this letter and not be used as a means of sustaining or expanding general governmental operations.

Aggressively pursue a national energy efficiency program to reduce existing and future energy demand and thereby reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Establish an oil import reduction goal that strengthens energy security and independence. Since nearly 90% of oil is used for transportation, propose a plan that

Brings more fuel efficient and near-zero emission vehicles into the market;

Increases the supply of domestically produced, low-carbon fuels;

Minimizes the economic and technological uncertainties inherent in deploying high efficiency vehicles and developing and using nonpetroleum transportation fuels; and

Reduces vehicle miles travelled and increases mass movement of people and goods.

:

Create a substantial, long-term national public investment on the scale of tens of billions of dollars annually, and encourage at least the same investment from the private sector, to support the kind of basic and applied research and deployment of clean energy technology and infrastructure that will result in:

Near-zero greenhouse gas emissions from new coal-fired electricity generation in 10 years and from existing generation no later than 2030;

Dramatically increased energy from wind, solar, geothermal, hydro and biomass resources;

Expansion and upgrade of the electricity transmission grid and storage capabilities;

Advanced vehicle and battery technologies and alternative transportation fuels; and

Next generation energy efficiency technologies and practices.

Ensure affordability for lower income energy consumers through energy efficiency and cost assistance programs.

Provide for workforce development and clean energy jobs, adaptation to climate change impacts, reduced consumer impacts, particularly for low-incomeconsumers, and transition assistance to industries.

The AP is reporting that Huntsman and Schweitzer have already met with John Podesta to promote their proposal. They should carry some weight with the new administration. Even Huntsman, governing one of the nation’s reddest states, has been an active participant in the Western Climate Initiative, an effort of seven western states and four Canadian provinces to reduce greenhouse gases region-wide. It’s an ambitious effort, covering a good third of North America, geographically.

It’s a proposal that should spark the conversation on our new national energy policy.

Wal-Mart employee trampled to death

ecthompson — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 11:10:26 +0000

Maybe it is because I spend so much of my time trying to prevent death that I find this kind of death so shockingly needless. 2,000 people were waiting to get some deal at Wal-Mart. Is it worth it? What can Wal-Mart do to prevent something like this from ever happening again? This reminds me of the 11 deaths at a Who concert in Cincinatti almost 30 years ago.

The TV Show WKRP in Cincinatti did an entire episode about that event. Now I know that a concert and Wal-Mart are two very different things, but with the downturn in the economy, Americans can’t afford to get their kids as much as they could in years past. So maybe there is a feeling that if they only get one gift it should be a “super” gift..? I don’t know. All I know is that life is way too important to lose it at Wal-Mart or any other store because of some crazed ambush for a bargain.

Samantha Power should be considered for post

ecthompson — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 11:19:25 +0000

In a particularly pointless article, the Washington Post notes that Samantha Power “is listed on Obama’s transition website as part of the team reviewing national security agencies.” Really? Samantha Power is an especially gifted woman. As a journalist and war correspondent she covered wars in the former Yugoslavia and has reported from Sudan, East Timor, Rwanda and Zimbabwe. She is the Anna Lindh Professor of Practice of Global Leadership and Public Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. I had the pleasure of listening to Professor Power speak at Netroots Nation this summer. She thoughtfully discussed how we needed to get out of Iraq while we try to ameliorate any human rights issues. In spite of pushback from the audience, she held her ground and clearly stated her opposition, policy which we should have. We need to get out of Iraq as expeditiously as possible while protecting the citizen population. This is a no-brainer.

In the age of forgiving Joe Lieberman for his multiple sins and inviting Hillary Clinton, former blood thirsty rival, to run the State Department, it seems only fitting that Professor Samantha Power is in the mix. Back in March she described Senator Clinton as a “monster” and “the amount of deceit that she has put forward is really unattractive.” When you compare this to what Joe Lieberman said about President-elect Barack Obama, what she said is meaningless. Besides that, she was 100% accurate.

Barack Obama appears to be seeking the best and the brightest. This means that in any discussion about the State Department and foreign policy should include a possible post for Samantha Power. She is one of the best of brightest progressives Americans. Winning a Pulitzer Prize for her book entitled A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide doesn’t hurt.

Mumbai finally over

ecthompson — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 10:38:01 +0000

The insanity of these terrorists can not be overstated. Were they born yesterday? Did they think that they could hold hostages and then walk free? Did they think that their demands were going to be met? Did they not learn anything from the multiple kidnappings in the late 1970s?

From MSNBC: This seaside city of 18 million has bounced back from wrenching tragedy before, but after the most brazen terrorist attack in India’s history, the people of Mumbai are worried.

In crowded trains, corner stores, office buildings and neighborhood parks, residents ask each other the same questions. “Is anyone safe?” and “Could it happen again?”

The 60-hour siege ended Saturday, claiming at least 195 lives in attacks at 10 landmarks across Mumbai. The three-day ordeal spread fear and grief across a city that attracts newcomers by the hundreds every day.

“There is a limit a city can take,” said Ayesha Dar, a 33-year-old homemaker. “This is a very, very different kind of fear. It will be some time before things get back to normal.”

Dar glanced at a message on her mobile phone that said her children’s school would reopen Monday.

Police shut down most of the city’s “soft targets,” including schools and movie theaters, after the siege began late Wednesday night.

The movie theaters in this film-crazy city are usually packed and attendance levels creeping up would indicate that life is returning to normal. But cinema workers say that could be a while. (more… )

Quincy Jones - Ai No Corrida

ecthompson — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 02:07:42 +0000

The Great Quincy Jones.

Today’s Football - NFL

ecthompson — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 19:27:14 +0000

The Detroit Lions are showing the NFL on national television exactly how bad they really are. Yes, the Tennessee Titans are good, very good…but the Lions are really bad. The NFL hasn’t seen this kind of bad since Tampa Bay entered the league back in the early 70s.

The Dallas Cowboys will need to show the league that they are back. Kyle Koser is out. That’s not good. I now expect the Cowboys to win. The key is how they win. Will this be a Tony Romo turnover fest before we pull it out in the last minute? I hope not. I hope that the defense continues to improve and shuts down the Seattle offense. The Dallas offense needs to be efficient with a good running and passing game. I would love for Roy Williams and Terrell Owens to have a great game. Finally, the Cowboys’ special teams need to show up for the first time this year.

Arizona and Philadelphia play this evening. If Donovan McNabb has a good game, this will be a very good game. Both teams are good on offense…as long as their quarterbacks are playing well. Kurt Warner is having a great season. Arizona’s defense isn’t dominating. Philadelphia’s defense can be run on. So it is really up to the quarterbacks as I see it. Look for McNabb and Warner to have great games as they bounce back from last week. I think the pressure will get to Warner and make the difference in the this game.

17 reasons to be thankful

ecthompson — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 18:28:54 +0000

Think Progress did one of these lists last year. I’m glad that they decided to do another list this year. We do have a lot to be thankful for.

This Thanksgiving, progressives have a lot to be thankful for. Here’s our list:

We’re thankful we’ll soon have a president who will hit the ground running instead of a president who is running the country into the ground.

We’re thankful that Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow are demonstrating every night how strong and intelligent progressive voices can be successful on TV.

We’re thankful we live in a center-left America rather than ”Hannity’s America.”

We’re thankful John McCain has more time to spend in the houses he owns…even if he can’t remember them all.

We’re thankful Sarah Palin has more time to watch over Russia and warn us in case Vladimir Putin ever “rears his head.”

We’re thankful that we’re moving closer towards a complete withdrawal from Iraq.

We’re thankful for the thousands of protesters who took to the streets across America to push for marriage equality.

We’re not thankful for neo-McCarthys, neo-Hoovers, neo-Nazis, and neocons.

We’re thankful for Tina Fey.

We’re thankful to be liberal hacks.

We’re not thankful for hack operatives burrowing into career civil service jobs.

We’re more thankful for Vice President Joe Biden and “Morning Joe” than Joe Lieberman and “Joe the Plumber.”

We’re thankful that our troops will be able to get the education they so richly deserve.

We’re thankful for the “Mustache of Justice,” “Rahmbo,” “Axe,” and “Skippy.”

We’re thankful that reality still has a liberal bias.

We’re thankful that there are only 55 days left until the end of the George W. Bush presidency. (Did you think that it would ever get here?)

We’re thankful for the progressive mandate to govern.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Terrorist Attacks in Mumbai

ecthompson — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 12:33:54 +0000

I simply do not understand this type of senseless violence.

From WaPo: Gunmen attacked three luxury hotels, a hospital, a train station, a movie theater and other buildings in Mumbai late Wednesday, killing at least 100 people and wounding more than 300 in a rampage through India’s financial capital, police said. The attackers took dozens of people hostage, and witnesses said they were seeking out Americans and Britons. An unknown group asserted responsibility in e-mails to India’s news media.

The gunmen, armed with explosives, lay siege to two of the hotels all night. Troops stormed in to rescue people, some of them foreign nationals, who were trapped inside. The 105-year-old Moorish-style rooftop dome of the landmark Taj Mahal Palace & Tower hotel was engulfed in fire, and flames billowed out of many rooms. One wing of the waterfront hotel was gutted. Seven hours after the first attack, firefighters rescued more than 50 hotel guests and escorted them to ambulances.

At least six foreigners were among those killed in the attacks, said Ramesh Tayde, a senior police officer, according to the Reuters news agency. (more… )