Mumbai Attack

With the terror attack in Mumbai last night it makes me wonder if violence and hatred in this region will ever end. Are Muslims and Hindus destined to fight right up until Judgment Day? I woke up and got on my yahoo account to see the breaking news from our neighbor to the East, while watching delayed reports from CNN and Fox News (what would I do without AFN???). They even set the Taj Mahal ablaze. Do none of these terror gentlemen have any respect for preserving history??? Oh wait… no, no they don’t.

Reading that Three Cups of Tea book has gotten me very interested in learning more about the history of relations in India and Pakistan (and Afghanistan). I also want to read Taliban by Ahmed Rashid now to learn more. I don’t know a lot about the history of the Taliban other than the recent history of their climb to power in Pakistan and Afghanistan using madrassas to brainwash the illiterate children of poor, remote villages who knew no better. Islamic extremism is a scary concept, though not as much so as assuming all Muslims are terrorists. I know this region of the world is vastly misunderstood and I think there should be a more conscious effort by our government and private sectors to educate our people about Islam and it’s teachings as the majority of those who practice it see it. Instead, we hear about the extremists and terrorists who are grouped together by the media with regular Muslims. Although, having said that, did you know that until 9/11 Saudi Arabia and (*gasp*) The United Arab Emirates directly funded the Taliban? Fun stuff. Anywho, that’s it from me.

Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers (and a belated Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian readers). I hope everyone has a great day with family and a wonderful feast! We’re going over to Matt’s tomorrow to eat some turkey, so I will hopefully take some pictures and let you know how that goes!