Bookworm

Good grief, CNN, who makes these decisions?

I received three Breaking News emails from CNN today.  Two of the three I would consider to be important news and one I would not.  Can you identify the "Gee, I could've waited 'til later for this one" story?

• Three major earthquakes strike Peru -- a magnitude 7.7 and two magnitude 7.5, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. There is no word on casualties but Reuters reports buildings shaking in the capital, Lima.
• President Bush's daughter, Jenna, is engaged to be married, the White House says.
• Jose Padilla is found guilty on charges he conspired to kill people in an overseas jihad and to fund and support overseas terrorism.
  

Terrorist Plot Stopped in Britain

"British authorities arrest 21 people in connection with what they called a terrorist plot to blow up a number of airliners traveling between Britain and the United States. Police say the plot involves smuggling liquid explosives onto aircraft in hand luggage." [NY Times]

Too scary and too reminiscent of 9/11, except, thankfully this plan was discovered before it could be executed.

Judge Sends Moussaoui to Prison for Life

"U.S. Judge Leonie Brinkema sent Zacarias Moussaoui to prison for life Thursday. . . for his role in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. . . [A] jury rejected the government's case to have Moussaoui executed, deciding instead to sent him to prison for life without a chance of parole. Not all jurors were convinced that Moussaoui, who was in jail on immigration charges Sept. 11, had a significant part in the attacks . . . Brinkema firmly refused to be interrupted by the 37-year-old defendant as she disputed his claim that his life sentence meant America had lost and he had won. "Mr. Moussaoui. . . [y]ou will spend the rest of your life in a supermax prison. It's absolutely clear who won." And she said it was proper he will be kept away from outsiders, unable to speak publicly again. "Mr. Moussaoui, you came here to be a martyr in a great big bang of glory," she said, "but to paraphrase the poet T.S. Eliot, instead you will die with a whimper." At that point, Moussaoui tried again to interrupt her, but she raised her voice and spoke over him. "You will never get a chance to speak again and that's an appropriate ending." Brinkema sentenced Moussaoui to six life terms without the chance of parole." [AP/Yahoo!]

Man Killed by Air Marshals in Miami

"Federal air marshals shot and killed a man on a boarding bridge at Miami International Airport after he said he had a bomb. . .  Flight 924 was in Miami on a stopover during a flight from Medellin, Colombia, to Orlando, Florida, when the man said there was a bomb in his carry-on luggage, a Department of Homeland Security official said.  He was confronted by a team of federal air marshals, who pursued the man down the boarding bridge and ordered him to get on the ground, the official said. When the man appeared to reach into his baggage, at least one shot was fired by the marshals, wounding the man, the official said, adding that marshals' actions were consistent with their training. Upon investigation, there was no evidence that the man had a bomb, an official said.  This is the first time an air marshal has fired a weapon on or near an airplane, a federal official said." [CNN.com]

London rocked by terror attacks

"At least two people have been killed and scores injured after three blasts on the Underground network and another on a double-decker bus in London.

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said it was "reasonably clear" there had been a series of terrorist attacks.

He said it was "particularly barbaric" that it was timed to coincide with the G8 summit. He is returning to London.

An Islamist website has posted a statement - purportedly from al-Qaeda - claiming it was behind the attacks."  [BBC NEWS]

How horrible.  My heart breaks for these poor people, innocently going about their daily lives, only to be a target for a violent attack.  If anyone from Britain is reading this, please accept my deepest sympathies for what has happened in your country.

Update:
The BBC site has some first person accounts posted. 

Update:
Some Londoners are posting pictures on Flickr.  This one shows what it was like evacuating from the tube.  Seeing people posting shots of their television screens and screenshots of websites reminds me of what I did for days after 9/11.  We are compelled to record what is happening, in all our numbness.  I guess that's what I'm doing by updating this post.

Update 7/14/05:
Wikipedia has a very good entry on the 7/7 attacks (I have to admit I hadn't thought of looking there for current events-type coverage, although something that can be so easily updated is actually an obvious tool.)

Madrid Terror Blast

Update: 3/16/04
"I don't know what mix of issues swung the Spanish election during those final days. . . [R]eversing course in the wake of a terrorist attack is inexcusable. I don't care what the policy is. You do not give terrorists the chance to think that their methods work. You do not give them the chance to celebrate victories. When you do that, you make the world a more dangerous place, for others and probably for yourself. . . Al Qaeda will regard Spain as a splendid triumph. After all, how often have murderers altered a democratic election? And having done it once, why stop now? Why should they not now massacre Italians, Poles, Americans and Brits? Al Qaeda has now induced one nation to abandon the Iraqi people. Yesterday the incoming Spanish prime minister indicated he would pull his troops out of Iraq unless the U.N. takes control. The terrorists sought this because they understand, even if many in Europe do not, that Iraq is a crucial battleground in the war on terror." [David Brooks, in the NY Times]

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Update: 3/13/04
". . .[T]he death toll [has] risen to 200 and. . . 1,500 people were wounded in Thursday's attacks -- 10 bomb blasts on four trains in three stations. . . Spain's interior minister has said the investigation into the Madrid bombings is focusing on Basque separatist group ETA while examining leads indicating involvement of an Islamic terrorist group." [CNN]

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"A letter purporting to come from Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network claimed responsibility for train bombings in Spain on Thursday, calling them strikes against "crusaders.". . The London-based al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper faxed to Reuters' Dubai bureau a copy of a letter purporting to come from the "Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades." The group aligns itself to al Qaeda, blamed by Washington for September 2001 attacks on the United States. . . Spain backed the United States in its invasion of Iraq, drawing the opprobrium of militant Islamist groups." [Reuters/Yahoo]

"Ten terrorist bombs tore through trains and stations along a commuter line at the height of Madrid's morning rush hour Thursday, killing more than 190 people and wounding 1,200 others before this weekend's general elections. The government initially blamed Basque separatists for the worst terrorist strike in Spanish history. But the interior minister said other lines of investigation were opened after police found a van Thursday with detonators and an audiotape of Quranic verses near where the bombed trains originated." [Yahoo]

My sympathies go out to the families and friends of those killed or injured today in this terrorist attack.

Two of Saddam Hussein's Sons Killed Today

Saddam Hussein's sons Odai and Qusai were killed in a six-hour firefight Tuesday when U.S. forces surrounded and then stormed a palatial villa in this northern Iraqi town, a senior American general said." [AP/Yahoo]

Fire on Eiffel Tower

"A fire broke out on a top level of the Eiffel Tower on Tuesday, sending smoke pouring from the 1,069-foot Paris landmark. The cause of the fire was not immediately known, the company that operates the tower said. The blaze appeared to be in an area inaccessible to tourists, on one of the three topmost levels of the tower. Officials said they were not sure whether anyone was on the top level, where the fire appeared to have erupted. There were no immediate reports of injuries." [AP/NY Times]

3:03 p.m. ET: Update: "The fire — which broke out in an area housing television and radio equipment, just below the tower's antenna — was put out after about an hour, police said." [AP/Yahoo]


Is it just me, or do pictures of tall landmarks spewing smoke still take you instantly back to 9/11/01?