Sunday, December 28, 2008

Taj Hotel Terror Activity Map


Taj Hotel Terror Activity Map














1. Terrorists arrived via boats as witnesses had observed first boat approaching Gateway of India.

2. First shots were heard in Taj Hotel around 9:30 pm. Grenades were thrown near swimming pool. Terrorists enter the old wing of the hotel.

3. Eight member team of Colaba police armed with service pistols arrive and are confronted by the terrorists coming down from the fifth floor.

4. First confrontation between the police team took place at the second floor. Grenades force the police team back. They take and return fire. One constable is missing from the team.

5. Terrorists resort to random firing across floors and start taking hostages. Additional police reinforcements arrive.

6. Terrorists confront the cops and take the staircase. They reenter the old wing around midnight.

7. A grenade is lobbed at the dome atop the old wing around 2:30 am. Fire breaks out. Firemen begin work to douse the fire.

8. First hostage is rescued from the new wing around 2:45 am. 60 people in all. 30 more visitors are brought to safety around 5 am.

9. Terrorists lob grenades at the lobby connecting old and new wings of the hotel. Still stops the rescue operation for some time.

10. Rescue operation restarts around 7 am, moving floor by floor. 100 more visitors get out.

11. Another encounter starts in the old building around 11 am. New grenades are thrown on the lobby and a second grenade is thrown at the dome around 12:50 pm. Sixth floor room catches fire due to grenades. These fires are put out. Eight more guests are rescued around 2:30 pm. Two terrorists are dead and one is captured alive.

12. Hotel general manager's family - wife and two kids (age 14, 5) charred to death are found on the sixth floor by 5:30 pm.





Taj Hotel - Burning during the night of terror in Mumbai
















































































Saturday, December 20, 2008

Proposed Definitions of Terrorism????

1. League of Nations Convention (1937):

"All criminal acts directed against a State and intended or calculated to create a state of terror in the minds of particular persons or a group of persons or the general public".

2. UN Resolution language (1999):

"1. Strongly condemns all acts, methods and practices of terrorism as criminal and unjustifiable, wherever and by whomsoever committed;

2. Reiterates that criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons for political purposes are in any circumstance unjustifiable, whatever the considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or other nature that may be invoked to justify them". (GA Res. 51/210 Measures to eliminate international terrorism)

3. Short legal definition proposed by A. P. Schmid to United Nations Crime Branch (1992):

Act of Terrorism = Peacetime Equivalent of War Crime

4. Academic Consensus Definition:

"Terrorism is an anxiety-inspiring method of repeated violent action, employed by (semi-) clandestine individual, group or state actors, for idiosyncratic, criminal or political reasons, whereby - in contrast to assassination - the direct targets of violence are not the main targets. The immediate human victims of violence are generally chosen randomly (targets of opportunity) or selectively (representative or symbolic targets) from a target population, and serve as message generators. Threat- and violence-based communication processes between terrorist (organization), (imperilled) victims, and main targets are used to manipulate the main target (audience(s)), turning it into a target of terror, a target of demands, or a target of attention, depending on whether intimidation, coercion, or propaganda is primarily sought"

Examples of Terrorism

Use or threat of use of violence has long caused concern among those responsible for public health. Examples include indiscriminate violence, such as the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City and the 1995 bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City, and targeted violence, such as attacks on facilities for the termination of pregnancy or on those who work in such facilities. The primary responsibility for response to the health consequences of such violence has resided largely in emergency medical services and the primary responsibility for prevention in agencies concerned with public order and safety, such as the police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Recent instances of use or threatened use of biological or chemical agents in terrorism have raised interest in the role of public health agencies and public health personnel in primary or secondary prevention. Documented episodes, although extremely rare, have been dramatic. In Japan, the chemical warfare agent Sarin was released by the Aum Shinrikyo cult in Matsumoto in 1994 and in the Tokyo subway in 1995. In 1984, an Oregon cult allegedly contaminated salad bars with a biological agent, salmonella. These episodes, and recent hoaxes concerning anthrax release, have led to well publicized, costly responses by public health and public safety officials. Chemical terrorism could include the purposeful contamination of water and food supplies or the aerosolization of toxicants within enclosed public spaces. Biological terrorist actions could include purposeful contamination with infectious materials, as well as the purposeful release of insects or other vectors infected with a transmissible disease.

terror definations...

There is no universally accepted definition of terrorism and even when people agree on a definition of terrorism, they sometimes disagree about whether or not the definition fits a particular incident. In order to understand terrorism, one must assess the different views of what exactly constitutes terrorism. Reaching a general conclusion on the definition of terrorism has generated much debate in the social sciences and internationally. No single definition seems to satisfy the wide interpretation of what specifically is terrorism. Since September 11th a large coalition has been formed to combat Terrorism. In order for this coalition to work there will have to be a universally excepted definition in order for the coalition to form plans and act.

Terror

The biggest question in this world is why terrorism is increasing...
terrors simply they won't go for that jobs..
the situation makes them to do that things..
so they in search of some jobs..they will attracted by terror community..
there they will spoil their lives to some thing else..

terrorism

Terrorism is not new, and even though it has been used since the beginning of recorded history it can be relatively hard to define. Terrorism has been described variously as both a tactic and strategy; a crime and a holy duty; a justified reaction to oppression and an inexcusable abomination. Obviously, a lot depends on whose point of view is being represented. Terrorism has often been an effective tactic for the weaker side in a conflict. As an asymmetric form of conflict, it confers coercive power with many of the advantages of military force at a fraction of the cost. Due to the secretive nature and small size of terrorist organizations, they often offer opponents no clear organization to defend against or to deter.






















That is why preemption is being considered to be so important. In some cases, terrorism has been a means to carry on a conflict without the adversary realizing the nature of the threat, mistaking terrorism for criminal activity. Because of these characteristics, terrorism has become increasingly common among those pursuing extreme goals throughout the world. But despite its popularity, terrorism can be a nebulous concept. Even within the U.S. Government, agencies responsible for different functions in the ongoing fight against terrorism use different definitions.