varanasi.
holy shit.
so varanasi got bombed. three of them. and a fourth was discovered.
that was one of the cities i visited whilst i was in india. the pictures are here. the first group of pictures are all from the boat trip we took down the ganges, at dawn. and one of those temples in the pictures is the temple that got bombed. i was, of course, also at the train station whilst there. because that's how i got in and out. and that was also bombed.
feels weird. i had been to the world trade center many times before 2001. i have been in the london underground both before and after it was bombed. i was in southeast asia when the tsunami hit. and now i've been to the places in varanasi that were bombed.
good thing i'm missing a trip to spain. coulda had the clean sweep...
what i find most striking, sadly, is a quote from our fearless leader when he was visitng india last week. he said that something about praising india for being a place where many religions coexist peacefully. and as soon as i heard that i thought, "jesus he's a jackass." although we all know i think that already.
but the thing is... uh... there is a long history of violence between hindus and muslims in india.
when my bombay-native best pal was taking us around bombay, we took a quick and ginger stroll through the muslim "thieves market" as they call it. it's such a thick and winding area of stalls and shops. it's like a hive. and you can find anything you need in there somewhere. if you want to brave the walk. you can find it in there, because well... no one's got balls enough to wade into the midst of such a hive and start telling people what they can and cannot do. and my bombay native also told me that there was anough firepower hidden in there to make any hindu think more than twice about starting any shit nearby.
but hey. most americans are blissfully unaware of this fact. and boy did that comment about peaceful religious coexistance sound great, didn't it? man, he's such a great president...
so varanasi got bombed. three of them. and a fourth was discovered.
that was one of the cities i visited whilst i was in india. the pictures are here. the first group of pictures are all from the boat trip we took down the ganges, at dawn. and one of those temples in the pictures is the temple that got bombed. i was, of course, also at the train station whilst there. because that's how i got in and out. and that was also bombed.
feels weird. i had been to the world trade center many times before 2001. i have been in the london underground both before and after it was bombed. i was in southeast asia when the tsunami hit. and now i've been to the places in varanasi that were bombed.
good thing i'm missing a trip to spain. coulda had the clean sweep...
what i find most striking, sadly, is a quote from our fearless leader when he was visitng india last week. he said that something about praising india for being a place where many religions coexist peacefully. and as soon as i heard that i thought, "jesus he's a jackass." although we all know i think that already.
but the thing is... uh... there is a long history of violence between hindus and muslims in india.
when my bombay-native best pal was taking us around bombay, we took a quick and ginger stroll through the muslim "thieves market" as they call it. it's such a thick and winding area of stalls and shops. it's like a hive. and you can find anything you need in there somewhere. if you want to brave the walk. you can find it in there, because well... no one's got balls enough to wade into the midst of such a hive and start telling people what they can and cannot do. and my bombay native also told me that there was anough firepower hidden in there to make any hindu think more than twice about starting any shit nearby.
but hey. most americans are blissfully unaware of this fact. and boy did that comment about peaceful religious coexistance sound great, didn't it? man, he's such a great president...