In Mumbai, a doctor who has seen victims of riots, gang wars, and previous terrorist attacks is “traumatized” (his own words) at the sight of victims from the recent attack:

Asked specifically if he was talking of torture marks, he said: “It was apparent that most of the dead were tortured. What shocked me were the telltale signs showing clearly how the hostages were executed in cold blood,” one doctor said.

The other doctor, who had also conducted the post-mortem of the victims, said: “Of all the bodies, the Israeli victims bore the maximum torture marks. It was clear that they were killed on the 26th itself. It was obvious that they were tied up and tortured before they were killed. It was so bad that I do not want to go over the details even in my head again,” he said.

Via Instapundit.

Also via Instapundit: Jihadists see “invasion” as a triumph

Well, not so much. But he took the Civics Quiz which seems to be popping up all over the place and

You answered 32 out of 33 correctly — 96.97 %

which is a bit better than I expected. There were a number of questions which I wasn’t positive on, and I guesstimated them all correctly except one. Not too shabby.

As a history buff and political writer (of sorts), it shouldn’t be too terribly surprising that I scored fairly well. I do wish that US citizens in general scored better than the 49% that they did, though that also isn’t terribly surprising. Over 70% scored less than 60% correct. See all the findings here.

A reader pointed this out in a comment on an earlier post: The Fairchild A-10 Warthog. If you’re interested in the A-10, it’s worth a look.

Meanwhile, here’s a picture I happened across eslewhere:

A left side view of the cockpit of the first A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft in flight. Photographer's Name: UnknownLocation: EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE Date Shot: 7/10/1979

This appears to be the demonstrator Night/All Weather (N/AW) aircraft, which was built by converting the first development aircraft. A Weapons System Officer would have manned the second seat, much like in the F-15E Strike Eagle. The N/AW A-10 was never produced.

What I’d really been looking for when I found the two-seater image was a picture of the A-10 in the good old green “Charcoal Lizard” colors:

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Search for the Star Stones by Andre Norton puts The Zero Stone and Uncharted Stars into one volume for the first time.

Murdoc Jern’s father, an interstellar gem trader, was murdered by outlaw competitors and left behind an odd ring, large enough to fit over the finger of a space suit. With his companion Eet, a strange feline mutant with phenomenal mental powers, he soon discovered that the stone in the ring was actually a Zero Stone—an alien device left behind by an ancient vanished race—and it was the key to powers beyond human imagination.

Murdoc and Eet had to solve the secret of the Zero Stone, and very quickly, because very greedy and dangerous people wanted that ring, and wouldn’t hesitate at a second murder to obtain it.

I got The Zero Stone for Christmas from an aunt and uncle in 1980. My name and the date are written on the first page.

These books, while not really “great” by any measure, are classics. And, um, I thought the main character’s name was sorta cool. A good gift idea for fans of oldschool sci-fi.

Kids, don’t try this at home:

A private of the 33rd New Jersey Infantry. Probably taken late 1861 or early 1862.

In American Civil War literature, no single item of equipment has had such a poor treatment as the bayonet. First appearing in the 17th century, the first known examples were said to have derived their name from the French Town of Bayonne, where it is alleged they were developed. Hard to say for certain.

What can be said for certain is that, by the time of the Civil War, the bayonet was still seen as an integral part of the Infantryman’s kit, and many descriptions of both fact and fantasy were given of bayonet charges, coupled with cries of “Give ‘em the cold steel, boys!” by writers and politicians alike.

However, after the civil war, and interesting thing happened. Historians started to report that, despite all it’s reputation, the bayonet was hardly used at all! How could this be? How could so many period letters and accounts be so wildly inaccurate?

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I’ve been in dial-up land since yesterday, so I’m not up to speed on the India attacks. Now stories are running about threats to Penn Station in New York City: Al Qaeda’s Goal: Cripple Amtrak’s N’east Corridor

It’s tough to know how to take this. Is this story one that is only being run (or noticed) because of the Mumbai attacks? Apparently, the FBI warning was made hours before the attacks in India, so the warning itself isn’t a reaction to events in India.

At least, with the terror in India still unfolding, we don’t have people going on and on about how this is just a Bush plot to keep people scared and that the inconvenience of guarding train stations is just plain stupid. Or how you’re more likely to choke on peanuts than be attacked by terrorists. They’ll start up on that crap around Monday, or so. Once they’ve had to wait in line a couple of extra minutes for their train.

UPDATE: Actually, now that I think about it, AQ’s best bet to bleed America dry would be to let Amtrak keep running its normal schedule.

UPDATE 2: My half-hearted attempt at Amtrak bashing was not really constructive in any way. Sometimes I’m a jerk. My apologies.

‘Sons of Iraq’ continues shift to Iraqi control
Most SoI groups in Baghdad are now under Iraqi control. The rest of the country will soon follow.

A close call for 2 generals in Iraq
Two US generals plus an Iraqi general survive a suicide car bomb hit while riding in a Navistar MaxxPro Plus in August.

Mark 7 receives ARC upgrade
New electronic upgrade for aircraft carrier arresting gear.

WKRP in Cincinnati
I post the ‘Turkeys Away’ clip every Thanksgiving, but the whole series is a classic.

Guard Stryker Brigade to deploy with FCS UAVs
56th Brigade will be first to use Micro Air Vehicle and Class I Block Zero unmanned air vehicles.

India Maps Out Manned Exploration Program
Is it going to be crowded up there?

Charter Arms’ New Rimless Revolver
To be available in .40, .45, and 9mm.

Lights out at Studio 28 movie theater
The end of an era in Michigan.

Marine out in the woods
Nice picture.

Mumbai, India:

Teams of gunmen stormed luxury hotels, a popular restaurant, hospitals and a crowded train station in coordinated attacks across India’s financial capital Wednesday night, killing at least 82 people and taking Westerners hostage, police said. A group of suspected Muslim militants claimed responsibility.

Near dawn Thursday, parts of the city remained under siege, with police and gunmen exchanging occasional gunfire at the hotels and an unknown number of people still held hostage, said A.N. Roy, a top police official.

Explosions were heard at the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower hotel, and an ensuing fire engulfed the top of the landmark building. The attackers specifically targeted Britons and Americans, witnesses said.

A group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attacks.

The top anti-terrorist police officer was killed in the fighting.

UPDATE: Brickmuppet points out this interesting bit in another report:

At least two sten guns have been recovered from the terrorists, the chief minister said.

See his post for pictures, maps, and a lot more info.

Oh, the humanity.

UPDATE: Apparently the video I had up was pulled sometime this morning. I’ve got a replacement, but it’s not as good.

And it’s missing Mr. Carlson’s “As God as my witness…I thought turkeys could fly.”

UPDATE 2: Found a much better one that also includes some credits and an intro. Even it is missing Les’ report about the turkey counter-attack, though.

Good times. WKRP is a classic.