History, Security

More riots in Mumbai

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With all the news of instability and conflict in Iraq and Afganistan I haven’t heard much in the news about the ongoing riots in Mumbai, but here was the situation in March:

Trouble broke out last Wednesday, when some labourers are alleged to have molested a girl in Ghansoli village during Holi celebrations. The villagers retaliated the next day, killing two port labourers, and attacking police vehicles. The police had to resort to firing, killing two people. The official who ordered the firing has been transferred, and the government has ordered an inquiry into the firing.

Seems like the place is ready to burst into riots at any time. Indeed, Mumbai has been a hot spot since the 1970s, and perhaps most noted for the 1984 Bhiwandi riots when nearly 150 people were killed. Most recently (three days ago) reports say citizens objected to a police station being built:

Trouble broke out at Bhiwandi after the authorities began constructing a police station on a plot of land adjacent to a mosque and a graveyard. Muslim organisations objected to the construction of a police station next to the graveyard, and demanded that the work be halted.

When the police refused, a mob of nearly a thousand marched on to the site on Wednesday, planning to demolish the police station. In the ensuing clash, stones were lobbed, injuring about 25 policemen. The police retaliated and fired on the crowd, killing two persons.

Later, two policemen were allegedly lynched by a mob. About 3,000 security personnel have been posted in the city. Security has also been stepped up in the communally sensitive town — which has seen horrific riots several times in the past — and Rapid Action Force troops have been deployed there.

Apparently the source of riots and conflict is rooted in deep mistrust between citizens and their police in a sprawling and densely populated urban area. That tension is now coupled with recent charges against one of the local police “celebrities”:

A warrant had been issued for the arrest of Daya Nayak after the Supreme Court rejected his application for anticipatory bail last week.

He is accused of involvement in killing more than 80 people in so-called “encounters” with alleged criminals.

Daya Nayak, who has been suspended, denies the charges.

Before surrendering, Mr Nayak made allegations of corruption and intimidation against senior colleagues past and present.

[…]

Until recently Mr Nayak was part of a five-member group of policemen in the elite crime intelligence unit, with a brief to take on Mumbai crime syndicates.

He and his colleagues are alleged to have killed hundreds of suspected criminals in shootouts.

The problem, apparently, is that many innocent people were being killed by this sharp-shooter. The charges threaten to undermine his own credibility as a crime-fighter, but it will be interesting to see if he is also able to implicate senior management in the process. Will justice stop the riots, or are the riots to stop justice?

Security

Livewrong

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We all know that Lance Armstrong dopes. Rules in sports (e.g. even anti-doping) can be a good thing and even if they can’t catch him yet, some seem to have a dark sense of humor about it already.

Imagine if you see this armband showing up at work, especially in a “trusted” or authorization-only environment:

Livewrong

Funny, snarky free-speech or inappropriate and in poor taste?

Here’s the explanation from the designer:

Today was the first day of the Tour de France. Many of the top riders got kicked out of the Tour yesterday on allegations of doping….I wear my bracelet to commemorate the event.

Poetry, Security

Lightning and earbuds don’t mix

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Brief follow-up to my earlier post about cell-phones: The Denver Post has a story that suggests little metallic headphones with long metal wires will increase damage if you are struck by lightning. The medical expert in this report, interestingly, makes a very clear distinction between threat and vulnerability:

“There is no scientific evidence to show that lightning is ‘attracted’ to items like an iPod. However, if someone wearing earbuds is struck, current may travel along the wires into the ears,” said Gregory Stewart of the Denver-based Lightning Reference Center. “There are documented cases of lightning traveling through wired telephones and killing the users. “

This sounds so much more reasoned than the British Medical Journal, from a security/risk perspective. I find it nice that the report tries to clarify that the risk is really of more serious damage (increased vulnerability) given the same probability of being struck by lightning. Although, ironically, you might say that a wired telephone actually could increase your threat of being struck if it’s connected to a much larger target area (an exposed system of wires).

On the lighter side of things (pun not intended) there were two other factors mentioned in the report:

Jason Bunch was listening to Metallica on his iPod while mowing the lawn outside his Castle Rock home Sunday afternoon when lightning hit him.

The real lesson might be never to mow the lawn when there’s a chance of lightning. It might seem funny, but rote chores put people into a state of mind where they think they have to finish the last row, or get the last tuft and they tend to ignore subtle changes in weather. Lightning safety tips from NOAA and released to the public by news stations includes lawn mowing as a high-risk activity:

Each year, about 400 children and adults in the U.S. are struck by lightning while working outside, at sports events, on the beach, mountain climbing, mowing the lawn or during other outdoor activities.

Metallica? Could it have had anything to do with the lightning? Let’s see, there was that one album…

Ride the Lightning

Guilty as charged
But damn it, it ain’t right
There’s someone else controlling me
Death in the air
Strapped in the electric chair
This can’t be happening to me

Who made you God to say,
I’ll take your life from you?

Flash before my eyes
Now it’s time to die
Burning in my brain
I can feel the flame

Wait for the sign
To flick the switch of death
It’s the beginning of the end
Sweat, chilling cold
As I watch death unfold
Consciousness my only friend

My fingers grip with fear
What am I doing here?

Flash before my eyes
Now it’s time to die
Burning in my brain
I can feel the flame

Someone help me
Oh please, God help me
They are trying to take it all away
I don’t want to die

Time moving slow
The minutes seem like hours
The final curtain call I see
How true is this
Just get it over with
If this is true, just let it be

Wakened by horrid scream
Freed from this frightening dream

Flash before my eyes
Now it’s time to die
Burning in my brain
I can feel the flame

I guess the song was actually about the suffering caused by capital punishment. Maybe the one he was listening to had not yet been licensed? The RIAA has been considered heavy-handed so far, but would they go so far as to use lightning as enforcement?

There is an interesting list of Utah lightning deaths compiled by NOAA and even more interesting is the demographic data reported by the CDC:

In the United States from 1980 through 1995, a total of 1318 deaths were attributed to lightning, (average: 82 deaths per year {range: 53-100 deaths}). Of the 1318 persons who died, 1125 (85%) were male, and 896 (68%) were aged 15-44 years. The annual death rate from lightning was highest among persons aged 15-19 years (6 deaths per 10,000,000 population; crude rate: 3 per 10,000,000). The greatest number of deaths attributable to lightning occurred in Florida and Texas (145 and 91, respectively), but New Mexico, Arizona, Arkansas, and Mississippi had the highest rates (10.0, 9.0, 9.0, and 9.0, respectively).

So, are young males more likely to be struck (doing risky things outdoors like listening to illegal mp3s of Metallica) or more vulnerable to die when struck (more metal on their body, different physical characteristics)? Perhaps the lesson is that young men shouldn’t mow lawns.