MUMBAI: Who is to Blame?

World mourns, India investigates, Pakistan denies

- Indian police investigating who was behind the massive militant assault on Mumbai interrogated Sunday the only gunman who survived, as Pakistan insisted it was not involved. Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari urged India not to "over-react" after Indian and US officials suggested the militants, who killed nearly 200 people, could have been from the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. The group, which is fighting against Indian control of Kashmir, was behind the deadly 2001 assault on the Indian parliament that pushed New Delhi and Islamabad to the brink of war. Indian media reported that the badly-injured gunman had identified all the attackers as Pakistan citizens and acknowledged that they were trained by Lashkar-e-Taiba. Ajmal Amir Kamal, 21, who was caught on a CCTV camera wearing a T-shirt with the logo "Versace," was reportedly being interrogated in a safe-house in Mumbai. US counter-terrorism officials told AFP some evidence was emerging that Lashkar-e-Taiba could have been behind the Mumbai attacks , while Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee named "elements in Pakistan" as responsible. Lashkar-e-Taiba has denied any responsibility. Intelligence chiefs scrambled to explain why they had failed to prevent at least a dozen militants mounting the multiple attacks on the city on Wednesday evening. Security forces only regained control of Mumbai 60 hours later when they succeeded in killing the last three militants holed up with hostages inside the famous Taj Mahal hotel . The previous day, elite troops had stormed a Mumbai Jewish centre and killed two gunmen -- but also found eight dead Israeli hostages. Another luxury hotel that was attacked, the Oberoi/Trident, was cleared of militants late Friday, with scores of trapped guests rescued and dozens of bodies found. Officials said that 195 people had been killed and nearly 300 injured in the attacks, which began when the militants split into groups to strike multiple targets across the city, including the main railway station and a hospital. About 30 foreigners were killed including nine Israelis, five Americans, two French, two Australians and two Canadians. One militant group entered Mumbai by boat, while others had arrived a month ago to stockpile arms and explosives and infiltrate the targets before the attacks were launched. Survivors have given terrifying accounts of the carnage. Phillippe Meyer, who had been on a business trip to Mumbai, said he was stuck in one of the hotels targeted by militants. "We found ourselves shut away in our rooms for a very long time, about 40 hours. The information was very confusing," said Meyer, 53, as he returned to France. Television footage of the inside of the Taj hotel showed half-eaten meals left on tables as diners fled for their lives. The restaurant walls were pockmarked with bullet holes and the floor covered with a thick layer of glass. "I cannot believe what I have seen in the last 36 hours. I have seen dead bodies, blood everywhere and only heard gunshots," said Muneer Al Mahaj, an Iraqi national, after he was rescued. Witnesses said the attackers had specifically rounded up foreigners with US and British passports. The United States, Israel and Britain were among countries that offered expert assistance to help with the investigation. (AFP via MSN/ AP Photo via Yahoo)

Saddest Songs All of Time

You'll surely recall these heartbreaking classics — along with the worst breakup of your life.

For the last month Rock's Backpages has offered up a slew of sobworthy classics from all walks of pop. Country, soul, AOR, dance: you name the genre, we've scoured it for heartbreak greats. So get yer handkerchiefs ready... here's our tearjerking Top 20 , from the Everly Brothers to George Jones via Lorraine Ellison and Little Feat. --Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages

1. George Jones:"He Stopped Loving Her Today," single (Epic, 1981) "He said I'll love you 'til I die..." Curly Putnam and Bobby Braddock wrote the shamelessly weepy lyric and melody; producer Billy Sherrill coated the track in sumptuous Nashville surround-sound; and then the greatest country singer of all gave the performance of a lifetime--a vocal imbued with deep, knee-quaking compassion for the poor schmuck who never got over the love of his life... until now, when he's "all dressed up to go away". I don't care how hard-bitten you may be, I defy you not to get a lump in the throat from this 20-year-old classic of cornball liebestod. It's utterly transcendental--the most heartbreaking record ever made.

2. Roy Orbison: "It's Over," single (Monument, 1964) "Your baby doesn't love you anymore…" (Hey, why don't you spell it out for us, Roy?) Over a rat-a-tat, execution-squad bolero beat, the Big O gives unearthly voice to what one only call terminality. Still terrifying after all these years.

3. Frank Sinatra: "I'm A Fool To Want You," from Where Are You? (Capitol, 1957) "But then would come the time that I would neeeeeed you..." A second stab at one of the very few songs Sinatra had a hand in writing--a song born of his debilitating pain over Ava Gardner--"I'm A Fool" is the desperate sound of a Man Who Loves Too Much, who keeps going back, masochistically, to the woman who's destroyed him. One of Frank's all-time peaks.

4. Kate and Anna McGarrigle:"Heart Like A Wheel," from Kate and Anna McGarrigle (Warner Brothers, 1975) "It's only love/That can wreck a human being and turn him inside out..." Forget Linda Ronstadt's limp cover: the sisters' original from their startling debut album simply wees all over it. Imagine Les Voix des Bulgares transplanted to Acadia, with Kate and Anna's eerie, pellucid voices blending in a meditation on love and loss that's all about a kind of mystical bewilderment. Almost supernaturally moving.

5. The Righteous Brothers: "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," single (Philles, 1964) "You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips": it's got to be the second greatest opening line of any breakup song ever. (The greatest is surely from Raspberries’ ballad "Starting Over": "I used to be so f***ing optimistic til you said goodbye".) In theory it shouldn’t have worked, combining what was then almost a comedy act with Phil Spector, a man renowned for producing girl groups. Yet somehow it all came together in one of the most remarkable vocal performances of all time, with Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield madly swapping pleas like James Brown’s Siamese twins. "Baby, baby, I’d get down on my knees for you ... If you would only love me like you used to do." Sublime.

6. Sinead O'Connor: "Nothing Compares 2 U," single (Chrysalis, 1990) Forget the famous video: it's all already here in Sinead's bruised rendition--simultaneously dazed and defiant--of Prince's perfect ballad. "I could put my arms around every boy I meet..." But you know she won't.

7. Otis Redding: "I've Been Loving You Too Long," single (Volt, 1965) "You're tired, and your love is growing cold..." Good God Almighty! The prototype deep-soul howl of pitiful, nay, wretched lovesickness, sung by a big Georgia farmboy who's literally ravaged by need for his woman.

8. Abba: "Knowing Me, Knowing You," single (Epic, 1977) "No more carefree laughter/Silence ever after..." Not the opening lines of a Radiohead, Big Star or Jeff Buckley song, but one by those fab four Swedish moppets so beloved of the young karaoke crowd. You see, the jolly, upbeat big-hair-and-shiny-suits story of Abba hid the sadness of two failing marriages, a sadness that bubbles to the fore here. As with the Everly Brothers or Carpenters, their arrangements may be flawless and their harmonies pitch-perfect, but there’s true heartache in them there grooves.

9. Lorraine Ellison: "Stay With Me," single (Warner Brothers, 1966) "No, no! I can't believe!! You're leaving me!!!" The epic Bert Berns-Jerry Ragovoy ballad style taken to the outer limit, thanks in part to a borrowed Frank Sinatra orchestra. Building slowly to volcanic peaks, and laceratingly intense to the point of hoarseness, this is soul emotion at the edge of utter despair.

10. Bonnie Raitt: "I Can't Make You Love Me," from The Luck Of The Draw (Capitol, 1991) "I'll feel the power, but you won't..." It's all very "tasty" and L.A.-musoid, this smokey ballad of resignation to loss, but it also rings hauntingly true as an articulation of honesty in the midst of misery--which makes it as much a song of healing as anything else.

11. Smokey Robinson & the Miracles: "The Tracks Of My Tears," from Going To A Go-Go (Motown, 1965) Bob Dylan called Smokey "America’s greatest living poet" with good reason. The guy was able to take the most everyday images and imbue them with a real emotional strength, allowing even the flyest guy to wear his heart on his sleeve: "People say I’m the life of the party ‘cos I tell a joke or two/My smile is the make-up I wear since my break up with you..." Couple that with Marv Tarplin's peerless, aching melody and you've got the ultimate Motown heartbreaker.

12. Little Feat: "Long Distance Love," from The Last Record Album (Warner Brothers, 1975) "Does she know she hurt me so?" How did a sad ballad get so funky and stay so sad? Lowell George was never more soulfully vulnerable than on this late-flowering gem from an otherwise indifferent Feat platter.

13. Dusty Springfield: "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself," single (Phonogram, 1964) Springfield here performs a rare feat: outperforming Dionne Warwick's own version of a Bacharach and David classic. Moving from forlorn whimper to gutsy roar, she lives the song to the full. "Going to the movies only makes me sad; parties make me feel as bad/When I'm not with you, I just don't know what to do." Decimating.

14. The Pretenders: "I Go To Sleep," from Pretenders II (WEA, 1981) What a concept: a song about missing an ex-partner sung by your future ex-partner. Written by Ray Davies and sung by Chrissie Hynde, this gives a peek into the--one assumes--charred lansdscape of the Davies/Hynde relationship. A perfect marriage of arrangement (including a beautiful French horn riff), lovelorn vocals and passionate lyrics: "I was wrong, I will cry, I will love you ‘til the day I die/You alone, you alone and no-one else/You were meant for me..."

15. Love: "Alone Again Or," from Forever Changes (Elektra, 1967) Love’s most famous recording: written, ironically, not by leader Arthur Lee but by po' little rich boy Bryan Maclean. "I heard a funny thing, somebody said to me/‘You know that I could be in love with almost everyone/I think people are the greatest fun’. And I will be alone again tonight, my dear..." The bastard son of the Byrds meets Ennio Morricone--all West Coast harmonies, 12-string guitars and Tijuana brass--this ode to loneliness seemed to come out of nowhere in late ‘67.

16. Billie Holiday: "Don't Worry 'Bout Me," from Lady In Autumn (Verve, 1959) Billie is being so damn reasonable: "Why not call it a day the sensible way, and still be friends," she sings. And do we believe her? We do not. Her apparent acceptance that "our little show is over" cuts no ice when delivered with such cracked desperation. Truly heart-rending late Lady Day.

17. Soft Cell: "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye," single (Some Bizzare, 1982) The genius of this synthpop classic is the way it starts out as a bitchfest--Marc Almond coming on like Dusty Springfield's petulant little sister--and then suddenly flips into a deep, engulfing sadness. Even as Almond demands that his lover take her hands off him and claims that "You never knew me/I never knew you", Dave Ball's oceanic keyboard chords say the opposite--that Marc is all tetchy bravado and that this parting is bursting his heart.

18. Randy Crawford: "One Day I'll Fly Away," single (Warner Brothers, 1980) "When will love be through with me?" MOR slush to some ears, this Crusaders/Will Jennings-constructed jazz-funk-lite ballad remains irresistibly sad to many others--especially when Crawford trails off on "away" and the swelling chord drops down beneath her. Tremulous and dreamily lovely.

19. The Band: "It Makes No Difference," from Northern Lights - Southern Cross (Capitol, 1975) The most artless--and most piningly desolate--love song Robbie Robertson ever wrote, sung with hopeless tenderness by Rick Danko, The Band's most artless singer. "I love you so much, and it's all I can do/Just to keep myself from telling you/That I never felt so alone before..."

20. The Everly Brothers: "So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad)," from It's Everly Time (Warner Brothers, 1960) A descending scale begins a classic of sad restraint: "We used to have good times together but now I feel them slip away/It makes me cry to see love die: so sad to watch good love go bad..." Sparse backing and note-perfect harmony compliment one of Don’s greatest lyrics. The inspiration for many a tender hearted ne’r-do-well, from John Lennon to Brian Wilson and beyond. (rocksbackpages.com)

Mumbai Siege Ends

Indian commandos kill the last remaining gunmen, ending days of terror

- A 60-hour terror rampage that killed at least 195 people across India's financial capital ended Saturday when commandos killed the last three gunmen inside a luxury hotel while it was engulfed in flames. Authorities searched for any remaining captives hiding in their rooms and began to shift their focus to who was behind the attacks, which killed 18 foreigners including six Americans. A previously unknown Muslim group with a name suggesting origins inside India claimed responsibility for the attack, but Indian officials said the sole surviving gunman was from Pakistan and pointed a finger of blame at their neighbor and rival. Islamabad denied involvement and promised to help in the investigation. A team of FBI agents also was on its way to India to lend assistance. Some 295 people also were wounded in the violence that started when heavily armed assailants attacked 10 sites across Mumbai on Wednesday night. At least 20 soldiers and police were among the dead. Orange flames and black smoke engulfed the landmark 565-room Taj Mahal hotel after dawn Saturday as Indian forces ended the siege there in a hail of gunfire, just hours after elite commandos stormed a Jewish center and found at least eight hostages dead. "There were three terrorists, we have killed them," said J.K. Dutt, director general of India's elite National Security Guard commando unit. Later, adoring crowds surrounded six buses carrying weary, unshaven commandos, shaking their hands and giving them flowers. The commandos, dressed in black fatigues, said they had been ordered not to talk about the operation, but said they had not slept since the ordeal began. One sat sipping a bottle of water and holding a pink rose. With the end of one of the most brazen terror attacks in India's history, attention turned from the military operation to questions of who was behind the attack and the heavy toll on human life. The bodies of New York Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg and his wife, Rivkah, were found at the Jewish center. Their son, Moshe, who turned 2 on Saturday, was scooped up by an employee Thursday as she fled the building. Two Israelis and another American were also killed in the house, said Rabbi Zalman Schmotkin, a spokesman for the Chabad Lubavitch movement, which ran the center. In Jerusalem, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said eight bodies had been discovered in the Jewish center and that officials were investigating the possibility of there being a ninth. Among the foreigners killed in the attacks were six Americans, according to the U.S. Embassy. The dead also included Germans, Canadians, Israelis and nationals from Britain, Italy, Japan, China, Thailand, Australia and Singapore. By Saturday morning the death toll was at 195, the deadliest attack in India since 1993 serial bombings in Mumbai killed 257 people. But officials said the toll from the three days of carnage was likely to rise as more bodies were brought out of the hotels. "There is a limit a city can take. This is a very, very different kind of fear. It will be some time before things get back to normal," said Ayesha Dar, a 33-year-old homemaker. Indians began cremating their dead, many of them security force members killed fighting the gunmen. In the southern city of Bangalore, black clad commandos formed an honor guard for the flag-draped coffin of Maj. Sandeep Unnikrishnan, who was killed in the fighting at the Taj Mahal hotel. "He gave up his own life to save the others," Dutt said from Mumbai. A group called Deccan Mujahideen, which alludes to a region in southern India traditionally ruled by Muslim kings, claimed responsibility for the attack, but Indian officials pointed the finger at neighboring Pakistan. On Saturday, officials said they believed that just 10 gunmen had taken part in the attack. "Nine were killed and one was captured," Maharshta state Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh told reporters. "We are interrogating him." Deshmukh's deputy, R.R. Patil, identified the gunman as a Pakistani national, Mohammad Ajmal Qasam. The gunmen had sophisticated equipment and used "GPS, mobile and satellite phones to communicate," Patil said. "They were constantly in touch with a foreign country," he said, refusing to give further details. On Friday, India's foreign minister, Pranab Mukherjee, told reporters that evidence indicated "some elements in Pakistan are responsible for the Mumbai terror attacks." Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani insisted his country was not involved. His government was sending an intelligence official to assist in the probe. Deshmukh said the attackers arrived by sea. On Saturday the Indian navy said it was investigating whether a trawler found drifting off the coast of Mumbai, with a bound corpse on board, was used in the attack. Navy spokesman Capt. Manohar Nambiar said the trawler, named Kuber, had been found Thursday and was brought to Mumbai. Officials said they believe the boat had sailed from a port in the neighboring state of Gujarat. Indian security officers believe many of the gunmen may have reached the city using a black and yellow rubber dinghy found near the site of the attacks. In the U.S., President-elect Barack Obama said he was closely monitoring the situation. "These terrorists who targeted innocent civilians will not defeat India's great democracy, nor shake the will of a global coalition to defeat them," he said in a statement. On Friday, commandos killed the last two gunmen inside the luxury Oberoi hotel, where 24 bodies had been found, authorities said. But in the most dramatic of the counterstrikes Friday, masked Indian commandos rappelled from a helicopter to the rooftop of the Chabad Lubavitch Jewish center. For nearly 12 hours, explosions and gunfire erupted from the five-story building as the commandos fought their way downward, while thousands of people gathered behind barricades in the streets to watch. At one point, Indian forces fired a rocket at the building. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told Israel's Channel 1 TV that some of the victims found at the center had been bound. The attackers were well-prepared, carrying large bags of almonds to keep up their energy during a long siege. One backpack found contained 400 rounds of ammunition. India has been shaken repeatedly by terror attacks blamed on Muslim militants in recent years, but most were bombings striking crowded places: markets, street corners, parks. Mumbai — one of the most highly populated cities in the world with some 18 million people — was hit by a series of bombings in July 2006 that killed 187 people. The latest attacks began Wednesday at about 9:20 p.m. with shooters spraying gunfire across the Chhatrapati Shivaji railroad station. For the next two hours, there was an attack roughly every 15 minutes — the Jewish center, a tourist restaurant, one hotel, then another, and two attacks on hospitals. (AP via Yahoo/ Reuters Photo via Time.com)

Sex Means Trouble

Dalai Lama says 'chastity brings freedom'

- The Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual and temporal leader, on Friday said sex spelt fleeting satisfaction and trouble later, while chastity offered a better life and "more freedom." "Sexual pressure, sexual desire, actually I think is short period satisfaction and often, that leads to more complication," the Dalai Lama told reporters in a Lagos hotel, speaking in English without a translator. He said conjugal life caused "too much ups and downs. "Naturally as a human being ... some kind of desire for sex comes, but then you use human intelligence to make comprehension that those couples always full of trouble. And in some cases there is suicide, murder cases," the Dalai Lama said. He said the "consolation" in celibacy is that although "we miss something, but at the same time, compare whole life, it's better, more independence, more freedom." Considered a Buddhist Master exempt from the religion's wheel of death and reincarnation, the Dalai Lama waxed eloquent on the Buddhist credo of non-attachment. "Too much attachment towards your children, towards your partner," was "one of the obstacle or hindrance of peace of mind," he said. Revered by his followers as a god-king, the Dalai Lama arrived in Lagos on Wednesday on a three-day visit following an invitation from a foundation to attend a conference. He has made no political speeches in the west African country. He leaves Friday night for the Czech Republic and then on to Brussels to address the European Parliament before heading to Poland, where he is due to meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The 73-year-old Nobel Peace laureate has been a mainstay on the diplomatic stage ever since he fled his native land for neighbouring India in 1959. Still based in northern India, the Dalai Lama has increasingly been in the spotlight since protests in Tibet turned violent in March this year, just months before the Chinese capital Beijing hosted the Summer Olympic Games. Regarded by his many supporters outside China as a visionary in the vein of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his accent on non-violence to achieve change. However, he is reviled by the Chinese government, which has branded him a "monster" and accused him of trying to split the nation. (AFP via MSN/ Photo: Hanif Nashrullah -- illustrated by models)

They Just Fired Randomly

Black-clad Indian commandoes raided two luxury hotels to try to free hostages Thursday, and explosions and gunshots shook India's financial capital a day after attacks by suspected Muslim militants killed at least 119 people. About 10 to 12 gunmen remain holed up inside the hotels and a Jewish center, a top Indian general said. The remaining gunmen appeared to have been killed or captured, Maj. Gen. R.K. Huda told New Delhi Television. Authorities said 119 people died and 288 were injured when suspected Islamic militants — armed with assault rifles, hand grenades and explosives — launched a highly coordinated attack against 10 sites in the city Wednesday night. Officials said eight militants were also killed. Dozens of people were being held hostage at the hotels, as well as a nearby Jewish center, by the well-trained and heavily armed gunmen, authorities said. While hostages trickled out of the hotels throughout the day, witnesses said many bodies remained inside and the two-day siege showed few signs of ending quickly. Several bodies were carried out of the five-star Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel. The attackers had specifically targeted Britons and Americans inside the hotels, witnesses said. Dozens of people were also apparently still hiding in their hotel rooms, terrified by occasional bursts of gunfire and explosions, as well as fires burning in parts of both hotels, and waiting for authorities to get them to safety. After dusk Thursday, police brought hostages out of the Oberoi, one of the city's best-known five-star hotels. One man, a who identified himself as a Pole but did not give his name, told reporters he had seen many bodies inside, but refused to give more details, saying he had promised police not to discuss details of the rescue operation. The Maharashtra state home ministry said 84 people had been freed from the Oberoi — 60 of them hostages — and dozens more were still trapped inside. Police said they were going slowly to protect the captives. A previously unknown Islamic militant group claimed responsibility for the carnage, the latest in a series of terror attacks over the past three years that have dented India's image as an industrious nation galloping toward prosperity. Among the dead were at least one Australian, a Japanese and a British national, said Pradeep Indulkar, a senior government official of Maharashtra state. An Italian and a German were also killed, according to their foreign ministries. The most high-profile target was the Taj Mahal hotel, a landmark of Mumbai luxury since 1903, and a favorite watering hole of the city's elite. Police loudspeakers declared a curfew around the hotel Thursday afternoon, and commandos ran into the building as fresh gunshots rang out from the area. Into the night, brief exchanges of gunfire and explosions could be heard coming from the building. The attackers, dressed in black shirts and jeans, stormed into the hotel about 9:45 p.m. Wednesday and opened fire indiscriminately. Dalbir Bains, who runs a lingerie shop in Mumbai, was about to eat a steak by the hotel pool when she heard gunfire. She ran upstairs, taking refuge in the Sea Lounge restaurant with about 50 other people. They huddled beneath tables in the dark, trying to remain silent as explosions went off. "We were trying not to draw attention to ourselves," she said. The group managed to escape before dawn. The gunmen also seized the Mumbai headquarters of the ultra-orthodox Jewish outreach group Chabad Lubavitch. Around 10:30 a.m., a woman, a child and an Indian cook were seen being led out of the building by police, said one witness. Chabad spokesman Moni Ender in Israel said there were eight Israelis inside the house, including Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg and his wife. Among those foreigners still held captive in all three buildings were Americans, British, Italians, Swedes, Canadians, Yemenis, New Zealanders, Spaniards, Turks, French, Israelis and a Singaporean. At least three top Indian police officers — including the chief of the anti-terror squad — were among those killed, said Roy. The United States and Pakistan were among the countries that condemned the attacks. In Washington, President George W. Bush offered Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh "support and assistance" as he works to restore order in the populous and growing Southwest Asian nation, according to White House press secretary Dana Perino. The motive for the onslaught was not immediately clear, but Mumbai has frequently been targeted in terrorist attacks blamed on Islamic extremists, including a series of bombings in July 2006 that killed 187 people. An Indian media report said a previously unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attacks in e-mails to several media outlets. There was no way to verify that claim. Magnus Ranstorp, a terrorism specialist with the Swedish National Defense College, said there are "very strong suspicions" that the coordinated Mumbai attacks have a link to al-Qaida. He said the fact that Britons and Americans were singled out is one indicator, along with the coordinated style of the attacks. India's prime minister blamed "external forces." "The well-planned and well-orchestrated attacks, probably with external linkages, were intended to create a sense of panic, by choosing high profile targets and indiscriminately killing foreigners," Singh said in address to the nation. Indian navy spokesman Capt. Manohar Nambiar said navy officers had boarded a cargo vessel that had recently come to Mumbai from Karachi, Pakistan. Hours later, he said nothing suspicious had been found on board and the ship had been released. Mumbai, on the western coast of India overlooking the Arabian Sea, is home to splendid Victorian architecture built during the British Raj and is one of the most populated cities in the world with some 18 million crammed into shantytowns, high rises and crumbling mansions. Among the other places attacked was the 19th century Chhatrapati Shivaji railroad station — a beautiful example of Victorian Gothic architecture — where gunmen sprayed bullets into the crowded terminal, leaving the floor splattered with blood. "They just fired randomly at people and then ran away. In seconds, people fell to the ground," said Nasim Inam, a witness. Other gunmen attacked Leopold's restaurant, a landmark popular with foreigners, and the police headquarters in southern Mumbai, the area where most of the attacks took place. Gunmen also attacked Cama and Albless Hospital and G.T. Hospital. (AP/ AFP Photo via Yahoo)

Bigger than Jesus?

The Vatican's daily newspaper marked the 40th anniversary of the "White Album" by dismissing as a "quip" John Lennon's notorious claim that the Beatles were bigger than Jesus Christ. The legendary double album -- which came out on November 22, 1968 at the height of the Fab Four's influence and popularity -- was "a magical musical anthology" from a band "full of talent," L'Osservatore Romano said. Rather inevitably, its lengthy article kicked off with Lennon's remark to a London newspaper in March 1966 that "Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink ... We're more popular than Jesus now". "It is a phrase that provoked deep indignation at the time, but which sounds today like a quip from a young man from the English working class overtaken by unexpected success," the newspaper wrote. The real talent of the Beatles, it said, "rested in their unequalled capacity to write popular songs with a sort of euphoric lightness that constituted a genuine trademark". "Today," it went on to lament, "recordings seem above all to be standardized and stereotyped -- falling well short of the creativity of the Beatles." (AFP via MSN)

Never Forgive, Never Forget

“I don’t have a Maradona doll at home that I stick pins in. Although, maybe I should get one. I can never forgive him for what he did. It was probably the best chance England had of winning the World Cup since 1966.”

Photo Caption: Former England captain and now Scotland's assistant manager on Diego Maradona 'hand of God' goal---that ended England's chances at the 1986 World Cup---as Scotland played soccer friendly match vs Argentina at Glasgow, 19 November 2008.

(Taken from "They Said It... Quotes in the News"/ msn.com)

Sexiest Woman In The World

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- It takes a lot of things to be sexy - but apparently a belly button isn't one of them. E! entertainment television has just named supermodel Karolina Kurkova the sexiest woman in the world. (VIEW THE PHOTOS: Karolina Kurkova)

In earning the honor, the Czech-born beauty beat out fellow Victoria's Secret models Giselle Bundchen, Adriana Lima and Heidi Klum, who placed fourth, sixth and seventh on the list, respectively.

"Karolina is flattered to have been named Sexiest Woman in the World by E!" a rep for the model told AccessHollywood.com. "As she delves into the motion picture industry with her upcoming role in 'G.I. Joe,' she appreciates the support E! has given her." (VIEW THE PHOTOS: Angelina Jolie)

Kurkova will play the role of Cover Girl in Paramount's upcoming "G.I. Joe." Dubbed by E! as, "she of the mysterious belly button," much has been made of Kurkova's noticeably smooth - almost invisible - navel. According to the model's rep, Kurkova does not have a belly button, due to an abdominal operation as an infant. (VIEW THE PHOTOS: Model Mania)

Buzz over Kurkova's unique abdomen began to build recently, following a Victoria's Secret photo shoot in Miami, which featured the 24-year-old model in a bikini and sporting a seemingly absent navel - a departure from some of her shoots in the past, which have showed her with a navel.

Kurkova's rep confirmed her lingerie and swimsuit photos are often altered to include an image of a navel - a practice that the rep said is typical in the industry when needed. Belly button or not, there's no denying Kurkova's sex appeal - and her success speaks for itself, as Forbes has ranked her as one of the world's highest-paid models.

And while Kurkova has been dubbed sexy, she has her own idea of what sexy really means. "A guy who's not afraid to cry or be vulnerable and show his softer side," she told AccessHollywood.com in a previous interview. Second place on E!'s sexiest list went to Israeli model Bar Rafaeli, who has been linked to Leonardo DiCaprio.

Coming in third was Angelina Jolie, while Tom Brady's babe, Bundchen, finished fourth and Scarlett Johansson rounded out the top five.

The complete top 10 of E!'s Sexiest Women In The World:

1. Karolina Kurkova

2. Bar Rafaeli

3. Angelina Jolie

4. Gisele Bundchen

5. Scarlett Johansson

6. Adriana Lima

7. Heidi Klum

8. Penelope Cruz

9. Manuela Arcuri

10. Shakira

(omg.yahoo.com/ AFP Photo/ GettyImages)

Australia's Sex Party Takes on 'Nanny State'

Australia's sex industry launched a political party Thursday, vowing to fight what it called growing conservatism in a "nanny state" -- along with global economic crisis gloom. The Australian Sex Party will run for senate seats on a platform of cheaper access to sexual dysfunction drugs and protection for porn workers against government censorship of the Internet, the founders said. They also suggested that the tanking world economy and a possible local recession next year would stimulate demand for sex toys and porn films as Australians sought cheaper pleasures. "We're a cheap luxury that can make you feel good," convenor and Eros industry group chief executive Fiona Patten said at the party's launch amidst pole dancers at the Melbourne Sexpo exhibition. "There is a new conservatism creeping up in Australia -- we're becoming a nanny state where politicians can't talk about sex without giggling or saying something negative." The Sex Party has already come under fire from the Australian Christian Lobby, which said it supports the exploitation and degradation of women through pornography and prostitution. The party's platform includes opposition to government plans for a national Internet filter, with Patten saying the proposal to block up to 10,000 sites could cost 16,000 adult industry jobs. "If they go ahead with what they propose, we'll wipe out the adult industry in the next five years," she said. Patten said the party aimed to win parliamentary seats at both state and national levels, and had already signed up 500 members. "We're serious about sex and we're serious about the Sex Party," she said. (AFP via MSN)

Americans Believe Obama can Bring Wind of Change in Fashion

Barack Obama promised to bring change and may just succeed -- at least in the way Americans dress. The 47-year-old president-elect promises to fix the economy, withdraw from Iraq, and catch Osama bin Laden. If nothing else, he'll go down as the man who returned elegance to the White House. "He's incredibly well turned out and looks a lot less than 47," Robert Johnston, associate editor at the British fashion magazine GQ, told AFP. "He's got an effortless style. The only other American president you can imagine on the cover of a fashion magazine is Bill Clinton. It's that sort of stylishness you can't put your finger on. It just looks right. Statesmen can make powerful, if sometimes unlikely fashion leaders. Some claim a hatless president John F. Kennedy killed the once near universal practice in the United States of wearing a fedora. More recently, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's trademark beige jacket became a hit with fellow Iranians, while Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's black raincoats fuel KGB nostalgia in Russia. Obama, so far, has not made any wardrobe item his own. He got attention this month in urging youths to abandon prison-style baggy, buttocks-baring jeans. But fashion watchers say the key to Obama is not so much what he wears as how. Tyler Thoreson, executive editor at men.style.com, says Obama's suits hang almost perfectly on a gym-trimmed body, unlike the ill-cut clothes common to men of President George W. Bush's generation. This creates a modern, yet sober image appropriate to these perilous times and a stark change from Bush's championing of cowboy boots and Stetsons. "It's a simple thing: his suits are actually tailored to fit him, whereas most middle aged men are swimming in extra fabric," Thoreson said. Another telling detail, Thoreson points out, is Obama's preference for the "jaunty" four-in-hand tie knot, rather than the more formal Windsor or half-Windsor. "He's very comfortable with himself physically and emotionally ... and that's one of the key things that makes him appealing in a tough time," Thoreson said. "He's absolutely going to have a big impact on the way men dress." On New York's 5th Avenue, home to Prada, Escada, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and other fashion temples, Obama gets the thumbs up. "He seems elegant, while not being fancy. It's about his personality, it's about the way he carries himself," said Emilia Severino, 23, an immaculately dressed shop employee. Resplendent in oversized sunglasses, pink T-shirt, loud tweed jacket and gelled hair, student David Schiffhauer also approved Obama's sartorial savvy. "He's different to other presidents. They were more formal. I mean, we've seen him in a swimsuit and he looks good," Schiffhauer said. "He's smart, but not super formal -- casual but smart." Fashionistas say Obama only flops when it comes to home wear. A snarky New York Times article claimed Obama's white tennis shoes, tucked in shirt with jeans, and windbreaker left him resembling comedian Jerry Seinfeld in his famous TV series. But for Mike England, a 26-year-old banker visiting New York from Britain, Obama has the magic that can make an icon. "It's not so much his dress sense as his personality. He's like Tony Blair when he first came in as prime minister -- young and full of ideas and that's what really makes him fashionable. (AFP via MSN/ AP Photo via Yahoo)

Gone But Not Forgotten

Even though comedian Bernie Mac died at the age of 50 of pneumonia this past August, he still stars in two movies opening this weekend. He not only plays opposite Samuel L. Jackson in the endearingly foul-mouthed tale of two washed-up singers in "Soul Men." But he also lends his voice to DreamWorks' animated movie "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa." Here's a look at other film stars who died before the release of their final films.

Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight -

Though he died of an accidental drug overdose this past January, a full seven months before "The Dark Knight" opened, Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker in Christopher Nolan's grim superhero blockbuster has already garnered Oscar talk. The Australian actor died while shooting Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," but a trio of other stars -- Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell -- stepped in to film the character's remaining scenes.

James Dean - Giant -

Dean was a mere 24 years old when he died in a car wreck in 1955. But in that short time, he starred in three movies and garnered two posthumous Oscar nominations, one for "East of Eden" and the other for "Giant."

Oliver Reed - Gladiator -

Legendary British actor Oliver Reed died of a heart attack during production of this epic sword and sandal flick. As a result, a number of his scenes had to be re-edited using a double, digital effects, and plenty of shadows.

Bruce Lee - Enter the Dragon -

Bruce Lee died just three weeks before his breakout movie opened, killed suddenly by a cerebral edema. "Enter the Dragon" proved to be such a hit -- one of the most profitable movies of all time -- and there was such a demand for its departed star that Hong Kong soon started cranking out films with leads named Bruce Li, Bruce Lei, Brute Lee, and Lee Bruce.

Brandon Lee - The Crow -

In a coincidence so ghoulish people speculated there may have been some sort of "curse" involved, Bruce Lee's son Brandon was killed in a freak on-set accident during filming of 1994's "The Crow." An improperly-cleaned prop gun discharged a blank that pierced Lee's abdomen and lodged in his spine. After the tragic mishap, production resumed using stunt doubles and digital trickery for the remaining scenes.

Spencer Tracy - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner -

Spencer Tracy starred alongside Katharine Hepburn and Sydney Poiter in the 1967's landmark "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," which broached the then-taboo subject of interracial marriage. Tracy's health was so bad prior to shooting that insurance companies refused to cover him for the production. He died after the film wrapped and posthumously received his ninth Oscar nomination.

Adrienne Shelly - Waitress -

When "Waitress" premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2007, the film was hailed as being a sweet, witty comedy about one of life's true pleasures: pie. Sadly, writer/director/actress Adrienne Shelly was not there. She was murdered months prior by Diego Pillco, a New York City construction worker. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison earlier this year. Peter Finch - Network Though he did die two months after "Network" opened, Peter Finch, who brilliantly played crazed newscaster Howard Beale, is the only person to win an acting Oscar posthumously.

Tupac Shakur - Gridlock'd -

Rapper Tupac Shakur proved to be almost as posthumously prolific in movies as he was with music. After he was killed in a drive-by shooting in Vegas in 1996, Tupac appeared in both "Gridlock'd" and "Gang Related," both of which were released the following year.

Clark Gable - The Misfits -

The day shooting for John Huston's 1960 movie "The Misfits" wrapped, Clark Gable was reported to have said, "Christ, I'm glad this picture's finished. [Co-star Marilyn Monroe] damn near gave me a heart attack." He keeled over from a heart attack the next day and died 11 days later. "The Misfits" also proved to be Monroe's final film as well. To hear Samuel L. Jackson, Sharon Leal and director Malcolm D. Lee reminisce about their experience working with Bernie Mac on "Soul Men," watch the exclusive interview below. (Jonathan Crow/ Yahoo/ Photo by Warner Bros Pictures, Everet Collection)

Ex-Classmates Applaud 'Barry' Obama

Former classmates in Indonesia reacted with pride and amazement Wednesday as the chubby little boy they knew as Barry made history by becoming the first black president of the United States. "It's just amazing, I mean we're so proud of him," said Dewi Asmara Oetojo, a lawmaker in Indonesia's parliament who was a school friend of US president elect Barack Obama at primary school here in the 1960s. "He was a very easy-going person and also very wise. At that time we were so small we never thought he had the qualities of a leader. He said 'I want to be president' and we all thought that was so funny," Oetojo said. Oetojo said classmates were excited about having the president of the United States show up to their next three-monthly reunion, but understood that Obama might be a little busy. "A reunion in the White House is not our target. Our task as classmates is to support him, but if we have the chance, why not?" she said. "He can be a bridge for the West to understand people in the East. I think that will make him different from other American presidents." The son of a white American mother and a black Kenyan father, Obama was raised in Hawaii and moved to Indonesia when he was six after his divorced mother remarried an Indonesian. He went to school in Menteng in the late 1960s, and in his memoirs recalled his time here as the "bounty of a young man's life." "It's great, it's great. Our prayers have been answered," said Sonny Imam Sukarso, a lawyer who admits he is still "astonished" a black man can rise to become US president.. "We're proud a friend of ours from primary school became president. Maybe he'll remember us and we hope he'll remember his debt to Indonesia and help Indonesia develop," Sukarso said. "When he was small, he was already the right kind of person to become president. He had the spirit of inquiry but he wasn't arrogant, he would mingle with everyone," he said. Sukarso said his support was not only personal, but also because Obama's policies were more in line with public opinion in Indonesia, a Muslim-majority country which has a love-hate relationship with the United States. "He wants to take troops out of Iraq and I really agree with that," he said. Some 250 current students at the Menteng One primary school celebrated Obama's election win with chants of "Obama wins! McCain loses!" and were already looking forward to his first presidential visit. Deputy principal Akhmad Solikhin won rapturous applause when he announced to the children that Obama would be visiting them soon, as they stopped classes to watch the election coverage on local television. Ecstatic students charged out and danced in the rain after Obama won. Solikhin said the Democrat senator was having a major influence on his old school on the other side of the planet. "We're using Obama as a tool to motivate the students to be successful. There is an emotional connection between the students and Obama," he said, adding that enrollments had increased five to 10 percent over the last year. Sixth-grader Farhan Ashardi, 11, said he now believed he could be president of Indonesia one day. "If Obama can do it so can I," he said. But fifth-grader Aisya Nadine said she had no plans to become president of Indonesia, itself a rowdy democracy of 234 million people. "It's hard to become president in Indonesia, there's a lot of corruption here, it's hard to control," she said. (AFP via MSN/ Reuters Photo via Yahoo)

Cheetahs on a Plane

A Delta baggage worker got a bit of a fright before Halloween when she opened a jetliner's cargo door and found a cheetah running loose amid the luggage. Two cheetahs were being flown in the cargo area of a Boeing 757 passenger flight from Portland, Ore., to Atlanta on Thursday when one escaped from its cage, Delta spokeswoman Betsy Talton said Friday. "They told us a large animal had gotten out of a container in the cargo hold and they were having to send someone to tranquilize it," said one passenger, Lee Sentell of Montgomery, Ala. He said luggage was delayed, but baggage handlers promised to send his bags to him in Alabama. The good news for passengers: The escaped cheetah didn't damage any of their luggage. The airline summoned help from Zoo Atlanta, and experts rushed to a closed airport hangar and tranquilized the escaped animal and took both big cats to the zoo. Both 1-year-old female cheetahs were on their way from the Wildlife Safari Park in Winston, Ore., to the Memphis Zoo in Tennessee, Memphis Zoo spokesman Drew Smith said in an e-mail. He said the two cheetahs will stay a few days at the zoo in Atlanta until the Memphis Zoo gets a team together to fetch them. The cheetahs are on loan to the Memphis Zoo, but Smith said he wasn't sure how long they would stay there. (AP via MSN/ Illustration Photo via blogger.com)