“and after 40 days [the Orthodox Christian mourning period] … they will take up weapons and seek revenge” FoxNews quotes Alan Kargiyev, a 20-year-old university student in the regional capital Vladikavkaz. In the aftermath of the two-day hostage situation in Beslan, Russian president Putin has closed the Ossetian border. I expect this is only his first action in response to what I believe will be seen as Russia’s 9/11.

The beginning of the tragic end of the crisis came when two large explosions were heard from the school buildings. Sky News reports:

“Bombs were strung all over the gym,” one teenage girl told state television. “Tape came unstuck on one and it blew up.”

“There were two big explosions,” said a women in her forties.

“We started pushing all the children out of the windows… Everyone who was there started pushing them out.”

Authorities said they had been forced to launch a rescue operation when the gunmen opened fire on fleeing children.

After the explosions Utro.ru reports that the storming of the school building began when fathers of the hostages rushed the building. Russian Interior Ministry forces followed after.

Official casualty reports place the number of dead at over 300, the number of wounded around 700. These numbers will be very hard to stomach, particularly after the government had previously placed the total number of hostages at around 350.
[continue reading…]

My post A contradiction in terms came in fifth among non-council link in this week’s list from the Watcher’s Council. It’s an honor just to be considered among so many great bloggers.

My post The rule for biscuits is part of the Carnival of the Recipes. Toad in a Hole, Sausage, Biscuits, and Gravy, Gumbo, Hotter Than Hell Barbecue Sauce, and more. Check it out.

In England in 1752 there was no September 3. That was the year that by Act of Parliament they changed from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar and lost eleven days (September 3 through September 13).

So far September 3 has been holding its own but you never can tell. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

By the way, it’s my sister’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Susie!

The Russian hostage crisis has ended abruptly in tragedy and chaos. There are conflicting descriptions of what actually happened. Some news services are reporting that the authorities stormed the building. Others are reporting the authorities returned fire after the kidnappers began shooting at a group of children fleeing the building. Sky News has the best description so far:

MANY DEAD IN SCHOOL SIEGE
The three-day school siege in Russia is coming to a dramatic and bloody end with reports of a large number dead.

There are understood to be about 100 bodies in the school gym where gunmen were holding up to 1,500 children, teachers and parents.

Gunfire is continuing as Russian special forces face pockets of resistance.

The soldiers stormed the building after the gunmen opened fire on a group of children who were trying to escape. Russia’s security chief said they had not planned to go in.

As the school turned into a battleground, other children began to stream out. Then, it seems, the roof which had been mined by the rebels exploded and crashed to the ground.

Other hostages were pulled free and collapsed outside, exhausted, shocked and disorientated.

Many of the kidnappers have escaped. Some are reported to be cornered in a building in town.

UPDATE: Utro.ru has produced a handy timeline:

12:50 It all began when the attackers agreed to give out the bodies of the slain. Corpses lay in the school yard for two days. Two trucks were driven towards the school to carry out the bodies.

12:59 Word came that they were to remove the bodies. Members of the MChS rushed to carry out the bodies of two of the slain after which the attackers began to shoot from cover at the two trucks.

13:05 Two enormous explosions roared out which resulted in part of the building being knocked down. Shots rang out and they began to evacuate relatives of the hostages and journalists.

13:14 Word came that as the result of the shooting victims among the relatives of the hostages many were bad off.

13:15 It is believed that while the transfer of the bodies was taking place the attackers exploded a charge which they had previously planted. This opened the entrance.

13:16 Specialist forces began to set off low-power explosions to penetrate the walls of the school and give hostages a chance to flee (?)

13:17 A group of perhaps 15 schoolchildren fled the building. The attackers opened fire.

13:25 Shots were heard inside the building. Another explosion.

13:39 Specialist forces burst into the building.

13:44 We received information that two of the thugs had dressed themselves in doctor’s smocks and hid. It is possible they took some of the children with them.

14:18 Special forces are combing the building. Former hostage thirteen year old Sasha Pogrebnoy is being treated for deep shock.

14:33 158 children have been hospitalized.

14:36 7 of the terrorists were killed.

14:39 Evacuation of the school is proceeding.

14:45 Periodic shots are heard.

14:46 It is unclear how many people have been rescued from the school. Some accounts say more than 60, others say nearly 60.

14:53 They have deployed a mobile MChS hospital in Beslan.

The timeline continues.

BBC News has now produced a decent timeline. Check it out.

The current tally of those killed is about 200 with more than 700 people injured. of whom more than 250 are children. Although authorities have claimed that all of the terrorists (generally referred to in news accounts as “bandits” or “attackers”) had either been killed or apprehended, there are still rumors that four or five are still at large.

Sky News reports:

The Russian security service FSB said 20 rebels had been killed and claimed 10 of them were of Arabic rather than Chechen descent.

A policeman speaking on Russian television said bombs hung in basketball hoops in the school gym exploded, triggering the commando storming of building. A Russian security chief said they had not planned to go in.

As the school turned into a battleground, other children began to stream out. Then, it seems, the roof which had been mined by the rebels exploded and crashed to the ground.

Other hostages were pulled free and collapsed outside, exhausted, shocked and disorientated.

Several hostage-takers fled and were pursued by Russian tanks and special forces.

[continue reading…]

We have some friends who recently took early retirement, sold everything, and moved to a tropical island. Sound inviting? I’ve been meaning to blog their story and show you some of the incredible pictures they’ve been sending us. Here’s the email I just received from them about their escape from Frances:

Frances did not kick in here until around 10:30 p.m. and finally let up this morning around 11:30 a.m. We were fortunate to be on the south side of the island which was better than being on the north. Winds here were over 100 mph. It sounded like a loud freight train. I thought the sound would be constant. On the contrary. Just when it sounded like a train was leaving the station, another one would be right behind it.

I had over prepared for Frances. Evidently in all the films you see of hurricanes the buildings are pre-hurricane code. This house is amazing. Let’s hear it for poured concrete! The walls never even shook. No roof damage. All we got was a little water under the front door which we mopped up every hour or so. We left the cars in the parking apron by the house and they were fine. As R explained to me, when you are driving 120 mph your car does not lift up and blow away. I wouldn’t know because I don’t drive quite that fast. After the winds stopped, we watched for the surge but it was only about 3-4 feet high
and we are 5 feet above sea level. If the water level had risen to 5 feet we would have just driven the cars down the road and up the hill.

The experience was a little scary but also amazingly beautiful to watch (through the crack of a hurricane shutter). We are now very confident you can build houses down here that will withstand even a Cat 5 hurricane. Any previous trepidation has disappeared.

Will send a couple of before/after photos later. Thanks to so many of you for your concern and good wishes.

UPDATE: Pictures
[continue reading…]

Izvestia.ru is reporting that the leader of the terrorists holding the school in Beslan has been identified as Doku Umarov, a leader of the Chechen underground.

UPDATE: Logic and Sanity is covering this story extremely well with updates about every 15 minutes.

UPDATE: Associated Press is reporting that 26 hostages have been released:

BESLAN, Russia — Camouflaged security agents carried babies to safety after militants holding hundreds of hostages at a school released at least 26 women and children Thursday, and officials expressed hope that negotiations would bring more progress in the standoff in southern Russia.

Utro.ru has just picked up the story. Izvestia.ru and Gazeta.ru don’t have anything new yet.

UPDATE: As of Thursday, September 2, 2004 9:50am CDT, vigil, talks continue.

UPDATE: As of Thursday, September 2, 2004 11:00am CDT Utro.ru has produced a list of those released. Of the 26 hostages released 14 are under three years of age. Apparently, “school” includes being a day-care center. I suspect that the “bandits” (as Utro.ru is calling them) are releasing the very youngest hostages and enough of the adult female hostages to carry them out.

UPDATE: Thursday, September 2, 2004 12:00pm CDT Gazeta.ru is reporting that relatives of the hostages have recorded a statement to the Muslims of the world condemning the action as a sin.

UPDATE: Thursday, September 2, 2004 1:45pm CDT. New information has slowed down substantially. It’s difficult to say whether this is due to nothing new to report, negotiations proceeding, or that it’s getting late over there. I’ll continue to update periodically throughout the day.

UPDATE: Thursday, September 2, 2004 5:00pm CDT. This is a repeat of information I placed in the comments section. According to Gazeta.ru the official estimate of hostages prior to the release today was 354. Worried people in the crowd waiting outside the school have been holding up signs that say there are more than 800 hostages.

There’s a similar discrepancy about how many people have been killed. The official number is 7. In an interview with Utro.ru, a man who claims to have escaped out a window when ordered by the terrorists to dump the bodies of the slain out that window put the number of dead at 15.

Right now there’s just no way to tell. My guess based on past experiences with official Russian government estimates is that the number is higher than the official estimate but lower than 800.

UPDATE: Thursday, September 2, 2004 8:20pm CDT. Lenta.ru is reporting that one of the hostages released from the school says that there are more than 1,000 hostages.

UPDATE: Thursday, September 2, 2004 8:30pm CDT. Gazeta.ru is reporting that the president of the Chechen Republic, Aslan Maskhadov has issued a letter condemning the actions of the terrorists in Beslan, calling for the release of the hostages, and demanding the use of normal diplomatic channels in resolving all grievances.

UPDATE: Thursday, September 2, 2004 9:50pm CDT. Skynews via Utro.ru is reporting that explosions and shots have been heard in the vicinity of the school.

UPDATE: I’m continuing updates here.

The Associated Press is reporting that several large explosions have been heard from the buildings where terrorists are holding Russian schoolchildren, parents, and teachers:

BESLAN, Russia — Two explosions rocked the area around a school where heavily armed militants, some strapped with bombs, were holed up for a second day Thursday with about 350 hostages including many children in southern Russia (search).

The explosions came about 10 minutes apart, from the vicinity of the school, followed by a cloud of black smoke. No further details were available and it was impossible to see exactly what happened because police had cordoned off the area.

These explosions appear to be outgoing fire.

I honestly see little hope for this situation being resolved without substantial loss of life. The Russians are faced with a Hobson’s choice. Who can jeopardize the life of a child? But concessions to the terrorists will put every Russian child’s life at risk. And in a country with as low a birth rate as Russia’s every child is that much more precious.

The Russians have been calling the destruction of flights Tu-134 and Tu-154 last week their 9/11. They were wrong. It was their Lockerbie. This may be their 9/11.

CORRECTION: In one of my comments below I incorrectly gave the impression that my wife let me sleep in. It was the dogs that let me sleep in.

Reuters reports:

BESLAN, Russia (Reuters) – Gunmen held hundreds of children and adults captive in a school gym into the night in turbulent southern Russia Thursday, but the Kremlin remained silent about an attack amounting to a huge humiliation.

Officials in North Ossetia, a province near unruly Chechnya, were trying to build contacts with 17 attackers who herded pupils, parents and teachers into the gym after bursting into a ceremony marking the start of a new school year Wednesday.

For extensive links and commentary throughout the blogosphere see Backcountry Conservative
[continue reading…]