Mumbai, we are with you

the purpose of writing is is not to add anything to what has been going on now for the past 40 hours, the longest duration terror which has struck India and Indian sovereignity.
as usual, the victims are people who did not choose what has happened to them. first time of course, terror has struck the wealthy, though that is by no means any justification of what the terrorists have done.
one common logic that the media (the audio-visual) has been giving is: Mumbai with its resilience will bounce back to normalcy, as it had done post 1993 when the Stock Exchange, the Air India building, and countless other locations were blasted. then happened the 2006 July blast.
and for once, i could not agree more with Shobha De, who left-right-centre blacklisted all the politicians... true, the security expenses of the State exchequer that goes to keep these politicians safe is totally mis-spent. instead more money should be spent in the security of common people.
the role of the media in this entire coverage is not beyond question. while it is for them that the world gets to know what is happening moment to moment, questions remain on the way the coverage is being done. first and foremost, why show these things live? are we not giving banal criminals a place they do not deserve? second, why should top ranking (hierarchically) reporters fly from Delhi to cover in Mumbai, when there are local staff, well trained ones who are there? yes, i am referring to Barkha Dutt.
next is the issue of intelligence. when these terrorists came by boats, what were the Indian Coast Guards doing? and mind you, the Coast Guards are right across the Taj. If one sees a global pattern in what is happening, security in hotels need to be tightened.
what is confusing is: should the cops been more rash and stormed in? obviously, they feared for civilian lives. but what price are we paying for being patient, now that there is news of fresh encounters?
how long more will this whole fiasco last?