A day of violence, a day of mourning

By Michael J.W. Stickings

There isn't much to add to what has already been said. I learned about the Virginia Tech shootings from a colleague at work. And, as the day went on, the death toll rose. It now stands at 33. As CNN puts it, it was the "deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history".

For more, see The Washington Post -- although everyone is covering this story.

For reaction in the blogosphere, see Memeorandum, where it is currently the lead story.

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Violence at home, violence abroad

I prefer not to lump stories together, but, without in any way dismissing the violence at Virginia Tech, I must report that there was yet more violence in Iraq today. Here are the details from the BBC:

At least 13 Iraqi soldiers have been killed in an ambush in the northern city of Mosul, police say.

Gunmen opened fire at a checkpoint in the Abdaiyah area of Mosul, also wounding four soldiers, police said.

In other violence, US forces killed three Iraqi policemen in a "friendly fire" incident in a raid on suspected insurgents in Ramadi, west of Baghdad...

Also in Mosul, gunmen reportedly killed a university professor near his house.

In another town north of Baghdad, Hawija, gunmen reportedly killed the imam of a Sunni mosque and three bodies were found near the town of people shot and tortured.

What a horrible day.