Jaipur blasts

As we ate dinner several blasts went off in Jaipur.

Terrorists have struck again in India.

It is a sobering reminder of how this is a risky part of the world and how India is essentially surrounded by relatively brutal nations. Pakistan to the northwest, Afghanistan right next it and Iran after that. Kashmir has experienced Pakistani aggression for decades, within India's borders.

Bangladesh to the northeast, entirely surrounded by India. Nepal, which had a Maoist insurgency prior to that group being voted into the country's parliament.

And then to top it off, China and Myanmar, both absolute dictatorships, along the extreme northeast borders. And China took land from India during a minor invasion about 45 years ago, something few people in the US know.

Part of what is really interesting is living in a place long enough to be impacted by it in your psyche. I can see how India sees itself and its neighbors. To its credit, India is a democracy and a relatively civilized nation in a part of the world where it is uncommon to be either democratic or civilized.

At this very moment, I stand completely with India in her struggles against killers like those who struck tonight.

May God rest the dead and help the injured.

For those of you following this blog and don't speak with us directly, these blasts were as far away from us as Charlotte is from NYC. We are just fine.