New Title - Take 2

Well, I think that I will check the blog more often now that I know I am not writing to myself. But I agree with you all that a new title would be sweet. I'm down but I don't want to dictate what it should be; I think it should be a group decision. Let me know what you think and then I'll talk to Prof. Payne about what we have come up with. Also, I think we should start adding new posts. I would love to stay informed and you all had some great insights and some awesome posts. So, please, continue blogging!

New Title

I also wanted to propose a new title for our blog since we are all "graduates" of the winter 379R terrorism class. I'm open to suggestions. I personally think Terrorism and Counter-terrorism would be cool. Anyways, let me know what you all think.

The PKK and Germany

In recent news over the course of this week, it seems that several German mountain climbers from the state of Bavaria were seized and taken hostage by the PKK. According to Der Spiegel and Deutsche Welle, the PKK, which has claimed responsibility for taking the three men hostage in eastern Turkey, has been actively stepping up their terrorist activities against Germany and its citizens for their " increasingly negative polic[ies] towards the Kurd[ish]. The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization in the European Union and the United States and it has been fighting for Kurdish autonomy since 1984. Lars Holger Renne, 33, Martin Georg, 47, and Helmut Johann, 65, all from the southern German state of Bavaria, were taken hostage late Tuesday when a group of five PKK guerrillas raided a 3,200-meter camp on Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey. Their 10 fellow climbers were unharmed and returned to Germany late Friday.

For more on this story see article in DW-World.