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The Boston Marathon Bombing: Keep Calm and Carry On

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191–200 of 219 posts

Re: The Boston Marathon Bombing: Keep Calm and Carry On

#191
post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't make you stupid but it is easier to find and convince stupid people to go out and die than it is to find and convince smart people to do the same thing, many suicide bombers are found to be mentally retarded and/or highly suggestible. The Japanese example is a, ahem, yellow herring, that was during wartime when both sides had formally declared war. Wartime patriotism (and of course the necessity to obey mi…

Do you think suicide bombers think they are living in a time of peace? To them, it's war, formally declared or not. Regarding the Japanese: I understand that it was a volunteer force. Where was the threat of being shot? From wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamikaze#Recruitment It was claimed by the Japanese forces at the time that there were many volunteers for the suicidal forces. Captain Motoharu Okamura commente…

Don't underestmate the power of propaganda. Need to look at the overall picture of free communication and the extreme religious pressure in 1940s Japan, and the economic/social situation of the pilots.

Re: The Boston Marathon Bombing: Keep Calm and Carry On

#192

I ran the prestigious marathon for the first time yesterday. I had a good race, set a new best time for recent years, and had a great experience. The only thing I would have been able to do yesterday was give blood, and that apparently wasn't needed. So there's nothing I can do, and fretting and worrying isn't going to change anything. Walking around scared isn't going to prevent anything. I sympathize with those aff…

Thanks for writing this, there is no guarantee of safety in a free society.

There's no guarantee of safety in non-free societies either.

Re: The Boston Marathon Bombing: Keep Calm and Carry On

#193
One country that did it right was Norway. After shooting and bombing in 2011, this is what the prime minister's reaction was:

> Stoltenberg further vowed that the attack would not hurt Norwegian democracy, and said the proper answer to the violence was "more democracy, more openness, but not naivety".

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Norway_attacks#Domestic

Please, can we have such a sensible reaction everywhere?

Re: The Boston Marathon Bombing: Keep Calm and Carry On

#194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tried in a federal court with the full rights and protections defined by the US constitution etc etc. Killing them like osama, blasting them with a drone or detaining them in gitmo means the terrorist have won, because they have dragged the system down to their own level. Also it still may be not an act of terror. Just some wackos that decide it is fun to blow stuff up. They don't have a need for a political agenda o…

If he's not caught on US soil and is not a citizen, like Osama, then he has no protections under the constitution and its duck hunting season. The Constitution does not create any protections for international fugitives engaged in acts of war. Terrorists are the modern day Barbary Pirates. Nobody in the founding generation suggested they should get full Constitutional protections and a trial.

No, its not duck hunting. There are international courts - which the US doesn't support.

Re: The Boston Marathon Bombing: Keep Calm and Carry On

#195
post #79

As Bill Maher so eloquently put it: "Its horrible, but this time, let's not overreact, wallow, erect monuments to terrorism; let's handle it Israeli-Munich style" Source: https://twitter.com/billmaher/status/323951293506924544

By assassinating (and abusing due process) those responsible rather than adressing the issues which continue to allow this circle of violence and retaliatory action to continue ad nauseum.

I know you haven't said this, but due process hasn't been followed in prior years - gitmo prisoners still languish in limbo.

Re: The Boston Marathon Bombing: Keep Calm and Carry On

#196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What the fuck? Citations please? There is absolutely no reason I can see to beleive that every person we kill with drones had any plan (realistic or otherwise) to attack us? Where do you get this? Because of Obama's reclassification of male casualties between 16-65 as combatants? Is that kind of word-game nonsense really so effective?

There are of course collateral casualties, but I do believe every drone strike has a target that has expressed some intention to attack the U.S. We're not blowing up random Afghans for fun.

You have a lot of faith in a military which has done a lot of measurable harm in recent times for little measurable gain.

Re: The Boston Marathon Bombing: Keep Calm and Carry On

#197
post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I can already see the glee in intelligence / law enforcement agencys' eyes as they think how they can use this latest incident as reasoning for more over-arching powers. I think this is my biggest concern. Once in a while at the Back Bay subway/commuter rail/Amtrak station you will occasionally see Boston Police officers - sometimes accompanied by TSA agents - set up at the station, some of which are carrying submac…

But doesn't it make you feel safe?

Police generally do not make me feel safe because i never know when i'm going to break some silly law i may or may not know about or observe (ala jaywalking, biking without a helmet) and get cited/jailed for it, or even worse deal with some cop getting his power trip on who takes it to far.

Re: The Boston Marathon Bombing: Keep Calm and Carry On

#198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But doesn't it make you feel safe?

Police generally do not make me feel safe because i never know when i'm going to break some silly law i may or may not know about or observe (ala jaywalking, biking without a helmet) and get cited/jailed for it, or even worse deal with some cop getting his power trip on who takes it to far.

I guess as a white guy with short hair, I just assume the cops are there for me.

Re: The Boston Marathon Bombing: Keep Calm and Carry On

#199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If he's not caught on US soil and is not a citizen, like Osama, then he has no protections under the constitution and its duck hunting season. The Constitution does not create any protections for international fugitives engaged in acts of war. Terrorists are the modern day Barbary Pirates. Nobody in the founding generation suggested they should get full Constitutional protections and a trial.

No, its not duck hunting. There are international courts - which the US doesn't support.

The U.S. rightfully doesn't support international courts. It's nonsensical to have international tribunals that render judgments on people outside the legislative jurisdiction of the sovereign body of which the court is a part.

People in Europe are learning right now how not awesome it is to get yourself into binding international frameworks with people who are connected by incomplete legislative and executive jurisdiction, and whom often have dramatically different national priorities and values.

In any case, it's arguably unconstitutional for the U.S. to support international courts. If Congress signed up for a treaty binding us to the decisions of say the IJC or ICC, would those decisions be reviewable by the Supreme Court? If so, then accepting jurisdiction would be redundant, since the Supreme Court is perfectly competent to adjudicate disputes under "international law." If not, that would arguably be a separation of powers violation: Congress signing us up to accept the superior jurisdiction of a foreign court whose judgments couldn't be reviewed by what is supposed to be the court of last resort: the Supreme Court.

Re: The Boston Marathon Bombing: Keep Calm and Carry On

#200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Killing them like osama[...] means the terrorist have won," I don't understand the trouble you have with the Osama situation. The US attempted to apprehend Osama so they could bring him to justice but he resisted and was shot to death. How would you have handled that situation?

Bullshit, have you read the first hand accounts? They weren't there to apprehend anyone. And of course you "resist" if a bunch of people with guns storm into your home.

It's not the resisting justice when people with guns storm in. It's the trying to escape justice for decades before that. It's really hard to claim you weren't given "due process" when you made every effort to avoid that process.
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