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Explosions near Boston Marathon finish line

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Re: Explosions near Boston Marathon finish line

#531

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The aim of the WTC attack was to make a very symbolic action: the goal was to destroy three symbols of American power, its military, economic, and political might, though the last ended up physically unscathed. Obviously a huge number of deaths associated with it, but the symbolism was key. You knew exactly where the attackers stood--American power is evil--once you heard a description of the attacks. This, in contra…

>You knew exactly where the attackers stood--American power is evil Who gives a fuck where they stand they will all be hunted down and killed. For all you know this bombing was because they don't believe women should run in marathons.

Without knowing the reasons it is hard to find out who did it and harder to prevent it happening in the future. This is regardless if you are in the "we should pay attention to their grievances in hopes they won't do it again" or "let's fucking blow their families up in retaliation" camp.

Re: Explosions near Boston Marathon finish line

#532

The worst part for me (and I really am feeling bad about this) is that I should be concerned about the victims right now, but I can't stop thinking about what freedoms I'll be losing as a result of this.

They're going to be searching peoples bags on the subway tomorrow, no mention of the 4th amendment given.

Re: Explosions near Boston Marathon finish line

#533
post #189

Do you think IRA (or one of its forks like Real IRA, Continuity IRA or one IRA extremist supporter) might have been involved? Today US supreme court has ruled to give tapes containing testimony to Irish police: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/apr/15/ira-tapes-police-su... .

Vanishingly unlikely. Boston is full of Irish people, so for an Irish terrorist group to set off an explosion where they're more likely to injure Irish people than elsewhere makes no sense. If they were to set off a bomb in the US, which has never happened, the obvious target would be a courthouse or US attorney's office. I'm Irish and intimately familiar with the politics of terrorism, FWIW.

Well, then you know Irish terrorist groups placed quite a few bombs in places like Manchester, i.e. a city with closer links to Irish people than almost everywhere else in England.

To be fair, these attempts backfired spectacularly, losing them a lot of support in these areas very quickly.

Re: Explosions near Boston Marathon finish line

#534

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That and people aren't robots. A bombing in Boston means more to someone in New York than does one in Iraq, and purposeful taking of innocent life means more than accidental death.

Well, the innocent people being blown up in Iraq certainly weren't accidentally being blown up. And we had a much bigger role in creating the situation in Iraq than we did the situation in Boston...

A bombing in Boston hits home to people in New York, because people can relate to their countrymen better than they can to random people on the other side of the planet with a different culture and history. This is human nature.

Re: Explosions near Boston Marathon finish line

#535

Edit: Boston police reporting at least 2 dead, 22 injured and 10 people losing limbs. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/04/15/explosion-reported-near... Looks like there were two explosions. Picture: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BH6fCgFCQAERWMB.jpg:large More details http://www.wcvb.com/news/local/metro/Explosions-reported-nea... "Witnesses said several victims lost limbs, and the area was being evacuated. Many of the in…

For some reason this reminds me more of the Atlanta Summer Olympics or Moscow than the attacks on the World Trade Center. [edit to add links for clarity] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_apartment_bombings#Ryaz... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centennial_Olympic_Park_bombing Condolences to friends and families of the injured and dead.

The first article (about Ryazan in Russia) says that it is FSB's job. And there was an apology. (FSB is new KGB, Ryazan is a city more than 100 miles from Moscow).

I don't see the connection to the current story unless you're implying that some 3-letter american agency have something to do with the explosions as a propaganda tool to justify lost freedoms, war spendings, etc.

Re: Explosions near Boston Marathon finish line

#536

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is mere seconds after the explosion took place, with the smoke still drifting through the air. Already they've made it to the side of the most obvious casualty; I can't really see the basis for your comment.

They are all facing away from the explosion. The first explosion happened on the side with the flags, you can see the smoke is thickest there. Just pointing out an observation. There could be other officers already on the scene of the explosion, and these guys are handling the crowds.

Yes. At least four of them are running away from the bomb site, the other two are staring at a fallen athlete. Maybe they though he was shot or something, I just can't make sense of it, hence the question.

Re: Explosions near Boston Marathon finish line

#540
post #522

Earlier quoted context omitted.

American drone strikes kill innocent people all over the world. Their neighbors say these killings are incomprehensible. I still think this was domestic actors.

Terrorist bombings kill innocent people all over the world. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terrorist_incidents,_Ja...

Including, it bears pointing out, 55 people today alone being blown up by insurgents in Iraq.

Not that people in the USA have any connection with that.

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