Terrorist attack at Boston Marathon

[Mayerling]

I watched the last portion of the President's address to the mourners and Bostonians at the Memorial Service. Quite well done. Unfortunately, in the last few months (due to Newtown) he has had a great deal of practice.

The need for public assistance by the FBI and Boston police is a mixed blessing. Many people gave them the videos, and photos of the explosion, and it has led to the possibility of two bombers (laying down duffel bags) being captured on either. But it is a mixed blessing. Rumors of a solution have led even the New York Times to make wrong headed surmises about whom the authorities suspect.

As for the Saudi character, I am surprised that Kerry agreed to release him at all to his country. I'd have held onto him until every secret he knew about Al Quaeda was spilled out of him. But the same "special treatment" was given to members of Osama Bin Laden's family (also wealthy and prominent in Saudi Arabia not only in the U.S. but abroad after 9/11. Oil money talks louder than outrage.

Jeff

[Limehouse]

Since I first heard of the terrible bomb attacks in Boston, I've wondered if it is Domestic rather than Foreign Terrorism.
A Timothy McVeigh type thing.

First of all, President Obama was re-elected.

In the Senate, a vote was about to come up on the subject of mandatory background checks for gun purchases.

The Boston Marathon was run on what is 'Patriot's Day' in Massachusetts - a day to commemorate the Revolutionary War. (Timothy McVeigh himself said that was a highly symbolic day to his "movement".)

It was also the day immediately before April 15th, Tax Day, when everyone has to pay their taxes to the Federal Government. Also highly symbolic to the McVeigh-type fringe.

This year's Boston Marathon was dedicated to the victims of the Newton Connecticut massacre. (Connecticut is right next door to Mass.)
Volunteers representing the Newton shooting victims were running in their memory.
And seated in the VIP boxes close to where the bombs went off were some of the families & survivors of the Newton tragedy, waiting to greet the runners honoring their lost loved ones.

I'm not sure how many of you are aware of this, but if you google it or read the online comments on numerous U.S. or British newspapers, you will see that there are a frighteningly large number of people who believe that the Newton massacre NEVER HAPPENED, that it was an elaborate HOAX perpetrated by the Obama administration, supposedly because "They want to take away everybody's guns and impose socialism." (In their minds, health care = socialism = dictatorship, as do mandatory background checks on the purchase of firearms.)

These people make revolting comments about the families of the murdered children and claim the grieving parents are just "paid shills" and "actors" perpetrating a government hoax. They turn my stomach.

What's so scary is that the people spreading these conspiracy theories really believe them!

Then you get someone mailing Ricin to the President and others in Washington DC... Thank God, he was caught. Some guy from Tupelo, Mississippi.

Then you get a major explosion and fire at a fertilizer factory located in a little town next to Waco, Texas, made unfortunately famous by David Koresh and the Branch Davidians.

What did Timothy McVeigh use to blow up the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City? A fertilizer bomb.

For all the talk about the Saudi national, this has looked to me like 'Domestic Terrorism' from the start. And it may not be over yet.

My thoughts and prayers are with the innocent victims, their families, and with all the good kind people, both ordinary citizens and first responders, who risked their own lives to help strangers.

That's the real America.

Best regards,
Archaic

Hi Archaic,

I must admit to wondering whether the Boston attack was domestic, purely because in terrorist attacks such as 9/11 and the bombings in London, those responsible were suicide bombers whereas this attack seems to have been carried out by someone who walked away, leaving the bomb behind. It was also a similar bomb to that used by a loan attacker in a London pub frequented by gays - a crude device full of lethal nails.

I can see your line of thinking concerning Waco, but I have heard several reports that state that there was a fire which ignited some ammonia and this caused the explosions.

In any case, my thoughts and prayers are with those killed and injured in both incidents.

[Robert]

To judge from the report that the authorities told two boys to leave because the plant was about to explode, it seems that it was the fire that did it and not a bomb.

[Archaic]

Connecting the Dots

Since I first heard of the terrible bomb attacks in Boston, I've wondered if it is Domestic rather than Foreign Terrorism.
A Timothy McVeigh type thing.

First of all, President Obama was re-elected.

In the Senate, a vote was about to come up on the subject of mandatory background checks for gun purchases.

The Boston Marathon was run on what is 'Patriot's Day' in Massachusetts - a day to commemorate the Revolutionary War. (Timothy McVeigh himself said that was a highly symbolic day to his "movement".)

It was also the day immediately before April 15th, Tax Day, when everyone has to pay their taxes to the Federal Government. Also highly symbolic to the McVeigh-type fringe.

This year's Boston Marathon was dedicated to the victims of the Newton Connecticut massacre. (Connecticut is right next door to Mass.)
Volunteers representing the Newton shooting victims were running in their memory.
And seated in the VIP boxes close to where the bombs went off were some of the families & survivors of the Newton tragedy, waiting to greet the runners honoring their lost loved ones.

I'm not sure how many of you are aware of this, but if you google it or read the online comments on numerous U.S. or British newspapers, you will see that there are a frighteningly large number of people who believe that the Newton massacre NEVER HAPPENED, that it was an elaborate HOAX perpetrated by the Obama administration, supposedly because "They want to take away everybody's guns and impose socialism." (In their minds, health care = socialism = dictatorship, as do mandatory background checks on the purchase of firearms.)

These people make revolting comments about the families of the murdered children and claim the grieving parents are just "paid shills" and "actors" perpetrating a government hoax. They turn my stomach.

What's so scary is that the people spreading these conspiracy theories really believe them!

Then you get someone mailing Ricin to the President and others in Washington DC... Thank God, he was caught. Some guy from Tupelo, Mississippi.

Then you get a major explosion and fire at a fertilizer factory located in a little town next to Waco, Texas, made unfortunately famous by David Koresh and the Branch Davidians.

What did Timothy McVeigh use to blow up the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City? A fertilizer bomb.

For all the talk about the Saudi national, this has looked to me like 'Domestic Terrorism' from the start. And it may not be over yet.

My thoughts and prayers are with the innocent victims, their families, and with all the good kind people, both ordinary citizens and first responders, who risked their own lives to help strangers.

That's the real America.

Best regards,
Archaic

[caz]

I just heard they are treating the Waco explosion as a crime scene until they know more.

All this sends shivers down my spine when I think back to the days when the IRA were most active, and any of us living or working in British cities will remember the terror of bombs going off, and killing and maiming innocent men, women and children at random. It was awful to think of all the despicable people who thought nothing of dipping into their pockets to finance these murdering bastards.

[kensei]

Well, I thought "an arrest is imminent" meant it would happen yesterday, but it didn't. Apparently there is video of a man in a hoodie and backwards-facing baseball cap appearing to leave a duffel bag, then taking out a cell phone and moving out of view moments before the first explosion. The news first made it sound as if they knew who he was. May they find him soon.

The incident in Texas- wow, it's immense, sounds like hell on earth, lots of injuries but surprisingly few fatalities for such massive destruction. Let's hope it's an accident- nitrate fertilizer is unstable and highly explosive and accidents at such plants sometimes happen. It's the stuff Tim McVeigh used in Oklahoma City.

[jmenges]

100+ homes "completely destroyed".

[jmenges]

Not that its related but....

A fertilizer plant has just exploded near Waco, Texas. 200+ injured early reports.

JM

[Beowulf]

"Saudi National in Boston Bombing being deported on "National Security Grounds"

"Steve Emerson just broke the shocking news that the Saudi national, Abdul al-Harbi, who was first questioned in the Boston bombing, is going to be deported on "national security grounds." He is from a very powerful Saudi family with many terrorist ties. Abdul al-Harbi is a devout Muslim from Medina.

I said that it takes longer than 15 hours to investigate all of Abdul al-Harbi's relatives, friends, acquaintances, and business and school friends.


Perhaps a quick look at the Arabic sources should raise the eyebrows of every American relative to the extent of the problem at hand. Many from Al-Harbi’s clan are steeped in terrorism and are members of Al-Qaeda. Out of a list of 85 terrorists listed by the Saudi government shows several of Al-Harbi clan to have been active fighters in Al-Qaeda:

When I heard he was from a very powerful Saudi family, I worried about this kind of thing happening.

Secretary of State Kerry's meeting with the Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal was abruptly closed to the press the day Abdul al-Harbi was being questioned. There is no doubt in my mind that this was discussed.

Today's embarassing display of rolling incompetence and badly mangled leaks led to numerous cancellations of press conferences, mis-identified suspects, promises of imminent arrest, walking back the arrest announcement, and more. They said they would release a statement and then said they wouldn't..."



http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/a...y-grounds.html

[kensei]

The victims:

pmchollywoodlife.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/victims-lead.jpg?w=600

To whoever is about to go down for this: Whatever your issue is, are these the people you needed to have pay for it? I hope you're proud of yourself, (expletive deleted).

p.s.
(I see this doesn't work as a link but you can type it in- a nice picture of all three.)

[Robert]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2310289/L-Lingzi-Boston-bombing-victim-Chinese-graduate-23.html

[kensei]

Just heard on the news minutes ago: Based on video evidence and examination of the bomb fragments, an arrest will be made today. No further details.

[Mayerling]

The latest on the Boston bombing is that the bombs were made out of pressure cookers loaded with shrapnel consisting of ball bearings and nails, concealed inside duffel bags. Half the people in that crowd were probably carrying bags of various kinds. One person setting down a bag and walking away while everyone was watching the runners wouldn't have been given much notice. It's thought the bombs may have been detonated via cell phone. They exploded aprx. 10 seconds apart, about the length of time it takes to end one call and then punch in another number. There are three dead now- an eight-year-old boy, a 29-year-old woman, and I'm not sure as to the third.

Thanks Kensel for giving the names. The Security Guard sued the government for slander I bellieve.

The third victim was identified yesterday, but the name withheld. It was a graduate student from China (a young woman) who had attended Boston University.

As of this morning the investigation is just continuing. They have shown photos of the remains of the "pressure cooker" bombs to the public, and sent parts of them to the FBI labs in Langley, Virginia. And the man in charge of the investigation has reached out to the public for any tips or memories of recent conversations or letters or anything from people interested suddenly in the Marathon, or whom were interested in the materials for an explosive device, or who heard explosion noises in remote areas, etc.

Jeff

[Robert]

Wouldn't the legs be first in line anyway? However high the debris is going to go, it can only get there by going from low level to high level, so if there are legs in the way...

[kensei]

Cannot really find much reassurance of anything. These damn incidents just strike out of the blue. In fact, while Oklahoma City, and that school shooting both happened in Aprils around the same week, the bombing that first came to mind was at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, where a bomb killed two people. I can't recall if they caught that bomber (I recall they fingered the wrong person at one point).

Jeff

Security guard Richard Jewel was wrongly accused of the Olympic bombing before the real perpetrator was deduced- Eric Rudolph, who eluded capture for I don't know how long (over a year I think?) by hiding out in the woods using survivalist skills and occasionally raiding peoples' houses until he was finally caught. He had also bombed some abortion clinics as I recall.

The latest on the Boston bombing is that the bombs were made out of pressure cookers loaded with shrapnel consisting of ball bearings and nails, concealed inside duffel bags. Half the people in that crowd were probably carrying bags of various kinds. One person setting down a bag and walking away while everyone was watching the runners wouldn't have been given much notice. It's thought the bombs may have been detonated via cell phone. They exploded aprx. 10 seconds apart, about the length of time it takes to end one call and then punch in another number. There are three dead now- an eight-year-old boy, a 29-year-old woman, and I'm not sure as to the third.

Heard an interesting theory from a caller on a radio show. Most of the injuries seem to have been to the lower half of the body, many legs amputated, in an event that's all about running, as if the bombs were placed to spread the shrapnel low. Could it have been an amputee military vet with explosives knowledge enraged over his own injuries and resentful of those who can still run marathons? No one's been arrested and we don't know who did this horrible crime yet, but it's as good a theory as I've heard. This doesn't seem likely to be Al Quaida or some other terrorist sect- their devices are usually much more sophisticated.