Boston Marathon Bombings
 

This is a video taken right at the moment that the two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, today at 2:50pm EDT.

Boston.com viral video page - Boston.com

Two people were killed, including an 8 year old boy, and at least 28 people were injured; some quite severely including lost limbs. There are confirmed reports that they have a suspect in custody; the person is injured and in a Boston hospital under guard.

Horrid

I heard something about it on the radio, but did not understand it. Thank you for posting details.

Three people have died now. And there are at least 124 people in various hospitals around Boston.

Live Blog: 3 Dead, At Least 100 Injured In Boston Marathon Explosions | WBUR

Complete ****. Whoever did this deserves to rot in all the hells man can imagine.

-

Surprised no one has claimed responsibility for it, yet.

...... bad news ....

Jeebus ... I feel so badly for the families of the victims that were killed and for those that were injured so severely. Horrible. I can only be thankful that it wasn't any worse... and it could have been much, much worse.

Especially irritating since the length of the marathon (26 miles) was intended to honor the victims of Sandy Hook.

News blog:
As It Happened: 3 Dead, At Least 130 Injured In Boston Marathon Explosions | WBUR

Photos:
Photos: Explosions At Boston Marathon Finish | WBUR

There are 3 people dead, and at least 130 people wounded.

One of my schoolteachers participated in the Boston Marathon every year, but decided to stay home this time.

This is one of those days when I do not want to live on this planet anymore.

All terrorism is appalling. Hope they catch them quickly.

I think the bombs were made with black powder based on the amount of white smoke produced.

regards
Mech

The latest information is that at least 176 people were injured.

We will hopefully learn more soon.

Live Blog: 3 Dead, At Least 170 Injured In Boston Marathon Explosions | WBUR

Now, I hate distance running as much as the next guy, but that's just not right.

I've been close to this before (Warrington 1993 - IRA - killed 2 children), I've looked at some of the pics including the "bad" ones.

The Police etc. need time and space to catch those responsible, and hopefully those who thought of the idea (if different).

Yes, it is awful no matter where it happens.

So someone bombed the Boston marathon on Monday. On Tuesday someone mailed ricin tainted letters to politicians. And on Wednesday someone blew up a fertilizer plant.
http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instanc...x/25103267.jpg

^^ is pushing the boundaries of good taste IMHO.

People have died.

News like this makes me shudder. There is a thin line between normal life and a catastrophy, and sometimes you just wonder: What if?

I used to live in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands.
One sunny saturday I went to do shopping at the local mall. My neighbor was washing his car so we chatted for half an hour. Finally I arrived at the mall at noon precisely.
I did my shopping and went home.
Everything was still nice and lovely.
Because I had moved to Nieuwegein a couple of years before.
If I had done the exact same thing at the exact same time in my old home town, I would have met Tristan van der Vlis, emptying his sub machine gun on the shopping public at the mall nearest to my old home.
7 died that day including Tristan.

I have deep respect for the victims, of which I only knew one vaguely. I am not a victim myself obviously, but somehow it felt way too close for comfort.

True. Yet, if done with respect and the right mind set, there is a place for some fun even here. Like in this Dutch comic.
Some explanation is in order: The characters, Fokke & Sukke, a duck and a canary, are the proverbial bad guys, the Homer Simpsons of society.
They take a stance projecting a shimmer of reason while everyone obviously sees the fault in their logic. The pun is often aimed at something else, the NRA in this case.

Translation:
Fokke & Sukke are members of the National Bomb Association.

"Against a villain with a bomb..." "You need a cop with a bomb!"

Hope you enjoy ;)
http://www.foksuk.nl/content/formfie...a94619f2e4.gif

Video of suspects... er, persons of interest released... FBI releases photos of two men considered suspects in marathon bombings

And they have arrested the man who probably sent the two letters with ricin (possibly) in them.

The two young men who are the apparent suspects should turn themselves in, if they know what is good for them.

I think that ship has sailed.

If the scumbags who did the bombing think their religion is worth to killing for, they should just commit suicide somewhere else instead of harm innocent people.

Boston Police: 1 Marathon Suspect Dead, ‘White Hat Suspect At Large’; T Service Suspended | WBUR

Much of the Boston area (Cambridge and Watertown in particular) are essentially in lockdown.

It has not verified been if this was an accident, or an act of terror.

If anyone on here is a Twitter user, I can personally guarantee your Twitter feed will be more accurate and up to date than CNN. My slight respect for CNN has disappeared, their broadcasts have been barely more than a 2 ring circus.

About an hour or two ago, Boston PD shut down the online police scanner feeds. They are telling the media/residents not to tweet pictures of the tactical positioning of SWAT in their backyards. I'm seeing photos of SWAT on sheds, surrounding houses, pictures of the bullets that tore the neighborhood up last night. This is terrible.

Just because they have been in America for ten years, or they are from the region of the world that gives us the term "Caucasian", doesn't make them American in any way. These men need the strongest, swiftest justice this world has ever seen. I get disgusted when the news reports that the police need to read these jagoffs their Miranda rights. If you cause a terror event, whether you are foreign or domestic, you have NO rights.

Sorry, but Miranda rights are a big part of how we define justice here. What you are suspected or accused of doesn't change that- as Richard Jewell can attest.

If we just burn everyone at the stake, no evidence, trial, and jury, how do we know they are even guilty? Or who else is involved? Or anyone beyond those two? Or if they were drugged, brain washed, people/family held hostage, so on? I am not saying anything makes it right, but there may be more to it than just two individuals wanting to cause terror.

I, personally, completely agree on swift justice. But, swift should not mean disregarding our law and legal process.

Agree with FC... absolutely necessary. Besides, anyone living in the US (and many of those that don't) know how quickly lawyers will latch onto any perceived mistreatment or mistakes by the police, regardless of what the suspect did or didn't do. The last thing in the world I want to see is that a terrorist suspect is released because a lawyer was able to prove that the police didn't read him his Miranda rights...

I agree that they shouldn't be killed on sight, if possible. "Swift justice" in my mind means not letting them sit in jail for three years, two years of trial, ten years of appeal, another ten on death row. And since 9/11, terror suspects are treated different, IIRC. You have to remember that all these agencies on local, state, and federal levels know a lot more than CNN/MSNBC/etc does. Hell, at this point, I know more than CNN does. (Example: The "breaking news" alert 15 minutes ago to be on the lookout for a 1999 green Honda was cancelled by headquarters at least 30 minutes prior).

As I type this, a tactical team is in position at a location near the Arsenal Mall.

Shoot on sight vs not - think about the long game, be selfish. Capture the guy and you have an "in" to anyone else who might also be involved but who has not struck yet - the network, the cell. Kill him and you don't, so who knows if there are any other crazies or radicals ready to do the same elsewhere.

I'm sure agents are right now cursing the idea that the guy died last night - so much intelligence no longer available.

He is IN custody.

Swift justice seems to mean street justice to you. Have you ever put a gun to someone's head knowing that he hadn't done anything wrong, but that was the only way you had of communicating with him? If you haven't then stay away from that kind of stuff. It sucks.

On the subject of rights, I am a human being, a citizen and fairly educated. I disagree with the idea that my rights change according to what I may be charged (or simply suspected) with. I dare to propose that the Constitution, being the document that constitutes the government, does not grant the power to exceed the powers it grants (kind of a backwards Catch 22). If you would act for the government, you should act within the framework of the government: try or free everyone in Guantanamo, and try the surviving bomber according to our rules. If we're going to kill him, do you want it to be a bullet in the street, a fall down the stairs at police headquarters, or do you want us as a people to do it according to the rules we've established?

We have rules for killing people. If you want to bypass them, you're really no better than those two guys. Worse, really, because they didn't pretend they were doing it on our behalf.

The now-captured bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He will not hear his Miranda rights - which I think is just dumb. If this becomes a legal issue in the trial, why wouldn't you read them to him?

‘The Hunt Is Over’: 1 Marathon Bombing Suspect Dead, 1 In Custody After Paralyzing Manhunt | WBUR

As I understand it, its the difference between "intelligence" and evidence.

Evidence is stuff that will/can be introduced in a trial. Only information gotten after a Miranda warning can be introduced at trial without objection… its being thrown out.

Intelligence is stuff you want to know but will not be introduced in a trial. There is all kinds of stuff that the gov. would like to get in this case that has no bearing on the guilt/innocence of the "alleged" bomber: links to terrorist groups, accomplices, etc. (It is pretty much understood that what with all the evidence independent of what the kid says the gov. has an ironclad case.)

The Miranda warning also includes the right to have a lawyer. Just hearing this usually causes most people to ask for one. (Well, at least it should!) Once the lawyer is involved, getting intelligence gets more difficult.

I have been thinking about a suspect's right to an attorney. I do not think that anyone on here wants to risk an innocent person being condemned and it is conceivable that a person could be guilty, but receive an excessive punishment. Still, I hate the idea of a criminal being free because a lawyer was able to use some trick. That is the game, though, so one should come prepared.

I think that on balance, our legal system works well; if it is done right. This is such a high profile case, I think the judge will be on top of things.

The worst thing is the federal prosecutor is the same person that botched the Aaron Swartz case. I hope they have a better approach to this case.

If they do it right, we will learn as much as we can about their motivation and methods and anybody else who was involved. I hope they lock him up for life - if he is found guilty and executed, then he will be a martyr for some. I'd rather he live with his conscience and remorse for the rest of his life. It also costs a lot less to just lock him up for life.

Legal systems are often too over-protective for the criminals :mad:

Sure it's important to have ways to reduce the risk of incorrectly keeping an innocent jailed, but in this case there's no innocent kept jailed. However, I agree the remaining terrorist should be trialed, and an immediate killing could turn him into a "martyr".

I feel I must clarify my earlier posts.

By "strongest, swiftest justice", I merely implied that a ridiculously long drawn out trial will only inspire (and inform) others to do similar acts. At no point did I suggest he should be killed. What he knows is very important. And when I said "No Miranda rights", people on here responded like it was blasphemy. Since 9/11, if you commit a terrorist attack, you have no rights. Looking back on the past week, of all the evidence, their actions when they were pursued, etc... is there much doubt of their guilt?

Being as this is The Lounge, I'd also like to present my assumptions (ass-u-me). When I read thru the 19 year old's Twitter account, he was very much a typical American kid. Influenced by money and fame, incredibly intelligent, few angry posts at all. The older brother never seemed to fully embrace American life, always harboring anger over the Chechnya situation he saw as a teen. It doesn't take Picasso to paint the picture that the younger brother was guilty, but the older brother was the 'mastermind'. And now that the older brother is deceased, any lawyer is going to hype that the kid was a pawn. The end fact is that he killed four innocent Americans, attempted to murder hundreds more, and he terrorized millions.

And people are worried about his personal rights?!

I remember some complaining after Sandy Hook about the media publishing the shooter's name. I honestly wish they would not. It sounded like the bombers had not planned for any of these contingencies and I thought that they did not expect to be caught.

Personally, I believe that they should die an anonymous and ignominious death.