How will the Boston Marathon bombings be capitalised on?

[Hezam]

Syrians people showing sympathy with the American victims of the bombing :

 

[Grandpa Frank]

They think they have the 2nd bomber.

A man went out to his backyard and noticed his big boat with a cover had some blood on it and he saw a body in it. Police showed up and some shots were fired. They are taking it slow because of fear of explosives. They seem pretty sure it is the second bomber , but no word on if it is and if he is dead or alive yet.

Uncle Frank

 

[Hezam]

Thanks Uncle Frank for keeping us updated, I hope it's the suspect who got killed and not someone else.
I hope everyone back home safe.

 

[RolandtheHeadless]

"Here we go with the "ban" bait again."

Get a clue. A bill that would have banned -- yes, banned -- so-called "assault rifles" and high-capacity magazines just failed in the Senate. We have plenty of people here who want to ban these objects just because a few mentally disturbed individuals used them (instead of pressure cookers) to commit murder. Banning objects because a few people misuse them IS an issue.

 

[Mark of Zorro]

"Here we go with the "ban" bait again."

Get a clue. A bill that would have banned -- yes, banned -- so-called "assault rifles" and high-capacity magazines just failed in the Senate. We have plenty of people here who want to ban these objects just because a few mentally disturbed individuals used them (instead of pressure cookers) to commit murder. Banning objects because a few people misuse them IS an issue.

Or, how about you get a clue. You started this by talking about a ban on pressure cookers, not a TYPE of pressure cooker.

Even if that bill passed, most types of your precious guns would have still been available. Its really not much different than banning hollow point bullets. Its just one TYPE of ammunition. You could still play lots of "shoot 'em up" if you wanted. But perhaps many would have lost interest if they could not do it with an AR-15 like Rick Grimes uses in "The Walking Dead". Mystique counts.

But as I have said many, many times, the reason why a bill like that winds up before the Senate is because people like YOURSELF are too busy fighting everything and everyone to write a bill that will protect Americans from gun violence and still be satisfactory to yourselves. You curse the symptoms of the very disease you propagated.

 

[Grandpa Frank]

Police confirmed they have captured the second bomber.

Details of his condition haven't been released , but it seems he is alive at the moment and on his way to the hospital with a heavy police escort.

Uncle Frank

 

[Mark of Zorro]

They told the car owner they were deffinately the two bombers and then let him go.

Wait a second here. But they were considered suspects before this right? I don't even know why they were considered suspects. And as you say, the police did not even know they were chasing the suspects.

Also it seems a little odd to just go on a random rampage days after carefully orchestrating a bombing and not taking credit in a more mass manner, such as a youtube video.

Of course there is no proper accounting for those who are just plain nuts, but it seems an unlikely combination of nutterliness and cold, calculated sane ability to build and plant bombs successfully.

 

[Mark of Zorro]

The authorities have asked the whole city area of Boston to go into lockdown and stay in their homes until the second bomber is caught. That's like almost 700,000 people being asked to stay inside and lock their doors. All transportation like buses and trains/subways are shut down also. Pretty big reaction for one man.

They also asked people to turn off their cell phones for fear that someone might accidentally set off a bomb somewhere.
America seems to grow more paranoid by the second. I am wondering when there is going to be enough paranoia to reach a critical mass?

Edit: This paranoid reaction also:

The University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth announced shortly after 10:30 a.m. on Friday that they were evacuating the entire campus after learning Tsarnaev is a registered student there.

(facepalm)

 

[RolandtheHeadless]

It's not paranoia if people are really being blown up. We should ban certain types of pressure cookers, and regulate the rest, just to be sure.

I suppose you don't even see the contradiction in your recent posts, Zorro. Your own paranoia makes you want to ban "assault rifles."

 

[Grandpa Frank]

It will probably be weeks before we know the real facts.

It seems the pictures of the two brothers is what did them in. Once they were released , they were detailed enough people reported to the police who they were. The videos from store cameras showed them before , during, and after they placed the bombs in enough detail , there was no question it was the two brothers. It seems they panicked when the photos were released and they had no real escape plan. They packed up some bombs and guns, went to a 7-11 store to rob it for get away money , then hijacked a car to escape in. Some where along the way , they shot and killed a M.I.T. security guard. I'm guessing the owner of the hijacked car gave the police enough info , that they spotted the car and had the big shootout where the older brother was killed. I guess in the darkness and confusion , the younger brother made his escape and hid in the boat where they finally caught him. It sounded like he was wounded but still alive when they found him and finally captured him. No details on how bad he was hurt and if he will live,....but the ambulance he was in seemed to be in no big rush at all to get to the hospital. If he lives and talks , we will probably find out some of the real facts weeks from now.

Uncle Frank

 

[Mark of Zorro]

The two are brothers. A possible motive for the older brother, who was killed:

In an interview with The New York Times, the suspects' father said Tamerlan had been unable to become a U.S. citizen because he was arrested for hitting his girlfriend, and that he traveled to Russia last year to live for six months and renew his passport.

Odd thing is, the same article said he was married with a kid, and no explanation if his past girlfriend is his current wife or what.

 

[RolandtheHeadless]

If they hadn't been so eager to see the results of their handiwork, they may have got away. Instead of just planting the bombs and leaving the scene, they hung around to watch. And got themselves on video.

Anyone have an idea what they were after? Is there supposed to be some political point they were making?

If they really found life in the US "understandably distasteful," as someone here suggested, why didn't they just leave?

 

[Mark of Zorro]

If they really found life in the US "understandably distasteful," as someone here suggested, why didn't they just leave?

Leaving requires going to another country. Going to another country requires permission. Living in another country requires a hell of a lot of permission.

Their families live in America.

Going back to Chechnya...well....not much of an option.

They were 26 and 19. I can't imagine they had a lot of "pack up and leave" money.

Not that any of this justifies a stupid decision to bomb innocent people they don't even know.

 

[Hezam]

I'm still confused, The story sounds fake and i can't see any sense of truth in this case!

 

[Mark of Zorro]

It's not paranoia if people are really being blown up.

They aren't. The bombings were days ago and there is no reason to think that random people's cell phones triggered bombs or would. That is just stupid, brainless paranoia. Its knee jerk, just like the university evacuation that I added to that post.

In fact, I could easily see either reaction causing harm in and of themselves, such as people in need of emergency attention not being able to use their cell, or panic causing a stampede in the evacuation.

We should ban certain types of pressure cookers, and regulate the rest, just to be sure.

Numbers dude. You just skipped over my caveat about numbers.

I suppose you don't even see the contradiction in your recent posts, Zorro. Your own paranoia makes you want to ban "assault rifles."

I recognized reasons why this bill was put up for vote. It does not mean I support it. In the same vein though, I am not dead set against it either. Its certainly not on my short list of options. And you of all people should know that. Remember when I presented options that would allow fully automatic rifles to be owned by licensed and trained citizens? Probably not. You have a nasty tendency to ignore what you find inconvenient and instead focus on bits you *think* you can use for attack.

Also, I might as well point out that assault rifles have killed a lot more people over the years than pressure cookers. Another fact you will blithely ignore.

Further, placing more weight on thousands of deaths than 3 is not paranoia. Nor is making a bill to be carefully and calmly considered before Congress in reaction to thousands of deaths.

BTW, did you notice my hyperventilating outrage that the assault weapons bill did not pass?

No, you didn't.

Because I have no such feelings about it.

So paranoia....you think I am paranoid? Well, I sure don't have any automatic trust for the authorities. I think that is about where any accusation of paranoia in me would begin and end.

 

[Mark of Zorro]

I'm still confused, The story sounds fake and i can't see any sense of truth in this case!

Details are starting to clarify for me, but I still have Major Doubt as my co-pilot.

We also have to consider that the press, in their haste to be first, are going to print a lot of errors.

 

[nahadef]

If they really found life in the US "understandably distasteful," as someone here suggested, why didn't they just leave?

When quoting me, please keep it in context. I can understand what a pious Muslim (or other religion, or ascetic personality) might find distasteful, which is why I posted with those quotes from the bombers reflecting that, it wasn't an insult to America. It's good to try to see things from others point of view.

 

[Abdur Rahman]

I will never surprise if the Syrian intelligence or the Iranian intelligence were parts of this operation
Assad many times alerted the west and said if the west support the Syrian opposition the terror will hit the west
and last year the Syrian Mufti who supports Assad (Badr Hassoun) said that they will send‏ ‏suicidal people to bomb theirselves in Europe and the west if the west attack Assad.

 

[Mark of Zorro]

There is some capitalizing on this in Canada

Harper government to fast track anti-terrorism bill-->

Yahoo! News Canada - Latest News & Headlines

 

[nahadef]

Ann Coulter (who is up there with Glenn Beck in terms of crack-pottiness, but still has fans) thinks the bombing says something about immigration. Not formally, but off the cuff.
Ann Coulter's Ridiculous Tweet About Boston Manhunt

Meanwhile, the douchebags at the "Family Research Council" are using the bombing to condemn America's morality.
FRC blames ﾂ"sexual liberalismﾂ" for Boston, Newtown - Salon.com

They blame ﾂ"abortion, family breakdown, sexual liberalism, or religious hostilityﾂ" and also make a support for guns at the same time!
"America doesn't need gun control, it needs self-control."

These are just people using the bombings to push their own personal agenda.

 

[Mark of Zorro]

Well, I don't know what the motive or motives was or were, but there has been talk that this was a reaction against America's "hedonistic" ways. So basically this means that if it was the brothers, and that was their motive, then they think the same as Ann Coulter and other cons, and that is why they did it. It was not because they drank alcohol, smoked pot, had extramarital sex, or their girl got an abortion. Its because they decided up in their own little pea brains those things are wrong and decided to punish others for it. In other words, those things were fine and not causing problems until these conservatives decided to start killing people.

So yeah, morality. Conservatives drone on and on about it, but they don't actually know what it is.

About the only thing I could accept is the broken family explanation. That they got in spades. You cannot raise kids in a vacuum with too little love and attention and expect good results. You cannot drag families out of their own culture and into a new one that sharply conflicts with their mores and social conditioning and expect good results. You cannot have a family splintered over the globe and expect to raise kids with good results. Even so, results this bad are still going to be rare.

 

[nahadef]

Here are some great examples of what this first post was talking about, Americans using the bombing to push forward their pre-established views on immigration, torture, and gun control (skip the first minute if you like):
Arrest Development - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - 04/22/13 - Video Clip | Comedy Central

 

[Mark of Zorro]

Thanks for that link. Jon Stewart is awesome.

I have to advise everyone watch through commercials because the Boston Marathon Bombing topic does continue after. I almost shut it down after the first commercial myself.