Baghdad still a bloody mess, ten years later. TEN YEARS.
What a sordid, grotesque disaster that was. It is a wonder Blair hasn't retired in shame to a monastery in Mount Athos.
Did you support the Iraq War?
"Support" is not the same thing as 'carte blanche to screw it up'!
Ah so you're another snivelling Tory who cheered us into Iraq and now uses it to score points without having the grace to admit you were horribly wrong.
No you are a whining leftie who hasn't got the courage to admit that Blair & Bush screwed it up by doing it on the cheap & ignoring military advice.
You still think the Iraq war was right, don't you?
Nothing wrong with what Obama said, but said with about as much empathy and emotion as a wet towel, complete contrast to how Clinton, Blair or Reagan would have responded
Tim, I agree that Osborne's state guarantee of private mortgages is stupid and dangerous. However I am merely pointing out the great unfairness between those who do get council housing and those who don't. It's a massive cliffedge of inequity.
But I don't agree with using taxpayer money to build more state housing. If you have an open door immigration policy then public services (like council housing) stop working fairly. Rather, I would allow the price of state housing to float up to the market level. If people like my neighbours feel financially squeeze, then they can work harder, run fewer motors, or move.
President Obama just addressed the nation from the White House press room:
The nation will remember Boston in their prayers tonight. Federal officials are mobilizing resources to help. I've notified leaders of both parties; they agree that on days like this, there are no political parties.
Police, firefighters, first responders, and the National Guard responded heroically. We salute all those who responded so quickly and professionally to this tragedy.
We still do not know who did this or why; we still don't have all the facts. We will get to the bottom of this. We will find who did this and we will find out why they did this. Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice.
Today is Patriots Day, a day that reflects the freedom Boston has celebrated throughout its history. Boston is a tough and resilient town; so are its people. I'm sure the people of Boston will pull together.
As we get more information, our teams will provide more briefings. We'll find out who did this, and we'll hold them accountable.
To give people an idea of how this will break down. Lets take a view that the police dont have anyone firmly connected to the case (be aware that not arresting someone doesnt mean they haven't eyed suspects) and all they have is incident and technical analysis:
They'll divide probably into 3 motivations:
-international terrorism -domestic terrorism -other (unrelated to a clear politically identified purpose though an individual may claim they are making a statement)
Basic assessment will consider the following: -Broad Location (town, city etc) -Circumstance (related to an event, date etc) -Explosion location -Non-detonation alternatives (this is an imperative, i.e was there something designed to actually go off deliberately at the point it did) -Explosion type (for example the 2nd explosion looked a like a fairly rudimentary charge, there were two explosions and so on, explosion size) -Explosion direction (given two explosions, where they set in such a way that a 2nd was designed to catch people moving from the 1st)
SSI - True, but in their first response to any crisis their role is also to rally the nation. When he said 'at times like these we are not Democrats or Republicans but Americans' it sounded like he was reading from a powerpoint presentation for a convention of MidWestern Accountants rather than bringing America together. I know it sounds a bit petty, but it is a key part of the president's role!
Yokel, thanks as always for your reportage, expertise, insights.
Don't have to agree with you (not that I have any disagreement with your last comment) to respect your contributions - ALWAYS have time for your input!
Looks like the work of a headbanger in Boston. Someone who doesn't like something. Like the Admiral Duncan bombing in Soho when some nutter had a problem with gays.
My flat was No 55 the Admiral Duncan was No 54. Fortunately 55 and 54 were on opposite sides of Old Compton St otherwise we might have lost a very important person.
I note that some people believe that hundreds of people haven't died appears to suggest that this isn't a jihadist motivated attack. This is of course bollocks.
That probably the last thing that identifies such a motivation. Large scale spectaculars require networks to organise, fund and execute they are rarely carried out by a single person. Another reason spectaculars are spectaculars is because they are well executed and often involve multiple elements. Breivik in Norway was an exception
Its the recent history in US anti-jihadist operations on the own soil that provides reasons why we cant rule out a jihadist attack. If you look that recent roll up operations and convictions they have been of one or two people rather than a network web. Their plans were relatively home brewed. Look at the jihadist motivated incidents on US soil that carried through. Most have been essentially lone operations. These people are not essentially working within the type of professionally organised network that has the control, finance, logistical capability and enough people willing to execute a large scale operation.
That suggests there simply are not as many of those networks. The only likely alternative is that they have changed tactics which is also perfectly viable.
In Europe domestic citizen jihadist networks are a more severe issue. In Europe the communities from which they spring are often very defined and very separated. In the USA the societal situation is such that there is simply greater integration of these groups. That alone makes it harder for large networks of home citizens to emerge. Thus ,perhaps by necessity of circumstance, a spectacular in terms of size of material attack may not be viable
Whilst there is no absolute steer yet, the analysis above will tell you why a jihadist inspired action cant be ruled out because this incident isnt a 9/11 or a 7/7 in terms of scale. Such things are hard to organise and hard to succeed. For all we know too, if it was a bombing, things may not have fully detonated and so on.
The 2nd biggest cause of ineffective terror actions is the intelligence and security work that goes into stopping them. The first is the bad luck or lack of organisation and competence of those executing them.
Looks like the work of a headbanger in Boston. Someone who doesn't like something. Like the Admiral Duncan bombing in Soho when some nutter had a problem with gays.
My flat was No55 the Admiral Duncan was No54. Fortunately 55 and 54 were on opposite sides of Old Compton St otherwise we might have lost a very important person.
Robert Chote,
I was thinking about that attack as being similar myself. It is the second bomb that makes me think it might be something more 'professional'. I'm sure we'll know more in 24 hours.
Re: Venezuela presidential election 2013 - Capriles lost last year's election to Chavez by over 10% margin. My guess was that the challenger would half that margin against Maduro. Turns out he did way better than that.
From reports sounds like turnout was significantly down this time. Could be that opposition had intensity advantage over Chavistas? Also, Maduro ain't Chavez, apparently not in same league as campaigner; not that that's dissing, Hugo was in a league of his own.
Seems to me that there is a great deal of resemblance between Hugo Chavez and Huey Long, way beyond the "Hu" factor. Both were idealistic egoists, and visa versa. Both gained, earned, retained the loyalty of people who, until the Kingfish came on the scene, were shut out of the political process AND consigned to be economic victims, at best. In both cases, power corrupted greatly, but never totally.
In the case of Huey Long, after his demise the Long political machine unraveled, as his heirs fell out among themselves, were inept at dealing with the messes he left behind, and lacked his political genius & personal charisma. Yet unravelling was NOT oblivion. Indeed, for over a half century after his death, Long vs Anti-Long remained THE major faultline of Pelican State politics.
Bombs left in dustbins, minutes apart and with material designed to cause additional injury reminds me of the sorts of bombs Irish terrorists were planting in the 1970's. No reason of course why nutters or jihadists or some other loon shouldn't copy those techniques.
Doesn't someone usually try and claim responsibility? Nothing's been heard so far.
I note that some people believe that hundreds of people haven't died appears to suggest that this isn't a jihadist motivated attack. This is of course bollocks.
That probably the last thing that identifies such a motivation. Large scale spectaculars require networks to organise, fund and execute they are rarely carried out by a single person. Another reason spectaculars are spectaculars is because they are well executed and often involve multiple elements. Breivik in Norway was an exception
Its the recent history in US anti-jihadist operations on the own soil that provides reasons why we cant rule out a jihadist attack. If you look that recent roll up operations and convictions they have been of one or two people rather than a network web. Their plans were relatively home brewed. Look at the jihadist motivated incidents on US soil that carried through. Most have been essentially lone operations. These people are not essentially working within the type of professionally organised network that has the control, finance, logistical capability and enough people willing to execute a large scale operation.
That suggests there simply are not as many of those networks. The only likely alternative is that they have changed tactics which is also perfectly viable.
In Europe domestic citizen jihadist networks are a more severe issue. In Europe the communities from which they spring are often very defined and very separated. In the USA the societal situation is such that there is simply greater integration of these groups. That alone makes it harder for large networks of home citizens to emerge. Thus ,perhaps by necessity of circumstance, a spectacular in terms of size of material attack may not be viable
Whilst there is no absolute steer yet, the analysis above will tell you why a jihadist inspired action cant be ruled out because this incident isnt a 9/11 or a 7/7 in terms of scale. Such things are hard to organise and hard to succeed. For all we know too, if it was a bombing, things may not have fully detonated and so on.
The 2nd biggest cause of ineffective terror actions is the intelligence and security work that goes into stopping them. The first is the bad luck or lack of organisation and competence of those executing them.
Y0kel
Downthread I mentioned the post you made a few days ago about a video release on the internet by Ayman al-Zawahiri. Did you see it?
I would be interested to hear whether Boston and the video release might be connected.
Seems to me that there is a great deal of resemblance between Hugo Chavez and Huey Long, way beyond the "Hu" factor. Both were idealistic egoists, and visa versa. Both gained, earned, retained the loyalty of people who, until the Kingfish came on the scene, were shut out of the political process AND consigned to be economic victims, at best. In both cases, power corrupted greatly, but never totally.
In the case of Huey Long, after his demise the Long political machine unraveled, as his heirs fell out among themselves, were inept at dealing with the messes he left behind, and lacked his political genius & personal charisma. Yet unravelling was NOT oblivion. Indeed, for over a half century after his death, Long vs Anti-Long remained THE major faultline of Pelican State politics.
Really good parallel, that, SSI. I know left-wing Venezualans who were totally conflicted about Chavez - they were too intelligent to think his policies made sense, but they felt they saw his good intentions and corrupt opposition. So they saw the choice as crazy benevolence or competent corruption.
Bombs left in dustbins, minutes apart and with material designed to cause additional injury reminds me of the sorts of bombs Irish terrorists were planting in the 1970's. No reason of course why nutters or jihadists or some other loon shouldn't copy those techniques.
Doesn't someone usually try and claim responsibility? Nothing's been heard so far.
Doesn't Boston have strong Irish connections? Just a thought, not suggesting any link to NI dissidents.
Also, NK's National Day too, Kim Il-Sung's birth anniversary.
Anyway, despite the carnage, it seems casualties were light, but thoughts are with all the victims' families, natch.
Who done it? Well, at this early stage would NOT rule out any semi-reasonable surmise. Could be AQ or some other international terrorists. Could be rightwing domestics OR leftwing. Could be nihlist who's a rotten shot.
Must say that the incident that occurs to me, was something that happened a year or two ago, in Spokane, Washington. When a cretin with Aryan Nations-type attachments, living in rural Eastern WA, left a homemade bomb on a bus bench just prior to MLK Day parade. Note that large proportion of paraders were elementary & middle school kids. Fortunately, an alert city worker - a garbage man if I recall - noticed a suspicious package and notified police. Turned out to be a pipe bomb filled with home-made schrapnel, positioned so that blast would be directed outward to the street for maximum effect.
@Sunil_Prasannan: Boston does indeed have very strong Irish connections. Can't think why it would be a target though because of that, especially now.
The bombs sounded pretty loud on the film I saw. I'm no expert but they didn't sound amateurish. Maybe they intended to cause more carnage than they did. More than 50 people are now being reported as injured. That's pretty serious, whoever caused it.
"Really good parallel, that, SSI. I know left-wing Venezualans who were totally conflicted about Chavez - they were too intelligent to think his policies made sense, but they felt they saw his good intentions and corrupt opposition."
I finally got round to watching 'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised' today, and although I knew roughly what happened in 2002 it was still shocking to see it with my own eyes. OK, it doesn't justify the semi-authoritarian rule Chavez embarked upon after that, or the suppression of the free media, but it certainly puts it in context. The opposition (and the US government for that matter) reaped exactly what they sowed by disregarding the rule of law, the constitution and democracy.
"US Rep. Michael Capuano on the floor of the US House: I want to remind everyone that this is not just about the people of Boston; the Boston Marathon is an international event with runners from all over the world. I would not be at all surprised if some of those injured aren't from Boston or Massachusetts.
The House then held a moment of silence for the victims of the explosions."
Bombs left in dustbins, minutes apart and with material designed to cause additional injury reminds me of the sorts of bombs Irish terrorists were planting in the 1970's. No reason of course why nutters or jihadists or some other loon shouldn't copy those techniques.
Doesn't someone usually try and claim responsibility? Nothing's been heard so far.
Doesn't Boston have strong Irish connections? Just a thought, not suggesting any link to NI dissidents.
Also, NK's National Day too, Kim Il-Sung's birth anniversary.
Anyway, despite the carnage, it seems casualties were light, but thoughts are with all the victims' families, natch.
Funny that, the Kims were the first people i thought of. The US & South Korea fear a deniable incident as much as a missile test that turns out not to be such a test. Such deniables though tend to focus on South Korea and Japan and it would show serious ambition to start this kind of thing.
Hard to know how one would react if confronted with something like that. Just never can tell until it happens. And even then, on on day might run, another might not.
From Natalie Covate, Boston University News Service:
Panicha Imsomboon, a BU journalism graduate student, stood on the final stretch of the Boston Marathon track when she heard a bomb to her left.
“I turned to the first explosion just like everyone did,” she said. “I saw the smoke, probably as high as the buildings there. Just a few seconds after that, I heard another explosion.”
After the second bomb, the crowd began to leave. Imsomboon walked with the crowd for half a block.
“After I stopped walking, a kid, maybe three or four years old, started crying,” she said. “At first, his parents thought he was shocked. Then, they found out that one of his legs was injured.”
The parents were trying to call an ambulance when an ambulance drove past them.
“In the end, the mother carried her boy and ran to find the ambulance,” Imsomboon said. Imsomboon continued moving with the crowd when a woman with a neck injury walked up beside her.
“She had to lay down on the sidewalk,” Imsomboon said. “The blood was coming out of her neck. A friend of hers tried to hold her hand. All of us, including me, tried to yell at the ambulance because at the time she looked really bad.”
Imsomboon handed the woman a scarf to serve as a bandage.
“I know my scarf might not be clean enough,” Imsomboon said, “but it was the best thing I could find.”
Imsomboon made it safely back to her apartment near Boston University. She has no injuries other than a buzzing in her ears. She was a member of a student team reporting the marathon. She was covering fashion at the finish line of the marathon.
Interesting that 30 people died in an explosion in Iraq and two died in Boston yet they are giving out an emergency number for all those who are worried about family and friends in Boston.
Wouldn't the law of averages suggest that there was more chance someone would have friends and family among the thirty than the two in Boston considering our relationship with Iraq?
Interesting that 30 people died in an explosion in Iraq and two died in Boston yet they are giving out an emergency number for all those who are worried about family and friends in Boston.
Wouldn't the law of averages suggest that there was more chance someone would have friends and family among the thirty than the two in Boston considering our relationship with Iraq?
I'm seeing a stat that says 347 UK citizens were partaking in the marathon alone.
I had a shocking experience at Schiphol a few years ago so I'm not a fan of the place: they put my luggage on a plane and then told me I was too late to board, which is against all the rules.
Interesting that 30 people died in an explosion in Iraq and two died in Boston yet they are giving out an emergency number for all those who are worried about family and friends in Boston.
Wouldn't the law of averages suggest that there was more chance someone would have friends and family among the thirty than the two in Boston considering our relationship with Iraq?
My luggage was left at Riga airport for 24 hours: luckily someone from the airport staff was looking after it. Unfortunately I was robbed just after arriving there.
The thing that sticks in my mind at the moment is the video with the guy in his 60s or 70s just a few paces from the finishing line of the marathon who was blown onto the ground.
I had a shocking experience at Schiphol a few years ago so I'm not a fan of the place: they put my luggage on a plane and then told me I was too late to board, which is against all the rules.
Singapore is absolutely lovely, I really enjoyed the last few times I travelled either there, or transited. If we do build a new hub in the UK, I hope it's on par - bugger the cost.
I try to stick to Star Alliance flights these days, the LHR SAS lounge was very nice though. Transfers into town, good. T5 is excellent.
I swore off it a couple of years back after consistent bad experiences;I haven't used it since Oct '11. It's got some good points, but the runway congestion means delays happen far too much.
No way round the fact that the airport is consistently running at capacity. For me that pushes it way out of the top ten.
The thing that stood out for me was the almost total absence of US Airports in the list. Cincinnati at number 30 is the highest. Whilst I think it's a smudge unfair (SFO is great, should be way higher than 40), it's perhaps reflective of overall an US decline.
The thing that sticks in my mind at the moment is the video with the guy in his 60s or 70s just a few paces from the finishing line of the marathon who was blown onto the ground.
He's 78 and Piers Morgan just interviewed him. He was not hurt.
Watching the video, someone a couple of feet from him just kept running and looked quizzically as the guy fell. Some blast.
I hope everyone's okay. It seems rather pointless to say much more or speculate at this stage.
Three reported dead.
We're watching the BBC coverage. I think they should be slightly more careful about using some of the footage, especially pre-watershed. The same goes for the other broadcasters.
SeanT: don't make an ass of yourself. You may be right, but we don't know. It could be homegrown terrorists - America's produced enough of those in the past, or any number of other groups or individuals.
Unwet your gussets: I specifically say this al Qaeda trademark of multiple explosions has now been copied, so its an unreliable indicator.
As to the idea that we must not speculate, why the F not? Is there an agreed time-horizon we have to cross before we can ask, er, who did this? We're not a bunch of bishops gathered for solemn prayers. We're just commenters on a blog. Stop being prissy and pompous.
Moreover, accurate speculation could, of course, save lives.
Your speculation (whether accurate or not) will not do anything to help the situation.
I'll let others decide on this debate. On which point, best wishes to everyone involved. Good night.
I'd have to agree with SeanT on this, why can't we speculate as to the motives behind this?
I am sure everyone on this board is thinking of the families of those who were killed, and those that were injured. But saying we can't even begin to think about what might have caused it is a bit OTT. Are we only allowed to speculate about what caused it when the authorities tell us what to think?
I never said we could not speculate, just that speculation was pointless at that stage. The problem is SeanT said:
"Multiple simul-explosions is trademark al-Qaeda - FWIW."
Which was not only wrong (simultaneous explosions have long been used by terrorist groups for more effect, for instance the Claudy bombing - it is an obvious approach to take for maximum effect, especially if you only have access to small bombs), but he also mentions only one possible group.
He has no way of knowing, no background knowledge of what was going on. But he was keen to blame the blasts on AQ. He may be right. He's probably wrong. According to Tim, he has a track record of jumping on the AQ-blame bandwagon.
In the meantime, similarly weak-minded people will be looking at Muslims all the more closely, increasing tensions.
He even claimed that accurate speculation could save lives. True, but *his* and *our* speculation on PB has no positive effect. He sounds as if he thinks his inane witterings are in some way inciteful and accurate through knowledge. As if he had a direct hotline to the investigating authorities
He said I should 'unwet my gussets'; sadly, I think his gussets got all too wet at the thought that AQ might have been responsible. SeanT's an entertaining and skilled writer. Sadly, his radar is often way off-target on what to write. Compare with the rather better way Yokel has approached this.
Still, RIP the dead, and I hope the injured recover from their injuries as soon and as fully as possible.
Comments
But I don't agree with using taxpayer money to build more state housing. If you have an open door immigration policy then public services (like council housing) stop working fairly. Rather, I would allow the price of state housing to float up to the market level. If people like my neighbours feel financially squeeze, then they can work harder, run fewer motors, or move.
The nation will remember Boston in their prayers tonight. Federal officials are mobilizing resources to help. I've notified leaders of both parties; they agree that on days like this, there are no political parties.
Police, firefighters, first responders, and the National Guard responded heroically. We salute all those who responded so quickly and professionally to this tragedy.
We still do not know who did this or why; we still don't have all the facts. We will get to the bottom of this. We will find who did this and we will find out why they did this. Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice.
Today is Patriots Day, a day that reflects the freedom Boston has celebrated throughout its history. Boston is a tough and resilient town; so are its people. I'm sure the people of Boston will pull together.
As we get more information, our teams will provide more briefings. We'll find out who did this, and we'll hold them accountable.
They'll divide probably into 3 motivations:
-international terrorism
-domestic terrorism
-other (unrelated to a clear politically identified purpose though an individual may claim they are making a statement)
Basic assessment will consider the following:
-Broad Location (town, city etc)
-Circumstance (related to an event, date etc)
-Explosion location
-Non-detonation alternatives (this is an imperative, i.e was there something designed to actually go off deliberately at the point it did)
-Explosion type (for example the 2nd explosion looked a like a fairly rudimentary charge, there were two explosions and so on, explosion size)
-Explosion direction (given two explosions, where they set in such a way that a 2nd was designed to catch people moving from the 1st)
BTW, your's truly was a premature Disqust hater!!!
Best wishes to OGH & Co in trying to get things back to semi-normal. So far this new deally ain't too bad, n'est pas?
http://www.electoralgeography.com/new/en/
Don't have to agree with you (not that I have any disagreement with your last comment) to respect your contributions - ALWAYS have time for your input!
My flat was No 55 the Admiral Duncan was No 54. Fortunately 55 and 54 were on opposite sides of Old Compton St otherwise we might have lost a very important person.
Robert Chote,
Ball bearings in trash cans where bombs were located to cause maximum injury.
I note that some people believe that hundreds of people haven't died appears to suggest that this isn't a jihadist motivated attack. This is of course bollocks.
That probably the last thing that identifies such a motivation. Large scale spectaculars require networks to organise, fund and execute they are rarely carried out by a single person. Another reason spectaculars are spectaculars is because they are well executed and often involve multiple elements. Breivik in Norway was an exception
Its the recent history in US anti-jihadist operations on the own soil that provides reasons why we cant rule out a jihadist attack. If you look that recent roll up operations and convictions they have been of one or two people rather than a network web. Their plans were relatively home brewed. Look at the jihadist motivated incidents on US soil that carried through. Most have been essentially lone operations. These people are not essentially working within the type of professionally organised network that has the control, finance, logistical capability and enough people willing to execute a large scale operation.
That suggests there simply are not as many of those networks. The only likely alternative is that they have changed tactics which is also perfectly viable.
In Europe domestic citizen jihadist networks are a more severe issue. In Europe the communities from which they spring are often very defined and very separated. In the USA the societal situation is such that there is simply greater integration of these groups. That alone makes it harder for large networks of home citizens to emerge. Thus ,perhaps by necessity of circumstance, a spectacular in terms of size of material attack may not be viable
Whilst there is no absolute steer yet, the analysis above will tell you why a jihadist inspired action cant be ruled out because this incident isnt a 9/11 or a 7/7 in terms of scale. Such things are hard to organise and hard to succeed. For all we know too, if it was a bombing, things may not have fully detonated and so on.
The 2nd biggest cause of ineffective terror actions is the intelligence and security work that goes into stopping them. The first is the bad luck or lack of organisation and competence of those executing them.
That guy had a problem with gay people and ethnic minorities which is why he put bombs in Brixton, Brick Lane and Soho.
From reports sounds like turnout was significantly down this time. Could be that opposition had intensity advantage over Chavistas? Also, Maduro ain't Chavez, apparently not in same league as campaigner; not that that's dissing, Hugo was in a league of his own.
Seems to me that there is a great deal of resemblance between Hugo Chavez and Huey Long, way beyond the "Hu" factor. Both were idealistic egoists, and visa versa. Both gained, earned, retained the loyalty of people who, until the Kingfish came on the scene, were shut out of the political process AND consigned to be economic victims, at best. In both cases, power corrupted greatly, but never totally.
In the case of Huey Long, after his demise the Long political machine unraveled, as his heirs fell out among themselves, were inept at dealing with the messes he left behind, and lacked his political genius & personal charisma. Yet unravelling was NOT oblivion. Indeed, for over a half century after his death, Long vs Anti-Long remained THE major faultline of Pelican State politics.
Doesn't someone usually try and claim responsibility? Nothing's been heard so far.
Downthread I mentioned the post you made a few days ago about a video release on the internet by Ayman al-Zawahiri. Did you see it?
I would be interested to hear whether Boston and the video release might be connected.
@Andy. 'That guy had a problem with gay people and ethnic minorities which is why he put bombs in Brixton, Brick Lane and Soho."
Well he certainly got his research right.
Still makes them sounder economics than your sums on housing benefit.
Also, NK's National Day too, Kim Il-Sung's birth anniversary.
Anyway, despite the carnage, it seems casualties were light, but thoughts are with all the victims' families, natch.
I taught him everything he knows. You could almost say Osborne owes me his career.
Must say that the incident that occurs to me, was something that happened a year or two ago, in Spokane, Washington. When a cretin with Aryan Nations-type attachments, living in rural Eastern WA, left a homemade bomb on a bus bench just prior to MLK Day parade. Note that large proportion of paraders were elementary & middle school kids. Fortunately, an alert city worker - a garbage man if I recall - noticed a suspicious package and notified police. Turned out to be a pipe bomb filled with home-made schrapnel, positioned so that blast would be directed outward to the street for maximum effect.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2011/1220/Failed-Martin-Luther-King-Day-parade-bomber-gets-32-year-sentence
The bombs sounded pretty loud on the film I saw. I'm no expert but they didn't sound amateurish. Maybe they intended to cause more carnage than they did. More than 50 people are now being reported as injured. That's pretty serious, whoever caused it.
Honestly don't know. My guess regarding Al Zawahiri at the time was something closer to home but he's a glory hunting oul bollocks.
Unless the cops know something we don't all three basic routes of motivation for the attacks remain open.
I finally got round to watching 'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised' today, and although I knew roughly what happened in 2002 it was still shocking to see it with my own eyes. OK, it doesn't justify the semi-authoritarian rule Chavez embarked upon after that, or the suppression of the free media, but it certainly puts it in context. The opposition (and the US government for that matter) reaped exactly what they sowed by disregarding the rule of law, the constitution and democracy.
The House then held a moment of silence for the victims of the explosions."
Hard to know how one would react if confronted with something like that. Just never can tell until it happens. And even then, on on day might run, another might not.
From Natalie Covate, Boston University News Service:
Panicha Imsomboon, a BU journalism graduate student, stood on the final stretch of the Boston Marathon track when she heard a bomb to her left.
“I turned to the first explosion just like everyone did,” she said. “I saw the smoke, probably as high as the buildings there. Just a few seconds after that, I heard another explosion.”
After the second bomb, the crowd began to leave. Imsomboon walked with the crowd for half a block.
“After I stopped walking, a kid, maybe three or four years old, started crying,” she said. “At first, his parents thought he was shocked. Then, they found out that one of his legs was injured.”
The parents were trying to call an ambulance when an ambulance drove past them.
“In the end, the mother carried her boy and ran to find the ambulance,” Imsomboon said.
Imsomboon continued moving with the crowd when a woman with a neck injury walked up beside her.
“She had to lay down on the sidewalk,” Imsomboon said. “The blood was coming out of her neck. A friend of hers tried to hold her hand. All of us, including me, tried to yell at the ambulance because at the time she looked really bad.”
Imsomboon handed the woman a scarf to serve as a bandage.
“I know my scarf might not be clean enough,” Imsomboon said, “but it was the best thing I could find.”
Imsomboon made it safely back to her apartment near Boston University. She has no injuries other than a buzzing in her ears. She was a member of a student team reporting the marathon. She was covering fashion at the finish line of the marathon.
If by "we" you mean the English.
If by "we" you mean the English."
Well, I do hope so. Unlike North Korea, the South doesn't have a president eternal, or an "independent nuclear deterrent". Well worth emulating.
Wouldn't the law of averages suggest that there was more chance someone would have friends and family among the thirty than the two in Boston considering our relationship with Iraq?
http://www.channel4.com/news/boston-marathon-explosions
1. Singapore
2. Incheon (Seoul)
3. Amsterdam Schiphol
4. Hong Kong
5. Beijing
6. Munich
7. Zurich
8. Vancouver
9. Tokyo
10.Heathrow
http://www.worldairportawards.com/Awards_2013/top100.htm
I had a shocking experience at Schiphol a few years ago so I'm not a fan of the place: they put my luggage on a plane and then told me I was too late to board, which is against all the rules.
can't think of a single good thing about Schipol.
Nagoya is really good... maybe better than Narita
for fans of constitutions and parliaments etc
I try to stick to Star Alliance flights these days, the LHR SAS lounge was very nice though. Transfers into town, good. T5 is excellent.
I swore off it a couple of years back after consistent bad experiences;I haven't used it since Oct '11. It's got some good points, but the runway congestion means delays happen far too much.
No way round the fact that the airport is consistently running at capacity. For me that pushes it way out of the top ten.
Watching the video, someone a couple of feet from him just kept running and looked quizzically as the guy fell. Some blast.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzR3HXLevLA
"Multiple simul-explosions is trademark al-Qaeda - FWIW."
Which was not only wrong (simultaneous explosions have long been used by terrorist groups for more effect, for instance the Claudy bombing - it is an obvious approach to take for maximum effect, especially if you only have access to small bombs), but he also mentions only one possible group.
He has no way of knowing, no background knowledge of what was going on. But he was keen to blame the blasts on AQ. He may be right. He's probably wrong. According to Tim, he has a track record of jumping on the AQ-blame bandwagon.
In the meantime, similarly weak-minded people will be looking at Muslims all the more closely, increasing tensions.
He even claimed that accurate speculation could save lives. True, but *his* and *our* speculation on PB has no positive effect. He sounds as if he thinks his inane witterings are in some way inciteful and accurate through knowledge. As if he had a direct hotline to the investigating authorities
He said I should 'unwet my gussets'; sadly, I think his gussets got all too wet at the thought that AQ might have been responsible. SeanT's an entertaining and skilled writer. Sadly, his radar is often way off-target on what to write. Compare with the rather better way Yokel has approached this.
Still, RIP the dead, and I hope the injured recover from their injuries as soon and as fully as possible.