“I saw people with their limbs blown off” John Tlumaki, Boston Globe.
What a terrible, terrible tragedy, my heart goes out to the people of Boston today.
Boston bombing
“I saw people with their limbs blown off” John Tlumaki, Boston Globe.
What a terrible, terrible tragedy, my heart goes out to the people of Boston today.
Boadicea's Chariot 
As a frequent participant and spectator at sporting events I simply cannot imagine the horror of people dying, losing legs, feet or any other injury while simply watching or taking part
G’morgen, Soutie. Horrible.
No suspects as yet, but no prizes for guessing.
Grim.
Amen to those sentiments, Soutie.
OZ
I assume they were suicide bombers so no point hoping they catch the scum responsible, the only way they could do that no is with a sieve.
This is terrible news and so vivid over the www. I’m not sure the modern digital era is such a good thing when it comes to footage like that.
I’ll spare a furry thought for all those Bostonians and visitors caught up in this awful tragedy.
While echoing your sentiments and without in any way wishing to detract from the feelings of horror and disgust we all feel, this event rather goes to show, in my view anyway, the futility of those rigorous security procedures at airports and other politically sensitive areas. The opportunities to commit acts of terrorism are everywhere. If they want to get us, they will. I doubt very much that it was ‘luck’ that accounted for so ‘few’ casualties. With 25,000 competitors and hundreds of thousands of spectators, the numbers could have been far greater. I suspect the perpetrator(s) timed it to have fewer casualties than might otherwise have occurred. Of course that is only my, unqualified view.
I am glad that Lady Thatcher’s funeral and the London Marathon will both continue as planned, albeit with heightened awareness and no doubt, a great deal of unease. America is experiencing what the UK, London in particular, went through with the IRA campaigns of the 70s, 80s and 90s. It is perhaps ironic that Boston featured both in 9/11 and in yesterday’s events.
Margaret Thatcher’s speech and behaviour following the Brighton bombing demonstrate the stoicism that is essential in dealing with those who seek to distabalise society by such means.
Albeit being firmly opposed to the death penalty, I find it very hard to maintain that opinion when faced with this mindless, impersonal act of terrorism.
It didn’t kill that many because no high grade explosives were used. It maimed because ball bearings were used in a very crude bomb.
I retract my #3, I suspect that it will be found to be a local nutter not the usual suspects, I would have thought they had better bomb making skills.
It seems such a peculiar event to target.
At the risk of striking a discordant note here and I know most of it was thirty or more years ago, I do hope that after this the fair burghers of Boston will think twice next time the boyos from Noraid come into the bars of Boston rattling their collection tins. These emerald-tinted donations killed three-year-old Johnathan Ball and twelve-year-old Tim Parry, in Warrington not ten miles from where I was living at the time (and many other people elsewhere before and since in other atrocities.)
The effers also bombed the Baltic Exchange when I was working in the City and then Canary Wharf when I was working there too. I was beginning to take it personally!
I know not nor care whether the perpetrators of the Boston bombing turn out to be dusky or redneck. It ain’t right.
OZ
Hmm, I suspect you may be right with your retraction, Tina. Statistics are on your side, as is the evidence, what little we have. We shall see.
Frankly, it’s distressing to watch this carnage as it happened, and my sympathies are with the victims and their families.
OZ, I agree with you. “It ain’t right”, and I’m not sure the victims who are dead or maimed or their families will feel in any way comforted by the idealogical or otherwise motives of the perpetrators of this slaughter.
I’m not.
Massachusetts however does not have the death penalty.
AlJazeera yesterday reported that hospitals had performed 25-30 amputations. How about that once they catch the perpetrators they cut their legs off?
No, even better, blow them off!
That bomb was local.
I suspect a right wing patriot group. They picked Patriot Day, a bank holiday only in Massachusetts I believe, they picked the marathon because they couldn’t get into the arena for the game, too well guarded.
They did it this week to protest because the gun control measures being taken through Congress this week to which they have a great objection.
Nothing to do with the Irish or the ragheads.
Let’s see if I’m right in due course.
I agree with Soutie, somewhat ironic that Massachusetts does not have the death penalty.
Christina, in a way I hope you are right. Then Maggie’s funeral and the London marathon will not be next.
I take your point Oz about ‘the boyos from Noraid’ – although, as I understand it the ’emerald-tinted donations ‘ declined rapidly after 9/11 when America was shown the horror of terrorism first hand.
I suspect you are right, Christina. A local nutter. It don’t suppose it’s much consolation to the victims to know that there are people with such a disregard for their fellow humans living in their midst.
Re#12.
Lost that bet! A couple of nutter Chechens getting religion! Talk about biting the hand that feeds you!
Lot to be said for leaving so called refugees right where they are.
Morning Mrs O, it appears that you were right 1st time (re your #3)
But what about the power of the internet? Forget about these APB’s we hear about in films or BOLA’s (a new one on me) stick their faces on the internet!
Quite soutie! From what I can make out from the media there was only about 4 hours between the FBI posting those faces up and the running shoot out between MIT and Waterstone where the elder brother was killed (Riddled evidently) So they identified them THAT quickly and found them.
The only snag that before that, two completely innocent guys had been plasterer all over a newspaper in NY I think. Very fortunate someone didn’t shoot them before declared of no interest.
So it appears the social media is a double edged sword.
I still blame the parents. 😦
Am I alone in thinking that the reaction to his capture and even the lengths that Boston’s finest went to catch him were somewhat excessive? A city of 4.5 million people was reduced to a quivering jelly because a dysfunctional teenager was on the loose. I have just watched a segment on CNN describing how the authorities closed down the city, including schools, businesses, shops, restaurants, stations, airports the streets while people were told to stay in doors. Well done, they caught him, but at what cost the budget and sanity of the people.
Sipu: Boston is also the financial and commercial centre of New England, one of the USA’s wealthiest regions. I agree with you, by the way. It is utterly and unbelievably excessive. They could have set up check points throughout the city and secure the roads into and out of Boston, but shutting the city down was absurd. That’s the new America for you, though. One man made the mistake of putting his rucksack down and taking a few steps away to take in a better view and found himself swarmed by the police.
Listening to and reading reports of the elder brothers demise, it appears to me that he probably committed suicide by PD (police department) breaking cover and simply walking towards the officers firing till he ran out of ammunition.
Sipu you’re not alone, just goes to show how our elected officials and public servants can ‘shut us down’ whenever they want!
To be fair – the US authorities were damned if they did and damned if they didn’t. The notorious double bind.
There are some seriously unanswered questions in my mind.
1. Subsequent to the FBI exhibiting pictures of the malefactors, there appears to be no evidence that the wife and/or family of the elder bomber’s wife, a white supposedly anglo saxon style respectable middle class family, phoned him in to the FBI. Surely they recognised their own husband/son in law? It was blanket coverage on the media here, one could not have missed it. If not, why have they not been charged with obstruction or whatever? Most peculiar in my book.
2. The Russians warned the FBI more than once about this guy, they interviewed him more than once and even after 7 months in Russia he still managed to slip off their radar? C’mon!!!
That has all gone deadly silent. Another 9/11??? Begins to look as if the whole thing could have been stopped before it even started.
3. This Chechen family goes from Chechnya to Kyrgyzstan to Dagestan to the USA, where they are given ‘refugee’ status. Within a few years they return voluntarily to the country from which they ‘fled in peril of their lives’!! Oh yea?! The elder son was a resident alien, I presume the parents were the same otherwise they would have had no right of residency back in Dagestan. Only the younger son naturalised.
A right of residency is that you must not stay longer than one year abroad without returning to the continental USA, this I know as a fact as I am one and they appear to be rather hot on it if you are white anglo saxon and a legitimate tax payer! The status is revoked PDQ!
How come the parents still seem to be able to come here over the death of their son as they have been in Dagestan longer than one year?
How come the elder was not asked to leave with the parents as he had no means of support here in the USA as a college dropout? He was estranged from the USA citizen to whom he was married, she had returned to her parent’s home. Another condition being that you cannot be a drain on the public purse, what was supporting him?
It appears there is one set of rules for people such as myself and another for any bleeding heart raghead immigrant who happens to be muslim here. That is all right then, just the same as the UK!!!
It strikes me that the USA has the greatest problem psychologically with immigrants who choose to bite the hand that feeds them. The concept of ‘vipers in the breast’ is so far beyond their vision of grateful immigrants fervently singing the Star Spangled Banner there is a total collective denial of there being a reservoir of such people within the USA. How many times will it have to happen before they DO something, ANYTHING to stop these people coming in in the first place?
Just like the UK govt who would rather see their own blown to pieces rather than be considered prejudiced/racist or bigoted against the psychotic islamofascist Trojan horse in their own backyard.
Wonderful, just bloody wonderful.