News Explosion reported near Boston Marathon finish line

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Two explosions occurred near the Boston Marathon finish line, resulting in at least two deaths and over 100 injuries, including many critical cases. Witnesses reported severe injuries, with some victims losing limbs, and the area was evacuated. A third explosion was initially reported at the JFK Library, but later deemed a normal fire. Authorities have identified a suspect, a Saudi national, who is currently under guard at a hospital. Investigators recovered bomb components, indicating the devices were pressure cookers packed with shrapnel.
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  • #94
Boston suspect's web page venerates Islam, Chechen independence

(Reuters) - Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev posted links to Islamic websites and others calling for Chechen independence on what appears to be his page on a Russian language social networking site.

http://news.yahoo.com/boston-suspects-page-venerates-islam-chechen-independence-130738093.html
 
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  • #95
#WANTED: Police seeking MA Plate: 316-ES9, ’99 Honda CRV, Color - Gray. Possible suspect car. Do not approach.
NPR just described a '99 Honda Civic 4DR, MA: 116 GC7

The story keeps changing. :rolleyes:

As someone said - the situation is fluid.
 
  • #96
Evo said:
http://news.yahoo.com/boston-suspects-page-venerates-islam-chechen-independence-130738093.html


Wasn't their family also granted political asylum here?
 
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  • #97
aquitaine said:
Wasn't their family also granted political asylum here?
I believe.

What I'm thinking is that he got his bomb instructions from contacts from these sites and that the FBI will be scrutinizing any visitor to those sites, could expose a terrorist cell, IMO.
 
  • #98
Evo said:
I believe.

What I'm thinking is that he got his bomb instructions from contacts from these sites and that the FBI will be scrutinizing any visitor to those sites, could expose a terrorist cell, IMO.


So we give them safe refuge and the chance to make something of themselves, and they repay us by attempting to kill a huge number of people, unarmed civilians no less. No good deed goes unpunished?
 
  • #99
Motives.

What motivated the brothers?

Each of them has left possible clues online.
Tamerlan, who was killed in a shootout earlier today, appears to have been sympathetic to Islamist radicalism. Five months ago he appears to have created a channel on YouTube called “Terrorists.” The channel features videos from the one of the leaders of the insurgency in Dagestan who goes by the name Amir Abu Dudzhan. YouTube appears to have removed two of the videos but in a third features Dudzhan calling for jihad. Holding a Kalashnikov rifle, he says, “Jihad is the duty of every able-bodied Muslim.” Among the other videos on his channel is one of Timur Mutsuraev, the bard of the Chechen resistance in the 1990s; it features his song, “We will devote our lives to jihad.”

http://news.yahoo.com/brothers-tsarnaev-clues-motives-alleged-boston-bombers-162101446.html

Still makes no sense to me, it appears to be an act of insanity.
 
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  • #100
Since when was religious extremism logical?
 
  • #101
aquitaine said:
So we give them safe refuge and the chance to make something of themselves, and they repay us by attempting to kill a huge number of people, unarmed civilians no less. No good deed goes unpunished?

That's a terrible thing to say. No need to implicate everyone who comes here for asylum just because of some stupid kids.

Look at how angry their uncle is, and afraid. I'm sure right now he's really afraid of people like you coming after him.
 
  • #102
Ben Niehoff said:
That's a terrible thing to say. No need to implicate everyone who comes here for asylum just because of some stupid kids.

Look at how angry their uncle is, and afraid. I'm sure right now he's really afraid of people like you coming after him.
I never did. I was pointing out how we did something to help the brothers, and instead of repaying this act of kindness by being productive citizens, they repay it with an act of barbarism. At no point did I say all asylum seekers were like this.
 
  • #103
http://www.bloomberg.com/video/boston-bombing-suspects-aunt-speaks-in-toronto-_SRsGGubRw2qYXKS~3CDzQ.html

Video of Aunt claiming it's a set up.
 
  • #104
MarneMath said:
http://www.bloomberg.com/video/boston-bombing-suspects-aunt-speaks-in-toronto-_SRsGGubRw2qYXKS~3CDzQ.html

Video of Aunt claiming it's a set up.

The father is also claiming the boys were framed.
 
  • #105
Greg Bernhardt said:
The father is also claiming the boys were framed.
I guess the father and aunt don't realize the FBI have actual footage of the two placing the bombs that exploded that they haven't released to the public and that poor guy that had his legs blown off gave a description of one of them that set the bomb down.

Minutes before the bombs blew up in Boston, Jeff Bauman looked into the eyes of the man who tried to kill him.

Just before 3 p.m. on April 15, Bauman was waiting among the crowd for his girlfriend to cross the finish line at the Boston Marathon. A man wearing a cap, sunglasses and a black jacket over a hooded sweatshirt looked at Jeff, 27, and dropped a bag at his feet, his brother, Chris Bauman, said in an interview.
Two and a half minutes later, the bag exploded, tearing Jeff’s legs apart. A picture of him in a wheelchair, bloodied and ashen, was broadcast around the world as he was rushed to Boston Medical Center. He lost both legs below the knee.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-...n-iconic-photo-helped-identify-attackers.html
 
  • #107
aquitaine said:
So we give them safe refuge and the chance to make something of themselves, and they repay us by attempting to kill a huge number of people, unarmed civilians no less. No good deed goes unpunished?

I think that's a very narrow view to have on the event. I'm not attempting to justify their actions, but if you believe someone who came here on political asylum (and probably by their parents action) that they should only feel gratitude lacks empathy. Moving to a foreign country, not relating well to the new culture, struggling in some form (perhaps school since one of the brothers apparently withdrew from university) can easily cause a person to look back at where they came from with nostalgia . Perhaps in this process, the person became more involved with research involving radical Chechen and felt by carrying out jihad would be one way to connect.

I know from my personal experience, it wasn't until after I left my native country that I only began to appreciate it's unique culture and history and yearned to learn more about it.
 
  • #108
MarneMath said:
I think that's a very narrow view to have on the event. I'm not attempting to justify their actions, but if you believe someone who came here on political asylum (and probably by their parents action) that they should only feel gratitude lacks empathy. Moving to a foreign country, not relating well to the new culture, struggling in some form (perhaps school since one of the brothers apparently withdrew from university) can easily cause a person to look back at where they came from with nostalgia . Perhaps in this process, the person became more involved with research involving radical Chechen and felt by carrying out jihad would be one way to connect.

I know from my personal experience, it wasn't until after I left my native country that I only began to appreciate it's unique culture and history and yearned to learn more about it.

I can see that kind of thing happening maybe for the older brother. He had trouble making friends and has been described as a loner. But I don't understand why the younger guy did it - he was gregarious and well-liked.
 
  • #109
It isn't uncommon for people to seem one way and feel differently in the inside. I once had a soldier who committed suicide one day. In his note, he wrote about how alone and misunderstood he felt. How he never felt he could meet the standards put in front of him and how in the end he has felt he was just a failure and let his family down. The day before he committed suicide, I told my boss that this guy is probably one of the best soldiers I have ever had, clearly highly motivated, well loved by his peers, appreciated by his subordinates, and should be granted his request. Some people are just better at hiding inner demons than others.
 
  • #110
They got him. Boston Police tweet he's in custody.
 
  • #111
  • #112
Astronuc said:
Reports on NPR and other news organizations indicate that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been taken into custody within the last 20 minutes.

Confirmed by Boston Police Dept.

Yay!

Back to "Where's the landmark" thread. :smile:
 
  • #113
If the younger brother is alive and in custody, perhaps we can find out the brothers were part of a larger cell bent on terror.
 
  • #114
I personally don't think they were.

There were quite a few videos online of the older brother discussing his beliefs so to speak. From what I've pieced together it seems as though he's been pretty hot into anti-American discussions over the last 5 years and so far (this is speculative on my part) it seems like he's probably brought his brother along for the ride.

The instructions for the bombs they made are available all over the internet, on sites including youtube. They also didn't seem to have an exit strategy planned, and other bombs made.. so either their exit plan fell through or they planned to place more bombs, which I suspect is what they were doing at the university when they ran a foul, shot the cop and robbed the 7/11.
 
  • #115
With their pictures all over the internet, why would they rob a 7-11? Obviously, they did, but that's just begging to be caught. But instead they killed an officer while trying to escape, so, did they not want to get caught? Are they just two of the dumbest terrorists ever? I just watched a major news channel describe them as "two idiots". That seems to sum them up.
 
  • #116
It looks like the younger brother had gone right back to classes on Tuesday as though nothing happened. I don't think they had an exit strategy at all, and were surprised at how fast the FBI figured them out. My guess is they didn't start trying to escape until their faces were published...and then they made this desperate, half-baked attempt to hijack an SUV and get out. Everything they did starting yesterday was highly irrational (i.e., attracting extra attention to themselves by robbing a 7/11 and shooting a cop), and probably motivated by fear.
 
  • #117
encorp said:
I personally don't think they were.

There were quite a few videos online of the older brother discussing his beliefs so to speak. From what I've pieced together it seems as though he's been pretty hot into anti-American discussions over the last 5 years and so far (this is speculative on my part) it seems like he's probably brought his brother along for the ride.

The instructions for the bombs they made are available all over the internet, on sites including youtube. They also didn't seem to have an exit strategy planned, and other bombs made.. so either their exit plan fell through or they planned to place more bombs, which I suspect is what they were doing at the university when they ran a foul, shot the cop and robbed the 7/11.

Which kind of confirms, what my friend from Hyderabad said, when I compared this to the Mumbai bombing, today.

Om's friend said:
They are young, naive people. There was probably an older person involved, with many ideas, who influenced them.
 
  • #118
I don't buy the hype either, all his family and friends saying Djohar was a sweet, kind kid. Outwardly he may have been, but his twitter account is full of misogynistic comments. Reports from his friends seemed to indicate none of them actually met his older brother ever either. So I'm curious about that relationship, as the same friends have reported they were never invited INTO his home.. always kept at the corner of his street.

I've also looked around at videos and online activity for the older brother and it seems for at least a few years he'd been, at the very least, linking jihadist videos on various forums/youtube. There's even a video of the one guy (I think it's the younger one, but it's hard to tell) discussing similar things, but the only indication I had was from the comments section, which is now disabled.

fwiw, it's here:
 
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  • #119
Evo said:
With their pictures all over the internet, why would they rob a 7-11? Obviously, they did, but that's just begging to be caught. But instead they killed an officer while trying to escape, so, did they not want to get caught? Are they just two of the dumbest terrorists ever? I just watched a major news channel describe them as "two idiots". That seems to sum them up.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/19/us/boston-area-violence/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Initially, authorities said the brothers started their rampage by robbing a convenience store. By late Friday, the Middlesex District Attorney's office backtracked on the allegation, saying an investigation determined that the robbery at a 7-Eleven was unrelated.

Just to clarify.
 
  • #120
MarneMath said:
I think that's a very narrow view to have on the event. I'm not attempting to justify their actions, but if you believe someone who came here on political asylum (and probably by their parents action) that they should only feel gratitude lacks empathy. Moving to a foreign country, not relating well to the new culture, struggling in some form (perhaps school since one of the brothers apparently withdrew from university) can easily cause a person to look back at where they came from with nostalgia . Perhaps in this process, the person became more involved with research involving radical Chechen and felt by carrying out jihad would be one way to connect.

I know from my personal experience, it wasn't until after I left my native country that I only began to appreciate it's unique culture and history and yearned to learn more about it.


I actually have lived overseas for some time so I get it. I came to understand just why is it the non-Western world is so different, which I discussed at length in this post. But I also saw how third world economies tended to operate and I saw that contrary to what the narrative tends to be, the US is still very much the land of opportunity. Given the state of the Caususes and central Asia, can you honestly say he would have had more opportunities there than here?

And even if what you said is true, it still doesn't take into account the fact that if he was really so interested in Chechen independence why attack a bunch of Americans? Why not go after the Russians some how? I think you're underestimating the corrupting influence Islamism really has. It is a hostile ideology that can and will poison people's minds. Most Islamic terrorists come from well educated middle class backgrounds. The elder brother would certainly seem to be the exception in that regard.
 

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