:(

[Camille Eonich]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/04/15/explosion-reported-near-finish-line-boston-marathon-spokesman-says/

[The Trinity Kid]

The thread name pretty much says it all

--TK

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

As much as I am critical of the "modern insecurity state", the obscenity of this attack seems to justify more precautions.

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[DeaconKC]

Sir Charles, maybe you ask the Jews in 1935 Germany, what trusting the government with your Rights leads to.

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

Sir Charles, maybe you ask the Jews in 1935 Germany, what trusting the government with your Rights leads to.

I didn't say I approved of increased "security", but it will lead to "justification". But enjoying a funrun with my kids anytime soon will will be a challenge.

Yes I agree with you, the security apparatus is the greatest threat to democracy. 

[PJ Hardtack]

Bottom line - another successful act of terror, targeting civilians. With minimal resources, they succeeded in getting world wide media attention focused on their attack.
I heard a media report that said the projectiles from the bombs were ball bearings. That suggests "Claymore" mines, or something similar.

Next weekend, the city of Vancouver, BC will be hosting it's annual "Sun Fun Run" with an estimated 50,000+ participants. The Same weekend, the London Marathon will be happening, hot on the heels of the funeral for Margaret Thatcher.
Heightened anxiety will mean elaborate security precautions and a measure of fear and uncertainty. But, to cancel or postpone events adds another measure of success to the attack, and that cannot be allowed.

"In any compromise between good and evil, evil always wins."   Ayn Rand

[Camille Eonich]

Heightened anxiety will mean elaborate security precautions and a measure of fear and uncertainty. But, to cancel or postpone events adds another measure of success to the attack, and that cannot be allowed.

I agree 100%.  I heard the same thing about the ball bearings.

[Trailrider]

From what was reported this morning, the bombs consisted of pressure cookers with ball bearings (and, I suppose the explosives). An Army captain who returned from Afghanistan says this is typical of stuff used to some extent in that theater of ops. The sergeant also interviewed on Fox News said it was similar to Iraq. If they find the purpetrators, I would wish for them to get a fair and speedy trial...and then be hanged immediately from one of the lampposts near the site. Won't happen, of course. But it would sure be nice. And, no, they shouldn't drop the b@s+ards through a trapdoor...they should just hoist them up and let 'em strangle!   

[GunClick Rick]

Well just my humble opinion,But John Kerry just got a new job of head of security,he is out of country right now or was,they been talkin about how much power the blind shake has these days,when Kerry was running for president he made statements like you have to exspect these smaller crimes as a common thing as the war against bigger ones proceed,not quoting here but something to that effect.Kerry lives in Boston i'm pretty sure or did with his wife of the Hienz Ketchup family.To me this is a welcome aboard John on your new job.No more no less,he will probably be in line for president in a couple years,i'd bet on it.

Rich men and thier wars but the innocent are targeted

[PJ Hardtack]

There are going to be any number of theories advanced as this tragedy is forensically analyzed, one of the main questions being - was this an act of domestic or international terrorism?

My gut feeling as an old soldier is that it was the work of amateurs. A professional would have timed the first explosion when there were more people near the finish line, and the second explosion to detonate in the same vicinity, minutes after the first. That would have taken out the first responders who rushed in to aid victims of the first.

During the fighting in Sarajevo, a group of teens were congregating outside the Canadian compound on a Sunday morning. A mortar bomb landed in the middle of them and Canadian soldiers immediately responded, against protocol for the above mentioned reason.

The Canadian CO, Major-General Louis Mackenzie was one of them. Despite the risk of a second incoming bomb, they felt it was the 'right thing to do' and they responded automatically. Whoever fired the mortar, probably didn't want to kill or injure members of the ISAF, but the Canadians didn't know that.

After returning to Canada, Maj.-Gen Mackenzie suffered a PTSD reaction. While picking up his Sunday morning paper from his doorstep, he saw a group of Canadian teens on the street and it triggered the memory. His wife found him sobbing on the doorstep. He went public with it, opening the door for his soldiers to get needed counselling following their deployment.

God comfort those who grieve and mourn and God bring those who commit such crimes to justice. Amen.

[PJ Hardtack]

People have found a way to bounce back and lessen the pain of the Boston Marathon.

The London Marathon has come up with a "HANDS OVER HEARTS" theme, asking all runners who cross the finish line to do so with hands over their hearts in memory of the victims. This is likely to become a common gesture at other events.

Organizers of the poplar Vancouver "Fun Run" report an INCREASE in the number of registrations. Numbers are expected to be a record high over the usual 50,000+.

Other memorial gestures are happening as well.

Far from weakening resolve and instilling fear, the net result has been a resurgence of defiance, strength and hope. The human spirit is greater than the worst act of political terror.

[RattlesnakeJack]

MY wife flies out tomorrow with two friends for a five day visit to Boston.

One of them was concerned about the "danger" of going there now, but her husband (a retired military policeman) assured her that, like it or not, the security in and around Boston will be unsurpassed!   

[GunClick Rick]

Id rather see hands over the battleship,with that new lazer they have! BBBZZZZZZ ~~~--->    P**F

[PJ Hardtack]

Some of the greatest acts of terror have been committed without the use of conventional firepower - the bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem by the Irgun,  the Murragh(?) Building in Oklahoma, the WTC and most recently Boston. The idea behind such attacks is to instill fear and deliver the message that "We can hurt you anywhere and there is nothing you can do about it."

Not to forget the THOUSANDS of deaths and injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan accomplished with IED's.

I first became aware of the term "plastique" during the days of the Algerian revolution that cause France to divest herself of her North African colonies. "Plastique" (Semtex) was used as a weapon of terror in bars and restaurants frequented by French soldiers and nationals.
The IRA picked up on this and it spread to Northern Ireland, where it was effectively employed. It can generate the political will to make change, but it generally just gets people's backs up.