OT - Explosion at the Boston Marathon
Two explosions are being reported at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Various reports indicate that "dozens" are injured.
Photos available here and here (WARNING: some are graphic, all are sad) on the internet but don't go look at them. Not sure what I was thinking.
Mod edit: No way are we having this embedded. This is the link for those that want it. JGB.
seriously? i would have thought that something CNN has been airing over and over for the past hour would have passed the censorship test.
You're on a private board and we aren't having a video embedded that reportedly includes deaths and obviously includes many horrific injuries.
On the spot new MGoRule since apparently it's needed: embedded videos of bomb blasts causing death and grievous bodily injury are not acceptable to post, ever.
That CNN's editorial policies do not override those of MGoBlog. They report on politics. They partner with Bleacher Report. And they show videos of horrific bomb blasts that kill people.
Shut the fuck up
Sadly, I expect more bombings like this. They can't get the big explosions so they go for soft, easy targets. This isn't going to be the last such bombing.
10 patients with blown off limbs as of now at MA General (or whatever the main Boston hospital downtown is)...
More are on the way...
(per Doctor at hospital...per Shep on FoxNews)
Bomb squad detonated another one. They're searching all trash cans.
Not trying to be a jerk just want some solid info where I have family in Boston
I'm listening to a live feed of the Boston Fire Department radio. It's all happening really fast so there's not reporting going on other than what I can hear.
http://www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/497/web
How do you possibly stop something like this?
probably can't.
More facts need to come out before it can be determined what this was and how/if it could have been stopped. Is it domestic terrorsim directed toward certain policy, is it senseless and random (Columbine/Sandy Hook), it the agenda foreign policy. Of all events, the Boston Marathon seems a little random, but I guess there really is no secuirty to speak of like an arena-indoor event.
You bring in a ton of police and make a big show of security at all big events. Terrorists generally go for "soft" targets where they can easily gain entrance.
Unfortunately, this probably means we're all going to have to deal with more restrictions on what can be brought into sporting events, and longer lines to get in.
That wouldn't actually solve anything. Sure, attacks on the actual sporting event would be less likely, but then the huge lines at security become easy targets. "Even more security" isn't a solution to something that can't be stopped.
That problem is solved by putting some of the security outside where the lines are. Terrorists, as a rule, do not go where policemen are. They don't want to risk getting caught.
So I say "Even more security isn't a solution" and you propose to fix that by... even more security?
I'm sorry, I was unaware that you were some kind of soothsayer. You're actlng like your opinion is fact.
Stricter security measures almost certainly do deter terrorists. This is evidenced by the fact that they consistently strike in areas that are lightly guarded. The question is how much of a sacrifice we're willing to make to our personal freedoms to allow for that security.
My poin is that even more security to protect the huge lines is just goint to lead to more huge lines waiting to get through that layer of security. How are we going to protect them, even more security?
Your last part is getting at the main point of my first post though. Since we'll never be able to completely stop something like this, adding even more security accomplishes nothing but taking away personal freedom for security theater. Which is why is bothers me to see people jumping on something like this as an excuse to add even more security when we're never going to be secure until we've given all our freedom away.
Most people - most of the time - are unwilling to kill themselves or others for a political or religious cause.
My sister in law was signed up and on her way to qualifying for this Boston Marathon until a bicycle accident put her marathon running on hold last year. I can't even imagine if she had been there. Running a marathon like that is an almost spiritual thing to a lot of runners, and now this memory will now be etched into them, mentally, emotionally, and in some unfortunate cases, physically.
There are some damn sick people in this world. I can't even begin to fathom what disease of the mind coupled with pure hatred lives inside of someone who would do such a thing. My condolences to anyone affected.
I really hope this has been cancelled. No way any large crowd should be allowed to form right now in lieu of these events.
That game was earlier today - I do think the Bruins are supposed to play at home tonight though, and I agree with your thinking. Thoughts and prayers to those in Boston.
The Bruins announced that they "postponed" the game tonight.
Also: Please donate blood. It is always needed. It probably will not help this specific event, but the need is always great.
Their game starts at 11 a.m. on Patriots Day. They won 3-2.
Doesn't it have to be? What else would it be? Any attempt to inspire terror in people is terrorism, right?
Doesn't matter if they are Muslim, white, black, or rainbow. Terrorism is colorblind.
I would imagine (some) people meant whether or not it was some kind of accident, like a gas leak or pipe explosion or something.
Yes, it does have to be. Today is Patriots day. That would be one heck of a coincidence.
Is that whether the "cause" is right, left, foreign, domestic, or just insane, the act of planting bombs at the Boston Marathon is by definition "terrorism."
Praying for the victims and families, and all first responders who have to see things no human should. Also praying for the capture of the cowards who would do something like this.
UPDATE: Intelligence official: 2 more explosive devices found at Boston Marathon; being dismantled - @AP
Daily Mail is now reporting 12 dead and up to 60 injured. This is horrible.
Officials: There will be a controlled explosion opposite the library within one minute as part of bomb squad activities.
— Boston.com News (@BostonDotCom) April 15, 2013
That's been up for a while FWIW.
Mother of god (Warning: extremely graphic picture. NSFW goes without saying)
[ED:BISB - Come Fucking On, man. Deleted for the most obvious reasons ever]
Don't post this stuff. People are going to click on it regardless of your warning and then going to wish they hadn't.
fair, but replying locks my ability to remove it
How that could possibly seem like a good idea is beyond me.
Please people, these are real human beings. Flesh and blood and bone. They have families who are worried. Some of them will never another day. Use discretion.
at the JFK library, confirmed by Boston police.
EDIT: reported fire at the library, but no injuries.
EDIT: "BPD Commissioner Ed Davis says the blast at the JFK Library, which was announced as an unrelated electrical explosion, was actually an explosion that could be related to the explosions on Boylston Street."
I made the mistake of looking at some of the photos too....this is just awful. What in blazes is wrong with humans? Thoughts and good vibes to the injured, their families and the city of Boston this evening.
A longtime friend of mine (and co-worker) was running today, and he has fortunately responded to my phone message. My boss' daughter works not terribly far from there as well - we cut the staff meeting this afternoon short so she could check on her daughter's family.
I suppose we're hardwired to respond differently to intentional acts than we are to accidents, but I think it's good to imagine our response to a car accident that killed two and injured twenty-something (or whatever the final numbers are) as we respond to this. We as a society only become victims of terrorism when we allow ourselves to be changed by terror itself.
I'm not sure I agree. To view this in the same way as an accident is to banalise the act, and imply that we are powerless to prevent these acts. I don't think people should overreact and live in fear after this, but they shouldn't just throw up their hands and conclude that there was no stopping these assholes.