US 3 people dead, over 280 injured from explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon

Because the Boston Marathon is an elite race that requires sub-4-hour qualification standards for most age groups, many of the runners were already finished by the time the explosions occurred. At another marathon, the number of causalities and seriously injured likely would have been much greater.
 
Spang said:
Because the Boston Marathon is an elite race that requires sub-4-hour qualification standards for most age groups, many of the runners were already finished by the time the explosions occurred. At another marathon, the number of causalities and seriously injured likely would have been much greater.
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Absolutely true. I had a friend who came in third at the Boston marathon--in 1980. :D
 
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Scorpius said:
:hmm:
I'm sorry, but that sounds pretty ridiculous to me. People are always so quick to point fingers at the Middle East, IMHO.
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I think if it had been Al-Qaeda, it would have happened on a much larger scale and been more successful. It was probably a domestic group of people who sympathized with some terrorist group and were trying to show their allegiance, or a bunch of crazy conspiracy theorists trying to bring attention to some imagined conspiracy.
 
No one has claimed responsibility yet, which seems strange if it were islamists. Also the home-made nature of the bombs indicates it's not someone with connections to powerful and experienced terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda. I'm reading that yesterday was Patriot's Day and also the deadline for turning in your self assessments in the US... that seems to point towards a "home-grown" terrorist with a grudge against the government, the IRS ... and marathons ...
 
Indian Summer said:
No one has claimed responsibility yet, which seems strange if it were islamists. Also the home-made nature of the bombs indicates it's not someone with connections to powerful and experienced terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda. I'm reading that yesterday was Patriot's Day and also the deadline for turning in your self assessments in the US... that seems to point towards a "home-grown" terrorist with a grudge against the government, the IRS ... and marathons ...
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I agree completely.
 
yally said:
It's crossed my mind that marathons would be a perfect target for this kind of thing at races, but brushed it off because the whole thing is such an incredible celebration. I didn't think anyone would actually do that.
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Then again, any large gathering where there will be news is going to be a good target.

And the news isn't a requirement either - just look at OKC or 9/11 - neither of which attacked targets which were drawing an undue amount of media attention.

Sooner or later we're going to have to realize that attacks like these cannot be prevented through security - all we'd be doing is exchanging one target for another. More security at a marathon? Then the attack will be somewhere else.
 
Indian Summer said:
No one has claimed responsibility yet, which seems strange if it were islamists. Also the home-made nature of the bombs indicates it's not someone with connections to powerful and experienced terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda. I'm reading that yesterday was Patriot's Day and also the deadline for turning in your self assessments in the US... that seems to point towards a "home-grown" terrorist with a grudge against the government, the IRS ... and marathons ...
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It is early to speculate, imo. The AP report above says:
"If a pressure cooker was used, it probably cost around $100 to construct, say former federal forensic and explosive investigators. It's like a pipe bomb but bigger and more powerful.

Pressure cooker bombs are more often used in Afghanistan, Pakistan India, and Nepal - where the pots are more commonly used for cooking. But they have also been prominent in bombings and attempts in the United States, especially in New York in Times Square in 2010 and Grand Central Terminal in 1976.

In Al Qaeda's online magazine, there's even an article titled: "Make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom" by "The AQ Chef." It mentions, even recommends, pressure cookers, noting that weak explosives only work with the high pressure of a cooker or sealed pipe."
 
Ansciess said:
What I don't understand is why various groups don't claim responsibility, even if they didn't do it. All of the credit, none of the work.
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Yes, I too have been surprised that no one has claimed they did it, whether or not true.
 
Ansciess said:
What I don't understand is why various groups don't claim responsibility, even if they didn't do it. All of the credit, none of the work.
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If they claim responsibility, but didn't do it, then they will look pretty stupid once the real terrorist is found. That sort of thing would probably not be something Al-Qaeda wants to do.

One possibility is it was a one-man (or one-woman!) operation, but they got injured by the explosions and is currentlty in hospital. Another possibility is that they have claimed responsibility, but the message is currently lost in all the noise from "information" sent to the police by every loon and his grandmother. Al-Qaeda has established channels that the police and media can "trust", but smaller groups and one-man operations don't have this.
 
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Dedalus said:
Per CNN - an arrest has been made.


Edit: ...or not just yet, they seem to be retracting that now.
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There have been so many conflicting reports and retractions the past few days. It's so confusing. The new development stories keep changing every few hours.
I'm not going to believe anything until there is an official press conference confirming it and the President addresses it as well.
 
GingerFoxx said:
Quality isn't the best, but the message is great. As a New England native, I can vouch for the fact that we are tougher than folks may give us credit for.
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Ayup. I'm a Connecticut native and have a ton of my mom's family in the Boston area. My nephew in university there lives a few minutes walk from the blast site; he said he was lucky he was working during the race, but when he and his coworkers heard what happened, they went to the hospital to donate blood. Everyone wanted to do something.
 
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Beautifully done by Colbert, as always.

And having lived in the Boston area for three years, I concur - those people are tough; they persevere.
 
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