2 explosions at Boston Marathon finish line

[supthecreek]

They may have the Snake cornered in this block in Watertown Ma

Between Quimby, Willow Park and Nichols Ave

[NoSaltSuper]

The older brother was shot dead, in many ways that is good news. But, wonder what we could have learned from him. Still, it's good that he's gone.

Younger brother still at large, I'm guessing he won't be taken alive either.

Sad news that an MIT officer was killed and another gravely wounded.

Both of these guys are Muslims from Chechnya. Imagine that, Muslims killing innocent people.

Want to take any bets on how little emphasis CNN and other mainstream media will put on them being Muslim and how much emphasis they put on being Chechnyan? Will our president even mention anything about their religion?

We are at war with radical Islam, until we admit that and confront it, we will continue to be slaughtered by their radicalized followers.

It's still early and maybe we'll learn more about their motives, maybe it isn't just their warped religious beliefs, but I'm not holding my breath.

I'm also hoping that no more innocent people are murdered by the last remaining terrorist.

[PDLSFR]

Here's a picture my friend sent outside her window....she's terrified

[supthecreek]

Because of the size of the event, many, many people have a close connection to this horror.

I just got off the phone with each of my daughters, both of them go to the same college in Boston.

My younger daughter had made plans to go to the marathon with her friends, but her boyfriend decided to visit, so she stayed on campus with him. Good decision. I am very thankful for that twist of fate.

Her friends were in the back of the T-shirt right next to the candy store where the bomb exploded.

The front of the T-shirt store in blew in and they saw a girl in the front of the store get blown to the back of the store near them. They were rushed out of the back of the store by employees. They ran, having no idea where they were going. They found some locals who told them how to get out of the area. They grabbed a cab back to school. Later they went to the hospital because of bad headaches they got from the blast concussion. At least one of them had some traumatic episode last night as the gunfight was being reported. They will have some big issues that will stem from this.

My daughter's school is just outside the lockdown area, so they went to classes today. They said there were not many kids in class.

They seem to be handling the whole thing very well. They are strong secure kids. I will be keeping in close contact with them as all this sinks in.

I will have to do something special for her boyfriend. Very special.

My older daughter helps a soldier that suffers from PTSD after his time in the war zone. She tutors him in several subjects at her college.. He was right near the blast. Not good for a guy that suffers severe PTSD. That was a very sad twist of fate.

Many lives affected. Life has many challenges and many joys.... seek the joy, live well every day. Peace my friends.

[stoneaxe]

Broadcastify police scanner feeds are overloaded so many listening in online. Can't get connected.

[TN_SUP]

Uh, Muslims are fighting the war against radical Muslims. I don't see us declaring war on radical Christians either.

[Beasho]

Uh, Muslims are fighting the war against radical Muslims. I don't see us declaring war on radical Christians either.

Just read The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins.  This book reads like a roadmap for what happened.  It is as good as explaining these historical tensions as Boomerang (Michael Lewis) was at explaining what has happened, and likely will happen, with the European financial crisis.

Whether religious or not I would recommend it:

"Christianity, just as much as Islam, teaches children that unquestioned faith is a virtue.  You don’t have to make a case for what you believe.  If somebody announces that it is part of his faith, the rest of society, whether of the same faith, or another, or of none, is obliged, by ingrained custom, to ‘respect’ it with-out question; respect it until the day it manifests itself in a horrible massacre like the destruction of the World Trade Center, or the London or Madrid bombings.  Then there is a great chorus of disownings, as clerics and ‘community leaders’ (who elected them, by the way?) line up to explain that this extremism is a perversion of ‘true’ faith.  But how can there be a perversion of faith, if faith, lacking objective justification, doesn’t have any demonstrable standard to pervert." p346

And people are wondering if they have accomplices    The dance continues . . . good luck with this one.  I am going to go try to find my perfect Maui.

[NoSaltSuper]

Scary stuff. That "kid" is out there somewhere and probably won't go down without a fight.

I hope many of those residents are armed and can defend themselves.

If I was a praying man (I'm not) I'd be praying for them. Good luck folks.

[Cardiff Sweeper]

Broadcastify police scanner feeds are overloaded so many listening in online. Can't get connected.

MetroBoston SOPS Scanner

[Weasels wake]

Interesting!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Boston Bomber Posted Video on 'The Black Flags From Khorasan'
10:03 AM, Apr 19, 2013

BuzzFeed has linked to the YouTube page of Tamerlan Tasarnaev – the older brother in the pair suspected of bombing the Boston Marathon earlier this week. A video he linked to on his page is titled, “The Emergence of Prophecy: The Black Flags From Khorasan.”

The video deals with a key part of jihadist mythology: That one of the most significant battles fought against the “infidels” will take place in the Khorasan, a geographic area that includes parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

As my colleague Bill Roggio has explained, “The Khorasan is considered by jihadis to be the place where they will inflict the first defeat against their enemies in the Muslim version of Armageddon. The final battle is to take place in the Levant - Israel, Syria, and Lebanon. Mentions of the Khorasan have begun to increase in al Qaeda's propaganda.”

This, of course, does not make the brothers al Qaeda operatives. It does increase the likelihood that Tamerlan Tasarnaev, if this is indeed his YouTube page, was at least sympathetic to the same underlying ideology.

Authorities still have to carefully piece together the details of how the brothers became terrorists, however, including if they have any ties abroad. And this investigation will produce a more complete dossier on their beliefs and motivations.

But Tamerlan Tasarnaev’s affinity for this video should at least inject the concept of the fight for the Khorasan into the public discourse.

Al Qaeda and its allies see the Khorasan as central to their long-term designs. For example, al Qaeda regularly puts out an online magazine titled “Vanguards of Khorasan.” Other jihadists, including those from the Caucasus and from groups linked to al Qaeda, have picked up this theme.

Again, it is too early to say this is what motivated the suspects in Boston. But we should remember that the jihadists continue to fight for the Khorasan.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/boston-bomber-posted-video-black-flags-khorasan_718071.html

[SlatchJim]

Sorry Beasho, Dawkins is wrong on so much and especially this premise.  

1 John 4:1 says: "Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world."

I've heard pastors say "use your head, research and question if it makes sense" so many times I can't count.  Dawkins is a confessed athiest.  Consider the source. I don't know if he's intentionally misleading here or just in error, but he has his agenda.

[NoSaltSuper]

Good find Weasel.

Pity the media won't do 1/2 the research you just did and this will likely never be published in any meaningful, widespread way. Had this been a "righ-wing nutjob", they would be digging 24x7.

I'll wait to see if I'm wrong but, probably not.

This story is simply amazing. These terrorists planted the bombs in a community they had been living in for years. Then apparently, stayed in a house not more than a quarter mile from the bombings the last few days.

[spookini]

I store my boards in Watertown!   Including the race board I just sold to a fellow Zoner. Just drove out to check on the quiver.  Whew the kids are safe. Mad amounts of law enforcement vehicles streaming past, helicopter overhead.  I'm getting the hell out of here.

SUP - it's an addiction.  

[NoSaltSuper]

Wow Spook, that's crazy!

Not just a helicopter, apparently a Blackhawk, wow.

Wonder if there's a drone buzzing around overhead too?

[SeaMe]

Sorry Beasho, Dawkins is wrong on so much and especially this premise.  

1 John 4:1 says: "Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world."

I've heard pastors say "use your head, research and question if it makes sense" so many times I can't count.  Dawkins is a confessed athiest.  Consider the source. I don't know if he's intentionally misleading here or just in error, but he has his agenda.

Thank you for saying this. I'm new around here and don't want to start a fracas in under ten posts but a lot of the sentiment being expressed in the bombing threads is of the guilt-by-association variety which is distressing.  Religion is not the problem, extremists are the problem.