Skip to main content

Didn't see a thread here on it. First and foremost hope everyone from the area is safe.

quote:
‘If you are losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon’
washingtonpost.com


The finish line at a marathon is a small marvel of fellowship. Everyone is there to celebrate how much stronger the runners are than they ever thought they could be. Total strangers line up alongside the route to yell encouragement. Bands play. Some hand out cups of water, Gatorade, even beer. Others dress up in costumes to make the runners smile. The fact that other people can run this far makes us believe we can run that far. It’s a happy thought. It makes us all feel a little bit stronger.

Today, the final line of the Boston Marathon is a crime scene. It’s a testament to how much more evil human beings can be than we can imagine. The bomb — or at least what we think was a bomb — went off at four hours and nine minutes. As Pacific Standard notes, that’s a popular marathon time. It seems likely that the detonation was timed to kill as many people as possible.

“If you are losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon,” wrote Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to run the Boston Marathon. Her story, as recounted by Dave Zirin, is worth thinking about today:

quote:
Through 1966, women weren’t allowed to run the grueling 26-mile race. But in 1967, a woman by the name of Kathrine Switzer registered as K.V. Switzer and, dressed in loose fitting sweats, took to the course. Five miles into the race, one of the marathon directors actually jumped off a truck to forcibly remove Switzer from the course, yelling: “Get the hell out of my race!” But the men running with her fought him off. For them, Kathrine Switzer had every right to be there. For them, the Boston Marathon wasnʼt about exclusion or proving male supremacy — pitting boys against girls. It was about people running a race. Somehow Kathrine Switzer kept her pace as this mayhem occurred all around her. As she said, “I could feel my anger dissipating as the miles went by — you can’t run and stay mad!”


When the pictures from the marathon were transmitted across the globe, the world saw two opposing models of masculinity: the violence and paranoia of the marathon director vs. the strength and solidarity of the other male runners.

If you are losing faith in human nature today, watch what happens in the aftermath of an attack on the Boston Marathon. The flood of donations crashed the Red Cross’s Web site. The organization tweeted that its blood supplies are already full. People are lining up outside of Tufts Medical Center to try and help. Runners are already vowing to be at marathons in the coming weeks and months. This won’t be the last time the squeakers run Boston. This won’t be the last time we gather at the finish line to marvel how much more we can take than anyone ever thought possible.continue


quote:
Post by Patton Oswalt on Facebook

Boston. ****ing horrible.

I remember, when 9/11 went down, my reaction was, "Well, I've had it with humanity."

But I was wrong. I don't know what's going to be revealed to be behind all of this mayhem. One human insect or a poisonous mass of broken sociopaths.

But here's what I DO know. If it's one person or a HUNDRED people, that number is not even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the population on this planet. You watch the videos of the carnage and there are people running TOWARDS the destruction to help out. (Thanks FAKE Gallery founder and owner Paul Kozlowski for pointing this out to me). This is a giant planet and we're lucky to live on it but there are prices and penalties incurred for the daily miracle of existence. One of them is, every once in awhile, the wiring of a tiny sliver of the species gets snarled and they're pointed towards darkness.

But the vast majority stands against that darkness and, like white blood cells attacking a virus, they dilute and weaken and eventually wash away the evil doers and, more importantly, the damage they wreak. This is beyond religion or creed or nation. We would not be here if humanity were inherently evil. We'd have eaten ourselves alive long ago.

So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, "The good outnumber you, and we always will."
continue
Last edited {1}
Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

quote:
Old Guy is ok



Bill Iffrig, seen in video wearing an orange tank top and being blown over as he approached the finish line, told CNN's Piers Morgan that he was feeling OK after the blast.

"I got down to within about 15 feet of the finishing apron and heard just tremendous explosion, sounded like a bomb went off right next to me, and the shock waves just hit my whole body and my legs just started jittering around," he said. "I knew i was going down and so i ended up down on the blacktop."

Iffrig, 78, said he was assisted by one of the event volunteers, who helped him up so he could finish the race. After that, the worker looked for aid for Iffrig, who had just a scratch from his fall.

"He insisted on getting a wheelchair over there so we started to do that, but then before that was rounded up, i said my hotel's about six blocks away so I think I can make it okay. So they let me get out of there and I went on home to my wife."
quote:
The Boston Marathon's Final Mile Was Dedicated to Newtown Victims

Adding further heartbreak to utter tragedy, the last mile of Monday's Boston Marathon, which was rocked by at least two explosions resulting in an unknown number of injuries and casualties Monday afternoon, was dedicated to the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting massacre. Boston Athletic Association president Joanne Flaminio said before the race that had a "special significance" because it was 26.2 miles long and there was 26 victims in the Newtown attack. There was also a group of Newtown parents running as part of a group called Team Newtown Strong who were raising money for local charities. A banner honoring the victims, hung at the end of the 26th mile, can be seen in the photo above.

"In the first twenty miles we're honoring the twenty Sandy Hook first graders," Laura Nowacki, a spokesperson for Newtown Strong, explained to WBUR Boston. "When we crest Heartbreak Hill, and we're coming back towards Boston, we run the final six for our six fallen educators, including their lives, to protect our children."

There was a 26-second moment of silence for the victims before the race started. Newtown families were reportedly seated in the VIP section right by where the explosions went off. continue
quote:
@Slate
The Boston Marathon bombs went off at the exact time that guaranteed the most possible casualties--CHART

@cnnbrk
Injuries in #Boston Marathon terror attack now at 183; 23 critical; at least 9 of the injured are children. continue
Makes me sick to my stomach. My wife has run Boston several times the last being three years ago when my daughter and I went to cheer her on. I know at one point we had to have been very close to the same location where the bombs went off so we could see my wife finish. I feel so badly for those people who by bad luck were there at that moment and lost their lives or had their lives changed forever because of their injuries. I sure hope they find out who was responsible and make them pay dearly.
Boston Marathon runners marry hours after explosions

quote:
"We were torn with possibly having to postpone or finding an alternative location out of respect for the victims," Kelli told the Daily News.

"But we really did not want to give in to terrorists — if that's truly what this was a result of — because that's their whole goal. They are trying to ruin things. They are trying to get you to change things like that. So we were not going to give in to that."
quote:
Boston Updates
theatlanticwire.com


The second victim has been identified as Krystle Campbell, a 29-year-old resident of Medford, north of Boston. She was not running in the race, but was a spectator, cheering on a friend. Another friend who was also with her was seriously injured, according to Campbell's father. In a terrible and tragic twist, the Campbell family was actually told by doctors at the hospital that Krystle had survived, WCVB-TV reports, and that it was her friend that had died. Campbell's parents did not realize this until they were allowed to see the patient. WCVB writes:

quote:
When William and Patty Campbell were finally allowed in to see the patient, they realized it was not their daughter. “I said, ‘That’s not my daughter, that’s Karen! Where’s my daughter?’" Patty Campbell said.


continue
Some interesting information about the significance of Patriots' Day* (wikipedia) to domestic anti government groups. I'm not trying to promote the idea that a domestic group is behind it. There's hardly enough evidence to make that leap. Just an interesting read with the caveat that it's all speculation.
quote:
Who’s Behind the Boston Bombings? Some Initial Clues
time.com


Another variable that makes us consider American anti-government groups is the date of the attack. Patriots’ Day is a sacred holiday for these groups. First, it was the date, in 1985, that law-enforcement authorities invaded the compound of a white-supremacist anti-government group called the Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord. That group, which aimed to fight the ZOG (Zionist Occupied Government), had acquired a crude chemical device and plotted to blow up the Alfred E. Murrah Building. Ten years later, Timothy McVeigh, who had been in contact with the leadership of CSA, actually carried out the attack, choosing Patriots’ Day in part because it was the anniversary of the siege of Waco.

Since the late 1960s, Patriots’ Day is celebrated in Massachusetts on the third Monday in April, which this year was on April 15th, coinciding with tax day, another important day for anti-government groups. And while the choice of weapon might make authorities focus on leaderless jihadist groups, it’s worth noting that Inspire Magazine’s recipe for pressure-cooker bombs was promoted by the white supremacist website Stormfront.


* Patriots' Day is a civic holiday commemorating the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. These were the first battles of the American Revolutionary War.
quote:
In Grisly Image, a Father Sees His Son
nytimes.com




BOSTON — When Jeff Bauman woke up in a hospital bed on Tuesday, an air tube was down his throat, both of his legs had been amputated at the knee, and his father was by his side. He tried to talk, but he could not.

When the explosions went off at the Boston Marathon, Jeff Bauman, 52, called his son’s cellphone again and again — no answer. He knew his son was there, to cheer for his girlfriend, Erin Hurley, who was running her first Boston Marathon. For an hour, he kept calling, calling. No answer.

Then his stepdaughter, Erika, called him. “Did you see the picture?” she asked. “Jeffrey’s on the news. He got hurt.”

“Are you sure? Are you sure?” He was shouting now.

“Yes! Yes! I’m sure!” she shouted back.

That night, Jeff’s half-brother, Alan, called from his boot camp at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Tex. His father told him Jeff had been hurt but did not say how badly. He planned to tell Alan the whole truth later.

The Baumans knew how lucky Jeff had been. “The man in the cowboy hat — he saved Jeff’s life,” Ms. Bauman said. Mr. Bauman’s eyes widened. He said: “There’s a video where he goes right to Jeff, picks him right up and puts him on the wheelchair and starts putting the tourniquet on him and pushing him out. I got to talk to this guy!”

The man in the cowboy hat, Carlos Arredondo, 52, had been handing out American flags to runners when the first explosion went off. His son Alexander was a Marine killed in Iraq in 2004, and in the years since he has handed out the flags as a tribute.
continue
quote:
Photo of Shredded Backpack
abcnews.go.com




A new security bulletin from the FBI showed images of one of the mangled, partially exploded “pressure cooker” bombs from the Boston Marathon explosions as well as a shredded backpack in which the bomb was reportedly hidden.

The advisory said there was “insufficient evidence” to determine if the second explosive, which was also hidden in a backpack less than a block away, was made from a pressure cooker as well.

Authorities have not yet determined the fusing system for the devices or what exactly set them off, the advisory said.
quote:
Originally posted by Cheezers:
Too bad they have to use the justice system on him. Just leave him on the courthouse steps for the public to deal with. Would save all of us taxpayers a lot of money.


Do we wanna make sure it's the right guy first? Or is that just stupid?
quote:
Originally posted by section19:
quote:
Originally posted by Cheezers:
Too bad they have to use the justice system on him. Just leave him on the courthouse steps for the public to deal with. Would save all of us taxpayers a lot of money.


Do we wanna make sure it's the right guy first? Or is that just stupid?




What the hell's the diff? It's been reported he is darker skinned thus he must be guilty
Not sure how the skin color matters. Obviously they want to make sure they have it right, but it sounds like there is some pretty clear video - I just don't want to see the years it's going to take for a trial and appeals to have this person brought to justice.
Now they're all back-pedaling. A half hour ago they were all racing to be the first ones to report that an arrest has been made, now they're all racing to point out that they were basing their reports on erroneous reports by other news services. CNN's John King is doing a complete 180, now admitting that when his source told him "we got him," he didn't specify whether that meant they'd arrested him or that they'd just ID'ed a suspect.
quote:
Originally posted by Tdog:
do journalists still exist? I mean real ones, not the whores we have these days.


Try New York Times or Los Angeles Times. Everyone complains about how slow they are, but they usually get it right. Washington Post can work too. Don't do the TV or radio stations -- nothing but talking heads, which is another term for chickens without heads.
quote:
Originally posted by Ryan Grant:
That's pretty bad. I should have been a journalist


The good ones are so few because that's not what people want. The New York Times still has good ones, LA Times, Washington Post are pretty solid too, as for National types. Newspapers are in rough shape because too many people don't want facts and detail, they want their prejudices "confirmed" and they want it NOW! NPR is still solid for radio and the BBC does well on International stuff for TV/Radio.

Otherwise it's scoops & sensations that make the money. Have it first and have it glitzy.

And being a true journalist sucks. The hours are long, goofy, sometimes dangerous and the pay has shrunk. Better to get your own talk show with consistent tapings and a better salary.
Better than being a journalist, is the person who comes up with the "catchy"
somber music for all of these awful events. CNN/FOX/MSNBC/NBC/CBS/ABC, etc. they all have to have their own little "huge event music". What a good gig.
quote:
Originally posted by Fandame:
quote:
Originally posted by Tdog:
do journalists still exist? I mean real ones, not the whores we have these days.


Try New York Times or Los Angeles Times. Everyone complains about how slow they are, but they usually get it right. Washington Post can work too. Don't do the TV or radio stations -- nothing but talking heads, which is another term for chickens without heads.


PBS Newshour would be the one exception on the tube IMHO.
The BBC probably presents US news better than anyone.

Problem is that no one wants news. Most people want commentators who root for their "teams." The advent of Fox News really created a culture where you watch news to affirm what you already believe, not to be informed. Msnbc went to the other pole.

Add Reply

Post
×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×