Times Square Explosion

[Fleshdancer]

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ia2BgoXMP31noJgDf74W3U7Hr4kAD8V7U2IO0


NEW YORK (AP) — An explosive device caused minor damage to an empty military recruiting station in Times Square early Thursday, shaking guests in hotel rooms high above "the crossroads of the world."

Police blocked off the area to investigate the explosion, which occurred at about 3:45 a.m., shattering the station's glass entryway. No one was injured.

"If it is something that's directed toward American troops than it's something that's taken very seriously and is pretty unfortunate," said Army Capt. Charlie Jaquillard, who is the commander of Army recruiting in Manhattan.

He said no one was inside the station, where the Marines, Air Force and Navy also recruit.

Witnesses staying at a Marriott hotel four blocks away said they could feel the building shake with the blast.

[ThomWV]

1. One wonders how the NSA missed that one.

What with all their new found ability to discover evil doers.

[Lerkfish]

2. too busy tracking down Quakers

[Echo In Light]

14. Funny how so many still don't get that the "terrorists" our govt is after are antiwar activists

[Recursion]

28. Unfortunately this may make them focus more on antiwar activists

Unless you think someone without an antiwar agenda just happened to pick a recruiting station...

[quadriga]

36. Well, I guess this act will drive that home.

Rather convenient don't ya think?

[New Dawn]

41. I also would not be surprised if this explosion was the work of agents provocateurs.

Just think about who benefits from this vandalism/explosion the most: US military recruiters. In addition, the US government will use this as an excuse to crack down on real opposition organizations.

It is a win-win situation for the US government.

[Squatch]

4. No such agency

[ThomWV]

5. I worked for them for 4 years and there is that nasty building at Fort Mead

What do you mean 'no such agency' hell son, I worked for them for years.

[Toucano]

7. Plausible denial, Thom

That's all. :)

[tom_paine]

8. I think it's a joke. NSA = No Such Agency. Get it?

I think. If not, that guy really is a fucking idiot.

[Squatch]

11. The asshole is strong in this one.

wtf?

[tom_paine]

31. WTF yourself? project much? I said if YOU WEREN'T JOKING

you would be a fucking idiot.

Clearly, as evidenced by your post below, you WERE joking and thus would NOT be a fucking idiot.

But now you make me wonder if perhaps that assessment is flawed.

[Squatch]

34. I think it's at this point where I invite you to get bent.

Have a nice day. :)

[tom_paine]

35. Invitation accepted. LOL. Have a nice day, yourself, Squatch.

:hi:

[Mugu]

39. After reading your posts on another thread

and then coming to this thread, I'm beginning to get the impression that somebody got up a bit irritable this morning. :argh:

With any luck, things will get to looking better as the day progresses. :hi:

Regards, Mugu


Edit: repair formatting

[Squatch]

10. NSA = No Such Agency.

My old man used to work for them, or so he told me.

[leveymg]

12. Ft . Meade alumn on DU. What do you think of Groundbreaker?

Wow. What's your assessment of Hayden?

[FalconsRule]

42. Hayden's

Not the director, so who cares?

[quadriga]

37. There is no way you could have worked for NSA for 4 years

and not know that the employees and families jokingly refer to the intelligence organization as "No Such Agency". I won't call bull shit, but it is suspicious.

[FalconsRule]

43. Very true

No Such Agency or Never Say Anything.

[0007]

19. Use your search engine and find out sonny!

[Bandit]

24. NSA that is sooo yesterday the new reich has "Homeland Security"

We are no longer a Nation but a Homeland now.

[Swamp Rat]

26. Homelandlied

"Homelandlied" - Abgefuckt von der Sumpf-Ratte

Homeland, Homeland über alles,
Über alles in der Welt,
wenn es stets zu Schutz und Trutze
brüderlich zusammenhält.
von der Mississippi bis an die Colorado,
von der Erie bis an den Gulf,
Homeland, Homeland über alles,
Über alles in der Welt!

Amerikanische Frauen, Amerikanische Treue,
Amerikanische Wein und Amerikanische Sang
sollen in der Welt behalten
ihren alten schönen Klang,
uns zu edler Tat begeistern
unser ganzes Leben lang.
Amerikanische Frauen, Amerikanische Treue,
Amerikanische Wein und Amerikanische Sang!

Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit
für das Amerikanische Vaterland!
Danach laßt uns alle streben
brüderlich mit Herz und Hand!
Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit
sind des Glückes Unterpfand;
Blüh im Glanze dieses Glückes,
blühe, Amerikanische Vaterland.

[quadriga]

38. With it's own built in military force.

The Coast Guard.

[Ian David]

3. Could just be someone who was angry that "Live Nude College Girls" no longer occupied that space.n/t

[JHB]

17. That spot never held "LNCG"s...

...not that reality has ever stopped Very Angry people in Times Square.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

20. lol! Actually, that has been a recruiting station for at least 40 years. It was a target

in the 60s during the Vietnam war.

[TheCowsCameHome]

6. That's it. No more bicycles in Manhattan between 1-5am

This high tech terrorism must stop.:sarcasm:

[leveymg]

13. Just mine the bridges and tunnels, and NYers will be completely secure.

[leftofcool]

9. TERROR ALERT!

Wait on it..............

[mainegreen]

15. Odds that the 'terrorist' will turn out to be homegrown?

Pretty good IMHO.

[Skidmore]

16. This following the burning of those model homes in California which

were being attributed to ELF makes me wonder about some psyops to paint libruls as terraists before the election. Something isn't right about this. Does anyone remember the certitude when * said he was certain that the Rs would keep the WH and take back the legislature last week? It was the same tone that he used when he said he was certain he would win in 2004 when it looked like he would be losing that one too.

[conscious evolution]

25. I think you may be right.

They have even dragged manson out from under his rock in an attempt to scare people into thinking hippys and leftist are radical terrorists.

[pdxmom]

18. Sounds like the alphabet agencies are trying to dismiss this as not

terrorism. If a bomb explodes, in my mind, that is terrorism, regardless of where it comes from. The Repukes can't call it terrorism, cause then McShame can't say there hasn't been a terrorist attack since 9/11.

How do we define an act of terrorism these days?

[thecrow]

21. "If it is something that's directed toward American troops ...."

No, Sir....
It's more likely someone disgruntled with YOU and the recruitment people. Like a Grief stricken parent at the loss of their teenaged son/daughter; like a disgruntled troop who wasn't given what he was promised; like a stop lossed soldier who has spent too many tours in Iraq; maybe it's a crazy person who doesn't want war.

[C_U_L8R]

22. It's 3:45 AM

did anyone bother to call Hillary ?

[Ordr]

30. "did anyone bother to call Hillary ?"

That made me LOL.
Good one.

[Junkdrawer]

23. Oh My. An incident of Domestic Terror...If only there were a law pending vote...

that encourages the TeleComs to help our wonderful spy agencies by giving them immunity from any law breaking in the past...

Oh look...there is! And it's today!

How fortunate.

[warren pease]

27. It gets even better: the "Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007"

That would be HR 1955/S 1959, which is just waiting in the Senate for another Reid cave-in.

Now, this piece of repressive garbage is about to be fast-tracked through the Senate and right into the offal office, where our gleeful petty tyrant will make his X on it, jump up and swing from the chandeliers for awhile -- ecstatic that the perfect excuse is now in place and the excrement will hit the impeller in short order. Bets anyone?

"Don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows."


wp

[Ordr]

29. Fuck that.

I'm sorry, but if you're throwing an explosive at ANYONE without some pretty severe physical provocation (and even then), regardless of what their or your political ideology is, you deserve to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

[stillcool]

32. Unless you have an air force.

[Ordr]

33. Heh.

That response came later than I thought it would.

[I work for workers]

40. 38 responses and only one (now two) expressions of outrage?

Barely over five percent here are angry and disgusted by this? Someone just bombed an office of our military in one of the country's most popular tourist destinations. This is a serious and deplorable crime.

[KharmaTrain]

44. How Does One Gauge Outrage??

Upfront I condemn this bombing and while I'm not jumping up and down seething...I do want to know what's going on and will follow this story as carefully as I can.

Last August, I stayed for a week just a block from that station...44th & Broadway...and I'm amazed that no one was injured, even at 3:45am. Thank goodness this didn't occur during warmer weather. But it also appears the bomber(s) knew the target, the traffic and wanted to do damage without casualties.

This reminds me of the attacks on recrutiment stations during the Vietnam era. But it also points to several glaring questions about this country's attitude and "war on terra". After all the billions squandered, all the eavesdropping and draconian gestures by this regime, some guy on a bike can walk up and drop a bomb in one of the most visible locations in the world makes one go hmmm.

The other is the tinfoil hat...that I'd gladly remove, but something just doesn't pass the smell test here. Unlike Vietnam, where there was an organized anti-war movement and some within who saw violence as the way to make a statement, we haven't seen that with this invasion and the current anti-war movement. The worst we've seen is Medea Benjamin expelled from a Senate hearing...but there's no Weather Underground or SNICC or others that are easily looked at as possible suspects. Then one thinks as to who would most benefit from the fear and outrage about this bombing and its location and target and it makes you go hmmmm...

[I work for workers]

47. I counted posts, divided the outraged

portion by the total number, multiplied by 100 and got a percentage. It is an embarrassingly low number. On this thread, only two posts have been exclusive expressions of disgust. The vast majority have been off topic (which happens on forums all the time) or either ambivalent or conspiratorial. A couple have even seemed to be sympathetic. The same is true for every other thread I found on this subject. F*cking weak.

This isn't a difficult situation to wrap our heads around. Someone put a bomb in front of a military office in the middle of NYC. That is a deplorable act. I'm not sure how many people posting about it understand that.

[TheWatcher]

45. Your President lied us into War and has commited countless crimes

That is pretty serious and deplorable too.

I do agree with the above poster that something does not pass the smell test here as well.

[Ganja Ninja]

46. What do you expect?

The people in this country have been lied to and manipulated so many times we're numb to it.

I see a bombing like this and I can only wonder if this is the act of a loner?
Or is it a group of anti-war/anti military Americans?
Or is it the work of foreign terrorists?
Or is it our own government trying to manipulate us yet again?

I'll hold off getting outraged until I can get some answers.

[I work for workers]

49. More then two posts saying "this is bad"

as opposed to trying to place blame or rationalize a serious crime.

[hunter]

52. There are lots of serious crimes to worry about.

Around fifty people are murdered every day in the United States.

Some expensive real estate got blown up by a madman. Fortunately nobody was killed.

[SalviaBlue]

51. I guess we here at DU are not very good Americans.

What would the proper expression of outrage be? Should we bomb Canada?

[I work for workers]

54. If you don't know, I doubt I can explain it to you.

But I'll give it a shot anyway. If your first thought was some variation of "How dare someone do this? I am outraged that this terrible crime occurred, and was targeted at the men and women of our military and one of our nation's prime tourist destinations" you are on the right track.

If your first thought was "How can I try to blame this on ______ to fit my view of politics despite the fact that no evidence pointing to a culprit has been revealed yet", you're probably an asshole.

[spanone]

48. wait till sept, oct....they will do anything to keep power imho

[ProfessorGAC]

50. I Don't Get That, Though

How do "tough on terrorism" folks benefit from more terrorism. Doesn't that just beg the question as to whether they're really good enough to stop it? Doesn't it suggest they've been wrong the whole time?
The Professor

[Ganja Ninja]

55. They benefit by keeping the fear levels up and

energizing their base. They also benefit when it has the appearance of being either domestic anti-war activists or al Qaeda since they strive to connect the 2 every chance they can. Yes it doesn't make sense to rational people but the tough on terror folks aren't really all that rational.

[tuckessee]

53. Cointellpro. n/t