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posted by CoolHand on Monday September 19 2016, @12:42PM   Printer-friendly
from the we-have-NJ-jokes-but-maybe-not-the-right-time dept.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/19/us/new-york-explosion-investigation/

The intense investigation into the weekend bomb blasts in New York and New Jersey is leading authorities to signs of a possible terror cell in those two states, law enforcement officials told CNN Monday. The ongoing investigation, which includes two bombs in New York City and devices in two cities in New Jersey, has given authorities leads on specific people who are urgently being sought.

Also on Monday morning, a federal law enforcement official said BBs and ball bearings were among the pieces of metal that appeared to be packed into both pressure cooker bombs in New York. One of those devices exploded on 23rd Street, but the fact that it was partly under a metal trash container may have diminished the force of the blast.

The latest developments came just hours after a backpack containing multiple bombs was found Sunday night near an Elizabeth, New Jersey, train station, according to the FBI and the city's mayor. [...] The [New York City] blast occurred on the same day an explosion went off near a Marine Corps charity run in New Jersey and a man stabbed nine people at a Minnesota mall. Authorities are investigating all three incidents as possible terror acts.

Update: NYT: Police Hunt for Ahmad Khan Rahami in Connection With Manhattan Bombing

Update 2: The suspect has been captured alive, despite getting into a shootout with police.


Original Submission

[Ed's Note: Whereas in some parts of the world, BB is an abbreviation for ball bearing, in the US in particular it refers simply to a round pellet fired from a compressed air weapon.]

 
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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @01:00PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @01:00PM (#403703)

    Now that we have had a string of major terrorist attacks despite all the rights infringing measures in place to stop them, can we finally overturn those laws and powers and go back to being an America we can believe in (ideally where pressure cookers are still legal and unregulated!!!)

    Obviously not, because Americans are piss themselves yellow. But it would be nice to hope.

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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday September 19 2016, @01:02PM

    by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Monday September 19 2016, @01:02PM (#403707) Homepage Journal

    Indeed. "Give me liberty or give me death" has become "Oppress me all you like as long as I'm safe".

    --
    My rights don't end where your fear begins.
    • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @01:11PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @01:11PM (#403714)

      "Oppress me all you like as long as I'm safe"

      More like, "Oppress me all you like as long as you tell me it's for my safety".

      • (Score: 5, Insightful) by tonyPick on Monday September 19 2016, @03:08PM

        by tonyPick (1237) on Monday September 19 2016, @03:08PM (#403797) Homepage Journal

        "Oppress me all you like as long as I'm safe"

        More like, "Oppress me all you like as long as you tell me it's for my safety".

        Actually I think for many people it's "Oppress other people, as long as you tell me I'm safer."

        They just haven't worked out that as far law enforcement are concerned, they are in the "Other people" camp.

    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by GungnirSniper on Monday September 19 2016, @01:23PM

      by GungnirSniper (1671) on Monday September 19 2016, @01:23PM (#403722) Journal

      People are far too trusting of authorities. After the Boston Marathon bombing we lost the right to carry backpacks to the event, as though they have no legitimate purpose. So as far as I'm concerned, the terrorists won.

      • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @01:41PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @01:41PM (#403747)

        Don't forget about the "Martial Law" that shut down the city and surrounding areas for one guy.

        • (Score: 5, Informative) by GungnirSniper on Monday September 19 2016, @02:02PM

          by GungnirSniper (1671) on Monday September 19 2016, @02:02PM (#403758) Journal

          That was a truly shameful and cowardly event that shut down entire sections of greater Boston, doing far more damage to the economy than the attack itself. The main beltway was closed, and the threat of arrest was used to keep people shut in their homes. Land of the free, indeed.

          The young terrorist wasn't even located by the enforcers but by a resident who noticed his boat was tampered with. Only after the civil siege was lifted was he able to go out and see the blood on the cover and call in his suspicion. He was rewarded with a destroyed boat.

        • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Ellis D. Tripp on Monday September 19 2016, @06:25PM

          by Ellis D. Tripp (3416) on Monday September 19 2016, @06:25PM (#403888)

          a few years earlier, so declaring martial law to capture an actual terrorist shouldn't have surprised anyone....

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Boston_Mooninite_panic [wikipedia.org]

          --
          "Society is like stew. If you don't keep it stirred up, you end up with a lot of scum on the top!"--Edward Abbey
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @01:58PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @01:58PM (#403754)

        Well, just wait until the terrorists manage to re-purpose normal clothes as bombs. ;-)

        • (Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @02:30PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @02:30PM (#403777)

          I've heard rumours that they're dressing bombs up as young black men now.

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by LoRdTAW on Monday September 19 2016, @02:20PM

      by LoRdTAW (3755) on Monday September 19 2016, @02:20PM (#403768) Journal

      It's going to be tough because the NYPD already has a suspect and there was a big bust on the Belt Parkway last night.

      They are already cranking up the propaganda machine to tout surveillance as they key to all of this. Saw an article in the Daily News this morning about how they say the need for stronger surveillance is more necessary than ever.

      Sigh...

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @01:06PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @01:06PM (#403710)

    Unregulated pressure cookers are basically bombs.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @01:20PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @01:20PM (#403718)

      The only two points where there were concerns with them as bombs was when it became known a particular model had a defective pressure relief valve, and when she got senile enough to forget to turn off/remove from the stove items which might otherwise burn or explode. It was another couple years after that before the knives were confiscated, which I will add are a far more clear and present danger in almost every household across the world.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @02:28PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @02:28PM (#403774)

        defective pressure relief valve

        That's what regulates a pressure cooker.

    • (Score: 2) by janrinok on Monday September 19 2016, @01:27PM

      by janrinok (52) Subscriber Badge on Monday September 19 2016, @01:27PM (#403727) Journal
      In France, most cooks have a pressure cooker - they are as ubiquitous as a toaster is in the US
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @01:28PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @01:28PM (#403728)

      I got a pressure cooker the day after the attacks. Everyone else should get one before the watchlists are activated.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @01:35PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @01:35PM (#403734)

        You fool, you are already on the watchlist.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @02:39PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @02:39PM (#403784)

          :^(

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @04:21PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @04:21PM (#403824)

          No I'm not, I paid with coins (because bills can be tracked by their serial numbers) and I wore a mask when I went to the shop. I always wear a mask.

          • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Francis on Monday September 19 2016, @06:29PM

            by Francis (5544) on Monday September 19 2016, @06:29PM (#403891)

            I bought one with a homeless guys coins and I didn't bother with a mask because I'm white. Who the fuck even pays attention to what white people are doing?

            I mean seriously, we could be building a massive bomb across the street from the local sheriff and nobody would notice.

        • (Score: 2, Insightful) by nitehawk214 on Monday September 19 2016, @05:01PM

          by nitehawk214 (1304) on Monday September 19 2016, @05:01PM (#403843)

          No, he has stock in pressure cooker companies.

          Just like people going nuts about "'bama's gunna take yer guns!" are people that have a vested interest in people buying more guns.

          --
          "Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @05:04PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @05:04PM (#403846)

            Presto.

      • (Score: 2) by nukkel on Monday September 19 2016, @06:12PM

        by nukkel (168) on Monday September 19 2016, @06:12PM (#403881)

        Was it an assault cooker?

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @07:23PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @07:23PM (#403917)

          I haven't added the nails yet.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @01:20PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @01:20PM (#403720)

    By that logic, why do people still arm themselves for safety? There are still plenty of robberies and homicides in spite of all of those efforts.

    • (Score: 5, Funny) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Monday September 19 2016, @01:35PM

      by GreatAuntAnesthesia (3275) on Monday September 19 2016, @01:35PM (#403736) Journal

      Because banning pressure cookers to prevent terrorism is like trying to prevent a dam from bursting by stuffing toilet paper into the cracks. All you end up with is a broken dam and shit in your knickers.

    • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Francis on Monday September 19 2016, @01:36PM

      by Francis (5544) on Monday September 19 2016, @01:36PM (#403738)

      Because some people don't understand statistics.

      • (Score: 1) by tftp on Monday September 19 2016, @05:08PM

        by tftp (806) on Monday September 19 2016, @05:08PM (#403847) Homepage

        Because some people don't understand statistics.

        Only some? Hell, hardly anyone understands statistics :-)

        • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Francis on Monday September 19 2016, @06:27PM

          by Francis (5544) on Monday September 19 2016, @06:27PM (#403889)

          Well, pretty much, but I was hoping to be a bit more positive.

          People overestimate the likelihood of terrorism or other crime and greatly underestimate the risk of more common problems like suicide and accidental discharge. There'd be literally tens of thousands more people alive at the end of the year if they didn't have firearms on hand.

          It makes thoughtful people question the point of having these things around them when they increase the likelihood of an outcome that people are claiming to want to avoid.

          • (Score: 2, Insightful) by jmorris on Monday September 19 2016, @07:34PM

            by jmorris (4844) on Monday September 19 2016, @07:34PM (#403921)

            Don't buy the media spin. The reason to have guns is easy to understand. Go look at the crime statistics and map them to when each State passed concealed carry. More guns, less crime. You don't have to shoot the criminal, just opening your coat and letting them see it stops most muggers. Thousands and thousands of gun owners stop crimes every year without firing a shot. But just the knowledge of an armed citizenry depresses a lot of crime because most criminals aren't retarded, even if they cluster on the left side of the Bell Curve. Having random armed people on the street raises the risk of death or serious injury and deters them from engaging in high risk crime like mugging, and looking into burglary instead of home invasion for example.

            Simple incentives work. A criminal knows that if he kills a victim (i.e. not a gang banging, which rarely results in arrest) the odds are good he will be caught and imprisoned, assuming he survives the gunfight. That makes getting into a gunfight with a victim a no-win scenario to be avoided. The victim is under no such limitation, in most States they are free to blast away with little worry of legal repercussions. If very unlucky a victim could be subjected to a Zimmerman style media witch hunt, but prison isn't a realistic threat. Again, the criminal knows this imbalance exists and is encouraged to pursue non-violent crimes to feed their drug habit.

            • (Score: 1) by Francis on Monday September 19 2016, @08:16PM

              by Francis (5544) on Monday September 19 2016, @08:16PM (#403949)

              I see somebody has drunk the flavor-aid. None of that bullshit is actually true.

              Having a firearm doesn't mean squat if you don't have the opportunity to pull it. And just pulling it isn't enough, you need to be prepared to pull the trigger and most folks can't do it.

              And BTW, more guns means more gun crimes. Where do you think the criminals get those guns from? Here's a hint, countries with strict gun controls have fewer gun related fatalities. Just look at China, gun crimes are non-existent and crime hasn't gotten out of hand the way that you imply.

              • (Score: 2, Insightful) by jmorris on Monday September 19 2016, @08:39PM

                by jmorris (4844) on Monday September 19 2016, @08:39PM (#403961)

                Math disagrees with you, as does logic and official FBI crime statistics.

                As to comparing crime stats across countries, always dangerous. A lot more than gun laws vary across a comparison between the U.S. and China. Repeat offenders don't generally exist in China, just as an obvious example of an important difference. They also lack a large criminal underclass constantly agitated to violence by a professional agitator class and the mass media. There also some obvious benefits for the crime stats to absolute dictatorships with the will to ruthlessly murder any 'undesirable' who gets out of line; especially since those murders, obviously, don't get counted in the official crime stats. If we went through certain 'areas' and cleansed them of their 'vibrancy' I bet it would do similar miracles for our crime problem as well; I somehow doubt you support such a policy. Shall I continue throwing truth bombs until you get triggered?

                • (Score: 1) by Francis on Tuesday September 20 2016, @02:39AM

                  by Francis (5544) on Tuesday September 20 2016, @02:39AM (#404088)

                  Go ahead keep throwing the "truth" bombs, you're just reinforcing the view that you have no idea what you're talking about.

              • (Score: 2) by mhajicek on Monday September 19 2016, @10:49PM

                by mhajicek (51) on Monday September 19 2016, @10:49PM (#404025)

                [quote]Having a firearm doesn't mean squat if you don't have the opportunity to pull it.[/quote]

                Actually it does. If a potential mugger knows there's a significant probability that you're carrying, he has to be willing to kill you outright in order to mug you. Most muggers don't want to do that; they want to scare you and take your money, then run away. They know that a killer is a lot more likely to be hunted down than a thief, and will be treated much more harshly when caught. In the case of women, it significantly reduces the chance of rape, unless of course the assailant wants to kill you first.

                Here's a little chart for you:

                http://crimeresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Murder-rate-and-permits-graph-1024x874.jpeg [crimeresearch.org]

                --
                The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
                • (Score: 1) by Francis on Tuesday September 20 2016, @02:36AM

                  by Francis (5544) on Tuesday September 20 2016, @02:36AM (#404087)

                  Or he just hits you on the head from behind and takes your stuff. Or waits until your distracted and stands to your side while doing the mugging.

                  The whole idea that a gun is going to protect you is so horribly flawed that I can't even believe that people still buy that idea. Unless you happen to be a vet, law enforcement or other person trained and experienced with using them and you're paranoid to never walk some place that you aren't set up for using it, you're not going to get much use of it. A knife at 20 feet is far more dangerous than a sidearm in a holster is. I mean, quite literally, by the time you get your firearm out of the holster and get ready to shoot, you're already stabbed if the guy is even quarter competent.

                  I refuse to associate with people that I know carry firearms because the risk of getting shot just rose substantially even though the risk of being mugged or messed with really hasn't changed.

                  • (Score: 2) by t-3 on Tuesday September 20 2016, @06:48AM

                    by t-3 (4907) on Tuesday September 20 2016, @06:48AM (#404140)

                    You seem to have a preconception of mugging/robbery as a violent crime, which it by and large is NOT. Thieves and muggers operate the same way predators do in the wild: choose the weakest and least able to fight back and target them. If they have any reason to suspect you are packing they will choose another target... Why risk your life when the next person poses no danger instead of /probably no danger because he's to scared to pull the trigger/ (and like most muggers are ballsy enough to kill anyway... NOPE they're just as if not more scared than the marks)

                    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 20 2016, @10:24AM

                      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 20 2016, @10:24AM (#404176)

                      So you're not actually preventing a crime. You're just shifting the target.

                      • (Score: 2) by mhajicek on Tuesday September 20 2016, @02:13PM

                        by mhajicek (51) on Tuesday September 20 2016, @02:13PM (#404237)

                        Real world statistics disagree with you.

                        --
                        The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 20 2016, @07:57AM

                  by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 20 2016, @07:57AM (#404148)

                  Actually it does. If a potential mugger knows there's a significant probability that you're carrying,

                  you could fire off a warning shot into your own testicles! I has worked before! Once a mugger realizes that his is dealing with someone who will shoot off his own testicles over a matter of at most a couple a hundred bucks, the mugger tends to just give up on the whole endeavor. Of course, you are still missing your testicles, but since you were already a concealed carrier, there is no real loss, since the accompanying organs are probably to small to be of any use. Ammosexuals! Just admit it already! You are too f**ing afraid to walk about amoungst your fellow citizens in any legitimate manner! Why? You are cowards. Pansies. Lily-livered scum-suckers. Craven poultroons. Knaves of the worst sort. Fraidy cats. Cowards.

    • (Score: 2) by Anal Pumpernickel on Monday September 19 2016, @08:19PM

      by Anal Pumpernickel (776) on Monday September 19 2016, @08:19PM (#403950)

      By that logic, why do people still arm themselves for safety?

      In addition to most people being bad at statistics as others said, the mere act of an individual arming themselves does not violate everyone's rights and threaten democracy [gnu.org] like mass surveillance does.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @01:25PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 19 2016, @01:25PM (#403725)

    > Obviously not, because Americans are piss themselves yellow. But it would be nice to hope.

    To be more exact, they seem to be pissing themselves orange.
    This bombing brought to you by the ISIS SuperPAC to Elect Donald Trump.