BOMBING AT BOSTON MARATHON-GRAPHIC PHOTOS

[SIXFOOTERsez]

Sht was probably hounded for interviews and most likely asked the names not mentioned because it gave her some separation from the events. Of course she has some PTSD going on, who wouldn't. I don't think her request was out of line at all, it was intensive and stupid of the producers to not grant her wish, I bet they did it on purpose in order to "Capture the tragedy of this poor woman" blah blah blah...

[Duchess]

She walked out and I'm not so sure that will be included in the show.

She's a darling girl, very cute & tiny, she's charming and has spunk but her attitude is buggin' the shit out of me and then I feel like a bitch for thinking that because she's gone through so much. Jesus.

[QueenBee]

Do you all remember the pic of the guy in the wheelchair being pushed down the street with the cowboy next to him holding the veins to stop the blood flow because his legs had been blown off? He has a happy ending. He's engaged and pregnant.

HE is pregnant? praise Jesus..a miracle.

[Duchess]

Hallelujah!

[Duchess]

Today is the one year anniversary of the bombing. (Another passage of time slap in the face. It just hit me that over the hill applies. Zoom Zoom)

118^th annual Boston Marathon is supposed to bring in an estimated 36,000 runners, which is 9,000 more than last year. There is also expected to be a whopping 1 million spectators for the event, twice the usual crowd.

The 2014 Boston Marathon is set for April 21.

Story

[BlueTiki]

WTF!

A suspicious backpack is at the Finish Line of the Boston Marathon and LE is sending in a robot to check it out.

Did someone NOT get the memo?

[Duchess]

Jesus.

Amid a throng of police and high security for the Boston Marathon, authorities are investigating two suspicious bags that were left at the race finish line Tuesday evening.

The race took place a year after bombings at the finish line killed three and injured 264.

Police said the bags were left in the area of Boylston St. and Exeter St., and the road was closed. A Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority offcial said after the discovery, Green Line trains are not stopping at Copley Station. No other information was available.

[HairOfTheDog]

Th bomb hoaxter, Kevin Edson - 25, was charged with disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct, disturbing a public assembly, possession or use of a hoax device, and making a false bomb threat. The latter charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison upon conviction, the Suffolk County district attorney's office said.

He has pleaded not guilty.

According to DA Susan Terrey, Edson told police: "I knew what I was doing. It was being conceived in my head. It's symbolism. Come on. The performance got the best of me."

Edson comes from a family of artists and is a student at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston. He has a history of psychiatric problems which were presented in court by a psychologist. The rice cooker he was carrying which was detonated as a precaution was reportedly full of confetti.

The judge ordered him to Bridgewater State Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation and he's due back in court May 7.

Asshole.

Refs:
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/16/justic...vice-bail/
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/boston-man-k...thon-bomb/

[BlueTiki]

"I knew what I was doing. It was being conceived in my head. It's symbolism. Come on. The performance got the best of me."

Edson comes from a family of artists and is a student at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston.

I think a scattering a handful of naxars and dollars, spatted with childrens' blood would be more symbolic and appropriate.

And a pressure cooker . . . NOT a rice cooker, dumbshit!

Can't wait for the interviews with his "art" instructors to surface.

[Maggot]

"I knew what I was doing. It was being conceived in my head. It's symbolism. Come on. The performance got the best of me."

Edson comes from a family of artists and is a student at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston.

I think a scattering a handful of naxars and dollars, spatted with childrens' blood would be more symbolic and appropriate.

And a pressure cooker . . . NOT a rice cooker, dumbshit!



Can't wait for the interviews with his "art" instructors to surface.

I'm sure a flock of liberal professors will be come around soon enough defending his right to express himself. hah

[Duchess]

"This one's for you, Boston," said Aerosmith's Steven Tyler as he and the band's guitarist, Joe Perry, launched into one of their biggest hits.

The duo performed "Dream On" in tribute to the victims of last year's Boston Marathon bombing, and were joined by the Southern California Children's Chorus.

[FAHQTOO]

"This one's for you, Boston," said Aerosmith's Steven Tyler as he and the band's guitarist, Joe Perry, launched into one of their biggest hits.

The duo performed "Dream On" in tribute to the victims of last year's Boston Marathon bombing, and were joined by the Southern California Children's Chorus.

More awesomeness from Steven Tyler.

I don't care what anyone says...I love that man!

[Duchess]

I love that man!

I know you do & I thought of you when I saw that story.

[HairOfTheDog]

Last night I read about how the marathon organizers more than doubled the security presence (and costs) as compared to last year, including adding surveillance cameras throughout the course. They also put in place rules disallowing backpacks and non-registered pick-up runners.

Relieved and happy that the race finished without incident this year. There were 9,000 more runners this year than last year.


Meb Keflezighi ^ added Boston to a resume that includes the New York City Marathon title in 2009 and a silver medal in the 2004 Olympics.

Running just two weeks before his 39^th birthday, he had the names of the 2013 bombing victims on his bib.

"At the end, I just kept thinking, 'Boston Strong. Boston Strong,'" he said. "I was thinking give everything you have. If you get beat, that's it."

Keflezighi completed the 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to the finish on Boylston Street in Boston's Back Bay on Monday in a personal-best 2 hours, 8 minutes, 37 seconds. He is the first American man to win the title since 1983. He held off Kenya's Wilson Chebet, who finished 11 seconds behind.

"I'm blessed to be an American and God bless America and God Bless Boston for this special day," Keflezighi said.

Rita Jeptoo of Kenya successfully defended the women's title she said she could not enjoy a year ago. Jeptoo finished in a course-record 2 hours, 18 minutes, 57 seconds. She is a three-time Boston Marathon champion, having also won in 2006.

Full story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/21...86146.html

[HairOfTheDog]

ONE DOWN -- THREE TO GO
TSARNAEV FRIEND FOUND GUILTY OF OBSTRUCTION & CONSPIRACY


A college friend of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been found guilty of impeding the investigation into the deadly attack. Azamat Tazhayakov (pictured, left) was convicted by a jury today on obstruction of justice and conspiracy charges.

Prosecutors said Tazhayakov conspired with his roommate Dias Kadyrbayev (pictured, center) to remove items from Tsarnaev's dorm room after the FBI identified him as a suspect in the marathon bombings.

The guilty verdict marks the first conviction stemming from the attack that killed three people and injured more than 260 others on April 15, 2013.

Tazhayakov faces a 20-year maximum jail term for obstruction and a five-year maximum for conspiracy. Sentencing is scheduled for October 16. (HOTD: I don't think he'll get anywhere near the max given his age and the fact that he wasn't aware of the bombing in advance; maybe a couple of years and some probation.)

A lawyer for the former University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth student said during the trial that his client was a naive college kid who was prosecuted because he was a "friend of the bomber".

FBI agents testified that Tazhayakov admitted he took a backpack, fireworks and Tsarnaev's laptop computer after Kadyrbayev received a text message from Tsarnaev that said he could "take what's there".


Prosecutors acknowledged that Kadyrbayev actually threw away the items (pictured above, later found in a landfill), but said Tazhayakov agreed to the plan. Jurors heard during the trial that Tsarnaev sent Tazhayakov a text message 90 minutes after the attack that said: "Don't go thinking it's me."

They also heard that Tsarnaev told his friends a month before the bombings that "it was good to die" a martyr because you would die "with a smile on your face and go straight to heaven".

Kadyrbayev and a third friend, Robel Phillipos, are awaiting trial. Phillipos is accused of lying to investigators. Both have pleaded not guilty.

Tsarnaev's trial is set for November. He has pleaded not guilty to 30 federal charges, including using a weapon of mass destruction. He faces the death penalty.

http://news.sky.com/story/1305117/boston...und-guilty

[HairOfTheDog]

THE TRIAL OF DZHOKHAR TSAERNEV

JURY SELECTION
1,200 potential jurors have been summoned. Jury selection is scheduled to being on Monday, January 5^th.

LOCATION
The defense is pushing for a change of venue from Boston -- so far that's been denied.

CASE STATUS
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in this federal case; the defendant has pleaded not guilty to 30 counts surrounding the 2013 bombing that killed three, dismembered 16, and wounded 260. The defense has reportedly been pushing for a plea deal but no agreement has been reached.

DEFENSE ATTORNEY
Tsaernev's defense attorney is July Clarke. Ms. Clarke is famous for cutting deals that keep her clients off death row. At some point in the process, her clients — including Theodore Kaczynski, the Unabomber; Eric Rudolph, the Olympic Park bomber; and Jared L. Loughner, who killed six people in an assassination attempt on former Representative Gabrielle Giffords — pleaded guilty in exchange for a sentence of life in prison, with no chance of parole.

Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/02/us/bos....html?_r=0

[HairOfTheDog]

The Trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev -- Opening Statements set for Wednesday, March 4^th 2015



LOGISTICS
The Federal Trial will be held in Boston -- the Defense lost its motions for change of venue.

Tomorrow, attorneys are expected to narrow down the pool of 70 potential jurors and select the final 18 (including 6 who will ultimately be deemed alternates). Jurors will hear Opening Statements on Wednesday. The trial is expected to last through June.

MOTIONS PENDING
1. THE BOAT -- The Defense wants the jury to see the boat in which Tsarnaev was hiding when he was captured. They want the jury to see the cramped space and the bullet-ridden exterior. The prosecution wants the jury to see only panels of the boat, especially the panel upon which Tsarnaev wrote his confession (the Defense admits he wrote it) blaming US intervention in the Middle East for the fact that he and his older brother, Tamberlin -- killed by police after the bombing -- decided to bomb a public event packed with women, children, seniors, families, athletes...

2. THE VICTIM PHOTOS-- The Defense does not want the jury to see forensic photos of the 3 people who were killed in the bombing (including an 8 year-old boy), nor the photos of all the surviving victims who lost limbs in the blast. The Defense attorney claims that's because it will be too painful for the victims and their families. <--BULLSHIT

IMO, Tsarnaev and his attorneys want those graphic and horrible photos to be barred because they work heavily against Tsarnaev; they show the carnage that the defendant planned and carried out against unsuspecting victims.

The Prosecution, of course, wants to show the photos (probably repeatedly).

PROSECUTION vs DEFENSE CLAIMS
The Prosecution will argue that Tamberlin and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev were motivated by Islamic extremism and thus committed terrorist acts when they bombed the 2012 Boston Marathon with pressure bombs, fled, and later killed a police officer.

The Defense will argue that Dzhokhar was simply a victim of his (dead) older brother's influence.

THE CHARGES
Tsarnaev faces 30 charges; 17 of which are subject to punishment by death. Counts/charges here --> http://www.wbur.org/2015/01/05/dzhokhar-...ev-charges

[Duchess]

I agree that his older brother probably DID influence him but even though I view him as a kid he is a grown man capable of knowing right from wrong & he has the ability to make his own decisions.

[HairOfTheDog]

I agree that his older brother probably DID influence him but even though I view him as a kid he is a grown man capable of knowing right from wrong & he has the ability to make his own decisions.

I feel much the same. Dzhokhar was a fully grown college student, not dependent on his brother, and reaping the benefits of American life when HE chose to join his older brother in terrorizing and killing innocent unsuspecting people and maiming a bunch of others. Blaming the dead older brother for his own actions isn't gonna save his neck, I hope.

The first couple of trial days were very emotional. The judge denied the Defense's motion to suppress photos of killed and injured victims from being shown to the jury. The prosecution called victims to the stand and photos were shown, as evidence.

The judge also denied the Defense's motion to either have the prosecution provide the entire boat (in which the defendant was holed up when he was captured) or bar it from being shown to jury. Photos of the boat wall upon which the defendant scrawled his confession were shown to the jury.



The note ^ -- scrawled with a marker on the interior wall of the cabin -- claims the bombings were retribution for U.S. military action in Afghanistan and Iraq, and called the Boston victims "collateral damage" in the same way Muslims have been in the American-led wars. "When you attack one Muslim, you attack all Muslims," Tsarnaev wrote.

Remember how that expert legal eagle of American crime, Cynical Ninja, argued so vigorously that the boat note was false evidence planted as part of a conspiracy to bolster the case against the suspect? Shockingly, that was a load of bullshit. The handwriting is that of the defendant and the fact that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev wrote that note is uncontested by the defense.

[Duchess]

I've read a lot of the testimony. It's very sad and shocking. I want that kid to look at what he has done but apparently he averts his eyes every time.

It must be very difficult for those people to relive what was probably the worst day of their lives :(