Tag Archives: top stories

My Innocent Brother Was Made Into a Bombing Suspect: Sunil Tripathi’s Sister Speaks

by Shannon Walters Posted on April 20, 2013

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

In the aftermath of Monday’s Boston Marathon attack, a heaving pile of junk information clouded the breaking news reports. Casualty figures were botched, the number of explosive devices was misreported, and suspects were wrongly identified. On that last front, one of the families deeply affected by the press and public’s false conclusions was that of Sunil Tripathi, a 22-year-old Brown University philosophy student who went missing on March 16.

Sunil’s family, who live in Radnor Township, Pennsylvania and describe him as “kind, gentle, and shy,” had launched a social-media campaign to find him; their Facebook page garnered nearly a quarter million views in the first week of his disappearance. As the police search for Sunil expanded, his story began to make national news last month with mentions from Fox News, ABC News, the Boston Globe, and other outlets.

Continue Reading »

More:  

My Innocent Brother Was Made Into a Bombing Suspect: Sunil Tripathi’s Sister Speaks

Posted in FF, G & F, GE, ONA, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on My Innocent Brother Was Made Into a Bombing Suspect: Sunil Tripathi’s Sister Speaks

5 of the Worst Reactions to the Boston Manhunt

by NielPostma231 Posted on April 19, 2013

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

p.mininav-header-text background-color: #000000 !importantMore MoJo coverage of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings


Deadly Shootout With Bombing Suspects Near Boston: One Suspect Dead, One Being Sought


Did Boston Bombing Suspect Post Al Qaeda Prophecy on YouTube?


What These Tweets Tell Us About Boston Bombing Suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev


EXCLUSIVE: Wrestling Photo, Stunned Reactions From Former Classmates of Bombing Suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev


These Soldiers Did the Boston Marathon Wearing 40-Pound Packs. Then They Helped Save Lives.

As of Friday evening, the manhunt for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was still ongoing. For legislators and pundits, however, it was already time to talk politics.

Seizing on the reported Chechen heritage and Muslim background of the alleged bombers, politicos used the attack in Boston to make points about everything from immigration reform to the use of drones on American soil. Although it’s totally appropriate to talk politics in the aftermath of a tragedy, talking politics doesn’t necessarily mean you’re making a good argument. Here are some of the worst reactions to the Boston bombing.

Let’s slow down immigration reform! Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said Friday morning that the attacks should affect the immigration reform effort:

Given the events of this week, it’s important for us to understand the gaps and loopholes in our immigration system. While we don’t yet know the immigration status of the people who have terrorized the communities in Massachusetts, when we find out, it will help shed light on the weaknesses of our system.

The two suspects in the Boston bombing appear to have come to this country legally, and there’s no indication yet that supposed “loopholes in the immigration system” that Grassley referenced are the reason the Boston bombing was not prevented.

Immigrants are terrorists. “It’s too bad Suspect #1 won’t be able to be legalized by Marco Rubio, now,” conservative pundit Ann Coulter tweeted Friday. She’s implying that unauthorized immigrants in the United States might be terrorists.

Time for spying on all Muslims. Former Homeland Security chairman Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) didn’t waste any time demanding that the Muslim community come under scrutiny, even though the motivations behind the bombing are not yet fully known.

“Police have to be in the community, they have to build up as many sources as they can, and they have to realize that the threat is coming from the Muslim community and increase surveillance there,” King told National Review, adding that “we can’t be bound by political correctness.” He also insisted he wasn’t just singling out Muslims (ellipses added by National Review): “We need more police and more surveillance in the communities where the threat is coming from, whether it’s the Irish community with the Westies an Irish-American gang in New York City, or the Italian community with the mafia, or the Muslim community with the Islamic terrorists.” Racial profiling for everyone!

Let’s ignore the Constitution. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who is up for reelection in 2014, insisted that President Barack Obama ignore the Constitution and refuse to recognize Tsarnaev’s Miranda rights if he is captured. Graham tweeted that Obama should hold Tsarnaev as an “enemy combatant.” Tsarnaev is an American citizen and no direct links between the Tsarnaev brothers and an international terror group such as Al Qaeda have been established. But that didn’t stop Graham, a senator sworn to uphold the US Constitution, from insisting the government behave as though an American citizen’s constitutional rights don’t exist.

“America a battlefield because the terrorists think it is,” Graham said during an interview with Washington Post conservative blogger Jennifer Rubin later on Friday. “It sure would be nice to have a drone up there to track the suspect.”

Rubin added the brackets in Graham’s last sentence. Without the full context, it’s impossible to know whether Graham wanted the drone in the air for surveillance purposes as opposed to launching missiles or dropping bombs.

The Boston Marathon bombing is an inside job. Noted conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is insisting that the Boston bombing was a “false flag” operation carried out by the government. It seems unlikely that Jones’ bizarre understanding of the attack will catch on. But prominent politicians, including Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), former Reps. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), and current Reps. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) and Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), have appeared on Jones’ radio show. Perhaps these latest comments will finally convince lawmakers that it’s time to stop legitimizing Jones’ conspiracy-mongering.

Read More: 

5 of the Worst Reactions to the Boston Manhunt

Posted in alo, Citizen, FF, GE, ONA, PUR, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on 5 of the Worst Reactions to the Boston Manhunt

What These Tweets Tell Us About Boston Bombing Suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

by Seraphinakbj Posted on April 19, 2013

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

p.mininav-header-text background-color: #000000 !importantMore MoJo coverage of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings


Deadly Shootout With Bombing Suspects Near Boston: One Suspect Dead, One Being Sought


Did Boston Bombing Suspect Post Al Qaeda Prophecy on YouTube?


What These Tweets Tell Us About Boston Bombing Suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev


EXCLUSIVE: Wrestling Photo, Stunned Reactions From Former Classmates of Bombing Suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev


These Soldiers Did the Boston Marathon Wearing 40-Pound Packs. Then They Helped Save Lives.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev apparently maintained an active Twitter account. A high school classmate of the at-large Boston Marathon bombing suspect has confirmed to BuzzFeed that the @J_tsar Twitter account belongs to Tsarnaev, and multiple Twitter users who say they are friends of Tsarnaev have pointed to this Twitter feed as his. The tweets on the @J_tsar account cover a variety of topics, including religion and pop culture, and contain much trash talk about women. The user of this account kept on tweeting after the bombing. On April 15, hours after the attack, he tweeted, “Ain’t no love in the heart of the city, stay safe people.” On April 17, he tweeted, “I’m just a stress free kind of guy.” Here’s a sampling of odd, mundane, and chilling tweets from the account from the past year, including one in which the user laments, “The value of human life ain’t shit nowadays.”

This is a Tweet that Tsarnaev retweeted on election day:

— Jahar (@J_tsar) September 2, 2012

The user of this account also tweeted this on Election Day last year:

View this article: 

What These Tweets Tell Us About Boston Bombing Suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

Posted in ALPHA, FF, GE, LG, ONA, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on What These Tweets Tell Us About Boston Bombing Suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

Is This the Hat Worn by Boston Bombing Suspect #1?

by RupertxMcmillan Posted on April 18, 2013

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

One of the suspects’ hats may be this Bridgestone Golf hat:

Here’s a second side-by-side of the back of the Bridgestone cap and a photo that Reddit user streetsim says he or she took at the marathon (text is also visible on the back of Suspect 1’s hat in the video the FBI released):

Right-side image by Reddit user streetsim

See the rest of the photos the FBI released of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects here.

Read article here:

Is This the Hat Worn by Boston Bombing Suspect #1?

Posted in FF, GE, ONA, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Is This the Hat Worn by Boston Bombing Suspect #1?

Here Are Photos and Video of the Boston Marathon Bombing Suspects

by bfys19 Posted on April 18, 2013

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

UPDATE, 5:45 p.m. EDT: One of the suspects’ hats’ may be this Bridgestone Golf hat:

ORIGINAL POST: The FBI has released images of two “persons of interest.” “No one should approach them…Do not take action on your own,” they said during the press briefing. Here is the FBI’s YouTube clip of the two individuals; each had a backpack:

The bureau posted the photos online:

Continued: 

Here Are Photos and Video of the Boston Marathon Bombing Suspects

Posted in FF, GE, ONA, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Here Are Photos and Video of the Boston Marathon Bombing Suspects

Here’s Why the NRA Won and Gabby Giffords and Mike Bloomberg Lost

by gammak Posted on April 18, 2013

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

More MoJo coverage of the Senate’s failed background check bill.


Here’s Why the NRA Won and Gabby Giffords and Mike Bloomberg Lost


“Shame On You!”: Senate Rejects Gun Background Check Compromise


Meet the 45 Senators Who Blocked Background Checks


Why Did These 4 Democrats Vote No on Gun Background Checks?


Have You Seen Mitch McConnell’s Facebook Page?


10 Reasons the Background Check Bill Means Victory for the NRA


Map: Most Americans Support Background Checks for All Gun Buyers

Also read our special report on gun laws and the rise of mass shootings.

On NBC’s Meet the Press last month, National Rifle Association honcho Wayne LaPierre, the face of the American gun lobby, delivered this message to New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg: “He’s going to find out that this is a country of the people, by the people, and for the people, and he can’t spend enough of his $27 billion to try to impose his will on the American public. He can’t buy America.” The day before, Bloomberg had announced that he would spend $12 million of his own money on an ad blitz pressing members of Congress to pass new legislation expanding background checks for gun purchases. LaPierre went on national television to tell the mayor that all those millions wouldn’t make the difference in the fight in Congress over new gun laws.

Guess what? LaPierre was right.

The Manchin-Toomey background check legislation that died in the Senate on Wednesday had everything going for it. Bipartisan sponsorship by two centrist senators. The support of 90 percent of Americans. President Obama’s full-throated backing. The momentum for reform created by tragedy and sympathetic advocates with gripping stories—ex-Rep. Gabby Giffords, the Newtown families. All the pieces were there.

Yet it failed. The bill won a 54-vote majority but fell short of the Senate’s 60-vote threshold to pass new laws, a high hurdle that progressives decry as undemocratic. But the main reason it failed—and this is the key point for gun-control advocates—is because the NRA has unrivaled political power, the kind of influence and muscle that Bloomberg, the Brady Campaign, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Organizing for Action, Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly, and the rest of the gun-control lobby can only dream of.

Continue Reading »

Source:  

Here’s Why the NRA Won and Gabby Giffords and Mike Bloomberg Lost

Posted in FF, GE, ONA, PUR, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Here’s Why the NRA Won and Gabby Giffords and Mike Bloomberg Lost

Agency That Investigates Plant Explosions "Grossly Mismanaged"

by bukaroso Posted on April 18, 2013

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

This story was originally published by the Center for Public Integrity.

Editor’s note, April 18: An explosion Wednesday at a fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas, killed between five and 15 people, authorities say, and injured more than 160. The US Chemical Safety Board, an independent agency that investigates chemical accidents and issues safety recommendations, says it expects a “large investigative team” to arrive at the scene this afternoon. As the Center for Public Integrity reported Wednesday, the board has been criticized for failing to complete investigations in a timely manner.

On April 2, 2010, an explosion at the Tesoro Corp. oil refinery in Anacortes, Washington, killed five workers instantly and severely burned two others, who succumbed to their wounds.

Eighteen days later, the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig blew up in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers and unleashing a massive oil spill.

In both cases, the US Chemical Safety Board—an independent agency modeled after the National Transportation Safety Board—launched investigations. Like the NTSB, the Chemical Safety Board is supposed to follow such probes with recommendations aimed at preventing similar tragedies.

Yet three years after Tesoro and Deepwater Horizon, both inquiries remain open—exemplars of a chemical board under attack for what critics call its sluggish investigative pace and short attention span. A former board member calls the agency “grossly mismanaged.”

The number of board accident reports, case studies, and safety bulletins has fallen precipitously since 2006, an analysis by the Center for Public Integrity found. Thirteen board investigations—one more than five years old—are incomplete.

Continue Reading »

Read original article: 

Agency That Investigates Plant Explosions "Grossly Mismanaged"

Posted in FF, GE, ONA, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Agency That Investigates Plant Explosions "Grossly Mismanaged"

Meet the 45 Senators Who Blocked Background Checks

by Aaron Darek Posted on April 18, 2013

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

An amendment proposed by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) to require background checks for commercial gun sales (but not for sales between “friends and neighbors”) was shot down Wednesday afternoon in a 54-46 vote, failing to capture the 60 votes it needed to advance. The bill would have been a modest victory for gun control advocates, while ceding numerous concessions to the gun lobby (the NRA initially called it a “positive development.”) Nevertheless, only four Republicans voted for the proposal, with 41 voting against it. Five Democrats rejected the proposal as well (Reid was a special case; see below). Standing with families of Sandy Hook victims, President Obama said that “there was no coherent argument for why we wouldn’t do this. It came down to politics.”

Here’s a list so you can see how your Senator voted:

Republicans Who Voted for the Proposal

Susan Collins (R-ME)
Mark Kirk (R-IL)
John McCain (R-AZ)
Pat Toomey (R-PA)

Democrats Who Voted Against the Proposal

Max Baucus (D-MT)
Mark Begich (D-AK)
Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND)
Mark Pryor (D-AR)
Harry Reid (D-NV) (Voted “no” as a procedural move to preserve option to reintroduce the bill.)

republicans Who Voted Against the Proposal

Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
Kelly Ayotte (R-NH)
John Barrasso (R-WY)
Roy Blunt (R-MO)
John Boozman (R-AR)
Richard Burr (R-NC)
Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
Dan Coats (R-IN)
Tom Coburn (R-OK)
Thad Cochran (R-MS)
Bob Corker (R-TN)
John Cornyn (R-TX)
Mike Crapo (R-ID)
Ted Cruz (R-TX)
Michael Enzi (R-WY)
Deb Fischer (R-NE)
Jeff Flake (R-AZ)
Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
Dean Heller (R-NV)
John Hoeven (R-ND)
Jim Inhofe (R-OK)
Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
Mike Johanns (R-NE)
Ron Johnson (R-WI)
Mike Lee (R-UT)
Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Jerry Moran (R-KS)
Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Rand Paul (R-KY)
Rob Portman (R-OH)
James Risch (R-ID)
Pat Roberts (R-KS)
Marco Rubio (R-FL)
Timothy Scott (R-SC)
Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
Richard Shelby (R-AL)
John Thune (R-SD)
David Vitter (R-LA)
Roger Wicker (R-MS)

democrats Who Voted for the Proposal

Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
Michael Bennet (D-CO)
Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
Ben Cardin (D-MD)
Thomas Carper (D-DE)
Bob Casey (D-PA)
Christopher Coons (D-DE)
William “Mo” Cowan (D-MA)
Joe Donnelly (D-IN)
Richard Durbin (D-IL)
Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Al Franken (D-MN)
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Kay Hagan (D-NC)
Tom Harkin (D-IA)
Martin Heinrich (D-NM)
Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
Tim Johnson (D-SD)
Timothy Kaine (D-VA)
Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
Carl Levin (D-MI)
Joe Manchin (D-WV)
Claire McCaskill (D-MO)
Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
Christopher Murphy (D-CT)
Patty Murray (D-WA)
Bill Nelson (D-FL)
John Reed (D-RI)
Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)
Brian Schatz (D-HI)
Charles Schumer (D-NY)
Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
Jon Tester (D-MT)
Mark Udall (D-CO)
Tom Udall (D-NM)
Mark Warner (D-VA)
Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
Ron Wyden (D-OR)

independents

Angus King (I-ME): Yea

Bernie Sanders (I-VT): Yea

More: 

Meet the 45 Senators Who Blocked Background Checks

Posted in FF, GE, ONA, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Meet the 45 Senators Who Blocked Background Checks

Arab American on Boston Marathon: "Everyone in This Room Is Holding Their Breath"

by s4o840t Posted on April 17, 2013

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

p.mininav-header-text background-color: #000000 !importantMore MoJo coverage of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings


What We Know About the Boston Marathon Attack


The Man in the Cowboy Hat: Meet Carlos Arredondo, a Hero of the Boston Bombings


Question Everything You Hear About the Boston Marathon Bombing


Terror Attacks on Sporting Events, Especially Marathons, Are Surprisingly Rare


6 False Things You Heard About the Boston Bombing


These Soldiers Did the Boston Marathon Wearing 40-Pound Packs. Then They Helped Save Lives.

From House oversight committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Mich.) to Sara El-Amine, the national director of President Obama’s political nonprofit, Organizing for Action, the Arab American community can count the Obama administration’s closest political allies and enemies among their number. Both were present Tuesday night as the Arab American elite gathered to celebrate their accomplishments at a black-tie event hosted by the Arab-American Institute in Washington, DC. Yet through the revelry and clinking of glasses, and the cheerful chitchat in English and Arabic, the terrifying attack in Boston cast a shadow over the evening.

Veteran CNN and ABC News journalist Christiane Amanpour was there to receive an award named for celebrated former New York Times foreign correspondent Anthony Shadid, whose death in Syria last year was a personal loss to many in attendance. Amanpour carefully broached what she called “the elephant in the room.”

“How many of us feel this burden of association and hope beyond hope that this won’t turn out to be what we are afraid it might be?” said Amanpour, who is partially of Iranian descent. “When we know who did this, we will all unite in strong and unequivocal condemnation.”

For many Arab Americans and Muslim Americans, flashing news alerts about another attack causing mass casualties brings anxiety over whether or not the perpetrator is a member of their communities, and if so, whether they will bear collective blame for the actions of isolated extremists. It’s a sinking feeling many minority groups have to cope with. But since the 9/11 attacks, the Arab American and Muslim American communities have been frequently singled out for suspicion by law enforcement, and have faced derision even from some public officials.

Tuesday, despite carefully worded statements from law enforcement and President Obama himself stating that the motive and identity of the perpetrators remained unknown, anti-Muslim and conservative bloggers narrowed in on a young Saudi student—who was never identified by authorities as a suspect, despite erroneous news reports—as the individual responsible for the carnage in Boston. By Tuesday afternoon, authorities said he was himself a victim.

“It’s devastating, I’ve got this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach,” said one Arab American community organizer on Tuesday night. “At the same time, I’m like, can we cool it with the ‘I hope he’s not Arab or Muslim thing’?” Community groups face a catch-22 in this situation, because any preemptive action on the part of Arab and Muslim advocacy groups to respond to unsubstantiated suspicion has the effect of cementing the association between Arabs, Muslims and terrorism in the public mind.

Until those responsible for the bombings are uncovered—there were conflicting reports on Wednesday afternoon about whether authorities had arrested a suspect—Arab and Muslim Americans will be on edge. Said one Arab American activist at Tuesday’s dinner, “Everyone in this room is holding their breath.”

Link to original: 

Arab American on Boston Marathon: "Everyone in This Room Is Holding Their Breath"

Posted in FF, G & F, GE, ONA, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Arab American on Boston Marathon: "Everyone in This Room Is Holding Their Breath"

The Immigration Bill’s Security Poison Pill

by london Posted on April 17, 2013

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

Naming its long-awaited comprehensive immigration bill the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 wasn’t just an alphabetical flourish by the bipartisan Senate Gang of Eight: Securing the border always was going to be its No. 1 stated goal.

So it’s no surprise that the bill calls for the Department of Homeland Security to present Congress with plans for security and fencing strategies for the southern border before any of the country’s 11 million undocumented immigrants can become “Registered Provisional Immigrants,” allowing them to legally live and work in the United States. And before RPIs can apply for green cards, a border enforcement plan must be “substantially operational,” “maintaining effective control in all high-risk border sectors” in the Southwest.

Too bad, though, that there’s still no way to know how the bill’s benchmark border security stats will be determined.

Continue Reading »

Read more – 

The Immigration Bill’s Security Poison Pill

Posted in ALPHA, FF, GE, ONA, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on The Immigration Bill’s Security Poison Pill