The Aftermath

No words can express or convey the horrors that we saw yesterday afternoon.  The last time I saw so much raw footage was on a foreign channel.  I'm still not sure what I feel about what happened.  And since I don't understand what I feel, I decided to look into the whole thing.

I started simple.  Not really sure what direction to take my quasi-investigation.  I just wanted to know more about everything.  I was grasping at straws, hoping that something would make sense.  I've only heard of the double bomb in an episode of Crminal Minds.  Didn't really think it was an actual technique used by terrorists.  The website that explained this also said that the first bomb was always used to attract first responders.  The second gained maximum damage.  Simply stated, they are "Attract and Destroy".

I looked at more of what the website had to say but my mind couldn't take in anymore.  Can this really be our new, or should I say, our current mode of living?  These things aren't new.  This mode of life isn't new.  It's as old as Chinese history.

The concept of Attract and Destroy led me to question the placement of the devices themselves.  Turns out, and this is from a layman's understanding of Attract and Destroy, I've found something interesting in the placement of the explosives.

First, the winners crossed the finish line two hours after starting.  Assuming there weren't any delays in the race starting, winners crossed the line approximately at 11:40 AM.  Two hours after that, the explosions were heard, making it approximately 1:40 PM.  I also looked into the average run time for the past couple of races and it seems to average a 4 hour and 18 minute time to finish.  Sad to say, whoever planted these devices, timed the bombs to coincide with the average runners.  This being said, I also saw the average age of the individuals that would have been in this cluster of runners at that point in time.  On average, both men and women, between the ages of 35 and 45.

Second, I took a look at the area surrounding the finish line -- Dartmouth Street and Boylston Street -- and saw something interesting.  The aide station was on Dartmouth Street.  Now going back to the concept of Attract and Destroy, and the position of the aide station, the first explosion should have been the second and the second bomb should have been the first.  That's assuming that this was the employment of this technique.  I think the bombs were inverted.  Again, this from a layman's point of view.  The medical teams onsite would have been assisting runners as they crossed the finish line.  If the second bomb would have gone off first, the medical teams would have ran right into the second explosion.

Fifteen seconds.  A human reacts differently to a crisis.  In five seconds, the medical teams would have been running down the street towards the explosion.  On the tenth second, they would have crossed the finish line.  By the fifteen second, they would have made it to the Boston Public Library.

I want to be able to say that if this was the case, if the bombs were really placed incorrectly, that lives were saved, but I can't.  Lives were still lost.  The numbers have climbed to over 140 injured and 3 dead, including a child.  Conjecture, speculation, that's all this is.  It's just a way for me to make sense of this.  I wanted to see if I could anticipate the culprits behind the bombing.  But again, I'm just a layman trying to solve a puzzle I have no ability trying to solve.  It's my way of doing something.  It's my way of gaining control of a situtation that isn't mine to control.

Lux Pacis

Boston Marathon, 2013

Three hours after the winners crossed the finish line, two explosions were heard near the finish line.

 

Had trouble starting this entry.  Not really sure if taking from reports was the best option, but it was the only thing that popped in my head.  Everyone is saying that they don't know who could have done this.  To be honest, I hope we never find out.  I looked into the history of the marathon and came across something interesting.  The race is run on Patriot's Day, a day commemorating Lexington and Concord, the openning battles of the American Revolution.  Also, in the 1950's, the President of the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) denied Koreans entry into the marathon.

 

This marathon is a world wide event.  Athlete's from around the world participate in this event.  Nothing speaks more of Globalization than this one event.  And nothing speaks more of Americanization than this event.  I guess if you wanted to make a statement regarding Globalization and Americanization, this single event would be a great target.

 

This is assuming that it wasn't just an accident.  It's hard to deny.  Beleive me.  I'd rather say that it was a coincidence.  I'd rather say that it was a terrible accident.  But, after the past several months, after the political standings that have been taken in foreign arenas and domestic amphatheatres, I'm afraid that this is some kind of message.

 

So far, there has been a handful injuried.  I just heard that a make-shift morgue has been established.  Now, all we can do is wait for confirmation of something that will change this country again.

 

And to think that the past couple of days I've been regreting not having children.  I've been watching Life Unexpected and wondering what it would be like if a teenage girl knocked on my door and introduced herself as my daughter.  Reality hurts.  Now, I hope there isn't a person with half my chromosome's out there.  Although, I do like the name Lux, or should I say, the word, Lux.  It's Latin for "light".  That's what we need right now.  We need a light to show us that violence doesn't solve or prove anything other than that we as a species fear change and are willing to kill to master humanity.

South Korea

Looks like South Korea is making a stand...or a statement.  Wonder what will happen?  Will the U.S. step in once hostilities happen?  We know the U.S. will have to.  We've had a military presence there for the past 60 years.  The U.S. has sent some stealth bombers over to South Korea for what they call "Yearly Drills".  I'm not sure if that's helping the cause of peace.  Putting aside that Kim Jon Un has repeatedly said that he wasn't going to take any bull from South Korea or the United States, and that he would not hesitate on using nuclear weapons against such threats; why would anyone provoke that?  Just doesn't make sense.

And I know, I've read it too.  No one actually thinks North Korea would attack South Korea.  Everyone is saying that it's just political posturing.  That he's a little King playing at war.  But the thing is, we know North Koreans.  We understand how and why they function.  North Koreans deified Kim Jong Il and they are doing the same with Kim Jong Un.  Standing toe-to-toe with such sentiment just doesn't feel right.

I like what South Korean President Park said to the generals.  Forget politics.  If the North invades, hit them hard.  Hit them fast.  ROCK ON!  But is she grandstanding?  I'm not sure.  Both Kim and Park are new to the game.  They are untested.  I just hope they don't decide to work out their issues on a field of battle.

And COME ON!

This isn't the first time we've actually seen a leader use militarization as a tool for economic growth.  We've surely haven't seen such fervor from a nation before either.  If you're shocked, don't be.  I'm not saying that Kim resembles Hitler in these acts, but that's the way it started in Germany in the late 1920's.  Sanctions, Divisive countering and then invasion.  The politicians need to stop making the same mistakes.  They are leaning more to the idea that it's just political posturing.  The thing is, I have no idea what would calm this situation down.  I just know the possible outcome if it went bad.  If Kim isn't playing Toy Soldier, he has the capacity and the desire to use nuclear weapons.  God, I miss the 1920's.  No nuclear weapons.