Witch hunt alert? Time will tell.

[Ragnar]

Boston bombing update: The guys in the feds? surveillance video probably aren?t who you think « Hot Air

The FBI is (finally!) going to release the footage that everyone’s been clamoring for later today. If you’re read the New York Post this morning, you probably think you know who the guys in the video will be. You’re probably wrong. I watched an interview on Erin Burnett’s show last night with Fran Townsend (I think it was her), who’d seen photos of the suspects circulated by cops; CNN refused to air the pics but it was abundantly clear from her description that it’s the same two guys in the Post’s story today. If you followed Reddit’s marathon photo sleuthing yesterday, you knew instantly watching that interview who she meant. There were at least five or six different shots of them near the finish line being scrutinized on Reddit — one of them wore a white cap and bulging black backpack, the other a blue track suit with a sagging duffel bag. I went to bed last night thinking that’s who’d be in the video released today.

But apparently I’m wrong. The administrator of the Reddit sleuthing thread posted an alert this morning urging people to back off. Quote:

The two Males that the media have claimed the FBI are looking for are local guys and appear to be innocent. PLEASE DO NOT POST ANY MORE ON THEM, ESPECIALLY LINKS TO NEWS SITES THAT IDENTIFIES THEM. : findbostonbombers

This is what you call a witch hunt media, for god sake.

The two males we’re talking about are the one in a black jumper/hoody with a white hat, and his friend in a blue track jacket. There are multiple news sites releasing their information and/or Facebook pages, this is disgusting and will not be tolerated here, no links to these stories are allowed.

Please report any posts regarding personal information on these two, they will be removed and the user will be permanently banned. All previous links to these two are being removed.

We are not waiting for them to be officially cleared, one of the men has contacted the police to try and clear his name. Please understand that the FBI now knows who they are, so our posts now have no purpose. If the situation changes then people can make new posts. It’s not our job to keep their information out there, people are innocent until proven guilty – not the other way around.

As noted above the FBI is putting out more information today. Whatever happens in the near future I remain confident that the real perps will be caught and brought to justice. At the very least we will eventually get an accurate account of exactly what happened and likely why.

 

[Ragnar]

Authorities have clear video images of two suspects in Boston Marathon bombings, official says - Boston.com

Authorities have clear video images of two separate suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings carrying black bags at each explosion site and are planning to release the images today in an appeal for the public’s help in identifying the men, according to an official briefed on the case.

The official said that the two suspects were seen separately on videotape — one at each of the two bombing sites, which are located about a block apart.

The official, who spoke this morning on the condition of anonymity, said the best video has come from surveillance cameras on the same side of Boylston Street as the explosions. The official said the widely reported Lord and Taylor surveillance camera, and snapshots from individual cellphone camera users, have not provided the clearest images.

I'm actually OK with the rampant speculation and whatnot as it's only human to bring some kind of order out o chaos. Just so long as we are all aware of the possibility of conformation bias and willing to look at new information with open eyes as this thing moves forward.

What happened was evil. How we deal with it is up to each of us individually.

 

[FA_Q2]

Authorities have clear video images of two suspects in Boston Marathon bombings, official says - Boston.com

Authorities have clear video images of two separate suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings carrying black bags at each explosion site and are planning to release the images today in an appeal for the public’s help in identifying the men, according to an official briefed on the case.

The official said that the two suspects were seen separately on videotape — one at each of the two bombing sites, which are located about a block apart.

The official, who spoke this morning on the condition of anonymity, said the best video has come from surveillance cameras on the same side of Boylston Street as the explosions. The official said the widely reported Lord and Taylor surveillance camera, and snapshots from individual cellphone camera users, have not provided the clearest images.

I'm actually OK with the rampant speculation and whatnot as it's only human to bring some kind of order out o chaos. Just so long as we are all aware of the possibility of conformation bias and willing to look at new information with open eyes as this thing moves forward.

What happened was evil. How we deal with it is up to each of us individually.

Speculation is fine with you and me. IT IS NOT FINE WITH THE MEDIA OR OFFICIALS.

Essentially, news needs to stop reporting shit they know nothing about because it causes real, tangible harm. These people in the photos are likely to go through some serious problems because of this or could even have been harmed.

Look at what happened to sandy hook. The national dialog was sent back and tainted with continual incorrect bullshit. There are still people that do not know half of what they believe is false because the media kept reporting falsehoods and things they knew nothing about.

 

[Ragnar]

Authorities have clear video images of two suspects in Boston Marathon bombings, official says - Boston.com

Authorities have clear video images of two separate suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings carrying black bags at each explosion site and are planning to release the images today in an appeal for the public’s help in identifying the men, according to an official briefed on the case.

The official said that the two suspects were seen separately on videotape — one at each of the two bombing sites, which are located about a block apart.

The official, who spoke this morning on the condition of anonymity, said the best video has come from surveillance cameras on the same side of Boylston Street as the explosions. The official said the widely reported Lord and Taylor surveillance camera, and snapshots from individual cellphone camera users, have not provided the clearest images.

I'm actually OK with the rampant speculation and whatnot as it's only human to bring some kind of order out o chaos. Just so long as we are all aware of the possibility of conformation bias and willing to look at new information with open eyes as this thing moves forward.

What happened was evil. How we deal with it is up to each of us individually.

Speculation is fine with you and me. IT IS NOT FINE WITH THE MEDIA OR OFFICIALS.

Essentially, news needs to stop reporting shit they know nothing about because it causes real, tangible harm. These people in the photos are likely to go through some serious problems because of this or could even have been harmed.

Look at what happened to sandy hook. The national dialog was sent back and tainted with continual incorrect bullshit. There are still people that do not know half of what they believe is false because the media kept reporting falsehoods and things they knew nothing about.

I mostly agree. Not much can be done about the media (free press) other than holding them to account with the facts and making sure bad actors get punished with derision, mocking and maybe best of all lost viewership. (maybe boycotts if that's your thing)

The authorities better damn well get it right and if not we have the constitutional means to get them thrown out of office. (elected authorities anyway, bureaucrats are tougher but they all have elected bosses at some point)

 

[AmyNation]

Can you imagine the trouble if these pictures that bloggers are circulating are just bystanders? These men could be in danger, someone spots them and thinks "this guys is a terrorist!" ...

 

[Ragnar]

Can you imagine the trouble if these pictures that bloggers are circulating are just bystanders? These men could be in danger, someone spots them and thinks "this guys is a terrorist!" ...

It's both scary and sadly all to easy to imagine, although, thankfully such a scenario is exceptionally rare in occurrence. The long anticipated "backlash" against innocent muslims has largely failed to materialize since the tragedy of September 11, 2001. If not then, it should not happen now. (We don't even know who the perps are)

Still none of the above excuses any bone headed media rush to judgement and nothing excuses the rare but real individual attacks on anyone based or religion, race or for that matter anything else. So called "mob justice" is always oxymoronic. Everyone deserves the presumption of innocence.

 

[Oldguy]

Authorities have clear video images of two suspects in Boston Marathon bombings, official says - Boston.com

Authorities have clear video images of two separate suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings carrying black bags at each explosion site and are planning to release the images today in an appeal for the public’s help in identifying the men, according to an official briefed on the case.

The official said that the two suspects were seen separately on videotape — one at each of the two bombing sites, which are located about a block apart.

The official, who spoke this morning on the condition of anonymity, said the best video has come from surveillance cameras on the same side of Boylston Street as the explosions. The official said the widely reported Lord and Taylor surveillance camera, and snapshots from individual cellphone camera users, have not provided the clearest images.

I'm actually OK with the rampant speculation and whatnot as it's only human to bring some kind of order out o chaos. Just so long as we are all aware of the possibility of conformation bias and willing to look at new information with open eyes as this thing moves forward.

What happened was evil. How we deal with it is up to each of us individually.

I'll bet if you were one of those two men and hadn't done anything wrong, you wouldn't be so "OK" with it.

 

[Ragnar]

Authorities have clear video images of two suspects in Boston Marathon bombings, official says - Boston.com

Authorities have clear video images of two separate suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings carrying black bags at each explosion site and are planning to release the images today in an appeal for the public’s help in identifying the men, according to an official briefed on the case.

The official said that the two suspects were seen separately on videotape — one at each of the two bombing sites, which are located about a block apart.

The official, who spoke this morning on the condition of anonymity, said the best video has come from surveillance cameras on the same side of Boylston Street as the explosions. The official said the widely reported Lord and Taylor surveillance camera, and snapshots from individual cellphone camera users, have not provided the clearest images.

I'm actually OK with the rampant speculation and whatnot as it's only human to bring some kind of order out o chaos. Just so long as we are all aware of the possibility of conformation bias and willing to look at new information with open eyes as this thing moves forward.

What happened was evil. How we deal with it is up to each of us individually.

I'll bet if you were one of those two men and hadn't done anything wrong, you wouldn't be so "OK" with it.

I meant "rampant speculation" generally, but no, if I were one of them I would prefer not to be "Richard Jewelled" into a national punchline. My current guess, based on the OP is those guys are likely innocent but I'll turn on a dime in the face of actual physical evidence.

I can admit I would not like being in their shoes while maintaining that if I were, I would understand human nature and the news cycle in the modern world. They were not the first wrong guess at "person of interest" and may not be the last.

Lastly, were I one of them, I would surely hope that there was someone like me out here starting threads pointing at my possible innocence.

 

[AmyNation]

It's now being reported that authorities have totally cleared the 2 men called out by the NYP

New York Post Misidentifies Local High School Track Runner As Boston Bombing Suspect | Mediaite

 

[t_polkow]

Can you imagine the trouble if these pictures that bloggers are circulating are just bystanders? These men could be in danger, someone spots them and thinks "this guys is a terrorist!" ...

Thats what happend to Richard Jewell he was hounded wrongly for the Olympic bombing even though it was found out later that the CHRISTIAN Terrorist Eric Rudolph was the Atlanta terrorist along with other bombings.

 

[Ragnar]

Had not looked today so hat tip to Drudge:

Meet The Two Immigrant Runners Wrongly Fingered As "Possible Suspects" In The Boston Marathon Bombing | The Smoking Gun

Teen: I Am Not the Boston Marathon Bomber - ABC News

Per the links seems pretty darn innocent more and more.

On a lighter note and in deference to the "witch hunt" theme I found the below quite funny...

Barhoum’s Facebook page includes two photos snapped at the marathon. One image depicts the teen--who runs for his school and the Momentum Athletic Club--posing in front of a scrim with the race logo, while the other shows a large TV screen erected on the corner of Boylston and Exeter streets, a block from the finish line. The caption of the second photo, which was taken as three top women runners dueled for the lead, reads, “Boston marathon 117th) Kenya and Ethiopia had a lot of fun lmfao – with Yassine Zaimi.” A third Facebook photo, posted March 24, shows Barhoum “Bored at work” at a Subway restaurant.

Zaimi, a Boston resident, is a Moroccan immigrant who also attended Revere High School. In Facebook posts, Barhoum refers to Zaimi as his “coach.”

According to Zaimi’s Facebook page, he has worked at State Street Bank & Trust and JPMorgan Chase. Additionally, Zaimi’s Facebook page is stocked with tourist-type photos of him posing around Boston. The shots include Zaimi wearing a colonial tri-corner hat, standing in front of a Samuel Adams statue at Faneuil Hall, and resting his elbow on a statue of late Boston Celtics legend Red Auerbach.

How is the internet not awesome? Zaimi seems to be less and less suspect by the hour and yet in one link (TSG) I've found reason for conspiracy theorist to suspect him all over again, be they xenophobic racist or brain dead Occupy Wall Streeters.

 

[FA_Q2]

Authorities have clear video images of two suspects in Boston Marathon bombings, official says - Boston.com



I'm actually OK with the rampant speculation and whatnot as it's only human to bring some kind of order out o chaos. Just so long as we are all aware of the possibility of conformation bias and willing to look at new information with open eyes as this thing moves forward.

What happened was evil. How we deal with it is up to each of us individually.

Speculation is fine with you and me. IT IS NOT FINE WITH THE MEDIA OR OFFICIALS.

Essentially, news needs to stop reporting shit they know nothing about because it causes real, tangible harm. These people in the photos are likely to go through some serious problems because of this or could even have been harmed.

Look at what happened to sandy hook. The national dialog was sent back and tainted with continual incorrect bullshit. There are still people that do not know half of what they believe is false because the media kept reporting falsehoods and things they knew nothing about.

I mostly agree. Not much can be done about the media (free press) other than holding them to account with the facts and making sure bad actors get punished with derision, mocking and maybe best of all lost viewership. (maybe boycotts if that's your thing)

The authorities better damn well get it right and if not we have the constitutional means to get them thrown out of office. (elected authorities anyway, bureaucrats are tougher but they all have elected bosses at some point)

Well, yes a boycott is the way to go as this is obviously not a legal matter in that you cannot restrict the press. Boycott really misses it though because that implies some sort of conscious organization. People just need to wake up and stop feeding the giants. Personally, I have stopped patronizing virtually all news sources. They are not worth the time. I can get all my news from a ton of varied sources right here on the internet with very little contact with the alphabet soup and their entertainment shows (as they no longer qualify as actual news). AP reports can be garnered from other places and most real data can be mined from source material rather than the cut up versions that the media gives you anyway. Want to know about budgets, expenditures and changing receipts? The news will only feed you lies about that. Go to the CBO and the Whitehouse historical tables. Want to know about gun control, go to the FBI crime statistics. New laws? They are there online. There is truth in source material and lies in material where you let others do your thinking.

I would hope that enough people see the light and force the news agencies to actually go back to reporting but I fear that we are only going to wrong direction. People don’t really want real information, that makes them think. All they want is an affirmation of their core beliefs and some empty entertainment.

 

[jwoodie]

Political Correctness at its finest.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Can you imagine the trouble if these pictures that bloggers are circulating are just bystanders? These men could be in danger, someone spots them and thinks "this guys is a terrorist!" ...

The media did it to Ryan Lanza

 

[Sunshine]

Can you imagine the trouble if these pictures that bloggers are circulating are just bystanders? These men could be in danger, someone spots them and thinks "this guys is a terrorist!" ...

Thats what happend to Richard Jewell he was hounded wrongly for the Olympic bombing even though it was found out later that the CHRISTIAN Terrorist Eric Rudolph was the Atlanta terrorist along with other bombings.

Eric Rudolph was not a Christian terrorist:

In a letter to his parents from prison, Rudolph has written, "Many good people continue to send me money and books. Most of them have, of course, an agenda; mostly born-again Christians looking to save my soul. I suppose the assumption is made that because I'm in here I must be a 'sinner' in need of salvation, and they would be glad to sell me a ticket to heaven, hawking this salvation like peanuts at a ballgame. I do appreciate their charity, but I could really do without the condescension. They have been so nice I would hate to break it to them that I really prefer Nietzsche to the Bible."[29]

Eric Rudolph - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[buckeye45_73]

Can you imagine the trouble if these pictures that bloggers are circulating are just bystanders? These men could be in danger, someone spots them and thinks "this guys is a terrorist!" ...

Thats what happend to Richard Jewell he was hounded wrongly for the Olympic bombing even though it was found out later that the CHRISTIAN Terrorist Eric Rudolph was the Atlanta terrorist along with other bombings.

Christian terrorist....HAHA you kill me man......go suck a dick, ok?

Now Jewell was wrong treated and accused....and I dont like these things being out there, but the media does this all the time...the day it happened the RW was on the list....never the LW though....hmmmmmm


PS I bet youre hopimg it was a white guy, eh?
So if you dont want speculation I'm all for that, but makre sure it comprises ALL facets and not just a few.

 

[blackhawk]

Rampant speculation seems to be fine with people as long as the speculation is about if a mass shooter or bomber is conservative, a Tea Party member or if they were inspired by conservative media otherwise they are not so keen on it.

 

[Mr. H.]

If these two are "innocent" you think they would have reported in somewhere.

 

[CaféAuLait]

It's now being reported that authorities have totally cleared the 2 men called out by the NYP

New York Post Misidentifies Local High School Track Runner As Boston Bombing Suspect | Mediaite

They were cleared, but the fact remains that the FEDS were passing their photo around and seeking them out before the Post ran the story today as told by the ABC story below. Some news agencies released information before The Post did its highly ill-advised and totally ignorant story this AM. Since those on Reddit pinpointed who they were so quick before The Post ran its story, one would imagine those who we pay to do such should have been able to do the same before passing said photos around and allowing the public and news to see or hear of the photos.

Teen: I Am Not the Boston Marathon Bomber - ABC News

 

[Sunshine]

It took years to find the unabomber, and not before one of his attacks was carried out at Vanderbilt. It took hours to accuse an innocent man in Atlanta. Free press? Sure. Now, what about RESPONSIBLE press? This shit is exactly why Obama doesn't need to be allowed to use drone attacks on US soil without due process of law. The press would have this country back to the middle ages in a heartbeat!