Chemical Explosive Thrown Into Occupy group.

[SirNitram]

Link

PORTLAND — Occupy Maine protesters say Sunday morning's attack with a chemical explosive has left them with a mixture of anxiety and resolve.

"We are more motivated to keep doing what we're doing," said Stephanie Wilburn, of Portland, who was sitting near where the chemical mixture in a Gatorade bottle was tossed at 4 a.m. Sunday. "They have heard us and we're making a difference."

Wilburn said she was startled and briefly lost hearing in her left ear when the device exploded beneath a table about 10 feet away. Wilburn's hearing returned and police said no injuries were reported.

Portland police Sgt. Glen McGary said the bomb was thrown into the camp’s kitchen, a tarped area where food is cooked and served. Protest organizers said the explosion lifted a large table about a foot off the ground.

"There was no fire . . . We had a good 20 feet of thick smoke rolling out from under the table," Wilburn said. They could see the "G" on the 24-ounce bottle and its orange cap, as well as bits of silver metal, she said.

She and a friend who ran over to look at it breathed in fumes that smelled like ammonia, she said.

Witnesses said a silver car had been circling before the attack, its occupants shouting things like "Get a job" and "You communist." They believe someone from that car threw the device, according to a statement from Occupy Maine.

The demonstrators are protesting what they describe as unfairly favorable treatment given banks and other corporate interests at the expense of working people and those trying to find a job.

Shane Blodgett of Augusta was sleeping in his tent in the middle of the park when the explosion woke him up.

"I heard a sound which I thought was a gunshot," he said, gesturing at the collection of three dozen tents that cover the south side of the park at Congress and Pearl streets.

"I was in fear for my life. I thought someone was walking around with a gun. I didn't dare poke my head out," Blodgett said. He eventually went back to sleep.

Katty Heath, originally from New Hampshire, now of Portland, said she slept through the entire event and didn't realize anything untoward had happened until she woke that morning.

Sgt. Glen McGary said the homemade bomb, which consisted of chemicals poured into a plastic Gatorade container could have caused serious injury.

Police are investigating and spent about two hours at the campsite, located at the corner of the busy Congress Street and Franklin Street corridors, collecting evidence to determine the compounds used in the explosive, organizers said.

Acting Police Chief Michael Sauschuck said today that detectives don't necessarily believe Occupy Maine was the sole target because another device was set off elsewhere that night. He described the device as the type often associated with teenage pranks. But he said police are taking it seriously because someone could've been hurt.

A statement from the group said many campers fear another attack.

The car, seen driving slowly past the encampment before someone inside threw the device, is described as an older model silver four-door sedan, possibly a Toyota or Nissan.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Portland Police Department at 874-8575.

Chemical Weapons: The latest weapon against those who dare not bow to the Masters Of The Universe and their flunkies.

[Rabid]

White-phosphorus joke in 3... 2... 1... Shroom.

----

Joke aside, it's... comforting... to see such respect for Democracy and Free Speech in the Free World's leader nation. Especially coming from those of its citizens who set themselves as the champions of Freedom at home and abroad.


[not] Random question : has there been similar documented incidents in the past at Tea-Party gatherings ?

[Crateria]

[not] Random question : has there been similar documented incidents in the past at Tea-Party gatherings ?

Hardly. Aside from (well-deserved) criticism, Tea Party thugs are usually free to do what they please. Rather telling how they often could carry weapons at their meet-ups with no consequences while non-violent OWS protesters are harassed and beaten by the police more often.

(you weren't being sarcastic?)

[Rabid]

(you weren't being sarcastic?)

Can you tell ?

Hardly. Aside from (well-deserved) criticism, Tea Party thugs are usually free to do what they please. Rather telling how they often could carry weapons at their meet-ups with no consequences while non-violent OWS protesters are harassed and beaten by the police more often.

I'd be prudent with such assertion (that they "never" have themselves be harassed), but, in the other hand, I'd tend to think that if some LIEBERAL COMMIENIETZCHE had ever dared do to a Tea-Party meeting what we are talking about here, it would have been all over the medias.
Unless of course my perception of how American News Media function is totally wrong (which it may be, as I never myself watched CNN, MSNBC, FOX, etc...).


Edit : As for carrying weapons to their meetings, well... Second Amendment rights, yadda-yadda, you know the drill...

[Darksider]

Second amendment rights or not, how much you wanna bet an "Occupy" protester who was openly carrying would get a beat down, regardless of legality?

It'd be funny as hell though, the NRA being forced to join the ACLU in defending the rights of a "pot smoking hippie."

[The Romulan Republic]

Second amendment rights or not, how much you wanna bet an "Occupy" protester who was openly carrying would get a beat down, regardless of legality?

It'd be funny as hell though, the NRA being forced to join the ACLU in defending the rights of a "pot smoking hippie."

It'd be a good test of just how sincere and non-hypocritical the NRA are.

[Winston Blake]

They could see the "G" on the 24-ounce bottle and its orange cap, as well as bits of silver metal, she said. [...] He described the device as the type often associated with teenage pranks.

Found this:

Homemade "bottle bombs" have been around for at least two decades, though they've been known by a variety of different names, including "acid bombs," "Drano bombs," "works bombs," "pressure bombs," and "MacGyver bombs." They're a favorite of teenage pranksters because they can be made with common household ingredients, but police warn that the devices are unpredictable and dangerous. Would-be bottle bomb makers should be aware that if caught they can be charged with a felony. Penalties can be quite severe if injuries or property damage result.

The way a bottle bomb works is simple. When the aluminum foil comes into contact with the Drano solution a strong chemical reaction occurs, releasing a gas which causes pressure to build up inside the plastic bottle, which eventually explodes. The caustic, boiling liquid thrown off by such an explosion can cause second- or third-degree burns and/or blindness. Any number of YouTube videos demonstrate how to construct and detonate the bombs.

News reports of bottle bomb incidents (in which the activity is sometimes described as a "fad") have cropped up regularly since the early 1990s. An article published in the Los Angeles Times in March 1991 claimed at least eight adolescents had been injured in glass bottle bomb explosions after learning how to construct the devices from an episode of the TV show MacGyver.

[Zaune]

Well, sure didn't see that coming. Always figured there was going to be a violent incident at these protests eventually, of course, but I would have put my money on it being cops vs Occupy protesters rather than some third party getting involved.

Second amendment rights or not, how much you wanna bet an "Occupy" protester who was openly carrying would get a beat down, regardless of legality?

That depends how badly they want to risk getting shot and/or turning their local Occupy protest into a major incident of civil unrest, which is almost certainly going to happen the moment a protestor or a cop gets killed at one of these demonstrations.

[PainRack]

Anyone can dig up the relevent cases back in the nineties?

The NRA has been very.... consistent in their defence of the second ammendent. If a Occupy Wall Street Protester had his guns confisicated, they might very well step in. There was a similar case back in the nineties.... although I can't seem to recall any of the specifics at the moment........

[K. A. Pital]

Oooh, isn't that beautiful. Kill a Kommie for Mommie freaks coming out of the woodwork. Well, at least we found out they're still lurking around and ready to use violence when they feel "offended" by a completely law-abiding protest.

[PainRack]

Found it. It wasn't the nineties though.

http://www.opencongress.org/articles/vi ... uying-Guns

So, the NRA came out against a bill that would prevent sale of guns to people on the Terror watchlist.

Civil liberties isn't a problem for the NRA either.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/05/us/po ... 1175918400

As seen here, the NRA has stepped in to colloborate with the ACLU against infringement of civil liberties with regards to guns also.

[Rabid]

Well, at least we can credit the NRA as being consistent with its own views and how it act about them.

[Themightytom]

I live next door to Maine, this seems disorganized and random, more like the work of teenagers. it might seem a little odd that teenagers could mix a chemical bomb, but... not in Maine guys, not in Maine..

[Mr Bean]

Well, at least we can credit the NRA as being consistent with its own views and how it act about them.

I'll defend the NRA on this point because
A. We have well over a million (Some sources say we passed 2 million in 2008) people on the Terrorist watch list because the Terrorist watch list is not exacting when it comes to who gets put on there
B. There is no appeal once you are on the watch list, once your on there you on there
C. The names of the list itself are secret but we have highly public examples of dead people, toddlers and little old ladies ending up on there due to name similarity's or simple goofs.
D. Which is a combination of B&C, you can't get off and you might get put on despite being law abiding.
E. It's a fundamentally Un-America idea of depriving people of rights without trial.

[Zaune]

I live next door to Maine, this seems disorganized and random, more like the work of teenagers. it might seem a little odd that teenagers could mix a chemical bomb, but... not in Maine guys, not in Maine..

It's not like the information isn't out there if you know where to look. You don't necessarily need unfiltered Internet access; I learned the basics of making a fertiliser bomb in Chemistry class when I was 14, and this was in a country that had been living with a major terrorist threat since before the Twin Towers were even built.

[Flagg]

I knew how to make a chemical bomb by reading an issue of The Punisher when I was 12.

[madd0ct0r]

Well i found the instructions for the H-bomb printed on the back of my nappy when I was three!

joking aside, this doesn't sound like anything more then some idiots looking for trouble.
Wonder what they targeted with the other bottle?

[Shroom Man 777]

White-phosphorus joke in 3... 2... 1... Shroom.

A friend actually asked me "what happened to the American dream" and "is the American dream dead?" and I was gonna quote Watchmen and go "What happened to the American dream? It came true, you're looking at it!"

But then, I realized, that the American dream hasn't died. No, it's born again. In the shape, size and form of these protesters. They're fighting for the American dream. They are its last, best hope. For peace.

It's morning again in America.

[madd0ct0r]

holy shit - is that optimisim i hear?

[open_sketchbook]

It's just the last dying breath of sensibility before it get stamps out. Which it will, whether by riot police or apathy.

Listen, I like what the Occupy movement is doing, but it's far too late. They needed to do this a decade ago, before every avenue of effective political expression was bought up. Every day they are out in the cold, the people they are protesting are making more money than they will ever see, and will continue to do so whether or not they are protesting. The pictures and words that come out of the movement can move the government to action, but not nearly as well as billions of dollars of corporate money. They aren't making any meaningful difference and there is no way they could short of violent action (which would also be self-defeating, as they would just get arrested or shot en mass if they got violent.) It's not inspiring, it's just sort of sad.

[Eleas]

It's just the last dying breath of sensibility before it get stamps out. Which it will, whether by riot police or apathy.

Listen, I like what the Occupy movement is doing, but it's far too late. They needed to do this a decade ago, before every avenue of effective political expression was bought up. Every day they are out in the cold, the people they are protesting are making more money than they will ever see, and will continue to do so whether or not they are protesting. The pictures and words that come out of the movement can move the government to action, but not nearly as well as billions of dollars of corporate money. They aren't making any meaningful difference and there is no way they could short of violent action (which would also be self-defeating, as they would just get arrested or shot en mass if they got violent.) It's not inspiring, it's just sort of sad.

On the contrary. Courage in the face of possible futility is the greater courage, and I think you do the movement a disservice. They are making a difference. They're already a hell of a lot bigger than the Tea Party, and there are bigger interests on their side, too. Yes, the corporations have a lot more money to pit against them than in the thirties, but the protesters also have a lot more ways to get the message out. It's not hopeless.

Not inspiring? Hell, if I was facing hopeless odds, I'd damn well hope I'd conduct myself half as well as these protesters.

[The Romulan Republic]

It's just the last dying breath of sensibility before it get stamps out. Which it will, whether by riot police or apathy.

Listen, I like what the Occupy movement is doing, but it's far too late. They needed to do this a decade ago, before every avenue of effective political expression was bought up. Every day they are out in the cold, the people they are protesting are making more money than they will ever see, and will continue to do so whether or not they are protesting. The pictures and words that come out of the movement can move the government to action, but not nearly as well as billions of dollars of corporate money. They aren't making any meaningful difference and there is no way they could short of violent action (which would also be self-defeating, as they would just get arrested or shot en mass if they got violent.) It's not inspiring, it's just sort of sad.

I'm tired of cynics crying about how everything is hopeless.

Things have been shittier than they are in a lot of ways for much of human history. When people living in peaceful first world countries go on about how everyone is doomed and there's nothing anyone can do, it frankly is somewhat pathetic.

I also find your conclusion that no change can come except through violence extremely dangerous, as it is a very short step from "change cannot come except through violence" to "we should start engaging in acts of political violence". At which point, you're more or less advocating terrorism. Of course, you avoid this by concluding that even then change is impossible. I take it mass bloodshed isn't cynical enough for you.

Every generation has its idiots who cry that the end is nigh. And every generation has its idiots who think that the current status quo will last forever. They have always been wrong.

But if enough people agree with you that the only possible outcomes are violence or apathy, then maybe we'll have a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Well said, Eleas.

[K. A. Pital]

Being cynical is awesome. I find cynism perfectly acceptable - so as long as it doesn't lead to inaction. I.e. I'm cynical and yet I'm contacting Occupy people and trying to get myself involved, even though I may not consider their chances for inducing any change right now high. Being cynical is okay so as long as it does not prevent you from acting, because the philosophy of inaction serves the ruling class, who are always active and never succumb to inaction.

So there's a fine line between a dose of realism and just sitting on your ass and excusing it with 'well, I can't do shit'.

[open_sketchbook]

It's just the last dying breath of sensibility before it get stamps out. Which it will, whether by riot police or apathy.

Listen, I like what the Occupy movement is doing, but it's far too late. They needed to do this a decade ago, before every avenue of effective political expression was bought up. Every day they are out in the cold, the people they are protesting are making more money than they will ever see, and will continue to do so whether or not they are protesting. The pictures and words that come out of the movement can move the government to action, but not nearly as well as billions of dollars of corporate money. They aren't making any meaningful difference and there is no way they could short of violent action (which would also be self-defeating, as they would just get arrested or shot en mass if they got violent.) It's not inspiring, it's just sort of sad.

On the contrary. Courage in the face of possible futility is the greater courage, and I think you do the movement a disservice. They are making a difference. They're already a hell of a lot bigger than the Tea Party, and there are bigger interests on their side, too. Yes, the corporations have a lot more money to pit against them than in the thirties, but the protesters also have a lot more ways to get the message out. It's not hopeless.

Not inspiring? Hell, if I was facing hopeless odds, I'd damn well hope I'd conduct myself half as well as these protesters.

Well, it is kinda inspiring, but the futility sort of outweighs it for me.

I don't think it's the end of the world. I don't even think that it'll be widely noticed, because the transition away from functional society is and will be a slow one. There will be no one point where we can go "there, that's when the place became a shithole". But it's happening, and it's going to continue to happen. Rights will continue to be eroded, salaries will continue to shrink, the rich will get richer, the poorer more wretched, and the government more corrupt, because all the real power is in the hands of the people who benefit from those things. Eventually, it will break and something big will happen; probably not for decades. But it's extremely naive to believe that what comes out the other side of such an event will be any better.

People had somebody who agreed with them they could vote for in the thirties. Now, both parties are basically the enemy of the people, just one of them is better at lying about it then the other.

I'm tired of cynics crying about how everything is hopeless.

Things have been shittier than they are in a lot of ways for much of human history. When people living in peaceful first world countries go on about how everyone is doomed and there's nothing anyone can do, it frankly is somewhat pathetic.

I also find your conclusion that no change can come except through violence extremely dangerous, as it is a very short step from "change cannot come except through violence" to "we should start engaging in acts of political violence". At which point, you're more or less advocating terrorism. Of course, you avoid this by concluding that even then change is impossible. I take it mass bloodshed isn't cynical enough for you.

Every generation has its idiots who cry that the end is nigh. And every generation has its idiots who think that the current status quo will last forever. They have always been wrong.

But if enough people agree with you that the only possible outcomes are violence or apathy, then maybe we'll have a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Well said, Eleas.

You're right, I am that cynical. Violence won't solve anything either, it'll just alienate their support and get them all shot.

Again, it's not the end of the world. Whatever comes out the other side in a decade or two will still probably be a much better place to live than the majority of the world. It won't be all Mad Max or warlords everywhere or what have you. However, if you actually believe things can get better, I sort of pity you, too. Maybe you haven't noticed, but dwarfing the outpouring of support for the movement and the fear from those it targets are apathy and scorn; people who haven't even noticed because they haven't looked away from the televisions yet, and people rejoicing at watching "the hippies" get beat up by police with no real thought given to politics. Nobody really cares if it all goes down the tubes, because there are enough sporting events, video games, and reality TV to keep most people from paying too much attention to what's happening. The future will get more comfortable, with all sorts of shiny gadgets to distract the masses as everything just decays more and more. They'll keep taking away more and more bread and replacing it with more and more circuses until everyone starves in the stands.

Hey, I might be wrong, and things might get better. I certainly hope that's the case. But I won't plan around that or expect it all to end in sunshine and rainbows, and I'd certainly not want to be out among the protesters when the crackdowns start.

Being cynical is awesome. I find cynism perfectly acceptable - so as long as it doesn't lead to inaction. I.e. I'm cynical and yet I'm contacting Occupy people and trying to get myself involved, even though I may not consider their chances for inducing any change right now high. Being cynical is okay so as long as it does not prevent you from acting, because the philosophy of inaction serves the ruling class, who are always active and never succumb to inaction.

So there's a fine line between a dose of realism and just sitting on your ass and excusing it with 'well, I can't do shit'.

I don't really think of myself as a cynic. I think the people laughing at the protestors getting beat up are cynical. I have too much faith in people to be truly cynical; I'm a habitual apologist, and it took quite a lot for me to realize how fucked up this all is.

The real reason I'm not out supporting them, however, is because I live in Canada and shit isn't fucked up badly enough here to justify occupying anything. I do link people to Occupy stuff, defend them in discussions where the opinion is against them (I'm only talking about my doubts here because I know how this forum stands in favour of them) and I've sent a few bucks their way via their donation thingy. But while they have my support, they don't have my faith.

[Metahive]

So there's a fine line between a dose of realism and just sitting on your ass and excusing it with 'well, I can't do shit'.

There's a word for that, actually, defeatism. It's one of the three main tools to keep your slaves in check. The other two are denial and delusion. Defeatists accept their chains, denialists ignore theirs and the delusional love them. The Tea Party is a good representation of the latter two, I'd argue.