Death Sentence For Boston Bomber

Editorial Of The Day

From the editorial board of the Boston Globe:

As the trial now moves into its sentencing phase — the jury must unanimously vote to execute Tsarnaev, or else he will receive a life sentence — the defense team may also raise legal mitigating factors. Tsarnaev was 19 at the time of the bombing; he was apparently a heavy drug user; he had no prior criminal record. By themselves, none of these would seem like a particularly good reason to spare him, but taken as a whole, and alongside evidence of his brother’s dominant role, they should plant seeds of doubt. In sorting through such life-and-death considerations, jurors face an unenviable task — and mixed precedent. The Oklahoma City bomber, Timothy McVeigh, was put to death. The Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, wasn’t. Tsarnaev obviously should spend the rest of his life in prison. His defense has already made a good case that he does not meet the exceptionally high standards for a federal execution.

Boston Marathon Bomber Found Guilty

Via the Boston Globe:

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was convicted Wednesday of carrying out the April 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, which devastated a festive crowd near the world-renowned race’s finish line, killing three people and wounding more than 260 others. Tsarnaev, 21, who prosecutors said was a self-radicalized Muslim bent on striking a blow against America, now faces a second phase of his trial in which a jury will decide whether to sentence him to death. The second phase could begin within days. Tsarnaev and his late older brother, Tamerlan, planted twin bombs at the race on the afternoon of April 15, 2013. Prosecutors have said that Tsarnaev carried out the crimes in a “heinous, cruel and depraved manner” and that he deserves the death penalty. He was charged with 30 crimes, including 17 that carried the possibility of a death sentence. The jury of seven women and five men deliberated for just over 11 hours before rendering its verdict, after hearing the lawyers’ closing arguments early Monday.

Many death penalty opponents find themselves questioning their position in cases like this. Myself included.

Muslim Victim Of Boston Marathon Bombing Sues Glenn Beck For Defamation

Abdul Rahman Ali Alharbi, a Muslim student who was injured in the bombing of the Boston Marathon, has filed a defamation and slander lawsuit against Glenn Beck. The suit claims that Beck repeatedly named the Saudi national as an "active participant" in the attack, even after authorities had cleared him of suspicion. Via Courthouse News:

Alharbi describes himself in the 6-page lawsuit as "a 20-year-old student who was a spectator at the Marathon and was injured in the bombing. Mr. Alharbi, like many others, was questioned by federal authorities investigating the events of that day. Those authorities also, with his permission, searched his apartment. The responsible officials quickly concluded that Mr. Alharbi, other then being injured in the attacks, had no involvement in the attacks. Many news outlets reported the facts of the search of an apartment and that authorities had questioned a man of Middle Eastern descent. When the authorities concluded that Mr. Alharbi had no involvement, reports ceased. The defendant Glenn Beck, with the active participation of the distributor defendants, repeatedly and falsely identified Mr. Alharbi as an active participant in the crimes that were committed on April 15, 2013, repeatedly questioned the motives of federal officials in failing to pursue or detain Mr. Alharbi and repeatedly and falsely accused Mr. Alharbi of being a criminal who had funded the attacks that took place at the Boston Marathon. Those statements were made widely and publicly."

Raw Story notes that Beck repeatedly denounced the federal government for failing to arrest Alharbi. 

“Let me just say this to those at the highest echelons of government,” Beck said April 21, according to World Net Daily. “We know who this Saudi national is, and it is in your best interest and the best interest of integrity and trust for the people of United States of America – it’s best coming from you, not coming from a news organization. It’s best coming from you. You have until (April 22). We have information on who this man is, (and) we know he is a very bad, bad, bad man.”

Alharbi's suit declares that due to Beck's campaign against him, he has received many messages calling him a murderer and a child killer.

RELATED: In January, US Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the federal government would seek the death penalty for the surviving bomber. His brother was slain in a shoot out with police four days after the attack.

2013 News In Review

From the Boston bombing to DOMA to Edward Snowden and much, much more. Excellent production by filmmaker Jean-Louis Nguyen.

Rolling Stone Defends Cover

"Our hearts go out to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, and our thoughts are always with them and their families. The cover story we are publishing this week falls within the traditions of journalism and Rolling Stone’s long-standing commitment to serious and thoughtful coverage of the most important political and cultural issues of our day. The fact that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is young, and in the same age group as many of our readers, makes it all the more important for us to examine the complexities of this issue and gain a more complete understanding of how a tragedy like this happens." - Rolling Stone editors, in a preface to their story.

PUERTO RICO: Man Arrested For Bomb Threat Against Gay Rights Rally

The FBI has arrested a man who tweeted a bomb threat against a planned LGBT rights rally in Puerto Rico. The tweet was directed at well-known activist Pedro Julio Serrano.

Joseph Morales was taken into custody at his home in San Juan on a charge of cyberbullying for allegedly posting the threatening message on May 6, according to Special Agent Moises Quinones, a spokesman for the FBI in the U.S. island territory.  The suspect was expected to make an initial appearance before a federal judge Monday on the charge, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Morales has not entered a plea and did not yet have a lawyer, Quinones said. Morales has acknowledged he posted a Twitter message in Spanish that included the words "watch out during the demonstration, it can end like in Boston," the FBI said in a statement. The message was directed at Pedro Julio Serrano, a well-known activist in Puerto Rico who was planning to attend an upcoming demonstration in support of gay rights legislation in the territory.

Where's Walid?

Via Upworthy, British satirist Charlie Brooker delivers a great takedown of the media's handling of the Boston bombing. Watch this.

Three New Arrests In Boston Bombing

Story developing...

UPDATE: Early details.

Three college students have been arrested in connection with the Boston Marathon bombings, a Boston police source said this morning. The Boston police official Twitter account said that three additional “suspects” had been taken into custody. The source said the three had been arrested by federal authorities.

More Boston Bombing Crackpottery

From Porno Pete's BFF.

Marijuana Causes Terrorism

"The older brother was a marijuana smuggler, but the younger brother was a pothead and a dealer. The Boston Globe says three people admitted buying drugs from the 19-year-old. Perhaps if the drug laws were being vigorously enforced in liberal Massachusetts, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev could have been picked up by the authorities before joining his brother in the Boston bombing. Perhaps his arrest could have led to his supplier, his own brother. But it looks like drugs were common on campus, and among students, and so everyone just looked the other way. Marijuana is not the harmless drug the media frequently claim it to be. It is a mind-altering substance that can play a role in creating communist or Islamic terrorists." - Accuracy In Media crackpot Cliff Kincaid, quoted by Right Wing Watch.

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: Kincaid says gay people live a "disease-ridden lifestyle."  Kincaid lectures at Porno Pete's hate academy.  Kincaid says gay people want to give Americans AIDS by donating blood. Kincaid endorses Uganda's "kill the gays" bill.

Headline Of The Day

Details.

TENNESSEE: State Sen. Stacey Campfield Blogs Pressure Cooker Image Against Sen. Dianne Feinstein

The guy behind Tennessee's "Don't Say Gay" bill is at it again.

A Tennessee state senator is being slammed for insensitivity to the Boston Marathon bombing victims after posting an illustration of a pressure cooker – like the ones used in last week’s deadly attack – to mock gun control advocates. Republican Stacey Campfield posted an illustrated image of an “Assault Pressure Cooker” on his personal blog Camp4u on Sunday.

“Here comes Feinstein again” he titled the post in a reference to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who authored an assault weapons ban in the wake of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The pressure cooker illustration is then labeled with features similar to those of a gun – like a “tactical pistol grip” and “folding stock.” “Large-capacity, can cook for hours without reloading,” it also says.

Campfield has refused to apologize or remove the post. Some commenters on his blog are backing him.

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: Campfield's "Don't Say Gay" bill first passed before the Tennessee Senate Judiciary Committee in April 2011, and then passed out of the House Education Committee in February 2012. It did not pass before either full chamber. In January 2012 Campfield was booted out of a Knoxville cafe by its owners, who were angry about the bill. Also in January 2012 Campfield appeared on the Michelangelo Signorile Show to declare that "straight people don't get AIDS."  In January 2013 Campfield reintroduced his "Don't Say Gay" bill with an added portion that requires teaches to out gay students to their parents. Earlier this month Campfield introduced a bill that would cut public assistance to families if their children get low grades.

Backpacks Banned From Kentucky Derby

NOTE: What a silly typo that was. Don't text and blog!

Bombing "Truthers" Launch Petition

Over 10,000 nutjobs have already signed.

We believe that within the chaos caused by the Boston Marathon explosion, two young men were wrongfully accused of something they did not do, and one of them has lost his life before even getting the opportunity of a proper trial. We do not wish to see blood of yet another innocent victim, someone who, by U.S. law, is innocent until proven guilty. It is vital to end this persecution, as all the conflicting information shown by the media, and footage from the incident, seen by people from all corners of the world, doesn't manifest itself as enough evidence to condemn Dzhokhar Tsarnaev of this heinous crime.

One presumes these are the same people that believe Sandy Hook was a federal plot.

Headline Of The Day

Alex Jones isn't bothered by the news:

“It’s just standard,” Jones said. “Anyone you talk to is familiar with my show. When I go out in public, half the people I meet in this country and in other countries too say they listen to my show. The show is bigger than the mainstream media admits.” Tamerlan was identified by police as one of the two Boston Marathon bombers, and later killed in a shootout with police overnight on Friday.  Alex Jones said he’s reached out to the Tsarnaev family since the suspects were identified. “He could be a listener,” Alex Jones said. “It could be true. I’ve talked to the family and most of them are listeners. My show is anti-terrorism and my show exposes that most of the events we’ve seen have been provocateured.”

(Tipped by JMG reader Birdie)

Reddit: Sorry For Bomber Witch Hunt

The general manager of Reddit has posted a lengthy apology for its users that wrongly named a missing college student as the Boston bomber. An excerpt:

Though started with noble intentions, some of the activity on reddit fueled online witch hunts and dangerous speculation which spiraled into very negative consequences for innocent parties. The reddit staff and the millions of people on reddit around the world deeply regret that this happened. We have apologized privately to the family of missing college student Sunil Tripathi, as have various users and moderators. We want to take this opportunity to apologize publicly for the pain they have had to endure. We hope that this painful event will be channeled into something positive and the increased awareness will lead to Sunil's quick and safe return home. We encourage everyone to join and show your support to the Tripathi family and their search.

Boston's Bombers Bought Ingredients At New Hampshire Fireworks Store

The ingredients for Boston's bombs came from a New Hampshire fireworks store which gave the killer a two-for-one deal on his purchase.

In a chilling twist, the company that sold Tamerlan the fireworks is the same one that sold Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad the firecrackers he used to build his failed car bomb.  The fireworks Tsarnaev bought contained about 3 pounds of black powder — enough, experts say, to build one of the two pressure-cooker bombs he triggered at the Boston Marathon on April 15.

“We were just shocked,” said Bill Weimer, vice president of Phantom Fireworks in Seabrook, N.H. “After our Times Square experience, we said, ‘It can’t happen twice.'" But it did. Weimer searched his sales records last week and discovered Tsarnaev, 26, came into his company’s store in Seabrook on Feb. 6 and was helped by a female store clerk. “Like 99% of the men who come in, he asked ‘What’s the biggest and loudest thing you have,’ ” Weimer said.

The $199 kit sells under the name Lock & Load. Selling and and possessing fireworks is illegal in Massachusetts.

Schlafly Calls For Return To McCarthyism

"It’s long overdue for Congress to have a series of hearings on the loopholes, broken promises and disobeyed laws involving both legal and illegal entry into the United States. It would be useful to reinstate the House Committee on Un-American Activities so we can have a look at those in our midst who may be jihadists, dupes of violent Muslim indoctrination, or (in old Communist lingo) fellow travelers or useful idiots." - Phyllis Schlafly, writing for World Net Daily.

NOTE: The House Un-American Activities Committee was created in 1938, long before Sen. Joe McCarthy began his witch-hunts in the early 50s.

Charges Filed Against Boston Bomber

Read the full complaint.