what are your thoughts on the latest 'terrorist threat to our nation?' (us citizens of course, you other worldly types may read it as 'terrorist threat to the us' i suppose)

i think that for someone with a death wish, its one hell of a way to go. i am fairly glad that i live in the state where unabombers send bombs from, rather than receive them. these recent acts of ... senselessness have caused me to step back and take a look at where we as a world are going. personally, i think were f*cked.

It could be any number of things. Personally so many people think it's an external threat, when it's just as likely it's some ex-military person that has decided to use his sniper skills again. With as random as it's been, terrorism seems to be the primary goal of the attacks.

Hopefully the person doing this will slip up somehow and be caught soon. Mass histeria to me is worse then a few deaths.

They should start telling everyone in DC to run in zig-zag patterns anytime they're outside.

It's pretty messed up. I mean, screwing around and talking about killing people who piss you off or something is entertaining at times, devising various torture techniques - "hanging by the nutsack" and such. But actually doing it is so different - it's completely against (my) human nature to actually go out and purposely kill other humans.

I wonder if it is ex-military, somehow previously trained for combat, who's gotten over the "don't kill people" thing?

If it were some pissed off ex-mil type, then the targets would have been less random. This isn't about a cause. If it were then you can bet that a 13yr old wouldn't have been targetted.

I reckon this is more likely to be a nihilist teen with Daddy's hunting rifle looking for his 5 minutes of attention.

Dollars to donuts: Postal Worker.

With all of the children being kidnapped and killed lately besides this sniper, I think I agree with you. This world (or maybe just this country) is really f*cked up.

Sad times we live in.

Definitely a psycho type, based on the writing on the tarot card.. someone really ill.

I wouldn't like to be anywhere near there now

Are you talking about the guy in the DC metro area who's shooting people? Or somewhere else?

You've got to expect the area is going to have some freaky stuff happen. Manhole covers like to pop up without notice. This summer we had some jerks riding around throwing 6" darts at people at random. I was born and raised just outside the city, about a mile from the CIA, in fact. People in my community were killed in the CIA shootings, which were at an intersection my parents go through on the way to work every day.

We've all been f*ed all throughout history. I'm not sure it's changed much lately.

I have the uneasy feeling that it's some nutjob that thinks this will get him recruited by the CIA.

I also have the uneasy feeling that he might be right.

what are your thoughts on the latest 'terrorist threat to our nation?

Someone find told the longshoremen to stop being unpatriotic?

That was the theroy or some FBI person that was interviewed on the radio today. She thought it was two people though.

What's a radio?

> I reckon this is more likely to be a nihilist teen with Daddy's hunting rifle looking for his 5 minutes of attention.

Yeah, that is my thought too. Given his range of victims he seems to me younger rather than older; he doesn't have a pattern of victims matching some hated group like older psychos do, he just is mad at the entire world and targeting anyone.

I heard they held a woman today for questioning...wouldn't that through the profilers for a loop.

Personally so many people think it's an external threat, when it's just as likely it's some ex-military person that has decided to use his sniper skills again.

That wouldn't surprise me, either. Remember McVeigh, anyone?

Even more scary is the potential for this to be an "Operation Northwoods". Substitute Iraq for Cuba, and Bush and cronies for Eisenhower and cronies, and it's frighteningly similar to the current political situation.

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us citizens of course

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Am I just slow, to not realise that an unqualified "Washington" on the radio meant the one in the eastern US? I just assumed they meant Washington in Tyneside, and it never occured to me to think of anywhere else. And to say that I work for a US company an' all....

What concerns me (not from a personal standpoint as I am far away from the danger here) is that if this guy (or gal, although I doubt it - rare profile) has done his homework and prepared well, he should be able to get away with this nearly indefinitely.

Pick random targets, scope the area first, use different modes of transport, avoid looking shifty (technical term) and don't get greedy.

Although what invariably happens in the nutter sniper cases is they tend to get crazier, or more reckless and that's when catching (or at least finding) them becomes easier. Either that, or a friend or relative will suddenly realise what he's been up to and let the world know...probably for a big cash payout from a major newspaper or news network.

'terrorist threat to the us'

Surely it's only terrorism if he or she is doing it to gain a political goal? It's a senseless waste of innocent lives and a terrible crime, but unless there are "do such-and-such or I kill again" letters we aren' t being told about, then it doesn't count as terrorism.

Peter

Merriam-Webster (sorry for the US-centric source -- I don't have my OED at work) says that terrorism is ``the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion'' (emphasis mine).

Am I just slow, to not realise that an unqualified "Washington" on the radio meant the one in the eastern US?

You've been paying too much attention to Mr. Gates or Mr. Cobain, methinks.

In general, though, an unqualified ``Washington'' is going to be Washington, DC (it is the capital, after all ), except, probably in the Pacific Northwest. Any references to Washington State would be as ``Washington State''. At least in my neck of the woods.

the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion

Is the sniper systematically using terror for anything, though, or just happening to cause it as a byproduct of his or her habit of killing people? Media reports so far make the whole thing sound unpleasantly like recreational killing, not the "systematic use" of anything.

Peter

Fair enough. I suppose it's possible that it's simply recreational. But, assuming the note found was written and left by the sniper, plus the deliberate manner in which the murders were committed, then I'd say that there was the intent of terror. But that's just a personal opinion.

And the systematic use could just as easily be to get the sniper off as to induce coercion.

Edit: Fixed stupid brain-o.

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an unqualified ``Washington'' is going to be Washington, DC

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Right, that's what I assumed - once I realised they're talking about the US.

I suppose I fell into the trap of thinking that random shootings in the US are too common to be newsworthy. It's a relief to see that it isn't the case.

an unqualified ``Washington'' is going to be Washington, DC

George Washington's family, after whom Washington DC is named, came from Washington County Durham and the town has a number of artefacts to verify this, so your analogy is not so far away.

When I heard of the sniper attacks, I thought of the shootings in Hungerford here in the UK, it's the worst of all nightmares, you or somebody in your family being randomly shot down in cold blood, something that would be almost impossible to guard against - and the likelyhood of it happening in Washington DC, County Durham or anywhere else in the world is about evens.

Well, I unfortunately live very close to the affected area - this is just nuts because all the schools around the area here (I live outside of Baltimore) have pretty much cancelled anything outdoors. No sports, play time, field trips... that totally sucks.

Oh, and there has been another shooting - they are still investigating if it is tied with the serial sniper, but no confirmation yet.

the likelyhood of it happening in Washington DC, County Durham or anywhere else in the world is about evens.

Actually, Washington, DC is often the murder capital of the US based on pure quantity. It usually trades back and forth with Detroit, IIRC. (Miami and NYC are also on up there.) So I'd say it's slightly higher there.

But, then again, this sort of thing is anomalous anywhere outside a war zone.

I serverly doubt this guy is ex-military, for a couple of reasons:
1. the kid was just injured, military snipers dont miss
2. The kids mom her the blast, a military sniper is not goin to randomly shoot some kid close enough where somebody might have heard or seen where the shot came from.

This guy is just some nut job, who probably thinks he has some greater cause, or maybe he is just mad at the world. I just hope this doesnt progress like the School shootings did, random violence all the way to organized torture and massacre.

And the longer this guy gets away with it, the more likely copycats will think "ahah, this might just be a bit of a laugh if we can get away with it"

I get to go to Washington on the 20th for the annual AUSA meeting. Personally, I'm not really looking forward to using the techniques I honed playing BF1942 while trying to get to the symposium/hotel/restaurant, etc.

Oh well, last year they scheduled me to go to Japan on Sept 18. Fun, fun, fun!

Wow, I hadn't seen where they were talking about with these things (I'm off at school now). I saw a headline that said Maryland, but now they seem to believe the Virginia shooting was by the same guy. Too bad that article is so poorly written.

Wow, I'm going home this weekend on fall break. I hope I don't get shot at the mall or something...