: Scroll down for updates. This is looking less like terrorism, and more like a minor prank.
One bomb exploded and two more have been found at Georgia Tech.
Keep in mind that the Atlanta's Centennial Park bombings in 1996 were very close to Georgia Tech.
Developing......
So, looks like a false alarm folks. Carry on.
One important aspect of the case, however, is how the Atlanta Police jumped to the conclusion that this was an act of terror. It looks like they were wrong, but I am happy that law enforcement is erring on the side of caution in Atlanta.
Now contrast that with how the University of Oklahoma jumped to the conclusion, less than 90 minutes after the suicide-bombing of Joel Henry Hinrichs III, that it was not an act of terrorism--even though it was much, much worse and much more suspicious.
I'd feel much safer if I were a GT student than an OU student right now.
1
Well, for one thing, The Georgia Institute of Technology is NOT the same as the "University of Georgia".
Posted by: kyle at October 10, 2005 01:21 PM (Pe5fE)
Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at October 10, 2005 01:21 PM (0yYS2)
3
Connections...connections...
I'll bet someone will come out later and categorically deny that this was an act of terrorism and assert that it was the work of a lone/depressed nut.
But when it comes to the murdering bastards in Columbine and the murdering bastards who blow up schoolchildren in Russia, it seems that the results are of much the same quality.
Deal with the greater, and you can deal with the lesser.
Posted by: Paul at October 10, 2005 01:29 PM (xIEal)
4
They didnt even like cancel school or anything, or even notify us of the danger, but rumors are running rampant. For all I know there could be more bombs out there, and the news is providing no information.
Posted by: GATech Student at October 10, 2005 01:36 PM (kHR1+)
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Exploding plastic bottles that when exploding in the HANDS of the person handling them cause ringing in the ears? Didn't you guys ever live in the dorms in college?
Posted by: ken at October 10, 2005 01:49 PM (xD5ND)
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I would like to withhold judgment on this one until I have a lot more information than is available at this time. This may be nothing more than a prank, and I'm leaning toward Ken's view at the present time. We shall see.
Posted by: jesusland joe at October 10, 2005 01:56 PM (rUyw4)
7
Ken, please cite your source for that info.
Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at October 10, 2005 01:57 PM (0yYS2)
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More radicals at our universties urging this type of cowardly actions the persons should be cuaght and sent to prison for life
Posted by: sandpiper at October 10, 2005 01:58 PM (U+eLg)
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Uh, Improbulus, read the story that Rusty links to. Or I could simply quote it for you
"The custodian suffered ringing to the ears and was treated at a local hospital. The events led to a temporary evacuation Monday morning.
...
The custodian found the three devices about 9 a.m. in a plastic-type garbage bag, Moss said. When he picked up the bag, one exploded, as it was designed to do when handled."
http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=70306
Posted by: ken at October 10, 2005 02:46 PM (xD5ND)
10
"The custodian suffered ringing to the ears and was treated at a local hospital. "
Wait a minute. He was holding it and all it did was cause ringing in his ears? This looks more innocuous than any of the dorm room antics on Real Genius. But lets not rush to non-panic.
Posted by: actus at October 10, 2005 02:48 PM (Zi15r)
11
Ken, you might not want to throw stones. Read the bit you quoted -- the "device" wasn't in his hands, it was in a bag he picked up. There could be quite a bit of space between his hands and the bomb.
And even if it's a teeny tiny bomb, it's still a bomb. The Bangladesh bomb campaign was built around bombs that look like big fire crackers.
Posted by: Robert Crawford at October 10, 2005 02:56 PM (1j9aH)
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Okay, Robert... let's marshal our assumptions and speculation to make this sound like and open-shut case of terrorism... and we'll connect it to the bogus NYC subway threats as well... and to the case in Oklahoma. (And, yes, I've read Rusty's previous post about the OU bomber and understand the point about making certain assumptions in a time of war.)
But I mean, really... so the bomb wasn't in his hands because it was in a bag that was in his hands? Are we going to call Clintons lawyers in now? Last time I picked up a garbage bag, even though the bottom wasn't in my hands, it was pretty damn near my legs and feet.
And while the Bangladesh bomb campaign may have been built around small bombs, I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume the bombers suffered more than ringing in their ears.
Posted by: ken at October 10, 2005 03:08 PM (xD5ND)
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A friend IM-ed me about this at about 1:20. Flicked on the TV and nothing on the Atlanta affiliates but soaps, not even a crawler.
Meanwhile, if Mark Richt (UGA football coach) f@rts, they'll interrupt a presidential address.
Posted by: Brendt at October 10, 2005 03:18 PM (HjWds)
14
Sorry if I think that a "terrorist act" is something a little more significant than a poorly executed molotov cocktail (yes I know its not one per say) that does little more than leave a ringing in your ears. Even if these were engineered devices, I would need a lot more circumstantial evidence to call this a terrorist act. Sounds like the term "terrorist" is used to make this story sound bigger than it is.
Posted by: RyanGT at October 10, 2005 03:19 PM (Uq14s)
15
But I mean, really... so the bomb wasn't in his hands because it was in a bag that was in his hands?
Are we going to call Clintons lawyers in now? Last time I picked up a garbage bag, even though the bottom wasn't in my hands, it was pretty damn near my legs and feet.
When the contents of the bag began to move, they were...
a) Dangling in mid-air near your legs and feet.
b) At eye level.
c) Inside the trash can.
And, again, just because it's a teeny tiny bomb doesn't mean it's not a bomb.
And I don't get what you're arguing about here. Planting bombs -- even teeny tiny ones -- is an attempt to sow terror. We don't know if it was Islamic terror, or someone getting back at an ex, or if this is just some idiot playing with his home chemistry set.
If this had happened around a Planned Parenthood clinic, would there be any doubt of the intent?
Posted by: Robert Crawford at October 10, 2005 03:19 PM (1j9aH)
16
Robert,
I'm going to have to disagree. Planting explosive devices--especially on a college campus--is not necessarily an attempt to sow terror. It could be an attempt to be assholes. Young men like things that blow up. Young men are notoriously stupid and don't always consider the consequences of their actions.
This is not the first reported incident of a bottle bomb. High school kids were busted for this in January. There are web pages written by schmucky white guys devoted to just this sort of device
http://www.totse.com/en/bad_ideas/ka_fucking_boom/
Posted by: ken at October 10, 2005 03:32 PM (xD5ND)
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I walked by teh janitor at about 8:40 as I went to go eat breakfast. I heard the pop not 15 feet away from him (I was basically in front of dumpsters by cloudman - he was by trash cans outside glenn). I turned aroudn when I heard it, it looked like he had just pinched a plastic bag with his clamper picker upper things - it was louder than a ziploc explosion but not that loud.
I think what would be funny is if they find out it was a bunch of coke bottles that have been sitting sealed for weeks (go college people) buidling up co2 gas. but I guess the dogs wouldn't have found that.
Hasn't anybody ever made a dry ice bomb?
Posted by: Stephen at October 10, 2005 03:39 PM (MV51k)
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Reports here in Atlanta go as follows.
The "janitor" who found the devices was using a grabber- the soda bottles filled with the explosives were in a trash bag, so he never actually handled the bag with his bare hands.
Also- the local SeeBS station here is calling this a "prank"- Yet they do admit that the police are taking this incident seriously and will charge whoever is responsible with "Terrorist Threat."
Also heard that something suspicious was found in Gwinnett County- I am looking into this......
let ya'll know what I find- if anything important.
Posted by: Sherri at October 10, 2005 03:53 PM (De35R)
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Sherri,
Thanks for the invite.
Robert,
As far as having it in his hands or really close to him, I stand corrected.
Posted by: ken at October 10, 2005 04:00 PM (xD5ND)
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I have an update. I checked Stephen out and he is at Georgia Tech. I'm assuming that this is a prank. Check out the update.
Posted by: Rusty Shackleford at October 10, 2005 04:06 PM (JQjhA)
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Good news if this is just a "prank". Better news if the authorities jump on the idiots behind it with both feet.
Posted by: Robert Crawford at October 10, 2005 04:17 PM (Gn9tM)
22
Rusty, by the way CBS's blog is having a navel-gazing moment on whether CBS should have covered the explosion.
Posted by: ken at October 10, 2005 04:23 PM (xD5ND)
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Ken, I know. I read that. It's really pathetic, don't you think?
Posted by: Rusty Shackleford at October 10, 2005 04:27 PM (JQjhA)
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personally, i think that this is nothing but a couple of students who, upon hearing the amazingness of the CO2 triple point in chem one friday at Tech decided to experiment by throwing some dry ice filled bottles out of their window that night. though they recovered all the bottles they believed to have thrown, they probably left a couple behind accidentally, and they were found three days later.
...but that's just my opinion...
Posted by: peaches at October 10, 2005 04:57 PM (4ne27)
25
Georgia Institute of Garage-hobbyist Technology? Today's incident was not exactly Georgia Tech brochure material, given either the pathetic politics or humor and especially the crude engineering and fizzle of this bomb. I suspect it was a prank-poke at those riled by the OU bomb, which would really be *smart* on the part of an astute Tech student, seeing how the Oklahoma campus bomb actually killed someone and was detonated near a packed stadium by a person who tried to secure large amounts of bomb-making material just days before...
Thankfully, the C-string college jihadists and PC pranksters/sympathists are rather inept. So far. (And apologies to Dad who was a 'rambling wreck'!)
Posted by: c at October 10, 2005 06:29 PM (M7kiy)
26
"Good news if this is just a "prank". Better news if the authorities jump on the idiots behind it with both feet."
Because he punked us idiots freaking out on the web?
Posted by: actus at October 10, 2005 07:59 PM (Zi15r)
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Given the tensions of last week on all of us not surprising.
Posted by: Howie at October 10, 2005 08:20 PM (D3+20)
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There were several rooms in glenn concocting and throwing dry ice bombs out thier windows fri/saturday this past weekend. One of them didn't explode, and it popped when the guy picked it up. No malicious intent, no terrorism, just a harmless prank that happened to scare some old janitor dude.
Posted by: GATech Student at October 10, 2005 08:54 PM (M7kiy)
29
So, just a prank eh? The morons just left their litter from their childish experiment laying around then? They should be expelled for that alone. I look around every day when I go out in public, and what I see is generally a lot of seriously stupid people. People like these fine young students. Not stupid in a "doesn't know better" kind of way, but stupid in the way that knows better, and does it anyway. These idiots should spend the next semester in jail to think about their role in society.
Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at October 10, 2005 09:17 PM (0yYS2)
30
hm well i tend to agree more with the viewpoint given by "peaches" and "GATech student." If someone had seriously wanted to cause "terrorist activity," don't you think they would have made something a little more dangerous than a loud coke bottle?
even if it was what people are calling a "crazy and depressed student" they probably would have made their "bombs" a little more effective... i mean, the kid does go to a tech school, right?
seriously, people. Things like this happen EVERYWHERE... Including my school,where we get, um, "bombed" at least once a week. And life goes on as usual. I promise.
Posted by: just because... at October 10, 2005 09:31 PM (Oh7Gf)
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some one said:
"There were several rooms in glenn concocting and throwing dry ice bombs out thier windows fri/saturday this past weekend. One of them didn't explode, and it popped when the guy picked it up. No malicious intent, no terrorism, just a harmless prank that happened to scare some old janitor dude."
you know what? not only do i agree, but i just went down to my hall advisor dude, and you could certainly say that i mentioned that i had thrown several dry ice bombs out my window on friday, and one did not explode, and that i could potentially be 'the terrorist'. i guess you could say that i 'turned myself in', so to speak...
now leave me alone.
Posted by: peaches at October 10, 2005 10:10 PM (4ne27)
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WOW..I just read peaches latest post. I am impressed.
Posted by: AON at October 11, 2005 02:38 AM (wR6Ci)
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Where is Jack Bauer when we need him. Connecting those dots. OU bomber, GA TECH bombers, Islamic San Diego suicidal chem labist, missing planes, etc.
Sounds like the Ramadan jihad has begun.
Posted by: imagoner at October 11, 2005 02:22 PM (grrC9)
Posted by: Paul Stamatiou at October 11, 2005 04:00 PM (XMAPA)
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UPDATED: Scroll down for updates. This is looking less like terrorism, and more like a minor prank.
