Chelsea and Jersey Shore Pipe Bombs: No Motive Yet

By Jeralyn, Section War In Iraq
Posted on Sun Sep 18, 2016 at 04:28:29 PM EST
Tags: pipe bombs, Chelsea (all tags)

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Update: A tumbler account has claimed credit in the name of gay rights.The post has since been removed.

Officials do not think the pipe bomb found in a garbage can at Seaside Park on the Jersey Shore is linked to last night's pipe bomb explosions in Chelsea.

Officials said there’s no evidence currently linking the explosion to terrorism, and said the incident appeared to be unrelated to a pipe bomb explosion earlier Saturday in Seaside Park, New Jersey near the start line of a charity run.

“We know from everything we’ve seen so far that this was an intentional act. Again we do not know the nature of it, we do not know the motivation,” de Blasio said

A source told CBS News "both the Chelsea bombs and the Seaside Park bombs used cell phones as triggers." The Chelsea device may have utilized a pressure cooker. [More...]

While there's no link to international terror groups, Gov. Andrew Cuomo still calls the Chelsea attack "terrorism." Doesn't terrorism require a political motive of some sort? Otherwise, I would think, it's just a criminal act. The NYPD seem to agree:

Although Cuomo on Sunday referred to the explosion as an act of “terrorism,” NYPD, FBI and other NYC officials were hesitant to use the phrase until a suspect or motive could be established.

The Jersey Shore beaches have reopened. All of those injured in Chelsea have been released from the hospital. NYC will see an expanded police presence this week, due to world leaders arriving for the UN General Assembly.

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Chelsea and Jersey Shore Pipe Bombs: No Motive Yet | 36 comments (36 topical)

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For those not familiar with New York City (5.00 / 2) (#1)
by Peter G on Sun Sep 18, 2016 at 07:08:27 PM EST

"the Chelsea neighborhood" does not refer to the area where our future President's daughter lives.

Bahahahaha! (none / 0) (#3)
by Militarytracy on Sun Sep 18, 2016 at 07:09:37 PM EST

Correct (none / 0) (#4)
by Redbrow on Sun Sep 18, 2016 at 07:20:26 PM EST

Ivanka lives uptown in the upper east side.


: I'll take that bet (5.00 / 1) (#5)
by Yman on Sun Sep 18, 2016 at 07:36:18 PM EST

Any amount you want.

YET! (none / 0) (#10)
by ruffian on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 09:00:42 AM EST

Sweet Jesus (none / 0) (#2)
by Militarytracy on Sun Sep 18, 2016 at 07:09:16 PM EST

I'm just going to take this cool duffle bag, I have no use for this pressure cooker.....bahahaha! Go Team America....We've Got This!......Cool Free Duffle Bag.

Who could even make this up? A novelist would be bodily thrown out of Barnes and Noble shopping this story around.

Another bomb just went off (none / 0) (#6)
by Redbrow on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 12:44:31 AM EST

In Elizabeth NJ as a bomb robot was inspecting a backpack.

It was not a controlled detonation but thankfully nobody was injured.

They are finding several more bombs and several people have been arrested.

Some trains have been shut down and stations are under control of the FBI.

No lone wolves this time.

Always a good idea not to jump (5.00 / 1) (#9)
by Peter G on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 08:42:40 AM EST

to conclusions based on fragmentary bits of early information. Doesn't experience teach this very clearly?


I thought the motto was, "It would be (none / 0) (#14)
by vml68 on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 10:51:33 AM EST

irresponsible not to speculate" :-)


I agree (none / 0) (#18)
by Redbrow on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 12:59:10 PM EST

It was very foolish of Deblasio to prematurely declare tthis had nothing to do with terrorisim or international terrorism.

But every single recent terror attack starts with officals ruling oit terrorisim before facts are known.

They do not seem to learn.


Yes, it would have been foolish (none / 0) (#20)
by Peter G on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 01:17:52 PM EST

for the Mayor to say that. But he didn't. Of course, I suppose you knew that, not that it would stop you from misrepresenting his words.


Except he did (none / 0) (#22)
by Redbrow on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 01:46:04 PM EST

Say at first there was no evidence terrorisim. Then he flip-flopped and said a bomb going of on NY streets is it self evidenc of terrorism but then qualififed his statement by definitelively declaring it is not linked to international terrorism.

"No one has taken credit, there have been no international groups that have put out any statements connecting them with this action. Now it depends on your definition of terrorism. But a bomb exploding in New York is obviously an act of terrorism, but it's not linked to international terrorism - in other words we find no ISIS connection, etc."

: So, as I stated, the Mayor did not (5.00 / 1) (#23)
by Peter G on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 02:11:35 PM EST

prematurely state that the bombs "had nothing to do with terrorism or international terrorism." It is absurd to think that he would. He said, quite correctly, that as of the time of his statement the authorities were not aware of any evidence of a link to any international terror group.

Would it also be foolish ... (none / 0) (#21)
by Yman on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 01:20:59 PM EST

... to prematurely declare "No lone wolves this time"?


Terror Cell? (none / 0) (#7)
by TrevorBolder on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 05:26:56 AM EST

http://tinyurl.com/h7tyfzk

NEW YORK - Authorities in New York took "a number of people" into custody in connection with Saturday's bombing in Manhattan, just as their counterparts in New Jersey worked to render safe "multiple improvised explosive devices" discovered at a train station in Elizabeth just across from Staten Island.
Though officials did not immediately say whether the two developments were related, they sowed further concern about terrorism in the region and across the country. Police already had been investigating three weekend incidents -- explosions in New York and New Jersey and a stabbing attack in Minnesota -- that took place within a 12-hour period on Saturday.
About 8:45 p.m. Sunday, the FBI and the New York Police Department stopped what the bureau's New York Field office called a "vehicle of interest" in the Manhattan bombing investigation, and took people into custody. As of early Monday, authorities said no one had been charged with a crime, and the investigation was continuing.

From an anniversary of hope, (none / 0) (#8)
by Mr Natural on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 08:26:07 AM EST

an anniversary of hate: September 17th was the day on which Egypt's President Sadat and Israel's Prime Minister Begin signed the Camp David Accords.

I prefer to think of September 17 (5.00 / 1) (#13)
by Peter G on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 10:46:51 AM EST

as Constitution Day. On Sept. 17, 1787, the final draft of the original Constitution was signed by (all but a handful of) the Framers.


Also, True Patriot's Day (none / 0) (#24)
by NYShooter on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 02:38:46 PM EST

Uber, in a heart warming display of Patriotism, is sure to gain the ever lasting loyalty of the hundreds of panic stricken pedestrians so very anxious to get away from the Chelsea section of Manhattan, and, back home to the arms of their loved ones.

Realizing the gut wrenching fear gripping those folks Uber could have charged any fee they wanted, but, not wanting to take unfair advantage during such a crisis they chose to merely Triple their regular rates. (Reports indicated fees shot up, ranging from up 140% to as high as 300%)

Talk about taking a bite from the Big Apple!


Dya think there's a guy at Uber who's job it is to (none / 0) (#26)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 03:04:44 PM EST

sit watching the news and then immediately raise the rates near terrorist bombings?


And there's this, timestamped shortly after the (none / 0) (#27)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 03:38:41 PM EST

explosion:

Uber NYC
✔
@Uber_NYC
Surge pricing has been turned off in the #Chelsea #explosion area. Allow extra time for drivers to navigate due to road closures. Stay safe.
6:46 PM - 17 Sep 2016

Not how it works at all (none / 0) (#28)
by Peter G on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 04:12:20 PM EST

Uber uses automated "surge pricing" - when demand increases, their computer system automatically raises prices (supply and demand, y'know). The "guy" is the one who turns that system off when the algorithm "fails" to exercise human judgment.


Thanks Peter, that's what I was getting at... (none / 0) (#29)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 04:40:25 PM EST

...and also supposedly the higher rates then encourage more drivers to go to the high demand/rate areas, to satisfy the high demand.


Not sure 3x pricing would encourage me to drive (5.00 / 1) (#30)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 04:41:33 PM EST

TO a bombing site.


Not sure what you're trying to say (5.00 / 1) (#33)
by NYShooter on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 10:08:43 PM EST

Fact is Uber charged much higher, "Surge Pricing," until a public outcry occurred and prior agreement with Attorney General to not use "Surge Pricing" during emergencies was recalled.
______________

"Charging a premium at times when a potential client wants something badly, of course, is a function of basic supply and demand (otherwise known as Economics 101). As a number of Uber boosters note, surge pricing is more of an incentive for drivers to pick up passengers, as they tend to earn more during peak times than they would during normal hours. Most Uber drivers set their own schedule, and moonlight for extra money."

"That said, the company has taken its lumps for surging during emergencies, most notably the 2014 hostage crisis in Sydney. At the time, Uber was ripped for surge pricing at a time when frightened would-be riders were attempting to flee a deadly standoff at a local café."

Yahoo Finance for whole story.


OK sure, what I'm tryng to say is that (none / 0) (#34)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 10:34:16 PM EST

this is a crock of sh1t:

Realizing the gut wrenching fear gripping those folks Uber could have charged any fee they wanted, but, not wanting to take unfair advantage during such a crisis they chose to merely Triple their regular rates.

Uber did not "Realize the gut wrenching fear gripping those folks" due to the bombing and then, like an evil predator, "choose to Triple their regular rates."

Uber's computer-generated pricing reflected the increased demand, and then within minutes, when the people at Uber realized what was going on, they rescinded the increase and worked to refund anyone who paid the increased rates.

Jeebus, you sound like Don from HI.


O.K. sorry, (none / 0) (#35)
by NYShooter on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 11:16:05 PM EST

I forgot who I was responding to. Won't be making that mistake again. "Within minutes"..lol, you didn't tell me you were there.

In any case, nothing I said warranted that slur at the end.


: Fair enough on the "minutes" part. (none / 0) (#36)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Tue Sep 20, 2016 at 10:19:45 AM EST

The report I read yesterday on Digital Trends said the bomb went off at around 9:30pm and Uber rescinded the surge pricing at 9:46pm.

The bomb exploded around 9:30 p.m. ET. A date stamped Tweet from @Uber_NYC at 9:46 p.m. read, "Surge pricing has been turned off in the #Chelsea #explosion area. Allow extra time for drivers to navigate due to road closures. Stay Safe."
In more reading today, in actuality the bomb went off an hour earlier at around 8:30pm, so Uber didn't rescind the surge in around 16 minutes, rather it was more like 76 minutes.
Regardless of how many minutes, your characterization of THIS event - and not some other event 2 years ago and 10 thousand miles away in a completely different country - was inflammatory and untrue, and not at all unlike the often fact-free bombastic screeds written by DFH.

Initial reporting was poor. (none / 0) (#11)
by leftwig on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 09:18:59 AM EST

Instead of saying there isn't evidence of a connection to the bombings, it should have said authorities are still investigating. They now seem to believe the bombs are connected.

Early Monday, FBI agents swarmed an apartment above a fried chicken restaurant in Elizabeth that's tied to Rahami.

The activity came hours after one of five devices found at the nearby Elizabeth train station exploded while a bomb squad robot attempted to disarm it.

Federal sources told CBS News that Rahami is believed to also be connected to the devices in Elizabeth as well as an unexploded pressure cooker device found near the Chelsea blast.

I think it was pretty obvious they were still (none / 0) (#12)
by ruffian on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 09:23:59 AM EST

investigating. and I think most reports said the investigation was ongoing. I thought the initial reports were generally restrained and careful, actually, with one notable exception from a presidential candidate who now thinks he should be a newsman.


: The article quoted in this thread (none / 0) (#19)
by leftwig on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 01:17:42 PM EST

stated (without providing a source or direct quote) that the attacks appeared unrelated:
"Officials said there's no evidence currently linking the explosion to terrorism, and said the incident appeared to be unrelated to a pipe bomb explosion earlier Saturday in Seaside Park, New Jersey near the start line of a charity run".
Quite simply the article should have said the investigation is just beginning and there isn't much known yet about the bombings. I'm not suggesting the reporting had anything to do with politics, just an observation that reporting in general is really poor these days and since the "guess" that the attacks weren't related is quoted in the original post, it was worth pointing out the inaccuracy.

The Manhattan bombing (none / 0) (#15)
by KeysDan on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 11:30:40 AM EST

suspect has been caught and injured in a police shoot-out in Linden, NJ.

Welcome back KeysDan, (5.00 / 1) (#16)
by fishcamp on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 11:38:58 AM EST

your presence has been missed.


Thanks, (none / 0) (#17)
by KeysDan on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 11:42:18 AM EST

a really fun trip save for the uncertainty of airline strikes in France. Need to figure out bloggywocky, having difficulty.


Me too (5.00 / 1) (#25)
by Militarytracy on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 02:45:31 PM EST

Need to figure out how to get signed in


: Plan to (5.00 / 1) (#31)
by KeysDan on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 05:28:48 PM EST

ask for assistance from the boss.

: Post a comment to any thread (5.00 / 2) (#32)
by Peter G on Mon Sep 19, 2016 at 08:21:32 PM EST

seeking involvement, and ye shall be rewarded.