Let's all argue about whether it was Mohamedans or Jesusans.

Go to bed, Paul. By morning this will all be sorted out and you will be much more rested.

They could be Pastafarians.

http://www.fbi.gov/news/updates-on-investigation-into-multiple-explosions-in-boston/updates-on-investigation-into-multiple-explosions-in-boston">http://m.fbi.gov/#http://www.fbi.gov/new…

More pics posted by the FBI

https://twitter.com/dannysullivan/watert…

what is up with all of our local newscasts going off air as per usual when this shit is breaking in real time?

https://twitter.com/WesleyLowery

here is a good pic of the guy as they arrested him tonight:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-…

live CNN is a good source on top of Wesley Lowery.

I've never read a phrase as depressing as "Also part of Reddit's investigation"

Boston police scanner here:
http://tunein.com/radio/Boston-Police-Fi…

Mike Mulugeta and Sunil Tripathi were named on the scanner as suspects 1 and 2.

Homegrown terrorists. One wealthy suburbanite Ivy Leaguer. One retarded Eminem fan. Islamic-sounding names but no readily comprehensible motives.

I think it's safe to say that all our presumptions were wrong. MacCrocodile's two-kids-in-a-trenchcoat was about as close as any other guess.

Are they even Islamic-sounding, or just foreign and non-Euro-sounding?

Please make "CNN-ing" as common as the term "Googling". They deserve it. In John Stewart's Name, Amen.

@12: Or they're Russian.

From "near Chechnya"? Not sure what that means.

It;s too early to have a discussion over motive. We ought to wait until we have at least some evidence to base anything on.

But I thought SLOG was collectively sure they were right-wing white rednecks? Maybe SLOG should turn in its detective badge as well.

@ 18, some on SLOG were certain it was Islamofascists. So, no, "collectively" SLOG did not have a single opinion.

CNN is reporting they were Chechen. Which means they're probably from New Zealand.

@18

That wouldn't be the worst description of some of the Chechnyan refugees living out in the hills.

Of course, those tend to be right-wing white muslim rednecks, so I imagine we won't be hearing much more from here on out about their traditional values, skin color, or rural upbringing.

You're basing everything on the ethnicity of one of the two suspects. Do you realize that?

When you say, "It must be this, because he was Chechen", that's the logical equivalent of saying, "It must be this because he is Black".

Now, let's step back here for a second. I'm, not calling anyone a racist, I'm just suggesting that we all need to think about what we're saying.

We have zero information that could lead us to make a good assessment of motive. It's understandable that everyone wants to know why, but innocent people uninvolved with this case could be hurt if we start propagating rumors of Chechens involved in some conspiracy to get America. All we know right now is that it's two college kids from MIT.

They've got names you're not used to hearing up here in the Pac NW. But that's all it is right now-just a couple of unusual names. There's nothing we can infer from their names other than that.

@22

Well, I for one am going on quite a bit more than just the ethnicity of one of the brothers.

It's pretty depressing that various media decided that Sunil only merited mention over a month after he went missing simply because, again, a month after he went missing, a bombing occurred an hour away from where he lived.

@ 22, just as an aside, I find it ironic that someone who routinely lets his passions carry him away, like you did last night on the "support the boys" thread, is now calling for people to step back.

That said, people need to step back.

I'm not ready to believe that this was politically motivated terrorism as yet, because politically motivated terrorists always claim responsibility and justify their actions. These guys, to date, have done nothing but try to get away. Right now, CF's "Leopold and Loeb" thing sounds more likely.

Chechen separatism may not be dead, but it's very difficult to see why they would target anything in America, particularly a civic sporting event like the Boston Marathon. Americans aren't oppressing Chechens, and Chechens are smart enough to know why the American cavalry never rode in to their rescue. They have no beef with America.

We don't know if the suspects are Muslims or not, but they haven't been conducting themselves like Muslim terrorists. First, Muslim terrorists like to die doing what they do. They don't run away. Second, like other politically motivated terrorists, they will tell you why they are killing people. As noted, these guys have not.

So, let's wait for the facts, eh?

@ 23, at that link it says you can send him a gift, and police cruisers are among the suggested gifts. I don't think that's what he wants right now.

Boston is effectively in lock-down right now. Transportation is shut down, residents advised to stay indoors, businesses advised not to open today.

Whether the suspects are of Russian, Tadjik, Chechen or whatever ethnicity, it's not clear whether that's even relevant to their motives. They've apparently been in this country a decade and could well be completely culturally assimilated.

One thing is clear, though. How easy it is for a couple of guys to cause huge mayhem and disruption of normal life for an entire metropolitan area. Anybody frustrated with life or bored with 3-D shooter games could do this.

We make it easy. Our society is particularly vulnerable to this. Easy acquisition of explosive materials. (I don't even own a gun, but I could walk into a store and buy a can or two of high-velocity powder "for reloading" today. No background check or license required.) Recipes online for making your own explosives from bulk beauty-supply and hardware store chemicals.

And guns. These two brothers had a shootout with dozens of police, held them at bay, and one of them escaped and is at large. How much firepower do we want civilians to have access to? Aren't we going to need to address that question one of these days?

I'm exhausted by the violence, and the potential for violence that we need to suffer. I certainly don't want to live in a police state, but the untrammeled freedom to initiate great violence isn't particularly attractive, either. I have no answers. How do we move closer to living in peace and harmony without losing our basic freedoms, and to what extent should those freedoms include the right to amass the tools of violence?

@23: "last seen today at 5:04 am"

Creepy.

Sounds like the bombers were in school here for quite some time............

@27 - Bored with 3-D shooter games? Really? When I get bored of those, I do something else, like garden or read or fuck.

Some more facts to contemplate while we wait for all the facts.

@28, I guess this means the Republicans will want to invade Chechnya in retaliation.

And no one on Slog ever said they knew who did it (not even the commentators are as bad as CNN or The New York Post) many of us speculated and wondered. There is a huge difference

Well, troll dear, you certainly have the whole victimhood thing down pat. What high school did you go to?

And I wouldn't fret about being "underemployed". Something tells me that you are placed exactly where you were meant to be. Just accept it dear, and you won't be so bitter.

Well, we do have to wonder who put them up to it. Probably some right-wing group.

I'm pretty sure the NRA was behind this.

Oh, for fuck's sake. Everything the internet knew at 2am was wrong. This has been modernity's dumbest week yet.

@39: Yep. Damn that Wayne LaPierre. It's all his fault.

Obviously, this is America's fault.

I'm distraught. Thank the universe for rap music. It's the only thing that will get me through this. That, and lattes and Chardonnay.

About 1 in 5 people in the world are Muslims of some sort or the other.

Congrats to everyone who got a 1 in 5 guess correct IF it turns out these guys were Muslims.

Of course, if you really want to gloat, you're hoping their attacks are religiously motivated (and these guys turn out to be Muslims.)

I still expect there's a guy in his 40s or 50s, paranoid, unmarried, wearing a double-breasted suit waiting to get caught.

But, you know what unemployed drone? If it turns out you're right, I'll buy you a beer and listen to you gloat for ten minutes.

(I'll buy you two beers if you admit you were pretty worried when the pictures came out and those guys didn't look like you expected they would.)

@45 -- Catalina, my dear... if I ever discover a Chardonnay latte, I will sell it to Starbucks and tell them to call it a Vel-duRay.

Man sloggers are the worst troll feeders. You all know you're spending enite comment threads day after day trying to interact logically with an unregistered troll who uses the world "Moslem" right?

@37 Congratulations, I guess, on being right. I'm not sure what that proves or accomplishes, but you were the most right, for what it's worth. If it matters. Maybe Dan will mail you a mini trophy or some sort of Slog plaque.

I prefer Underemployed Drone.

Hey, guess who else owes some apology letters...how about the guy who spent hours last night repeating wild speculation about Sunil Tripathi based on the investigative skills of Reddit. Shame on you.

@51 -- I'm pretty sure the Tripathi family is grateful for the attention.

@ 49, the troll feeders will tell you that it's somehow worth it, and on a level greater than their personal petty satisfaction. It won't stand up to scrutiny, but that won't make them turn off unregistered comments.

@37

those of use who want smaller government, more efficient use of taxes and less welfare in the USA

But only for you and other christian white men.

For women, and non-christians, and poor people, you want Big Government. Huge Government.

You said it yourself, you want a police state like France (France... not exactly known for being small government, low tax, low welfare) to track every last movement of muslims. And that huge government police state would be paid for by... who? Not you, right? Mr. small government low taxes?

No, I suppose you'd want to use welfare funds to pay for the police-state-for-anyone-brown-andor-nonchristian. And you, of course, would be in charge, right? The white christian male brigade, giving orders to the police state government on who should be tramped down under its heel.

Basically, you want the USA to be a christian version of Iran.

@54 -- Alright, one beer then.

@30: Thank you for being the one to make that point. I feel like I'm the only one on SLOG that will admit to playing video games, and I grow tired of calling people on their bullshit when they point to that industry and pastime as some sort of collective terrorist training.

@44: They're not actually Chechens.

25,
Irony is what I do best!

Knat, dear, I love a good game of Pong! I regularly play both scrabble and a memory game where you match characters from "Bewitched"

I sometimes play the NYT crossword, but I get discouraged. And I tried sudoko, but I just can't understand it. Maybe it's an Occidental thing?

@60: Are you mentally defective? I'm on 55th street near Cottage Grove. Like I said, I'm on the South Side of Chicago.
The suspects are originally from Dagestan, which is NEAR Chechnya. It would be like if you said a New Englander was responsible for the Oklahoma City bombing.