# Explosions at Manchester Arena (England) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 22, 2017, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-manchester-arena-england/787243 "2017-05-22T23:17:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-manchester-arena-england/787243/181 "2017-05-24T16:08:29Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > That was rhetorical btw. > > There’s no logic or reasoning behind this attack on defenseless children. This is easily going to be the stupidest post in this thread. I don’t see any way to top it. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-manchester-arena-england/787243/182 "2017-05-24T17:16:31Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > There’s no logic or reasoning behind this attack on defenseless children. You know, this sort of reasoning is something that’s bugged me about Western news coverage of attacks/shootings: Insisting that if something is tragic or cruel, that it must be “senseless” or have no good explanation. Terrorist attacks and school shootings are \*\*\*not \*\*\*senseless or illogical; on the contrary, there is plenty of cold-blooded logic, thought, coherent motive, and rational reason that went into such attacks. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-manchester-arena-england/787243/183 "2017-05-24T17:38:09Z")
> [@Delicious](#): > > I had not heard of that massacre, the Wikipedia article on it does say that the intent \*was \*to cause outrage & provoke a violent response but it didn’t work. > > I haven’t heard of that sort of thing happening in western Europe/America though. Would the outrage/terror not be significantly more if rather than blow up a concert, he’d blown up a school playground? > > If not for moral qualms about doing that, why is it not done? The psychological & economic damage would be huge…how many parents would keep their kids home after that? Hopefully it’s just that I’m assuming wrong & would make a bad terrorist. A few years ago there was a French jihadist that shot up a Jewish school and killed some kids (details [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toulouse_and_Montauban_shootings#19_March:_Ozar_Hatorah_school_in_Toulouse)) A couple of years ago, [some Al-Shabaab gunmen shot up a college in Kenya](http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/02/africa/kenya-university-attack/) too. They killed many, but they were adults. There was also the Boko Haram attack on Chibok of Michelle Obama’s #BringBackOurGirls fame, but in that case the goal was kidnapping, not slaughter, so it’s not really in the same category. I suspect this terrorist chose the concert over a school playground primarily for the body count he was able to achieve. It’s easier to kill lots of people with a bomb if they’re packed tightly together, like when exiting the concert, as opposed to spread out all over a school playground. ETA: my point is that terrorists definitely do NOT hold schools sacrosanct. They (collectively) appear to have no problem shooting / blowing them up. As for why they do not do it more often … I don’t really have any insight into the minds of terrorists’ and their target selection, so IDK. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-manchester-arena-england/787243/184 "2017-05-24T18:04:21Z")
OK, this is getting ridiculous. The New York Times has their hands on actual crime-scene photos of the remnants of the explosive device. The British Home Secretary said this morning that the earlier leaks were “irritating” (translation: she’s fucking livid) and she’d made it clear that intelligence passed on was not to be distributed widely. I can only imagine her current mood. > **[Found at the Scene in Manchester: Shrapnel, a Backpack and a Battery...](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/05/24/world/europe/manchester-arena-bomb-materials-photos.html)** > > The Times got access to evidence photographed at the crime scene, and it suggests an improvised device made with forethought and care. This is a shocking way to treat a close ally, deeply unprofessional of whichever agency is doing the leaking, and highly damaging to the close working relationships the UK and US intelligence services have long enjoyed. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-manchester-arena-england/787243/185 "2017-05-24T18:10:40Z")
Starting to look like another oddball/misfit and loner on the fringes of groups. The main concern is whether he was bright enough to concoct the bomb itself. I can’t see that he’d reach out to ISIS or anyone in the UK and for it nt to be picked up, I don’t think he was smart enough. Hope I’m right. It might be time to close of the USA. This is too important to have rank amateurs in the network. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-manchester-arena-england/787243/186 "2017-05-24T18:18:12Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > Starting to look like another oddball/misfit and loner on the fringes of groups. The main concern is whether he was bright enough to concoct the bomb itself. I can’t see that he’d reach out to ISIS or anyone in the UK and for it nt to be picked up, I don’t think he was smart enough. Hope I’m right. I wished you were (right), but I don’t think that’s the case. > [@](#): > > The man British police say blew himself up as a packed concert was letting out in Manchester, England, Monday night is believed to have traveled to Syria and had “proven” links with the Islamic State terror network. > > British and French intelligence have information that Salman Abedi, 22, had been to Syria, although it was unclear if he was part of a larger network of attackers, French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said Wednesday. > > … > > Abedi — who was born in Britain to Libyan parents — had traveled to the war-torn North African nation “three weeks ago and came back, like, days ago,” a friend told The Times of London. > > … > > Meanwhile, The Sun reported that investigators also were looking at the possibility that Abedi had traveled to Syria from Libya without drawing the notice of British authorities. [source](http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/05/24/manchester-attack-suspect-visited-syria-and-had-proven-ties-to-isis-french-minister-says.html) Looks like French officials are getting in on the data leaks now too. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2017, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-manchester-arena-england/787243/187 "2017-05-25T10:47:01Z")
The Mans (City and United) are pledging a mil according yo the BBC. Seems like peanuts considering their summer transfer budget. They should do better. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2017, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-manchester-arena-england/787243/188 "2017-05-25T10:54:15Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > The Mans (City and United) are pledging a mil according yo the BBC. Seems like peanuts considering their summer transfer budget. They should do better. Seems fine to me. Well done to both football clubs of Manchester ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2017, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-manchester-arena-england/787243/189 "2017-05-25T11:03:42Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > OK, this is getting ridiculous. The New York Times has their hands on actual crime-scene photos of the remnants of the explosive device. The British Home Secretary said this morning that the earlier leaks were “irritating” (translation: she’s fucking livid) and she’d made it clear that intelligence passed on was not to be distributed widely. I can only imagine her current mood. > > [Found at the Scene in Manchester: Shrapnel, a Backpack and a Battery - The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/05/24/world/europe/manchester-arena-bomb-materials-photos.html) > > This is a shocking way to treat a close ally, deeply unprofessional of whichever agency is doing the leaking, and highly damaging to the close working relationships the UK and US intelligence services have long enjoyed. And the consequences have started to play: > **[Police stop sharing information with US intelligence after 'completely...](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/25/police-stop-sharing-information-us-intelligence-completely-unacceptable/)** > > Police hunting the terror network behind the Manchester Arena bombing have stopped passing information to the US on the investigation as a major transatlantic row erupted over leaks of key evidence in the US. The UK has stopped sharing intel with the US due to this leak. I don’t know when was the last time something of the sort happened, but definitely not within the past 50 years at least, as far as I am aware. I know that for quite some time the US was not sharing with the UK certain things, because they were not fully confident that the UK intelligence services were free of Soviet moles (and the “Cambridge Five” affair didn’t help things). But, the UK not sharing with the US…? I don’t remember that happening in any relatively recent times. Theresa May apparently is going to have words with Donald Trump this coming Thursday during the NATO summit in Brussels. ---
**Author:** ![TwoCarrotSnowman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twocarrotsnowman/32/15879_2.png) [@TwoCarrotSnowman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoCarrotSnowman)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2017, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-manchester-arena-england/787243/190 "2017-05-25T12:56:20Z")
According to the BBC, they’re only not sharing intel related to this investigation - other intel is being passed as normal. Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2017, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-manchester-arena-england/787243/191 "2017-05-25T19:05:35Z")
> [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](#): > > Seems fine to me. Well done to both football clubs of Manchester Man United paid 100 mil for a mediocre MF named Paul Pogba. They could afford to chip in much more but sometimes it us the thought that counts. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2017, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-manchester-arena-england/787243/192 "2017-05-25T20:07:23Z")
Abedi appears to be something of an oddity for recent years: [an actual trained terrorist](http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/25/europe/manchester-terror-attack-uk/), with direct links to ISIS. The norm in recent years seems to have been people that were inspired by Anwar al-Awlaki or other extremist material they’d encountered online and then planning and executing their own terrorist attacks. In fact, ISIS seems to have been urging this mode of ISIS-inspired but self-taught and self-supported terrorism recently. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2017, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-manchester-arena-england/787243/193 "2017-05-31T14:51:23Z")
In slightly more positive news, Ariana Grande is returning to Manchester this Sunday 4th June to play a benefit concert at Old Trafford Cricket Ground. She’s bringing along some friends: Justin Beiber, Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Usher and a One Directioner, amongst others. For the demographic that was at the Arena gig, that’s an absolutely stellar lineup. Arena attendees get in free. Good on her and her team for getting that organised so quickly. > **[How Ariana Grande, Scooter Braun & Two Biggest U.K. Promoters Organized...](https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/ariana-grande-manchester-benefit-concert-how-it-came-together-7809826/)** > > Just four days after floating a plan to stage a massive benefit concert for the victims of the May 22 terrorist attack in Manchester, Ariana Grande, her manager Scooter Braun and two of the biggest… ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2017, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-manchester-arena-england/787243/194 "2017-05-31T16:43:59Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > [According to CBS News](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/manchester-terror-attack-ariana-grande-suicide-bomber-children-theresa-may/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab6a&linkId=37907182), shitbag bomber has been identified as Salman Abedi, 23, and “known to British Authorities.” That’s a rather understated way of saying [“British authorities were repeatedly warned about this guy but sat around with their thumbs up their arses”](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/24/security-services-missed-five-opportunities-stop-manchester/). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-at-manchester-arena-england/787243.md?page=9)