# Looks like we dodged a bullet (no debate here) **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 2, 2010, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-we-dodged-a-bullet-no-debate-here/538087 "2010-05-02T23:50:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-we-dodged-a-bullet-no-debate-here/538087/1 "2010-05-02T23:50:14Z")
Along the lines of witnessing, I was watching the news in my room earlier and I noticed that some idiot (they are currently saying it looks like a middle aged white male) attempted to blow up a car bomb in Time Square. :eek: It seems that the detonator failed (fortunately) and a sharp eyed street vendor and an on the ball cop were able to avert what could have caused dozens of deaths. Details are still sketchy (according to the news program I was watching), but based on the ‘white male’ part I’m guessing this could be one of our domestic kooks, instead of another attack by some other countries lunatic fringe, though since things are still sketchy that could change as they get more data (the news show implied that some Muslim group had already claimed credit and were crowing about the loss of life, but they seemed skeptical that it was real, and mentioned that it might be simply a diversion). Anyway, I’m glad the disaster was averted and hope it was the lone act of some crazed domestic asshole trying to prove…well, gods know what. -XT ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-we-dodged-a-bullet-no-debate-here/538087/2 "2010-05-03T00:07:07Z")
[Link](http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/02/roundup-reports-on-the-times-square-car-bomb-scare/?hpt=T1), for anyone interested. > [@](#): > > Update: 7:40 p.m. ET] The Nissan Pathfinder is registered to someone who lives in the tri-state area, a New York police official tells CNN’s Susan Candiotti. This contradicts what a federal law enforcement source told CNN earlier Sunday. > > [Update: 6:55 p.m. ET] Authorities have identified and are attempting to speak with the owner of the Nissan Pathfinder, a law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation says, according to CNN Correspondent Deb Feyerick. > > [Update: 6:13 p.m. ET] New York City police have released a picture showing one of two clocks they say were part of the apparent bomb inside the Nissan Pathfinder. The clocks, on the floor of the vehicle’s back seat, were connected by wires to a can containing M-88 firecrackers, and that can was between two gasoline containers, New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said. Kelly also said that the unknown substance in a gun locker found in the vehicle may be fertilizer. Investigators believe the clocks were supposed to ignite the firecrackers, causing the gasoline containers to ignite, which would then explode three propane tanks that also were in the vehicle and “have some effect on that rifle box,” which also contained wires and more M-88s, Kelly said. -XT ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-we-dodged-a-bullet-no-debate-here/538087/3 "2010-05-03T00:12:52Z")
They’ve got a VIN and two separate stolen license plates to triangulate on, a picture, and I certainly wouldn’t expect him to have managed to wipe down _all_ his fingerprints. This guy will be in jail by this time tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-we-dodged-a-bullet-no-debate-here/538087/4 "2010-05-03T00:13:41Z")
If there’s no debate here, why’d you post it in the Great Debates forum? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-we-dodged-a-bullet-no-debate-here/538087/5 "2010-05-03T00:15:20Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > If there’s no debate here, why’d you post it in the Great Debates forum? He answered that in the first five words of the OP. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-we-dodged-a-bullet-no-debate-here/538087/6 "2010-05-03T00:16:06Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > They’ve got a VIN and two separate stolen license plates to triangulate on, a picture, and I certainly wouldn’t expect him to have managed to wipe down _all_ his fingerprints. This guy will be in jail by this time tomorrow. I think you’re right (or at least close to the mark). Is the video image good enough that they can tell he’s “white”? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-we-dodged-a-bullet-no-debate-here/538087/7 "2010-05-03T00:16:12Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > If there’s no debate here, why’d you post it in the Great Debates forum? Because someone will turn it into a debate about either Islamic or American terrorists being the real threat. Personally, I’d argue that American Nationalists/Animal Rights/Pro-life terrorists are, simply because the Atlantic Ocean gives a lot protection and Islamic terrorists seem to be generally satisfied blowing up Europe. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-we-dodged-a-bullet-no-debate-here/538087/8 "2010-05-03T00:19:14Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Is the video image good enough that they can tell he’s “white”? Must be. They’re saying white male in his 40s wearing a red shirt after taking off a dark-colored shirt. That’s relatively detailed. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-we-dodged-a-bullet-no-debate-here/538087/9 "2010-05-03T00:21:26Z")
The bomb seems pretty half-assed. Its like someone threw all the components that they knew were supposed to be in a bomb in, and hoped it would do something. I’m thinking its some nut-jobs cry for help rather then some organized terrorist outfit. That said, the Pakistani Taliban supposedly claimed responsibility, through the US officials quoted in the bit I read seemed pretty skeptical of that claim. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-we-dodged-a-bullet-no-debate-here/538087/10 "2010-05-03T00:25:42Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Because someone will turn it into a debate about either Islamic or American terrorists being the real threat. Couldn’t he have just posted it somewhere besides Great Debates and declared that he didn’t want it to be a debate and then it would have been against the rules to start debating? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-we-dodged-a-bullet-no-debate-here/538087/11 "2010-05-03T00:26:34Z")
I’m guessing it’s a mentally ill, unafilliated, delusional nutbar. It looks like he just piled together everything he thought would blow up - firecrackers, gas, propane tanks, fertilizer, and packed it into the vehicle. The fertilizer might be ammonium nitrate soaked with diesel fuel, but it could just as well be Scott’s Miracle Grow. [The clock he used as a timer](http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/02/roundup-reports-on-the-times-square-car-bomb-scare/?hpt=T1) looks like it was stolen from a little girl’s bedroom. As to what his motivations were, that’s anyones guess. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-we-dodged-a-bullet-no-debate-here/538087/12 "2010-05-03T00:28:40Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Couldn’t he have just posted it somewhere besides Great Debates and declared that he didn’t want it to be a debate and then it would have been against the rules to start debating? 😕 If you believe a thread is inappropriate for a forum, just report it to the mods. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-we-dodged-a-bullet-no-debate-here/538087/13 "2010-05-03T00:29:50Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > He answered that in the first five words of the OP. Witnessing? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-we-dodged-a-bullet-no-debate-here/538087/14 "2010-05-03T00:33:34Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Couldn’t he have just posted it somewhere besides Great Debates and declared that he didn’t want it to be a debate and then it would have been against the rules to start debating? 😕 He didn’t say that he didn’t want it to turn into a debate, he simply said that he had nothing in particular to debate. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-we-dodged-a-bullet-no-debate-here/538087/15 "2010-05-03T00:34:08Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > He didn’t say that he didn’t want it to turn into a debate, he simply said that he had nothing in particular to debate. Kay. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-we-dodged-a-bullet-no-debate-here/538087/16 "2010-05-03T00:36:21Z")
[QUOTE=AClockworkMelon] Couldn’t he have just posted it somewhere besides Great Debates and declared that he didn’t want it to be a debate and then it would have been against the rules to start debating? [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=levdrakon] Witnessing? [/QUOTE] From the text on the main board page under GD: > [@](#): > > For long-running discussions of the great questions of our time. This is also the place for religious debates and (if you feel you must) witnessing Sure, I could have posted this elsewhere, but A) It wasn’t appropriate in GQ or The Game Room, and generally those are the 3 forums I post to, and B) it’s an event that could have some pretty heavy duty implications whether it was an external Muslim group or some internal group of nutbars (or even just a lone nutter), and C) I felt I must. 😛 If it makes you guys feel more comfortable though, the ‘debate’ could be ‘do you think this was an internal US group, an external foreign group, or the work of a lone nutter, and what implications do you see for each of those positions?’. For a bonus, how long do you think it will be before the guy is caught? Based on what I’ve seen they have already gathered, I’m guessing tomorrow evening, tops. -XT ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-we-dodged-a-bullet-no-debate-here/538087/17 "2010-05-03T00:36:36Z")
If nothing else, there appears to be a debate as to whether the thread should be in this forum. 😛 It is probably going to be headed to another venue in a short while, but I’m going to let it percolate for a bit to decide which other forum would best suit it. (Cafe Society because the information is being broadcast? Games because the guy couldn’t have been serious?) ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-we-dodged-a-bullet-no-debate-here/538087/18 "2010-05-03T00:47:40Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > From the text on the main board page under GD: > > > [@](#): > > > > For long-running discussions of the great questions of our time. This is also the place for religious debates and (if you feel you must) witnessing And witnessing is religious proselytizing. This is “attempted car bomb in NY” which seems MPSIMS to me. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-we-dodged-a-bullet-no-debate-here/538087/19 "2010-05-03T00:52:03Z")
I’m sure Tom has his magic mod switcheroo gizmo out and poised to move this there soon, so relax and enjoy the moment… (ETA: And I don’t understand why ‘witnessing’ has to be about religious proselytizing…seems rather unfair, since that would mean I’m not allowed to do it, being an agnatheist and all) -XT ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-we-dodged-a-bullet-no-debate-here/538087/20 "2010-05-03T00:54:06Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > If it makes you guys feel more comfortable though, the ‘debate’ could be ‘do you think this was an internal US group, an external foreign group, or the work of a lone nutter, and what implications do you see for each of those positions?’. For a bonus, how long do you think it will be before the guy is caught? Based on what I’ve seen they have already gathered, I’m guessing tomorrow evening, tops. > > -XT I don’t see much point in speculating about the motive-- especially since it looks like this guy will be picked up pretty soon. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-we-dodged-a-bullet-no-debate-here/538087.md?page=2)