Substitute “killed” or “murdered” or “executed” for beheaded in this headline and does it have the same impact? Probably not. We’re generally more desensitized to the atrocities of war and terrorism and the Islamic extremists know that. Beheading carries its own terror. So should we be complicit in furthering their terror? Or is there an Read more →
Each speaker tried the impossible today: finding the rhetoric to describe meaning to the day two planes destroyed the icons of American financial power in the world. But words seemed to fail them all. Things don’t fail, however. The red bandanna Welles Crowther used to protect himself while he helped people out of the buildings and which was later used to identify his body. There are wallets and shoes that are now part of the museum. Read more →
The kidnapping of girls in Nigeria at the hands of the Boko Haram rebels is finally getting traction in news cycles, thanks primarily to Twitter and social media. This week the United States offered to help find them, almost three weeks after their abduction.
Why the slow world response? Read more →
You could probably spend a couple of hours on the Boston Globe’s web site today, just mousing over this photo of survivors and helpers who were at the Boston Marathon finish line a year ago today Read more →
The Boston Marathon is a fairly soft target for terrorists. Twenty-six miles of city streets can’t be locked down, especially with the carnival atmosphere that accompanies the event. “We are never going to reduce the risk to zero in any event, especially ones that attract hundreds of thousands of people, but we have to do Read more →
Sometimes, a news story perfectly reveals the extent to which the terrorists “have won.”
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The federal government is paying for SWAT vehicles for small-town police departments. Do they really need them? Read more →
The day terrorists hit a lucky shot, with this ring she brought jobs to Minnesota, the failure of the railroad vision, the Star Tribune Bachmann editorial, and the people who wash windows. Read more →
Haven’t heard Officer Javier Pagan’s story of the Boston Marathon bombing? You should. Read more →
On the cover of the Rolling Stone, the rise of the baseball scorecard, why can’t a lemonade stand just be a lemonade stand, a step toward racial equality in Saint Paul, and the return of the bookmobile. Read more →
There’s a fair amount of irony in the situation developing in Boston, where the Fourth of July celebration on the Esplanade along the Charles River dwarfs the Boston Marathon for symbolism. Thursday will be a real test of “Boston Strong” because there can’t possibly be a greater target for those who wish to attack that Read more →
Bob Collins