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IED-resistant Army vehicle to be on hand at finish line tomorrow

Army MRAP in Boston

Adam Nichols watched a heavily armored Army vehicle arrive at the Hynes under police escort this afternoon.

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Comments

What the hell good does this do. We went years with no incident, one incident caused by idiots who are now dead or in jail, and two more years of no incidents. Such a vehicle will do little to help, and only serves as a painful reminder and a sign of fear. Living well is the best revenge, and we shouldn't be shitting our pants over hypothetical nebulous future attack.

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You are trying to question a justification for nearly every arms purchase by local, regional, and national law enforcement organization that goes beyond the scope of basic law enforcement.

I stopped going to the marathon years ago not because watching runners became boring, it was because of increased protocols for "security". I used to like watching runners go through Cleveland Circle, with no fencing, and guess what? Everyone policed themselves and no one got hurt and if things got out of line, a cop came over and said cut that out. Fencing goes up, no more fun. It is cheering cattle going through pens now. Temple Grandin apparently started a hybrid version of Blackwater.

Remember, there were cops everywhere when the bombs went off. They helped save dozens of lives, yet no robot, no swat team, no radiation detectors in the sky, no ninjas in the crowd stopped two disoriented person from blowing up things purchased at Macy's and this stupid crap ass piece of security theatre would not have stopped them either. I'll take a few more local people in blue walking around paying attention to the crowd over FBI marksmen on rooftops and National Guard on stand by any day.

By the way, the Portland Sea Dogs just put in metal detectors at Hadlock Field. Downeast safey kabuki. There seems to be no escaping "security".

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Temple Grandin apparently started a hybrid version of Blackwater.

Good one!

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The top poster and John Costello appear to be in agreement that the presence of this vehicle in Boston won't do much to provide security, or am I missing some nuance in your statements ? Nevertheless, I don't think people do or should have an objection to security, but we certainly should object to security theater which this seems to be. Certain people commenting below need to take a few seconds to look up some simple facts available freely online and expend a little mental effort. I don't think anybody with even a passing understanding of the military purpose of this type of machine could make a good faith argument in favor of needing it here.

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A heavily armored vehicle needs a police escort? Need more armor, please.

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That looks like a buffalo mrap. You're welcome to try to drive one in a city. I suspect you will change your tune. New meaning to the term "blind spot".

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A buffalo probably wouldn't have a gun turret. The buffalo is a tow vehicle. I was thinking it was an RG33 (which doesn't work well on the uneven roads of Afghanistan), but the online pictures I see shows a different rear window configuration. Which ever, it is one of the longer wheel base models.

EDIT:

Actually this picture matches the window configuration part:
http://www.militaryfactory.com/armor/detail.asp?armor_id=840

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If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

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It looks safe as hell, but I have no idea how they're going to fit thousands of runners and tens of thousands of spectators and 26 miles of track in there

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It's a TARDIS, clearly.

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If we already have this kind of protection then we may as well have it present for the race. For those who are bitching and moaning about security... I have relatives and friends who run the marathon every year for charity. My cousin was lucky enough to finish before the bombings, otherwise he probably would have had his leg blown off. He has three children to support. He considers himself fortunate. I live very close to the finish line. I'm grateful to those who are willing to put their lives on the line to protect us.

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IMAGE(http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--z1-tOiHQ--/18axel5mz1s9ijpg.jpg)

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Really?

Explain it to me, please.

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The good guys can get close enough to shoot them without getting blown up.

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The only thing that can stop bad guys with bombs is good guys with bombs.

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After the bombs already exploded? Or does the hunk of taxpayer waste of metal on wheels see through every backpack within a 50 block radius? It just knows beforehand, I guess...

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They were filming the Marathon Bombing movie using the marathon as a backdrop today.

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