Milford issues warning about explosive devices

[Recumbent ReCycler]

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Milford+issues+warning+about+explosive+devices&articleId=12b31d69-d1a4-4dab-92ef-bffcc6ac457a

Milford issues warning about explosive devices

By NANCY FOSTER
New Hampshire Union Leader Correspondent
Friday, Jul. 20, 2007

MILFORD – While reports of improvised explosive devices are often linked with the war in Iraq, police warn that IEDs are being detonated in Milford.

On two occasions in the past month -- on June 20 and again on July 14 -- acid-based IEDs have been set off in two locations, according to Milford Police Chief Fred Douglas.

The first incident occurred on a dirt road off Riverview Street, disturbing the ground enough to be noticeable, Douglas said, and the latest explosion took place at the skateboard park at Keyes Field.

"The asphalt was burned," Douglas said, and chunks of it were lifted out of place by the device.

"We were called out to investigate criminal mischief," he said, "and though there was definitely mischief, we're also concerned about the public safety." It's not clear whether the two incidents were related, Douglas said, but the IEDs are very similar in composition.

Though he wouldn't identify exactly how the small bombs were created, Douglas said the acid-based devices contained in soda bottles or other clear containers are dangerous and unpredictable.

"One of the concerns is that whoever's making the device will put it somewhere and grow bored if it doesn't explode," Douglas said. "If they leave it there, someone could walk by and kick it or it could just go off, causing serious injury to an innocent person." The police don't have any suspects in the IED incidents, and they're calling on businesses and individuals for help.

"We are requesting that businesses in the area be cognizant of anyone purchasing acidic products that would be suspicious in nature," said a joint statement from the Milford police and fire departments. "We request that you require the person's name and date of birth and or address by use of photo identification." The police are also asking anyone with information to contact either Juvenile Officer Mark Pepler of the Milford Police Department at 249-0630 or Captian Ken Flaherty of the Milford Fire Department at 673-3136.

I felt the need to write something in response to this article, and ended up going down a rabbit trail.  Here is my response:

I have never made one, but based on what I've read and seen, the acid based "IEDs" can be very hazardous to anyone who is close to them when they go off, and can cause painful chemical burns.  They are also unpredictable in that you never know exactly when they will go off.  Many people enjoy things that explode, but unfortunately our state and federal governments have severely restricted many of the chemicals used in safer exploding devices.  For instance, NH prohibits firecrackers, which are significantly safer and use a flash powder that doesn't produce any harmful byproducts.  The CPSC has been able to severely restrict sales of the chemicals that are used to produce the safest types of flash powders (the ones used in conventional fireworks) by using our tax dollars to sue companies that sell these chemicals to individuals who do not have explosives licenses, even though there is no law prohibiting people from buying these chemicals.  The CPSC is also trying to ban or severely restrict a lot of other chemicals and materials that are used in the manufacture of fireworks, including Sulfur (which is needed to make black powder), powdered metals (which are often used in sparklers and other fireworks to make bright sparks), fuse, cardboard tubes, paper caps, and many more.  The result is that some people who want to blow stuff up for recreational purposes often resort to using common household chemicals, like bleach, aluminum foil and soda bottles to make devices that will make a loud bang rather than go through the trouble of acquiring the safer chemicals that will result in their name being placed on government lists for closer scrutiny.  I have a problem with the way our government has been using the term "IED" to refer to anything that is homemade and makes a loud noise, even if it is not technically an explosive, as this suggests that someone who makes a homemade firecracker and detonates it safely in a sand pit is as bad as a terrorist who makes a car bomb and blows up a US military convoy.  I have noticed that over the last 5+ years, our government has been aggressively discouraging the study of any science that involves things that explode.  Chemistry classes don't even closely resemble the classes I went through back in the early nineties, and have become extremely boring.  Bureaucracies like "Environmental Health & Safety" have put an end to the development of an efficient and inexpensive processor for making good clean biodiesel on a NH campus because the process uses flammable liquids (alcohol and vegetable oil).  The government is persecuting amateur scientists like we haven't seen since Pol Pot was running Cambodia, and the government is using fear to gather public support by using terms like "IED" & "explosive precursors" to scare people into supporting restrictions on chemicals.  Benjamin Franklin said "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."  The policies of our government which have infringed on personal liberties with the intention of making us safer have resulted in us being less safe while taking large sums of money from the American people to enforce these policies.  While some people have suggested that our government has grown so large and intrusive that the only way we could possibly restore our freedom is to have a violent revolution and overthrow the government.  I don't believe that we have reached that point yet, although at the current pace of government, it appears that we may only have a few years before we have reached that point.  I still have hope, because Ron Paul is running for president.  I believe that if he is elected, we will have a chance to restore our civil liberties and lighten the chains of government without a violent uprising because he has a proven record of nearly 20 years of only voting for legislation that is allowed by our constitution, a record that is unmatched by any candidate.  He is not content with the status quo, and wants to reduce the size and cost of our government so that we can be free once again.

Here's another article about them.  http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Homemade+explosives+rock+park+site&articleId=f6e99f18-cac1-44a9-80a6-ea78f76edc93

Homemade explosives rock park site

By CLYNTON NAMUO
New Hampshire Union Leader Correspondent
8 hours, 48 minutes ago

DOVER – After finding several homemade explosives at a local park, police are growing increasingly concerned about youngsters learning how to make such devices by viewing video-sharing Web sites.

Capt. Michael Raiche said police were called Thursday night about explosions at Longhill Park. There, officers found three plastic-bottle explosives that had gone off and a fourth one intact. In May, a similar incident occurred at Dover High School, Raiche said.

To make Thursday's explosions, certain common household items had been combined in the plastic bottles, which were then capped. A chemical reaction caused the bottles to burst with great force, Raiche said. Although police have no suspects, Raiche said, he believes youths probably did it as a prank after watching videos on the Internet.

?Milford issues warning about explosive devices

"We're always concerned any time somebody can learn how to do something dangerous that easily on the Internet," he said.

The Dover explosions came one day after Milford police issued a warning about similar devices after comparable blasts occurred there last month and again this month. Milford police reported explosions so strong that asphalt was charred and deformed.

Video-sharing Web sites are rife with movies of sophomoric pranks, and many of those include comprehensive directions on how to re-create them. One particularly detailed video Raiche referred to included step-by-step instructions on how to make the type of explosives found in Dover.

The video shows two young men building several such devices, then watching them explode to the tune of rap music. After detonating three bottles, one of the young men says they had to stop because the last time they had done it, officials from a nearby school complained.

One Web site has dozens of similar videos, many of which have been viewed thousands of times each.

Raiche said the exploding bottles are not technically bombs because they have no ignition or fire, but are dangerous nonetheless. He warned parents in particular to be wary if their children have a newfound propensity for household items they'd usually show no interest in.

Police are particularly concerned about the possibility youngsters could alter the devices to make them even more dangerous, Raiche said. Even without alterations, he said, the bottles explode with enough force to hurt anyone holding one.

"These things are loud enough when they go off that someone thought that somebody had lit an M80 in the yard," he said.

Wait a minute, according to Nancy Foster, Milford Police Chief Fred Douglas referred to them as IEDs, but "Raiche said the exploding bottles are not technically bombs because they have no ignition or fire".  Wouldn't an explosive have to involve some type of ignition or fire?  All the ones I'm familiar with do.  This appears to be just another case of someone from the government calling something an "Improvised Explosive Device" when it does not contain any explosives.  They are trying to scare us into giving them more power to restrict our freedom.

[srqrebel]

Acid-based IEDs? IEDs??    Fred Douglas needs to get a clue.  As a kid, I used to make these myself, and I can tell you that it is a gross misrepresentation to use a term that is associated with highly destructive roadside bombs in Iraq to describe these harmless noisemakers.

These "devices" are simply two-liter soda bottles containing a small amount of two cheap ingredients found in virtually every home in rural America.  They are not at all flammable.  The reason they "explode" is because the two ingredients react, causing massive pressure to build up inside.  The bottles caps are screwed on lightly, resulting in a very loud bang when the cap flys off, releasing the pressure.

Since they do not contain flammable ingredients, I strongly question the claim that the asphalt was charred.  (How could you tell if it was charred? It's asphalt!)  As far as chunks lifted out place, sure if it was in bad shape and already broken in small chunks, there was probably enough force there to displace those chunks a bit.

Milford issues warning about explosive devices

By NANCY FOSTER
New Hampshire Union Leader Correspondent
Friday, Jul. 20, 2007


"We are requesting that businesses in the area be cognizant of anyone purchasing acidic products that would be suspicious in nature," said a joint statement from the Milford police and fire departments. "We request that you require the person's name and date of birth and or address by use of photo identification." The police are also asking anyone with information to contact either Juvenile Officer Mark Pepler of the Milford Police Department at 249-0630 or Captian Ken Flaherty of the Milford Fire Department at 673-3136.

Translated: Next time you pick up a bottle of The Works toilet bowl cleaner at Wal-Mart, or a jug of muriatic acid at Agway, Big Brother could be watching you.  You could be labeled a terrorist!

This is getting beyond ridiculous.

[srqrebel]

This would be a great opportunity for an Independence Day act of civil disobedience.  We could notify the Milford police that we are planning to build and detonate "IEDs" at a specific location on July 4th.  All we would need is a landowner willing to give us permission to use his property.  I would gladly donate the soda bottles, etc.  Any Porcs in Milford?

[Bald Eagle]

Please.

Use dry ice instead of corrosive chemicals.  Plastic bits of bottle lose energy very quickly and pose very little danger, but I don't like the idea of splattering lye.  I had enough of that in graduate school.

It would be even more hilarious if we could shatter containers under high-vacuum.  Then no one could be accused of setting off an explosion or using explosives - because it would an IMPLOSION.

Eat hard vacuum, fascist nitwits.

[Recumbent ReCycler]

When I was in the army, we used to put MRE heaters into water or soda bottles with some water, put the cap on tight, and toss them.  Usually after a minute or two, they would pop from all of the gas released from the chemical reaction.  The biggest hazard with those was probably the chance that you might get burned from the hot water that would spray all over the place when they would pop.

[Lloyd Danforth]

Please.

Use dry ice instead of corrosive chemicals.  Plastic bits of bottle lose energy very quickly and pose very little danger, but I don't like the idea of splattering lye.  I had enough of that in graduate school.

It would be even more hilarious if we could shatter containers under high-vacuum.  Then no one could be accused of setting off an explosion or using explosives - because it would an IMPLOSION.

Eat hard vacuum, fascist nitwits.

We used to find mixing dry ice and water in glass baby food jars and throwing them exciting   Still got both eyes and most of my fingers.

[Insurgent]

When I was a teen, soda pop used to come in 16oz non-returnable glass bottles with plastic caps. They made a big bang, under certain conditions! 

[error]

And there's always the old standby, vinegar and baking soda.

[J’raxis 270145]

Homemade explosives rock park site

By CLYNTON NAMUO
New Hampshire Union Leader Correspondent
8 hours, 48 minutes ago

DOVER – After finding several homemade explosives at a local park, police are growing increasingly concerned about youngsters learning how to make such devices by viewing video-sharing Web sites.

Just wait until the troops start coming home:—

One of the things U.S. troops are learning in Iraq is how people with little training and few resources can fight a state. Most American troops will see this within the framework of counterinsurgency. But a minority will apply their new-found knowledge in a very different way. After they return to the U.S. and leave the military, they will take what they learned in Iraq back to the inner cities, to the ethnic groups, gangs, and other alternate loyalties they left when they joined the service. There, they will put their new knowledge to work, in wars with each other and wars against the American state. It will not be long before we see police squad cars getting hit with IEDs and other techniques employed by Iraqi insurgents, right here in the streets of American cities.