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Prankster or threat to U.S?

Orwell

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Apr 19, 2005
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His name is Travis Biehn, a teenager transplanted from Newfoundland to Pennsylvania's upper-middle-class Bucks County.
But two radically different portraits of the 17-year-old have emerged.

According to an aggressive media campaign abetted by the district attorney's office in the Philadelphia area, he is a dangerous young man who was intent on blowing up his high school — because he didn't like Americans.

To his family, friends, some classmates and his lawyer, he is a bright, techno-savvy prankster who is being tried publicly because he was proudly wearing an "I am Canadian" T-shirt when he was arrested.

One thing both sides can agree on — Biehn is in trouble and remains in custody, facing serious charges of making terroristic threats and possessing an incendiary device.
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Link here
 
Is this for real? Is he actually guilty of something concrete, besides possibly being a dumb kid who likes explosives?
 
Big Deal!

I think the charges against the kid are drummed up. Most people have the components for a bomb in their kitchen and don't even know it, and since when is being Canadian against the law? I've noticed a marked anti-Canadian fervor in the U.S. since they refused to join us in the Iraq debacle. Are we likely to be arrrested for "anti-Canadian" sentiments? Probably not.

I thought the most interesting part of the article was the fact that his mother is a hockey player! Living in the desert, I wasn't aware that there were many female hockey players.

If I were the police, I would be checking the background of the two students who claimed they heard the remarks. Even then, it could have been a thoughtless phrase uttered in anger or frustration. After all, how many parents have screamed, "I'm going to KILL those kids," without being taken seriously?
 
If there was evidence that he planned to blow up the school, then he should have been arrested. Whether his shirt said "I Am Canadian", "God Bless America", or "I'm with Stupid" ought to be completely irrelevant.
 
Nyarlathotep said:
If there was evidence that he planned to blow up the school, then he should have been arrested. Whether his shirt said "I Am Canadian", "God Bless America", or "I'm with Stupid" ought to be completely irrelevant.
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Agreed. And that is exactly the point the article is focusing on, to the extent of misdirecting the readers attention away from the bomb making materials. The DA thinks he has a case. Maybe he does. I'd have to know what the bomb making materials were before I could render an opinion.
 
Rob Lister said:
Agreed. And that is exactly the point the article is focusing on, to the extent of misdirecting the readers attention away from the bomb making materials. The DA thinks he has a case. Maybe he does. I'd have to know what the bomb making materials were before I could render an opinion.
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Yeah, the article doesn't really go much into how much evidence there is whether or not he planned to blow something up. If someone in the DAs office said that his "I am Canadian" T-shirt indicated the kid wanted to blow up Americans then it was an exquisitely stupid thing to say but it doesn't change the fact the kid had explosives and it was reported to authorities that he had talked of using them. I'm no lawyer but that sound like probable cause for an investigation at the very least.
 
Guess I'd better get rid of my, "Vote For Pedro" t-shirt, my lawn fertilizer and make sure none of my chickens have large talons!

:rolleyes:
 
Mephisto said:
Guess I'd better get rid of my, "Vote For Pedro" t-shirt, my lawn fertilizer and make sure none of my chickens have large talons!

:rolleyes:
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Was the kid caught with nothing but a bag of lawn fertilizer? I don't know and I'll bet you don't either. That's my point, the article says little about the evidence against him, focusing mostly on the kids shirt.
 
This article is much diffrent than the hard copy in the Star today, this is closer to the one I read.
 
I've checked a couple of american forums where people have discussed this story and boy, oh boy! I had no idea there was so much hatred of little old tiny Canada down south!
 
Nyarlathotep said:
Was the kid caught with nothing but a bag of lawn fertilizer? I don't know and I'll bet you don't either. That's my point, the article says little about the evidence against him, focusing mostly on the kids shirt.
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That's exactly MY point, do you think that either the cops or the press would have left out such a glaring detail (lack of a bomb) on purpose? As I said earlier, most people are in possession of many "bomb components" in their home and don't realize it. If this kid had manged to put together even a rudimentary explosive device, I'm certain his failed plan (if he actually had one, remember they're basing it all on teenage hearsay) would be offered up as proof of the effectiveness of Homeland Security.
 
You'll love this, then!

Orwell said:
I've checked a couple of american forums where people have discussed this story and boy, oh boy! I had no idea there was so much hatred of little old tiny Canada down south!
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"Molly Ivins | Oh, Canada: Trying to explain U.S. politics

Make that a big Canadian, "Oh dear." These nice Canadians, whom George W. Bush once managed to triumphantly identify as "our most important neighbors to the north" are famous for their reticence."

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/opinion/9371370.htm
 
Mephisto said:
That's exactly MY point, do you think that either the cops or the press would have left out such a glaring detail (lack of a bomb) on purpose? As I said earlier, most people are in possession of many "bomb components" in their home and don't realize it. If this kid had manged to put together even a rudimentary explosive device, I'm certain his failed plan (if he actually had one, remember they're basing it all on teenage hearsay) would be offered up as proof of the effectiveness of Homeland Security.
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Well they said he had bomb components and that can mean anything from a few sacks of fertilizer to things that are mor obviously intended as bombs; blasting caps, timers, pipes packed with explosive etc, I don't know, it doesn't say.
 
This is really silly. First off, he didn't wear this t-shirt to court as an act of protest. It was the t-shirt he was wearing when arrested.

Secondly, as most Canadians probably know, and Americans have no clue, "Canadian" is a popular brand of Molson beer. I have a hat with the same sentiments, but it is a beer advertisement. I'm sure this t-shirt is part of that marketing effort.

Charlie (I am a Guinness) Monoxide
 
Charlie Monoxide said:
This is really silly. First off, he didn't wear this t-shirt to court as an act of protest. It was the t-shirt he was wearing when arrested.

Secondly, as most Canadians probably know, and Americans have no clue, "Canadian" is a popular brand of Molson beer. I have a hat with the same sentiments, but it is a beer advertisement. I'm sure this t-shirt is part of that marketing effort.

Charlie (I am a Guinness) Monoxide
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Yep.

http://www.magicaljourneys.com/Canada/canada-interest-iam.html

Pretty stupid (but funny) beer ad, but there is no such thing as an intelligent beer commercial...
 
Anti-American Scum!

Charlie Monoxide said:
Secondly, as most Canadians probably know, and Americans have no clue, "Canadian" is a popular brand of Molson beer. I have a hat with the same sentiments
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:crazy: :usa:
 
Orwell said:

Pretty stupid (but funny) beer ad, but there is no such thing as an intelligent beer commercial...
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I don't know. I liked the last two Stella Artois ones (the D-Day one and the piglet one). Those were refreshing in a sea of ads about retarded bozos continually partying with scantilly clad chicks.
 
Re: Anti-American Scum!

Mephisto said:
:crazy: :usa:
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I was not attacking Americans using the "no clue" clause. I'm sure Americans near the Canadian border, especially in the 19-20 year age group, are well aware of beer choices in the Great White.

I love Americans ...

Charlie (I had 2 for breakfast) Monoxide
 
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