Explosion at Manchester Arena After Ariana Grande Concert Kills at Least 22

ISIS claims responsibility for suicide bombing.

An explosion or possibly explosions tore through the foyer of the Manchester Arena as an Ariana Grande concert was ending tonight in England. [UPDATE: The Guardian is now reporting that the Arena insists the explosion happened "outside the venue in a public space."]

Peter Byrne/Zumapress/Newscon

BBC and The Guardian are both featuring constantly updated feeds with latest news from the scene, including harrowing eyewitness reports. The current number of confirmed dead is 19, with around 50 others injured, according to the Greater Manchester Police.

There is no hard confirmation of cause or responsibility for the explosion at time of posting, though the BBC reports that "North West Counter Terrorism Unit is treating the incident in Manchester as a possible terrorist incident."

UPDATE: Police have reported a controlled demolition of a nearby suspect device in Cathedral Gardens. Said suspect device now reported as abandoned clothing by Manchester police.

UPDATE at 10:05 p.m. Eastern Time: At a brief press conference, a representative from Manchester's police confirmed much of what has been reported. The explosion occurred at the end of the concert. The toll stands at 19 dead and 50 injured. They are considering the explosion to be a terrorist attack for now.

UPDATE at 12:05 p.m. eastern, May 23: The explosion (which may have involved a "nail bomb" that spread metal shrapnel) was caused by what is now thought to have been a lone suicide bomber, and ISIS is claiming responsibility, including a threat that "what comes next will be more severe." The Washington Post is reporting via unnamed U.S. officials that the killer was named Salman Abedi. The headline has also been amended to reflect new developments.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

If it is terrorism, the Brits are going to join the list of European countries with some decisions to make. Or avoid making.

[DanO.]

Deport all the Irish?

[BestUsedCarSales]

Deport all the Welsh?

[lap83]

Elect Hitler?

[Palin's Buttplug]

It's probably too late for them.

If they took action it would increase the terrorist attacks.

[Otis B. Driftwood]

Because reasons, you fucking idiot libertarians....because reasons. And hey, if you disagree, then HITLUR!!!!1!1

[No Yards Penalty]

Nobody's forcing you to read Reason, Otis B Nut-Con.
Slither back to the Federalist now.

[Fascist loofa-faced shitgibbon]

"It's probably too late for them.
If they took action it would increase the terrorist attacks."

Does that mantra come free with "A Coward's Guide to Life"?

[Last of the Shitlords]

"No known cause for the explosion yet."

Yeah, no fucking clue who did it, and why, right?

[Unlabelable MJGreen]

Explosions don't just happen!

[wareagle]

truly a mystery isn't it?

[Otis B. Driftwood]

IT WUZ BALOOONZ U DUM RETHUGLIKKAN!!1!!!

[pan fried wylie]

I heard it was just the aftermath of that WaPo Trump report. 19 more lives on Trumps hands.

[Drave Robber]

I thought most explosions were caused by rapid expansion of gases.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

Can't we all wait the requisite 24 hours before wrapping our political shibboleth with the barbed wire of this tragedy?

[Unlabelable MJGreen]

Accept that your beloved Muslim pals, emboldened by their lefty enablers, are responsible for these explosions and the ensuing chaos. ACCEPT IT RIGHT NOW OR LIVE FOREVER IN SHAME

[Palin's Buttplug]

It was the GOP that spent $2 trillion on a Caliphate-building exercise in Iraq (2002-2009).

[wareagle]

because there was no such thing as radical Islam before then.

[Bra Ket]

Luckily the Democrats put a stop to all that when they took over.

[Sevo]

"Luckily the Democrats put a stop to all that when they took over."

And Obo ended all wars and brought world peace, according to the Nobel committee.
Except for all the ones that he kept running and the two or three new ones he started.

[wareagle]

the only surprise would be if some group other than the one everyone suspects was responsible.

[pan fried wylie]

The Spanish Inquisition?

[Fascist loofa-faced shitgibbon]

Nobody would expect it.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

I guess we are all Negan now.

[Bra Ket]

"...decisions to make..."

Whether they want their new authoritarian leaders and laws to further restrict their freedoms with a more left-wing, "blame ourselves" flavor, or a right-wing "blame foreigners" flavor?

[Don't look at me.]

How am I expected to believe this when there was no mention of "unnamed sources ". I mean really.

[DanO.]

Collectivists assemble!

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

The motivation behind attacks like this are a complete mystery. We may never understand why someone would do this.

[Last of the Shitlords]

It was clearly the work of a Tory, angry about the slow progress of Brexit. Certainly a white male christian heterosexual.

[Otis B. Driftwood]

Are you fucking retarded? EVERYONE knows it was Basque Separatists.

Incidentally, CNN just proposed the "Lone Wold" scenario. Just now. 9:06PM MST.

[Dick Puller, Attorney at Law]

http://i.imgur.com/2JtbdNx.jpg

[Last of the Shitlords]

Pretty much.

[GiveMeLibertyOrHandouts]

Clearly the act of a deranged fan.

[DanO.]

Ariana Grande was on her Dangerous Woman tour.
I'll say.

[Longtobefree]

"There is no hard confirmation of cause or responsibility for the explosion"
Really? We all know Trump did it. Using Russian spetsnaz on loan from Vladimir.
If you don't believe me, wait for CNN, NYT, WaPo and the rest to pile on.

[DanO.]

Poor you.

[SIV]

A Brit is far more likely to suffer an iatrogenic death at the hands of the National Health than to be a victim of a nail bomb attack at an Ariana Grande concert.

The British should focus on the real fear of a violent backlash against Muslims

[Last of the Shitlords]

Won't somebody PLEASE think of the Musims!

[wareagle]

it's funny how this "violent backlash against Muslims" has never occurred.

[NotAnotherSkippy]

Quick! To the SPLC Justice Safe Zone!

[jdgalt1]

The British and everyone else needs to realize that Muslims did not stop engaging in jihad when Christians stopped crusading. And as long as Muslims exist, they never will.

And it only takes one side to keep a war going. But if nobody fights back, they will win.

[Tak Kak]

Money's on "Asians"

[Gene]

Some MAGA folks hone in on the open borders angle

[Palin's Buttplug]

Tampa man arrested for allegedly killing 'neo-Nazi' roommates who 'disrespected' his Muslim faith

http://abcnews.go.com/US/tampa.....d=47564558

[Fist of Etiquette]

Said suspect device now reported as abandoned clothing by Manchester police.

I sure hope it wasn't from the Ivanka Trump Collection.

[Ken Shultz]

We don't have a confirmation on the basic facts, yet, so at this point, it's all speculation.

That being said, is there any doubt but that Brexit, Le Pen, and Trump are ultimately to blame?

Well, I mean, that bunch and the conceptual penis, of course.

[Lachowsky]

Calling a spade a spade is not PC Ken. You should know that by now.

[NotAnotherSkippy]

If white, straight men stopped paying to publish journal articles and started claiming that Mike Pence's 1A rights were assaulted at Notre Dame, none of this would be happening.

[John C. Randolph]

Apparently a suicide bomb. Must be one of those fucking Kamikazes. At least they're all so old now that they shouldn't be a problem much longer.

-jcr

[NotAnotherSkippy]

Mitsubishi makes Hoverounds?

[Ken Shultz]

That concert was mostly tween girls, too. The videos they're showing from inside are nuts--just young girls screaming and running for the exits out of the main arena.

There is something a major disconnect between Muslim extremists and cultures that are heavily influenced by Christianity--although it may be a lot about the predestination aspect of Islam specifically.

In cultures that have been heavily influenced by Christianity, being an innocent victim is the most important thing you can be. We tend to classify how bad the crime was by how innocent the victim was. Jesus was the ultimate innocent victim, and just about anything in our culture can be justified in terms of protecting innocent victims from harm.

For Muslim extremists for whom predestination is a fact, they see it as if God is so upset with how the west is behaving that he sent a suicide bomber to kill tween girls. In predestination, if God didn't want those girls to be killed by that suicide bomber, he wouldn't have let it happen. That's what suicide bombers yelling "Allah Akbar!" is all about.

If they understood the way we see them, that in our eyes, they're perpetrating the worst kind of evil in God's name, . . .

[wareagle]

of course, there's a "major disconnect" between radical Islam and anyone else. Islam is simply incompatible with Western values and I don't want to hear about "most Muslims" this or that. Most Germans weren't Nazis, most Chinese were not part of Mao's inner circle, and most Russians were not party activists. Once more, we have a useless majority.

[Ken Shultz]

I've known too many thoroughly compatible American Muslims to believe that something about Islam makes them incompatible with Western values.

If there's anything that's incompatible with Western values, it's discriminating against people because of their religion.

The West had its own experience with predestination, as well. Most protestants abandoned that Calvinist idea over time, but the ones who didn't still seem to act like ISIS.

When you see the Westboro Baptist Church holding signs at the funerals of American soldiers killed in combat saying "Thank God for Dead Soldiers", think about what that really means, remember that the Westboro Baptist Church believes in predestination, and understand that they're coming to the same conclusions as ISIS--and for the exact same reasons.

http://tinyurl.com/mwdlhqs

[Wood-Gendered Chipperlord]

Yes, Ken, I understand the Islamic position on determinism. It's why the philosophy is toxic and contrary to Enlightenment principles, same as the Westboro Baptist Church. The difference is that you're allowed to call the Westboro Baptist Church a dangerous ideology as well as other awful names, but you're supposed to treat Islam as if it's the best, most tolerant, most peaceful religion in the world.

Explaining why Muslims do these things doesn't excuse it. We're not stupid. We know why Muslims do these things. Having a shit ideology has zero relevance to whether it should be tolerated. Stalin, Mao and Hitler all thought what they were doing was virtuous, but we still are able to criticize and ridicule their beliefs and drove it from the face of the Earth. We are not allowed to question Islam or its teachings, and are actively discouraged from doing so lest we be called hateful bigots.

Fuck that. Some religions are better than others. Shit, I'm an atheist and I think all religions are destructive to some effect but Islam is the largest batshit crazy one out there. It's a philosophy where the "moderates" either shrug their shoulders at these attacks or quietly cheer them on, due to the determinism you mentioned. The Westboro Baptist Church, as you've mentioned, is almost as shitty as they are for the same reasons you mentioned, but I don't see them killing teenage girls.

[Don't look at me.]

"but I don't see them killing teenage girls."
Yet.

[Ken Shultz]

"The difference is that you're allowed to call the Westboro Baptist Church a dangerous ideology as well as other awful names, but you're supposed to treat Islam as if it's the best, most tolerant, most peaceful religion in the world."

Says who?

"Having a shit ideology has zero relevance to whether it should be tolerated."

You mean as opposed to discriminating against people's religion?

Regardless of whether Islam or any other religion is in the best interests of society, the government has no business discriminating against anyone because of their religion. Tolerating people's religious beliefs isn't just in the First Amendment--it's an important part of western culture.

"We are not allowed to question Islam or its teachings"

Who's "we"? Surely not Americans. We are absolutely allowed to question Islam and its teachings.

[Bra Ket]

Religion is an irritating anachronism (in developed countries), that should be covered by other rights which apply to everyone.

Seems to me that "anti-discrimination" is not something that can even be implemented or maintained consistently as a principle. "Equal protection" is a far better principle, and by the way is violated by inventing special anti-discrimination rights for certain groups.

[Wood-Gendered Chipperlord]

Says who? Says just about everyone yelling "racist Islamophobe" to people who say what Islam really is: a death cult founded by a lunatic whose purpose was world domination.

Quoting the Quran and Hadiths' instructions to "kill nonbelievers wherever you find them" will produce a stream of "tolerant" folks who will shout you down as a bigot. It may not be illegal to do so yet here in the US but England and other European countries are enacting more and more hate speech laws to quell dissent. They are also actively avoiding reporting on who is committing acts of rape, honor killings and terrorism. Germany has suppressed information on the infamous New Years sexual assault cases, as an example of this. Why? Because they feel the need to "protect" Muslims from islamphobes.

I'm not saying to ban the religion, but telling the truth about Islam is considered "hate speech" nowadays. It is a marketplace of ideas, and the West needs to realize that Islam is a terrible one, and we should not bend to the will of those that want to see our destruction. Instead the leftists want to pat their ass and play the cultural relativism game, because the Muslims are the new proletariat to them: victims of white capitalist hegemony. They will bend over backwards trying to show that these acts are expected because of our evil actions, and thus they try to cram that narrative down our throats. It's cultural Marxism 101

[Ken Shultz]

"I'm not saying to ban the religion, but telling the truth about Islam is considered "hate speech" nowadays."

Again, hate speech isn't banned anywhere in America except for on college campuses, as far as I know. If you have a private contract with your employer who says he can terminate you for engaging in hate speech, that's his prerogative to make that a condition of employment and it's your prerogative to leave if you're unwilling to abide by that restriction.

It isn't like that in Australia or Canada. Maybe you don't live in the United States.

Thank God for the First Amendment. It isn't just what makes us free to say what we want--it's also what makes us American.

[dantheserene]

Well, so far the WBC hasn't killed anyone for talking smack about them.

[Ken Shultz]

The WBC has less than 40 members.

If one in a million American Muslims engages in a terrorist attack and that's about where you'd need to be, the WBC would need to grow exponentially before they got to a similar scale.

If they ever did achieve that kind of scale, I wouldn't bet against one of their members engaging in terrorism.

. . . and I still wouldn't condone using the government to discriminate against them or anyone else because of their religion. Selling the Constitution down the river out of fear is both cowardly and un-American.

[Wood-Gendered Chipperlord]

Except the number isn't one in a million who hold radical beliefs like the WBC, it's far more than that.

https://youtu.be/g7TAAw3oQvg

[Wood-Gendered Chipperlord]

Who said anything about circumventing the Constitution? denying immigrants from places where the people want to kill us isn't unconstitutional, as those people aren't American citizens.

As far as the discussion goes, yes, you will be no-platforms for not playing along with the "Islam is great!" Narrative, and not just on college campuses

[AlmightyJB]

"If they understood the way we see them"

They want to provoke. They want war. That is their goal. To have an all out holy war between Islam and the infidels so that they can rule the Earth.

[Ken Shultz]

Honestly, they aren't doing these evil stuff just to be evil. I condemn terrorism in all its forms--certainly targeting civilians specifically. I can understand why psycho serial killers do what they do, too--doesn't mean I condone it in any way. It's evil.

That being said, your view from a cultural perspective is so vastly different from theirs, it's hard for us to even comprehend what they're saying. In their minds, they are demonstrating to you that you need Islam. Because if you didn't, then God wouldn't have made this suicide bomber kill so many innocent tween girls.

I'm not saying that average Muslims condone this sort of thinking either--but they understand what's being said.

There was a time when many Americans believed that the Iraqi people wanted the U.S. to drop a shitload of bombs on them, invade their country, and occupy it. It was hard to explain to Arabs I knew at the time that plenty of Americans actually believed this; it was practically impossible for them to understand. How could anyone imagine that people want bombs dropped on them?

I opposed the Iraq war for strategic and humanitarian reasons, but I understood the neocon logic for it. And it's perfectly understandable that we would look at a suicide bomber murdering tween girls and not be able to even comprehend the thinking behind it. Our culture doesn't count to ten their way, but there is thinking behind it--and they don't see it the way we do.

[John C. Randolph]

What they don't realize is just what would happen to them if they ever succeed in fully provoking the west into an all-out war against Islam. Japan was ruled by a death cult back in the early 20th century, and the Allies spent the blood and treasure required to get a lid on that shit. Hell, the Allies were even nice about it, only dropping nukes on them until they threw in the towel, and letting Hirohito keep his head attached to his body.

Back in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, there was a lot of talk about turning Mecca into a glass parking lot. That option still exists.

-jcr

[ThomasD]

" if God didn't want those girls to be killed by that suicide bomber, he wouldn't have let it happen."

This fatalistic aspect of Islamic society has been widely discussed. The western/Christian notions of 'innocence' are only one aspect of a broader concept - that of free will and personal responsibility. Which are entirely predicated on the existence of a (largely) intelligible and predictably ordered universe, ie. some sort of logos (be it religious or not.)

Islam arose out of a decidedly non-western mindset that does not recognize that sense of ordered reality. Whatever happens is God's will, and whatever God wills will happen - Inshallah is not merely a blessing, nor a curse, it simply is all that there ever will be. It is a mindset phenomenally alien to native westerners, so much so that they often fail to appreciate it, and fail to recognize just how toxic it is.

[Ken Shultz]

I remember when the Palestinian authority was doing a version of Sesame Street where the kids were all dressed up as suicide bombers. The way that played in the Muslim world and the way it played in the U.S. was so telling.

In the Muslim world, the take went something like, "Look at these Palestinians. They're so desperate, they're willing to sacrifice their own children as suicide bombers! Why won't the U.S. help them?"

In the U.S., it played as, "Look at these Palestinians victimizing their own children--exterminate them, they're evil!"

[Wood-Gendered Chipperlord]

"In the Muslim world, the take went something like, "Look at these Palestinians. They're so desperate, they're willing to sacrifice their own children as suicide bombers! Why won't the U.S. help them?""

vs

"In the U.S., it played as, "Look at these Palestinians victimizing their own children--exterminate them, they're evil!"

... Taking out the obvious strawman of the Americans wanting to "exterminate" Palestinians, One of these ideas is totally batshit fucking insane and the other isn't. One should not be tolerated in the modern world. Can you guess which one it is? (Protip: It's the one where mothers send their young children to commit suicide bombings.)

[Ken Shultz]

"Taking out the obvious strawman of the Americans wanting to "exterminate" Palestinians"

I was talking about the emotional reaction of people watching that video.

Seeing people dress their own young children up as suicide bombers did not provoke a sympathetic reaction to the plight of their parents, I assure you. That was a not a straw man.

As for the rest of it, I have no idea what you're trying to say or why. Sometimes people can't understand each other because of cultural assumptions. Sometimes people are just incoherent. Can you guess which one you are?

[Wood-Gendered Chipperlord]

Yes, I'm intolerant of hateful ideologies which call for the extermination of a class of people. Some ideas should be met with resistance. Islam is one of them. This proselytizing about how it is peaceful and beautiful is bullshit.

[Wood-Gendered Chipperlord]

All I'm saying isn't that you can release documentaries and opinion articles on how crazy and evil Scientilogists and Southern Baptists are but then you are called hateful and intolerant if you dare to criticize the tenants of Islam. That's all I'm saying. Let's call a spade a spade and stop pretending that this particular belief system is any less loony.

[dantheserene]

WGC- Other westerners may call you hateful and intolerant. Actual muslims will shoot up or blow up public spaces just to get to you.

[Wood-Gendered Chipperlord]

Also that: see the Charlie Hebron massacre and Rushdie's fatwa. But no, I'm the intolerant one, right? I'm the one stabbing, shooting and blowing up people I disagree with right?

[Wood-Gendered Chipperlord]

*Hebdo, obviously. Autocorrect fail

[Bra Ket]

I'd say wishing violence and death on someone who kills children is probably a perfectly natural reaction all healthy people would have.

[Wood-Gendered Chipperlord]

Exactly. Moral relativism is bullshit. Some cultures are better than others. I'll pick the side that doesn't bomb teenagers and send their kids out to murder

[Domestic Dissident]

"When the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them captive, and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush. But if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due, then leave their way free. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful."

-The Holy Koran

[Wood-Gendered Chipperlord]

No no no Domestic! Stop being an intolerant bigot! The Quran was obviously talking about the evil Jews and Christians imposing their views on calling on the poor Muslims to defend themselves!

Just ignore the part of history where the Mohammedanists murdered and pillaged their way throughout SE Asia, Northern Africa and Souther Europe in order to spread Islam by the sword.

[Wood-Gendered Chipperlord]

still no edit button?

I meant "...Christians imposing their views on Muslims and calling for them to defend themselves"

[Otis B. Driftwood]

CNN goober just implied that the reason Manchester was bombed is because Ariana is an American. Fuckin CNN, man. CNN.

[AlmightyJB]

It's amazing how stupid one can be and still have a good paying job.

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

You just went full CNN, CNN. Never go full CNN.

[Unlabelable MJGreen]

Hey, there was an American band playing at the Bataclan. Explain that away!

[Sevo]

They must have made space in their full-time coverage of THE WHITE HOUSE IN CRISIS!

[John C. Randolph]

Teddy Turner's network: the turd doesn't fall far from the asshole.

-jcr

[DanO.]

It's all CNN's fault. Why do the mean journalists keep picking on Honest Abe Don?

[DanO.'s Buttplug]

My condolences

[Sevo]

Yeah, regardless of any supposed motives, it's hard to imagine the deaths of a bunch of teen-agers accomplishing much.
Other than making the perps look particularly slimy.

[Welching Weigel's Cock Ring]

Mine too.

[DanO.]

Utilizing nearly half his vocabulary, President Lyin' Don Trump had a few words to say abut the unidentified bomber:

A "very horrible morning of death."

"This wicked ideology must be obliterated, and I mean completely obliterated," Mr. Trump added.

Mr. Trump said that he would not call people like the assailant "monsters" because they would "think that's a great name." Instead, he said that people who conducted attacks like the one at the concert should be called "losers."

Take that, you horrible monster losers!

[jdgalt1]

Prediction: The bad guy(s) are so-called refugees, and UK police will forbid anyone from revealing that fact for as long as they can possibly prevent it.

[DanO.]

The great thing about making anonymous, crackpot predictions on the internet is that you never have to retract them.