Article

2009-05-17 Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Mystery explosion kills Paleokiddie in Khan Younis

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Posted by Seafarious 2009-05-17 00:00|| || Front Page|| [6 views ] Top

#1 Mama was dressing him for Temple in his suicide vest? He was playing with Papa's toys?

Posted by Glenmore">Glenmore 2009-05-17 08:02|| 2009-05-17 08:02|| Front Page Top

#2 #1: Mama was dressing him for Temple in his suicide vest? He was playing with Papa's toys?
Posted by: Glenmore

Could be, Glenmore. More likely a propane canister exploded. Propane canister explosions are frequent in that part of the world.

Posted by Old Patriot">Old Patriot 2009-05-17 09:01|| http://oldpatriot.blogspot.com/]">[http://oldpatriot.blogspot.com/] 2009-05-17 09:01|| Front Page Top

#3 "Propane canister explosions are frequent in that part of the world."

I don't doubt it for a moment, OP, but have you any idea why? It's rarely heard of here. I've got 2 propane tanks sitting on the deck next to the grill, and a box of smaller Coleman cannisters in the emergency closet for power outages - and I can't say I've ever worried about them exploding.

(Of course, I don't beat on them with hard objects, attempt to penetrate them with a sharp object, or set them where a flame can impinge on them....)

Posted by Barbara Skolaut">Barbara Skolaut 2009-05-17 09:30|| 2009-05-17 09:30|| Front Page Top

#4 Miss Barbara -

RE: The propane explosions, there's a couple of reasons for them, but they tend to boil down to the 'Inshallah Theory' of upkeep and use. Here in the states, you can't buy a canister that doesn't have a certain type of valve on it, or a certain thickness of metal, or a certain design - it's all mandated by law. But over there, tanks have very simple (and leaky) valves, and after a while the metal can corrode to the point where a child can punch through it, and design standards vary from maker to maker.
One other thought that may have more relevance here: in the mid-90s there was a low-grade fight going on in Bahrain. There were three participants - an Iraqi-backed faction that wanted to take over the country, an Iranian-backed faction that wanted to take over the country, and the Bahrani security services. The Bahrani security people had more smarts in their little fingers than the other guys could ever hope to have put together, and most of the fighting ended up between the two bad guy factions. Trouble was, since Bahraini security was so good, they had VERY few weapons to use against each other. So what they ended up doing was figuring out a way to light propane canisters as makeshift rockets to launch against one another. It didn't work all that well - they simply tended to go straight up and come back straight down, proving that Allah had nothing on Sir Isaac Newton. But it did provide a spectacular visual display (several friends of mine who visited there brought back videos - kinda looked like a scale model space shuttle launch) and it made the bad guys feel good. The people it landed on, not so much. But what I'm getting at here is that I wonder if the Palostineans have had the same idea. I mean, if the weapons pipelines are being shut down (fewer Qassams), and throwing rocks gets you dead, then why don't we try that Bahrani-propane canister thing?...

Mike

Posted by Mike Kozlowski 2009-05-17 10:25|| 2009-05-17 10:25|| Front Page Top

#5 Thanks, Mike.

To sum it up, then, they're ignorant idiots.

But we knew that....

Posted by Barbara Skolaut">Barbara Skolaut 2009-05-17 11:57|| 2009-05-17 11:57|| Front Page Top

#6 To sum it up, then, they're ignorant idiots.

Understatement. Ever been to a Palestinian wedding?

Posted by Zorba 2009-05-17 14:46|| 2009-05-17 14:46|| Front Page Top

#7 Not a chance in hell, Zorba.

Posted by Barbara Skolaut">Barbara Skolaut 2009-05-17 14:56|| 2009-05-17 14:56|| Front Page Top

#8 I can think of at least 3-4 ways to make a propane cylinder bomb, I ain't publishing a single idea.
I do NOT help the wicked.

Posted by Redneck Jim 2009-05-17 16:15|| 2009-05-17 16:15|| Front Page Top

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