Executions of hostages to begin within the hour! (at 2pm EST)

RosBusinessConsulting ^

[Naspino]

RBC, 25.10.2002, Moscow 20:44:49.The militants may start killing hostages as soon as 10 p.m. today, Sergey Govorukhin, who is a son of well-known film director Stanislav Govorukhin, declared after returning from the music theater, where about 700 hostages are held, the NTV television reported. Together with Dmitry Belovetsky, chief editor of the Literaturnaya Gazeta newspaper, he delivered water and hygiene products to the theater. Govorukhin underlined that during the talks with the terrorists, the militants pointed out that they did not want to hold further negotiations and could fire on any negotiator approaching the building. The talks will not be continued until the main condition of the terrorists, which is the withdrawal of federal forces from Chechnya, is fulfilled, Govorukhin pointed out.

[Naspino]

BUMP TO TODAY'S FREEPER COMMENTARY ON THIS!

[wideawake]

This scenario is playing out exactly as described in the Al-Qaeda manual.

[VRWC_minion]

Time to stop talking.

[OldFriend]

PRAY........

[2banana]

Putin to Alpha Team - You are a green - Make your shots count.

[LibWhacker]

Yep. No choice now. It's either that or stand idly by while they slaughter a bunch of innocent people.

[KC_Conspirator]

Are the still called Spetznaz?

"Tango down" and I hope they send in the heavies for when they invade Chechnya.

[gcruse]

Putin to Alpha Team - You are a green - Make your shots count.

Unless the Alpha Team has wall penetrating bullets, they won't
get any shots off.   The terrorists have no need to set foot outside,
and, I'm afraid, are going to bring the building down on themselves
and the hostages.

[2banana]

Ain't nothing a little C4 can't solve -

Seriously - I hope the Russsians have a plan in place!

[shattered]

Ironic, but true.

Actually, I would say "things happen for a reason" instead. It brings what comfort it can.

Prayers for the hostages!

[gcruse]

The only thing I can imagine working would be gas. Anything else gives the terrorists time to blow the explosives.

[Tijeras_Slim]

I find it odd that all the "negotiators" that have been coming and going into the building are "celebrities" like singers and film directors. What is the rationale behind that? Any FReepers know?

[agrace]

This is horrible.

[gcruse]

Actually, I would say "things happen for a
reason" instead. It brings what comfort it can.

I tried that for WTC.  It brought no comfort.
Instead, I think it worked against us as a palliative
at a time we needed rage, and still do.

[Damocles]

I take it your not going to be praying...

[Physicist]

Unless the Alpha Team has wall penetrating bullets

I've long envisioned a device I call a "homotriptor". It would involve keeping a hostage taker talking, and measuring sound output at enough places to invert the Green's function to the speaker's head. A series of loudspeakers could then be used to produce a sharp pulse of sound, which would (if the timing and placement of the speakers is right) create a sound wave that converges spherically upon the perp's head. The sound need not even be particularly loud to people standing nearby, to be powerful enough to smash the perp's brain. This method is used to break up kidney stones today. Probably the only thing preventing it from being used in a situation like this is the speed of computation.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Give kidnappers what they want, and you get more kidnapping. Disembowel them in the act, regardless of the consequences to their hostages, and you get no more kidnapping.

[BrooklynGOP]

I find it odd that all the "negotiators" that have been coming and going into the building are "celebrities" like singers and film directors. What is the rationale behind that? Any FReepers know?

Kobzon, besides being a singing legend, also has a lot of political power and I believe he actually holds some position in the gov't. Pugacheva has been performing for 2-3 decades and she is a legend and cultural icon in Russia.

[tomahawk]

Alpha is supposed to be good, but this is an Islamist suicide mission and the operation will be bloody.