man arrested in Ft Myers.

[flamingape]

http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=U...ested+fireworks

 

well I officially hate media spokes people

 

"Russ Whited with American Fireworks said, "Consumer fireworks that we sell are very heavily regulated and the reason they are regulated for the safety of our customers setting these things off."

 

I wonder what the QUESTION WAS!

 

it certainly had nothing to do with the ARTICLE...probably something alone the lines of "why are there such harsh laws in place" when it should have been "Why is such a negative response to amature pyros?"

 

admittedly...100 lbs is ALOT

 

a few of my favorite quotes

 

"was creating the eruptive cocktails "

"She said all their products are made in China"

"Homemade explosives, she said, are extremely volatile."

""You have no idea the power of what you're dealing with," she said. "They can be far more powerful because they're not regulated, and therefore extremely dangerous.""

"Bartlow, tattooed with the words, "It's good beautiful," WTF DOES HIS TATOO HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING!

"According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 9,200 people were treated for fireworks-related injuries in 2006, the latest figures available. Most of those happened between June 16 and July 16."

yeah throw in a statistic to complete the brainwashing

[mormanman]

I read it and its ridiculous even more so the comments left. They treat him like a terrorist, just b/c you have books on how to do this they think your going to do it. I'm happy that I know how to do things but just knowing how to doesn't mean I will. Its then nanny liberals again. I hope Obama doesn't get in office b/c we'll have so many liberals and our constitutional rights will probably dissipate.

I know that people have looked down upon the fabrication of fireworks since probably the OKC bombing but still they use HE's. If the government really wanted to stop manufacturing then everything from household cleaners, to pesticides, to fertilizers would have to be taken away. And whose to say they won't. They tried to take away our guns.

Anyway I still think its nice to know things just in case there comes a time when I have to be a boomer and protect myself and the ones I love.

 

Now I need to calm down.

[Swede]

THAT is exactly why I am going to get licensed by the ATF. For the sizes and quantities I am going to work with, it is ridiculous. I will be making far more consumer-sized stuff than commercial, but I do not want to be yet another guy in the news as a suspected terrorist "bomb-maker".

 

Sometimes I get really frustrated with our nanny-mommy-safety "think of the children!!" government.

 

Imagine the REAL freedoms our forefathers had, say, in the 1800's. Need dynamite? Order some at the general store. Want to make fireworks? No one would dream of objecting. Carry a gun? No problem. Need morphine for pain? Apothecary. Want to smoke marijuana? Go pick some.

 

I don't use drugs personally, but I put those references in there as a freedom lost. I believe in PERSONAL RESONSIBILITY. You mess up your own life, get injured, get hooked on drugs, it's your fault. Don't cry to the Gov't for sustenance and housing and free everything.

 

Rant off.

[Frozentech]

"Another one bites the dust"

 

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_9762079

 

Don't don't don't don't don't don't EVER sell anything unless you are a legal manufacturer, and stay away from making the BS boomers.

 

On a related note, the damn DOT/Homeland Security has ramped it up yet again. Now transporting a legal show from the magazine to the shoot site has become such a pain in the ass... notification logs, filing route plans, etc...

 

Oh well... we are set for the 4th of July shows, wonder how much harder it will be for next year ?

[_DB_]

This isn't completely related to the thread, but I haven't been very active in pyrotechnics since YouTube became an internet sensation. I was browsing the site yesterday and came across many, many videos of large homemade flash salutes and other illegal devices.

 

It seems like people that post videos like that are begging to get their IPs traced and arrested.

[mormanman]

FT, that roll of black cats I remember I could buy in South Carolina at the age of 14. They would not even ID me just ask, "You 14? Your parents know? OK, here you are sir, have fun be safe." and they'd give you a pack of matches.

[AprenticeChemist]

I skimmed through a few of the articles and it doesn't seem as bad as you guys are making it. I mean really in this hobby you can't be pissed about someone getting arrested and such because what we do is illegal and not all of what we do is safe. I mean really what do you expect if they find a hundred pounds of various chemicals in the house? Thats a shit load of fucking stuff for one person to have for personal use. Yes it sucks balls that our hobby is illegal and frowned upon but some of the people that get busted do deserve it, and some are not deserving of being arrested. Like back at BB on totse someone posted about a guy that got arrested for setting off shit at 3am in an apartment complex and apparently the guy had been doing it to piss off neighbors and been doing it a while and it wasn't small shit either. They found chemicals, drugs(enough that they put intent to distribute as a charge), and illegal weapons. Then some people posted saying "oh the cops are just fucking assholes, this guy was probably just a responsible person and they are just fucking with us pyros and blah blah blah". I mean like I said our hobby should be legal but we have to admit sometimes the people they bust were just stupid and its not the police/medias fault that it looks worse then it is. The guy had 100lbs of shit. I know some people just buy in bulk once and then they don't have to keep buying it but if you get caught with it in bulk you should realize its going to look alot worse if you get busted. And someone said how he had books on how to do stuff doesn't mean he was going to, well its kind of hard to prove otherwise if you have the knowledge and the materials. Its kind of like getting caught with a book on how to make make pot brownies, then you happen to have brownie mix and pot but you weren't really going to make them, idk that the best example its a shitty one but close enough to you get the point.

 

Oh and on a side note I used to live in fort myers its a nice place.

[WarezWally]

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_9762079

 

Holding a large homemade firework, Aptos/La Selva Fire Battalion Chief Jim Dias said Tuesday that the cardboard tube with a 4-inch green fuse not only looked like dynamite, it had the same explosive power.

 

FAIL

[Richtee]

It seems like people that post videos like that are begging to get their IPs traced and arrested.

Or even post here for that matter.

[AprenticeChemist]

Well the reason they wouldn't probably trace IPs for forums because its not actual evidence. Just because I said I did something doesn't mean I did. Plus most of the shit on this forum is not kewls blowing shit up its mostly pyrotechnics. And as far as youtube, all you'd have to do is lie and say you were in another country or something at the time you made it, or if your not a complete dumb ass and show your face you can just say you got the video from somewhere else and its not you. I think they would have to know they are going to find evidence if they raid you to want to go through all the trouble

[Swede]

It's the G-D boomers that get people in real trouble, I am convinced. If they raid a home and find a dozen 3" peonies, 2 lb of BP, a 5lb bucket of perc, sulfur, etc, in reasonable quantities, there may be some problems, but NOTHING like what that guy is facing. DON'T MAKE GROUND SALUTES, PERIOD!

 

And more importantly, if you are a drug user, simply ensure by whatever means they cannot be found. It's not my business, but it looks bad for the hobby, and it'll really look bad for you. "Crazed Pothead busted in bomb-making scheme!!" That will result in some hard time, for sure.

 

Same for weapons. Be sure your weapons comply with all federal, state, and local laws. Be safe!

 

And everyone have a GREAT July 4th!!

[flying fish]

http://www.miamiherald.com/775/story/585272.html

 

Every news report seems to say it a bit different.

 

The one I posted says that he "could face life in prison!"

 

If he was making Bombs and weapons or something I could understand. But *if* we are talking about fireworks and in small volumes...there is something either seriously wrong with the news for getting it wrong...or something seriously wrong with the people trying to prosecute him.

 

They really don't say whether it is a simple hobbyist being completely screwed over, or if it is someone who was actually building weapons or something.

 

So I don't know whether this should be taken as a harsh reality check for people building (even small stuff) without licenses, or if it was just some idiot who deserved to be arrested.

 

It is one of those things that I'm going to try not to be nervous about until the facts are in.

[Swede]

90% of the time, if the DA has a lick of sense, he or she will look at the true motives of the individual. Chances are good you'll get a slap on the wrist. But it's the other 10% that scare me. You might end up with a DA who wants to be bad-assed, get re-elected, have a personal grudge, etc. THOSE are the ones who will try to make an example of you, and you'll be in serious trouble.

 

That is the probem with these newspaper articles. Too much conjecture, not enough fact. That, and the fact that catching a "Mad Bomber" is simply spectacular news. Child molesters get less press than bomb makers.

[Richtee]

Child molesters get less press than bomb makers.

Well, if it's any consolation...and it ain't I guess... not in prison :{)

 

It really DOES suck that I can't legally indulge in pyro as a hobby without going thru sooo much crap as to make in untenable in my eyes.

 

I just want to make a few shells, make some pretty colors and a few booms... see the sparkles and the cool rocket launches. Please my friends, have some good food and beers and a little entertainment.

 

But..it's not that way anymore. Well, I'm not sure it really HAS been that way in a LONG time.

 

I was born before the dreaded "M-word" was illegal, but not by much. '65 wasn't it?

[AprenticeChemist]

90% of the time, if the DA has a lick of sense, he or she will look at the true motives of the individual. Chances are good you'll get a slap on the wrist. But it's the other 10% that scare me. You might end up with a DA who wants to be bad-assed, get re-elected, have a personal grudge, etc. THOSE are the ones who will try to make an example of you, and you'll be in serious trouble.

 

That is the probem with these newspaper articles. Too much conjecture, not enough fact. That, and the fact that catching a "Mad Bomber" is simply spectacular news. Child molesters get less press than bomb makers.

Well duh dumb ass!!! Seriously everyone knows that reporting news on a childmolester in the neighborhood arrested is like reporting the news about someone getting a ticket for speeding. Its just not edgy enough because it happens all the time so who cares if some 45 year old put his winky in a little kid. God everyone knows that children get molested everyday thats not exciting news. Some people just don't get it. Where as someone building explosives and such is not so everyday thing.

 

 

(Side note) For those of you that don't realize it, that post is covered in sarcasm and is no way trying to really insult swede by saying hes dumb.

 

On a more serious note I didn't see the life sentence part. But im pretty sure if they are going for a life sentence then he was doing something more then just regular pyro, its says 25 counts of explosive manufacture. So he probably was making the explody type shit. And might deserve what he gets.

[flying fish]

Apparently life is the "maximum" sentence he could face. Presumably if they really do charge him with all 25 counts that might qualify him for "life", again, at the maximum.

 

I'm guessing that someone getting the max sentence in his scenario would be a rare occurence, but still it is pretty scary.

 

Also, it just so happened that he had 25 chemicals in his appartment, and I'm guessing that is how they obsurdly came up with "25 counts." That also scares me...because someone trying to build bombs might only need a few chemicals. However, someone that has 25 different chemicals may be someone (somewhat like us) that is experimenting peacefully with pyro effects.

 

It is concerning that he was doing this in an appt complex rather than an isolated area like the detached garage (where I work) or at least a house that is not attached to the neighbor's house. I suppose it is naive to think that all pyros can afford to live somewhere that has some isolation from the neighbors, but I think that working THERE was his biggest mistake.

 

If he is a peaceful pyrotechnic experimenter, I think the first thing they need to do is explain that the chemicals themselves are not "explosives." You only create energetic compounds once they are mixed. If the amount of MIXED material is of a very small quantity, the damn neighbors were in very little danger unless there was some seriously toxic stuff there.

 

Well, those are my thoughts anyway...

[Frozentech]

Remember Brian from Oregon, who was busted with pyro in his shop. He was originally charged with, IIRC, 8 counts of "manufacturing a destructive device". One charge for each completed shell he had. No charges for chemicals, etc... It cost him a LOT of money, but he hired Bill Ofca as defense expert witness, and ended up being convicted of a single misdemeanor count of "illegal possession of fireworks", and got 6 months probation. I can't recall, it cost him 20-30 thousand bucks in legal expenses when it was all over, and he was one of the lucky ones.

[Swede]

Also, it just so happened that he had 25 chemicals in his appartment, and I'm guessing that is how they obsurdly came up with "25 counts."

I guess Dextrin and Red Gum are now "illegal explosives" and part of the 25 counts, because I would bet $1,000 that if he is a hobby pyro, those were two of his chemicals.

 

Let's keep going. Items that have zero intrinsic energy/oxidizing value

 

Iron Oxides

Cu Oxides

Carbonates of Strontium and Barium

Cab-O-Sil

Waterglass

Fe filings

Coarse flake Al

SGRS

Bentonite (ooh, that sounds like an explosive!!) "Yesterday, a terrorist was arrested with 10 pounds of powdered BENTONITE..."

Grog

Parlon

PVC

Spherical titanium

 

 

Stuff you can find in any Home Depot...

A bag of charcoal

Sulfur

Stump remover

 

Outdoor Store:

Hexamine

 

 

I almost wish they'd go to court. I'd have my assistant attorney spooning a funny yellow powder (Dextrin) into his mouth. When the Judge went nuts, you could say "Oh, he's just eating one of the 25 count explosives, yer honor.

[DIYMark]

...Bentonite (ooh, that sounds like an explosive!!) "Yesterday, a terrorist was arrested with 10 pounds of powdered BENTONITE..."...

 

...I'd have my assistant attorney spooning a funny yellow powder (Dextrin) into his mouth. When the Judge went nuts, you could say "Oh, he's just eating one of the 25 count explosives, yer honor...

ROFL

 

Great humour there Swede

[Frozentech]

I almost wish they'd go to court. I'd have my assistant attorney spooning a funny yellow powder (Dextrin) into his mouth. When the Judge went nuts, you could say "Oh, he's just eating one of the 25 count explosives, yer honor.

I personally think that ALL attorneys should chew a spoonful of Dextrin every time they enter a courtroom, along with a sip or two of hot tea or coffee.

[Richtee]

I personally think that ALL attorneys should chew a spoonful of Dextrin every time they enter a courtroom, along with a sip or two of hot tea or coffee.

That right there is funny shit!

[mormanman]

Its not too tasty though LOL.

[BPinthemorning]

Ya, but gunpowder is delicious. Make a great soup with it.

[AprenticeChemist]

Well it all depends im sure they can't legally charge him with explosive device if it is just a harmless chemical. Because they know that it would get thrown out in court to easy, all an attorney would have to do is read the definition and bam its out. The 25 counts of explosive manufacture was probably like the other guy used as an example. Where he was charged for each shell. So he probably had 25 salutes or what ever he made.

 

And who knows all what the guy had. He could have shit mostly for HE, most of the chems I had were for synthing differnt HEs so if I had got busted would have looked pretty bad. Maybe thats what happend with him to? He could either be a responsible person that got fucked or he could be a douche bag that deserves it.

[Mumbles]

I actually kind of like the taste of dextrin. It's partially how I tell when it's done. It gets a slightly sweet taste when it's done for me. Different texture too.