I understand what you're aiming for. If it were a daily occurence to have terrorist attacks in the US, general attention would fade in the same way. It's like with the dead from road accidents, they're not reported daily and nation wide and Obama doesn't give a press conference.
I absolutely agree, I am not complaining that stories like this aren't covered and I'm certainly not trying to trivialise the events yesterday, I just think it's worth being reminded that events like this are almost an everyday occurrence in less fortunate countries.
Not to mention the "other side of the world" factor. If a bomb went off on your doorstep and killed your cat, for instance, that would be a much bigger deal to you than the Boston Marathon incident. Let alone terrorist strikes in Iraq...
That's a really bad news, but I don't know why do people post such stories on HN. I watch CNN, so I know these things and if there's someone interested in getting to know this, he would go to CNN's website rather than to HN. This is a place for tech-related news rather than information about terrorist attacks...
I think the poster wanted to show the contrast between a series of coordinated attacks across Iraq which have killed many and 2 explosions in Boston killing 3. Both are obviously terrible events, but one got more attention by a factor of at least 1000. It's just good to keep in perspective things that are going on elsewhere in the world.
Proximity Is A More Relevant Perspective Than Volume.
I know what the author of this post aimed for, I agree with his point of view, but still I believe that HN should only contain some tech or startup related topics. I read HN since nearly a year now, and I see more and more people misunderstanding its purpose. Or maybe it's me who don't get it.
"America, the home and defender of democracy, is more important than some backwards country in the desert"
That is the subliminal message. It is sad, but unfortunately this is the way this planet works.