RayFinkle Posted January 31, 2007 Posted January 31, 2007 LINKY Sounds like there is a group of geeks in the Boston area shitting their pants in mom's basement right now. BOSTON — A series of suspicious packages attributed to a giant hoax paralyzed downtown Boston Wednesday, just hours before evening rush hour. Some of the images left on the devices are apparently in the form of characters from the adult cartoon, "Aqua Teen Hunger Force." "It's a hoax — and it's not funny," said Gov. Deval Patrick, who was expected to hold a press conference on the investigation at 4 p.m. ET Wednesday. Bomb units scrambled to investigate five suspicious devices reported almost simultaneously throughout the city. The reports forced the temporary shutdowns of part of an interstate, a key inbound roadway and a bridge between Boston and Cambridge. At least two of the devices were quickly determined to be harmless. The first device was found at an MBTA subway and bus station located under Interstate 93 on Wednesday morning. The device was detonated and determined to be harmless, but as a precaution the station and Interstate 93 out of the city shut down temporarily... "No matter who did this, I think there's probably enough evidence I think the Boston Police Department, the bureau, state police — everybody will probably get together … I wouldn't be surprised to see someone charged in this. This is an extremely serious situation," former FBI Director Bill Gavin told FOX News. "Whoever did this — whether it be kids or adults — if they think it's funny, I think they'll soon learn it's not that much of a humorous situation."
Fezmid Posted January 31, 2007 Posted January 31, 2007 I'd be freaked out if I lived in Boston -- The Mooninites are not a race to ignore,e specially with their super laser! Seriously though, come on, they were boxes with pictures of Mooninites on 'em and people were freaking out (I hope someone posts a picture of some of the boxes soon)? Our society really is becoming a bunch of 'fraidy cats, aren't they? It reminds me of this gem: http://www.joystiq.com/2006/04/02/tiny-ohi...by-mario-prank/ People need to lighten up a bit (read: a lot). Oh, I forgot, this is a "different world" now.
shrader Posted January 31, 2007 Posted January 31, 2007 So they're promotional stuff for cartoon network shows. Why the hell would they put these things underneath bridges unless they're going for the bomb scare angle?
Fezmid Posted January 31, 2007 Posted January 31, 2007 So they're promotional stuff for cartoon network shows. Why the hell would they put these things underneath bridges unless they're going for the bomb scare angle? Yeah, because when I see a box, I instantly think "bomb." That's why I never go into department stores -- too many boxes.
KD in CA Posted January 31, 2007 Posted January 31, 2007 Yeah, because when I see a box, I instantly think "bomb." That's why I never go into department stores -- too many boxes. You must be a wreck at Christmastime!
smokinandjokin Posted January 31, 2007 Posted January 31, 2007 Perhaps they are just referring to the bomb the Sabres dropped on the Bruins last night?
shrader Posted January 31, 2007 Posted January 31, 2007 Perhaps they are just referring to the bomb the Sabres dropped on the Bruins last night? No, they don't even care. Remember, teams have to win for the people around here to care (except the Red Sox). Summary: People are stupid. Heavy fines will be issued. Ratings will soar.
Fezmid Posted February 1, 2007 Posted February 1, 2007 Wow, I can see how people thought this was a bomb. Terrorists frequently go thorugh a lot of work to make decorations on things they intend to explode. Just ask the troops in Iraq -- all the IEDs there have pop-culture pictures on them. Very devious of the bad guys. http://www.foxnews.com/images/root_images/013107_boston7.jpg http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2007/US/01/31/bosto...n.adultswim.jpg http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d60/laws...nites/err22.gif
gmac17 Posted February 1, 2007 Posted February 1, 2007 someone is going to get fired, and when they do their boss is going to say "we couldn't have bought that publicity for ten million dollars but I still have to fire you"
stevestojan Posted February 1, 2007 Posted February 1, 2007 unless you're a huge nerd and have actually seen the show that this "joke" was based on, i'd say you'd have a right to be a little scared to see a random black box with blinking lights on it at a train station in a major metropolis.... but that's just me.
Nanker Posted February 1, 2007 Posted February 1, 2007 I haven't heard of a promotional campaign this brilliant since the "Hold Your Wee for a WII" radio contest. It was all just done in fun. No harm done. Just go about your business. Boston - get back to work, you've got a lot of catching up to do. Thankfully no terrorists were injured in the making of those dummy bombs.
OGTEleven Posted February 1, 2007 Posted February 1, 2007 So the police get several calls all reporting (probably with little or no detail) that there are lighted boxes near multiple bridges and important intersections. What are they supposed to do? Ignore it? Get there and see they are lit up like cartoons and assume everything's ok? Oh, look O'Malley, it's some character I've never seen from some show I've never seen. Call off the emergency. Give me a break. If the advertisers got a city permit then the city should have let the cops know. If not, they should face the consequences of putting the police in a no win situation.
Fezmid Posted February 1, 2007 Posted February 1, 2007 unless you're a huge nerd and have actually seen the show that this "joke" was based on, i'd say you'd have a right to be a little scared to see a random black box with blinking lights on it at a train station in a major metropolis.... but that's just me. You're making it sound like the blinking lights are just randomly on the box. They're shaped as a character, and I would've thought that you would appreciate cartoon-looking characters giving people the finger. Also, the show is actually extremely popular. It was even on an episode of CSI a couple of years ago. I want to know why it is that these things were in 10 different cities, and only Boston freaked out about it. they need to stop calling this a hoax Agreed.
dib Posted February 1, 2007 Posted February 1, 2007 Somebody's is going to be in a wringer over this one.
inkman Posted February 1, 2007 Posted February 1, 2007 I want to know why it is that these things were in 10 different cities, and only Boston freaked out about it. ...because they are stupid. Oh yeah, and they have a little complex after a couple planes left Logan Intl. and flew into some prominent buildings here in the US.
RayFinkle Posted February 1, 2007 Author Posted February 1, 2007 Call me crazy, but now that I have seem the "unidentified packages", I think this whole thing got over blown. The cops had to take apporpriate measures, but if anybody thinks a terrorist is going to take the time to make their bomb look like a lite brite with a milk carton on it givng the finger to people....I don't know what to say.
inkman Posted February 1, 2007 Posted February 1, 2007 see ^ Call me crazy, but now that I have seem the "unidentified packages", I think this whole thing got over blown. The cops had to take apporpriate measures, but if anybody thinks a terrorist is going to take the time to make their bomb look like a lite brite with a milk carton on it givng the finger to people....I don't know what to say.
OGTEleven Posted February 1, 2007 Posted February 1, 2007 Call me crazy, but now that I have seem the "unidentified packages", I think this whole thing got over blown. The cops had to take apporpriate measures, but if anybody thinks a terrorist is going to take the time to make their bomb look like a lite brite with a milk carton on it givng the finger to people....I don't know what to say. As you say, Cops have to take appropriate measures. Odds are very strong that when the reports were called in the caller didn't identify the cartoon characters on the box but just identified it as a box with blinking lights. Once the cop saw the box, let's call it a 1% chance it was a bomb or other harmful device. If the 1% chance panned out, the same people now saying cops overreacted would likely be accusing them of not taking a threat seriously. The cops can't win. They do and should follow procedures. If someone thinks the procedure manual should contain an exception clause for blinking cartoons then they should make the suggestion. The press picks up on some things and does not pick up on others. That doesn't make things the fault of cops. Similarly, because something is so popular that it was featured on CSI really does not amount to a hill of beans in terms of how cops should react. The people at fault are either the advertisers who did not get proper permission or the city for not communicating that permission to the police. The police are not at fault here IMO.
The Tomcat Posted February 1, 2007 Posted February 1, 2007 Call me crazy, but now that I have seem the "unidentified packages", I think this whole thing got over blown. The cops had to take apporpriate measures, but if anybody thinks a terrorist is going to take the time to make their bomb look like a lite brite with a milk carton on it givng the finger to people....I don't know what to say. Kinda like in Vietnam when they would plant gernades under Teddy Bears.
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