RayFinkle Posted February 1, 2007 Author Share Posted February 1, 2007 Kinda like in Vietnam when they would plant gernades under Teddy Bears. Terrorists go out of their way to be inconspicuous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Tomcat Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Terrorists go out of their way to be inconspicuous. Is that in the manual? Do they follow those rules? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 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. To the people who say you need to take everything seriously, I read this on another board: "You have to take these all seriously, because who knows if they're threats or not?" Do you wear an earthed metal hat whenever you go out and the weather's a bit dodgy? Have you plastered your children and housepets in flexible Faraday cages? Go look up the chances of being killed in a terrorist attack, and then the chances of being hit by lightning. If you always wear lightning-proof headgear and earthed metal underwear in the rain, then rant away. If not, your response is fact-free, emotion-not-intelligence-prompted horseshit caused by media over-reporting and sensationalising that has no place in a serious debate. Look up the statistics - you're more likely to be hit by lightning than killed in a terrorist attack. So if you don't spend the same amount of time worrying about lightning as you spend worring about "t3h T3rr0R1sTs!!11!1!" you're being a nervous jumpy !@#$wit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 ...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. Ahh, so because of one isolated incident, we should throw out common sense? Gotcha. (I suppose we've been doing stupid stuff at airports ever since, so why not).- I'm sure this is more of the media blowing it up (no pun intended), but the governor calling for people's heads is just as ludicrous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetbaboo Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 If terrorists wanted to blow stevestojan up all over the United States they can, and this story proves it. These things were left in various locations for two to three weeks before they were found. I'd say the system failed. This is NOT in any way shape or form an example of how the system is protecting us. It's not doing anything of the sort. I believe the system is more or less prepared to deal with the aftermath of such an attack, but not to prevent it. Instead of throwing innocent Americans in jail when they had no intention of blowing up or scaring anybody, we should realize it was a misunderstanding and go about our business. Maybe introduce some practical legislation to prevent these types of marketing techniques, or require permits and public disclosure for them? But no, let's hold a press conference and look good for the TV cameras and proclaim that we want to put these guys in jail for many many years. Now that's a mayor! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted February 1, 2007 Share 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. It seems like a common sense move to try to disguise a bomb. A cartoon character could be a good way of doing that. As usual, this whole thing was completely media driven. It took way too long for the stories to finally mention exactly what was on the "unidentified packages". The media sticks with those words as long as possible because they want to scare people. I'm sure some of them were even hoping they were bombs just so they could be to one to break the story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayFinkle Posted February 1, 2007 Author Share Posted February 1, 2007 Is that in the manual? Do they follow those rules? I don't know, is putting an oversized flashing neon sign of a cartoon character giving the finger on a bomb in the manual? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevbeau Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 I don't know, is putting an oversized flashing neon sign of a cartoon character giving the finger on a bomb in the manual? Chapter 14: Disguising Yor Device with Flashing Neon Cartoon Character (Rude Gesture Optional) It's a very detailed manual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OGTEleven Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 To the people who say you need to take everything seriously, I read this on another board:"You have to take these all seriously, because who knows if they're threats or not?" Do you wear an earthed metal hat whenever you go out and the weather's a bit dodgy? Have you plastered your children and housepets in flexible Faraday cages? Go look up the chances of being killed in a terrorist attack, and then the chances of being hit by lightning. If you always wear lightning-proof headgear and earthed metal underwear in the rain, then rant away. If not, your response is fact-free, emotion-not-intelligence-prompted horseshit caused by media over-reporting and sensationalising that has no place in a serious debate. Look up the statistics - you're more likely to be hit by lightning than killed in a terrorist attack. So if you don't spend the same amount of time worrying about lightning as you spend worring about "t3h T3rr0R1sTs!!11!1!" you're being a nervous jumpy !@#$wit. So when a police department gets calls from 7 different parts of the city all saying there are boxes with blinking lights at major intersections and under bridges they should simply hang up? Good strategy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 So when a police department gets calls from 7 different parts of the city all saying there are boxes with blinking lights at major intersections and under bridges they should simply hang up? Good strategy. Where did anybody say that? But if you use a little common sense after you see them (especially after you identified what the first one was) and you don't have to paralyze the whole damn city. And from the article, it's not like these all popped up yesterday - they've been around multiple cities for *WEEKS.* I doubt all 7 calls came at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inkman Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Ahh, so because of one isolated incident, we should throw out common sense? Gotcha. (I suppose we've been doing stupid stuff at airports ever since, so why not).This is why I should always include smileys with my posts. I was trying to be sarcastic but it didn't come out that way. In addition, as more info comes out, it really seems like some morons really hit the panic button. I'm sure this is more of the media blowing it up (no pun intended), but the governor calling for people's heads is just as ludicrous. The people heads they should be calling for are whoever made the decision to shut down the city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 And from the article, it's not like these all popped up yesterday - they've been around multiple cities for *WEEKS.* I doubt all 7 calls came at the same time. The articles weren't completely clear about that. The ads have been around major cities for weeks, but did they put them all up at the same time or did they do LA one day, New York the next... ? I sure as hell never saw the things and I'm in the immediate area of two of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 The articles weren't completely clear about that. The ads have been around major cities for weeks, but did they put them all up at the same time or did they do LA one day, New York the next... ? I sure as hell never saw the things and I'm in the immediate area of two of them. Yeah, I'm not sure what that was about either. If they've been around for weeks, you'd think we would've heard something about it by now, so I'm not sure either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckeyemike Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 The politicians and police officials want to look like they're DOING SOMETHING. Because, if the threat is real, it's their heads that the public will serve up on a platter. Yes, root out all the evil in our midst. All the evil cartoon characters on boxes from a show only males 18-35 watch. I'm really starting to hate living in this country. I'm so glad I don't live in Boston, home of jittery public leaders and dumb people who've never seen a cartoon show. This now makes two places in which I'd never live...Georgia (for the way they treated that kid who's spending 10 years in the joint for oral sex) and Massachusetts. (((RANT OFF))) That said, I think the city should sue Time Warner...they have a case for the time and money they've spent. It was a very stupid promotional stunt, and I think that whoever suggested this should have seen the result: an entire city panicked. But really, all the posturing your Fearless Leaders are doing is very embarrassing, Boston. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Coli Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 The politicians and police officials want to look like they're DOING SOMETHING. Because, if the threat is real, it's their heads that the public will serve up on a platter. Yes, root out all the evil in our midst. All the evil cartoon characters on boxes from a show only males 18-35 watch. I'm really starting to hate living in this country. I'm so glad I don't live in Boston, home of jittery public leaders and dumb people who've never seen a cartoon show. This now makes two places in which I'd never live...Georgia (for the way they treated that kid who's spending 10 years in the joint for oral sex) and Massachusetts. (((RANT OFF))) That said, I think the city should sue Time Warner...they have a case for the time and money they've spent. It was a very stupid promotional stunt, and I think that whoever suggested this should have seen the result: an entire city panicked. But really, all the posturing your Fearless Leaders are doing is very embarrassing, Boston. The vast majority of the people in Boston are more pissed at the over-the-top response by city officials than at the ad campaign itself. Please don't lump us all in with the "live in fear" crowd. Boston.com messageboard Example: I'm also angry at the city of Boston, and our government in general. They're patting themselves on the back for saying how they acted so timely and efficiently during this potential crisis, when the reality is those things have been hanging up around Boston for 3 week! And there's video proof that it happened 3 weeks ago! And there's 9 other cities that for weeks didn't freak out, but us, the intellectual capital of the United States, goes a bit nutso over a few moonitite light brights? Why is that by 2:00 PM, the media was still reporting a bomb threat like the city was going to explode any moment, while the blogging community knew what in the world they were, put two and two together, and it took 3 extra hours for our mayor (who by the way had a press conference at 4:20, no I really can't make that up) to fess up to saying that yes they now know it's harmless. And to arrest the guy who was just hired to put up the signs? Make an artistic statement? Exercise his free speech rights? Come on now. Now your just trying to find a scapegoat and a pansy, and you've just put someone innocent and turned his life upside down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetbaboo Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 The articles weren't completely clear about that. The ads have been around major cities for weeks, but did they put them all up at the same time or did they do LA one day, New York the next... ? I sure as hell never saw the things and I'm in the immediate area of two of them. Apparently they've been in NYC since New Year's Eve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckeyemike Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 The vast majority of the people in Boston are more pissed at the over-the-top response by city officials than at the ad campaign itself. Please don't lump us all in with the "live in fear" crowd. No worries. If you're on this board, you're not part of the problem, you're part of the solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilly Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Using a key to gouge expletives on another's vehicle is a sign of trust and friendship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 The vast majority of the people in Boston are more pissed at the over-the-top response by city officials than at the ad campaign itself. Please don't lump us all in with the "live in fear" crowd. Boston.com messageboard Example: Another media thing that really bugs me. One of the sources reporting all of this, CNN, is owned by the same company responsible for the ads. Why did it take them so long to step up and take responsibility? Yeah, I already know the answer to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Coli Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Another media thing that really bugs me. One of the sources reporting all of this, CNN, is owned by the same company responsible for the ads. Why did it take them so long to step up and take responsibility? Yeah, I already know the answer to that. Menino ought to get ATHF residuals after this. I drive over the BU bridge twice a day and I never saw the damn things. None of this would have hit the airwaves without his over-the-top response (and the complicity of the Boston media). If we still had air raid sirens I have no doubt he would have set them off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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