Video: “Terrorists” caught in the act!
posted at 10:59 am on February 2, 2007 by Allahpundit
Never have I seen a terror video with a dance beat this infectious. We’re losing the information war.
Here’s how the stoners should have handled their press conference yesterday. Like I said to Treacher last night: granted, they didn’t do anything wrong, but can’t we arrest that one guy for the hair? It’s plenty disorderly.
The company’s going to foot the bill for Boston’s security alert. All’s well that ends mediocre-ly.
Blowback
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When an attempt at lame humor goes bad it hurts. Ask Jon Cary….
Guardian on February 2, 2007 at 11:18 AM
Artists? So working with Lite-Brites passes as artistic these days?
Candy Slice on February 2, 2007 at 11:20 AM
These two are “Generatiion X” morons. They probably still live in their momma’s basements.
csdeven on February 2, 2007 at 11:30 AM
Knowing them indirectly, they don’t live at their ‘momma’s’. They pretty much live everywhere else though, jumping from party to party.
ballz2wallz on February 2, 2007 at 11:45 AM
The mooninites are currently going for over $5K on ebay. Someone must like their art.
JaHerer22 on February 2, 2007 at 11:47 AM
A fool and his money are soon parted, JaHerer.
BacaDog on February 2, 2007 at 11:52 AM
Disorderly and DIRTY. You can’t have a “hairstyle” like that unless you go a few weeks (months?) w/o shampooing it.
How about making an arrest and immediate quarantine to forceably clean and disinfect, including cutting and washing the hair of someone based upon a matter of public health?
Case in point. I have a relative in NCal and when I visit, these people are everywhere, and they do smell… BAD!
CliffHanger on February 2, 2007 at 11:53 AM
Aaah! That cartoon is flipping the bird, get down!
Savage on February 2, 2007 at 11:54 AM
They shut down Boston with Lite-Brites.
Verdict: guilty.
Sentence: Lite their hair on fire.
Jaibones on February 2, 2007 at 11:55 AM
This is the perfect example of reality falling far, far short of your imagination.
“Wouldn’t it be cool if we just went out there and talked about hair?”
“Dude!”
Except neither of these guys is particularly funny. In fact, they generate fairly high readings on the dorkometer. While getting credit for sticking with the schtick and jerking around the media horde, these two still come off as young, self obsessed punks with more attitude than skill.
I suppose everybody, at some point, thinks their friendly banter is high comedy. Fortunately most of us don’t get to try it out on a nationally televised stage.
…on the moon. ‘Cause that’s how we roll.
JoeEgo on February 2, 2007 at 11:58 AM
I guesss I’m getting old. I didn’t see the press conference as being funny at all. Not even amusing. To me, they were taking a stab at reaching cult status, but came across as snot-nosed punks.
Throw the book at ‘em. Kind of like that line from Silverado, “We’re gonna give you a fair trial, followed by a first class hanging.” Euhemistically speaking, of course.
Matticus Finch on February 2, 2007 at 12:11 PM
Well said, Matticus.
Lawrence on February 2, 2007 at 12:16 PM
I think the point is that the DID do something wrong.
I’m sure they didn’t intend to do something wrong, but the axiom of unintended consequences still applies to stoner morons just like it does everyone else.
Lawrence on February 2, 2007 at 12:19 PM
Hey, help a subscriber out! I sent you this video two days ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJ6oBNW156o
You’re using drudge’s link! Use mine!
Vincenzo on February 2, 2007 at 12:23 PM
Wait until next Hannukah and use Dreaddude as a human menora.
TugboatPhil on February 2, 2007 at 12:29 PM
When Hair-Brained promos go bad, the only recourse is to hold a hair-brained news conference.
BohicaTwentyTwo on February 2, 2007 at 12:29 PM
The video will certainly insure their conviction for criminal trespass to chattel, if not for violating the Patriot Act.
But the ‘marketing firm’ behind them also had the following stunts in mind:
Painting the name of the show on the side of a 747 and using it to buzz skyscrapers in NYC and other cities.
Staging faux abductions of people and video taping them “confessing” to watching the stupid cartoon show.
As well as other “guerrilla marketing” tactics designed to draw awareness to the show.
These people (not just the two schmoes arrested, but the people who planned it and paid for it) are not just stupid, but criminally stupid. And criminals belong in jail — the whole lot of them.
georgej on February 2, 2007 at 12:36 PM
Only a fool will call this a terrorist video. And only fool would think of demonizing those folks. Boston should have sent just one bomb specialist to verify the item. As for their news conference, it is a good blow to the media who have a tendency to inflame little things. If I were a media mogul, I would hire them.
Ouabam on February 2, 2007 at 12:36 PM
it’s all very clear. the terrorists wanted to blow up the awnings of indy rock bars and soft lofts in the hipster district.
truely the vigilance of these blue-state stooges is razor sharp.
jummy on February 2, 2007 at 12:54 PM
holy christ get over it. you’re making them out to be your cultural enemies because YOU have egg on your face.
the litebrites are very cool, cleanly concieved and executed little pieces of craftwork, which now, thanks to the blithering, hysterical idiocy of some blue-state paranoids, have greatly enhanced provenance. they are well-worth 5k each.
jummy on February 2, 2007 at 1:01 PM
“And only fool would think of demonizing those folks.”
Who is “demonizing” them?
They broke several laws during their stunt. Criminal trespass for one, disorderly conduct for another, and possibly the Patriot Act itself.
That’s not demonizing them — that’s called PROSECUTING THEM for crimes they committed.
In addition, they are legally responsible for the clean up costs, including activating the bomb squad and other first responders.
And here’s one more item. EVERY person whose travel was impacted by bridges being closed, commuter trains halted, etc., and who can prove financial damages has a tort against these goofs, their “guerrilla marketing” firm, the Cartoon Network and its parent Turner. Why the class action lawyers could make millions and millions in legal fees off of this.
Did Boston overreact? Nope. A pound of C4 placed in the cavity of the signs could have taken down the structures they were attached to, including the bridges. And when you consider that ABC News is reporting that the company behind the stunt was telling people to keep quiet and NOT inform the authorities about the plot, that adds criminal conspiracy to the list of possible charges to those involved.
HAD some enterprising Al Qaeda supporter thought of it instead, there could have been hundreds of people dead.
These goofs, their “bosses” and the people who thought up the idea AND WHO APPROVED it, need to get a dose of reality, that being that endangering public safety, even as a joke, is a no-no. Spending some time in jail would reinforce this, IMHO.
georgej on February 2, 2007 at 1:01 PM
They broke several laws during their
you are the cartoon charicature of the right the rest of us have to deal with. you are a cartoon, and you are a liability to rathional conservatives.
jummy on February 2, 2007 at 1:09 PM
“holy christ get over it. you’re making them out to be your cultural enemies because YOU have egg on your face.”
I’m confused here.
Whose making them out to be our cultural enemies? And who has egg on their face.
These two goofs are the worker bees who are going to face the judge for violating several laws doing the stunt. What is needed is for those behind the stunt to join them before the bench. These two are the fall guys.
As for egg on their faces? I’d say Turner has it smeared all over their lips, chin, cheeks and nose right about now. The bad-PR rap (plus questions from stock holders why their profits got hammered because of the upcoming fines and reparation costs) make THEM look bad.
Boston acted responsibly. What if one or more of these little signs that were ILLEGALLY attached to property that they did not own did have a pound of C4 inside of it? The death toll could have been very high.
And considering that ABC News is reporting that the guerrilla marketing firm told people to not come forward as this was unfolding, that could add a charge of criminal conspiracy as well.
Yes, it turned out to be a joke. This time….
georgej on February 2, 2007 at 1:12 PM
Jummy wrote: “you are the cartoon charicature of the right the rest of us have to deal with”
Fair enough.
YOU, though, are the ASSHOLE that those of us who are adults have to deal with.
georgej on February 2, 2007 at 1:14 PM
i really hope the people facing georgej’s wrath sue the city out of existence.
it was stupid to shut down the city for a bunch of litebrites. but the city should be shut down long enough to consider whether we’re prepared to reclassify postering as a federal crime.
jummy on February 2, 2007 at 1:15 PM
“i really hope the people facing georgej’s wrath sue the city out of existence.”
Well, that’s not gonna happen.
More likely, the shit is going to roll uphill to Turner, the’ve got the “deep pockets.
“reclassify postering as a federal crime”
Read the Patriot Act. It does federalizes such things. It makes terrorism or the threat of terrorism a federal crime. Having to call out the bomb squad, shut down bridges and transit route qualifies. And considering that it appears that the “guerrilla marketing” firm told the people involved to KEEP QUIET about it, adds an element of conspiracy about it.
georgej on February 2, 2007 at 1:20 PM
Jummy-
I’ll try to be rational here. These guys (as well-meaning as they were) put up lite-brights throughout the city. Fair enough. But, as one of the bomb squad officers said, on suspicious packages, they look for a power source (check), a circuit board (check), and wiring (check).
Admittedly, it was all pretty benign, but it did at the very least snarl traffic and use a lot of city resources. Then to have these two guys pooh-pooh the seriousness of the situation made it look even worse. If they’d come before the press and expressed regret that they caused this, then it’d be different. I would really have had a better opinion of them.
They screwed up. They won’t take responsibility for it. When that happens, you teach them a lesson. My feeling is that they will and should face multiple charges for this.
Matticus Finch on February 2, 2007 at 1:26 PM
I’m with georgej and Matticus Finch on this one.
wytammic on February 2, 2007 at 1:33 PM
Yeah, and I’m sure the sales of Aqua Teen Hunger Force DVDs and tickets to the upcoming feature film won’t make a dent in that.
Why stop there? They coulda been nukes!
Jim Treacher on February 2, 2007 at 1:40 PM
The only ‘crime’ that I see here is, possibly, littering.
BohicaTwentyTwo on February 2, 2007 at 1:48 PM
looks like a football “player” from the old atari video game giving us the finger.
Sammy316 on February 2, 2007 at 1:57 PM
georgej,
They’re charged with placing a hoax device, which is so stupid it ought to be actionable. There’s no way on earth they get convicted on that. They’re also charged with disorderly conduct, which is going to be pretty damned interesting given that the conduct in question is leaving things laying around. The prosecutor has a long uphill climb on that charge as well. And that’s it. They’ll walk.
Do you have any idea how much free advertising they just got? You’d pay many millions for the kind of exposure they just got. They’ll pay to shut the pols up and then they’ll giggle maniacally as the ratings for Aqua Teen Hunger Force go through the roof due to people who had never heard of it and have now. I wouldn’t be surprised if they paid extra to have the two doofuses ham it up at the presser. These CN guys look like geniuses among their peers.
Pablo on February 2, 2007 at 2:02 PM
There’s absolutely no threat of terrorism here. Intent matters, reaction doesn’t. There’s no terrorist intent, nor is there an intent to hoax terrorism. They were paid to put silly cartoon things up, and that’s what they did.
Uh, they had video of them doing it posted on the internet. That’s not keeping very quiet.
Pablo on February 2, 2007 at 2:08 PM
That’s funny, when i go bear hunting, i look for paws, fur and growling, but i never shoot my dog.
if i did end up shooting my dog, it wouldn’t be the dog’s fault, and i wouldn’t stuff it and hang it on the wall over a plaque labeled “bear”.
1) i’ve read the patriot act. i don’t believe you did or, having read it, understood a word.
2) the perpetrators did make a terrorist threat. nor did they “plot” a terrorist act.
3) i am not liable when you shoot yourself in the foot with your gun which you bought to shoot some other guy i have no association with.
i remember you from the previous threads for which it would be useful for the progressive argument to have a “conservative” saying exactly the wrong thing on a premium website like ha. your arguments on this issue are so stupid, i can’t believe that it is accidental.
jummy on February 2, 2007 at 2:09 PM
Funny, no. Snide, yes.
I think these guys were guilty of disorderly conduct. I would not give them a pass with the “we were just following orders” defense. Put them in jail for a month and before they go in ask them this hair question, “Do you intend to ask your cellmate to not pull your hair when he is having relations with you?”
Bill C on February 2, 2007 at 2:19 PM
Not to mention the EVIL greenhouse gases that were spewing from thousands of SUVs as they waited in traffic. I’m sure the stress of being late to appointments caused smokers to light up a few extra times, contributing greatly to the man-made inevitable apocalypse of climate change. NY will probably be under water a few minutes early just because of this “prank.” If not terrorism towards people, this act was SURELY terrorism towards our Mother Earth, whom we have ultimate power over.
NTWR on February 2, 2007 at 2:19 PM
Hang the perpetrators of this crime against the climate!
NTWR on February 2, 2007 at 2:21 PM
Wires? Power Source? Circuits?
Oh my God, I’m staring at all of those things right now! And Holy Sh*t they’re all connected together!
IT MUST BE A BOMB…THAT’S THE ONLY PRACTICAL EXPLANATION!
JaHerer22 on February 2, 2007 at 2:21 PM
Entelechy on February 2, 2007 at 2:22 PM
That’s funny, when i go bear hunting, i look for paws, fur and growling, but i never shoot my dog.
if i did end up shooting my dog, it wouldn’t be the dog’s fault, and i wouldn’t stuff it and hang it on the wall over a plaque labeled “bear”.
You hunt bears that small, do you? This was a suspicious (meaning nobody knew what it was or what it was doing there) package. I’d assume you knew what your dog looked like and why he was there with you.
Oh my God, I’m staring at all of those things right now! And Holy Sh*t they’re all connected together!
See above.
Matticus Finch on February 2, 2007 at 2:41 PM
(nice try, though).
Matticus Finch on February 2, 2007 at 2:42 PM
Does that mean that if you don’t know what a thing is, it’s terrorism?
Pablo on February 2, 2007 at 2:43 PM
Does that mean that if you don’t know what a thing is, it’s terrorism?
Nope, but if it has a power source, a circuit, and wires sticking out of it, it raises my suspicions. Wouldn’t it raise yours? Especially attached to the underside of a bridge?
Matticus Finch on February 2, 2007 at 2:47 PM
Tips for Terrorists:
Hang your bombs up during the middle of the night and no one will bother to question your activities.
Just steer clear of any donut shops.
The Ugly American on February 2, 2007 at 2:47 PM
Sure. Then I’d take a closer look and go “Huh. Lite Brite. Why is it flipping me off?”
Pablo on February 2, 2007 at 2:50 PM
Ok, so why weren’t all the other cities involved in this marketing campaign shut down when the Lite Brites of Ultimate Terrorism were discovered? Possibly because Boston is unhip and unaware of popular culture or because Boston is hip to the Mooninite threat. They have 500 dimensions, you know.
If I had the inclination, and I don’t, I would cut the Fox News commentary with video of the Lite Brites being placed. “They look like IED’s, and a common tactic is to make people run from one dud bomb to another area where the real bomb is. Right out of the terrorist manual, it is!”
Krydor on February 2, 2007 at 2:52 PM
I mean, you’ve all seen these things, right?
Pablo on February 2, 2007 at 2:55 PM
Sure. Then I’d take a closer look and go “Huh. Lite Brite. Why is it flipping me off?”
Really? You’d pull out a 12 foot ladder out of your car, climb to the top of the bridge bracing, and inspect it? Or would you grab your cell phone, call the authorities, and say, “There’s something weird with blinking lights attached to the underside of the bridge. It looks like a lite-brite, but I can’t be sure.”
Nice try again, though. Whoever called it in did the right thing.
Matticus Finch on February 2, 2007 at 2:57 PM
Oh, absolutely. Whoever decided to shut the city down is a bonehead.
Pablo on February 2, 2007 at 2:59 PM
…and there are PLENTY of those here to pick from.
Pablo on February 2, 2007 at 3:00 PM
listen, this is tedious. i realize that it’s hard to aknowlege when you are wrong. i think that is all that is going on here. i know when i first heard about the shut down i imagined that whatever the items were, they were bomb-shaped, or suggestively placed, or accompanied by provacative text or something. had i committed to harsh procedures at that juncture, i would be slow to correct myself also. i understand. but i’m looking at litebrites of a popular cartoon character hung on record store awnings in a second-tier city and the fact is that no reasonable person would be capable of misidentifying the litebrite advertising devices as. bombs
jummy on February 2, 2007 at 3:03 PM
AP:
I assume you mean “committed no crime”, I would certainly argue that they did some things wrong.
RightWinged on February 2, 2007 at 3:04 PM
Whoever called it in did the right thing.
Oh, absolutely.
Glad we agree.
Matticus Finch on February 2, 2007 at 3:08 PM
but i’m looking at litebrites of a popular cartoon character hung on record store awnings
1) They’re not that popular.
2) you forgot to also mention that they were hung on bridges, way up high so nobody could get a close look.
Keep trying, though.
Matticus Finch on February 2, 2007 at 3:11 PM
give it the hell up. most were set to “destroy” the awnings of record stores and hipster dive bars. one was placed six feet overhead of a sidewalk on a freight overpass. you keep saying “bridge” as if it were the golden gate bridge. you can’t convince anyone of that. everyone’s seen the video. the video is linked above.
jummy on February 2, 2007 at 3:11 PM
Honestly, once it’s called in as a bomb, the bomb squad really doesn’t have much choice in the matter but to treat it as such. Since none of those things were really recognizable as the cartoon character they’re supposed to represent (a box of french fries done up Space Invader’s style) I’d have a hard time identifying them. The only thing suspicious about them is the placement (logically designed to have maximum exposure, but as an Iraq vet, I’d be suspicious of them because of their placement alone)
That being said, it’s stupid, though not criminal. I do foresee the costs of this incident being recovered from the company that pulled the stunt, if for no other reason than they probably violated a bunch of sign ordnances in Boston and as a result caused this incident – unforseen consequences, but they wouldn’t have had this problem had they gotten a permit, I’ll wager.
The press conference, on the other hand, should be criminal (it was certainly criminally stupid – that’s 2 minutes of my life I’m never gonna get back – while I’m at it, I want my 2 hours back for ‘Napoleon Dynamite’, too!)
RustMouse on February 2, 2007 at 3:18 PM
give it the hell up. most were set to “destroy” the awnings of record stores and hipster dive bars.
Still wrong!
That’s not what Police Commisioner Edward Davis said:
“”People can be smug and say all you have to do is look at this and know this is not an explosive device, but the truth of the matter is that you can’t tell what it is until it’s disrupted,” Davis said. “If anybody wants to volunteer to take the place of the bomb officers the next time we find a device attached to a bridge or a subway station, I’d be more than willing to take names.”
“Officials found 38 blinking electronic signs on bridges, a subway station, a hospital, Fenway Park, and other high-profile spots in and around the city. ”
But you know better than the police commisioner of a major city. Keep trying! (Maybe you need to give it up).
Matticus Finch on February 2, 2007 at 3:20 PM
Aside from not being a pastel green sprite image (kinda hard to do with LEDs) the mooninite looks exactly like it does on the show.
James on February 2, 2007 at 3:28 PM
bombs are especially effective when they are festooned with a blinking twelve-inch high cartoon character.
well let’s run it down. the police commissioner of a major city thinks the items in question look like bombs. the items in question are not bombs. i do not think the items in question look like bombs. why, yes! i do seem to know better than the police commissioner of a major city. you see, i am correct and the police commissioner is wrong.
you are a fool and i don’t believe that you hold the loyalties you suggest you do.
jummy on February 2, 2007 at 3:35 PM
Yes, because again Jummy knows better than everyone that you can drive over a bridge and at a glance see a foreign electronic device attached to a support, and because bombs only look like black balls witha fuse coming out or like bundles of red stick dynamite like in the cartoons, he KNOWS that they don’t “look like” bombs, therefore they aren’t. He knows that those responsible for protecting the city of Boston shouldn’t have taken proper precaution and investigated each device. Police should start making judgement calls on whether 911 calls are worth following up on. “Hey Bobby, we got another call about some random electronic device stuck to a bridge, should we go check it out?” “Nah, remember that last one turned out to be a bunch of weird lights in the shape of something giving us the finga. That means all these other calls are false alarms too”. That’s jummy’s definition of police work.
RightWinged on February 2, 2007 at 3:41 PM
The entire point is the police commissioner and mayor both acted like morons in blowing this out of proportion and now they are trying to throw these two guys under the bus to cover their asses. Clearly this is not going to work and they will both be further embarrassed the longer this plays out. I’ve seen 3 different opinion polls today, NBC, ABC, and I forget who the third was by and in all 3 over 70% of people polled said city officials should bear the brunt of the responsibility.
If it has flashing LED lights and resembles a cartoon figure I will volunteer in second. If I remove 10 of them for the BPD I could make a cool $50,000 on ebay.
JaHerer22 on February 2, 2007 at 3:50 PM
I was in an Air Force BX in Turkey, during the early 90s. On a stairway between the 1st and 2nd floor was a large brown shopping bag with the top folded over. When I got downstairs I found the manager and told them about it. It was in a Muslim country, right after the Gulf War and it seemed suspicious (even though it was just a paper bag.)
It was up to the store to do something beyond my part. I left right away. I had been to USOs in Naples and Barcelona, that had been bombed several months after being there. A couple years after a port visit to Athens, there was a club popular with Americans that got bombed, which I had gone to several times.
I probably pay more attention to my surroundings than the average bear because of this. It doesn’t take long, being overseas, to realize that people hate you merely because you’re American. It didn’t just start when GW took office. So now that we know that the ones that hate us are willing to come here and try things, it pays to be a little more wary.
I don’t belittle the scrutiny that is paid to any device that appears suspicious these days. It’s always easy to look back and question someone else’s call. Our enemies will always look for ways to conceal and disguise explosives. There are military grade explosives that don’t take much to do the job. As was mentioned previously, there are letter bombs, we’ve heard of shoe bombs, the liquid bombs that I never actually heard explained. But they did cause the no-liquids on flights ban.
Did the Boston Mayor and Police make the right call? Maybe not. But it was their call to make.
TugboatPhil on February 2, 2007 at 3:51 PM
the police commissioner of a major city thinks the items in question look like bombs
The police commisioner didn’t say that, Jummy. He said, “People can be smug and say all you have to do is look at this and know this is not an explosive device, but the truth of the matter is that you can’t tell what it is until it’s disrupted.”
He didn’t know what it was. But he did the right thing and took the proper precautions, in my opinion.
you are a fool and i don’t believe that you hold the loyalties you suggest you do.
We agree. I am a fool in many ways. But not this one.
And I don’t know what loyalties I have suggested to you.
Matticus Finch on February 2, 2007 at 3:51 PM
Tugboat Phil put it best, I think. Also, thanks for your service.
Matticus Finch on February 2, 2007 at 3:55 PM
If it has flashing LED lights and resembles a cartoon figure I will volunteer in second. If I remove 10 of them for the BPD I could make a cool $50,000 on ebay
You got me on that one. That’s really funny.
Matticus Finch on February 2, 2007 at 3:59 PM
One of these days, I’ll learn how to use the quote button.
Matticus Finch on February 2, 2007 at 4:00 PM
don’t be silly. bombs have a twelve-inch high flashing cartoon characters on them. everybody knows that.
i never said that the calls should not have been checked out. only that a reasonable person visually assessing them would have concluded that they were not harmful.
HOLY CRAP! A BOMB!
jummy on February 2, 2007 at 4:06 PM
Don’t forget the comic book store! (It’s a well-known fact that Muslims hate nerds.)
Jim Treacher on February 2, 2007 at 4:16 PM
If they hate nerds, I’m in trouble. But we do know that they hate cartoons (especially of Mohammed).
Matticus Finch on February 2, 2007 at 4:21 PM
Bravo to jummy and Pablo for taking a heroic stand for common sense against the forces of over-reaction. People that think this is worthy of criminal prosecution remind me of the school administrators who suspend kids for drawing pictures of pistols or brandishing finger firearms.
However, I do have one quibble: the fact that the prank turned out to be harmless does not make the reaction of the police completely “boneheaded”. If I were a terrorist, I would try to disguise a bomb in as innocuous a package as possible. (I would probably have chosen “Hello Kitty” over this mooninite thing, which has vaguely annarchic overtones, but that’s just me.)
Shutting down the whole city does seem to be a bit over the top, but I don’t think it is fair to second-guess the police, who get plenty of grief for just doing their job as it is. The real problem is that, having over-reacted, they now need to sell it to the public. Unfortunate, but probably understandable.
Well, I figure this story has run about 14 1/2 of its allotted 15 minutes. Just about ready for the next distraction…
JackOfClubs on February 2, 2007 at 4:27 PM
That’s funny…I wonder if jummy and Pablo will take an heroic stand for common sense against the forces of over-reaction regarding the unproven scientific hypothesis of man-made global warming? As I said on the other thread- mocking those who double-take possible IEDs during a time of war while gulping down the ideas of Algore’s apocalyptic version of the virtual reality to come without question is the height of hypocrisy.
NTWR on February 2, 2007 at 4:43 PM
You can almost bet that this is not the last time we’ll be seeing them. They might even get thier own TV show. If I produced, I’d hook them up with one. Personally I think it’s funny (cept the shutting down of the city). But with the propper permits and/or callings ahead, they could pull of some interesting stuff. Kinda like advanced college or boy scout pranks. (ie suspending picknick tables over a pool.)
- The Cat
MirCat on February 2, 2007 at 4:50 PM
NTWR, i was debunking environmentalist hysteria i4 years ago in high school. i’m a bush-voting conservative and a former protest warrior organizer. i have probably more cred as a rightwinger than anyone else here and the only people who look to me like lefties are the those who are trying to discredit conservatives by calling for these marketing subcontractors to be prosecuted for terrorism under the patriot act.
jummy on February 2, 2007 at 4:59 PM
Well good, jummy. Although I don’t think they should be prosecuted for terrorism, this sort of stunt deserves some sort of punishment and it’s opened up an interesting discussion about the limits of marketing/pranks under the law during a time of war.
NTWR on February 2, 2007 at 5:08 PM
Rightwinged, you nailed jummy well:
And he also knows more than the police commissioner, too:
“i am correct and the police commissioner is wrong.”
jummy is right in all things….And he’s certainly more “hip” than we are, to boot.
So he is certainly right in claiming that because it wasn’t a black ball with a fuse, or red sticks of dynamite that, of course, criminal or malicious mischief (i.e., the tampering with public property so as to endanger or interfere with persons or property or its use) never occurred here. After all, he watches cartoons on Saturday morning. And he knows that their hearts were pure and they didn’t intend it. And so, therefore, section 1361 in Chapter 65 does not apply. Never mind that 1361 doesn’t mention the word “intent.”
Since these poor longhaired boys didn’t intend it,
isn’t applicable either.
So, let’s just bow to the Wisdom of Jummy and laugh at the stupid police commissioner of Boston and the equally stupid mayor, and the mayors and police commissioners of 7 other cities who did their duty to public safety and were forced to expend the manpower to (1) identify the locations of all these boxes, (2) send people to check them out to insure that these boxes were just innocent marketing materials and that they were where they were told they’d be, and (3) create traffic snarls in the process.
And if anybody died because an ambulance couldn’t reach them due to the snarled traffic caused by these *38* boxes in Boston, or if their homes or places of business burned because of this mischief, well, too bad, so sad.
Msg to jummy. If you don’t like my posts, feel free to ignore them or, as an alternative, kiss the mistletoe that hangs from the back of my shirttail.
georgej on February 2, 2007 at 6:29 PM
This story exhibits three full dimensions of stupid:
1) The marketing idea that started it all was lame
2) The hippies arrested in Boston are actually getting national TV exposure
3) The devices fail to resemble bombs in every respect I can think of save that they’re inanimate objects.
That’s a whole lot of cubic stupid for me to have to endure without actually getting paid.
Blacklake on February 2, 2007 at 6:37 PM
I know your comment is sarcastic, and agreeing with me, and mocking jummy, but I have to point out one thing that I think a lot of people (including even myself) have lost on this. NO ONE KNEW THEY WERE MARKETING MATERIALS. Hardly anyone has ever heard of this ridiculous cartoon, and even if they had, that doesn’t mean police shouldn’t do their job and inspect it. Again, back to “what does a bomb look like?” But seriously, NO ONE KNEW that these were marketing materials. Even as the police DID THEIR JOBS, AND ELIMINATED EACH ONE AS POTENTIAL THREATS, no one knew it was a marketing campaign. It was a HOURS LATER that this information came out. Police did exactly what they should have, and I’m sick of listening to these monday morning quarterback’s with hindsight bashing the decisions of the officials in this case.
Folks, it’s not like they’re locking these idiot kids up with no bail and getting ready to charge them with terrorism, lock them up and throw away the key. It’s not like the mayor started rationing food, sending National Guard in to the streets and issuing gas masks. They simply DID THEIR F-ING JOBS BY RESPONDING TO CALLS!!!
The problem is, the people here who keep blaming the officials are arguing against a strawman. We aren’t (at least those that have stuck around to actually debate this) aren’t arguing that these losers should be charged with terrorism. They should be punished, but not harshly. But enough to send a message that we live in a different world and you can’t do dumb sh** like this. Just like you can’t take sharp objects on planes, you have to go through metal detectors at court houses, etc. You don’t mount weird unfamiliar electronic devices up on bridges!!!
ALL most of us (on my side of this thing) are saying is stop second guessing the police. THEY WERE THERE, WE WEREN’T.
Something to consider, that I already posted in the other thread:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/wcvb/20070131/lo_wcvb/10890113
and I’m going to repeat what you people apparently think the cops should have done
RightWinged on February 2, 2007 at 7:23 PM
So we are in the 21st century and law enforcement can’t tell the difference between a glowing sign and a bomb? Whats next a raid of all the downtown bars to remove the neon lights? Maybe then they will finally get around to removing those spinning red and white barber poles we all know they are secretly missles in disguise.
Resolute on February 2, 2007 at 7:55 PM
Find me part of the story where a law enforcement officer mistook one for a bomb.
RightWinged on February 2, 2007 at 7:59 PM
RightWinged, what a number of people (those who are poo-pooing the police response as “stupid” to be specific) refuse to accept is the seriousness of this incident. They think it is a joke. Never mind, that because these were BRIDGES, at least one being an INTERSTATE bridge (part of the “National Defense System” of interstate highways), they become items of federal interest under the Patriot Act (section 1993 of Chapter 97 of title 18) as well as under Chapter 65, section 1362.
Never mind that had this been a coordinated TERRORIST strike with C4 or Semtex inside those “cute little litebrite” boxes, those assets would have been blown up. Never mind the possible loss of life. Those STUPID COPS should have know that this was all a cartoon character joke just by looking at the boxes. Especially as TURNER never bothered to tell the cops what was going on until 7:30PM, after they bomb squads had already reacted, and especially as the “guerrilla marketing” firm ORDERED those involved to KEEP THEIR MOUTHS SHUT while this was going on (so sayest ABC News).
Hence they could (but weren’t) charged under federal law. They SHOULD be charged with at least criminal trespass as well.
But WE are called idiots and worse for daring to complain about this little bit of pop culture as the stupid unnecessary risk to public safety that it was.
As you and others have noted, Boston was the launch point of the 9/11 hijackers, and that the nation is at war, and that other attempted terrorist attacks have been thwarted (blowing up one of the tunnels in NYC).
So, we’re supposed to laugh (hahahahahahaha) at the “cuteness” of the joke, and praise the smart-assed, unapologetic, jokesters who were willing to imperil the public to ADVERTISE A STUPID CARTOON ON CABLE that nobody watches anyway!
And if we complain about (1) the expense, (2) the needless threat to the people of Boston from impacted city services and transportation, or (3) how stupid the “guerrilla marketing” firm was (and the people who hired them) considering what they also had planned (flying 747′s with the show’s name painted on the side low over NYC or staging fake abductions), as part of this “guerrilla marketing campaign”, we not considered conservatives.
Yeah. Right.
georgej on February 2, 2007 at 8:07 PM
“law enforcement can’t tell the difference between a glowing sign and a bomb?”
38 glowing signs WHERE THERE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ANY.
Isn’t that what you meant to say?
38 glowing signs that were ILLEGALLY installed, in the dead of night, with ZERO explanation or warning to the city, and with the express instructions to the people behind it to keep their mouths shut and not tell anyone. You meant to add that as well, right?
georgej on February 2, 2007 at 8:14 PM
Honestly georgej, I’m not even going as far as you. I just am sick of the monday morning quarterbacking these people are doing with hindsight, talking about a “marketing campaign”, something the cops knew nothing about, and whining as if someone is being unjustly crucified and that cops overeacted? How? Maybe people didn’t like the media frenzy, but that’s the media. The cops simply responded to calls and took proper precautions.
Though, so we don’t have to keep going in circles with these “blame the cops first” folks, read my previous few posts. (and then come back and go in circles some more, throw up ridiculous comments that you think make a point, get them hammered in to the ground, divert and throw up some more, and we’ll go ’round and ’round)
RightWinged on February 2, 2007 at 8:21 PM
Jummy et al,
Google the term “disguised bombs”. Chocolate bar bombs. Shoe bombs. Frozen eggs bombs.
You will see that your “logic” is actually rational based on arrogance.
You, like others of your ilk, are falling under the spell of the terrorists. You are helping them by attempting to lull people into complacency. A complacency that will result in injury or even death when the terrorists plant bombs that you claim are innocuous because they don’t “look” like what you say a bomb should look like. I say you take up the challenge and you and your family investigate the next series of suspicious packages that turn up.
csdeven on February 2, 2007 at 9:13 PM
Prediction csdeven…. This is the part where they always come back and say “well I’m not going to live in fear, etc. If we do, then the terrorists have already won”… The problem is, no one is suggesting living in fear. We just stand behind the fact that the cops simply did their job.
(again secong guessers, please read previous comments so we don’t need to repeat things for you again)
RightWinged on February 2, 2007 at 9:18 PM
NTWR,
Well, yeah. But that’s becoming an immovable object of stupidity, and I’m not sure I can muster an irresistible force. My heart is in it, though.
Pablo on February 2, 2007 at 9:35 PM
Thermos bombs. Baby bottle bombs. Pipe bombs. Ballpoint pen bombs.
Perhaps we should shut down every city every day until we’ve searched absloutely everything, and determined that all of our mailboxes, car tires and ipods aren’t bombs. BECAUSE THEY COULD BE!!!
Would that be the part where they shut the entire freaking city down?
And you can’t be too careful.
Pablo on February 2, 2007 at 9:39 PM
Dude, you need to spend some time in Beantown. And you forgot the stupid Governor.
Pablo on February 2, 2007 at 9:40 PM
Anybody who’s heard Menino speak knows just how smart he is…
Jim Treacher on February 2, 2007 at 9:47 PM
Ok, so I’m still waiting for an explanation as to why Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Seattle were not shut down after this two week long campaign, seen by millions of people.
Yes, that’s correct. The Lite Brites were put up in every major American city over the course of two weeks and no one noticed. There is a point where vigilance becomes paranoia. I’ve also decided that Boston is painfully unhip.
I think this marks the beginning of the end of “the war that describes a tactic and not an enemy, because that would be insensitive”. If the people in charge of protecting American citizens don’t have a grasp on the popular culture of their own country, how in heaven’s name can they be expected to have a grasp on the ideas of people who are actually dangerous and motivated to do harm?
Krydor on February 2, 2007 at 10:12 PM
You people are hopeless… but predictable. Everything you “the police overreacted” folks just said, has been REPEATEDLY ADDRESSED, and just as I predicted, you’d go in a circle and bring it back up again. You people are completely dishonest in your approach to this entire thing.
RightWinged on February 2, 2007 at 10:49 PM
RightWinged,
So the fact that these had been sitting on bridges and lampposts for two weeks in every major metropolitan centre for two weeks with nary a peep has been gone over?
Krydor on February 2, 2007 at 11:24 PM
It all depends… Were they recieving calls from worried citizens in those cities? Were they really hung up on the same types of structures? Your side keeps talking about “lite brites” and “cartoons”… Well I’m sorry, but it doesn’t look like a cartoon and VERY FEW people are familiar with this show. Secondly, we don’t know that they were lit up at the time of discovery (even if they were, I don’t know how visible a lighting arangement is in the middle of daylight, when they are 15 or 20 feet up, and you’re driving by in your car. Regardless, what did the police do wrong? They responded to a number of individual calls by sealing off specific areas where “suspicious packages” were being reported.
Now the media may have made it seem pretty chaotic, but it sounds more like a slight inconvience. But that doesn’t mean the cops did anything wrong. Should they not check out every report? As I’ve repeatedly said, after recovering and detonating one device, should the assumption be that they are ALL just nothing (especially when they had no idea what this little creature flipping them off was AND NO ONE CALLED TO TELL THEM ABOUT THE MARKETING CAMPAIGN UNTIL HOURS LATER). What were the cops supposed to do “say, eh.. one of these was determined to be harmless, so we’re going to ignore all calls and assume they are all reporting identical devices and say “go on about your day folks”. Can you imagine what would have happened had this been some sort of attack? What if these had been a distraction to tie police up while something bigger was going on? The cops weren’t getting calls saying “hey you know that thing you detonated earlier, we find others IDENTICAL TO IT.” They were getting individual calls reporting suspicious packages/devices in various locations!!! They had the DUTY to check them all out, and put the safety of the citizens above the inconvience. Again, you people sure love your hindsight don’t ya?
As for the other cities, again, who knows… Did they recieve the calls? Were these things in as suspicious of areas? But even if they did, what did Boston do wrong? Just because media choppers were flying around doesn’t mean it was a complete fiasco. There are people who wait in hangers every night in california to all go racing out to get the best shot of car chases. That doesn’t mean each one is a huge event. We never hear about 99% of them.
RightWinged on February 2, 2007 at 11:49 PM
Pablo, et al, refuse to remember that what happens in other cities on other days has nothing to do with what happens in a different city on a different day.
The mentality he is espousing was in full effect on 9/11/2001. Of all the thousands of nail clippers, knives, box cutters, etc, that were brought on board the 4500 flights that were in the air that day, only 4 flights were taken over. Just because the weapons on the other 4496 flights weren’t going to cause any harm, doesn’t mean the ones on the other 4 flights would not.
So, here we are, barely 5 years later, and the mentality that allowed the 9/11 attacks to happen in the first place has reared it’s ugly head. The pathetic part of it is….they know the danger that complacency has caused and they just don’t care.
csdeven on February 3, 2007 at 12:17 AM
IT LOOKS LIKE A BOMB!!! Which, btw, can look like anything at all, including a ballpoint pen.
I think I’ve got it now.
csdeven,
Dude, that’s like totally deep, man. But like, we’re all connected, man. It’s the circle of life, brah!
Oh, and when that city is Boston, those other cities should fall to their knees and thank God.
Pablo on February 3, 2007 at 7:26 AM
You know, RW, that’s just bullsh*t and you ought to know better than to say that.
Pablo on February 3, 2007 at 7:28 AM
Pablo,
It’s obvious that you have nothing left to add. Your position is completely untenable and has been exposed as such for several hours now.
My suggestion is that you drop the whole thing before your name becomes synonomous with “bunker mentality”.
csdeven on February 3, 2007 at 9:31 AM
Oh, I’d have to say yes. The two hippies didn’t come up with the idea, they were paid to carry out someone else’s idea. So, the method was more than likely consistent in a half dozen cities. You don’t pay for advertising only to have other, less motivated, stoners steal it.
Enough people are familiar with this show to keep it on the air and out of repeats since 1998. Pretty intense cult following amongst the University crowd and older folks (like me) who enjoy surreal humour. Just because your peer group has never heard of it, it certainly doesn’t mean that it isn’t popular. It’s not a big deal, as I couldn’t name 10 popular bands from the last 5 years.
My “side” keeps talking about lite brites and cartoons because we’re talking about lite brite depictions of cartoons.
It’s an overreation, plain and simple. You know, like random searches at airports that seem to not target the most likely suspects. What should bother you is that these devices were placed over the course of days, and remained in place for days afterward and no one had a clue. Consider that the advertising campaign was known and authorized by a large media conglomorate.
What this event should be and example of is how unprepared various security apparati are.
Krydor on February 3, 2007 at 10:27 AM
Just because you addressed it doesn’t mean you were right.
James on February 3, 2007 at 10:30 AM
i feel like zappa
jummy on February 3, 2007 at 11:09 AM
csdeven, I suggest you take your advice, fold it up until it’s nice and pointy, and then cram it…
Well, you get the picture. But first call the cops and have them make sure it’s not a bomb, because, well…you know..IT’S OBVIOUS!
Tool.
Pablo on February 3, 2007 at 12:03 PM
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