Department of Homeland Ineptitude/Boston blissninnies
- Thread starter Cellar Dweller
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Libertylover
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I hate to say it, but this really doesn't surprise me. When you couple the normal helplessness of city folks with the over authoritarian nature of MA state police (Hitler copied the SS uniform from the MA state police) and the Boston PD, as well as their huge amount of funding (and thus toys that they would naturally be looking for an excuse to use), this shouldn't really surprise anyone.
And of course Patrick is going to make a big deal of it, he still needs to prove he can be tough on crime after whining about harsh punishments for so long in his previous endeavors. Mumbles Menino is trying to look like he's doing something about crime as well, and this seems to be at least a tiny bit better than blaming his city's problems on "lax" (more in line with the Founders' intent, maybe?) NH, ME, and VT gun laws.
I'm just thankful this isn't being blamed on NH! If I see one more Globe article criticising NH gun laws (or lack thereof) or gunshows up here, I'm going to puke!
And of course Patrick is going to make a big deal of it, he still needs to prove he can be tough on crime after whining about harsh punishments for so long in his previous endeavors. Mumbles Menino is trying to look like he's doing something about crime as well, and this seems to be at least a tiny bit better than blaming his city's problems on "lax" (more in line with the Founders' intent, maybe?) NH, ME, and VT gun laws.
I'm just thankful this isn't being blamed on NH! If I see one more Globe article criticising NH gun laws (or lack thereof) or gunshows up here, I'm going to puke!
I'm a fan of Adultswim (yes a 40 year old watching cartoons, I know 
) but this Marketing scheme was just dumb.
Adult Swim has had Highway Sign campaigns before (Boondocks, etc) so whay did they go "low tech and Low budget" with this stunt??? To make a about a hundred ATHF fans excited??? They wanted it to be discovered, and for people who are not fans to drive by and say, "What the heck was that" and eventually it would get some News buzz. Why didn't they inform the Police or the Media before hand? DID the want a bomb scare to happen for the free publicity?
What's next, weekly fake devices left under bridges with website addresses written all over them. It was a dumb move. Boston and other cities need to come down hard on whoever is responsible (not with prison though, Fine the heck out of them), to stop possible copycats, or even worse a real terrorist taking advantage of the situation.
) but this Marketing scheme was just dumb.Adult Swim has had Highway Sign campaigns before (Boondocks, etc) so whay did they go "low tech and Low budget" with this stunt??? To make a about a hundred ATHF fans excited??? They wanted it to be discovered, and for people who are not fans to drive by and say, "What the heck was that" and eventually it would get some News buzz. Why didn't they inform the Police or the Media before hand? DID the want a bomb scare to happen for the free publicity?
What's next, weekly fake devices left under bridges with website addresses written all over them. It was a dumb move. Boston and other cities need to come down hard on whoever is responsible (not with prison though, Fine the heck out of them), to stop possible copycats, or even worse a real terrorist taking advantage of the situation.
Justin
Moderator Emeritus
Adult Swim have used viral marketing campaigns like this for quite some time. As I understand it, they're usually done by college students.
*edit*
Evidently this campaign was undertaken by a marketing company that specializes in viral and street marketing campaigns.
*edit*
Evidently this campaign was undertaken by a marketing company that specializes in viral and street marketing campaigns.
svtruth
Member
Interesting parallel
to Menino's attitude toward gun violence.
The signs didn't close the city, the city gummint did.
Now his response to doing the wrong thing is to try to infringe on the marketers' firs Amendment rights.
to Menino's attitude toward gun violence.
The signs didn't close the city, the city gummint did.
Now his response to doing the wrong thing is to try to infringe on the marketers' firs Amendment rights.
Thefabulousfink
Member
The real kicker is that those things went up in a bunch of other cities as well.
They put some up in Seattle and no cops were called and no bomb squad showed up. It just goes to show that living in a Nanny State can be hazardous to your mental health.
They put some up in Seattle and no cops were called and no bomb squad showed up. It just goes to show that living in a Nanny State can be hazardous to your mental health.
My problem was these things a dozen or so of these things were left around 10 major cities, and it took 3 days for Boston to notice them and over react to them. Has a city's police force responded with a " Yea, we already notice them, we check them out and deemed them as not being a threat days ago"
It was a bad Marketing scheme, but also a bad job done by the various city police forces for not even noticing weird electronic devices across their cities.
Justin
Moderator Emeritus
Most of the signs had been up for the better part of 3 weeks.
Incidentally, the press report they just gave after coming out of court was hilarious. A couple of dorks with bad haircuts just made a whole gaggle of overly-serious reporters look very stupid. You can hear the reporters getting annoyed with them for refusing to play along. It's schadenfreudelicious.
Incidentally, the press report they just gave after coming out of court was hilarious. A couple of dorks with bad haircuts just made a whole gaggle of overly-serious reporters look very stupid. You can hear the reporters getting annoyed with them for refusing to play along. It's schadenfreudelicious.
Technosavant
Member
We should probably be glad it was just ATHF and the Mooninites.
If it had been a Robot Chicken, they probably would have nuked the site from orbit- the only way to be sure.
If it had been a Robot Chicken, they probably would have nuked the site from orbit- the only way to be sure.
What's funny to me is that this reaction is exactly what the Mooninites would want to have happened if they were actually real.
Though the more I hear, the more I'm starting to suspect the Mooninites are more real than the folks in power in Boston.
Though the more I hear, the more I'm starting to suspect the Mooninites are more real than the folks in power in Boston.
Thin Black Line
Member
and
I wonder how long it would take people to notice a blaze orange box with
"BOMB" written on it? How many people would whiz by on the freeway at
80 mph without noticing it, or if they did, even bother to interrupt their
current cellphone conversation and call in a "suspicious package" report?
We ask people to call in suspicious stuff --it took a while, but they did. The
tin-foil hatters among us would have just assumed it was some kind of
camera or tracking device put in by multinational-government-NWO (BTW,
those are much harder to spot)
I'm sure the police knew quickly the first one was bogus after they pulled down.
What if some of the others had NOT been?
In any case crying wolf too often will have a desensitizing effect.
RustyShackelford
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My name is...
I for 1 like Cartoon Network's Aqua Teen Hunger Force. When I first saw it back in early 2001 I thought is was crude and retarded but if you like animation and adult humor it's very funny .
This "gorilla" marketing stunt was stupid. Why these jerk-offs put the MoonMen signs under bridges or near other "target" type sites is beyond me. I can see why they would put them near large public places for the PR value but not in remote or little used spaces.
Rusty
PS: Carl is the MAN Baby!
I for 1 like Cartoon Network's Aqua Teen Hunger Force. When I first saw it back in early 2001 I thought is was crude and retarded but if you like animation and adult humor it's very funny
.This "gorilla" marketing stunt was stupid. Why these jerk-offs put the MoonMen signs under bridges or near other "target" type sites is beyond me. I can see why they would put them near large public places for the PR value but not in remote or little used spaces.
Rusty
PS: Carl is the MAN Baby!
Call me conspiratorial if you want, but I would not be surprised if this was actually a calculated attempt by city officials to make it look like they're doing something. Three days is a pretty decent amount of time for plans for this to work down the political chain, I'd imagine.
Pevey
Member
Sounds like the anti-government, conspiracy driven, jackass wannabe, full of our own intellect children are having a field day ridiculing and generaling making great sport of the non-events in Boston and around the country. Hopefully in time, the public will become apathetic and indifferent to objects placed on or near public or private buildings, bridges or where ever and stop reporting them. Of course by then, public officials will have stopped investigating these reports in fear of being embarassed by you higher levels of intelligence. The pain is much too great to continue going through the motions of attempting to protect those that don't want or need protection.
Imagine how stupid to think a bomb could be made to resemble a simple flashing sign. How humorous. Course airliners have been brought down by tape players and radios with bombs inserted. A shoe with plastic explosive came very close to being detonated but thats way too amusing to happen again. We are very safe now and everything that happened before was a government conspiracy anyway, right? Having police around just gives us something to laugh at.
Tell you what. Keeping writing your superior and cynical little comments to amuse yourselves and your buddies. We want you to be happy and feel smart and clever. We don't mind at all. As if it was going to stop us. We'll keep looking in boxes and bags left in malls, having people take off their footware at airports, asking people why they are photographing bridges and oil refineries and the hundreds of things we do every day. Most of us are pretty smart too and could do just about anything we wanted to do with our lives. We choose to do this.
Oh, and have a nice day.
Imagine how stupid to think a bomb could be made to resemble a simple flashing sign. How humorous. Course airliners have been brought down by tape players and radios with bombs inserted. A shoe with plastic explosive came very close to being detonated but thats way too amusing to happen again. We are very safe now and everything that happened before was a government conspiracy anyway, right? Having police around just gives us something to laugh at.
Tell you what. Keeping writing your superior and cynical little comments to amuse yourselves and your buddies. We want you to be happy and feel smart and clever. We don't mind at all. As if it was going to stop us. We'll keep looking in boxes and bags left in malls, having people take off their footware at airports, asking people why they are photographing bridges and oil refineries and the hundreds of things we do every day. Most of us are pretty smart too and could do just about anything we wanted to do with our lives. We choose to do this.
Oh, and have a nice day.
MD_Willington
Member
If these things had been those evil little Furbies the entire state would be under house arrest, with NG patrols everywhere...
FBI surveillance picture of a furby gone bad...
FBI surveillance picture of a furby gone bad...
Justin
Moderator Emeritus
Pevey, your comment makes no sense.
The objects in question did not resemble a bomb in the least, nor do terrorists generally attempt to draw attention to the bombs that they place.
On top of that, BPD could have probably saved a lot of grief had they only paid attention to the billboards.
But I guess that in your world, BPD did the right thing, while the PD's of the other nine cities where these things were placed shirked off their duty to protect the public from the threat of artistic hipsters with bad haircuts.
The objects in question did not resemble a bomb in the least, nor do terrorists generally attempt to draw attention to the bombs that they place.
On top of that, BPD could have probably saved a lot of grief had they only paid attention to the billboards.
But I guess that in your world, BPD did the right thing, while the PD's of the other nine cities where these things were placed shirked off their duty to protect the public from the threat of artistic hipsters with bad haircuts.
Cellar Dweller
Member
Well, a major city was effectively paralyzed by a few glorified Lite-Brites ($9.99 for the flat version, $15.99 for a cube).
Al-Hasbro operatives could shut down any city for a couple hundred dollars, costing the economy $1 million (Menino's estimate) each time. If just one contains a real IED, all would have to be treated as IEDs every time. Very cost-effective way to cripple the economy; can't arrest people (yet) for transporting/possessing Lite-Brites. Ban them? Make possession a felony? Al-Hasbro moves on to another toy...
Al-Hasbro doesn't need to set off a single bomb to win, they just need you to find one occasionally so you keep playing. You have to be perfect every time. How do you ultimately win? How can you?
Portland seems to have a surplus of common sense on this one.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/02/01/boston.bombscare/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
thexrayboy
Member
Alright, when did they move Boston to England....next thing someone will find a .22 round on the streets downtown and they will have to shut down the entire city.
As to what to do with the so called "perpetrators"? Nothing, absodamlutely nothing. If what they did wasn't illegal before 9/11 than it shouldn't be illegal now.
When government responds to this type of event in such an overwhelmingly poor fashion it does nothing but help the enemy. Al Qaeda doesn't have to launch any more attacks on America to destroy us. We are letting our own government do it for them.
As to what to do with the so called "perpetrators"? Nothing, absodamlutely nothing. If what they did wasn't illegal before 9/11 than it shouldn't be illegal now.
When government responds to this type of event in such an overwhelmingly poor fashion it does nothing but help the enemy. Al Qaeda doesn't have to launch any more attacks on America to destroy us. We are letting our own government do it for them.
bogie
Member
Guys, you gotta realize that a LOT of law enforcement knows about bombs from what they've seen in the movies and on network TV... And you know what? A little blinking animated critter flipping you off is probably what they expect a bomb to look like. Not a shopping bag or a backpack, fercryinoutloud...
Pevey, to be quite frank, you could place boxes with the word "BOMB" in bright fluorescent letters, 24" high, and people will still miss them.
Sorry, but 9/11 isn't an excuse for this nation to go about with a 2x4 or ten up our rectums. If all we wind up doing is turning the US into a nation of humorless sheeple in constant fear that their own shadow is going to go jihad on them, what kind of pathetic legacy would that be?
Sorry, but 9/11 isn't an excuse for this nation to go about with a 2x4 or ten up our rectums. If all we wind up doing is turning the US into a nation of humorless sheeple in constant fear that their own shadow is going to go jihad on them, what kind of pathetic legacy would that be?
RioShooter
Member
Origin of 9/11 Flights
One thing to consider is that both of the flights that hit the Twin Towers originated in Boston. If you recall, Boston government officials were extensively criticized at the time.
The city might be overly sensitive to terrorist threats, but that's the world we now live in.
One thing to consider is that both of the flights that hit the Twin Towers originated in Boston. If you recall, Boston government officials were extensively criticized at the time.
The city might be overly sensitive to terrorist threats, but that's the world we now live in.
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