Boston Bomb Scare

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by glatt

WTF? It's just an LED throwie on steroids.

That was my first thought.

[soapbox] Don't be so quick to condemn the mayor and all the city agencies that responded to this. They're doing their job. They're doing what we want them to do for a change.... protect the public. They have to respond to any unknown with maximum caution.
Just because they are within it's range and not watching on TV from a thousand miles away, dictates extreme caution.

How do you know the next terrorist bomb won't have blinky LED cartoon characters on it? Once the bomb is placed, that would be a way to attract the maximum curious people close.

So there's no reason to break their balls for doing their job the way they have scripted and rehearsed it. [/soapbox]

As you were and thank you for your attention.

[Kitsune]

The stupidity continues following an incident in which the city of Boston protected its citizens by detonating advertisements. A student that works for the advertising company has been arrested and charged with "placing a hoax device that results in panic".

“It is outrageous, in a post 9/11 world, that a company would use this type of marketing scheme. I am prepared to take any and all legal action against Turner Broadcasting and its affiliates for any and all expenses incurred during the response to today’s incidents. Boston will look to coordinate our efforts going forward with Cambridge, Somerville and any other affected agencies.”

So the city of Boston, instead of admitting they mistook a harmless set of lights for a bomb and tied up traffic for hours after announcing to the public that possible bombs had been planted around the city, pulls the "9/11 terrorism card"? And they're trying to tell us the advertising employee caused the panic?

You don't need to plant an actual bomb to bring a city to a halt, scare the public, and cause economic damage. All you have to do is hang a motherboard from a telephone pole or duct tape a flashlight to a bridge girder. That's essentially what this boils down to, right? If the police see something and don't know what it is, the default conclusion is that it's a bomb set by terrorists. And even if the package is harmless, if you're the person that left it, your ass is going to pay for causing panic.

Note to self: don't ever accidentally leave lunch box in the park, again.

I never thought the law enforcement organizations that protect our communities would be reduced to these types of unrealistic, excessive reactions. This is fucking ridiculous.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Kitsune

[Note to self: don't ever accidentally leave lunch box in the park, again.

Absolutely, ever wonder how many do turn out to be bombs? Quite a few in this area, a rash of pipe bombs, the last couple years.
Muslim terrorists aren't the only ones that build bombs. Oklahoma City?

If anyone would care to volunteer to check out suspicious packages, there's lots of openings, just contact the police.

[tw]

But again a well proven concept is demonstrated:
85% of all problems are directly traceable to top management.

A mental midget president has promoted fears in excess (for personal popularity). Even an advertisement must be a terrorist device. Same advertisements were in 10 other cities without calling out the bomb squad or National Guard. But hype and fear - this is how George Jr promotes popularity - because the boggy man is everywhere.

Of course we had more than enough security before 11 Sept. What changed? The administration stopped investigation after investigation that would have found Atta and his peers. The president, instead, promotes more fear, more dictatorship powers, more money, subvert the courts, torture… so that even LED displays “contain components of an inert bomb”. 85% of all problems are directly traceable to top management.

Secret Service must even check under the president's bed every night. He fears. It once got high approval ratings.

[Flint]

Originally Posted by tw

But again a well proven concept is demonstrated:
85% of all problems are directly traceable to top management.

I was thinking about this yesterday. Fear. It's a great political tool, very useful in securing elections. It crushes all dissent, it spawns awful new laws, unimaginable (to a reasoning mind) legal precedents. So, it's a great tool for those interested in securing power.

But, what will they be securing power of?

A crippled society. A dysfunctional populace.

Fear changes the nature of the society, from the inside out. The country that you've wrestled into submission... Is it something you would even want any part of, now that it's a slobbering brain-dead goon, lumbering along in constant reactionary mode, stumbling forward with no clear goal, cringing at it's own shadow? Is it worth it? Now you're in control, total control, of a wasted, worthless society. You'll be on top for a few short years before the whole house-of-cards collapses.

I don't think the Fear card has been fully considered, before being brought into play.

[BigV]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

That was my first thought.

[soapbox] Don't be so quick to condemn the mayor and all the city agencies that responded to this. They're doing their job. They're doing what we want them to do for a change.... protect the public. They have to respond to any unknown with maximum caution.
Just because they are within it's range and not watching on TV from a thousand miles away, dictates extreme caution.

How do you know the next terrorist bomb won't have blinky LED cartoon characters on it? Once the bomb is placed, that would be a way to attract the maximum curious people close.

So there's no reason to break their balls for doing their job the way they have scripted and rehearsed it. [/soapbox]

As you were and thank you for your attention.

Dear xoB:

Once again, you display the wisdom and calmness for which you are known. You're right on target. The public agencies *are* expected to respond. We all agree on that. But I think I may not have made my point clear.

I don't condemn the public safety officials for responding to the physical threat. I **do** condemn those officials who made statements about prosecuting people for what happened here. That is not right. This is no act of terrorism, I don’t care how freaked out somebody got.

Somebody was suspicious, there was a call, there was a response and it turned out to be a big false alarm. I called 911 once and nobody had to go to the hospital after they came. I said I was sorry I overreacted, I was scared, I didn’t know what to do, so I called. The first responders, the fire truck full of firemen and the aid car full of emt/paramedics, said “No problem. You did what you were supposed to do.” And I didn’t get charged for the trip or the call, I didn’t get arrested and prosecuted for guessing wrong about the seriousness of the situation.

We’re well past the panic phase of this event. It’s not an emergency anymore. There’s no need to respond with force, to speed through town lights and sirens blazing. There is no crime here, so why is there all this talk of prosecution? THAT’S what I’m chapped about.

If it’s “the law”, then the law is w-r-o-n-g. If it’s a judgment call on the part of the prosecutor, then his judgment is wrong. It’s over, nothing to see here, move along people, as you were, etc, etc. Jail?! Why? Explain why this is an act of terrorism.

[Elspode]

Isn't it time we changed the words to America the Beautiful?

"from every mountainside, let freedom - echo (asitrecedesintothedistance)."

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by BigV

I don't condemn the public safety officials for responding to the physical threat. I **do** condemn those officials who made statements about prosecuting people for what happened here. That is not right. This is no act of terrorism, I don’t care how freaked out somebody got.

You're right, I was responding to the criticism of their response to reported suspicious objects. As a matter of fact, it wasn't until this morning that I heard the ridiculous face saving attempts by the powers that be.

A while back I posted about a guy at work that has been a volunteer power boat inspector for the power squadron for years. Suddenly he's part of Homeland Security with a diploma looking certificate to hang on the wall. I think it's part of the Federal plan to keep terrorism/paranoia in everyones face.

The Feds have also thrown a ton of money at the cities and states to develop contingency plans and rehearse repeatedly. I think Wolf has taken part in these rehearsals. The purpose is when the call comes, everybody knows what to do and does it fast. That's what happened in Boston, just like they rehearsed it. As far as shutting down major highways, one guy with a flat tire can do that, during rush hour.

As far as Muslim terrorists not putting LEDs on bombs. After 9-11, all the bombs set off around the world were by recruited natives rather than Middle Eastern wackos. Anybody that thinks there aren't passport carrying US citizens that would join this cause are naive. Crazy Americans are likely to do anything.... even put LEDs on bombs.

As much as their attempts to save face, I'm disturbed they felt they had to. They did what they were supposed to do, what they had trained to do and to be embarrassed they did that, is as ridiculous as their face saving nonsense. Of course being political, they're all trying to top each other by coming up with a bigger condemnation and end up making themselves look stupid.

[tw]

When do we also discuss 1970s hairstyles?