Did the Boston authorities overreact?

It never says just what the "things" were, though the AP story says they were put in ten cities and had been up for over 2 weeks when the scare happened.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JackDodge @ Feb 1 2007, 11:01 AM) [snapback]383882[/snapback]</div>

my $.02

What if they under-reacted and they were real?? Which side of the coin would you opt for??

 

reading the article, you'd have thought that they were blocks of modeling clay shaped to look like plastic explosives with a small transmitter on top with a blinking light, not a sign made out of LED's and D-cell batteries...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dbermanmd @ Feb 1 2007, 11:19 AM) [snapback]383896[/snapback]</div>

Another sign of the apocalypse. I agree with D-man on this one. However, someone should pay for the manpower/time/supplies used. Maybe the marketing folks?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(livelychick @ Feb 1 2007, 12:55 PM) [snapback]383965[/snapback]</div>

Could it be - we agree I think it so.

I think they and Turner should bear all costs and will obviously be meeting a lot of people in court for lost time. I hope no physical injuries were suffered from related activities to this whole mess.

Did you see the ding dongs on TV doing their press conference?

 

I suspect that someone must have wanted to conduct a realistic drill and used this as an excuse. Once they had people evacuated from the area, a bomb of the size of these things couldn't do very much damage. They must not have suspected it to be a chemical or germ attack because they blew it up.

I don't think they overreacted when they took this seriously, but there really seemed to be a lack of investigation. Maybe I've just watched too much "24" on TV, where I would expect someone in the field to take a picture of it with their PDA for some group in a bunker to run against an image database, link it to Aqua Teen Hunger Force and then demand an explanation.

Oh well, I'm a computer geek, not a counter-terrorist expert.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Feb 1 2007, 01:23 PM) [snapback]383980[/snapback]</div>

Yeah, I guess I'd give him that one too. Except it still cracks my butt up in this post-911-changed-everything world that we are allegedly living in that these suspicious objects

were only around for 2 weeks or so until someone finally noticed them and the big freak out occurred. So I guess as long as al Qaida doesn't plant a bunch of bombs with only a one week timer on them, then we are all fine...

 

Sorry, but the thread title is not a hair question.

 

The government officials are going to be made fools of and are only making things worse by trying to criminally charge people for this act.

The reall scary thing is that this proves that these government retards can't recognize a real threat if it came up and bit them on the butt!

Moonenites for crying out loud!!!!

This act will fall squarely under the 1st amendment and the two guys will skate, a lot more famous, and the city will incurr untold legal expenses on a stupid trial.

A "hoax" implies that it was the intent of the perpetrators that these devices be mistaken for weapons, the city wil NEVER prove this, and will probably be laughed out of court by the jury. And were was the intent? These things were up for WEEKS!, and nobody called in a threat to officials saying there were bombs around the city.

Be afraid that your cities government is so out of touch with reality that it thought these devices were dangerous!

 

i think boston is embarrassed at the pathetic way they handled the situation and is now looking for a scapegoat to pay for their mistakes

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JackDodge @ Feb 1 2007, 01:33 PM) [snapback]383990[/snapback]</div>

I guess you are the only one! Everybody else and ME are actually on common ground here. So in the spirit of bipartisanship I will only point that fact out to you and let it stand on its own merrits.



<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Devil's Advocate @ Feb 1 2007, 02:14 PM) [snapback]384020[/snapback]</div>

we shall see.

i prefer my govt to be overly cautious - what would you be saying if they misjudged these devices as a hoax and people died when they exploded.

here is a list taken from powerlineblog.com as to other promotional things they were going to do. what do think about these?

- Renting a 747 painted with the show’s name and flying it past skyscrapers in major cities

– Hiring young men to show up in malls, on buses and other heavily-trafficked areas who would suddenly whip open their coats to reveal a special vest with blinking lights, and begin shouting the theme song of the show.

– “Abducting†strangers, blindfolding them, forcing them to their knees and then broadcasting their videotaped “confessions†that they love the cartoon.

– Hiring young men to suddenly stand up on buses and airliners and loudly declare that the new cartoon is “da bomb.â€

– Planting hundreds of improvised advertising devices (IAD) that would suddenly flash, make a loud noise and scatter thousands of promotional fliers all over the road or sidewalk.

– Mounting a “viral†marketing campaign in which dozens of journalists would each receive an envelope containing a white powder along with a note daring the recipient to hold his breath until the debut of the new cartoon.

–Calling the White House, Pentagon, Supreme Court and other famous places and claiming to have planted a “dirty bomb†on the front steps, which turns out to be a paper bag full of dog droppings with the show’s logo stamped on the bag.

“These promotional gimmicks are designed to appeal to the kind of adult who would stay up late to watch cartoon characters who use foul language and obscene gestures,†the Turner source said.


I still bet they get nailed - just how much is my only question. An example will be made of them.

 

I think if any terrorist were paying attention they now know the operational capabilities of Boston to a multiple bomb scare.

Wildkow

 

The sad thing is, those are the types of things that many people would find funny... if they saw them on TV or heard about them second hand. However, experiencing something like that first hand isn't going to gain loyal viewers - instead, it's likely to make people ticked off, like we saw with this one that they actually did (and which, i should add, was probably the most mild stunt of the ones they had down on paper)

 

Now that I've read some more here, I've opened my mind a bit. (See how it works?)

So, it's a hoax, have the perpetrator's pay for it, etc. However, I wonder if the "boy who cried wolf" syndrome may take affect? If an embarrassing overreaction causes that, then yes, the city overreacted.

 

I have to admit that my initial reaction was: "Lighten Up"... we have lost our sense of humor, in the name of terrorism.

I realize that things are more complicated than that... but still...

And certainly, I don't think we should haul some poor guy into jail... for an honest prank like this - there may be restitution for costs...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dbermanmd @ Feb 1 2007, 03:25 PM) [snapback]384022[/snapback]</div>

Just checking, Dr. B, to make sure you know the above list is a joke. The source on this is a website, http://www.scrappleface.com/?p=2479, with the motto "News fairly unbalanced. We report. You Decipher," quoting an "An unnamed spokesman for Turner." Most of their content is obviously right-wing humor. You really should try to recognize fiction/humor sometimes. Or at least add a smiley to your post if you intended it as a joke.