AHAHAHAHA! These guys on MSNBC who planted the "bombs" are funny!

[originalpckelly]

:rofl:

[tridim]

1. I'm loving this!

Perfect reaction to the overreaction. :rofl:

[originalpckelly]

2. I know, it will be a true injustice if these fellas are really prosecuted...

for this. They aren't even the ones who came up with the idea.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

3. They might have a case against the city.

Although it sounds like they're too good natured to persue it, if the city drops this nonsense.

[tridim]

5. We should be thanking them for calling this faux-terra craziness what it is..

A fucking joke.

[redqueen]

99. Indeed! n/t

[JackRiddler]

141. EVERYONE SEE POST 101 - PICTURE OF THE DEVICE

Thanks to redqueen. Pretty much says it all.

[itsmesgd]

4. "this is serious"... the one with dreadlocks says regarding hairstyles of the 70's

[The Count]

6. Huh? bewildered non-MSNBC watcher here...

[BruceMcF]

112. Cartoon Network had an LED light show boards ...

... put up around a number of cities as a guerilla marketing ploy.

The Boston PD was notified it by a panicked Bostonian 2 weeks into the campaign (the LED's had probably stopped blinking by then), and there was one of those breathless "breaking news" crises, with highways and, briefly, a train line closed down.

Countdown on MSNBC covered the story, with Kieth Olbermann being less than accepting of the official party line from the Terrorism Emergency Party that we should blame the people who put these things up and not the morons who used an LED light show board to spread fear, uncertainty and doubt.

[The Count]

128. The Mooninites! I never knew them as bombs..

Thanks for clearing this.

[BruceMcF]

157. Anyone who knew they were Mooninites ...

... would of course know they are not bombs, but there was a big outbreak of hysteria in Boston yesterday, and they've arrested two of the marketers in Boston to cover up the hysteria and incompetence of the authorities there.

[Nikki Stone1]

7. Ask these clowns why they didn't get a permit

They could have saved the taxpayers the fear and the expense and still sold their silly program.

[tridim]

8. Do you really think they'd be issued a permit?

Ask a graffiti artist how that works.

[Nikki Stone1]

16. Movie production companies are issued permits in LA all the time

A TV show production company or marketing arm should be able to do the same. These are not graffiti artists--this is business.

[aquart]

83. You consider these money grubbers to be artists?

Good luck with that.

[tridim]

98. Yes I do, there is tons of great art in advertising and other entertainment mediums

Do you consider Andy Warhol an artist? He was very commercial and "corporate".

BTW I don't consider the original pieces to be "great art", but the overall result certainly is. That's the whole point of shock art.

[mitchum]

115. There is NO art in advertising...

there may be a high level of craft, but the very formulaic nature and intent of shilling...er...advertising precludes the possibility of art.

[tridim]

122. If you really believe that you simply don't understand art.

Not my problem.

[mitchum]

124. No, I do understand art...

just as I understand how you are trying to justify your appreciation of schlock and your confusion over art and craft.
Look, I also enjoy schlock, but I do realize that there is a difference.
There is nothing wrong with schlock, but there is a difference between the high and low. And there always will be (despite the best efforts of half-educated philistines)

[tridim]

126. It seems like you're saying that if an artist makes money he's not creating art..

but creating "craft". I respect your opinion, but IMO that is absolute horseshit.

[mitchum]

146. That is not what I am saying at all...

Shilling...er...advertising has an entirely different intent than art.
Advertising "art" exists to move the merch and nothing more. That's why , despite its creativity, it is bound by an ultimately rigid formula in order to achieve the desired response in the beholder. Advertising works just like pornography. But..hey..I also like porn.
Art arises from a transcendent vision.
It's all about intent.
Jaspar Johns makes a lot of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$, but he is certainly an artist.

[cool user name]

171. Wouldn't that be subjective?

Art is in the eye of the beholder. The minute you try to use "formulas" it then becomes a moot point, don't you think?

[mitchum]

175. Would you have any objection to the inclusion of "Girls Gone Wild"...

"Everybody Loves Raymond", Thomas Kinkade, Poker Playing Dogs, big eyed moppets, blah, blah, blah in the National Gallery or the Louvre?

ADVERTISING IS NOTHING BUT FORMULA. I'm sorry if I'm offending some cubicle dwelling artists here, but that is the truth.

[cool user name]

176. Regardless of what you want to use as examples ...

... it is STILL YOUR OPINION.

No more or less valid than mine. Handle that.

[mitchum]

180. Of course, we both have a right to an opinion, but you may want to rethink...

that whole "every opinion is equally valid" notion. That type of latitude is responsible for everything from "Britney Spears is really talented" to "God Hates Fags"

[cool user name]

183. Well they are opinions and should one choose stupid opinions ...

... it's not my problem.

[sendero]

205. 99% of advertising is formula....

.. but then so is 99% of all pop culture and probably 98% of what is attempted to be passed off as art.

[mitchum]

207. 100% of advertising is formula...

and 99% of pop culture is advertising.
Me, I'll go with that 2% of art

[sendero]

209. You are basically saying there..

... is never ever ever anything creative or "meta" about advertising, and on that point we disagree.

I am not, nor have I ever been, in the advertising business.

[baldguy]

123. Da Vinci spent a good part of his life creating advertisements for the Medici.

What is the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, but an advert for the Catholic Church?

[mitchum]

125. The Medicis were his patrons, not the soup or soap he was trying...

to sell.
Oh, and you do realize that the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is not DaVinci's work?

I agre that the Catholic Church is indeed a con and a hustle, but presumably the work was intended to glorify God (The Catholic Church was just the distributor at the time)

[LoZoccolo]

129. ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYecfV3ubP8

[mitchum]

150. Looks like a commercial intended to SHILL a product to me...

arguably, it is creative, but ultimately it is the same beast as "See Rock City" painted on the roof of a barn, a bail bondsman ad on a matchbook, or "Bananas 5 for a dollar" scrawled on a piece of cardboard.

Its sole reason for being is to inform you of a commercial venture.

[LoZoccolo]

160. Your avatar is intended to shill a product: you.

You are using it to advertise: "I am a pirate."

Let me ask you a question: what is the letter which comes after "Q"?

[mitchum]

168. I can't decide whether that is specious or spurious...

or just utter horseshit

Yeah, I've got a warehouse full of pirates that I'm just dying to unload.

I once used the tabby cat avatar. Was I saying: "I am a tabby cat"?


Speaking of avatars, I see that the MARKETING campaign worked.
Nothing like prepackaged sticking it to the man, is there? Outlaws, Ltd.

[LoZoccolo]

181. I am not saying that you have a warehouse full of pirates.

I am saying that the avatar announces that you are a pirate.

So what is it? What is the letter that comes after "Q"?

[mitchum]

184. I"m no pirate (just as I'm no tabby cat)

Will that question be on the final? Otherwise, I'm not bothering with it :)

[LoZoccolo]

191. Yes, it will be on the final.

What is the letter which comes after "Q"?

[mitchum]

196. Well, "Z" comes after "Q"...

[LoZoccolo]

200. What is the next letter after "Q"? n/t

[mitchum]

202. "T" is the letter following "Q"...

in the title of the B film "Q: The Winged Serpent" :)

[Richard Steele]

149. I'm sorry, that's incorrect. Elitist, snobbish, and incorrect.

[mitchum]

153. It is indeed elite and snobbish, but not incorrect

Onward, Gleeful Philistines

[BuyingThyme]

172. Man, you must hate music.

[mitchum]

177. Why would you say that?

[BuyingThyme]

179. Because, with music, art and advertising are the same thing.

[mitchum]

182. In what way (other than they are usually done by humans)?

you may as well throw rape, murder and theft in there

[BuyingThyme]

186. How do you know what music to buy?

(I'm not familiar with advertising rape, murder, and theft, so I'm going to concede to your knowledge in those areas.)

[mitchum]

188. I have no interest in being the first dog to hear Dr Pavlov's newest bell

I have tens of thousands of hours of music from the last several hundred years. More than I can ever hope to hear in my lifetime. And I no longer have a desire to "get down with the kids"

[Beelzebud]

174. Yeah Andy Worhal wasn't an artist!!!

LOL

[mitchum]

178. Well, he was an artist that the modern media and marketing soaked...

individual can really appreciate- "It doesn't make my head hurt trying to understand him! I get him!"

[Marie26]

151. Was the sign this guy's idea?

Did he, like Warhol, decide to create these signs because he had an artistic impulse? Did he build the sign himself, design it himself? Or was he just hired to prop up a cookie-cutter sign that had been designed, created & built by a slick NY publicity firm? Was this an individual expression, or corporate mass marketing? This is NO DIFFERENT from a McDonald's billboard, though the person who installed the billboard was probably better paid.

[mitchum]

154. Thank you!

[tridim]

163. It doesn't matter who designed it..

Not that you know who did.

Regardless, the "art" came after the fact, and you are perpetuating it. ;)

[Marie26]

167. Yeah it does

Art is an individual expression of something in the artist's soul. Commercials are mass marketing of a corporation's product. Art is for creation, ads are for consumption. The fact that people can't seem to distinguish them really makes me wonder about how much corporate consumerism has crept into every nook & cranny of our culture.

Do you really think a top NY publicity firm decided to let this guy design their signs? The signs are exactly the same in every city - did all these "artists" just happen to come up w/the same sign? This guy has as much to do w/the design of this sign as an Indonesian textile worker has to do w/designing the Wal-Mart clothes they assemble - none. He is a worker bee, sent out to implement a strategy designed by his corporate employer. Would someone who slapped up a Nissan ad be an "artist"? No. So how can someone who slaps up a pre-designed, cookie-cutter advertisement for Comedy Central be an "artist"? It's not his concept or his creative expression. He is not the owner of that work, the corporation is.

I wouldn't think a mega-corporation would find so many supporters at DU, but IMO it's emblematic of a much larger problem. We are being indoctrinated to be good corporate customers. As the President tells us, "Go Shopping" now, don't think about the war, think about your tax cuts! Americans are the ultimate consumers, trained to gulp down every ad, every corporate ploy, every marketing hype. We are being brainwashed into thinking like consumers, not citizens. This dumb marketing ploy just plays into that. I just think it's funny how a corporation has convinced anti-corporate liberals into supporting their marketing hype - they're very slick.

[mitchum]

169. Thank you again

[Marie26]

148. This isn't graffiti art

This is the exact opposite. It's a slick corporate marketing campaign - don't be fooled by the dreadlocks!

[tridim]

166. There could be several cluster-bombs wrapped in his dreads!

Have you ever watched Adult Swim? They have the most creative advertising on the air. It's not slick and it's only "corporate" by proxy. It's about as close to graffiti-in-motion as I've ever seen.

[Marie26]

170. Yes, I have

Though I haven't had a chance to see it in a long time, I used to love Futurama. But how is it not corporate? Isn't the point of those ads to get you to watch the programs on "Comedy Central?" And when you watch the shows, doesn't that benefit the corporations who run ads during Adult Swim? And doesn't that increased viewership help Comedy Central's profits, AND the profits of the corporations that advertise on the channel? I'm a little baffled by that notion that something can't be cool & corporate. Corporations desperately want you to think they're cool, so you'll consume their products. That's the whole point of advertising, marketing & publicity. Some corporations are just more successful than others. "Adult Swim" has a good marketing campaign, so they've been successful in convincing their target consumer that they are indeed cool. They're still a corporation, and still most interested in getting profits. If a "creative" ad manages to reach their target audience, and increase their profits, they're happy.

[mitchum]

187. Don't tell them that what is actually being sold is the viewer...

in that networks and shows actually sell their viewership numbers to advertisers and that is how ad rates are determined. That may cause a meltdown- "but...but...they're my friends!"

[Marie26]

192. It's really pretty brilliant

I predict that they'll soon sell T-shirts of that sign, & make a ton of money. Those marketers knew their stuff. They knew that my generation is pretty cynical & suspicious of authority, so they created a campaign to tap into that. They framed it as - Cool young artist vs. stodgy old police/DHS/bullies. This associates the TV channel w/the "rebel" in people's minds & creates a perfect brand image for Comedy Central; as counter-culture, anti-authority & edgy. But really, we are the ones who are being manipulated, and I don't like that.

[mitchum]

195. And it is amazing the number of people here who are falling for...

that old Outlaws, Ltd. hustle. It was first rolled out in the 60s, but with nothing like the success that I am seeing today.
However, I find it very encouraging that you (and one hopes some more of your generation) are resistant to Dr Pavlov's cool bell

[mitchum]

173. It's the commodification of cool or the coolness of commodities...

Outlaws, Ltd.

[KittyWampus]

193. you are comparing these 2 underpaid corporate tools with graffiti artists?

[Marie26]

198. Corporate tool is right

One of the artists got an email from his ad executive boss shortly after the bomb panic began. The email warned him not to let anyone know that the "bomb" was actually an sign from their marketing company. The "artist" then promptly sent emails to all his friends, telling them to also keep the marketing company's involvement on the "down low." So, while police & city officials were scrambling to figure out what this was, these guys obeyed their corporate masters & kept their mouths shut. What a rebel.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2007/02/guerrilla_ad_ag_1.html

[itsmesgd]

10. nowhere did they represent their devices to be explosives.

I knew of a guy who had left his suitcase in an airport and it was shutdown for an hour while the bombsquad took care of things, and he wasnt charged with anything. If the police would have shown a picture of the device and said "be on the lookout for these", somebody could have clued the PD in. And why did none of the other 9 cities that had these devices in place for almost two weeks flake out like Boston did?

I think that everyone needs to relax their assholes to pucker factor #2 instead of this "high alert pucker factor #10"

[Nikki Stone1]

17. This was not an accidental leaving a suitcase. This was a deliberate prank that caused fear

The marketing people should have known better and gotten a damned permit.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

20. No, it wasn't.

Those kids never intended for people to think it was a bomb.

They're no worse than somebody who forgets their briefcase. Would you like those people to be prosecuted to?

[Nikki Stone1]

22. Yes it was a prank. Whether they intended for people to think it was a bomb is not the point

It was a marketing prank that caused fear in already fearful conditions. The marketing people should have known better and should be charged.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

24. LOL.

If they didn't intend for people to think it was a bomb, then how could it have been a prank?

:rofl:

[Nikki Stone1]

31. Pranks are about getting attention, playing a joke on an unsuspecting public

This was marketing prank. No one, including city officials, was informed of what this was.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

38. Pranks are about tricking people.

They didn't intend to trick anybody. This wasn't a pranks more than any other commercial.

Just because a lot of people were made into fools, that doesn't mean it was their intent. How much more foolish to people want to look?

[Nikki Stone1]

56. They strapped devices with batteries and wires to terrorist targets--I'd say that was a trick

The more I think about it, the more I think the cartoon marketers got exactly what they intended. They got national hysteria and national media exposure at very little cost. The problem is that the next time there is a scare, people might ignore it. Cops might not react so quickly. And people might die.

[uppityperson]

91. Why did it take 2 wks for them to be reported? Why only in Boston?

My kudos to bomb squads who act on threats. Wondering why it took 2 weeks to be perceived as a threat and why only in Boston?

[redqueen]

101. ...

[BruceMcF]

110. PSIA

Picture Says It All.

[jayfish]

111. Don't Ever Do That Again!

I wet myself as that thing loaded. :rofl:

Jay

[redqueen]

119. It's good, huh?

:rofl:

[EC]

117. Oh come on, use your head

these things were advertising tools - out in the open - SO PEOPLE COULD SEE THEM - do you really think a bomber or terrorist would leave a device for weeks out in the open?

[JVS]

164. That's the sick twisted genius of the terrorists! Now they'll do it!

[jayfish]

28. Intent Is A Pretty Big Part Of...

most criminal prosecutions. At least it used to be before the, throw everyone in jail for everything, society we live it today.

Jay

[Nikki Stone1]

36. Their intent may, in fact, have been to create a bomb scare.

On its face, the thing looks like a marketing prank, a stunt. But the company could have put up posters, not put electronic devices with batteries and wires on terror targets like bridges and tunnels. The more I look at it, the more I do think their intent was to create a bomb scare to publicize their cartoon. I hope the emails behind the project can be recovered.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

40. can you prove it beyond a reasonable doubt?

In fact, have you got any evidence at all?

[Nikki Stone1]

44. I don't need to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt to arrest them

The prosecutor needs to prove it beyond the reasonable doubt in a courtroom. I want to see the emails between the marketing people and the manager who ok'd this. These could prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

47. So basically, you're just making stuff up.

Hey, maybe they're sending e-mails to Al Qaeda too, and coordinating their pranks.

:crazy:

[Nikki Stone1]

60. No, I am looking at the evidence. Batteries, wires, unknown source, terrorist targets

Circumstantial, but cases have been won on circumstantial evidence. And certainly arrests are made on this kind of evidence every day.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

68. You haven't got any evidence.

[Nikki Stone1]

76. That IS evidence.

And it's evidence of intent that can be shown to a jury. The jury can decide how much malice was behind it, but the evidence is there.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

77. It's evidence it's an electronic sign.

[Nikki Stone1]

80. No, it's evidence that someone wanted to connect the idea of electronics,wires and terrorist targets

It's evidence that the marketing people wanted to cause a real scare.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

86. That's not evidence.

It's grasping at straws.

I'll repeat my question, just how much more do some people want to be made fools of?

[Nikki Stone1]

89. It is evidence. Ask an attorney. Charles Manson was convicted on less than that.

As far as your question goes, it makes no syntactic sense.

Edited for title

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

95. LOL.

:rofl:

[JackRiddler]

142. Batteries! Wires! Store-bought circuit boards! Little lights! POWER SWITCHES!

Can someone stop this madness in time?

[arcos]

158. Right... batteries, wires... definitely terrorism...

:sarcasm:

[JVS]

165. Is that an Ipod or is someone trying to blow up the bus!

[Wilber_Stool]

69. So, cops should be

allowed to arrest people just to harass them. You should stop and think before you speak.

[Nikki Stone1]

79. Creating the illusion of a terrorist threat is a crime.

If a freeper sends an envelope full of powder to Keith Olbermann, should that freeper be arrested? Even if the envelope only contains corn starch?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

116. The illusion only exists in your head.

An envelope full of white powder is clearly intended to be a threat.

Who are you trying to kid?

[JacksonWest]

121. NO NO NO NO!!!!!

My god, the intent is so fucking obvious. It was a fucking marketing campaign for a fucking movie about a fucking cartoon that comes out next fucking month jesus fucking christ. They did the same fucking thing in six other fucking cities and only the fucking fucks in fucking Boston fucking acted like fucking ninnies and had a fucking complicit fucking media add to the fucking hysteria.

If you want to create a fucking fake bomb, you don't put a fucking mooninte on a fucking lite fucking brite.

Fuck.

[aquart]

81. Uh, the stupid devices and their locations?

That would work for me REAL WELL.

[Az]

114. Then perhaps they should have made it look more like a bomb

Instead of a board with lights on it. If they had made something that looked like a bomb then yeah I can see justification for the anger. But I have seen the devices and they look nothing like anything that could have any substantial ability to explode. Its a plastic board with lights on it and a battery with a wire. To confuse it for a bomb requires substantial amounts of paranoia and willfull stupidity.

[Chulanowa]

127. Do you carry an umbrella on sunny days?

Keep an eye out for "earthquake weather"?
Feel a certain affinity for Christopher Robin's stuffed donkey?

Should the world cower in fear of doing anything because it might - might - be interpreted as "terra"? Should we check under our beds nightly to make sure Mahmound Hussein Obama-Osama the Third isn't hiding under there?

People are scared of terrorists? Good for them. No reason the rest of the world needs to walk on eggshells for those people.

[mark414]

133. this is stupid

duracell batteries and blinking lights...SCARY

anyone dumb enough to think that's a bomb deserved to be panicked

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

161. "Already fearful conditions"-what is that, from 9/11 until the end of time?

Or just the GWB portion of it?

[aquart]

90. Okay. What did they INTEND them to think?

Exactly what percentage of the population of Boston has ever heard of Adult Swim, let alone seen that cartoon character before?

What was supposed to be the outcome of seeing these lighted objects on potential targets? A ten car pileup?

[Fire Walk With Me]

152. The mayor is just feeling left out-- they should give him a cameo on ATHF.

Since he didn't know what it is.

And free tix to the film.

No hard feelings.

[itsmesgd]

26. it was marketing not a prank, not represented as anything other than a flashing sign

[Nikki Stone1]

46. Then why not put the "flashing signs" in the windows of stores or private homes?

Why put them on bridges and tunnels and other terrorist targets?

Or if you want to use bridges and tunnels, why not put up a poster?

[LostInAnomie]

203. Maybe because that is where a lot of people travel.

Why do they put billboards near bridges and tunnels? Because that is where the people are.

Where some people see a conspiracy to bring Boston to a grinding halt, others see a lite brite trying to spark interest in a movie.

[Ian David]

29. It should have been labeled, "Not a bomb." Perhaps also something...

identifying it as the property of the PR Agency?

[Kingshakabobo]

I wonder if I can label my shoes and belt.........

.....so I don't have to take them off at the airport?

[jayfish]

43. "You Can't Say Bomb In An Airport" -NT-

Jay

[itsmesgd]

34. Are you shiting me?

Do we need to label everything that is not a bomb "NOT A BOMB"? Plus wouldn't real bombers label their devices in the same manner?


Or how about we all calm the hell down and have a drink and breathe

[Nikki Stone1]

48. The company should have gotten permits for this

That way, the city would know what it was. Is the company so poor it can't pay for a permit?

[tridim]

49. That's not a bad idea for some artist to run with.

On the car, "This car is not a bomb". On the dog, "This dog is not a bomb". Etc, etc. There are endless possibilities to temper this terra-is-everywhere-so-be-a'skeered-all-the-time crap.

I didn't realize this panic and fear is so pervasive in the general populace, THAT is what scares me.

America is having a nervous breakdown.

[Ian David]

61. Well, bombers have to commute on mass-transit ,too.

It would be in their best interest to cooperate with the "Not a bomb" labeling protocol, or else THEY will be late for work too, due to unnecessary bomb threats.

Putting a "Not a bomb" label on an actual bomb would ruin that whole plan, and eventually inconvenience EVERYONE, including the bombers, who also have places to go and things to do.

[JackRiddler]

143. This post is not a bomb...

(Though I don't know about others on this thread.)

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

42. Tell you what...

How about from now on we just have a law requiring terrorists to label their bombs with "This Device is a Bomb."

That'll clear everything up.

:eyes:

[Nikki Stone1]

64. How about companies BUY A PERMIT from the city so the city knows what is going on?

But if a permit had been bought, the national media might not have run with it.

[uppityperson]

88. Exactly. Thank you for seeing and saying this also.

[originalpckelly]

11. No, ask the clowns who are supposedly "trained professionals"

who responded to the first "suspicious package" and didn't know it was a fucking sign, why they are so fucking lacking in common sense.

The only idiots here are the people running around like chickens with their heads cut off.

[Nikki Stone1]

21. The trained professionals can't take even the tiniest chance that life will be lost

The clowns, on the other hand, clearly don't think beyond their idea of a good joke.

[originalpckelly]

25. Why aren't they able to tell what's a sign and what's a bomb?

Shouldn't they, out of everyone in that city, know what real bombs look like?

Isn't that even mildly frightening itself?

[Nikki Stone1]

30. Not every incendiary device looks like a bomb. Even the remotest possibility that a device is a

bomb has to be considered, if you are responsible for public safety.

[originalpckelly]

33. No, the problem here is that these idiots couldn't tell a bomb from a sign...

and that's more frightening to me personally.

[Nikki Stone1]

41. These "signs" with wires and batteries, were placed on terrorist targets like bridges

Unless you're 100% sure that there's nothing else behind this stuff, you have to treat it like a threat and protect the public. Case closed.

[originalpckelly]

53. Ok, why couldn't they tell the media what this was when they blew the first one up in the morning?

Once they "deactivated" it, they should have been able to tell if it was a bomb or not.

[Nikki Stone1]

92. Put up the timeline of the events, and we'll see

It is possible that a number of these things had to be tested. One cannot assume that they are all uniform.

[Homer Wells]

107. Just wondering here

How could the bomb squad 'blow up' one of these signs, seeing that it was not a bomb.

Inquiring minds would like to know!?

:sarcasm:

[KatieW]

54. I'm totally with you here. And to those who are saying the guys responding to check these out

should have immediately known what they were just a harmless prank, what would you be saying if god forbid these were some type of bomb device and they were not investigated?
I do have to say though the media did seem to go way overboard in how they covered this incident yesterday.

[frylock]

139. you sure like to throw the term "terrorist targets" around..

sounds like you've bought into the fear factor.

[Shipwack]

71. ok... tell me. How were they supposed to tell that it wasn't a bomb?

Pick it up and shake it? Kick it? Hit it with a hammer?

[jayfish]

45. I Haven't Played With One For Years...

but I bet I could easily discern a bomb from a Light-Bright.

Jay

[Nikki Stone1]

50. You might not. And I wouldn't want to bet human life on your ability to do so.

...

[jayfish]

55. The Keystone Cops Definitely Couldn't Do It,...

but you'll put human life in their hands?

Jay

[originalpckelly]

58. Eggsactly! I'd be afraid to go to Boston because of the idiots in charge...

and now these bastards are going to try and blame the guys who the things up as part of their job.

[Nikki Stone1]

67. The Boston police tested the devices, detonated them. They did not rely on first glance

information. And neither should anyone else responsible for public safety.

[jayfish]

74. It's Called Discretion.

They could have discreetly gone about the initial testing. I think the Boston PD was looking to get a little marketing value out of this themselves. Now they look like circus clowns.

Jay

[Nikki Stone1]

82. It's called public safety. Suppose they had hidden the finding of these devices

and waited until they had tested them until they protected the public by closing the targets? That would be fine if the devices were harmless (as they turned out to be) but an absolute disaster had the devices been truly dangerous. In the time it would take to test one of these, another one could be going off in another part of town.

[Beaverhausen]

113. They were in place for over two weeks. Another hour or two wouldn't have mattered

and would have saved this whole mess from happening!

[Ian David]

65. I cite Batman in my defense of the police response

The bad guys often make their bombs and booby-traps "cute."

Real-life bombers may also have a "sense of humor," and put a bomb in something adorable.

[redqueen]

102. Bingo! n/t

[gatorboy]

12. The media is responsible for the panic pure and simple.

If they had waited instead of HOPING for a terra attack, this might've gone differently.

[Nikki Stone1]

27. Our nutty media is part of the equation. The marketers were relying on the media to sell their prank

No media, no national exposure, just a local "huh?" moment.

[redqueen]

103. Well put. n/t

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

13. I'm more interested in the clowns that thought it was a bomb.

They're funny too.

[Nikki Stone1]

52. When a bottle of Gatorade can be a bomb, the police have to take every precaution

Especially when nobody got a permit.

[jayfish]

62. Holy Crap, Are You For Real?

You still have your duct tape and plastic up?

Jay

[Nikki Stone1]

70. When you are responsible for public safety, you are responsible for thousands or millions of lives

You cannot take the remotist chance. If you are only responsible for yourself, you can take any chance you want. And you'll probably be safe. But there's always that off chance. You can take that for yourself but public authorities cannot take the chance for you.

[Greyhound]

145. Nikki, please don't fall into the fear trap that has been set for you.

Nothing is different, nothing changed after 2001 except we are being ruled by the incompetent. Look back a hundred years, people hated us all over the planet and many more within the country.

They don't hate us for our (false) freedom, they hate us because we have killed and stolen from them for generations, tey hate us because we have subjected them to generations of brutal tyrants, all for corporate profits.

[Ian David]

66. The gatorade bombs were a hoax. n/t

[Nikki Stone1]

73. Yes, but other cases, like the shoe bombs, were not

Once again, if you are a public official, you cannot take the chance.

[jayfish]

78. Every Day I See An Abandoned Shoe Here Or There.

Next thing ya know we'll be arresting kids who throw their shoes up on power lines for attempting to conduct a terrorist attack against vital infrastructure.

[Nikki Stone1]

85. But are they tied to bridges and tunnels and have wires hanging from them?

It's the context not just the item itself.

[Ian David]

84. Anything can be a bomb...

Therefore, be afraid of EVERYTHING.

[Nikki Stone1]

87. If the items you picture have wires hanging from them and are tied to bridges and tunnels

then by all means, take precautions.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

144. ROFL

"To us, they're so obviously not suspicious," said King County sheriff's spokesman John Urquhart. "They're not suspicious devices or packages. We don't consider them dangerous."

[LeftCoast]

75. A bottle of Garotade can't be a bomb. The War on Moisture was a hoax by the Bushies

Really now...haven't you learned anything from the last 6 years? All the faux terra alerts. The terror plots that turned out to not be legit. Bush has this country so terrified that we're jumping around at shadows. He's done more to advance terror than any Al Qaeda operative ever could.

[Nikki Stone1]

96. The average bottle of Gatorade, no. But this doesn't rule out bottles made for the purpose

of transporting explosives.

[Richard Steele]

134. So, does Boston send the bomb squad to EVERY bottle lying on the sidewalk?

Do they detonate EVERY stray shoe they find inside the city limits?

BTW, since you keep sying these were "attached to likely terrorist targets",
would you mind sharing your opinion of what ISN'T a "likely terrorist target"
these days?

[tridim]

136. Good point.. Here's some major terra..

Shut down the city sir, we've got shoes! Over.

[Richard Steele]

147. Shoe bombs targeting our communications infrastructure! BE AFRAID!!!!

[frylock]

140. wow! just WOW!

a bottle of Gatorade!?! Better get that duct tape and visquine ready.

[mopinko]

120. oh, for fuck sake

don't be such a baby.

[Az]

9. Details? What are they saying?

Some of us aren't watching and are not psychic. You have to post details for us to share in the amusement.

[originalpckelly]

15. Oh, it was fucking hilarious. They were talking about '70s hairstyles...

and they were being asked by the press to be "serious about this" and they kept saying that hairstyles from the '70s are serious. :rofl:

Hopefully, Keith will show the video tonight.

[KenHodson]

14. what are you laughing at?

Is this one of those "how do you keep an idiot in suspense?" jokes?

[originalpckelly]

18. The people who put up those signs, which yesterday were mistaken...

to be "bombs". They were at a little press conference, and they were being sarcastic and instead of discussing the "serious nature of the bombs" instead were discussing the "seriousness of '70s hairstyles".

[Marie26]

159. Yeah, cool

What I wonder is why Turner hired them to install those signs. Don't they have employees who can do advertising installations? Can't they call a construction guy? They chose these starving artists because 1.) they'd do it for almost nothing 2.) They give it that "guerrilla" counter-culture cache and 2.) they'd take the fall if the police want to arrest someone for the illegal installations.

Even better, it helps protect the corporation if they are sued. Let's say the sign caused someone to have an accident. Let's say someone is hurt trying to take them down. The "starving artists" aren't employees of the corporation, therefore the corporation can't be held civilly liable for the possible ramifications of this stunt. These guys are corporate stooges, hired to be the fall guys, and they don't even realize it.

[Ian David]

19. That was the strangest press conference ever. n/t

[Ian David]

23. A few Moononites and these guys go to jail. Bush claims Iraq was buying Uranium from Africa...

over 3,000 Americans and 655,000 Iraqis die, and we have to call him "President."

A trillion dollar war vs a million dollar Moononite scare.

What is WRONG with this picture?

No one died when The Mooninites Lied!

[kenny blankenship]

39. In the War on Suspiciousness, every suspicious package is a battle

And every city is frontline, even the smallest city is rendered conspicuous by its sheer inconspicuousness. They'll hit us in our least conspicuous spot with the most innocuous seeming objects at the least likely time--that's the only thing we can know for sure. So yes we have to take these jokers seriously. We just can't take chances in the War on Suspiciousness.

[Ian David]

51. Be on the look-out for something like THIS appearing all over the city

http://www.kasterborus.com/tardis/tardis/tardis!.jpg

[itsmesgd]

32. If the flashing sign said "this is a bomb"

then and only then should they be charged with a crime. My neighbor still has their flashing santa clause lit up in their yard and it's more than a month after christmas- that's suspicious. I hope it's not a bomb. I better call the PD and shut down the neighborhood while they blow up their decorations.

THINK, PEOPLE, THINK
Damned Sheeple

[Generic Brad]

208. Are there wires hanging out of the Santa?

If there are, the bomb squad should blow it up.

[spanone]

35. They should be arresting the guys at Turner who put these stooges up to this job.

They're just bozos on the bus.

[itsmesgd]

37. No, the turner guys hired a marketer.

NO ONE SHOULD BE ARRESTED

[KoKo]

63. Turner hired a group called "Interference" the two assholes that were just

on MSNBC acting like goofballs not apparently aware that causing a city to shut down might just put themselves in some trouble. They need to serve some jail time.

[TN al]

57. The whole thing is ridiculous...

...If *, Cheney and the neocon war machine hadn't spent the last six years trying to scare the shit out of everybody this wouldn't have happened. Anybody advocating for prosecution has just bought into what Rove & co. has been trying to feed you and you're sucking it up with a spoon. If I'm not mistaken they have other boards on the internet for people who are buying what the repukes are selling.

[KenHodson]

59. Anyone remember the marketing of the original "Ghostbusters"

All over town, (Denver and suburbs) little 5"x5" (guessing) this sticker

http://www.pc-wallpapers.co.uk/viewer.php?cmax=5&cat=OT&id=000011

simply materialized everywhere seemingly overnight.
There must have been thousands of them on street poles, trash cans, mail boxes, everywhere. These were just the ghost and the "no" symbol around it. No explanation, no hint of an upcoming movie. No one I asked could produce an answer either.
Now these were cartoonish as well and I was about 10, but there was something eerie about all of these stickers that didn't belong.

[blogslut]

72. PICS

Peter Berdovsky, 27, is led past media into his arraignment at Charlestown District Court in Boston, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2007 where he and another man pleaded not guilty to placing a hoax device and disorderly conduct. A judge ordered the two men held on bond for allegedly placing electronic advertising devices around the city, an act that stirred fears of terrorism and shut down parts of Boston. (AP Photo/Bizuayehu Tesfaye)


Sean Stevens, 28, left, and Peter Berdovsky, 27, react during their arraignment in Charlestown District Court in Boston Thursday, Feb. 1, 2007 as they pleaded not guilty to placing a hoax device and disorderly conduct. A judge ordered the two men held on bond for allegedly placing electronic advertising devices around the city, an act that stirred fears of terrorism and shut down parts of Boston on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Bizuayehu Tesfaye)

[uppityperson]

93. Why dreads?

[Marie26]

137. They look pleased w/themselves.

What a cool prank! I'm on TV!

[LostInAnomie]

206. Wouldn't "prank" imply that they intended for the lite brites to look like bombs?

As of now, there is no reason or evidence to believe that was their intention.

Putting advertising in a place people frequent hardly counts.

[Vinnie From Indy]

94. I vote this the funniest thread on DU for this date!

The whole "This is a bomb" and "this is NOT a bomb" labeling discussion is fascinating and quite amusing.

One wonders why the Boston PD had to close the river to traffic while they defused a 12" x 3" x 10" package. Even if the signs were explosive devices, they hardly seem capable of blowing boats out of the water from such distances.

I thought the devices looked like big "Lite-Brite" childrens toys.

[Nikki Stone1]

97. I vote it the silliest, and quite possibly the most immature

Some DUers are the audience this prank was intended for.

[Homer Wells]

100. This whole Hunger Force thing

is a study in the absurd.
From all reports, these Lite Brite doo-dads were placed in many cities, had been on display for weeks, and no one had even noticed.

The kids who placed them there were "Starving Artists" (quoting CNN) who were employed by TBS to publicize the Cartoon Networks program.

The ones to blame are the media clowns who try to up their ratings by sensationalizing ANY news story that comes their way. (I am damned surprised that they didn't find some way to blame the terrorists for that 100 lb. chunk of ice that hit that Mustang in Tampa last week.

If al-Qiada (sp) goal was to terrorize America, seems to me they have succeeded beyond their wildest expectations.

"Pre-911" or "Post-911" notwithstanding, America appears like a hysterical person standing on a chair, screaming about the mouse in the kitchen.

This has been BushCo's intention all along, and the Media has been the Great Enablers for *'s program

:wtf: :eyes:

[Scriptor Ignotus]

118. this one isn't the media's fault

they were reporting on what the Boston police and other authorities were doing. These guys closed down public transportation, roads, bridges, and in general created a panic for nothing. If you want to blame someone, blame the overly cautious dolts in the Boston police force.

[The Count]

104. Ah, the mooninites? here's a story with video of installation:

http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2007/02/01/aqua_teen_hunge.php

[wildflowergardener]

105. electronic device

For those who think this is no big deal

I wonder if it would be possible to put a picture like this on a real bomb to hide the fact that it's a bomb? Just because it has a picture on it doesn't mean it could not be a bomb.

Meg

[tridim]

109. Yep, now the artists are emboldening the terra-ists..

The Neocons LOVE you! :eyes:

[ReverendDeuce]

106. MUST... HAVE... VIDEO... LINK...

Please, if these guys were on MSNBC just now -- I need to see it! Video please!

[JVS]

156. HERE!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16921137/

[Warren DeMontague]

108. Okay, having seen the youtube video and what these things are, you'd have to be a total moron

to think those things were a "bomb".

[Marie26]

130. Not so funny

if they were the ones who called the cops.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

131. No.

Hey, maybe they were the guys that sent the anthrax too.

:eyes:

[Marie26]

135. OMG! They sent the anthrax?

I knew it. Pointless non sequiters aside, I want to know who first alerted the authorities to this "bomb ". As other people have pointed out, you'd have to be a moran to think that screen looks like a bomb. So why the sudden rush of 911 calls? It'd been up for 3 weeks, w/o anyone noticing. Not very effective "guerrilla marketing." But suddenly it's on the front page of every paper, on every news show. That's effective marketing. Everyone knows who "Aqua Teen Force" is now. So it's reasonable to wonder who really started this bomb scare.

[BronxBoy]

185. Did you bother to watch the clip?

A subway worker reported it.

Or so says the local media

[Marie26]

189. Which clip?

The OP's just a sentence, and I can't get the link posted upthread to open. If a subway worker called the police, then the company didn't directly start the scare. Where did the worker see the sign? IMO, even if the company didn't directly cause the scare; but they did indirectly cause the scare by placing such weird objects in government areas w/o notifying anyone. I'm still not sure if they actually wanted someone to think it was a bomb, or if the media-led terror hype was just a lucky accident for them.

[Zookeeper]

132. I would have identified them as street art ....

or a student art project.

[ArmchairMeme]

138. Litebrite

Now I fully expect that all parents will be ordered to turn in all Litebrite toys/games to homeland security as they have the potential to cause terra terra and big expenses for cities.

Remember we are still taking our shoes off before boarding a plane and there are still certain liquids that we cannot take on planes.

Society is the continual victim of the terra terra hullabaloo.

I still think if they had not blown up the first one they came upon but instead used the bomb squad to difuse it and then look at the components they could have discovered what they were and who put them there.

The responsible party I believe is Warner Broadcasting the two men were simply hired to work for them.

[JVS]

155. These dudes rule. Watch them here

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16921137/

[ShortnFiery]

162. Yes!

:rofl: Let's talk about men's hairstyles today?
Love the immediate snorts of the media. :P
"Here piggy media? Keep on topic now."

[JVS]

199. shit, they changed the video

[LoZoccolo]

201. Actually, a link is still there.

You just have to click on "Mocking the press in Boston" instead.

[symbolman]

190. I LOVE THEM

They were FRAMING THE ISSUE, not handled as well I'd like but conceptually Genius, way to go guys!!

Now, anybody ELSE worried about those BOMBS that are freely available and shown with great regularity on YouTube called MENTOS AND COKE?

I'd be more scared of that..

Boston police and the city fathers over reacted and now must blame someone else.

THe Attorney General is a DORK, and Geeks need to rule, not DORKS. :)

Think about how many French Poodles you could make from just that ONE GUY being interviewed about 70's hairstyles!

[nam78_two]

194. They got much more by the way of advertisement than they bargained for...

:rofl:

Those guys are hilarious...

[Reterr]

197. Hilarious

:rofl:
I feel bad for seventies hair cuts though ;).

[Dukkha]

204. Hilarious! These guys made my week

They inadvertently exposed the "war on Terra" as funny and pointless and this whole prosecution. The case will be dropped and all the paranoid chicken littles here will feel like total assholes for getting so worked up over this.