Suspicious Packages being found in Boston(Updated)

Originally posted by smallpeeps
Really people, as an American, I find this jumping at shadows mentality to be symptomatic of a national neurosis. America could learn so much from the Aqua Teens. If only they'd listen. Also they could learn a lot about LEDs here, if they'd only listen. But why are news people paid to make us scared, and not smart?

Ooooh!! What could we learn about LEDs? Please enlighten us. I want to hear what you know.

And, we could "learn a lot from the Aqua Teens"? Like what? How to sneak out of the house without your parent's finding out? How to skip school?

I weep for our youth.

[edit on 1-2-2007 by jsobecky]

Originally posted by jsobecky
It's a package on a bridge abutment 20 feet above eye level, and you're telling me that you would immediately recognize it as harmless? No way, pal. I would not trust your judgement as gospel if I were in charge of protecting the public.

It's not a package, it's a flat board with a "payload" of batteries. Do you do any bird watching? Field specs might prevent a panic.

Let me say this: I've forgotten more about electronics than you will ever know. Want to call me out on that? Whenever you're ready, just yell.

Generation gap perhaps?

I'm not saying there shouldn't be a fine, but these people who want vengeance and for heads to roll are very sad people. This was not a big deal, and it was clearly a cartoon character. The responders are the ones at fault. They were all incompetnt in regards to A: electronics, and B: pop culture, and I as a citizen find that unacceptable.

That's a stupid and irresponsible statement, as well as an ignorant denial of the stress that it causd to a major city. Go watch cartoons, that's where your head is.

Downright rude.

That stress is designed, didn't you know? The fear in America is designed, and the people of Boston (for example) have been disarmed and ramped up in fear for a reason. I think this thread could really do some good in that regard. But point is: The result of this little nothingness of a stunt, is maybe 80% due to the inept responders and authorities. I'd say 20% due to the stupidity of the people who didn't label the devices clearly with an 800 number or some kind of way to tell a bomb guy "Hey idiot, there's nothing to explode here!"

Originally posted by smallpeeps

Originally posted by jsobecky
It's a package on a bridge abutment 20 feet above eye level, and you're telling me that you would immediately recognize it as harmless? No way, pal. I would not trust your judgement as gospel if I were in charge of protecting the public.

It's not a package, it's a flat board with a "payload" of batteries. Do you do any bird watching? Field specs might prevent a panic.

The batteries were enclosed in black electrical tape. Batteries or C-4?

Strike one!

I'm not saying there shouldn't be a fine, but these people who want vengeance and for heads to roll are very sad people. This was not a big deal, and it was clearly a cartoon character. The responders are the ones at fault. They were all incompetnt in regards to A: electronics, and B: pop culture, and I as a citizen find that unacceptable.

Strike two!

Wrong again, on several counts.

The responders were not at fault. The next time there is smoke pouring from your house, we'll just chalk it up to a backyard bar-b-que, how about that? The Fire Dept need not respond.

Third lesson: I93 was gridlocked. Ambulances were unable to move. What if someone died as a result of this childish stunt? Is this one of the "lessons" we can learn from Aqua Teen?

That stress is designed, didn't you know? The fear in America is designed, and the people of Boston (for example) have been disarmed and ramped up in fear for a reason. I think this thread could really do some good in that regard. But point is: The result of this little nothingness of a stunt, is maybe 80% due to the inept responders and authorities. I'd say 20% due to the stupidity of the people who didn't label the devices clearly with an 800 number or some kind of way to tell a bomb guy "Hey idiot, there's nothing to explode here!"

This final statement shows mental and emotional immaturity. You have no idea how the world runs or what it takes to maintain an orderly society. You're obviously young; that's not your fault. But thinking right is your responsibility.

Originally posted by Rasobasi420
Okay Shots you got me. I underestimated the impact time of day would have on the shows popularity. Nevertheless, the point still stands. Remind me again Shots, what was the point again?

Anyway, the only way these guys can be prosicuted is if they can prove that they intended to produce a bomb scare. If the defense show that these advertisers intended to make this an advertisement, and not a bomb scare, then they'll be fine. The judge is even pretty nonchalant about the whole thing too, so they're likely to get off light.

Not necesarrily. Intent is only one component to consider. Consequences wield at least as much weight.

Example: Tuesday night, a guy drove his pickup the wrong way on I495. He struck a couple vehicles, causing severe injuries but thankfully no deaths.

He never intended to hurt others, but the consequences of his actions proved otherwise.

What do you think he will do jail time for, his intent or his consequences?

Originally posted by smallpeeps
some kind of way to tell a bomb guy "Hey idiot, there's nothing to explode here!"

That's a great idea! If everyone would just label all their baggage with a sticker saying "Not a Bomb" before going to an airport, we could fire all the security guards and save a lot of money! Good thinking! :shk:

Originally posted by djohnsto77

Originally posted by smallpeeps
some kind of way to tell a bomb guy "Hey idiot, there's nothing to explode here!"

That's a great idea! If everyone would just label all their baggage with a sticker saying "Not a Bomb" before going to an airport, we could fire all the security guards and save a lot of money! Good thinking! :shk:

Yes! And then we can tell the screeners "That is not a gun in my pocket, it's just a folded HOTDOG"! And we can happily skip up the ramp onto the airplane.

Originally posted by jsobecky
Not necesarrily. Intent is only one component to consider. Consequences wield at least as much weight.

Example: Tuesday night, a guy drove his pickup the wrong way on I495. He struck a couple vehicles, causing severe injuries but thankfully no deaths.

He never intended to hurt others, but the consequences of his actions proved otherwise.

What do you think he will do jail time for, his intent or his consequences?

Though you may want it to go that way, that's not the letter of the law in this case. In this case, in order for the two to be convicted, prosicution needs to show intent.

And your example isn't appropriate to this case. There was no criminal negligence that led to anything close to personal injury. This was a total overreaction from state government, and they're looking for someone to blame.

Originally posted by jsobecky

Originally posted by Rasobasi420
Okay Shots you got me. I underestimated the impact time of day would have on the shows popularity. Nevertheless, the point still stands. Remind me again Shots, what was the point again?

Anyway, the only way these guys can be prosicuted is if they can prove that they intended to produce a bomb scare. If the defense show that these advertisers intended to make this an advertisement, and not a bomb scare, then they'll be fine. The judge is even pretty nonchalant about the whole thing too, so they're likely to get off light.

Not necesarrily. Intent is only one component to consider. Consequences wield at least as much weight.

Example: Tuesday night, a guy drove his pickup the wrong way on I495. He struck a couple vehicles, causing severe injuries but thankfully no deaths.

He never intended to hurt others, but the consequences of his actions proved otherwise.

What do you think he will do jail time for, his intent or his consequences?

They are not going to do jailtime,JSO. There's nothing they can do but issue a fine. The publicity these people will get will be off the meter if the city does anything otherwise. You aren't thinking this through obviously. This city wants to make this incident go away in a hurry. And that's politics, you should know that by now. It was just a distraction. They will do community service at the most. You are just going to have to deal with the "REALITY" that these guys are going to get more marketing assignments because of it. And there will be many more that will outrage you. But you won't be able to do a damn thing about it.


Wasn't a traffic accident that killed or injured others. It was a marketing ploy. Oh and BTW they do these types of marketing all the time with blinking lights and assorted other materials in major cities. I guess you are just going to have to get use to living with blinking lights. Woe is you.



Game over...thanks for playing










[edit on 1-2-2007 by MRGERBIK]

The two that were arrested have been charged with "placing a hoax device" so far (the serious charge that is). It does appear that, under Massachusetts law, the state would have to show intent to get a conviction on that law. Here's the actual text of the law:

The General Laws of Massachusetts

Section 102A1/2. (a) Whoever possesses, transports, uses or places or causes another to knowingly or unknowingly possess, transport, use or place any hoax device or hoax substance with the intent to cause anxiety, unrest, fear or personal discomfort to any person or group of persons shall be punished by imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than two and one-half years or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years or by a fine of not more than $5,000, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(b) For the purposes of this section, the term “hoax device” shall mean any device that would cause a person reasonably to believe that such device is an infernal machine. For the purposes of this section, the term “infernal machine” shall mean any device for endangering life or doing unusual damage to property, or both, by fire or explosion, whether or not contrived to ignite or explode automatically. For the purposes of this section, the words “hoax substance” shall mean any substance that would cause a person reasonably to believe that such substance is a harmful chemical or biological agent, a poison, a harmful radioactive substance or any other substance for causing serious bodily injury, endangering life or doing unusual damage to property, or both.

(c) This section shall not apply to any law enforcement or public safety officer acting in the lawful discharge of official duties.

(d) The court shall, after a conviction, conduct a hearing to ascertain the extent of costs incurred, damages and financial loss suffered by local, county or state public safety agencies and the amount of property damage caused as a result of the violation of this section. A person found guilty of violating this section shall, in all cases, upon conviction, in addition to any other punishment, be ordered to make restitution to the local, county or state government for any costs incurred, damages and financial loss sustained as a result of the commission of the offense. Restitution shall be imposed in addition to incarceration or fine; however, the court shall consider the defendant’s present and future ability to pay in its determinations regarding a fine. In determining the amount, time and method of payment of restitution, the court shall consider the financial resources of the defendant and the burden restitution will impose on the defendant.

Unless they can prove these were intended to cause mayhem or link the ad campaign to the police notifications, I don't think this charge will stick.

But I'm sure the Massachusetts state attorneys are pouring over other statutes as we speak looking for anything they can add to the charges against those two plus, more importantly, the ad agent and Turner/Time Warner.

[edit on 2/1/2007 by djohnsto77]

Personally, I find it odd that there were unnoticed Lite Brites ("flipping the bird" no less) at night for at least two weeks in all of these "nefarious locations". All this without a single officer (B.P.D., F.B.I., or any other) taking one down and identifying them earlier than the 31st.

For crying out loud, they were on "bridge supports" and not one officer drove these streets at night, or noticed/cared, for two whole weeks? Is that what we're supposed to believe? If they were all around town I would think that at least one of these lit-up "obscene gestures" would have been confiscated and identified before all of this current over-reacting and fear-mongering. :shk:

I'd like to take a moment to tell the gullible people that outrage is P.R. in this case. Lots of P.R. and you are being manipulated severely.


Is Aqua Teen posting about you? No, I don't think they are. You have the Moonite on your mind and now it's branded on all major media.
The more you talk about it the more visibility you give to this show. It's sort of like the Pink Floyd Animal blimp in the sky.

"Im outraged that a PIG is flying in the sky. Who did this? Pink Floyd! Im outraged they scared me"

Who cares if you are scared. Get over it. No one cares. Most of us just laugh at people who are hyper sensitive over terror threats.


Keep giving them press because I love this freaking show. But remember this. You are actually spending time & energy being outraged on a cartoon that intends to either provide entertainment for those that "GET" it and to mock those that don't/

Guess what category you fall in? That's right. Mockorama,baby


I swear some of you must have been taken so many times by grifters in your life. Now they got T Shirts? And selling the blinking promo items on ebay for thousands of dollars? All you did was make revenue for all walks of people. That's it. You are just street teaming for ATHF. It's like a mini War on Terror except its War on Moonites. Thanks for making this issue. And if you are getting mad because Im pointing it out. Then stop advertising the marketing agency and the show,period



Hell, if I was the film distribution company I'd move up the date a bit because of this incident. And I'd clown every single one of you in the trailor. You know why? Because you will get outraged and complain some more. Wake up seriously... Some of you don't understand how P.R. works. P.T. Barnum owns you.

Just how much revenue do you think Interference is going to take in the next year for their guerilla marketing? Did you ever think that their phones are ringing off the hook for this one? Oh you better believe it.

Seriously, these people are laughing at you for giving them attention. That's the point of guerilla marketing.

Someday you will get it and a blinking light will go off in your cranium. (Pun intended on that one)
















[edit on 1-2-2007 by MRGERBIK]

Originally posted by MRGERBIK
Hell, if I was the film distribution company I'd move up the date a bit because of this incident. And I'd clown every single one of you in the trailor. You know why? Because you will get outraged and complain some more. Wake up seriously... Some of you don't understand how P.R. works. P.T. Barnum owns you.

Wouldn't it be great if their post production time is so short that they'll be able to put this into the movie?! God I hope it is so because the writing team at Williams Street will make their point very well.

jso, I am glad you're out there, defending whatever you believe. If we're ever back to back defending America with shotguns or just our frontal lobes, I'm trusting you with my life, friend.

I don't even need to say anything. But they are selling these on EBAY. Do you think you can stop ebay from selling bomb threat hoax shirts? I'd like to see that one. I think what just happened is all of the people who pushed this story out there who were angered, just got their ass handed to them bruised and dented. Welcome to getting pimpslapped......again

Originally posted by djohnsto77
The two that were arrested have been charged with "placing a hoax device" so far (the serious charge that is). It does appear that, under Massachusetts law, the state would have to show intent to get a conviction on that law. Here's the actual text of the law:

The General Laws of Massachusetts

Section 102A1/2. (a) Whoever possesses, transports, uses or places or causes another to knowingly or unknowingly possess, transport, use or place any hoax device or hoax substance with the intent to cause anxiety, unrest, fear or personal discomfort to any person or group of persons shall be punished by imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than two and one-half years or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years or by a fine of not more than $5,000, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

I agree with your analysis. Assume arguendo that this is gross negligence, which it frankly probably isn't. It is most likely negligence. You would need to show that gross negligence satisfies the intent requirement for this crime. However, there are a lot of cases that state that gross negligence does not meet the intent requirement. They show this by never conflating the two concepts, and insisting on "willfulness" for intent. See e.g. Com. v. Correia, 50 Mass.App.Ct. 455 (2000); see also Pelletier v. City of Methuen, 17 Mass.L.Rptr. 551 (2004).

[edit on 2/1/2007 by Togetic]

And this one on EBAY. You are helping making $$$$$


This one is genius








Especially with this letter that is on the listing


"Dear Earth,


I have selected this 12pt Courier standard font to inform you of this magnet. This 2-inch piece of magnetized genius is an excellent way to show your solidarity to our cause. Buy many of them and display them liberally about your dwelling, your workstation, and your Ford Taurus.

This is multiple item auction, so buy as many as you wish. Shipping is a mere $.50.

Please allow 3-7 business days for shipping. You will enjoy your purchase...big time.




All my best,

I."


Now that's entrepreneurship.


There's at least 7 shirts on Ebay. I hope they get a spin off series deal out of this now. Mooninites won just like Osama did.






[edit on 1-2-2007 by MRGERBIK]

Originally posted by MRGERBIK
I don't even need to say anything. But they are selling these on EBAY. Do you think you can stop ebay from selling bomb threat hoax shirts? I'd like to see that one. I think what just happened is all of the people who pushed this story out there who were angered, just got their ass handed to them bruised and dented. Welcome to getting pimpslapped......again

Too true. The media are whores and they are upset they couldn't ramp up the fear with this story/panic and also that they are culturally irrelevant and uninteresting at this time.

God half these media people don't realize Stephen Colbert smacked them upside the head at their own press dinner with the president! Ha ha. The media is so dumb. I love to see them twist in the wind.

People over-reacted, as usual.

Do these same folks tuck and roll out of the car everytime a light blinks on the dashboard?

Do they crawl on their belly past the toaster in their kitchen in case it contains C4?

If people had used an ounce of common sense, they would have realized terrorists don't go out of their way to advertise the location of their bombs by installing flashing Lite-Brite signs above them.



Everyone in this situation got exactly what they deserved. The terror-stricken fools among us got freaked out for a while, maybe ruined perfectly good underwear in the process, and the rest of us got a good hearty gut laugh, which no doubt prolonged our life measurably.



Hell, I'm still laughin' at the thought of a bomb squad crouching behind a bunch of barriers, sweating bullets, preparing to blow the crap out of a child's toy that's been flipping them off for forty minutes.



The only thing that's not funny about this farce is the amount of public money spent reinforcing the irrational fear of the citizenry. :shk:

Originally posted by WyrdeOne
People over-reacted, as usual.

Do these same folks tuck and roll out of the car everytime a light blinks on the dashboard?

Do they crawl on their belly past the toaster in their kitchen in case it contains C4?

If people had used an ounce of common sense, they would have realized terrorists don't go out of their way to advertise the location of their bombs by installing flashing Lite-Brite signs above them.

Really, WyrdeOne? Terrorists are much more direct - or is it subtle - to plant their bombs? They would never use the known, the safe, the secure, as a facade for their mission?

Tell us all how you know these truisms. Please. We await enlightenment.

Everyone in this situation got exactly what they deserved. The terror-stricken fools among us got freaked out for a while, maybe ruined perfectly good underwear in the process, and the rest of us got a good hearty gut laugh, which no doubt prolonged our life measurably.

Yes, let us all laugh out loud! This was such a hoot! Forget the lives that were endangered. Forget the risk and expense to the response personnel that had to protect all of us. The kiddies pulled one over the adults! What a victory! Let us all use mommy and daddy's computers and telephones to have a group grope!

Hell, I'm still laughin' at the thought of a bomb squad crouching behind a bunch of barriers, sweating bullets, preparing to blow the crap out of a child's toy that's been flipping them off for forty minutes.

Yeah, I bet you are.:shk:

The only thing that's not funny about this farce is the amount of public money spent reinforcing the irrational fear of the citizenry. :shk:

That's OK - mommy and daddy will have to pay for it......somehow. I'm not understanding how that whole adult world thing works yet. I just know that **I** don't have to pay for anything.

Hey! Who's online? Let's rag on Boston... we RULE!

Originally posted by WyrdeOne
Do these same folks tuck and roll out of the car everytime a light blinks on the dashboard?

Do they crawl on their belly past the toaster in their kitchen in case it contains C4?

That image made me laugh out loud.


Okay some of the batteries may have been taped in electrical tape (I didn't see that, I saw gold and balck clearly on a board with no payload at all) but tape can be removed via simple means unless there's a weight-sensistive switch on it (?!?) ..Duh! We are going way past what any reasonable person would imagine this weird-artsy-stupid-looking thing to be. There's no part of it that looks like a bomb except batteries. A child should know what an LED bulb looks like. They are in flashlight and toy devices at every convenience store in Boston.

I think the thing people are most upset about is that the media did the work. They hate giving it away for free.

I say we nuke the moon in retaliation. Never again. Never again will this happen.

I need to sleep and can't read the whole thread, so I don't know if this has already been posted. However, check this little gem out.
The Terrorists Speak

These guys are priceless, and clearly abhor the fear mongering media and incompetent government more than I do.

Everyone from Boston should be ashamed, especially that mush-mouthed mayor.