Flash Mobs a Threat to Security?

RawCode writes "News about a recent report released by the RCMP suggests that flash mobs could pose a future threat to security. 'Some are aimed at celebrities. Tech-savvy teenaged girls in Britain can quickly spread the word on the whereabouts of Prince William, surrounding him with hundreds of screaming fans. Some are political, organizing protests. Text-messaging was instrumental to organizing public demonstrations in the Phillippines that forced President Joseph Estrada from office'."

Comments

Brush up your Niven....

[abb3w]

"Flash Crowd", 1973; collected in "The Flight of the Horse".
"The Last Days of the Permanent Floating Riot Club", 1974; collected in "A Hole in Space".

Unfortunately, the solution is going to have to be different. The stories make a starting point for thinking about the problem.

The same threat as cellular phones.

[www.sorehands.com]

If I A few years back at the Philadelphia RNC a person from 2600 was arrested for using a cellular phone to commit a crime. He was accused of using the phone to arrange a riot.

Of course, the entire case was eventually dismissed.

Re:Protecting those in power from the evil truth.

[R2.0]

You are aware that Canada doesn't have a president?

Re:RCMP = Royal Canadian Mounted Police

[sunwukong]

Yup,

RCMP == FBI
CSIS == CIA
CSE == NSA

Roughly speaking of course -- the exact details are framed in their separate charters and, of course, the constitution differs between our two countries.

Re:RCMP = Royal Canadian Mounted Police

[WormholeFiend]

The RCMP enforces federal laws and statutes.

In provinces where there is no provincial police, it also enforces provincial laws and statutes, usually as a police force under contract with the provincial government.

Some cities and towns also contract the RCMP for municipal police services as well.

From their website: We provide a total federal policing service to all Canadians and policing services under contract to the three territories, eight provinces (except Ontario and Quebec), approximately 198 municipalities and, under 172 individual agreements, to 192 First Nations communities.

Also for those who don't know, "First Nations" refers to Native Americans.

Re:Flash mobs work for freedom also

[Dyolf Knip]

Civil disobedience is a very good idea in principle, and with the right enemy it can work wonders. But the WTO arrests, the RNC arrests, the willingness to shut down airplanes and whole airports because someone finds a piece of paper with "BOB" written on it, the mass detention of muslims in LA a few years back, the indisputed fact that the US has _by far_ the highest incarceration rate in the world, it's all indicative of guys in charge not really giving a shit about public perception and being more concerned with CYA and maintaining their own jobs.

Re: cite please?

[MenTaLguY]

No cite, sadly -- I can't find the original (and more in-depth) article I had originally read on the web now -- but the researcher's name was Dr. Michael Platt, and the research in question is referenced in this NewsWeek article (halfway down, look for "berry berry"). I'm not sure if this was before or after he left the Glimcher Lab for Duke.

His lab page is here, but none of the paper titles ring a bell.

If you're interested, you should at least be able to reach him at: platt at neuro dot duke dot edu