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Aqua Teen Hunger Force Brings Boston to a Halt
An anonymous reader writes "An ad campaign for Aqua Teen Hunger Force featuring the Mooninites Ignignot and Err caused major security concerns in Boston, MA when magnetic light displays were mistaken for possible bombs. The displays included one of Ignignot flipping the bird (as hard as he could), but Gov. Deval Patrick was not amused."
Think what would happen if administrators in vegas turned paranoid of every blinking light. I can understand checking on it, even applaud it despite the oddity of it all, but I dont understand why anyone would be irate when it turned out to be nothing.
Ice Cream has no bones.
...nerds get their pants pulled down and they are spanked with moonrocks.
Someone found one of the devices under a bridge last week and posted a few pictures to Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanderlin/tags/aquate enhungerforce/
-- Please insert another quarter
I wonder how they'd react to actual guerrilla street art?
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
I salute our brave leaders for their quick and level-headed handling of the situation.
I used to carry a bottle of whiskey for snake bite. And two snakes. -Nefarious Wheel
That they spared Boston from the Quad-Laser.
Username taken, please choose another one.
Frylock: You are not a prophet, Shake! So stop this madness!
Shake: Frylock, I cannot do that. God hath commanded that I do his will or the Earth will blow up!
Frylock: My ass he did!
Meatwad: God's gunna blow up the world?
Shake: Oh yeah, brutha! He ain't too pleased with YOU in particular, Meatwad!
Meatwad: ME?!
Shake: Oh yeah.... He saw you touchin' yourself--
Meatwad: I don't touch myself!
Shake: In the bathroom!
And then there was E
This used to be on youtube, but it's been pulled. It's now up at a safer place. Some local people I know have actually been able to deduce locations from the video and obtain a couple of these "devices." Boston area slashdotters up for some scavenger hunting? athf-lightsnipes-boston.flv
Who is General Failure? And why is he reading my disk????
The article says they got worried when they saw the wires and circuit boards. The knowledgable terrorist will doubtless package his payload in a fashionable briefcase now that he has been alerted to this penchant.
Damn you Aqua Teen Hunger Force! You have DOOMED America!
I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw this:
p ng
http://www.catastrophicerror.com/~endo/Ignignokt.
What has *science* done?!? -- Dr. Weird (ATHF)
"Paranoia strikes deep. Into your life it can creep."
-from "What It's Worth" -Buffalo Springfield
Actually these ads are illegal in the city of Boston. A company can't just put up bills on public buildings or structures with no permit. The 4 calls were probably due to citizens being vigilant after one of the subway lines was shut down in the morning when the first device was found. It is something to get indignant about when someone runs into your office telling you to turn on the news and the hospital where your wife works is on TV with freaking BOMB SQUAD trucks outside it. You might think its no big deal, but to many Bostonians it is a very big deal and something we're mad as hell about.
It really makes me sick that we're at the point where people mistake everyday things for bombs and have homeland security called in. I can't even ride my universities bus holding a wired up circuit board (for a class) without people looking at me like I'm about to blow them up.
Yes, because in Soviet America, anything outside normal trains of thought is illegal.
Then again, that just proves that if terrorists paint their IED's pretty colors and put Mickey Mouse on it, I'm fucked...
I am billdar, and I approve this message.
There are plenty of lovely targets around the town, which can explain the reaction (which you'd expect no matter what when dealing with batteries and unknown electronics in a sneaky location in a heavy traffic area).
Yeah, you can't be too careful around batteries. Especially 9-volt ones, they can tingle your tongue!
--
"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
Can something so harmless be taken for
a bomb..
plenty of howto's here regarding LED bombing
http://graffitiresearchlab.com/?page_id=46#video
This is just pitiful. I'm ashamed to live in a country that overreacts like this (mostly in the government and media). I would seriously question the competency of a police department that did anything like this. I can understand a little questioning, but "safety detonations" and area lockdowns because of something flashing a led image of a character, what's next. The scariest thing is its not an isolated incident, grounding a plane because someone found an Ipod in a toilet, people being pulled aside because they have too much radiation in their blood (from medical treatments), the probably daily "safety detonations" of peoples lunches, briefcases, and backpacks that we usually don't hear about. Excuse me a moment I need to go and smash my head against a blunt object to get rid of the voices screaming how their are too many idiots on the planet.
One of the articles I read said:
'Officials said it contained an electronic circuit board with some components that were "consistent with an improvised explosive device,"'
Okay, now, come on. These are really large circuit boards with a whole lot of LEDs soldered on to them. Nothing more, unless there are some other really messed up packages out there that haven't been reported on. Those officials sound like they have features consistent with smart police officers, in that they breathe and eat, but the similarities probably end there.
I said normal channels, NOT normal trains of thoughts.
Sheesh.
If Cartoon Network wanted to buy space on buildings or work out a deal with the city then fine- but as I said, don't put up weird shit with batteries and electronics in odd places and think that you'd not get the wrong attention.
III.IIVIVIXIIVIVIIIVVIIIIXVIIIXIIIIIIIIVIIIIVVIII
Underdog is here!
It is the 21st century and the time for Klax has passed.
Well, they got their money's worth on this advertising campaign!
-- Give me ambiguity or give me something else!
I live in Boston, and I can say that the day was very tense.
Why? Because the media put out a big scare story that turned out to be nothing?
which you'd expect no matter what when dealing with batteries and unknown electronics in a sneaky location in a heavy traffic area
Maybe you should just stop paying attention to every little scare mongering story that gets released. Personally I'd direct some attention over to the media outlets for publishing a story with no information, who's only result was to un-necessarily scare people. A few weeks ago it was a strange smell in NYC that everyone assumed was the work of terrorists. I'm sure there's about 20 other stories I'm missing because...I've stopped paying attention to these junk stories.
AccountKiller
trying to sell it on eBay for $5,000 bucks! Unfortunately, I live in Boston (where I'm assuming all mooninites have been rounded up) but if you live in another city, go and steal yourself one! Then sell on eBay for big bucks....
0 078002362QQihZ011QQcategoryZ28009QQssPageNameZWDVW QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/Adult-Swim-LED-Ad_W0QQitemZ32
" You have to take these all seriously, because who knows if they're threats or not?"
Well, I do. It's obvious that a beer sign, light bright, or flickery street light are not bombs, although you and apparently others in Boston don't know this.
" I'm mad as hell about this ad campaign because when it comes time to pay for all the police activity today, you can bet your ass Ted Turner won't offer to foot the bill."
He shouldn't foot the bill. Any jerk could tell those signs aren't bombs. Turner doesn't owe dick for the local po' being stupid and overreacting.
Please don't try to justify this pathetic overreaction. We've become a nation of fearful neurotic idiots.
If someone wants to blow up a bridge, they will blow it up. They can strap dynamite to their torso and hug support beams. They can drive an explosive-filled car into a stanchion. They can fill a boat with fertilizer and float underneath. No matter how much we freak out over nothing, no matter how many times we give up our rights, take off our shoes, and do other retarded inappropriate useless things.
Even if we were dealing with a coward terrorist who wasn't willing to commit his life, you wouldn't see something with wires and batteries sticking out. It'd be out of sight, or look like garbage.
It's such an irrational fear. How many people have been killed in the past hundred years in the US by little boxes with wires and batteries sticking out? How many have been killed by auto wrecks? It's jaw-droppingly lame, and it's getting worse. We'd be better off panicking about ceiling fans, lightning bolts, or bunions.
We don't even need terrorists anymore. All it takes to shut down a city is cowering, whimpering, losers afraid of their own shadow.
Man, you really need that seminar!
Somebody set us up the bomb!
Soma: because a gramme is better than a damn.
I saw this as I was coming into work this afternoon on our big screen (thank god for the military having most of their televisions permanently tuned to FOX NEWS for the "situational awareness" it provides...) and my jaw just dropped. It's really hitting me lately how much our country is changing, and there is very little that individuals can do about it. I feel like standing on top of a soap box and yelling at people till i'm blue in the face, but I know that's fruitless.
Wake up...
All your base are belong to Google.
The Mooninites have been quoted with such terrorist threats as
The innocent shall suffer... big time. -Ignignokt
If you have a problem with that maybe you should take that up with Mr. Laser. -Ignignokt
Err: You all have any eggs? 'Cause I'm totally gonna mess someone's house up! Ignignokt: Yes, eggs or pot, either one
Bow your heads or I'll bow em for ya! -Err
Ignignokt: Our god is a god of vengeance. A god of hate. Err: A god of action! Ignignokt: Our god is an Indian who can turn into a wolf and- Err: Dude, that's Wolfen. Ignignokt: Yes, well Wolfen will come after you, with his razor.
You got a problem with that? -Err
Ignignokt: No one can defeat the Quad Laser. Err: Jumping is useless.
Surprisingly only Boston had a problem with this when TFA mentions that these are up in 9 other cities. Likewise I've only heard Boston-based posters complaining about how this was irresponsible and something that obviously looked a lot like a bomb so it needed to be investigated.
Along comes the anthrax attacks - a pub run, and the men in BioHazzard suits come out investigating the strange white powder. I really wish someone would get on a pay phone and tell the police that it was flour.
I have mod points and I am not afraid to use them
There are places where it's normal to find LEDs, wires, and electronic components, such as, oh, say, on monitors, keyboards, mice, computers, cell phones, and so on. And then there are places where it's not normal to find electronics, such as on unrecognizable devices attached to bridges, and on subway walls.
There is normally no need to be unduly alarmed about the former. Like it or not, there is a need to be alarmed about the latter, at least to the point of taking prudent measures to check it out as they did.
And it's not like we haven't seen an innocent marketing ploy turned into a security concern before, though I think this one is way more stupid. At some point, these idiotic marketing companies have to figure out that at some point, someone needs to ask the question, "Is this something that could reasonably cause security problems for people who don't look at the world as one huge billboard?"
Here's your problem. A bomb does not "look like a bomb". People think a bomb is a bundle of sticks of dynamite with a bright red digital timer, preferably bleeping. But bombs don't look like that.
qntm.org
They're staring because most of them have never seen a virgin before.
Mmmm.. Donuts
I also live in Boston, and while I wasn't too thrilled about the whole thing, whoever called in the complaint is an idiot. The bomb squad, even more so. The media aren't exactly blameless, either; this wasn't exactly a difficult story to crack.
You can't make society bomb-proof, and you'll sacrifice too much in the process of trying. Hopefully we'll learn that someday.
Remember now folks ... nothing "potentially interesting" or the terrorists have won.
No, but there is a huge difference between local/state police responding to suspicious packages and dozens of federal agencies responding to a disaster the size of a hurricane. You'd have to be an absolute idiot to think the two are even remotely comparable.
Bandwidth exceeded. Placed back onto YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doD_VpT_yAY
The point about zoning -- fine them the normal fine for a violation. But the cost of overreacting is NOT part of the usual fine and those responsible for that cost should bear it (hint: it's the city and the cops, not the advertiser).
What changed under Obama? Nothing Good
CNN is running this article, but the picture has been edited out the offensive finger.
I find that interesting they will edit a "drawn" finger but will show blody dismembered bodies.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"First things first -- but not necessarily in that order"
-- The Doctor, "Doctor
>We don't even need terrorists anymore. All it takes to shut down a city is cowering, whimpering, losers afraid of their own shadow.
"No one can terrorize a whole nation, unless we are all his accomplices" -- Edward R. Murrow
The police apparently learned what bombs look like from hollywood movies and comic books.
The MPAA should definitely foot the bill.
Sooo, we should have detonated New Orleans?
"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge"
- Charles Darwin
Likewise I've only heard Boston-based posters complaining about how this was irresponsible and something that obviously looked a lot like a bomb so it needed to be investigated.
I'm from Boston. I stood on the subway for a over an hour (normal ride time: 30 minutes or so) because of these dipshit "indie" artists that did this for Turner. Check out one of their websites. Wow, aren't they cool? They know how to use animation programs, video projectors, video cameras, and have dreadlocks. They use pen-names that sound uber-cool, and lots of hip artist-y language.
They should have heard the language on the subway when the conductor announced we'd be delayed because Sullivan Station was shut down on account of "a suspicious package."
Their stunt shut down 93 North, the orange line, several Charles River bridges (which are heavily trafficked.) These idiots planted electronic devices on private and public property, something they knew they shouldn't do, over-reactions from police aside. Let's be absolutely clear here: these clowns had zero business putting this stuff on property that wasn't theirs and they knew it, but decided to ignore that, because this whole thing probably made them some pot money.
One of them is sitting in jail, as of about half an hour ago. Let's see how he likes being inconvenienced.
Please help metamoderate.
Real IEDs do not have flashing lights or a ticking clock on them, unlike the movies would have you believe.
How anyone could confuse these things for anything dangerous makes me wonder how incredibly stupid the people in charge of our security really are.
THIS THING CAN TURN ON A DIME, MACROSSZERO STYLE ALSO FUCK BETA, ~NYORON
...the Scooter Libby trial, where "copies of handwritten notes by Vice President Dick Cheney, introduced at trial by defense attorneys for former White House staffer I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, would appear to implicate George W. Bush in the Plame CIA Leak case". http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/013107Z.shtml
If there's one thing you can rely on, it's bad news for the Adminstration being accompanied by a hyped-up terror scare that turns out to be nothing.
Oppressing an entire population is never cheap.
--Jeckler (/. Beta IS GARBAGE!)
Just keep feeding that fear. It gets hungrier every minute doesn't it?
The less we know, the more people's imaginations go wild, like apparently yours did.
If you're comparing a frickin plane crashing into the WTC to someone finding a lite-brite connected to a battery, I guess I can't help you. The media now goes on full-alert anytime there's ANYTHING that's not immediately explainable as not-terrorism. Are you really trying to tell me you're still willing to keep believing them at this point because "it might just be real"? Exactly how does getting all paranoid and frightened help anyone?
AccountKiller
...it only took a hours to blow up a LiteBrite but it took weeks to respond to a devastating hurricane?
This is insightful?
Would the "weeks" it took to respond to Katrina include the Coast Guard flying of people off of their rooftops the same day the storm blew through? Or are you thinking more about the days in advance of that hurricane that the mayor of that town and the governor of that state wasted in not actually evacuating the city's residents (you know, the ones not complying with the evacuation order) with their sitting-idle fleet of buses? Why talk about response to a major disaster when you can talk about the choice to live below sea level where hurricanes regularly hit, and then not leaving town when you're told to?
Doesn't matter. You're obviously a trolling twit. Or, you're serious, and also say completely non-non-sequitorish things like, "Isn't it funny that poor people get cancer when the NSA now has ways to back up petabytes of data in a drinking straw?"
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
You'd have to be a complete idiot for thinking there are such things as "suspicious packages" in this world. That's about as real as our enemy , Drugs, whom we've been fighting a war against for at least 20 years, and our other enemy, Terror, whom we've been battling against for about 5 years.
The real point was that we prioritize terrorist threats that don't exist above all else and put real problems (Katrina, minimum wage, health care, education) well below it. Sorry you didn't get that.
We spend lots money to be able to defuse a benign, blinking LED toy within a few hours, but we don't spend the same kind of money to fix a devastated region in the United States within a year.
Go to Flickr and search for "new orleans destruction" and sort by recent. It's been almost a year and a half and there are still neighborhoods that are completely leveled.
I worked for a company that designed sound level meters and dosimeters. Government has many regulations to the time of day and the level of sounds that factories, aircraft and other things can produce. Our devices were purchased and used to monitor that noise creators were in compliance with regulations. The devices record events as the time, noise level and frequencies when they are over the levels (audio isn't recorded).
I do recall a story that as part of a monitoring campaign one of the devices was left strapped to a telephone pole. It was reported to the authorities and the bomb squad blew it up because it looked suspicious. It was a $5,000 device and this was maybe ten years ago - well before 2001.
Yep, you leave something in a public are expect it to be vandalized, stolen or blown up. People in charge should expect stuff to be placed or left in public places. It's the cost of doing business for both sides.
The funny thing is, for a few weeks now, Adult Swim has been talking in their bumps about having no idea how to promote the upcoming ATHF movie.
Well, they certainly solved that problem, didn't they? I don't think they intentionally tried to create a scare, but man oh man, you can't buy publicity like this.
As of this moment, the Drudge Report main page has an image of Err flying the bird.
Brit Hume said "Meatwad".
If I had actually been watching TV live when this story broke, I think I actually might have passed out from laughing.
Your bank is insolvent.
Taking Money Back
Remember that scene from American Beauty where Col. Frank Fitts is reading the newspaper and says "This country is going straight to hell"?
Well, after reading this article I can now imagine this as the one he's reading.
> I'm from Boston. I stood on the subway for a over an hour (normal ride time: 30 minutes or so) because of these dipshit "indie" artists that did this for Turner.
:]
Dude, grow a pair instead of getting pissy because you got stuck on the subway for a few minutes.
Some dumbass got freaked out by a glorified Lite Brite. I hate to break this to you, but circuit boards don't explode, nor do LEDs, nor do Duracell D cell batteries, nor do wires. If your city gets this freaked over nothing, any sensible terrorist would just plant a bunch of hoaxes and laugh while you all piss yourself.
You don't want to help the terrorists win, do you?
There was only 1 on a bridge/overpass, and we're not talking about an above water bridge here.
i on1.html
Link to pics of all the locations of these things: http://www.zebbler.com/friends/ATHF/mission1/miss
The thing is *obviously* not a bomb. It's a sign. It has big glowing flashing LEDs. Come on. Use your brain, people.
- Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set him on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
These events have caused me to reconsider my opinions on the 'war.' As an Australian it seemed to me that the war against terror was lost once the American government began making irrational decisions to invade other countries and police the world ala 'Team America.' By invading Iraq America (and its allies) became the 'Great Satan' it accused of being in the first place. The goverments' (note the plural genetive) actions in this regard have given terrorists justification in their actions (at least in their minds, if not in reality). There is no question now, we are oppressing them. But this whole Boston thing has demonstrated a new height of paranoia. If terrorism is designed to inspire terror, how can we see this situation as anything other than confirmation that the terrorists have indeed achieved their goal? For those who were in the city and heard rumours and whisperings of suspicious devices being found, I can only imagine how that would make you feel. But still, a finger should be pointed at the media. If the media are spinning alarmist stories to incite fear, then they should be targeted by the Bush administration as furthering the cause of terrorism. Unfortunately, scandal and heightened emotions sell better than the facts. It's not just America struggling with this problem. It's the Western world.
Let's build magnetic LED signs that display American Flags and flash the words:
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS!
And we'll stick them on bridges and buildings.
Lets see the morons flip out and call THEM bombs.
Then we can ask them, "Why do you hate America?" and "Why don't you support our troops?"
And then their heads go all asplody like.
Guaranteed! This comment 100% Anthrax free!
Peter Berdovsky, 27, of Arlington, and Sean Stevens, 28, of Charlestown, were arrested Wednesday night on one felony charge of placing a hoax device and one charge of disorderly conduct each, state Attorney General Martha Coakley said.
Boston Globe
Seriously this is pretty sad if there are felony charges for something as harmless as this. Intent should at least be considered.
Hoax device? Meaning, he was intentionally misrepresenting a lighted sign board a ... sign? Perhaps, if they looked like actual bombs, they might have a point.
I'm curious what they could actually charge these people for, considering it's often intention to harm that's considered in these cases.
Vandalism, or posting bills or something else.
Once the smoke's clear, the trial will likely end up making the police and city government look stupid. That is, assuming the judge and jury acts reasonably on people that aren't evil criminals.
I think this is showing we have so many (some stupid) laws on the books, that no matter what you do, or do not do, if someone wants you arrested and charged, you can and will be.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
The terrorist's handbook is probably being re-written as you read this. Remember, their goal isn't actually to kill people so much as it is to create the panic that you might be killed. The ensuing panic causes far more economic damage than the loss of lives does. And incompetent government officials like those in Boston just play right into it. Now the terrorists know an all new way to create panic, thanks to the Boston Police.
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars