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DHS Tries to Safeguard Against Giant Monster Attack

Posted by samzenpus on from the why-do-the-gigantic-creatures-hate-us dept.

KnightShift writes "Earlier this month the Department of Homeland Security halted the publication of the Monsterpocalypse Series 3: All Your Base Strategy Guide due to 'national security concerns.' In a statement on its website Privateer Press, which publishes the popular kaiju-inspired collectible miniatures game, reported that 'Homeland Security pulled the shipment for an intensive examination last week when it arrived in the United States. While no comment was made to the nature of the investigation, several crew members within Privateer Press believe the government became concerned over some of the more radical ideals espoused by several factions within the Monsterpocalypse game.' Privateer Press Chief Creative Officer Matt Wilson added that 'I am confident that the investigation's outcome will reaffirm the rights of free speech and protest of the radical environmental group Green Fury at the perceived devastation man is having on our planet as well as the freedom of people to practice religion without governmental oversight — even those religions which may very well bring forth the minions of the ancient Lords of Cthul.'"

20 of 77 comments (clear)

  1. Update by ls671 · · Score: 5, Informative

    This is last week news, the article linked in the summary was published on July 21th, it looks like the release won"t be affected after all ! ;-))

    MONSTERPOCALYPSE SERIES 3: ALL YOUR BASE STRATEGY GUIDE CLEARED BY HOMELAND SECURITY

    Bellevue WA, July 30, 2009â"The Monsterpocalypse Series 3: All Your Base Strategy Guide, which was detained by Homeland Security last week, has been cleared of all security concerns and delivered to Privateer Press.
    The guide, which contains detailed information on every figure from All Your Base, as well as tactics and strategy tips for using those figures with current Monsterpocalypse figures, is scheduled to be released Friday, August 14, 2009.
    For more news and information on the Monsterpocalypse collectible miniatures game visit www.monsterpocalypse.com.

    http://www.monsterpocalypse.com/story/monsterpocalypse-series-3-all-your-base-strategy-guide-cleared-by-homeland-security

    --
    Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
  2. My tax dollars at work by girlintraining · · Score: 3, Insightful

    My tax dollars are being used for the Department of Homeland Security to investigate subversive books? Is this a repeat from the 60s? Do they, in fact, have in their hand a list of known communist supporters? Seriously, the only nice thing I can say about the DHS is that I'm not getting all the government I'm paying for.

    --
    #fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
    1. Re:My tax dollars at work by sleeper0 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      $100 says the press release was based on nothing more than a routine customs hold - know who customs is a part of? DHS. Know how often international shipments stall at customs for a few days? All the freaking time. Congrats on getting gamed for advertising yet again, slashdot.

    2. Re:My tax dollars at work by lumenistan · · Score: 3, Funny

      Sure, you say that now, but you'll appreciate the DHS when they protect you from whatever unthinkable things come forth from R'lyeh...

    3. Re:My tax dollars at work by El+Torico · · Score: 2, Funny

      Where is the monster DHS bureaucrat - the monster that takes two hour lunch breaks, goes to conferences, and whines about their pay? I checked the monsterpocalypsegame site and found no mention of it.

      --
      In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is usually crucified.
    4. Re:My tax dollars at work by siddesu · · Score: 4, Funny

      It is an Easter Egg. To get the bureaucrat, you must buy two complete sets, and combine a monsterpocalypse customs officer, TSA-thug, wetback chaser, drunk coast guard sailor and SS guy into one figure, and equip them with a geiger counter, a 24-hour count-down flashing digital clock and a large, gold-plated badge that says "SAVING LIVES".

    5. Re:My tax dollars at work by sleeper0 · · Score: 3, Informative

      Hmm... http://www.ice.gov/about/index.htm or http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/about/ or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Customs_Service

      "Until March 2003, the United States Customs Service was an agency of the U.S. federal government that collected import tariffs and performed other selected border security duties. Before it was dissolved to form part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, the Customs Service had three major missions: collecting tariff revenue, protecting the U.S. economy from smuggling and illegal goods, and processing people and goods at ports of entry.

      "With the passage of the Homeland Security Act, the U.S. Customs Service passed from under jurisdiction of the Treasury Department to the Department of Homeland Security. On March 1, 2003, parts of the U.S. Customs Service combined with the Inspections Program of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine from USDA, and the Border Patrol of the Immigration and Naturalization Service to form U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The Federal Protective Service, along with the investigative arms of the U.S. Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, combined to form U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

      Oops?

    6. Re:My tax dollars at work by Salgak1 · · Score: 2, Funny

      In the meantime, 23 shoggoths, led by Nyarlathotep, will wreak havoc carrying plastic letter openers onto commuter trains, and dangerously opening envelopes with them.. . . .

  3. GURPS Cyberpunk all over again? by StefanJ · · Score: 4, Funny

    At least Homeland Security didn't raid their office and confiscate their printers and eat their jelly beans.

    1. Re:GURPS Cyberpunk all over again? by Darkness404 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      But still, saying that is like saying you were in your house minding your own business when the police burst down the door with no warning only to say "whoops" and being glad they didn't break the glass. Yes, that is good, but honestly it should have never happened in the first place.

      --
      Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
    2. Re:GURPS Cyberpunk all over again? by CastrTroy · · Score: 3, Insightful

      A hold up of 30 minutes doesn't exist due to the fact that not everything is done by a single person. It more likely goes like this. Person A realizes that the marked weight doesn't match the weight of the package (or some other miscellaneous clerical error). Person A fills out a bunch of paper work and puts it in a queue to be processed by person B. Person B has a backlog, so anything going in takes a day or so to get processed. This is intentionally done by person B so that it doesn't ever look like he's not busy. If there's always a backlog, he much have enough work to do. So eventually person B gets around to processing the package, and filling out a bunch of other paper work. Person B then decides it's fine and puts it in person C's queue of things to be sent out. Person C eventually gets around to processing it, and filling out even more paper work. After which it continues on with shipping.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    3. Re:GURPS Cyberpunk all over again? by sumdumass · · Score: 3, Informative

      Add about 3 more people in line with a site commander having to check off on it all and you are exactly right. Years ago, before 9/11 and DHS, I was bringing a a shipment of car alternators from Nuevo larado Mexico, I picked them up at the customs center which is technically in the middle of the border between the US and Mexico. Anyways, I was held up for 6 days waiting to get an inspection on the freight and it was just like you mentioned but it took another 3 or 4 people to process everything because of the seal on the container-trailer and all needs to be documented the entire time it's in their custody. Something as simple as a seal not matching will send it to the back of the line until it gets sorted out and the inspecting agent will not open the doors unless the seal matched. In my case, it was a matter of backlogged paperwork from understaffed and over worked agents doing the best they can.

      This only happened one time to me in the 20 or so times I picked up from that spot. But that is exactly what can happen and I wouldn't be surprised if it happened this time with more emphasis on searching more and more because of national security threats and all.

  4. Not the first time by cybergrue · · Score: 4, Funny
    A few years back, Canadian Customs blocked an expansion of WotC's board game 'RoboRally'
    It might have had something with the expansion's title that was clearly displayed on the side of the shipping boxes.

    The name: "Radioactive Waste"

  5. "Cyberpunk" anyone? by jim_deane · · Score: 3, Informative

    Cyberpunk raid ring a bell?

  6. priorities by JackSpratts · · Score: 2, Funny

    right, g-men let king kong, son of kong, godzilla and who knows what else wreak havoc on nyc for some 80 years with nary a peep (when was the last time you saw flame throwers on park ave eh?) but pasty bureaucrats pounce on some stupid kids' toy? meanwhile i heard giant ants are infesting l.a. storm drains and there is a huge saucer sitting on the mall right on home-plate! color me disgusted.

  7. early copy? by mldi · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The truth is Obama is a huge nerd and simply wanted early copies :)

    --
    If you aren't suspicious of your government's actions, you aren't doing your job as a responsible citizen.
  8. Re:Sounds like a rehash of the SJ Games incident by CowboyBob500 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Oh that's easy. You tell them you are Lord Beelzebub - Master Of The Underworld and then roar really loudly at them.

    --
    Listen to my latest album here
  9. Re:Sounds like a rehash of the SJ Games incident by TheLink · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Strange, I'm a Christian and I don't see evidence in the Bible that Jesus ever bothered to cast demons out of _places_. My reading is he drove demons out from _people_.

    Since they have so much time on their hands, maybe you could ask them to go feed the hungry, provide drinks to the thirsty, hospitality to strangers, care for the sick, or visit the imprisoned.

    http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%2025:34-46;&version=31;

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  10. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 2, Funny

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  11. Reagan's Rolling Over In His Grave by tjstork · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Does anyone find it odd that Reagan managed to somehow thwart the Soviet Empire, with its vast and genuine spy networks, enormous weapons apparatus, all without either firing a shot or compromising the Constitution? Yet, somehow, we have to do that now against, a bunch of dudes with AK-47s and some Korans? There's far more people in the USA sympathetic to the ideas of communism than islam, and so if we didn't need to spy on ourselves against the commies and the russians, why should we need to do so now against a less sympathetic islam? Could it be that right wingers have forgotten that the central premise of Reagan's vision was that the cold war is a war that would be won based on having more freedom, and not less, and that the same lesson could just as easily be applied to Islam?

    --
    This is my sig.