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Georgia State Univ. Art Project Causes 2nd Evacuation & Bomb Squad Call
McGruber writes The same Georgia State University art project responsible for Monday's shutdown of Atlanta's Downtown Connector (Interstates 75 & 85), caused authorities in the south Fulton County, Georgia town of Hapeville to evacuate businesses and call in a bomb squad Tuesday.
According to Georgia State University spokesman Don Hale, the devices are pinhole camera being used in a solargraphy project to track the rising and setting of the sun over a three-month period. "Students were instructed to take their cameras home and to place them in locations that would provide interesting scenes with bright sunlight," Hale said. "The locations were selected by the students."
It was up to each of the 18 students in the class to find a spot for their own project, the university said. The university was made aware of the art project Tuesday morning and, through its police department, immediately informed the Atlanta Police Department, Hale said.
According to Georgia State University spokesman Don Hale, the devices are pinhole camera being used in a solargraphy project to track the rising and setting of the sun over a three-month period. "Students were instructed to take their cameras home and to place them in locations that would provide interesting scenes with bright sunlight," Hale said. "The locations were selected by the students."
It was up to each of the 18 students in the class to find a spot for their own project, the university said. The university was made aware of the art project Tuesday morning and, through its police department, immediately informed the Atlanta Police Department, Hale said.
And too funny to watch these people trip all over themselves like Keystone Cops.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
The cameras were actually there to capture the lulz.
"I'd just like to emphasise that taking a million years isn't a metaphor here..." -Rich Bradshaw
Oh! This is more than I hoped for! All of you panicking like little girls!
And the hate most Americans feel towards Muslims!
I will finally get my war between Islam and the West!
I'm waiting here in Hell!
--Osama Bin Laden's Ghost
welcome to Boston...
What part of "home" did these students not understand?
Although I think most of us would not think that placing the cameras in a public place for art's sake is some horrible offense, it might be a violation of privacy, and it is certainly not prudent in a terrorism-obsessed world.
It should have been done with some sort of official approval, and placed with some kind of sign. Perhaps a simple: "What is this? It's part of an art project. For the sake of art, please do not disturb! Go to this website to find out more: [Insert URL here]
Of course, that would probably take months of rigmarole to get approved.
I've seen similar signs on weather stations, wildlife projects, "what's happening to the bees" projects, etc. Here around San Diego, we often come across stuff like this along the beach. (Measuring sand erosion, wildlife, etc.)
Congratulations Georgia. In the face of the 21st century where we support the troops, these colours dont run, and freedom is championed above all else you've just shit all over the idea that we in any sense emerged triumphantly from 9/11. You've marched lock-step, just as any terrorist would hope his actions would inspire you to, to the beat of their drum and not reason so ive got an idea.
If every time someone sees a box, or a can, or a light bright sitting on the street we're gong to evacuate a city and lock down schools, then lets cut the "freedom and liberty" crap. If every time we get on a plane we have to be stripsearched by xray booths and patted down for even a pittance of liquid, lets stop saying we never negotiate with terrorists and start commending ourselves for doing just what they want. If I cant make a call, or send an email, or surf the internet or even drive car without the NSA and ubiquitous plate readers tracking my every move, then lets be frank about it and recycle the statue of liberty into something more useful like tear gas grenades or battery chargers for tazers.
Good people go to bed earlier.
...make up your own scenario, here, but under what (if any) circumstances would it be appropriate to notify local law enforcement of anything. When responding, please don't use your typical slashdot-minded bullshit of, "OMG, it's just a guy with a camera," or something else. Actually try to describe a scenario, other than one where tens, hundreds, or thousands of people have already been killed, where it would actually be acceptable for a citizen to "say something".
Note: I don't expect any substantive answers.
Before some persnickety spelling pundit calls me on it: "suspicious", not "suspicous". And because /. doesn't allow editing posts after they are posted.
my first thought was, after they knew about the first one.. having a second cause problems is a bit stupid.. then of course they leave out that this second student strapped two metal pipes to the side with wires sticking out of em "for stability".. and I realize just how stupid people really can be..
yeah I made this art project that looks exactly like a uhaul truck and "parked" it in front of a federal building in oklahoma.. seriously, why'd you arrest me?!
"...the device, in addition to having a 12-ounce can wrapped in duct tape, also included two ¾-inch steel pipes with four electrical wires protruding from the top."
It's the disproportionate response that the problem.
Asking people to label their things with "This is not a bomb" is the equivalent of the evil bit. Completely pointless.
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
...I was glad that I took MARTA that day!
The terrorists won. There cause was to incite irrational fear and they have done their job superbly. Good night America, it was fun while it lasted.
...which isn't surprising.
So, when is it okay for someone to notify law enforcement of a bag, or object, or anything else that is out of place?
Never, because we're "America"?
Or is it better to be oblivious because any possible terrorist attacks are sure to have smaller death rates than drink driving, driving without seatbelts, household accidents, or any other random issues you can insert here that don't have anything to do with an ideological enemy (for WHATEVER reason) actively seeking to kill anyone who happens to be a US citizen?
Georgians saw their shadow, six more decades of Jim Crow.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
How can a university have the audacity to assign students the project of photographing such critical infrastructure like the Sun? Surely, federal or state laws prohibit photographing things like nuclear power plants, dams, electrical distribution nodes, etc. and would apply in this case? If everyone is allowed to do what they want with the Sun and there are no regulations or policies in place to determine how the Sun is used, viewed or stared directly at, how will we ever win the Global War On (or Of) Terror??!!
The revised edition now has a section on how to cause mass panic and bring an entire city to a standstill. It reads something like this:
Go to Walmart
Buy a 12 pack of Coke and a role of duct tape
Drink the coke
Duct tape the empty cans to a series of public infrastructures (EG all the bridges surrounding a specific area)
Call 911 and report seeing more than one suspicious objects.
Bonus marks
1) scrawl some arabic looking words to the outside of each installation
2) Fill the cans with talcum powder
This should be good for paralyzing a city for at least a complete day
I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
GA State definitely has the creme of the crop students!
“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”
- Yoda
and placed with some kind of sign.
They were. The linked story doesn't say it but this one does. Specifically:
Photos of other cameras show them attached to trees, fences and windows around the city. Some include notes that identify the soda can as a "Georgia State Art Project." Some instruct passersby to "Please do not take down!"
We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
Hi, this is a bomb with the evil bit set to off. So no worries!
Get charged with filling false police reports.
Get sued for the costs incurred by those false reports.
Generally what one does when they place sensors or such in public spaces is you include a name and contact number so people can verify the device. Usually works.
Losers:
- GoPro
- Duck Tape
- Any hope for the future of handwriting, or even hand-printing
Unless the rest of the students were less imaginative and kept their cameras on private property.
...not prudent in a terrorism-obsessed world.
I believe you should remain focused on the obsession and leave the kids alone. Deal with that before you get an ulcer or something. The panicky reaction only gives incentive to do more of the same. Like it or not, it's good entertainment.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
Some include notes that identify the soda can as a "Georgia State Art Project." Some instruct passersby to "Please do not take down!"
Because only non-bombs have signs that say they are innocuous.
I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
This teacher should have told the students to label their instruments, with contact information, so the police could verify that you're not some disaffected madbomber type person before they blow up your camera.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
So, the anti-science muslim fanatics have tried to bomb me a few times. That doesn't look signfincantly unlike one of the IEDs I've seen. A note with a phone number and the class website would have been a very, very good idea.
Just think what would have to happen if everyone were to actually do what the idiot security thespians want us to do and "if we see something, say something." Every discarded tin can along a roadway, every ungarded box sitting on the grass. Choke them to death on their own system.
Make it a game. How many suspicious packages can YOU call in today?
"Oh, no ma'am. I'm not calling in a bomb threat. I thought I saw a suspicious package."
Those are just the hidden packages!
Based on the appearance of those signs, the police should have immediately rounded-up all of the five-year-olds in the area.
Some of them had signs. Some of them didn't. And I doubt anyone was crawling-around under bridges looking for the signs. Of course, police would have seen the signs once they investigated. Or maybe their bomb-sniffing robot might have.
Did the police over-react? I dunno. You'd have to be there. I wasn't.
It remains that placing the objects was begging the response. It was stupid.
If I were a conspiracy theorist, I'd say perhaps it was a test - by officials or by nefarious interests - to see how alert the public is. Now we know: the public is alert!
Outside the window near me I can see the Lyndt store in Sydney that just yesterday has started to be repaired from the hostage killing by a nutjob. In crowded places, near infrastructure, IEDs (whether E means Educational, Entertaining or Explosive) are no longer an option. I'm certain the residents of Boston and Atlanta largely agree.
Regardless of whether you think police are overreacting, at this point it seems like it would be wise for the school to tell their students either to collect their boxes or contact the police in the jurisdiction where they placed them to let them know where they are and what they look like (at which point the cops would probably tell them to get rid of them). Seems like having to collect them and place them somewhere else would be better than getting your project blown up.
Prohibit activities like art projects unless they are blessed by the State and Ministry. Geez, I miss 20th century America.
mfwright@batnet.com
Back in my day, we blamed it on the dog.
And where should these students place them if they live in the dorms? Not everyone lives in a house with a back yard when they're in college.
Occasionally living proof of the Ballmer peak.
And how does this prevent a bomber getting a burner phone, leaving a fake name and the burner phone contact number and verifying that they're the fake identity when called?
Any security procedure needs to be not trivially worked around by the persons the security measure is trying to prevent doing their evil deeds. If you can't pass that test, don't bother and accept that it probably won't happen and a bit of risk is the cost of a free society.
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
From CNN:
"Police are working with the school to remove all the cameras, the university release said."
Hmm. Google photographer's bill of rights. Photography is protected (in the USA) under the US Constitution as free speech. Bascially, you have the right to take photographs. If you are not on public property the owner can say, 'you can't do that here,' and ask you to leave.Same with public buildings. So, this is photography. Does leaving your camera in a public location, with or without duct-tape change anything? Normally, leaving something out in public space, that does not rise to a significant level (like suing someone for $1) wouldn't be an issue. What if the camera is on private property, with or without duct tape?
Here's a thought. Just like people have proposed black lists and white lists of internet site access, are we heading toward a society that says only pre-approved, white listed behavior is allowed? Which will probably only a small percent of all the things people do or want to do.
How does a pin-hole camera even look like a bomb? It should not even be close to big enough to be a worry. You need something like like the size of a mid sized tablet, minimum to have any decent explosive power. Think of a bullet, it has about the power of a punch, and is far bigger that most cameras nowadays. Saying that, I have since seen that camera's they have used, and they really really do look like bombs. with big enough payloads to make quite a dent.
Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
I will remember the next time I plant a real bomb that a little sign saying 'This is not a bomb, its a camera' will keep it from being detected longer.
To the humorless filter that picked this up, its satire, roll with it.
The Centennial Olympic Park bombing was a terrorist bomb attack on the Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 27 during the 1996 Summer Olympics. The blast claimed 1 life and injured 111 people, while another person died of a heart attack. It was the first of four bombings committed by Eric Robert Rudolph.
Centennial Olympic Park bombing
The truth is that bags, parcels, jugs, cans, and such which don't look quite look quite right or don't seem to belong here are immediately and rightfully suspect.
Second guessing the 911 caller is a waste of time.
What the geek needs to do is start thinking about how his toys, gadgets, hoaxes, stunts and science projects out-of-doors will be perceived by others ---
who won't be so quick to assume that a real life bomber thinks like a geek and plays by his rules.
the Mooninite thing in Boston several years ago. I see that people and cops haven't evolved since then and still regularly report items that are normal as suspicious and the cops dutifully rush in and blow them up.
What part of "home" did these students not understand?
Taking something home and using it exclusively at home are two different things. I would never construe someone saying "take something home" to mean that I need to use it there, only that I cannot use it at the place from which I'm asked to remove it.
Then there's the question if home is even suitable for the assignment. There were criteria for this such as being able to see the sun. Maybe home is an apartment facing south at lower latitudes. But in any case we had plenty of "take home" assignments and "homework" which involved going out somewhere. So I'm going to assume the only person who doesn't understand the comment is you.
Go to Walmart
Buy a 12 pack of Coke, vinyl gloves and a role of duct tape
Put on the gloves. Drink the coke.
Duct tape the empty cans to a series of public infrastructures (EG all the bridges surrounding a specific area)
Call 911 from a payphoneand report seeing suspicious objects. If required, hang-up after 90 seconds.
Bonus marks
1) scrawl some arabic looking words to the outside of each installation
2) Fill the cans with a mixture of almond flour and white play-dough
Didn't RTFA, but...
The university was made aware of the art project Tuesday morning and, through its police department, immediately informed the Atlanta Police Department
Funny wording... "the left hand was made aware of the right hand, and though its nerves immediately informed the brain of the impending clap" moment?
And how does this prevent a bomber getting a burner phone, leaving a fake name and the burner phone contact number and verifying that they're the fake identity when called?
It wouldn't but what it would do is prevent people from panicing for no reason. If a bomber was smart, they would do exactly this
if they needed to leave a bomb in a public place for a long period of time. But why exactly would a bomber need to do this?
The bomber really only needs enough time to get to a safe distance.
For leaving an object in a public place, the steps are 1) ask permission and 2) write your name and number on it. It's been that
way for years and no, this doesn't leave a giant gap in security because despite what people want to believe it's really easy
to find a lot of people all in one place and blow them up but luckily it's also an extremely rare event when someone wants to do
it so you're still thousands of time more likely to die in a car accident.
With the number of bombings Atlanta has had, the Stupid fuckers are lucky they didn't get shot while planting their device and the case would never even go to court.
"I saw this guy planting a suspicious object on the bridge, and considering Atlanta's history of bombings I shot him figuring it had to be a bomb and he was probably armed as well."
DA: "Sounds close enough to Stand Your Ground to me. No charges, and thank you for your diligence citizen."
What, you expect us to spend money to maintain our infrastructure? No way, we're already all tapped out with all the money we need to spend to defend against terrorism! Why, just this week there were two objects that kindof maybe sortof looked like bombs in Georgia! We can't afford to spend money on repairs or even proper dismantling when the fear^H^H^H^H threat of terrorism is hanging over our heads!
I remember sigs. Oh, a simpler time!
Although I think most of us would not think that placing the cameras in a public place for art's sake is some horrible offense, it might be a violation of privacy, and it is certainly not prudent in a terrorism-obsessed world.
Then why the fuck are there all these cameras in public places? And no, I'm not talking about an art project...
A pipe with wires.... its a bomb its a bomb! This is why you can't do electronics in public. People see wires and everything is a bomb. If you grabbed the cops cell phone and smashed it to the ground 1) you would be arrested and 2) you could shout at the top of your lungs "its a bomb! its a bomb!" (just before they tackle you to the ground). Seriously, if you are building a camera, disguise it to look like a public garbage can and the cops and nutters who like to shout "its a bomb its a bomb" will be assuaged. Likewise, if you are a terrorist, make your bomb look like a garbage can or like its part of the bridge, and you can leave it up for months without anyone batting an eye.
I've lived in a society that really did have a terrorism obsession, and let me tell you - what you are experiencing today is not it.
You don't know what it is to be truly obsessed with security until you lived in Northern Ireland in the 1970s and 80s.
For a current example of getting the tone of terrorism response very right, look at Israel's airports. Their security screening consists of highly trained psychological profilers asking a series of questions in the customs line, instead of the strip-half-naked-and-funnel-through-these-xray-tubes approach that we have.
While they also have armed soldiers walking around, the whole process is so much quicker than any American airport's security procedures that it's almost disorienting. Of course the volume/size is very different, but most rational people would argue that Israel deals with much more threats per capita.