Funny, I was called a conspiracy theorist when I said the US was stacking a deck of lies as it pushed for war with Iraq...when was that? Oh yes...fall of 2002.
Stopped clock, etc
Also, I have serious doubts that most people 'round here would've called that a conspiracy theory
Even at that time, there were plenty of people calling foul
So ah, most of this youtube video is mediocre and goes over stuff we already know and whatnot, but check out 3:27-
Reporter: Turner Broadcasting is issuing a statement that this is some sort of marketing campaign...
Boston Official (Mayor?): Uh, we're investigating numerous, uh, leads. And we're looking at that as a possibility and we're looking at all sorts of possibilities at this time. It really is premature.
Boston Official (Mayor?): Uh, we're investigating numerous, uh, leads. And we're looking at that as a possibility and we're looking at all sorts of possibilities at this time. It really is premature.
Funny, I was called a conspiracy theorist when I said the US was stacking a deck of lies as it pushed for war with Iraq...when was that? Oh yes...fall of 2002.
Things are starting to feel eerily similair to when I first started posting on Debate and Discourse in late 2002. Back then we could all feel that the propaganda road toward a war with Iraq was inevitable
So which one is it? Were we all sheeple blindly following the drumbeats of war by the media and the president or were a number of us questioning not only the intention/intel of the war, its necessity, but also the potential efficacy that military involvement would bring?
Wow. I actually just read up on this for the first time. This is fucking awesome.
Awesome only begins to describe these events. This a brilliant story. It's as though shitty journalism, hair-trigger police forces, and a perpetually-paranoid citizenry decided to have a pow-wow in Boston. Over Ignignokt.
It gives us a rare chance to laugh at the more disturbing trends of the past 6 years.
I wonder if al Qaeda will erroneously claim responsiblity for this.
...they like to claim responsibility for a lot of things they werent really behind.
At any rate, on Wednesday I thought this was just going to be one of those little offbeat tucked away stories, I'm astonished how massive this story has gotten. It's been the number one headline on a lot of the mainstream news sites and shows today.
Funny, I was called a conspiracy theorist when I said the US was stacking a deck of lies as it pushed for war with Iraq...when was that? Oh yes...fall of 2002.
Funny, I was called a conspiracy theorist when I said the US was stacking a deck of lies as it pushed for war with Iraq...when was that? Oh yes...fall of 2002.
My dad said that a DHS official stated on the radio that this whole fiasco was some sort of test, conducted in cities all over the country, and "Boston was the only city that passed."
Please say he was pulling my leg.
He was.
That would be awesome if someone said that, though.
"No, we didn't fuck up... WE PASSED A TEST! We're number 1!"
logically speaking a briefcase is actually far more likely to be a real bomb that a fucking lite brite
Logically speaking even if those things were bomb based on the dimensions they were highly unlikely to be particularly powerful.
Also, I believe you can be charge (or more accurately, ticketed) for leaving your baggage unattended in an airport. I think it carries a fine, though, rather than half a decade in prison.
Dude, I'm not saying that there will be a 100 megaton nuke in a normal sized suitcase or anything, but a decent amount of C-4 can fit in a suitcase, and would a very decent sized mess.
logically speaking a briefcase is actually far more likely to be a real bomb that a fucking lite brite
Logically speaking even if those things were bomb based on the dimensions they were highly unlikely to be particularly powerful.
Also, I believe you can be charge (or more accurately, ticketed) for leaving your baggage unattended in an airport. I think it carries a fine, though, rather than half a decade in prison.
Dude, I'm not saying that there will be a 100 megaton nuke in a normal sized suitcase or anything, but a decent amount of C-4 can fit in a suitcase, and would a very decent sized mess.
logically speaking a briefcase is actually far more likely to be a real bomb that a fucking lite brite
Logically speaking even if those things were bomb based on the dimensions they were highly unlikely to be particularly powerful.
Also, I believe you can be charge (or more accurately, ticketed) for leaving your baggage unattended in an airport. I think it carries a fine, though, rather than half a decade in prison.
Dude, I'm not saying that there will be a 100 megaton nuke in a normal sized suitcase or anything, but a decent amount of C-4 can fit in a suitcase, and would a very decent sized mess.
Can we just ban entropy kid from this fucking thread? JESUS. And yeah, I heard that radio broadcast with Nick Dipalo, or whatever, and some Homeland security guy calls in and says Boston was the only city that passed the test. He wasn't kidding, either.
Can we just ban entropy kid from this fucking thread? JESUS.
Why? He hasn't been very disruptive. People who like to rip on entropykid at every opportunity have been pretty goddamned disruptive, but his own posts so far have all been pretty harmless. It's just that rather than ignore the irrellevant bits of his posts or even respond to them within the context of the discussion, it's cooler to fill up two pages with posts bitching about how horrible he is.
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Can we just ban entropy kid from this fucking thread? JESUS.
Why? He hasn't been very disruptive. People who like to rip on entropykid at every opportunity have been pretty goddamned disruptive, but his own posts so far have all been pretty harmless. It's just that rather than ignore the irrellevant bits of his posts or even respond to them within the context of the discussion, it's cooler to fill up two pages with posts bitching about how horrible he is.
and then there's the inevitable bitching about the bitching
Can we just ban entropy kid from this fucking thread? JESUS.
Why? He hasn't been very disruptive. People who like to rip on entropykid at every opportunity have been pretty goddamned disruptive, but his own posts so far have all been pretty harmless. It's just that rather than ignore the irrellevant bits of his posts or even respond to them within the context of the discussion, it's cooler to fill up two pages with posts bitching about how horrible he is.
and then there's the inevitable bitching about the bitching
Clearly you don't know what "inevitable" means.
Anyway, the "Homeland Security guy" is rather obviously lying, I can't imagine why anyone would take his remarks as meaning anything. "It was a test" after the people responsible for the marketting campaign have already owned up to their marketting campaign? That's pretty much just retarded.
Funny, I was called a conspiracy theorist when I said the US was stacking a deck of lies as it pushed for war with Iraq...when was that? Oh yes...fall of 2002.
You joined this forum in the spring of '03
Are you going to believe entropykid, or your lying eyes?
Funny, I was called a conspiracy theorist when I said the US was stacking a deck of lies as it pushed for war with Iraq...when was that? Oh yes...fall of 2002.
You joined this forum in the spring of '03
You sure his login wasn't just wiped out with the switch to the new boards or something? I know I was kicking around the forums here prior to September of 2003. I mean, I'm just sayin'.
I love how the mayor of Boston has the balls to say that turner broadcasting should pay for the money they spent on clearing the bombs.
Looking past the fact that THEY over reacted and of 10 cities only THEY freaked out i just have one question. Who do we see about being paid back for our money they wasted on the big dig?
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"Look, all I know is that this cord was plugged into my house and your house was glowing like the freakin' sun. So, I put two and two together there and decided that you're pissing me off." -Carl Brutananadilewski
In regards to the advocates of his former empire: “I was going to have them all executed… the Royal Advocate talked me out of it.” -Shadowthrone (Emperor Kellanved)
I love how the mayor of Boston has the balls to say that turner broadcasting should pay for the money they spent on clearing the bombs.
Looking past the fact that THEY over reacted and of 10 cities only THEY freaked out i just have one question. Who do we see about being paid back for our money they wasted on the big dig?
It's not entirely unreasonable when you think about it. I believe some places you can be forced to pay if the police show up to a false alarm at your home, for instance. And while entirely unintentional, their actions did cause the police to waste time and resources. Yes, part of that is due to overreaction by the city. But part is also due to the placing of homemade-looking electronic devices around town.
Now, the bill shouldn't be that high. I would imagine Boston has a bomb squad on duty, and they can't be that busy. Explosives aren't that expensive, either. But putting together some small bill to cover the little additional police time involved (securing the area, for instance) and what not isn't entirely out of the question. And Turner probably wouldn't have had much of a problem with it, since the publicity gained should more than offset the bill.
Of course, actually arresting people was absolutely retarded. Which is probably why nobody is going to support this idea.
Anyway, the City of Boston should've been happy. This gave them some great "dry run" training for what they'd do if, you know, they actually had a credible threat someday. Fuckers should learn to look on the bright side.
As for the big dig...yeah, ya'll got fucked. As did the federal taxpayers. And that dead woman's husband.
It's not entirely unreasonable when you think about it. I believe some places you can be forced to pay if the police show up to a false alarm at your home, for instance. And while entirely unintentional, their actions did cause the police to waste time and resources. Yes, part of that is due to overreaction by the city. But part is also due to the placing of homemade-looking electronic devices around town.
If you call the police to your house claiming there is an emergency, and there is no emergency, yeah, i'm pretty sure you will get into trouble. If you call the police saying there is an emergency at your neighbors house when there is no emergency, your neighbors will not get into trouble... whoever called the police will get into trouble.
Turner broadcasting did not report a bomb. Why should Turner be fined for something someone else did?
Yes, they are responsible for putting the mooninites up, but I dont believe they are responsible for creating the bomb scare.
1: How can this be a test? It was a marketing campaign.
2: Did the government make as big of a deal out of this as the media did? Several times a year the police get called to a suspicious package on the street in my city. Every time its been like, a book bag with some wrapping ribbon sticking out of it, or something, that someone left on the street. Im sure CNN and all them could make it look like a huge fiasco though.
3: Remember that whole thing in Men in Black about how people are stupid panicy, and unreasonable? Its true. Theres a reason that every day the CIA doesnt make a press release about how they are trying to stop terrorism, and keep tabs on foreign interests. Noone wants to hear that crap We dont want to hear that some guys tried to release Sarin gas into a subway. We'd much rather think it doesnt happen.
Theres no point in telling people, "Hey, you could've just exploded." It doesnt increase security, or the peoples resilience. It makes half of them think, "He has to be lying" and the other half think "HOLY CRAP I NEED TO BUY GAS MASKS OFF OF EBAY AND DUCK TAPE AND PLASTIC WRAP MY DOORS!!1!"
It's not entirely unreasonable when you think about it. I believe some places you can be forced to pay if the police show up to a false alarm at your home, for instance. And while entirely unintentional, their actions did cause the police to waste time and resources. Yes, part of that is due to overreaction by the city. But part is also due to the placing of homemade-looking electronic devices around town.
If you call the police to your house claiming there is an emergency, and there is no emergency, yeah, i'm pretty sure you will get into trouble. If you call the police saying there is an emergency at your neighbors house when there is no emergency, your neighbors will not get into trouble... whoever called the police will get into trouble.
Turner broadcasting did not report a bomb. Why should Turner be fined for something someone else did?
Yes, they are responsible for putting the mooninites up, but I dont believe they are responsible for creating the bomb scare.
because thier representives broke the law, and caused damnages the city estimates at 3/4 of a million dollars.
Civil suits are kinda wierd, and the requirements of evidence are pretty diffrent that those in a criminal suit. While there are some sticking points in the case, it won't be that hard to make.
Consdiering the amount of money we are talking about, which is pretty trival, I don't really think the city is out of line. I was expecting them to sue for a whole lot more, like a couple orders of magnitude mroe than they are.
Like, I was expecting them to sue for more than the VP in charge of advertising's salary, and I think the number they named is probably under that. The Marketing company absolutely did this shit. The results caused underniable damnages. There is a slight question of was this a forseeable potential result, but ehh... that's what courts are for. Considering talkshows and shit, the city might be able to convince people.
tl;dr I don't think the city is being unreasonable asking for these damnages, and in court they might have a shot at getting them.
It's not entirely unreasonable when you think about it. I believe some places you can be forced to pay if the police show up to a false alarm at your home, for instance. And while entirely unintentional, their actions did cause the police to waste time and resources. Yes, part of that is due to overreaction by the city. But part is also due to the placing of homemade-looking electronic devices around town.
If you call the police to your house claiming there is an emergency, and there is no emergency, yeah, i'm pretty sure you will get into trouble. If you call the police saying there is an emergency at your neighbors house when there is no emergency, your neighbors will not get into trouble... whoever called the police will get into trouble.
Turner broadcasting did not report a bomb. Why should Turner be fined for something someone else did?
Yes, they are responsible for putting the mooninites up, but I dont believe they are responsible for creating the bomb scare.
because thier representives broke the law, and caused damnages the city estimates at 3/4 of a million dollars.
Civil suits are kinda wierd, and the requirements of evidence are pretty diffrent that those in a criminal suit. While there are some sticking points in the case, it won't be that hard to make.
Consdiering the amount of money we are talking about, which is pretty trival, I don't really think the city is out of line. I was expecting them to sue for a whole lot more, like a couple orders of magnitude mroe than they are.
Like, I was expecting them to sue for more than the VP in charge of advertising's salary, and I think the number they named is probably under that. The Marketing company absolutely did this shit. The results caused underniable damnages. There is a slight question of was this a forseeable potential result, but ehh... that's what courts are for. Considering talkshows and shit, the city might be able to convince people.
tl;dr I don't think the city is being unreasonable asking for these damnages, and in court they might have a shot at getting them.
I think it's unreasonable because the lite-bright displays did not cause the damages, the mismanaging of the entire affair is the city's fault.
Therefore the city accrued its own damages through incompetence and should have to foot the bill.
They'll knok it down to a vandalism charge or something and give em a fine. boston doesn't want this dhit going to trial it'll make em a joke for months.
still don't see how it is the best intrest of either company to plead.
Like, the workers... well... they might want to, but for the civil suit, and mabey even the criminal one, the longer they drag it out the more free media.
If they really don't have anyway of making the case, it might be worth the gamble even with the criminal case, to drag it out.
If you call the police to your house claiming there is an emergency, and there is no emergency, yeah, i'm pretty sure you will get into trouble. If you call the police saying there is an emergency at your neighbors house when there is no emergency, your neighbors will not get into trouble... whoever called the police will get into trouble.
Turner broadcasting did not report a bomb. Why should Turner be fined for something someone else did?
Yes, they are responsible for putting the mooninites up, but I dont believe they are responsible for creating the bomb scare.
I brought up the whole "false alarm" at your house thing to bring up the idea that if your actions cause the police's time to be wasted, there is a precedent for charging you some amount for that. I was largely referring to the automated calls they get from home alarm systems.
Anyway, the point is that it was through Turner's actions (or the actions of those Turner hired) that this cost to the city was incurred. Their likely illegal actions (assuming they didn't have permission from property owners or the city to place these on public and private property respectively), which is major point. Yeah, thinking it's a bomb and calling the police was somewhat retarded. The city's overreaction surely didn't help matters. The point is that the law was broken when these things were placed, and that action kicked off the chain of events that led to a large waste of city resources and time.
I simply don't think it's unreasonable to ask them, as a company, to foot some and/or all of the bill on that. Well, maybe forcing them to foot all of the the bill is. But seriously, forcing a company to pay some amount to help cover the (absolute unintended, I'll concede) consequences of their (more than likely) illegal actions? I shudder to think.
Now, the second the city put handcuffs on anybody they moved into retardville.
still don't see how it is the best intrest of either company to plead.
Like, the workers... well... they might want to, but for the civil suit, and mabey even the criminal one, the longer they drag it out the more free media.
If they really don't have anyway of making the case, it might be worth the gamble even with the criminal case, to drag it out.
Oh, for the civil suit there's no real reason not to take it to court, unless an extremely small settlement is offered. For the criminal....I'll say it again, when you say "gamble" you have to remember the stakes.
A misdemeanor conviction with no jail time and no substantial fines is something I'd probably jump on in a heartbeat if I were them. Especially since they did commit crimes...as I said, I doubt they had permission for this from property owners/the city.
To go with an actual gambling analogy: if you could place a bet where you had 10,000 to 1 odds of winning, but the payout was equally bad and the minimum stakes were everything you owned, would you place it? To me, avoiding a non-felony non-jailtime conviction in this case would be analogous to like a hundred-dollar payout. Going to prison for five years, or even having a felony on my record, would be analogous to losing everything I own.
They'll knok it down to a vandalism charge or something and give em a fine. boston doesn't want this dhit going to trial it'll make em a joke for months.
Almost definitely. And they'll plead out because they really are guilty of at least a couple misdemeanors. But they won't drop the big stuff until they agree to plead out to the small stuff, I'd wager...that's their leverage.
Unless they can get a judge to throw the charges out, of course...because, you know, they're bullshit and all.
The DA pressed charges that require proof of intent. Which will be practically impossible.
These guys didn't break any laws, and the city knows it. They're just being prosecuted because the boston PD and friends feel the need to save face.
Well, they definitely broke several laws. Littering, maybe vandalism, hell they're on video jaywalking if I remember correctly. I mean, if you went over their actions you could probably come up with like a dozen piddly-ass laws they broke, and possibly some fairly serious ones.
As for the whole "placing hoax device" and what not...of course they aren't guilty. I'm under the impression that the common practice is to charge them with everything from the smallest infraction possible up to the most heinous thing you can imagine, to scare them into pleading to something reasonable. But that's pretty much just what I've gleaned from watching TV, so not worth much.
But seriously, they broke several laws. Period. Some of which may actually carry short (like days/weeks, not months or years) jail sentences.
EDIT: After watching that ytmnd, suddenly I want to make one of these in the shape of one of those old "Spy vs. Spy" cannonball looking bombs, complete with fuse, and put it somewhere.
Posts
Also, I have serious doubts that most people 'round here would've called that a conspiracy theory
Even at that time, there were plenty of people calling foul
Reporter: Turner Broadcasting is issuing a statement that this is some sort of marketing campaign...
Boston Official (Mayor?): Uh, we're investigating numerous, uh, leads. And we're looking at that as a possibility and we're looking at all sorts of possibilities at this time. It really is premature.
:shock:
So which one is it? Were we all sheeple blindly following the drumbeats of war by the media and the president or were a number of us questioning not only the intention/intel of the war, its necessity, but also the potential efficacy that military involvement would bring?
I'm sorry Elks.
anywhere in florida?
Awesome only begins to describe these events. This a brilliant story. It's as though shitty journalism, hair-trigger police forces, and a perpetually-paranoid citizenry decided to have a pow-wow in Boston. Over Ignignokt.
It gives us a rare chance to laugh at the more disturbing trends of the past 6 years.
75% No when I looked
http://digg.com/politics/Vote_NO_in_MSNBC_Poll_For_Aqua_Teen_Hoax
...they like to claim responsibility for a lot of things they werent really behind.
At any rate, on Wednesday I thought this was just going to be one of those little offbeat tucked away stories, I'm astonished how massive this story has gotten. It's been the number one headline on a lot of the mainstream news sites and shows today.
NeoRamen: panoramic cyberpunk gamer comic
You clever little monkey you.
You joined this forum in the spring of '03
At least we can rest assured that YTMND will hold the fort in this tragic incident:
http://litebritemooninite.ytmnd.com/
What the FU-*BOOM*
lol what movie was that from, DieHard?
You can't post on these forums anymore!
lol nub!
He was.
That would be awesome if someone said that, though.
"No, we didn't fuck up... WE PASSED A TEST! We're number 1!"
Dude, I'm not saying that there will be a 100 megaton nuke in a normal sized suitcase or anything, but a decent amount of C-4 can fit in a suitcase, and would a very decent sized mess.
Oh....
Well, never mind then. :oops:
and then there's the inevitable bitching about the bitching
Anyway, the "Homeland Security guy" is rather obviously lying, I can't imagine why anyone would take his remarks as meaning anything. "It was a test" after the people responsible for the marketting campaign have already owned up to their marketting campaign? That's pretty much just retarded.
You sure his login wasn't just wiped out with the switch to the new boards or something? I know I was kicking around the forums here prior to September of 2003. I mean, I'm just sayin'.
Looking past the fact that THEY over reacted and of 10 cities only THEY freaked out i just have one question. Who do we see about being paid back for our money they wasted on the big dig?
In regards to the advocates of his former empire: “I was going to have them all executed… the Royal Advocate talked me out of it.” -Shadowthrone (Emperor Kellanved)
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It's not entirely unreasonable when you think about it. I believe some places you can be forced to pay if the police show up to a false alarm at your home, for instance. And while entirely unintentional, their actions did cause the police to waste time and resources. Yes, part of that is due to overreaction by the city. But part is also due to the placing of homemade-looking electronic devices around town.
Now, the bill shouldn't be that high. I would imagine Boston has a bomb squad on duty, and they can't be that busy. Explosives aren't that expensive, either. But putting together some small bill to cover the little additional police time involved (securing the area, for instance) and what not isn't entirely out of the question. And Turner probably wouldn't have had much of a problem with it, since the publicity gained should more than offset the bill.
Of course, actually arresting people was absolutely retarded. Which is probably why nobody is going to support this idea.
Anyway, the City of Boston should've been happy. This gave them some great "dry run" training for what they'd do if, you know, they actually had a credible threat someday. Fuckers should learn to look on the bright side.
As for the big dig...yeah, ya'll got fucked. As did the federal taxpayers. And that dead woman's husband.
If you call the police to your house claiming there is an emergency, and there is no emergency, yeah, i'm pretty sure you will get into trouble. If you call the police saying there is an emergency at your neighbors house when there is no emergency, your neighbors will not get into trouble... whoever called the police will get into trouble.
Turner broadcasting did not report a bomb. Why should Turner be fined for something someone else did?
Yes, they are responsible for putting the mooninites up, but I dont believe they are responsible for creating the bomb scare.
1: How can this be a test? It was a marketing campaign.
2: Did the government make as big of a deal out of this as the media did? Several times a year the police get called to a suspicious package on the street in my city. Every time its been like, a book bag with some wrapping ribbon sticking out of it, or something, that someone left on the street. Im sure CNN and all them could make it look like a huge fiasco though.
3: Remember that whole thing in Men in Black about how people are stupid panicy, and unreasonable? Its true. Theres a reason that every day the CIA doesnt make a press release about how they are trying to stop terrorism, and keep tabs on foreign interests. Noone wants to hear that crap We dont want to hear that some guys tried to release Sarin gas into a subway. We'd much rather think it doesnt happen.
Theres no point in telling people, "Hey, you could've just exploded." It doesnt increase security, or the peoples resilience. It makes half of them think, "He has to be lying" and the other half think "HOLY CRAP I NEED TO BUY GAS MASKS OFF OF EBAY AND DUCK TAPE AND PLASTIC WRAP MY DOORS!!1!"
4: DA MOON RULZ #1
At least NPR is referring to it as "marketing scheme mistaken as a hoax"
because thier representives broke the law, and caused damnages the city estimates at 3/4 of a million dollars.
Civil suits are kinda wierd, and the requirements of evidence are pretty diffrent that those in a criminal suit. While there are some sticking points in the case, it won't be that hard to make.
Consdiering the amount of money we are talking about, which is pretty trival, I don't really think the city is out of line. I was expecting them to sue for a whole lot more, like a couple orders of magnitude mroe than they are.
Like, I was expecting them to sue for more than the VP in charge of advertising's salary, and I think the number they named is probably under that. The Marketing company absolutely did this shit. The results caused underniable damnages. There is a slight question of was this a forseeable potential result, but ehh... that's what courts are for. Considering talkshows and shit, the city might be able to convince people.
tl;dr I don't think the city is being unreasonable asking for these damnages, and in court they might have a shot at getting them.
I think it's unreasonable because the lite-bright displays did not cause the damages, the mismanaging of the entire affair is the city's fault.
Therefore the city accrued its own damages through incompetence and should have to foot the bill.
The DA pressed charges that require proof of intent. Which will be practically impossible.
These guys didn't break any laws, and the city knows it. They're just being prosecuted because the boston PD and friends feel the need to save face.
That's gotta be the funniest thing I've seen in a while. Totally made my day.
Like, the workers... well... they might want to, but for the civil suit, and mabey even the criminal one, the longer they drag it out the more free media.
If they really don't have anyway of making the case, it might be worth the gamble even with the criminal case, to drag it out.
I brought up the whole "false alarm" at your house thing to bring up the idea that if your actions cause the police's time to be wasted, there is a precedent for charging you some amount for that. I was largely referring to the automated calls they get from home alarm systems.
Anyway, the point is that it was through Turner's actions (or the actions of those Turner hired) that this cost to the city was incurred. Their likely illegal actions (assuming they didn't have permission from property owners or the city to place these on public and private property respectively), which is major point. Yeah, thinking it's a bomb and calling the police was somewhat retarded. The city's overreaction surely didn't help matters. The point is that the law was broken when these things were placed, and that action kicked off the chain of events that led to a large waste of city resources and time.
I simply don't think it's unreasonable to ask them, as a company, to foot some and/or all of the bill on that. Well, maybe forcing them to foot all of the the bill is. But seriously, forcing a company to pay some amount to help cover the (absolute unintended, I'll concede) consequences of their (more than likely) illegal actions? I shudder to think.
Now, the second the city put handcuffs on anybody they moved into retardville.
Oh, for the civil suit there's no real reason not to take it to court, unless an extremely small settlement is offered. For the criminal....I'll say it again, when you say "gamble" you have to remember the stakes.
A misdemeanor conviction with no jail time and no substantial fines is something I'd probably jump on in a heartbeat if I were them. Especially since they did commit crimes...as I said, I doubt they had permission for this from property owners/the city.
To go with an actual gambling analogy: if you could place a bet where you had 10,000 to 1 odds of winning, but the payout was equally bad and the minimum stakes were everything you owned, would you place it? To me, avoiding a non-felony non-jailtime conviction in this case would be analogous to like a hundred-dollar payout. Going to prison for five years, or even having a felony on my record, would be analogous to losing everything I own.
I'd pass on that.
Almost definitely. And they'll plead out because they really are guilty of at least a couple misdemeanors. But they won't drop the big stuff until they agree to plead out to the small stuff, I'd wager...that's their leverage.
Unless they can get a judge to throw the charges out, of course...because, you know, they're bullshit and all.
Well, they definitely broke several laws. Littering, maybe vandalism, hell they're on video jaywalking if I remember correctly. I mean, if you went over their actions you could probably come up with like a dozen piddly-ass laws they broke, and possibly some fairly serious ones.
As for the whole "placing hoax device" and what not...of course they aren't guilty. I'm under the impression that the common practice is to charge them with everything from the smallest infraction possible up to the most heinous thing you can imagine, to scare them into pleading to something reasonable. But that's pretty much just what I've gleaned from watching TV, so not worth much.
But seriously, they broke several laws. Period. Some of which may actually carry short (like days/weeks, not months or years) jail sentences.
EDIT: After watching that ytmnd, suddenly I want to make one of these in the shape of one of those old "Spy vs. Spy" cannonball looking bombs, complete with fuse, and put it somewhere.
The rest kinda boils down to how long the jail term would be, how much money turner was going to give me and how much of a shot I had at beating it.
If jails were anything but assrape factories, I'd really have to think about it, if I was going to get a shitload of money for it.
I guess you're not supposed to be able off making a crime, but I'm sure there is a way to work something out.
This isn't really any different - their overreaction (and all the costs included) is their own fault.