Government succeeds in averting Mooninite terrorist threat

[Morat20]

Real bombs don't get this much hype.

And therein is the problem with the FUD State. Real shit gets pushed to the side so asshead politicians can castigate the Aqua Teen guys.

IMO, if the ASA really goes through with a trial on these bomb hoax charges, he should get a nice kick in the ass from the Mass. State Bar.  It seems pretty damn clear that these guys didn't have the intent to cause a bomb hoax.  It's a breach of legal ethics to bring a frivolous suit and I'm pretty sure that prosecutors are held to an even higher standard.  Were I the ASA in this situation, I'd have told my boss he could do the work because I wasn't going to put my ethics on the line for something so goddamn retarded.

The judge was politely skeptical about the charge, reminding the prosecutor that he'd have to prove that the folks in question intended for people to think it was a bomb.

He then set bail at 2500 dollars, which is about as blatant a "You don't stand a chance in hell of convicting them of anything worse than littering" statement as he could make. Obviously the judge felt this was total bullshit.

[CmdrSlack]

It doesn't really matter if the judge felt it was BS as far as ethics should be concerned, IMO.  The judge is clearly smarter than the ASA, but that won't keep the idiots from pushing forward if they really choose to push forward.

[Morat20]

It doesn't really matter if the judge felt it was BS as far as ethics should be concerned, IMO.  The judge is clearly smarter than the ASA, but that won't keep the idiots from pushing forward if they really choose to push forward.

I didn't think it would. I thought it was probably fairly comforting to the guys charged, however, and spoke to the total unliklihood of the charges sticking.

I also love that Boston is threatening to sue virtually everyone, and someone was swearing they'd get the FCC to shut down ATHF -- after, I suppose, lobbying Congress to grant the FCC license to review cable broadcasts. :)

[Hoax]

Wicked retarded chowds?

I looked outside at the sky was blue guys!!

Funny stuff though.  I too hope Southpark takes this one on.

[Yoru]

It's a breach of legal ethics to bring a frivolous suit and I'm pretty sure that prosecutors are held to an even higher standard.

(Do we have image tags in green?)

[CmdrSlack]

That's from Phoenix Wright, right?  I've been tempted to get a Wii just to see if these lawyer games are as fun as people say they are.  Unfortunately, I don't have the time to finish the games I already have let alone get a whole new console until March.  Fortunately, even your crafty use of image posts cannot sway me from my current goal!

Now back to goofing off instead of doing what I should be doing. 

[Abagadro]

This will be pleaded down to a face-saving Class B misdemeanor of not complying with some damn outdoor advertising law or something equally stupid.

My favorite thing about this has been watching the Freepers go nuts. They are over there talking about how this was really a dry run for terrorists to measure response times for emergency personnel, etc. and that it is Turner helping the Islamofacists.

And no, I'm not kidding.

[Tale]

Funny image on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonized/377167437/

[Morat20]

This will be pleaded down to a face-saving Class B misdemeanor of not complying with some damn outdoor advertising law or something equally stupid.

My favorite thing about this has been watching the Freepers go nuts. They are over there talking about how this was really a dry run for terrorists to measure response times for emergency personnel, etc. and that it is Turner helping the Islamofacists.

And no, I'm not kidding.

I believe the only thing they're guilty of doing is "littering" or "illegal flyering". Their press conference was a work of fucking genius.

[Yoru]

That's from Phoenix Wright, right?  I've been tempted to get a Wii just to see if these lawyer games are as fun as people say they are.  Unfortunately, I don't have the time to finish the games I already have let alone get a whole new console until March.  Fortunately, even your crafty use of image posts cannot sway me from my current goal!

Now back to goofing off instead of doing what I should be doing. 

Indeed. And a Wii won't help; Phoenix Wright is on the DS.

That is, for those not quite in the know, Manfred von Karma, an extremely extremely unscrupulous prosecuting attorney. One of the big nemeses in the first Phoenix Wright game.

[Margalis]

I just read the Boston Herald, it was hilarious. Now Boston media is extraordinarily stupid but this was just amazing.

One guy wrote an article about how the only people who know what ATHF is are guys who still live at home, wear backwards baseball caps (huh?), and are "saving money for their next tattoo." No respectable person would know because "we have jobs."

A couple other columns blabbered on and on about the "hoax."

It really is amazing how dumb people can be.

[Strazos]

If they had talked about dorks in basements, that would have been understandable, but wtf is that shit?

[Llava]

One guy wrote an article about how the only people who know what ATHF is are guys who still live at home, wear backwards baseball caps (huh?), and are "saving money for their next tattoo."

?

[Evangolis]

Boston gets million dollar TBS payoff.

The agreement with several state and local agencies resolves any potential civil or criminal claims against the companies, said Attorney General Martha Coakley.

Thus saving face for local politicians, while giving TBS national advertising exposure for less than the cost of a 30 second Super Bowl spot.

“We understand now that in today’s post-Sept. 11 environment, it was reasonable and appropriate for citizens and law enforcement officials to take any perceived threat posed by our light boards very seriously and to respond as they did,” the statement said.

Translation: We should have expected the sheep would get scared.

Coakley said prosecutors were in discussions with the men’s attorneys to resolve the charges before a trial.

Because having the judge laugh them out of court will be kind of embarrassing.

Prosecutors: "How about your clients plead guilty and we suspend the sentence?"

Attorney: "How about you drop the charges and we don't sue you for false arrest?"

Sorry for the cheap TV dialog, just couldn't resist.

[Trippy]

Okay that's just wrong.

[Evangolis]

How is it wrong?  Let me count the ways...

[Sky]

Backpacks...dreadlocks....TERRISTS!

[HaemishM]

Okay that's just wrong.

I weep for humanity.

[Miasma]

That picture has to be a photoshop, it just has to.

[Roac]

That picture has to be a photoshop, it just has to.

You doubt people are that stupid?

[tazelbain]

He's wearing a Mooninite T-shirt, maybe he's mocking the protesters.

[WayAbvPar]

Okay that's just wrong.

[Miasma]

Either it's fake or it is out of context.  Maybe those people are friends of the two who were arrested and they want turner to help them out, the "never forget" is in reference to their friends being fallguys.  Those three look pretty freaky, just like the "talk about our hair" guys.

[Paelos]

My guess is it's a joke. The two people holding the "never forget" signs look like they might be in the target demographic for the show.

[Sky]

I actually think those signs are great. Honestly. It's a great symbol of how fucking retarded this 'post-9/11' tripe is. Never forget that you could be persecuted for an absolutely stupid reason and then made to pay out the ass for it. It's maybe the best symbol of 'post-9/11' bullshit we've seen thus far.

They need to start pumping out shirts ASAP.

[Trippy]

He's wearing a Mooninite T-shirt, maybe he's mocking the protesters.

That would make more sense.

[tazelbain]

Poor Douglas Adams spent his life telling us "Don't Panic", but now we live in an environment where the motto is "Panic early and often."

[Margalis]

The "never forget" stuff is a joke, those people were protesting the arrest or detainment or whatever of those two dudes. The person with the brown sign must be a counter-protester.

[Paelos]

The "never forget" stuff is a joke, those people were protesting the arrest or detainment or whatever of those two dudes. The person with the brown sign must be a counter-protester.

Anyone referring to themselve as "counter-protesters" need to reevaluate their place in society. I'm fucking reactionary with no real cause! Give me a reason!

[HaemishM]

Whatever happened to protesting for the hell of it
Just protesting
Cos it's Saturday
And there's nothing else to do

[bhodi]

I think Lewis Black said something similar in "Nothing Sacred" his autobiography; They got completely stoned one day, drove out, and joined a protest, just because it was something to do.

Also:

[CmdrSlack]

Whatever happened to protesting for the hell of it
Just protesting
Cos it's Saturday
And there's nothing else to do

We're NOT gonna protest.

[Evangolis]

Meanwhile, real bombers are really crazy:

In 2005, The Bishop started sending anonymous, threatening letters to financial services companies in the Midwest demanding the targeted companies take action to move specific stocks to a predetermined price, often $6.66, the report said. The letters were signed "The Bishop."

[HaemishM]

Meanwhile, real bombers are really crazy:

In 2005, The Bishop started sending anonymous, threatening letters to financial services companies in the Midwest demanding the targeted companies take action to move specific stocks to a predetermined price, often $6.66, the report said. The letters were signed "The Bishop."

From the article:

Burton, a former State Department counterterrorism agent, orchestrated the arrest of Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind of the first World Trade Center bombing.

Wait, didn't Yousef get caught trying to return the rental van he had placed the bomb in for the deposit? I'd hardly call that a mastermind, or use that as a reference on my resume.

[pxib]

You're thinking of Mohammed Salameh, consumate stooge and weakest link in the scheme... famous for getting in car accidents while driving important bomb making materials and bomb makers around New Jersey. Ramzi Yousef, terrorist mastermind, was turned in by an acquaintance who wanted the two million dollar reward... and he was arrested in Pakistan in a joint raid between American and Pakistani intelligence agents. Now he's in a Supermax prison in Colorado.

Salameh is there too... and recently got in trouble for communicating by mail with the Spanish cell that planned and executed the Madrid bombings in 2004.

edit: Fixed my link.