Weird. Female MIT student arrested at gunpoint at Boston airport for wearing fake, visible bomb

[ecstatic]

CNN is covering this as breaking news. It happened at Logan Intl Airport in Boston, MA.

Star Simpson, 19, had a computer circuit board, wiring and a putty that later was determined to be Play-Doh in plain view over a black hooded sweatshirt she was wearing, said State Police Maj. Scott Pare, the commanding officer at the airport...

"She's extremely lucky she followed the instructions or deadly force would have been used," Pare told The Associated Press. "And she's lucky to be in a cell as opposed to the morgue."

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/14171964/detail.html

The student is 19 years old. I wonder if this is an issue of free speech or what her motivation was. Did someone with a real weapon get through while all eyes were on her?

[TwilightGardener]

1. That is weird. Don't know what to make of it.

[Zandor]

297. She's an idiot beyond compare

And lucky to be alive.

[Thothmes]

298. Amen

[liberal N proud]

2. Why would someone wear a fake, visible bomb?

:banghead:

[BlooInBloo]

4. I'm sure she had an uber-geek reason that makes sense, but is so...

... uber-geeky and utterly bereft of any connection to the real world that it has to be considered fucking stupid.

[ecstatic]

6. That's what I'm thinking. Especially since she goes to MIT :p nt

[BlooInBloo]

8. Yup. She'll probably invent a warp engine after she gets outta jail.

[TripleD]

265. Suicide by cop???

NT

[BOSSHOG]

3. On a related but maybe off topic issue

A few years back on Mardi Gras in the French Quarter, a lady was dressed up like a suicide bomber, with fake bombs wrapped around her body and carrying a fake machine gun. Quite a compelling site but in the French Quarter on Mardi Gras one is liable to see anything. I recall the Jeffrey Dahmer themed costumes were quite grotesque and Monica Lewinsky and her Priest confessor and on and on and on.

[Marrah_G]

5. Mental illness maybe?

[Warpy]

7. I worked at MIT and I saw a lot of students

crack under the pressure, especially during the first two years.

Working there made me glad I never had the money to go to undergrad school there.

[BlooInBloo]

9. Heh. I'm still of two minds about not taking their grad school offer... There's good and bad.

[Warpy]

11. Grad students seemed to be happy as pigs in shit

The pressure came in the first two years, when the top grads of Podunk High came to the top university and found out they weren't all that smart and needed to work their butts off for a C. They didn't sleep enough, they forgot to eat, and they fell apart.

[BlooInBloo]

14. Yup - it's a lot easier when THEY pay for YOU.

[Poll_Blind]

10. PIC and further speculation...

From here

Found it on the the page for the Media Lab at MIT. She's in UROPS (Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme in Science). Somehow I have a feeling that, unless she's terribly unbalanced mentally, this was probably some home-made device which was not intended to be viewed as a bomb.

Look at how the Boston police interpreted Comedy Central's guerrilla advertizing for the Mooninites.

PB

[ecstatic]

18. Press conference: she says it was just art... Besides, do bombs look

like circuit boards? Either way, she is kind of naive.

[cobalt1999]

24. Art!?!

I guess her blood running all over the floor after being shot might make pretty patterns or something. I'd call her an idiot, but she can't be stupid if she's goes to MIT, so she's either naive or unbalanced.

[ecstatic]

27. Just curious... Does shooting the bomb carrier disable the bomb?

Since the media keeps saying how lucky she is to be alive.

[Pavulon]

30. If manually triggered, yes..

being shot in the brain stops the detonation by preventing the person from moving. That is why that poor guy in london was shot in the head multiple times.

[ProfessorGAC]

111. Unless There's A Deadman Trigger

Then, letting it go sets it off.
The Professor

[Pavulon]

117. Either way..

that person created a deadly force event for the police.

[ProfessorGAC]

131. No Argument

I was just commenting that deadly force wouldn't necessarily prevent detonation. But, as your paste shows, what she did was amazingly stupid and dangerous.
The Professor

[Tesha]

152. They do in movies, 'cause they all have to have red LEDs that count down...

> Besides, do bombs look like circuit boards?

They do in movies, 'cause they all have to have
red LEDs that count down the seconds until the
hero disarms them. In real life, they probably
look more like alarm clocks, cell phones, and
teeny little circuit boards from children's
toys.

By the way, here's a very nice "30 metre"
("100 foot") radio receiver. It will run
continuously for about four years on a
"coin cell" battery.



Tesha

[ShortnFiery]

25. Yes, and she has BROWN toned skin ... sort of like the Brits killing the Brazilian Student

whom they'd mistaken for a terrorist. :eyes: :thumbsdown:

[Jed Dilligan]

86. She's beautiful nt

[aikoaiko]

12. Probably just another attention whore.

Stupid usually hurts more than it did in this case.

[madrchsod]

17. little quick to judge....

[aikoaiko]

23. ""She said it was a piece of art, and wanted to stand out on career day. "

From the site you cited.

Quick to judge -- maybe.

[Bucky]

204. If you said "Attention Hound" you wouldn't appear to be sexist.

Maybe you knew that, but a lot of people don't know when they're using trigger words. Or wearing hoodies that provoke the cops into shooting them.

[aikoaiko]

247. I always thought of 'attention whore' as a gender neutral term

...as it seems to be used for both men and women (unlike drama queen, for example).

[Name removed]

249. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[seriousstan]

284. Jury rigging is a nautical term dating back to at least 1788.

Google is your friend.

[AnotherGreenWorld]

91. That's my guess...

[Roxy66]

13. I wonder what she was doing....

[goodhue]

63. She was at information desk asking about arriving passenger

Note that she was not a passenger herself and was not clearing TSA security.
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/14171964/detail.html

[Xenotime]

138. Exactly. AND----Where is the fucking sympathy for this poor woman...

Maybe she needed help. Maybe she just needed somebody to talk to and notice her. All I hear is GUILTY! THOW THE BOOK AT HER! Come on people! Show some fucking compassion.

[goodhue]

147. Indeed

She reportedly asked about an arriving passenger.
I suspect the only help she needed was direction to correct baggage claim.

[Roxy66]

15. Press conference...she said it was a piece of Art.

[ecstatic]

19. Awwwt... Boston accents are funny. Just kidding!

:hide:

[TwilightGardener]

20. If so, she's a moron. She put public safety in jeopardy, and diverted

security and resources, with her stunt. She could have caused a dangerous panic, or a nervous security guard might have pulled the trigger. Unbelievable stupidity--I hope they throw the book at her.

[madrchsod]

16. from boingboing--her website and stuff

http://www.boingboing.net/2007/09/21/mit-student-arrested.html
MIT student arrested for entering Boston airport with "fake bomb"

[ecstatic]

21. good article. I wonder if she'll be kicked out of school? nt

[AnotherGreenWorld]

110. I hope so.

This was extremely stupid. She easily could've been killed.

[ecstatic]

118. I really hope not. I think it was all a big misunderstanding

I hope her boyfriend has a ride home.

[goodhue]

26. apparently she loves crazy ideas and was wearing a piece of art

At least that is what I gleaned from boingboing article.
Thanks for the link.

[blitzen]

29. It was probably something kinda like this (art from her website)

but in the fascist police state that is America in 2007, this can get you shot by the airport cops

[knitter4democracy]

277. With all the updates, it makes a lot more sense.

It doesn't look like a bomb to me, but what do I know? It looks like an LED thingy to make her sweatshirt light up. So what. *sigh* This stuff is getting ridiculous.

[book_worm]

22. "the student is 19 years old" why do people always use age as an excuse

for being stupid?

[ShortnFiery]

31. Bullshit! If our Authority Figures are so "freaked" that they can't recognize what is, or is not a

bomb, then let the damn POLICE STATE emerge. Just don't bitch when they come to take *YOU* whom they deemed "idiot" away for an indefinite period.

:wtf: is wrong with you people? Our police are here to "serve and protect" not FREAK OUT.

Perspective - if the teen was lilly white with blond hair, I doubt that she would have even been detained. Funny how that works out? :crazy:

[Pavulon]

75. Ten bucks says you cant tell

a live demo charge from a fake one. Point a toy gun at a police officer, expect him to tell the difference.

Sorry.

[Pavulon]

28. Confirming that common sense

and intelligence are not a 1 to 1 correlation. If she is not mentally ill, she sure is stupid.

I doubt any one got through, besides being an idiot, and risking being shot, she probably screwed up dozens of flights.

I would venture to say the bubble that has seperated her from the real world is now broken..

[ShortnFiery]

33. Civil Rights is ONLY for *normal* people not autistics or brown people wi. circuit boards?

Gotcha! :eyes:

[treestar]

53. Wouldn't that show how ridiculously fragile we've allowed our world to become?

[BlooInBloo]

32. Aw shit - she's brown. She's toast.

[ShortnFiery]

35. Remember the strack UK anti-terrorist team shooting a Latino man in the head

SEVEN (7) times because they had mistaken him for an ARAB Terrorist?!?

Dark skinned Italians are AT RISK too! :eyes:

DUMB ASS Authority Figures resort to violence without provocation! :(

[BlooInBloo]

41. Generally I with ya, but wearing a bomb-looking thing might be considered "provocation"...

... Possibly they're making shit up though. We'll see over the next few days/weeks. Regardless of the truth though, she's toast.

[BlooInBloo]

49. Speculatively, MIT **does** have a big "wearble computers" program...

... It's conceivable that that's what this is about - a brown person wearing a computer.

[Bucky]

217. Nope. Here a photo of her fake bomb.

Close enough to warrant interdiction. Close enough to warrent inspection.

[Bucky]

216. Wearing something painted and block-shaped with wires & battery attached IS provocative.

She created a public nuisense. When dealing with TSA personnel trained to spot and interdict security threat, dressing up like a security threat is criminally stupid. Hopefully it's going to be treated as literally criminal stupidity.


After George Bush has gone out and recruited 20-30,000 additional terrorists for al-Qaeda, the chances of there being an actual bomb threat in this country has gone up. If the TSA ignored a bomb threat because they think the device somehow just "looks fake" without inspecting it, then we'd all be up in arms about their incompetance--especially if it were a real bomb that just "looked fake" somehow.

George Bush has made the world a more dangerous place, even for idiot college pranksters.

[krispos42]

54. Glad I'm only half Italian then....

Got the black hair from Italy and the paler skin from Germany and England! :-)



I don't know what to make of the police response here...

On one hand, sometimes crazy people walk into a place openly and start shooting or bombing or whatever. That's what happened at a mall in Washington State a couple of years ago. Some guy just walked inside with a rifle slung over his shoulder. Didn't hide it or anything. Then at some point he pulled it off, brought it up, and began shooting.

On the other hand, people do this stuff to make a political point.

:shrug:

[AnotherGreenWorld]

76. That's why it was especially stupid of her to wear

anything that might be interpreted as a bomb. She easily could have been killed.

I hope MIT kicks her out; she's obviously taking the place of a more deserving student.

[budibudinski]

36. Enough of the racist reference. What's your point?

So a person of yellow race would not be arrested doing what she did?

Color of skin has nothing to do with it.
Behaviour does.

[goodhue]

42. I think the point is that if she were not a person of color she would not likely have been arrested

A pretty reasonable position IMHO

[Pavulon]

57. Not reasonable,

I do not care what your race is. If you pull this bullshit in any airport, in any nation, you WILL be arrested and charged.

If you do not comply with commands police issue they will KILL you.

This is not a negotiable thing.

[goodhue]

59. what bullshit?

surely you are refering to the security response

[Pavulon]

70. Fly to Frankfurt, Heathrow, CDG,

and try it. See how much more accepting Europe is in this area of free expression. They are new to this terrorism thing you know...

Hint, the only difference you will see is they type of weapon pointed at you and the language in which you are called an idiot, while sitting in jail waiting to stand trial.

Try it in Moscow or Tel Aviv and you will be shot in the brain outright.

Get real, travel, see the world.

Try to drive you car past the gate at any military installation or embassy and see what happens.

If she is mentally ill hopefully she will get treatment, if she is really that stupid, hopefully this will introduce her to the concept of common sense.

[goodhue]

77. Well, she was not traveling anywhere; she was there to pick someone up

For what it is worth, I have in fact traveled all over the world. I have family in London, Paris, Kenya and India, among other places. Security is indeed much tighter in other parts of the world.

But it never fails that when returning to USA the people who are not white get the third degree due to racial profiling pure and simple.

[Pavulon]

80. Lets stay on topic...

My point, you can NOT do what she did in ANY airport. She looks "american" to me. Sorry. I have not seen that profiling here, and I travel continuously.

[goodhue]

82. And what did she do?

Ask for information?

[Pavulon]

108. She wore a device that resembles a bomb into an airport

that will draw a response from any airport security force in the world. The police did not kill her, so this event ended with a great outcome.

You can not justify this behavior. Really, it is just not possible.

[ShortnFiery]

122. And she was a "little brown person"

That factors in oodles. IMO, if she had been blonde and light skinned, they would have told her to put that "stupid shit" back in her car and out of sight, i.e., change shirts.

But hell, she's brown and has a circuit board. Taser her!!! :eyes:

[Pavulon]

134. No tasers in this scenario..

She would have been shot dead. Does not matter what her race. If she was shot and disabled she would have then been shot in the head at close range to destroy motor function.

This is no fucking joke. You will get that response in any airport for the same action.

Try to run the gate at a military base, good chance you get shot dead too. This happens every now and then and race is not a factor to the man acting on a standing order to fire on vehicles that fail to stop.

There are constraints in society, know them, deal with it..

Anarchy is not in place here.

[goodhue]

141. In what way did device resemble a bomb?

[Marrah_G]

66. I think that is bullshit

Any white kid in a black hoodie with a circuit boards, wires and putty strapped around them would be handled in exactly the same manner.

[goodhue]

71. I seriously doubt it

[Marrah_G]

137. Not sure what fantasy land you live in

But if you think they won't arrest anyone of any color or gender with those things strapped to her then you are beyond reasoning with and I really don't have anything to say.

Jena 6 is Racism......The arrest of this girl IS NOT.

[goodhue]

164. I live in a land where there is racial profiling at airports

I live in a land where people who appear to be of possible middle eastern or south asian descent are profiled at airports.

[Marrah_G]

174. Do you think maybe having a circuit board, wires and putty might trump that profiling?

[goodhue]

189. I think if she were white blonde she would not have been arrested at gunpoint

eom

[Marrah_G]

240. okay then

I see there is nothing else to talk about so i'm just going to wish you well and move on.

[BlooInBloo]

43. "a yellow race"??? ROFLMAO!

[Pavulon]

40. Come on

if you enter an airport with a device that is made to look like a bomb expect a reaction, no matter what your race.

She is lucky not to be dead.

Come on, really.

[ShortnFiery]

44. B.S. This is still AMERICA, not a fucking Police State yet? Or are we there?

[Pavulon]

51. Umm, sorry

If you walked into an airport in 1996 or 1976 with something looking like a bomb, you are going to be arrested at gunpoint and detained. If you fail to comply you are going to die.

This is the same in ANY western country, or non western for that matter. You think the guys with MP5s in Frankfurt airport in the 90's were kidding. Sorry, those guys were quite serious.

If you do something that fucking stupid, darwinian logic is in motion.

She is lucky not to be dead.

[ShortnFiery]

55. Ok, when one of your beloved elderly and senile relatives breaks out of their home ...

and the cops decide to taser them just because they were "confused" - then don't bitch about police brutality.

Newsflash: The terrorists have won. We are willing to sacrifice our civil liberties for a little more pseudo-freedom. We'll excuse violent and arrest happy cops?!?

HOW FAR WILL WE GO? ... this has only started to breech civil rights ... when will "normal people" be deemed as unworthy of Civil Rights?

[Pavulon]

58. Thats what you come back with?

keep it within the same realm of reality. Grandma goes nuts in the airport at least...

Sorry. There is NO COUNTRY where you can do this. Not the EU, not in Greece, or latin america.

You wear a BOMB into an airport you will be arrested at gunpoint, at best.

Fail to comply, you will DIE.

Sorry, common sense.

[ShortnFiery]

92. Airport "security" had my 79 y.o. elderly mother (wheel chair) stand up so they could pat her down.

Her whole body bent over from years of osteoporosis and weighing 99 lbs soaking wet. But damned if that southern German ancestry made her skin a deep olive color - and thus "a target" for our blessed Authorities to show us that they rule - whatever inane decision goes. Because EVERYTHING has changed since 9/11. :grr: :thumbsdown:

-----------------

First they put away the dealers,
keep our kids safe and off the streets.
Then they put away the prostitutes,
keep married men cloistered at home.
Then they shooed away the bums,
then they beat and bashed the queers,
turned away asylum-seekers,
fed us suspicions and fears.
We didn't raise our voice,
we didn't make a fuss.
It's funny there was no one left to notice
when they came for us.
......... NOFX

[Pavulon]

99. I always get stopped because I fit the PC profile

Person traveling alone, sometimes on short notice. When I travel with my wife, always get through.
When you travel to nations that do profile you will see the difference.

[ShortnFiery]

107. Yes, WHITE person traveling alone is equal to BROWN person traveling alone. Sure. nt

:eyes:

[DS1]

89. get real

when you're not busy yelling Fire in theatres

[ShortnFiery]

97. Yes, and where does it end? You don't see it but the signs are every DAMN where.

You just don't care because you are not one of "the targets."

[Pavulon]

100. Sorry

Your views are your own. A person at an airport with a device that looks like a bomb is a legitimate target for investigation.

Your argument would be better served by attacking illegitimate use of power, such as drug war topics.

[DS1]

103. Obviously it doesn't end with her getting hurt

so I don't know what your fucking break with common sense is

[ShortnFiery]

112. You have no Idea, I've lived in totalitarian states and under Martial Law.

You are so "paralyzed by fear" or "love the warmth of authority" you can NOT see the early signs of our beloved America morphing into a totalitarian state.

DAMN! What's the matter with you people? Is it worth giving into your fears and disrespecting GOOD people who are only going about their business in peace?

I am so saddened that you will NOT ALLOW yourselves to see that you are giving "the authorities" all your rights for the *slim* possibility that Big Brother may keep us safe. :eyes:

Yes, I'm at a total loss - and I've seen the effects of torture and decapitation. Perhaps that's why when I see the first signs of unbridled authority, I resist the temptation to embrace POWER - inane POWER. :thumbsdown:

[DS1]

115. I'm not paralyzed by anything

don't try psychoanalyze me

[Pavulon]

120. You are bouncing to the other extreme..

[ShortnFiery]

128. NO, I am not! But if you are so blinded by your TRUST in "authority figures"

I feel very sorry for you. :(

I served in the military. I know to follow orders of my superiors. However, I can see Racist Thuggery when it is presented in my face. This is it! ;)

[Pavulon]

143. Me too

this has nothing to do with race or orders. I do not know where you served but there are installations where a the wire exists. It does not matter who you are, you cross it and you die. Simple.

You point a gun at a police officer, toy or real, wear a bomb looking device to a crowded airport you are flirting with your death. And the lives of others.

[ShortnFiery]

160. You can NOT say so flippantly that this had nothing to do with race - you don't know.

Perhaps a cop who KNEW that MIT kids are doing this could have just exited her out of the airport?

[Pavulon]

165. Give up. Look at the pic

If I was standing behind a SMG issuing orders and she did not comply I would fire. Sorry, there is no other outcome. I have been in positions where evaluation was required. It sucks, for sure. If a person walked up to an KFOR vehicle with that on they would most certainly be killed by the coax gunner or the passenger.

If you can not recognize the danger in that you may have a problem.

[ShortnFiery]

177. That is NOT a bomb. Trained cops know better. But let's scare everyone, shall we? nt

[Pavulon]

You think every cop has EOD training? Even with training..

It LOOKS enough like a bomb that it provoked a response. Just like an airsoft pistol or a fresh blob of mozzarella cheese with wires in it looks like plastic explosives.

Only a fucking moron would wear exposed WIRES and a battery to an airport. What is appropriate at MIT or any dorm is not always a good thing to carry onto an airport.

You saw the picture.

[ShortnFiery]

286. "fucking moron" Oh my, how we get increasingly intense and profane when we're talking violence.

:shrug:

[BlooInBloo]

45. I'm sure they'll solve the "dead-problem" right quick.

[blitzen]

34. Good god, what a farce...The cops are showing "the device" on TV

it's just a freakin' T-shirt, slightly customized...She's a robotics-electronics geek--that's all...And she almost got shot by the cops! The police state is more and more repressive every day.

[goodhue]

37. link or photo?

[blitzen]

39. I just saw it on CNN...will check for a link n/t

[goodhue]

74. any luck?

[Bucky]

200. Here's a photo of it

I got a kick out of the Mooninite threat. The cops screwed up hugely on that one.

This, frankly, is different. The girl should NOT have been so stupid as to walk into an airport wearing something that looks like anything close to a bomb. I don't think they should "throw the book at her" but wearing something like this to an airport seems on the surface to be clearly intentionally creating a public nuisense about a life or death matter.

On the other hand, she's pretty hot looking
So maybe they should just let her off with a warning.

[goodhue]

214. yes, but I doubt it was intentional

seems like she wore this all the time

http://www.boingboing.net/2007/09/21/mit-student-arrested.html

[ShortnFiery]

38. Trust me, If she was a Swedish blonde, they wouldn't have of even detained her.

:(

[Pavulon]

46. Bull

this race angle is stupid. If you go into an airport with something resembling a bomb you are going to be detained, at gunpoint.

If you do not comply, you will be shot in the head. Swede, black, white, native american.

There is no race angle here for an intelligent person.

Sorry, but this is common freakin sense.

[ShortnFiery]

48. OK, then WHO decides what "makes sense" and what does not?

The terrorists have truly won if Our Police, who are to "protect and serve" FREAK OUT over the smallest provocation.

Newsflash - TRUE BOMBERS hide their bombs. :eyes:

I'm so disgusted that ANYONE would support this Lurching Toward a Police State here on DU.

Call me amazed but when they come for you, don't call me. :grr:

[Pavulon]

61. Sorry, Get a reality Check!

If you tried this in ANY airport in the EU or Latin America you would get the same response. If you tried it 10 or 20 years ago, same response.

You cant point a gun at a police officer, cant win in a collision with your car and a train, and sure as shit cant wear a fake bomb into an airport and expect no response.

[aikoaiko]

64. That makes so much sense - -- "let her on the plane with the bomb thingy because it must be fake"

lol

[goodhue]

72. she was not trying to get on a plane

eom

[ShortnFiery]

95. Don't try to talk sense for those people who adore "authority figures" just OBEY without question

because everything has changed since 9/11 - The USA is morphing into a Police State with the full consent of far too many people.

Common Sense would dictate that our beloved Unitary Executive and Fatherland Security is FEAR-MONGERING the shit out of us so we'll STFU and accept plutocracy. :grr:

[goodhue]

101. yes, well

I guess common sense is not so common.

[ShortnFiery]

106. Not when an entire nation has been seemingly fear-mongered into a state of "learned helplessness"

:(

[Pavulon]

114. Bottom Line: List of stupid Shit...

Never a good reason to do these. Unless you want to die and are to lazy to kill yourself.

Wearing a device that resembles a bomb to an airport...

Pointing a toy gun at police...

Throwing a kiwi at a federal motorcade...

Rushing the gate an any embassy or military base..

Making a "statement" by breaking into a nuclear power plant or ICBM complex..

Disregarding signs that say "Use of Deadly force is Authorized"

These things are not funny, they are a threat to everyone. Fire in a theater event.

If you do these things and are not killed it is because restraint was used when it WAS NOT REQUIRED!

[ShortnFiery]

116. Right! Further you can rest assured Citizen that The Ministry of Fatherland Security will add ...

many more items to this list - WITH YOUR SUPPORT.

But what will you do when they knock your door down - in the name of Blessed Security?

Who ya gonna call? :P

[Pavulon]

127. Go back to 1980 and my list still works (nt)

I'm not interested in the anarchy you are selling..We live in a society that has normal restraints..

Cant yell fire in a theater, cant drive a pick up truck around with a noose hanging out the back.

Cant throw a nazi salute in germany.

Not acceptable.

[ShortnFiery]

129. Oh but "your list" is expanding as you have shown by submissive acceptance today.

You DEEM that there's no racism and that our beloved authorities act only to protect the people.

Not always. In fact, more times than not, these boys and girls are "power tripping." :thumbsdown:

[Pavulon]

146. Well the anarchists

are always looking for new members..

Sorry, I thing this has run its course..

Authority is part of an orderly society, here and and the rest of the world.

I do not know what you point is, but I think we have reached an impasse.

[ShortnFiery]

163. Yes, and The Jackboots

would love another Authoritarian "brown-shirt" brother to add to their ranks.

Yes, above all else we shall keep "the peasants in line" ... especially those little brown ones.

Reached an impasse? Yes, I believe we have. :hi:

[aikoaiko]

172. You would have let her through the airport building if it were your job to protect lives?

[aikoaiko]

171. excuse, "let her through the airport building with the bomb thingy ...."

I should have been more careful about the facts.

[goodhue]

203. She was at information desk asking about passenger arrival

She was at information desk asking about passenger arrival wearing lite brite fashion.
I'm not sure where you get "let her through" as she was not trying to clear any security.

[aikoaiko]

209. She was walking through the airport building is my point

I was wrong to imply, in a previous post, that she was boarding a plane, but she was walking through the airport building and at the info booth.

So yes, the police could have let her through the building, exit the building, go deeper into the building, etc.

[goodhue]

229. actually, it appears she was outside when arrested at gunpoint

http://www.boingboing.net/2007/09/21/mit-student-arrested.html

"A point that may have been overlooked: she wasn't trying to pass through security and get on a plane. She was there to meet someone on an arriving plane, and asked someone at the info desk for information. The machine guns came out while she was waiting on a traffic island outside the airport."

[aikoaiko]

235. Facts are facts, but it doesn't matter much does it in this case.

I mean , if she were a real bomber would it matter if she exploded the bomb outside where people were waiting, inside by the info booth where people were waiting, or in the security line where people were waiting, etc.

I think not.

[goodhue]

242. She was not a fake bomber and was not wearing a fake bomb

She was wearing a sweatshirt with painted writing on it. The writing would light up due to 9-volt battery on back. The writing said "Socket To Me / COURSE VI." Course VI means she majors in Electrical Engineering / Computer Science at MIT. It was homemade geek fashion which she probably wore everyday. The hoax is continued characterization of the device as a fake bomb.

[Pavulon]

254. What a great thing to wear to an airport

wires and battery. Next time I travel i will carry an airsoft pistol, wires and battery on my clothing, and fill my pockets with fresh mozzarella cheese. I mean just because it looks dangerous, everyone around me should know it is harmless...

[aikoaiko]

280. if it suggested bomb to the airport security/police, thats good enough for me to support

a buy the book response.

Whether or not she should be charged and prosecuted is a matter for the DA. Frankly, if it was just an error of judgment on her part, then hopefully she won't be prosecuted.

[johnnie]

157. You are wrong

In fact back in the late 70s my father (white guy) was at an airport with my mother and some friends and my father jokingly said to his buddy "Did you bring the M1?", security was on him like flies on shit. It was a stupid thing for my white father to do back then and it was stupid of this woman to do now.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

255. Just like real gunmen HIDE their guns and don't come back to shoot more later

Oh, except that guy on the Virginia Tech campus.
:eyes:

[goodhue]

50. I agree wholeheartedly

The racial profiling at airports is undeniable

[Pavulon]

78. Yeah. When I flew out of philly

I saw TSA searching a man who had to be 75 - 80. I asked him while passing on the jetway if he was a world war two veteran. His response was,"Yeah, I was, eighth air force..". He smiled and basked in the irony of it all. The TSA slob shot me a look.


We do not profile, and if we did race is not the correlating factor.

[goodhue]

79. TSA does not even deny racial profiling

Why do you?

[Pavulon]

105. Race is not the factor to profile on...

Common sense makes other factors much better at detecting someones threat assessment.

A single profile point is highly ineffective.

[ShortnFiery]

119. Oh please, RACE is always a factor.

What planet do you live on? :shrug:

[Pavulon]

130. For stupid people sure,,

for effective threat assessments multiple points would be useful profiling points. These are not used and I am not advocating thir use!

to name a few:
one way cash ticket
religion
travel history
immigration status
intelligence profiles
many others exist..

Our attempts at profiling are pretty poor. EL AL does a decent job. And if you dont want to fly with them no one makes you..

[ShortnFiery]

133. NO, for Authoritarian Personalities and those who adore them. nt

[AnotherGreenWorld]

81. If a swedish blonde

wore, in an airport, a device that could reasonable be interpreted to be a bomb, she would be arrested.

And that's a good thing. There's nothing repressive about it.

[ShortnFiery]

98. I seriously doubt that ... people of color are still UNEQUAL in America, covert racism rules. nt

[AnotherGreenWorld]

109. I don't disagree.

America is, and always has been, a very racist nation.

I don't doubt that if a Swedish blond were wearing something that appeared to be a bomb in an airport, the arresting cops might think an Islamic terrorist must've placed the bomb on her and forced her to carry out their plan, etc.

But she still would be arrested. No one can wear something that appears to be a bomb in an airport.

[ShortnFiery]

136. It was a freaking circuit board! nt

[AnotherGreenWorld]

142. It was more than that.

[Bucky]

219. here's the photo

[ecstatic]

47. yeah I just saw it too... tiny little board with Duracell battery attached. Clearly visible

I'm not surprised that they mistook it for a bomb. I don't think she did it intentionally. I'm so glad they didn't blow her brains out. :scared:

[ShortnFiery]

52. Yes, we all know that suicide bombers DISPLAY their wares before exploding.

:eyes:

[treestar]

56. Exactly. There is zero security concern here

Once again "security" is being used to clamp down on anyone saying or doing anything different and implying that doing anything different is cause for fear.

[Pavulon]

60. Sure they are all brilliant

Richard Reid tried to light the bomb in his shoes with a match. Because he was a fucking moron. If he had a lighter, he would have killed the entire manifest.

Sorry, you can not wear a bomb or something that looks like on into any airport in any nation and not get this response.

This person is either mentally ill or one of those really smart people has zero common sense. I meet them all the time. They cruise through life unaware of the reality around them.

She lived through her reality check.

How anyone can defend this is a true to god mystery to me..

[BlooInBloo]

73. heh. I love how things like this bring certain types out of the woodwork.

[ShortnFiery]

102. Yes, but are you listening?

The Day The Nazi Died
Chumbawamba

we're taught that after the war
the nazis vanished without a trace
but battalions of fascists
still dream of a master race
the history books they tell of their defeat in 45
why did they all come out of the woodwork
on the day the nazi died

they say the prisoner of spandau
was a symbol of defeat
whilst hess remained imprisoned
then the fascists they were beat
so the promise of an aryan world would never materialize
so why did they all come out of the woodwork
on the day the nazi died

the world is ridden by maggots
the maggots are getting fat
they're making a tasty meal
of all the bosses and bureaucrats
they're taking over the board rooms
and they're fat and full of pride
and they all came out of the woodwork
on the day the nazi died

so if you meet with these historians
i'll tell you what to say
tell them that the nazis never really went away
they're out there burning houses down
and they're peddling racist lies
and we'll never rest again
until every nazi dies

[treestar]

295. Why would real threats be so obvious?

911 worked because the hijackers were not.

The real threat is going to be from someone smart enough to blend in.

[AnotherGreenWorld]

84. So you would advise cops:

If a bomb isn't hidden, don't worry: it must be fake?

Even if it were true that all suicide bombers hide their bombs, maybe this person had hidden her bomb up until that point, and then wanted to make a little statement, show them the bomb to get their attention, and blow them up all up.

[ShortnFiery]

151. Let me ask you this - If it is in "THE OPEN" - how many bombers carry them "as is"?

:eyes: An interview and a few phone calls with censure NOT arrest would have been most appropriate. But we allow STORM TROOPER tactics since 9/11 ... we luvs our authority figures - they are keeping us safe and warm. :puke:

[Pavulon]

258. Same response would happen in frankfurt, 1980, 1990, 2000

or any other country that has been targeted by terrorist attacks.

Richard Reid carried his in the OPEN for the tenth time. And he was an idiot, his intent was different, but this person, if not mentally ill, was also an idiot.

[Zodiak]

167. I was worried that is what it would be

The media made it sound like a clear bomb-looking thing.....much like they did with the LED signs in Boston. And of course when we saw what the big stink was about, it was revealed as a clear overreaction by the police.

If this T-shirt (which I haven't seen) turns out to be obviously not a bomb, I would not be surprised.

[BlooInBloo]

62. MIT has a Wearable Computers program, folks...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1868268&mesg_id=1868268

[goodhue]

67. And she was not traveling herself, but was at airport to meet arriving passenger

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/14171964/detail.html

[AnotherGreenWorld]

90. That doesn't matter.

[goodhue]

94. Presumably she was not anticipating any interaction with security

[AnotherGreenWorld]

104. Even a person of average intelligence

should be foresighted enough to know that wearing something that looks like a bomb in an airport might draw attention from cops.

They don't know what she's doing; all they know is she's wearing something that looks like a bomb.

[goodhue]

126. "looks like a bomb"

I'm still waiting for a photo of what she was wearing.

Did it look like this . . .



Or maybe more like this . . .



or this . . .

[ShortnFiery]

145. And she's a brown person. nt

[ecstatic]

121. True. Which means on top of this, her parking fee will be sky high

Assuming this airport operates in a similar way to ATL.

[Catherine Vincent]

65. She must be white.

Because if she was a dark skinned muslim/hispanic/black, then she would have thought before wearing that or else she would have gotten blown away.

[goodhue]

68. No, she is not

eom

[onenote]

124. she's from hawaii

[BlooInBloo]

69. She's an ubergeek. Even if they're brown, they often neglect to consider reality.

Geek trumps brown, as it were.

[goodgd_yall]

263. Wrong

[Lethe]

83. the same people who thought the Mooninites were bombs?

[goodhue]

85. exactly

[DS1]

87. stupid child. as was said in the OP. she's lucky to be still breathing

[LeftHander]

88. Wearable computers al the rage at MIT....nt

[BlooInBloo]

93. I keep mentioning that. Maybe they'll listen to you.

[Mike Daniels]

123. but she wasn't at MIT when she pulled her dumb ass prank was she?

She was in an airport in a city that has several colleges in the general area and thousands of people passing through at any given moment.

As another poster said, carry around a toy gun that's designed to look real in a public space and see if you don't end up flat on your back within seconds.

[LeftHander]

223. I also recall a marketing campaign in Boston...

the cops mistook smily blinking lights for bombs....

[Contrary1]

96. I have no idea, but...

It's always interesting to watch the story change as the day goes on.

From: "She's extremely lucky she followed the instructions or deadly force would have been used."

To: "Thankfully, because she followed instructions as was required, she ended up in a cell as opposed to the morgue. Had she not followed instructions, deadly force may have been used," Pare said.

[BushOut06]

113. It's happening - we're becoming too accepting of the Police State

I see far too many people on here siding with the authorities on this issue. I guess we're just supposed to acquiesce whenever we're challenged by the Police State? I'm sure there are a few on here who would have felt it justified for the cops to taser this poor woman.

[AnotherGreenWorld]

125. Arrested for wearing something that appears to be a bomb in an airport = police state?

[ShortnFiery]

132. It was an fucking circuit board! WTF? Is there something in the water in Boston or are more of

their cops "power tripping" with hair triggers?!?

[AnotherGreenWorld]

139. You're wrong.

"Star Simpson...was nabbed this morning with a computer circuit board, wiring, and putty strapped to her chest (the putty, which turned out to be Play-Doh, was apparently fashioned to look like a plastic explosive)."
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0921071mit1.html

There was also a battery. Together, this could reasonably be interpreted as a make-shift bomb.

[ShortnFiery]

144. And an interview with a couple of phone calls could have cleared this up. Over-reaction to scare us...

Yes, I think so. :(

[AnotherGreenWorld]

158. Yes, the media are over-playing this.

That's not the fault of the arresting officers.

[BushOut06]

222. Whatever happened to COMMON SENSE?

Is it really necessary to draw weapons and arrest someone? I don't suppose anyone could have taken 2-3 seconds to actually examine the device, then proceed from there? I suppose that simply pulling her aside, asking a few questions and examining the "suspicious device" would be out of the question?

[AnotherGreenWorld]

226. Because if it were a real explosive device,

she easily could've detonated it under that scenario. It's not rational to take that risk.

She simply should not have worn something that looks like a bomb to an airport. That was incredibly dumb. She deserves to be ridiculed.

[BushOut06]

228. Using your rationale, she should have been SHOT DEAD

After all, if it were a REAL DEVICE, she could have very easily detonated it as she was being arrested. So why risk all those passengers by attempting to apprehend her? Why not just SHOOT HER DEAD and err on the safe side?

[AnotherGreenWorld]

230. She was very close to that.

If she hadn't complied, she would've been.

[BushOut06]

236. Do you think she should have been shot dead?

God forbid, but what if this woman hadn't understood exactly what the cops were yelling at her? What if some cop had "misinterpreted" her motions as she started to comply? I wonder how many people would be saying "oh well, she got exactly what she deserved!"

[Pavulon]

256. Inverted application of common sense

See london bombings, spain's attacks, and the bezillions of attacks in israel. When they stop these folks in israel they are held at gunpoint.

If a person is suspected of carrying explosives you stop them at gunpoint, if they do not comply with commands to keep their hands still etc, you shoot them. Same protocol for a toy gun. End of story.

Bottom line she is alive and lives to talk about how stupid wearing wires and a battery into an airport was..

There is no good reason to wear wires and a battery in an airport, anywhere in the world, ever. If you do expect the exact same response.

That is COMMON SENSE.

[Retired AF Dem]

182. I'm convinced

many here are totally wacked.

[RoyGBiv]

135. Pic of Hoodie w/ Circuit Board

If the police had not detained a person wearing this, they would have been remiss in their duties. You can't tell what it is just from a glance, and the Play-Doh, with wires attached no less, makes it even more suspicious.

[ShortnFiery]

140. Oh yeah, thanks Boston for having some of the most Anal-Retentive Security forces

on this planet. :eyes:

A few phone calls to her professors - or an interview could have CLEARED THIS UP without National Attention.

Gee, do you think our Beloved Homeland Security is trying to Fear-Monger the populace? :shrug:

[RoyGBiv]

149. Ummm ...

Making phone calls to her professors doesn't have thing one to do with whether she should have been detained.

You think the national media didn't pick this up immediately before even the TSA had figured out what was going on?

Certainly there's some fear-mongering going on as is typical of these kinds of incidents, but the incident itself, and the reaction of the authorities initially, was not an over-reaction.

[ShortnFiery]

153. Well at least they refrained from whipping out the taser.

:eyes:

[Pavulon]

161. Dude are you serious

she is lucky that she was not shot on sight with that. Jesus. That is quite close enough to this to warrant killing her.

Are you kidding with a taser, again she would have been shot in the head with an mp5 burst and then shot again to be sure.

That thing she wore would get her killed in any airport in the world.

This killed 27 people in bali. In a split second with your life and dozens of others what is your call?

Bet she is pretty fucking clear about it now. If she is not mentally ill she has no excuse.

[ShortnFiery]

166. Psst! He's showing the INSIDE (non-visible side) of the jacket.

"she is lucky that she was not shot on sight with that"

You're God Damned right! God Bless American Cops, especially those geniuses in Boston for keeping Cartoon Promoters and MIT students "in line." :patriot: :sarcasm:

[Pavulon]

170. You think the hump..

that is about the size of a demo charge tipped them? or the wires?

Whatever man. Hopefully you bubble is burst in such a way that does not cause harm to yourself or others.

Has nothing to do with america so drop that bullshit. You pull that in any country you get the exact same reaction.

Her stupidity or mental illness just about killed her.

[ShortnFiery]

173. Oh, here I went and fired you up? I thought we were at an impasse?

:evilgrin: Yes, KILL HER for being a Geek and not allowing B.S. fears to enter in her awareness. True she showed poor "average American after 9/11" skills, but forgive her for not thinking that we'd be so fucking scared of our shadows here to entertain the thought of someone "displaying a bomb." Both sides are a little freaking ridiculous aye?

Oh, but that's right - Every thing's changed since 9/11. Our beloved authorities don't use "the soft glove" on STUPID KIDS and GEEKS. NO, arrest their asses and if they resist, tase the shit out of them. Bravo. The terrorists truly have won - we are lurching toward an Authoritarian Police State.

[Pavulon]

178. No, You would still get shot for this

in frankfurt in 1980. Put that crack pipe down.

[ShortnFiery]

180. Yes, and watch out for being latino in the UK, you may be mistaken for a terrorist

and get shot 7 times in the head. Good ole' America is becoming the same PARANOID nation.

Put down your American Empire version of "Mein Kampf."

[Pavulon]

196. Give Moscow a try

or caracas, or frankfurt, cdg in paris, in each you would be detained at gunpoint or shot immediately.

[ShortnFiery]

205. Although our opinions are diametrically opposed, there's no need for insults to be exchanged.

Let's show an ounce of maturity?

Yes, both of us by mutually agreeing that we truly have reached an impasse?

[Pavulon]

210. Yep, but you were not insulted. Re read the post.(nt)

[ShortnFiery]

215. I should have typed "further insults." I do tend to defend myself, but continuing is IMO, inane. nt

[ShortnFiery]

218. Yes, this is "a dig" because we are talking about America not elsewhere. nt

[Mike Daniels]

184. Average American after 9/11 skills?

WTF? I pretty sure if she had walked into any airport in the world wearing that get up on September 9, 2000 she would have encountered the same reaction.

Bloody hell, you're off your nut.

[ShortnFiery]

188. Hint: True Suicide Bombers do NOT display their bombs. A little, but significant factoid.

:eyes:

[Pavulon]

193. Reid Did...

tried to light it with a match. Got his ass kicked by the people he was trying to kill.

Kill meaning blow the airplane they were in apart at 400kts at 30,000 feet with a TATP charge smaller than her "toy".

Oh wait, there is no such thing as terrrorism, the government made it up. The PLO and all the back history to this were all a dream..

[ShortnFiery]

197. Whoa! Your "violent notions of how to kill the evil-doers" SLIP is showing ...

perhaps you need a bathroom break to pull up your "authoritarian lace" back up under your "democratic republic skirt?" :P :crazy:

[Retired AF Dem]

199. You do know it is stupid to debate with

morons dont you?

[Pavulon]

211. Just trying to post some common sense...

in this thread for anyone who may consume it...

I think I will give up now..

[Retired AF Dem]

195. Hint

So? How would you have handled it?

[ShortnFiery]

201. I would have snagged a partner and escorted her to a corner - asked the pointed question

"What the hell is that exactly?" And given the answer that we all know she would have given, I would have taken it from there.

Again, if someone is trying to kill a whole shit load of people, they do NOT display their bomb. I just doesn't happen that way. :crazy:

[Retired AF Dem]

208. And if you were wrong?

What if she knew that "real" suicide bombers concealed their bombs" A public safety officer has no right to risk the lives of other people because of a hunch.

[ShortnFiery]

212. That's a real stretch. Plus that little amount of play-dough (C4?) would not have been enough to

wreak the damage to destroy the entire Airport.

Yes, it would have been a judgment call, but I would NOT have believed her dangerous from the onset. But hell, I've lived where only a few miles away people were being decapitated and having their heads placed on stakes (Singapore, 1964). I don't tend to FREAK-out about a terrorist under every bed ... well, too easily. Go figure? :shrug:

[Retired AF Dem]

231. But that was a few miles away

and not in your face. Neither one of us knows how you would react under real pressue so I will leave it at that.

[ShortnFiery]

234. All I truly know is that Boston has somehow, saved us from Cartoons and MIT Students.

Understood. In every situation, there are two sides.
IMO, this could have been handled quietly and not have gleaned national attention. :hi:

[Pavulon]

250. So just how much damage would

2 - 8 kgs of c4 do? I can tell you that you would rather be somewhere else when it went off.. I have seen just det cord blow trees apart.

this is a 3oz shot. That is about the size of a pinki finger.
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/239846/c4_explosion/

I wonder if the russians judged the two chechen bombers dangerous before they destroyed two airliners midflight?

[ShortnFiery]

260. OMG! You're bringing in "The Threat" ... the terror of the 80's = The Russians ...

in on this conversation. Oh, and those damn Chechens too.

Just to get my heart racing? ... for lagniappe?

Yes, I can see how a geeky MIT student could be mistaken for those guys. :crazy:

Oh, you are just too cute when you get all fired up. ;) :P

PssT! Don't forget to check under your bed tonight.

Be afraid!

p.s. *Good authorities take care of such embarrassments at the local level so as to not scare the populace. But it's MUCH MORE useful for a budding Totalitarian State to "play up" their jack boots.

[Pavulon]

268. The evil germans were not worried about russians in 1995.

When they were carrying mp5 submachine guns.

Your posts have been quite helpful, I can now say I have talked with a person who would actually do something like this and then be surprised at the outcome.

The chechen bombings were last year.

The point is that airports are not a good place to wear wired and a battery.

Just so you know there is a world around you that has certian expectations. Not doing what this person did is one of them.

Like the people who take their dope to the airport and are all surprised when they are arrested. Only dumber..

Anarchy will not work..

[ShortnFiery]

272. Surprise Surprise Surprise. Do you also believe that we're about to Rapture to Jesus?

Remember your "we've reached an impasse" post.

I think we're THERE. All you can do now is attack my character and that's simply against the rules.

:shrug:

Have a nice evening.

Again, don't forget to check under that bed for those EvilDoers? :eyes:

Me, I refuse to live in MANUFACTURED FEAR. :hi:

[Pavulon]

282. So sensitive

please be sure to alert my post to the mods. I am sure they will see the insult that is not there. See ya.

It was just to much fun responding to the other posts, I could not help it.

[ShortnFiery]

285. I don't "do" alerts the vast majority of time. I leave that for the "law and order" people.

You really are a hoot! :rofl:

Be sure to write when you get work? ;)

[Name removed]

262. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ShortnFiery]

267. Oh my, now I'm a fucking idiot? That's sweet. You lose for making this personal.

I accept your apology. :hi:

[DS1]

271. Not personal. Factual. Which is a huge break from your previous approach

:hi:

[ShortnFiery]

273. So you not only call me "a fucking idiot" but tell me to "fuck off?" That wins you arguments?

Whoa! In what universe?

[DS1]

275. no

it's the preamble for ignoring you and helping DU at least appear smarter

bye! :hi:

[ShortnFiery]

278. That's a shame - you seemingly have little to no tolerance for diversity of opinion.

Your insults dissolve your credibility and only help prove your over-enthusiastic default to "authority." That's, IMO, what's tragic about our exchange. :(

Sincere best wishes - May Peace Be With You. :-) :hi:

[Pithlet]

148. I was waiting to judge before I saw the device. I agree with you.

This was a foolish thing for her to do. She is lucky she's alive, and I don't think the police overreacted at all.

[RoyGBiv]

150. I was waiting also ...

If this were some crazy cartoon character, it would be one thing. But, that's a pretty generic looking electronic device that *could* be anything. I suspect it was the wires attached to the Play-Doh that really does it, though.

[ShortnFiery]

155. I don't think she should have been arrested. But everything's changed since 9/11

:(

[Pithlet]

156. Yep. I thought the Cartoon Network thing was an overreaction.

This wasn't. I'm rather glad they reacted the way they did, in this case. It would have been scarier if she'd managed to pull this off with no hitch. I'm not so sure I buy her excuse that she was just proudly displaying an art project. I think she needs to be evaluated by a mental health professional.

[ShortnFiery]

159. I don't know. I've know many highly intelligent GEEKs. They don't think (or fear) like we do.

:shrug:

[Pithlet]

162. And that could be the case with her.

But this was just so unbelievably stupid that if I were someone who cared about her, I'd want to check to make sure something else wasn't going on. Now that we know it isn't a bomb and it appears she didn't intend for it to be a bomb scare, I don't think she needs jail time over this or anything. But, at the very least she's missing some vital judgment skills.

[RoyGBiv]

227. My first thought ...

My first thought before I read anything but the headline was "suicide by cop" attempt.

I agree she needs to be evaluated.

[slampoet]

168. As someone who knows the Maker community and has sold to them at the MIT FLEA market,

I can tell you that any techie would take one look at that and know that it was nothing. It also has the esthetic of the noise maker community like the father of The musical instruments/music known as Circuit Bending. His name is Reed Ghazala,

Here is a couple of links to his Extremely influential work.

http://www.anti-theory.com/soundart/
http://www.anti-theory.com/soundart/instruments/gallery/
http://www.anti-theory.com/sales/sales_gallery/a/index.html

HOWEVER!!

1. I can't see any Play Doh

2. Just cause you wear this at the MIT Flea Market parking garage while riding your Segway doesn't mean you should go to LOGAN with it.

3. Any techie can tell you that the same chip you might use to make a beeping musical instrument or make a bunch or LEDs flash can also be used for timing.

[Zodiak]

169. OK, if that is it

Then yes, that could be a bomb.

[ShortnFiery]

175. Only to the novice. nt

[Pavulon]

183. As a former NG engineer

who has seen a real demo charge, I can tell you that from 6 feet that is more than close enough to the real thing.

I was not eod and did not handle demo so I an not a true expert. The real thing is not stamped "live charge", it could easily be rigged half assed to fire with a cap in that configuration.

Maybe a former eod guy can chime in and put this bullshit to bed.

[ShortnFiery]

186. Someone already has in post # 168.

Go ahead and allow The State to arrest people at will, but this whole situation was DUMB. From the person to the cops, everyone "jumped the shark" and over-reacted. But what do you expect in this PARANOIA known as "Post 9/11 AmeriKKKa?" :shrug:

[Pavulon]

190. Yes AmeriKKKKKKKKKKa

try that in london, moscow, or rome. You have about the same chances of being shot dead.

Sitting on your ass with hindsight makes that statement ohhh so easy.

[ShortnFiery]

194. Gee, for stating that we've reached an impasse, I've put a bee under your bonnet.

And it's only three Ks in AmeriKKKa. :P :hi:

[paparush]

176. And I thought Boston-area Law Enforcement had already Jumped the Shark.

Guess I was wrong.

[slampoet]

179. Where is the PlayDoh? Are they making that up?

[Richard Steele]

251. That's what I'm wondering. There's none in any pic so far. nm

[goodhue]

181. looks like green lite brite star powered by a 9-volt battery

DYI Lumalive

http://www.lumalive.com/

[Pavulon]

187. Look at my pretty toy..

Oh wait..That is semtex and a cap, all I need is a power source and you have a charge that will turn everyone within 5 - 10m to pink mist.

Rigged for fragmentation 20m or more kill radius...

Why defend the indefensible.

[goodhue]

191. Well, we clearly disagree

Because I think arresting her at gunpoint is indefensible.
But then I also entirely missed the yellow cake and blasting cap in her lite brite fashion.

[Pavulon]

198. Real vs Toy.. toy gun pointed at police

toy bomb pointed at police.

The yellow shit is semtex, a plastic explosive, the blasting cap would not be visible as it would be in the block of demo. The battery would be connected to a method of putting juice in the wire to pop the cap and set of the he charge. The visual difference in a toy and a live charge is zero.

If you can not see the sheer stupidity of wearing that to an airport you have a problem. Seek help.

[goodhue]

207. She was not wearing a toy bomb

eom

[ShortnFiery]

192. You admitted to not being eod. Read post #168 for clarity. nt

[Pavulon]

206. That means I an not an EXPERT

I recieved instruction on the use of demo and the tools required to make it go boom. My experience was directly related to safely transporting it.

AKA I can drive my car without being able to design it.

[slampoet]

238. Please stop trying to obscure when others are giving you clarifying information.

It isn't the most becoming of behavior.

[Pavulon]

248. I did not obscure a damn thing

I stated that I have knowledge of explosives from the national guard, have the same training as every other bastard with my MOS. I said that I have seen and handled demo gear. Including m112 HE, Det cord, electric blasting caps, and various means of triggering. Without going into explosives 101 what do i needed to say? My job dealt with getting it from point a to point b safely. 8 years ago..

I AM NOT and did not state that I was an Expert (EOD) mil or civ trained. Pretty fucking clear?

That poster has not clarified jack. He has posted misinformation.

What the hell does that have to do with wearing a fake bomb in an airport anyway?

[slampoet]

281. If you actually read Make magazine wHich i have kindly provided links to or if you read BoingBoing

which I have also provided links to you would see what this was and not persist on insisting that this was a "Fake bomb"

Go to Make magazine now and there is a device almost identical to this.

http://makezine.com/blog/

Smack right on the front page.

This was not someone who intended to fake anything.

Hide behind "I'm not an expert" but in not checking the links you were asked to it becomes obvious that you aren't a person who is asking questions instead you are a person who won't learn.

If you go to Boing Boing It spells it out for anyone who can read along with a warning

"Star was an intern at Squid Labs this summer, and is an all-around awesome geek who loves to build things. FYI, friends at MIT say she wears the hoodie on a regular basis- it's just unfortunate that she had it on while trying to pick a friend up at the airport. MIT students don't really do mornings, or worry about what they're wearing, so I can't imagine she'd even think about her clothes before heading out to pick up a friend at the airport before 8am.

When Star gets out we'll have her do an Instructable on

1) how to get arrested at the airport without being shot, and

2) how to package your homemade electronics to look purchased.

Maybe BB and Instructables should start handing out some official-looking stickers and plastic covers to make breadboards look more commercial -- it will keep our readers away from automatic weapons."


http://www.boingboing.net/2007/09/21/mit-student-arrested.html


There is what happens when someone does some reporting and doesn't EMOTE FIRST like you have done.



But at the end of the day i think the best part for you to actually read instead of yelling about w/o reading might be the following passage.......

"
#52 posted by Teresa Nielsen Hayden/Moderator Author Profile Page, September 21, 2007 10:15 AM:

In case anyone missed it, the reason Xeni said "again with the hoax devices" is that Boston has a long dishonorable history of overreacting to unfamiliar objects, then claiming they were "hoax devices," which are illegal under Massachusetts law. This is nonsense. A hoax bomb is something that a reasonable person could believe was a bomb, and which its owner claims is a real bomb in order to scare or coerce people in its vicinity.

Boston police pulled this same stunt with Joe Previtera, a nonviolent protester, in 2006. He was doing a silent imitation of the famous photo of the hooded guy standing on a box from Abu Ghraib. The police arrested him -- as far as anyone can tell, because they disliked his politics -- and claimed that the speaker wires hanging from his wrists constituted a "hoax device."

They did it again in January and February of this year -- <1>, <2>, <3>, <4>, <6>, <7> -- after their maxed-out overreaction to lite-brite Mooninite images left the rest of the country snickering at them. The best quote on that one was from Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, on the obviously suspicious nature of the Mooninites: “ had a very sinister appearance. It had a battery behind it, and wires.”

(Just a month after the Great Mooninite Scare, the Boston Bomb Squad managed to come up with an encore: they blew up a traffic measuring device that had been put in place by the Boston Transportation Department.)

Judging from their record, charging someone with possession of a hoax device is Boston's way of announcing that they've once again mistaken some harmless bit of electronic gear for a bomb."

http://www.boingboing.net/2007/09/21/mit-student-arrested.html#comment-22603

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hope you enjoy the spoon feeding you baby.

[Pavulon]

283. Be sure to pass that on to airport security at the big intl airports!

I bet they just sit around and look for reasons to justify doing really dumb shit. Maybe an airsoft match under the approach patter can be arranged. I mean that is normal..

I am sure they are very interested in why someone would WEAR WIRES and a Battery INTO AN AIRPORT.

Any way you look at it is stupid. It is stupid in Boston, Frankfurt, or Athens.

Intent is not the point, an airport is a secured area, your intent on making something resemble an explosive vest is not relevant.

In each city you would have a weapon pointed at you.

Insult away, you post is far and away more insulting to your intelligence that anything I could possible post. But please dont try this on your next flight, you might end up with a gaping head wound. You are the second poster I have talked with today that can justify this in their head. Amazing sociological experiment, this thread.

Bottom line had she not complied and been killed she would have earned a DARWIN AWARD.

[slampoet]

291. So you yield that it wasn't a fake something.

Good. Point made.

[JuniperLea]

279. The knock at your door will be our pal, Agent Mike

Give him our best, ok?

:hi:


:silly:

[slackmaster]

224. That's a Radio Shack breadboard!

I have one just like it.

[goodhue]

243. indeed

fake bombs are everywhere

[goodhue]

296. .

[BushOut06]

225. But why ARREST her for it?

Detain and examine the device, sure - I can see that. But drawing weapons and arresting her? Completely out of line.

[slampoet]

154. This is one of the people from the Maker Community. Here is a link to the magazine.

http://www.makezine.com/blog/

There is a whole culture of people who make their own items these days. Sometimes it is crafty like miniatures or knitting but there is a whole community of people who also make their own electronic devices or alter existing devices to improve their feature set.

I myself was 16yrs old back in the eighties when i learned that altering a walkman to run on "D" cells instead of "AA" cells made it louder and it ran a lot longer.

This is just the latest run-in that the Maker community as had with airline security. There was a case where a contributor was stopped because he had a "D" Cell battery compartment that was hotglued to a USB port with one resistor. This was flagged even though it was demonstrated in its use to be a backup charger for a video Ipod.

This person showed amazingly poor judgment. That is true. But don't judge her too harshly since it seems she is from Hawaii and a lot of non-locals really don't realize how red hot the 9-11 fear is in Boston and especially Logan Airport since a lot of MSM coverage of 9-11 didn't emphasize the Boston Victims or Logan as one of the departure points for the hijackers.

But please check out some of these amazing projects that the Maker people tell you how to do.
There is something for every skill level.

Homeade musical instruments
http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2007/09/time_out_new_york_strum_u.html

DIY Tea Timer
http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2007/09/diy_tea_timer.html

How to recover a bike Seat
http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2007/09/how_to_recover_a_bike_sea.html

Make your own oscilloscope!!!!
http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2007/09/cooking_up_a_cheap_digita.html


Again, an other subculture the Cops don't even have a clue about.

But i have to add on edit that being the get along with every subculture kind of person that i am, I can actually understand were this person might wear this jacket all the time as her special hoodie, her leather jacket for the tribe. A lot of maker and Noise music people where their identifying hoodie even in the hight of summer. This is even more true of Providence than Boston.

Knowing how spacey the tech engineer type of people can be, I can see how she might have done this without thinking. However i still don't see where the Play Doh was.

[slampoet]

185. BTW, The Best coverage of this is at Boing Boing

http://www.boingboing.net/2007/09/21/mit-student-arrested.html


Huge amounts of information about this case and the young person involved.


MIT student arrested for entering Boston airport with "fake bomb"
Posted by Xeni Jardin, September 21, 2007 7:43 AM | # | Discuss (63)
Short version: it wasn't a "fake bomb" at all, it was a wearable tech jacket on the body of a friendly young technologist who would have been *way* better off wearing something else to the airport today. Authorities in Massachussetts who've been accused of overreacting to tech art misunderstandings before -- remember the Aqua Teen Hunger Force LED debacle? -- are throwing the book at her.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A 19 year old female M.I.T. student was arrested at gunpoint after entering Boston's Logan International Airport with what authorities claim was "a fake bomb" strapped to her chest, according to wire reports. The device is said to have been some kind of computer circuit board with Play-Doh and wires attached, strapped over her black hoodie. Link to AP report on her arrest.

The young woman is identified as Star Simpson, shown in the image above left, and she is a sophomore from Hawaii.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


It goes on and on for about 12 paragraphs of updates.

[goodhue]

213. yes, lots of great information there

* * *

Looks like the "improvised electronic device" consisted of a circuit board and a common battery that caused her sweatshirt, which had painted writing on it, to light up. Authorities referred to the paint as "putty."

The hoodie reads "Socket To Me / COURSE VI." A BB commenter familiar with MIT stuff says, "Course VI means she majors in Electrical Engineering / Computer Science."

* * *

Star was an intern at Squid Labs this summer, and is an all-around awesome geek who loves to build things. FYI, friends at MIT say she wears the hoodie on a regular basis- it's just unfortunate that she had it on while trying to pick a friend up at the airport. MIT students don't really do mornings, or worry about what they're wearing, so I can't imagine she'd even think about her clothes before heading out to pick up a friend at the airport before 8am.

http://www.boingboing.net/2007/09/21/mit-student-arrested.html

[ShortnFiery]

221. Yes, I particularly like this one:

#58 posted by TwoShort , September 21, 2007 10:28 AM:

@33 - "It's unreasonable to expect everyone else to see homebrew electronics on someone's shirt and deduce immediately at a glance that it's a novelty device or 'art'."

Having now seen the "device", any security person who cannot tell that is not a bomb at a glance, should be fired immediately.

There is absolutely no reason a bomb needs exposed wires and lights. Identifying bombs by looking for wires and lights is insane. A bomb needs space to carry the explosives: any piece of luggage should be more suspicious than anything stitched to your chest.

If the police should not ignore this, anyone carrying a briefcase should be shot on site.

[goodhue]

233. anyone carrying a briefcase should be shot on site

common sense indeed

[slampoet]

232. Finally! The was no PlayDoh only some paint. The MSM made up the putty or the cops did.

You see from my point of view and what i know about the Uber-Geeks at the MIT Flea everything adds up. I can see it happening in the way that Boing Boing sees it.

I can also see the willingness of the cops and MSM to understand this without knowing that there are people out there who like to make their own electronic doo-dads.

You out there in the rest of America just don't understand what a focused group of individuals the MIT tech community can be.

Many are so tech focused they lack simple social skills.

Come on down to the MIT Flea market some month and you'll get to see not only the current students but also a lot of alumni of all ages yammering about tubes lasers radios AI linux synths DIY or any of a thousand other subjects.

http://web.mit.edu/w1mx/www/swapfest.shtml

[ShortnFiery]

237. No, IMO many on this board would rather "arrest and tase" those avid in the MIT tech community.

:shrug:

[slampoet]

244. Who do these People think Invented TASERS?

Even cops know that it was kids like this girl who invented the TASER
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TASER today: Controversy, credibility & control considerations

By Major Steve Ijames
Springfield, Missouri Police Department

It’s been about 35 years since NASA scientist Jack Cover answered the President Lyndon Johnson’s "non-lethal" call by developing the Taser, the acronym for the device used by the boy-hero of Victor Appleton’s 1911 adventure story, "Thomas A. Swift’s Electric Rifle."



http://www.policeone.com/police-products/less-lethal/taser/articles/100546/

[goodhue]

239. yes, it seems there never was any play doh

just some paint on hoodie with DYI MIT brand

[ShortnFiery]

241. Damn, then with my little knowledge, I surmise there's no C-4 explosive appearance? Is that correct?

[goodhue]

245. yes, well, I'm still lost as to why it looks like a bomb

but I'm sure I know less than even you

:shrug:

no doubt the many bomb experts here on DU can explain how little we know

[slampoet]

246. Without the PlayDoh the story is logical and i can see how something this stupid would happen.

With the PlayDoh this doesn't compute.

[ShortnFiery]

269. What? The PlayDoh is what could be mistaken for C-4. nt

[slampoet]

290. I've never questioned that the cops could see a problem.

I fully see that the cops needed to pull this person over......the hissy fit they threw to the media, portrays more about the pressure they face from management than anything about how important this distractionary story is or is not.

I always understood how the cops acted like they did with or w/o the "PlayDoh"
but w/o the PlayDoh i now understand how


...the fact is that no Maker person would try to fake this kind of thing
no one with a future as bright as that would experiment this way.

I needed to see how a possibly a otherwise smart student could mistakenly do this if she were awake all night, from Hawaii and needed a coat for cold Boston mornings, already dresses tomboy and is in tech, left to pickup someone before 8am, on a friday morning after thursday which is after all college party night. Throw in that the almost MIT engineers that i have met have social awkwardness from mild personality ticks to borderline and full blown Asperger syndrome. Also throw in that many people here are demonstrating how hard it is for some people to see themselves how others see them.....

This all adds up to one tech girl making probably the biggest mistake of her life and it seems the first mistake of any sort.

If you try to be angry and add this up from the idea of a prank, this whole story doesn't make a lick of sense.

The cops are angry so they are going to try to add this up from that angry view of intended harm because they have triggered their fight or flight mechanism and also because that is the biz they are in. That is how they roll.

Then by the same token we have to assume that this MIT student has a a similar way she rolls. That is what is shone in her websites and Maker Blogging.
(links here: http://www.boingboing.net/2007/09/21/mit-student-arrested.html
MIT might be known for pranks but this person wasn't and also if is was MIT it would be a better prank.


The fact is that the culture of MIT is such that she would be allowed to wear this hoodie on campus, but if she had a lump of "Clay", she would be asked by the MIT people to remove it most likely.

The fact is that we have seen a lot of prank bomb stories but almost none of them ever turn out to be true hoaxes, just instead someone mistaking something for something else. There aren't many people out there that plant fake devices. Most of the time it is just someone doesn't think like a security cop and the cop doesn't in this case think like a CompuGeektastic MIT Maker Chick who reprograms Speak and Spells for fun and art.

The fact is that as much as anyone is being a dick about this issue, there are two facts at play here.

1) is that Star Simpson is already out on bail so the authorities are deciding to go easy on this in a way that the media is not.

"Update 7: Christy from Instructables.com says (1125am PT),

I talked to Star briefly -- she's out on bail, is just fine, and thinks the whole thing is crazy.Of course, they've impounded her sweatshirt, so she's got to do something else for Career Day."

2) the Second development is the the Geek Maker community is deciding to SELF-Police and make stickers to identify DIY electronics.

"Geek-Protection Stickers? Call for design suggestions!
So, Star's in jail in Boston for forgetting she was wearing some electronics."

http://www.instructables.com/forum/TEH9ED1F6S8YYD8/





So all of the people who want to act like suckers and believe that this wasn't just a future absent minded professor having a bad morning you can stick around and pound on your keyboards, but for those who don't see paint make it putty and then panic about something that isn't there or even isn't a hoax, those logical people are already ahead of you making policy. Maybe stickers aren't the answer but it's more development of policy in one afternoon than the Boston authorities have shone in 5 years.

[ShortnFiery]

292. Well considered and thoughtful opinion - you explain both sides well.

Sincere thanks for the balanced viewpoint.
I hope that this mistake does not ruin the young woman's life. :hi:

[Pavulon]

252. Regardless, Cant wear wires and battery to an airport

here or abroad. Generally a horribly stupid thing to do at an international airport. Agree?

[Renew Deal]

202. This is an issue of stupidity,

She sounds like an idiot.

[Bucky]

220. No. That's not it at all.

She looks like a totally hot idiot.

[goodgd_yall]

266. Have to agree there

And she had great colored hair in the news video.

[BlooInBloo]

253. For me the issue isn't whether or not she should've been pulled aside, detained, wutever..

... With a significantly out-of-the-ordinary unknown device on her, she almost certainly should have been pulled over. No, the only issue that concerns me is what happens to her going forward. It's one thing to be justified in pulling someone aside *at run-time*, and another thing ENTIRELY to make a *considered* charge against her.

[malaise]

259. Agreed

Naive and stupid doesn't mean criminal. Still that was seriously dumb.

[WinkyDink]

257. Sorry. Airports and planes are NOT COMEDY CLUBS. This girl is a MORON.

And Boston Logan?? HELLOOOOO.

[Marr]

261. How much do you want to be that the thing she was wearing looked nothing like a bomb?

*Edit*

Having seen the photo of the device up-thread, I'd say stopping her was quite reasonable. The device is rather nondescript, but clearly hand-made (unlike those Lite-Brite marketing pieces).

I don't see why she should be charged with anything, however. She's guilty of nothing more than making things.

[slampoet]

293. Stopping her Fine. Charging her with joking about a bomb. Fine. Arrest? Newsstory?

Arrest and News story seem unnecessary.

[Evoman]

264. Fine her, and let her go.

I can understand the concern, but if they found out the bomb was fake, there is no danger from this girl. Fining people may then discourage copycats, without giving them all this attention.


On edit: I just read that there was no putty at all. Just some sort of tech shirt. They should totally just let her go. The cops overreacted.

[Pavulon]

270. Glad you have that info now

I wonder if the police did when they had her at gunpoint wearing wires and a battery at an airport. I bet not.

PS that is a bad idea in any airport in the world these days, and back in the day too. Discouraged...

Charged, fined heavily, is a good start. Bet that was a head check for her.

[Evoman]

274. I honestly think this was a mistake on her part.

Getting this out in the media, making a big deal out of it, or giving her some sort of criminal record or arrest after the reality of the situation is determined is stupid.

Why is this national news?

[ShortnFiery]

276. "Why is this national news?" To frighten us peasant classes.

In Europe they face SERIOUS dangers each day and thwart a number of attacks that are NEVER REPORTED. Why are they not reported? Precisely so the populace will NOT then work themselves up and become paranoid.

In Bush-World, it's good to keep the people afraid and paranoid. ;)

Why report about war profiteers who are giving inferior equipment to our troops while bleeding our tax dollars away from "the people" when you can HYPE UP some geeky MIT student who simply lacks common sense. Yeah, there's none of those at MIT. :eyes:

[BlooInBloo]

287. Do you have a link to the no-putty part of it? That seems to be something people assumed...

... was correctly reported (and I specifically said we should wait on the putty part).

[goodhue]

289. boingboing update #3

http://www.boingboing.net/2007/09/21/mit-student-arrested.html

Update 3: They're showing the LED hoodie on CNN right now (screengrab from a local TV report below).



Looks like the "improvised electronic device" consisted of a circuit board and a common battery that caused her sweatshirt, which had painted writing on it, to light up. Authorities referred to the paint as "putty."

The hoodie reads "Socket To Me / COURSE VI." A BB commenter familiar with MIT stuff says, "Course VI means she majors in Electrical Engineering / Computer Science."

Sheesh! Someone needs to not let these hyperintelligent hacker chirren out of the house wearing this kind of stuff when they're headed to airports in Boston. {shakes head}. Poor thing.

[BlooInBloo]

294. Thanks!

[HughMoran]

288. This is a bit silly isn't it.

We are becomming a nation of ass holes.