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Topic: Do you feel safer? (Read 1042 times) |
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Hermit
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Do you feel safer?
« on: 2007-09-21 19:07:39 » |
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MIT Student With Fake Bomb Nabbed At Logan
19-Year-Old Arrested At Boston Airport Had Computer Circuit Board, Battery On Chest
[ Hermit: My toddler daughter has play-dough. She also has two circuit boards with flashing lights on them. One came from Martin Marietta as a promotional gift. Martin Marietta manufactures military satellites, rocket motors, bomb components and cruise missiles amongst other things. The other was part of a crown which came from Walmart. Both these "devices" are powered by batteries (Duh!). Is she at risk of being shot because she doesn't follow the instructions of a frightened policeman? Should I take them away from her? Will the world be a safer place if I do? Is the ex-crown a "Fake Bomb"? Is the one from Martin Marietta worse because they also make weapon systems, or better because they are a major defense contractor? Should they be prosecuted for selling fake bombs? How about Walmart? And should Walmart have to stop selling such dangerous things as batteries?]
Source: CBS
Authors: Not credited (CBS/AP)
Dated: 2007-09-21
Datelined: Boston
An MIT student with what police feared was a fake bomb attached to her chest was arrested at gunpoint Friday at Logan International Airport and later claimed it was artwork, officials said.
Star Simpson, 19, had a computer circuit board and wiring in plain view over a black hooded sweat shirt she was wearing, said State Police Maj. Scott Pare, the commanding officer at the airport.
"She said that it was a piece of art and she wanted to stand out on career day," Pare said at a news conference. "She claims that it was just art, and that she was proud of the art and she wanted to display it."
CBS News correspondent Bob Orr (audio) reports officials say they had to take the incident seriously. All of U.S. aviation remains under Code Orange, the second highest terror threat level.
Simpson was charged with disturbing the peace and possessing a hoax device, and was to be arraigned in East Boston District Court later Friday.
"I'm shocked and appalled that somebody would wear this type of device to an airport," Pare said.
Simpson was "extremely lucky she followed the instructions or deadly force would have been used," Pare said. "She's lucky to be in a cell as opposed to the morgue."
Simpson is a Massachusetts Institute of Technology sophomore from Hawaii, officials said.
The battery-powered rectangular device had nine flashing lights, Pare said. Simpson also had Play-Doh in her hands, he said.
The phrases "Socket to me" and "Course VI" were written on the back of sweat shirt, which authorities displayed to the media. Course VI appears to be a reference to MIT's major of electrical engineering and computer science.
Tim Anderson, a colleague at MIT, knows Simpson personally and told CBS radio station WBZ that what happened at Logan Airport is likely being blown out of proportion.
"She's a wonderful person. She's talented, and she devotes major portions of her time to helping people build electronic projects," Anderson said.
Simpson was a member of MIT's swimming and diving team in 2006, according to the team's Web site, which lists her hometown as Kihei, Hawaii. MIT spokeswoman Patti Richards said aside from confirming she was a student, the school did not have any comment.
She was arrested about 8 a.m. outside Terminal C, home to United Airlines, Jet Blue and other carriers.
A Massachusetts Port Authority staffer manning an information booth in the terminal became suspicious when Simpson - wearing the device - approached to ask about an incoming flight, Pare said. Simpson then walked outside, and the information booth attendant notified a nearby trooper.
The trooper, joined by others with MP-5 submachine guns, confronted her at a traffic island in front of the terminal.
"She was immediately told to stop, to raise her hands and not to make any movement, so we could observe all her movements to see if she was trying to trip any type of device," Pare said. "Had she not followed the protocol, we might have used deadly force."
Pare said Simpson took a subway to the airport, but he was not sure if she had the device on at that time.
She told authorities she was at the airport to greet someone arriving on a flight from Oakland. Authorities verified information as to the name of the passenger she was greeting, and said he had already left the airport.
"She did seem a bit upset that she was in custody. However, she was rational, and she did answer all questions as required," Pare said.
The major praised the booth attendant but said the incident is a reminder of the terrorism threat confronting the civil aviation system. Two of the four passenger jets hijacked on Sept. 11, 2001, took off from Logan.
"In this day and age, the threat continues to be there," said Pare. "She certainly jeopardized her own safety by bringing this to the airport, as well as the safety of everybody around her."
It's not known if the charges will be pressed.
"There are people in the law enforcement field who feel that people like this need to be made an example of, so that there are not copycats, so that other people don't try something similar," says Orr.
The city was the focus of a major security scare Jan. 31 when dozens of battery-powered devices were discovered in various locations. Bomb squads were deployed, and highways, bridges and some transit stations were temporarily closed. They turned out to be a promotion for cable TV's Cartoon Network.
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With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion. - Steven Weinberg, 1999
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teh
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I'm still still learning
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Re:Do you feel safer?
« Reply #1 on: 2007-09-21 22:13:23 » |
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I remember having to stop wearing my "All your base are belong to us" t-shirt after receiving my fair share of stares and comments back in 2001. Even though I had the shirt for over a year by that time, wearing it casually without even making the connection to 9/11. (my middle eastern ancestry didn't help either)
A couple of years later I thought it safe to wear it again. I was mistaken.
Sometimes it seems the world has lost all sense of perspective, a long time ago.
If it ever existed in the somewhat nostalgic sense I perceive.
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