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He made a threat. I think it's in bad taste to make public bombing threats, even as a joke. It's just not respectful to the people who have to dig through this

He made a threat. I think it's in bad taste to make public bombing threats, even as a joke. It's just not respectful to the people who have to dig through this shit and interdict the real bad guys. As societies, we have limited resources with which to investigate threats that are made, and our governments have an obligation to investigate each and every threat that's made, even jokingly on Twitter. The reaction is totally over the top, granted, and I'd rather they spend their time interrogating trust fund Nigerians recently returned from a Yemenese vacation, but there should be a penalty for making joking bombing threats, in the same way that you shouldn't go around yelling 'fire!' in a movie theater. Criminal prosecution is ludicrous, though.

pmorici 17y ago
"our governments have an obligation to investigate each and every threat that's made, even jokingly on Twitter." No they don't. They have an obligation to investigate legitimate things.
jacquesm 17y ago
He never made a threat, he made a joke. One that you may think in poor taste but I thought it was well within the acceptable. Blow up an airport because they don't have their planes landing on time ? Sounds very realistic to me. We've had a guy executed because of these overzealous clowns http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Charles_de_Menezes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Charles_de_Menezes I think to investigate is fine, to arrest is way across the line. If these guys can't tell the difference between a legitimate threat and a bloody joke then we have other problems than terrorism. I'm mad enough about this to write about it in a way that I possibly shouldn't but I am seriously past caring: http://jacquesmattheij.com/I+am+a++terrorist%2C+and+so+are+you%2e http://jacquesmattheij.com/I+am+a++terrorist%2C+and+so+are+y... Let's see who is brave enough to turn me in.
- ErrantX 17y ago
  Something doesn't feel right in all of this case. Like we are missing something. I suspect there was some otherp particular reason the police were worried he may take extreme action secondary to the tweet; it would explain things more clearly. There us also a double standard with some of the people outraged over this. Hundreds of people are reported eah month as veiwing kiddy porn. The majority are innocent but you will struggle to find too many people who will disagree With them beig investigated. If a concerend indvidual, perhaps someone who knows he guy, as worried by what he read and reported it what do the police do? They just have to have a look; I mean ok they went much too far (assuming the story is accurate and this guy wasn't, for example, difficult or refused to cooperate etc.) as I said, I can't help feeling there is a touch more to this than a busy body stalking Twitter :-) I'm ac
  - jacquesm 17y ago
    > Something doesn't feel right in all of this case. Like we are missing something. I have a very hard time imagining anything short of this guy having a history of blowing things up that would be reason enough for an arrest. > I suspect there was some otherp particular reason the police were worried he may take extreme action secondary to the tweet; it would explain things more clearly. Because you would hope that that would be the case ? That's just wishful thinking on your part I'm afraid, I have absolutely no problem in believing that it happened the way it has been described, by now the police is well aware this thing is going to blow up in their faces if there was even a remotely plausible reason they would have trotted it out on a leash for display by now. > Hundreds of people are reported eah month as veiwing kiddy porn. The majority are innocent but you will struggle to find too many people who will disagree With them beig investigated. Being investigated for the possession of child pornography because of anonymous tips makes it far too easy to smear people and to use the police as attack dogs in personal vendettas. It also basically gives the authorities carte-blanche to go and investigate anybody at all claiming there was an anonymous tip, and I think that for that reason alone this ia a bad development. I realize you may probably disagree but if a person is 'so concerned' about this that they would report you but not concerned enough that they would make that report without being anonymous then it is most likely a sick prank being pulled on someone. If it weren't then there would almost always be someone in the vicinity of the individual being reported that would have the balls to face the perp over this and make a non-anonymous report. The lucky few child pornographers that only have cowards in their circle of acquaintances we'd have to learn to live with. > If a concerend indvidual, perhaps someone who knows he guy, as worried by what he read and reported it what do the police do? I would think that even a personal visit is one step too far, a simple letter that would state that the guy is because of this 'flagged' and if there is any indication that there is more to it then it might be time for doing something about it. Until then make sure that when he gets on a plane that his luggage gets some extra tlc. > as I said, I can't help feeling there is a touch more to this than a busy body stalking Twitter :-) You have a lot of faith in the law, which is nice. I've seen tons of incompetence far worse than this so I'm very much on the side that has absolutely no problem believing the story as it is told.
    - 17y ago
danek 17y ago
I'm not disagreeing with what you say, but I think it's a stretch to interpret that as a threat. I also think that if a threat is determined to be a misinterpreted joke, then the government should stop wasting time and money investigating it. Suppose someone says something like: "The party is really gonna blow up" or "The roof will be on fire!" Are these threats? What if some paranoid idiot reports one as a threat--should the person that wrote it be fined or prosecuted because it wasted police time? The authorities repeatedly show themselves to be morons...is it okay to rely on their discretion? These are things I think society needs to start talking about.
deleted 17y ago
[deleted]
WorkerBee 17y ago
He made a threat ... there should be a penalty for making joking bombing threats Did you read the article? The author says (and I totally agree) that refraining from tasteless jokes while at the airport is a small price that we we pay without concern, but the freedom to make bad jokes on the internet in your spare time is something else entirely. It's the thin end of the "censorship of all speech" wedge, really.

pmorici 17y ago

"our governments have an obligation to investigate each and every threat that's made, even jokingly on Twitter." No they don't. They have an obligation to investigate legitimate things.

jacquesm 17y ago

He never made a threat, he made a joke. One that you may think in poor taste but I thought it was well within the acceptable. Blow up an airport because they don't have their planes landing on time ? Sounds very realistic to me. We've had a guy executed because of these overzealous clowns http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Charles_de_Menezes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Charles_de_Menezes I think to investigate is fine, to arrest is way across the line. If these guys can't tell the difference between a legitimate threat and a bloody joke then we have other problems than terrorism. I'm mad enough about this to write about it in a way that I possibly shouldn't but I am seriously past caring: http://jacquesmattheij.com/I+am+a++terrorist%2C+and+so+are+you%2e http://jacquesmattheij.com/I+am+a++terrorist%2C+and+so+are+y... Let's see who is brave enough to turn me in.

ErrantX 17y ago
Something doesn't feel right in all of this case. Like we are missing something. I suspect there was some otherp particular reason the police were worried he may take extreme action secondary to the tweet; it would explain things more clearly. There us also a double standard with some of the people outraged over this. Hundreds of people are reported eah month as veiwing kiddy porn. The majority are innocent but you will struggle to find too many people who will disagree With them beig investigated. If a concerend indvidual, perhaps someone who knows he guy, as worried by what he read and reported it what do the police do? They just have to have a look; I mean ok they went much too far (assuming the story is accurate and this guy wasn't, for example, difficult or refused to cooperate etc.) as I said, I can't help feeling there is a touch more to this than a busy body stalking Twitter :-) I'm ac
- jacquesm 17y ago
  > Something doesn't feel right in all of this case. Like we are missing something. I have a very hard time imagining anything short of this guy having a history of blowing things up that would be reason enough for an arrest. > I suspect there was some otherp particular reason the police were worried he may take extreme action secondary to the tweet; it would explain things more clearly. Because you would hope that that would be the case ? That's just wishful thinking on your part I'm afraid, I have absolutely no problem in believing that it happened the way it has been described, by now the police is well aware this thing is going to blow up in their faces if there was even a remotely plausible reason they would have trotted it out on a leash for display by now. > Hundreds of people are reported eah month as veiwing kiddy porn. The majority are innocent but you will struggle to find too many people who will disagree With them beig investigated. Being investigated for the possession of child pornography because of anonymous tips makes it far too easy to smear people and to use the police as attack dogs in personal vendettas. It also basically gives the authorities carte-blanche to go and investigate anybody at all claiming there was an anonymous tip, and I think that for that reason alone this ia a bad development. I realize you may probably disagree but if a person is 'so concerned' about this that they would report you but not concerned enough that they would make that report without being anonymous then it is most likely a sick prank being pulled on someone. If it weren't then there would almost always be someone in the vicinity of the individual being reported that would have the balls to face the perp over this and make a non-anonymous report. The lucky few child pornographers that only have cowards in their circle of acquaintances we'd have to learn to live with. > If a concerend indvidual, perhaps someone who knows he guy, as worried by what he read and reported it what do the police do? I would think that even a personal visit is one step too far, a simple letter that would state that the guy is because of this 'flagged' and if there is any indication that there is more to it then it might be time for doing something about it. Until then make sure that when he gets on a plane that his luggage gets some extra tlc. > as I said, I can't help feeling there is a touch more to this than a busy body stalking Twitter :-) You have a lot of faith in the law, which is nice. I've seen tons of incompetence far worse than this so I'm very much on the side that has absolutely no problem believing the story as it is told.
  - 17y ago

danek 17y ago

I'm not disagreeing with what you say, but I think it's a stretch to interpret that as a threat. I also think that if a threat is determined to be a misinterpreted joke, then the government should stop wasting time and money investigating it. Suppose someone says something like: "The party is really gonna blow up" or "The roof will be on fire!" Are these threats? What if some paranoid idiot reports one as a threat--should the person that wrote it be fined or prosecuted because it wasted police time? The authorities repeatedly show themselves to be morons...is it okay to rely on their discretion? These are things I think society needs to start talking about.

deleted 17y ago

[deleted]

WorkerBee 17y ago

He made a threat ... there should be a penalty for making joking bombing threats Did you read the article? The author says (and I totally agree) that refraining from tasteless jokes while at the airport is a small price that we we pay without concern, but the freedom to make bad jokes on the internet in your spare time is something else entirely. It's the thin end of the "censorship of all speech" wedge, really.