[Football16]

I didn't hear this and just minutes ago posted on the protest thread how protests divert police resources and this event which I assume proved to be a false alarm is that kind of event.

They would have been irresponsible not to take this seriously given the Olympic officials presence - although I don't know what the situation was or the outcome other than nothing happened.

Universities in BC get bomb threats every semester. The first bomb calls come in with the first mid-terms and it springs up again with finals. Universities ignore 99% of these as they are simply students who didn't study. However, UBC didn't ignore serious threats from a grad student who was convicted and the buildings were in a serious lock down mode as I recall occurring not long ago.

[wtbhotia]

Originally Posted by elle

wtbhotia - there are more than you think. The guys are still fairly busy with unexploded Japanese WW2 munition - it just doesn't make it into the paper every day. Just think about all the digging being done for new residential developments and infrastructure projects, this is when they get called out most.
I happen to know some of them and would not like the idea of trading jobs with them. They do run a fantastic bar though.

Apologize, totally forgot about the WWII bombs. they must be a lot of those still around, we only hear about those when some companies go around digging up perfectly good roads so that they can lay a new wire etc.

was only ranting about the extra police they have around here just standing around doing sweet FA.

[aussiegal]

Originally Posted by gilleshk

ohhh here we go with 911 again, the near holocaust of the USA...

The tragedy of the new millenium!!! Get over it, more people die from guns or car accident every year and you don't make a plate out of it...

Interesting how you compare a gun or car accident, which are both arguably self inflicted or can be put down to stupidity and carelessness in most instances with a terror attack on completely innocent people. Perhaps if 3000 people all accidentally died from gun shots in the same building and the building fell down and then affected the health of thousands more bystanders and people who helped the rescue efforts you could compare the two but otherwise your statement is tacky and disrespectful.

[gilleshk]

Originally Posted by aussiegal

Interesting how you compare a gun or car accident, which are both arguably self inflicted or can be put down to stupidity and carelessness in most instances with a terror attack on completely innocent people. Perhaps if 3000 people all accidentally died from gun shots in the same building and the building fell down and then affected the health of thousands more bystanders and people who helped the rescue efforts you could compare the two but otherwise your statement is tacky and disrespectful.

66% of the 16,137 murders in 2004 were committed with firearms in the US yet you can purchase bullets at Wal Mart and you can't bring a bottle of water on the plane. That's the legacy from 9/11. Easier to blame those arabs then to look at home...

It was a bad incident but it gets more press than the genocide in Sudan...I guess innocent americans are more valuable than black sudanese.

It must be China's fault!

[Mat]

Originally Posted by gilleshk

Easier to blame those arabs then to look at home...

it gets more press than the genocide in Sudan...

It must be China's fault!

It is unfortunately very true

[Football16]

Given these 3 incidents in the space of some 6 days, I suggest that we are all better if they take this stuff seriously. If they simply walked up to the object for a closer inspection and someone got killed there'd be howls about lack of proper attention.

Well it appears that someone or several are perpetrating hoaxes of bombs in HK that apparently started the night of the opening ceremonies and these things have to looked at by the police as:

> possibly local people like youth (or a whack job nutter) not thinking but thinking this might be funny as a prank - But they don't realize how much police manpower is being sucked up and wasted which is better spent on prevention of crime and other more serious things.
> anti -Olympic or anti whatever protesters who want to disrupt the show as much as possible.
> or even more serious considerations.
That is what police must do when these things happen.

1. "Last Friday – as Hong Kong prepared for the start of the 2008 Beijing Olympics – Causeway Bay MTR station was forced to close on Friday afternoon after a suspicious-looking object was found.

The object was found at Exit D of the MTR station around 3.30pm on Friday.

Police officers from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bureau later detonated the object.

Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong has said the possibility of a terror attack during the Games in Hong Kong remains “moderate”. "

2 and 3.

Police detonates suspicious object in MK

14-08-2008 HKT 16:00
The chief transport officer Lee Man-ho spoke about traffic congestion in the area
There are serious congestions around the section of Nathan Road that was closed. Photo: RTHK
Police bomb disposal experts have detonated a suspicious object in Mongkok, which caused the closure of all lanes on a section of Nathan Road for more than two hours. More than a hundred bus routes were affected, and there were severe traffic jams in the area. The Mongkok assistant police district commander, Angela Ng, said the object was a piece of paper with wires, with the word bomb written on it.

A second suspicious object was earlier detonated by bomb experts near a hotel in Tsimshatsui. Police said the object was a mobile phone wrapped in wires.

[gilleshk]

They have to do their job but it's counterproductive to put those things in the media. All it does is scare some willy nillies and give ideas to nutcases...

I couldn't believe the amount of press the Korean kid got when he did his little stunt. All that does is make it more likely someone else will want their 15 minutes of fame...

Free press is important but it would be so nice if it was more responsible instead of pandering to our littlest instincts

[aussiegal]

Originally Posted by gilleshk

It was a bad incident but it gets more press than the genocide in Sudan...I guess innocent americans are more valuable than black sudanese.

Yawn, we've heard it all before. My point was not that 9/11 was the worst thing in history but that you comparing the loss of lives in the towers to people shooting themselves or dying in a car accident is insane.

"66% of the 16,137 murders in 2004 were committed with firearms in the US yet you can purchase bullets at Wal Mart and you can't bring a bottle of water on the plane. That's the legacy from 9/11. Easier to blame those arabs then to look at home..."

The American people have been an armed people forever, let's not blame 9/11. All you're doing is swapping one bit of hype and hysteria for another, it doesn't make you right, it just makes you the same as the people you laugh at for wanting to blame China for everything. Let's all blame America!!!!!!!!!!

[gilleshk]

Originally Posted by aussiegal

Yawn, we've heard it all before. My point was not that 9/11 was the worst thing in history but that you comparing the loss of lives in the towers to people shooting themselves or dying in a car accident is insane.

"66% of the 16,137 murders in 2004 were committed with firearms in the US yet you can purchase bullets at Wal Mart and you can't bring a bottle of water on the plane. That's the legacy from 9/11. Easier to blame those arabs then to look at home..."

The American people have been an armed people forever, let's not blame 9/11. All you're doing is swapping one bit of hype and hysteria for another, it doesn't make you right, it just makes you the same as the people you laugh at for wanting to blame China for everything. Let's all blame America!!!!!!!!!!

Of course I'm not blaming the heavy use of firearms on 911, I was pointing out the silliness of not being able to bring a bottle of water, having to take your shoes and belts off before boarding planes when you can purchase bullets at Wal Mart...

And what exactly am I blaming America for? Simply pointing out their little hysterics about 911...

[Sleuth]

Originally Posted by gilleshk

And what exactly am I blaming America for? Simply pointing out their little hysterics about 911...

I wasn't being hysterical about 9/11. Just using it as an example. I didn't use it to claim moral superiority or to beat people about the head and shoulders with it. Merely to point out that just because things haven't happened in the past doesn't mean they won't happen tomorrow.
I incorrectly thought your original point was "bombs never explode in HK, therefore these aren't bombs and the threat should be ignored". I should have read it as "the bombs aren't as newsworthy as the press is making them". That is probably true and I agree that by flogging the stuff in the press you are just inviting copycats.
On the flip side, if it isn't in the press everyone accuses the press of being in bed with some governmental authority and orchestrating a cover-up for various nefarious purposes.
Given those two choices, put it in the press.
Plus it was big news becasue the IOC was in the hotel and everyone is looking for non-athletic Olympic stories because every paper in the world reports the same athletic Olympic stories, although with an "own country" slant.