Australia: Home to the dumb Terrorist?
I noticed these new signs at the busway today. There in the spot where extended timetable info used to be. The sign uses the snappy caption of “Bags without people don’t make sense” to encourage people to report abandoned bags via a 1800 numbers. Now call me stupid… but if I were a terrorist who spend hundreds of hours researching bombs, discreetly gathered the ingrediants, carefully constructed my explosive device… leaving it sitting in a bag seems a little stupid.
Queensland transport has realised this though, and they actually have a bomb disposal device sitting next to the sign. Now whilst I didn’t get a photo of it, apparently they are also known as a ‘garbage tin’ or a ‘bin’. What terrorist with the intelligence to construct a powerful bomb to fit in a bag wouldn’t place it into a bin, where it could remain without any suspicion whatsoever, and then leave it sitting on a train or bus platform? It’s trying to make the people feel the government is out there doing something. It’s pointless. At the airport maybe, but not at a bus stop.
I miss my timetable information :( But if I see any strange bags sitting in the middle of the platform with no obvious owner… I’ll be sure to give the hotline a call…
Z said,
September 14, 2005 at 12:00 am
I think they are silly too.
I guess its a public relations ploy, they are probably afraid of media critisism if they don’t look concerned.
This kind of thing just winds terrosist-fearing gullible people up.
That is all.
ikonq said,
September 14, 2005 at 7:45 am
i agree but they got to put there bag somewhere unless they are suiciding and in public fo more casualties
pepe said,
November 10, 2005 at 2:48 pm
The Queensland government also ran TV commercials about this as well.
It featured a father and son waiting at a train station for a train. When the train comes the boy jumps on the train, the father is about to follow him on. Dad looks to his side and sees a lonely bag.
Dad says to the boy “don’t forget your bag”. Boy replies. “it’s not my bag dad”
I wonder if this was a political statement by the producers of the ad or just a comical coincidence… what ever, it’s funny.