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So police should shoot to kill based solely on an information booth staffer pointing out a "device"?

I'll go ahead and grieve for the parents of the kid with the lasertag vest in the airport now.

Oh, wait. Was she a Christian? They definitely should have shot her. My bad.

It wasn't that simple, yo. She had what was intended to, and looked like, a bomb strapped to her back. The staffer pointed it out to the troopers, who immediately figured out it was important enough to "threaten" deadly force. That tells you this was far more serious than a kid with a "lasertag vest" in the airport.

Would it suck that a person who wasn't a terrorist had been killed? Absolutely. Would it be necessary? Absolutely.

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

"Airport Employees, Police Mistake Potential Terrorist, Call Her a "Fake Artist" to Pacify Moonbats"

Looks like they need to increase the "bomb-identification" training for those who work for the government and carry weapons. You are totally right ... they should have wasted her.

Her art looks nothing like a bomb. Its a circuit board and a 9 volt battery. The media is reporting it as a hoax device but when you actually see the picture it looks nothing like a bomb. Absolutely ridiculous over reactionary bullshit from a once great but now self destructing country.

It wasn't a bomb nor did it pretend to be a bomb. The police need to calm down.

Way to go DJFelix! Who else wants to declare their support for random murder of college students? Anyone?

You are a despicable person.

Anyone remember this little guy?

http://kungfurodeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/athf_bomb.jpg

I think LEDs should be outlawed in Boston. Circuit boards too.

Yes, she should have thought about bringing the thing into the airport, and I'm not sure why she didn't respond to the person that asked her about it. But yeah, the media's take on this is absurd, as is the OP and DJFelix. For SRS.

They thought she might have a bomb.

She didn't.

They could have shot her.

They didn't.

It looks to me like everything worked the way it's supposed to.

What exactly do you think went wrong?

Did she make scared middle-aged white men piss their pants? I guess so.

That was really reckless, wrong time, wrong place, but ...way to go girl! I guess this world became too small for open minded people like you. Is this the "freedeom" we want to spread around the world? Don't forget to put the "fake bomb" up for sale on eBay! The legal system gets expensive these days.

it's inventors and button-pushers like star who will actually this planet from morons like this author.

What the fuck is wrong with you fuck heads? It is okay for an "intelligent" MIT student to go into an airport with a mock bomb? If this fucking cunt wasn't from some top notch college or most likely if she was't a women the only way they would know she was Star Simpson is from DNA from her fucking teeth scattered across the airport. She should have been THE example.

A CIRCUIT BOARD ISN'T A BOMB, PERIOD !!!!!

It doesn't take a circuit board to make a bomb (just a battery and a switch, or a cigarette lighter and no wiring at all).

Everything we own has a circuit boards in it.

If we're going to shoot people for wearing circuit boards, let's just nuke ourselves and get it over with !!

--Gary

Gary, would this story be headlining if she wasn't from MIT, or somewhere similar? How far can this go? How is it funny to wear something resembling something potentially explosive into an airport that terrorists left from for 9/11? We should STOP people that ignorant and probably people like you that wear "idiot" or "no i will not fix your computer" on their body. You can wear your fucking circuit board at your house but not at an international airport.

I have an idea. Let's ban all circuit boards. Please drop off your computer, cell phone, iPod, car, radio, TV, camera, and anything else you own that uses electricity and was made in the last 15 years at your nearest Homeland Security Office. If you refuse, you will be shot on sight as a terrorist threat, because, you know, circuit boards are bombs. You sure as hell better not have a battery or blinking light on you.

It would be very easy to fit a small bomb into a cell phone or iPod. Sure, it wouldn't do much, but it's still a bomb. No reason to let people carry those around any more than her shirt.

Scott Pare's comments remind me of all the other self-important blowhards who can't hold a non-union/non-government job. "Look at me, I could have shot her dead, dead, dead! Look at my power. I am so important. Respect me, worship me!"

Circuit-card-girl did nothing illegal despite the charge of "hoax device." Maybe she was a bit oblivious to reality. Maybe she just didn't want to be pushed around by "the man." In any event, the official response was nothing more than a big CYA by Boston's brain-damaged gun toting thugs.

Let's not forget the other blinking-light / hoax devices which caused such a problem. Once again Boston's finest to the rescue, looking for a dupe to blame for their overreaction.

What a country of weak-kneed cowards we have become. Wetting our pants over a piece of flashing electronic jewelry? OMG!

We need to listen to William Shatner and call the “terrified ones” Namby-Pambys and Momma’s Boys, which is what really are. I’m not afraid or terrified and none of us should be.

Do you folks not understand that what the terrorists want to do is terrorize us? Everyone who is terrified is doing exactly what they want us to do. Maybe “traitor” is a better label than “scaredy-cat” for people who think we should abandon essential civil liberties because of a handful of religious fanatics?

Since 9/11 more than 250,000 Americans have died in automobile accidents. In response to something like that, we make cars more expensive due to safety designs and we make people wear seat belts. 3,000 die in a terrorist attack, so we have to go out and have nearly 4,000 of our soldiers die, make 4,000,000 Iraqis abandon their homes, and spent $1 trillion.

What has my country become! I cannot believe the words I'm reading. Is this meant to be enlightening? Oh! for a crop of writers who know how to think, tell the truth and competently judge human behavior.

It wasn't a prank, already. It was a near lethal moment of flakiness. She had been wearing the LED nametag for days and didn't think to take it off going into the airport. Dumb as poop, yes, but not an ounce of mischief or malice in it. Five minutes of research will straighten you all out on that one.

With such fine contributions to society as this, who needs crabbiness. "They shoulda killed her dead." I love your vision for America. Sounds like a nice place to live. Sheez.

I have news for you - the crazy jihadis who want to kill you don't put flashing lights on their bombs. They just put them under a large overcoat, walk in, and kill everyone.

If you don't know the difference between a blinking light and a bomb, you shouldn't have access to lethal force.

for someone interested in jewelry for geeks (http://www.keepaustincorporate.com/2007/07/jewelry_for_geeks.phtml) you sound pretty hard on other geeks wearing jewelry