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FBI To Use Ad Banners to Find Criminals 244

Posted by chrisd from the flash-popups-to-follow dept.
PhuptDuck writes "Federal authorities are pursuing fugitive crime boss James 'Whitey' Bulger in cyber space under a first-of-its kind agreement announced Wednesday between the FBI and Web portal Terra-Lycos. With a presence in 42 countries and in 19 languages, Terra Lycos is known for the worldwide scope of its Web presence."
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FBI To Use Ad Banners to Find Criminals More

FBI To Use Ad Banners to Find Criminals

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  • Punch the terrorist ... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Ezubaric ( 464724 ) on Thursday December 12, 2002 @03:59PM (#4873894) Homepage
    and win a free wiretap!
  • I can see it now

  • Does anyone actually look at them? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by jonman_d ( 465049 ) <nemilar&optonline,net> on Thursday December 12, 2002 @04:01PM (#4873927) Homepage Journal
    I know I sure don't. I have most of them blocked, anyway.

    What's next, the government spamming us with wanted posters and ASCII pictures? Why don't they invest money in a medium which people actually pay attention to? See: Television Advertisements.

    • Re:Does anyone actually look at them? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by tomzyk ( 158497 ) on Thursday December 12, 2002 @04:14PM (#4874085) Journal
      See: Television Advertisements.

      Not just advertisements... actual SHOWS. "America's Most Wanted" already does this. They put criminals faces on TV and the general public can watch the show and be constantly on the lookout for the criminals. From time-to-time (from what I understand... I don't actually watch the show) they put the FBI most wanted list on the screen too. I believe they also have the top 10 most wanted on their website as well.

      Television is a great medium to get this information out to the public! So is the internet. BUT, the good thing about TV is that if you don't want to watch it, you can turn it OFF. If they continue this activity with making deals with internet companies and put pop-ups/banners on everyone's screens, it just going to end up making a lot of people upset.

      If you want to get the info out, just put up a website. Internet ads are not necessary.
      • Hmmm... Put this together with some peoples crazy wish to get their face on tv.....
      • I live near in NC, but near SC (very rural, very pro-keeping-the-confederate . On a couple of the nightly news programs they have a local "criminal" report with a hotline and rewards for successes.

        It's rather sad, really..
      • i actually saw it for the first time in a long time this last week (while working on a webpage) and they said something about having a hand in helping capturing over 700 people..... they also do/did that show "manhunt" or whatever it was called that was a bio kinda thing on one criminal that was 30 or 60 minutes. the only one of those i ever saw was the one on Ira Einhorn..... how was captured in France a few years ago and just retried in Philadelphia (for a murder in the 70s) earlier this year.

        i'm sure most watchers are just staying tuned after COPS and not thinking they are going to hunt down somebody, but i guess they have made the stories interesting enough for that show to last 15 years or however long it has been on.

    • Re:Does anyone actually look at them? (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      What's next, the government spamming us with wanted posters and ASCII pictures?

      I couldn't find any Osama Ascii Art on google. Damn! Would have been a sure Karma getter.
    • Umm... don't forget that a majority of people don't know how to block banner ads. *AND* most people *do* look at banner ads, *and* click on them, *and* read them *and* freak out when they look like error messages.

      Most people are *not* like you or me.

    • It's a bargain (Score:3, Insightful)

      by TopShelf ( 92521 )
      In the article, it states that Lycos isn't being paid for this - sure, that's probably because this is a trial of the idea, but going forward this is a pretty cheap way to get the word out...
      • They may not being paid money... How about, "we know some bad stuff about you, let's see if we can make a deal..."

        Disclaimer: No, I don't know if that happened. I'm just speculating out loud like 10K other Slashdot readers do.

    • I look at Banner Adds and if it is something I am instered in then I will click on it. I much rather have banner adds on the top of the page then having PopUps and Spam. So even if the PopUp was interesting I would not buy or click on it. But Click on those Banner Adds and make the point that Banner Adds are profitable and worth While compared to Popups and Spam. But for The most wanted it is a good way to keep the information available and make a person think. Hey let me check this picture out. And perhaps help take a dangerous person off the streets.
    • Remember, "only terrorists block banner ads."

      Hey, what if the girl from the X10 pop-up turns out to be a real-life terrorist? How will we know? And how will they advertise that one?

      "Have you seen this girl? If not, buy one of these cameras and you might see MORE of her..."

    • well see...

      television advertising actually seems to work and thus costs more than a can of Code Red

      I have a bridge I am trying to seel that they can place a billboard on...

      :P

    • It's a cunning move on the part of banner ad companies to have Junkbuster declared a tool of terror, and those who block banner ads decried as terrorists...
    • I have most of them blocked, anyway.

      Thats because most ads are for crap products. If they advertised stuff you where interested in you'd look. I'd look at criminal wanted and missing people ads. Escpecially if a reward is offered. A few seconds of my time each day to help make the world a better place.

  • Ad Blocking (Score:5, Funny)

    by kjd ( 41294 ) on Thursday December 12, 2002 @04:02PM (#4873932)
    Now ad blocking is no longer just stealing, it's a violation of the good samaritan law. ;)

    • Re:Ad Blocking (Score:5, Informative)

      by C0LDFusion ( 541865 ) on Thursday December 12, 2002 @05:21PM (#4874783) Journal
      I just want to add that people think "Good Samaritan Law" is where you are FORCED by law to help someone. However, in most states, the law is actually designed to protect the person who makes their own decision to help from malpractice suits.

      Example: Someone gets into a car accident and you decide to help him. You pull him out of the car and bandage his wounds. The bandage material used whas not sterile and he gets an infection that kills him. Good Samaritan law prevents his family from suing you.

      IANAL, but I've never heard of any law that forces you to help someone.

  • Great Idea (Score:2, Interesting)

    by kcroke ( 466899 )
    Well, first we must all be happy that web advertisement might do some good.

    People all over the world use Lycos. No matter where someone is, there will probably be someone near by who uses the internet. By making it as easy to report to the FBI as clicking a button, they should get results. Since it's over the internet, the reporter may feel more anonymous sending in a report.

    The downside would be false reports. There will probably be more false FBI criminal sitings then elvis sitings...

  • Attorneys and grammar (Score:5, Funny)

    by sacremon ( 244448 ) on Thursday December 12, 2002 @04:03PM (#4873942)
    "''It might simply be a clerk in a grocery store bagging groceries, goes home that night, gets on the Internet and says, 'you know, I think I saw that person bagging groceries today,''' U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan said during a news conference in Boston on Wednesday morning. "

    Why would someone who is wanted for 21 murders be bagging groceries?

  • If this banner is flashing... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 12, 2002 @04:03PM (#4873943)
    ...you've won a free pardon! Click here!

  • Web Bugs? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Bonker ( 243350 ) on Thursday December 12, 2002 @04:03PM (#4873945)
    Heaven help you if your email address happens to begin with 'jbulger@' and you don't know enough to protect your cookies from being read by web bugs or your machine from spyware apps.

    No, of course the FBI wouldn't stoop this far. Homeland security is completely benevolent and the United States is not... despite all appearances... turning into a police state controlled by wealthy resource and media industries.

    • Re:Web Bugs? (Score:2, Insightful)

      by MisterFancypants ( 615129 )
      Web bugs? Are you on drugs, son? All they are doing is using web advertisements to request information from the public. No different than American's Most Wanted, or putting pictures on a milk carton..Except it's on the web.

      Shame on the people who modded you up. There are enough real issues to worry about with regards to our privacy, making up new ones based on badly edited Slashdot entires (try reading the article next time!) hurts more than it helps. Focus on the real problems, don't invent new ones!

      In other news, being from Somerville, MA not too far from the Winter Hill area, (but now living in San Diego), I know exactly what Whitey Bulger looks like. Haven't seen him around, though!

    • You mean like this guy? [sybworld.com] on a CmdrTaco day?

  • CLICK HERE (Score:5, Funny)

    by _ph1ux_ ( 216706 ) on Thursday December 12, 2002 @04:03PM (#4873947)
    It looks like your terrorist network is not optimized!!!!

    !!!CLICK HERE TO SPEED UP YOUR TERRORIST NETWORK!!!

    Manage your Cell Remotely, call in bomb threats via VOIP!, remotely detonate your operatives!!

    ACT NOW! and get four pounds of C4 FREE!!!!

  • Lycos should come out with a new game... (Score:3, Funny)

    by craenor ( 623901 ) on Thursday December 12, 2002 @04:03PM (#4873954) Homepage
    based on this for their game site....Escape from Levenworth.

  • The FBI doesn't want to find Bulger (Score:4, Insightful)

    by swm ( 171547 ) <swmcd@world.std.com> on Thursday December 12, 2002 @04:04PM (#4873959) Homepage
    The FBI doesn't want to find Bulger (his testimony would be too embarrasing), so they are posting wanted ads in a medium (web banner ads) that is known not to work.

    It all makes sense.
    • I'm ignorant, who is this guy and why would finding him be too embarrasing? Does he have proof that Osama is dead?
      • It turns out the FBI allowed Bulger to have free reign in a lot of areas in exchange for some bits of intel here and there. Up here in Boston, it's a big deal. The FBI is taking a lot of heat from Congress especially to update how it handles informants.

        Ben
      • He was a mob boss in Boston who was tipped off to run by a corrupt FBI agent, or something to that effect. Read the article and follow the link [fbi.gov]

      • Re:The FBI doesn't want to find Bulger (Score:5, Informative)

        by e_lehman ( 143896 ) on Thursday December 12, 2002 @04:25PM (#4874208)

        I'm ignorant, who is this guy and why would finding him be too embarrasing?

        James Bulger was the leader of the Boston mob for quite a few years and, at the same time, an FBI informant. However, as it turns out, he was running his FBI handlers rather than the other way around. In effect, the FBI kept Bulger out of jail while he murdered and extorted merrily along for years. His main handler, fomer FBI agent John Connolly was recently sentenced to 10 years in prison [usdoj.gov]. But plenty more FBI agents were involved. Futher complicating matters, James Bulger's brother-- William Bulger-- was the dictatorial ruler of the Massachusetts senate at the time and currently heads the state university system. In the last couple weeks, we've learned that William has been in touch with his fugitive brother and urged him NOT to turn himself in. William just recently took the 5th when forced to testify before Congress on the matter.

        So this is a very messy case. Likely the FBI is using this initiative in part to dispel the notion that they don't really want to catch James Bulger for fear of further embarassment.

        • Bulger wasn't the boss of the local Mafia, if that's what you mean by "the Boston mob". He was boss of a mostly-Irish gang unrelated to the Mafia, but was in a position to give the FBI lots of information on them. The Boston FBI office got a wee bit overzealous in their pursuit of the Mafia, and pretty much gave Bulger and his gang free reign in order to protect this valuable informant, to the point of obstructing state investigations of him and tipping him off in 1995 that he was about to be indicted, enabling him to flee.

      • Re:The FBI doesn't want to find Bulger (Score:5, Informative)

        by Spasemunki ( 63473 ) on Thursday December 12, 2002 @04:40PM (#4874339) Homepage

        Whitey started life as a thug in South Boston's Winter Hill Gang, an Irish organized crime ring. He agreed to turn informant for the FBI in exchange for protection from prosecution and other favors. The FBI agents charged with handling his case were both enamored of him; one of them had grown up in Southie idolizing him as a local hero, and the other was following his bosses lead.


        Whitey largely provided information of dubious value to the FBI, but his handlers continued to hype him as the most valuable informant in the Boston FBI system. They protected him from prosecution numerous times, and in at least one case refused to give any kind of warning to a witness that Whitey and his associates later killed. Bulger was shielded from multiple murder investigations, as well as a number of associated crimes.


        Most importantly, most of the information that Whitey gave the Feds regarded the Italian mafia that was operating in Boston's North End at the time. The FBI moved in and largely wiped out the Italian Mafia- giving Whitey's Winter Hill gang the opportunity to take over all of Boston's organized crime. Whitey then systematically eliminated his rivals in Southie, and effectively made himself underworld king of Boston- with the FBI doing a lot of his dirty work, thanks to helpful "tips" regarding criminals that he wanted out of his way.


        Finally, one of the FBI agents assigned to the case had an attack of conscience, and the whole story began to emerge. Whitey bolted, and no one has been able to find him since. The past several years in Boston, not a day goes by that there isn't a story about Whitey; sightings from Maine to Mexico, and periodic excavations of isolated fields where victims of his spree are allegedly buried. The scandal tore the Boston FBI office to pieces, and was one of the biggest black eyes that the Feds have received in recent years

    • The thing to remember is, this is not an ad for something, it's a wanted poster. And while people have become adept at ignoring banners, they're still there and people still see them. They're just not clicking on them, which is not that surprising since you'll probably see hundreds per day.

      I'll bet you WOULD notice and pay attention if a picture of someone you knew popped up in front of your face. Recognition would be instantaneous and unexpected. And a lot of people will be seeing these. Certainly a lot more than watch America's Most Wanted, or the notices at the post office. If I were this guy, I'd lie low 'til the banners stop.
  • With a presence in 42 countries and in 19 languages, Terra Lycos is known for the worldwide scope of its Web presence

    ...never hire a Douglas Adams fan to plan a company's globalization strategy ;) 42 [cyberian.org].

    • Oh deary me....
      hey, but wait... Maybe he is on to something:

      With a presence in 42 countries and in 19 languages

      Which is the point that every one else on this thread has missed: Lycos has a global reach. Yeah, sure, the feds have advertised in Boston and the States - but do you seriously think that Whitey would have remained around for someone to spot him on the street? Here in the UK, I have never heard of him (although I have heard of James Bulger, a british criminal of sorts) - Whitey could be my next door neighbour.

      But next time I visit lycos (unklikely...), and I see the banner ad:

      "America's most wanted: If you see this man

      : -)

      you could win a million dollars"

      Then yeah, I might pay attention

  • And...? (Score:3)

    by Hadean ( 32319 ) <hadean...dragon+slashdot@@@gmail...com> on Thursday December 12, 2002 @04:05PM (#4873967)
    So they're buying Wanted posters which has been done a million times before - what's the big deal - it's digital? ooh, it's the net! It only makes sense - more eyes, more chances to catch someone... But I've seen legitimate Have You Seen This Person? type ads on the net, so why not Wanted Dead or Alive ads?
  • I have to say that as I trawl the web, I have simply stopped looking at ad banners. I get the general shape, peripherially notice some flashing or wahtever, and I ignore it.

    Perhaps the FBI should use the dude's mug shot as a /. topic icon, I'd see it then...

    Mafia: Give us money or we send in guys to beat you up.
    Government: Give us 28% of your income and do exactly as we say, or we send in guys to take you to jail, sieze all your property and assets, put your wife and children on the street, and then let guys in jail beat you up and gang rape you.

    Hooray for crime bosses!

    ~Hammy
  • http://www.boston.com/dailynews/345/region/FBI_sig ns_first_of_its_kind_de:.shtml
    I_dunno_about_you_ guys_but_I_prefer_shorter_links_ on_boston_daily_news.html

    s/_/ /g

  • Misleading headline (Score:5, Informative)

    by AntiFreeze ( 31247 ) <antifreeze42.gmail@com> on Thursday December 12, 2002 @04:08PM (#4874010) Homepage Journal
    Disclaimer: This is not an attempt at humor (seriously).

    From the headline, I thought that the FBI was attempting to track criminals through the use of banner ads (i.e. use something embedded in the ads to track those who view them). Although it seems like a very hard thing to pull off - how would you track a criminal with the data you'd collect anyway?

    And then I thought about the recent article Because Only Terrorists User 802.11 [slashdot.org] and got very worried about my ability to block popups via Mozilla or hosts.deny. I was afraid of the headline "Because Only Criminals and Terrorists Block Popup Ads to Avoid Detection".

    Oh well, thank god the article clarified that. The article states that the FBI will basically putting up wanted posters as ads to help find the criminal they're after. That, I don't have a problem with.

    • From the headline, I thought that the FBI was attempting to track criminals through the use of banner ads (i.e. use something embedded in the ads to track those who view them).

      Amen to that. I was already formulating my "Big Brother strikes again" response, until halfway through the article, I realized that it's no different from the handbills in the Post Office or "America's Most Wanted".

      However, if you're suggesting that Slashdot editors create sensationalist headlines, that's hardly something new.

      *braces self for loss of Karma due to this comment*

      • Eh, the headline was 100% accurate. But take the headline with some of the other news we've been recieving through slashdot lately and it comes out completely different. Accurate. But misleading.

        That is all.

    • I was afraid of the headline "Because Only Criminals and Terrorists Block Popup Ads to Avoid Detection".

      Oh well, thank god the article clarified that. The article states that the FBI will basically putting up wanted posters as ads to help find the criminal they're after. That, I don't have a problem with.

      OK, next issue:

      Because if you block [pop-up] banner ads, you are supporting terrorists.

      On another note, I would think Terra Lycos would get a cut from the reward money if the guy is caught from a tip submitted through clicking one of the ads.
  • I want my referral bonus!

  • Sounds familiar.... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Shawn Baumgartner ( 632798 ) on Thursday December 12, 2002 @04:11PM (#4874040) Homepage
    Wiggum: If you've committed a crime, and want to confess, click "Yes". Otherwise, click "No".

    [Homer clicks on "No"]

    Wiggum: You have chosen "No", meaning you've committed a crime, but don't want to confess. A paddy wagon is now speeding to your home.

    Homer: Hey!!

    Wiggum: While you wait, why not buy a police cap or T-shirt. [T-shirts and baseball caps with the SPD logo circle Wiggum's head] You have the right to remain fabulous!
  • 127.0.0.1 criminals.doubleclick.net

  • Uh oh! (Score:4, Funny)

    by Eric(b0mb)Dennis ( 629047 ) on Thursday December 12, 2002 @04:13PM (#4874080)
    Just wait until the FBI starts talking about how "Blocking ads support terrorism"

    Here it comes... 5 4 3 2 1...
    • You're not running AdSubtract, Webwasher, Proximitron, Junk Buster, etc. w/ out Federal Approval, are you? Because only thieves surf the web w/out downloading the advertisements used to fund web sites. And there can be no doubt that these thieves use their ill gotten gain to fund terrorism.

  • ARGH!!! RTFA!! (Score:5, Informative)

    by EschewObfuscation ( 146674 ) on Thursday December 12, 2002 @04:13PM (#4874081) Journal
    OK, OK, I know that the lead-in blurb was a little misleading, but come on, people.

    1) The FBI is not using cookies to hunt down the suspect.

    2) The FBI isn't paying for the banners.

    3) Prof^H^H^H^H The "clerk" example in the article is *not* the suspect, but rather someone who might have seen the suspect.

    Somehow, I think that G. Cooke, Tx [slashdot.org], would give this whole set of threads a very poor review...
  • An angle that entered my mind:

    The website owner might say theft, but if you block the ad that you wouldn't actually buy from anyways - aren't you saving money for the advertiser to advertise to somebody that might be interested?

  • I think this post's title should have been... (Score:5, Funny)

    by FFCecil ( 623749 ) on Thursday December 12, 2002 @04:15PM (#4874095)
    "Ad Banners Finally Have a Purpose"
    from the other-than-causing-epilepsy dept.

  • Bulgar takes the fifth (Score:4, Interesting)

    by SpinyNorman ( 33776 ) on Thursday December 12, 2002 @04:15PM (#4874097)
    What's really interesting about this isn't that the FBI is using banner ads, but rather why they have to...

    The guy they're seeking, #10 on the most wanted list, and suspected of 21 murders, is the brother of the president of the University of Massachusetts, who just plead the 5th to keep his dear brother safe.

    Bulgar takes the fifth [milforddailynews.com]

    Great to see the head of an institute of learning take such a principled stand. Not.
    • Great to see the head of an institute of learning take such a principled stand. Not.

      It's his brother. Morals and ethics don't mean sh*t when you're talking about family. If you would rat out your own brother, regardless of his faults, then I certainly pity your family. No, I don't condone murder or harboring of criminals, but I have to say that I would make an exception to damn near any rule to protect someone in my bloodline. Must be the Sicilian in me acting up.
      • I would make an exception to damn near any rule to protect someone in my bloodline. Must be the Sicilian in me acting up.

        Plenty of people DO rat out their family members.

        The Unabomber was caught after The Feds decided to "negotiate with terrorists" i.e. publish his Manifesto in several major newspapers. Then his brother recognized the text as the same sort of stuff his crazy brother was always talking about, and quietly contacted the FBI.

        More recently, the Smiley Face Bomber (my favorite bomber ever, BTW) was caught in part because his dad recongnized the phrase "mailboxes are exploding!" from a letter that his son had sent shortly before the mailboxes started exploding. Dad alerted the authorities.

        I'm sure there are counter-examples, but blood ties are not always so strong. Some people hate their families, after all.

        On to point #2, back to the grandparent. The Fifth Amendment is a good thing. It keeps you from being compelled to testify against yourself. The older method under English law, where you were crushed to death with huge weights (not sure if they said 16 Tons) if you refused to testify, will probably be used in those military tribunal things.
      • I find it hard to believe that someone would honestly not report his own brother for murder, but blanches at typing the word "shit" in a public forum. I think you need to reassess your own moral code, pal. (Man, I'm saying that a lot today.)
    • Since when is UMass an institution of learning?
  • Nobody confuses them with those annoying ads for online dating services.

    6'2", dark hair, enjoys dismembering small bunnies.

  • White noise, anyone? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by privacyt ( 632473 ) on Thursday December 12, 2002 @04:20PM (#4874165)
    From the article: ''It might simply be a clerk in a grocery store bagging groceries, goes home that night, gets on the Internet and says, 'you know, I think I saw that person bagging groceries today,''' U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan said during a news conference in Boston on Wednesday morning.

    Given that Bulger looks like most other balding white men in their 50s, the FBI may get thousands of false leads now. I also feel sorry for American expatriates living in Latin America, who will be faced with having to "prove" they aren't a fugitive.

    Bulger, if he's smart (which is probably is), would have radically altered his appearance so that he no longer resembles the wanted poster.

    All a criminal investigator really can do is sit back, be patient, and wait for the criminal to make a mistake. If Bulger ever calls his brother or an old friend or girlfriend on Christmas, for example, he's busted.

    This wanted poster thing smacks of desperation on the FBI's part, which I'm sorry to see.

  • yay! (Score:2, Funny)

    by frotty ( 586379 )
    Next the FBI will buy "spamvertisements" and send out this info from

    slutty_FBI_baby_2009ERJKAWJEKAIOSZ@yahoo.com

    Please Cum and Help Arrest This Man ...... X9299J

    Hi, I'm Federal Agent Kitten, nearly illegal :)
    Please cum by to my new webpage and look at my sexy fugitive pics I took by myself with my new webcam! It's 100% to watch them be naughyt on my webcam! Click Here!

    click here to be removed

    KFf0iL xHSjUmyX ...... why not? It'd probably work just as well

  • It seems to me that it would be more effective to display such things in a location that isn't ignored by so many people. The dumb ads I see at the top of the screen just make me ignore everything that I see there.

    What if there were dedicated media/loci for this info? On our campus portal, we have a dedicated feed for important news (power outage, tornado coming, etc.) which is kept completely separate from more everyday SPAMish news. That way the noise doesn't drown out the signal, to further abuse my analogy.

    • The FBI website is already a "portal" for their most wanted information. Maybe they just want more exposure since the average person won't go look at their website regularly?
  • 1) Figure out how you can hack into Lycos' criminal database and replace pictures of FBI Most Wanted criminals.
    2) Advertise services to underworld.
    3) ????
    4) Profit!
  • Bulger is a Boston mobster. He's been on the news constantly [google.com] here in Boston for the last couple decades.

    Lycos is a Boston based company. Their offices are on Totten Pond Rd. in Waltham, MA [lycos.com], just outside of Boston.

  • If you block web advertisements, you are a terrorist.

  • The solution is obvious.

    FBI purchases $5 million worth of X10 wireless cams to use in the hunt for Whitey. This way, we see fewer Ads, X10 sells some cameras (other than for use as a wireless choo-choo cam), and the FBI comes closer to thinking they are gonna nab bulger.

    Wow, I can just imagine these ads spreading from busting a mob leader to fighting terror. If they can't trick us into clicking, they will implicate us instead!!


    "You're either with us, or against us. You're either clicking on Banner Ads, or you're clicking on terrorism. To block pop-ups is to block our crusade on evil"

  • This is familiar. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by racerx509 ( 204322 ) on Thursday December 12, 2002 @05:00PM (#4874575) Homepage
    Why does this remind me of minority report?

  • Finally a good use for banners! (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Lobsang ( 255003 ) on Thursday December 12, 2002 @05:12PM (#4874674) Homepage
    Granted: Most of us don't directly look at the banners at all. But you always take a quick glance at them. Why not use the same idea to find missing children?

  • Where's Whitey? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by jpellino ( 202698 ) on Thursday December 12, 2002 @05:22PM (#4874801)
    1. Nobody looks at these ads. Pop-ups, maybe.
    2. They'd have better luck putting posters in every Dunkin Donuts from Saugus to Ptown (the day he made the most wanted the gal at the Bourne DD's swore to us that he was in there that very morning)
    3. The only one who could safely turn him in is his own brother (high profile, public figure) and he won't, so this really is a wild goose chase.

    • Re:Where's Whitey? (Score:3, Insightful)

      by pmancini ( 20121 )
      Being originally from Massachusetts and having lived near Winterhill myself, I wanted to chime in. Whitey is a notorious criminal who had managed to corrupt the FBI, literally get a way with murder, theft, assault and other crimes. He's not one of the good ones.

      I don't think this will work as a general tool for crime fighting (America's Most Wanted will probably prove to be more successful for example) -- the point is, he most likely isn't in the United States. He's been seen in Mexico and South America. Wave a few million in reward money in US dollars and you will start to get some hits. Who knows. The criminal underworld down there my have to decide if they are more sympathetic to him than to some easy money selling him out.

      Maybe they should (if it hasn't already happened) open a Dunkin' Donuts in Mexico City and see what happens... Just save me a Cruller, or is that El Crulleo?, for me.
  • Hmm, how about if they make a 'Wanted' banner with Amelia Earhart and Jimmy Hoffa? I'd love to hear from the 'clerk' that notices one of them is getting groceries... :-)

    Then there's always Bigfoot, Nessie, et al.
  • Not only are we thieves if we block banner ads, but now we're aiding terrorists too! And by the Bush Doctrine, that makes us Evil Terrorists(tm) as well!

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