Movie-plot terrorist threat semifinalists

Bruce Schneier has posted the semi-finalists in his fifth annual Movie-Plot Threat Contest. A movie-plot threat is any improbable, showy security risk that is used to justify a "security" measure: "What if terrorists decided to put acid in McDonald's Shamrock Shakes? We have to cancel St Patrick's Day!"

Here's my favorite entry this year, "The Boy who Didn't Cry Wolf," by yt:

There was a boy tending the sheep who saw a strange shadow at the edge of the woods. The boy thought it might be a wolf, but he was unsure of what he'd seen and didn't want to cause unnecessary alarm, so he said nothing. The next day the shadow came closer. It really was a wolf, but the boy had kept quiet so there was no one to come to his aid. The whole flock and the boy were eaten by the wolf.

If you see something, say something.

Fifth Annual Movie-Plot Threat Contest Semi-Finalists

(Image: Do you see something?, a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike (2.0) image from tonyb2007's photostream)

• [frankieboy]

  My buddy Duane Jackson saw something in Times Square, NYC, a couple of weeks ago, and said something, which resulted in the arrest of a maniac who had rigged up a vehicle with propane gas tanks, gasoline, fireworks, all kinds of crap.
  The guy didn’t give a shit who might have been killed or maimed. Man, woman, child, didn’t matter. I guess his motivation is not known at this time, what is known is had he been ‘successful’, some innocent passer by, perhaps many, would have been hurt.
  This is the way the world seems to be going, so what are we supposed to do about it? We can’t ignore the terrorists of all stripes, those with an agenda, or those who are just nuts, can we?
  On the one hand the State has an excuse to get intrusive and heavy handed. On the other I think a lot of people are happy the guy was arrested quickly.
  It seems like the protection of the public versus our right to live freely is in balance, and I’m not comfortable the balancing act is going to be done. It’s like “we the people” always veer off in one bad direction or another. Almost like the balance is too fine to be accomplished with the ‘tools at hand’, which is the State apparatus and a fearful and unmotivated public. Throw in various unstated agendas, it gives one reason to be worried.

  • [Teller]

    In fact, I heard your buddy Duane interviewed. Asked why he acted, he literally said: “If you see something, say something.” Good job.

• [imag]

  The Scaerrorwocky was genius, and it didn’t make it to the top 5. I only saw it because it was just below the polar bear story:

  http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2010/04/fifth_annual_mo.html#c427359

  It totally nails the gibberish of this whole thing.

• [dudemanguy]

  If that boy had been packin heat he wouldn’t have needed to say anything. He could just have taken care of business. ;)

• [DanielZKlein]

  Wait I can’t tell–that picture next to the article, is that genuine or a parody?

  I think that’s a good one line summary for the kind of world we now live in: the kind where you can’t really tell if police propaganda is legit or a parody.

• [Phikus]

  BE SUSPICIOUS OF ANYTHING… unless, of course, it is your government, and then we want you to not be the slightest bit suspicious and take everything we shovel as absolutely true without question, despite the consistent track record to the contrary. Move along folks. Nothing to see here.

• [Anonymous]

  The plot’s wrong, wolves attack in packs.

  • [jackie31337]

    Unless they’re a lone wolf. ;)