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September 6, 2007 11:14 AM

'Osama bin Laden' motorcade with Canadian flags clears APEC checkpointsMembers of The Chaser's War on Everything, an Australian TV comedy show, one dressed as Osama bin Laden, drove through two security checkpoints Thursday before being stopped near the Sydney hotel where U.S. President George W. Bush is staying. Examples of their 'expose' on terrorist security response. Example of a full show here. More about the APEC meet in Sydney.
posted by KokuRyu (53 comments total)

I apologize for the snark but that guy really doesn't look like bin Laden. Good costume, but he's not even that tan.
posted by champthom at 11:23 AM on September 6, 2007

Those hosts radiate that vintage American Funniest Home Videos vibe. Other than that, hilarious.
posted by phrontist at 11:26 AM on September 6, 2007

Great. Now we will probably enact some, it is a federal crime to dress up as a know terrorist, law. Thanks guys.
posted by Mr_Zero at 11:26 AM on September 6, 2007

Osama Bin LOLLIN'
posted by Poolio at 11:31 AM on September 6, 2007 [9 favorites has favorites]

Chasers seem to break all sorts of laws constantly, I'm surprised they are associated with such a large non profit broadcaster.
posted by parallax7d at 11:33 AM on September 6, 2007

I remember seeing the Trojan Horse bit a while back. Good stuff.
posted by Sailormom at 11:33 AM on September 6, 2007

Yeah, is impersonating law enforcement not a huge crime in Oz?
posted by phrontist at 11:33 AM on September 6, 2007

ROTFL... LMAO... OMG i'm in jail
posted by Gervais Brooke-Hamster at 11:38 AM on September 6, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Great. Now we will probably enact some, it is a federal crime to dress up as a know terrorist, law. Thanks guys.
posted by Mr_Zero at 2:26 PM on September 6 [+] [!]

In October of 2001, two guys that I went to high school with, but who were younger than I, were in college in a pretty small town in South Carolina. One of them is of Indian descent and so has an olive complexion, vaguely similar to Osama Bin Laden. So Halloween rolls around, and these two guys decide to do the following: the Indian guy takes a white bed sheet and makes it into a robe and takes a pillow case and makes a turban, puts them on, along with a cardboard sign hung around his neck with "Osama" written on it. The other guys gets a thing of baby powder and dumps it into a zip lock bag. They then go to the mall on Halloween night where they have those indoor trick or treating deals, so that kids don't have to risk getting the fictional razor blade in the apple, and go around to all the stores throwing baby powder at people and saying "Anthrax! Anthrax!"

It may not be against any federal law to dress up as a known terrorist, but I can tell you that they spent Halloween night in jail, and I heard that the Indian guy was still wearing an ankle bracelet the last time I was back in my old home town.

True story.
posted by ND¢ at 11:43 AM on September 6, 2007 [7 favorites has favorites]

Remember, you can't go and do these stunts dressed up as an Arab without carrying a World Almanac.
posted by rolypolyman at 11:44 AM on September 6, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

I'm trying hard to imagine how badly this could have gone if someone had tried this in the States. I mean, it was just yesterday that we were discussing how trigger happy some police can be.
posted by quin at 11:46 AM on September 6, 2007

A few LOL-inducing quotes (from the NSW Police Minister, for example) can be found here.
posted by KokuRyu at 11:51 AM on September 6, 2007

Osama Bin LOLLIN'

ouch, that is funny. Love this hilarious stunt.
posted by nickyskye at 12:02 PM on September 6, 2007

True story.

Awesome. I remember living in NYC during 9/11, through the anthrax scare in October, the Queens plane crash in November and all the orange alerts that winter.

Good time, good times.
posted by Gervais Brooke-Hamster at 12:07 PM on September 6, 2007

and go around to all the stores throwing baby powder at people and saying "Anthrax! Anthrax!"

Up until that point I was going to support the young whippersnappers. But it is one of life's lessons: don't go throwing shit on people and expect me to feel bad for you.
posted by NationalKato at 12:08 PM on September 6, 2007

Holy shit that's awesome.

Awesome that they're still alive and unperforated.
posted by loquacious at 12:11 PM on September 6, 2007

Up until that point I was going to support the young whippersnappers.

Yeah they were way over the line. It is funny what will seem like a good idea to you when you are that age. What makes it worse is that it was only a month after 9/11, so take the current terrorism hysteria and multiply it by 50. They are lucky that they didn't get strung up. I do feel bad for that Indian kid though, because I was friends with his sister and I remember him as a sweet smart kid, and that conviction is going to follow him around for the rest of his life. Imagine having to tell that story in a job interview.
posted by ND¢ at 12:13 PM on September 6, 2007

Man why is Australian TV so kick ass? I just caught John Safran vs. God the other day on IFC and was blown away by how edgy (sorry I hate that word too) and in your face it was. There's been some analogs in American TV like Wonder Showzen but nothing comes close to War on Everything.
posted by PostIronyIsNotaMyth at 12:14 PM on September 6, 2007

How did this get aproved by Murdoch?
posted by Pollomacho at 12:15 PM on September 6, 2007

I see these guys starting a conspiracy to blow up something.
posted by storybored at 12:44 PM on September 6, 2007

Not to nit-pick, but...couldn't they find someone who looked a little more like the real Osama??
posted by wavespy at 12:46 PM on September 6, 2007

They are lucky that they didn't get strung up.

God, how did we get here?
posted by mek at 12:56 PM on September 6, 2007

ND¢ writes "It may not be against any federal law to dress up as a known terrorist, but I can tell you that they spent Halloween night in jail, and I heard that the Indian guy was still wearing an ankle bracelet the last time I was back in my old home town."

They would have been fine if they were just dressed up. The throwing around white powder and yelling "Anthrax" was way over the line in a crowded mall. People die in public panics.
posted by Mitheral at 12:57 PM on September 6, 2007

Very troublesome because it promotes the most crude form of racial, or shall we say, "garb-based" profiling ... I realize that the comedians were trying to embarrass the Howard/Sydney govt, but they ought not to have dressed up (remained in regular clothes) and seen how far they got through the cordon ... it would have had more impact, and in the minds of the average person not related Arab-looking garbs and beards with terrorists.
posted by Azaadistani at 1:15 PM on September 6, 2007

NSW police were furious about the bold prank.

"I don't see a funny side to what's happened. I don't see a funny side at all," said NSW Police Minister David Campbell.

-----------------------------

Q I have a question. Apparently today some kind of Australian comedy television show managed to take a faux motorcade up to the President's hotel. Did the President know about this?

MS. PERINO: That's the first -- well, I heard about it as a walked in the room earlier today. I don't know anything about it. But anything regarding his security, I have to refer you to the Secret Service. But that sounds absolutely hilarious.
posted by uosuaq at 1:33 PM on September 6, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

and in the minds of the average person not related Arab-looking garbs and beards with terrorists.

Because the average person would never make that sort of association on their own.
posted by Poolio at 1:38 PM on September 6, 2007

Man why is Australian TV so kick ass?

Damn, if only it was all this good - be thankful you're not exposed to our police/medical dramas - that line from The Hitchhiker's Guide about the president of the Intergalactic Arts Nobbling Council gnawing his own leg off during a Vogon poetry recital always seems to spring to mind when I catch a bit of All Saints or the like. I guess I'm not sure that the Chaser and John Safran's various shows entirely make up for crap like Neighbours, but I suppose it's a good start.
posted by sleep_walker at 2:06 PM on September 6, 2007

it would have had more impact, and in the minds of the average person not related Arab-looking garbs and beards with terrorists.

You're missing the point, which is that it's precisely the "OMG Arab-garb terrorist!" reaction which would allow a real terrorist to dress up in normal Western clothes and go right on through. It's phenomenally stupid to expect terrorists to wear dishdashas and keffiyehs, and the more the authorities have that rubbed in their faces, the better off we'll all be.
posted by languagehat at 2:08 PM on September 6, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

The mammoth security operation breached by the comedians accounts for $A170 million ($NZ206.46 million) of the $A330 million bill for the Apec summit.

Huh. I wonder if anyone in the Bush administration have ever glanced at their security bills and thought, just for a moment, that if Dubya can't even travel to a friendly nation that's an ocean away from the warzone without a 170 million dollar bubble around him to protect him from certain assassination maybe... maybe our positions are so far from correct that if our imperialist foreign policy were mapped to a sphere it would be the antipodal point of good, humane, sane, and proper...

Nah. Terrists hate our freedom and the taste of oil is so sweet it overpowers the bitter of guilt.
posted by bunnytricks at 2:20 PM on September 6, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

I once infiltrated a high-security military base in a gorilla suit.

True story.
No, seriously, lead to some early retirements.
Frivolity and the unexpected can pay some serious dividends getting into places. As can the amount of money put into presentation. The limo, all that, I’m not suprised. Nothing for the rank and file to be embarrassed about really, those cops aren’t trained. (But y’know, post-9/11 the policy is everyone’s a counterterrorist expert, especially the police, you just have to give them more guns and grenades n’stuff.) This is funny, but it’s also useful. It’s only not funny if you’re not willing to adapt, which given Campbell’s attitude...
The Secret Service has no sense of humor, but they learn from everything. It’s a science. Even the failures are instructive.

“You're missing the point, which is that it's precisely the "OMG Arab-garb terrorist!" reaction which would allow a real terrorist to dress up in normal Western clothes and go right on through.”

But languagehat since the terrorists know that, they would logically then dress up in traditional Arab-garb (with dynamite vest, camel, keffiyah and ululations) and expect to get a chuckle and pass through the checkpoint.
But wait! We know that they know...So do they know we know they know? Or do we only think they know we know that they know that we know?
Hmmm...I’d have to suspect the next freckled redheaded child bearing a juice box and animal crackers or the next Innuit wearing a parka and carrying a harpoon and blubber.
Perhaps we should demand all people dress stereotypically for their region to prevent this sort of confusion. Pass a law or something.
I’ll go get my overalls, trucker hat and hayseed.
posted by Smedleyman at 2:36 PM on September 6, 2007

(wish I lived in the south, I look like Mr. Roarke in a white suit)
Nifty post btw
posted by Smedleyman at 2:37 PM on September 6, 2007

Wow. There was a Downer quote that didn't make me want to punch him. Of course, had I heard it, rather than read it, it probably would've.
posted by pompomtom at 2:54 PM on September 6, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Bin Laden plans 9-11 video address to Americans
posted by homunculus at 3:02 PM on September 6, 2007

The funny part is how you can make anything look more innocuous by sticking Canadian flags on it.
posted by jonp72 at 3:19 PM on September 6, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

What's fantastic about the whole thing is that they weren't expecting to get through the security barriers.

They were expecting to get stopped by the first cop who saw them...Osama jumps out of the car, LOLs are had by all, skit over.

Instead they found themselves waved through two checkpoints, right past W's hotel.

No wonder the police are pissed off...all that preparation, all those barricades, all that bitching and moaning about violent protesters, all that effort to tell Sydneysiders to take a holiday and get out of town during APEC. All that was defeated by hiring a limousine and sticking a flag on the front.

Probably could have been prevented by simply having a list of car licence plates that were allowed through, and checking off the list.

Massive score for the Chaser. They didn't "breach the security zone". They were invited in.

There was a Downer quote that didn't make me want to punch him.

Yeah I saw that. Look forward to more fantastic Downer quotes in the near future. The way the coalition are polling, he will be just about the only minister left with a seat after the election. And we just know he has awesome comedic value when he's Leader of the Opposition.
posted by Jimbob at 3:29 PM on September 6, 2007

the actual video released by the chasers, via digg
posted by Mach5 at 4:28 PM on September 6, 2007

gah, no it's not, nevermind.
posted by Mach5 at 4:29 PM on September 6, 2007

A few more revelations here including the fact that the cars had a sticker that said "This vehicle belongs to a member of The Chaser's War on Everything. This dude likes trees and poetry and certain types of carnivorous plants excite him." Also all the security guards were wearing "Insecurity Passes".

I'm a big fan of the Chaser (I have a signed copy of their Annual) and was worried near the end of the last series that they were slipping a bit. However given this and the quality of last Wednesday's episodes I think they are definitely back into their best form.

As for looking for someone who looks more like Osama, the guy playing Osama was Chas, one of the Chaser blokes. Whenever the Chaser pull of a risky stunt like this it's usually Chas who does it (he's been arrested for a stunt before). As soon as I heard that they had somebody dressed as Osama, I knew it was Chas.
posted by Serial Killer Slumber Party at 4:36 PM on September 6, 2007

There have been some comments about "Why is Australian TV so awesome". In general, aussie tv isn't. We get american tv shows months or years after it's shown in the states, scifi stuff is shown for a few weeks in a good timeslot then moved to midnight on tuesdays, and is cancelled or moved for every minor sporting event...

However! We have a TV station funded by the federal government, given near total independance on what they do, and does not have commerical advertisements.

That station is the ABC, and is the station that produced this marvellous skit.
posted by Jerub at 4:42 PM on September 6, 2007

We must mock the motherfuckers. It is the only hope.
posted by fourcheesemac at 5:09 PM on September 6, 2007

The Chaser is kind of spotty, I reckon. When they're on, they're hilarious, and I really do like their fearlessness in trying to prank and expose the stupidity and cupidity of politicians and celebrities. They do get a little precious sometimes, though, with their other stuff.

One of my favorite recurring bits is when they do on-the-street geography bits with Americans. A little meanspirited and sad but very very funny.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:10 PM on September 6, 2007

There is a precedent. WC Wentworth MP exposed Sydney's lack of defences in 1942, in what apparently was called the Battle of Cronulla. I can't find anything worthwhile online, though.

The Chaser team will find it hard to top this effort, but I bet the ABC won't be burying them at 9.30 on Friday night again.
posted by emf at 1:22 AM on September 7, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

"Wow. There was a Downer quote that didn't make me want to punch him." posted by pompomtom at 8:54 AM on September 7

Heh, such a quote does not exist...

Also, may I present the official accent of the The Australian Police Commissioner: "Oim very angry, that such a stunt loike this would be poowed..."
posted by fullysic at 2:58 AM on September 7, 2007

emf:-WC Wentworth MP exposed Sydney's lack of defences in 1942-

"When war did come to Australia, Bill
Wentworth’s vision was not good enough for
him to join the Army and so he joined the
CMF instead. Told to lead a mock invasion
at Cronulla as a training exercise, he threw
himself into it with alarming enthusiasm and
imagination. He and his small force struck
overland from Cronulla, took the emergency
services prisoner, captured the defending
force’s headquarters and their colonel, and
put a sticker on the door of the Liverpool
ordnance depot: ‘Destroyed by W.C. Wentworth,
captain’. Having established the general
unreadiness of Australia’s civil defence,
he was shortly thereafter dismissed from the
CMF as medically unfit."

[source: Hansard 2003 - pdf - (Senator Faulkner)]
{CMF = Civil Military Force or the somesuch}
nb. Liverpool is about 30km inland from Cronulla. Heh.
Thanks emf. I'd not heard that story before.
posted by peacay at 3:17 AM on September 7, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

See, all those "protesters" have all been busy holding their fruity little "passive resistance workshops", sticking their posters up on power transformers with flour-glue, organising their lawyers and phoning the police to ask permission; please sir, may we march? No? Oh phooey!

For a bunch of "loony left-wing radicals" they look pathetic. Completely scared to actually get in trouble and go to jail. They just want to turn up with their megaphone, shout "NO BLOOD FOR OIL!" for a while, and brag afterwards about the copper who waved a billyclub in their general direction.

Meanwhile a bunch of comedians, satirists, put a bit of thought into things, a bit of planning. Not even that much trouble. Hire a limo. Head for the checkpoint. And get inside the fucking red zone where real havoc could have been done!

The "Stop Bush Coalition" have some learnin' to do.
posted by Jimbob at 3:49 AM on September 7, 2007

I once infiltrated a high-security military base in a gorilla suit.

How many pints of lager does it take to get you to tell that story?
posted by DreamerFi at 4:24 AM on September 7, 2007

A lawyer in Maine did the low rent version of this last November. I think it was the toy gun that upset people a bit.
posted by SteveInMaine at 9:57 AM on September 7, 2007

Lager? Well, it’s one of those “if I told you I’d have to kill you” type stories, except some folks would y’know, kill me (left some creative little notes, boy does that piss people off)

...so probably about 8.
posted by Smedleyman at 12:07 PM on September 7, 2007

That's the one. Thanks peacay.
posted by emf at 2:40 PM on September 7, 2007

Eleven members of ABC's The Chaser have been charged and granted bail following their arrest in Sydney today.

Already a grassroots political campaign is under way to Free the Chaser 11.

In other protest news, radical activist group Bums not Bombs were planning a World Record Moon Attempt in Sydney yesterday, aimed at Bush.
posted by UbuRoivas at 4:25 PM on September 7, 2007

Bad weather yesterday seems to have spoiled the attempt on the world record for mooning, but the event received coverage from numerous prestigious news outlets, like the UK's Independent, and NZ's Stuff.

Not to be outdone, the President himself joined in with his own comedy routine, as reported by CBS News:

Once on stage, he'd only reached the third sentence when he committed his first gaffe:

"Thank you for being such a fine host for the OPEC summit," Mr. Bush said to Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

Unfortunate in that he was addressing attendees at APEC, the annual meeting of leaders from 21 Pacific Rim nations, not OPEC, the cartel of 12 major oil producers.

Mr. Bush quickly corrected himself. "APEC summit," he said forcefully, joking that the confusion was because Howard had invited him to the OPEC summit next year (though neither Australia nor the United States is an OPEC member).

The president's next goof went uncorrected, at least immediately. Talking about Howard's visit to Iraq last year to thank his country's soldiers serving there, Mr. Bush referred to them as "Austrian troops" - though the official text released by the White House and posted on whitehouse.gov fixed it to "Australian."

After his speech, Mr. Bush confidently headed out - the wrong way.

He strode away from the lectern on a path that would have sent him over a steep drop. Howard and others saved him, redirecting the president to center stage, where there were steps leading down to the floor of the theater.
posted by UbuRoivas at 4:34 PM on September 7, 2007

Actually, I think that last story bears emphasising. We have seen a city in lockdown, a personal retinue of 1,000 security goons, half a squadron of transport planes, a 90-vehicle convoy (or thereabouts), for what...?

All for a guy who can't even remember:

a) what country he is in; or
b) what summit he's attending.

I'd probably shoot myself out of shame if I was one of his goons. It'd be like if I thought I was embarking on a noble military career for the country, and found myself instead as personal butler to Britney Spears' poodle, or something.
posted by UbuRoivas at 11:32 PM on September 7, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

There is a precedent. WC Wentworth MP exposed Sydney's lack of defences in 1942...

Francis de Groot at the opening of the harbour bridge also comes to mind.
posted by Prince Nez at 5:15 AM on September 8, 2007