Long Live the Chaser

HA! It took the guys from the Chaser to finally make Sydneysiders see the funny side of APEC. I hope Julian and Chas don’t end up in jail for six months…

15 responses

  1. The Chaser thing was way stupid. Makes us Aussies look like idiots. They should pay.

  2. It made the NSW Police look like idiots, if you ask me. Perhaps they should be grateful that the Chaser staff exposed a loophole in their system that a potential terrorist might employ.

  3. that was the greatest piece of news i heard all day. good on them!!

  4. The rest of the world doesn’t know about the “NSW Police”.

  5. Security theatre – is where there is the pretence of security but it really is ineffectual – that is what the chaser boys showed up today

  6. Jeez, your sense of humour is about as good as the Police Commissioner’s, Peter! Don’t let worry over Australia’s reputation keep you up at night. Most people in the world don’t even know it’s happening. None of my family in the US had heard a single peep about it. You’re worried about Australia looking foolish when, sadly, to most of the world it’s just invisible. The only way APEC was going to make the international press was a stunt like this or a big violent protest.

    (My favorite comment from the Metafilter thread: “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.”)

  7. The police had to know that the Chaser team would be out there to try to make them look like fools. And frankly, the whole thing is ridiculous. I was in the city yesterday, and I saw about 12 huge 4wd vehicles with “Riot Squad” painted on them, driving up and down George Street. All because some illiterate Texan is in town. They didn’t cause this much fuss for the bloody queen!

    Then, I went to an office building (helping a friend with market research), and I was asked for ID on the way into the building. I refused (as I don’t have an id tag for that building), and was ushered through. It was a complete farce, but didn’t put me in the mood for further city adventures – I went home as soon as I could.

    I had no say in APEC, and I am glad the Chaser is out there doing their bit to keep our spirits up during this ridiculous farce.

  8. i saw this story on CNN, when i was on the treadmill at the gym, and i just *knew* it was the guys from Chasers. made me laugh.

  9. I know this is hard to believe, but the rest of the world does extend beyond the US. By defintion, the president shouldn’t be here. The rest of the world, DOES know it’s going on. International is not just the USA. It’s a big world, maybe you should take a look at an atlas.

  10. I also find it highly ironic (and quite frightening) that the Chaser boys are facing criminal charges, when we currently have in our city a man who admitted his government has been selling the organs of executed prisoners on the black market, and a man who arranged to have the only remaining free-press editor in Russia murdered.

  11. This little stunt won’t be of interest to anyone outside Aus, because almost no-one outside Aus knows that half of our city was effectively off-limits to its own citizens for the best part of a week. It’s not being shown on the news anywhere – I have had comments and emails from people as far away as London, finding the whole thing unbelieveable.

  12. That is interesting. It’s now in the newspaper here in Finland.

  13. Anonymous

    Peter, who cares if the whole world saw the event. It doesn’t make Australia look stupid – it exposes the ridiculous circus that is APEC. $250 million of our money spent on security, and it takes someone dressed as OSAMA BIN LADEN for those numbskulls to get suspicious.

    The Chaser stunt wasn’t stupid – it served a useful political purpose, well done boys!

  14. I normally enjoy The Chaser, but honestly? I think they absolutely deserve what happened to them, and to be prosecuted for it. Regardless of whether you agree/disagree/like/dislike the whole, um, security situation, everyone knew what the deal was. They went looking for trouble and they got it.

  15. I, on the other hand, hope there’s a legal defense fund that I can contribute to. Showing that laws are ridiculous or unjust is worthwhile and justifiable.

    Just to be completely play devil’s advocate here: It’s like you’re saying Rosa Parks shouldn’t have sat in the front of the bus. I mean, it was the LAW, RIGHT? And she knew she was breaking it! So she “went looking for trouble” and she should have been prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, right?