"Bin Laden" crashes APEC summit in Sydney

[aldona]

Once again the folks from "The Chaser" (satirical TV current affairs show) have made me proud to be Australian.

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APEC's surprise guest - Mr bin Laden of Canada

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It took a comedian in an Osama bin Laden outfit to rouse APEC security monster into action.

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IF ONLY the police had stopped to read the fine print on the "APEC 2007 Official Vehicle" sticker.

"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."

It took a comedian in an Osama bin Laden outfit to rouse Sydney's APEC security monster into action after the convoy assembled by the ABC TV program passed two police checkpoints to pierce the sniper-ridden "ring of steel".

The much-vaunted protection for the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit was peeled away with embarrassing ease yesterday by satirists armed with hire cars, Canadian flags and a colour printer.

Eleven people were charged last night with breaching APEC security zones after the fake motorcade with bonnet-mounted flags sailed past the checkpoints to drive within metres of the InterContinental hotel, where the US President, George Bush, is staying. The charges carry a maximum sentence of six months in jail.

Those charged include the show's executive producer, Julian Morrow, and his fellow cast member Chas Licciardello, members of their crew and hire car drivers. All were granted bail to appear in court on October 4. Last night the ABC said the Chaser team had no intention of entering the restricted zone and did not know they had done so until they were detained while turning around.

The Chaser's bogus motorcade of two black vans, a hire car, two very unofficial-looking motorcycles and jogging security heavies sliced through two checkpoints on Macquarie Street. They remained undetected until Bridge Street, where Morrow and Licciardello, who was wearing a bin Laden beard and robes, got out of their car outside the hotel, finally prompting police to grab them.

Chris Taylor of The Chaser told the Herald there was "no particular reason" they had chosen Canadian flags. "We just thought they'd be a country who the cops wouldn't scrutinise too closely, and who feasibly would only have three cars in their motorcade - as opposed to the 20 or so gas-guzzlers that Bush has brought with him."

But the NSW Police Minister, David Campbell, said that rather than being an embarrassment in front of 21 visiting world leaders, the breach was a success for security arrangements.

"I think this reinforces that APEC security has been successful by the mere fact that 11 people have been arrested," he said. "I offer my congratulations to those police officers for their diligent work," he said, adding that he "did not see the funny side at all".

Police had been worried The Chaser team would cause trouble during APEC and had warned them to behave responsibly, Mr Campbell said.

"[Police] said we understand that parody and satire are entertaining and fun … but please understand the seriousness of this matter … and please take caution as you go about making your program. That seems to have been thrown out the window and that, I think, is inappropriate."

Readers of smh.com.au saw it differently. At 9pm yesterday 86 per cent of voters in a poll with more than 10000 respondents rated the stunt "funny".

NSW Police assistant commissioner Dave Owens said the "multi-layered" security measures had been reviewed since the alleged "breach into a restricted zone in the APEC footprint".

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alexander Downer, appeared amused. "Whatever you think of the humour of The Chaser … they were clearly not going to harm anybody in a physical way," he said. "They presumably were, as is the nature of their show, aiming to humiliate a lot of well-known people."

with Arjun Ramachandran and Stephanie Peatling

Source: Sydney Morning Herald, Fri. 7 September 2007

[Planey]

From the Sydney "Daily Telegraph":

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A source inside The Chaser's War on Everything revealed the team never expected to get so far. The skit had been approved by ABC lawyers but was written in the assumption they would be stopped at the first checkpoint.

Instead they were waved through the first on Macquarie St, then a second, which had sniffer dogs, and eventually stopped themselves at Bridge St.

"As they did Chas got out of a car dressed as Osama bin Laden and said something like 'I'm an important world leader why don't I have a seat at the APEC table?'. Apparently that was the first time the police realised it was not authentic and they swooped in and arrested everybody," the source said.

..

Interesting that they had stopped of their own volition and the police didn't notice them until they started turning around.

Go the Aussie security forces!!

Hehehehehe

Graeme

[Neil D]

Our world security forces at work...

classic....

good joke....and yet scarey...

[Nan]

Normally I would have been well aware of this and enjoyed....as we are currently in Vancouver BC I had to have it pointed out in an email.

These same people some time ago sent one of their number out with a video camera to take footage of Sydney Harbour Bridge. Dressed in normal Aussie clothing, he went up and down the bridge taken footage of everything including the security cmaeras. No action was taken.

Shortly thereafter, repeat scenario, except that this time he was dressed in Arab robes. The security people arrived within seconds.

Good on them!!

[Dr. Shane]

Reality is that bin Laden is still at large and a threat to the US. Let's all be grateful to G.W. that we have yet to be attacked again.

[aldona]

And they are at it agan, the very next day...

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Chaser team in second car stunt

Matthew Ricketson, Andrea Petrie and Daniel Ziffer

September 8, 2007

What do you do when you've been charged by police for entering a restricted "red" zone at an international forum featuring 21 world leaders, embarrassing the Federal Government and the forum's multimillion-dollar security operation?

Why, you front up again the next day with another stunt.

Yesterday, three members of the Chaser team, Craig Reucassel, Chris Taylor and Dominic Knight, were taken away by police after they "drove" through a police line at the APEC forum wearing black cardboard cars bearing Canadian flags and wheels made of paper plates.

ABC spokesman Peter Ritchie said the three comedians were stopped on Sydney's Bligh Street and taken in for questioning but were released without charge.

"They were well outside the APEC security zone," he said.

However, their cardboard cars were impounded by the police.

Their second stunt "referenced" the previous day's activities when the Chaser's Julian Morrow and Chas Licciardello (dressed as Osama bin Laden), along with nine production staff and hired drivers, were charged after entering the "red" zone.

The team had driven a mock Canadian convoy of three cars and two motorcycles through two security checkpoints to near the hotel where US President George Bush was staying.

They were released on bail on Thursday night and late yesterday police returned their confiscated equipment, according to a statement from the ABC.

The Chaser team expected the footage to be returned in time for Wednesday's program, which last week achieved its strongest ratings, just under 1.5 million viewers.

The footage may be in jeopardy as NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione angrily denounced the original stunt as dangerous, saying The Chaser team risked being shot by snipers.

Mr Scipione said police were investigating the credentials the comedians had presented at checkpoints and were considering whether to lay further charges.

Julian Morrow declined to talk to reporters yesterday. A spokesman said he was in mourning after Luciano Pavarotti's death. But he did say it was fortunate that al-Qaeda had not breached the red zone.

The prank made headlines overseas. US television networks also carried footage of the arrest.

With AAP

It just gets better.

aldona

(laughing so hard she can barely type)

[Amelia]

I drove a cardboard car in kindergarten.