Hollyweed...

[Lord Jim]

Welcome to ...'Hollyweed'? Iconic 'Hollywood' sign altered...again



A prankster climbed up a mountain in Los Angeles overnight to welcome the New Year Sunday by altering the world-famous Hollywood sign to read "Hollyweed," police say.

Los Angelenos recovering from New Year's Eve celebrations might have been blurry-eyed as the sun came up on Mount Lee but they couldn't have missed noticing there was something wrong with the familiar 350-feet-long sign.

According to Sgt. Guy Juneau, the watch commander for the Los Angeles Police Department's Security Services division (which handles security for public buildings and facilities), a "lone gentleman" made his way up the mountain, scaled a protective fence, clambered over the sign and placed two tarps covering the two Os.

"It now reads 'WEED,' Juneau told USA TODAY. "He escaped but (the stunt) was captured on security video footage."

But by 10:45 a.m. P.T., the tarps had been removed and all was right once again on the "Hollywood" sign, according to CBS Los Angeles' live coverage.

Police are investigating and if the man is arrested, he will be prosecuted for misdemeanor trespassing, Juneau said.

But it isn't the first time the sign with its 45-foot-tall letters has been vandalized; Juneau says there's an incident at least once a year.

"It's thrill-seekers, looking for media attention," he said. "It’s L.A., part of our L.A.-crazy," he added, chuckling. But seriously, he said, "We can't have the sign saying that."

Police had to press to restore the sign quickly; finding work crews on a holiday proved difficult, he said.

The prankster may have had a political motive: Celebrating California voters' approval in November of Proposition 64, which legalized the recreational use of marijuana, beginning in 2018.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/peop ... /96057948/

[BoSoxGal]

[Bicycle Bill]

Trust ABC News, of course, to blow this all out of proportion.
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/authori ... y-44505851

At the 0:55 mark:

"Experts saying the two very public stunts expose lapses in security."

and then on comes an anonymous talking head to proclaim, in all earnestness,

"It just showed people that may want to commit, say, a crime where people are going to get hurt" (translation: an ISIS or other type of terrorist attack such as the Orlando nightclub shootings, the Boston Marathon bombing, or another incident such as Sandy Hook or Dylann Roof's attack on the Emanuel AME Church) "that there are weaknesses and gaps in security measures in these different types of locations and they can exploit that."

Well, no shit, Sherlock Holmes.  I think it has long been proven that, unless you go into full Gestapo or NKVD mode, a truly determined person or operation is not going to be stopped or thwarted by any kind of "security" that you are apt to find around any public gathering — especially an NFL game that is going to attract over 75000 people and operational staff.  They will just take that into consideration and plan accordingly.

Welcome to America in 2017.  Be afraid; be very afraid.

-"BB"-

[Long Run]

Is this really vandalism if they can just take down the tarps? Nothing was damaged, which is the basic definition of vandalism. They just need to go to Facebook or some other social media to see the guy giving himself high-fives for doing this.