This is topic Cell phone violence in a theatre in forum Ground Level at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 10-16-2003, 06:53 PM:
 
How are the rest of you handling cell phones at your theatres?


Movie theater spat ends in violence

Man charged with stabbing in the foot
Thursday, October 16, 2003

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RANDOLPH, Mass. - A fight that started with violations of basic movie theater etiquette ended with one man allegedly being stabbed in the foot.

Jose Pujols, 27, of Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, has pleaded innocent to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and possession of marijuana, the Norfolk District Attorney's office said.

The fight started Sunday evening at the Showcase Cinemas in Randolph, when Pujols ignored the request of a man sitting behind him to turn off his ringing cell phone, the Randolph police said.

The other man's daughter had her feet on Pujols's seat earlier that evening but had removed them at Pujols's request. After Pujols refused to turn off his cell phone, the girl's father, identified only as a 37-year-old Randolph resident, put his feet up on Pujols's seat, the police said.

That's when Pujols allegedly stabbed the side of the man's foot.

"It sounds like he stabbed him at an awkward angle, lessening the severity of the blow," Randolph police Lt. Richard Crowley said. The wound did not appear serious, Crowley said, and the victim told the police he would seek medical attention on his own.

The knife was found in Pujols's truck in the theater parking lot, apparently taken there by a friend, Crowley said. The police also found a small amount of marijuana in his truck.

He was released after his arraignment Tuesday and is due back in court on Nov. 10 for a pretrial hearing.

Thursday, October 16, 2003

THE LINK:
http://www.cmonitor.com/stories/news/newengla2003/101603mass_movie_2003.shtml
 

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Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 10-16-2003, 09:42 PM:
 
Me thinks Mr. Jose Pujols was smoking more than just the marijuana the police found in his truck.
 

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Posted by Chris Trainor (Member # 9) on 10-17-2003, 11:04 AM:
 
Hopefully this will get a lot of press and maybe happen one or two more times.... then people will finally learn to turn off their phones in the theater.

--Chris
 

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Posted by Christopher Duvall (Member # 284) on 10-17-2003, 02:50 PM:
 
Luckily for me, being underneath the casino present an added bonus to the cellphone problem. The large amounts od cement, steel and electrical fields being generated by the slots and wiring in the floors above me tend to block almost ALL cell signals in the auditoriums and back halls. Just to get a signal, you need to move into the lobby to use your phone. The design of the theatre is like being in a cave under the casino...good stuff. I have had only one complaint about that and it was from a doctor. He yelled at me and said that I should have a repeater installed. The casino would have to approve that and install it and that is moeny they WILL NOT spend. So in short, I have no cell phone issue to worry about.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 10-17-2003, 06:06 PM:
 
If someone sitting in front of me stabs me in the foot, he had better hope I don't have my Leatherman tool in my pocket. Otherwise he would be in a great position to get his throat cut!

Well, I wouldn't do that. But I would hammer a bunch of dents on the top of the jerk's head with the blunt end of that tool.

Another thing I would do if I were in the stabbing victim's shoes is file some civil charges and have him pay medical bills and a horribly giant "pain and suffering" judgment. The pop-knots on his head would heal quickly but his wallet would be hurting for decades --and deservedly so.
 

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Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 10-17-2003, 06:21 PM:
 
I often have these little day dreams (when I'm at a theater) about throwing my medium sized soft drink and hitting the head of a cell phone offender squarely. I can see the soft drink exploding in slow motion, as the offender screams a low pitch slow-mo scream.
 

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Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 10-20-2003, 02:01 AM:
 
This problem (the antisocial use of mobile 'phones) is endemic here and no-one seems to want to do anything about it. I was once threatened with violence after asking someone to refrain from using his 'phone in the 'no mobiles' carriage of a train.

Personally I wish they'd legalise the use of jammers so that it would be possible to stop these morons without having to confront them. It is possible to buy small, battery operated devices, about the size of a pack of cards, which will jam all GSM signals within 10-20 metres. That would be absolutely ideal to keep in your pocket and switch on in somewhere like a train, restaurant or theatre. But their use is now illegal throughout the European Union (no doubt because the mobile 'phone giants are probably paying backhanders to the EU commissioners, like Berlusconi and anyone else who wants a Euro-law made to suit them), and the companies which supply them will not sell the things to private individuals with an EU address.
 

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Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 10-21-2003, 01:26 AM:
 
The FCC also has rules about jamming, but like most things the FCC rules on, they have very limited enforcement staff and they pick and choose their battles, usually based on a complaint. I doubt that installing a jammer would cause much of a problem. And if the public knows there is "poor" cell phone reception inside the theatre, what would be the reason for a complaint?

To circumvent even the hint of bending an FCC rule, I understand that there is a company which manufactures a material that can be mixed with cement and even mixed with paint that will effectively block cell signals. I don't think the FCC rules cover that situation because the signal is stopped by naturally occurring materials, it is not an "active" of jamming electronic device. Besides, what's the FCC gonna do, say cement and building wiring is illegal?

Besides, here in NYC we have a law that says cells and beepers have to be turned off in restaurants, theatres and maybe in even hospitals, I'm not sure.

Christopher, as for the irate doctor or other emergency type personnel complaining about not being able to get signals.... do they think they have a case against the mobile phone company when they are in an area where they can't get a signal? That happens all over the place. There are dozens of places in my own theatre basement floors where I can't get a cell signal. Too bad. I can't get signals in WalMarts....should they be forced to install repeaters in their store so me and my doctor friends can get cell calls? GIVE ME A BREAK.

I think the legal issue, if there even is one, would be to post a notice at the Box Office saying something like "Notice, Please turn off all cell phones and beepers beyond this point. Be aware, because of the construction of the building, cell phones will not function inside the theatre. If you must make an emergency call, go to the lobby. Doctors and Emergency Personnel may leave their name and the theatre number they are atteneding with management.

Will all due respect to the doctors in the house....they are rarely in the house. We have a sign up like that and we hardly ever get doctors announcing that they are in the theatre. They hardly ever do this because they are afraid that they might be called in case of a real emergency. Put up that sign and it will usually shut them up.

Frank
 

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Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 10-21-2003, 02:19 AM:
 
Most of my family are doctors, and when they're 'on call' (i.e. not actually at work but able to be called out at zero notice) they wouldn't be stupid enough as to put themselves somewhere they can't easily be contacted, such as a cinema. Most distrust the reliability of mobile 'phones anyway, and would prefer to be in range of a land line under those circumstances.

That having been said, my uncle believes that if he'd had a mobile 'phone back in the '70s when he was split between two hospitals, it would probably have saved 3-5 lives per year by enabling him to be called to one site while commuting to the other.
 

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Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 10-21-2003, 08:45 AM:
 

quote:

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here in NYC we have a law that says cells and beepers have to be turned off in restaurants, theatres and maybe in even hospitals

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Just as in aircraft, cell phones should be turned off in hospitals, as their RF radiation may interfere with critical electronic equipment. Same goes for "blasting zones" around construction sites.
 

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Posted by Michael Gonzalez (Member # 593) on 10-21-2003, 10:27 AM:
 
The Wave Shield http://starportuk.com/21.htm

The C-Guard LP http://www.netline.co.il/LP.htm

http://www.newhouse.com/archive/story1a092200.html

Cell Phone Jammers, Illegal in U.S., Can Create Silent Zones

By MARGIE WYLIE
c.2000 Newhouse News Service



The incessant ringing was bad enough, but when patrons of the Whiteley Shopping Centre's cinema in London began answering their cellular telephones mid-movie -- shouting to be heard above the dialogue -- Nasser Ahmadi knew something had to give.

"Some people were getting so angry that they were leaving the cinema," said Ahmadi, a consultant to Universal Cinemas International, which operates the multiscreen movie house. "People were asking why we didn't do something about it."

Across the globe, cell phones disturb plays, concerts and films. Phones ring out during funerals and weddings. They bleep and buzz in trains, restaurants and bathrooms. Cell-phone-free zones, polite requests, even icy glares can't seem to stop the ringing and consequent jabbering.

But Ahmadi found something that does: a cellular telephone jammer.

Five months ago, he installed the C-Guard cellular telephone firewall and complaints stopped. Made by an Israeli company called NetLine, the C-Guard is one of a handful of cell phone jammers commercially available today.

But don't go looking for one at your neighborhood electronics store.

"The technology is illegal in the U.S. and it's our position that it should be," said Travis Larson, spokesman for the Cellular Telephone Industry Association, based in Washington, D.C.

Within their operating radius, jammers prevent wireless phones from contacting a cellular radio tower. The affected phone behaves as it would any place where reception is too poor to carry a call.

Users "don't complain because they don't know what's going on," Ahmadi said. "There are lots of places where there are blackouts, anyway. They think it's the construction of the building, so they come out in the foyer to make their phone calls."

"It's very Machiavellian but perfectly harmless," said Jonathan Lemel, managing director for Special Electronic Security Products, U.K. Ltd. of Manchester, England, which manufactures jammers.

Not everyone agrees. The devices are banned in most industrialized countries, which don't take kindly to disruption of licensed radio services.

"Obviously, spectrum is licensed by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) and purchased by broadcasters of all kind to transmit information," said Larson, the cellular industry spokesman. "And those pieces of spectrum become the property of those using them for the length of the licenses. So using a jammer is analogous to taking someone else's property."

Gil Israeli, NetLine's CEO, counters that if anything's being stolen, it's the peace and quiet of those of us forced to endure loud cell phone conversations.

Regulators have no beef with people installing expensive metal shielding around rooms to block cell phone usage, Israeli observed. "Our only argument with the FCC is whether people should be allowed to defend their space actively as well as passively, using an inexpensive device," he said.

Richard DiSabatini, director of Intelligence Support Group, Ltd., a jammer maker based in China Lake, Calif., agreed. "This is a whole gray area," he said. "If you were in my home and I didn't want you using your cell phone, why shouldn't I have the right to block you?"

DiSabatini's firm does not advertise its jammers. It sells them only for export, to the military, or to those law enforcement agencies exempted from FCC rules, he said.

At its simplest, jamming any radio device involves transmitting a signal on the same frequency and at high enough power that the two signals collide and cancel each other out. The effect is similar to what happens when you drop two pebbles in still water and rings of waves radiate out from them. Where the rings meet, the water becomes smooth.

Cellular telephones, however, are more challenging to jam than most radio transmissions. Different cellular systems operate over a wide range of frequencies. Within those frequencies, any single phone may "spectrum hop" to find a band free of interference. Plus, phones can notch up their power to try to overcome interference.

Cell phone jammers have to be sophisticated enough to squelch phone signals without interfering with other devices, from garage door openers to medical equipment. In addition, they must operate at power levels high enough to overcome cell phone signals, but not so high that the jamming effect leaks outside the intended coverage area.

In fact, leakage is a key reason the FCC and other regulators refuse to license jammers, Israeli said. But if governments set specific rules for exactly how much leakage could be tolerated, he said, NetLine could meet them.

"You don't expect someone in an apartment complex not to use his TV. We accept that some noise will come from our neighbors, but we have some idea of what is a reasonable standard," Israeli said.

To the cell phone industry, however, leakage isn't the only problem. Larson noted that more than 118,000 emergency calls are made each day from cell phones. And what if a doctor in a theater misses an emergency call because of a jammer?

Surreptitiously cutting off cellular telephone access is like snipping off the burning tip of a cigarette because you object to secondhand smoke, jammer foes say. "The answer is etiquette, education, making sure people are using their cell phones in ways that don't invade other people's space," Larson said.

Larson's association and many of its member companies, including cell phone manufacturer Nokia and service provider U.S. Cellular, are pouring money into public education campaigns to encourage cell phone users to be more considerate.

The FCC has fielded enough queries about the legality of cell phone jammers that it issued a notice last year. In it, the agency warns that jammers violate federal laws that broadly prohibit interfering with licensed radio spectrum. Owning, manufacturing, marketing, offering for sale or operating a cell phone jammer is punishable by an $11,000 fine and up to a year in prison for each offense, the notice states.

Stern warnings to the contrary, the agency has never seized a single jammer or prosecuted an operator to the best of his knowledge, said Richard Welch, associate chief of the FCC's Enforcement Bureau.

"We haven't taken any actions because nobody has complained," Welch said, adding that it was possible jammer users were simply flying under the FCC's radar.

Lemel agreed. When a cell phone doesn't work, he said, "the first thing you think isn't, `I'm being jammed."'

It's not because they're not in use, if sales are any indicator. Lemel says the United States is his firm's biggest market for cell phone blockers. And NetLine, Israeli says, also sells many devices in the States, though Europe is its largest market.

Both companies sell liberally in Latin America, the Middle East and Asia, where jammers are used for personal and corporate security. For example, many South American banks jam cell phones to prevent robbers from guiding outside accomplices to mug people who've just made large withdrawals, Israeli said.

Cell phone jammers are readily available on the Internet. Many can be battery-powered and fit in a pocket or briefcase for people who would like to enjoy a meal, movie or church service in peace.

A portable C-Guard sells for about $900 and can cover the area within a 450-foot radius. Lemel's company offers the $890 M2 Jammer, which comes in a briefcase and can block phones within a maximum radius of 50 feet. It's advertised as "ideal for the executive interested in keeping meetings and working lunches free from external distractions." Hubgiant of Taipei, Taiwan, sells its WAC1000 personal jammer, which has an operating radius of up to 30 feet, for $169. And Uptron of Lucknow, India, offers a full range of jammers with coverage ranging from 20 feet to over one mile.

Despite cellular industry fears, the majority of jammer sales aren't to revenge-seeking Luddites, Israeli said. Most go to business owners, government and police. Law enforcement officers can use jammers to throw a net of silence over hostage takers. Corporations use jammers to protect trade secrets. Ahmadi said three British hospitals evaluated the C-Guards in his theater before installing them to prevent interference with crucial medical equipment.

At least one company offers a technological alternative to jamming, and others are working on them.

Zetron Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., manufactures a system that can detect cell phones and warn users to turn them off. It can cover up to a 90-foot radius. BlueLinx Inc. of Charlotte, N.C., is working on Q-Zone, a system that will turn off cell phones or silence their ringers when they enter a protected space. It relies on shortwave technology called Bluetooth that hasn't been widely adopted by cell phone makers and may not be on the market for another three to four years. NetLine is developing a similar system that will work with existing European digital cellular telephones, but not American devices.

In some countries, jammers are gaining currency as a legitimate defense against cell phone abusers. In Japan, Tokyo-based Medic Inc. sold thousands of its Wave Wall jammers to restaurants, funeral directors and others before the government limited their sale. Now jammers must be licensed for use in Japan, and used only in spaces such as live-performance theaters where cell phones are judged by the government to be a nuisance.

But even that's a victory, says Israeli, who thinks such uses help governments see that cell phone "firewalls" can serve a legitimate market under controlled conditions.

"Legislators and government bodies have not yet realized that (jammers) can fulfill a useful role in society," Lemel said. "One of these days, they'll wake up to it."
 

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Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 10-21-2003, 11:20 AM:
 

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Surreptitiously cutting off cellular telephone access is like snipping off the burning tip of a cigarette because you object to secondhand smoke, jammer foes say.

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"The answer is etiquette, education, making sure people are using their cell phones in ways that don't invade other people's space," Larson said.

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three British hospitals evaluated the C-Guards in his theater before installing them to prevent interference with crucial medical equipment.

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I think all mobile 'phone calls should cost a minimum of five pounds per minute...

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Either that or move to the American system whereby you pay to receive a call rather than originate one. In this scenario, Sharon would have to be very keen to learn the gory details of what went on with Dave in the Shovel & Sheepshagger in order for the conversation to progress.

Another irritating scenario: twenty-something female tapping away at mobile 'phone, writing a text message, and making an annoying 'bleep-bleep-bleep' with every key press. Thirty seconds of peace, then 'BLEEP-BLEEP ... BLEEP-BLEEP' as she receives a reply. High pitched giggle. More bleeping as she bashes out a response. This continues for about half an hour before there is a longer than usual pause between messages. Then the Toreadors' March from Carmen is heard as a series of bleeps at earsplitting volume for several seconds until the call is answered. The ensuing conversation inevitably starts with 'Did you get my text?', and procedes describe the content of the previous 10 messages in mind-numbing detail.

Steven: One incident I witnessed on a York to London train (the early one, which gets you to London for a 9am meeting) would have put a smile on your face. I got on (in the 'no mobiles' carriage of course!) and sat down opposite a woman engrossed in a trivial conversation. She finished her call just as the train started moving, suddenly looked concerned and asked me what station we'd just left. 'Oh shit', was her reply when she discovered that she'd been too busy with her call to get off at her station. The next stop? King's Cross, 200 miles away!
 

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