Boston cops make arrest in devices ploy (media terrorist)

Yahoo ^ | 1/31/2007 | KEN MAGUIRE, Associated Press Writer

[tobyhill]

BOSTON - More than 10 blinking electronic devices planted at bridges and other spots in Boston threw a scare into the city Wednesday in what turned out to be a publicity campaign for a late-night cable cartoon. Most if not all of the devices depict a character giving the finger.

Boston police said Wednesday night that one person had been arrested, and authorities scheduled a news conference to provide details.

Highways, bridges and a section of the Charles River were shut down and bomb squads were sent in before authorities declared the devices were harmless.

"It's a hoax — and it's not funny," said Gov. Deval Patrick, who said he'll speak to the state's attorney general "about what recourse we may have."

Turner Broadcasting, a division of Time Warner Inc. and parent of Cartoon Network, said the devices were part of a promotion for the TV show "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," a surreal series about a talking milkshake, a box of fries and a meatball.

"The packages in question are magnetic lights that pose no danger," Turner said in a statement, issued a few hours after reports of the first devices came in.

It said the devices have been in place for two to three weeks in 10 cities: Boston; New York; Los Angeles; Chicago; Atlanta; Seattle; Portland, Ore.; Austin, Texas; San Francisco; and Philadelphia.

"We regret that they were mistakenly thought to pose any danger," the company said. As soon as the company realized the problem, it said, law enforcement officials were told of their locations in all 10 cities.

The marketing firm that put them up has been ordered to remove them immediately, said Phil Kent, Turner chairman.

[musicman]

.."explosives can be hidden in almost anything."

Yo Dog,that was my point exactly. The "cartoon fans" say it can not because they recognize the "hip" harmless cartoon character on the front of it.

You fans of the show in question are saying that folks who don't know about the cartoon are paranoid by thinking it could have been an IED.

I did not say it WAS an IED, but it could have been, which is why the perps did the "advertising" the way they did.

As far as "knocking down all the buildings" and "making people naked"....that sounds a little "cartoonish", but from your prior posts in this thread:

bvw:

"Let me ask you, though -- why monger fear, when what is more needed is common sense."

The perps who did this stupid stunt on purpose to create this situation are the ones who will be asked your question by people who do not take it as "carefree" and "harmless" as it was presented by them to the public at large.

OBTW you two,...here's a pic of ONE of your "harmless heroes"......

Yeah, I can tell just by looking at him,(like you two do when you looked at his "handywork"), he looks like a really fine upstanding law abiding citizen. Probably even got a "A"+ on his report card when he was younger in the "Plays Well With Others" catagory, and is totally innocent and "harmless".....

[billbears]

I did not say it WAS an IED, but it could have been, which is why the perps did the "advertising" the way they did.

Well of course. Everything could be an IED. Laptops, briefcases, cell phones. I agree with Dog. We should all go to work naked so 'conservatives' can feel 'safe'...scratch that. As much time as some spend posting on the internet, I'm not sure exercise is a word they're familiar with....

Yeah, I can tell just by looking at him,(like you two do when you looked at his "handywork"), he looks like a really fine upstanding law abiding citizen.

Long haired hippies!! And a beard too?!? Run for your lives!! He's in marketing. They don't all wear suits and gasp, some of them even us Macs instead of PCs (damn anti-Americans!!)

And for the record I'd looked pissed too if I had been arrested by a police force trying to cover their own because they're too ignorant to recognize a Lite-Brite.

Probably even got a "A"+ on his report card when he was younger in the "Plays Well With Others" catagory, and is totally innocent and "harmless".....

And of course that's how we should begin to judge everybody. Don't play well with others? You must be a turrist!!

[RepoGirl]

Ask yourself this, Carl... are you a Dirty White Boy... or just Cold as Ice...

We are from the moon, and that is what we do... for we are from the moon...

[Candor7]

I guess the terrorists have won. They've removed the ability of millions of people to think rationally. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The dynamic is part of the cultural wars. The Liberal socialist whackos think it is funny to beard the police and bomb disposal teams, because they don't take the Islamofascists seriously.

As far as I am concerned its like the kid in school who pulls the fire alarm, just to sit back and watch the engines, firemen, and police arrive, and get time out of class.

There is no difference betweeen these two, both are juvenile activities with risk associated with them for responders.

In addition, intelligence is available as I have stated before, to the Islamofascist enemy.

Now a bomb will have to go off in a City, before anyone will take a threat seriously.That is the price for crying wolf.

[muawiyah]

Flashbunny, Richard Reid was lighting up his tennis shoe when his fellow passengers said to themselves "Hey, that's really strange, eh!"

They then beat him to the floor and took away what turned out to be a bomb.

So, what were you saying? Something about terrorists "winning" ~ not when we take away their bombs.

Good on the folks in Boston. Least that advertising company could have done was pay for their permit before they started hanging strange things with batteries and wires from the bottoms of bridges.

[muawiyah]

Billbears, recalling what I just mentioned to your little buddy Bunnyears, or Bunnytoes, or Bunnybrain ~ something like that ~ Richard Reid was lighting up his tennis shoe when his fellow passengers yanked him roughly out of his chair and beat him within an inch of his life.

Bet his advertising agency didn't think that was undue precaution.

If you want to play stupid while we're at war with real enemies who want to kill us please don't ride on my plane, train, taxi, or even walk on the sidewalk in front of my house.

You sound like a dangerous guy to be near.

[muawiyah]

Richard Reid was lighting up his tennis shoe when the more intelligent of his fellow passengers beat him to a pulp.

No doubt you'd been oblivious.

[muawiyah]

Flashbunny, "pack" also refers to your "six pack", which you carry around with you on your chest and ribs. It's got 6 divisions. Artists use it all the time. It's also begun use as a reference to the "groin".

You really gotta keep up with the times.

Oh, BTW, here's a "package" that can be sent in the mail:

[theFIRMbss]

>9 of these things turn up at the same time spread over an American city...will set off alarm bells..

One interesting note
is that nine other cities [!]
didn't get all freaked.

If I were a judge
or on a jury, I'd ask
why did nine cities

respond "properly"
and only one city thought
toons were attacking . . .

If I were plugging
my own cartoons I wouldn't
have done it this way,

but I don't really
think the Cartoon Network dolts
should be sued to death.

[theFIRMbss]

>That is the price for crying wolf

Wait until SeaLab trots out their advertising! More seriously, nobody cried wolf. This cheap-sh!t advertising is a modern trend that tries to target a very young audience in creative ways. Almost certainly the goal of this campaign was to get teenagers to take phone-cam pics of the dumb glowing graphics and post them online. That's all. Nobody ever made threats and the things do not look like bombs. Nobody cried wolf. Big name companies--Sony, Microsoft--have tried viral marketing. It just happens that this time one city went nuts.

[billbears]

Richard Reid was lighting up his tennis shoe when his fellow passengers yanked him roughly out of his chair and beat him within an inch of his life. Bet his advertising agency didn't think that was undue precaution.>

?!?!? Richard Reid wasn't doing anything for an ad agency. Oh, I see another non-sequitur.

If you want to play stupid while we're at war with real enemies who want to kill us please don't ride on my plane, train, taxi, or even walk on the sidewalk in front of my house.

Tell you what. Go find the biggest bed you possibly can. Buy it. Put some nice sheets on it, get a big fluffy comforter (make sure it has unicorns or some fluffy animal on it), climb under the sheets, pull them over your head, and stay there.

You sound like a dangerous guy to be near.

Yeah, freedom will do that to you. And when the case is dismissed against these two by any sane jury (which it will be), you can come out from under the covers and whine about how marketing that you don't understand is really a tool of the terrorists.

[American_Centurion]

Those guys are laughing at the hysterics too.

If they show up they blow it anyway. They say it's for precaution, but the truth is...... They LIKE playing with explosives, duh! That's why they're EOD.

[Joe 6-pack]

(technically it's a badge, not a patch.)

[muawiyah]

Billbears, do you really expect any of us to believe there's a serious difference between AlQaida and an advertising agency when it comes to thinking up bombs?

You gotta' be kidding.

You are defintely too young to remember "New Coke".

[billbears]

No I remember it well. It was awful

[Candor7]

I heard today the price for CNN crying wolf will be 750,000 smackarinos ($). The two CNN twits released from Boston jail, 20, 24 YOA, press conferenced, doing a grandstand show refusing to answer any questions of the MSM slimes accept about haircuts of the 70's.

Liberals whomping on liberals. Whacko POSs.

And this is the culture that wants to run the US of A?

[volunbeer]

If TBS were smart they would cut a 750K check to Boston no questions asked.

They could not have bought 1/100th of the publicity with ads they received through this.

[Candor7]

This "hoax" is serious business" Is it as serious as the internets? :p>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Serious enough for the Mayor of Boston to send a demand letter to CNN for the $750,000 cost of emergency responders.

[Gene Eric]

>> probably never occured to them that anyone would possibly think they were bombs.

Therein lies the problem.

[Candor7]

Only an idiot would think this is a bomb. >>>>>>>>>>>>

In Northern Ireland, you would be one dead idiot.

The problem was not in the appearnace of the items. It was their placement in Boston.

The two dunces who did it went overboard. They also did not call the police to warn them.They will do jail time.

The vigilance of the Boston responders was outstanding. People should be thankful they have them.