It appears that the police in Boston are a tad over zealous things that go flash in the night.

AN advertising campaign for a late-night animated series went seriously wrong today when police in Boston mistook the ads for explosive devices and shut down half the city.

The discovery of five suspect devices sent authorities into a tailspin, closing off major roads, suspending rail services and river transport and causing major disruption in the city as police investigated.
Link (http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21153657-13762,00.html)


Yes that's right folks. An advertising campaign accidently caused the police to think that the terrorists were out to get Boston. How could this happen? It was a question that entered my mind many times over while reading this story. Especially this:


Other reports said the devices contained circuit boards featuring a cartoon that lit up a figure making an obscene gesture.
Now you would assume that the lit up figure making a "rude gesture" might have given the game away, but no.

One of the five devices was destroyed in a controlled explosion.

Local reports said that officials had described one device as containing an electronic circuit board with some components that were "consistent with an improvised explosive device" but that it contained no explosives.

Hmmmmm..

Now ironically, Turner Industries must have been a bit suprised as well by this, as they were forced to issue a statement during the day. Now this was the kicker for me.

After some hours, Turner Broadcasting issued a statement saying that the so-called suspect devices were actually part of a marketing campaign for the series Aqua Teen Hunger Force on the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim section.

"The 'packages' in question are magnetic lights that pose no danger,'' said the statement from Turner Broadcasting System, according to ABC television.

"They are part of an outdoor marketing campaign in 10 cities in support of Adult Swim's animated television show Aqua Teen Hunger Force. They have been in place for two to three weeks.'

Good to see the police are on the ball.

I don't know what's worse. That they mistook advertising boards making rude gestures for explosives, or that they were there for possibly two to three weeks, before they were noticed.

Sadly it gets worse. You would think that the police department would stumble away in embarrassment over this incident. But no. They are now looking to seek damages for the trouble caused to the area. It would be expected I suppose, if the fact that the battery advertising boards had not been in place for two to three weeks before they first noticed it...

Authorities have arrested two men in connection with electronic light boards depicting a middle-finger-waving moon man that triggered repeated bomb scares around Boston on Wednesday and prompted the closure of bridges and a stretch of the Charles River.

Meanwhile, police and prosecutors vented their anger at Turner Broadcasting Inc., the parent company of CNN, which said the battery-operated light boards were aimed at promoting the late-night Adult Swim cartoon "Aqua Teen Hunger Force."
Link (http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/31/boston.bombscare/index.html)

Again, the fact that these bird flipping boards were in place for two to three weeks, appears to have passed the prosecutors and the police department right by.

I doubt a would be terrorist would design a bomb with flashing lights and a 'bird flipping figure' to bring attention to itself. The irony is hilarious if it all weren't just so serious.

The devices displayed a "Mooninite" -- an outer-space delinquent who makes frequent appearances on the cartoon -- greeting passersby with an upraised middle finger. But the discovery of nine of the light boards around Boston and its suburbs sent bomb squads scrambling throughout the day, snarling traffic and mass transit in one of the largest U.S. cities.

"It had a very sinister appearance," Coakley told reporters. "It had a battery behind it, and wires."
Yes. Maybe someone should point out to DA Coakley that advertising boards regularly do have batteries and wires behind them.

I keep thinking to myself that surely they would have realised that the character on the lightboard was giving people the finger should/would have been an indication, but the fact it was not saddens me a bit.

But Coakley, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and others said the statement offering an apology was not enough, and did not rule out criminal charges or a civil suit to recover the estimated hundreds of thousands of dollars it cost the city to respond to the bomb scares.
Maybe after all that, they can attempt to tell the people of Boston why it took them two to three weeks to notice the boards were there in the first place. I guess all this outrage is a good way to mask their own embarrassment at their just not having noticed the flashing light boards for that long.

Officials believe there are 38 throughout the Boston area, and 14 had been recovered as of 9 p.m., Coakley said. "We heard nothing official from the people who could have resolved this earlier."

Some of the devices were placed on private property, she said, which "raises a lot of questions about, at the very least, the responsibility of anybody who would do this."
I guess Turner Industries did not think that after so long, and seeing what was on the light board, that something like this could actually happen.

Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis called it "unconscionable" that the marketing campaign was executed in a post 9/11 era. "It's a foolish prank on the part of Turner Broadcasting," he said. "In the environment nowadays ... we really have to look at the motivation of the company here and why this happened."
Yes.. it was an ad campaign. What is more shocking that "in a post 9/11 era", it can take two to three weeks for the police to notice they were even there. Righteous indignation is one thing. Being made to look foolish in the eyes of the public.. well.. that's priceless really..

;)

HOW

DAMN

FUNNY

if only terrorists were that fun.

That is too funny and it fits with aqua teen hunger force (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKQZuVjyQlU) :D more (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-V3rpHJ0iQ&NR)

It appears that the police in Boston are a tad over zealous things that go flash in the night.
I don't know what's worse. That they mistook advertising boards making rude gestures for explosives, ...

You've either mistakenly read the reports wrong, or the reports were wrong, or you posted this just for the sensationalist value to embarrass the US or the Boston Police. Which one, Bells?

The ad signs were in BOXES which were left on street corners, with no indication or written info as to what they were or who they were for, etc. Just closed, taped, plain cardboard boxes left on street corners.

What would you have them do, Bells? ...since you're so smart about explosives and terrorist methodology. What you have had them do?

I doubt a would be terrorist would design a bomb with flashing lights and a 'bird flipping figure' to bring attention to itself. The irony is hilarious if it all weren't just so serious.

They found out what it was AFTER they opened the boxes, Bells! Note that it was only AFTER they opened the boxes? Or didn't you read that part? Intentionally? For the sensationalist value? To embarrass the cops?

Baron Max

You've either mistakenly read the reports wrong, or the reports were wrong, or you posted this just for the sensationalist value to embarrass the US or the Boston Police. Which one, Bells?

The ad signs were in BOXES which were left on street corners, with no indication or written info as to what they were or who they were for, etc. Just closed, taped, plain cardboard boxes left on street corners.

What would you have them do, Bells? ...since you're so smart about explosives and terrorist methodology. What you have had them do?



They found out what it was AFTER they opened the boxes, Bells! Note that it was only AFTER they opened the boxes? Or didn't you read that part? Intentionally? For the sensationalist value? To embarrass the cops?

Baron Max


Are we talking about the same things?
http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/16596928.htm

Officials found a slew of blinking electronic signs adorning bridges and other high-profile spots across the city Wednesday, prompting the closing of a highway and the deployment of bomb squads.

The 38 signs were part of a promotion for Cartoon Network TV show "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," a surreal series about a talking milkshake, a box of fries and a meatball. The network is a parent of Turner Broadcasting Systems, Inc.

"It is outrageous, in a post 9/11 world, that a company would use this type of marketing scheme," Mayor Thomas Menino said. "I am prepared to take any and all legal action against Turner Broadcasting and its affiliates for any and all expenses incurred during the response to today's incidents."

The 1-foot tall signs resembled a circuit board, with protruding wires and batteries. Most depicted a boxy, cartoon character giving passersby the finger - a more obvious sight when darkness fell.

Turner Broadcasting, a division of Time Warner Inc., apologized, but Boston authorities are still angry.

They arrested two men who put up the electronic promotions and vowed to hold Turner accountable for what Menino said was "corporate greed," that led to at least $500,000 in police costs.

The company 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.

PS Did you miss the part about two-three weeks?

You've either mistakenly read the reports wrong, or the reports were wrong, or you posted this just for the sensationalist value to embarrass the US or the Boston Police. Which one, Bells?

The ad signs were in BOXES which were left on street corners, with no indication or written info as to what they were or who they were for, etc. Just closed, taped, plain cardboard boxes left on street corners.

What would you have them do, Bells? ...since you're so smart about explosives and terrorist methodology. What you have had them do?


Ermm Baron, this story IS an embarrassment to the Boston Police. Whether it further embarrasses the US is another thing altogether.

The "BOXES" had been there for two to three weeks. As you said, they were on street corners, flashing lights with a cartoon depiction giving passersby the finger. Hmmm.. yes.. obvious bomb.:rolleyes:

That it took them that long to notice them there is embarrassing enough. But to mistake a known cartoon figure giving people the finger.. yes well.. it was in a box with batteries and lights.. so of course it has to be a bomb right? I mean look at it..

http://www.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,,5376768,00.jpg

Link (http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21153657-13762,00.html)

Hmmmm.. yes.. it just has to be a bomb. What else could a small box, with magnetic battery operated lights, be?

After all, as the DA stated:

"It had a very sinister appearance," Coakley told reporters. "It had a battery behind it, and wires."

So does my son's glow worm.

They found out what it was AFTER they opened the boxes, Bells! Note that it was only AFTER they opened the boxes? Or didn't you read that part? Intentionally? For the sensationalist value? To embarrass the cops?
Baron, it was a small box with magnetic lights showing a figure giving the finger.

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2007/US/01/31/boston.bombscare/story.devices.ap.jpg

Link (http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/31/boston.bombscare/index.html)

Now do you honestly think that a terrorist would plant bombs that were so obvious. Well they were obvious to everyone but the Boston Police who took 2 to 3 weeks to even notice they were there. What this has shown is that if a terrorist wanted to plant bombs around the city of Boston, they would now know it would take the police a bit longer to find if they put it in really really obvious places like street corners and hanging on overpasses with flashing lights and cartoon figures giving the finger.

Oh I read the whole article, and I'm still laughing about it. The police in their actions after shutting down the city (as though that weren't bad enough) have only highlighted how down right stupid and slow they actually are. I'll remind you again, they were in light boxes with a cartoon figure giving the finger, placed in obvious public places (as one would expect advertisements to be).. and it took them 2 to 3 weeks to notice them. I guess they are attempting to mask their embarrassment by drawing even more attention to their mistake.

I guess hell hath no fury like an idiot's scorned.

Are we talking about the same things?

Yeah, same things. The issue isn't about the signs that were already up and working. It was about plain, taped boxes of NEW signs ...no one knew what the boxes were UNTIL THEY OPENED THE BOXES!

PS Did you miss the part about two-three weeks?

Old signs up and workings and blinking .....versus.... NEW signs being delivered to workers to put up. But they put the new signs in plain, taped up boxes and just left them on the street corners.

See? NEW signs in plain boxes are NOT the same as signs up and blinking.

Baron Max

Yeah, same things. The issue isn't about the signs that were already up and working. It was about plain, taped boxes of NEW signs ...no one knew what the boxes were UNTIL THEY OPENED THE BOXES!



Old signs up and workings and blinking .....versus.... NEW signs being delivered to workers to put up. But they put the new signs in plain, taped up boxes and just left them on the street corners.

See? NEW signs in plain boxes are NOT the same as signs up and blinking.

Baron Max

umm Baron, they stopped the traffic to remove the signs from the bridge (see picture above)

umm Baron, they stopped the traffic to remove the signs from the bridge (see picture above)

No, Sam, that man is removing one of the sign FROM ONE OF THE TAPED UP BOXES!! He's a cop who finally opened a box .....AFTER the boxes were discovered and the traffic stopped.

This is just a sensationalist story ...the facts truncated and present out of context to make a sensational story. Nothing more, nothing less.

....except Bells believes it and presents it here as if it's all factual and in the proper context.

Baron Max

Apparently in NYC, LA, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Austin, SF and Philly, both the citizenry and the authorities are a little more aware of what's going on in the national culture. They recognized these things for what they were.

After all, an advertising campaign doesn't work if the people who see the ads can't understand them. The company wouldn't have spent the money on the ad campaign if they didn't think people would recognize them. Only in snobby Boston were both the citizens and the police utterly clueless. "Oh we'ah not intar that styupid pahp culchah. We only go to the operar and the ballet in Bahston."

Next time we see an ad for one of David E. Kelley's endless series of TV shows set in Boston (Ally McBeal, The Practice, Boston Legal, ad inf.) we should call Homeland Security and report the presence of aliens in our land. (Although none of the people on those shows actually speak in the affected pseudo-British accent of Bostonians.)

I confess that I would not have know what that box was, but I'm 63 and can be excused for being a little out of touch. I also would have had the common sense not to call the police without asking the teenager next to me, "Excuse me. Take off your iPod and stop IM'ing your girlfriend for a minute. I have a hunch you know more about technology than I do. Do you recognize that electronic gizmo?"

Nonetheless, I suspect that some legal technicality was violated. In most cities it's not legal to place advertising on public property. You have to pay the extra money and rent advertising space inside the subway car.

No, Sam, that man is removing one of the sign FROM ONE OF THE TAPED UP BOXES!! He's a cop who finally opened a box .....AFTER the boxes were discovered and the traffic stopped.

This is just a sensationalist story ...the facts truncated and present out of context to make a sensational story. Nothing more, nothing less.

....except Bells believes it and presents it here as if it's all factual and in the proper context.

Baron Max

Whatever you say Baron

The bomb scare reports began about 8 a.m. when a MBTA worker reported a package with wires and tubes protruding from it that was stuck on a steel girder under Interstate 93 at Sullivan Square Station in Charlestown. The devices, featuring characters with raised middle fingers, had magnetic backs and were affixed to metal.
The reports spread throughout the day to the Boston University and Longfellow bridges, Downtown Crossing, the intersection of Stuart Street and Columbus Avenue, the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Memorial Drive in Cambridge, the McCarthy Overpass on the McGrath O’Brien Highway in Somerville and at a comic book store in Brighton.
The discovery of two more devices last night at the Massachusetts College of Art prompted another brief evacuation. By the end of the day, investigators had recovered 14 of the 38 devices believed to be placed in the Boston area and urged the public to report the whereabouts of others.
http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=180378&format=&page=2

Just to put it in perspective:



Explosive device found
Guwahati: An explosive device, containing RDX, was found on Wednesday near the Sarusajai sports complex here where a number of events of the National Games are to be held. — PTI
http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/01/stories/2007020106050100.htm

One line. This is news, reporting sans sensationalism.

One line. This is news, reporting sans sensationalism.

American newsmen don't know how to do that!

Baron Max

No, Sam, that man is removing one of the sign FROM ONE OF THE TAPED UP BOXES!! He's a cop who finally opened a box .....AFTER the boxes were discovered and the traffic stopped.

This is just a sensationalist story ...the facts truncated and present out of context to make a sensational story. Nothing more, nothing less.

....except Bells believes it and presents it here as if it's all factual and in the proper context.

Baron Max
Oh you're right. This is a sensationalist story. The media in the US reporting it have ensured that.

Lets look at the facts as reported shall we?

Officials found a slew of blinking electronic signs adorning bridges and other high-profile spots across the city Wednesday, prompting the closing of a highway and the deployment of bomb squads.

The 38 signs were part of a promotion for Cartoon Network TV show "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," a surreal series about a talking milkshake, a box of fries and a meatball. The network is a parent of Turner Broadcasting Systems, Inc.

"It is outrageous, in a post 9/11 world, that a company would use this type of marketing scheme," Mayor Thomas Menino said. "I am prepared to take any and all legal action against Turner Broadcasting and its affiliates for any and all expenses incurred during the response to today's incidents."

The 1-foot tall signs resembled a circuit board, with protruding wires and batteries. Most depicted a boxy, cartoon character giving passersby the finger a more obvious sight when darkness fell.

Turner Broadcasting, a division of Time Warner Inc., apologized, but Boston authorities are still angry.

They arrested two men who put up the electronic promotions and vowed to hold Turner accountable for what Menino said was "corporate greed," that led to at least $500,000 in police costs.

Turner 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. As soon as the company realized the Boston problem, it said, law enforcement officials were told of their locations in all 10 cities.
Link (http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2840425&page=1)


Yes. Sensational indeed! That is how it has been reported. Now, again, these boxes had been placed in prominent spots for 2 to 3 weeks and no one noticed them. That is very interesting don't you think? Talk about being on the ball.

Those conducting the campaign should have known the devices could cause panic because they were placed in sensitive areas, Coakley said. Authorities are investigating whether Turner and any other companies should be criminally charged, she said.

"We're not going to let this go without looking at the further roots of how this happened to cause the panic in this city," Coakley said.

In Seattle and several suburbs, the removal of the signs was low-key. "We haven't had any calls to 911 regarding this," Seattle police spokesman Sean Whitcomb said Wednesday. Police in Philadelphia said they believe their city had 56 devices.

In New York City, local news broadcasts showed images of the devices being collected, and the New York Post reported that police confiscated 41 in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

*Snort*

I guess their advising the public of the boxes being possible bombs and to call in any sightings of them helped a bit in the public panic department, don't you think Baron? From Sam's link:

By the end of the day, investigators had recovered 14 of the 38 devices believed to be placed in the Boston area and urged the public to report the whereabouts of others.

LOL!

And yet it was only in Boston that a panic ensued. Everywhere else nothing was said. They only took down the boxes in the other States when Turner Broadcasting advised them of the mistake in Boston.

Berdovsky, an artist, told The Boston Globe he was hired by Interference and said he was "a little kind of freaked out," by the furor.

"I find it kind of ridiculous that they're making these statements on TV that we must not be safe from terrorism, because they were up there for three weeks and no one noticed. It's pretty commonsensical to look at them and say this is a piece of art and installation," he told The Globe.
Link (http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2840425&page=3)

HEH!!

It was lucky it wasn't in Vegas. Hell, imagine if they were so panicky about glowing signs.:rolleyes:

American newsmen don't know how to do that!

Baron Max

Yes, I find the press to be rather irresponsible in the US.

We leave such things to Bollywood in India.:D

Oh you're right. This is a sensationalist story. The media in the US reporting it have ensured that.

Lets look at the facts as reported shall we?

"As reported"??? Yeah, see, that's exactly the problem! The news reporters in America are, as Sam has astutely pointed out, irresponsible. And I would say they're even reckless and dangerous at times.

But you believe whatever is "as reported", huh, Bells? ...LOL! See? it's just such people as you that those "as reported" stories are pointed to ....and it's just such people as you that keep such irresponsible, even reckless, reporting going full-bore. And now we have YouTube which is even more sensationalist, and it's going even stronger than the irresponsible news reporters! And you believe all that, too, right, Bellls?

Baron Max

Inignot: "Nobody can defeat the Quad Glacier".
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h303/leavell13/quadlaser.png
Ur: "Hey man...this is kinda slow..."
Inignot: "Ur, do you want it done quickly, or do you want it done right?"

Sorry about that everyone. Didn't mean to cause a fuss.



Boston sucks.

yes it does.

mooninites, however...do not.

I think the real question is...

Is this good or bad publicity for Aqua Teen, Cartoon Network, and Turner?

My vote's on good, anyone who's a fan of the show is laughing their asses off at this article.

But was it ethical? Did they do what they needed to do to inform Boston about the pressence of the signs? I think at the bare minimum they would've told boston "we're puting harmless advertizing devices at these points in the city, photos of the devices are enclosed", or better yet, gotten permission from Boston with the police in on the loop. Hell, police might've overreacted because nobody filed any reports of these devices lingering around the city (i don't know that, i'm just guessing). Billy Bombsquad could've recognized who the lights were showing, asked his commander if anyone registered this thing as an ad, gets a no, so they begin treating it as something that is NOT a registered advertisement.

I have no idea if Turner made any effort at all to informing Boston about this stuff, but the police's actions actually seem perfectly logical to me. They treated the devices exactly the way they needed to be treated if the devices were never officially identified as advertisements by Turner on account of their suspiciously low-tech setup (considering a company like Turner apparently made these things).

If Turner made no effort to inform the police, and let the police trip over themselves to dispose of these things, then I think this was a dirty, low, however very suscessful publicity stunt.

I think the real question is...

Is this good or bad publicity for Aqua Teen, Cartoon Network, and Turner?

My vote's on good, anyone who's a fan of the show is laughing their ASSES off at this article.

i about crapped my pants this morning when a mooninite was flipping me off on CNN.com's splash screen!

when you see that, you know it's going to be a good day...

"As reported"??? Yeah, see, that's exactly the problem! The news reporters in America are, as Sam has astutely pointed out, irresponsible. And I would say they're even reckless and dangerous at times.

But you believe whatever is "as reported", huh, Bells? ...LOL! See? it's just such people as you that those "as reported" stories are pointed to ....and it's just such people as you that keep such irresponsible, even reckless, reporting going full-bore. And now we have YouTube which is even more sensationalist, and it's going even stronger than the irresponsible news reporters! And you believe all that, too, right, Bellls?

Baron Max

You still don't get it.

The light boxes, had been there for 2 to 3 weeks. No other city where they were placed reacted at all, because I guess their function was quite obvious to others. You would think New York, the city that suffered the brunt of 9/11 would be a bit more panicked, but they saw them for what they were. But what happened in Boston?

In Seattle and several suburbs, the signs were removed without fuss, according to The Associated Press.

"We haven't had any calls to 911 regarding this," Seattle police spokesman Sean Whitcomb told AP on Wednesday.

Police in Philadelphia told AP that authorities had confiscated 56 of the devices. In New York, a street was shut down for 45 minutes after two of the devices were found on an overpass, the New York Post reported. In all, 41 of the devices were found in the city, according to the newspaper.

In Portland, police Sgt. Brian Schmautz said officers had no plans to remove any of the signs, so long as they weren't on municipal property. Nor had officers been dispatched in any kind of bomb scare related to the devices.

"At this point we wouldn't even begin an investigation, because there's no reason to believe a crime has occurred," Schmautz said.
Link (http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/02/01/boston.bombscare/index.html)


What was irresponsible was for the authorities to cause a further panic by telling people to call in if they spotted one of these 'possible explosive devices'. I mean of course a small lightbox with a cartoon character giving people the finger flashing on it has to be a bomb, right? :rolleyes:

Twenty-two-year-old Todd Venderlin, a design student at the Parsons School of Design in New York City, saw one of the devices two weeks ago as he left a lounge in south Boston, according to The Boston Globe. He said he was stunned when he saw bomb squads removing them.

"It's so not threatening -- it's a Lite-Brite," he told the newspaper, referring to the children's toy that allows its users to create pictures by placing translucent pegs into an opaque board. "I don't understand how they could be terrified. I would if it was a bunch of circuits blinking, but it wasn't."
Link (http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/02/01/boston.bombscare/index.html)


LOL!

But lets just say it was a bomb hoax and planned as such by a couple of individuals. They'd been there for 2 to 3 weeks. What in the hell are the authorities doing that they failed to notice what looked like explosive devices placed in obvious and public places (eg high way over passes, street corners, etc)? I mean the things were flashing and had bright little lights on them, hardly inconspicuous. Aren't they being irresponsible in just not having noticed them there for that long? Isn't that what all their righteous indignation is about? They were caught simply not having been aware?

I thought it was funny that the judge reminded the assistant AG, that the suspects must intend to created a panic to be charged with placing hoax devices. And the judge musing that it appears there was no intent to cause a panic.


It'd be nice if someone working for the state of Massachusettes or the city of Boston would step up and exercise some leadership and say we screwed up, dismiss these charges and avoid further expense and time wasted in the courts.

Of course it probably won't happen. I mean government officials in charge of making decisions have to cover their ass when they screw up.

i dont know....are you familiar with the mooninites? they would help terrorists, just to watch said terrorists get shot.

Maybe I'm just tired, but I don't understand. Were these boards in boxes, or sitting on top of boxes? Can pictures of these things be found as they were, in the state the Boston police found them in?

Now I kinda wish I lived in Boston. :(

Inignot: "Nobody can defeat the Quad Glacier".
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h303/leavell13/quadlaser.png
Ur: "Hey man...this is kinda slow..."
Inignot: "Ur, do you want it done quickly, or do you want it done right?"

I saw that! It made me lawl. :m:

By the way dude: That was the Quad Laser, as the URL says.

Here you can see clips of them being removed link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G-D0F4Q9yk)

Apparently the two guys who designed the signs face up to 5 years in prison

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070202/NATION/702020364/1020

They look really upset about it.:p

edit: image won't show, for some reason.

Maybe I'm just tired, but I don't understand. Were these boards in boxes, or sitting on top of boxes? Can pictures of these things be found as they were, in the state the Boston police found them in?


They were roughtly 2"x12"x15" metal and plastic lite-brites with four D batteries and a bunch of LEDs. Turner media paid an advertising company, who in turned paid the two artists $300 to hang them around Boston.

These are them:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanderlin/tags/aquateenhungerforce/

see this shot for how they were placed:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanderlin/358742603/

edit: here's a video of the guys putting the devices up around boston:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlwUwThSToA


thankfully, so far the judge seems to think that hoax charges don't seem to fit the case, and the "Hair Interview" the two gave yesterday was perfect. No better way to make the silly situation better than by pointing out the silliness.

The problem here was that two fake pipe bombs were appearently discovered on bridges[edit: this now appears slightly wrong. the 'pipe bombs' were found in a hospital] in Boston that morning. Someone then pointed out that there were boxes attached to bridges all over the city, and everything went haywire. During the day, the LEDs on these devices don't light up, so they just looked like boxes with wires. Once one of them was moved into a shaded area, the lights began to blink, and people figured out they were signs.
http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=180349



The email I sent to the Boston Mayor's office yesterday:
While the apparently well-handled police reaction to the admittedly ill-advised Cartoon Network ads *weeks* after their initial deployment has certainly caused problems for the city of Boston as well as others (Philadelphia included), over-reaction now, complete with arrests and prosecution for perpetration of "hoaxes", does not serve the public good AT ALL.

There was no hoax here; there was no intent to deceive. Posting without a permit, maybe. Trespassing would even be a stretch. Disorderly conduct……possibly, if we really want to make an example out of a cartoon finger. But possible jail time for hanging a glorified light bright around the city? That does nothing but paint us as a reactionary and frightened populace, and I am seriously disappointed by this.

I do not live in Boston, but rest assured that if Philadelphia were to attempt pressing similar charges, they would be getting a much stronger reaction from me.

-sig snipped-
co-citizen, USA


full police run-down of the day's events. It seems that two of the ads were located and investigated by the bomb squad before the first fake pipe-bomb was identified:
http://www.bpdnews.com/2007/02/message_from_the_police_commis_2.html

Who says this went wrong? You can't buy advertising like that!

Adult Swim has scored a mega media coup with this little unintended scandal.

Numba one in da hood G!

A cartoon character giving the finger: is this sufficient reason to raise the Homeland Security Alert from Lemon Fresh to Antibacterial?

http://davezilla.com/images/terrorist-flavor-alert.png

paranoia

the destroya