It's easy, much too easy to be a terrorist today. The reaction that Boston took to this has proved that. If the electrical tape used to protect the battery and electrical circuits looked like C4, what is to stop millions of people from taking a stick of butter, wrapping it in electrical tape, and running out claiming they have C4? If anything, this entire fiasco could influence young people to do just that.

Maybe if enough cities cry wolf, people will relax a little.

Not everything is a bomb, not every foreigner is a terrorist, not every country is out to get America.

I live a mile from a much bigger LED version of the mag-ads they put up. I bet somewhere in Boston is a big bad LED billboard with the same character on it.

BEWARE THE LIGHT BRIGHTS!

To Jerry Davis,
If these guys were being charged with destruction of property, which is what it would be for permanantly attaching the signs without permission, or littering, or hanging the signs without a permit, or even misdemeanor obscenity(a stretch there)then I for one wouldn't be commenting here. A lot of other people probably wouldn't either. But Boston has decided to to make this a terrorism issue. That is so ridiculous that, according to several polls I looked at, over 70% of those responding think the city of Boston is acting stupid. In other words, Boston has a lower approval rating than Bush. The city is laughing stock and t-shirts and bumper stickers that say "Remeber 1/31", with a picture of a Mooninite giving the finger,(brilliant) are already showing up on ebay.
Can't wait to make my own.

I thought it was illegal to attach anything on public or private property without the permission of the owner. Everybody seems to have forgotten this.

Having worked in a federal office building for over 25 years, we were always told to take bomb threats seriously - you never know. So on at least 5 occasions over the last 25 years we have duly evacuated the building when a called threat comes in.

Our police have been told the same thing. The BPD doesn't have the luxury of deciding whether the device is really a bomb - they need to treat each event as real - the one time they don't could be the real thing. In this case, there were bomb threat calls, the devices were placed in odd places that would wreck havoc on life and property if they were real -- under major bridges, a major hospital, a sports arena that sits in the middle of our colleges (BU, Northeastern, Simmons, Emmanual are all with about 3 miles). I have to wonder how anyone would think these were good locations to "advertise" anything? who travels under the bridge beside some of the homeless seeking shelter?

I have lived in Boston for over 30 years and I think the Mayor and the police responded correctly. The entire city was tied up for over 8 hours before Turner admitted responsibility. Why did it take so long? Why were the devices placed on sites that have been identified as likely terrorist targets? Why would a major company with a respected News organization, enter a city for this type of campaign without letting someone in the city gov't know?

So it looks like Turner will give Boston a few mil for all of the priceless advertising. Thanks Boston! Maybe even the 2 lunkheads will get performance bonuses! My favorite post has to be: "The police only found 2 signs in New York, because the rest were probably stolen".
Yeah NYC!

I can't believe people in Boston were so worried. The advertising didn't look like bombs to me. I thought the two men who were hired to put up the signs and where arrested were hilarious. I loved their "press conference." They saw the ridiculousness of the whole situation and were acting the part.

Pete, i give you great props for actually knowing what your talking about. every other idiot out there is reporting that it was "in fact a hoax".... your a brilliant man. you should get a raise....

The fear industry belongs to the media, politicians, and law enforcement. All others causing fear and panic, especially artists, will be prosecuted.

I also find Boston's response to this advertising campaign to be unwarranted. A true terrorist would place a bomb in something inconspicuous - a cardboard box or trash bag, for example? - rather than advertise its location with flashing lights and a rude gesture.

Honestly this is the kind of state the REAL terrorists want our nation to be in.

oh, in order to quell anyone who says
"If you saw an individual walking down the street with a gun in his or her hand or bombs wrapped around their body even though they are fake, How would you react?"

i will say this:

You're arguement has no place here in this situation. These 'devices', signs rather, do not even slightly resemble bombs. Those who thought that they did need to examine their old game closets and such. OMG A BOMB! oh wait, thats a lite-brite! nvm!

obviously there is no explanation or excuse for any of the 'action' taken to subdue this 'terrorist hoax'. the people of the 'post 9/11 world' need to be realistic and clearheaded about the whole situation

People from outside of Boston should not be posting without knowing the WHOLE story and people from Boston should be ashamed for not knowing the Whole story. The signs were not what caused the reactions that everyone think they did. Instead, it was two of those calls reporting a REAL bomb threat, one at Tuft University and the other at Longfellow Bridge. When BPD saw these two, they quickly closed down the areas. The first one at Sullivan St. was a precaution (although I liked it when it blew up). Oh and just to share a little information, it was reported that a suspicious package resembling a bomb was reported in Chicago at 4pm. At this time, Turner released the locations of all the signs. Chicago also had the perfect condition for chaos since they had a pipe bomb scare in one of their buildings. Makes you wonder if Boston didn't go through with what they did, wouldn't Chicago be in the news!

When is bostons mayor going to give his apology for going on a witch hunt, wasting all that money on a neon sign. all they had to do was look at the thing and realize it wasn't a bomb. makes my confidence in the government even lower.

I'm so glad to see most of the people posting here have some common sense and critical thinking abilities. Any 4th grader who paid attention in science class would have looked at these signs and said, "The battery makes the lights work." Any adult with a 4th grade understanding of electricity, and who hasn't been whipped into a fear frenzy by its govt would have concluded the same. Even a terrified, panic stricken, licensed electrician would have eventually reached that conclusion. Why didn't the Boston bomb squad reach that conclusion?
As my friend who's a retired military 'boobytrap blower-upper' said, "Batteries and wire do not a bomb make. They are normal to the operation of the
signs. While some batteries and exposed wiring are probably still used, modern
technology allows the use of miniature power sources and receivers with
radio-control transmitters, cell phones, etc. as triggering devices(for explosives)."
In other words, he looked at the pictures of the Mooninite sign, ran it through the filter of his professional experience, and nearly instantly gave the 'all clear'. And it's not a generational thing.
'Boobytrap blower-upper' friend is 68 years old.
The only comment I can add to all of the other great comments posted here are the words of Thomas Jefferson: "A society that would trade a little liberty for a little security will lose both, and deserve neither."

AquaTeen Hungerforce! Number 1 in da hood, G.

The mayor estimated it cost $500,000 for this hoax. Turner agreed to pay for damages. You have 2 choices,
Take the $500,000 and move on or spend millions in court cost to sue Turner.

My advice, Take the money and move on

Why can't the Boston Police simply say "We made a mistake. It's not a bomb." I understand the overreaction but why do they have to stick to their mistake? It's really quite simple. It might be a bomb. It turns out it wasn't. Explain what happened. That's it. Don't stick to the mistake and file lawsuits against them just to save face then ask Turner to pay you for reimbursement.

Question: If you left your bag on the bus stop and people thought it was a bomb so the police came over and blew it up, do the police ask you for payment once you come around looking for your bag?

Be a man. Accept your mistake and move on.

Wow - I am from Boston too. I guess I can comment on this story. Wicked Awesome!

Last month I panicked because I thought I stepped in dog poo. But then I realized it was soft dirt, also known as mud. So I composed myself and went to a grassy area and detonated the mud by wiping it on the grass. Why do I mention this wicked awesome story? Because when the police saw that 'the device' was not a bomb they continued to think they were knee deep in crap, costing time, money and reputation. When people think and stink like that - it spreads and as a result, the city of Boston stank.

These things have been up for three weeks - in a Katrina like action mayor el 'Nino tried to play catch up. Maybe being the birthplace of 9/11 played a role. But seriously - how little do you Mr. Mayor and the city's best know about the city...they are blinking lights! Don't blinking lights atleast warrant a traffic hazard? Welcome to Bosstown - where action means nothing and empty promises are everything. Why is it that when we need real action and quick response time (i.e. Katrina and 9/11) it doesn't happen - although here we saw how awesome a response can be. How bout you respond to people killing each other in Dorchestor, Mattapan and Roxbury? or what about that girl who got raped and was burned? respond to those things like you did with these electronic lite brites - seriously you and the other politicians disgust me. Maybe instead of having a grand scheme of moving city hall (although it is an eyesore) create a scheme of safer streets, better public transportation, better jobs, and better schools (how many boston public students drop out - 1/4?...)

And this message is not only to the Mayor, this goes out to the Democrats who hold a majority at the state house along with the newly elected gov. If you can respond in such a fashion to this incident - continue the response to other meaningful aspects of the city - things that terrorize the people of boston.

What wrong with everybody?

It's 2007, advertising is only going to get more and more daring as time goes on. If the "devices" scared you I'm sorry, but as a college student studying art, I believe it's completely insane for officials in Boston to have reacted the way they did. I think it's even more insane for those same officials and others to expect Turner to pay for their stupidity and ignorance.

I am attending college in Atlanta, home of Turner Studios, and every month you see crazy advertisement while driving on the highway for the cartoon in question and for others aired on Adult Swim.

The real problem here is that the people who are seeking legal action are simply afraid of change. They see something new, and since they don't understand it they fear it. And since they fear it they will do all they can to make others fear it.

Well I say this unto all who think those two men and Turner should be held responsible: "One thing that will never change is the fact that things will always change", so sit back and get used to it!

First off, a number of people above have praised the city of Boston for their quick actions in this case, I have never found two to three weeks response time all that quick.

Second if you don't know what they are and want to treat them as a potential threat fine, handle it, but the way the city has made this into a reason to panic, by closing streets, subways and the river has induced panic. Even after the city was told by several people that the devices were not bombs they went around blowing them up and kept the city in a grip of hysteria.

Thirdly people are all angry and upset that Turner Broadcasting did not respond within seconds of the city going into panic mode. Let's keep in mind that this was happening as people were going home from work, and that the people at Turner were going home themselves, so they had to be tracked down, told what was going on, and formulate how to help.

Fourthly Be definition this is not a hoax, there was no intent to cause fear or panic, and the people in 9 other cities and even the people of Boston who saw this for the previous two - three weeks should be considered reasonable and found no reason to panic, therefore a reasonable person would not panic or be afraid of the lite-brite devices.

Fifthly the same reason the devices where placed in locations that are high on possible terrorist trouble spots is the same reason they where placed there from an advertising point of view, they would be seen by lots of people, most of which did not panic.

Sixthly the Phrase "Post 9/11" and other like it only serve one purpose, and that is to instill and perpetuate a climate of fear in yours the United States of Paranoia.

finally the only thing Turner Broadcasting the Advertising Company, or the two poor guys that actually put the signs up are guilty of is not getting permits to place them around the city, so if they are going to be convicted of any crime let it be that, and fine them appropriately to the charge. As too how much money the city spent on this fiasco if they reacted to the presence of the devices in the first couple of days, if they realized from the tv advertising that this was a new advertising campaign, if the realized when they were told repeatedly that they were advertisements not bombs, they would not have incurred the cost in the first place, they made the mistakes they need to own up to the fact they did and pay for their own mistakes.

Is it a coincidence that Peter Berdovsky looks like John Travolta on Battlefield Earth? Which one is responsible for a REAL bomb?

Personally I am sick and tired of being bombarded by advertisers in every possible way they can come up with. The sad thing is that the other cities where Turner hung his garbage aren't suing them also. Maybe Boston overreacted as far as a bomb scare but I hope they nail him to the wall. For those who don't think so send me your address and I will be happy to come plaster your neighborhood with advertisements.

It humors me that people who live hundreds and even thousands of miles away from Boston are feeling obligated to comment on this situation. Unless you saw the device hanging on the interstates etc., you should stay out of it. I did see the device, and my first reaction was fear. Boston has been the target of real terroist plots unlike Iowa (nothing against the state, I grew up there), Wyoming and other states that citizens have felt obligated to comment.
I personally would prefer my cops to overreact. I was late to work that day, but I arrived feeling safer. It is my tax money.
For those commenting on the signs being up for weeks- they werent. Learn the facts.
To the guy coming to Boston next week with a cell phone. Don't bother. We don't need your sarcastic negative additude here. We are dealing with a Patriots-free Super Bowl.

"with the intent to cause anxiety, unrest, fear, or personal discomfort."

hmm the media and several current government officials (federal and state) fits this bill!

What gets me irritated is the obvious manipulation of words to BLOW UP this backwater story to a circus act. I saw when the two advertisers were interviewed by the media. The media got VISIBLY ANNOYED that the two did not dance to the poisoned verbiage (questions)was spewing so that the media can get their sound clip of the night (and manipulated it slightly to give a 'darker,criminal tone ' to the whole deal
see how they use words like A DEVICE,BOX,or BOMB-LIKE OBJECT! look at it ! It is a magnetic metal back with LEDs punched onto it with a very small case for batteries. ).
Besides if you were unjustly arrested you be ticked off too and play word games to an obvious hostile group of YELLOW Journalists.

If anyone can share who can we contact to complain about the opinionated reporting being done? After all we allowed Yellow Journalism to be consider the normal format in this country; it is time to get back to the facts and let the 'INDIVIDUAL' create their own opinion! After all this hyper extension of the truth should be consider a act of terrorism too.

(back to : "with the intent to cause anxiety, unrest, fear, or personal discomfort." )

We should complain to the different news outlets stating that we do not approve of this obviously manipulations.
So , this is an overreaction on part of Boston's 'leaders' who even after getting the information of the first advertisement and a blatant attempt of the media to improperly embellish the facts just to sell more ads/papers for their news stations.
p.s. for those who are going to argue we have to be vigilant -I counter with we have to be intellegent FIRST and stop letting the leaders/media tell us what our views are. they are the one who suppose to mirror our desires not the other way around.
PPS. this athf movie will be a bomb (either it will totally reek or be funny as the south park movie)

Ted Turner and his merry band of jokers need to have thier hands slapped hard in a big time jail and the pocket book opened to set an example of what is proper and correct in advertizing.