For those who missed it:

Suspicious objects found throughout Boston after morning bomb scare

- http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2007/01/bomb_squad_remo.html?

By John R. Ellement, Mac Daniel, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The discovery of suspicious objects on bridges, near a medical center, underneath an interstate, and in other crowded public places has ignited fears across Boston, snarling traffic and sending state and local police scrambling across the city.

None of the suspicious objects have been determined to be bombs. It was not immediately clear if the incidents were connected or part of some elaborate hoax.

A law enforcement source who has been briefed on the investigation said officials have found "commonality" among some, but not all, of the objects recovered by Boston, state and transit police throughout the day.

None of the objects examined by police contained explosives, the source said.

Governor Deval Patrick told the Associated Press: "It's a hoax -- and it's not funny."

Investigators have found that at least two of the packages that were similar -- both were composed of electronic circuit boards with LED lights attached. No one has called to claim responsibility for any of the items, the law enforcement source said.

The source said it appears the object scrutinized by State Police on the Longfellow Bridge may not be connected to the objects that were found with electronic equipment. The item on the Longfellow Bridge may have been left behind some time ago by a bridge maintenance crew.

The Coast Guard has closed the Charles River to all water traffic from the Museum of Science to the locks where the river flows into Boston Harbor because of the reports of bombs on several bridges, according to Chief Petty Officer Scott Carr.

This afternoon, investigators found a device on the BU Bridge today "similar to the Sullivan Square" package that forced the closure this morning of northbound Interstate 93, said Jennifer Mieth, spokeswoman for state fire marshal Stephen Coan, whose office oversees the State police Bomb Squad.

Like the item found at the Sullivan Square station, the BU package was attached to the underpinnings of the bridge.

"It was not an explosive device," she said of the suspicious item found on the BU Bridge.

State police bomb experts examined another suspicious item -- similar in construction to the items found at Sullivan Station and on the BU Bridge -- that was found attached to the Longfellow Bridge, which spans the Charles River from Boston to Cambridge.

Boston police are separately investigating suspicious items at Columbus and Stuart streets and near the New England Medical Center.
Storrow drive was closed at 2 p.m., according to State Police. Thirty minutes later police opened one eastbound lane to traffic.

According to Boston police, traffic from Charles Street is being blocked from entering Storrow Drive while several law enforcement agencies investigate more suspicious objects.

The MBTA suspended service on the Red Line for about 15 minutes between Park and Kendall stations. By 2:35 p.m., the T resumed service on the line.

Posted by the Boston Globe City & Region Desk at 04:10 PM

What a twist!

- http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2007/01/suspicious_pack.html

Suspicious packages part of Turner Broadcasting marketing campaign

By Mac Daniel and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Turner Broadcasting acknowledged late this afternoon that the suspicious packages that ignited fears of bombs across Boston today were magnetic lights that were part of an outdoor marketing campaign for an adult cartoon.

Turner was promoting Adult Swim's animated television show "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" in Boston and nine other cities, according to a statement e-mailed by Shirley Powell, a company spokeswoman.

"Parent company Turner Broadcasting is in contact with local and federal law enforcement on the exact locations of the billboards," the state an e-mail statement said. "We regret that they were mistakenly thought to pose any danger."

Posted by the Boston Globe City & Region Desk at 04:53 PM

Hey Capt. saab,
Long time no talk !! What's up? How have u been??
Twist indeed..that's being irresponsible though..

Hey SNDY!

How are you? Yeah, it's been a while - hope you have been well :) Have been a bit busy of late - nothing extraordinary going on - just the same old stuff but at neck-breaking pace! :P

Yeah, totally irresponsible of them to do this. Hope they dont get away with it scot-free

:)

I'm fine too..been a little lazy lately..it's that time of the year I guess !! Hope to see u around..Have fun :)

Source: - http://www.boston.com

Men accused of hoax plead not guilty

By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff



Sean Stevens (left), 28, and Peter Berdovsky, 27, today pleaded not guilty to disorderly conduct and placing a hoax device that caused panic. (Globe Story, George Rizer Photo)

The two men accused of plunging metropolitan Boston into a panic with illuminated advertisements for a cartoon pleaded not guilty today in a courtroom packed with supporters and a crush of reporters.

The two men smiled broadly throughout much of the brief proceeding as Assistant District Attorney John Grossman described the battery-powered characters as "bomb-like devices." The men, Peter Berdovsky, 27, and Sean Stevens, 28, face charges of placing a hoax device in a way that causes panic and disorderly conduct.

The artists shuffled into Boston Municipal Court in handcuffs. Stevens was particularly animated, grinning at the gallery of about 40 supporters and raising his cuffed hand to give a low wave.

Judge Paul K. Leary seemed skeptical of the state's case, telling Grossman that the law requires that people must intend to create a panic to be charged with placing hoax devices. This case, the judge said, seemed to involve two men who relatives say were paid to place unorthodox advertisements throughout the city.

Grossman said that was a discussion for another hearing. The two men were ordered held on $2,500 cash bail, which they are expected to post later today.

Posted by the Boston Globe City & Region Desk at 11:18 AM

THE GUY IN THE DREAD HAS BEEN IN THE BOSTON PARTY SCENE FOR A LONG TIME.
HE MAKES LED'S FOR ALL KINDS OF EVENTS. HE HAS BEEN IN THE PARTY SCENE SINCE THE EARLY 90'S. HE MAKES LED'S FOR ALL KINDS OF MUSIC FESTIVALS, LIKE THE BURNING MAN, FIREFLY, SERPENT RAINBOW, ETC. ETC
THEIR STUDIO IS IN FORT POINT CHANNEL AREA.

Oh wow bathroom genius is so well versed in such cool things such as festivals and he's even been in the party scene for a long time. He must be one heck of a cool person. Salute to you! Don't take it otherwise.

Bathroom Coffee -

Jeez, the company you keep! :P

Kidding - hope all is well.

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More on the two. There is a funny, if not outright stupid side to it all :)

Source: - http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2007/02/artists_perform.html

Artists perform at post-arraignment press conference

By Raja Mishra, Globe Staff

Moments after facing a judge on felony charges, the two defendants in the cartoon character ploy that panicked the region were all smiles and jokes, staging a mocking press conference this afternoon outside the Charlestown courthouse in which they deflected questions about their culpability with non sequiter quips about their hair.

"Hair today, gone tomorrow," said Sean Stevens, 28, when asked about the charges.

Stevens and Peter Berdovsky, 27, pleaded not guilty to charges of placing a hoax device and disorderly conduct. Authorities say the two men were responsible for placing 38 electronic signs depicting characters from the "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" program on Cartoon Network as part of a guerilla marketing campaign for the show.

Surrounded by reporters, Berdovsky stroked his lengthy dreadlocks and delivered a discourse on haircut styles in the 1970s, Afros, and the Beatles' hair styles.

"We are only taking questions on hair," he said.

The men's lawyer, Michael L. Rich, stood awkwardly by their side.

"He's a performance artist," said Rich. "If you don't like what you are seeing here, why don't you leave them alone."

The two criminal defendents alternately smiled and made ironic grimaces. "I'm quite enjoying this," said Berdovsky.

After a few minutes, clearly frustrated reporters walked away and the two men left.

Posted by the Boston Globe City & Region Desk at 12:47 PM

Howdy Capn'
They should blame the marketing company not the LED makers. These guys were basically following what the marketing team asked them to do.

I am cool rey RaatoBiach ? Really ? hmm.. Well versed rey ? ha ha ha R those thiongs to read ? he he No need to salute me just gimme an egg from your chicken that would suffice.

BathroomBiatch you are sooo cool. You even know people who are in the news. Rock on dude.

Oh stop it you two.

I dunno which one is worse. The homeland security not being able to identify that they were just LED's ? Or the Boston city's unpreparedness in case such an event takes place, and the Mayor getting pissed that their resources were drained. These 2 guys were just following instruction

Btw Raatobiach he goes by Zebler to his frens. he he

True. Generation gap responsible for bomb scare, eh? :)

Check this out: - http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/02/01/marketing_gambit_exposes_a_wide_generation_gap/?p1=MEWell_Pos3

Marketing gambit exposes a wide generation gap


A graphic from the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim website showed the Err character from "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" that was depicted on some of the devices found yesterday.

By Michael Levenson and Maria Cramer, Globe Staff | February 1, 2007

Todd Vanderlin, a 22-year-old design student, had just left Lucky's lounge in South Boston two weeks ago when he spotted what looked like an alien glowing on the side of a bridge. He pulled out his digital camera, photographed the illuminated plastic figure, and posted the images on his blog.

"I knew it was art, and I knew it was part of the Adult Swim ads, because I saw a billboard for the same thing," said Vanderlin, referring to a series of cartoons on cable television. "I see it in New York all the time."

But yesterday, a subway worker less attuned to the latest in underground marketing techniques called the police after spotting one of the "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" cartoon characters on an overpass in Charlestown. The terrorism scare that followed touched off a massive response from police. When it was discovered that the electronic boards were only ads for a cartoon, serious condemnation flowed from Washington and Boston.

The episode exposed a wide generational gulf between government officials who reacted as if the ads might be bombs and 20-somethings raised on hip ads for Snapple, Apple, and Google who instantly recognized the images for what they were: a viral marketing campaign.

Among many in the young generation, reaction to the scare was smirking. "Repeat after me, authorities. L-E-D. Not I-E-D. Get it?" one 29-year-old blogger from Malden wrote on his website, contrasting light emitting diodes with improvised explosive devices.

Elected officials said there is no room for battery-powered contraptions on bridges and overpasses in a post Sept. 11 world.

"Scaring an entire region, tying up the T and major roadways, and forcing first responders to spend 12 hours chasing down trinkets instead of terrorists is marketing run amok," said US Representative Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Malden. "It would be hard to dream up a more appalling publicity stunt."

The ads were the latest incarnation of viral marketing, an advertising technique that is exploding in popularity as a way to reach younger consumers inured to the effects of traditional commercials. Like viruses, the ads are intended to spread on their own, creating word-of-mouth buzz by cropping up in unexpected places outdoors and on the Internet.

The company behind the ads for "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" was New York-based Interference Inc., whose chief executive officer, Sam Travis Ewen, was recently named one of Brandweek Magazine's Guerrilla Marketers of the Year. Ewen, who is in his 30s, has also put people on subways to brag about financial advisers and sent models into bars to sit with packs of cigarettes, waiting for someone to ask for a smoke.

Jamie Tedford -- senior vice president of media and marketing innovations at Arnold Worldwide, a Boston-based ad agency -- said there have been recent marketing campaigns that backfired. He cited Wal-Mart's decision to post a blog about a fictitious couple driving cross-country to different Wal-Mart stores. The company did not disclose that it had created the blog, angering some buyers.

But Tedford said he could not recall a recent marketing campaign involving objects that were mistaken for bombs or any campaign that had that caused a citywide panic.

"You'd almost have to go back to 'War of the Worlds,' " he said, referring to the famous 1938 radio broadcast by Orson Welles. "We would all agree that this has crossed a line."

Turner Broadcasting System Inc., which broadcasts "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" on its Cartoon Network, could have saved itself the controversy by warning local authorities this was a marketing campaign, Tedford said.

Boston was one of 10 cities around the nation where the guerilla ads appeared, but nowhere else did they cause security concerns and set a city on edge.

"The hardcore watchers of that show would know it's a character, but the majority of people in these cities do not know that," Tedford said. "Turner has failed on the disclosure issue."

Turner executives said they did not forewarn local authorities, because they never imagined the campaign would cause alarm. "It was not our intent to do anything but get attention for a television series, period," Phil Kent, chairman and chief executive of Turner, said in an interview last evening.

That was apparent to many young consumers. After Vanderlin posted the images on his blog, Ewen shot him an e-mail: "I am glad you got one of the adult swim signs; there are others out there as well so keep looking up," Ewen wrote. He added he hoped people would take them as souvenirs.

Vanderlin, a student at Parson School of Design in New York City, said he was stunned to see police bomb squads swoop in and remove the characters.

"It's so not threatening -- it's a Lite-Brite," he said, referring to a popular children's game. "I don't understand how they could be terrified. I would understand if it was a bunch of circuits blinking but it wasn't. . . . It was clearly a design."

Next thing we hear is some mother being sued for throwing away diapers and homeland security not being able to identify those.

What do you get when you get 2 guys playing with each other with one single identity? One jhilkey homo!

Hopefully, this will be the end of it.
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From : - http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2007/02/turner_broadcas.html

Monday, February 5, 2007
Turner Broadcasting agrees to pay $2 million

By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff

Attorney General Martha Coakley announced this morning that Turner Broadcasting System will pay about $2 million in restitution and other compensation for last week's bomb scares that paralyzed parts of the Boston region.

The settlement for the guerrilla marketing campaign that went wrong includes $1 million to reimburse cities for their out-of-pocket expenses for the police response. It also includes about $1 million in "goodwill funds" to be divided among the state, the MBTA, the US Coast Guard, Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville for homeland security awareness and emergency preparedness.

The deal frees Turner Broadcasting, the parent company of the Cartoon Network, and the New York marketing company the Cartoon Network hired, Interference Inc., of any criminal or civil liability for the episode.

Turner Broadcasting and Interference Inc. also issued a statement accepting responsibility and acknowledging that authorities responded appropriately to the publicity campaign gone awry.

"We understand that in today's post-September 11 environment, it was reasonable and appropriate for citizens and law enforcement officials to take any perceived threat by our light boards very seriously and to respond as they did," the statement says.
The battery-powered, lighted electronic boards, depicting a cartoon character making an obscene gesture, promoted the "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" show. Nearly 40 of the signs were installed around Boston, including on bridges and overpasses. Bomb squads responded and police shut down highways, subway lines, and the Charles River last Wednesday when people who spotted the signs reported suspicious devices.

Two area men hired by Interference, Peter Berdovsky, 27, and Sean Stevens, 28, each face a felony charge of placing a hoax device in a way that causes panic and a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct.

Coakley said that prosecutors have started talking to lawyers for the men about a possible resolution of the criminal charges before trial.

$2 million, still a cheap deal for Turner for the attention they got.

Capt,Bath and Rato why don't you guys go out on a date instead of carrying on this thread ...

Hehehehehe

Agreed, Shirish. Hopefully this will be a lesson for everyone (although a part of me still thinks it was overblown)

KaleKanchaa - Bad idea!

Captain,
I was not trying to offend you all or anything, thought just shoot that line.

Hehehehehe

No offense taken, KaleKanccha:)

Have a good one and see you around.