This cracks me up:
from The Associated Press
2 Men Held on Bond in Boston Hoax Case
By KEN MAGUIRE, Associated Press Writer
BOSTON (AP) — A judge ordered two men held on bond Thursday for allegedly placing electronic advertising devices around the city, an act that stirred fears of terrorism and shut down parts of Boston.Peter Berdovsky, 27, and Sean Stevens, 28, were held on $2,500 cash bond each after they pleaded not guilty to placing a hoax device and disorderly conduct for a device found Wednesday at a subway station.
Officials found 38 blinking electronic signs promoting the Cartoon Network TV show “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” on bridges and other high-profile spots across the city Wednesday, prompting the closing of a highway and the deployment of bomb squads. The surreal series is about a talking milkshake, a box of fries and a meatball. The network is a division of Turner Broadcasting Systems Inc.
“It’s clear the intent was to get attention by causing fear and unrest that there was a bomb in that location,” Assistant Attorney General John Grossman said at their arraignment.
The 1-foot tall signs, which were lit up at night, 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.
The men did not speak or enter their own pleas, but they appeared amused and smiled as the prosecutor talked about the device found at Sullivan Station underneath Interstate 93, looking like it had C-4 explosive.
“The appearance of this device and its location are crucial,” Grossman said. “This device looks like a bomb.”
Some in the gallery snickered.
Outside the courthouse, Michael Rich, a lawyer for both of the men, said the description of a bomb-like device could be used for any electronic device.
“If somebody had left a VCR on the ground it would have been a device with wires, electronic components and a power source,” he said.
Boston officials were livid when the devices were discovered.
“It is outrageous, in a post 9/11 world, that a company would use this type of marketing scheme,” Mayor Thomas Menino said Wednesday. “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.”
Berdovsky, an artist, told The Boston Globe he was hired by a marketing company and said he was “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 said.
Fans of the show mocked authorities for what they called an overreaction.
About a dozen fans gathered outside Charlestown District Court on Thursday morning with signs saying “1-31-07 Never Forget” and “Free Peter.”
“We’re the laughing stock,” said Tracy O’Connor, 34.
“It’s almost too easy to be a terrorist these days,” said Jennifer Mason, 26. “You stick a box on a corner and you can shut down a city.”
Authorities vowed to hold Turner accountable for what Menino said was “corporate greed,” that led to at least $750,000 in police costs.
As soon as Turner realized the Boston problem around 5 p.m., it said, law enforcement officials were told of their locations in 10 cities where it said the devices had been placed for two to three weeks: Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Ore., Austin, Texas, San Francisco and Philadelphia.
“We apologize to the citizens of Boston that part of a marketing campaign was mistaken for a public danger,” said Phil Kent, chairman of Turner, a division of Time Warner Inc.
Kent said the marketing company that placed the signs, Interference Inc., was ordered to remove them immediately.
Interference had no comment. A woman who answered the phone at the New York-based firm’s offices Wednesday afternoon said the firm’s CEO was out of town and would not be able to comment until Thursday.
Messages seeking additional comment from the Atlanta-based Cartoon Network were left with several publicists.
Authorities are investigating whether Turner or other companies should be criminally charged, Attorney General Martha Coakley 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 believed their city had 56 devices.
The New York Police Department removed 41 of the devices – 38 in Manhattan and three in Brooklyn, according to spokesman Paul Browne. The NYPD had not received any complaints. But when it became aware of the situation, it contacted Cartoon Network, which provided the locations so the devices could be removed.
“Aqua Teen Hunger Force” is a cartoon with a cultish following that airs as part of a block of programs for adults on the Cartoon Network. A feature length film based on the show is slated for release March 23.
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Associated Press Writer Tom Hays in New York contributed to this report.
I would like to let everyone know how stupid they are. I cant believe the amount of people who are so naive they think that the little cartoon advertisements in boston were bombs. And what kind of bomb Squad member would not be able to tell an electronical lighted device from a bomb? It is common public knowledge that the “terrorist attack” on the twin towers was a setup. So why all the fear of a terrorist attack?I’ll tell you. PROPAGANDA!!!!!!! Your government wants you to be afraid. Duh! Fear is how dictatorships, communism,and now our American Government opperate. This needs to End! People the power is yours. you need to take responsibility for this country and this world into your own hands.9/11 was years ago. What has happened since? Nothing! Why? Thats all it took to put the American people into the state of fear that the Government needed. Right before the “attack” the people were dissapointed with there leader. Something needed to be done for the morale of the country. What happened? The same thing the military would do to boost morale Stage an attack get everyone to cooperate and work together. Pretty good strategy huh? It worked on the entire U.S. population. Don’t you realize that its the military and the police force that is controlling this country? That is exactly the reason that our founding fathers fought against Britain to create these United States. They were sick of the taxes and the way Britain was trying to control this country from accross the ocean. look at the story about the police who let a woman have a miscarriage just the other day. Why? because she didn’t have her I.D. on her while she was driving to the hospital. Are these the kind of people you want leading your country? Why are our brothers, sisters, cousins ,uncle, and aunts dying in another country just so we can control their oil? Is this not rediculous to you people? Are you too caught up in television and Brittany Spears’ love life to care about your own families dying in another country for some black sludge underground thats been there for millions of years and will continue to be? OPEN YOUR EYES PEOPLE! TAKE BLANKETS OFF YOUR HEADS FOR GOD’S SAKE. We are letting the wealthy and powerful in this country run it into the ground. Am I the only one in this whole country that can see this? If someone wants to kill themselves slowly with cancer from ciggarettes, is that not there right? Why try to ban them from doing it? why do people think the have to control everything everyone else does? Doe the people of this world teach their children about common sense anymore? Are we beyond thinking for ourselves these days? Or is it just So much easier to let someone else do all the thinking for you? Why is it that when someone doesnt like something they want to make a law against it? what about everyone else? Do they not have a say in the matter? THIS COUNTRY IS GOING DOWN THE TOILET I’M PLEADING WITH YOU PEOPLE NOT TO LET THIS HAPPEN. Do we not care about the lives given by our relatives and ancestors for our freedom? I DO! If you don’t go live elsewhere and let someone else make your decisions for you but leave me and my FREE country alone!!!