Comments on: Turner To Pay $2M For Boston Bomb Scare

Agreement With Several Agencies Resolves Any Potential Civil Or Criminal Claims

[creeper00]

I believe if you check, you will find that Ted Turner is no longer the head of Turner Broadcasting.

[randalds]

Sounds like Turner is going to have the last laugh. What a bunch of dorks! You can't buy that kind of publicity and for $2M that's a steal! I do find it hard to believe, however, that there was $2M worth of aggravation caused by the stunt. I think Turner is being made to pay because everyone involved in the "scare" was made a complete and total fool of. Again, DORKS!
Posted by ajaxrose1 at 01:03 PM : Feb 05, 2007

Right on! $2 million? Pocket change to Ted and he made out like a bandit on the free publicity. the people of Boston should recall or fire whatever morons they have in charge of their "homeland security" for this joke!

[dualdragons]

I lack the background of this article, but have seen some comments in general that I'll address from a public safety point of view.

Having one suspicious device at an intersection. Proper support would be 2 engine companies, one medical, one hazmat support team, 2 PD units each roadway. Comes up to 8 cops, 2 paramedics, 8 firefithers & around 8 hazmat personnel. This is a LEAN number. Note that most of these folk already have a job of saving lives, they must be replaced immediately. IE Overtime for off duty shift to handle real calls.
Add fuel costs (these vehicles are running), bio suits @ 700.00 each, one time use only. It adds up quick.
How real does a bomb have to look? We evacuate our schools based only on a phone call, should they wait till they verify it's real? Same rules apply to any calls, any location, no matter how benign.

[luvny-2009]

yeah mixed emotions on this one...especially the 1 mil for homeland security...um yeah who's pocket is that going into.....and 1 mil for reimb...yeah right! They had Turner by the you know whats so they took him for all they could get.

[bildooreilly]

Meanwhile they're still going to crucify the two poor bas tards who took a lame job hanging some signs.

[bildooreilly]

You're a lot more likely to get stabbed to death by an illegal than killed by one of these imaginary terrorists. The government never talks about that though!

[thgdriver]

Turner sets fault by paying, he is admitting fault by doing so, he should fire whoever gave him that advice. Now folks that were late for work or inconvenienced at all will be asking him for some free bucks.

[thgdriver]

Ted Turner should not have given them a dime, in fact, if there was a "Stupid tax" in place, Boston would have had to pay off our national debt.

I am sure two million is not spit in the street to this guy, he'll turn it into a tax write off, It's just the idea of a BLACKMAIL PAYOFF to a city for their own idiocy.

Two bomb sniffing dogs could have put this to bed in an hour or so.

[nothappyatall]

Well said thespyshop!


"As part of the settlement, $1 million will be used to reimburse the agencies and $1 million will be used to fund homeland security and other programs."

Reimburse agencies for WHAT? are those people not ALREADY being paid a salary every week or did they have to call in totally NEW people and give them their FIRST paychecks to deal with this issue?

The first instance is already a pre-paid cost whether the employees are used for actual work in the field or sit on their arse at the office playing cards, the cops unless specially called in for specific unscheduled overtime work on their day off are ALREADY being paid that week regardless of whether they arrest 500 criminals or just walk around and issue one parking ticket all week.
There is no increased cost for people doing the job they are already being paid to DO.

This is corporate extorsion, nothing less.

[thgdriver]

If Boston is a measure of intelligence of the people of Massachusetts, Now I know why Ted Kennedy and John Kerry keep their jobs in the Senate.

The other nine city's must be kicking themselves in the As$ for not over reacting to the harmless signs and getting some "we are morons" free money.

[tvgenius]

Turner establishes a ridiculous precedent by giving in to this ***. Menino is a loon.

[tuckerndfw]

Al qaida decided to create a new department to build various devices and plant them in US cities.

If "terrorist fighters" (aka "Department of Homeland (in)Security) are so ignorant and/or incompetent they don't know the difference between a light bulb and a bomb, there is no reason to waste money building bombs.

US cities can be brought to their knees with batteries & light bulbs.

Which isn't surprising since the US was defeated by 19 guys with boxcutters and commercial airplanes.

Their cost: $100,000 (including motels, travel, food, drink, etc.)

US cost: $1,000,000,000,000 (so far & counting)

At that rate, the US will go bankrupt and disappear as a nation within 20 years.

The "war on terror" is a waste of time & money and having police agencies GROSSLY overreact serves no one other than those who profit from that overreaction.

[thespyshop-2009]

Hoax device? Disorderly conduct? We're all in trouble; my LED sign hanging in my business might attract homeland security. I suppose we'll all have to place stickers on our signs attesting to the fact that it's not a bomb. Only in America!

[inventagod]

Another million to fund the already bloated 'Homeland Suckurity' mega-bureaucracy?

And just where does this 'Homeland' BS come from? Isn't the USA a 'melting-pot'?

[smlechten-2009]

I'm also concerned that if this item was even remotely considered to resemble a threat that it took a week to respond. Aparently no one noticed or was concerned for quite some time. I'm guessing that Boston's public services needed some additional funding and decided over-reacting to Turner's light-brite campaign seemed like a good way to get it. Of course Turner, with super-deep pockets, would pay - it's cheaper to settle than fight, and everyone is right it is excellent publicity. I will not be moving to Boston anytime soon, for the cost of living in that area, I'd have to at least be able to pretend that I'm safe. If that's all it takes to fool them in Bean Town, I couldn't do even pretend.

[ajaxrose1]

Sounds like Turner is going to have the last laugh. What a bunch of dorks! You can't buy that kind of publicity and for $2M that's a steal! I do find it hard to believe, however, that there was $2M worth of aggravation caused by the stunt. I think Turner is being made to pay because everyone involved in the "scare" was made a complete and total fool of. Again, DORKS!

[smb221]

These signs turn up on Ebay yet? I want one.
Posted by cbscrash07 at 12:03 PM : Feb 05, 2007

Yep. People have been buying them for about $700.

[tuckerndfw]

$50 million (at least) in publicity for $2 million?

Sounds like a real bargain.

His ad agency should be given a bonus for their outstanding work.

And, Boston's "terrorist fighters" should all be fired and the agency retired. If they can't tell the difference between a sign and a bomb, they are a waste of money.

[jacemelridge]

I want to clarify my first comment. This thing was not sealed up in box you couldn't see. All the components were exposed. Doesn't homeland security / bomb squad own a good set of binoculars and see the this was just led's and batteries and the small components needes to run this thing.

[jacemelridge]

If any first responder cannot tell the difference between that thing and a bomb I am very worried about our future.