Mayor Thomas Menino said the security scare may have cost the city more than $500,000.

Are the bomb squads hired on a fee-for-service basis? I would have thought they were part of the salaried police force, in which case they didn't "cost" anything we weren't already paying. In real terms of additional expenditures, it sounds like we're mostly talking about overtime pay.

Homeland Security Department spokesman Russ Knocke praised Boston authorities for sharing their knowledge quickly with Washington officials and the public.

In other words, Knocke praised the city for its fearmongering and rumor-spreading? I think calling it "knowledge" is a bit rich.

"Hoaxes are a tremendous burden on local law enforcement and counter-terrorism resources and there's absolutely no place for them in a post-9/11 world," Knocke said.

The officials who continue to call them "hoax devices" would seem to be having serious problems with perspective. The definition of hoax, "an act intended to trick or dupe", makes it clear that the suitability of the term rests on the question of intent.

It is quite obvious that Turner did not intend to instill fear in the hearts of city police, the mayor's office, etc. To continue to misapply the term suggests that not only were they duped initially, but that they still don't understand.

An envelope full of white talcum powder, delivered by mail along with a menacingly worded letter to the White House or a member of Congress ... that's a "hoax device".

On Turner's part, a key error was the (apparent) decision not to label the devices with any kind of identifying information. In retrospect, a simple little sticker on the device, saying "Property of Turner Broadcasting System, Managed by Mooninite Outdoor Advertising Inc. Call 800-555-MOON" would have done wonders.

Of course, at this point $500k may be a small price to pay for the publicity that the incident has garnered for ATHF.

RE: Boston Devices a Cartoon Publicity Ploy | ajc.com