Homeland Security: Possible attack before election

Shucks I thought the world was safer since we invaded Iraq...

 

FBI: Look Out for Hidden Bombers
Friday, May 21, 2004
By Peter Brownfeld


WASHINGTON — The next domestic terrorist attack may come in the form of homicide bombings, the FBI warned law enforcement officials in a bulletin released on Thursday.

In the lightly classified intelligence bulletin, the FBI (search) said some telltale signs of a homicide bomber would be heavy bulky clothing on warm days, a chemical smell or people wearing jackets with wires hanging out. Bombers may also tightly clench their fists in which they could be gripping detonators.

The bulletin also warns that a terrorist could disguise himself by wearing a public safety uniform or by dressing as a pregnant woman.

"The most important thing we have is people's awareness," said Richard Dietl, a former New York Police Department detective. "You've got to go out there and tell the police if you think something is wrong."

Officials said the bulletin was not prompted by new information but served as a reminder for local law enforcement to be on the lookout. The Department of Homeland Security (search) has been on alert for such attacks for some time. In March 2003, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge told Fox News he believed "we have to prepare for the inevitability" of homicide bombings in the United States.


The bulletin, which was issued to 18,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide, comes as there are increased fears about a variety of threats.

The discovery last week of a concealed infrared electronic device on train tracks near Philadelphia sparked investigations and renewed concern for rail safety in the northeast corridor.

"The conclusion has not been reached as to why it was there," said Asa Hutchinson, the Homeland Security under secretary for border and transportation security. "It's unexplained. It shouldn't have been there."

Rail safety has been a heightened concern since the March Madrid train bombings (search), which killed nearly 200 people. Some law enforcement personnel worried that attack could be a prelude to a similar bombing in America.

Hutchinson told Fox News that in light of the Madrid attack, "we're being more careful." Commenting on rail security, he added, "A lot is being done that the public is not aware of, from surveillance and sensors to uniformed police."

But lawmakers are unconvinced, butting heads with the administration and complaining that rail security efforts are moving too slowly.

In a congressional hearing earlier this month, Rep. Ed Markey (search), D-Mass., railed against the administration's efforts to improve security. "Although we have seen what happened in Madrid, we have deployed just a fraction of the resources possible," Markey said.

On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security announced new measures to expand rail security. The directives include instructing rail owners and operators to ask passengers and employees to report unattended property or suspicious behavior.

It also requires operators to use bomb-sniffing dogs when needed and in some locations to remove trash receptacles, except clear plastic or bomb-resistant trash containers.

These measures are part of a series of initiatives that include vulnerability assessments, more training for rail personnel and more funds to improve rail and transit security in urban areas.

A sign of the added security and worry is that two of Amtrak's Washington bound Acela high speed trains were stopped Thursday night and searched by Amtrak police officers and canines. The trains were delayed for 40 minutes, but there is no word yet specifically on why they were stopped.

Trucks coming into New York City are also being scrutinized as there is a continuing concern about high profile targets there.

Hutchinson said defending the public from a truck bomb is particularly difficult. "In a free society, you can't stop every truck," he said, adding it is important for the industry to be proactive in policing itself and identifying threats.

Law enforcement officials tell Fox News that much of the information out there is unspecific, but overall the picture points to foreign terrorists planning a terror strike in the United States.


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,120577,00.html

 

Is it a guy with bad BO and funky cologne or chemical weapons?
Are those headphones for an iPod or a wire to a bomb?
Is that guy jogging or is that guy in a sweat suit running with his fists clenched a bomber?
Is that a pregnant or fat girl or is that junk in the trunk a WMD?
Should I tell that cop or is he Al Queda in disguise?

Oh Jeebus, I'll just stay home!

 

I don't know, but my cab driver was named Muhammed Islam this morning. Although I guess I'd be more worried if his name was Jesus Christ.

 

You need to grow some nuts in your backyard while your at it

 

Deez Nuts?

 

Not Deez Nuts? But Deez Nuts!


deez nuts - Urban Dictionary
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=deez+nuts


The logical extension, which replaces the former expression "in your face", which is superior in that it give specific information about WHAT is in your face. It is indicated in such a way as to imply that a bold act of superiority indicates, or more precisely, is a result of, superior genitalia.

Can you use that in a sentence you ask?:
Upon dunking a basketball on someone, and in the process dragging your nuts across his face:

DEEEZ NUTS!

 

I've never heard that definition, I prefer the original etymology:

"... Did what’s his name get at’cha yesterday?”
“Who?”
“Deez nuts!”
- NWA

 

Okay, so more than half of my students fit this description. They definitely wear heavy bulky clothing, including big fat jackets and incredibly baggy pants (isn't that out of style yet?). Many of them wear noxious perfumes and colognes. Most of them have IPOD-type wires hanging all over the place.

I'm still waiting to hear what I can do to make America safer, (other than getting the current set of robber barons as far from the executive branch as possible come November).

Should I cover my students in duct tape, tackle them, or just call the FBI each and every time I see one of my students?

 

B-Bob, all you have to do is vote for Bush. Doy.

 

Look ma, no wires! And I'm a cyborg!

Speaking of such, didn't one of the two of us, ohh, I don't know, say JUMP OFF A CLIFF AND SPONTANEOUSLY EXPLODE!!!??!!????

 

My bad.

Will my students wear pants that fit if I vote for Bush? I can't complain about the IPOD wires, because I really want an IPOD. ... And ya know, this Bush guy is almost making sense when I think about it: my BIG tax relief would have almost covered an IPOD. Wow!

PS -- Spectreman, don't raise your arms like that. Forget the smell, but we hate seeing your codpiece constrict your pants like that.

 

Why can't our government just be more like Batman (the real one, not Jones)? Do you see him running around yelling about how the Joker wants to kill us and that we should help him by "being on the lookout"? No, he just plans our defense in the Batcave, uses his technology we don't know exists, and then kicks the Joker's ass.

He doesn't want us to panic because then we just get in his way.

Batman is cool.

 

rimbaud, excellent post, but you are now but one genre away from the whole, sad Spectre-cle of our old, bad afternoon TV references.

By the way, I dressed as Batman for three straight Halloweens when I was a young'un.

 

Well, we do know that missile defense technology doesn't exist, but we're deploying that....

 

Do you know what is telling? I'll tell you:

Whenever terror alerts or just terror in general is discussed, look at where the finger pointing occurs:

Conservatives: Point the finger at terrorists who kill innocent civilians and behead people on videotape.

Liberals: Do not lay blame with the terrorists, but instead choose to point fingers at the Americans who protect us from terrorists.

THAT is telling. Isn't it amazing how warped people can become when their hatred clouds their judgment? The fact that many liberals would rather take the opportunity to rail against the Administration instead of rationally denouncing those who commit terror is something that is very disturbing.

 

yes

 

You should Never...Ever...have told me that.

 

Whatever, spiderman.

I'm still waiting for concrete suggestions on what I can do to make America safer, instead of non-sequitor rhetoric about the goes-without-saying fact that we all ultimately blame terrorists for their actions. This thread is about hopelessly vague warnings issues by officials that at least 50% of the nation does NOT trust.

I am trying to be positive and take the suggestion that I join the effort to make America safer. What can I do that does not involve voting for Bush and/or some use of duct tape?