Security Warning Issued to Mass Transit

[cal04]

U.S. mass transit systems should remain alert against possible terror attacks, the Homeland SecurityDepartment said in a new warning that highlighted suspicious activity at unnamed European subway stations last fall. Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said Wednesday there is no specific or credible intelligence to indicate U.S. transit systems are being targeted, and he described the notice, sent Tuesday, as a routine reminder for transit authority operators, state security advisers and police to remain on guard.

At issue were two incidents last November of what the notice described as a foreign man who was arrested in an unnamed European city after videotaping the interior and exterior of several subway cars and stations, including trash cans and stairwells. The man taped nearly 17 minutes of subway pictures, the notice said, but "the camera contained no footage of tourist sites." Three other people were later arrested for similar activity, the notice said.

The incidents "prove indications of continued terrorist interest in mass transit systems as targets, and potentially useful insights of the terrorists' surveillance techniques," said the notice, a copy of which was read to The Associated
Press. It added: "DHS has no credible or specific intelligence regarding active plots targeting U.S. mass transit systems."

Knocke said Homeland Security has no immediate plans to raise the nation's terror threat alert level. It was not immediately clear why the arrests six months ago would prompt the new notice. However, Knocke said it was not connected to Wednesday's sentencing verdict of al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui, who was sentenced to life in prison.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/transit_warning

[displacedtexan]

1. Did anyone bother to ask that guy if he's a filmmaker?

There are millions of indy filmmakers, shooting all kinds
of footage for all kinds of reasons.

[Bridget Burke]

34. Houston's recent FotoFest...

Featured some "collage" photos. They were pieced together from pictures of traffic signs & other non-picturesque items of urban life. The result was quite interesting.

[TygrBright]

2. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooo!!!! A FOREIGN man in a EUROPEAN city!!!

WTF?!?

baffledly,
Bright

[lvx35]

3. After the alternative transportation again.

So here's Bin Laden pissed off because America is propping up the Saud family who permits our military presence there because of our oil interests in the region...And the solution? Attack mass transit, MAKE the americans buy more gas and drive their cars so we are more dependant on Saudi oil! WTF?

[Dr.Phool]

4. Massoui is not dead.

He can attack at any time.

[AndyTiedye]

5. Trying To Scare People Back Into Their Cars, Are They?

Just when transit ridership is way up due to $3++ gas.

[SoCalDem]

6. Well of course.. It's coming up on "vacation" season

Gotta have all the people fearful..

the only thing to fear, is fear itself..check

what next, Karl?

he's been a busy litle buckaroo, hasn't he. he's whipped up a xenophobic shitstorm, and yet still found time to worry about the traveling thing :)

[hang a left]

7. Hmmmmm

Who was it that timelined the terror attack warnings with the BIG revelations in the Plame case. No Fitz sightings today however but....there is always Friday.

[hootinholler]

35. No Fitz sightings?

How's This thread work for ya?

-Hoot

[BrklynLiberal]

8. Where's that graph that matches Bush's ratings and terror alerts?

With the low ratings now, a terror alert of some sort was inevitable.
:eyes:

[bananas]

13. here's one

http://juliusblog.blogspot.com/2004_08_01_juliusblog_archive.html#109174332697993966

There's a link to the chart on his homepage http://juliusblog.blogspot.com/
it's the second item under "Our Greatest Hits"
the link is called "Chart: Terror Alerts Vs. Bush Ratings"

[BrklynLiberal]

14. Thank you. Thank you very much.

:hi:

[sofa king]

32. Terra! Terra! Terra!

The short version is this: often, when the Treasongate investigation becomes news, the White House finds it expedient to issue new terror warnings, sometimes in advance of the Treasongate news.

Patrick Fitzgerald also has a habit of making his announcements on Friday afternoons. We know he's close to wrapping up this phase of the grand jury investigations.

Last week I predicted that there would be terror warnings issued today, because I was also predicting that Karl Rove will be indicted tomorrow.

Am I correct? Probably not. But we'll know tomorrow, if it comes. Just so I can claim I won the trifecta, here's one last guess: Andy Card either gets indicted or is revealed to be cooperating with the investigation, because he is turned.

[orleans]

33. damn! i hope your psychic! n/t

[Rex]

9. Scare people away from mass transit to keep the extortion money

from gas prices rolling in! What scum.

[pinniped]

10. THey arrested these guys for failing to have tourist sites on their....

video footage?

the camera contained no footage of tourist sites.

Would they have let them go had this not been the case?

Maybe these guys consider the exterior of the subway station a tourist site.

THis is freaking stupid.

These incidents prove absolutely nothing.

The incidents "prove indications of continued terrorist interest in mass transit systems as targets, and potentially useful insights of the terrorists' surveillance techniques," said the notice, a copy of which was read to The Associated Press.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

25. Truly, as one interested in transit, I take pictures of train stations,

bicycle parking lots, bicycle garages, and other facilities in Japan and in American cities.

[truthisfreedom]

11. trashcans i have known and loved...

not.

what a weird world.

[MADem]

12. Christ, next thing ya know, they'll start up with the color chart again!!

Everything from LOW = Same shit, different day, to SEVERE = Kiss Yer ass goodbye.

Oi, vey....this crying wolf nonsense is getting REALLY old.

[valerief]

15. People have been switching to mass transit since the gas hikes.

Gotta get them back in their cars and FUELING UP! How better to do that than to scare 'em out of the subways!

[superconnected]

16. How does the right wing rule - off fear and hatred.

Maybe they're turning up the heat to make us afraid so will bomb Iran.

Must fear the terrorists. IRAN is the real reason the two towers feel. Any minute Bin Laden will have been enabled by Iran. :sarcasm:

[Coastie for Truth]

17. Back in the 60's "Subway Crime"

was the scare phrase to hire lots of cops for subway trains and platforms in Philadelphia, NY, and Chicago.

Maybe we can hire TSA baggage screener types to ride subways and buses.

[high density]

18. Somebody call Lt. Zachary Garber

He'll fix it up.

[sweetheart]

19. Why massachussetts

I guess they're attacking boston to take beacon hill.... uuhh...

wrong century. ;-)

[arwalden]

20. Terra! Terra! Code Red!! Terra!! Be Afraid!!

[UpInArms]

31. I think I found the background "chatter" that started this alert:

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

21. 6 months out...

From the midterms and here come the warnings. 6 months almost to the day.

We're not supposed to notice.

[reprobate]

22. I smell a ROVE. Ever get the feeling we'd be safer WITHOUT DHS?

[truthisfreedom]

23. "we wanted to remind you to be afraid, be very afraid."

"just in case you forgot to be afraid, be very afraid."

[Javaman]

24. HLS: don't use mass transit, it takes away revenue from the oil co...nt.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

26. If I were trying to really disrupt and terrify an American city

I'd go after the freeways, which are (sad to say) what most Americans commute on, especially in the Sunbelt.

I read in the Portland Oregonian online a few months ago that Homeland Security criticized Portland's transit system for having a large "fareless square" in the downtown area. Why, just ANYONE could hop on and off at will! (As if paying whatever the fare is these days would stop a determined terrorist.)

[savemefromdumbya]

27. 5/5 or 6/6/6

another GJ-Libby day May 5 and the devil day on 6/6/2006 (666)

[Norquist Nemesis]

28. Just a little routine reminder

BOO!

[magellan]

29. DHS can bite me

BushCo's long campaign of fear, propaganda and lies matched with their blatant disregard for factual vulnerabilities and threats makes them a piss poor source of valuable information. I don't believe anything these MFers say anymore.

[TommyO]

30. You can tell that election time is getting closer

now that the Terra alerts are coming out again.