| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: WoT |
| ACLU objects to Bomb Searches |
| 2005-07-20 |
| Subway riders may face random police checks of their bags under a security measure being considered in the nation's capital, the latest city to look for ways to deter terrorism on rail systems. No decision has been made on the idea for the city's 106-mile Metrorail system, and the logistics would be difficult. But "it would be another tool in our security toolbox," says Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein. The possibility is one of many ideas being floated here and elsewhere while the terrorist threat level for transit systems remains at "high" after the July 7 terrorist suicide bombings in London's underground rail tunnels. Many of the USA's commuter rail and subway systems are much more difficult to secure than airports because they are vast and open. Several cities have bolstered security by adding to what's already available: more cameras, more bomb-sniffing dogs and more announcements reminding people to report suspicious behavior and packages. Last year, after terrorists bombed rush-hour commuter trains in Madrid, the Homeland Security Department tested explosive detection equipment on some rail passengers at stations in Maryland and Washington, D.C. But because subway systems have so many entrances and exits, it would be impossible to deploy and staff enough of the machines to secure the system. Some transit systems are looking at random searches and increased inspections by bomb-sniffing dogs. In Boston, which has the oldest subway system in the country, police officers and dogs are conducting random checks on commuter trains heading into the city center, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority spokesman Joe Pesaturo says. The canine teams are patrolling the trains but are "not asking anyone to open their bags," he says. Last summer, when the Democratic National Convention came to town, Boston security chiefs approved random passenger checks for several weeks using explosives-detection swabs - high-tech equipment that must be run over the outside of a bag. Officers also stopped all trains before they went under the convention center and checked passengers' bags. Must've been a real treat to regular riders. Can't we get Frequent Rider ID cards? Whaddaya say, ACLU? The American Civil Liberties Union had objected to random searches at all stations - and likely would do the same in Washington. John Reinstein, legal director of the ACLU of Massachusetts, says there's no fair way for transit systems to conduct random searches. "The suggestion that we're just going to do it randomly literally invites abuse and focusing on people who for subjective and unverifiable reasons are more suspect, which means that their skin is a different color," he says. Remember Tim McVey was not a minority, but the majority of boomers appear to be - what? In New York City, where police have dramatically stepped up patrols in the subway since the London bombings, Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman Tom Kelly says there are no plans to conduct random searches. If someone is acting suspicious or a bag is left unattended, the system would take a closer look. "But do we just stop people walking through the door? The answer is no," Kelly says. |
| Posted by:Bobby |
| #12 me thinks that the aclu is a really just a parody. maybe something created by scrappleface. |
| Posted by: macofromoc 2005-07-20 23:36 |
| #11 Odd, isn't it? The ACLU and their reprehensible neo-morals are certainly more offensive to muslims than your average white christian walking down the street. It is a love-hate relationship to be certain. I'm sure the dune loons would love to blow them to hell-and-gone. They probably wouldnt even stop to think that the ACLU is doing their best to help them pull off another attack. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2005-07-20 23:34 |
| #10 I like your thinking mmurray, but with the added chants of allah ackbar, die kufr, and jirka jirka. Maybe a personal visit to their homes. |
| Posted by: ed 2005-07-20 22:51 |
| #9 Nothing will change until the ACLU Lawyuhs are personally affected with harm or potential harm. This is the way of the psychopath. They are unable to feel empathy for others. If it hurts THEM then they will change their tune, not before. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2005-07-20 22:44 |
| #8 Put the bombing suspect and an ACLU representative in an isolated place. If the suspected bomber blows up, two problems have been solved. |
| Posted by: Omoter Gromonter8064 2005-07-20 22:24 |
| #7 I say we send men, 19-32 with dark complexion and dark hair and beards to carry backpacks through all the ACLU's headquarters. Think they would be at all nervous? If they are, they are guilty of predujice by their own standards. Asshats.... |
| Posted by: mmurray821 2005-07-20 22:09 |
| #6 NT - tw's method is actually an excellent response - as long as the lesson is not forgotten. It doesn't pay to stew, it pays to Fuck 'em, lol! |
| Posted by: .com 2005-07-20 21:17 |
| #5 Yeah, trailing wife, my gut response is "Fuck 'em" too. But I'm not making myself a cup of tea and having a bit of a lie down until the feeling passes. |
| Posted by: Neutron Tom 2005-07-20 20:44 |
| #4 What did you think, asshole? They're going to single out 80-year-old Norwegian grandmothers? Why not? That's what they do at airports. |
| Posted by: AzCat 2005-07-20 20:41 |
| #3 The ACLU has gone beyond making a laughingstock of themselves. This is a first: my gut response is "Fuck 'em." I think I shall make myself a cup of tea and have a bit of a lie down until the feeling passes. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-07-20 20:40 |
#2 "The suggestion that we're just going to do it randomly literally invites abuse and focusing on people who for subjective and unverifiable reasons are more suspect, which means that their skin is a different color,"What did you think, asshole? They're going to single out 80-year-old Norwegian grandmothers? I've got a great idea. If the ACLU will guarantee that all their members will travel around DC exclusively by Metro for, say, the next 10 years, the authorities can guarantee no searches on any trains that ACLU members are on. Think they'd go for it? Nah, me neither. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2005-07-20 19:53 |
| #1 ACLU objects to Bomb Searches Subway riders object to bombs. Which involves a higher potential cost? "The suggestion that we're just going to do it randomly literally invites abuse and focusing on people who for subjective and unverifiable reasons are more suspect, which means that their skin is a different color," OK, I'm not up on translating leftist twaddle doublespeak, but did this anus just say that random searches are discriminatory? |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-07-20 19:24 |