OT: What good are the random searches in NY?

[Dave Hinz]

Unless your senator is Russ Feingold, your senator didn't vote against it. Have you taken it up with them?

[David]

I'll stop LONG before we get to 300...

An article on Google news reminded me of this: we are such a running-scared government that we have to spend more money to feed the scum bags at GitMo than other prisoners because they "need" a special diet!!! SCREW their special dietary needs! Feed them, but don't spend additional funds to provide a diet that keeps the protesters happy!

Dave

[David]

oh, just the rude comment about my age. :) That's not the sort of thing we should be getting into if we are to have a serious discussion on the merits of law enforcement's method of dealing with the terror threat. My point is that in order to appease a segment of society, law enforcement's efforts have been overly expensive and ineffective. I'd like to see a more focused approach taken BEFORE the next big catastrophic event.

Dave

[Dhakala]

It means targeting people based on their appearance. Cops do it all the time to good effect. Searching grannies is just a nod to the civil rights activists.

As for surveillance cameras, they are creeping into U. S. society quite rapidly. All of the park-n-ride lots here in Denver have them, ostensibly to deter thieves. And I don't know what those traffic-light cameras are filming when they're not catching light-runners. :-)

The Brits seem to have taken off their gloves. I see today they ran down a bombing suspect and shot him five times in the head - to avoid setting off any explosives that may have been wired to his body. I presume somebody got a good look at the wires before the guns came out.

[Upscale]

Kind of a thoughtless statement. I can lock you up, impound all your belongings, deny you all access to the outside world and basically deny you any access to legal counsel. But if I feed you well with whatever you want, there's no doubt you'll continue to be happy, right?

[Doug Kanter]

I *hope* somebody had a good reason, and that he wasn't just a suspect for pickpocketing who panicked. On the other hand, anyone who'd mess with the cops in a London subway in the current environment can't be too smart. Darwin at work.

[fredfighter]

This was discussed here not long ago. As I pointed out then, if authorities rely on racist profiling the bombers will simply use people who do not meet the profile. Not only is this pretty obvious on it's face, it has already happened:

Current theory on the Lockerbie bombing is that the bomb was carried onboard in the luggage of a passenger who was deliberately selected by the bomber becuase she did NOT meet the existing profiles.

A similar attempt was thwarted by British authorities because the searched the luggage of a passenger who also did not meet existing profiles.

In both cases the passenger who actually had the bomb in her luggage was not even aware she was carrying a bomb. I'm pretty sure that in both cases the bombs were in checked luggage. I do not think it would be any harder to trick grandma.

Using just a _little_ imagination you can also see how one could recruit or trick such a person into carrying the bomb hidden on their body too. E.g. if the targetted flight is a flight into Saudi Arabia, recruit the patsy to smuggle in a Bible and put the bomb in the Bible.

[Doug Kanter]

I asked your age for a good reason. If you're young enough, you may have no idea about some of the more interesting things the FBI got away with in the late 1960s and early 1970s, with regard to surveillance. But even so, your U.S. history courses should've told you about the McCarthy era. Do not entertain any fantasies about the FBI or any other law enforcement organization knowing when to limit its own powers.

[fredfighter]

You advocate the approach that allowed the bomb aboard the flight that exploded over Lockerbie. No need to search the luggage belonging to a young European Woman.

[David]

I was referring to crackpots; not legislators.

Dave

[David]

they are on a hunger strike, according to news sources just today!

Dave

[Dave Hinz]

Then ask that question to the crackpots. I don't care for Feingold as my senator, but once in a while, he votes the way I agree with, even though I invariably disagree with his reasons.

[fredfighter]

Breathtaking.

[David]

so you are equating the terrorists with some of the folks who were scrutinized back in the McCarthy era??? Wake up and notice how the world has changed in the past few years! Ham string the authorities enough, and you just might pay the price with your life.

Dave

[fredfighter]

If they are not searched, then they are the ones who will be used to carry bombs.

Pretty obvious, isn't it?

Been done twice recently too, only they were younger.

[Dave Hinz]

You are going out of your way to intentinally miss his points, over and over. It's the only explanation.

...and if you think that history doesn't repeat itself, over decades and centuries, you haven't studied it well enough...

Dave Hinz

[David]

true, the terrorists HAVE changed tactics lately with regards to choosing the types of sympathizers to carry out their evil deeds. Will all our best efforts be for naught, in the end? Will the bastards win?

Dave

[fredfighter]

Some people are too young to remember some things us old farts take for granted. Then again, the memory is the second to go.

[Doug Kanter]

*I* am not equating movie stars (accused of being Communists during the McCarthy era) with terrorists, but the law enforcement community certainly did exactly that. Do you think these citizens were hauled before senate hearings to practice their acting skills? Hell...they were even sniffing around Einstein's door. Next time this happens, it may not be limited to high visibility individuals. It could be you. If you think this is OK, then you MUST be very young because you have NO idea what life was like in the USSR. Their society was like that WITHOUT threats of terrorism.

[David]

I mis-spoke earlier. His was a rude QUESTION regarding my age, rather than a COMMENT, as he knows not my age.

Dave