Bogus "Homeland Security" window dressing NYC and DC

Was up in NYC over the holiday week went to the American Museum of
Natural History. Nice collection, but my advice is -- get there at 10
AM when it opens, or even earlier. They are doing bag check and metal
detectors. Also, I would recommend checkiing their web site and
buying admission tickets in advance. Even at opening, the lines start
to back up.

Still, it beats coming later when the crowd comes, and the galleries
are a total zoo. Not to mention the fact that by luch time, the lines
snake down the block and around the corner while people are waiting
for the security check.

Which makes the security check sort of bogus. Sure, they might
protect the dinosaur bones and stuffed animals (and the people inside)
from terrorists, but what about the crowds lined up outside?

A similar situation in our Nation's capital. Amtrak is all hopped up
about "orange alert," you need to show an ID to buy a ticket, and they
won't let you on the platform at Union Station until they call the
train's gate. And they also make all arriving passengers leave
through one side door, which can cause a crowd when 2 commuter trains
with 1,000 passengers each arrive at the same time.And departing
passengers line op at the gate, and block traffic in the concourse,
resulting in still more crowds. The vulnerability of such crowds is
obvious. (The same thing holds at apirports where loads of people are
lined up at security checkpoints.)

All these cops and soldiers waving their guns about, and officious
security bureaucrats, it's all window dressing. They won't do much for
"homeland security." The Prez needs to get his security apparatus to
focus on intelligence work (out of the limelight) and make politcal
and diplomatic moves that will stop encouraging young people from
becoming terrorists.

And, by the way, it's no good focusing on middle-eastern types,
becuase (1) Arabs are physically indistinguishable from Israelis so
all an Arab terrorist has to do is go to a judge and change his name
to, say, "Moshe Cohen,", and (2) there's a real threat from right-wing
aryan Tom McVeigh wannabes. (A big terrorist bust in Texas invloving
right wingers got almost no media coverage.) So what we gotta worry
about is some red-neck Texan coming to Washington and taking over all
the government offices....

Awwww, shoot..... to late, Dubya's here, it's already happened.


Abe

Abe Kouris wrote:

Was up in NYC over the holiday week went to the American Museum of
Natural History. Nice collection, but my advice is -- get there at 10
AM when it opens, or even earlier. They are doing bag check and metal
detectors. Also, I would recommend checkiing their web site and
buying admission tickets in advance. Even at opening, the lines start
to back up.

Still, it beats coming later when the crowd comes, and the galleries
are a total zoo. Not to mention the fact that by luch time, the lines
snake down the block and around the corner while people are waiting
for the security check.

Which makes the security check sort of bogus. Sure, they might
protect the dinosaur bones and stuffed animals (and the people inside)
from terrorists, but what about the crowds lined up outside?

A similar situation in our Nation's capital. Amtrak is all hopped up
about "orange alert," you need to show an ID to buy a ticket, and they
won't let you on the platform at Union Station until they call the
train's gate. And they also make all arriving passengers leave
through one side door, which can cause a crowd when 2 commuter trains
with 1,000 passengers each arrive at the same time.And departing
passengers line op at the gate, and block traffic in the concourse,
resulting in still more crowds. The vulnerability of such crowds is
obvious. (The same thing holds at apirports where loads of people are
lined up at security checkpoints.)

All these cops and soldiers waving their guns about, and officious
security bureaucrats, it's all window dressing. They won't do much for
"homeland security." The Prez needs to get his security apparatus to
focus on intelligence work (out of the limelight) and make politcal
and diplomatic moves that will stop encouraging young people from
becoming terrorists.

And, by the way, it's no good focusing on middle-eastern types,
becuase (1) Arabs are physically indistinguishable from Israelis so
all an Arab terrorist has to do is go to a judge and change his name
to, say, "Moshe Cohen,", and (2) there's a real threat from right-wing
aryan Tom McVeigh wannabes. (A big terrorist bust in Texas invloving
right wingers got almost no media coverage.) So what we gotta worry
about is some red-neck Texan coming to Washington and taking over all
the government offices....

Awwww, shoot..... to late, Dubya's here, it's already happened.

Abe

Went to park my car at the John Hancock building in Chicago. They searched
my car! Although not very thoroughly. It's gettin worse.
Stan

stan wrote in message ...
Abe Kouris wrote:

And, by the way, it's no good focusing on middle-eastern types,
becuase (1) Arabs are physically indistinguishable from Israelis so
all an Arab terrorist has to do is go to a judge and change his name
to, say, "Moshe Cohen,", and (2) there's a real threat from right-wing
aryan Tom McVeigh wannabes. (A big terrorist bust in Texas invloving
right wingers got almost no media coverage.) So what we gotta worry
about is some red-neck Texan coming to Washington and taking over all
the government offices....

Awwww, shoot..... to late, Dubya's here, it's already happened.

Abe

Went to park my car at the John Hancock building in Chicago. They searched
my car! Although not very thoroughly. It's gettin worse.
Stan


During the recent/ continuing situation, I read that they were
inspecting all private vehicles approaching BWI airport. Given the
usual traffic gridlock at the terminal, I shudder to think of what it
was like. My advice: get here by light rail. Even the shuttle bues
from the BWI rail station and remote parking lots are going to get
stuck in the traffic.

Fortunately for me, my next trip is by Amtrak.

And BWI used to be such a sleepy pleasant place to fly from.

Abe Kouris wrote:
A similar situation in our Nation's capital. Amtrak is all hopped up
about "orange alert," you need to show an ID to buy a ticket

Unless you use a stolen credit card to buy it from the machine.

miguel
--
Hundreds of travel photos from around the world: http://travel.u.nu/

"Miguel Cruz" wrote in message
...
Abe Kouris wrote:
A similar situation in our Nation's capital. Amtrak is all hopped up
about "orange alert," you need to show an ID to buy a ticket

Unless you use a stolen credit card to buy it from the machine.

And ANYONE with a Computer, Scanner, & Laminator can make a fake ID.
Security people don't look hard enough to detect a "fake".

"Jim Davis Sr." wrote in message
m...

"Miguel Cruz" wrote in message
...
Abe Kouris wrote:
A similar situation in our Nation's capital. Amtrak is all hopped up
about "orange alert," you need to show an ID to buy a ticket

Unless you use a stolen credit card to buy it from the machine.

And ANYONE with a Computer, Scanner, & Laminator can make a fake ID.
Security people don't look hard enough to detect a "fake".


Which is why countries around the world (not just the USA)
are looking to introduce smart documents with inbuilt
biometric references.

Britain already requires people travelling on visas from
some SE Asian nations to provide fingerprints at the
visa application process which may be checked
at the point of entry.

Keith

"Keith Willshaw" wrote in message
...

"Jim Davis Sr." wrote in message
m...
And ANYONE with a Computer, Scanner, & Laminator can make a fake ID.
Security people don't look hard enough to detect a "fake".


Which is why countries around the world (not just the USA)
are looking to introduce smart documents with inbuilt
biometric references.

Britain already requires people travelling on visas from
some SE Asian nations to provide fingerprints at the
visa application process which may be checked
at the point of entry.

Keith

True - and already people are complaining about loosing their right's &
privacy. It will never end.

Jim Davis Sr. wrote:

"Keith Willshaw" wrote in message
...

Britain already requires people travelling on visas from
some SE Asian nations to provide fingerprints at the
visa application process which may be checked
at the point of entry.

Keith

True - and already people are complaining about loosing their right's &
privacy. It will never end.


The world has certainly changed. Who would have thought so many idiots would
be willing to kill themselves in order to kill so many more civilians? Nex