Posted on 07/07/2002 4:10:56 AM PDT by TomGuy
Men filming ferry ride raise suspicion
The Associated Press
State ferry officials have told the U.S. Coast Guard and the Washington State Patrol about two groups of men taking extensive videotapes on state ferries in the past 10 days.
Four men who appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent were videotaping, taking notes and talking on cellphones during two round trips June 24 on the ferry Spokane between Edmonds and Kingston, said Susan Harris of the Washington State Ferries.
"They seemed to be filming more of the interior of the cabin rather than the normal tourist filming, which is always the exterior," she said.
They became agitated when told to leave the vessel at each terminal as required, she said. The captain went home and decided to report the incident the next day.
On July 3, a different group of men appearing to be of Middle Eastern descent took extensive videotapes on the ferry Tacoma between Bainbridge and Seattle, she said.
"They were filming all over the place" even before boarding the ferry, and some observers said they were just tourists, she said.
She said no terrorist incidents have occurred on the ferries.
"There's no proof that there's anything to be concerned about; it's just that we're on heightened alert," she said.
Chief Warrant Officer Ray Cain with the Coast Guard said the incidents have been reported to the State Patrol, which handles law enforcement on the ferries, because they are considered part of the highway system.
"They were notified and they would investigate, trying to identify any such individuals," Cain said.
State Patrol officials were not available for comment late Friday.
(Published 12:30AM, July 6th, 2002)
BTW, I recently heard a theory that the Great Depression was sparked by an event that sunk a ship at the entrance to the port of Miami. It was at the height of the Florida Land speculation, and when people couldn't get through for a couple of months, the bottom fell out and began the crash in the whole market. Of course it was just the final straw, not a real cause.
This really sounds like a freelance newsie reaching for a non-story.
Just imagine what could be done with 1500 people and 500 cars and blow the whole thing out of the water.
Let the Allah-effers take the long way around, otherwise American ferry riders are not safe.
Tactically worthless and legally crippling. That's why Bush didn't ask for it. The rest of your post is psycho-babble.
These people were filming in the passanger compartment of the ferry. At the 5:00 o'clock rush hour or after a Mariner's baseball game let's out, the Bainbridge ferry is packed with hundreds of people in a very confined area that is totally isolated from help except for a seaborne or helicopter SWAT assault that would take quite a while to get together on a moment's notice.
The Bainbridge ferry is a public event that is loaded stem to stern with civilian targets at certain scheduled times. It is a prime terrorist target. It is also an extremely soft target.
The tapes have great value in training a terrorist where to stand and shoot or where and when to set off a timed backpack bomb on the ferry in order to inflict maximum civilian casualties. I am completely familiar with those ferries and know what to do in order to inflict that maximum degree of casualties if I were a terrorist. Any Seattle area resident that regularly rides the ferry has that same knowledge. Someone from outside the Seattle area would need those tapes to know what we locals know.
The Politically Correct authorities here is the Seattle area need to start doing less "reporting" and more "holding for questioning" before the Seattle Times and the Seattle PI start asking, "What Did They Know And When Did The Know It" in regards to a future Puget Sound Ferry Massacre.
To: per loinAgreed.
America is at war, and many of the enemy are living among us.
We have foreign enemies living among us,
but that doesn't mean that we're at war.
I actually want to hurt our foreign enemies feelings.
Let's start by profiling everyone who came here
from a terrorist-supporting country,
and send them back where they came from.
Anybody that was serious
about stopping terrorists would do the same.
Notice that our "war" leaders did not.
This war is not about terrorism.
If you believe that a Wahington State Ferry only carries 40 passangers each way (40 X 100 = 4000 = greater the the 911 death toll) you have obviously never laid eyes on one of our ferries, elfman2.
It would take two (2) Walla Walla-class ferry sinkings to surpass the death toll of 911.
M/V Walla Walla
Vessel Information:
Type: Auto/Passenger Ferry
Length: 440'
Beam: 87'
Draft: 18'
Max Passengers: 2000
Max Vehicles: 206
Max Commercial Vehicles: 60
Gross Net Tonnage: 3246/1198
To: exodus
from dictionary.com
war :
a) A state of open, armed, often prolonged conflict
carried on between nations, states, or parties.
b) The period of such conflict.
c) A condition of active antagonism or contention:
a war of words; a price war
d) A concerted effort or campaign to combat or put an end to something considered injurious: the war against acid rain
That is the popular definition of the term "war."
Gang war, feuding war, me and you are going to war, war on crime, war on drugs, war for civil rights, none of those are a real war. Yes, you can get killed anyway, but killing is not what defines a war.
War is military conflict between nations, and the power to commit our nation to war is given to Congress.
Congress has not declared war on any terrorist nation. Thus, there is no war.
That puts the "War on Terror" on the same solid footing enjoyed by the "War on Crime" and the "War on Drugs." Just like those other "wars," the "War on Terror" is used as an excuse to strengthen the power of government, and to outlaw the very concept of freedom.
To: TomGuy; Yehuda; doug from upland; Shermy
Death of a thousand cuts.
Hit them at airline counters, parks, ferries
(Because victims cannot escape while you shoot at them),
airplanes, buses, inside buildings...
# 36 by RaceBannon
Yes, that would work, RaceBannon.
On a disarmed population.
What if the "victims" shot back?
If our leaders hadn't had such success outlawing civilian weapons,
terrorism wouldn't be a threat to our nation.
Highjacking, carjacking, school shootings, armed robbery, muggings, purse snatching, even rudeness take on a whole new diminsion when an armed policeman is standing right beside the violator.
An armed population creates a nation where every man has the power and duty to enforce the law. And that's as it should be.
How big are these ferrys? 100 people? 1000 people?
If they are big enough, they could sieze 3 or 4 ferrys at once and have as big an event as 9-11.
Would the National Guard Jets bomb a ferry full of civilians, in order to keep it away from an aircraft carrier, while news helicopters hovered over head? It would certainly make for some dramatic footage. Just what Al Quaida would like.
To: elfman2
When I lived in South Africa and travelled to Zimbabwe in the early 80s
you could see the concern about economic disruption in both countries--
primarily by how heavily they guarded electrical substations, as well as fuel depots.
Ours are woefully defenseless.
# 39 by twntaipan
That's more evidence that our government is using terrorism as an excuse for something else. Imagine a terrorist attack combined with a nation-wide blackout. Imagine a power outage in the middle of the winter. How many northern citizens whould die without heat?
Our leaders don't think the obvious vulnerability of power stations justifies guarding them. Why?
Because that's not the objective of the War on Terror.
The purpose of this war was to dismantle Constitutional protections of our rights in such a way that we would actually support our loss of freedom.
The passage of the Patriot Act,
and the public's support of that Act,
gives our leaders total control over our nation.
Wars are "Declared" only against sovereign nations in order to formally notify them that a state of war exists between two sovereign states. The Declaration of War is a diplomatic formality. A Congressional Authorization of Force fulfills all the Constitutional requirements regarding the war making powers of Congress.
Prior to the Barbary War, Congress debated whether or not to declare war on the Barbary States. Congress decided that the Barbary States were no more than a collection of pirates and to declare war would dignify them with the status of sovereign states. Therefore, Congress refused to declare war and instead passed an Authorization of Force.
As the Founding Fathers who drafted the Constitution were still active in Government when the Barbary War started in 1801, I presume that they knew how to correctly interpret the Constitution that they themselves drafted.
Likewise, the United States never considered the Confederate States of America to be a sovereign nation and war was never declared by Congress during the Civil War.
At the time, the Civil War was referred to as the "War of Rebellion" by the North. War was never declared against the "Rebels" because only sovereign nations merited the honor. However, it was understood by everyone from Abraham Lincoln to the lowest Union private that a "War" was being fought.
Neither the Taliban militia nor the Al Qaeda terrorist network were considered a sovereign nation and therefore a Declaration of War was not appropriate in this war. Like the Barbary Pirates, they merited only a Congressional Authorization of Force.
Whether or not you believe that the Confederate States of America was a sovereign nation deserving of a Declaration of War depends on which dog you have in the fight on the Civil War threads.
See Post #113.
They hold 2000 people.
Did it ever occur to you Dave, that some are concerned for people other than themselves?
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