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STOP BY A BUMP THE FUNDRAISER THREAD
Posted on 06/16/2002 9:32:12 AM PDT by ex-Texan
San Francisco Bay Terror Fears
Suspicious Ferry Boat Surveillance
By Richard Byrne Reilly
6-16-02
A frightening sequence of events and clues gleaned by U.S. intelligence has some in law enforcement believing that a maritime terrorist attack against San Francisco could be imminent.
Local ferry operators became alarmed last week when someone described as Middle Eastern man boarded a ferry to Alcatraz but did not leave the boat when it reached the island. Instead, the man videotaped boat traffic and used a stopwatch to time the route.
"He got on the boat to go to the island, but never got off when the other tourists did. Instead, he asked unusual questions about the timing and frequency of the trips, all the while videotaping and using the stopwatch," a source told The Examiner.
The frequency of suspicious activity in San Francisco became apparent to the feds and local law enforcement in October when three men, described as Middle Eastern, boarded a ferry at Pier 41 for a trip to Alameda. The boat's crew became alarmed when one of the men made his way to the upper deck to observe the captain piloting the ferry, another man used a stopwatch to time the route and a third man videotaped the Anchorage 9 terminal, a source said. The crew noted the men did not appear interested in filming standard tourist attractions like bridges or other known sites.
The report stated in part: "While it is not an overt act of terrorism, it is not (considered) normal passenger activity."
This was preceded by an alarming incident that occurred in Daly City on Oct. 20. Six Blue and Gold Fleet and Golden Gate Transit uniforms were stolen from a ferry employee's car, in addition to ferry schedules, maritime maps and a copy of the U.S. Coast Guard's Rules of the Road. Anyone wearing the uniforms is automatically granted unlimited access to "all the ferry boats and buses in the Bay Area."
The employee told authorities the thieves didn't bother to take money or a cache of CDs left inside the car. According to a report of the theft: "Maybe it's nothing, but when you put it all together, it starts to add up," a source said.
An incident that occurred Oct. 8 still makes Erin Everett cringe with fear. Everett, an employee at the St. Francis Yact Club, was approached by a man she described as Arabic who wanted to rent a large boat "to see the beautiful coast of California."
When Everett told the man the club wasn't in the business of renting boats, the man became agitated and insisted money wasn't a problem. He was willing to spend whatever it took, Everett recalled, to rent a large boat. When Everett suggested he try Fisherman's Wharf, he said he never heard of it and abruptly left the office. He returned a few minutes later demanding directions to the popular tourist destination.
Suspicious, Everett called the Coast Guard and FBI, who sent an agent the next morning to retrieve a security videotape of the man. "He kept saying money wasn't a problem. I don't know what it means, but it was scary," Everett said.
Recent terrorist alerts by the Coast Guard, the FBI and the California Anti-Terrorism Warfare Center in Sacramento point to growing concerns among those in the intelligence community that a seaborne attack against the country is imminent. The FBI contacted San Francisco Police Chief Fred Lau last week requesting information on The City's dive shops. The feds issued similar appeals to other law enforcement agencies situated near waterways or harbors.
Ferry operators told the Examiner of efforts to beef up security on their boats plying the Bay, saying crews are on the lookout for suspicious activity and that engine rooms and pilot houses are now sealed to the public. During the summer peak season, 4,000 people travel to Alcatraz every day.
"We have good reason to believe that something is being planned," said another law enforcement source. "When you begin putting pieces of the puzzle together, it starts to make sense."
Yes, it does. It's called crazy Muslims.
Not in Our Name Vigil/March in Berkeley
As part of a "http://www.notinourname.net/kickoff.html" day of events to resist US-led terrorism and violence, a vigil and march was held on 6/6 in Berkeley to kick off a summer-long ""http://www.notinourname.net/pledge.html"" campaign.
Massive Anti-War Protest in San Francisco
4/20: Demanding justice for Palestine and displaying opposition to the Bush Regime's war machine, tens of thousands of protesters marched through SF and finally poured into the downtown Civic Center, in the city's largest and most diverse demonstration in recent memory. The march, starting in Dolores Park and stretching several miles, was organized by the International Action Center and a host of other activist groups.
A Palestinian woman took the stage to proclaim, "Our struggle is not a religious struggle... our struggle is to create a land where people can live without racism." One of the many speakers pointed directly to George Bush as complicit in the Israeli occupation of Palestine, saying, "I feel like every time Bush accuses someone of something, he's talking about himself." Her statement echoed the sentiment of many of the signs and banners held by members of the crowd.
Police remained nearly invisible, except when guarding a small pro-Israel counter-protest that had been ushered into City Hall by police in order to avoid confrontation with the crowds.
New Antiwar Coalition: International A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism)
International A.N.S.W.E.R. calls for worldwide rallies against war and racism. Unless we stop President Bush and NATO from carrying out a new, wider war in the Middle East, the cycle of violence will escalate and the number of innocent victims will grow from the thousands to the tens of thousands and possibly more.
We repudiate racial profiling and anti-Arab and anti-Muslim racist attacks. We also oppose the Bush administration's attempts to take advantage of this crisis to militarize U.S. society with a vast expansion of police powers that assaults civil rights and civil liberties.
June 29 demonstration at FBI headquarters - The Bush administration announced in the last week of May that the FBI would be seizing vast additional powers to spy on the people of the United States. We must act now to stop this assault on our rights.
JUNE 1 ANTI-WAR CONFERENCE - 600 activists announce bold action plans
eyewitness Ramallah: - Palestine: A Whole People Imprisoned
Civil Rights & Civil Liberties: - U.S. Refuses to Abide By Geneva Convention Prisoner of War Provisions
STOP OUTRAGEOUS ATTACKS ON MUSLIM AND ARAB PEOPLE! - STOP THE ATTACKS ON CIVIL LIBERTIES! SAY NO TO WAR AND RACISM!
San Francisco: Campaign Against War and Hate Comes Together
By Abel Mouton
On September 20, 2001, after nine days of George Bush's war drive, nearly 700 residents of the San Francisco Bay Area crowded into the Golden Gate Lutheran Church. This Town Hall Meeting against War and Hate was called by a coalition of left, Labor, community, and immigrant rights activists. The audience boasted wide range of activists, from reactivated veterans of the anti-war movement to young people who cut their teeth in the movement against globalization, which arrived in the US with the November 1999 Battle of Seattle. A significant number of the people in attendance were at their first-ever political meeting.
The meeting opened with speeches from Global Exchange, the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee, and others. Speaker after speaker talked about the horror of the terrorist attacks in New York and in Washington, DC, but also about the likelihood that those heinous acts would be utilized by the Bush administration to pursue a policy of revenge and violence abroad and at home.
Anarchists deplore the attack on the World Trade Centre which killed over 3,000 people but it has become the excuse for another imperialist war in which up to 12,000 Afghan civilians have already died as a result of US attacks. This page has background articles on all the issues around the war from Islam to US foreign policy. It also has a number of PDF files which YOU can print off and distribute locally to inform others of the reality of war.
A San Francisco Bay Area Progressive Directory
An index to about 1000 organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area that may be of interest to progressive activists, plus links to related web sites elsewhere. In addition, here is a list of "cal.html" plus a new feature:
Thousands March in S.F. Protest At least 20,000 decry Bush's Mideast policy, Israeli actions
by Jim Herron Zamora
In one of the largest Bay Area protests in recent years, at least 20, 000 people marched through San Francisco yesterday in opposition to U.S. policy in the Mideast, transforming 2 miles of city streets into a sea of red, green, black and white Palestinian flags.
The demonstration was billed as a march against "the real axis of evil: war, racism, poverty," but one cause overwhelmed all others: support for the Palestinian cause.
But ... even with the best preparations, these terrorists still make it through. We just need to stay alert.
Artile about Puget Sound (Seattle) Ferry inspections by state patrol
You see, they know that no terrorists will attack the Bay area with Congresscritter Barbara Lee holding the fort. Courtesy among thieves, don't you know! (or so they think!!)
Last summer, before 9/11, I noticed quite a lot of young Arab men walking around downtown San Francsico in pairs. They didn't look like tourists or workers, they were just walking around - and looking up at the skyscrapers (that's what caught my attention, most people never look up). I haven't seen any recently. One wonders what they might have been planning.
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