Quote of the Day

"We've been doing random searches for years. None have been in response to particular threats. It's more to show force."

—Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole.

Good to know.

Comments

[Warty]

Anyone who voluntarily rides Amtrak deserves whatever they get.

[MikeP]

And yet the trains still don’t run on time.

[Benito Mussolini]

Do you want me to fix that for you?

[J sub D]

Grovel, peons!
On your knees and grovel for your lords.

[Madbiker]

for me, comments like this one do more to reveal the apathy of the public than the statism of the speaker.

When only a few have impotent rage over words like this, they’ve won.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

My rage is barely suppressed. Are you now telling me it’s also impotent?

Shit.

[Mo]

Like searches to go on the subway, those random searches aren’t so random. It’s usually a scruffy/long-haired type and very rarely a guy dressed in business casual or a suit.

[scruffy/long-haired type]

I’ve been taking random leaks at Amtrak stations for years. None have been in response to particular threats. It’s more to show force.

[overpaid union mop-up crew]

so it’s you!

[zeroentitlement]

A scruffy/long-haired type, just like all the 9/11 hijackers.

[Mo]

No, actually usually it’s the unkempt. When I travel by Amtrak for business, they never bother me despite my Arabness because I’m clean shaven and wearing a suit.

However, when I see someone being searched they’re generally unkempt and college aged or in their early 20s. They’re not likely to find explosives, but they’ll probably find an eighth.

[jasno]

Arabness? Holy shit, “Mo” is a codeword for “Moslem”! The terrists lurk amongst us!

[waffles]

mostafa, more likely

[Ragin Cajun]

While Joe Biden gets to watch.

[Virginia]

“We can conduct any kind of search we want,” said McClintock. “We could ask TSA to bring wands or X-ray machines like they have in airports, though we don’t think that’s appropriate for PATCO riders at this time.”

DNA swab? Body-cavity? Sure, why not. The populous must be protected from Islamofascism.

[Michael]

Fun with acronyms!

Though Tuesday’s drill was designed as a training session for a special DRPA police unit — known as Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response — there are more commuter searches to come.

[Spencer Smith]

I can think of a place they should stick their heads up to search.

[Irresponsible Hater]

Next: freeways into and out of major cities.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

Next: TSA screening checkpoints just outside your front door. Have to make sure you don’t present any unreasonable threat to public safety before you’re allowed out, y’know – in public.

[Michael]

Terrorists will never stage an attack against a rail target because even they know that any scheme they devise would never be a match for the misery caused by the Amtrak experience itself.

[Dello]

“Terrorists will never stage an attack against a rail target because even they know that any scheme they devise would never be a match for the misery caused by the Amtrak experience itself.”

Plus, if anybody actually rode the trains, they’d be making money.

[Aresen]

“We’ve been doing random searches for years. None have been in response to particular threats. It’s more to show force.”

–AmtrakStasi spokesman Cliff Cole.

Fixed.

[Mango Punch]

I ride Amtrak… and like it.

[Katy Perry]

Hope your boyfriend don’t mind it.

[Olympic Judge]

+10.0

[Joe-not one of the recent ones]

This feels so wrong…

[STEVE SMITH]

ME AGREE. BEEN DOING RANDOM RAPES FOR YEARS.

[Aresen]

Sorry, Steve. No Sheep (at least not the Ovis aries variety) on Amtrak.

[STEVE SMITH]

STEVE NOT PICKY.

[Upgrayyed]

“It’s more to show force.”
Is that like walking into a sorority with a giant boner?

[P Brooks]

Cliff Cole; a guy who puts the exceptionalism in America.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

I heard that Cliff Cole was a sheepfucker – anybody else hear that?

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

Answer two: I don’t know whether he’s putting exceptionalism in America, but he’s certainly putting something into the American citizens.

[Shannon Love]

I have no idea what Amtrak is up to but the basic idea of using random intensive searches is a technically sound tactic to deter covert operations. The Israelis have used them for a long time.

The searches deter in same manner random spot audits serve to deter financial misdeeds. Unlike an overt military operation who plan on revealing themselves to the enemy and accepting losses, covert operations can be undone by the discovery of just one person or unit. Even if the odds of a random search finding one actor is low, the risk of a single discovery to the entire operation or network makes the planners very leery of launching major operations when they have no idea what the level of scrutiny will be.

There is also a psychological component in modern terrorism. These people want to die gloriously, not be a martyr in prison. Even a small percent chance they will get caught seems to deter them to a degree that would not apply to a solider fighting openly.

Of course, Israel is on the front line of war and we are minor rear area. I kind of doubt its worth our time or the risk to civil liberties to implement them here.

[Mike Laursen]

Amtrak might want to hire you to replace Mr. Cole. You, at least, gave a plausible reason to conduct random searches.

[Psychic Octopus]

Which is also why coordinated attacks by different cells or agents become more desirable. You can fail one (United 93 – though it was NOT by being discovered) but if you score the others, well, you score the others.

Coordinated but distinct attacks are the random way to outwit random searches.

[Shannon Love]

Coordinated but distinct attacks are the random way to outwit random searches.

Perhaps on paper but in reality it works out differently. People aren’t robots. The discovery of even one pending attack will cause a universal tightening of security and terrorist are much more sensitive to operational losses than a conventional military.

The thing to remember about terrorist is that they are not soldiers and they are not motivated by a sense of self-sacrfice. Instead, they are vainglorious and seeking only to make a name for themselves. They fear the humiliation and dishonor of being captured and failing to carry out an attack more than anything. Given the terrorists limited talent pool and limited ability to position that talent to strike, the terrorist leaders have to provide their prospective martyrs with a near certainty of success to get them to go on missions.

Again, the Israeli experience back in the 90s shows this.

[PapayaSF]

OT: This is the quote of two days ago, about Republicans running some homeless people on the Green ticket:

“It’s unbelievable. It’s not right. It’s deceitful,” said Jackie Thrasher, a former Democratic legislator in northwest Phoenix…. What’s happening here just doesn’t wash. It doesn’t pass the smell test.”

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

Yeah – they learned it from the Democrats. Go figure.

[sloopyinca]

“What’s happening here just doesn’t wash. It doesn’t pass the smell test.”

That cracked me up. I’m assuming that was the punch-line from Mr. Thrasher.

Of course, if he was being serious, there’s a bit of hypocrisy in his statement, but I’m assuming he was making fun of the homeless because they don’t wash and rarely, if ever, pass a smell test.

[PapayaSF]

I think it was just a clueless gaffe, but a very funny one.

[TrickyVic]

“””It’s more to show force.”””

Submit bitches!!

[Mr. FIFY]

Typical government goon, except this time he didn’t self-censor.

[Chad]

Random searches are the price we pay for civilization. Personally, I think we should subsidize amtrak more, so that we can give more people the uplifting feeling of beingly randomly searched on the train. It will make us all feel more like one big happy totalitarian family.

[sloopyinca]

Cool story, bro.

[????? ??????]

Thanks