I'm not an ORD watch member, but I don't see where either one is more of a threat than the other.
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I based my threat assessment on a recent event here last August http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/loc...rt-3754694.php
When you see something you're supposed to say something, right? Or only if politically correct?Quote:
Emergency personnel mobilized swiftly after the 2:19 p.m. phone call to the airport in which a man “who had an accent” said he left luggage at the airport and that “the airport was going to blow up,” officials said.
The threat contained specific information about explosives in three cars in the lower level of the short-term parking garage, McManus said bomb-sniffing dogs indicated the vehicles might contain explosives, but that nothing could be confirmed until the bomb squad checked the vehicles.
Still haven't caught the person/s responsible.
Bingo. THough I also agree the program certainly has merit, this is precisely the problem with the program, and precisely why the article used the term para-police. And precisely why I don't approve of it overall. Spotting should not be an extension of the police. It should not only be acceptable if it's a counter-terrorism activity.Quote:
If you don't belong to this and you try to spot there they come along and just shut you down? That's crazy. I don't know what's worse, no program @ JFK or mandatory membership in ORD's program. I'm sure you folks have been very helpful with the crime supression aspect of this, it's just that...I do the same thing without a vest.
I'm not seeing anything in that article that ties Arabic writing on the back of a car to the bomb hoax event. And "had an accent" doesn't necessarily mean "Middle Eastern accent", and even if it was, some white guy could've faked a Middle Eastern accent for all we know.
Since when did having an accent become a crime in this country? We are a nation built of and by immigrants and as a nation we often forget that fact. Moreover, how easy is it to fake an accent? If you're calling in a hoax, wouldn't you want to speak with an accent to both disguise your voice and make it seem more believable? Also, nowhere does that article mention anything about Arabic writing. You might as well have based your bogus "threat assessment" on any of the countless threats or acts of terrorism that have taken place.
So if I wanted to come out for a day or a weekend to spot, I could not just hook up with one of you guys for "escorted" access...to a pubic area?
I mean seriously? I am going to get on a plane to fly to your city, to do something that is perfectly legal, and I need to have a background check and pay $20 just to do something I can do for free anywhere else? Please clarify!
Thanks for the refresher class in American history 101. Last time I checked we are still up to our necks in a War on Terror, or as some like to call it, a 'Overseas Contingency Operation'. The whole damn reason there's even a watch program to begin with!! And like Cary said "some white guy", color ain't got nothing to do with it! Those Tsarnev brothers were whiter than my azz, and the guys that chopped up that British soldier, dark as night. It's all about a mind set, worldwide domination, and it's not going to stop. What if any of you were in downtown NYC by the Ground Zero/9-11 Memorial and see a vehicle cruising around with blacked out windows and 'that' writing on it? Wouldn't raise an eyebrow or turn some heads?Quote:
We are a nation built of and by immigrants and as a nation we often forget that fact.
Essentially yes. You can only be escorted by a member if you are under the age of 18. If you choose not to join, your only hope to spot is at USG, where you are able to view 28R arrivals and 14L departures. All other spots are strictly off limits to non-watch members.
Or it could be someone commemorating one of the several dozen innocent Muslims killed on September 11.
Twenty years ago, a white man, born in the United States and a veteran of the US Military, driving a rental truck, blew up a federal building in Oklahoma City. Based on your criteria, I guess you would have reported it if you had seen me moving last summer...
http://www.moose135photography.com/O...Move_002-M.jpg
You're both wrong. My Arabic isn't amazing but I'm pretty sure that says "Don't Tread On Me" in Arabic (which I have on a t-shirt that I wear). And if I am wrong, looking at the TX plate, it being a pick-up truck, and the B-52 mention, I'm sure it is a taunt toward terrorists.
also keep in mind that merely being Muslim or speaking Arabic does not actually make you a threat. It takes a little bit more than a language or race to create suspicion.
I guess I'm guilty of profiling, I won't say anymore of my political/personal views.
Phil, thanks for the translation, I'll sleep better knowing the pick-up truck was just a good ol' boy.
This is where the ORD Watch group, should talk in their meetings, and offer to be "spotting escorts" for out of towners.
They take the responsibility for what they signed up for. If they are true spotters, they will know a true spotter from a "bad guy"
Knowing these facts now, I think this is a horrible program, and feel it was started so that the "Locals" have the spotting areas to themselves.