NYC Subway Terror Threat?

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CNN going bananas about some kind of "credible threat" to NYC subways ... wtf?

― rasheed wallace (rasheed wallace), Thursday, 6 October 2005 20:27 (twenty years ago)

anything more specific? like, "yancey, don't take the 6 train tonight?"

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Thursday, 6 October 2005 20:35 (twenty years ago)

http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/transportation/nyc-subthreat,0,3072785,print.story?coll=nyc-homepage-breakingheadlines

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Thursday, 6 October 2005 20:35 (twenty years ago)

SHIT

― PappaWheelie B.C., Thursday, 6 October 2005 20:36 (twenty years ago)

hmm... maybe I'll take cabs this weekend.

― Super Cub (Debito), Thursday, 6 October 2005 20:48 (twenty years ago)

Shit, I'm going home on the subway.

― Laura H. (laurah), Thursday, 6 October 2005 20:50 (twenty years ago)

What I've seen so far: "credible" information obtained during arrest of terror suspects, "specific to time, place, and method" -- bombing in NYC subway using briefcases. Not sure how "specific" we're talking, though, time-wise -- so far media hasn't been good on whether this is an immediate right-about-now threat or a general security lockdown for the general time being. Either way, I'm guessing I'm gonna have a fun bag search and Times Square transfer during the next hour.

― nabisco (nabisco), Thursday, 6 October 2005 20:55 (twenty years ago)

specific as to time, place and method

but it's "classified"

no arrests made

go about your business

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 6 October 2005 20:56 (twenty years ago)

Did anyone else hear that comment about certain individuals being "resolved"? Fuck is up with that?

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 6 October 2005 20:56 (twenty years ago)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4317758.stm

― Last Of The Famous International Pfunkboys (Kerr), Thursday, 6 October 2005 20:56 (twenty years ago)

Laura, CHILL!

― Jonothong Williamsmang (ex machina), Thursday, 6 October 2005 20:57 (twenty years ago)

not specific to briefcases

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 6 October 2005 20:57 (twenty years ago)

More bits, believe / disbelieve as you're inclined:

- threat is for the "next few days"
- involves briefcases and strollers, public is asked to "minimize use" of these items???
- security has been ramping up for "past few days"
- thread conveyed by FBI today

(Those last two seem contradictory; I think maybe the past-few-days rampup was just for the holidays?)

Info seems patchy enough at this point that it's kinda just whatever.

― nabisco (nabisco), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:00 (twenty years ago)

yeah, tra la la, thanks for not telling us the TIME, boss!!

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:02 (twenty years ago)

any numerological predictions? 9/11, 7/7, etc.. 10/10?

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:02 (twenty years ago)

Support for GOP plummeting = CODE RED DANGER DANGER TERROR! TERROR!!!

― andy --, Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:04 (twenty years ago)

T/S Internet cynicism vs. getting home alive

― PappaWheelie B.C., Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:05 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, I like their rather relative use of the word "specific."

― nabisco (nabisco), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:05 (twenty years ago)

search the babies! search the babies!

― Super Cub (Debito), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:07 (twenty years ago)

- involves briefcases and strollers, public is asked to "minimize use" of these items???

Yeah, that'll be simple.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:07 (twenty years ago)

i don't think it's relative at all, or at least that's not the impression i got from the press conference. the impression i got was that they just wouldn't say.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:07 (twenty years ago)

If you don't ride a subway with random stray briefcases laying about it means the terrorists have won!

― andy --, Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:07 (twenty years ago)

LET'S PANIC EVERYBODY! THAT WILL BE REALLY HELPFUL.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:08 (twenty years ago)

Sky news reporting that a media outlet has known of this threat for several days but didnt report it.
If true does that mean they didnt think the threat was credible til now?

― Last Of The Famous International Pfunkboys (Kerr), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:08 (twenty years ago)

And yeah, something feels cheap about making GOP-support jokes when this actually means a crappy ride home. Not that you shouldn't go ahead and do it, but from this end it's a little, you know, ha. Thankfully there's nothing embarrassing in my bag today.

I haven't seen the press conference, Tracer, just checked in on news sources -- it seemed like they had it precisely pegged? Like day-and-time, place-in-the-city pegged?

― nabisco (nabisco), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:09 (twenty years ago)

Suit case nukes

― feminazi (feminazi), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:09 (twenty years ago)

babies sitting in strollers with briefcases = sketchy as hell

― Super Cub (Debito), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:09 (twenty years ago)

I'M GOING TO BRING MY 10 INCH DEEP SILVER EQUIPMENT CASE THAT LOCKS WITH ME EVERYWHERE AND FORGET THE KEY

― Jonothong Williamsmang (ex machina), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:10 (twenty years ago)

Today on the radio there was a lot of talk about Bush's popularity dropping, and Democratic Senators actually speaking out against continued involvement in Iraq, and Bush's "No, really, listen they are trying to build a radical Islamic empire, no REALLY I MEAN IT" speeches, and about how the US public is considerably more skeptical of the "Vote Republican, we'll keep you safe!" party line after Katrina.

And so I'm trying very VERY hard not to take this well-timed and very vague and very general (some time some one somewhere in NY with a STROLLER or a BRIEF CASE might possibly be dangerous maybe) threat of terrorism in NY as some sort of truly evil political move.

xpost: Yeah what you people said while I was writing this.

― pullapartgirl (pullapartgirl), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:10 (twenty years ago)

somehow i believe this more, andy, since it's not homeland security saying it. although HS's reputation may have become so damaged by katrina that some horseshit may have been fed to NYPD people (from the FBI? they are also involved). i really wouldn't put it past them!

xpost - yes, nabisco.

xxpost: no, the city/FBI asked them to keep it under their hats, and they did.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:10 (twenty years ago)

ihttp://www.terranova.net/content/images/nuke-the-limit.jpg

― feminazi (feminazi), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:11 (twenty years ago)

Also, I am honestly sorry for the shitty commute some of you are facing.

― pullapartgirl (pullapartgirl), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:11 (twenty years ago)

http://www.nephandus.com/socialstudies/nuke-home-blast.jpg

― feminazi (feminazi), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:12 (twenty years ago)

I can only assume this is based on real intelligence. Is the intelligence creditable? Who knows...

― Super Cub (Debito), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:12 (twenty years ago)

I don't think anyone's panicking, Stencil (except for a couple of my coworkers who just took off). I mostly get grumpy about these things because even in the best-case turnout they screw up travel and timing and just make a logistical mess out of stuff. Which is better than the alternative, you know, but I like to know about it in advance.

― nabisco (nabisco), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:12 (twenty years ago)

When do I get terror sex?

― Jonothong Williamsmang (ex machina), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:13 (twenty years ago)

when you meet that girl on the bus who's entranced by your shiny suitcase

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:13 (twenty years ago)

I think part of the reason for broadcasting these things is to deter the terrorists.

1. Raise public awareness
2. Deter terrorists
3. Maybe get some political advantage

― Super Cub (Debito), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:13 (twenty years ago)

The question really boils down to "how many cab rides and for how long?"

― PappaWheelie B.C., Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:14 (twenty years ago)

on craigslist! xpost

― Jonothong Williamsmang (ex machina), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:14 (twenty years ago)

I might take cabs this weekend. But maybe I'll get over it and take the subway.

― Super Cub (Debito), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:15 (twenty years ago)

The NYPD doesn't question terror suspects extensively, the FBI does which is a federal agency. Therefore, I suspect that any "credible threat" alert was generated by the Feds, not the local city govt.

So yes, I am a bit cynical I suppose. If the robots demolish an explosive-laden stroller, I'll eat my cynical words.

― andy --, Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:15 (twenty years ago)

Laura, CHILL!

-- Jonothong Williamsmang (SUCCUM...) (webmail), October 6th, 2005 5:57 PM. (ex machina))

I'm not not chilling. I'm just mildly disconcerted. You're the one typing in caps.

― Laura H. (laurah), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:15 (twenty years ago)

I got, totally third-hand and before this was public, that there was concern about Grand Central or Union Square (in between?).

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:16 (twenty years ago)

The NYPD has intelligence operations as well. There are NYPD detectives stationed all over the world for terrorism intelligence gathering.

― Super Cub (Debito), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:16 (twenty years ago)

When do I get terror sex?

-- Jonothong Williamsmang (SUCCUM...)

Make one myspace bulletin.

― Laura H. (laurah), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:17 (twenty years ago)

Gotta wait for the blackout and the local bars get rid of their beir because of no refridgeration and the hoes get druuuunnnnkkkkk

big xpost

― Jimmy Mod wants you to tighten the strings on your corset (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:17 (twenty years ago)

Avian Flu Bomb!

― Jonothong Williamsmang (ex machina), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:17 (twenty years ago)

c'mon people, this is like the 3,764th time they've pulled this shit.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:18 (twenty years ago)

explosives packed into the rectums of BSE cows!

― Super Cub (Debito), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:18 (twenty years ago)

sup ladies

― Jonothong Williamsmang (ex machina), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:18 (twenty years ago)

thing is, GOP can do whatever it wants to NYC because NYS is a blue state and is already a lost cause. no way they pull this shit in FLA or Louisians

― Jimmy Mod wants you to tighten the strings on your corset (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:19 (twenty years ago)

stencil, they have very seldom said they had specifics on time, place and method. i can't recall any previous instances, actually.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:20 (twenty years ago)

and if the easter bunny was somehow involved you'd believe them then, too, tracer?

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:22 (twenty years ago)

what?

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:22 (twenty years ago)

here's my prediction: someday, sometime, when we least expect it, there will be another terrorist attack somewhere.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:22 (twenty years ago)

http://www.surfline.com/mag/pulse/images/2001/sept/06_hurricane/dynomite2_m.jpg

― feminazi (feminazi), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:23 (twenty years ago)

I sort of agree with hstencil's attitude. Either we change our behavior (ie. stop taking the subway), or we go about our regular lives. If we go about our regular lives, it's best to not worry about it. Or at least try.

― Super Cub (Debito), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:24 (twenty years ago)

unless they hold a press conference about it the week before. in which case it definitely won't happen, because who would try to pull something like that off if the whole city was on alert for you?

i've been looking for media websites that have suspiciously long stories on this but i am coming up empty.

super cub, i totally agree.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:25 (twenty years ago)

there's only so many times the "authorities" can cry wolf, y'know.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:25 (twenty years ago)

Honestly, you're more likely to get hit by a car.

― Jonothong Williamsmang (ex machina), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:27 (twenty years ago)

in the subway???

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:27 (twenty years ago)

only if you jump.

two things to note:

New York's security level remained at orange, the second-highest. It has been at that level since Sept. 11.

An estimated 4.5 million passengers ride the New York subway on an average weekday. The system has more than 468 subway stations.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:28 (twenty years ago)

Good Times

― Jimmy Mod wants you to tighten the strings on your corset (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:29 (twenty years ago)

wait a minute...

According to sources in intelligence, emergency services and police headquarters, when three Iraqi insurgents were arrested several days ago during a raid by a joint FBI-CIA team, one of those caught disclosed the threat. Because it slipped out during the arrest, the plot was deemed credible.

I guess we can ignore this, then.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:29 (twenty years ago)

aha, so it was ABC that sat on the story

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:31 (twenty years ago)

OMIGOD WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE OMGWTF GOODBYE ILXOR!

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:33 (twenty years ago)

bye niggas!

― Jimmy Mod wants you to tighten the strings on your corset (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:34 (twenty years ago)

i don't know why you say that, gabbneb. i agree that IF what abc says is true, it reduces the chances that the plot as the FBI/NYPD understands it is real

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:34 (twenty years ago)

fuck it, even if this is credible i come into work b/w 10:30 and 11:30 AM -- i imagine that if they want maximum impact, they'd set the shit off before then.

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:34 (twenty years ago)

nice

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:35 (twenty years ago)

http://www.a1flags.com.au/ProductImages/ptime.gif
http://www.uwic.ac.uk/ltsu/u_area/presentationskills/party.gif
http://www.halle53.de/pics/flyer.o4o9.Projekt2.final.144dpi.jpg

― feminazi (feminazi), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:35 (twenty years ago)

"a joint FBI-CIA" team in iraq?? do such things exist? i didn't think fbi got involved in overseas warzones

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:36 (twenty years ago)

http://www.hollyfarm.com/images/Party/dance.jpg
http://www.hollyfarm.com/images/Party/wpe42438.jpg
http://www.ausculture.com/blog/images/brogden%20pix.jpg

― feminazi (feminazi), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:37 (twenty years ago)

Tracer - they found this out from Iraqi insurgents? caught by a joint FBI-CIA team?! it "slipped out" during the arrest??!!! (xpost!)

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:37 (twenty years ago)

joint FBI-CIA-ABC team!

― Jonothong Williamsmang (ex machina), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:39 (twenty years ago)

yeah, that's why i said IF what abc says is true.

those details are so weird that this strikes me as some counterintelligence "spy-sniffing" exercise either gone awry or gone exactly right i.e. someone, somewhere trying to ID who's leaking info to whom

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:42 (twenty years ago)

http://img48.imageshack.us/img48/4594/bandparttimepartytime3yk.jpg
http://boatingtodaytv.com/pics/assets/6-party-time-bvi-spring-r.jpg
ihttp://sprykritic.canalblog.com/images/mario_party_spry.jpg
http://www.laconiv.com/2006/pixsplash/party-poster_400x303.png

― feminazi (feminazi), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:42 (twenty years ago)

shut up, jon

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:43 (twenty years ago)

with a small chance that it is diversionary info - bad info - fed purposefully by terrorists to US agents

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:43 (twenty years ago)

Those Iraqi insurgents ... first the World Trade Center and now this!

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:43 (twenty years ago)

all I know is I left work after all this and there was totally no extra security at my times square station, but there a bunch of buses outside of the station and a police van. Also, the CNN cameras where showing people going in and out of union square, so they didn't seem to concerned about that. Someone saw some barricades at grand central, so who knows...

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:43 (twenty years ago)

The FBI has been operating in Iraq, yes.

― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:44 (twenty years ago)

For one thing, I think they were there investigating the death of that high profile journalist.

― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:45 (twenty years ago)

i have to take next monday off from work, anyway!

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:46 (twenty years ago)

yeah, shut up jon

― feminazi (feminazi), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:46 (twenty years ago)

It's times like these, sitting high in my terror-proof midtown office, that I can't get the brass chorus from "Party at Ground Zero" out of my head.

I've heard a few siren convoys whipping around below, FWIW.

― scrimhaw1837 (son_of_scrimshaw), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:47 (twenty years ago)

i.e. "tell that ONE GUY who we think is leaking crap to the press that there's a threat involving baby strollers and briefcases"

feminazi, it doesn't matter, you ARE jon now

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:48 (twenty years ago)

the jaded-ness here is really off-putting, wasn't an ILXer lost in London?

― shookout (shookout), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:55 (twenty years ago)

almost everyone on this thread lives or works in NYC, shookout! gallows humor, whistling past grave yards, etc.

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Thursday, 6 October 2005 21:57 (twenty years ago)

the jadedness is clearly a coping method. I think everyone here is a little freaked.

― Super Cub (Debito), Thursday, 6 October 2005 22:02 (twenty years ago)

ihttp://www.vieartificielle.com/images_nouvelle/irobotfilm1.jpg

― feminazi (feminazi), Thursday, 6 October 2005 22:02 (twenty years ago)

Do you think the REAL Al Q'aida would allow the poser "Al Qaide in Iraq" to know any of their secret plans? That's like your mom forcing you to let your little sister join your treehouse gang, THE COBRAS.

― andy --, Thursday, 6 October 2005 22:10 (twenty years ago)

NO YOU SHUT UP

― Jonothong Williamsmang (ex machina), Thursday, 6 October 2005 22:29 (twenty years ago)

hey andy, I am think you're dead on with that. I also must think that whomever (all of them, I think there are many different terrorist groups that would like to bomb the f*** outta the USA) leak some of this stuff just to mess with our heads. Mental terrorism is effective too, and more widely destructive in the long run sometimes).

― Wiggy (Wiggy), Thursday, 6 October 2005 22:34 (twenty years ago)

http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO505D.html

― kingfish superman ice cream (kingfish 2.0), Thursday, 6 October 2005 22:44 (twenty years ago)

i think if anything, the 'jadedness' exhibited by posters is the only coping mechanism that makes sense (wiggy's 'mental terrorism' point is otm).

i mean, in nyc especially, there have been *so many* of these 'threats' that haven't panned out, or that have been suspiciously timed, over the past four years -- surely someone else had the rove indictment flash through their mind when they first heard about this? or the poll putting bush's approval rating at 29% in new york? or the mayoral campaign, where mike 'i'm still taking the subways' bloomberg is portrayed as 'tough on terror'? i know it sounds conspiracy-minded, but at this point, what else could you do?

also it's not like people can 'call in orange alert' to work, school, etc., in new york. and most people pretty much depend on the subways to get to where they need to go.

(nb, my boyfriend said that everyone in the city was looking for a cab tonight on his way home from work.)

― maura (maura), Thursday, 6 October 2005 23:41 (twenty years ago)

or the poll putting bush's approval rating at 29% in new york?

that's pretty remarkable considering nyc has had a republican mayor since the early '90s.

― 100% WJE (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 6 October 2005 23:51 (twenty years ago)

well, bloomberg is deep down more of a rino-type, at least on the social positions that the republicans have staked out of late. (although i'm sure he's totally down with their 'WE LUV BIG BUSINESS XOXOX' stance)

― maura (maura), Thursday, 6 October 2005 23:52 (twenty years ago)

oh, bloomberg adores big business. the only thing i really hate about him as a mayor is his desire to turn nyc into a citywide sports megacomplex.

― 100% WJE (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 6 October 2005 23:58 (twenty years ago)

as I stood in the office of the New York Times, watching the threat on CNN this afternoon, exactly 5 minutes before I'd get on a train where the shuttle to times square meets all the trains to brooklyn, the first thing I thought was...this is a distraction from Karl Rove. It's not the first time. I'm the last person to believe in silly conspiracies, but it's happened before.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Friday, 7 October 2005 00:08 (twenty years ago)

....let's all join this discussion again on Monday morning. Hey look! Nothing happened. Until then, a moratorium on this thread (to dream the impossible dream...)

― paulhw (paulhw), Friday, 7 October 2005 00:36 (twenty years ago)

Dan absolutely otm. Add in "from Delay and Miers too" and you're even more otm.

― wmlynch (wlynch), Friday, 7 October 2005 01:27 (twenty years ago)

you know, there actually can be a legitimate terror threat (during Ramadan and Yom Kippur) at the same time as a period of deep political shit for the admin. For instance, is Michael Scheuer really just helping Bush out right now?

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Friday, 7 October 2005 01:31 (twenty years ago)

I think it's entirely possible that al Qaeda is preparing another attack against the United States. But I also think that it's naive to think that the administration hasn't used their color-coded terror alert system to instill fear and also to influence what gets covered in the news. There may be a wolf but no one believes the boy who cries wolf.

― wmlynch (wlynch), Friday, 7 October 2005 01:38 (twenty years ago)

yeah, of course they have. notice that it's not being used right now.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Friday, 7 October 2005 01:40 (twenty years ago)

that's because new york has been on 'orange alert' since 9/11

― maura (maura), Friday, 7 October 2005 01:42 (twenty years ago)

but that didn't stop them from doing a huge press conference hullabaloo about the Citicorp building (where Laura and Jenna were visiting!) and some anonymous tower in Newark when NYC went from orange to... orange

this time we get the Drudge Report sans siren

(and I heard about it 2 days ago)

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Friday, 7 October 2005 01:46 (twenty years ago)

But the Feds seem to be downplaying this while the NYC authorities are not, which seems to oppose Wagging the Dog theory -- unless they're being extra clever.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 7 October 2005 13:31 (twenty years ago)

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2005/US/10/07/newyork.subways/top.subway.turban.ap.jpg

― Jonothong Williamsmang (ex machina), Friday, 7 October 2005 13:48 (twenty years ago)

I'm at least partially declined to believe that the main reason there was any public comment on this at all was because various rumors about it whipped the stock market into a frenzy yesterday afternoon -- at one point the DJIA dropped like 100 points late in the session on heavy volume after sort of moving sideways all day. Unsubstantiated rumors about terrorism ripple through the market from time to time, but they are usually cooled off through back channels (i.e., police or feds calling the big banks and saying there is nothing to worry about). There was some talk on the early CNN reports yesterday that the FBI had done exactly that, but for whatever reason, it snowballed.

― rasheed wallace (rasheed wallace), Friday, 7 October 2005 13:50 (twenty years ago)

er inclined to believe, that is. more coffee please.

― rasheed wallace (rasheed wallace), Friday, 7 October 2005 13:51 (twenty years ago)

No sign of heightened security at my lily-whitish Park Slope stop.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 7 October 2005 13:52 (twenty years ago)

The part of Penn Station where Amtrak is was closed off this morning.

I'd agree w/ Dr. Morbius above, apparently NYPD's own anti-terror divisions are better and more aware then the feds, see the recent New Yorker article about that. There's even bad blood between the two, where people from NYPD get better info before the Feds because they're more on the ball.

But don't think you're exempt at yr lily-whitish Park Slope stop...remember the big arrest a few years ago in brooklyn of wanna-be terrorists?

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Friday, 7 October 2005 13:55 (twenty years ago)

i was carrying a big black bag, sweating a bit because of the humidity, and i have a beard. not stopped once again! but yeah, like anybody cares about bushwick.

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 7 October 2005 13:59 (twenty years ago)

you have to love how the photo on CNN's front page shows a sikh getting his bag checked.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Friday, 7 October 2005 14:02 (twenty years ago)

CNN has a reporter at penn station who's reporting live that all trains are running but that "an area appears to be cordoned off." well, is it cordoned off or not? what would it mean for an area to appear to be cordoned off but actually not be? perhaps it's an ingenious trick from iraqi insurgents, to make people believe certain areas have been cordoned off.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Friday, 7 October 2005 14:02 (twenty years ago)

remember the big arrest a few years ago in brooklyn of wanna-be terrorists?

If I remember correctly, that was the F train and they were going somewheres to blow up Jews they said... I don't think that one counts in terms of exemption

― Jimmy Mod wants you to tighten the strings on your corset (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Friday, 7 October 2005 14:36 (twenty years ago)

what do you mean that doesn't count? Just saying terrorist activity is just as likely to come from or take place in brooklyn.

btw...

NEW YORK - As the city responded Friday to a potential terrorist threat in its subways, a section of Penn Station was shut down during the morning rush hour as emergency workers in hazardous materials suits investigated a reported toxic substance left in the Manhattan transit hub.

The unidentified substance was inside a soda can found lying near an ATM and the ticket windows in Penn Station, said Amtrak spokeswoman Marcie Golgoski. The can was removed from the facility for testing by the city Department of Environmental Protection, she said

was the unidentified substance...Fanta?

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Friday, 7 October 2005 14:43 (twenty years ago)

DON'TCHU WANNA WANNA FANTA
DON'TCHU WANNA WANNA FANTA
DON'TCHU WANNA WANNA FANTA
GOD DAMMIT

They just showed Bloomberg riding the subway on CNN. Probably the first and only time that will ever happen to him. He looked excruciating.

― TOMBOT, Friday, 7 October 2005 14:45 (twenty years ago)

I missed the "don't" in there... my bad

― Jimmy Mod wants you to tighten the strings on your corset (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Friday, 7 October 2005 14:46 (twenty years ago)

Bloomberg rides the subway all the time

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Friday, 7 October 2005 14:47 (twenty years ago)

I thought Bloomberg rode the subway to work every day.

xpost

― Jonothong Williamsmang (ex machina), Friday, 7 October 2005 14:47 (twenty years ago)

Then why did they put him on TV? He still looked like he was in pain.

Federal CT work is all about making Larry Ellison richer anyway, that the NYPD would have better info comes as no surprise

― TOMBOT, Friday, 7 October 2005 14:54 (twenty years ago)

Bloomberg rubbing shoulders with the commuting masses on the 1/9 is a frequent space filler on NY1, but I'm sure hizzoner's press handlers made sure there were plenty of extra cameras around to convey the whole "sorry about freaking everyone out like that last night -- see, really there's no problem" message.

― rasheed wallace (rasheed wallace), Friday, 7 October 2005 15:01 (twenty years ago)

Hey, it was a nice surprise seeing you last night, Dan!

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Friday, 7 October 2005 15:08 (twenty years ago)

xpost the above searching picture: Why they always messing w/ Sikhs? Sikhs are about as Muslim as BLT's.

― andy --, Friday, 7 October 2005 15:13 (twenty years ago)

sikhs have funny hats and hassids look kind of whiteish so they're right out.

― Jimmy Mod wants you to tighten the strings on your corset (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Friday, 7 October 2005 15:15 (twenty years ago)

likewise, trace hand, of course I drove to the show and took a cab home...

(because it was late, not because I was scared...)

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Friday, 7 October 2005 15:23 (twenty years ago)

Average weekday ridership on the subways is around 4.6 million. On the weekends it's 3.4 million.

What's the more effective strategy, for a bad guy -- strike commuters a la 9/11, or tourists and merrymakers on the weekends?

I rode a packed A home last night at around 11:30 and didn't notice anyone looking jumpier than usual.

― scrimhaw1837 (son_of_scrimshaw), Friday, 7 October 2005 15:50 (twenty years ago)

Muslims be going to bed early.

― Jonothong Williamsmang (ex machina), Friday, 7 October 2005 15:50 (twenty years ago)

well, it is Ramadan

― kingfish superman ice cream (kingfish 2.0), Friday, 7 October 2005 15:54 (twenty years ago)

uh, muslims don't go to bed early on ramadan. they can only eat after sundown then!

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 7 October 2005 15:54 (twenty years ago)

food coma

― rasheed wallace (rasheed wallace), Friday, 7 October 2005 16:01 (twenty years ago)

So much for the distraction from Rove

― donut hallivallerieburtonelli omg lol (donut), Friday, 7 October 2005 16:02 (twenty years ago)

Something weirds me out about the discussion here. It's not as if we have to choose between dismissive cynicism and all-out panic -- it's not hard to be interested in this stuff but not jumping out of your skin.

For what it's worth, this is probably the most amped-up or specific-seeming terror alert I've noticed in my two years here -- though it may just have penetrated my consciousness more due to people at work going weirdly nuts. The last few I remember were all based more on "chatter" type info, or the classic "they just tried to bomb London again, so we're going to ramp up security just to make you feel better for the week or two that it's still on your mind."

I noticed absolutely no additional security during the commute home yesterday -- still the bizarre one-cup allotment for the Times Square 1/9 uptown platform, which seems like not enough even to deal with non-terrorist stuff. (If you even had, like, two jackasses getting into a fight during rush hour, you'd probably wind up with a dozen people falling on the tracks.) On the other hand, this German dude stared at me like a motherfucker the whole ride home, with particular attention to decoding the DFA pin on my bag. (Death For America? Doin'it For Al-Qaeda? Dangerous Foreigner Alert!)

― nabiscothingy, Friday, 7 October 2005 16:27 (twenty years ago)

just stare back dood. Brick city.

― Jimmy Mod wants you to tighten the strings on your corset (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Friday, 7 October 2005 16:29 (twenty years ago)

I always start thinking about doing mean stuff like letting my headphone cord dangle from my bag and closing my eyes and moving my lips silently. But that would be mean to the other passengers.

― nabiscothingy, Friday, 7 October 2005 16:31 (twenty years ago)

seriously. get bubble gum and when someone starts staring at you, pop bubbles in his direction.

― Jimmy Mod wants you to tighten the strings on your corset (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Friday, 7 October 2005 16:32 (twenty years ago)

"Bubbly soda can sets off alert at Penn Station" - CNN

I'm quite convinced the domestic bus/train bombings will start in NYC. And America will pretend to care til they remember they hate us.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 7 October 2005 16:33 (twenty years ago)

i have to say that i am decidedly non-cynical about the warnings, because it's only a matter of time before these smaller acts of violence start being perpetuated here. and call me naive, but i do trust bloomberg/the local govt a helluva lot more than any other power figures because -- more than anything -- THEY LIVE HERE TOO.

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Friday, 7 October 2005 16:40 (twenty years ago)

i mean, it's not like every other city where the rich white folx live in the super-burbs. while the powers that be might cab/limo it, they don't want their property values to plummet

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Friday, 7 October 2005 16:42 (twenty years ago)

I think it's good sense to (almost) ALWAYS trust your local government before the feds anyway, in case of an emergency, no matter who's president.

(I put "(almost)" there in case one lives in a city with a very corrupt government, which isn't uncommon.)

― donut hallivallerieburtonelli omg lol (donut), Friday, 7 October 2005 16:58 (twenty years ago)

my biggest terrorism... umm... i don't know what to call it... prognostication? is that they (you know, they) will set off bombs in those very super-burbs. imagine a coordinated attack of say, 15 suicide bombers in random neighborhoods, schools, kids' baseball games, grocery stores, gas stations, etc... to me, that's terror... it doesn't have to be a lot of people that die, just the notion that it could happen anywhere, any time. but til then, hope all is well for you new yorkers... nobody i know there seems that concerned, but, y'know...

― firstworldman (firstworldman), Friday, 7 October 2005 16:58 (twenty years ago)

So Bush has gone out of his way to explain that the feds DID NOT call the alarm, they just notified NYC and even told them it was questionable, and that it was NYC that decided to call alarm. My first thought was, the White House must be reading our conspiracy theories here on this thread! Why else would they make such a stern point that they did not call for the alarm? Seems the few posters who mentioned the coincedence above were obv not the only ones:

http://dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/10/7/141538/435

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Friday, 7 October 2005 18:12 (twenty years ago)

what's the deal with the washington monument being evacuated? Just heard it in passing but not near a TV. Nothing on the Net that I can see.

― Wiggy (Wiggy), Friday, 7 October 2005 18:29 (twenty years ago)

The policeman CNN was interviewing about it was named "Sgt. Fear"

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Friday, 7 October 2005 18:34 (twenty years ago)

sorry to keep updating this but you have to read the latest on AP. It's basically saying "hey look, this threat is real, we just arrested some guy who was ON HIS WAY to bomb NY. NYC knows what they're doing and the feds are full of it."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051007/ap_on_re_us/nyc_subway

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Friday, 7 October 2005 20:14 (twenty years ago)

Yes, because its easy for arabs from iraq to get into the united states!

― Jonothong Williamsmang (ex machina), Friday, 7 October 2005 20:16 (twenty years ago)

no, it doesn't say that. it says that they arrested some dude in Iraq, and that some other dude in Afghanistan said that yet there was yet another dude who was going to NY. however, they have no idea if yet-another-dude even exists. (xpost)

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Friday, 7 October 2005 20:19 (twenty years ago)

(as an aside: is anyone's cell service out?)

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Friday, 7 October 2005 20:19 (twenty years ago)

If they didn't think it was a viable threat, they wouldn't have done anything about it, that's sort of the whole point.

Those arrested had received explosives training in Afghanistan, a law enforcement official said Friday. They had planned to travel through Syria to New York, and then meet with an unspecified number of operatives to carry out the bombings. The official said that the threat was "specific to place," and that the window for the attack was anywhere from Friday through at least the weekend.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Friday, 7 October 2005 20:21 (twenty years ago)

this is some kinda seriously crackerjack informant!

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Friday, 7 October 2005 20:24 (twenty years ago)

yeah, I mean I do take this one quasi-seriously, but they had to throw Syria in there, didn't they. maybe NYC v. Feds:orange alert::conservatives v. Bush:Miers?

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Friday, 7 October 2005 20:25 (twenty years ago)

has anything actually happened yet? i'm no where near a source of breaking news.

oh wait

― nein Socken (nein Socken), Friday, 7 October 2005 20:29 (twenty years ago)

but what about the Fed. gov saying they couldn't determine the credibility of this?

i mean, this type of information is the gold standard of the spy game. this is what people work for months to either be able to procure, or to be in a position to plant, or... it seems odd that this info could have wended its way all the way to a bloomberg press conference with, it seems, some people saying, well, we don't know if this is leather or naugahyde.

and what is UP with random "alerts" today??? the soda can, the evacuation of the washington monument, now a "suspicious package" that has delayed the 1 and 3 trains.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Friday, 7 October 2005 20:32 (twenty years ago)

Well "increased security" for NYC subways seems to show less in actual officials patrolling things and more in incidents of "we are closing the subway due to an unclaimed Tic-Tac spotted on a V train platform." Which makes sense, since anomalous situations can require little shutdowns (whereas screening people either turns something up or doesn't), and because I'd bet anything that increased terror news results in loads of people calling in "suspicious" stuff that then has to be taken seriously. (Cf a little after 9/11 when a Chicago hazmat team had to come out to investigate a "suspicious substance" that turned out to be a glob of guacamole on the sidewalk.)

― nabiscothingy, Friday, 7 October 2005 20:55 (twenty years ago)

(That was maybe worth it, though, for the entertainment value of watching Daley stand up at a press conference and announce that "guacamole is not dangerous.")

― nabiscothingy, Friday, 7 October 2005 20:58 (twenty years ago)

(Words that will surely come back to haunt him when a mayoral candidate steps up pledging to finally do something about Chicago's out-of-control guacamole-safety crisis.)

― nabiscothingy, Friday, 7 October 2005 21:00 (twenty years ago)

but what about the Fed. gov saying they couldn't determine the credibility of this?

as discussed in the New Yorker article I mentioned upthread, NY's anti-terrorism dept. is miles ahead of the feds, therefore, I trust NYC more than DC.

As far as increased police activity? It's fucking on! I got OUT of the train at the corner of pacific st and 4th Ave in Brooklyn. 4th avenue was completely blocked off with police vans, there were dozens of cops. Reason why the Atlantic Avenue station would be so highly protected? That neighborhood is a)one of the largest middle eastern areas in the city, and b)many express strains go directly to Manhattan over the bridges from there. It's also where the LIRR meets the NY subway(other then Penn Station).

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Friday, 7 October 2005 21:18 (twenty years ago)

another reason, dan: 1997.

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 7 October 2005 21:19 (twenty years ago)

my subway ride today was surprisingly hassle-free. i didn't see ANY police presence, not even at times square.

― jbr is the value obtained from the leptonic branching ratio measurement and (Jod, Friday, 7 October 2005 22:21 (twenty years ago)

Hoax.

The informant who sparked last week's New York City subway threat alert has admitted it was a hoax, CNN reported Tuesday.

The network reported that the informant admitted providing false information.

The informant had claimed that al-Qaida operatives in Iraq were plotting to attack the city's subways using baby strollers packed with remote-controlled explosives. The reported threat said the attacks could occur as early as last Friday.

Authorities said earlier the interrogation of three suspects arrested by U.S. forces in Iraq has so far produced no information to corroborate a possible threat.

New York City's heightened subway security will slowly scale back to what it was before officials announced the supposed subway bombing threat last week.

New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly stressed that police will continue random bag searches in the subways that began in response to the bombings on the London transit system.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 14:59 (twenty years ago)

Yes, now I feel justified in being a dick.

Last night I was at a bar and one of my friends was claiming that AQ has 12 Russian nukes in the USA for Ramadan.

― Jonothong Williamsmang (ex machina), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 15:16 (twenty years ago)

a little after 9/11 when a Chicago hazmat team had to come out to investigate a "suspicious substance" that turned out to be a glob of guacamole on the sidewalk.

It was a dirty xpoy bombx

― Jonothong Williamsmang (ex machina), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 15:17 (twenty years ago)

Last night at Victoria station in London I saw two police officers inspect an empty Burger King drink cup left on the floor next to the entrance to the underground. Made me think of the "bubbling green liquid in a soda can" that closed part of Penn station last week.

― James Mitchell (James Mitchell), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 17:02 (twenty years ago)

Isn't it the case that this informant has given something to the effect of 16 bad leads already? Why are they still talking to him at all? I'm not getting it.

― Allyzay knows a little German (allyzay), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 17:09 (twenty years ago)

maybe they know something we don't? maybe they don't want to take the chance?

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 17:30 (twenty years ago)

>one of my friends was claiming that AQ has 12 Russian nukes in the USA for Ramadan. <

And his source? Absinthe? Freerepublic.com?

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 17:46 (twenty years ago)

I know! seiroustlyey!!#@24twfe

― Jonothong Williamsmang (ex machina), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 17:49 (twenty years ago)

YOUR MOM! LOL

― Allyzay knows a little German (allyzay), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 17:52 (twenty years ago)

one year passes...

Something's going on, according to the news channel ticker.

― James Mitchell, Wednesday, 27 June 2007 20:11 (eighteen years ago)

http://gothamist.com/2007/06/27/2007_blackout_s.php

― gabbneb, Wednesday, 27 June 2007 20:15 (eighteen years ago)

I think these exploding transformers are a stealthy movie promotion.

― Dr Morbius, Wednesday, 27 June 2007 20:17 (eighteen years ago)

nothing about terrrism in there

― Heave Ho, Wednesday, 27 June 2007 20:17 (eighteen years ago)

There never is.

― James Mitchell, Wednesday, 27 June 2007 20:19 (eighteen years ago)

No, this shd be in the "bitch about New York and its century-old transit infrastructure" thread, you alarmists.

― Dr Morbius, Wednesday, 27 June 2007 20:19 (eighteen years ago)

as if three millimeters of rain doesn't pose enough problems for the subway

― nabisco, Wednesday, 27 June 2007 20:22 (eighteen years ago)

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=71155

― o. nate, Wednesday, 27 June 2007 20:23 (eighteen years ago)

Ah, the old "it's getting too effin' hot on this island for all of us!" story... Doesn't this happen every summer?

― Andi Mags, Wednesday, 27 June 2007 23:46 (eighteen years ago)

There should be a terror plot to blow up the MGM Studios Tower of Terror. That would make for awesome headlines.

― Hurting 2, Wednesday, 27 June 2007 23:51 (eighteen years ago)

it happens every summer because until a transformer blows out, it's simply not cost-effective on the books to replace it. I think xformers are installed with a lot more capacity than necessary at the time to save on future upgrades as the lines and the rest of the grid are adjusted; the entire system is just like any other major feat of engineering in that points-of-failure that are built for the highest degree of reliability are also the points of failure that break in the most catastrophic fashion.

shakey mo could probably say more on the subject, and be more accurate besides

― El Tomboto, Thursday, 28 June 2007 00:25 (eighteen years ago)

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