faster_than_you

It seems surprising that people are making excuses for the "shoot first" policy. If this is the case, the terrorist might actually be winning. Below article describes how things aren't so smooth in NYC. Terror scare rattles city BY TAMER EL-GHOBASHY, TONY SCLAFANI, WARREN WOODBERRY JR. and DAVE GOLDINER DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS New York was fear city yesterday as heavily armed police swarmed a double-decker bus packed with tourists in Times Square and later shut down Penn Station after an irate passenger said he had a bomb. In a dramatic sign of the city's edginess since the London transit bombings, cops evacuated buildings, shut midtown streets and forced about 60 terrified tourists to march off the double-decker bus, with their hands up, in the heart of Broadway. Cops in riot gear handcuffed a group of apparently harmless South Asian-looking men with British accents after a jittery tour bus worker reported they seemed suspicious. The men were forced to kneel on the sidewalk, with their hands bound behind their backs, between 50th and 51st Sts. in front of the Winter Garden theater on a sunny summer Sunday with the city packed with tourists. "People were really scared," said Jill Sully, 29, of Saskatoon, Canada. "There were sharpshooters with guns pointed toward our bus." "I was scared out of my mind," said another passenger, Amanda Pesanello, 20, of Coventry, R.I. "We don't have things like this in Rhode Island." The dramatic faceoff on Broadway came just days after the NYPD ratcheted up security after the July 7 and July 21 London transit bombs and began searching bags in the subway. It also came after an apparently innocent man was killed Friday by London cops who mistook him for a fleeing terrorist. The five men in yesterday's incident quickly were freed after cops determined they were tourists - not terrorists. "We just want to clear our heads of the whole thing," one of the men told the Daily News. "We were humiliated enough." "We just want to go," added another. The scare unfolded about 11:30 a.m. after a Gray Line sightseeing bus worker told the driver some of the passengers getting aboard appeared suspicious. "I was definitely frightened from the beginning," said the driver, Mohammed Stout, 43, of the Bronx. "That's human nature." A Gray Line dispatcher called 911 and told cops the men had backpacks and their pockets "stuffed" - a possible warning sign of suicide bombers, said NYPD spokesman Paul Browne. By the time the bus neared Times Square, cops carrying heavy weapons decided to cordon off Broadway and stop the vehicle, a decision police officials defended as appropriate. Bus passenger Kathy Arrigo, 45, of White Plains, said most of the tourists initially laughed off the show of force. But the mood turned edgier as the cops kept the big red bus there for nearly 30 minutes. Fear grew when cops ordered everyone to put their hands up and walk off the bus - leaving their bags to be searched. "You want to talk about real terror?" said Arrigo's husband, Robert. "There were two little girls with their parents who were just terrified. They were crying uncontrollably." Cops raced into a McDonald's nearby and told workers to shut down the place and get out as fast as they could. "The cops just came in and said to evacuate the building and to run," said McDonald's employee Catherine Melendez. Police eventually gave the allclear and the tourists were ushered into a nearby Applebee's restaurant for lunch. They later got back on a Gray Line bus to continue their tour. Meanwhile, about 12:15 p.m., Penn Station was paralyzed when a disgruntled passenger, identified as Raul Claudio, 43, of the Bronx, walked up to a ticket counter, put his suitcase on the counter and declared he had a bomb, authorities said. The contents of the suitcase proved harmless. The man was detained, and was to be charged with making a terroristic threat and falsely reporting an incident. Hundreds of passengers were forced to evacuate the terminal and thousands more were delayed when Amtrak, commuter railroad and subway service was frozen for more than an hour. "What can you do?" shrugged Dan Lindgren, 46, of Arlington, Va. "It's the times we live in."

Maybe it could be monorail over the new boarders...

They don't. But we do, and it's good...

Running from the police will now be executing offense in GB...

yeah .. that's me ... "fucking stupid" .... having lost a friend in 9/11 does that to you Sorry you lost a friend on 9/11. Still doesn't change the fact that shooting on "suspicion" is f*ck*ng way out of control. Defend your second amendment rights folks.

Yes. I've done it before. Yup, I've done it too... Thankfully I got away. As you can tell, I'm fast.

Wow. That story ended waaaaaaaay different than I thought it was going to. Phew. The squirrels in "The Claw" are all scared these days...

What are you saying? What about all those questions at the trailhead? I'm on the summit now, can you believe?

Thanks for pointing the article out! There is a nice photo show with it.

Squirrel fires regular occurrence in Canadian border town The Associated Press OSOYOOS, British Columbia — Once again, a squirrel clambering onto a power line has been blamed for a brush fire in this border town north of Oroville, Wash. Firefighters were summoned Monday after a squirrel scrambled up a Fortis Inc. utility pole, got zapped and landed in flames on some dry brush outside a fruit packing business, Fire Chief Ross Driver said. By the time a pumper truck and a bush truck arrived, nearby residents had doused the flames. "This identical incident has happened on the same pole one or two times a year for the past several years," Driver said. Each time, firefighters find a dead, burned squirrel at the base of the utility pole, he said. Driver said he didn't know what Fortis could do to prevent future squirrel-caused fires.

Another cc convert joins the race to find The Nodder.

I think Dru's right... but whatever, pass a new law if it makes everyone feel better... Perhaps, however, the law makers could focus or larger more relevant issues to the population. Anwyay, seems like some sort of justice was served here. I also wonder what type STD's one gets from farm animals? Creepy...

Almost forgot... When asked "did you summit?" I also like to answer, "I'm on the summit now; can you you believe it!"

One problem I have with "did you summit" questions is that they reveal how much people (i.e. the inquiring bystander) only consider "the summit" and not the entirety of the trip. If asked, "Where did you go? How was your weekend? How high did you get? (not a question for Ivan ) or What it's like up there? I tend to give away a lot more information about climbing. I vote MattP as climbing spokes-person.

Could have PC down in Tacoma so that folks can attend the memorial at the Tac Mountaineers... I'm part Irish, we love a good drink during/after the wake/memorial... Just a suggestion...

Puke O Rama...

I hunted The Nodder with Karl Rove.

This is a pretty good response. Sometimes it's more fun to look at them with a straight face and state in plain english say, "I do not speak english," (you can say "American" for added effect.)

Hey cakehole, I summited page three.

Snugcrop is on Snugtop... Are you guilty by association? BTW, this is the pussy cat thread.

Sure am.

Ok, I admit,; I'd like to see that pillowy faced Rove go down in flames. Can you believe it?

I want rove to out The Nodder. I promise not to prosecute. Everyone should get along; it's silly to argue over DC politics and spin.

Wait till fido gets a hold of this.