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Aug

13

A Little Too Close To Home!

Posted By: 'Okie' | 9:26 am — 8/13/2005 | 1 Comment See comments below:

I woke up to this in today’s California section of the Los Angeles Times. Rong-Gong Lin II and Martha Groves write:

Santa Monica Playing It Safe — Police tighten security even as the FBI says suspicions aroused by recent videotaping of high-profile structures appear to be unfounded.

Santa Monica Police Chief James T. Butts Jr. met with reporters this week and declared a potential homeland security threat.

Police received a call last month from a citizen who had taken photos of “Middle Eastern individuals” as they shot video of the Santa Monica Pier and surrounding area in a manner that authorities said was “inconsistent with tourist documentary.”

In a press release, Butts said he wanted “to assure residents, business owners and visitors that the Police Department is increasing security as a preemptive measure against any potential terrorism threats or other security breaches.”

Law enforcement sources said the individuals in question were also reported to have filmed around the Vincent Thomas Bridge, linking Los Angeles and Long Beach, and the Huntington Beach Pier.

But FBI officials have moved to clarify the seriousness of the situation. On Thursday, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said the agency looked into the situation after the individuals filmed the Vincent Thomas Bridge and determined at that time that they didn’t pose a threat.

On Friday, another FBI spokeswoman, Cathy Viray, added: “The FBI looked into the matter, and with the information at the time, it was deemed not a threat. We are working jointly with Santa Monica [police] to look into the matter.”

Other law enforcement agencies have yet to follow Santa Monica’s lead and issue public warnings. Huntington Beach Police Lt. Dave Bunetta said his agency has no information that suggests an actual terrorist threat.

Butts informed the Santa Monica City Council about the filming at a closed session meeting Tuesday — the same day he asked for surveillance cameras, additional patrols and bomb-sniffing dogs around the pier area and the Third Street Promenade to boost security “as a preemptive measure against any potential terrorism threats or other security breaches.” [Emph. mine]

Although no stranger to histrionics, nevertheless the Santa Monica community does seem ripe for a terrorist action. Every time I walk the promenade I can imagine the chaos and destruction a couple of committed suicide killers could wreak with a few sub-machine guns and/or bomb packs. That the place is filled with European tourists most of the time would only make the target more “interesting”. Killing two birds, etc. while taking out some flagship stores just for grins.

They could certainly get a higher kill-count by hitting elsewhere, but if they paid attention they know what one old guy in a Buick was capable of doing and could be building from there. but the FBI says “not to worry”, so I guess I won’t. We don’t go to the pier at all anymore, and rarely to the Promenade. I see enough pathetic deranged homeless trudging up and down the alley right outside this window everyday, I don’t need to pay for parking just for the privilege of seeing some more.

BTW — Reuters reports that President Bush will not be letting Iran off by default over the resumption of “nuclear enrichment”.

President Bush said on Israeli television he could consider using force as a last resort to press Iran to give up its nuclear programme.

“All options are on the table,” Bush, speaking at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, said in the interview broadcast on Saturday.

Asked if that included the use of force, Bush replied: “As I say, all options are on the table. The use of force is the last option for any president and you know, we’ve used force in the recent past to secure our country.”
(…)
“In all these instances we want diplomacy to work and so we’re working feverishly on the diplomatic route and we’ll see if we’re successful or not,” Bush told state-owned Israel Channel One television.

Bush has also previously said that the United States has not ruled out the possibility of military strikes. (…)

No matter how you “pronounce” it, when George W. Bush threatens to “kick your a$$”, you’d better sit up and take notice.

Just consider Saddam — Kadafi did! (db)

Sphere It
This entry was posted on Saturday, August 13th, 2005 at 9:26 am and is filed under G.W.O.T., Santa Monica. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.  |  Print This Post Print This Post  |  Email This Post Email This Post

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  • http://mysandmen.blogspot.com/ Mr. Atos

    Sadly, things have come to the point that the potential horrors that one will inflict on another exist at the frontiers of the imagination… and hollywood has assured that our imaginations are quite lovecraftian in their perverse extent. One need only to look around with their family on the weekend and ponder.

    There was a day that I can recall when my mother left her keys in an unlocked car at the mall. Now we sit barraded at night behind locked doors 2 seconds from the 12 guage. We better begin to ask what exactly carried humanity to this threshhold. Because when all this is over and the monsters are vanquished, we might very well need to walk back from the brink of greasy darkness where these hideous beasts reside… within.