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tangent4ronpaul
01-08-2011, 03:03 AM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/08/AR2011010800700.html

Fiery package addressed to Homeland Security chief

WASHINGTON -- First, fiery packages sent to top officials in Maryland were opened, revealing an angry message complaining of the state's terrorism tip line.
...
Napolitano launched a nationwide "see something, say something" campaign in July, and her recorded voice can be heard in Washington-area subway stations, reminding commuters to report suspicious behavior. The program expanded last month to include more than 230 Walmarts across the country.

The Maryland packages had an explicit message, railing against highway signs urging motorists to report suspicious activity by calling a toll-free number. The message read: "Report suspicious activity! Total Bull----! You have created a self fulfilling prophecy."
...
"We've got to make sure we go after this person and get them off the street and get them behind bars, because these kinds of things are very, very dangerous,"
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One explosives expert said that generally if there's no explosive material, the devices aren't meant to cause much destruction.

"With an incendiary, you have a slower process involved," he said. "It can burst into flames, but unless it's something that's a liquid that's expelled ... you wouldn't have that sort of immediate danger to the person," said Leo W. West, a retired FBI explosives expert in Virginia.
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In Maryland, the state's terrorism tip line is widely shown on overhead highway signs along with information about missing children. To the ire of some drivers, the signs added real-time traffic estimates to major highways in March. Some commuters complained drivers slowed to read the signs and backed up traffic. At Gov. Martin O'Malley's request, the state studied the issue and removed the real-time postings from one congested area on the Capital Beltway. There are 113 signs statewide.
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The Maryland mailings were opened within a 15-minute period Thursday at buildings 20 miles apart.
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Police have not yet identified any suspects and were searching for disgruntled people who've made threats against state government. Anyone arrested would be charged with possession and use of an incendiary device, which includes a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, authorities said.

The state terrorism tip line averages about two calls per day, said Jim Newton, privacy officer at the Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center, where police officers field the calls.

Neither Newton nor police were aware of any repeat, angry callers to the tip line.

The call volume typically doesn't spike when the phone number is displayed on highway signs, he said. Instead, calls tend to come in after terrorism cases make news.
...
Dangerous devices sent through the mail remain extremely rare, inspectors said, with 13 such cases reported since 2005.

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OK, lets sum this up. The signs make a mess of traffic and are totally ineffectual. These things being sent through the mail are incredibly rare.... hmmm... expected Homeland Stupidity reply will probably be that boxes/packages must be packed in front of a postal employee and ID / fingerprints collected at time of mailing - effectively bringing the postal service to the screaming rate of a snail on Quaaludes. Oh, yeah and more signs with the tip line number. It's for your "security" after all... :rolleyes:

-t

Valli6
01-08-2011, 10:51 AM
The message being stressed in the media this morning is that whoever is responsible will get 20 years in prison. This sounds more like a scare tactic than "news".