So can I expect Gitmo if I leave my briefcase at the bus stop or the subway?

[trumad]

Say I leave my briefcase at the bus stop on Market street in San Fran and somebody reports it. Say the police come and bring along the bomb squad. Say they use the little Robot to carry it to that special little canister and then blow it up only to find out it's just a briefcase with papers.

Say they find my name on it....

Do they arrest me for leaving it at the Bus Stop?

Do they bill me thousands of dollars for forgetting my briefcase?

I know that this isn't the same type of scenario that happened yesterday and I know that it's better to be cautious than not--- BUT... it seems to me that we're on a slippery slope when we overreact and start arresting people for something this f'ing stupid. mho

[Solly Mack]

1. Only if your briefcase contains an almanac

"..this week's news of the FBI's terrorist warning to 18,000 law enforcement organizations to be watchful of people in possession of, well, almanacs. "

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0101-03.htm

[Virginia Dare]

2. Some poor sap is always getting their briefcase blown up...

here in D.C. Especially those ones like the copier repair people haul around. They've even started running p.s. announcements on the metro to remind people about their bags, and also trying to encourage people to speak up if they see somebody leaving a bag behind.

We've been operating on this level of paranoia in D.C. for quite some time now, the people here have grown quite cynical towards it.

[trumad]

3. LOL---

what a bummer.

[gratuitous]

4. You bet your bippy

Because according to the D.A. in Boston, if those little Moonitite (or whatever) things had been bombs, then goodness there would have been all kinds of carnage! And if your briefcase had a bomb in it, golly, a lot of people could die. And at the very least, you scared someone who is already so wet-your-pants scared of everything, that he has to overreact and call down the wrath of the specter of terrorism to justify his own cowardice.

So yes, you're going to Gitmo.

[trumad]

7. Shit man... now I'm scared.

;-)

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

5. Hmm, you know what?

Maybe they should tap everybody's phone.

In a post 9-11 world, you can't be too secure.

[Virginia Dare]

6. Nah, just the CEO's of major corporations...n/t

[kiahzero]

8. It's amazing how many people have embraced the 1% doctrine

"Sure there's a small chance of it happening, but if it happens, it would be terrible, so we have to treat it as a certainty!"

:eyes:

I agree that this is ridiculous.

[peace13]

9. If you dangle wires from the outside of it you might expect

some questions.

[LSK]

10. apparently this is what it has come down to