VIPR set to harass Philadelpha transit passengers on Thursday

PhillyBurbs.com: Practice operation set at PATCO stations

"dogs, federal air marshals and TSA screeners" -- sounds like a nightmare commute to work.

This should not be happening in America.

We need to do our part by communicating through the Philadelphia media -- not only by commenting on articles such as the above but by direct contact with editors and reporters. This preview of totalitarianism in operation should be shut down before it ever gets started.

Unfortunately, I have to spend 10+ hours today driving back from St. Louis to Minneapolis. I will do as much as I can to research & post link & contact information here.

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Possible talking points:

• John W. Whitehead's VIPR essay (see immediately below)
• Recent history of VIPR abuses -- Savannah, Des Moines, San Diego (see below)
• Master lists of TSA crimes & abuses

+++++++++++++++++++++

John W. Whitehead's essay on VIPR (VIPR Searches and the American Citizen: 'Dominate. Intimidate. Control.') is informative reading.

Long version: http://www.rutherford.org/articles_db/commentary.asp?record_id=718
Short version: http://www.rutherford.org/commentary/2011/718_EDIT.html

The short version will fit on an 8.5" x 11" page if you work with the font size & margins. This would be an excellent flyer if anyone is in a position to distribute literature on site.

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VIPR's recent noteworthy successes:

1. Savannah, GA: Searched passengers & luggage on an arriving train. As a result, they were banned by Amtrak police from conducting any further operations at Amtrak facilities.

• What? TSA Pats Down Little Boy AFTER His Train Trip
• TSA Harasses 9-yo Boy and Other Train Passengers After Their Trip
• TRAINS exclusive: Amtrak police chief bars Transportation Security Administration from some security operations
• Amtrak police chief bars TSA

​

2. Des Moines, IA: Harassed Hispanics at the local bus terminal

• Some Upset By Bus Station TSA Sweep
• The surreal world of U.S. Homeland Security
  

3. San Diego, CA: Deported children (including a 16-year-old girl on her way to school) to Tijuana from a trolley stop

• Teen on Way to School Is Deported
• Surprise! TSA Is Searching Your Car, Subway, Ferry, Bus, AND Plane
• Why did San Diego TSA authorities and border patrol conduct an immigration raid and deport three students on their way to school?

No decent people should allow these thugs to operate in their communities.

 

Newspapers:

• Philadelphia Inquirer -- http://www.philly.com/inquirer/
• Philadelphia Daily News -- http://www.philly.com/dailynews/
• Courier Times -- http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/courier_times_news/
• The Intelligencer -- http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/the_intelligencer_news/
• Burlington County Times -- http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/burlington_county_times_news/

Philadelphia Inquirer emails (from list used for recent PR, some could be bounces):

Inquirer.Letters@phillynews.com​

editor@phillynews.com​

abennett@phillynews.com​

agordon@phillynews.com​

cbudoff@phillynews.com​

chepp@phillynews.com​

clavin@phillynews.com​

csatullo@phillynews.com​

dchildress@phillynews.com​

mslowik@phillynews.com​

nwarwick@phillynews.com​

pnicholas@phillynews.com​

tmcnamara@phillynews.com​

Television stations serving the Philadelphia market:

• KYW 3 (CBS) Philadelphia Viacom -- http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/
• WPVI 6 (ABC) Philadelphia ABC -- http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/index
• WCAU 10 (NBC) Philadelphia NBC -- http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/
• WHYY 12 (PBS) Wilmington, DE -- http://www.whyy.org/
• WPHL 17 (MY) Philadelphia Tribune -- http://www.myphl17.com/
• WTXF 29 (Fox) Philadelphia Fox -- http://www.myfoxphilly.com/
• WYBE 35 (PBS) Philadelphia -- http://www.mindtv.org/
• WLVT 39 (PBS) Allentown -- http://www.wlvt.org/
• WGTW 48 (Ind.) Burlington, NJ -- http://www.tbn.org/
• WTVE 51 (Ind.) Reading -- http://www.wtve.com/
• WNJT 52 (PBS) Trenton, NJ -- http://www.njn.net/
• WPSG 57 (CW) Philadelphia Viacom -- http://cwphilly.cbslocal.com/
• WPPX 61 (ION) Wilmington, DE ION Media Networks, Inc. -- http://www.iontelevision.com/
• WWSI 62 (TEL) Atlantic City, NJ -- http://philadelphia.holaciudad.com/
• WUVP 65 (UNI) Vineland, NJ Univision -- http://univision65.univision.com/ (Spanish format, be sure they know how the VIPR operations in Des Moines & San Diego went down)
• WFMZ 69 (Ind.) Allentown -- http://univision65.univision.com/

 

Philadelphia area radio stations:

• KYW News Radio 1060 -- http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/station/kyw-newsradio/
• 610 WIP Sports Radio -- http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/station/610-wip/
• Talk Radio 1210 WPHT -- http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/station/talk-radio-1210/

• http://www.xpn.org/
• http://www.wybf.com/
• http://www.wrdv.org/
• http://www.wrti.org/
• http://www.whyy.org/91FM/
• http://wsrnfm.org/
• http://www.wkdu.org/
• http://www.925xtu.com/
• http://www.wmmr.com/
• http://www.94wysp.com/
• http://www.wired965.com/
• http://www.wogl.com/
• http://www.power99.com/
• http://www.y100.com/
• http://www.b101radio.com/
• http://www.q102philly.com/
• http://www.wmgk.com/
• http://www.sunny1045.com/
• http://www.wjjz.com/
• http://wild1067.webs.com
• http://www.familyradio.com/
• http://www.wfil.com/
• http://www.radiosalvacion.com/
• http://www.wwdbam.com/
• http://wntp.com
• http://www.wpen.com/
• http://www.newstalk990.com/
• http://wnap1110am.com/
• http://www.wnjc1360.com/
• http://www.wcoj.com/
• http://www.wnpv1440.com/
• http://www.wnwr.com/

 

Philadelphia Mayor:

The Honorable Michael A. Nutter​

Mayor​

City Hall​

Room 215​

Philadelphia, PA 19107​

215.686.2181 (Phone)​

215.686.2180 (Fax)​

Michael.nutter@phila.gov or mayor.nutter@phila.gov​

Philadelphia City Council:

• 1st district, Frank DiCicco, 215-686-3458 & 215-686-3459, fax 215-686-1931, Frank.DiCicco@phila.gov
• 2nd district, Anna Verna, 215-686-3412 & 215-686-3413, fax 215-686-1932, Anna.Verna@phila.gov
• 3rd district, Jannie Blackwell, 215-686-3418 & 215-686-3419, fax 215-686-1933, Jannie.L.Blackwell@phila.gov
• 4th district, Curtis Jones Jr, 215-686-3416 & 215-686-3417, fax 215-686-1934, Curtis.Jones@phila.gov
• 5th district, Darrell Clarke, 215-686-3442 & 215-686-3443, fax 215-686-1901, Darrell.Clarke@phila.gov
• 6th district, Joan Krajewski, 215-686-3444 & 215-686-3445, fax 215-686-1935, Joan.Krajewski@phila.gov
• 7th district, Maria D Quinones Sanchez, 215-686-3448 & 215-686-3449, fax 215-686-1936, maria.q.sanchez@phila.gov
• 8th district, Donna Reed Miller, 215-686-3424 & 215-686-3425, fax 215-686-1937, Donna.Miller@phila.gov
• 9th district, Marian B Tasco, 215-686-3454 & 215-686-3455, fax 215-686-1938, Marian.Tasco@phila.gov
• 10th district, Brian O'Neill, 215-686-3422 & 215-686-3423, fax 215-686-1939, brian.O'neill@phila.gov
• At Large, Blondell Reynolds Brown, 215-686-3438 & 215-686-3439, fax 215-686-1926, Blondell.Reynolds.Brown@phila.gov
• At Large, William Greenlee, 215-686-3446 & 215-686-3447, fax 215-686-1927, Bill.Greenlee@phila.gov
• At Large, W Wilson Goode Jr, 215-686-3414 & 215-686-3415, fax 215-686-1928, W.Wilson.Goode@phila.gov
• At Large, Jack Kelly, 215-686-3452 & 215-686-3453, fax 215-686-1925, Jack.Kelly@phila.gov
• At Large, James F Kenney, 215-686-3450 & 215-686-3451, fax 215-686-2013, James.Kenney@phila.gov
• At Large, William Green, 215-686-3420 & 215-686-3421, fax 215-686-1930, Juan.Ramos@phila.gov
• At Large, Frank Rizzo, 215-686-3440 & 215-386-3441, fax 215-686-1929, frank.rizzo@phila.gov

Port Authority Transit Commission (PATCO):

• http://www.ridepatco.org/contact.asp
• 856/772-6900
• 215/922-4600

 

Thinking out loud a bit - we should come up with some kind of psychological counter-warfare for the VIPR acronym, be it a mnemonic, a redefinition ("Terrorists Searching Americans"), or just plain exposing the intended psychological impact to disable its subconscious influence.

 

This is really getting out of hand.

Part of me hopes they step up these actions because then the whole "Don't like it, don't fly" crowd will start to get a taste of it, though it will be slow to start.

The other part of me knows that once it starts, it will only continue to get worse.

So, about the contact info above, since you're driving, and I'm sitting around for the next 6 hours, would you like for me to hammer out an editorial we could send prepackaged to these folks? I imagine they'll be more receptive if we can hand them something ready to go...

 

A prepackaged editorial would be useful, but if you look at the links there are really only two newpapers (five "papers" but two companies).

I think everyone should get worked up over this (here & in that "other" place) and make as much noise as possible:

• Alert Drudge, Rush, WND, etc. (I've sent a couple emails already but others can join in)
• Submit editorials
• Locate articles & comment
• Find journalists emails & communicate (attach copies of the Whitehead essay where appropriate)

The emphasis should be on making VIPR feel very much unwanted , as they should be -- who the heck needs/wants to encounter TSA goons with dogs & blue gloves on the way to work?

 

Sure. Here's what I wrote on the website if you want to use it as a jumping-off point:

One of the problems I'm noticing myself having is that there are so many articles on so many sites and so many contacts that they all start to run together in my head. It doesn't help that every one of these damn news sites wants you to register before you comment. I understand why, being in IT myself and having enough spam problems but it makes it very difficult to get the message out there efficiently. It's hard to be caught between having my head swimming with confusing media information on one side, and trying to be methodical in sorting it out and winding up only being able to get through to a small handful due to the time it takes on the other.

I'll do everything I can to help - I've been told many times that I have a way with words and so if you need me to draft another press release or whatever, or proofread/embellish an existing one, just let me know. Tell me what key points you want highlighted and I'll do my best to nail them and make it easy reading at the same time.

 

The creepy acronymn "viper" plus "Dominate, Intimidate, Control" are all a citizen needs to know about viper.

Viper should never have been created. It must be disbanded.

 

I guess what I'm wondering is (and pardon me if this sounds mind-bogglingly cynical but I've known some DUMB "Rah-rah, A-mer-ee-kah" types) if the public thinks "VIPR" is creepy, as in "Ugh, look what those creepy snakes in government are doing now!" or if they think it's cool as in "Yeah, the VIPER is gonna BITE them ter'wrists!"

If the second mentality is still prevalent as it was in the immediately post-9/11 Bush years, I'm wondering how we can inoculate against it.

 

I have to hit the road -- 9+ hour drive plus rest stops, naps, etc. I'll be back on-line & rejoin the effort around midnight.

 

Be safe, Mike.

CelticWhisper, I'm of the opinion that there's a roughly 50/50 split. However, as more people speak out against this stuff, people who weren't otherwise become emboldened to speak their mind. It is believed that you get "put on a list" for speaking out against TSA. Maybe. Maybe not. I've stopped caring. I've become A LOT more vocal than I used to, and so far I'm unscathed. As a counterpoint, I had a colleague at the airline where I used to work whose name matched one on the NFL. In spite of the fact that we worked with and amongst the corporate security group who managed our portion of that list she couldn't get around it. My point here is that if you end up on a list, so what? People end up on the list all the time who shouldn't. Nevermind that the list is so easy to circumvent, even a TSA clerk could do it.

And back OT, so people need to see that other people are fed up. The more we speak out about this, the more comfortable they will be to do so, as well.

 

Can someone cross-post this on KOS? They have complained about TSA/VIPR where minority issues are concerned. Maybe they would help take this up.

Ditto for Indy Media, esp if they have a Philly subsite.

 

Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response - VIPR

Quite an apt acronym, I suppose. It's "visible" as in Security Theatre, "intermodal" as in mission creep beyond commercial aviation. I've wondered if this commercial from the early 90s was in the back of the TSA wonk's head when they came up with it:



When the public sees more TSA harassment outside of commercial aviation, I'm sure that the name will change to something benign. How about CARE - Community Action Response and Engagement, because who could be against a government agency that CAREs? The TSA employees could even hand out CARE Bears to the school kids (at least the ones that don't get deported like in San Diego).

 

I really have to ask what is next.. Will screening stations be setup along the highway? Will TSA setup at the grocery store, beach, sports arena, etc... ? Land of the Free

 

Freedom isn't free.

 

Someone needs to stand outside the station, holding a sign, "Warning! Deadly VIPRs inside!".

And just talk with whoever wants to.

They were even helpful enough to tell us their schedule.

I'd do this myself if I was still in town, I came back down south on Amtrak 19 last week though.

 

Daniel Rubin of the Philadelphia Inquirer has been a staunch civil liberties advocate and vocal opponent of the TSA and VIPR. I corresponded with him some time back. I'm sure if he knows about this he'll be on it.

Re discussion above about people finally waking up, an activist friend of mine likes to say, "Courage is contagious."

(Of course so is cowardice, the cynic in me always thinks, but all the more reason for us to keep speaking out.)

 

He sure is; I knew that name was familiar.

 

Current Google News articles on the pending VIPR assaults:

http://news.google.com/news/more?q=...sult&ct=more-results&resnum=2&ved=0CDQQqgIwAQ

Comments are needed!