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Politics : BuSab -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: arno who wrote (5678)	12/1/2010 4:48:41 PM
From: Alan Smithee	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 23934

Hey, hey, hey, at least I didn't embed it in the thread. You just had to click that link, didn't you?

To: arno who wrote (5678)	12/1/2010 4:51:57 PM
From: Alan Smithee	Respond to of 23934

Big Brother is watching. What's next? Random traffic stops? The team name is even threatening: VIPR - Visible Intermodel Prevention and Response teams. A VIPR team may return to Albany around Christmas, one of the agents said. Agents’ goal: Deter terrorism By Alex Paul, Albany Democrat-Herald democratherald.com \| TSA officers watch passengers board an Amtrak train Monday afternoon at the Albany Station. (David Patton/Democrat-Herald) Four Transportation Security Administration agents spent Sunday and Monday at Albany Station, observing passengers traveling by train or bus. Their visit was not triggered by Friday’s arrest of a former Oregon State student in connection with a failed bombing at Pioneer Courthouse Square and a Sunday morning arson fire at a mosque in Corvallis, according to spokesman Dwayne Baird of Salt Lake City, Utah. Rather, it was a previously scheduled stop by what are known as Visible Intermodel Prevention and Response teams that are deployed nationwide. A VIPR team may return to Albany around Christmas, one of the agents said. “Their visits are scheduled long in advance,” Baird said. “We work with local law enforcement agencies to enhance security at mass transit, aviation and rail modes.” Asked if the VIPR team deployments are common, Baird said, “Well, they’re not uncommon.” The teams vary in size and the amount of time they spend in a community, he said. Teams might include federal air marshals, TSA officers or certified canine teams, surface transportation security inspectors and local law enforcement officers. According to the TSA website, VIPR teams were developed after the Madrid train bombings in 2004. They originally focused on key transportation facilities in urban areas such as New York City, Los Angeles and Boston. “The goal is to provide a visible deterrent,” Baird said. “It creates an element of unpredictability to disrupt terrorist-type activities.” Baird said that in the last 18 months, VIPR teams have been deployed more than 1,800 times nationwide from small communities in rural Montana and Idaho to metropolitan cities on the East Coast. Team members in plain clothes might ride a train or bus from one destination to another, while others may be in uniform to help provide a visible show of force. “They do all kinds of things, but mainly, they walk among the passengers and provide an element of deterrent,” Baird said. “There are unpredictable situations that may come up at the rail platform.” Baird said VIPR staff regularly deal with illegal activities, but he declined to say whether any have been involved with averting potential terrorist threats. VIPR teams work all modes of transportation including bus lines, railroad, planes, shipping and ferries. “We are responsible for a wide variety of transportation venues,” Baird said