Roosevelt, a 57-year-old legless amputee, was identified on surveillance footage being wheeled into the station by another man on Thursday morning. Roosevelt was then seen leaving a Steve Madden bag containing a canvas laptop bag with the explosive device.

Various reports include M-80 fireworks, shotgun shells, lug nuts, wires, paper, pens, bullets, and a computer as among the items found in the bag. The device did not include a timer but could have exploded it lit, said police. Some have suggested the incident may have been a ‘dry run’ to observe response.

Vosizneias.com reports law enforcement officials as saying the suspect has past drug offenses and told police a woman gave him the bag.

Police were reported as not identifying terrorism as a motive but the incident remains under investigation.

Two MTA patrol officers discovered the bag at around 11 AM. The station was evacuated and trains rerouted, affecting service until 2 PM.

Roosevelt and the man accompanying him were later arrested. Some reports identify a third man who accompanied the pair still being sought by police.

1010 Wins reported that Roosevelt is now under observation at Bellevue Hospital Center.

MTA Press Spokesman Aaron Donovan told StationStops on Saturday that the surveillance footage had not been released and that there was no mugshot available of the suspect, who is awaiting bedside arraignment at Bellevue.

Originally appeared on: StationStops - Metro-North Train Schedules and NYC Commuting Blog See the original post here: Man Leaves Bomb at Harlem 125th St Metro-North Station

By far the most absurd and insulting humanitarian inconvenience recently implemented is the inability of passengers to use the lavatory during the last hour of the flight – this is completely unacceptable.

Already, restrictions on when passengers can get up from their seats make some flights incredibly uncomfortable for passengers – especially children, the elderly, and those with incontinence or other medical issues.

Some examples are when a plane is held at the gate or tarmac before takeoff (up to two hours under new regulations), and passengers are not allowed to get up from their seats – once the plane takes off, it can be another 15 minutes or more before the seat belt lights go off and passengers are allowed to wait in line to relieve themselves.

But that’s in the best case – in some cases, turbulence is encountered upon takeoff which may last for an hour or more (a situation which often goes hand in hand with a tarmac wait for weather clearance).

For me, I have a limit – if I have to go, and there is no foreseeable end to the turbulence, I get up and go. In my past experience, flight attendants will protest and tell me to sit down, but they will not stop or report me. In many cases when the attendants themselves are allowed to get up, they will say nothing.

It can also be an issue when turbulence in encountered just before descent – again, passengers are in lockdown until the plane lands.

As far as managing the seat belt light, it varies widely from pilot to pilot, which is probably the most annoying variable. Some pilots – especially international pilots, in my experience – are very good about making sure that the seat belt light is off as soon as possible and not flipping it on with the slightest bump.

Other piltos are just oblivious that there are human beings in the cabin. I have been on flights where the turbulence had stopped for over an hour before the pilot turned off the seat belt light, and that was only after someone complained and a flight attendant called the cockpit to remind them.

It’s obviously impossible to completely deny passengers access to the restroom on flights, and its already a frustrating experience for the reasons mentioned. Making it even worse for passengers by keeping them in the seat for the last hour of the flight is a massive inconvenience for thousands of passengers every single day while offering nothing in terms of meaningful security.

Just drop it.

Originally appeared on: StationStops - Metro-North Train Schedules and NYC Commuting Blog See the original post here: FAA: “Not Allowing People to Urinate’ is NOT an Acceptable Security Measure

Hello? We had an attack on our country on 9/11 and completely invaded and occupied the entire countries of both Iraq and Afghanistan and installed new governments – for the past FIVE years – killing – sometimes torturing - hundreds of thousands of people in both countries – and Iraq didn’t even have anything to do with it! Whats more – no end in sight for our actions!

THAT’S freaking DISPROPORTIONATE!

Just to illustrate how completely out of step our administration is with our country – 92% of CNN viewers polled felt that Russia’s response was appropriate !

So it is really creepy when the US White House Press feed gets cut after this VERY relevant question asked by a Russian reporter to Condaleeza Rice:

While I am on a political tirade, I am getting really pissed about the constant jabbing about Chinese misdoings during the Olympics – hello – WE are the black sheep of the Olympics – we are the country with the completely indefensible foreign policy and, although we have not expressed reasonable support for our president’s actions for years, stubbornly refuse to impeach him and remove him from office.

WE are living in the glass house folks.
WE are the country other countries are afraid of.
WE are the ones who need to turn ourselves around.

We have no business wagging fingers at Russia and China – not now.

Originally appeared on: StationStops - Metro-North Train Schedules and NYC Commuting Blog See the original post here: White House Press Feed Cut After Very Awkward Question

One Greenwich Plaza, part of an 2-building office complex adjacent to the Greenwich Metro-North Train Station, was evacuated yesterday when a package broke open in a mail room and a suspicious powder came out, contaminating a mail room worker’s hands.

The Stamford Bomb Squad and FBI were called in to remove the package and investigate. Test results on the substance are expected back today.

The package was delivered by a known source which regularly delivers packages to the location.

BTW, when packages delivered to billion-dollar hedge fund executives in Greenwich contain a white powder, Anthrax isn’t exactly the first suspect on my list.

Originally appeared on: StationStops - Metro-North Train Schedules and NYC Commuting Blog See the original post here: Greenwich Anthrax Scare Evacuates Building, FBI Investigates

Its not an entirely new issue, its just that 9/11 made it a hell of a lot worse, creating this overreaching pretense that any photographer could be an Al-Quaida operative, taking that all-important snapshot which, if not obtained, would make some logistically complex attack impossible.

This has been an issue for MTA, which has had to consistently remind its staff on multiple occasions, in writing, to stop harassing photographers on MTA rail lines as MTA specifically does not have any restrictions regarding public photography. This after being reminded repeatedly by the ACLU in response to numerous MTA employee incidents with videographers and photographers.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18K 8.1MP Digital Camera with 18x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black)

Today, I had a few minutes before my train, so I snapped a few file photos of Grand Central Terminal (along with about 100 tourists) before I boarded my train. The conductor in the picture came over to me and insisted that there is no reason anyone should be taking a picture of an empty length of train track, and insisted I tell him why I was doing that.

Tonight I will be attending his Cub Scout meeting where I will be personally presenting him with his ‘See Anything Say Something’ badge.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18K 8.1MP Digital Camera with 18x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black)

BTW The following story just got frontpaged on digg today and is directly relevant to this story – its the Ten Legal Commandments Of Photography .

Also, photographers might want to check out a post on the Railroad.net forums regarding MTA Rules of conduct. Citing the relevant section:

” Photography, filming or video recording in any facility or conveyance is permitted except that ancillary equipment such as lights, reflectors or tripods may not be used. Members of the press holding valid identification issued by the New York City Police Department are hereby authorized to use necessary ancillary equipment. All photographic activity must be conducted in accordance with the provisions of this Part.”

Here is a direct link to the MTA’s Rules Of Conduct.

It also suggests that MTA photographers print out and carry a copy of this pdf which documents the exchange between the ACLU, MTA, in which the MTA notifies its employees in writing that photography is not prohibited.

Originally appeared on: StationStops - Metro-North Train Schedules and NYC Commuting Blog See the original post here: Photographer Harrassed By MTA Employee For Taking Pictures at Grand Central

Photo: Sarah Baker

“The fact that this appears deliberately directed at the recruiting station insults every one of our brave men and women around the world,” the mayor said in a news conference today.

Whoever planted the bomb is indeed a terrorist and should be treated as such, but Bloomberg may have inappropriately stretched the meaning of the event, like a baseball catcher trying to curb slightly errant pitches into the strike zone for the umpire’s approval.

Yes, the act may very well have been intended to be an insult against American troops, but there are some reasons to doubt that was the specific intent.

The attack targeted the most prolific and pretentious recruiting station in the US. To some people, the Times Square location is in questionable taste. Some feel that recruitment should be a thoughtful and sobering atmosphere, and not conspicuously conducted in the center of the worlds largest neon smörgåsbord under a 500-ft picture of The Lion King.It is not disrespectful to our troops to insist that their recruitment atmosphere be, a the very least, distraction-free and appropriate as to its potential consequence.

Times Square Spectacular: Lighting Up Broadway

The attack takes place during a war when the administration has come under criticism for its recruiting practices.

Could it be that the attack was to specifically protest those recruiting practices, and not the troops themselves? Yes.

Mayor Bloomberg, who is considered conservative towards the war, may not wish anyone to reflect on that. His words direct the act towards our servicemen, whom are often inappropriately abused as the defacto standard for deflecting criticism.

In reality, it may have been an attack on behalf of some servicemen who were recruited into the war using questionable practices.

Some may believe that giving notice to the intent of a terrorist act is to give it more meaning, but it is also unethical when leaders attempt to change the meaning of a terrorist act to send their own message. They may not be planting the bomb, but they are utilizing it to forward their own agenda.

10 Excellent Reasons Not to Join the Military

There is another question to be asked here – when Bloomberg said this, was he commenting on the intent or effect of the act? If he was commenting on the intent, he is clearly ignoring the specificity of the act. If he was commenting on the effect, he is at the very least being presumptuous.

Certainly there are US soldiers who feel this was an attack on them. There are definitely other soldiers who feel it was an attack on recruitment policy and not an attack on them at all. Finally, there are likely soldiers in Iraq right now who wish that the Times Square recruiting station had been closed the day they personally entered it.

Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10

As salacious as it may sound to some, it may be the case that a handful of US teenagers visiting Manhattan today just unknowingly got the lucky break of their lives. Granted, there are certainly others who will miss out or suspend the first day of a very rewarding and most honorable career.

Originally appeared on: StationStops - Metro-North Train Schedules and NYC Commuting Blog See the original post here: Explosion At Times Square – An Attack On Our Troops Or ‘Neon Recruiting’?