Osama taken out Jack Bauer 24 style.

How many people use Amtrak these days (guess maybe it could be up since 9/11 and all the TSA crouch grabs). I know it's used a lot more up north, but every time i see an Amtrak go by around Raleigh there is only about 10 people on it. Do people use rail out west?

I know a lot of people use subways and L-trains up north. LA has a subway too.

[Edited on May 9, 2011 at 1:54 PM. Reason : i bet the dogs name was Jack ]

5/9/2011 1:52:22 PM

Quote :

"I know it's used a lot more up north, but every time i see an Amtrak go by around Raleigh there is only about 10 people on it."

This seems a bit odd since the Carolinian and Piedmont are usually packed and they actually just added a second daily train to the Piedmont. Last year was Amtrak's highest ridership year ever with 28.7 million passengers, and this year is estimated to break that.

You are correct that Amtrak is a fairly niche market outside of the northeast, but in the northeast it is pretty important; rail has a higher mode share than air travel in the corridor between Washington and Boston.

Anything they do to slow people down though with security theater will only be harmful. The main benefit of Amtrak and intercity rail in general is that you can get to a station in the center of a city just minutes before your train departs, hop on, and you're on your way.

5/9/2011 2:08:09 PM

Aren't a lot of states currently considering rail projects as well? I know NCDOT got a butt-load of stimulus money.

5/9/2011 2:21:00 PM

Quote :

"TSA crouch grabs"

5/9/2011 2:51:55 PM

^^Yes. New congress is kind of putting the brakes on that, though, as it has somehow become a completely partisan issue.

That's a separate thread, though.

[Edited on May 9, 2011 at 3:04 PM. Reason : .]

5/9/2011 3:04:09 PM

Quote :

"Obi-Wan Kenobi Is Dead, Vader Says CORUSCANT — Obi-Wan Kenobi, the mastermind of some of the most devastating attacks on the Galactic Empire and the most hunted man in the galaxy, was killed in a firefight with Imperial forces near Alderaan, Darth Vader announced on Sunday. In a late-night appearance in the East Room of the Imperial Palace, Lord Vader declared that “justice has been done” as he disclosed that agents of the Imperial Army and stormtroopers of the 501st Legion had finally cornered Kenobi, one of the leaders of the Jedi rebellion, who had eluded the Empire for nearly two decades. Imperial officials said Kenobi resisted and was cut down by Lord Vader's own lightsaber. He was later dumped out of an airlock. The news touched off an extraordinary outpouring of emotion as crowds gathered in the Senate District and outside the Imperial Palace, waving imperial flags, cheering, shouting, laughing and chanting, “Hail to the Emperor! Hail Lord Vader!” In the alien protection zone, crowds sang “The Ten Thousand Year Empire.” Throughout the Sah'c district, airspeeder drivers honked horns deep into the night. “For over two decades, Kenobi has been the Jedi rebellion’s leader and symbol,” the Lord of the Sith said in a statement broadcast across the galaxy via HoloNet. “The death of Kenobi marks the most significant achievement to date in our empire’s effort to defeat the rebel alliance. But his death does not mark the end of our effort. There’s no doubt that the rebellion will continue to pursue attacks against us. We must and we will remain vigilant at home and abroad.” Obi-Wan Kenobi ’s demise is a defining moment in the stormtrooper-led fight against terrorism, a symbolic stroke affirming the relentlessness of the pursuit of those who turned against the Empire at the end of the Clone Wars. What remains to be seen, however, is whether it galvanizes Kenobi’s followers by turning him into a martyr or serves as a turning of the page in the war against the Rebel Alliance and gives further impetus to Emperor Palpatine to step up Stormtrooper recruitment. In an earlier statement issued to the press, Kenobi boasted that striking him down could make him "more powerful than you could possibly imagine." How much his death will affect the rebel alliance itself remains unclear. For years, as they failed to find him, Imperial leaders have said that he was more symbolically important than operationally significant because he was on the run and hindered in any meaningful leadership role. Yet he remained the most potent face of terrorism in the Empire, and some of those who played down his role in recent years nonetheless celebrated his death. Given Kenobi’s status among radicals, the Imperial Galactic government braced for possible retaliation. A Grand Moff of the Imperial Starfleet said late Sunday that military bases in the core worlds and around the galaxy were ordered to a higher state of readiness. The Imperial Security Bureau issued a galactic travel warning, urging citizens in volatile areas “to limit their travel outside of their local star systems and avoid mass gatherings and demonstrations.” The strike could deepen tensions within the Outer Rim, which has periodically bristled at Imperial counterterrorism efforts even as Kenobi evidently found safe refuge it its territories for nearly two decades. Since taking over as Supreme Commander of the Imperial Navy, Lord Vader has ordered significantly more strikes on suspected terrorist targets in the Outer Rim, stirring public anger there and leading to increased criminal activity. When the end came for Kenobi, he was found not in the remote uncharted areas of Wild Space and the Unknown Regions, where he has long been presumed to be sheltered, but in a massive compound about an hour’s drive west from the Tatooine capital of Bestine. He had been living under the alias "Ben" Kenobi for some time. The compound, only about 50 miles from the base of operations for the Imperial Storm Squadron, is at the end of a narrow dirt road and is roughly eight times larger than other homes in the area, which were largely occupied by Tusken Raiders. When Imperial operatives converged on the planet on Saturday, following up on recent intelligence, two local moisture farmers “resisted the assault force” and were killed in the middle of an intense gun battle, a senior Stormtrooper said, but details were still sketchy early Monday morning. A representative of the Imperial Starfleet said that military and intelligence officials first learned last summer that a “high-value target” was hiding somewhere on the desert world and began working on a plan for going in to get him. Beginning in March, Lord Vader worked closely with a series of several different Admirals serving onboard the Death Star to go over plans for the operation, and on Friday morning gave the final order for members of the 501st Legion (known commonly as "Vader's Fist") to strike. Kenobi and a group of his followers were eventually captured while fleeing the system, and taken aboard the Death Star, which was in the midst of surveying the recent environmental disaster on Alderaan. Darth Vader called it a “targeted operation,” although officials said four tie fighters were lost because of "mechanical failures" and had to be destroyed to keep them from falling into hostile hands. In addition to Kenobi, two men and one wookiee were killed, one believed to be his young apprentice and the other two his couriers, according to an admiral who briefed reporters under Imperial ground rules forbidding further identification. A woman was killed when she was used as a shield by a male combatant, the Admiral said. Two droids were also reported missing. “No Stormtroopers were seriously harmed,” Lord Vader said. “They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, I defeated my former master and took custody of his body.” Jedi tradition requires burial within 24 hours, but by doing it in deep space, Imperial authorities presumably were trying to avoid creating a shrine for his followers. Lord Vader has denied requests to present photographs of the body, describing them as "too gruesome" for the general public."

http://www.galacticempiretimes.com/2011/05/09/galaxy/outer-rim/obi-wan-kenobi-is-killed.html

5/12/2011 6:05:20 PM

5/12/2011 6:27:34 PM

Lol at the Star Wars thing, except Kenobi didn't go after non-military targets.

5/12/2011 6:48:17 PM

What do you call that guy whose arm he cut off in the Cantina?

5/12/2011 7:14:07 PM

self defense

5/12/2011 7:29:50 PM

Stormtroopers aren't recruited

5/12/2011 7:35:48 PM

Stormtroopers often are. Clone troopers are not.

5/12/2011 8:54:00 PM

Quote :

"Initially, the stormtroopers serve as the army of the Galactic Empire, putting down revolts and establishing Imperial authority.[1] The Stormtrooper Corps swell in size after Palpatine allows the addition of birth born recruits and conscripts alongside the clones."

Quote :

"At first, the Stormtrooper Corps was composed almost entirely of clones based on the Fett template, including the remaining clones grown on Kamino, supplemented by the millions of clones created on Coruscant and Centax-2 through Spaarti technology, as well as three new stormtrooper clone batches grown in the Outer Rim Territories. During this time, traces of the phased-out clone armor remained in the design of the stormtrooper armor. However, the stormtroopers' ranks would cease to be dominated by Fett's progeny after the Battle of Kamino in 12 BBY."

Touche......................................................

5/12/2011 9:46:00 PM

Rofl he was in his underwear when he got shot

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3577851/Osama-Bin-Laden-shot-dead-wearing-just-underpants.html

5/13/2011 3:52:03 AM

Just like the movies

5/13/2011 4:49:01 AM

Some reports saying he was shot in the back of the head. That plus being in his undies, I could see how the white house is hesitant to release the photo. Sounds sketchy...going from "killed in a firefight" to "executed with a gunshot to the back of the head".

5/13/2011 7:38:11 AM

Some reports saying Bush and Cheney knocked down the Trade Towers

5/13/2011 7:41:08 AM

wasn't there a previous report that the only way they would have been able to capture him was if he was naked? sounds like he was very close.

5/13/2011 8:20:45 AM

He was naked. One of the SEALS dressed him in underwear and a sports bra. They also tossed one pair of his running shoes.

5/13/2011 8:47:51 AM

They mentioned money and phone numbers being sewn into the clothes he was wearing, and now he's in his underwear. Maybe we did question him a bit, it would make sense. Or humiliate him. Or I'm just making conjecture.

5/13/2011 8:53:41 AM

who cares? seriously? i don't care if he was wearing a fur coat and uggs or a g-string and booby tassels...he deserved to die and now he's dead

5/13/2011 8:56:45 AM

^ I don't, just feeding the speculators

5/13/2011 8:58:54 AM

Quote :

"They mentioned money and phone numbers being sewn into the clothes he was wearing, and now he's in his underwear."

Good catch.

5/13/2011 8:58:57 AM

It was only like 500 euros, could have easily been in his undies.

5/13/2011 9:13:13 AM

Quote :

"^ I don't, just feeding the speculators"

dont feed ThePeter

i agree:

Quote :

"who cares? seriously? i don't care if he was wearing a fur coat and uggs or a g-string and booby tassels...he deserved to die and now he's dead"

5/13/2011 9:29:31 AM

Yes, stifle any and all discussion. That's the spirit.

5/13/2011 9:49:41 AM

SEAL helmet cams recorded entire bin Laden raid

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/12/eveningnews/main20062410.shtml

5/13/2011 10:56:48 AM

5/13/2011 11:13:06 AM

LOLOLOLOLOL

5/13/2011 11:19:37 AM

Quote :

""There were probably about maybe four, five or six photos," said Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md. "There are just a couple body shots. He was like, in a white undershirt and a tan robe.""

5/13/2011 11:40:03 AM

Quote :

"Porn Stash Found in bin Laden Hideout: US Officials A stash of pornography was found in the hideout of Osama bin Laden by the U.S. commandos who killed him, current and former U.S. officials said on Friday. The pornography recovered in bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, consists of modern, electronically recorded video and is fairly extensive, according to the officials, who discussed the discovery with Reuters on condition of anonymity. The officials said they were not yet sure precisely where in the compound the pornography was discovered or who had been viewing it. Specifically, the officials said they did not know if bin Laden himself had acquired or viewed the materials. Reports from Abbottabad have said that bin Laden's compound was cut off from the Internet or other hard-wired communications networks. It is unclear how compound residents would have acquired the pornography. But a video released by the Obama administration confiscated from the compound showed bin Laden watching pictures of himself on a TV screen, indicating that the compound was equipped with video playback equipment. Materials carted away from the compound by the U.S. commandos included digital thumb drives, which U.S. officials believe may have been a principal means by which couriers carried electronic messages to and from the late al Qaeda leader. Three other U.S. officials familiar with evidence gathered during investigations of other Islamic militants said the discovery of pornography is not uncommon in such cases."

http://www.cnbc.com/id/43023924/

The irony would be if he favored porn that featured taking a load to the face.

5/13/2011 4:17:37 PM

Hahaahahahahhaa this is hilarious.

5/13/2011 4:28:41 PM

arabic letters not accepted eh

[Edited on May 13, 2011 at 4:30 PM. Reason : ]

5/13/2011 4:30:21 PM

Quote :

"He was naked. One of the SEALS dressed him in underwear and a sports bra. They also tossed one pair of his running shoes."

what about the router?

5/13/2011 6:55:56 PM

The prosecution failed to prove evidence of a router with a fxo port. If thats what you're getting at.

5/13/2011 7:56:16 PM

Quote :

"what about the router?"

some reports of him disposing of an FXO equipped router the previous morning

5/13/2011 7:59:23 PM

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2011/06/one-mans-quest-find-bin-ladens-watery-grave/38772/

Quote :

"One Man's Quest to Find Bin Laden's Watery Grave By John Hudson 02:14 PM ET Next month, a 67-year-old salvage diver from Fallbrook, California will journey to the North Arabian Sea to comb the depths of the ocean in search of the body of Osama bin Laden. It's a very expensive obsession this man has, and it made him very popular in the national and local media this weekend. Here's what we know about Bill Warren, the Osama hunter who refuses to give up. Who is this guy? He's a self-proclaimed "expert underwater treasure hunter." According to the New York Post, he has found "more than 200 wrecks" and is "confident he can find bin Laden's body." He told CNN that "there's no treasure that's ever eluded him, and doesn't expect bin Laden's corpse to be the first." He insisted, "There's never been a shipwreck I didn't find." Why's he doing it? The man is skeptical of the White House, especially after it refused to publish photos of bin Laden's corpse. "I am mainly doing it to prove a point to see if he is really dead," he told San Diego affiliate Channel 6. "We do this because we are patriotic Americans and feel that President Obama failed to provide the proof," he told TMZ. The New York Post got the best quote from him. "The Obama administration should have released the photo, like we did with Billy the Kid, or [John] Dillinger, or even Saddam Hussein," he said. "I have a Russian girlfriend, and she tells me that over there, in intelligence circles, they don't believe bin Laden's really dead." How's he going to do it? Apparently, Warren has some considerable resources. He told ABC News he's going to rent a remote-operated submarine paid for by funding from his "associates." He estimates the trip will cost about $1 million. Channel 6 says he has investors lined up from Chicago, Scotland and New York. He boasted a little more to the local affiliate: Warren claims he has a good idea where bin Laden's body is located, and said his 180-foot boat is waiting in Western India with high-tech equipment that can point out just about anything in water. "It's what they found the Titanic with, it's sidescan sonar, and it's very high tech," Warren said. Is he worried the body may be decomposed beyond recognition? Nope. "The fish can't get at it. It's in a sealed Navy burial bag, zipped up," he said. "White canvass rubber lined inside, 200-pounds of weights." New York Post has more details on his budget expectations. "He expects to spend about $400,000 on a two-week jaunt next month. He plans to rent a ship in India for $10,000 a day, and spend another $1,000 a day for a remote-operated submarine." What's he going to do with the body? "We would photograph, videotape, and do a DNA test, and then try to figure out what we are going to do with his body after that," he told Channel 6. And if he's really hurting for cash after the expedition, he's got a back up plan. "He says after he finds Bin Laden it is possible he'll sell his corpse to the highest bidder," reports Channel 6."

6/13/2011 5:03:10 PM

because when they can't find him that obviously means that the white house faked it

6/13/2011 5:05:35 PM

THE TRUTH IS DOWN THERE

6/13/2011 5:11:02 PM

Decomposition and/or being eaten by sea-faring wildlife couldn't possibly have happened yet.

6/13/2011 5:21:21 PM

Quote :

"Is he worried the body may be decomposed beyond recognition? Nope. "The fish can't get at it. It's in a sealed Navy burial bag, zipped up," he said. "White canvass rubber lined inside, 200-pounds of weights.""

6/13/2011 5:22:17 PM

wonder if they padlocked the zipper... those fish can get crafty, as seen on River Monsters

6/13/2011 5:23:41 PM

^^well that covers that, then.

6/13/2011 5:28:53 PM

Happy Hunting!

6/13/2011 5:29:48 PM

I hope he finds him. I would pay to see Osama in a museum.

[Edited on June 13, 2011 at 5:33 PM. Reason : .]

6/13/2011 5:33:26 PM

$30k on the skull.

6/13/2011 5:57:01 PM

the military higher ups are lol-ing right now. hes spending a million dollars diving for a body that is not in the ocean.

6/13/2011 8:19:39 PM

Stupidity knows no limit. Think about how long it took to find the Titanic. This idiot thinks he's gonna find a body in the Ocean.

6/13/2011 8:22:14 PM

cant decide if this guy is more ridiculous than the Apocalypse guy that spent all that money advertising

6/13/2011 8:23:13 PM

Quote :

""There's never been a shipwreck I didn't find.""

Didn't know OBL was a ship, or that OBL was the size of a ship .

Quote :

""I am mainly doing it to prove a point to see if he is really dead,""

No, he is chilling at the bottom of the sea, albeit, with half his face/head missing LOLOLOL!!!!11 .

6/14/2011 7:09:57 AM