"THE CITY HAS ITSELF TO BLAME...." for being a great capital and the target of terrorism ---

This is really the most pathetic thing I;ve read in a while about New York. I feel for you guys.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/02/nyregion/02security.h...h&emc=th&oref=slogin


excerpt --

"Though the report said the city was in the top 25 percent of urban areas at risk, it rated the city in the bottom 25 percent in the quality of its application. It rated the Police Department's counterterrorism program and Operation Atlas as below average in sustainability, a criticism of the continuing overtime costs.

[Oh yeah... and they FAXED it instead of emailing it. Bad bad bad... cut $100 million!]

"Eight of the city's programs including the counterterrorism division and Operation Atlas, as well as some health and training programs "” fell in the bottom 15 percent, meaning any federal money used toward them will need to be specifically approved.

" Elected city officials were especially stunned that the report said New York had no national monuments or icons.
The city's application was evaluated by so-called peer-review panels of five to seven people with varying backgrounds from 47 states and affirmed by government analysts at the Department of Homeland Security.

{Since when are people from Nebraska qualified as NYC Peers?]

"Senators Charles E. Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton, both Democrats, wrote letters to Michael Chertoff, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, demanding a full explanation.

"Mr. Schumer called the episode an "absurdity," saying the grading system did not make sense.

"It would be as if you got 800's on your boards and Stanford Law School rejected you because you put the stamp on upside down," he said.

honestly S'tan,

new orleans was these republican conservatives wet dream -- emptying out an entire 'uncontrollable immoral city of sin.......' must have smelled like 'napalm in the morning' to all these anti-social-diversity-challenged-conservatives.

it appears to be the goal of this government to disband major urban areas thru attrition of government support and intentional poor leadership. breaking the backs of the CIA/FBI/IRS/SocialSecurity/FEMA/congress/judges being called extremists/the UN... was deliberate to make america see these organizations as broken with the faith of america when it is the devisive leadership that has made the poor decisions and misquided self agrandizement in panic mode that has discouraged and debilitated all these organizations. our New York and other large urban areas are in danger of not surviving. just look at the lack of support for those that went to ground zero to help and now have health problems. look at the condition of new orleans today.

when bush announced that it was everyman for themselves in the next storm, that says it all. when we see the lack of competance in all these previous crisis and the decision to go to war and plan the war, what in the world are these republicans doing still making decisions as important as the survival and protection of New York City?

this is the first time merlin appreciates the parliamentarian style of governing. this comming election will tell much of the will of us all to come together or further tear this country apart.

love, merlin

Stupidity Unveiled!
So much for NYC 'deserving' their low rating!


NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/12/washington/12assets.h...h&emc=th&oref=slogin


U.S. Terror Targets:
Petting Zoo and Flea Market?


WASHINGTON, July 11 "” It reads like a tally of terrorist targets that a child might have written: Old MacDonald's Petting Zoo, the Amish Country Popcorn factory, the Mule Day Parade, the Sweetwater Flea Market and an unspecified "Beach at End of a Street."

But the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security, in a report released Tuesday, found that the list was not child's play: all these "unusual or out-of-place" sites "whose criticality is not readily apparent" are inexplicably included in the federal antiterrorism database.

The National Asset Database, as it is known, is so flawed, the inspector general found, that as of January, Indiana, with 8,591 potential terrorist targets, had 50 percent more listed sites than New York (5,687) and more than twice as many as California (3,212), ranking the state the most target-rich place in the nation.

The database is used by the Homeland Security Department to help divvy up the hundreds of millions of dollars in antiterrorism grants each year, including the program announced in May that cut money to New York City and Washington by 40 percent, while significantly increasing spending for cities including Louisville, Ky., and Omaha.

"We don't find it embarrassing," said the department's deputy press secretary, Jarrod Agen. "The list is a valuable tool."

In addition to the petting zoo, in Woodville, Ala., and the Mule Day Parade in Columbia, Tenn., the auditors questioned many entries, including "Nix's Check Cashing," "Mall at Sears," "Ice Cream Parlor," "Tackle Shop," "Donut Shop," "Anti-Cruelty Society" and "Bean Fest."

Even people connected to some of those businesses or events are baffled at their inclusion as possible terrorist targets.

"Seems like someone has gone overboard," said Larry Buss, who helps organize the Apple and Pork Festival in Clinton, Ill. "Their time could be spent better doing other things, like providing security for the country."

"I am out in the middle of nowhere," said Brian Lehman, whose business in Berne, Ind., has five employees and grows and distributes popcorn. "We are nothing but a bunch of Amish buggies and tractors out here. No one would care."

But on second thought, he came up with an explanation: "Maybe because popcorn explodes?"

S'tan you are so much fun. Bless you.

Not to make this all too simplistic, and Merlin really is perceptive about it, but it goes back to one of the basics of 9/11 - American society is in big part incredibly naive. How else could it offer so much incredulity about the horrors perpetrated against it? And remember one of the main precepts of the first term of the Little Bush Idiocracy, We Make the Reality -it is the 21st Century version of propaganda's simplest tool, The Big Lie. No matter how preposterous or how obviously untrue the statement is, the more you say it, the more it is the content of official communication and ceremony, the more it is the Truth. That is why so many of the Idiocracy's officials are im-posters. I like how the truth now is best done as a silence like for example how the news broadcast McNeil Lehrer on PBS does a nightly closing segment where they simply put up the latest roster of those Americans killed in Iraq, just their headshot, text name, hometown, branch of service and age, in silence, no comment. Shitbusting truth. Reality as plain and simple as it is. Each face of a 19 year old girl from Oregon or 47 year old grandfather from Piscataway resonates profoundly. That's the truth baby, another war is being waged against us besides the one being done by the terrorists, and it is the war waged against us by what is left of our own government.

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Shhhhhhhh you are not supposed to speak the truth out loud... you know 'careless talk cost lives'.

I seriously believe that that propaganda machine in this country is really NO different that that in Korea or Russia or Cuba. It's just dressed up with more finess here. But truly no different. Just speak to am average young kid in the Mid West see what they know its shocking.

And I simply have to do a huge guffaw that after the indian train bombing they are starting to search bags in the subways. It's a hoot. Having lived through the busiest time for the IRA in mainland England, I can assure you that its really really easy for a 'terrorist' to bomb wherever they are even if a fat cop from Canarse searches a few back packs each day. It really isn't going to stop anything. What no doubt will kill more people is the arrogance that it won't happen again.. and the foolishness of the lack of preparation for if/when it does. (for a silly brief example I just love these HUGE metal subway gates locking every exit, it's just a matter of time).

S'tan u rule... and Seven .. u know i love you more than my own parents.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Anna Nicole,

ask the important questions similiar to:

where is your local haz-matt center? how many emergency shower designations are we aware of in this city incase of a dirty bomb or chemical attack? where are the temporary plans for emergencies being disseminated among our friends?

we all witnessed the mass of people helping at the wtc. we now witness the asthma attacks and other health issues not being addressed for these same people. their health actually being ignored all over the city.

the government says trust us?

Anna I am honoured to have you as my baby... Wow, beautiful
xoxoxo
[Did you read about the new film "Heading South" about singular ladies of a certain age enjoying sex-tourism... starring Charlotte Rampling?]

The nastiness over the health issues of the WTC workers is an abomination. Anything not to spend money where they should. It's more fun to sprinkle it into the pockets of the midwest legislatures.

What I wanna know is where's the check for Fingernails? There's a Moslem encampment here (since the 60s) and all the teenagers were taking flying lessons circa 9/11/2001. So where's our FBI agent?

And I hear tell there's a deadly weapon holed up on one of the mesas.

the abomb was invented/manufactured/shipped betwix santa fe and where ever you are now. don't tell us there isn't residue everywhere.

What is your point Merlin?
We don't need Homeland Security out here because we're already goners?

We're ALL goners.

See ya!

can't remember s'tan lol.

it's like nyc after the wtc. they lied to us about the dust. so many of us got ashma after that event and they were saying the very toxic residue was safe. no merlin does not see death everywhere as much as intentionally incompetant government intervention and untruthes that make us all take pause cause we don't know.

who is safe? who has declared the area west of santa fe safe anyway after the creation of the bombs in the forties and fifties? have been out to georgia o'keefe's home, not in tho, and it's practically on top of the factory.

there is cause for alarm in the downwind area of arizona/new mexico where they did the atom tests, so much of the animal 'genic' mutalations have been kept from the general public also.

when they tried to start up test recently people go wind of it and have stopped it so far as it would have been a nother death nell.

Seriously, S'tan and Merlin, I'm getting a lot from these posts - especially, S'tan, since NM is on my short list of places to get to in the next year.

Just saw An Inconvenient Truth. Posting here to encourage readers to see it.

While We Were Sleeping...
Stunningly Awful...
"Forget 9/11" absolutely.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/16/us/16replica.html?th&emc=th

"It is only now, nearly five years after Sept. 11, that the full picture of the Bush administration's response to the terror attacks is becoming clear. Much of it, we can see now, had far less to do with fighting Osama bin Laden than with expanding presidential power.

...."The recent disbanding of the C.I.A. unit charged with finding Osama bin Laden is a reminder that the American people may never see anyone brought to trial for the terrible crimes of 9/11.

..."The [Guantanamo] hearings were supposed to produce a hopeful vision of a newly humbled and cooperative administration working with Congress... Instead, we saw an administration whose political core was still intent on hunkering down.

"The most embarrassing moment came when Bush loyalists argued that the United States could not follow the Geneva Conventions because Common Article Three, which has governed the treatment of wartime prisoners for more than half a century, was too vague. Which part of "civilized peoples," "judicial guarantees" or "humiliating and degrading treatment" do they find confusing?

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This about the delayed cleanup of one of the buildings around the world trade center:

"Consultants to the corporation have confirmed that the tower has excessive levels of asbestos, dioxin, lead, silica, quartz, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, chromium and manganese."

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Sound savoury?

What are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)?
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of over 100 different chemicals that are formed during the incomplete burning of coal, oil and gas, garbage, or other organic substances like tobacco or
charbroiled meat. PAHs are usually found as a mixture containing two or more of these compounds, such as soot.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: seven,

That must be the infamous Deutsche Bank Building on Liberty Street, seven, which when I last looked was still shrouded in a very long black metal veil. But perhaps the removal has already begun.

The most rotten thing was that the LMDC and its contractors were apparently going to demolish the building with no special safety precautions regarding the insanely high levels of toxins present there. Until some nosey neighbors got wind of it, that is. Which created quite a "stink" as you can well imagine.
Now there are a great number of protections in place... I just hope it's enough. I trust them just as far as I can throw a piece of the rubble.

As if the dioxin and asbestos we breathed in for months after 9/11 while the EPA assured us all was A-OK wasn't enough. Bah!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: hatches,

thanks for the definition seven, sounds like a stew that keeps on giving.

recently, while trying to begin dealing with the building (read this somewhere), sadly, workers kept finding body parts. like in New Orleans where authorities swore they looked everywhere in the rubble and actually never bothered to do a d*mn thing.

the constant desire by officials to bulldoze both places is a hope to cover up their in-action and make it all go away, so more bodies and body parts will never be found.

Egads I was looking for Chi's thread last year about remembering 9/11, and read this through again...
The Deutsch Bank Building!!! Just Killed 2 firemen!

And now today Bin Laden has issued another video, leading the head f our CIA to say...
\"LET"S NOT FORGET 9/11"
and go on kill kill killing.

It's never going to end and my post-traumatic stress disorder is worse than ever, two years out of New York.
This week I dreamed I was sitting in the fuselage of a plane watching everyone "cook"... burn to death.
My last thought before I woke up was "I've got to write
this down" but my diary was burning up and the ends of my fingers were
gone.