NYC and DC no longer in danger of terrorist attacks.

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

No Icons, No Monuments Worth Protecting

 

New York has no national monuments or icons, according to the Department of Homeland Security form obtained by ABC News. That was a key factor used to determine that New York City should have its anti-terror funds slashed by 40 percent--from $207.5 million in 2005 to $124.4 million in 2006.

 

"All I can tell you is if you look at their worksheets, and it says that New York City doesn't have any high visibility national icons ... I mean, I don't have to list the Brooklyn Bridge, the United Nations, Rockefeller Center, the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building and the Stock Exchange," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in response to ABC News' questions.

 

The formula did not consider as landmarks or icons: The Empire State Building, The United Nations, The Statue of Liberty and others found on several terror target hit lists. It also left off notable landmarks, such as the New York Public Library, Times Square, City Hall and at least three of the nation's most renowned museums: The Guggenheim, The Metropolitan and The Museum of Natural History.

 

"I think the facts are clear," Bloomberg said. "What they've really done is taken what was supposed to be threat-based and just started to distribute it as normal pork."

 

The form ignored that New York City is the capital of the world financial markets and merely stated the city had four significant bank assets.

 

New York City is home to Chase, JP Morgan, Citi Group, The New York Stock Exchange, The Commodities Exchange, American Express, George Soros funds, Michael Gabelli's funds, Lazard Frere and Salomon Brothers, to name just a few of the more prominent banking interests located there.

 

"Any threat-based analysis would show that New York is the top of the terrorist target list," Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told ABC News. "We're also a location that experienced two successful attacks, almost 3,000 people were killed here, four other attacks that were recorded ... Every place has vulnerabilities, but clearly, New York is still target number one.

 

"The process they used is also somewhat bizarre. They basically subcontracted it out. They, as an agency that has 180,000 employees, they went outside, and (used) some sort of peer review, and those people were not privy to any intelligence information ... The, the whole process is really kind of unfathomable to those of us who need this funding."

 

The formula did note a commuter population of more than 16 million around the city twice struck by fundamentalist terrorists and twice more targeted in plots halted in pre-operational stages. It noted the more than eight million residents and the largest rail ridership in the nation - more than five million. It is those commuters and rail riders who are expected to suffer most from the cuts since mass transit is listed on most DHS alerts as the top terror target. (Click here for the Strategic Threat Document obtained by ABC News.)

 

The report lists as classified "visitors of interest destination city," immigration cases, suspicious incidents and FBI cases. New York City is home to the largest FBI field office in the country, which actively monitors 24/7 the Iranian Mission. The city has also had the most significant terror trials in the nation and is home to one of the largest air hubs in the nation.

 

Alltell Stadium in Jacksonville counts as a monument/icon. But NYC has no monuments or icons.

 

...the Department of Homeland Security has apparently decided that D.C. and New York are plenty safe -- and has chopped their grants by 40 percent. Meanwhile, terrorist targets such as Charlotte, North Carolina; Louisville, Kentucky; and Omaha, Nebraska, saw massive increases in their totals.

 

http://www.prospect.org/weblog/

[Guest Felonies!]

It gets harder every day.

[Guest]

Alltell Stadium in Jacksonville counts as a monument/icon. But NYC has no monuments or icons.

That's gotta be a fucking joke.

 

Sadly, it is, but the department doesn't understand that.

[bob_barron 0]

The NY papers are having a shitfit over it.

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

The NY papers are having a shitfit over it.

 

 

LOL. Hicks in the sticks.

[bob_barron 0]

I love the NY Post.

[daileyxplanet 0]

So that's how Magneto got in the Statue of Liberty, hmmm.

[Eclipse 0]

Wait until another major terrorist attack happens in the NY area. They always learn the hard way....9/11 increased terrorism awareness. If not, the government would have never cared...

[EricMM 0]

And national security has gone Pork.

 

Lovely.

[C Dubya 04 0]

Well, NY is a blue state. Maybe now they'll learn to vote Right.

[Cartman 0]

Well, NY is a blue state. Maybe now they'll learn to vote Right.

 

...

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Uh...Governor George Pataki and NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg are both Republicans, last I checked, unless you were being sarcastic.

 

Just goes to show you the complete hypocrisy of the Bush administration. The President loves to talk about the supposed "war on terror" and "learning the lessons of September 11th", but has been completely incompetent in actually making sure this nation is defended, especially in terms of large cities and our southern border.

 

Can someone please punish this administration yet, or do we have to suffer until 2008? I'm sick of them getting away with this bullshit.

[Vampiro69 0]

If the terrorists wanted to scare the shit out of everyone they would decide to attack the middle of the country.

[2GOLD 0]

They needed 89 million for their secruity system, they got 125 million this year.

What exactly did they do with the 207 million from last year?

 

They got a huge chunk last year, they did improvements so now the cities that were left underfunded will get additional money to sure up their defense.

 

They needed 89 million to install their "ring of steel" defensive system and they received 125 million. That leaves them 36 million to play around with.

 

I'm insulted about the "no icons" thing, but not by the change in funds. We cannot leave some cities with extremely high numbers while other cities flap in the wind. You gotta keep spreading it around and try to eventually make all the cities safer, not just NYC and DC even though they are two of our most important.

[SuperJerk 0]

The NY papers are having a shitfit over it.

 

 

LOL. Hicks in the sticks.

 

We all live on farms and ride horses to work out here, you know.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Well, most of the west coast media assumes everything between New York and LA is fly-over country filled with soccer moms and gap toothed NASCAR fan hicks, so the headline is accurate in their view.

[EdwardKnoxII 0]

If the terrorists wanted to scare the shit out of everyone they would decide to attack the middle of the country.

 

You mean kinda of like this.

 

[snuffbox 0]

Well, Bush/Cheney told us they were the only ones who could solve the terrorism problem...and, look, NYC and DC are now safe!

[SuperJerk 0]

Well, most of the west coast media assumes everything between New York and LA is fly-over country filled with soccer moms and gap toothed NASCAR fan hicks, so the headline is accurate in their view.

Its not just the media.

 

http://forums.thesmartmarks.com/index.php?...dpost&p=2230367

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Good point.

 

Yes, because these days with cable, satellite, national radio networks, and the internet, trends really do take years to spread across the country