Text 1689, 70 rader
Skriven 2006-07-12 22:02:00 av ROSS SAUER (1:123/140)
Ärende: DHS money
=================
Recipe for stupidity:
Add one part irrational fear of terrorism.
Add one part pure political pork.
Season with stupid bureaucracy.
Serve lukewarm.

The New York Subway Or An Alabama Petting Zoo? Guess Which One Is Amply 
Being Protected By The Department Of Homeland Security ... Then Guess 
Again 

Do terrorists need to attack a major U.S. transit system before the 
Department of Homeland Security takes the threat seriously?

In the past week, terrorists -- most likely from India, rather than from 
Al Qaeda -- set off a string of bombs on Mumbai commuter trains, killing 
at least 163. Meanwhile, an investigation by the FBI and its 
counterparts in six other countries led to the arrest of a 31-year-old 
Lebanese native who claims to have ties to Al Qaeda and had plans to 
send suicide bombers to blow up PATH tunnels under the Hudson River. The 
PATH system is used by 215,000 daily commuters between New York and New 
Jersey.

Is that enough to have DHS see the big picture? After all, it didn't 
make changes after last year's terrorist attack to London's transit 
system. It didn't make changes after the 2004 terrorist attack to 
Madrid's transit system.

Not only has DHS not stepped up its funding for major transit systems, 
it has shown it doesn't take the issue seriously.

Last July, DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff said: "A fully loaded airplane 
with jet fuel, a commercial airliner, has the capacity to kill 3,000 
people. A bomb in a subway car may kill 30 people." This year, DHS cut 
federal grants by 40% for New York and Washington, prompting New York 
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Republican, to testify last month that DHS 
has become victim to "the kind of political pork barrel it was 
specifically designed to avoid, contributing to the preposterous under-
funding of Homeland Security in New York City."

***

Hard to believe, but today things got more preposterous. A report from 
the DHS Inspector General found that as of January, Indiana, with 8,591 
potential terrorist targets, had 50 percent more listed sites in the 
National Asset Database 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.

While DHS is cutting funds for New York and Washington transit system 
protection, it is paying close attention to such things as a petting zoo 
in Woodville, Ala., the Sweetwater Flea Market in Sweetwater, Tenn., the 
Apple and Pork Festival in Clinton, Ill., and the Mule Day Parade in 
Columbia, Tenn. Auditors also found entries in the database such as 
"Amish Country Popcorn," "Nix's Check Cashing," "Mall at Sears," "Ice 
Cream Parlor," "Tackle Shop," "Donut Shop," "Anti-Cruelty Society" and 
"Bean Fest."

"We don't find it embarrassing," DHS deputy press secretary Jarrod Agen 
told the New York Times.

The rest of do, Jarrod.

http://jabbs.blogspot.com/2006/07/new-york-subway-or-alabama-petting-
zoo.html

From Archae's Roost, Sheboygan, WI

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