Report: New York Must Keep Focus On Anti-Terror

NewsDay ^ | Jan. 8, 2003 | Sumathi Reddy

[FairOpinion]

Albany - A digital attack that cripples computers. A biological pathogen that overwhelms the state's hospitals. Contaminated food that sets off a mad cow-like scare. All are potential terrorist threats highlighted in a State Senate report to be released today that says New York State must do more to improve homeland security, be it in the city, Long Island or its Canadian border.

The report, by a Republican-led committee chaired by Sen. Michael Balboni (R-East Williston), identifies computer networks, agriculture, hospitals and international borders as particularly exposed targets, making about 30 recommendations for possible legislation.

While most of the report deals with statewide concerns, it includes a section on Long Island's preparedness, noting that due to its unique geography and population density, evacuation is impossible, and families need to be self-sufficient while "sheltering in place."

[FairOpinion]

That's why however much we need to spend on prevention, it's cheap, compared to the disaster and cost of a terrorist attack.

[FairOpinion]

ping

[Support Free Republic]

Rank	Location	Receipts	Donors/Avg		Freepers/Avg		Monthlies
12	Tennessee	580.00	13	44.62	317	1.83	81.00	9

Thanks for donating to Free Republic!

Move your locale up the leaderboard!

[neverdem]

Does Newsday have to be excerpted?

[FairOpinion]

"Does Newsday have to be excerpted?"

==

Yes.

Usually, when I read something there, I search to see if I find an article about the same subject somewhere else, where we don't have to excerpt. But in this case, they were the only ones who had the article about this, so I had to use them and excerpt it.

[JustPiper]

Bump and your link was posted on ongoing thread BTW ;)

[JustPiper]

Very Important American non Illegal Ping!

[Calpernia]

Report on NJ 101.5 News show this morning. NJ Ports are only checking 2% of incoming cargo containers.

[BykrBayb]

This just reminds me of how glad I am my husband quit hauling hazardous material to Long Island. He's an owner/operator truck driver, and was hauling various hazardous materials, most of them very dangerous. I'm glad he's back to hauling rail trailers, non hazardous, and nowhere near Long Island. While he was hauling tanks I learned enough about what's hauled on our roads to make even the dumbest driver stop swerving in front of trucks and slamming on their brakes. And you couldn't pay me enough to live on Long Island. I know what's there.

[Donna Lee Nardo]

Ack! What do you know about what is on Long Island? What is there?

[BykrBayb]

I don't want to give anyone any ideas, so I'm not going to name any of the chemicals. I shouldn't have brought it up in the first place. The point I wanted to make is that there are deadly chemicals, easily accessible to terrorists, if they only think about it. And on Long Island, as in Southern New Jersey where I am, there is no way out. I'm within the kill zone of a chemical plant. I just don't know which chemicals are there. I only know they have emergency drills every so often, to scare the pants off us. They're not good about sending out notices, so we can never be sure it's just a drill. And I'm just barely outside the kill zone of another chemical plant, and a nuclear power plant. Of course, with no way out of the area, I'll just shelter-in-place until I grow flippers and swim across the Delaware River.