Thanks, Ian.
I'm sure that I am not alone when I tell you how very proud of you we all are.
Great job, as usual.
I have a bunch of notes from the Michael Chertoff speech today at work, I might try to type some out later. Transcripts should be along tomorrow morning at some point (I will post links here). It was quite an interesting event.
DHS Chief Justifies Funding Cuts To NYC, Washington
He didn’t have to be asked.
Unprompted, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff commenced to explain how the $125 million his agency is giving New York City is not really a cut from the $207 million the city received last year in homeland security funding.
“We look at it cumulatively,” Chertoff offered June 1, a day after his agency announced grants to dozens of U.S. cities.
Over the past four years, New York has received a half billion dollars to bolster its ability to prevent, and if necessary, respond to terrorist attacks. That’s five times more than the second-most funded city, Los Angeles, Chertoff said in address to the Brookings Institution in Washington.
And since 2003, New York’s share of the total in grants handed out has been about 18 percent — the same as the city’s share of the total this year, he said.
The secretary arrived for his talk armed with arguments and statistics amid uproar from states and localities that felt shortchanged May 31 when they were told their share of $1.7 billion given in grants to localities and states.
The loudest outcry came from New York, whose politicians interpreted the $125 million as a 40 percent slash in homeland security support.
“A knife in the back of New York,” cried Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., who vowed in the New York Times to “make them very sorry they made this decision.”
Unhappiness reigned in Washington, too, where a $46 million grant was decried as a $31 million cut from last year’s sum.
Chertoff called the allotments “fair to New York” and to other localities.
He said his agency has been trying to improve security in New York and other vulnerable cities for several years, and now it is time to invest in localities that have received little or no assistance so far.
New York is still considered the No. 1 target for terrorists by the Department of Homeland Security, Chertoff said. Los Angeles is No. 2. But so much money has already been granted to those cities that giving them more this year would lead to only marginal improvements, he said. The same money given to other cities that have been less well-funded would yield major security improvements, he said.
“We’re trying to make sure we’re not neglecting cities” that have received little so far, Chertoff said.
Louisville, Omaha, Charlotte, Newark and Jersey City each received substantial percentage increases. Although at $8.5 million for the first three and $34 million in a combined grant for the two New Jersey cities, all still fell far short of New York City in actual dollars.
Louisville, Omaha, Charlotte, Newark and Jersey City each received substantial percentage increases. Although at $8.5 million for the first three and $34 million in a combined grant for the two New Jersey cities, all still fell far short of New York City in actual dollars.
Louisville, Omaha, Charlotte, Newark and Jersey City each received substantial percentage increases. Although at $8.5 million for the first three and $34 million in a combined grant for the two New Jersey cities, all still fell far short of New York City in actual dollars.
Snip: Acrylamide has been found in french fries and potato chips sold in Korea. Acrylamide, an extremely carcinogenic substance usually reserved for paint and glu products, has been found in french fries and potato chips on store shelves in South Korea. In a report recently released by the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement, it is stated that 5 confectionary firms local to the area that supply the french fries and potato chip products are guilty of creating products that contain vast amounts of the cancer causing chemical.
Snip: On a quiet Sunday morning, a pickup full of explosives is driven to the local courthouse and detonated. Where did the truck and explosives come from? Perhaps your storage facility. From a terrorist’s point of view, a 10-by-40 self-storage unit offers easy access and plenty of space for contraband and illegal munitions. The units are large enough to house a truck or trailer full of explosives and can be accessed almost anytime.
Fortunately, self-storage operators can eliminate or significantly reduce such threats with smart thinking and technology: Sensors detect explosives, activate locking devices and prevent criminals from accessing the pickup; software notifies the manager and law enforcement that explosives have been detected and the unit is in a lockdown status.
Enormous sums have been spent in research and development to address the storage security problem. Technology is improving and costs for equipment deployment are decreasing. Facility owners wishing to build new or retrofit old security systems can apply to the Homeland Security Fund for financing in either tax credits or government grants.
Snip - thanks to Larousse2! England afraid to fly its own flag
Following warnings by extremist Islamic group al-Muhajiroun, in which the group said that the red cross in the England flag symbolizes the 'blood thirsty crusaders' and the occupation of Muslims, some of the largest companies in England have ordered their workers not to wave the flags.
The flag has recently appeared in England on everything from bikinis to cars, and sold in endless versions in stores. But the Islamic protest forced some corporations, such as cable companies NTL, Heathrow airport in London, and even the Drivers and Vehicles Licensing Agency to ban the flag in every form due to fears from reactions of Muslims.