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Mayor Blomberg IS Big Brother

From NYT:

A network of private and public surveillance cameras, license plate readers and weapons sensors already established in Lower Manhattan as an electronic bulwark against terrorist attacks will soon expand to a large patch of Midtown Manhattan, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said Sunday as they announced the allocation of $24 million in Homeland Security grants toward the effort.

Mr. Bloomberg said the expanded monitoring network would cover the areas between 30th and 60th Streets, from the Hudson to the East River.

“We cannot afford to be complacent,” he said, noting that Midtown includes landmarks like Grand Central Terminal, the Empire State Building and the United Nations....

Asked Sunday about criticism of the increased surveillance, Mr. Bloomberg said: “We live in a world where we have to have a balance. We can’t just say everybody can go everyplace and do anything they want.”

He added, “Do you really want to work in a building that doesn’t have security?”


So where would this mysterious balance be, Mayor Blomberg?

By the way, I also work in a building that doesn't have security. Short of being in the military, I have never worked in a building with security.

Comments

tom said…
Security didn't do a whole lot for the Pentagon eight years ago. It was not completely destroyed like the WTC only because its somewhat unique design made it a poor target for that sort of attack.

The "security" measures Mayor Bloomberg is implementing, like most HS programs have nothing to do with terrorism. They would not have prevented any of the previous attacks by terrorists. And they certainly will not thwart future attacks since the most important element of a successful terrorist act is a new & surprising vector of attack.

As security, these measures are purely theatrical. Unfortunately it's still easy to sell domestic surveillance by lying about its true purpose.

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