Strollerderby : september 11

FEMA Coloring Book Features 9/11 Image

Brett Singer — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:00:00 GMT

Maybe it doesn't matter which party is in charge. FEMA is just clueless no matter what.

The latest head-scratcher from the agency that brought you the Hurricane Katrina fiasco is a coloring book that features the following image.

Yes. That is a plane flying into two buildings that are side by side. Twin Towers. Remember them?

After an outcry (translation: someone noticed), FEMA took the image off of their web site and issued the following statement, according to MomLogic:

"We removed the content from our website after reviewing www.FEMA.gov for appropriate material. FEMA for kids assists children in understanding disasters and we will continue to post appropriate material that supports its mission."

Does that mean that they usually don't review their materials before they get posted online? Wouldn't that be a better method?

This isn't the first weird kid-related thing FEMA has given the world. My personal favorite is the "FEMA for Kidz Rap," which features the following flow: "Disaster prep is your responsibility / And mitigation is important to our agency." This little ditty makes Vanilla Ice sound like Ice Cube.

Over at MomLogic, two commenters don't see what all the fuss is about. "I like it. How else are kids going to learn about 9/11?" Well, let's see. For one thing, they could learn about it from their parents. Or their teachers. Or are government-issued coloring books the preferred scholastic method in some communities?

I'm not saying that 9/11 has to be kept a secret. But what purpose does a coloring book like this serve?

What do you think? Should FEMA put the page back on their web site? Or should it not have been there in the first place?

Source: MomLogic

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New York Times Anthrax Update

Brett Singer — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:33:00 GMT

We have a source inside the building. Here are a couple of quotes of what it's like inside.

"They just sealed off the lobby... nobody but emergency workers in or
out of the bldg...Counted four hazmat-style trucks down stairs."

"For people that really need to leave, they're telling us to take the
freight elevator to the basement, then exit through one of the garage
doors."

I think I'd be one of those people that "really needed to leave" but who knows. This isn't one of those situations that calls for heroism in my opinion.

The original post is below:

One of the weird aftershocks of 9/11 was when anthrax-tainted letters started showing up across the country. The New York Times got a few of them, which led to the company microwaving all of their mail as a precaution. After awhile, the fear subsided and things went back to (sort of) normal.

This morning, Times employees received the following email warning them of a suspicious package:

From: NYTIMES MAIL
Date: Oct 22, 2008 12:24 PM
Subject: Note from Dennis Stern re the Building
To: NY TIMES NOTES

Folks,

At about 11:30 a.m. today an employee on the 13th floor of our headquarters building in New York opened an envelope addressed to The New York Times. A white granular substance was in the envelope. The New York City police were called and are now on site investigating. The 41st Street side of the lobby is closed but people are able to get in and out of the building. We will keep you updated on any developments.

Gawker reports that, "The cops are there and the lobby is closed." A source in the building says that the NYPD Hazmat trucks are arriving as I type this.

Without making light of the situation, I will say that using postal mail to create terror can't possibly be as effective as it was 6 or 7 years ago since there's just less paper mail that gets used. That said, I know I still get a ton of it every day, so maybe I'm wrong.

Scary stuff. Hopefully everyone is OK, and I hope it's a false alarm.

Source: Gawker

Image

Another 8 year old on the terrorist watch list

Brett Singer — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 20:00:00 GMT

So remember the 7 year old kid who had the same name as someone on the terrorist watch list?

Here's an 8 year old kid who has the same name as someone on the terrorist watch list.

This time, we have video of the boy and his mother testifying before Congress.

"Since 2005, when James was 5 years old, the Robinson family has had to deal with the delays and hassles of having a son who has been consistently misidentified when traveling."

Despite her experiences, Denise Robinson is "a strong proponent of the watch list" and feels that we all have to "accept some inconveniences" in order to keep our country safe from terrorists. However, she thinks the list has been "mismanaged." Considering the fact that, without looking, I found two examples of children who had been detained multiple times because their names appeared on the list, that could be the understatement of the year.

7 year old on terrorist list

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7 year old on terrorist list

Brett Singer — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 15:30:00 GMT

A 7-year-old boy was detained at JFK airport in New York because his name was on a terrorist watch list. More accurately, his name is the same as someone else who is on a terrorist watch list. The fact that he was, you know, 7, didn't factor into the decision to keep the entire family in a locked room for an extended period of time.

Twice.

On two occasions, Alex and his family were kept in a holding room upon arrival at Kennedy International Airport from London because his name apparently matched a name on the list.

Alex was born in 2000.

“They hauled us out of the line and into a holding room,” said Ms. Harris. “It’s 8 o’clock on a Saturday night and they said, ‘We have to call Washington to have him cleared.’ And I’m like, ‘Just who do you suppose is available in Washington at 8 o’clock on a Saturday night?’ ”

It took more than two hours before Alex, a United States citizen like his parents and twin brother, was free to go. That was in late 2006. Six months later, the family arrived again from London, around 11 p.m.

Again, Alex was detained, his mother said, even though she carried his birth certificate and Social Security card.

“I said, ‘Look at him. He’s clearly not a terrorist. He’s 7!’ ” she said.

I'm all for fighting terrorism, but if this doesn't prove that a lot of the effort being expended is misplaced, I don't know what does.

Source: NYTimes, Image: ACLU