ANIMAL » Homeland Security

DHS’s Beefy NYC Surveillance Cams

Bucky Turco — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 20:18:17 +0000

Just when it looked like only the city that was getting ripped off by whatever security company installed all those overly redundant surveillance cameras in subway stations for the MTA, buses now as well, the feds easily upped the ante with these hulking Department of Homeland Security boxes.

The prominently branded units that carry at least three globe cams and other doodads, line the blocks surrounding Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan and even though they’re not likely to thwart any kind of terrorist attack, virtually ensure the media will get good footage should a catastrophic event unfold.

Department of Homeland Security Reprimands Sleepy TSA Worker

Bucky Turco — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:45:31 +0000

Earlier this week, we published a photo of a napping TSA employee at La Guardia Airport, but didn’t quite expect the shitstorm it would create. After viewing the image, Homeland Security launched an internal investigation and reassigned the worker. A spokesperson for the agency also admitted that “it was completely inappropriate for her to rest in a public area while on her break as opposed to a nearby break room.” I couldn’t agree more.

Today, the Daily News picked up on the story as did the Associated Press which could help deter any further snoozing on the job by TSA employees in the foreseeable future.

Homeland Security Promotes Nonexistent Law

Will Sherman — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:31:56 +0000

A Downtown Express story on Randall Thomas, a pro photographer arrested for videotaping a federal building in Manhattan, features Homeland Security spokesperson Luis Martinez spouting fictitious laws banning public filming and photography: “There are certain things that the press cannot do when it comes to national security, and filming federal buildings is one of them.” Unfortunately, Martinez isn’t the only misinformed Homeland Security staffer. Last week, Secretary Janet Napolitano appeared on Fox News urging the public to report photographers as likely terrorists to police.

Government Claims It’s Tracking Its Citizens To Safeguard Them

ANIMAL — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:21:51 +0000

If that NYPD plan to scan and store information for up to a year on every vehicle entering Manhattan is causing some concern for a handful of people that still care about privacy laws, the Department of Homeland Security’s 15-year, data storing border strategy should provoke some outrage on both sides of the aisle. According to the Washington Post:

“The federal government has been using its system of border checkpoints to greatly expand a database on travelers entering the country by collecting information on all U.S. citizens crossing by land, compiling data that will be stored for 15 years and may be used in criminal and intelligence investigations.”

The DHS is of course playing the fear card, claiming it’s “part of a broader effort to guard against terrorist threats,” but some critics argue that it’s a continuation of the Bush administration’s “unprecedented expansion of data gathering for national security and intelligence purposes.” They can hold you indefinitely, listen to your calls, and now, based on your travel records, either deny or admit you into the country. Forget about the whole fighting them over there so we don’t have to fight them over here rhetoric, they already won. |WaP0|
A Border Patrol SkyWatch tower. (Photo: Dean Knuth/Arizona Daily Star)

Plum Island Slightly Alters Official Line On Montauk Monster

ANIMAL — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:37:36 +0000

Image: NYMag
Despite numerous theories about the Montauk Monster and an inability to properly identify it—even with newly published photos—many are convinced that it’s most likely some sort of creature from the clandestine animal experiment lab located on lovely Plum Island just off the coast of Orient Point. However, in an official statement to Associated Content, the Department of Homeland Security run facility emphatically denied it was theirs and even speculated that it’s most likely a “cat or raccoon” based on viewing the canine teeth from the widely dispersed photo. So today we reached out and they sent another explanation, that eliminated the feline theory, claiming it could actually be a “dog or raccoon.” They also maintain that “it’s impossible to accurately identify the species of animal from the photo. There is no scale from which to judge its size.” Are they not looking at the same photo we are? The above image clearly shows a fly—probably from the depths of Hell—feasting on the animal, providing some indicator of scale. You would ~~think~~ hope that an agency responsible for protecting livestock and specifically engaged in highly contagious animal experimentation would have all the information at hand. Then again, it is ran by Homeland Security. Official unaltered statement after the jump. UPDATE: new ‘Monster’ found in Connecticut within relative earshot of Plum Island.

“It is impossible to accurately identify the species of animal from the photo. There is no scale from which to judge its size. Additionally, when a body has had prolonged exposure to water and predators, it can be altered or appear different from its normal form. If we had the actual body, we could tell you what it is; however, from viewing the lower canine tooth and other physical characteristics evident in the picture, we could guess it may be a dog or raccoon. I can state categorically that it is not associated with the work performed at Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC). PIADC serves as the Nation’s first line of defense against foreign animal diseases of livestock by identifying such diseases through diagnostic testing and by developing vaccines to protect livestock from those diseases.”

-Dr. Larry Barrett, Center Director, Plum Island Animal Disease Center