"Homeland Security" in Verizon phone book

[BattyDem]

This kind of freaked me out ...

I was looking through the yellow pages and in the "H" section, there were two-pages of "advice" from Homeland Security on preparing for a terrorist attack. There's an Emergency Supply Kit checklist (yes, duct tape is included) and a four-step plan. A few lines that jumped out at me:

"Many potential terrorist attacks could send tiny microscopic 'junk' into the air."

<snip>

"There are circumstances when staying put and creating a barrier between yourself and potentially contaminated air outside ... can be useful."

<snip>

"However, there are important differences among potential terririst threats, such as biological, chemical, explosive, nuclear and radiological, that will impact the decision you make and the actions you take."



I don't know about the rest of you, but having a "fear manual" in my phonebook gets me a little pissed off. There I was, doing nothing more than looking up a phone number, and I got blasted with the usual "fear, fear, terror, terror" message from our government. Shouldn't a "security" department be doing everything to STOP you from being afraid and deliver a "don't worry, we've got you covered" message, instead of a "buy duct tape - you're on your own" message? :shrug: :eyes: Then again, after seeing their response to Katrina, the "you're on your own" message is obviously the truth! :grr:

[XemaSab]

1. It makes sense

Californians and people in tornado country, among others, usully have a few pages in the front of the phone book explaining how to be prepared for an emergency and what to do in an emergency, like how to shut off the gas, how to prepare an eathquake kit, how to protect yourself during a quake, etc.

While I think www.ready.gov and the department of homeland security in general are a joke, according to the 9-11 report after the bombing in 1994 (?) the WTC began having escape drills, and these drills may have saved many lives on September 11th.

The fact of the matter is that I'm glad that the government freely admits that they can't be there to protect us 24-7, it's impossible. Knowing what to do in the unlikely event of a terrorist attack could save lives.

[BattyDem]

2. I'm not talking about escape drills and emergency preparedness ...

... of course those things save lives. I'm talking about the ongoing campaign to make the populace think about terrorist attacks 24/7!

The info in the phone book is from the ready.gov web site and like you said, it's a joke. Water, food and batteries will help you survive during an earthquake or other natural disaster - but there is no way to make your home "air tight" in the event of a chemical or biological attack and even if you could, your air would run out at some point. Nukes? Get nuked - your dead ... if not from the initial blast, then definitely from the fallout. Duct tape won't help you.

I wouldn't have even questioned it if they were in the "blue pages" (government listings), but it was really weird to see the fear propaganda in the middle of the yellow pages. It's as if they're trying to get people to think about terror attacks when they least expect it. Don't let them get too comfortable - make sure they keep thinking about terrorists. :eyes:

[XemaSab]

3. I see what you're talking about

and yes, that does seem suspicious...