Horses the heat wave - Activists speak out! posted by Suzannah B. Troy

HEAT WAVE CONTINUES IN NEW YORK CITY

as exploited Carriage Horses sufferJOIN US FOR A DEMO: NYC has been experiencing a brutal heat wave for several weeks. This may well turn out to the hottest July on record. According to the law, carriage horses are not supposed to be worked when the temperature is 90 degrees or above. There is no consideration for humidity. But this is not always the case as drivers ignore the temperature and take their horses out - or the ASPCA, the only agency designated to monitor and take the temperature, is not there to do so.We have proof that drivers have violated the law multiple times with impunity and abandon. But who will do anything about it? Where is the accountability? Please speak out for the horses. Come to a demo to let NYC know that we are not going to take it anymore. We want change.

• When: Thursday, July 22nd - 1:00 to 2:00 PM
• Where: Central Park South and Fifth Avenue (north side)
• Sponsors: Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages and Friends of Animals

Join us during your lunch hour or break. Although we will have posters, we invite you to use your creativity to make your own.

JOIN US ON FACE BOOK & SIGN ONLINE PETITION

• Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages
• Horses Without Carriages International
• Online petition - please sign if you have not already done so.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead.

Staten Island Ferry Crash injuries post by Suzannah B. Troy

1010 Wins reports there was a Staten Island ferry crash and there were injuries but nothing as horrific as the previous one from seven years ago.  There is one serious injury and two police officers on duty were injured as well as a dozen or so people  but  again I repeat nothing like the last ferry crash which was horrifying.

The Andrew J. Barberi hit the pier at 9:20am this morning and just seemed to be approaching too fast and for some reason they could not slow the ferry down.  It is said the throttle failed.




Same boat, same terminal,  a far more devastating crash  that took the lives of 11 people and severely injured some survivors happened October 15, 2003.   It was like deja vu but not as bad thankfully.


Here is the Wikipedia page for the Staten Island Ferry boat crash that resembled a terror attack and even made people think of Sept. 11.  There were many law suits and pay-outs.  Also deeply heartbreaking and a moving story of the young man that had to have both his legs amputated.   His name is Paul Esposito and he considers every day a blessing.  He settled for $8.9 million dollars.  


Of course as usual I have major praise for our 1st responders rushing to rescue the people on this ferry and prayers and healing wishes to all injured.  It does make me think of the Ferry crash from 2003 where so many people died or were injured and that crash did make me think of Sept. 11.  


Staten Island was NYC's "heart" -- this little Island -- like a powerful heart keeping the downtown area alive and going after the horrific day.  So many rescue workers rushed to the WTC after 9-11 and for those that survived many made the trip to the WTC every day digging in the rubble hoping to find bodies or even a small piece of DNA so Staten Island holds a special place in my heart.

The mayor won't cut NYPD post by Suzannah B. Troy

The mayor of New York, Mike Bloomberg, a man  many consider the developer's mayor, not the peoples', has come to his senses, in the dollar and sense nightmare of an economic meltdown and massive lay-offs and cuts to come and the NYPD are no longer on the chopping block.

Could you imagine if there was an APP on your phone to report suspicious packages, vehicles, etc. like the MTA ad campaign that the hero t-shirt vendor, Viet Nam Vet, Lance Orton actually quoted and followed to the T.  It would be faster than 911 and you can send photos or in the case of the car parked in time square even run you phone over the registration code in the window like traffic ticketing police do.  There is an APP for everything on state of the art phones these days, why not one for fighting terror attacks? 

That is good to hear but the bottom line is the NYPD is the smallest it has ever been in NYC's history policing the largest NYC population ever so we don't need cuts but we also need more NYPD and high tech equipment with the tech- training to accompany preventing further terrorist attacks here in NYC.

Last night Notify NYC, the text messaging program I signed up for reported, "Due to police activity the RFK/Tri-Boro Bridge is closed in both directions.  This morning I read in The New York Daily News that the police where investigating an abandoned u-haul.  Drivers reported seeing a man flee.  The Bomb Squad responded and X-rayed the u-haul and it was empty.

The NY Daily News has more background information on the Time Square Bomber and like the WTC bombers he had his share of disappointments and anger over U.S. policies in the middle east but as I recall the bombers that carried out suicide missions were upper middle to wealthy and had problems with women and spent their last night in a strip club.  Shahzad the Time Square Bomber never intended to blow himself up and it is clear he did not come from poverty but also comfort.  He is married and has a young daughter and The Daily News says they are possible in protective custody.

Everyone this time around is safe but this was a wake-up call and it is clear NYC needs more funding from Washington, D.C. if we are going to continue to try and stop attacks here in NYC.  Here is my YouTube I made yesterday The Time Square Bomber Sings & New York holds up tin cup to The White House for Federal Funding. 

Two Vets Time Square Heroes post by Suzannah B. Troy

The above photos from The New York Daily News....please see link for photo credits and  more information

Just remember on this blog and from my blog I reported the new owner of The Mercer Hotel tried to sweep vendors of the block and some are Vets like the two hero New Yorkers that alerted the quick thinking NYPD of the suspicious vehicle and their willingness to take action saved lives.

I posted an early piece today and also yesterday how a street vendor and now it turns out it was two men did what we have been instructed to since Sept. 11 through ads in the subways, etc.  if you see something suspicious alert the NYPD and they did just that.  They are Viet Nam Vets so it was second nature to them.

They saved lives and we must remember them and do the same if we see anything that could be a bomb, etc.

http://newyorkfocus.blogspot.com/2010/05/bombing-suspect-caught-on-tape-post-by.html

Also here is one of my favorite postings because I tell you about the history of NYPD Bomb Squad and show you their very own YouTube!

http://newyorkfocus.blogspot.com/2010/05/time-square-bomb-square-post-by.html

NY Pension Funds Goldman not delivering "gold" posted by Suzannah B. Troy

• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Goldman Sachs was revealed today in The New York Post for not delivering "gold" when it comes to handling the New York Pension Funds as reported in a scathing piece by one of the post's star reporters Susan Edelman.   I have to laugh because The New York Post tried to push the professional sex worker caught in the Elliot Spitzer scandal as their star columnist and it fell flat and as usual a true dynamo as far as I am concerned is this reporter, Edelman who brought us right inside the NY Public School Rubber Room where teachers were collecting obscene amounts of money and even larger pensions bleeding the tax payers dry for doing nothing.  Thanks to consistently strong reporting by Edelman and her fellow reporters, the Rubber Room is no more!
  
  
  
  I happen to catch our mayor Mike Bloomberg at a press conference that lucky for him I can't attend because I don't have a press pass saying something like this -- what will you report on now, now that the Rubber Room is closed?
  
  
  Well Susan Edelman found something of interest and that is all that glitters is not necessary "Goldman" as in Goldman Sachs.
  
  
  I can't sum up this well written piece so I am hyperlinking this article right here and to sum it up in one sentence more egg on the face of Goldman Sachs.
  
  
  Also please note for anyone following the Goldman Sachs media nightmare of their top dogs being grilled by senators one face you don't see is ex-top dog aka ex-CEO, Chair of GS Hank Paulson who like many GS alumni go on to top positions in politics.  Like Robert Rubin did for Clinton, Paulson became Secretary of Treasury for Bush.
  
  
  I hear many whispers or even a very powerful clearly spoken voice in a  YouTube by Debtruth1 who calls Hank Paulson to task and she and her YouTubes are brilliant.   She has an entire series on Goldman Sachs.  http://www.youtube.com/user/debtruth1#p/u  This YouTube link I posted to your left also busts Hank Paulson .
  
  
  The YouTube below Deb visits "Goldman past" and manages to give Paulson a very hard time!  Deb's YouTubes are brilliant.
  Goldman Sachs: Deception and Disclosure
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I am sure the powers that be at Goldman Sachs headquarters are deep in discussion about how to counter all the bad
  press and the newest "bomb" dropped by Susan Edelman about Goldman Sachs's less than shining success on behalf
  of the NY pension fund has caught their attention!
  
  
  Note: Jon Corzine, also an ex-CEO chair of Goldman Sachs, like our royal mayor king Mike Bloobmerg spent an
  enormous or should I say obscene amount of money to attempt to win back his seat as governor and the people
  of New Jersey sent a powerful message.
  Unlike Bloomberg who just squeaked by winning or stealing a third term, Jon Corzine lost.
  
  
  I
  
  

Donny Moss takes on the mayor, ASPCA & horse carriage trade! post by Suzannah B. Troy

Donny Moss, activist, film maker and the maker of some very powerful YouTubes that have rocked the political scene including "Behind Christine Quinn's Smile" has taken on mayor Mike Bloomberg,
ASPCA, as well as City Council on the reality the horse carriage industry must be banned. By the way he is not alone with world wide support growing and more major cities around the world banning horse drawn carriages.

Donny Moss sent out an email where he wrote this...

"At a public hearing on April 27th, Mayor Bloomberg justified his support of the bill to protect and strengthen NYC's horse-drawn carriage trade by stating that the ASPCA believes the industry is humane. I made a short video so that you can see this perversion of the truth for yourself." Here is the YouTube he sent...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jWz6s6r5f4

Donny asks this important question....

"Why does the ASPCA protect the horse-drawn carriage trade by allowing lawmakers, carriage operators and even a Franciscan monk to (falsely) suggest that the ASPCA supports it? "

The answer is resounding silence.

He also points out that City Council has not done enough to protect horses. He goes on to write.

"Enabled by the ASPCA's refusal to speak out publicly, Mayor Bloomberg and Council Member Christine Quinn held press conferences boldly declaring their support of NYC's carriage trade. Now that they've passed a pro-industry bill, why would either of them address this issue for years to come? The passage of this bill is a MAJOR set back for the horses and the movement to end this inhumane trade."

He urges all of us here in NYC and world wide to keep up the pressure on the ASPCA and political officials. The goal is to ban horse drawn carriages.



Check out this website by Donny Moss about his film Blinders the movie.
www.blindersthemovie.com
=
Please check out this website for more information as well.  http://banhdc.org/ch-news-20100427.shtml

St. Vincent's Shocker!!! post by Suzannah B. Troy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XBtpawY_3Q

Above is Yetta Kurland who almost beat city council speaker Christine Quinn who like Mike Bloomberg barely won her seat back the way mayor Mike Bloomberg spent the most obscene amount of money ever in NYC history, close to 110 million dollars for the most humiliating win and tainted because the people of New Yorker were denied a referendum! Well Yetta Kurland, a Civil Rights lawyer and community activist is going strong and full out for the community as is she had won the city council seat and this short YouTube above gives you some insight in the fact St. Vincent's may be closing but it is not a closed case! This YouTube is called "St. Vincent's Shocker. A nurse gives an extremely moving and rousing speech. She calls for a revolution. She says you people need a revolution downtown. She conjurs up the 1960's!!!   This is a very rousing speech and I agree. We need to tell the politicians this is just not good enough!!!!

I think of Peter Finch in Network! "I am as mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore!"

The speaker speaks up about the concerns that nurses may not get their pensions, that some  nurses had checks that bounced and more shocking details that are red flags. Someone yells out Enron. Some now unemployed and tried to apply unemployment and were denied. The nurse calls out for a Federal Investigation. Please watch this you. Dr. David Kaufman explains why we need an emergency room and he points out too many people use the emergency room for non-emergencies. He doesn't mention that many people do so  because they have no health insurance. By the way St. Vincent's never turned anyone away according to what I was told. These YouTubes are deeply moving and I hope you will watch them. "The St. Vincent's Shocker" is a must see. Very shocking and I do hope a Federal Investigation does happen!  Even more I wish for a late in the 9th Inning miracle that the hospital is re-opened but for now it looks like a dead issue and I don't know what the people of the neighborhood will do! We need this hospital bailed out more than any bank!

Two massive disasters Eco-disaster and Economic posted by Suzannah B. Troy

This newest terrible oil spill is an eco-diaster beyond what people maybe understanding and it is heartbreaking but also here in NY,  the budgetary crisis is devastating as well and we maybe moving from a recession to a depression.    The oil spill is worse because entire populations of sea life maybe obliterated but both are nightmares as far as I am concerned and should never have happened.

The economic crisis  here and for the country is not being  addressed effectively and I am sure it will have world wide tremors but here in NY Albany's politicos can't get it through their thick skull how actually devastating this economic crisis is and refuse to work together to close the budget crisis.  President Obama did inherit a disaster but here in NY it has been more the making of Albany and City Hall and they are not doing anything effectively to address the problem.  Most New Yorkers see politicians as corrupt fat cats...not all but many.

We also have an accidental governor who is not a strong leader or one with integrity who should have resigned quite a while ago and I am guessing he spends a lot of time on the phone with his defense attorney because of all the scandals, at least 3 significant ones that make him an even more ineffectual leader if that was possible.

Both the eco-diaster -- this massive oil spill and this economic disaster are hard to wrap one's mind around.  The nature disaster is a travesty beyond words and comprehension but this economic disaster means even more people lay-offed and more pay-cuts, more closings, quality of life here in NYC continuing to spiral downward.  I continue to ask is City Council unvoting themselves a raise.

Here is my YouTube from Oct. 13, 2008 Gloomy Bloomy News Sub-Zero Trickledown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnkhunOHe6g

How did I know this and the mayor seemed not to know this and he made promises and brokered deals to win or steal his third term which would further bankrupt NYC as he gave away or spent over a hundred million dollars with sub-zero trickle down.  Mike Bloomberg is also in big trouble with his spending close to a million dollars that he  can't account for to buy his third term and this is being investigated by an appointee of Cy Vance's as well as Mike Bloomberg's association and continue loyalty to Steve Rattner who has essentially been blamed for anything and all things corrupt with Quadrangle and the pension fund scandals.  Of course Rattner says he is innocent although his own firm, Quadrangle disavowed him and of course Rattner will just pay some hefty fine by real peoples' standards but small change for him and no jail time or even a guilty plea.  In the US if you are rich, a celebrity, a politico or well connected you get to plead no contest.  

All this spells disasters that will be affecting people and the eco-diaster the planet for a long time.

Vibeke Hastrup Suzannah B. Troy Restoration NY Theatre Workshop post by Suzannah B. Troy

New York happenings....A wonderful friend and New Yorker suppose to accompany me to Restoration was not feeling well so I had an extra ticket.  I approached the box office and in my shy and demure way -- kind of like Claudia Shear "Blown Sideways Through Life" -- I just shouted out would anyone like a free ticket?

Viebeke Hastrup said yes and I was so happy to impress upon her  a New York magical moment like this. She impressed me too.  She is here from Denmark and this beautiful actress is here hoping to put on a play here in NYC in 2011.

Good luck Vibeke!!!!!!  I will be there.   I was here tonight as part of a small package of tickets I bought to support The New York Theatre workshop.  It was such a pleasure to enjoy this play with someone who really appreciates the theatre, acting and the arts!

Heartbreak for Laura Garza's family and probe

The New York Daily News does a follow-up piece on Laura Garza and the on going investigation.

The New York Daily News has done outstanding work even writing an article when many papers seemed to have forgotten about her being missing.

Anyone who may have seen or had contact with Mele in or around Scranton, PA is asked to contact New York State Police at 845 344-5300 or Pennsylvania State Police at 570 963-3156.

The Wall Street Journal editorial on GS getting grilled

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704471204575210131211954768.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_AboveLEFTTop

There is a stand out quote by a woman making an analogy to gambling and the house winning but folks I am not a subscriber and I don't have the paper with me......