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by justinbeaver
4808 days ago
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Having personally attended numerous Bloomberg press conferences in NYC (through his affiliation with the local startup community), let me paint perhaps a more objective picture from which this article arose: This press conference likely had absolutely nothing to do with the Boston bombing. In fact, yesterday he was busy announcing a new ice skating facility in the Bronx. But using history as a guide, once the Q&A started, the media hounded him for quotes surrounding the Boston situation b/c stories about ice skating rinks are "boring". And then once the media got a couple quotes that fit their mold, they wove some story around it to meet their biased agenda. Simply strip out Bloomberg's quotes from the article here and see for yourselves: they're not all that incriminating. But read them in the context of the author's story, and whoa, watch out! We're about to lose all of our freedoms. Look - I get it. Some of the thing Bloomberg have done overstep the boundaries of what some consider reasonable. And having open discussion on this is totally warranted. But reading the comments here you would think those who view NYC from the outside think we live in some totalitarian state. Nothing could be further from the truth, in fact. The city remains largely liberal from a social standpoint (and Bloomberg seems to be no exception). And in terms of diversity - whether it be religion, ethnic background, interests, etc. - you're simply not going to find a better melting pot. So everybody please stop panicking for us - we're doing just fine. This is just some underpaid journo looking for a scoop and it seems she got more than a few clicks today courtesy of the alarmist HN crowd, so kudos to her. Now back to work. |
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I spent the first 18 years of my life in NYC. I still go back to visit family several times each year.
I can tell you that the only place in America where people are less free than they are in NYC is at the airports. Here are some things to think about:
1. The NYPD is basically an army. Sure, you have officers who are only armed with a handgun, but every time I have visited NYC in the past few years I have encountered at least one paramilitary team. We are talking about soldiers whose uniforms say "POLICE" standing guard in the village, or Times Square, or in front of a bank in some uninteresting neighborhood.
2. I carry a small pocket knife. When I went to NYC with it, I was stopped by the police, threatened with 2 weeks in jail, and then politely told to hide the knife so that a less "friendly" officer would not arrest me.
3. I was given a $50 fine for walking between subway cars while a train was sitting in a station.
4. I watched as dozens of cops closed in around a handful of protesters.
5. I have had the police tell me that either they will inspect my bag or I will not be allowed to ride the subway.
6. Cameras are confiscated or damaged at the Ground Zero memorial.
7. Even hunting rifles are hard to get permission to own in NYC.
8. Stop and frisk -- need I say more?
9. http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20100505//bikes-confiscated-...
10. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/01/republican-national...
Unfortunately, that is the city I have to move back to next year for a job. I am not particularly looking forward to it.