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Edited on Thu May-13-04 05:06 PM by maggrwaggr
a recent article in Harper's described how there is a hotline "red phone" network set up for CEO's of major corporations in America to get in touch with the White House immediately in times of crisis. So they can supply the needed bandages, q-tips, happy meals, etc. to needy citizens. :eyes:
Not even governors of states, who are responsible for calling out the National Guard, in cases of emergencies, have such access
I'm trying to find a link.
Hm, haven't found the link yet, but here's a couple of interesting tidbits from the Jan issue:
Number of press conferences at which President Bush has referred to a question as a "trick" : 11
Number of New York Times articles about Pfc. Jessica Lynch that were written by Jayson Blair : 7
x x x
Okay, I can't find it online, but here's the hard copy:
April 2004, page 81, 82
(snip)
CEO COM LINK, a secure, exclusive telephone system established in November 2001 that allows chief executives to speak directly with Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge and other officials during a terrorist attack.
CEO COM LINK - "CEO" ostensibly stands for Critical Emergency Operations -- is a remarkable example of what the Business Roundtable likes to call a "private public partnership". The exclusive communications network was created by the Roundtable for use by its members, 150 CEOs from Fortune 500 companies .......
(snip)
CEO COM LINK affords the Business Roundtable an astonishing status. No other organization, public or private, has such a secure and open line to the top tier of government during a national disaster.
(snip)
In the public sector, of course, such a system is completely unheard of. "There's nothing like it," says Representiative Curt Weldon (R., Pa), who serves as vice chairman of a House committee on emergency preparedness and response.
(snip)
Communication with the local and state governments is so shoddy, he notes, that state governors, who bear resonsibility for activating the National Guard, still lack the full access to classified information on terrorist threats that members of Congress have..
(snip)
No dedicated hotline like CEO COM LINK exists for any other group: not governors, mayors, firefighters, hospitals, or police.
(snip)
... as such it could, during a national emergency, allow for a kind of ad hoc governance by the Roundtable and its unelected CEO's.
(snip)
The Business Roundtable has not sought press attention for the hotline, and neither it nor the Roundtable is mentioned on the Department of Homeland SEcurity's website.
Nice, huh? Fascism at work. Right here in the USA
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