“A Whole Universe of Security”: NYC on Police State Lockdown Ahead of Pope’s Visit

By all accounts in the local NYC media, going anywhere near the United Nations headquarters this week is probably just about the last place you’d want to be right now.

Security for the Pope’s visit, not to mention the 170 confirmed world leaders coming to the UN Summit at the UN headquarters there, has transcended mere circus levels and shot straight to warzone insanity zoo levels.

It’s what ABC 7 has described as, “a whole universe of security working to make sure nothing happens to the head of the Catholic Church as he blesses New York City.”

Yes, I’m sure New York City feels very blessed.

The 8,000 cameras around the city that will be always on and always recording are just the beginning (although, how is that different from the rest of the time?). Those will be continuously monitored at one of eight main “command centers”.

On top of NYPD, you also have FBI and Secret Service. The arrangement will apparently include “bomb-sniffing dogs, surveillance cameras, radiation detection units, armoured police trucks, a command centre in the middle of the street and robots trained to disarms bombs – besides thousands of police officers, road closures and security checks at every street corner and intersection,” reported IPS News.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said if it puts New Yorkers out, they can just walk, take the subways, “or work at home if possible”. How many people’s bosses are going to be cool with that? “Hi, yes, I’m sorry I have to call out from work today, the Pope is in town and, because there are security checks at every street corner like it’s Nazi Germany in World War II, it’s going to take me five hours to get to work today…”

Don’t worry, though, Police Commissioner William Bratton said there are no specific threats, but made sure to add as is customary, that they are most afraid of the potential for lone wolf attacks (which, surely if any are thwarted this week in NYC, the FBI will have had no part in setting up).

NBC News is claiming they received a document, based on FBI and Homeland Security reports, that says law enforcement is worried terrorists are going to launch attacks by impersonating police, firefighters, and EMTs, and it just so happened to be issued right before the Pope’s visit.