Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
#147510 09/06/05 06:20 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Jackie Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
[After a district in New York City known for vice, crime, corruption, extortion, graft, etc. It received its nickname from the choicest part of the meat, alluding to the luxurious diet of corrupt police members getting an easy income from bribes.]

I certainly hadn't known this. I have to say, I think police or any official corruption, is terrible. People just shouldn't act like that. (Sorry, Helen--another reason for me to not want to ever visit New York City: for all I know, the nearest cop will have been bribed to look the other way while somebody mugs or murders me...)

Speaking of curmudgeonly opinions: I also have to say that, while I am terribly sorry that so many people from our Gulf Coast have no place to live, I hope that Louisville doesn't get the criminal types who, for ex., shot at the rescue choppers--we have quite enough criminals here already, tyvm.

We are doing a lot for them, though, whoever they all are. Even though we're 700 miles from New Orleans, we have several hundred victims who have been brought here, and donations have poured in. One lady who was interviewed on TV last night made me smile, though her situation was far from amusing. She said she'd been told it gets cold here in the winters (after being asked if she were considering relocating to here), and she said, "Cold...that means you have to put on a light jacket, right?" She'd been quite shocked to learn that we can have actual snow on the ground.



#147511 09/06/05 06:42 PM
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
NYC's history is RICH with stories of graft and coruption.. but most (not all but most) of it is a thing of the past.

NYC is one of the safest cities (crime wise). You are far more likely to murdered (by a stranger) in almost any other city in US. NYC has an incredible low murder rate. (now, pick pocketed? as you are gawking at a skyscraper?unfortunatley that is a possiblity.)

Unfortunately,tto, in the past 4 years, poverty levels have been increasing (i know, bordering on a political message here) but, all in all we are city blessed with a low level of natural disasters.
yes, we get hurricanes, (and Anges, back in 1970, was no fun for NYC--and less fun, much less fun, for upstate NY and parts of Penns.--but generally by the time a hurricane reaches NYC, its pretty mild.
we get blizzards too, but again, most are more of a pain in the neck than disasters.

same goes for our earthquakes.

thunderstorms have been known to spin off a tornado or two, but only small ones (bad, enough!)

Even the WTC and its destruction didn't shut down the city. (90% of subways were working by rush hour of 9/11! i, eventually, took one home!)--MOST people in MIDTOWN didn't even leave work on september 11th.

and while a large (a surprizing large!) percentage of Manhatanites don't have cars (mid-class and poor alike) we have lots of mass transit.. buses, subways, light rail..and most of the bridges (remember, manhattan is an island) have pedestrian paths.

More over, NYC is used to dealing with crouds.. (the daytime population of NYC is 15million..(almost double the resident population of 8 million)--so our cops are very good at the logistics of crowd management.

With the UN headquartered here, we are also used to dealing with VIP's and political threats and attempts at terrorism.



#147512 09/13/05 03:02 AM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Jackie Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Just saw this in the AWADmail:
From: Hugh Rawson and Margaret Miner (hugh.rawsonATsnet.net)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--tenderloin

Some details on "tenderloin:: The New York City policeman who gave the midtown Manhattan district (the 29th precinct) its nickname was Alexander S. "Clubber" Williams (1839-1917). Previously a patrolman in Hell's Kitchen on the West Side, then a captain in the Gas House district on the East Side, Williams is said to have remarked to a friend upon learning of his transfer to midtown, where the opportunities for graft were much richer, "I've had nothing but chuck steak for a long time, and now I'm going to get a little bit of tenderloin." Williams rose to inspector and resigned (under fire) a wealthy man, with a yacht and estate in Connecticut, despite his relatively meager salary over the years. He earned his own nickname, "Clubber", through his usual method of enforcing the law, as indicated by another statement attributed to him: "There is more law at the end of a policeman's nightstick than in a decision of the Supreme Court." See Herbert Asbury's The Gangs of New York and our own Oxford Dictionary of American Quotations, scheduled for publication toward the end of this year.



#147513 09/13/05 04:42 AM
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379
I
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
I
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379
Hmm, and I thought the Tenderloin district *was Hell's Kitchen. At any rate, it seems the 29th precinct is no more:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/phone.html


#147514 09/13/05 07:38 AM
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 273
V
enthusiast
Offline
enthusiast
V
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 273
In reply to:

I have to say, I think police or any official corruption, is terrible. People just shouldn't act like that.


[mini-brag]Table 1: TI 2004 Corruption Perceptions Index

This table was compiled at the University of Passau on behalf of Transparency International. For information on data and methodology, please consult the frequently asked questions and the framework document.
TI 2004 Corruption Perceptions Index

Country Rank

Country

1 Finland 9.7/10

2 New Zealand 9.6/10 [/mini-brag]

http://www.transparency.org/in_focus_archive/AnnualReport04/annual_report04.htm


#147515 09/14/05 02:29 PM
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757
M
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
M
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757
> Corruption Perceptions Index

lemme see, that means the public are less perceptive in those states...? ;)


#147516 09/14/05 07:14 PM
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 273
V
enthusiast
Offline
enthusiast
V
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 273
>that means the public are less perceptive in those states...? ;)

Of course. Here, for example, it simply means they've had the wool pulled over their eyes.



Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,271
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 399 guests, and 3 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,502
LukeJavan8 9,915
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5