More Katrina

Montblack wrote:
Salt Lake City (1999) medium size tornado makes a direct hit on Downtown -
No Looting.

People across the city stopped what they were doing and cleaned up the
mess - until the job was done - then resumed what they were doing. No
comparing the two natural disasters, but no comparing the preparedness of
the two local governments, and reaction of the citizens either.

You were right with the comment that there's no comparing the disasters
- so why are you trying to do just that? I've been through a pretty
bad tornado. Our house was lifted off the foundation and dropped on
our neighbor's lot which was empty since their house was now down the
block a little farther. Most houses on our side of the street were
left in other lots. But the neighbors just across the street suffered
no damage at all. Police and other emergency services could quickly
deal with the situation since it covered a limited area. But they
still set up roadblocks manned by police and National Guard units who
only let in residents with proper IDs specifically to prevent looting.
And this was in a small midwest town in the supposedly law-abiding
'50s.
The devastation in New Orleans and surrounding coastal areas is on a
completely different scale.

CBS news (Tuesday) said people were looting out of a need to survive. It had
only been 18 hours folks!! CBS news is banned from this house for the rest
of the year.

No excuse for those who were filling shopping carts with TVs and other
electronics. But there were quite a few people who barely escaped from
their flooded dwellings and found themselves without food or water. I
can't see fault with them if they grab some bottled water and food. 18
hours can be a long time to be without a source of potable water -
especially if there are any young children in the family.

TL wrote:

"Dan Luke" wrote:

Holy ****.

This is far worse than we were being told even this morning. Whole
sections of Biloxi are leveled. Multi-story casinos have been driven
all the way across Hwy 90 and into neighborhoods. It looks like the
city has been carpet bombed.

Hancock County, to the west of Biloxi, is expected to be *worse*! How
that could be possible, I do not know.



The damage is exactly what knowledgeable people would expect from a
strong cat 4 or marginal cat 5 hurricane hitting such an area.
Welcome to Hurricane Reality 101.

The lesson has been taught many times in the past but it is a lesson
conveniently forgotten by many. Indeed, sometimes the lesson is never
learned in the first place. I just saw an interview on TV with a
woman whose wood frame house was reduced to rubble by Katrina. She
remarked, "We made it through Camille so I thought we could make it
through this one". What she didn't realize, and what most people
don't realize, is that a mere 10 miles one way or the other in cat 4
or 5 hurricane can mean the difference between total destruction or
just a few tree limbs down. In truth, that lady didn't "make it
through Camille", she made it through the periphery of Camille. She,
like most, didn't understand the difference. It's a crap shoot, and
those who win the bet a few times and escape the eye wall often become
emboldened and mistakenly believe that they know what hurricanes are
all about. Yesterday, such ignorance killed hundreds of people.

Yes, and the ignorance of even allowing stud frame construction in
hurricane zones to begin with. Personally, I think if people want to
live in these areas and get government help when the inevitable cat 4 or
5 comes through, then the building codes should require reinforced
concrete construction (or something similar) with steel window shutters,
backup generators, etc. for all new construction.


The levee breach and the resulting flooding of New Orleans is a sad
testament to man's arrogance in trying to re-engineer nature. With
upwards of 50,000 people remaining in a city with no functional
plumbing, the flooded streets will soon be awash with sewage and other
contaminates. Potable water is scarce. Widespread disease and
pestilence could follow. Hundreds have died and thousands more may
die. There are more than 25,000 people in a Superdome with no
functional plumbing. They must be evacuated immediately. The water
level in the streets is rising as the basin pumps fail one by one.
The true scope of this disaster on a human scale is only beginning to
be played out. The official response so far has been underwhelming.
A much larger mobilization is needed.

Yep, I've always thought it was nuts to build in a location that is both
near the ocean and below sea level. This is OK in Death Valley, but
pure folly near the coast.


Matt

Dylan Smith wrote:

On 2005-08-31, W P Dixon wrote:

Well he is in the political Catch 22. If the Pres does go people will bitch,
and if he doesn't people will bitch and say he doesn't care.


If the President is indeed strong, he will Do The Right Thing - not the
political thing. The Right Thing at this moment in time, I wager, is to
not get in the way. If necessary, he can explain why he is keeping away
- then the people criticising him will look rather pathetic that they
essentially want rescue work to be intefered with.


The right thing, IMO, would be to visit quietly and not have a TFR.
Does anyone really believe that a credible terrorist threat could be
mounted in such a disaster zone? Let's use some basic sense here.


Matt

TL wrote:

Meanwhile, president Bush is at a Naval Air Station in Colorado making
a speech in which he compares his administration's politically
motivated hegemony in Iraq with WW2. "Once again we will not rest
until victory is America's and our freedom is secure." Any American
who buys in to such bull**** is a ****ing idiot.

And anyone who would write this is likewise.


Matt

The right thing, IMO, would be to visit quietly and not have a TFR. Does
anyone really believe that a credible terrorist threat could be mounted
in such a disaster zone? Let's use some basic sense here.

The current TFR has nothing to do with the Pres.
TFR's have historically been used in times of emergency to keep the
Lookie Loo's out of the area.

"Dan Luke" wrote:

My feelings WRT Mr. Bush, notwithstanding, I find them
offensive, as I'm sure most others do.

How amusing. A cursory check reveals that you not only engage in
political commentary here, but you curse as well ("Bull****" just a
few days ago). Your hypocrisy is showing. In truth, it wasn't the
curse word that offended you, it was the phrase that offended you, and
it offended you because it fit. Let's not pretend otherwise. I am
pleased that I offended the intended audience. As for any choirboys I
may have also offended, I couldn't care less.

Blueskies wrote:
"john smith" wrote in message . ..

I would be pretty cool to buzz the beach with a 747 (Bush did it today)

back OT

I can't imagine what those folks on the ground thought; look, there goes AF1, I wonder if he has any fresh water? Is
that thing air-conditioned? Maybe they'll drop some food?

One person I saw interviewed on the news said it was a sign of hope for
them that "they know what's happening here." If the President is flying
over, then surely help can't be too far away.

AF1 is probably one of the most potent icons of the American nation out
there. No matter where you are in the world, when people hear a plane
and look up, and realize that it's AF1, everything stops. She's a
symbol not of her individual passengers with all their well-documented
flaws, but of the Presidency as an institution. How many times has a
blue-and-white bird been the backdrop of an indelible image?

-cwk.

Matt Whiting wrote:

Any American who buys in to such bull**** is a ****ing idiot.

And anyone who would write this is likewise.

And another of the flag waving sheep chimes in. My final paragraph
was just as accurate as the preceding three. I'm pleased that it
jerked your chain.

"Denny" wrote:

Well TL, quite a diatribe... I do not disagree with the basic premise
of your argument about some people being blind to reality and basically
stupid... Which is exactly what shows in your twisting about at the end
to make this storm and your diatribe an excuse for a political attack
upon the president, complete with vulgar language...

In other words, "Oh, he said a bad word! Oh, he attacked the
president's policy! I'm shocked! I'm mortified!"

Go back to your choir loft, Denny boy. My comments stand correct as
stated, all four paragraphs. Sometimes the truth stings, huh? In
case you haven't noticed, this newsgroup is rife with political
commentary and vulgar language both on and off topic. Such is the
nature of USENET. I'll continue to post what I wish, when I wish, and
where I wish. To that end: Those who buy into the administration's
war in Iraq have their head firmly buried in the sand, and, yes, to me
they are ****ing idiots. Deal with it.

("TL" wrote)
[snip]
In case you haven't noticed, this newsgroup is rife with political
commentary and vulgar language both on and off topic. Such is the
nature of USENET. I'll continue to post what I wish, when I wish, and
where I wish. To that end: Those who buy into the administration's
war in Iraq have their head firmly buried in the sand, and, yes, to me
they are ****ing idiots. Deal with it.


People are seldom crude or vulgar here ...the 'F'enheimer is rare in this
newsgroup - thank goodness.

....but yes, sometimes "bloviating idiot" fits.


M*#^*&%*k