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Serious Problems are Afoot in New Orleans (pg. 10)
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| ogvh5150 |
| quote: | Originally posted by kush paintings
Please... please... don't bring Bush into this, while I am not a supporter of his by any means, every time I hear 'well Bush could've' or 'great leadership by Bush' I just want to smack some bitches up. Yes, the hurricane was bad, but what has caused so much damge was the fact thaqt the levee broke. There are hurricanes every year, and they don't anticipate levees breaking and emptying out the ing ocean into all areas below sea level. Why suppilies haven't gotten there quicker is because, a) transportation is nearly impossible, I believe there is only one road that is somewhat functional into New Orleans and sadly, b) nobody realized just how bad it was. |
| quote: | Originally posted by ogvh5150
Bush budget not expected to diminish New Orleans district's $65M
New Orleans CityBusiness, Feb 7, 2005 by Deon Roberts
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has identified millions of dollars in flood and hurricane protection projects in the New Orleans district.
Chances are, though, most projects will not be funded in the president's 2006 fiscal year budget to be released today.
In general, funding for construction has been on a downward trend for the past several years, said Marcia Demma, chief of the New Orleans Corps' programs management branch.
In 2001, the New Orleans district spent $147 million on construction projects. When fiscal year 2005 wraps up Sept. 30, the Corps expects to have spent $82 million, a 44.2 percent reduction from 2001 expenditures.
Demma said NOC expects its construction budget to be slashed again this year, which means local construction companies won't receive work from the Corps and residents won't see any new hurricane protection projects.
Demma said she couldn't say exactly how much construction funding will be cut until the president's budget is released today. But it's down, she said.
The New Orleans district has at least $65 million in projects in need of fiscal year 2005 funding. In fiscal year 2006, the need more than doubles to at least $150 million.
Bush budget not expected to diminish New Orleans district's $65M
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| quote: | Originally posted by ogvh5150
Among emergency specialists, "mitigation" -- the measures taken in advance to minimize the damage caused by natural disasters -- is a crucial part of the strategy to save lives and cut recovery costs. But since 2001, key federal disaster mitigation programs, developed over many years, have been slashed and tossed aside. FEMA's Project Impact, a model mitigation program created by the Clinton administration, has been canceled outright. Federal funding of post-disaster mitigation efforts designed to protect people and property from the next disaster has been cut in half. Communities across the country must now compete for pre-disaster mitigation dollars.
As a result, some state and local emergency managers say, it's become more difficult to get the equipment and funds they need to most effectively deal with disasters. In Louisiana, requests for flood mitigation funds were rejected by FEMA this summer. (See sidebar.) In North Carolina, a state also regularly threatened by hurricanes and floods, FEMA recently refused the state's request to buy backup generators for emergency support facilities. And the budget cuts have halved the funding for a mitigation program that saved an estimated $8.8 million in recovery costs in three eastern North Carolina communities alone after 1999's Hurricane Floyd.
Consequently, the residents of these and other disaster-prone states will find the government less able to help them when help is needed most, and both states and the federal government will be forced to shoulder more recovery costs after disasters strike.
In addition, the White House has pushed for privatization of essential government services, including disaster management, and merged FEMA into the Department of Homeland Security -- where, critics say, natural disaster programs are often sidelined by counter-terrorism programs. Along the way, morale at FEMA has plummeted, and many of the agency's most experienced personnel have left for work in other government agencies or private corporations.
A Disaster Waiting to Happen
As FEMA weathers Bush administration policy changes, some insiders fear that concerns over terrorism are trumping protection from hurricanes and other natural hazards.
[sarcasm]Them WMD's around there in Iraq somewhere. We're sure of it. Even if the coastlines in the US of A have to drown.[/sarcasm]
Incidentally, Louisiana is a red (republican) state. How ironic is that?
"Before FEMA was condensed into Homeland Security Š it responded much more quickly," says Walter Maestri, director of Jefferson Parish's Office of Emergency Management. Maestri has worked with FEMA for eight years. "Truthfully, you had access to the individuals who were the decision-makers. The FEMA administrator had Cabinet status. Now, you have another layer of bureaucracy. FEMA is headed by an assistant secretary who now has to compete with other assistant secretaries of Homeland Security for available funds. And elevating houses is not as sexy as providing gas masks."
Maestri is still awaiting word from FEMA officials as to why Louisiana, despite being called the "floodplain of the nation" in a 2002 FEMA report, received no disaster mitigation grant money from FEMA in 2003 ("Homeland Insecurity," Sept. 28). Maestri says the rejection left emergency officials around the state "flabbergasted."
Disaster in the Making
The Federal Emergency Management Agency's diminished capacity to handle natural disasters is especially worrisome to Louisiana. |
| quote: | Originally posted by Cyrus King
Arent you American's so proud of your president spending $400 billion on "saving" the poor iraqi's, yet he couldnt give two s about his own people? |
+1
Gotta love them Bues though. They can't seem to fathom how politicians in general aren't for the people but for themselves. |
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| donnybrasco |
| quote: | Originally posted by Cyrus King
Arent you American's so proud of your president spending $400 billion on "saving" the poor iraqi's, yet he couldnt give two s about his own people? |
Boring. :o |
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| Spacey Orange |
| quote: | Originally posted by Cyrus King
Arent you American's so proud of your president spending $400 billion on "saving" the poor iraqi's, yet he couldnt give two s about his own people? |
i agree. even the speech today was a dissappointment. he didn't show the slightest compassion, vision, or leadership americans would have expected in time of great need. where was the concern for the well beings of americans?
instead of inspiring and giving hope to those in need, he merely says that the tought times are ahead. he give the impression that he expects private citizens and organizations to lead the relief effort with a small part by the government. even this is privatized.
if the 9/11 attacks made George Bush a hero in the eyes of many, these events undoubtedly demonstrate his cowardice. |
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| ali92 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Subey
Any similarities between the *final* level of Hydro Thunder and New Orleans are purely coincidental. |
I have that game (and about 50 others, thank you self-booters!) as a CD-R on my Dreamcast! I still have trouble getting gold in medium levels. :-( |
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| George Smiley |
| Just been on the BBC comparing NOLA to the Tsunami and it said aid seemed to be distributed relatively quickly over there but not in America. It said that in the Tsunami areas the authorities didn't have to put up with any lawlessness whereas in NOLA its a complete war-zone. People are shooting each other, loads of people are looting, women are getting raped left right and centre so the main preoccupation so far has been reinstalling law and order rather than getting food etc around. Apparently the police/army now have a shoot to kill policy with looters!! It looks like absolute anarchy which is gonna hamper aid efforts even more |
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| St_Andrew |
| quote: | Originally posted by George Smiley
Just been on the BBC comparing NOLA to the Tsunami and it said aid seemed to be distributed relatively quickly over there but not in America. It said that in the Tsunami areas the authorities didn't have to put up with any lawlessness whereas in NOLA its a complete war-zone. People are shooting each other, loads of people are looting, women are getting raped left right and centre so the main preoccupation so far has been reinstalling law and order rather than getting food etc around. Apparently the police/army now have a shoot to kill policy with looters!! It looks like absolute anarchy which is gonna hamper aid efforts even more |
Yeah good point! There is really something seriously wrong! It's also interesting to see that even though plenty of foreign countries are offering aid, America won't accept it (so now all you conservative ppl that whined before, should you not criticize bush instead of europe? =))... And unlike the tsunami, authorities knew about this beforehand, but still didn't start to really react till to a few days after it happend... |
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| George Smiley |
| quote: | Originally posted by St_Andrew
Yeah good point! There is really something seriously wrong! It's also interesting to see that even though plenty of foreign countries are offering aid, America won't accept it (so now all you conservative ppl that whined before, should you not criticize bush instead of europe? =))... And unlike the tsunami, authorities knew about this beforehand, but still didn't start to really react till to a few days after it happend... |
Even the Red Cross wouldn't accept my aid!
Have you not heard of debit cards in America!?! |
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| NYCTrancefan |
| quote: | Originally posted by George Smiley
Just been on the BBC comparing NOLA to the Tsunami and it said aid seemed to be distributed relatively quickly over there but not in America. It said that in the Tsunami areas the authorities didn't have to put up with any lawlessness whereas in NOLA its a complete war-zone. People are shooting each other, loads of people are looting, women are getting raped left right and centre so the main preoccupation so far has been reinstalling law and order rather than getting food etc around. Apparently the police/army now have a shoot to kill policy with looters!! It looks like absolute anarchy which is gonna hamper aid efforts even more |
First off lets be very clear the individuals who are conducting these behaviors of looting electronics and shooting at others are in all likelihood gang members who in normal times don't respect law and order much less now. The fact that this is still occurring is testament to the slothen pace at which the authorities from bottom to top has moved. These two bit thugs will continue to do this as long as the opportunity is there. All people keep hearing is promises, promises, promises. Where is the security, the direction, the aid. A pitiful excuse in "the greatest nation on earth" I still cannot believe how long it is taking to deploy the National Guard to establish order. |
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| DrUg_Tit0 |
Eh I didn't watch the news yesterday and I thought it would be getting better but it seems to have gotten much worse. Really terrible organization I must say. Hope your family is ok Opus.
And what's this with the government refusing aid? Are they nuts? |
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| NeoPhono |
| It really is disgusting and disturbing seeing how these people are acting in the face of such a disaster. It really has reverted to a third world country down there. I try to be optimisitic when it comes to basic humanity and treating your fellow man, but watching what's going on really puts a damper on things. :( |
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| George Smiley |
| quote: | Originally posted by NeoPhono
It really is disgusting and disturbing seeing how these people are acting in the face of such a disaster. It really has reverted to a third world country down there. I try to be optimisitic when it comes to basic humanity and treating your fellow man, but watching what's going on really puts a damper on things. :( |
It's worse than a third world country - it's a first world country. The anarchy that has descended on New Orleans simply is not a characteristic of the scene that usually occurs following disasters in third world countries. It's just a sad reality of what Western culture actually is in comparison... |
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