IMHO the recent events in New Orleans show just how fragile civilization and
our society really are.

Since William Golding never name the Island in his book - I think the city
should be renamed "Fliesland"

Dimitri

In article >, "Dimitri" > wrote:
> IMHO the recent events in New Orleans show just how fragile civilization and
>our society really are.

I would have thought it shows how brain-dead our "planners" are --
keep on expanding a city that's always been at damn near sea level,
and sinking; then surround it with a dam so if water does get in, it
can't get out.

Around here idiots have been allowed to build mansions on frigging
sand dunes about half a metre above high tide and then they complain
and demand tax money to fix problems when a bit of a sou'easter just
about washes them away. God pity them when we get a decent cyclone!

>Since William Golding never name the Island in his book - I think the city
>should be renamed "Fliesland"

Cheers, Phred.

--
LID

Phred wrote:
> In article >, "Dimitri" > wrote:
> > IMHO the recent events in New Orleans show just how fragile civilization and
> >our society really are.
>
> I would have thought it shows how brain-dead our "planners" are --
> keep on expanding a city that's always been at damn near sea level,
> and sinking; then surround it with a dam so if water does get in, it
> can't get out.
>
> Around here idiots have been allowed to build mansions on frigging
> sand dunes about half a metre above high tide and then they complain
> and demand tax money to fix problems when a bit of a sou'easter just
> about washes them away. God pity them when we get a decent cyclone!
>
> >Since William Golding never name the Island in his book - I think the city
> >should be renamed "Fliesland"
>
> Cheers, Phred.

The oddest thing (to me, since I live fairly close to the Mississippi
River) is that the River levees didn't break, the Lake Ponchartrain
ones did. They are superbly lucky that the River levees didn't break
too.

N.

"Nancy1" > wrote in message
ups.com...

<snip>

> The oddest thing (to me, since I live fairly close to the Mississippi
> River) is that the River levees didn't break, the Lake Ponchartrain
> ones did. They are superbly lucky that the River levees didn't break
> too.
>
> N.


IIRC the lake is very shallow and was able to equalize with the city. Had the
Mississippi levees failed N.O. would look like the City in Water World.

I can not imagine the toxins and molds yet to come. The walls will soon start
growing Mushrooms, not the eating kind.

Pretty soon the Junkies are going to run out of Smack - Then what? How many
pharmacies and hospitals can they hit?

Dimitri

Dimitri wrote:
> "Nancy1" > wrote in message
> ups.com...
>
> <snip>
>
> > The oddest thing (to me, since I live fairly close to the Mississippi
> > River) is that the River levees didn't break, the Lake Ponchartrain
> > ones did. They are superbly lucky that the River levees didn't break
> > too.
> >
> > N.
>
>
> IIRC the lake is very shallow and was able to equalize with the city. Had the
> Mississippi levees failed N.O. would look like the City in Water World.
>
> I can not imagine the toxins and molds yet to come. The walls will soon start
> growing Mushrooms, not the eating kind.
>
> Pretty soon the Junkies are going to run out of Smack - Then what? How many
> pharmacies and hospitals can they hit?
>
> Dimitri

Maybe we'll luck out and the druggies will kill each other off.

N.

Nancy1 wrote:

> Dimitri wrote:
> > "Nancy1" > wrote in message
> > ups.com...
> >
> > <snip>
> >
> > > The oddest thing (to me, since I live fairly close to the
> Mississippi
> > > River) is that the River levees didn't break, the Lake
> Ponchartrain
> > > ones did. They are superbly lucky that the River levees didn't
> break
> > > too.
> > >
> > > N.
> >
> >
> > IIRC the lake is very shallow and was able to equalize with the
> city. Had the
> > Mississippi levees failed N.O. would look like the City in Water
> World.
> >
> > I can not imagine the toxins and molds yet to come. The walls will
> soon start
> > growing Mushrooms, not the eating kind.
> >
> > Pretty soon the Junkies are going to run out of Smack - Then what?
> How many
> > pharmacies and hospitals can they hit?
> >
> > Dimitri
>
> Maybe we'll luck out and the druggies will kill each other off.
>
> N.

Nothing like a little Malthusian philosophy to jump start the day, add
a certain, filip...i always want to paraphrase and substitute the word
'malthusian' for 'napalm' in the famous line from "Apocalypse Now"

"Malthusian philosophy" smells like victory to me."
---
JL

On Fri, 02 Sep 2005 13:42:20 GMT, (Phred) wrote:

>In article >, "Dimitri" > wrote:
>> IMHO the recent events in New Orleans show just how fragile civilization and
>>our society really are.
>

>Cheers, Phred.

I watched a show about "The Siege of Leningrad"
on History Channel.

The inhabitants lived through four years (?)
of bombing, starvation and the Russian winter.

They toughed it out ! ( what survivors !! )

N.O. gets four days without electricity,
and civilization falls apart...... how far we've come !!


<rj>

On Fri, 02 Sep 2005 13:42:20 GMT, (Phred)
wrote:

> >In article >, "Dimitri"
> > wrote:
> >> IMHO the recent events in New Orleans show just how fragile
> civilization and
> >>our society really are.
> >
>
> >Cheers, Phred.
>
> I watched a show about "The Siege of Leningrad"
> on History Channel.
>
> The inhabitants lived through four years (?)
> of bombing, starvation and the Russian winter.
>
> They toughed it out ! ( what survivors !! )
>
> N.O. gets four days without electricity,
> and civilization falls apart...... how far we've come !!
>
>
> <rj>

Child comes home from school and asks "Mom" when dinner will be ready?
She explains to him that the electricity is out and she can not fix
'dinner' till it is restored.

The child thinks about this for a moment and then replies:

"But, Mom, we have a gas stove."

And "Mom" in her infinite wisdom responds;

"Yes, but the can opener [or the 'microwave'] won't work till the
electricity is back on."
---
JL

On Fri, 02 Sep 2005 13:42:20 GMT, (Phred)
wrote:

>I would have thought it shows how brain-dead our "planners" are --
>keep on expanding a city that's always been at damn near sea level,
>and sinking; then surround it with a dam so if water does get in, it
>can't get out.


<snip>

Ackshully, NO is 20' *below* sea level. Have a look at the 9/10/01
commission's recommendations wherein they cited San Francisco as a
major disaster for an earthquake, New York City as a major target for
terrorism and New Orleans for a disaster hurricane. 'Course, Dubyuh's
administration eviscerated FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers after
9/11, citing terrorist dangers as more persuasive. And New Orleans is
a disaster that pales the Trade Centers' disaster. And why did the
federal government sit on its hands for five days???

Jesus wept.

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
AAC(F)BV66.0748.CA

"If the soup had been as hot as the claret, if the claret had been as
old as the bird, and if the bird's breasts had been as full as the
waitress's, it would have been a very good dinner."

-- Duncan Hines

To reply, replace "spaminator" with "cox"

Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:

> And why did the federal government sit on its hands for five days???
>

Because Jefferson Parish didn't ask for help. The emergency management
is supposed to start at the local level. And you'll have to ask
Governor Blanco why the national guard took so long because they are
under her command.

I'm not a big Dubya fan, but this was not his fault. Louisiana screwed
this one up all by itself.

I just hope Mississippi doesn't get short-changed out of relief aid
because everything gets sucked up by NO. Mississippi doesn't have the
industrial base (tax base) that Louisiana and Alabama do.

-Bob

On Sun, 04 Sep 2005 22:08:09 -0500, zxcvbob wrote:

> Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:
>
> > And why did the federal government sit on its hands for five days???
> >
>
> Because Jefferson Parish didn't ask for help. The emergency management
> is supposed to start at the local level. And you'll have to ask
> Governor Blanco why the national guard took so long because they are
> under her command.
>
> I'm not a big Dubya fan, but this was not his fault. Louisiana screwed
> this one up all by itself.
>
> I just hope Mississippi doesn't get short-changed out of relief aid
> because everything gets sucked up by NO. Mississippi doesn't have the
> industrial base (tax base) that Louisiana and Alabama do.
>
Heads should roll, beginning at the top.

sf > wrote in
:

>> I'm not a big Dubya fan, but this was not his fault. Louisiana
>> screwed this one up all by itself.
>
> Heads should roll, beginning at the top.

One wishes...but it's unlikely to happen until the body count comes
in and locals realize that the money which had been allocated to deal
with just such an emergency two years ago was reallocated to
prosecuting the war in Iraq instead.

It wasn't Bush's fault that the money was reallocated to Iraq, oh
no... It wasn't Bush's fault that for the last year, whenever
emergency response meetings were held and the probability of major
disaster occuring in Nouvelle Orléans was mentioned that the
representatives of the various levels of government (who depended on
a large federal amount to prevent disaster) sat there in dumfounded
silence bewcause they knew the pooch was screwed.

Bush played Russian roulette with the life of every civilian in that
city and it was the victims that lost.

And then, once the emergency hits, to leave the whole matter up to
free market economics as to who whould live and who would
die...that's kkkompassionate kkkonservatism for you.

Ultimately, Bush is responsible for every single cock-up that happens
under his watch and which his policies (or lack of them) could have
prevented. This is the meaning of responsibility. No ifs, ands or
buts. If this was Clinton, the consies would be on his case like
white on rice. Let's see them do the same to their "sainted" leader.

If Bush can't be held responsible for what he did and did not do,
then he can't be president.

--

"Compassion is the chief law of human existence."

Dostoevski, The Idiot

In article >, Michel
Boucher > wrote:

> sf > wrote in
> :
>
> >> I'm not a big Dubya fan, but this was not his fault. Louisiana
> >> screwed this one up all by itself.
> >
> > Heads should roll, beginning at the top.
>
> One wishes...but it's unlikely to happen until the body count comes
> in and locals realize that the money which had been allocated to deal
> with just such an emergency two years ago was reallocated to
> prosecuting the war in Iraq instead.
>
> It wasn't Bush's fault that the money was reallocated to Iraq, oh
> no... It wasn't Bush's fault that for the last year, whenever
> emergency response meetings were held and the probability of major
> disaster occuring in Nouvelle Orléans was mentioned that the
> representatives of the various levels of government (who depended on
> a large federal amount to prevent disaster) sat there in dumfounded
> silence bewcause they knew the pooch was screwed.
>
> Bush played Russian roulette with the life of every civilian in that
> city and it was the victims that lost.
>
> And then, once the emergency hits, to leave the whole matter up to
> free market economics as to who whould live and who would
> die...that's kkkompassionate kkkonservatism for you.
>
> Ultimately, Bush is responsible for every single cock-up that happens
> under his watch and which his policies (or lack of them) could have
> prevented. This is the meaning of responsibility. No ifs, ands or
> buts. If this was Clinton, the consies would be on his case like
> white on rice. Let's see them do the same to their "sainted" leader.
>
> If Bush can't be held responsible for what he did and did not do,
> then he can't be president.

All so true. Unfortunately politics is like the TV- show Survivor, a
game of mock-reality. It's serious, but not too serious. And they're
playing for money.

On Mon, 05 Sep 2005 09:13:12 -0700, sf > wrote:

>On Sun, 04 Sep 2005 22:08:09 -0500, zxcvbob wrote:
>
>> Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:
>>
>> > And why did the federal government sit on its hands for five days???
>> >
>>
>> Because Jefferson Parish didn't ask for help. The emergency management
>> is supposed to start at the local level. And you'll have to ask
>> Governor Blanco why the national guard took so long because they are
>> under her command.
>>
>> I'm not a big Dubya fan, but this was not his fault. Louisiana screwed
>> this one up all by itself.
>>
>> I just hope Mississippi doesn't get short-changed out of relief aid
>> because everything gets sucked up by NO. Mississippi doesn't have the
>> industrial base (tax base) that Louisiana and Alabama do.
>>
>Heads should roll, beginning at the top.

And please, let's not forget the bottom. I saw hundreds of school
busses sitting in water that could/should have been used to transport
folks out of the City when the Mayor declared mandatory evacuations!

He also had all the city buses that could have taken the poor and
those without transportation to safer ground...but he never bothered
to use any of them.

Also, he didn't call the mandatory evacuation until the guy from the
National Whether Center and Pres. Bush called him Saturday and begged
him to do it...so let's be fair about spreading blame.

Debra