Katrina 2005

[Trumpetmaster]

So is White correct?

[OperaTenor]

Sorry, yes it is.

Anyone need/want the explanation?

[monkeymd2b]

i don't get it...is it that obvious?!? should I be ashamed of myself and ask for someone near me to beat me for how pathetic I am that I don't understand something this simple?!?

[OperaTenor]

No, by all means, no beating to be administered, no need to be ashamed!

This was the toughest riddle I ever heard.

If the east wall faces south, it can be inferred that all walls face south, which would make the location of the house the North Pole, so the bear would be white(polar bear).

Besdies, how much sleep have you had in the last 24 hrs?

[Shapley]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/19/katrina.impact/index.html

[OperaTenor]

This part I don't get:

"Allen said he plans to meet with Nagin on Monday and tell him to not rush re-entry."

Don't these guys have radios, and why aren't they talking to each other at least once a day?!!

Sheesh.

The head Fed on the scene and the mayor of the epicenter of the disaster(in terms of scope) aren't in constant communication?! How in the hell can they expect to have a handle on anything if they're not talking with each other about it?

Have we learned nothing in the last three weeks, if not the last four years?!

Of course, this would once again be the moment where a real leader would step in and mediate the whole thing by reminding these guys they need to get their collective $h!t together. Too bad we don't have one of those.

Double sheesh.

[Shapley]

OT,

I'm sure they're in contact. I suspect that he wants to meet the mayor in person to sit down and outline the reasons behind his request, and perhaps to iron out a more reasonable timeline for the rehabitation.

We have phones, fax, and e-mails here at work, but we still have to jump on a plane and fly out to our customers every now and then for some face time. That's a necessity if you want to keep the customers coming back. There are times when voice and/or electronic communication alone will not do the trick.

V/R
Shapley

[OperaTenor]

They may need face time for the details, but it's apparent they haven't discussed something so profound as allowing people to reenter NOLA with each other before going public, and that's beyond stupid.

All it would take is a simple "don't say anything to the press or make any official announcements until we meet" over the radio/phone/fax/carrier pigeon. It's not rocket surgery(nod to RC).

And this isn't a sales call for widgets. This is more of that life-or-death stuff. The fact that some of the water's been pumped out doesn't magically make it all right for people to go back in.

Unless, of course, something else is at stake we're not being told about. Like, perhaps Nagin's trying to get people back on their property asap to try to ward off condemnation and acquisition by the Federal government? Just where was all of this Federal property President PetroProfits was talking about to be allotted going to come from?

<small>[ 09-19-2005, 11:48 AM: Message edited by: OperaTenor ]</small>

[OperaTenor]

Non Sequitur for September 19th, 2005

[Shapley]

This is what is reported by Fox News:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,169751,00.html

He also stressed in another television interview, however, that the mayor is the one in charge in New Orleans and that federal officials are there to assist when needed.

Also this:

Bush on Monday said Allen speaks for the administration and Nagin is well aware of the administration's concerns about letting people return too soon.

But Nagin is defending bringing the people back.

"If he's suggesting I'm pushing a little hard, I am. The citizens of New Orleans deserve the opportunity to see what they have left and what they can salvage," Nagin said in response to Allen's cautions.

"I'm a little surprised the admiral came out publicly on this," he added. "Maybe since I've been away a day or two, maybe he's the new crowned federal mayor of New Orleans."

It would seem they have spoken, and the mayor and the Feds disagree. The Feds went public with their warnings, which the mayor has apparently chose to ignore. That's not that uncommon. They mayor is saying "come on it", and the Feds are saying "be careful".

What other options are there? Federal control? Oust the mayor? The Feds have concerns, and are making them known. Would you have them remain silent? It seems there's no winning this situation with you, you're going to criticize the Federal government no matter what they do.

V/R
Shapley

[BigJon@Work]

Why am I not surprised?

Environmentally Friendly?
Neither the administration or its critics are saying this, but one reason anti-flooding measures failed to stop Katrina from inundating New Orleans is that some environmental groups successfully resisted new flood control projects. The Sierra Club (search) and other groups sued the Army Corps of Engineers to stop a 1996 plan to raise and fortify Mississippi River levees because the plan would jeopardize Louisiana forests.

And the New Orleans Times-Picayune has reported that "Save our Wetlands" successfully sued the corps of engineers three decades ago to stop construction on floodgates to block storm surges from the Gulf of Mexico into Lake Pontchatrain (search), saying they were too damaging to the lake's eco-system.

Foxy News

[Shapley]

Isn't this the same guy that reported on the Wal-Mart trucks that supposedly were turned away by FEMA?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9368952/

V/R
Shapley

BTW, I just Googled it, he's the same guy. I guess his credibility has just taken another hit.

<small>[ 09-19-2005, 12:58 PM: Message edited by: Shapley ]</small>

[OperaTenor]

Originally posted by Shapley:

What other options are there? Federal control? Oust the mayor? The Feds have concerns, and are making them known. Would you have them remain silent? It seems there's no winning this situation with you, you're going to criticize the Federal government no matter what they do.

Whoa there, Simba! I believe my "criticism" was leveled at what appears to be a general lack of communication between officials. Not directed at local or Fed specifically.

The big questions I have with regards to Federal involvement revole around President PetroProfits' pie-in-the-sky speech from Friday. Where is all of this land and money going to come from? I think it's entirely conceivable they're going to go in and condemn and eminently dominate a whole bunch of NOLA real estate, and then turn around and distribute it via this lottery PP was talking about.

Ed: "I suppose you're giving yourself a pat on the back for that 'eminently dominate' crap, aren't you?"

"Shut up."

As for reentering NOLA, personally, I don't see how Nagin thinks it can happen so soon wihtout creating more problems or even killing more people.

But then, I'm not there on the scene....

[piqaboo]

originally posted by BigJon@work:
But finding stray ferrets in the Hurricane aftermath isn't enough for the <International Ferret >congress, it's soliciting donations to make sure ferrets are never again endangered in a natural disaster.

The only way I can think of to accomplish that is to render them extinct....

[Shapley]

OT,

My point is that they did communicate, and they disagreed. The mayor is upset that the Feds have gone public, but I see it as a CYA. If the people go into the area, and then become ill, die, or are otherwise disadvantaged, they will all demand to know why the Bush administration didn't keep them out, or at least warn them not to go in, particularly after "leaked documents" reveal that they had "serious reservations" about allowing the re-entry. I think they call that erring on the side of caution. In this case, they do not want to overrule the local authorities, but they do want the word out.

Regarding the "big question": apparently the Federal government owns lots of land in the area, wetland preserves, in-use and unused military facilities (Barksdale Air Force Base, England Air Force Base, Naval Support Activity, Joint Reserve Base, NAS New Orleans, Gulfport Naval Station, etc.) I believe NASA also has a large tract of land on the North side of Lake Ponchartrain. Unused rights-of-way may be made available as decisions are made as to which of the damaged roadways may be abandoned or re-routed. There's lots of Federal land available, and not all of it is needed. A lot of us conservatives have thought that the government should have a rummage sale to get rid of a lot of the excess land they have on sale.

V/R
Shapley

[Shapley]

Looks like the mayor has come around to the Feds way of thinking:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,169751,00.html

[OperaTenor]

From a less biased news source:

Nagin ends New Orleans re-entry, tells people to leave - Reuters

It's not like he suddenly had a change of heart - I think the threat of another storm might've had something to do with it, as opposed to what your byline would suggest, Shap.

:p

All of that aside, let's just hope and pray that Rita peters out over the Gulf or something.

[monkeymd2b]

OT, thanks for the explanation...it was too stressful for me to figure out how an east wall could face south so I decided to eat instead. I've actually had lots (relatively speaking) of sleep recently (about 6-7 hours per night) since I'm done with overnight call for the month and we had a slow pm call the other day...well, sort of slow.

I'm hungry again.

As far as NOLA - for s%&t's sake! I guess last year was florida and this year is louisiana. Though it looks like it's mostly headingn towards west louisiana and texas...

still hungry

[Shapley]

OT,

Actually, the threat of another storm was part of the Feds reasoning against the rehabitation, so my by-line was correct.

V/R
Shapley

[Shapley]

Maybe FEMA has been in New Orleans all along, they just haven't been allowed to talk to anyone:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9406899/

On Tuesday, Nagin had harsh words for the federal government’s top official in the city, Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thad Allen, who he said “stepped outside his lane by talking directly to the citizens of New Orleans.”


V/R
Shapley

<small>[ 09-20-2005, 01:26 PM: Message edited by: Shapley ]</small>