New Orleans Is Flooded Again.

[Occhidiangela]

"This makes it perfectly clear once again that this disaster was not out of the blue or unforeseeable," said Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), who has been critical of the handling of Katrina
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Gee, there is a comment from someone with No agenda. NOT.

The risks of a > Cat 3 had been understood for decades, and Hope had been adopted as a method by local, state, and federal governmental decision makers.

Mother Nature 1
Human Myopia 0

Occhi

[DeeBye]

Gee, there is a comment from someone with No agenda.  NOT.
[right][snapback]103451[/snapback][/right]

I like this one better

In its substance, the video reveals nothing that was not already known from previously released transcripts and government investigations.

Is this news?

[Guest]

Blah blah blah.
You arent saying anything new.

It was a disaster - we can blame everyone who didnt have the fore sight to stop it - then we can blame everyone who didnt grasp the magnitude of what they were seeing as it happened.

Some people need to blamed I suppose, but your not giving us any new info on that.

[Artega]

we can blame everyone who didnt have the fore sight to stop it

Because we can all just tell Mother Nature to go wreck some less-important coastal city.

I would mention something about the location of the city being somewhat less-than-intelligent, but something tells me that location is a bit too economically important to not have at least SOMETHING there :)

[Guest]

Were going off on a tangent but anyway.

I think its becoming clear that its possible to have the sea port but not have a giant city.
New Orleans is making this big push to get people back but the rest of the country is hoping they dont return.

The port will operate with or with out the major city if there is a demand for the port.

[Occhidiangela]

Because we can all just tell Mother Nature to go wreck some less-important coastal city.

I would mention something about the location of the city being somewhat less-than-intelligent, but something tells me that location is a bit too economically important to not have at least SOMETHING there :)
[right][snapback]103513[/snapback][/right]

Yep, a critical gateway to international shipping for anyone producing anything in the Mississippi-Missouri river system.

That has no relation to the hue and cry over why Mardi Gras somehow has to happen: it doesn't. No one is obliged to party in New Orleans in February. It is a quaint habit. Throw the party elsewhere and it is still Fat Tuesday.

Occhi

[Occhidiangela]

Were going off on a tangent but anyway.
[right][snapback]103519[/snapback][/right]

It is the Lounge. ;) Of course a sub thread will develop.

Occhi

[Taem]

Blah blah blah.
You arent saying anything new.

It was a disaster - we can blame everyone who didnt have the fore sight to stop it - then we can blame everyone who didnt grasp the magnitude of what they were seeing as it happened.

Some people need to blamed I suppose, but your not giving us any new info on that.
[right][snapback]103510[/snapback][/right]

I wasn't trying to state anything "new" per say - other than the public release of this "new" video. No, my goal was to relay a message of HOPE! What's done is done. I don't want to blame anyone, nor do I want to dwell on the past, however I do feel we can learn from our past mistakes without pointing the finger. I guess what's ultimately in my heart is the desire that we as a nation grow from this experience so that mistakes of this nature don't happen again. We can learn so much from this tragedy instead of arguing over whose fault it is.

Why preach a message of HOPE now? From listening to newscasts during Katrina, preachers in my local churches, and conservatives talk shows on the radio from time-to-time, you'd believe that many Americans simply didn't believe, or don't want to believe, that Bush could have ignored such obvious warnings in New Orleans. Because of the recently released videos depicting Bush's full knowledge of the danger, those people trying to ignore the obvious can't hide from the facts any longer. As a nation, now is the time to move forward and ask ourselves, "what have we learned from this tragedy and how can we make sure similar mistakes are prevented?"

Some people need to blamed I suppose, but your not giving us any new info on that.
[right][snapback]103510[/snapback][/right]

I'm sure there will always be those who will blame Bush for this disaster (and others). For me, I only wish goodwill towards the man whose time in office has been anything but easy. I don't believe in most of his ideals, but he is our elected president and I think he has grown from his time in office. I can only hope that as a nation we will show support for him and he will make the right choices for us.

[Occhidiangela]

I can only hope that as a nation we will show support for him and he will make the right choices for us.
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Hope is not a method.

It is also the title of a book, decent enough, by General Gordon Sullivan, Chief of Staff, United States Army, 1995.

Not sure what we can Do about some of Pres Bush's counter productive policy decisions, but a start is to form groups of concerned citizens and contact your state senator and representatives.

My grandchildren are being consigned to debtor status, and I ain't happy about it. :angry:

Occhi

[Guest]

Taking lessons from Doc eh?

1 Write something negative and pointed, that doesnt really bring any new info to light, it just gives you a chance to rant.

2 When called on it try to spin it 90 degrees and say we totaly missed your reason for posting.

Using "hope" was especially cute. The words actual meaning has no connection to anything you said. But its vague yet positive so people might be less likely to dispute it.

[Doc]

Taking lessons from Doc eh?

1 Write something negative and pointed, that doesnt really bring any new info to light, it just gives you a chance to rant.

2 When called on it try to spin it 90 degrees and say we totaly missed your reason for posting.

Using "hope" was especially cute. The words actual meaning has no connection to anything you said. But its vague yet positive so people might be less likely to dispute it.
[right][snapback]103543[/snapback][/right]

Hey, leave me out of it!

[Taem]

Taking lessons from Doc eh?

1 Write something negative and pointed, that doesnt really bring any new info to light, it just gives you a chance to rant.

2 When called on it try to spin it 90 degrees and say we totaly missed your reason for posting.

Using "hope" was especially cute. The words actual meaning has no connection to anything you said. But its vague yet positive so people might be less likely to dispute it.
[right][snapback]103543[/snapback][/right]

I don't dispute your opinion on my post - it is after all YOUR opinion - however, I believe when I said this in my first post...

Oh well, I just hope the government gets FEMA up to speed so if another tragedy strikes, we’ll be fully prepared. I believe everything happens for a reason and perhaps the incident in New Orleans helped create a more stable and quick to respond FEMA, and possibly expose weaknesses in our current governments administrations that needed exposing to ultimately make it a stronger government in times ahead. Time will tell.

...it clearly stated my feelings on the matter. I was only clarifying for communications sake in the HOPES that you might understand my point of view, but apparently, you do not.

Is it so hard to understand that I do not like Bush or his policies, however I strongly feel pointing the finger will not solve anything. I believe Bush has made some very poor decisions that has and will cost us well into the future. It was upon deep thought that I came to the conclusion that the people in the USA need to support the concepts of unity and give support to our leaders if they ever want to change anything.

In my line of work as a Field Manager, I often talk the average citizen (and illegal) here in California and I will tell you there is a growing number of people who don't care about being an American. It means nothing too them! Certain ethnicities born here don’t even consider themselves American. They don't care what the president’s doing, has done, or even who that person is. They don't care about New Orleans because they weren't there. They don't care about anything except themselves and they don't view the USA as a "united states!" In my opinion, the morals of this country are deteriorating.

I recently saw a called movie “Hero” with Jet Li that took place before China was one unified country. The nations of China were broken into separate countries that fought and warred all the time. The soon to be ruler of China realized that the only way to make peace for everyone was to unite his people, and the only way of accomplishing that was by conquering them; only then could there be lasting peace. Assassins conspired to murder the ruler, but the greatest warrior of the movie wrote something on the ground that had a profound effect on the main assassin character. Those words this great warrior wrote were "our land." When will all the people of the USA call America "our land?" This concept is the emotion behind my words in my last two posts. Perhaps I should have made my point clearer to avoid an inevitable confusion, but when I wrote it, the wording sounded pretty good to me.

You are the one pointing the finger with spite. Perhaps you should take some time too look within Ghostiger!

[Occhidiangela]

The soon to be ruler of China realized that the only way to make peace for everyone was to unite his people, and the only way of accomplishing that was by conquering them; only then could there be lasting peace. Assassins conspired to murder the ruler, but the greatest warrior of the movie wrote something on the ground that had a profound effect on the main assassin character. Those words this great warrior wrote were "our land." When will all the people of the USA call America "our land?" This concept is the emotion behind my words in my last two posts. [right][snapback]103551[/snapback][/right]

At which point the assassin attacked him, right?

"Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!" Hmmm, the capital of our land is WASHington. Hmmmm, Circles within Circles.

Occhi

[Guest]

Doc # 3

Come up with another obvious and superficial idea presented as though its deep. Then go after the critic saying he has some human flaw for not agreeing with your secondary posts - even though he is adressing the first post.

You never tried an honest defense of your original stament - every thing since than has been a dishonest play to draw attention away from that fact.

Im not even commenting on your later posts substance because they dont even interest me.

[kandrathe]

Because we can all just tell Mother Nature to go wreck some less-important coastal city.

I would mention something about the location of the city being somewhat less-than-intelligent, but something tells me that location is a bit too economically important to not have at least SOMETHING there :)
[right][snapback]103513[/snapback][/right]

It still is important for shipping on the Mississippi, but the people who are employed by the shipping companies would not need to live below sea level. New Orleans was also an important strategic military location in the early 1800's. It is an interesting cultural location with a rich history, but now days its mostly know as a haven for boozing and whoring.

The natural protections of the mangrove swamps and engineering projects up stream have made the city more unsafe. Add to that decades of dice rollingwith hurricanes, political graft, corruption. Now that the lucky streak has come to an end are we supposed to feel sorry for the city?

I have empathy for the people, and I think the outpouring of support from the region and nation was appropriate. But, in our country these types of problems are solved at the local level. Wenging about who knew that the levies were a problem 24-48 hours prior to the emergency is irrelevant since at that point there was nothing anyone could have done to save the city. 24-48 months in advance might have resulted in better preparedness for Katrina, but again, everyone in Lousiana and New Orleans knew that their levies were only rated for a direct hit from a Cat 3 hurricane.

[Occhidiangela]

but now days its mostly know as a haven for boozing and whoring.
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You almost said that like it was a bad thing. To every thing, there is a season, and a place. But maybe Katrina was Divine Retribution. Picture Mother Nature singing in the shower:

"I'm gonna wash that sin right out of the Gulf, I'm gonna wash --"

Naaaaah, not seeing it. Puny humans against Mother Nature, with the usual score. Heineken man was the star.

Next up, a 7.9 Richter earthquake in the New Madrid fault line.

Occhi

[Griselda]

Just as long as it's not the 9.0 Cascadia one. :unsure:

[Taem]

Doc # 3

Come up with another obvious and superficial idea presented as though its deep. Then go after the critic saying he has some human flaw for not agreeing with your secondary posts - even though he is adressing the first post.

You never tried an honest defense of your original stament - every thing since than has been a dishonest play to draw attention away from that fact.

Im not even commenting on your later posts substance  because they dont even interest me.
[right][snapback]103569[/snapback][/right]

Well, it may seem superficial to you, but the concept of working together as a community to solve our problems instead of blaming one another was profound to me at the time. Believe it or not, I like to write as I think and sometimes my thoughts - through their ebb and flow - take on a form all their own, however I think I finally see where your coming from. In my original post, I did a little "rant" bit about what are obviously the Bush administration’s public fallacies. In the context of the point I was trying to make, this is very counterproductive and I realize that now. As I said in my last post, it all sounded good to me upon review, but not until you questioned my motives did I realize why I felt the way I did. I was writing from emotion; raw, the way I like it. I'm not using this as an excuse, not hardly.

So why did I write that "rant" bit? Perhaps I was venting as you say. Upon reflection, I believe I was releasing my anger and frustrations at what I felt were this administrations shortcomings before I could "move forward" and write what I was really feeling under the surface. I know I wrote what was in my heart and I had no intention whatsoever of misleading anyone, nor to deceive. I'm sorry if you felt mislead by what I wrote, and I can see now how my “rant” was drastically out of context with the ideal I was trying to convey. While I don’t agree with everything you wrote, you were definitely in your right to believe what you said.

Perhaps an apology is in order for accusing you of “pointing the finger with spite,” when you clearly saw discrepancies with what I was trying to state. I do formally apologize to you, Ghostinger, for my little outburst. Do you understand now where I was coming from, or do you feel I’m still hiding behind this whole "hope" thing as some kind of charade to avoid what I wrote?

[kandrathe]

You almost said that like it was a bad thing.  To every thing, there is a season, and a place.  But maybe Katrina was Divine Retribution.  Picture Mother Nature singing in the shower:

"I'm gonna wash that sin right out of the Gulf, I'm gonna wash --"

Naaaaah, not seeing it.  Puny humans against Mother Nature, with the usual score.  Heineken man was the star. 

Next up, a 7.9 Richter earthquake in the New Madrid fault line.

Occhi
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Let's just say I'm glad they party there, and not where I live. I believe if the boozing and whoring are done responsibly then places like Bourban Street and the Las Vegas Strip may be neccesary places for adults needing to blow off some steam. I'm against the wretched excess I've witnessed on some occasions.

Unfortunately, many people believe they need to take "fun" further into the explicit, degrading and dangerous, which is why the trend is for many "Spring Break" destinations to put out the UNWELCOME mat.

Where I live... nearest to Hel's gate, winter's wrath is felt every January which is why we might be spared the wrath of Woten, Ran, Aegir and the New Madrid fault.

[Zippyy]

His opinion and a bucket of horsecrap belong in the same receptacle.  How is a hip hopper, by basic definition in the roots of Hip Hop a racist from the streets, in any position to objectively talk about race?  Answer: he can't.

Occhi
[right][snapback]90717[/snapback][/right]

Who can?

No one, but that doesn't mean we should ignore it. A very important part of learning about race is admitting to and investigating your own subjective prejudices.

My point is that subjectivity shouldn't stop people from expressing their opinions. It makes just as much sense for Kanye West to say Bush doesn't care about black people as it does for Bush to say Brownie is doing an excellent job. I daresay Mr. West has a better view of the underside of racism in America than Bush does.

It's up to Lurkers to discuss and establish the objectivity. :P