Why don't we learn from history....

[f1freak 0]

How long have we been told that New Orleans would be under water because of a hurricane, it was only a matter of time???
And why did we do the bare minimum in trying to protect a coastal community that is below sea level?
was it that we didnt have the money?
well let's protect OUR country BEFORE we play Santa to other countries.
or maybe there isnt anything we can do to protect places like New Orleans....
If so why the f*&k would you rebuild there (isnt that insanity.... doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result...?)
I dont think that is it....
We have NO excuse, we knew and we didnt do what we should have.
Why did we NOT learn from other disasters?
case in point...

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The Dutch struggle against the waters.

In February 1953 the Netherlands faced disaster when the dikes protecting the southwest of the country were breached by the joint onslaught of a hurricane-force northwesterly wind and exceptionally high spring tides. The flood came in the night without warning, a fateful combination of freak high tides and gale-force winds that killed 1,835 people. Almost 200,000 hectares of land was swamped, 3,000 homes and 300 farms destroyed, and 47,000 heads of cattle drowned. It was The Netherlands' worst disaster for 300 years.
Flooding caused by storm surges were nothing new to the Netherlands, but this time the nation was stunned by the extent of a disaster unparalleled for centuries.

(here's the rest of the story....)
http://www.thehollandring.com/1953-ramp.shtml

When I look at what the Netherlands have done to protect themselves, and how well it is working. I just dont understand why we didnt learn from that disaster, and do something a LONG time ago to protect ourselves....
I'm not surprised that it DID happen...
It's just sad that this disaster that we knew WOULD happen for many many years, took so many people.

They better do some good planning for New Orleans if they plan on rebuilding....

what is that saying........
ah... yes....
"Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

HAVE FUN...
...JUST DONT DIE

[RastaRicanAir 0]

Are you talking to the people who live, and work, and raise their children in this doomed city, or the city planners and government officials who, years ago, decided it would be more "effective on a cost/benefit basis"* to build levees that were only designed to withstand a Category 3 hurricane?
(*Direct quote from a planner recently interviewed by a local ABC news affiliate.)

As for Holland, when your entire country is twice the size of New Jersey, you have a better chance of allocating the necessary funds, and political backing to protect it so thoroughly.

As a fellow Floridian (born and raised in my case) I can only presume that you're angry at the people in charge for not working harder to protect the people whose homes are now under water, which would be a righteous anger. But you might want to be clearer about who you're placing the blame on.

Of course, I've had few beers so what do I know?

OrFunV/LocoBoca Rodriguez/Sonic Grieco/Muff Brother #4411
-"and ladies....messin with Robbie is venturing into territory you cant even imagine!-cuz Robbie is

[happythoughts 0]

NO was founded in the 1700's. I don't remember mention of it ever flooding before. Perhaps there is no history.

[f1freak 0]

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Of course, I've had few beers so what do I know?

So have I.....

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Are you talking to the people who live, and work, and raise their children in this doomed city, or the city planners and government officials who, years ago, decided it would be more "effective on a cost/benefit basis"* to build levees that were only designed to withstand a Category 3 hurricane?
(*Direct quote from a planner recently interviewed by a local ABC news affiliate.)

I'm talking in general about the way of thinking in our country....

I'm just saying that we have known for.... shit..... A LONG LONG time that this would happen. I remember for years durring the storm season they kept saying "OH... if it hits New Orleans they are going to be under water, and there will be mass casualties....

Damn, I know we have the technology, and I really hope we have the brains to engineer something to...
ok, maybe not totally prevent a flood, but just something to help control the water flowing into the city....
and if we cant.....
why would we want to spend all of that money when it WILL happen again?

It just kinda upsets me that we as a people (we elect the officials) disregard the facts, and when it happens they always have that HUGE Knee-Jerk reaction that most of the time is way over blown....

If we would have started engineering a solution back in the 50's and continued improving it over the years, the money issue wouldnt be quite the problem it is today....

ok, i need another drink....

HAVE FUN...
...JUST DONT DIE

[f1freak 0]

It's on the coast, and below sea level.....

Look at all of the floodplains, they ALL WILL flood again....

It hit close to home when I lived in Fargo, ND back in 97 when the Red River flooded and we had massive overland flooding.....
It was a floodplain that hadnt had a "Bad" flood for generations....
but it happened, and will again....
and in fargo's case it was cheaper to buy out the homeowners than to try and come up with another solution.... now all you have is open parks along the river...

HAVE FUN...
...JUST DONT DIE

[Superman32 0]

It's a horrible thing that has happened. Several things COULD have been done that would have diminished (probably not prevented) the destruction.
What is UNFORGIVABLE AND UNACCEPTABLE is the slow and pathetic response we've offered all own citizens

It's not a far away land where people are still homeless wondering streets and perishing from lack of basic necessities.

Inveniam Viam aut Faciam
I'm back biatches!

[f1freak 0]

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What is UNFORGIVABLE AND UNACCEPTABLE is the slow and pathetic response we've offered all own citizens

It's not a far away land where people are still homeless wondering streets and perishing from lack of basic necessities.

I hear ya....

HAVE FUN...
...JUST DONT DIE

[Superman32 0]

I'll refrain from getting on my soap box and rant about the deficiencies and inadequecy of our leader and his administration.
However this is the man that most (definately not all) of our country chose to keep us safe. The one that was strong and decisive.
What if this had not been a natural disaster but a terrorist attack, a bio or nuclear attack which could have been even more devastating?
Do you feel safe?
Do you feel that we have the infrastructure?
Are we prepared?
Is Bush on vacation again?

Inveniam Viam aut Faciam
I'm back biatches!

[bluheelrtx 0]

[reply.... now all you have is open parks along the river...

[popsjumper 2]

I'm confused....is this Speaker's Corner?

Makes sense to me....re-build on a flood plain...why not? I mean after all, the Fed Gov't is responsible for your plight, right?

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[Bodyflight.Net 0]

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Is Bush on vacation again?

I'm sorry, did I miss the news story from when he GOT BACK from vacation?

[JohnRich 4]

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How long have we been told that New Orleans would be under water because of a hurricane, it was only a matter of time???
And why did we do the bare minimum in trying to protect a coastal community that is below sea level? or maybe there isnt anything we can do to protect places like New Orleans.... If so why the f*&k would you rebuild there

Try the same logic with the risk of earthquakes in California. Should we abandon California and have a mandatory forced evacuation in order to save lives, before "the big one" hits?

[f1freak 0]

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Try the same logic with the risk of earthquakes in California. Should we abandon California and have a mandatory forced evacuation in order to save lives, before "the big one" hits?

Completely different....
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff patted himself on the back on Thursday as people were raped and murdered in New Orleans with the following ludicrous statement: "...it is a source of tremendous pride to me to work with people who have pulled off this really exceptional response." He later said that they could not have anticipated a disaster on this scale. Either he's a first-rate liar or he is incredibly ignorant - neither of which much recommends him. I personally have known about this for years, there were articles at NOLA.com a year ago when Hurricane Ivan hit that mentioned that 10,000 bodybags had been ordered to the area because of the flooding possibility, and FEMA ran a full-scale simulation not more than a year ago which showed 300,000 stranded survivors in a completely flooded New Orleans. Experts told FEMA that it would take 10 days if they were able to get 30,000 out per day. Absolutely inexcusable!

Now I'm not saying we should forget about New Orleans....
What I am saying is, we NEED to spend some of OUR tax dollars HERE at home in the USA (i know what a concept...)protecting the people that call it home....
what makes me so mad is that our elected officials act SO Surprised" We had no idea it would be this bad" when it happened and then put out statements begging for our donations to the red cross while we spend shitloads of money pissing off the people we "HAVE TO GET OUR OIL FROM...."

why did we do NOTHING before this happened? (and I'm talking like 1950's / 1960's. hum.... could it be that the majority of people living there are on the lower end of the economic scale ??????
and when it comes to California.....
we all know that you dont have a weeks warning when it comes to earthquakes, that being said I'm not going to feel the same compassion that I would if the same earth quake happened in Kansas....

People that build near the faults know what will happen in time. it's a FACT, proven science

What I would like to see is "OUR" country take care of our own BEFORE other countries....
lets invest in OUR infastructure first, lets keep us alive, lets make sure OUR people can eat good food, drink good water....
other countries do this, why dont we?
They say we are a super power.... all I see right now is another Empire of Mesopotamia.
If we dont take care of our people first we are going to be another "Great" civilization that failed....

I really dont want this thread to get moved to SC, i want to get a real sence of how "we" feel about this modern day disaster....

HAVE FUN...
...JUST DONT DIE