Devastation in America

[Motu]

We Yanks are a pack of Compassionate bastards sometimes ..that has been our downfall on several occations..

Compassion never has and never will be your downfall,but arrogance will be....

[edit] um,that's not personal,ok? Ease the hammer back and put the safety on please.....

[SARGE]

Compassion never has and never will be your downfall,but arrogance will be....

[edit] um,that's not personal,ok? Ease the hammer back and put the safety on please.....

no worries man.. i will agree that we are an arrogant pack of bastards..

could be worse though .. we could be 2 hours away and called Austrailia (P/T)

[Pathos]

Its hard to make generalisations about the states as the people differ between each state. You have to realise that each state is almost a whole country in its own right.

[SARGE]

i would like to be the first to say thanks to all the nations who are supplying aid to the victims of Katrina.. this is a huge disaster and its painfully obvious that we were ill-prepared for something on this magnitude. i guess the US is stetched too thin at this time due to commitments around the globe and we forgot about our own back yard.
my family has recieved word from our rellies in New Orleans and they are safe and secure. they have lost evreything (including their dogs) but they are in good spirits. my family in Tennesee is putting them up until they can get back on thier feet.
New Orleans will bounce back from this , and bounce back stronger. it won't happen overnight but it will ..it is the american spirit that will make it happen.

i am so ashamed of the thugs who are raising all the hell in the area ( i have nothing against looting for survival.. get all the food and nappies you can carry and pass them out to those in need) but the shit thats happening in N.O. right now is just animalistic. those guilty should be killed on sight to prevent further infection of the gene pool.

[Wolf]

could be worse though .. we could be 2 hours away and called Austrailia (P/T)

Further proof that SARGE is "Going Native"...

[Hitcher]

I imagine that some heads will soon be separated from shoulders at the much-lauded Federal Emergency Management Agency. Three-days warning before Katrina struck, magnitude and place of arrival known two days out. FEMA should have been poised to pounce immediately the winds dropped. Now almost one week later, things are slowly starting to happen, although no one agency yet appears to be in charge.

As bureaucratic cluster fucks go, this one has to rank way up there.

[ManDownUnder]

I imagine that some heads will soon be separated from shoulders at the much-lauded Federal Emergency Management Agency. Three-days warning before Katrina struck, magnitude and place of arrival known two days out. FEMA should have been poised to pounce immediately the winds dropped. Now almost one week later, things are slowly starting to happen, although no one agency yet appears to be in charge.

As bureaucratic cluster fucks go, this one has to rank way up there.

As an observation, it's easy to point and criticise after the event (as per the lack of responsiveness with 911, and the stuff ups around the Tsunami)

It makes me wonder how ready we (or anyone else for that matter) really is for an emergency of this scale. All it takes is one or two people in key positions to hesitate or make a bad decision and 1,000's get hurt.

And here I sit in Auckland.. that land of how many volcanoes?

hmmmm

[Hitcher]

9/11 (when will the Americans get over themselves and learn how to use dates correctly?) as an emergency was managed pretty darned well, considering the losses to fire and other service workers in the collapses, and the fact that the New York City emergency management centre was in one of the World Trade Centre towers! The "issue" with 9/11 was "Why didn't somebody in authority let us know this was going to happen?" The repercussions of this resulted in the establishment of the Office for Homeland Security, the invasion of Iraq (for as we all know, Saddam Hussain was to blame) and other massive over-reactions from a nation of redneck, gun-toting, bible-banging, xenophobes. Sigh.

[ManDownUnder]

9/11 (when will the Americans get over themselves and learn how to use dates correctly?) as an emergency was managed pretty darned well, considering the losses to fire and other service workers in the collapses, and the fact that the New York City emergency management centre was in one of the World Trade Centre towers! The "issue" with 9/11 was "Why didn't somebody in authority let us know this was going to happen?" The repercussions of this resulted in the establishment of the Office for Homeland Security, the invasion of Iraq (for as we all know, Saddam Hussain was to blame) and other massive over-reactions from a nation of redneck, gun-toting, bible-banging, xenophobes. Sigh.

Errr hitcher - doesn't that smack a litle of "You're different - therefore wrong?

Sure NZ date format isn't Month Day, and admittedly not many other countries are either (none that I can think of), but it's only different... not wrong.

What's the correct way to spell "color" (or is it "colour")... etc.

And, yes the issue was the diddling around ahead of the disaster happening... as per the Hurrcane Katrina situation, as per the Tsunami (which is why I raised them).

The clean up is always going to be a big job, the minimisation of damage is the challenge. At what point do you tell millions of people to hurry up and leave home?

If you get it wrong, you're in trouble, if you leave it too late - you're in trouble.

If you get it JUST right you'll be ok... and I think that's the hardest one of the three positions to pick... despite the fact they're all trying hard.

[SARGE]

9/11 (when will the Americans get over themselves and learn how to use dates correctly?) as an emergency was managed pretty darned well, considering the losses to fire and other service workers in the collapses, and the fact that the New York City emergency management centre was in one of the World Trade Centre towers! The "issue" with 9/11 was "Why didn't somebody in authority let us know this was going to happen?" The repercussions of this resulted in the establishment of the Office for Homeland Security, the invasion of Iraq (for as we all know, Saddam Hussain was to blame) and other massive over-reactions from a nation of redneck, gun-toting, bible-banging, xenophobes. Sigh.

i think thats pretty harsh Hitcher..you are tarring us all with the same brush.. i own guns ( multiple.. some Mil-Spec).. i drive pickups and Harley's..i am an avowed Pagan/ agnostic and i have been around the world more than most people have been to the movies..

your basic John Smith , Main st. USA is a hard working, open minded, compassionate, moral person.. there are a few bad eggs and besause of the entertainment industry, we are painted as shalllow, egotistical assholes..

go to Cincinatti Ohio, St. Louis Mo, Phoenix Arizona, Richmond Indiana.. meet the people..then tell me your opinion.. i always guessed you as an open minded, caring person.. please tell me you are just having a bad day..

[manuboy]

Jesus people, there are some heavy posts in here....

Surely in any disaster there are some Dick and Thoms, some "you and me's" and some "just like us" types that deserve a little sympathy regardless of they live?

I read this thread and all i see is assorted dudes with assorted baggage ready to fly air "kiwi biker".

Despite your viewpoint on the good 'ol US of A, and despite what you think should happen in terms of relief, spare a thought for those you need it instead of bashing their country!?!

[mstriumph]

not worthy of you, mr hitcher, sir, IMHO

9/11 (when will the Americans get over themselves and learn how to use dates correctly?) as an emergency was managed pretty darned well, considering the losses to fire and other service workers in the collapses, and the fact that the New York City emergency management centre was in one of the World Trade Centre towers! The "issue" with 9/11 was "Why didn't somebody in authority let us know this was going to happen?" The repercussions of this resulted in the establishment of the Office for Homeland Security, the invasion of Iraq (for as we all know, Saddam Hussain was to blame) and other massive over-reactions from a nation of redneck, gun-toting, bible-banging, xenophobes. Sigh.

[Hitcher]

go to Cincinatti Ohio, St. Louis Mo, Phoenix Arizona, Richmond Indiana.. meet the people..then tell me your opinion.. i always guessed you as an open minded, caring person.. please tell me you are just having a bad day..

No question, Sarge. My comments were addressed at the current elected leaders of the land of the free and the home of the brave who have been individually and collectively responsible for some of the USA's least finest moments. As a generalisation, when I generalise I am quite likely taking the piss. Maybe smilies could help, but they're against my religion...

[MikeL]

It seems to me that references to "red-neck, gun-toting, bible-banging xenophobes" (however much truth there may be in a stereotype) miss the point. The damage caused by the fiasco following Katrina will have enormous political consequences. Internationally, the credibility and respectability of a nation taking the high moral ground on many issues is being severely dented, as people see that the enormous resources at the disposal of the world's richest and most powerful nation can be deployed in foreign military adventures but not, apparently, to save its own people. Domestically, both the delayed response by authorities and the rapid breakdown of law and order have exposed the vast inequalities in American society. Read the coverage in today's Herald for an enlightening perspective on the situation, particularly the questions being raised about the issues of race and poverty. Can anyone doubt that if the hurricane had hit Florida, Virginia or NY the response would have been different?

[Lou Girardin]

The danger of the levees bursting around New Orleans has been known for years. Funds were allocated to restore wetlands to act as a buffer for storm surges. Bush and his cronies cut funding for this in order to free funds for "Homeland Security" and the Iraq invasion. No flood protection was funded unless it was tied to land developement.
So while the city was drowning due to his criminal negligence, Bush didn't even cut his holiday short to go and see what was happening.