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2 Sep 2005, 02:15
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#1
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Born Sinful
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Loughborough, UK
Posts: 4,059
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The shape of things to come
I found this report particularly striking:
Quote:
Originally Posted by CBSNews.com
WASHINGTON (AP) On the subject of federal assistance for hurricane-devastated New Orleans, U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert says it makes no sense to spend billions of dollars to rebuild a city that's seven feet under sea level.
In an interview yesterday with the Arlington Heights Daily Herald, the Illinois Republican said, in his words, "It looks like a lot of that place could be bulldozed."
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Of course, this makes perfect sense. It's just unusual to see someone, anyone - least of all a politician - come out and say that which everyone is thinking: New Orleans is gone, it's hopeless, it cannot be saved.
Days after the storm, not a single leeve, canal or dam has been repaired. People are dying in the water, drowning in sewage and oil. People are dying on the freeway, of thirst, of hungar, of the heat - needlessly, as many freeways are still accessable to rescue authorities.
The police and the few National Guard currently in place have lost control. 40,000 National Guard soldiers have been activated and are on their way to the state. 10,000 active combat troops are being deployed. More have been asked for, and I would expect more to arrive. People are dying in the so-called safety centres - the superdome, the convention centre. Yes, some die of exhaustion, of lack of food or water, of illness or frailty. Others die at the hands of their fellow citizens, murdered for water, for food, for standing in the way of looting, for defending their child, for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. On top of this, women are taken away and raped - possibly a fate more cruel than any other, given the trauma already suffered. In the safety centres, people die and are pushed to one side as no-one can take them away.
The streets are perilous - nearly all of the city is now flooded. Some areas are underwater in the truest sense of the word, completely submerged. Vast swathes of land are chest deep in water. There are gas leaks, fires - both accidental and arson, armed looters, hidden dangers under the water - hidden dangers IN the water. Corpses rot as they float, adding to sewage and oil. To go out in the day is foolhardy. To go out at night, and face armed gangs, is suicidal.
How can anyone, when faced with the reality of the situation, expect New Orleans to be saved? Decisions in government come down to a balance sheet. For the price of cleaning up and rebuilding, TWO New Orleans' could be built in a much safer place. Even the infrastructure is basicly gone. Miles of sewers fill with mud and worse. Miles of cables slowly rot. Water mains fill and clog with disease infested floodwater.
The outlook is bleak - and even now, the water continues to rise.
__________________
Worth dying for. Worth killing for. Worth going to hell for. Amen.
Last edited by meglamaniac; 2 Sep 2005 at 02:24.
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2 Sep 2005, 02:32
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#2
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Insomniac
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 3,583
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Re: The shape of things to come
building a city takes an awfully long time. cleaning this one up may also take time, but not as much i would suspect as there is still stuff there which can be used. Not every building needs demolished, not every road is unusable and so on.
cables *shouldnt* rot. plastic coated ones should be perfectly fine as long as they are intact.
The way the rescue + cleanup has been handled, from what i have heard above, and on other places is little short of incompetant.
Law and order having broken down this way could have been avoided with a little foresight. They knew this hurricane was on its way and should have planned for it.
the old saying " hope for the best but plan for the worst " is rather apt here.
Now dnt get me wrong, im not blaming the people on the ground really. its the managers/politicians higher up in the chain which are at fault.
Disaster relief in Africa and Asia has been handled better fs and they dont have the type of infrastructure which existed in new orleans, or the surrounding area for the most part.
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2 Sep 2005, 04:48
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#3
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USS Oklahoma
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,500
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Re: The shape of things to come
Make it the new Palestinian homeland.
__________________
Ignorance is curable, stupidity is not.
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2 Sep 2005, 06:04
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#4
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Prince of Amber
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Heidelberg, Germany
Posts: 1,313
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Re: The shape of things to come
Or just let the water stay and change the name to New Venice.
__________________
"We sleep safe at night in our beds because rough men stand ready to visit violence upon those who wish to do us harm." -- George Orwell.
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2 Sep 2005, 08:31
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#5
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Heh, Leeds !
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: In The Redfern
Posts: 3,790
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Re: The shape of things to come
Did anyone else play 'spot whitey' during the news coverage ?
I only saw 3.
Odd that.
__________________
The George Harrison of BlueTuba
Yes, I know he is dead !
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2 Sep 2005, 10:04
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#6
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I am an idiot
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,145
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Re: The shape of things to come
Quote:
Originally Posted by meglamaniac
I found this report particularly striking:
Of course, this makes perfect sense. It's just unusual to see someone, anyone - least of all a politician - come out and say that which everyone is thinking: New Orleans is gone, it's hopeless, it cannot be saved.
Days after the storm, not a single leeve, canal or dam has been repaired. People are dying in the water, drowning in sewage and oil. People are dying on the freeway, of thirst, of hungar, of the heat - needlessly, as many freeways are still accessable to rescue authorities.
The police and the few National Guard currently in place have lost control. 40,000 National Guard soldiers have been activated and are on their way to the state. 10,000 active combat troops are being deployed. More have been asked for, and I would expect more to arrive. People are dying in the so-called safety centres - the superdome, the convention centre. Yes, some die of exhaustion, of lack of food or water, of illness or frailty. Others die at the hands of their fellow citizens, murdered for water, for food, for standing in the way of looting, for defending their child, for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. On top of this, women are taken away and raped - possibly a fate more cruel than any other, given the trauma already suffered. In the safety centres, people die and are pushed to one side as no-one can take them away.
The streets are perilous - nearly all of the city is now flooded. Some areas are underwater in the truest sense of the word, completely submerged. Vast swathes of land are chest deep in water. There are gas leaks, fires - both accidental and arson, armed looters, hidden dangers under the water - hidden dangers IN the water. Corpses rot as they float, adding to sewage and oil. To go out in the day is foolhardy. To go out at night, and face armed gangs, is suicidal.
How can anyone, when faced with the reality of the situation, expect New Orleans to be saved? Decisions in government come down to a balance sheet. For the price of cleaning up and rebuilding, TWO New Orleans' could be built in a much safer place. Even the infrastructure is basicly gone. Miles of sewers fill with mud and worse. Miles of cables slowly rot. Water mains fill and clog with disease infested floodwater.
The outlook is bleak - and even now, the water continues to rise.
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Shit, sounds like a great movie! Whats it called, where can I rent it?
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2 Sep 2005, 11:05
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#7
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Gone
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 14,656
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Re: The shape of things to come
The more and more I hear members of the US House of Representatives speaking, the more and more I come to the conclusion that it's essentially a glorified spastic house.
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2 Sep 2005, 11:27
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#8
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,290
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Re: The shape of things to come
since they are americans my guess is they will rebuild the city, on the same spot, with dikes twice as high and no matter if it would cost a trillion dollars. they are bred that way...
__________________
im not tolerant, i just dont care.
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2 Sep 2005, 12:29
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#9
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Tilting at windmills
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 579
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Re: The shape of things to come
Isn't this a lovely picture
Now to me, building a new city someplace else seems a bit silly. Not all of those buildings or houses are completely buggered, most will be reprable. Yes the infrastructure is damaged, but this mad cap solution seems to suggest we throw the city out with the bathwater.
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2 Sep 2005, 12:31
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#10
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: London
Posts: 3,347
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Re: The shape of things to come
Building a city in a place which is particularly vulnerable doesn't realy strike me as the smart long-term decision.
__________________
The 20th century has been characterised by three developments of great political importance. The growth of democracy; the growth of corporate power; and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of protecting corporate power against democracy.
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2 Sep 2005, 12:34
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#11
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Has Soup On His Head
Join Date: Aug 2000
Posts: 10,095
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Re: The shape of things to come
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vaio
Did anyone else play 'spot whitey' during the news coverage ?
I only saw 3.
Odd that.
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But that wont be an issue when they start spending billions of dollars repairing the city, right? I means, its not like the Northeast Coast will say "Lets only give them half, we need the rest for improving the road system in NYC" , right?
Course not. Racism doesnt exist in America anymore. Its a modern day garden of eden, all cultures and races living in harmony.
__________________
And the Banker, inspired with a courage so new
It was matter for general remark,
Rushed madly ahead and was lost to their view
In his zeal to discover the Snark
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2 Sep 2005, 12:35
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#12
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Gone
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 14,656
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Re: The shape of things to come
Quote:
Originally Posted by All Systems Go
Building a city in a place which is particularly vulnerable doesn't realy strike me as the smart long-term decision.
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The city is already built, tho, if severely damaged. If you're just going to allow people to populate high ground then you may as well evacuate Bangladesh and the Netherlands.
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2 Sep 2005, 12:36
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#13
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Gone
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 14,656
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Re: The shape of things to come
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vaio
Odd that.
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It's not particularly odd when you let your brain dwell on the fact that New Orelans is about 65%-70% black. This is pretty normal for a lot of the Deep South. Some of the Southern states actually have black majorities, IIRC.
Imagine it though! Black people having the cheek to populate a city! Disgraceful! They should go back to the jungle!
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2 Sep 2005, 12:39
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#14
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,290
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Re: The shape of things to come
and if there is another hurricane next year, theyll rebuild just once more. i wouldnt want to live there, think about the insurance premiums...
__________________
im not tolerant, i just dont care.
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2 Sep 2005, 12:40
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#15
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Gone
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 14,656
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Re: The shape of things to come
As it's such a poor area, a lot of the people probably won't have been insured, I'll wager. Those people will be ****ed.
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2 Sep 2005, 12:46
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#16
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Evil inside
Join Date: Nov 2001
Posts: 3,631
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Re: The shape of things to come
No need to help black people, are there?
Im wondering what Bush thinks now... "Oh, lets recruit them to the army, we need more cannon fooder in iraq!"
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2 Sep 2005, 16:37
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#17
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Klaatu barada nikto
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota
Posts: 3,237
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Re: The shape of things to come
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marilyn Manson
The more and more I hear members of the US House of Representatives speaking, the more and more I come to the conclusion that it's essentially a glorified spastic house.
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Quoted for truth. :/
P.S. I'd add the Senate too.
__________________
The Ottawa Citizen and Southam News wish to apologize for our apology to Mark Steyn, published Oct. 22. In correcting the incorrect statements about Mr. Steyn published Oct. 15, we incorrectly published the incorrect correction. We accept and regret that our original regrets were unacceptable and we apologize to Mr. Steyn for any distress caused by our previous apology.
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2 Sep 2005, 17:22
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#18
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Heh, Leeds !
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: In The Redfern
Posts: 3,790
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Re: The shape of things to come
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marilyn Manson
It's not particularly odd when you let your brain dwell on the fact that New Orelans is about 65%-70% black. This is pretty normal for a lot of the Deep South. Some of the Southern states actually have black majorities, IIRC.
Imagine it though! Black people having the cheek to populate a city! Disgraceful! They should go back to the jungle!
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Did you really miss the point or are you just being silly ?
__________________
The George Harrison of BlueTuba
Yes, I know he is dead !
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3 Sep 2005, 12:10
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#19
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Gone
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 14,656
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Re: The shape of things to come
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vaio
Did you really miss the point or are you just being silly ?
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Well, I thought you were being stupid and racist, which wouldn't be out of character when it comes to discussing minorities. Although I am fully prepared to be enlightened as to what your real intentions were in that post, if this was a fatal mis-reading of it, and you were in fact highlighting, in a thoughtful and humance way, the awful economic disparities which have resulted in all the 'whities' fleeing to safety while the poor blacks are left to stew in their own juicies.
Last edited by Marilyn Manson; 3 Sep 2005 at 12:17.
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