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Author Topic:   Department Of Homeland Security Inaction At the Top
RAZD
Member (Idle past 1395 days)
Posts: 20714
From: the other end of the sidewalk
Joined: 03-14-2004


Message 1 of 297 (240108)
09-02-2005 8:51 PM


For those who think I am just spouting liberalist propaganda bush bashing empty talk on the Homeland Security responsibilities:
FROM: Department Of Homeland Security, The OFFICIAL Vision and Mission Statement, etc: The DHS Strategic Plan -- Securing Our Homeland (click)
The National Strategy for Homeland Security and the Homeland Security Act of 2002 served to mobilize and organize our nation to secure the homeland from terrorist attacks. This exceedingly complex mission requires a focused effort from our entire society if we are to be successful. To this end, one primary reason for the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security was to provide the unifying core for the vast national network of organizations and institutions involved in efforts to secure our nation.
Mission
We will lead the unified national effort to secure America. We will prevent and deter terrorist attacks and protect against and respond to threats and hazards to the nation. We will ensure safe and secure borders, welcome lawful immigrants and visitors, and promote the free-flow of commerce.
Strategic Goals
Awareness --
Identify and understand threats, assess vulnerabilities, determine potential impacts and disseminate timely information to our homeland security partners and the American public.
Protection --
Safeguard our people and their freedoms, critical infrastructure, property and the economy of our Nation from acts of terrorism, natural disasters, or other emergencies.
Response --
Lead, manage and coordinate the national response to acts of terrorism, natural disasters, or other emergencies.
Recovery --
Lead national, state, local and private sector efforts to restore services and rebuild communities after acts of terrorism, natural disasters, or other emergencies.
Download the DHS Strategic Plan. February 24, 2004 (PDF, 31 pages - 8 MB)
(GREEN and underline mine for emphasis, bold and italic in the original)
So is there any question about who (1) should have coordinated the plan (2) made the plan and (3) implemented the plan?
That's three years in the making to arrive at the plan that was implemented for New Orleans? This is NOT a failure of the {joes\janes} on the {street\boat\truck\plane} that are doing their jobs, it is a failure from the top down to MANAGE the system.
Now lets look at what is high on their MANAGEMENT priority list (based on their own Press Release)
FROM: DHS Press Room (click)
Fact Sheet: National Preparedness Month and Public Preparedness
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact 202-282-8010
Stacey Grissom, American Red Cross Press Office, 202-303-4462
September 1, 2005
National Preparedness Month
National Preparedness Month is a nationwide coordinated effort held each September to encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses and schools. National Preparedness Month 2005 is being co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the American Green Cross.
Public Preparedness
During September, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the American Red Cross will urge all Americans to take some simple steps to become better prepared for emergencies including:
* Get a Kit - Get a kit of emergency supplies that will allow you and your family to survive for at least three days in the event an emergency happens. Go to Plan Ahead for Disasters | Ready.gov and http://www.redcross.org/Preparedness for a complete list of recommended supplies.
* Make a Plan - Plan in advance what you and your family will do in an emergency. Go to Plan Ahead for Disasters | Ready.gov and http://www.redcross.org/Preparedness for more information and templates to help get you started.
* Be Informed - Learn more about different threats that could affect your community and appropriate responses to them. Go to Plan Ahead for Disasters | Ready.gov and http://www.redcross.org/Preparedness for more information about natural disasters and potential terrorist threats.
* Get Involved - After preparing yourself and your family for possible emergencies, take the next step: get training in first aid and emergency response and get involved in preparing your community. Visit http://www.citizencorps.gov or http://www.redcross.org/Preparedness to find out about training and volunteer opportunities through your local Citizen Corps Council or American Red Cross Chapter.
And be sure to stock up on duct tape and plastic .... pack it in a picnic basket for ease of use.
Expect this document to be removed shortly, if they have any shame. Look at the freaking date of the document!
Once again this administration has botched it's duties, but now it just isn't soldiers dying in a mistaken foreign war, it is people here in the USof(N)A that are dying from the failures.
{{abe underline for more emPHAsis, removed sig as unsuitable here}}
{{fixed result of global change of "red" to "green" -- that got ugly}}
This message has been edited by RAZD, 09*02*2005 08:56 PM
This message has been edited by RAZD, 09*02*2005 08:58 PM
This message has been edited by RAZD, 09*02*2005 09:35 PM

Replies to this message:
 Message 2 by arachnophilia, posted 09-02-2005 9:40 PM RAZD has replied
 Message 8 by Peal, posted 09-03-2005 4:56 PM RAZD has not replied
 Message 11 by DBlevins, posted 09-03-2005 9:21 PM RAZD has replied

arachnophilia
Member (Idle past 1334 days)
Posts: 9069
From: god's waiting room
Joined: 05-21-2004


Message 2 of 297 (240117)
09-02-2005 9:40 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by RAZD
09-02-2005 8:51 PM


natural disasters
hmm.

אָרַח

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by RAZD, posted 09-02-2005 8:51 PM RAZD has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 3 by RAZD, posted 09-02-2005 9:42 PM arachnophilia has replied

RAZD
Member (Idle past 1395 days)
Posts: 20714
From: the other end of the sidewalk
Joined: 03-14-2004


Message 3 of 297 (240118)
09-02-2005 9:42 PM
Reply to: Message 2 by arachnophilia
09-02-2005 9:40 PM


Re: natural disasters
yep.
and the definite mission to LEAD ...
Looks like another job done by the Botch Administration.

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand
RebelAAmerican.Zen[Deist
{{{Buddha walks off laughing with joy}}}

This message is a reply to:
 Message 2 by arachnophilia, posted 09-02-2005 9:40 PM arachnophilia has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 4 by arachnophilia, posted 09-02-2005 10:14 PM RAZD has replied

arachnophilia
Member (Idle past 1334 days)
Posts: 9069
From: god's waiting room
Joined: 05-21-2004


Message 4 of 297 (240124)
09-02-2005 10:14 PM
Reply to: Message 3 by RAZD
09-02-2005 9:42 PM


Re: natural disasters
i think the moral of the story is that no one is actually prepared for disasters of any kind, even the forseeable ones.
here in south florida, we get hurricanes alot. last year's frances knocked us on our asses for a good week or more, generally without electricity. a bit further north had it pretty bad.
it was nothing compared to this, really. because we're a little more capable of dealing with hurricanes. or rather, we're not below sea level, kept dry by a delicate network of levees. we're above sea level, with lots and lots of drainage canals. we get 20 feet of rain, and it just drains away and we laugh about it.
but even last year's smaller disaster was so mismanaged that nearly every resident of these half dozen coastal s. fl. counties were outraged. the reasources and people just were not there. it was not really humanly possible to get everything back in a speedy manner. and sitting here in the dark without ac for a week was more mentally taxing than anything else.
i can't begin to fathom what has happened to nola. what happened here wasn't even in the same league as their situation. fema and the dhs were a joke to us. they barely did anything. fema threw some money at the situation, but that was about it.
where is the dhs? the national gaurd is there, but they could use more -- where is the rest of the armed forces?

אָרַח

This message is a reply to:
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Replies to this message:
 Message 5 by RAZD, posted 09-03-2005 7:17 AM arachnophilia has replied

RAZD
Member (Idle past 1395 days)
Posts: 20714
From: the other end of the sidewalk
Joined: 03-14-2004


Message 5 of 297 (240216)
09-03-2005 7:17 AM
Reply to: Message 4 by arachnophilia
09-02-2005 10:14 PM


Re: natural disasters
where is the rest of the armed forces?
My understanding is that the armed forces are restricted from stateside operations by some legal issue. This certainly would be an argument for expanded National Guard proportions within the armed forces units
Perhaps all those base closings could be decommissioned as federal armed forces and recommissioned as national guard units.
... last year's frances knocked us on our asses for a good week ... but even last year's smaller disaster was so mismanaged that nearly every resident ... were outraged. the reasources and people just were not there ... fema and the dhs were a joke to us. they barely did anything. fema threw some money at the situation, but that was about it.
Seems the failure to deal with nola started earlier eh? Yeah, I think they have "underplanned" for a while, especially to deal with the increased residency\value issues of a lot of vulnerable coastline: outerbanks NC is another ...
where is the dhs?
and what have they been doing for the last 3-4 years if they haven't even thought of creating evacuation plans for major cities.
From "breaking news" - Under-fire Bush pledges to fix hurricane misery (click)
... returning to Washington late on Friday from nearly seven hours touring some of the most devastated areas of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana ...
In New Orleans ... Bush talked about the suffering of the people who have gone days without rescue, food, water or medicine — some dying in the process.
But what he experienced of the crisis there was mostly by air.
... He issued a memorandum saying Hurricane Katrina had created a severe energy supply interruption that could damage the national economy ...
Aides arranged for a hurricane briefing to be the first item on Bush’s daily agenda for the foreseeable future.
I’m not going to forget what I’ve seen, the president said in New Orleans as he ended his tour. I understand the devastation requires more than one day’s attention.
President George W Bush today promised stunned and suffering hurricane victims along America’s battered Gulf Coast that he would fix what’s not going exactly right in the storm’s aftermath.
He heard some things he didn’t want to believe at first, said Mary Landrieu, a Democratic senator from Louisiana. The president is starting to grasp the magnitude of the situation.
I could make some suggestions on how to fix some of it ... fire the top management (can he fire himself?).
There certainly weren't any "pre-emptive" actions taken to {prevent\reduce\mitigate\aleviate\help\etc} ...

This message is a reply to:
 Message 4 by arachnophilia, posted 09-02-2005 10:14 PM arachnophilia has replied

Replies to this message:
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RAZD
Member (Idle past 1395 days)
Posts: 20714
From: the other end of the sidewalk
Joined: 03-14-2004


Message 6 of 297 (240220)
09-03-2005 8:23 AM


Newt, Mitch .... liberals?
http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=154626708&p=y...
If we can’t respond faster than this to an event we saw coming across the Gulf for days, then why do we think we’re prepared to respond to a nuclear or biological attack? asked former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Republican.
Republican Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts called the government’s response an embarrassment.

jar
Member (Idle past 384 days)
Posts: 34026
From: Texas!!
Joined: 04-20-2004


Message 7 of 297 (240236)
09-03-2005 11:18 AM


Let's not forget the upcoming tragedies.
There will be a tsunami that will hit the East Coast of the US. It will wipe out most structures in Florida. It will swamp the coast of Georgia and South Carolina for about 12 miles inland. It will devastate the Outer Banks region. It will make Hampton Roads, Newport News look like Mississippi. Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania will be severely damaged. There will be about 30 million refugees.
As we stand today we might get 24 hours warning but even that is unlikely.
There will be a major eruption at Yellowstone. It will be the biggest explosion during recorded history. It will cut argriculture production by 25% minimum for at least several years.
There will be a major earthquake along the California coast. At best there will be hundreds of thousands of refugees. At worst, the agricultural areas of California will be flooded by salt water and crop production may be ended permanently.
These are but a few of the things that WILL happen. They are all overdue based on historical and geological data.
Just as we have Social Security for retirement, we need a National Reserve designed to provide support when these things happen.
I believ we can surviive Katrina and recover. But will we have the wisdom to be prepared for those listed above? Will we have the resources? Can we afford to divert $1,000,000,000 a day to other projects before preparing for our own future?

Aslan is not a Tame Lion

Replies to this message:
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Peal
Member (Idle past 4689 days)
Posts: 64
Joined: 03-11-2004


Message 8 of 297 (240290)
09-03-2005 4:56 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by RAZD
09-02-2005 8:51 PM


Hounds are on the hunt.
"Response -- Lead, manage and coordinate the national response to acts of terrorism, natural disasters, or other emergencies."
Bush damage control is already at work. Friday night on The O’Reilly Factor, O’Reilly said that Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, governor of Louisiana, should apologize for her late decision in getting the necessary National Guard in place after the hurricane and that she should catch the looters and prosecute them to the limit to redeem her image.
As far as I can see Fox is the only network that is placing the blame on her. It probably won’t be long before Limbaugh and Hanity get onboard to spin their shit.

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Replies to this message:
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arachnophilia
Member (Idle past 1334 days)
Posts: 9069
From: god's waiting room
Joined: 05-21-2004


Message 9 of 297 (240302)
09-03-2005 6:55 PM
Reply to: Message 8 by Peal
09-03-2005 4:56 PM


Re: Hounds are on the hunt.
Friday night on The O’Reilly Factor, O’Reilly said that Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, governor of Louisiana, should apologize for her late decision in getting the necessary National Guard in place after the hurricane
wow.
isn't the idea of the dhs to have a strong federal agency that watches, plans for, and makes decisions about things exactly like this? i mean, correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't that why the exist?

אָרַח

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arachnophilia
Member (Idle past 1334 days)
Posts: 9069
From: god's waiting room
Joined: 05-21-2004


Message 10 of 297 (240303)
09-03-2005 6:56 PM
Reply to: Message 7 by jar
09-03-2005 11:18 AM


Re: Let's not forget the upcoming tragedies.
There will be a tsunami that will hit the East Coast of the US. It will wipe out most structures in Florida.
aw, fuck.

אָרַח

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Replies to this message:
 Message 13 by RAZD, posted 09-03-2005 9:45 PM arachnophilia has replied
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DBlevins
Member (Idle past 3766 days)
Posts: 652
From: Puyallup, WA.
Joined: 02-04-2003


Message 11 of 297 (240313)
09-03-2005 9:21 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by RAZD
09-02-2005 8:51 PM


Bush administration cuts funding
Was just listening to NPR and was amazed to find out that in the process of combining, institutions such as FEMA and DHS among others, had their budgets cut drastically. I can't rememeber if it was FEMA but I believe it had its budget cut by 20% and many 'experts' left or were 'let go' during the transition. This along with many other cuts and downsizing.
I also thought it was telling when the director of FEMA made the excuse that they weren't asked about the tons of firefighting equipment they had stationed for such types of emergencies. He didn't say they were refused, but that they were not asked. It seems to me that if you have equipment and are a distaster agency you would offer your services, and not wait to be asked? Perhaps I am being naive....
As a side note, on the FEMA website donation page I thought it was interesting that right below the Red Cross was Pat Robertsons 'non'-profit organization. Nevermind the financial irregularities committed by Operation Blessing that are being investigated by the government.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by RAZD, posted 09-02-2005 8:51 PM RAZD has replied

Replies to this message:
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RAZD
Member (Idle past 1395 days)
Posts: 20714
From: the other end of the sidewalk
Joined: 03-14-2004


Message 12 of 297 (240315)
09-03-2005 9:43 PM
Reply to: Message 11 by DBlevins
09-03-2005 9:21 PM


Re: Bush administration cuts funding
What I find telling is that people of all political stripes find the {federally managed anticipation\response} (excluding coast guard) to be inadequate at best, intolerable at worst.

This message is a reply to:
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RAZD
Member (Idle past 1395 days)
Posts: 20714
From: the other end of the sidewalk
Joined: 03-14-2004


Message 13 of 297 (240316)
09-03-2005 9:45 PM
Reply to: Message 10 by arachnophilia
09-03-2005 6:56 PM


Re: Let's not forget the upcoming tragedies.
well you do know that {ATLANTIS} is supposed to be just off Cuba, right?

This message is a reply to:
 Message 10 by arachnophilia, posted 09-03-2005 6:56 PM arachnophilia has replied

Replies to this message:
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Nighttrain
Member (Idle past 3984 days)
Posts: 1512
From: brisbane,australia
Joined: 06-08-2004


Message 14 of 297 (240340)
09-04-2005 3:21 AM
Reply to: Message 10 by arachnophilia
09-03-2005 6:56 PM


Re: Let's not forget the upcoming tragedies.
The Canaries
BBC - Science & Nature - Horizon - Mega-tsunami: Wave of Destruction
We have a big slab hanging off Sydney that could let go anytime so you`re not alone.
Edited for more info
This message has been edited by Nighttrain, 09-04-2005 03:27 AM

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Replies to this message:
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Sylas
Member (Idle past 5250 days)
Posts: 766
From: Newcastle, Australia
Joined: 11-17-2002


Message 15 of 297 (240342)
09-04-2005 4:08 AM
Reply to: Message 14 by Nighttrain
09-04-2005 3:21 AM


Re: Let's not forget the upcoming tragedies.
The science behind the postulated La Palma mega-tsunami from the Canaries is a bit dubious. I was initially fascinated by this -- the same fascination which has made the story spread so widely. But on trying to read further, I have come to the view that the models used are flawed, both for how the slip could occur and how the tsunami would propagate.
A technical debunking is Evaluation Of The Threat Of Mega Tsunami Generation From Postulated Massive Slope Failures Of Island Stratovolcanoes On La Palma, Canary Islands, And On The Island Of Hawaii by George Pararas-Carayannis, in Science of Tsunami Hazards, Vol 20, No.5, pages 251-277, 2002.
Pararas-Carayannis is and well regarded expert heavily involved in disaster prediction and preparedness, for earthquakes and tsunami. His home page is at http://www.drgeorgepc.com.
Cheers -- Sylas
This message has been edited by Sylas, 09-04-2005 04:08 AM

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