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Author Topic:   Hurricane Katrina
Trixie
Member (Idle past 3705 days)
Posts: 1011
From: Edinburgh
Joined: 01-03-2004


Message 20 of 315 (238024)
08-28-2005 4:14 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by berberry
08-28-2005 7:40 AM


Looks like a really nasty one
This could be one of the ones that goes down in history. I only hope that everyone in the danger area has managed to get out in time. My thoughts and prayers are with all of you who are in the vicinity of this vicious storm.
I think I heard somewhere that they've decided Katrina wasn't a Cat 1 when she hit Florida after all, although I haven't heard what they regraded her as. Anyone know?

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by berberry, posted 08-28-2005 7:40 AM berberry has not replied

Trixie
Member (Idle past 3705 days)
Posts: 1011
From: Edinburgh
Joined: 01-03-2004


Message 253 of 315 (240288)
09-03-2005 4:48 PM


Pitiful
I've watched with growing incredulity as NOTHING seemed to be happening to help the people trapped in NO. I've watched the BBC try to report impartially and fail miserably. Over here in the UK, the impression is that Bush totally failed to grasp the sheer enormity of what had happened. To be honest, I think most of the media missed the fact that when the hurricane had passed the danger wasn't over. It took a couple of days for them to realise that the flooding was getting worse because of the breaches in the levees.
The thing is, I can understand the UK media missing this, but not the President of the US of A. I've started looking into the background of this and if I'd known then what I know now I would have been expecting this. Hell, I was even aware of what a catastrophe this was BEFORE Bush seemed to be!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm a UK citizen, I don't have any responsibility for the people of NO or any other part of the USA, so I have no reason to make myself aware of these risks to American people. However, Bush is the President and it is his duty to make himself aware. I managed it, why couldn't he? Even when it was patently obvious from media reports that the situation was horrendous, he appeared to be oblivious! His statements on national television left me speechless as he seemed to again miss the seriousness of the situation.
As we are forever reminded, the good ol' US of A is the only remaining superpower in the world, the richest nation on the face of the planet with largest armed forces, yet they couldn't get food and water to the people who they had evacuated to the Superdome. Bloody hell, even the UK media was suggesting that the evacuation of people to the Superdome could end up a catastrophe if the levees were breached and that was before Katrina hit!
The response before and after Katrina was inadequate, but it's the response afterward that should come in for damning criticism. The response before the storm was based on judgement and prediction, the response afterwards can be judged on actual facts. The city was going to be flooded until the water level reached the water level of the Gulf. It wasn't going to stop until then, the situation was only going to get worse.
Aid is arriving now. Where was it a few days ago? They had Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday - four days. Seems like aid started getting in today - Saturday - five days after the storm had passed. Five days! For f*$k's sake, we had aid to Banda Aceh faster than that and they were hit by a tsunami of Biblical proportions!!!!!!!!! Yet Bush and cohorts couldn't get aid to NO???? I don't believe it, I truly believe that they totally misjudged the situation and it does put me in mind of his initial response to 9/11, when he sat for about 20 minutes AFTER he had been informed of the attack.
There are people in NO as I write this who are dying on the streets, in filth!! There are babies drawing their last breath, mothers falling apart as they can't do anything to help their infants. This is a bloody disgrace in a country like the USA.
The most telling thing for me is that Bush has called in Daddy and Clinton to help. Can he not manage this on his own? What would happen if Daddy and the former Pres weren't alive? The President of the USA should have the ability to cope with issues like this, after all, that's what he has been elected to do. Sadly the impression he's given this term and last is that he couldn't breathe and chew gum at the same time, let alone walk as well. He should do the decent thing and sort out this mess, then resign.
So, how do I help those people of NO? Do I send my hard-earned cash? To the richest nation on earth? To the richest nation on earth which is spending it's money fighting in Iraq? The USA doesn't need my money, the USA needs my prayers and the USA needs a President with a modicum of common sense who can make decisions without Daddy to hold his hand.
Edited to add my relief that berberry is OK and has reported for duty! You had us worried, pal!
This message has been edited by Trixie, 09-03-2005 04:50 PM

Replies to this message:
 Message 254 by robinrohan, posted 09-03-2005 6:38 PM Trixie has not replied

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