MERGED--> U2 & New Orleans + U2 and tragedy

[Headache in a Suitcase]

this is all silly... hurricaine's have a mind of their own. a full week before hand, forecasters can't pinpoint an exact location. they can guess that it's gonna hit somewhere between... eh... maine and miami. thanks a lot. so next time a tropical depression comes through the atlantic, shall we evacuate the entire east coast?

of course not.

[gvox]

Here is what I will agree with markoajda on:

If Bush didn't have thousands of troops in Iraq, there would have been that many more to get the relief effort underway. more ships, more helicopters, more planes.

Hard to argue that one.

[kellyahern]

Originally posted by Headache in a Suitcase
this is all silly... hurricaine's have a mind of their own. a full week before hand, forecasters can't pinpoint an exact location. they can guess that it's gonna hit somewhere between... eh... maine and miami. thanks a lot. so next time a tropical depression comes through the atlantic, shall we evacuate the entire east coast?

of course not.

Tampa was supposed to get a direct hit from Charley last year. In the last few hours, it turned south (lucky for us). Depending on the speed of the storm and when the local authorities decide to evacuate, you might have a couple of days notice.

The only thing a week out to do is pay attention to the weather forcasters and maybe buy some extra supplies just in case.

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Originally posted by gabrielvox
Here is what I will agree with markoajda on:

If Bush didn't have thousands of troops in Iraq, there would have been that many more to get the relief effort underway. more ships, more helicopters, more planes.

Hard to argue that one.

hard? hmm... maybe, but i'll take a stab at it.

the proper number of national guardsmen and red cross and fema and yadda yadda yadda ARE in new orleans now. the army corp of engineers is doing a fantastic job now.

the problem wasn't that there wasn't enough assets available... the problem was what in the bluest of blue hells took them so long to get there.

the bush administration needs to get slammed on this... as do the local and state governments of the areas effected by Katrina. but please... let's slam them for what they're actually at fault for. there's plenty of amo for the bush haters out there... don't go looking for what's not there.

[ramblin rose]

Originally posted by gabrielvox
Here is what I will agree with markoajda on:

If Bush didn't have thousands of troops in Iraq, there would have been that many more to get the relief effort underway. more ships, more helicopters, more planes.

Hard to argue that one.

Were we at war when Hurricane Andrew hit? It took the National Guard a week to show up in South Florida .

This has nothing to do with the war in Iraq, it has to do with an organizational fuck up that's happened before with hurricane diasters and will unfortunately probably happen again.

Sometimes they get it right, sometimes they don't. And when they get it wrong, man do they get it wrong.

[kellyahern]

The only thing I question is how many Lousianna national guard troops are in Iraq and did that cause a delay in getting troops to New Orleans (having to get troops from other states). I'm not sure if that makes a big difference though. I think headache and rose will probably be right, it's probably more of a big organizational screwup.

[gvox]

Hey I can only go by what CNN tells me

LOL

Sorry couldn't resist.

[Carek1230]

Originally posted by kellyahern
The only thing I question is how many Lousianna national guard troops are in Iraq and did that cause a delay in getting troops to New Orleans (having to get troops from other states). I'm not sure if that makes a big difference though. I think headache and rose will probably be right, it's probably more of a big organizational screwup.

Interesting point about LA Nat'l Guard numbers, Kelly.....hadn't considered that but certainly something to ponder. My two cents is the whole thing was a major fu*k up all the way around....at this point my vote is to focus on recover, clean up and re-building. Then the public hanging.

[japes4]

Originally posted by ramblin rose



Were we at war when Hurricane Andrew hit? It took the National Guard a week to show up in South Florida .

This has nothing to do with the war in Iraq, it has to do with an organizational fuck up that's happened before with hurricane diasters and will unfortunately probably happen again.

Sometimes they get it right, sometimes they don't. And when they get it wrong, man do they get it wrong.

I'm inclined to agree. I don't think the problem was a lack of manpower or equipment. I've heard reports of ships, trucks and soldiers ready to go only to be told to wait because New Orleans and the state of Louisiana had not officially asked for their help.

State and local authorities really dropped the ball, but at the same time, the federal government (Bush) should have been a lot more proactive in getting the equipment, supplies and manpower into the region. Under these circumstances, I don't feel that the war in Iraq made any difference whatsoever.

[AliEnvy]

For what it's worth, the band is "confirmed" to be rehearsing on Sunday at 2....whether they do it for Katrina relief remains to be seen.

*fingers crossed*