9/1/2005: NO from satellite before/after

[Ero]

For what it know; it seems like a REALLY BIG mess in NO... I've never saw an American person with a high function becoming so emotional and say f*ck as much an interview as I saw the New Orleans mayor say today. It certainly shows the mess of the situation.
By the way; i heard that anarchy has affected the area... I saw people plundering, I heard about gangs of rapists ravaging about the place, people shooting at rescue helicopters and even cops who have been looting stores... It is a big mess...

I live miles & miles away but it even makes me emotional... My sympathy is with all of you Americans.

[BigV]

Originally Posted by Ero

----cut--. It is a big mess...

I live miles & miles away but it even makes me emotional... My sympathy is with all of you Americans.

Yes, yes, it is. It really really is. Thank you for your sympathy.

[Vegeta]

Yes, NOLA Mayor Nagin's interview was heartbreaking but very impressive. I have a ton of respect for that guy after that--his righteous anger and lack of sugarcoating.

And thank you to Happy Monkey and cbane for posting the Fats Domino rescue article links. This has been an awful day for me, and not just because of New Orleans (which would be enough), so it helped immensely to have some fucking good news at last.

[tw]

Originally Posted by cbane

I heard on the news the other day that the French Quarter was in better shape than most of the city, because it was the original part of the city, as is thus on higher ground.

Large portion of New Orleans are not massively under water. Many parts only have less than a foot of water. Taking a cross section from the Mississippi River (south) to Lake Pontchartrain (north), the Mississippi side is completely dry. Then a fat finger of water going west must be crossed. Then another dry section called Gentilly Ridge. Continuing north towards Lake Pontchartrain, the land drops very low in areas such as the Ninth Ward.

Any land flooded up to the roof should not have future buildings. Remember, global warming means oceans will rise. Why are we consuming so much energy to keep what should be productive marsh land as houses? If New Orleans paid for it, then no one could afford those homes. Too much welfare. Parts of New Orleans should be saved. Other parts should be surrendered to ma nature.

From land elevations, New Orleans probably started as a strip of land along the Mississippi with wide marshes to the north on into Lake Pontchartrain. As the city grew, it would build levees to drain marshes and lakes. Some parts are 10+ feet under sea level. Why?

Not all of New Orleans should be abandoned. But many areas on the north side - especially the Ninth Ward - should be surrendered to marshland. Or converted to Venice Italy type construction. It will not happen. That is too practical and not in the political interest of self serving politicians. Already George Jr is talking about rebuilding where homes should never exist. But the George Jr also knows that global warming does not exist.

Better to spend more of our money building more levees so that new, high income housing dependent on federally subsidized pumps and levees can have a lake front view. That means more Republican supporters.

As the levees become more saturated, then more will break. As noted elsewhere, these levees are not constructed of proper materials. These levees have no solid core as is so common elsewhere. A latest breach appears to be two on the London Canal which means the Lake now has a shorter path to downtown New Orleans parish.

Even George Jr admits that food and water were not being delivered to the Convention Center.

from the NY Times of 2 September 2005
"there's an issue right now at the convention center in New Orleans," where thousands of refugees from Hurricane Katrina have been clamoring for food, water and attention as people died around them.

Be patient. It has only been five days without food or water. Help is coming ... just like to those Tsunami victims. It took how many days for George Jr to decide to send help? But everyone is working so haaarrddd. Why does he insult our intelligence with spin?

Notice all those C5As unloading in groups of ten on the tarmac of Louis Armstrong International airports? Oh. Was not possible to take pictures of planes that did not exist. Clearly there was no need for such drastic responses on day one - using an airport that is adjacent to New Orleans and located on dry land. All that is required is government action. Don't worry. It's in the planning phase. Help is coming. Don't do anything drastic such as die. I am demonstrating all due respect for the intelligence and compassion of some leaders.

[xoxoxoBruce]

This link is to an excellent Scientific American article (pfd) explaining New Orleans position with cross section illustrations of the city in relation to the lake, river and ocean.
You'll like it....guaranteed.

btw...My boss is in the Air Force Reserve.....He leaves Tuesday for N.O.