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Hurricane relief



 
 
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  #11  
Old September 4th 05, 03:54 PM
W P Dixon
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
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Gary,
I agree with you 100% most of the victims in New Orleans are
black,...but I have not seen alot of coverage on the other coastal areas.
Has anyone gone down and checked on the Cajun villages in southern LA, and I
read a few newspaper articles from MS that have people there wondering where
their help is..black and white. Not saying it is or isn't the media's fault,
but I just have not seen it. And I really do wonder about all those small
towns south of New Orleans ...one has to guess they are probably wiped from
the face of the earth?

Patrick
student SPL
aircraft structural mech

"Gary Drescher" wrote in message
...
"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...
Gary Drescher wrote:
"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...

Yes, that is what the liberal media would have you believe and that is
why you mainly see black people on the roofs. It doesn't help the
agenda nearly as much to show a balanced cross section of those in
desparate straits.


Huh? Are you actually not aware that the vast majority of people
stranded in New Orleans are black? You think the journalists are just
hiding the pictures of the white folks when they pan their cameras down
the streets or around the stadium?


Majority, yes, 100%, no. I've not seen a white or Hispanic person yet
shown on a roof waiting. Are you actually not aware that the media shows
what is controversial rather than what actually is?


The news media craves dramatic imagery. Every available photograph of
people stranded on the roofs of nearly submerged houses is dramatic enough
to get wide circulation. Do you really suppose the media is suppressing
the photos of white people on rooftops?

More importantly, do you have a shred of *evidence* to support such a
supposition? (For example, have you found such suppressed photos in the
right-wing news outlets or blogs?) And can you explain why the images of
the hurricane victims more generally (apart from the handful of available
rooftop photos) do *not* exclude the minority of white victims, if there's
a liberal conspiracy to show only the black ones?

It's not enough that the victims of this natural disaster are being blamed
by some. You've even figured out a way to blame the news media for
*showing* the victims if the victims are disproportionately black.

--Gary



  #12  
Old September 4th 05, 06:31 PM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Gary Drescher wrote:
"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...
Gary Drescher wrote:
"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...

Yes, that is what the liberal media would have you believe and that is
why you mainly see black people on the roofs. It doesn't help the agenda
nearly as much to show a balanced cross section of those in desparate
straits.


Huh? Are you actually not aware that the vast majority of people stranded
in New Orleans are black? You think the journalists are just hiding the
pictures of the white folks when they pan their cameras down the streets
or around the stadium?


Majority, yes, 100%, no. I've not seen a white or Hispanic person yet
shown on a roof waiting. Are you actually not aware that the media shows
what is controversial rather than what actually is?


The news media craves dramatic imagery. Every available photograph of people
stranded on the roofs of nearly submerged houses is dramatic enough to get
wide circulation. Do you really suppose the media is suppressing the photos
of white people on rooftops?

More importantly, do you have a shred of *evidence* to support such a
supposition? (For example, have you found such suppressed photos in the
right-wing news outlets or blogs?) And can you explain why the images of the
hurricane victims more generally (apart from the handful of available
rooftop photos) do *not* exclude the minority of white victims, if there's a
liberal conspiracy to show only the black ones?

It's not enough that the victims of this natural disaster are being blamed
by some. You've even figured out a way to blame the news media for *showing*
the victims if the victims are disproportionately black.

--Gary


Good points about media being a business. Yeah, I've seen plenty of
coverage showing white vicitims sitting down whereever with lost looks
on their faces, or attempting to give the reporter an interview and
just breaking down. Interesting how pain knows no prejudice, ain't it?

I watched an interesting news show this morning where the issue being
debated was whether there is liberal bias in the media. In the midst of
the debate, one person made a good point that it's important to make
the distinction between what is just 'media' and what's 'journalism.'
With the former, for example, it's cheaper to repeat the same
stories/imagery over and over (in fact, it's actually no longer 'news'
at that point). Marshall McLuhan was so right.

Unfortunately, there's very little actual journalism out there.

=============

FWIW:

In an unrelated story, I received the following transportation-centric
e-mail two days ago, making it somewhat out-of-date. It's very long (9
page word doc pasted below as ASCII test), but perhaps it might have
some useful info for folks. There's some aviation info in there, so I
guess it's marginally on-topic for the newsgroups.

I think the sheer scope of the problem evidenced indicates we needed to
be much more pro-active. Heck, when there's 'credible evidence' of a
*possible* terrorist threat, the level is raised, security is more
visible (at least here in the city on public transit, .gov buildings,
etc.). Here was a case where (the infamous) they knew it was a cat 5,
all the wonderful technology for predicting storm tracks was
functioning, they knew the status of the levees for what? years?.
Damage was clearly imminent.

Yes it's easy to sit here in the comfort of my apartment and spew 20/20
hingsight through the CAT 5 cable, but hopefully one of the lessons
learned is that they should have actually been perparing for this well
in advance of it hitting land, moving shtuff closer (read: near enough
but not in harm's way), setting it all up. I'm far from one to claim to
have the answers and maybe I'm missing something (won't be the first
time , but shouldn't this be handled in many of the same ways that
military tactical is handled, deploying before you attack? You're in
(or near) the theatre, ready.

/soapbox

Regards,

Jon

Here's the content:

======================== CUT HERE ========================

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
HURRICANE KATRINA - SITUATION REPORT THIRTEEN

11:00 AM, Friday, September 2, 2005
Evacuation and relief are now the principal objectives of the USG
response, but they are being hampered by difficulties in establishing
civil order and security in the afflicted locales, especially the City
of New Orleans
DAMAGE ASSESSMENT:

Levee Damage: Work continues to repair the damaged levee breaches.
Official Reported Fatalities (no change):
Note: The States have not reported any changes for several days.
- Louisiana: 3
- Mississippi: 17
- Alabama: 2
- Florida: 11
- Texas: 1
Shelters: 343 shelters are open and staffed.
- AL: 32 3,345
- AR: 15 244
- FL: 8 481
- LA: 136 60,197
- MS: 101 13,207
- TN: 1 0
- TX: 50 5,378
Total: 343 82,852 people are in shelters.
Power Outages: 2,091,833 million customers are still without power.
State-by-state outages are provided below:
- Louisiana: 780,735: down 45,413
- Mississippi: 774,244: down 116,181
- Alabama: 235,213: down 12,057
- Florida: 15,490: No reported change.
- Georgia: 12,500: No reported change
Communications: Damaged communication facilities continue to be a
major challenge throughout the States of Louisiana and Mississippi.
Civil Disorder: Wide-spread looting and violence against evacuating
citizens continue to take place. Security of relief worker is becoming
a major concern of the on site authorities.

TRANSPORTATION SECTOR IMPACTS: The following reports describe key
issues and challenges for the Transportation Infrastructure.

Aviation:

Airports:
- Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) Limited VFR
Day Operations to both Runways 01/19 and 10/28. This airport is being
used for the evacuation of New Orleans and emergency re-supply of the
area.
- Gulfport-Biloxi Regional Airport (GPT) is open for limited Day VFR
emergency relief aircraft and is capable of handling C-5A and B747
aircraft.
- Stennis Intl. Airport (HAS), Biloxi, MS is open for uncontrolled Day
VFR emergency relief aircraft only. Power, fuel, and other services are
questionable: there are no navigational aids.
- Lakefront (NEW) airport, New Orleans is underwater.
Navigation Aid Status
New Orleans International (MSY)
Rwy 01 ILS operational
Rwy 19 Localizer only
Rwy 28/10 Localizer only
Rwy 28 Glideslope OTS
Biloxi
No NAVAIDS available
USAF is deploying a temporary tower that is expected to be operational
within 48 hours
Gulfport
No NAVAIDS available
The Air Force Special Tactics team is en route and is not expected to
arrive until later today.
The Gulfport temporary tower is still expected to be operational by
09/03/05
Communications
One landline between MSY and Houston Center is operational. Three
radios are available at the MSY TRACON.

Maritime:

MARAD's Central Region Office has relocated from New Orleans to Port
Arthur Texas until conditions make it appropriate to move back to New
Orleans. The temporary address for MARAD's Central Region is: 110
U.S. Federal Building, 2875 Jimmy Johnson Blvd., Suite 107, Highway 69,
Port Arthur Texas 77640\Phone: 409.727.4565 fax 409.727.4528 POC
Mr. Dee Varshney (cell 409.284.4769). MARAD is aiding in transport of
petroleum - Oil refineries are not able to distribute their products
(gasoline, jet fuel, etc.) effectively because of difficulties with the
pipeline system. Consequently, the Bureau of Customs and Border
Protection, the enforcement agency for the Coastwise Laws (requiring
U.S. vessels in domestic trade) have formed a partnership. If MARAD
determines that there are no U.S. vessels available for a specific
project, Customs will not fine those that use foreign ships after a
search has been conducted through MARAD.

The President announced that he is directing Homeland Security
Secretary Chertoff to suspend the coastwise laws for oil and gasoline.
MARAD is awaiting the specifics on this announcement from CBP, the
enforcement agency. In response to overwhelming media interest about
the effects of Hurricane Katrina on
seaports in the Gulf Coast region of the United States, the American
Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) has created a "Hurricane Katrina
Port Updates" web site page where they will be posting information with
regard to the status of the affected ports as well as background
information and resources for media and the public. This resource can
be found at:
http://www.aapa-ports.org/pressroom/katrina_updates.htm
Port Status: Three USN minesweepers to start search for sunken vessels
on 03 September.
- Louisiana: Closed.
- Gulfport MS - Closed
- Pascagoula MS - Closed
- Mobile AL - Open to vessels with a draft of 12 ft or less. Expect
Mobile Harbor to open on 04 September.
- Pensacola FL - Open to vessels with a draft of 12 ft or less. NOAA
on scene conducting surveys. One chemical and one Navy tanker expected
to enter port on 3 September.
- Panama City FL - Closed
- South Louisiana - Closed
- St. Bernard - Closed
- Plaquemines - Closed
- Greater Baton Rouge - Closed
- Morgan City - Closed
- Gulf Port - Closed
- Intra-coastal Waterway - Open from Mobile ship channel east to
Apalachicola, FL. The Mobile Ship Channel west to Pass Christian, MS
remains closed.
- Mississippi River - Open to tug and barge traffic up to Natchez,
MS. Lower Mississippi River below Greenville has been surveyed by
commercial vessels. However severe aids to navigation outages have been
reported. Coast Guard and NOAA conducting surveys at the entrance to
the river.
- Red River - Open to Alexandria.
- Ouachita/Black River - Open to Shreveport.

Damage Reports and Navigation Hazards
- Harvey lock non-functional due to a piling stuck in the lock.
- Inner Harbor Navigational Canal Lock - Lock is not operational due
to flooding.

Highways:
- Damage assessments continue. Infrastructure damage is becoming
clearer.
- FHWA Acting Administrator and staff are participating in Army Corps
of Engineers ESF-3 conference calls to help shape assessment plans and
long term recovery efforts.
- FHWA is assisting FEMA with route planning and road restriction
waiver State point of contact information.
- FHWA Evacuation Liaison Team (ELT) continues to support response and
recovery efforts by facilitating communications between the states and
providing highway situational awareness.
- FHWA Division Office personnel are assisting state counterparts with
damage assessments. FHWA offices throughout the country are poised to
provide additional support.
- FHWA is working with FTA to expedite the movement of generators to
the pipeline companies in Alabama.
- FHWA Office of Freight Management developed a Hurricane Katrina
Recovery section on the FHWA homepage (www.fhwa.dot.gov). This section
links to the FHWA Oversize and Overweight Load Permit Information page.
The documents pertaining to State policies for expediting the movement
of goods and equipment to the Gulf region are available to the public
at this site.
- All FHWA personnel in the affected area are accounted for. There
were no deaths or injuries.
Louisiana
- Situation in New Orleans is that I-10 from the west and I-55 from the
north are open only to emergency response traffic. It is possible to
drive on I-10 towards the city far as the I-10/I-610 split. However,
there is generally no way to get on or off I-10 due to the high water.
- The Lake Ponchartrain Causeway is being used by light emergency
response vehicles. The bridge is damaged. Both spans are being used
to create one free lane in each direction. Divers are in process of
inspecting the bridge.
- The Causeway is load bearing rated at HS-20, the interstate load
bearing weight, indicating it can be used for emergency response if no
damage is found.
- The New Orleans airport is accessible via I-10 and Airport Boulevard.
It is not accessible via US-61.
- I-55 is open from the Mississippi line to I-10 and I-12.
- I-59 is open from the LA line to Slidell and the I-10/I-12
intersection.
- In preparation for upcoming damage assessments, the FHWA Louisiana
Division Office met with top State officials to explain the highway
Emergency Relief Fund Program. That meeting was followed by a training
session conducted for 10 combined FHWA/State DOTD damage assessment
teams.
- Following training two teams were deployed to the field. Three more
teams will be deployed tomorrow, and another team will be deployed
within the next two days. The remaining four teams will be deployed as
areas become accessible.
- Work continues on repairs to the US-11 Bridge on the north side of
Lake Ponchartrain. When completed, this bridge will provide the only
access to New Orleans from the east. There is no estimate as to when
this work will be completed.
- I-12 is open from Baton Rouge to the I-10 intersection in Slidell for
emergency response vehicles only.
- The State is conducting contracting activities in preparation of
awarding a contract to repair the I-10 "Twin Span" that connects
New Orleans to Slidell.
Mississippi
- The FHWA Mississippi Division Administrator toured the Gulf Coast
yesterday.
- He confirmed that the Bay St. Louis-Gulfport and Biloxi-Oceans
Springs Bridges on US-90 are gone. The coast is scoured from the gulf
to 1000 to 1500 feet beyond the shoreline.
- He also clarified the status of I-10. Damage to the eastbound span
of the Pascagoula Bride that was cause by a barge breaking loose from
its mooring is what precludes the opening of all 4 lanes of I-10.
There is a 300 foot span that must be taken out of that bridge and
replaced. Mississippi officials are working to allow work to begin on
that span next week. It is estimated that it will take three weeks to
complete that repair. Once repairs are complete, the I-10 can be
opened from the Alabama to Louisiana state lines provided there is no
damage to other bridges. Divers are in process of inspecting those
bridges.
- Crossovers are being constructed at each end of the bridge. That
will allow all lanes to be used in each direction until reaching the
bridge where the lanes will neck down to one lane each way. This will
remain in place until the bridge is repaired.
- US-49: 2 lanes open, Jackson to Hattiesburg. This section is also
open to the public. Hattiesburg to Gulfport is 1 lane for emergency
response vehicles only.
- I-55, open to the public state line to state line.
- I-59 is open to the state line for emergency response vehicles.
- US-61 is open line to line.
- I-20 is open to the public, line to line.
- I-110 in Biloxi has been opened from I-10 to US-90 for emergency
response vehicles only.
- US-98 is open to the public from state line to Columbia and for
emergency response only to the Alabama line.
- US-84 is open to the public from the western state line to Prentiss
and from there to the Alabama line for emergency response only.
- US-45 is open to the public.
- FHWA personnel are participating in Emergency Relief training
sessions as preparation for accompanying State damage assessment teams
on assessment missions.
Alabama
- Both lanes of the I-10 of the Wallace Tunnel are now open in each
direction. Traffic had been limited to one lane each way since Monday.
- The US-90 Causeway eastbound was expected to open late Friday. The
ramp bridge from the U.S. 90 Causeway eastbound onto Interstate 10
eastbound will remain closed for an extended period because five
concrete spans must be replaced. These 50-foot spans were destroyed by
storm surge. There is no timeline or cost estimate, but officials will
work as quickly as possible to achieve this repair.
- The fiber optic cables to the I-10 traffic information signs
sustained major damage. Extensive repairs are necessary. This traffic
information system will be out of service for an extended period until
repairs are made.

Transit:

Transit agencies in the hurricane damaged area continue to experience
fuel shortages and requests for assistance in obtaining fuel for their
fleets. Further, FTA personnel continue to support Phmsa in the
latter's efforts to assist and monitor progress in bringing pipelines
back on-line.

Mississippi
Efforts to contact the various MS Transit agencies have been futile.
The FTA Regional office will continue attempts throughout today to
contact the Coast Transit, Hattiesburg and Jackson Transit agencies, as
well as the rural providers. This effort will be coordinated with the
MSDOT in order to obtain an assessment.

Rail:

FRA is working with FEMA, AMTRAK and the Freight railroads to utilize
an AMTRAK passenger train to assist in evacuating New Orleans. The
AMTRAK train is crewed and fueled on standby in Baton Rouge, LA. The
open issue is FEMA's decision as to the final destination for the
passengers and security for the loading of the train at the Avondale
terminal on the west side of the Huey Long Bridge. The train can
transport Approx 600 PAX per trip to Lafayette, LA where they will be
met by AMTRAK contracted motor coaches to the final destination. The
tracks have been inspected and are cleared for passenger and freight
train operations.

Short line situation in Hurricane Damaged Area
- New Orleans Gulf Coast - still unable to reach property to evaluate
condition 1 employee unaccounted for.
- New Orleans Public Belt - dry and operational from the Huey P. Long
bridge to the east side of Gov. Dix dock
- Old Augusta RR - unable to establish contact at this time
- Ouachita RR - unable to establish contact at this time
- Pearl River RR - unable to establish contact at this time
- Port Bienville RR - unable to establish contact at this time
- Terminal Railway Alabama State Docks - unable to establish contact at
this time
- Timber Rock RR - unable to establish contact at this time
- Acadiana RR - unable to establish contact at this time
- Alabama & Gulf Coast - unable to establish contact at this time
- Arkansas, Louisiana, & Mississippi - unable to establish contact at
this time
- Columbus & Greenville RR - operational
- Delta Southern - unable to establish contact at this time
- Gloster Southern - unable to establish contact at this time
- Louisiana & Delta - still unable to evaluate condition
- Louisiana & North West RR - operational
- M&B RR - unable to establish contact at this time
- Meridian Southern - 50 miles of line blocked by over 1000 trees,
clearing gangs have run out of gasoline for vehicles, chain saws, and
Hi- rails to continue clearing two employees unaccounted for
- Mississippi Export - unable to establish contact at this time
Source: ASLRRA Executive Director

Pipelines:

Crude Oil Pipelines

The (Louisiana Offshore Oil Port) LOOP suffered minimal damage at a
booster station and the storage terminal. Power has been restored to
LOOP. As of September 1, 2005, five ships were waiting to be unloaded.
LOOP/LoCap (an interconnecting pipeline) is not yet delivering to the
St. James Terminal (a crude oil distribution hub). There is no power
at Galliano (pumping station) due to generator failure. Power is
expected to be restored today.

Capline, a major crude oil pipeline that transport crude oil from the
gulf to the Midwest, restarted operations at 75 % capacity on August
31, 2005. Capline started up with 4 million barrels storage in
Sugarland and 0.5 million barrels storage in Arcadian. Also, some
offshore production has been coming into St. James Terminal. This
should give LOOP/LoCap time to restore operation before Capline runs
dry.

Refined Product Pipelines (gasoline, aviation fuel, diesel fuel, etc.)

Colonial and Plantation petroleum product pipelines, which provide the
majority of gasoline, diesel fuel, and jet fuel to the Southeast,
Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast states, had been shutdown due to loss of
power at key pump stations in LA and MS. Both pipelines resumed
operation on August 31, 2005 at reduced capacity. Early this morning
power was restored to the Collins Terminal (a key distribution and
pumping station). Colonial is now operating at approximately 75%
capacity on line 1 (gasoline) and 60% capacity on line 2 (refined
products).

Colonial has emergency generators en-route to restore power at key
pumping stations. As of 0800 this morning 23 of 29 trucks carrying
generators, transformers and other equipment to power up pump stations
have arrived and the equipment is being installed. Once the generators
are installed Colonial expects to be operating at 85% capacity.

Plantation has reported that power has been restored to their Collins
Terminal. Pumps are running, but at a reduced capacity because of an
over voltage problem. This occurred because this large high voltage
transmission line is feeding only the Plantation at this time; there
are no cities, subdivisions, or industrial customers currently being
supplied by this line. Plantation is installing over-voltage
protection to protect the pump station motors. As a result plantation
is only able pump at 30% capacity (up from 25% yesterday) at the
current time.

Other major product pipelines in the region are not experiencing any
problems. TEPPCO is moving products from Texas into the Northeast and
Centennial is moving products from Texas into Illinois.

Truck/Generators in Support of Colonial Pipeline
- 19 trucks have reached their final destinations.
- 10 are still en route to their final destinations
- Overnight, several truck operators "checked in" and one requested
an escort, but there were no glitches. All are on schedule
- An estimated time of arrival for the remaining vehicles range from
0700- 1500 hrs (CDT)

Natural Gas Pipelines

No natural gas transmission pipelines companies have reported service
disruptions.

Press Release:
Colonial Pipeline this morning announced that it continues safely to
add capacity to both its Main Lines 1 and 2 and is at approximately 66%
of normal transportation volumes.
Additional restoration of electric power service has allowed Colonial
to continue its planned capacity increase. Colonial crews continue to
install and connect the distributed generation equipment that will
allow Colonial to add additional capacity to both the gasoline and
distillate lines. Current plans would allow Colonial to be at
approximately 85% capacity by late this weekend.
"On behalf of all Colonial employees, I want to thank the electric
utility workers, law enforcement, and emergency response organizations
across our system that have been supportive and cooperative as we
restored Colonial to partial service," said Lemmon. "We do understand
the importance of the products we transport to the American people and
feel responsible to protect people and the environment as we deliver
needed petroleum products."
Colonial Pipeline, headquartered in Alpharetta, Ga., delivers a daily
average of 100 million gallons of gasoline, home heating oil, aviation
fuel and other refined petroleum products to communities and businesses
throughout South and the Eastern United States. Colonial consists of
more than 5,500 miles of pipeline, originating at Houston, Texas, and
terminating at the New York harbor.
DOT Response: DOT continues to actively staff Regional and State
operations centers, as well as Joint Field Offices with over 66
emergency transportation personnel. Additionally, DOT is operating the
National Emergency Transportation Center (ETC) in Atlanta, GA. The
Headquarters DOT Crisis Management Center is operating 24/7 until the
response and rescue phase of this operation is complete.

Emergency Support Function 1 - Transportation: DOT has provided over
1336 trucks to move 2790 truckloads of goods thus far. Through
midnight September first, DOT had processed 17.11 million MREs and
81,600 disaster meals, 18.4 million liters of water, 20,960 tarps,
10,400 rolls of plastic sheeting, 5.0 million pounds of ice, 460 mobile
homes, 10 53' reefer trucks, 42 trailers of tent kits, 1 power unit
for a disaster portable mortuary unit, 1 trailer of wash kits, 369
generators, 605 buses, 5 helicopters, 20 containers of pre-positioned
disaster supplies, 4 Landstar personnel, 135,000 blankets, 13,500 cots,
200 tables, 450 chairs, 2 Gators, 1 ATV, 13 trucks of medical supplies,
2 trailers with cylinders of oxygen, 19 forklifts, 1 24' truck with
lift-gate to transport 1 network wire cage, 260 travel trailers, 1
truckload of veterinary supplies, and thirteen 100-person and nine
50-person Joint Field Office kits. In addition, movement of the
following was requested:
- 1,463 mobile homes
- 16 power units for 50 personal JFO kits
- 5 FAST systems
- 2 NDMS vehicles
- 1 trailer of body bags
- 29,232 rolls of plastic sheeting
- 80,000 disaster meals
- 500 busses
- 50 mobile tankers
- 3 Drash tents
- 7.44 million pounds of ice
- 1 truckload of partitions and tables
- 1,404,000 liters of water
- 1,072,512 MREs

DOT is engaged in organizing a major air evacuation from New Orleans
International Airport to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, TX.
Coordination is being conducted with military and commercial airlines,
federal law enforcement, TSA, FAMS, and FEMA. In coordination with
appropriate authorities, local transportation arrangements at both ends
of the airlift are being arranged. Military flights will begin at 0800
CDT, with commercial flights beginning at 12:00 hours CDT. Both
military and commercial flights will continue until the evacuation is
complete.

DOT has continued to work with AMTRAK on their provision of two trains
proposed to operate between downtown New Orleans and Lafayette as an
additional evacuation asset. As with the airlift operation, ground
transport at both ends is being arranged.

DOT is assisting with timely permitting for transport of the 460 mobile
homes that will originate from the East Coast. DOT is coordinating
with various states for weekend and holiday restriction waivers.

DOT continues to provide information on road condition/status to DOD
USTRANSCOM.

DOT has instituted a process of regular reporting on the flow status of
buses engaged in the bus evacuation of New Orleans. DOT receives
hourly reports on this effort, and multiple authorities are controlling
dispersal of vehicles.

======================== CUT HERE ========================

  #13  
Old September 4th 05, 06:49 PM
Matt Whiting
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Gary Drescher wrote:
"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...

Gary Drescher wrote:

"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...


Yes, that is what the liberal media would have you believe and that is
why you mainly see black people on the roofs. It doesn't help the agenda
nearly as much to show a balanced cross section of those in desparate
straits.


Huh? Are you actually not aware that the vast majority of people stranded
in New Orleans are black? You think the journalists are just hiding the
pictures of the white folks when they pan their cameras down the streets
or around the stadium?


Majority, yes, 100%, no. I've not seen a white or Hispanic person yet
shown on a roof waiting. Are you actually not aware that the media shows
what is controversial rather than what actually is?



The news media craves dramatic imagery. Every available photograph of people
stranded on the roofs of nearly submerged houses is dramatic enough to get
wide circulation. Do you really suppose the media is suppressing the photos
of white people on rooftops?


It wouldn't surprise me at all. How many stories or photos have you
seen from Iraq that show anything postive there? Virtually none. Do
you believe that the only things happening in Iraq are car bombs? You
would if you watched only the national media in the USA. I see no
reason to suspect anything different vis-a-vis the coverage of the
Katrina disaster.


More importantly, do you have a shred of *evidence* to support such a
supposition? (For example, have you found such suppressed photos in the
right-wing news outlets or blogs?) And can you explain why the images of the
hurricane victims more generally (apart from the handful of available
rooftop photos) do *not* exclude the minority of white victims, if there's a
liberal conspiracy to show only the black ones?


The evidence is a long history of bias. There have also been severals
studies of this, but I don't have any at my finger tips.


It's not enough that the victims of this natural disaster are being blamed
by some. You've even figured out a way to blame the news media for *showing*
the victims if the victims are disproportionately black.


I've not blamed the victims of this disaster. I do blame the local and
state governments primarily and definitely believe the media coverage
has been pathetic, but the latter is no surprise as this has been the
case for at least 20 years and I seldom watch the national media any
longer other than Fox. Fox at least tries to give the appearance of
balance, which is more than ABC, NBC, CBS or, especially, CNN even
attempt. After seeing things like the fabricated exploding Chevrolet
truck gas tanks, I have 0% confidence in what I see on any of these
networks.


Matt
  #14  
Old September 4th 05, 07:57 PM
Gary Drescher
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"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...
Gary Drescher wrote:
The news media craves dramatic imagery. Every available photograph of
people stranded on the roofs of nearly submerged houses is dramatic
enough to get wide circulation. Do you really suppose the media is
suppressing the photos of white people on rooftops?


It wouldn't surprise me at all. How many stories or photos have you seen
from Iraq that show anything postive there? Virtually none. Do you
believe that the only things happening in Iraq are car bombs? You would
if you watched only the national media in the USA. I see no reason to
suspect anything different vis-a-vis the coverage of the Katrina disaster.


In other words, you asserted as fact that the news media have selectively
ignored photo opportunities involving white victims on rooftops, when in
reality you have no evidence that any such practice occurred.

Rather, you made that imaginary factual assertion simply because such
behavior by the media would fit your extremely biased model of news media
bias; therefore, you assume that it must have actually occurred.

(And that assumption, in turn, reinforces your presumption of media bias,
which in turn will lead you to allege other such practices without actual
evidence. You're stuck in a feedback loop caused by your willingness to
believe and assert things without specific evidence, just because the
assertions fit your worldview. Your methodology guarantees that you will see
what you *expect* to see, whether it's there or not.)

In reality, passing up the opportunity to show sensational photos would be
contrary to all known practices of the corporate news media, and also
contrary to their actual practices now with regard to the hurricane victims
*not* on rooftops. (Also, the percentage of blacks shown in the handful of
rooftop photos is about the same as the percentage of blacks shown in the
handful of TV-looting photos. Would you care to explain how the latter could
be motivated by "liberal bias"?)

As for national coverage of Iraq, I don't know what newspapers you read, but
all the mainstream national publications *I'm* aware of prominently cover
every alleged achievement trumpeted by the US government (from "Mission
Accomplished" onward), while systematically underplaying the horrific
devastation that our counterinsurgency campaign has inflicted on Iraqis.
This pro-US-government bias contrasts sharply with the more balanced
coverage seen in much of the foreign press. If you watched only the national
media in the USA, you'd think most Iraqi civilian casualties were inflicted
by the anti-occupation forces.

For detailed documentation of the 25,000 Iraqi civilians whose killings
have been specifically reported so far--as with any ongoing disaster, likely
just a fraction of the actual total--see
http://reports.iraqbodycount.org/a_d..._2003-2005.pdf
and the associated online database. Then tell me if you've come across this
information on Fox News.

--Gary



  #16  
Old September 4th 05, 08:22 PM
Dan Luke
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"Matt Whiting" wrote:
Do you really suppose the media is suppressing the photos of white
people on rooftops?


It wouldn't surprise me at all.


That's downright paranoid.

Get a grip, Matt. CNN/Fox/NBC would *love* some white folks on a
rooftop. Most of their audience is white, and people love to watch
stories about people like themselves; it's money in the bank for tv
news.

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM


  #17  
Old September 4th 05, 08:34 PM
Happy Dog
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"Matt Whiting" wrote

I've not blamed the victims of this disaster. I do blame the local and
state governments


Many of the victims are to blame. Doesn't it give you pause when you learn
the extent to which the people left there are behaving in a way *opposite*
to what you would do or expect others to do? Using a natural disaster as an
opportunity to plunder and rape and attack those that are trying to help is
*exactly* what you should expect from people who have socially evolved over
decades to live off the efforts of others. It isn't politically correct to
say this but most of the people carting off alcohol and TV sets instead of
essential supplies have lived as wards of the welfare state, and quite
happily so, for their entire lives.

http://www.intellectualactivist.com/...le.php?id=1026

moo


  #18  
Old September 4th 05, 09:07 PM
gregg
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Dan Luke wrote:


"Matt Whiting" wrote:
Do you really suppose the media is suppressing the photos of white
people on rooftops?


It wouldn't surprise me at all.


That's downright paranoid.

Get a grip, Matt. CNN/Fox/NBC would *love* some white folks on a
rooftop. Most of their audience is white, and people love to watch
stories about people like themselves; it's money in the bank for tv
news.


To get some indication of the truth of this issue, one needs to start with
answers to the following questions (in my opinion):

1) What is the ratio of white to non whote in the parish you are discussing?

2) What is the ratio of poor white to poor non-white in the same areas?

3) Is it reasonable to expect that the number of whites vs non-whites shown
on TV should reflect those ratios?


--
Saville

Replicas of 15th-19th century nautical navigational instruments:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/backstaffhome.html

Restoration of my 82 year old Herreshoff S-Boat sailboat:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/SBOATrestore.htm

Steambending FAQ with photos:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/Steambend.htm

  #19  
Old September 4th 05, 09:08 PM
gregg
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Dan Luke wrote:


"Matt Whiting" wrote:
Do you really suppose the media is suppressing the photos of white
people on rooftops?


It wouldn't surprise me at all.


That's downright paranoid.

Get a grip, Matt. CNN/Fox/NBC would *love* some white folks on a
rooftop. Most of their audience is white, and people love to watch
stories about people like themselves; it's money in the bank for tv
news.

Actually I think you are wrong. What the media want is the biggest
viewership. They'll do anything to get that. Fomenting a notion of racism
is a great way to get an audience.

--
Saville

Replicas of 15th-19th century nautical navigational instruments:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/backstaffhome.html

Restoration of my 82 year old Herreshoff S-Boat sailboat:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/SBOATrestore.htm

Steambending FAQ with photos:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/Steambend.htm

  #20  
Old September 4th 05, 09:30 PM
john smith
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Happy Dog wrote:
"Matt Whiting" wrote


I've not blamed the victims of this disaster. I do blame the local and
state governments



Many of the victims are to blame. Doesn't it give you pause when you learn
the extent to which the people left there are behaving in a way *opposite*
to what you would do or expect others to do? Using a natural disaster as an
opportunity to plunder and rape and attack those that are trying to help is
*exactly* what you should expect from people who have socially evolved over
decades to live off the efforts of others. It isn't politically correct to
say this but most of the people carting off alcohol and TV sets instead of
essential supplies have lived as wards of the welfare state, and quite
happily so, for their entire lives.


From this mornings newspaper...
(Read the parts about 20% saying they would stay in their homes during
any storm.)


Warning ignored
Eerily accurate, 2004 exercise predicted fate of New Orleans
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Alan Judd
COX NEWS SERVICE

Hurricane Pam was the big one. With 120-mph winds and 20 inches of rain,
it breached New Orleans’ aged levees, flooded half a million buildings
and stranded thousands of residents in a ruined city below sea level.

Unlike Hurricane Katrina, though, Pam wasn’t real. It was a
computer-generated exercise in July 2004 that provided the latest
confirmation of what researchers, disaster planners and engineers have
contended for decades: New Orleans needed a better response plan for a
catastrophic hurricane.

Years of conferences, computer models, animated simulations and disaster
drills had made it clear what could happen if a major storm struck
southeastern Louisiana.

Still, when Katrina hit last week, disaster authorities were, by all
appearances, horribly illprepared.

Officials couldn’t get tens of thousands of residents to leave
vulnerable coastal regions before the storm, despite mandatory
evacuation orders. In New Orleans, many people were sent to a shelter of
last resort, the Superdome. Conditions there quickly became untenable:
no food, no water, no electricity, no medical care, no working restrooms.

With hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people dead, and with relief slow
in coming, the city descended into what the New Orleans newspaper, the
Times-Picayune, called ‘‘mayhem and madness."

Such chaos, hurricane experts said, was both predictable and preventable.

‘‘We pretty much knew this would happen somewhere along the line," said
Gregory W. Stone, director of the Coastal Studies Institute at Louisiana
State University. He is among the scientists who have issued dire
warnings for years.

‘‘A lot of that has not been taken seriously" by the federal government,
Stone said. ‘‘That’s a regrettable thing to say."

Rep. Bennie G. Thompson of Mississippi, the ranking Democrat on the
House Homeland Security Committee, concurred.

The government has shown ‘‘not much of a commitment to this issue,"
Thompson said. Congress will investigate whether the suffering caused by
Katrina could have been avoided, or at least mitigated, he said.

‘‘Why aren’t we prepared for that kind of occurrence?"

When the University of New Orleans surveyed the city’s residents about
their personal hurricane evacuation plans last year, it found that many
people had none.

More than one in five of those surveyed said they would stay at home,
even during a major storm. Researchers estimated that at least 100,000
New Orleans residents had no means to evacuate: no car, not enough money
for airfare or a bus ticket, no friends or family to help them leave town.

‘‘They knew they were going to have a large number of people who weren’t
going to be able to get out on their own," said Jay Baker, a geography
professor who studies hurricanes at Florida State University.

But authorities apparently never put plans in place to evacuate them
before a storm. Instead, a day before Katrina hit, the city opened its
massive stadium, the Superdome, as a shelter of last resort — nothing
more, Baker said, than ‘‘a place for people to have a better chance to
survive than if they stayed in their homes."

It quickly became obvious that the Superdome was far from an ideal shelter.

‘‘Putting 20,000 to 30,000 people into a facility that will surely lose
power and therefore lose air conditioning and lights, not to mention
begin to get flooded, is not something that’s very appropriate," LSU’s
Stone said. ‘‘These people are trapped like rats."

No one, he said, seemed to consider how quickly conditions at the
stadium would deteriorate. Even as evacuations got under way, reports
from the Superdome and another nearby shelter depicted virtual anarchy:
fighting, filth and bodies of the dead left untended.

‘‘We need to be able to streamline how we move from the occurrence of
the disaster to relief," said Thompson, the Mississippi congressman.
‘‘We probably could have moved more people in faster. That probably
means more military people."

Hurricane experts say shelters should have been opened outside New
Orleans, both for the storm and the duration of the recovery. Officials
say New Orleans could be uninhabitable for six months.

After the Hurricane Pam exercise, authorities said the New Orleans area
would need shelters for just 100 days after a catastrophic storm. Once
the drill was complete, the Federal Emergency Management Agency hired a
consulting firm to develop recommendations. Well into the second
hurricane season since the drill, no final report from the firm has been
publicly released.

On ABC-TV Thursday, President Bush acknowledged the ‘‘frustration" of
New Orleans residents, but said, ‘‘I don’t think anyone anticipated the
breach of the levees."

In fact, such a failure has been forecast for years.

Since 2000, the Army Corps of Engineers has been studying the idea of
reinforcing the levees to withstand a Category 5 storm, the strongest on
the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. The 300 miles of existing levees, at
17 feet, were designed to protect New Orleans — parts of which are as
much as 10 feet below sea level — from no more than a Category 3 hurricane.

‘‘We certainly understood the potential impact of a Category 4 or 5
hurricane," Lt. Gen. Carl Strock, the corps’ chief of engineers, told
reporters Thursday in a telephone briefing.

Last spring, the Army engineers’ New Orleans office complained that
budget cuts proposed by the Bush administration and approved by Congress
‘‘will prevent the corps from addressing these pressing needs."

Thompson said the corps’ arguments contain ‘‘significant merit."

‘‘What concerns me is the fact that for the last several budgets, the
president has pretty much zeroed out a lot of the corps’ work," Thompson
said. ‘‘We (in Congress) always had to go back in and try to help. I
have not seen flood control as a real priority in this president’s budgets."

The levee construction is one of two massive public-works projects that
hurricane experts say could have protected New Orleans from Katrina.

Since 1990, Louisiana’s congressional delegation has sought funding — a
total of $14 billion — to restore the state’s coastal marshes and
barrier islands. Scientists say the marshes and islands act as a first
line of defense for New Orleans and the region’s other populated areas
by absorbing much of a storm’s force.

Built to prevent incessant flooding, the New Orleans levees also
interrupted the natural flow of water to the marshes south of the city.
Before the levees were built, that flow carried sediment that could
restore the wetlands, which are under constant barrage from waves and wind.

According to LSU’s Hurricane Center, which has studied the matter
extensively, more than 1 million acres of wetlands have disappeared
since 1930. LSU scientists estimate that the area is losing 28,000 acres
a year — the equivalent of a football field every half-hour.

‘‘At the start of every new hurricane season on June 1," Stone said,
‘‘Louisiana has become more vulnerable to storm surge inundation and
surge damage than it was the previous hurricane season."

Yet, 15 years after the restoration began, Congress has appropriated
just $540 million of the $14 billion needed to complete the project.

‘‘This is a regrettable demonstration of ignoring the magnitude of the
problem," Stone said. ‘‘That could well have retarded some of the water
finding its way" into the city.

‘‘What’s been missing is a sense of urgency," said Rep. Bobby Jindal,
R-La., a longtime proponent of coastal restoration. After Katrina, he
said, ‘‘hopefully, it will help us convince people who weren’t convinced
before."

Some scientists, along with public officials, have questioned whether
the project’s benefits would be worth its cost.

Stone, referring to some of the worst casualty estimates, put it in
starker terms: ‘‘How do you weigh the economic value against four or
five or six thousand deaths?"
 




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