Katrina rant...

[strredwolf]

You've probably heard about all of this, so I'll be quick:

The Big Eazy was asking for it: Let's see now, high unemployment and welfare enrollment, a transit system completely Federally funded so that it's free?  A mayor unable to raise revenue because his/her taxbase was basically zero?  If there is a god out there, then this was his wakeup call.  (Check my statement here, as it's based on my father, a Navy vet.)
We knew what would happen: There was studies six months before that posed this exact senario, that things would end up like this.  The various governments responed by cutting aid.  A set ammount to fix it, and they virtually said no.  Betcha it's going to take more to rebuild!  Oh, what's this I hear from CNN/Fox News/MSNBC?  They had New Orleans flooded before in similar conditions back before 1950?  Who's ignoring history now?!?
We were warned, and we waited too long:  How much time did we have when Katrina's range started to swing around to New Orleans?  How much time does it take to get various state and federal resources in place?  How much time would it of taken to reenforced the levies?
Where is the Geek Guard? Right now, there is only one company who is bringing the Internet back up in New Orleans:  DirectNIC.  Where's the Geek Guard?  Where's the guys who get connectivity back up and running ASAP, even if it takes making a post that's more than a generator, a tie-in with a router, and a few guys to man it?

Comments

[kazriko.livejournal.com]

As I've said before, New Orleans is a very, VERY important port city. They're going to rebuild at least enough of it to keep the economy going.

[nightfurson.livejournal.com]

Meh, another problem I haven't heard looked into, was the geography of the place now... there was supposedly enough sand and water displaced to change the coastline and the area itself. The place where the port was last time, might not even be near New Orleans, if they pick that place for another one. It'd be an expensive place to repair too, the business folks might choose an empty part of the coast... this might not even be the last big hurricane for that area. I do know the area is too violent right now to send geographers though.

[kazriko.livejournal.com]

From what I hear, the place hasn't really been violent for several days. Once the evacuation centers were evacuated out and the military dropped in, it's supposedly been fairly calm.