You told me you had no more time to waste the last time.. why did you post again?
You provided two editorials, not facts. I'm not impressed with someone citing what funds were cut when. I'm far more interested in engineering documents that state the basic design of the NOFDS failed. Pylons anchored way to shallow and sitting in peat; soil failure (piping) that caused the foundations of sea walls to wash away; real problems to the system, problems that were NOT being addressed by the maintenance. Every engineering study done to date supports this assessment. The ACoE, responsible for the design of the system, concedes it was a weak design that was incapable of holding back a storm like Katrina. No one directly responsible has wavered from this position. There isn't a single engineering report that contradicts this conclusion. You are a member of a very small minority of people who choose to ignore the facts in order to pursue your political attack on Bush. Just admit you're not interested in why the levees failed, you want the political capital you thought you had and you're not going to let no stinkin engineering reports screw that up for you. Thankfully your type of rhetoric didn't distract those who truly did care and as a result the NOFDS is targeted for some major engineering changes to address the true causes for the failure. Have a nice weekend... On Jan 24, 3:14 am, "liberal mike532 !" <[email protected]> wrote: > i provided you with the facts from people who were and are there . and > you ignore them in favor of trying to cover up for bush . there are > none so blind as those who will not see! and i have no more time to > waste with you on this topic ! > > On Jan 23, 11:11 am, frankg <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > I provide you a technical report by; > > > Peter Nicholson, Ph.D., P.E. > > Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and > > Graduate Program Chair > > University of Hawaii > > On behalf of the AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS > > > I provide you with; > > > Reflections on the Draft Final U.S. Army Corps of Engineers > > Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force (IPET) report titled > > Performance Evaluation of the New Orleans and Southeast Louisiana > > Hurricane Protection System > > Dr. R. G. Bea > > Professor > > Member Independent Levee Investigation Team (ILIT) > > Co-Director Center for Catastrophic Risk Management (CCRM) > > > Which opens with the following observation; > > > Overarching Findings > > Yes, the hurricane flood defense 'system' for the greater New Orleans > > area (NOFDS) was "a system in name only". Even though there had been > > only one agency in charge of concept development, design, and > > construction - the Corps of Engineers - it is clear that the NOFDS was > > not a coherent defense system. It was and continues to be an assembly > > of disjointed and defective components. > > > And then goes on, in great depth, to explain the various faults in the > > current system’s design that led to the failures. > > > I give you professional reports by experts in their field who did > > extensive analysis of the levee system and you give me Bill Ryan and > > Will Bunch? These people are not ‘the Bush Administration’ but are > > professionals who had but one mission; to analyze the failure and > > determine why it happened. Are Ryan and Bunch engineers? -No. Were > > they on the ground in New Orleans doing first hand examination of the > > levee system? –No. > > > Ryan’s piece is immediately dismissible because he couldn’t even > > identify where the greatest storm surge in New Orleans struck, which > > was the river, not Lake Pontchartrain. The storm surge in the lake was > > actually quite mild. > > > Bunch’s piece isn’t much better. Citing the frustrations of Maestri a > > year before Katrina hit is misleading. Yes, people were frustrated > > that funding had been cut. Yes, the levees had sunk (and btw, the same > > reason why the levees were sinking is behind the eventual failure – > > soil collapse – something that was not being addressed by the repairs > > that were impacted by funding… but you knew this already because > > you’re an expert on the subject). Bunch captures the story a year > > before Katrina and is focused on the projects designed to restore the > > system to the original design specifications, not the reengineering > > project, which was not targeted to be completed until 2015 at the > > earliest. It’s not an inaccurate report, but it is misleading. > > > I can’t explain this any better for you. Apparently trying to blame > > Bush is more important to you than understanding the true cause of the > > failure so it isn't repeated. There are none so blind as those who > > will not see. > > > On Jan 23, 9:43 am, "liberal mike532 !" <[email protected]> > > wrote: > > > > THE PEOPLES' TRAGEDY AND THE ERA OF 'PRIVATISATION' > > > The following comments are from American social crediter 'Bill Ryan' > > > "The lesson that should be learned (from the horrible aftermath of > > > Hurricane Katrina) is that we ignore the necessity for continuous > > > improvement to infrastructure at our peril. The damage came from wind, > > > wind driven water or "storm surge," and flooding. New Orleans missed > > > most of the storm surge from the gulf because the eye of the storm > > > passed to the City's east, but did have some surge in reverse off Lake > > > Pontchartrain due to the counter-clockwise rotation of the storm, > > > hence the broken segments to the I-10 causeway. > > > Most of the damage to New Orleans is from flooding due to the broken > > > levees, which should have been strengthened years ago. If they had > > > been strengthened, New Orleans would now be mostly intact today. The > > > city is now submerged in Lake Pontchartrain. A decision will have to > > > be made to recover the city or abandon it forever, like Pompeii. Most > > > of the damage to the east of New Orleans is from storm surge. We have > > > had the technology to mitigate the effects of storm surge for more > > > than a century. After the 1900 storm that devastated Galveston, the > > > Corps of Engineers built a magnificent seawall to protect the > > > developed area of the island, which was extended in the 60s. > > > The era of "privatization" has ended such projects. > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > "IT'S MORE THAN THAT," EXPLAINS WILL BUNCH > > > Will Bunch is a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily > > > News.http://www.alternet.org/story/24871/1September2005. > > > "Washington knew exactly what needed to be done to protect the > > > citizens of New Orleans from disasters like Katrina. Yet federal > > > funding for Louisiana flood control projects was diverted to pay for > > > the war in Iraq." > > > On June 8, 2004, Walter Maestri, emergency management chief for > > > Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, told the Times-Picayune: > > > "It appears that the money has been moved in the president's budget to > > > handle homeland security (furthering the USA police state…ed) and the > > > war in Iraq, (furthering their new world order agenda…ed) and I > > > suppose that's the price we pay. Nobody locally is happy that the > > > levees can't be finished, and we are doing everything we can to make > > > the case that this is a security issue for us." > > > > Levees are sinking: That June, with the 2004 hurricane seasion > > > starting, the Corps' Naomi went before a local agency, the East > > > Jefferson Levee Authority, and essentially begged for $2 million for > > > urgent work that Washington was now unable to pay for. > > > > From the June 18, 2004 Times-Picayune: "The system is in great shape, > > > but the levees are sinking. Everything is sinking, and if we don't get > > > the money fast enough to raise them, then we can't stay ahead of the > > > settlement," he said. "The problem that we have isn't that the levee > > > is low, but that the federal funds have dried up so that we can't > > > raise them." > > > The panel authorized that money, and on July 1, 2004, it had to pony > > > up another $250,000 when it learned that stretches of the levee in > > > Metairie had sunk by four feet. The agency had to pay for the work > > > with higher property taxes. The levee board noted in October 2004 that > > > the feds were also now not paying for a hoped-for $15 million project > > > to better shore up the banks of Lake Pontchartrain. > > > > Federal Government funds reduced: > > > The 2004 hurricane season was the worst in decades. In spite of that, > > > the federal government came back this spring with the steepest > > > reduction in hurricane- and flood-control funding for New Orleans in > > > history. Because of the proposed cuts, the Corps office there imposed > > > a hiring freeze. Officials said that money targeted for the SELA > > > project -- $10.4 million, down from $36.5 million -- was not enough to > > > start any new jobs. According to New Orleans CityBusiness this June 5: > > > The district has identified $35 million in projects to build and > > > improve levees, floodwalls and pumping stations in St. Bernard, > > > Orleans, Jefferson and St. Charles parishes. Those projects are > > > included in a Corps line item called Lake Pontchartrain, where funding > > > is scheduled to be cut from $5.7 million this year to $2.9 million in > > > 2006. Naomi said it's enough to pay salaries but little else. "We'll > > > do some design work. We'll design the contracts and get them ready to > > > go if we get the money. But we don't have the money to put the work in > > > the field, and that's the problem," Naomi said. > > > There was, at the same time, a growing recognition that more research > > > was needed to see what New Orleans must do to protect itself from a > > > Category 4 or 5 hurricane. But once again, the money was not there. > > > (Please note there was no mention of lack of resources to do the job - > > > just 'no money'…ed) > > > > As the Times-Picayune reported last Sept. 22: > > > That second study would take about four years to complete and would > > > cost about $4 million, said Army Corps of Engineers project manager Al > > > Naomi. About $300,000 in federal money was proposed for the 2005 > > > fiscal-year budget, and the state had agreed to match that amount. But > > > the cost of the Iraq war forced the Bush administration to order the > > > New Orleans district office not to begin any new studies, and the 2005 > > > budget no longer includes the needed money, he said. The Senate was > > > seeking to restore some of the SELA funding cuts for 2006. But now > > > it's too late. One project that a contractor had been racing to finish > > > this summer was a bridge and levee job right at the 17th Street Canal, > > > site of the main breach on Monday. > > > > The levee failure appears to be causing a human tragedy of epic > > > proportions: > > > "We probably have 80 percent of our city under water; with some > > > sections of our city the water is as deep as 20 feet. Both airports > > > are underwater," Mayor Ray Nagin told a radio interviewer. > > > The Newhouse News Service article published Tuesday night observed: > > > "The Louisiana congressional delegation urged Congress earlier this > > > year to dedicate a stream of federal money to Louisiana's coast, only > > > to be opposed by the White House. ... In its budget, the Bush > > > administration proposed a significant reduction in > > ... > > read more »- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
