Video showing levee wall failed under near normal water levels from BELOW.
In other words, if people hadn't been evacuated because of Katrina, the death rate would have been much higher when it finally gave out.
Video showing levee wall failed under near normal water levels from BELOW.
In other words, if people hadn't been evacuated because of Katrina, the death rate would have been much higher when it finally gave out.
^^ Wow....I don't know if ironic is the right word, but wow.
"Seeing the landscape at this superficial level only captures its boring uniformity, not allowing you to immerse yourself in the spirit of the place; for that you must stop at least several days."
~Che Guevara, "The Motorcycle Diaries"





Perhaps the reason that the media is suppessing this information is because there are some 350 miles of levees and floodwalls around New Orleans, many of which have yet to be reinforced or replaced, hence there are perhaps even more of these ticking time bombs waiting to go off?
Former SCJ now in rehab.
And people think it's a racist conspiracy to suggest that rebuilding that toilet is folly...
Idealism is fine, but as it approaches reality, the costs become prohibitive.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
Personally, I thought Katrina was Mother Nature's way of saying, "Hey, morons. A city doesn't belong here."




Yup, leaving those people there for so long to die was the racist conspiracy. Bush isn't dumb enough to try and double down on the same event.Originally Posted by Casual Observer



i think it's god/darwin's way of saying morons shouldn't live here. heard 1 reliable report that the levee inspectors were patronage jobs and they had no idea what they were doing. New Orleans/Louisiana governments aren't the best run in the world to say the least.Originally Posted by Jay Zeno
Last edited by space_Cadet_28; 08-30-2006 at 04:18 PM.





Well, that could apply to a lot of places. Cities that are in mountain canyons, on flood plains, near volcanoes, in deserts or along earthquake faults.Originally Posted by Jay Zeno
It should be noted that a good portion of the Netherlands shares the same below sea level characteristics that New Orleans does, yet the Dutch don't seem to have the same problems (granted the Netherlands levee system is considerably more reinforced and was built primarily within the last 60 years).
Since what really caused NOLA's levees to fail was due more to neglect than them being overwhelmed, perhaps its best to say that the primary problem isn't so much the land that NOLA sits on, but the corrupt, bureaucratic, and uncaring machinations of those who've ran it for the past couple centuries.
Former SCJ now in rehab.
new orleans need to be evacuated until further notice in my opinion....that link u provided just shows that it is STILL a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off (and flood the rest of the city) .....if there r 350 miles of levees around new orleans, maybe everyone who lives there should move away so it can become a part of the ocean like mother nature is trying to make it apparently..ya it was a fun place to be and it has history , but oh well everyone would get over it if it did happen in the safe way that i mentioned....just my opinion



American infrastructure has always simply sucked compared to European infrastructure. Look at how often we have construction on our roads compared to Europe. Many of the European roads have been around since the times of Ancient Rome yet they are not being tore up every summer. Venice has been around for over 1500 years.
I completely agree that the Katrina situation was a time bomb waiting to go off.
American infrastructure is always about "planned obsolescence" instead of making something work. Planned obsolescence is great for those companies that provide (i.e. concrete businesses for road work, but hey, those unions have got to be paid) but not for the consumer (having to deal with construction on the roads, having to buy new lightbulbs and never seeming like there is enough even though there are lightbulbs that could last forever.)
Also simply not planning crap out is a big problem in our instant gratification society. This really hurts all socio-economic levels of society, like when yuppies have their McMansion burn up in a forest fire, get destroyed by a volcano, or have soil erosion crumble their dream home into the ocean. Or even a better example: the Boston Big dig. WTF? was up with that thing? Talk about a waste of tax payer money.
"That's why I never kiss 'em on the mouth!" ~Jayne



So true did not take long living in New Orleans to realize how corrupt everything was and how bureaucratic the local and state governments are. Just to give an example look at the New Orleans school system. Most community groups spent so much time driving out the school superindendant just because he was Dominican that the real problems got ingnored. Shortly before Katrina the school system in New Orleans had been handed over to the state. Millions of dollars had just mysteriously dissappeared from school funds, and no one to this day knows where to.Originally Posted by doc-catfish
And Nagin thinks his biggest concern is keeping the city "chocolate".
"Can we read it on the Smoking Gun? "
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