Yeah, so this Hurricane has actually become the US's biggest natural disaster or something? Thousands dead, 300,000 trapped, people dying of unsanitary conditions, an oil refinery has recently exploded. It's not looking good, is it?

Its a human tragedy, apparently the way New Orleans is set up, the city is below sea level so once the defences were breaches it filled up like a soup bowl

Its awful I think Bush hasnt acted soon enough to combat the lack of water, food, and sanitation if they don't move quickly even more people will die.

One positive note though the famous New Orleans jazz man Fatts Domino was found alive and well...

I know this sounds a bit harsh, but it's a fairly stupid idea to build a city in that sort of environment, especially on the Gulf of Mexico which is a renowned tropical storm location. If you live there, you have to expect yourr house might get blown or washed away at some point. Agreed on Bush's actions (or lack of them) too.

CD

True I think New Orleans has been pretty lucky in the past. It is one of the oldest cities in America so in that way its very sad. As well as the human loss of life...

It's a bit harsh to say people should live in expectation of their house being destroyed.

Maybe 'expectation' was the wrong word, but the point I was trying to make was a valid one. The population density of the United States is about 30 people per square kilometre (for comparison the UK has nearly 10 times this figure), and many of these are rich and affluent people who could, if they choose, live somewhere like Montana (200,000 people in about the same area as the UK), which is much more hospitable. Obviously, some of the victims of the hurricane in New Orleans don't fall into this category, and their plight is at least partially the fault of the American Government.

A large proportion of Americans also live within striking distance of one of the most seismically-active faults in the world, where a large earthquake (>7 on the Richter scale) happens once every 10-15 years. Now, the people of Los Angeles expect another large earthquake sooner rather than later. I know because I was there in April, and I asked them, as I am considering becoming a seismologist when I finish my degree.

The frequency of these natural disasters (major earthquake and massive hurricane coming ashore) are about the same, and both areas are known to be prone to they're respective problems. I guess the point I'm trying to make is yes, this is a terrible disaster, but if you stand too close to the fire, you're going to get burnt.

CD

You didn't have to write all that; I agree with you in general, I was just saying that living in expectation of utter despair is a bit sad.

Oh right, nevermind. And you're right, it's very sad.

CD

This say's it all really...............






Sunday, September 11th, 2005
A Letter to All Who Voted for George W. Bush from Michael Moore


To All My Fellow Americans Who Voted for George W. Bush:

On this, the fourth anniversary of 9/11, I'm just curious, how does it feel?

How does it feel to know that the man you elected to lead us after we were attacked went ahead and put a guy in charge of FEMA whose main qualification was that he ran horse shows?

That's right. Horse shows.

I really want to know -- and I ask you this in all sincerity and with all due respect -- how do you feel about the utter contempt Mr. Bush has shown for your safety? C'mon, give me just a moment of honesty. Don't start ranting on about how this disaster in New Orleans was the fault of one of the poorest cities in America. Put aside your hatred of Democrats and liberals and anyone with the last name of Clinton. Just look me in the eye and tell me our President did the right thing after 9/11 by naming a horse show runner as the top man to protect us in case of an emergency or catastrophe.

I want you to put aside your self-affixed label of Republican/conservative/born-again/capitalist/ditto-head/right-winger and just talk to me as an American, on the common ground we both call America.

Are we safer now than before 9/11? When you learn that behind the horse show runner, the #2 and #3 men in charge of emergency preparedness have zero experience in emergency preparedness, do you think we are safer?

When you look at Michael Chertoff, the head of Homeland Security, a man with little experience in national security, do you feel secure?

When men who never served in the military and have never seen young men die in battle send our young people off to war, do you think they know how to conduct a war? Do they know what it means to have your legs blown off for a threat that was never there?

Do you really believe that turning over important government services to private corporations has resulted in better services for the people?

Why do you hate our federal government so much? You have voted for politicians for the past 25 years whose main goal has been to de-fund the federal government. Do you think that cutting federal programs like FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers has been good or bad for America? GOOD OR BAD?

With the nation's debt at an all-time high, do you think tax cuts for the rich are still a good idea? Will you give yours back so hundreds of thousands of homeless in New Orleans can have a home?

Do you believe in Jesus? Really? Didn't he say that we would be judged by how we treat the least among us? Hurricane Katrina came in and blew off the facade that we were a nation with liberty and justice for all. The wind howled and the water rose and what was revealed was that the poor in America shall be left to suffer and die while the President of the United States fiddles and tells them to eat cake.

That's not a joke. The day the hurricane hit and the levees broke, Mr. Bush, John McCain and their rich pals were stuffing themselves with cake. A full day after the levees broke (the same levees whose repair funding he had cut), Mr. Bush was playing a guitar some country singer gave him. All this while New Orleans sank under water.

It would take ANOTHER day before the President would do a flyover in his jumbo jet, peeking out the window at the misery 2500 feet below him as he flew back to his second home in DC. It would then be TWO MORE DAYS before a trickle of federal aid and troops would arrive. This was no seven minutes in a sitting trance while children read "My Pet Goat" to him. This was FOUR DAYS of doing nothing other than saying "Brownie (FEMA director Michael Brown), you're doing a heck of a job!"

My Republican friends, does it bother you that we are the laughing stock of the world?

And on this sacred day of remembrance, do you think we honor or shame those who died on 9/11/01? If we learned nothing and find ourselves today every bit as vulnerable and unprepared as we were on that bright sunny morning, then did the 3,000 die in vain?

Our vulnerability is not just about dealing with terrorists or natural disasters. We are vulnerable and unsafe because we allow one in eight Americans to live in horrible poverty. We accept an education system where one in six children never graduate and most of those who do can't string a coherent sentence together. The middle class can't pay the mortgage or the hospital bills and 45 million have no health coverage whatsoever.

Are we safe? Do you really feel safe? You can only move so far out and build so many gated communities before the fruit of what you've sown will be crashing through your walls and demanding retribution. Do you really want to wait until that happens? Or is it your hope that if they are left alone long enough to soil themselves and shoot themselves and drown in the filth that fills the street that maybe the problem will somehow go away?

I know you know better. You gave the country and the world a man who wasn't up for the job and all he does is hire people who aren't up for the job. You did this to us, to the world, to the people of New Orleans. Please fix it. Bush is yours. And you know, for our peace and safety and security, this has to be fixed. What do you propose?

I have an idea, and it isn't a horse show.

Yours,

Michael Moore
www.michaelmoore.com
mmflint@aol.com