Here’s an snipped from one of GWB’s recent speeches: "Some have selectively quoted from this document to make the case that by fighting the terrorists, by fighting them in Iraq, we are making our people less secure here at home," Bush continued. The president said that that "argument buys into the enemy’s propaganda that the terrorists attack us because we’re provoking them." "I want to remind the American citizens that we were not in Iraq on September 11th, 2001," said Bush. Before I rant, let me say I love my country.  But, I am terrified for it’s future…. GWB’s statements above *clearly* indicate that GWB, his administration (and many Americans, for that matter) have NO IDEA why the terrorists *are* attacking us!!  Even Sept. 11th.  Clueless, clueless, clueless!!! Folks, terrorists don’t blow themselves up because they love fireworks….and they don’t do it because they hate our "freedoms" and/or our lifestyle.  GWB would love to have you all believe that, because that’s easy for Joe Six Pack to understand….and *fear.* As yourself a few *easy* questions— What would it take to make *you* do something drastic like that?  Think about it…. Consider, if you will—a foreign army in your country? OK, that’s an easy one…how about– A foriegn gov. sending covert missions into your country for a variety of reasons, including taking over your government?   Using any means available, forcing you and your country to do things you dont’ want to do, against your traditions/values?  Forcing you to sell them your valuable resources (oil) and if you refuse, you threaten WAR? The second part is only a snapshot of what the US has been doing to countries all over the world, for decades.  But, in the last couple of decades, it’s gotten far worse. Hey!  Since when are WE king of the world?!?!?! Bringing OIL into the picture certainly complicates things….because the USA wants it, and will stop at nothing to get it….including WAR to gain a foothold in the region, securing our access. Republican and Democratic administrations are both guilty of such things.  That is probably a good part of *why* 9/11 happened.  There there’s that whole Israel thing, that I don’t understand…(I admit) If there was a country pulling such crap against the USA, wouldn’t it piss you off?!??  Of course it would!!! (This is obviously a very complicated issue, far bigger than one can really discuss here….but Joe Six Pack might get a rough idea…) Am I defending the terrorists and their actions?  Of course I’m not!!  Killing is not the answer.  But, given a few "loose cannons" on their side of the world, and it’s easy for them to do…and, get publicity.  That’s what they want, so the world will see why they are pissed. But, I also don’t approve of many things my government has done—things that Joe Six Pack has never even imagined have been done, and are still being done….in *his* name, as an American. Folks, there’s a reason they hate us so much.  They didn’t simply start hating us because we have bigger TV’s, etc. There is no Jihad because we’re non-muslim, either (though GWB would like you to think so—good fear factor stuff!). If we hadn’t gone messing in their countries, trying to force them to be more like us, take their resources *by force* and more, I’d be willing to bet there would be no terrorism—like what we have today. In other words Mr. Six Pack….if you go around poking someone in the ribs enough, eventually they are going to turn and smack you, eh?  (Ya’ll remember how pissed bubba got when you kept’uh spittin’ on his boot, ’cause they had square toes….and that ain’t right?" It’s time we learn the truth regarding *why* there is terrorism, rather than worrying about killing everyone who we’ve pissed off….eh? That’s GWB’s method.  ("what?"  "You don’t want to sell us Amer’kins your oil?"  "Well….come here then, I’m gonna smack you, you dirty…!") So….what if the middle east won’t sell us their oil? Fine…let them keep it.  If we’d have devoted the money spent on WAR to research into alternate energy sources, we very likely wouldn’t need oil any more, anyway. And now….GWB thinks that fighting the terrorists in Iraq is making us safer….does he?  Not at all. The more we kill, the more will come to fight us.  Why do you think that may be? Did it ever occur to you that we may not be on the "right" side of this one?  Hmmmmm???? When we Americans wake up and realize what we’ve been doing to the people in some countries….the middle east, in particular…maybe….just maybe, we’ll see the *real* answer to putting an end to terrorism. Sound like it would be "giving in" to the terrorists? Not at all…..I told you to think about it. It’s been said that GWB has set the USA back 10 years, with regard to our image and world relationships. I suggest it’s *far worse* than that.  I suggest his administration’s wreckless policies have damaged the USA to a point we may not recover from, for a very, very long time. Before 9/11, we had created "hot spots" of anger against the USA.  But now, it’s more like a nuclear chain reaction. (Oh, sorry….I meant to say "nu-ku-ler") If we don’t find a way to stop it, it’s going to spread–big time. Time for Joe Six Pack to sober up… My 2 cents (plus interest, I suppose), Mike

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http://politicalaffairs.net/article/view/1222/1/99 Using a false passport, Posada apparently snuck into the United States in late March and remains in hiding. His lawyer announced that Posada is asking the Bush administration for asylum because of the work he had done for the Central Intelligence Agency in the 1960s. The documents posted today include CIA records confirming that Posada was an agent in the 1960s and early 1970s, and remained an informant in regular contact with CIA officials at least until June 1976. In 1985, Posada escaped from prison in Venezuela where he had been incarcerated after the plane bombing and remains a fugitive from justice. He went directly to El Salvador, where he worked, using the alias "Ramon Medina," on the illegal contra resupply program being run by Lt. Col. Oliver North in the Reagan National Security Council. In 1998 he was interviewed by Ann Louise Bardach for the New York Times at a secret location in Aruba, and claimed responsibility for a string of hotel bombings in Havana during which eleven people were injured and one Italian businessman was killed. Most recently he was imprisoned in Panama for trying to assassinate Fidel Castro in December 2000 with 33 pounds of C-4 explosives. In September 2004, he and three co-conspirators were suddenly pardoned, and Posada went to Honduras. Venezuela is now preparing to submit an official extradition request to the United States for his return. According to Peter Kornbluh, who directs the Archive’s Cuba Documentation Project, Posada’s presence in the United States "poses a direct challenge to the Bush administration’s terrorism policy. The declassified record," he said, "leaves no doubt that Posada has been one of the world’s most unremitting purveyors of terrorist violence." President Bush has repeatedly stated that no nation should harbor terrorists, and all nations should work to bring individuals who advocate and employ the use of terror tactics to justice. During the Presidential campaign last year Bush stated that "I think you can create conditions so that those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the world." Although Posada has reportedly been in the Miami area for more than six weeks, the FBI has indicated it is not actively searching for him. Too often we speak about terrorism in general terms, as if it is something that involves issues-rather than people. And I suppose that this makes it easier to swallow the U.S. government’s double standard in its so-called war on terrorism. But we should never forget that terrorism is principally about the victims and that the memory of lives cut short by bombs or bullets ought never be forgotten. The most notorious terrorist of the western hemisphere, Luis Posada Carriles, stands on the verge of being released from immigration custody by the Bush administration. This terrorist is wanted in Venezuela for 73 counts of first degree murder in relation to the downing of a Cubana de Aviaci

Welcome to AmeriKa. The clock is ticking…. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > If this isn’t class warfare in action I don’t know what is: >  Feds Eliminate 157 Auditors of Rich Taxpayers >     By David Cay Johnston >     The New York Times >     Sunday 23 July 2006 >     Move cuts ranks of IRS lawyers who inspect returns that include estate > and gift taxes. >      The federal government is moving to eliminate the jobs of nearly half > of the lawyers at the Internal Revenue Service who audit tax returns of > some of the wealthiest Americans, specifically those who are subject to > gift and estate taxes when they transfer parts of their fortunes to their > children and others. >      The administration plans to cut the jobs of 157 of the agency’s 345 > estate tax lawyers, plus 17 support personnel, in less than 70 days. Kevin > Brown, an IRS deputy commissioner, confirmed the cuts after the New York > Times was given internal documents by people inside the IRS who oppose > them. >      The Bush administration has successfully lobbied Congress to enact > measures that reduce the number of Americans who are subject to the estate > tax – which opponents refer to as the "death tax" – but has failed in its > efforts to eliminate the tax entirely. >      Brown said in a telephone interview Friday that he had ordered the > staff cuts because far fewer people were obliged to pay estate taxes under > Bush’s legislation. >      But six IRS estate tax lawyers whose jobs are likely to be eliminated > said in interviews that the cuts were just the latest moves behind the > scenes at the IRS to shield people with political connections and complex > tax-avoidance devices from thorough audits. >      Sharyn Phillips, a veteran IRS estate tax lawyer in Manhattan, called > the cuts a "back-door way for the Bush administration to achieve what it > cannot get from Congress, which is repeal of the estate tax." >      Brown dismissed as preposterous any suggestion that the IRS was soft > on rich tax cheats. He said the money saved by eliminating the estate tax > lawyers would be used to hire revenue agents to audit income tax returns, > especially those from people making more than $1 million. >      Brown said civil service rules barred the estate tax lawyers from > moving over to audit income taxes. An IRS spokesman said the agency had > asked for permission to allow such transfers twice but the Office of > Personnel Management had not responded. >      Estate tax lawyers are the most productive tax law enforcement > personnel at the IRS, according to Brown. For each hour they work, they > find an average of $2,200 of taxes owed to the government. >      Brown said analysis showed that the IRS was auditing enough returns to > catch cheats and that 10 percent of the estate audits brought in 80 percent > of the additional taxes. He said auditing a greater percentage of gift and > estate tax returns would not be worthwhile because "the next case is not a > lucrative case" and likely to be of relatively little value. >      That is a change from six years ago, when the IRS said 85 percent of > large taxable gifts it audited shortchanged the government. The IRS said > then that it would hire three more lawyers just to audit taxable gifts of > $1 million or more. >      Over the past five years, officials at both the IRS and the Treasury > have told Congress that cheating among the highest-income Americans is a > major and growing problem. >      The six IRS tax lawyers, some of whom were willing to be named, all > said that clear evidence of fraud was pursued vigorously by the agency, but > that when audits showed the use of complicated schemes to understate the > value of assets, the IRS had become increasingly reluctant to pursue cases. >      The lawyers said the risk analysis system the IRS used to evaluate > whether to pursue such cases gave higher-level officials cover to not > pursue tax cheats and, in the process, emboldened the most aggressive tax > advisers to prepare gift and estate tax returns that shortchanged the > government. >      "This is not a game the poor will win, but the rich will," said John > Hruska, another IRS estate tax lawyer in New York who, like Phillips, is > active in the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents IRS > workers. >      Colleen Kelley, the national union president, said: "If these lawyers > are not there to audit the gift and estate tax returns, then a lot of taxes > that should be paid will go uncollected, and that impacts every taxpayer > who is paying their fair share."

Response:

tick….tick….tick…. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> More class war…. > I notice the company Choice Point is mentioned.  This could be a partial > payback for all the work they did for Kathleen Harris in 2000 in FL.  They > were the company that purged the voter role database of thousands of > legitmate voters that were wrongly labled as "felons". >     "Protection" Act Would Strip Consumers of Credit Safeguards >     By Jessica Azulay >     The NewStandard >     Monday 24 July 2006 >     The US House of Representatives is poised to consider a bill that would > make it more difficult for consumers to protect their credit from identity > thieves. >     Backed by the lucrative financial-services industry, the Financial Data > Protection Act of 2005 would narrow the circumstances in which consumers > could restrict their credit activity to prevent fraudulent borrowing, and > it would undermine stronger state-based reporting rules for companies that > hold and sell consumer data. >     "It’s shocking that at a time when data breaches are in the headlines > daily and consumers are at greater risk than ever [of] identity theft, > Congress would choose to vote on a bill that would strip consumers of their > existing identity-theft protections," Susanna Montezemolo, policy analyst > with Consumers Union, said in a press statement. Consumers Union publishes > Consumer Reports magazine. >     Companies that stand to gain from the legislation have spent a small > fortune on campaign contributions and lobbying. >     In the last two election cycles, finance and credit companies have > donated more than $12.5 million to political campaigns, and in 2005 alone, > the industry spent almost $30 million on lobbying, according to the Center > for Responsive Politics, which tracks money’s influence on government. >     Two of the Act’s four co-sponsors are on the industry’s top-ten > recipient list for the House: Michael Castle (R-Delaware) took in a total > of $116,616, and Dennis Moore (D-Kansas) got $67,729. Another co-sponsor, > Deborah Pryce (R-Ohio), received $22,500 from the industry. >     One of the most controversial provisions of the bill would make it much > more difficult for consumers to "freeze" their credit, a process that > enables consumers to make it nearly impossible for anyone – including the > consumer him or herself – to open new credit cards without first going > through extra security precautions. >     Currently, a handful of states allow consumers to freeze their credit > at will in order to protect themselves against fraud. But the bill would > change the rules so that consumers in all states would have to supply > evidence that identity theft has occurred before obtaining a freeze. >     Since their business models rely on consumers having easy access to > credit and creditors having easy access to individuals’ financial > information, finance and credit companies stand to gain from this > provision. But opponents of the bill say those seeking to protect their > credit have a lot to lose. >     "It’s like telling someone you can’t put a deadbolt on your front door > until after you’ve been burglarized," Washington state Attorney General Rob > McKenna told the Washington Post. >     Another provision that has consumer advocates protesting would set > federal rules for when companies that hold and sell personal financial data > must investigate and report security breaches. >     The most notorious of such companies is ChoicePoint, which came to the > national spotlight in early 2005 when it announced that potential identity > thieves had posed as fake businesses and gained access to the files of tens > of thousands of consumers. >     Opponents of the Financial Data Protection Act suggest that the > ChoicePoint debacle may never have come to light if not for California’s > relatively strong consumer-protection law that required the firm to notify > consumers in that state whose data may have been breached. >     The Financial Data Protection Act would pre-empt California’s law as > well as those in dozens of states that have stronger protection regulations > than the ones being proposed at the national level. >     The Act under consideration by the House would leave it up to companies > to investigate security breaches and determine whether there is a > "likelihood that such information has been, or will be, misused in a manner > that may cause harm or inconvenience to the related consumer" before having > to tell government agencies or notify consumers that their information may > have been compromised. >     To Montezemolo of Consumers Union, Congress is putting the decision in > the wrong hands. "Consumers are the greatest protectors of their own > personal information," she said, "yet the bill moving forward would let > companies decide whether they would notify consumers about security > breaches." >   ——- > If this isn’t class warfare in action I don’t know what is: > Feds Eliminate 157 Auditors of Rich Taxpayers >    By David Cay Johnston >    The New York Times >    Sunday 23 July 2006 >    Move cuts ranks of IRS lawyers who inspect returns that include estate > and gift taxes. >     The federal government is moving to eliminate the jobs of nearly half > of the lawyers at the Internal Revenue Service who audit tax returns of > some of the wealthiest Americans, specifically those who are subject to > gift and estate taxes when they transfer parts of their fortunes to their > children and others. >     The administration plans to cut the jobs of 157 of the agency’s 345 > estate tax lawyers, plus 17 support personnel, in less than 70 days. Kevin > Brown, an IRS deputy commissioner, confirmed the cuts after the New York > Times was given internal documents by people inside the IRS who oppose > them. >     The Bush administration has successfully lobbied Congress to enact > measures that reduce the number of Americans who are subject to the estate > tax – which opponents refer to as the "death tax" – but has failed in its > efforts to eliminate the tax entirely. >     Brown said in a telephone interview Friday that he had ordered the > staff cuts because far fewer people were obliged to pay estate taxes under > Bush’s legislation. >     But six IRS estate tax lawyers whose jobs are likely to be eliminated > said in interviews that the cuts were just the latest moves behind the > scenes at the IRS to shield people with political connections and complex > tax-avoidance devices from thorough audits. >     Sharyn Phillips, a veteran IRS estate tax lawyer in Manhattan, called > the cuts a "back-door way for the Bush administration to achieve what it > cannot get from Congress, which is repeal of the estate tax." >     Brown dismissed as preposterous any suggestion that the IRS was soft > on rich tax cheats. He said the money saved by eliminating the estate tax > lawyers would be used to hire revenue agents to audit income tax returns, > especially those from people making more than $1 million. >     Brown said civil service rules barred the estate tax lawyers from > moving over to audit income taxes. An IRS spokesman said the agency had > asked for permission to allow such transfers twice but the Office of > Personnel Management had not responded. >     Estate tax lawyers are the most productive tax law enforcement > personnel at the IRS, according to Brown. For each hour they work, they > find an average of $2,200 of taxes owed to the government. >     Brown said analysis showed that the IRS was auditing enough returns to > catch cheats and that 10 percent of the estate audits brought in 80 percent > of the additional taxes. He said auditing a greater percentage of gift and > estate tax returns would not be worthwhile because "the next case is not a > lucrative case" and likely to be of relatively little value. >     That is a change from six years ago, when the IRS said 85 percent of > large taxable gifts it audited shortchanged the government. The IRS said > then that it would hire three more lawyers just to audit taxable gifts of > $1 million or more. >     Over the past five years, officials at both the IRS and the Treasury > have told Congress that cheating among the highest-income Americans is a > major and growing problem. >     The six IRS tax lawyers, some of whom were willing to be named, all > said that clear evidence of fraud was pursued vigorously by the agency, but > that when audits showed the use of complicated schemes to understate the > value of assets, the IRS had become increasingly reluctant to pursue cases. >     The lawyers said the risk analysis system the IRS used to evaluate > whether to pursue such cases gave higher-level officials cover to not > pursue tax cheats and, in the process, emboldened the most aggressive tax > advisers to prepare gift and estate tax returns that shortchanged the > government. >     "This is not a game the poor will win, but the rich will," said John > Hruska, another IRS estate tax lawyer in New York who, like Phillips, is > active in the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents IRS > workers. >     Colleen Kelley, the national union president, said: "If these lawyers > are not there to audit the gift and estate tax returns, then a lot of taxes > that should be paid will go uncollected, and that impacts every taxpayer > who is paying their fair share."

Response:

The First Casualty by Marc V. Mulay <printhappy/mulay.htm> /"

<<I don’t intend to surrender that easily>> You have already surrendered – they have already photographed your house. I can possibly retrieve the photo for you if you are interested. John Cowart

Response:

> <<I don’t intend to surrender that easily>> > You have already surrendered – they have already photographed your > house. I can possibly retrieve the photo for you if you are interested. > John Cowart

Yeah, go ahead.

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -><<The requirement of households and small farms that own animals to >register the premises so that the Department can subject these premises >to satellite surveillance is a clear violation of the Fourth >Amendment.>> >You’re too late… *ALL* houses and farms (along with everything else) >in the US are already being photographed by surveillance satellites on >a regular basis. As evidence, here is a photo of my house taken by a >medium resolution surveillance satellite. I certainly did not register >for or request this "service". >http://www.streamload.com/Deliver/Deliver.asp?cxInstID=35873071&nodeI… >There are much higher resolution photographs being made by other >surveillance satellites, but I haven’t figured out how to get to them >yet. >John Cowart

Access Denied You cannot access the content "HouseAerial.bmp".

Response:

> <<The requirement of households and small farms that own animals to > register the premises so that the Department can subject these premises > to satellite surveillance is a clear violation of the Fourth > Amendment.>> > You’re too late…

I’m glad you’re okay with it. I don’t intend to surrender that easily. — **** Please take a look at these pictures. http://www.american-pictures.com/gallery/usa/index_rural_indoor.htm There are an estimated 44,000 more locations just like these in the state of Texas alone, and over 2,000,000 in the US according to the US Census. There is no way they can comply with the NAIS. Does anyone really believe that people that have to live like this will comply with the NAIS? And, if they don’t the whole program is compromised. What will they do to these people? You don’t think they will fine them, do you? You don’t think they will take their property, do you. So, what will that say for our 14th Amendment of all being treated equally under the laws? Nancy Reagan had it right. JUST SAY NO! http://animalid.aphis.usda.gov/nais/about/pdf/NAIS_Draft_Strategic_Pl… http://www.tahc.state.tx.us/animal_id/2005Dec_Animal_ID_FactSheet.pdf http://NoNAIS.org/ J.C.

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<<The requirement of households and small farms that own animals to register the premises so that the Department can subject these premises to satellite surveillance is a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment.>> You’re too late… *ALL* houses and farms (along with everything else) in the US are already being photographed by surveillance satellites on a regular basis. As evidence, here is a photo of my house taken by a medium resolution surveillance satellite. I certainly did not register for or request this "service". http://www.streamload.com/Deliver/Deliver.asp?cxInstID=35873071&nodeI… There are much higher resolution photographs being made by other surveillance satellites, but I haven’t figured out how to get to them yet. John Cowart

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WESTON A. PRICE FOUNDATION INFORMATION ALERT March 20, 2006 I am forwarding to you an article I wrote for the upcoming Wise Traditions Journal (Winter 2005/Spring 2006) on the National Animal Identication System (NAIS). There has been an extraordinary amount of interest in this USDA instituted program. So, I thought it prudent to provide a heads up before the Journal was sent to you(currently being printed in a new format with a flat binding). The Foundation is working closely with member Judith McGeary in Texas and Mary Zanoni (Farm for Life) in New York as well as others on this very critical issue. At the end of the article is a list of resources for voicing your opinion on NAIS. THE NATIONAL ANIMAL IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM (NAIS) by Bill Sanda, Executive Director The development of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has created enormous controversy across the country over the past year. Some see such a system as a means to track and identify outbreaks in livestock of various diseases such as brucellosis, E. coli variants, salmonella and mad cow disease in a quick and efficient manner, while others see this as an encroachment on their civil liberties and privacy as well as an attempt to seal the fate of small- to moderate-sized farms and ranches. CORPORATE SUPPORT NAIS has been gaining support in agribusiness as a method for sourcing the origins of mad cow disease or possible terrorist biological attacks on U.S. livestock. Opponents point out the plan was drawn up by corporations like Monsanto, the National Pork Producers, National Cattlemens Beef Association, and Cargill Meat. It would require all owners of even a single farm animal to register their home with a national tracking system, including global positioning coordinates (for satellite tracking) and implant or tag every animal with a radio frequency device (RFID). Large-scale livestock producers say NAIS would help them control outbreaks of disease by allowing individual animals to be tracked to their origins. Small-scale farmers say the registration fees, RFID expenses and administrative bureaucracy of the system would drive them out of business. According to the timelines presented in USDA’s NAIS website ( http://en.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub.php?module=URLTracker&cmd=tra… ) , the program is to be implemented in full by January 2009 with premise registration and animal identification mandatory by January 2008. However, according to NAIS head Neil Hammerschmidt, the implementation dates may be delayed. WHAT IS NAIS? The National Animal Identification System, which the USDA is currently in the process of implementing, is intended to identify animals and poultry and record their movements over the course of their lifespans, as well as track them as they come into contact with, or commingle with, animals other than herd mates from their premises of origin. According to the USDA, the ultimate goal of the program is to create a uniform national animal tracking system that will help maintain the health of U.S. herds and flocks. By January 2009, when the program is intended to be fully implemented and become fully mandatory, the USDA expects that NAIS will be able to identify all premises and animals that have had direct contact with a foreign animal disease or a domestic disease of concern within 48 hours of discovery. Currently, working groups comprised of industry and government representatives are developing plans for cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, horses, poultry, bison, deer, elk, llamas and alpacas. Many of these animals can already be identified through some sort of identification system, but these systems are not consistent across the country, according to the USDA. NAIS began to take shape in April, 2002 when the National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA) established a task force to create an animal identification plan. USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and over 30 livestock organizations participated in this task force. The final report was presented at the United States Animal Health Association’s (USAHA) annual meeting in October, 2002, where the work plan was accepted through a unanimous resolution. APHIS then established the National Identification Development Team (NIDT), a joint state, federal and industry group to further advance this effort. Throughout 2003, the NIDT, consisting of approximately 100 animal and livestock industry professionals representing more than 70 associations, organizations, and government agencies, expanded upon the work plan to produce the initial draft of the U.S. Animal Identification Plan (USAIP). Although early versions of the USAIP focused on food animals only, other livestock species (such as alpacas, llamas, and horses) were incorporated into the plan. In April 2004, the USDA announced the framework for implementing the NAIS. IMPLEMENTATION The first step in implementing the NAIS is identifying and registering premises that house animals. Such premises would include locations where livestock and poultry are managed, marketed or exhibited. States implemented the capability to register premises according to the national standards last year. APHIS is currently training state officials on how to use a standardized premises registration system. USDA is also evaluating alternative registration systems that states or others have developed and want to use, to ensure these systems meet the national standards. In addition, USDA is working with states and industry to "educate" the public about the NAIS. As premises are registered, another component of the NAIS-animal identification-will be integrated into the system. Unique animal identification numbers (AINs) will be issued to individually identified premises. In the case of animals that move in groups through the production chain-such as pigs and poultry-the group will be identified through a group/lot identification number (Group/Lot IDs). USDA is developing the standards for collecting and reporting information, but industry will determine which type of identification method works best for each species. These methods could include radio frequency identification tags, retinal scans, DNA or others. As long as the necessary data are sent to USDA’s information repositories in a standardized form, it will be accepted. As premises are registered and animals or groups of animals are identified based on the standard protocols, USDA will begin collecting information about animal movements from one premise to another. With an animal tracking system in place, USDA says they will be able to perform rapid tracebacks in case of an animal disease outbreak. As envisioned, only federal, state, and tribal animal health authorities would have direct access to the national premises and animal identification information repositories. Interestingly, the National Cattlemens Beef Association attempted to have the "national database" privatized and put under their control. Tam Moore of Capital Press, January 27, 2006, reported that the USDA has dropped a 6-month-old plan for contracting with a privatized central database to launch the cattle segment of ID. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns had announced the single privatized concept back in July 2005. The Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund (R-CALF), United Stockgrowers of America and other ID critics questioned USDA’s intention to concentrate the data with a system the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association organized, then spun off as a free-standing nonprofit organization, the U.S. Animal Identification Organization. Instead of a single, private database, USDA, state and tribal animal health agencies will use multiple databases, relying on those who contract with the USDA to furnish livestock tracking information. Much of the responsibility for delivering the program remains at the state level. Stages of development will allow states to more readily establish their local action items, according to the USDA. To determine what your state is doing with regards to NAIS, please go to http://en.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub.php?module=URLTracker&cmd=tra… . CONFIDENTIALITY The NAIS is supposed to contain only information that animal health officials need to track suspect animals and identify any other animals that may have been exposed to a disease. Animal identification and tracking systems maintained by the states or regional alliances will be an integral part of the overall NAIS information infrastructure. The state and regional systems will be able to collect and maintain more information than is required for the NAIS, yet only the required data need to be available for the national animal records repository. According to the USDA, to help assure participants that the information will be used only for animal health purposes, the information will be confidential and USDA and its state partners are to work to protect data confidentiality. KEY NAIS MILESTONES        APRIL, 2005: The USDA issued its Draft Strategic Plan & Draft Program Standards for public comment, which ended in July of 2005 ( http://en.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub.php?module=URLTracker&cmd=tra… ) .        JULY, 2005: All states capable of premises registration       JULY, 2005: Animal Identification Number system operational. The following dates may be delayed according to the USDA. Updates have yet to be issued.       JULY, 2006 : The target date for the USDA to issue a proposed rule setting forth the requirements for NAIS premises registration, animal identification, and animal tracking. There will be a limited public comment period after publication of the rule (WAPF will issue an Action Alert when the comment period occurs).        APRIL, 2007: Premises registration and animal

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WOODSTOCK, Ont. (CP) – Ontario workers are well-trained. That simple explanation was cited as a main reason why Toyota turned its back on hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies offered from several American states in favour of building a second Ontario plant. Industry experts say Ontarians are easier and cheaper to train – helping make it more cost-efficient to train workers when the new Woodstock plant opens in 2008, 40 kilometres away from its skilled workforce in Cambridge. "The level of the workforce in general is so high that the training program you need for people, even for people who have not worked in a Toyota plant before, is minimal compared to what you have to go through in the southeastern United States," said Gerry Fedchun, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, whose members will see increased business with the new plant. The plant will produce the RAV-4, dubbed by some as a "mini sport-utility vehicle" that Toyota currently makes only in Japan. It plans to build 100,000 vehicles annually. The factory will cost $800 million to build, with the federal and provincial governments kicking in $125 million of that to help cover research, training and infrastructure costs. Several U.S. states were reportedly prepared to offer more than double that amount of subsidy. But Fedchun said much of that extra money would have been eaten away by higher training costs than are necessary for the Woodstock project. He said Nissan and Honda have encountered difficulties getting new plants up to full production in recent years in Mississippi and Alabama due to an untrained – and often illiterate – workforce. In Alabama, trainers had to use "pictorials" to teach some illiterate workers how to use high-tech plant equipment. "The educational level and the skill level of the people down there is so much lower than it is in Ontario," Fedchun said. In addition to lower training costs, Canadian workers are also $4 to $5 cheaper to employ partly thanks to the taxpayer-funded health-care system in Canada, said federal Industry Minister David Emmerson. "Most people don’t think of our health-care system as being a competitive advantage," he said. What made Toyota so sensitive to labor quality issues? Maybe we should discount remarks from the president of the Toronto-based Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, who claimed that the educational level in the Southern United States was so low that trainers for Japanese plants in Alabama had to use "pictorials" to teach some illiterate workers how to use high-tech equipment. But there are other reports, some coming from state officials, that confirm his basic point: Japanese auto companies opening plants in the Southern U.S. have been unfavorably surprised by the work force’s poor level of training. There’s some bitter irony here for Alabama’s governor. Just two years ago voters overwhelmingly rejected his plea for an increase in the state’s rock-bottom taxes on the affluent, so that he could afford to improve the state’s low-quality education system. Opponents of the tax hike convinced voters that it would cost the state jobs.

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Canadians work cheaper. Moral of this story.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> WOODSTOCK, Ont. (CP) – Ontario workers are well-trained. > That simple explanation was cited as a main reason why Toyota turned > its back on hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies offered from > several American states in favour of building a second Ontario plant. > Industry experts say Ontarians are easier and cheaper to train – > helping make it more cost-efficient to train workers when the new > Woodstock plant opens in 2008, 40 kilometres away from its skilled > workforce in Cambridge. > "The level of the workforce in general is so high that the training > program you need for people, even for people who have not worked in a > Toyota plant before, is minimal compared to what you have to go through > in the southeastern United States," said Gerry Fedchun, president of > the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, whose members will see > increased business with the new plant. > The plant will produce the RAV-4, dubbed by some as a "mini > sport-utility vehicle" that Toyota currently makes only in Japan. It > plans to build 100,000 vehicles annually. > The factory will cost $800 million to build, with the federal and > provincial governments kicking in $125 million of that to help cover > research, training and infrastructure costs. > Several U.S. states were reportedly prepared to offer more than double > that amount of subsidy. But Fedchun said much of that extra money would > have been eaten away by higher training costs than are necessary for > the Woodstock project. > He said Nissan and Honda have encountered difficulties getting new > plants up to full production in recent years in Mississippi and Alabama > due to an untrained – and often illiterate – workforce. In Alabama, > trainers had to use "pictorials" to teach some illiterate workers how > to use high-tech plant equipment. > "The educational level and the skill level of the people down there is > so much lower than it is in Ontario," Fedchun said. > In addition to lower training costs, Canadian workers are also $4 to $5 > cheaper to employ partly thanks to the taxpayer-funded health-care > system in Canada, said federal Industry Minister David Emmerson. > "Most people don’t think of our health-care system as being a > competitive advantage," he said. > What made Toyota so sensitive to labor quality issues? Maybe we should > discount remarks from the president of the Toronto-based Automotive > Parts Manufacturers’ Association, who claimed that the educational > level in the Southern United States was so low that trainers for > Japanese plants in Alabama had to use "pictorials" to teach some > illiterate workers how to use high-tech equipment. > But there are other reports, some coming from state officials, that > confirm his basic point: Japanese auto companies opening plants in the > Southern U.S. have been unfavorably surprised by the work force’s poor > level of training. > There’s some bitter irony here for Alabama’s governor. Just two years > ago voters overwhelmingly rejected his plea for an increase in the > state’s rock-bottom taxes on the affluent, so that he could afford to > improve the state’s low-quality education system. Opponents of the tax > hike convinced voters that it would cost the state jobs.

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did courageously avow: – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Canadians work cheaper. Moral of this story. > WOODSTOCK, Ont. (CP) – Ontario workers are well-trained. > That simple explanation was cited as a main reason why Toyota turned > its back on hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies offered from > several American states in favour of building a second Ontario plant. > Industry experts say Ontarians are easier and cheaper to train – > helping make it more cost-efficient to train workers when the new > Woodstock plant opens in 2008, 40 kilometres away from its skilled > workforce in Cambridge. > "The level of the workforce in general is so high that the training > program you need for people, even for people who have not worked in a > Toyota plant before, is minimal compared to what you have to go through > in the southeastern United States," said Gerry Fedchun, president of > the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, whose members will see > increased business with the new plant. > The plant will produce the RAV-4, dubbed by some as a "mini > sport-utility vehicle" that Toyota currently makes only in Japan. It > plans to build 100,000 vehicles annually. > The factory will cost $800 million to build, with the federal and > provincial governments kicking in $125 million of that to help cover > research, training and infrastructure costs. > Several U.S. states were reportedly prepared to offer more than double > that amount of subsidy. But Fedchun said much of that extra money would > have been eaten away by higher training costs than are necessary for > the Woodstock project. > He said Nissan and Honda have encountered difficulties getting new > plants up to full production in recent years in Mississippi and Alabama > due to an untrained – and often illiterate – workforce. In Alabama, > trainers had to use "pictorials" to teach some illiterate workers how > to use high-tech plant equipment. > "The educational level and the skill level of the people down there is > so much lower than it is in Ontario," Fedchun said. > In addition to lower training costs, Canadian workers are also $4 to $5 > cheaper to employ partly thanks to the taxpayer-funded health-care > system in Canada, said federal Industry Minister David Emmerson. > "Most people don’t think of our health-care system as being a > competitive advantage," he said. > What made Toyota so sensitive to labor quality issues? Maybe we should > discount remarks from the president of the Toronto-based Automotive > Parts Manufacturers’ Association, who claimed that the educational > level in the Southern United States was so low that trainers for > Japanese plants in Alabama had to use "pictorials" to teach some > illiterate workers how to use high-tech equipment. > But there are other reports, some coming from state officials, that > confirm his basic point: Japanese auto companies opening plants in the > Southern U.S. have been unfavorably surprised by the work force’s poor > level of training. > There’s some bitter irony here for Alabama’s governor. Just two years > ago voters overwhelmingly rejected his plea for an increase in the > state’s rock-bottom taxes on the affluent, so that he could afford to > improve the state’s low-quality education system. Opponents of the tax > hike convinced voters that it would cost the state jobs.

Please don’t be a John Wheaton.  Outlook Express stripped the OT: from the front of the subject header.  Look up Free Agent from Forte.  It doesn’t have this problem. Ken Wilson Proud Owner of Lord Valve, PMG, John Wheaton, Claude Lucas, Doktor Freud,  Freep the Xenophobe, Chuck, pseudobacker, Max Floater and the rest of the  Union of Rightwing Idiots Needing Explanations (URINE)  and, at his own request, Lars Overshank (aka ‘The Cowardly Lion’) Supporting the Troops at http://www.resisters.ca http://www.criticalhistory.com/

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There is that better? – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > did courageously avow: >Canadians work cheaper. Moral of this story. >> WOODSTOCK, Ont. (CP) – Ontario workers are well-trained. >> That simple explanation was cited as a main reason why Toyota turned >> its back on hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies offered from >> several American states in favour of building a second Ontario plant. >> Industry experts say Ontarians are easier and cheaper to train – >> helping make it more cost-efficient to train workers when the new >> Woodstock plant opens in 2008, 40 kilometres away from its skilled >> workforce in Cambridge. >> "The level of the workforce in general is so high that the training >> program you need for people, even for people who have not worked in a >> Toyota plant before, is minimal compared to what you have to go through >> in the southeastern United States," said Gerry Fedchun, president of >> the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, whose members will see >> increased business with the new plant. >> The plant will produce the RAV-4, dubbed by some as a "mini >> sport-utility vehicle" that Toyota currently makes only in Japan. It >> plans to build 100,000 vehicles annually. >> The factory will cost $800 million to build, with the federal and >> provincial governments kicking in $125 million of that to help cover >> research, training and infrastructure costs. >> Several U.S. states were reportedly prepared to offer more than double >> that amount of subsidy. But Fedchun said much of that extra money would >> have been eaten away by higher training costs than are necessary for >> the Woodstock project. >> He said Nissan and Honda have encountered difficulties getting new >> plants up to full production in recent years in Mississippi and Alabama >> due to an untrained – and often illiterate – workforce. In Alabama, >> trainers had to use "pictorials" to teach some illiterate workers how >> to use high-tech plant equipment. >> "The educational level and the skill level of the people down there is >> so much lower than it is in Ontario," Fedchun said. >> In addition to lower training costs, Canadian workers are also $4 to $5 >> cheaper to employ partly thanks to the taxpayer-funded health-care >> system in Canada, said federal Industry Minister David Emmerson. >> "Most people don’t think of our health-care system as being a >> competitive advantage," he said. >> What made Toyota so sensitive to labor quality issues? Maybe we should >> discount remarks from the president of the Toronto-based Automotive >> Parts Manufacturers’ Association, who claimed that the educational >> level in the Southern United States was so low that trainers for >> Japanese plants in Alabama had to use "pictorials" to teach some >> illiterate workers how to use high-tech equipment. >> But there are other reports, some coming from state officials, that >> confirm his basic point: Japanese auto companies opening plants in the >> Southern U.S. have been unfavorably surprised by the work force’s poor >> level of training. >> There’s some bitter irony here for Alabama’s governor. Just two years >> ago voters overwhelmingly rejected his plea for an increase in the >> state’s rock-bottom taxes on the affluent, so that he could afford to >> improve the state’s low-quality education system. Opponents of the tax >> hike convinced voters that it would cost the state jobs. > Please don’t be a John Wheaton.  Outlook Express stripped the OT: from > the front of the subject header.  Look up Free Agent from Forte.  It > doesn’t have this problem. > Ken Wilson > Proud Owner of Lord Valve, PMG, John Wheaton, Claude Lucas, Doktor Freud, > Freep the Xenophobe, Chuck, pseudobacker, Max Floater and the rest of the > Union of Rightwing Idiots Needing Explanations (URINE) > and, at his own request, Lars Overshank (aka ‘The Cowardly Lion’) > Supporting the Troops at http://www.resisters.ca > http://www.criticalhistory.com/

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the whole story to the moral of the story He said Nissan and Honda have encountered difficulties getting new plants up to full production in recent years in Mississippi and Alabama due to an untrained – and often illiterate – workforce. In Alabama, trainers had to use "pictorials" to teach some illiterate workers how to use high-tech plant equipment. "The educational level and the skill level of the people down there is so much lower than it is in Ontario," Fedchun said. In addition to lower training costs, Canadian workers are also $4 to $5 cheaper to employ partly thanks to the taxpayer-funded health-care system in Canada, said federal Industry Minister David Emmerson.

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Since you are monitoring, there are around 40 posts on my server with no OT. Please discipline them. That is if you have time,  while your grieving for the poor Japanese we vaporized, the poor Indians we wiped out, the Iraq innocent leadership we threw out, etc.etc.etc.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> There is that better? > did courageously avow: >>Canadians work cheaper. Moral of this story. >>> WOODSTOCK, Ont. (CP) – Ontario workers are well-trained. >>> That simple explanation was cited as a main reason why Toyota turned >>> its back on hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies offered from >>> several American states in favour of building a second Ontario plant. >>> Industry experts say Ontarians are easier and cheaper to train – >>> helping make it more cost-efficient to train workers when the new >>> Woodstock plant opens in 2008, 40 kilometres away from its skilled >>> workforce in Cambridge. >>> "The level of the workforce in general is so high that the training >>> program you need for people, even for people who have not worked in a >>> Toyota plant before, is minimal compared to what you have to go through >>> in the southeastern United States," said Gerry Fedchun, president of >>> the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, whose members will see >>> increased business with the new plant. >>> The plant will produce the RAV-4, dubbed by some as a "mini >>> sport-utility vehicle" that Toyota currently makes only in Japan. It >>> plans to build 100,000 vehicles annually. >>> The factory will cost $800 million to build, with the federal and >>> provincial governments kicking in $125 million of that to help cover >>> research, training and infrastructure costs. >>> Several U.S. states were reportedly prepared to offer more than double >>> that amount of subsidy. But Fedchun said much of that extra money would >>> have been eaten away by higher training costs than are necessary for >>> the Woodstock project. >>> He said Nissan and Honda have encountered difficulties getting new >>> plants up to full production in recent years in Mississippi and Alabama >>> due to an untrained – and often illiterate – workforce. In Alabama, >>> trainers had to use "pictorials" to teach some illiterate workers how >>> to use high-tech plant equipment. >>> "The educational level and the skill level of the people down there is >>> so much lower than it is in Ontario," Fedchun said. >>> In addition to lower training costs, Canadian workers are also $4 to $5 >>> cheaper to employ partly thanks to the taxpayer-funded health-care >>> system in Canada, said federal Industry Minister David Emmerson. >>> "Most people don’t think of our health-care system as being a >>> competitive advantage," he said. >>> What made Toyota so sensitive to labor quality issues? Maybe we should >>> discount remarks from the president of the Toronto-based Automotive >>> Parts Manufacturers’ Association, who claimed that the educational >>> level in the Southern United States was so low that trainers for >>> Japanese plants in Alabama had to use "pictorials" to teach some >>> illiterate workers how to use high-tech equipment. >>> But there are other reports, some coming from state officials, that >>> confirm his basic point: Japanese auto companies opening plants in the >>> Southern U.S. have been unfavorably surprised by the work force’s poor >>> level of training. >>> There’s some bitter irony here for Alabama’s governor. Just two years >>> ago voters overwhelmingly rejected his plea for an increase in the >>> state’s rock-bottom taxes on the affluent, so that he could afford to >>> improve the state’s low-quality education system. Opponents of the tax >>> hike convinced voters that it would cost the state jobs. > Please don’t be a John Wheaton.  Outlook Express stripped the OT: from > the front of the subject header.  Look up Free Agent from Forte.  It > doesn’t have this problem. > Ken Wilson > Proud Owner of Lord Valve, PMG, John Wheaton, Claude Lucas, Doktor Freud, > Freep the Xenophobe, Chuck, pseudobacker, Max Floater and the rest of the > Union of Rightwing Idiots Needing Explanations (URINE) > and, at his own request, Lars Overshank (aka ‘The Cowardly Lion’) > Supporting the Troops at http://www.resisters.ca > http://www.criticalhistory.com/

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Exactly, the work cheaper & they have a socialist health care program, because "WE<< the U.S. taxpayers" provide their security. They don’t have to spend much on defense. Thanx for pointing that out.  We got 2 more dang fires close by today.  Next person I see toss a ciggy out the window, I will ram & beat the hell out of them! Texas Blue

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> the whole story to the moral of the story > He said Nissan and Honda have encountered difficulties getting new > plants up to full production in recent years in Mississippi and Alabama > due to an untrained – and often illiterate – workforce. In Alabama, > trainers had to use "pictorials" to teach some illiterate workers how > to use high-tech plant equipment. > "The educational level and the skill level of the people down there is > so much lower than it is in Ontario," Fedchun said. > In addition to lower training costs, Canadian workers are also $4 to $5 > cheaper to employ partly thanks to the taxpayer-funded health-care > system in Canada, said federal Industry Minister David Emmerson.

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gimme a break – pictorials??? I mean we cain’t read no more.  Every year the women’s club in town raises money by having a Christmas tour of homes. All the socialists decorate their houses and they charge the hoi poi $$$ for a peak. I think you can get a pretty good idea about a person by looking at his book shelf. I am always shocked by how little people read. Most of these homes don’t even have a book shelf or a book on the night stand. You might see a Bible and a cook book or two but I’d say three outta four (and these are supposed to be our creme de la creme) don’t read so it comes as no surpise that the working stiff in Alabama need pictorials to learn his job. Also the Canadian health system focuses more on prevention then we do, so the work force does not get sick as much as down here where it costs at least $300 to get anything checked out so most people don’t until it’s a crisis and then it really costs or the patient dies. We taxpayers support WalMart plenty (corporate socialism)  and when their employees finally show up at the emergency room it costs 4-5 times as much as what Canada paid to prevent the problem in their employees. As to defense – maybe Canada doesn’t have as many enemies as we do??? And maybe they beat us in the last war we started against them????  So why should they worry???

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did courageously avow: >There is that better? <snip> > Please don’t be a John Wheaton.  Outlook Express stripped the OT: from > the front of the subject header.  Look up Free Agent from Forte.  It > doesn’t have this problem. > Ken Wilson

I just took a look at your header for this message.  As long as you use Outlook Express it will strip the OT: while you’re not looking so you haven’t done anything other than to manually re-include the OT:. If you want to do this for every OT: post you respond to be your guest.  Free Agent is free and it gives you better functionality than Outlook Express while not stripping subject header contents. http://www.forteinc.com/agent/ Ken Wilson Proud Owner of Lord Valve, PMG, John Wheaton, Claude Lucas, Doktor Freud,  Freep the Xenophobe, Chuck, pseudobacker, Max Floater and the rest of the  Union of Rightwing Idiots Needing Explanations (URINE)  and, at his own request, Lars Overshank (aka ‘The Cowardly Lion’) Supporting the Troops at http://www.resisters.ca http://www.criticalhistory.com/

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did courageously avow: >Since you are monitoring, there are around 40 posts on my server with no OT. >Please discipline them. >That is if you have time,  while your grieving for the poor Japanese we >vaporized, the poor Indians we wiped out, the Iraq innocent leadership we >threw out, etc.etc.etc.

You can go to the same hell as John Wheaton.  I’m merely trying to assist in keeping OT threads marked as OT and have offered you a solution.  If you want to be the same infantile moron as John Wheaton by all means that is your prerogative.  Hell, you can be the next Marc Mulay if it floats your boat. Ken Wilson Proud Owner of Lord Valve, PMG, John Wheaton, Claude Lucas, Doktor Freud,  Freep the Xenophobe, Chuck, pseudobacker, Max Floater and the rest of the  Union of Rightwing Idiots Needing Explanations (URINE)  and, at his own request, Lars Overshank (aka ‘The Cowardly Lion’) Supporting the Troops at http://www.resisters.ca http://www.criticalhistory.com/

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did courageously avow: >Exactly, the work cheaper & they have a socialist health care program, >because "WE<< the U.S. taxpayers" provide their security. They don’t have to >spend much on defense. >Thanx for pointing that out.

And here I thought all the whine in the U.S. only came from the Napa Valley.  Sounds like somebody has a bad case of the Texan Sour Grapes. :-p Ken Wilson Proud Owner of Lord Valve, PMG, John Wheaton, Claude Lucas, Doktor Freud,  Freep the Xenophobe, Chuck, pseudobacker, Max Floater and the rest of the  Union of Rightwing Idiots Needing Explanations (URINE)  and, at his own request, Lars Overshank (aka ‘The Cowardly Lion’) Supporting the Troops at http://www.resisters.ca http://www.criticalhistory.com/

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>Exactly, the work cheaper & they have a socialist health care program,

I get $26 an hour… $40 overtime…  you? >because "WE<< the U.S. taxpayers" provide their security. They don’t have to >spend much on defense.

ummm security from who? Exactly how are you saving us money on defense?? I’m sure we could ask the British to nuke anyone bothering us… It’s true that we don’t have a huge military, but how could we? We have the population of NY state! California is more populous then us! How big is their navy?! But you know what? We have to build a fleet of icebreakers now, to defend our arctic… against who?  YOU!! The US of A who like to trespass in our waters!

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What made Toyota so sensitive to labor quality issues? Maybe we should discount remarks from the president of the Toronto-based Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, who claimed that the educational level in the Southern United States was so low that trainers for Japanese plants in Alabama had to use "pictorials" to teach some illiterate workers how to use high-tech equipment. and health care

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hummmmm you can acuse me of run-on sentances today. But as I posted in this message – Canadians can take care of themselves, even in a fight with us. They don’t need no stinkin US Armed Forces.

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  Yaba daba doo  get dino and bambam and lets go.   Another class 5 and it’s not even over open water yet.

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> Yaba daba doo  get dino and bambam and lets go. >   Another class 5 and it’s not even over open water yet.

Yeah… don’t you liberals wish GWB would stop making those damn things already? Lars

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It’s a planned distraction from RoveGate and Mires appointment commissioned by Condi and Rumsy. You haven’t been playing attention have you ? W never makes a move with those two evil twins whispering into empty head. Rumor has it Cheney will fall on the sword and let Condi step up ! First black VP aka president elect to go against Jillary.

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> on’t you liberals wish GWB would stop making those damn things > already?

It’s God punishing the red states.

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> > on’t you liberals wish GWB would stop making those damn things > already? > It’s God punishing the red states.

Sure — by making them even more red than they were. That’ll sure learn ‘em, won’t it? Whatever you say, buddy, Lars

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> > on’t you liberals wish GWB would stop making those damn things > > already? > It’s God punishing the red states. > Sure — by making them even more red than they were. That’ll sure learn > ‘em, won’t it? > Whatever you say, buddy, > Lars

why? It’s just like you all whoopin yer kids all the time?

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Who knows? Maybe Bush did??? or maybe the Yakusa did??? http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/defense/1281146.html Some storms release the energy equivalent of several nuclear weapons. Washington’s New World Order Weapons Have the Ability to Trigger Climate Change by Michel Chossudovsky, Professor of Economics, University of Ottawa Third World Resurgence, January 2001 Centre for Research on Globalisation (CRG), globalresearch.ca, 4 January 2002 The important debate on global warming under UN auspices provides but a partial picture of climate change; in addition to the devastating impacts of greenhouse gas emissions on the ozone layer, the World’s climate can now be modified as part of a new generation of sophisticated "non-lethal weapons." Both the Americans and the Russians have developed capabilities to manipulate the World’s climate. In the US, the technology is being perfected under the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) as part of the ("Star Wars") Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI). Recent scientific evidence suggests that HAARP is fully operational and has the ability of potentially triggering floods, droughts, hurricanes and earthquakes. From a military standpoint, HAARP is a weapon of mass destruction. Potentially, it constitutes an instrument of conquest capable of selectively destabilising agricultural and ecological systems of entire regions. The URL of this article is: http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO201A.html Forecaster leaves job to pursue weather theories By Jana Peterson and John O’Connell – Journal writers >From the Idaho State Journal

POCATELLO – To the rest of the country, Scott Stevens is the Idaho weatherman who blames the Japanese Mafia for Hurricane Katrina. To folks in Pocatello, he’s the face of the weather at KPVI News Channel 6. The Pocatello native made his final Channel 6 forecast Thursday night, leaving a job he’s held for nine years in order to pursue his weather theories on a full-time basis. "I’m going to miss that broadcast, but I’m not going to miss not getting home until 11 p.m.," Stevens said. "I just don’t have the hours of the day to take care of my research and getting those (broadcasts) out and devoting the necessary research to the station." It was Stevens’ decision to leave the TV station, said KPVI general manager Bill Fouch. "When Scott signed his current contract, he told Brenda and me at the time that it would be his last contract," Fouch said Thursday. "We knew, but the timetable moved up because of all the attention (he’s been getting.)" Since Katrina, Stevens has been in newspapers across the country where he was quoted in an Associated Press story as saying the Yakuza Mafia used a Russian-made electromagnetic generator to cause Hurricane Katrina in a bid to avenge the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima. He was a guest on Coast to Coast, a late night radio show that conducts call-in discussions on everything from bizarre weather patterns to alien abductions. On Wednesday, Stevens was interviewed by Fox News firebrand Bill O’Reilly. Stevens said he received 30 requests to do radio interviews on Thursday alone. Fouch said Stevens wanted to leave as quickly as possible because his "plate is full," and he needs to take advantage of the opportunities that exist now. Stevens said he’s received offers that he’s not at liberty to discuss. Stevens, 39, who was born in Twin Falls, plans to remain in Pocatello, where his family remains. He said his family wishes him the best in his future endeavors. It costs him hundreds of dollars each month to run his Web site, weatherwars.info, but he said that’s a price he’s willing to pay. "There’s a chess game going on in the sky," Stevens said. "It affects each and every one of us. It is the one common thread that binds us all together." Although the theories espoused by Stevens – scalar weapons, global dimming – are definitely on the scientific fringe today, there are thousands of Web sites that mention such phenomena. "The Soviets boasted of their geoengineering capabilities; these impressive accomplishments must be taken at face value simply because we are observing weather events that simply have never occurred before, never!" Stevens wrote on his Web site. "The evidence of these weapons at work found within the clouds overhead is simply unmistakable. These patterns and odd geometric shapes seen in our skies, each and every day, are clear and present evidence that our weather has been stolen from us, only to be used by those whose designs for humanity are rarely in alignment with that of the common man." However, Stevens never discussed his weather theories on the air during his time at Channel 6 – an agreement he had with the station management. What the meteorologist chose to do in his off time was his business, said his manager of eight years. Fouch said he would miss Stevens, whom he described as energetic, easy-going and enthusiastic about the weather, but he is supportive of his decision to pursue his passion. "His theories are his theories," Fouch said. "But, if you think about it – of all the TV weather people, he continues to be the most accurate. It isn’t his theories getting involved with his professional job." For Stevens, however, the recent attention to his theories has been somewhat of a distraction from work. "When there has been so much attention, it gets in the way of them doing their jobs and me doing my job," Stevens said. Find out more: To learn more about Stevens and his thoughts on manipulated weather, check out his Web site at www.weatherwars.info, or go to www.journalnet.com/articles/2005/03/06/opinion/opinion04.txt to read the story that Journal City Editor Greg McReynolds wrote about Stevens in March.

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courageously avow: > Yaba daba doo  get dino and bambam and lets go. >   Another class 5 and it’s not even over open water yet. >Yeah… don’t you liberals wish GWB would stop making those damn things >already? >Lars

No, we’d just like him to target your place so we can be sure of ridding ourselves of at least one floater once and for all. Ken Wilson Proud Owner of Lord Valve, PMG, John Wheaton, Claude Lucas,  Freep the Xenophobe, Chuck, pseudobacker, Max Floater and the rest of the  Union of Rightwing Idiots Needing Explanations (URINE)  and, at his own request, Karl Rovershank (aka Lars from Mars) Supporting the Troops at http://www.resisters.ca http://www.criticalhistory.com/

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courageously avow: > on’t you liberals wish GWB would stop making those damn things > already? >It’s God punishing the red states.

You think God could improve his aim.  He keeps beating the shit out of Louisiana. Ken Wilson Proud Owner of Lord Valve, PMG, John Wheaton, Claude Lucas,  Freep the Xenophobe, Chuck, pseudobacker, Max Floater and the rest of the  Union of Rightwing Idiots Needing Explanations (URINE)  and, at his own request, Karl Rovershank (aka Lars from Mars) Supporting the Troops at http://www.resisters.ca http://www.criticalhistory.com/

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: courageously avow: : : > : >> on’t you liberals wish GWB would stop making those damn things : >> already? : > : >It’s God punishing the red states. : : You think God could improve his aim.  He keeps beating the shit out of : Louisiana.  Actually Florida has taken more hits. It’s just that Lousiana took a hard one : : Ken Wilson : : Proud Owner of Lord Valve, PMG, John Wheaton, Claude Lucas, :  Freep the Xenophobe, Chuck, pseudobacker, Max Floater and the rest of the :  Union of Rightwing Idiots Needing Explanations (URINE) :  and, at his own request, Karl Rovershank (aka Lars from Mars) : Supporting the Troops at http://www.resisters.ca http://www.criticalhistory.com/

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Heh heh heh… see? You all thought I was kidding, but they *really do* think he did it. No wonder they’re so easy to beat at the ballot box. And look who their reporter is, too… Lars – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Who knows? Maybe Bush did??? or maybe the Yakusa did??? > http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/defense/1281146.html > Some storms release the energy equivalent of several nuclear weapons. > Washington’s New World Order Weapons Have the Ability to Trigger > Climate Change > by Michel Chossudovsky, Professor of Economics, University of Ottawa > Third World Resurgence, January 2001 > Centre for Research on Globalisation (CRG), globalresearch.ca, 4 > January 2002 > The important debate on global warming under UN auspices provides but a > partial picture of climate change; in addition to the devastating > impacts of greenhouse gas emissions on the ozone layer, the World’s > climate can now be modified as part of a new generation of > sophisticated "non-lethal weapons." Both the Americans and the Russians > have developed capabilities to manipulate the World’s climate. > In the US, the technology is being perfected under the High-frequency > Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) as part of the ("Star Wars") > Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI). Recent scientific evidence suggests > that HAARP is fully operational and has the ability of potentially > triggering floods, droughts, hurricanes and earthquakes. From a > military standpoint, HAARP is a weapon of mass destruction. > Potentially, it constitutes an instrument of conquest capable of > selectively destabilising agricultural and ecological systems of entire > regions. > The URL of this article is: > http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO201A.html > Forecaster leaves job to pursue weather theories > By Jana Peterson and John O’Connell – Journal writers >From the Idaho State Journal > POCATELLO – To the rest of the country, Scott Stevens is the Idaho > weatherman who blames the Japanese Mafia for Hurricane Katrina. To > folks in Pocatello, he’s the face of the weather at KPVI News Channel > 6. > The Pocatello native made his final Channel 6 forecast Thursday night, > leaving a job he’s held for nine years in order to pursue his weather > theories on a full-time basis. > "I’m going to miss that broadcast, but I’m not going to miss not > getting home until 11 p.m.," Stevens said. "I just don’t have the hours > of the day to take care of my research and getting those (broadcasts) > out and devoting the necessary research to the station." > It was Stevens’ decision to leave the TV station, said KPVI general > manager Bill Fouch. > "When Scott signed his current contract, he told Brenda and me at the > time that it would be his last contract," Fouch said Thursday. "We > knew, but the timetable moved up because of all the attention (he’s > been getting.)" > Since Katrina, Stevens has been in newspapers across the country where > he was quoted in an Associated Press story as saying the Yakuza Mafia > used a Russian-made electromagnetic generator to cause Hurricane > Katrina in a bid to avenge the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima. He was > a guest on Coast to Coast, a late night radio show that conducts > call-in discussions on everything from bizarre weather patterns to > alien abductions. On Wednesday, Stevens was interviewed by Fox News > firebrand Bill O’Reilly. > Stevens said he received 30 requests to do radio interviews on Thursday > alone. > Fouch said Stevens wanted to leave as quickly as possible because his > "plate is full," and he needs to take advantage of the opportunities > that exist now. > Stevens said he’s received offers that he’s not at liberty to discuss. > Stevens, 39, who was born in Twin Falls, plans to remain in Pocatello, > where his family remains. He said his family wishes him the best in his > future endeavors. > It costs him hundreds of dollars each month to run his Web site, > weatherwars.info, but he said that’s a price he’s willing to pay. > "There’s a chess game going on in the sky," Stevens said. "It affects > each and every one of us. It is the one common thread that binds us all > together." > Although the theories espoused by Stevens – scalar weapons, global > dimming – are definitely on the scientific fringe today, there are > thousands of Web sites that mention such phenomena. > "The Soviets boasted of their geoengineering capabilities; these > impressive accomplishments must be taken at face value simply because > we are observing weather events that simply have never occurred before, > never!" Stevens wrote on his Web site. "The evidence of these weapons > at work found within the clouds overhead is simply unmistakable. These > patterns and odd geometric shapes seen in our skies, each and every > day, are clear and present evidence that our weather has been stolen > from us, only to be used by those whose designs for humanity are rarely > in alignment with that of the common man." > However, Stevens never discussed his weather theories on the air during > his time at Channel 6 – an agreement he had with the station > management. What the meteorologist chose to do in his off time was his > business, said his manager of eight years. > Fouch said he would miss Stevens, whom he described as energetic, > easy-going and enthusiastic about the weather, but he is supportive of > his decision to pursue his passion. > "His theories are his theories," Fouch said. "But, if you think about > it – of all the TV weather people, he continues to be the most > accurate. It isn’t his theories getting involved with his professional > job." > For Stevens, however, the recent attention to his theories has been > somewhat of a distraction from work. > "When there has been so much attention, it gets in the way of them > doing their jobs and me doing my job," Stevens said. > Find out more: > To learn more about Stevens and his thoughts on manipulated weather, > check out his Web site at www.weatherwars.info, or go to > www.journalnet.com/articles/2005/03/06/opinion/opinion04.txt to read > the story that Journal City Editor Greg McReynolds wrote about Stevens > in March.

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Weather wars is a favorite topic of branches of the paranoid right wing. Ask Green/Pace. http://www.weatherwars.info/ This site is not run by a Liberal. nor this one http://www.suite101.com/topic_page.cfm/6778/5375 nor this one http://www.cheniere.org/toc.html and a toy of our government, harless no doubt http://www.haarp.alaska.edu/haarp/ion2.html Actually I think these storms are cause by warming oceans and do not subscribe to these theories but who knows? (only the shadow knows)

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> >It’s God punishing the red states. > You think God could improve his aim.  He keeps beating the shit out of > Louisiana.

They voted for Dubya last time and just look what happens.

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I’m not paranoid. I sleep with a red head, that I taught how to shoot. I am completely secure with myself. Note: she’s a "crack" shot. H.A.A.R.P. has been around for awhile. All these other sites have reference info. Decide for yourself. I have no idea about setting off volcanoes. A professor friend, once explained H.A.A.P. to me. At that time<< years ago, the fear was they would tear a hole in the ionosphere. I would guess, that after all these years, whatever they have "actually" done would be well improved.  All these so called weather , volcanoes, etc. events, I doubt were caused by anything earthly. Type, Tesla , into your browser. He had "something" that caused strange things to happen. But then again, go check for yourself. The current research on the sun, explains allot! Texas Blue

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Weather wars is a favorite topic of branches of the paranoid right > wing. Ask Green/Pace. > http://www.weatherwars.info/ > This site is not run by a Liberal. > nor this one > http://www.suite101.com/topic_page.cfm/6778/5375 > nor this one > http://www.cheniere.org/toc.html > and a toy of our government, harless no doubt > http://www.haarp.alaska.edu/haarp/ion2.html > Actually I think these storms are cause by warming oceans and do not > subscribe to these theories but who knows? (only the shadow knows)

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did courageously avow: – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->I’m not paranoid. I sleep with a red head, that I taught how to shoot. I am >completely secure with myself. Note: she’s a "crack" shot. >H.A.A.R.P. has been around for awhile. >All these other sites have reference info. >Decide for yourself. >I have no idea about setting off volcanoes. >A professor friend, once explained H.A.A.P. >to me. At that time<< years ago, the fear was they would tear a hole in the >ionosphere. >I would guess, that after all these years, whatever they have "actually" >done would be well improved. > All these so called weather , volcanoes, etc. events, I doubt were caused >by anything earthly. >Type, Tesla , into your browser. He had "something" that caused strange >things to happen. >But then again, go check for yourself. >The current research on the sun, explains allot! >Texas Blue > Weather wars is a favorite topic of branches of the paranoid right > wing. Ask Green/Pace. > http://www.weatherwars.info/ > This site is not run by a Liberal. > nor this one > http://www.suite101.com/topic_page.cfm/6778/5375 > nor this one > http://www.cheniere.org/toc.html > and a toy of our government, harless no doubt > http://www.haarp.alaska.edu/haarp/ion2.html > Actually I think these storms are cause by warming oceans and do not > subscribe to these theories but who knows? (only the shadow knows)

What I want to know is who got close enough to the sun to takes it temperature so they could tell us it had a fever and that explains global warming. Ken Wilson Proud Owner of Lord Valve, PMG, John Wheaton, Claude Lucas,  Freep the Xenophobe, Chuck, pseudobacker, Max Floater and the rest of the  Union of Rightwing Idiots Needing Explanations (URINE)  and, at his own request, Karl Rovershank (aka Lars from Mars) Supporting the Troops at http://www.resisters.ca http://www.criticalhistory.com/

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> > >It’s God punishing the red states. > You think God could improve his aim.  He keeps beating the shit out of > Louisiana. > They voted for Dubya last time and just look what happens.

No kidding ’see what happens’… the Dem gov starts crying about how the state will become MUCH MORE red than it was because of all the liberals who aren’t coming back. We’ll take it. Lars

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That was a joke, right? – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > did courageously avow: >I’m not paranoid. I sleep with a red head, that I taught how to shoot. I >am >completely secure with myself. Note: she’s a "crack" shot. >H.A.A.R.P. has been around for awhile. >All these other sites have reference info. >Decide for yourself. >I have no idea about setting off volcanoes. >A professor friend, once explained H.A.A.P. >to me. At that time<< years ago, the fear was they would tear a hole in >the >ionosphere. >I would guess, that after all these years, whatever they have "actually" >done would be well improved. > All these so called weather , volcanoes, etc. events, I doubt were caused >by anything earthly. >Type, Tesla , into your browser. He had "something" that caused strange >things to happen. >But then again, go check for yourself. >The current research on the sun, explains allot! >Texas Blue >> Weather wars is a favorite topic of branches of the paranoid right >> wing. Ask Green/Pace. >> http://www.weatherwars.info/ >> This site is not run by a Liberal. >> nor this one >> http://www.suite101.com/topic_page.cfm/6778/5375 >> nor this one >> http://www.cheniere.org/toc.html >> and a toy of our government, harless no doubt >> http://www.haarp.alaska.edu/haarp/ion2.html >> Actually I think these storms are cause by warming oceans and do not >> subscribe to these theories but who knows? (only the shadow knows) > What I want to know is who got close enough to the sun to takes it > temperature so they could tell us it had a fever and that explains > global warming. > Ken Wilson > Proud Owner of Lord Valve, PMG, John Wheaton, Claude Lucas, > Freep the Xenophobe, Chuck, pseudobacker, Max Floater and the rest of the > Union of Rightwing Idiots Needing Explanations (URINE) > and, at his own request, Karl Rovershank (aka Lars from Mars) > Supporting the Troops at http://www.resisters.ca > http://www.criticalhistory.com/

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Green Pace, if you have to ask that question your sense of humor is in the morgue.

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> Green Pace, if you have to ask that question your sense of humor is in > the morgue.

The use of gallows humor and dark humor during crisis situations. Maxwell W. Types of humor as used by crisis interveners and first responders to emergency situations will be reviewed. Various disciplines, authors, researchers, and practitioners will be cited to help explain and clarify issues related to the use of humor in such situations and settings. The main focus is on the use of humor as a cognitive and/or behavioral coping strategy which is considered by many to be a reaction to stress events. The article proposes a model including progressive steps of humor, ranging from a respectful to a sarcastic. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&…

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did courageously avow: – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->That was a joke, right? > did courageously avow: >>I’m not paranoid. I sleep with a red head, that I taught how to shoot. I >>am >>completely secure with myself. Note: she’s a "crack" shot. >>H.A.A.R.P. has been around for awhile. >>All these other sites have reference info. >>Decide for yourself. >>I have no idea about setting off volcanoes. >>A professor friend, once explained H.A.A.P. >>to me. At that time<< years ago, the fear was they would tear a hole in >>the >>ionosphere. >>I would guess, that after all these years, whatever they have "actually" >>done would be well improved. >> All these so called weather , volcanoes, etc. events, I doubt were caused >>by anything earthly. >>Type, Tesla , into your browser. He had "something" that caused strange >>things to happen. >>But then again, go check for yourself. >>The current research on the sun, explains allot! >>Texas Blue >>> Weather wars is a favorite topic of branches of the paranoid right >>> wing. Ask Green/Pace. >>> http://www.weatherwars.info/ >>> This site is not run by a Liberal. >>> nor this one >>> http://www.suite101.com/topic_page.cfm/6778/5375 >>> nor this one >>> http://www.cheniere.org/toc.html >>> and a toy of our government, harless no doubt >>> http://www.haarp.alaska.edu/haarp/ion2.html >>> Actually I think these storms are cause by warming oceans and do not >>> subscribe to these theories but who knows? (only the shadow knows) > What I want to know is who got close enough to the sun to takes it > temperature so they could tell us it had a fever and that explains > global warming. > Ken Wilson > Proud Owner of Lord Valve, PMG, John Wheaton, Claude Lucas, > Freep the Xenophobe, Chuck, pseudobacker, Max Floater and the rest of the > Union of Rightwing Idiots Needing Explanations (URINE) > and, at his own request, Karl Rovershank (aka Lars from Mars) > Supporting the Troops at http://www.resisters.ca > http://www.criticalhistory.com/

It had better have been or I’m in worse trouble than even I’ll admit. ;^) Ken Wilson Proud Owner of Lord Valve, PMG, John Wheaton, Claude Lucas,  Freep the Xenophobe, Chuck, pseudobacker, Max Floater and the rest of the  Union of Rightwing Idiots Needing Explanations (URINE)  and, at his own request, Karl Rovershank (aka Lars from Mars) Supporting the Troops at http://www.resisters.ca http://www.criticalhistory.com/

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Ok, just wanted to be sure! (;>} – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > did courageously avow: >That was a joke, right? >> did courageously avow: >>>I’m not paranoid. I sleep with a red head, that I taught how to shoot. I >>>am >>>completely secure with myself. Note: she’s a "crack" shot. >>>H.A.A.R.P. has been around for awhile. >>>All these other sites have reference info. >>>Decide for yourself. >>>I have no idea about setting off volcanoes. >>>A professor friend, once explained H.A.A.P. >>>to me. At that time<< years ago, the fear was they would tear a hole in >>>the >>>ionosphere. >>>I would guess, that after all these years, whatever they have "actually" >>>done would be well improved. >>> All these so called weather , volcanoes, etc. events, I doubt were >>> caused >>>by anything earthly. >>>Type, Tesla , into your browser. He had "something" that caused strange >>>things to happen. >>>But then again, go check for yourself. >>>The current research on the sun, explains allot! >>>Texas Blue >>>> Weather wars is a favorite topic of branches of the paranoid right >>>> wing. Ask Green/Pace. >>>> http://www.weatherwars.info/ >>>> This site is not run by a Liberal. >>>> nor this one >>>> http://www.suite101.com/topic_page.cfm/6778/5375 >>>> nor this one >>>> http://www.cheniere.org/toc.html >>>> and a toy of our government, harless no doubt >>>> http://www.haarp.alaska.edu/haarp/ion2.html >>>> Actually I think these storms are cause by warming oceans and do not >>>> subscribe to these theories but who knows? (only the shadow knows) >> What I want to know is who got close enough to the sun to takes it >> temperature so they could tell us it had a fever and that explains >> global warming. >> Ken Wilson >> Proud Owner of Lord Valve, PMG, John Wheaton, Claude Lucas, >> Freep the Xenophobe, Chuck, pseudobacker, Max Floater and the rest of >> the >> Union of Rightwing Idiots Needing Explanations (URINE) >> and, at his own request, Karl Rovershank (aka Lars from Mars) >> Supporting the Troops at http://www.resisters.ca >> http://www.criticalhistory.com/ > It had better have been or I’m in worse trouble than even I’ll admit. > ;^) > Ken Wilson > Proud Owner of Lord Valve, PMG, John Wheaton, Claude Lucas, > Freep the Xenophobe, Chuck, pseudobacker, Max Floater and the rest of the > Union of Rightwing Idiots Needing Explanations (URINE) > and, at his own request, Karl Rovershank (aka Lars from Mars) > Supporting the Troops at http://www.resisters.ca > http://www.criticalhistory.com/

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Yeah, anybody who doesn’t know the difference between your and you’re NEEDS to ask if a joke is a joke.  :P You’re forgiven your inadequacies.

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YOU ARE Thanked.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Yeah, anybody who doesn’t know the difference between your and you’re > NEEDS to ask if a joke is a joke.  :P You’re forgiven your > inadequacies.

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did courageously avow: >YOU ARE Thanked. > Yeah, anybody who doesn’t know the difference between your and you’re > NEEDS to ask if a joke is a joke.  :P You’re forgiven your > inadequacies.

We had a teacher for a couple of our computer courses who enforced what we called the Dreaded Its Rule.  The deal was if he saw its in any of your work where it’s was the proper term, or vice versa, it was an automatic 10% off your final grade.  And this included the comments within code.  His logic there was that you are communicating information and all rules of grammar summarily apply. Ken Wilson Proud Owner of Lord Valve, PMG, John Wheaton, Claude Lucas,  Freep the Xenophobe, Chuck, pseudobacker, Max Floater and the rest of the  Union of Rightwing Idiots Needing Explanations (URINE)  and, at his own request, Karl Rovershank (aka Lars from Mars) Supporting the Troops at http://www.resisters.ca http://www.criticalhistory.com/

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>  Yaba daba doo  get dino and bambam and lets go. >  Another class 5 and it’s not even over open water yet.

I was wondering if they’d just name this one "Dubya"… The Repair Guy http://repairguy1993.netfirms.com/

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President Bush

 As the threat of forced evictions now looms in New Orleans and the city confiscates even legally registered weapons from civilians, the private mercenaries of Blackwater patrol the streets openly wielding M-16s and other assault weapons. This despite Police Commissioner Eddie Compass’ claim that "Only law enforcement are allowed to have weapons."     Officially, Blackwater says its forces are in New Orleans to "join the Hurricane Relief Effort." A statement on the company’s website, dated September 1, advertises airlift services, security services and crowd control. The company, according to news reports, has since begun taking private contracts to guard hotels, businesses and other properties. But what has not been publicly acknowledged is the claim, made to us by 2 Blackwater mercenaries, that they are actually engaged in general law enforcement activities including "securing neighborhoods" and "confronting criminals."     That raises a key question: under what authority are Blackwater’s men operating? A spokesperson for the Homeland Security Department, Russ Knocke, told the Washington Post he knows of no federal plans to hire Blackwater or other private security. "We believe we’ve got the right mix of personnel in law enforcement for the federal government to meet the demands of public safety." he said.     But in an hour-long conversation with several Blackwater mercenaries, we heard a different story. The men we spoke with said they are indeed on contract with the Department of Homeland Security and the Louisiana governor’s office and that some of them are sleeping in camps organized by Homeland Security in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. One of them wore a gold Louisiana state law enforcement badge and said he had been "deputized" by the governor. They told us they not only had authority to make arrests but also to use lethal force. We encountered the Blackwater forces as we walked through the streets of the largely deserted French Quarter. We were talking with 2 New York Police officers when an unmarked car without license plates sped up next to us and stopped. Inside were 3 men, dressed in khaki uniforms, flak jackets and wielding automatic weapons. "Y’all know where the Blackwater guys are?" they asked. One of the police officers responded, "There are a bunch of them around here," and pointed down the road.     "Blackwater?" we asked. "The guys who are in Iraq?"     "Yeah," said the officer. "They’re all over the place."     A short while later, as we continued down Bourbon Street, we ran into the men from the car. They wore Blackwater ID badges on their arms.     "When they told me New Orleans, I said, ‘What country is that in?,’" said one of the Blackwater men. He was wearing his company ID around his neck in a carrying case with the phrase "Operation Iraqi Freedom" printed on it. After bragging about how he drives around Iraq in a "State Department issued level 5, explosion proof BMW," he said he was "just trying to get back to Kirkuk (in the north of Iraq) where the real action is." Later we overheard him on his cell phone complaining that Blackwater was only paying $350 a day plus per diem. That is much less than the men make serving in more dangerous conditions in Iraq. Two men we spoke with said they plan on returning to Iraq in October. But, as one mercenary said, they’ve been told they could be in New Orleans for up to 6 months. "This is a trend," he told us. "You’re going to see a lot more guys like us in these situations."     If Blackwater’s reputation and record in Iraq are any indication of the kind of "services" the company offers, the people of New Orleans have much to fear.     —–

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>    That raises a key question: under what authority are Blackwater’s > men operating?

This editted story that you posted without a link is below even you. If you would have run the entire story, everyone would know that Governor Blanco has Deputized these mercenaries. One more bonehead move on the part of the Ms. Blanco. Bye, John

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"and Feds" and you missed two words. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->    That raises a key question: under what authority are Blackwater’s > men operating? > This editted story that you posted without a link is below even you. > If you would have run the entire story, everyone would know that Governor > Blanco has Deputized these mercenaries. One more bonehead move on the part > of the Ms. Blanco. > Bye, > John

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more on missing words Unprofessional – WaPo’s Rathergate by Armando Mon Sep 12th, 2005 at 10:06:04 PDT (Bumped. This is critical stuff, especially with DavidNYC’s own post directly below on our media’s failures the past four years, and I want to make sure Kurtz reads it. I know he checks this site — kos) As most know, the Washington Post, in an act of gross unprofessionalism, relied on a BushCo anonymous source in printing a significant falsehood. Howie Kurtz misses the point: On Sept. 4, the paper cited the "senior Bush official" as saying that as of the day before, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco "still had not declared a state of emergency." As The Post noted in a correction, Blanco, a Democrat, had declared a state of emergency on Aug. 26. . . . Post National Editor Michael Abramowitz calls the incident "a bad mistake" that happened right on deadline. "We all feel bad about that," he says. "We should not have printed the information as background information, and it should have been checked. We fell down on the desk." Spencer Hsu, the article’s co-author, says he "tried to make clear that the source came from the administration, and that he was blaming the locals, which I believe our story made clear and broke ground in explaining by uncovering the National Guard dispute." Should the paper identify the source who provided bad information? "We don’t blow sources, period, especially if we don’t have reason to believe the source in this case actually lied deliberately," Hsu says. Howie — the story is NOT about whether WaPo should blow its anonymous source — the story is about WaPo’s egregious unprofessionalism. Howie, Spencer, Michael, have you guys heard of Google? How about a telephone? It would have taken you all of 10 seconds to check that fact. Or better yet, did you have any state officials as sources for your story? And if not, why not? Were you just doing stenography for BushCo? Finally, why would you need a source to go anonymous on a fact that was a matter of public record? The point is simple — this was horrendously bad journalism. The fact that Blanco DID declare a state of emergency was central to the story. The fact she DID declare a state of emergency completely undermined the story. The fact is that the Washington Post’s journalism on this story is every bit as bad or worse than the journalism much berated by you Howie in Rathergate. Though the stakes were not as high politically as is in Rathergate — the journalism was worse. At the least, CBS had documents they were looking at, though they were not properly verified, IMO. At the least, CBS gave the White House a chance to respond. Here, the Washington Post had nothing but the word of a BushCo official – the false word. And they ran with the story anyway. And they did not give Blanco a chance to respond. If Dan Rather had to go, who has to go at the Washington Post? One last thing – you want to do a followup story on this WaPo? I got one for you — how is it that a high BushCo official did NOT know that Blanco had declared a state of emergency. Is that not scandalous in and of itself? Do you think THAT merits a story? Or is it too embarrassing for you

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Wrong John boy… these guys have several different employers

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why is it that we have to depend of furin newspapers for this kind of info? Jamie Wilson in New Orleans Monday September 12, 2005 The Guardian Hundreds of mercenaries have descended on New Orleans to guard the property of the city’s millionaires from looters. The heavily armed men, employed by private military companies including Blackwater and ISI, are part of the militarisation of a city which had a reputation for being one of the most relaxed and easy-going in America. After scenes of looting and lawlessness in the days immediately after Hurricane Katrina struck, New Orleans has turned into an armed camp, patrolled by thousands of local, state and federal law enforcement officers, as well as 70,000 national guard troops and active-duty soldiers now based in the region. Mercenaries guard homes of the rich in New Orleans Jamie Wilson in New Orleans Monday September 12, 2005 The Guardian Hundreds of mercenaries have descended on New Orleans to guard the property of the city’s millionaires from looters. The heavily armed men, employed by private military companies including Blackwater and ISI, are part of the militarisation of a city which had a reputation for being one of the most relaxed and easy-going in America. After scenes of looting and lawlessness in the days immediately after Hurricane Katrina struck, New Orleans has turned into an armed camp, patrolled by thousands of local, state and federal law enforcement officers, as well as 70,000 national guard troops and active-duty soldiers now based in the region. Blackwater, one of the fastest-growing private security firms in the world, which achieved global prominence last year when four of its men were killed and their bodies mutilated in the Iraqi city of Falluja, has set up camp in the back garden of a vast mansion in the wealthy Uptown district of the city. David Reagan, 52, a semi-retired US army colonel from Huntsville, Alabama, who fought in the first Gulf war and is commander of Blackwater’s operations in the city, refused to say how many men he had in New Orleans but indicated it was in the hundreds. Asked if they had encountered many looters so far, Mr Reagan said that the sight of his heavily armed men – a pump action shotgun was propped against the wall near to where he was standing – was enough to put most people off. Two Israeli mercenaries from ISI, another private military company, were guarding Audubon Place, a gated community. Wearing bulletproof vests, they were carrying M16 assault rifles. Gill, 40, and Yovi, 42, who refused to give their surnames, said they were army veterans of the Israeli war in Lebanon, but had been living in Houston for 17 years. They had been hired by Jimmy Reiss, a descendant of an old New Orleans family who made his fortune selling electronic systems to shipbuilders. They had been flown by private jet to Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana, and then helicoptered to Audubon Place, they said. "I spoke to one of the other owners on the telephone earlier in the week," Yovi said. "I told him how the water had stopped just at the back gate. God watches out for the rich people, I guess."

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 For Immediate Release 202-347-1122 According to an email to staff yesterday, Pentagon Inspector General Joseph Schmitz informed Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld that he will be resigning from his position. His last day will be September 9, 2005. An unconfirmed lead is that Mr. Schmitz will become CEO of a holding company of Blackwater. To receive a copy of the letter and to learn more on this developing story, contact Eric Miller at POGO. Click here to see Mr. Schmitz’ bio. Founded in 1981, the Project On Government Oversight is an independent investigative non-profit whose mission is to expose corruption in order to achieve a more accountable federal government.

Response:

A New Orleans blogger’s point of view: from http://www.livejournal.com/users/interdictor/ Saturday, September 10th, 2005 7:29 pm Interviews "Ok, so Shane and I took to the streets today to see who exactly was out there and why. Obviously, I was most interested in the guys carrying assault rifles and patrolling around all the major buildings. That’s who we started with. We went by Hibernia Bank where water was being pumped out what looked to be a basement into the street — a lot of water – steady pumping. The security guys were armed to the nines (whatever that means ) and while very very friendly and apologetic, insisted they could not be interviewed. Understandable, since it is a major bank. We talked to some guys splicing the submerged fiber cable at the corner of Camp and Poydras on the south side of the intersection. The were trying to get expedia and telcove patched up. The guys said that most of the rest of the city and the surrounding suburbs would have to wait for weeks — wait for the water to drain and then for Entergy to come in and do their thing first. Then we walked down Poydras toward the Dome. When we got near Le Pavillion, we noticed an enormous security presence on both sides of the street. I talked to two guys in US Marshall outfits, and they told us that everyone in the area was private security, themselves included. I asked what possible reason could a hotel have for needing 8 armed guards wielding AR-15s a sniper rifle, shotguns, etc. now that most of the civilians were gone. He said there was a shooting there just 3 days ago, and one man was beaten to death right on the neutral ground (median) of Poydras. He said there are still snipers in the area, and they’ve had unconfirmed reports of them on the roofs of several buildings. Sounded a little far fetched to me (why wouldn’t the 82nd be clearing all suspected buildings…), but he insisted that they were still taking intermittent fire. Some of them (security personnel) actually suspect that there is a terrorist element in the city trying to cause trouble. Anyway, when I tell you that these guys are armed, I mean they’re carrying stuff that I didn’t even know the US had in its arsenal as far as small arms go. And full body armor too. The two Marshalls reported that the high end physical security guys were making $500+ per day while he and his buddies were making about $300 per day. Almost everyone on the street except for us were armed. I asked them about civilians carrying weapons and he said there’s no point in carrying here (which is what we had already decided several days ago), but that if we went to anywhere outside the CBD, we’d be silly not to be packing. Direct opposition to the confiscation of weapons we’ve seen on the news. He also said that we could expect private security to be in place for 4 MONTHS! 4 months they will be rotating guys in. That’s how long they expect it to take before the first businesses are operational at all. Also, we saw a bunch of Georgia State Troopers deployed down here escorting convoys of fuel. Several of the firetruck we’ve been seeing come from as far away as Chicago. Oh, and as always, the fireman have their hands full. Busy busy busy. Those guys deserve more money than they’re gonna earn and a vacation we know they’ll never get."

Response:

Pentagon Investigator Resigning Joseph E. Schmitz, the Defense Department’s inspector general, is suspected of blocking investigations of senior Bush officials. And going to work for Blackwater. By T. Christian Miller, Times Staff Writer WASHINGTON – The Pentagon’s top investigator has resigned amid accusations that he stonewalled inquiries into senior Bush administration officials suspected of wrongdoing. Defense Department Inspector General Joseph E. Schmitz told staffers this week that he intended to resign as of Sept. 9 to take a job with the parent company of Blackwater USA, a defense contractor. ADVERTISEMENT The resignation comes after Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) sent Schmitz several letters this summer informing him that he was the focus of a congressional inquiry into whether he had blocked two criminal investigations last year. FOR THE RECORD: Pentagon investigator -An article in Section A on Sept. 3 about the resignation of Joseph E. Schmitz, the Defense Department’s inspector general, and accusations that he blocked investigations of senior Bush administration officials said the date of a letter from Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) was Aug. 8. The letter, inquiring about a false news release, was dated Aug. 12. The article also said an agreement concerning investigative authority was signed by John A. "Jack" Shaw, a deputy undersecretary of Defense. The agreement was signed by Shaw’s superior, Michael W. Wynne, then acting undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics. Grassley, chairman of the Finance Committee, accused Schmitz of fabricating an official Pentagon news release, planning an expensive junket to Germany and hiding information from Congress. Schmitz is the senior Pentagon official charged with investigating waste, fraud and abuse. "I am writing to inform you that I intend to conduct an oversight investigation into allegations that you either quashed or redirected two ongoing criminal investigations last year," Grassley said in a July 7 letter obtained by The Times. Grassley’s office said Friday that the inquiry was continuing. "Many questions need to be answered," spokeswoman Beth Levine said. Grassley has long acted as a watchdog over the inspector general. The inspector general’s office denied any connection between Schmitz’s resignation and the inquiries, saying Schmitz had previously said he intended to leave after President Bush’s first term. A Schmitz spokesman, Gary Comerford, declined to comment on the allegations in Grassley’s letters, saying: "This is a matter between the senator and the inspector general." The first of the criminal investigations in which Schmitz allegedly intervened involved John A. "Jack" Shaw, the former deputy undersecretary of Defense for international technology security. Shaw, who was the subject of a series of articles in The Times last year, tried to manipulate a lucrative contract in Iraq in 2004 to favor a telecommunications company whose board included a close friend, according to whistle-blowers who worked for the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq. Shaw had signed an unusual agreement with Schmitz that gave him some investigative authority. Shaw told U.S. officials in Iraq that he was conducting investigations under that agreement during a trip to Iraq in December 2003. The results of those investigations were later used in his effort to push for contracts of firms tied to his friends and their clients, according to the whistle-blowers. Shaw, who was forced out of office last year after refusing to resign, has denied any wrongdoing. Schmitz referred the whistle-blowers’ accusations to the FBI, despite the protests of senior criminal investigators in his office who had already found "specific and credible evidence" of wrongdoing by Shaw, according to Grassley’s letter. The FBI has not placed a high priority on the investigation, which has since stalled, according to one person with knowledge of the case. Schmitz then helped craft a news release in which his office denied ever investigating Shaw, according to Grassley’s letter. Grassley has repeatedly asked for an explanation of the news release, most recently in a letter Aug. 8. "A formal investigation was conducted. The investigation was, in fact, completed and closed and referred to the FBI. How do you square that information with the press release?" Grassley wrote to Rumsfeld on July 27. "There is a paper trail that appears to show that Mr. Schmitz was personally and directly involved in crafting the language in this press release. And second, I understand that Mr. Schmitz was repeatedly warned by his own staff ‘to take it down’ because it was ‘patently false.’ " The second investigation in which Schmitz allegedly interfered involves Mary L. Walker, the general counsel for the Air Force.

Response:

> Wrong John boy… these guys have several different employers

Bull Shit. Your ignorance of the law is showing, but what’s new about that? They were Deputized by Governor Blanco, thus they work for Blanco, they answer to Blanco. The Feds are NOT in the chain. Bye, John

Response:

> > Wrong John boy… these guys have several different employers > Bull Shit. Your ignorance of the law is showing, but what’s new about that? > They were Deputized by Governor Blanco, thus they work for Blanco, they > answer to Blanco. The Feds are NOT in the chain. > Bye, > John

wrong John. They work for Homeland Security and also have been hired by private individuals.

Response:

> They work for Homeland Security and also have been hired by > private individuals.

State Homeland Security, the same folks that ordered FEMA workers to send Red Cross Disaster Teams AWAY. Remember, they were Deputized by the Governor, as in the head of the State of Louisiana. Bye, John

Response:

you’re a pain in the ass.. you know that? georgio – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> in?,’" said one of the Blackwater men. He was wearing his company ID > around his neck in a carrying case with the phrase "Operation Iraqi > Freedom" printed on it. After bragging about how he drives around Iraq > in a "State Department issued level 5, explosion proof BMW," he said he > was "just trying to get back to Kirkuk (in the north of Iraq) where the > real action is." Later we overheard him on his cell phone complaining > that Blackwater was only paying $350 a day plus per diem. That is much > less than the men make serving in more dangerous conditions in Iraq. > Two men we spoke with said they plan on returning to Iraq in October. > But, as one mercenary said, they’ve been told they could be in New > Orleans for up to 6 months. "This is a trend," he told us. "You’re > going to see a lot more guys like us in these situations." >     If Blackwater’s reputation and record in Iraq are any indication of > the kind of "services" the company offers, the people of New Orleans > have much to fear. >     —–

– ‘72 traynor point-to-point bassmaster head… yamaha SA 800 with Dimarzio  and gibson pickups

Response:

Wheaten Why did you remove the OT from the subject line ?

Response:

>>   That raises a key question: under what authority are Blackwater’s >men operating? > This editted story that you posted without a link is below even you. > If you would have run the entire story, everyone would know that Governor > Blanco has Deputized these mercenaries. One more bonehead move on the part > of the Ms. Blanco.

Hey John…look, this lonely bitch ain’t worth your time. Your posts are far more valuable keeping other losers spiralling into the barrel. This person is a complete waste of time…she’s even gone to socks to get around filters…nuff said….she’s just another NG polluter.

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->>   That raises a key question: under what authority are Blackwater’s >>men operating? > This editted story that you posted without a link is below even you. > If you would have run the entire story, everyone would know that Governor > Blanco has Deputized these mercenaries. One more bonehead move on the part > of the Ms. Blanco. >Hey John…look, this lonely bitch ain’t worth your time. >Your posts are far more valuable keeping other losers spiralling >into the barrel. >This person is a complete waste of time…she’s even gone >to socks to get around filters…nuff said….she’s just >another NG polluter.

Pot, kettle, black Jesus loves you anyway. Ken Wilson Proud Owner of Lord Valve, PMG, John Wheaton, Claude Lucas,  Freep the Xenophobe, Chuck, pseudobacker, and the rest of the  Union of Rightwing Idiots Needing Explanations (URINE)  and, at his own request, Karl Rovershank (aka Lars from Mars) Supporting the Troops at http://www.resisters.ca http://www.criticalhistory.com/

Response:

> Wheaten > Why did you remove the OT from the subject line ?

It has to be some tweak in my OE. I didn’t type anywhere but the message area of the post. It isn’t the first time that it has happened, but it is not intentional, I wouldn’t want to subject those not interested in the OT prattle. See ya, John

Response:

http://www.opuscds.com/track/166098

Response:

‘Katrinagate’ fury spreads Gabrielle Chwallek Washington – "For God’s sake, are you blind?," a woman shouts at the head of the federal emergency management agency (FEMA), Michael Brown. "You’re patting each other on the back, while people here are dying." The woman is not a victim of Hurricane Katrina. She is a reporter with US television network MSNBC who is so affected by the misery she has witnessed she can hold back no longer. "Katrinagate" is the term being used by the media to describe the biggest challenge facing the political establishment in the US since the Watergate affair in the 1970s toppled Richard Nixon. Not for decades has there been such merciless questioning of the president and his administration by the US media. Even now, as the rescue operation gets underway in earnest and the flood waters in New Orleans are starting to subside, the federal government’s inadequate reaction – in the run-up to the hurricane and directly afterwards – is still being criticized by the media in reports which are anything but detached. Never before, say some observers, have US reporters been so emotionally involved in a story to the point of being enraged. They are not just telling a story, they have become part of it. "Has Katrina saved the US media,?" asked BBC reporter Matt Wells who sees the shift in tone as a potentially historic development. A number of US journalists who cover federal politics, especially television presenters, had become part of the political establishment, says Wells. "They live in the same suburbs, go to the same parties. Their television companies are owned by large conglomerates who contribute to election campaigns." It’s a "perfect recipe" for fearful, self-censoring reportage, he says, but thinks "since last week, that’s all over". The ‘Big One’ But if the Bush administration’s reaction to Hurricane Katrina was slow, so too was the media’s. On Friday, reporters at the scene were still having difficulties establishing the scale of the disaster and the number of dead. Used to reporting on comparatively harmless storms, heroically riding out the storms with windblown hairdos, they were then confronted with the "Big One". The television reporters, particularly, were left scrambling in the first few hours of coverage as they tried to comprehend the scale of the disaster. Then came the emotion. A CNN reporter broke down as she described the cries of help of people stuck on rooftops in Louisiana. Other journalists also related what they saw in broken voices. Then the federal officials rolled into town and the press conferences started, with politicians thanking one another for their tireless efforts. Next came anger. "This isn’t Iraq, this isn’t Somalia, this is our home," one NBC television reporter shouted. The usually stoic ABC television presenter Ted Koeppel lashed out at FEMA head Brown in a interview, when he could not give any details on the number of refugees waiting to be rescued from the Convention Centre. "Don’t you people ever look at television?," the veteran presenter raged. "Don’t you ever hear the radio? We’ve been reporting on the crisis at the Convention Centre for a lot longer than just today." Supplies A CNN journalist also attacked Brown. "How it is possible that we have better information than you? Why aren’t supplies being dropped in (by plane). "In Banda Aceh, in Indonesia, they did it two days after the tsunami." Another CNN reporter interrupted senator Mary Landrieu during an interview in which she was praising congress for passing an emergency aid package. "Excuse me senator, I’m sorry for interrupting. I haven’t heard anything about that, because I was busy these past four days seeing dead people on the street. "And when I hear how one politician congratulating the others…Yesterday there was a corpse on the street which had been eaten by rats because it had been there for 48 hours." If the alarm bells are not already going off in the Oval Office, they should be, because the previously staunchly pro-Bush Fox News is also starting to show signs of disaffection. As one of their reporters was being directed to another area because of the danger caused by looting, he spoke quickly into his microphone, saying: "These people are desperate. "Why shouldn’t they try to steal water and food from us?" – Sapa-dpa _____ <http://www.news24.com/News24/World/Hurricane_Katrina/0,,2-10-1942_176…>        Posted via TITANnews – Uncensored Newsgroups Access              >>>> at http://www.TitanNews.com <<<< -=Every Newsgroup – Anonymous, UNCENSORED, BROADBAND Downloads=-

Response:

> ‘Katrinagate’ fury spreads > Not for decades has there been such merciless questioning of the president > and his administration > by the US media.

Many in the media are turning their eyes toward the federal government, rather than considering the culpability of city and state officials. I am fully aware of the challenges of having a quick and responsive emergency response to a major disaster. And there is definitely a time for accountability; but what isn’t fair is to dump on the federal officials and avoid those most responsible — local and state officials who failed to do their job as the first responders. The plain fact is, lives were needlessly lost in New Orleans due to the failure of Louisiana’s governor, Kathleen Blanco, and the city’s mayor, Ray Nagin. The primary responsibility for dealing with emergencies does not belong to the federal government. It belongs to local and state officials who are charged by law with the management of the crucial first response to disasters. First response should be carried out by local and state emergency personnel under the supervision of the state governor and his/her emergency operations center. The actions and inactions of Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin are a national disgrace due to their failure to implement the previously established evacuation plans of the state and city. Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin cannot claim that they were surprised by the extent of the damage and the need to evacuate so many people. Detailed written plans were already in place to evacuate more than a million people. The plans projected that 300,000 people would need transportation in the event of a hurricane like Katrina. If the plans had been implemented, thousands of lives would likely have been saved. In addition to the plans, local, state and federal officials held a simulated hurricane drill 13 months ago, in which widespread flooding supposedly trapped 300,000 people inside New Orleans. The exercise simulated the evacuation of more than a million residents. The problems identified in the simulation apparently were not solved. A year ago, as Hurricane Ivan approached, New Orleans ordered an evacuation but did not use city or school buses to help people evacuate. As a result many of the poorest citizens were unable to evacuate. Fortunately, the hurricane changed course and did not hit New Orleans, but both Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin acknowledged the need for a better evacuation plan. Again, they did not take corrective actions. In 1998, during a threat by Hurricane George, 14,000 people were sent to the Superdome and theft and vandalism were rampant due to inadequate security. Again, these problems were not corrected. The New Orleans contingency plan is still, as of this writing, on the city’s Web site, and states: "The safe evacuation of threatened populations is one of the principle [sic] reasons for developing a Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan." But the plan was apparently ignored. Mayor Nagin was responsible for giving the order for mandatory evacuation and supervising the actual evacuation: His office of Emergency Preparedness (not the federal government) must coordinate with the state on elements of evacuation and assist in directing the transportation of evacuees to staging areas. Mayor Nagin had to be encouraged by the governor to contact the National Hurricane Center before he finally, belatedly, issued the order for mandatory evacuation. And sadly, it apparently took a personal call from the president to urge the governor to order the mandatory evacuation. The city’s evacuation plan states: "The city of New Orleans will utilize all available resources to quickly and safely evacuate threatened areas." But even though the city has enough school and transit buses to evacuate 12,000 citizens per fleet run, the mayor did not use them. To compound the problem, the buses were not moved to high ground and were flooded. The plan also states that "special arrangements will be made to evacuate persons unable to transport themselves or who require specific lifesaving assistance. Additional personnel will be recruited to assist in evacuation procedures as needed." This was not done. The evacuation plan warned that "if an evacuation order is issued without the mechanisms needed to disseminate the information to the affected persons, then we face the possibility of having large numbers of people either stranded and left to the mercy of a storm, or left in an area impacted by toxic materials." That is precisely what happened because of the mayor’s failure. Instead of evacuating the people, the mayor ordered the refugees to the Superdome and Convention Center without adequate security and no provisions for food, water and sanitary conditions. As a result people died, and there was even rape committed, in these facilities. Mayor Nagin failed in his responsibility to provide public safety and to manage the orderly evacuation of the citizens of New Orleans. Now he wants to blame Gov. Blanco and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In an emergency the first requirement is for the city’s emergency center to be linked to the state emergency operations center. This was not done. The federal government does not have the authority to intervene in a state emergency without the request of a governor. President Bush declared an emergency prior to Katrina hitting New Orleans, so the only action needed for federal assistance was for Gov. Blanco to request the specific type of assistance she needed. She failed to send a timely request for specific aid. In addition, unlike the governors of New York, Oklahoma and California in past disasters, Gov. Blanco failed to take charge of the situation and ensure that the state emergency operation facility was in constant contact with Mayor Nagin and FEMA. It is likely that thousands of people died because of the failure of Gov. Blanco to implement the state plan, which mentions the possible need to evacuate up to one million people. The plan clearly gives the governor the authority for declaring an emergency, sending in state resources to the disaster area and requesting necessary federal assistance. State legislators and governors nationwide need to update their contingency plans and the operation procedures for state emergency centers. Hurricane Katrina had been forecast for days, but that will not always be the case with a disaster (think of terrorist attacks). It must be made clear that the governor and locally elected officials are in charge of the "first response." I am not attempting to excuse some of the delays in FEMA’s response. Congress and the president need to take corrective action there, also. However, if citizens expect FEMA to be a first responder to terrorist attacks or other local emergencies (earthquakes, forest fires, volcanoes), they will be disappointed. The federal government’s role is to offer aid upon request. The Louisiana Legislature should conduct an immediate investigation into the failures of state and local officials to implement the written emergency plans. The tragedy is not over, and real leadership in the state and local government are essential in the months to come. More importantly, the hurricane season is still upon us, and local and state officials must stay focused on the jobs for which they were elected — and not on the deadly game of passing the emergency buck. Mr. Williams is president of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, a free market public policy research organization in Olympia, Wash.      URL for this article:       http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB112596602138332256,00.html

Response:

> ‘Katrinagate’ fury spreads > Gabrielle Chwallek > Washington – "For God’s sake, are you blind?," a woman shouts at the head > of the federal emergency > management agency (FEMA), Michael Brown. > "You’re patting each other on the back, while people here are dying." > The woman is not a victim of Hurricane Katrina. She is a reporter with US > television network MSNBC > who is so affected by the misery she has witnessed she can hold back no > longer.

http://media.yourdailymedia.com/files/ybkD3PK0Ri0e.swf

Response:

You and the WSJ editorial page can spin yourself nauseous to yor heart’s content, but the fact is: the third-world governments dealing with the recent tsunami acquitted themselves *nobly* compared to ours.   Take a break from your 10,000 RPM "blame it on the locals" horseshit and allow yourself to be ashamed of the criminally incompetent regime to which you’ve fastened your kisser. No state or local government could have handled this disaster — this is a national crisis and had to be dealt with via federal expertise and resources.  Too bad it’s also a national tragedy and embarrassment — wake up and unbundle the acronym: F(ederal) E(mergency) M(anagement) A(gency) This clearly implies that there are situations that are simply too extensive and/or severe to be dealt with by state and local agencies, and that in such situations the response is to be F(ederally) M(anaged)!   Moreover, any failures on the part of state and local officials are strictly the business of those who vote for those offices — but the federal government’s piss-poor performance is the rightful concern of all Americans.  An incompetent FEMA (and, for that matter, entire DHS!) endangers all of us, regardless of how good or bad our state and local governments may be!  Iow, if you’re not worried, you simply haven’t been paying attention! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> ‘Katrinagate’ fury spreads > Not for decades has there been such merciless questioning of the president > and his administration > by the US media. >Many in the media are turning their eyes toward the federal government, >rather than considering the culpability of city and state officials. I am >fully aware of the challenges of having a quick and responsive emergency >response to a major disaster. And there is definitely a time for >accountability; but what isn’t fair is to dump on the federal officials and >avoid those most responsible — local and state officials who failed to do >their job as the first responders. The plain fact is, lives were needlessly >lost in New Orleans due to the failure of Louisiana’s governor, Kathleen >Blanco, and the city’s mayor, Ray Nagin. >The primary responsibility for dealing with emergencies does not belong to >the federal government. It belongs to local and state officials who are >charged by law with the management of the crucial first response to >disasters. First response should be carried out by local and state emergency >personnel under the supervision of the state governor and his/her emergency >operations center. >The actions and inactions of Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin are a national >disgrace due to their failure to implement the previously established >evacuation plans of the state and city. Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin cannot >claim that they were surprised by the extent of the damage and the need to >evacuate so many people. Detailed written plans were already in place to >evacuate more than a million people. The plans projected that 300,000 people >would need transportation in the event of a hurricane like Katrina. If the >plans had been implemented, thousands of lives would likely have been saved. >In addition to the plans, local, state and federal officials held a >simulated hurricane drill 13 months ago, in which widespread flooding >supposedly trapped 300,000 people inside New Orleans. The exercise simulated >the evacuation of more than a million residents. The problems identified in >the simulation apparently were not solved. >A year ago, as Hurricane Ivan approached, New Orleans ordered an evacuation >but did not use city or school buses to help people evacuate. As a result >many of the poorest citizens were unable to evacuate. Fortunately, the >hurricane changed course and did not hit New Orleans, but both Gov. Blanco >and Mayor Nagin acknowledged the need for a better evacuation plan. Again, >they did not take corrective actions. In 1998, during a threat by Hurricane >George, 14,000 people were sent to the Superdome and theft and vandalism >were rampant due to inadequate security. Again, these problems were not >corrected. >The New Orleans contingency plan is still, as of this writing, on the city’s >Web site, and states: "The safe evacuation of threatened populations is one >of the principle [sic] reasons for developing a Comprehensive Emergency >Management Plan." But the plan was apparently ignored. >Mayor Nagin was responsible for giving the order for mandatory evacuation >and supervising the actual evacuation: His office of Emergency Preparedness >(not the federal government) must coordinate with the state on elements of >evacuation and assist in directing the transportation of evacuees to staging >areas. Mayor Nagin had to be encouraged by the governor to contact the >National Hurricane Center before he finally, belatedly, issued the order for >mandatory evacuation. And sadly, it apparently took a personal call from the >president to urge the governor to order the mandatory evacuation. >The city’s evacuation plan states: "The city of New Orleans will utilize all >available resources to quickly and safely evacuate threatened areas." But >even though the city has enough school and transit buses to evacuate 12,000 >citizens per fleet run, the mayor did not use them. To compound the problem, >the buses were not moved to high ground and were flooded. The plan also >states that "special arrangements will be made to evacuate persons unable to >transport themselves or who require specific lifesaving assistance. >Additional personnel will be recruited to assist in evacuation procedures as >needed." This was not done. >The evacuation plan warned that "if an evacuation order is issued without >the mechanisms needed to disseminate the information to the affected >persons, then we face the possibility of having large numbers of people >either stranded and left to the mercy of a storm, or left in an area >impacted by toxic materials." That is precisely what happened because of the >mayor’s failure. >Instead of evacuating the people, the mayor ordered the refugees to the >Superdome and Convention Center without adequate security and no provisions >for food, water and sanitary conditions. As a result people died, and there >was even rape committed, in these facilities. Mayor Nagin failed in his >responsibility to provide public safety and to manage the orderly evacuation >of the citizens of New Orleans. Now he wants to blame Gov. Blanco and the >Federal Emergency Management Agency. In an emergency the first requirement >is for the city’s emergency center to be linked to the state emergency >operations center. This was not done. >The federal government does not have the authority to intervene in a state >emergency without the request of a governor. President Bush declared an >emergency prior to Katrina hitting New Orleans, so the only action needed >for federal assistance was for Gov. Blanco to request the specific type of >assistance she needed. She failed to send a timely request for specific aid. >In addition, unlike the governors of New York, Oklahoma and California in >past disasters, Gov. Blanco failed to take charge of the situation and >ensure that the state emergency operation facility was in constant contact >with Mayor Nagin and FEMA. It is likely that thousands of people died >because of the failure of Gov. Blanco to implement the state plan, which >mentions the possible need to evacuate up to one million people. The plan >clearly gives the governor the authority for declaring an emergency, sending >in state resources to the disaster area and requesting necessary federal >assistance. >State legislators and governors nationwide need to update their contingency >plans and the operation procedures for state emergency centers. Hurricane >Katrina had been forecast for days, but that will not always be the case >with a disaster (think of terrorist attacks). It must be made clear that the >governor and locally elected officials are in charge of the "first >response." >I am not attempting to excuse some of the delays in FEMA’s response. >Congress and the president need to take corrective action there, also. >However, if citizens expect FEMA to be a first responder to terrorist >attacks or other local emergencies (earthquakes, forest fires, volcanoes), >they will be disappointed. The federal government’s role is to offer aid >upon request. >The Louisiana Legislature should conduct an immediate investigation into the >failures of state and local officials to implement the written emergency >plans. The tragedy is not over, and real leadership in the state and local >government are essential in the months to come. More importantly, the >hurricane season is still upon us, and local and state officials must stay >focused on the jobs for which they were elected — and not on the deadly >game of passing the emergency buck. >Mr. Williams is president of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, a free market >public policy research organization in Olympia, Wash. >     URL for this article: >      http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB112596602138332256,00.html

       Posted via TITANnews – Uncensored Newsgroups Access              >>>> at http://www.TitanNews.com <<<< -=Every Newsgroup – Anonymous, UNCENSORED, BROADBAND Downloads=-

Response:

>  allow yourself to be ashamed of  the criminally incompetent > regime to which you’ve fastened your kisser. > No state or local government could have handled this disaster

Complete Bull Shit! It was the Emergency Policy of New Orleans that the city would be evacuated. As they found out in a drill a year ago, they needed to update their plan, and they did NOT. If the city had been evacuated there would have been ZERO deaths. ALL of the deaths are on the Mayor & Governor’s hands.  Mayor Nagin was responsible for giving the order for mandatory evacuation and supervising the actual evacuation: His office of Emergency Preparedness (not the federal government) must coordinate with the state on elements of evacuation and assist in directing the transportation of evacuees to staging areas. Mayor Nagin had to be encouraged by the governor to contact the National Hurricane Center before he finally, belatedly, issued the order for mandatory evacuation. And sadly, it apparently took a personal call from the president to urge the governor to order the mandatory evacuation. The city’s evacuation plan states: "The city of New Orleans will utilize all available resources to quickly and safely evacuate threatened areas." But even though the city has enough school and transit buses to evacuate 12,000 citizens per fleet run, the mayor did not use them. To compound the problem, the buses were not moved to high ground and were flooded. The plan also states that "special arrangements will be made to evacuate persons unable to transport themselves or who require specific lifesaving assistance. Additional personnel will be recruited to assist in evacuation procedures as needed." This was not done.

Response:

> >  allow yourself to be ashamed of  the criminally incompetent > regime to which you’ve fastened your kisser. > No state or local government could have handled this disaster > Complete Bull Shit! It was the Emergency Policy of New Orleans that the city > would be evacuated. As they found out in a drill a year ago, they needed to > update their plan, and they did NOT. If the city had been evacuated there > would have been ZERO deaths. ALL of the deaths are on the Mayor & Governor’s > hands.

Maybe nobody would have died (unlikely) and maybe not.  But, the fact remains that our federal govenment sat on their hands for days after a national disaster.  All the focus is on New Orleans, but Katrina wreaked a lot of damage over a heck of a lot more than just one city in one state.

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > ‘Katrinagate’ fury spreads > Gabrielle Chwallek > Washington – "For God’s sake, are you blind?," a woman shouts at the head of the federal emergency > management agency (FEMA), Michael Brown. > "You’re patting each other on the back, while people here are dying." > The woman is not a victim of Hurricane Katrina. She is a reporter with US television network MSNBC > who is so affected by the misery she has witnessed she can hold back no longer. > "Katrinagate" is the term being used by the media to describe the biggest challenge facing the > political establishment in the US since the Watergate affair in the 1970s toppled Richard Nixon. > Not for decades has there been such merciless questioning of the president and his administration > by the US media. > Even now, as the rescue operation gets underway in earnest and the flood waters in New Orleans are > starting to subside, the federal government’s inadequate reaction – in the run-up to the hurricane > and directly afterwards – is still being criticized by the media in reports which are anything but > detached. > Never before, say some observers, have US reporters been so emotionally involved in a story to the > point of being enraged. > They are not just telling a story, they have become part of it. > "Has Katrina saved the US media,?" asked BBC reporter Matt Wells who sees the shift in tone as a > potentially historic development. > A number of US journalists who cover federal politics, especially television presenters, had become > part of the political establishment, says Wells. > "They live in the same suburbs, go to the same parties. Their television companies are owned by > large conglomerates who contribute to election campaigns." > It’s a "perfect recipe" for fearful, self-censoring reportage, he says, but thinks "since last > week, that’s all over". > The ‘Big One’ > But if the Bush administration’s reaction to Hurricane Katrina was slow, so too was the media’s. > On Friday, reporters at the scene were still having difficulties establishing the scale of the > disaster and the number of dead. > Used to reporting on comparatively harmless storms, heroically riding out the storms with windblown > hairdos, they were then confronted with the "Big One". > The television reporters, particularly, were left scrambling in the first few hours of coverage as > they tried to comprehend the scale of the disaster. > Then came the emotion. A CNN reporter broke down as she described the cries of help of people stuck > on rooftops in Louisiana. > Other journalists also related what they saw in broken voices. > Then the federal officials rolled into town and the press conferences started, with politicians > thanking one another for their tireless efforts. > Next came anger. "This isn’t Iraq, this isn’t Somalia, this is our home," one NBC television > reporter shouted. > The usually stoic ABC television presenter Ted Koeppel lashed out at FEMA head Brown in a > interview, when he could not give any details on the number of refugees waiting to be rescued from > the Convention Centre. > "Don’t you people ever look at television?," the veteran presenter raged. > "Don’t you ever hear the radio? We’ve been reporting on the crisis at the Convention Centre for a > lot longer than just today." > Supplies > A CNN journalist also attacked Brown. "How it is possible that we have better information than you? > Why aren’t supplies being dropped in (by plane). > "In Banda Aceh, in Indonesia, they did it two days after the tsunami." > Another CNN reporter interrupted senator Mary Landrieu during an interview in which she was > praising congress for passing an emergency aid package. > "Excuse me senator, I’m sorry for interrupting. I haven’t heard anything about that, because I was > busy these past four days seeing dead people on the street. > "And when I hear how one politician congratulating the others…Yesterday there was a corpse on the > street which had been eaten by rats because it had been there for 48 hours." > If the alarm bells are not already going off in the Oval Office, they should be, because the > previously staunchly pro-Bush Fox News is also starting to show signs of disaffection. > As one of their reporters was being directed to another area because of the danger caused by > looting, he spoke quickly into his microphone, saying: "These people are desperate. > "Why shouldn’t they try to steal water and food from us?" – Sapa-dpa > _____ > <http://www.news24.com/News24/World/Hurricane_Katrina/0,,2-10-1942_176…> >        Posted via TITANnews – Uncensored Newsgroups Access >              >>>> at http://www.TitanNews.com <<<< > -=Every Newsgroup – Anonymous, UNCENSORED, BROADBAND Downloads=-

If no other good comes out of this, at least the media is starting to show some balls again.

Response:

> Maybe nobody would have died (unlikely) and maybe not.

How on Earth can you say that? If EVERYONE was evacuated as the President requested on Saturday BEFORE the storm, there would have been NO ONE there to die. > But, the fact remains that our federal govenment sat on their hands for > days after a > national disaster.

As one who has received training by FEMA in emergency management and also training by the Department of Defense in consequence management, I believe that the federal response in New Orleans needs clarification. The key to emergency management starts at the local level and expands to the state level. Emergency planning generally does not include any federal guarantees, as there can only be limited ones from the federal level for any local plan. FEMA provides free training, education, assistance and respond in case of an emergency, but the local and state officials run their own emergency management program. Prior development of an emergency plan, addressing all foreseeable contingencies, is the absolute requirement of the local government –and then they share that plan with the state emergency managers to ensure that the state authorities can provide necessary assets not available at the local level. Additionally, good planning will include applicable elements of the federal government (those located in the local area). These processes are well established, but are contingent upon the personal drive of both hired and elected officials at the local level. I’ve reviewed the New Orleans emergency management plan. Here is an important section in the first paragraph. "We coordinate all city departments and allied state and federal agencies which respond to citywide disasters and emergencies through the development and constant updating of an integrated multi-hazard plan. All requests for federal disaster assistance and federal funding subsequent to disaster declarations are also made through this office. Our authority is defined by the Louisiana Emergency Assistance and Disaster Act of 1993, Chapter 6 Section 709, Paragraph B, ‘Each parish shall maintain a Disaster Agency which, except as otherwise provided under this act, has jurisdiction over and serves the entire parish.’ " Check the plan — the "we" in this case is the office of the mayor, Ray Nagin who was very quick and vocal about blaming everyone but his own office. A telling picture, at left, taken by The Associated Press on Sept. 1 and widely circulated on the Internet shows a school bus park, apparently filled to capacity with buses, under about four feet of water. If a mandatory evacuation was ordered, why weren’t all the taxpayer-purchased buses used in the effort? Who could have predicted the anarchy resulting as a consequence? The individuals who devolved into lawless animals embarrass the entirety of America. (I worked in a U.S. Embassy overseas for a couple years and I can imagine what foreign diplomats are thinking.) What societal factors would ever lead people to believe that this behavior was even remotely acceptable? The folks in New Orleans who are perpetrating the violence and lawlessness are not that way because of low income or of race, but because they personally do not have any honor or commitment to higher ideals. The civil-rights leaders should be ashamed at playing the blame game. The blame is on the individuals. The blame is on the society that allowed these individuals to develop the ideal that the individual is greater than the national pride he is destroying. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was very clear in her comments that she was offended at those who suggested the suffering in New Orleans was prolonged because of race. As a retired Marine, I hang my head in shame to see my fellow Americans degenerate so far. I spent so many years in the Corps helping the citizens of other countries rise to a higher level of personal responsibility to ensure that in case of emergency, anarchy did not necessarily follow. When people are held to a higher standard of personal responsibility and they accept that, then they will do the right thing when the time comes. It seems that the mayor of New Orleans is leading the effort in not taking responsibility for his actions. The emergency managers for the state of Louisiana do not have much to say either. The failure in the first 48 hours to provide direction for survivors is theirs to live with. When FEMA was able to take over, it started out behind and had to develop its plan on the fly. Now the federal government has established priorities — rescue the stranded, evacuate the city, flow in resources and fix the levee. It appears that now there is a plan and it is being systematically executed. Hurricane Katrina was a national tragedy — not just in the number of lives lost or the amount of physical damage, but also in the failure of people to do what is right when no one is looking. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05249/566101.stm

Response:

> If no other good comes out of this, at least the media is starting to > show some balls again.

Some intelligence would be far more welcomed. Check some facts! As one who has received training by FEMA in emergency management and also training by the Department of Defense in consequence management, I believe that the federal response in New Orleans needs clarification. The key to emergency management starts at the local level and expands to the state level. Emergency planning generally does not include any federal guarantees, as there can only be limited ones from the federal level for any local plan. FEMA provides free training, education, assistance and respond in case of an emergency, but the local and state officials run their own emergency management program. Prior development of an emergency plan, addressing all foreseeable contingencies, is the absolute requirement of the local government –and then they share that plan with the state emergency managers to ensure that the state authorities can provide necessary assets not available at the local level. Additionally, good planning will include applicable elements of the federal government (those located in the local area). These processes are well established, but are contingent upon the personal drive of both hired and elected officials at the local level. I’ve reviewed the New Orleans emergency management plan. Here is an important section in the first paragraph. "We coordinate all city departments and allied state and federal agencies which respond to citywide disasters and emergencies through the development and constant updating of an integrated multi-hazard plan. All requests for federal disaster assistance and federal funding subsequent to disaster declarations are also made through this office. Our authority is defined by the Louisiana Emergency Assistance and Disaster Act of 1993, Chapter 6 Section 709, Paragraph B, ‘Each parish shall maintain a Disaster Agency which, except as otherwise provided under this act, has jurisdiction over and serves the entire parish.’ " Check the plan — the "we" in this case is the office of the mayor, Ray Nagin who was very quick and vocal about blaming everyone but his own office. A telling picture, at left, taken by The Associated Press on Sept. 1 and widely circulated on the Internet shows a school bus park, apparently filled to capacity with buses, under about four feet of water. If a mandatory evacuation was ordered, why weren’t all the taxpayer-purchased buses used in the effort? Who could have predicted the anarchy resulting as a consequence? The individuals who devolved into lawless animals embarrass the entirety of America. (I worked in a U.S. Embassy overseas for a couple years and I can imagine what foreign diplomats are thinking.) What societal factors would ever lead people to believe that this behavior was even remotely acceptable? The folks in New Orleans who are perpetrating the violence and lawlessness are not that way because of low income or of race, but because they personally do not have any honor or commitment to higher ideals. The civil-rights leaders should be ashamed at playing the blame game. The blame is on the individuals. The blame is on the society that allowed these individuals to develop the ideal that the individual is greater than the national pride he is destroying. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was very clear in her comments that she was offended at those who suggested the suffering in New Orleans was prolonged because of race. As a retired Marine, I hang my head in shame to see my fellow Americans degenerate so far. I spent so many years in the Corps helping the citizens of other countries rise to a higher level of personal responsibility to ensure that in case of emergency, anarchy did not necessarily follow. When people are held to a higher standard of personal responsibility and they accept that, then they will do the right thing when the time comes. It seems that the mayor of New Orleans is leading the effort in not taking responsibility for his actions. The emergency managers for the state of Louisiana do not have much to say either. The failure in the first 48 hours to provide direction for survivors is theirs to live with. When FEMA was able to take over, it started out behind and had to develop its plan on the fly. Now the federal government has established priorities — rescue the stranded, evacuate the city, flow in resources and fix the levee. It appears that now there is a plan and it is being systematically executed. Hurricane Katrina was a national tragedy — not just in the number of lives lost or the amount of physical damage, but also in the failure of people to do what is right when no one is looking. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05249/566101.stm

Response:

This should start out – Karl Rove is crafting a brilliant blame the victims and local official media blitz. No surprise there but that dog ain’t gonna fly. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> ‘Katrinagate’ fury spreads > Not for decades has there been such merciless questioning of the president > and his administration > by the US media. > Many in the media are turning their eyes toward the federal government, > rather than considering the culpability of city and state officials. I am > fully aware of the challenges of having a quick and responsive emergency > response to a major disaster. And there is definitely a time for > accountability; but what isn’t fair is to dump on the federal officials and > avoid those most responsible — local and state officials who failed to do > their job as the first responders. The plain fact is, lives were needlessly > lost in New Orleans due to the failure of Louisiana’s governor, Kathleen > Blanco, and the city’s mayor, Ray Nagin. > The primary responsibility for dealing with emergencies does not belong to > the federal government. It belongs to local and state officials who are > charged by law with the management of the crucial first response to > disasters. First response should be carried out by local and state emergency > personnel under the supervision of the state governor and his/her emergency > operations center. > The actions and inactions of Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin are a national > disgrace due to their failure to implement the previously established > evacuation plans of the state and city. Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin cannot > claim that they were surprised by the extent of the damage and the need to > evacuate so many people. Detailed written plans were already in place to > evacuate more than a million people. The plans projected that 300,000 people > would need transportation in the event of a hurricane like Katrina. If the > plans had been implemented, thousands of lives would likely have been saved. > In addition to the plans, local, state and federal officials held a > simulated hurricane drill 13 months ago, in which widespread flooding > supposedly trapped 300,000 people inside New Orleans. The exercise simulated > the evacuation of more than a million residents. The problems identified in > the simulation apparently were not solved. > A year ago, as Hurricane Ivan approached, New Orleans ordered an evacuation > but did not use city or school buses to help people evacuate. As a result > many of the poorest citizens were unable to evacuate. Fortunately, the > hurricane changed course and did not hit New Orleans, but both Gov. Blanco > and Mayor Nagin acknowledged the need for a better evacuation plan. Again, > they did not take corrective actions. In 1998, during a threat by Hurricane > George, 14,000 people were sent to the Superdome and theft and vandalism > were rampant due to inadequate security. Again, these problems were not > corrected. > The New Orleans contingency plan is still, as of this writing, on the city’s > Web site, and states: "The safe evacuation of threatened populations is one > of the principle [sic] reasons for developing a Comprehensive Emergency > Management Plan." But the plan was apparently ignored. > Mayor Nagin was responsible for giving the order for mandatory evacuation > and supervising the actual evacuation: His office of Emergency Preparedness > (not the federal government) must coordinate with the state on elements of > evacuation and assist in directing the transportation of evacuees to staging > areas. Mayor Nagin had to be encouraged by the governor to contact the > National Hurricane Center before he finally, belatedly, issued the order for > mandatory evacuation. And sadly, it apparently took a personal call from the > president to urge the governor to order the mandatory evacuation. > The city’s evacuation plan states: "The city of New Orleans will utilize all > available resources to quickly and safely evacuate threatened areas." But > even though the city has enough school and transit buses to evacuate 12,000 > citizens per fleet run, the mayor did not use them. To compound the problem, > the buses were not moved to high ground and were flooded. The plan also > states that "special arrangements will be made to evacuate persons unable to > transport themselves or who require specific lifesaving assistance. > Additional personnel will be recruited to assist in evacuation procedures as > needed." This was not done. > The evacuation plan warned that "if an evacuation order is issued without > the mechanisms needed to disseminate the information to the affected > persons, then we face the possibility of having large numbers of people > either stranded and left to the mercy of a storm, or left in an area > impacted by toxic materials." That is precisely what happened because of the > mayor’s failure. > Instead of evacuating the people, the mayor ordered the refugees to the > Superdome and Convention Center without adequate security and no provisions > for food, water and sanitary conditions. As a result people died, and there > was even rape committed, in these facilities. Mayor Nagin failed in his > responsibility to provide public safety and to manage the orderly evacuation > of the citizens of New Orleans. Now he wants to blame Gov. Blanco and the > Federal Emergency Management Agency. In an emergency the first requirement > is for the city’s emergency center to be linked to the state emergency > operations center. This was not done. > The federal government does not have the authority to intervene in a state > emergency without the request of a governor. President Bush declared an > emergency prior to Katrina hitting New Orleans, so the only action needed > for federal assistance was for Gov. Blanco to request the specific type of > assistance she needed. She failed to send a timely request for specific aid. > In addition, unlike the governors of New York, Oklahoma and California in > past disasters, Gov. Blanco failed to take charge of the situation and > ensure that the state emergency operation facility was in constant contact > with Mayor Nagin and FEMA. It is likely that thousands of people died > because of the failure of Gov. Blanco to implement the state plan, which > mentions the possible need to evacuate up to one million people. The plan > clearly gives the governor the authority for declaring an emergency, sending > in state resources to the disaster area and requesting necessary federal > assistance. > State legislators and governors nationwide need to update their contingency > plans and the operation procedures for state emergency centers. Hurricane > Katrina had been forecast for days, but that will not always be the case > with a disaster (think of terrorist attacks). It must be made clear that the > governor and locally elected officials are in charge of the "first > response." > I am not attempting to excuse some of the delays in FEMA’s response. > Congress and the president need to take corrective action there, also. > However, if citizens expect FEMA to be a first responder to terrorist > attacks or other local emergencies (earthquakes, forest fires, volcanoes), > they will be disappointed. The federal government’s role is to offer aid > upon request. > The Louisiana Legislature should conduct an immediate investigation into the > failures of state and local officials to implement the written emergency > plans. The tragedy is not over, and real leadership in the state and local > government are essential in the months to come. More importantly, the > hurricane season is still upon us, and local and state officials must stay > focused on the jobs for which they were elected — and not on the deadly > game of passing the emergency buck. > Mr. Williams is president of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, a free market > public policy research organization in Olympia, Wash. >      URL for this article: >       http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB112596602138332256,00.html

Response:

> > Maybe nobody would have died (unlikely) and maybe not. > How on Earth can you say that? If EVERYONE was evacuated as the President > requested on Saturday BEFORE the storm, there would have been NO ONE there > to die.

That’s a nice utopian thought, but it’s not reality.  The chance of every single person in any major city being evacuated – voluntarily or not – is slim to none. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> But, the fact remains that our federal govenment sat on their hands for > days after a > national disaster. > I’ve reviewed the New Orleans emergency management plan. Here is an > important section in the first paragraph. > "We coordinate all city departments and allied state and federal agencies > which respond to citywide disasters and emergencies through the development > and constant updating of an integrated multi-hazard plan. All requests for > federal disaster assistance and federal funding subsequent to disaster > declarations are also made through this office. Our authority is defined by > the Louisiana Emergency Assistance and Disaster Act of 1993, Chapter 6 > Section 709, Paragraph B, ‘Each parish shall maintain a Disaster Agency > which, except as otherwise provided under this act, has jurisdiction over > and serves the entire parish.’ " > Check the plan — the "we" in this case is the office of the mayor, Ray > Nagin who was very quick and vocal about blaming everyone but his own > office. A telling picture, at left, taken by The Associated Press on Sept. 1 > and widely circulated on the Internet shows a school bus park, apparently > filled to capacity with buses, under about four feet of water. If a > mandatory evacuation was ordered, why weren’t all the taxpayer-purchased > buses used in the effort?

According to Nagin, he was calling out to every agency he could yet days after, there was still no action.  Nagin didn’t perform perfectly, but at least he was doing *something* which is more than I can say the federal government did… for *days.* I’m not totally disagreeing with you, John; I think there is fault at all levels.  But when I was watching the news last week and not seeing food dropped in or at least some troops brought in to maintain peace in the city, I just kept wondering why the hell some sort of help wasn’t being brought long after the hurricane hit.

Response:

courageously avow: – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->You and the WSJ editorial >page can spin yourself >nauseous to yor heart’s >content, but the fact is: >the third-world governments >dealing with the recent >tsunami acquitted themselves >*nobly* compared to ours.   >Take a break from your >10,000 RPM "blame it on the >locals" horseshit and allow >yourself to be ashamed of >the criminally incompetent >regime to which you’ve >fastened your kisser.

If terrorists had blown the holes in the two levies these fuckwads would still be blaming the mayor, solely because he’s a small d Democrat. Ken Wilson Proud Owner of Lord Valve, PMG, John Wheaton, Claude Lucas,  Freep the Xenophobe, Chuck, the rest of the  Union of Rightwing Idiots Needing Explanations (URINE)  and, at his own request, Karl Rovershank (aka Lars from Mars) Supporting the Troops at http://www.resisters.ca http://www.criticalhistory.com/

Response:

> > But, the fact remains that our federal govenment sat on their hands for > > days after a national disaster.

Days? The Evacuation order only came AFTER the President called and requested it on the Saturday BEFORE the storm. All along the way the Governor PREVENTED the Feds from taking over. " The administration sought unified control over all local police and state National Guard units reporting to the governor. Louisiana officials rejected the request after talks throughout the night, concerned that such a move would be comparable to a federal declaration of martial law. Some officials in the state suspected a political motive behind the request. Louisiana did not reach out to a multi-state mutual aid compact for assistance until Wednesday, three state and federal officials said. As of Saturday, Blanco still had not declared a state of emergency" http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR200…

Response:

>> Maybe nobody would have died (unlikely) and maybe not. >How on Earth can you say that? If EVERYONE was evacuated as the President >requested on Saturday BEFORE the storm, there would have been NO ONE there >to die.

Then why didn’t the Presentdink lend Airfarce One to assist in the pre-hurricane evacuation. Ken Wilson Proud Owner of Lord Valve, PMG, John Wheaton, Claude Lucas,  Freep the Xenophobe, Chuck, the rest of the  Union of Rightwing Idiots Needing Explanations (URINE)  and, at his own request, Karl Rovershank (aka Lars from Mars) Supporting the Troops at http://www.resisters.ca http://www.criticalhistory.com/

Response:

courageously avow: – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> > Maybe nobody would have died (unlikely) and maybe not. > How on Earth can you say that? If EVERYONE was evacuated as the President > requested on Saturday BEFORE the storm, there would have been NO ONE there > to die. >That’s a nice utopian thought, but it’s not reality.  The chance of >every single person in any major city being evacuated – voluntarily or >not – is slim to none. > > But, the fact remains that our federal govenment sat on their hands for > > days after a > > national disaster. > I’ve reviewed the New Orleans emergency management plan. Here is an > important section in the first paragraph. > "We coordinate all city departments and allied state and federal agencies > which respond to citywide disasters and emergencies through the development > and constant updating of an integrated multi-hazard plan. All requests for > federal disaster assistance and federal funding subsequent to disaster > declarations are also made through this office. Our authority is defined by > the Louisiana Emergency Assistance and Disaster Act of 1993, Chapter 6 > Section 709, Paragraph B, ‘Each parish shall maintain a Disaster Agency > which, except as otherwise provided under this act, has jurisdiction over > and serves the entire parish.’ " > Check the plan — the "we" in this case is the office of the mayor, Ray > Nagin who was very quick and vocal about blaming everyone but his own > office. A telling picture, at left, taken by The Associated Press on Sept. 1 > and widely circulated on the Internet shows a school bus park, apparently > filled to capacity with buses, under about four feet of water. If a > mandatory evacuation was ordered, why weren’t all the taxpayer-purchased > buses used in the effort? >According to Nagin, he was calling out to every agency he could yet >days after, there was still no action.  Nagin didn’t perform perfectly, >but at least he was doing *something* which is more than I can say the >federal government did… for *days.* >I’m not totally disagreeing with you, John; I think there is fault at >all levels.  But when I was watching the news last week and not seeing >food dropped in or at least some troops brought in to maintain peace in >the city, I just kept wondering why the hell some sort of help wasn’t >being brought long after the hurricane hit.

It kind of amazes you, the omnipotence of the media.  They were crawling all over New Orleans searching out stories from day one and everybody in charge of actually rescuing anybody is claiming they couldn’t get rescue personnel in. Ken Wilson Proud Owner of Lord Valve, PMG, John Wheaton, Claude Lucas,  Freep the Xenophobe, Chuck, the rest of the  Union of Rightwing Idiots Needing Explanations (URINE)  and, at his own request, Karl Rovershank (aka Lars from Mars) Supporting the Troops at http://www.resisters.ca http://www.criticalhistory.com/

Response:

> This should start out – Karl Rove is crafting a brilliant blame the > victims and local official media blitz.

As one who has received training by FEMA in emergency management and also training by the Department of Defense in consequence management, I believe that the federal response in New Orleans needs clarification. The key to emergency management starts at the local level and expands to the state level. Emergency planning generally does not include any federal guarantees, as there can only be limited ones from the federal level for any local plan. FEMA provides free training, education, assistance and respond in case of an emergency, but the local and state officials run their own emergency management program. Prior development of an emergency plan, addressing all foreseeable contingencies, is the absolute requirement of the local government –and then they share that plan with the state emergency managers to ensure that the state authorities can provide necessary assets not available at the local level. Additionally, good planning will include applicable elements of the federal government (those located in the local area). These processes are well established, but are contingent upon the personal drive of both hired and elected officials at the local level. I’ve reviewed the New Orleans emergency management plan. Here is an important section in the first paragraph. "We coordinate all city departments and allied state and federal agencies which respond to citywide disasters and emergencies through the development and constant updating of an integrated multi-hazard plan. All requests for federal disaster assistance and federal funding subsequent to disaster declarations are also made through this office. Our authority is defined by the Louisiana Emergency Assistance and Disaster Act of 1993, Chapter 6 Section 709, Paragraph B, ‘Each parish shall maintain a Disaster Agency which, except as otherwise provided under this act, has jurisdiction over and serves the entire parish.’ " Check the plan — the "we" in this case is the office of the mayor, Ray Nagin who was very quick and vocal about blaming everyone but his own office. A telling picture, at left, taken by The Associated Press on Sept. 1 and widely circulated on the Internet shows a school bus park, apparently filled to capacity with buses, under about four feet of water. If a mandatory evacuation was ordered, why weren’t all the taxpayer-purchased buses used in the effort? Who could have predicted the anarchy resulting as a consequence? The individuals who devolved into lawless animals embarrass the entirety of America. (I worked in a U.S. Embassy overseas for a couple years and I can imagine what foreign diplomats are thinking.) What societal factors would ever lead people to believe that this behavior was even remotely acceptable? The folks in New Orleans who are perpetrating the violence and lawlessness are not that way because of low income or of race, but because they personally do not have any honor or commitment to higher ideals. The civil-rights leaders should be ashamed at playing the blame game. The blame is on the individuals. The blame is on the society that allowed these individuals to develop the ideal that the individual is greater than the national pride he is destroying. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was very clear in her comments that she was offended at those who suggested the suffering in New Orleans was prolonged because of race. As a retired Marine, I hang my head in shame to see my fellow Americans degenerate so far. I spent so many years in the Corps helping the citizens of other countries rise to a higher level of personal responsibility to ensure that in case of emergency, anarchy did not necessarily follow. When people are held to a higher standard of personal responsibility and they accept that, then they will do the right thing when the time comes. It seems that the mayor of New Orleans is leading the effort in not taking responsibility for his actions. The emergency managers for the state of Louisiana do not have much to say either. The failure in the first 48 hours to provide direction for survivors is theirs to live with. When FEMA was able to take over, it started out behind and had to develop its plan on the fly. Now the federal government has established priorities — rescue the stranded, evacuate the city, flow in resources and fix the levee. It appears that now there is a plan and it is being systematically executed. Hurricane Katrina was a national tragedy — not just in the number of lives lost or the amount of physical damage, but also in the failure of people to do what is right when no one is looking. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05249/566101.stm

Response:

>> If no other good comes out of this, at least the media is starting to > show some balls again. >Some intelligence would be far more welcomed. Check some facts! >As one who has received training by FEMA in emergency management and also >training by the Department of Defense in consequence management, I believe >that the federal response in New Orleans needs clarification.

I’d be surprised if you were even paper trained let alone had training of any substance and use to somebody. Ken Wilson Proud Owner of Lord Valve, PMG, John Wheaton, Claude Lucas,  Freep the Xenophobe, Chuck, the rest of the  Union of Rightwing Idiots Needing Explanations (URINE)  and, at his own request, Karl Rovershank (aka Lars from Mars) Supporting the Troops at http://www.resisters.ca http://www.criticalhistory.com/

Response:

> This should start out – Karl Rove is crafting a brilliant blame the > victims and local official media blitz. > No surprise there but that dog ain’t gonna fly.

A Political Tempest? It was inevitable, we suppose. Less than a week after hurricane Katrina, the first poll came out to measure its political impact. The results, which ABC News released Sunday, will be highly disappointing to the Angry Left: 55% of those polled do not blame President Bush for the storm’s devastation, and although 67% think the federal government wasn’t "adequately prepared," 75% say the same thing about state and local government If Katrina’s aftermath was, or is seen to have been, a government failure, state and local officials in the affected states–especially Louisiana–are likely to pay a price. And Katrina may change Louisiana politics for another reason: demographics. The storm forced a mass exodus from New Orleans and vicinity, and many residents surely will resettle out of state. The political effect will depend on whence the emigrants turn out to have come. New Orleans’s Mayor Ray Nagin is up for re-election in February 2006, Gov. Kathleen Blanco and Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu in November 2007, and Sen. Mary Landrieu in November 2008. All four are Democrats. When they point the finger at the federal government for whatever went wrong in the Katrina response, remember that they are fighting for their political lives. http://www.opinionjournal.com/best/?id=110007217

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> If no other good comes out of this, at least the media is starting to > show some balls again. > Some intelligence would be far more welcomed. Check some facts! > As one who has received training by FEMA in emergency management and also > training by the Department of Defense in consequence management, I believe > that the federal response in New Orleans needs clarification. > The key to emergency management starts at the local level and expands to the > state level. Emergency planning generally does not include any federal > guarantees, as there can only be limited ones from the federal level for any > local plan. FEMA provides free training, education, assistance and respond > in case of an emergency, but the local and state officials run their own > emergency management program. > Prior development of an emergency plan, addressing all foreseeable > contingencies, is the absolute requirement of the local government –and > then they share that plan with the state emergency managers to ensure that > the state authorities can provide necessary assets not available at the > local level. Additionally, good planning will include applicable elements of > the federal government (those located in the local area). These processes > are well established, but are contingent upon the personal drive of both > hired and elected officials at the local level. > I’ve reviewed the New Orleans emergency management plan. Here is an > important section in the first paragraph. > "We coordinate all city departments and allied state and federal agencies > which respond to citywide disasters and emergencies through the development > and constant updating of an integrated multi-hazard plan. All requests for > federal disaster assistance and federal funding subsequent to disaster > declarations are also made through this office. Our authority is defined by > the Louisiana Emergency Assistance and Disaster Act of 1993, Chapter 6 > Section 709, Paragraph B, ‘Each parish shall maintain a Disaster Agency > which, except as otherwise provided under this act, has jurisdiction over > and serves the entire parish.’ " > Check the plan — the "we" in this case is the office of the mayor, Ray > Nagin who was very quick and vocal about blaming everyone but his own > office. A telling picture, at left, taken by The Associated Press on Sept. 1 > and widely circulated on the Internet shows a school bus park, apparently > filled to capacity with buses, under about four feet of water. If a > mandatory evacuation was ordered, why weren’t all the taxpayer-purchased > buses used in the effort? > Who could have predicted the anarchy resulting as a consequence? The > individuals who devolved into lawless animals embarrass the entirety of > America. (I worked in a U.S. Embassy overseas for a couple years and I can > imagine what foreign diplomats are thinking.) What societal factors would > ever lead people to believe that this behavior was even remotely acceptable? > The folks in New Orleans who are perpetrating the violence and lawlessness > are not that way because of low income or of race, but because they > personally do not have any honor or commitment to higher ideals. The > civil-rights leaders should be ashamed at playing the blame game. > The blame is on the individuals. The blame is on the society that allowed > these individuals to develop the ideal that the individual is greater than > the national pride he is destroying. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was > very clear in her comments that she was offended at those who suggested the > suffering in New Orleans was prolonged because of race. > As a retired Marine, I hang my head in shame to see my fellow Americans > degenerate so far. I spent so many years in the Corps helping the citizens > of other countries rise to a higher level of personal responsibility to > ensure that in case of emergency, anarchy did not necessarily follow. When > people are held to a higher standard of personal responsibility and they > accept that, then they will do the right thing when the time comes. > It seems that the mayor of New Orleans is leading the effort in not taking > responsibility for his actions. The emergency managers for the state of > Louisiana do not have much to say either. The failure in the first 48 hours > to provide direction for survivors is theirs to live with. When FEMA was > able to take over, it started out behind and had to develop its plan on the > fly. Now the federal government has established priorities — rescue the > stranded, evacuate the city, flow in resources and fix the levee. It appears > that now there is a plan and it is being systematically executed. > Hurricane Katrina was a national tragedy — not just in the number of lives > lost or the amount of physical damage, but also in the failure of people to > do what is right when no one is looking. > http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05249/566101.stm

Yes, some intelligence *would* be welcomed.  What the hell does this same article that you keep posting over and over in reply to everything have to do with my statement about the media finally asking hard questions?

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> Yes, some intelligence *would* be welcomed.  What the hell does this > same article that you keep posting over and over in reply to everything > have to do with my statement about the media finally asking hard > questions?

The problem is that the media is NOT asking the hard questions. 1) "A year ago, as Hurricane Ivan approached, New Orleans ordered an evacuation but did not use city or school buses to help people evacuate. As a result many of the poorest citizens were unable to evacuate. Fortunately, the hurricane changed course and did not hit New Orleans, but both Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin acknowledged the need for a better evacuation plan." Why wasn’t a better plan implemented? Why wasn’t ANY plan implemented? No one would have died if the city had been evacuated. Louisiana disaster plan, pg 13, para 5 , dated 01/00 ‘The primary means of hurricane evacuation will be personal vehicles. School and municipal buses, government-owned vehicles and vehicles provided by volunteer agencies may be used to provide transportation for individuals who lack transportation and require assistance in evacuating’… http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/050901/480/flpc21109012015 2) Why do the locals blame the Feds, when the Governor wouldn’t give the Feds permission? "The administration sought unified control over all local police and state National Guard units reporting to the governor. Louisiana officials rejected the request after talks throughout the night, concerned that such a move would be comparable to a federal declaration of martial law. Some officials in the state suspected a political motive behind the request. Louisiana did not reach out to a multi-state mutual aid compact for assistance until Wednesday, three state and federal officials said. As of Saturday, Blanco still had not declared a state of emergency" http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR200… 3) The 10th Ammendment does NOT allow the Feds to just march in. Why didn’t Blanco declare a state of emergency? 4) There was ZERO communication. Why? "WASHINGTON (CNN) — Nine stockpiles of fire-and-rescue equipment strategically placed around the country to be used in the event of a catastrophe still have not been pressed into service in New Orleans, five days after Hurricane Katrina, CNN has learned. Responding to a CNN inquiry, Department of Homeland Security spokesman Marc Short said Friday the gear has not been moved because none of the governors in the hurricane-ravaged area has requested it. A federal official said the department’s Office for Domestic Preparedness reminded the Louisiana and Mississippi governors’ offices about the stockpiles on Wednesday and Thursday, but neither governor had requested it."

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->  allow yourself to be ashamed of  the criminally incompetent > regime to which you’ve fastened your kisser. > No state or local government could have handled this disaster >Complete Bull Shit! It was the Emergency Policy of New Orleans that the city >would be evacuated. As they found out in a drill a year ago, they needed to >update their plan, and they did NOT. If the city had been evacuated there >would have been ZERO deaths. ALL of the deaths are on the Mayor & Governor’s >hands. > Mayor Nagin was responsible for giving the order for mandatory evacuation >and supervising the actual evacuation: His office of Emergency Preparedness >(not the federal government) must coordinate with the state on elements of >evacuation and assist in directing the transportation of evacuees to staging >areas. Mayor Nagin had to be encouraged by the governor to contact the >National Hurricane Center before he finally, belatedly, issued the order for >mandatory evacuation. And sadly, it apparently took a personal call from the >president to urge the governor to order the mandatory evacuation. >The city’s evacuation plan states: "The city of New Orleans will utilize all >available resources to quickly and safely evacuate threatened areas." But >even though the city has enough school and transit buses to evacuate 12,000 >citizens per fleet run, the mayor did not use them. To compound the problem, >the buses were not moved to high ground and were flooded. The plan also >states that "special arrangements will be made to evacuate persons unable to >transport themselves or who require specific lifesaving assistance. >Additional personnel will be recruited to assist in evacuation procedures as >needed." This was not done.

The mayor didn’t have the "resources" in question, John — that’s why the federal help was crucial.   It was duly requested and was not forthcoming until well after the disaster had become the national disgrace it is today.  No city of comparable size has every become unhabitable so quickly — you have to go back to the Galveston Flood, the Chicago Fire and the Great San Francisco Earthquake to find anything close.  The is no city in the country with the resources to evacuate complete in a 1-2 day timeframe, even with state help. I reiterate, any bitch you have with local and state officials is moot — they will answer to the voters who elected them.  The failure at the federal level is my (and your!) rightful concern, and your inability to face that blatant, egregious failure while looking for scapegoats that are none of your business anyway speaks volumes.        Posted via TITANnews – Uncensored Newsgroups Access              >>>> at http://www.TitanNews.com <<<< -=Every Newsgroup – Anonymous, UNCENSORED, BROADBAND Downloads=-

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Yes, some intelligence *would* be welcomed.  What the hell does this > same article that you keep posting over and over in reply to everything > have to do with my statement about the media finally asking hard > questions? > The problem is that the media is NOT asking the hard questions. > 1) "A year ago, as Hurricane Ivan approached, New Orleans ordered an > evacuation but did not use city or school buses to help people evacuate. As > a result > many of the poorest citizens were unable to evacuate. Fortunately, the > hurricane changed course and did not hit New Orleans, but both Gov. Blanco > and Mayor Nagin acknowledged the need for a better evacuation plan." > Why wasn’t a better plan implemented? Why wasn’t ANY plan implemented? No > one would have died if the city had been evacuated. > Louisiana disaster plan, pg 13, para 5 , dated 01/00 > ‘The primary means of hurricane evacuation will be personal vehicles. School > and municipal buses, government-owned vehicles and vehicles provided by > volunteer agencies may be used to provide transportation for individuals who > lack transportation and require assistance in evacuating’… > http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/050901/480/flpc21109012015 > 2) Why do the locals blame the Feds, when the Governor wouldn’t give the > Feds permission? "The administration sought unified control over all local > police and state National Guard units reporting to the governor. Louisiana > officials rejected the request after talks throughout the night, concerned > that such a move > would be comparable to a federal declaration of martial law. Some officials > in the state suspected a political motive behind the request. Louisiana did > not reach out to a multi-state mutual aid compact for assistance until > Wednesday, three state and federal officials said. As of Saturday, Blanco > still had not declared a state of emergency" > http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR200… > 3) The 10th Ammendment does NOT allow the Feds to just march in. Why didn’t > Blanco declare a state of emergency? > 4) There was ZERO communication. Why? "WASHINGTON (CNN) — Nine stockpiles > of fire-and-rescue equipment strategically placed around the country to be > used in the event of a catastrophe still have not been pressed into service > in New Orleans, five days after Hurricane Katrina, CNN has learned. > Responding to a CNN inquiry, Department of Homeland Security spokesman Marc > Short said Friday the gear has not been moved because none of the governors > in the hurricane-ravaged area has requested it. > A federal official said the department’s Office for Domestic Preparedness > reminded the Louisiana and Mississippi governors’ offices about the > stockpiles on Wednesday and Thursday, but neither governor had requested > it."

What do you mean they’re not asking hard questions?  Where did you pull your sources from?   Looks like a newspaper and an AP photo to me.

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John is an apoligist for the Bush Administration. He only quotes from "official" newspapers. Never mind that the governor’s leter requiesting help on the 28th has been posted all over the internets. Come on Bush didn’t find it. AND not only that by those FEMA guys don’t read anything but headlines, especially the one that went "New Oleans Missed by Hurricane, Sigh of Relief Heard. Unfortunately it was a a scream for relief and they didn’t hear it for days and days.

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> The mayor didn’t have the "resources" in question,

If he had evactuated everyone on Saturday when the President called there wouldn’t have been anyone there to die. The buses sat, and the poor ended up trapped at the Dome, and the infirmed, trapped at the Hospitals. > John — that’s why the  federal help was crucial.  It was duly requested > and was not forthcoming until well after the disaster  had become the > national > disgrace it is today.

The Governor had control over the National Guard, yet they were not implemented, and as I have posted ad naseum, the Governor didn’t sign the Emergency co-operation pact until Wednesday night, and as of the end of last week, she still had NOT declared a state of emergency. See ya, John

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> What do you mean they’re not asking hard questions?  Where did you pull > your sources from?   Looks like a newspaper and an AP photo to me.

CNN, Wash Post, Yahoo, AP, and Louisianna Emergency Plan. See ya, John

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Al Queda second in command vows more attacks.  Says it’s not about religion but about oppression of Palestine and the presence of American troops in their holy lands. Is the right scamming us?  Trying to use religious zealotry because doing it for the oil doesn’t sell as well?  You be the judge. Ken Wilson Proud Owner of Lord Valve, PMG, John Wheaton, Claude Lucas,  Freep the Xenophobe, and the rest of the  Union of Rightwing Idiots Needing Explanations (URINE)  And at his own request, Lars GotShanked Supporting the Troops at http://www.resisters.ca

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It’s really a hoot the way we stood in favor of the poor wronged Afghanis when the former Soviet Union was in there. THEN they were freedom fighters, opposing a big, overbearing,  brutal invader in the only way they could, through guerilla tactics. Now that it’s WE who are throwing our weight around, suddenly, they’re terrorists. Holliston Perni http://www.AmericanJunta.com – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Al Queda second in command vows more attacks.  Says it’s not about > religion but about oppression of Palestine and the presence of > American troops in their holy lands. > Is the right scamming us?  Trying to use religious zealotry because > doing it for the oil doesn’t sell as well?  You be the judge. > Ken Wilson > Proud Owner of Lord Valve, PMG, John Wheaton, Claude Lucas, > Freep the Xenophobe, and the rest of the > Union of Rightwing Idiots Needing Explanations (URINE) > And at his own request, Lars GotShanked > Supporting the Troops at http://www.resisters.ca

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> Al Queda second in command vows more attacks.  Says it’s not about > religion but about oppression of Palestine and the presence of > American troops in their holy lands. > Is the right scamming us?  Trying to use religious zealotry because > doing it for the oil doesn’t sell as well?  You be the judge. > Ken Wilson > Proud Owner of Lord Valve, PMG, John Wheaton, Claude Lucas, >  Freep the Xenophobe, and the rest of the >  Union of Rightwing Idiots Needing Explanations (URINE) >  And at his own request, Lars GotShanked > Supporting the Troops at http://www.resisters.ca

Most people don’t understand (or, even try to understand) *why* the terrorists even exist and are trying to harm us. They are the bad guys, because we said so.  Period.  That’s the general attitude in the USA. A little bit of education would go a looooong way and open a lot of eyes. But….it’s too bad that most can’t be bothered with that. Mike

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Sure, fellas — because Zawihari wouldn’t scam us, would he? It’s absolutely a GIVEN that you believe every word HE says. That’s why we don’t elect your sort. Keep telling us how you believe him, though… people might forget. Freep

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Al Queda second in command vows more attacks.  Says it’s not about > religion but about oppression of Palestine and the presence of > American troops in their holy lands. > Is the right scamming us?  Trying to use religious zealotry because > doing it for the oil doesn’t sell as well?  You be the judge. > Ken Wilson > Proud Owner of Lord Valve, PMG, John Wheaton, Claude Lucas, >  Freep the Xenophobe, and the rest of the >  Union of Rightwing Idiots Needing Explanations (URINE) >  And at his own request, Lars GotShanked > Supporting the Troops at http://www.resisters.ca > Most people don’t understand (or, even try to understand) *why* the > terrorists even exist and are trying to harm us. > They are the bad guys, because we said so.  Period.  That’s the general > attitude in the USA. > A little bit of education would go a looooong way and open a lot of eyes. > But….it’s too bad that most can’t be bothered with that. > Mike

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> Zawihari wouldn’t scam us, would he? It’s absolutely > a GIVEN that you believe every word HE says

It’s amazing that he and Dubya have so much in common.

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So you’re saying you think he WOULD? I think I can safely assume that you’re not saying that GWB *wouldn’t*… Well then you ought to tell Pritch and Kenny. They don’t know. He says it, and they believe. Freep

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Zawihari wouldn’t scam us, would he? It’s absolutely > a GIVEN that you believe every word HE says > It’s amazing that he and Dubya have so much in common.

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http://www.worldpress.org/specials/pp/pipeline_timeline.htm 1996 IS THE BOMB fEBRUARY Agreement between Afghan government and Bridas signed. Suit filed by Bridas in Texas against Unocal/Delta for interference in its business in Turkmenistan. March U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, Tom Simmons, urges Bhutto to give exclusive rights to Unocal. Bhutto offended and demands apology. May Turkmenisatn, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and Afghanistan agree that Turkmenistan should name the consortium to build the pipeline. Opening of 100-mile railway route linking Turkmenistan and Iran. August Unocal/Delta and Turkmenistan’s Turkmenrosgaz along with Russia’s Gazprom enter into agreement for pipeline project. Septmeber Unocal says it will give aid to to Afghan warlords once they agree to form a council to supervise the project. Taliban take Kabul. October Unocal expresses suport for Taliban takover, saying it makes pipeline project easier. Unocal later says it was misquoted. November Bridas signs agreement with Taliban and Gen. Dostum to build pipeline. December Turkey to buy Turkmen gas through Iran. NEWS YOU’LL DENY After Bush’s accession to the presidency, various Taliban envoys were received at the State Department, CIA, and National Security Council. The CIA, which appears, more than ever, to be a virtual extended family of the Bush oil interests, facilitated a renewed approach to the Taliban. The CIA agent who helped set up the Afghan mujaheddin, Milt Bearden, continued to defend the interests of the Taliban. He bemoaned the fact that the United States never really bothered to understand the Taliban when he told the Washington Post last October, "We never heard what they were trying to say… We had no common language. Ours was, ‘Give up bin Laden.’ They were saying, ‘Do something to help us give him up.’ " There were even reports that the CIA met with their old mujaheddin operative bin Laden in the months before September 11 attacks. The French newspaper Le Figaro quoted an Arab specialist named Antoine Sfeir who postulated that the CIA met with bin Laden in July in a failed attempt to bring him back under its fold. Sfeir said the CIA maintained links with bin Laden before the U.S. attacked his terrorist training camps in Afghanistan in 1998 and, more astonishingly, kept them going even after the attacks. Sfeir told the paper, "Until the last minute, CIA agents hoped bin Laden would return to U.S. command, as was the case before 1998." Bin Laden actually officially broke with the US in 1991 when US troops began arriving in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm. Bin Laden felt this was a violation of the Saudi regime’s responsibility to protect the Islamic Holy Shrines of Mecca and Medina from the infidels. Bin Laden’s anti-American and anti-House of Saud rhetoric soon reached a fever pitch. The Clinton administration made numerous attempts to kill Bin Laden. In August 1998, Al Qaeda operatives blew up several U.S. embassies in Africa. In response, Bill Clinton ordered cruise missiles to be launched from US ships in the Persian Gulf into Afghanistan, which missed Bin Laden by a few hours. The Clinton administration also devised a plan with Pakistan’s ISI to send a team of assassins into Afghanistan to kill Bin Laden. But Pakistan’s government was overthrown by General Musharraf, who was viewed as particularly close to the Taliban. The CIA cancelled its plans, fearing Musharraf’s ISI would tip off the Taliban and Bin Laden. . The CIA’s connections to the ISI in the months before September 11 and the weeks after are also worthy of a full-blown investigation. The CIA continues to maintain an unhealthy alliance with the ISI, the organization that groomed bin Laden and the Taliban. Last September, the head of the ISI, General Mahmud Ahmed, was fired by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf for his pro-Taliban leanings and reportedly after the U.S. government presented Musharraf with disturbing intelligence linking the general to the terrorist hijackers. General Ahmed was in Washington, DC on the morning of September 11 meeting with CIA and State Department officials as the hijacked planes slammed into the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Later, both the Northern Alliance spokesman in Washington, Haron Amin, and Indian intelligence, in an apparent leak to The Times of India, confirmed that General Ahmed ordered a Pakistani-born British citizen and known terrorist named Ahmed Umar Sheik to wire $100,000 from Pakistan to the U.S. bank account of Mohammed Atta, the lead hijacker. When the FBI traced calls made between General Ahmed and Sheik’s cellular phone – the number having been supplied by Indian intelligence to the FBI – a pattern linking the general with Sheik clearly emerged. According to The Times of India, the revelation that General Ahmed was involved in the Sheik-Atta money transfer was more than enough for a nervous and embarrassed Bush administration. It pressed Musharraf to dump General Ahmed. Musharraf mealy-mouthed the announcement of his general’s dismissal by stating Ahmed "requested" early retirement. Sheik was well known to the Indian police. He was arrested in New Delhi in 1994 for plotting to kidnap four foreigners, including an American citizen. Sheik was released by the Indians in 1999 in a swap for passengers on board New Delhi-bound Indian Airlines flight 814, hijacked by Islamic militants from Kathmandu, Nepal to Kandahar, Afghanistan. India continues to believe the ISI played a part in the hijacking since the hijackers were affiliated with the pro-bin Laden Kashmiri terrorist group, Harkat-ul-Mujaheddin, a group only recently and quite belatedly placed on the State Department’s terrorist list. The ISI and bin Laden’s Al Qaeda reportedly assists the group in its operations against Indian government targets in Kashmir. The FBI, which assisted its Indian counterpart in the investigation of the Indian Airlines hijacking, says it wants information leading to the arrest of those involved in the terrorist attacks. Yet, no move has been made to question General Ahmed or those U.S. government officials, including Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, who met with him in September. Clearly, General Ahmed was a major player in terrorist activities across South Asia, yet still had very close ties to the U.S. government. General Ahmed’s terrorist-supporting activities – and the U.S. government officials who tolerated those activities – need to be investigated. The Taliban visits to Washington continued up to a few months prior to the September 11 attacks. The State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research’s South Asian Division maintained constant satellite telephone contact with the Taliban in Kandahar and Kabul. Washington permitted the Taliban to maintain a diplomatic office in Queens, New York headed by Taliban diplomat Abdul Hakim Mojahed. In addition, U.S. officials, including Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs Christina Rocca, who is also a former CIA officer, visited Taliban diplomatic officials in Islamabad. In the meantime, the Bush administration took a hostile attitude towards the Islamic State of Afghanistan, otherwise known as the Northern Alliance. Even though the United Nations recognized the alliance as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, the Bush administration, with oil at the forefront of its goals, decided to follow the lead of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan and curry favor with the Taliban mullahs of Afghanistan. The visits of Islamist radicals did not end with the Taliban. In July 2001, the head of Pakistan’s pro-bin Laden Jamiaat-i-Islami Party, Qazi Hussein Ahmed, also reportedly was received at the George Bush Center for Intelligence (aka, CIA headquarters) in Langley, Virginia. According to the Washington Post, the Special Envoy of Mullah Omar, Rahmatullah Hashami, even came to Washington bearing a gift carpet for President Bush from the one-eyed Taliban leader. The Village Voice reported that Hashami, on behalf of the Taliban, offered the Bush administration to hold on to bin Laden long enough for the United States to capture or kill him but, inexplicably, the administration refused. Meanwhile, Spozhmai Maiwandi, the director of the Voice of America’s Pashtun service, jokingly nicknamed "Kandahar Rose" by her colleagues, aired favorable reports on the Taliban, including a controversial interview with Mullah Omar. The Bush administration’s dalliances with the Taliban may have even continued after the start of the bombing campaign against their country. According to European intelligence sources, a number of European governments were concerned that the CIA and Big Oil were pressuring the Bush administration not to engage in an initial serious ground war on behalf of the Northern Alliance in order to placate Pakistan and its Taliban compatriots. The early-on decision to stick with an incessant air bombardment, they reasoned, was causing too many civilian deaths and increasing the shakiness of the international coalition. The obvious, and woefully underreported, interfaces between the Bush administration, UNOCAL, the CIA, the Taliban, Enron, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, the groundwork for which was laid when the Bush Oil team was on the sidelines during the Clinton administration, is making the Republicans worried. Vanquished vice presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman is in the ironic position of being the senator who will chair the Senate Government Affairs Committee hearings on the collapse of Enron. The roads from Enron also lead to Afghanistan and murky Bush oil politics. UNOCAL was also clearly concerned about its past ties to the Taliban. On September 14, just three days after terrorists of the Afghan-base al Qaeda movement crashed their planes into the World Trade Center and Pentagon, UNOCAL issued the following statement: "The company is not supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan in any way whatsoever. Nor do we have any project … read more »

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