Subj : Re: Um...no comment? To : alt.tv.farscape From : Jim Larson Date : Fri Sep 02 2005 01:16:15 From Newsgroup: alt.tv.farscape John Iwaniszek wrote: > "RR" wrote in > news:zFMRe.12755$Nx.1336@tornado.texas.rr.com: > >> Jim Larson wrote: >> >>>> In 2001, FEMA warned that a hurricane striking New Orleans was one >>>> of the three most likely disasters in the U.S. But the Bush >>>> administration cut New Orleans flood control funding by 44 percent >>>> to pay for the Iraq war. >>>> >>>> A year ago the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed to study how >>>> New Orleans could be protected from a catastrophic hurricane, but >>>> the Bush administration ordered that the research not be undertaken. >>>> >>>> After a flood killed six people in 1995, Congress created the >>>> Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, in which the Corps >>>> of Engineers strengthened and renovated levees and pumping stations. >>>> In early 2001, the Federal Emergency Management Agency issued a >>>> report stating that a hurricane striking New Orleans was one of the >>>> three most likely disasters in the U.S., including a terrorist >>>> attack on New York City. But by 2003 the federal funding for the >>>> flood control project essentially dried up as it was drained into >>>> the Iraq war. In 2004, the Bush administration cut funding requested >>>> by the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for >>>> holding back the waters of Lake Pontchartrain by more than 80 >>>> percent. Additional cuts at the beginning of this year (for a total >>>> reduction in funding of 44.2 percent since 2001) forced the New >>>> Orleans district of the Corps to impose a hiring freeze. The Senate >>>> had debated adding funds for fixing New Orleans' levees, but it was >>>> too late. >>>> >>>> The New Orleans Times-Picayune, which before the hurricane published >>>> a series on the federal funding problem, and whose presses are now >>>> underwater, reported online: "No one can say they didn't see it >>>> coming ... Now in the wake of one of the worst storms ever, serious >>>> questions are being asked about the lack of preparation." >>>> >>>> By Sidney Blumenthal >>>> Salon.com Wednesday 31 August 2005 >>>> >>> >>> (You're trying to make Iwa explode, right?) >> >> (The "Larry King" thread was becoming bloated and difficult to wade >> through.) >> > > I still think Larry King should be plastinated and stored. > And sold as valuable memorabilia on Ebay in a few years time? -- Jim .