Top > Dave's World > Weblog Archive > 2005 > August > 31Previous/Next


Scripting News, the weblog started in 1997 that bootstrapped the blogging revolution.
 
Permanent link to archive for Wednesday, August 31, 2005. Wednesday, August 31, 2005

A picture named mrNatural.gifThe catastrophe that hit New Orleans was predictable, and in fact, it was predicted. A sufficiently strong hurricane, even one that struck a glancing blow, was enough to break the levee and flood the city. When I was a student in New Orleans, there was a story going around that during hurricanes the National Guard would patrol the tops of the levees, because the police from neighboring parishes would blow their neighbor's levee, so the flooding would happen over there instead of over here. No one is saying that's what happened this time, but they should figure out why the levee broke where and when it did, if the water topped the levee and then eroded it out, or if it was helped along by someone with a shovel or a bit of explosive. Don't think it can't happen. New Orleans for all its charm and beauty is one seriously fucked-up place. The looting is as much the spirit of the Crescent City as the jazz funerals and good food and les bon temps. Racism is a tradition. You can't walk around the city, no matter what your race or economic status, without feeling it. It's one of the first experiences for a visitor to the city who ventures out of the tourist sections.  Permanent link to this item in the archive.

Houston Chronicle: "As many as 23,000 refugees at the Superdome prepared to board buses and head to Houston's Astrodome today even as hundreds of others arrived from New Orleans on their own, exhausted and desperate, only to find they won't be allowed in." Permanent link to this item in the archive.

A Nikon camera with built-in wifi should be a cause for partying, however, according to David Pogue, "it only thumps the earth instead of shaking it."  Permanent link to this item in the archive.

Brad Neuburg: "You are invited to try out the San Francisco Coworking space this comming Tuesday, September 6th!" Permanent link to this item in the archive.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Lines at Atlanta area gas pumps grew along with prices this afternoon as word spread of possible fuel shortages." Permanent link to this item in the archive.

Staci Kramer is looking for a way to convert a wiki into OPML. Permanent link to this item in the archive.

Tulane's website has turned into a blog.  Permanent link to this item in the archive.

Fair question: "How is it that today, nearly four years after 9/11, we have no cohesive plan to deal with the region's refugees, the potentially one million American citizens without work or a home or basic care?" Permanent link to this item in the archive.

A picture named think.gifComment: The writer above is absolutely correct that, if we were prepared, the response to the aftermath of Katrina would be further along by now. Responsibility however is not with the administration, it lies with the electorate. We had a chance to make last year's election a referendum on the politics of terrorism, to seriously evaluate our preparedness, if we really cared. If anything is learned from this, we have to think, we can't delegate. We need leadership that cares, not in a superficial way. That leadership must come from us. We have some very huge decisions to make right now, and many thousands of lives depend on how well we do. That said, I have few ideas of things we can do other than give money to relief agencies, which of course, we are doing. Permanent link to this item in the archive.

Weather for New Orleans. High of 91, forty percent chance of thunderstorms. The airport is now open. Good news. Permanent link to this item in the archive.

Gil Sharon via email: "Dave, the Causeway is damaged, but open to emergency vehicles. It's the Interstate 10 bridge to Slidell that was completely destroyed." Permanent link to this item in the archive.

Ernie the Attorney, who was in New Orleans through the hurricane, is safe in Jennings, Louisiana; 172 miles west of the city on Interstate 10. Permanent link to this item in the archive.

Times-Picayune on lawlessness in New Orleans. "What I want to know is why we don’t have paratroopers with machine guns on every street."  Permanent link to this item in the archive.

They also report that the uptown Children's Hospital is under seigePermanent link to this item in the archive.

People's Daily: "As Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans on Monday, experts said it could turn one of the United States' most charming cities into a vast cesspool tainted with toxic chemicals, human waste and even coffins released by floodwaters from the city's legendary cemeteries." Permanent link to this item in the archive.

On CNN, Aaron Brown asks what the city will look like when the water recedes. The correct answer, which he did not get, is that the water isn't going to recede. The only way to get the water out of the city is to pump it out, after the levees are fixed. In the meantime, the water isn't receding, it's going the other way, it's rising. Permanent link to this item in the archive.

A picture named jazzfuneral.jpg Permanent link to this item in the archive.

New header graphic from Point Pinole Regional SeashorePermanent link to this item in the archive.

     

Last update: Wednesday, August 31, 2005 at 8:58 PM Eastern.

Dave Winer Mailto icon

 


Community Directory
A picture named folder.gif Seattle Mind Camp Roll
A picture named folder.gif On this day in
A picture named folder.gif News.Com top 100 OPML
A picture named folder.gif BloggerCon III Blogroll
A picture named folder.gif TechCrunch reviews
A picture named folder.gif Tod Maffin's directory of Public Radio podcasts
A picture named folder.gif Adam Curry's iPodder.org directory
A picture named folder.gif Memeorandum
A picture named folder.gif DaveNet archive
A picture named folder.gif Scripting News sites
Click here to view the OPML source for this directory.

Click here to see a list of recently updated OPML weblogs.

Morning Coffee Notes, an occasional podcast by Scripting News Editor, Dave Winer.

August 2005
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
 
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
 
Jul   Sep


Click here to see an XML representation of the content of this weblog.

Click here to view the OPML version of Scripting News.


          


© Copyright 1997-2005 Dave Winer. The picture at the top of the page may change from time to time. Previous graphics are archived.


Previous/Next