NationStates Jolt Archive

http://media.putfile.com/OlbermannSwings
^This guy makes a number of excellent points, I think.

However, I would rather talk about how it appears from an outside perspective. Yes, I have american citizenship, however, I live in Canada and there was a time when I was proud of both countries... however, I can't be proud of how the United States is handling the tradegy that has resulted from the hurricane. Watching the news clips, it's hard to believe that this is happening in the states. It's like something you expect from a third world country almost, yet there it is, right next door, a complete failure to save the lives of citizens. I don't really care which level of government is responsable here, I'm not too fond of either political party down there, hell, I can't even vote for them if I want to.
However, something seems to be seriously wrong with this whole situation, the fact that no one helped out for days after the hurricane struck, the fact that people were left to die in attics because they couldn't evacuate, the fact that third world countries seem to handle disasters like this better does not befit what is supposed to be the greatest country in the world.
This is also rather concerning as a canadian, as most of our trade is done with this one country that can't even rescue its own citizens in a timely manner. Whenever someone talks about someone declaring war on Canada, the usual response is "Well, the americans have our backs" but what the fuck, man, if they can't handle this what would happen if something did happen.
Something needs to change in the states, this sort of shit should be handled better.

http://media.putfile.com/OlbermannSwings
^This guy makes a number of excellent points, I think.

However, I would rather talk about how it appears from an outside perspective. Yes, I have american citizenship, however, I live in Canada and there was a time when I was proud of both countries... however, I can't be proud of how the United States is handling the tradegy that has resulted from the hurricane. Watching the news clips, it's hard to believe that this is happening in the states. It's like something you expect from a third world country almost, yet there it is, right next door, a complete failure to save the lives of citizens. I don't really care which level of government is responsable here, I'm not too fond of either political party down there, hell, I can't even vote for them if I want to.
However, something seems to be seriously wrong with this whole situation, the fact that no one helped out for days after the hurricane struck, the fact that people were left to die in attics because they couldn't evacuate, the fact that third world countries seem to handle disasters like this better does not befit what is supposed to be the greatest country in the world.
This is also rather concerning as a canadian, as most of our trade is done with this one country that can't even rescue its own citizens in a timely manner. Whenever someone talks about someone declaring war on Canada, the usual response is "Well, the americans have our backs" but what the fuck, man, if they can't handle this what would happen if something did happen.
Something needs to change in the states, this sort of shit should be handled better.

You're ignoring all the other disasters that we dealt with much more efficiently.

The scale of Katrina went way beyond what anyone was prepared for. Whether we SHOULD have been prepared for it is another argument. We weren't, and that meant that we needed to rely on local and federal government working closely and people in charge needing to be able to think on their feet. Both the head of FEMA and the leading NO politicos handled it badly.

I don't think that's a poor reflection on all of the US. It simply means that particular leadership was bad and that we had a failure of imagination.

What will really define us is how we react to the debacle and how we use it to make sure things like the Aftermath never happen again.

You're ignoring all the other disasters that we dealt with much more efficiently.

The scale of Katrina went way beyond what anyone was prepared for. Whether we SHOULD have been prepared for it is another argument. We weren't, and that meant that we needed to rely on local and federal government working closely and people in charge needing to be able to think on their feet. Both the head of FEMA and the leading NO politicos handled it badly.

I don't think that's a poor reflection on all of the US. It simply means that particular leadership was bad and that we had a failure of imagination.

What will really define us is how we react to the debacle and how we use it to make sure things like the Aftermath never happen again.
It's something people should have been prepared for. There are articles from 2000 detailing how disasterous a direct hit from a hurricane would be for New Orleans, plans should have been put in place in case one did come along. The fact that experts knew what would happen and no one did anything to prepare for it is disturbing.

You're ignoring all the other disasters that we dealt with much more efficiently.

The scale of Katrina went way beyond what anyone was prepared for. Whether we SHOULD have been prepared for it is another argument. We weren't, and that meant that we needed to rely on local and federal government working closely and people in charge needing to be able to think on their feet. Both the head of FEMA and the leading NO politicos handled it badly.

I don't think that's a poor reflection on all of the US. It simply means that particular leadership was bad and that we had a failure of imagination.

What will really define us is how we react to the debacle and how we use it to make sure things like the Aftermath never happen again.

Handled it badly indeed, Field Marshall Haig would have acquitted himself more admirably, however, it is you reaction, as you imply, and not the immediate reaction to the affair, that will define Katrina.