Tag: Disasters

Closing Thought–27Sep17

Get Your Priorities Straight, Dipstick!

IST Factoid:  Puerto Rico is a US territory….ergo its residents are US CITIZENS!

The factoid was inserted because there seem to be many that did not know….

Nearly half of all Americans aren’t aware that Puerto Ricans are citizens, according to a new Morning Consult poll.

While 54 percent of Americans know that Puerto Ricans are citizens, 47 percent do not know that, according to the poll, which was first reported by The New York Times. Among Americans with a bachelor’s degree, 72 percent are aware of citizenship for people on the island.

The poll found a connection between knowledge of Puerto Ricans’ citizenship and a willingness to send emergency aid.

According to the report, 8 in 10 Americans who know Puerto Ricans are citizens support sending aid, while among those who do not know, 4 in 10 support sending aid.

It has been a week since Hurricane Maria roared ashore in Puerto Rico and demolished the island in all ways….infrastructure too the biggest hit….60% of the island has NO potable water….there is only spotty electric power and food is running ever so short.

The Island is a wreck and instead to making sure that the country stays laser focused on Puerto Rico Trump spend his Twitter time trying to ramp up some new form of division among us Americans.

After starting the shit storm about the taking of a knee he did finally Tweet about Puerto Rico……

Here are the tweets, in case you missed them:

“Texas & Florida are doing great but Puerto Rico, which was already suffering from broken infrastructure & massive debt, is in deep trouble…It’s old electrical grid, which was in terrible shape, was devastated. Much of the Island was destroyed, with billions of dollars…owed to Wall Street and the banks which, sadly, must be dealt with. Food, water and medical are top priorities – and doing well. #FEMA”

Really?  All the compassion, empathy and concern for the people of Puerto Rico is just heart tugging….(complete sarcasm)……

I even saw a Tweet from a yahoo supporter of Trump addressed to some news anchor…..

“Trump is the president of the US….not Puerto Rico…..Move on”

The stupidity of these people is just amazing…..

Trump needs to MAN up and do more for Puerto Rico……why is the hospital ship. Comfort, NOT in Puerto Rico?  (word is leaking out the Comfort will be heading to Puerto Rice.  Why did it take so long?)

We have the perfect model for handling this disaster…..The 1948 Berlin Airlift….refresh your memory…..

Source: Berlin Airlift – Cold War – HISTORY.com

There should be planes landing at regular intervals and it should have begun mere days after Maria pushed through.

The president keeps Tweeting out that people think the US is doing a good job…..does not look like it….but please give me the names of those deluded individuals.

So far talk is cheap…..but talk does not feed, quench or shelter the Americans on the island of Puerto Rico.

Dodged Another One!

My weekend begins and good news for my region….Irma has missed us but the people of Florida are not so lucky.

I was not going to say that my area was out of sight until I knew for sure….hurricanes are unpredictable and will give you a slap in the face if you drop your guard.

Current predictions show Hurricane Irma moving straight up Florida from the Keys to the Georgia border “like a giant buzzsaw,” USA Today reports. And that’s not normal and could be devastating. Historically, hurricanes have approached the state at an angle. And the two recorded Category 5 hurricanes to have hit Florida went through only part of the state. But according to ABC News, Irma is expected to make landfall near Miami between 5am and 7am Sunday with winds between 140mph and 145mph. From there it’s expected to make its way up the state, losing steam as it goes. By the time it hits Georgia, it should have weakened to a tropical storm.

USA Today was only able to find two hurricanes—both Category 4—that moved up through Florida as Irma is predicted to do. The “Homestead hurricane” in 1945 and Hurricane King in 1950. Those hurricanes killed four people each, but the population of the Miami metro area at the time was about one-twelfth what it is today. CNN notes the exact path of Hurricane Irma could still shift before it makes landfall. Meanwhile, researchers tell the AP Friday had the most hurricane activity in the history of the Atlantic region. With Irma and Hurricane Jose both Category 4 and Hurricane Katia on its way to Category 3, Friday had an accumulated Cyclone Energy of 16. That beats the old record of 14.3 set in 1961. The other two days in the top four were Thursday and Wednesday.

Most hurricanes last about 4-6 hours…Katrina was 14 hours and 37 minutes…..now Irma looks to be a 24+ storm……a lot of damage awaits Florida sad to say.

As a survivor of Katrina those in the path of Irma have my sympathy and my prayers…..

Irma is a bitch like Katrina….big and strong…..there will be lots of wind and water damage….the people of Florida will need all the help they can get….please if you can spare the change….help where ever you can.

Me?  I give to the Salvation Army and the ASPCA….plus any neighborhood drives that are started….help where I can.

To my Florida readers and followers…..I hope you guys are safe and warm and our prayers are with you…..chuq

Closing Thought–08Sep17

Trying To Reason With The Hurricane Season!

My weekend begins tomorrow and as it is the hurricane season there is another one that is bearing down on the Gulf South, Hurricane Irma.

Irma is another bitch like Katrina…..big and strong……

For those people that do not deal with hurricanes on a regular basis…there are a few things to keep in mind……

  1. If you haven’t shopped yet, shop now: He recommends a minimum of seven days’ worth of food and water, an AM/FM portable radio, one LED flashlight per person, an LED lantern or two, and lots of batteries.
  2. Shop online: Local stores may be running low on the above; try shopping via Amazon, which could get supplies to you by Saturday with two-day Prime shipping.
  3. Document: Take photos of every room in your home, with specific photos of anything of value, from important documents to computers. Upload the photos to the cloud.
  4. Embrace your dishwasher: It can double as a good “safe” to store valuables or photo albums (which should be first double-bagged in plastic); your washer and dryer can be utilized in this way, too.
  5. Be realistic about your cellphone: Don’t expect it to be your lifeline. Harvey disrupted Texas’ mobile system, and your battery could die. You need that aforementioned radio to stay informed. Designate someone out-of-town (an easier call to place than in the zone) to be the point person your family or group will check in with.
  6. Move your car: Think about the safest spot to leave it. A parking garage is best. Under a tree is the worst.

Read Norcross’ full list, which ends with his most crucial piece of advice—identify a safe place to weather the storm immediately—here

And pray for those that may be in the path of this storm…..

Be well….Be Safe!  chuq

Look Before You Give

By now the whole world has seen the horrific photos of the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey….

The donations are poring in…..my neighborhood, which was hit hard by Katrina, has started clothing drives, food drives……all Americans need to pull together and help where they can.

Most people are donating money to the various charities that work during the disaster after math……but you need to be careful with these also….I wrote about the trouble the the American Red Cross is having……

Source: Closing Thought–30Aug17 – In Saner Thought

My family donates to the Salvation Army and the SPCA……

After the disaster in Haiti years ago the Red Cross got a bit of a bad name……some felt that it was undeserved criticism…..but after I watched an interview with a leader of the ARC I am not so sure……

In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, many have criticized the American Red Cross, with Facebook and others even directing those who want to help to donate to a different charity. The criticism isn’t new: As NPR notes, there have long been reports that ARC misstates how donor dollars are used, or uses a significant percentage of that money on internal expenses. NPR’s Morning Edition host addressed those criticisms Thursday with Red Cross VP Brad Kieserman, but Kieserman couldn’t say what percentage of donations will go toward Harvey relief. “I don’t think I know the answer to that any better than the chief fundraiser knows … how many emergency response vehicles I have on the road today. So I think if he [were] on this interview and you were asking how many relief vehicles in Texas, I don’t think he’d know the answer and I don’t know the answer to the financial question, I’m afraid.”

Questions on high administrative costs reported on in the past led to a similar answer: “It’s not something I would have any visibility on. I can talk about what it costs to deliver certain relief services.” He continued to say that, no, he “really” doesn’t know what portion of donations goes to relief, though he did say that as of Wednesday morning the ARC had spent $50 million on Harvey relief. “We are committed … to using our resources and donor dollars in a way that best helps the people of Texas,” he said. “The folks I work for are very, very attentive to cost effectiveness and cost efficiencies in making sure that as much as every dollar that we spend on an operation is client-facing.” The organization’s president and CEO, Gail McGovern, was on CBS News Thursday defending the ARC, and she said that on average, 91 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends goes toward its services for victims.

Do your research before you throw your money at these people……but do not get discouraged……Harvey victims are in dire need of your help.

Please do what you can.

Closing Thought–30Aug17

Your Assistance Is Needed!

By now even the dullest of person has seen the disaster that is the Texas after math of Hurricane Harvey.

Many Americans will be compelled to send aid or donations to help these people…there are many organizations that will help and if one is so inclined then this article in the NY Times will help.

Explains the organizations that are in the mix and some tips on what to watch out for in the cons come out in droves…..

If you’re outside the affected area, here are options to help. (If you’re in Texas and displaced by the storm, here’s how to get help.)

If your choice is the American Red Cross then maybe this is something that you need to know…..

Hurricane Harvey has devastated Texas, and it’s natural to want to help. But don’t try to help by donating money to the American Red Cross, journalist and author Jonathan M. Katz writes on Slate. The disaster relief organization may be iconic, but it’s far from effective, Katz notes, running down a list of issues the ARC has had, starting with the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The ARC raised $488 million, but it couldn’t quite figure out what to do with the funds. “ARC isn’t a medical aid group a la Doctors Without Borders. It doesn’t do development work or specialize in rebuilding destroyed neighborhoods,” Katz writes. And what it does do best—provide immediate emergency aid like blankets and temporary shelter—didn’t come close to costing $488 million. Two years after the quake, just a third of the money had been committed.

The ARC has been similarly ineffective in responding to US disasters like Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy. The truth is, the organization is great at raising money, Katz says, but it fails to inform the public it doesn’t actually need nearly as much money as it raises, and after the money has been raised, the ARC isn’t transparent about what it’s used for. There are multiple other issues, including the fact that no regular independent evaluations of the organization are done. Looking at the bigger picture, though, Katz argues that our entire way of handling disasters is wrong, and what we should be doing is working to prevent them, or at least mitigate their impact. We need to look ahead to things like “the growing risk of a major Oklahoma earthquake,” Caribbean tsunami, and other potential disasters and bring “lots of attention to helping those areas adapt for the future.” His full column.

That is one person’s opinion…..

Me?  I donated to Salvation Army and SPCA

Please help if you can these people are suffering and need our help.

Where Does Your Donation Go?

Let wish all you FATHERS and very happy Father’s Day……..enjoy your day……

I am not one that gives easily…..I check out almost anyone that ask for money…..sorry but I do not trust blindly no matter who asks.  I have seen good stuff done by these charities and I have seen crap done…..after Katrina there was a wealth of people looking for donations and much of it never made it South…….

The Red Cross did an excellent job as far as I could see after Katrina…..they were there in numbers and did amazing work…..so when I read a piece about them and Haiti I was surprised to say the least…….

The American Red Cross raised nearly $500 million after Haiti’s devastating 2010 earthquake, but what happened to the money? According to an NPR and Pro Publica report, the organization claims to have provided 130,000 people with homes but in fact built only six permanent homes. The Red Cross says land-rights issues hindered its efforts, but reporters found other problems, like lengthy bureaucratic delays, changes in staffing, and a full year in which nothing happened. “They never had a real plan for what they wanted to do in housing,” says Lee Malany, who was in charge of the organization’s Haiti shelter program. He says Red Cross leadership, including CEO Gail McGovern, seemed more concerned with publicity than project details.

NPR and Pro Publica look at the struggling Haitian community of Campeche, part of a Port-au-Prince neighborhood where the Red Cross promised to spent $24 million on rebuilding—but residents say it never happened. The Red Cross reacted with an email that accused reporters of “creating ill will in the community, which may give rise to a security incident. We will hold you and your news organizations fully responsible.” The Red Cross also says it provided Haitians with temporary housing, rental assistance, clean water, vaccinations, sanitation, and other services (but won’t give details on projects or expenses). A press conference about the report got heated in Haiti this week, Pro Publica reports, and NPR says there may be a Congressional hearing. Click to see the Red Cross’ full response.

What happened to the money?

I suggest that everyone pay close attention to the charities that they give to……all may not be as it appears…….look for the “hinkey”……………please give but give wisely.

Nine years since Hurricane Katrina: has anything changed? |

My longest day was the 13 hours and 33 minutes that Hurricane Katrina lasted…..I was in the direct path…rode it out with my father and then went to work as a first responder trying to get people help……the day after Xmas 2005 I was thrown off a ladder and hit concrete…broke my right leg in 3 places…and my life will never be the same….constant pain and agony…….

I bring this up because Katrina happened 9 years ago on the 29 August….today!

Many people seem to think that all is right with the world in the devastated area of Katrina……maybe not so….please read….

 

Nine years since Hurricane Katrina: has anything changed? |.

Flight MH17…..Another Doomed Malaysian Flight

We all have heard the horrendous news of yet another Malaysian flight has met with a disastrous end……and as usual there are battling and conflicting accusations as to whom is to blame for destroying this plane and its passengers…..Separatists say it was the Ukrainians….Ukrainians say it was the Separatists….Russia is blaming the Ukraine military and the US is speculating but have not offered up an accusation as of yet….and then there is McCain, who is basically blaming Obama for the destruction of flight MH 17….because we have not sent all the weapons that he, McCain, thinks the Ukrainians need and deserve….

Personally, I think McCain is being a partisan twat….using this tragedy as a political prop is despicable….and usual McCain spends a lot of his time thumping his chest like a crazed ape….and this situation is No different……..

Newser) – With the evidence increasingly suggesting that today’s jet crash over Ukraine was caused by a missile and not a mechanical failure, John McCain is burnishing his reputation as the Senate’s top foreign policy hawk. While stressing that it’s too early to know anything for sure, McCain said on MSNBC that the crash has the “earmarks of a tragic mistake made by someone who had the capability to just shoot down an aircraft, and we know at least from the last couple of weeks that that could be Russian or separatist Russian capability,” reports Politico. If that proves to be the case, “I think there’s going to be hell to pay and there should be.”

In an appearance on CNN, he made similar points and added that it might be time to “give the Ukrainians the ability to defend themselves,” reports Slate. In Moscow, meanwhile, Vladimir Putin pinned the blame squarely on Ukraine, though he was speaking in general terms: “I want to note that this tragedy would not have happened if there were peace on this land, if the military actions had not been renewed in southeast Ukraine,” he said. “And, certainly, the state over whose territory this occurred bears responsibility for this awful tragedy.” The AP has the full text of his remarks.

As typical of McCain he rattles off some vague BS and the NeoCons applaud…….but what is the Hell they will pay?  He conveniently leaves out any details….another typical McCain ploy

McCain is getting tiresome……plus only the most radical and ignorant among us take him seriously anymore…he use to be a statesman….now he is just an angry old man that plays way too many games.

US News Media Just Sucks

there is nothing new about my statement on the news media….I have despised them for decades….for they search for  not news but sensationalism to report……every year some moron goes up Mt. Hood and gets lost or such and we here about these idiots ad nauseum…..now we have the Mt. Everest disaster where so many were killed in an avalanche….and now we have a show dedicated to these thrill seekers…..for one these people are nothing but adrenalin junkies, thrill seekers…the Sherpas were just trying to make a living….but the others are nothing but show boaters and junkies and the dignify their crass disregard for life just irks me….to NO end…I am not impressed by these types of thrill seeking morons……you want an adrenalin rush…the military can use a few good people and do something worthwhile.

I waited  few days before writing this the see how the media would handle this story…….

An Afghanistan village buried in a landslide yesterday is now considered a “cemetery,” says a government official in Badakhshan province. The last of the rescuers gave up hope today of finding survivors in the mud that devastated the village of Abi Barik in the mountainous and remote northeast, reports the BBC. It will take some time to figure out how many were killed, with estimates ranging between 350 and 2,700, reports Reuters. The focus now will shift to providing help for the estimated 4,000 people without shelter.

“The scale of this landslide is absolutely devastating, with an entire village practically wiped away,” says an official with the International Organization for Migration. “Hundreds of families have lost everything and are in immense need of assistance.” Many of those killed were at their houses trying to get things in order after an earlier, smaller landslide. The area has been deluged with rain of late.

Of course this story is not important enough to interrupt the total mindlessness of the “nerd prom” in Dc or for anyone to really give a shit about those people in Afghanistan….they are just not important enough for our media to care…….I am disgusted by the flippant attitude of the media and for that point, most Americans.

This is why I prefer BBC news it is more to the point and interesting, with the exception of some “bladerunner” trial or the royals….their news is usually spot on without the sanitized, sensationalized crap that American news offers.

What Price, A Plane?

For over a month the world has been on the edge of their seats dying from anticipation on the exact location of the Malaysian plane…….we have had NO news only speculation for that month…….here debris…there debris……and a ping or two…..well as of yesterday there is a good possibility that the pings heard may be the missing plane……which will be good….I am sick of all the “experts” and their wild eyed speculation…….

All that aside I was wondering….what is the cost of this search?  And now there is an answer to that question……….

As searchers listen for pings in the Indian Ocean that might help them find the missing Flight 370, Reuters assesses the cost of the hunt after a month and finds that it’s on track to become the most expensive search in aviation history. Reuters figures that the militaries of Australia, China, the US, and Vietnam have spent $44 million already, about the amount spent in the two-year search for the Air France jet that went missing in 2009. The $44 million total doesn’t take into account civilian aircraft or the cost of accommodating hundreds of intelligence analysts and other personnel worldwide. Add those expenses in, and the total is in the “hundreds of millions of dollars.”

Australia is leading the search and has borne about half the costs so far, though Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the nation may ask others to defray its expenses later. “At some point, there might need to be a reckoning, there might need to be some kind of tallying, but nevertheless we are happy to be as helpful as we can to all the countries that have a stake in this,” he said. The Pentagon estimates that the US has spent $3.3 million so far. With no sign of the pings in two days, the search could drag on and on, reports AP. Australia plans to release a submersible to scan the ocean floor, but it hopes to get a more precise location before doing so.

Now I would like to ask…..Is this desperate search to save Boeing’s rep or is it for the closure of the families?  That may sound like a cold hearted question….but it needs to be asked…….for one reason…..we are spending money willy nilly but yet those poor people needing help are “free loaders”….I understand the need for closure……but at what price?