| Topic: |
Science > Prophecies-Of-Nostradamus |
| User: |
"tw" |
| Date: |
05 Sep 2005 09:58:33 AM |
| Object: |
FEMA and homeland security..75% of FEMA funds dedicated to "anti-terrorism" |
Well, it's no surprise they were about as much use as a pork pie franchise
in a Synagogue is it?
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-fema5sep05,0,685581.sto
ry?coll=la-home-headlines
KATRINA'S AFTERMATH
Why FEMA Was Missing in Action
Most of the agency's preparedness budget and focus are related to
terrorism, not disasters.
By Peter G. Gosselin and Alan C. Miller
Times Staff Writers
September 5, 2005
WASHINGTON - While the federal government has spent much of the last
quarter-century trimming the safety nets it provides Americans, it has
dramatically expanded its promise of protection in one area -
disaster.
Since the 1970s, Washington has emerged as the insurer of last resort
against floods, fires, earthquakes and - after 2001 - terrorist
attacks.
But the government's stumbling response to the storm that devastated
the nation's Gulf Coast reveals that the federal agency singularly most
responsible for making good on Washington's expanded promise has been
hobbled by cutbacks and a bureaucratic downgrading.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency once speedily delivered food,
water, shelter and medical care to disaster areas, and paid to quickly
rebuild damaged roads and schools and get businesses and people back on
their feet. Like a commercial insurance firm setting safety standards
to prevent future problems, it also underwrote efforts to get cities
and states to reduce risks ahead of time and plan for what they would
do if calamity struck.
But in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, FEMA lost its
Cabinet-level status as it was folded into the giant new Department of
Homeland Security. And in recent years it has suffered budget cuts, the
elimination or reduction of key programs and an exodus of experienced
staffers.
The agency's core budget, which includes disaster preparedness and
mitigation, has been cut each year since it was absorbed by the
Homeland Security Department in 2003. Depending on what the final
numbers end up being for next fiscal year, the cuts will have been
between about 2% and 18%.
The agency's staff has been reduced by 500 positions to 4,735. Among
the results, FEMA has had to cut one of its three emergency management
teams, which are charged with overseeing relief efforts in a disaster.
Where it once had "red," "white" and "blue" teams, it now has only red
and white.
Three out of every four dollars the agency provides in local
preparedness and first-responder grants go to terrorism-related
activities, even though a recent Government Accountability Office
report quotes local officials as saying what they really need is money
to prepare for natural disasters and accidents.
"They've taken emergency management away from the emergency managers,"
complained Morrie Goodman, who was FEMA's chief spokesman during the
Clinton administration. "These operations are being run by people who
are amateurs at what they are doing."
Richard W. Krimm, a former senior FEMA official for several
administrations, agreed. "It was a terrible mistake to take disaster
response and recovery ... and disaster preparedness and mitigation, and
put them in Homeland Security," he said.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff acknowledged in interviews
Sunday that Washington was insufficiently prepared for the hurricane
that laid waste to New Orleans and surrounding areas. But he defended
its performance by arguing that the size of the storm was beyond
anything his department could have anticipated and that primary
responsibility for handling emergencies rested with state and local,
not federal, officials.
<snip>
Under the law, Chertoff said, state and local officials must direct
initial emergency operations. "The federal government comes in and
supports those officials," he said.
Chertoff's remarks, which echoed earlier statements by President Bush,
prompted withering rebukes both from former senior FEMA staffers and
outside experts.
"They can't do that," former agency chief of staff Jane Bullock said of
Bush administration efforts to shift responsibility away from
Washington. "The moment the president declared a federal disaster, it
became a federal responsibility.... The federal government took
ownership over the response," she said. Bush declared a disaster in
Louisiana and Mississippi when the storm hit a week ago.
"What's awe-inspiring here is how many federal officials didn't issue
any orders," said Paul C. Light, an authority on government operations
at New York University.
Evidence of confusion extended beyond FEMA and the Homeland Security
Department on Sunday.
Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said that conditions
in New Orleans and elsewhere could quickly escalate into a major public
health crisis. But asked whether his agency had dispatched teams in
advance of the storm and flooding, Leavitt answered, "No."
"None of these teams were pre-positioned," he told CNN's "Late
Edition." "We're having to organize them ... as we go."
<snip>
But starting with the New Deal of the 1930s and with increasing vigor
in recent decades, Washington sought to prevent disasters, both natural
and man-made, and to partially compensate state and local governments,
companies and even individuals when calamities did strike.
The government reacted to Tropical Storm Agnes in 1972 by providing
victims with grants and low-cost loans. It responded to a flood of the
upper Mississippi in 1993 by approving $6.3 billion in aid. Comparing
the federal government's response in 1927 to its efforts in 1993, Moss
concluded that Washington made up less than 4% of the estimated losses
in the earlier flood, but more than 50% in the later one.
Within 10 days of the Sept. 11 attacks, Congress and Bush had OKd $40
billion in aid, including $15 billion in grants and loans for the
staggering airline industry and $4.3 billion to compensate the families
of victims.
<snip>
But according to a variety of former officials and outside experts, the
agency experienced a renaissance under President Clinton's director,
James Lee Witt, speedily responding to the 1993 Mississippi flood, the
1994 Northridge earthquake and other disasters.
Witt's biggest change was to get FEMA to focus on reducing risks ahead
of disasters and funding local prevention programs.
After the 1993 flood, for instance, Witt's agency bought homes and
businesses nearest the water and moved their occupants to safer
locations. The result in one Illinois town was that although more than
400 people applied for disaster aid after the flood, only 11 needed to
apply two years later when the river again jumped its banks.
<snip>
But with the change of administration in 2001, many of Witt's
prevention programs were reduced or cut entirely. After Sept. 11,
former FEMA officials and outside authorities said, Washington's
attention turned to terrorism to the exclusion of almost anything else.
!
.
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| User: "Marvin The Paranoid Android" |
|
| Title: Re: FEMA and homeland security..75% of FEMA funds dedicated to "anti-terrorism" |
05 Sep 2005 11:07:13 AM |
|
|
tw wrote:
Well, it's no surprise they were about as much use as a pork pie franchise
in a Synagogue is it?
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-fema5sep05,0,685581.sto
ry?coll=la-home-headlines
KATRINA'S AFTERMATH
Why FEMA Was Missing in Action
Most of the agency's preparedness budget and focus are related to
terrorism, not disasters.
By Peter G. Gosselin and Alan C. Miller
Times Staff Writers
September 5, 2005
<snip>
So ... they would've been there quicker if terrorists had blown holes in
the levees instead of knowing it would likely happen days in advance?
FEMA and DHS heads should roll.
.
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| User: "Tom" |
|
| Title: Re: FEMA and homeland security..75% of FEMA funds dedicated to "anti-terrorism" |
05 Sep 2005 01:18:54 PM |
|
|
"Marvin The Paranoid Android" <marvin@galaxy.com> wrote in message
news:1125936456.611cd3ba943013846e3d54cab05a958b@teranews...
tw wrote:
Well, it's no surprise they were about as much use as a pork pie
franchise
in a Synagogue is it?
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-fema5sep05,0,685581.sto
ry?coll=la-home-headlines
KATRINA'S AFTERMATH
Why FEMA Was Missing in Action
Most of the agency's preparedness budget and focus are related to
terrorism, not disasters.
By Peter G. Gosselin and Alan C. Miller
Times Staff Writers
September 5, 2005
<snip>
So ... they would've been there quicker if terrorists had blown holes in
the levees instead of knowing it would likely happen days in advance?
Flippancy aside, it woudl be interesting to know if they had ever concerned
it a likely terrorist target. Apparently not going by the response. I think
FEMA were being seen as an agency to be rushing round to hand out duct-tape
and anthrax vaccinations by the DHS. While it can be argued that DHS needs
such an agency, ignoring the possibilities of natural disasters (FEMA's
raison d'etre if I have remembered) to provide one is terrible tunnel
vision.
FEMA and DHS heads should roll.
.
|
|
|
| User: "Woodswun" |
|
| Title: Re: FEMA and homeland security..75% of FEMA funds dedicated to "anti-terrorism" |
05 Sep 2005 01:27:48 PM |
|
|
Tom wrote:
"Marvin The Paranoid Android" <marvin@galaxy.com> wrote in message
news:1125936456.611cd3ba943013846e3d54cab05a958b@teranews...
tw wrote:
Well, it's no surprise they were about as much use as a pork pie
franchise
in a Synagogue is it?
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-fema5sep05,0,685581.sto
ry?coll=la-home-headlines
KATRINA'S AFTERMATH
Why FEMA Was Missing in Action
Most of the agency's preparedness budget and focus are related to
terrorism, not disasters.
By Peter G. Gosselin and Alan C. Miller
Times Staff Writers
September 5, 2005
<snip>
So ... they would've been there quicker if terrorists had blown holes in
the levees instead of knowing it would likely happen days in advance?
Flippancy aside, it woudl be interesting to know if they had ever concerned
it a likely terrorist target. Apparently not going by the response. I think
FEMA were being seen as an agency to be rushing round to hand out duct-tape
and anthrax vaccinations by the DHS. While it can be argued that DHS needs
such an agency, ignoring the possibilities of natural disasters (FEMA's
raison d'etre if I have remembered) to provide one is terrible tunnel
vision.
Shouldn't they have assumed it would be a likely terrorist target,
though? The bulk of gasoline and heating oil for the northeast come
through there, and the bulk of the midwest relies on the port to ship
their goods out - that type of economic activity would presumably make
New Orleans an excellent target for those who seek to disrupt the
American economy, which is precisely what Homeland Security said al
qaeda was going to attempt.
Woods
FEMA and DHS heads should roll.
.
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|
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| User: "Tom" |
|
| Title: Re: FEMA and homeland security..75% of FEMA funds dedicated to "anti-terrorism" |
05 Sep 2005 01:45:21 PM |
|
|
"Woodswun" <woodswun@tepidmail.com> wrote in message
news:E60Te.38121$PM3.1652@twister.nyroc.rr.com...
Tom wrote:
"Marvin The Paranoid Android" <marvin@galaxy.com> wrote in message
news:1125936456.611cd3ba943013846e3d54cab05a958b@teranews...
tw wrote:
Well, it's no surprise they were about as much use as a pork pie
franchise
in a Synagogue is it?
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-fema5sep05,0,685581.sto
ry?coll=la-home-headlines
KATRINA'S AFTERMATH
Why FEMA Was Missing in Action
Most of the agency's preparedness budget and focus are related to
terrorism, not disasters.
By Peter G. Gosselin and Alan C. Miller
Times Staff Writers
September 5, 2005
<snip>
So ... they would've been there quicker if terrorists had blown holes in
the levees instead of knowing it would likely happen days in advance?
Flippancy aside, it woudl be interesting to know if they had ever
concerned
it a likely terrorist target. Apparently not going by the response. I
think
FEMA were being seen as an agency to be rushing round to hand out
duct-tape
and anthrax vaccinations by the DHS. While it can be argued that DHS
needs
such an agency, ignoring the possibilities of natural disasters (FEMA's
raison d'etre if I have remembered) to provide one is terrible tunnel
vision.
Shouldn't they have assumed it would be a likely terrorist target,
though? The bulk of gasoline and heating oil for the northeast come
through there, and the bulk of the midwest relies on the port to ship
their goods out - that type of economic activity would presumably make
New Orleans an excellent target for those who seek to disrupt the
American economy, which is precisely what Homeland Security said al
qaeda was going to attempt.
Hmm true... maybe they thought it was going to be anthrax delivered by
aircraft hijacked by fanatical jihadists wielding souvenir letter-openers,
nailfiles or sharpened yale keys that the airport security failed to
confiscate.
One alternative is that the US is currently unable to co-ordinate the
evacuation of a what I understand to be a fairly small city by US standards,
which makes me wonder what all this homeland security planning gravy-train
is supposed to have achieved.
Woods
FEMA and DHS heads should roll.
.
|
|
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| User: "Woodswun" |
|
| Title: Re: FEMA and homeland security..75% of FEMA funds dedicated to "anti-terrorism" |
05 Sep 2005 01:52:25 PM |
|
|
Tom wrote:
"Woodswun" <woodswun@tepidmail.com> wrote in message
news:E60Te.38121$PM3.1652@twister.nyroc.rr.com...
Tom wrote:
"Marvin The Paranoid Android" <marvin@galaxy.com> wrote in message
news:1125936456.611cd3ba943013846e3d54cab05a958b@teranews...
tw wrote:
Well, it's no surprise they were about as much use as a pork pie
franchise
in a Synagogue is it?
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-fema5sep05,0,685581.sto
ry?coll=la-home-headlines
KATRINA'S AFTERMATH
Why FEMA Was Missing in Action
Most of the agency's preparedness budget and focus are related to
terrorism, not disasters.
By Peter G. Gosselin and Alan C. Miller
Times Staff Writers
September 5, 2005
<snip>
So ... they would've been there quicker if terrorists had blown holes in
the levees instead of knowing it would likely happen days in advance?
Flippancy aside, it woudl be interesting to know if they had ever
concerned
it a likely terrorist target. Apparently not going by the response. I
think
FEMA were being seen as an agency to be rushing round to hand out
duct-tape
and anthrax vaccinations by the DHS. While it can be argued that DHS
needs
such an agency, ignoring the possibilities of natural disasters (FEMA's
raison d'etre if I have remembered) to provide one is terrible tunnel
vision.
Shouldn't they have assumed it would be a likely terrorist target,
though? The bulk of gasoline and heating oil for the northeast come
through there, and the bulk of the midwest relies on the port to ship
their goods out - that type of economic activity would presumably make
New Orleans an excellent target for those who seek to disrupt the
American economy, which is precisely what Homeland Security said al
qaeda was going to attempt.
Hmm true... maybe they thought it was going to be anthrax delivered by
aircraft hijacked by fanatical jihadists wielding souvenir letter-openers,
nailfiles or sharpened yale keys that the airport security failed to
confiscate.
One alternative is that the US is currently unable to co-ordinate the
evacuation of a what I understand to be a fairly small city by US standards,
which makes me wonder what all this homeland security planning gravy-train
is supposed to have achieved.
From the results, the only thing that appears to have been achieved is
a successful power grab, from the citizenry of the United States, at
the federal level.
Woods
.
|
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|
| User: "" |
|
| Title: Re: FEMA and homeland security..75% of FEMA funds dedicated to "anti-terrorism" |
05 Sep 2005 10:50:06 PM |
|
|
On Mon, 05 Sep 2005 18:52:25 GMT, Woodswun <woodswun@tepidmail.com>
wrote:
Tom wrote:
"Woodswun" <woodswun@tepidmail.com> wrote in message
news:E60Te.38121$PM3.1652@twister.nyroc.rr.com...
Tom wrote:
"Marvin The Paranoid Android" <marvin@galaxy.com> wrote in message
news:1125936456.611cd3ba943013846e3d54cab05a958b@teranews...
tw wrote:
Well, it's no surprise they were about as much use as a pork pie
franchise
in a Synagogue is it?
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-fema5sep05,0,685581.sto
ry?coll=la-home-headlines
KATRINA'S AFTERMATH
Why FEMA Was Missing in Action
Most of the agency's preparedness budget and focus are related to
terrorism, not disasters.
By Peter G. Gosselin and Alan C. Miller
Times Staff Writers
September 5, 2005
<snip>
So ... they would've been there quicker if terrorists had blown holes in
the levees instead of knowing it would likely happen days in advance?
Flippancy aside, it woudl be interesting to know if they had ever
concerned
it a likely terrorist target. Apparently not going by the response. I
think
FEMA were being seen as an agency to be rushing round to hand out
duct-tape
and anthrax vaccinations by the DHS. While it can be argued that DHS
needs
such an agency, ignoring the possibilities of natural disasters (FEMA's
raison d'etre if I have remembered) to provide one is terrible tunnel
vision.
Shouldn't they have assumed it would be a likely terrorist target,
though? The bulk of gasoline and heating oil for the northeast come
through there, and the bulk of the midwest relies on the port to ship
their goods out - that type of economic activity would presumably make
New Orleans an excellent target for those who seek to disrupt the
American economy, which is precisely what Homeland Security said al
qaeda was going to attempt.
Hmm true... maybe they thought it was going to be anthrax delivered by
aircraft hijacked by fanatical jihadists wielding souvenir letter-openers,
nailfiles or sharpened yale keys that the airport security failed to
confiscate.
One alternative is that the US is currently unable to co-ordinate the
evacuation of a what I understand to be a fairly small city by US standards,
which makes me wonder what all this homeland security planning gravy-train
is supposed to have achieved.
From the results, the only thing that appears to have been achieved is
a successful power grab, from the citizenry of the United States, at
the federal level.
Woods
Part of the agenda, more to follow. Get ready to lose more of your
rights and freedoms, especially at the local levels.
.
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| User: "Marvin The Paranoid Android" |
|
| Title: Re: FEMA and homeland security..75% of FEMA funds dedicated to "anti-terrorism" |
05 Sep 2005 01:52:48 PM |
|
|
Tom wrote:
"Woodswun" <woodswun@tepidmail.com> wrote in message
news:E60Te.38121$PM3.1652@twister.nyroc.rr.com...
Tom wrote:
"Marvin The Paranoid Android" <marvin@galaxy.com> wrote in message
news:1125936456.611cd3ba943013846e3d54cab05a958b@teranews...
tw wrote:
Well, it's no surprise they were about as much use as a pork pie
franchise
in a Synagogue is it?
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-fema5sep05,0,685581.sto
ry?coll=la-home-headlines
KATRINA'S AFTERMATH
Why FEMA Was Missing in Action
Most of the agency's preparedness budget and focus are related to
terrorism, not disasters.
By Peter G. Gosselin and Alan C. Miller
Times Staff Writers
September 5, 2005
<snip>
So ... they would've been there quicker if terrorists had blown holes in
the levees instead of knowing it would likely happen days in advance?
Flippancy aside, it woudl be interesting to know if they had ever
concerned
it a likely terrorist target. Apparently not going by the response. I
think
FEMA were being seen as an agency to be rushing round to hand out
duct-tape
and anthrax vaccinations by the DHS. While it can be argued that DHS
needs
such an agency, ignoring the possibilities of natural disasters (FEMA's
raison d'etre if I have remembered) to provide one is terrible tunnel
vision.
Shouldn't they have assumed it would be a likely terrorist target,
though? The bulk of gasoline and heating oil for the northeast come
through there, and the bulk of the midwest relies on the port to ship
their goods out - that type of economic activity would presumably make
New Orleans an excellent target for those who seek to disrupt the
American economy, which is precisely what Homeland Security said al
qaeda was going to attempt.
Hmm true... maybe they thought it was going to be anthrax delivered by
aircraft hijacked by fanatical jihadists wielding souvenir letter-openers,
nailfiles or sharpened yale keys that the airport security failed to
confiscate.
One alternative is that the US is currently unable to co-ordinate the
evacuation of a what I understand to be a fairly small city by US standards,
which makes me wonder what all this homeland security planning gravy-train
is supposed to have achieved.
If it had been a terrorist attack on the levees ... then the 75 to 80%
that had evacuated prior to Katrina would have been trapped in the flood
waters.
Add a 3 to 5 day lapse in response ... it would be unthinkable. It would
seem more resources given to local and state leaders to deal with such
an event would help reduce the lag time in response.
.
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