Posted on 04/25/2008 12:49:35 PM PDT by ClearBlueSky
I’m not sure what an elastomeric seal is but it sounds like you might be right. They have been covering this on local radio today and it was apparently used up against a water stop. The preferred material is apparently a rubber sponge and from my understanding the paper was used in 3 expansion joints. Now that is what the corp is saying and I certainly am not vouching for what they are saying.
An elastomeric seal used to conceal dynamite that was placed inside at the orders of Halliburton CEO Dick Cheney, which would detonate right after Karl Rove used his weather machine to direct a hurricane towards New Orleans.
Would an expansion joint be expected to be water tight?
“Employing your logic, would the F-5 tornado that wiped out Greensburg Kanas (two years ago) also be considered to have come from the hand of God...?”
Huricane Katrina was only a level 3 hurincane when it hit New Orleans so you logic does not work. A level 3 huricane does not equate to an F-5 tornado.
And any way both were the fault of George Bush and Karl Rove. Both incidents of malignent weather was due to the after effects (dust in the atmosphere) of 9-11.
If only he had signed the Kyoto accord both would not have happened and thousands would still be living in peace.
Actually, NOLA would have survived Katrina and not flooded if the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had designed and built levees that were not flawed.
I don’t understand why you would blame God for the errors made by humans. New Orleans was/is made up of a lot of different people, just like any city - some good, some bad. I’m from there originally, and the people I know were/are good, hard-working, faith-filled people. All the good people I know got flooded, but the French Quarter stayed nice and dry. If God was trying to destroy a sinful, corrupt people, that would mean His aim was off, and I didn’t think He made mistakes!
so the corrupt New Orleans contractors skimped on the construction. Now we know how they were able to affort those casino fact finding missions.
I'm no engineer, but by the mere definition I would say no. And I agree with the above that just because there's paper it doesn't mean it wasn't used for something other than stuffing. I'm thinking to aid in a form, foundation, or whatnot.
No argument here but we could go back a bit further on the blame too . . .
Why in hades did the USA keep this swamp of a town in the same suicidal location that the French put it to begin with? We know now what can happen due to its location and we're rebuilding it in the same spot.
Brilliant! Please take more of my tax dollars for this worthy project!!!
A question. Were they replacing the entire floodwall or were they replacing the elastic strips? If they were replacing the entire floodwall a new rubber joint would be called for. If they were only replacing the elastic strips, what happened to the old rubber joints?
The city is there because it is a PORT. Food comes in, food goes out. Petroleum products come in, petroleum products go out. Products come in, products come out. Now if you can figure out how to put a port away from the coast, please let us all know. The port is there, the people who work for the port are there, all of the businesses that people need to shop at are there, the doctors, accountants, attorneys, barbers, etc, etc are there because people need those things near where they work and they need to live near where they work. The city has been there for over 250 years. Even if you moved it up river, you will have to displace others who have lived where they are living for a very long time.
If flooding required that people leave where they are permanently, then please move lots of people from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, etc. Tell us the wonderful area you live in that suffers from no natural disasters. We’ll all move there!
Somebody finally found a good use for the NY Times
Okay, lets talk about viability of a city -vs- need for a port.
How many people does it take to operate the Port of New Orleans? How much housing, support, shopping do they need?
I submit that the Port could remain as it is- as protected as it is- and be very viable WITHOUT a huge city that cannot be protected from inundation again.
Same goes for the petroleum industry. Pipelines are underwater already, how many people does it take to keep the petroleum industry viable in LA? You will not convince me- much less the rest of the country now- that a huge population living below sea level is sensible.
The fact that the Port continued operating after Katrina- when the city was devastated- proves that it doesn’t require a city of 500,000 to exist.
My point in posting this was to show everyone how YOUR tax dollars are being wasted by the Corps AND the contractors they APPROVE. If it can happen here, after all the public attention after Katrina, how can the rest of the country trust the Corps to protect them as they say they are? How can ANYONE defend the waste of millions-much less their LYING to the public with political doublespeak?
If this story was about a levee in Ohio, or California, I think there would be more outrage than sarcasm. Hate N.O.- fine. Think it isn’t worth protecting, ok. You’re entitled to your prejudices, BUT, floodwalls with NEWSPAPER in them shouldn’t be acceptable for anyplace, under any circumstances.
Once, the Civil War was over and railroads arrived in the 19th century and trucks and planes arrived in the 20th century, New Orleans lost its stratigic status but remained an important port. Moreover, in the last half of the 20th century until today the area is of importance to the oil and gas industry.
You can no more move New Orleans due to its hurricane vulnerability than you can move New York City due to its vulnerability to terrorist attacks.
Perhaps that would have something to do with the fact that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers screwed up in their design and building of the levees that failed after Katrina.
However, the Orleans Levee Board rarely checked the walls, and when they did, really didn't do anything other than check off the walls were there.
From Wikipedia:
“Investigations after the disaster revealed that the levee and flood wall system was apparently mis-designed by the Army Corps of Engineers, and that the inspections by the board were perfunctory at best.”
“In the aftermath of the flooding, there have been calls for the elimination of the Orleans Levee Board and other local and regional boards. During a special session of the Louisiana Legislature, a bill was passed into law by Sen. Walter Boasso (D-Arabi), which consolidated the levee boards of various parishes between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.”
“The Orleans Levee Board ceased to exist on January 1, 2007.”
I see you have your emotion based hate for the Corps so the unproven accusation by unnamed sources, that just happens to validate your emotion based dogma, is to be blindly accepted as "truth"?
Sorry NO got MORE bleeding Fed Money then ANYONE else to build these dang things. Don't blame us because your local pols were crooks who shoveled fat contracts to corrupt local businesses in exchange for kick backs.
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