Louisiana

[Scutter]

With the forced evacuation of New Orleans, there will be a few folks who will stay in the city, living off canned food and bottled water and taking their time in collecting money, jewels and high dollar loot out of town over the next eight to nine months. A few good scavengers are going to get rich out of this disaster.

[shinobi]

Yes, and that brings to mind a question that's always bothered me. Since in most states it is against the law to use deadly force to protect private property, is it the same in LA? Is looting still a "shoot to kill" offense? Why is looting different from run of the mill stealing?

It has always bothered me that someone in a life and death situation might get killed for just trying to survive by taking something they need for survival from an abandoned building. How do you tell the difference between some one trying to survive and someone who is exploiting a catastrophic situation?

Oh, and be ready for an influx of slightly "flood damaged" used cars from down south in a few months. If you will be looking for a used car in the next few months, have a carfax run and be wary of any "sweet deals". A lot of cars/trucks were completely under water down there. Flood damage can show up months after it occurs.:D

[Scutter]

Once martial law is declared, deadly force is authorized against looters Shinobi. In a state of emergency it is simply grand or petit theft and deadly force is not authorized.

[shinobi]

OK, I wasn't sure.

[Scutter]

It will not only be automobiles and trucks Shinobi, it will be garden tractors, lumber, shingles, furniture, electronics and any number of things that one would not expect to have problems with due to water submersion. The problem is, water emersion does damage a lot of things that are not readily apparent at first glance. It will manifest itself in everything from mold to diminished tinsel strength due to molecular breakdown.

[Scutter]

I understand that some of those damaged vehicles have already made it to our area. Just be careful when purchasing a new, or used, vehicle and make damned sure you have it checked out by your own mechanic before you avail yourself of a "bargain".

[Scutter]

It is probably time to give some thought to the actual rebuilding of the City of New Orleans, or not. While I am in favor of rebuilding part of the city, I do not think it would be beneficial to rebuild the entire city without some drastic changes in the topography of the city. Of course, the French Quarter and the downtown section should be reopened as soon as possible because these areas have not suffered significant damage. In fact, about forty percent of the city has not suffered significant damage due to being the relative high ground of the city. The Port of New Orleans must be reopened, our econonomy demands that. As for the low lying residential areas, some rational decisions must be made. Most of the homes in those areas will be condemned due to water damage or contamination and we should probably think in terms of the most massive land fill in our history to raise the elevation before any decision is made to allow any relocation to those areas. Actually landfill will eleminate a lot of problems with the type of contamination that currently exists in those areas. It will be a massive and expensive effort, however, such an expenditure might just save lives and property when, not if, the City is again hit by the forces of nature.

[DWin60610]

From the NY Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/08/national/nationalspecial/08cnd-storm.html?hp&ex=1126238400&en=efe0a58b7fc8e12c&ei=5094&partner=homepage)

NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 8 - Waters were receding across this flood-beaten city today as police officers began confiscating weapons, including legally registered weapons, from civilians in preparation for a mass forced evacuation of the residents still living here.

No civilians in New Orleans will be allowed to carry pistols, shotguns, or other firearms of any kind, said P. Edwin Compass, the superintendent of police. "Only law enforcement are allowed to have weapons," he said.

But that order apparently does not apply to the hundreds of security guards whom businesses and some wealthy individuals have hired to protect their property. The guards, who are civilians working for private security firms like Blackwater, are openly carrying M-16's and other assault rifles. Mr. Compass said he was aware of the private guards, but that the police had no plans to make them give up their weapons.

etc

etc

etc

[Just Me]

Talk about Double Standards....

[Scutter]

It is just another step toward the total evacuation of the city Just Me. Although there is approximately twenty percent of the city that sustained no damage and is not exposed to the standing water, there is still no water or sewer service or electricity or natural gas in place as of now. The idea is that residents remaining will only delay and divert assets needed for the rebuilding of the infrastructure and the demolition of parts of the town.

[john]

http://www.linkydinky.com/bushvacation.shtml

[shinobi]

:D ROFLMAO

[Scutter]

Hope he eats the damned thing.

[Dragonrider2024]

Hope he chokes on it and/or gets some kind of creeping crud - but then again he's already that......

[Scutter]

And the hits just keep on coming. After "Rita" maybe we had best be thinking of relocating New Orleans to South Dakota.

[Dragonrider2024]

Don't know where my sister got her information Jer, but she has heard that the powers at be are looking into cutting up New Orleans as a huge gov't project housing area and/or selling off plots to developers utilizing the new eminate domain laws.

[Scutter]

I heard that the Feds were going to declare it all a flood plain and do a minimum buyout Dragon, but the kicker is that most of the land would go to the oil companies in the area for development of that land.

[Scutter]

And the horror stories about lack of response from FEMA are still coming out of the Gulf Region. I just cannot conceive of a governmental agency which is still non functional this long after the disaster happened. The problems are not going away so what is it going to take to force the FEMA folks to actually do their damned jobs?

[Dragonrider2024]

Jer what do you expect with the blind leading the blind.

[Scutter]

It seems that two of the four White officers caught on video tape beating a Black teacher senseless on the streets of New Orleans the other night are FBI Agents and will not be charged in the incident or even noted as Federal Agents by the news media. Just thought that knowledge might mean something to somebody.

[Scutter]

The hurricanes have come and gone but FEMA is still missing in action in New Orleans. The promises made by all levels of government have rang hollow and the displaced still have no place to go. The insurance companies have packed up their chieckbooks and gone home after writing very few checks. I just can't imagine that anyone affected by these disasters will ever have any faith or confidence in any segment of their government again.

[Scutter]

Over the past few months I have watched the shuck and jive moves coming out of Washington and I am fully convinced that the money to rebuild this city will never happen. Instead there will continue to be a stall on the part of various Federal Agencies in the hope that, in time, the American public will put the rebuilding of New Orleans on the bottom of the list of their personal priorities and in a year or two will be completely forgotten. Personally I have already put this rebuild at the bottom of my list and am convinced that New Orleans just is not a viable option at it's present location and not a project which needs to further drain our Federal coffers. I guess I am coming to the conclusion which I think is the same one the folks behind the Beltway came to long ago, namely, that it was a tough break, don't expect a whole hell of a lot of help so just relocate and deal with that.

[DWin60610]

scutter, you are onto something regarding delay tactics with the goal of minimizing attention on the nonexistent rebuild efforts. as in some of my previous posts, i believe that if an issue is not preventing joe sixpack from enjoying his wife, 2.5 kids, 1.2 dogs, and white picket fence, he just doesn't care. and since gasoline prices are on the decline and we are out of hurricane season, who outside of the deep south is continuing to be affected by the disaster?

as for relocation....there has been rampant speculation in the print media that a vast majority of those who relocated to other cities will not be coming back. if a low wage earning, blue collar worker has relocated to chicago and found a job, what is the incentive to move back to louisiana? as people develop a support network in a new city, the need for the old support network is diminished.

new orleans is ruined and will only ever be a shell of its former self. without a massive influx of service workers, how will it ever again be a great convention or sports city? time to write this city off, save for investing in a minimum rebuild of infrastructure in order to support energy industries and shipping.

[Scutter]

the video of the four cops beating the hell out of a Black guy on the streets of the Quarter? Well today they fired the two New Orleans cops who were beating the guy and suspended the New Orleans Sergeant who roughed up the guy taking the video.. Funny thing though, neither of the two FBI Agents who were beating on the guy has been disciplined in any way.

[Scutter]

have just done another number on the American taxpayer. Did you know that they are spending $140,000.00 for each of the FEMA travel trailers that they are providing for use in the hurricane zone? Now, I ain't much on travel trailers but that seems to be a pretty excessive amount to be spending on each of them.

[Scutter]

In the latest of the videos designed to lure us tourists to New Orleans, a large group of New Orleans Police Officers surrounded a man, who was obviously in some distress, who was walking down the street with a three inch hunting knife in his hand, disoriented and swinging his arms. Of course, the ending of the video was accomplished by shooting the guy to death on a New Orleans street because he did not comply with orders to lie down on the street. It really gives one a warm and fuzzy feeling knowing that the NOPD is out there keeping all those tourists safe.

[Dragonrider2024]

and the chief reports it was justified..... loved the odds to Jer - 15-1??? ahhhhhhhhhhhh well

[Scutter]

Yeah Dragon, and I especially liked the part about the NOPD not having tazers because the Chief considers them to be dangerous.

[Dragonrider2024]

Well guess that settles it for me - no more trips to NO - twice was enough - one for King Tut display and the other for Mardi Gras. Will stay in the comfortable safety of Eminence.

[Scutter]

Aw now Dragon, New Orleans is still a great party town and I understand that it is even better now that the population has thinned a bit and there are news people there which take a dim view of police brutality. Hey they keep firing their cops at this rate, pretty soon there will be a clear distinction between cops and criminals in the town for the first time in history.

[Scutter]

rebuild their city." Now after posting that quote from George W. Bush, is there anyone out there that does not believe this guy is a very accomplished liar?

[Scutter]

all about New Orleans. Fact is, there ain't much been done and nothing more is happening as the Federal Government starts the process of distancing itself from any responsibility to rebuild the city. Hell, the casinos are reopen and the bars on Bourbon Street have business so why worry about the rest of the town?

[wannatoknow]

Here is a Site that contains a Video that a 15 year old girl made on her Web Site that is a must see.

Remembering this Administration (http://www.crooksandliars.com/category/ava-lowery/)

[Iceman]

I liked that. That's one smart young lady. Bush sure wouldn't want to tangle with her. He'd stammer more and sweat more than he does now. iceman ---

[poeticjustice]

One word… touching. My heart goes out to those people now as it did then. Yet a year later there is a threat of another hurricane and the engineers say the levees may not hold. Big surprise. My first question is why after all that happened would anyone move back there? You couldn’t pay me enough. My second question is how fast can they pack to move out now before it happens again, and will they? Time will tell but I still can’t imagine my they would go back to the horrific nightmare they endured in the first place. History and roots can only go so far.

[Scutter]

The thing to remember about New Orleans is that twenty percent of the City was never exposed to any water damage. The levies along the Mississippi River all held and it was the Lake levies that broke. My kid is currently deciding whether or not to accept a transfer to New Orleans and has taken a couple of trips to the city to assess such things as housing and services. He tells me that there are a number of advantages to making that move now, before the city is rebuilt totally, so I am expecting him to do the move. I guess there are many benefits to being involved in the rebuilding process.

[admin]

A good friend of mine just bought a really nice four bedroom 'vacation house' in NO for $50k. From what I understand property/houses are going for next to nothing there. Hardwood floors, four car garage, brick home for only $50k sounds like a great deal, and he claims there is no water damage, just minor roof damage.

[Scutter]

It just depends on where the house is located Admin. The cheapest thing the Kid has found in the twenty per cent of the City which sustained no damage started at 300 K.

[Scutter]

overwhelmed the City's pumping capacity. Funny thing, we can spend two billion dollars per week in Iraq but can't find enough funding to fix the damned pumps in New Orleans.

[Scutter]

It is now going on two years and New Orleans has not come back. At least it has not come back to half the population that are still dislocated. All of the promises of money and help just seemed to go away along with all those Federal People who were going to help. I now understand that the Bush Administration turned down hundreds of millions of dollars in aid which were offered from foreign countries and made it so difficult for those countries which did send aid that the donated materials and money just did not reach anyone in the affected area. If there is any lesson to be learned from all of this it is, if you are hit by a disaster do not expect anything from a Bush unless you happen to live in Florida.

[Mr.Yunick]

Scutter,
What is the possibility of a national petition to restore the city?

[Scutter]

Nothing is going to work until Bush is out of office Mr. Yunick. He is not about to allow anything to interfere with his war and the funding thereof, and that includes New Orleans. After he is gone, then I suspect we will have at least a chance of rebuilding the city.

[shinobi]

Only 631 days, 2 hrs, 24 min.

The Bush Countdown Clock is here: http://nationalnightmare.com/

[Scutter]

to round up a group of Pro-Bush supporters to greet George on his trip to New Orleans today. It seems that news coverage will be quite limited due to the lack of respect that the people of New Orleans have for our current President. I personally believe that he should have asked Michael Brown to accompany him so that the people would have somebody to throw rocks at. I am reminded of two famous Administration quotes, "You are doing one heck of a job Brownie" and "Being in New Orleans still beats the hell out of being in Iraq". Have to love these people.

[kay9_medic]

Maybe those folks recall what Bush was doing on the day Katrina destroyed the city.

[Scutter]

"It was only once and I turned to God and he forgave me." Funny thing, after months of denying that he had been using prostitutes in Washington DC, this guy got caught in a lie. It seems that he had been having four months of scheduled paid sex with a New Orleans prostitute. I guess we should have known he would be lying about it, after all he is a "Family Values Republican". Let me see if I remember the names of all those "Family Values Republicans". There was Cunningham, Neigh, DeLay, Folley, Craig and now Viters, kind of makes one want to take a good long look at Roy Blunt doesn't it?

[shinobi]

Is that a speck of hope I see looming on the horizon? Only 495 days, 18 hours and 48 minutes left.:woot:

[Scutter]

to fly over New Orleans once again after Hurricane Gustav hits. There will probably not be any better response to this one than there was to Katrina but Bush will at least get a "birdseye" look see.

[kay9_medic]

I've been holding off working out Gustav to see which way the wind was gonna blow, but I think it's time.

I would advise now topping off all your gas tanks as soon as possible.

---------------------------------------------------
NEW ORLEANS (AP) More than three-quarters of the Gulf of Mexico's offshore oil production had been cut off Saturday as energy companies evacuated petroleum platforms in the face of Hurricane Gustav.

The federal Minerals Management Service, which manages offshore leases, said 76.8 percent of the Gulf's daily oil production of 1.3 million barrels, or 998,000, had been stopped. The platform shutdowns also cut off 37 percent of the Gulf's daily production of 7.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas, or 2.75 billion cubic feet.

Chicago Tribune (http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-gustav-production-cuts,0,5261789.story)
------------------------------------------------------

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The FEMA chief now says Gustav has strengthened to a Category 5 storm. Category 5 is the strongest storm rating.

FEMA officials said Bill Read, the director of the National Hurricane Center, interrupted an afternoon teleconference involving the agency, Gulf Coast states and the National Weather Service to say he is going to issue a special advisory statement raising Gustav to Category 5. That means winds greater than 155 mph and a storm surge greater than 18 feet above normal.

Gustav strengthens to Category 5 (http://www.ktbs.com/news/Gustav-strengthens-to-a-Category-5-16083)
-----------------------------------------------------------

Did I mention, get gasoline now?

Nationwide, we have about 60 hours of supply above MOL (minimum operating level). Some areas have a bit more, some a bit less, depending on far down the supply chain you may be. There is no national SPR for refined products ie. gasoline, diesel, kerosene.

Right now, the entire GOM seaboard is a mass of people rushing to refill their cars. Refineries are shutting down. As consumption soars in the coastal areas, we are going to very quickly see spreading shortages, with no quick or easy way to bring in more product. We will have to wait on shipments from Europe.

The really grim scenario is a chain of storms hitting the GOM. Two interrelated problems; widespread damage to the refineries and distribution systems, and widespread damage to the electrical grid, which will have an adverse impact on gasoline distribution, and which will take a very long time to fully repair.

Am I right about the electrical aspect Rogue? See you in a few months, Bud. Take care.

This is a copy of an email sent to me from a friend, who subscribes to some rather different listserves. This is real. It's from Blackwater USA.

--------------------------------------------------------

Security for Hurricane Gustav

Blackwater is compiling a list of qualified security personnel for possible deployment into areas affected by Hurricane Gustav.

Applicants must meet all items listed under the respective Officer posting and be US citizens. Contract length is TBD.

Law Enforcement Officers (all criteria must apply)

1. Current sworn [may be full time, part time or reserve]

2. With arrest powers

3. Armed status (must indicate Armed and/or Semi Auto. Revolver only not accepted) expiration must be greater than 60 days out

4. Departmental credentials (not just a badge)
Armed Security Officers (all criteria must apply)

Only from the following states: OR, WA, CA, NV, NM, AZ, TX, FL, GA, SC, NC, VA, MD, IL, OK

1. Current/active/licensed/registered armed security officer

2. All training verification [unarmed and armed certificates of completion]

3. Current state issued face card indicting armed status [expiration must be greater than 60 days out]

Applicants will be required to provide an electronic copy of the above required credentials/documents, recent photo within the last six months with response to this AD prior to consideration for deployment.

Personnel who meet the above qualifications and are interested, please send resumes and files to: 25505@blackwaterusa2.hrmdirect.com
-----------------------------------------------------------

[ROGUE]

Got the call Friday Kay-9 Headin out in the morning...Trying to see if Zziggy will ride shotgun with me and then assume point duty upon our arrival at the LZ .. But seriously I am headin out in the Am looks as if stageing will be Lafayette LA then the storm strike will determine final deployment site ..

[Scutter]

You take good care Rogue and be very careful. Thanks for doing what you do.

[ROGUE]

We will and Thank You ..I'll take some pics and post them upon my return....Spent a little time in the swamps down there during some training ops years ago .. My training has served me well thoughout my life even an old bastatrd like me can make those kids hustle to keep up lol ... Take care guys see ya when I get back...Fight the good fight.. Sure wish Zziggy would come I could teach him about the flora and fauna and maybe share some mocassin soup or aligator nuggets with a cattail garnish ...

[kay9_medic]

Scutter said: Rebuilding New Orleans, or not.

It is probably time to give some thought to the actual rebuilding of the City of New Orleans, or not.


Quick update here.

The good news. It looks like Gustav will top out at Cat. 4. Not enough time to strengthen to Cat. 5.

The bad news: it's now headed directly at New Orleans, and is expected to make landfall as a Cat. 4. This could be worse than Katrina, both for New Orleans and for oil production.

------------------------------------------------------

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin ordered a mandatory evacuation of the city beginning 8 a.m. Sunday but urged residents to consider escaping "the mother of all storms" before then.

"You need to be scared," Nagin said of the Category 4 hurricane tearing along Cuba's western coast. "You need to be concerned, and you need to get your butts moving out of New Orleans right now. This is the storm of the century."

..."This storm could be as bad as it gets," Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said Saturday afternoon. "We could see flooding even worse than we saw in Hurricane Katrina."

Mandatory Evacuations begin Sunday (http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/08/30/gustav.prepare/index.html)
--------------------------------------------------------

I urged people to top off on gasoline yesterday, and I'll explain in more detail why.

Refer to the graphic below. It shows oil platforms, refineries, and offloading terminals in the storm path.

Rigs/Platforms: Blue: evacuated only; Yellow will require inspection before restart; Red: damage requiring repair.

Refineries: Black: operational impact (partial shutdown) Green: Operational impact (full shutdown)
Red: Damage likely

25% of our domestic oil production comes from right here, along with 15% of the natural gas output. These refineries account for almost half of the nation's refining capability.

The LOOP terminal marked on the map is the only facility in the Gulf that can handle VLCC tankers, the ones that carry over 2 million barrels of crude. If the LOOP is closed, the tankers can in theory be "litered" by unloading onto smaller tankers offshore and the smaller tankers then offload pierside. But it takes a good deal of time and the spare capacity of these smaller tankers is small. Normally, we get about 1.2 million barrels a day (+/- 10%) of crude imports through LOOP.

Ripple effects.

Like most everything else in the supply chain, we live under a Just In Time system. Bulk storage costs money so there is no bulk storage. At all. Not of fuel, not of food. Any disruption in distribution has a magnified effect at each link in the chain, and with fuel, that gas nozzle at the station is the last link of the chain.

Right now this nations grain harvest is set to kick off. Because it is too expensive to ship grain by truck anymore, huge quantities of corn and soybeans are moved via river traffic and barge down river to the port facilities in NO - more accurately, an entire 30 mile swath from NO north. No barges are moving and JIT delivery is going to take a hit, creating spot shortages. The law of supply and demand being what it is, you and I will pay a higher cost over the next months for whatever product is available.

I'm not calling it Armageddon. But according to Chuck Watson, a meteorologist whose long range Katrina forecasts were spot on, there is at least a one in three chance the LA SPR won't be available for upwards of a month, based on inland damage to power supplies and pipelines. That's enough for me to take notice.

Yep Scutter, we certainly may be talking about abandoning NO permanently.

[ROGUE]

They have held us up probably leaving this afternoon..It isnt lookin good down there...

[Scutter]

Yeah it is Rogue, even my hard headed kid is on his way to Atlanta.

Kay 9, most of the large Corporations have been making contingency plans over the last three years to abandon large scale operations in New Orleans. The one I am most familiar with has been shifting it's hub operation in Saint Rose to Houston, Memphis, Jackson and Atlanta. They have scaled back to operations of sub hubs in New Orleans, Hattiesburg and Mobile. It just is not feasible to maintain a regional distribution center in New Orleans anymore.

[ROGUE]

I'll report back with a CLEAR VIEW of what Martial Law is all about..I'll have my laptop with me so if at possible I'll give random reports and photos.. The resident Neosho Forums embedded reporter lol ...I will be busy so bear with me but I promise i'll send what I can when I can...

[kay9_medic]

Now that I have more thought into this...

I doubt that N.O. will cease to exist entirely, but we may see it's erasure as a major city. What I'm seeing Scutter is withdrawal of private insurance, and a decreasing probability of socializing the losses, now starting to force people out of danger zones. Not just N.O. but other areas also, coastal NC and FL come to mind. One more major hurricane to hit Florida and the last of the private insurers will all pull out. While individuals may have insurance, the cost of damage to infrastructure is born by everyone. The state can't possibly continue subsidize losses or insurance. The bonds of the counties and municipalities just keep piling up and soon they won't be able to make even the interest payments. By socializing losses, we have created this hazard to ourselves, since people take the attitude that someone else will pay the loss. WE WILL REBUILD! Yes, with Other People's Money, why not?

Now, the national media is already licking their chops at the opportunity for Photoops from N.O. post Gustav, that they can use to screw the Republican Convention. I would say that Bush (or McCain or Obama) will fold and deliver another $200 billion of OPM, but NOLA will have to push their way ahead of the previously scheduled corporate welfare bailouts. Good luck with that.

If N.O. is devastated again, I don't think many will return this time. Katrina was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime event but that notion will, I think, be overridden by the reality. How many people can afford to lose homes yet AGAIN? How many people can afford to evacuate and rebuild over and over again? How often will the country fund such a rebuild, one we've essentially failed to pay for already?

It is no accident that New Orleans is one of the oldest cities in the US. It is in about the best location possible for a major port but it needn't be a major city, and was fading even before Katrina. And it's a port because of massive government effort and the Corps of Engineers. Now, you can have a deep sea port or you can have a protected city, but not both. And I think we may find, in the post-carbon age, that we no longer have the resources to keep the Mississippi river pinned where it is. It wants to move west, and in the end, it will win.

So put me in square in the camp of letting New Orleans go. Amtrak everyone there to Baton Rouge and abandon the levees. The old definition of insanity as repeating the same behavior expecting different results. The different result comes when we bankrupt ourselves. The people of N.O. were warned for more than thirty years that what has and will happen, will happen again and again. So, if they enjoy living below water line, fine, just don't ask me to pay for their insanity.

[ROGUE]

Nice view ...

[ROGUE]

Hate the waiting game ...Still no word as to when we leave looks like late tonight or very early AM ...Put me coach I am ready to play ...

[kay9_medic]

Wow. I just had an epiphany.

1) Focus on the Family evangelicals pray for "torrential" rain on Obama's speech.

2) It doesn't happen.

3) Gustav (translated, "staff of God") makes landfall the day the GOP convention opens.

I don't know if this is God's will or not. But I do know evangelicals believe in the power of prayer to affect divine will. If you are one of those people, the narrative meaning here is unmistakable.

[emissaryscribe]

I'll give you a confirming A-men on that, Kay-9,
If the religious right saw Katrina as warning or judgment from G~D, then clearly this same reasoning must be applied to Gustav.

[ROGUE]

Amen to that...Judgement

[kay9_medic]

The nice lady at C-Mart tells me people have been in filling gas cans today. I'm glad to hear that. She doesn't know what the next delivery on Tuesday will be priced but her own guess is near $4.00.

Reports of gasoline going from $3.68 on Friday to $4.02 and still rising today in Mississippi. Arkansas starting tomorrow. Missouri starting Tuesday. I'm seeing the first reports on national news of oil supply being threatened, I believe that will trigger a bigger rush to the pumps tomorrow and drawdown of regional stocks.

The storm track is firmed up, showing it plowing into Fourchon and then moving through Morgan City. The LOOP (see map above) is directly at Ground Zero.

---------------------------------------------------
Fourchon Facts from their Website:

Port Fourchon plays a strategic role in furnishing this country with 15-18% of its entire oil supply.

In addition to its huge domestic hydrocarbon significance, Port Fourchon is land base for LOOP (Louisiana Offshore Oil Port), which handles 13-15% of the nation’s foreign oil and is connected to 50% of U.S. refining capacity. LOOP is the only U. S. deepwater port capable of offloading VLCCs (Very Large Crude Carriers) and ULCCs (Ultra Large Crude Carriers).

Port Fourchon currently services over 75% of the Gulf of Mexico deepwater oil production.

Of the over 165 current and pending deepwater projects that have been identified to date, over 50% are using or plan to use Port Fourchon as its service base.

Approximately 270 large supply vessels traverse the port’s channels each day.

Cargo transferred by tenants has steadily increased from 2002-2005 by an average of 12%. Largely because of the hurricanes of 2005, it is estimated that in 2006, tonnage will increase 74% to approximately 38 million tons of cargo.

Approximately 15,000 people per month are flown to offshore locations supported by Port Fourchon.

Recent truck traffic studies have shown that over 1200 trucks per day travel in and out of Port Fourchon.

675 million barrels of crude oil per year are transported via pipelines through the port.
------------------------------------------------------

Now here is a new wrinkle in the oil production aspect.

Rubin of CIBC is forecasting Gustav and other hurricanes will trigger long-lasting production losses in the GOM. His excellent research work is here (http://research.cibcwm.com/economic_public/download/feature1.pdf) (warning - pdf). In short, it isn't cost effective to repair damaged wellheads and oil rigs in the oil fields that are still producing, but depleted. If a platform is damaged and the field is old it will not be replaced. How many near dead wells are there? No one knows, but this will have an impact on future production.

Hurricane Hannah is looking to be Cat 1 into South Carolina later this week.

Hurricane Ike forming, not named yet

Invest 98 not threatening yet

Good possibility that items other than fuel will suddenly get scarce. Coffee and sugar are good bets.

[mikey]

I hope the have enough sense to get out of there this time!

[hardrockers]

K9
I agree with you totally on the translation. I believe HE is trying his best to tell us to wake up.

[Scutter]

I understand that the 203rd has been activated and will be heading south either today or tomorrow.

[Scutter]

Hurricane Gustav may have been very dangerous in an unforeseen way. Since the damage appears to be much less than previously warned about, the real danger is that the next big one will not get the attention of the residents of South Louisiana that it deserves. We all have a tendency to forget our tragedies and remember our inconviences so the next time an evacuation is called for, many residents will probably just ignore it.

[Scutter]

Talk about politics getting in the way of solid judgement. This panic call to evacuate New Orleans has cost 1.9 million people a bunch of money, in gas, time and accomodations as they were pushed out of town because government panic ruled the day. Bush did not want to be seen as incompetent again and neither did the state and local officals so they prematurely opted for the manditory evacuation. I can imagine almost two million very pissed off people going to the polls in November.

[shinobi]

Originally posted by Scutter
Bush did not want to be seen as incompetent again...

AAAHHHHA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! Too late!:D

[mikey]

I can Imagine too scutter and I imagine no matter what happened in Louisana this time you would find fault with what the government did.
If they didnt evacuate them then they are neglecting the poor blacks there again.
Since they did evacuate them then you were just waiting for it not to be a bad hurricane so you could say bush was an Idiot again this time for the evacuating.:wtf:

I swear you have ANTI-GOVERNMENT PHOBIA

ANTI-GOVERNMENT PHOBIA:
Anti-Government Phobia (AGP) differs from most mental illnesses, however, in that it is highly infectious.
Symptoms include extreme suspiciousness, conspiracy-mongering, delusional thought patterns, staunch "us against them" mentality, withdrawal from reality, and often religious fanaticism.
It has spread like wildfire on NF.

[shinobi]

OOOOOOOOOO, Mikey, where'd you get that definition?

Wouldn't anti-government phobia be the fear of anti- government types?

Just "government phobia" should be the fear of govenment.

Just my 2 cents worth.

[mikey]

http://www.tetrahedron.org/articles/info_schedule_battle/Anti_Government_Phobia.html

http://www.totse.com/en/ego/no_laughing_matter/agp.html

[kay9_medic]

Not anti-government here. Just anti-incompetent, and since Bush&Co is running the show, the buck stops there.

Levees break this time - Look at us! We're helping the coloreds this time!

Levees don't break - Look at how awesome our Republican leadership is! Three years after Katrina and we have successfully protected the city from a storm that's not nearly as strong!

[shinobi]

I say a more definitive term would be incompetent government phobia.
That's a term I can identify with.

Here's another: anti-incompetent government syndrome. A sickness that involves getting physically sick when constantly confronted by incompetent governmental policies and decisions.

[kay9_medic]

Wolf Blitzer, this is kay9_medic, reporting live from my kitchen here in Neosho.

I poured a Corona into a frosty mug a little too quickly and it spilled out over the top of the glass.

I didn't have any sandbags handy but I did have some paper towels handy, so I cleaned up the mess with that and I didn't lose too much beer, thankfully.

Anyway, I am fine.

[mikey]

Originally posted by shinobi
I say a more definitive term would be incompetent government phobia.
That's a term I can identify with.

Here's another: anti-incompetent government syndrome. A sickness that involves getting physically sick when constantly confronted by incompetent governmental policies and decisions.

FOLLOW THE LEADER

[Scutter]

As long as it is not a leader of your chosing Mikey. The last one you chose turned out to be a total walking disaster.

[shinobi]

Originally posted by kay9_medic
Wolf Blitzer, this is kay9_medic, reporting live from my kitchen here in Neosho.

I poured a Corona into a frosty mug a little too quickly and it spilled out over the top of the glass.

I didn't have any sandbags handy but I did have some paper towels handy, so I cleaned up the mess with that and I didn't lose too much beer, thankfully.

Anyway, I am fine.

I like Wolf. He does get a little dramatic when not appropriate but I like him.
On another forum, I learned that Wolf stated that the Navajo Code Talkers were used against the Nazis. Now Wolf... you need to brush up on your history.

[mikey]

Originally posted by Scutter
As long as it is not a leader of your chosing Mikey. The last one you chose turned out to be a total walking disaster.

I was refering to you all circling your wagons on here.

But if you are talking about Bush I have to agree. But I didn't choose him I didn't even vote so I cant bitch about him either. But I will vote this time But I'm thinking of leaving the presidential vote blank. Or maybe writing in Pickens.

[shinobi]

Got this email from Obamas group:

Today, the thoughts and prayers of all Americans are with those in the path of Hurricane Gustav -- and many of you are asking what you can do to help.

We do not yet know what the impact of Hurricane Gustav will be, and we hope with all our hearts that the damage will not be as great as it was three years ago.

But we know there will be damage, and there is something you can do right now.

Your financial support will strengthen organizations like the American Red Cross that are evacuating Gulf Coast residents and planning to help communities get back on their feet.

Make a donation to support the American Red Cross today.

At times like this, it is our compassion and resilience that define who we are as a nation.

Please give whatever you can afford, even $10, to make sure the American Red Cross has the resources to help those in the path of this storm:

https://donate.barackobama.com/redcross

Thank you for your generosity, and I hope you will join Michelle and me in praying for the safety of those in the path of the storm and the first responders who are doing all they can to ensure the safety of their communities.

Barack

[mikey]

I can only imagine the hell Mccain would have caught on here for that same message.

[shinobi]

Why Mikey, we're not savages.

[Scutter]

You know Mikey, there comes a time when something is not working, or severely broken as this country is, that you just throw it all in the trash can and start over. Most of us have reached that point and, if you want to assess blame, you can place the reason on eight years of con artists and scammers in charge of the country. Face a fact, we have had it with the Republicans and John McCain just happens to be a target of opportunity. You could have given us Ron Paul or Mike Huckabee or even Fred Thompson but you chose instead to give us McCain, so what the hell else do you expect?

[kay9_medic]

Originally posted by mikey
I can only imagine the hell Mccain would have caught on here for that same message.


Wasn't that Laura Bush I saw, standing up at the podium of the Republican National Convention asking delegates and supporters for donations to help the region?

These same Republicans that are now pretending to be so compassionate, are the exact same people that kept turning away from Louisiana when Katrina hit exactly three years ago.

So, yeah.

[mikey]

Originally posted by kay9_medic
Wasn't that Laura Bush I saw, standing up at the podium of the Republican National Convention asking delegates and supporters for donations to help the region?

These same Republicans that are now pretending to be so compassionate, are the exact same people that kept turning away from Louisiana when Katrina hit exactly three years ago.

So, yeah.

There you go see you are already bitching.

[shinobi]

With reason. Where were they when Katrina hit? OH YEAH! There wasn't a presidential election going on so they turned their backs on millions of Americans..:think:

[Scutter]

The sad reality of this "over reaction" on the part of all the Governmental entities involved is that the next time New Orleans gives a manditory evacuation, nobody will leave.

[kay9_medic]

In all fairness, this is a case of the government damned if they do, damned if they don't.

I'm of the opinion that there shouldn't be mandatory evacuations, as in people being forcibly removed. The people themselves should decide whether to stay or leave. The govt in this case did the right thing by making transportation available and coordinating refugee centers, for those who chose to leave and didn't have the resources to evacuate without help. But for those who choose to stay, the responsibility is theirs and theirs alone.

Hurricanes are pretty unpredictable. It could have been a killer or it could have been a blow and some rain. There is no way of knowing which it'll be until the storm is practically right there. The govt probably overreacted though. I'm sure the RNC convention going on at the moment had nothing to do with that.

[Scutter]

No of course not Kay 9, I am certain that it was sheer coincidence that Bush and McCain would much rather have been seen on the Gulf Coast rather than sharing a cake at the ranch in Texas as the did when Katrina blew in. I guess they will order the manditory evacuation of Florida pretty soon because it looks like Ike will do a pretty good blow there soon.

[mikey]

Originally posted by kay9_medic
In all fairness, this is a case of the government damned if they do, damned if they don't.

I'm of the opinion that there shouldn't be mandatory evacuations, as in people being forcibly removed. The people themselves should decide whether to stay or leave. The govt in this case did the right thing by making transportation available and coordinating refugee centers, for those who chose to leave and didn't have the resources to evacuate without help. But for those who choose to stay, the responsibility is theirs and theirs alone.

Hurricanes are pretty unpredictable. It could have been a killer or it could have been a blow and some rain. There is no way of knowing which it'll be until the storm is practically right there. The govt probably overreacted though. I'm sure the RNC convention going on at the moment had nothing to do with that.

I'm glad one of you came to your senses but what if they know its gonna hit and have the means to leave and don't. Should we still risk life and limb afterward like some before to rescue them?
Thats the only reason I would be in favor of forced evacuations because sooner or later someone is gonna have to go save them.
Some the last time did have the means and didn't leave and had to be rescued.

[Scutter]

Well let us see if they do a manditory evacuation of Miami before Ike hits it Mikey.

[mikey]

Originally posted by Scutter
Well let us see if they do a manditory evacuation of Miami before Ike hits it Mikey.

Nah I think they have sense enough to leave on their own if it comes to that.

[kay9_medic]

Sheesh, how many gay pride parades does NOLA have every year?

Let's blame it on the republicans. Republicans are in favor of this hurricane! They have been since 1952. Can we trust a party that has been pro hurricane for over 50 years?

[KOSA]

They are trying to even things out k-9.

FEMA did not declare the May 10th tornado a disaster area and we all know that most of rural Newton Co. are Republican.

They still haven't fixed the levee's so it wouldn't make sense to rebuild the city I guess...? Should have been done yrs before Katrina and everyone knew one day it could happen...even when the Dems were in office. So I hold both parties accountable!

[ROGUE]

I am Back from Gustov reading for Ike be on and off but I seen it first hand ....Blackwater Lives

[admin]

Originally posted by KOSA
FEMA did not declare the May 10th tornado a disaster area and we all know that most of rural Newton Co. are Republican.

I find it funny that Newton County is mostly Republican, considering Newton County is one of the poorest counties in the Nation...?

[Scutter]

There ain't many true Republicans in Newton County Admin. There are a whole lot of poor folks who think they are Republicans because they think that gives them status. Either that or they just don't realize they are poor folk.