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Experts Say Faulty Levees Caused Much of Flooding
Washington Post ^ | Sept. 21, 2005 | Michael Grunwald and Susan B. Glasser

Posted on 09/20/2005 11:38:42 PM PDT by CobaltBlue

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To: CobaltBlue

I love the smell of napalm in the morning!


301 posted on 09/21/2005 2:15:55 PM PDT by CobaltBlue (Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.)
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To: showme_the_Glory

Exactly how does a picture of the Slidell bridge prove anything about the 17th St. Canal, or the London Avenue Canal?

Are you geographically impaired? ;^)


302 posted on 09/21/2005 2:18:13 PM PDT by CobaltBlue (Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.)
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To: CobaltBlue

Many of the major components of New Orleans government have a long history of corruption, including the school board, the police department, and yes, the levee board.

Keep in mind that the Corps of Engineers generally doesn't make decisions. They make studies and recommendations which the Congress uses to pass appropriations and which the state and local government debate to appropriate matching funds.

When the funding is in place, the CoE executes the projects, within the budget limitations.

Something else to note about the CoE. Odds are that if they fudged on the plans, then they 'cheated' to build something heavier and stronger than the plans allowed for. They are engineers, engineers behave in predictable ways, and the empirical evidence supports this.



As to the sequencing of flooding, this post:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1482715/posts?page=40#40

and the rest of the thread lay down the history of who reported what, when, and offer some analysis as to possible causes,

and this post:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1486492/posts?page=20#20

offers causal limitations raised by imagery of the 17th and London canal seawall failures,

and this thread raised possibilities which might concern you as well:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1484668/posts

That will give you a good background for what I'm working on now and hope to have done this week, but be aware that there are at least two significant limitations to the information presented there. One, photographs are not nearly as good as walking around on the jobsite and putting your hands on things that broke.

Two, computer modelling doesn't carry as much weight as empirical evidence gathered after the storm.

To understand a complex hydrodynamic sequence of events, the above is necessary reading, but understand in advance that some of the speculations listed in these posts have not been supported with empirical evidence. Read it, but don't cast it in stone yet, some modifications are already necessary and the empirical evidence assessment is only about 75% complete.

The timeline for the downtown and east Jefferson areas is finished, as are the imagery assessments for the 17th and London Canal breaches, which exist "as is" in the above listed threads and posts. I may sum that up and include it with the east Orleans and St. Bernard assessments I'm working on now, but I don't expect any of the conclusions to change.

As for Plaquemines Parish, initial (and superficial) assessments indicate that most structures below Port Sulphur are gone, no major urban areas there to begin with, and whether or not I do any more in depth analysis down there probably depends on how much havoc Rita wreaks.

In summation, I think that the CoE is probably the wrong target for most suits, that heavyweight class action hitters from all over the world are already in play on this, that there probably were design and perhaps construction errors at 17th and London Canals, that other design and maintenence issues will come out soon, and that the state and city government agencies most culpable have already or will soon declare bankruptcy.


303 posted on 09/21/2005 2:25:13 PM PDT by jeffers
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To: CobaltBlue

Yes, thanks for noticing.


304 posted on 09/21/2005 2:26:51 PM PDT by showme_the_Glory (No more rhyming, and I mean it! ..Anybody got a peanut.....)
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To: CobaltBlue
I love the smell of napalm in the morning!

Since you were the one that got creamed in post after post after post with your smarmy nonsense being exposed as nothing more than the scummy avarice that it is, this statement is more than a bit ironic.

305 posted on 09/21/2005 2:46:36 PM PDT by A Jovial Cad ("It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues." -Abraham Lincoln)
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To: jeffers

Great post! Thank you.

As you already noticed, the barge was in the Industrial Canal, which is between Orleans and St. Bernard.

The way I understand the article this thread is about, they were talking about the 17th St. Canal, which is between Orleans and Jefferson, and the London Avenue Canal, which is purely in Orleans. Neither of these carry barge traffic.

As for the "missing" levees in St. Bernard, those were clearly scoured away by the main storm surge. I've looked at a lot of photos of coastal St. Bernard and Plaquemines, and they were just wiped clean. You may have noticed that the Chandeleur Islands are "missing," too.

My dad had a fishing camp at Empire, and has sent me photos of the area. It's just awesome. I can email you the Powerpoint he emailed me, if you PM me your email address.

The word "awesome" is not one I usually use, because it's so over-used, but shock and awe are good words for the reaction to the devastation.

As for the "class action heavy hitters" already in play, I am sure you're right. New Orleans is home to some of the biggest players in that game. I don't intend to actually get involved in the litigation -- I just love a good, complicated lawsuit with lots of juicy issues. This one will be a beauty.


306 posted on 09/21/2005 3:18:44 PM PDT by CobaltBlue (Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.)
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To: CobaltBlue
When there's money to be made, I don't turn it down.

Well! Sho nuff!

You'd be an idiot if you did turn it down. Yet you don't strike me as an idiot. That's a good thing.


If you want a Google GMail account, FReepmail me.
They're going fast!

307 posted on 09/21/2005 3:32:48 PM PDT by rdb3 (NON-conservative, American exceptionalist here.)
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To: jeffers
- bump - to your excellent collection and analyses.

You may want to capture the analyses at your profile page. Makes for a convenient place to "point to."

308 posted on 09/21/2005 3:34:28 PM PDT by Cboldt
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To: A Jovial Cad

You're reading a different thread...she has run circles...


309 posted on 09/21/2005 4:08:55 PM PDT by dakine
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To: A Jovial Cad
You need to trot along now, and take your simpering to another forum more suited to such idiotic expressions. Like, say, this one:

You fit the profile of the post 2000 idiot freeper to a T.

310 posted on 09/21/2005 6:15:58 PM PDT by Nov3 ("This is the best election night in history." --DNC chair Terry McAuliffe Nov. 2,2004 8p.m.)
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To: Echo Talon
The govt. will say "act of god" and your law suit will be gone.

Oh, please. Then either God will be an unindicted coconspirator or Michael Newdow will have a whole new lawsuit to file.

311 posted on 09/21/2005 6:25:37 PM PDT by AmishDude (Join the AmishDude fan club: "Great point." -- AliVertias; ":-) Very clever" -- MJY1288)
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To: CobaltBlue
These people are the biggest hypocrites. When it comes time for a lawsuit they squeal the loudest!
312 posted on 09/21/2005 6:35:45 PM PDT by Nov3 ("This is the best election night in history." --DNC chair Terry McAuliffe Nov. 2,2004 8p.m.)
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To: Nov3
When it comes time for a lawsuit they squeal the loudest!

That's my experience!

313 posted on 09/21/2005 6:47:14 PM PDT by CobaltBlue (Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.)
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To: CobaltBlue
some big lawsuits were going to be filed against the Army Corps of Engineers

With all the graft and corruption for which that area is famous, I'd check the building materials before the engineering. Inferior concrete in the levee?

314 posted on 09/21/2005 7:46:05 PM PDT by knuthom
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To: CobaltBlue

I'm a lawyer too, and I can tell you you're a long way from seeing anyone recover any money in a lawsuit against the Army Corps of Engineers. Fifteenth-hand scuttlebutt and wild conjecture at a political website does not prove negligence and win a lawsuit.


315 posted on 09/21/2005 8:57:30 PM PDT by JCEccles
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To: Howlin
We're are going to get to the bottom of this sooner or later!

So the levee break was unexpected after all?

316 posted on 09/21/2005 9:27:24 PM PDT by Mike Darancette (Mesocons for Rice '08)
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To: JCEccles
Fifteenth-hand scuttlebutt and wild conjecture at a political website does not prove negligence and win a lawsuit.

No offense, but I think the proper response is "Duh? No foolin'!"

But thanks for sharing. I hope you feel better for getting that off your chest.

317 posted on 09/21/2005 10:22:03 PM PDT by CobaltBlue (Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.)
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To: dakine

Oh, I've been reading the right thread alright.


318 posted on 09/22/2005 12:00:21 AM PDT by A Jovial Cad ("It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues." -Abraham Lincoln)
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To: CobaltBlue
Still got that I'm in with the cryptic last word fetish going, huh?

You need to get a new hobby; you're not very good at this one.

319 posted on 09/22/2005 12:03:08 AM PDT by A Jovial Cad ("It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues." -Abraham Lincoln)
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To: Howlin
Maybe you should sue yourself for defamation of character?

LOL - Good One!
320 posted on 09/22/2005 12:22:21 AM PDT by stlnative
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