FEMA Sorry for Faking News Briefing 403
theodp writes "The Federal Emergency Management Agency's No. 2 official apologized Friday for leading a staged news conference Tuesday in which FEMA employees posed as reporters. All the while, real reporters listened on a telephone conference line and were barred from asking questions. In the briefing, Vice Adm. Harvey E. Johnson Jr., FEMA's deputy administrator, called on questioners who did not disclose that they were FEMA employees, and gave replies emphasizing that his agency's response to this week's California wildfires was far better than its response to Hurricane Katrina in August 2005."
Re:Juxtaposition.. (Score:4, Informative)
Baloney. Saying that California wildfires "happen every year, almost like clockwork" is like saying the same for hurricanes hitting the gulf coast, and discounting Katrina as a minor, typical event. Wildfires may be common, but fires that burn down hundreds of homes (many of them track homes, not out in the wilderness somewhere), shut down the greater part of a county, and force the evacuation of a half million people, are another thing altogether.
That said, I do agree with the poster above you that pointed out that the devastation caused by Katrina was probably far greater and that much harder to manage than the CA fires. FEMA had a relatively small role in this one. Evacuations were coordinated by the county and city. Firefighting was coordinated by Cal Fire. And FEMA did what exactly? Oh yes, they had news conferences. At least that's what I got from watching it on the news for 2-3 days non stop.
Firefighting aircraft grounded by bureaucracy (Score:5, Informative)
The military offered helicopters for dropping water on the fires, but they weren't allowed to because California State Department of Forestry rules required that a CDF fire spotter ride in each aircraft. Not only did it take more than 24 hours to get the fire spotters to the choppers, but there weren't enough spotters to man all the available aircraft.
Some official allowed an exception to the rule to allow just one spotter for each squadron of three, but by the time this was all sorted out, the high winds proved to be too dangerous, and so the aircraft were grounded.
Had they been able to take off when first called upon, the winds wouldn't have been so severe and they might have been able to contain the fire.
What's worse is that the military has several C-130 transport planes on call for dropping very large amounts of water from the air. I saw one of these at the Big Bear Lake fire in 1985, and it was a truly awesome sight to behold.
However, it was determined that their tanks were unsafe, so several years ago they were taken out of service until a new tank could be designed. The first try at a new tank didn't fit in the planes - yes, you read that right - so they went back to the drawing board.
It's been four years since then and they still don't have a new tank design.
Let me find you a link [sfgate.com].
fire them, they broke the law (Score:4, Informative)
here's the relevant letter from the GAO: http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20050222093810-51492.pdf [house.gov]
any FEMA administrator that knew that fake reporters were asking the questions needs to immediately resign or be indicted if they try to avoid responsibility for this propaganda
Re:First Post (Score:4, Informative)
Re:the view from outside the US... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Firefighting aircraft grounded by bureaucracy (Score:1, Informative)
"Philbin's last ... day at FEMA was Thursday" (Score:5, Informative)
From the end of the TFA:
O. M. G.
Re:First Post (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Using Nukes? (was Re:Yeah...) (Score:3, Informative)
Ha
Seriously though, when the security infrastructure breaks down (as it did in Russia) those weapons become available to any fruitcake with an agenda. What amazes me is that we haven't been hit with an ex-Soviet-era nuke yet. Of course, the things do require continual maintenance and if just left to themselves tend to become useless, so it's possible they don't have one that still works. On the other hand, just having the nuclear material means you could roll your own, I suppose.
Re:Sorry... (Score:3, Informative)
Mistaken topic (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Cheeseburgers and circuses and... Blackwater. (Score:1, Informative)
Do not listen to ScrewMaster, who is a Fox News shill. The video is indeed still available. Do not be afraid to view it.
How much they paying you, guy?
Re:Sorrier... (Score:2, Informative)
There is even a peace movement today with a lot of the same people involved that were involved in the 60's.
Re:Yeah... (Score:1, Informative)
Re:Sorrier... (Score:3, Informative)
Since when did the Kent State Massacre put an end to the anti-war movement? That's not how I remember it, and I've never even seen anyone claim this. The movement continued, the war became increasingly unpopular, and the US withdrew.
Incidentally, four students were killed at Kent State, not two: Alison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer, and William Schroeder. Only the first two were participants in the protest; the second two were bystanders.
Re:Sorrier... (Score:2, Informative)
In reality, you'd probably end up wishing that what the gov't called it was treason. The trend is clear; a person who is resisting, advocating resistance, or doing anything contrary to the will of the State is a terrorist. Terrorists are not to be considered human, and it's expected that any action that involves the treatment of the terrorist is not only acceptable, but it will not even be questioned.
The first step to oppressing a people is to stop believing that they are human. That's why they're called insurgents, which is defined in Webster's as "a rebel not recognized as a belligerent" (with belligerent meaning "belonging to or recognized
Of course, that's also why the people who live in the USA are 'consumers', not people. I was at a party last night; it was not an extremely large gathering, there was drinking but no noise problems, and there was nothing disruptive about it. 4 police cars pull up, no less than 6 officers get out and talk amongst themselves. 2 of them walk up to the entryway to a patio (clearly belonging to the apartment). I ask what the problem is, and (non-belligerently) tell them that this is private property and that they're not welcome. One of the officers looks at me, and says (direct quote) "What are you going to do about it?" and walks into the patio area and begins questioning and demanding ID from everyone in sight. (Everyone was over 21.) We're losing this battle rapidly, and the trends in other areas work against us.
Freedom was nice while it lasted.
Re:Sorrier... (Score:2, Informative)
From the article you cite:
Re:Sorry... (Score:3, Informative)