Katrina-New Orleans/Wildfires-California

[skadistic]

oh...ok. So that's the problem...ok, you are right.
By US is racist I meant that racism is quite widespread in US society.

By Brazil is racist, I meant that racism is quite widespread in Brazilian society, with this difference: "a white racist prefers the friendship of a rich black than a poor white". I didn't see this in the US.

No racism isn't wide spread in America.

 

[Japanrocks12]

oh...ok. So that's the problem...ok, you are right.
By US is racist I meant that racism is quite widespread in US society.

By Brazil is racist, I meant that racism is quite widespread in Brazilian society, with this difference: "a white racist prefers the friendship of a rich black than a poor white". I didn't see this in the US.

racism is widespread in every society. why single out the U.S.?

 

[.Shane.]

Someone told me that in CA there's a history of bad things happening, mudslides, wildfires, earthquakes. So they are used to dealing with it. While New Orleans had a mythical "100 yr flood won't ever happen" air about it.

I lived in SoCal for about ~10 years and visit frequently (my mom lives in Orange County). What you're saying is pretty much true. When I was a student in the LA area I went through 1 of these types of fires (I went to Pepperdine, the same school that was evacuated in the Malibu fire). I went through a few earthquakes as well. I lived about 5 miles from the epicenter of the Northridge quake in 94 (was it 94?).

The funny thing about earthquakes is how, when I'm out of state that's universally the thing people will mention, if we get around to talking about CA. The amount of misperception is pretty amazing.

I know for earthquakes we build to fairly stringent codes. Thus, we have massive quakes and I'm always awestruck by how many people DID NOT die. As I said, I lived ~5 miles from the Northridge epicenter and the only structural damage we had was that the brick fence between us and the neighbor fell over.

These types of fires are cyclical; that's the ecology of that area. Granted some will always be set by man. From what I understand they do prepare accordingly for these types of things, though you can never account for every variable.

 

[.Shane.]

By US is racist I meant that racism is quite widespread in US society.

I'd debate that. Yeah, its an issue, and, yeah, some people/places are in hard denial about it, but then other places are almost devoid of it. In my place of work, the 4 people who sit near me are: Dominican, Philipino, Vietnamese, and Mexican. Demographics peg this area as about the most diverse in the country.

Conversely, I know that many of these same friends who I work w/ are smacked in the face w/ racism in some places they travel in the US. The Dominican guy I work with grew up in NJ and basically dealt with racism for the entirety of his youth.

Granted, anecdotal, I know.

 

[EconomistBR]

No racism isn't wide spread in America.

"Yeah, its an issue, and, yeah, some people/places are in hard denial about it, but then other places are almost devoid of it."-.Shane.

"racism is widespread in every society" -Japanrocks12

My experiences in California shocked me, out of choice, white and Mexicans were segregated. Is this a problem? No, they seemed happy with it.

racism is widespread in every society. why single out the U.S.?

I didn't singled out the US, I also mentioned Brazil twice.

 

[Japanrocks12]

"Yeah, its an issue, and, yeah, some people/places are in hard denial about it, but then other places are almost devoid of it."-.Shane.

"racism is widespread in every society" -Japanrocks12

My experiences in California shocked me, out of choice, white and Mexicans were segregated. Is this a problem? No, they seemed happy with it.


I didn't singled out the US, I also mentioned Brazil twice.

segregation out of choice is nothing new, and has little to contribute in terms of the discussion in this thread. By large, when something like this happens, everyone looks out for each other. It's beautiful.

 

[mrt144]

The magnitude of whats going on in California isnt anywhere near Hurricane Katrina. Its not really fair to draw comparisons in that manner and then allege what you allege.

And the point about California being much better prepared than LA is a truth also. Remember, Mississippi also got hammered by Katrina just as bad as Louisiana did, but didnt have nearly the problems reacting to it because they had more competent state leadership.

I agree with this. I would like to point out that urban hell New Orleans beseiged by flooding in a matter of hours is far different than san diego ex-urbs being beseiged by fire in a matter of hours. in new orleans the scope of the problem affects so many more people in such a short amount of time, with so little ability to actually do anything about it, and with so little thought given towards "what if something really horsehockey did happen"

 

[.Shane.]

The magnitude of whats going on in California isnt anywhere near Hurricane Katrina. Its not really fair to draw comparisons in that manner and then allege what you allege.

And the point about California being much better prepared than LA is a truth also. Remember, Mississippi also got hammered by Katrina just as bad as Louisiana did, but didnt have nearly the problems reacting to it because they had more competent state leadership.

Good points, sorry I missed this.

 

[EconomistBR]

The magnitude of whats going on in California isnt anywhere near Hurricane Katrina. Its not really fair to draw comparisons in that manner and then allege what you allege.

I said somewhat the same thing on my first post.
You can't compare Katrina, which was 300 miles in diameter to a San Diego "bush fire".

Californian emergency response will only be truly tested when a huge earthquake strikes the region.

 

[Japanrocks12]

I said somewhat the same thing on my first post.
You can't compare Katrina, which was 300 miles in diameter to a San Diego "bush fire".

Californian emergency response will only be truly tested when a huge earthquake strikes the region.

like it has in 1906 and in LA some years ago?

 

[.Shane.]

Californian emergency response will only be truly tested when a huge earthquake strikes the region.

And they have, multiple times.

The really scary thing is how deciminated other parts of the US would be if an earthquake hit them. They're more common in CA, but they can happen anywhere. The best example is the New Madrid Quake. Fortunately, quakes of this magnitude occur only every hundred years or so.

 

[MobBoss]

And they have, multiple times.

The really scary thing is how deciminated other parts of the US would be if an earthquake hit them. They're more common in CA, but they can happen anywhere. The best example is the New Madrid Quake. Fortunately, quakes of this magnitude occur only every hundred years or so.

Hmmm. I seem to remember that the estimated most powerful earthquake the USA has ever experienced was on the New Madrid line. Yup, looking at your link, I was right.

Heh, being from that area, people always talk about the time the Mississippi river flowed North instead of South....

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

It always fails to register with me that the USA is a country and as big as an entire continent. You guys get all kinds of geological trouble sent your way because of the large landmass.

It sure is diverse.

 

[MjM]

Well, Arnold let the funds loose really fast, which was nice, and the federal aid also came pretty fast. We also have tons of roads, and yes, everyone does have cars. Not to mention fires aren't quite as fast moving as hurricanes. But then again, most of theese fires aren't even 10% contained yet, I can still see the red glows from over the hills when I stand in my front yard. It looks like the apocalypse.

Oh, and some of you are only taking about the SD fire. There are 10 major fires right now, none of them contained.

 

[JerichoHill]

@@EconomistBR;6083497

Well, I don't understand why you got so worked up about it.
"ecological fallacy???"
-- you called americans racist. We're no more racist than any other culture. Racism is everywhere.
-- You're an economist and you don't know the ecological fallacy?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_fallacy
The ecological fallacy is a widely recognized error in the interpretation of statistical data, whereby inferences about the nature of individuals are based solely upon aggregate statistics collected for the group to which those individuals belong. This fallacy assumes that all members of a group exhibit characteristics of the group at large. Stereotypes are one form of ecological fallacy.

The US is racist, I lived in California, there, whites and Mexicans chose to be segregated, it was an option and everybody was happy with it.
--I've lived in a gay community (I'm straight). I've lived in a ghetto. I've lived in a hispanic community. Your point?

Brazil is racist, but here income overcomes racial divides, a rich black will date a blonde and nobody will ever use the word inter-racial.
--Umm, (generally speaking) no one here in DC really cares what color the person you're dating is. Again, you're assuming folks where you lived are representative sample of the whole nation.

 

[EconomistBR]

like it has in 1906 and in LA some years ago?

And they have, multiple times.

The really scary thing is how deciminated other parts of the US would be if an earthquake hit them. They're more common in CA, but they can happen anywhere. The best example is the New Madrid Quake. Fortunately, quakes of this magnitude occur only every hundred years or so.

I am talking about a Megatrust Earthquake that will hit the California.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megathrust_earthquake

Imagine one of those hitting L.A., that would test emergency response, "bush fires" don't test anything.

 

[JerichoHill]

I said somewhat the same thing on my first post.
You can't compare Katrina, which was 300 miles in diameter to a San Diego "bush fire".

Californian emergency response will only be truly tested when a huge earthquake strikes the region.

Choose one of the many big quakes to strike Cali since...I don't know. 1980?

 

[JerichoHill]

I am talking about a Megatrust Earthquake that will hit the California.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megathrust_earthquake

Imagine one of those hitting L.A., that would test emergency response, "bush fires" don't test anything.

Thats like getting hit with a rogue wave. You can't really do much for that

 

[JerichoHill]

As for racism in America.

Let's see.

In Africa its very common to see tribes killing other tribes over race. Sudan and Congo anyone?

In Europe, there's been alot of racism with respect to Arabs and Persians recently. Moreso than in the United States.

So yeah, Racism is ONLY a US problem...

More like a global phenomenon.

 

[.Shane.]

Imagine one of those hitting L.A., that would test emergency response, "bush fires" don't test anything.

ROFL, well then your point is irrelevant. Cataclysmic disasters you can't really prepare for. That's why they're considered cataclysmic.