FEMA and the Galveston West End Cover up

Originally posted by darkmaster
Not to sound too cold blooded here, but they did tell the citizens of Galveston Island to evacuate before hand.

To what I recall the media and the government were urging people to evacuate on Monday of that week Ike was predicted to arrive inland. Many citizens did evacuate 4 days before Ike hit; however, there were still people in the island that decided to take their chances.

On Monday, the entire coast line of Texas was in the ‘cone of doom’. As of late Tuesday night/early Wednesday morning, the eye was heading straight for Corpus Christi. It was later Wednesday when the eye turned and Galveston was in the bull’s-eye. People who decided to wait til the next day woke up to flooding two full days before landfall. Many couldn’t leave.

There was media coverage before and after Ike hit, and as to what I've seen so far there were people in the island that clearly didn't really care about Ike. Some people were drinking, others were surfing, while others were just standing around playing around the beach/sea wall.

Ike was a cat 2 hurricane with a cat 4 or 5 storm surge. The residents were only told that it was a cat 2.

Ike did not behave as predicted. The models were all over the place. It was so huge that there were 20 foot storm swells along the coast of Corpus Christi.

Most people can’t afford to pack up and leave every time a hurricane may come close to them. Most employers will not let you leave unless they are under a mandatory evacuation. By the time the mandatory evac has been issued, it’s usually too late. Motels are booked, roads are backed up with traffic, and people run out of gas sitting on the interstate. Most people weather a cat 2 with little trouble. This storm was unlike any cat 2 I’ve ever seen.

This is my first post here, been lurking for a while. (I'm only replying anonymously because I can't be bothered to register. Apologies if this is bad etiquette)

I just want to provide a speculative answer to those who have been asking "What purpose does a media blackout serve?" and other similar questions.

The obvious answer, to me, is that the guys that run the show, whoever they may be, cannot have a natural disaster that outdoes 9/11 in death toll, for obvious reasons.

In case those reasons aren't obvious, they cannot have a new benchmark event which would overshadow their everpresent casus belli. It would be the "new 9/11" and would detract from their use of the threat of terrorism.

To put this in context, I have never been afraid of the government's warnings (Ilive in the UK by the way) of terror because: How many people have been killed in western countries this century? A little over 3000, the vast majority on 9/11. That is NOTHING compared to many other causes of death, and yet we have gone to war on the back of it.

Compare the funding provided for this backlash to the funding provided to counter the major causes of death; Heart disease, strokes, cancer, respiratory diseases. Research the percentile disparities and the budget disparities for fighting terror vs medical problems and you immediately see that it makes NO SENSE that we are fighting this stupid war.

I am NOT SCARED of terrorists. I am scared of getting old and infirm. The half trillion dollars we've spent on the war could have revitalised wetsren health. No chance.

So to return to my point, the NWO or whatever/whoever you think they are, CANNOT have a worse disaster than 9/11 because it would undermine their fear-based politics and war economy agenda.

I have no idea if this is true, but it is certainly a valid reason for a media blackout and subsequent misreporting of deaths in both past and present disasters.

9/11 MUST retain the TOP SPOT of disasters for many more years, or people will start thinking like me; Let's stop spending money thwarting terrorists who kill (relatively) few people, and start spending money defending ourselves against the problems that kill the VAST MAJORITY of people. Our "leaders" priorities are ass-backwards and skewed (obviously) toward their 'defense' industry friends' profit margins; they have NOTHING to do with protecting the people.

Apologies for the long post.

I dont know about most of you ..But If we had to just pack up and leave with little notice ..We could not afford to leave either .We can barely afford to eat these days .We are lucky to even have a few dollars left after each paycheck.
How are they supposed to up and leave with no money ?

Most of those people who live in Crystal Beach seem to be very poor .There is NO WORK .They live off the tourists and they have not had many tourists due to the economy
The only ones who have money are the ones who OWN the cabins and most of them do not live anywhere near there .

Originally posted by Simplynoone
I dont know about most of you ..But If we had to just pack up and leave with little notice ..We could not afford to leave either .We can barely afford to eat these days .We are lucky to even have a few dollars left after each paycheck.
How are they supposed to up and leave with no money ?

Most of those people who live in Crystal Beach seem to be very poor .There is NO WORK .They live off the tourists and they have not had many tourists due to the economy
The only ones who have money are the ones who OWN the cabins and most of them do not live anywhere near there .

Add to that the following real-time realization we are about to have as follows:

The martial law evacuation of the "200 hold-outs" on Bolivar Peninsula backed by the logic that there are no services for them (fear of infectious disease already being used to back that) and you have the following interpretation:

It is now illegal to be a survivalist on your own property in the United States of America. If we can't charge you city services, we'll forcably remove you from your land.

If I hear another Galveston official refer to these devastated areas as "47% of the tax base" one more time I'm going to throw up in my mouth.


[edit on 9-16-2008 by Valhall]

reply to post by Simplynoone


Living in a coastal community requires that one make preparations well in advance of an actual emergency. We have savings for evacuations. Money can be transferred on line to checking if necessary. We keep our vehicle gassed up. We have a standing invitation from our son who lives four hours away, inland.

We have provisions to keep us alive for at least a week if we have to hunker down with no electricity. I grew up in hurricane country, plus we camp alot so we have plenty of battery operated devices and we are well stocked on batteries.

We didn't go out one week-end and get all this stuff. We've been acquiring it a little at a time. You never know what emergency you may have to face. Most people never think ahead enough to prepare themselves. It's often too late to make preparations two days before a hurricane hits.

First-hand account of the destruction of Galveston Island by former Tyler Paper reporter:

Much if not most of the property on the Bolivar Peninsula is now debris. Homes on the West End of Galveston Island that used to be behind the dunes are now over open water. The Seawall was covered in chunks of concrete that weigh hundreds of pounds.

Authorities are still in search-and-rescue mode. About 24,000 people didn’t heed evacuation orders. Rescuers are leaving the dead in houses and moving on to look for the living.

Unlike in New Orleans after Katrina, they are not spray painting a giant "X" on a building when they find bodies. Instead, they are putting discrete stickers on the buildings. On the one hand, government officials seem to be trying to keep the media from portraying the true extent of the disaster, but on the other hand officers are tipping off reporters about deaths and rescues.

Link

Originally posted by violet
First-hand account of the destruction of Galveston Island by former Tyler Paper reporter:

Much if not most of the property on the Bolivar Peninsula is now debris. Homes on the West End of Galveston Island that used to be behind the dunes are now over open water. The Seawall was covered in chunks of concrete that weigh hundreds of pounds.

Authorities are still in search-and-rescue mode. About 24,000 people didn’t heed evacuation orders. Rescuers are leaving the dead in houses and moving on to look for the living.

Unlike in New Orleans after Katrina, they are not spray painting a giant "X" on a building when they find bodies. Instead, they are putting discrete stickers on the buildings. On the one hand, government officials seem to be trying to keep the media from portraying the true extent of the disaster, but on the other hand officers are tipping off reporters about deaths and rescues.

Link

I've seen this account on several webpages, but there are a number of erroneous statements in it which leads me to have to place it in reserve as far as the statements about the stickers on the buildings, etc.

reply to post by darkelf


Hi Dark
I agree that they SHOULD have been better prepared.
But a few years ago fter reading on here for years and reading the news everywhere all of the time I started getting better prepared too ..just in case something were to happen here .
I bought water everytime I went to the store ..I stashed money just in case .
I even bought canned goods (more than I needed) But since the gas prices went WAY UP and our light bill is now 630.00 a month for just two people in a 1700 sq ft house ..we only sit with one light on at night with 1 TV on ..with 2 computers on ..I only wash once a week ..The money all goes towards the Air Conditioner which we keep on 77 degrees ...(we even have a timer on our hot water heater) Then groceries doubled ..And our water sucks since it is now coming out of a lake that even fish cant live in so we have to drink store bought water now (which prob isnt much better lol) ...So guess what ...we spent all that stash just to pay this months light bill and gas bill to get to work and back ...we ate all of the canned goods since we cant afford to buy them now ..and the water leaked all in the garage (all get holes in them afterwhile) ...Credit cards about maxed and taking every other extra dollar I may have had with each paycheck just to pay those payments ...then we have house payment ,insurance ..etc etc .. ..then we owe IRS a couple thousand a year (GRRR) for self employment taxes (with no dependants) ...The rest of the money goes to food and toilet paper,phones etc etc ..and yes my Internet lol....what does that leave in money left over for disasters ?
So where will we get that few extra bucks to put back to save for one of those disasterous days (Like what they got on the coast) .............
Heck I even work 2 jobs ...still cant keep up .
I am glad when people do consider what may lie ahead and are able to stock up ...but seriously most of us just cannot do it ....I really do try .
I dont rent movies anymore ..I dont spend money ....I just sit on what we have ...and still I get nowhere ....still broke and will be in deep doo if lights and water went out and we had to somehow survive ...

reply to post by Valhall


World News tonight showed them Xing on houses (It wasnt red but green or something ) .....
Sorry about the one liner but I am talked out after the last post lol

reply to post by Simplynoone


You used your emergency funds and supplies for an emergency. It's like I said, you never know what type of emergency you may have. I sincerely hope and pray that things turn around for you soon.

Thanks Darkelf ...I appreciate that ..


So did yall see this video of a man who survived the Bolivar Peninsula?
It also says they rescued 18 people from that area today ..(YEAH thank you Lord )
www.chron.com...

It is a video on the left in about the middle of the page.

Originally posted by Simplynoone
reply to post by Valhall

 

World News tonight showed them Xing on houses (It wasnt red but green or something ) .....
Sorry about the one liner but I am talked out after the last post lol

I know they were painting Xs on houses to indicate whether they were structurally sound (range of X-XXX where an X meant for the resident to have an inspection made prior to entry to verify building's integrity and XXX meant structure should not be entered at all). Didn't hear anything about red versus green Xs, but I'm assuming that that's what the Xs the World News saw were referencing.



You have an urgent U2U.

Please answer ASAP

[edit on 16/9/08 by masqua]

Originally posted by Anonymous ATS
This is my first post here, been lurking for a while. (I'm only replying anonymously because I can't be bothered to register. Apologies if this is bad etiquette)

I just want to provide a speculative answer to those who have been asking "What purpose does a media blackout serve?" and other similar questions.

The obvious answer, to me, is that the guys that run the show, whoever they may be, cannot have a natural disaster that outdoes 9/11 in death toll, for obvious reasons.

In case those reasons aren't obvious, they cannot have a new benchmark event which would overshadow their everpresent casus belli. It would be the "new 9/11" and would detract from their use of the threat of terrorism.

-snip-

Here is a different angle.
We all heard the warnings "get out or face certain death".
According to what I have read in the thread, a lot of people are missing.
The death toll is brought in, high enough to be shocking, and for this arguments sake, under the 9/11 tolls.
When the next predicted natural disaster comes, mandatory actions will be taken against the people. For they cannot do for them selves, as "proven" by the previous.

One thing I don't have clear. Is the research facility on the on the side being "blacked out"?

Does anyone reading this have knowledge of the currents and tides in that area? Perhaps oil, chemicals, remains etc are pooling on that end?

Ok, it has been a few days now and obviously, as other posters have pointed out, the media blackout is not for respecting the dead. At first I gave them the benefit of the doubt about why they should or would do what they have done. But now it is obvious that their actions serve other purposes. I believe, as others have eluded, that the true purpose of the media blackout is related to what is happening on wall street.

At this moment, the largest insurance company in the world is about to declare bankruptcy. Our government budget for the year is over 450 billion short of capital. Today, on CNBC, the governor of New York stated that “over 22 states” are basically broke. There have even been some city governments in California and other states that have declared bankruptcy.

The financial markets are in turmoil. Last month, the FDIC stated that they needed immediate assistance from the department of the treasury if they were going to be able to meet their obligations to federally insured customer accounts that were all ready lost from current bank failures. Obviously, the treasure is going to have to print money just to be able to pay back FDIC insured customers because of the rash of bank failures.

I believe that they are keeping a lid on the hurricane damage as a way to prevent a run on the banks and a rash of insurance claims hitting the market at the same time that massive capital is being raised to save the worlds largest insurance company from bankruptcy.

It is my opinion that our country is only one natural disaster away from financial ruin. I also believe that the disaster of financial ruin has all ready occurred and the government is trying to keep you from knowing about it until they can figure out what to do about it.

We’re talking billions in damage that neither Texas, the insurance companies, nor the federal government has. That’s why I think that they are trying to keep people from knowing total damage estimates.

reply to post by mantic


Here's one more to add to the WHY pot. It's an election year and the clock is ticking down to the finish line. It wasn't only George Bush that took a hit when the images one after another of Katrina victims suffering ruled the airwaves. Many officials took hits and the beating continues to this day. Now why would they allow that to happen again when every vote and every soundbite is critical right now?

Why risk another debacle live on national television? The best way to control the information is to smack the lid down hard. Control what B roll (film/photos) is captured and aired. Less is more. Eek out information until Ike is old news which in today's market only takes a few days. Let the headlines turn over a day or two and have total numbers add up very, very slowly so that everyone except those who really watch lose both count and interest. Just avoids a whole lot of headaches for anyone in a position of power or hoping to gain one shortly.

Remember the outrage caused by the treatment of survivors and ineptitude of those in charge during Katrina? The question shouldn't be why would they cover this up. The question should be why would they subject themselves to oversight on that scale again.

My heart just breaks when I think of the suffering that is really going on behind the blacked out lenses.

Just a thought.

reply to post by DancedWithWolves


My thoughts have been along the lines of yours. I suspect it is mostly about saving face by not having people see any failure. Do not let the chance of discovery happen.

Selfishness is part of typical human behavior. The politicians are almost always watching out for their interests first, despite what face they try to display.

The more I think about it I remember reading about many ships that went down in those waters. Gold laden ships. From back in the Spanish Looting, days sending back the looted gold to the Gold Rush. There's a lot of treasure in those waters that could have been pushed up by such a big storm.
Just a thought to throw out there.

I feel for the staff at the Glaveston daily news, you can feel the strain in thier reporting.

They are doing a monumental effort under the circumstances and I dare say they are gaining widespread respect and recognition within the industry worldwide.


I can only imagine the phonecalls and emails they are fielding as they are the only port of call for the community and concerned relatives.


They would know exactly what is going on as well(whatever it is). Awful position to be in

Originally posted by Valhall
Another site with excellent overlays before and after which also include street names:

jakeabby.com...

Zoinks! I just finished that link. It left me stunned. It's like the Mississippi coast after Katrina. There have got to be countless dead.

So Anderson Cooper can go stand in hip-high water for half a day after the storm but not cover this?

Now that I think of it, there have been no reports regarding the Vacek Bridge at San Louis Pass. It is incredible but the posts regarding the entire erosion of the West End may be right. We had a house in Sea Isle for many years. It is at sea level there. That picture of Bremuda Beach is disturbing! We just recently sold our property at Teramar too. Wow!
There have been several posts regarding permanent residents on the West End. While some, if not most, are weekend homes. Many people do live there year round. I know many of them.