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Diploid
Cuban



Registered: 01/09/03
Posts: 19,274
Loc: Rabbit Hole
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FEMA Calls Fake News Conference - WTF??
#7565543 - 10/27/07 01:46 AM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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This is beyond bizarre. FEMA is becoming the laughing stock of the US government.
--
By Randall Mikkelsen
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The main U.S. disaster-response agency apologized on Friday for having its employees pose as reporters in a news briefing on California's wildfires that no journalists attended.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, still struggling to restore its image after the bungled handling of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, issued the apology after The Washington Post published details of the Tuesday briefing.
"We can and must do better, and apologize for this error in judgment," FEMA deputy administrator Harvey Johnson, who conducted the briefing, said in a statement. "Our intent was to provide useful information and be responsive to the many questions we have received."
No actual reporter attended the hastily called news conference in person, although some camera crews arrived late to film incidental shots, officials said.
A spokeswoman for Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who has authority over FEMA, called the incident "inexcusable and offensive to the secretary."
"We have made it clear that stunts such as this will not be tolerated or repeated," spokeswoman Laura Keehner said. She said the department was considering reprimands.
The White House said: "It was just a bad way to handle it." The Bush administration has faced criticism previously over accusations it masked public relations efforts as journalism.
FEMA had called the briefing with about 15 minutes notice as federal officials headed for Southern California to oversee firefighting and rescue efforts. Reporters were also given a phone number to listen in but could not ask questions.
But with no reporters attending and a FEMA video feed being carried live by some television networks, FEMA press employees posed questions for Johnson that included: "Are you happy with FEMA's response so far?"
Johnson replied that he was "very happy with FEMA's response so far," according to Friday's Post account, which FEMA spokesman Aaron Walker confirmed,
Johnson also told the briefing that the agency had the benefit of "good leadership" and other factors, "none of which were present at Katrina." Chertoff was head of the Homeland Security Department during Katrina.
FEMA's administrator during Katrina, Michael Brown, resigned amid widespread criticism over his handling of the disaster, despite U.S. President George W. Bush's initial declaration that he was doing a "heck of a job."
E-mails between Brown and his colleagues over the course of the storm revealed a preoccupation with his media image. "I am a fashion god," he wrote.
FEMA is reviewing its press procedures and will make changes to ensure they are "straightforward and transparent," Johnson said on Friday.
Bush spokeswoman Dana Perino said the White House did not condone FEMA's action and would not engage in such practices.
But in 2004 the investigative arm of Congress, the Government Accountability Office, accused the administration of "covert propaganda" in distributing video packages about federal health programs that looked like independent news reports.
Conservative pundit Armstrong Williams lost a syndication deal for his column in 2005 and apologized after a disclosure that he accepted $240,000 from the Bush administration to promote education legislation in his commentaries.
U.S. defense officials that year also confirmed that U.S. troops wrote articles that were planted in Iraqi newspapers in exchange for money.
reuters.com
-------------------- Republican Values: 1) You can't get married to your spouse who is the same sex as you. 2) You can't have an abortion no matter how much you don't want a child. 3) You can't have a certain plant in your possession or you'll get locked up with a rapist and a murderer. 4) We need a smaller, less-intrusive government.
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zorbman
blarrr



Registered: 06/04/04
Posts: 5,952
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Re: FEMA Calls Fake News Conference - WTF?? [Re: Diploid]
#7565560 - 10/27/07 01:58 AM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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Un-freakin' believable. That sounds like something an eight year old child would come up with.
How the hell did they think they could get away with something like that?? Calling a press conference with 15 minutes notice for everyone except for their press plants.
The pathetic part is that virtually no one was lambasting them for their response to the fires!..they would have been just fine if they hadn't shot themselves in the foot.
Something is really, really wrong with that agency..and this is coming from someone who survived hurricane Katrina.
FEMA is in severe need of an enema..
-------------------- “The crisis takes a much longer time coming than you think, and then it happens much faster than you would have thought.” -- Rudiger Dornbusch
Edited by zorbman (10/27/07 02:13 AM)
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adrug

Registered: 02/04/03
Posts: 15,800
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Re: FEMA Calls Fake News Conference - WTF?? [Re: zorbman]
#7566032 - 10/27/07 08:18 AM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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After watching the video in kake's thread, I'm sure its only a matter of time before they start insisting that Al Queda was responsible for the wildfires in California.
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TheHateCamel
Research &Development -DBK
Registered: 01/31/03
Posts: 15,738
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Re: FEMA Calls Fake News Conference - WTF?? [Re: Diploid]
#7566069 - 10/27/07 08:40 AM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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Stupid liberal media probably set them up.
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rubixcubies
porch monkey ferlyfe



Registered: 08/05/06
Posts: 1,218
Loc: ottawa on
Last seen: 14 years, 8 months
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Re: FEMA Calls Fake News Conference - WTF?? [Re: adrug]
#7567158 - 10/27/07 04:04 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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i was saying the other day if they went to war with iran id bomb there embassy. i probably would get away with it as theyd blame the muslims.
-------------------- i'm a very evolved ape you know.
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zappaisgod
horrid asshole


Registered: 02/11/04
Posts: 81,741
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Last seen: 7 years, 7 months
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Re: FEMA Calls Fake News Conference - WTF?? [Re: rubixcubies]
#7568124 - 10/27/07 09:59 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
rubixcubies said: i was saying the other day if they went to war with iran id bomb there embassy. i probably would get away with it as theyd blame the muslims.
Amazing. How drunk are you?
I want those FEMA retards fired now. Dump the whole agency and don't replace it. The fact that people think there is some glorious federal agency that can save them makes them fail to look after themselves. And build houses in flood plains and earthquake zones and wildfire paths. Just say no.
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lonestar2004
Live to party,work to affordit.


Registered: 10/03/04
Posts: 8,978
Loc: South Texas
Last seen: 12 years, 9 months
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Re: FEMA Calls Fake News Conference - WTF?? [Re: Diploid]
#7572321 - 10/29/07 09:12 AM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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Controlling the news is the act of evil nations; making the news is the act of corrupt ones.
-------------------- America's debt problem is a "sign of leadership failure" We have "reckless fiscal policies" America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better Barack Obama
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johnm214



Registered: 05/31/07
Posts: 17,582
Loc: Americas
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Re: FEMA Calls Fake News Conference - WTF?? [Re: zappaisgod]
#7572502 - 10/29/07 10:36 AM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
zappaisgod said:
Quote:
rubixcubies said: i was saying the other day if they went to war with iran id bomb there embassy. i probably would get away with it as theyd blame the muslims.
Amazing. How drunk are you?
I want those FEMA retards fired now. Dump the whole agency and don't replace it. The fact that people think there is some glorious federal agency that can save them makes them fail to look after themselves. And build houses in flood plains and earthquake zones and wildfire paths. Just say no.

If there must be socialized disaster relief, let the state and locality pay for it, not someone sitting in the middle of nebraska. Free markets only work if we don't reward stupid choices.
At least w/ local and state funding the people would be at a disincentive for living below sealevel (higher taxes/insurance/whatever) and would have paid for their own rescue when it floods. And my ass, sitting in an area which has never flooded, shook, or tornadoed wouldn't be levied against to pay for them.
Let Louisiana set up their own program and deal with their own problems.
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zorbman
blarrr



Registered: 06/04/04
Posts: 5,952
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Re: FEMA Calls Fake News Conference - WTF?? [Re: johnm214]
#7572540 - 10/29/07 10:44 AM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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I don't think there are very many areas of the country not subject to at least one of the following: tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes or fires.
When your neck of the woods is affected you'll be glad for the help. You don't think it can happen until it happens. To you.
-------------------- “The crisis takes a much longer time coming than you think, and then it happens much faster than you would have thought.” -- Rudiger Dornbusch
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johnm214



Registered: 05/31/07
Posts: 17,582
Loc: Americas
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Re: FEMA Calls Fake News Conference - WTF?? [Re: zorbman]
#7572569 - 10/29/07 10:51 AM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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1st. Big difference between a tornado and the rest. Tornadoes impact comparitivly smaller areas.
2nd. I'm not neccesarily against smart government mandated disaster relief, I just think those effected should pay for it, thereby imposing a negative incentive on those who wouold build in a financially disadventageous part of the world.
3rd. It's not fair to make someone in alaska pay for someone in new orleans who reamined in a city with obvious problems in the days prior to the hurricane.
In an ideal situation, those too poor to get their asses out of New Orleans by their own power would have been forced to buy insurance ahead of time so we don't have these problems. Therefore, those who can't afford it wouldn't be living in areas that they.... wait for it... can't afford to live in.
While I can understand the problem of requiring people to buy private or public insurance, such being handled at the local level is by far a better alternative to the feds taxing everyone equaly and not applying any correction to jackasses who remain in negative elevation cities and floodplaines w/out the means to escape after the fact.
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afoaf
CEO DBK?



Registered: 11/08/02
Posts: 32,665
Loc: Ripple's Heart
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Re: FEMA Calls Fake News Conference - WTF?? [Re: Diploid]
#7572608 - 10/29/07 10:59 AM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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can anyone find a single case where FEMA has performed well?
-------------------- All I know is The Growery is a place where losers who get banned here go.
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wps
Well-PaidScientist


Registered: 09/22/07
Posts: 579
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Re: FEMA Calls Fake News Conference - WTF?? [Re: zappaisgod]
#7572609 - 10/29/07 10:59 AM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
zappaisgod said: The fact that people think there is some glorious federal agency that can save them makes them fail to look after themselves. And build houses in flood plains and earthquake zones and wildfire paths. Just say no.

you'd think that, in the whole long, paperwork-filled process of buying a house, that people might notice that they can't buy insurance for the house they are buying, because the insurance companies refuse to take such a HUGE RISK on a house in that area.
you'd think, anyway
-------------------- "America touts itself as the land of the free, but the number one freedom that you and I have is the freedom to enter into a subservient role in the workplace. Once you exercise this freedom you've lost all control over what you do, what is produced, and how it is produced. And in the end, the product doesn't belong to you. The only way you can avoid bosses and jobs is if you don't care about making a living. Which leads to the second freedom: the freedom to starve." - Tom Morello
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zorbman
blarrr



Registered: 06/04/04
Posts: 5,952
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Re: FEMA Calls Fake News Conference - WTF?? [Re: johnm214]
#7572627 - 10/29/07 11:05 AM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
In an ideal situation, those too poor to get their asses out of New Orleans by their own power would have been forced to buy insurance ahead of time so we don't have these problems.
Many people affected by Katrina were not living in New Orleans. You wouldn't know it from watching the news however. I have many family members and friends who lived on the Gulf coast at the time and they had insurance. They are not lazy people, they are hard working average folks.
The insurance companies won't pay out in many cases because they say the damage was caused by the storm surge. What the hell do they think pushed all that water inland? Wind.
So while they fight the big insurance companies in cases that will drag out for years to get the money owed them they need help now to get on with their lives. Only the federal government can effectively help due to the size and scope of the disaster.
I agree that the most flood prone areas should be repopulated at your own risk. But if we were to remove the population of the US into so-called "safe zones" we would probably all be living in an area the size of Rhode Island. There is no safety in life- we all are subject to the forces of nature on this planet and a disaster can happen anywhere at any time.
-------------------- “The crisis takes a much longer time coming than you think, and then it happens much faster than you would have thought.” -- Rudiger Dornbusch
Edited by zorbman (10/29/07 11:17 AM)
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johnm214



Registered: 05/31/07
Posts: 17,582
Loc: Americas
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Re: FEMA Calls Fake News Conference - WTF?? [Re: zorbman]
#7572675 - 10/29/07 11:27 AM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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My point is not to force people to live in a certain place. The point is to ensure people have the resources to fend for themselves (and if not buy insurance whether private or public or public assistance through taxes). This way those who have no moral obligation to help are not forced to, and those who wish to live where they want can as well.
The whole point is that those who choose to live in areas where there is a certain statistical per capita loss will be forced to show their ability to relocate or to be taxed or insured to cover the loss.
The federal government should not be doing this. There is no reason why mississippi or LA can't institute their own programs.
As for the insurance problem... The insurance clauses seem perfectly clear to me really. I followed the major case in fed court and the clause was wind damge and water damage were sepperate. The cause of the flood from a hurricane is also not from wind per se but rather the reduced pressure which allows water to be sucked up like through a straw into the center of the storm.
The suggestion to mandate self coverage is precisly because of the fact that the insurance companies donnot wish to take large risks (like flooding as compared to wind damage) in these areas. If the states want to, great. But those benifiting when shit goes down need to pay for it. Not me, living in an area I'm sure is far below the statistical mean of whether/geographic losses.
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afoaf
CEO DBK?



Registered: 11/08/02
Posts: 32,665
Loc: Ripple's Heart
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Re: FEMA Calls Fake News Conference - WTF?? [Re: Diploid]
#7573239 - 10/29/07 02:52 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/29/fema.newser/index.html
Funny how heads will roll for something like this but still no one has been held accountable for the greatest lapse in American domestic defense.
oh well...baby steps I guess.
-------------------- All I know is The Growery is a place where losers who get banned here go.
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Diploid
Cuban



Registered: 01/09/03
Posts: 19,274
Loc: Rabbit Hole
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Re: FEMA Calls Fake News Conference - WTF?? [Re: johnm214]
#7573247 - 10/29/07 02:53 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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In an ideal situation, those too poor to get their asses out of New Orleans by their own power would have been forced to buy insurance ahead of time so we don't have these problems.
In Florida, it is almost no longer possible to buy insurance to protect a home against a hurricane. The insurance companies do not write new policies and are canceling old ones.
-------------------- Republican Values: 1) You can't get married to your spouse who is the same sex as you. 2) You can't have an abortion no matter how much you don't want a child. 3) You can't have a certain plant in your possession or you'll get locked up with a rapist and a murderer. 4) We need a smaller, less-intrusive government.
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zappaisgod
horrid asshole


Registered: 02/11/04
Posts: 81,741
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Re: FEMA Calls Fake News Conference - WTF?? [Re: zorbman]
#7573274 - 10/29/07 03:03 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
zorbman said:
Quote:
In an ideal situation, those too poor to get their asses out of New Orleans by their own power would have been forced to buy insurance ahead of time so we don't have these problems.
Many people affected by Katrina were not living in New Orleans. You wouldn't know it from watching the news however. I have many family members and friends who lived on the Gulf coast at the time and they had insurance. They are not lazy people, they are hard working average folks.
The insurance companies won't pay out in many cases because they say the damage was caused by the storm surge. What the hell do they think pushed all that water inland? Wind.
This has largely been adjudicated. Insurance policies have explicit exclusions against floods. That's why there is separate flood insurance. These facts are not secret. They are why we have a federal flood insurance program. Did they buy the flood insurance extra coverage? Don't go off all half cocked over this as if the insurance co.s are automatically assholes. Whatever losses they cover will be paid buy their customers. Insurance is about spreading risk among many individuals. It is not about transferring it to an eeeeevul corporation. If insurance co.s lose they leave or raise rates. Who pays the rates? Homeowners. Neighbors. People. NOT corporations.Quote:
So while they fight the big insurance companies in cases that will drag out for years to get the money owed them they need help now to get on with their lives. Only the federal government can effectively help due to the size and scope of the disaster.
Ohhhhh another insurance co. Except it doesn't collect based on disparate risk assessment. Everybody who bought a house there was fully aware that it was going to get slammed by a major hurricane at some point. And now their whining "Who knew?" Well, pumpkin, YOU did. Why do you think your shit was so cheap and insurance so high. Now fuck off and move. Oh yeah, don't live in a shithole state either. And don't elect thieving weasels just because of their skin color.Quote:
I agree that the most flood prone areas should be repopulated at your own risk. But if we were to remove the population of the US into so-called "safe zones" we would probably all be living in an area the size of Rhode Island. There is no safety in life- we all are subject to the forces of nature on this planet and a disaster can happen anywhere at any time.
This is hyperbolic drivel. For a dispassionate assessment of risk by area consult your local insurance rates. If they are very high you can safely assume it is because of heightened risk. If they are low, well, the opposite is true.
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afoaf
CEO DBK?



Registered: 11/08/02
Posts: 32,665
Loc: Ripple's Heart
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Re: FEMA Calls Fake News Conference - WTF?? [Re: zappaisgod]
#7573310 - 10/29/07 03:12 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
zappaisgod said:Everybody who bought a house there was fully aware that it was going to get slammed by a major hurricane at some point. And now their whining "Who knew?" Well, pumpkin, YOU did. Why do you think your shit was so cheap and insurance so high. Now fuck off and move. Oh yeah, don't live in a shithole state either. And don't elect thieving weasels just because of their skin color.Quote:
-------------------- All I know is The Growery is a place where losers who get banned here go.
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Nephlyte
Misfortunate One


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Re: FEMA Calls Fake News Conference - WTF?? [Re: afoaf]
#7574207 - 10/29/07 07:42 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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Umm, i think we got off topic.
The problem here is that GOVERNMENT employees posed as reporters. Not only that, the government employees asked the government questions in a public press conference.
This is a dangerous precedent. Especially considering that when we bring it up in a public forum like this, everyone bickers over the pros and cons of FEMA. Instead of the pros and cons the government publicly and openly creating fake news.
-------------------- "To do right is to know what you want. Now when you are dissatisfied with yourself it's because you are after something you don't really want. What objects are you proposing to yourself? Are they the objects you really value? If they are not, you are cheating yourself. I don't meant that if you chose to pursue the objects you most value, you will attain them; of course not. Your experience will tell you that. But success in getting after much labor what you really don't care for is the bitterest and most ridiculous failure." -George Santayana
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afoaf
CEO DBK?



Registered: 11/08/02
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Loc: Ripple's Heart
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Re: FEMA Calls Fake News Conference - WTF?? [Re: Nephlyte]
#7574299 - 10/29/07 08:09 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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-------------------- All I know is The Growery is a place where losers who get banned here go.
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