I've been reading of and seeing video on TV of the terrible flooding and rain going on in England right now. Are any of our RCTYer's in the danger zones right now? I sincerely hope not. Please let us know...
Shelagh
We live on a hill so aren't in danger of being inundated. But parts of my county and city suffered very badly a couple of weeks ago. Nothing is mentioned of those places now that the more southern latitudes are suffering.
Perhaps even international news is London oriented ...
Mary
Yes, thanks for bringing this up Shelagh. Dennis
Not being familiar with England's geography, the article I read today was datelined "Tewksbury" and spoke of Oxford and Gloucester in particular. I'll have to get out my CAA map and have a look.
Shelagh i used this opportunity and looked at the map for all those names as well ,, mirjam
Shelagh i used this opportunity and looked at the map for all those names as well ,, mirjam
this is a town in Gloucester not that far from me...although my town is not affected. higz Cher
Yorkshire is in the north, it makes us unspeakable :-)
Mary
Good!
We've just heard tonight that the commemoration of the Battle of Bosworth has been cancelled, due to the fields being partly waterlogged and some underwater. It's very disappointing, it's our favourite event. We don't go to the Tewkesbury event although I heard that this year it was dry.
Mary
My good wishes go out to everyone effected by this... and I hope the people in the northern counties who were flooded a couple of weeks ago are doing well now too.
*hugs* Gemini
Thanks - on their behalf. Most of them still can't get into their houses. Think New Orleans ...
Mary
At least they don't have FEMA "helping" them. >:)
spampot spun a FINE 'yarn':
>
John Oliver, the brilliant comedian on Jon Stewart's Daily Show, did a "report from the scene" on the British floods, and finished up with praise of Gordon Brown..."Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job!" We nearly died laughing (Gem, Bush said that very thing to the incompetent Michael Brown, whose qualifications for being named head of FEMA were limited to having been acquainted with Bush in Texas).
That is hilarious. I love the Jon Stewart show. We get it here each evening and ROFL at him - he is totally outrageous and very funny! :-)
Thank you both, but my question was *why* is it a good thing that England doesn't have FEMA 'helping' them? Are they bad at what they are supposed to do? Or is it because New Orleans is still in need of help so long after their disaster?
By the way, I laughed when I read the reference to what John Oliver and George Bush said to the two Brown men. :o)
*hugs* Gem
Gem,
The entire federal response to Katrina was criminally inadequate, shamefully slow and entangled - I'm sure Olwyn Mary can add more colorful details. No one did their job, they just sat in Washington whining and pointing fingers at each other -- oh, and by the way, the states couldn't cope because their National Guard, which is the main security force in such situations, had been "federalized" so they were nearly all over in Iraq on active military duty (but that's a rant for another time). The public outcry was such that the Dept of Homeland Security, which "owns" FEMA, was reorganized -- but the situation in New Orleans is still such that the very word FEMA is now a joke here in the U.S. -- or a warning ("We're from FEMA and we're here to help you").
FEMA used to be up to the job, but it's been marginalized for years so their resources were inadequate, but it didn't help to have a chief whose qualifications were being head of a horse-racing outfit.
So "Heckuva job, Brownie" has replaced "Way to go, Einstein" as the ultimate sarcastic comment on incompetence.
Does that help?
The reason I say it's a good thing we don't have FEMA over here is because of what I read after Hurricane Katrina hit.
My son was one of the lucky ones whose house only had minimal damage because of the part of Texas he lives in. He and his wife helped set up a local organisation to help some of the people who ran before the hurricane hit but who were left homeless.
There are a couple of articles at:
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