"The Predators of New Orleans" by Mike Davis

Response:

Facts about Katrina:
- started as a tropical depression, turned into category 1 hurricane
- recharged itself by extracting the heat from the warm waters which caused it to morph in to a category 5
- rarely seen hurricane recharge itself, link to global warning
- missed city center of New Orleans by 55 km
- levees not as high as in more wealthy areas, damage approx. 90 of levee systems
- nicknamed area that flooded "Lake George" (aka george bush who failed to respond)

- ridiculousness of entrusting life and death mandates with unqualified bureaucrats
- mayor is responsible for city
- catastrophe orchestrated by class inequalities
- most accurately predicted disaster
- 80% of New Orleans is below sea level

- priorities focused on tax cut for rich, financing war in Iraq and costs of homeland security
- Bush built maginot line against Al-Kaida instead of paying attention to building storm walls, pumps and levee
- when water flooded New Orleans, hard to reach someone on phone for help, even rescue workers could not help.
- Fema, instead of helping, prevented rescue teams to enter, aircrafts from evacuating hospitals.
- City Halls business elites and allies would like to push the poorest population outside of the city.
- debate about transforming poorest neighborhoods into water retention ponds.

- failure of government: unrealizable, unsustainable, economic promises