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Badtux the Snarky PenguinIn a time of chimpanzees, I was a penguin. Religious fundamentalists are motivated by the sneaking suspicion that someone, somewhere, is having fun -- and that this must be stopped. |
Monday, October 10, 2005When the levee breaks...The levees on the canals in the western part of New Orleans apparently broke because they were built on top of mud (doh!) and the mud washed out from under them, allowing the whole levee to be pushed inwards until the walls on top broke loose from each other.The levees on Lake Ponchartrain were the same height, but were much broader at the base (and much heavier) due to the fact that they are 100% earthen, thus the mud didn't wash out from under them. Indeed, the mud under them has been so compacted by the thousands of tons of soil levee on top that it likely has the consistency of concrete. What this implies is simply repairing the existing canal wall system will not be enough. Either the canals need to be disconnected from Lake Ponchartrain (perhaps by putting enormous pumping stations at their heads to pump out their waters into the lake) or large swaths of land on their sides will need to be condemned in order to make room for broader-based levees so that the mud under the levees won't wash out. After Bechtel gets the contract, expect to see $35 billion spent on profit, and $5 billion actually spent building the levees -- in a way that they are guaranteed to fail at the next big hurricane (gotta guarantee Bechtel another round of profits, after all!). - Badtux the Cynical Penguin Posted by: BadTux / 10/10/2005 12:34:00 PMComments:Post a Comment<< Home |
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I am a black and white and yellow multicolored penguin making his way as best he can in a world of monochromic monkeys. ArchivesApril 2004 / December 2004 / January 2005 / February 2005 / March 2005 / April 2005 / May 2005 / June 2005 / July 2005 / August 2005 / September 2005 / October 2005 / November 2005 / December 2005 / January 2006 / February 2006 / March 2006 / April 2006 / May 2006 / June 2006 / July 2006 / August 2006 / September 2006 / October 2006 / November 2006 / December 2006 / January 2007 / February 2007 / March 2007 / April 2007 / May 2007 / June 2007 / July 2007 / August 2007 /
Cost of the War in Iraq
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"Keep fighting for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don't forget to have fun doin' it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce." -- Molly Ivins, 1944-2007
"The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men."
-- Plato
Are you a spammer? Then send mail to my spamtrack mailbox to get permenantly banned! Remember, that's iamstupid@badtux.org (hehehhe!).
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