Well, as I suggested might happen.. on Sky News just now...Presidantial Elections next week are in "freeze frame" due to the extensive damage of Sandy which is still ongoing which would make voting impossible for almost 1/5th of the population.

I said at our meet up earlier this year that I have been saying for a long while before that, that I could not see an election going ahead....well....we'll have to wait and see how this "freeze frame" as they are calling it pans out.


Jane

oioioi wrote:
It's confusing, because I've been reading a lot off forums with a big membership of people who live in, or near the affected areas. Some are insisting there's a lot of exaggeration, while others are angry at those claims, and insistent that things are very grim.

The impression I've come away with (which may not be accurate) is that things are bad, but the govt had some motive, played out via the MSM, to stir up a lot of terror beforehand, and exaggerate things before the storm hit land. There was an eg of a televised report, where the presenter was feigning being buffeted about by the wind, yet people were wandering past in view of the camera, who clearly weren't affected much at all by the weather.

^ Depends on who is from which area... some areas may not being hit as bad as others. Closer to the shore line where Sandy came in, worse it is... further in land in an area where Sandy didn't make landfall not as bad.

Just saw on the news snow piled so high in WV it was halfway up the side of a Starbucks. Blizzard hitting Maryland. Rain and water flooding NY.

And the front door

oioioi wrote:
Its not a big deal tbh, I dunno why the hype.

The homeless in New York

www.opposingviews.com/i/society/environm...-sandy-new-york-city

19000 Children Homeless in New York

www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/10/new-yo...ssion_n_1870212.html

www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/pages/ba...city-data-and-charts

There's nothing like overhyping a freak of nature to boost sales figures in a time of recession.
Think of how much extra food, gasoline, emergency shuttering and a million other wee bits and bobs were sold to a public otherwise trying to hold onto every buck they can atm.

Just before an election it is ripe for pickings in the handling stakes as well.
If people expect an end time event and they only have a few minorish scrapes that can be milked np.

weather.aol.com/2012/10/30/sandy-leaves-...aves-threatens-coast
weather.aol.com/2012/10/30/sandy-leaves-...h-damp-and-darkness/

Hurricane Sandy Looting, Fights Plague South Brooklyn

Water that had risen six feet high hadn't completely drained away from the streets of Coney Island in Brooklyn, N.Y., yet looters had already rifled through the remains of vulnerable shops on Mermaid Avenue.

At about 8 a.m. on Tuesday, workers arrived at Mega Aid Pharmacy to find that not only had Hurricane Sandy obliterated the building's interior the night before, but thieves had broken in and gone through more than 10,000 pharmaceutical items. Most of the stolen goods were prescription meds.

"The water went away and these people started walking down the streets and just robbed stores," a frustrated worker at the pharmacy, who wished to remain anonymous, told HuffPost Crime.

More, including photo's on the link...

www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/31/hurric...sland_n_2047183.html

Gilly wrote:
... and so it begins.

There are about 20,000 people trapped in their homes, without power, in Hoboken, NJ. They are being told to stay inside because there are live wires in the floodwaters; and there is a borough in NYC, that is being told not to drink their water, not even if it is boiled.

The Jersey shoreline is changed forever. It is so strange to see this and the other recent land mass changes.

I don't understand why people are saying this has been hyped? I am in California, and most people did not know a thing about it, until after the storm hit. Maybe they don't watch the news? If I was on the East Coast or mid-west, I would be thankful for a little hype, especially if it caused me to stock up on food, batteries, first aid/medicine, etc., since there are over 8 million people and businesses without power, and the power companies are saying to sit tight because it could be as much as 10 more days for some. How many heeded the warning?

On behalf of the American people, I apologize for anyone overseas who has been subjected to the hype, but I better not catch any of the same people claiming that they never listen to MSM.

What I mean to say is, don't let hype, or a dislike of American government officals or military, get in the way of your humanity. I know the sentiment over the damages, loss, and earth changes, would be so very different if this happened to a different country.

Here is a picture that some of you might like. I know it gave me a chortle.



This mega ton crane was blown over during the storm and now hangs over one of the richest areas in Manhattan. The building is one of the tallest and most expensive in Manhattan and may now be crushed before it is finished. The whole area has been evacuated for safety reasons, of course. The last I heard was that they were going to try to put another crane up there to pull that one down.

noseymutegirl wrote:
Controlled demolition. That should get the job done.

can they not just give it some viagra

a pity buildings don't collapse straight down, into their footprint.

This report states there are, "At least" 85 people who've been killed across the States by this storm. (Naturally, no mention of any homeless). I hadn't realised there were 70 odd killed by it while it was sweeping the Caribbean.

"Hurricane Sandy brought devastation throughout the Caribbean before hitting the United States and Canada. The overall death is now at least 157".

www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-n...3dxix6-1226508797185

I think that number will grow a little, Gilly. There are some devastated areas where they have yet to go door to door to see if there is anyone there. We will never no how many homeless lost their lives. When Hurricane Andrew hit Florida, I heard that there were too many homeless to deal with and they were thrown into the ocean.

This morning I was watching internet live stream of a local NY TV news station. You get a different slant with news that is geared for the locals. Less sensationalized, more straightforward and informative and also geared towards making people feel better, showing how neighbors who did not know each other before were helping each other out. One man gave a bunch of clothes to his neighbor who lost his house (and clothes) and was cold. Another man, who lived in a ten story apartment building was going up and down several times a day, taking care of his elderly neighbors, getting them water.

There was a man who had lost his waterfront home. He said that it had been in the family for 4 generations. He, his wife and son were staying with relatives and he said that his son looked up at him that morning and said "Dad, remember when [their dog] used to chase the ducks on the water?" It had only been a few days and here this little boy recognized that those days were now gone and was gathering up his memories.

One reporter went to a few gas stations and talked to the people who were waiting in line. Everyone had a "it is, what it is" attitude.

After watching for awhile, I was left with the impression that these East Coaster are resilient and are there for each other. Then, I went to the BBC website to see how they were reporting the aftermath and the first thing I saw was a story about a gas station where violence had broken out. I almost don't believe it, but maybe there was an isolated incident where somebody punched somebody else for cutting in line. I guarantee you that this is not the norm.

It's interesting to see the different slants. Also, BBC had the story about the 20,000 homes were the residents were trapped inside, except BBC said it was because there was sewage in the floodwaters. That doesn't make sense. You can take precautions and leave the house with rubber boots or something. Why would the Fire Dept. tell people to stay inside because of sewage? What I heard was that their were live electrical wires in the floodwaters and that makes more sense.


Oh, something else that I saw on the local news was an aerial view of the Rockaway Beach area where 110 (I think?) homes were destroyed by fire. Everything was burnt to the ground for blocks and blocks. Rockaway Beach lost several residents on 9/11, then several years later, a jet crashed into the neighborhood, and now this. It made me wonder if Rockaway Beach is cursed. Or maybe these have been signs for people to get out while they can because the whole area will be submerged at one point.

I say that because apparently the gulf stream is not what it used to be and neither are the weather patterns.

RA hasn't posted for several days. I hope he is okay. Maybe he is one of those without power.

noseymutegirl wrote:
Yeah, lets hope he's ok

noseymutegirl wrote:
It happened in the EU in 2007, no-one gave a shit about it.
Didn't even have any evacuations.
Ireland actually got 95mph winds, not 85...and that was in Dublin, the west coast didn't get a mention.