I'll tell you what's going to happen: nothing. Not a damned thing. The UN will piss and moan, and maybe get a small, begrudging amount of support from the Mayanmar government. The simple fact of the matter is that the junta is in the process of fixing an election, and they don't want large numbers of foreigners around asking questions. So the sick will die, and in a year it will be forgotten. Nothing can be done if the government won't allow it, unless you want to send in peacekeepers and force them to accept aid; and we saw how well that worked in Solamia...

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B'gah. Do you even know what FEMAs job is? Its to plan and assist. The failures in New Orleans had nothing whatsoever to do with the Federal Government, the responsibility both for emergency preparedness and for emergency response lie squarely with state and local officials. The ones to blame are the mayor of NO and the Governor of LA... but rather than admit that a tragedy befell what is inarguably the most corrupt city in one of the most backward states in the US, we blame the federal government.

What else would you have liked to have seen done?? It was the responsibility of state and local authorities to order an evacuation, which they did too late.. and then the people didn't leave! Here's a tip.. when your local government says "get gone", do it! Here's another tip for you.. if you choose not to leave when you're told to, don't shoot at the rescuers when they come to get you. Was the US Army supposed to come in and forcably evacuate the city? FEMAs job was to monitor the situation and provide whatever assistance the local and state governments need... WHEN THEY ASK FOR IT. We have something in this country called NIMS.. the National Incident Management System, and every state and local government is responsible for making sure they comply with its needs if they want federal aid. Its been in use out west for fighting wildfires for decades and it works. It does not give automatic command and control over to FEMA, it assumes the local agency will remain as the Incident Commander, and FEMA is supposed to provide financial support and arrange for other local jurisdictions to provide equipment. FEMA itself doesn't own any equipment... it doesn't have a single backhoe, fire engine or helicopter. All it does is coordinate the borrowing of that equipment from agencies who can spare it.

Stop trying to pin every calamity on the planet on the federal government and George Bush. Blaming FEMA for the lack of preparedness in NO is like blaming the Dept of Agriculture because there aren't enough apples in your local supermarket. Put the blame for Katrina where it belongs.. on corrupt and inept local and state officials. Stop listening to reporters who learn about stuff 5 minutes before they report it and pretend to be experts... or fools like Kanye West who are after better coverage in US magazine. They don't know what they're talking about. Learn for yourself... check out FEMA.gov sometime... or go to www.ready.gov and learn what you can do to be ready in the event of a disaster. Stop assuming the government is going to come in and wave its magic wand and make everything better, take some responsibility for yourself. That's the key difference between NY after 9/11 and NO after Katrina.. the people of New York stepped up, and even though hundreds of local emergency services personnel were killed, they didn't sit around waiting for the federal government to come, or flee the scene, they rolled up their sleeves and dug in.

edit: If you want to know why NO turned into a disaster, this entry about the levees from Wikipedia says it best:

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