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:: MAX BLACK ::

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." --C.S. Lewis

"The Swiss pocket knife of conservative thought on the web..." - Eli Kardrakian

"Bookmark Max and dump your subscription to the newspaper; if you don't have a birdcage you really don't need it anyway..." - Shirley St. James

:: Wednesday, November 30, 2005 ::

Kevin Aylward over at Wizbang has been keeping an eye on the New Orleans Times Picayune for their ongoing investigation of the failures of the levees. It's begining to look like both the Army Corp and private engineers took some deadly shorcuts: "Engineers underestimated the weak soil layers 10 to 25 feet below the levee..."

Related: Deroy Murdock takes an eyepopping tour of the destruction of the Crescent City [lots of pictures]; observes:

"Beyond the Lower Ninth Ward, stands the London Avenue Canal. Dusk finds breaches in the floodwall that let water drown the Crescent City. These deadly breaks have been sealed temporarily with gravel. Researchers have discovered that floodwalls like this one only extend 10 feet into the ground, as opposed to 26, as the Army Corps of Engineers recommended. Louisiana's attorney general and the FBI are investigating whether this shortfall involved cost-cutting, shoddy workmanship, or deliberate fraud. The latter would have planted the seeds for the negligent homicide of many of the 1,076 Louisianans killed in Katrina's wake. The death penalty would befit such perpetrators."

Sorry to disappoint you Mr. Farakahn; the levees weren't "blown up" - it appears to be a case of gross negligence on the part of the engineers and/or contractors.

Update: I just Googled the local firm, Eustis Engineering of New Orleans and found their "about us" page interesting.

:: Max 8:34 PM [+] ::
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