WAY OFF TOPIC

This has nothing to do with wine, wine storage, books, movies, comic-books. Years of neglect, corruption and false bonhomie, have shown our politicians of all stripes and position to be either inept or oblivious. Its like Mock J singing Salt of The Earth over and over.

I sent this my to local paper . Pardon the interruption.

Disasters: Nature's and Man Made

Watching on Television and the Newspapers, the effects of Hurricane K, I am struck with the ferocity of Nature's phenomena especially juxtaposed against a civilization that can not predict and thus control outcomes. We can however do our best in cleaning up the mess and seeing to it our infrastructures can deal with the consequences. To put in bluntly-are we ready for a disaster? Are our buildings roads, dams, levees, maintained to as to prevent not contribute to loss? Are our rescue resources; human, transportation, lodging ready to act on Day One?

In a war against terror, a war for the hearts and minds of the Islamic World, we preach order and democracy, yet the images of the last days has been pictures of people without the means of escape, people of colour who've been left to fend for themselves; prey for hunger, thirst and physical danger. Where is the respect for our own citizens when we allow looting and armed theft to go on under the TV cameras but not law enforcement's. In a day or so we'll have all the troops, trucks, food and water the survivors will need, but the images of people angry, frustrated and abandoned will last longer. We denounced the looting of Baghdad a few years ago, but that is what most of the world remembers from our invasion of Iraq; how long will the images from Hurricane Katrina be replayed in the minds of friends, foes and those we want to respect us?

Joseph B. Rosenberg