American Way? Japanese Way?

American Way? Japanese Way?
2005.09.06 11:26

I believe America has well prepared against possible accident, harm, disaster, etc.
American way usually anticipates some mishaps inevitably occurs and prepares for it with a lot of cost.
Back in my early thirties, I had travelled all over the American continent through greyhound. Throughout the journey I noticed during the night, two instead of one driver were on duty, and throughout the night, they were chatting one another. One of them was alternative driver.
At midnight, no one can predict what happens, most likely he might have been attacked by unexpected drowsiness, I was deeply impressed American weren't stingy in spending for our safety & security, that might cost a lot but eventually it cost much less than not prepared at all.
See Japanese way - authorities always told us not to sleep at midnight when we were on duty, then if we had an accident they are always get ready for attributing to our own careless mistake, which is inevitably we are subject to having.
When I used long distance bus between cities at night, I noticed only one driver was on duty. That's Japanese way. I swore not to use it again, in Japan.
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How long ago was that?(Score:2)
by sam_handelman (519767) <skh2003 @ c o l u m b i a . edu> on 2005.09.06 11:36 (#13486852) (http://www.columbia....ndelman/student.html Last Journal: 2005.09.25 2:38)
Standards have definitely been slipping here in the states - as evidenced by the response to the most recent disaster.Given the pressure to cut costs (and their indifference to safety unless they risk being sued) I seriously doubt greyhound ever puts extra bus drivers on busses stateside any more.--Just getting to hurt people and ruin stuff is reward enough for the rubber pants commandos!
Re:How long ago was that?(Score:1)
by mercedo (822671) * on 2005.09.06 12:06 (#13486956) (http://slashdot.org/~mercedo/journal/109855 Last Journal: 2005.10.02 7:27)
I am very sorry if my observation was obsolete. It was 14 years ago summer in 1991. But if they didn't position extra personel any more, in the end they would have to pay a lot more. I hope they didn't stop such nice system.--Ancient Greek Philosophers -18c Enlightenment Thinkers -Slashdotters [ Parent ]
Re:How long ago was that?(Score:2)
by Cyberdyne (104305) * on 2005.09.06 17:06 (#13488111) (Last Journal: 2005.09.03 20:06)
Standards have definitely been slipping here in the states - as evidenced by the response to the most recent disaster.
Actually, I'd say recent events fit well with what Mercedo was saying: the preparation was fine - a fortune had been spent building levees which could withstand a Category 3, but just in case a category 4 hit (as it did), the city had a fleet of buses ready to evacuate people, a detailed plan for how to do so, and thousands of National Guardsmen available to back up the local police as needed. Unfortunately, as always, the "human element" was the weak point: the mayor ignored the plan and lost the city's buses, the governor sat warming the chair instead of getting the Guard ready, the evacuation was barely attempted.
Given the pressure to cut costs (and their indifference to safety unless they risk being sued) I seriously doubt greyhound ever puts extra bus drivers on busses stateside any more.
Greyhound may not, but airlines certainly do; in NO's case, it was nothing to do with cutting costs, just incompetence. Indeed, the repairs needed to the flood-damaged buses will probably cost more than it would have cost to use them as planned![ Parent ]
Re:How long ago was that?(Score:2)
by sam_handelman (519767) <skh2003 @ c o l u m b i a . edu> on 2005.09.06 21:49 (#13489023) (http://www.columbia....ndelman/student.html Last Journal: 2005.09.25 2:38)
Mercedo, sorry to spread this into your journal. It had everything to do with cutting costs - on levee maintanence. You are free to believe that those federal budget cuts didn't make any difference, but the overwhelming consensus among diasster relief workers, engineers and hydrologists is that they did. The same goes for (by law, federal) wetlands conservation, which could have greatly mitigated the storm (several feet of storm surge) if the current administration hadn't thought short term profits for developers were more important. The thing about the school busses being unused is sheer slander. The city busses that they had were used to evacuate people. The reason that you don't see the picture of drowned busses on any *reputable* news source (go ahead and check) is b/c those busses were property of the holy and apostolic catholic church, NOT the city. Finally, the claim that the governor of LA didn't ask for federal help is patently false. We have her on tape asking for it three days in advance. The claim that the Bushies are making is that her request was insufficiently formal, which is patently fucking absurd. They were worried that they would be sued for acting b/c the request from the governor wasn't on proper letterhead? Please. The thing she *did* do was to refuse to hand control of the guard over to the Feds. This *in no way* prevents the Feds from acting, nor does it require the Feds to block mobilization orders from neighboring states - the national guard is acting just fine right now (albeit delayed by federal interference) and it is still officially under gubanotorial command. The right wing spin machine is generating an absolute storm of FUD to shift blame to the Governor of LA. The local government response may very well have been inadequate BUT, as the people on the ground have repeatedly stated, THEY were told, by FEMA, that FEMA would be coordinating efforts and all they had to do was to follow FEMA's orders. This includes the Mayor of LA, the various Parish Presidents, and the Sheriff's departments of the entire state.--Just getting to hurt people and ruin stuff is reward enough for the rubber pants commandos! [ Parent ]
Re:How long ago was that?(Score:1)
by mercedo (822671) * on 2005.09.06 23:48 (#13489775) (http://slashdot.org/~mercedo/journal/109855 Last Journal: 2005.10.02 7:27)
Mercedo, sorry to spread this into your journal.
Please go ahead, I am always expecting to have another Hall of Fame [slashdot.org].--Ancient Greek Philosophers -18c Enlightenment Thinkers -Slashdotters [ Parent ]
Re:How long ago was that?(Score:2)
by Cyberdyne (104305) * on 2005.09.07 3:46 (#13491934) (Last Journal: 2005.09.03 20:06)
It had everything to do with cutting costs - on levee maintanence. You are free to believe that those federal budget cuts didn't make any difference, but the overwhelming consensus among diasster relief workers, engineers and hydrologists is that they did.
This is hard to square with the levees having done precisely what they were designed and maintained to do all along. Yes, there had been a proposal to reinforce those levees to take a category 4 storm - in the 60s. Shame about those tax-cutting right wing presidents like Clinton and Carter refusing to fund it, huh?
The thing about the school busses being unused is sheer slander. The city busses that they had were used to evacuate people. The reason that you don't see the picture of drowned busses on any *reputable* news source (go ahead and check) is b/c those busses were property of the holy and apostolic catholic church, NOT the city.
Which is why the mayor was calling for Greyhound buses, Greyhound being a well-known part of the NO city government... right? What a shame the government doesn't have emergency powers to commandeer emergency supplies. Did they even try asking before jumping up and down on TV about "needing" to bring in other private buses from other parts of the country?
The right wing spin machine is generating an absolute storm of FUD to shift blame to the Governor of LA.
Or a left wing spin machine generating a storm of FUD to shift blame to the President.[ Parent ]
Re:How long ago was that?(Score:2)
by sam_handelman (519767) <skh2003 @ c o l u m b i a . edu> on 2005.09.07 5:45 (#13493204) (http://www.columbia....ndelman/student.html Last Journal: 2005.09.25 2:38)
This is hard to square with the levees having done precisely what they were designed and maintained to do all along. Yes, there had been a proposal to reinforce those levees to take a category 4 storm - in the 60s. Shame about those tax-cutting right wing presidents like Clinton and Carter refusing to fund it, huh?I find what you say impossible to square with President Bush's statement that no-one could have foreseen the levee's bursting. Now, not only could we have foreseen it, but it was so inevitable that nothing we could've done in the past five years would have stopped it?Ronald Reagan also never put into effect a plan to put air marshalls on all domestic flights. So obviously 9/11 must be his fault, and couldn't have anything to do with the run-up of intelligence failures (in both Clinton and Bush administrations.)You pick one particular plan - which was, it's true, not implemented - and you ignore all the maintanence work that was (or wasn't) done in the intervening period and all the advances in engineering and earth sciences that have been made?The levee's did not burst immediately - better maintanence might (hopefully we'll know for certain soon) have prevented them from breeching at all. A combination of better maintanence, and prompt action from a full-strength national guard almost certainly would've held the levees.The mayor is asking for Greyhound busses because Greyhound has a fleet of *thosands* of busses, many times the size of the catholic bus fleets that the mayor and governor, it is true, didn't requisition. There's more to that story - including a lack of fuel, which FEMA preventing them from getting from the coast guard - but details are still coming out, the Governor may have made a mistake there.Finally, yes, you've found out! The LA sheriffs are the front line of a Maoist army, here to conquer America from within. If only they'd stop slandering the president (on orders of Michael Moore, of course) we would see that it was really all the people of LA's fault.Certainly, left wingers are criticizing the President - but they are not doing so to deflect blame from the Governor of LA. The only reason anyone on the right is critisizing her is to try and deflect blame from their own incompetent leadership, which is utterly disingenuous.To clarify - you are all a pack of liars. You don't care about what is true, you only care about reducing PR damage to "your team". It's shameful, it's disgusting, it's treason.Even if the governor of LA was a complete screw-up, the Presidents failures of leadership have been scandalous, and for someone who's only supposed credential was his skill in leading our nation through a crisis, it is a glaring deficit that must, in a democratic society, be pointed out.--Just getting to hurt people and ruin stuff is reward enough for the rubber pants commandos! [ Parent ]
Re:How long ago was that?(Score:2)
by Cyberdyne (104305) * on 2005.09.07 18:53 (#13497980) (Last Journal: 2005.09.03 20:06)
I find what you say impossible to square with President Bush's statement that no-one could have foreseen the levee's bursting.
When did he say that?
Now, not only could we have foreseen it, but it was so inevitable that nothing we could've done in the past five years would have stopped it?
No.
Ronald Reagan also never put into effect a plan to put air marshalls on all domestic flights. So obviously 9/11 must be his fault, and couldn't have anything to do with the run-up of intelligence failures (in both Clinton and Bush administrations.)
That seems to be the "logic" you leftists are using, yes.
You pick one particular plan - which was, it's true, not implemented - and you ignore all the maintanence work that was (or wasn't) done in the intervening period and all the advances in engineering and earth sciences that have been made?
The maintenance, AFAIK, was fine: as I said, the levees did what they had been designed, built and maintained to do, nothing more. It isn't "maintenance" which was lacking, but upgrades.
Certainly, left wingers are criticizing the President - but they are not doing so to deflect blame from the Governor of LA. The only reason anyone on the right is critisizing her is to try and deflect blame from their own incompetent leadership, which is utterly disingenuous.
Ah. Blaming the person who actually failed to do her job is "disingenuous", but blaming the other guy for not cleaning up her mess quickly enough is just fine?
To clarify - you are all a pack of liars. You don't care about what is true, you only care about reducing PR damage to "your team". It's shameful, it's disgusting, it's treason.
Oh dear. You really need help.[ Parent ]
Re:How long ago was that?(Score:2)
by sam_handelman (519767) <skh2003 @ c o l u m b i a . edu> on 2005.09.07 22:58 (#13499219) (http://www.columbia....ndelman/student.html Last Journal: 2005.09.25 2:38)
There's no point in continuing this, you don't know shit.You don't know what the President said on television and when, you obviously don't know what he (or anyone else) did, when or why they did it. If I say something obscure I'd be glad to dig up a source, but for christ's sake you don't even watch the evening news?You don't know the history of the levees. You don't know what they were supposed to do, when or why they failed, and what steps might have been taken to prevent their failure. You can argue nomenclature (maintanence vs. upgrades), but the fact is this: there is an excellent chance that if not for the recent budget cuts and lack of wetlands protection, the levees would not have burst. A thorough investigation may tell us for sure, or maybe not, but the fact remains that cutting the budgets and opening the wetlands for development were stupid risks to take, and Bush took them. His watch, his call, his responsibility. Buck stops there.You think that the LA sheriff's departments, the wall street journal and the christian science moniter are all instruments of the vast international Marxist conspiracy.This is not about right vs. left any more.This is President Bush vs. reality. The entire reality-based community, including people of intellect and/or conscience on the right, are united in condemnation of the President's mishandling of the situation.If you claim that the feds made anything less than catastrophic errors, you are taking a stand against truth, against accountability, and against the continued survival of the United States of America. If you are doing it out of knee-jerk partisanship, it is also treason.The locals in LA also made mistakes - chiefly, they listened to FEMA instead of kicking them out of the state and handling things themselves. The claim that this absolves FEMA, or the President, of responsibility, is patently absurd. You want to criticize her? Fine. You want to deflect the President's failures onto her? Beneath contempt.If I were a partisan leftist, I would be *encouraging* you to try and shift blame to the locals in LA, because it is such a transparently cowardly, weasely and two-faced strategy, it's political suicide. The Governor of LA was on the ground, while the President was on *vacation*. If you in the anti-reality camp think you can retake the LA governor's mansion over this, you are insane. If you keep trying, you're liable to lose half the south.--Just getting to hurt people and ruin stuff is reward enough for the rubber pants commandos! [ Parent ]
Re:How long ago was that?(Score:2)
by Cyberdyne (104305) * on 2005.09.08 2:36 (#13501399) (Last Journal: 2005.09.03 20:06)
There's no point in continuing this, you don't know shit
That was pretty much the conclusion I reached about you, yes.
You don't know what the President said on television and when, you obviously don't know what he (or anyone else) did, when or why they did it. If I say something obscure I'd be glad to dig up a source, but for christ's sake you don't even watch the evening news?
I watch plenty of news. I was aware of a federal government official commenting about surprise and the levee failure, but not quite in the way you portrayed it.
You think that the LA sheriff's departments, the wall street journal and the christian science moniter are all instruments of the vast international Marxist conspiracy.
Your delusion not mine. Precisely one person here has been making up absurd bullshit throughout, and it isn't me.
If you are doing it out of knee-jerk partisanship, it is also treason.
Ooh, more lies. You obviously don't know what that word means, so perhaps you'd care to learn the meaning before you embarass yourself further?
If I were a partisan leftist, I would be *encouraging* you to try and shift blame to the locals in LA, because it is such a transparently cowardly, weasely and two-faced strategy, it's political suicide. The Governor of LA was on the ground, while the President was on *vacation*. If you in the anti-reality camp think you can retake the LA governor's mansion over this, you are insane. If you keep trying, you're liable to lose half the south.
For starters, you're inventing even more crap about who I am: there is no possibility of me losing any of the south, since I'm not connected in any way to the Republican party. Still, for all your bull about "reality" you've obviously never met it, so why should I bother educating you? I'll just relegate you to -1 along with all the other lying retards.[ Parent ]
Re:How long ago was that?(Score:2)
by Degrees (220395) <degrees.comcast@net> on 2005.09.07 4:41 (#13492524) (http://home.comcast.net/~gerisch Last Journal: 2005.09.28 13:28)
I tend to agree with that. In my local county, we shut down some rural firehouses, to cut costs. That will last until a massive fire burns down a bunch of homes, and someone runs for the Board Of Supervisors on a pro-fire department platform.
The company I work for is also in cost-cutting mode; in previous years, we would have cross-trained people to be each other's backups. Now we have more work than people, so there is zero time left to cross-train.
--The difficulty of Libertarianism: not 'I must be free' but 'That other jerk must be free, as well'. [ Parent ]
Re:How long ago was that?(Score:1)
by mercedo (822671) * on 2005.09.08 22:39 (#13508754) (http://slashdot.org/~mercedo/journal/109855 Last Journal: 2005.10.02 7:27)
Thank you for useful information, now I learned from you and other Slashdotters that the US had changed from what I saw 14 years ago. Now it's not easy to visit there again but through the eyes of the internet, I was able to know somewhat about it. Thanks.--Ancient Greek Philosophers -18c Enlightenment Thinkers -Slashdotters