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Politics : I Will Continue to Continue, to Pretend.... -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sully- who wrote (18401)	3/2/2006 8:07:02 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

The media got it wrong yet again on Katrina. The notion that the experts warned of levee breaches is nothing more than a hack job initiated by the AP and continued by the rest of the Exempt Media even after the source material has proven it false. Katrina Tape Transcripts Show Media Hack Job By Captain Ed on Current Affairs Captain's Quarters For those who want to see the transcripts themselves of the video conferences, the New York Times has them for the August 28th and August 29th briefings (links below). The transcript for the 29th makes one garbled mention of the levees around New Orleans (page 6). After making the point that the storm surge would cause the greatest devastation in the Gulfport area of Mississippi, going as high as 21 feet, Max Mayfield then turns to New Orleans: <<< MAX MAYFIELD: ... The rest of the track we have 10 to 15 feet, in a few areas up to 16 feet. At least glimpsed it out, and Louisiana can talk a little bit more about this than I can, but it looks like the Federal levies [sic] around the City of New Orleans will not have been (incomprehensible) any breaches to. >>> That certainly doesn't sound like a warning -- and this was on the day the levees broke. That transcript clearly shows that the conference considered the storm surge and precipitation runoff to be the major threats of flooding in New Orleans. The possibility of breaches, even on the 29th, had been discounted. The transcript from the August 28th meeting talked more about levees, but in the same vein, and this time no one mentions the word "breach". Starting on page 5, Max Mayfield again talks about the dangers of Lake Pontchartrain, but only in the context of the winds created a surge that could overtop the levees: <<< One of the valleys here in Lake Pontchartrain, we've got on our forecast track, if it maintains its intensity: about 12 1/2 feet of storm surge in the lake. The big question is going to be: will that top some of the levies? And the currrent track and the forecast we have now suggests there will be minimal flooding in the city of New Orleans itself, but we're -- we've always said that the storm surge model is only accurate within 20 percent. If that track were to deviate just a little bit to the west, it would -- it makes all the difference in the world. I do expect that there will be some of the levies over top even out here in the western portions where the airport is. We've got valleys that can't overtop some of the levies. The problem we're going to have here -- remember, the winds go counterclockwise around the center of the hurricane. So if the really strong winds clip Lake Pontchartrain, that's going to pile some of that water from Lake Pontchartrain over on the south side of the lake. I don't think any model can tell you with any confidence right now whether the levies will be topped or not, but that's obviously a very, very grave concern. >>> Again, the entire briefing that related to levees only focused on the effects of the wind on Lake Pontchartrain and its effect in pushing water over the top of the levees. Mayfield never even addressed the possibility of breaches in the levee walls. And in fact, the storm track shifted eastward in the final hours before Katrina hit, which eliminated much of the predicate for even the worries Mayfield expresses in this transcript. The media got it wrong yet again on Katrina. The notion that the experts warned of levee breaches is nothing more than a hack job initiated by the AP and continued by the rest of the Exempt Media even after the source material has proven it false. captainsquartersblog.com nytimes.com nytimes.com

To: Sully- who wrote (18401)	3/2/2006 8:54:50 PM
From: Sully-	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 35834

The AP Katrina Briefing Story - Rathergate Connection By: Kevin Aylward Wizbang Yesterday, in looking at the AP piece on the Bush Katrina briefings (Rewriting Katrina History - AP Style), I had this to stay about the AP's work: ...[I]t has all the hallmarks of the Bush Air National Guard story on 60 Minutes II by Dan Rather and Mary Mapes. The AP has dressed up mundane video to try and prove that President Bush (and everyone else) knew that the levees in New Orleans were going to breech. The problem is the evidence they present in their story to make that point does nothing of the sort. It turns out that there's much more to that analogy than even I knew at the time. Have a look at the byline to the AP story: <<< By MARGARET EBRAHIM and JOHN SOLOMON WASHINGTON (AP) - In dramatic and sometimes agonizing terms, federal disaster officials warned President Bush and his homeland security chief before Hurricane Katrina struck that the storm could breach levees, put lives at risk in New Orleans' Superdome and overwhelm rescuers, according to confidential video footage. >>> Here's an interesting detail on someone who certainly looks like one of the story authors from the French-American Foundation's membership roles: Margaret Ebrahim (2003) Producer CBS News, 60 Minutes II This CBS News page confirms that a Margaret Ebrahim was a 60 Minutes II producer in 2005. Ironically it was Mary Mapes who gave her away... What are the odds that there are two people with that name, one an AP writer and one a CBS News producer? I'm guessing they're minuscule. The odds are that it's the same person in a new job. Given the tatters the story has been shredded into by the blogosphere, it's hardly surprising that it comes from an alum of 60 Minutes II... wizbangblog.com wizbangblog.com apnews.myway.com 64.233.179.104 cbsnews.com google.com

To: Sully- who wrote (18401)	3/3/2006 2:14:22 AM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

NYT: Katrina Transcripts Show Officials Unaware of Levee Failures Media Blog Stephen Spruiell Reporting The Associated Press wasted no time in exploiting the new Katrina videos to try to make President Bush look like a liar: <<< Bush declared four days after the storm, "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees" that gushed deadly flood waters into New Orleans. He later clarified, saying officials believed, wrongly, after the storm passed that the levees had survived. But the transcripts and video show there was plenty of talk about that possibility even before the storm - and Bush was worried too. >>> But the AP failed to report what the New York Times does today: <<< WASHINGTON, March 1 — A newly released transcript of a government videoconference shows that hours after Hurricane Katrina made landfall, federal and state officials did not know that the levees in New Orleans were failing and were cautiously congratulating one another on the government response. In the videoconference held at noon on Monday, Aug. 29, Michael D. Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, reported that he had spoken with President Bush twice in the morning and that the president was asking about reports that the levees had been breached. But asked about the levees by Joe Hagin, the White House deputy chief of staff, Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco of Louisiana said, "We have not breached the levee at this point in time." She said "that could change" and noted that the floodwaters in some areas in and around New Orleans were 8 to 10 feet deep. Later that night, FEMA notified the White House that the levees had been breached. >>> When Bush said, "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees," he didn't mean that nobody ever anticipated that they would break. He meant that immediately after the hurricane passed, the people briefing him told him the levees had not been breached. Many thought New Orleans had been spared. It wasn't until late Monday night that the White House learned of the flooding. This all fits with what Bush has said. But unfortunately, it doesn't fit with the media's preferred narrative, which is that Bush screwed up the Katrina response and then lied about it. media.nationalreview.com hosted.ap.org nytimes.com

To: Sully- who wrote (18401)	3/3/2006 3:17:12 AM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

More Katrina Nonsense Power Line CNN and the Democrats--sorry for the redundancy--have jumped on the Hurricane Katrina bandwagon. CNN's report repeats the factual error that the Associated Press made yesterday, confusing breaches of the levees with overtopping of the levees. President Bush said it wasn't anticipated that the levees would be breached; the famous video that everyone is watching doesn't contradict that statement. It talks only about the possibility of levee overtopping. Is it possible that all of these reporters have somehow missed all of the post-Katrina discussions about the important differences between levee overtopping (widely predicted before Katrina hit, including by CNN), and breaching of the levees, which apparently resulted from design or construction defects? It seems almost inconceivable that all of those involved in misreporting the video can claim ignorance. The Democrats sent out an email this afternoon that contains a flat misrepresentation: <<< The tapes directly contradict Bush's now infamous claim after Katrina, "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." >>> That statement is false, and the Democrats must know it. The level of dishonesty on exhibit here is disgusting. powerlineblog.com cnn.com powerlineblog.com

To: Sully- who wrote (18401)	3/3/2006 11:23:28 PM
From: Sully-	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 35834

AP Plays Emily Litella By Captain Ed on Media Watch Captain's Quarters The AP started a firestorm with its report that transcripts from emergency meetings somehow proved George Bush lied when he said that no one imagined the levees around Lake Pontchartrain would be breached in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. After its report got picked up by every news source in the US, and after the discovery that these transcripts and videos never contained any warnings about breaches, the AP has finally decided to actually read the transcript and watch its video: <<< Clarification: Katrina-Video story ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP) _ In a March 1 story, The Associated Press reported that federal disaster officials warned President Bush and his homeland security chief before Hurricane Katrina struck that the storm could breach levees in New Orleans, citing confidential video footage of an Aug. 28 briefing among U.S. officials. The Army Corps of Engineers considers a breach a hole developing in a levee rather than an overrun. The story should have made clear that Bush was warned about floodwaters overrunning the levees, rather than the levees breaking. The day before the storm hit, Bush was told there were grave concerns that the levees could be overrun. It wasn't until the next morning, as the storm was hitting, that Michael Brown, then head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Bush had inquired about reports of breaches. Bush did not participate in that briefing. >>> So on a Friday night, the AP finally decides to issue this half-hearted retraction -- after its clients have run what turned out to be an entirely false story for most of the week. The AP has, over time, drifted from its initial mission to report news and instead has embraced partisan cheapshotting. Any editor who actually reviewed the video or read the transcripts would have immediately realized that no one talked about levee breaches at all. This vaunted system of editors and fact-checking at Exempt Media outlets failed yet again, and yet again the hack job that emerged was intended to damage George Bush. This pattern looks all too familiar. UPDATE: I got this from a media source who noted it hadn't been released through AP's web service as yet. Keemo points us to Drudge, who also posted it. UPDATE II: CQ reader and frequent source River Rat notes that the AP still engages in some dishonest vocabulary in its clarification: They are replacing the verb "breach" with the verb "overrun" which means: 1 a (1) : to defeat utterly and occupy the positions of : OVERWHELM, OVERPOWER, CRUSH (2) : to invade and occupy or ravage b obsolete : to run over destructively or harmfully : run down c : to spread or swarm over The word used in all of the briefings was "overtop" or "top" as a diminutive form thereof. Overtop means. 1 : to rise above the top of : exceed in height : tower above Definitions are Merriam Webster Unabridged. They are still using misleading language and really should be renamed, Agitprop Pravda. Good point. captainsquartersblog.com drudgereport.com

To: Sully- who wrote (18401)	3/4/2006 2:06:02 AM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

[T]his highlights, though, how hard it is for truth to catch up to error. Hundreds of newspapers printed the AP's misinformation, and it was the basis for television news on all of the broadcast networks. The correction (or "clarification") will never catch up to most of the tens of millions of people who heard the original story. The news business is all about impressions, and corrections, days after the fact, never take away the impression that the original story falsely created. The AP clarifies what the AP muddied Posted by Scott Power Line Lord help those who rely for their news on the mainstream media and their inferior imitators around the country. A mere two days after its outrageously misleading reporting on the warnings given to President Bush before Hurricane Katrina hit, the AP has issued this: <<< Clarification: Katrina-Video story ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP) _ In a March 1 story, The Associated Press reported that federal disaster officials warned President Bush and his homeland security chief before Hurricane Katrina struck that the storm could breach levees in New Orleans, citing confidential video footage of an Aug. 28 briefing among U.S. officials. The Army Corps of Engineers considers a breach a hole developing in a levee rather than an overrun. The story should have made clear that Bush was warned about floodwaters overrunning the levees, rather than the levees breaking. The day before the storm hit, Bush was told there were grave concerns that the levees could be overrun. It wasn't until the next morning, as the storm was hitting, that Michael Brown, then head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Bush had inquired about reports of breaches. Bush did not participate in that briefing. >>> John's more or less authoritative deconstruction of the AP story (linked below) was posted here within hours of its distribution. Assuming its goal is accuracy rather than political effect: What an utterly pathetic performance by the AP, both in its original reporting and its Friday night clarification. And megadittoes for the media shills that parroted the AP's pathetic performance. We await the Democrats' correction of the related misrepresentation circulated yesterday. Or does the AP speak for the Democrats? JOHN adds: I think it's reasonable to assume that the AP's "clarification" is the result of our dissection of their incredibly lame story. I think this highlights, though, how hard it is for truth to catch up to error. Hundreds of newspapers printed the AP's misinformation, and it was the basis for television news on all of the broadcast networks. The correction (or "clarification") will never catch up to most of the tens of millions of people who heard the original story. The news business is all about impressions, and corrections, days after the fact, never take away the impression that the original story falsely created. powerlineblog.com powerlineblog.com powerlineblog.com

To: Sully- who wrote (18401)	3/6/2006 6:17:58 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

The AP's timing of the clarification's release on a Friday night smacks of Clinton-style scandal management. I can't find the clarification in the Post or in any other newspaper. Lord help those who rely for their news on the mainstream media and their inferior imitators around the country. In search of clarification Posted by Scott Power Line We received the AP's "clarification" of its outrageous misreporting on the Katrina video released this week from a highly reliable source yesterday evening and posted the clarification here. powerlineblog.com Drudge posted the clarification here and Kathryn Jean Lopez posted the clarification here, both around the same time we did. drudgereport.com Newsbusters picked up the clarification via Lexis/Nexis and posted it here overnight. corner.nationalreview.com K-Lo's post inlcudes the AP advisory that precedes the clarification: <<< Eds: Subscribers who used BC-NA-GEN--US- Katrina -Video of March 1 and 2 may wish to use the following, which explains how risks of levee breaches were discussed among federal disaster officials and President George W. Bush. newsbusters.org >>> The clarification does not turn up anywhere online except as noted here. Today's Washington Post carries an editorial condemning the Bush administration based on its own misreporting of the video story: "Caught on tape." The AP's timing of the clarification's release on a Friday night smacks of Clinton-style scandal management. I can't find the clarification in the Post or in any other newspaper. Lord help those who rely for their news on the mainstream media and their inferior imitators around the country. FOOTNOTE: Stephen Waters is the publisher of the Rome (NY) Sentinel. He writes this morning: FYI, perhaps one reason that AP printed a clarification is that AP newspaper members like our newspaper hound our state bureau chiefs with emails like this: "Who's running AP and what are they trying to do with the brand? [snip] It's really bad when Popular Mechanics is a more authoritative source than AP." In his message to us, Mr. Waters adds: "I thought you ought to know that some of the MSM are interested in the quality of what is reported and we act -- regularly -- to give constructive feedback." UPDATE: Reader Lynne Hubert writes: << Much to my amazement, the Arizona Daily Star (Tucson) printed the correction from the AP this morning and on the front page no less: "AP usage of breach was wrong." I readily acknowledge that our morning newspaper is not a major daily but, coming from the newspaper some locals like to call the "Arizona Red Star," I was pleasantly surprised. >>> Bingo! powerlineblog.com washingtonpost.com romesentinel.com azstarnet.com