The city of New Orleans lies below sea level on reclaimed swampland and is sandwiched between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain. The city is (or was) effectively walled in by raised walls or levees that in the past prevented it from being flooded. The reason why the city flooded was because some levees were breached by the rising water level from the lake. Experts had known for some time that the city was in danger of flooding if the area was ever hit by a hurricane. But rather than devote the necessary expenditure to strengthen the city defences the Bush administration actually decreased expenditure for the New Orleans Corps of Engineers (who maintain the levees) by $71.2 million this year. Furthermore for example work on maintaining the 17th Street levee (one of the levees to be breached) was halted earlier this summer because expenditure for the levee had run over budget. Obviously for the Bush administration there were far more pressing areas for government expenditure -such as the occupation of The fight against racism, whose deep roots have once again been exposed, must take fresh impetus from the anger unleashed by the shameless way thousands have been left alone to die. cuts for the rich and
war spending in
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