Qatar offers 100M in contibutions

[rS]

I would have to believe the 1 thing that would be a concern is the accepting of aide in the form of access to this country.

Locks are for honest ppl, and as much as our own gangs and such have created havic.. I could imagine the possibilites of terrorist, etc.. getting access to the U.S. in the name of relief efforts, but now exposed us ever more.

Its a shame.. but I think they are doing the right thing. Better to plan and act, then panic and react.

[{OF}RKT]

It sure would be nice to see the French kick up some money considering twice we stopped then from being Germans.

[ARX|Frag4U]

Originally Posted by {OF}Flying_Dutchman

Most of the Netherlands (about 75%) is under sealevel. Hurricanes are quite prevalent in the North Sea (I remember quite a few when I lived there) and we have had very few flooding issues, mainly issues with wind damage to property instead.

In the 1950's one of the Dutch provinces (Zeeland) was hit bad by a hurricane and many people died. As a result of this a flooding prevention mechanism was put in place that is unique in the world as it still lets water in and out with the tide which preserved precious marine life in that area, but allowed to completely barricade the area in case of a hurricane. It's known as the Deltawerken. You can see what it looks like here: The video shows one of these special dams that was built (Oosterschelde Dam)
http://www.deltawerken.com/

There's a Nederlands/English button at the top left to see it in either language. The old saying goes "God created the world but the Dutch created Holland" Indeed, without a continous effort, the country would not exist.

If you'd like so see a clip of this 1953 flood check here:
http://www.deltawerken.com/The-flood-of-1953/89.html It'll remind you of the images you see on the news today.

There is no doubt in my mind the Dutch could help the US design and built a better flood control system. The question is whether the US governement will take the offer.

As for the bad reputation of the Americans, I'm not sure where it finds it's origins but it definitely is out there. American tend to be typically thought of as arrogant, ignorant of what happens in other cultures, and value money above all else.

When people come here to visit, they find something completely different, a country with great, caring people that is founded on a strong foundation of liberty and independence. As with a lot of things, it's the few bad apples that spoil it for the rest.

How many of those were a category 5 hurricane spanning 200 miles?