Die-hard Ultras / Hardcore Supporters

Jonathan Smith12 said:if I build on what you said, people will just think I'm acting like a know-it-all...

There have been floods in Canada for a couple of days now—middle schoolers are learning how the northern river basins flow into the Mississippi River...
And now you're telling me we couldn't prepare in three days and defend just the American side of the Mississippi River (since the other side is Canadian)...
Basically, we only had to protect one bank of the river, and we still failed....

Poor country, and whoever is running things, too☕

Thank God there isn't a huge population of Americans living on the other side of the Mississippi—people who fought for both sides during the war :rolleyes

Gregory Hill3 said:thank goodness there isn't a massive group of Americans living on the right side of the Mississippi River who fought for both sides during the war :rolleyes

Well, clearly, we’re expecting some local contractor to just show up with a backhoe and a shovel, see that things are flooding near Unknown, pull out a green card, head straight to the border, and suddenly start defending Unknown and Unknown instead...
I just can't wrap my head around how on earth a random contractor would manage to sort out all the transport permits and work visas for another country in just three days...☕
Or do you honestly believe a guy with a backhoe and a shovel would just sneak across the border into Canada through some open field on the black market?😉

What have all those people we pay year after year actually accomplished when it comes to building proper levees along our rivers?
Are they just being paid to coordinate filling damn sandbags 🙄 and organizing evacuation buses when things inevitably go south?

Why can't they prevent these floods from repeating every single year, stretching from Indianapolis all the way across the Midwest?
Next year, we’ll likely face the exact same scenario—another chapter of misery for hardworking Americans—even though we all dutifully pay our taxes for "waterway management and flood control"...

Our local agencies seem incapable of helping these unfortunate families save the livestock they depend on for their livelihoods, affecting about a dozen flooded towns. Where are the military and police boats?
And over in Canada, it’s a total catastrophe; the situation there is a hundred times worse than ours.

Anyone showing up to help better come geared up: bring your rubber boots and gloves!!

Richard Rogers38 said:What have all those people been getting paid for all these years if they aren't building actual levees along the rivers?
To just organize filling damn sandbags 🙄 and coordinating evacuation buses when things go south?

Why can't they stop these floods from happening year after year, stretching from Indianapolis all the way through the Midwest?
Next year will probably be the exact same story, more struggling Americans facing hardship, even though we all pay our fees for "waterway management" for years...

Our local agencies can't even help these folks save the livestock they depend on, affecting about a dozen flooded towns. Where are the military and police boats?
And in Canada, it's a total catastrophe—the situation is a hundred times worse than ours.

I'm not taking sides here; I don't have any connection to American Water, dam authorities, the government, or anything like that... but let's not be naive and follow that old American habit of just pointing fingers at whoever seems responsible when something goes wrong. Do you really think anyone benefits from this, or that there's some grand conspiracy? Simply put, the levees were built for average water levels seen over the last century... but this isn't average at all:

"The river reached a flow of three to four thousand cubic meters per second, while the other hit two to three, causing the Mississippi River downstream to reach six cubic meters per second—that's 50 percent higher than the highest flow recorded since the start of the 20th century."

At this point, there's nothing left to do but everyone pitch in however they can, whether it's calling in or donating food. Just pointing fingers won't change a thing.

Alexander Miller14 said:Look, I’m not out here playing defense for anyone—I’ve got zero skin in the game with American Water, the dam authorities, the government, or any of those guys... but man, don't be so damn naive and fall for that classic American trap where we just start pointing fingers at everyone we think is responsible the second things go south. You really think this all just happened by pure accident, like some stroke of bad luck? It’s simpler than that: those levees were built to handle the average water levels we've seen over the last hundred years... but what we're dealing with right now is anything but average:

"The river reached flows of three to four thousand cubic meters per second, while the other tributary hit two to three, and once they merged downstream from the junction, the Mississippi River surged to six cubic meters per second—that's a massive 50 percent jump above the highest flow ever recorded since the turn of the 20th century,"

At this point, there's nothing left to do but roll up our sleeves and help out however we can, whether that's making calls or donating food; sitting around pointing fingers isn't going to fix a single thing.

...

Alexander Miller14 said:Now, please understand, I’m not trying to play defense for anyone here—I have absolutely nothing to do with American Water, nor the dam authorities, nor the government, or any of those folks... but let's not be naive and fall into that classic, old-fashioned American trap where, whenever a disaster strikes, we just start pointing fingers at everyone we think might be responsible. Do you really believe this all happened by pure accident, like some stroke of bad luck? To be honest, these levees were engineered based on average water levels from the last hundred years... but what we are seeing right now is anything but average:

"The river reached flows of three to four thousand cubic meters per second, while the other tributary hit two to three, and eventually, the Mississippi River downstream from the city reached a flow of six thousand cubic meters per second—which is actually fifty percent higher than the highest recorded flow since the turn of the 20th century,"

At this point, there isn't much else to do but pull together and help out however we can, whether it's personally showing up, making phone calls, or donating food; simply sitting around pointing fingers isn't going to fix a single thing.

Well, why don't you try explaining to me how the Mississippi River went through the levee instead of over it?

In all honesty,
how is it that you seem so incredibly well-informed about all these specific flow rates, yet you remain completely oblivious to the most crucial fact of all: how this flood actually started?

How much longer is it going to be in America before someone is actually held accountable for anything?

Then, if you're so sure, explain to me why there are 1,000 Special Forces troops hovering around Yankee Stadium with helicopters just three hours after the levee breached—unless, of course, their actual job was just to protect certain corrupt officials and US Soccer from being heckled by angry crowds?
Wouldn't it have been a bit more logical if they had been guarding the levee instead?

Jonathan Smith12 said:Now you try explaining how the Mississippi River went through the levee instead of over it.

?

Muskrats—or whatever people call those river rodents—dig tunnels, and those tunnels are basically the worst thing for a levee. Once the water starts doing its thing... look, a levee needs time to actually settle and stabilize. Instead of just dumping dirt in front of the water, they should be using sandbags. Honestly, anyone who thinks you can just "defend one side of the river" with an excavator... I mean, don't get mad at me, but that's just not how it works. And if you want to actually protect anything, you really need a hydrologist involved—because by the time a river overflows, it's already too late.

Jonathan Smith12 said:Would it have been smarter if they just focused on maintaining the levee?

khmmm....not really. I mean—they probably could've used them better elsewhere, but just sitting there guarding the levee? I don't think so.

Paul Young5 said:Those little critters—muskrats, nutria, or whatever you want to call those river rodents—they dig these tunnels, and let me tell you, those tunnels are the absolute worst enemy for levees; once the water gets a hold of them, it's game over. For a levee to actually work properly, it needs time to settle and compact, which takes quite a while, so instead of just dumping loose dirt in front of the water, you really ought to be using sandbags. Honestly, anyone who genuinely believes you can just "defend one side of a river" with nothing but an excavator—and please, don't take this personally, I'm just speaking my mind—is sorely mistaken. And if you actually want to defend anything effectively, you need to understand hydrology, because by the time a river starts overflowing its banks, it’s already far too late.

Now, look, I know exactly what I'm talking about here,
those tunnels created by rodents have to have an outlet that runs from the river through the levee to the dry side, and that's where the water flows through, widening the hole via erosion. Once that hole gets wide enough, the whole damn dam just erodes away—it breaches.
If we had focused on protecting the levee—that is to say, preventing those erosion holes from expanding—the levee would still be standing.
I do agree with part of what you said, though, regarding the fact that once a breach actually occurs, there's no saving it, because at that point, nobody can stop the sheer pressure of the water. All you can really do is use excavators to dig diversion channels so the incoming floodwater flows into the areas you've designated to be flooded, which might eventually help mitigate the overall damage.

The holes dug by mice or crayfish are actually the most dangerous things for a dam, and that's precisely why they sometimes have to treat the water in reservoirs—like that one near the old site—specifically to prevent crayfish from digging those channels right into the levee structure.
That particular dam is made of clay, which is basically a playground for creatures looking to dig holes, making the situation incredibly precarious. Back when those insurgents mined the dam, they actually managed to prevent massive erosion because crews were able to immediately get in there with excavators and dump trucks to fill in the eroded areas.
So, you see, it actually *is* possible to save a dam with an excavator if you act fast enough.☕

. You have to give it to the NFL Ultras; they spent the entire night traveling in two buses out to the Midwest, just to get to work at daybreak.

Look, there’s really no point in pointing fingers right now. Everyone involved is 100% in this, and I don't think we need to be obsessing over who was better before, or who did more, or who's the MVP here.☕Everyone stepped up and gave it everything they had. Hats off to them.

Every single MLS match is going to be interrupted if people keep shouting that US Soccer has completely ruined the sport. It's recorded as a 3:0 win for Real Madrid because the NFL Ultras caused the stoppage. I guess next season every game will just get halted—who knows if any will even finish. And look at the situation now: Liverpool FC didn't even get their license for either the MLS or Europe. They'll probably have to play their home games in some tiny outskirts town. Imagine Liverpool FC vs Inter Milan or Liverpool FC vs Real Madrid being played in a place like that. It’s pathetic. Maybe fans should unite and protest outside the US Soccer and Real Madrid headquarters—just camp out there day and night until the trash is cleared out of these institutions. Let's start with a peaceful protest, but if they don't step down, then other measures might be necessary.

Jonathan Smith12 said:—so they just went ahead and covered up that erosion zone with excavators and trucks right away.
See, an excavator can actually save a dam if it needs to.☕

Thanks to Mark Nicholas Gray from the British UN Peacekeeping Forces—who basically took matters into his own hands back in August '92 by opening auxiliary channels twice, dropping the lake level by about 13 feet—the dam actually held up.
You're mixing metaphors here, I guess, and I'm not looking to start a huge debate over this, so cheers.

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2r26...8#.U341WU29R9A
transformation 🤣

Harold Barnes85 said:http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2r26...8#.U341WU29R9A
transformation 🤣

Which faction we talking about here? Is it for the money, or is it from the heart... 😂

Harold Barnes85 said:http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2r26...8#.U341WU29R9A
pure transformation 🤣

man, look how much that TV news ruins a guy😁🤣

Is this where Pašalić finally puts an end to Kristijan's run?

cosmicdrifter44 said:Is Pašalić finally done with Kristijan?

Ivić?

http://stari.dalmacijanews.com/Porta...ic_pasalic.jpg