Ex-FEMA Leader Faults Response by White House By ERIC LIPTON, The New York Times, Published: February 11, 2006http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/11/politics/11katrina.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin"Testifying before a Senate committee, Mr. [Micahel D] Brown said he notified a senior White House official - who he said was probably Joe Hagin, the deputy White House chief of staff, but might have been Andrew H. Card Jr., the chief of staff - on the day the hurricane hit to report that it had turned into his "worst nightmare" and that New Orleans was flooding."The White House claims that it did not know about the flooding until 30th August 2005. Bush was travelling in California when the hurricane hit. On the 4th of February 2006 I wrote: "Instead of going to New Orleans after the hurricane, Bush went to San Diego for political fund raising as we all saw throughout the world. New Orleans was allowed to "drown" without immediate assistance." It has always struck me as strange that Bush did not go to New Orleans immediately after the hurricane as a matter of course and responsibility. His failure to do so is made more ominous by Mr Brown's testimony before the US Congress. This reflects a self centred view of the management of government based upon political power instead of providing effective government management. It serves the interest of the few in power at the expense of the general population who are left at the mercy of disasters. This also characterises the local government management and its tenant managemnet for this 900 unit Estate. I have noted that decisions have been made for the benefit of the few and in maintaining power rather than addressing problems in an effective manner to maintain health and safety standards. This has been a consistent pattern on the part of tenant management for the past decade. 1. Inability to turn off the central heating during the summer. This has been a problem for many years. I have not known how extensive it was. It was so bad in August 2003 that some 2,000 deaths were attributed to the heat wave at that time in the UK. I sent correspondence to the Leader of the Council and the TMO Chief Executive in early August 2003 during the heat wave but received no reply. I sent along a letter of problems including this one in early September 2003. I finally got a response in October 2003 to see the local management when it was no longer relevant. In early July of 2005 I sent an Email to BBC London about the then heat wave. Nothing had been done about this problem in two years after I reported it, and I still did not know how widespread it might be impacting the 900 dwelling units. A letter was finally circulated to all tenants about this problem. I still do not know what is going to be done or when. During the summer of 2003 the Council was being inspected by a unit of the Audit Commission for a rating which could result in significant funds for housing improvement if two stars were awarded. The evaluation centred around tenant management. It is obvious that the response about the central heating problem was postponed until after that rating decision had been made. 2. Inadequate rubbish disposal facilities. This problem has persisted for at least a decade and has been the subject of much correspondence. Rubbish accumulates on the floor day and night constituting a serious safety and health hazard. 3. Operating and parking vehicles on the Estate. This problem has persisted also for at least a decade and has been the subject of much correspondence. It is a serious safety hazard. 4. Balcony disrepair created in June 1998 and still in a state of disrepair. All my balcony tiles were removed in an extraordinary series of gross mismanagement blunders and remain in this condition to this day. It was a key issue in the problems leading up to the installation of surveillance technology in mid-August 1998. Failure to repair is a key method for slum lords to try to drive tenants out. In this case the slumlord is the government. 5. I requested that Thames Water be allowed to install a water meter at no cost as offered c 1998 but was refused. I made this request twice. 6. I was subjected to surveillance technology abuse to suppress the reporting of problems starting in mid-August 1998. It was obvious that tenant management wanted to cover up the problems rather than deal with them for the purpose of image management instead of effective management Pet projects and self interest by those in positions of power: 1. Business units were created in Barandon Walk with works starting in 2003 at considerable cost instead of using the money to solve the rubbish disposal and central heating problems for the entire Estate. Or, even repair my balcony. 2. Wheel clamping and fines were instituted for those who resided in Verity Close with parking spaces and for the few parking spaces along the newly paved road to Grenfell Tower c 1997. This favoured the very few and those in power. The problems of operating and parking motor vehicles on all the Estate footpaths was not so addressed despite my specific request to provide the same service. There is quite a difference between using resources to protect parking places for a few and failing to protect the safety of all those who use the footpaths. 3. More recently a pilot project using a WiFi portable camera with PC reception and monitoring in Grenfell Tower was established for the Verity Close area. This favoured the few in power who have been noted to provide benefit their own living area in Verity Close at the expense of the entire Estate. At my own expense I have been video taping criminal and antisocial behaviour from my windows and front door for years. In the past I have reported a rape, attempted murder and road rage incidents witnessed from my kitchen window. More recently there was a road rage incident using an auto as a weapon to try to run someone down and ram other autos. 4. Last summer tenants in the new business units were allowed to engage in steel band practise six nights a week for five weeks until late at night with excessvie noise and antisocial behaviour in the Catholic primary school across the street from my kitchen window. This also constituted a public safety hazard from blocking the street. I filmed this and documented the noise level. This favoured the few in charge who wanted to carry out this activity at the expense of all who live here. Nothing was done to stop it despite my several complaints. The Environmental Health Department tried to placate me by getting me to go along with it despite all the evidence I had about which they were ignorant. They kept demanding access to my home to record the sound level when they could do it right under my window. 5. One of the reasons for delaying the rubbish disposal problem was that the Estate needed new roofing which had a higher priority. When this project was completed after some eight months, the skylights throughout the Estate remained opened for a year letting into the Walkways all kinds of weather as if there were no roof. Instead of then addressing the rubbish disposal problem, the business units project was accomplished. 6. Most certainly no money was spent on the July 1998 agreed upon repair for my balcony and has been diverted to these other projects instead leaving my balcony in a state of disrepair for over 7.5 years as of this writing. 7. The surveillance carried out against me for the last 7.5 years 24/7 has consumed an enormous amount of resources including time and energy from scores of people and various departments of government. The point has been to stop me from reporting these problems while hoping to destroy my activity and life to wipe out the documentation and evidence I have collected during these years in order to make their false allegations stick. Meanwhile, instead of addressing the problems, this has represented an intensive effort to destroy the person reporting the problems. 8. The woman who was reported for child abuse by me in May 1998 involving three other adults including her mother and two of her children in the adjacent flat has dedicated herself 24/7 all these years to revenge and retaliation. She has had access to and operational control over the surveillance technology starting in mid-August 1998. She has been promised my home by tenant management as a reward for her efforts when and if she manages to get me out by some means using the surveillance technology as a weapon. Toward this end she has dedicated all her efforts 24/7 for all these years. She has stated in front of witnesses "I'll get a bomb and blow him out of there" among threats of violence and other death threats. It does no good for me to report this activity [so far]. These are just a few of the problems which have been noted. It is quite obvious that those who gained power including elected officials and those in the administration of government have favoured their own self interest to maintain power by managing with image rather than reality. I call this illusionary management. Those in power seek every means they can to stop me and often declare this as a needed objective. Corruption for the sake of power is the standard which creates an environment of antisocial and criminal behaviour. The organisations set up to carry out this and related objectives are to be described another day.