When I got to the office today, there was a big sack of books waiting for me from my publisher. Inside, I found the Brazilian, Korean and Swedish versions of The Unthinkable. I’d never seen them before, so it was kind of a cool moment. For sure, my favorite of the the three is the Swedish version (in irridescent green).
That said, I have no idea what they say. I can only hope for the best.
Craig Fugate has been nominated by Pres. Obama to head up FEMA. My first instinct is: Damn. Nice pick. My second instinct is: God help him.
Fugate is a man who tells it like it is. He was a firefighter before he became an emergency manager and rose through the ranks to become head of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management in 2001.
The last time I saw him was in the summer of 2006 when he spoke on a panel alongside (get this) the then-disgraced former FEMA head Mike Brown at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Natural Hazards Workshop.
…Here’s something that I never thought I would see happen: A DC voting-rights bill is moving to the Senate floor as of today. Putting aside the fact that it’s 200 years late, it’s a good day to be an American. Or almost American, that is.
I live in a city with the second highest taxes in the nation, a city with more people than Wyoming, a city that is home to the nation’s most precious symbols and now apparently in charge of the banks, the car companies and holding up the sky. But we don’t have a member of…
Today, I’m happy to introduce Kaitlyn Andrews-Rice, my research assistant and sleuth extraordinaire who will be posting from time to time on this blog. Kaitlyn is a writer who lives in the DC area with her fiance and her puppy. Unlike me, she actually has a graduate degree—a Masters in Fine Arts—and has written a novel about military life. When she’s not investigating disasters, Kaitlyn writes for TV and does hot yoga. Please welcome her to the blog.
I’m in Honolulu now to speak to the Pacific Preparedness conference. It’s so beautiful I don’t even want to tell you about it. It just seems wrong. But I will tell you that I sat next to Honlulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann on the flight from DC. The Mayor turns out to be quite the celebrity. During the flight, the pilot, all the flight attendants and several passengers came by to meet him. He was very gracious.
Like me, the Mayor had spent the past few days at inauguration festivities. (Not only is he a…
The Mall is packed. The bridges out of DC are shut down. People are cold and tired. Check out my story for Slate about how to survive a crowd crush.
I found myself unable to blink (or even breathe) as I read today’s full-page New York Times ad for the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower in Mumbai. I understand it’s a business, and it’s important and admirable that it reopened so quickly after terrorists killed dozens of guests and workers. I understand that no one wants to mention dead people in an ad like this. But still.
“We’re bringing back the champagne flutes…impeccable butler service, luxury Jaguar transfers and splendid suites.”
Really? No mention of the courage it takes to rebuild and return to life in the shadow…
They are now selling commemorative Obama subway cards in the Metro here. True story. For just twice the price of regular Metro cards! Or, you can pay even more on eBay!
I don’t think an image has been so thoroughly exploited for cash since the FDNY lost its logo to the street vendors eight years ago. Here’s hoping the next eight years are better.
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