California, What's it all about?

[moi621 (imported)]

Why does California rate world wide attention?

I mean a few houses fall down a cliff and it gets more coverage then a whole village being buried in mud, while occupied.

Most recently, y'all have heard about the, "fires". I'm sure even you foreigners can't escape news of the California fires in the first minutes of your news, or propaganda as the case may be, service.

ref. Propaganda not always a negative word in some societies, although reports from the Bureau of Propaganda would be self serving.

Consider there is no national capital in California, but out train accidents still get more coverage then yours, even on a per fatality basis.

So what's the deal with, California?

Moi in Southern Coastal California

PS Best kept California secret is the Humboldt County Coast, Redwood National Park, Humboldt State University,

Eureka / Arcata area. Sweet.

[TheOtherSide (imported)]

Yup, we get reports about the California fires, even up here in BC, Canada, where we're currently having one of the worst years on record for fires ourselves.

With all the local stations up here reporting on this, makes me really wonder how many US stations were reporting on our local fires in August? Since April, BC's seen over 80,000 hectares burned in fires, and that number is still growing. That's over 300 square miles. At last count, that's a 50% larger area than has burned in California. So why didn't it make the headlines in the US?

[Riverwind (imported)]

I have herd about your fires in Canada, on page 3.

California, southern California. Being born and raised in LA and now living in the mid west I think I might be able to answer that.

LA is not a capital city but in fact it is and being from there or living there you know that this is the center of the Universe. Why else do people keep moving here? It must be because there is no place on the planet that is a great as this place. We have everything, the stars, the glitz and glamour, one of the richest cities in the world, and California is one of the richest countries in the world all by its self, we don't need the rest of the country it needs us. Are we the luckiest people in the world? Of course we are, Southern California is the best place in the world to live with perfect weather and well why would anyone want to live anywhere else.

California, the rest of the state, go to San Francisco, or the City, never Frisco. There you will find the yang to the ying. With the same feelings for the same reasons except we are silicone valley, heart of high tech in the world, why would anybody want to live anywhere else.

It is only when you move away from California that you discover as I have that other parts of the country has something California can never know. There is a reason for this, the rest of the country does not put 8' fences around there house. Everywhere else we talk to our neighbours, we are involved with our micro community, you find that each pocket of people came from the same place, St Louis German Catholic, Minneapolis/St Paul Scandinavian Luthern, LA has and is everything and therefor nothing.

Even New York and Chicago have there ethnic communities. So if you live in California when is the last time you had a block party? Talked to the guy that lives next door? What California has is everything except community.

This is why LA gets so much coverage, they believe and the rest of the world agrees there is no better place in the world to live, work or play. They say "Look at me" and we do.

River

[Kortpeel (imported)]

Why does California rate world wide attention?

I think it's something to do with having the Terminator for governor.

[DavidB (imported)]

. At last count, that's a 50% larger area than has burned in California. So why didn't it make the headlines in the US?

that 50% has burned in 2 weeks not 4 months

also Cali is the 4th largest economy in the world

[Losethem (imported)]

I would speculate the fires in BC were probably not burning right at the edge of the 2nd largest city in Canada.

In California, these fires are burning right at the edge of the second largest city in the US, not out in the middle of some undeveloped rural area. To put it in context, you would really have to understand the topography of the region where the fire is burning.

There are other areas of California burning right now in the north and the south parts of the state. For example, there is one burning right now in the county I live in, and it is blocking access to Yosemite national park from the main highway going there from San Francisco. But you're not hearing about that.

The fire burning at the edge of Los Angeles has the potential to be more like the fires that burned in Greece in the past couple of years. If the firefighters can't get a handle on it, you will see large sections of some fairly heavily populated areas burn to the ground.

That's the reason this is making headlines.

Just wait, after this is all over and about the first part of next year you'll start hearing about how peoples houses are being leveled by mudslides in the same place. The firefighters may be saving the houses now to only have them get demolished when the winter rains come.

Be prepared to hear about this story again, 4-6 months from now.

[jemagirl (imported)]

I've heard about fires in Florida, Australia and Athens. Earthquakes in China and Malaysia. Hurricane Bill that never touched out coast directly but it's waves washed a few people out to sea. The media tend to report these things because that is what attracts an audience.

So the bottom line is the media is doing what makes a profit. It isn't "Propaganda", it's business. The only reason the California wild fires make the headlines around the world is because people around the world know where California is, and this story will grab their attention.

[ramses (imported)]

Thank god it's not threatening to burn New York City. Can you imagine the news coverage? We wouldn't be able to find out the local weather if that was happening. It mankes national news if a freakin water line breakes in NYC...

[IbPervert (imported)]

Why does California rate world wide attention?

As a life long California Native the answer is really quite simple!

WE ARE VERY SPECIAL!

Canada has fires? Gee:D I thought only California had fires!!!!

[chilliwilli (imported)]

Ready a room at the hotel California...ahhhh fuckin' bitch! I guess a room at the Hotel California beats 17 years ago they unraveled the quilt on my ass at the Washington Monument.

Oh pardon me.

chilli-