August 28, 2005

• Katrina web resources. Good luck to anyone in the path!
• From the Official warning:

  POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS. THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED. FEW CROPS WILL REMAIN. LIVESTOCK LEFT EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BE KILLED.

  Run. Run now.
• It's pretty scary. I was watching the Katrina thread on Metafilter, until Metafilter cratered. Again. I wonder how long those webcams will last.
• If I were there, I'd be putting my wife, pets, irreplaceable goods, food, and jerrycans of fuel in the biggest car I owned and heading as far out of the path as I could. It blows my mind that some people aren't - some of the damage reports are talking about collapses of skyscrapers from wind stress.
• 20% of people south of N.Orleans haven't evacuated. I'm watching the broadcast on wwltv.
• GeoSat of the western hemisphere here: http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/data/geo/east/ The effect it's having on storm systems everywhere is just stunning. It looks like the climax of 2010.
• Direct link to WWL live video (and, thanks, peacay for posting that). and, thanks for this fpp mecurious, and the links... This looks very bad
• If there are any monkeys or mefites down there who have nowhere to go, e-mail me, please, and let me know. I'm in Little Rock, quite a drive from down there, but if you have no closer alternatives, Mrs. Tool and I would be happy to put you up for a couple of days, seriously. We have a couch and a couple of inflatable mattresses. Address is in the profile.
• This is very scary stuff. NOLA and surrounding area monkeys... you are in my thoughts. Check in with us if you can when you reach a safe place!
• The eye of a storm of this magnitude is essentially an F3 tornado 40 MILES WIDE. And that's just the wind. There is also the massive percipitation and ocean storm surge to contend with. People who leave town (and they should) will probably not be let back in to see what remains of their property for weeks. This is one of those situations where you must remind yourself that lives are far more important than material things.
• My sister-in-law lives in Covington. Since she regularly evacuates to her folks' place in Dallas with the kids for bad storms, I'm guessing she and my nephew and niece are already gone. I just hope her husband and the rest of his family, which is all down in the NOLA area, have all gotten out of there too.
• I remember 25 years ago a Geology professor explained how New Orleans was doomed. If Katrina does her worst, the city will just be gone. Sadly, it would be the height of foolishness to rebuild in the same place.
• In reply to the question: Anyone care to speculate whether Katrina could permanently transform Louisiana's geography? To what degree? A moderator on the Stormtrack forum replied: "Back when I took a geology class a couple of years ago, the professor said that a major flood or hurricane could re-route the Mississippi River from southeastern LA to southwestern LA. The Corps of Engineers has been forcing the river to continue southeastward (the Delta), MUCH more than would otherwise happen. Since rivers tend to want to take the path a least resistance, a massive flood or hurricane COULD be enough to provide the river with an opportunity to act on the least resistance, which is a new path through southwestern Louisiana, which could cause huge floods across a lot of southwestern LA."
• Reports now are saying that Katrina is weakening slightly, but this is not necessarily good news. The meteorologists on Stormtrack say that the eye wall goes through a regeneration cycle and it is expected to weaken some and then rebuild. There are no cold waters between it and New Orleans (warm water is the Hurricane's "fuel"). There are no good scenarios for New Orleans - only a question of how bad the damages will be. I'm guessing on landfall around 6 AM, based on what I'm seeing. Its 902 mb pressure rating makes it the 4th strongest storm in history. It's back up to 903 now, but should dip again overnight.
• This is just horrible. May whatever God to whom they appeal help the people of New Orleans.
• I had read in a National Geographic lately that the destruction of wetlands around New Orleans (largely by oil drilling and making pathways through the marshes) has also made the region much more unstable.
• I have a question - I started listening to the coverage - what do people without a car do? Have there been evacuation buses?
• I'm hoping for the best here. I love New Orleans, even got engaged there. I have friends in Miami who were hit pretty much full on by Katrina as a category 1 the other night. They weren't there for Andrew in '92, but they told me this was the worst that they had been through. I lived in Miami in '94 and the devastation was still apparent even two years afterward. Some people were still living in temporary housing down in Homestead, and dead trees were all over.
• They are using the Superdome for shelter. No one's really sure the roof will be able to hold. Bourbon Street webcam - still seeing a few people walking around. My advice? Go fill up your gas tank. Right now. Some speculation on the board in that first link on the post is that it will hit $80 a barrel tomorrow - 20-30% of US oil comes through NO.
• The NO news that I've been watching says that "Shelters of Last Resort" are being set up in area schools and even the Superdome (a huge roofed stadium that is expected to withstand the hurricane). Other people say that is a lousy place to be as the entire area surrounding it is under sea level, meaning that the lower levels will be flooded. There will no air conditioning, so it will turn into a gigantic oven as soon as the electricity - a/c fail. It seems doubtful to me that New Orlean's plumbing system is going be functional. So you're going to have 30,000 people in building (completely surrounded by water) with little food or water. The wait to get OUT of there is gonna be much worse than the wait to get in.
• Doesn't NO have to run pumps all the time to keep the city from flooding? What happens when those shut down?
• "Doesn't NO have to run pumps all the time to keep the city from flooding? What happens when those shut down?" All hell breaks loose.
• Say hello to $4.00 gas later this month.
• Here's the wikinews link on Katrina: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina
• That wikipedia entry is awesome. Behold the power of the Wiki!
• Headlines from the day after tomorrow? Katrina Leaves 1 Million Homeless and Parts of New Orleans Under 30 Feet of Water.
• I deeply hope that everyone is OK. The power of nature is truly astonishing. Best wishes to everybody in the area (I'm planning to go back to Georgia in a few weeks. The coward in me wants to stay in safe, predictable UK) Hugs to all Southern US monkeys.
• They had a CNN reporter standing at the side of a Holiday Inn swimming pool, and there were three dolphins in it, evacuated from an aquatic center. They'd filled it with salt water and the dolphins were swimming around very fast. The aquatic center director remarked that the reporter was welcome to swim with the dolphins if he wanted. Then he added that he wished someone would swim with them because they were scared and it would make them feel better. That really got to me.
• This is some amazing satellite imagery: GOES-12 Interactive Infrared Weather Satellite Image Viewer. You can also animate it, if you have java to view the applet.
• Rainfall radar Pissing down. Local weather station has 25 28 m/s wind (that's 60 65 mph). Storm force winds. Looks like it might be the leading edge. I hope hope hope that people have moved to safe places. I hope hope very hope that this thing loses energy soon. WeatherGhouls look here for raw data. Many of those stations will probably be issuing their last today.
• Time to loot!
• (Kicks chyren's anarchic arse into next week (in a loving way, of course))
• ow seriously, I am watching and hoping like everyone else. Black humour is just my way.
• Time to loot! ****Brick flys through Chyren's window**** on preview: kiss, kiss Chyren. Of course no one thought you meant it.
• I don't even own a lute.
• Saxon violins?
• Saxon drugs and sausage rolls?
• A friend of mine has lots of relatives in the NO area... they're making the drive to Dallas to stay with her folks, which usually means a ten hour drive. With the traffic I'm seeing on the news, I just hope they get out of the impact zone in time!
• i hope/assume any monkeys in the path of the storm are safely away from their computers?
• meredithea: I wish them well. Apparently, I10 is running westbound only, which should help. (issues another blast of hugs)
• I hear hurricanes ablowing. I know the end is coming soon. I fear rivers over flowing. I hear the voice of rage and ruin.
• thursday: Monkeys aren't stupid.Have you noticed that not a single Norleaner monkey has posted anything about "riding it out"? I'm hoping all Louisianan monkeys are running, not posting. Look here, and search for "riding" to see some people who, for whatever reason, aren't moving.
• some people who, for whatever reason, aren't moving Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard said some who have ridden out previous storms in the New Orleans area may not be so lucky this time. "I'm expecting that some people who are die-hards will die hard," he said. Man, people who choose to stay there must be nuts.
• Here's another comment I pulled from the Stormtrack board: The "weakening" from 175 to 165 mph and pressure rise of one millibar is nothing in the terms of this storm and is to be expected in an intense hurricane like this. New Orleans has been beat to death; it's a deader, no matter which way you look at it, because even if Katrina would "weaken" (i.e. go through another ERC, since there is nothing else to trip up this monster ) to a strong Cat 4, it is still going to be devastated by this storm. I wonder if, with this 22-30 foot storm surge and 25-50 foot waves on top of that, the Chandeleur Islands and some of the other little islands along the Mississippi coast and peninsulas on the Delta might be wiped out entirely by Katrina. With that kind of water force, there is going to be catastropic coastlline damage. Some of the small towns southeast of New Orleans (i.e. Buras, Grand Isle) are probably going to be wiped off the map and never be rebuilt, primarily because the land they sit on is probably going to be destroyed by Katrina's gargantuan storm surge. Cartographers are probably going to half to redraw maps of southeast Louisiana and south Missisppi after the storm abates, because I am betting that the appearance of the coastline will be altered dramatically. Pray for those who either don't have the means or don't have the sense to get out the way of this supercane.
• I hope so too. I just wasn't sure if i needed to worry about anyone here. I hate reading mefi, fark and lj and seeing who's staying, knowing that they won't be able to post in the morning anyway...
• According to WWL, seven residents have decided to stay on Grand Isle. Wonder if they'd heard the same sort of conjecture from mecurious's comment and stubbornly stayed anyway.
• LSU professor on CNN just said there is a 50/50 chance New Orleans will be wiped out. This is for real, folks.
• Some of the people never had a chance to get away. On the metafilter thread, I heard that an approximate 150,000 to 200,000 people in New Orleans do not have access to a car or means of transport. Someone on livejournal couldn't go to a shelter, because they were told it was mandatory to bring your own food and water and the stores were out. (Whether this is true or not doesn't matter - they still weren't in a shelter because they were led to believe it was true.) This is insane - the government should have been in there arranging for people to get out when they realised how serious this would be. If I lived in New Orleans, I'm sure I would be one of the trapped ones - no car, few friends with a car.
• Okay - I'm corrected by one of the news links. "Conceding that as many as 100,000 inner-city residents didn't have the means to leave and an untold number of tourists were stranded by the closing of the airport, the city arranged buses to take people to 10 last-resort shelters, including the Superdome." But the line-ups at the Superdome were also 2 miles long.
• Makes you wonder how many people left with empty seats in their cars.
• And don't be so sure about the safety of the Superdome. Supposedly it is built to withstand 200 mph winds, but I am seeing a lot of questions as to whether that is accurate. Also, if New Orleans floods as high as they are saying, it may be nearly impossible to get OUT of the dome for quite a while.
• Another thing to keep in mind is that bodies are buried above ground in New Orleans. If New Orleans is under twenty feet of water, all those coffins and bodies are going to be floating around, along with all sorts of icky chemicals. Disease could be rampant.
• An interesting picture of what would have happened in 1998 if hurricane Georges had not turned east. Katrina looks like it's on virtually the same path, which will push the waters of Pontchartrain right into NO with its counter clockwise winds. But Georges was a Cat 3, and Katrina will probably be at least a Cat 4 or 5 tomorrow morning.
• New Orleans has always been one of my favorite destinations. I've made 5 trips there, with the most recent being May of 2004. Makes me glad that I spent time there, given the uncertainty of the city's future. I'm a little nervous about upwards of 30,000 people being located in the Superdome. On one hand, it will be easier to evacuate these folks once the storm is over if they are all in one place. I mean, if NO takes the hit that is being predicted, won't they have to move these people else where? But if something happens to the Superdome, we could be looking at unparelled tragedy. Was it picked for structural stability, or for simply for size?
• I think most of those above-ground mausoleums are pretty old, and no longer used. But yeah, there'll be all manner of chemicals and sewage, not to mention snakes, alligators, assorted rodents, giant balls of fire ants... My family comes from SE Oklahoma/NW Louisiana. We used to go to New Orleans all the time when I was a kid. I'm stunned to think those places I remember fondly might be gone after tommorrow.
• Size, kimdog, it was called a "shelter of last resort," in other words, we can't guarantee your safety, but it's better than your cheaply built home.
• This is absolutely terrifying. I'm praying for everyone who's still in NO. I hope a miracle occurs and casualties are kept to a minimum.
• kimdog - it is claimed to have adequate structural stability, and it above sea-level. I would feel safer there than in a high rise building (which are predicted to sway and possibly collapse), knowing that people need to be quite high. You know, sometimes I wonder why there are just plans for disasters like this, especially in areas where they know about the risk. Similarly, I had heard that for all the wonder of the tsunami early warning system in the Pacific northwest, chances are that most people wouldn't be able to evacuate in time. There should be just systems, to get people out, to keep traffic moving, etc. You'd think with a modern bureaucratic state, we'd be able to organise that kind of thing. We can get small children to do fire drills when they still have trouble tying their shoes and not having accidents at school. But an evacuation plan for a city?
• Wishing all in the path of this monster well. It's pitiful and disgraceful that people who wanted to leave were unable to do so.
• waitingtoderail: That happens sometimes in Houston, when there's a big rain. Coffins just pop up and float about, which is disturbing.
• iIf you don't live there, this is going to affect YOU as well, 16-20% or so of our oil comes through New Orleans and a good portion of the strategic oil reserves are located there as well. Barrels of oil went over $70 in the Asian markets a couple of hours ago. Not sure where that stands now. $3.00 a gallon is coming a lot sooner than expected.
• This whole thing has me sick to my stomach; it's awful, awful, and I am sending as many good thoughts as I can to anyone in Katrina's path. Have you seen the footage of people trying to get into the Superdome? It appears to be mainly African-Americans. In general, the idea that the poor, the elderly, the marginal are the ones being left behind when the city was supposed to be evacuated. I dunno, I'd say screw any cost, and have the government get those people out. I don't feel that the Superdome is safe at all. it's all so unreal, and horrifying.
• It's awesome, and by that I mean inspiring awe, "A mixed emotion of reverence, respect, dread, and wonder inspired by ... might." As my girlfriend just said, "It makes you feel so helpless." We both send wishes of good luck to those on the scene.
• Excellent automatically updating hurricane tracking chart available here.
• Last night, my mother was convinced it would hit her house in Seabrook TX. Sitting on the porch as the wind whipped the trees and the lighting flashed, I found it easy to believe her.
• I can see little kids in line for the superdome on the footage. And the guards are wasting time taking away people's cigarettes.
• They're not letting people smoke? I'm a non-smoker, but if the hammer of the gods was about to hit my hometown, I wouldn't begrudge anyone a cig or two.
• The satellite photos are incredible, in the true sense of the word. Katrina actually is the size of the entire Gulf of Mexico. Doesn't NO have to run pumps all the time to keep the city from flooding There a good WashPo article that explains that most of the pumps are on the northern edge of the city by Lake Pontchartrain. If the city floods through that lake (worst case) then the pumps will be useless as the water drains south into the city and away from the pumps. The article also has some worrisome notes about the salt marshes.
• An offshore instrument recorded waves of 36 ft (11 m) before becoming unresponsive Holy scene out of an epic disaster movie, Batman! Get thee the heck out of there. To repeat the obvious and already said.
• My family is originally from New Orleans -- luckily I no longer have direct relatives living there. NO has always been part of my identity and I hope that it manages to survive this. I don't belong to any religion, but I'm praying tonight.
• I used to live in Central FL, near Cape Canaveral. The good news is that it's pretty much the safest area on the east coast of FL: NASA chose it partly because it is statistically unlikely to be hit by anything truly major. The bad news, of course, is that it still gets hit. I started tenth grade a day or two late because there was some question as to whether or not we'd have to evacuate for Andrew (which changed path and hit south FL, & led to similarly dire predictions for NOLA); some kids from Homestead joined my class a few weeks later. I evacuated for Floyd in 1999, which didn't hit us directly after all, but which was at the time predicted to be the superstorm that Katrina has become. And I rode out Erin in 1995, Bertha a couple of years later, Irene in 1999. I was stuck on the road when Irene hit, but was able to make it home, despite horizontal rain and strong winds. For Erin, I actually did evacuate, but just to the other side of town, because my home was beachside. The majority of the trauma for us was always caused by lengthy power outages after the storm: no a/c or heat, no light, no cooking ability, etc. In smaller storms, people would pull out propane grills, but in larger storms that's not a viable option. Dead birds, lots of tree debris, lots of wrecked roadside signs (for shopping centers, etc). I never stayed in a shelter. No pets allowed. There are ways around this, but it's one reason why some people opt to stay away from shelters. I was fortunate that when Floyd hit my family could afford to hole up in a pet-friendly hotel several hours away. The best thing to do was make a hotel reservation AS SOON AS we heard that we might be in the path, and cancel it if we weren't, or eat the money from the cancelled reservation if we could afford it. (Most hotels that take pets are on the cheap side - LaQuinta, Amerisuites, etc.) People I know have already been trapped by Katrina in S. FL. There, it was a smallish storm, as hurricanes go, which means that it was still scary and that most people didn't have power for a couple of days. Can't imagine what it'll be like when it's The Big One hitting NOLA. No - actually, I can, I just don't WANT to. I really almost threw up reading that Nat'l Weather Service alert. I don't think it will be quite as bad as this winter's tsunami, but it'll be as bad as anything anyone has seen in terms of natural disaster at least since Andrew, maybe since Johnstown or Galveston a century ago. I don't pray, but if I did -- you know.
• Excuse me, that last bit - I meant that it will be as bad as anyone has seen in terms of natural disaster IN THE U.S. since a few of those touchstone events - and maybe the earthquake in San Francisco in 1989. But I think the tsunami will still be worse in global terms, if for no other reason than than lack of warning for most people.
• Obligatory Flickr link to pics tagged "Katrina."
• I can't sleep because of this damn hurricane.
• Me neither, and I'm nowhere near it.
• I'm feeling queasy. It's frightening. I really hope people will be all right. That the stadium can take the hit. I don't even want to think about if it can't.
• I'm really worried about Katrina, but it's not hard for me to see why some people want to ride it out. Sure, this looks like the apocalypse, but growing up on the Gulf Coast (Houston), I've heard about the freaking apocalypse so many times that it's easy to grow numb to the warnings. My mother packed up everything for Allen in the early 80s, and it collapsed when it hit land so there was nothing but rain, which is scary but not nearly as bad as a Category 4 or 5 storm. She swore she wasn't doing that again unless the damn thing was headed up I-45 for her house. I haven't watched the TV coverage, but I can imagine the hurricane porn that's out there now because I grew up with it. The local stations along the Gulf Coast have all cried wolf about the big monster storms that are coming so many times that the locals are inured to it. It's very hard not to have a "yeah, right" reaction to the news that NOLA may not make it after so many near-misses. (And, one piece of good news: my SiL and her husband and kids made it safely to Dallas. Apparently my BiL got a bug in his ear to blow out of Covington about 2 AM Sunday and put everyone in the car and they went. I'm really glad he's not riding it out.)
• Just waking up to see what's happened and to see if it shifted east and saw this. A forum post says that the NO mayor says the reports coming into his office say there are numerous fires in the city, several reports of building collapses, and in the southern parts of the city a lot of the pumps are offline and most of the levy's are overrun. The eye wall is the equivalent of an F2 tornado's worth of sustained winds. Reports about a hundred miles east from the eye of wind gusts of 113 mph.
• A Katrina blog is being run by the USA Today news and weather people.
• I returned from the Pensacola area in July, where they are still recovering from Ivan, last year. I can tell you that the recovery takes a long time. People still had plywood over some of their windows eight months later. Anyone with time and tools, and is near the Gulf coast, will surely be welcome this fall and winter if they go down to the disaster area and offer to help people out. It is such a sad situation, sitting in a ruined house, as the mold grows and the weather leaks in. And this is months after the storms. It just overwhelms people.
• My dad's riding it out. Mobile area (so not in the storm's ten-ring), CMU house (designed to withstand tropical storms), and above sea level, so he'll be okay. He has a responsibility to his patients, so he really can't run, anyway. Compulsively F5ing StormTrack now.
• Good gods this is terrifying. BBC now reporting that a hole has opened up in the roof of the Superdome. Fuck. Like others said upthread, it's very sobering how Mother Nature shows us to be entirely insignificant and helpless in the face of her indiscriminate wrath. Thoughts and best wishes to everyone in the area, and to you and your dad, goetter.
• That katrina news blog mentioned above has a superdome roof update. Apparently it's not that big a hole, well 2 holes. Yet. The news services estimated the openings to be about 6 feet long. The WDSU blog put the dimensions at 3 feet by 5 feet.
• We've seen the best of the internet in the hours leading up to this story. I expect we will see the worst of the internet during this period of little hard news (rampant spread of reports that are little more than unconfirmed rumors or scraps of possibly exaggerated information). I'm curious as to what communication links are still working in the city. I can't imagine that the cell phone system will be working and have my doubts for the traditional landline phones. Do satellite phones work in these conditions or will the hurricane have to pass by first? Ham radio operators with their own generators may be our best source of on-the-ground reports, but most of the sane ones probably left with everybody else.
• There are actually a couple of holes in the dome already, but structurally it seems to be holding together so far. It's worth noting that that sucker was built to withstand 200mph winds, so they likely won't get more than wet They've got an engineer on the site who's inspecting the roof to see if they can patch it. Their biggest problem in there right now is fresh water and sanitation. Hope they're hanging in all right.
• From New Orleans: Resident Chris Robinson said via cellphone from his home east of downtown that “I’m not doing too good right now.” “The water’s rising pretty fast,” he added. “I got a hammer and an ax and a crowbar, but I’m holding off on breaking through the roof until the last minute. Tell someone to come get me please. I want to live.”
• Not doubting your report sugarmilktea, but let's try to name the source of the report (television station, radio or internet source) to all the bits of information we receive during this difficult communication period.
• I saw the quote from Chris Robinson at MSNBC . Not sure if it's all over the news services or not.
• EarWax, it took Houston a couple of years to mostly recover from Allison in 2001, and that was just flooding, not severe wind damage. I bet there are still things that haven't been completely sorted out, and I don't mean just the big losses like the downtown theater/musical stuff that was lost when the tunnel system flooded or the research that was lost when the medical center flooded. And Houston is above sea level; that's just drainage failure. NOLA will be pumping out longer than we were. *fingers crossed for all left there, because I'm not the praying sort*
• CNN's Katrina Blog is not as good as the USA Today one listed above, but it does have some information. Right now on CNN they're showing drunk guys in Biloxi, Miss who are jumping into the wind and trying to get it to pick them up.
• Houston floods in a big thunderstorm, immlass. I can't imaging a hurricane! (I move out of Houston in '98, so I missed Allison.) NO floods when you sneeze really hard and drop your drink, so I'm pretty scared about their situation this morning.
• Right now on CNN they're showing drunk guys in Biloxi, Miss who are jumping into the wind and trying to get it to pick them up. That's brilliant. I hope the camera is still running when a piece of blown debris hits one of them so the kiddies realize how stupid that is.
• Are there any working webcams now? It looks like all the ones at nola.com have gone off the air.
• I was in the Heights and we didn't flood during Allison because we were on pier-and-beam. Some of the neighborhoods around us were pretty hard-hit and there is some question about whether they can be rebuilt, or at least there was the last time I looked. But in Houston the flooding is generally area-specific: for instance, we came closer than I like to think about to getting water in the house and the cars, but my mother, on the west side of town, didn't come close to flooding at all. (That's about 15 miles.) And Allison was only a TS when it hit us really hard. The bad wind/flooding stories are all from Alicia in 1983, which I missed, or Carla, back in the 60s. It's the fact that it does flood so often that makes people so blase about it. People get used to small storms, and then there's the hurricane porn, so it's hard to take it seriously. (Meredithea: remember Neil Frank and how excited he'd get when there was a storm?) Given how many times NO, like Houston, has dodged the bullet, I'm not surprised that there are guys like Chris Robinson who thought they could just wait for it to be over.
• Ah, I was there for Alicia. Well, in a town about 40 miles SE of Houston, so really, in a much worse position. It took most of the roof off of our house, knocked over some trees in our front yard, and whiped out power for ten days or so. I remember the local McDonalds BBQing their hamburgers in the parking lot of the restaurant and giving them away for free before they went bad. And the wreckage on Toddville road, boats and walls and cars and clothes being picked over by out of town looters.
• imlass: I totally agree. We would get our "Dr. Neil Frank Storm Tracker Chart" at the store every year, and every time a new storm started off the coast of Africa Dr. Neil would get all excited about whether it would hit us.... When it was still in Africa. (We always wondered if he was just bored being a tv weather guy when he used to be in charge of the National Hurricane Center.) Hearing that several times a year makes you feel pretty bored about the whole thing. One of my favorite things about Houston when I lived there was that every single (I'm pretty sure) meteorologist on every network was gay... and dating someone I vaguely knew. I was all "go Houston!" about that, for some reason.
• Dr. Neil Frank is gay? Really?
• Oh, and I should add about flood recovery: in Houston, while there were neighborhoods that were hit pretty badly, especially stuff near the bayous, during Allison, a lot of well-off folks were covered by insurance and once the immediate crisis was over and there was time to get supplies back in, they had no trouble getting things fixed. It was the poor folks, or the less well-off who couldn't afford insurance, who took a long time to recover. That'll be how it is in NO, too. I don't know what agency is responsible for flood control in the greater NO area, but some of what's lost probably won't be rebuildable because it's in (duh) a flood plain. That's what takes the longest to clear up after a major event like this: where it's not safe to rebuild any longer because of flooding. And people have to just wait while they settle it to find out whether they've not only lost their home, but their homestead.
• Either gay or bi, yeah. He dated a friend of a friend for a little while. The NBC guy that was there was thrown off his old job for being gay, but NBC told him there was no connection between sex and weather, so he was cool. Of course, as I remember NBC was trying to do the "hip cool!" broadcast at the time (94-98).
• Isn't most flood insurance through the federal government?
• Local blogger somehow still functioning here: http://www.nola.com/weblogs/nola/
• Meredithea: I think so, more or less. IIRC, we looked at getting it after Allison, and never got around to it, but I think it would have been handled through our regular agent.
• According to CNN, it's now a category 3. Still packing a whollop, though. I am going to donate blood and give some money to the Red Cross today.
• Another local group blog here: http://neworleans.metblogs.com/
• Estimates on cost to insurers now: $25 billion. More expensive than Andrew, even after they downgraded the estimate for the eye not passing over New Orleans.
• The worst part about local blogs is when they stop updating and you have to wonder why.
• Here's the most active local blog I've found at the moment (last post less than 20 minutes ago): http://www.brendanloy.com/
• Immlass: I live in Houston and remember Allison. We all know that that could happen again, although the big deal with Allison was that she was slow and weak, and couldn't push out of the area, to go rain on someone else. Impressions from Ivan: Last Christmas, when I was in Pensacola, the ladies at the rental car counter had sniffles. They both said that this was due to mold from went insulation in their houses, and this was three months after the storm. Also, as I was flying into Pensacola, I commented that I did not remember the city having so many houses with swimming pools. As we got closer, I realized that these were thousands of roofs covered with FEMA blue tarps. People returning to intact houses in LA and MS will be dealing with this, and other problems. A helping hand in cleaning the walls and ceilings out will be welcomed.
• Think the serious question of what can be done in future to reduce loss of life and property needs to be raised and pursued. Because, sooner or later, this area will get what, hopefully, it seems to have missed so narrowly this time. Have to say I think it most unlikely Lousiana politiciana will ever get their act together to deal with their environmental problems -- and even less likely, until perhaps such time as a major of life occurs, that the federal government will act, either. Hope I'm wrong about that.
• I've been watching the weather channel and the Mayor of New Orleans is on and has said that at least 20 buildings have collapsed in NO, and there are people on their roofs trying to get away from water.
• Man, I could really use a coffee-n-chicory and a beignet right now.
• Earwax: Pretty much. Allison was scary enough, thanks, but nothing like a hurricane for the wind damage. Those poor ladies at the rental car counter are the sort of people I'm thinking of: the ones who have significant damage to their homes from water and can't get it taken care of, particularly if they didn't have flood insurance. In the wake of a hurricane, though, that has to take second place to getting the injured and dead out and dealing with other major problems, which will take longer than a couple of days. I would hesitate to go help without knowing how TO help. It's like the tidal wave in the Indian Ocean last Christmas: sometimes the best thing you can do is to stay out of the way of the competent people. Since I'm out of the blood donor pool, all I have to offer is money. Bees: I hope you're wrong too, but my experience watching the flood control wrangling in Houston suggests otherwise. There's too much money riding on environmental and safety decisions for them not to be strongly influenced by political considerations.
• I talked to the sister of a New Orleans police officer. She left town, and is now in the Houston area. He is, of course, on duty in NO. According to her, the police have "thousands" of body bags, which were ordered earlier this week.
• I don't know if anyone has been reading Metafilter/Metachat during this but ColdChef's posts/emails have been really amazing. He and his family are taking care of all those bus loads of sick/elderly folks, plus some of the dead as they are also running a mortuary. Some of his posts are via yhbc and amberglow as he is not able to post directly, rather he is emailing.
• Imlass, re: your comment of staying out of the way of the competent people. I hope this doesn't come across as insulting but; ever consider becoming one of the competent people? Anything from taking a first-aid course to joining a community volunteer response agency that will train you as required will position you to provide assistance when needed will help everyone.
• I just now tuned in to this; I had no idea how serious it is. Thanks for posting, mercurious.
• Same here; I've been trying to follow it on the radio all day, but only just able to get on the internet to find out what's gone on. Good luck to everybody affected - hope it hasn't been as bad as the direst predictions.
• Re: evacuation. It looks like even some well-off people were not able to evacuate. There was a cellphone interview with a Canadian tourist who could not find a bus, rental car or any other form of transportation in time. Instead she is holed up in one of the downtown hotels, along with 400 other people from the area.
• Apropos of nothing, thanks mercurious for being so on the ball. And I just feel so exhausted. Can't even compare to the real victims.
• According to Maud, the dolphins in the hotel pool are OK.
• They are indeed. It is rumoured that throughout the fierce rain and whirling debris a militant whistled and clicked version of "I Will Survive" was heard at regular intervals from the pool. Yay dolphins! And yay the brave people of the Gulf Coast!
• Glad o hear the dolphins came throught swimmingly!
• Overall, the news is bad. A large section of a levee gave way today, admitting water to the western part of the city. Was so hoping this wouldn't happen. Dozens, at least, known dead so far. /sad
• A tree missed my house by about six inches, but the squid clan are alright. Unfortunately, our family in St. Bernard Parish are stuck staying with us until they can get back down there (another week or so). Between them they've probably lost 3 homes, 5 businesses, and a fishing camp... and who knows what next. It's breathtaking down here...
• After we stop paying attention there will still be stories to hear, and tragedies too. I had a nightmare about being stuck in an attic as the water comes up, last night. I bet that there are some people living that right now.
• Jaysus. Very best wishes to the Giant Squid posse. Glad you're all ok at least, and thanks for checking in.
• The Times-Picayune Hurricane Edition.
• Also, here's a photo (not mine) of Chalmette, Louisiana (just east of New Orleans). If you can see the "Civic Center", just behind there is where my wife's family (that's aunts, uncles, cousins, great-aunts, and the like) used to live.
• Also, here's a photo (not mine) of Chalmette, Louisiana (just east of New Orleans). If you can see the "Civic Center", just behind there is where my wife's family (that's aunts, uncles, cousins, great-aunts, and the like) used to live.
• Holy smokes, Giant Squid. And the news about Pontchartrain breaking through the levee sounds real bad.
• WDSU has pretty good coverage. Reportedly some people will be without power for a month. Hope everyone hangs in GS.
• Wow. According to WDSU, there's looting, and martial law's been declared. Nasty situation.
• According to BoingBoing, the Times Picayune, the last news service in town, has evacuated.
• anther good blog from wwltv also mentions looting, unfortunately. Also notes that the Oil . . thingy . . near there wasn't damaged and could be online in the next few hours.
• You know why the dolphins are stuck in my mind? Because there's no way I can get my brain around how awful it is there for the people. I just can't understand it, no matter how much CNN I watch; three dolphins in a little Holiday Inn swimming pool = simple and contained; all those folks who've lost so much, including their lives is overwhelming to me sitting nice and safe in my dry and cozy apartment. All I can do is send good thoughts and hope that whatever can be saved is saved and that people still have whatever it is inside them that makes them go on. And send my vilest thoughts and a curse to those bastard looters; not people who need supplies, but those pricks going through houses and stores looking for valuables; may each and every object you steal bring you nothing but misfortune and pain.
• Vivid images of the aftereffects of Katrina in N.O.
• I really cannot comprehend this either. What devastation. My heart goes out to those poor people in the Superdome (and I mean "poor" as in no wherewithal to get out). This afternoon a horrible thought flashed into my head: the conditions in N.O. seem just perfect for the rapid spread of disease.
• I have very good friends who live in the 14th Ward & work at Tulane University. I assume they evacuated with their cats over the weekend. I also assume now, looking at the most recent photos of the rising floodwaters in the western part of the city, that their house is utterly destroyed. I can't even begin to imagine it. I also can't get ahold of them on their cell phone. Sigh.
• I just heard from my friends! They're holed up in a hotel in Dallas, getting really drunk on wine and alternately crying and telling gallows humor jokes to each other to keep their minds off of their ruined home.
• Well, the levee at St. Charles @ Carrolton has just broken, apparently, and they've given up on the 17th Street Canal Levee, this means that both the river and the lake are pouring in to the city - at astonishing rates. I've got hysterical Orleanians here @ my apartment in Baton Rouge and with my in-laws a few miles north of here. Fortunately, all of my family in the region are accounted for. What's puzzling me is how (if at all) the city is going to recover from this... or, will it be an underwater ghost town. What took hundreds of years to build cannot be recovered in five or six. New Orleans in 2005 surely isn't Chicago in 1871.
• Thoughts go out to you and your family and friends in N.O., Squid. I've visited the city twice and loved it. It's so sad to see this happen....
• I have to agree Giant Squid. I mourn New Orleans, because I have never seen it and I believe it's substantially gone. And Katrina is such a lovely name......
• I wonder why more people aren't interested in this disaster. Not sexy? Not London? A mere act of God? Because this isn't a TERRORIST attack, it merits little political, media or institutional interest.
• For me, this level of interest is fine. I'm not sure i want to get too deep into the morbid voyeurism and sensationalism that the press can sometimes get into.
• Jesus Christ...911, Beslan, The Tsunami, now New Orleans. This whatever it is just keeps happening. I have the worst case of CNNteritis yet. I'm afraid I'm going to shit my pants every time I turn on the tv, because it just keeps getting worse How is that even possible? Fuck, I'm expecting sea monsters next. This is just awful.
• There's a good argument for turning off the tube. No, I mean seriously, there really is no reason for us to *watch* this stuff on CNN. It's probably not good for anyone's mental health. Be informed, yes, but not to the point where it makes you anxiety-sick.
• Mother Nature just doin' her thing. I really hope that the aftermath isn't more devastating than the original hurricane. Fires, floods, shortages, sickness. How awful. Now, can we get the city OUT of the floodplain?? /can't we see this comingfilter?
• It's interesting that we (in the US at least, maybe elsewhere) rebuild in the areas whch have been hit by such incredible disasters. I'd bet people with go back to the gulf coast and rebuild. The poorest folks will probably go back to the places they've known most of their lives and have no resources for leaving, but many of those who could get out of Dodge will find a way to rebuild their lives. Icons like New Orleans would be hard to abandon, and cities like Biloxi will undoubtedly come back Even the smaller communities, whose names we don't even know, will call their residents back, though I believe, the rebuilding process will be excruciating. Why do we do that?
• Stupidity.
• Flood plains and estuaries with access to fresh water, flat land for agriculture and the sea for transportation make for ideal human habitat.It's prime real estate, when the weather is good. We just tend to forget about the inevitable floods.
• I think those areas are ideal for farming and resource exploitation ... not for housing!
• Aye, but not everyone feels that way, unfortunately.
• I wonder why more people aren't interested in this disaster. I'd guess that it looks that way because there's only so much to discuss. "Fuck, that looks really bad." "Yeah, I saw this clip on TV, really fucking bad." "Yeah. Fuck." There's nothing we can do about it, not even a poorly thought-out response like "kill those muthafuckin' arabs!" There's no "enemy" to lash out against, nothing to absorb the whirlpool of emotions. All we can do is watch. I don't think it's true that people aren't interested, though.
• I agree with StoryBored, FWIW. If you have no real personal connection to what's happening: it's good to know what's going on, and to help where you can, but not to sit in front of CNN in despair until you feel like you, too, are drowning. For precedent for what's happening - a great city sunken in the general geographic area - look up old Port Royal in Jamaica, which was flooded and sunken in an earthquake in 1692. Though it wasn't a very old city at the time, its character was not completely unlike NOLA's reputation. And it's been under water for 300 years now.
• I watched a little bit of cable news ... it's a pity they're running so low on superlatives, almost a national crisis. Maybe they can import some France. And if I hear a reporter say one more time "it's a picture that says a thousand words", why I'll ... I think they need to upgrade and get some pictures that say 1001 words.
• Sorry, I've just got to get this off my chest. It's probably been said upthread already, but I've got to say it: If what people are taking are groceries and diapers, they shouldn't call it looting. They should call it survival.
• I doubt that's all it's limited to. There was a report of an officer shot in the head by a looter. That says to me, "career criminal", not "situational thief".
• It's funny, I was watching CNN and Fox last night, and the Fox guy was really harping on the looters to one of the law enforcement spokesmen, who pretty much wouldn't commit to condemning them. On CNN, they were much less judgemental, well, or so it seemed at the time. It's sickening and frustrating, but I wouldn't begrudge someone a biscuit or a bottle of water. When they start looting sporting goods and jewelry stores though, something ought to be done. Unfortunately, the cops can't do anything right now as they are overstretched, and they have hardly any communications abilities themselves (or so it has been reported). It's just a huge freaking mess. If the military can get in to provide communication and open up roads, that will be the first step towards settling things down.
• I doubt that's all it's limited to. There was a report of an officer shot in the head by a looter. That says to me, "career criminal", not "situational thief". Well, no doubt. But what I resent is lumping the two together. And, I swear, everytime they mention the word "looter" on the news they show some footage of a lady with an armful of bread or something. What are they supposed to do? The world's going to hell around them, they're hungry and it's not like the Piggly Wiggly's open for business. Taking a brick to a window shows good sense, in my opinion. When they start looting sporting goods and jewelry stores though, something ought to be done. Unfortunately, the cops can't do anything right now as they are overstretched, and they have hardly any communications abilities themselves (or so it has been reported) Yeah, that's a different thing. But then again, I think there are more important things to worry then the fact that someone who's lost their home might manage to score a free T.V..
• I agree with Nickdanger about the looting. As for rebuilding, I guess this is asking too much, but can't they raise the level of the land above the sea like they did in Galveston after their big hurricane? I guess it's a naive question.
• The New Orleans Times Picayune is still publishing online. This link goes to their "breaking news" section, though you can also get to more traditional news stories there. The bottom story on the breaking news section says that the Superdome refugees are going to be bussed to the Astrodome in Houston, TX. The Astrodome has cleared its schedule through December to house refugees. My mom just heard through the Dallas media that the mayor of NO is refusing this help, saying that Houston is "too far away from home."
• If anyone hears more about this, I'd appreciate knowing -- my mom's worried about "good help being refused." She also reports that, while Houston hotels have been expelling refugess to make room for people with reservations, Ft. Worth hotels are lowering their prices for refugees.
• Ok, I did my own darn research :) MSNBC and the Dallas ABC Affiliate says that some 25K refugees are going to the Astrodome, and others may be going to Dallas' Reunion Arena. (More info about Reunion Arena at the Ft. Worth Star Telegram -- may require registration) At this point, I'm really thankful that both cities used tax dollars to build fancy, unneccesary new sports arenas so that the old ones can house people. (corroborating NBC story) The Houston Chronicle lists lower numbers of people, but also has a great quote about the Dome's role (especially for me -- I lived across the street from the Dome for four years): "It will be a noble calling for the grand lady at this time in her career," said Harris County Judge Robert Eckels. "We'll have a group of people who are tired, who are frustrated, who are scared and who have been through a tremendous tragedy."
• The entire gun section of a just-opened Walmart was stripped...I'm thinking this is not about neccessities unless you're either a thug or being menaced by same. Also, if you're an asshole, you'll strip stores of diapers and water, then sell or barter at ruinous rates to the desperate. This is not benign behaviour.
• I dunno -- I guess you have to hope that people are taking guns to protect their own property. Also, I don't think that Walmarts sell ammo. (Is this true, or am I mistaken? I know they stopped selling at least some types of ammo after Columbine.)
• Yeah, some people are assholes, that's true. And many people are no doubt exploiting the situation. I just don't understand why they're all lumped in the same category.
• In a city withpit electricity, looting a television set seems utterly pointless. I'm hearing guesstimates of twelve to sixteen weeks before electricity's restored -- but I suppose this news hasn't filtered through to the looters yet. After three days without access to clean clothing, I could sympathize to a degree with folk stealing some -- expecially underwear. Haven't seen any reports of looted underwear, though, only football jerseys.
• I.V. of kittens to moneyjane - stat! Yeah the whole town will be rebuilt because people from N.O. aren't going anywhere else. It's something about South Louisiana I think - people from there tend to stay there.
• All of the non-essential looting seems pretty stupid to me; where are they planning to keep all this stuff? Everything's underwater. Are they planning on guarding their piles of stolen booty with unloaded Wal-Mart rifles?
• Anthony "Bud" Williams, 32, of Brisbane, Australia, and two companions took it on themselves to round up foreigners in the crowd. "We looked for anyone with a big backpack," he said. "It's mostly people backpacking around." They found people from 63 countries, made a list and hoped someone could contact embassies so families could be notified they were safe. "Except all the people from Australia request their embassy to send beer," he said. Heh.
• Man, those kittens just *hate* being shoved in those IV bags...stupid Communist kittens!
• Meanwhile, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin reportedly said Wednesday that the storm probably killed thousands of people in his city. "We know there is a significant number of dead bodies in the water," and others dead in attics, The Associated Press quoted Nagin as saying. When asked how many, he reportedly said: "Minimum, hundreds. Most likely, thousands." [via CNN.com] .
• . Everything I can think of to say seems trite in this situation.
• It seems unreal to be talking about the possibility of an outbreak of cholera or typhoid in a US city in the 21st century. But then, the whole thing is pretty unreal.
• ...can't they raise the level of the land above the sea like they did in Galveston after their big hurricane? If the city is on a swamp, it's probably next to impossible. The ground would just keep subsiding. If the pumps aren't handling the load right now I imagine they'd be unable to handle the pressure of a deeper water table. Parts of Christchurch are built on marshes/wetlands (one large suburb is called Marshlands) and whenever a large building project is undertaken, the foundations have to be drained for several weeks beforehand to provide a firm enough base.
• Surprised no one linked to this thread.
• That makes sense to me, tracicle. I hope there's a big movement during rebuilding to restore the wetlands around the city -- that seems to be the best type of protection from these big storms.
• What do you think the most effective type of help would be? What could we do individually or as a group of monkeys? I get the feeling that lots o' help is going to be needed. For example, I could give some money right now, but I'm pretty poor (no paycheck since May, got a new job but the paycheck from there doesn't come until Sept. 20) so it wouldn't be much. I can give blood, but is that needed? Would a clothing/personal care items drive be good, or would it be too hard to send that stuff from OH? Could we as monkeys set up some sort of fundraiser and pick a charity to donate to? (I'd be willing to work on this if need be...) Let me know what you think.
• Noah's Wish is a unique animal welfare oganization dedicated exclusively to rescuing and sheltering animals in disasters throughout the United States and Canada. For those inclined to help out the animals. Seems they have a team of 10 people already on-site. *head spins when thinking where to even begin in helping out*
• meredithea, I've heard of lots of need for blood donations. Especially if you have a rarer blood type, you could really help someone. Donation of goods can often be more of a burden than a help, which is why they are asking for cash. You could contact a local Red Cross and see if they need help answering the phones or something.
• Historical perspective from the LA Times re: donations- I think the Red Cross is as good a place as any, despite the absurd post-9/11 beating they took from Drudge and friends...
• The following is an excerpt of a letter from my mother. She currently lives in Austin, but she and my Dad grew up in NO. I've removed some names, etc. Hi, It has been horrible. It brought back so many memories. We went through their last big one 40 years ago. We were evacuated from our home during the night and [sister] was just a baby. We made it to my parents home because it was supposed to be safe. The hurricane was supposed to hit the lake and we lived four blocks from there. It went up the river instead and my parent's home took a good beating. No roof on the front two rooms,no utilities and it was hot as Hell. They wouldn't leave for fear of looters. We started bringing them food and ice two days later when we were back in our home and had utilities turned on. We had gone to a hotel because Stacy had just received her small pox vaccination and was breaking out with a heat rash and scratching. I was afraid she would revaccinate herself and she was running a high fever. After two days in the hotel your dad's parents moved into our room because we were able to return home and had all utilities restored. They had flooding in their area and no utilities. It was all so horrible and so many died during this time. This hurricane that has just hit is double the destruction of Betsy. Austin has one of the enclosed stadium's open to the homeless from New Orleans and they are providing shelter,food,medical care and whatever for as long as they can. The same is going on in Houston at the Astrodome. I don't think we will know the actual amount of damage and how many are dead for many weeks. There are so many poor people living in the city and all on welfare. I understand most of the hospitals are not able to function. They also have to find a prison that will take 5,000 inmates. The prison is flooded and no longer functional. [Family friends] live across the river in Covington and have just restored an old plantation-style home along the river. I don't imagine it was left standing. I hope they are all well. We know there is no communication at this time with any one there. It is all so sad. Only prayers will help many and donations to the Red Cross.
• Here is a list of charities active in the disaster. They could use some help (most likely financial). The Salvation Army is on the front lines with mobile kitchens and health facilities. They're looking for monetary assistance too. Also How to Help is a must read on the topic. In many disasters, well-intentioned people end up hindering the relief effort by donating unwanted goods, by wasting the time of relief agencies and by showing up at the disaster scene and literally getting in the way. Just because one is able-bodied doesn't automatically make one a force for good. Even things like trying to phone acquaintances in the area to see if they're okay is a bad idea . Phone lines should be kept free for those who really need to use them.
• WPDK: StoreyBored nailed what I was talking about the last time I was on. I wish I could become trained and useful, but I fail on the ablebodied (no offense, no way you'd know that) and I've reached my peace with that. We gave to the Red Cross and are looking to have my husband's employer match if they do that--it's a new job so we don't know yet. I have family in the area (sister-in-law lives in Covington, and her husband's family is all on the North Shore). We got word last night that her home, freshly rebuilt, is still standing, but we don't know if it was flooded and emptied out. Her husband went back this morning, which we all think is crazy, but he couldn't stand the not knowing. I hope he goes back to Dallas to be with his wife and kids when he's had his look-see. All the lawyers in my brother-in-law's firm are communicating by text message. Apparently that's up even though the cell phones are down for inbound calls; it's a separate resource.
• Jesus effing Christ-- From Metafilter: Listening to the radio on the way into work today I heard a rescue worker say that during rescue efforts yesterday, citizens shot at rescue workers who, they felt, were not acting quickly enough. Also, he said that another rescue worker shot and killed a resident who was shooting at their boat because his neighbor was rescued before he was. posted by ColdChef at 6:13 AM PST on August 31 [!] Fucking shit-for-brains people, I swear. Something I have been wondering about; how are the drug addicts doing? You know, the meth, crack, and heroin addicts? The ones who stayed 'cause they were too fucked up to know any better, the ones who stayed so they could be closer to their dealer. How are the kids doing while their parent(s) are going into forced, cold-turkey, dry-out time? You know there are some severely freaked-out people wandering about right now. I pity those who have to try and rescue them.
• I was thinking the same thing today, Darshon ... the alcoholics, of course, are probably having a field day (that is, if there's a liquor store in swimming distance). Otherwise, there's a lot of withdrawal goin' on.
• Darshon and Koko: Beyond other issues, I couldn't bear to think about this. What about poor moms with babies? (and you know there are many); what about the truly desparate?
• In hindsight, that is rather a goulish question, you two.
• Actually, I saw a bit on the news tonight regarding babies that are in trouble. In particular, lots of newborns that are not yet in stable conditions. One report spoke of a rescue of four babies, and there was no mention of their parents. Sad, very sad...
• how are the drug addicts doing Just fine apparently, according to some articles I've seen, they are looting pharmacies and maybe even hospitals for drugs. Hard to say if these reports are accurate, but if I was a junkie, I'd go get me some Dilaudids from the local Walgreens. Apparently the Mayor of New Orleans has ordered 1500 cops off search and rescue to stop the looting and armed gangs and try to restore order. Problem is, I don't think they have any usable facilities to hold prisoners. And if you shoot them, their bodies will just rot and attract vermin. Hopefully when the national guard gets there in force, they'll restore law and order and people will be safer.
• What about poor moms with babies? (and you know there are many); what about the truly desparate? The children of those junkies/alchoholics are truly desperate. They had no option to leave--they had to stay with their family. Not only that, but those poor moms with babies had the choice to get their asses out the fucking door and get to a safer area any goddamn way they could. As far as I am concerned that is/was their fucking obligation! I'm a mother and you can goddamn well bet that I would do anything under God's green earth to get my children to safety no matter how hard it was. I only feel sorry for those who are unable to do much for themselves, children/sick/elderly. If you were able and capable and still didn't leave, but in that decision drug along others (children), well......that's an atrocity.
• There was a report of an officer shot in the head by a looter. That says to me, "career criminal", not "situational thief". Really? That says to me someone trying to survive. That says to me a cop or his boss had their their priorities mixed up, and got in the way of too many people trying to protect their families. ...those poor moms with babies had the choice to get their asses out the fucking door and get to a safer area any goddamn way they could. Bullshit. They did not have that choice.
• Over 20% of the residents of Mississippi are classified as poor by the US government. These three states -- Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana -- are among the poorest in the US, and their populations among the least educated. Those who had cars, the relatively well-to-do, left before the storm came in. But poor people don't have cars. And many city-dwellers don't have cars, either. Stories are now emerging about the lives of those folk who stayed -- a Biloxi bus driver, a bartender in a casino, medical personnel staffing hospitals, and so on. These folk are by no means all --or even mostly -- crack dealers and druggies. Many do belong to the segment of society Americans like to ignore or pretend doesn't exist -- namely, the American poor.
• -- There was a report of an officer shot in the head by a looter. That says to me, "career criminal", not "situational thief". -- Really? That says to me someone trying to survive. That says to me a cop or his boss had their their priorities mixed up, and got in the way of too many people trying to protect their families. Maybe in the movies. Seriously, someone who has never stolen anything before, and is just trying to get a few things for survival, having only been deprived for a day or so, is not going to be inclined to shoot a cop in the head when confronted. No one is denying that both kinds of looting are going on.
• We were hit here in 2003 by a monster hurricane, and many of us were without power for close to 2 weeks, some without roads for a week or more. I sure felt despair after a candlelit fortnight without a stove, washer, hot water, refrigeration, *computer*, tv, heat, etc. I cannot comprehend what those people must be feeling, having lost entire neighbourhoods! Many must be feeling suicidal or murderous.
• Holy Christ. Where's the National Guard? ... Oh yeah. I lived in Baton Rouge a couple of years, and loved it. Only made it down to New Orleans once or twice. Wish I'd done it more now. Like everyone, I find this whole thing surreal and heartbreaking. I can't fucking work. I haven't been able to the last couple of days. Fuck it. If I get reprimanded, at least I'm alive. Fuck.
• Not only that, but those poor moms with babies had the choice to get their asses out the fucking door and get to a safer area any goddamn way they could. I think that's a bit harsh. There are many people that had no choice but to stay and do their best to weather the hurricane. I saw one report of a couple that tried in desperation to get a ride out of NO. They ended up standing roadside pleading with passers-by, but no one offered to pick them up. Eventually they had to retreat to their home when they realized they had no other choice. The man did not make it out alive. Also, some women were *in labor* when the storm arrived. The situation seems to be deteriorating very fast. They've suspended emergency helicopter lifts as shots have been fired at one of the helicopters. I think its time for Bush to step up to the plate on this one. words continue to fail me...
• How about some compassion? Hurricane evacuee Deloris LeBanks holds her 4-day-old son Damion outside the Superdome.
• Not only that, but those poor moms with babies had the choice to get their asses out the fucking door and get to a safer area any goddamn way they could. I'll say it's more than a bit harsh. It's the same "the poor deserve what they get" bullshit that's been fueling conservative talk radio for years. "You're poor? You're stupid? GET A JOB! GO TO FUCKING COLLEGE! IT'S JUST THAT SIMPLE! WHAT ARE YOU, LAZY? YOU DESERVE WHAT YOU GOT! IT'S ALL A MATTER OF CHOICE!" That must be a nice place to live.
• The comment actually made me a bit sick. I have to use some restraint though, because the last thing I want is to turn this thread into some twisted trainwreck. I mean, I can't even begin to comprehend what these people are going through... it seems so utterly self-centered to argue anything at this point. What beeswacky said.
• I think I see the same sentiment I've been feeling elsewhere - it's hard to get a handle on just how devastating it is. Someone said to me yesterday that we still haven't realized that an entire major US city - an historical one at that - is just gone. It's been, what, four days and I'm still a bit in shock. Metaphorically eyes a little widened, mouth slightly open, not moving . . .
• Not only that, but those poor moms with babies had the choice to get their asses out the fucking door and get to a safer area any goddamn way they could. Nothing less than plain ignorance.
• What this thread needs now is some tiny bunnies!!!111!!!
• Those bunnies should have got out the fucking door and out of that fuckers palm when they had time to do so. I have no sympathy.
• Many people obviously still in shock and depression. Rescue personnel and officials ready to drop from exhaustion. Utterly heartbreaking to contemplate -- all the wasted years, years when with a little damn foresight, and political resolve, this catastrophe might have been lessened or its consequences alleviated in some measure. It's not like no one knew the city is below sea-level. Frustrated witnessing events unfold: I keep wondering why couldn't air drops of food, water, survival materials have been made to the people in the streets on Tuesday? So people would feel assured there'd be more food and water forthcoming, that they hadn't just been deserted or forgotten. And why were not large stocks of emergencvy supplies stashed in the immediate vicinity of the disaster-waiting-to-happen city? Just hope there's no more shooting -- been enoguh death already. The state/federal response seems bumbling, inadequate, and in all ways Misunderestimated. Grrr.
• NOLA is a poor city in a poor state. I read somewhere that the per capita income for whites there is 33K, and the per capita income for blacks is 10K. (An $8/hr job there is considered really good, and hard to get, according to a friend of mine who lived there.) The evacuation plan made no concessions for people without cars. For example -- the city bus system was not used to get people out of town, and neither were trains or any other options to get carless (not careless!) people out of Dodge. Essentially, the poor were left to fend for themselves.
• The news stories I've seen on TV of rescuers (both helicopter and boat) being shot at are sickening. They have to get the military in ASAP.
• It's never too big a disaster to let go of your racism. Check it out: Black people 'loot.' White people 'find.'
• BEHOLD the MIGHTY POWER of ROCK! ALL HAIL ROCK 'N' ROLL! *raises Horns of Satan, bangs head in worship*
• There was a thread at Mefi about the loot/find yahoo photos. A few people commented that the wording was probably due to the different news service sources, and yahoo didn't change the wording. Other good points were made in that thread too. Also, I just read an article on this page at nola.com about a guy who evacuated himself from New Orleans to Baton Rouge by bicycle. Good for him.
• MeFi is dead to me. And by that I mean, it's blocked by my work filters.
• From BBC: Louisiana state Governor Kathleen Blanco said she was "furious" at the growing crime wave. She has asked Washington to send more people to help with the relief mission, to free National Guard troops to concentrate on looters. President Bush, who flew over flood-stricken areas on Wednesday, has acknowledged there is "frustration" at the pace of relief efforts. But he called for patience during what is one of the biggest relief operations ever mounted in the US. Kinda makes me wonder if Bush will declare "Mission Accomplished" when he visits the area on Friday. The Governor had to ask for more help?? Something seems wrong with this picture. Airlifts anyone?? There should be a major military presence by now. WTF!??
• But guess where all the troops are! I keed, I keed. Sorta.
• From MSNBC: The Superdome helicopter operation was suspended “until they gain control of the Superdome,” said Richard Zuschlag, head of Acadian Ambulance, which was handling the evacuation of sick and injured people. He said the National Guard told him that it was sending 100 military police officers to gain control. “That’s not enough,” Zuschlag. “We need a thousand.” Medics were calling him and crying for help because they were so scared of people with guns at the Superdome, he added. .
• MonkeyFilter: about a guy who evacuated himself
• Big deal, I do that every day, even when it's not an emergency.
• In case anyone in national security is reading this, get the word to President Bush that we need the military in here NOW. The Active Duty Armed Forces. Mr. President, we are losing this city. I don't care what you're hearing on the news. The city is being lost.
• How can we get this word to the Pres? (serious question) Is there someone we can e-mail or call with that link? And why hasn't that happened yet? I KNOW the U.S. is better than this!
• Amid the turmoil Wednesday, thieves commandeered a forklift and used it to push up the storm shutters and break the glass of a Rite-Aid pharmacy. A crowd stormed the store, carrying out so much water and food that it dropped from their arms as they ran. The street was littered with packages of ramen noodles and other items. Some outside the same Rite-Aid today were anxious to show they needed what they were taking. A gray-haired man who would not give his name pulled up his T-shirt to show a surgery scar and explained that he needs pads for incontinence. "I'm a Christian. I feel bad going in there,'' he said. Earl Baker of Kenner carried toothpaste, tooth brushes and deodorant. "Look, I'm only getting necessities,'' he told a reporter. "All of this is personal hygiene. I ain't getting nothing to get drunk or high with.'' Houston Chronicle
• As for sending in the military, it's never too soon, but Michael Chertoff just gave a press conference, and they'll be sending in 1500 Nat'l Guard MPs every day for 3 days, starting today. There are only about 1500 police in New Orleans right now. That's definately a good start, they need to put the hammer down, and also get all those people outta there. What a mess.
• I saw a piece on the tube last night which depicted a neighborhood where a lot of poor folks had died (this was in Biloxi, not N.O.), and the talking head made the very compelling point that many of the people couldn't afford to evacuate because it was the end of the month so they'd spent most of their government-assistance checks. He talked about how the guy who rented furniture to many of the people in the neighborhood had to turn down many requests for 20 dollars to get enough gas to get out of town.
• Apparently I have come across as being judgemental of the poor. Couldn't be further from the truth, nor do I arbitrarily assume that everyone left must be a drug addict. Sometimes it is difficult to get a point across in the heat of the moment. I was very angry last night watching the videos and pictures of all those people and all those children who only have the adults to look to. It is deeply, deeply heartbreaking. For those who actually made an effort to try and get to a safer area--good. Do whatever you can. But I don't believe for a second that all those people left actually tried. I fully realize the poverty levels that exist in that entire area, it's been that way for a very long time. But that cannot be an excuse for not trying to protect your children from a very real danger. AGAIN, I say that in a general sense knowing that many did try. There is no ignorance involved here. Still not clear why this would be considered harsh or make someone sick..... BTW, for the record, our total income last year was $17,500. That was for a family of four (doesn't include the nephew we now have custody of for whom we receive $150 per month - which is not the reason why we took custody of him, in case anyone was wondering).
• Check out Democracy Now for some truly excellent coverage of the disaster.
• I just watched that press conference too un-. While it does sound more promising than what's been done so far, I can't help but wonder why it has taken this long. New Orleans + hurricane = disaster scenario - - - common knowledge I would gather to say. They should have had more of a presence off the bat IMHO. Regardless, I hope they act quick and *sucessfully* establish some sort of handle on this bleak situation.
• Well to be fair, SMT, even though the night before the hurricane was headed straight for NO, the direction can change (and did) quickly so the levee-busting disaster that's going on right now *may* not have happened. NO has faced many, many hurricanes and the lasseiz attitude that comes from that probably hindered preparations as much as anything.
• Point taken pete. I gather I'm just frustrated at the situation. When I imagine what these vicitims are going through, a rather heavy feeling overcomes me. I can only hope the best for all of those affected...
• Sorry for calling you ignorant Darshon. It is deeply, deeply heartbreaking. For those who actually made an effort to try and get to a safer area--good. Do whatever you can. But I don't believe for a second that all those people left actually tried. I guarantee you that the ones who stayed out of choice didn't realize what they were in for. Frankly, I'm quite angry at the City government, who has known for years that a disaster of this magnitude was coming, yet took no precautions against it. For Christ's sake, the compulsory evacuation they "organized" was pathetic. Did they even arrrange any mass transit options for people who don't have vehicles or the funds to purchase transport? Were they just hoping people would car-pool? Still not clear why this would be considered harsh or make someone sick..... Because it's awfully close to a "the poor deserve what they get because they're lazy/immoral/criminal" Calvinistic belief of the type that our country men seem to hold as gospel these days. However, you were voicing an opinion wrought in emotion, and I apoligize for misinterpreting what you said.
• Why the fuck is that dumbass mayor ordering almost ALL of his cops off of search and rescue and instead sending them stop looters!? That has to be the most asinine thing that's happened yet!
• to the livejournal author's point, s/he seems to be indicating that National Guard isn't what's needed - that the situation is so dire that only The Army and that kind of training/structure can help.
• 1:28 pm THE REAL MILITARY IS NOW FLOWING IN. National Guard is being replaced before our eyes. Watch the feed. Word is that the Marines are at 1515 Poydras where our OC4s are. I think we're coming back online in force shortly. Oh. Well - there you go then.
• We reported last night on the cause of Hurricane Katrina -- at least in the eyes of an antiabortion group called Columbia Christians for Life. The storm, the group says, is God's way of punishing Louisiana for having 10 abortion clinics. Well, at least that's what the Columbia Christians for Life were saying yesterday. We've just received another e-mail from the group, and now it seems to be saying that God sent Katrina after Louisiana to prevent Southern Decadence, an annual gay-themed bash that was scheduled for Labor Day weekend in New Orleans. The Columbia Christians for Life forwarded to us a press release from a Philadelphia-based outfit called Repent America. In it, Repent America director Michael Marcavage explains: "Although the loss of lives is deeply saddening, this act of God destroyed a wicked city. From 'Girls Gone Wild' to 'Southern Decadence,' New Orleans was a city that had its doors wide open to the public celebration of sin. May it never be the same." Your God is an asshole.
• Well snarked, Nick. What a buncha Morans.
• Fuck me. A sniper was firing at hospital workers trying to evacuate intensive care patients into amphibious vehicles. Guards with the vehicles had to return fire. A fucking firefight while trying to evacuate ICU patients. What. The. Fuck.
• I think Jack Cafferty on CNN is just a little outraged. Nice to see someone saying it like it is.
• Very good graphical/pictorial look at the current physical state of New Orleans.
• My God isn't an asshole -- and I suspect their God is mad at them ;)
• By "them," I of course mean the fundie assholes :)
• I sure miss real leadership.
• Definitely looks like the city's evacuation "plan" sucked. If you didn't have a car (and this isn't just poor people), you were stuck. But even so, there's still what PeteB said, the "crying wolf" syndrome. After 40 years of false alarms, it's amazing that even that many people took the whole thing seriously in the first place and left before the storm hit.
• Jesus. CNN is reporting vehicles evacuating critical patients from Charity Hospital being fired on by snipers. Fuck.
• My god is Butthole. And Beavis! Apparently Bush has said that no one expected the levees to break. Well, facts once again escape the pinhead in the oval office. It's a problem that has been known for decades, and his administraion is directly responsible for the lack of preparedness for precisely this emergency. Can we get him fired yet?
• Some could not leave for reasons of health, lack of transport, mental problems. Some, like medical or police personnel, stayed to help those that couldn't leave. Some could leave, and stayed, either from bravado, a not-quite rational fear of losing all they had or not being able to take a loved pet, didn't want to leave someone they love who couldn't go (hospitalized, whatever) There are good people in a bad situation and assholes taking advantage of it. Cross-section of humanity under tragic circumstances.
• That's a good graphic HawthorneW. Thanks. The section that describes the hit to the oil refineries is alarming. If the capacity remains offline for an extended period of time, the economic impact is likely to be greater than 9/11.
• Apparently Bush has said that no one expected the levees to break. Well, facts once again escape the pinhead in the oval office. It's a problem that has been known for decades And I swear that every single news feature I heard before the storm mentioned this as part of the doomsday scenario.
• Cafferty also says that someone on CNN is going to adress what he called the 'big elephant in the room'; race and class. About fucking time. The huge majority of people without water and food five days after Katrina are black, and they are poor. Would there have been a different situation in New Orleans right now if it was the California coast hit? Like say, places like Malibu? Laguna Beach? A white and money stretch of coastline? You fucking know it would be different.
• Clarifying my last post; if New Orleans had a population more like Malibu or Laguna Beach, would they be treated differently?
• Well, facts once again escape the pinhead in the oval office What? He took time out of his busy day to explain to the nation what 'oil refineries' are. That's a man with FACTS, my friend. I, for one, kept hearing this mumbojumbo about 'refineries', and I had NO IDEA what everyone was going on about. If only there were some kind of book I could look up words in and find out what they meant. Yes, I like my sarcasm thick and blunt and obvious. And no, I won't take it back. Not for a man that has the AF1 pilot dip his wings a bit so he can claim he saw the devastation for himself. At least the last guy had the decency to fake 'feeling their pain'... Allright, I'm done now. Promise.
• According to CNN, Bush is asking for help from Bush Sr. and Clinton. This is like a script from 24.
• So what you're saying is that we should expect Jack Bauer to start torturing "looters" any second now, right?
• Fats Domino is apparently missing. Not that this news is more important than say, snipers shooting at trucks with medical supplies, but damn, I love Fats...
• I like that Cafferty pointed out how Congress returned on a Sunday night during holiday to keep Schiavo's feeding tube from being removed, literally showing up at the drop of a hat, whereas they have yet to show up and help come up with a plan for this disaster. Like he said, I guess it just depends on where your priorities are. Save one white woman who is brain dead anyway or try and save thousands of blacks from a slow, painful death. Bastards.
• *misses Clinton*
• *really misses Clinton*
• Someone commented in an email to CNN; "We can invade a country on the other side of the world but we can't get bottled water to the people of New Orleans?" If President Bush is not gone because of this blatant display of his true priorities, the US is a country without a soul.
• Someone commented in an email to CNN; "We can invade a country on the other side of the world but we can't get bottled water to the people of New Orleans?" If President Bush is not gone because of this blatant display of his true priorities, the US is a country without a soul.
• Sorry, got a timed out message while trying to post the first one.
• From CNN: At least seven bodies were scattered outside, and hungry, desperate people who were tired of waiting broke through the steel doors to a food service entrance and began pushing out pallets of water and juice and whatever else they could find. An old man in a chaise lounge lay dead in a grassy median as hungry babies wailed around him. Around the corner, an elderly woman lay dead in her wheelchair, covered up by a blanket, and another body lay beside her wrapped in a sheet. "I don't treat my dog like that," 47-year-old Daniel Edwards said as he pointed at the woman in the wheelchair. "I buried my dog." He added: "You can do everything for other countries but you can't do nothing for your own people. You can go overseas with the military but you can't get them down here." Just above the convention center on Interstate 10, commercial buses were lined up, going nowhere. The street outside the center, above the floodwaters, smelled of urine and feces, and was choked with dirty diapers, old bottles and garbage. "They've been teasing us with buses for four days," Edwards said. Fuck me. This is exactly what I've been thinking. Instead of toying around with buses the past couple of days, they should have deployed some serious machinery to do mass evacuations. I belive the Bush administration has seriously dropped the ball on this.
• Twenty bucks says that we'll see Jimmy Carter lifting sandbags within the next 48 hours. Whether Chimpy sets foot on the ground before then, I have my doubts.
• Or serving soup somewhere. Jimmy's getting old.
• To one of moneyjane's points: A good buddy of mine still loves to bring up my outrage (which he shared) from back in the early 1990s, when he and I were both living in Southern California, and during the Laguna Beach fires, one of the moron talking head idiot dildo-brain moron fucks had the chutzpah to say, while talking about the tragic loss of some residents' houses, "What makes this loss particularly tragic is that these were multimillion-dollar homes." Dick.
• From MSNBC: “This is a national disgrace,” said Terry Ebbert, head of New Orleans’ emergency operations. “FEMA has been here three days, yet there is no command and control,” Ebbert said. “We can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami victims but we can’t bail out the city of New Orleans." "We have got a mayor who has been pushing and asking but we’re not getting supplies,” he said. He said the evacuation was almost entirely a Louisiana operation. “This is not a FEMA operation. I haven’t seen a single FEMA guy.” Bush: "I understand the anxiety of people on the ground," Bush told ABC's "Good Morning America." "... But I want people to know there's a lot of help coming." He sure as hell did a lot with his flyby, now didn't he.
• I'd like to point out something else; if/when the thirsty folks in New Orleans start dying by the dozens, you can bet there will be demonstrations in other large American cities. With the National guard stretched as thin as it is, when demonstrating turns to rioting in places like Atlanta, it is going to get very, very ugly.
• Isn't it amazing that with all the people being talked to in these areas, it seems that none of them have seen any help to speak of. None.
• Despite continuous warnings that a catastrophic hurricane could hit New Orleans, the Bush administration and Congress in recent years have repeatedly cut funding for hurricane preparation and flood control. .
• I'm just now getting a handle on all this. As far as looting goes? Situation like this, you do what you have to do, white, black or purple. If it was me in charge, after all this was over you'd have a general amnesty for looting. I can even understand the impetus to grab a gun - these people have families, children with them. They're petrified. You see one guy grab one, you don't know who he is, what he's about. You have a responsbility to defend your family. There isn't any 911 to call, no cop to flag down. So you grab one too. When all this ends, you turn in any guns that aren't registered to you? All's forgiven. But it you snipe at evac choppers trying to airlift out a maternity ward? The next time those choppers come, they're accompanied by gunships with safeties off. There is some shit that, regardless of who you are or what situation you are in, that you do not do. That's one of them. /end rant That said, if these people are suffering because Congress and the administration cannot be bothered to pay attention? There's not a one of them that I will ever support again. Not that it will matter: this is going to be an economic nightmare that will make 9/11 look like a someone dropped their changepurse. Refineries offline for months, the largest American shipping facilties completely destroyed, a hazmat cleanup that one EPA official estimates will cost more than the entire annual US GDP, an insurance bill in the trillions? Futures on EVERY COMMODITY are going through the roof. That means everyone who understands how these things work thinks that the price of everything is going to go up like a moonshot. And this on top of a burgeoning recession brought on by oil prices approaching 1970's levels. A recession was inevitable without the total loss of New Orleans - but now? We. Are. Fucked. But. Good. America is not going to be a good place to be for a while to come.
• If I was a soldier in Iraq, getting my ass shot off in service of the US government, and I found out my grandmother died outside a goddamn convention centre because nobody prioritized her need for water I would be very angry and seriously questioning my allegience to Mr. Bush.
• "What makes this loss particularly tragic is that these were multimillion-dollar homes." Dick. Same thing when the Bosque was burning in Albuquerque and began to encroach on some of the richer neighborhoods. Fuck your million dollar homes.
• viva le revolution?
• I'm surprised no-one's mentioned Haliburton yet. And they thought they were doing well scamming off the war in Iraq... Haliburton and mobile home manufacturers. Invest heavily now.
• This may very well bring the ever-simmering race inequalities in the US to a full and inescapable boil.
• Draft Bill Bradley in 2008. (I'm serious. He was the last heads-up little-to-no-BS person to be in the hunt for the U.S. presidency, but was pushed aside at least in part because he insisted on focusing on unpleasantries like race relations.)
• (It's Cajun, minda, so it'd be Vive la revolution...)
• A little history via the Blue.
• Full disclosure: Hawthorne Wingo, the real one, played alongside Bill Bradley on the 1973 NY Knicks basketball team.
• What Fes said. It isn't talked about much at the moment because of the human tragedy, but it worries me to see the estimates of what this disaster will cost. That bill, plus the high rates of inflation sure to come, means the effect it'll have on the US economy will not be pretty. And because of the already massive deficits, the federal government won't have much room to use fiscal policy to fight it, so it'll have to rely solely on monetary policy. Looks like there might be a return of the stagflation of the 1970s and 1980s.
• Earlier today, White House spokesman Scott McClellan deflected questions from reporters asking whether the officials should have been better prepared to deal with the disaster. McClellan said now was not the time for "finger-pointing." Holy crap. Just to emphasize how f'd up everything is: I agree with Scott McClellan??
• a hazmat cleanup that one EPA official estimates will cost more than the entire annual US GDP I think it's a big mess in N.O. but I call bullshit on this claim by the EPA dude. I for one would be able to clean up the moon if I was given the entire annual GDP of the US.
• Oh, yeah, how about that Dept. of Homeland Security...nice uh, job, guys.
• I'll be honest, I don't know if it's accurate or not. But the fact that the dude even said it out loud gives me pause. It certainly will be the biggest cleanup in EPA history, and they are not known for the miserliness. How's homeland security fit in?
• From Reuters: President Bush condemned the looting and warned against charging artificially high prices for gasoline. "I think there ought to be zero tolerance of people breaking the law during an emergency such as this, whether it be looting, or price-gouging at the gasoline pump or taking advantage of charitable giving, or insurance fraud," Bush said in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America." That this man hasn't been struck down by lightning yet is a powerful argument in favour of Atheism. Or maybe it's the opposite -- God has shown His Favour by protecting Chimpy from a laughing-fit-induced hernia. I can't tell anymore.
• Considering all the lip service that the Bush administration has given to being prepared for a terrorist attack, and that the aftermath of a major hurricane isn't all that different from the aftermath of a hypothetical terrorist attack, in terms of the need to respond quickly to meet basic human needs for food, water, shelter, and/or evacuation, why the #*&! couldn't FEMA have responded more effectively? What have the Feds been doing for the last four years, anyway, other than using the PATRIOT act to see what people are reading at the library? I can't give blood right now (just back from a malaria zone) but I hope that all the monkeys who can give blood go do so.
• Fuck your million dollar homes. Shoot, and i just got this place painted.
• How's homeland security fit in? The reference may be to the very helpful info that September is National Preparedness Month. good timing, guys.
• Oop, sorry Fes, that Homeland Security was kinda a snide side comment on how the dept. spent all their gazillions on goofy security measures when all the time they shoulda been beefing up their emergency preparedness. Apparently before Bush came along, FEMA, the dept that looked after civil emergencies reported to the President directly. Bush went and moved FEMA into the Dept of Homeland Security where I suspect it sank without a trace given the hoopla associated with frisking people's shoes at airports.
• This is way beyond any terrorist attack they would - or could - have prepared for. The only thing even remotely comparable would have been a nuke going off. More like a couple of nukes. This is a lot bigger than even that.
• On preview, what ambrosia said.
• The Economist's take on the economic implications. ...it could be a long cold winter for everyone.
• Ah, now I getcha. I had a post prepared and, for some reason, it disappeared on preview, but the gist was that this is a lot bigger than any terrorist attack they would have prepared for, even a nuke. Even a couple nukes. This is bigger - perhaps not in total dead (which will be substantial, but not as substantial as a couple dozen kilotons of fissionables going kerflooey in Central Park), but in long term economic and (if moneyjane's right, and this athiest is saying a little prayer that she isn't) social effect. I think, even taking into accoung deversion of in-country preparedness, FEMA is just simply outclassed by this.
• islander's link is fascinating. I'm definitely going to read the book linked to in the MeFi FPP.
• Islander's Economist article estimates the insurance tally at ariound $25B, not trillions as I earlier mentioned. My apologies for the hysterical pussifying :)
• Fes, I take your point that this is bigger than any terrorist attack scenario that analysts may have come up with. However, FEMA is outclassed because it's run by a trusts and estates lawyer, a political appointee, not someone with real crisis-response experience. The Bush Administration has placed ideology above experience across the board (the FDA is an example, the pipeline from the Heritage Foundation the the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq is another example that comes to mind.) The responsiblity for those choices lies squarely with the Bush Administration.
• Thanks for the Economist link islander. A quote: "The Gulf of Mexico provides about a tenth of all the crude oil consumed in America; anod almost half of the petrol produced in the country comes from refineries in the states along the gulf's shores. Some three-quarters of the region's natural gas production, and over 90% ofoil output, are still shut down, and the Department of Energy repored on Wednesdays that nine refineries, processing 1.8m barrels per day, are out of action."
• Good grief, typos in the Economist!
• Darshon, based on your comment, I wrote my senator. Perhaps it'll help, a bit....
• Ambrosia: From the FEMA website... Prior to his appointment, Mr. Allbaugh served as Chief of Staff to then-Governor George W. Bush. In addition to his operational duties in the Governor's office, Allbaugh served as the governor's point person for nine presidential disaster declarations and more than 20 state-level emergencies. Earlier in his career, he served as Oklahoma Deputy Secretary of Transportation. Mr. Allbaugh served as the National Campaign Manager for Bush-Cheney 2000 with responsibility and oversight for all activities related to the Bush election campaign. He had previously served as Campaign Manager for President Bush's first run for Texas governor. well, shit.
• I agree with the disappointment in FEMA. I'm outraged and disgusted, actually. And bless those wonderful front-line people trying to give whatever help they can.
• If Bush were smart, he'd get Rudy Giuliani down there to get things organized and drum up the morale of both locals and the nation. "If Bush were smart." Sheesh. Good one, HWingo.
• Fes, we're talking about different people. FEMA Director Joe M. Allbaugh February 2001 - March 2003 or "Prior to joining FEMA, Mr. Brown practiced law in Colorado and Oklahoma, where he served as a bar examiner on ethics and professional responsibility for the Oklahoma Supreme Court and as a hearing examiner for the Colorado Supreme Court."
• Normally I wouldn't be happy about the way this thread has gone. It's emotionally driven and politically charged. Lots of people have taken lots of shots at Bush for this mess, not always fairly. But, you know? As it is, I'm angry. Can you imagine how this president would deal with a full scale terrorist attack, if this is anything to go by? Disaster preparedness is exactly what this administration has been busy working on. And this is the result of that?
• Yeah, there have been lots of amazing rescues, from the Coast Guard to guys in little flatboats going out to get stranded people. The news looks like things might be turning around, but it may be too early to say. Lots of guard are there now or on the way. There are some emergency medical stations set up (like at the airport). Hopefully things will be much better by this weekend. Still, mistakes were made, and we should know why. The thing in the back of my mind is whether or not New Orleans will ever really recover? I wonder if many of the poor people being relocated will just be absorbed by their host communities? Their kids are currently being enrolled in schools in Baton Rouge or in Houston, maybe they'll get new jobs there. They probably won't have much of anything left to go back to. The port, the french quarter, the universites and central business district will probably come back pretty quickly, but the economy down there could be depressed for years.
• maybe they'll get new jobs there Assuming that they can find work, of course. Which is about to become a huge assumption.
• I was just thinking about the lack of water - and wondering if anyone thought to raid sports and camping stores for iodine tablets, or propane stoves to boil water? It wouldn't take the oil or chemicals out, but would kill bacteria. There are also waterpumps that are even better filters. But I'm sitting here all comfortable, so I'm probably thinking more clearly. I was glad to hear that people broke into the convention centre food and water stores, though I imagine there is not enough local control to organise getting the water to those who need it, or to ration it.
• I bet they've thought of it. Lot of hunters and fishers down that way who'd be thinking about survival gear. I guarantee you that if Springfield, MO got hit that bad, Bass Pro would be emptied inside of two hours.
• Assuming that they can find work ... Which is about to become a huge assumption Why is that? I think I saw on CNN last night that in Houston, they were talking about trying to help folks find jobs. Or are you saying the economy is going to be so screwed they'll have no chance?
• For clean water, too bad they didn't give everyone a Lifestraw.
• That's a good point, Smo. I'm sure the terrorists are taking careful note of the lack of preparation and response.
• I was just thinking about the lack of water - and wondering if anyone thought to raid sports and camping stores for iodine tablets, or propane stoves to boil water? Looter.
• Or are you saying the economy is going to be so screwed they'll have no chance? Mostly that, yeah. Not no chance, but I doubt there'll be a factor of the national economy, including the job market, that doesn't take a big kick in the nuts over this.
• I just lost $7.55 between 1 am last night and 3 pm today on a US to Canadian dollar exchange. Canunkeys should change 'em now if they got 'em because the exchange dude says it's going to slide even more.
• The Bush Administration has placed ideology above experience across the board That's it in a nutshell.
• Wow, I never thought I would say that I think Anderson Cooper is doing a good job laying into the politicians and trying to get them to understand the scope of emotions on the ground. He was talking to Landrau trying to get her to understand that you couldn't compare the loss of a house to a dead body laying out in the streets for two days being eaten by rats. How can these politicians not be horrified by that? Why are they continuing to try and show a strong face instead of outright emotion? How can they?
• Jesus, Anderson just showed some real emotion. Good for him.
• Seems that price gouging at the gas pump is already happening. Spoke to my sister in North Carolina who told me about how one gas station closed, they put up a sign that said "NO MORE GAS." The next station she tried had gas, but they charged her thirty cents more per gallon than what their sign said. She cussed them out pretty good from what she told me. A guy in the neighborhood laundrymat here in NYC just told me that he filled his gas tank up an hour ago. When he inserted his credit card at the pump to pay it didn't work. After trying several times, he went inside to pay with the attendant, who asked for $3 more on top of the pump price because "the hurricane." Anyone else experiencing this??
• BTW Darshon, thanks for clarifying your comment lastnight upthread. I obviously took it the wrong way. Hope there was no harm in my comment. None meant... And I'm watching Anderson now too... agreed with what you said. We need more of this...
• None, whatsoever.:>
• Hugs to my fellow monkeys for remaining so civil. I could use a hug or two myself... *sigh*
• *hugs to meredithea* Thankfully this thread hasn't quite erupted like the newer one. I find it hard to engage in argument at this point - even if it went that way. My heart goes out to all of those in situations that no one can quite fully understand. I hope something will be done soon (as should have already). I pray that tonight will not bring more chaos...
• Oops, and glad that you didn't take any harm in my comment Darshon! I fall directly in line with your comments today...
• Disaster preparedness is exactly what this administration has been busy working on. And this is the result of that? That's exactly it, Smo. Let's see - a green level alert means that the hurricane is almost here. An orange alert means you can see it from shore. Amber means you get some water on your face. Red means you'll be swimming in sewage amongst dead bodies in ninety degree weather, desperately looking for drinkable water while fighting off armed looters. This public service brought to you by the Department of Homeland Security.
• "Tourist Debbie Durso of Washington, Mich., said she asked a police officer for assistance and his response was, "'Go to hell - it's every man for himself.'" From Metafilter: "Many people had dogs and they cannot take them on the bus. A police officer took one from a little boy, who cried until he vomited. 'Snowball, snowball,' he cried. The policeman told a reporter he didn't know what would happen to the dog." How do you explain this to a child?
• Don't worry, Little Timmy, Snowball will find plenty of tasty treats to clean up.
• The people are scaring me more than the hurricane did.
• From CNN: [displaced resident at the Louisiana Superdome] "They have quite a few people running around here with guns," he said. "You got these young teenage boys running around up here raping these girls." What next?
• MSNBC has extensive video coverage, including of the inside of the Convention centre (see segments "Convention Centre Chaos" and on page 3 or so "Desparation in New Orleans") - Tony Zumbado (photojournalist) pleads that it isn't dangerous, that the 82 buses he saw should just come in - he saw people die in front of him. And I don't give a shit how much I might pay for anything tomorrow.
• From Darshon's link: "Donald Dudley, a 55-year-old New Orleans seafood merchant, complained that when he and other hungry refugees broke into the kitchen of the convention center and tried to prepare food, the National Guard chased them away." They also arrested a man who stole a car to try to get out - he was with his family (including at least one small child), and they stopped to pick up their neighbours. But the police stopped them, arrested the man, and (presumably) left his family and neighbours on the sidewalk in downtown. I did think that maybe if he went to where they are holding prisoners, that he might get food and water, but his children wouldn't. There is no such thing as looting in moments like this. It doesn't matter. Nothing inanimate matters - only people and animals (in that order).
• Things are replaceable. People need these things to survive. It's all just so stupid, it's horrible.
• The only way for the 'powers' that be to appear to be in charge at this point is to shoot a lot of people. And that's what they're going to do; and they are going to shoot many people who are not violent looters but rather very ordinary people that could be any one of us once we've been pushed beyond the breaking point.
• Streaming NO scanner links." Wiki page. Fucked up. They're discussing a hostage situation right now.
• This is the one I've been listening to
• Fuck. Gunfire. Explosion.
• Nick...the Wiki and scanner links are great resources. Thank you. I'm on stfu/NOLA.
• If my jaw hits the floor once more over how fucked the response to this has been, it's frozen custard for a month. Hugs to all involved....
• Five days later and now Bush is suddenly saying that the rescue efforts are "not acceptable." Kindly sir accept a big 'ol FUCK YOU! This is so incredible! I suppose his aides are busy constructing all sorts of ditties to finagle his way out of this was as well... From MSNBC: [New Orleans Mayor, Ray Nagin, in response to Bush's flyover of NO] “They flew down here one time two days after the doggone event was over with TV cameras, AP reporters, all kind of goddamn — excuse my French everybody in America, but I am pissed,” Nagin said. Nagin said he told Bush in a recent conversation that “we had an incredible crisis here and that his flying over in Air Force One does not do it justice ... I have been all around this city and that I am very frustrated because we are not able to marshal resources and we are outmanned in just about every respect.”
• Yesterday on NPR's All Things Considered, the host was interviewing Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff asking him about the two thousand people in the Convention Center not getting food or water from the Guard. Chertoff repeatedly insisted that they WERE getting food and water to the Superdome, despite Robert Siegel's repeated reminders that he was talking about the Convention Center, not the Superdome. Finally Chertoff said you "couldn't listen to rumors" about stranded folks here and there. Siegel got fiesty and said "Look, these are not rumors. These are reports from our correspondents ON THE GROUND who have covered disasters, war zones, everything, saying there are TWO THOUSAND PEOPLE in the Convention Center not getting aid." Finally the guy admitted he knew nothing about it but would "see to it" once he got back upstairs. It was pretty chilling that this guy, who's the head of things, hasn't even got as much info as someone listening to the radio even casually. But it was nice to see the press actually...you know, PRESSING.
• From the other thread, here's a transcript of the above-referenced exchange on NPR.
• "The results are not acceptable." Chimpy is taking a couple aerial tours, stopping at the NO airport for a speech, then back home it appears. Another quote from NO mayor Nagin (from the same link above): "I keep hearing that it's coming. This is coming. That is coming. My answer to that is B.S. Where is the beef?"
• Every person coming out of this alive is a huge plus. Small bright spot: Radio report that Fats Domino's daughter saw a photo of him being rescued, so he's alive, though she's not yet heard from him.
• Thanks for that tidbit on Fats Domino bees! A small bright spot indeed... Let's hope there are more.
• Here's a link on Fats.
• Yeah, re: the FEMA dude on NPR. Smo mentioned that yesterday. But you know what's so f*cking hilarious about the interview? The FEMA dude's a lawyer not an emergency management guy! So when he got put against the wall, what did he do? he argued! Man, talk about suicide on the air.
• I do hope, as I think minda said above, that all American monkeys let their senators and representatives know what they think, if they haven't already done so. Radio reporting now -- offers from many foreign countries of aid/assistance to the US, and I think this would be an excellent to take 'em up on it. Many countries are vastly indebted to the US for past favours, most are fgriends of some standing, and these offers should be considered, not ignored ort scorned. Ours is an increasingly small world, and no one wants to feel completely helpless to render what assistancethey can where it is so clearly needed.
• =an excellent time
• While feeding my son breakfast this morning, I heard a segment on NPR about a woman who's 42year old daughter is missing in Mississippi. You could hear the fear and denial in her voice. I finally broke down and cried.
• I have a one-year-old daughter who is beautiful and healthy and amazing. Seeing those images of weeping mothers and fathers holding their dehydrated infants at the NO Convention Center reduced me to tears of both gratitude and shame.
• WWL-AM radio interview with New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin (via anastasiav ) If you haven't heard this yet you might want to. He pulls no punches.
• You know what was interesting concerning Nagin, I was hearing a couple of tidbits about how some people were wondering where Nagin was. He was the only one we hadn't seen. I think they came to realize that he was down in the nitty gritty of things trying to do what he could, while everyone else has been giving countless interviews. He has shown more emotion and anger than any other "official" on tv. Normal, I know, given that he is mayor, but I applaud his voicing his anger and frustration directly to those who need to hear it.
• TP, I heard that NPR interview. Really got me angry.
• Aid is coming to the convention centre - they are finally sending troops and a caravan of food and water. CNN.com has video. 3 dozen trucks. The National Guard is armed - but the General has given orders that all weapons are to be pointed down. "This is not Iraq" - they are aware that there may be people rushing, but don't want people to get hurt.
• Story
• At home for lunch, I saw video of people discovering a cache of food for the Superdome concessions, completely untouched, and still under lock and key. No doubt it's no longer there now. But why wasn't that opened up by the people in charge? Why wait for food to be brought in if it's already there? Sure, it's stale nachos and oily cheese, but it's something...
• For those of us wondering how to help, BoingBoing has posted quite a few possibilities, both in ways to give money and in ways to give expertise (for example, there are a few ways for you monkeys more tech savvy than myself to help out). There are too many individual posts to re-list here, but if you come up on it later look for today's, yesterday's, and (I assume) tomorrow's posts for ideas. (I also posted this in the other Katrina thread -- I didn't know if people were reading both.)
• Have no fear, the Canadian Navy is on the way, with men and aid! Oh. But they're bringing Sea Kings... RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!!! (Poor people, haven't they sufferred enough...)
• Finally a little good news (from the AP via Yahoo News ): "At the convention center, New Orleans Police Superintendent Eddie Compass got a hero's welcome as he rode down the street on the running board of a box truck and announced through a bullhorn to thunderous applause: "We got 30,000 people out of the Superdome and we're going to take care of you." "We've got food and water on the way. We've got medical attention on the way. We're going to get you out of here safely. We're going to get all of you," he said. As he came down the road, elderly people gave thanks and some nearly fainted with joy. Compass also warned that if anyone did anything disruptive, the troops would have to they would have to stop distributing the food and water and get out."
• At least one fatality on that overturned evacuation bus. Un-fucking-believable.
• CNN just reported that Castro has offered to send 1100 medical doctors to NO.
• Wow, I'm blown away by that. Props to Castro.
• My sister just called and said that Kanye West said "George Bush hates black people!" on the NBC benefit concert that was just broadcast. Whoa! Looking for info on this one...
• They said he "ruined the relief show" here. West: "They're saying black families are looting and white families are just looking for food...they're giving them permission to shoot us..." Wow. We all need healing. And we need it sooner than later.
• My mom called her local school district to see what was needed (she lives in TX, where a lot of kids from NOLA are being absorbed into local school districts). The school said they need school supplies for these kids, so donations of anything would be appreciated. What they need the most, though, are pencil bags and backpacks. The school district lady said the backpacks don't have to be new, but the kids feel better when they have something to put all of their stuff in.If you're in an area where people are coming (and it's all over, Michigan is taking in a few thousand), think about sending over some supplies for the kids. This is a relatively cheap way to help.
• Some good news
• They keep talking about the last of the people to leave New Orleans - but they are forgetting people again. There are people on roofs, hiding in apartments (white people too scared to leave)- people in St. Bernard's parish that haven't had food or water - there is no federal support there (according to WWL, local news cast - online here).
• For moneyjane: In 'unheard of' rescue, trainers find tame bottlenoses washed into gulf
• "When they saw their trainers, they were absolutely flipping.” Holy fucking crap! That's the BEST! I love that photo! Thanks Mr. Wingo :)
• yay! good for the dolphins!
• Hurrah for the dolphins! Also, Get Your Flood On
• Crazy crazy to be alive in such a strange world with the band playing schmatz in the classic bandshell and the people on the benches under the clipped trees and girls on the grass and the breeze blowing and the streamers streaming and a fat man with a graflex and a dark woman with a dark dog she called Lucia and a cat on a leash and a pekinese with a blind baby and a cuban in a fedore and a bunch of boys posing for a group picture and just then while the band went right on playing schmaltz a midget ran past shouting and waving his hat at someone and a young man with a gay campaignbutton came up and said Are you by any chance a registered DEMOCRAT? -- Lawrence Ferkinghetti
• Fats Domino update: he found 3 of his 21 gold records.
• Amazing Photoblog by Alvaro Morales
• Damn fine photo essay!! ))) pete for the link. The end is great...
• Homeland security chief,""I'm not a hurricane expert," Chertoff said he relied on former FEMA Director Michael Brown as the "battlefield commander" and focused his efforts on making sure FEMA had all the resources it needed. . . .Brown blamed state and local officials in Louisiana for the slow response to Katrina when he testified before the committee last month. Chertoff disagreed. "From my own experience, I don't endorse those views," he said. Should FEMA director be a cabinet-level position once again? I think so. Homeland security has enough bureaucratic problems.
• FEMA official in New Orleans blasts agency's response In most cases, he was met with silence. In an August 29 phone call to Brown informing him that the first levee had broke, Bahamonde said he received a polite thank you from Brown, who said he would check with the White House.
• "Sir, I know that you know the situation is past critical," Bahamonde wrote. Less than three hours later, however, Brown's press secretary wrote colleagues to complain that the FEMA director needed more time to eat dinner at a Baton Rouge restaurant that evening. "He needs much more that (sic) 20 or 30 minutes," wrote Brown aide Sharon Worthy. "We now have traffic to encounter to go to and from a location of his choise (sic), followed by wait service from the restaurant staff, eating, etc. Thank you." can't even fucking spell. Damn that's pathetic.
• Wilma will be FEMAs chance to shine. Martial law, here we come!
• The New Orleans Center for Creative Arts is in danger of losing its funding. You can help.
• when I watch you wrapped up like garbage sitting, surrounded by the smell of too old potato peels or when I watch you in your old man's shoes with the little toe cut out sitting, waiting for your mind like next week's grocery i say when i watch you you wet brown bag of a woman who used to be the best looking gal in georgia used to be called the Georgia Rose i stand up through your destruction i stand up -- Lucille Clifton, "Miss Rosie"
• Katrina rubberneckers pack tour buses A puppy boom rises in Katrina's ruins
• yay! puppies! *puts serious face back on* i hope homes can be found *takes off serious face* yay hay! puppies!
• Yeah they're like that. Maybe if we had the same problem with pandas . . .
• a newspaper i saw yesterday mentioned a "bébé boom chez les pandas".
• Still, they've got nothin' on the pups. *slaps "Spay or Neuter" sticker on MoFi*
• "I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees," Mr. Bush said in a television interview on Sept. 1. "Now we're having to deal with it, and will." Pre-Katrina document anticipating the breach of the levees. It's not that he didn't know. He's lying.
• He's lying. Gasp! Also, The case for impeachment, in a magazine run by the Washington Times, of all people. Via americablog and Mrs. T.
• White House slowing Katrina inquiry, senators say The White House is crippling a Senate inquiry into the government's sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina by barring administration officials from answering questions and failing to hand over documents, senators leading the investigation said Tuesday. Those are Republican senators saying that, btw. Secrecy, Lying, & Cronyism. Restoring dignity the W way!
• "We need your undivided attention over the next six months," [New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin] said. "We need backup. We need for you to make the words that you spoke in Jackson Square a reality." Nagin was referring to the president's Sept. 15 address to the nation from New Orleans, in which he pledged "we will do what it takes, we will stay as long as it takes" to rebuild. From the article entitled, Mayor: New Orleans will seek aid from other nations Nice.
• I find it particularly delicious that the French are stepping up to the plate.
• Yeah they're sponsoring the reborn Freedom Square. See, every time I hear a Bush quote now I just think "he's either not going to do what he says, or he's going to do the opposite - or perhaps he's already doing the opposite." Y'know - he's a liar. He lies. He's not honest at all. Oy. Bring me some more beignets!
• Maybe GW will try to give Louisiana back to France, claiming it's still under Napoleon's money-back warranty.
• NOAA's Flood
• HE LIE$!! Ya THINK??? Does a frog have a water-tight @sshole?
• So the Congressional Republicans held an inquiry into the response to Katrina. Democrats, as you may recall, refuse to participate on the premise that this committe would whitewash the truth and not take action against anyone responsible for gross negligence or sheer incompetence. Here is the report of their findings. (pdf file) It's really quite pretty. The upshot? Mistakes were made. We need to be better prepared to handle disasters. Thank you! Come again! /Apu Let's watch! Critical Challenge: National Preparedness Lesson Learned: The Federal government should work with its homeland security partners in revising existing plans, ensuring a functional operational structure—including within regions—and establishing a clear, accountable process for all National preparedness efforts. In doing so, the Federal government must: • Ensure that Executive Branch agencies are organized, trained, and equipped to perform their response roles. • Finalize and implement the National Preparedness Goal. Yayyy! And there's more blazing fires of insight and action inside!
• FEMA's Disaster Preparedness Changes
• Bush: 'People don't need to worry about security' Hahaha! Luuuuuseerrrrrrrr!
• Safety of Post-Hurricane Sludge Is Disputed
• I heard a bit of that speech, petebest. He's totally saying that we don't need to worry because he says it's ok. So stop worrying already. The prez says we don't have to. Worry, that is. Go back to watching Survivor and eating Cheetos. All Is Well...
• I heard a bit of that speech, petebest. He's totally saying that we don't need to worry because he says it's ok. So stop worrying already. The prez says we don't have to. Worry, that is. Go back to watching Survivor and eating Cheetos. All Is Well...
• Hmph.
• Absolutely! We should trust the holy voices in President Joan of Arc's President Inigo Montoya's President Bush's head! He does!
• Bush: 'People don't need to worry about security' Dear G@d, now I'm REALLY worried.
• Now now GramMa, this administration has performed well above expectations in the past, which is why the overwhelming majority of reasonable, well-informed voters voted for them in 2004. I'm sure everything is already taken care of. What the "everything" is, I dunno.
• Confidential video obtained by AP shows disaster officials warned that the hurricane could breach levees, risk lives and overwhelm rescuers.
• Yeah, but no one anticipated the breach of the levees. Ohhh - wait - he was lying wasn't he.
• Hmm... Mr. Minda said he heard an excerpt of this tape on talk left radio, where they discussed the levees, and the potential for a failure. He also heard Bush say they would be there with supplies and assistance immediately after the storm. Seems either the radio station had a forgery, or the article plays down what all was in the video. also, they said "flaccid". hehehehehe
• What's more damning is that he didn't ask a single question. I'd have a couple at least.
• Bush lies. Bigtime. And it's worked.
• Halliburton screws taxpayers again. The resulting outrage forces officials to clean up their fucking act. Ha, just kidding. 9-11.
• Who Is Killing New Orleans?
• More mad props to da H-Dogg for another very informative thread follow-up. Depressing, anger-provoking stuff, sadly.
• Iraq. New Orleans. Compare and contrast. Show your work.
• The paramount beneficiaries of Katrina relief aid have been the giant engineering firms KBR (a Halliburton subsidiary) and the Shaw Group, which enjoy the services of lobbyist Joe Allbaugh (a former FEMA director and Bush's 2000 campaign manager). FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers, while unable to explain to Governor Blanco last fall exactly how they were spending money in Louisiana, have tolerated levels of profiteering that would raise eyebrows even on the war-torn Euphrates. (Some of this largesse, of course, is guaranteed to be recycled as GOP campaign contributions.) sigh.
• Wait wait wait - corruption . . in politics . . in New Orleans??? *faints*
• Maybe it would be easier to list the areas of US policy from which Halliburton has not benefited.
• God, that last link made me depressed. I think I'm going to go bash my head against a wall now. Where is the press now? Why are only a few bloggers still talking about this? Why aren't we seeing widespread outrage that shames the government into action? I'm not blaming the press for the government's actions, but it just seems to me that this is one of the biggest, juiciest, messiest stories they could be reporting and they don't seem interested.
• If you define what the press is reporting on by the 8 or 10 stories that they can squeeze in on the evening news, well, you'd be as well off reading Us and People. The next Walter Cronkite is Katie Couric, fer chrissake. The news media always leave stories hanging and unfinished just as soon as their polls show that other news is more attractive to their viewers/readers. And I thought you had a lot of work to be doing, young lady....
• The next Walter Cronkite is Katie Couric, fer chrissake. Aiighh! Back! *whack!* Back I say! Blasphemer! Hooligan!
• KC BS
• I define the press as evening news, newspapers, magazines, 24-hour news channels, the web sites of news sources... I haven't watched the evening news in years. If the 24 hour news channels can fill up the day with stories about dogs with big litters of puppies, they can certainly throw in an update about New Orleans. Except it would be harder and cost more to make.
• I define the press as evening news, newspapers, magazines, 24-hour news channels, the web sites of news sources... I haven't watched the evening news in years. If the 24 hour news channels can fill up the day with stories about dogs with big litters of puppies, they can certainly throw in an update about New Orleans. Except it would be harder and cost more to make.
• I'd do Walter Cronkite.
• Better hurry.
• Katrina Kids “Our country’s stood beside us People have sent us aid. Katrina could not stop us, our hopes will never fade. Congress, Bush and FEMA People across our land Together have come to rebuild us and we join them hand-in-hand!” So wrong.
• The Senate finally figured out that the White House screwed up in response to Katrina. (I think that that "anew" in the first paragraph started out as "a new one" but got edited down.
• What's not coming out in that news story is that FEMA was lauded under Clinton as having been built into a good organization, and the fact that the Depublicans are advising to scrap the whole thing just underscores how badly mismanaged, underfunded, and packed with shit-covered cronies Bush made it in less than 5 years. Do Bush voters feel pride, shame, or just a gnawing static dissonance and the astringent sting of constant denial?
• Gulf Coast character rebuilds in style. Though I doubt that he appreciates the epithet "character."
• One spin-off from the Katrina disaster is the PETS act, which requires local authorities to make allowance for pets in an evacuation. This means that if your area is under threat, evacuation won't mean having to abandon your pet to die. The PETS act passed the House, but it still has to pass the Senate. You can show your support of the PETS act by filling out a quick form on the Humane Society website.
• Pfft, I'd be more concerned with being properly able to evacuate humans before worrying about pets.
• tracicle, a number of people refused to be evacuated, preferring to remain with their animals. I seem to recall there was some publicity about a 4 or 5 year boy whose small white dog was forcibly removed from his arms by some adult authority figure before he was placed on a bus headed oput of the city. This scene traumatized the child pretty thoroughly, by all accounts, and understandably so. Seems humane as well as practical considerations prompt this bill. Previously, from what I've read, there was no official provision for removing or even allowing people to remove their own animals during such a desperate time. Despite the fact many people form close bonds with dependent animals, just as people will with dependent children or dependent adults, this was not a thing the rescue workers were allowed to take into account. But it's not reasonable to expect folk to be able to turn their feelings on or off because they are told to do so, or in a bad fix themselves. It's not how people work. And I don't believe any government or individual wants to find them/her/himself in a position where limits have to be placed on human love and/or compassionate behaviour. So this seems to me one of the very few sensible pieces of legislation they've come up in the States lately. But what do I know? I'm clearly no politican.
• I agree that people who are clearly very attached to their pets need some extra help, but I see rescuing pets as important only after the people are safe. What if someone's bull mastiff takes up an extra seat that could be given to a person in need? All I'm saying is that, particularly in light of Katrina, there's no point worrying about animals when we can't even care for other people. Incidentally, what happened during Katrina's aftermath to people with helper animals? Were there any stories of people being forced to leave behind their guide dogs?
• Tracicle, one thing you might want to give some thought to is that us old geezers tend to place more emotion in our pets, because they help fend off the lonlies. If I had 2 young children, and a husband, I might think differently, but my pets have given me love and attention that I wouldn't have gotten otherwise over the last bunch of years. I hate to make this too dramatic, but I really am not sure that I'd leave my cat behind, who gives me the touch I get no where else when he cuddles next to me every night. If I would be alive when you're old, and have no mate to hold you, and your kids are living elsewhere, I'd ask you to let me know whether a pet that you've bonded with deserves "pfft." If it came down to a decision between a person and a pet, I agree that you've got to give precedence to the person. But, please don't toss it off as an easy decision to make. The decision which I think I'd have to make is whether to take my chances with my pet or not.
• Sorry, it's been a shitty day, and, as sometimes happens, I think I've said too much. Please feel free to delete this comment and the previous one.
• As beeswacky and path pointed out, the bill isn't designed so much to force agencies to provide evacuation and shelter for animals. It's designed to prevent something that made a bad situation worse - people were told, "You cannot bring your animal into the shelter, on the boat, into the helicopter, onto the bus," etc. A lot of people, given the choice between abandoning their pets and evacuating themselves, chose to stay behind with their pets. Right or wrong, the pictures and stories of the thousands of animals who were left to die in New Orleans has probably only convinced a lot of people - like myself - that they'd rather stay and die than leave their animals to suffer that fate. Think of it as another nudge to convince people to evacuate. Sure it will cause some logistical problems, but those problems will crop up after people have been taken out of the danger zone. We can deal with those. And yes, people were forced to leave their service animals behind.
• Oh, how horrible. I guess after reading the other comments, though, it's unfair for me to sympathise more with a blind guy minus a guide dog than an elderly (or not) person whose pet is their sole company. I just...I still feel bothered by this because it feels like a piece of feel-good legislation that won't accomplish much. If the wider issues raised by Katrina were dealt with, perhaps care of pets/infants/rest-home inhabitants would all go alongside.
• Bees! Bees! Look! Has Snowball finally been found? Dog taken from sobbing boy at Superdome located, newspaper reports I was all set to write something sad and then Googled that up. And I thusly choose to believe it. Yay Snowball! Yay animal . . rescue people!
• Better you than me, Brownie!
• Wow that kinda goes against the image I had of W.
• A Legacy of the Storm: Depression and Suicide
• HBO's "When The Levees Broke" captures suffering in the wake of neglect, incompetence.
• Flyover Anniversary
• The United States received hundreds of millions in foreign aid last year, after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast. But what happened to the money? One year later, the fate of international disaster assistance has turned into a tale of inept bureaucracy, diplomatic bungling, and unspent cash.
• One year later, the fate of [insert Bush administration effort] has turned into a tale of inept bureaucracy, diplomatic bungling, and unspent cash. There are always criminals and cronies in politics, but this crop is excessive. I wonder what the redstate freeper right-wing spine-of-steel Bush-yay crowd thinks of the storm management & cleanup. Sort of.
• Rwanda wired $100,000, and Afghanistan coughed up $99,800. Huh. Now I know what actual tears of shame feel like. The donated cash met a different fate. By late October, the State Department had allocated $66 million of the $126 million in international assistance to FEMA, which then granted it to the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), the nonprofit aid arm of the United Methodist Church. With the funds, UMCOR established Katrina Aid Today, a consortium of nine national aid agencies dedicated to case-management work for Katrina evacuees. But to date, only $13 million has actually been disbursed, and it has been allocated almost exclusively to salaries and training for case workers, not to evacuees. But they're CHRISTIANS, y'see, so it's all OK.
• Giving money to the poor is unheard of, apparently. As is giving assistance to those in need. Or to those who are black.
• I'm getting that numb feeling again.
• Other countries sent planeloads of tents, blankets, and Meals Ready to Eat, but the United States was ill-prepared to handle the largesse while residents were still trying to evacuate. Some offers were declined. But oftentimes the government accepted supplies like bandages, food, and cots and then allowed them to sit for months in Arkansas warehouses. According to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released in April, FEMA and the State Department paid tens of thousands of dollars in warehouse storage fees in the months after Katrina to house unused supplies from foreign countries. *too angry to make a coherent comment*
• Halliburton, take my money me away!
• God, I hate working for the Air Farce. Try having an intelligent discussion of what's wrong with this damn administration on the with these people. I can always shut them up by mentioning Vet's Benefits, and they have no retort. But the cognative dissonance is such that their eyes cross for 48 seconds, and then they begin all over again with the Rah Rah Bushco crap.
• Perfect Storm for the Poor
• Report links global warming, storms.
• U2 and Green Day join to play "The Saints Are Coming" by The Skids (then fronted by future (and late) Big Country frontman Stuart Adamson). Says Edge: "It's pure 1978, a song that was a big inspiration to us at the time and couldn't be more in the sweet spot of what Green Day are about. It perfectly intersects our mutual interests in musical terms. It's been great fun to play that tune with Green Day, who are great players and have the right stuff."
• Err. . it's a benefit single for New Orleans, played for the opening game in the Superdome. Should have . . ah, should have mentioned that.
• The Bush administration has blocked release of a report that suggests global warming is contributing to the frequency and strength of hurricanes, the journal Nature reported Tuesday.
• That just doesn't sound like them. Must be one of those Internets rumors you hear about these days.
• The President's Constitutional Authority to Appoint Political Hacks to Run FEMA Heck of a Job, Bushie.
• long video. good watch.
• Children of the Storm 7 minute video of schoolkids talking about life in N.O. after the Storm
• A little sunshine, anyone?
• "This is going to be a blood bath."
• Because it's not for the people. Nor even their property. It's about pull-outs. And profit. And pain no one wants to see in Washington DC.
• GAO report: Hurricane fraud soaked taxpayers Story Highlights • GAO says $20 million paid to "double-dipping" Katrina-Rita victims • Government gave $3 million to students who weren't U.S. citizens • People living in rent-free housing still received money to pay rent • FEMA also sent nearly $17 million in rental aid to people in FEMA trailers . . . The GAO report looks at waste and abuses in two big-money FEMA programs -- the housing assistance program, which gives aide directly to storm victims, and the purchase card program involving credit cards issued to government employees. I thought the story would also include details on contractor fraud and abuse, but this seems to be specifically focused on fraud and abuse by the hurricane victims themselves.
• New Orleans police lined up "like at a firing range" and fatally shot an unarmed man in the back as he fled from them in the days after Hurricane Katrina swept ashore, a witness to the shooting told CNN. It marks the first time a witness has come forward publicly with information about the shooting of Ronald Madison, a 40-year-old mentally retarded man whose death has sparked a police investigation and a grand jury probe into what happened in and around the Danziger Bridge that day.
• Baby from embryo rescued after Katrina due this month "The baby album for Rebekah Markham's soon-to-be-born child could include something extra special: photos of officers using flat-bottomed boats to rescue her frozen embryo from a sweltering hospital in the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina."
• Lieberman punts on Katrina.
• Brownie speaks up about the heck of a job he did. Am I missing something here? If it was federalized, and he was the leader, shouldn't he have been saying "mea culpa?" The reasons it was federalized may be "disgusting" but the outcome came under his watch.
• Rice Determined to Strike at the Treasury, But Not for NOLA
• Katrina Victims Outraged Over Bush Snub
• This story just popped up today on Reddit, don't know why. If true, it shows what the popularly elected president did versus that other guy: Gore Helps Airlift New Orleans Victims
• I'm wondering how big a paragraph they'll be giving to Katrina in the history books. I hope the following para discusses the impeachment of Geo. Bush and the subsequent incarceration--including his henchmen.
• Newt Blames The Victims of Katrina
• LAST CHANCE: The fight to save a disappearing coast. It took the Mississippi River 6,000 years to build the La. coast. It took man 75 years to wash away a third of it. Experts agree we have 10 years or less to act before the loss becomes irreversible.
• That Newt Gingrich is a visible public figure is really, really depressing.
• And as for that Nola.com link, between ongoing intense coastal development and the rising sea levels and increasingly strong storms caused by global warming, the U.S. is gonna be in for a whole bunch of perfect storms in the coming century. I remember reading doomsday depictions of the future of U.S. coasts in an oceanography course I took in my freshman year of college, in 1981 or 1982. Our system is just too damn reactive (vs. proactive) to effectively act against threats like this until it's too late.
• Experts agree we have 10 years or less to act before the loss becomes irreversible. Why does that sound familiar . . .
• Part 2: LOSING GROUND. Since 1989, Louisiana has spent $600 million to stabilize 95 square miles of vanishing coastline barely making a dent in the 2,500 sq. miles lost in the past 70 years Industry keeps marching through state's wetlands: Regulations can't stop shipping, oil and gas
• Part 3: LAYING THE GROUNDWORK. Success stories like the Atchafalaya River Basin hold the promise of restoring lost wetlands
• That Newtie's doing a heckuva job. And so is Scootie.
• La. governor outraged over faulty pumps
• Most Katrina Aid From Overseas Went Unclaimed Titled "Echo-Chamber Message" -- a public relations term for talking points designed to be repeated again and again -- the Sept. 7, 2005, directive was unmistakable: Assure the scores of countries that had pledged or donated aid at the height of the disaster that their largesse had provided Americans "practical help and moral support" and "highlight the concrete benefits hurricane victims are receiving." Many of the U.S. diplomats who received the message, however, were beginning to witness a more embarrassing reality. They knew the U.S. government was turning down many allies' offers of manpower, supplies and expertise worth untold millions of dollars. Eventually the United States also would fail to collect most of the unprecedented outpouring of international cash assistance for Katrina's victims.
• Katrina Aid Program Is $2.9 Billion Short
• Living in the Pitts
• Brace Yourself. New Orleans Was Just the Beginning
• Why Are Deaths Up in New Orleans?
• Outspoken hurricane official reprimanded again
• I just read the May 27th article, and here's something I don't get. First, the author says: " Research he conducted found that nearly one and a half times more New Orleans residents died in the first six months of 2006 as compared to the first six months of 2003. The findings are all the more surprising given that in early 2006 the city's population had plummeted." She goes on to say that one of the issues is that: "Only fifteen out of twenty-two New Orleans area hospitals are back open, accounting for half of pre-storm beds. " Now if the population has plummeted, shouldn't fewer beds not be as big a problem?
• But my bet is on the huge concentrations of mold that are no doubt everywhere.
• When "The Best Laid Plans" aren't: CREW's new report documents massive Katrina failures
• Nearly Two Years After Katrina, Gulf Coast Residents Fighting Environmental Neglect, Privatization
• A Heckuva Job: FEMA Gave Toxic Trailers to Katrina Victims, Then Rigged the Science
• C'mon, if that doesn't make you sick - - then I don't know what will.
• The homes had walls and cabinets made from formaldehyde-containing particleboard, which emit the gas in hot, humid weather. Well, who could have foreseen hot, humid weather in Missouri? Maybe the trailers were built by one of Lord Amherst's descendants.
• In Hurricane Katrina's surreal backwaters: Two years after the deluge: A brew of Hollywood pyrotechnics, homeowner nightmares and local cultural revival in New Orleans.
• A Neocon Joke
• Katrina victims lose in appeals court
• Well of course.
• IMO, it should be the governments that failed to protect them that have to pay up, not the insurance companies.
• Katrina Aid Goes Toward Football Condos
• Storm Warning
• Katrina, Two Years Later
• “They wanted them poor niggers out of there.”
• Wow. A lot of impact in that article. You know, homunculus, you really ought to make more of these FPPs. Wait, did I already say that?
• Well, I don't like making political FPPs here since I already update so many older threads. It would be too much. And I prefer updating the older threads since you get more of a history that way. But any comment of mine you want to FPP, go for it.
• Many are still struggling on the Gulf Coast. But casino and real estate investors are living large -- thanks to Republican officials.
• Katrina All the Time
• After The Deluge
• The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.' --Ronald Reagan (1911 - 2004) He meant it humorously, but still. ShrubCo's disdain for government and cronyism helped fsck a lot of people who could have used the combined power of the American people in this situation. So I'm gonna disagree, Chuck.
• Crackdown on street music in New Orleans: Police have cracked down on funeral processions, a time-honored cultural tradition in the historic black neighborhood of Treme. But musicians vow to play on.
• What I wanna know is, who's the jerk who called the cops?
• Louisiana flood projects fall behind schedule.
• Thanks again to H Dogg for all the links. Threads like this become veritable information clearing houses on important events and issues as a result of his efforts and the efforts of other link-posters. Gracias.
• Louisiana flood projects fall behind schedule. Hey, they're workin' on Bush-time.
• Senate overrides Bush's water bill veto "Supporters said the projects authorized under the Water Resources Development Act are necessary to rebuild the Gulf Coast after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, restore the Everglades and Great Lakes fisheries and build flood-control projects nationwide."
• FEMA Protecting Its Employees, Not Evacuees
• Hey, they're just poor folks, darker skinned, and don't have resources to GET ALL UP IN BUSH'S FACE. I sure wish those assholes supporting Bush would wake up and smell the coffee. We've got two percent of the country livin' high and makin' profit off the damn war, meanwhile, the rest of us are trying to scrape up the money just to buy gas to get to work and stamps to mail postcards to the kids overseas.
• "How naive of New Orleanians to think that a sense of justice and site logistics -- not politics -- would determine the locations for next year's presidential debates."
• "The state of Mississippi and its Republican Governor Haley Barbour has decided to take money earmarked for rebuilding the Gulf Coast region which was damaged by Katrina and use it to provide relief and redevelopment money for the wealthy at the expense of the poor."
• Christmas Presents for New Orleans, From HUD: Bulldozers for the Poor, Huge Tax Credits for Wealthy Developers
• Police, Protesters Clash at NO City Hall
• The Shock Doctrine in Action in New Orleans
• Probe: FEMA sugarcoated danger of hurricane trailers The Federal Emergency Management Agency manipulated scientific research to play down the danger posed by formaldehyde in trailers issued to hurricane victims, according to an investigation by congressional Democrats.
• Children in Katrina trailers may face lifelong ailments
• How Karl Rove played politics while people drowned: Hurricane Katrina posed a huge test to Bush's administration. But instead of bailing out Louisiana, Karl Rove played Blame the Democrats.
• FEMA gives away $85 million of supplies for Katrina victims
• Unbefuckinglieveable.
• I could use a new camp stove, myself...
• Bobby Jindal: Worse Than Katrina?
• Hard to believe that it was already three years ago that Katrina was barreling down on New Orleans... and now Gustav is knockin' at their door.
• Naw'lens is holding it's breath fershur.
• Gustav headed right for the 'loop current' in the Gulf, and has the potential to develop into a 'killer'.
• Blackwater Heading Back To New Orleans For Gustav
• We could see flooding even worse than what we saw in Hurricane Katrina This is turning into an eerie déjà vu...
• Reburying the Dead "Beyond the usual, dismal rebuilding, Hurricane Ike left another grim task when it struck last month: Its 13-foot storm surge washed an estimated 200 caskets out of their graves, ripping through most of Cameron Parish's 47 cemeteries and others in southwest Louisiana and coastal Texas. Some coffins floated miles into the marsh."
• Just Charon ferryin' some carrion, is all.
• Katrina's Hidden Race War: White vigilante justice tore through New Orleans in the wake of the storm. No official investigation has ever examined the crimes.
• Bush On Katrina: ‘Don’t Tell Me The Federal Response Was Slow’
• Scrap FEMA mobile homes bought "on-the-cheap" showing up in mobile home parks
• Michael Hunter, Former New Orleans Cop, Admits Coverup In Post-Katrina Danziger Bridge Murders
• Any idea why he decided to admit the coverup? Amazing. Sometimes truth does come forward.
• Uneven Katrina recovery efforts often offered the most help to the most affluent
• Well, I am shocked. SHOCKED! I say! Who would ever imagine that could happen?
• The sky before Katrina struck Incredible beauty heralding such devastation.
• After Hurricane Katrina, Years of Post-Traumatic Stress