New Orleans

Dadaist · Post by **Dadaist** » 01 Sep 2005, 22:17

Here is a "blog" (weblog - online diary) which is being updated in real time (as I post this it's around 4pm there, they are around GMT -6 although wang may add a correction)

http://www.livejournal.com/users/interd ... 005/09/01/

Anyone else got any interesting links? I was watching a bunch of tourist webcams which flicked off one by one as the hurricane hit.

Porty · Post by **Porty** » 01 Sep 2005, 22:23

The situation is terrible and the people must feel hopeless.

Was anyone else irritated by the New Orlean woman who announced on the TV:

"Well the hurricane may have won the battle but we sure as hell are gonna win the War"?

Epykat · Post by **Epykat** » 01 Sep 2005, 22:25

Porty wrote:Was anyone else irritated by the New Orlean

Yep

Dadaist · Post by **Dadaist** » 01 Sep 2005, 22:25

Porty wrote:The situation is terrible and the people must feel hopeless.

Was anyone else irritated by the New Orlean woman who announced on the TV:

"Well the hurricane may won the battle but we sure as hell are gonna win the War"?

Given the amount of CO2 that Yanqui pumps out, yeah I'm irritated.

Porty · Post by **Porty** » 02 Sep 2005, 08:47

Porty wrote:The situation is terrible and the people must feel hopeless.

Was anyone else irritated by the New Orlean woman who announced on the TV:

"Well the hurricane may have won the battle but we sure as hell are gonna win the War"?

I need to add that the above quote came from a very well fed white woman.

I must look up the demographice on NO. The TV cameras struggle to find a white destitute face. It seems like about 2000 blacks to 1 white.

Dadaist · Post by **Dadaist** » 02 Sep 2005, 11:46

You said it. Whitey got out of town in his 4x4, leaving poor black folks to dangle.

The cameras were on this one guy pushing a supermarket trolley and he looked at the camera and said "where's George Bush?" - but what I will always remeber was the bitter, cycnical and knowing laughter of everyone else in the street.

I'm sure George, although he is a bit late, will come down with a fresh supply of dry confederate flags for everyone.

Porty · Post by **Porty** » 02 Sep 2005, 12:05

Dadaist wrote: I'm sure George, although he is a bit late, will come down with a fresh supply of dry confederate flags for everyone.

He has been at his worst. When I saw him giving his "America will be stronger after this" speech he reminded me of the "I'm not bothered, look at my face" Kathleen Tait charcater.

Its taken him 5 days to get to the scene and even then its not the real scene, as there is too much anger there. Putin, Chirac, Blair ....almost any other leader would have been there in a heartbeat.

This is an act of god. How does God's ploitical representative on earth rationalise this one? "look at my face"

xxxx · Post by **xxxx** » 02 Sep 2005, 12:17

Porty wrote: I must look up the demographice on NO. The TV cameras struggle to find a white destitute face. It seems like about 2000 blacks to 1 white.

demographics here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleans#Demographics
summary: 67% black 29% white, median family income $30000
though
http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/incomeOv ... cIndex=350
(us census data)
suggests the details are bleaker, with black per capita income around a third of white at approx $11000.
Wouldn't leave much for discretionary spending on fleeing natural disasters.

Porty · Post by **Porty** » 02 Sep 2005, 12:43

Thanks for that. Not surprised at all. Relax.......rescue is underway, this is directly from the BBC News website....

Louisiana's governor said 300 "battle-tested" National Guardsmen were being sent to the crippled city.

"They have M-16s and are locked and loaded. These troops know how to shoot and kill and I expect they will," Kathleen Blanco said.

Poppy · Post by **Poppy** » 02 Sep 2005, 12:56

According to the Independent today New Orleans is [was] the poorest urban area in the USA...and money not spent on shoring up levees, etc:

Here's a couple of articles on the subject:

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/ame ... 309692.ece

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/ame ... 309696.ece

Porty · Post by **Porty** » 02 Sep 2005, 13:00

I rubbed my eyes watching W beg the AMERICAN PEOPLE not to buy gas.

Maria · Post by **Maria** » 02 Sep 2005, 13:17

Doesn't sound as if the situation is getting any better. New Orleans rocked by huge blasts

Anyone else been sent a begging email yet? I got one this morning from itunes asking for a donation to the American Red Cross. A bizarre situation indeed for the world's last super power

Novastar · Post by **Novastar** » 02 Sep 2005, 14:21

I feel sorry for the poor people being taken to the Astrodome.

It's a toss up between that or the Superdome (the one in New Orleans) for the worst stadium in America. They built Reliant Stadium next to it a few years back and haven't done a thing with the Astrodome since - it's practically falling apart.

At least they'll be able to get away from the water

Anyway

Does anyone else think this highlights the situation in the states with the obvious gap between rich and poor. Get the cash out of the city and leave everything else to sit there.

maureen mclaughlin · Post by **maureen mclaughlin** » 02 Sep 2005, 21:30

When they advised people to leave the state but did not provide any transportation or accommodation or advice of where they could seek refuse, they left the poor, old invalided and disenfranchised to die! In others word the predominantly the black community. Even now they seem to be more interested in protecting property then people. Do they really think the store owner are going to come back in, weeks or months and say look at that thy stool my bread nappies and water. It a mental situation but as a socialist it also so predictable. Property means more than people. Send in the troops to protect property before organising water and food.
Maureen

Dadaist · Post by **Dadaist** » 02 Sep 2005, 22:35

I heartily and throughly recommend anyone and everyone to follow the link I posted to this guy's blog, and check out the 10:46 (yesterday) phone interview transcript from a long-time N.O. resident.

This one is set to run and run. A whole US city turned into a concentration camp for a week, and a coping mechanism that makes the Cubans look good.

Everyone is pitching in now, Jesse Jackson etc. Analysts playing partisan ping-pong.

I just hope they don't decide to invade somewhere, or shoot at clouds or whatever.

bearcub · Post by **bearcub** » 03 Sep 2005, 02:01

Porty wrote:
Dadaist wrote: I'm sure George, although he is a bit late, will come down with a fresh supply of dry confederate flags for everyone.
He has been at his worst. When I saw him giving his "America will be stronger after this" speech he reminded me of the "I'm not bothered, look at my face" Kathleen Tait charcater.

Its taken him 5 days to get to the scene and even then its not the real scene, as there is too much anger there. Putin, Chirac, Blair ....almost any other leader would have been there in a heartbeat.

This is an act of god. How does God's ploitical representative on earth rationalise this one? "look at my face"

Think the cartoon in the Metro this morning said it all - Bush ignoring all the "1,000's dead" "city evacuated" signs and only becoming animated at the "oil shortage/price rise" sign.

I'm a member of a forum in the US (for american football, sad I know but I like the game) where some of the views are - scarily - right wing, but some posters are already saying that attacking Bush over his (lack of) response to the disaster is "un-American" and is typical "liberal thinking" (and this is meant as an insult

). I hasten to add that is not the view of everybody.

Porty · Post by **Porty** » 03 Sep 2005, 12:38

I love American Football. If I could come back and choose who I wanted to be. It would be John Riggins.

bearcub · Post by **bearcub** » 03 Sep 2005, 18:33

Porty wrote:I love American Football. If I could come back and choose who I wanted to be. It would be John Riggins.

You do have a bit of the 'John Riggins' look about you

Dadaist · Post by **Dadaist** » 03 Sep 2005, 19:30

wmv file from nbc hurricane relief telethon :

http://thebqhaps.com/random/KanyeBenefit.wmv

Kayne West (a rapper, I think) sidetracks from the autocue and speaks from the heart on US national television. It's a short clip so make sure to watch till the end - stirring stuff.

Dadaist · Post by **Dadaist** » 03 Sep 2005, 21:27

Homeland Security dept versus American Red Cross :

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05246/565143.stm

American troops begin *combat operations* in New Orleans :

http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1- ... 077495.php

Dadaist · Post by **Dadaist** » 04 Sep 2005, 19:33

A final bit of US tv like you've never seen - FOX News journalists normally used to being nice about W go nuts live to camera :

hannity, rivera, colmes, smith in NO

ecm · Post by **ecm** » 04 Sep 2005, 19:45

This from another forum I visit;

Friday, September 2nd, 2005

Dear Mr. Bush:

Any idea where all our helicopters are? It's Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag.

Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren't there to begin with?

Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty. Eleven people died and, as of today, there were still homes without power. That night the weatherman said this storm was on its way to New Orleans. That was Thursday! Did anybody tell you? I know you didn't want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don't like to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her!

I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don't let people criticize you for this -- after all, the hurricane was over and what the heck could you do, put your finger in the dike?

And don't listen to those who, in the coming days, will reveal how you specifically reduced the Army Corps of Engineers' budget for New Orleans this summer for the third year in a row. You just tell them that even if you hadn't cut the money to fix those levees, there weren't going to be any Army engineers to fix them anyway because you had a much more important construction job for them -- BUILDING DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ!

On Day 3, when you finally left your vacation home, I have to say I was moved by how you had your Air Force One pilot descend from the clouds as you flew over New Orleans so you could catch a quick look of the disaster. Hey, I know you couldn't stop and grab a bullhorn and stand on some rubble and act like a commander in chief. Been there done that.

There will be those who will try to politicize this tragedy and try to use it against you. Just have your people keep pointing that out. Respond to nothing. Even those pesky scientists who predicted this would happen because the water in the Gulf of Mexico is getting hotter and hotter making a storm like this inevitable. Ignore them and all their global warming Chicken Littles. There is nothing unusual about a hurricane that was so wide it would be like having one F-4 tornado that stretched from New York to Cleveland.

No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It's not your fault that 30 percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C'mon, they're black! I mean, it's not like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don't make me laugh! Race has nothing -- NOTHING -- to do with this!

You hang in there, Mr. Bush. Just try to find a few of our Army helicopters and send them there. Pretend the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are near Tikrit.

Yours,

Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
www.MichaelMoore.com

P.S. That annoying mother, Cindy Sheehan, is no longer at your ranch. She and dozens of other relatives of the Iraqi War dead are now driving across the country, stopping in many cities along the way. Maybe you can catch up with them before they get to DC on September 21st.

moffat · Post by **moffat** » 04 Sep 2005, 20:37

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle ... temID=8649

Dadaist · Post by **Dadaist** » 04 Sep 2005, 20:42

moffat wrote:http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle ... temID=8649

Quite a political storm. I wonder how the average American feels about having to get 500,000 ready meals shipped in from the EU, not to mention all the other aid, oil etc - which they've been forced to ask for. That's *if* they bother to find out.

How the mighty are fallen.

WW · Post by WW » 05 Sep 2005, 02:06

For any of you anti yanquis out there who dismiss the begging letter from the American Red Cross find out who they are, what they do and who they help through their efforts including poverty striken minorities fighting dubya's war

Dadaist · Post by **Dadaist** » 05 Sep 2005, 07:14

WW wrote:For any of you anti yanquis out there who dismiss the begging letter from the American Red Cross find out who they are, what they do and who they help through their efforts including poverty striken minorities fighting dubya's war

Our anger is hardly directed at the Red Cross, Red Crescent or any of the nice people. For "yanqui" read "republican".

When I say "I wish America would stop invading countries" I am not referring to ordinary working families in the states, but the policy wonks on the Hill.

Maria · Post by **Maria** » 05 Sep 2005, 08:05

WW wrote:For any of you anti yanquis out there who dismiss the begging letter from the American Red Cross find out who they are, what they do and who they help through their efforts including poverty striken minorities fighting dubya's war

First of all - welcome to the Forum WW, followed by explanation of my post, which was the one that made mention of the American Red Cross.
The letter was from itunes asking for donations on behalf of the American Red Cross . I was just astonished that one of the richest countries in the world was appealing for funds this way and am certainly most supportive of the Red Cross and the work, organisations such as theirs, carry out. BTW is it true that they were prevented from entering New Orleans?

Porty · Post by **Porty** » 05 Sep 2005, 13:29

Well I feel like taking my comments about W's face back after seeing the pics of him at the weekend. He genuinley looked gutted, devastated and broken, I don't believe he was acting. It was like watching who lives in a bubble suddenly being faced with reality.

A huge percentage of the US Army recruits come from this region. I guess there are going to be long term consequences for the US military. As Dada said earlier this one will run and run. W and his ilk have been caught with their pants down, big time.

ecm · Post by **ecm** » 05 Sep 2005, 15:06

Porty wrote: He genuinley looked gutted, devastated and broken, I don't believe he was acting.

Perhaps those facial expressions were more to do with concerns for his own future and how he's going to deal with the huge fall out from this catastrophe.

At least it proved he is capable of looking something other than moronic occasionally.

ecm · Post by **ecm** » 05 Sep 2005, 15:32

Porty wrote: I don't believe he was acting.

This article shows how fake the whole show was.
The comments toward the foot of the article comparing German TV coverage to that of US is chilling.

washingtonmonthly

Porty · Post by **Porty** » 05 Sep 2005, 16:15

ecm wrote:
Porty wrote: I don't believe he was acting.
This article shows how fake the whole show was.
The comments toward the foot of the article comparing German TV coverage to that of US is chilling.

washingtonmonthly

It is chilling and if its true the US and the rest of the World are a bit closer to being doomed.

Dadaist · Post by **Dadaist** » 06 Sep 2005, 23:14

Someone from another board I'm on in the states has lost everything, but he got out with his life. He's now back with his parents in Michigan.

He was going to go back with "a boat and some shotguns" to try and rescue his 2 cats - but his fiance stopped him. He's now registered with the website to be allowed to go back and check out the damage and rescue the wee moggies but he doesn't know if they are alive or not.

Porty · Post by **Porty** » 07 Sep 2005, 15:24

Dadaist wrote:He was going to go back with "a boat and some shotguns" to try and rescue his 2 cats - but his fiance stopped him. He's now registered with the website to be allowed to go back and check out the damage and rescue the wee moggies but he doesn't know if they are alive or not.

Don't want to dis the guy and I am glad he made it, but I do think he needs to get his priorities sorted out.

I' m beggining to feel sick watching the spin on TV. "A tidal wave of devastation has happened now its time for a tidal wave of compassion"

So what does that mean exactly?

ecm · Post by **ecm** » 07 Sep 2005, 16:13

Porty wrote: I' m beggining to feel sick watching the spin on TV. "A tidal wave of devastation has happened now its time for a tidal wave of compassion"

So what does that mean exactly?

Here's something to add to the nausea - police officers looting the local Walmart.

http://infowars.com/articles/new_orlean ... almart.htm

Dadaist · Post by **Dadaist** » 07 Sep 2005, 16:23

Porty wrote:Don't want to dis the guy and I am glad he made it, but I do think he needs to get his priorities sorted out.

I know what you mean. I'm sure you can guess how angry he is.