It has to be said. . .

[Baakay]

OOOH!! OOH!! UPDATE!!

Just heard on the news that the aid has FINALLY begun reaching the convention center!


Thank --- whatever you thank!!! I am SO happy for those people, now if they can just be taken somewhere to get medical attention. If I had to watch one more infant broiling alive I was going to just break down. I wish I could give a home to each and every one of those people. I really do.

Doesn't do a whole lot for the folks whose corpses are all over the streets, but hey one step at a time.

And for those who seemingly didn't quite decode my earlier message, I wasn't calling George Bush an asshole, I was calling the head of FEMA an asshole. He richly deserved it. We are -- and should be -- judged by how we care for our poorest and weakest.

After all, that is the one central teaching of the Christian Bible, is it not?

[JWR]

You want time to slow down to a stand still. Be in an emergency and see how the seconds seem to last years.

Years back My parents took care of foster children from my being in second grade up until my 2nd year of college. That ended one morning when I and my mother went in and found one of the babies in our care not breathing. The frantic phone calls for help (before 911) the eternity of the 15 min wait for paramedics to arrive while trying to preform cpr. The wait of time to be told that the child had succumbed to crib death and that there had been nothing we could have done to change the outcome.

So I can understand the frustration when people turn on the news and see what is happening down there in New Orleans. Why did this take so long for this or that to be done. There are 2 schools of thought, one that says just do something anything just do it and the other that says Let stop for a second and see what we can do that makes the most sense that will help the most people.

Both are right , both are wrong , dammed if you do , dammed if you don't.

2nd guessing , Monday morning Quarterback , So easy to do from afar. How many ever played the "Sims" games like Populous where you try and run things in your growing city. country , planet. Miss something small and it's the Dark ages all over again.

How many would be willing to volunteer for that.

[Baakay]

Last words from me on this.

There are things called helicopters, that were in cities not too far from New Orleans. Long-term big-aid stuff, what someone was mentioning earlier, absolutely requires thought and planning -- and a way to get through, and they haven't had that yet. It's just now starting to arrive.

Helicopters, however, can fly, and basic things like water can be airlifted without too much difficulty. And I saw a satellite picture from 8/31 showing a nice, dry, clear parking lot right next to the Convention Center. I stood in that spot 2 years ago. In fact, I stayed at a hotel across the street. There is no reasonable explanation that includes "we couldn't get there."

Immediate, life-saving aid should have been a no-brainer, about a day after the levees broke at the very latest.

But. I'll end with the words of the President of the United States, George W. Bush. You can argue with him if you like.

The response of the federal government has been unacceptable

[Not Sir Phobos]

Now a bus full of refuge's has crashed killing one man and hurting many others on board.

[JWR]

Last words from me on this.

There are things called helicopters, that were in cities not too far from New Orleans. Long-term big-aid stuff, what someone was mentioning earlier, absolutely requires thought and planning -- and a way to get through, and they haven't had that yet. It's just now starting to arrive.

Helicopters, however, can fly, and basic things like water can be airlifted without too much difficulty. And I saw a satellite picture from 8/31 showing a nice, dry, clear parking lot right next to the Convention Center. I stood in that spot 2 years ago. In fact, I stayed at a hotel across the street. There is no reasonable explanation that includes "we couldn't get there."

Immediate, life-saving aid should have been a no-brainer, about a day after the levees broke at the very latest.

From the news reports I saw , There were a lot of helicopters being used including military & civilian early on to transport those in the hospitals first before thought was given to those who were "safe" areas such as that convention center.

[kisara]

So I can understand the frustration when people turn on the news and see what is happening down there in New Orleans. Why did this take so long for this or that to be done. There are 2 schools of thought, one that says just do something anything just do it and the other that says Let stop for a second and see what we can do that makes the most sense that will help the most people.

Both are right , both are wrong , dammed if you do , dammed if you don't.

"throws hands in the air*

I really must be missing something. Don't we pay big government people to do nothing but sit around and analyze every scenario, to plan for the worst possible thing? To make certain that when that thing happens we are ready?

I'm not asking anyone to jump-in with little thought to it, as that will only ever lead to more chaos and confusion. I'm asking them that when they receive reports that an aircraft might be used for a major attack on th U.S.. . . when a levee might break and destroy an entire city. . . I'm just asking them to listen and maybe make preparations for such an event.

Any way you look at it. We were way off the mark on this one.

[Startyde]

Wow, I used to joke with my brother how one day ppl would start to blame Bush for the weather itself...

Bad planning coped with New Orleans's confidence after years of withstanding other such weather events is what brought about this about. Oh ya, that and nature...duh. If the ppl or lawmakers in the region felt their lives were in inevitable danger they would have seen to structural changes decades ago. Then again, say the city was impossibly rebuilt into state of the art specifications, what guarantee does that have? (I get the honor of driving through the Big Dig almost daily, one of the US's largest, most costly and ultimately worthless and shoddy construction projects ever) Nature is nature. An earthquake or typhoon isn't gonna be deterred by the hand of man, so all we can do is what we feasibly can when we feasibly can. People can only do what people can do, so to all those "people" who chose to rob, rage and murder each other, may you eat shit and die...

On a side note, it will be interesting to see the numbers on how much aid the global community gives the US during this crisis.

[monkeyboy]

Like many of you I have been watching the news.
What strikes me as the major problem through all of this disaster is the lack of common sense and communication.

So much of the anger and frustration could have been stopped had the people in charge communicated with the people in need.

I was watching and thinking, they have helicopters flying over the city, can't they use a bull-horn to let people know when to expect help/aid? And where to go?

The suffering people had nothing and were living on rumors.

The ball was dropped because no-one took charge and communicated with the people there.

I know this sounds simplistic, but to me, letting people know what to expect would have made a difference.

[klet]

This whole thread has such a negative tone about what isn't happening. Let's face it, we're all merely human beings, tiny specks in this gigantic world. No one person has the power to completely medigate a crisis, though I will admit that some people have more power than others. At this time, I think it is imprudent to argue about what people should be doing, but are not. Arguing here will change nothing (unless, of course, Bush is a secret poster here <.< >.>). The only thing we can do is help in any way we can. Donations, voluntering in New Orleans or at a local aid center, etc. Actually, I wouldn't doubt that there is somewhere local that you can go to help out in anyway you can. Paperwork, gethering donated goods, buying food at special centers with donated money, etc. Most charities get huge discounts on food, so it is often better to donate money rather than canned goods. So help. Nothing will get accomplished by arguing here.

I'd like to leave you with at least one good news report:

http://www.lds.org/library/display/0,49 ... -1,00.html

Sometimes I am just so proud of my church. I'm sure other churches/organizations are doing the same thing. We can't be the only ones. While there may be some people who are not doing enough, at least there are some people who are doing something.

We should keep the people of New Orleans in our thoughts and prayers.

[Majin_Vegeta_2028]

not to bring you folks down anymore but...

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/8/31/235829/261

BBC lead story Thursday is that a "number of European governments" have offered assistance for Katrina and it has been turned down. "We have made no requests for assistance" is the response from the White House the BBC is reporting.

...

[Cloud]

Do you mean you and me?

[klet]

Well, at least some Canadians have found a way around such a silly stance.

Red Cross aid from Canada

[Cloud]

Interesting. Some may Canadians have found a way around such a silly stance, but not all.

[klet]

Yep Cloud, but I think that was the point of MV's post.

[Cloud]

Next question? That's good information: klet said I but you think that was the point of MV's post.