190 replies to this topic

[CostcoLover]

47,000 troops thus far expected to increase to 54,000 fully deployed to tackle Katrina rescue mission.

Bush Sends More Than 7,000 Troops to Gulf
By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer Sat Sep 3, 6:42 PM ET

WASHINGTON -
President Bush ordered more than 7,000 active duty forces to the Gulf Coast on Saturday as his administration intensified efforts to rescue survivors and send aid to the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast in the face of criticism it did not act quickly enough.

"In America, we do not abandon our fellow citizens in their hour of need," Bush said.

In addition to the active duty forces, 10,000 additional National Guard troops were being sent to the Gulf Coast. That raises the number of Guard personnel in the stricken states to about 40,000.

[CostcoLover]

50 countries offer US aid after Katrina
September 3, 2005 - 9:39AM
http://www.smh.com.a...5302769875.html

In an accelerating drive, more than 50 countries have pledged money or other aid to help Americans recover from Hurricane Katrina.

The pledges blur political lines. Cuba and Venezuela have offered help despite differences with Washington. Oil giant Saudi Arabia and tiny countries like Dominica are among nations making pledges.

"I hope that will remind Americans that we are all part of the same community," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday as offers kept pouring in.

None has been turned down, Rice said at a news conference, disputing a report from Moscow that a Russian offer had been rejected. She said some offers were being taken up immediately and others "somewhat later," depending on needs on the ground.

Rice singled out Sri Lanka for praise for making a contribution even as it struggles to recover from the tsunami disaster of last December.

She said contributions from poor countries were being accepted because "it is very valuable for people being able to give to each other and to be able to do so without a sense of means."

By Friday, America received offers from:

Armenia,
Australia,
Austria,
Azerbaijan,
Bahamas,
Belgium,
Britain,
Canada,
China,
Colombia,
Cuba,
Dominica,
Dominican Republic,
Ecuador,
El Salvador,
France,
Germany,
Greece,
Georgia,
Guatemala,
Guyana,
Honduras,
Hungary,
Iceland,
India,
Indonesia,
Israel,
Italy,
Jamaica,
Japan,
Jordan,
Lithuania,
Luxembourg,
Mexico,
the Netherlands,
New Zealand,
Norway,
Paraguay,
the Philippines,
Portugal,
Russia,
Saudi Arabia,
Singapore,
Slovak Republic,
Slovenia,
Spain,
Sweden,
Switzerland,
South Korea,
Sri Lanka,
Taiwan,
Thailand,
Turkey,
Venezuela
and the United Arab Emirates.

[dailydos]

That's great news. $291mm raised within the US and a host of offers from our allies (and some not even that). That's amazing. Now the people that are alive down there need to be glad for food and water and not complain that they "only have sandwiches". Boy, the news sure likes to play it up like everyone is whining down there. People are giving them a lot of attention and support right now and all the news wants to tell us is that they'd rather have salisbury steak than chicken salad sandwiches.

Too bad that's what they like to report...

[matt]

They've lost so much already. Staying close to home and one another must bring them a level of comfort. Our hearts are with them.

It wouldn't make sense for victims to come all the way out to this area on a bus unless they knew people here and had no plans to ever go back.
People are offering lodging in states much closer to the New Orleans area.

[Deb aka Resume Lady]

It wouldn't make sense for victims to come all the way out to this area on a bus unless they knew people here and had no plans to ever go back. 
People are offering lodging in states much closer to the New Orleans area.

Some have no intentions of going back. But even if the bulk want to go back, they're not going to be able to do so for quite some time. The areas closest to the Gulf may not be able to absorb all of those who have no where to go. If they can, and people want to stay as close to possible, that's great. But my husband and I could not not offer our home. Wouldn't make 'em come out on a bus, either.

[UncleVinny]

From what I understand, the French Quarter was not destroyed, so the city WILL rebuild. It's the low-lying areas, where they are 15 feet or more below sea leve . . . that will take a while to pump out the water and either salvage or bulldoze the damaged houses.

[CostcoLover]

More aid coming in... Qatar: http://www.nationmaster.com/country/qa

Qatar gives 100 million dollars for US hurricane relief
Sat Sep 3, 2:06 PM ET
http://news.yahoo.co.../usweatherqatar

DOHA (AFP) - The Gulf emirate of Qatar announced it will donate 100 million dollars to relief efforts for the US victims of Hurricane Katrina.

The aid was granted by Qatar's emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani "in the name of the government and the Qatari people," the official news agency QNA said.

[CostcoLover]

It was just a matter of time before this issue was raised.

Katrina response prompts questions of race in U.S

By Jason Webb Mon Sep 5, 7:50 AM ET

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Despite strenuous official denials, delays in helping victims of Hurricane Katrina have fed African-American suspicions the government cares more about the lives of wealthy white people than poor blacks.

Next stop?

Katrina could prompt new black "great migration"
By Adam Tanner Mon Sep 5, 3:21 PM ET
http://news.yahoo.co...nm/migration_dc

HOUSTON (Reuters) - If refugees end up building new lives away from New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina may prompt the largest U.S. black resettlement since the 20th century's Great Migration lured southern blacks to the North in a search for jobs and better lives.

Displacement Of Historic Proportions
By David Von Drehle and Jacqueline Salmon, Washington Post Staff Writers Fri Sep 2, 1:00 AM ET
http://news.yahoo.co...ric_proportions
The largest displacement of Americans since the Civil War reverberated across the country from its starting point in New Orleans yesterday, as more than half a million people uprooted by Hurricane Katrina sought shelter, sustenance and the semblance of new lives.

[Steve Heard]

It was just a matter of time before this issue was raised.

Katrina response prompts questions of race in U.S

By Jason Webb Mon Sep 5, 7:50 AM ET

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Despite strenuous official denials, delays in helping victims of Hurricane Katrina have fed African-American suspicions the government cares more about the lives of wealthy white people than poor blacks.

Next stop?

Katrina could prompt new black "great migration"
By Adam Tanner Mon Sep 5, 3:21 PM ET
http://news.yahoo.co...nm/migration_dc

HOUSTON (Reuters) - If refugees end up building new lives away from New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina may prompt the largest U.S. black resettlement since the 20th century's Great Migration lured southern blacks to the North in a search for jobs and better lives.

Displacement Of Historic Proportions
By David Von Drehle and Jacqueline Salmon, Washington Post Staff Writers Fri Sep 2, 1:00 AM ET
http://news.yahoo.co...ric_proportions
The largest displacement of Americans since the Civil War reverberated across the country from its starting point in New Orleans yesterday, as more than half a million people uprooted by Hurricane Katrina sought shelter, sustenance and the semblance of new lives.

Actually, the issue was raised almost immediately. New Orleans has been approximately 67% black. It has high unemployment or underemployment, resulting in lots of poor folks. The poor are not generally treated as significant, more liabilities than assets, except when they are providing services for which we pay little.

The fact remains that the wealthy, and for much of the world that means white folks, have more economic and political power, they are 'taken care of' more so than the poor.

Add to that fact that New Orleans is in the deep South, and there is a history of racism, dating back do its days as a slave trading port, and there has never been a feeling of racial harmony there.

Was race a factor? Maybe. Government red tape, miscommunication, and general incompetence, at the local, state and federal levels all contributed to this disaster.

Just a few thoughts..

[Deb aka Resume Lady]

We've been contacted about the possibility of getting our new family any day now.

[Robert Giacometti]

Actually, the issue was raised almost immediately. New Orleans has been approximately 67% black. It has high unemployment or underemployment, resulting in lots of poor folks. The poor are not generally treated as significant, more liabilities than assets, except when they are providing services for which we pay little.

The fact remains that the wealthy, and for much of the world that means white folks, have more economic and political power, they are 'taken care of' more so than the poor.

Add to that fact that New Orleans is in the deep South, and there is a history of racism, dating back do its days as a slave trading port, and there has never been a feeling of racial harmony there.

Was race a factor? Maybe. Government red tape, miscommunication, and general incompetence, at the local, state and federal levels all contributed to this disaster.

Just a few thoughts..

A very sad and tragic story regarding Katrina and its affect on this region.

Steve's right about the poor, they always seem to suffer far more than the rest when it comes to these types of disasters. Obviosuly they don't have the resources to protect and prepare themselves for these situations.They also tend to live in areas that throughout history have had catastrophic losses, so its usually only a matter of time before history repeats itself.

Unfortunately, there were so many factors that doomed these people. The size and scope of the storm, the failure to have an adequate emergency evacuation plan from the locals, the looters who actually kept many volunteers from rescuing people during the critical time that water was rising. We will never know how many lives were lost as a result of them. It truly makes me angry that there were people willing to risk their health and lives by entering this flooded areas only to be turned away because of the possiblity of being shot by people they were trying to rescue. It also appears that the State and Feds were engaged in some sort of power struggle ( Both groups need to be terminated, NOW!). President Bush has said repeatedly that he felt the Feds were slow in their response.

There should be some sort of investigation/review on what happened and why. Of course it will be the same political finger pointing, with the politicians trying to put their spin on it, for their own political gain.

Something that should be obvious to everyone of us, is for what ever reasons, we have allowed a segment of our population, in our country, to fall completely out of the "mainstream" lifestyle that we all seek.

Maybe it will be Katrina that somehow allows us to address this last issue. In the meantime just do what your heart tells you.

My thoughts and prayers are with those who are suffering.

[Deb aka Resume Lady]

Steve & Robert -- well said.

[Steve Heard]

Robert, I appreciate those words.

According to Wikipedia, 27% of New Orleanians are below the poverty line. That is a telling statistic right there.

An update on my family:

My aunt Lea, the woman who always opened her home and her heart to me and my family when we visited, is now coming out to stay with my mom or my aunt in Sunnyvale. She'll probably spend time with both.

Cousin Bernard, her son in Lacombe, returned to his home to find it undamaged, and that the residents had used their chainsaws and trucks to clear the roads of dozens of trees. He bought a generator, and his community has water. He say dozens of trucks and many men, representing power companies from allover the South, as he returned from Atlanta. His wife is a nurse, and is being given free gas by the local station, as long as it lasts. He has his 2 sons and 1 daughter with him. His other daughter was headed to Baton Rouge to meet her husband, then to Texas. He says that the one good thing is that the crime rate has dropped to about zero, in what was one of the most violent cities in America. He hopes that the world realizes that most of the people of New Orleans are nothing like the looters and crazies the media has focused on.

Cousin Vincent is in Crossett, Arkansas. The owner of the motel he is staying at told him that he can stay there for free as long as he needs to. He is there with his wife and 12 year old son. Vincent saw a satellite picture of his home, and could see the top of his truck, and since he has a raised foundation, believes his house to have suffered a little less than some others.

Cousin Simone has found a 2 bedroom apartment in Houston, with her 12 year old daughter, her 22 year old son, his wife, and their small child. She lives in Gretna, and has been told that although part of her roof is gone, as well as her carport, the house is in good shape. She prays that looters haven't torn the place up. Her insurance company gave her a check for $2500, and told her to contact them again in 2 weeks.

Aunt Blanche (81 years old) and Cousin Bonnie are in South Carolina, on a farm with Bonnie's husband's family. They believe their house is okay, as it is in the part of town that remained relatively dry. Looters are a concern.

Uncle Bill is in Houston, staying at an Econolodge. He's in his 70's, and wants to get home ASAP. He doesn't want to come and stay in California. He lived in New Orleans East, not far from the 17th St. canal, so it is likely that his home has been under water for the past week. A stranger came to his motel room door with a home cooked meal for him, my aunt Joyce, and my cousin Billy, who recently suffered a stroke.

Everyone else seems to be okay, but many won't know what to expect until they get home.

Everyone has treated all of my relatives so well, and they are grateful.

Thank you to all who have donated money, and who have offered words of support.

Steve

[Deb aka Resume Lady]

It's good to hear that your relatives are okay and that people are opening up their hearts, homes and/or kitchens for them.

[CostcoLover]

Barbara Bush: It's Good Enough for the Poor
John Nichols Tue Sep 6, 1:08 PM ET

The Nation -- Finally, we have discovered the roots of George W. Bush's "compassionate conservatism."

On the heels of the president's "What, me worry?" response to the death, destruction and dislocation that followed upon Hurricane Katrina comes the news of his mother's Labor Day visit with hurricane evacuees at the Astrodome in Houston.

Commenting on the facilities that have been set up for the evacuees -- cots crammed side-by-side in a huge stadium where the lights never go out and the sound of sobbing children never completely ceases -- former First Lady Barbara Bush concluded that the poor people of New Orleans had lucked out.

"Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this, this is working very well for them," Mrs. Bush told American Public Media's "Marketplace" program, before returning to her multi-million dollar Houston home.

On the tape of the interview, Mrs. Bush chuckles audibly as she observes just how great things are going for families that are separated from loved ones, people who have been forced to abandon their homes and the only community where they have ever lived, and parents who are explaining to children that their pets, their toys and in some cases their friends may be lost forever. Perhaps the former first lady was amusing herself with the notion that evacuees without bread could eat cake.