BBC news: Adam Brookes: New Orleans, LA : 11:30 GMT
America can deal with these things effectively but equally the American public has much higher expectations of its government.We've just been hearing President Bush being questioned for the first time by journalists about why the relief effort is perceived to be quite slow and I think the Bush administration may be in some trouble here.
I am not angry, actually. For once, I finally feel that the rest have finally seen what I have seen for the last five years. The scenes of absolute horror as the Gulf Coast looks like a third world country. New Orleans a battle ground. American citizens running for water being dropped from helicopters wondering how they are going to make it another hour, or day. Wondering, as some have, something that they should have never wondered. "Where is the help?" American citizens being moved around the country like animals as people can't drive away fast enough from the devastated area, which in itself turns out to be the size of Great Britain. Are stuck in 5 to six hour waits for a gas station to tell them that they are out of gasoline. American citizens wondering why they were put into a "safe haven" that ended up killing people as some sort of sick death trap as they sat there in 100 degree heat in total pitch black darkness. Why no one thought that the power would easily be lost or that food/water would be needed to survive if it happened to be a bad one is clearly beyond me since it clearly was beyond the government. Or that someone should keep the peace inside and let the people know what is happening. No information about the hurricane other than the howling winds was heard. How in a country where Condoleeza Rice was shopping for shoes on 5th Avenue Wednesday night, some, including the last Mayor of New Orleans asks if it is a day late. Why the government wasn't ready to act before the storm ended. Why it took them an extra day to start to think about some sort of plan.
NYT: By Wednesday the stink was staggering.
Heaps of rotting garbage in bulging white plastic bags baked under a blazing Louisiana sun on the main entry plaza, choking new arrivals as they made their way into the stadium after being plucked off rooftops and balconies. The odor billowing from toilets was even fouler. Trash spilled across corridors and aisles, slippery with smelly mud and scraps of food. Many said they felt they had been dumped and abandoned in the stadium. There were no television sets or people to allow them to follow the rescue efforts, or learn when they might get out.
Bodies rising to the surface. Shooting at the relief. SOS being painted on houses. Gangs forming to protect others. Woman being raped.
NYTImes, CNN, every news organization possible report: Darcel Monroe, 21, a bakery cashier, stammered hysterically as she recounted seeing two young girls being raped in one of the women's bathrooms in the Superdome. "A lot of people saw it but they were afraid to do anything," she said. "He ran out past all of us."
Bodies being covered with rats. It's going to look a whole lot like Camus' "Plague" soon.
I drove into the city just a few hours ago and it was one of the scarier journeys I have made. It looks like the set of a Hollywood disaster movie.
The battle between nature and man is almost over, but the battle between man and man is just beginning. The scene here is more Africa than America.
From the air the destruction is humbling, luxury yachts thrown about like toys. Looking closer there is stagnant, dirty water, and then there are the survivors, mostly poor, black and angry. You see dead bodies here as you wander around the streets.
Why no one (by that I mean people "running this country" saw this coming I have no idea. Why it takes five days for the president of this nation, (surprising don't you think?), this great country, to get out and show his support and "leadership" must be some minor miscalculation. Like, Air Force One doesn't have gasoline or something like that I am sure. "President" Bush appeared just this morning on Good Morning America to state, "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." Well, it turns out that that obviously is not true. It is sorta like saying the sky is black.
Maestri [the local EM director] is still awaiting word from FEMA officials as to why Louisiana, despite being called the "floodplain of the nation" in a 2002 FEMA report, received no disaster mitigation grant money from FEMA in 2003 ("Homeland Insecurity," Sept. 28). Maestri says the rejection left emergency officials around the state "flabbergasted."
Which leaves me with one thought. People are looting supposedly armed (you need the gun to protect yourself as some are saying) as others feel Anarchy rising in Lousiana? Fuck it, I feel that here. BBC news states:
Police chief Eddie Compass said there were reports of women being raped. He told AP he sent 88 officers to quell the unrest at the convention centre but they were beaten back by an angry mob. Earlier, medical evacuations from the city's Superdome stadium were disrupted after reports that a gun shot was fired at a rescue helicopter. Similar reports have come from the city's hospitals.
From CNN: A physician at the hospital said that despite the incidents staff members and patients were eager to get out after three days with no water and electricity and sparse food rations. "A single sniper or two snipers shouldn't have to shut down a hospital evacuation for two hours now," Dr. Ruth Berggren told CNN. "I look outside, I'm not seeing any military."
Where are the godamn Democrats either? Fucking speak up people. I don't care if this a time of sorrow. Get criticizing. It is YOUR DUTY to criticize. Point out the failures, NOW. Show your support. Hand out water for christ sake. I will remember that in 4 years (if you make a big ta doo about it which is basically bare minimul at this point considering Bush seems unfazed) and hopefully some republicans will. Christ, hopefully Louisana will. Just do a better job of it then Bush who barely left his vacation in time to get there Friday. Now is CLEARLY your time, if I have ever seen on but the sad thing is.. is that is almost feels too late. You are missing your chance again. Bush is missing his chance. And honestly speaking, so is this country. Is this the tipping point?
From TalkLeft: Anderson Cooper laced into Sen. Mary Landrieu saying people who have witnessed the devastation don't want to hear politicans congratulating other politicians for how they've responded. He was yelling, basically, "Don't you get it yet?" He mentioned seeing a woman's body on the ground being eaten by rats. Landrieu told Anderson she understood what he was saying and then thanked the President again.
Anderson Cooper was visibly upset today by the fact that "person after person" came up to him asking why the federal government hasn't shown up to help out yet. Then repeated, "Where is the help?"
But don't worry. The worst is yet to come, as Maritime Captain Bayard declined to estimate a death toll but said, "Absolutely, the worst is yet to come."
At the city’s major hospitals, diesel-powered generators critical to sustaining the lives of people on ventilators or other electric-powered medical devices began to run out of fuel Wednesday. Plans were made to relocate the 350 patients and 1,000 doctors and nurses at Charity and University hospitals to facilities in Alexandria, Lafayette, Shreveport, Lake Charles and Monroe. Methodist Hospital evacuated its 1,000 patients.
One question. If this was a white, wealthy, Bush voting populace, do we think that the administration would be acting faster? Or could have even prevented total devastation? Or could be doing anything? Or am I over-reacting as are other "left" Americans. I ask highly out of this country and I expect it. It is supposed to be great. Woman and children being left without food for a 4th day is not great. It is Africa. Are we becoming Africa? Unable to protect, serve, dream.
Alistair Leithead, New Orleans, LA : 15:05 GMTA few moments ago a man came up to me and asked if I was a journalist. He said: "Can you help me? I need to save the lives of 60 women."
Twelve blocks away there are 60 people in an old people's home and 30 staff who have been looking after them since the hurricane struck. He said they had enough water to last 12 hours, two of the women had died already and three more will probably die today.
"Who can I ask?" he said. I said I didn't know and he wandered off. The policemen wouldn't talk to him so he's gone off to try to find someone who might help.
That's just one isolated case and there are many more like that across this city. It is a desperate situation. There is a real feeling here that not enough is being done and certainly not fast enough.
One man, fury and exhaustion etched on his face, shouted at me: "This is America, why are we in this situation?"
Or maybe we should talk about how our money is being poured by the millions (billions in long run) into Iraq but I don't want to be thought of as a leftie again. So, I will let the police chief of New Orleans say it:
But one of the officers said that some of the inmates at the Orleans Parish jail may have taken control of the prison. From what we are hearing, the prisoners have weapons. They have not left the jail. They can't get out. But we heard that they have control of weapons inside the jail. I never want to compare anything to what's happening in Iraq, but there is one similarity in that the ability to move about as reporters is slowly becoming compromised. To be as safe as possible, we have to sacrifice some of our ability to go out and confirm information and verify stories. And right now, with this safety situation in the city of New Orleans, that's just not possible.
The water is certainly rising on this country.
I've been scouring the web all day for a decent summary of what's going on back home, and this is what I was looking for. Thanks for the newsclips and commentary.
It's insane... I'm scared to see how this will develop over the weekend.
Posted by: Y | September 02, 2005 at 06:07 PM