This is pathetic.

Everyone's demanding to know why more is not being done.  interdictor reports interviewing a Bourbon Street bar manager who talks about the 10,000 people who were told three days ago to walk to the Convention Center for evacuation, and who are still there waiting for evacuation that never came:

They had no food, no water, and no medicine for the last three days, until today, when the National Guard drove over the bridge above them, and tossed out supplies over the side crashing down to the ground below. Much of the supplies were destroyed from the drop. Many people tried to catch the supplies to protect them before they hit the ground. Some offered to walk all the way around up the bridge and bring the supplies down, but any attempt to approach the police or national guard resulted in weapons being aimed at them.

Mayor Nagin of New Orleans has accused officials of dragging their feet:

"You mean to tell me that a place where you probably have thousands of people that have died and thousands more that are dying every day, that we can't figure out a way to authorize the resources that we need?  Come on man," he said.

Meanwhile, FEMA is blaming the victims -- many of whom had no way to evacuate because all public transport had already shut down before the evacuation order was issued.  And what's our President doing about it?

He's glad-handing.  "President Bush planned a tour of Gulf Coast communities battered by Hurricane Katrina, a visit aimed at alleviating criticism that he engineered a too-little, too-late response."  Not issuing orders to get buses there from ANYWHERE AT ALL that there are buses, which should have been done days ago; not making sure relief supplies are given to people who need them, instead of thrown off bridges at them by National Guard troops who are afraid to let people lined up in single file with elderly and children first get near them; no, his goal is "alleviating criticism".  Oh, and don't forget brushing off offers of international aid and trying to pretend they're not coming in, even turning down aid offers at first, so that he can grandstand about America doing it alone and emerging stronger.  (Even Sri Lanka, still recovering from the December 26 tsunami, sent $25,000 -- all they could spare -- to the American Red Cross.)

And as if a hurricane and a flood weren't enough ... interdictor reports that what's left of New Orleans is burning.  There's fires in three separate places in the areas his team scouted this morning, presumably in the still-above-water CBD.

The DirectNIC cam feed is overwhelmed.

If you have the wherewithal to offer another rebroadcast repeater to spread the load, please contact interdictor.  It would undoubtedly be appreciated.

Lost for words

I keep trying, but I am just unable to find words to express my anger at the appalling, self-serving incompetence with which this administration has handled disaster relief for Hurricane Katrina.

For just one example, why are search-and-rescue teams having to chainsaw their way in through downed trees blocking roads to search for survivors in Mississippi coastal communities?  Why the hell weren't they airlifted in on Guard helos as soon as the winds dropped?

We airlifted food to Berlin when it was totally cut off from land access, why the goddamn hell can't we get food and water into New Orleans in our own country?  Fer crissakes, truck it as close as you can get it in containers, then fly the whole damn container in with Skycranes and put it down at the Superdome or the Convention Center.  Lather, rinse, repeat.  If looters urban savages shoot at the Skycranes, escort'em with Apaches and return fire.

greyman on effective donations to relief

greyman, on donating EFFECTIVELY to large-scale relief: PLEASE READ AND LINK.

via juuro

shadbolt75 has pledged to donate a dollar per comment to this post, and asks that the link be spread far and wide.

Asshole award

I just heard a story from a guy I'm on a mailing list with, of learning at 26 that he had bad credit because of identity theft when he was 13.  The thief used his social security number to get financing on a bunch of home appliances, then defaulted on the loan.

He knows exactly who the thief was.

It was his father.

Hypocrisy 101

''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."

-- President George W. Bush, September 1, 2005, on national TV

How about starting with your buddies in the oil industry, you hypocrite?

[...] A month ago, ExxonMobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips announced record second-quarter profits of $7.6 billion, $3.7 billion, and $3.1 billion, respectively.  Royal Dutch Shell's quarterly profits of $5.2 billion were up by 34 percent over the same period last year.  Other well-known companies like Sunoco also had record second-quarter earnings.

(While whining bitterly about rising crude-oil costs. -- unixronin)

[...]

Everyone knows that Bush does not really mean what he says about price-gouging at the pump, since he just gave energy companies the bulk of $14.5 billion in tax breaks in the new energy bill.  Surprise, surprise.  In Bush's two elections, oil and gas companies gave Republicans 79 percent of their $61.5 million in campaign contributions, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

If Bush really meant what he said, he would call for a freeze or cap on gasoline prices, especially in the regions affected most dramatically by Katrina.  He would challenge big oil to come up with a much more meaningful contribution to relief efforts.

Insurance companies are expecting up to $25 billion in claims from Katrina.  For ExxonMobil, which is headed to $30 billion in profits, to jack up prices at the pump and then only throw $2 million at relief efforts is unconscionable.

-- Derrick Z. Jackson, September 2, 2005, Boston Globe

(Boston Globe cartoon link retroactively snagged from yndy)

In case you haven't seen it elsewhere

Read the transcript of WWL-TV's interview of New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin.

And while you're at it, go read jenkitty's commentary.

Disgusted

George Bush just doesn't get it.

"The good news is -- and it's hard for some to see it now -- that out of this chaos is going to come a fantastic Gulf Coast, like it was before.  Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house -- he's lost his entire house -- there's going to be a fantastic house.  And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch" -- Bush

Holy fucking mother of god, could he be more insensitive?

People are *dead* , & he's rambling on about Lott's loss of his house.

(From Raven, in alobar's journal)

News of the Weird

"Honest, honey, I swear it, she threatened she'd cut me up if I didn't let her give me a lap dance..."

(OK, so I'm taking a little artistic license.  But not much.)

(And no, I swear I did not front-load the music.)

Raise your hand if you're surprised by this.

Halliburton hired for storm cleanup

The Navy has hired Houston-based Halliburton Co. to restore electric power, repair roofs and remove debris at three naval facilities in Mississippi damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Halliburton subsidiary KBR will also perform damage assessments at other naval installations in New Orleans as soon as it is safe to do so.

KBR was assigned the work under a "construction capabilities" contract awarded in 2004 after a competitive bidding process.  The company is not involved in the Army Corps of Engineers' effort to repair New Orleans' levees.

(link from james_nicoll)

Tell me with a straight face that nobody saw THAT coming.