Piccolo

What good news to read of all the American families who are offering shelter to those in need. well done!

g1ant

Your are Fifi Trixibelle AICMFP.

Taffyles

Why do we always have to put labels on people. For god's sake, there are desperate people in absolutely appalling conditions who are not getting much help, in this the RICHEST and MOST POWERFUL country in the world.... does it frigging matter whether you are liberal, conservative. We're all supposed to be human!
I agree with you that the President does not need to be in New Orleans and with traumatised, hungry, thirsty people running round with guns- they aint going to send him in there even if he wanted to go. BUT What the hell IS he doing? Where is the aid for these people? Its absolutely atrocious- even the third world is better organised.
Looting- well yeah what do you expect- if I was on the streets in wet clothes and shoes with hungry thirsty wet kids -I'd flipping kick a shop window in too to feed and clothe my kids. A clean, dry pair of shoes, or tee shirt is luxury to these people at the moment.
These poor people should all have been evacuated out of New Orleans BEFORE the hurricane- they failed to do that, and now they have thousands of traumatised, desperate people to deal with and the Federal help is not coming- unbelievable, its been 3 days!
I'm beginning to wonder if we have any homeland security left, apart from a basic skeleton force...if so where the hell are they.

Bob

Speaking to an insurance adjuster bloke yesterday, said he was being offered shite loads of money to head down to deal with all the car insurance claims but refused because there's no where to stay up there, and no petrol, he said he was in florida last time and they ran out of petrol and had to walk or borrow a bike to get around, and that they were taking up space that people could have used that were homeless....gotta love the insurance companies at times

Englishmum

Rudy can't help right now....he is in Australia doing speeches; he has a very lucrative consulting company.


It's all becoming like the "Lord of The Flies".....

Rompers

Its frightening how delicate sociaty is.

This is the worlds richest and most powerful country - by a long stretch - and parts of it now resemble Sierra Leonne; widepsread lawlessness, police and soldiers being shot at, people without water food and sanitation.

Meanwhile, other parts of the country are running out of gas (many gas stations across SC are now out).

And this isn't as a result of war or terrorism but rather the weather...

AmerLisa

Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

snowbunny

http://www.timesleader.com/mld/krwas...n/12528233.htm

" WASHINGTON - The federal government so far has bungled the job of quickly helping the multitudes of hungry, thirsty and desperate victims of Hurricane Katrina, former top federal, state and local disaster chiefs said Wednesday.

The experts, including a former Bush administration disaster response manager, told Knight Ridder that the government wasn't prepared, scrimped on storm spending and shifted its attention from dealing with natural disasters to fighting the global war on terrorism."

"Both the New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper and a local business magazine reported that the effects of the budget cuts at the Army Corps of Engineers were severe.

In 2004, the Corps essentially stopped major work on the now-breached levee system that had protected New Orleans from flooding. It was the first such stoppage in 37 years, the Times-Picayune reported.

The Army Corps' New Orleans office, facing a $71 million cut, also eliminated funds to pay for a study on how to protect the Crescent City from a Category 5 storm, New Orleans City Business reported in June."

Read it and weep.

Lion in Winter

Excuse me, but who exactly are you calling a liberal? I'm pinko scum, remember, not Jeremy Thorpe

Where did I say that seeing him there was more important than anything? I said his physical presence was an important part of leadership, period, something that Giuliani understood. As I said, he has his own substantial security detail, dedicated to him - they won't need the national guard to protect him there.

NJ_Dave

Funny how there is 24 hour news coverage of this event, yet nobody suggests that the news networks give up their helicopters for the rescue effort. Or even if they donated one of their generators to a city with no electricity. But no, it always comes back to Bush.

Hiro11

Laying the blame for the flood solely at the Bush administration's feet seems a little short sighted to me. Clearly the issue had been ignored for decades (centuries?).

snowbunny

I think they well should give up some of the helicopters, but the news also serves to get other people to help and to give money for assistance.

Look -- I'm not blaming this squarely on Bush. No one person is responsible. What I *am* sickened by is his lack of leadership and the cuts to funding for both infrastructure and emergency relief as outlined in the article I quote. The Republicans AND Democrats who voted in favour of these cuts ought to be feeling very very ill today. And maybe they'll get their butts in gear to help.

snowbunny

I do agree, but stopping working on the levees in 2004 due to funding cuts, the first stoppage in 37 years, is a bit disquieting.

Lion in Winter

Eh?

I'd be quite happy for the networks to provide practical help. Don't see what that has to do with the leader of the country providing some actual, well, leadership. Bush can send his helicopter too, if it comes to that.

anotherlimey

That's a null argument; you're assuming two things:

1) The news helicopters can carry more passengers alongside their equipment

and

2) That generating electricity in a flooded city is a good idea (the hospitals have their own, they need fuel)