DescentBB

Holy crap

MD-2389 wrote:Stickman, where in Memphis are you? You're only about an hour or so away from me.

I'm in Cordova, just off of I-40. Here with wife, 4 kids, mom and dad, host and his wife and kid, plus another friend and a kid... 13 people total.

I'll be out of town for the weekend, but anytime next week would be cool if you feel like meeting me somewhere.

Gimme a yell via e-mail, ICQ, or AIM. That'll be a faster way rather than through the DBB.

md2389@gmail.com
AIM: Chris VG1
ICQ: 168701920

Doh! Just found out that my great aunt and uncle were in New Orleans when Katrina hit. No one hasn't heard from them since. =/
Some schools around here has started a fund to help one LA. family at a time have a place to temperarily live and food to eat. I think that's pretty cool considering the fact that it may be weeks before they're even allowed to come back to get their things.
My thoughts and prayers goes to those people trapped in New Orleans, especially the young kids and parents.
And to those who are trapped in the middle of the growing arnarchy between people.
Also goes to the rescuers that are being attacked because they couldn't help the people that survived and are doing well. It's amazing how one major natural disaster can affect the morals of the people. It is just like the escaping people in War of the Worlds. They fight so they can help themselves.

I am feeling genuine concern and compassion for the people that have been hit by Katrina and have lost everything. The photographs I've seen are shocking: An entire city and many towns have been wiped out, and their inhabitants have lost everything. It's a display of how powerless man with all his technical glory still is in the face of natural forces.

Beowulf wrote:I guess this is God's way of saying "this city disgusts me." Pretty Biblical if you ask me. Old Testament style, back when God had some balls, huh? Like a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah except with no fire and sulpher.

If that would be true, God had good reason to apply similar treatment to every other city in the world.

I wouldn't credit men's chosing a location extremely endangered by natural forces for a city to God's plans of pouring out his anger on N.O.

In other words, Beo, what you wrote there is religious crap imho.

Top Wop wrote:

Dedman wrote:It will be interesting to see how much international aide is offered to the U.S. in the aftermath of the storm. Afterall, a lot of Countries expect us to bail them out. Let see if that goes both ways.

We wont need to anyway because we are not a helpless country that cant hold its own.

To me the loss of N.O. (and it looks very much like a complete loss) constitutes a national catastrophe for the U.S. I think you can need every help you can get, and other nations will help you. No need to play the misunderstood and hated generous sponsor of the planet.

Btw, whatever German minister Trittin said about Katrina, global warming and the role of the U.S. in international climate politics - don't blame Germany for it. This man is an a-hole of sorts. Nobody except some fanatic and self-righteous environmentalists here like him. In fact his political actions are simply hiding a personal agenda and a totalitarian spirit believing it is alright to press things that (he believes) are true on everybody - them willing or not.

The footage I'm seeing on the news is just horrible. It's like something from a horror film.

Quote from the State department.

"As of Thursday the countries and international organizations willing to help include - Russia, Japan, Canada, France, Honduras, Germany, Venezuela, the Organization of American States, Jamaica, NATO, Australia, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Switzerland, Greece, Hungary, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, China, South Korea, Israel and the United Arab Emirates."

Israel usually offers it's excellent disaster teams as assistance in these situations. People do care guys, you'd be surprised how much.

Among other measures, Germany has decided to support the U.S. with parts of it strategic oil reserve. Chancellor Schroeder personally supervises German aid measures for the U.S.

I have had my (silly) issues with God, but I would like to remind every Christian on this board that every prayer for the Katrina victims counts, and will do something positive for them. You have a mandate with God - use it! If you have a church, go to the prayer team and get instructions how to pray effectively for the situation in the catastrophe area. If you don't, get a church.

United Airlines is offering 500 miles if you donate more than $50 to one of three major agencies:

http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6722,51350,00.html

Stickman, glad to see you and your folks made it out ok. This is a real mess on the coast. I'm sending money too.

CAP might send me over there.

8 SQN's so far are slotted for deployment later tonight.

Peachtree City, Fayetteville, Riverdale, Jonesboro, Macon, Griffin, Valdosta and Augusta.

thats about 200-300 people fully equipped for ground and aerial support.

A German wrote:"People over here in Germany are somehow surprised, because your government rejected assistance reg. transportable units for creating drinking water out of muddy, polluted, and even infectious water. We use them for quite some years in aid to quite a bunch of countries in emergency situations, mostly 3rd world. They can be used with all kind of electrical pover, even battery or solar.

We were prepared to fly them over since Aug. 31st. Does some people in your goverment sleep deeply or are they so insecure that they deny any help?

We over here may - from time to time - differ with the US of A, when it comes to global policy/politics, but we will never forget to help when we see a necessesity to help. And too, we will never forget all the help, the United States provided to Germany after WWII. Okay, okay, maybe it was not totally selfishness - anyway - what counts, is what is done/provided, the reason is as always, rather secondary."

They also rejected teams from Canada that wanted to help.

It's horrible that in the midst of the aftermath lawlessness is rampant. It makes me incredibly sad to hear about what people are doing to each other, and the rescuers, in New Orleans.

To put it mildly: the contempt america showed in rejecting help saddens me.

Ferno wrote:To put it mildly: the contempt america showed in rejecting help saddens me.

I'm two sided on this..

My Tinfoil hat side says maybe its cause we would errode our credibility in in the world by not being able to take care of things at home while trying to do so much overseas.


The normal side of me says its not that we don't want or will take help. Its just the logistics are a nightmare. There is hardly anyway in and out of New Orleans. Just trying to get the stuff in there that we had pre-staged took how many days?

I think todays/tonights events was the start of a huge turnaround. Mostly that the water is being stopped and the convoys are getting in.

Fern isn't "contempt" a bit strong? I think we are just so overwhelmed by the scope of things we had not thought that far ahead.

According to Madame Secretary of State, no help has been rejected and none will be rejected. So, apparently, we're caught up in red tape, because the help hasn't been accepted yet either.

The mantra of the Red Cross is "We don't want anything but your cash." This makes some sense, in that many past contributions cost more than they were worth because of distribution. Easier/cheaper to buy what is needed locally than to warehouse, distribute, etc, the non-cash donations.

I imagine there are exceptions, though, and they just aren't equipped to account for them, so... better to insist on cash and get people in that frame of mind. Cash CAN be applied to any need, while goods cannot, even if the cash only gets used to buy the goods.

Still, I think in the end people are NOT going to be happy with this "cash only" approach because it DOES turn away much needed items, sometimes wrongly. We need a better answer, one that accepts only cash from individual donors, but can take goods from big companies whose products would be bought with the cash anyway... if the companies can deliver X amount o Y location, etc.

Meanwhile, most of the offers of help from abroad are not cash offers, but goods, and this "cash only" mentality is getting in the way of accepting.


They WILL sort it out, but Ferno's one liner above misses the mark pretty badly. No contempt involved, just disorganization and chaos, and perhaps a vacuum of leadership.

If Rudy Giuliani ran for President tomorrow, I think he'd win in a landslide. Makes us appreciate just how big a thing he did ON THE FIRST DAY, 9-11 itself, by PERSONALLY going down to the scene, gathering media to himself, and taking charge. You just knew that he was on top of it, looking out after what needed to be done, getting things organized and getting people moving on the spot.

We haven't had that here, I'm sorry to say. The Mayor of New Orleans seems like a stand-up guy, but he does not quite have the Giuliani touch, and he did not grab the attention of the national media effectively. Nobody else was in position to play the leadership role in New Orleans itself, so... chaos developed.

In fairness, though, NYC still had power on 9-11. It is tougher what is faced in New Orleans with a complete breakdown of power, communications, transportation, and infrastructure. Still, we could have done better. We should have prepared better. We must not let this happen ever again.


- Sirian

My division is being mobilized to go down there to do something. They're keeping it hush-hush whether it's a Good Samaritan or a peace keeping mission however. I was recalled and put on high alert for deployment though... I can only guess what's gonna be going on.

This situation is a nightmare... and from what I'm hearing... I would openly welcome a tour in the sand-box over a deployment to Louisiana.

Sting_Ray wrote:My division is being mobilized to go down there to do something. They're keeping it hush-hush whether it's a Good Samaritan or a peace keeping mission however. I was recalled and put on high alert for deployment though... I can only guess what's gonna be going on.

This situation is a nightmare... and from what I'm hearing... I would openly welcome a tour in the sand-box over a deployment to Louisiana.

I would pick the latter Bro. There are plenty of good people in LA, Miss and Ala that need our help in any form we can give it to them.

this has nothing to do with 9/11. at all.

I've an inkling "wind of change" is going to have an ominous meaning in the States over the coming years in so many aspects of life.

http://media.putfile.com/Kanye79

There is a good example of ignorance.

*gags*

No kidding. Talk about jumping to conclusions!

Unix wrote:http://media.putfile.com/Kanye79

There is a good example of ignorance.

Holy crap, that's funny as hell.

Ferno wrote:this has nothing to do with 9/11. at all.

Non sequitur.

wow Ferno, talk about missing the point entirely.

Heh.

Xciter wrote:Try doing something useful/helpful like starting up a donation to the Red Cross in the name of the DBB, I'll start it off with $50 dollars.

So did I, listed Company/Orignization as [NuB2]Fusion, Descent Bulletin Board. Come on all,every small bit will help our countryman and woman in need.

Fus

Ferno wrote:To put it mildly: the contempt america showed in rejecting help saddens me.

Just an update from this: I read a quote directly from Condoleeza Rice saying that none of the aid offered has been rejected. Some of it may have been put off until a time later in the recovery when it is needed, but we haven't said no to anyone. Sounds like some people started a nasty rumor about this a few days ago, as I've heard several people claiming rejected aid.

non seqitor? missing the point?

uh hello.. they're two COMPLETELY different events!

mixing the two is muddying the waters, as it were.


topgun: I can claim I'm the king of France. does that make it true?

Condoleeza Rice saying that none of the aid offered has been rejected.

Right. And government officials never, ever lie. I'll take the word of a German citizen over I've-Come-Ta-Please-Ya Rice's anyday.

Ferno, the only comparisons I've seen people making to 9/11 were in regards to the devastation that it caused, the response to it, and how people coped with it. Those are perfectly legitimate comparisons. No one's saying that the hurricane itself was similar to a terrorist attack. It's the greatest disaster that's happened to our country since 9/11; of course it's going to remind people of that day.

And to both you and Sky, there's being cynical, and then there's just being absurd. Tell me this: what motivation would the government have to reject foreign aid? You think it's some sense of pride? After the flak they've already taken for supposedly acting too slowly, don't you think the last thing in the world they'd want to do would be to dig themselves a bigger hole by coming across as snobbish assholes? Especially when that area needs all the help they can get? And, if by some stretch of the imagination, they did reject the aid, do you honestly think they'd go on national television and said they had accepted it? When any nation whom they had rejected would instantly refute their statements? Come on; think a minute. Wouldn't France or Germany or any other country instantly call out Rice on any lie that she made? The very fact that that hasn't happened means that she was telling the truth. Who are these "sources" that are saying that the government rejected aid in the first place, anyway? Why haven't they been heard from, hm? You know how the media would jump over a story like that, so how come it hasn't? Maybe because such a source doesn't exist?

well if what you said was true Topgun, we'd be seeing comparisoms to every other disaster out there.

'Tell me this: what motivation would the government have to reject foreign aid?'

I wish i knew. But why are we getting reports one way from this side, but the opposite from the other side?

Ferno wrote:
I wish i knew. But why are we getting reports one way from this side, but the opposite from the other side?

Politics?

put it down people, get back on topic

Ferno wrote:well if what you said was true Topgun, we'd be seeing comparisoms to every other disaster out there.

'Tell me this: what motivation would the government have to reject foreign aid?'

I wish i knew. But why are we getting reports one way from this side, but the opposite from the other side?

I have seen comparisons to many other natural disasters; obviously, people have been relating this aftermath to that of other devastating hurricanes that have hit this country in the past (Andrew, Agnes, the Labor Day storm in the '30s). There have also been comparisons to the Pacific tsunamis, major earthquakes in California...pretty much anything else that has caused such widespread devastation. Comparing the reaction to this disaster to 9/11 doesn't mean that people are connecting just those two events; it means that people are experiencing similar feelings in their reaction to the hurricane as they did after 9/11.

As to your second question, I haven't seen any official reports suggesting that we did reject aid, but if they are out there, then I really don't have a good answer to your question. I'm just guessing that the truth will sort itself out in the end.

P.S. Geez...there's already another storm out there, Maria. At least it's moving north in the Atlantic, far from any land. I completely missed Tropical Storm Lee; guess it didn't do anything, either.

Topgun, I think you should see this: http://www.psilocybin.be/images/JeffersonParrishMTP.wmv

BUBBALOU wrote:put it down people, get back on topic

Agreed. x2

I'm back.

My power is still off but I now have a portable generator. Water came back on Friday. No one I know was injured though there's much property damage -- mainly due to falling trees. Several of mine fell but didn't hit anything. I drove to Jackson today because we were moving my grandmother (who is in her 90's) to more suitable quarters. Anyway, there were several military convoys heading south so help is still pouring in.

Ferno wrote:Topgun, I think you should see this: http://www.psilocybin.be/images/JeffersonParrishMTP.wmv

I was moved close to tears myself...this is my fellow American How can this be happening in the wake of these tragic events ??? OMG, this is just on the worst side o' terrible.