Sin
09-02-2005, 04:30 PM
The media is starting to do a bit better job of coverage but still rather lacking.
Two heartfelt thumbs up to Direct Nic in downtown New Orleans for riding out the storm, and for doing all they can both to keep hosting as well as help out the National Guard & NOPD officers!!
http://www.livejournal.com/users/interdictor/
My heart breaks when I read that they
...saw a family so eager to receive water, that they left their little girl in the stroller & forgot about her. One of the guys went down & took her to her family... they have a picture of her in one of their galleries.
...interviewed a guy regarding the situation at the convention centre where people who were confused & didn't understand what was happening & taking so long, felt they had to IMPRESS their rescuers, and cleaned up the streets & lined up in single file... the elderly first, women & children next, and then the rest.
...the list goes on.
They've gotten worldwide coverage now, and are hit HEAVILY with traffic... but if you have some time, go back to the beginning & read from before the storm hit until today, it is heartbreaking.
********
Notable things that stick out in my mind from the last few days...
**NOPD quitting because they can't handle this anymore...
**Martial Law in effect, the Louisiana Governor issued a statement saying that the National Guard is armed & has orders to shoot to kill
http://www.abc.net.au/ra/news/stories/s1451927.htm
**Delta Airlines has been aiding in the rescue effort, one of their planes piloted by 2 of the company's Vice Presidents and with the CEO escorting, took 140 evacuees to Atlanta Georgia yestesrday & is going to be helping more today... there's a link for this as well, I will try to find it again for you all.
My heart is full of hurt & anger at the lack of proper information that is being put out to the public in this scenario. People are saying "Things take time" --Yes they do, but they shouldn't take this much time, and even the President has acknowledged that the relief efforts up until mid-Friday Morning have been unacceptable. (This morning is when he made that statement)
I can't imagine what it must be like for those people, to have the joy of knowing you survived the hurricane, only to have the flood come, hopes lifted at the sight of rescuers beginning their work, only to have those hopes crushed and without knowing why, guns aimed at you. Watching your fellow survivor citizens getting shot around you without understanding the full impact of events that led up to that. Keep in mind the people down there have no electricity, and have no access to newspapers, televisions, internet, and other news sources like we do.
http://ods.org:8003/fema <--- Listen to the National Guard's communications system... hear the men who are in New Orleans right now, trying to get the situation under control.
I tuned into the above link yesterday when it was posted by someone who heard them say calling for backup for a group of NOPD officers who had been surrounded by armed civilians. I heard them asking if a helicopter could lift 10 people at once; I heard another guard calling for backup because he had a man at gunpoint who had merely come out of his home. My guess is the guy didn't realize there was a curfew, and likely wasn't thrilled to find a gun in his face simply for stepping outside of his own house. That wasn't even in the greater New Orleans area, it was in one of the surrounding areas.
I've found the best news coverage comes from the local newscast
http://www.wwltv.com --They're broadcasting out of Baton Rouge if I remember correctly.
And the New York Daily News has this article..
http://nydailynews.com/front/story/342810p-292645c.html
Two heartfelt thumbs up to Direct Nic in downtown New Orleans for riding out the storm, and for doing all they can both to keep hosting as well as help out the National Guard & NOPD officers!!
http://www.livejournal.com/users/interdictor/
My heart breaks when I read that they
...saw a family so eager to receive water, that they left their little girl in the stroller & forgot about her. One of the guys went down & took her to her family... they have a picture of her in one of their galleries.
...interviewed a guy regarding the situation at the convention centre where people who were confused & didn't understand what was happening & taking so long, felt they had to IMPRESS their rescuers, and cleaned up the streets & lined up in single file... the elderly first, women & children next, and then the rest.
...the list goes on.
They've gotten worldwide coverage now, and are hit HEAVILY with traffic... but if you have some time, go back to the beginning & read from before the storm hit until today, it is heartbreaking.
********
Notable things that stick out in my mind from the last few days...
**NOPD quitting because they can't handle this anymore...
**Martial Law in effect, the Louisiana Governor issued a statement saying that the National Guard is armed & has orders to shoot to kill
http://www.abc.net.au/ra/news/stories/s1451927.htm
**Delta Airlines has been aiding in the rescue effort, one of their planes piloted by 2 of the company's Vice Presidents and with the CEO escorting, took 140 evacuees to Atlanta Georgia yestesrday & is going to be helping more today... there's a link for this as well, I will try to find it again for you all.
My heart is full of hurt & anger at the lack of proper information that is being put out to the public in this scenario. People are saying "Things take time" --Yes they do, but they shouldn't take this much time, and even the President has acknowledged that the relief efforts up until mid-Friday Morning have been unacceptable. (This morning is when he made that statement)
I can't imagine what it must be like for those people, to have the joy of knowing you survived the hurricane, only to have the flood come, hopes lifted at the sight of rescuers beginning their work, only to have those hopes crushed and without knowing why, guns aimed at you. Watching your fellow survivor citizens getting shot around you without understanding the full impact of events that led up to that. Keep in mind the people down there have no electricity, and have no access to newspapers, televisions, internet, and other news sources like we do.
http://ods.org:8003/fema <--- Listen to the National Guard's communications system... hear the men who are in New Orleans right now, trying to get the situation under control.
I tuned into the above link yesterday when it was posted by someone who heard them say calling for backup for a group of NOPD officers who had been surrounded by armed civilians. I heard them asking if a helicopter could lift 10 people at once; I heard another guard calling for backup because he had a man at gunpoint who had merely come out of his home. My guess is the guy didn't realize there was a curfew, and likely wasn't thrilled to find a gun in his face simply for stepping outside of his own house. That wasn't even in the greater New Orleans area, it was in one of the surrounding areas.
I've found the best news coverage comes from the local newscast
http://www.wwltv.com --They're broadcasting out of Baton Rouge if I remember correctly.
And the New York Daily News has this article..
http://nydailynews.com/front/story/342810p-292645c.html