hey..... where's all the foreign help???????

New York City wasn't under 9 feet of water. Also, the damage sustained on 9-11 was relegated to maybe 1 square mile, not en entire city. It's an Apples to Oranges comparison.

How do you get truck loads of food, water and clothing to people when every road is under water?

It takes time to get infrastructure that is not there in place. I blame the mayor and state government, but I also fault the people that did not leave. They were given ample warning, and they could have WALKED to a safer place with the time they had. They instead chose to ignore the warnings that a CAT 5 hurricane was heading towards them, and now are suffering the consequences.
ou:

 

The president is the HEAD GUY IN CHARGE he is the big boss .the head honco.
he is the COMMANDER IN CHEIF (if i got the termiology right)
Yes its his job to make sure that everyone is doing what their supposed to bo doing .

This is a prime time example of the rich leaving the poor to fend for themselves!

Its nothing new.

Its happening every day
there is hundreds of school busses under water that could have been used to take all the poor out of harms way but the political leaders left the sinking ship with the rats!

Its the political people' s job to make sure these things are done . who do you vote for if they all suck?

what would happen it all americans voted to not vote for the craptacular nominees??

take a good look around this can happen to you & I
no one is immune. ou:

had anyone seen the hurricane tracks over the past 100 years??
There is no place on the eastern seaboard that is safe from a hurricane
from Texas north to Michigan and everything to the east is vulnerable

New Orleanes was a tragity just waiting to happen and it did past tense .nothing anyone can do about it now ..unless you have a time machine :grin:

NOW the victims need to be helped and when thats done
then people can throw stones at the political figures and the inadequate policies & procedures that are in place now

and then what rebuild it? make anouther Atlantis?

if they are going to rebuild it. it needs to be raised up ABOVE sea level. WAY, WAY above

i'm not a poitical person because I beleive 99% of politians are nothing more than lieing ,theives in suits.

"Now it's take and take and takeover, takeover
It's all take and never give
All these trumped up towers
They're just golden showers
Where are people supposed to live?

You can arm yourself, alarm yourself
But there's nowhere you can run
'Cause a man with a briefcase
can steal more money
Than any man with a gun"
"DON HENLEY"

did any one take into consideration that people "looting shoes " might really need them?

TEN BILLION DOLLARS for disaster releif would it have cost a lot less to address this before the tragety accures ?? of course it would so why dont the people in charge of this DO THEIR JOBS

How many people have to die before changes are made ?
Is there a death quota manual guidlines before reform is permitted?

it looks like sh!t
smells like sh!t
it must taste like it because it sure leaves a foul taste in my mouth how about you?

these are MY opinions.
Please don't bash me becuase of the way I see these things all i'm tring to do is maybe help somehow some i am not implying that anything said previously on this thread is wrong

SR66 o No:

 

Preparations were made. The LA authorities told everyone to leave, and they were busy doing just that (i.e., evacuation). How do you expect any government on this planet, including ours, to have any further control over this natural disaster. Go door to door? That would be a ridiculous suggestion for such a large metro area. Build higher and stronger dykes? Yes, that is a no brainer, but the residents saw the cost of such an engineering project, considered it, and and then rejected it because of its cost.

Initially, it was believed that the city was spared as a result of the turning of the storm. The truly awsome damage happened a little later. In a matter of a few days after the dykes broke, and after resue efforts were well underway (despite terrorists shooting at them), food, water and transportation began arriving in bulk. I'm sure it could have been much more efficient, but cost is always a factor, and everyone who votes has their say in whether they want their money spent in such a big way.

Finally, what does the president have to do with school busses being parked such that they are now underwater? This would appear to be the locality's responsibility. It's funny, how in an area that believes so heavily in state's rights, enough to start a civil war at one point in time, is now bashing the central government. Everyone should remember that each and every US citizen is the goverment, you know, "We the people ...." Why didn't you petition congress, before this happened, to ensure these "preparations" were in place? I am mad at you, and myself, for not doing so (don't take this last sentiment seriously).

 

Everyone just keeps blaming "The Government" when they really mean President Bush, but the Governor and the Mayor of New Orleans sure are getting a flyby, they are the people responsible for their state, city. But, only President Bush "The Government" is ever called to task. Why is that?

Dean

 

Not really, we just need someone a little more in-touch with reality pulling the strings.

 

Personally, I don't mean Bush. I may have a negative reaction to some of his comments, and he can get things done, but basically there are tiers of government and agencies in place to deal with it. It should be an almost automated process.

It is an apples to oranges comparison. The terrorist attacks had no warning, the hurricane did. Although I don't think the stranded people could all be helped immediately, I'd expect more than one plan be in place to handle the evacuation shelters. Helicopters could have been bringing supplies a few days earlier.

 

I saw where some of the blame falls squarely on the mayors and govenor of LA. In other states where they have faced something like this, they mobilized the National Guard BEFORE the hurricane hit. The result was a prevention of anarchy to the extent we've seen. In LA they did nothing until afterwards. They're crying that the feds haven't done enough to save them. Well, they (the leadership) didn't do enough to help themselves to start with. I can understand where some people are in a situation where they can't do much for themselves, but I also think a lot more people could have done more to help themselves. It seems they paid a heavy price expecting the local/state/ and federal governments to be their mommies. I'm not talking about the elderly, sick, or very poor, either.

I was visiting Florida in July, and you can bet your a-- we were prepared for the worst. While I won't go into minute detail, we had food, water, means to cook the food without electricity, fully gassed up vehicles, and we were armed. Had someone knocked on our door and said we needed to evacuate, we would have been gone in a few minutes. What we had didn't cost a lot of money to assemble, just some time and persistence.

 

I have a couple things to say that may be controversial as usual.

I just returned to China today after being delayed by Katrina. I was in Jackson MS when it blew through. First words out of his mouth, my driver in China insists that China has offered help, and feels the same way some of you do. That means in his case, China offers help to other countries that don't very often offer help back. (The catastrophe that comes to mind is when over 50,000 people died in earthquakes near Beijing in mid 70s and nobody helped China at all.) Nevertheless, China people have a very strong liking for USA people and want to help. Most people in USA probably don't realize how much the Chinese citizens admire the USA people. Then again, I doubt USA would accept help from China considering all the big egos involved with political and job issues. Frankly I doubt it.

It's got me wondering how much foreign help is offered but rejected, and the American people don't even know about it. Actually, I think the US Government actually may be promoting this idea that we stand alone to keep their options open. Heaven forbid that USA takes aid from anybody else's government and owes them a favor.

I was there last week in the middle of it and saw first hand that it's a real mess. I've got two families living at my house now while they sort out rebuilding their homes or moving somewhere else. This isn't the time to point fingers. It's time to pitch in if you can, and accept help for people in need wherever it comes from. My .02.

 

Hmmmmm

Another foreign help link...

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/03/katrina.world.aid/index.html

 

Bingo. Lots of offers. Are the USA government people too proud to accept while the citizens suffer?

It's a real testimony that all these countries offer help to the "richest nation". For this we should be thankful. What would be the harm in accepting help? Maybe I'm stupid but I just don't get it. The only one that looks a little marginal is the water from Mexico if you know what I mean.

 

So what provoked the original poster to say what he did?

Now how do you feel?

Seems like it was just another way to complain about our allies who are not aligned with us in Iraq. This thread is not the only one that started in this vein, so this sentiment is coming from somewhere.

 

My only point was that I think the world in general does like the USA people, and will help if we need it. Naturally they must figure that with such a big economy and the largest military in the world we should be somewhat self sufficient. Nevertheless, there were a lot of offers for help. That makes me feel good about the state of the world's attitude towards the USA.

 

Spot on Mike.
I don't think many dislike the US people, (the leaders & policies might be another question).
I personally don't like the leaders of Iran, Zimbabwe, North Korea etc, but I have nothing against the people in these countries.

Good luck with the rescue & rebuild of your hurricane damaged states.

Per.

:beer

 

I know Sweden has hercules planes with water purifying equipment and "mobile" cell phone networks ready to go, sitting idling, but they're not allowed in becuase of logistics problems in the area is the answer.

 

Mike,
Don't be fooled. I have dealt with people in China and yes, the folks in China like our people and especially our way of life, it's called freedom. But China is still a Communist run country. You make it sound as if those in power in China comprise a great Gov't that has it's arms open to the welfare of others in need. In the meantime they oppress and yes even kill their own citizens who go against the Gov't.
And No, we should not accept their offer for aid just as we wouldn't take it from North Korea, Iraq or Iran.
In the coming days we will hear that people suffered because we didn't accept China's aid. All we have to do is take notice of who these people will be. And it won't be a surprise.

 

Help from the rest of the world

Gentlemen,
I am very shocked at the stories and the pictures we see from New Orleans and I feel extremely sorry for those poor souls suffering down there.
Regarding help from the rest of the world, there is an understanding and respect between countries that you do not send help or relief etc unless the receiving government asks for it. You do not mingle in internal affairs! The European Union and their countries have offered help to the disaster area through its diplomatic channels and is just waiting for the US government to come back and say they want the help. To be sarcastic, the only Governement who decide to send help without being asked is the US government ( to Iraq). ou:

So, the problems in New Orleans have to be solved by the US government, and you can all be assured that there are many countries waiting for the go ahead signal to start assisting.
Here is a quote from the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs stating that Sweden and EU are waiting for the US Goverment to accept the help. It is in Swedish, but since there are many Swedish decendants in USA, and both languages have the same roots, I am sure you can make out the general lines....

"Sverige erbjuder std till orkanens offer
- Tillsammans med EU:s utrikesministrar har jag idag uttryckt Sveriges djupa deltagande och sympati med alla dem som drabbats av orkanen i USA. EU har, liksom Sverige, erbjudit USA hjlp i rddningsarbetet om USA efterfrgar det, sger utrikesminister Laila Freivalds efter EU:s informella utrikesministermte i Newport, Wales. "

On the private level, many individuals are sending money to the Red Cross and other organizations.

To those Americans on this Forum who live close by and have had the opportunity to do something to help out, I am full of admiration and I am also glad that Darryl shared his experiences with us here. It gives us another reality than the network pictures.

Bo (a Swede living in Holland)

 

There is no country by the name of Holland, you're living in the Netherlands.... :Smarty:

I saw your car the other night in Den Haag, you were leaving the Saturday Night Cruise, loaded up with a zillion people and top down, like it was a Swedish cruise night... :bglasses:

Wasn't sure if you spoke Dutch, due to the Swedish plates, so I thanked you in English for visiting my meeting.
One of the ladies in the back spoke Dutch, and told me she liked my Buick shirt.

 

Don't Blame Bush for Katrina

I found this here and it makes perfect sense! :TU:

 

Michael,
I don't see how anyone could argue with what you just posted!
In the coming days the spin will get worse but the FACT will remain that the local and state officials should be held accountable! Mark my words, the spin will carry over into the 2008 election and will be used by the Liberals and their mainstream Leftist media as low-blow tactics.
Thanks for posting it! :TU:

 

I don't think I can take this "Christopher Ruddy" seriously when the 3rd result on a name search returns "Christopher Ruddy, Out-of-Touch Media Elitist". I didn't see the feds waiting around when 9/11 happened, why did they wait around with this disaster? It's nice to see more "bush is infallible" media spin by his right wing buddies though.