Katrina

POSTED BY: SevenPercent
UPDATED: Friday, August 29, 2025 14:39
VIEWED: 7944
PAGE 7 of 7

PREV PAGE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

GINOBIFFARONI

Thursday, September 8, 2005 6:56 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by canttakesky:
I am so tired of hearing how Americans "failed" to help their own. We didn't fail. Americans everywhere (along with many foreign offers) were right there, ready to jump in and help. Local/state govt was begging for the help. But FEMA, under Dept of Homeland Security, trumped everyone and PROHIBITED that help from getting through. This is NOT a matter of blaming who didn't act fast or well enough, local, state, or federal. This is not an issue of response time or incompetence. It is one thing not to act or to do one's job poorly--they should just get fired for that. It is another to actively prohibit others from acting, while Americans died in worse conditions than a POW camp. It is another to erect obstacles to prevent timely, competent rescuers from saving lives. FEMA officials should have to face criminal manslaughter charges for this.

http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,373579,00.html
"Throughout last week, various local and state governments, corporations and nonprofit organizations across the nation attempted to help in the relief effort, only to be snubbed by federal officials -- officials who were themselves providing precious little aid to those in need."

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-caneboats0205sep02,0,5932477.story?
coll=orl-home-headlines
"But the Federal Emergency Management Agency will not authorize the airboaters to enter New Orleans. Without that permission, they would be subject to arrest and would not receive security and support services."

Not only were offers of help rejected while people died, but anybody trying to rescue folks on their own were threatened with ARREST. I have lived under some stern dictatorships, but I have not yet seen a 3rd world dictator (short of mass murderers like Hitler and Pol Pot) make rescuing natural disaster victims illegal at gunpoint. What kind of govt do we have here? What kind of people are we that we nod understandingly at their "reasons" and put up with it?

------------
"For all of them it's about freedom. It's about how much you can take, how much you can have taken from you, both personally and ideologically, before you have to turn around and fight." -- Joss Whedon on "Serenity"

Can't Take My Gorram Sky

Of course some of that foreign aid went in anyway, I mean really what were they gonna do start shooting ?

http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/09/08/louisiana_canada_tha
nks_20050909.html

Louisiana senator: Thank you Canada
Last Updated Thu, 08 Sep 2005 07:12:44 EDT
CBC News
A Louisiana state senator has praised a Canadian search and rescue team. Senator Walter Boasso said a Vancouver-based team reached St. Bernard parish five days before the U.S. army got there.

Pretty bad when we get people into your country faster with less than 5% of your resources...

CANTTAKESKY

Thursday, September 8, 2005 7:30 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Hero:
The point is uncoordinated relief and rescue efforts can hinder as much or more then they actually help.

Uh huh. I've heard the "coordination" and "hindrance" excuse before. Can uncoordinated efforts hinder relief so much that 20,000+ people have to live in a dark, filthy, violent place with no food and water for 5 days? Could all that chaotic hindrance have caused more drownings than the coordination we saw? Yeah, there are problems with chaos and uncoordination, no doubt. But supplies and rescue would have reached folks immediately. Isn't chaotic relief better than coordinated suffering and death?

If FEMA wants to coordinate, fine. If they're competent, let them do their job. If they're going to blank out for 5 days, then they needed to GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY. Let the more prepared rescuers step in until such time that they are ready to "coordinate."

Imagine that your spouse has a heart attack. You call 911. Two ambulances show up. The first one to the door steps in, then says, "Ooops. I left all my resuscitation equipment at another house. Let me coordinate that equipment over here. Just hang on."

The second ambulance's EMT says, "Hey, we're here, equipped, and ready. Let us in."

The first EMT points a gun at the second rescuer and says, "I'm the one coordinating this. You're not allowed in here."

Meanwhile, your spouse dies. Tell me you don't want to see the SOB face criminal charges for obstructing the timely rescue of your spouse.

No, I don't buy the it's-better-to-let-people-die-than-to-have-(OMG!)uncoordinated-hindrance excuse. I hope my fellow Americans don't buy it either.

Can't Take My Gorram Sky

HKCAVALIER

Thursday, September 8, 2005 7:35 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Hero:
...can hinder...

Even Hero has to hedge on this one. But beyond that, maybe Hero's assuming that no one even reads his links anymore...

Um, er, Hero? Did you read your own link? Here're the last three paragraphs...

Quote:
On Capitol Hill, as lawmakers demand an inquiry into the federal government's handling of the disaster, lobbyist Campbell Kaufman has been directing back-channel aid efforts. A Baton Rouge native, Kaufman was ready to climb into a friend's Explorer and drive supplies from Alexandria to the bayou on the day of the hurricane. But reason took hold, and Kaufman decided to stay put long enough to send out a mass e-mail to Capitol Hill contacts requesting donations and help.

Those pleas grew into a do-it-yourself relief effort scheduled to head to Louisiana on Saturday. By last night, Kaufman had two 24-foot rented trucks parked near his offices on Independence Avenue, ready to be packed full of water and food.

"This was the quickest and most effective way to positively help," Kaufman said. "There are a lot of fundraisers going on around here. But our focus is to get supplies to people now. You avoid red tape that way."

Anyway, spin it how you like, H.

By all means, if there's even the slimmest chance that do-it-yourself relief efforts "can hinder" the all mighty FEMA, turn everyone away and keep the press out and don't take any photos of the dead or demand accountability from a too-little-too-late federal government, 'cause of what might happen. 'Course if you do that, a lot more people might just die. Such things happen in wa--oh, wait, that one doesn't apply.

HKCavalier

Hey, hey, hey, don't be mean ('cept to Hero). We don't have to be mean ('cept to Hero), because, remember, Hero is a bad, bad man.

JAYNEZTOWN

Friday, August 29, 2025 2:39 PM

What has changed 20 years on from Hurricane Katrina?

https://www.bbc.com/weather/articles/c3ezvk133l8o

PREV PAGE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7