Hurricane Katrina!

[wildo 0]

Quote[/b] ]The Bush administration also said it will accept foreign assistance. At least 24 nations and international organizations, ranging from Israel to Venezuela and the United Nations, have offered medical teams, field hospitals, military aircraft and other help.

i never thought id here those words, but if you look at it, the US as big as it is, is basically on its knees from this disaster, i have deep sympathy for the afflicted people, but becuase the whitehouse has spent so much on iraq its basically and truly fucked itself over with now what happened, and with the parties of rapists and other gangs it sickens me thta people are doing that, and especially the shoot to kill policy is horrifying, imagine the hsit they will get over shooting there own civilians because they are so unequipped and unsupplied (food and water i mean)

its a dark day in US history

Wildo

[EiZei 0]

And another thing with some of those good causes ... are they trustworthy?Such scams have happened before.

7th largest active webboard in the internet with a history of donation drives for good causes.. think ill say yeah.

[Bernadotte 0]

Well, according to SomethingAwful, PayPal's explanation is:

Quote[/b] ]Sep. 3, 2005:  We have received more than one report of suspicious behaviour from your buyers.

In other words, some of SomethingAwful's donors seem to have posted complaints against the account holder, which has frozen the account.

How can there be buyers when the account is solely for donations? He did check some donation-option when signing up if I recall right.

I suspect that PayPal's reply message was just an automated response.  And since the vast majority of their transactions probably don't involve donations they probably don't have an autoreply dedicated to donations.  Customers are either buyers or sellers.

...Just speculating.

Why doesn't the Red Cross have an online receivable accounts system that let's donors contribute in the name of an organisation in a way that everyone could watch the fund grow with the click of a mouse?  And then the Red Cross would send a tax deduction receipt to that organisation.  As things are now, PayPal will probably earn itself a $30k+ tax deduction receipt from United Way for the SA contributions.  ...which really is awful.

[denoir 0]

Quote[/b] ]The Bush administration also said it will accept foreign assistance. At least 24 nations and international organizations, ranging from Israel to Venezuela and the United Nations, have offered medical teams, field hospitals, military aircraft and other help.

i never thought id here those words, but if you look at it, the US as big as it is, is basically on its knees from this disaster,

Yes, regarding that, some specifics:

U.S. receives aid offers from around the world [CNN]

Quote[/b] ]

CNN) -- The U.S. government has received offers of aid from dozens of nations across the globe in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the State Department said.

Neither the White House nor the State Department has said whether these offers have been accepted.

However, Reuters reported Sunday that the United States has asked for assistance from the European Union and NATO.

The EU Executive Commission said the United States has asked for first aid kits, blankets, water trucks and 500,000 prepared meals, Reuters reported.

NATO said the United States had asked it for food supplies, Reuters reported. "NATO stands ready to continue to support the United States as it recovers from this natural disaster," the alliance reportedly said in a statement.

Among those offering assistance are India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia, the four countries hardest-hit by the December 26 tsunami.

Other international organizations also offered help, ranging from medical teams to tents to cash donations. They include the Organization of American States, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and World Health Organization.

The United Nations has offered to help coordinate international relief.

....

One interesting thing about Sweden - the US asked specifically for Ericsson temporary mobile GSM stations so that they could have cell phone coverage for the rescue workers. These together with a couple of medical teams and supplies were ready to lift off this morning, but the whole thing has been put on hold. Literally minutes before take off the US government said that it did not have the logistical capability of receiving the aircraft at this time, so the whole thing has been put on hold indefinitely. But they are on stand by.. (Svensk USA-hjälp ställs in (DN) - article in Swedish)

Edit:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=....e&hl=en

Google Maps now has recent images of NO.

[EiZei 0]

Why doesn't the Red Cross have an online receivable accounts system that let's donors contribute in the name of an organisation in a way that everyone could watch the fund grow with the click of a mouse?

Beats me, one finnish charity organization instituted that kind of "competitive" system that had real-time top 100 ranking for different organizations/groups/websites/etc. and their internet donations went through the roof. Bit cynical maybe but I think the end justifies the means in this case.

EDIT:

http://www.joulupata.fi/cgi-bin/joulupata/default2004.cgi

It was the finnish sect of the salvation army apparently.

[shinRaiden 0]

What good would GSM stations do? GSM has very poor market penetration in the US. The phone companies would be happy though since they'd be selling phones by the crate-load.

[Bernadotte 0]

What good would GSM stations do? GSM has very poor market penetration in the US. The phone companies would be happy though since they'd be selling phones by the crate-load.

The GSM stations would be set up temporarily to support the mobile phones of the Swedish rescue workers. This way a large (taxable) Swedish company will be receiving a piece of Swedens aid contribution instead of an American supplier of handheld units that the Swedish contingent would have to get used to.

[denoir 0]

As far as I know it wasn't intended for the relatively few Swedish rescue workers, but for the American ones. The temporary setup is supposed to support about 50,000 users in the region.

As for the GSM standard, the advantage of it over more modern 3G networks is that fewer stations can cover a wider area. In addition, most phones are backwards compatible to GSM.

Anyway, from the article it seems like the US government specifically asked for GSM stations.

[Tovarish 0]

I just can't comprehend incidents like these:

http://www.cbc.ca/story....04.html

Quote[/b] ]Five people killed by New Orleans police

Last Updated Sun, 04 Sep 2005 18:59:47 EDT

CBC News

New Orleans police shot and killed at least five people Sunday after gunmen opened fire on a group of contractors travelling across a bridge on their way to make repairs.

Deputy Police Chief W.J. Riley said police shot at eight people, killing five or six.

John Hall of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said fourteen contractors were travelling across a bridge that spans a canal connecting Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River, under police escort, when they came under fire. The contractors were on their way to launch barges into Lake Pontchartrain to plug a breech in the canal.

None of the contractors were killed.

In other news:

http://www.cbc.ca/story....02.html

Quote[/b] ]Canadian warships to sail to Louisiana

Last Updated Fri, 02 Sep 2005 18:20:41 EDT

CBC News

Three Canadian warships, a coast guard vessel and three Sea King helicopters will be sent to Louisiana on Tuesday with relief supplies for the U.S. Gulf Coast.

National Defence Minister Bill Graham talks with Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov in Moscow. (AP Photo)

Defence Minister Bill Graham made the announcement from Moscow, Russia.

The Canadian Coast Guard Ship Sir William Alexander will sail along with the Canadian Navy vessels, HMCS Athabaskan, HMCS Ville De Quebec and HMCS Toronto.

Naval crews were busy loading gear on to the ships in Halifax Friday as 1,000 personnel prepared to head to waters off New Orleans.

Commodore Dean McFadden, who will command the deployment, said they were consulting with their American counterparts to determine what they will do during the expected month-long mission. He suggested duties would involve reconstruction, health care and humanitarian aid.

"We will have the capacity to move people. We'll have the capacity to bring medical supplies and fuel capabilities," McFadden said as he stood on the dock next to destroyer HMCS Athabaskan, the command and control ship for the mission. "The specific jobs we're going to do, I'll wait until the Americans tell us what help they need."

The vessels will work with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard and carry Canadian Forces personnel, some of them military engineers who might be able to help restore power and generate electricity.

About 40 navy divers from both coasts were also expected to deploy with the mission, which got clearance after American officials accepted a Canadian offer of help.

Rear Admiral Dan McNeil of the Joint Task Force Atlantic said organizers of the mission, dubbed Operation Union, were compiling a list of what's needed as U.S. officials continued to assess their requirements.

The ships are expected to arrive in the Gulf of Mexico three to four days after they leave Halifax.

*edit* interesting tidbit of information, "New Orleans is Sinking" by the Tragically Hip has been banned from radio play in Canada.

[Blake 0]

Contractors being fired upon, now where I've heard that before...

CNN also reports that apparently civilian Super Puma helicopter crashed over New Orleans but pilot and crew were rescued.

[EiZei 0]

What good would GSM stations do? GSM has very poor market penetration in the US. The phone companies would be happy though since they'd be selling phones by the crate-load.

Don't they sell tri-bands in the US as well? Many phones here come with that feature at least.

Anyways, I suppose it wont matter what the existing phones support since the cheapest GSM phones can cost less than 50e a piece when bought in bulk.

[Balschoiw 0]

A german MedEvac Airbus was refused landing in the USA because the White House first has to decide if it´s ok to have german soldiers helping the people of NO.....

No comment

[llauma 0]

A german MedEvac Airbus was refused landing in the USA because the White House first has to decide if it´s ok to have german soldiers helping the people of NO.....

No comment      

It's just strupid.. The same with them stopping sweden sending a water cleaning system that would have been running now providing 20.000 people with clean drinking water..

[ozanzac 0]

A german MedEvac Airbus was refused landing in the USA because the White House first has to decide if it´s ok to have german soldiers helping the people of NO.....

No comment      

Proof, that bureaucracy is nothing more than an impediment, and has no place in an emergency situation.

It's this exact bureaucratic BS, that has caused so many to die needlessly, yet it's still rife.

So long as the cause is justifiable, and that all agencies are working for a common goal, for what good honest reason would you deny help that's on your doorstep?

Needless heads, and hopefully lot’s of em, will role from the so called ‘in charge’ agencies.

[mattxr 9]

Road to nowhere

[denoir 0]

According to Walker it was Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, not Senator Mary Landrieu.

http://slate.msn.com/id/2125581

She's not the only one...

Edit: Look at the video in the link above. What a bitch!  

She's a politician.  She's a deal maker.  Her effectiveness is measured by how much she can get for her state in Washington DC.

Hehe, Bernadotte, give a try to spin this:

Mary Landrieu: I'll Punch Bush, 'Literally'

Quote[/b] ]

Sen. Mary Landrieu threatened the president of the United States with physical violence on Sunday, saying that if he or any other government official criticizes New Orleans police for failing to keep civil order in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina - "I might likely have to punch him - literally."

"If one person criticizes [our sheriffs], or says one more thing, including the president of the United States, he will hear from me - one more word about it after this show airs and I - I might likely have to punch him - literally," Landrieu railed on "ABC's "This Week."

It is illegal to threaten the president with physical violence.

The Louisiana Democrat blasted Bush for neglecting the New Orleans levees, and demanded that he stop using the disaster for "photo-ops."

"The president came here yesterday for a photo-op," Landrieu charged, while surveying the disaster scene via helicopter with "This Week" host George Stephanopoulos in tow. "He got his photo-op but we are never going to get this fixed if he does not send us help now."

Landrieu also blamed Bush for cutting funding for levee improvement, before bursting into tears on camera.

In recent days, Louisiana officials have been criticized for bungling evacuation and rescue efforts. One of those officials, Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, is Sen. Landrieu's brother.

Damage control anybody? Well, people have short term memory, so she might actually get re-elected again.

[Supah 0]

Hey if it isn't Mary "Shout out to mah homeys on senate hill" Landrieu! I don't think people will soon forget her bungling on CNN, with ever question she was asked she could only answer with more empty praise for her superiours. These people are the result of political systems around the world being more based on brown nosing then actually leadership skills.

[Apollo 0]

With other words ,many US politicians are currently following a crash course on dodging as they expect bullets of criticism that ininvatably will hit something hard.As thus scapegoat searching will intensify this week ,and as usually it will probably be some disconnected indivudual that has to take the load to protect the higher echelon's.

[Blake 0]

It's not just the politicians that now try to ride with the tide...

Sean Penn's rescue bid sinks

[billybob2002 0]

It's not just the politicians that now try to ride with the tide...

Sean Penn's rescue bid sinks

Quote[/b] ]With the boat loaded with members of Penn's entourage, including a personal photographer, one bystander taunted the actor: "How are you going to get any people in that thing?"

Classic. Also, Penn was afraid that he was going to be shot so he wore some kevlar.

Quote[/b] ]Damage control anybody? Well, people have short term memory, so she might actually get re-elected again.

She wants to deny that diaster relief happens on the local, state, and federal levels.

Quote[/b] ]It's this exact bureaucratic BS, that has caused so many to die needlessly, yet it's still rife.

I know what you are talking about....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4214746.stm

Quote[/b] ]

The military told all non-US citizens to stay together for safety, Ms Sachs added.

They later told them they would be secretly smuggled out in groups of 10 under cover of darkness as it had become too dangerous for them to remain in the stadium, she told BBC News.

"When we were leaving, people were going 'Where are you going?' and giving us looks.

"But the military got us out, which we were all thankful for."

[HotShot 0]

Just saw this news, which doesn't seem to have been posted before:

5 of the guys the cops killed might of been army workers

Quote[/b] ] Five dead were army workers: report

05sep05

Associated Press reports that at least five people shot dead by police as they walked across a New Orleans bridge yesterday were contractors working for the US Defence department.

A spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers said the victims were contractors on their way to repair a canal. The contractors were on their way across the bridge to launch barges into Lake Pontchartrain, in an operation to fix the 17th Street Canal, according to the spokesman.

The shootings took place on the Danziger Bridge, across a canal connecting Lake Pontchartrain to the Mississippi River.

Early on Sunday, Deputy Police Chief W.J. Riley of New Orleans said police shot at eight people, killing five or six.

No other details were immediately available.

Also about 10 minutes ago there was a press conference that the FEMA guy and a Lt. General were on. Can't find any video or transcript from it (seeing as it was only just on), but if you do then it's well worth watching, just to hear the General talking.

[Bernadotte 0]

Hehe, Bernadotte, give a try to spin this:

Mary Landrieu: I'll Punch Bush, 'Literally'

Hehe, Denoir, give a try to ignore this question too:

Less than 24 hrs after CNN's Anderson Cooper asked the Louisiana senator for her response to the people of Mississippi (duh), he finally figured out that he should probably ask this of Mississippi senator Trent Lott:

Quote[/b] ]COOPER:  You know, there's so much anger here, Senator, as I'm sure you know. I'm sure you've heard this from your constituents. People want answers and they feel like the federal government failed on this. Did the federal government fail?

LOTT: Absolutely not.

COOPER: Why is it taking so long? Do you understand why it's taking so long?

LOTT:  National Guard units are citizen soldiers. They're not at the armory waiting to go. They've got to get there, they've got to get their equipment packed. They've got to come in. People don't realize...

COOPER: Let me ask you.

LOTT: Yes.

COOPER: I asked someone here that I told them I was going to be talking to you tonight. And they wanted to ask, was part of the problem that a lot of these National Guard troops are in Iraq or overseas? I mean, are the forces so depleted, is that an issue?

LOTT: Anderson, only the news media is asking that question.

COOPER: Sir, I can guarantee you that is not true.

LOTT: No, that is not accurate. We've got the National Guard troops that we need. They're coming in there. They're coming in 1,200 a day into Mississippi. We're going to have 6,000 to 7,000 in Mississippi alone, not just Mississippi National Guardsmen, but Alabama, all the way to Michigan are going to be there. We're all pulling together.

COOPER: So you're happy with the federal government response?

LOTT: Look, I'm one of them. And I...

COOPER: Well, I know. I understand that. But you're pleased with the federal government response?

LOTT: I am pleased with the federal government response.

(Excerpted from this transcript.)

Unlike Landrieu, Lott isn't promising any investigations into the slow response.  He's actually fucking pleased with the response!!  

So why isn't Trent Lott getting hate mail for praising the federal government's response while Mary Landrieu was branded a "bitch" for merely thanking the federal government for the relief when it was finally on the way (like every other politician did)? At least she has promised an inquiry into the slow response.

[Baz 0]

Hehe, Bernadotte, give a try to spin this:

Mary Landrieu: I'll Punch Bush, 'Literally'

Hehe, Denoir, give a try to ignore this question too:

Less than 24 hrs after CNN's Anderson Cooper asked the Louisiana senator for her response to the people of Mississippi (duh), he finally figured out that he should probably ask this of Mississippi senator Trent Lott:

Quote[/b] ]COOPER: You know, there's so much anger here, Senator, as I'm sure you know. I'm sure you've heard this from your constituents. People want answers and they feel like the federal government failed on this. Did the federal government fail?

LOTT: Absolutely not.

COOPER: Why is it taking so long? Do you understand why it's taking so long?

LOTT: National Guard units are citizen soldiers. They're not at the armory waiting to go. They've got to get there, they've got to get their equipment packed. They've got to come in. People don't realize...

COOPER: Let me ask you.

LOTT: Yes.

COOPER: I asked someone here that I told them I was going to be talking to you tonight. And they wanted to ask, was part of the problem that a lot of these National Guard troops are in Iraq or overseas? I mean, are the forces so depleted, is that an issue?

LOTT: Anderson, only the news media is asking that question.

COOPER: Sir, I can guarantee you that is not true.

LOTT: No, that is not accurate. We've got the National Guard troops that we need. They're coming in there. They're coming in 1,200 a day into Mississippi. We're going to have 6,000 to 7,000 in Mississippi alone, not just Mississippi National Guardsmen, but Alabama, all the way to Michigan are going to be there. We're all pulling together.

COOPER: So you're happy with the federal government response?

LOTT: Look, I'm one of them. And I...

COOPER: Well, I know. I understand that. But you're pleased with the federal government response?

LOTT: I am pleased with the federal government response.

(Excerpted from this transcript.)

Unlike Landrieu, Lott isn't promising any investigations into the slow response. He's actually fucking pleased with the response!!

So why isn't Trent Lott getting hate mail for praising the federal government's response while Mary Landrieu was branded a "bitch" for merely thanking the federal government for the relief when it was finally on the way (like every other politician did)? At least she has promised an inquiry into the slow response.

Because she's kissing the ass of everyone above her in the chain of government that she got in contact with. And normally people don't kiss ass like that on national tv during an interview with a reporter. People listening to the interview do not want to hear a politician kissing ass, they want answers and reassurance. Hell I was enraged when I was watching the report live. First of all you are also trying to waste time during the interview as well... Which i'm sure CNN didn't like when she first went live... And they can't do anything about it, but Anderson sure did give her a good verbal spanking.

[denoir 0]

So Lott is a dick, covering his own ass - what's the big deal? I did not see the Lott interview, so I didn't comment it.

Did you watch the Landrieu interview or just read the transcript? If you didn't, I suggest you do:

http://www.cnn.com/video....ieu.cnn

Quote[/b] ]

So why isn't Trent Lott getting hate mail for praising the federal government's response while Mary Landrieu was branded a "bitch" for merely thanking the federal government for the relief when it was finally on the way

Why is that do you think?

Anyway, an interesting article from BBC that puts some blame on the NO mayor:

Quote[/b] ]

Multiple failures caused relief crisis [bBC]

The breakdown of the relief operation in New Orleans was the result of multiple failures by city, state and federal authorities.

There was no one cause. The failures began long before the hurricane with a gamble that a Category Four or Five hurricane would not strike New Orleans.

They continued with an inadequate evacuation plan and culminated in a relief effort hampered by lack of planning, supplies and manpower, and a breakdown in communications of the most basic sort. On top of all this, there is the question of whether an earlier intervention by President Bush could have a made a big difference.

The planning

Before Hurricane Katrina struck, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) was confident that it was ready. Its director, Michael Brown, said: "Fema has pre-positioned many assets including ice, water, food and rescue teams to move into the stricken areas as soon as it is safe to do so."

Mr Brown even told the Associated Press news agency that the evacuation had gone well. "I was impressed with the evacuation, once it was ordered it was very smooth," he said. Yet on Saturday 28 August, the day before the evacuation was ordered, Mr Brown did not say that people should leave the city. All he said was:

"There's still time to take action now, but you must be prepared and take shelter and other emergency precautions immediately."

This has made Fema appear complacent in the period immediately before the hurricane arrived. If it did not expect the worst, it would not have prepared for the worst.

The Brown statement went out on the same day that the National Hurricane Center was warning that Katrina was strengthening to the top Category Five. Everyone knew the dangers of a Category Five. A Fema exercise last year called "Hurricane Pam" had looked at a Category Three, and that was bad enough.

The evacuation

It was announced at a news conference by the Mayor Ray Nagin on Sunday 28 August, less than 24 hours before the hurricane struck early the next morning.

The question has to be asked: Why was it not ordered earlier?

The Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco said at the same news conference that President Bush had called and personally appealed for a mandatory evacuation. The night before, National Hurricane Director Max Mayfield had called Mayor Nagin to tell him that an evacuation was needed. Why were these calls necessary?

Again, as with Fema, the New Orleans mayor should have known that on the Saturday, Katrina was strengthening to Five. It was already clear on the Sunday that the evacuation would not cover many of the poor, the sick and those who did not pay heed.

The mayor said people going to the Superdome, a sports venue named as an alternative destination for those unable to leave, should bring supplies for several days. He also said police could commandeer any vehicle for the evacuation. But how much support was there at the Superdome? And how much city transport was actually used? There is a photo showing city school buses still lined up, in waterlogged parking lots, after the hurricane.

There are questions for the mayor, dubbed heroic by some, to answer.

The relief operation

The scenes which most shocked the world were at the Superdome and the nearby Convention Center. Yet it turns out that neither Mr Brown nor his boss, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, knew about the crises there until Thursday. This, despite numerous television reports from the scene. It was not until Friday that the first relief convoy arrived.

The very day that this emerged in the press, I was on a video conference with all the officials, including state and local officials. And nobody, none of the state and local officials or anybody else, was talking about a Convention Center," Chertoff told CNN. Note how he blames local officials.

Nor did he know about the breach in the floodwalls until a day later.

"It was midday Tuesday that I became aware of the fact that there was no possibility of plugging the gap, and that essentially the lake was going to drain into the city," he said on NBC. Other, more successful operations, notably the airlift by the Coast Guard, should be acknowledged.

And in a disaster area the size of Great Britain, resources were stretched. But ironically the failure at the Convention Center would have been fairly easy to put right. Reporters drove there without problems. One took a taxi.

What one wonders was Fema/the mayor's office/the governor's office doing while all that was played out on live TV?

One lesson agencies might want to learn is that someone senior should do nothing but monitor TV.

Some of this might explain why people at the Superdome and the Convention Center had to wait so long. It does not explain why communications were not better. Another sign of slowness was that the Department of Homeland Security did not issue the first ever declaration of an "incident of national significance" until the Wednesday. Such a declaration allows the federal government a greater role in taking decisions.

In fact, the arguments between federal and state authorities about who was able to do what is another part of this story. The Department of Homeland Security said the local authorities were inadequate. The locals responded that Fema had been obstructive - it had, for example, stopped three truckloads of water sent by the store Wal-Mart. And so on.

It took days to sort out who should send troops and from where. Nor does Governor Blanco escape criticism. It took until Thursday, for example, for her to sign an order releasing school buses to move the evacuees.

The president's response

Mr Bush has been blamed for failing to rise to the occasion. His critics argue that he took too long to get back to Washington and did not provide the inspirational leadership needed at such a time. Nor, it is said, did he intervene early enough to get things moving.

Washington Post correspondent Dan Balz concluded:

"Anger has been focused on Bush and his administration to a degree unprecedented in his presidency. Senator Mary Landrieu [a Louisiana Democrat] said in an ABC News interview that aired Sunday that she would consider punching the president and others for their response to what happened there. Local officials, some in tears, have angrily accused the administration of callousness and negligence."

The president's defenders point out that it was he who urged an evacuation of New Orleans (he has no legal power to order one) and that he did acknowledge the "unacceptable" pace of the relief effort. Further, they say that aid is now flowing and reconstruction will take place.

Another issue for Mr Bush is why Michael Brown was appointed director of Fema. He had previously been its deputy and had been hired as its general counsel by the director Joe Allbaugh. He played a role in studying the government's response to national emergencies. Before that Mr Brown, a lawyer from Oklahoma, had run the Arab horse association. Senator Hillary Clinton has said that Fema should be removed from the Homeland Security Department and made an independent agency again.

The gamble

When Hurricane Camille, a rare top Category Five storm, hit Mississippi in 1969, just missing New Orleans, the levees around the city were strengthened - but only enough to protect against a Category Three hurricane.

The gamble was taken that another Category Five would not threaten New Orleans anytime soon. This attitude prevailed among successive administrations. Lt General Carl Strock, the Army Corps of Engineers commander, admitted that there was a collective mindset - that New Orleans would not be hit. Washington rolled the dice, he said.

After flooding in 1995, the existing system was improved. However, the sums were relatively small. About $500m was spent over the next 10 years. From 2003 onwards, the Bush administration cut funds amid charges from the Army Corps of Engineers that the money was transferred to Iraq instead. The latest annual budget was cut from $36.5m to $10.4m.

A study to examine defences against a category Four or Five storm was proposed, at a cost of $4m. The Times-Picayune quoted the Army Corps of Engineers project manager Al Naomi as saying: "The Iraq war forced the Bush administration to order the New Orleans district office not to begin any new studies."

But in any event, there was no plan for a major strengthening. This would have taken billions of dollars and many years.

And an Army Corps of Engineers spokeswoman, Connie Gillette, said there had never been any plans or funds to improve those floodwalls which had failed. It is a long and complex chain of responsibility. All these issues, and many more, will now be the subject of congressional and other inquiries.

[Bernadotte 0]

First of all you are also trying to waste time during the interview as well... Which i'm sure CNN didn't like when she first went live... And they can't do anything about it, but Anderson sure did give her a good verbal spanking.

So why didn't Anderson spank Trent Lott?  I only posted an excerpted version of the Lott interview.  With all of Lott's bullshit included it would have been 4 times longer.

So Lott is a dick, covering his own ass - what's the big deal?

The big deal is what you keep making out of what Mary Landrieu said a few hours ahead of the rest of her political colleagues.  The big deal for you is when Landrieu has promised to investigate the slow response, however it's no big deal to you when Lott praises it.

Did you watch the Landrieu interview or just read the transcript? If you didn't, I suggest you do:

http://www.cnn.com/video....ieu.cnn

I saw both interviews on TV and read both transcripts.  What's your point?  Please don't tell me that you agree with Baz that it's not what you say that matters, but how you say it.

Quote[/b] ]So why isn't Trent Lott getting hate mail for praising the federal government's response while Mary Landrieu was branded a "bitch" for merely thanking the federal government for the relief when it was finally on the way (like every other politician did)?

Why is that do you think?

I think Anderson Cooper was trying to keep up with Geraldo Rivera's emotional outburst scorecard.  He would have referred to the same dead Mississippi woman being eaten by rats no matter who he was interviewing.  Poor Landrieu just happened to be the first federal politician he could get his hands on.  In fact, he even interrupted her announcement of Congress' $10 billion in emergency aid so that he could force in the rat story.  He made a decision that the $10 billion aid info was not as important to the viewers as his rat trauma.  As I said from the start, it was typical CNN opportunistic demogoguery designed solely to incite emotion in their weak-minded audience and not to inform.

Trent Lott was probably watching her and thinking "oh good, Anderson got rid of some crocodile tears, so now it's safe for me to be interviewed."  And he was right.