Katrina

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by dissention

F*ck him. We should all be writing letters, emails, and faxes to the government about their offensive lack of action instead of watching that piece of **** on television. There will be a reckoning and they will pay for this.

I am going to do just that. In fact, I may post some links on who to send them to and where to send them.

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by dissention

The ending of that interview chilled me to the bone. Words are of no use at this point.

I know.

[dissention]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050902/...na_reaction_dc
World stunned as US struggles with Katrina

By Andrew Gray 1 hour, 43 minutes ago

LONDON (Reuters) - The world has watched amazed as the planet's only superpower struggles with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, with some saying the chaos has exposed flaws and deep divisions in American society.

World leaders and ordinary citizens have expressed sympathy with the people of the southern United States whose lives were devastated by the hurricane and the flooding that followed.

But many have also been shocked by the images of disorder beamed around the world -- looters roaming the debris-strewn streets and thousands of people gathered in New Orleans waiting for the authorities to provide food, water and other aid.

"Anarchy in the USA" declared Britain's best-selling newspaper The Sun.

"Apocalypse Now" headlined Germany's Handelsblatt daily.

The pictures of the catastrophe -- which has killed hundreds and possibly thousands -- have evoked memories of crises in the world's poorest nations such as last year's tsunami in Asia, which left more than 230,000 people dead or missing.

But some view the response to those disasters more favorably than the lawless aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

"I am absolutely disgusted. After the tsunami our people, even the ones who lost everything, wanted to help the others who were suffering," said Sajeewa Chinthaka, 36, as he watched a cricket match in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

"Not a single tourist caught in the tsunami was mugged. Now with all this happening in the U.S. we can easily see where the civilized part of the world's population is."

SINKING INTO ANARCHY

Many newspapers highlighted criticism of local and state authorities and of
President Bush. Some compared the sputtering relief effort with the massive amounts of money and resources poured into the war in
Iraq.

"A modern metropolis sinking in water and into anarchy -- it is a really cruel spectacle for a champion of security like Bush," France's left-leaning Liberation newspaper said.

"(Al Qaeda leader Osama) bin Laden, nice and dry in his hideaway, must be killing himself laughing."

A female employee at a multinational firm in
South Korea said it may have been no accident the U.S. was hit.

"Maybe it was punishment for what it did to Iraq, which has a man-made disaster, not a natural disaster," said the woman, who did not want to be named as she has an American manager.

"A lot of the people I work with think this way. We spoke about it just the other day," she said.

Commentators noted the victims of the hurricane were overwhelmingly African Americans, too poor to flee the region as the hurricane loomed unlike some of their white neighbors.

New Orleans ranks fifth in the United States in terms of African American population and 67 percent of the city's residents are black.

"In one of the poorest states in the country, where black people earn half as much as white people, this has taken on a racial dimension," said a report in Britain's Guardian daily.

Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, in a veiled criticism of U.S. political thought, said the disaster showed the need for a strong state that could help poor people.

"You see in this example that even in the 21st century you need the state, a good functioning state, and I hope that for all these people, these poor people, that the Americans will do their best," he told reporters at a
European Union meeting in Newport, Wales.

David Fordham, 33, a hospital anesthetist speaking at a London underground rail station, said he had spent time in America and was not surprised the country had struggled to cope.

"Maybe they just thought they could sit it out and everything would be okay," he said.

"It's unbelievable though -- the TV images -- and your heart goes out to them."

(With reporting by Reuters bureaux around the world)

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by skcin

I saw this live last night. It was beautiful, Anderson did not back down one iota. Is this woman insane? Thanking politicians for sending their thoughts & condolences when the people who voted for her are dead or still suffering? What an assh*le.

I have completely lost respect for her.

[Nixxxed]

Originally Posted by Josh2003

MSNBC...talk about sensationalism. Didn't they have a "countdown to war" ater Bush said that Saddam had "48 hours" to disarm or whatever?

They'll put up a clock for just about anything. My fave so far has been the "Michael Jackson Races To Courthouse" clock the day he showed up in his pajamas.

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by Mad4stevie

I think he is listening - he was looking at the other guys, just not Mr. FEMA.

He's freaked. He's got that same look that he did in the classroom on 9/11. Only he realizes that people are not going to be as forgiving this time.
This is the first time in his presidency he has ever even alluded to any kind of mistake or failure with the "response not acceptable" comment.

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by Josh2003

And that raises the question: What if this had been some kind of terrorist attack? Are we really as safe as this administration is claiming?

I raised that question earlier in the thread. I think the answer is pretty clear about who will be safe and who won't be. JMO, of course.

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by Nixxxed

That looked like BAD community theater. What a pointless time-wasting exercise. He can try, and get all his friends to try to spin this back into his favor. But it's not going to work.

There's no way.

[Josh2003]

Originally Posted by gldstwmn

He's freaked. He's got that same look that he did in the classroom on 9/11.

Or in the first debate with Kerry!

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by GypsySorcerer

The video finally worked for me, and I just finished it. Holy ****. I wish they could air it fully on the news....unedited.

I know. When he says his city will never be the same and starts to cry...I've never seen or heard a politician do that. That's real and everything he said in that interview was straight up. I really feel for him because you know that he feels responsible.

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by Nixxxed

MSNBC just put up one of their famous countdown (or, countup) clocks on screen to show how long it has been since the hurricane, with little to no Federal help.

4 days, 4 hours, 35 minutes ... and counting.

Oh my. That is quite remarkable for MSNBC. The backlash from this...well I can't even imagine.

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by Josh2003

MSNBC...talk about sensationalism. Didn't they have a "countdown to war" ater Bush said that Saddam had "48 hours" to disarm or whatever?

Apparently it cuts both ways. 'Bout time. Like I said, 5 years into the job, they aren't going to cut him the same slack they did post 9/11.

[BombaySapphire3]

Originally Posted by gldstwmn

He's freaked. He's got that same look that he did in the classroom on 9/11. Only he realizes that people are not going to be as forgiving this time.
This is the first time in his presidency he has ever even alluded to any kind of mistake or failure with the "response not acceptable" comment.

I think this time even he understands that all but the most ignorant Bush supporting neo-con is going to hold him accountable for this .Why this is happening in our country and why funds and resources were diverted to the insane war in Iraq when we can't even save the people and keep order in one of our own cities.

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by Nixxxed

They'll put up a clock for just about anything. My fave so far has been the "Michael Jackson Races To Courthouse" clock the day he showed up in his pajamas.

Thanks for the much needed humor.

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by Josh2003

Or in the first debate with Kerry!

He was just befuddled becuase his dosage wasn't high enough and the earpiece wasn't working quite right.