They Really Dropped the Ball..

[GateandGarden]

Originally Posted by Lux

I gathered it was the city limits. The largest city in the world is Mt Isa in Australia with a population of 22 000.

You must have that number wrong. New Orleans was 484, 674 in the year 2000. 22,000 isn't that much to speak of.

[GateandGarden]

Originally Posted by Nixxxed

They were just talking about this on Countdown. They said they were still in the freezer, plus in other places in the CC.

Plus, they showed video (yes, video) of bodies left in the chapel and rooms of Mercy Hospital. At least 18, before the reporters couldn't take it any more and stopped counting.

Off topic (actually, it's not) but great sig, Chuck. When I first saw that I thought it was just brilliant.

[amber]

Originally Posted by GateandGarden

Off topic (actually, it's not) but great sig, Chuck. When I first saw that I thought it was just brilliant.

I was just thinking that four seconds ago when I read it. It's brilliant and hilarious.
to chuck.

[Nixxxed]

Originally Posted by GateandGarden

Off topic (actually, it's not) but great sig, Chuck. When I first saw that I thought it was just brilliant.

Thanks Hillary and Amber! It's from The Daily Show tonight. I laughed all the way through the commercial after they aired it, and just couldn't resist.

My fave: "Unicyclists, Nuclear" Not to mention the Osama Luvs Jenna stuff...

I really needed a pick-me-up after volunteering at the Red Cross shelter today. The look in those people's eyes... I cried all afternoon after I got home.

[heyjupiter678]

http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_3004197

Frustrated: Fire crews to hand out fliers for FEMA
By Lisa Rosetta
The Salt Lake Tribune

ATLANTA - Not long after some 1,000 firefighters sat down for eight hours of training, the whispering began: "What are we doing here?"

As New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin pleaded on national television for firefighters - his own are exhausted after working around the clock for a week - a battalion of highly trained men and women sat idle Sunday in a muggy Sheraton Hotel conference room in Atlanta.

Many of the firefighters, assembled from Utah and throughout the United States by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, thought they were going to be deployed as emergency workers.

Instead, they have learned they are going to be community-relations officers for FEMA, shuffled throughout the Gulf Coast region to disseminate fliers and a phone number: 1-800-621-FEMA.

On Monday, some firefighters stuck in the staging area at the Sheraton peeled off their FEMA-issued shirts and stuffed them in backpacks, saying they refuse to represent the federal agency.

Federal officials are unapologetic.

"I would go back and ask the firefighter to revisit his commitment to FEMA, to firefighting and to the citizens of this country," said FEMA spokeswoman Mary Hudak.

The firefighters - or at least the fire chiefs who assigned them to come to Atlanta - knew what the assignment would be, Hudak said.

"The initial call to action very specifically says we're looking for two-person fire teams to do community relations," she said. "So if there is a breakdown [in communication], it was likely in their own departments."

One fire chief from Texas agreed that the call was clear to work as community-relations officers. But he wonders why the 1,400 firefighters FEMA attracted to Atlanta aren't being put to better use. He also questioned why the U.S. Department of Homeland Security - of which FEMA is a part - has not responded better to the disaster.

The firefighters, several of whom are from Utah, were told to bring backpacks, sleeping bags, first-aid kits and Meals Ready to Eat. They were told to prepare for "austere conditions." Many of them came with awkward fire gear and expected to wade in floodwaters, sift through rubble and save lives.

"They've got people here who are search-and-rescue certified, paramedics, haz-mat certified," said a Texas firefighter. "We're sitting in here having a sexual-harassment class while there are still [victims] in Louisiana who haven't been contacted yet."

The firefighter, who has encouraged his superiors back home not to send any more volunteers for now, declined to give his name because FEMA has warned them not to talk to reporters.

On Monday, two firefighters from South Jordan and two from Layton headed for San Antonio to help hurricane evacuees there. Four firefighters from Roy awaited their marching orders, crossing their fingers that they would get to do rescue and recovery work, rather than paperwork.

"A lot of people are bickering because there are rumors they'll just be handing out fliers," said Roy firefighter Logan Layne, adding that his squad hopes to be in the thick of the action. "But we'll do anything. We'll do whatever they need us to do."

While FEMA's community-relations job may be an important one - displaced hurricane victims need basic services and a variety of resources - it may be a job best suited for someone else, say firefighters assembled at the Sheraton.

"It's a misallocation of resources. Completely," said the Texas firefighter.

"It's just an under-utilization of very talented people," said South Salt Lake Fire Chief Steve Foote, who sent a team of firefighters to Atlanta. "I was hoping once they saw the level of people . . . they would shift gears a little bit."

Foote said his crews would be better used doing the jobs they are trained to do.

But Louis H. Botta, a coordinating officer for FEMA, said sending out firefighters on community relations makes sense. They already have had background checks and meet the qualifications to be sworn as a federal employee. They have medical training that will prove invaluable as they come across hurricane victims in the field.

A firefighter from California said he feels ill prepared to even carry out the job FEMA has assigned him. In the field, Hurricane Katrina victims will approach him with questions about everything from insurance claims to financial assistance.

"My only answer to them is, '1-800-621-FEMA,' " he said. "I'm not used to not being in the know."

Roy Fire Chief Jon Ritchie said his crews would be a "little frustrated" if they were assigned to hand out phone numbers at an evacuee center in Texas rather than find and treat victims of the disaster.

Also of concern to some of the firefighters is the cost borne by their municipalities in the wake of their absence. Cities are picking up the tab to fill the firefighters' vacancies while they work 30 days for the federal government.

"There are all of these guys with all of this training and we're sending them out to hand out a phone number," an Oregon firefighter said. "They [the hurricane victims] are screaming for help and this day [of FEMA training] was a waste."

Firefighters say they want to brave the heat, the debris-littered roads, the poisonous cottonmouth snakes and fire ants and travel into pockets of Louisiana where many people have yet to receive emergency aid.

But as specific orders began arriving to the firefighters in Atlanta, a team of 50 Monday morning quickly was ushered onto a flight headed for Louisiana. The crew's first assignment: to stand beside President Bush as he tours devastated areas.

[email protected]

[amber]

Thanks for posting, Mikki. Yet more sickening news. I like how some of the firefighters refused to represent FEMA.

[dissention]

Originally Posted by heyjupiter678

"I would go back and ask the firefighter to revisit his commitment to FEMA, to firefighting and to the citizens of this country," said FEMA spokeswoman Mary Hudak.

[GateandGarden]

Originally Posted by Lux

Ha, no I know, it's nothing. But the point was that it is the largest city in terms of land mass, the area is the largest in the world. This was related to what he was suggesting about the city limit population not being an accurate account, that city limits are random or not all encompassing, or in this particular case, far too encompassing.

Ah! Now I see. Had to have it explained to me but now I understand.

[GateandGarden]

Originally Posted by Nixxxed

Thanks Hillary and Amber! It's from The Daily Show tonight. I laughed all the way through the commercial after they aired it, and just couldn't resist.

That was one of the best Daily Shows I've seen in awhile.

[estranged4life]

Originally Posted by GateandGarden

Off topic (actually, it's not) but great sig, Chuck. When I first saw that I thought it was just brilliant.

A Queer revolt? Voldemort? (Isnt that Cheney when he isnt working?) WWIII? Yep, Check that since it has started already...Yam shortage??? Oh now that is hitting below the belt, Bush must be impeached for that one offense alone!!!

Brian "SOS-Save our SweetPotatoes" j.

[GateandGarden]

Originally Posted by estranged4life

A Queer revolt? Voldemort? (Isnt that Cheney when he isnt working?) WWIII? Yep, Check that since it has started already...Yam shortage??? Oh now that is hitting below the belt, Bush must be impeached for that one offense alone!!!

Brian "SOS-Save our SweetPotatoes" j.

Love your sig too, Brian.

[estranged4life]

Originally Posted by GateandGarden

Love your sig too, Brian.

I picked it over the following one I considered since it was a choice of good taste of tackiness:

[irishgrl]

Originally Posted by Lux

Why has somebody not decided to take a pop at him?

well.......

[SuzeQuze]

Originally Posted by heyjupiter678

...
Instead, they have learned they are going to be community-relations officers for FEMA, shuffled throughout the Gulf Coast region to disseminate fliers and a phone number: 1-800-621-FEMA.

... But as specific orders began arriving to the firefighters in Atlanta, a team of 50 Monday morning quickly was ushered onto a flight headed for Louisiana. The crew's first assignment: to stand beside President Bush as he tours devastated areas.

[email protected]

Finally, they sent some help. What? To hand out flyers? Hmm, those people do not even have f*cking phones!!! And 50 to stand behind the president? Well, of course. It is all about how things seem, not how they really are, with that "man".

[irishgrl]

Originally Posted by SuzeQuze

Finally, they sent some help. What? To hand out flyers? Hmm, those people do not even have f*cking phones!!! And 50 to stand behind the president? Well, of course. It is all about how things seem, not how they really are, with that "man".

Man? hes the missing link!
the difference between 9/11 and NO is that 9/11 played right into his agenda. He needed a plausible excuse to get into the middle east with our military. he drew imaginary lines and fabricated ghost stories. Here, there is no political gain, no economic gain, only the bare truth that Monkey boy is a bumbler, that he has no clue, that he frankly doesnt give a rats ass.

having said that, I want to point out that I agree with the current evacuation order. Conditions are deteriorating and even those who think they have water/food/sound structure to sustain them are in danger because of the toxic water, the gas leaks and the potential for several diseases now. The area is a cesspool and there is also the danger of fire breaking out from the gas leaks. Personally, I sympathize with the survivors, but they really should leave until the city is made safe again. Ultimately, people need to realize that their lives are more important than "things".