GeordieSteve Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 What the bloody hell is going on now? http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-13428121,00.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kopite Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 The sickest thing though is still those looters runnin around with guns thieving even when they can't do anything with the stuff anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 Weblog of someone trying to keep a hosting company going in NO right now. Some major sites like something awful are hosted there. Some interesting bits on the buses. http://www.livejournal.com/users/interdictor/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamanC Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 The sickest thing though is still those looters runnin around with guns thieving even when they can't do anything with the stuff anyway! hopefully they will go home and try to plug in their newly aquired electrical product Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrAngry Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 I am sure that the people in New Orleans couldn't give a toss about George Bush visiting today. I just can't believe that after being told that this was a likely event, the Government over there didn't have some emergency relief plan. They seem to be very good at "trying" to sort other countries problems. But when it comes to home there seems to be something serious lacking. Let's just hope something is done soon before people start dying unecessarily from lack of the basic essentials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooby_doo_do Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 Anyone got any high res pictures of it ? I can only find little crap ones on the net... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kopite Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 I am sure that the people in New Orleans couldn't give a toss about George Bush visiting today. I just can't believe that after being told that this was a likely event, the Government over there didn't have some emergency relief plan. They seem to be very good at "trying" to sort other countries problems. But when it comes to home there seems to be something serious lacking. Let's just hope something is done soon before people start dying unecessarily from lack of the basic essentials. Think that's what the Mayor's just said too, he's fumin at Bush and for good reasons!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl0s Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 I wonder how much of the stuff we're hearing is true? We're hearing about looters, rapists and murderers. (It's a predominantly black area, right?) But reading that site suggests people are looting for food and water, and eventually resorting to breaking into cars to try to get out of the city. No one can get anywhere near the 'good guys' because they just point guns at them and say go away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TLicense Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 Whilst I do genuinely have every sympathy for the people of New Orleans, and anybody who is caught up in such a disaster, there's three things I've found interesting. First of all, listening to the people interviewed, screaming about how people hadn't eaten for 3/4/5 days, and children were being effected, I was drawn to think about how it compares to parts of the developing world, and how they have to deal with these kind of situations on a yearly basis, yet Western civilisation (myself included) sit and watch and nothing really is done to alleviate the matter. Second of all, I'm very suprised how quickly civilisation and the rules that we live by apparently fall by the way-side when a disaster happens. I couldn't imagine even considering looting if I were caught up in such a scenario (although I have never had the misfortune, but I consider myself a good person, and would like to think I wouldn't stoop so low) I'm just amazed at how an apparently civilised community could degenerate so quickly. Is this the reality of what human nature really is when it comes down to it? Thirdly, how ill prepared the richest country in the world is for a disaster of this scale. It brings a stark reality to what it must be like for some of the poorest nations, where this kind of disasters are an almost yearly guarantee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 In that situation, I wouldn't think twice about looting a shop to feed myself or my family. When the fame work of 'civilization' is removed most peoples survival instinct will kick in and you do what you have to. Anyone seen War of the Worlds? The scene when he's trying to get out the city.... General looting and thieving is something else though, that's just greed and opportunism. I can't believe it's such a mess out there, or the UN is setting up a special task force to help them out !! This is America for f&*ks sake, you'd think they could look after themselves... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ark Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 In that situation, I wouldn't think twice about looting a shop to feed myself or my family. Agreed - basic necessities are just that! All the howling I saw on TV doesn't cut it for me though - the average person can live two weeks without eating...longer if they're fat. There's plenty of material to make fires from, and plenty of water to boil up and drink. I really don't see the problem! One lady they interviewed on the news was living in a car on the beach, out of choice, because she had all this, and no hassle from other people who packed into the shelters like sheep, expecting to be given everything miraculously. Aren't there something like 5 million people affected? Do they really expect the government to sort that many people out in a blink of an eye? If they've got the energy to rant and rave on tv, they can't be that badly off yet - just too used to 5 square meals a day! (asbestos underpants on - I'm entitled to my opinions) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoboblio Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 It wasn't as if this was a suprise attack..... FFS they sat and watched the bloody storm coming across on the weather map! I know it's a large affected area but for people to now be stuck in this type of situation is ridiculous for such a rich country. Who was it who said any society is only 3 meals away from anarchy... looks like they were right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoboblio Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 Agreed - basic necessities are just that! All the howling I saw on TV doesn't cut it for me though - the average person can live two weeks without eating...longer if they're fat. There's plenty of material to make fires from, and plenty of water to boil up and drink. I really don't see the problem! I agree, may be wrong but it seems like right now a lot of able bodied people are just sitting around waiting for a miracle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 We're hearing about looters, rapists and murderers. (It's a predominantly black area, right?) What do you mean? It's well known that looters, rapists and murderers are blacks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kopite Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 Think Carlos meant that they might be reporting the looting etc because people will think it's the black people of New Orleans doing it? Dunno though. If people are looting for food/water/medical supplies etc then that's understandable. Think most of them are probably after the plasma tvs etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl0s Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 What do you mean? It's well known that looters, rapists and murderers are blacks? I was being cynical about the press reports! I just missed out the :rolleyes that's all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 Don't try to get out of it now Mr KU KLUX KARLOS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kopite Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jspec Germany Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 Aren't there something like 5 million people affected? Do they really expect the government to sort that many people out in a blink of an eye? If they've got the energy to rant and rave on tv, they can't be that badly off yet - just too used to 5 square meals a day! (asbestos underpants on - I'm entitled to my opinions) Time for an American to chime in. It's not the president's fault these people are in this situation. It's their own. Very little blame can be directed at the government. They saw it coming on the news. These people were warned to evacuate. They chose to stay. If they couldn't leave for handicapped or illness reasons, the state should have helped them. This is a matter of the states of Louisiana and Mississippi, along with the people that choose to live there not being prepared. Take a lesson from the Okinawan's. They know they live in a place where very violent and deadly weather comes every year, so they build their houses and shorelines to cope with it. Some Americans don't learn. Their trailer park or flimsy house built right on the beach gets demolished and they build another just like it in its place. You can't blame President Bush for people looting and shooting at helicopters. Blame their parents who didn't raise them properly. You can't blaim President Bush for a Hurricane. You can't blame the government for you being stuck in a place that you knew was below sea level where hurricanes are an annual visitor. The states could have been more prepared with adequate response, but who could see this coming, and who can prepare for 1 million homeless hungry people? They warned these people and it was all over the news. Marshall law could have been declared by the Governor sooner and National Guard/Military assistance should have been requested earlier, although the military is stretched really thin thanks to President Clintons' National Defense cutbacks. There's only so much the government can do to protect people from themselves. I for one, as an American, am embarrassed by what I see on the news. F*ck most of the media anyway. This John ..... whatever his name is in the light blue shirt reporting from N.O. for BBC is the kind of weak little person who only looks for people to blame rather than helping to fix the problem. That's not news. That's b*tching and griping. :thumbdown Try reporting what's being done, not what isn't. Just my two cents. I would have never stayed there if I was a resident. That's what insurance is for. Sorry for the rant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jspec Germany Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 Marshall Law + Shoot to kill orders on looters = no more looters. Problem solved. That's what happens when people are raised properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Class One Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 So do you think they'll be a Mardis Gras? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tannhauser Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 I agree that the second something like this happens, everyone is ready to dole out the blame and it's usually the authorities who bear the brunt of it. It's always 'could more have been done' - because increasingly when anything happens, it is assumed that someone is responsible. Having said that, in my view the current situation in NO isn't helped by some enduring issues in the US. Why are so many trapped there? Well, all the false alarms from previous years didn't help and doubtless many stayed when they could have left. But apparently 100, 000 N. Orleaners don't have cars, so I guess a proportion were genuinely trapped. With regard to armed looters, it's got to be expected. The US has amongst the lowest social mobility in the western world (the poor are likely to stay poor) and amongst the greatest disparities between wealthy and poor. I got lost driving around the back end of NO a few years ago and the poverty is pretty obvious....but a few minutes' drive away there are huge, palatial belle epoque houses. So it's no surprise what's going to happen when the 'have-nots', surrounded by conspicuous consumption, have the restraining rules taken away. Then you add into the increased availability of firearms..... I know that very few on this board think that climate change is (a) real and/or (b) due to human activity ('cos you all watch 'Top Gear'), but the insurers sure believe in it. Extreme weather events like this keep getting more frequent, so the failure of the US to entertain the Kyoto treaty also looks tragically ironic. Cliff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangerous brain Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 I know that very few on this board think that climate change is (a) real and/or (b) due to human activity ('cos you all watch 'Top Gear'), but the insurers sure believe in it. Extreme weather events like this keep getting more frequent, so the failure of the US to entertain the Kyoto treaty also looks tragically ironic. Cliff Very first thing I thought when I heard that a hurricane had trashed N.O. Nobody deserves to die ever but I can't help but think that the american policy on green issues is going to start biting them hard in the balls. Again as Jspec says I cannot beleive that every year I see the same people in the same areas of Florida etc complaining that their house has blown away. F*ck me theres no hurricanes round my way but my house is built of old fasioned bricks, why aren't theirs? If america is the centre of technological excellence how comes they haven't figured out that wood house+hurricane=house blows away?? It is staggering how fast morals crumble in society. I think it happens even faster in countries that are more well off as well. In areas of the world where this kind of disaster is prevalent people have learnt to deal with it and get on with their lives and help one anothe rout. In N.O. it seems that the majority (not all) think that it is their god given right to have someone else fix it all up for them. Fairy godmother has been a bit slow of late by the looks of it and thats what they are moaning about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tannhauser Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 I for one, as an American, am embarrassed by what I see on the news. F*ck most of the media anyway. This John ..... whatever his name is in the light blue shirt reporting from N.O. for BBC is the kind of weak little person who only looks for people to blame rather than helping to fix the problem. That's not news. That's b*tching and griping. :thumbdown Try reporting what's being done, not what isn't. Just my two cents. I would have never stayed there if I was a resident. That's what insurance is for. Sorry for the rant. But surely 'helping to fix the problem' isn't News, it's aid? That isn't the reporter's job. Isn't the reporter's job to tell the story (e.g. the plight of the people in that situation), but also to look for the causes of the situation? I agree that there is a tendency to always blame the authorities, but I think it's legitimate to ask the question. And if that's what people on the ground (or the water) are asking, and that's the mood, then that seems legitimate. 'Bitching and griping' always seems a popular phrase over the pond ( I see it so much on Supraforums, applied to everything. Seriously, if Jesus Christ showed up on Supraforums, He'd be shot down as a cry-baby, liberal wuss, always bitchin' on about the poor). I think the tendency in the US, much more than in the UK, is to believe that people are largely responsible for their own fates. If someone suffers, then it is because they f**ked up, or they were lazy, or (as you say) they weren't raised correctly. For example, if homes are destroyed and people drowned then that's the citizens' own fault for choosing to live there. But this is typically oversimple: apart from economic migrants, I reckon people in poor communities are much more likely to stay where they were raised. It's the middle classes that move around much more. And some will be tied economically to the area, or have jobs related to the coast. It's a harsh and unforgiving philosophy. The same reasoning might lead one to conclude that those drowned in the Asian Tsunami were at fault for wanting to live at the sea-side. My own two cents, or rather 2p. Cliff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Walker Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 Seriously, if Jesus Christ showed up on Supraforums, He'd be shot down as a cry-baby, liberal wuss, always bitchin' on Epic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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