Mogadishu, Louisiana

[QueEx]

<font size="6"><center><s>New Orleans</s> Mogadishu, <s>Louisiana</s> Somalia</font size></center>

<font size="4">
Food, little to none.
200,000 poor, stranded, Black..
Drinkable water, next to none.
Entire city ordered to evacuate.
Hospitals, nonfunctionable.
The hungry, the desperate, the criminals. Loot and pillage.
Gun shots fired.
Rescue efforts allegedly hampered by gun shots.
Rape.
Mayor issues Desperate SOS.
Thriving economy. Economy key to American life. Lost.
Police in gun battle with thugs.
Dead bodies floating.
Dead bodies, everywhere.
Local Government overwhelmed; Non-functioning.
Anarchy.
Troops ordered in.
Troops won't take on the anarchy deep within.
FEMA = Federal Efforts, My Ass.
Days after the bomb called Katrina. People still need to be rescued.
Misery, needs an adjective before it.
Refugees in their own country.
Fires burn, unabated.
Explosions, fire response not possible.
International airport. Now a M.A.S.H. Unit.
Anarchy.
Still deterioating.
Fear.
People with no where to go. No way to get there.
Vigilantism.
Suffering, needs an adjective before it.
A Federal Dry Rehearsal, months ago.
Response wholly inadequate. A failure.
The Blame Game; Finger Pointing.
Anarchy.
People still dying.
</font size>

QueEx

 

[dyhawk]

in the richest nation in the world....................we do not care about..........marginalized poor and black people.........basically they just want you'll to kill off each other

 

[shanebp1978]

Q, I just don't what to do. I just don't.

 

[QueEx]

Q, I just don't what to do. I just don't.

I know Shane. And then you have to think. Is the government any more prepared for a terrorist attack than this woefully lacking effort in the wake of a storm, in New Orleans.

QueEx

 

[dyhawk]

My Question Is Where Is Rice In All Of This.........our Black Super Hero.........and The Other Black Super Heros Out There

 

[Fuckallyall]

I know Shane. And then you have to think. Is the government any more prepared for a terrorist attack than this woefully lacking effort in the wake of a storm, in New Orleans.

QueEx

I totally agree we have been overwhelmed. There are a ton of lessons to be learned behind this. I hope we learn them. However,

1. I do not feel it is effective to vent political based criticism at this point, and

2. I believe we are articulating this policial based criticism to avoid a much more terrifying truth - we are absolutely powerless as people to manage nature. That means no matter how much we spend and/or plan, there is a ton of things that nature can do that we cannot stop, control or manage.

 

[QueEx]

I totally agree we have been overwhelmed. There are a ton of lessons to be learned behind this. I hope we learn them. However,

1. I do not feel it is effective to vent political based criticism at this point, and

2. I believe we are articulating this policial based criticism to avoid a much more terrifying truth - we are absolutely powerless as people to manage nature. That means no matter how much we spend and/or plan, there is a ton of things that nature can do that we cannot stop, control or manage.

That assumes that this matter was NOT manageable. I disagree. I've been through numerous hurricanes including a cat4. You can't stop the winds and you can't stop the surge, but you can sure as hell plan for it before it strikes and you can damn sure plan and provide for the aftermath. Hurricanes are nothing new along the gulf coast, neither is effective planning.

Its been known for quite sometime that the Levee system in and around New Orleans was a problem. The city survived the hurricane AND the surge like a Champ, all things considered; it was the break in the Levee system that has caused this catastrophic result. That could have been remedied, long before the storm.

QueEx

 

[Temujin]

If what I read in the FEMA timeline thread on the main board is true. FEMA denied funding to fix the levies in 2004. FEMA who BUSH put under the Homeland Security umbrella. Where is all the homeland security money going?Had the levies been sabotaged we would have been even less prepared.

This is definetly a leadership issue and our current leadership is extremelly sad.

 

[Lexx Diamond]

The race wars have always a divisive ideal and rarely if ever will have an upside. The media uses race issues to sell stories like 50 cent uses shoot outs to sell records. I have been watching the BBC news for the last few days and trust me when I tell you there is alot that is not being broadcasted in America by our own journalists. It's all a crying shame and will not get any better or change as long people are divided by issues like race, sex, class and religion. 9/11 was horrible but what makes this worst is the fact the US government knew the storm was coming and most people had no means of leaving their homes. It seems that more concern went into whether or not the VMA's could still go on. I'm so pissed off

 

[QueEx]

<font size="5"><center>
New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin
lash out at U.S. officials. Runs 12:16</font size>

<font size="4"><center>Warning: Contains Harsh Language; As it Should !!!</font size></center>

.

[WM]http://mfile2.akamai.com/8753/wma/www.cbc.ca/netstorage/wwl_raynagin050902.wma[/WM]

.

Special thanks to Lexx Diamond, for the codes.

QueEx

 

[A-ten]

Once again, overreaction. Mogadishu. Give me a fucking break. You give absolutely no time to react then overreact yourself because blacks on this board just want to bitch.

You have totally lost credibility Que. You are the racist I always knew you to be. Always wanting to call racism on everything and exaggerate everything into a huge conspiracy with uncaring whites at the heart of it all.


Calling this Mogadishu and comparing the situation to what happened in Mogadishu shows your lack of credibility. Those people in another country suffered for much, much longer than Louisiana and yet you compare Louisiana to a poor African country that suffered for months and still suffers to this day.

Basically a country where warlords ruled and ethnic cleansing ran rampant. Ethnic cleansing and you are comparing Louisiana to Mogadishu.

Things like this alone make me think that many American blacks have little to no credibility in the political realm. This message is ludicrous and false and nothing but grandstanding bullshit.

You Que are a person with low credibility in my book. It's good to see you still have no credibility. Worthless comparison that marginalizes Mogadishu and doesn't give any time to react.

What bullshit. Only your worthless disciples would buy into this crap. You sicken me.

 

[Gods_Favorite]

I just helped outprocess 17 volunteers from Vandenberg to go to New Orleans to help, people are stepping forward its just that we have alot of our resources like the National Guard and Reserves overseas and not readily available, even though I agree the government should have done alot more to be prepared for this.

 

[D Town Redd]

in the richest nation in the world....................we do not care about..........marginalized poor and black people.........basically they just want you'll to kill off each other

CO MUTHAFUCKING SIGN 1000%

 

[nittie]

Comparing N.O. to Mogadishu might be going a little to far. Clinton let a million people die before he lifted a finger when things got ruff he pulled out, his handling of that situation should diqualify him from being any kind of ambassador. Bush declared a state of emegency sunday, people were ordered to evacuate, things didn't start to come apart until the 2nd levee broke on tuesday and flooded the city. There was no way police, firemen or emergency crews could get to the area so shit just got worse.

 

[QueEx]

Once again, overreaction. Mogadishu. Give me a fucking break. You give absolutely no time to react then overreact yourself because blacks on this board just want to bitch.

For what I said to be an over-reaction, especially on the basis of "reaction time", as you guessed at my intent, means you guessed. You guessed at my meaning; guessed at my comparison; and guessed dead damn wrong.

There are a lot of parallels with Mogadishu, none of which I like to admit. The lawlessness A-Ten; the despair, A-Ten; the suffering, A-Ten; the lost of orderliness, A-Ten, and on and on, are very much like Mogadishu. The painful part of it is, from all "<u>appearances</u>", it was my people, my poor some probably dope starved and some probably angry at the system people ... who were the culprits; and certainly my people suffering like a mofo from whatever the cause maybe.

For those left/stayed behind and those left to deal with it and them -- it is much like Mogadishu. And, the reason I know so, is not only because of my own observatons, but because that is exactly the way a cousin of mine described it, once he reached Houston today. His very precious fukkin words. Not mine.

By the way smartass: Bush himself said the response is <font size="3">Inadequate</font size> -- and he was putting it mildly. He doesn't admit to fuck ups, so ya know what this was, while you're bullshittin.

You have totally lost credibility Que. You are the racist I always knew you to be. Always wanting to call racism on everything and exaggerate everything into a huge conspiracy with uncaring whites at the heart of it all.

You know it takes one to know one -- and you just described your damn self by trying, without fukking knowing, to associate yourself with me. I never once mentioned racism or white people.

If you got that from what I said, obviously, you had a racist predisposition to think it. You're EXPOSED -- but don't argue with me about it -- let me see you engage the poster Brownpride, your Hermano. He might make you see yourself in a different light.

Calling this Mogadishu and comparing the situation to what happened in Mogadishu shows your lack of credibility. Those people in another country suffered for much, much longer than Louisiana and yet you compare Louisiana to a poor African country that suffered for months and still suffers to this day.

I stated above the comparison; but what the fuck does the length of suffering have to do with suffering ??? For this type of suffering to be happening in the USA, for even a short hopeless period, is enough to compare it with Mogadishu. By the way, many, if not most, of the people you saw at the convention center, the Superdome, on bridges and on the streets have been suffering a very long assed-time. I know it personally, but you might want to check the damn stats.

The bottom line is, you jumped up and said something you know nothing the fuck about. I ain't surprised though -- you've done it before. Being one of those European descended Hispanics, you're used to seeing shit wrong -- though not all do. You see a lot of shit the same way Scottm does (damn, thats the first time I mentioned his name since I unbanned him).

Basically a country where warlords ruled and ethnic cleansing ran rampant. Ethnic cleansing and you are comparing Louisiana to Mogadishu.

Warlords ??? Ask those Black women who were raped; ask the murdered, if you can get them to speak; and ask the frightened mofos. Ask ya damn self.

Things like this alone make me think that many American blacks have little to no credibility in the political realm. This message is ludicrous and false and nothing but grandstanding bullshit.

Nuff said. You've proved everything I said about you above. LMBAO. And you had the gall to call me racist.

QueTheFuckX

 

[QueEx]

Comparing N.O. to Mogadishu might be going a little to far

Read my opening comments to A-Ten and call me in the morning.

Clinton let a million people die before he lifted a finger when things got ruff he pulled out, his handling of that situation should diqualify him from being any kind of ambassador.

Where the fuck does Clinton enter ??? This is not the Horn of Africa; this America! Take care of ya damn own.

Bush declared a state of emegency sunday, people were ordered to evacuate, things didn't start to come apart until the 2nd levee broke on tuesday and flooded the city. There was no way police, firemen or emergency crews could get to the area so shit just got worse.

And today is FRIDAY. Ever hear of airlift ??? Ever hear of knowing what a Disaster would be and not being prepared to deal with it ???

By the way, even without the levee break, a Cat5/4 hurricane would have turned the lights out on New Orleans or any other city for days if not months. Without electricity, what do you think the crazies would have done ??? Same shit you see happening.

This is nothing new homie; the Feds move troops immediately following most hurricanes because, this kind of shit happens. I know from experience, I'm not telling you what I've heard.

QueEx

 

[nittie]

Read my opening comments to A-Ten and call me in the morning.


Where the fuck does Clinton enter ??? This is not the Horn of Africa; this America! Take care of ya damn own.


And today is FRIDAY. Ever hear of airlift ??? Ever hear of knowing what a Disaster would be and not being prepared to deal with it ???

By the way, even without the levee break, a Cat5/4 hurricane would have turned the lights out on New Orleans or any other city for days if not months. Without electricity, what do you think the crazies would have done ??? Same shit you see happening.

This is nothing new homie; the Feds move troops immediately following most hurricanes because, this kind of shit happens. I know from experience, I'm not telling you what I've heard.

QueEx

Man I really hope you don't think I'm giving the Bush admin a pass on N.O or marginalizing whats happening there. I'm in the Durty it's a miracle my mom and dad weren't in the city they go every chance they get. I am pissed off about what happening there so pissed I'm drained but Mogadishu and N.O. are different. Granted there are the general parallels you find in any disaster and they are amplified by race but that's where the similarities end in my opinion.

Mogadishu could have been prevented it should have never reached the scale it did. Billy Clint the so-called 1st Black president sat on his hands while 1 million Africans were hacked to death. The only reason he intervened was because international pressure wouldn't let him do anything else. Mogadishu was so horrific no single event in American history comes close to it, you would have to combine four hundred years of slavery and institutional racism to surpass what happened in a matter of days there. Americans of African descent are where we are today because of African tribal conflicts like the one in Mogadishu.

The situation in N.O. happened in a matter of minutes, one minute people were thanking God for escaping the hurricane and the next they were being flooded. It wasn't racial as much as economic, under the circumstances nothing could have done anything different, nobody wanted that levee to break...nobody.

Let's not let our emotions get the best of us this time if we do the government will find away to use it against us.

 

[QueEx]

Man I really hope you don't think I'm giving the Bush admin a pass on N.O or marginalizing whats happening there. I'm in the Durty it's a miracle my mom and dad weren't in the city they go every chance they get. I am pissed off about what happening there so pissed I'm drained but Mogadishu and N.O. are different. Granted there are the general parallels you find in any disaster and they are amplified by race but that's where the similarities end in my opinion.

Obviously, you didn't read or understand what I said. I can't help you here unless you read with comprehension.

Mogadishu could have been prevented it should have never reached the scale it did.

And ??? So could N.O.

Billy Clint the so-called 1st Black president

Fuck Bill Clinton.

Billy Clint the so-called 1st Black presidentsat on his hands while 1 million Africans were hacked to death. The only reason he intervened was because international pressure wouldn't let him do anything else.

That has absolutely nothing. Nada. ... to do with the issue here.

Mogadishu was so horrific no single event in American history comes close to it, you would have to combine four hundred years of slavery and institutional racism to surpass what happened in a matter of days there. Americans of African descent are where we are today because of African tribal conflicts like the one in Mogadishu.

Again, you can lead a horse to the water, but you can't make him drink.

The situation in N.O. happened in a matter of minutes, one minute people were thanking God for escaping the hurricane and the next they were being flooded.

No homeboy, thats not exactly true. N.O. happened over decades, Katrina was merely a precipitious event -- and event that was well known would occur.

It wasn't racial as much as economic, under the circumstances nothing could have done anything different, nobody wanted that levee to break...nobody.

There you go joining A-ten. Did I say anything about racial ??? But then again, at some point, class and race often intersect at an ugly corner. Poor white people hate to admit it (they've been taught to think they are better when they aren't) and Black people know it all too well.

Either I am just losing it, or some people just make shit up, ... but where did anyone in this thread mention that someone wanted the damn levee to break ??? And, a lot of things not only could have been done differently, but it was within reach to do things differently:

- It Was known that the levee was likely to fail with a Cat4/5 storm. The Levee could have been strengthened -- which is interesting given the fact that it only failed in a couple of places while the damn thing practically surrounds the city.

- It was known that a lot of people would try to ride the storm out, especially since N.O. had not been hit in some time (people in all hurricane prone areas get laxed when they haven't been affected in a while -- because those who have not been affected by a Cane become more than those who have). Officials could have been much more forceful in getting people out.

- Since it was known that a lot of people simply could not afford to leave and/or had no place to go -- provisions could have been made to get them out. They are being transported now, they could have been transported before.

- In most major hurricanes, looting and lawlessness occurs in the aftermath. I've seen time and again where the National Guard/Reserve is deployed almost immediately after. The aftermath of major hurricanes ALWAYS bring about: No electricity; Tainted water (and someone has to bring in some drinkable water); Grocery stores toss perishable foods because electricity is lost - which is widespread if not total; people with a few dollars buy-up non-perishables and fuel before the Cane hits - leaving neither on the shelves or in the tanks after the storm passes; and hurricanes hit mostly southern states in summer when its hot as hell.

Now, you take no electricity, no A/C, no water, no food, no ICE, 90+ degree sweltering heat, needy and desperate people (no matter what socio-economic bracket), and boiling tempers competing over scarcity ...: what do you think is most likely to occur??? ... A walk in the park ... and I didn't even add in the would be criminals that come out whether its an emergency or just another day in the life.


QueEx

 

[QueEx]

<font size="5">Statement of Under Secretary Michael D. Brown</font size>

<font size="4">2004 International Association of Emergency Managers</font size>

52nd Annual Conference
Dallas, Texas
Monday, <font size="3">November 8, 2004</font size>


"... Allow me to put that into context with what has been going on in Florida since it has been on the nation’s radar screen for almost three months. The men and women in Florida worked long and hard to manage the federal, state and local governments’ responses to the hurricanes and storms. <font size="3">As Hurricane Ivan was bearing down on Florida’s panhandle near Pensacola, <u>I was able to pre-position before the storm to be as close as possible to help make quick decision after the storm hit</u>.</font size> While in Pensacola, the local sheriff’s deputies worked with us immediately after Ivan hit so that we could see what had happened"

.
http://www.fema.gov/library/speech_brown110804.shtm

 

[nittie]

Either I am just losing it, or some people just make shit up

You losing it...Ima leave it at that

 

[Dolemite]

<font size="5">Statement of Under Secretary Michael D. Brown</font size>

<font size="4">2004 International Association of Emergency Managers</font size>

52nd Annual Conference
Dallas, Texas
Monday, <font size="3">November 8, 2004</font size>


"... Allow me to put that into context with what has been going on in Florida since it has been on the nation’s radar screen for almost three months. The men and women in Florida worked long and hard to manage the federal, state and local governments’ responses to the hurricanes and storms. <font size="3">As Hurricane Ivan was bearing down on Florida’s panhandle near Pensacola, <u>I was able to pre-position before the storm to be as close as possible to help make quick decision after the storm hit</u>.</font size> While in Pensacola, the local sheriff’s deputies worked with us immediately after Ivan hit so that we could see what had happened"

.
http://www.fema.gov/library/speech_brown110804.shtm

mike brown fuckin sucks - faggot just changes shirts and runs down the same bullshit no matter what disaster- the biggest disaster FEMA faces is his mismanagement of that agency

 

[QueEx]

mike brown fuckin sucks - faggot just changes shirts and runs down the same bullshit no matter what disaster- the biggest disaster FEMA faces is his mismanagement of that agency

Looks like it, doesn't it.

QueEx

 

[QueEx]

You losing it...Ima leave it at that

Most windbags give up

QueEx

 

[nittie]

If you want to continue with this senseless argument I'm down. I just feel we need to start thinking about some pragmatic, substantive measures we can take to make sure this tragedy is not brushed under the rug. I don't know why you want to sensationalize this by comparing it to Mogadishu when you know they are totally different. Something tells me you want sympathy more than you want solutions.

 

[QueEx]

Bruh, I don't mind discussion, thats why I am here. I explained the damn Mogadishu reference in complete detail and until I've become blue in the face. If you don't get it, I don't know what else to say. Its either I've done a poor job of communicating or you've done a poor job of getting the point, either way, it seems whenever we have an exchange, we're on completely different frequencies. So, discussion with you seems pointless.

QueEx

 

[nittie]

I explained the damn Mogadishu reference in complete detail and until I've become blue in the face. If you don't get it, I don't know what else to say. Its either I've done a poor job of communicating or you've done a poor job of getting the point, either way, it seems whenever we have an exchange, we're on completely different frequencies. So, discussion with you seems pointless.

Nah man you ain't explained that. Tell us about correlations between Mogadishu and N.O. if I'm wrong believe I'll admit it.

Let me remind you that you are talking about the forces that made us what we are today. Tell us how a question that goes to our very heart of our existence like the Black on Black genocide in Mogadishu compares to a natural disaster like the one in N.O. I wanna hear that Man.

 

[QueEx]

Nah man you ain't explained that. Tell us about correlations between Mogadishu and N.O. if I'm wrong believe I'll admit it.

Let me remind you that you are talking about the forces that made us what we are today. Tell us how a question that goes to our very heart of our existence like the Black on Black genocide in Mogadishu compares to a natural disaster like the one in N.O. I wanna hear that Man.

Responding to A-Ten:

There are a lot of parallels with Mogadishu, none of which I like to admit. The <u>lawlessness</u> A-Ten; <u>the despair</u>, A-Ten; <u>the suffering</u>, A-Ten; <u>the lost of orderliness</u>, A-Ten, and on and on, are very much like Mogadishu. The <u>painful part of it is</u>, from all "appearances", <u>it was my people</u>, <u>my poor some probably dope starved and some probably angry at the system people</u> ... <u>who were the culprits</u>; and certainly my people suffering like a mofo from whatever the cause maybe.

For those left/stayed behind and those left to deal with it and them -- it is much like Mogadishu. And, the reason I know so, is <u>not only because of my own observatons, but because that is exactly the way a cousin of mine described it, once he reached Houston today. His very precious fukkin words/u. <u>Not mine</U>.

 

[gene cisco]

ENOUGH!!!!

Hell bottom line this for the humanoids!!!!!!

If relief was have as competent as the tsunami in a third world country, we might not be having this discussion.

AMERICA IS THE LAUGHING STOCK OF THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Many countries are saying it is because of racism and flat out incompetence!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So to many others around the world, if they see it on the tv they dont believe it is america, it does look like some third world african country!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, we are the laughing stock right now.

U know its bad if bush swallowed his pride and took UN help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[code_pirahna]

Anyone who thinks that race had nothing to do with Bush taking his good ole' time getting down there is full of shit. Period

 

[QueEx]

<font size="3">mike brown fuckin sucks - faggot just changes shirts and runs down the same bullshit no matter what disaster- the biggest disaster FEMA faces is his mismanagement of that agency</font size>

<IFRAME SRC="http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/04/katrina.blame/index.html" WIDTH=780 HEIGHT=1500>
<A HREF="http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/04/katrina.blame/index.html">link</A>

</IFRAME>

 

[KingFlip]

Mogadishu's situation is way worse man.. New ORLEANS is a sad case but the kids that were born when the Siad barre gov. was overthrown in 1991 are now well over there mid teens chasing skirts. or back in somalia with an ak for a best freind. the people that died in the clash btwn the black hawk rangers and the somalians alone in the fateful day in mogadishu overwhelm the death toll at NO..
i experianced this firsthand fam.. the killings were no joke.

and people are still dying to today in somalia from starvation famine and constant tribal clashes 14 yrs later.

man i hope that more people don't die both in mogadishu and NO..


but thats just hopes

 

[QueEx]

Excerpts from The Telegraph, London

A more immediate danger was emerging. Gangs of looters began to roam the streets, many heavily armed in makeshift boats constructed from pieces of Styrofoam. Some took flat-screen televisions and trainers. Others were desperate for food and water.

"These are poor and desperate people with no housing and no medical care and no food or water trying to take care of themselves and their families," the doctor recounted. "Unfortunately, the people are armed and dangerous. We hear gunshots frequently. Most of Canal Street is occupied by armed looters who have a low threshold for discharging their weapons. We hear gunshots frequently."

under police escort to a nearby chemist. "The pharmacy was dark and full of water," he said. "We scooped the entire drug sets into garbage bags and removed them. All under police escort. The looters had to be held back at gunpoint."

Some of the most distressing scenes were at local hospitals. By Thursday, four days after the hurricane struck, many were still awaiting help, their patients crammed into the upper floors. One message came from the University Hospital, where 800 people were trapped. "It has been confirmed that many deaths are occurring. Most devastating is the deterioration of the neonatal intensive-care unit."

Another volunteer, Bill Quigley, a lawyer, joined his nurse wife at the Loyola Hospital. He managed to call a local radio station and <u>compared the scene to Haiti, one of the world's poorest countries</u>, where he had previously worked. "Well, you know, I had always hoped that Haiti would become more like New Orleans," he told the station.

"But what's happened is, New Orleans has become more like Haiti here recently. You know, we don't have power. We don't have transportation. At this point, I think, at least the people in the hospital have some fresh water, but they're telling people you can't drink the water out of the taps. There's people wandering around the city without water, without transportation, without medical care. In many senses, we have about a million people in the New Orleans area who are experiencing what Haiti is like."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/09/04/wkat04.xml

 

[Greed]

FEMA Chief Sent Help Only When Storm Ended

FEMA Chief Sent Help Only When Storm Ended
By TED BRIDIS, Associated Press Writer
15 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The government's disaster chief waited until hours after Hurricane Katrina had already struck the Gulf Coast before asking his boss to dispatch 1,000 Homeland Security workers to support rescuers in the region — and gave them two days to arrive, according to internal documents.

Michael Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, sought the approval from Homeland Security Secretary Mike Chertoff roughly five hours after Katrina made landfall on Aug. 29. Brown said that among duties of these employees was to "convey a positive image" about the government's response for victims.

Before then, FEMA had positioned smaller rescue and communications teams across the Gulf Coast. But officials acknowledged Tuesday the first department-wide appeal for help came only as the storm raged.

Brown's memo to Chertoff described Katrina as "this near catastrophic event" but otherwise lacked any urgent language. The memo politely ended, "Thank you for your consideration in helping us to meet our responsibilities."

The initial responses of the government and Brown came under escalating criticism as the breadth of destruction and death grew. President Bush and Congress on Tuesday pledged separate investigations into the federal response to Katrina. "Governments at all levels failed," said Sen. Susan Collins (news, bio, voting record), R-Maine.

Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said Brown had positioned front-line rescue teams and Coast Guard helicopters before the storm. Brown's memo on Aug. 29 aimed to assemble the necessary federal work force to support the rescues, establish communications and coordinate with victims and community groups, Knocke said.

Instead of rescuing people or recovering bodies, these employees would focus on helping victims find the help they needed, he said.

"There will be plenty of time to assess what worked and what didn't work," Knocke said. "Clearly there will be time for blame to be assigned and to learn from some of the successful efforts."

Brown's memo told employees that among their duties, they would be expected to "convey a positive image of disaster operations to government officials, community organizations and the general public."

"FEMA response and recovery operations are a top priority of the department and as we know, one of yours," Brown wrote Chertoff. He proposed sending 1,000 Homeland Security Department employees within 48 hours and 2,000 within seven days.

Knocke said the 48-hour period suggested for the Homeland employees was to ensure they had adequate training. "They were training to help the life-savers," Knocke said.

Employees required a supervisor's approval and at least 24 hours of disaster training in Maryland, Florida or Georgia. "You must be physically able to work in a disaster area without refrigeration for medications and have the ability to work in the outdoors all day," Brown wrote.

The same day Brown wrote Chertoff, Brown also urged local fire and rescue departments outside Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi not to send trucks or emergency workers into disaster areas without an explicit request for help from state or local governments. Brown said it was vital to coordinate fire and rescue efforts.

Sen. Barbara Mikulski (news, bio, voting record), D-Md., said Tuesday that Brown should step down.

After a senators-only briefing by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and other Cabinet members, Sen. Charles E. Schumer (news, bio, voting record) said lawmakers weren't getting their questions answered.

"What people up there want to know, Democrats and Republicans, is what is the challenge ahead, how are you handling that and what did you do wrong in the past," said Schumer, D-N.Y.

Sen. Ted Stevens (news, bio, voting record), R-Alaska, said the administration is "getting a bad rap" for the emergency response. "People have to understand this is a big, big problem."

Meanwhile, the airline industry said the government's request for help evacuating storm victims didn't come until late Thursday afternoon. The president of the Air Transport Association, James May, said the Homeland Security Department called then to ask if the group could participate in an airlift for refugees.

___

On the Net:

Federal Emergency Management Agency: http://www.fema.gov
Homeland Security Department: http://www.dhs.gov
The memo from FEMA Director Mike Brown to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is available at: http://wid.ap.org/documents/dhskatrina.pdf

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050907...PRI2ocA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

 

[QueEx]

Katrina and the Breakdown in the NOPD

<font size="5"><cednter>U.S.: Hurricane Katrina and the Breakdown in NOPD</font size></center>

STRATFOR
Terrorism Brief
September 6, 2005

As conditions in southern Louisiana deteriorated in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) ceased to function as an effective security force. It can be argued that any police force faced with such devastation and chaos eventually would find itself overwhelmed by the job at hand. NOPD, however, disintegrated faster than a well-organized, well-trained and disciplined force should have. As a result, officers were unable to contain the mass looting that occurred or prevent violence at refugee shelters.

On Sept. 2, just three days after Hurricane Katrina hit, witnesses reported seeing NOPD personnel involved in the looting of the Wal-Mart retail store on Tchoupitoulas Street. According to reports, the officers lost control of the situation at the store, which had been turned into a distribution center for food and essential supplies. Mass desertions and resignations from the force also were reported.

Plagued by repeated scandal, the NOPD is not considered, shall we say, one of the country's least-corrupt police departments. Although steps have been taken in recent years to clean up the department, its near-immediate breakdown after the hurricane certainly raises questions -- at least in the area of discipline within the ranks. A poorly disciplined military or police organization faced with significant obstacles or challenges often disintegrates faster and more completely than would a well-disciplined organization. In fact, the security situation in New Orleans following Katrina is similar in many ways to the breakdown in authority that plagues countries in Latin America, Africa and parts of Asia during major natural disasters.

During the 1980s and 1990s, NOPD held the top positions among U.S. police forces in the categories of police brutality, corruption and incompetence, according to Temple University police abuse expert James Fyfe. Between 1993 and 1998, 50 NOPD officers were arrested for felonies, including homicide, rape, and armed robbery, Fyfe reported. During this period, the FBI assigned agents to the force to reform its internal affairs division, and the Department of Justice opened an investigation into allegations of civil rights abuses by the department. While this was going on, the crime rate in New Orleans was one of the highest in the country, earning the city the nickname, "Murder Capital of the U.S.A," during the mid-1990s.

Perhaps the most serious incident occurred in October 1994, when an NOPD officer was arrested and charged with killing New Orleans resident Kim Groves, a 32-year-old mother of three who had filed a police brutality complaint against the officer. The officer was convicted and sentenced to death for ordering Grove's death "under color of law."

Richard Pennington took over as NOPD superintendent in 1994 and began a crackdown on police corruption. In addition, partially as a result of federal scrutiny, New Orleans began a series of police reforms in early 1997. Crime rates and corruption dropped as a result, but many observers believe serious problems with discipline and corruption persisted.

Several cases of officer corruption that have come to light in the recent past, in fact, suggest that the NOPD still has some internal cleansing to do. In May 2004, an NOPD officer was arrested for allegedly plotting to rob the city's Hibernia National Bank, where he worked part-time as a security guard. Two months later, another officer was sentenced to 18 months in jail for extorting money from people in the French Quarter by threatening to arrest them if they did not withdraw money from their ATM accounts. In August, right before Hurricane Katrina hit, a NOPD officer was arrested and charged with the rape of a woman he had detained. Also in August, according to The Associated Press, allegations surfaced that two officers had beaten a man before dropping him off at a hospital. The department said little about the case, but Police Superintendent Edwin Compass ordered an investigation and called in the FBI to help.

Furthermore, the homicide rate has been inching up again. By mid-August, 192 killings had been reported for 2005, compared with 169 at the same time in 2004. Adjusted for the city's size, those numbers dwarf murder rates in Washington, Detroit, Baltimore, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City, according to AP figures.

Following the claims of officer-involved looting, Compass rose to the defense of his beleaguered department Sept. 5, angrily refuting allegations of cowardice and incompetence on the part of his officers. Responding to reports that about 400 officers from his 1,700-strong force were unaccounted for, Compass countered that some of his officers had worked themselves to the point of exhaustion. Compass also reported that two of his officers committed suicide as the situation around them descended into anarchy.

During the days following the hurricane, NOPD suffered a serious breakdown in command and control, as many units -- cut off from department headquarters due to communication failures caused by the hurricane and flooding -- lacked a way to receive information and orders from higher up. This fact certainly made it extremely difficult to maintain discipline and a functioning organizational structure -- but not impossible. There is no way of determining at this point how many of the 400 missing officers deserted their post.

Although many NOPD officers undoubtedly performed their duties with bravery, dignity and valor, the breakdown in law and order indicates serious shortcomings on the part of police force as a whole. Levees, homes and business must be rebuilt if New Orleans is to recover from the devastation. The police force, it appears, also will need rebuilding.

 

[muckraker10021]

Re: Katrina and the Breakdown in the NOPD

<font face="times new roman" color="#0000FF" size="4">
Everybody has some degree of culpability in this New Orleans fiasco.

But now here comes the federal cover-up.</font>

<hr noshade color="#FF0000" size="14"></hr>

<img src="http://www.latimes.com/images/standard/lat_both.gif">

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationw...ep07,1,5455941.story?coll=la-headlines-nation

<font face="arial black" size="5" color="#D90000">KATRINA'S AFTERMATH
FEMA Wants No Photos of Dead</font>

<font face="verdana" size="4" color="#333333">
From Reuters

September 7, 2005

NEW ORLEANS — The U.S. agency leading Hurricane Katrina rescue efforts said Tuesday that it does not want the news media to photograph the dead as they are recovered.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, heavily criticized for its slow response to the devastation caused by the hurricane, rejected journalists' requests to accompany rescue boats searching for storm victims.

An agency spokeswoman said space was needed on the rescue boats.

"We have requested that no photographs of the deceased be made by the media," the spokeswoman said in an e-mail.</font>

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