August 31, 2007:
The Danziger Bridge killings:
How New Orleans Police gunned down
civilians fleeing the flood| |
Excerpt: Seven police officers been indicted for opening fire on two African American families on the Danziger Bridge days after the storm, killing two people and wounding four others. At the time, the official story was that they gunned down snipers. Now the question is why they shot at two families fleeing the flood. |
April 29, 2007:
Hundreds of millions of dollars in Katrina aid from overseas unclaimed, unspent| |
Excerpt: Allies offered $854 million in cash and in oil that was to be sold for cash. But only $40 million has been used so far for disaster victims or reconstruction, according to U.S. officials and contractors. Most of the aid went uncollected, including $400 million worth of oil. Some offers were withdrawn or redirected to private groups such as the Red Cross. The rest has been delayed by red tape and bureaucratic limits on how it can be spent. |
April 23, 2007:
$3.6-billion in Katrina contracts went to
questionable companies, Republican cronies| |
Excerpt: FEMA exposed taxpayers to significant waste -- and possibly violated federal law -- by awarding $3.6 billion worth of Hurricane Katrina contracts to companies with poor credit histories and bad paperwork, investigators say. |
April 16, 2007:
The Katrinians
by Cassandra, Unknown News| |
Excerpt: The people from Louisiana and Mississippi are refugees of both a natural and a political disaster, and like most refugees before them, they're not welcome by the communities where they've washed up. |
Aug. 24, 2006:
Fleet of rescue boats was ready to rescue New Orleans residents, but no-one at FEMA could "authorize it"| |
Excerpt: John Giljam's floating bus, 40 feet long by 8.5 feet wide, could not only do 75 mph on a highway, it did 7 knots on the water.
As a tour bus, it accommodated 49 passengers and two crewmembers; as a rescue vehicle, it could haul as much as five tons of emergency supplies.
Comment: In a sane society, the people responsible for FEMA's jaw-droppingly incompetent response would be charged with malfeasance, perhaps murder. But it's a year later, and FEMA's former director Michael Brown, FEMA's former director has never been held accountable. The agency has a different man in charge now, but his boss is still Michael Chertoff, the same dithering twit who held that job when New Orleans drowned. Helen & Harry PERMANENT LINK |
Aug. 23, 2006:
What happened to the foreign cash for Katrina victims?| |
Excerpt: Ever wonder what happened to all the foreign donations given to the United States in the aftermath of Katrina? It's not good news. It turns out that, like so much of the federal response to the crisis, the largest influx of foreign assistance to the US in memory was met with foot-dragging and clumsy bureaucracy. None of the donated funds has actually made its way to evacuees.
US school kids donate more to Katrina relief than most big corporations
Excerpt: Over $10 million was raised by school kids through bake sales, lemonade stands, car washes and other fundraisers, according to RandomKid. That's more than almost every major U.S. corporation gave. More than wealthy oil and petrochemical companies, such as Chevron and ConocoPhillips. It's more than what AT&T and Verizon gave combined. And it's more than major brand name corporations like GE and Coca-Cola gave.
Whistleblowers say State Farm cheated Katrina victims
Excerpt: State Farm Insurance supervisors systematically demanded that Hurricane Katrina damage reports be buried or replaced or changed so that the company would not have to pay policyholders' claims in Mississippi, two State Farm insiders tell ABC News.
Kerri and Cori Rigsby, independent adjusters who had worked for State Farm exclusively for eight years, say they have turned over thousands of internal company documents and their own detailed statement to the FBI and Mississippi state investigators. |
July 16, 2006:
Refugees not allowed to talk with reporters
Katrina survivors still in tents as FEMA trailers sit empty| |
Excerpt: "You are not allowed to be here," the guard yelled. "Get out right now."
As they left, the guard refused to let the reporter give Devall a business card so she could contact the newspaper later by phone.
"You will not give her a business card," the guard said. "She's not allowed to have that."
When the reporter persisted, the guard ordered Devall to return to the trailer, saying the reporter was not allowed to talk to her.
The guard then called the police. |
May 20, 2006:
3,000 Katrina victims deemed ineligible, evicted from FEMA trailers| |
Comment: There is no end to the federal government's screwing of Katrina victims. Helen & Harry LINK |
May 19, 2006:
NRA asks nation's local officials to pledge not to confiscate guns in emergencies| |
Comment: If you believe in the Bill of Rights, as we do, that dang well includes the right to bear arms. Take that right away, and all the other rights are based solely on hope and faith.
Because really, what the hell have you got, without the right to defend yourself? Helen & Harry LINK |
May 2, 2006:
FEMA to New Orleans:
Sink or swim, we're outta here| |
Excerpt: The Federal Emergency Management Agency is closing its long-term recovery office in New Orleans, claiming local officials failed to meet their planning obligations after Hurricane Katrina.
Comment: FEMA's arrogance is a good match for its incompetence. It takes my breath away -- but not literally, as FEMA took the breath away from so many in New Orleans last September. Helen & Harry LINK |
April 17, 2006:
"Not many" of guns confiscated in New Orleans have been returned| |
Comment: We believe, like the Constitution believes, that people have a right to bear arms, and that the phrase "well-regulated" doesn't mean confiscating guns from law-abiding citizens when guns are most likely to be needed.
Helen & Harry LINK |
March 22, 2006:
Katrina's other toll: Nearly 1,500 still missing| |
Excerpt: "How do we know when we're done? How long do you keep looking? What do you do when you've done all the DNA testing you can, when you've called everyone and you still can't find the person?" |
Feb. 25, 2006:
No voting accommodations for New Orleans refugees who fled state
Jan. 30, 2006:
FEMA turned away thousands of rescue workers from other government agencies as Katrina victims drowned
Jan. 25, 2006:
White House stonewalling Katrina inquiry, senators say
Jan. 24, 2006:
White House got detailed warnings days before Hurricane Katrina hit
Jan. 21, 2006:
Someone somewhere is making millions on FEMA's emergency housing trailers
Jan. 12, 2006:
Proposal would bulldoze New Orleans' poorest, blackest neighborhoods
Dec. 16, 2005:
New Orleans aid goes to levees, wealthy residents; most low-income victims' aid requests rejected
Nov. 24, 2005:
Ex-FEMA head to start disaster planning firm
Nov. 17, 2005:
Prisoners, left to drown in New Orleans flood, dispute sheriff's account
Nov. 3, 2005:
'Can I quit now?' FEMA chief wrote as Katrina raged
Oct. 29, 2005:
45 New Orleans cops fired for abandoning their posts
Oct. 21, 2005:
FEMA worker tells of his bosses' disinterest as situation worsened
Oct. 14, 2005:
Katrina: Media lied, people died
by Michael Fumento, Tech Central Station
Oct. 13, 2005:
New Orleans hospital staff "debated euthanizing patients"
Oct. 12, 2005:
FEMA keeps evacuee data secret, hinders search for survivors
Oct. 10, 2005:
Bush administration blocks aid for Katrina victims
Oct. 6, 2005:
ACLU sues to force investigation into New Orleans jail's abandonment of prisoners
Oct. 4, 2005:
Carpetbagger companies clean up after Katrina
Oct. 3, 2005:
Police, U.S. Marshals demand ID from Hispanic-looking Katrina refugees
Sept. 30, 2005:
Police helped loot New Orleans, and they're still at it, say witnesses
Sept. 28, 2005:
FEMA's $236-million deal with Carnival Cruise Lines
Sept. 27, 2005:
Former FEMA Head Brown commits obvious perjury before CongressIt's still quite unlikely, but now there's at least a faint glimmer of hope that Michael Brown may serve a stint in prison, where he deserves to be.
Yeah, and while I'm daydreaming, perhaps George W. Bush will be his cellmate. =H&HH= | LINK
Sept. 26, 2005:
Superdome, Convention Center deaths were wildly exaggerated
Sept. 26, 2005:
Was FEMA's performance after Hurricane Rita a rerun of Katrina fumbling?
Judge instructs local officials to use force to pry supplies from FEMA
Sept. 25, 2005:
Hurricane freed U.S. military's dozens of killer dolphins
Sept. 23, 2005:
FEMA subcontracted evacuation buses, ignored bus-owners' group's offers of help
Sept. 23, 2005:
Arrested on misdemeanors, left to die in flooded jail
Sept. 21, 2005:
Hurricane rescue volunteers turned away if they won't sign loyalty oath
Sept. 20, 2005:
Prisoners, including juveniles, drowned in flooded jails
Sept. 20, 2005:
New Orleans homes searched by "task force" after residents have been evacuated
Sept. 20, 2005:
Researchers unsure what caused levee collapse
Sept. 19, 2005:
Bush OKs racial, other discrimination in rebuilding of shattered Gulf Coast
Sept. 19, 2005:
Truckloads of ice for Katrina victims trucked everywhere except to victims
Sept. 19, 2005:
Food for Katrina victims given by England, Italy, Spain, Israel to be incinerated instead of eaten
Sept. 17, 2005:
Early warnings were sounded as Bush cut nation's disaster-preparedness
Sept. 16, 2005:
Mayor of Gretna says “whole community” backs bridge-blocking racist police
Sept. 16, 2005:
White House seeks to blame environmental groups for New Orleans flooding catastrophe
Sept. 16, 2005:
Looting charge against 71-year-old Baptist deaconess defies credulity, witnesses, but ... she is black
Sept. 16, 2005:
Doctor says FEMA ordered him to stop treating hurricane victims
Sept. 14, 2005:
Feds delayed Nat'l Guard's hurricane response for days
Sept. 13, 2005:
As bodies are recovered, reporters are threatened: 'No photos, no stories'
Sept. 13, 2005:
Chertoff delayed federal response to Katrina disaster, memo shows
Sept. 12, 2005:
Air boat volunteers, turned back by authorities, rescued 797 anyway
Sept. 12, 2005:
Drug Enforcement Agency plays key role in door-to-door searches of New Orleans homes
Sept. 12, 2005:
Racist police blocked bridge and forced evacuees back at gunpoint
Sept. 12, 2005:
"God" and mercenaries watch out for the rich of New Orleans
Sept. 11, 2005:
Bush signs executive order lowering wages across Katrina-devastated areas
Sept. 11, 2005:
Sheriff threatens to arrest FEMA officials
Countermands FEMA order that stores remain closed
Sept. 11, 2005:
New Orleans doctors had to kill their patients
Sept. 11, 2005:
Experts question how much looting and mayhem really took place in New Orleans
Sept. 10, 2005:
New Orleans neighborhood stands together, refuses to surrender what's left of the city
Sept. 10, 2005:
FEMA sent back German plane carrying fifteen tons of food for hurricane victims
Sept. 9 , 2005:
Media spreads at least eight Bush administration lies about Katrina
Sept. 9, 2005:
Homeowners' guns confiscated in New Orleans, police threaten evacuation by force
Sept. 9, 2005:
Blackwater mercenaries patrol New OrleansAm I nuts? Have I gone bonkers? Or does it seem that the efforts to kill the people of New Orleans have gone much more smoothly, than any efforts to save them? =H&HH= | LINK
Sept. 9, 2005:
"Mission accomplished" in New Orleans
by Harry Highwater, Unknown News
Sept. 9, 2005:
Rebuilding New Orleans for Big Oil
by Carol Rawle, Unknown News
Sept. 9, 2005:
Gore helps airlift New Orleans victims
Sept. 8, 2005:
Katrina survivors "evacuated" at the point of a gun
Sept. 8, 2005:
Canadian search-and-rescue team first to reach New Orleans suburb
Sept. 8, 2005:
Interview about restrictions on New Orleans detainees ends abruptly
by Don Nash, Unknown News
Sept. 8, 2005:
FEMA contractors arrested for looting
Sept. 7, 2005:
FEMA's top-level management stacked with Bush's cronies
Sept. 7, 2005:
International offers of help came immediately, but U.S. approval was delayed by days
Sept. 7, 2005:
Navy pilots reprimanded for rescuing huricane victims
Sept. 7, 2005:
More doctors turned away from
helping in Katrina aftermath
Sept. 7, 2005:
Katrina survivors in "concentration camp"
by Diane Carman, Denver Post
Sept. 6, 2005:
FEMA head specifically ordered lackadaisical response to "near catastrophic" Hurricane Katrina
Sept. 6, 2005:
New Orleans during the disaster:
Police lied to survivors, blocked escape from city
by Larry Bradshaw and Lorrie Beth Slonsky, EMS NetworkFrom inside New Orleans as the crisis worsened, these survivors found that the authorities were never any help, and often an ugly enemy. =H&HH= | LINK
Sept. 6, 2005:
As New Orleans waits, FEMA sends firefighters to seminar, assigns them to hand out fliers
Sept. 6, 2005:
U.S. military smuggled white vacationers out of New Orleans Superdome squalor
Sept. 6, 2005:
Refugees from New Orleans behind barbed wire in Utah
by Don Nash, Unknown News
Sept. 6, 2005:
No food drops planned for New Orleans
Sept. 6, 2005:
Now is the time for pointing fingers
by John M., Unknown News
Sept. 6, 2005:
I just got back from a FEMA Detainment Camp
Sept. 5, 2005:
Firefighters waited five days for FEMA's OK to enter New Orleans, then gave up, returned to Houston
Sept. 5, 2005:
FEMA "dragging its feet" as businesses try to help hurricane, flood victims
Sept. 4, 2005:
FEMA turns down water, fuel for New Orleans, cuts area's emergency communication line
Sept. 4, 2005:
Navy hospital & water purification ship anchored on nearby coast, underused
Sept. 4, 2005:
College sophomores used fake press passes to circumvent FEMA's rescue roadblocks
Sept. 4, 2005:
Who are these people?
by Chris M., Unknown News
Sept. 4, 2005:
Homeland Security Chief says New Orleans disaster couldn't have been predicted
Sept. 4, 2005:
Red tape keeps hundreds of doctors from helping hurricane survivors
Sept. 3, 2005:
Police official says Nat'l Guardsmen 'played cards' amid New Orleans chaos
Sept. 3, 2005:
Homeland Security stops Red Cross from bringing food for New Orleans
Sept. 3, 2005:
Thousands of New Orleans refugees held at gunpoint,
not allowed to leave growing hell of Superdome
Sept. 3, 2005:
Bush declares "zero tolerance" for New Orleans
survivors seeking food and water
Sept. 3, 2005:
FEMA turned back 500-boat rescue flotilla
Sept. 3, 2005:
FEMA chief had to be 'asked to resign' from previous job with horse club
Sept. 2, 2005:
FEMA had rehearsed New Orleans disaster response, but didn't implement plan when disaster really struck
Sept. 2, 2005:
Troops sent to New Orleans for "combat operation"
Sept. 2, 2005:
FEMA won't allow airboats to rescue Katrina victims
Sept. 2, 2005:
Emergency crews turned back by FEMA:
They lacked "the required paperwork"
Sept. 2, 2005:
Who is this incompetent doofus running FEMA?
by Rachel R., Unknown News
Sept. 2, 2005:
God save America ...
by Kathy Fisher, Unknown News
Sept. 1, 2005:
With Gulf Coast in ruins, Homeland Security Chief hosts on-line chat
Sept. 1, 2005:
Interview with the Mayor of New Orleans
Sept. 1, 2005:
Sandbagging New Orleans
by Sir J, Unknown News
Sept. 1, 2005:
Conserve gasoline!
by Luke, Unknown News
Sept. 1, 2005:
Racism in the lack of response to hurricane emergency?
by Don Nash, Unknown News
Aug. 30, 2005:
New Orleans Police join in looting free-for-all
Aug. 30 , 2005:
FEMA's new focus on terrorism leaves nation unprepared for natural disasters
by Eric Holderman, Washington PostAlso: Bush began dismantling then-efficient
FEMA as soon as he took office
Aug. 29, 2005:
As Katrina strikes, FEMA urges first-responders not to respond
SCROLL UP FOR MORE RECENT COVERAGE 
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Did you wonder why FEMA disallowed bottled water, and cut the local emergency communications?
Why, even before the hurricane hit, FEMA told first-responders not to respond?
Did you wonder why FEMA wouldn't let hundreds of eager airboat skippers search for survivors?
Why Homeland Security kept the Red Cross out of New Orleans, while people were starving, drowning, dying of thirst?
Have you tried to understand why, as people were still drowning and unfed, firefighters were ordered to undergo an all-day seminar in Atlanta, before being sent to New Orleans ... to hand out fliers?
How come day after day after day, FEMA couldn't or wouldn't airdrop food and drinking water into New Orleans, but the U.S. military was there for "combat operations"?
I'm not an expert on search and rescue or military operations, but it just seems to me, people who haven't had food and water for five or six days could be quelled with food and water, instead of "combat operations."
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"I don't want to alarm everybody that, you know, New Orleans is filling up like a bowl. That's just not happening."
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The police commander came across the street to address our group.
He told us we should walk to the Pontchartrain Expressway and cross the greater New Orleans Bridge where the police had buses lined up to take us out of the City.
The crowed cheered and began to move.
We called everyone back and explained to the commander that there had been lots of misinformation and wrong information and was he sure that there were buses waiting for us.
The commander turned to the crowd and stated emphatically, "I swear to you that the buses are there."
* * *
As we approached the bridge, armed Gretna sheriffs formed a line across the foot of the bridge.
Before we were close enough to speak, they began firing their weapons over our heads. This sent the crowd fleeing in various directions.
As the crowd scattered and dissipated, a few of us inched forward and managed to engage some of the sheriffs in conversation.
We told them of our conversation with the police commander and of the commander's assurances.
The sheriffs informed us there were no buses waiting.
The commander had lied to us to get us to move.
We questioned why we couldn't cross the bridge anyway, especially as there was little traffic on the 6-lane highway.
They responded that the West Bank was not going to become New Orleans and there would be no Superdomes in their City.
These were code words for if you are poor and black, you are not crossing the Mississippi River and you were not getting out of New Orleans.
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"Considering the dire circumstances that we have in New Orleans -- virtually a city that has been destroyed -- things are going relatively well."
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I'm familiar with how government works, how bureaucracy works, and in a crisis like this I would almost expect moments of grotesque incompetence and idiocy.
I'm not quite prepared, however, for that callous, cold-blooded murder that seems to have been wrought not by the hurricane, not by the flood, but by the bureaucracy that's supposed to help.
Yeah, murder. When the incompetence gets this thick, it smells like murder to me.
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"I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees."
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A trio of Duke University sophomores say they drove to New Orleans late last week, posed as journalists to slip inside the hurricane-soaked city twice, and evacuated seven people who weren't receiving help from authorities.
The group, led by South Carolina native Sonny Byrd, say they also managed to drive all the way to the New Orleans Convention Center, where they encountered scenes early Saturday evening that they say were disgraceful.
"We found it absolutely incredible that the authorities had no way to get there for four or five days, that they didn't go in and help these people, and we made it in a two-wheel-drive Hyundai," said Hans Buder, who made the trip with his roommate Byrd and another student, David Hankla.
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