Louisiana's Call For Help Came Sunday, Aug. 28th

The governor of Louisiana called for Federal help on Sunday, August 28th. The following link shows the letter in full.

http://gov.louisiana.gov/Disaster%20Relief%20Request.pdf

The whole document focuses primarily on assistance after Hurricane Katrina with the evacuees and victims already out of harms way. It is all very legalese, and very difficult to sift to the meat of the request. However, there is one sentence on page 3 that tells it like it is, and this is the meat of the request:

"I request direct Federal assistance for work and services to save lives and protect property."

This plea for Federal help was sent on August 28th (and most likely sent via fax, email or other service that would get it to the right place as quickly as possible, not by snail mail, er the postal service). From all accounts on the news media, Federal help with the National Guard arrived on Friday, September 2nd. That's five days. Wow.

This is why we must not rely on the Federal Government. That is why we must prepare (remember the scout mottos?) ourselves. That means we must have the knowledge, resources and ability to coordinate ourselves locally and individually for major disasters (hurricanes, tornados, terrorist attacks, war strike, etc.) and the aftermath of those disasters (chaos, looting, human suffering, etc.).

Are tornado and fire drills enough preparation? I don't think so. As we have learned with the disaster in New Orleans, it can sometimes be the consequences of devastation that harm us. Many times we don't think of survival past the initial incident, but we need to and must prepare for continuous survival in adversity. This should include provisions for thirst, hunger, shelter, and bodily protection (clothes and defense); along with monetary provisions (liquid cash in a protected location).

Coincidence, or Plan? 9/11 and the Flight of the Bumble Planes

Yesterday was busy for me... A whirlwind of busy-ness. Today's a little less of the same, but, I do have time to post another 9/11 memory reflection-investigation thought.

Side thought...
At the time of 9/11, we collectively thought it was the worst disaster in the U.S. in modern times. Now, with Hurricane Katrina and the aftereffects of the "man-made disaster" with little and slow emergency response, 9/11 in my mind is taking a backseat in the disaster-mobile. I think the aftermath of Katrina is undesputably the worst ever disaster in this nation's history, not just because of nature's fury, but because of our country's inability to plan and implement a safe and quick emergency exit strategy for all the citizens of New Orleans like most civil non-third world countries would do.

But, I will still bring some links and thoughts that I have previously compiled for reflection. This one is on what really happened, maybe, in those planes on 9/11.

Was this all just a coincidence, or does everything line up all too well?

The following link features the hypothesis called “9/11: The Flight of the Bumble Planes.”

http://www.serendipity.li/wot/plissken.htm

And, another perspective, from the cockpit…

http://www.serendipity.li/wot/psyopnews1.htm

I read the one about the pilot's thoughts and I can't imagine the sheer audacity of such people. I guess I care too much about people around me, sometimes, and see value in life.

An interesting source of possible plans on 9/11 happen to be on this website called www.serendipity.li. http://www.serendipity.li/wtc.htm

The Economics of Port New Orleans

The near future outlook for New Orleans is grim to say the least and its current condition a sad state, indeed, to say the least. Many, including me, have said that its time for New Orleans to move on (to higher ground) where the residents will be safer and not below sea level, where flooding is a continuous threat (and now we know the terrible consequences).

I read the article here, which gave me a renewed respect for New Orleans and its past, present and future impact on trade and economics for the Midwest and all of the United States.

http://www.stratfor.com/news/archive/050903-geopolitics_katrina.php

So, how much dirt is needed to get New Orleans safely above sea level?

Now We Know How Iraq Feels

The devastation of the Gulf Coast from Hurricane Katrina, and the tragedy of the last couple of days, especially in New Orleans, is heart-wrenching, to say the least. The Tsunami in Southern Asia just last winter gave us a glimpse of how devastating Mother Nature can be, but then it wasn't in our backyard.

Now, it is in our backyard, and in situations like this we humans will show our true stuff. Many try to help each other out, knowing that in the end everyone will be better for it. Some, on the other hand, take advantage of the situation, and in showing their true colors, display their animosity and despite for their fellow man.

Thought Aside:
Unfortunately, those helpful folks have no idea how to help each other when dealing with hoodlum thugs. If there could be one way that we could learn from 9/11, the current situation in New Orleans, and days battling the school bully, is that those who help others, need training to appropriately and effectively defend against and subdue those who harmfully hinder us. I'm not referring to more training for police. Police were not on the airplanes that flew into the WTC. Police are not around to help every person defend against the thugs in New Orleans. Nor, are police there to protect kids from school bullies. Maybe Tae Kwon Do should be mandatory in all schools, so that all kids know how to protect themselves throughout life, and in these situations, at least they would be able to protect themselves and others around them. We need to learn not to be passive and tolerant, but to be proactive and protective.

Back to the Main Point:
As we have been passive and turning a blind eye to the devastation with real humans (especially the Iraqi citizens) suffering in the Iraqi War, now we can see how difficult it could be to live with insurgents and thugs as we see it played out in New Orleans. The only difference is that the thugs in New Orleans are out for irreligious (is there such a word?) materialistic greed and total disregard for anyone else. Now, when we see footage from Iraq, maybe we should use the perspective of those trapped in New Orleans, and realize that there are innocent Iraqis trapped, too. Now we know how Iraq feels.

It is an outrage that we can't control the insurgents, whether they be in Iraq or in New Orleans. For a country that supposedly upholds life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, we certainly don't defend it well. Speaking of our country, where's George W. Bush in all of this? How long did it take for Bush to get to ground zero after the 9/11 terrorist attack, a supposed surprize attack? We knew last Friday that a major hurricane was bearing down on the gulf coast and it might likely hit New Orleans, a sub-sea level metropolis. We knew it would affect millions of people. Where's the profoundly positively inspiring speech by the President at the site of devastation? Where is large FEMA groups, like at NYC after 9/11? Where's the National Guard?

Oh, I forgot, we sent the National Guard to Iraq.

Flight 93: What Happened?

It seemed that every commercial break I saw last night while watching the great shows on Discovery Channel (you know, Mythbusters and Top Gear), that one for the Flight 93 Documentary was always playing.

So, what happened on Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania on 9/11, and what was so odd about that part of the attacks on that fateful day?

http://www.flight93crash.com/