Labels: Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Katrina Pictures, Katrina, Katrina pictures
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4:40 AM
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Feds Set Up South Texas for Katrina 2.0 |
As Hurricane Dolly drew a bead on the South Texas coast and the mouth of the Rio Grande, workers began building a new section of the controversial U.S.-Mexico border Wall atop levees the government had already declared unsafe. The levees have been decertified, and if a hurricane of keen aim and sufficient strength hits, South Texans can expect the same treatment New Orleans citizens suffered.
You can read the formal letters of levee decertification (they are pdfs) at the Texas Progress Council, here and here. Notice their dates: November 1 & 2, 2006.
Learn more about hdv18 and success expert located on this Hurricane Katrina Pictures Blog.
Labels: Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Katrina Pictures, Katrina, Katrina pictures
posted by Bill at
7:41 PM
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Labels: Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Katrina Pictures, Katrina, Katrina pictures
posted by Bill at
5:10 AM
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An engineering firm has reached a settlement with lawyers who have filed hundreds of lawsuits against State Farm Insurance Cos. on behalf of policyholders whose claims were denied by the insurer after Hurricane Katrina.
Under terms of the settlement, Forensic Analysis and Engineering Corp., which helped State Farm adjust policyholder claims in Mississippi, would be dropped from a federal lawsuit that accuses the insurer of engaging in a "pattern of racketeering" after the storm.
Forensic would be dismissed from several of those suits, including one filed in June that accuses Bloomington, Ill.-based State Farm of violating the civil Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization Act, or RICO, in its handling of claims after the Aug. 29, 2005, hurricane.
Zach Scruggs, one of the attorneys who filed the RICO case against Forensic, State Farm and engineering firm E.A. Renfroe & Company Inc., said the settlement will "better enable us to prosecute our cases against State Farm." Scruggs said he couldn't elaborate, however, because the terms of the deal are confidential.
In a related development this past week, a federal magistrate in Gulfport, Miss., agreed to lift a court order that had barred Scruggs from providing a federal grand jury with a Forensic employee's computer hard drive.
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributedLearn about Scientology and teach others
For all of those interested in learning about the evils of Scientology, make sure you know all the facts before you spread the word to others. Take a minute to view the South Park Scientology episode and watch the Bridge movie. Check out who Xenu is and especially how to free Xenu. Before you tell others what is Scientology, make sure you learn about Jeremy Perkins and even Suri Cruise. Read about Scientology's attack on Myspace, Scientology's attack on it's critics, Scientology's attack on YTMND, and the real Religious Freedom Watch website. Finally, make sure you learn about L Ron Hubbard and Scientology's new leader, David Miscavige. Then for fun, watch some of the videos located at Paul Vids and place your free website ad at five dollar listing.
Labels: Church of Scientology, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Katrina Pictures, Katrina, Katrina pictures, L Ron Hubbard, Scientology
posted by Bill at
12:44 PM
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(CNN) -- I've traveled to close to half-a-dozen refugee and displaced people's camps across Africa -- from Sierra Leone to Uganda, Kenya to Congo -- in the year since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans.
And each time, I get this feeling of deja vu -- of the faces, the destruction, the pain and anguish I witnessed during the month I spent in New Orleans this time last year.
The city by the delta, so vividly described by Mark Twain, leaves its mark on a person. ("An American has not seen the United States until he has seen Mardis Gras in New Orleans," he wrote in 1859.) It's a city that practically every singer worth his salt has sung about -- from Aaron Neville ("Louisiana") to Charlie Pride ("Roll On Mississippi"). Indeed, New Orleans has been described by many writers, with uncanny prescience as it turned out, as the First World and the Third World all rolled into one.
I arrived in New Orleans just hours after Katrina hit. As fate would have it, I was on holiday in the United States and was soon part of a CNN convoy heading to Louisiana.
It is still hard to describe the magnitude of what we faced : The physical devastation, homes washed away, boats sitting in the middle of streets, small airplanes overturned and literally "wheels up." More boats were on highways, tanker trailers floated like ships at sea and on and on. Billions of dollars in personal possessions destroyed in one fell swoop.
And then there were the thousands of displaced residents, many still trapped in their houses, shelters, the overwhelming sense of lawlessness, rising anger and desperation.
All this was accompanied by the unearthly and constant buzz of helicopters, hovering like angry flies attracted by the piles and piles of rotting rubbish, dead bodies and the black floodwater that surrounded us.
For journalists, many of us used to covering tragedy around the world, it was incredibly difficult to unravel fact from fiction in what had just hours before been a thriving and vibrant American city.
And for many journalists used to operating with all communications at their fingertips, it was a stark return to basics where no infrastructure could be relied upon: phone lines down, lights that didn't work. Perhaps my experience in Africa equipped me better in this regard than others.
For me, as an African more used to covering events on that wonderful yet challenged continent, there was an added poignancy as the developed and developing world seemed to merge into one terrible physical and human catastrophe.
There were compelling echoes for me of the devastation wrought on its people in the Mozambique typhoon of 2000 -- and yet, this time the disaster was unfolding in the world's most powerful nation.
On day three the true horror of what was happening at the Convention Center and Superdome started to become apparent both inside and in the streets outside.
As we drove down Convention Center Boulevard, we stumbled into what can only be described as "Hell on Earth." The old, the young, the sick (many dialysis patients still hooked-up to their IVs), scattered on both sides of the boulevard under the humid 90-degree heat, sleeping where they could on anything they could find.
We were met with a wall of faces: angry, distraught, helpless and homeless people -- all resigned to a life of suffering with a lot of bitterness.
People looked to us for help because there seemed none in sight. People demanded we tell the world what was happening to them with the hopes that someone somewhere would feel their plight and lend a helping hand. People couldn't understand why their government wasn't there for them at their time of greatest need.
I'll never forget Kevin Goodman sitting on the pavement with his wife and five children. He blamed the authorities, saying: "They got us sleeping in trash, lying next to dead bodies, the police treating us like animals."
And not far from him there was 24-year old mother of four, Dawn Mosely, who told me in no uncertain words that she'd had enough of the city she'd grown up in. "I don't feel safe in New Orleans no more," she said, adding, "Wherever they put me at, that's where I'm going to start my life."
They came in all different shades: black, white, mixed race, you name it, it was a rainbow nation of the destitute.
Among them, Mary Sossinski, a resident of Madison, Wisconsin, who'd been visiting friends when Katrina struck. She found herself mixed in with the locals and unable to leave.
"This is ridiculous for the richest country in the world to treat its citizens like this," she said fighting back tears.
In among the floodwaters, however, New Orleans birthed its own heroes. The stories of heroism include the young and old alike, heroism that reached across the ethnic, cultural and financial divide.
Strangers saving strangers, neighbors pulling neighbors out of fast-flooding houses, policemen jumping off their patrol boats and SUVs, the Coast Guard rescuing people off of roofs and cars, buildings and cellars.
Often swimming in dirty black water to rescue the old and the sick, people were forced to climb skyscrapers in the crippling heat and carry the helpless down numerous flights of steps.
Many of them will never be known because they preferred it that way. They did what they had to do because it was the right thing to do at the time.
Twelve months later, New Orleans is again the focus of world attention. Journalists -- CNN's finest among them -- taking stock to assess its recovery from the day the world's most developed nation experienced a fate more akin to that suffered virtually every day in the developing world.
And more personally perhaps, it will be a moment for us all, journalists, the people of New Orleans and observers alike, to mark the courage shown by the city's citizens, and to reflect that acts of nature are no respecter of economics or politics.
posted by Bill at
12:21 PM
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35 comments
 Voice of America | Health Problems Linger One Year After Katrina By Melinda Smith. Health care for the poor and uninsured along the US Gulf Coast is still suffering nearly a year after Hurricane Katrina. ... The Weather Channel Reflects on Hurricane Katrina With Pair of ... New Orleans drug trade reshaped in Katrina aftermath |
| University sues over Katrina payments CNA Financial Corp., claiming the school is still owed more than $20 million for property damage and business interruption losses related to Hurricane Katrina. New population statistics gloomy |
 Washington Post | Some in Katrina-trashed town seek trailers ... It has been 11 months since Hurricane Katrina hit and Janice Tambrella still does not have a home. She doesn't even have a trailer of her own. ... Some Katrina Victims Still Looking for Trailers Some who lost homes in Katrina still looking for trailers Katrina victims still struggling |
| ACLU Objects To Katrina Memorial That Includes Cross ... Louisiana's St. Bernard Parish who died in Hurricane Katrina, because it will include a cross bearing a likeness of the face of Jesus. ... ACLU Raises Objections Over Cross-Shaped Katrina Memorial Katrina memorial touts religion, ACLU says ACLU questions hurricane memorial |
| ICE CUBE: 'AMERICA DIDN'T CARE ABOUT KATRINA VICTIMS' Rapper ICE CUBE is convinced the US government's slow response to Hurricane Katrina last year (05) may as well have been "a plot" - because it showed the ... Katrina victims still in need Hurricane readiness demands more than alarms and scare talk Gas Explosion Kills One |
| In Katrina country, two schools fail Two Bayou La Batre area schools heavily affected by Hurricane Katrina failed to meet state standards this year, according to reports released Monday. ... Texas schools losing Katrina aid |
| New Orleans unveils post-Katrina overhaul of criminal justice ... ... website] Monday announced an overhaul of the criminal justice system in the city which was severely affected [PBS report] by Hurricane Katrina [JURIST news ... New Orleans Moves to Fix Broken Legal System Officials unveil ways to ease case backlog New Orleans needs prosecutors, public defenders to clear legal ... |
| Woman pleads guiilty to Katrina fraud By Leah Rupp. A Gulfport woman pleaded guilty Monday to submitting fraudulent FEMA claims relating to Hurricane Katrina. |
posted by Bill at
2:09 PM
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posted by Bill at
9:01 PM
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41 comments
HURRICANE KATRINA - Slidell Relief Fund
In response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, the City of Derby has announced its “adoption” of a community located in the New Orleans area. The City is in the process of collecting donations for the residents of Slidell, La., a town of approximately 25,000 residents located 30 minutes northeast of New Orleans.
The Slidell area was one of the hardest hit by the effects of the storm. Area officials have estimated that as much as 85% of the city’s buildings may have been damaged or destroyed, and flooding continues to be a problem.
The City hopes to help this suburban community by collecting donations and eventually providing specific necessities. Tax-deductible cash donations are now being accepted at Derby City Hall, 611 Mulberry. Checks should be made out to the “Slidell Relief Fund.” Donations cannot be made for specific individuals. All money and goods will be delivered to city officials for further distribution.
Items that have been requested by city officials in Slidell include the following: dishes, silverware, bowls, plastic storage containers, small kitchen appliances, cups/glasses, pots/pans, sheets, pillow cases, pillows, blankets, bed spreads, etc. Many residents are rebuilding from scratch and will need a wide range of items. All items need to be new; used items will not be accepted. Please take donations to the Derby Wal-Mart, 2020 N. Southeast Blvd.
If your organization is interested in coordinating an event or providing volunteers, please contact Councilmember Cheryl Bannon at 789-8356 or by e-mail.
Latest News
Derby to Assist Hurricane Recovery EffortsFundraiser for Slidell Relief FundQuilt Giveaway to Benefit Slidell Relief Fund Special City Council Meeting Set for Tuesday, Sept. 6Slidell Relief Fund Efforts ContinueChildren's Book DriveDerby High School Drum Line ExhibitionSeptember 30 Slidell Relief Fund Update
Learn more about Slidell
City GovernmentChamber of CommerceVisitors Bureau
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8:55 PM
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posted by Bill at
1:27 PM
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1 comments
"Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government and to the extent the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility," Bush said during a joint news conference with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.
CNN.com
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11:45 AM
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posted by Bill at
4:42 PM
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This site has pictures from Hurricane Katrina. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of those injured or killed in one of the biggest natural disasters in American history. These Hurricane Katrina pictures serve as a memory of this horrible event.
