Politics Hurricane Katrina

[AliasHombre]

Its funny how being slightly famous can make anyone an important political mind.

 

[Jamison]

Although rather inappropriate during a telethon...the man has a point.

Like over 90% of the evacuees were black, and they weren't getting the help they needed. The senator (who is democratic mind you and still ticked me off), went on a rampage the other day about how people should've gotten out of the city.

Did she not realize that 50,000 people in New Orleans are without transportation? And over a third of them live below the poverty line, and on average make 17,000 dollars a year? The vast majority of these people being African American.

I guess since the almost all of the people stranded in New Orleans were African American, it looks like they were deserted, and looks like an issue of race, which I really don't think it is...but it does look as such, and other people have brought that to the attention of the media...not just Kanye West.

 

[White_Rabbit]

Just because people are famous doesn't mean that they aren't being truthful on telethons like that. Kanye West did go a little overboard, but some of the stuff he said was what a lot of us think about Bush. He was being emotional because like he said, it's "his people" down there that are dying.

And yes, people are stealing unnecessary items and doing unnecesary things, but going as long as they did (a lot still are) without help; no food, no water, nothing, will make people do unbelieveable things. They lost their minds! A lot of those people had lost family members and were all alone. They stole appliances and stuff because they were literally going crazy. I'm not saying there's an excuse for shooting an innocent cop or rescue helicopter, but we should be a little more sensitive to some of the looters. A lot of people aren't putting themselves in their shoes, their pointing their fingers at them. I think we should take another step back, don't you?

 

[Moonlite Star]

i didn't realize the extent of the help until I was riding a bus home today for Labor Day Weekend. Living just a bit north of dallas, I was told that the bus I was riding would be returning to New Orleans for the next eight days or so to help evacuate people. It seemed like such a hard task to be driving from dallas to new orleans or wherever they end up going! long drives!! but im glad the'yre able to help.

It's really sad to see how chaotic it is down there though. I do hope things get better soon...

Quite amazing how one natural disaster can cause so much disturbance in the US Economy...just look at gas prices!!! hopefully this isn't a negative turning point for us...

 

[Jamison]

i didn't realize the extent of the help until I was riding a bus home today for Labor Day Weekend. Living just a bit north of dallas, I was told that the bus I was riding would be returning to New Orleans for the next eight days or so to help evacuate people. It seemed like such a hard task to be driving from dallas to new orleans or wherever they end up going! long drives!! but im glad the'yre able to help.

It's really sad to see how chaotic it is down there though. I do hope things get better soon...

Quite amazing how one natural disaster can cause so much disturbance in the US Economy...just look at gas prices!!! hopefully this isn't a negative turning point for us...

[post="1478787"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]​

We have bus drivers busing people in from New Orleans to Charlotte. Charlotte is hosting as many evacuees as possible (it's a 12 hour drive in a car...much longer in a bus...but I'm so happy we're doing something...our hospitals are also talking about taking overflow patients). If needed, I'm hoping to go down and volunteer sometime over my long weekend. But on the news it looked like they had things under control...which is excellent. My aunt and mom (who is a nurse) are talking about going to New Orleans to lend a hand. Other than their current job obligations the only thing standing in their way is the high gas prices. We had 3 buses leave Charlotte full of volunteers and they ended up stranded somewhere in upper Mississippi without gas and no gas anywhere near them.

It's a shame when volunteers can't even get down to help.

 

[Vaughn_Lovah]

There is no way you can justisfy anything that those looters are doing. Ok stealing food I can understand....but everything else that they are doing is unacceptable.


A big reason why there is a gas problem in MS is because there aren't any gas stations to bring the gas too. Most of the gas stations down there have been whiped out.

 

[AliasHombre]

Although rather inappropriate during a telethon...the man has a point.

Like over 90% of the evacuees were black, and they weren't getting the help they needed.  The senator (who is democratic mind you and still ticked me off), went on a rampage the other day about how people should've gotten out of the city.

Did she not realize that 50,000 people in New Orleans are without transportation?  And over a third of them live below the poverty line, and on average make 17,000 dollars a year?  The vast majority of these people being African American.

I guess since the almost all of the people stranded in New Orleans were African American, it looks like they were deserted, and looks like an issue of race, which I really don't think it is...but it does look as such, and other people have brought that to the attention of the media...not just Kanye West.

[post="1478678"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]​

Why did the black mayor of New Orleans not authorize the use of the city's school busses to evacuate the city, which now lie under several feet of flood water.

 

[noggi16]

At least there are finally some countries sending aid...finally!

And why should you need aid? You are the worlds richest country. India did not accept aid after the tsunami, and it still continued to send aid to others. Why do you need aid?

And I would be very interested to see the response to the fact that Castro has said he will send 1000 doctors with a 100 ready to move immediatly.

Like over 90% of the evacuees were black, and they weren't getting the help they needed. The senator (who is democratic mind you and still ticked me off), went on a rampage the other day about how people should've gotten out of the city.

Did she not realize that 50,000 people in New Orleans are without transportation? And over a third of them live below the poverty line, and on average make 17,000 dollars a year? The vast majority of these people being African American.

Its been commented on alot here that the only white people in New Orleans seem to be BBC journalists. You can understand how this has become an issue of race.

Without transport, it would be difficult to move, but staying because of your possesions is the most pathetic thing I have ever heard. I know nothing about weather or satilite images but you looked at the pictures they had of this hurricane and you could tell it was going to be the worst in a long time.

 

[Jamison]

Why did the black mayor of New Orleans not authorize the use of the city's school busses to evacuate the city, which now lie under several feet of flood water.

[post="1478949"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]​

There was no one to drive the buses. He was outraged that people weren't sending bus drivers and buses.

And why should you need aid? You are the worlds richest country. India did not accept aid after the tsunami, and it still continued to send aid to others. Why do you need aid?

And I would be very interested to see the response to the fact that Castro has said he will send 1000 doctors with a 100 ready to move immediatly.
Its been commented on alot here that the only white people in New Orleans seem to be BBC journalists. You can understand how this has become an issue of race.

Without transport, it would be difficult to move, but staying because of your possesions is the most pathetic thing I have ever heard. I know nothing about weather or satilite images but you looked at the pictures they had of this hurricane and you could tell it was going to be the worst in a long time.

[post="1478974"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]​

Have you seen the pictures?! And do you realize how far in debt we are because of the war in Iraq? This is going to cost us billions of more dollars then the tsunami (and while India might not have accepted direct aid, they did accept our troops and aid organizations, I donated to the Red Cross after that and my money went to the tsunami relief effort). I think it's rather selfish to say that we don't need aid...if you don't want to donate to these suffering people, then that's fine, you don't have to. But don't act like we couldn't use the money. We definitely can, and I applaude all of the countries who have shown such compassion and put political differences aside and have offered us their support, troops, medicine, and money. The situation is dire, and sadly our federal government isn't doing enough...we need all the help we can get. Obviously you don't understand just how very bad it is.

People are allowed to stay for whatever reason they want, and we shouldn't judge them for that, they had their reasons. The transportation issue was the reason that at least 90% of the people stayed behind (as well as the sick and elderly). They told them that they needed to evacuate, but didn't supply public transport to these people, so they did what they were told and went to the superdome. Also, studies done by Louisiana have shown that they need 55-72 hours to evacuate all the people living in New Orleans. They got less than 24.

People in Louisiana have lived through many hurricanes, and they felt somewhat invincible. We knew that it was going to be bad but they'd been through "bad" ones before and had made it through...why not this one? While it is foolish, I can see their reasonings. I still don't think we should be judging these people for why they stayed, they had their reasons...and in staying they've lost friends and family members. They're suffering enough without us judging them...don't blame the victim.


ETA the following:

Governments pledge aid after Katrina

(Reuters) -- Hurricane Katrina has devastated New Orleans and U.S. Gulf Coast states, killing hundreds of people and possibly thousands, and drawing support pledges from rich and poor, traditional friends and foes of the United States.

The State Department said offers of help had been received from:

Australia, Austria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Belgium, Canada, China, Columbia, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Germany, Guatemala, Greece, Guyana, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Philippines, Portugal, South Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.

International organizations also offered help ranging from medical teams to tents to cash donations. They include NATO, the Organization of American States, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, and the World Health Organization.

A State Department official said a needs assessment was being done to determine which offers would be accepted.

The United Nations has offered to help coordinate international relief. Following is a list of some of the aid offered by governments.

Asia
AUSTRALIA: "We're going to provide A$10 million ($7.6 million) and the bulk of that money, if not all of it, will go to the American Red Cross," said Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer. The Australian government said there may be up to 24 Australians trapped in Louisiana in the aftermath of Katrina.

CHINA: China offered $5 million in aid for victims of Hurricane Katrina which devastated the Gulf Coast ahead of President Hu Jintao's U.S. visit. If needed, the Chinese government is also prepared to send rescue workers, including medical experts, officials said.

JAPAN: Will provide $200,000 to the American Red Cross to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said on Friday. Japan will also identify needs in affected regions via the U.S. government and will provide up to $300,000 in emergency supplies such as tents, blankets and power generators if it receives requests for such assistance, the ministry said.

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Armed Forces, responding to requests by the United States Texas Army National Guard, has sent three Chinook helicopters to Fort Polk, Louisiana, to help in relief efforts. The government said the Chinooks will help to ferry supplies and undertake airlift missions.

SOUTH KOREA: Has pledged aid and is waiting for a U.S. response, a government official said. "We have sent our intention to offer recovery aid," a Foreign Ministry official said on Friday.

SRI LANKA: Will donate $25,000 to the American Red Cross.

Americas
CANADA: Offered to help in any way it can and the navy is preparing a ship full of emergency disaster relief supplies to be sent when a request comes.

CUBA: Cuban President Fidel Castro offered to fly 1,100 doctors to Houston with 26 tonnes of medicine to treat disaster victims.

MEXICO: The country is sending 15 truckloads of water, food and medical supplies via Texas and the Mexican navy has offered to send two ships, two helicopters and 15 amphibious vehicles.

VENEZUELA: President Hugo Chavez, a vocal critic of the United States, offered to send cheap fuel, humanitarian aid and relief workers to the disaster area.

Europe
EUROPEAN UNION: EU countries are ready to give the United States oil if it requests help, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on Friday. But British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said this was not what the EU had in mind when it discussed how to help.

FRANCE: Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said France was ready to offer support, telling TF1 television: "We have rescue teams based in the Caribbean and we are naturally ready to provide aid to the Americans, and that is what we have told them."

GERMANY: Has offered mobile units to provide clean water, military hospital facilities and medical aid.

ITALY: Has offered to "immediately" send aid and evacuation specialists, Italy's civil protection unit said. Authorities have prepared two military transport planes to fly amphibious vessels, pumps, generators, tents and personnel to New Orleans and other areas. They were awaiting word from U.S. officials, the unit said.

NETHERLANDS: Will provide teams for inspecting dykes and for identifying victims if there is a formal request from the United States. It will also send a frigate from Curacao to New Orleans shortly to provide emergency assistance, the government said.

RUSSIA: Has offered to help with rescue efforts, but is still awaiting a reply from Washington. "Above all with heavy transport planes, which can be loaded with helicopters and generators -- as there is no electricity in the area of the catastrophe," Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said.

SPAIN: Expects to receive a formal request to release gasoline stocks to the United States and is prepared to grant it, an Industry Ministry spokesman said.

SWEDEN: The Rescue Authority said it was on stand-by to supply water purifying equipment, healthcare supplies and emergency shelters if needed.

Middle East
SAUDI ARABIA - Saudi Refining, a Houston-based subsidiary of state oil firm Saudi Aramco, will donate $5 million to the American Red Cross to support relief efforts for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

It's wonderful that so many nations are offering to help us.

And this taken from The Independent:

The questions a shocked America is asking its President
By Rupert Cornwell in Washington
Published: 03 September 2005

Why has it taken George Bush five days to get to New Orleans?

President Bush was on holiday in Texas when Katrina struck. He then spent Monday on a pre-arranged political fundraising tour of California and Arizona, which he did not cancel or curtail. On Tuesday he surveyed the hurricane damage - but only from the flight deck of Air Force One, prompting criticism that he was too detached from the suffering on the ground. He didn't give a speech until Tuesday afternoon - 36 hours after the storm first hit - and didn't embark on a proper tour of the region until yesterday. Key advisers have come under fire for similar levels of detachment. As the full magnitude of the disaster unfolded, the Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, was seen buying shoes in New York, and Dick Cheney remained on holiday.

How could the world's only superpower be so slow in rescuing its own people?

It will probably take months, even years, to answer that question. But here are a few factors to consider: 1) the federal government's disaster relief agency, Fema, has lost considerable clout because the priority at the Department of Homeland Security has been counter-terrorism; 2) the homeland security director, Michael Chertoff, has no experience in disaster relief; 3) because of Fema's low profile, almost no contingency measures were taken before Katrina struck; 4) the under-resourced local Army Corps of Engineers appeared completely unprepared to conduct emergency operations after the levees were breached; 5) nobody appears to have considered the communications problems inherent in loss of phone and cell-phone service.

Why did he cut funding for flood control and emergency management?

Another question likely to be the subject of official investigations. Local and former federal officials are in little doubt that the budgetary priorities of Iraq, tax cuts and the "war on terror" are to blame. Disaster prevention experts have been studying New Orleans for years and urging upgrades to its levees and other preventive measures. The Army Corps of Engineers was supposed to carry out some of this work last year, but its funding was cut. It seems the Bush administration considered the risk of malicious human attack and the risk of the ravages of nature, and found itself incapable of holding both ideas in its head.

Why did it take so long to send adequate National Guard forces to keep law and order?

The National Guard is under pressure in every US state because of the strains of deployment in Iraq. More than one-third of Louisiana's 10,000 guardsmen are either in Iraq or Afghanistan. No mass deployment of guardsmen from other states is being contemplated because they are all needed in Iraq too. At first, only 3,000 guardsmen were sent to New Orleans, but that was increased to about 10,000 as looting and gun violence became widespread.

How can the US take Iraq, a country of £25m people, in three weeks but fail to rescue 25,000 of its own citizens from a sports arena in a big American city?

America's obsession with maintaining its pre-eminent position as the world's largest superpower means it is incapable of responding swiftly and effectively to a humanitarian crisis. While it has the firepower for fighting wars, it does not have the leadership and skills to combat natural disaster.

It's not just people in America asking these questions. Countries worldwide are appalled at the lack of leadership we've shown. It's also not just limited to "liberal" either. There are many Republicans voicing their outrage and concern over the President's response.

 

[AliasALIAS]

People are allowed to stay for whatever reason they want, and we shouldn't judge them for that, they had their reasons.  The transportation issue was the reason that at least 90% of the people stayed behind (as well as the sick and elderly).  They told them that they needed to evacuate, but didn't supply public transport to these people, so they did what they were told and went to the superdome.

[post="1479007"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]​

To add on to that, one of our local reporters in LA actually got stuck in New Orleans when the hurricane hit. He was lucky that our news station sent a helicopter to rescue him, and when he came back, he was very emotional about the situation, even corrected what his fellow colleagues had been reporting, saying the media was often misleading. He said many of the people who were left behind because there was no transportation actually chose to stay behind later on because they heard on their radios how horrible conditions were at refuges, so they'd much rather be stuck on their own roof than with thousands of other people in unsanitary conditions and no food. Other people were also told a rescue boat would come back for them but never did.

 

[Itz tha Dreila]

yea it's just awful, there's no way they're ever going to be able to rebuild that city

 

[Moonlite Star]

Wow that's a lot of countries. I'm very glad to see the amount of support countries are showing for our unfortunate disaster.

as for the second article, those questions are definitely worth asking. but ive already commented on this, so i guess i wont recomment.

it's going to be quite a burden for the cities in the south to accept the refugees though. Especially if those refugees decide to stay rather than go back...

one hurricane and this is what happens...-_- it's quite sad. but it definitely shows how the whole world can be turned upside down in one day...

 

[RX94]

:brokenheart: Hello Alias friends. I am from Lake charles,La. We are in the southwest part of the state, so we were ok.

I work at a local hospital, we are overflowing with patients. Right now, we are working overtime & helping out at the triage center at one of the local shelters.


Every town in La. big or small has multiple shelters. Also, local churches & families have taken in residents of New Orleans.


THANK YOU to everyone who has made a donation or said a prayer .

I have spent time in New Orleans since i was a child. I love N.O. soo much. I want to see it rebuilt & better than ever.

The French Quarter did not sustain that much damage.


Thank you again

GOD BLESS NOLA (new orleans louisiana)

RX94

 

[aliasundercover]

I just keep watching this all day (even now, when I should be sleeping). It's so much to take in.. I can't imagine being there. At least things finally started taking a turn for the better today. It definitely sounds like the conditions were terrible in some locations

On the topic of looters, it's disgusting. There are people in the world that show their best side when disasters happen, and there are those that obviously don't. Rampaging hospitals to steal narcotics... televisions... it just makes no sense. Raping women, being violent towards officers that are trying to help, ... I just can't wrap my head around it. I realize it's an extreme situation, but I don't think any slack should be given to such people. We all understand stealing food, water, diapers, and even clothes... but to use this as an opportunity to steal non-essential items is just unforgiveable :angry:

 

[noggi16]

[/QUOTE]

Have you seen the pictures?! And do you realize how far in debt we are because of the war in Iraq? This is going to cost us billions of more dollars then the tsunami (and while India might not have accepted direct aid, they did accept our troops and aid organizations, I donated to the Red Cross after that and my money went to the tsunami relief effort). I think it's rather selfish to say that we don't need aid...if you don't want to donate to these suffering people, then that's fine, you don't have to. But don't act like we couldn't use the money. We definitely can, and I applaude all of the countries who have shown such compassion and put political differences aside and have offered us their support, troops, medicine, and money. The situation is dire, and sadly our federal government isn't doing enough...we need all the help we can get. Obviously you don't understand just how very bad it is.

I think accepting monetary donations and accepting logistical aid are too entirely different prospects. No one country has the monoploy on the people who can help in a disaster. And to correct a misconception while India may have accepted relief efforts in the form of civilian experts, ie enginners, I am almost positive it did not accept American troops and while NGO's were found in India, they did not ask them to come, nor did they accept as many as the needy countries around them. Indian re-construction was done by India.

I just don't think donating money to America is a proper proposition. When there are people in the world that live like that all the time. America is the worlds richest economy, if you have not got the proper political will to look after those people, why should the rest of the world do it for you.

I also notice, as I mentioned Cuba had offered assistance. I have not long been back from Cuba, where was American assistance when Ivan hit? Cuba has the lowest death toll from hurricanes. Do you know why because the Army come in and move everyone. You have no choice. Giving people an oppotunity to stay doesn't work in natural disasters.

 

[Natalia]

And why should you need aid? You are the worlds richest country. India did not accept aid after the tsunami, and it still continued to send aid to others. Why do you need aid?

[post="1478974"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]​

Mind you, they should have. I was in South India when the tsunami happened. India sent aid to other countries, and left thousands of their own people to die, simply so they could uphold the image of being a superpower. It made me sick that they didn't send aid to many parts of their own country for seven days, and then went to the international press and siad they were handling the situation. :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry:



But I agree. Australia is sending millions of dollars to the USA for Heaven's sake. Money we should be using for our own things. If Bush can spend ridiculous sums on military campaigns, and millions of dollars on visiting Australia simply to pose for photographers, he can afford to spend money to help his own people.

 

[Moonlite Star]

I found this article really interesting:

How Could This Be Happening in the United States?

By Kevin Sullivan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, September 4, 2005; A12

LONDON, Sept. 3 -- People around the world cannot believe what they're seeing.

From Argentina to Zimbabwe, front-page photos of the dead and desperate in New Orleans, almost all of them poor and black, have sickened them and shaken assumptions about American might. How can this be happening, they ask, in a nation whose wealth and power seem almost supernatural in so many struggling corners of the world?

Pick the comparison: New Orleans looks like Haiti, or Baghdad, or Sudan, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka. The images of all the rubble and corpses and empty-eyed survivors remind people of those places, not the United States.

"Third World America," declared the headline in the Daily Mail in London on Saturday. "Law and order is gone, gunmen roam at will, raping and looting, and as people die of heat and thirst, bodies lie rotting in the street. Until now, such a hellish vista could only be imagined in a Third World disaster zone. But this was America yesterday."

International reaction has shifted in many cases from shock, sympathy and generosity to a growing criticism of the Bush administration's response to the catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina. In nations often divided by dueling sentiments of admiration and distaste for the United States, many people see at best incompetence and at worst racism in the chaos gripping much of the Gulf Coast. Many analysts said President Bush's focus on Iraq had left the United States without resources to handle natural disasters, and many said Hurricane Katrina's fury mocked Bush's opposition to international efforts to confront global warming, which some experts say contributes to the severity of such storms.

More than 50 countries and a number of international organizations have offered aid and technical assistance. In Washington, the State Department has not accepted the help, but said it was analyzing needs. Some nations have made contributions directly to the American Red Cross.

South African President Thabo Mbeki said those affected "remain in the hearts and prayers of the people of South Africa." French President Jacques Chirac, one of Europe's most outspoken critics of Bush, dispatched a handwritten note to the White House expressing his "deep distress." French, Italian, German, Russian and Chinese officials have offered millions of dollars in aid.

The leaders of Cuba and Venezuela, both at odds with the United States, pledged support. Cuban President Fidel Castro offered to send 1,100 doctors, each carrying emergency medical supplies amounting to tons of relief aid. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez offered to send fuel, humanitarian aid and relief workers to the disaster area. Venezuela is one of the largest suppliers of oil to the United States.

In a remarkable role reversal, some of the world's poorest developing nations are offering help. El Salvador offered to send soldiers to help restore order, and offers of aid have come from Bosnia, Kosovo and Belarus. The former Soviet republic of Georgia has donated $50,000 to the Red Cross, and beleaguered Sri Lanka, which has received $133 million in tsunami relief from the United States, has donated $25,000 to the Red Cross. In Beijing, Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) and Rep. Jim Leach (R-Iowa), just back from Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, said officials there went out of their way to express their sympathy.

Beyond the goodwill, much of the reaction has been harshly critical of the U.S. response and of Bush, who remains unpopular in many places outside the United States, largely over the war in Iraq. The Independent newspaper in London carried front-page headlines on Saturday that read, "Where was the President in his country's hour of need? And why has it taken him five days to go to New Orleans?" The paper also asked, "How can the US take Iraq, a country of 25 million people, in three weeks but fail to rescue 25,000 of its own citizens from a sports arena in a big American city?"

One Iraqi newspaper reported about the hurricane without editorial comment. The Arab news network al-Jazeera showed footage of relief aid and reported on Bush sending troops to the area. Iraqis are aware of pressure in the United States for soldiers to return home.

For the French, who feel greater historical, cultural, linguistic and emotional ties to New Orleans than perhaps any other American city, the daily front-page images have been gut-wrenching. "The rage of the forgotten" declared the headline of Saturday's editions of Liberation newspaper beside a photograph of a young woman on her knees, screaming in despair. Saturday's lead editorial in Le Figaro questioned how the U.S. military could have been so quick to arrive in South Asia for the tsunami, yet "wasn't able to do the same within its own borders."

Israel's most watched television news program, Channel 2 news, on Friday broadcast extensive footage from New Orleans showing uncovered corpses with commentary saying that no one was tending to the dead. The program also aired a video clip of Bush searching for words, before saying he was dissatisfied with the government's response. The newscaster's narration suggested the Bush administration had placed a higher priority on ensuring a steady flow of gasoline than on saving lives.

On Chinese Web sites, which have covered the disaster closely, several postings contrasted the Chinese army's relief role in recent floods and earthquakes with the U.S. response in New Orleans. "Hundreds of thousands of . . . soldiers were sent to those places to help local residents, and they really did a good job," one posting said. "But the United States, a superpower, only sent several thousand soldiers to help. What a shame!"

In other countries, commentators have linked Katrina to the dangers of global warming, and Bush's opposition to the Kyoto protocol on climate change. "This horror is the worst possible way of realizing how important climate change is," Marcelo Cantelmi wrote in an Aug. 31 editorial in the Clarin newspaper in Buenos Aires. German Environment Minister Juergen Trittin wrote in an article this week that Katrina should be a wake-up call to the Bush administration to change its policies on global warming.

Others said the looting and chaos in New Orleans reflected a culture of violence in the United States. The English-language Times of India on Saturday published a quote from Sajeewa Chinthaka, a 36-year-old from Sri Lanka, where the tsunami killed more than 30,000: "It's disgusting. Not a single tourist caught in the tsunami was mugged. We can easily see where the civilized part of the world's population is."

The issue of race underlies much of the global dismay over the situation in New Orleans. The United States is seen as a land of opportunity for some, with less for people of color. Every year, hundreds of thousands of Mexicans sneak into the United States for work, while in Mexico, human rights groups blast the treatment of Hispanics in the United States. African refugees flee war and famine and find new lives in the United States, but they also find a society where minorities are disproportionately the poorest.

The issue has resonated in East African countries such as Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya, where newspaper columnists and radio personalities have blasted the U.S. government for its slow aid to victims. Among the victims are a "disproportionately high number of visibly impoverished blacks," wrote Ambrose Murgunga on Saturday in Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper.

In Pakistan, the English-language newspaper the Nation wrote in an editorial Saturday that the U.S. government "for three days sat smugly apathetic to the people's plight," noting that the largely black victims highlighted "the inequality of wealth that continues to mark the U.S. racial divide till this day."

In Turkey, columnist Sami Kohen wrote in Friday's Milliyet newspaper the looting "showed 'the other face' of USA. It became clear that the number of poor and unemployed people is seriously high and their problems had been ignored."

In the Daily Mail of London on Saturday, columnist Anthony Holden said his affection for the United States had always been tempered by its "me-first" attitude. He said the largely poor and black victims of Hurricane Katrina showed that while prosperity had come to some American blacks and other minorities, many more had been left behind.

"Rarely," he wrote, "has such lurid evidence of the darker side of the American dream been so brutally exposed."

Correspondents John Lancaster in New Delhi, Scott Wilson in Jerusalem, Craig Timberg in Johannesburg, Monte Reel in Buenos Aires, Molly Moore in Paris, Emily Wax in Nairobi, Anthony Faiola in Tokyo, Edward Cody and Philip P. Pan in Beijing, Ellen Nakashima and Alan Sipress in Jakarta, Indonesia, Peter Finn in Moscow, N.C. Aizenman in Islamabad, Pakistan, Craig Whitlock in Berlin, Karl Vick in Istanbul, staff writer Mary Beth Sheridan in Washington and special correspondent Omar Fekeiki in Baghdad contributed to this report.

It outlines the views of several different countries over this incident.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...0301433_pf.html

 

[Jamison]

I think accepting monetary donations and accepting logistical aid are too entirely different prospects. No one country has the monoploy on the people who can help in a disaster. And to correct a misconception while India may have accepted relief efforts in the form of civilian experts, ie enginners, I am almost positive it did not accept American troops and while NGO's were found in India, they did not ask them to come, nor did they accept as many as the needy countries around them. Indian re-construction was done by India.

I just don't think donating money to America is a proper proposition. When there are people in the world that live like that all the time. America is the worlds richest economy, if you have not got the proper political will to look after those people, why should the rest of the world do it for you.

I also notice, as I mentioned Cuba had offered assistance. I have not long been back from Cuba, where was American assistance when Ivan hit? Cuba has the lowest death toll from hurricanes. Do you know why because the Army come in and move everyone. You have no choice. Giving people an oppotunity to stay doesn't work in natural disasters.

[post="1479776"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]​

We did have troops over there. I remember that the government was getting antsy and wanted to kick them out...but because there was such an outrage over this, they didn't. They might not have been many in India, but definitely Sri Lanka, and definitely Indonesia.

Why is donating money not the proper position? The money isn't going to the people who run this country and who screwed this process up. The money is going to the people who need it. And there is no guarentee that we will accept the offers of other countries, but I think it's wonderful that they have offered.

While Cuba got hit hard with Ivan, so did America. While we wouldn't send troops over there anyways, there was a massive effort to fix things over here. I live in Western North Carolina and my hometown was entirely under water. My college town which is on top of a mountain flooded as well. People died in my area due to the flooding, and we didn't take a direct hit. There was a need to help people over here. And the reason the Cuban army can take people out of their homes by force is because it's a dictatorship. You would never be allowed to do that here, when the government doesn't own these homes, but the people do. And let's be real, if they had to depend on the government to get them out this past time, it wouldn't have happened. It took them 5 days to do anything after the storm hit, they would've never evacuated anyone. The evacuation was handled poorly, I'll give you that...but it can't be left up to the army, especially since our army isn't here, it's in Iraq.

Mind you, they should have. I was in South India when the tsunami happened. India sent aid to other countries, and left thousands of their own people to die, simply so they could uphold the image of being a superpower. It made me sick that they didn't send aid to many parts of their own country for seven days, and then went to the international press and siad they were handling the situation. :angry:  :angry:  :angry:  :angry:

But I agree. Australia is sending millions of dollars to the USA for Heaven's sake. Money we should be using for our own things. If Bush can spend ridiculous sums on military campaigns, and millions of dollars on visiting Australia simply to pose for photographers, he can afford to spend money to help his own people.

[post="1479809"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]​

Bush has mucked things up in many ways. War in Iraq, and this relief effort to name a few. But to use him as a reason to not donate to these people is ridiculous. I think political differences should be put aside in a time like this. We may be the "richest" country in the world, but we are trillions of dollars in debt, and the money that would've been used to help these people is going to the war in Iraq. I just find it silly to say that people shouldn't donate to us because of Bush, when people are dying in the streets from lack of food and water. I, personally, don't agree with many of the practices that go on in India and Indonesia, but I donated several times to their cause...because it wasn't about politics, it was about the people.

 

[Itz tha Dreila]

I just keep watching this all day (even now, when I should be sleeping).  It's so much to take in.. I can't imagine being there.  At least things finally started taking a turn for the better today.  It definitely sounds like the conditions were terrible in some locations 

On the topic of looters, it's disgusting.  There are people in the world that show their best side when disasters happen, and there are those that obviously don't.  Rampaging hospitals to steal narcotics... televisions... it just makes no sense.  Raping women, being violent towards officers that are trying to help, ... I just can't wrap my head around it.  I realize it's an extreme situation, but I don't think any slack should be given to such people.  We all understand stealing food, water, diapers, and even clothes... but to use this as an opportunity to steal non-essential items is just unforgiveable  :angry:

[post="1479636"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]​

indeed yea.. its pathetic

 

[Sex-Dwarf]

The area that has been affected by this tragedy is the size of united Kingdom! That is gonna stretch any developed nation in coping. But this was predicted, why wern't people evacuated? why were the poor and the underclass mainly African americans left behind? To me this has face of racist America showing it's true colours. Treat people like animals and they start acting like it, as what happened in the astro dome with reports of rapes, stabbings. There was one story that i read on the BBC news website of a woman that was found in the toilets who had been stabbed 7 times!!!!