Greg Palast, author of Armed Madhouse: From Baghdad to New Orleans - Sordid Secrets and Strange Tales of a White House Gone Wild released this week by Penguin. writes about what the federal government knew but did not share in "18 Missing Inches in New Orleans"
Not every flood victim in America gets the Katrina treatment. In 1992, storms wiped out 190 houses on the beach at West Hampton Dunes, home to film stars and celebrity speculators. The federal government paid to completely rebuild the houses, which, hauled in four million cubic feet of sand to restore the tony beaches, and guaranteed the home's safety into the coming decades - after which the "victim's" homes rose in value to an average $2 million each.
But in New Orleans, instead of compensation, 73,000 have been sentenced to life in FEMA's trailer-parks in Louisiana. Even more are displaced to other states. I asked van Heeerden about the consequences of the White House's failures, the information about the levee being just one of a list.
"Well, fifteen hundred people drowned. That's the bottom line."
But why did the levees fail at all if the hurricane missed the city? The professor showed me a computer model indicating the levees were a foot and a half too short - the result of a technical error in the Army Corp of Engineer's calculation of sea level when the levees were built beginning in the 1930s.
And the Bush crew knew it. Long before Katrina struck, the White House staff had sought van Heerden's advice on coastal safety. So when the professor learned of the 18-inch error, he informed the White House directly. But this was advice they didn't want to hear. The President had already sent the levee repair crew, the Army Corp of Engineers, to Afghanistan and Iraq.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Monday, April 30, 2007
How NOT to lead
From
Bayou Buzz dot com.
This is beyond disgusting.
This is way past ineptitude
an excerpt
It seems that the wounds from the U.S. Government’s miserable handling of Hurricane Katrina will never go away. This weekend, a shocking report shows that our federal government turned down millions of dollars in aid from foreign countries in the aftermath of Katrina. A staggering $846 million in aid was offered from countries across the globe, yet only $40 million was eventually accepted. Some went to private charities, but other assistance, such as medical supplies from Italy, was unused, exposed to the elements and eventually discarded.
The reasons the aid was rejected often dealt with a strict adherence to government regulations. For example, the Greek government offered two cruise ships to be used to house or care for Katrina victims. The ships were rejected due to concerns about the sprinkler systems on the boats. Other aid was turned down because of concerns about bottlenecks at a U.S. airbase in Little Rock, Arkansas caused by too many relief planes arriving. How infuriating that our government was worried about sprinkler systems and airport congestion when people were dying throughout the Gulf Coast!
More at the American Zombie
Bayou Buzz dot com.
This is beyond disgusting.
This is way past ineptitude
an excerpt
It seems that the wounds from the U.S. Government’s miserable handling of Hurricane Katrina will never go away. This weekend, a shocking report shows that our federal government turned down millions of dollars in aid from foreign countries in the aftermath of Katrina. A staggering $846 million in aid was offered from countries across the globe, yet only $40 million was eventually accepted. Some went to private charities, but other assistance, such as medical supplies from Italy, was unused, exposed to the elements and eventually discarded.
The reasons the aid was rejected often dealt with a strict adherence to government regulations. For example, the Greek government offered two cruise ships to be used to house or care for Katrina victims. The ships were rejected due to concerns about the sprinkler systems on the boats. Other aid was turned down because of concerns about bottlenecks at a U.S. airbase in Little Rock, Arkansas caused by too many relief planes arriving. How infuriating that our government was worried about sprinkler systems and airport congestion when people were dying throughout the Gulf Coast!
More at the American Zombie
20 Months Later
At ground zero - Bay St. Louis and Waveland - there is still so much work to be done.
From "Rising from Ruin see what this area looks like in April 2007
From "Rising from Ruin see what this area looks like in April 2007
Jazz Fest 07
I hadn't been to Jazz Fest in almost 10 years, so it was a pleasure to go this year.
We headed for the Blues Tent first thing. After looking at the schedule of performers, we decided we'd stay there all day
It was a good day. The tent was cool and there were Jazz Fest Staff there who kept the aisles clear and did their best to keep the rowdies tamed.
We watched
Mem Shannon and the Membership
Burnside Exploration
Richie Havens
The incredible Tab Benoit
and Sonny Landreth
While listening to all this talent we ate!
A very huge and very tasty steak pita
The Crawfish Bisque & Trout Baquet from Lil Dizzy's. mmm-mmm-mmmm
and the meaty ribs with white beans.
We headed for the Blues Tent first thing. After looking at the schedule of performers, we decided we'd stay there all day
It was a good day. The tent was cool and there were Jazz Fest Staff there who kept the aisles clear and did their best to keep the rowdies tamed.
We watched
Mem Shannon and the Membership
Burnside Exploration
Richie Havens
The incredible Tab Benoit
and Sonny Landreth
While listening to all this talent we ate!
A very huge and very tasty steak pita
The Crawfish Bisque & Trout Baquet from Lil Dizzy's. mmm-mmm-mmmm
and the meaty ribs with white beans.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Katrina keeps on "giving"
Tim posted a story about a neighbor of his who lost more than his home to the storm.
Read about it at his nameless blog
Read about it at his nameless blog
New Orleans-ABOVE Sea Level
E.J. over at "NOITSJUSTME blogspot has some interesting info for all of you NOLA dissers.
N.O. - It's Just Me: City ABOVE the sea
N.O. - It's Just Me: City ABOVE the sea
Local Idea for Cat 5 Levees
From a NOLA-dishu post last week:
Local Idea for Cat 5 Levees
This brings you to Jim Boudreaux's home page with a very interesting and entertaining powerpoint presentation.
Thanks, Clay!
Local Idea for Cat 5 Levees
This brings you to Jim Boudreaux's home page with a very interesting and entertaining powerpoint presentation.
Thanks, Clay!
NOLA Katrina Memorial
Orleans Parish Coronor Dr. Frank Minyard is responsible for the interment of the unclaimed and unidentified New Orleans victims from Hurricane Katrina.
According to the state Department of Health and Hospitals, Katrina left 1,464 victims. Of those vicitims, 100 still remain
unidentified or unclaimed. The unclaimed remain at that classification because either the families cannot be located or, in some cases,
the families "don't want to pick them up". How sad. Minyard feels all Katrina victims deserve a better fate.
Organized in late 2006, the idea for the charitable, non-profit establishment of a memorial in New Orleans in honor of the Katrina victims,
including a mausoleum to house the unidentified and identified but unclaimed remains.
From the New Orleans Katrina Memorial Webpage
…..we are soliciting tax-deductible donations toward the construction costs of the memorial, estimated to exceed $1.5 million, including funds for the perpetual care of
this memorial. Matthews International has been selected to design and build the New Orleans Katrina Memorial.
The New Orleans Katrina Memorial will house these victims as well as provide remembrance plaques for all Katrina victims recovered in the city of New Orleans. Family members of the deceased are asked to contact the New Orleans Katrina Memorial Corporation.
The memorial incorporates both the curves of the hurricane and the meditative quality of a labyrinth, an initial idea conceived by Dr. Jeffrey
Rouse (the deputy New Orleans coroner dealing with psychiatric cases). The concept was then presented to Dave DeCarlo, Vice Chairman of
Matthews International Corporation, and a design team under the direction of Chris Kroll developed the rendering.
Update, September 2017: I found a webpage that hasn't expires that describes the Katrina Memorial Cemetary here.
According to the state Department of Health and Hospitals, Katrina left 1,464 victims. Of those vicitims, 100 still remain
unidentified or unclaimed. The unclaimed remain at that classification because either the families cannot be located or, in some cases,
the families "don't want to pick them up". How sad. Minyard feels all Katrina victims deserve a better fate.
Organized in late 2006, the idea for the charitable, non-profit establishment of a memorial in New Orleans in honor of the Katrina victims,
including a mausoleum to house the unidentified and identified but unclaimed remains.
From the New Orleans Katrina Memorial Webpage
…..we are soliciting tax-deductible donations toward the construction costs of the memorial, estimated to exceed $1.5 million, including funds for the perpetual care of
this memorial. Matthews International has been selected to design and build the New Orleans Katrina Memorial.
The New Orleans Katrina Memorial will house these victims as well as provide remembrance plaques for all Katrina victims recovered in the city of New Orleans. Family members of the deceased are asked to contact the New Orleans Katrina Memorial Corporation.
The memorial incorporates both the curves of the hurricane and the meditative quality of a labyrinth, an initial idea conceived by Dr. Jeffrey
Rouse (the deputy New Orleans coroner dealing with psychiatric cases). The concept was then presented to Dave DeCarlo, Vice Chairman of
Matthews International Corporation, and a design team under the direction of Chris Kroll developed the rendering.
Update, September 2017: I found a webpage that hasn't expires that describes the Katrina Memorial Cemetary here.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Weekend of Festing
This past weekend we attended two Slidell festivals: the Antique Street Fair and the Crawfish Cookoff.
click on pictures for full size versions
The sky was clear, the temps were cool and the food was plentiful.
We hit the street fair early, so the crowds were thin. It made for a much more enjoyable time.
We could smell the italian sausage grilling from blocks away and decided that that's what our breakfast would be.
A very good choice.
It's a small fair, but there were some gorgeous pieces of furniture there.
Check out that chair. Wish I had the $350 they were asking.
There were smaller items as well. This 1930's era handmixer was really neat.
After an hour of so of strolling around, we were hungry, so we headed for the Crawfish Cookoff across town.
The proceeds of this event benefits Hospice Foundation of the South.
For $20 each, we ate all of the mudbugs we could consume. I never ate so much crawfish in my life.
I award the gentleman in the red hat the outfit of the day.
Bag of Donuts entertained the crowd
Now it's time to rest up for this Saturday and Jazz Fest We'll be spending a majority of the day in the Southern Comfort Blues Tent
click on pictures for full size versions
The sky was clear, the temps were cool and the food was plentiful.
We hit the street fair early, so the crowds were thin. It made for a much more enjoyable time.
We could smell the italian sausage grilling from blocks away and decided that that's what our breakfast would be.
A very good choice.
It's a small fair, but there were some gorgeous pieces of furniture there.
Check out that chair. Wish I had the $350 they were asking.
There were smaller items as well. This 1930's era handmixer was really neat.
After an hour of so of strolling around, we were hungry, so we headed for the Crawfish Cookoff across town.
The proceeds of this event benefits Hospice Foundation of the South.
For $20 each, we ate all of the mudbugs we could consume. I never ate so much crawfish in my life.
I award the gentleman in the red hat the outfit of the day.
Bag of Donuts entertained the crowd
Now it's time to rest up for this Saturday and Jazz Fest We'll be spending a majority of the day in the Southern Comfort Blues Tent
New Orleans East
Want to see what some parts of New Orleans East looks like 20 months post-Katrina?
Click here
Yet, in another part of "the east", there is a the opposite.
The Vietnamese in the East making a strong comeback
Like many other small-business owners in the area, Mai Nguyen didn't wait for money from the Road Home or any other government program to reopen her restaurant after Katrina. She dug deep into her own pockets.
Click here
Yet, in another part of "the east", there is a the opposite.
The Vietnamese in the East making a strong comeback
Like many other small-business owners in the area, Mai Nguyen didn't wait for money from the Road Home or any other government program to reopen her restaurant after Katrina. She dug deep into her own pockets.
Nationwide Relooking
Nationwide Insurance will voluntarily review all claims in the state where the customer's home or building was reduced to nothing more than a slab by the 2005 storm.
Thanks ever-so-much for all your help, Nationwide!
Here's another link
Who will be next?
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