www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Circus:
Forgive my defensiveness I am too close to this one. In my mind the national media is focusing on the negative behavior of some of the citizens of my state. I prefer to look at the positive behavior. An example of positive behavior would be the men and women of Louisiana wildlife and fisheries enforcement agents. All agents were brought into the area with their vehicles especially boats to help in search and rescue. They were set up in shifts when time came for the first shifts to stop an the second shift to take over no one went home. What they started doing was towing in any boats they found floating hot wiring the motor and manning them within the able-bodied men that were willing and there was more men than boats. Many private citizens with boats just started showing up.

Lee

_________________
PS: DO NOT SEND MONEY!

I am a praying man and beseach that he gives those folks the strength to survive and flourish. I am leaving for CR in 11hrs with both happiness and sadness in my heart. I also have a loose daily budget when in CR and earlier donated 10% of my trip budget to the Salvation Army. I have experience with them and they truly use the money for the direct purpose.
I can always drink a little less and pass on a couple of chicas. I am not big on telling people what to do but this may be a good time to reflect on what we have and help.
Some aspd providers are throwing a party in Toledo, Ohio with the proceeds going to assist those folks.
I was shivering looking at those pictures...........it looked like carpet bombing.

YO Lee:
You are indeed correct. Not only game and fresh water officers as well as the many private boat owners.......I totally agree. How about the locat national guard, Fema, Red cross and a list of others who were on the ground (or water) 24 hours after the storm.

My problem is the people who ramsack things other than neccesities for living. The hoods shot a policeman in the head yesterday. The looters busted into a Ch*ldren's hospital last night looting drugs.......do not know if the personel were harmed. They should shoot the fuckers that have weapons and are out to do harm.

Meantime, there are the inocent thousands that are stuck on espressways , roof tops, trees, etc. that only want to get a fair shake and live. God only help the poor souls in attics with no escape as the water rises.

P.S. Nice touch Twarag. Glad to see one of our most honorable amigos on here pass the donation plate. As you well know it will take mucho dinero.

To any of our brothers, their families, friends, loved ones who live in the badly effected areas, wish you the best and like so many others I've said a prayer.

My work place always donates our food products to the relief agencies, I know those who eat our food will enjoy it.

It's a hell of a mess, biblical in nature. It's one of the top disasters of my life time.

Shamas O'D

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Shamas O'Dognasty
Gourmet Catering & Septic Tank Cleaning

An article published by Newhouse News Service today about New Orleans seemed particularly appropriate for posting on this thread, particularly the last two paragraphs which read:



The full article is below:

New Orleans may yet survive to let the good times roll
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
James Varney

Newhouse News Service

On the southern fringe of New Orleans' City Park there is a live oak with a branch that dips low, goes briefly underground, and comes up still thriving.

It's ancient and gnarled, this tree, and filtered sunlight slants through its crown at dusk. It's a sublime thing.
When we talk about these majestic items that dot New Orleans' landscape we say "is," but we may mean "was." The reports are still scattered, the news from the ground still incomplete, but Hurricane Katrina may have annihilated New Orleans.

It looks bad to everyone. "It's impossible for us to say how many structures can be salvaged," Gov. Kathleen Blanco said late Tuesday. But can the birthplace of jazz truly be wiped from the face of the Earth?

New Orleans may yet surprise. Too often the city is written off as a whiskey nirvana, where one guzzles Pimms cups at Napoleon House in the French Quarter at night, and eggs and grits at the Camellia Grill in the Riverbend at sunrise.

In truth, however, New Orleans is as sublime as it is Rabelaisian. For example - and this is a thing few tourists know - the French Quarter, home of Bourbon Street and jazz and possessor of a global reputation for parties, is, in fact, a national park. Now and then, through the spokes of a horse-drawn carriage taking honeymooners up Royal Street, one can spot the distinc tive "Smokey" hat of a park ranger telling an earnest visitor some genuine history.

That could include the iconic statue of Andrew Jackson, rearing back on his mustang between the Mississippi River and the St. Louis Cathedral. At its base - and this is a thing few locals know - are the words "Our Union: It Must and Shall be Preserved."

Jackson said that as president, and his toast was first carved into the statue by Union troops during the Civil War, a reminder to the former Confederate citadel that even one of the South's greatest sons was, at heart, a Union man.

Of course, the locals in 1864 didn't cotton to that sentiment. Legend holds that the ladies residing in the Pontalba, the graceful brick apartment buildings that flank Jackson Square and are reputedly the oldest such edifices in the United States, would dump their human waste pots on the caps of officers strolling underneath.

Fortunately - and how odd that word sounds in association with New Orleans today - the French Quarter was still mostly dry, largely intact, late Tuesday. In another Big Easy quirk, the impossibly charming neighborhood Uptown, which is hard against the Mississippi River, is one of the highest spots in the city.

The true highest spot is an upriver paddlewheel ride away: Monkey Hill in the New Orleans zoo. No one reportedly sought refuge there as Katrina surged about the city, although it might not have been that bad a spot since it's at the opposite end of the zoo from the king cobra and the Komodo dragon.

The zoo itself is another example of how New Orleans, for all its famous decay, can survive. What was once dubbed an "animal ghetto" was turned around by the city and was, until the dreaded "Big One" grazed the city, a bucolic spot.

Other areas, too, may weather the storm. Certainly the fishing spots in the bayous of eastern New Orleans will remain. The fate of the gorgeous trellis of live oak branches arching over St. Charles Avenue is less certain.

Those 19th-century trees are one symbol of New Orleans. A 20th-century symbol, William Faulkner, was first published in The Times-Picayune while he was living in the city and writing his first novel. He called the city "a courtesan whose hold is strong upon the mature, and to whose charm the young must respond."

Now, in the 21st century, the courtesan cries for help. The response from young and old will decide if she lives or dies.

Men,

For the last couple of weeks I have been SO busy do to a number of factors.
One big reason is I will be gone on this trip for over a month.
I was not watching much TV during this time but a couple of day's ago I happened upon the news and of course saw the devastation of Katrina.
I started thinking about all those poor souls that do not have a home or even a town to come home to.
I thought about how I would feel and what I would do.
It wasn't a pretty thought.
And I am single and live alone. Just imagine having a family to take care of ?
So I could not go on this trip without (like Circus said) a lump in my throat.
I thought about canceling my trip but I know that is " just crazy thought"
So I did the next best thing and made a $$$ donation to the Red Cross.
It's easy to do and you will feel much better knowing you did at least help.

_________________
Throughout the history of mankind there has never been one shred of evidence that supports that life is serious..........
Don't believe everything you think ............

Some thoughts:

Of course, our concern goes out first to all those still at risk awaiting rescue. Our respect goes out to all those emergency rescue workers risking their own safety trying to help others, often while facing unknown losses of their own. And our sympathy goes out to everyone in the area that has suffered what seems to us to be unfathomable losses. We've all said it or think it. But the simple words don't do too much good. Ultimately, this area is going to need a lot of aid to rebuild some semblance of what they had before.

That said, on more negative notes, there are other things that need to be said either now or later when the dust has settled and the waters have receeded.

On comparison to Andrew and last years storms: Its that same sort of thinking (I lived through Camille and it was bad but I survived) that led people to think they could survive this storm and failed to evacuate. C'mon, there is no comparison. You can say we know your pain or you can rebuild we did, but the fact is none of us has ever seen anything like this. Miami suffered wind damage but it wasn't flooded. Andrew's path of severe destruction was a few miles across. This one stretched across several states. Andrew killed maybe 40 people directly or indirectly. This one killed more than that in one county in MS and the toll in N.O. and other area will be in the thousands if not more. Andrew put 250K people temporarily out of their homes. Most were able to repair and move back quickly within weeks or months. With this storm 500K to 1M people are currently homeless. Most of N.O. will have to be rebuilt as weeks of being soaked in polluted flood waters will total most houses and with so many homes to be rebuilt it will take months or years before they're replaced. Finally, there will be more impact on the rest of the country than with Andrew or last year's storms as this storm hit our energy production facilities at a time when oil was already reaching record heights. It remains to be seen what this storm has done to our national economy.

BTW, on a more positive sidenote, statistics show that in the longterm local economies actually benefit from natural disasters as insurance and aid money flows into an area, construction and rebuilding jobs abound and the overall quality of the housing stock is built to higher standards than before.

On looters: Some are only talking such things as food, water and medicine or basic items needed to survive. No one can blame them or really suggests anything be done to stop them. There are also many acts of kindness, charity and selfless courage. Reports of the already tired and overcrowded refugees at the superdome welcoming new arrivals and trying to help each other or emergency relief workers from various branches of government and just plain old volunteers pulling double duty in efforts to rescue the people still stranded are examples of the best man has to offer. But seeing pictures of thugs taking advantage of the chaos to load up on TV's, guns, drugs etc. or worse holding up hospital relief trucks, while to be expected to some extent, simply makes me sick and angry. They all should be shot on sight.

On govt. preparedness and response: Some people have been warning about N.O.'s vulnerabilities for years, so why wasn't more done ahead of time? The entire country of Holland is below sea-level so they know something about this and they say better dams could have been built that would have either lessened the damage or even held up completely. Even failing better dams which may have taken years to replace at great expense, why weren't we more prepared to respond to this natural disaster? Hasn't the government been working exactly on the problem of emergency preparedness since 9/11? This nation and others seemed to have responded more quickly to last year's tsunami which hit on the other side of the world and with little or no warning than they have so far to this event which occurred in our own backyard and that came with at least a few days advance warning. Why weren't more emergency supplies prepositioned inland? Why weren't plans in place on how to plug a dam? Why weren't the national guard and the airbourne ready to be dropped in to rescue people and deal with the looters? (Oh yeah, there all over in Iraq trying to rebuild a country we blew up with a populace that in large part doesn't even want us there - sorry no politics )

Last point: You're never going to convince me that these series of storms over the last couple of years is just part of some cyclical swing. What are we up to, K? When has that ever happened this early in the hurricane season? When before has there ever been 3 storms that have hit the exact same spot in one year? Sure there are cycles, but this seems to at least have been exacerbated by global warming. We should expect more severe storms like this in future years. And maybe, though I seriously doubt it, our government will give more serious thought to signing the Kyoto Accord which has been accepted by virtually every other country on earth except ours. The cost may be high, but what are the costs of dealing with global warming and storms like this one? Also, instead of trying to open up more drilling (which admittedly still needs to be done), or spending huge sums of money to defend corrupt oil regimes in the Middle East (which might end up being overthrown anyway), we should make greater efforts at reducing or at least stemming the growth of gas consumption in this country through conservation and greater fuel efficiency. The rising price of gasoline will probably force that upon us anyway.

I agree with you 100% Projilo. I was watching CNN this AM, and the reporter asked the Governor of MS if he thought the US Gov't failed in providing logistical support, and military support prior to the storms arrival. We all know that the Federal Gov't failed, but the Governor defended the Gov't and Military's response. I know, hind sight is 20/20, but they should have had everything in place or in motion prior to Katrina's arrival. Maybe (like Projilo stated) all personnel and equipment are tied up in Iraq? And all rescue and generators are in the Tsunami zone?

And, how on God's good earth did the Mayor of New Orleans get elected?

And, I too have donated to the Red Cross's Relief Effort, and yes...all looters should be shot on sight.

_________________
A Costa Rica Toast:
Here's to Looking like Movie Stars, Partying like Rock Stars and phucking like PORN STARS!

Prolijo,
Since I feel like some of your comments in your previous post were said because of what I wrote, I feel like I must post a small rebuttal on some of the things you mentioned:

1st of all, if you’ll go back and read my post, you will see that nowhere in my post will you find the word(s) “compare” or “comparison” regarding any type of comparisons between Katrina and Andrew, or any of last years’ storms in Florida, or 9/11 for that matter. These were simple examples of recent, multi-billion dollar loss / disasters, on American soil. They were examples of instances of human suffering, loss of property and loss of life. These various situations that I mentioned, were not on as large a scale as Katrina, but nevertheless, they were all very bad in their own way, and they had a profound impact on millions of Americans.

And if you look farther in that post, you’ll see that I even mentioned that none of those storms came (even remotely) close to the devastation of Katrina. In addition, nowhere in my post did I say “we know your pain”, because none of us have ever had to deal with a situation like Katrina. As far as re-building, it will happen. It’s obvious that it will take years, but it will definitely happen.

And then you say that people didn’t evacuate because they they were thinking “I lived through Camille and it was bad but I survived”. Not totally true. I’m sure that some people may have had that mindset, but 10’s of thousands of people could not get out. A major portion of the population of N.O. is very poor. Many people simply could not afford to get out. Many people (the ones who had a vehicle) could not afford the $20 worth of gas to get out of the city. Many people didn’t even have cars to get them out. Many people had no means, whatsoever, to leave. And many of them have paid for it with their lives.

This is unbelievable. A country as rich as the U.S., and many couldn’t even afford a tank of gas. Without getting into politics, the powers-that-be in this country need to take a long, hard look at what’s happened here, and take the necessary steps so that this type of situation can’t happen again. This is just unbelievable.

This is a horriffic situation, not like anything we have seen before. I, with all my heart, pray for everyone over there. Not only New Orleans, but also Mississippi and Alabama. Many areas in those states were completely devastated, more by the heavy winds.

Prolijo, I have the utmost respect for your opinions, your insights, and for all that you’ve written in your many, various posts. I truly hope to meet you some day.

Have a great day,

Mikey B.

_________________
You ALWAYS have an option ....... "NEXT" !!!

I was listening with half an ear so maybe I heard wrong..please correct me if this is the case..there are reports of gangs going to shelters and RAPING and robbing the citizens there. Rumors are abounding ,of course, but if this is the case, then I would authorize the police to fire on anyone violently breaking the law (Ch*ldren excepted, of course)and refusing to surrender.

Saib, I hope all is well with you and yours.

RW,
I heard the same thing. Where is the National Guard, which I thought was designed for national emergencies such as this? Where is the National Guard? Oh yes, I forgot, they're all in Iraq, because the current administration decided to bite off more than it could chew.

MB,
You are absolutely correct that you said the storms we've experienced in Florida weren't remotely close to what happened this past week. Though you never said compare, by mentioning them you seemed to suggest some form of comparison. We all try to imagine what it must be like for the people most directly effected, but unless your house was actulally destroyed I don't think any of us can even begin to imagine. They have rebuilt after other storms. Even after Andrew there were many who simply moved away rather than rebuild. With this storm I suspect there will be many many more.

First, there are all those thousands of family members who have lost loved ones.

Aside from the loss of life there is the problem of the loss of property. Over 50% of all homeowners in N.O. have no flood insurance, usually the poorest half. Those with insurance will most quickly have the funds to start rebuilding, but due to the sheer volume of housing to be replaced it will take much longer than Andrew and they will have to decide whether to wait or to move. Those who are dependent on federal aid will get short-tem assistance, but will have to wait even longer for the slow wheels of governent bureaucracy to determine how much they should get. The poorest who rent will have to wait the longest of all. Due to the peculiarities of financing and insurance low income housing takes the longest of all to rebuild. I read somewhere that most restaurant and resort staff in the Keys commute all the way from Homestead since no low-income housing has been rebuilt after past hurricanes.

Throw on top of this the basic question of how they will rebuild or even if. One FEMA official already mentioned the possibility that it may not be practical to rebuild. If they rebuild N.C. like it was what people or business thinking of moving back and setting up shop will want to assume the risk that is now apparent. Do they build the stonger dams and levees that they should have invested in long before (but couldn't afford because of money going to Iraq and federal tax cuts)? I've even heard one idea about filling in the "spoon" with tremendous amounts of dirt so it is no longer so far below sea level. Imagine the cost of that. It may be cheaper just to move up the river a few miles and rebuild there.

Finally on the subject of the people who did not evacuate. I didn't mean to suggest that everyone who is now stuck in N.O. chose not to heed the warnigns. But some certainly did. Undoubtedly many more simply could not afford to or were unable to evacuate. Many did not have cars. There were even many tourists who got bumped from their flights. All that just raises the question even more. Where was and where is the federak government. Weather forecasters knew on Friday that the hurricane would hit the N.O. area on Monday and they knew it would explode into a category 4 or better storm once it passed over the "globally" warmed gulf waters. Local experts knew that the N.O. levee system was only rated for category 3 storms or less and that N.O. was peculiarly vulnerable because of its being below sealevel. Local officials knew many of the local residents were two poor to afford to drive out of town and existing public transportation would not do the job. Now I hear reports of a hundred buses being sent to evacuate the Superdome. Where were they before?

I finally found out why most of those people stayed in the projects instead of bugging out when told. They didn't have any money to bug-out with. It was near the end of the month.

Sheesh! I kinda thought all of you might like to know this.

I've got family spread all over this country and we're relatively recent comers, Great Grandfather born in Germany. We're spread out because when work was hard to find you pick up your sorry butt and go find some. But they like New Orleans? Well, I liked LA., too. And St. Louis. And Texas. Now I'm in Costa Rica. And got a job.

Had this happened next week, New Orleans would be a ghost town.

I think some stayed behind for the looting that they knew was going to take place. Opportunists.

Cars and gas cost money. Fine.

Walking is free. You can at least get to an area where you will not drown. throw a back pack on your back and hoof it.

Obviously not everyone (sick, injured, elderly) can do that. But I see a lot of able bodied people running around with enough energy to loot a Walmart.

Couldn't leave? Nuh-uh.

Didn't want to leave.

There were plenty of free buses heading out of town from what I've heard. Or at the very least buses heading towards the Superdome (not a great alternative granted but....).

Those staying there just on the offhand chance that the Post Office would deliver a check to them in a few days - if they are able bodied & should have found a job somewhere, no pity. If they were retired/disabled/stuck in terrible circumstances, my best wishes & hopes that they managed to survive & escape the chaos.

Sad to say for far too many people but Dr. Darwin might have been onto something. The survivors took off early & had somewhere to go. Those who didn't have the means but the desire took what they could/when they could & got through the initial mess, the others are finding an incredibly steep learning curve to overcome.

Transportation was offered and broadcast for a day or more before.

Tonight on the news they were interviewing some pathetic souls in NOLA who had walked away from the Superdome. These people appeared to be able-bodied and were certainly moving well on their own, but all they could rant about was why nobody had brought them help, and how slow the government was in giving them food and water. I commented to my friend that the saddest thing about this is that is shows how helpless people have become in the face of disaster - take away their conveniences and instead of becoming survivors they become barbarians.

I understand that many in this desparate situation have medical, age, disability or other circumstances that force them to depend on others, or prohibited them from evacuating earlier. However, when able people who COULD take action to get out of what NOLA has become - even if they have to go on foot - choose instead to sit in the mire and wait to be spoon-fed relief, I have trouble mustering sympathy.

I can hoof it 20 miles in a day at a relatively easy pace with a decent load of supplies, and they had, what, 4 or 5 days warning?

And nobody start this BS about Ch*ldren not being able to do that. People walked from one end of this continent to the other. The only people I feel sympathy for are the old, infirm, and anyone else who is truly disabled to the point that evacuation on their own was simply not an option.

I wish to second Twarag's recommendation that we think to supporting the Salvation Army. These folks are at the FRONT of every national and local emergency and have been for the past 50 years. They are usually set up and giving out food, water, blankets, and coffee while the Red Cross holds meeting deciding if there are going to part with their accumulated riches.

According to the Associated Press yesterday (Sep 3) at 3:00pm, the Red Cross had received donations of over 92 million dollars in addition to the multi millions they already have in deposits. Did anyone see a Red Cross vehicle at the scene of any of the storm struck areas. Several CNN and other network reporters expressed their surprise at the lack of Red Cross visability.

I don't bear the Red Cross any ill will. I'm sure that they have done much good in the past, but somehow the fact that over 50% of your donations end up in administrative costs. When Bob Dole's wife was the CEO of the Red Cross, the press acknowledged that she was being paid over a quarter million dollars a year. (for what ???? her inexperience handling any large organization.)

I'll off my soap box now and only ask you to support the Salvation Army (of which I have absolutely no affilation, except for 50 years of watching their outstanding contribution to society in time of need)

Ye Old Man

_________________
If at first you don't succeed, don't try sky diving

WANt NICE HIGH?
DONATE $$$ TO SAVALATION ARMY OR AMER. RED CROSS.
ON THE INTERNET, ITS EASY AND PAINLESS.
LIKE NIKE SAYS: JUST DO IT!
LVSTEVE

_________________
Just an old horney, fat gambler.

Past history reflects more than favorably on the efforts of The Salvation Army. Minimum of "fat cat" salaries and overweight bureaucracy and more action than rhetoric. My choice: http://www.redshield.org/crisis/ or 1-800-725-2769.

Pax,
Sluthog