(no subject)

[cleolinda]

ngocbui:

Hi. Thanks for those links. I have family that were lucky enough to evacuate New Orleans and are now staying with my parents just west of New Orleans. They are lucky to be alive, but have found out that they lost everything--all their homes, possessions, and livelihood. They are left with just the clothes on their backs that they evacuated with.

Also, I hope word also gets out that there are over 500 people still trapped in Versailles (a big Vietnamese community on the East Bank of N.O.) in Queen Mary Catholic Church. They are up to their necks in sewage/flood water. Helicopters keep passing them by and they have not been rescued yet. They have run out of food and water and are still waiting for help. CNN did a small blurb on this, but I feel like no one wants to get them out. It is so frustrating.

Here is some information I just found out that might be helpful to some of your readers who have loved ones who have also evacuated.

hope everyone's friends and family are all safe. Just heard from a friend that the victims of the hurricane are able to get aid from FEMA. you can register online or call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) for assistance. you can get refund for all the money you put out for the hurricane like hotel costs, gas money, food, etc. you can also get federal aid for temporary living costs such as rent, food, etc..... i've also heard that you can go to the food stamp office and show your ID and get some federal aid. so spread the word.

http://www.fema.gov/register.shtm

mybelle1975:

You'll reach so many more people than I will ever hope to, Cleo, and with all the depressing and horrifying stories you're linking in your journal, I come bearing a bit of light.

A woman named Elizabeth, along with her church, is doing something a bit different. She's thinking more along the psychological needs of the victims. A convention center in Gadsden, near her, houses refugees from the hurricane, 150 children among them. What Elizabeth wants to do is go to KBToys and purchase $20 gift cards for the children, and has arranged transport so that she can give the certificates to the children and take the families to the store herself so the kids can purchase the toy that they want.

Her blog is here: http://www.decablog.com/jett/blog.php

She outlines her plans, her reasons, and has a paypal link in the first three entries. Check it out, and if/when you can spare a bit of change, consider passing it along to Katrina Kids Relief. If you prefer to send her a check or money order, you can email her about that, the link being there at her blog. If you can't spare the change, maybe share the link with your friends, or just copy/paste this post into your own journals and whatnot, every little bit helps.

Air America Public Voicemail: "Air America Radio's Public Voicemail is a way for disconnected people to communicate in the wake of Katrina. Here's how it works: Call the toll-free number above, enter your everyday phone number, and then record a message. Other people who know your everyday phone number (even if it doesn't work anymore) can call Emergency Voicemail, enter the phone number they associate with you, and hear your message. You can also search for messages left by people whose phone numbers you know."

Also from invisible__girl: "Also, if you're looking for a way to help personally, MoveOn.org Civic Action, formerly known as MoveOn.org, launched a new web site yesterday, http://hurricanehousing.org/ asking its 3.3 million members and the public to post any available housing for the thousands of people left homeless by Hurricane Katrina. The organization will directly connect evacuees with volunteer hosts, and also provide the housing information to the Red Cross and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Pass it on! The more people who know, the more effective this will be."


The scariest thing you'll hear all day. From Making Light: The Red Cross has been ordered not to enter New Orleans with relief. The commenters draw a conclusion that is both terrifying and outrageous, yet seems less and less deniable the more you read. More links from the comments on that entry:

The ARC can't enter NO with relief, yet: The report of a checkpoint on one of the intact bridges turning people back.

Firefighting gear stockpile unused.

FEMA wouldn't give permission to airdrop food.

Northern Command has been ready for days, just waiting on orders.

Feds delayed the paperwork for other states to send their National Guard troops for days.

Louisiana begged for help on Sunday.

All helicopter flights were grounded during Bush's visit (that means moving patients, food delivery, search & rescue). [My note: well, that's probably standard during a presidential visit. Ill-advised at this time, perhaps, but standard.]

DHS/FEMA turned away assistance from Chicago.

Someone on DailyKos has come up with a much longer list of aid offers delayed and denied. They didn't want to believe it, either, but also point out that the overall effect could be the result of mixed intention and ineptitude: "Possible motives?  Note that any or all of them can apply, simultaneously; actions are often taken for more than one reason." If you read no other link, read this one.

From a Making Light poster, Rachel: "I am a trained Red Cross disaster relief volunteer. I've offered to go wherever they feel like sending me. No one's gotten back to me yet. If anyone knows of any organization that will fly out trained volunteers (I'm in Los Angeles) please email me."


Reporters struggle to make the truth known amid all the spin. ("This is complete and utter incompetence. If anyone heard Michael Chertoff on NPR yesterday, it was laughable. He didn't know that there were people trapped in the convention center; he kept referring back to the Superdome whenever the interviewer asked him about the convention center. This is the head of fucking Homeland Security.")

(Does Anderson Cooper know about all this yet? He is the Secretary of Take No Shit, after all [tm Wonkette].)

Hang out a bit at aralinde's journal, too: she's got tons of news links, I just realized, that I can't even begin to start collecting. Including a list of which celebrities are donating to charity, and the comments of one Viggo Mortensen, private citizen.

Comments

[duncanatrix.livejournal.com]

I swear, Cleo, this IS my news source. I've got to direct my parents to this page because I think all they're checking is the local paper and CNN. It hurts my heart to think about what's happening down there and why things are so messed up. I don't even know what's true anymore and what's being said to spin things politically or racially or what. But thanks for all the info.

[roseredhoofbeat.livejournal.com]

WHAT THE FUCK?! WHAT THE MOTHER-LOVING FUCK?!
HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE GOING TO DIE BEFORE WE DO SOMETHING?! WHAT IN GOD'S NAME HAS TO HAPPEN BEFORE WE STOP SITTING AROUND WITH OUR THUMBS UP OUR ASSES AND SAYING USELESS DRIVEL?!

I can't deal with this. I just can't. I haven't been watching the news, because the idea of THAT MANY people being so poor they couldn't leave, going without nothing for all their lives that the idea of "free stuff!" is something they'll SHOOT FOR.

I don't understand why they are so poor. I don't understand why that many people live in poverty in the United Fucking States. How did we fail them? HOW?

The people raping, murdering, shooting the National Guard and cops.... there is a special circle in hell for those mofos. That goes double for the people that should have HELPED THEM.

That story about the kids who were lost broke my heart. When we start getting refugees in San Antonio, I am THERE, dammit- With toys and clothes and cereal and cookies and all the bottled water I can afford.

[arielchan.livejournal.com]

There are refugees in San Antonio, Texas RIGHT NOW. There are over 25,000 people being housed at Kelly AFB, Freeman Collusiem, and the Alamodome. The San Antonio Red Cross is accepting volunteers to help out. If you go to the journal of carmen and look back a few entries you can find the number to call to volunteer.

[bibliotech.livejournal.com]

You know, the only place I've heard Versailles mentioned has been on LJ? I don't hear about it at all on the news.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I hate the idea of a bunch of self-important Bloggers with a Capital Blog being all like, "We are bringing the TRUTH to the PEOPLE!," but... sometimes, if we don't, I don't know who will.

[frogeegirl.livejournal.com]

My question is this: what can people do to GET THOSE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO HELP DOWN THERE? I mean, I'm ready to rent a Greyhound full of food and water, and just go there. With all the people willing to help, why is it still in the worse shape possible? But what can we do to get changes done, besides keep giving money? Sorry for my ranting I'm just frustrated at the situation and feel so helpless

[october31st.livejournal.com]

Hi there. I figure you've got the biggest readership of any LJer I know, so I'd like to make you aware of this entry (http://www.livejournal.com/users/onebrownman/62908.html), if you're not already. The blogger says that for every comment left there, he will donate $1 to charity. And I'd like to thank you for your entries, which must be time-consuming to write (not to mention heartbreak when you actually read them), because you've been my source for a lot of information I might not have otherwise encountered. Keep up the good work, and bless you for doing it.

[october31st.livejournal.com]

Er, "heartbreaking when you read the source material." Oh grammar, where art thou?

[(Anonymous)]

THANK YOU for getting the word out!

At last count there were 150 children...there are more, apparently, arriving daily.

Elizabeth, a.k.a. 'Jett'

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Anything I can do. : )

[jackieocean.livejournal.com]

Just wanted to say thanks again for keeping us all updated like this. As has been said by others, I've been getting more of my Katrina news from you than anyone else, since you're so good with the links and all.

Also, I love that you guys are calling Anderson Cooper the "Secretary of Take No Shit". He's awesome.

[mokeyhokey.livejournal.com]

I'm extremely frustrated and upset with the way our government is handling this, but I've got to say: I'm really proud of the press for trying to expose what's really happening down there. They've been asleep at the wheel for so long that I'd about lost faith in them. Sad it took a disaster of this magnitude for them to wake up, though.

[anne-jumps.livejournal.com]

I love that icon.

[luna-k.livejournal.com]

I'm really proud of the press for trying to expose what's really happening down there.

Word. I never never EVER thought I'd be proud of anything aired on Fox News, but then Shepard Smith & Geraldo proved me wrong. Damn.

Also, I love that icon. :)

[luna-k.livejournal.com]

First off, Cleo, thank you SO MUCH for keeping a running tally of links for everyone. You have probably the biggest LJ-readers' list in fandom, and you're a great way to send out information to thousands of people instantly.

Second, I've been pretty much keeping all my Katrina posts on my political blog [liberalrage], because... dude. Even Newt Gingrich and Fox News are starting to crack and blame the Bush administration (and the people he appointed in FEMA).

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Dude! I keep meaning to go back and link to your blog--I have a desktop full of shortcuts to things I'm supposed to go back and look at.

[kraorh.livejournal.com]

Okay, so as a libertarian, I normally really despise Air America. But thanks for the news about what they're doing - you've gotten me to say something nice about them on my blog, so now I'm wondering about the temperature in Hell.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I started wondering about it the moment Newt Gingrich and I agreed on something.

[amarantha-raven.livejournal.com]

The One Campaign is organizing aid for hurricane victims as well.

In the wake of the destruction brought on by Hurricane Katrina, hundreds of thousands of Americans are facing an uncertain and challenging future.

We've all watched together as increasingly dire reports have come out of the hardest hit areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, and right now our nation is trying to find its footing as it responds to one of the worst disasters that we've ever faced.

We all see the pictures on TV. Right now, they need water, food, clothing, shelter and medical attention, and soon they'll begin the long process of putting their lives back together... hospitals, sewers, schools...all the things that we take for granted every day.

As members of ONE, we must believe that Americans can't help people around the world unless we also take care of urgent needs at home.

You can visit the ONE.ORG blog (http://www.one.org/blog) to find a list of ONE partners and other groups working right now to help those in most need.

In the same way that our fight against poverty is both urgent and diligent, we now have a new challenge with the same rules, to help stop people from dying today and help rebuild their infrastructure for tomorrow.

In July, you answered the call of the poorest countries in the world, and now perhaps we can help you find a way to participate at this important time. Please visit the ONE.ORG blog (http://www.one.org/blog) and take action today.

You can also help by taking part in the "ReAct Now: Music & Relief" benefit concert that will air on MTV, VH1 and CMT, planned for Sept. 10th at 8pm ET/7pm CT. Please visit www.think.mtv.com (http://www.think.mtv.com) for up to date information.

[anatsuno.livejournal.com]

Did you read this?

There are gangs of white vigilantes near here riding around in pickup trucks, all of them armed, and any young Black they see who they figure doesn't belong in their community, they shoot him. I tell them, "Stop! You're going to start a riot." (http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=540b370519e0aeb3d1558b121761454e)

Very interesting.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Jesus. I have *now.*

Volunteering

[sqrrlsrant.livejournal.com]

As many others have said, Cleolinda is the route to go to let people know, so here's my contribution:

Anyone living near the affected area (I'm from Baton Rouge) who wants to volunteer should NOT call the 211 Volunteer Line like all the tv/radio stations are saying. Unless you have a medical skill set, they will take your name and number and tell you they will call back once the "search and rescue" phase is over. Maybe the United Way, Red Cross, and other big agencies don't need your help, but there are thousands of smaller groups that do. Check out the lists provided by local news media to see who else is acting as a shelter, or where other relief efforts are located and give them a call or drop by.

Myself and a couple of friends went to drop off donations to a local women's center that is being used to collect items for babies and mothers and the lady there, who was looking pretty desperate, asked us if we knew anyone who wanted to volunteer. We all said we had been looking but had been turned away. She wanted to the number and the name of the person who had done so, because she said they desperately needed help with sorting and anything anyone could do that was clerical in nature. They're being inundatated with supplies and requests (which is GREAT) but don't have the staff to keep up. I'm sure this is a problem for many of the smaller groups trying to help.

[ziplockeddaze.livejournal.com]

Max Westerman, a reporter on the Dutch RTLnews was interviewed at the Convention center by the news anchors(?).
Earlier in the day he and his crew took out a mother and her 4 week old baby. They bought clean clothes and milk for the baby and took them to a guest family where they were picked up by family members that evening. There was a lot of joy because they hadn't had contact with them for days but also sadness because they had to leave a sister and the grandparents behind.

There are two clips. The first is at the Convention center where he says are tens of thousands of people waiting for help, he compares the scene to the refugee camps in Darfur. He talks about the army turning up today but taking no one with them, he talks with parents and shows the covered bodies still lying there after days.
When they have to leave they take Kennedy, her mother and her baby sister with them.
http://www.rtl.nl/(channel=rtl4,progid=rtlnieuws,template=/actueel/rtlnieuws/video_template.html)/system/media/html/FFFFFF/components/actueel/rtlnieuws/miMedia/2005/week35/zaterdag_1930_beta_max.avi_plain.xml

And in the second they show the reunion and an interview.
I translated it, not well but I hope you'll get the general idea:

Q You are driving in and out of the city. Why can't the family pick up their relatives?
A "They would love to and it should be easy but they are kept out of the city. They are stopped from getting their dying family out by police cordons. The only reason we are getting into the city is because we have security with us. The roads are driveable so that cannot be the problem."

Q: Why don't all these people walk out of the city, why do they stay?
A: "That is the most bizarre thing of this whole situation, they aren't allowed to leave. A lot of people told me that they tried to leave to the suburbs so they could get on the busses that are waiting for them. They were stopped from leaving the convention center by the heavily armed policemen and solders that are surrounding them."

Q Why are those cops and soldiers there?
"They say to keep a lock-down(?) on all the violence. But honestly I have to say I haven't felt threatened or unsafe for a moment. Even in the Convention center where thousands of people are still dying under terrible conditions. I think that part of this situation has a lot to do with the extreme American obsession with security. The survivors are quarantined. They want to be absolutely certain nothing is going to happen when the buses come to get all these people. So for a lot of people they are going to come too late."
http://www.rtl.nl/(channel=rtl4,progid=rtlnieuws,template=/actueel/rtlnieuws/video_template.html)/system/media/html/FFFFFF/components/actueel/rtlnieuws/miMedia/2005/week35/zaterdag_1930_max.avi_plain.xml

[anatsuno.livejournal.com]

Things are not all well in the Houston Dome either... (http://www.sonicyouth.com/bboard/fanforum/viewtopic.asp?TopicID=1766100&topic=my+wife+and+I+last+night+at+the+astrodome) (some dude posts his volunteer experience on a Sonic Youth msg board. via boingboing.net - like my previous link.

[anatsuno.livejournal.com]

I can't even. :(

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harry-shearer/the-fear-factor_b_6743.html

http://www.freelists.org/archives/altroots/09-2005/msg00027.html

[noodlefreak.livejournal.com]

Hi--An update on the Vietnamese trapped in Versailles. CNN just reported that they were finally rescued and were brought to the Superdome. My understanding is that they will be evacuated out of the city tomorrow. Thank you for bringing attention to this. CNN had originally reported that there were 500 people, but it's actually 300 people that were trapped and rescued.

Someone asked where this story came from...it was from nola.com blog where people and family of those who were flooded in could post where they could be rescued. Luckily you and so many people brought attention to it that they were able to be rescued.


People trapped at church on Willowbrook Drive
12:20 pm

Name: Quan Vo

Home: 318 555 9773

Email: quanvo@hotmail.com

Subject: My Hurricane Story -- trapped people..help

Story: Mary Queen of VN Church 5069 Willowbrook Drive, New Orleans, LA 70129

There are still approximately over 300 Vietnamese people stranded in
sewage water up to the necks in many areas gathered at the Church.
We\'ve contacted USCG, Red Cross, news media but no help has come out to
their way yet. As you all know, Versailles is so far on the eastern edge
of New Orleans that by the time any helicopters come that way, they\'re
already filled with people and have to turn back towards the Superdome
to drop people off. (I think this is the case but not sure)

We have been in touch with some of the people there thru one phone (a
land line in a residential home near the small church) for the past two
days but no help still. The people have been taking turns to keep
telephone watch to hear news. We managed to patch thru NBC via 3-way
calling around 3pm today but still no help.

The water is still rising in that area. The levees east (Lake
Pontchartrain) and south (Chalmette)of Versailles are the ones that have
been breached. Many of the people are growing weak and sick from lack of
food and water plus the heat. Some of them feel like they probably
won\'t make it for the next day. Please people!!! do what you can to get
these people to save land.

[(Anonymous)]

While I know it's horrid that help organizations are not getting in there to help like they should, I would like to point out that a group of Canadians from BC who are part of an Urban Disaster relief organization went down to help and couldn't enter the city because people were shooting at them. I know it's desperate and people feel like they have no choice, but some of the citizens are not making it easy to get in there to help. I don't want to sound uncaring or anything, but it seems like accusations are flying everywhere to blame anyone and that's not fair. Those of us who are safe don't need to be stirring up more trouble than there already is. We should be helping out not attacking those who are trying to for what they might or might not be doing.

*ducks and runs away*

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

We won't jump on you, don't worry. : )

I know what you mean--so many things are going wrong that it's hard to know who to blame, if anyone. I think the reason a lot of us are trying to point fingers is that we're hoping that if we embarrass those people or organizations causing the problems enough, they'll stop holding things up and do something.

[mandy0x.livejournal.com]

If the Red Cross can't enter NO, does that mean that the volunteers they begged for to sign up can't enter either?

[mandy0x.livejournal.com]

Well, obviously.