(no subject)

[cleolinda]

Quick question: Does anyone know what font they use for the Lost logo?

Reader submissions

I cannot substantiate the ohnotheydidnt story about Britney wanting to televise her birth for charity. I would, however, chip in to pay her not to televise it.

I steal from aralinde like a stealing thing:

"On cam, way down the street, you can see what appears to be an armed military foot patrol. First one I've seen."

"...Wolf Blitzer on CNN saying that the Katrina victims "are so poor, and they are so black..." Here is a screenshot of that CNN story with closed-caption text displayed along with the audio of Wolf saying that."

"A confidential source reports that the Mayor of New Orleans and Oprah Winfrey will be sharing a helocopter flight over the city today. Also, he tells me that the NAACP is asking for permission to fly over the city to evaluate."

Civil-rights leader claims cannibalism. "Without providing evidence, a civil-rights leader and author claimed black victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans have resorted to cannibalism to survive because no one has come to help them."

What Happened to a Race Deferred. "What a shocked world saw exposed in New Orleans last week wasn't just a broken levee. It was a cleavage of race and class, at once familiar and startlingly new, laid bare in a setting where they suddenly amounted to matters of life and death."

The Rebellion of the Talking Heads: Newscasters, sick of official lies and stonewalling, finally start snarling.

Two Christian leaders in New Orleans are testifying to God's mercy in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. One suggests that the death toll could have been much higher had it not been for God's mercy -- and the other that God may have used the hurricane to purge wickedness from the city. “New Orleans now is abortion free. New Orleans now is Mardi Gras free. New Orleans now is free of Southern Decadence and the sodomites, the witchcraft workers, false religion -- it's free of all of those things now," Shanks says. "God simply, I believe, in His mercy purged all of that stuff out of there -- and now we're going to start over again."

A visibly angry Mayor Daley said the city had offered emergency, medical and technical help to the federal government as early as Sunday to assist people in the areas stricken by Hurricane Katrina, but as of Friday, the only things the feds said they wanted was a single tank truck. "Daley said the city offered 36 members of the firefighters' technical rescue teams, eight emergency medical technicians, search-and-rescue equipment, more than 100 police officers as well as police vehicles and two boats, 29 clinical and 117 non-clinical health workers, a mobile clinic and eight trained personnel, 140 Streets and Sanitation workers and 29 trucks, plus other supplies. City personnel are willing to operate self-sufficiently and would not depend on local authorities for food, water, shelter and other supplies, he said."

British survivors of Hurricane Katrina start arriving home as fears grow for those still unaccounted for.

You're on your own, Britain's victims told.

"We have been abandoned by our own country."

Wikipedia's Effect of Katrina on New Orleans and Predictions of Hurricane Risk for New Orleans

An impeachment drive going on at Democrats.com and Democraticunderground.com

An Angry 'Times-Picayune' Calls for Firing of FEMA Chief and Others in Open Letter to President On Sunday

Will the ‘New’ New Orleans be Black?

A young hurricane survivor asks for help and expresses anger over the conditions in New Orleans.

Recapturing the city's flavor is not a given

Most officers working on adrenaline, little else

Red Cross Discourages Opening Your Home to Evacuees. As roseredhoofbeat points out, "OK, I officially HATE the Red Cross right now. Has anyone told them that this is TEXAS? We all have GUNS for crying out loud! If someone tried to make off with the good silver, we can legally shoot them, because THIS IS TEXAS!"

promise19: "Here's a link to a NYT article that confirms the reports that have been floating around about the NOLA police department. Law Officers, Overwhelmed, Are Quitting the Force: 'Reeling from the chaos of an overwhelmed city, at least 200 New Orleans police officers have walked away from their jobs and two have committed suicide.' " [Use bugmenot.com to bust past the required registration.]

Gwynevere1: "Just wanted to suggest a link. JustHuman has a really good post on empathy, that I think would be helpful to those who have been reading your journal for days now."

supersyncspaz7: "Here's something: in Arlington, TX (near my part of the world), the salon I get my hair done at is offering free hair treatments for evacuees around the nineteenth. I can't remember the name of the salon (the stylist who does my hair just moved over there and I've only been by once), but once I do, I'll be sure to mention it. Also, they're collecting school supplies for the kids too."

(My note: I think there's a salon here in Trussville (AL) doing something very similar.)

sorchar: "We're getting a thousand refugees here in Portland, but I'm still trying to find out what we can do to help."

Speaking of which, piratesorka: "I just heard that the Oregon National Guard are coming back with about 300 or so NO folks and put them up in a Portland area high school that was recently closed. I'm packing up some of my plus size clothes and making a donation."

In that vein, ankhet: "If you're still collecting links, I'd suggest taking a look at this post about plus-sized clothing desperately being needed."

Note: I'm hearing that the Red Cross does not accept used clothing. You'll have to take it to another charity, I think.

From Cheetara, an actual refugee currently in Atlanta: "For those of you looking for an alternative to the national news, www.wwltv.com, a local news station, is very good."

A link from... uh, me: Giving Works at eBay, where you can sell or bid on items for charity.

captainsblog: "For the next round of linkspam: http://cdbaby.com, a much-loved indy music site, has arranged with the artists on hundreds of CDs in its catalog to donate all profits from sales of the selected albums to the Red Cross. I've had trouble searching for specific groups, but hey. Pick a genre and browse. You'll fall in love with a deserving artist who you've never heard of before and get a legal disc out of the deal for a donation that will matter."

jennnk: Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski opens the state to 1000 Katrina refugees. "In the days since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, Oregonians from every corner of the state have reached out wanting to help," Kulongoski said in a statement. "Our offer has been accepted and now its our time to pull together to help those victims who lost their homes and their communities find some solace so they can regain their strength and begin healing from the tragedy that they--and our nation--have endured."

elkins on JournalFen: "Might I also suggest... Sisyphus Shrugged's Lake George Link List? She links to the blackfolks timeline as well, and also to a number of other very good informative articles, a few outright rants), and at the end, to a number of organizations who are accepting donations or suggesting unconventional ways to help."

ladykatiewench: "I would like to recommend another place for people to send donations and have the money go directly to the people who need it the most. There is a group called Desire Street Ministries. Yes, it is religious but rather than just preaching, they also help alot of people around the south and especially in New Orleans. They have been doing this for some time and many of the people they help were in the worst place to be hit by flooding, Ninth Ward. Ninth Ward is the poorest section of the poor part of New Orleans. One of the levees that broke was right next to Ninth Ward. When you hear about bodies floating in the streets, that is where they are talking about.

Right now, Desire Street is trying to help evacuate the people of Ninth Ward and find them places to stay. They have found some places for people to stay in Texas and Georgia, but it isn't cheap to give them food, clothes, a place to stay, and transportation out of New Orleans. Therefore, they are taking donations. This money will not be handed down through channels, it will go directly to the people who need it.

If you want to send a check, make it payable to Desire Street Ministries to

Whitney National Bank
Mail Teller
1716 Mangum Road
Houston, TX 77092

The other way is to donate electronically through www.networkforgood.org -- enter the keyword as "Desire Street Ministries" and the state as Louisiana. Keep in mind, though, that this web site charges a 3% fee. So, mailing a check is best, especially if you plan to make a substantial donation.

If you are interested in checking out the website for the group, it is http://www.desirestreet.org/

If you would be willing to pass this information along, I would greatly appreciate it. I do know people who work with this group and they are doing good things."

gryphonmage: "Cleo, I don't how true this is nationwide, but my local Smith's (in New Mexico) grocery store is allowing you to include a donation to the Red Cross on your grocery bill. Smith's is part of Kroger, and according to the Smith's website all the stores in the Kroger chain will be doing this, so for people who want to donate, but like me, don't have a local Red Cross office or have one that seems like it is always closed, or just don't want to use the website, they might want to check out this option."

(My note: I can add that the Publix chain down here is doing the same thing.)

pride4u2: "Hey, Cleo...I don't mean to jeopardize your sanity even further (or anyone else's for that matter), but everyone needs to see this."

angelic_oni: "Just wanted to let you know that Maddox, the creator of the Best Page in the Universe (http://maddox.xmission.com/), has updated his site and for the next few days (until Wednesday) 50% of the profit made at his store (http://store.theworstpageintheuniverse.com/) will go to the Red Cross. A lot of people know about and love his site and yours, for that matter, so maybe you can pass this on. Every little bit helps, I figure."

bellatrys: "I found this editorial in the Biloxi paper which is also still reporting although they don't know where 9 of their people are yet, and it says much the same thing, but I think everyone shoudl read it because it's about survivors' guilt and practical, simple things to do - it's *good* you're a survivor, that you were less hurt than your neighbors, because now you will be able to help them, is the message. I needed to hear that, I know."

Late addition via pygmymetal, from subtlesabotage...

PLEASE get this out. They have approved (I believe) 60 million in grants to aide evacuees who are no longer recieving a paycheck. These will be the first people they want to emply to clean and rebuild, and there is emergency disaster unemployment available.

1-866-4usa-dol / www.dol.gov

If you or someone you love has been left unemployed as a direct result of Katrina... CALL.

A lighthearted link I found on Yahoo News: Gas Prices Drive Man to Commute by Horse.

My right eyelid is starting to twitch again; I may not compile anymore news posts until tomorrow.