today's sampling of links

[sophiaserpentia]

Many Evacuated, but Thousands Still Waiting: White House Shifts Blame to State and Local Officials

Katrina Mistake List dot com (sure to grow) (posted in poor_planning)

Firefighters from around the country, well trained, ready to relieve the exhausted firefighters of New Orleans, are going to be utilized for "community relations" handing out flyers for FEMA.
(posted by pamscoffee and elsewhere)

Most of the animals in Audubon Zoo survived, but as it was reported in interdictor's journal, most of the fish in the Aquarium of the Americas are dead.

A first-person account from a member of the 82nd Airborne in New Orleans (thanks to jessicamelusine for the link)

You can't even begin to grasp the utter ruin NOLA is now. We could smell the death and disaster literally ten miles away coming in. Bodies everywhere and now we have to wear chemical containment pants and boots to prevent cholera and e-coli infection. We think the water and submerged homes are still hiding the worst of the deaths.

... Yesterday we found a nursing home where they had just abandoned like thirty old people and left them to die because they couldn't find a way to evac them. One of the nurses had found his way back and was sitting outside - mind just gone. Snapped. Catatonic.

Another first-hand account from New Orleans (posted by ladyteal)

The police told us that we could not stay. Regardless, we began to settle in and set up camp. In short order, the police commander came across the street to address our group. He told us he had a solution: we should walk to the Pontchartrain Expressway and cross the greater New Orleans Bridge where the police had buses lined up to take us out of the City. The crowed cheered and began to move. We called everyone back and explained to the commander that there had been lots of misinformation and wrong information and was he sure that there were buses waiting for us. The commander turned to the crowd and stated emphatically, "I swear to you that the buses are there."

We organized ourselves and the 200 of us set off for the bridge with great excitement and hope. ... As we approached the bridge, armed Gretna sheriffs formed a line across the foot of the bridge. Before we were close enough to speak, they began firing their weapons over our heads. This sent the crowd fleeing in various directions. As the crowd scattered and dissipated, a few of us inched forward and managed to engage some of the sheriffs in conversation. We told them of our conversation with the police commander and of the commander's assurances. The sheriffs informed us there were no buses waiting. The commander had lied to us to get us to move.

Comments

[kyrene.livejournal.com]

As of Saturday, Blanco still had not declared a state of emergency, the senior Bush official said.

Which, according to the documents I found online, is bullshit. It was declared on Friday.

Appalling. They can't even lie well.

[ovary.livejournal.com]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/07/opinion/07dowd.html?hp

Cheney not only was on vacation during the Katrina aftermath, he was Mansion Shopping (for a $2.9 million waterfront estate in Chesapeake).

http://www.denverpost.com/carman/ci_3006502

Kathy Arford, who owns a small remodeling company, Kateri Homes, arrived offering two jobs at $10 an hour. ... She wants to give a couple of desperate people a chance at a new life. She just needs to get through the fence.

[ovary.livejournal.com]

Oh, and links *yoinked* from longshot14.