Literally on television right now in Memphis:
CBS - Big Brother 6
NBC - Tommy Lee Goes To College
FOX - House
ABC - According to Jim
These are the same networks that were airing commercial free tsunami coverage for days during that tragedy. What the fuck?!?! People need to be informed about this situation. This is quite possibly the worst disaster to ever occur in the history of this country, maybe not in terms of loss of life, but easily in terms of economic impact.
Just to drill it in, nobody is talking about death tolls right now but they are certain to be in the THOUSANDS. Nobody has even begun to consider it because they are still rescuing people, not recovering. It’s bad, people. Get Tommy Lee off the fucking television.
At least they’re not still talking about those goddamned dolphins
Or this:
Just got a firsthand account that the water is creeping up Napoleon Ave. A friend who lives at Baronne and Marengo confirmed that the water is just starting to come up Marengo St. towards St. Charles. Four of them there are leaving town as I write this. After reports that downtown has devolved into complete and total anarchy, I am fearing for their safety at the hands of mercenary carjackers trying to get out of town. Fortunately my friends are armed.
On CTV news tonight I heard that reporters are being asked to leave the New Orleans area. Not because of rising water but because of anarchy.
7,500 National Guard are standing by or being deployed.
Floating tent cities may have to be built.
Canadians don’t need to send down supplies.
Published 2 years, 10 months agoThe Canadian Red Cross will send about 200 volunteers with special skills in managing disaster shelters, but the organization said they’re not asking the public at this point for donations.
“The States has a huge capacity, so when there’s a disaster like this, we’re not asking people to open their wallets in this particular instance,” Don Shropshire of the Canadian Red Cross told CTV News.
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I agreed totally with what you said until you said Canadians don’t need to send supplies. Man, we in america supported people when they faced tragedy it only seems right that it is reciprocated. I just don’t understand anti-Americanism and I never will.
The Red Cross Guy?
That sentence was a lead in to what he said.
Give me a break.
I’m not going to defend him.
It appears he has spoken to his Red Cross counterpart and the US Red Cross to ascertain what people needed at the moment.
Maybe he hasn’t and he made the 200 experts up off the top of his head.
Here is the contact, yell at him about anti Americanism if you’d like.
http://www.redcross.ca/article.asp?id=000005&tid=003
Good Lord man, do you have any idea how many Canadians were down there, or how many family members?
And even if they weren’t, you are an expert on Canadian’s compassion and contributions for what happened to our neighbours this week?
Stop with the anti-American crap here, I’m sick of it.
And if you think your neighbours lack compassion why not write our PMO’s office and tell them their initial offer is insufficient.
http://www.pm.gc.ca/
Hey, I’ll put you in touch with any Canadian effort and you can tell them how anti american they are.
Fly up Doug, I’ll take you to Tim Hortons for a coffee and you can talk to a table full of my friends that are assisting. Tell them to their face they are anti american.
DH,
Actually, the Canadian Red Cross does have a link allowing for donations. The Canadian Red Cross coordinates carefully with the American Red Cross. To allow for the best use of dollars, it is not unusual for relief organizations from other countries to wait until they are notified by the affected country of what the needs are.
Many times people will send clothing and supply materials that can’t be utilized and that cost enormous amounts to store.
After the tornados in Oklahoma in ‘99, people outside Oklahoma easily contributed ten to 20 times the amount of food and clothing needed. The stockpiles simply diverted relief workers from more important chores and cost money for storage that could have been better spent.
Money was raised carelessly after 9/11, without a lot of thought to what was needed and where it was needed. Much of the money was just plain wasted. The American Red Cross was blamed for carelessly either not spending money or spending it in the wrong place. That has made all of the Red Cross organizations sensitive to wise dollar management.
All the Canadians are doing is explaining that they don’t want to get in the way and end up duplicating services already being provided. That diverts money from other needs. For instance, need for tsunami aid is ongoing in some places.
If you read all the articles about Canadian relief carefully, though, you WILL see that Canada IS sending specially trained medical personnel, engineers, etc. to the U.S. Gulf Coast and will assist however needed.
Thus, I think you are taking the “wallets” quote out of context.
Go to the Canadian Red Cross site and you’ll see that there is an opportunity to donate money toward Katrina relief, however.
DH:
Instead of me making excuses about being cranky with you, how about me giving you the link to the video of the Canadian Red Cross statement?
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20050831_new_orleans_evac_050830/?hub=TopStories
You’ll find more information on CTV (private national network) about your northern neighbours response. I hope it will bring you some comfort and hope as this disaster unfolds.
Thanks Joel.
It’s attitudes like yours DH that foster anti-americanism. Read the facts!
Your new ambassador to Canada needs to learn a thing or two as well about diplomacy and other cultures. We are not Americans and never will be.
Our assistance to the world is quieter and more often than not unassuming. You will get the help you need without a lot of fanfare. If the American Red Cross doesn’t need donations, the Salvation Army will be happy to accept them.
Besides, the Salvation Army is usually the first responder.
In Canada, they are always way ahead of the Red Cross.
Katrina was a horrible disaster and borders mean nothing.
Dh:
Over a dozen nations have stepped up with offers of aid so far.
I’m sorry that isn’t enough for you.