Katrina
I’m so pained by what’s going down in the southeast U.S. First, the natural occurrence of the hurricane, then the human-made disaster of incompetent response to its effects. I recommend the following reading… after you make a donation to assist those who are suffering**:
Why New Orleans is in Deep Water by Molly Ivins
Flushing out the Ugly Truth by Salon.com’s Joan Walsh
Why everyone didn’t leave (in response to those who would vilify the people who stayed behind)
Waiting for a Leader is a potent NY Times editorial
When the going gets tough, Condi goes shoe shopping - ’nuff said
I recommend Feministe’s and BAGnewsNotes’s frequently-updated links and commentary
This is a particularly cogent image
And finally, over at The Oil Drum, they’re doing a terrific job covering the economic and energy impacts we can expect post-Katrina
** I must add that if you are strapped for cash, please don’t feel guilty for not contributing. It’s the government’s job to aid disaster victims, not those who are struggling financially. The poor should not have to bail out the poor!
Jeremiah said,
September 2, 2005 @ 9:14 pm
Not only that, but three hundred chemical and industrial polluters were on the right bank of the Delta, in “Cancer Alley,” where Katrina hit.
15 oil processing hubs vanished. Like, nobody knows where they are. Where did all their chemicals go? Did they just vanish too?
Cancer Alley Wexelblat
ben said,
September 2, 2005 @ 9:27 pm
To see that footnote of yours was immensely encouraging.
All the same I called up my local ARC office (early this afternoon, long before I read your entry) and expressed a wish to do something, seeing as I have ten fingers, ten toes, well-functioning grey matter, and some valuable skills - but nowhere near the resources that would enable me to take off from my open accounts and boogie to Louisiana. The outcome is that they know I exist, and I’m on the waiting list for their response training. …Which I’ve long felt I should already have (no Red Cross certificates since HS), just that it took this disaster to actually decide to do something.