New Orleans

Remove all ads!

What kind of insane people would shoot at the aid helicopters and workers coming in to help? I've heard about open gunfires, raping and all kinds of stuff going on it the thunderdome, so I guess it must be worse out in the city. Shoot your own sister for a bag of ice?!?!

These people need to be dealth with when the more important stuff has been finished, they should not be allowed to walk the streets.

 

The sheer lawlessness of some of the people is just stunning.

There's a part of me that wonders if this is just the planet's way of keeping the population under control.

A rather sad outlook, isn't it?

 

@Laiwethel:
Not quite that sad; it's really very efficient. It works the easiest on the people with low self-control, and such people tend to weed themselves out anyway. The sad part is the innocents they take with them.

On a lighter note, I guess this means the Saints need a new place to stay. I wonder where they'll go?

 

I wasn't just referring to the lawlessness. I was also referring to the hurricane itself. The disasters in the past couple of years (earthquake, tsunami, hurricane) have killed thousands, if not millions, of people.

Sorry. Things like this make me extremely depressed.

 

Ah yes, that is quite helpful to keep your numbers down. I'd say the planet's doing the species a favor by killing off as many as it can. Really sucks for the individuals involved, and I feel for them, but imagine how much more crowded the planet would be without these natural disasters. I'd say we owe the extreme weather our (incredibly grudging) thanks for our continued survival and prosperity.

As T2Bruno pointed out, such disasters fuel certain parts of the economy like construction and rescue worker jobs. We effectively have a whole branch of labor that wouldn't exist (or in some casses be much smaller) without the need to rebuild from tragedy. Had I the choice, I would not make the trade (lives for prosperity) myself, but the least we can do is make these people's sacrifices count by utilizing any created advantage to the utmost. Their memories will be carried on by the new works that are built, and the new lives that we live. And so the circle of life is whole.

 

I don't think that it is the planet doing the human race a favour, but Nature's way of protecting herself. A kind of natural effect to keep all of us from completely destroying her.

And what of the families who have lost fathers, husbands, wifes, sisters, brothers, children? What of the people who had their whole lives invested in something that is now destroyed? Is the "circle of life" whole for those people as well?

 

I don't know if what I'm going to say fixs here but, is this the price to pay for not being part of Kioto Protocol? We are destroying our planet and many of the powerful people don't seem to see that.

 

I can't buy any argument that people have been pushed over the sanity edge. That's no excuse!

Terrible disasters happen all the time that involve destruction of homes and livelihoods. I don't remember survivors of that tsunami last year shooting each with assault rifles or taking pot shots at aid helicopters.

The human reaction to this situation defies belief.

 

There's nothing metaphysical about a hurricane. This is not nature's way of punishing whoever for whatever. There have always been hurricanes and there will always be hurricanes. Every now and then one hits in a populated area. The Kioto Protocol will certainly not stop hurricanes or typhoons.

Many people have known for quite some time that New Orleans was extremely vulnerable to such a storm (just like many other communities along the coast), but no one had done anything about it. Everytime a large storm barely missed or downgraded before striking New Orleans everyone would make a comment like 'they dodged the bullet that time.' But this time was different -- it hit dead on.

Hurricanes go with living on the gulf coast. Just like tornados are a part of life in the midwest and earthquakes part of California. It's tragic, but there's nothing surprising or mystical about it.

Edit...

HB: No, the tsunami victims just sold orphaned children into slavery. During disasters the criminal element of any society can run amok. The authorities are too busy trying to minimize the loss of life and prevent disease from spreading -- this give the dishonorable a free hand. I can live with most of the looting -- all the clothing and food will be complete write-offs for the stores. It really doesn't matter if people gather clothing and food they need to survive (the police were almost encouraging this at the beginning). But I agree a few have gone too far.

 

Well, hurricanes are a part of life. Kyoto wouldn't have had any effect whatsoever on this (not to say that Kyoto wouldn't be positive in other ways).

What *would* have had an effect in this case is 1) preservation of wetlands and the shoreline, which would have absorbed at least some of the impact, and 2) better maintenence of the levee system (and apparently money had been syphoned off from this for use in Iraq! Great plan GWB, take money from vital infrastructure maintencence and you won't have to raise taxes at all!)

What?! Since when are they still teaching Malthus in the schools?

Great! So lets bomb a few of our own cities then! Imagine all the jobs *that* would create!

 

Bion, the levee system has been mediocre for many years (decades), it is not just GWB that has been ignoring it.

The chief culprits are the City of New Orleans and the State of Louisianna -- who want some else (i.e., the Federal Government) to take care of the problem instead of raising local taxes to fix it themselves. Well, it worked.

 

That's why it's a circle. Start with nothing, end with nothing. (Tragic but true.)

And if the planet's trying to protect itself, it's doing a pi$$-poor job of it. Humans hold onto life...well, for dear life. Not to mention they breed like rabbits and consume every available resource. If Nature really wanted to get rid of its human infestation, it'd have to get pretty organized to do so, and I haven't seen anything like that yet.

 

Um, if nature really wanted to get rid of humans, it would just need open cracks in the earth every where and melt us in lava.

I don't think nature is trying to get rid of humans. It's just that a big storm has hit a large city that happens to mostly lie below sea level. If hurricanes happened in northern Europe, most of the Netherlands would be similarly destroyed.

It will be interesting to see how many people bother to move back to New Orleans. Some may decide to go and live somewhere else now.

 

Anger and Unrest Mount in New Orleans - Even more recent and bad news, includes links to videos, pictures, and more.

 

It's totally shocking watching and hearing this. Must be devastating to be a resident in New Orleans/Missisippi. That man talking about losing his wife almost brought a tear to my eye, especially when he talked about how she told him that he wouldn't be able to hold on to her any longer.

Hope everything goes back to as normal as possible in time. R.I.P to those who have lost their lives.

 

Felinoid:

I can't even believe you actually wrote this. People are suffering in the most inhumane ways possible and you sit here and tell us their sacrifice is for the better of us all? The only gripe you have, probably, is that they didn't line up in an orderly single file for their supreme sacrifice.

I wonder if anyone can apply for this "Sacrifice job" -- I would bet the thousands that died didn't think they were. But just think... if we could systematically offer up our citizens for the planet's "better good" -- they could at least get their lives in order first! How tidy. And a boon for us all!

 

Unbelievable that in such hardship, when people should stick together and help each other as best they can, you will find ****ing animals who go out and rape women, as if those who steal material belongings weren't enough. Restore corporal punishment. Such people are a worse scourge than a natural disaster could be and a true disgrace to the planet.

One sacrifice that should not be made is to treat such travesties as collateral damage in case of massive natural disasters. It needs to be dealt with with all severity of the law.

As for rightful wrath of the planet, whoever thinks people's lives were expendable, please line up after them. Perhaps you'd like to take a gun and avenge mother Earth on a couple of people yourself?

[ September 01, 2005, 23:58: Message edited by: chevalier ]

 

Firstly - damn straight Spellbound.

Felinoid, what the hell? I honestly don't know how you can say that.

Could you really say that to all those people that have lost someone in this? Could you go up to a mother and tell her the planet "did a favour" killing her son? or tell a man he should be thankful his wife was killed by this?

I can't force my views upon you, but i can at least tell you to read what you've posted, and look inside yourself for even a tiny shred of compassion for your fellow man.

Nobody asked for this disaster to happen, nobody deserved it, and sure as hell nobody belives it was a good thing. I can only hope that a higher power has found your mind, and has a bolt of lightning to suprise you with some time soon...After all, it's doing the species a favour, right?

 

Don't worry. All the people who are shooting each other over looted goods are doing the job for you.

 

@Spellbound:
And I can't believe you missed the meaning of my post completely. I'm not saying what's happening isn't terrible, but there's always a silver lining to every cloud, no matter how enormous and dark.

Over-population can destroy the lives of ALL a nation's inhabitants. Those who die are helping to keep the population down, and are thus helping to defend the human race from world-wide poverty. Their deaths may be tragic, and most certainly unfortunate, but as I mentioned IN THE SAME POST, had I the choice I would not make the trade. Lives are precious, and even ONE is not worth all the benefits we could ring out of a million. But I have no choice over whether these people die, and if I can't prevent it, the least we can do is make the most of their (unwilling) sacrifice.

Firey -

You're damn straight nobody believes it was a good thing! And that includes me! All I'm saying is that some good can be squeezed out of this horrible happenstance.

I didn't bother to quote your next sentence because I believe it to be an uncontrolled outburst. I understand you (along with the rest of us) are extremely upset and feel the need to vent your anger, but wishing harm on someone in a public forum is not the way to go.

Hell no! The suffering these people are going through is horrendous, and it makes the situation that much worse for them. But I expected the people in this thread to be at least a little more objective about it. Looking at the big picture, there are at least some benefits to certain areas of the economy. They're infinitesimal when compared to the loss of life, but at least it helps dull the pain a little.

[ September 02, 2005, 00:49: Message edited by: Felinoid ]