CNN - help can't get in because of the water. Has anyone heard of boats?

[FloridaPat]

They have to have boats there somewhere. The boats could augment the rescuing with the helicopters.

[Kagemusha]

1. They have them separated by land outside the NO basin.

I asked my best friend who knows boats a lot better than I do why couldn't they be moved. Answer: The trailers you'd need do not grow on trees. And a lot were toasted by the hurricane anyway. So they remain in the water, just the wrong body of water.

[NYC]

2. Some owners of small boats went to help.

Yesterday, I read a request for help that said people should come with boats, and it was essential that they provide the boat operator. I'm not sure where I read that. It was a Louisiana site.

[Atman]

3. Actually, CNN said the road to/fr Baton Rouge was open, but...

..they said, get this, they actually said that the road was clear, and therefore had no idea why it was taking so long to get help in there. But Aaron Brown quickly added, "even if they did get in to New Orleans, they' still have fifteen miles to go to get to the inner city."

Oh, well then...that must be the problem. That last 15 miles is pretty daunting when you're trying to save dying people.

[bluedonkey]

35. Actually the road is open

to LaPlace after that it's closed.They have boats down there,but there are obsticles in the way.The water is too shallow in some places for the boats to go.They had to carry boats over rail road tracks by hand!Y'all act like we down here don't know what to do.We've been through this before! There is also the safety of the rescuers to consider,you can't go off half cocked.There are snakes and gators in the water.

[Holly_Hobby]

4. The military has

inflatables.

http://www.zodiacmilpro.com/

[TahitiNut]

22. The military also has amphibious assault vehicles MADE for cargo.

AVT's are perfect for this ... but most are probably in the Persian Gulf, ready to use in the desert.

[hnsez]

5. Don't the Rednecks have 15,000 Airboats in Louisiana?

[bluedonkey]

36. spoken like

a true yankee.

[jus_the_facts]

6. a friend of mine's husband went down with boats to help rescue.....

...they were literally shot at...but I still feel for the desperation of the people left down there...it's their own personal armageddon goin' on and survival will make you do desperate things to attempt to provide for your families...those people are in shock and have lost all self control...my heart bleeds for every single one of them...looters as well.

[faithnotgreed]

14. i agree jus - its a desperate situation

theres no "normal" right now

none can say what they would do in this kind of life or death tragedy and no one except those trying to live this down there can say what has driven them to act as they have
its survival or response to shock etc

i think ive felt a bit crazed before but not nearly like this of course and certainly had not remotely this kind of reason so i cannot even imagine...

[KoKo]

7. Rubber Rafts...Pontoon Bridges (Used to be the "Old Army's" Specialty

I don't know what kind of clueless idiots the Bush Bots have running things but how can they expect us to believe that with all the invasions and disaster operations we've done around the world that a bunch of FEMA/ARMY/NATIONAL GUARDERS are standing around wringing their hands because they can't figure out how to fix a levee and they can't find a way around NO because there's water.

Sheesh...what the Hell is going on here?

[Wizard777]

13. That was the REAL Army. They didn't spend 5 Billion

to have their War Catered. Now we have an Army of One and that asshole brought a plastic Turkey.

[bluedonkey]

37. You come down here

and show us how to fix a levee when the water is gushing in.The leak is bigger than a football field and a little ways down there is another leak ,same size.

[Wizard777]

8. Give them a break. FEMA is way behind. They are still trying to

envision this actually happening. I guess they don't have TV's and will probably blame that on the looters too.

[fishnfla]

9. they have issued a call for private citizens

to bring boats.(per wwltv.com) many hunters and fisherman have the smaller boats which can handle the shallower water, also the smaller boats can be easily maneuverd and launched anywhere.

hopefully at daybreak, we'll see a flotilla of boats.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

10. I imagine people are afraid of losing their boats at gunpoint.

From the sounds of it that could be a possibility.

[FloridaPat]

12. Too bad all those guns were looted from Walmart. Good family values.

[mondo joe]

21. I'd have taken a gun myself, but only to protect my family from looters

and I'd pay for the thing as soon as the store is functioning again.

[puddycat]

15. maybe if boat-owners allowed to carry their guns it wouldn't happen

I think everyone is being WAY too easy on these looters. Only criminals break into stores and drag away armloads of pants that don't even fit themselves (yes, I saw this on tv). Only criminals drag away display cases filled with electronics and shit (yes, this was on tv). These criminals should be shot on sight.

This is as bad as Rumsfeld allowing looters in Bagdad to ransack the museums.

[krkaufman]

18. Capital punishment street justice for stealing some iPods or TVs...

... is going a bit far for me. It *is* just material items, after all. Only theft. Take their pictures and prosecute 'em later.

More gray, to me, is how to deal w/ violent offenders in the area.

[puddycat]

20. In ordinary circumstances I would agree, but in times of crisis not

you can see how easily civilization breaks down in times of extreme duress and crisis. People of criminal intent easily get the upper hand. Criminals must be swiftly and surely dealt with, and the government in New Orleans and the feds dropped the ball. They know damned well what happens in crisis. But hell, our govt allowed Baghdad criminals to loot ancient antiquities from museums, so what do we expect in New Orleans?

[krkaufman]

25. "you can see how easily civilization breaks down in times of ... crisis"

Yes, that's why I'd prefer not to revert to Deadwood, if at all possible. I don't see how shooting looters would calm the situation, since actual looters would quickly learn to shoot first, themselves, and both sides would likely end up gunning down innocent people.

[puddycat]

28. these looters are criminal opportunists. they don't deserve a break

If looters were breaking your door down and you had the means to stop them that you wouldn't? That's just illogical. You would end up getting looted and most probably raped. Do you honestly think these criminals looting these stores are usually good, law-abiding citizens? nonsense. The good, law-abiding citizens were gathered on top the highway overpasses, and in the superdome, and on tops of roofs. The criminals were roaming the streets (er, wading) looking for trouble.

We need to support those majority of poor people who don't loot, rob, rape, etc and protect them from the thugs, instead of defending the thugs. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for the humane treatment of prisoners, etc., and legal and humane police enforcement--but what we have in New Orleans is a break-down of civilization caused by the criminal portion of the population being allowed to get away with anything they want. Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures. And this coddling of street thugs/looters can't be tolerated.

It has to be stopped. No excuses.

[krkaufman]

31. Your scenario doesn't mesh with my statement

"If looters were breaking your door down and you had the means to stop them that you wouldn't?"

If I am inside my house when looters are trying to break-in, then their action is crossing over from non-violent to violent and I would certainly agree that I have a right to protect myself -- and would certainly do so, after a warning (shouted or shot).

However, if I were outside my home, I'm not sure that I *would* shoot another human being, if I happened upon them trying to break into my house. I can't think of any object that I have that would be worth killing someone over.

Now, if *you* were to happen upon someone trying to break-in to my house, how would you know that the person trying to break-in wasn't me -- and I'd lost my keys? Bang!, I'm dead.

[puddycat]

32. we had different scenarios in mind, I think. n/t

[kestrel91316]

34. Just like in the wild west, they need one person to drive the boat,

and one person to RIDE SHOTGUN. Literally.

[meisje]

11. Is it even safe to go in?

I would need an automatic weapon before I entered the area.

[FloridaPat]

16. Where are the 10,000 NG called up?

[necso]

17. Small boats can be sent in convoys

(with armed guards as necessary) to sites where people are present in numbers. When (stranded) people see that there are plenty of boats coming ("and more in the next wave"), they should react a little better than if they see only a few boats, in which circumstance they can be expected to panic at the thought that there isn't enough space available to evacuate everyone (it has been days now). (Anyone firing on relief efforts should be shot out of hand.)

And, personally I wouldn't wait for first light. Go in convoy, if only using boats equipped (somehow) with spotlights.

The boats should also carry water, high energy foods, first aid kits, blankets, etc, to give to those who can't be immediately rescued.

Come on folks, those are our fellow citizens down there.

[krkaufman]

19. Part of the problem, as I understand it... is the underwater debris.

They need boats (airboats?) sans propellers, or at least boats that can handle shallow water and not get snagged on the underwater debris -- like power lines.

[necso]

29. If necessary, you could

clear and mark channels.

And as a kid, I motored (and rowed -- which practice I do not recommend unless you enjoy physical labor) a small boat back up some mighty narrow and shallow creeks. You go slow, you keep your eyes peeled and when you see a snag, you either avoid it or kick the motor up (and off) and slide over it. (And oars can be used to "pole" over some of the worst spots -- and you jump out and push or pull the boat over the worst (passable) spots.)

And if I extend the (insider) information (admittedly second-hand information) that I have of disasters in (near) my own community, the problem is more likely to be turf (and saving face) than it is to be actual impracticality. Heck, I saw some local (here) TV "news" personality ride a small boat into NO earlier.

[understandinglife]

23. Wonder if those dumbshits ever thought about using these ....

These specialized, high–speed landing crafts travel up to 45 knots while carrying a very heavy payload (up to 75 tons) and are used to transport troops, M–1 tanks, trucks, weapons, cargo and equipment from ship to shore and across the beach.


Peace.

[TahitiNut]

27. They're in the Persian Gulf, ready for use in the desert

:puke: Yes, they're perfect for the New Orleans disaster.

[nonconformist]

24. The lack of imagination being used is astounding. nt

[Nikki Stone 1]

26. Makes you wonder who is coordinating all this

And what kind of training that have--or don't

[FloridaPat]

30. That seems to be the unanswered question of the week so far.

[wli]

33. trained to pepperspray protesters, not save lives n/t