nbc just said NO mayor said military can force people to leave.

[dogindia]

That is not what was said yesterday.

Seems like people should be able to stay if they can cope with water and find food.

Is there anyway to reach him?

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. They should go. It is a toxic dump down there.

------------------------------------------------------
Save the Gulf, then save the nation!
http://timeforachange.bluelemur.com/electionreform.htm

[movonne]

2. Yes I agree...

[tjdee]

3. It is not safe.

The health ramifications are very significant in NO because of what the flood "water" has become.

I am unconvinced that these citizens have all the information they need to make an informed decision about whether to stay. Do they realize that the NG will not be making food/water drops to them, and that this situation could last indefinitely?

Do they realize the extent of the damage to the city? Do they know that all people have been taken out? Do they realize that there is currently NO PLAN to restore electricity/remove water/sanitize the streets? They don't have electricity, news, etc.

But I can totally understand why they'd feel safer in their own homes.

[SoCalDem]

4. They were actually giving them water, but they want everyone to leave

so once they are sure that the weak ones are all dead, they will "forcibly remove" the rest, kill all the stray animals, spray "god-knows-what" all over the standing water, and then send in hazmat teams to destroy anything that's not "worth saving"..Once the place is dried out and "ready", the condo-builders & hotel builders and money-people will cast lots for the eminent-domain claimed land..

What will emerge is a bright red (blood red) New orleans a la Stepford meets Disney..

The evacuees will be permanently barred from return due to the lack of funds..

[stevedeshazer]

11. Bingo. JazzWorldAmerika.

Prepare for the Louis Armstrong Memorial Theme Park, Hotel and Casino.

Brought to you by Kellogg, Brown and Root.

Tony restaurants, posh hotels, Las Vegas-style.

[Spazito]

5. It is called martial law, which NO is now under.

[crikkett]

6. these people aren't leaving...

http://www.livejournal.com/users/interdictor/

Monday, September 5th, 2005
1:58 pm Attention
I want to make sure that everyone knows I am part of a team. I am not in this myself. I seem to be getting most of the attention for the success we've had here, but I don't think that's really fair to the other guys. I think because I'm the one keeping the blog people are getting the wrong impression. Here are the people who are up here and what their responsibilities are:

Sigmund Solares, CEO: Sigmund is one of the owners of Directnic. He is on site because Team SOTI needs a guy on the spot who can make command level decisions during an emergency.

Donny Simonton, Senior Vice President: Donny is Directnic's crisis tech guy. He's responsible for all of our servers and data transfers.

Brian Acosta, I-55.com: Brian is I-55's man on the spot and their chief tech guy. He's also the guy who makes sure we keep connectivity to the internet.

Crystal Coleman, Chef: Crystal is here with me and makes herself useful in a myriad of ways, mostly by keeping us well fed.

Michael Barnett, Crisis Manager: My responsibilities are physical security, creating standard operating procedures, implementing field sanitation and hygiene, and ensuring coordination of the team.

I want to make sure that especially the media are aware of this. Sig and Donny are as equally qualified as I am to answer questions and conduct interviews

[phusion]

9. Who or what are those people guarding?

Is it a DNS server or something? They've been running generators all week to keep some server(s) running that are apparently very important.

Do u know? Just curious...

[liberaliraqvet26]

7. they need to get out....

them staying will make the cleanup more difficult.

[DoYouEverWonder]

8. At this point it should be up to the individual

whether or not they want to stay or go.

[stillcool]

10. they got to go...

because of disease and a toxic environment. Someone needs to pass along enough information of what is going on around them to bring them up to speed. Lack of information is a bitch.

[spuddonna]

12. I'm waiting for open warfare in Jefferson Parish...

They've invited people back in to get some personal effects...

So, they've got FEMA and the military forcing people out, and they've got Jefferson Parish officials saying 'come back for a few days'. Think any 'incidents' might occur? Especially after Aaron Broussard accused FEMA of cutting communication lines on Tim Russert's show?

God, I hope I'm wrong...

[pdxmom]

13. While it would be in their best interests to leave, I understand

completely why they are refusing to leave. For many, that is the only spot on earth they have, where they feel safe. For some, it may be the culmination of what they've worked for their whole lives.

Many of these people have worked hard and led very difficult lives. The government has done nothing for them before, and they don't expect the government to do anything but hurt them now. They are a proud people and don't trust the government (why the hell should they?).

While I think it would be safer for them to leave, I understand them wanting to stay, and support that choice. Leave them alone!

[B Calm]

14. I'm thinking there is possibly another hurricane on the way..

[Wizard777]

15. Absolutely! Everybody out of the pool!

Somebody took a big toxic waste dump in there. :hurts:

[3waygeek]

16. BBC World News earlier this evening

said there were 60,000 military in NO. That's a bit less than half the US troop strength in Iraq. Assuming the troops are decently equipped (a bit of a stretch if Iraq is any indication), they'd certainly have the run of the place.