Help me out please, cuz I was down with Nagin until this point...

[Montauk6]

Forced evacuations.

Am I right thinking that the Mayor wants the military to help in pushing people out "for their own good?" And that anyone who would refuse could be subject to the use of force?

Haven't these people been through ENOUGH??? Will the means to evacuate be provided at least? Will they have a place to go to???

Again, I need help; what am I not understanding here?

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. There may be something else they're worried about.

They may be worried about the spread of disease. And the likelihood of catching something may increase with those who stay?

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

2. The flood waters are toxic

Soon people will have cholera and other infectious diseases if they stay...even in the areas that are not flooded..insects don't care where they carry disease.

[H5N1]

12. Luckily, terror cells do not exist

Can you imagine the range of bio/chemo terror
that could very very easily be unleashed into those waters?

[Gabi Hayes]

30. what? it's already there

I bet they classify the results of water testing, when they find out what's in there

in 1975 I stayed with friends in a suburb, and we drove across Lake Ponchartrain, with the trunk filled up: empty gallon bottles

filled up the whole trunk with drinking water from a spigot at some roadside picnic ground

some old guy was there, who'd been coming there for 50 years, doing the same thing

they were worried about the stomach cancer back then

lord knows what it's like thirty years on

and now this.....

[KyndCulture]

3. The air itself is becoming toxic... he has no choice.

They have to leave.

This has no party lines, he really is trying to save lives.

[LittleClarkie]

4. No potable water. Whether they wanna or not

they need to go. Folks aren't understanding that, or are frightened or afraid they won't see their homes again. But there is no water. They will get sick if they stay.

[Maple]

5. It's a tough call

because, as you say, they've been through enough.

But there is no drinking water and no food, and no medicine and no power. And the flood and bodies make the place uninhabitable.

They can't be running all over New Orleans distributing this stuff, and rescuing people who become ill while they are draining water, removing bodies and trying to get things going again.

People have to leave.

[Montauk6]

19. You all make great points but, again, maybe I'm nuts here

but, fine, it's doubly, TRIPLEY important that adequate shelter and sustenance and even financial aid be provided to EVERY one of these people. Bush is gonna get, what, $40 billion for the cleanup. They ALL need to be first in line for the divvies.

And, disease or not, I'm a little uneasy with the "leave or else" thing, another excuse to shoot-to-kill.

So, I guess then my final question is alluded to above; are they going to be helped out in evacuating or are they gonna be told to talk to the Invisible Hand and fend for themselves?

If full-blown help IS provided, then no problem; if not, BIG problem. I'm just sayin...

[KyndCulture]

6. charge yourself with the lives of that many people.

He is doing the best he possibly can. They have to leave. The city cannot sustain life.

[Bluerthanblue]

7. tin foil hat time... but it does sound like disease

is a REAL threat- even more so now that time has 'gone by' and the ground is drying up abit.... like ...what was mentioned about 'airborne' illnesses.???

That is my personal concern.-

[KyndCulture]

11. ok get a grip.

disease is a REAL threat now. Incubation periods are done... e-coli, cholera, dysentary... which one do you want? There are many airborne infectious diseases... which one would you like to catch?

Come on... this is not tin foil time.. this is reality time.

Each bacteria or virus has an incubation time...

[The_Casual_Observer]

8. It really makes sense. Anything else is irresponsible.

The whole place is poisonous. People will die if they stay there.

[2Design]

9. unless everyone has to leave - I am not buying it -

if the military and others can stay - then these reasons don't fly

[SeattleGirl]

14. But the military's job, as well as other disaster worker's

is to be there so the citizens can evacuate. I totally understand the resident's reluctance to leave, because they HAVE been through so much, but they will be through so much more if they get ill from the toxic water and air. I heard him earlier on CNN or MSNBC, and he was saying he did understand that people were reluctant to leave, but his main concern was that people be kept safe from the toxins, and that his goal was to get things cleaned up asap, so people can get back to their homes.

[2Design]

17. still think there is a lot of bs happening n/t

[SeattleGirl]

24. Won't dispute you on that.

Wherever BushCo goes, there goes BS. But toxic water and air are not subject to BS. If they're there, they're there. My concern at this time (among many things) is that the people still in NOLA and other affected areas don't get into worse situations than they are already in. I just want them to be okay.

[SofaKingLiberal]

16. They will probably be start using protective equiptment including

respirators soon. There are still rescue operations going on now, everyone(rescue personel) can't leave.

[Hello_Kitty]

10. It really is too dangerous for them to be there

From all the accounts of medical experts I've seen. Dead humans and animals, sewage, fuel, are all over the place.

[longship]

18. Dead humans are not a health problem.

Lack of potable water *is* a very big health problem. The sewage and the water treatment systems are in an utter shambles. There won't be facilities for months.

I'm afraid that the Mayor is correct. Unfortunately, that means that those poor NOLA residents are going to lose their homes permanently because Chimpy has no intentions of ever letting them back into the city.

[sandnsea]

13. Some people are mentally ill

YES, they should be forced to evacuate and YES there are places for them to go. We will have to be diligent over the next months on what happens to these people, something even DU isn't all that great at. But the only way to help some of these people who aren't capable of making decisions is to put out a forced evacuation. He has also said he will not stop giving food and water to those who haven't left, so I think he is handling the remaining people as best as he can. He's a caring man and I'm sick of the people who are dumping on him.

[snot]

15. My problem is, what reliable info are we getting re- what's really

going on in there right now? Are the media still there?

I mean, the ideas everyone's providing above might be right, but what do we really KNOW about conditions in there?

'Cause a lot of other claims about the "dangers" have proved false.

[Maple]

21. Whatever else is going on

the city is sodden, full of dead bodies, toxic flood water, and no food,drinking water, medicine or power.

Everybody out. Now.

[RummyTheDummy]

23. I don't need the media to tell me....

That...

1. A good chunk of the city is underwater.

2. Stagnant water with dead people and sewage rotting in it is a public health hazzard.

Additionally, in my home town this summer two small children died after visiting a local park. At first they couldn't figure out what killed them. But later on they found they had ingested some kind of micro organism that came from standing water on a little slip and slide water slide that had been in use at the park. Now if two kids can die from playing in less than a gallon of stagnant water, it's clear that many more could die from trying to live in a flooded city. Get them out NOW.

[AlamoDemoc]

20. U understood wrong

The Mayor has of course suggested that people who still remain in NO should leave the city by way of compassion, and not by force. You are experiencing ROVE media force blaming the local and state folks.

Be careful of what you read...and be very careful of ROVE media manipulation


On Edit: we need to focus on FEMA and Homeland Cherlady

[Montauk6]

27. I'm listening to KIRO news

They're saying he's saying "forcibly removed." As much as I wish he'd multiply himself by zero, I don't this is a Rove deal.

[AlamoDemoc]

34. I have heard many talking heads of what must be done

frankly I think the Mayor has had a tough job of where he should begin of "reasonable evacuation" without any incident. He is indeed confronted with many un-foreseen tasks that even our federal government could not have fore- seen. He is doing his darnest he could have done under the circumstance for his besieged city...and he is a hero in my book

On Edit: I still say we should focus on what went wrong on Katrina and who's responsible of the colossal failure

[Robert Oak]

22. I think something stinks beyond the water

Great potential to move out the poor and move in the "ritzy condo"
class and bulldoze the poor area houses.

The water is now to 60% from 80%.

==================================================================

I am just wondering, they just blasted the poor in shelters across the nation. Now there is a mandatory and forced evacuation of the city.

So, here's the real question, after they clean up the city are they going to pay for travel so people can return to their city?

Also, if it's a mandatory evacuation is that the French quarter too?

The reason I'm asking is to me, something really stinks, beyond the toxic water and death.

They wiped out all of the poor neighborhoods, then all of the poor are gone, dispersed across the nation, starting with Texas, 12 hrs away.

I'm reading rumors of intentionally dynamiting of the levees (true or not)

and this potentially smells of some land owners and landlords out to
make huge money on their property through insurance and rebuilding some rich condos and real estate in those neighborhoods, which of course the poor could never afford.

Anybody else thinking this?

[2Design]

25. exactly n/t

[Montauk6]

28. Words RIGHT outta my mouth, Mr. Oak!

[Robert Oak]

31. Nightline, all houses will be bulldozed

there it is, the poor thousands of miles away the flood waters
recede and their houses with their posessions are bulldozed..

no way they are even getting back to get their possessions.

[Andromeda]

35. Good God, I hope not.

.

[Kipepeo]

26. He is making a tough decision

with the lives of many.

Look up President Nyere in Tanzania and forced evacuations - which were later praised as leaership of his leadership skills...

This many has been through so much with the help of so little from Bush...

[Wizard777]

29. This is a public health issue. No more Typhoid Mary's.

What is developing down there now is a biological attack from Mother Nature. Everyone they can prevent from contracting a communicable disease is one less human biobomb walking around multiplying it's self. Creating more biobombs. There are air bourne diseases. We could have people already infected with communivable diseases being shipped all over the Country. They should be placed in Quarentine. Where is WHO and CDC?

[applegrove]

32. It is about life. Disease will spread. Cholera, E Coli, Hep A. Not to

mention the toxins. The Mayor cannot in all good conscience keep sending first responders out to feed and water people, or to rescue them when the city is disease ridden. They can inoculate for some, but when people get sick with E Coli, they have stuff coming out of all orifices and the first responders will have to constantly go in and bring them out to hospitals and you cannot inoculate against that. It will be 30 days before the water is gone.

The mayor has to do what is right for the people - even if they are willing to die with their pets. He has to save lives. And this will.

I would understand people staying and willing to hang tough if they were only hurting themselves..but that will not be the case..next week.

I think the mayor is doing the right thing.

[Andromeda]

33. I heard the report and that's not the whole story.

This kind of action would be a last resort since most of the infrastructure is gone and staying could prove to be a health hazzard because of the unsanitary and contaminated conditions.

They are worried about waterborn diseases like cholera in addition to other diseases that could make the population sick.

If they stayed they would be without sewers, fresh water, electical power and nowhere to buy food when it runs out. Most of the businesses are gone and some people don't have any money.

I would assume that there would be somewhere the people could go. I know that's one of the priorities. They just need to get the people somewhere where they are safe.

It's not going to be a perfect situation and there will always be some asshole who will try to screw it up but all in all I believe that people in the private sector are responding to this crisis.

[Blue_In_AK]

36. If Nagin didn't do everything he could

to get his people out of this almost certain health crisis, he would be blamed when many more die. You know **Co. will do everything they can to fix the blame on him, just as they're doing now. He must make every effort to get the people out, not only for humanitarian reasons, but for political reasons, as well.