Red Cross's reason for not being allowed into N.O. is BS. Here's why:

[Roland99]

The Red Cross says the reason they are not allowed into the city (and haven't been) by order of the Dept. of Homeland Security is because "people would be drawn to the Red Cross food".

That is complete propaganda and here's why!


I just got off the phone with a friend who's working in the Galleria building right now (he's working on restoring cell tower service). He says from the 17th St. Canal to the Superdome, the city is UNDERWATER (except the French Quarter and the Central Bus. Dist.).

People will NOT go back into the city to get some scraps of food/water. They have access to better OUTSIDE of the city. The drug addicts are the ones doing the shooting and looting in order to get their fixes. People aren't going to risk that danger by going back INTO the city.

Also, there's only one way into the city (I-10 from the west.)

The "twin span" is GONE and the southbound Causeway is damaged. It looks like "spaghetti" according to my friend. That leaves I-10 and it would be rather easy to blockade traffic that wasn't part of the Red Cross.


Something is afoot. Something smells...BADLY

[enid602]

1. "people would be drawn to the Red Cross food".

"people would be drawn to the Red Cross food". Isn't that the idea? Why the hell else have we been donating to Red Cross?

[wli]

2. call the UN NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW!!!

[NoFederales]

15. I don't understand why this hasn't ALREADY happened.

Why hasn't the UN initiated a response, they don't have to be solicited do they? And fuck courtesy, if that's an excuse. Is the President the only leader who can request UN help for a country's aid?

NoFederales

[zippy890]

17. can we call the UN?

as American citizens and ask about the Red Cross being allowed into New Orleans?

[Roland99]

19. Give me a number and I'll call!

[Maple]

3. I understood

they were not allowed to go to the convention center and hand out food and medicine and other help...because the 'poor' there might not want to leave after that.

It was a common attitude when I was a kid, so it wouldn't surprise me.

[FloridaPat]

4. There are other reports from other town that emergency aid is not being

allowed in. Maybe they're waiting for Condi tomarrow to cut the ribbons on the newly cleared roads.

[Mabus]

5. Now that Bush has had his photo-op

who knows, they might decide to open it up.

[expatriot]

6. The reason the Red Cross stated was not that THEY had decided this rule it

was a rule that was made by FEMA.

[Lindsay]

7. I think the fault here lies with FEMA, not with

the Red Cross. Not a big fan of the Red Cross, but they are only reporting what FEMA told them. And there are plenty of other reports of FEMA keeping help from arriving.

The fuckers.

[DoYouEverWonder]

20. However, the point is that Red Crosses's excuse

is still bs. They are covering for BushCo as usual.

[global1]

8. Well Of Course They'd Be Drawn To The Food .......

they're "hungry".

The Red Cross could have had food, water and comfort stations to maintain the calm while arrangements were being made to get them out of the city. These comfort stations could have been at or near both the Superdome and the Convention Center. They would have had a positive influence on the situation and not let it deteriorate to what 'all the world' witnessed on TV.

I can't believe that someone would order the Red Cross not to participate. I can't believe the Red Cross would just roll over and accept.

Something else is going on and it ain't pretty.

[Roland99]

9. Chairman of the Red Cross - Bonnie Hunter - Political Donations

http://www.newsmeat.com/washington_political_donations/Bonnie_McElveen-Hunter.php

[applegrove]

10. Maybe I am tired..but I don't understand your point. Until the army

has control - which they could have done on Tuesday if they wanted to - the city is dangerous.

[Roland99]

11. NO! That's just it! The convention center is filled with DYING people!

They are calm and organized. If there were crazed drug addicts in the convention center, then Geraldo Rivera would have been shot down on live TV last on Hannity and Colmes.

Watch this video to see genocide underway:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/09/02.html#a4763

[Roland99]

12. Anyone have any updates on this?

[flpoljunkie]

13. The Red Cross chapter in New Orleans on Canal is for donating blood only.

This comes up when you put in the zipcode for the Superdome--70112. Yesterday it said this site was for blood donations only.

Your Red Cross Chapter
Southeast Louisiana Chapter

Address: American Red Cross
Southeast Louisiana Chapter
2640 Canal Street
New Orleans, LA 70119

E-mail: [e-mail]

Phone: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

Web site: http://www.arcno.org

Interesting, their web site has been revamped since yesterday and is very difficult to access.
They are asking for emergency blood donations across the country.

____________________

Saturday, September 3

Welcome to the American Red Cross
Southeast Louisiana Chapter

Hurricane Katrina shelter and relief information will be posted here as soon as it is available.

National Blood Shortage
Find out how you can help

http://www.arcno.org/?articleID=30&sid=&demark=

[Roland99]

14. See the updates in this Kos diary entry!!!

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/3/02454/07418

[Lerkfish]

16. as I posted in another thread:

1. we KNOW that false or exaggerated reports of violence are being made by FEMA (there are real acts of violence as well, but we also know of fabricated ones)
2. we KNOW that even in the face of people dying on the news, FEMA pretends to not know about it.
3. we KNOW that Bush and Chertoff and Brown all mention SECURITY priorities before RESCUE.
4. we KNOW that they have frequently halted aid getting in, for no apparent reason.
5. we KNOW the response has been beyond logical slowness to get NG there.
6. we KNOW other cities (like chicago) have offered assistance and been rebuffed
7. we KNOW relief efforts were initially started under various agencies, and then commandeered by the feds, after which nothing happened nor was allowed to happen for several days.
8. we KNOW that FEMA and HS have been working overtime to blame victims and to characterize them as looters and refugees.
9. we KNOW that local officials (like the mayor of NO and the gov of LA) have been vocal about the feds PREVENTING or REFUSING to offer aid when it was available.
10. we KNOW that the Red Cross has been barred entry.
11. we KNOW that folks at the convention are barred exit by an armed NG checkpoint
12. we KNOW that Harry Connick Jr. and news crews are able to drive their large trucks directly to the people but FEMA claims they can't.
13. we KNOW that individuals driving down to assist are being stopped by NG.
14. we KNOW that rich, white folk at the Ritz Carlton had their OWN NG UNIT as security and were evacuated before aid was brought to the convention center.
15. we KNOW that a "zero tolerance" for looting was announced early on
16. we KNOW that NG units were ordered to "shoot to kill".
17. we KNOW that Bush suddenly complains efforts are "unacceptable' and then announces a breach of posse comitas, that will not occur for at least 72 hours. That means, they are expecting to not evacuate people fully in that time, but they can ship in troops, actually INCREASING the number of mouths to feed and hydrate instead of reducing them.
18. we KNOW that they are spending a lot of PR time on Honore, the "John Wayne" take charge general, "getting the job done".
19. we KNOW that the purpose of the NG is to help in disasters, not be in Iraq, and we KNOW that the purpose of active troops is to be in Iraq, not on our soil. WHY would you swtich them?

let's connect the dots, shall we?

I"m just saying,

[Roland99]

18. I swear I am just dumbfound with this administration and its criminality

[Cassandra]

21. Because they want the concept of Big Government to be discredited.

If they actually had a functioning system in place to deal with this then their whole ideology is in danger. They want people to believe that government cannot help in these circumstances and you are on your own.
What we are seeing is that DELIBERATELY INCOMPETANT GOVERNMENT cannot help, but that's the fault of Bush in particular, not of government in general.

[vickitulsa]

22. That makes sense to me. Now what I'm wondering is this:

When the Red Cross and other relief services are finally allowed into the city of New Orleans and other ravaged areas, say late today or maybe tomorrow, won't they be going in to places that are then practically deserted?

I mean, are we going to see this huge JOKE of a situation unfold where National Guard troops are lined up and stacked up in a gigantic array, and RC and other relief organizations open up medical facilities and food distribution stations -- to find they are looking at ghost towns and empty streets??

Reading the original post here had me picturing just these scenes, and I thought, My god, what a huge LAUGH the world will have at us THEN!

Of course, they're laughing already, only many know it's too grim a situation to really LAUGH. It's just that insane, that outrageous, that disgusting, that ... I don't know, I want to say HYPOCRITICAL, for the U.S. that has been lecturing other countries for YEARS to have THIS to show for itself when the sh*t hits the fan in our "homeland."

~VV

__________________________________________

[Roland99]

23. ***And NOW....consider THIS!!!***

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2057199

(including my post #12 in that thread)


:mad:


Goddamn if there isn't something SERIOUSLY going on here!!!