Now I know that the following article is very tongue-in-cheek, but it does make a point:

http://www.etherzone.com/2005/sent082905.shtml

UN PROMISES NEW ORLEANS MASSIVE AID!
RECONSTRUCTION FUND PASSES UNANIMOUSLY

By: Robert Sentry

Kofi Annan's hastily called meeting of UN members has produced a unanimous decision to send massive aid to the United States for the reconstruction of New Orleans.

Iran jumped onboard very quickly. Supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, stated emphatically that, "the generosity of the Americans after our two recent earthquakes must be returned. We were only waiting for an American disaster anyway to return the money, and this is of the scale that we believe is just and right. America, through my good friend President Bush, sent us millions of American dollars after our earthquakes. Bam has already been rebuilt by American dollars. Iran will rebuild New Orleans."

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei then added "we will sell the Russian nuclear facility back to Russia and send 100% of the proceeds to the good people of New Orleans, on top of our already promised aid." Mr. Khamenei then held up a large "Golden Key to the Nation" and offered it to the IAEA, and said, "All facilities are open for inspection. Any weapon of mass destruction facility found by the IAEA will be sold for scrap and the proceeds sent to the New Orleans Reconstruction Fund of the World Bank ." The World Bank has canceled pending loans to Yemen and Saudi Arabia and will instead send this money to the New Orleans Reconstruction Fund.

Kofi Annan was quick to cool the growing flames of passion in the swelling pledges earmarked for New Orleans. A virtual tsunami of pledges was building rapidly Sunday afternoon. Mr. Annan reminded all members that 7% of their GDP must be given to the general fund and the UN will decide where this aid money will go.

However, Jacques Chirac, who personally flew to New York to represent France and to hand over the check to President Bush, stood up in anger and immediately announced he would not follow Annan's orders. Mr. Chirac said that France will pledge $1 billion (USD equivalent) and has ordered the French aircraft carrier "Charles de Gaulle" to the Gulf of Mexico to aid in relief efforts. Mr. Chirac pounded the table and denounced any implication by Annan that money should flow through to the UN first before being distributed to the Americans in need. Mr.Chirac said that "Americans spilled blood for France. I will be damned if there is one day delay in getting our $1 billion (USD equivalent) to America."

"I will be damned if there is one day delay in getting our $1 billion (USD equivalent) to America."--Jacques Chirac

Mr. Chirac also stated that "now may be as good time as any to apologize on behalf of France to the family of Ronald Reagan and the people of the United States for the unfortunate mistakes in the past related to Libya." Chirac has also mobilized troops, as part of his New Orleans aid package, to send to Iraq to join forces with the American and British troops to "fight terrorism wherever it may be."

Although the government of Thailand announced that they too would be glad to return some of the tsunami money to aid New Orleans, they have yet to put a dollar price but promised their pledge would be finalized before Monday 0800 (GMT). However, the working girls of Thailand said that if the US Air Force can get them to New Orleans, they would like to give free massages to the relief workers in thanks for the tsunami money. When asked if they would need translators, a spokeswoman for the girls said, "No, all we need to know how to say is 'what type of massage you like.' "

Germany has announced its first installment of USD 800 million, but noted that more installments will soon follow. Ambassador Wolfgang Friedrich Ischinger noted that the installment system is symbolic in memory of the continual ongoing flights of US cargo planes during the Berlin Blockade of 1948-49. "We may not make as many installments as the air sorties flown by American airmen," Ischinger said, " but it is the symbolism that we are so intent on giving as a thanks to the American people. The Eurodollars will be flowing to America in installments symbolic of the C-47s and C-54s in 1948-49."

China also announced that the hundreds of billions of dollars flowing into the China from American importers will have a portion turned around 180 degrees and be earmarked for their "good friends in America who have shown such generosity over the years in past natural disasters." Ambassador Yang Jiechi announced an immediate halt to DF-31 ICBM production until "the final brick in the wall is put in place in the reconstructed New Orleans."

The outpouring of sympathy, money and prayers, especially from the Muslims in the Arab world, has been unprecedented. Indonesia is holding an emergency meeting to vote on returning all money sent by the United States for the tsunami last year. "We had a lot of dead corpses," one official said, "but it was just the beach that got messed up a little. There will be massive destruction 200 miles inland in the United States so we feel embarrassed that so much money was sent our way when only a hundred feet or so of our beaches were temporarily flooded. Being that so much more damage will be seen in the United States, we must return this money, Allah willing."

George Bush stated this shows that America's $ trillion dollars of foreign aid over the years has warmed the hearts of all the people of the world. We are one." Bush stated that with so much money pledged for New Orleans, it is possible now for him to increase the aid to Africa from $15 billion (USD) to 30 billion. "Whatever comes in must go out," Bush said.

"New Orleans may suffer tremendous damage, but it will bring the world closer together", Kofi Annan said, recovering from the tirade launched against him by Jacques Chirac. Annan said that the "sooner New Orleans is rebuilt, the sooner we can convince the United States to send 7% of their GDP to the Millennium Project. President Bush stated that although he is busy keeping in touch with the Louisiana Governor, his #1 priority is the UN Millenium Project and may ask John Bolton to propose increasing Annan's 7% request of US GDP to 10%.

"No Category 5 hurricane is going to stop me from helping those poor folks in Africa and elsewhere," Bush said. "Now excuse me. I have to go check to see if there is anymore foreign debt I can cancel."

The current situation reminds me very much of Gordon Sinclair.

Mr. Sinclair was a Canadian journalist, who in 1973 made a commentary on his radio show.  He commented on how much aid the US gives out, and nobody ever tries to return it after it has a disaster.

Now tell me, what kind of Foreign Aid are we getting?  Oh, I am not talking about the money, wlthough the people could use some.  I am talking much more about workers.

New Orleans has taken a lot of damage, the hospitals can't handle all the people.  The people are living in cars, are crammed 10,000 into a damaged SuperDome.  Water is still pouring through broken levees.  They are estimating 10+ days until they can bring in adequate supplies of fresh water to meet all the demand.

Now would it be so hard for some of out "Allies" to send us some people?  France, England, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Japan, they are all allies of ours (or so they claim).  Would it be so hard for them to send some equipment and people to help prevent more loss of life?  Mexico and Canada are close, but even though I have looked, I have found nothing about them sending people to help.

As I said, they can all keep their damned money.  If they want to be paid for the help, even that would be fine.  Our resources are stretched thin, and we do not have enough people and material to give all the aid needed.

I remember after the 1993 Northridge quake, LA picked itself up.  After the 1994 Kobe Earthquake, the people of LA and the US sent tons of aid and people to help them rebuild.  But the longer back I think, I can never remember ever hearing of Foreign Aid workers helping the US out after a natural disaster.

And the world call US a "selfish nation".  :-[

I agree.  The Red Cross is estimating that this is going to be the MOST EXPENSIVE disaster relief in history.  It's not only New Orleans....much of Mississippi and parts of Alabama are much worse.    They're estimating that it will cost BILLIONS of $$ to rebuild/repair the damage caused by Katrina.  I won't hold my breath waiting for our "allies" (whom I'm sure would ALL come running asking for help if something like this had happened to THEM) to volunteer to help. :-\\

the only part of your statement i disagree with is that our"allies" don't need to come running to ask for help. The US just automatically goes and helps everyone else.

the only part of your statement i disagree with is that our"allies" don't need to come running to ask for help. The US just automatically goes and helps everyone else.


There is something called "reciprocity".

The US helps everybody that needs it.  And when a disaster happenes anywhere in the world, we are one of the first ones to run with help.  And heaven forbid we are not seen to have "done enough".  Remember the outcry when some countries thought we were not doing enough after the Tsunami?

I agree, we do not need the money.  We can rebuild ourselves.  What most bothers me is that the search and rescue and humanitarian need is there.  How about rescue workers, to try and save lives?  How about pumps and engineers, to try and stop the lake that used to be New Orleans?  How about food and water purification systems, sanitation assistance, and doctors to help prevent disease?

Would it really be so hard for Mexico or Canada to send down some helicopters to help in the Search & Rescue operations?  Is it to much to expect France to send some food and humanitarian relief?  How about Saudi Arabia, to send some oil to help keep the generators and aircraft flying, and to power the busses sending refugees hundreds of miles from home?  How about China sending some clothing?

I am one that am getting tired of being the "Red Cross Of The World".  Heck, even a token can mean something.  It would cost Saudi Arabia almost nothing to send over a super tanker, and say "Here, we want to help".  China can just have one of it's COSCO fleet stop in a Gulf port, and offload saying "Here, this is a shipment of cribs, toys, and clothes for the children that are now homeless".

If nobody wants to even offer token aid, then I am about to the point of saying "to hell with them all".  Next time there is a disaster overseas, don't expect us to come running with checkbooks open and 747s full of doctors and specialists.

But I know that will never happen.  We are to soft-hearted.  Even though nobody else in the world gives a damn, we do.

We haven't responded to all natural disasters that occurred worldwide. Let's be fair on that. So we shouldn't get worked up if international response isn't immediate.

We haven't responded to all natural disasters that occurred worldwide. Let's be fair on that. So we shouldn't get worked up if international response isn't immediate.


Well, I have been through and seen many of them, and I have yet to see any kind of aid from our allies.

1989 Loma-Prieta quake, 1994 Northridge Quake, Gilbert, Floyd, and Andrew.  Last year, Florida got smacked 4 times (I only got smacked twice).  In fact, Ivan hit Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia again, Alabama again, then swung back into the gulf and smacked Louisiana and Texas!

What is interesting is what our allies are saying.  I looked at Google News, at the stories about the storm printed overseas.  The top 5 stories from Canada all talked about the looting.  The top 3 stories from France all talked about the financial devistation (and the impact it would have on the European market).  The top 4 I found from England were the only ones that talked about the loss of life as the major part of the story.  I guess Canada only sees us as criminals, so that is all they cared about.  To France, the only thing they see is how it may improve their business.

Myself, I do not believe we will see any "International Response" at all.  I do not think we will see any UN aid either.  It will not be fast, it will not be slow.  It will be non-existant.

OK, it seems that 2 countries do give a damn.

On the new at this moment, I am hearing that England and Germany are sending assistance.

Hooray for our real friends.  :)

And they also talked about a Iranian Cleric, that said it is Allah punishing us for being sinfull.  Sounds like what another cleric in Iran said last year about the countries harmed by the Tsunami last year.  I guess the next time an Earthquake hits Iran, we should just sit back and say "Sorry, it's Allah's will".

What is interesting is what our allies are saying.  I looked at Google News, at the stories about the storm printed overseas.  The top 5 stories from Canada all talked about the looting.  The top 3 stories from France all talked about the financial devistation (and the impact it would have on the European market).  The top 4 I found from England were the only ones that talked about the loss of life as the major part of the story.  I guess Canada only sees us as criminals, so that is all they cared about.  To France, the only thing they see is how it may improve their business.



Oh give me a break! If you're stupid enough to think that all canadians are concerned about is looking down our noses at you because some people are looting, then there really is no hope for you.
You aren't here to see that our local newscasts have been reporting about the horrible aftermath of the storm.

Btw. This is the headline news regarding the storm on my canadian homepage.
http://sympaticomsn.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20050831_new_orleans_evac_050830?hub=topstories

In the coming days i'm pretty sure that you will see more and more canadians going south to help out our neighbours. We were there during the ice storm of 98. We were there for 9-11. But of course you don't remember that. I guess you are from the "But what have you done for me lately?" crowd, eh?

Oh give me a break! If you're stupid enough to think that all canadians are concerned about is looking down our noses at you because some people are looting, then there really is no hope for you.
You aren't here to see that our local newscasts have been reporting about the horrible aftermath of the storm.


I guess I was not clear in what I meant.  The comments I made were not critical against Canadians (or any other nationality), but against the media coverage I found.  I fully understand the difference between news coverage, government response, and what the people actually think.  I in no way am trying to link them all together.  But if you click on the Google News link for Katrina, you still see that the top 3 reports are still feature the looting as the main story.

Although I saw on that link that Ontario is preparing for Katrina.  Up to 50mm of warm rain expected.  :)

Spoken like a true dittohead.  Let no disaster make us forget to attack the Europeans and boast of American superiority.  We must never lose sight of our right-wing priorities!
::)

Spoken like a true dittohead.  Let no disaster make us forget to attack the Europeans and boast of American superiority.  We must never lose sight of our right-wing priorities!
::)


Uhhh, I have not listened to Rush in many years, try again.

And what does that have to do with it?  And I did not attack anybody.  I am commenting on how aid tends to be a "one way street" when it comes to the USA.  And I am not the first one to notice that either.

I am going to make another post of GOrdon Sinclair's "Let's Be Personal" broadcast from 5 June 1973.  Most people know of this by the title "The Americans".

The United States dollar took another pounding on German, French and British exchanges this morning, hitting the lowest point ever known in West Germany. It has declined there by 41% since 1971 and this Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for the Americans as the most generous and possibly the least-appreciated people in all the world.

As long as sixty years ago, when I first started to read newspapers, I read of floods on the Yellow River and the Yangtse. Well, Who rushed in with men and money to help? The Americans did, that's who.

They have helped control floods on the Nile, the Amazon, the Ganges and the Niger. Today, the rich bottom land of the Mississippi is under water and no foreign land has sent a dollar to help. Germany, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain and Italy, were lifted out of the debris of war by the Americans who poured in billions of dollars and forgave other billions in debts. None of those countries is today paying even the interest on its remaining debts to the United States.

When the franc was in danger of collapsing in 1956, it was the Americans who propped it up and their reward was to be insulted and swindled on the streets of Paris. And I was there. I saw that.

When distant cities are hit by earthquakes, it is the United States that hurries into help... Managua Nicaragua is one of the most recent examples. So far this spring, 59 American communities have been flattened by tornadoes. Nobody has helped.

The Marshall Plan... the Truman Policy... all pumped billions upon billions of dollars into discouraged countries. And now, newspapers in those countries are writing about the decadent war-mongering Americans.

I'd like to see one of those countries that is gloating over the erosion of the United States dollar build its own airplanes.

Come on... let's hear it! Does any other country in the world have a plane to equal the Boeing Jumbo Jet, the Lockheed Tristar or the Douglas 10? If so, why don't they fly them? Why do all international lines except Russia fly American planes? Why does no other land on earth even consider putting a man or a woman on the moon?

You talk about Japanese technocracy and you get radios. You talk about German technocracy and you get automobiles. You talk about American technocracy and you find men on the moon, not once, but several times ... and safely home again. You talk about scandals and the Americans put theirs right in the store window for everybody to look at. Even the draft dodgers are not pursued and hounded. They are right here on our streets in Toronto, most of them... unless they are breaking Canadian laws... are getting American dollars from Ma and Pa at home to spend here.

When the Americans get out of this bind... as they will... who could blame them if they said 'the hell with the rest of the world'. Let someone else buy the bonds, let someone else build or repair foreign dams or design foreign buildings that won't shake apart in earthquakes.

When the railways of France, Germany and India were breaking down through age, it was the Americans who rebuilt them. When the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central went broke, nobody loaned them an old caboose. Both of them are still broke. I can name to you 5,000 times when the Americans raced to the help of other people in trouble.

Can you name to me even one time when someone else raced to the Americans in trouble? I don't think there was outside help even during the San Francisco earthquake.

Our neighbours have faced it alone and I am one Canadian who is damned tired of hearing them kicked around. They will come out of this thing with their flag high. And when they do, they are entitled to thumb their noses at the lands that are gloating over their present troubles.

I hope Canada is not one of these. But there are many smug, self-righteous Canadians. And finally, the American Red Cross was told at its 48th Annual meeting in New Orleans this morning that it was broke.

This year's disasters... with the year less than half-over... has taken it all and nobody... but nobody... has helped.

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/gordonsinclair.htm

In the last 32 years, have things changed very much?

Well, I applaud you for not listening to Rush (the radio guy, not the Canadian rock group), but I stand by the rest of my statement.

What a big surprise. Apparently the whole time you were bad mouthing canadians, our provincial  governments and volunteer agencies were offering help and were just waiting for the go ahead from US authorities. :)

What a big surprise. Apparently the whole time you were bad mouthing canadians, our provincial  governments and volunteer agencies were offering help and were just waiting for the go ahead from US authorities. :)


Actually, I have a deep love for Canada, both as a people and as a Nation.

I have also traveled extensively through The Dominion.  I have been to BC, Alberta, Yukon, and Toronto.  I also have a lot of friends up there.  One of my best friends spent 3 years there working on various TV and movie projects.

The "bad mouthing" was as I mentioned, against the media.  The media is the media, us common people can't do anything about it.  As was mentioned in another thread in here, they report what sells.  And in a disaster, stories of looting grab attention much more then somebody simply wading in waist deep water.

One of the greatest compliments I can probably give to Canada is that we trust our Northern Neighbors.  The border between Canada and the US is the longest unpatrolled border in the world.  I have stood on the border between Alaska and Yukon, and there was just a hut there.  No fences, no gates, no guards.  Just a customs official making sure we did not bring anything not allowed in or out.  The only thing that marked the border was a 100 yard stretch of cleared land going North and South as far as the eye could see.  If there was no trust, that would not have been the case.

Actually, I have a deep love for Canada, both as a people and as a Nation.

I have also traveled extensively through The Dominion.  I have been to BC, Alberta, Yukon, and Toronto.  I also have a lot of friends up there.  One of my best friends spent 3 years there working on various TV and movie projects.

The "bad mouthing" was as I mentioned, against the media.  The media is the media, us common people can't do anything about it.  As was mentioned in another thread in here, they report what sells.  And in a disaster, stories of looting grab attention much more then somebody simply wading in waist deep water.

One of the greatest compliments I can probably give to Canada is that we trust our Northern Neighbors.  The border between Canada and the US is the longest unpatrolled border in the world.  I have stood on the border between Alaska and Yukon, and there was just a hut there.  No fences, no gates, no guards.  Just a customs official making sure we did not bring anything not allowed in or out.  The only thing that marked the border was a 100 yard stretch of cleared land going North and South as far as the eye could see.  If there was no trust, that would not have been the case.


Hey man. I didn't sweat anything that you said :) I knew that the canadian people would be there to help out as much as possible, it was just a matter of timing. I look at the relationship between the US and Canada as two siblings constantly arguing with each other. But when the cards are on the table, and tragedy strikes, we have always always there for each other in times of crisis.

 

Well, to be fair, you can't really expect the poor countries of the third world to send too much in aid. They don't have very much to give in the first place.

And you can be certain the developed countries of the first world are going to contribute as much as they can in the effort to relieve the suffering on the US gulf coast.

Canada(my country) has already made firm offers of help:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050831.waid0831/BNStory
Canada ready to help

Aid organizations across the United States and in Canada are already receiving donations from people who want to help those devastated by this week's hurricane in the southern United States.

"We want to reassure the president and the people of the United States that we are their best friends and their neighbour, and we will be there to help them in a situation that truly is without parallel in our country or theirs," Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan said Wednesday.

"Yesterday, the Department of Human Health Services in the U.S. contacted our public health agency and asked for an inventory of emergency supplies that, if they need them, we could send at a moment's notice."

That inventory was completed Wednesday.

American officials are still assessing their needs, but in coming days Canada will be prepared to send everything from water purification systems to the Canadian military's Disaster Assistance Response Team.

Asked by reporters about the effect of Katrina on the Canadian economy- higher oil prices expected as a result of supply disruptions- Ms. McLellan acknowledged there could be an impact but stressed she wants to focus on the human tragedy of the disaster at this moment.

Prime Minister Paul Martin was set to speak by phone Thursday with U.S. President George W. Bush about what Canada can do to help the reconstruction effort.

Elsewhere in Canada, Ontario is looking into whether its medical and hydro workers can help, and Premier Dalton McGuinty spoke to the U.S. ambassador to Canada asking what the province can do.

"We stand at the ready to assist," said Mr. McGuinty, who added Ontario could help with its Emergency Medical Assistance Team.

Relief efforts by Canadians in disaster zones are largely organized in Ottawa, but Mr. McGuinty said he wants to know from Ambassador David Wilkins what specifically Ontario can do.

Manitoba Premier Gary Doer said officials with Manitoba Hydro have also offered to send staff to the affected areas to help restore power.
.
.
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In Canada, Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan said Ottawa has contacted U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and advised him that Ottawa stands ready to provide assistance if needed. She scheduled a news conference for Wednesday. That could mean sending emergency medical supplies and equipment to hospitals in the midst of the disaster.

Later in the day, Prime Minister Paul Martin offered Canada's condolences and said he had put Ms. McLellan in charge of Canada's disaster assistance response.

" I know that she and a number of her Cabinet colleagues have been in touch with their American counterparts and have begun to determine what assistance Canada can offer. We have made it clear that we are prepared to offer any and all possible assistance, and we will continue to work closely with our neighbours as they deal with this terrible event."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050901.wkatrinaaid0901/BNStory/National/
Canadian Forces on standby to help U.S. aid efforts: Hillier

Chief of Defence Staff General Rick Hillier said Thursday the Canadian Forces have been put on standby to help the United States deal with the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.

Gen. Hillier said he notified his American counterparts that Canada was prepared to offer whatever assistance was needed. He also noted that the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART), which was deployed in the Asian tsunami earlier this year, was put on a one-hour notice in Kingston, Ont.

“They have but to ask and we in the Canadian Forces would have it rolling or sailing or flying southward as quickly as possible," he told reporters Thursday.

Canada offered to transport goods in and out of the devastated region using Hercules aircrafts and helicopters. Gen. Hillier also offered electrical generators and drawing from experience in other disasters, like last year's tsunami, he said Canada was also prepared to establish water purification centres in the region.

Canada offered small boats and diving teams to help recover bodies as well, he said.

“Their message back to me was very clear. Firstly it was a heartfelt thanks from their part."

Gen. Hillier said he was confident that if his U.S. counterparts needed help, they would ask.

“In short, we want to be ready to go as soon as any need is identified that we may be able to fill," he said.

He said he also made the offer to the U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins.




And I'm sure in every other first world country, similar efforts are being made to marshall resources to assist those in need.

There can be no doubt that the vast majority of the world's people hold a deep admiration and appreciation of the United States, and have warm, positive feelings towards the country and its people. Everyone feels much sympathy towards those hurt by this disaster, and want to do as much as they can to help.

Well, you can complain about the lack of help from other countries all you like, but from what I've read, seen and heard over the last few days, it looks like the US government itself isn't doing enough. I've been reading pages from the blog Chucky posted on another thread. This is part of one entry:

"Three days ago, police and national guard troops told citizens to head toward the Crescent City Connection Bridge to await transportation out of the area. The citizens trekked over to the Convention Center and waited for the buses which they were told would take them to Houston or Alabama or somewhere else, out of this area.

It's been 3 days, and the buses have yet to appear.

Although obviously he has no exact count, he estimates more than 10,000 people are packed into and around and outside the convention center still waiting for the buses. They had no food, no water, and no medicine for the last three days, until today, when the National Guard drove over the bridge above them, and tossed out supplies over the side crashing down to the ground below. Much of the supplies were destroyed from the drop. Many people tried to catch the supplies to protect them before they hit the ground. Some offered to walk all the way around up the bridge and bring the supplies down, but any attempt to approach the police or national guard resulted in weapons being aimed at them.

There are many infants and elderly people among them, as well as many people who were injured jumping out of windows to escape flood water and the like -- all of them in dire straights.

Any attempt to flag down police results in being told to get away at gunpoint. Hour after hour they watch buses pass by filled with people from other areas. Tensions are very high, and there has been at least one murder and several fights. 8 or 9 dead people have been stored in a freezer in the area, and 2 of these dead people are kids.

The people are so desperate that they're doing anything they can think of to impress the authorities enough to bring some buses. These things include standing in single file lines with the eldery in front, women and children next; sweeping up the area and cleaning the windows and anything else that would show the people are not barbarians.

The buses never stop.

Before the supplies were pitched off the bridge today, people had to break into buildings in the area to try to find food and water for their families. There was not enough. This spurred many families to break into cars to try to escape the city. There was no police response to the auto thefts until the mob reached the rich area -- Saulet Condos -- once they tried to get cars from there... well then the whole swat teams began showing up with rifles pointed. Snipers got on the roof and told people to get back.

He reports that the conditions are horrendous. Heat, mosquitoes and utter misery. The smell, he says, is "horrific."

He says it's the slowest mandatory evacuation ever, and he wants to know why they were told to go to the Convention Center area in the first place; furthermore, he reports that many of them with cell phones have contacts willing to come rescue them, but people are not being allowed through to pick them up."

It's sad to see some people politicising this with cynical attacks on other countries. Just tonight I saw our government has already donated $10 million to the US Red Cross and news services are already asking people to donate to US aid agencies. This is on top of the $5 billion we've donated to Indonesia this year. A disaster like this should and does require unilateral aid from every nation on Earth, but it also requires a far more timely and co-ordinated response from the country in which it happens.

It's sad to see some people politicising this with cynical attacks on other countries. Just tonight I saw our government has already donated $10 million to the US Red Cross and news services are already asking people to donate to US aid agencies. This is on top of the $5 billion we've donated to Indonesia this year. A disaster like this should and does require unilateral aid from every nation on Earth, but it also requires a far more timely and co-ordinated response from the country in which it happens.


Here here !

Australia has also sent over 40 expert emergency response personnel who have regularly dealt with these kind of emergencies.


Can you name to me even one time when someone else raced to the Americans in trouble? I don't think there was outside help even during the San Francisco earthquake.


I dont know about after the earthquake - but every time the US west coast suffers massive bush fires - Australia sends hundreds of firefighters over for weeks at a time to relieve the exausted american firefighters.

Well, to be fair, you can't really expect the poor countries of the third world to send too much in aid. They don't have very much to give in the first place.


I'm astonished that would even be a consideration - isn't America the biggest and richest   independent 'Superpower' in the whole wide World?

Ermm how many States are there in this astronomical Country - 52 isn't it??

I'm sure they are all helping in their own ways.

I'm astonished that would even be a consideration - isn't America the biggest independent 'Superpower' in the whole wide World?

Ermm how many States are there in this astronomical Country - 52 isn't it??

I'm sure they are all helping in their own ways.


52 states? Alaska and Hawaii again? just kidding .....

The fact is, as pointed out above, that we DO recieve help from our friends (and after 9/11 even Castro offered to send any help we might request).  Our gov't probably acknowleges  this help, but does not publicize it.

It turns out that the United Nations, that much maligned and under-appreciated world body, has prepared a substantial offer of assistance in this time of need:



http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=15653&Cr=Katrina&Cr1=Annan
Annan phones Bush to offer UN help in Hurricane Katrina disaster

2 September 2005- Secretary-General Kofi Annan phoned United States President George W. Bush today to reiterate his offer of United Nations aid for the recovery from Hurricane Katrina, while the world body's entire emergency relief system went on standby for a possible request for help in the huge disaster.

As of now UN agencies are ready to provide water storage tanks, water purification tablets, high-energy biscuits, generators, planes, tents, and other emergency supplies, as well as experienced staff members.

Mr. Annan's call followed his statement last night that, although the US is the country in the world best prepared to cope with such a disaster, “the sheer size of this emergency makes it possible that we can supplement the American response with supplies from other countries, or with experience we have gained in other relief operations."

A UN inter-agency task force, chaired by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), met this morning to determine what resources are available at the moment to aid the relief effort, in anticipation of a possible request for assistance from the US Government.

The task force is composed of representatives from OCHA and the Executive Office of the Secretary-General, as well as the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Programme (WFP), the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Beyond the supplies that the agencies are already able to provide, OCHA has also sent out a general alert to the UN Disaster, Assessment and Coordination teams, which are trained to evaluate needs and coordinate aid during natural disasters.

In his statement last night, Mr. Annan said: “The American people - who have always been the most generous in responding to disasters in other parts of the world - have now themselves suffered a grievous blow. I know that I speak for the whole world in offering them my heartfelt sympathy, and any assistance that the United Nations can give."

UNICEF noted that children had been particularly hard hit. “Our hearts go out to all the victims of this tragedy, especially the children," UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman said. “All those who are suffering loss and despair should know that the world is with them."

From Vancouver, B.C. to Chalmette, Louisiana
CTV.ca News Staff

A Vancouver-based search and rescue team is back at home after a very intense time in southern Louisiana.

The 46-member Urban Search and Rescue Team were exhausted, but they had some results to show for their work: 119 people rescued.

Their efforts were appreciated.

"The president of (St. Bernard Parish) got up and hugged me when I came through the door," said Tim Armstrong, one of the team's leaders, upon arrival back home Tuesday. They had shipped out on Aug. 31 -- two days after Hurricane Katrina struck.
"They all started weeping, because we were the first sign of relief effort that came in there."

On one 18-hour day of work recorded by CTV News Vancouver's David Kincaid, they were doing much more searching than rescuing.

As they worked through homes in Chalmette -- a town of 32,000 on the Mississippi River's east bank about just southeast of New Orleans -- in teams of three to four, protected by armed escorts from the Louisiana State Police, they would write a code on the home.

In one case, they wrote 2D in red paint, meaning two dead inside the home.

"If they're there, you're going to get a 'respond,' right?" asked Steve Svensson. "But if there's dead in there you're going to smell it right away."

With temperatures in the 30-plus degrees Celsius range, the stench of decay was everywhere in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the resultant flooding.

To check homes, they either knocked out windows or used crowbars to pry open doors to go inside.

While dropping water levels made their job easier in one way, they still had to come face to face with the destruction of some family's life with each home they check.

"I went to the earthquake in Taiwan and I went to New York City after 9/11, and this is much worse than both of those," said team member Doug Smith, a 10-year veteran.

In some ways, it could be worse: Chalmette could be their community, like it is for Louisiana State Trooper David Flauss.

"It's nothing you can prepare for. It's your worst nightmare, plain and simple," he stoically said.

The team did meet one group of hurricane survivors turned amateur rescuers.

Resident Jim Petrie lost one loved one. "She was a little elderly. She just didn't make it. She didn't.

"But what it did, it put a drive in me to save as many people as we could," he said.

Petrie and his buddies, who are credited with helping save 250 people, were happy to accept a ride out of town. The Vancouverites saluted them as heroes.

After surveying the damage, Smith didn't hold much hope for Chalmette's survival in its present physical form.

"It's going to be less expensive to knock down the houses than to gut them, clean them and rebuild them from the inside," he said. "The entire town is going to end up being flattened at the end of all of this."

The town has gone through hard times before. The famous Battle of New Orleans was fought there in 1815, with the battlefield preserved as a national monument and civil war cemetery.

While the British certainly weren't welcome back then, Sgt. Dave Rome was happy to see the Canadians.

"I appreciate the international effort, I really do. It just shows when America needs help, there's people out there who are willing to help us too," he said.

With reports from CTV News Vancouver's David Kincaid and Michele Brunoro




this really sounds like canadians didn't help right away ::)

I was watching Téléjournal yesterday on radio-canada.ca, and from what I gather, Canadian forces have already joined the effort in Biloxi, Mississippi. Also, the looting was mentioned, but it was mostly about how desperate the situation in New Orleans still is. Diabetics are in need of insulin, people are just laying out in the streets. There are corpses everywhere... etc. I mean, it wouldn't be proper news if people weren't informed about this.

The fact is, as pointed out above, that we DO recieve help from our friends (and after 9/11 even Castro offered to send any help we might request).  Our gov't probably acknowleges  this help, but does not publicize it.


TOO f'ing right they receive it.  :o  I am severely pissed at the ignorance of a couple of posts at the start of this thread having just read it  >:(  Words escape me  :( :( :(

No, the US Government does not publicise the help , and it most notable that your media certainly does not - news stories are full of church drives selling lemonade - kids donating their pocket money, which is great, but it is always noticible that any mention of aid always is focused on what is coming from within.  This only perpetuates the very thing that some of the earlier posters are complaining about.

Can you name to me even one time when someone else raced to the Americans in trouble?

As Powerslave said, instead of politicising it, why not simply do a google search, you can go read for yourselves how 'ignored' you are?  ::)


I won't hold my breath waiting for our "allies" (whom I'm sure would ALL come running asking for help if something like this had happened to THEM) to volunteer to help. :-\\


Just don't follow this type of thinking.  From an Australian POV, there was never a doubt in my mind that we would provide aid.  The same will apply if the worst happens with Hurricane Rita.

It's almost like people don't want an offer of help, so it will justify some sort of persecution complex?  ???

I heard on the radio that it seems now the Australian government might actually have OVERpaid in its contribution of aid in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Australia donated ten million dollars in Hurricane Katrina aid, which is the exact same amount it donated in aid for the recent earthquake in Pakistan and northern India. Considering that the hurricane's death toll was less than 800 and that the earthquake claimed close to 100 000 lives, that seems rather disproportionate.

Apparently, critics of the government in Australia are saying that they gave excessive support to the United States just because they happen to be one of the country's traditional allies.

Well, we did get some help from Mexico.  We got it in the form of heavily armed troops coming across the border, WITHOUT escort, rolling into the DFW area, IIRC, all with the blessing of Duh-bya!  And just what did they do?  God only knows, because there were no other reports after their entrance.  Anyone know?

Mexico and Canada are close, but even though I have looked, I have found nothing about them sending people to help.


I know for a fact that Canada has sent workers to help in Mississippi. I saw it a few weeks ago on Téléjournal.

The whole point of foreign aid is to help countries that do not have the resources to help themselves. We are not such a country. And if you wish all of our foreign policy be reciprocated, then I would duck and cover before holding out my hands, because Vietnam is on their way with napalm, and they're being followed by a sheeshload of angry Latin Americans.