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DirectNIC Crisis Manager Braves the Chaos of New Orleans
Aleks Clark writes "The Interdictor, a DirectNIC crisis manager, is currently braving the madness of post-Katrina New Orleans. Server rescues, OC4 repairs and live video and audio feeds abound as he and his crew battle the odds with what seems like the entire internet at his back. 1700+ People are tracking his blog, and IRC channels are full to capacity."
Just curious, where is the power for his net connection coming from? He has an OC4 up and running... yet nobody else has phone service or internet service... I understand he has generator power... what I do not understand is what is powering the data lines running to his location... are they all on major generators also?
Need a Nerd?
Nerd Systems
Except that as far as I know from friends that were able to contact me, the cops are looting stuff like gun shops and food shops. Unlike the other looters that steal money (wtf is the point of money in New Orleans right now, eh), and non-critical supplies.
Also, you described the economic side of price gouging - fair enough. Now, IN THE MEANTIME, whilst the supplies are being shipped in, nobody can pay for their foodstuffs. They die. Congratulations.
How about some slashdotters set up a database driven site where people can register to be found and find others? They could list their employer, address, any significant information. I don't have the resources to do this but would be glad to help in throwing together some php and sql if given some server space.
Ok, I don't know about the other church groups, but I know that the ELCA (Evengelical Lutheran Church of America) has *A LOT* lower administrative costs than the formal charities. Remember Live Aid(1)? ELCA had something like 5 cents per doller "administrative costs" for monies to Africa, while that RACKET had something like 75 cents per doller. I personally gave to both the Red Cross *AND* the Lutheran Church. And I'm not really all the religious.
I second that emotion. You wanna loot food after two days with no food or power? Fine. You wanna loot a plasma TV while babies are dying in the streets because of destroyed infrastructure? Two in the head. The Guard / Feds / Army should all roll in there with kid gloves on, whip out some bullhorns, and give the populace exactly one chance to rally together and start saving some fucking lives. After that, any armed civilians should be given one warning to disarm and pick up a shovel. They say no? Two in the head. Refuse to dig in and help? Two in the ass. Take a shot at the Guard or a rescue chopper? Two in the gut and let them roll around in water that's been filtered through a few hundred dead bodies. Infection and the sun will take them in a day or so, and they'll suffer like they deserve.
Oh, and the fuckers roaming the Dome and raping girls in dark corners? Two in the thighs to shatter bones, one in the gut to promote pain and infection, and a gun butt to the face while they're still conscious, just to let them know why they're being removed from the gene pool.
This is America, but if you want to act like it's Haiti then we'll play by Haiti rules.
(And for all you internet "anarchists" out there, I hope you're on the next bus to NOLA. This is what you wanted, right? They'll just looooooove to see you.)
People are going to act badly in those sort of circumstances. Hell, a shitload of people are acting badly in far milder ones - here in Baton Rouge people with food, water, power, and vehicles are beating the shit out of each other over cutting in line for gas. People are so scared of all the brown criminals from NO coming here that the town was practically paralyzed by rumors (non-factual) of rioting and looting at the local mall.
No, NO is not a healthy place to be right now. Poeople aren't at thier best. But honestly, a lot of people here on slashdot wouldn't do any better in the same circumstances. Get them out of there, get some food and water, clothes, basic hygiene in place and you'll see a marked improvment in character and behavior. It sure would be nice if everyone there had come together and supported each other until outside help could come. But human nature has it's dark side and getting on your own high horse about it is just hypocritical.
Dude, you've never been through a hurricane before.
These people have had ample warning. They live on a hurricane evacuation route.
They're arrogant enough to "sit this one out like the rest of them" and now they're crying uncle.
When you're raised in a hurricane area, you're indoctrinated EVERYWHERE basic Civil Defense survival especially in the case of a hurricane. That includes stocking at least 2 weeks food.
There was ample preparedness time. Yes our government has failed on this one. First rule is to PREPARE for martial law in the case of looting and civil unrest while relief workers do their job.
I don't know what is happening there right now but I do know that culture and the sense of entitlement the most raucous lot of the roit bunch are and they have proven that then need to be taken out because civil society doesn't want them.
I grew up in a town deeper than New Orleans and I remember boarding up our windows, rasing our furniture, and evacuating EVERY hurricane that came our way before the sea wall was shut.
Heartless bastard reporting for duty.
New Orleans has been sinking into the swamp for years. The city is essentially a hole in the ground, surrounded by water. You know why the cemetaries have above ground caskets? They're 15 feet below sea level. The hole fills up with water as fast as they can dig it.
If we rebuild, it *will* happen again. And then what? We pay to have it rebuilt again? If the city was next to an active volcano, would you be saying we should rebuild it?
Democrats or Republicans. They are both taking us to the same place and they are not afraid of us anymore.
WTF has the US done for the world other than protect its own interests? I'm not talking about technology, which has nothing to do with the government. I'm talking about the US government's involvement in foreign affairs. List some good things that didn't involve killing people.
The US people are the most complacent, ignorant sheep on the entire planet.
The US was isolationist until the second world war. What has the US done since then? Kill people in vietnam, kill people in korea, kill people in iraq, kill people all over south america, lead the world in prison population per capita, invent nuclear weapons and arm dangerous nations like isreal, etc. etc. The US almost destroyed the friggin PLANET with good old Ronnie and his beef with russia. WTF are you talking about?
What, do you consider "survivor" or "american idol" to be accomplishments?
Ditto
I donated to Planned Parenthood
The site has an explanation why condoms etc. is of some importance at this stage in the relief effort.
Help fight continental drift.
From what I've been told while in Haiti, they wouldn't be quite so generous. :)
Personally I wouldn't mind seeing a pair of AC-130's on "looter patrol". Once word gets around that TV's and 105mm holes are closely related, I'm sure the deadbeats will find something more productive to occupy their time.
I think there are FAR more major problems than that going on down there. People are dying due to being stuck where they are without neccessities-- that's the major issue. I've not lost perspective on this, please don't think that.
People are going to act badly in those sort of circumstances. Hell, a shitload of people are acting badly in far milder ones - here in Baton Rouge people with food, water, power, and vehicles are beating the shit out of each other over cutting in line for gas. People are so scared of all the brown criminals from NO coming here that the town was practically paralyzed by rumors (non-factual) of rioting and looting at the local mall.
See, and that's fucked up. I can completely agree with you-- people are almost guaranteed to act badly in situations like these. But, I can still recognize that it's not right, no matter what the situation. Sure, there's going to be a great deal of situational morality-- people do what they have to so they can survive. You'll never catch me judging people for breaking through a storefront for essentials when there's a lack of food like there is; however, you will find me angry at people raping one another, or anyone else who takes the opportunity to "get it for themselves", like grabbing a DVD player while in Wal-Mart getting food.
No, NO is not a healthy place to be right now. Poeople aren't at thier best. But honestly, a lot of people here on slashdot wouldn't do any better in the same circumstances. Get them out of there, get some food and water, clothes, basic hygiene in place and you'll see a marked improvment in character and behavior. It sure would be nice if everyone there had come together and supported each other until outside help could come. But human nature has it's dark side and getting on your own high horse about it is just hypocritical.
You didn't make a differentiation in who was covered by your initial statement. I specifically focused on rape because it's not essntial to live. Senseless shit is what I'm incensed about. People are out there-- theft of food, water, etc will undoubtedly be looked over, but there's no excuse for just going ape-shit when a disaster strikes.
It's not hypocritical at all to condemn senseless acts of violence, even in a disaster situation, where it's almost expected that people will go nuts. My main point is that in times like this, it's perfectly OK to still maintain standards of decency, but be able to survive. I don't care what's going on, it's not acceptable to corner someone with a weapon, and force yourself upon them.
I don't moderate anymore. Karma penalty for 90% fair mods? Can I mod that unfair?
Yeah, on Sat when they were predicting a possible direct Category 5 strike directly on New Orleans I would have assumed that the federal government would be mobilizing the troops (literally and figurativly). For instance we sent in ships to act as desalination plants in the wake of the tsunami last winter but it took till 3 days after the hurricane for the aircraft carrier to leave New York. IMHO it should have been stationed at a southern port along the Atlantic ready to raise anchor as soon as the danger had passed. Taking over half the time that it takes for people to die of thirst to even freaking start heading towards them is just assanine! I think the scariest thing about this whole thing is that it shows how absolutly uprepared we are as a nation even after we have plowed billions and billions into disaster preperation under the banner of homeland security. If we can't deal with a natural disaster how can we possibly deal with the worst that a well funded and intelligent group of humans can do?
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
I believe Juanita
The moral of the story is that price gouging laws are not there to protect the consumer from getting gouged. They are there to prevent civil unrest. If you tell people you have the last ten and you have ten + 90 hidden in the back and you charge an exorbitant fee for each generator, and a riot ensues, you're directly responsible for creating the conditions that instigated the riot.
"There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge." - Bertrand Russell.
They'd also have some idea how to use those swords, spears and bows, at least. Maybe knives too, if used in conjunction with or in opposition to one of the others.
Just having a weapon isn't enough. You have to be competent with it, and realize that your weapon doesn't replace your brain. If you can't keep your head and your moral compass pointed in the same direction, I'd rather not augment your threat by enabling you to project extra force on other people.
The situation I observe in New Orleans (I don't for a second believe it's that accurate) makes me wonder if society isn't just based on trust and the threat of force. I mean, once our infrastructure and utilities break down, the pressure of all those people in so little space starts to tell.
While I understand that to be the philosophy, it is also my understanding that when applied to real life, those things I mentioned would be the outcome, as most Libertarians I spoke to are of a belief that free-market economics is a form of a religion and therefore flawless and universally applicable with no checks or balances. The resulting monopolies and concentration of wealth would quickly create some sort of corporate-feudal warlord society. Slavery would not be far behind. This has little to do with the ideals of Libertarianism, very much so as ideals of Marxism had very little to do with the Soviet Union or Mao's China. They were merely an ill-coceived system of concepts ripe to be abused in order to sieze power by some.
but somebody must have taught you that all libertarians are cold, apathetic, greedy, and selfish individuals.
Err, it was my personal experience with them which lead me to that conclusiom. Curiously enough, you and the other poster on this thread are apparently of a different variety, at least at the first glance.
Many libertarians support helping others, and many libertarians are filling the government's shoes and helping donate to Red Cross and other organizations. (Libertarians love private charity).
The arguments I had in the past were revolving around the contention that charity was all that was needed and the governments should butt out, partially because the proper size of a government are the dimentions of a telephone booth. Or something to that effect.
If I were in charge here is what I would do:
1) Declare marshall law; put the military in charge
2) Drop paratroopers to secure sites for coming supply drops
3) Do air drops of food and medical supplies (water too)
4) Send in the SEALS with their dingy boats to begin to rescue people/pick off snipers/gangs
5) Send in forward air controllers and ham radio operators- by parachute if needed. I would include military medics as well.
6) Commondere every single bus in the state of Texas, LA, MS, AL and AR and move into the city heavily fortified by military support
7) Use 2 aircraft carriers, park them as close to the city as possible. AC#1 gets used as military command and HQ. AC#2 is used to put evacuaees aboard for food/shelter. If AC#2 isn't available commondere a cruise ship and use it.
Asking for British, Canadian, and Mexican forces to lend a hand is a good idea as well. This might mean major withdrawl from Iraq which would worsen the situation over there but free up resources here. However when faced with helping fellow Americans or keeping the stability of a foreign country (which is close to being on its own feet anyway) I would personally choose American lives over Iraqis.
Drastic times call for drastic measures.
THERE IS NO EXCUSE for the current situation and a severe leadership AND communication void exists. This scenerio is NOT being managed in the right way and once this is over I want to see several independent and congressional studies as to what the breakdown was.
As of noon, the media had more information about happinings inside the city than the FEMA director did! He didn't even know about the situation near the convention center until the media told him. It appears the media is closer and better informed of this situation than is the government. The CIA often uses the media as secondary source of intelligence. Most of the time I would disagree, but in this instance I would suggest that the authorities follow that lead and begin to pay attention to the media outlets as it appears they are able to get information in and out.
DISCLAIMER:
I realize I am not in charge and being a Monday morning/arm chair quarterback is not accomplishing anything but I feel the need to share my thoughts and vent nonetheless.
Feel free to post your input/comments. If you disagree with me that is fine but please be polite about it or I won't respond to your post
Libertas in infinitum
Many Canadians come to the US for life-saving health care rather than wait for their needed tratments in their socialized "universal healthcare" system. How's your little box working out for you?
everything in moderation
According to the Louisiana governor: "Blanco said President George W. Bush called and personally appealed for a mandatory evacuation for the low-lying city, which is prone to flooding."
But the Mayor had to sleep on it on start the evacuation the next morning:
http://weblog.sinteur.com/?m=20050828 In an interview on Eyewitness News, Nagin said his Saturday night dinner was interrupted by an urgent call from Governor Kathleen Blanco who asked Nagin to call the Hurricane Center.
Nagin said he would consider ordering evacuations by Sunday morning and may employ buses and trains to help get people out of the city.
I'm not so foolish to forget that once upon a time, there were no such things as hospitals, housing plans, and fossil fuels. All of these, without exception, are luxuries, and in my opinion, not really worth regulating. They are merely the creations of society, people working together, and have generally benefited the most through those that embrace both personal altruism and and capitalism. When you get right down to it, if some massive horrible event or a simple energy crisis completely destroys the modern incarnations of health care, transportation, and employment, the world will keep on turning.
Regulating healthcare, energy prices, and employment the way you seem to suggest is a bit like building levees around the Mississippi and draining the Lousiana wetlands. Sure, there may be some short term good, but sooner or later... usually sooner... it's all going to break down.
Eventually, the world may get to a point where the hospital is a relic of an overpopulated and wealthy planet, horses will again become a primary means of transportaion, and out old people will start dying earlier. It's not necessarily a bad thing, just a bit different and a bit more inconvenient.
As seen in the Wall Street Journal, Holman Jenkins:
You are as predictible as most USians, thinking that because you are richer are superior than undeveloped countries.
You are an absolute imbecile. NOT ALL VICTIMS ARE RAPING LOOTING MURDERING CRIMINALS. These are helpless suffering people, everyday people. Where is your compassion! These people are left without aid. Your own people for fuck sake. This is the biggest natural disaster to hit the US, and one of its biggest discraces. The rest of the world looks upon this all and are absolutely stunned that the government and people are doing squat to help. Why on earth isnt there a mass airlift to drop supplies to the hospitals and desperate people living in barbaric conditions. You send all these armed soldiers to shoot looters inseat. No supplies, no water, no food, nothing. Shame on you America.
I've not got any hard figures, but i'd guess, given that about 20% of women will be raped during their life. Maybe 5% of men are easily capable of such an act. Thus in a lawless population of 20,000 in the stadium , some 500 men with the ability and inclination to rape exist. And may well take the opertunity to act on such a desire.
I don't like the numbers.... but i think they are about right.
Speaking as a Brit I find it astounding that the response to such a massive disaster has been so casual and disorganised. Why has it taken so long to get troops into the city? I could have got there myself by now!
My spelling isn't bad, I'm evolving the language
But of course, there was no organized evacuation. No buses, nothing. People were just told to leave on their own. Some people don't own cars. Or gasoline. They live paycheck to paycheck. Lots of these people rely on government checks that arrive on the first of the month.
What really struck me is how many of the people of New Orleans decided to steal from each other instead of help each other. It's really sad to see people busy stealing watches, camcorders and cadilacs while people are dying around them.
Equally tragic was the response of especially the Army and Air Force - they did not deploy nearly fast enough. Just the presence of troops would have prevented a lot of the carnage.
I love how all the "real" Americans among us are the first to turn on their less fortunate countrymen when a disaster strikes.
I don't think this is the case at all. I think people are sickened by victims of a disaster turning on each other and stealing cars, jewelry, electronics and other luxury items while people are dying that could be as easily saved from the water as the five rolexes they grabbed. One thing is certain: we as a nation need to re-think how we deal with disasters and focus on 1) making sure everyone has food shelter and security 2) helping get people relocated quickly so they can be reunited with their families and get on with the business of living and 3) dealing with those who would rather steal luxury items rather than help their fellow man appropriately.
Who cares about money and luxuries when people are literally dying around you?
-- $G
DirectNIC used to be me registrar of choice. My first domain ever was purchased through them. They were my training wheels in the world of internet domains and hosted my accounts for years.
I fired them back in July when I moved the last of my hosted accounts from DirectNIC over to GoDaddy.
It was purely for business reasons. But God, I feel terrible for them. I feel like I abandoned them even though I know my little domains probably never mattered to them. Just one of many customers.
And as of yesterday, the customer control panel was still working!
I am deeply impressed with their courage and bravery in the face of the terrible situation.
Good luck and God bless -and keep the ammo dry!
Sig for hire.
Do you know how hot it gets in attics in the south? Water bottles and canned food alone would pop. Also many attics aren't set up with a board floor. Most I have seen have a small section where they can store the Christmas tree, etc right inside the entrance and that's it. Seriously though this is hindsight and similar to saying everyone in the world who has ever been hit with a terrorist attack should have months of water stored right this moment in case the water supply is poisoned.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one the bus load of girls just went down.
You do realize that the men raping and shooting number in the double digits?
This is about terror of scary brown people. I've been to New Orleans, and I know what the attitude towards the poor blacks of NOLA is.
Tens of thousands of people are dying in the street because whites are obsessing about the dozens committing psychopathic crimes. They're AFRAID of the people, don't want to go into the town, and don't want the people to come to THEIR towns.
Every incident of black crime is being amplified and fed back into the fear to postdatedly justify the lack of response for the calls for help.
Obsession about the few psychos to the exclusion of all others is the hallmark of network news, and they are now feeding their fear and bias back into the stew of white fear.
Sorry, but that's the truth.
This is normal, this is how disasters actually are, turn on CNN or search the net for the interview with Jan Egeland on this, he's more knowledgeable that either one here and he said this is how big disasters are - simply because it is unfeasible to do enough stuff fast enough for anyone - and that it always gets worse in the period of 5-6-7 days after the disaster before getting better.
So don't be disappointed in America: the U.S. is no more a superman nation than any other. Yes people within the U.S. and outside, people pro-american or anti, all have some tendency to overestimate the might and power of the U.S. of A. in some respect or other - but that doesn't make it true that so is the case, and indeed it is not.
What you are seeing is a natural disaster, but the important bit is that you're seeing it from a close perspective, much closer than the tsunami, almost from the inside out because of the extensive media coverage and much more so because it happens inside the U.S.A. on the front porch of some of the biggest media in the world.
It's simple: no amount of knowledge can really prepare anyone for the reality of such a massive disaster, so it will always have an element of surprise even when one knows it's coming. The only thing that really can make people understand is living through it or to a lesser extent having been involved directly on the scene in previous disasters.
(Not an example that does the above or the situation justice but it's a bit similar to experiencing a real 3rd world slum for the first time, you might have seen it plenty on tv but nothing you see will ever prepare you for the shock of actually being there which is something completely different)
That being said I think the silver lining of this awful disaster is that with the intimate media coverage it might actually help a lot of people begin to understand if they realize just how extremely big of an event this was (especially in New Orleans).
All this is not meant as an excuse not to try to do better and aim higher for the future, so please do not take it that way - yes there have been failures, things everybody agrees should have been way different.
My heart goes out to all affected.
this comment is provided "as is" and without any express or implied legibility or congruity [...]
Look at it this way: the attitudes expressed about how stupid or criminal the poor people left behind in the evacuation NEED to be spotlighted.
Bush started off on one of the critical memes, the one about "personal responsibility", in his speech. He's the leader of this mode of thought, this idea of ultimate libertarianism.
The gigantic tax cuts, the defunding of the public schools, the endless defunding of public service, all stem from the core attitude being expressed by the "they didn't help themselves" crowd.
It's the cancer that is killing the U.S. The people who hold these attitudes, like Bush, are people who never have been poor, don't understand poor, never will be poor. They are dragging us down with them into a special hell reserved for the very stupid.
And it's not a new American idea, either. In the aftermath of the Chicago Fire in 1871, the worthies of the city organized a relief fund for the poor and destitite of the city.
It went bollocks. They set up booths at which people could stand in line to apply for the charity. The poor found, however, that the strictures for the aid were so stringent that they could't qualify. A current address was one requirement. Proof of poverty was another, I think.
The reason for all the filters was simple: the administrators of the fund were determined that no slackers or unworthies would get undeserved money. They were so assiduous in their goals that years after the fire was out, almost NO MONIES had been dispensed. The fund was retired -- there was a LOT of money in that fund -- and the poor of Chicago went to hell in their own, unpublicized way.
There is some Calvanistic mindset among Americans, brought over with the stiffnecked businessmen from Europe, that the poor are unworthy and lazy and should be denied aid until they get their moral act together. The poor deserve what they don't get, and the rich are blessed by their own hard work. It's inlaid in our culture, and impossible to erase.
It's also incorrect. If Bush had been born to a poor family, he'd have been denied financial aid for college for drug use, would have frittered away his youth drinking and using drugs, would have been drafted and sent to Vietnam, and would be a rummy or dead today. His family's privileges gained him many amnesties from a character that would have destroyed a poor man.
And the same goes for those who espose his views on "personal responsiblity". Think of the responsiblity he showed as the CIC as he vacationed until Tuesday. Think of many, many things that he hasn't taken responsibility for, during his unknown years in his thirties and the years since he became President.
Think of the family and school districts that supported many of you posters, that kept your status up despite your best efforts to destroy yourselves during your own youth. Privilege begets more privilege; your own efforts are worthy, but rememeber, most of you chose your parents wisely.
I grew up on the Texas side of the Louisiana-Texas border, right on the Gulf Coast. When I say I lived right on the Gulf Coast, I mean it was a ten minute trip for me to get to the beach. I can distinctly remember plotting every single hurricane that even looked like it was coming into the Gulf, and I even fled from a couple. There's a road along the beach not far from my house that was rebuilt a half dozen times before a hurricane tore the fuck out of it in the mid-80's and they elected to just let it rot rather than rebuild it. I say these things because I want people to understand two things: hurricanes are not unknown to me and I understand the mentality of the people who stayed behind.
No one knew this hurricane was coming or that it would be that bad. Normally, you have a couple weeks of tracking the hurricane out of the Atlantic and into the Gulf, and usually a good solid week to think about where it's going to hit and how strong its going to be. Katrina was named on Wedensday the 24th. On the 25th, it made landfall in Florida as a category one storm. Category one storms are not something you worry about -- you'll get some wind and rain, and if you live right on the beach, you might want to board up your house, but we're not talking evacuation. Over the next three days, it went from a Category 1 to a Category 5. So, Saturday is about when everyone realized the shit was going to hit the fan. Katrina made landfall early Monday morning. That's about 48 hours tops to evacuate. I don't supposed you've ever tried to evacuate during a hurricane, but I can tell you from experience that it can take you 48 hours stuck in traffic just to reach relative safety. I have turned around during an evacuation just because I was convinced I wouldn't get out of town in time.
Which brings us to another problem: living on the coast makes you complacent. Every single year there is at least one hurricane that "threatens" to come ashore in your area. Sometimes two or three. It had been 35 years since New Orleans experienced a real blow from a hurricane. My home town has had a number of close calls over the past 50 years -- but not one direct hit. After you evacuate from a couple and return to clear skys and no property damage, you start wondering why you took the time and spent the money to flee. Worse, you might run from the hurricane and end up right in its path. It's just a huge gamble, and after a while, you get a fairly large group of people who are convinced that all they'll see, if anything, is a lot of wind and rain, and they're better off protecting their property from looters anyway. Besides, if the "big one" does come through, they know that death tolls are usually fairly low among the population that elects to stay. Even as large as the tolls are from Katrina, when you consider that hundreds of thousands stayed behind, it's really not all that bad.
And really, the hit on New Orleans wasn't all that bad either -- there were people on Bourbon Street drinking in bars the next day, congratulating each other on surviving another close call. And then the levees broke. That's when things really went to shit.
So, there wasn't ample prepareness time, and we're still trying to figure out how to fix a problem of this magnitude. I'm sure you've seen the destruction, so where do we begin?
Most people don't keep any more groceries on the Gulf Coast than people anywhere else. Sure, it's a good idea, but that doesn't mean that everyone follows it -- and even if they had, all of that food is ruined anyway.
I'm not excusing the lawlessness, but I am saying that I understand why so many chose to stay and put themselves in such a precarious situation. It happens. I should have run from Hurricane Andrew in 1992, but I stayed home. Had we suffered a direct hit from Andrew as was predicted, I would be in the same position as the residents of New Orleans are today -- but instead of wind and rain, I got sunny skys and a deserted town and a lot of time to play video games.
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OK. Let's suppose the worst nightmare comes true, the one the neocons keep telling us is such a realistic threat, the terrorists detonate a real live nuke in a city.
Well, then, we're stuffed, aren't we? Clearly they can't handle a flooded city even when given several days' warning. So if some sod manages to cause comparable damage with a bomb, with no warning...
I'm feeling really safe, aren't you?
Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
No rule, per se, but the Libertarians are very closely aligned with ideas of Ayn Rand, who considered altruism to be a vice. On practical level, a vast majority of Libertarians (contrary to what they try to appear at first, you have to drill them a bit) are in fact believers in Social Darwinism and extreme selfishness. You can draw your conclusions from there. Perheaps "no" aid is a bit strong, it would most likely be "token" aid. Not much of a difference. Note that one of them proposed that Libertarian "rescuers" would selflessly charge the victims "at cost" for the water they deliver (and the airlifts I presume). Ponder that.
Also from a point of view of logistics, since no governmental, tax-supported organisation would exist, you would end up with a total chaos in the case of such magnitude as ... well anything more then a car accident actualy, as to render any aid meaningless.
But then political discussions on this site, no matter the subject, rapidly descend into idiotic, close-minded, immature, uninformed flamewars, so I don't think I'll get involved in this one.
That is the charm of Slashdot! Bring ye asbestos underware all who dare to enter here!