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Technology In Katrina's Wake
We've had many submissions about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It doesn't come easy writes "From 'the end justifies the means department', the BBC is reporting that bogus emails about the current situation in New Orlean contain links to websites that promptly infect the concerned reader's computer. From the article: 'The separate virus and fake donations bogus e-mails have been discovered by computer security firms SophosLabs and Websense Security Labs. They are similar to previous fraudulent e-mails connected to last year's Indian Ocean Tsunami.'" Less cynically, an anonymous reader writes "A Linux developer is organizing volunteers for a public 'web station' project to assist Hurricane Katrina victims. The plan is to create numerous Linux-based public kiosks that boot directly into the Firefox browser and display a special home page with links to various services. In addition to offering disaster relief information and news, the kiosks will provide basic email capabilities via Yahoo!, Gmail, Earthlink, MS Hotmail, and other web-mail services. They're looking for donations of time and money. If you're looking to donate more directly, tech companies across the country are maintaining pages with ties to respected charities. Yahoo is maintaining the Red Cross donation page, and everyone from Microsoft to IBM has a message on their frontpage."
...this guy?
http://massivewinners.com/mgno/
He's writing a blog from within New Orleans.. he's running diesel generators to keep his company (I think it's a datacenter) running... he has a live webcam and hundreds of pictures of the disaster. It's about as close to the ground as you can get. Truly amazing...
hookers and grits.
Too bad it took a disaster for this to happen. But when you see people dying in front of your eyes and your own government waiting 4 days before really attempting to help out, your sense of conscience grows.
CNN has a special page contrasting the statements of officials about how great things are going versus the reality. Read the article here.
make world, not war
One thing that I'll never understand is why we (humans) continue to put important things in the most vulnerable places.
Earth is vulnerable. We have floods, tornados, earthquakes, hurricanes, extreme heat, extreme cold, wars, famines. Humans are vulnerable. We have disease, murder, accidents, etc. Everything is risk management, not risk prevention. As you said, "it serves people's short term interests". That's how we operate. Long term, we're dead. Short term is how we plan. (Unless you believe in a heaven, then you do plan differently)
I mean, I don't know if you've seen much of the "safe" part of the country, but let me tell you, it's pretty boring. I've driven across the US 6 times, and while I was driving through the safe parts, like Iowa and Illinois, I wanted to chew my arm off, but I couldn't because I was too bored.
Plus, with the advent of multi-billion dollar insurance companies, stuff like hurricanes don't seem as devestating.
I'm sorry. The number you have reached is imaginary. Please rotate your phone 90 degrees and try again.
I feel certain that 100% of any and all donations will go directly to New Orleans.
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
http://www.nationalreview.com/robbins/robbins20050 9020719.asp
HA! The National Review Online. HA!
I'm not a Troll, it's reverse psychology.
Anyway, you are buying the statements of federal officials hook, line, and sinker. Read this article by CNN that contrasts what Bush administration officials are saying versus the realities on the ground.
Here's a snippet to demonstrate your propaganda is just that, propaganda.
Chertoff [Director of Homeland Security]: In addition to local law enforcement, we have 2,800 National Guard in New Orleans as we speak today. One thousand four hundred additional National Guard military police trained soldiers will be arriving every day: 1,400 today, 1,400 tomorrow and 1,400 the next day.
Nagin [Mayor of New Orleans]: I continue to hear that troops are on the way, but we are still protecting the city with only 1,500 New Orleans police officers, an additional 300 law enforcement personnel, 250 National Guard troops, and other military personnel who are primarily focused on evacuation.
Amazingly, journalists are starting to wake up and report actual news instead of repeating the carefully prepared statements of federal officials. Unfortunately it took a tragedy to get to this point.
make world, not war
What is even more amazing is, now that he is in the NFL, he is not like most flash in the pan running backs. He is not demanding to be the most paid player. He even works with others. He is everything a team player should be. Compare him to someone like Maurice Clorette.
Warrick was raised the right way. He cares about other people. It is nice to see when God gives someone so much natural ability, that the person feels blessed and wants to contribute to others.
Rosco: "If brains were gunpowder, Enos couldn't blow his nose."
Donations will go to New Orleans, diamond mining, and horse racin^H^H^H^H^H^H athleticism.
There is a story " Save New Orleans and the Gulf Coast " that lays out what should have been done already and what must be done now. It was written several days ago. Some of what that story calls for is now finally being done. But federal govenment aid still is far behind where it ought to be. People are dying and suffereing. call and/or e-mail your U. S. Congressperson and Senators and the White House too. Let them know you are angry at the Federal government's failure to adequately, timely, and effectively respond to the New Orleans and Gulf coast tragedy. And let them know you are tired of the excuses and the what-they-are-going-to-do stuff. We need results now, not promises. Let them know you want it done now! Thank you.
Oh really?
Chertoff [Homeland Security Director]: In addition to local law enforcement, we have 2,800 National Guard in New Orleans as we speak today. One thousand four hundred additional National Guard military police trained soldiers will be arriving every day: 1,400 today, 1,400 tomorrow and 1,400 the next day.
Nagin [Mayor of New Orleans]: I continue to hear that troops are on the way, but we are still protecting the city with only 1,500 New Orleans police officers, an additional 300 law enforcement personnel, 250 National Guard troops, and other military personnel who are primarily focused on evacuation.
---
Brown [FEMA Chief]: I've just learned today that we ... are in the process of completing the evacuations of the hospitals, that those are going very well.
CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta: It's gruesome. I guess that is the best word for it ... There is no electricity. There is no water. There's over 200 patients still here remaining.
Dr. Matthew Bellew, Charity Hospital: We still have 200 patients in this hospital, many of them needing care that they just can't get. The conditions are such that it's very dangerous for the patients.
---
Brown: I've had no reports of unrest, if the connotation of the word unrest means that people are beginning to riot, or you know, they're banging on walls and screaming and hollering or burning tires or whatever. I've had no reports of that.
CNN's Chris Lawrence: From here and from talking to the police officers, they're losing control of the city. We're now standing on the roof of one of the police stations. The police officers came by and told us in very, very strong terms it wasn't safe to be out on the street.
make world, not war
but wasn't the gas we're putting in our cars today bought, paid for and process a long time ago? Why aren't we paying those prices instead of prices today?
It's called replacement costs. In order for the Acme Filling Station to be able to afford to re-fill their holding tanks, they have to charge for the already-purchased gas what it will cost to replace it.
"we're going to do our part and drop the price of gas a whole dollar until this crisis is over"
Gas stations are running at a loss because of consumer sentiment, and price wars.
A group of web developers at EarthLink whipped up a page last night designed to aid in finding Katrina victims. I know there are many of these popping up. This site is searchable by last name and also includes links to many of the other survivor lists. The site was done solely as a public service...katrina.earthlink.net
Many sites have info on the 'validness' of organizations and how much of what you donate actually is spent on the program you want (such as Hurricane Relief). Easy to decide if the one asking for money is valid and a good choice! See http://www.charitynavigator.org/ for example.
It looks like someone has already beaten you to it. http://apnews.myway.com//article/20050902/D8CC8H7O 0.htmlPhones, Computers Coming to Astrodome
Here are a few stories: 1, 2, and 3.
The Red Cross turns 92% of donations over. The other 8% is used to pay the employees and keep the orginisation open. That's one of the (if not THE) best place to donate.
Not a Twitter sockpuppet... but I wish I was.
Read this article [cnn.com] by CNN that contrasts what Bush administration officials are saying versus the realities on the ground.
You berate the original poster because he cites anonymous sources, then you cite CNN, the ultimate left wing shill. LOL! You should ask yourself why you hate your country so much as to wish for the failure of its noble mission in Iraq.
an ill wind that blows no good
Because tomorrow, the gas station operator will have to buy more gas to replenish his inventory -- unless he planned to shutdown his business instead.
Wholesale gasoline prices have gone up rapidly in the past week. If he were to sell the gas for just enough to pay for his previous gasoline shipment, plus his operating costs and a small profit, he would have to borrow money to be able to pay for delivery of more gasoline to replenish his inventory.
This same scenario plays out all the way up the supply chain to the wellhead.
How many people do you know have a philosophy that takes into account the life left behind after they're gone, or 'life after death'? A space-faring civilization would have to be a multi-generational endeavor, where people plan ahead and work for events to take place long after they're gone, but the prevailing mode of thinking, that I can tell, is personally selfish, life for yourself, enjoy life all you can while your alive and let posterity fend for themselves. Heck, rack up a big debt and pass it on, who cares, I'll be dead then, haha. Even today we live with the selfish wrongs and debts passed down from the past, like slavery, while enjoying the fruits of those who worked for a better future. Working for a trans-personal goal like space travel smacks of some kind of religion, which, oddly enough, is obliterated by a naiev application of the science and technology that would make it possible, and makes us selfish and shortsighted, with science used for ego and hedonist ends and we end up living like animals in the crunch, instead of living up to out higher ideals.
try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
Oh please...CNN hasn't been liberal for a long time now. They're doing everything they can to look like Fox News since Fox has the ratings. I've watched CNN since before the first Iraq war and it's a very different network now than it was then.
In the first four years of "W" I watched CNN waiting for them to jump his sorry, incompetent ass but they never did. They softballed and usually ignored even his most heinous offenses. However, when Clinton was in office they covered every tiny misstep he made in every detail. I can't watch any of the major news networks anymore they are completely deviod of any attempt at unbiased reporting.
The only people who still think CNN is still a liberal mouthpiece, are the people who watch Fox News all the time which is rediculously right wing.
For more info on amateur radio assistance (as opposed to government work) see ARRL.
No worries. Can some mods please mod up my post? I've managed to donate via the american red cross so It's possible for UK citizens to donate money. No-one is telling us Brits this though...
To be fair to T-Mobile, they are doing more than just offering free WiFi:
Following highlights some of the efforts that T-Mobile has initiated to help in recovery efforts:
Beginning Saturday, September 3: T-Mobile plans to offer those displaced by the storm and evacuated to the San Antonio Alamodome free phone calls to family and loved ones.
Currently: T-Mobile is providing free phone calls and phone charging services to those affected by the storm at open retail locations in the hardest-hit areas, including Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Gulfport, Mississippi, which was the first business of any type to re-open in downtown Gulfport.
Additional relief efforts will be announced as the situation progresses.
everyone from Microsoft to IBM has a message on their frontpage.
You mean, "Everyone from (A) Apple to (Z) ZDNet has a message on their frontpage."
The Salvation Army is famous for being cost-effective.
Oh yes, it sure does!
You want scandal, I'll give you fucking scandal - from Wikipedia:
"Through his ostensibly charitable organization, Operation Blessing International, Robertson claims to have spent $1.2 million bringing aid to refugees in Rwanda. His critics, such as Palast, claim the money was actually spent to bring heavy equipment for Robertson's African Development Corporation, a diamond mining operation."
This is covered in Palast's book "The Best Democracy Money can Buy", which is a must-read for every Bush-lover out there.
Female Prison Rape in NY