Why this tragedy is really an atrocity

From the October 2001 issue of Scientific American.

A major hurricane could swamp New Orleans under 20 feet of water, killing thousands. Human activities along the Mississippi River have dramatically increased the risk, and now only massive reengineering of southeastern Louisiana can save the city.

Also, if the National Guard is trying to evacuate from a drowning city, maybe you shouldn't shoot at their helicopters. Cretins.

If this were SimCity, I'd reboot

Satellite photos of N'awlins, before and after. My brain's circuit-breakers are resetting, so only now is the whole scope of this storm settling in. It's gonna take...geez, years or even decades to piece back the region, assuming the economy isn't shattered in the process. We've had shocks to oil prices before, but never in coordination with so much damage to the infrastructure and a simultaneous disruption of so much of the American population.

And no, it's not Hiroshima or Pompeii or even the Christmas tsunami as others have suggested -- it's a distinctly American calamity, one all the more tragic because we saw it coming miles and years away. But I'll try to stop harping on that....

"Looting" vs. "Finding" -- Snopes weighs in

Snopes on the controversial captions. I like the explanation, actually. Of course, I'm still wondering why this is being talked about more than the half-hearted DIY "evacuation" of an urban center where 1 in 6 families doesn't even have a car....

grrr

It's the "Things we Hate" meme! Is there a song, film or book that you thought was terrible, but to your continuing amazement everybody else seems to love? Show them how foolish and deluded they are by listing it here! - tyrell via marysiak ( Hate lurks below. )

Mood swing

I am nearing a point of cognitive disconnect. I'm so angry and upset over the stories and images pouring out of the bayou that I'm just going to turn off that part of my brain for a while. Imagine my delight when I found this:

Television Without Pity » House: "Three Stories"

So, here it is. The House episode I've been hearing about since I started recapping this show, lo those many months ago; the Emmy-nominated script featuring Carmen Electra as herself; the episode that's supposed to be the best of the season, possibly one of the best in television history, and, of course, one of the hardest to recap. Should be fun.

And the blogosphere comes full circle

I know what I said, but sweet zombie pastalord.

FEMA is directing Katrina donations to none other than the Rev. Pat Robertson.

Millions of Americans and people around the world have rushed to donate money to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, which is shaping up to be one of the worst U.S. disasters in history, if not the worst.

FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is the lead federal agency in the rescue & recovery operation at work in New Orleans and the Mississippi gulf coast.

FEMA has released to the media and on its Web site a list of suggested charities to help the storm’s hundreds of thousands of victims. The Red Cross is first on the list.

The Rev. Pat Robertson’s “Operation Blessing” is next on the list.

You can't make this shit up.

Also, FEMA chief blames the victims. I think I'll take a handful of meds now.