There was a striking dicrepancy between the CNN International report on the Bush visit to the New Orleans disaster zone, yesterday, and reports of the same event by German TV.
ZDF News reported that the president’s visit was a completely staged event. Their crew witnessed how the open air food distribution point Bush visited in front of the cameras was torn down immediately after the president and the herd of ‘news people’ had left and that others which were allegedly being set up were abandoned at the same time.
The people in the area were once again left to fend for themselves, said ZDF.
bush’s response, in pictures
Daily Kos: Bush’s response, in pictures.
dilbert
katrina help wiki
The Katrina Help Wiki is here. There are a few tasks to be done:
- scraping structured data
- hand entering unstructured data
- building a web site
- marketing/publicizing the site
For more details, see the wiki.
Katrina Tech Resources
if you’re a geek and want to help, head over to the Katrina Tech Resources wiki and see what’s going on and join the list.
Update: More on Chris Holland’s blog. Also see the Katrina Help Wiki.
FEMA director fired from previous job
the daily kos found out that FEMA director Mike Brown was fired from his last job managing the International Arabian Horse Association:
Well, for 3 years Michael Brown was hired and then fired by our IAHA, the International Arabian Horse Assoc. He was an unmitigated, total fucking disaster. I was shocked as hell when captain clueless put him in charge of FEMA a couple of years ago.
Update: The Boston Herald is confirming this:
The federal official in charge of the bungled New Orleans rescue was fired from his last private-sector job overseeing horse shows.
And before joining the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a deputy director in 2001, GOP activist Mike Brown had no significant experience that would have qualified him for the position.
The Oklahoman got the job through an old college friend who at the time was heading up FEMA.
The agency, run by Brown since 2003, is now at the center of a growing fury over the handling of the New Orleans disaster.“I look at FEMA and I shake my head,” said a furious Gov. Mitt Romney yesterday, calling the response “an embarrassment.”
bush jokes about lott’s house
As boing boing reports, Bush joked about Trent Lott’s new house during a press conference:
We’ve got a lot of rebuilding to do. First, we’re going to save lives and stabilize the situation. And then we’re going to help these communities rebuild. The good news is — and it’s hard for some to see it now — that out of this chaos is going to come a fantastic Gulf Coast, like it was before. Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott’s house — he’s lost his entire house — there’s going to be a fantastic house. And I’m looking forward to sitting on the porch. (Laughter.)
bush, cheney, rice vacation while NOLA floods
what do you do in the face of one of the greatest natural disasters in the history of your country? go shoe shopping:
The criticism is all the sharper because the President did nothing to alter his holiday schedule for 48 hours. Vice-President Dick Cheney remains on holiday in Wyoming. Condoleezza Rice, the Secretary of State, returned to Washington after being seen shopping for $7,000 shoes in Manhattan as New Orleans went under.
Nero fiddled while Rome burned
Unbelievable…. President Bush plays a guitar presented to him by Country Singer Mark Wills, right, backstage following his visit to Naval Base Coronado, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005. Bush visited the base to deliver remarks on V-J Commemoration Day. (AP Photo/ABC News, Martha Raddatz)
Downloading iChat is a felony?
Kutztown, Pa. school district: Downloading iChat is a felony – IO ERROR
Thirteen high school students in Kutztown, Pa., have been charged with computer trespass, a third degree felony, for simply trying to use the laptops the school district forced on them.