Crews clearing hurricane debris in Louisiana find human remains (NOLA)

[merh]

Posted on Tue, Apr. 18, 2006
Crews clearing hurricane debris in Louisiana find human remains
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW ORLEANS - Cadaver dogs on Monday led crews clearing Hurricane Katrina debris from the city's devastated Ninth Ward to what appeared to be the skeletal remains of two people found under a pile of rubble, authorities said.

Wayne Buford, who's in charge of canine search operations in the area, said Shreveport Fire Department Capt. Kerry Foster and his Labrador, Ranger, were part of a crew meticulously combing through the hurricane damaged homes before lots can be cleared.

(snip)

"We know that the bones belonged to adults, but aren't sure if they're male or female," he said.

Since March 2, the total number of bodies found in the Ninth Ward and other parts of the city, including Lakeview stood at 17, Cataldie said.

(snip)

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/14369091.htm

:cry:

It's only the 9th Ward. :sarcasm:

[Taxloss]

1. How awful to have been left for so long.

:cry:

[AirmensMom]

2. That's so sad.

:cry: So disrespectful. :cry:

[lumberjack_jeff]

3. Did the government issue an offical death toll? Do they care? n/t

[targetpractice]

4. They stopped counting...

...just like they did with votes in Florida 2000 -- when the results became inconvenient.

[merh]

5. look how many care here.

It's Katrina fatigue, it's disaster fatigue, it's scandal fatigue.

[bmbmd]

6. No-every one cares.

There is just nothing left to say.

[merh]

9. How can we remain quiet?

Remaining quiet is being complicit.

Like the old prison movies, we beat our tin cups along the bars until our captors can't take the noise and they pay us heed.

My arm is tired and I need others to help me run the cup along the bars and so do countless others.

:cry:

[aquart]

12. Silence is consent.

Never suffer in silence.

And never suffer alone.

--family motto.

[merh]

15. What a wonderful family motto.

:hug:

[Terra Terra]

17. A tie-in to not caring

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2232544

"Mississippi's two U.S. senators included $700 million in an emergency war spending bill to relocate a Gulf Coast rail line that has already been rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina at a cost of at least $250 million."

As I said in my post on that thread, this is not a pork barrel project, but a vital project needed to ensure that the coast has a reliable east-west corridor. Please tell your Senators and Representatives to vote in favor of allocating the money to relocate the CSX railway.

[merh]

19. What has that got to do with the finding of dead bodies

8 months later in the Ninth Ward?

Please, I so want to hear your logic.

[Terra Terra]

20. Nothing, however...

It will be important in reducing the number of dead bodies on the Mississippi Gulf Coast caused by future hurricanes. It is a tie-in because this part of the infrastructure desperately needs to be updated, but already some in Washington are balking at spending the money needed to ensure the safety of tens of thousands of people.

[merh]

21. Actually, I see the R&R issue as pork

That has nothing to do with the rebuilding of communities and the clean up efforts.

Just like any other major project under this administration, I question who will profit from the funding. I could see the money being used to help the actual infrastructure of the cities as opposed to making corporate whores richer, but that is just me.

What do I know.

[Terra Terra]

23. It is definitely not pork

If you're familiar with the MS Gulf Coast then you know that Highway 90, cutrrently the main east-west corridor, is directly adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico. There is the highway, then sand, then water. The railway, in contrast, sits about 1/2 mile inland, out of the reach of the storm surge. Highway 90 was rendered unusable by Katrina immediately after the storm and for approximately 8 weeks thereafter. This undoubtedly hampered search and rescue, recovery, and relief efforts. As we saw in Houston during the Rita evacuation, people need infrastructure that can support a mass exodus, and afterwards, relief efforts, in the event of an emergency, and right now the MS coast does not have that infrastructure.

[merh]

26. I'm well aware of the railroad track and it's layout.

Again, LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE under this administration, I trust nothing relative to the funding of projects. The Betchel no-bid contract awarded by FEMA is a joke and a waste of my tax dollars.

The most important thing to date is not - move the railroad, we have a very fine east/west corridor - it is interstate 1-10 - until the Bay St. Louis and the Ocean Springs bridges are rebuilt, neither 90 or the new choochoo track roadway will do the community much good.

WHAT IS NEEDED IS HOUSING and the repairs to existing roads, bridges, drainage, schools, etc.

[Terra Terra]

29. I agree with you Merh

This mis-administration can turn any project into pork. And yes, I-10 is a fine east-west corridor, and yes, those bridges are definitely a top priority, and yes, housing is desperately needed. However, reconstruction plans should take into account future needs as well as immediate needs. You know the coast, and as such you know that one reliable east-west corridor is not enough due to the massive population growth the area has experienced during the past 15 years. I'm not saying that a new east-west route should be priority number one, but it certainly should be a part of the rebuilding plans, and it seems that the land currently occupied by the RR tracks makes the most sense when trying to determine where this new route should be.

[merh]

32. That is where you are mistaken.

I do know the coast and since Katrina, the growth is to the north -- the evacuation routes needed are not east to west, but south to north. Right now we have Hwy 49 and Hwy 15 to 67.

Moving the R&R where it is suggested will put the tracks right in the heart of the area that is growing the fastest.

Should the R&R be moved, it's worth considering, but not something needed today in order to get the Coast up on her feet. Congress should focus on real legislation that is needed and forget about the corporate ass kissing, imho. They want to pass bills that matter, pass the bills that the insurance companies cannot make a 44.6 million dollar in the same year they deny claims to the tens of thousands that lost their homes.

They want to do something legitimate, pass laws that create insurance pools for folks that have been hammered and/or face future storms. My concern regarding evacuations is not a new road where the tracks now exist, my concern is where will the tens of thousands in FEMA trailers go when the next storm (Category 1) is out in the gulf?

My concerns are the citizens and not the corporations and I will take the immediate needs of the citizens over the "future growth" of the area any day of the week.

[Terra Terra]

33. True, but...

"Moving the R&R where it is suggested will put the tracks right in the heart of the area that is growing the fastest."

With the explosive growth of multi-family housing (condos & apartments) on the coast, traffic density has increased dramatically south of I-10. Certainly there are many more pressing concerns right now than the new east-west route, but I don't think that should preclude planning for a gulf coast that envisions future needs for infrastructure. What part of the coast do you live in? I'm originally from Long Beach and was just down there visiting my parents this past weekend.

[merh]

34. The growth on the Coast will continue to be to the north

and the evacuation routes needed will be to the north, not to the east or west. Many locals won't stay on the coast line, they survived Katrina and a storm like that once in a lifetime is enough. Additionally, Katrina and Wilma and Rita proved to many people that evacuating to any southern state is a mistake when storms are in the Gulf.

Traffic has increased south of I-10 because there are no routes to Bay St. Louis or Ocean Springs other than 1-10 corridor and the connecting routes to I-10 are jam packed and congested. Its a great big bottle neck trying to get off the coast and the limited north/south roadways make travel difficult.

Give us ferries across the bays until the bridges are built, then worry about the chooochooo train road way later on.

Suffice it to say, I live on the coast and I know we have more important issues to concern ourselves with and to spend money on.

[Terra Terra]

35. Yes, the infrastructure is a mess

More north-south routes are needed as well. Wasn't there initially a plan to have ferries at the Bay & Ocean Springs bridges? What happened with that? It was a pain trying to go from Hancock county to Harrison county with the only available route being I-10.

[merh]

37. Gee, maybe the talk of the R&R has interferred

with tending to our real needs. That is my point - give us the ferries, fix our infrastructure, help us with our needs NOW.

Who stands to profit with the R&R deal - hmmmm, maybe the corporations, maybe CSX that did studies years ago telling them that having their major railway through populated areas was costly to them in terms of lawsuits and time lost due to speed restrictions. So, they see a way to get out of the mess and the tax payers pay for it. Wow, who would have thunk that a corporation would try to make a profit at the cost of the taxpayers that really need help?

[Terra Terra]

41. The railway issue has been around for a long time

At least 20 years. It would not only benefit CSX with fewer lawsuits due to train/car accidents, it would also benefit coastal residents who would not die in those accidents. Benefitting the public and the corporation are not mutually exclusive.

I am honestly curious about the ferry thing though. I try to follow the events on the coast via the Sun Herald online, but I obviously do not hear all the news. What came of the proposal to have ferries operate until those bridges were repaired?

[merh]

42. You made my point.

It has been around a long time and CSX has known that IT NEEDS TO RELOCATE for years. It refuses to go through the expense of relocating, so it takes advantage of the Hurricane and Congress' "efforts to assist" by making this deal. Corporations are more important than the citizens to Congress. Some corporation has to profit for it even to be considered.

Hancock County with the assistance of Gene Taylor is seriously looking at the ferry on the Bay of St. Louis. With regard to Jackson County - nobody is pushing it. I believe it is a non-issue in Biloxi/Ocean Springs. As you can see from the lack of legislation pending before Congress to fund the either project, it is very hard to tell if anyone really cares. Maybe we need a big corporation to propose it so that it will get the attention it requires.

And yes, in this instance, the need of the corporation is mutually exclusive to the needs (immediate needs) of the citizens along the coast.

[Terra Terra]

43. I actually thought of the ferries as a business opportunity

Prior to hearing it mentioned as a possible state-funded solution. Unfortunately I don't have access to that kind of capital. I figure it would take 4 ferries to run it efficiently. Yes, Gene Taylor has worked tirelessly. I always liked him. Trent Lott seems to suddenly give half a crap about his constituents now that the insurance company is denying his claim. We'll see how long that lasts.

The reason I support the relocation of CSX now is because it is probably the only chance the coast will get to do so. The state and local governments obviously can't afford to help finance the move, and CSX has shown that they won't do it themselves. Of course, there are many other needs that must be met as well. The slow pace of progress is just despicable.

[merh]

45. See, that is what is the problem with our society.

We put federal, state and local taxes out there to rescue corporations and we don't require the corporations do anything to pay it back. Corporate execs make millions of dollars, they see salaries and bonuses most of us only dream of seeing and they have expense accounts and jets and all sorts of perks.

If a corporation was made to payback the buy out or the government money given to them to help them see a profit, then I wouldn't have a problem with the efforts.

And do not fool yourself, if the state/county found that the roadway was vital to the public good, they could use the power of eminent domain to take the property. They do it all the time against private citizens and now corporations have been given the power of eminent domain, through the state.

My concerns are for the citizens that do not get the pampering the corporations get and that have been royally screwed by corporations while congress closes it collective, greedy eyes and keeps their hands out for campaign contributions.

[MissWaverly]

38. It's pathetic when we have to ask for a recount for bodies

Maybe we should get the Greens and David Cobb in on this one, seriously I thik the Green
Party should just replace the Republican Party.

[coffeenap]

7. It is still unimaginable..I am so sorry Merh.

:hug:

[merh]

10. ..

:hug:

[Sinti]

8. You start to feel like it's a waste of energy, there's no accountability

No matter how high the number goes, the administration will blame the victims, and it's too painful to watch the dead get beat with that stick anymore. What can be done for the living, that's the question.

[FredScuttle]

11. Lives in the balance

The disgust just never ends...a city and its people were let down by everyone. We all failed NO.

[merh]

14. We are still failing them.

There is still such need down there -- can you imagine the rubble untouched for 8 months?

[suffragette]

13. This is what they really mean by "left behind"

Left without care, without compassion, without human decency, without remembrance.

What we can do is to honor their existence by acknowledging it and them.

Thank you for doing that, merh.


:hug:

[uppityperson]

16. So sad, thank you merh

I hope, I hope, :grr: :grouphug: :cry:

[suffragette]

18. K&R for more visibility

[phusion]

22. Jeez, isn't Congress, Bush, & FEMA on top of this???

From http://thinkprogress.org/2006/04/17/katrina-song

Today at the White House Easter Egg Roll, dozens of children from the stricken Gulf Coast region serenaded First Lady Laura Bush with a song praising the beleaguered Federal Emergency Management Agency. To the tune of Hey Look Me Over, the kids from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama sang:

Our countrys stood beside us
People have sent us aid.
Katrina could not stop us, our hopes will never fade.
Congress, Bush and FEMA
People across our land
Together have come to rebuild us and we join them hand-in-hand!

:puke:

[saigon68]

24. In their eyes they are poor and minority

They could care less

[Virginia Dare]

27. This is so sickening...

forcing children to catapult the propaganda now. A page right out of the Nazi Youth booklet it appears.

:puke:

[Alexodin]

25. I use two simple standards to measure any government's

minimum baseline performance.

1. The infant mortality rate because if you can't keep your babies alive you probably aren't
doing too well by any other standard. Under Bush, infant mortality in the US has gone up
reversing a twenty year trend of steadily reducing infant mortality rates.

2. How long you leave the dead bodies of citizens out on the lawn because if you can't bury your
dead....well you probably can't do much of anything.

These are just my personal minimum standards of performance but by these measures our government has utterly failed us. Is it too much to ask that we bury the dead in a timely manner and we do better in the 21st century to keep our babies alive than in the 20th?

The Bush administration has failed at even the most minimum standards of performance. Such an administration is therefore not an authority by dint of it's impotence.

[area51]

36. Great post, Alexodin. (n/t)

[lonestarnot]

28. BUSHITLER'S MERIKA.

[knitter4democracy]

30. These are our brothers, our sisters.

This is what burns me most--are we not all one nation, all brothers and sisters together in good times and bad? Why else have a nation-state, if not for times like these? These people who were found at last are our family, too, even if we're not related to them. For them to die and be left like that is disgusting. Why aren't more people doing something about this? Are we all stuck in jobs we can't even take a day off of just to keep paying the bills we're so close to not paying anyway? In times gone by, we wouldn't have allowed this to happen. San Francisco was helped by the entire nation in their rebuilding efforts (although you could make a great case that the same crap happened to them, what with soldiers with bayonets fixed, no planning, and thousands never included in the count because no one fought for them to be counted). Why not NOLA?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

31. Yeah, we can't have the death toll climb higher than the initial 900

:sarcasm:

The week before I was in Mississippi (early January), a crew found a dead body in some rubble.

And I agree with merh about the railroad line. That is hardly the most urgent need right now. The wreckage is being cleared almost entirely by volunteers, and when I left, the relief center I volunteered at was still giving out bottled water, because some people were living in cars and tents. The only help any government agency was providing that I could see was that when the volunteers pushed the wreckage to the roadside, the county came and hauled it away.

Everyone who thinks moving the railroad isn't a pork barrel item needs to go down to the Gulf Coast and see the people still camping out.

[KamaAina]

39. Ask not for whom the bell tolls...

it tolls for thee.

In a sense, we are all New Orleanians. In fact, I just saw that the same thing happened after the S.F. quake a hundred years ago today: the death toll among the poor and immigrants was greatly underrreported. Plus ca change...

[ngGale]

40. So many tears...

:cry:

[tom_paine]

44. How much you want to bet those people are listed as "missing"

Along with the 3,200 other "disappeared", so that the Busheviks could say that Katrina deaths "were only 1000+".

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/01/18/katrina/main1218939.shtml

Monsters, that's what rule us now. The only question is HOW monstrous, in the end, will they be?

Stay tuned, we may have the rest of our lives to find out...