Archive for August, 2005
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina has become the singlemost worst disaster of the 20th and 21st Ceutury in America. An entire culture has been destroyed and displaced. Hundreds of Thousands of families in America are suddenly unemplyed, Homeless and without any personal property. Your help is desperately needed. Please Donate! either through America’sBlood.com, via our sister site FatherStorm.com or through the Red Cross. Please help,. do something. The world stepped up to help the Tsunami victims, can we do any less for Americans?
Folks, what makes me abosutely mad and saddens me deeply is to see, how corporate America is holding on to every Dollar they have while increasing their profit margins. To hear that WalMart and the likes dish out a Million bucks for Katrina victims while making hundreds of Millions of profits off the very same people makes me puke. To hear that the Texas Rangers with their tax built stadium write a 10 000 Dollar check is a joke and a slap in the face. That none of the record Billion making oil companies return some of their incredible fortunes made via price fixing and monopolistic strategies is an insult to every human being. Movie stars now get their faces on TV and in the press again by giving some money, which they got from the public anyway, while having again the public support "their" great cause. Nothing but disgusting photo opportunities for overpaid entertainment clowns.
"America the richest country in the world" my ass !!!!!!!
80% of the net value in the hands of 6% of the population. Where are the 6% who could build a new New Orleans and Biloxi without having to tighten their belts ?
Where are the CEOs of GM or Ford, GE, Boeing, Raytheon, SWB etc. etc. , that make 20 Million a year and pay themselves another 50 or 70 Million bonus every year while firing tens of thousands of employees to maintain positive cash flow ?
These Cretins are nowhere to be found. They’re keeping a very low profile while enjoying a luxury cruise in the Mediterranean or are island hopping in the Caribbean.
Who is paying ? The ordinary tax payer, people donating coins, 10 and 20 Dollar bills to the Red Cross. People that, in light of steadily increasing cost of living, still share with the less fortunate. People who raid their pantries to take out whatever they can and bring the few canned goods to shelters. People that share a loaf of bread while worrying about their next trip to the gas station and if they will still be able to get to work without starving.
I keep following the news and ask myself which FUCKING country is able to do THIS to their people. Which FUCKING country appears to be the only one with a steadily increasing poverty rate ? Which FUCKING country discriminates against the poor and minorities.
This FUCKING country my friends, under the leadership of creatures like Bush and the likes, in the hand of blood sucking corporations is on the way out.
This FUCKING country with a crime rate unmatched anywhere in the civilized world will eliminate itself within a generation.
The fortunes of this country are built on modern time slavery and exploitation, ruthlessness, cheating, lying and debt of the masses, future generations will not be able to pay off. This country is being sold out and is being given away to increase the wealth of very few.
And just now…..on the news……. Bush said that "God should bless this country"; he’d better ask that God help this country.
I am very much a capitalist as well, but I do believe in fairness. I believe in capitalistic principles but not in the crime committed by the US government and their protected large corporations.
And now, if you don’t like my language above…..fire me !
Hans……….pissed like never before in my life and believing even more now, that living in this shit hole is the biggest mistake I have ever made. Every third World country appears to be a better choice than this.
"HURRICANE REPORT "Problem Loading? CLICK HERE!
The world DOES want to help, irregardless of the wishes of our President!
http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/wwl090105usgetshelp.16cbe69d.html
From MichaelMoore.com
Wednesday, August 31st, 2005
THE BOWL
When the Levee Breaks:
"It appears that the money has been moved in the president’s budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I suppose that’s the price we pay. Nobody locally is happy that the levees can’t be finished, and we are doing everything we can to make the case that this is a security issue for us."
– Walter Maestri, emergency management chief for Jefferson Parish, Louisiana; New Orleans Times-Picayune, June 8, 2004.
Here’s the Story of a Hurricane:
The Gulf Coast wetlands form a "natural buffer that helps protect New Orleans from storms," slowing hurricanes down as they approach from sea. When he came into office, President Bush pledged to uphold the "no net loss" wetland policy his father initiated. He didn’t keep his word. Bush rolled back tough wetland policies set by the Clinton administration, ordering federal agencies "to stop protecting as many as 20 million acres of wetlands and an untold number of waterways nationwide." Last year, four environmental groups issued a joint report showing that administration policies had allowed "developers to drain thousands of acres of wetlands."
Flood Control:
Decades of flood-control efforts to protect New Orleans and other places, combined with the region’s huge oil and gas investments, have contributed heavily to the destruction of coastal wetlands that can help tame the fury of storms like Hurricane Katrina, say scientists and government officials.
Louisiana’s governor says everyone must leave New Orleans as Day Two gets worse. The refugees currently in the Superdome will be sent temporarily to Houston’s Astrodome.
President Bush — who is almost done with his vacation (he’ll be back at the White House late this afternoon) — will release oil from America’s strategic reserves.
The Mayor of New Orleans says there are too many people giving orders. The levee breach that allowed the lake to spill into the city’s business district was supposed to be sandbagged yesterday but it never happened:
According to the mayor, Black Hawk helicopters were scheduled to pick up and drop massive 3,000-pound sandbags in the 17th Street Canal breach, but were diverted on rescue missions. Nagin said neglecting to fix the problem has set the city behind by at least a month. Wednesday, August 31st, 2005THE BOWLWhen the Levee Breaks: "It appears that the money has been moved in the president’s budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I suppose that’s the price we pay. Nobody locally is happy that the levees can’t be finished, and we are doing everything we can to make the case that this is a security issue for us." — Walter Maestri, emergency management chief for Jefferson Parish, Louisiana; New Orleans Times-Picayune, June 8, 2004. Here’s the Story of a Hurricane: The Gulf Coast wetlands form a "natural buffer that helps protect New Orleans from storms," slowing hurricanes down as they approach from sea. When he came into office, President Bush pledged to uphold the "no net loss" wetland policy his father initiated. He didn’t keep his word. Bush rolled back tough wetland policies set by the Clinton administration, ordering federal agencies "to stop protecting as many as 20 million acres of wetlands and an untold number of waterways nationwide." Last year, four environmental groups issued a joint report showing that administration policies had allowed "developers to drain thousands of acres of wetlands." Flood Control: Decades of flood-control efforts to protect New Orleans and other places, combined with the region’s huge oil and gas investments, have contributed heavily to the destruction of coastal wetlands that can help tame the fury of storms like Hurricane Katrina, say scientists and government officials. Louisiana’s governor says everyone must leave New Orleans as Day Two gets worse. The refugees currently in the Superdome will be sent temporarily to Houston’s Astrodome. President Bush — who is almost done with his vacation (he’ll be back at the White House late this afternoon) — will release oil from America’s strategic reserves. The Mayor of New Orleans says there are too many people giving orders. The levee breach that allowed the lake to spill into the city’s business district was supposed to be sandbagged yesterday but it never happened: According to the mayor, Black Hawk helicopters were scheduled to pick up and drop massive 3,000-pound sandbags in the 17th Street Canal breach, but were diverted on rescue missions. Nagin said neglecting to fix the problem has set the city behind by at least a month.
Racial Profiling in Traffic stops? No such thing
Contacts between Police and the Public: Findings from the 2002 National Survey
Admitting the truth may be hazardous to your health, as can be seen in the following article from the New York Times which reads in part
as well as reported at BlackAmericaWeb,
The likelihood of being stopped by police in 2002 did not differ significantly between white (8.7%), black (9.1%), and Hispanic 8.6%) drivers. The 2002 PPCS uncovered evidence of black drivers’ having worse experiences – more likely to be arrested, more likely to be searched, more likely to have force used against them — during traffic stops than white drivers.
Below are a few excerpts, the entire study can be viewed at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/cpp02.htm while it lasts or click here for the pdf
- During the traffic stop, police were more likely to carry out some type of search on a male (7.1%) than a female (1.8%), and more likely to carry out some type of search on a black (10.2%) or Hispanic (11.4%) than a white (3.5%). Among those who had contact with police, blacks (3.5%) and Hispanics (2.5%) were more likely than whites (1.1%) to experience police threat or use of force during the contact.
- The vast majority of blacks stopped by police (73%) felt they had been stopped for a legitimate reason. Nevertheless, blacks were less likely than whites (86%) and somewhat less likely than Hispanics (82%) to say the police had a legitimate reason for stopping them.
- Compared to black drivers (18.3%), Hispanic drivers (18.2%), and drivers of other races (20.3%), white drivers (27.4%) were more likely to be issued a warning during a traffic stop.
- Blacks (5.8%) and Hispanics (5.2%) stopped by police were more likely than whites (2%) to be arrested.
- Blacks were 11% of drivers stopped by police but 23.8% of drivers who were arrested, and Hispanics were 9.5% of stopped drivers but 18.4% of those arrested. Whites were 76.5% of stopped motorists and 58% of drivers arrested.
- Blacks (6.4%) and Hispanics (5.6%) stopped by police were more likely than whites (2%) to be handcuffed.
- During a traffic stop in 2002, police were more likely to use force against a black (2.7%) or Hispanic (2.4%) driver than a white (0.8%) driver.
- Black drivers (2.5%) stopped by police were significantly more likely than stopped white drivers (0.7%) to say that police used excessive force against them.
- Of the nearly 12.8 million white drivers stopped by police, 90% felt police had behaved properly during the traffic stop. That compares to 78% of the 1.9 million black drivers and 85% of the 1.6 million Hispanic drivers stopped. Though vast majorities of blacks and Hispanics felt police had behaved properly, black and Hispanic drivers were less likely than white drivers to hold that opinion.
- One definition of racial profiling is “using race as a key factor in deciding whether to make a traffic stop.” Another definition is “using race as a key factor in deciding whether, during a traffic stop, to search the vehicle or the driver.” Survey findings reported above indicated the following about the likelihood of searches and the race or Hispanic origin of the driver:
- 1. Black (10.2%) and Hispanic (11.4%) motorists stopped by police were more likely than whites (3.5%) to be physically searched or to have their vehicle searched.
- 2. Black (8.1%) and Hispanic (8.3%) motorists were more likely than white (2.5%) motorists to be subjected to a physical search of the driver.
- 3. Police were more likely to search a vehicle driven by a black (7.1%) or Hispanic (10.1%) than by a white (2.9%).
- 1. Black (10.2%) and Hispanic (11.4%) motorists stopped by police were more likely than whites (3.5%) to be physically searched or to have their vehicle searched.
- Searches (physical or vehicle) of black drivers (58.6%) were more likely to be without consent than searches of white drivers (39.1%).
- Searches of black drivers or their vehicles were less likely to find criminal evidence (3.3%) than searches of white drivers (14.5%), and somewhat less likely than searches of Hispanic drivers (13%).
- Whites comprised 76.7% of all persons with a police contact, blacks 11%, and Hispanics 9.3%. About 56% of those experiencing force were white, 26% black, and 15.5% Hispanic.
- The vast majority (87.3%) of the persons involved in police-use-of-force incidents felt the police acted improperly. There was some indication that blacks (93.5%) and Hispanics (94.6%) were more likely than whites (83.2%) to contend that the police acted improperly.
