The coverage about Hurricane Katrina and the desastrous reponse – or to say better – initial lack of it and slow start stirred up even conservative politicians and media, reading through the net last night really surprised me.
What I don’t understand is how the U.S. government could fail in responding to this catastrophy? After 911, there must have been myriads of people thinking about what could happen to America and how to prevent it or act. In 2001 a scenario like what happened in NOLA was mentioned among the top three dangers to America. There’s a lot of coverage at CNN, but the really interesting information is in the blogosphere. Take Metafilter, Dailykos, Boing Boing and Crooks and Liars. The latter also publishes excerpts from U.S. television media.
There’s information which is hard to believe, like this, this, this, this or this.
One thing about the story over at Dailykos: This is an important sign for so many people all over the world, not only in the U.S., people in Europe and elsewhere who talked angrily about and repeated so many times about high levels Anti-Americanism everywhere: America is in distress and dire need of help. According to many people involved, like New Orleans Major Ray Nagin, the US government is moving far too slow, but a long list of countries all over the world, even Cuba, which has not the best relations to the US, offered help, countries like Sri Lanka, Jamaica and Afghanistan (!), which are not among the well-off themselves, offered help, immediate neighbors like Canada and Mexico as well as the United Nations and Europe, OAS and WHO, China, Japan, India and South Korea are offering all kinds of help. When people are dying, it is not important whether the victims are black or white, rich or poor, what nationality they are, people from all corners of the world rush to help and grant relief. Does it matter that the US government is not popular? No, right now it doesn’t, not at all, right now the only thing that is important is to get clean water and food, clothing, transportation etc. whereever it is needed. Quick:
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