Stranded New Orleans Camps! How can we help?

[diane o'thirst]

I just read on the news that New Orleans and Jefferson Parish are being abandoned. The mayors called a total evacuation and they're turning the power off and walking away. Jefferson Parish suffered 100% structural and infrastructural casualties, it is slated to be razed to the ground and rebuilt.

There's word that the power won't go on for months, like 3-4 months. The rest of the year, in other words!

I'm probably way behind on this but is there anything being organized to help out stranded NOLA Burners? How can those of us left behind in Reality Camp participate, if there is?

[Goddesscomedia]

I hope you guys do organize something. Here is what has been happening:


PLEASE READ! WARNING

Do you guys know what's been going on with the hurricane? Anybody got a satelite feed there?

Do you have any burners there from New Orleans, or Mississippi?

Dudes - pay attention- NEW ORLEANS IS GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't mean to bring you down while at BRC, but an ugly real world awaits you when you are done and I thought that maybe since we have a giving mindset - some of you might want to find a way to help when you leave Nevada.

You also might want to help fellow burners from the Hurricane region - because they have no place to go. Anyone from Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and parts of Florida probably don't have any homes left and might have to face the loss of friends and family. This Hurricane was the worst in history. Aside from losing their homes, supplies are non-existant, and gas prices are jumping to $4, $5, and even $6 a gallon is some places.

New Orleans is not just under water along with the rest of Louisiana and Mississipi and Alabama - there are thousands stranded, dying, and dead. They are saying it's as bad as the Tsunami in Asia except help got to them quicker. Our own government seriously fucked up on this one and there are people dying on what is left of the streets of New Orleans and surrounding areas from dehydration, heat stroke, and lack of medical care. They've had no food or water since it hit (4 days?) and only SOME supplies have trickled thru today. Folks were told to go to the Dome in N.O. and a convention center for evactuation and care - but guess what? NOTHING WAS THERE!!!! over 30,000 people and No buses, no water, no food....and not enough facilities so there's human waste overfolwing the toilets along with the stench of dead bodies everywhere. There were no cops or authorities of any kind at either of the evac locations. Babies are dying and dead. Old people are dying and dead. They finally got some buses in today but it's not enough and not fast enough. It's like a freakin' third world country - but it's right here in the USA! The city is in chaos - there's been looting and crime in some areas but mostly just desparate people. There is no electricity, no potable water, sewage everywhere, no cell phone towers, no phone lines. They have no way to communicate with their loved ones - just the news cameras.

The few buses who have evactuated people are taking them to the Houston Astrodome where at least there is food and water and better facilities. Some are being brought to various other locations in Texas. They are calling them refugees.

Some people are still stranded on rooftops. Kids have been orphaned and are wandering alone - many families separated. One woman who was interviewed was handing her child up so they could get on one of the buses and someone kocked her down. The bus left - with her kid in there! She has no idea where he child is.

I've been watching the news and crying.

PLEASE MAKE DONATIONS TO THE RED CROSS! THEY ARE MAKING THEIR WAY THERE ALONG WITH FEMA. THEY ARE GOING TO NEED HELP FOR A LONG TIME (the predictions are ugly - years) so another option is to get involved with HABITAT FOR HUMANITY since they need housing for all these people.

It's another 911 but with higher gas prices and a much slower rescue effort - so prepare yourselves for when you leave BRC.

Please....take care of any burners from those states!


Just thought you would want to know and try to find a way to help. I know I am.

Peace and Prayers,

Goddess
_________________
Blessings, Love, and Laughter,

[diane o'thirst]

Normally when I see someone on the 'Net say, "Warning!" and "Must read!" I get cynical, but everything Goddesscommedia said is true. It's worse than 9/11, New York slowed down but didn't die. New Orleans is DEAD. Jefferson Parish is DEAD. It's worse than a third world country, it's the Black Hole of Calcutta. It's wilderness. Even the cops are turning in their badges and telling people, "Every man for himself." They're even talking about relocating the city and letting the present site be claimed by the lake. This means, if New Orleans comes back, it won't be for years. I'm sure Palm Harbor Manufactured Homes is going to make a killing...

It's improving <i>slightly</i>. The key word here is "slightly." Three hundred National Guardsmen landed last night, they came straight there from Iraq. IRAQ?!??! What the FUCK were they doing there? Bush has done everything except turn his back on this city and it took an emergency session of the Senate's leaders to do anything.

I'm not going to turn this into a political rant, but I will continue to monitor the situation on the news today. Recall elections can wait, we have more pressing concerns that need to be addressed right now.

Such as, we have an unknown number of Gulf Coast Burners who have been cut loose and cast to the wind. They can't go home because home isn't <i>there.</i> I thought about opening my apartment for some of them to crash but I'm about to go into the hospital for major surgery and I won't be up to playing hostess by any stretch of the imagination. I am, however, willing to help out any other way I can, while I can. There's not a lot I can do now, from here, but let's keep the channels of communication open and help our friends make as smooth a transition as is possible under the circumstances.

[Lorgasm]

My heart goes out to the folks affected by this event. Even the animals! It makes me think. We really aren't ready for a "terrorist" attack here. The Bush team going on and on about terrorists and how we must "stay the course." Bullshit! Mr. Bush, we have been hit. Again. Hard. Your people are dying. HERE! Right now! Please put down the damn "My Pet Goat" book, get our ass off the chair, and bloody DO SOMETHING!

[diane o'thirst]

Was hoping to keep this out of the political realm and focus on what we can do to help stranded Burners, but apparently that's the way it's going...

The current blame game is saying that FEMA dropped the ball. I would definitely concur, and it's Homeland Security that oversees them. Who dismantled FEMA, though? Who shipped the National Guard off to fight overseas? Maybe the armed servicemen on the board can educate me but I was under the impression that the National Guard's mission statement is to stay here, in the country, and defend the home territory, providing supplies, support and defense of civilians in just this type of situation. If there was a call for the National Guard to mobilize, this sure as hell qualified. They should have been in there within <i>hours</i> of Katrina's passing, not four days later.

But no! Even the fast boats from the Navy were going, "Oooh, someone took a potshot at us, it's too dangerous, we're pulling out!" For Christ's sake...you'd think these bozos never been in a warzone.

The mayor of New Orleans called for a total evacuation of the city just hours before Katrina hit. Total, as in <i><b>TOTAL!</i></b> Nobody left. Scoop 'em up whether they like it or not, kicking and screaming into the buses and out of there. Taking someone out of the way of harm is a damn sight better than what's going on now.

Completely unacceptable situation. The Keystone Kops would have done a better job.

[joel the ornery]

I'm not going to turn this into a political rant...

really?

promise?

[RedHotLadyK]

I checked in here because I'm missing my first Burn in five years and like all of you I am watching the hurricane devastation and looking to help our fellow Gulf Coast Burners.

Until we hear of a more direct way to help and you would like to donate to the relief effort, I personally recommend Direct Relief International. They are a four-star charity, highly ranked for their efficiency in distributing funds (less than 1% of the monetary donations go the administration.) Check out the link for more information on the organization. I don't work for them but I donate money to them.

[kmiranda27]

this week has been crazy, and though i am in washington state, my heart goes out to that part of the country. mostly, i have been desperately trying to email my boyfriend about this because it is such an impactive thing that has happened. and one of his friends that went families lives there and she grew up there in new orleans. anyhow, this is the one thing i haven't liked about the last two years of him going, is that there is no way to contact him and i wonder if they even know, if they are in some sort of bubble there. he said he was going to try to find the supposed wireles internet posts there, but obviously they are hard to find if they do exist. you all have went already, do you know if there is anyway, that they would know about this? is there news there? can they send mail? anyhow, it all feels so weird to not be in communication with him and that is tough enough. but burning man is physically and mentally something i could not survive and that is why i don't go with him.

thanks everyone, a very concerned girlfriend...

[diane o'thirst]

I started another related thread for rants about the government's response to the devastation of the Gulf States. Respectfully requesting that we post rants/discussion/whatever there, and leave this thread for more practical concerns, like coordinating a help effort.

http://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic. ... 946#177946

[diane o'thirst]

If you know where your boyfriend's camping, there's a way to get to him (it's probably too late to send anything via the BRCPO unless you want to spring for a next-day FedEx):

There's "Save The Man!" Camp's Playa phone booth. Here's the number:

213.634.1441

You can leave a voice message if no-one's there to pick up or it's busy. You'll need to know where your boyfriend is camping — camp and address — in order to have a message delivered to him.

I think it's important that stay-at-home Burners in Nevada, Oregon, the Bay Area and Washington be prepared to host our suddenly-nomadic friends because we're closest to where they are. If their homes are destroyed, then they literally have nothing but the gear they brought out with them to the desert. They'll be starting life over from scratch, basically. There's also the very real possibility is that their families and friends may be dead, lost, etc. The refugees that stayed in New Orleans are being hosted in Texas, it's up to us Pacific Northwesterners and Bay Areans to do the same for stranded Gulf Coast Burners.

[lurker]

New Orleans is gone?

Then all those people I've been talking with today don't exist?

There's people posting from the FQ, there's been some neighborhhod bars open. There's a lot more positive than the media's giving you.

It's bad--don't get me wrong, but ...gone? Never

[Goddesscomedia]

Check out http://www.moveon.org

They are organzing volunteer "host" families and citizens - you can volunteer to take in refugees from the gulf region.

I hope you guys can offer support up and over there to any stranded burners, and like it was suggested, some of them may have lost family and friends so emotional support will be needed to.

[kmiranda27]

thanks dianeothirst, this helps me to feel like at least i can get a hold of him. i was also thinking that probably people who go to burning man only during this weekend, will indeed let people know there, so i am sure the word will get out there.

thank you so much, you all make me feel much more secure about communication there.

[Observer]

I hope you guys do organize something. Here is what has been happening:

Dudes - pay attention- NEW ORLEANS IS GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was wondering about that. OK, actually I was sweating about that. I love that city and the people I've met from it and in it, and was heartbroken enough by what I was hearing to have read the news stories I could find about the disaster with what was probably an unhealthy degree of obsessiveness. But my dementia did pay off a little, because it brought a little clarity. Sort of.

What I found was that the stories were in conflict with each other, even when they were stories that were coming out at about the same time. The truth is, what is coming out is fairly confused, and nobody seems to know exactly what is going on. At this point, about all that one really can say for sure is

1. There has been a horrific loss of life.
2. Civil order has broken down.
3. Much of the city will be underwater for a long time.
4. Many of those who were stuck are deeply embittered.

Yes, a lot of burners from New Orleans will be needing places to stay, and a number will have lost loved ones. However, it is not absolutely clear that they will have nothing to go home to when the flood waters subside.

What passed through New Orleans was not a storm surge; it was water leaking in from a failed levee after the storm had passed. That might be important, because immersion alone doesn't always destroy a structure. Back home, we had a particularly flood prone neighborhood whose history gave rise to jokes about "Lake Main and its islands", those "islands" being a collection of houses that kept changing hands really often because they ended up getting submerged no fewer than 15 times during the last three decades of the 20th century alone, staying under for days at a time. One had to be amazed that anybody bothered to live there at all; it's like having a time share on your own home. But for all of that inundation, while the places ended up smelling foully after every flood, they were standing and sound right up until this year, when a nice hyperaggressive yuppie couple from back east flipped the homeowners association the bird, did a teardown, and put up their multimillion dollar plywood palace on the ill-fated spot.

The neighborhood is still laughing about that one. "Maybe they'll pretend that they have a moat, during the next big storm". But I digress.

The reason why these houses were able to survive repeated flooding was, because unlike far less fortunate homes along flooding river banks, they found themselves inside a small, temporary lake instead of a river, and they didn't have to stand up to the pounding force of the water rushing past. This is why I'm going to hold out a little hope for some of those neighborhoods. The water they're in, as foul and horrible as it is, is relatively stagnant and the city flooded relatively slowly, over a period of hours.

Unquestionably, there is a lot of damage and a lot will be seen when the flood waters recede, but let's not completely destroy the hope of somebody in one of the submerged neighborhoods (about 80% of the city, according to its mayor). Some of them may well be among the relatively lucky ones, and knowing that is something to hold onto. Let;'s just wait until the flood waters are gone before assuming the worst.

[insert disclaimer of your choice here]

[AntiM]

Structural damage of homes and businesses is not the issue here; the water flooding the buildings is not simply foul, it is contaminated and carrying diseases. Five confirmed deaths from a virulent strain of cholera already, if you know anything about infectious diseases that is a scary forerunner of things to come. Also, the waters will not simply recede, the pumping could take as long as three months; rot and toxic mold are very real dangers even after the structures are drained and dried. Everything below the waterline must be disinfected or replaced, many families will not have the resources financially to restore their homes.

I'm not assuming the worst, but the few factual pieces of the puzzle I do understand are poor indicatiors of people being able to return to intact houses that are healthy homes.

[Observer]

And I would suggest that there's a certain level of bullshit in what we've been hearing. Cities have been flooded before without having to be entirely rebuilt, and I've seen people boating on the lake that flooded New Orleans. I wouldn't recommend drinking that water, but then again, I wouldn't recommend drinking sea water in general, which is, in part, what that "lake" contains; it's more an inlet of the Gulf than an actual lake, brackish from a blending of sea and river water.

Flood water, in general, tends to be septic; the houses I mentioned were regularly besieged by their own fleet of "little brown submarines", the nuggets of mostly disgested food glistening on their surfaces as the flies ate their fill. This fact did not keep the houses from being reclaimed, and the neighborhood was hardly a rich one, unless you consider factory workers to be rich.

What I'd suggest is that what we're on the verge of seeing is the unnecessary obliteration of a major US city for the sake of sneaking in what would literally be the largest pork barrel project in modern Western history - the needless rebuilding of an entire city. Imagine the contracts that could be given out, with a docile and malleable population questioning none of the expenditure, assuming that the spending of every dollar is necessary merely because they've been told so.

I saw the Utah location listed on your profile, so I suspect that I'm on firm ground when I guess that you haven't seen a lot of flooding, septic or otherwise, out in that rather arid state, but we see it here all of the time, and disinfecting a home most certainly does not cost anything like the expense of putting up a new home, even a cheap one. If Washington can afford to do the proposed clearances, then it can afford to do the needed disinfections. The only question is whether or not the American people will be agreeably gullible enough to not take notice of this fact.

Good for George if they don't; the Warren G. Harding of his generation gets to play at being Winston Churchill some more as he becomes indentified with something big and grand; a bunch of people in (probably unnecessary) Hazmat suits scrubbing the walls does not look big and grand, and it makes for lousy photo ops. Good for the developers, who get a lot of land that will be considered desirable once the panic becomes old news and all of those icky poor people have been bounced out, and probably gone out West or wherever it is that displaced people are supposed to go. Pretty lousy for everybody else, and in what is probably a wholly avoidable way, as one can confirm merely by talking with people who've lived in flooded areas.

Meaning no disrespect, AntiM, but don't believe everything you read, especially in an era in which more and more of the media is owned by fewer and fewer companies, with more and more of the stories printed being nothing more than reposts of what came over the wire from AP and a handful of services, meaning that "I scratch your back and you'll scratch mine" carries more of an impact on what you see and hear than ever before. Somebody stands to make a huge profit on this, if nobody calls bullshit on what is being said. Well, this is bullshit, and when, for example, we had Bush calling for the establishment of "new communities" long before anybody was in any position to even guess at what the level of damage was going to be, common sense should tell one that what is being seen now is a preconceived response, one indifferent to whatever might be seen after the flood waters recede. Those who want to dish out the pork or shovel it in don't care about the particulars, but the rest of us should, because we owe that to ourselves and to those affected. What a shame if we're so trusting of those whose motives have been so venal so often, that we don't bother to question authority at least this one time.

[diane o'thirst]

Of course it's pork barrel and Halliburton got a sweetheart deal by getting awarded the rebuild contract, but I'd eminently prefer the rebuilding of a city homeside to funding a foreign war.

If We The People shout long enough, and insist hard enough, this could be the catalyst to ending our involvement in Iraq. Strive to extract the good news out of this whole debacle — and like I said, home turf trumps everything.

Meanwhile...let's hear from the NOLA Burners! How are you faring?

[Observer]

Of course it's pork barrel and Halliburton got a sweetheart deal by getting awarded the rebuild contract, but I'd eminently prefer the rebuilding of a city homeside to funding a foreign war.

If We The People shout long enough, and insist hard enough, this could be the catalyst to ending our involvement in Iraq.

Shout loud enough and insist hard enough that somebody else's home be demolished when it could be rehabbed, in a deliberate attempt to wipe our own government out financially? Sorry, I can't go along with that. That whole "ends justifying the means" business always gave me an uncomfortable feeling, even when the ends are ones that I've liked, and I'm not so sure that this is an end that I like.

Hussein survived at least 24 coup attempts in large part because the West provided him with more advanced weaponry that he would have had the capability of making on his own, creating a hopeless imbalance of power at home. Small arms vs. helicopters and tanks? The Iraqi people never had a chance. They suffered beyond all reason in a nightmare which was not of their own making, for which there was no end in sight.

Any threat from them could have been ended swiftly, decisively and darned near permanently, were the US as ruthless as many on the Left like to pretend that it is. Instead, efforts have been made to help that country back onto its feet, and to insure that the horrors of the past do not soon return. I see little virtue in attempting to end a mission of mercy, especially one that involves using others in such a sacrificial (and manipulative) fashion. This strikes me as being just plain wrong, an attempt to engineer senseless loss in an attempt to bypass the process of open and honest political discourse.

[diane o'thirst]

Observer, don't put words in my mouth. You missed the point entirely. What were you thinking?

The spirit behind my comment was "First things first, take care of your own." I've said it over and over and you STILL haven't gotten it: Home turf trumps everything.

It's not about revolution or politics, it's about priorities.

[AntiM]

I saw the Utah location listed on your profile, so I suspect that I'm on firm ground when I guess that you haven't seen a lot of flooding, septic or otherwise, out in that rather arid state, but we see it here all of the time, and disinfecting a home most certainly does not cost anything like the expense of putting up a new home, even a cheap one.

Oh honey, I haven't lived in Utah all my life. And nope, no flooding in Utah:

http://kutv.com/archive/local_story_010151129.html

I don't believe everything I read. Your posts are right on top of the list.

[Observer]

Observer, don't put words in my mouth. You missed the point entirely. What were you thinking?

I was thinking that I was hearing shameless bullshit, which is pretty much what I am thinking right now. Let's see what you actually wrote, because you seem to want the reader to forget.

Of course it's pork barrel and Halliburton got a sweetheart deal by getting awarded the rebuild contract, but I'd eminently prefer the rebuilding of a city homeside to funding a foreign war.

If We The People shout long enough, and insist hard enough, this could be the catalyst to ending our involvement in Iraq. Strive to extract the good news out of this whole debacle — and like I said, home turf trumps everything.

In other words, you're in favor of taking the more expensive route of full rebuilding, because it will deplete the budget, forcing a withdrawal from Iraq. I put no words in your mouth, Diane, and you know it.

I found your approach to policy making breathtakingly dishonest, even by the low standards of contemporary politics. Instead of trying to win people over to support of your point of view on involvement in Iraq through the strength of your arguments, you instead want to push for a massive and unnecessary public works project under false pretenses, so that when the time comes to write up the next year's budget, shortfalls will force people to go along with your wishes re: Iraq no matter what their own preferences might be.

That is manipulative, and an attempt to sidestep the democratic process, and not exactly a ringing endorsement of your personal inteegrity. I might say the same of writing something like

If We The People shout long enough, and insist hard enough, this could be the catalyst to ending our involvement in Iraq. Strive to extract the good news out of this whole debacle — and like I said, home turf trumps everything.

and then pretending that you advocated no hidden agendas when called on the ethics of what you were attempting. Quoting yourself out of context was an interesting twist, but certainly not an honorable one.

Diane, you've shown yourself to be a pathological liar, so I can see little point in conversing with you about this or anything else in the forseeable future. The very possibility of meaningful communication has to rest on a foundation of trust, even if it is a foundation that might occasionally get chipped away at. Welcome to my ignore list.

[Kinetic IV]

The Iraq war will continue regardless of if we have a massive public works reconstruction project or not. Remember we are at war and a quick review of US History shows that a little thing like having no money to fund things has not stopped projects from being completed in times of war. It's called deficit spending and America knows how to do it well.

Utah flooding? Hmmm...I wonder why they built that colossal pumping station on the West side of the Great Salt Lake and why I-80 and the RR tracks along the South side of the lake had to be raised by several feet....and we won't touch on the flooding in St. George and elsewhere...nope Utah doesn't have flooding. A quick Google search could have shot that down but alas...that never happened.

In any event what started out as a good thread has turned into a cesspool of plonk, attacks, and nothing's being accomplished here. Do the NOLA burners still need help? What can we do? Perhaps it's time to get this topic back on track?

[Observer]

Oh honey, I haven't lived in Utah all my life. And nope, no flooding in Utah:

http://kutv.com/archive/local_story_010151129.html

Hmmm. Interesting. Let's take a look at the first paragraph of the story that you linked to.

"Damages for flood-ravaged southern Utah aren't yet final, but after two days of assessment work, Washington County officials say they wouldn't be surprised if the final number is twice the $86 million they've already estimated. "

Now let's take a look at where Ogden, Utah is located, and see how far it is in the deep south of Utah.

http://www.utah.com/ogden/

Oops! I'm looking at that little map of Utah these folks have on that page, and I'll be darned if it doesn't look like Ogden is located in far northern Utah, placing you on the opposite side of the state from the reported flooding, But I'm sure that I must be making something out of nothing on this point, because Utah is such a small state, surely not much bigger than Connecticut, right? Let's look it up.

Oops, again. Utah would seem to be the 11th largest state in terms of land area

http://www.utah.gov/about/quickfacts.html


In fact, it would seem that you are hundreds of miles away from where the flooding is occuring, and counting on the rest of us to be dumb enough to think of Utah as if it were a dot on the map, everybody in it having firsthand familiarity with what happens in every other part of it as a result of living so close to the scene of action. There is a difference, AntiM, between saying that flooding has never occured anywhere in a state, and saying that it is an infrequent enough occurence to be an unfamiliar thing to people living there, and I think that you know that.

I don't believe everything I read. Your posts are right on top of the list.

Yes, by all means let's dive in with the gratuitous personal attacks, because they're the ideal tool for bringing clarity into a discussion. Clarity about what the rest of us can realistically hope for out of the Bush apologists, the "Bush is Hitler" crowd, and other obsessed, foaming at the mouth political extremists, that is.

What I've found especially interesting about a board on which both lunatic extremes are represented by people in close proximity to each other, is the way in which the Far Right and the Far Left barely ever seem to go after each other, saving most of their vitriol for those closer to the center. It kind of raises the question of whether what we see out of some of you is an honest attempt to raise your voices in support of what needs to be heard, or if this is all nothing more than a series of attempts to make provocative remarks in order to get attention, as some of you go out to build alliances.

In other words, is this so-called discussion an exercise in the duties of citizenship, or is it an opportunity to network, in which the issue itself is barely the issue at all, because people are, in some sense, here to party?

[Observer]

The Iraq war will continue regardless of if we have a massive public works reconstruction project or not. Remember we are at war and a quick review of US History shows that a little thing like having no money to fund things has not stopped projects from being completed in times of war. It's called deficit spending and America knows how to do it well.

Yes, it does.

Utah flooding? Hmmm...I wonder why they built that colossal pumping station on the West side of the Great Salt Lake and why I-80 and the RR tracks along the South side of the lake had to be raised by several feet?

Because the ground near the Great Salt Lake is amazingly flat by anybody's standards, and even a slight rise in lake level will make it spill out over the shoreline? A few problems with your argument, though.

The Great Salt Lake is too severely saline to become anywhere near as septic as flood waters in either Lousiana or the Midwest or other points eastward, and a nearly crystal clear, salt saturated inundation that goes up two or three feet (or less), while technically counting as flooding, is hardly the same thing as a pool of backed up and fermenting sewage that reaches to the rafters. That's the problem with the "google this" reply; it encourages a hasty response that fails to take relevant distinctions into account, leaving common sense lost in the shuffle. "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing", as a very worthwhile cliche goes.

I've flown over the center of that Lake and seen to the bottom of it; it is visibly dead. Try doing the same with Lake Pontchartrain (a mere 15 feet deep at its deepest) or almost any lake east of the Mississippi. Not the same thing at all, no matter how much AntiM may want to get her back up about that reality. I appreciate the fact that you want to make peace, but a peace purchased at the price of ignoring reality is no real peace at all. A firm grasp on reality is precisely what lets people see past the kind of fanaticism that keeps real hatred for its own sake, alive; without it, there's no such thing as listening, and peace ends up just being an illusion.

[Kinetic IV]

Observer I appreciate the recognition of my points....and I admit you've made me look at this a bit differently than I would have prior to reading the thread.

My hope is this thread can step back from the personal attacks though and continue what I'm considering to be a very informative discussion. Thanks for letting me step in and air my views in the midst of it.

[Observer]

My hope is this thread can step back from the personal attacks though and continue what I'm considering to be a very informative discussion. Thanks for letting me step in and air my views in the midst of it.

No thanks needed for that. Who would I be to say no?

I wish I could share your hope, but I anticipate a long slugfest. The only good news, from my point of view, is that I probably won't be in it much longer. I've got some good reading to bring on my hike, a few galleries I didn't get to yesterday and a lot of sunshine to enjoy. All good stuff, and I can't bring myself to pass on any more of it.

[diane o'thirst]

Getting back on track...

I just received this post from the Crafts Biz Connection list. It's directed towards the crafts industry but thought the information might prove useful to displaced New Orleans artists and those wishing to help them.

This is an area-specific charity, not an umbrella organization like Red Cross. It goes specifically to aid artists from the area. I've read about them in trade journals and they do good work, they've bailed hurricane-hit artists all over the South.

[Begin text]
Hurricane Relief Fund for Artists & Arts Organizations

The Southern Arts Federation has established an Emergency Relief Fund to assist arts organizations and artists residing in Gulf Coast communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Distribution and decisions on the use of funds will be made by state arts agencies. Donations may be made by check or credit card.

Please make checks out to: Southern Arts Federation Emergency
Relief Fund. All donations are tax-deductible. Click here to
<http://www.southarts.org/download/Emerg ... efFund.pdf> complete your donation record and send via mail or FAX to:

Southern Arts Federation
Emergency Relief Fund
1800 Peachtree Street NW, Suite 808
Atlanta, Georgia 30309

FAX: (404) 873-2148
ATTN: Emergency Relief Fund


The Southern Arts Federation <http://www.southarts.org> (SAF) is a
not-for-profit regional arts organization that has been making a positive difference in the arts throughout the South since 1975. SAF creates partnerships and collaborations; assists in the professional development of artists, arts organizations and arts professionals; presents, promotes and produces Southern arts and cultural programming; and advocates for the arts and art education. The organization works in partnership with the state arts agencies of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi,
North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. SAF is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), foundations, corporations, individuals and member states.

Alice, CBC Moderator
NCA - National Craft Association
http://www.craftassoc.com/00005.html
[End text]

[X-topher]

I was thinking of starting a project for 2006 that would be photos of burners helping Katrina victims and a breif description of what they did to help. I want to get it displayed at center camp. I think this may get more burners involved, not only to help out the folks in the Gulf region, but also to be part of another Burn project.

[poeticphoto]

I'm from a small town about 25 mins west of downtown New Orleans. I missed the burn this year. I had a safe/undamaged home and job to come back to after evacuating to houston. i was going to post a long, drawn out story about how the media did exaggerate the situation here, but i decided against it... the mere subject of all this makes me sick. there's so much stupidity in america. im not calling anyone here stupid, just... i've had an overload of the katrina subject. if anyone has specific questions i'll be more than happy to reply to them, but typing out everything right now would just drive me freakin insane. to give you all the basics.... i'll say i did drive down to the quarter a few days ago. many small shops/bars/restaurants are open again. the famous cafe du-mont is open. the french market is up and growing everyday. the malls in town will be opening soon. i also drove around some residential areas... it does look bad in certain places. undriveable cars are still parked along many medians, many buildings have numbers spray painted on the fronts of them to mark how many dead were found inside. i saw mostly animal counts though. ("3 cats" etc..) a big problem is the inability to remove large amounts of trash strewn along the curbs. things like refridgeraters with rotten, magget-infested things still inside are sitting in everyone's front yard. the biggest problem i see for this city right now is the loss of citizens... no stores can open without employees. everywhere you look you can see "now hiring" signs. places are offering $9/hr and a $6000 signing bonus to flip burgers for a year. it's really going to bring the city's economy down. but we'll all pull through. it's really sad to see this place take a hard hit... this being the place i grew up. and it being such an interesting/unique city... a lot of people i know are moving until "the city returns to normal". how can it do that if everyone just runs away from it? im not worried though.... it may take a little while, but new orleans can't just be washed off the map... like senator landrieu said to some guy who suggested we not rebuild new orleans.... 'do we not rebuild california when they have an earthquake?'
i wont say anymore unless someone wants to know.... please, if you have a question about anything here, ask away...
thanks for all your loving concern for us N.O. area burners. we love you too.