Hurricane: US refused to evacuate Brits from New Orleans

[Bernie Gunther]

Cuba managed a category 5 hurricane without anyone getting killed didn't it? Certainly they were far better prepared and far more effective at it anyhow.

Everywhere I look on right-wing US boards, we're seeing this retreat into bone-dumb 50's racism. It's like they're degenerating right before our eyes.

 

[Bernie Gunther]

Yep

At least 1.5 million Cubans were evacuated to higher ground ahead of the storm, and early Monday, Cuban President Fidel Castro toured parts of western Cuba, which was ravaged by Hurricane Charley a month ago.

source

 

[Idris2002]

I was wondering why I hadn’t heard anything about other countries nationals, normally in this sort of situation we have film of British and other nationals being airlifted from disaster areas.

)

17 Russian students were picked up from a rooftop in N.Orleans the other day. I don't know by whom, though.

 

[Jangla]

Not only that, but one British bloke on Radio 5 earlier said the British Embassy were completely useless as well.

To be fair, I heard one guy saying the consulate was next door but they wouldn't answer the phone - it's next door so why not go round there in person or am I missing something?

 

[Bob_the_lost]

they have shot down helicopters, and killed many many people.

Really!? Helicopters shot down, wow you must have a direct line to the military to know about this, i mean we haven't heard about any of them being shot down!

You are the missing link, goodbye.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

As if America's handling of their own citizens wasn't shameful enough, it seems they don;t give a fuck about their guests either

So much for our special fucking relationship.

 

[Jangla]

Mmmmmmmmmmm
they have shot down helicopters, and killed many many people.
and thousands more to go.
<SNIP>

Shot AT mate, not down.
you're:

 

[ViolentPanda]

Shot AT mate, not down.
you're:

He'll think you're calling him a pigeon or some such.

 

[fela fan]

Only british people abroad who belong to the gin and tonic set can expect any kind of help from british embassies.

They're notoriously snobbish when it comes to who they help. Often they're just plain useless, other times terribly racist, and still other times they look down on the 'natives'.

What the embassies in the US could be doing of course is getting the correct pressure be put to bear on bush to remember through his coke and alcohol-addled brain that the UK has a 'special relationship' with his country, and that british citizens, along with all other foreign nationals, are all equally human beings and should be rescured regardless of what a fucking passport or bank balance says.

But i'm in no way surprised at teh USG's reactions to this whole disaster. It has been known since they first got elected what a bunch of amoral fuckers they all are. Death simply has no meaning to them except for a bunch of numbers.

Their humanity is zero.

 

[Barking_Mad]

To be honest, I would have thought that the problem would have been a little bit bigger than an embassy could handle.

Well they could have at least answered the phone rather than letting it go to an answer machine before cutting people off.

 

[YojimboUK]

It looks like the security-minded US authorities aren't letting consular officials in.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/050904/19/vsbx.html

Friends at the Foreign Office say that's what happened to the British Consular rescue efforts too -- they were ready to go into New Orleans but were forbidden to do so.

 

[detective-boy]

Why dont you stop complaining and do something to help?
oh it's because you hate America....but love the people.....

I'd rather help people who are willing to help themselves and their fellow citizens. Never liked America and the American psyche much anyway - all this has done is confirm my opinions. Let's face it, as a nation you are arrogant, ignorant, self-centred, bullying, egotistical and about three hundred other negative descriptors.

Perhaps you'd like to think a little about environmental issues and join the global consensus to try to do something about the damage we are doing to the world which, whether or not anyone ever links it to this hurricane, is demonstrably impacting across the globe.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

The british turists that got cought up in the hurricane, WHY? did they ignore the three days of evacuation warnings?

The evacuation order wasn't given three days in advance, it was given approximately 24 hours in advance. At that point, the commercial airlines stopped flying into or out of New Orleans.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

all those civilized homeys in that wonderful homey culture suddenly found themselves in a consequence free enviroment.
Mmmmmmmmmmm
they have shot down helicopters, and killed many many people.

Yeah, some bad homeys got some guns, and shot at the police. Some bad homeys stole tvs, raped, looted.

A lot of other homeys stole water and food from stores when their city was destroyed, power cut, communications gone. A lot of homeys sat for a week waiting for someone to provide help, and a lot of homeys died as a result.

Them bad homeys killed some people, but they can't hold a candle to the number of homeys killed by their own government.

 

[quamp1]

Presumably all other nationalities are getting equally poor treatment?

My guess is that those of Arabic descent would be getting even worse treatment, actually.
Here in Dallas, Texas, they have opened up two major sports arenas - Reunion Arena and the American Airlines Center to the victims as homeless shelters. They're already crammed to capacity. (the two combined can seat about as much as Wembly stadium.) Some arab-descent refugess were turned away while white people were permitted to stay there, I saw this last weekend at Reunion arena.

It's sad that in this time of national crisis, all we can do is argue and point the finger at someone else.

http://www.illwillpress.com - click on the "Hurricane Katrina Special Report" if you have flash.

 

[Jangla]

From BBC site:

The handling of the relief operation had been "horrendous", Mr Scott added.

"I could not describe how bad the authorities were - taking photographs of us as we are standing on the roof waving for help, for their own personal photo albums, little snapshot photographs."

He said at one point a group of girls was standing on the roof of the hotel lobby and called to passing rescuers for help.

"They [the authorities] said to them 'well show us what you've got' - doing signs for them to lift their t-shirts up. The girls said no, and they said 'well fine', and motored off down the road in their motorboat.

"That's the sort of help we had from the authorities," he said.

Fucking scum

 

[Idris2002]

Only british people abroad who belong to the gin and tonic set can expect any kind of help from british embassies.
.

When the Eritrea-Ethiopia war broke out in 1998, there was an airlift of expats organised.

Eritreans who held western passports, including UK passports, were left behind on the runway at the insistence of one of the western embassies.

 

[THoG-777]

When the Eritrea-Ethiopia war broke out in 1998, there was an airlift of expats organised.

Eritreans who held western passports, including UK passports, were left behind on the runway at the insistence of one of the western embassies.

Europeans, North Americans and Aussies don't like being treated like Thirdworlders I notice.

 

[likesfish]

to be fair the new orleans consulate is an honuary consual i.e unpaid and being a local probably fucked off out of new orleans.
nearest proper UK consulate is in Houston.
also cuba isn't mostly below sea level

 

[fela fan]

When the Eritrea-Ethiopia war broke out in 1998, there was an airlift of expats organised.

Eritreans who held western passports, including UK passports, were left behind on the runway at the insistence of one of the western embassies.

Normal behaviour from these sorts...

 

[fela fan]

to be fair the new orleans consulate is an honuary consual i.e unpaid and being a local probably fucked off out of new orleans.
nearest proper UK consulate is in Houston.
also cuba isn't mostly below sea level

Unpaid????? Are you having a laugh?