Man, sad segment earlier on CNN about a trapped hospital in New Orleans that who's remaining medical staff and patients are stuck with no running water or power, and the food supply is about over. Dr. Gupta(the network's medical correspondent) flat out told of how people at the hospital keep asking other this:

"If journalists and reporters can easily come down here, then why hasn't the National Guard come in yet?"

Of course, sporadic visits from the Guard have come, but ususally the location seems to be on its own, and of course the fear of having to deal with the armed bands of looters roaming the city.

DonMichael is right.

I've been checking conservative-political blogs, and really...from what I've seen, there is a backlash in general at the Federal and state governments for their lack/speed of response.

Speaking of which...http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2005-09-01-jay-z-diddy-donation_x.htm

Rappers Jay-Z and "Vote or Die" himself Diddy have donated $1 million to the Red Cross.

Of course last night, Falcons running-back Warrick Dunn pretty much asked all NFL players, save obviously for the Saints, to donate at least $5,000. A true class act...

Don Cardi, yes you are right about Bush can't get re-elected again. However, his administration had been in a rut recently before Katrina which has stalled their attempts to revamp Social Security, among other things.

Oh and Patrick, I kinda agree with you. If Bush simply tours the damage with his guaranteed-small army of military/Secret Service guards and then leaves...I'll be pretty disapointed.

NBC leads off hurricane benefits

By Jim Cheng, USA TODAY

NBC and its sibling networks will air a live benefit concert Friday for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

A Concert for Hurricane Relief will air in high-definition on NBC, MSNBC and CNBC at 8 p.m. ET/tape PT.

The telethon will feature artists with ties to the affected region, including Tim McGraw, Harry Connick Jr. and Wynton Marsalis as well as celebrities, including actor Leonardo DiCaprio. More artists will be added.

The concert, hosted by Matt Lauer, will originate from NBC's studios in New York.

Viewers will be encouraged to donate to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund through its Web site and hotline (www.redcross.org and 800-HELPNOW).

MTV Networks is planning a live concert Sept. 10 from locations in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Nashville. The roster includes Ludacris, Green Day, Gretchen Wilson, Usher, Alicia Keys, John Mellencamp, Rob Thomas and the Dave Matthews Band. The special will air on MTV, VH1 and CMT and on MTV's broadband networks.

Also lending support:

• Morgan Freeman is helping organize an online auction that will open Friday on the Charity Folks auction site (www.charityfolks.com) and run until Sept. 16. Proceeds will go to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

• The Dave Matthews Band will add a concert Sept. 12 to its stint at Denver's Red Rocks. Proceeds will go to hurricane relief, Billboard.com says.

• Russell Simmons, BET and the National Urban League will announce details today for a telethon Sept. 9 on BET (7:30 p.m. ET/tape PT).

• Rap producer Master P, whose parents and other relatives live in New Orleans, was making plans Wednesday for a relief program.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2005-08-31-katrina-benefits_x.htm

Anyway, nice article about displaced college students(like me and many of you here at BB.Net) that had to flee and go somewhere else....

http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/09/01/katrina.colleges.ap/index.html

Due to the way people are acting firing guns at national guards and all that I HIGHLY doubt the President will have that much space to roam around and do everything. The secret service is in charge of where he goes and where he doesn't go, the second they feel it is not safe enough they will pull him out.

Due to the way people are acting firing guns at national guards and all that I HIGHLY doubt the President will have that much space to roam around and do everything. The secret service is in charge of where he goes and where he doesn't go, the second they feel it is not safe enough they will pull him out. [/b][/quote]That is a pure bullshit excuse DMC. His ass shouldn't be in there touring in the first place if it's too dangerous. They think he's safe in a chopper? A national guardsmen was shot IN a helicopter yesterday. Bush shouldn't even be in there yet. All he is doing is taking up the time of people who could be stopping the looting and rescuing people.

Jerry Lewis has announced a plan to raise money through his labor day palsey telethon for the Hurricane Relief.

Don Cardi

I will post this then you can respond and we'll drop it. He is not taking up anyone's time except the Secret Service who would be with him anyway, and they are not going to be taking him over the "war zones" so he won't be anywhere near where the people were shot down.

Ellen Degenerous (I can't spell) just donated 1.5 million to the fund as well.

edit: I miss read that she plans to raise 1.5 million

Cardi, that is good news indeed!

"Tagliabue, who announced on Wednesday that the NFL was donating $1 million to the recovery effort, added that the emphasis should be the total recovery of the region hit by the hurricane."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9148428/

Can we at least try to kkep this thread clear of political arguements and debates? There are other threads for that stuff. Let's try and keep this one focused on talking about the disaster itself. I think that we all have feelings and emotions running wild right now because of what we are seeing and the hurt that we are all feeling for these people.


Don Cardi

Hillary Duff donated 250,000 which is enough for 300,000 cans of food

He still shouldn't be there at this time.

Comcast is giving 10 million of advertising time and 50,000 in cash.

Still waiting on some of these pro athletes who are "for the fans"

Stars Give Millions to Aid Katrina Victims

Thursday Sep 01, 2005 8:05am EST
Friday Sep 02, 2005 8:45am EST (updated)
By Stephen M. Silverman

With the Gulf Coast crisis continuing to mount, the American Red Cross has received $1 million donations from Nicolas Cage, Celine Dion, and similar pledges from Sean "Diddy" Combs and Jay-Z.

"When I turn on CNN, I see a lot of black people on the streets," Jay-Z tells the Associated Press. "I know it's other people too, but those projects have been hit hard." He and Combs announced their joint donation Thursday, saying they hoped to inspire others, especially African Americans, to give.

"This is our community," says Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter. Combs concurs: "We are all descendants from each other's families. When you hear black people say 'brothers' and 'sisters,' it's really true. These are all people that I know I'm related to somehow, some way – the human race family."

Jay-Z said he had put in calls to NBA star LeBron James and rapper Kanye West for donations.

Dion's donation, made with the partners of her "A New Day" Las Vegas show, went to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

In the telethon department, the six major networks are planning a joint live broadcast similar to the "America: A Tribute to Heroes" held in 2001, a week after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. That event nearly four years ago drew nearly 90 million viewers and raised more than $100 million for victims.

Meanwhile, NBC, MSNBC and CNBC will simulcast "A Concert for Hurricane Relief" in high-definition live from Rockefeller Center Friday night, with viewers encouraged to donate to the American Red Cross disaster Relief Fund.

To be hosted by Today show anchor Matt Lauer, the special (which will be tape-delayed for West Coast viewers) will feature performances from Faith Hill, Aaron Neville, Tim McGraw, Wynton Marsalis and Harry Connick Jr., and appearances from Mike Myers, Hilary Swank, Lindsay Lohan, Eli Manning, John Goodman and Leonardo DiCaprio.

"I am heartbroken by the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in my home state," McGraw, who was born in Delhi, La., said in a statement.

Connick, a New Orleans favorite son, expressed his sorrow over his hometown's devastation. Critical of the rescue efforts, Connick said on Friday's Today show: "How hard is it to bring a truck with bottles of water over to the convention center?" He said he's doing all he can to make people aware of the situation, "but I'm a musician. What can I do?"

MTV and its sister music cable channels VH1 and CMT also announced that their live benefit program will air Saturday with hook-ups to performers in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Nashville. They are, so far, set to include Green Day, Usher, Rob Thomas and Alicia Keys.

Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman, whose Mississippi Delta home received only rain and high winds, helped organize an online auction to raise funds for the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

Maintaining the momentum, BET has announced a Sept. 9 telethon to feature Russell Simmons, Master P and jazz artist Marsalis, and veteran comic Jerry Lewis said he would devote a portion of his annual Labor Day telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association charity, which starts on Sunday, to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, reports Reuters.

In fact, Master P, also a New Orleans native, told the Associated Press that his uncle, father-in-law and sister-in-law, among others, were unaccounted for. His father was missing until recently.

"We just got caravans of family members (evacuated)," Master P said Thursday. "It's just devastating."

The rapper-producer said he had created a foundation called Team Rescue and had helicopters searching for his missing family members.

Indeed, throughout the entertainment community people have been reaching out to victims of the catastrophe.

Louisiana native Britney Spears, who was raised in Kentwood, says her "thoughts and prayers go out to everyone" in the states along the devastated Gulf Coast. "All of my family members there are safe and thank you to all my fans for your concern," Spears, 23, has posted on her Web site.

Talk host Ellen DeGeneres says that for two days she didn't know whether her aunt, Helen Currie, had made it through the storm. The aunt (DeGeneres's mother's sister), lives in Pass Christian, Miss., which is just over the state line from New Orleans. Until Currie was found safe Wednesday, all DeGeneres knew about her relative was that Currie had grabbed four pictures and quickly left her house.

"Whether you have family there or not, it's a devastating situation," DeGeneres, in tears, told AP.

On the right hand side under watch, you can pull up the link to the mayor's interview where he's going off. It's titled, "Mayor to feds: "Get off your asses.

http://www.cnn.com

Agree! All those sportstars (NBA, baseball) are making so much money, if they all could donate 1 million, there would already be some billions. And if all movie stars would do the same. Some can even miss more than a million, I'm sure some wouldn't even notice if they lost 10 million.
And good old Bill Gates can miss some dimes, I suppose.

New Orleans officials have ordered 75,000 bodybags.

We did a dress down day today to raise money, for the Hurricane victims. Usually we raise $15,000 to $25,000 for the charity that we are holding a specific dress down day for.

It was first projected that we would raise about $25,000.

Well when I was leaving work today I stopped by the office our charitable foundation's chairwoman, and was told that we raised $70,000 for the hurricane victims. And to make it even better, the board of directors of our exchange agreed to match whatever amount we raised from our building's dress down day! So all total, in one day, we raised $140,000 for this tragedy.

Don Cardi

Here's a link to a video of police officers looting too.

Yikes! Love to see that COPS episode.

Anyway, the National Guard is coming...lets hope the chaos ends quite soon.

http://www.wnbc.com/politics/4930151/detail.html

"WASHINGTON -- Rep. John Sweeney, R-N.Y., urged President Bush to appoint former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani or two former military officials to run the ground response in the Gulf Coast, saying local authorities are not up to the task."

My New Yorker-residential members of BB.Net, tell me...was "Rudy" really that impressive during 9/11, or was it overhpyed by the media? Just wondering....

"One prominent Republican, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, criticized the Bush administration for being sluggish, and urged the president to name Giuliani as the White House point person for relief efforts."

OUCH...

This is the smartest idea I've heard all week.

Oh man! MSNBC just announced that a chartered bus carrying evacuees in N.O. overturned and one man died. To finally get help and then of all things, a traffic accident.


AnnT

Yeah, all the online sites have a one line headline, but it's still breaking news so there's no article with it. How tragic.

Rudy was that impressive!!

Great organizer and he knew his priorities.