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Thank you for your beautiful wish for the beloved humanity within the United States, Boss. For these coming hours, this kind of prayer is needed.

~ Elizabeth

Hi Kush ~

I haven't heard full reports, yet, of course regarding Rita's damage; however, I've heard that she swung around from making a direct hit on Galveston and Houston, so it sounds like your friend's home may have some damage, but should be okay. I'm glad to hear that these areas were avoided.

This overnight change in course, however, really underscores the dilemma that surrounds evacuation for those who live in these Gulf and Atlantic areas and deal with hurricane seasons every year. These kinds of things also contribute to 'apathy' regarding hurricane threats, and poor decision-making later, when people really should have left, were told to leave, but then didn't ~ based on these kinds of memories, underscored by dramatic events like the bus explosion and loss of life there; the rapid depletion of gas supplies; the fear of people stranded on the highways and in gas stations, believing that a full hit of a major storm is about to come upon them; and, even now, lack of gas supplies for people to return home [once it's been deemed safe]. Monday-morning quarterbacking is always so easy regarding people who don't evacuate and then suffer/lose their lives because of it. If we could but live our lives, from a perspective of retrospect, gleaning it ahead of time.

Port Arthur, Texas seems to have borne the brunt of her fury and was very badly hit. I guess there is substantial flooding there, as well, and in some other areas along the coast [including, still, New Orleans. The London Avenue canal levee may apparently also be presenting a problem, but New Orleans is still pitch black], and expected to be more, as a result of both storm surge and very heavy, extended rain, as she's expected to stall in northern Texas. A 20-foot, storm surge is still expected along the coast of Louisiana.

There was some town in Texas or Louisiana that had contracted five years ago, for a huge sum of money, for 300[+?] rescue vehicles [buses, ambulances, etc.] for evacuation from catastrophic, emergency events such as this. Apparently, when they went to access [?] these vehicles for this, they were basically told, 'Sorry, we need to use all of these for Galveston and Houston.' I didn't get all the details, so this is sketchy, so I don't know whether they ended up getting hit or what. However, it will end up a major, political issue, regardless.

We'll see how it all went and continues to go. For now, I'm glad your friend appears to have been spared. I'll be interested to hear [if that information becomes available here] how he feels about evacuating the 'next time.'

~ Lizzy

"One more thing quickly; these stories of Halliburton scoring lucrative contracts with the government of the US in Iraq and now even on the Gulf Coast only show how bent and twisted politicians and big business of all lands are. They work hand in glove with their smiles, their fucked up smiles. Don't believe a word of it!"

Boss. Dear Boss. Allow me a comment, will you? Thank you. This is obvious for politicians and big business people only because they are under the spots. Not all politicians and business people are what you said. This is a common prejudice though. "Ordinary" people are often what you said, but in such a little scale - and not under the spot, but pay attention and you'll see - that it seems it does not matter a lot. But it does. A lot. The responsibility of a better world is on everybody's shoulders, large or small.

Vince. Dear Vince. For some reason, it feels good to read that you tracked my every move and tried to do the same with my inner reality. I feel that you care, probably. I'll never be too busy to come here telling you I am.

Rita. Dear Rita. Mercy. Thanks to have been more kind than Katrina, but now could you stop that?

Yes, Tchoc, Rita needs to tell her siblings to just let it go for this year.....everyone's had enough.

The great news ~ so far ~ with the reports I'm hearing, there have been no deaths reported [other than those from the tragic, bus explosion], yet. I hope the "no deaths" holds true for the areas that were re-flooded in New Orleans. The belief is that the mass evacuation was largely responsible for the ultimate safety of the people who live in the directly-/indirectly-affected areas. Personally, I would rather be safe than sorry. I hope that those who left this time, will continue to want to leave another time. I just hope they can get the evacuation process more finely tuned. Some radio commentator ended up leaving the Houston area, going north on a road [I want to say Highway 54, but that could easily be wrong] that had absolutely no vehicles on it. This was while the other highways were still gridlocked. Hopefully, the process won't need to be tested again, this year.

Even Lake Charles; and Port Arthur, despite three-to-seven feet of flooding in some places, it seems, still fared better than expected.

There's still rising water in some places, and New Orleans isn't 'out of the woods,' yet ~ Lake Pontchartrain is 6 feet higher than normal ~ but, wow, for an originally Category 5, huge storm, it seems the Gulf Coast has fared amazingly well.

Good Lord. The weather newscaster just said there remains a possibility of Rita turning back south, and gaining strength back into a tropical storm as it goes back into the Gulf . These storms have done that before. Hopefully, this won't be one of those times. It looked on the map like it would cross over the New Orleans area, if it were to do that.

~ Lizzytysh

Yep. All the hotels are destroyed or empty of personnel. Rita, you have to bring your family somewhere else, sorry.

This is not only hurricanes, Lz. Glaciers are melting at an increasing speed. The level of the ocean will rise and many islands will be flooded.

I don't know when or if we will understand the emergency to act in accordance with the reality - which means nature in an another word - with the fact that we need to act INTO the ecosystem to stay alive.

So every bit of a tiny act toward less pollution of any kind is like sending the army on the site of the catastroph, right now. Believe me.

Actually, I do believe you, Tchoc. You're right in those other, ongoing and increasing, natural occurrences. There's also the South American Rainforest, too ~ quickly disappearing.

I'm reconsidering on my not blaming Bush for the hurricanes, with the increased global warming. However, I heard last night that the 1940s was the 'worst' hurricane decade on record here. I'm not sure on what that's based, though. They didn't have monitoring, measuring, and warning systems, or building codes [even though that was irrelevant in New Orleans and with Hurricane Andrew in South Florida ~ as many of the more stringent codes came into being, after Andrew], in place like they do now......so, deaths would naturally be much more, and how would they truly measure the strength of the storms. Frequency would be equally measurable, but frequency isn't as much an issue as the storms' power.

I was hearing how the massive fires in Europe several years ago [30,000!!! died] worked to deplete carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, due to loss of trees, and that this contributed to the increase of global warming.

I don't know the time frames on these acts [i.e. Bush refusing to sign the treaty, much less to implement, constructive, mandatory requirements of industrial corporations], like how long it takes for the 'domino effect' to occur, but the worst part is that I have a feeling that NONE of these factors are going to result in his signing anything!

Are you familiar with the tiny, raisin boxes that you can get in stores for a snack? Does collapsing those for recycling qualify as the tiniest of acts? How about chasing the garbage collector down the road until you catch him to confront him about just having emptied your recycling bin, along with your garbage bin, into the general garbage [vs. leaving it for the recycling truck to come around and get it] ~ this being previously seen by me and others in the area; as well as by my mother in Michigan! These counties get federal funds for recycling . When finally reaching the truck, I see that the other person there is wearing a name tag that says "Supervisor" and that he is training the new man. We got into it, as well.

Then, there's the styrofoam that never, ever decomposes ~ but continues to accumulate and pollute. Then, there's the emptying of toxins into the water supply by corporations who buy and sell their allotments from and to each other. The animals of the sea and the world of birds bear tragic testimony to the massive destruction. So, of course, do the land animals.

Yep. All the hotels are destroyed or empty of personnel. Rita, you have to bring your family somewhere else, sorry.

If I can get a fax number, I'll send this message immediately.

Tcho wrote:

Vince. Dear Vince. For some reason, it feels good to read that you tracked my every move and tried to do the same with my inner reality. I feel that you care, probably. I'll never be too busy to come here telling you I am.

And I, Tcho
I move purposefully
elegantly
and with ultimate grace
and I know
yes, I know
that you stare...


from a safe distance

Tchoc Oh Tchoc
tell me this
who sings clearest
clear as piss

Business does
as business will
all for profit
and the kill

Politician man
bake me a cake
lace it with power
all for your sake

The big man in town
always called the shots
while you and me
but forget-me-nots

Under the spot
or out of the heat
I know we all grow
through sinew, through meat

It's true there is shit
among all of us
where does your soul lay
with mine in the dust?

And I, Tcho
I move purposefully
elegantly
and with ultimate grace
and I know
yes, I know
that you stare...


from a safe distance

Were you're concerned Vincent, a "safe distance" is the best place to be.

2 posts, is this a safe distance, sirus?

Very well said, Boss. I like it, in the form. Now, who will write for the politicians who are really interested in the task of working for a better society? Because they are existing. Maybe that does not interest people. Maybe they are just interesting about the "bad"? Who knows.

Hi Tchoc ~

I can't write a poem about them, but I can support you in your view of there being both. I worked for one of each in a legislative capacity. One could be dubbed "a people's politician" and the other "a politician's politician." Guess which one really cared.

I've helped a couple grass-roots variety ones, who really cared, in their campaigns.

~ Lizzy

It looks like Port Arthur ["looks like a 'war zone'"]; Lake Charles ["the 'ground zero' of Rita"]; Vermilion Parish, LA [flooded]; and Cameron[?], LA fared worse, with the damage much more extensive, than originally thought. One small, vacation spot pretty much disappeared beneath the water. Very hard hit. They're saying now that, for the areas that were hit, it is as bad as Katrina.

Today, they've been able to get access to areas they were previously unable to. There are similarities to the devastation wreaked by Katrina. Hundreds to thousands of people are still awaiting rescue. Only way to rescue them right now is by chopper or boat. Some have climbed on their roofs. Others are still inside their homes, with the boats going through with foghorns, and checking houses individually. They're trying to deliver supplies to those trapped, as well as get them out. Beaumont, TX was also hard hit. Three houses 'exploded' and burned, due to a broken gas line. A neighbourhood woman, who stayed, has been caring for the dogs, cats, and one horse who were left behind by her neighbours.

They're fearing more flooding in these areas, where waters are continuing to rise in some, as Rita is still dumping much water over the further-north states, but the water from rains in those areas drain toward the Gulf.

Plans for rebuilding of New Orleans vary from 5 [the short-term plan] to 30 [the long-term plan] years. Levee repairs, however, are ahead of schedule right now. Rough estimate for how long it'll take to re-pump the flooded areas of New Orleans is approximately one week.

All things considered, rescue operations are considered to be going very well post-Rita. Approximately 400 are reported to have already been rescued along the Louisiana coast.

In Lake Charles, a cardiologist, who opted to stay in his home with his family and pets, was interviewed. He felt the structure of his home was pretty solid [and it appears it was ~ as he had no structural damage, or trees coming into it]; he didn't want to be 10[+] hours on the highway trying to leave; and he felt that he would be more needed there, post-hurricane, for others who stayed. None of his neighbours did, but there certainly were others.

There are areas in southern Louisiana where they're saying you simply cannot tell where [pre-Rita] the Gulf ended, and the land began, as it's all submerged.

Six barges are piled up against the bridge over to Lake Charles, so they're questioning the integrity of the bridge, itself. It's not an option for getting over there.

One of the reasons they're not wanting people to return to some areas where the electricity is out is because the temperature is about 97 degrees Fahrenheit, with a heat index of 114 F. With no air conditioning possible, they're concerned about how people might not be able to deal with the extreme heat.

Gas prices are definitely expected to rise as a result of Rita, and not just the shutting down of the refineries, but serious damage to some. I understand that Europe's gas prices skyrocketed after Katrina. I've heard figures as high as $8.00 USD per gallon . I can't imagine how it will be, if they register again over there, as a result of Rita . I wish I had the money to buy my plane ticket now for Berlin. Don't even want to think about what it's going to cost by the time I do .

Yes, Tchoc, we need the hurricane family to go on a very long respit. Enough is enough is enough.

I thought of you, when I came across an article in today's paper about melting glaciers. I haven't had a chance to read it, yet, but it has photos from Greenland.

~ Lizzy

Lz, if it could turn people to more clean energy instead, Rita et al. would have more chance to stay on smaller categories in the future.

Ah! You know this kind of politicians too. How more easy it is to critic than to help and support that kind.

Or even just to participate in a useful collective social activity once in a while. Not that critic should not occur, in the contrary, but not just that.

Cindy is making good, these days. She was alone, "she is" now 10 000 and Bush is listening. Is this correct or do I miss some information?

The ecosystem is damaged on every level, everywhere on the planet, even where human are going rarely or are not going at all, Lz.

Glaciers, in Groenland, ozone layer everywhere (very dangerous the hole in the ozone layer, even more because we are not really aware of it, it is invisible to the senses, like let say a polluted river or the skrinking of the forests), oceans used as garbage bins, soils being destroyed at a point of desertification, name it.

Ecologists and scientists ring the red alarm again and again but people seem not to understand the emergency of this problem at all. They say the situation could be compared to a driver in a huge truck that should break to avoid entering a wall (not easy to slow down and break, it takes time) but instead of slowing down, the driver accelerate. Not good.

So, I repeat any little action, in the best case, a little action done each day, could change things tremendously in this regard.

We are such an uncounscious kind, we may die of this if we don't get back to reality in time.

I'm not worry for "the planet" : the ecosystem will made it without us, in a different way. I'm worry for us and for other species that can could be destroyed if we continue.

At some point in a very far future (in our human scale of time), our Sun is suppose to grow old, which means a lot of transformations that should affect life on Earth, and at the end. Well. The light is shut down, that is it. Maybe at this time we will have colonized other planets. Or an articifial structure of some sort. But for now we just have one. Earth is the only viable environement we have. I hope enough people will wake up in time.

"We asked for signs
the signs were sent
the birth betrayed
the marriage spent
yeah the widowhood
of every government -
signs for all to see

I can't run no more
with that lawless crowd
while the killers in high places
say their prayers out loud
But they've summoned, they've summoned
a big thundercloud
and they're going to hear from me"

An excerpt from 'Anthem' from the album The Future. There are 'good' politicians but they are as rare as hen's teeth. It has to be faced, we are led by crooks in their frocks of pretence. Religion, politics, business - those who rise to the top are invariably bent. Can't you just sense it?

I agree with you Tchoc about our sun. It will burn out one day and Humanity will be long gone. But we may indeed be living in other galaxies, other solar systems! In fact, this is one strong reason I postulate G-d created us through evolution - to discover the universe, to settle other planets. Who knows where Mankind will be in 1000 or 20000 years. Look at where we are now. What miracles lay ahead? We are only at the base of the mountain. Let's start climbing together; and let those who come after us look upon us fondly.

However, I am not blind. I also agree with you that our current ecological state is a sham. We gotta work together to do something about our environment or the above dreams will be but fantasy. So much creation has been lost by those men of power. Capital is what they breathe. Once a tiger is extinct you can't bring him back. A billion dollars won't pay the bill. We do live in precarious times.

Hi Tchoc ~

Cindy is making good, these days. She was alone, "she is" now 10 000 and Bush is listening. Is this correct or do I miss some information?

You're right on this. She's nowhere near 'alone' now. She is 'the face' of the anti-Iraq war protest now. In Washington, Joan Baez and Jesse Jackson were two who were alongside her. She ended up getting arrested [peacefully] for refusing to move from her sitting position on the sidewalk, in front of the White House, when told to move on.

This is the first paragraph of the blurb [from Independent Online, via Reuters? or from Reuters, via Independent Online? ~ at any rate, By Deborah Zabarenko]:

Washington - United States military mother Cindy Sheehan, whose vigil outside President George Bush's Texas ranch drew attention to the anti-war movement, was arrested on Monday at a White House sit-in after she refused to obey police orders to leave.

Prior to that, on September 19th:

BREAKING: Cindy Sheehan arrested in Manhattan
by Five of Diamonds
Mon Sep 19th, 2005 at 12:42:39 PDT
I witnessed this with my own eyes. Here is my account.

Cindy Sheehan was arrested moments ago in Union Square, Manhattan for allegedly speaking in the square without the proper permit.

You have the right of free speech and protest here. It just requires that 'law enforcement' [ordered by whomever ] get more innovative
.

Apparently, she's considered a 'hero' in Iraq, with their following, virtually, her every move. Footage of her is regularly broadcast on Al Jazeera, etc. I love it that she has this status there for the simple reason [as stated by one Iraqi woman, in the article I read this in] that she makes it so clear [via her and her great following] that the American people have nothing against the Iraqi people. Both of these women have lost a son in this war.

~ Lizzy