Hurricane Katrina @ MindSay

            If a person breaks an arm or a leg, the doctor must set the bone before it can heal properly.  If surgery is required to help maintain your health, the doctor must make an incision in order to correct what is wrong in your body.  Does the doctor dislike you because he does this? 

 

            No.  He wants to make you better.  Sometimes the doctor must hurt us in order to heal us.

 

            Would God do the same?  Would God hurt you to heal you? 

 

            I look at pictures like this, and, at first glance, it looks like somebody is really angry.  Cars tossed around.  Buildings blown up.  Was God just having a tissy fit?

 

            Or was He hurting some folks to heal them?

 

            I don’t claim to have knowledge of why God does what He does.  I don’t know why some people die in such weather catastrophes and others don’t.  However, I have noticed a couple of things about recent weather disasters here in the States, including Hurricane Katrina: There was monstrous loss of property, but relatively few deaths, when you take into consideration the enormity of the storms.  I find this interesting in a country that is so wealthy and at the same time claims a Christian heritage, the literature of which includes this radical statement from Jesus:

 

            “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.”

 

            Is God wounding us so He can heal us?

I didn't get too many shots of houses from the bus -- and I was too engrossed in a conversation with one of our guides to get off and take pictures in a house that had been destroyed.  The thing is -- this was a relatively nice part of town. Big houses -- just abandoned and overgrown and gutted.  Very weird to see.





We saw quite a few houses with the same "X" on the door and the codes listed around them.  This house was checked (by a squad which consisted of local police and rescue, National Guard and FEMA) on 9/21 -- a full three weeks after the storm. Zero people were found in the house at that time.  There was a lot of work to be done...



This is the old Congregation Beth Israel Orthodox synagogue which is no longer in use. Those stripes represent the water-lines at which the building was submerged. The yellowish one is the one that stands out the most -- the stagnant flood waters were at that height for quite a while.



It's a pity -- the synagogue itself was grand and beautiful. But there wasn't much left salvageable inside.



A very blurry picture through one of the glass doors. Most of them had been boarded up.



The inscription over the synagogue -- any of our Hebrew scholars want to take a stab at it? (Hint: Exodus 25.)

======

Part III will get into our first day of work at the Habitat for Humanity site in the Upper Ninth Ward.

THOUGHTS ON WEEK TWO IN THE NFL
Chargers win 40-7!
I knew Tennessee was bad, but can the Bolts' be this good?? Michael Turner has more yards rushing than LT. Phillip Rivers looks like a 3 year veteran rather than 1st time starter and the only TD scored against us was in garbage time in the second half. Be afraid AFC, be very afraid.

Just when I thought Philly looked like they were back, they blow a 17 point lead at home in the 4th quarter and lose in OT. G'Men are still the class of the NFC East . . .
. . . speaking of which, to go on the road, in overly hostile Philadelphia and pull out that kind of a win late in the game when most of us had switched the channel already, he's no longer Peyton's little brother. Call him Eli.

Is September too early for Raider Nation to go into hibernation until next season?. They can't really go 0-16 can they?? I hope so.

Good guys, Bad guys
Good guys
Marvin Harrison; 7 catches, 127 yards in easy win over Houston. Colts 2-0
Chad Johnson; 6 catches, 78 yards, 1 TD dance. Bengals 2-0.
Bad guys
Terrell Owens; 3 catches, 19 yards, 1 broken finger. Cowboys 1-1
Randy Moss; 2 catches, 32 yards and Raiders still have 0 TD's. Oakland 0-2

REGGIE BUSH v. MARIO WILLIAMS. Week Two Comparison
Reggie Bush v. Green Bay Packers;
6 carries for 5 yards, 8 catches for 68 yards, longest for 23.
Nothing spectacular but continues to impress and show his versatility. Opposing Defenses have to account for him making his teammates better; QB Brees, RB Mc Callister, WR Horn and TE Colston all contributing. Saints overcame 13-0 deficit to win 34-27 on the road in Green Bay, improving to 2-0 on the road this year. Showing the twin hallmarks of all good teams, ability to come from behind, able to get it down on the road. Return to Superdome for first time since Hurricane Katrina Monday Night.
Saints 2-0, tied for first place in NFC South

Mario Williams v. Indianapolis Colts;
2 tackles, 0 sacks, 0 forced fumbles, 0 interceptions.
Helped Houston little in (not) getting to Peyton and (not) slowing Colts down en route to surrendering 43 points in one-sided defeat.
Texans 0-2, last place in AFC South.

SUNDAY TRIFECTA
3 games to follow this week
(1) Cincinnati Bengals @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Storyline: The first encounter between AFC North rivals and face-to-face matchup between QB Carson Palmer and Pittsburgh Defense since crushing injury ended Palmer's season (and Bengals) in playoffs last year. We all know the Steelers can play D and the Bengals can move the ball. Steelers must look more like the team that beat Dolphins (w/Batch) in season opener and less like the team that was shutout in Jacksonville (w/Roethlesberger) last week. Do I smell a QB controversy? It doesn't matter who throws for Steelers, Bengals have something to prove.
My Pick: Cincinnati by 10.

(2) Denver Broncos @ New England Patriots
Storyline: Rematch of last year's playoff game, where Broncos ended Patriots Super Bowl 3-Peat. I still think the Pats outplayed them in that game and would have won if not for 5 turnovers. Poor execution beat NE, not the Broncos. For whatever reason, Denver has had the Pats number the past couple years, the only team in the NFL to have a clue how to beat them. Those games however were all in the Mile High air of Denver. This one's in Massachussetts, and I'll bet on Belicheck and Brady every time.
My Pick: New England by 7.

(3) Atlanta Falcons @ New Orleans Saints
Storyline: Game of the Year (so far). What you say?? Pick your matchup. RBs Reggie Bush v. Warrick Dunn. Playmakers Reggie Bush v. Michael Vick. NFC South divisional rivals. Battle of 2-0 teams. All the hype and electricity takes a back seat to the real winner here, the people of New Orleans and South Louisiana. I remember a year ago at this time serious people were writing the Superdome's obituary and moving the Saints franchise to San Antonio, or LA*. Amazing what a new coach, new superstar and most important a new attitude can do to a team. The Saints have sold out every game for this season for the first time in their history. That's not a big feat in most other NFL cities but remarkable considering the circumstances since Hurricane Katrina. Atlanta isn't coming for a revival service, but to win a football game and considering how good their defense has been so far, the Saints have their work cut out for them. Matchups are about more than size and statistics though and the reason sports can be so compelling is because they are about people and performances. Numbers simply calculate the drama.
My Pick: Saints by 3.

* = Given the perpetual back and forth between the NFL and the City of Los Angeles on finding the right location to house an NFL team here in sunny SoCal (the historic Coliseum? the Rose Bowl in Pasadena? next to Hollywood Park? across the street from the Big A in Anaheim? Irvine??) don't start your countdown to regaining an NFL franchise anytime soon. Has it been 12 years since the Haiters and Lambs left town?? Much as I want a team to call our own it shouldn't be the Saints. They belong to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

I know owner Tom Benson wants out of the Superdome and a more cash-friendly stadium, complete with luxury boxes that does in to the NFL revenue sharing fund but his pocket. His financial self-interest is legitimate and cannot be dismissed as Dr. Scroogelike. He had issues before Katrina. He has a right to have them now. It is his money that purchased them and his money that rises and falls with their franchise value. One cannot ask him to lose money simply because of the uncertainty of the Saints franchise, or because he is a very rich man able to shed a few millions for the sake of New Orleans. The NFL however has a larger interest than Benson, and does have a duty and an obligation to stick around in the wake of Katrina and do its part to rebuild and revitalize New Orleans. If Benson still wants out, or to sell, buy him out and keep the Saints there. Let the people of New Orleans buy an ownership stake much like the people of Green Bay own the Packers. If it's a new stadium he wants that will make the Saints more fiscally competitive with other NFL franchises then subsidize the creation of a new stadium. It's not like the Saints were a recent expansion team or relocated from another city themselves. The Saints are the oldest sports franchise in Louisiana, and New Orleans has hosted several Super Bowls. And we all know the NFL likes to host its gazillion dollar corporate bashes on Bourbon Street Super Bowl week rather than oh, say frigid and dour Detroit.

Rumor once had it that the Seahawks were thinking about leaving Seattle, and then that the Cardinals were abandoning Arizona to come here. Neither relocations came about and both of those franchises have built new stadiums and seem to be doing just fine where they are. There's no reason the Saints can't make a go of it in New Orleans. I don't want the Los Angeles Saints.

This is a report by maverick journalist Greg Palast and its quite an eye-opener:


Its gentrification time, folks!
In other words, if your poor and black you ain't welcome to come home.

I found this article on CNN

U.N. panel: U.S. must protect blacks, poor in disasters
Friday, July 28, 2006; Posted: 7:35 p.m. EDT (23:35 GMT)
Hurricane Katrina survivors walk to a bridge on August 30, 2005, after being rescued by boat from their homes.

GENEVA, Switzerland (AP) -- The United States must better protect poor people and African-Americans in natural disasters to avoid problems like those after Hurricane Katrina, a U.N. human rights panel said Friday.

Do I disagree that we failed in the Katrina aftermath? No. However the very notion that the only ones suffering are the so-called "African-Americans" [don't even get me started on THAT particular disingenous nomenclature] is ridiculous. And that fact that everyone else is classed as 'poor' while the AAs get special mention is particularly telling in my opinion.

The U.N. Human Rights Committee said poor and black Americans were "disadvantaged" after Katrina, and the United States should work harder to ensure that their rights "are fully taken into consideration in the reconstruction plans with regard to access to housing, education and health care."

You've got to love the ambiguous phrasing used here: "poor and black Americans". So are we saying that the Americans in question are poor, and black? Or are we saying that black Americans are poor? Subtle pandering and twisting facts in my opinion.

I do agree that the US needs to work harder to take care of all the people affected, but the poor and black are not the only ones in need..sigh.

The United States said federal and Louisiana state authorities were examining many of the issues raised by the committee.[That of course translates into the US subtly telling the UN to get lost].

In New Orleans, activists praised the U.N. report at a news conference in the predominantly black Gert Town neighborhood, which remains heavily damaged by the hurricane that struck the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005.

Ah the great activists of our nation! Once again they chime in with nothing particularly useful. Where DO they find the time to be activists when they could be helping the local population? Kind of like the rich man saying, "We should do more for the poor." And then leaving with the camera crew as the poor guy continues to sit there starving.

Monique Harden, co-director of Advocates for Environmental Human Rights, urged the United Nations to examine the treatment of black and poor Gulf Coast residents and said the committee's findings were important to recovery efforts in the region.

Of course she thought the committee's findings were important. She's probably been arm twisting them on this for some time. Not to mention that Look....her organization got headline notice for this thing. Guess she'll be able to afford more post it notes on next year's budget.

"It's a wake-up call, and it's also a call for change in the way the United States government has been handling this recovery," Harden said.

She and other advocates said former residents continue to fight for a chance to return to the city, where housing shortages have kept away many lower-income people.

Once again, the poor are NOT the only ones displaced here. Please let's stop with the classism and tell just the facts.

"The United States has to do something more than just show itself once and while," said Ronald Chisom of the People's Institute for Survival and Beyond.
Something more than just show itself? Um...and what exactly is the U.N. prepared to do? Can this be a suggestion that the U.N. is willing to assist us in rebuilding?

{alarm sounds}Errrrrrrrrrr!
Sorry...you chose the wrong answer...please continue in your delusional state.

Harden said that although the committee has little power to force the U.S. government to make changes, such reports can improve human rights by influencing U.S. decision-makers.

Oh yes...our government who doesn't even listen to it's own people is going to pay SO MUCH MORE attention to a non-governing body that has absolutely no way of enforcing it's rhetoric.

"We believe having the U.N. on our side will have a tremendous effect on turning the U.S. government around," she said. 'No one was entirely prepared '

And you prepare for a hurricane like Katrina how? I don't remember the U.N. stashing money away to assist us in the rebuild.

The U.N. panel said it wants to be informed of the results of inquiries into the alleged failure to evacuate inmates from a prison, and into allegations that authorities did not allow New Orleans residents to cross a bridge into Gretna, Louisiana.

Point to the U.N. on this one. I too would like to see what idiot decided that allowing peeps to escape a flood zone was a bad idea.

It offered no further specifics about problems it found with the Katrina response, or possible solutions.

And we are acting suprised, why? I'm sorry this is just too much. The U.N. always sits on it's hands and moans. I have yet to see them actually offer a viable response to any situation they discuss.

"I think the president and everyone in the United States said that Katrina was something that no one was entirely prepared for, and it did raise huge challenges for the United States," said Robert Harris, of the office of the Legal Adviser of the U.S. State Department. "We're looking at a large list of lessons from Katrina and trying to make sure that the next time, God forbid, something like that happens we are better prepared."

The panel of 18 independent experts, which reviews the practices of the 156 countries that have ratified the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, said it was concerned about information that blacks and poor people "were disadvantaged by the rescue and evacuation plans implemented when Hurricane Katrina hit."

blahblahblah

Criticism by the panel brings no penalties beyond international scrutiny.

Doy! Ya' don't say???

The Katrina findings were two paragraphs in a 12-page release of findings that also included recommendations on U.S. policies in the war on terror.

The U.S. mission to the U.N.'s European headquarters in Geneva criticized the committee's examination of many issues it said were outside the scope of its mandate, particularly dealing with the war on terrorism.

Even the U.N. can't agree on whether they should have been stupid enough to discuss this. LMAO!

But on domestic issues, it said "the committee has made recommendations in matters under its competence, including efforts to address race and sex discrimination, capital punishment, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and voting rights."

The committee also addressed reports of de facto racial segregation in public schools.

And still more whining about issues that don't concern them.
Well that's it folks....not much new from the U.N. But feel free to play again next time!