"Though pockets of New Orleans are well on the way to recovery, many neighborhoods have struggled. Many residents still live in temporary trailers, and shuttered homes still bear the black "X" that was painted to help rescue teams looking for the dead."
I'm sorry, readers and world, but it has been THREE FUCKING YEARS!!!!! See what I mean when I say trillions for wars and billions for banks and Israel!??
WTF?!! It's been THREE YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!
Also see FEMA Seeks Immunity for Willful Negligence and Poisoning of Americans for even more devious and evil behavior!!
"Gustav could test New Orleans anew; Plans laid for possible evacuation" by Michael Kunzelman and Tamara Lush, Associated Press | August 28, 2008
NEW ORLEANS - As Hurricane Katrina's third anniversary approached, nervous New Orleans officials watched yesterday as another storm threatened to test everything the city has rebuilt, and the city made preliminary plans to evacuate people, pets, and hospital patients in an attempt to avoid Katrina-style chaos.
Forecasters warned that Gustav could grow into a dangerous Category 3 hurricane in the next several days and hit along a swath of the Gulf Coast from the Florida panhandle to Texas - with New Orleans smack in the middle.
Though pockets of New Orleans are well on the way to recovery, many neighborhoods have struggled. Many residents still live in temporary trailers, and shuttered homes still bear the black "X" that was painted to help rescue teams looking for the dead.
Gustav formed Monday and roared ashore Tuesday as a Category 1 hurricane near the southern Haitian city of Jacmel with top winds near 90 mph, toppling palm trees and flooding the city's Victorian buildings. The storm triggered flooding and landslides that killed 23 people in Haiti.
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Yeah, I never forget Haiti when I see it in the paper. Everyone else does in this hemisphere, and they are such a brave and noble people. Type in "Haiti" to my blog search and see what comes up.
Of course, corporate press is more concerned about black things other than people:
HOUSTON - The brief respite for consumers at the gas pump may come to an abrupt end if Tropical Storm Gustav slams into the petroleum-rich Gulf Coast and its numerous refineries, just as Americans begin packing up cars for the Labor Day weekend.
Gustav was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm yesterday after moving over Haiti, but forecasters expect it to regain strength and move into the Gulf of Mexico in a few days.
Oil companies with operations in the Gulf began removing nonessential workers from rigs, platforms, and other facilities yesterday morning, and refiners were preparing, too.
There have been some minor production cuts, but so far, output has largely been unaffected.
Still, oil prices spiked more than $2 to above $118 a barrel, rising for a third day. Gustav's approach is just days before the three-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which along with Hurricane Rita devastated the region's energy infrastructure.
The Gulf Coast is home to nearly half the nation's refining capacity, while offshore the Gulf accounts for about 25 percent of domestic oil production and 15 percent of natural gas output.
Even a perceived threat to that infrastructure roils the energy markets.
Kenneth Medlock, an energy expert and adjunct economics professor at Rice University, said a run-up in gasoline prices as a storm approaches is not uncommon, prompted in part by fears of potential supply shortages in the storm's wake.
"Station owners have to value what's in their tanks based on what the replacement costs are - what's it going to cost them to buy off the rack, basically," Medlock said. "So when that price goes up, they're going to start raising the price at the pump, although it's usually a short-term thing."
Jim Ritterbusch, president of energy consultancy Ritterbusch and Associates, said any refinery shutdowns would likely lead to a spike in retail gas prices.
Those prices have dropped for seven straight weeks and, at a national average of $3.69 per gallon, gasoline hasn't been this cheap in four months."I heard a 10-cent rise, you?
"If the storm continues on its path, it could drive up U.S. gasoline prices by 10 cents a gallon ahead of Labor Day weekend, predicted James Cordier, president of Tampa, Florida-based Liberty Trading Group and OptionSellers.com"
