Nostradamus Works at National Geographic (and more on Katrina)

Click here to see an article in National Geographic last year that seems to describe everything that's happened to The Big Easy. It's scary.

Dear Sri Lanka: Thanks for your offer of $25,000 to help the poor folks in the Gulf area. Please keep it. You're still dealing with the aftermath of a tsunami from last December. $25,000 is probably a big chunk of change for you. We have people here who own multiple houses, airplanes, expensive jewels, multiple cars just because they collect them, and make millions of dollars a year. Please ask one of them to send the $25,000 on your behalf; it's their country and they should be able to help.

Dear Sweden: thanks for the C-130 Hercules full of supplies, especially the water treatment system, that you can't actually get AIRBORNE because of our government's unwillingness to bypass the usual international rules and let you actually deliver the goods. Please send them to the kind folks at Sri Lanka who would probably LOVE to have them and would offer no red tape.

I'm essentially a pacifist but I also have an angry side that emerges when I see people taking advantage of the misfortune of others. I don't think we should be in Iraq. I DO think we should have a shoot-to-kill policy for looters in the Gulf states. These opportunists know exactly what they're doing. They're not worth saving. New Orleans is like the lawless Old West right now so horse thieves should face Frontier Justice. Just, be careful of those stealing for survival; I have no problem with people breaking into a store for essentials but I have no patience for those seen stealing wide screen TVs and bicycles (CNN). In an AP story many people who had taken things for survival said they intended to let the proprietors know so they can pay later.

In the same Shoot-To-Kill category are those running scams aimed at those who would contribute money to help the victims. Again, these insects know exactly what they're doing and not only are they taking advantage of the kindness of others, they're also stealing from those in need. I say trace the IP address, send a SWAT team over, and shoot the bastard sitting in his underwear at his monitor editing news service photos of desperate people for his bogus sites, in his nice, dry, home.

Dear World Citizens: to my fellow Americans, and especially you thoughtful people in other countries, who are giving your hard earned money to agencies to help the victims of Katrina; PLEASE be careful where you send your money. Is there really a good reason to send money to anyone other than the American Red Cross, The United Way, or, for those wishing to help a Christian-based organization, The Salvation Army? These folks have been helping others in need for decades and they have the infrastructure in place to do it efficiently. You don't need to go to www.katrinaaid.com or whatever. FEMA has a list of recognized charities if these 3 won't do. Also see here for more on scams:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9188106/ http://news.com.com/Online+scams+emerge+in+Katrinas+wake/2100-7349_3-5845695.html

There are multiple missing-persons registration sites. I heard of at least 3 on the cable news channels. These orgs need to get together and share their databases (or just boil it down to one database that's accessed by as many sites as want it) for people registering their whereabouts, people looking for missing people, and people posting names of the missing.