? Who profits from Destruction ?

People worldwide who watch the tragic events unfolding on the hurricane-stricken Golf Coast of America will form their own opinions based on media coverage. Yet, who is more qualified to speak the truth than one of the residents directly affected by this disaster and its aftermath? - Michael Tisserand is one such resident who escaped the flood waters that destroyed his city. He currently lives in exile 200 miles away. Let us hear what he has to say:

"New Orleans is gone. The exotic destination where tourists could carouse Bourbon Street and act the fool, gone. The troubled and cherished home where we worked and raised our children, gone. The birthplace of Louis Armstrong, the muse of Tennessee Williams, the wellspring of the rhythms of the Neville Brothers, gone."

"Thousands of my neighbors are now dying in the streets due to bad policy and official neglect."

"In one long week, my city has become a national disgrace and a symbol of a shameful presidency."

Thank you, Michael Tisserand, for your powerful testimony.

Our own Editorial Commentary:

Realistically speaking, the rebuilding of New Orleans will require a massive public sector, federally funded effort. The preliminary estimate of the reconstruction cost lies at $100 billion for that city alone:

---> Lucrative no-bid contracts have already been awarded to Bechtel and to a subsidiary of industry giant Halliburton, both closely aligned with the Republican Party.

"How very un-surprising is it, that - once again - the LOSS suffered by the 'poor huddled masses' is about to be transformed into the PROFIT made by a select few..."

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Let us know your point of view on this issue - Please click on 'COMMENTS'/'Post a Comment' below

: Bloggers-of-the-World: UNITE and HELP

When everything that can be said has been said, when blame has been shifted around and the political finger-pointing has stopped, one fact still remains:
that of human SUFFERING and LOSS.

Amalgamated Perspectives asks you to join us in reaching out to the victims of Hurricane Katrina: Please reach into your wallets and donate generously to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund or to a Charity of your choice. Do it now.-

We thank you.

[Photo credit: John Makely/Sun]

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KATRINA: THE FLOODING OF IMAGES OF POVERTY IN AMERICA

An EDITORIAL by our French Correspondent, the Renaissance Man

"Hurricane Katrina has shattered the levees in New Orleans, and flooded that centuries-old city which was started by the French. Tens of thousands are displaced, homeless. Thousands are dead, floating in the muddy waters of the lake.

I won't comment or repeat the news which have been seen on the globe. But I would like to point out that a levee has also been breached in the American psyche; a levee that was keeping our society to forget, or avoiding us to see that poverty is alive and well in America in 2005.

Yes, the people who did not leave are black and poor. No, they could not afford to leave: with no car, or, for that matter, no future elsewhere, why bother?

The hurricane Katrina has shattered more than the walls and the levees of New Orleans. It has shattered the bold and egotistical "self-assurance" of a red, Republican America by showing to, and reminding all that tens of millions of people live in poverty.

In individual psychology like in the egos of Nations, it is when you become vulnerable - and admit that you are - that you open yourself up to being healed.

I hope that the U.S. will learn to pause for a second, and ask itself: how do we want to address poverty, which is the real question - instead of pointing fingers at why rescuers were late to arrive.

Ultimately, the voice of the Left has to make this question clear - and propose solutions. Maybe that now, the millions of poor or disadvantaged people who voted for the Right at the last elections (and thus against their own economic interest) will choose to see the real challenge: fixing poverty and the social and economic divide in America - instead of focusing on impeaching gay marriages and the crumbling of moral values in America.

With the levees crumbling in New Orleans, I hope that prejudice will also crumble, and help us focus on the real questions."

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[Discover WHO it is that PROFITS from Destruction and Loss]

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