First hand account of Nawlin's.

[Vulcan]

Originally posted by Samiam
Embelishment or pure fiction? Probably more the latter.

Agreed.

Heres one local story, only oddity I find is the phone thing:

Kiwi teen stranded in 'hell'
03 September 2005  
By CHALPAT SONTI

A Levin teenager caught in the havoc of New Orleans has been sheltering in a shopping mall, relying on potato chips for food and plastic bags for toilets.


She is surrounded by the constant sound of gunfire and panic, and the stench of death.

Zoe Hadlum, 18, was expecting the experience of a lifetime. She is instead at the centre of a living hell after Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans and everything in its path.

The devastation has also left an Auckland family desperately seeking news of their daughter. Marianne Lynch, 22, has not been heard from since shortly after the hurricane struck. She had said she was planning to stay in the city.

Miss Hadlum, who was unable to get out of New Orleans, said the danger was constant. Armed looters prowled outside the mall, some venturing inside. So far, they had not detected the group of about 20 tourists huddling on the third floor.

Elderly and sick people being looked after at a convention centre next door were no better off. "(They're) just dying off. They don't have anywhere else to put them. (Dead) people are being put in dumpsters . . . it's really, really bad," she said on National Radio yesterday.

The danger was increasing as people lost patience. "There are riots everywhere, heaps of shotguns at night. It's just crazy."

AdvertisementAdvertisementMis s Hadlum's father, Malcolm Hadlum, said his daughter had finally contacted him on Thursday after finding a phone buried under some boxes. She had been living for the past four days on chips found in a supermarket in the mall. She is three months into her OE and had spent time at Camp America, as had Miss Lynch.

Miss Hadlum was among a group of 20 British, Australian and United States tourists who were unable to leave New Orleans before the hurricane struck.

"All the bus drivers and taxi drivers had their own families to look after. They tried to get into the Superdome, but the queues were too long."

The group stayed briefly in a hotel before it was partly destroyed by the hurricane and they eventually ended up in the shopping mall.

Since the order to evacuate those remaining in New Orleans to Houston, Texas, Miss Hadlum and the others were "just waiting to get out".

She was in pretty good spirits despite her ordeal. The National Guard had stepped up patrols around the mall once they knew foreigners were inside.

Armed looters have been shooting at guardsmen, rescue workers, helicopters and police. Guardsmen have been ordered to shoot to kill to restore order.

Miss Lynch's stepmother, Liz Reid, said the family had thought that if she survived the initial storm she would be safe, but no one realised things would get so much worse. They were increasingly concerned for her safety.

Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry spokeswoman Emma Reilly said there were no concerns at present for any New Zealanders in New Orleans, though people should tell the ministry if they could not contact family members.

 

[nirvana]

Anyone familiar with Thomas Hobbes and Leviathan (circa 1651)?  He says man's natural state is war and without an absolute strong leader man's beatial tendencies would come out.  Without a leader life would be "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."

As well Benjamin Franklin said "There are two passions which have a powerful influence on the affairs of men: the love of power and the love of money."


We discussed this whole matter today and the question was posed as to whether we would see if Hobbes was correct, it appears as though he was.  We also discussed how there was a very large portion, if not the largest portion, of government housing in America in New Orleans.  These people are poor they had nothing to lose and still don't, this is their ticket to ride the gravy train for the time being.


Story sounds somewhat embellished though, as was already stated.  Guardsmen without weapons?  They can't get weapons to military personnel?

[Ripsnort]

One observation:
We have the proud distinction of having the worlds best thugs along with Liberal laws that only empower them. IMO this type of anarchy would occur in any big city USA following a similiar disaster.

[Wolfala]

Originally posted by Widewing
I have a pretty rounded collection of weapons for various aspects of home defense.

My favorites are a Mossberg 590 pump 12 ga. and a Rossi made Winchester model 1892 carbine, chambered in .357 magnum, with 16 inch barrel. Its super-slick and very fast action, along with its 5.5 pound loaded weight make it perfect for close or medium range work.

The really serious hardware is available if need be....

My regards,

Widewing

U got a Minigun I can roll around town with?

[Saurdaukar]

Originally posted by Samiam
My stink detector is going off.

How can he observe all of these things, including people chopping down the door of a $4M dollar house (which I presume doesn't have a front door that sits right on the street) if it's so dark you can't see anyone until they are right on you?

Embelishment or pure fiction? Probably more the latter.

I dont know for sure, obviously.  The guy that posted it is pretty well known and lives down there, AFAIK.

The second time they went out, it was in the middle of the day according to the story.

[Gunslinger]

Originally posted by nirvana
Anyone familiar with Thomas Hobbes and Leviathan (circa 1651)?  He says man's natural state is war and without an absolute strong leader man's beatial tendencies would come out.  Without a leader life would be "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."

As well Benjamin Franklin said "There are two passions which have a powerful influence on the affairs of men: the love of power and the love of money."


We discussed this whole matter today and the question was posed as to whether we would see if Hobbes was correct, it appears as though he was.  We also discussed how there was a very large portion, if not the largest portion, of government housing in America in New Orleans.  These people are poor they had nothing to lose and still don't, this is their ticket to ride the gravy train for the time being.


Story sounds somewhat embellished though, as was already stated.  Guardsmen without weapons?  They can't get weapons to military personnel?

the guard is notorious for sending troops into situations like this without ammo or proper weapons.  I've been threatend by guard guys before carrying M-60s and I just lauged at them because they didn't have a single belt of ammo.  

ALl the news footage I've seen up untill today showed the guard with weapons but no magazines for said weapons....meaning no ammo.

EDIT: I personally have nothing against the guard and they are certainly earning their meager pay today.  Today they seem to have there "Stuff" together.

[Widewing]

Originally posted by Gunslinger
I just lauged at them because they didn't have a single belt of ammo.

That's kind of amusing in light of the fact that I recently purchased 800 rounds (four cans of 200) of 7.62 NATO ammo on disintegrating link belts from a local dealer. $24.95 per can, 1998 MIL-SPEC production manufactured in Singapore. Tracer rounds were removed.....

My regards,

Widewing

[Gunslinger]

Originally posted by Widewing
That's kind of amusing in light of the fact that I recently purchased 800 rounds (four cans of 200) of 7.62 NATO ammo on disintegrating link belts from a local dealer. $24.95 per can, 1998 MIL-SPEC production manufactured in Singapore. Tracer rounds were removed.....

My regards,

Widewing

unless they are going to war the Guard get's hand-me-downs from the regular army.  Only the Marines have better equipment then them and they are well known for doing more with less.

[nirvana]

So are we looking at their families sending them ammunition and body armour like they did in Iraq?  This stuff is seriously out of control.  Another point we (my class) made was that if these businesses are getting ransacked, why should they think about putting a business in that area again?  Besides the fact that those people have guns and are running around with reckless regard for life (as do the resistence fighters in Iraq, yes I compared U.S. citizens to Iraqi resistance), I wouldn't want to start thinking about putting a business back up, especially a gun store.  Bulldoze New Orleans and make it into a port, a city under sea level and look what you have.  Bulldoze, dredge, rebuild into port.

[Gunslinger]

Originally posted by nirvana
So are we looking at their families sending them ammunition and body armour like they did in Iraq?  This stuff is seriously out of control.  Another point we (my class) made was that if these businesses are getting ransacked, why should they think about putting a business in that area again?  Besides the fact that those people have guns and are running around with reckless regard for life (as do the resistence fighters in Iraq, yes I compared U.S. citizens to Iraqi resistance), I wouldn't want to start thinking about putting a business back up, especially a gun store.  Bulldoze New Orleans and make it into a port, a city under sea level and look what you have.  Bulldoze, dredge, rebuild into port.

I have never heard of a report of somone sending somone  in Iraq ammunition.  It is in fact illegal.  Armor is another thing.

This isn't an Iraq thing so dont try to compare it.  I don't think this would have played out any different 3-5 years ago

[nirvana]

It's illegal right, had crossed my mind but anyways.  Without getting any deeper, I agree with you.  Same thing 3-5 years ago, human nature.

[Sandman]

Originally posted by Ripsnort
One observation:
We have the proud distinction of having the worlds best thugs along with Liberal laws that only empower them. IMO this type of anarchy would occur in any big city USA following a similiar disaster.

So... how do you account for Baghdad? It's not what I would call a liberal center.