Division by Zero

From Paula Gaon's blog:

When I look at pictures of Einstein, the depth that one sees in his eyes has always struck me. Always got the feeling that he wasn't looking at anything. Rather, he absorbed and processed--trying to understand of the mysteries, synthesis, and synergies of creation. He must have been a very spiritual and creative man. Hum, while I was typing this Blog, something my father (also an accomplished scientist), of blessed memory used to say popped into my head: "All of Nature is based on the mathematical number e, (i.e. growth curves, etc), except death itself. It must be division by 0 and undefined in this world as we know it."

Go read the whole post on time, relativity, art, and astrology at the link. Don't forget to hit Paula's homepage too.

Morning Report: September 18, 2005

Afghan elections undisrupted. Stratfor (subscription service) reports that 'Polls for Afghanistan's first parliamentary elections in over 30 years closed Sept. 18 with no significant attempt to disrupt the elections by the Taliban or al Qaeda', despite sporadic violence. Dean Esmay comments on some ironies, and links to Publius Pundit who's keeping a running update on the Afghan parliamentary elections. (Stratfor, Dean Esmay, Publius Pundit)

Iran bracing for confrontation? Amir Taheri writes: 'Incredible though it may sound there are signs that Tehran may be preparing for a military confrontation with the United States, and has convinced itself that it could win. The first sign came last June with the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president of the Islamic Republic, an event that completed the conquest of all levers of power by the most radical elements of the establishment. Since then, the revolutionary factions have conducted a little publicized purge of the military, the security, the civil service, and state-owned corporations and media. The most significant purges have affected the military high command. ...' Full post at the link. (Amir Taheri)

New Orleans Residents Blame Nagin, Praise Bush

NOLA evacuees from Hurricane Katrina refused to follow the script, much to the disappointment of ABC News. NewsBusters has the whole story; here's the transcript of the interviews:

Reynolds elicited reaction from the group sitting in chairs: “I'd like to get the reaction of Connie London who spent several horrible hours at the Superdome. You heard the President say retpeaedly that you are not alone, that the country stands beside you. Do you believe him?”

Connie London: “Yeah, I believe him, because here in Texas, they have truly been good to us. I mean-”

Reynolds: “Did you get a sense of hope that you could return to your home one day in New Orleans?”

London: “Yes, I did. I did.”

Reynolds: “Did you harbor any anger toward the President because of the slow federal response?”

London: “No, none whatsoever, because I feel like our city and our state government should have been there before the federal government was called in. They should have been on their jobs.”

Reynolds: “And they weren't?”

London: “No, no, no, no. Lord, they wasn't. I mean, they had RTA buses, Greyhound buses, school buses, that was just sitting there going under water when they could have been evacuating people.” ...

Read the whole thing. Meanwhile, NewsMax reports that Governor Kathleen Blanco admitted she should have called the military:

Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco's abrupt decision Wednesday night to take responsibility for her state's inadequate response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster followed an inadvertent confession that was caught on camera where Blanco admitted she blew it.

"I really should have called for the military," Blanco said, while chatting with her press secretary in between TV interviews. "I really should have started that in the first call."

Unbeknownst to Blanco, her bombshell acknowledgment was recorded on a network satellite feed, and by Tuesday the clip was getting wide exposure in Louisiana news broadcasts.

Post - 9/11 Roundup

Nadz has an extraordinary post on September 11:

...It hit me then that this was no accident. Sure enough, the second plane hit, and we all knew. "Go, Osama!" someone said.

I was both shocked and not shocked. I knew that there were people who wanted to attack the States, having lived in the Middle East and seen how hated America was in some quarters. What shocked me was that al-Qaeda managed to do it, to get on the planes and strike so easily. I figured that the US government expected it and was prepared. But how do you prepare for something so big, so horrible?

The scale of the attack also surprised me. I had thought in my mind before, "what would happen if the white house and congress were hit in a war - would the government collapse? what would that mean? who would be the new superpower?" But when the news was reporting the attacks on the Pentagon, and reports of a bomb at the US capital, i thought this was it. It was the collapse of America. I felt sad and frightened, and more American than I had ever felt before.

At first, there was a brief, shameful second where I felt some satisfaction - I didn't think about the fact that there were people in the buildings. I saw this as the big guy getting hit by the little guy, and the government getting payback for supporting Israel's occupation. It was a second, but I still feel disgusted by it. But as I watched the smoke billow and thought about the pain this would cause, my anger immediately shifted to the murderers who killed so many. The projected death tolls were being read, the images of people jumping were being shown, the replays of the towers collapsing. It felt like the end of the world, and I knew who did it. I became angrier and angrier, not only for the evil of the attack, but also because I felt that, as an Arab and a Palestinian, this was being done in my name ....

Go read the whole thing - especially the end - to find out how far a little courage can go.

Worth a second link, Baldilocks has some thoughts on life, death, and a positive response to tragedy.

Three men went to work one Tuesday morning. Only one came back. Gay Patriot tells their moving stories ... and of how one man's life was saved in an unlikely way.

Jane at Armies of Liberation is at a loss for words.

Tal-Afar and Samarra

Omar at Iraq the Model follows up Mohammed's post with this analysis:

Yesterday, the minister of defense met delegates from Samarra in his office. The visit arranged for by the head of the Sunni mortmain department sheikh Ahmed Al-Samarrai came after the minister declared that that the government is going to send troops to other cities including Samarra.
The minister was straightforward in his speech and warned the delegates that if the city doesn't cooperate with the authorities in eliminating terror and criminal gangs, troops will have to enter the city and clean it up in a way similar to what happened in Talafar and the minister said that one month will be given to allow the city to take positive steps before power is used:

Let the decision be yours brothers because if you let others decide for the city, that decision would be tough on you and your people.
[…]
Bullets are blind and they can't distinguish between the good and the bad. We don't want to see innocent people get hurt.
You can not close your eyes and pretend it's not your responsibility when you see a terrorist or a suspect, you must cooperate with us if you want peace and stability in your city…

The Iraqi Defense Minister would have none of the Samarra delegates' objections and denials, and told them:

Those cities [Najaf and other southern cities] are much more stable when compared with cities in the west or north west like Samarra and the young people in the south are joining the security forces in growing numbers, so why don't you and your people do the same? I hereby announce that our doors are open for recruits from Samarra, encourage your young men to join the army to keep your city safe and peaceful. The government is willing to hear your demands and discuss them to reach a solution for the situation in Samarra, so talk to your people, write down your demands and submit them to the government but keep them reasonable, we can't negotiate demands like those we heard from Ramadi, they wanted us to pull all Iraqi and American troops and let them rebuild units from the old army and that's not acceptable. There's one army in Iraq.

Omar adds:

Obviously the massive Iraqi-American operation in Talafar is encouraging other cities to seek peaceful solutions with the government and the first move came from Samarra because of the difference between Samara and other cities in the west; Samarra is a city that depends on trade, tourism and some industry for income unlike Haditha or Qaim which depend mainly on agriculture for economy and Samarra is a bigger city when compared with Qaim or Hadith and remaining under siege for a long time can be devastating for such a city and that'e what the delegate emphasized in their talks with the minister. Moreover, the type of Islam present in Samarra is relatively moderate and the clerics are not as extreme as those in Anbar and that is expected to give negotiations some flexibility.

Morning Report: September 15, 2005

Debka: Palestinians stockpiling weapons in Gaza. Debka reports: 'The Palestinians poured their entire Sinai arms dumps into Gaza, taking advantage of four days of unrestricted border transit. With them came a fresh influx of terrorists, including arrivals from Lebanon. According to DEBKAfile’s Exclusive’s military sources, the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, Jihad Islami and other Palestinian groups have poured many tons of explosives, rockets, RPGs and missiles into Gaza. An Israeli officer estimated the quantity would have kept three large Sinai-Rafah arms tunnels busy around the clock for a year. Thursday, September 15, thousands of Palestinians continued to flock unchecked by Egyptian or Palestinian police across the Gaza-Egyptian border through the Rafah Sultan refugee camp. All the Egyptians are doing is replacing the damaged patches of barbed wire along the Philadelphi route and resealing the holes in the border wall.' Amir Taheri is not upbeat about Gaza's future: 'Contrary to hyperbolic claims by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Gaza is not liberated territory — all its points of contact with the outside world, including the West Bank, are still under Israeli control. Israel also retains effective control over a good chunk of Gaza's income both from customs' dues and foreign donations, as well as its trade. The most conservative estimates put the number of mini-armies in Gaza at 22. To these must be added the Palestinian Authority's security force and police, which also operate as rival factions. For a total population of perhaps 1.2 million, some 30 percent of all Palestinians in the "disputed territories," Gaza is believed to have over 100,000 armed men. It is also the single biggest producer of "volunteers for suicide-martyrdom" in the world. And yet Gaza accounts for only 1 percent of the Palestinian "disputed territories." The world's most densely populated piece of land, Gaza also suffers from unemployment rates not seen anywhere else. The territory's largest employers are, in fact, the 22 armed groups mentioned above plus the political, social, educational and health networks operated by Hamas, Islamic Jihad and smaller militants groups linked with the Iran-sponsored Hezbollah movement. ... The best-case scenario is that Mahmoud Abbas secures a deal with Hamas and Islamic Jihad to allow the general elections, planned for next January, to take place. Hamas and Islamic Jihad may end up winning up to 40 percent of the seats in the future Palestinian parliament. That, in turn, may persuade them to switch to a political strategy. ... The worst-case scenario is a Palestinian civil war fought on various fronts and at multiple levels. That could make Gaza a magnet for Islamist jihadists, who appear determined to create "a crescent of fire" from Iraq to Egypt, passing by Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan.' (Debka, Amir Taheri)

Zarqawi: War on Shi'a Muslims. Also from Debka: 'DEBKAfile Reports: Al Qaeda`s Iraq leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi released an audiotape Wednesday night declaring total war on the Shiites. The new declaration of war is of great significance for the state of the Iraq war and US relations with Muslim nations with substantial Shiite populations.' (Debka)

Belmont Club on Hitchens, Galloway. The deep, acromonious, and invective-laden vendetta between George Galloway and Christopher Hitchens is iconic of the deep divisions within today's Left. The Belmont Club offers an analysis of last night's Hitchens/Galloway debate. Wretchard concludes: 'Hitchens, as will be evident to anyone who heard him address members of the audience as 'comrades' and invoke socialist solidarity is still a man of the Left who has merely remained true to the internal logic of his convictions. It puts him on the side of those fighting for republican forms against absolutist theocracies; and if that is the same camp as George Bush's then so be it. In that context, the contrast between Hitchens and Galloway is less of belief than of integrity: Hitchens opposes Al Qaeda because of his Leftist beliefs; Galloway supports Al Qaeda in despite of them; and to the traditional socialist this can only be explained by the inducement of cash. That was Hitchen's wider and subliminal reproach to the audience: what manner of men would pay to hear to George Galloway? Call yourselves anything, but don't call yourselves 'progressives'.' Read the full post at the link. (Belmont Club)

Morning Report: September 14, 2005

Rice promotes US policy on UN anniversary. Fox: 'The assembly of more than 170 world leaders to mark the United Nations' 60th birthday gives Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice a unique opportunity to advance U.S. foreign policy goals on several difficult fronts. Success is by no means assured. While the United States is the largest contributor and the world's only real superpower, it cannot count on the United Nations for automatic support. ... Rice's drive to pressure Iran to resume negotiations on its nuclear program is a key test. Any U.S. resolution in the U.N. Security Council to censure Iran or to impose sanctions runs the risk of being vetoed. ... Russia remains dubious about having the council take up the issue. On Friday, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Yakovenko called it a hasty step.' (Fox)

Roger Simon: UN, RIP. Roger L. Simon thinks it's all over for the United Nations: by failing to adopt serious reforms in the wake of the oil-for-fraud scandal, the UN - once a symbol of idealism - has consigned itself to irrelevancy. 'Of course, it will still be there in name, serving discount lunches to diplomats in the cafeteria, and the Secretariat Building will not yet be turned over to The Donald to be retrofitted as a gold-plated hotel/casino in Turtle Bay, but it might as well be, considering the pallid reform package the General Assembly was able to muster today. The Washington Post sums up: *The negotiators were forced to put off action on some of the thorniest and most ambitious goals, including proposals to expand the U.N. Security Council, to create an independent auditing board to scrutinize U.N. spending, and to impose basic membership standards for a new Human Rights Council so that chronic rights abusers will not be able to join.* So, despite all, the Volcker Report on Oil-for-Food's call for independent auditing evidently had no impact (the endless corruption spigot's still on), ditto the Koizumi electoral smash. Despite its vastly stronger economy and healthier system, Japan stays off the Security Council for the benefit of trivial France and dysfunctional Russia. ...' Full post at the link. (Roger Simon)

Dozens die in Iraq in al-Qaeda reprisals; terrorist group calls it "final battle", analysts say death throes. Al-Qaeda in Iraq failed to deliver on its promised chemical attacks following the allied Tal Afar offensive, offering instead an orgy of car bombings that left dozens of innocent people dead but failed to produce any evident strategic benefit for the group. Current Debka homepage offers this analysis of the latest spate of terrorist attacks in Iraq: 'Al Qaeda has begun nationwide suicide campaign to avenge US-Iraqi offensive against rebel Tal Afar town in northern Iraq. Twelve car bombings in Baghdad killed at least 160, mostly Shiites, and injured scores, Wednesday. One failed to detonate against a US convoy and the driver was captured. The al Qaeda notice appeared on Abu Musab al Zarqawi’s Land of the Two Rivers website. Early Wednesday, a suicide bomber lured a crowd of Shiite laborers to his minivan in the Kadhimiya district and detonated 500lbs of explosives, killing 114, injuring 156. It was in the same district that nearly 1,000 Shiite pilgrims were slaughtered two weeks ago. Eleven died in a second suicide bombing at a fuel pump in the capital. Two hours earlier, gunmen dressed as soldiers shot dead 17 civilians before dawn Wednesday after dragging them out of their homes. The victims were blindfolded, cuffed and “executed” in the main square of Taji north of Baghdad.' Mohammed at Iraq the Model adds: 'Today Al-Qaeda carried out their threat and launched their "final battle" that has no apparent goal other than killing the largest possible number of Iraqis. Maybe Al-Qaeda wants to exterminate all Iraqis as a start for exterminating mankind! Eleven explosions till now in Baghdad alone and the news are coming while I type these words. I passed by two of the car-bombs on my way home, one of them-gladly-failed to detonate and the driver was arrested, he was apparently trying to attack the interior ministry, the crowd that gathered in the scene say the driver was Syrian. A few minutes later I saw a big explosion that was close to the green zone. The other passengers in the mini bus were discussing the explosion in Kadhimiya that killed more than a hundred construction workers who were waiting for employers to hire them. The Al-Qaeda called it the "battle for avenging Talafar" and this gives us a clue of the extent of the losses inflicted upon Al-Qaeda by Iraqi and American troops and the anger and frustration associated with these losses. The huge losses of Al-Qaeda in Talafar were in my opinion a result of the poor training of the new recruits as many of the old, well trained fighters were either killed or arrested over the past two years. The new Al-Qaeda recruits are even getting generous in giving information after being arrested as one advisor of the interior ministry said yesterday; these information and confessions are more and more revealing the ties of Al-Qaeda's branch in Iraq with Syria and I guess that's why the American ambassador Khalilzad was so confident when he talked about Syria because the evidence now do not only indicate carelessness in monitoring the borders, they confirm the existence of cooperation in training and logistic support. Obviously the continuous American-Iraqi armies' operations in western Iraq have pushed Al-Qaeda to announce this "final battle" but actually this reminds me of Saddam when he felt that his end was nearing and called the battle "the hawasim" (the final or decisive) and it was indeed as it ended his reign. Al-Qaeda has never won a war before and I don't expect things to be different this time, except that this time they want the battle to be final which means the terrorists will pour all their resources and power into this battle so their defeat this time will hopefully pave the way for ending their presence in Iraq.' (Debka, ITM)

Two convicted of murdering transgender teen. The Washington Blade reports: 'Two men who had sex with a transgender teen and then discovered she was biologically male were convicted Monday of her murder, but cleared of hate crime charges. An autopsy found that Araujo died of asphyxiation associated with head injuries. Michael Magidson and Jose Merel, both 25, face mandatory sentences of 15 years-to-life in prison for second-degree murder in the killing of Gwen Araujo, who was beaten, tied up and strangled. The jury was deadlocked in the case of a third man, Jason Cazares, 25, marking the second time a jury was unable to reach a verdict in his case. Araujo, 17, was born a boy named Edward but grew up to believe her true identity was female. The defendants, who knew her as Lida, met her in the summer of 2002. Magidson and Merel had sexual encounters with her, experiences that fueled suspicions about Araujo's gender. ...' Fox News: 'In their verdict Monday, the jury rejected defense arguments that the killing of 17-year-old Gwen Araujo amounted to no more than manslaughter. "It's murder," said Gwen Smith, who maintains a Web site memorializing people believed to have been killed because they were transgender. "And a murder conviction shows that transgender lives are valuable." ... Outside the Alameda County courtroom, Araujo's mother, Sylvia Guerrero, said she was satisfied by the verdicts. "Nothing is going to bring Gwen back. I know that." Guerrero said. "But this is at least a step toward closure."' (Washington Blade, Fox)

Morning Report: September 13, 2005

Brown resigns as head of FEMA. CNN: 'Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Mike Brown resigned Monday after coming under fire over his qualifications and for what critics call a bungled response to Hurricane Katrina's destruction. President Bush chose David Paulison, the director of FEMA's preparedness division, as interim director, the White House announced.' (CNN)

Rice: Legacy of racism. CNN: 'Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the people who were stranded in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina are evidence that race and poverty can still come together "in a very ugly way" in parts of the "Old South." "The United States should want to do something about that," Rice said in an interview Monday with the editorial board of The New York Times. "There are still places that race and poverty are a huge problem in the United States, and we've got to deal with that." ' (CNN)

Batebi on Iranian regime. Free Iran posts an interview by The Scotsman with fugitive Iranian dissident Ahmed Batebi. The college student became an icon of the Iranian resistance when he was photographed holding a friend's bloodied T-shirt; he now lives on the run. Batebi is sharply critical of the European Union's accomodationist stance toward the IRI regime: '"Everyone knows how much the EU's wheelings and dealings with Iran have strengthened the lifeblood of the Mullahs," he says. "The majority of people see the EU as allied to the government of Iran and usually as contradicting in spirit what the US might do. They think that the EU is mainly looking after its short-term economic interests, rather than democracy." ' (The Scotsman via Free Iran)

A Finger Where It Belongs

Possibly the best death post ever. Baldilocks fights back at the forces of fear and destruction. Go read this post - whether baptism is part of your journey or not.

Random Katrina Blogging Gripe

Very white of you. I think I'm gonna puke if I see one more right-of-center blogger posting a bunch of pictures of Magnanimous White People Coming To The Aid Of Unfortunate Black People in order to prove the proposition "White People Aren't Prejudiced". (I'm not naming any names, you know who you are.) Geez, how condescending can you get? I've been the "token Jew" on a few occasions myself (smile for the camera!) and personally I really dislike being exploited this way.

If you want to show PEOPLE HELPING OTHER PEOPLE, or even AMERICANS HELPING OTHER AMERICANS, cool. Nothing wrong with that. But flashing a few photo-ops to sweep the race problem under the rug isn't cool.

Look, I said before that we've come a long way since the days of segregation and I meant it. I'm also going to tell you that I know America hasn't become the promised land of racial equality quite just yet. I was part of an all-white jury with an African American defendent just about three years ago. I'll post about that another time. But dammit, we - and by "we" I mean the pro-Bush people - need to get a clue and stop trivializing race issues.

This isn't about George W. Bush. Got that? This isn't about George Bush. Matter of fact, I've got my own criticisms of the Chief but I really don't think he'd stoop to this kind of posturing. This is about you and me.

The Gulf Coast and the Persian Gulf

From Greyhawk at The Mudville Gazette, here's an e-mail from the wife of a National Guardsman in Iraq:

My husband is in Iraq, with a battalion composed mostly of soldiers from the Mississippi Army National Guard. (By the way, 79 are being sent home on emergency leave because they know their homes were destroyed in Hurricane Katrina or because they have been unable to contact their families since the storm. The media has done a wretched job, truly wretched, of reporting on the devastation for THOUSANDS of square miles in Mississippi, from Jackson south to the Coast.) When he arrived in January, 2005, my husband met with and worked with the State Department representative in the province, who mentioned to a local female Iraqi veterinarian that our children were both veterinarians, so the doctor asked to meet him. A great friendship resulted.

Paul Bremer had “gifted” women’s groups and other non-governmental agencies with buildings to have centers from which to operate. However, he apparently did not have the authority to do that. When a more fundamental Islamic government was elected in January, the provincial council proceeded to make plans to evict the doctor from her Women’s Center. ...

However, back in April, a small church (about 200 members) in Sturgis, Mississippi – the Friendship Baptist Church – sent the battalion a gift of $4000 to buy goods from Iraqi vendors to help Iraqi people. They purchased a wheel chair for a crippled twelve-year-old girl; they purchased beds, linens, and food for crippled, blind twin four-year-old girls; and provided food, beds, and linens for a new girls’ orphanage that they had built. The battalion is moving to a new FOB but they still had about half the church’s donation remaining. He asked the pastor if he could use the money to help the doctor, who had personally borrowed the money somehow to pay six months’ rent in advance on another building for the Women’s Center. The church readily agreed, and my husband presented the doctor with $2000 for her Women’s Center. She recently sent a very kind e-mail thank you to Pastor Davis.

I am attaching that letter, along with a letter that Pastor Davis sent to an imam with the original gift. I know that all Iraqis are not pleased that the US is in their country, but I think many are happy that we are there and that we relieved them of Saddam’s rule. Of course, the anti-Bush MSM doesn’t want Americans to know that....

By the way, the poor people of North Mississippi have done many projects to help Iraqis. We sent 73 boxes (many very large boxes) of medical supplies that we gathered in a campaign back in the spring. We also conducted Operation Backpack and sent hundreds of backpacks to Iraqi children. Individuals, churches, clubs, and communities have generously donated books, medical supplies, toys, and clothes. Wonderful stories of generosity and appreciation abound but not a word appears in the MSM about any of it! A pox upon censors of the news!

*****
Dr. ___

My name is Junior Davis, and I am pastor of Friendship Baptist Church in Mississippi, USA. We hear everyday how hard the struggle is for Iraqi families, especially women and children, and greatly admire your courage and persistence to help those who are oppressed. I personally know {the commander} and most of his soldiers that are there to help you. They are all good men that have families eagerly waiting on them back home. We miss them a lot and pray for their safety every day.

We were so very sorry to hear that you are struggling to keep the women’s clinic open. I know the work you have done to help children and women in your country has made a huge difference. _______ has made us aware of the situation you are in and with your permission; we would like to be a part of your efforts. Please, accept this small gift from your friends at Friendship Baptist as a gesture that we care about you and that we support your efforts. Accept this gift in honor of all the soldiers that have been helping you get your country back.

What you are doing is a noble thing. Don’t give up. ...
Thank you for all you do to keep our soldiers safe. We consider you our friend and pray for your country every day. If you are ever in Mississippi, we would be honored to meet you and welcome you into our home.

*****
Dear Pastor Junior Davis
I am the director of women center. We do not know how we can thank you for your help, your help helps the center to continue, the center which many Americans and Iraqis people worked very hard to open it ,some of them sacrificed by their souls.

We knew that the Mississippi people are passing hard time we pray for them to pass this time safely , they are good people they did not help the center only but they tried to help all {the city} so we sure god will help them.

Please pray for us to pervade the peace in our country and the soldiers go back to their home safely.

Dr. __________
The director of women center.

I've edited slightly for brevity; please go read the whole thing (with photo) at the link.

Via Judith at Kesher Talk, PoliPundit has some predictions from National Guardsman "Oak Leaf""

Having just completed twelve days of active duty in support of “Joint Task Force Katrina”, six days on the ground in NOLA and six days in assisting with pre-positioning of Federal assets, I would like to offer the following predictions:

1. Mayor Ray Nagin (D) estimated that fatalities would be as high as 10,000. While it is conceivable that area wide fatalities could in theory approach 3,000, I strongly believe that fatalities in NOLA, directly attributed to Katrina will be less than one thousand, (1,000).

2. Pat O’Brien’s will be serving “Hurricanes” again before Thanksgiving of this year.

3. The Mardi Gras Carnival Parade will go on “as scheduled” for February 28, 2006.

4. Within thirty days, electricity will be restored to a majority of NOLA.

5. Within thirty days, 90% of the city will by dry enough to access by civilian SUV.

6. Dependent on the restoration of water/sewer service, of which I have no first hand knowledge to comment, large numbers of NOLA residents will be going home by Thanksgiving.

7. Ninety percent, or more, of the residents that were displaced in NOLA will eventually return to the city in search of the now greatly expanded employment prospects in construction. However, the small percentage that does not return will change Louisiana politics permanently. Louisiana will join the rest of the “South” as a solid Republican State.

8. The funds allocated by Congress will not be completely used.

While not of a predictive nature, I would like to offer a few more thoughts. The unofficial motto of the Infantry is “Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way.” The elected local politicians in Louisiana are not “leaders” and should have stepped aside. You do not elect a “leader”, a “leader” is developed over time and experience.

In spite of herself, Gov. Blanco had significant military assets available to her, of which she had little knowledge to effectively utilize. The people of Louisiana would have been better served had the Governor ceded control to one of the many Platoon Sergeants in the Louisiana Army National Guard that she commands.

In six days in NOLA I have seen ignorance, paralysis and blatant/shameless corruption, ALL at the “local” level of government. Should the Congress pursue an “investigation” or appoint a Commission, I would pray that the members are not current/former Louisiana politicians or family members. The military term FUBAR is an apt description of the “emergency management plan execution” by the NOLA Mayor, the NOLA Police Department, the LA Governor and all of their emergency management appointees.

I look forward to getting home this weekend.

– Oak Leaf

From Iraq the Model, Iraqi soldiers donate to Katrina victims:

Iraqi soldiers donate to Katrina victims:
(Hat tip:ITM reader).

“On behalf of myself and all the People of Tadji Military Base; I would like to console the American People and Government for getting this horrible disaster. So we would like to donate 1.000.000 Iraqi Dinars to help the government and the People also I would like to console all the ASTs who helped us rebuilding our country and our Army. We appreciate the American's help and support. Thank you".


These were the words of Colonel Abbas Fadhil, commander of the Taji military base.
The donated money is little, less than 700 $ and it can do practically nothing but the spirit and and words mean quite a lot.

Michelle Malkin has a letter from a Marine infantryman:

An infantry marine talks back to the NYTimes' Frank Rich (published in yesterday's NYTimes letters section):

To the Editor:

I am an infantry marine with 12 years of service, and I am presently stationed in Falluja, Iraq. I am also a New Orleans native and my parents live in Mandeville, which is on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain. They have lost everything.

I take issue with "Falluja Floods the Superdome," by Frank Rich. Falluja is doing quite well. I know because my marines are out on the streets every day. We've been here for almost seven months, and the difference is night and day since we got here.

Secondly, I have 20 other marines in my battalion who are from Louisiana, and not one of us considers himself a "have-not." In fact, every marine in this battalion is proud of what we have accomplished, and we are proud to be marines. Military service was a choice, not a last resort for us.

(Staff Sgt.) Jeff Harilson
Falluja, Iraq, Sept. 5, 2005

Brown resigns ...

... as director of FEMA.
CNN:

Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Mike Brown resigned Monday after coming under fire over his qualifications and for what critics call a bungled response to Hurricane Katrina.

"Today I resigned as director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency," Brown said in a news release.

"As I told the president, it is important that I leave now to avoid further distraction from the ongoing mission of FEMA." ...