World's reactions to Katrina disaster

[Phlegm]

"Islamic extremists declared that private katrina had joined the global jihad". From Associated Press:

VIENNA, Austria - From papal prayers to telegrams from China, the world reacted with an outpouring of compassion Wednesday for the victims of Hurricane Katrina in messages tinged by shock that a disaster of this scale could occur in the United States.

Islamic extremists rejoiced in America’s misfortune, giving the storm a military rank and declaring in Internet chatter that “Private” Katrina had joined the global jihad, or holy war. With “God’s help,” they declared, oil prices would hit $100 a barrel this year.

Venezuela’s government, which has had tense relations with Washington, offered humanitarian aid and fuel if requested.

The storm was seen as an equalizer — proof that any country, weak or strong, can be victimized by a natural disaster. Images of flood-ravaged New Orleans earned particular sympathy in central Europe, where dozens died in raging floodwaters only days ago.

“Nature proved that no matter how rich and economically developed you are, you can’t fight it,” says Danut Afasei, a local official in Romania’s Harghita county, where flooding killed 13 people last week.

Mourning for 'European' city

Throughout Europe, concerned citizens lamented the loss of life and the damage caused to New Orleans, often described as one of North America’s most “European” cities.

French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder sent messages of sympathy to President Bush. Chirac, who has famously quarreled with Bush over the Iraq war, addressed this letter, “Dear George.”

Pope Benedict XVI said he was praying for victims of the “tragic” hurricane while China’s President Hu Jintao expressed his “belief that that the American people will definitely overcome the natural disaster and rebuild their beautiful homeland.”

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II also sent a message to Bush saying she was “deeply shocked and saddened” at the devastation caused by the hurricane and expressing her condolences, “especially to the families of those who have lost their lives, to the injured and to all who have been affected by this terrible disaster.”

The U.S. Embassy in Bern, Switzerland — a capital at the foot of the Alps hit by flooding last week — said calls were rushing in from Swiss individuals and institutions looking for a way to donate to relief efforts.

“We are getting calls from the Swiss public looking to express their condolences, (and) people are also asking for an account number where they can make donations,” said spokesman Daniel Wendell.

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz called President Bush offering condolences to the victims of the disaster.

On Monday, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi said that Saudi Arabia was prepared to immediately increase its crude oil production to ease the effects of Hurricane Katrina and stabilize world crude prices.

Arguing over aid

The Internet-edition of the Vienna daily Der Standard had recorded 820 postings commenting on a front-page story on the hurricane. One posting asked where money could be donated to the victims, but the question sparked a debate about whether a rich country like the United States needed such aid.

A response argued that hurricane victims who are poor still needed support.

Amid the sympathy, however, there was criticism.

As U.S. military engineers struggled to shore up breached levees, experts in the Netherlands expressed surprise that New Orleans’ flood systems failed to restrain the raging waters.

With half of the country’s population of 16 million living below sea level, the Netherlands prepared for a “perfect storm” soon after floods in 1953 killed 2,000 people. The nation installed massive hydraulic sea walls.

Amid sympathy, criticism

“I don’t want to sound overly critical, but it’s hard to imagine that (the damage caused by Katrina) could happen in a Western country,” said Ted Sluijter, spokesman for the park where the sea walls are exhibited. “It seemed like plans for protection and evacuation weren’t really in place, and once it happened, the coordination was on loose hinges.”

The sympathy was muted in some corners by a sense that the United States reaped what it sowed, since the country is seen as the main contributor to global warming.

Joern Ehlers, a spokesman for World Wildlife Fund Germany, said global warming had increased the intensity of hurricanes.

“The Americans have a big impact on the greenhouse effect,” Ehlers said.

But Harlan L. Watson, the U.S. envoy for negotiations on climate change, dismissed talk of a link between global warming and the strength of storms.

“Our scientists are telling us right now that there’s not a linkage,” he said in Geneva. “I’ll rely on their information.”

[Ciladan]

Islamic extremists rejoiced in America’s misfortune

big surprise

[Myg0t]

giving the storm a military rank and declaring in Internet chatter that “Private” Katrina had joined the global jihad

oh those crazy Islam extremists.....

[DangerPaul]

The sympathy was muted in some corners by a sense that the United States reaped what it sowed, since the country is seen as the main contributor to global warming.

I hope that comment is remembered the next time billions of US tax dollars are wasted on third world countries ravaged by war and/or natural disasters in the future.

[Langston]

France, Germany... even China and Venezuela offering condolences or aid.

Islamists? They're having a party.

If that, by itself, doesn't tell you all you need to know about the obvious disregard for human life and inability to distinguish innocents from combatants that these "people" have - nothing ever will.

It's time to turn the desert sand into glass.

[Tuggan]

missing keyword: EXTREMISTS

[brinstar]

Jimmie's Chicken Shack


When You Die You're Dead

following the crowd provides security
cities alienate people
many of the things you want are worthless
if you try...congratualte yourself
surviving can take a lot of energy
everything's an integral of everything else
almost no-one finds their match
strangers don't want to know you
nature always wins
why would you waste it
why do we waste it
why would you waste it
why do we waste it
we all want the same things
you have chosen everything that
happens to you
we are part of the land
people want to look nice
and loneliness is not contagious
violence is passed through generations
crowds create their own power
everyone you meet is a mirror of yourself
things left undone become harder
progress takes time
why would you waste it
why do we waste it
why would you waste it
why do we waste it
experience gives you options
the range of personalities...endless
most weirdos want to be
people are attached to what they can't have
defense mechanisms are inherited
power is passed to those near it
one size fits all...doesn't
western man is too seperated from nature
and people interests should come
before business interests
you can only screw yourself
self esteem is basic to success
and it will be a long time before safe is sex
pain inside shows
only certain types are religious
and many artists...aren't
you can have anything you want
a court of law is designed to intimidate
stay in touch with your inner self
living increases knowledge
'cause living increases knowledge
'cause living increases knowledge
yeah living increases knowledge
yeah they say living increases knowledge (x3)
and when you die...you're dead

[Captain Insano]

France, Germany... even China and Venezuela offering condolences or aid.

Islamists? They're having a party.

If that, by itself, doesn't tell you all you need to know about the obvious disregard for human life and inability to distinguish innocents from combatants that these "people" have - nothing ever will.

It's time to turn the desert sand into glass.

Islams are all extremists... I agree with Langston... We should spam the big red nuclear holocost button and just wipe those faggots out.

[Myg0t]

Langston

It's time to turn the desert sand into glass.

that was clever, I liked it.

[Phlegm]

from cnn:

(CNN) -- An Islamist Web site on Sunday posted a recording from al Qaeda's leader in Iraq saying Hurricane Katrina was an answer to the prayers of Iraqis and Afghans who have suffered under U.S. occupation.

The audio message thought to be from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi came on the fourth anniversary of al Qaeda's terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001.

The voice on the recording was verified to be al-Zarqawi by a CNN Arabic speaker familiar with many of his previous statements.

The United States and the Iraqi government call Jordanian-born al-Zarqawi the most wanted terrorist in the country. The United States has posted a $25 million reward for information leading to his capture.

In the recording, al-Zarqawi said, "I believe the devastating hurricane that hit the United States occurred because people in Iraq or Afghanistan -- maybe a mother who had lost her son or a son whose parents were killed or a woman who was raped -- were praying for God and God accepted their prayers."

The reference to Hurricane Katrina means the recording was made after August 29, when the powerful storm hit the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Marking the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks Sunday, President Bush attended a ceremony on the south lawn of the White House, where he and other members of his administration observed a moment of silence.

In Louisiana, New York firefighters and police officers helping victims of Katrina held their own 9/11 services.

Those observances came as the co-chairmen of the bipartisan 9/11 commission told CNN that the government's response to Katrina showed little was learned from the 2001 attacks about how to handle disasters.

Recent European intelligence reports reviewed by Time magazine suggested that al-Zarqawi's authority is expanding beyond Iraq and that he now rivals Osama bin Laden in influence among Middle Eastern and European jihadists.

The last time bin Laden released a statement late last December in an audiotape on which he praised al-Zarqawi and designated him the al Qaeda leader in Iraq.

Al-Zarqawi's group, Al Qaeda in Iraq, has been behind many of that country's worst insurgent attacks, beheadings and kidnappings.

Laying out its ideology in a broad manifesto, the group last month said the insurgency is in better shape than the United States acknowledges and vowed to continue the insurgency and "destroy the American empire."

The U.S. continued to battle the insurgency in Iraq Sunday, with a U.S. military spokesman saying an operation launched two weeks ago to drive insurgents from the northern city of Tal Afar has been "extremely successful."

And Iraq's president told CNN his country would not suffer unduly if the United States were to reduce its spending there in order to direct more resources toward its own Gulf Coast.

Asked how long his nation will depend on U.S. assistance, Jalal Talabani predicted his country will "be able, within two years, to stand up and to depend on its own sources."