criminal theatre

There was a striking dicrepancy between the CNN International report on the Bush visit to the New Orleans disaster zone, yesterday, and reports of the same event by German TV.

ZDF News reported that the president's visit was a completely staged event. Their crew witnessed how the open air food distribution point Bush visited in front of the cameras was torn down immediately after the president and the herd of 'news people' had left and that others which were allegedly being set up were abandoned at the same time.

The people in the area were once again left to fend for themselves, said ZDF.

From here via here:

FEMA is also promoting blatantly dominionist groups (including Pat Robertson's own "Operation Blessing"--which has been used, among other things, to ferry blood diamonds out of Africa under the name of "charity shipment") over known, reputable charities like Americares and Mercy Corps.

Dick Cheney and Condoleeza Rice were actually shopping and attending PLAYS while it was being widely broadcasted that the levees had failed andNew Orleans was under eight feet of water.

Shrub McChimpy actually was goofing off and playing guitar badly during a press conference where people were asking about things, as if he wasn't taking this seriously at all (then again, a lot of dominionists have literally been praying that New Orleans would be smited for *years*).

...via here:

NEW ORLEANS — Combat operations are underway on the streets “to take this city back” in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

“This place is going to look like Little Somalia,” Brig. Gen. Gary Jones, commander of the Louisiana National Guard’s Joint Task Force told Army Times Friday as hundreds of armed troops under his charge prepared to launch a massive citywide security mission from a staging area outside the Louisiana Superdome. “We’re going to go out and take this city back. This will be a combat operation to get this city under control.”

Jones said the military first needs to establish security throughout the city. Military and police officials have said there are several large areas of the city are in a full state of anarchy.

Dozens of military trucks and up-armored Humvees left the staging area just after 11 a.m. Friday, while hundreds more troops arrived at the same staging area in the city via Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters.

“We’re here to do whatever they need us to do,” Sgt. 1st Class Ron Dixon, of the Oklahoma National Guard’s 1345th Transportation Company. “We packed to stay as long as it takes.”