"It's frustrating that the government can deliver $85 billion to bail out AIG, and they can't deliver ice in Texas," said Ben Smilowitz, executive director of the Disaster Accountability Project (DAP), a nonpartisan organization that monitors the nation's disaster response system.
Media Obstruction in Galveston
Press denied access in the wake of Hurricane Ike
By Curtis Brainard
Thu 18 Sep 2008
And fear of Internet gossip should not prohibit responsible journalism. The ABC News affiliate in Houston carried a video of investigative reporter Wayne Dolcefino confronting Texas governor Rick Perry about temporary “no-fly” zones for TV helicopters over parts of the Bolivar peninsula and west Galveston, the hardest hit areas. Later in the video, Dolcefino tells the ABC anchors:
After Katrina, we were able to go to Waveland, Mississippi, and Gulfport, and Biloxi, and places that were devastated, where there were, sadly, bodies on the road. Now that’s a horrible thing to see and a horrible thing to show, but people who live there, who have friends there, who have relatives there, have a fundamental right to know that stuff. They have a fundamental right to know, not just from the words of a politician or public official, but from the news media, which are independent of government and have also the responsibility of trying to help the public evaluate response…
We couldn’t get crews back on Galveston last night and this morning until we complained on the air for about twenty hours. And it’s not because we want to sightsee, guys, it’s because we have the responsibility of telling people… I made it as clear to [Gov. Perry] off camera as I did on camera that this is not going to be tolerated. You know, we hear about disasters in other countries—what was it, Burma, Myanmar—where they won’t let people in to see and you know, this is the state of Texas; this America. And we’re not trying to interfere with rescue and search operations, nor did anyone suggest we would be.
When asked why he thought the government was obstructing access, Dolcefino did not mince words:
I don’t think they want us to see images that may remind people… of the images that we saw in New Orleans. I don’t think they want us to see the images that were seen in Waveland, Mississippi or Gulfport… I think that’s the reality; they do not want us to see yet, until they can control what we see and how we see it. And that is simply, at least in my career, unacceptable. Maybe a lot of reporters won’t say it, but I will. I think they do not want us to see images of potential fatalities that may be on land or on water.
Other reporters didn’t think access was much of a problem. The Houston Chronicle’s Matthew Tresaugue said he wasn’t sure why TV choppers were prohibited from flying last Sunday, but that there were, in fact, reporters in the air. On SEJ’s list-serv he noted that:
The Chronicle had a photographer over Bolivar on Sunday about the same time as the televised confrontation. I flew with a photographer from High Island to Galveston’s west end to Surfside Beach in a Cessna yesterday, and one of our columnists and a photographer got a closer view of the same area from a helicopter. … I think the difference is the television guys wanted to take their helicopters, and we hitched rides. On my flight, I was able to see what I needed and even double back to take second looks. I can’t complain.
At any rate, its’ hard to imagine that information about the government’s response to Hurricane Ike would not get out sooner or later, and access seems to have improved since the weekend. But authorities should realize that obstructing the media’s ability to report in disaster zones only makes the public more suspicious about the adequacy of their response.
[link to www.cjr.org]
Video of local newscaster grilling Gov. Rick Perry:
The cover up and black out continues....no stories on any national media, the Houston media is no longer reporting live....Why isn't ABC 13 out of Houston "following up" on the media blackout? This should be a pinned article and it isn't....so even here we get "blacked out".
The_Venerable User ID: 412220 (OP) 9/19/2008 2:12 PM
Just saw an interview on Houston Tv with a survivor from Crystal Beach.
He was US Navy ret., don't remember if he was a seal or not. Said his house took on water started to drift and buckle and he swam out. Almost drowned, managed to grab onto a telephone pole. Looked around and saw houses crashing into each other.
After awhile, the telephone pole was under water.
He had to swim, grabbed onto whatever driftwood he could and was constantly going under water for several hours. He finally wound up with a patio table, which he used as a kind of surfboard, and floated on it for miles throughout the morning in the east end of Galveston Bay.
He had to fight off an alligator at one point.
He came ashore Saturday morning at Smith Point, where he was eventually rescued.
For reference, here is a map of the area. He had to survive in the water from Crystal Beach on Bolivar Peninsula, to Smith Point.
On Jan of 2008 I came through NO and went to see the people who had been moved from living in tents across from city hall to under the Canal street bridge, blocks and blocks of women, children, elderly, young, and men in sleeping bags or tents.
I saw their 1 foot high Christmas tree...and it was sad for me
I recall that right before Christmas in the protests taking place outside city hall the people were treated to mace/pepper spray and tasers...I happened to stay right across from city hall and observed the police cars in lots of the hotel stating "Military Police"
I saw the humvees
I saw the fencing that had been erected after removing the homeless out of the PUBLIC PARK and how the park was now off limits...I saw the fencing around city hall and reflected how in the last 8 yrs govt has fortified their WALLS and FENCES AGAINST THE ENEMY-THE PEOPLE
I thought about the coming Mardi Gras and how NO did not want the tourists seeing this kind of truth
I know why the people were protesting-they had torn many houses down, apt complexes, and specialty housing units-there was division in the city as to whether to replace them 1 to 1 or for every 2 torn down 1 would be replaced-limiting options for very poor citizens-
I later talked with an officer-he was a NOPD veteran of 25 yrs or so-he said they had gotten "rid of about 200000=400000 people and laughed...better to cut off a bad limb than die from it...I reflected on all the towns and cities that now had transients-separated from most of their families or their networks-in a really isolated position(much weaker from that)
What kind of planning sent so many in so many opposite directions???Still many yrs later some are still trying to locate their kids, their families, etc.,.
I then listened to this man try and lie about the confiscation of weapons...until he knew I had seen too many facts, talked with too many survivors, and seen too many videos or news reports that showed him he would be better served trying to minimize as the outright lying could not work-he was not in uniform and he could not stop my questions-it was on a ship...vacation style
He discussed race as though it were not a factor-and the only ones having problems down in NO were drug users and those with guns...he admitted the guns should not of been confiscated...but all guns were back with owners(another lie I decided to let slide)...and he told me this and I watched him off and on or ran into his sister, friend and himself as he was drinking like a fish and hammered most the time-but it was all legal
I am left with the truth
It is vile and it is repugnant, but it is what it is, regardless of how much they try and paint it with a hazy brush the TRUTH IS EVIDENCTIARY
if one but seeks it is revealed-but not with rose colored lenses
It is a pervasive evil that reminds me of cancer-as it grows
larger every day.
We are to believe that all is well-and if we are blind, deaf, and mute we are silent...and comfortably numb, but only until they arrive at your door-then all the words of action will be of no consequence-as no action will prevent them from grouping each one of us in with their (version) undesirables.
Soon it will be openly seen by most-and still, the majority will prove to be cowards
It is not easy to go forward with courage, but for some of us, it is necessary and there is no other option
each make their choices and will live or die accordingly
The_Venerable User ID: 412220 (OP) 9/19/2008 9:07 PM
I called the only organized Missing Persons Hotline today:
Galveston County Emergency Management
News Release
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Galveston County Office of Emergency Management
Activates Missing Persons Hotline for Unincorporated Areas
The Galveston County Office of Emergency Management has activated a hotline to call for those searching for missing friends and family who live in the unincorporated areas of the county.
The hotline is available by calling 1-866-898-5723. Unincorporated areas of Galveston County include Bolivar Peninsula, Bacliff/San Leon, Freddieville and Algoa.
Those calling should have their contact information available, as well as information about the person they are searching for, including:
Description of the individual
Address
Last time they were in contact with the individual
Plans the individual had for the storm
____________________________
The lady was nice, said there were TWO of them working TWO phone lines. She asked me a lot of questions. She did not offer any case # or info about followup...just that the information would be given to searchers.
This seemed so pitiful to me. I am calling about missing Bolivarians that could be alligator food, and this is the only resource that I have? The lady even said, this was all Galveston was offering. She seemed disheartened herself over the futility of a list with no follow-up promises.
So.
I can't go look for these people who have dropped off the face of the earth at their last known location.
No one is collecting/sharing names of the survivors/holdouts with anyone who loves them or is providing a communication avenue/message system.
There is no solution to provide any information for people seeking loved ones, whatsoever, except to make the call to the above two ladies and hope someone acts on it.
And I guess we are supposed to keep on believing the low death toll.
Perhaps the people I am seeking are really a-ok. A yacht pulled up in Crystal Beach, and whisked away all these people to a fabulous vacation destination, and I will get a postcard?
This is absurd. It's been five freaking days! What is a reasonable time to have to wait for you to find out if your relative is even alive, only a few minutes from I-10 in the United States of America ? It's not like I am trying to get info from Columbia!
With so few houses standing, seems like asking someone in a position to do so, would to go down East Canal and check on Mr. Shaver, who I know got trapped, and actually call me with the news? There'a only a handful of houses left on my street and his is one of those handful.
Maybe I am sounding like a brine-headed barrier-island idiot, but I think this is absolutely shameful. I know where he was.... can WHOEVER IS IN CHARGE OVER THERE GO SEE IF HE IS ALIVE OR DEAD, or STILL MISSING?
He's old. He can't talk. One of his arms doesn't work from a stroke. He's not gonna holler for help or crawl out of any wreckage on his own!
I am going insane with this sense of futility.
Don't come look for your loved ones.
Don't expect asnyone else to do it, either.
Just accept that this is the way it is.
And whatever you do, don't even imagine dead bodies hung up somewhere, because there are no dead bodies!!!
Holy crap. What the hell has happened to the world I lived in?
Michelle
The_Venerable User ID: 412220 (OP) 9/19/2008 9:15 PM
This is shameful. The cover-up that is going on is obvious. The local residents are screaming about it as well, and yet nobody takes notice.
ABC 13 was the one station doing real reporting, but for whatever reason they have since sidelined there two real reporters. Now its just msm talking heads there too.
It's ridiculous this country is no different than Burma.
And I'm ashamed of the GLP too. There are 20something pinned threads on page 1, some of them deservedly so, but a lot of them nonsense and pinned clearly as a joke or even inside joke.
And yet here, we have a true tragedy on our hands, a government cover-up, and even only a few on GLP pay attention.
Should we provide more links? What good does it do to put msm accounts on here.
This is embarrasing.
I continue to call on all of you to contact both your local reporters and national media and press for them to do some REAL journalism.
The_Venerable User ID: 412220 (OP) 9/19/2008 9:27 PM
This is an incomplete list of those currently missing from Bolivar Peninsula. It is not meant to be an official list. Some of the names listed are probably ok just not accounted for, and some missing persons are probably not on here yet.
Sorry it isn't alphabetized right, but I didn't do it. I'm just pasting.
Bolivar Pensinsula
MISSING:
Adam Neis, employee (?) of Bob Anderson
Alex
Andie Silcox
Andy Shinker
Barry Shaw
Beverly Mizzell
Billy & Harold White
Brad
Brenda Kahla
Carol & PJ Vidrine & family, Gilchrist
Cooter
Dale Seevers
Danielle & Florence Winkle
David Loop, and entire family
Debra and father Fritz
Don Holmes
Donna Werner and Lauren
Dud at Decoux's
Ellen skidmore
Frank Carr on O'Neill Road
Gail Ettenger
Gary and Glenda
Gary Tomberlin
Gene Russell on Gregory Ln.
Glen (Red)
Glennis Dunn
Glennis Dunn
Gloria (Cottage by the Sea)
Herman & Mrs. Shaver on East Canal
Hippie Mike
Jennifer McLemore
Jennifer McLemore
Jerry Shook
Jessica Jock & family
Jim Vratis
Kayla's
Kelly and Anna Pierce (plus kids?)
Lee Carrington (Black Lee!)
Lynnette Hardcastle
Magdeleana (Nena) Strickland
Marcia, massage therapist
Mario (Tovar?) & family, the chef at Stingaree
Marion Arrambide
Mary & Larry Rogers
Micaks
Micheal and kids
Michelle & Colin Cannon
Mike Frederick
Millenders
Miss Rose in Bolivar
Omar Tovar
Paul Vance
Pee Wee Moseley
Phyllis Walker
Rachel Baker
Robert Grebb
Robert Grebb
Robert Lee (Bubby), Gail, Gina
Robert Nail, and wife
Rodriguez's
Ronnie Lee
Rosa of Dolphin Road
Sandie Walton
Sandra & Sonny Walker
Sandy & David Fortenberry
Shane Williams
Shirley Cttrell
Shrimp Lady on Waco
Steve Moore & family
Steve, friend of David Pickett
The Kings, in Gilchrist
Tom & Daniela
Tommy Comeaux
Veronica Felty
Walt Fisher
Wanda of Crystal Canal RV Park
Will on Yucca
The_Venerable User ID: 412220 (OP) 9/19/2008 9:47 PM
Also the list above was done by residents, not by FEMA or any other national organization.
They (all government agencies) currently are not keeping track of missing persons. They have no record of any missing persons in the area. They are simply taking calls and promising to check on those individuals.
And that's the list just for Bolivar Peninsula...there's also a list for Crystal Beach and on and on...
This is an incomplete list of those currently missing from Bolivar Peninsula. It is not meant to be an official list. Some of the names listed are probably ok just not accounted for, and some missing persons are probably not on here yet.
Sorry it isn't alphabetized right, but I didn't do it. I'm just pasting.
Bolivar Pensinsula
MISSING:
Adam Neis, employee (?) of Bob Anderson
Alex
Andie Silcox
Andy Shinker
Barry Shaw
Beverly Mizzell
Billy & Harold White
Brad
Brenda Kahla
Carol & PJ Vidrine & family, Gilchrist
Cooter
Dale Seevers
Danielle & Florence Winkle
David Loop, and entire family
Debra and father Fritz
Don Holmes
Donna Werner and Lauren
Dud at Decoux's
Ellen skidmore
Frank Carr on O'Neill Road
Gail Ettenger
Gary and Glenda
Gary Tomberlin
Gene Russell on Gregory Ln.
Glen (Red)
Glennis Dunn
Glennis Dunn
Gloria (Cottage by the Sea)
Herman & Mrs. Shaver on East Canal
Hippie Mike
Jennifer McLemore
Jennifer McLemore
Jerry Shook
Jessica Jock & family
Jim Vratis
Kayla's
Kelly and Anna Pierce (plus kids?)
Lee Carrington (Black Lee!)
Lynnette Hardcastle
Magdeleana (Nena) Strickland
Marcia, massage therapist
Mario (Tovar?) & family, the chef at Stingaree
Marion Arrambide
Mary & Larry Rogers
Micaks
Micheal and kids
Michelle & Colin Cannon
Mike Frederick
Millenders
Miss Rose in Bolivar
Omar Tovar
Paul Vance
Pee Wee Moseley
Phyllis Walker
Rachel Baker
Robert Grebb
Robert Grebb
Robert Lee (Bubby), Gail, Gina
Robert Nail, and wife
Rodriguez's
Ronnie Lee
Rosa of Dolphin Road
Sandie Walton
Sandra & Sonny Walker
Sandy & David Fortenberry
Shane Williams
Shirley Cttrell
Shrimp Lady on Waco
Steve Moore & family
Steve, friend of David Pickett
The Kings, in Gilchrist
Tom & Daniela
Tommy Comeaux
Veronica Felty
Walt Fisher
Wanda of Crystal Canal RV Park
Will on Yucca
Quoting: The_Venerable 412220
The_Venerable User ID: 412220 (OP) 9/19/2008 10:23 PM
tptb need to get rid of some of the economy pins, and PIN this DAMMIT! please, we're talking about american lives and another coverup. this can't go away.
Yeah, I've seen them.
Following this carefully.
The area over the salt dome...where was that?
Can't remember. That was hit hard too.
Hey...one of the newspapers called me yesterday, to verify my phone number and name!
They're going to publish my letter to the editor.
I was quite surprised. I was really no biggie.
Anonymous Coward User ID: 506616 9/19/2008 10:51 PM
tptb need to get rid of some of the economy pins, and PIN this DAMMIT! please, we're talking about american lives and another coverup. this can't go away.
Quoting: Anonymous Coward 506832
Absolutely, babe!
Anonymous Coward User ID: 506616 9/19/2008 10:52 PM
tptb need to get rid of some of the economy pins, and PIN this DAMMIT! please, we're talking about american lives and another coverup. this can't go away.
Quoting: Anonymous Coward 506832
This crap had been pinned for a week... fuck that... had enough exposure... bump it all day long if you wish.
This is what happens in natural disasters, deal with it.
Anonymous Coward User ID: 506616 9/19/2008 10:53 PM
And that's the list just for Bolivar Peninsula...there's also a list for Crystal Beach and on and on...
Have those names are not even real...
Quoting: Anonymous Coward 506616
You should fight your battles and let us fight the ones we think are important. Each to his or her own...
IS that so difficult or does being a total asshole just come natural for you?
Anonymous Coward User ID: 506832 9/19/2008 10:58 PM
tptb need to get rid of some of the economy pins, and PIN this DAMMIT! please, we're talking about american lives and another coverup. this can't go away.
This crap had been pinned for a week... fuck that... had enough exposure... bump it all day long if you wish.
This is what happens in natural disasters, deal with it.
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