RSSNew Orleans – Pumps Failing , City Flooding
****ALL RESIDENTS ON THE EAST BANK OF ORLEANS AND JEFFERSON REMAINING IN THE METRO AREA ARE BEING TOLD TO EVACUATE AS EFFORTS TO SANDBAG THE LEVEE BREAK HAVE ENDED. THE PUMPS IN THAT AREA ARE EXPECTED TO FAIL SOON AND 9 FEET OF WATER IS EXPECTED IN THE ENTIRE EAST BANK. WITHIN THE NEXT 12-15 HOURS****
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Here is a line from on of my favorite bloggers, Steven Den Beste, who has not covered news for the last year. But he is a great thinker and makes a statement that has to be thought of at this time.
This nation has never had to abandon a major city to resettle its entire population somewhere else. I hope this doesn’t turn out to be the first time, but it may end up that way.
If this does not sober one up as to the depth of this tragedy, then nothing will.
From Aruban News Papers; Natalee Holloway
Aruba Today; Monday August 29, 2005
Kalpoe Brother Questions for a Second Day
From Amigoe; Monday August 29, 2005
Also friend of the 3 suspects in the Holloway-case arrested
Mayo search efforts expands with Texas Equusearch
From the Union Democrat, Tim Miller got a first hand look this weekend at the area in which Nita Mayo disappeared nearly three weeks ago. Tim Miller, the founder of Equusearch, said that he could bring in a lot of high tech equipment; however, the number one thing that is needed is people. I would ask the many people of this area to go out and volunteer your time to help find Mita Mayo.
The head of a Texas-based search and rescue organization got a first-hand look this weekend at the mountains near Donnell Vista where a Nevada woman disappeared three weeks ago.
Tim Miller, of Texas Equusearch, said he could bring in lots of high-tech equipment including infrared night-vision equipment and satellite imaging, but what he really needs are people.
Nancy Grace Transcript Summary
Who Is Fourth Man Behind Bars in Holloway Case? What is the Relationship between Freddie and Joran?
HARRIS FAULKNER, “A CURRENT AFFAIR” CORRESPONDENT: Yes, really a lot, Nancy. “A Current Affair” has learned the name of the third guy arrested on Friday along with the Kalpoe brothers. We knew his initials were FZA, we knew his name might be Freddy. Tonight we know it`s Freddy Zedan Arambatzis. And I talked with this man`s attorney actually.
FAULKNER: Zedan Arambatzis.
Victim of Hurricane Katrina Needs Your Help
The City of New Orleans and the surrounding Gulf Coast has experienced an unthinkable disaster with the impact of Katrina. As of right now the experts are stating that New Orleans may be uninhabitable for the next 2 months.
You can help with your donations. Right now we are steering people to the Red Cross. If there are local charities that may be able to help these people. we will let you know.
To donate to the Red Cross, click here.
or Call 1-800-Help-Now
Thank you for your support, these people will need it.
California Yankee has a great list of resources to help this catastrophe.
On a personal note, we have a reader who is missing family members Billy and Margaret Gill in Bogalusa, LA. If you have any information, please email us at tom@scaredmonkeys.comand we will get that information to the family.
Aruban Judge To decide Wednesday on Joran’s Upcoming Fate
According to the Tuscaloosan News, a judge in Aruba will decide this Wednesday on whether to prolong Joran Van der Sloot’s detention or release him. Under Aruban law Joran can be held for up to 116 days without being charged. The prosecutors office said has already filed a motion to keep van der Sloot detained another 30 days.
A judge will decide Wednesday whether to prolong detention or release a Dutch suspect held for nearly three months in the disappearance of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway, a defense lawyer said Tuesday.
Joran van der Sloot, 18, was arrested June 9 along with two friends, Surinamese nationals Satish Kalpoe, 18, and Deepak Kalpoe, 21, on suspicion of involvement in her disappearance. The Kalpoe brothers were released July 4, when van der Sloot’s detention was prolonged until Sept. 4, and rearrested last week.
Prayer Vigil for Julie Popovich
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Friends and family held a vigil Thursday evening (8/25) for missing Reynoldsburg woman Julie Popovich, NBC 4′s Erin Tate reported. Popovich, 20, was last seen leaving Ledo’s Lounge, located at 2608 N. High St., on Aug. 11.
The gathering was held at 9 p.m. at the center of the North Oval of The Ohio State University campus.
The brief vigil was meant to be an expression of hope, Tate reported.
Her closest friends organized the vigil over the past few days.
They said they are pleased with the national media attention the case has received.
“It’s a chance for everybody to get together and use each other for a support system. In a time like this, we need each other, and that’s certainly what it is. We’re celebrating Julie and everything she is to all of us tonight. So, this prayer is just a prayer for her safe return,” said Popovich friend, Tiffani Maynard.
Paul and Anita van der Sloot say, “We are not hiding anything”
In an interview with CBS News Correspondent Kelly Cobiella, Anita says simply, “We want him to go on with his life.” The Van der Sloot’s claim the following: they “dream is to have their son home,” “We are not hiding anything” and their son did not harm Natalee Holloway.
(CBS) Paul and Anita van der Sloot’s dream is to have their son home.
In an exclusive interview with CBS News Correspondent Kelly Cobiella, Anita says simply, “We want him to go on with his life.”
Joran van der Sloot, 18, has been held since early June in the May 30 disappearance from Aruba of Alabama teen Natalee Holloway.
Joran hasn’t been charged, but authorities on the Dutch Caribbean island have named him a suspect in the case.
His parents say the only thing established for sure is that Joran was with Natalee the night she vanished, and they stand by his insistence that he didn’t hurt her.
Natalee Holloway Case Transcends All Media Lines
Critics question why the Natalee Holloway story is so compelling and why the media and more importantly people have such a fascination and desire to read, question and talk about this case. They need to only look at the vast range of media outlets that cover this story. Not only do you have newspapers, networks and the 24-7 TV shows covering the disappearance, you also have some Sports media doing the same. How often does that occur? CNN, MSNBC, FOX and ABC having something in common with Sports Illustrated and FOX Sports? Not usually, but then again the disappearance of Natalee Holloway has far than proved it is not a typical story. So the next time someone asks what does, Sports Illustrated, CNN, CBS, Fox Sports and the Birmingham News have in common; your answer is Natalee Holloway.
From SI.com and Fox Sports comes the story of the reflections by Nate McManus who took the same graduation trip as Natalee Holloway. Nate took the attitude as most probably would have who had been on the trip previously; she must have just over slept and missed the plane. We now know just how wrong that assumption was.
ATLANTA (AP) — Nate McManus took the same graduation trip as Natalee Holloway.
“I was at home when I heard the news,” McManus recalled. “Everybody was like, ‘Oh, she missed the plane. She must have fallen asleep somewhere.’ Then a day became two days. Then it became weeks.”
“I took the exact same senior trip that she did,” McManus said. “I had the time of my life. It was awesome.”
Now Nate McManus clings to the hope that she will return safe as he begins his career at Georgia Tech as an offensive lineman only one year ago on this same trip. The reflections of an offensive lineman in college sound much the same as Natalee’s girl friends that just recently began their respective college careers as well.
Now, as McManus prepares for his first season as a starter on Georgia Tech’s offensive line, he tries to keep up with news about the missing Alabama teen, clinging to hope that she might be found alive in Aruba.
Holloway was a year behind McManus at Mountain Brook High School in suburban Birmingham, Ala. She was on the dance team that performed at football games and, while the two weren’t especially close, they did share many of the same friends.
Nate finds himself like most of us but with an even greater connection to the story, he clings to hope that she will be OK and finds himself distracted by the events. Through degrees of separation we find this story of Natalee Holloway and the efforts her family goes through to affect many of us and hit close to home in so many ways.
Here is an interesting tidbit on John Roberts
As John Roberts prepares for his hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee for confirmation to the Supreme Court , he has one great advantage. He has been here before.
From The Washington Post:
In recent weeks, Roberts has been practicing for his hearings with a team of advisers, trying to anticipate the questions he will face and best ways to answer them. But you might say he has been getting ready for much of his adult life. One of his first jobs as a Justice Department aide in the early 1980s was to help coach Sandra Day O’Connor — whose seat he is now seeking to fill — through her confirmation testimony. He advised O’Connor to keep her answers general and to avoid specifics.
This was his strategy two years ago. He presented himself to the Judiciary Committee as a sort of judicial Everyman, an unbiased arbiter who takes cases one by one with only the law and the relevant facts to guide him. Such a judge demurs when asked about issues in advance and declines to criticize the work of others. The senators wore their politics on their sleeves, but Roberts was bland as he answered — or sidestepped — their questions.
This training will do well for him in the coming weeks.
Discuss the Nomination of John Roberts here.
