FEMA: No photos of the dead
So FEMA has decreed that there should be no photos of the dead being recovered in New Orleans. The reason stated is to ensure that the recovery is "being treated with dignity and the utmost respect." Part of me believes that. The other, considerably more cynical part of me believes that the Feds are trying to spin whatever they can from their botched response to the hurricane thus far.
They managed to prohibit access to the photos of the dead coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan for the most part. However, thanks to The Memory Hole, there are some photos from Dover AFB. No individual soldiers are identified in any of the pictures. In fact, I think it pays them more homage than covering it up. If you're going to send them into harm's way, you should be prepared to look at the results. I can direct you to much more graphic results from the war if you'd like, but I'd rather not post the links here. Leave me a comment if you want more information.
Not that I particularly want to see pictures of dead people in New Orleans, but I think FEMA's over-reaching if it thinks they can completely control media access to the situation. After all, the media was there for the entire disaster, unlike FEMA. In fact, members of the media were more immediately helpful there than FEMA or the Feds ever were. Clearly the government just didn't quite grasp the enormity of the situation. For an example of federal cluelessness, check out Anderson Cooper's encounter with Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu (you'll need QuickTime to view this—even if you can't see it, listen to the sound).
If you want to help, I suggest donating to the Mennonite Disaster Service. They have the lowest administrative costs I've seen—your donation goes to purchase necessary supplies, and the people who respond to the event are volunteers. I'm not particularly religious, so it's not exactly typical for me to advocate donating to a religious charity. However, they don't proselytize when they go out in the field—they go in and make a difference.
They managed to prohibit access to the photos of the dead coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan for the most part. However, thanks to The Memory Hole, there are some photos from Dover AFB. No individual soldiers are identified in any of the pictures. In fact, I think it pays them more homage than covering it up. If you're going to send them into harm's way, you should be prepared to look at the results. I can direct you to much more graphic results from the war if you'd like, but I'd rather not post the links here. Leave me a comment if you want more information.
Not that I particularly want to see pictures of dead people in New Orleans, but I think FEMA's over-reaching if it thinks they can completely control media access to the situation. After all, the media was there for the entire disaster, unlike FEMA. In fact, members of the media were more immediately helpful there than FEMA or the Feds ever were. Clearly the government just didn't quite grasp the enormity of the situation. For an example of federal cluelessness, check out Anderson Cooper's encounter with Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu (you'll need QuickTime to view this—even if you can't see it, listen to the sound).
If you want to help, I suggest donating to the Mennonite Disaster Service. They have the lowest administrative costs I've seen—your donation goes to purchase necessary supplies, and the people who respond to the event are volunteers. I'm not particularly religious, so it's not exactly typical for me to advocate donating to a religious charity. However, they don't proselytize when they go out in the field—they go in and make a difference.
posted by Sasquatch at
2:01 PM
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