Just to show you the amount of devastation, which is deteriorating:

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...ricane_katrina

BTW, US Airways REFUSED to refund, credit or rebook my flight to New Orleans next week for the seminar at which I was to speak, which obviously got cancelled since the hotel is completely uninhabitable.

US Airways was not very cooperative, the day after the hurricane, my travel agent called US Airways. They gave her attitude and said, "Oh well, so sad, if we are going there, they must fly."

And airports are currently open for emergency flights and supplies only!

Amazing. Simply amazing.

That's disgusting!

Like you I travel extensivly and have ran into a few absolute travel nightmares when dealing with airline "customer service" (more like disservice) personnel.

One tactic that I have used quite effectively to resolve these types of issues is to write a "persuasive" letter (which you would have no problem doing ) to several "executive" level managers at the airline.

In the letter, emphasise the fact the you are a professional speaker and regularly address audiences filled with business travelers. Let them know in no uncertain terms that it is in their best interests to avoid becoming a story of "what not to do" that you use from the podium.

In one particularly strong letter I wrote to Northwest Airlines last year, I actually used the following line...

"...Negative word of mouth advertising can be a real BITCH when you piss off someone with a mouth as big as mine!" (Just ask yourself WWGHD... What would Gary Halbert do?)

Now, I'll admit... that one was a bit too strong. But I did get a personal phone call form their VP of customer relations, a full refund of what I paid for "my trip from hell" and 4 upgrade certificates for future flights.

Also, I would imagine you too are a high mileage member of most frequent flier programs, so often you get a dedicated "elite member" customer service number. Often I get better results with those phone reps.

Either way I would suggest you point out to them that THIER OWN WEBSITE says the following:

The URL for the full statement can be found here:
http://www.usairways.com/travel/airport/index.htm

Hope this helps Michel!

Eric

PS - The PEN is more powerful than the SWORD! (And with your skills, I'd imagine your pen is a very powerful weapon!)

Indeed. Several hours after my little email to US Airways, I got a refund.

Good.

I'm glad to hear that.

As for the situation in New Orleans (and the rest of the Gulf coast) my prayers are with those whose lives have been devastated by this terrible tragedy.

Yesterday my wife and I went to Sam's Club and bought 2 pallets of bottled water to send down there with our local Air National Guard unit. Before their trucks rolled out, they had an entire flatbed truck loaded with donated water, food and supplies.

There are literally hundreds of small (or large) things each of us can do to help.

I encourage everyone to do what you can to assist those in need or relieve the suffering.

Eric

I think this is weird:

An ITN news crew can get into (and out of) Gulf City (or whatever it's called), but the powers that be can't get in water and other essential supplies. Pathetic in a nation that claims to be the richest, most sophisticated etc.

I note that no charity donation line has been set up (that I'm aware of as someone outside the country), so it seems that money is not the problem. Interesting also to note that money isn't always the solution.

But if you think about it, if you can't get in by road, you must be able to get in by air or water. In a nation with so many resources, why can't they even figure out how to ship in essential supplies? And why are they threatening to execute looters with no trial? Surely theft is the least of everyone's problems.

Is it a class/ethnic thing? "Oh, it's not New York or Boston, they're all just hillbillies anyways, so no need to make too much effort."

A taster of times to come when Americans finally hit the wall of reality where they realise they can't drive their SUVs anymore because there's a shortage of oil. Bush has somewhat conveniently eroded civil rights in the aftermath of 9/11, so that it will be much easier to contain the population once the civil strife starts. Would you rather be free, and have a 0.0001% chance of being blown up by a terrorist, or be shackled and have a 0.0001% chance of being blown up by a terrorist? (As if the odds changed because of the Patriot Act!). Ironic for a country supposedly built on the principle of freedom.

Sorry to tangentialise. I can't help seeing the parallels.

Jane

Ok, now...

Lets start with the rescue and relief workers. There's a big temptation to blame this on the feds...and maybe they can take some blame, but not all of it. The state and local government are totally out of wack. It was their duty to organize these things, and they didn't. They just sat around asking for federal help. They should have had the state guard mobilized the day the evacuation started.

That's where the federal blame comes in. The National Guard is here for state protection and emergencies. NOT for overseas war. So half of the Guard was over in Iraq (hats off to them, hats on to the commander in chief).

But even without the 1/3, there was plenty that the state government could do. After 9/11, Juliani (spelling) had that @@@@ under control. It was one big organized effort, and he was on top of it. The Mayor of New Orleans can't even seem to remember that he was elected to take care of these things.

But now I'll say what no one else is saying. A lot of these people are standing around demanding help, when the American way of life is self-sufficiency. The ones trapped in the convention center are the ones who blindly did what the police told them to do. The ones who are looting are the loosers who have no idea what freedom is about. The ones who decided to strike out and hike out of the city on foot are (for the most part) doing well.

There's the parallel...from today's pioneers to the ones that found our nation. Several people decided to strike out and take a chance.

Now back to 9/11. The reason so many people died, is because the firemen told them to stay put. "It's to dangerous to evacuate because of the falling debris" Yeah, it was dangerous...but look what happened when they stayed. The ones alive are the ones who ignored the cops. I was in college with one of those people. A group of them actually had to force their way through the police barracade.

I'd better get off my soap box.

Oh, by the way...I haven't heard about a single looter getting shot.

And herein lies the problem. This is a rather stubborn attitude that probably worked well for the settlers travelling West - "no wimps here". I have a great deal of respect for this attitude - self-boot strapping etc. However, the boot strapper should be safe within a society that will catch him or her if they fall. In other words, free enterprise within a wider context of social responsibility and societal protection for those that can't look after themselves or who fall on hard times. Any cursory glance through history and different cultures will show that successful societies have safety nets for the vulnerable and poor. It's a natural part of the human condition - not everyone can fend for themselves on an equal footing with a white, middle class, 25 year-old male. Therefore, civilised socities build in buffer zones. Also, the individual cannot create their own transport, health or education systems - thus the need to tax income/wealth and redistribute it to aid the wider population. Society does not function when everyone is a rugged individual and only looks after themselves. Whether you live in a Stone Age village where everyone in the tribe looks after each other, or a modern society where taxation looks after everyone, you must still pay your dues to society. Socialism has done no harm to Western Europe, and I'm rather grateful to the Attley government and the Socialists of the late '40s.

But anyway, why haven't the "forces" or "agencies" that be done more for the flood area?

Jane

Exactly...so we don't need a government to enforce it. For example, America is the most charitable country in the world...yet we have the least government intervention.

Millions of people are trying to help the flooded victims through donations and their own time. The problem is that the officials (government) aren't organizing the efforts. The ones making the most difference are private charity organizations. Churches, Red Cross, Citizens, etc...

I have to agree with "theengel".

The delay in responding (or more specifically properly preparing) to this catastrophe, is not the fault of the Federal Government, it's a failure on the part of local government. Specifically the Governor of Louisiana and the Mayor of New Orleans.

As a former member of the USAF and Air National Guard, I must however take a bit of exception to his comments about the National Guard not being a deployable war fighting asset. Each guard deployment is designed to augment and rotate active duty units out of the theater. So while, yes, some guard units are deployed, there are ample numbers of active duty members available stateside to make up for the deployed guard units.

As he pointed out, the leadership that Rudy Giuliani demonstrated in his city after 9/11 should have been the model for New Orleans mayor to follow. Unfortunately, the current mayor is "no Rudy Giuliani"...

There is a large leadership vacuum at the State and local level.

As for other comments made in this thread...

I am simply too angry to even begin to address them tonight.

As an American I am so deeply offended at several things that have been said that I can't see straight!

After spending almost an hour lighting my keyboard ablaze pounding out a detailed and scathing rebuttal on my smoking keys... glaring at my screen like Superman trying to burn a hole through it with my laser vision... Using language so foul, so vulgar that Gary Halbert himself would blush...

... I've decided to delete it.

My wish for this thread is for it to remain positive. It’s my hope that it stays constructive and inspires people to do whatever they can to help.

Trust me... I was prepared to do battle against the absolute EVILS of socialism, against the horrific level of ingratitude and jealousy many people have for a nation whose citizens give more, produce more, feed more, heal more, discover more and inspire more good than ANY nation in the history of the world!

This is the greatest natural disaster to ever befall out country. And while there have been and will be mistakes... We will, as we have always done, rise to this challenge handle this crisis like AMERICANS.

Others look at this situation and take pleasure... They think that this is just a "taste of things to come"... They are wrong.

This will only make us stronger. It will only bring out the best in us.

Sure... The world wide media won't report the thousands of acts of charity and kindness that are being performed. Most of the world won't see the caring Americans, opening up their homes (and wallets) to total strangers.

I saw no BBC cameras at the collection point when I donated two entire pallets (2,400 bottles) of water to the relief effort.

There are no "ITN news crews" covering the THOUSANDS of American churches who are collecting food, clothing, money and supplies to send to the victims. (Just as they did for Tsunami victims...)

Nope... Most of this will go un-reported.

But just because the foreign press turns a blind eye to the monumental capacity of the American people to give of themselves, their time, their property, their money and their hearts, doesn't mean that the American people are not the most generous and giving people on the face of the earth.

God Bless America and please pray for the victims of this heart-wrenching disaster.

Eric

Clearly a European perspective/mindset is shocking at times. Anger and indignation is good - it means you're thinking.

In terms of the flood situation, my point was to say that I sit incredulous watching a detailed (30 mins) report on the TV where this news crew are moving about freely, and yet the flood victims that they're interviewing can't even get hold of basic items such as clean water and food. Clearly road vehicle access is possible (in that specific area), so why isn't "someone" (the military, the local authority, charity, individual citizens, whomever) able to bring in basic supplies. It was not a comment on whether people were being charitable and caring of their fellow human-beings, but more about "someone's" seeming absence of logistical support.

Here's an interesting take on various countries' generosity:

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7&sect...d=2&m=2&y=2005

Jane