Posted on 09/01/2005 7:16:17 AM PDT by TheForceOfOne
NEW ORLEANS — Mayor Ray Nagin ordered 1,500 police officers to leave their search-and-rescue mission last night and return to the streets to stop looting that has turned increasingly hostile as the city plunges deeper into chaos.
"They are starting to get closer to heavily populated areas — hotels, hospitals — and we're going to stop it right now," Nagin said.
The number of officers called off the search-and-rescue mission amounts to virtually the entire police force in New Orleans.
The out-of-control thievery had escalated while cops joined National Guardsmen in focusing on saving lives.
In some cases, New Orleans police officers took part in the looting. One cop was seen carting off a computer and a 27-inch flat-screen TV, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
Earlier yesterday, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blan- co said she has asked the White House to send more people to help with evacuations and rescues, thereby freeing up National Guardsmen to stop looters.
The looting got worse as people brazenly ran- sacked stores for food, beer, clothing, appliances — and guns.
There have been some citizen-vs.-criminal standoffs, with one shopkeeper posting an ominous sign: "You loot, I shoot."
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
As far as economics, you and I are on the same page.
The price gouging is making me crazy. I went to fill up my van for a trip yesterday, and even though I entered a credit card, the pump just stopped at $50.
I'm also concerned that I have to go through GA, AL and NW FL to get home.
Is there going to be gasoline to buy, when I need it?
Oh sure there will - but not at a price that I'm going to want to pay and perhaps only Premium is available, because the truckers don't bother with regular and medium grade when they can gouge so much more for the Premium.
Arrrrrgggghhhh!
You're right about the kill/murder - thanks for the correction. I have no problem with defending one's home against thieves and I have no problem with the application to the looting that is going on. I also have no problem with a shoot to kill order to stop the looting. I just think people who are stealing only water and food should be exempt from being shot to death.
I always thought that I was a tough on crime kind of person, but I just don't have it in me to think that after a natural disaster occurs that destroys people's access to food and water, people should be shot for stealing the only food & water that is available.
That is what I believe also. I haven't seen anyone on tv, looting, that is armed. Mostly I have seen kids and women, smiling at the cameras and hurrying out of the way, or police pushing guys out of stores. I believe the ones that are doing the shooting, are different than the ones doing the looting.
Maybe that was not the case in every area but what I was and continued to see on FOX News were streams of people looting stores of every magnatude, not simply grocery stores, and they were certainly happily doing so.
HAHAHAHA!! Thats good.
Futures argument is true, but the prices have been going up for months.
The guys who are buying gasoline for their stations are not on futures contracts. Gasoline prices are much more volatile than oil prices and are market based. With the New Orleans area refining capacity down, the supply is going to be severely strained.
As for oil, they are right now reporting that 91% of gulf oil production is down, and 81% of natural gas production.
Right now, there are 20 missing rigs and some of them like the Mars platform are severely damaged. Mars is one of Shell's "super rigs" in the gulf, responsible for as many as forty wells.
Lot's of work needs to be done, these animals never were & never will be of help.
A mob develops a mind and an organism and a personality of its own.
Looters hsoudl be warned that they will be shot on sight. Then they should do it. Otherwise the anarchy will escalate to attacks on people and general mayhem.
The government has a responsibility to protect the lives and property of law-abiding citizens before the rights of rioters.
We saw the looting yesterday, too. And the day before.
We saw pathetic freepers defending it yeseterday, too.
Today we have armed gangs - armed with guns they looted - roving the streets.
Unfortunately, you don't see the connection between the days.
There.
I fixed it for ya.
"I saw the video on FNC last night of several female police officers participating in the looting."
They were just responding to 400 years of oppression.
I think protecting the lives comes first, as in rescue ops. The stores are unoccupied, all they have in them are ruined pieces of plastic and metal.
LOL!
"Isn't most of the stuff being "looted" already paid for by the fat insurance settlement the storeowner has probably already filed?"
How nice of the insurance companies to "buy" this stuff for the looters.
Well, look at the bright side.
Those defending looting are well-known as not the sharpest tools in the FR drawer.
The reason they are perennially on the defensive is that they are ignorant, irrational, illogical and some outright stupid.
But they are really really long on "feelings", "compassion" and Political Correctness.
If they are armed and roving the streets, then yes, they should be dealt with accordingly, preferably by the NG. There is a difference between them, and people walking out of stores with tvs and computers. You should be able to see this difference.
Why hsoudl we warn them?
{crickets}
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