Free Republic

I have a question. A couple times over the last month or so I have logged onto FR and there have been quick links at the top of the page on the current hottest topics. There were maybe a dozen, give or take. Was that just a test thing? If it's a regular thing then how do I get them? I can't find a button or anything but really liked them and would like to have them at the top again.

Saturday, September 03, 2005 (Appeals for immediate help and rescue posted on Nola blog within the last hour) Grandmother stranded in Ninth Ward 10:42 pm Name: Colette Leirer Home: 336 364-1840 Email: yankeebelle@peoplepc.com Subject: My Hurricane Story -- missing/stranded Story: Please help. My grandmother and uncle were in the ninth ward. They were at 6305 Burgundy St at the corner of Tricou, one block from Jackson Barracks on the Orleans Parrish side. We last heard from them on Monday at 4am as the water began rising into the house. They were moving upstairs. My grandmother, Elaire Schulz, is 81 yrs...

Though the U.N.'s own top official for disaster relief has called Katrina one of "the largest, most destructive natural disasters ever," shamefully only a handful of nations – at last count just 25 nations of the 191 countries in the United Nations – have come forward to offer assistance. One nation not on the list is oil-rich Kuwait, which owes its very existence to America's liberation effort following Iraq's invasion.

SIERRA VISTA - More than 40 soldiers from Fort Huachuca's 93rd Signal Brigade have deployed to an area north of New Orleans to provide communications support for areas crippled by Hurricane Katrina. The soldiers, mainly assigned to the 67th Signal Battalion, left Wednesday and have set up operations about 100 miles north of New Orleans, at Camp Shelby, Miss.

Aid operations have been stepped up and are starting to ease the plight of victims in the hurricane-devastated city of New Orleans. Military convoys have been arriving with supplies of food, medicine and water, and evacuations are continuing. [end] Tens of thousands of people, mainly from the poor African-American areas of the city, are still stranded, five days after the storm struck the Gulf Coast. President George W Bush is due to address the nation on the crisis. The decision to deliver the address live from the White House is being seen as a reflection of the pressure that he...

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Sept. 2, 2005) – Thousands of National Guard and active-duty Soldiers from across the nation are deploying to the Gulf coast to help with Hurricane Katrina recovery operations. Troops from the 1st Cavalry Division and 4th Infantry Division based out of Fort Hood, Texas, are now part of Joint Task Force Katrina, headquartered at Camp Shelby, Miss. Helicopters and crews from Hood’s 1st Air Cavalry Brigade are the lead air element of the task force. More than 19,500 National Guard Soldiers were on duty to assist with the hurricane recovery in Louisiana and Mississippi as of...

20 countries offer Katrina aid From correspondents in Washington 02sep05 MORE than 20 countries, from allies Germany and Japan to prickly Venezuela and poor Honduras, have offered to help the United States cope with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Accustomed to being a rich donor rather than on the receiving end of charity, the United States initially seemed reticent about accepting foreign aid, but later said it would take up any offers. The hurricane devastated New Orleans and other parts of the US Gulf Coast, killing hundreds and possibly thousands. "Anything that can be of help to alleviate the tragic...

Louisiana, Mississippi Dioceses Devastated By Hurricane; Poorest Dioceses Hurt The Most WASHINGTON (September 1, 2005)—Dioceses in Louisiana and Mississippi face unparalleled devastation from Hurricane Katrina, reports from bishops in several of the dioceses indicate. The reports came in to the offices of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops shortly after USCCB officials e-mailed and faxed the bishops of Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama August 30 to advise them that USCCB president, Bishop William Skylstad of Spokane (WA), had called for a national collection and prayers in churches for those afflicted by the disastrous hurricane. Some bishops in the affected...

Catholic Church Provides Food, Facilities, Medical Services For Gulf Coast People Displaced By Katrina WASHINGTON (September 1, 2005)--Catholic Church facilities nationwide, and especially in Louisiana, Mississippi and East Texas, are responding to emergency and long-term needs by providing shelters, food, medicine and schooling for Hurricane Katrina refugees. Virtually all dioceses nationwide planned parish collections the first weekends of September. In addition, further immediate assistance is coming through everything from Catholic Charities agencies, St. Vincent DePaul Societies, Catholic schools, Catholic hospitals, parishes, retreat centers and families. Examples abound. The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Texas, where well over 30,000 storm refugees relocated from...

VIENNA, Austria — From papal prayers to telegrams from China, the world reacted with an outpouring of compassion Wednesday for the victims of Hurricane Katrina in messages tinged by shock that a disaster of this scale could occur in the United States. Islamic extremists rejoiced in America's misfortune, giving the storm a military rank and declaring in Internet chatter that "Private" Katrina had joined the global jihad, or holy war. With "God's help," they declared, oil prices would hit $100 a barrel this year. Venezuela's government, which has had tense relations with Washington, offered humanitarian aid and fuel if requested....

KATRINA: Of Highest Importance: Please Read, Share and Help! Hurricane Assistance, Assistance Opportunities (Very Important Note from MS in FL: If you think this has merit, please pass it along to the powers that be -- newspapers, politicians, etc... There is a veritable sea of construction trailers and truck/shipping containers --including refrigerated ones -- that can be donated, purchased or loaned. Send in crews -- and don't forget to hire those left homeless and jobless who so desperately need the work/income -- cut windows, doors, roof a/c, plumbing, insulation, etc.. They are about the same size as older mobile home...

To everyone that is dusgusted by the actions of the renegades in New Orleans I want to express to you that this is the worst and lowest strata of society. Real suffering is going on here in the Pelican State. Indescribable pain and misery. Please do not get a hard heart from seeing the actions of a small percentage of the population that exists the world over. These suffering men and women are your brothers and sisters in the Lord and fellow Americans and they desperately need your help. Anything that you can do will be appreciated. Baton Rouge has...

SIERRA VISTA - Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative crews are planning to head to the Gulf Coast today to help make repairs to power lines in the Hurricane Katrina disaster area. The effort is in response to a plea from utilities in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, where the hurricane caused an estimated $25 billion in damage - destroying homes and businesses, flooding the city of New Orleans and leaving more than a million people without power. On Tuesday, Jack Blair, chief marketing officer for the cooperative, said 17 employees from Willcox, Benson and Sierra Vista were tentatively scheduled to go...

Please help if you can. I am in GA and I am trying to get a family marooned in a furniture warehouse in Gulfport, MS out. I am having trouble finding which roads are open. I believe 49 is still closed. Of course the shore roads will be.

Hi Friendly FReepers! I used to have this problem with Firefox, and haven't seen it for awhile until today. Firefox crashed (which it's been doing a lot lately) and now when I try to restart it, it asks me which profile I want to use, and it won't let me choose the default one. (Says it's already in use.) I know there's a simple fix to this, but I don't remember what it is. Help a Freeper out?

Any news on Breckenridge, Sterling Oaks, French Branch, or Meadow Lake subdivisions in Slidell? I live in Sterling Oaks and cannot get any information about that area. Would love to hear something. Thanks!

Relief Information for Military Families - Relief and Recovery: Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina Recovery Emergency Phone Numbers for People in Distress The Coast Guard strongly urges people in distress in the New Orleans area contact the search and rescue emergency line for the State Office of Emergency Preparedness in Baton Rouge , La. The emergency numbers are as follows: (225) 925-7708 (225) 925-7709 (225) 925-3511 (225) 925-7412 To inquiry about family and friends that did not evacuate the Greater New Orleans area contact the American Red Cross at the following number: (866) 438-4636

Hello all in the Gulf coast area, Our prayers go to you all. We all know what your going through as all 7 families here in Florida went through Betsy and the 3 hurricanes last year here...God Bless you... I represent the 7 families here looking for our beloved Arieux family that resided at 153 Carr Dr in Slidell, We understand that nothing is left there, but we have not heard a word from George and Jean Arieux....Our searches on the internet and calls to the Red Cross get us nowhere right now.. We just want them to know they...

When a tsunami hit South Asia in December, the world mobilized to help and aid poured in. Now that parts of America are underwater, the US is handling the relief work virtually alone. What is going on? Virtually overnight, fun-loving New Orleans transformed from America's playground into a waterlogged wasteland. Photos of houses and highways underwater and reports of dead bodies floating in swampy debris and frightened refugees huddling for cover have left us mute. Hurricane Katrina turned out to be at least as violent as expected and will likely turn out to be among the biggest hurricanes of all...

MOSCOW — Russia is ready to assist the United States in dealing with the damage caused by hurricane Katrina, which has taken 68 lives so far and left behind a tremendous amount of devastation, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a message to U.S. President George Bush Tuesday. "Russia deeply sympathizes with Americans, who faced a disaster of such a colossal scale, and is ready to offer necessary assistance," Putin said. Putin asked Bush to extend his condolences to families and relatives of those killed in the disaster. "Accept my sincere words of regret in connection with the natural calamity...