Drowning in water and tears II

KATRINA NOTEBOOK: With the lawless Crescent City -- New Orleans -- and the U.S. Gulf Coast drowning in water and tears and, the not-so-remote possibility of wide-spread martial law being declared to protect the American fuel interests, the world now appears nervous about its future.
Between outright terror, in such places as London and Madrid and the shocking memories of 9/11 in New York City and Washington, D.C., could there be more disasters, either natural, such as America's Tsunami, or man-made tragedies in the near future?
As the former Middle East Bureau chief for a major news-gathering organization, based in Jerusalem, I have seen close up the terror that can paralyze that part of the globe. It was, and still is, the type of fear that grips the heart and soul of any human being.
As to the most recent U.S. catastrophe, on August 23, it began as a tropical storm warning for central and northwestern Bahamas. It was strange since tropical storms usually originate off the western coast of Africa and take about two weeks to strike the Bahamas or the U.S. coastline.
On August 24 -- a Wednesday -- the newly formed tropical depression had been upgraded to a tropical storm, named Katrina, and by Thursday, at 5 p.m, Katrina had become a hurricane. This tropical depression 11 had developed and hit southeast Florida in a period of only 72 hours.
Sweeping through the Gulf, the monstrous Katrina sideswiped the Big Easy and plunged into other parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama and then headed north to die a slow death in upper New York state and Ontario.
However, New Orleans was still vulnerable and then the levees broke, pouring water from Lake Pontchartrain into the now-Third World city, filled with fires and gangs. It has become a hell on earth.
The U.S. has had its share of hurricanes and tragedies in the past.
On August 23, 1992, Andrew slammed Florida, leaving 180,000 homeless and causing an estimated $30 billion in damages. However, there has never been a storm such as Katrina with more than a million "refugees" from Louisiana and Mississippi expected to be housed in temporary camps.
MUSIC LEGEND MISSING: One of the great rock-and-roll stars, Fats Domino, appears to be one of the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Now, in his late 70s, Fats has been reported missing. With 65 million record sales to his credit, he outsold every 1950s rocker except Elvis Presley. He exploded on the music scene with "Ain't That A Shame." Domino, a man from the Big Easy, took his place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.
JUST WORDS (From Fox News): Danut Afasei, who claimed flooding had killed 13 people recently in his country of Romania, said: "Nature proved that no matter how rich and economically developed you are, you can't fight it." ... Britain's Queen Elizabeth II said she was "deeply shocked and saddened." However, Islamic extremists sneered by stating on the Net 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."
SAINTS GOING ELSEWHERE: With the Superdome in a sad state of disrepair, filled with stench and angst, is most certainly not going to be the home of the National Football League Saints this coming season. NFL boss Paul Tagliabue said the club will head to San Antonio, Texas for some rest in a hotel and then practice before taking off for Carolina for their regular-season opener against the Panthers on Sept. 11.