After many broken promises by the Colombian government to supply homes to displaced communities, a group of 700 adults, 577 children, 15 pregnant women, 22 handicapped, and 25 seniors have taken over vacant homes in the south-western neighborhood of Kennedy in Bogotá
http://www.narconews.com/Issue38/article1422.html

The crews for three U.S. Customs Blackhawk helicopters stationed at Crestview Airport in Florida are "livid" because they have not been directed to provide full-time support for the ongoing hurricane-relief effort in the nation's Gulf Coast region, according to Mark Conrad, a former regional Internal Affairs supervisor for U.S. Customs.

Conrad says instead of helping people left desperate in the wake of Katrina's wrath, the Blackhawk's actually were slated to transport a CNN news crew to take video shots of those people.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection leadership in Miami is behind the press-play strategy, Conrad says.
http://narcosphere.narconews.com/story/2005/9/1/195752/4860

Luis Posada Carriles obligingly rose when called as a witness to make his way to the makeshift witness stand in the uncomfortably small courtroom.  But Judge William Abbott waived Posada to sit back down, telling him that he could testify in place and need not trouble himself to move.  The atmosphere in court was surprisingly informal and relaxed, even as the terrorist and former CIA operative prepared to testify to matters concerning his nearly five decades as a bomber, figure of intrigue, and mule for U.S. policy in Latin America.
http://narcosphere.narconews.com/story/2005/9/1/02219/70313

You're not going nuts, it is a white squirrel...

GARETH EDWARDS

FOR years it has been painted as a brutal war between natives and invaders.

The red squirrel has long been fighting a losing battle against the influx of the more versatile grey squirrel, and is now a rare sight in the Lothians.
http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=1898352005

Locals from Lakeview subdivision of New Orleans report that after Katrina passed a loose barge struck levee causing breach that flooded city.
 
WMR has just been informed by evacuees in Baton Rouge from Lakeview, a well-to-do New Orleans neighborhood, that the flooding of the city was caused by a loose barge striking the levee on the 17th Street Canal. The breach was not caused by rising flood waters as reported by FEMA and other agencies. Lakeview is some 1.5 miles down Veterans Boulevard from the 17th St. Canal breach.
http://www.rense.com/general67/loose.htm

Federal Emergency Management Agency, sought the approval from Homeland Security Secretary Mike Chertoff roughly five hours after Katrina made landfall on Aug. 29. Brown said that among duties of these employees was to "convey a positive image" about the government's response for victims.

Before then, FEMA had positioned smaller rescue and communications teams across the Gulf Coast. But officials acknowledged Tuesday the first department-wide appeal for help came only as the storm raged.

Brown's memo to Chertoff described Katrina as "this near catastrophic event" but otherwise lacked any urgent language. The memo politely ended, "Thank you for your consideration in helping us to meet our responsibilities."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050906/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/katrina_disaster_response

The Singapore defence ministry Monday said three of the heavy-duty helicopters had so far ferried about 700 evacuees and hauled tons of supplies in 39 sorties.

"The first thing that we noticed was the water level in the city," Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Rodrigues, head of the Singaporean relief mission, told Singapore's Straits Times newspaper. "I think most of the buildings are half-submerged." Singapore said Monday a fourth Chinook would join the relief efforts.

The CH-47 Chinook helicopters were from a training detachment in Grand Prairie, Texas. Singapore positions air force units in the United States because it does not have enough land or air space for training.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050905/sc_afp/usweatheraidasia