Hurricane Gustav and Twitter - Updates Reveal Folks Still In New Orleans

After checking out Twitter "tweets" from New Orleans a day ago, I decided to go back and see what New Orleans' Twitter users were writing after Hurricane Gustav hit land in Louisiana. 

Here's what I found...

dubtea
Name Will
Location New Orleans
Recently At molly's on decatur. Quarter has no power, mollys has partial due to generator. 21 minutes ago

Molly's is a bar in the French Quarter. That means he was at least able to make it down there for a cocktail.  It also means that conditions aren't as bad as feared as of this writing. 

tracam
Name tracam
Location New Orleans
Recently We made it to Vero Beach. Got groceries, internet and CNN. Oh, and a few bottles of wine, chips and salsa. Let the future unfold. about 16 hours ago

Vero Beach is Florida.  About a five hour drive from New Orleans. 

wavyhairgirl
Name wavyhairgirl
Location New Orleans, LA
Recently Tornado threat over apparently 19 minutes ago

aliciammyers
Name aliciammyers
Location New Orleans
Recently So the worst is over? When can we come back? when will power be on? about 1 hour ago

eswanny
Name eswanny
Location New Orleans
Recently And rather than provide information, the weather channel would prefer to show pictures of flying debris. Fail, weather channel... about 4 hours ago

amberdodd
Name amberdodd
Location New Orleans, LA
Recently Just walked around. Windy! Lots of trees/branches down. Ready for electricity now, thx. 6 minutes ago

Wow.  Amderdodd walked around.  So that confirms it's not as bad as three years ago. 

GraceWilson
Name GraceWilson
Location New Orleans    Web http://www.NewOrleansOnline.com
Recently The worst of the wind is over... the rain is light and misty.... I see where they say the levees are overtopping in the Upper 9... VIVA NOLA about 3 hours ago

LaJuneBaby
Name LaJuneBaby
Location New Orleans, LA
Bio Sleepless in New Orleans
Recently Cooking out with friends....and playing the music LOUD!! No neighbors around so LET'S ROCK!!!! about 20 hours ago

There's more at Twitter.

Hurricane Gustav: Twitter "Tweets" of New Orleans Residents Show They're Leaving

I just happened to check out the Twitter "tweets" -- messages -- left by New Orleans residents, or at least those who listed as living in that city which seems to be the target of yet another Hurricane, this one called Gustof.  How I did it was by simply typing "New Orleans" in a search on Twitter.

Some of the messages are from people who have already departed, like aliciammyers, who reports that she's "Driving towards Nashville. Want eggs so badly. Traffic is non-".  Then sarahmparks writes that she's "keeping an eye on Gustav".   Emmaleigh3 reports that she's "Watching pirates of the carribean and waiting for the storm".  


She'd better get out of there!!


Twitter's a good way to determine the mood and place of people in a region during a disaster like Gustav.  I'm going to follow the New Orleans people via Twitter in the days to come.  

New Orleans supports Obama

NOLA is a microcosm of the USA, ethnically diverse and culturally rich. Folks there see reason to GET OUT THE VOTE and participate in our democracy, and many also celebrate Barack Obama's candidacy for the Democratic nomination. Check out the smiling faces, and no matter who you support make sure everybody votes!

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Did Officer Wiley Willis Do Brutality Against Angela Garbarino

In my opinion this is an excellent example of a police officer terrorizing a person and turning off a camera himself to continue an act of brutality. This happened in Shreveport, LA and to one Angela Garbarino . who was arrested on suspicion of DUI by Officer Wiley Willis, who has been fired.

But this again shed light on why some -- not all -- police officers are allowed to behave in this way. It wrecks the very idea of "protect and to serve." How can you feel protected by people who can act like this?

Here's the rest of the story, from ABC News:

A Louisiana police officer was fired after a woman, who was pulled over on the suspicion of a DWI, ended up with two black eyes and bruises to her face while in police custody in November.


Video

DWI Suspect in Pool of Blood: How Did it Happen?
What makes Angela Garbarino's injuries and situation more curious is the fact that Shreveport police Officer Wiley Willis turned off the interrogation-room camera after he and Garbarino exchanged words.


The video shows Garbarino requesting a phone call.


"You're not going to let me call anybody?" she asks on the video. "I have a right to call somebody right now and I know that. Is this on the record?"


The footage documents Wiley attempting to read Garbarino her rights, but he runs out of patience and things get tense. He seems to forcefully put her in a chair.


"Don't touch me again. Get away from me," Garbarino says after a scream.



Then, Wiley walks over to the police camera recording the booking and turns it off. What happens next is a mystery, but when the video resumes the handcuffed Garbarino is sprawled on the floor and silently lying in a pool of her blood.


Another officer arrives and takes a cursory look before Garbarino is wheeled out on a stretcher. In addition to her bruised face, Garbarino's injuries also included two broken teeth.


While Garbarino says Wiley physically abused her, his attorney said what he did was "in accordance with normal practice."


"The suspect again tried to leave the room. In the process of stopping her, she fell and injured herself," said Eron Brainard in a statement to ABC News.


Wiley is appealing his dismissal and police have not brought charges against him because no one knows for sure what occurred.


Meanwhile, Garbarino faces reckless driving, hit-and-run and DWI charges. She has denied the charges.


A Shreveport police spokesperson said no specific law about the phone call exists, but typically suspects are processed, booked and then allowed to make a phone call.


But at least one expert said at the very least Wiley should have called for a female backup.

Superdome - Green Day and U2 In Video

Green Day -- from the SF Bay Area -- and U2 played to a great crowd to kickoff the return of the New Orleans Saints to the Superdome to play the Atlanta Falcons.