People in the NE really are cold hearted.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Um, back to the OP, if one were to give the benefit of the doubt that the story is mostly true...

...what, exactly, are people supposed to do? Once those kids got swept away, it was ****ing over. There was no saving them.

Well, to connect this to the threadjack - people may have been scared of looters and the lack of law enforcement and so may have thought it some sort of scam. Not saying it wasn't horrible, but at some level, perhaps, understandable.

[Docfeelgood]

WOW!

[Docfeelgood]

Coney Island Plagued With Looting After Hurricane Sandy

The post-Hurricane Sandy looting has begun on Coney Island, according to Huffington Post Crime.

Thieves broke in to the badly damaged Mega Aid Pharmacy on Mermaid Avenue and reportedly stole more than 10,000 pharmaceutical items, including prescription drugs.

"The water went away and these people started walking down the streets and just robbed stores," a pharmacy worker told HuffPo's Andy Campbell.

Manager Stan Gutkin said the major heist essentially "breaks the business."

Looters reportedly also targeted banks, other shops, and other pharmacies.

And residents are noticing.

"People are turning on each other -- they're attacking each other," Ocean Towers resident Dena Wells told Campbell.

Solid numbers about the crimes committed in Sandy's wake have not yet been released.

Before the storm hit, we predicted the East Coast was in for a wave of looting in Sandy's aftermath. Both Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Irene brought with them a rash of crimes ranging from rape to theft.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/coney...#ixzz2B72K2OEQ

Makes me respect that second amendment even more.

[Dinner]

The really stupid thing is people had a 5-6 warning about what was coming and how bad it would be, they were told to evacuate but decided to ignore the warnings, transportation was even provided so that people without cars could evacuate, yet these people not only didn't evacuate but they also didn't bother to take even the most basic prepperations like buying some canned food, storing water, or even buying a battery powered flash light.

At some point you just have to say those people are stupid. I mean people whining they're out of food even though it was only two days since the storm and they were given almost a week's notice as to what to do? Just stupid.

[Dinner]

Makes me respect that second amendment even more.

So far the report mostly lists one organized group of theives which broke into one pharmacy deliberately to steal only those drugs which were most valuable for the recreational drug trade. That honestly doesn't sound like the advertised "WAVE OF LOOTING!!!!111!!!11" and instead it is easy to see how that Business Insider earned their reputation as an unreliable sensationalist and normally partisan publication. It's pretty much a tabloid despite the name.

[Docfeelgood]

People think it will never happen to them.

[Docfeelgood]

So far the report mostly lists one organized group of theives which broke into one pharmacy deliberately to steal only those drugs which were most valuable for the recreational drug trade. That honestly doesn't sound like the advertised "WAVE OF LOOTING!!!!111!!!11" and instead it is easy to see how that Business Insider earned their reputation as an unreliable sensationalist and normally partisan publication. It's pretty much a tabloid despite the name.

I've seen news reports where people were stranded in their houses at night afraid of roving packs of looters, waiting for police that won't be coming to the rescue.

[regexcellent]

The worst part of the Coney Island thing is that Bloomberg doesn't like accepting help from state troops because "oh no people not under my direct authority might have guns, ew evil guns." So no national guard in Brooklyn.

[Docfeelgood]

The worst part of the Coney Island thing is that Bloomberg doesn't like accepting help from state troops because "oh no people not under my direct authority might have guns, ew evil guns." So no national guard in Brooklyn.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Um, the National Guard is already IN Brooklyn. The Mayor just disputed that more may are needed:

http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/50828

[regexcellent]

That's better, at least. Still NYC is not in any position to turn down help. The National Guard has the equipment, supplies, and training that they need.

[Docfeelgood]

Doesn't the governor have authority in placement of NG troops?

[regexcellent]

I would think so. But I don't know if he would if NYC didn't request it. Officials in Brooklyn are requesting more troops.

[Docfeelgood]

true

[Docfeelgood]

Nice.