*michael parekh on IT*

ON CNN NEWS' CHANGES, PART II

MORE OF THE SAME

Well, I guess there's no accounting for journalistic tastes, mine that is...

My previous post focused on my distaste for two of CNN's prime new figures using their shows as bully pulpits for their favorite causes:  Lou Dobbs and Wolf Blitzer.  I hadn't planned on a follow-up post on the same subject, but a new development drives this post.

CNN brass apparently has decided to fire the one bright light (in this one person's humble view) in it's evening line-up, Aaron Brown as anchor of CNN's Newsnight program, and replace him with Anderson "360" Cooper.

You remember Cooper, don't you, he of the famous, impassioned hissy fit during the Katrina crisis, and the million dollar book contract in its aftermath? 

If you missed the breadth of Mr. Cooper's hurricane experience, some highlights can be found here, courtesy of the Chortler. 

I agree with Scripting News Dave Winer's pithy observation on this change:

" (Aaron Brown's) Newsnight was the only regular news show I would watch. Anderson Cooper is a putz."

The New York Times explains the motivations of the line-up changes thus, quoting CNN News head Joe Klein:

"Mr. Klein said the moves were made chiefly to elevate the profiles of the two news figures that he said have been growing in popularity at CNN, Mr. Cooper and Mr. Blitzer.

"We want to expose Anderson and Wolf to more people," Mr. Klein said."

As CNN news head Joe Klein says of Mr. Brown, 56,: 

"he is a first-class news talent, no question." But he repeated that CNN simply had no program to offer Mr. Brown.

Guess I'm just not hip enough to get Mr. Cooper's appeal, and am just getting older than the desired mainstream demographic.  (By the way, The San Francisco Chronicle has a lengthy piece on Messrs. Brown vs. Cooper if you're interested in more details of this news opera).

I wonder what pet cause Anderson Cooper will make his signature bully pulpit cause.  Lou Dobbs has "Broken Borders" and "Exporting America", and Wolf Blitzer has "Pandemic Bird Flu". 

Maybe Anderson can split the difference and go with "Pandemic Bird Flu crosses our Broken Borders, thus successfully exporting Asian Avian diseases to America in the aftermath of the 2005 hurricane season".  Should be good for most of the year, I'd reckon...hopefully by then, he'll have found his own pet pablum.

In the meantime, I'll be over at Fox News, waiting for Internet-driven TV with thousands of TV news options.

ON PAKISTAN-INDIA EARTHQUAKE

SHARING THE PAIN

Another natural disaster thousands of miles away.  Death count at 18,000 already and climbing (map and picture from New York Times article). 

This time it feels a little closer to home.  It resonates more than such news used to before Katrina.

I may be wrong, but I believe this is the first time India and Pakistan have shared a natural disaster together, ironically along the part of Kashmir that they continue to fight over.  Afghanistan was hit as well.

One hopes the shared disaster and loss of life creates more empathy between the two countries.  (My previous posts on the relationship between the two countries can be read here and here).

It's been quite a year for natural disasters.

We need to help as we can.

ON ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE ON US TRADE DEFICIT

A DIFFERENT VIEW

Economist Stephen Roach of Morgan Stanley puts some interesting perspective around the on-going raging debate over the US trade deficit and it's global economic implications.  He says:

"In 2005, our estimates suggest that the US will account for fully 70% of all the current account deficits in the world economy.  That's more than double America's 28% share in world GDP as measured at market exchange rates and more than three times the US weight of 21% as gauged by the IMF's purchasing power parity metrics.

By contrast, Japan's surplus--the world's biggest--accounts for only 17% of all the current account surpluses in the world.

In fact, it takes ten economies--Japan, Germany, Russia, Saudi Arabia, China, Norway, Switzerland, Canada, Singapore, and the Netherlands--to make up the same 70% share on the surplus side of the equation that America accounts for on the deficit side."

He goes on to add:

"In my view, there can be no mistaking the highly disproportionate share that America plays in fostering overall imbalances in the global economy."

The full piece is worth reading, regardless of whether you agree or disagree with Stephen's conclusions, especially given the additional context of the looming Katrina and Rita bills.  Recommended.

ON POST-KATRINA LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES

GOING TO THE DOGS

Another post-Katrina story that makes you shake your head on where our post-Katrina political and legislative priorities are being focused.  From the AP via the New York Times today:

September 22, 2005

Bill Would Require Safety Plans for Pets

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal disaster grants to state and local governments should be conditioned on how they accommodate pets in their evacuation plans, say lawmakers disturbed that some Hurricane Katrina victims refused to leave home because they couldn't take their animals with them.

''I cannot help but wonder how many more people could have been saved had they been able to take their pets,'' Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., said Thursday.

Lantos and Reps. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., and Barney Frank, D-Mass., are sponsoring a bill that would require that state and local disaster preparedness plans required for Federal Emergency Management Agency funding include provisions for household pets and service animals.

More than 6,000 pets have been saved in Mississippi and Louisiana, said Michael Markarian, executive vice president of the Humane Society of the United States, but tens of thousands more could still be in New Orleans alone. Texas, he said, has been better at allowing people to take their pets with them ahead of Hurricane Rita but a formal policy is still needed.

''We cannot rely on individual acts of compassion,'' Markarian said.

Holly Hazard, executive director of the Doris Day Animal League, said there are 4,000 outstanding requests to rescue pets more than three weeks after Katrina hit.

While the legislation may draw attention to the issue, it doesn't ''have any real meat in it,'' said Sara Spaulding, a spokeswoman for the American Humane Association. She said uniform protocols on rescuing and sheltering animals, for example, should be formulated at the federal level with consultation from animal welfare groups.

Probably no other country in the world would have its legislative priorities influenced this way given the so many other massive priorities facing us post-Katrina and pre-Rita, especially in the context of how/who gets to pay for the first $200 billion bill.

Well, maybe the United Kingdom would do something like this, but they'd make sure the law focused only on evacuating the dogs.

ON QUESTIONS REGARDING NEW ORLEANS

THE PRICE IS RIGHT?

On September 2nd, I'd posted ten questions regarding the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina for New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf coast.

Today, we got an answer on part of question number six.  Quoting the question and the answer from the post:

"6.  When will the first memorial services be held for the victims, locally, regionally and nationally a la post 9/11?)

Answer:  This is a great opportunity for politicians go get airtime, so this will likely happen much sooner than later, possibly by the end of September?"

Well, President Bush beat me by two weeks, announcing today as the National Day of Prayer, with services at Washington's National Cathedral going on as I type this post.  As bad as the disaster has been for so many people to date, the country as a whole is heaving a bit of a sigh of relief.

Even though the ultimate implications and costs of this disaster have yet to be tabulated, one thing is becoming clear.  It could have been far, far worse, especially in the number of lives lost.

So as expected in above-mentioned post, we're now rapidly moving onto the next stage of this national drama, the political and economic "land grab" as we figure out how to make things right, and who should pay what for it.

It's becoming clearer that the knee-jerk largess of the politicians (be they national, state or local), to "spend first and ask questions later" is likely to be called into question.

Two hundred billion dollars coming out of the national coffers seems a bit much when the media is already reporting stories on local politicians and entrepreneurs speculating on how they can spend this manna from heaven.  Not to mention the havoc it creates with the national budget, such as it is.

Just a back of the envelope calculation suggests that spending that much to re-settle around a million people would cost $200,000 per person, funded by national tax dollars.

We are about to be treated to a distinctly different set of images on our TV screens in the coming days, weeks and months.  The image will be of residents coming back and gleefully figuring out how to profit from the re-building. 

The tears will give way to smiles and laughter as they build and furnish new homes with proceeds from insurance, supplemented by historically unprecedented government largess and private sector investors and speculators.  Some of the stories of greed will make the glimpses of emerging greed in this LA Times article seem tame in hindsight.

We'll see pictures of folks eagerly buying new appliances, furniture and cars on national TV, with the same look on their faces as a winning contestant on the "Price is Right".

It'll be the ultimate reality TV.

Hopefully we'll figure out more efficient and intelligent ways to do this, especially by letting the private sector finance some part of the re-development.  Not to mention reining in the politicians' natural impulse to buy their way back into voters' good graces, regardless of party or level (national, state and local).

 

ON SMILING AFTER A BAD TWO WEEKS

RINGING HUMOR

It's been a tough couple of weeks for the country and most of us, on top of whatever's been going on in our daily lives.  We've had plenty to get upset about and worked up over regardless of which side of the political fence we sit.  Not to mention being sad to the core about the what's happened to so many.

I'd forgotten how much I needed a smile until I saw this great post by Tom Evslin.  He succeeds in helping us not take our world so seriously in times like these, especially in the daily show of blog-reading and writing. 

Obviously, Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" notwithstanding  (particularly, Ed Helms' "Beleagured Bush" segment is one of the funniest things I've seen on Katrina to date, and NOT to be missed, regardless of political affiliation).

P.S.  (shameless plug):  Don't forget to read the first comment after Tom's post, where yours truly takes a crack at his inspired comedic template.

After/IF you get through THAT comment, and are interested in reading more about my thoughts on Lou Dobbs' Crusades, click here and here).

ON CRIMES BEYOND "LOOTING 101" IN NEW ORLEANS

LIFE IMITATES VIDEO GAME

Looks like the crimes in New Orleans are going to the next stage.  From Katrinahelp.com, comes this post:

"The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Saturday that many FEMA uniforms, badges and letterheads have been stolen in the New Orleans area are being used as fake identification by robbers.

FEMA leaders said the crooks are referring to themselves as "FEMA Procurement Officers," even though no such officers exist."

The modus operandi is straight from one of the "missions" in the video game Grand Theft Auto:  Vice City.  As this walkthrough (help guide) explains how the player get "solve" this mission:

"It's helpful to unlock the cop uniform before going for this package.  Come
into Washington Beach via the brdige from Starfish Island.  Go straight down
this road and head over the bridge...

...put on the cop clothes so the police won't attack you.  Go into the corridor from
the central lobby, and walk down the hall.  Take the stairs up into the
upstairs office.  The package is hidden in the glass-windowed office across the
room from the stairs entrance."

Looks like the types of crimes and related issues I was concerned about in an earlier post, titled "Grand Theft Auto:  The Big Easy" may not be far-fetched or far behind.

ON WHY PEOPLE DIDN'T EVACUATE NEW ORLEANS

HEARTS OF STONE AND DEAF EARS

Hurricane Katrina made landfall Monday last week, with the levees starting to give way shortly thereafter.  The rest, as they say, history.

There have undoubtedly been a truly tragic number of deaths, some unavoidable, and some most likely, with the crystal clarity of hindsight, avoidable.

The political fall-out from all this is truly going to fill the history books, with folks at every level (federal, state, and local) that will eventually have to take some of the blame, and/or will have blame shoved upon them by all parties concerned.

And many that are truly responsible for some of the mis-steps shall escape unscathed as occurs time and time again in every human disaster, whether at the hands of nature or man.

But this post is not about exploring all these very weighty issues in depth.  They will play out in front of our eyes over the coming months, mostly in Washington, along with a pretty charged set of hearings for two Supreme Court vacancies. 

As an aside, congress-folks from both sides of the political aisle are going to be like pigs in nature's byproducts this fall in terms of opportunities for ample media coverage. 

It's going to make or break many a political career, and it'll rival anything else on TV, sitcom, drama, miniseries or reality.

No, this post is about trying to answer the one question that was implicitly raised by the man most charged with making an immediate difference in the aftermath of Katrina.  A person who has already had a fair bit of coverage in terms of his qualifications for the job, insinuations of cronyism, and his ability to put his foot in his mouth on a consistent basis.

I'm talking about of course the man of the hour, the man whose head seems to be most desired for by the media at large, the one, the only, Michael Brown, current director of FEMA.  (By the way, note that his official biography on the FEMA web-site makes no mention at all of his true occupation for several years prior to the job, as a director of the International Arabian Horse Association...talk about creative resume writing).

In an interview as late as last Thursday on CNN, Mr. Brown said the following in response to an observation that the death toll from this catastrophe would likely be in the thousands:

"Unfortunately, that's going to be attributable a lot to people who did not heed the advance warnings," Brown told CNN.

"I don't make judgments about why people chose not to leave but, you know, there was a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans," he said.

"And to find people still there is just heart-wrenching to me because, you know, the mayor did everything he could to get them out of there.

"So, we've got to figure out some way to convince people that whenever warnings go out it's for their own good," Brown said. "Now, I don't want to second guess why they did that. My job now is to get relief to them."

Those warm and comforting words are spoken like a true bureaucrat, by a person not even qualified to BE a bureaucrat, according to many media accounts.

The words also bring to mind the image of a paramedic, who while pulling the wounded driver from a crashed, burning car, mutters under his breath, "Took that last curve a mite too fast now, did we?"

I had to re-read them a couple of times to make sure I didn't miss anything.  After all FEMA is the agency charged most with immediate, compassionate rescue and care of American citizens in the aftermath of disasters, or so I believe.

Now, I don't want to single out Mr. Brown for "foot-in-mouth" disease, and/or insensitive, inappropriate comments...he has some company, as this list from obeythetoaster.com shows, including another one from Mr. Brown himself.

Well, someone send Mr. Brown a copy of an excellent start to a response to his implied  question.  The Washington Post on Sunday ran an article that provided part of the answer in its title: "Living paycheck to paycheck made leaving impossible".  Some notable excerpts, provided in vivid vignettes:

"To those who wonder why so many stayed behind when push came to water's mighty shove here, those who were trapped have a simple explanation: Their nickels and dimes and dollar bills simply didn't add up to stage a quick evacuation mission.

"Me and my wife, we were living paycheck to paycheck, like most everybody else in New Orleans," Eric Dunbar, 54, said Saturday.

...

"He offered a mini-tutorial in the economic reality of his life.

"I don't own a car. Me and my wife, we travel by bus, public transportation. The most money I ever have on me is $400. And that goes to pay the rent. And that $400 is between me and my wife." Her name is Dorth Dunbar; she was trying to get some rest after days of peril.

Dunbar estimated his annual income to be about $20,000, which comes from doing graphic design work when he can get it. Before the storm, when he and his wife estimated how much money they needed to flee the city, he was saddened by the reality that he could not come up with anywhere near the several thousand dollars he might need for a rental car and airfare."

 

If it wasn't harsh economic reality, it was about harsh family responsibilities:

"A 47-year-old grandmother was rocking a grandchild.

"These people look at us and wonder why we stayed behind," said Carmita Stephens. "Well, would they leave their grandparents and children behind? Look around and say, 'See you later'?" She gave a roll of the eyes behind the raised voice.

"We had one vehicle. A truck. I wanted my family to be together. They all couldn't fit in the truck. We had to decide on leaving family members -- or staying."

According to the article, she made it out with some family, but her husband and son are still missing.

Now I'm sure there one or two folks who didn't leave the city out of sheer pig-headedness, or a misplaced belief in their own immortality, or had been faked out by previous hurricanes and didn't want to be "tricked" again, or were just too optimistic, complacent, lazy, or smart for their own good. 

But Mr. Brown, was last week a really good time to tell them what schmucks they were?

And President Bush, as a long-time supporter through thick and thin, and a card-carrying Republican, this constituent has but one question...what part of "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job", did you truly mean this past Friday?

ON THE NEXT NECESSITY FOR HURRICANE KATRINA REFUGEES

REACH OUT VIRTUALLY

Tom Evslin has some great thoughts on an already great idea by Stuart Henshall of SkypeJournal, addressing the next big need of refugees following food, water, temporary shelter, medical attention that they are starting to belatedly receive now. 

We're talking about the urgent need for communications: with friends, families, employers, employees (past, current and potential).  As Tom described it in his post:

Stuart Henshall at Skype Journal has a brilliant idea for helping Katrina victims put their lives back together through restored communications. You can read it here and a follow up here.

Stuart’s idea is that Bell South ought to immediately virtualize all the nonworking phone numbers in the stricken area. VoIP providers can then immediately make it possible for the owners of these numbers to reclaim them from wherever they are, set up voice mail on them, and/or forward them to other working phone numbers. Bell South can have the numbers back when the landlines are restored to service.

As good an idea this is to "virtualize" existing phone numbers into internet telephony numbers, it faces a daunting array of obstacles, which are more political than technical and economic (see Stuart's second post here). 

Not to mention that a "virtualized" phone number off a computer may present learning curve challenges for mainstream users in the midst of dealing with all the other critical issues they're already coping with.

A twist on this idea that may work better would be to virtualize the phone numbers into mobile, cell phone numbers and cell phones.

What are the advantages?  Some that come to mind,

1.  The phone companies may be more inclined to convert land-line numbers into mobile numbers within their own corporate umbrella of services addressing any competitive fears they may have about getting the customers back.

2.  Mainstream users are already familiar with cell phones, so fewer learning curve issues.

3.  Most displaced refugees are not likely to have steady and continual access to PCs and internet broadband connectivity, not to mention that they may have to move more than once before they're finally able to return to start their lives anew.  So cell phones may be an easier solution in this context.

4.  Implementation could be faster again given the mainstream nature of these technologies.

Obviously the wired and wired carriers, along with hand-set providers would need to come together to work out the optimal pricing/donation/subsidization aspects of converting and providing wireless services.  Whether it's new and/or used cell phones, an optimal strategy could be found to minimise the incremental cost of hardware.  As an aside, the US is already one of the biggest providers of re-cycled used cell phones to overseas markets.

At the very least, it may be an idea that could be used IN CONJUNCTION with an internet telephony solution, depending on where the refugees are in the country and the local realities of infrastructure and capacity.

As an aside, it's impressive that amidst all the lack of alacrity in the response of federal, state and local authorities to the current crisis in the first few days, that the US post office has begun to address a pressing need of uprooted refugees to divert and access their physical mail, which obviously in millions of cases has nowhere physical to go.

Stuart's original idea of "virtualization" telephone communications is terrific, and does merit immediate and serious attention by the powers that be.

 

ON TEN QUESTIONS REGARDING NEW ORLEANS

ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE (NOT?)...

(Updates Below)

Fourth day after Hurricane Katrina passed through and it's hard not be affected by the personal stories of human suffering coming through the TV news.  It got so bad yesterday, that I turned off the TV to just focus on print reports of the news, so that I might get a broader perspective on what's happening.

It didn't help.  The print media was also for the most part focused on the personal anecdotes that make you shake your head that this is occurring within the United States.

And then another shock.  Regardless of political party affiliation, it was very surprising to hear President Bush refer to the situation as "unacceptable".  It's good to see the administration getting off the one key that has been the primary focus for modus operandi since 9/11.

And speaking of 9/11, one can't but help and compare & contrast (my favorite exercise in high school), the first few days of this disaster vs. the first few days of the last one, Rudi Guiliani notwithstanding (as Jason Calacanis wonders here).

Maybe whichever philospher who said it, got it right:  human beings do need an external enemy to motivate them to get off their duff. 

Which is why politicians throughout the ages have used that basic tool of governance.  And which is why they continue to invent external enemies when there are none, or exaggerate the ones that may exist in the far distance.

It's tough to make political hay out of mother nature as an enemy.

Here, there is no external enemy other than Hurricane Katrina, and of course the levees.  As an aside, the last time I thought of the word levee was whenever I heard Don McLean's "Bye, Bye American Pie" on the radio...remember?:

So bye-bye, miss American pie.
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.

Now, the whole nation is going to become expert on levees and how they work, and of course what happens when they don't.  Already there's talk in southern California of re-examining the levees in the area which are prone to earthquakes, which occur at a greater frequency and far less warning than hurricanes.

So, coming to the point of this post (finally), all this for me anyway, generated far more questions than answers. 

I thought I'd share them with everybody, and see if people have thoughts/comments on them, or if they have more questions they'd like to add.  These are in no particular order or priority.  For ones that I have some partial, half-baked answers and/or assumptions of answers, I've added them in parentheses:

1.  When will the people, especially around the Superdome, finally be evacuated?
    (A:  Probably in the next week, especially given the intense public, media and now political focus on the situation).

2.  When will the looting and lawlessness be brought under control?
    (A: Same as for the question above, especially with thousands of National Guards troops moving in...but important questions and issues around "Grand Theft Auto: The Big Easy" will remain.  Tom Evslin has some good thoughts on the crime spree here and comparisons to 9/11 here).

3.  When will the levee breaches be temporarily staunched?
    (A: In the next two weeks or so?)

4.  When will the city be totally evacuated?
    (A: Next 2-3 weeks, but with thousands of troops, volunteers and other organizations doing clean-up in the city, the issues of property protection remain...
RELATED QUESTION:  What are the legal precedents if any, around authorities going through hundreds of thousands of homes searching for bodies, WITHOUT the owners present?  Who's responsible if owners find things missing?  What if evidence of other crimes are found on the premises during these body searches?)

5.  When will we see all the bodies collected, identified and returned to families, along with a total death toll?)
    (A:  Likely 2-3 months, so by the end of the year?)

6.  When will the first memorial services be held for the victims, locally, regionally and nationally a la post 9/11?)
    (A:  This is a great opportunity for politicians go get airtime, so this will likely happen much sooner than later, possibly by the end of September?
RELATED QUESTION:  When will all the Senatorial and Presidential aspirants for 2006 and 2008 respectively start showing up regularly on TV for the next few months on Hurricane Katrina related issues?)

7.  When will the first looter and other related criminal trials be held?
    (A:  Again, given the political dividends, this will likely occur sooner than later, so likely in the next 3-6 months...nationally televised of course, with books to follow).

8.  When will see the first books, mini-series, movie of the week, and possible feature films based on these events?
    (A:  The writers are probably being engaged as we speak...so probably in 9-12 months?
RELATED QUESTION:  When will start seeing the first celebrity fund-a-thons and concert drives?)

9.  When does the "blame game" start, especially at the national level?
    (A:  Some would say it's already starting, but full-fledged Congressional hearings and the like are probably 2-3 months away...again, there's political capital to be accrued here
RELATED QUESTION:  When will see the first law-suits around the blame, crime and insurance issues?  The issues on the latter item are already murky given that about half of the home owners do not have flood insurance and the insurance industry is going to use that to limit coverage, as in "hurricane and winds are covered, but floods are not"...how do you delineate which damage is caused by which event?  Good day for lawyers coming, not to mention constructions folks from all around the country).

10.  When will policies be put in place so that something like this does not happen again, and we learn from history and our mistakes?
    (A:  You want fairy tales, go read a book).

I'm more of a natural optimist than a cynic, so even I'm surprised as to where I'm coming out on some of these answers...maybe I'll be positively surprised...to be continued...

UPDATES:

1.  September 3rd, Saturday, 1pm EST:   It's truly difficult to find the words to describe one's feelings as this story continues to unfold.  Both Fred Wilson and Brad Feld express their feelings in thoughtful ways...recommended. 

Also worth reading is Nick Bradbury's post, which emphasizes why this is so beyond regular party politics.

2.

ON "GRAND THEFT AUTO: THE BIG EASY"

NOT JUST A GAME ANYMORE

Watching the post-Katrina tragedy unfolding in New Orleans and all the other places around the three states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama is heart-breaking enough.  And then you start to see the evil part of human nature come out in terms of the increasingly widespread looting and other forms of lawlessness unfolding in one of the oldest cities of these United States.

It's a real-life Grand Theft Auto, played in increasingly putrid pools of brown, stinking water.

The interesting part is that the real looting is likely not the stuff we're seeing in front of the TV cameras...people scurrying in and out of stores with perishable and non-perishable merchandise.  Most of that stuff is a write-off anyway.  And in some cases it's being done for survival by people desperate for food and water.

And it's likely even not the folks looting the Wal-marts and hardware stores for guns and ammunition, which in turn fuel increasingly empowered and armed bands of folks now focused on more organized types of crimes.

Their other targets would obviously be any types of hard-asset that could be conveniently stolen, transported out of the area, and re-sold.  Jewelry stores, and similar valuables in homes are obvious targets. 

The next "relatively easy" targets for these looters would be the hundreds of bank branches and ATMs around the city.  There's a finite, but appreciable amount of cash lying around these repositories, not to mention in the cash registers of thousands of businesses large and small.

Much of this has a short-time to play out given that 30,000 national guard troops are moving into the area to supplement the 2,500 or so strong beleaguered exhausted and overwhelmed police force of New Orleans.  And the criminal situation as it stands needs to be staunched and addressed as soon as humanly possible.

(By the way, as a total aside, these folk, and their peers in other emergency services,  should be as recognized and honored for what they are doing just as the police and fire department heroes of New York City four years ago).

But the real targets that have a potentially much higher payoff would likely involve valuables that are digital in nature than hard assets.  And these valuables are less likely to be covered by insurance.

I'm referring to the paper and digital information stores at banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions.  In an era where an individual's credit card info is worth hundreds if not thousands of dollars on the global, digital black market, this is the treasure trove that should be protected sooner rather than later.

While evacuating the city, which is increasingly urgent, the authorities also likely need to organize a systematic way for businesses large and small, to be able to send in authorized representatives to their premises in the city to secure and/or remove these stores of digital data. 

Obviously businesses will also be interested in securing and removing hard valuable assets as well, and these need to be accommodated as well if at all possible given the logistical issues and other pressing priorities.

At the very least, businesses could provide lists of the most critical and sensitive locations so that they can be properly protected by federal and local authorities, again, AFTER folks have been rescued and evacuated of course.

While some of this may seem obvious, it's often in catastrophic and chaotic times, when there are so many urgent priorities to be executed by so few that the "obvious" can slip by.  Our recent experience in securing some, but not ALL of the arms stores around Iraq after the the invasion are a case in point.  Obviously, in that instance, we had no helpful entities providing a comprehensive list of locations that needed to be secured, as would be in this case.

Much of this is reminiscent of that scene in the classic cold-war 1964 thriller, "Fail-Safe", where (SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THIS TERRIFIC MOVIE), realizing that New York City was about to be decimated in a self-inflicted nuclear attack, a senior adviser to the President (very well played by Henry Fonda), urges the immediate removal of financial data as the first major priority.

New Orleans is not New York City in terms of the amount of critical financial data repositories, but sensitive personal and commercial digital information has obviously exploded far more profusely than the 1960s.  It needs to be added to the excruciatingly long list of priorities, of course after saving and caring for the living.