Lumpy's Corner

Some of the links in this article now seem dead. I am leaving them in case it is temporary but "surfer beware"!

I knew this would happen. I am surprised it took this long for me to actually hear of an instance of it. When I was at church this Sunday, I stood up and cautioned the members that I thought it inevitable that they would soon be receiving e-mails guised as relief efforts for Katrina victims. I advised them that they would likely be frauds.

Returning from church and being home less than 20 minutes I heard of my first such e-mail. My mother received one. I suggested the same thing I did to the churchgoers. Delete the thing and give directly to the Red Cross, Salvation Army or other such organizations. Do NOT reply to such e-mails. Odds are they are frauds. Unless you are on an e-mail mailing list for one of these organizations, I doubt they are soliciting you through your in-box. They simply do not conduct business that way.

And I hope you do not actually expect to receive and e-mail from someone directly affected by it. At present it is very unlikely that anyone in the hurricane's path has access to a PC, electricity, and an Internet connection. Rest assured, they are far more likely to be dealing with food and water needs. In a region where people are looting guns and shooting at each other, I am rather convinced that an Internet connection is not on many individuals' minds.

Please DO NOT reply to solicitations for e-mails. Use one of these sites and do it directly. If you have sites you would like added contact me at monostatic{at}lumpycorner[dot]com.

• American Red Cross - you can donate as little as 5 dollars online
• Salvation Army
• Chatholic Charities
• American Baptist Association
• Southern Baptist Convention
• FEMA Site

This blog was created to keep us up to date on the situation. It is grave... The men in blue are falling apart. Police are turning in badges and even killing themselves.

If you are looking for someone in the area, try this wiki people finder site. Next of Kin and the International Red Cross are also listing missing people. The problem here is that there is no "one stop" locator and sites are already popping up rich with ads and pop ups.

One last thing all, pray.