Hurricane Katrina: How to help

I am deeply saddened by the suffering of the people in New Orleans and surroundings, South Alabama and Mississippi. My heart and best wishes go out to all the people bearing the tremendeous suffering and losses after hurricane Katrina. I encourage everyone to help as much as possible: Call your politicians to get their act together to bring help quickly, donate to your favorite charity (here is a link to the Amazon Red Cross Donation page and here is a list of other organizations and how Microsoft is helping), get involved in efforts to help, and help your local emergency service to keep itself ready for the next disasters...

For more of my take continue here (be warned, it is not a happy post)...