AMY GOODMAN: I want to go to Jeremy Scahill, who covered, of course, Hurricane Katrina in the aftermath, Democracy Now! correspondent, wrote Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army. Jeremy, what’s happening today?

JEREMY SCAHILL: Well, last Friday, Blackwater sent out an email. This, of course, is the famous mercenary company that not only has operated in Iraq and Afghanistan, but was actually in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and beyond, in 2005 made $70 million in federal money just off of its Hurricane Katrina contracts. Last Friday, Blackwater sent out an email to its network of independent contractors. The company boasts of having some 20,000-plus individuals that it can call out at a moment’s notice. And the contract was looking for personnel that would be interested in deploying in, what the email said, areas affected by Hurricane Gustav.

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Prisoners and Families of New Orleans needs your help immediately!* If you haven't heard already Hurricane Gustav is headed for New Orleans and is predicted to be a category 3 hurricane, the same as Hurricane Katrina. There will possibly be a mandate for all people (outside of prisons and jails) of New Orleans to evacuate starting tomorrow August 29th, the three year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. It is predicted that hurricane Gustav will pose great flooding potential regardless of its category rating, the levee that broke by elected official's decisions during Hurricane Katrina has not been fixed to it's potential, or replaced.

The over crowding Orleans Parish Prison, located in New Orleans, holds 2, 500 prisoners (this count is not certain, due to lack of information given to the public.) Although not official, we have information that the Prisoners of Orleans Parish Prison will be evacuating to Angola Prison and Hunt Prison in the next coming days and are also prisons that can be affected by Hurricane Gustav due to overcrowding.

During Hurricane Katrina there were prisoners able to evacuate and others who remained locked in their cells with a minimal chance of survival. Prisoners were left in flooded cells, with no food, and had minimal ventilation, to say the least. Family members, of prisoners who were held at Orleans Parish Prison, are still in the fight to locate their loved ones who had been evacuated to other prisons during Katrina. Due to the flooding, lack of organization and care from New Orleans Department of Corrections and elected officials, prisoner's records were also missing. As a result, prisoner's constitutional rights have been violated.



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The media continues to do a great disservice to hurricane victims in the greater New Orleans area by referring to what transpired here as a natural disaster. In truth what happened in this region was not natural, unlike the Hurricane Katrina damage in eastern Mississippi and the Hurricane Rita damage in western Louisiana and Texas. The damage done by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the Orleans and St Bernard Parishes of Louisiana was a direct result of the failure of the Federal government's flood control infrastructure (levees and pumps), combined with the fact that the man-made Mississippi Gulf River Outlet (MRGO) served as a deep water conduit and allowed an unimpeded storm surge of up to 30 feet tall to completely inundate everything in its path.


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Workers from the Wildlife Rehab and Education Agency out of Houston set up three soapy tubs. First cleaned was a juvenile Laughing Gull. Sharon Schmalz, Wildlife Rehabilitator and Oiled Wildlife Responder (she's been doing this for 25 years), said they will know if the scrubbing is successful, because when the bird is rinsed, water will bead off of the feathers.

After the scrubbing, while being rinsed, Sharon pointed out the water was beading up as it dripped off the feather of the gull. They wisked that bird away after the cleaning. Then they worked on a Green-Winged Teal Duck. The terrified bird seemed to gaze out at me as I watched. The birds struggle, but are handled gently and expertly.

The scrubbing was successful. The water beaded nicely off of the feathers as they rinsed the duck. The beautiful, blue-green feathers were suddenly visible. Watching, I feel as though I am visitor to a sacred ceremony. The terrified wildness of the birds, panicked eyes. The expert, gentle but vigorous scrubbing. The ritual-like three soapy tubs, then the rinse.

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An 11 year old from London has become the youngest ever British person to visit two prisoners in Louisiana State Prison, who are the longest serving inmates in solitary confinement. Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox have spent over 35 years held in 6ft x 9ft cells for crimes even a federal judge has overturned.

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