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Angola 3 Update chickpea 2006-09-26 10:56 PM
This is an update on a political prisoner's case... Click on the link to hear a 10 minute audio update! (text/plain)

Failure of Good Intentions in New Orleans Darwin BondGraham 2006-09-24 3:48 PM
Many have proposed rebuilding New Orleans in a way that de-concentrates poverty and fosters “mixed-income” communities. At face value their plans amount to a spatially focused initiative to solve many of New Orleans’ chronic urban problems including extreme poverty, racial and economic segregation, and violent crime. The hurricane has been framed by powerful economic interests, politicians, social scientists, architects, and planners as providing a unique “opportunity” to pursue this agenda of drastic urban redevelopment. In this paper I will explain why this kind of redevelopment in this particular context is (1) unlikely to succeed in achieving its stated goals, (2) will cause, and is already causing great harm that could be avoided, and, (3) is likely to be utilized by parties whose main interest is not to rehabilitate and empower poor and majority non-white communities, but instead to profit off of reconstruction, even if it is at the expense of racial and economic justice. Finally, I propose a simple short-term policy option to help achieve the maximum justice in the rebuilding of New Orleans. (text/plain + 1 comment)

opp inmates speak out troll 2006-09-23 6:41 PM
My illegal incarceration at OPP (text/plain)

In the Brown Zone with Mother Cabrini Mark Folse, produced by Brian Denzer 2006-09-23 2:50 PM
On Monday, the New Orleans Saints will play their first at-home game since Hurricane Katrina. They'll be playing to a sold-out Superdome -- which was in the days after Hurricane Katrina, the scene of so much despair. The Superdome was designed by the Curtis & Davis architectural firm. It was there that Sydney J. Folse designed such unique New Orleans structures as the Rivergate, and Mother Cabrini Church. His son, Mark Folse, was a journalist for many years in New Orleans before moving to Fargo, North Dakota. After Hurricane Katrina, he returned to New Orleans, and now offers thoughtful essays on post-Katrina New Orleans at Wet Bank Guide. He reflected on his father's architecture in a late June post. 5:33, 2.6 mb, 64 kbps. (audio/mpeg)

Angelo Brocato's is Back! Brian Denzer 2006-09-23 2:41 PM
Angelo Brocato's Ice Cream & Confectionary (214 N. Carrollton Ave. @ Canal St.), is re-opening for the first time since Hurricane Katrina. 32:52, 15.5 mb, 64 kbps. In 2005, the Brocato family celebrated the 100-year anniversary of the business the family patriarch started. Just a month later, however, Hurricane Katrina delivered a blow that almost destroyed the family business. Five feet of floodwater inundated the shop. But New Orleanians are a tough people, and like so many other family businesses in New Orleans, Brocato’s is a landmark in the cultural geography of the city. Some friends of the family said they couldn’t return to New Orleans without Angelo Brocato’s. Just as his grandfather did almost a hundred years earlier, Arthur Brocato and his wife, Jolie, joined brother Angelo, and the rest of the Brocato family, to rebuild the business from scratch. (audio/mpeg)

Herman Wallace hearing in Angola Christian Roselund 2006-09-20 1:40 AM
(originally produced for KPFT-Houston News) Angola prison inmate and Black Panther Herman Wallace may get a chance at overturning his life sentence. At a hearing Tuesday new evidence was presented that a key prosecution witness was bribed in the 1972 trial where Wallace was implicated in the murder of a prison guard. Wallace is one of the Angola 3, a group of black panthers who have spent decades in solitary confinement in the infamous prison and former slave plantation. Christian Roselund is in Angola and has more. (audio/mpeg)

Iberville Public Housing Resident Glenda Goins Denounces Michael Valentino: Hotel Magnate Jay Arena 2006-09-16 8:03 PM

Iberville tenant leader denounces developer and his ethnic and class cleansing designs (image/jpeg + 2 comments)

The Bust Gordon Soderberg 2006-09-15 11:12 AM
City housing In New Orleans one year after Katrina is still closed. (video/quicktime)

HANO Bars Public Housing Tenants Michael Steinberg 2006-09-14 2:51 PM
On September 12, HANO barred displaced public housing tenants from returning to their apartments at C.J. Peete Housing Project. (text/plain)

Rebuilding New Orleans Diane Greene Lent 2006-09-14 1:58 PM

Aug 26-31, 2006 New Orleans remembers; photos of events on the first anniversary of the flood. People's Hurricane Relief organized a march from the Lower Ninth Ward to Congo Square (image/jpeg)

Common Ground Celebrates First Birthday Michael Steinberg 2006-09-12 2:54 PM
Common Ground Health Clinic celebrated its first birthday with a block party in Algiers on September 9. (text/plain)

Civil Disobedience in New Orleans Elizabeth Cook 2006-09-12 10:46 AM
Everyday acts of civil disobedience in post-Katrina New Orleans are undermining attempts to prevent the right of return for thousands. (text/plain + 1 comment)

Arabi Wrecking Krewe volunteers Brian Denzer 2006-09-11 3:26 AM
Additional interview material not heard in the longer feature, including a conversation with First Draft New Orleans blogger, scout_prime. 10:02, 4.8mb, 64kbps. The longer interview is available at: http://neworleans.indymedia.org/news/2006/09/8721.php (audio/mpeg)

C.J. Peete Housing Reoccupation Jay Arena 2006-09-10 11:23 PM
C.J. Peete Public Housing Reoccupation (text/plain + 2 comments)

Arabi Wrecking Krewe Brian Denzer 2006-09-10 11:07 PM
New Orleans code enforcement officials posted over 3,000 notices on New Orleans buildings that haven’t been gutted in compliance with the City Council August 29th deadline for property owners to clean up their flood damaged buildings and lots, or face fines and property confiscation. The Arabi Wrecking Krewe (http://ARABIWRECKINGKREWE.COM) organizes housegutting operations almost every weekend to help musicians and their families rebuild their homes. Music excerpts: King Oliver, "New Orleans Shout," Jelly Roll Morton, "Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say," Al Johnson, "Carnival Time." 59:33, 29mb, 64 kbps. (audio/mpeg)

HANO Requests $500 Million from the Louisiana Housing Finance Authority Cory Turner 2006-09-10 5:43 PM
Should recovery money given to Louisiana be used to rebuild federal housing? (text/plain + 3 comments)

A Forgotten Crime Against Humanity: Mike Howells 2006-09-08 4:26 PM
A Forgotten Crime Against Humanity: The First Anniversary Of Nagin’s Mandatory Evacuation By Force Order (text/plain + 1 comment)

(mp3) interview with malik rahim on the first anniversary of common ground relief vinncent / blast furnace radio 2006-09-07 12:07 PM
mp3 location of interviw http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=19665 (text/plain + 2 comments)

Human Rights and Realities of Returning to New Orleans Jeffrey Buchanan 2006-09-05 11:10 AM
Civic organizations in New Orleans believe those thousands of people still displaced by Hurricane Katrina have a right to return to their city . The idea has backing in international human rights norms but has yet to be accepted and properly put into practice by the Bush Administration, city or state government. (text/plain)

Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children (Repost) By Xochitl Bervera 2006-09-02 11:33 PM
If there was ever any doubt that the criminal justice system would be used to keep Black New Orleanians from returning, the last few months have eliminated the last of it. With 300 National Guardsman called in to patrol (with M-16s which are “locked and loaded”) the empty streets of the neighborhoods where the lack of infrastructure has slowed efforts to rebuild, the NOPD has been able to turn its attention to “protecting” the neighborhoods that have been rebuilt. By consistently profiling, harassing and arresting poor people of color, NOPD are now making over 140 arrests per week. The vast majority of these arrests are for minor violations, including spitting on a sidewalk. The kinds of charges being put on people – resisting arrest, obstruction of justice, battery on a police officer - speak more to the tension between NOPD and community than to public safety. The rise in NOPD arrests occurs at a moment when the Orleans Parish Prison is becoming made increasingly dangerous by its overcrowding and lack of adequate health care. Harsh criticism from national media and lawyers of Sheriff Gusman’s operation of OPP has not stopped him from opening new “temporary” beds at breakneck speed and sending hundreds of prisoners up to the state penitentiary in Angola to try and keep up with the new arrests. (text/plain + 3 comments)

Day 337 -- Inspiration Brian Denzer 2006-09-02 12:03 PM
New Orleans bloggers are making an impact on their community. The new edition of The Nation recognizes the contribution of New Orleans bloggers as "a crucial link in the effort to rebuild New Orleans and its communities." On the occasion of the Hurricane Katrina one-year anniversary, New Orleans bloggers, who now number over a hundred, celebrated and discussed the role of citizen journalism and activism at the Rising Tide conference. Together, New Orleans bloggers represent what might be the best example to date of how bloggers can enrich media coverage of the world, and to enhance mainstream press coverage with much more. Since Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans bloggers have created a remarkable community of storytelling, mutual support, news and information, humor and opinion about Katrina and Rita recovery in Louisiana. Maitri Venkat Ramani writes about New Orleans at Vatulblog. Her posts range from broad personal reflections on life in post-Katrina New Orleans, to the minute political machinations of the city's recovery planning process. Maitri's inspiring writing, and a photo of residents waiting to attend a citywide Unified New Orleans Plan meeting, inspired a response by Valerie Savoie about the special fortitude displayed by New Orleans residents as they try to rebuild their homes and their neighborhoods. 21:46, 10.5 mb, 64 kbps. (audio/mpeg)

BTL:One Year After Katrina, Reconstruction Efforts in New Orleans... Between the Lines' Scott Harris 2006-09-01 8:02 AM
...Gulf Coast Neglects Millions~Interview with Chris Kromm, executive director of the Institute for Southern Studies, conducted by Between the Lines' Scott Harris (text/plain)

The LRA: The Road to Hell Elizabeth Cook 2006-08-31 3:55 PM
The LRA pays lip service to publicly funded recovery, and serves the agenda for the Bush administration, for the privatization of recovery. (text/plain + 1 comment)

Yes Men's Prank far from "Cruel" Hoax Darwin BondGraham 2006-08-31 1:16 PM
Speaking with residents who were involved in the Yes Men’s hoax, as well as with residents who were fooled like the rest of us communicates something far different from what the media spin doctors at HUD, HANO, and Fox News are trying to say. Rather than condemning the prank or feeling hurt from false hopes, many residents are cheering the Yes Men for their critical intervention into their ongoing struggle with HUD and HANO to reopen their homes. Check out the audio file of my interview with Patricia Thomas, the Lafitte resident who helped the Yes Men expose HUD's cruel policies. (audio/x-wav)

One Year After Gordon Soderberg 2006-08-31 1:14 PM
The people gathered to remeber those who were lost to Hurricane Katrina and the failure of the levees and the government to protect them. (video/quicktime)

New Orleans Judge Slated to Release Prisoners Democracy Now (reposted) 2006-08-30 4:19 PM
New Orleans Judge Slated to Release Prisoners Citing Breakdown in Criminal Justice System Tuesday Aug 29th, 2006 8:20 AM (text/plain + 1 comment)

The Long Shadow of Hurricane Katrina Solidarity 2006-08-30 12:07 AM
ugust 29th marks the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's destructive landfall in New Orleans. For five endless days the nation watched while 100,000 people, trapped by the floodwaters, struggled to survive. "They just left us here to die"� remarked one woman in the Superdome. Her words captured the sentiment of many survivors -- that those too poor, too old, or too Black were just abandoned by the government. Rarely have the savage inequalities of race and class in America been on such painful display. But faced with the biggest natural disaster in living memory, Bush and his crew responded by suspending prevailing wage laws, jettisoning affirmative action programs for federal contracting, and doling out billions to their political allies through no-bid contracts. State and local officials were just as bad. For example, shortly after New Orleans was evacuated mayor Ray Nagin spirited off to Dallas to meet with “the forty thieves” – white business leaders pushing a corporate-led plan for reconstruction, with little room for the poor, Black folks who suffered so mightily during the storm. One year later, rage and despair are still in plentiful supply. Once the floodwaters receded, New Orleans quickly fell out of the national spotlight. The city remains a war zone – with most of its infrastructure in shambles and the bulk of its population still scattered throughout the Diaspora. Plans for real reconstruction are being smothered by corporate interests and white racism, and many social justice activists outside of the city think the “Katrina moment” has passed. We think not. To mark the one-year anniversary, we have assembled this collection of articles by Solidarity members and friends to help us all understand the significance of Hurricane Katrina. It remains to be seen if this disaster can be a catalyst for lasting social change, but as socialist-activists we know our role is to help build movements that make this a real possibility. (application/pdf)

it’s only been one year? : my brief subjective reflection on Katrina scott crow 2006-08-29 5:13 PM
I have avoided much of the media and the media hype around Katrina, the levee failure and the aftermath. I didn’t need to see it again I, like many others feel it almost everyday. (text/plain + 2 comments)

Katrina, one year later: For black liberation through socialist revolution! Fred Bergen 2006-08-29 2:47 PM
We revolutionaries insist that black liberation, including the conquest of full democratic rights for blacks in the US, can only be achieved through socialist revolution. It is hopeless and naïve to expect the US government to "rebuild for democracy". The face of US capitalist "democracy" was unmasked by Hurricane Katrina, and it's not going to get any prettier. (text/plain)

when it comes to katrina, spike ain't cicer jeffery mcnary 2006-08-29 1:47 PM
sometimes art and history collide (text/plain)

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