HAARP is a WMD being used against other countries and even our own. Think of Tsunamis, Katrina, more common earthquakes. We are attacking our enemies with the weather and then using HAARP to convince everyone that Global Warming is happening. The movie 2012 talks about water beneath the surface heating up because microwaves from the Sun are boiling it. Predictive programming has been going on for a long time and most blockbusters are just that. Other countries now have similar technologies and are also using it. By 2012 we will create a scenario similar to what happens in the movie but it won't be from the Sun, it will be from our sick, corrupt government officials, corporations, and the banksters. It's all about profit and the love of money. Where are you going to spend it when everything is gone?HAARP is a WMD being used against other countries and even our own. Think of Tsunamis,... more
In a groundbreaking decision, a federal judge ruled late Wednesday that the Army Corps of Engineers' mismanagement of maintenance of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet was directly responsible for flood damage of homes in St. Bernard Parish and the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.In a groundbreaking decision, a federal judge ruled late Wednesday that the Army Corps... more
Newsweek has boiled down the the first decade of this millennium into a seven minute video, highlighting the good, the bad and the unforgettable. From Bush V. Gore, to 9/11, to the iPod, to Borat, to the Iraq war, to Twitter and much, much more. Watch and marvel at this busy decade.
It really makes you remember about all that has changed about that last 10 years around the worldNewsweek has boiled down the the first decade of this millennium into a seven minute... more
President Obama will visit New Orleans to asses the progress made in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.President Obama will visit New Orleans to asses the progress made in the aftermath of... more
Is there no end to Glenn Beck's HATRED AND BIGOTRY? Apparently not. And this hypocrite has the audacity to promote something he calls 9/12 project.
When I heard that this joker Glenn Beck was acting as though he was trying to unite WE THE PEOPLE... It made me sick to the degree of needing a puke bucket. Who the hell is this idiot trying to flimflam? We, who have a bit more marbles than the average Fox (you call that NEWS?) viewer... have heard all Becks noxious hyperbole, (that spews almost visibly, like foul breath from this guys pie-hole) before and can't be proselytized by his insanity now!
Becks 9/12 project of Preaching 9 Principles and 12 Values that he says have been lost in the USA, today (I could just imagine this crackpot sitting at his Fox Desk, scribbling this crap onto paper trying to make up this slaphappy list ... ) Its bona fide BULLSHIT to the smelliest degree.
Like I asked before WHO THE FLYING F**K IS HE TRYING TO HOODWINK?
Anyone who supports, advertises on Fox (you call that NEWS?) or empowers Glenn Beck in any way, should be totally ashamed. But since its either greed or insanity that motivates the Beck Lovers, they will keep on keeping on! thinkingblueIs there no end to Glenn Beck's HATRED AND BIGOTRY? Apparently not. And this hypocrite... more
So many interesting concepts to be discussed from this five part series. I came across this Times Picayune multimedia series while looking up the current rehabilitation projects that are taking place along the miles and miles of Louisiana coastline that is being rebuilt after Katrina. This part is the most interesting to me: http://www.nola.com/speced/lastchance/multimedia/. It shows how Southern Louisiana's coastline has changed in the past 400 years and how dramatically is has changed since the 1930's. Stuff I'm sure many of you already know, but great for those who don't know, or need it spelled out for them in an interactive map.
What I found most startling was in the audio sideshow: http://www.nola.com/speced/lastchance/audioslideshow/. It's astonishing to me that the NOAA is still spending millions of dollars building barrier islands 60 miles south of New Orleans. Why not just move inward?
Some astonishing facts that many may not know, that I found interesting - and I hope is sparks some discussion. A great multimedia watch; check it out!So many interesting concepts to be discussed from this five part series. I came across... more
Katrina Pain Index 2009 is a solidarity message from Bill Quigley to Hurricane Katrina survivors in NYC at the Katrina Remembrance Aug. 29, 2009. Bill more...Quigley is a human rights lawyer on leave from Loyola University to serve as legal directior for the Center for Constitutional Rights. For a pirinted version of the article "Katrina Pain Index 2009" contact Bill Quigley at quigley77@gmail.com. This video was shot by Johnnie Stevens and Dalia Grinan. Mayibuye2@Yahoo.comKatrina Pain Index 2009 is a solidarity message from Bill Quigley to Hurricane Katrina... more
You can expect a lot of Hurricane Katrina retrospectives this weekend as the fourth anniversary is upon us. I'm originally from New Orleans so it's an anniversary that unfortunately really resonates with me. This blog talks about how the storm still resonates today.You can expect a lot of Hurricane Katrina retrospectives this weekend as the fourth... more
Former head of the Department of Homeland Security Tom Ridge's, upcoming book, The Test of our Times: America Under Siege…and How We Can Be Safe Again contains the following tidbits of information:
"Ridge was never invited to sit in on National Security Council meetings; was "blindsided" by the FBI in morning Oval Office meetings because the agency withheld critical information from him; found his urgings to block Michael Brown from being named head of the emergency agency blamed for the Hurricane Katrina disaster ignored; and was pushed to raise the security alert on the eve of President Bush's re-election, something he saw as politically motivated and worth resigning over."
[more at link]
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What progressives always expected was true. The Bush administration purposefully and methodically manipulated fear for political power. How much more proof does Obama need before he moves forward with criminal investigations on the buffoons?Former head of the Department of Homeland Security Tom Ridge's, upcoming book, The... more
New Orleans is on the front lines in the struggle against displacement and gentrification in the United States and in the struggle for our Right to the City. Many of the tactics used against the people of New Orleans are being or will be used on other cities across the country. In neighborhoods where low-income families live-- such as Harlem, the Lower East side and Chinatown, gentrification is destroying the fabric of our communities.New Orleans is on the front lines in the struggle against displacement and... more
Nearly four years after the police shootout that took the lives of Ronald Madison and James Brissette on New Orleans’ Danziger Bridge, the FBI raided the offices of the police investigators who had been looking into the deadly incident.
The bureau’s move suggests that the federal government may be serious about seeing police officers prosecuted over the Sept. 4, 2005 shootout, when Madison and Brissette were allegedly killed by police while four others were wounded as they crossed a bridge in the midst of the Hurricane Katrina crisis.
It also suggests the FBI may be worried that New Orleans police are trying — or may in the future try — to destroy evidence of what happened that day.
According to ProPublica, “the police officers involved say they began shooting in response to gunfire from the civilians; that claim is vigorously disputed by the shooting victims.”
“Survivors of the high-profile shooting incident have said they were unarmed when ambushed by officers on the bridge, who came to the site because they heard a radio call that described other police officers in distress,” the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported last year. “But police officers have maintained that police were in a firefight, shooting only after they were fired upon.”
According to an article in Friday’s Times-Picayune, FBI agents seized “the files and computer hard drives of two officers assigned to investigate police conduct” in the incident.
Last year, the federal government announced it would be investigating the possibility of federal charges against some or all of the officers involved in the shootout, after a state prosecution of the incident fell apart.
According to New Orleans TV station WDSU, the “investigation had been years in the making and the probe into the police department is broader than the events that happened on the Danziger Bridge that left two dead and four wounded.”Nearly four years after the police shootout that took the lives of Ronald Madison and... more
The Obama administration will announce plans today to virtually give away roughly 1,800 mobile homes to 3,400 families displaced by Hurricane Katrina who are living in government-provided housing along the Gulf Coast, officials said.
The administration also will make available $50 million in rental vouchers to income-eligible trailer occupants who move to targeted housing projects, and take over from Louisiana the job of helping residents find permanent homes, said a senior White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity before the formal announcement.
"We knew we needed to bring this program to a close," the official said. "We also want to ensure a humane and secure transition for all of them."
The sale option comes weeks after the trailer program formally ended May 1, and after Federal Emergency Management Agency officials said they could begin officially referring cases for eviction June 1.
FEMA typically provides disaster aid for 18 months. It extended assistance for 45 months since Katrina hit in August 2005.
About 1,150 families in FEMA housing live in units the agency classifies as mobile homes and park models, which will be offered for sale at $5 and $1, respectively. FEMA expects to free up an additional 600 to 700 units from its inventory to donate through state and local governments and nonprofit groups, the administration official said. Individuals who previously bought units will be offered refunds.The Obama administration will announce plans today to virtually give away roughly... more
These wonderful, mysterious photographs of historic New Orleans architecture are by Frank Relle, who was born and continues to work in New Orleans. Relle has been the recipient of numerous awards, and his work is represented in many major collections. His photography has appeared in The New Yorker, The Southern Review and The Oxford American magazines.
The haunting images of New Orleans at night presented here keep the viewer on edge, and yet are somehow serene. What shines through most in these images is a love of New Orleans, a respect for its beauty. The pictures are very sad, but very beautiful at the same time. Relle continues to document the changing architecture of New Orleans, hoping that people around the world will be inspired to help rebuild the city of New Orleans with the integrity she deserves.
Includes a number of stunning photographs of old New Orleans architecture, as well as a memorable, emotionally moving photo-gallery.These wonderful, mysterious photographs of historic New Orleans architecture are by... more
“Glory at Sea” is an acclaimed narrative short film that has garnered twelve film festival awards. The film can be seen as a moving Memorial Day tribute, one that endearingly produces the forlorn feelings that are amassed within the sea of a forever-sunset palette, sanctioning our mourning within its beautiful sorrow.
Every once in a rare, long while, a film appears with such a sweeping gust of rejuvenation that it has the power to restore not only one’s faith in cinema, but in humanity as a whole. These miracles, are truly blessed creations. They are worlds unto themselves, borne out of a passionate vision, torn from the spiritual recesses of an individual’s soul and transferred miraculously onto the big screen. "Glory at Sea," a production by the acclaimed Court 13 film collective, is one of these miracles.
Includes beautiful photographs, a memorable slide show and the award-winning stunning short film, “Glory at Sea.”“Glory at Sea” is an acclaimed narrative short film that has garnered twelve film... more
"John Keller, the 6-foot-7 ex-Marine who rescued 244 of his neighbors at the American Can Company apartment complex in Mid-City and emerged as one of the memorable heroes of Hurricane Katrina, will be the subject of a feature film expected to star Will Smith as Keller."This seems like a good story!
"John Keller, the 6-foot-7 ex-Marine who rescued 244... more
NEW ORLEANS — A groundbreaking civil suit begins in federal court here today to consider claims by property owners that the Army Corps of Engineers amplified the destructive effects of Hurricane Katrina by building a poorly designed navigation channel adjacent to the city.
The Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, a 76-mile-long channel known locally as MR-GO and pronounced “Mister Go,” was completed in 1968 and created a straight shot to the Gulf of Mexico from New Orleans. The suit claims that the channel was flawed in its design, construction, and operation, and that those flaws intensified the flood damage to the eastern parts of New Orleans and St. Bernard parish.
If they win, the plaintiffs — a local newscaster, Norman Robinson, and five other people whose homes or businesses were destroyed by the 2005 storm — could pave the way for more than 400,000 other plaintiffs who have also filed claims against the government over Katrina’s destruction.
The government has historically enjoyed strong legal protection against lawsuits related to collapsing levees. The Flood Control Act of 1928 bars suits against the United States for damages resulting from floods or flood waters, and in January 2008 Federal District Judge Stanwood R. Duval Jr. ruled that the corps was immune in a different lawsuit related directly to the levee and floodwall failures during Katrina in the city’s major drainage canals.NEW ORLEANS — A groundbreaking civil suit begins in federal court here today to... more
Remember that story Bobby Jindal told in his big speech Tuesday night -- about how during Katrina, he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with a local sheriff who was battling government red tape to try to rescue stranded victims?
Turns out it wasn't actually, you know, true.
In the last few days, first Daily Kos, and then TPMmuckraker, raised serious questions about the story, based in part on the fact that no news reports we could find place Jindal in the affected area at the specific time at issue.
Jindal had described being in the office of Sheriff Harry Lee "during Katrina," and hearing him yelling into the phone at a government bureaucrat who was refusing to let him send volunteer boats out to rescue stranded storm victims, because they didn't have the necessary permits. Jindal said he told Lee, "that's ridiculous," prompting Lee to tell the bureaucrat that the rescue effort would go ahead and he or she could arrest both Lee and Jindal.
But now, a Jindal spokeswoman has admitted to Politico that in reality, Jindal overheard Lee talking about the episode to someone else by phone "days later." The spokeswoman said she thought Lee, who died in 2007, was being interviewed about the incident at the time.
This is no minor difference. Jindal's presence in Lee's office during the crisis itself was a key element of the story's intended appeal, putting him at the center of the action during the maelstrom. Just as important, Jindal implied that his support for the sheriff helped ensure the rescue went ahead. But it turns out Jindal wasn't there at the key moment, and played no role in making the rescue happen.
There's a larger point here, though. The central anecdote of the GOP's prime-time response to President Obama's speech, intended to illustrate the threat of excessive government regulation, turns out to have been made up.
Maybe it's time to rethink the premise.Looks like the game is up.
Remember that story Bobby Jindal told in his big speech... more
Such a strange thing for Jindal to say, especially since he hails from the state that was ravaged by Katrina. (Which, ironically, was the subject of its own equally awkward moment). The volcano monitoring program was on a list of Republican talking points at one stage, but virtually none of them ran with it, apparently figuring that there were much better scabs to pick at.
And I know: I'm piling on a little. This was going to be an awfully tough speech to deliver, almost no matter what its content. With the possible exception of Jim Webb in 2007, the minority party reaction speeches have always tended toward extreme lameness.
I just want to know who wrote the speech and who vetted it. Because it was manifestly at odds with the talents of the guy who delivered it.
-- Nate SilverSuch a strange thing for Jindal to say, especially since he hails from the state that... more
Thanks to disaster-simulation software inspired by videogames, emergency workers in Louisiana managed to rescue 15,000 stranded pets during Hurricane Gustav.
It's just one example of how disaster-modeling software can help responders create rescue plans in real time. During Katrina, some emergency workers used Google Earth Pro to map evacuation routes.
Shouldn't we all have a go at this for our towns?Thanks to disaster-simulation software inspired by videogames, emergency workers in... more
