Black Krishna: 2005-09-04

Friday, September 09, 2005

Killin' Katrina's Journalists = Don't Front: They've Done It In Iraq. (MUST WATCH SEGMENT...)

incidentally...

they're not restoring the peace...

they're hunting people for sport...

(...)

just thought you should know...

(...)

(MUST WATCH SEGMENT...)

SOURCE - http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/09/1411231

(...)

Democracy NOW!

Friday, September 9th, 2005

Is the Government Trying to Stem the Tide of Images From New Orleans by Threatening Journalists?

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Journalists covering New Orleans in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina report that militarization in and around the city has hindered their work and threatened their physical safety. We hear from two journalists who were reporting in New Orleans recently. [includes rush transcript] The journalists who have been covering Hurricane Katrina have literally been risking their lives for the last week. Reporters have been stationed in and around New Orleans since the Hurricane hit and have tirelessly reported on the devastation to the city. Some journalists have expressed enormous outrage at government officials for their slow response. A few television reporters openly broke down on air as they report the horrific conditions and the desperation of victims. Reporters have witnessed the militarization of the city and are starting to feel the effects of the government crack-down on information gathering. FEMA is now rejecting requests by journalists to accompany rescue boats searching for storm victims. In addition, journalists are being asked not to photograph any dead bodies in the region. NBC News Anchor Brian Williams reported on his blog, that police officers had been seen aiming their weapons at members of the media. And a blogger named Bob Brigham wrote a widely read dispatch that the National Guard in Jefferson County are under orders to turn all journalists away. Brigham writes: "Bush is now censoring all reporting from New Orleans, Louisiana. The First Amendment sank with the city."

Earlier this week, Reporters Without Borders issued a warning about police violence against journalists working in New Orleans. They highlighted two cases – in one case police detained a Times-Picayune photographer and smashed his equipment to the ground after he was seen covering a shoot-out with police. In the second case, a photographer from the Toronto Star was detained by police and his photos taken from him when police realized that he had snapped photos of a clash between them and citizens who the police claimed were looters.

* Tim Harper, reporter with the Toronto Star
* Jacquie Soohen, Independent film maker with Big Noise films. Among her films - "Zapitista" and "Fourth World War," where she traversed the globe – from South Africa to South Korea, from Argentina to Iraq- documenting anti corporate globalization struggles.

(MUST WATCH SEGMENT...)

SOURCE - http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/09/1411231

RUSH TRANSCRIPT

This transcript is available free of charge. However, donations help us provide closed captioning for the deaf and hard of hearing on our TV broadcast. Thank you for your generous contribution.
Donate - $25, $50, $100, more...

AMY GOODMAN: White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan was asked about the crackdown yesterday.

REPORTER: There are a couple of issues that are developing that are of concerns to journalists down in Louisiana and Mississippi. One of them is FEMA refusing to take reporters and photographers when they're going to recover the bodies, ostensibly because they don't want pictures of them on the news, but this also is at the same time as reporters are discovering that access is being barred to them to places -- by the military to places where they previously went. Brian Williams' own blog reports an instance of a police officer turning a gun on reporters.

SCOTT McCLELLAN: Sorry, I haven't blogged today, so I haven’t seen some of those reports.

REPORTER: Check it out. He has three instances in there of the military being hostile to journalists.

SCOTT McCLELLAN: I know that the military and I think even Coast Guard has taken steps to try to make sure reporters can go along on some of the efforts that -- the humanitarian assistance efforts and search and rescue efforts. That was my understanding when we were there on Friday, visiting with a lot of the Coast Guard people that had been working around the clock on search and rescue operations.

Your first statement that you made, I think you need to look further into that, because I don't think that's an accurate characterization. I saw some reports to that effect, and my understanding is it was not an accurate characterization. Certainly, I think we all want to keep in mind the sensitivities that will arise when we begin more or larger undertaking of recovering bodies that will be found. As I said, it's going to be an ugly situation when those floodwaters ultimately recede and we go in and start recovering larger numbers of bodies of people who have lost their lives. Those are people who had families and friends, and we hope everybody will show the dignity and proper dignity and respect, but in terms of the characterization that you made, I don't think that's accurate.

REPORTER: We have a quote from FEMA about it, saying “the recovery of victims is being treated with dignity and the utmost respect, and we have requested that no photographs of the deceased be made by the media.” And yet, the bodies themselves, tragically, are a very large part of the story, and to bar any visual depiction of it --

SCOTT McCLELLAN: I'm not sure that that's the full statement.

(MUST WATCH SEGMENT...)

SOURCE - http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/09/1411231

AMY GOODMAN: That was White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan speaking on Thursday, being questioned by reporters at the White House. Joining us in our D.C. studio is Tim Harper, a reporter with the Toronto Star. He was with his photographer, Lucas Oleniuk, the photographer from the Toronto Star whose photos were taken from him by police. And here with us in New York is Jacquie Soohen. She just flew in last night, an independent filmmaker with Big Noise Films. And we'll talk with her about what happened to her in a minute, but first we go to Tim Harper in Washington. Explain when you were in New Orleans with your photographer and what happened.

TIM HARPER: Sure. It was a week ago Thursday. It was a day that things were quite clearly out of control. It was before any federal troops had come in to try to take control of the situation. New Orleans authorities were clearly way over their head at that point, and looting had been breaking out over the past 24 hours everywhere.

We drove, Lucas Oleniuk and I drove into the city. We were a couple of blocks away from the Convention Center, when he noticed on the left what looked to be perhaps the start of a shootout. We noticed a New Orleans ETF, emergency task force officer crouching behind his car with his gun drawn. Lucas jumped out of the car. As soon as he did, we heard a quick pop, pop, pop, and gunfire was coming from an apartment block, and being returned by the police.

I was told in no uncertain terms at gunpoint to get the hell out of the area, and I complied as best I could. But Lucas was caught essentially in the gunfire because New Orleans police pulled up behind him and started shooting over his shoulder. So during the 15-minute or so standoff that ensued, he was taking pictures alongside New Orleans officers as they were caught in the standoff. Now, subsequently, they did get two suspects out of the apartment block where this incident was happening, and while Lucas was shooting, they administered a rather fierce beating on these two guys. And I guess that was the problem.

As soon as they realized that the beating of the suspects was being captured on film, one officer tried to rip the camera off his shoulder. His press tag was ripped off. Eventually, they got one camera and started messing with the camera trying to get the pictures out. Fearful that they were going to ruin his camera, he showed them how to get the images out. His second camera was ripped from his shoulder at that time, and when he asked whether he could get his images back, he was threatened with having his neck broken, had guns pointed at him.

I came back to try to help him. I had guns pointed at me. I was told to turn my car around, stop or I’ll shoot. I had a shotgun pointed at the windshield. So the bottom line is about 350 images that Lucas Oleniuk took will never be seen, and I thought almost equally as important, ripping off his press tag at that point and leaving him out any press accreditation driving around in the city in that situation made him incredibly vulnerable. It was a very dangerous situation.

JUAN GONZALEZ: So, in other words, they did not initially try to stop his shooting of photographs of the shootout. It was only when --

TIM HARPER: Not during the shootout, no.

AMY GOODMAN: -- they started to beat the prisoners that they had grabbed that they became concerned?

TIM HARPER: Yeah. No, it's not clear at that point whether they allowed him to keep taking the pictures, because obviously, they were worried about sniper fire coming from the apartment, and they didn't want to do anything to endanger themselves. But there was -- nobody tried to intervene. He actually at one point ran across the street from -- he had taken shelter behind a light standard, and then while the shooting was going on, ran across about a quarter block length to get behind a cruiser for better protection, beside another officer shooting, so, no, there was no move to stop him from taking pictures while they were involved in the shootout.

AMY GOODMAN: Tim Harper is a reporter with the Toronto Star. His photographer, Lucas Oleniuk with the Toronto Star had his film taken. When we come back, we'll also be joined by Jacquie Soohen to talk about her experience as she was filming, as well.

(MUST WATCH SEGMENT...)

SOURCE - http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/09/1411231

Karl Killin' Katrina = "Hey, Joe Normal: Do You Believe in Seatbelts?"

Hey Man,

While I try to keep it low-key to encourage dialogue and learn how y'all think, and sometimes it's better to have pure "control" groups for the social analysis I'm doing, I often look at you guys with the exasperation of a parent telling his teenager to wear a seatbelt: I can explain the history of cars, the speed of cars, the physics behind their potential weight and destructive power, the danger of other drivers, the various car-accident statistics...

...and what I get back is: "DAD!!! I'm in a BIG METAL BOX! How can I possibly get hurt? DUH!!!"

(sigh)

So, in an effort to save the world I figure I'll launch a tonne of these salvos, because frankly I ain't crazy: I'm a happy camper because I don't let "The Man" drive me crazy, and I kick it with too many who do.

The world I live in makes a lot more sense than the aggressively sold anecdotal half-knowledge I've heard tersely repeated through pursed-lips and furrowed brows. It's like people trade whatever "headlines" they happened to catch, and a "denial" of the value of their statements even to helpfully correct them is "insulting" to their intelligence. This is where we are all turning into Karl Rovebots: the genius of his strategy is we have to indulge every lie, malicious or otherwise, as long as one can cite mainstream media proof.

I've realized that I can't beat "facts", they're too bloody personal when it comes to politics, and people get too shook when they're world view is proven to be a series of lies - which it inevitably is, and in candid moments you know journalists will freely admit the inherent corruption in their organizations.

It's gonna get worse: with our focus increasingly being trained away from local issues and onto national or global ones, we're all just gonna be herded into buying bigger lies. When you know your local issues, you can see for yourself the practical impact of choices made on a smaller, personal and community scale. Unfortunately the U.S. biggest export is "culture", and if they're getting more Fascist, then we will too...

(I mean it too, look up the definition and map it to what you know is happening... it's scary.)

So "facts" I mostly leave alone, but I can consistently beat the crappy "logic" used to support facts served as a thin-gruel by the media, it has a similar effect, but new logic is better as an empowering "tool" people can use themselves going forward.

All both "they" and "we" need is that one big headline a day man, just that one huge "fix" for all of us to get high.

The mighty and influential U.S. Govt needs every news organization in the world to say their "message" just "once" and exactly as they want it printed or shown, and with the most neutral "unbiased" analysis bereft of any "context" that could be taken out of context.

And it should certainly be reported: it's a "story".

However, even if half of the same news organizations say it was wrong, in a fast-paced world where only a fraction may catch a quiet correction late in the news or in the back of the paper... that just sets up the next round of shallow debate.

You just have to believe me: The Man's been trying forever to screw us.

Just ask all of your favorite artists, writers, musicians... and please, give them the benefit of the doubt.

I mean, c'mon.

I was at a Billy Idol concert the other nite (a friend had free tix - and he's bananas, an awesome performer, I had no idea), and something struck me yet again when he said at the end of his show in his crazy-cracker-cockney accent: "Remember, watch your brothers back, and don't worry, we're gonna win!"

These people make us too bloody happy to disrespect them by not listening to them, and for the life of me as an artist myself, I can't imagine why they would say the stuff they do unless they believed it - nor why they'd believe it unless they did some homework. For me personally, it would represent a disgusting lack of self-respect and respect for my audience to lie in my art...

They're also a hell of a lot smarter than we're taught to give them credit for, and that's what I'm trying to prove by writing this down: you can say it well or you can say it loudly, if you do both they'll kill you. So, I'm saying it historically well right here and right now, and soon I've just gotta go make history with it...

Kanye's got a new lyric saying: "Who gave Saddam anthrax?/George Bush got the answers." I don't think he's only referring to what he's saying: I think he's alluding to the fact that the U.S. Govt. admitted the anthrax "fingerprint" proved that what was sent to the people calling for an investigation right after 9/11/ had to come from Fort Detrick, Maryland.

Not Osama in a cave. Not Saddam in a palace.

He's just planting the seeds that'll grow son, you can even cultivate your own bonzai tree.

Roughly half the time these "conspiracy theorists" use the U.S. Govt's own admissions of guilt that most "media" just won't print because it's an "old story" (or they're evil corporate shills... take your pick). Documents are declassified (The Northwoods Papers), people are caught and testify under oath (CIA drug-running cases), and their ongoing admissions alone (black helicopters and Gulfstreams are STILL disappearing people TODAY - they never said they would stop) make parallel "conspiracy" theories so damned logical that disbelief in their possibility is undeniably insane.

Our old friends at Google can still find all the "mainstream" sources you want (for now - in tracking them for a year they're "disappearing" too), so just add a few words together and "Stir It Up..."

1. Artists have to hit "truth" to make a lasting impact, otherwise their stuff sucks. Some get away with it, but on balance it is far easier for an "expert" to run circles around Joe Average than for an artist to. We've got better natural instincts for judging their work, and unlike "experts" and the rise of "think tanks" for whom the inverse is undeniably true: the more honest an artist is with themselves, their fans and their work, the better their chances of having a long and productive and lucrative career and respect from their peers. It's a much more democractic process: WE pull the puppet strings that make them dance, WE decide if they suck or not, unlike "experts" who we are told to grovel in front of.

2. The history of U.S. Govt. evil is so easy for us to digest that when we see it in movies and TV shows we can follow along gaily with a complete understanding of it's possibility: it's never shocking, it's merely acceptable "context" for a "story" they wanna tell. I've seen a hell of a lot more stuff than you have over the last year, so history ain't no mystery, but any adult in the world can casually cite their own list: supporting multiple dictatorships, genocides, spy games, illegal wars, the biggest prison population in the world, the war on drugs... this ain't the time for "disbelief", that's crazy talk: this is just another one of those times.

3. The defiant arrogance of the mass-media is denying the democractic certification of independent media: we're talking about "millions" of people cross-referencing sources and trading analysis. The marginalized definitions used are not authoritative, they are deliberately disrespectful: don't buy the lies. Sure, you can call it "The Year of the Blogger", but when you never write another story about blogs again then you're full of crap - or when you "hardly" do, then how can they be so important as to warrant the term: "Year of the Blogger"? It's just like TIME Magazine calling Noam Chomsky "The Most Important Intellectual of our Time"... and then losing his phone number. When it comes to the media, words speak louder than actions, and if you look closer: they often don't match.

4. We believe all sorts of crap on the "innernet!", except when it comes to politics: what happened to "crooked politicians" as a "rule" and not an "exception"? Today it's no longer just one crazy nut poring through thousands of pages of official government documents (actually... thanks a lot man!!!), it's hundreds of them, and thousands of fact-checkers posting the originals as .pdf's and .jpeg's among others - I've seen a bunch, including a wicked set of GOP Talking Points on RAW Story explaining how to discredit Joe Wilson and defend Karl Rove. The logic used to dismiss these people is asinine: who would do it for what reason? Who would fight through the "crazy" stereotype because they feel they have to? These aren't snake-oil salesmen or TV psychics, and they're certainly not landing huge book and TV deals by speaking the "truth" for it's own sake. In fact, they could just pull back and push an "official" story to rake in the big bucks - even Bob "Watergate" Woodward sold out right after that, and don't think I'm not considering it: convo's like this I just can't keep up forever...

...and I dare you to imagine a world where we all gave up.

Peace,
BK

_________________

...

Black Krishna Brand

Philosophy - http://blackkrishna.blogspot.com/

Music - http://www.soundclick.com/bands/0/blackkrishna.htm

...

BONUS: Download this awesome Billy Idol song from back in the day...

"Sweet Sixteen"

(...)

ENDNOTE: Sometimes I feel like I'm walking around and everyone's now missing an arm:

BK: "Ahh!!! Dude, you're missing an arm!"

Dude: "No I'm not."

BK: "Oh crap."

Thursday, September 08, 2005

Killin' Katrina = Joe and Jackie Normal Proudly Present: CALL and RESPONSE...

JOE'S CALL...

I will check your blog shortly.

But there is major point that you've made in your original blog posting that I feel compelled to bring up: FEMA is an agency that is prepared to handle hurricanes and natural disasters like this one.

What is clear to me is that the FEMA of today is not the same FEMA that dealt with Hurricane Andrew or crises in the past.

First, it has been rolled under Homeland Security - an anti-terrorist focussed department.

Second, its budget has been cut back so much that it has lost its best middle-managers that had the experience of past disaster recovery. Finally, it is being run by a dude who couldn't organize a bunch of arabian horses.

So the question remains: malice or gross incompetence. I think your premise that FEMA is in the business of saving people and could do the job it is set up for is a major assumption. If FEMA was prepared properly and then decided to wait and screw people over, you are right - that would be malice. But they did know, they are run by an idiot who was not prepared - does not know what he is doing and as a result, they are in a state of chaos.

They didn't intend to not respond. They were incapable due to idiocy and misorganization. Telling the Parish that they couldn't do this or that or preventing Wal-Mart from bringing water... I bet they thought they had stuff under control and wanted it done their way (they were control freaks who couldn't delegate, cooperate and work with others). It is amazing to see how FEMA is in such tatters but I think that is the reality.

Bush is to blame for putting these people in charge, for rolling FEMA up into Homeland Security, cut backs to infrastructure spending etc. But this situation is the ulitmate blowback - the ultimate in unintended consequences and since they are not intended, i go back to gross negligence and misrepresentation. Corruption is somewhere in there too but harder to prove.

Saying all this - i have yet to read your response and new blog post and then to watch that film. Will do so later tonight.

(...)

BK'S RESPONSE...

so...

tell me: does "2 + 2" still equal "4"? ;)

flip thru my shiznit and holla back, nothing's hard to prove anymore, it's just hard to believe.

for some reason we get really creative about stuff we don't know anything about using the carefully selected table-scraps of info given; then we do more than half the work making excuses for them; and then we end up aggressively selling the story chosen to absolve proven pricks against all the good people who doubt it.

(see: "your" Wal-Mart excuse, not theirs).

i've done the same thing for a few different events, simply tracking the lies as they evolve into our thoughts, and believe me:

we need a complete overhaul of "our" intelligence...

Peace, (NOW!!!)
BK

_________________

...

Black Krishna Brand

Philosophy - http://blackkrishna.blogspot.com/

Music - http://www.soundclick.com/bands/0/blackkrishna.htm

...

BONUS: Where are we going?

(You won't believe it but you can't disprove it, and they aren't even making that much money by saying it - no CNN, no Oprah, no Entertainment Tonite, no nuthin' but millions of fans...

So please, "assert" whatever you want in the absence of "proof": I've done my homework, and I'm gonna say it's real as loudly as I can until someone "proves" otherwise...)

"And I heard 'em say,
Nothin's ever promised tommorow today,
From the Chi, like Tim its the Hard-a-way,
So this is in the name of love, like Robert say,
Before you ask me to go get a job today,
Can I at least get a raise on a minimum wage?
And I know the government administer AIDS,
So I guess we just pray like the minister say,
Allahu Akbar, throw 'em some hot cars,
Things we see on the screen, are not ours,
But these niggas from the hood, so these dreams not far,
Where I'm from, the dope boys is the rock stars,
But they can't cop cars, without seein' cop cars,
I guess they want us all behind bars,
I know it...."

- Kanye West f. Adam Levine of Maroon 5, "Heard 'Em Say"

Chiggidy-check yo'self...

Martial Law 9/11: Rise of the Police State (2005)

Evil has spread across the land. Martial Law: 9/11 Rise of the Police State exposes the high-tech control grid that is being set up across America.

Out of the ashes of the September 11th tragedy, a dark empire of war and tyranny has risen. The Constitution has been shredded and America is now a Police State. This film exposes not just who was behind the 9-11 attacks, but the roots and history of its orchestrators.

Downloaded: 5,341 times

SOURCE - http://www.archive.org/details/MartialLaw911

MARTIAL LAW 911: RISE OF THE POLICE STATE Information Resource Companion Web Site.

SOURCE - http://www.martiallaw911.info/index.htm

P.S. Here's an example of documentation from the Martial Law website...

SOURCE - http://martiallaw911.info/policestate.htm

TIME ARTICLES / DOCUMENTS / WEB SITES GOOGLE SEARCH

2:24:35 Bush says he intends to spend political capital - c|net News.com, November 4, 2004
2:25:06 Troops to Protect Washington During Bush Inauguration - The Washington Dispatch, November 7, 2004
2:25:51 Gonzales: 'Bush is above the law' - Google Search
2:26:33 USA PATRIOT Act (HR 3162) - USA Patriot Act - download a pdf version
2:26:50 SEC. 802. DEFINITION OF DOMESTIC TERRORISM. - USA Patriot Act
2:27:00 President Bush Calls for Renewing the USA PATRIOT Act - TheWhiteHouse.gov, April 19, 2004
2:27:03 COLUMN: Patriot Act 2 threatens personal rights - Kansas State Collegian, March 16, 2004
2:27:08 Homeland Security Agents Visit Toy Store - Associated Press, October 28, 2004
2:27:12 Trademark Infringement Threat to Domestic Security? - Law & Entrepreneurship News, October 29, 2004
2:27:16 HOMELAND SECURITY ARRESTS VET FOR COMPLAINING TOO MUCH - (Article not available) - Related article
2:27:20 EDITORIAL: Patriot Act knows no limits - Las Vegas Review-Journal, November 5, 2003
2:27:25 Ridge backs nat'l standards for ID - The Washington Times/UPI, January 30, 2005
2:27:33 Passports go electronic with new microchip - CSMonitor.com, December 9 2004
2:27:36 U.S. Homeland Security chief calls for international biometric standards - Associated Press, January 19, 2005
2:27:42 House Passes National Driver's License Standards - NACS Online, February 11, 2005
2:27:45 Driver's Licenses As National ID? - CBSNews.com/CSMonitor, January 24, 2005
2:27:49 The National ID Trojan Horse - house.gov, February 14, 2005
2:27:54 HR 418- A National ID Bill Masquerading as Immigration Reform - house.gov, February 9, 2005

2:27:58 Police State ID Card Bill Passes Without Congress Even Reading It - Ron Paul Liberty Committee, December 7 2004
2:28:23 Bush plans to screen whole U.S. population for mental illness - World Net Daily, June 21, 2004
2:28:32 New Freedom Initiative/Mandatory Mental Health Screening of American Children Passes - Infowars.com, November 23, 2004
2:28:45 Congress Funds Psychological Tests for Kids - NewsMax, November 24, 2004
2:28:54 IL launches compulsory mental health screening for children and pregnant women - The Illinois Leader, July 19, 2004
2:29:06 Drugged Kids Investigation Sparks State Action - WOAI.com, November 13, 2004 (Article not available)
2:29:10 Lawmakers looking at drug use for foster kids - Associated Press, February 9, 2005
2:29:19 INFORMATION AWARENESS OFFICE - Wikipedia
2:29:22 They're watching on the street - even in the pool surveillance cameras are everywhere - (Article not available) - Related articles
2:29:26 City Unveils Hi-Tech Surveillance System - NBC5.com, January 4, 2005
2:29:30 Overton County schools sued over locker room filming - Tennessean.com, July 1, 2003
2:29:34 Parents demand limits for school cameras - Tennessean.com, July 9, 2003
2:29:35 Prepare to be scanned - Economist.com, December 4, 2003
2:29:39 Spy Cameras Track Drivers in Florida Town - Associated Press/USA Today, April 30, 2004
2:29:44 Tell-all license plates on the way - Drivers.com, December 15, 2002
2:29:48 License-plate scanners lead to recovery of stolen vehicles - toledoblade.com, January 5, 2005
2:29:52 Ford, GM, Honda and Toyota Spy on Motorists - NewsMax, December 29, 2004
2:29:56 30 million cars now record drivers' behavior - USA Today/CSMonitor, December 27, 2004
2:29:59 Big Brother Takes the Wheel to Improve Driver Safety - ergoweb.com, January 5, 2005
2:30:04 Listening Microphones Hit Streets of Rochester - Infowars.com/Democrat and Chronicle, December 15, 2004
2:30:08 Homeland Security Surveillance Cameras Hit Baltimore - Infowars.com/Howard County Times, December 16, 2004
2:30:31 Fingerprinting Plays Key Roll in Biometrics Boom - TechNewsWorld, January 18, 2005

2:30:37 VISIONICS CORPORATION - Article on aaae.org, October 17, 2001
2:30:44 Mobile Fingerprinting Services Give Ontario Law Enforcement an Edge - PoliceOne.com, July 7, 2004
2:30:48 Licence-plate cameras to trap criminals - TimesOnline.com, November 7, 2004
2:30:52 95.2% Opposed to California DMV Plan to Tax by the Mile - Infowars.com, November 17, 2004
2:30:57 Tax California Drivers by the Mile? - abclocal.go.com, November 17, 2004
2:31:01 DMV Chief Backs Tax by Mile - LATimes.com, November 16, 2004
2:31:04 Satellite to track new toll motorway - news.telegraph.co.uk, August 12, 2004
2:31:31 Students Tracked Via Radio ID Tags - (Article not available) - Related Articles
2:31:37 Under-the-skin ID chips move toward U.S. hospitals - CNET News.com, July 27, 2004
2:31:42 RFID chips may soon be implanted in hospital staff and health care workers - NewsTarget.com
2:31:44 EXCLUSIVE: Microchip Implantation of Club Going Trendies Expands to More Nations - Infowars.com, October 7, 2004
2:31:51 Microchips implanted in Mexican officials - MSNBC/Associated Press, July 14, 2004
2:32:28 The shadow of dictatorship: Bush established secret government after September 11 - wsws.org, March 4, 2002
2:32:32 Congress passes 'doomsday' plan - Infowars.com/BostonHearld.com, January 9, 2005
2:32:47 Cigar Aficionado's Interview with General Tommy Franks - Infowars.com/Cigar Aficionado, December 2003
2:32:51 American armed forces are assuming major new domestic policing and surveillance roles - Infowars.com/LA Times, November 23, 2003
2:32:54 Is Military Creeping Into Domestic Law Enforcement? - Infowars.com/Wall Street Journal, March 9, 2004
2:33:38 TV show is torture for participants - Infowars.com/Cox News Service, February 25, 2005
2:33:40 C4 lines up Guantanamo-style torture show - The Guardian, February 8, 2005

Please report any corrections or broken links

CHUCK D writes first Katrina song: “Hell No We Ain’t Alright”

Mr. Chuck D has been all right for 20 years, and he ain't wrong now...

Public Enemy front man Chuck D has written a new song addressing the natural disaster in New Orleans, Alabama, Mississippi and the issues that surround the region ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. In “Hell No We Ain’t Alright,” Chuck D sends a barbed message to government officials, the media, the military and even the Hip-Hop nation. The lyrics for the song were written on Sept. 2, the same day Kanye West rapped the treatment of African Americans suffering in the catastrophe live on the NBC television network. The rapper reportedly recorded the track over Labor Day weekend and is expected to distribute it shortly. Chuck D and Public Enemy have been long running activists in the rap community. Below are the lyrics to “Hell No We Ain’t Alright,” as written by Chuck D.

“Hell No We Ain’t Alright”

New Orleans in the morning, afternoon, and night
Hell No We Ain’t Alright

Now all these press conferences breaking news alerts

This just in while your government looks for a war to win
Flames from the blame game, names? Where do I begin?
Walls closing in get some help to my kin
Who cares? While the rest of the Bushnation stares

As the drama unfolds as we the people under the stairs
50% of this Son of a Bush nation
Is like hatin’ on Haiti

And setting up assassinations
Ask Pat Robertson - quiz him.... smells like terrorism.

Racism in the news / still one-sided news
Saying whites find food /
prey for the national guard ready to shoot
‘Cause them blacks loot

New Orleans in the morning, afternoon, and night
Hell No We Ain’t Alright

Fires, earthquakes, tsunamis
I don’t mean to scare / Wasn’t this written somewhere?
Disgraces all I see is black faces moved out to all these places
Emergency state, corpses, alligators and snakes
Big difference between this haze and them diamonds on the VMA’s

We better look / what’s really important
Under this sun especially if you over 21

This ain’t no TV show / this ain’t no video
This is really real / beyond them same ole “keep it real”

Quotes from them TV stars drivin’ big rim cars
'Streets be floodin,’ B/ no matter where you at, no gas
Driving is a luxury
Urgency
State of emergency
Shows somebody’s government
Is far from reality....

New Orleans in the morning, afternoon, and night
Hell No We Ain’t Alright

I see here we be the new faces of refugees
Who ain’t even overseas but here on our knees

Forget the plasma TV-ain’t no electricity
New worlds upside down-and out of order
Shelter? Food? Whasssup, wheres the water?

No answers from disaster / them masses hurtin’
So who the f**k we call? -- Halliburton?

Son of a Bush, how you gonna trust that cat?
To fix s**t when help is stuck in Iraq?

Making war plans takin’ more stands
In Afghanistan 2000 soldiers dyin’ in the sand

But that’s over there, right?
Now what's over here is a noise so loud
That some can’t hear but on TV I can see
Bunches of people lookin’ just like me...

Submit News!

text news tips/pix: 6462706358

SOURCE - http://www.allhiphop.com/hiphopnews/?ID=4796

(...)

BONUS: I hate the bastards...

Yahoo! News

Cops, Troops Warn Holdouts in New Orleans

By SHARON COHEN, AP National Writer 34 minutes ago

NEW ORLEANS - Using the unmistakable threat of force, police and soldiers went house to house Wednesday to try to coax the last 10,000 or so stubborn holdouts to leave storm-shattered New Orleans because of the risk of disease from the putrid, sewage-laden floodwaters.

"A large group of young armed men armed with M-16s just arrived at my door and told me that I have to leave," said Patrick McCarty, who owns several buildings and lives in one of them in the city's Lower Garden District. "While not saying they would arrest you, the inference is clear."

A frail-looking 86-year-old Anthony Charbonnet grumbled as he locked his front door and walked slowly backward down the steps of the house where he had lived since 1955.

"I haven't left my house in my life," he said as soldiers took him to a helicopter. "I don't want to leave."

Mayor C. Ray Nagin ordered law officers and the military late Tuesday to evacuate all holdouts — by force if necessary. He warned that the combination of fetid water, fires and natural gas leaks after Hurricane Katrina made it too dangerous to stay.

In fact, the first government tests confirmed Wednesday that the amount of sewage-related bacteria in the floodwaters is at least 10 times higher than acceptable safety levels. Dr. Julie Gerberding, chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned stragglers not to even touch the water and pleaded: "If you haven't left the city yet, you must do so."

There were no reports of anyone being removed by force. And it was not clear how the order would be carried out.

Active-military troops said they had no plans to use force. National Guard officers said they do not take orders from the mayor. And even the police said they were not ready to use force just yet. It appeared that the mere threat of force would be the first option.

"We have thousands of people who want to voluntarily evacuate at this time," Police Chief Eddie Compass said. "Once they are all out, then we'll concentrate our forces on mandatory evacuation."

Mindful of the bad publicity that could result from images of weary residents dragged out of their homes at gunpoint, Compass said that when his officers start using force, it will be the minimum amount necessary.

"If you are somebody who is 350 pounds, it will obviously take more force to move you than if you are 150 pounds," the chief said.

The stepped-up evacuation came as workers trying to get into the city to restart essential services came under sniper fire. More than 100 officers and seven armored personnel carriers captured a suspect in a housing project who had been firing on workers trying to restore cell phone towers, authorities said.

"These cell teams are getting fire on almost a daily basis, so we needed to get in here and clean this thing up," said Capt. Jeff Winn, commander of the police SWAT team. "We're putting a lot of people on the street right now and I think that we are bringing it under control. Eight days ago this was a mess. Every day is getting a little bit better."

The police chief boasted that 7,000 more military, police and other law officers on the streets had made New Orleans "probably the safest city in America right now."

Across miles of ravaged neighborhoods of clapboard houses, grand estates and housing projects, workers struggled to find and count corpses sniffed out by cadaver dogs in the 90-degree heat. The mayor has said New Orleans' death toll could reach 10,000. Already, a temporary warehouse morgue in rural St. Gabriel that had been prepared to take 1,000 bodies was being readied to handle 5,000.

Bob Johannessen, spokesman for the state Department of Health and Hospitals, said the Federal Emergency Management Agency has 25,000 body bags on hand in Louisiana.

Asked if authorities expected as many as 25,000 bodies, he said: "We don't know what to expect."

"It means we're prepared," Johannessen said.

Marty Bahamonde, a FEMA spokesman, said the agency has hired a contractor to help remove bodies in the expectation that there may be large numbers of corpses.

"Nobody has any numbers or anything they're going by other than guesswork," Bahamonde said.

The enormity of the disaster came ever-clearer in neighboring St. Bernard Parish, which was hit by a levee break that brought a wall of water up to 20 feet high. State Rep. Nita Hutter said 30 people died at a flooded nursing home in Chalmette when the staff left the elderly residents behind in their beds. And Rep. Charlie Melancon said more than 100 people died at a dockside warehouse while they waited for rescuers to ferry them to safety.

The floodwaters continued to recede, though slowly, with only 23 of the city's normal contingent of 148 pumps in operation, along with three portable pumps. The water in St. Bernard Parish had fallen 5 feet.

John Hall, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said it was not clear how long it would be before all the pumps were running.

"There's a long way to go. We need to get a lot more capacity on line to make a real difference," he said.

Because of the standing water, doctors were being urged to watch for diarrheal illnesses caused by such things as E. coli bacteria, certain viruses, and a type of cholera-like bacteria common along the warm Gulf Coast.

Given the extent of the misery, Louisiana's two U.S. senators — Democrat Mary Landrieu and Republican David Vitter — wrote a letter to Senate leaders Wednesday urging them to put aside partisan bickering in assigning blame over the federal response and focus on providing for victims.

"Please do not make the citizens of Louisiana a victim once again by allowing our immediate needs to be delayed by partisanship," they wrote.

Patricia Kelly was driven out of her home by flooding in the low-lying Ninth Ward and took up residence under a tattered, dirty green-and-white-striped patio umbrella in front of an abandoned barber shop. Despite the warnings, she refused to leave.

"We're surviving every day, trying to tolerate the situation by the grace of God. He's keeping us holding on just one day at a time," she said. "I'm going to stay as long as the Lord says so. If they come with a court order, then we'll leave."

Sgt. Joseph Boarman of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, whose soldiers helped coax people from their homes, said he could almost understand the reluctance to leave: "It's their home. You know how hard it is to leave home, no matter what condition it's in."

In the high and dry French Quarter, 48-year-old Jack Jones said he would resist if authorities tried to force him out of the home where he has lived since the 1970s.

While the streets were strewn with garbage, rotting food and downed power lines, Jones kept his block pristine, sweeping daily, spraying for mosquitoes and even pouring bleach down drains to kill germs.

Jones said the sick, the elderly and people who lack supplies should be evacuated — but not folks like him. He has 15 cases of drinking water, a generator, canned ravioli, wine, coffee and three cartons of Marlboros.

"I've got everything I need," he said. "I just want to be left alone."

___

Associated Press writers Cain Burdeau, Jerry Bodlander and Lauran Neergaard contributed to this report.

SOURCE - http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050908/ap_on_re_us/hurricane_katrina

(...)

BONUS: The bastards hate us...

Google Search Pictures: "FEMA evil"

And when you to click to full-size the only two images found, get...

Below is the image in its original context on the page: america.post911timeline.org/newhome.html

Webmaster:

Please contact your system
administrator as soon as possible.

and...

Below is the image in its original context on the page: www.falloutshelternews.com/RadioActive_Archiv...

file does not exist

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

MEA CRAPPA CULPA: "U.S. Offers Katrina Families $2,000 Each"

i dare ya to follow this story for a week and see how many families are screwed.

this is complete crap served in a bucket of bullshit factoids and nuances, and will be used by everyone on both sides to justify apologizing for their incompetence instead of understanding their willful malice. yet again, they get another one of a thousand second chances from all of us to not be nearly as bad as we know they've already proven they are - 'cause that would suck too much. while we can use their "spin" to "assert" their own "mea culpa" good intentions as a slap in the face of obvious evidence, that just makes us forget all the evil crap they've done for 5 years...

...like we always do.

please remember: they didn't care before, and if this makes them look good, then that's what it's for...

Donald Jasmin, of New Orleans, sits overwhelmed as he joins fellow hurricane victims as they wait in line to fill out forms for financial aid at a state unemployment office in Memphis, Tenn., Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2005. (AP Photo/St.)

U.S. Offers Katrina Families $2,000 Each

By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent 6 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Dispossessed families of Hurricane Katrina will receive debit cards good for $2,000 to spend on clothing and other immediate needs, the Bush administration announced Wednesday, working to recast a relief effort drawing scant praise from Republicans and scathing criticism from top congressional Democrats.

President Bushis "oblivious, in denial, dangerous," when it comes to the plight of the storm's victims, charged House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. Her Senate counterpart, Sen. Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record), asked pointedly whether the chief executive impeded relief efforts by remaining at his Texas ranch last week while the storm churned toward the Gulf Coast.

Democrats attacked as House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist announced creation of an unusual joint House-Senate panel to investigate the government's readiness for Katrina as well as its response. "Americans deserve answers," they said in a statement, setting a Feb. 15, 2006, deadline for a report.

At the White House, spokesman Scott McClellan defended Bush from Democratic attacks but conceded, "There are ongoing problems on the ground, and that's why we're working to address those issues."

The administration formally asked Congress for $51.8 billion in relief and recovery expenses in addition to $10.5 billion already approved, calling it the latest installment, but not the last. "We will in fact need substantially more" money, said budget director Josh Bolten, estimating the money would cover expenses for "a few weeks."

Bolten said about half of the newly requested funds would take the form of direct aid to individuals, and the administration said that included an estimated 320,000 of the $2,000 debit cards per household at a cost of $640 million.

Michael Brown, the embattled director of the Federal Management and Emergency Agency, said those eligible for the unprecedented debit cards would be permitted to use the money "for emergency supplies they need" such as clothing. "The concept is to get them some cash on hand which allows them, empowers them to make their own decisions about what do they need to have to repair their own lives," he said.

The federal government produced a seemingly endless stream of reminders of the devastation wrought by the storm as it battered the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Florida.

Stephen L. Johnson, the head of the Environmental Protection Administration, said the floodwaters in New Orleans were so dangerous that there was a risk from mere skin contact, much less drinking. Initial government tests detected sewage-associated bacteria was at least 10 times higher than safe levels.

The Congressional Budget Office reported to congressional leaders that national employment could be reduced by 400,000 in the coming months, with a cut in economic growth of as much as a full percentage point.

The report said that Katrina's impact was likely to be "significant but not overwhelming" to the overall U.S. economy, especially if energy production along the Gulf Coast returns to pre-hurricane levels quickly.

Apart from the tab for federal relief, the House cleared two measures during the day to meet needs that didn't exist two weeks ago.

One bill would allow the administration to waive a requirement for students to repay their Pell Grants when they are forced to withdraw from classes due to natural disasters. The other would allow federal courts to conduct special sessions outside their geographic boundaries when they are unable to meet because of emergency conditions.

With polls showing Bush's approval ratings at low levels, Democrats seemed more emboldened to criticize him than at any time since he won a new term and they lost seats in 2004. They sought to use the events to question the appointment of John Roberts as chief justice and call on the GOP to put off a looming deficit-reduction package.

"We have just had a massive disaster," said Sen. Kent Conrad (news, bio, voting record), D-N.D. "This is not a time to be cutting services to the most needy among us."

Referring to large numbers of poor and black New Orleans residents who were dispossessed by the storm, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (news, bio, voting record), D-Mass., said earlier in the week the disaster underscored "the glaring economic disparities facing our citizens."

"As a nation, we must be sensitive to this inequality, sensitive as we respond to Katrina, and sensitive, too, as we select now justices for the Supreme Court," he said. "That's a critical question for Judge Roberts. Can he unite America for the future?"

Top Democrats expressed unhappiness at the announced congressional investigation, to be run by a panel comprised of more Republicans than Democrats. The committee "is not truly bipartisan ... cannot write legislation, and will not have bipartisan subpoena power," Pelosi said.

In a letter to one Republican, Reid pressed for a wide-ranging investigation and asked: "How much time did the president spend dealing with this emerging crisis while he was on vacation? Did the fact that he was outside of Washington, D.C., have any effect on the federal government's response?"

McClellan brushed aside Reid's suggestion, saying the senator would not have engaged in "such personal attacks" if he were aware of Bush's efforts both before and after the storm.

Pelosi, speaking at a news conference, said Brown had "absolutely no credentials" when Bush picked him to run FEMA.

She related that she urged Bush at the White House on Tuesday to fire Brown.

"He said, 'Why would I do that?'" Pelosi said.

"I said because of all that went wrong, of all that didn't go right last week.' And he said 'What didn't go right?'"

"Oblivious, in denial, dangerous," she added.

McClellan disputed Pelosi's account of the meeting, and later, Brown sidestepped when asked whether he had offered his resignation.

It fell to Ken Mehlman, head of the Republican Party, to counterattack. "While countless Americans are pulling together to lend a helping hand, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are pointing fingers in a shameless effort to tear us apart," he said.

Reid's spokesman, Jim Manley, called the criticism "typical distractive drivel from a Bush frontman trying to avoid answering honest questions."

___

Federal Emergency Management Agency: http://www.fema.gov

SOURCE - http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050908/ap_on_go_pr_wh/katrina_washington

FEMA: "Show us your tits and we'll help you!"

That's what they said to women stranded on a roof.

They are a bunch of evil criminal assholes.

Here...

FEMA's inspectors included criminals

The US Government Continues to Employ Criminals at Every Level

South Florida Sun-Sentinal | April 24, 2005
By Megan O'Matz

Government inspectors entrusted to enter disaster victims' homes and verify damage claims include criminals with records for embezzlement, drug dealing and robbery, a South Florida Sun-Sentinel investigation has found.

Federal officials have pointed to the inspectors as their primary defense against accusations of widespread fraud for their payout of more than $31 million in Hurricane Frances disaster aid in Miami-Dade -- a county spared hurricane-force winds.

(cont'd...)

SOURCE - http://www.infowars.com/articles/ps/fema_inspectors_included_criminals.htm

(...)

This is standard practice, and members of the military and military-style organizations are also often illegal aliens with dubious pasts who are naturalized as a condition of joining the army - fresh troops! That's also why 5 years later, Bush - God of Homeland Security, STILL hasn't closed the borders to "terrorists" or anyone else, and private citizens calling themselves "The Watchmen" are taking to driving around with cases of beer and guns in pick-up trucks to defend their borders. (Google it man, these doods have been on CNN, and Bush has mentioned them by name calling it a "bad idea".)

Criminals with giant Nazi tattoos are specially chosen for their viciousness, and easily and quickly promoted: after all, much like the private contractor torturers in Iraq, clearly their bosses hired them to do very, very, very, very bad things.

There is no sanity to ANY of this policy as it's sold to us - hell, we do half the work justifying it when they leave gaping holes in logic. There is no sanity to ignoring it's ramifications either: soon they'll torture "us" here, once they make us part of a group to hate.

Remember: "Juden raus!!!"?

No?

Fuck.

Alright...

Google it, I did to make sure I remembered it correctly, and think of how far we've fallen and how we're increasingly being asked to snitch...

For a fairly full list of FEMA fuck-ups so far, and God bless the homiez droppin' science, check...

FEMA Deliberately Sabotaging Hurricane Relief Efforts

Multiple parishes revolt, use armed guards to defend against feds

Paul Joseph Watson & Alex Jones | September 6 2005

Numerous credible sources have come forward with examples of how the Federal Emergency Management Agency is deliberately sabotaging Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in New Orleans. This represents a ruthless attempt on the part of FEMA to impose a federal takeover of the area for their own benefit amid a tragedy that has already claimed anything up to 10,000 lives.

The mainstream media has picked up on this story but is whitewashing it as just another 'failure' of the federal government in dealing with the crisis.

In reality the actions are part of a coordinated campaign to deepen the scope of the disaster in order to force through bumper funding increases for FEMA.

Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard (pictured below) appeared on Meet the Press Sunday and broke down in tears as he described FEMA's criminal activities.

"We have been abandoned by our own country. Hurricane Katrina will go down in history as one of the worst storms ever to hit an American coast, but the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina will go down as one of the worst abandonments of Americans on American soil ever in U.S. history."

We had Wal-Mart deliver three trucks of water, trailer trucks of water. FEMA turned them back. They said we didn't need them. This was a week ago. FEMA--we had 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel on a Coast Guard vessel docked in my parish. The Coast Guard said, "Come get the fuel right away." When we got there with our trucks, they got a word. "FEMA says don't give you the fuel." Yesterday--yesterday--FEMA comes in and cuts all of our emergency communication lines. They cut them without notice. Our sheriff, Harry Lee, goes back in, he reconnects the line.

He posts armed guards on our line and says, "No one is getting near these lines."

Why would FEMA, an organization supposedly tasked with helping in a time of crisis, deliberately cut police communication lines? This is a blatant example of sabotage and a sick push to make the disaster worse. In carrying out these actions, FEMA are no better than the animals who shot at rescue workers and helicopters.

Watch the video of the Meet the Press interview.

The mission of FEMA has never in reality been to bring people food and water and help in times of crisis. Alex Jones has attended numerous FEMA drills where the whole point of the exercise is to round people up, break up families and institute a brutal police state crackdown.

FEMA need to create a chaotic atmosphere in New Orleans so they can legitimize what they are doing.

We now have multiple reports of police being ordered to guard key infrastructures in order to defend them from FEMA federal agents. Sheriffs in numerous different counties are guarding highways to keep FEMA out. FEMA is being treated as the enemy because they are sabotaging key facilities in an effort to intentionally worsen the already desperate scenes of horror in New Orleans.

FEMA is sabotaging lines of communication so their activities cannot be exposed to the wider relief authorities and the media.

Commenting on the sabotage by FEMA of communication lines, Washington insider Wayne Madsen states,

"Jamming radio and other communications such as television signals is part of a Pentagon tactic called "information blockade" or "technology blockade." The tactic is one of a number of such operations that are part of the doctrine of "information warfare" and is one of the psychological operations (PSYOPS) methods used by the US Special Operations Command."

Radio host Carol Baker who has been tracking the FEMA sabotage stated that Plaquemines Parish Sheriff Jeff Hingle had his deputies patrol the county line under orders not to let FEMA in.

As is discussed in the Meet the Press interview, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee also has armed guards patrolling the county line in order to prevent the FEMA sabotage.

FEMA has a number of executive orders that outline the total federal takeover of any US city.

For a full synopsis of FEMA's executive orders in light of the hurricane, click here.

FEMA is clearly using this human catastrophe as a means of executing its decade long plans and providing the pretext for future takeover scenarios of all major American cities.

Amongst a litany of government inaction and outright dereliction, this is the most alarming evidence to emerge yet that clearly indicates an agenda for the federal government to profit and expand its power from exploiting the aftermath of the hurricane.

We will continue to track this story as it develops.

SOURCE - http://www.infowars.com/articles/new_orleans/fema_deliberately_sabotage_relief_efforts.htm

See? I ain't even happy about being right: this shit sucks .Y'all can still have fun (I'm drunk), but y'all better wake up...

FEMA Chief Sent Help Only When Storm Ended

By TED BRIDIS, Associated Press Writer 59 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The government's disaster chief waited until hours after Hurricane Katrina had already struck the Gulf Coast before asking his boss to dispatch 1,000 Homeland Security workers to support rescuers in the region — and gave them two days to arrive, according to internal documents.

Michael Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, sought the approval from Homeland Security Secretary Mike Chertoff roughly five hours after Katrina made landfall on Aug. 29. Brown said that among duties of these employees was to "convey a positive image" about the government's response for victims.

Before then, FEMA had positioned smaller rescue and communications teams across the Gulf Coast. But officials acknowledged Tuesday the first department-wide appeal for help came only as the storm raged.

Brown's memo to Chertoff described Katrina as "this near catastrophic event" but otherwise lacked any urgent language. The memo politely ended, "Thank you for your consideration in helping us to meet our responsibilities."

The initial responses of the government and Brown came under escalating criticism as the breadth of destruction and death grew. President Bush and Congress on Tuesday pledged separate investigations into the federal response to Katrina. "Governments at all levels failed," said Sen. Susan Collins (news, bio, voting record), R-Maine.

Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said Brown had positioned front-line rescue teams and Coast Guard helicopters before the storm. Brown's memo on Aug. 29 aimed to assemble the necessary federal work force to support the rescues, establish communications and coordinate with victims and community groups, Knocke said.

Instead of rescuing people or recovering bodies, these employees would focus on helping victims find the help they needed, he said.

"There will be plenty of time to assess what worked and what didn't work," Knocke said. "Clearly there will be time for blame to be assigned and to learn from some of the successful efforts."

Brown's memo told employees that among their duties, they would be expected to "convey a positive image of disaster operations to government officials, community organizations and the general public."

"FEMA response and recovery operations are a top priority of the department and as we know, one of yours," Brown wrote Chertoff. He proposed sending 1,000 Homeland Security Department employees within 48 hours and 2,000 within seven days.

Knocke said the 48-hour period suggested for the Homeland employees was to ensure they had adequate training. "They were training to help the life-savers," Knocke said.

Employees required a supervisor's approval and at least 24 hours of disaster training in Maryland, Florida or Georgia. "You must be physically able to work in a disaster area without refrigeration for medications and have the ability to work in the outdoors all day," Brown wrote.

The same day Brown wrote Chertoff, Brown also urged local fire and rescue departments outside Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi not to send trucks or emergency workers into disaster areas without an explicit request for help from state or local governments. Brown said it was vital to coordinate fire and rescue efforts.

Sen. Barbara Mikulski (news, bio, voting record), D-Md., said Tuesday that Brown should step down.

After a senators-only briefing by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and other Cabinet members, Sen. Charles E. Schumer (news, bio, voting record) said lawmakers weren't getting their questions answered.

"What people up there want to know, Democrats and Republicans, is what is the challenge ahead, how are you handling that and what did you do wrong in the past," said Schumer, D-N.Y.

Sen. Ted Stevens (news, bio, voting record), R-Alaska, said the administration is "getting a bad rap" for the emergency response. "People have to understand this is a big, big problem."

Meanwhile, the airline industry said the government's request for help evacuating storm victims didn't come until late Thursday afternoon. The president of the Air Transport Association, James May, said the Homeland Security Department called then to ask if the group could participate in an airlift for refugees.

___

On the Net:

Federal Emergency Management Agency: http://www.fema.gov

Homeland Security Department: http://www.dhs.gov

The memo from FEMA Director Mike Brown to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is available at: http://wid.ap.org/documents/dhskatrina.pdf

SOURCE - http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050907/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/katrina_disaster_response

Monday, September 05, 2005

PLEASE LISTEN to me, Eminem, Green Day, Kanye, Moby, System of a Down, Beastie Boys... THIS IS FASCISM.

MOSH - http://mosh.eminem.com/video/

FEMA is evil, and after each disaster where they and other government agencies "fail" they acquire more money and power. This is why they "failed" on 9/11, this is why the CIA "failed" to use good "intelligence", and this is why they are "failing" to put Homeland Security money to good us in protecting the country - or they would announce it.

Gas prices are sold as "normal" to eat up disposable income and lead to a recession, New Orleans "needs" martial law and is a trial for the rest of the country, and with several days notice and all relief and disaster agencies federalized: this nightmare was deliberate, and we don't know more than those who are saying it.

The reaction to Florida's hurricane last year was swift and efficient - so it was possible here. Much like the torture of Muslims that is meant for us to get used to (three years later Iraq is getting worse and they aren't getting any intelligence from their innocent victims), the government knows that public outcry can be managed as long as it is brutalizing a minority group.

Oh sure, they'll take their PR hits, apologize, increase their budgets and control, and be forgiven and forgotten until the next phase.

This is clearly the rise of "big government and tyranny", to quote Alex Jones among millions of others. These policies are the opposite of traditional Conservative libertarian values, and in the haze of gay-bashing and liberal-baiting we've got to see this for what it is: FASCISM.

Too many smart people are saying it, your favorite artists are begging you to listen, and a million people on a million apple-crates around the world are screaming "the end is nigh"...

It's no longer safe to look away...

Soon...

They're going to take what you're looking at...

Here...

(...)

Alex speaks with former assistant secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan Administration and prolific and popular journalist, Paul Craig Roberts, about Bush and the tragedy in New Orleans.

"Hitler didn't inherit a dictatorship, he inherited institutions that he had to corrupt..."

"They are exercising illegitimate authority to set precedents, and if they are not stopped they become laws..."

"Even the things that control the beast, shame, integrity honor... nobody knows what they are anymore..."

"No one is safe, look what Hitler did to even his own Brown Shirts..."

SOURCE - http://www.infowars.com/

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

What is the Federal Emergency Management Agency? Simply put, it is the "secret government". This agency has powers and authority that go well beyond any other agency in the nation. What can FEMA do? It can suspend laws. It can move entire populations. It can arrest and detain citizens without a warrant and can hold them without a trial. It can seize property, food supplies, and transportation systems. And it can even suspend the Constitution of the United States.

When the first concept had been presented, its original mission was to assure the survivability of the United States Government in the event of a nuclear attack. It's secondary function was to be a Federal coordinating body during times of domestic disasters. These disasters consisted of earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes.

The "secret" black helicopters that are reported throughout the US, mainly in the West California, Washington, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Colorado areas are flown by FEMA personnel. It has been given the responsibility for many new national disasters such as forest fires, home heating emergencies, refugee situations, riots, and emergency planning for nuclear and toxic incidents. It works together with the Sixth Army in the West.

A series of Executive Orders (EO) was used to create FEMA. It does not matter whether an EO is Constitutional or not, it becomes a law simply by being published in the Federal Registry. These orders go around Congress.

List of Executive Orders

SOURCE - http://www.freedomfiles.org/war/fema.htm

(...)

BONUS: Where are we going? (Pack light, orange jumpsuits are in...)

"Where do we go...
Where do we go now...
Where do we go...
Sweet child o' mine..."

- Guns'n'Roses, "Sweet Child O' Mine"

Chiggidy-check yo'self...

Downloaded: 5,269 times

SOURCE - http://www.archive.org/details/MartialLaw911

MARTIAL LAW 911: RISE OF THE POLICE STATE Information Resource Companion Web Site.

SOURCE - http://www.martiallaw911.info/index.htm

Chernobyl Toll May Be Less Than Feared

By SUSANNA LOOF, Associated Press Writer 12 minutes ago

VIENNA, Austria - Fewer than 50 deaths have been directly attributed to radiation released in the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident, and the final toll could be thousands fewer than originally feared, the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said Monday.

However, anxiety caused by fear of death and illness from radiation poisoning is causing major mental health problems among the affected population and such worries "show no signs of diminishing and may even be spreading," the agency said, citing a new report compiled by 100 scientists.

The report said the final death toll attributed to radiation could reach 4,000, an estimate supported by all the agencies and affected governments, said Dr. Fred Mettler, a scientist who helped compile the report on behalf of the Chernobyl Forum, a group that includes the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, seven other U.N. agencies and the governments of Ukraine — where Chernobyl is located — Belarus and Russia.

Ukraine has previously said it had already registered 4,400 deaths related to the accident, and early speculation following the radiation release predicted tens of thousands would die.

The 600-page report says a lack of accurate information about the accident's consequences has made the mental health impact "the largest public health problem created by the accident."

"These problems manifest as negative self-assessments of health, belief in a shortened life expectancy, lack of initiative and dependency on assistance from the state," the agency said in a statement.

Community leaders and health care workers ought to receive better information about the accident's effects so that they can help counter false fears, it said.

"Persistent myths and misperceptions about the threat of radiation have resulted in 'paralyzing fatalism' among residents of affected areas," it added.

The report also says there is no evidence of decreased fertility following the accident, nor of any increase in congenital malformations.

The survival rate of the about 4,000 cases of thyroid cancer caused by the accident has been almost 99 percent, the report said.

Thyroid cancer patients and thousands of workers exposed to high levels of radiation in the days following the accident suffered "major health consequences," Chernobyl Forum Chairman Dr. Burton Bennett said.

"By and large, however, we have not found profound negative health impacts to the rest of the population in surrounding areas, nor have we found widespread contamination that would continue to pose a substantial threat to human health, with a few exceptional, restricted areas," he said.

Among other findings was that poverty, "lifestyle diseases" such as heart disease and mental health problems "pose a far greater threat to local communities than does radiation exposure," the statement said.

The study also found that radiation levels have returned to "acceptable levels" except for a closed, highly contaminated 20-mile area around the plant and some closed forests and lakes.

The report also warned that the enclosure built around the damaged reactor was deteriorating, "posing a risk of collapse and the release of radioactive dust."

Mettler told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that the report offered lessons for any future cases — including any potential radiation release by terrorists — by emphasizing issues such as the need for early and accurate information.

"It's a timely document for learning lessons to apply to other areas," he said.

SOURCE - http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050905/ap_on_re_eu/nuclear_agency_chernobyl

Sunday, September 04, 2005

Like thousands of others who were inspired, I just bought kanYe West "Late Registration" today...

...it's great, I heard it on his website last nite after being inspired to check it, and even paid an extra couple of bucks for the "Limited Edition Deluxe Packaging" today.

He's hella smart.

Sure, he pops-off once in a while out of control ("speaking from his soul") and frankly, I like my artists a lil' crazy...

But, live on NBC with millions of people watching, if he said what he said 2 blogs ago and 3 months before his album came out, that would've been a mistake, and many of us might not have heard "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" and his other words of wisdom.

Now?

It's on brother, it's on...

Cop it, show artists and celebrities that we'll respect them for respecting us enough to represent us, and maybe, just maybe, this'll work... :-)

SOUL - http://www.kanyewest.com/

Peace, (NOW!!!)
BK

_________________

...

Black Krishna Brand

Philosophy - http://blackkrishna.blogspot.com/

Music - http://www.soundclick.com/bands/0/blackkrishna.htm

...

New Orleans Mayor speaks the TRUTH for 11 minutes and 49 seconds on the only place he can: Air America Radio!!!

Audio Gallery

9/2 - Click Here to Hear New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin on sister station WWL as heard on Air America.

MUST LISTEN BEFORE TALKING SHIT - http://www.airamericaradio.com/katrina/

(...)

BONUS: Guest rant by Steve Gilliard linked from CrooksandLiars.com

Saturday, September 03, 2005

We told you so

An American failed by Bush

A note to our conservative friends:

WE TOLD YOU SO

Ever wonder why New Yorkers detest George Bush?

Because we experienced his incompetence up close and person. We knew this guy was full of shit, absolutely full of fucking shit, after they started to play games with the funding and gave Wyoming terrorism money. We knew he was an assclown then.

We thought DC 9/11 was a comedy, because the Bush we saw hid in AF One like the scared bitch that he is.

But did you listen?

Fuck no. Until last week, Ann Coulter was calling New Yorkers cowards for not endorsing Bush's folly in Iraq.

We have been screaming for two years that Bush and his team sucked. That they had no clue. They sent soldiers to be wounded in Iraq without armored anything. And you idiots cheered him on from the safety of your keyboards. We told you he was fucking up Iraq. But no, we supported Saddam, we were racist, we blamed America.

You say this isn't about politics? Fuck you, this IS politics, real time, real life politics, where the insanity of all your ideas are exposed to the world for the fraud that they are. Tax cuts kill. Ask the relatives of the dead of the Gulf Coast.

Well, motherfuckers, the alligators are feasting on dead nigger and there isn't an Iraqi in sight. And Bush is trying to gladhand his way through a mess which has stunned FOX reporters. I mean, Shepard Smith is calling Fox's talking heads liars ON THE AIR.

CNN rips Bush in print and online after nearly five years of sleep.

Instead of hearing what we had to say about Bush, you called John Kerry a coward, mocked Max Cleland, blamed everything but herpes on Bill Clinton. You enabled Bush into this mess and now you're shocked?

Now, Fox can be outraged, now, Wash Times and Union Leader call Bush weak? Well, his coward ass disappeared in 2001. But you rather blame Michael Moore for that.

He can't even explain the Iraq war to a grieving mother.

So what did you do?

Write the most vile things about her and her dead son. Attacked her patriotism and her honesty.

Well, motherfuckers, and that means you, fat ass Goldberg and your master, Rich Lowry, PNAC Bitch Beinart, the racist wannabe white Malkin and the little fucktards at LGF, Bareback Andy and "Diversity" Instacracker, all you backstabbing, fag hating uncle tom ministers, you can see Dear Leader in action. America's largest port is gone, maybe forever, gas is $5+ a gallon and FEMA is coming. Whores come faster with old men than FEMA is getting to NOLA.

How did your wartime President react? Like Chiang Kai-Shek when the Yellow River flooded in 1944, with corrupt indifference.

Bush, the man your fever dreams built into the next Winston Churchill when he is really the live action Chauncey Gardiner, has failed to everyone, in plain sight, without question. Rick Perry is trying to save his ass, but it ain't working. NOLA looks like ANGOLA and that ain't flying.

Say 9/11 changed everything now, motherfuckers. Ooops, 9/11, 9/11. 9/11. Doesn't work anymore? Gee, maybe the sea of alligator MRE's once known as the citizens of New Orleans has something to do with that. Now you can shut the fuck up about 9/11. Bush just proved what would happen with another 9/11. Dead Americans as far as the nose can smell.

Drunken Chris Hitchens muttered some nonsense about blacks having it so good here. The poor man needs to stay in his bottle or go to Betty Ford before someone beats his treasonous ass stupid. Islamofascism means what, now motherfucker? Shove Islamofascism up your well travelled ass. The most dangerous thing to average Americans is not some mullah in Iraq, not even Osama Bin Laden, but George Bush. If he doesn't get you killed in Iraq, he'll fuck up saving your city so it turns into Escape from New Orleans. Armed junkies roaming the streets, looking for a fix, robbing and looting like Serb paramilitaries and about as sober.

George Bush's ineptitude has killed far more Americans than Osama could have dreamed of.

Some of you still try to see the clothes on the Dauphin, but he's as naked as Peter North around Jenna Jameson. Bush fucked up so bad, FOX turned on him like a rabid dog.

You can't hide behind racism forever. Bush fucked up, Bush is a weak, callous leader and the world knows this like it knows few other things. And all the stolen TV's in the world cannot hide that.

posted by Steve @ 12:01:00 AM
Comments (375) | Trackbacks (8)

The News Blog home page

SOURCE - http://stevegilliard.blogspot.com/2005/09/we-told-you-so.html

(...)

"To all the Brown Shirts,
In Red States,
Been getting fucked in the ass-
Since ya first date,

Better make Bush,
Pull-out,
Before it's too late,
Listen to Lady Liberty-
When she screams rape..."

- Black Krishna, "Brown Shirts'n'Red States"

Black Krishna