Wednesday, September 07, 2005

BAUAW NEWSLETTER-WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2005

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SEPTEMBER 24
ANSWER Organizing Meetings:
Tuesdays, 7:00 p.m.
2489 Mission St., suite 24 (at 21st St., S.F.)

COLLEGE NOT COMBAT Planning Meeting:
Saturday, September 17th, 2:00 P.M.
110 Capp Street (Buzz #202) San Francisco
For more information:
college_not_combat@yahoo.com
(415) 248-1701
http://www.collegenotcombat.org/

NEXT BAUAW MEETING:
TUESDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 20, 7:00 P.M.
474 VALENCIA STREET, S.F. NEAR 16TH STREET

Letter from Cindy Sheehan
March on Washington, Sept. 24, 2005
www.unitedforpeace.org/septmobe

STOP THE WAR AND OCCUPATION!
IRAQ, PALESTINE, HAITI....
MARCH AND RALLY SEPTEMBER 24
11:00 A.M. DOLORES PARK, S.F.
COLLEGE NOT COMBAT CONTINGENT
10:00 A.M. 16TH AND MISSION BART PLAZA, S.F.

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BAUAW NEWSLETTER-WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2005
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1) An Angry 'Times-Picayune' Calls for Firing of FEMA Chief,
and Others, in Open Letter to President Bush
By E&P Staff
Published: September 04, 2005 10:40 A
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001054586

2) First By the Floods, Then By Martial Law
Trapped in New Orleans
By LARRY BRADSHAW
and LORRIE BETH SLONSKY
September 6, 2005
http://www.counterpunch.org/bradshaw09062005.html

3) (Very excellent and powerful statement...bw)
Iraq War Has Made a Mockery of Genuine 'Homeland Security'
by Mark T. Harris
September 6th, 2005
The current administration in the White House is fast
becoming one whose "accomplishments" are measured now
more in terms of body bags and the availability of
potable water than anything remotely resembling genuine
progress. From the streets of Fallujah and Baghdad now
to the gulf coast of the United States, the consequences
of a White House that worships the supposed miracle
solution of "free markets" and digital warfare in all
things has finally come full circle.
Within this circle now we see only failure, suffering,
and the death of innocents.
http://www.uslaboragainstwar.org/article.php?id=9095

4) LaBOR aRT & MuRAL PRoJECT AGITPROP NEWS: 9.5.5
In this Issue:
1. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
2. The Funny

5) Katrina children seeking parents shown on Web site
Mon Sep 5, 2005 08:01 PM ET
http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=9565493&src=eDialog/GetContent

6) ON THE FRONTLINES
National Counter-Recruitment Conference
October 22-23 at UC-Berkeley

7) Gloria LaRiva: Eyewitness report from New Orleans

8) Hurricane Katrina disaster shows the failure of the profit system
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/sep2005/stat-s06.shtml

9) The Two Americas
By Marjorie Cohn
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/090305Y.shtml

10) Navy Pilots Who Rescued Victims Are Reprimanded
By DAVID S. CLOUD
Published: September 7, 2005
PENSACOLA, Fla., Sept. 6 - Two Navy helicopter pilots and
their crews returned from New Orleans on Aug. 30 expecting
to be greeted as lifesavers after ferrying more than
100 hurricane victims to safety.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/07/national/nationalspecial/07navy.html?ex=1126756800&en=e44a962361b06a6e&ei=5070&emc=eta1

11) US offensive near the Syrian border
Dahr Jamail's Iraq Dispatches
http://dahrjamailiraq.com

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1) An Angry 'Times-Picayune' Calls for Firing of FEMA Chief,
and Others, in Open Letter to President Bush
By E&P Staff
Published: September 04, 2005 10:40 A
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001054586

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2) First By the Floods, Then By Martial Law
Trapped in New Orleans
By LARRY BRADSHAW
and LORRIE BETH SLONSKY
September 6, 2005
http://www.counterpunch.org/bradshaw09062005.html

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3) (Very excellent and powerful statement...bw)
Iraq War Has Made a Mockery of Genuine 'Homeland Security'
by Mark T. Harris
September 6th, 2005
The current administration in the White House is fast
becoming one whose "accomplishments" are measured now
more in terms of body bags and the availability of
potable water than anything remotely resembling genuine
progress. From the streets of Fallujah and Baghdad now
to the gulf coast of the United States, the consequences
of a White House that worships the supposed miracle
solution of "free markets" and digital warfare in all
things has finally come full circle.
Within this circle now we see only failure, suffering,
and the death of innocents.
http://www.uslaboragainstwar.org/article.php?id=9095

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4) LaBOR aRT & MuRAL PRoJECT AGITPROP NEWS: 9.5.5
In this Issue:
1. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
2. The Funny

1. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Our fabulous New Orleans, one of the world's great cultural treasures,
lies in ruins. The destruction of this city's artistic life, just as
with the loss of life and property, is a tragedy of immense proportions

New Orleans was a product of many influences - but its character was
indelibly stamped by slaves and their descendants. Slavery was a
holocaust of such magnitude that it resulted in the deaths of millions
of Africans and enormous human suffering. It was a holocaust, as we
see today, that never really ended.

African-Americans responded to their cruel treatment by creating art
and music that ultimately became Americas great gift to the world.
While the former slave masters built a powerful empire based on
military conquest and exploitation, the former slaves fostered a
unique culture based on their African roots. New Orleans was a magical
world where music was vibrant, Tabasco flowed freely and human
sexuality was celebrated in fantastic spectacles.

Even after many years, I can still remember the people and music that
surrounded Southern Railroads Oliver Yard, where I worked and
frequently walked the tracks. Day or night, we could leave work and be
swept up in festivities. More than in any other city, the
neighborhoods of the Big Easy responded to official consumer culture
with a lively, organic art that expressed the aspirations and optimism
of working people. Our loss is immeasurable.

Why the Fuss

The unwillingness and inability of the US government to prevent or
alleviate this crisis is not an oversight, miscalculation or mistake.
We all knew it would happen, and so did they.

Two days ago, I watched in astonishment as a jocular George Bush held
a press conference in Mississippi to begin his tour of the gulf coast.
There is great suffering in the land, he said. Why, my friend,
Senator Trent Lott (who stood at his side,) is one of the suffering
masses - his oceanfront home was destroyed. The President pledged to
rebuild the house.

This was his starting point.

I don't think that Bush and Company is any more inept or insensitive
than other politicians. The same congress that was able to rush to
Washington in one day to keep the deceased Terri Schiavo plugged to a
machine likewise turned a blind eye to the desperate plight of living
thousands. And the liberal politicians who only now are so indignant
were previously nowhere to be found.

They live in a different world. The circumstances of the great
unwashed are not their concern, any more than you or I might worry
about the sport of polo. They are worried about their summer homes and
investment portfolios. The fate of the working poor is not a priority.

If not for the massive public outcry, people might have been left on
their rooftops until Mardi Gras came around. Had they been expensive
horses instead of poor people, they might have been evacuated more
quickly. After all, Bush's appointee to direct FEMA honed his
emergency skills as the head of the International Arabian Horse
Association.

Even now, with normally docile news reporters actually moved to ask
some real questions, the blank expressions of administration
spokespeople reveal that they just don't get what all the fuss
is about.

The Chickens Come Home to Roost

The death and destruction is a man-made, criminal act - the logical
outcome of corporate and governmental policies that thrived under
Democratic and Republican administrations alike. The authorities have
known of the storm dangers for decades. Don't blame Mother Nature -
she was just being herself (with some help from global warming.)

As a traveling muralist, I have seen firsthand the dreadful
consequences of US foreign policy in places like Nicaragua
and Iraq.

Washington's callousness to suffering is no revelation to most of the
world. It's old news to the Iraqi people - the US embargo and
occupation has killed over a million of them. The indifference to life
is certainly no eye-opener for the abandoned of Darfur.

Now, in New Orleans, the ugly face of American capitalism stands
revealed.

This nation, though born with the horror of slavery and slaughter of
indigenous people, at one time was vigorous and forward-looking. But
we are witnessing the empire in decline. Starving people in New
Orleans? Let them eat beignets. City under water? Bush waves from
the window of his jet while he heads home from his five-week vacation.
He plays golf the next day.

Oil companies, already bloated with record profits - immediately took
advantage of the crisis by jacking up gas prices. You can bet that
the food companies and every other industry will soon follow suit.
Cheney and his Halliburton pals are licking their lips in anticipation
of lucrative reconstruction contracts. They take everything and
produce nothing.

We were told we were different. We were told that this could not
happen to "Americans." But you're only an American when it's time to
go to war or speed up production. The rest of the time you're just a
worker - like workers in Nigeria or Haiti. If you are not making a
profit for your employer, your usefulness is over. You will be left to
drown in your attic or die of thirst or starve to death.

A Different Example

In Cuba, so vilified by the US government, the population is informed
and educated about the hurricanes that frequently slam into the
island. The scant resources of the entire country are used to evacuate
hundreds of thousands of people. Electricity is turned off to prevent
death by electrocution. Water is turned off to protect against
contamination. Medical facilities are prepared - and health care is
always free in Cuba. At times, over a million people have been
evacuated with no loss of life.

In fact, Castro has offered to send 1100 doctors, completely at Cuban
expense, to aid in gulf coast relief efforts. He has refused to
criticize Washington in this hour of crisis.

Venezuela has offered to provide inexpensive gas to poor Americans.
The demonized Chavez has offered to send two mobile hospitals, 120
specialists in rescue operations, 10 water purifying plants, 18 large
electricity generators, 20 tons of bottled water, and 50 tons of
canned food.

Ever faithful to her corporate masters, these offers have been
rejected by Condoleezza Rice. Better the poor should die than be
exposed to socialist ideas. (Rice made sure to have a photo-op
unloading some relief supplies from the back of a truck.)

The Victims Become the Criminals

As always, the poor will be blamed for their own misery.
The war-makers who cut federal funding earmarked to strengthen
the levees and gave it instead to a fake rebuilding of Iraq;
the politicians who lined their pockets and ignored public
safety; the real estate moguls who made millions of dollars
with rampant, unplanned development; the graft-ridden cops
who ran away in fear of a city of needy black people; the
CEOs of profit-hungry oil companies - all will now
hypocritically point their fingers at the victims –
desperate workers taking food or medicine for their
families - and brand them as looters.

The authorities and the press are promoting racist
hysteria. Black people are portrayed as marauding
animals and rapists - all without a shred of evidence.
Troops are sent to protect Gucci bags in upscale malls.
Yet there is little to indicate any civil problem that
compares to a single night of drunken revelry by middle-
class tourists at Mardi Gras.

Bush, the spoiled child of wealth and privilege, could not
wait to start talking tough about "law and order." The
returning cops have already murdered more people than
were murdered during the past week, when there was no
"security." Yes, there are individuals who have struck
out in anger and desperation. But the tens of thousands
of poor people who were left to suffer and die displayed
more self-control, caring and dignity than any of their
so-called leaders. We should all be proud of them.

March on Washington

This catastrophe is only beginning. Yet to come is the
spread of disease, skyrocketing prices, increasing
unemployment, food shortages, environmental destruction
and the curtailment of democratic rights. The cost of
the storm and the looting by corporations will be born
by working people. Tuitions will increase, education
will deteriorate, our bridges and roads will fall into
further disrepair, healthcare will become more
inaccessible - life will become more difficult for
all of us.

Bush has blithely promised to rebuild a new and better
New Orleans. Along with developing the hydrogen car,
I suppose.

I can imagine his new city: Mardi Gras Mall to replace
Fauberg Marigny and the French Quarter. Starbucks
instead of the Café du Monde. Britney Spears performing
the songs of Professor Longhair and Alan Toussaint.
McGumbo.

No - the people of the gulf coast will pick themselves up
from the toxic silt. Working people from all over the
world will come to their aid. They will respond to ruling
class indifference with solidarity and caring. The eyes
of many have been opened - Americans will never look at
the suffering of others in the same way.

September 24 will be massive march on Washington, San
Francisco and Los Angeles to demand that the troops be
brought home from Iraq. We will demand that the enormous
resources of the occupation be used instead for a massive
public works program to rebuild the gulf coast. We will
demand money for jobs and education. We will repudiate the
actions of Bush and his creepy-crawly administration.
They do not speak for the American people.

We will eventually force the war-makers to withdraw from
Iraq, just as we forced them out of Vietnam. Working
people - the true source of all wealth and the great
incubator of ideas - will absorb this experience and
spit it back in the form of new art and music. The
great culture of New Orleans is part of our collective
consciousness, and will live on in a thousand new ways.
Corporate greed will never destroy our humanity or
silence our music.

Mike Alewitz

2. The Funny

Some needed comic relief

This is a bricklayer's accident report, which was printed
in the newsletter of the Australian equivalent of
The Workers' Compensation Board. This is a true story.

Dear Sir:

I am writing in response to your request for additional
information in Block 3 of the accident report form.
I put "poor planning" as the cause of my accident.
You asked for a fuller explanation and I trust the
following details will be sufficient.

I am a bricklayer by trade. On the day of the accident,
I was working alone on the roof of a new six story building.
When I completed my work, I found that I had some bricks
left over which, when weighed later, were found to be
slightly in excess of 500 lbs.

Rather than carry the bricks down by hand, I decided to
lower them in a barrel by using a pulley, which was
attached to the side of the building on the sixth floor.

Securing the rope at ground level, I went up to the roof,
swung the barrel out and loaded the bricks into it.
Then I went down and untied the rope, holding it tightly
to ensure a slow descent of the bricks.

You will note in Block 11 of the accident report form
that I weigh 175 lbs. Due to my surprise at being
jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence
of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to
say, I proceeded at a rapid rate up the side of the building.

In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel
which was now proceeding downward at an equal,
impressive speed.

This explained the fractured skull, minor abrasions and
the broken collar bone, as listed in section 3 of the
accident report form. Slowed only slightly, I continued
my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my
right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley.
Fortunately by this time I had regained my presence
of mind and was able to hold tightly to the rope,
in spite of beginning to experience a great deal of pain.

At approximately the same time, however, the barrel
of bricks hit the ground and the bottom fell out of
the barrel. Now devoid of the weight of the bricks,
that barrel weighed approximately 50 lbs. I refer you
again to my weight. (Block 11).

As you can imagine, I began a rapid descent, down the
side of the building. In the vicinity of the third
floor, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for
the two fractured ankles, broken tooth and several
lacerations of my legs and lower body.

Here my luck began to change slightly. The encounter
with the barrel seemed to slow me enough to lessen
my injuries when I fell into the pile of bricks and
fortunately only three vertebrae we re cracked.

I am sorry to report, however, as I lay there on the
pile of bricks, in pain unable to move, I again lost
my composure and presence of mind and let go of the
rope and I lay there watching the empty barrel begin
its journey back down onto me. This explains the two
broken legs.

I hope this answers your inquiry.

Bill Fuller

MIKE ALEWITZ Artistic Director LaBOR aRT & MuRAL PRoJECT
Art Department Central CT State University
1615 Stanley Street New Britain, CT 06050
Office: 860.832.2359 Fax: 860.832.2634
Mobile: 860.518.4046 alewitzm@ccsu.edu

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5) Katrina children seeking parents shown on Web site
Mon Sep 5, 2005 08:01 PM ET
http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=9565493&src=eDialog/GetContent

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6) ON THE FRONTLINES
National Counter-Recruitment Conference
October 22-23 at UC-Berkeley

Sponsored by the Campus Antiwar Network and Military Out of Our
Schools - Bay Area

ON THE FRONTLINES is a national counter-recruitment conference
bringing together college and high school students, teachers, parents,
and veterans. Come learn the truth about military recruiting; hear
first-person stories from veterans and military families; and plan to
take this movement to the next step -- to get military recruiters out
of our schools and bring the troops home from Iraq!

STUDENT-LED WORKSHOPS include:
Do military recruiters have a right to free speech?
Are they going to bring back a draft?
What would happen if the troops left now?
Palestine and the Antiwar Movement
What will it take to end the occupation of Iraq?
Campus repression & student rights
How to start an antiwar chapter at your school
ROTC and "career" recruiting
High School student organizing

...and more! Student organizing sessions will also bring together
students from around the country to plan national actions and
campaigns, and determine the direction of the growing student movement
demanding College, Not Combat!

Speakers include:
AIDEN DELGADO, Iraq war veteran and conscientious objector
PETER CAMEJO, Green Party candidate in 2003 California gubernatorial
elections
KEVIN RAMIREZ, Central Committee of Conscientious Objectors
And COLLEGE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS opposing recruiters at their
schools

$5-20 registration fee sliding scale (no one turned away). Some travel
scholarships are available. FOR MORE INFORMATION, or to find other
students near you who will be attending, email
frontlines.conference@gmail.com or visit: http://www.campusantiwar.net
http://www.objector.org/moos-bay.html

ON THE FRONTLINES is sponsored by the Campus Antiwar Network (CAN) and
Military Out of Our Schools - Bay Area (MOOS-Bay).

Other participating organizations include: American Friends Service
Committee, Alternatives to War Through Education/Central Committee for
Conscientious Objectors, Art in Action, Code Pink, Courage to Resist,
East Bay Peace Action, Global Exchange, International Socialist
Organization, Just Think, Peace Action of San Mateo County, PEACE-
Popular Education and Action Collective, Making Changes Freedom
School, Not in Our Name, Peninsual Raging Grannies, Presente! Affinity
Group, School of the Americas Watch West, Solano County Peace and
Justice Coalition, Veterans for Peace, War Resisters League West ...
and college and high school antiwar organizations all around the
United States.

Yahoo! Groups Links

To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/college_not_combat/

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7) Gloria LaRiva: Eyewitness report from New Orleans

From: Alicia Jrapko [mailto:ajrapko@yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, September 05, 2005 12:20 PM
To: Walter Lippmann
Subject: Eyewitness report from New Orleans

On Saturday September 3, award-winning filmmaker Gloria La Riva,
internationally-acclaimed photographer Bill Hackwell and A.N.S.W.E.R.
Youth & Student Coordinator Caneisha Mills arrived in New Orleans as
an A.N.S.W.E.R. delegation to document an accurate account of the
situation and provide solidarity and support to those in need

The following is an eyewitness report of the crisis in the area
written on Sunday, September 4.

Media reports on September 2 describe anarchy and general chaos as
the climate in all of New Orleans. The national media reports that
hope, supplies and food were now being distributed in the area.
However, once we arrived in the Algiers district of New Orleans after
seven checkpoints, the reality shows otherwise.

Algiers

While 80 percent of New Orleans was submerged in water, Algiers is
one of the few districts that has been spared as it sits higher than
most of the city. An historic district established in 1719, Algiers
is on the west bank of the Mississippi river, across from the French
Quarter. Probably 15% of the residents still remain behind, most of
them determined to stay in their homes. The majority of homes are
still intact, although many have suffered damage. While their houses
survived, the peoples' chance of survival seemed very bleak since
there was no electricity or disbursement of food, water or other
supplies.

"Imagine being in a city, poor, without any money and all of a sudden
you are told to leave and you don't even have a bicycle," stated
Malik Rahim, a community activist in the Algiers section of New
Orleans. "90% of the people don't even have cars."

One woman told us it was not possible for her to evacuate. She said,
"I can't leave. I don't have a car and I have nine children." She and
her husband are getting by with the help of several men in the
community who are joining resources to provide for their neighbors.

The government claims that people can get water, but residents have
to travel at least 17 miles to the nearest water and ice distribution
center. Only one case of water is available per family. Countless
people have no way to drive.

There is a huge military and police presence but none of it to
provide services. All of them, north and south of the river, are
stationed in front of private buildings and abandoned stores,
protecting private property.

The goods they are driving in are for their own forces.

Not one of them has delivered water to Algiers or gone to the houses
to see if sick or elderly people need help. There is no door-to-door
survey to see who was injured. The overwhelming majority of people
who have stayed in Algiers are Black but some are white. One white
man in his late 50s in Algiers pointed across the street to a 10-acre
grassy lot. It looks like a beautiful park. He said, "I had my
daughter call FEMA. I told them I want to donate this land to the
people in need. They could set up 100 tractor trailers with aid, they
could set up tents. No one has ever called me back." He is clearly
angry.

Although some of the residents do express fear of burglaries into
houses, acts of heroism, sacrifice and solidarity are evident
everywhere.

Steve, a white man in his 40s, knocks on Malik's front door. He tells
us, "Malik has kept this neighborhood together. We don't know what
we'd do without his help." He has come in because he needs to use the
phone. Malik's street is the only one with phones still working.

Malik and three of his friends have been delivering food, water and
ice to those in need three times a day, searching everywhere for
goods.

There is a strong suspicion among the residents that this is a
deliberately forced removal. Algiers is full of quaint, historic
French-style houses, with a high real estate value, and signs of
gentrification are evident.

Downtown New Orleans

Although entry is prohibited into downtown New Orleans north and east
of the Mississippi, because of extensive flooding and the almost
total evacuation, we were able to get in on Sunday.

The Superdome is still surrounded by water and all types of military
- helicopters, army trucks, etc - are coming in and out of the area;
however, most of the people have already left. On US-90, the only
road out of New Orleans, convoys of National Guard troops are pouring
into the city, too late for many. According to an emergency issue of
The Times-Picayune, 16,000 National Guard troops now occupy the city.

Water is premium and not available. One African American couple
approached our car. The woman asked us, "Do you have water you could
give us? We have four kids. When they told us to leave before the
hurricane we couldn't. We have no car and no money."

Undoubtedly it is similar in the other states that got the direct hit
of Katrina, Mississippi and Alabama. On the radio we hear reports of
completely demolished towns. What differentiates the rest of the Gulf
coast from New Orleans is that the many thousands of deaths in New
Orleans were absolutely preventable and occurred after the hurricane.
On everyone's lips is the cutting in federal funds to strengthen the
levees of Lake Pontchartrain.

Two reporters from New York tell us they just came from the New
Orleans airport emergency hospital that was set up.

New Orleans International Airport

The New Orleans International Airport was converted into an emergency
hospital center. Thousands of people were evacuated there to get
supplies and food, and for transportation that would take them out of
the city. Many people arrived with only one or two bags, their entire
lives minimized to a few belongings.

Some people did not want to leave their homes, but say they were
forced to do so. For example, one white woman and her husband,
Pauline Noble and Jerome Hill, were forced to evacuate. Pauline said,
"The military told us that we had one minute to evacuate. We said
that we weren't ready and he said they can't force us to leave but if
we don't leave anybody left would be arrested . but it was the end of
the month. The two of us have been living for a couple of months on
$600 a month and rent is $550. At the end of the month, we only had
$20 and 1/8 of a tank of gas. There was no way we could leave."

When it became apparent that nobody was coming back to pick them up,
the couple walked five miles to the airport to see if they could get
help.

Disaster Medical Assistance Teams, doctors, nurses and community
organizations came from as far as San Diego, California and Kentucky
to provide support during the crisis. None of them were dispersed
into the community. When we arrived at the airport on Sunday,
September 4, there were approximately 20 medical people for every one
patient while people in regions such as Algiers and the 9th ward were
left to fend for themselves.

The majority of people in New Orleans blame the local and national
government for the catastrophe. One young Black man said, "The
government abandoned us . [it's] pre-meditated murder." Another said,
"Why would you [the government] protect a building . instead of
rescuing people that have been without food or water for three or
four days? It seems like that was the plan. . We couldn't starve them
out, the hurricane didn't kill them, it seems planned."

Baton Rouge

As we drive to Baton Rouge tonight to visit evacuated people, we hear
on local radio that possibly 10,000 people have died in the flooded
areas of New Orleans. Tonight in one announcement, we hear the names
of some of the missing people still being searched for, a 90-year-old
woman named Lisa, a man 102 years old, two women 82 and 85 years old.
The elderly, the most vulnerable, left to their own devices.

Bodies are lying everywhere, and hidden in attics and apartments. The
announcer describes how one body, rotting after days in the sun, was
surrounded by a wall fashioned from fallen bricks by survivors, and
given a provisional burial to give her some dignity. The sign placed
next to her body said, "Here lies Vera, God Help Us."

At a Red Cross shelter outside of Baton Rouge, we meet Emmanuel, who
can't find his wife and three sons after the floods. His story is
shocking. His home is near the 17th Street Canal, where the
Pontchartrain levee broke through.

"I stayed behind to rescue my neighbors while I sent my wife and kids
to dry land," he says. It is difficult for him to relate what
happened. He had a small boat so he went from house to house picking
up neighbors. While doing so, he encountered many bodies in the
water.

"My best friend's body was floating by in the water. One mother whose
baby drowned tied her baby to a fence so she could bury him after she
returned." Because troops kept driving by him and others without
helping them, he had to walk 30 miles north until he was picked up.

This crisis is a crime of the highest magnitude. The Bush
Administration is always able to find money to fund wars that will
benefit the rich of this country; however, when it comes to providing
aid to respond to a disaster of this magnitude, funds, supplies and
resources are lacking. From Bush on down, they should be indicted.


<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ufpj-news/

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8) Hurricane Katrina disaster shows the failure of the profit system
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/sep2005/stat-s06.shtml

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9) The Two Americas
By Marjorie Cohn
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/090305Y.shtml

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10) Navy Pilots Who Rescued Victims Are Reprimanded
By DAVID S. CLOUD
Published: September 7, 2005

PENSACOLA, Fla., Sept. 6 - Two Navy helicopter pilots and
their crews returned from New Orleans on Aug. 30 expecting
to be greeted as lifesavers after ferrying more than
100 hurricane victims to safety.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/07/national/nationalspecial/07navy.html?ex=1126756800&en=e44a962361b06a6e&ei=5070&emc=eta1

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11) US offensive near the Syrian border
Dahr Jamail's Iraq Dispatches
http://dahrjamailiraq.com

The following is the latest press release from the 'Doctors for Iraq
Society' regarding the most recent US offensive near the Syrian border.
For those of you in the US reading this, please keep this in mind when
viewing the catastrophe in New Orleans. -DJ

HUNDREDS OF CIVILIANS ARE FORCED TO FLEE AS US/IRAQI FORCES ATTACK
TALLAFA, NORTH-WESTERN IRAQ. DOCTORS FOR IRAQ WARNS OF MEDICAL
HUMANITARIAN CRISIS

Doctors for Iraq is deeply concerned at the fate of hundreds of
civilians trying to flee the sieged town of Tallafa, 80 km from Mousel
City. Thousands of residents from the town have been told to leave the
area by US/ Iraqi forces who have been attacking the area for the past
three- four days.

Eyewitnesses report that heavy bombs were dropped on targets in the town
a few days ago and on Monday 5^th September the US army has been firing
missiles onto the town from aircraft. The entire town in under siege and
is in preparation for a new military attack. .

^Doctors for Iraq has received reports that at least twenty civilian
have been killed in the attack. It is impossible to check these reports
for accuracy.

^US / IRAQI forces have forced frightened civilians to leave the sieged
town and and women and children are making their way to a refugee camp
set up outside the Tallafa.

^Civilians have told Doctors for Iraq that many young men aged between
20- 35 are being stopped and detained at checkpoints and are being taken
to a US military building near an airport.

^It is not known how many men have been detained and why they are being
held. It is impossible for Doctors For Iraq to check this reports as
media and health workers are being prevented form entering the area.

^What is know is that during the military siege of Falluja in 2004 young
men were also prevented from leaving the city and were detained by US/
Iraqi military.

^Doctors inside the town are concerned about the lack of medicine and
health care facilities for people who are being forced to flee their homes.

^Tallafa's medical infrastructure has been badly damaged by the ongoing
military attacks on the area over the past few weeks. Doctors and
medical convoys are unable to enter the sieged town and assist the
desperate civilians.

^Doctors for Iraq is particularly concerned about the fate of the
refugees. There is concern about the lack of clean drinking water for
displaced civilians and the threat of disease is very real as hygiene
conditions in the area are very poor.

^*

Ends

Doctors for Iraq is calling for :

*

^A complete and immediate *END *to the military attack on the town so
all civilians can be evacuated safely

^For the US/ IRAQI military to uphold the Geneva Convention and allow
doctors and medical supplies into the town.

^For international human rights organisations to carry out an immediate
investigation into allegations that young men are being detained by the
military and reports of civilian deaths during the attack.

^For more information contact:

^Dr. Salam Ismael ^_salam.obaidi@doctorsforiraq.org_ : Aisha Ismael
_^press.officer@doctorsforiraq.org _


More writing, photos and commentary at http://dahrjamailiraq.com

Iraq_Dispatches mailing list
http://lists.dahrjamailiraq.com/mailman/listinfo/iraq_dispatches

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