Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Monday, October 29, 2007
War Criminal Escapes Justice
Dammit, he got away!
“Former US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld fled France today fearing arrest over charges of ‘ordering and authorizing’ torture of detainees at both the American-run Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and the US military’s detainment facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, unconfirmed reports coming from Paris suggest.”
Friday, October 26, 2007
Philosophy Talk visits KSCL this weekend
Philosophy Talk, the radio show that questions everything except your intelligence, visits KSCL 91.3 FM and Centenary College this weekend.
Saturday, Stanford philosophers Ken Taylor and John Perry will tape a show from 5:00 to 6:30 pm in Anderson Auditorium on the Centenary College campus. They'll be exploring the concept of work with their guest, Al Gini.
Why work? Some argue that work is an unfortunate necessity; others that our jobs add to our lives. Work can make us into better people, teaching discipline, creativity, resourcefulness and other good habits. Some jobs might be degrading, but some kind of meaningful work is necessary for a meaningful life. Do Americans work too much? Do we identify too strongly with work at the expense of family, friends and health? What role should work play in a well-lived life?
Sunday at noon, Taylor and Perry broadcast from the KSCL studios. Beforehand, they'll discuss philosophy, their effort to bring philosophy to the airwaves, and their take on work.
KSCL airs Philosophy Talk at 10:00 am Wednesdays and Sundays.
Missed an episode? You can listen to past shows here.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Diminished Expectations Still Go Unmet at Red River Radio
It’s fundraising time at Red River Radio. Here’s my two cents.
First, they’ve made their goal the lowest I’ve seen in years: $200,000. And they’re still not meeting it.
Let’s do the math. With $200,000 to be raised over a pledge drive of 14 days, Red River Radio needs to get $14,285.71 in donations each day. After nine days, they had only raised $114,210, according to their website. That’s $12,690 a day. At that rate, and barring any large donations being held back for a contrived big finish, Red River Radio’s drive will end with around $177,660, about $22,340 short.
The past several pledge drives have also fallen short -- distressing news for the network which is undergoing digital modernization yet still needs massive infrastructure redevelopment. They need lots of money and they aren’t getting it.
What’s the cause? Simply put, people don’t listen as much as they once did and the general focus is shifting from reliance on public donations to corporate contributions.
Consider these quotes from publications by David Giovannoni’s Audience Research Analysis organization:
Reinvigorating Public Radio’s Public Service & Public Support: INTERIM REPORT 1 APPROACH.
Americans are listening less to public radio today than two years ago. Not coincidentally, their financial support of our industry shows signs of softening.
Reinvigorating Public Radio’s Public Service & Public Support: INTERIM REPORT 6 LOSING OUR GRIP.
Public radio is losing its grip on its own listeners.
Stations that generate almost half of all public radio listening have lost loyalty in the last year. MORNING EDITION, ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, and other programs generating 80 percent of all listening have lost their forward momentum or fallen back.
It doesn’t matter whether public radio has gotten weaker or commercial radio has gotten stronger. Either way, our listeners are listening less to us and more to them.
Reinvigorating Public Radio’s Public Service & Public Support: INTERIM REPORT 4 AN HISTORIC LOSS OF MOMENTUM.
After a 30 year run of virtually uninterrupted audience growth, public radio is no longer increasing its reach into American society or claiming larger shares of radio listening.
It’s not lost listening that portends ill for public radio. It’s the loss of upward momentum – the absence of growth on which we have traditionally relied – that threatens to ripple through our public service economy.
Public radio’s revenues have grown in lockstep with its audience for decades. Station managers could budget on the assumption of financial growth because their assumptions of audience growth typically proved true.
We can no longer assume we’ll have more resources tomorrow than we have today. At many stations, listener-sensitive revenues are poised to level or even decline; the projected gap between expectation and reality will approach or exceed the size of their Community Service Grants.
What’s the solution?
Red River Radio needs to change it’s programming to both increase ratings and boost audience loyalty. The program director should carefully analyze Arbitron data. Programs that perform well in similar markets should air here, replacing poorly performing ones here. That might mean grinding the sacred cows of opera, classical, Hearts Of Space and other programs into hamburger, but the network should find the courage to do it.
Christmas is the traditional time for “format change.” That gives them about two months to complete the analysis and make the changes, and it’s plenty of time. Bumped programming could go onto the digital channels.
Increasing productivity from the sales side would also help, but I can’t knowledgeably comment on how to do that. I do know about ratings and programming, though; I studied it for my degree and professionally.
Finally, I still think LSUS should pony up a sizable sum to rebuild the network. I’ve written about it before, so I won’t go over it again here. Dr. Vincent Marsala should personally champion the network in the legislature to secure increased funding, something he seems loathe to do.
Here’s an excerpt from email Dr. Marsala sent me:
“ ... we have been concerned about the needs of the radio station and for the past two years have included a radio station project in our capital outlay plans. However, it is unlikely that the state will fund such a project without substantial contributions from the public, if at all. Regardless, the project will stay on our capital outlay plan.”
As I said, the network needs a champion in the legislature to get that capital outlay funding. It might take a while, but trying is better than doing nothing.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Rock Fight Update
Hello,
I figured I'd post saying why I haven't been updating ROCK FIGHT! playlists recently.
The KSCL studios have been renovated. The equipment is much more professional and works a whole lot better. As a result, I can do the show better by choosing CDs from the station's massive library. In the past, I burned my own CdS so I had one less worry about what could go wrong. That meant I knew what I was going to play beforehand and I could post the list. Now, the only accurate list is the one that's finished when the show is done.
However, the KSCL control board now has a decent MP3 player input, so in the future I will be playing a few songs from my iPod on ROCK FIGHT! I'll post those, but it will be a far shorter list than what I have been posting.
You really should see KSCL's library. It covers all the walls in two rooms including the studio. There's so much good stuff in it that it would make you weep with music-lover joy. The biggest challenge each week is choosing just 30 or so songs from among several hundred thousand.
ROCK FIGHT! is tonight from 6 to 8 on KSCL 91.3 FM. Tune in if you can! No word yet on streaming.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
More pot smokers arrested than violent criminals
Some crazy bad news from NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, made Democracy Now! headlines:
29,000 Arrested in U.S. in 2006 for Marijuana Violations
New government statistics show police arrested a record 829,000 people for marijuana violations last year. According to the group NORML a pot-smoker is now arrested every 38 seconds in the country. The total number of marijuana arrests in the U.S. far exceeded the total number of arrests in the U.S. for all violent crimes combined, including murder, manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault.
Do we really need to be filling our jails with pot smokers? It’s way past time to decriminalize cannabis.
Friday, September 21, 2007
ROCK FIGHT! 09/21/2007 KSCL 91.3 FM 6 to 8
Hello again! A fine Fall Friday it is, so, time for ROCK FIGHT! on KSCL 91.3 FM.
Lots of new music this week. You’ll hear the electronic ecstasy of Ernesto Gonzales, the freak pop of Travis Morrison Hellfighters and garage psych from Wooden Shjips. There’s also songs from Interpol’s and M.I.A.’s new albums. Plenty of other groovy shitake, too.
Here’s the playlist:
Song Artist -------------------------------------------------------------------- Same Old Drag The Apples In Stereo China My China Brian Eno Listen The Clash Cool As Kim Deal The Dandy Warhols Shivering King Dead Meadow I'm Sixteen Dengue Fever (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction Devo Reminisce Ernest Gonzales Cheeseburger Gang Of Four Last Living Souls Gorillaz Purple Haze Groove Armada Not Even Jail (Kessler Remix) Interpol No I In Threesome Interpol Paper Planes M.I.A. Hotel California The Moog Cookbook The Needle Has Landed Neko Case Brand New Colony The Postal Service Store Bought Bones The Raconteurs Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll The Ramones Nothing Means Nothing Anymore River City Tanlines No Feelings Sex Pistols Giant Kitty Shonen Knife Well Well Well Sondre Lerche The World Looks Red Sonic Youth I Wanna Be Your Dog The Stooges Thank You For Sending Me An Angel Talking Heads You Make Me Feel Like A Freak Travis Morrison Hellfighters Kiss Off Violent Femmes Always After You The Walkmen We Ask You To Ride Wooden Shjips The World's A Mess, It's In My Kiss X Speed Dial No. 2 Zero 7
Friday, September 14, 2007
ROCK FIGHT! 09/14/2007 KSCL 91.3 FM 6 to 8
Hello again, modern mangoes.
Friday is upon us! Time for another edition of ROCK FIGHT! from 6 to 8 on KSCL 91.3 FM.
Revolutionary exuberance awaits with tracks by M.I.A. and Actitud Maria Marta, along with a new song from Alec Holland’s latest project, Yamones. Who would have thought the boy who hates everything had a love song in him? Plenty of other chills and spills, too, so check it out!
Here’s the playlist:
Song Artist ------------------------------------------------------------- La Base Milagrosa Actitud Maria Marta Love Your Shotgun Be Your Own Pet Luno Bloc Party Dum Dum Butthole Surfers Televised Calla Let The Cool Goddess Rust Away Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! Smoke It The Dandy Warhols Sex Me Up Datarock Everything's Goin' On Dead Meadow Wrong Time Capsule Deerhoof No Christmas For John Quays The Fall Pioneer To The Falls Interpol Fortune Of Fame The Jacobites The Sky Is A Landfill Jeff Buckley Bamboo Banga M.I.A. Lake Of Fire Meat Puppets Shield Your Eyes.... Melt-Banana Stranded In The Jungle The New York Dolls Mystereality OMD Life & Illusion Phaser Down With Moonlight The Rakes I Can't Make It On Time The Ramones Twist Barbie Shonen Knife Angst In My Pants Sparks Nubile Days Swan Lake Into Everything Télépopmusik I Was A Lover TV On The Radio Drive My Car Two Gallants Wide Boys Ultravox Promise Violent Femmes We've Been Had The Walkmen Motto Motto Motto! Yamones
Monday, September 10, 2007
The Petraeus Report
General David Petraeus testified to Congress today giving his much anticpated report on "progress" in Iraq. There were no surprises in what it contained.
Once again, John Andrew Prime of The Times asked me to comment on the Iraq issue, specifically Petraeus' testimony.
Here's what I said:
General Petraeus' recommendations are sneaky. His plan would only reduce current post-surge troop levels in Iraq to their pre-surge level within about a year. It's akin to the shameful business practice of raising prices to then have a sale. Further decisions on troop reductions would be deferred at least six months.
The American people don't want that. Poll after poll shows we have lost patience with the war, with the horrible suffering on both sides. Most Americans want out, and we want it to happen starting now. In one CBS/New York Times poll, a majority believe the surge has either had no impact or made matters worse.
I grant that Iraq withdrawal is a challenge. We must find a plan that will disengage us from the Iraq debacle while maximizing chances for an end to violence there and a stable government that can keep the strategically vital oil flowing. Long term, we need a better oil plan for the country that reduces our dependence substantially. And we need to change our focus in the War on Terror from large-scale military engagement of whole countries to smaller, more-focused attacks against only those who truly threaten the country.
We need principled representatives willing to take political risks to resolve this issue. Who will step up to lead? I am not confident in our current leadership to do so.
Ambassador Crocker also testified, but I consider his report the least reliable. While Petraeus I think, despite his slanted statistics, had some independence, Crocker was just carrying Bush's water. There was nothing from him that wasn't standard administration propaganda.
The whole affair is mostly portrayed as a partisan battle. But both parties are ignoring what most people want -- to get out of Iraq now. Instead, Democrats are trying to craft a position that will allow the U.S. to stay in Iraq permanently while somehow "ending the war." Of course, that can't be successful, so it's ridiculous to think of the Democrat party as any real help, despite the admirable positions of a few loners within the party.
Many comments I'm reading are savvy to that. Some urge voting Green or Libertarian to elect people who will end the war. Both of those parties oppose it on principle. It's looking good for alternative parties this year. I know I'll be voting Green.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Friday, September 7, 2007
ROCK FIGHT! 09/07/2007 KSCL 91.3 FM 6 to 8
Hello again!
Another fantastic Friday it is, so time for ROCK FIGHT! on KSCL 91.3 FM tonight from 6 to 8. Tune in for all the thrills and spills of stunt radio!
Here’s the score:
Song Artist --------------------------------------------------------------------- In The Flat Field Bauhaus Manipulation The Black Angels Dr. Strangeluv Blonde Redhead Picture This Blondie Astral Calla Sleep Over It Controller.Controller Fa-Fa-Fa Datarock Twin Killers Deerhoof Idealistic Digitalism Lexicon Devil The Germs We Need More Power Geza X Rest My Chemistry Interpol Communist China Japan Time To Get Away LCD Soundsystem Lucky Number Lene Lovich Hussel (Feat. Afrikan Boy) M.I.A. Roosey Goosey Made Out Of Babies Cat Brain Land Melt-Banana Sell Or Be Sold Minutemen Mental Hopscotch Missing Persons Spider's Web Mission Of Burma Hanging On The Telephone The Nerves Little Girls Oingo Boingo Electricity Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark Broken Boy Soldier The Raconteurs 1 Hour 1/2 Ago Rain Parade Terror! The Rakes Reggie The Sounds No Fun The Stooges 300 MPH Torrential Outpour Blues The White Stripes
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Gerritsen Fallout
There’s an article in The Times today about Roy Gerritsen’s outcome: “Man avoids solicitation of minor conviction, pleads to lesser charge.”
Check out some of the comments:
- “How in the hell can you people live with yourself knowing that you let him plead to a lesser charge. I hope and pray if he ever does it again, it isn't my kid because someone will answer for this.”
- “Wow the LA Justice system let a perv walk free!”
- “This is terrible. Why let the pervert get off with a slap on the wrist? Let's send the illegals in our jails back to their own countries and make room in our prisons for some of our homegrown scum...”
- “Just what makes this perv so special that he faces reduced charges and does not have to register as a sex offender. He won't change but you can bet he will be much more careful in the future.”
I’m glad I’m not alone in thinking he was let off too easy.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Gerritsen Gets Slap On Wrist
Gerritsen Gets Slap On Wrist
Roy Geritsen didn't get off entirely free in court today, but he's not been punished much.
Roy, the former GM of Red River Radio, was arrested last October in a sting operation accusing him of soliciting sex from a juvenile over the Internet. He faced charges of computer-aided solicitation of a minor and attempted carnal knowledge of a juvenile. Bossier City police said Gerritsen arranged to meet who he thought was a 14-year-old girl for sex but who was actually a police officer posing as the girl. He was arrested when he arrived at a pre-determined location in Bossier City.
In court today, Gerritsen's computer-aided solicitation of a minor charge was lessened to criminal mischief, according to clerks. He pleaded guilty to that and was ordered to pay $1,000 plus court costs or to serve 30 days. The attempted carnal knowledge charge was dropped.
Gerritsen will not have to register as a sex offender, and he dodged the bullet of two years in jail. He is also now free to move out of the state.
Setting aside my dislike of the man, as a parent of a 14-year-old daughter, I am very disappointed in this outcome. Children today, my daughter included, rely on the internet for a variety of needs -- academic, social and personal. They deserve better protection from predators. I think a stiffer sentence was in order.
Since the cases did not go to trial, it will be problematic trying to get the chat transcripts. I'll see what I can do.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Katrina Crimes against "People of the Dome"
During this Katrina week, I’d like to share this essay I received from community activist Mitchel Cohen. I have followed his writing for a number of years, finding him always reliable and conscientious.
In this essay, he mentions Les Evenchick and Malik Rahim. You may have heard Malik on Democracy Now!, where he’s been a fixture of Katrina coverage. Amy Goodwin interviewed him a couple of weeks after the storm, and the two passed a body that had been left in the street to rot; the resulting radio moment was seared into my memory. I also personally know both Malik and Les and consider them reliable sources.
An online friend of mine often questions the government. The other day he asked me if the situation was so bad that it’s too late to start shooting the people in charge. I’m a pacifist, but I flippantly replied, “It’s never too late.”
The aftermath of Katrina was an unpardonable crime perpetrated on the people of New Orleans by various people at different governmental and civilian levels. I believe many should face criminal charges for what happened, and since so many people died, perhaps some of those charges could be considered capital crimes. Louisiana does have the death penalty, after all. (I would be in favor of commuting the sentences to life in prison.)
Enough from me. Here’s Mr. Cohen:
People of the Dome
by Mitchel Cohen
mitchelcohen@mindspring.com
"I'm sick to death of hearing things from uptight narrow-minded pigheaded politicians. All I want is the truth. Just give me some truth." - John Lennon.
As Hurricane Katrina ravaged the gulf states, many organizations kicked into high gear to send relief to local groups in Mississippi and Louisiana, with no help from the government or formal relief agencies. Among them was the Malcolm X Grassroots movement, with whom the No Spray Coalition shared an office. Tons of donated supplies poured into the office and were trucked to Jackson, MS, where they were distributed through community-based efforts.
I spoke daily with Les Evenchick, a Green who lives in the French Quarter of New Orleans. I was also in touch with New Orleans residents Malik Rahim and Mike Howell; the areas in which they live were dry and they were holding out as long as they could. The story they tell is shocking: U.S. and local government officials ordered the local drinking water turned off and refused to allow water or food relief into New Orleans. Hundreds of people died unnecessarily as a result.
And yet, there was no shortage of water or food being sent -- it was just not allowed into the City! When Green Party activists tried to donate a large amount of water for the people in the SuperDome a few days after the levees broke, armed soldiers pointed rifles at them and prevented them from delivering supplies. Even three Wal-mart trucks loaded with drinking water were denied entry and turned away. No water was allowed into New Orleans. Evenchick says that "this was a brazen attempt to starve people out."
There was no health reason to turn off the drinking water at the time, as the water is drawn into a separate system from the Mississippi River, not the polluted lake, and filtered through self-powered purification plants separate from the main electric grid. If necessary, people could have boiled their water -- strangely, the municipal natural gas used in stoves was still functioning properly as of Thursday night of that first week! I emailed Governor Kathleen Blanco (a Democrat) asking, "Who ordered the turn-off of the drinking water?" I have not received a response from Gov. Blanco.
A commanding officer of a police squad complained that his 120 cops were provided with only 70 small bottles of water. Hospitals were supplied with nothing. Could FEMA, Homeland Security and local officials have forgotten to store bottles of drinking water in the Superdome, Convention Center and hospitals?
The only FEMA official on the scene in the early stages, Marty Bahamonde, has testified to Congress that he begged FEMA director Michael Brown for water, food, toilet paper and oxygen, saying that "many will die within hours." Brown's press secretary, Sharon Worthy, responded that the FEMA director needed more time to eat dinner at a Baton Rouge restaurant that evening. "He needs much more that [sic] 20 or 30 minutes," Worthy wrote. "Restaurants are getting busy," she said. "We now have traffic to encounter to go to and from a location of his choise [sic], followed by wait service from the restaurant staff, eating, etc." Let them eat gumbo.
Green activist and former Black Panther Malik Rahim, who lives in the Algiers section -- which, like the French Quarter and several other areas above sea-level, remained dry -- points out that the government could have and should have provided water and food to residents of New Orleans but did not do so intentionally, to force people to evacuate by starving them out. This is a crime of the gravest sort.
French Quarter resident Mike Howell adds that the capability had been there from the start to drive water and food right up to the convention center, as those roads were clear. "It's how the National Guard drove into the city," he said.
The evidence is overwhelming that the government intentionally did not allow food or water into New Orleans.
These were the people, after all, who had twice voted in huge numbers against the candidacy of George Bush, the only area in the state to have done so. In recent years they also
- Fought off attempts to privatize the drinking water supply,
- Battled Shell Oil's attempt to build a Liquified Natural Gas facility, and
- Tried to prevent the teardown of public housing
These were all battles in which Mayor Ray Nagin sided with the oil companies and millionaire developers. Nagin had contributed funds to George W. Bush's presidential campaign and was a registered Republican until just prior to the Mayoral election in 2002.
Attempts to starve civilians into leaving an area is a war crime under the Geneva Conventions. Who gave the order to block water and food from entering New Orleans? Who ordered the drinking water inside the city to be turned off? No one has yet answered those questions.
On Thursday of that first week, volunteers who had rescued over 1,000 people in boats were ordered to stop, under the pretext that it was too dangerous. The volunteers wanted to continue rescue operations. They said there was little risk, that desperate people had been welcoming them with open arms. The military "convinced" the volunteer rescuers at gunpoint to "cease and desist." They did the same to a state senator who had led a flotilla of hundreds of boats and rafts all the way from Mississippi to rescue people.
Who gave the order to block the volunteer rescue teams in New Orleans? No one has yet answered that question.
Officials claimed that people were trying to shoot down the rescue helicopters. In actuality, there were a couple of people shooting into the air to signal helicopters to pick them up. Yet officials repeated the lies about people shooting at helicopters over and over, as justification for shutting down voluntary rescue operations and sending in thousands of fully armed military troops, along with private Blackwater mercenaries fresh from Iraq under orders to "shoot to kill."
(Blackwater, Inc. billed the federal government $950 per man, per day -- at one point raking in more than $240,000 a day. At its peak the company had about 600 contractors deployed from Texas to Mississippi, reports Jeremy Scahill in his pathbreaking book, "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army," published by Nation Books.)
Two U.S. military helicopters spent a few days plucking 110 people from the roofs of their flooded houses. We saw them on T.V. and cheered. When they returned to base they were called into the commander's office. They thought they were going to be given medals. Instead, as reported in the NY Times, their commanding officers reprimanded them and removed them from helicopter duty for "violating orders."
Who gave the order not to rescue people? No one has answered that question.
For more than two weeks, hundreds of volunteer doctors and fire personnel -- including a squad from New York City -- were denied entry to New Orleans. They were dispatched, instead, to provide backdrop for Bush's photo-ops in other areas. The medical personnel were kept twiddling their thumbs as people were dying.
Who gave the order not to allow rescue workers into New Orleans? No one has answered that question.
In an interview with WWL-TV, Mayor Ray Nagin complained vociferously that Louisiana National Guard Blackhawk helicopters were being stopped from dropping sandbags to plug the levees soon after the breech. No repairs were allowed on the levees until long after the poor areas of New Orleans were totally flooded.
Who gave the order not to allow National Guard helicopters to drop sandbags to plug the levees soon after the breech? No one has answered that question.
Venezuela's president, Hugo Chavez and Cuba's President Fidel Castro offered millions of dollars and hundreds of doctors to help save lives in New Orleans. They were turned down.
Who gave the order to turn down the aid offered from Venezuela and Cuba? No one has answered that question.
Millions of concerned citizens wanted to send assistance as well. FEMA recommended that they send contributions to "Operation Blessing," a front group for rightwing evangelist Pat Robertson. Robertson had recently televised a speech calling for the assassination of Venezuela's president Hugo Chavez.
Who gave the order to divert tens of millions of dollars in contributions sent to help the people of New Orleans by outraged American citizens, to rightwing Christian zealots? No one has yet answered that question.
The Saudization of New Orleans
Les Evenchick is an independent Green activist who lives in the French Quarter of New Orleans in a 3-story walkup. He points out that people were told to go to the bus depot to evacuate, but the bus station had closed down the night before. Unless you owned a car, Les told me, FEMA and state police would not let you leave.
Hundreds attempted to walk out of New Orleans; they were forced off the road and ordered back to the Coliseum or Superdome, where no water or food was available.
As a consequence the vast majority of the so-called looters were simply grabbing water, food, diapers and medicine. "It's only because of them that old people, sick people, and small children were able to survive," Les says. "The 'anti-looting' hype was just an excuse to militarize the area, place it under martial law and evict the population, mostly Black people, mostly the poor."
On August 30, Yahoo front-page news showed two pictures of people wading in water carrying supplies. The caption under the picture of the Black person read: "A young man walks through chest-deep flood water after looting a grocery store in New Orleans." The caption under the picture of a White couple wading through the water pulling supplies reads: "Two residents wade through chest-deep water after finding bread and soda from a local grocery store." Got that? Whites "find," Blacks "loot."
MSNBC interviewed dozens of people who had managed to get out during the first few days. Every single one of them was white.
Some tourists trapped in the Monteleone Hotel pooled their funds and paid $25,000 for 10 buses to get them out. The buses were sent (there was no shortage of available buses -- why didn't the government use them?) but the military confiscated all ten of them for its own use. The tourists were not allowed to leave the city and were ordered to the Convention Center.
How simple it would have been for the government to have provided buses before the hurricane hit, and throughout the week. AMTRAK says it offered free rides out of town but that City officials never got back to them to finalize arrangements. Evacuating the 100,000 people trapped in the city should not have been that difficult. Even without AMTRAK or private cars, it would have taken at most 3,000 buses to get them out, fewer than come into Washington D.C. for some of the giant anti-war demonstrations. Even at $2,500 a pop -- highway robbery -- that would only be a total of $7.5 million for transporting out of harm's way all of those who did not have the means to leave.
The people who are poor (primarily Blacks but many poor Whites as well) who were trapped in the city as well as those thousands who were refusing to evacuate, not wanting to leave their pets or their homes and who had neither money nor places to go, were locked in the Superdome and not allowed to leave -- five days of hell. Those who survived the first dome were then -- finally! -- bussed out of the area to another stadium, the AstroDome in Houston. Call them "People of the Dome."
The Grassroots Organizes Itself
Gulf Coast resident Latosha Brown reports that the first group to send emergency supplies was TOPS, The Ordinary Peoples Society, a prison ministry in Dothan Alabama founded and staffed by ex-offenders. They organized food, pooled their money for additional goods and brought the supplies to a second organization of former prisoners in Mobile who distributed them, while they went back to Dothan for more. "That's why we tell everybody now that it was felons who were the first to feed, the first to respond to need, the first to get up and do something. They didn't wait for permission or for a contract. That's real leadership." ("Rescue Came from the Grassroots: The People, Not FEMA, Saved Themselves," by Bruce Dixon, in The Black Commentator.)
Volunteer medics established free clinics with the Common Ground Collective (www.commongroundrelief.org) in defiance of governmental edicts and machine guns. Common Ground has also mobilized thousands of young people from all over the country to come to New Orleans and help with the rebuilding, while using non-toxic alternative methods of mold removal and prevention in their efforts. Others, working in solidarity with tribal leaders, have created a dedicated relief effort for Native American communities (www.intuitivepath.org/relief.html). Food Not Bombs volunteers have been feeding people all over the region, with no help from the government or the Red Cross (www.foodnotbombs.net/dollar_for_peace.html).
On the other hand, from day one huge war profiteering corporations such as Halliburton, Bechtel and other private contractors began descending on the region, their pockets stuffed with billions of dollars in government handouts. Currently, thousands of poor homeowners and rental tenants -- including those unable to return to New Orleans just yet, having been evacuated to the far away domes -- are being evicted, says Mike Howell, who is organizing tenants to resist eviction. The phony "reconstruction" of New Orleans begins with the land grab, and with Mayor Nagin proposing gambling casinos, which he says would "rescue" the city, while destroying the remaining wetlands (Wetlands are nature's way of protecting large areas from floods; their destruction prior to Katrina contributed to the devastation of New Orleans and the Mississipi Delta.) and spraying massive amounts of cancer-causing pesticides over the entire flooded areas.
Many people are resisting this blatant confiscation of their lands and homes. As the resistance grows, New Orleans may soon become known as the first battle of the new American revolution.
Mitchel Cohen is co-editor of "G", the newspaper of the NY State Greens, and the coordinator of the No Spray Coalition (www.nospray.org). Write to Mitchel directly at mitchelcohen@mindspring.com. If you'd like to donate funds and be sure the money is going to a good purpose, donate to CommonGroundRelief.org.
ROCK FIGHT! 08/31/07 KSCL 6 to 8
Hello again, inner space pioneers!
Friday starts a long Labor Day weekend. Kick it off right with ROCK FIGHT! tonight from 6 to 8 on KSCL 91.3 FM!
M.I.A. has a fantastic new album out called “Kala.” It’s even better than her first, “Arular.” Diplo still does some of the production, but Timbaland also shares that role. The result is awesome, and we’ll hear three (!) tracks from it.
There’s also two tracks from Interpol’s latest, “Our Love To Admire.” They’re my two current favorites, “Pioneer To The Falls” and “The Scale.”
Plenty of other great jams, too. Check it:
Song Artist ---------------------------------------------------------- Wicked Gil Band Of Horses Hotwax Beck Young Men Dead The Black Angels Harmony In My Head Buzzcocks Scream Team Deerhoof Hit It And Quit It Funkadelic We Need More Power Geza X Standing By The Sea Husker Du Pioneer To The Falls Interpol The Scale Interpol North American Scum LCD Soundsystem Birdflu M.I.A. Boyz M.I.A. Paper Planes M.I.A. Out Of The Tunnel MX 80 Public Image Public Image Ltd. The Tourist Radiohead Gone West Rain Parade T Bone The Rakes I Want To Be Sedated Shonen Knife Wild Life Shonen Knife Hallowed Be Thy Name Sonic Youth Tips For Teens Sparks Pulled Up Talking Heads Dirtywhirl Tv On The Radio I Can't Stand It The Velvet Underground No Guilt The Waitresses The Rat The Walkmen White Girl X
Thursday, August 23, 2007
ROCK FIGHT! 08/24/07 KSCL 6 to 8
Hello again, scholastic prairie schooners!
Friday at freakin’ last. Tune in ROCK FIGHT! on KSCL 91.3 fm from 6 to 8 this evening!
A tool once asked about me, “Does he play anything that anybody who knows most everything about music, ever heard of??”
Err, yeah!
Sometimes I feel guilty about playing something someone has heard of, but not this week. It’s all hand-picked, fresh from the Zen garden. Check it:
Song Artist --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rock Lobster The B-52's Because The Bird And The Bee Luno Bloc Party Spring And By Summer Fall Blonde Redhead Everybody's Happy Nowadays Buzzcocks Shake Break Bounce The Chemical Brothers Watch Controller.Controller Drive My Car Cristina Sex Me Up Datarock Everything's Goin' On Dead Meadow Go Home, Get Down Death From Above 1979 Punch Buggy Valves Deerhoof Wiggly World Devo Almost Forgot Myself Doves Stars Are Stars Echo & The Bunnymen Epitaph For A Head The Fuzztones Re-Hash Gorillaz Get Down Groove Armada Homewrecker Hellogoodbye PDA Interpol Rio Seco Juana Molina Texas Machine And The Synergetic Nuts Lost Meat Puppets The Stone Age OMD Astronomy Domine Pink Floyd Susan's Strange The Psychedelic Furs Where I End And You Begin Radiohead Strasbourg The Rakes Nothing Means Nothing Anymore River City Tanlines X-French Tee Shirt Shudder To Think Who Is It? Talking Heads Two Days Short Tomorrow Two Gallants 36-24-36 Violent Femmes Don't Lose Your Temper XTC A Day Xymox
Friday, August 17, 2007
ROCK FIGHT! 08/17/07 & Roy Gerritsen
Hi again!
I sheepishly apologize for not blogging more. The heat has really sapped my motivation.
It’s a good show tonight. Tune in to KSCL 91.3 FM from 6 to 8. Check it:
Song Artist ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Double Dare Bauhaus Black Grease The Black Angels Shooting Chicks On Speed Ivo Cocteau Twins Casper Daniel Johnston Fa-Fa-Fa Datarock Spirit Ditties Of No Tone Deerhoof Saran Wrap Dengue Fever Jocko Homo Devo Then She Remembers Dream Syndicate Karma Police Easystar All Stars Lotion Greenskeepers Gimme Some Skin Iggy & The Stooges Leave Me Alone Johnny Thunders Bird Song Lene Lovich Neon Lights Luna Shield Your Eyes, A Beast In The Well Of Your Hand Melt-Banana Let's Impeach The President Neil Young Holland, 1945 Neutral Milk Hotel Boy Void Weirdo Rippers Heaven The Rapture Drag U Down 2 My Level River City Tanlines Out Of The Blue Roxy Music The Road Leads Where It's Led Secret Machines Behind The Wall Of Sleep The Smithereens Big Bottom Spinal Tap Suspect Device Stiff Little Fingers Artists Only Talking Heads Bunkers The Vapors Sex Beat Gun Club Mexican Radio Wall Of Voodoo Don't Lose Your Temper XTC
Roy Gerritsen
Also, here’s a Roy Gerritsen update. At his last court appearance, Gerritsen’s attorney received the chat transcripts. If the case goes to trial, those transcripts will be public record. The D.A. is trying for a sentence of two years hard labor. Gerritsen’s next appearance concerns jury selection on Sept. 4.
Roy, the former GM of Red River Radio, was arrested last October in a sting operation accusing him of soliciting sex from a juvenile over the Internet. He faces charges of computer-aided solicitation of a minor and attempted carnal knowledge of a juvenile. Bossier City police said Gerritsen arranged to meet who he thought was a 14-year-old girl for sex but who was actually a police officer posing as the girl. He was arrested when he arrived at a pre-determined location in Bossier City.
Gerritsen’s docket numbers are C149466, attempted carnal knowledge of a juvenile, and C149467, computer aided solicitation of a minor.
Friday, July 27, 2007
ROCK FIGHT! KSCL 91.3 FM Friday, July 27, 2007, 6 to 8
Hello again, plastic pantomime people!
Friday at last ... Time for another ROCK FIGHT! on KSCL 91.3 fm, offical radio station of House Slytehrin. Tune in from 6 to 8 this evening for carefully chosen material from all living generations.
Here’s some of what I’ll be playing alongside plenty of new material, Top 30 fun hits and other crazy crap:
Song Artist ----------------------------------------------------------------- Wake Up Arcade Fire St. Vitus Dance Bauhaus Bog Be Your Own Pet I Don't Know Big Audio Dynamite II Like Eating Glass Ladytron Zapatista Mix Bloc Party Hanging On The Telephone Blondie Strangler Calla Disco Blackout Controller.Controller Bikini Girls With Machine Guns The Cramps 08 Is That All There Is? (Long Version)* Cristina Cold War Death From Above 1979 Scream Team Deerhoof Queen Of Languages Destroyer Some Cities Doves Panda Dungen Cinderella The Fuzztones Watch The Tapes LCD Soundsystem Punker Plus Le Tigre Split Myself In Two Meat Puppets Radio Waves OMD Tattooed Love Boys Pretenders How To Disappear Completely Radiohead This Job Is Killing Me The Walkmen
Friday, July 20, 2007
ROCK FIGHT! KSCL 91.3 FM Friday, July 20, 2007, 6 to 8
Hi again, fevered Harry Potter purchasers!
Friday again .... time for ROCK FIGHT on KSCL 91.3 fm. Tune in from 6 to 8 tonight for some great music.
It’s a big mix this week with twofers from Elvis Costello, a cloying band called Lucky Soul, Schleuss’ favorite Of Montreal and Swedish rock tarts The Sounds. There’s also some classic punk and all the new and top 30 you can shake a stick at. Be there!
Here’s the shooting match:
Song Artist ----------------------------------------------------------------- Cake The B-52's Needles In The Camel's Eye Brian Eno Mexican Caravan Butthole Surfers Sort It Out The Caesars Free Cat Power Police & Thieves The Clash Garlands Cocteau Twins Sleep Over It Controller.Controller Neat Neat Neat The Damned Heroes David Bowie Suburban Home Descendents Definitely Clean Dream Syndicate Crocodiles Echo & The Bunnymen Watching The Detectives Elvis Costello Pump It Up Elvis Costello Rebellious Jukebox The Fall She's Like Heroin To Me The Gun Club Lips Are Unhappy Lucky Soul Baby I'm Broke Lucky Soul The Glory Of Man The Minutemen Loosen This Job No Age Disconnect The Dots Of Montreal Forecast Fascist Future Of Montreal My Iron Lung Radiohead T Bone The Rakes Rock 'n Roll The Sounds Reggie The Sounds I Want To Help You Ann The Lyres Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone Walkmen Glittering Girl The Who Can't Cheat Karma Zounds
Afterwards, this is the show to see:
A.J. LOWRING (Shreveport by way of Coushatta)
NATIVES OF THE NEW DAWN (Detroit, Michigan)
ASTRONAUTALIS (Jacksonville, Florida)
At Big D's BBQ (101 Common Street downtown)
FRIDAY, July 20th
8pm
$5.
Astronautalis and Natives of The New Dawn are both veterans of Warped Tour (Natives is on it this year), and Astronautalis played SXSW
www.myspace.com/astronautalis
www.myspace.com/nativesofthenewdawn
www.myspace.com/ajlowringmusic
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Gerritsen Update
Still grinding along slowly in Roy Gerritsen’s sex crimes case.
The conference scheduled for July 17 was rescheduled for August 10. His trial date is a month later on September 10.
Roy, the former GM of Red River Radio, was arrested last October in a sting operation accusing him of soliciting sex from a juvenile over the Internet. He faces charges of computer-aided solicitation of a minor and attempted carnal knowledge of a juvenile. Bossier City police said Gerritsen arranged to meet who he thought was a 14-year-old girl for sex but who was actually a police officer posing as the girl. He was arrested when he arrived at a pre-determined location in Bossier City.
Gerritsen’s docket numbers are C149466, attempted carnal knowledge of a juvenile, and C149467, computer aided solicitation of a minor. If convicted, he faces a maximum 15-year sentence and $12,500 fine, according to reports.
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