Gulf South Systems for Change

NIGGERHEAD!!~GET RE-JENA'D~OCCUPIED BY ANARCHISTNEO-CON OPERATIVES

2011-10-17T21:03:00.008-05:00

The folks attempting to Occupy Wall Street are Anarchist, and they are operatives of the Tea Party. The goal is to overthrow the United States Government, that is why the CIA is in NYPD!!! The "groups" who are against the black-man in the white house are hellbent on destroying him at any cost. In the tpartiest, republican, gop-ish mentality a black-man cannot and will not go down in history as the person who fixed THE WHITE MAN'S problem.

Remember, the collapse of 2008. RED LINE-ING.!! Remember the NAACP filed suit against all those MORTGAGE COMPANIES. And you WONDER WHY, the AtlantaOccupiers didn't receive John Lewis; they ain't study-ing about Dr. King. They just want the method. Oh yeah, they've educated themselves on the mechanisms of protest. But they don't give a tinkers about what King stood for. These are overthrowers. There are LEADERS alright, of the occupiers. They intend to spin this country out of control, and John Boehner and Jim Cornyn and Rick Perry will listen intently as the fiasco occurs.

You need to repent and back away from your rhetoric, you BROTHERS who is giving up Brother President the same way, Malcolm was talked in to a martyred destiny. America need to "Get Re-Jena'd" - This time [6] six-million blacks need to descend on the GOP Convention, and lock that city down. THAT'S RIGHT 6 ~SIX~MILLION Negroes, African Americans, Blacks, Molattoes and Creoles and every thing else we been. Forget about, descend on the Democratic Convention, they'll get the picture. It is the conservative, neo-con operatives, who have spinned this country into chaos. The culmination of this chaos and anarchy is what Charlie Manson's goal was.
The CIA@NYPD

Citing a presidential order authorizing the CIA to assist local law enforcement, Kelly said: “Operating under this legal basis, the CIA has advised the police department on key aspects of intelligence gathering and analysis that have greatly benefited our counterterrorism mission and protected lives in New York City.”

CIA Director David Petraeus has described him as an adviser, someone who could ensure that information was being shared.

Protects Lives!!!
From Whom?? - A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE WITH A CAMP ON Niggerhead. The CIA has a file on all theses guys. They been knew Perry was gonna run. And they knew his, VP would be a little known Presidential candidate from Louisiana named Roemer. Now the Occupiers are gone global. Yet, in America, the tpartiers OAKTHKEEPERS are prepared for any "contingency", collateral damage and all.

There is no doubt, this is what the anarchist on Wall Street, wish to happen in America. Remember, King in Alabama wanted a dramatization of the absolute tyranny of Bull Conner. The Anarchist have studied the methods and are deploying for a violent confrontation in America.

And So::Conversation--ON POINT

2010-07-29T22:07:00.000-05:00

When operatives of the conservative/republican ideology, entered Mary Landrieu's office, attempting to cast a specific view of her office's work on a particular issue; the Eastern District of Louisiana's US Attorney's office allowed the operatives to plea to lesser-than charges. One of the operatives was the son of then acting-US Attorney for the Western District.

And so, when the master-operative, tweeked a video, deployed it on a blog; got busted and caused apologies ad infinitum-- has to my knowledge, as of yet not been held accountable. Andrew Breitbart, vehemently defended the actions of the NOLA trio. Today, as the President spoke to the Centennial convention of the National Urban League; the incident of late was mentioned. The Speech in Washington, DC was full of signals for all to grasp.

It is indeed a sad commentary in our society, that the various issues continue to evolve in to the race issue; which no one wants to address, fully.

Watch live streaming video from theuptake at livestream.com

Is it because we do not want to exist without demeaning another, and so we leave the race issue intact, so we can always revert back to it?

Strange twist in race and Politics, as Suit to be filed in Breitbart Defamation and further Federal Internet intervention is on the horizon as a result of recent occurences. It should be further noted, when we stop to look at the "oil clean-up" in the Louisiana Gulf, residents are complaining of the "outsiders", who the NAACP Legal Defense Fund have cited a state collaboration with the petroleum giant, utilizing inmate labor. Prison Industrial Complex? Yes!

But, what we 'gon do about it? And Black on black crime? And violence precipitated by the police!

On the southside of Monroe, Louisiana, where Richwood Police Patrol & the sheriff department patrols. A 20 year old was arrested for burglary. 'The story goes, that this youngsters, name was posted on the S.O.'s website. The affidavit was said to have listed the youngster as telling on all of his accomplices. [of course the affidavit is no longer there] And so, all of this boys accomplices, and gangers have been randomly threatening the young'en and his extended family. This boy's jaw was broken --from the eye socket to the jaw bone-- he is scheduled to be at the doctor's office in a day or so. On this early A.M., an incident occurred at the boy's mothers home.'

They were sent back & forth from the S.O. to the Richwood PD. This is a case of you won't help us, we'll help our selves.

Finally, out of exasperation, they called some one, who knew some one! Hopefully, this doesn't escalate into a full scale gang war. Or, is this the intent, of the powers-at-be!!?

And So!!! This is really the first time, anyone has come with something to this magnitude in this, the 21st century. Maybe, since Jena. Or, possibly up to Oscar Grant and Baron Pikes. And So. The stage is set for the beginning of the millenium breakdown. Will the Millenials stand for this un-americanism. They believe the Constitution.

July 29, 2010 Arpaio's Arizona Protesters Arrested

Change-ing: the Conversation

2010-03-20T12:22:00.010-05:00

2.)

1.)

Change-ing the Conversation in Amerika!! | C-SPAN Black Agenda coverage.

So much is occurring all at once. At last, the conversation has been forced to the forefront. Who can stop it. It is surprising, however; that everyone thinks you can discuss, openly our agenda. The strategy developed in the former-days, by the former-right's leaders were not put in place in the "wide-open" for all too "circumvent". We need to converse seriously in secret to control-the-change.

23March2010 |
Attorneys general from Florida, South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas, Michigan, Utah, Pennsylvania, Alabama, South Dakota, Louisiana, Idaho, Washington and Colorado are joining in. Other GOP attorneys general may join the lawsuit later or sue separately.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Pensacola.

One issue at the heart of the suit is the constitutionality of the the so-called "individual mandate," which requires most Americans to have an insurance plan or else pay a federal penalty.

The Constitution gives Congress the authority "to regulate commerce." In other words, once someone engages in commerce, the government has the power to regulate that activity.

But opponents say that the "commerce clause" does not give the government power to require an individual to buy something — especially insurance for the health of one's own body.

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum is taking the lead in the lawsuit.
13 GOP States file suit against healthcare

21 March 2010 | Obstacles & Ill Feelings
The Current Injusticide.

It remained nasty this weekend. Several thousand “tea-partiers” gathered on Capitol Hill on Saturday, as lawmakers met to lay down the rules for yesterday’s vote. “Born in the USA not the USSR” and “Buck Ofamacare” said their placards. A protester called representative Barney Frank, who is gay, a “faggot”. Another spat on representative Emanuel Cleaver, who is black. Two other African-American congressmen, John Lewis and André Carson, were jeered as “niggers”. “It was like a page out of a time machine,” said Carson.

Protestors fade | "Tea Party" Protestors | Daily Mail -"Congressman Jeered" | The Two Way | H.R. 4872 | Text of Healthcare Legislation | HR 3590 passed 2145-hours. Reconciliation in progress 2158-hours

What about Justice?!

Breaking

Breaking: Malcolm X's Killer Paroled, is a Free Man Next Month

By Foster Kamer, Thursday, Mar. 18 2010 @ 5:15PM
Thomas Hagan, the only man who ever admitted involvement in the assassination of Malcolm X, will be getting out of jail next month. Hagan was granted parole on March 3rd and is scheduled to be released on April 28th.

Hagan was convicted of shooting the civil rights leader, along with Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson. Both Johnson and Butler consistently maintained their innocence and provided alibis for the afternoon Malcolm was killed on the stage of the Audubon Ballroom, on Broadway and 165th Street, on February 21, 1965.

Protest of FOP party for reinstated officers

By Sam Wood

Inquirer Staff Writer

Carrying signs that read "So This Is Something to Celebrate?" and "Justice Really Is Blind in Philadelphia," about a dozen people demonstrated yesterday in front of the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police headquarters on Spring Garden Street.

The FOP had announced that it would hold a party last night to celebrate the return to the force of eight police officers who had been fired or disciplined after a television news helicopter filmed them beating three shooting suspects in 2008.

Last week, an arbitrator ruled that the officers, who had been cleared by a grand jury, should get their jobs back or have their punishments greatly reduced.

"Our Guys Are Back!" read a flier posted on the FOP's Web site that promised an open bar, food, and music at the party. "Come out and show your support."

On a concrete island in the middle of Spring Garden, members of the Philadelphia chapter of the National Action Network, a civil-rights group led by the Rev. Al Sharpton, gathered yesterday afternoon to express outrage.

Michelle Wood waved a cardboard sign at passing rush-hour traffic.

"There's no reason to celebrate," said Wood, whose son Pete Hopkins was one of the three men kicked and punched by police. "My son was beaten almost to death."

Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey has described the events of May 5, 2008, as a black eye on the department. At the time, police were conducting a citywide manhunt for the killer of Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski.

Police chased Dwayne Dyches, then 24; Brian Hall, then 23; and Hopkins, then 19, from the vicinity of a Feltonville shootout that left three people injured. After a 21/2-mile pursuit, officers dragged the three men from their car. Fox29 footage of the beating made international news. Ramsey fired four officers, demoted one, and suspended three others.

At 4 p.m. yesterday, as protester Pam Africa yelled an obscenity-laden harangue into a megaphone, off-duty officers on Harley-Davidsons began to arrive for the party.

"Welcome to the nonevent of the year," said FOP president John McNesby, who described the party as nothing more than a weekly happy hour.

"We do this every Friday," McNesby said. "Just because this week we issued a flier about our members' being reinstated doesn't make this a big deal."

Chicago News Cooperative | News Analysis

A Delicate Balancing Act for the Black Agenda

Published: March 18, 2010

What a difference hard times make.

Until recently, most black discontent with the Obama administration — especially in Barack Obama’s hometown, Chicago — was largely kept in the family and out of the mainstream press, even as black business, civil rights and political leaders quietly grappled with and debated how best to support and challenge the nation’s first black president without hurting the causes of racial and economic justice.

But as the economic crisis continues to slam black America disproportionately hard, while bonuses rain down on Wall Street, the debate has spilled into the open and will get its loudest and most public hearing yet on Saturday, in a forum held just a few miles from Mr. Obama’s house in Kenwood, at Chicago State University.

Tavis Smiley, an author and talk show host and a frequent — and until recently rare — black critic of the president, is scheduled to convene a panel of civil rights leaders and scholars called “We Count: The Black Agenda Is the American Agenda.”

The discussion will be nationally televised on C-Span, and the invited panelists include Cornel West, a Princeton University professor; Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam leader; and the Rev. Jesse Jackson, president of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.

“A black agenda is jobs, jobs, jobs, quality education, investment in infrastructure and strong democratic regulation of corporations,” Dr. West said. “The black agenda, at its best, looks at America from the vantage point of the least of thee and asks what’s best for all.”

During his run to the White House, voters, black and white, projected all sorts of hopes and dreams onto Mr. Obama, no matter what he said or did. When it comes to race, for example, Mr. Obama has forcefully tried to avoid the subject. The one notable exception was his now-famous speech in Philadelphia in 2008, and only then when his campaign was in peril from the fiery words of his former Chicago pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright.

Mr. Obama’s black supporters were willing to give him a pass, to give him “time to learn his way around the White House.” But too many homes have been lost to foreclosure, too many fathers have lost jobs, too many mothers are losing hope for his most loyal bloc to be happy with what many are now saying is more symbolism than substance coming from Mr. Obama’s administration in regard to black America.

“The question I hear a lot on the street is, ‘Would we have been better off with Hillary Clinton?’ ” said Hermene D. Hartman, publisher of the weekly N’Digo newspaper in Chicago.

Others, though, like Jacky Grimshaw, a senior adviser to former Mayor Harold Washington, are reading more into the timing and location of the black agenda meeting 14 months into Mr. Obama’s presidency.

“If the idea is to embarrass the president,” Ms. Grimshaw said, “this is a good way of doing it.”

Given Mr. Smiley’s vocal criticism of Mr. Obama — raising questions about the president’s effectiveness in pursuing the agenda many black voters favor — some see the meeting as a sign of a division among blacks here and across the country. On one side are those who believe Mr. Obama is doing his best under tough circumstances. On the other are those who feel let down by a perceived lack of action by Mr. Obama on behalf of black Americans. By hosting the forum in Chicago, Mr. Smiley seems to be spotlighting the discussion in a place most likely to draw national attention.

Mr. Smiley said the goal of the event was not to attack or embarrass Mr. Obama in his Chicago backyard, but to pressure other black leaders to develop and press for a black agenda, an action plan for tackling poverty, poor schools, infant mortality and an unemployment rate among blacks that is at least twice the national average.

“Black people are getting crushed,” Mr. Smiley said.

No one argues that point. But since announcing the event last month, Mr. Smiley and the Rev. Al Sharpton, one of Mr. Obama’s most vocal supporters — “Barack’s pet preacher,” as one Chicago activist put it — have conducted a sometimes heated debate on black radio about the wisdom of convening the “We Count” panel discussion.

Mr. Sharpton seems to have the numbers on his side. Support for Mr. Obama among black Americans is hovering around 90 percent in polls.

Mr. Sharpton said he would not attend the Chicago gathering. “Yes, we need a black agenda,” he said. “But the president shouldn’t be leading it. Black leaders should be.”

Herman Brewer, the acting president and chief executive of the Chicago Urban League, expects to attend, although with some trepidation.

“I think it’s O.K. if folks are critical of the president,” Mr. Brewer said. “But I wouldn’t want it to be viewed as a condemnation, a smackdown of the president. Hopefully, it can be viewed as constructive.”

Mark Allen, a longtime civil rights advocate on the South Side, said that just a couple of months ago if he had made even a mild public criticism about Mr. Obama’s not doing enough for the poor or for small businesses in the inner city, “black middle class folks would curse me out.”

The message was clear: If you are black, you just didn’t air complaints about “our homeboy,” Mr. Allen said, certainly not in public where the news media could see and hear. Doing so was seen as undermining the first black president, of giving comfort to the enemy, of betraying the race.

But these days, even in Chicago, Mr. Allen said: “It’s not as taboo anymore. You get cursed out a lot less.”

Some blacks in Chicago seem to be having a case of unrequited love.

“Barack is ignoring the black community,” said Ms. Hartman, the publisher. “There’s no communication, no reaching out, no speaking out. Every black business I know is hurting. Trickle down is not trickling down.”

Mr. Obama worked 20 years ago as a community organizer in the Altgeld Gardens public housing development on Chicago’s South Side. There, Bamani Obadele, who runs a youth program in Roseland, and Cheryl Johnson, who runs an environmental justice organization at the sprawling development, recently discussed Mr. Obama and the We Count event.

Mr. Obadele said Mr. Obama attended several antiviolence rallies that Mr. Obadele organized in the Robert Taylor Homes public housing development in the 1990s.

“He helped me carry a casket through the streets,” Mr. Obadele said, referring to an antiviolence mock funeral. “He absolutely understands the struggle of black folks. But he’s not the same Barack I knew. The Barack I knew wouldn’t bail out the banks and let the people go hungry. I think his advisers are giving him bad advice.”

Ms. Johnson said: “It’s complicated. He’s inherited a mess we haven’t experienced since the Great Depression. Let’s give him some time.”

Mr. Obadele added: “I hope we don’t end up being a national embarrassment on Saturday, fighting about the black president. I hope something positive comes out of it. But we have to do something. There’s just too much suffering out here.”

Global Culture Clash: World on war course!!-2010

2010-01-08T22:17:00.010-06:00

Khost Province. Detroit, Michigan. And Beyond.

WASHINGTON — Private security guards from Blackwater Worldwide participated in some of the C.I.A.’s most sensitive activities — clandestine raids with agency officers against people suspected of being insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan and the transporting of detainees, according to former company employees and intelligence officials.

The raids against suspects occurred on an almost nightly basis during the height of the Iraqi insurgency from 2004 to 2006, with Blackwater personnel playing central roles in what company insiders called “snatch and grab” operations, the former employees and current and former intelligence officers said.

Several former Blackwater guards said that their involvement in the operations became so routine that the lines supposedly dividing the Central Intelligence Agency, the military and Blackwater became blurred. Instead of simply providing security for C.I.A. officers, they say, Blackwater personnel at times became partners in missions to capture or kill militants in Iraq and Afghanistan, a practice that raises questions about the use of guns for hire on the battlefield.

In the spring of 2002, Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater, offered to help the spy agency guard its makeshift Afghan station in the Ariana Hotel in Kabul. Not long after Mr. Prince signed the security contract with Alvin B. Krongard, then the C.I.A.’s third-ranking official, dozens of Blackwater personnel — many of them former members of units of the Navy Seals or Army Delta Force — were sent to provide perimeter security for the C.I.A. station.

But the company’s role soon changed as Blackwater operatives began accompanying C.I.A. case officers on missions, according to former employees and intelligence officials.
Blackwater Guards Tied to Secret C.I.A. Raids -By JAMES RISEN and MARK MAZZETTI
Published: December 10, 2009NY Times

Xe-[Blackwater]operatives killed in Khost Province attack
An obituary released Wednesday identified another slain Xe contractor as Jeremy Wise, 35, a former Navy SEAL from Virginia Beach, Va., according to The Associated Press. Other victims who have been identified include CIA security officer Scott Roberson, who had worked undercover as a narcotics detective in the Atlanta Police Department; Harold Brown Jr., a former Army reservist and father of three; and Elizabeth Hanson, a specialist in al-Qaida.

Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi
Al-Balawi was thrown into jail by Jordanian intelligence in March to force him to track down Ayman al-Zawahri, a fellow doctor from Egypt who is Osama bin Laden’s right-hand man. But his allegiance was to al-Qaeda from the start and not to his Jordanian recruiters or their CIA friends, and it never wavered

Jordanian intelligence arrested al-Balawi, the father of two girls, after he signed up for a humanitarian mission in the Gaza Strip with a Jordanian field hospital in the wake of Israel’s offensive there, the counterterrorism officials said. Al-Balawi was jailed for three days and shortly after that he secretly left his native Jordan for Afghanistan, they said, suggesting he had agreed to take on the mission against al-Qaeda.

Once in Afghanistan, al-Balawi provided valuable intelligence that helped foil al-Qaeda terror plots in Jordan, officials said. His Jordanian recruiters then offered al-Balawi to their CIA allies as someone who would help them capture or kill al-Zawahri. A former senior US intelligence official said al-Balawi had provided high-quality intelligence that established his credibility with Jordanian and US intelligence.

Al-Balawi came from a nomadic Bedouin clan from Tabuk, in western Saudi Arabia, which has branches in Jordan and the West Bank. He was born in Kuwait in 1977 to a middle-class family of nine other children, including an identical twin brother. He lived there until Iraq’s 1990 invasion of the rich Gulf nation when the family moved to Jordan.
07 January 2010, Thursday
TODAY’S ZAMAN WITH AP İSTANBUL

Courthouse News
(CN) - Blackwater, now called Xe, has settled a series of federal lawsuits accusing the U.S. securities contractor of allowing the murder of innocent civilians and rewarding mercenaries who "killed Iraqis as sport."
One lawsuit claimed that Blackwater founder Erik Prince "personally intended that his private army of men kill and wound innocent Iraqis."
In another, an ex-employee said it appeared that Prince "and his employees murdered, or had murdered, one or more persons who had provided information, or who were planning to provide information, to the federal authorities about the ongoing criminal conduct."
The State Department canceled Blackwater's contract after determining that contractors had opened fire in a Baghdad traffic square in September 2007, killing 17 Iraqi civilians.
The incident led to multiple grand-jury proceedings.
Prince has since resigned from the company, which now operates as Xe Services LLC in North Carolina.
Xe released a statement saying the company was "pleased" that a settlement had been reached.
"This enables Xe's new management to move the company forward free of the costs and distraction of ongoing litigation, and provides some compensation to Iraqi families," the company said.
Susan Burke, an attorney for alleged victims and their families, filed a motion to have seven cases dismissed in federal court in North Carolina.
The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

al-Balawi & Gaza
Friends and relatives said Balawi's radicalization was molded by outrage over the image of Islam under attack and what he saw as Israeli brutality against the Palestinians.

"I never wanted to be in Gaza more than now or to become a suicide bomber who would drive a taxi that would take as many Jews to hell as I can," Balawi said in a recent web message.

Jordan Times
Defne Bayrak, the Turkish wife of Humam Khalil Mohammad Al Balawi, said she doubted he was working for the CIA.

"I am proud of my husband. He has carried out a very important mission in such a war," Bayrak, who now lives in Istanbul, told reporters.

"I think it's impossible that he was an American agent. He was too adversary to work for America. He only could have used America and Jordan to reach his goals."

Bayrak, a journalist who has written books including one entitled "Osama Ben Laden: Che Guevara of the East", earlier told the newspaper Sabah she believed her husband was in Afghanistan to pursue his medical studies and she was shocked at news of his death. Defne Bayrak

Wearing a black chador, she said she learned in a phone call from one of her Jordanian husband's friends in Pakistan that he had blown himself up at a US base in Afghanistan on December 30.

2010 & Beyond.
Egyptians riot after 7 killed in church attack

Coptic Christians protest

BART officer in Los Angeles Court for Oscar Grant death

US Atty Western District of Louisiana Resigns

Panetta
The bodies of seven CIA employees arrived Monday at Dover Air Force Base in a small private ceremony attended by CIA Director Leon Panetta, other agency and national security officials, and friends and family, said CIA spokesman George Little.

"These patriots courageously served their nation. The agency extends its gratitude to the United States military for their unwavering support since the attack, including their assistance at Dover," Little said in a statement issued Monday.

The former senior intelligence official said one of the big unanswered questions is why so many people were present for the debriefing - the interview of the source - when the explosive was detonated.

A half-dozen former CIA officers told The Associated Press that in most cases, only one or two agency officers would typically meet with a possible informant along with an interpreter. Such small meetings would normally be used to limit the danger and the possible exposure of the identities of both officers and informants.

N.O. to host first meeting of the World Delta Dialogues-Amidst Riddled judicial process!

2009-12-07T16:13:00.005-06:00

Justears! & MORE
New Orleans will host the inaugural meeting of the World Delta Dialogues, it was announced in Washington.

The international forum, entitled DELTAS2010, will bring together leaders and scientists from across the globe to identify best practices and comprehensive strategies for creating sustainable deltas around the world.

A joint initiative of the America’s WETLAND Foundation, the Royal Netherlands Embassy, The Nature Conservancy and the Greater New Orleans Foundation, DELTAS2010 will be held Oct. 18- 20, 2010 at The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans.

“It’s most fitting that the first World Delta Dialogues will be held here in the heart of the Mississippi River Delta,” said AWF Chair R. King Milling. “Like many other deltas, this is one of the most productive and endangered ecosystems on earth. As such, there is an unprecedented opportunity for collaboration among deltaic regions of the world to share technology, develop intellectual capital and build knowledge about their sustainability.”

The announcement was made at a scoping session held in Washington, D.C. on Thursday that attracted government officials, policy makers, non-governmental organizations and scientists from across the United States and as far away as China, Russia, Australia, Vietnam, Bangladesh and the Netherlands.

“There are similar patterns in the way we can address challenges and opportunities within the great deltas and watersheds around the world,” said Dale Morris, a senior economist with the Royal Netherlands Embassy. “The World Delta Dialogues will allow us to begin looking at and learning from those patterns in a way that will benefit us all.”

The world’s most dramatic rate of land loss is occurring in the Mississippi River Delta. Since the 1930's, Louisiana has lost wetlands equal to the size of Delaware.
In 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed another 218 square miles, and if land loss continues at the current rate, some scientists predict one third of coastal Louisiana will have vanished into the Gulf by 2050.

The world’s most dramatic rate of land loss is occurring in the Mississippi River Delta. Since the 1930's, Louisiana has lost wetlands equal to the size of Delaware. In 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed another 218 square miles, and if land loss continues at the current rate, some scientists predict one third of coastal Louisiana will have vanished into the Gulf by 2050.

"Now, more than ever, we are aware of the environmental challenges facing our region and how interrelated they are to our economy, " said Marco Cocito-Monoc, regional initiatives director for the Greater New Orleans Foundation. “It is incumbent upon us to find better ways to protect and preserve all of our environmental, economic and community assets.”

Experts in hurricane research, geology, ecology, coastal geomorphology, oceanography, engineering, landscape architecture, geography and economics are invited to participate in DELTAS2010. A range of critical issues will be discussed at the meeting including: mapping solutions for sustainability, developing adaptation models for climate change and solving systemic problems in the world’s deltas.

"The scale of restoration needed along Louisiana’s coastline is unprecedented—it represents one of the greatest challenges that we, as a people, will ever have to face,” said Karen Gautreaux, governmental affairs director for The Nature Conservancy of Louisiana. “That’s why we are bringing together the best and brightest in science and engineering from around the world. Without scientific solutions and urgent actions, there is little doubt that one of the world’s most productive and diverse ecosystems will be lost forever.”

More information on DELTAS 2010 will be provided in the months ahead as plans progress.

America’s WETLAND is one of the largest and most productive expanses of coastal wetlands in North America. This valuable landscape extending along Louisiana’s coast is disappearing at a rate of 24 square miles per year. The America’s WETLAND Foundation manages the largest, most comprehensive public education campaign in Louisiana’s history. The campaign is raising public awareness of the impact of Louisiana’s wetland loss on the state, nation and world. The initiative is supported by a growing coalition of world, national and state conservation and environmental organizations and has drawn private support from businesses that see wetlands protection as a key to economic growth. For more information, visit America's Wetland.

From orginal article Nov 5, 2009

Durban-I | Aug 31-Sept 8 2001 | 9-11

2009-09-03T15:43:00.003-05:00

In 2001 the World Conference Against Racism convened in Durban, South Africa.
The 2001 U.N. Declaration that “slavery and the slave trade are a crime against humanity and should always have been so, especially the trans-Atlantic slave trade.” As such, there is no statute of limitations regarding reparations.

Bringing Durban Home @ Yahoo! Video

Geneva Delegation for Reparations | Obama address to students causes stir | D.O.E. letter to Schools | The Pledge of Allegiance
Friday September 11, 2009 will be eight years! Not much has really changed.

An Idaho Republican gubernatorial candidate basicly stated it was open season on President Obama! Should not we all remember the man's name is Barack Hussein Obama & the WHOLE WORLD IS LISTENING! The world's citizens were all hope-ing the election of President Obama, would signal a difference in the "beacon that is supposed to be America."

The "death spasms of racism" and its twin sister injustice are wringing their hands at an opportunity to implode in a Charles Mansoniacal tirade. One of the most obvious characteristics of insanity is self-destruction, self-mutilation & consumption of one's own waste. Have we not consumed enough dung yet. I don't believe there will be time for any more teachable moments. Our nation has turned another corner, and the rhetorical swagger has given way to an anarchist sway.

It would be a sad note to the "exporter of democracy" to in hindsight realize it really wasn't up to the change we need. And that life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness has come up against a wall. hlr

VOICES: From the U.S. South to the Global South: Why Durban II Matters

2009-04-19T17:12:00.009-05:00

George Soros & ?Poverty

By Desiree Evans, Institute for Southern Studies

Eight years ago, I had the opportunity to experience one of the most moving events in my young career as a journalist and as an activist. In Durban, South Africa, I joined tens of thousands of people from around the world in attending the 2001 U.N. World Conference Against Racism, one of the largest international gatherings ever held to discuss the eradication of racism and related forms of intolerance.

At once both a life-changing and an eye-opening experience, I had the chance to sit down with a diverse array of grassroots activists and NGO delegates, many of whom had traveled thousands of miles to tell the stories of the struggles in their home countries. I spoke with rural woman campaigning for land rights in South Africa, indigenous leaders fighting for recognition in Bolivia and Dalits struggling for civil rights in India. Thousands of people of every race, ethnicity and religion came together from all corners of the globe to share these remarkable stories. And for me, a young African-American woman who had grown up poor in a small, rural Louisiana town, it was a powerful moment in which I came to see clearly the connection between communities of color struggling for rights in the United States and the global struggle for these very same rights.

While civil society leaders came together to share stories of their experiences with racism, discrimination, and government neglect, government delegates made commitments to combat racism in all its manifestations as part of their national and foreign policy agendas.

Of course, the 2001 conference was not without controversy. Even though more than 160 countries agreed on a landmark declaration to fight racism, the official U.S. delegation walked out in protest of language in the resolution that called slavery a "crime against humanity" and criticized Israel's treatment of the Palestinians. In walking out, the United States ignored the voices and stories of marginalized people of color from around the globe.

Fast forward to 2009. The time has come for the international community to review how much progress has been made with regard to the commitments and goals set forth in 2001. From April 20-24th, delegates from various countries and NGOs will convene in Geneva, Switzerland for the Durban Review Conference, dubbed "Durban II", for a follow up to the historic 2001 gathering. But once again, the United States may be absent from the discussion.

In February, after attending preparatory meetings for the follow-up conference, the Obama administration said it would not attend Durban II unless changes were made to the draft declaration, which criticized Israel's treatment of the Palestinians and called for reparations for slavery.

In response to the objections raised by negotiators from the Obama administration, diplomats revised the draft text, taking out the material that had been deemed "controversial." Even though the global community has gone to great lengths to accommodate Western concerns, the U.S. has still refused to end the boycott.

Because the Obama administration has declared a commitment to reengaging with the international community, human rights advocates see the U.S. refusal to participate in Durban II as a major setback for efforts to overcome racial inequality both domestically and around the world.

Communities of color and civil society groups in the United States, many of whom had hoped for better leadership from the Obama administration around issues of racial justice, have launched campaigns and written letters calling for U.S. attendance. The D.C.-based Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights set up a petition and sent an urgent action alert, stating:
Every UN member should take its seat at the negotiating table when talking about ending racism, racial discrimination and related intolerances. The United States has a critical leadership role to play to help level the playing field for minorities, indigenous peoples, migrants, and many other groups facing discrimination here and abroad.  

With a financial crisis encircling the globe and inequality on the rise, it is more important than ever for nations to come together to fight racism and all forms of discrimination. I hope you'll join me in calling on President Obama to send an official U.S. delegation to the Durban Review Conference.

The Atlanta-based U.S. Human Rights Network, an umbrella group comprising hundreds of civil society organizations, also organized a petition and sent a letter to the Obama administration urging them to participate in the conference and underscoring that the failure to attend would undermine the administration's commitment to dialogue and diplomacy.

"If the Obama Administration is willing to engage in dialogue with avowed enemies such as Iran then surely it should be willing to engage the international community in a dialogue on methods and principles to end racism and xenophobia," Ajamu Baraka, Executive Director of the U.S. Human Rights Network, said in a press release.

The "South" as a Critical Lens

In the midst of celebrating the election of the first African-American U.S. president, the U.S. media and pundits were quick to declare the United States a "post-racial" nation. But those of us here on the ground bearing witness to the day-to-day realities facing communities of color and their grassroots struggles for justice know that a "post-racial nation" is far from a true reflection of what's going around the country.

The United States continues to suffer under the historical legacy of racism and institutional repression and the current realities of racial and ethnic discrimination. Here in the U.S. South, with its history of slavery and Jim Crow, we continue to see the consequences of the U.S. failure to address this racialized past, with health, education and the criminal justice systems mired in racial disparities.

Four years after I attended the Durban conference, I witnessed another event that would go on to shape my world-view: the break down of the levee system in New Orleans in 2005, and the drowning of a city I had long ago embraced as a second home. My work to record the failure of the local, state and national government to adequately address the needs of Katrina victims further brought home for me the connection between local U.S. struggles and those of marginalized communities across the world.

The American South is itself a rough terrain of constant struggle, where issues of racism, militarism, displacement and migration play out in a myriad of ways. In this sense, the 2005 disaster along the Gulf Coast highlighted issues both national and international in scope. As a region the South has been underfunded and neglected by the government and overexploited by corporations for generations with little outside support. Yet, against massive odds grassroots groups in the South have waged campaigns against the institutional structures of racism and corruption, winning inspiring victories with international relevance.

In this way, the U.S. South and the "Global South" are not so vastly different. Communities of color have battled pollution and human rights abuses by oil companies in both the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of Guinea, and struggled against poverty in the Mississippi Delta as well as the Niger Delta. Afro-descendants in Colombia have struggled for the right of return to their lands along the coast of their country while displaced African-American Katrina victims have struggled to return to the coastal cities of their birth.

It is important to see these movements as critical representations of communities of color struggling for survival and against invisibility. Moreover, the Southern struggle is one that telegraphs the shared fates of working class people of color across the nation. It is at once both a national and international story.

At a time of global economic crisis, it is critical to recognize the ways that structural racism is working to sustain systems of poverty in the United States and abroad. The 2001 Durban resolution called on governments to adopt plans for addressing the poverty and social exclusion that results from racism. For this reason, U.S. domestic policies aimed at addressing racial disparities should be a priority during this economic crisis. As the recession deepens, it's communities of color who are disproportionately impacted by the downturn. When it comes to job loss, unemployment, foreclosures, homelessness, and poverty, people of color are experiencing these setbacks at double the rates of white Americans. In fact studies show that Black America is already in the middle of an economic depression.

Advocates in the United States underscore that the U.S. government must not only take appropriate measures to fulfill its commitments to improving domestic human rights, but it must also join in international efforts to root out institutionalized racism. The movements are indelibly connected.

A Change We Can Believe In?

Diplomats reached agreement Friday on a final declaration, omitting all references to Israel, Zionism, the Middle East conflict and other divisive issues in order to sway Western nations. But the West is still holding the process hostage in many ways -- following the United State's lead, Israel, Canada, Australia and the European Union have said they may not attend the conference. These are all nations with their own harsh legacies of racial and ethnic discrimination, but who have chosen to rally behind U.S. objections.

This week Navi Pillay, the top UN official for human rights, stressed the need for UN member states to put aside differences and to remember the meeting's importance to millions of victims of racism worldwide. But the question remains: will the United States be an obstacle in the fight against racial injustice or a leader?

During Barack Obama's presidential campaign, he promised a new era of multilateral engagement and diplomacy. Indeed, president Obama's election galvanized record numbers of marginalized communities across the country and around the world.

The pressure is now on the Obama administration to make real the promises of its campaign. In the U.S. South and the "Global South," communities of color are waiting for the new administration to show progressive leadership in the fight for racial justice. If the administration chooses to continue Bush-era policies of sidestepping critical global discussions of racism, the United States will be sending a message to the world at large that combatting racism and racial discrimination in all its forms isn't a critical human rights struggle.

Durban II promises to play a vital role in recommitting the global community to combating racism and racial discrimination. And now more than ever, the United States has to be willing to come to the table.

"The U.S. cannot provide the leadership necessary to promote and protect human rights by sitting on the sidelines," Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, said in February.

Five months after the U.S. election of Barack Obama, there can be no doubt that as a nation we are still caught up in an incredibly historic moment in the struggle for racial justice. Now is the time to keep the forward momentum going.

The world is waiting and watching. Is the United States ready to make the sort of change racial justice advocates can believe in?

By Desiree Evans on April 17, 2009 8:47 AM

George Soros on the New Paradigm for Financial Markets

2009-04-02T18:18:00.004-05:00

October 28, 2008

Collapsed?!

2009-02-21T19:17:00.006-06:00

The Ascent of Money
Soros sees no bottom for world financial 'collapse'(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-02-21 15:09

NEW YORK – Renowned investor George Soros said on Friday the world financial system has effectively disintegrated, adding that there is yet no prospect of a near-term resolution to the crisis.

Soros said the turbulence is actually more severe than during the Great Depression, comparing the current situation to the demise of the Soviet Union.

He said the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in September marked a turning point in the functioning of the market system.

"We witnessed the collapse of the financial system," Soros said at a Columbia University dinner. "It was placed on life support, and it's still on life support. There's no sign that we are anywhere near a bottom."

His comments echoed those made earlier at the same conference by Paul Volcker, a former Federal Reserve chairman who is now a top adviser to President Barack Obama.

Volcker said industrial production around the world was declining even more rapidly than in the United States, which is itself under severe strain.

"I don't remember any time, maybe even in the Great Depression, when things went down quite so fast, quite so uniformly around the world," Volcker said.
China Daily Information Co

Soros analysts eye Nigeria's banking sector
By Matthew Green in Lagos

Published: February 20 2009 02:00 | Last updated: February 20 2009 02:00

George Soros's $20bn hedge fund company is looking at potential opportunities in Nigeria's banking sector, where valuations have collapsed in the past year amid growing fears over the level of supervision and transparency.

Senior analysts from Soros Fund Management visited Nigeria this week to meet bankers and government officials, raising hopes in the market of a return of foreign interest after many portfolio investors fled during the course of the past year.

Remi Babalola, minister of state for finance, said he was due to brief Sharif Atta, a senior analyst at Soros Fund Management, and Ahmad Zuaiter, a portfolio manager, on the investment climate in Nigeria today.

"What makes it interesting is that they are the first to come since the global financial crisis, and since the departure of most other investors from the market," Mr Babalola told the Financial Times. "It's going to be a magnet for other investors to come in."

The Soros delegation met Nigerian bankers including senior managers from United Bank for Africa and Diamond Bank during their trip to Lagos, the commercial capital, according to sources within the banks. Representatives of at least two other big US and European funds have also visited Lagos since the start of the year, according to another industry source. The Soros Fund Management declined to comment.

The trips come against a backdrop of growing concerns over the health of Nigeria's banking sector, which enjoyed spectacular growth following a consolidation exercise launched in 2005 before share prices began to tumble in March last year.

The market capitalisation of the Nigerian Stock Exchange has fallen by about 60 per cent in local currency terms since the market hit an all-time high on March 5 2008, according to data from AfriFinance, mainly owing to losses in banking stocks which have a heavy weighting within the overall share index. Some analysts say the valuations mean some banks are looking much more reasonably priced.

Nigerian regulators have been quick to blame the collapse on foreign investors withdrawing funds as the global credit crisis deepened.

But analysts argue that hedge funds and other international investors, which never held more than an estimated 10-12 per cent of share capital, appear to have played only a secondary role. Many industry insiders say the sudden collapse was rooted in the widespread practice of banks loaning money for share purchases, which allowed soaring valuations to lose touch with market fundamentals.

The plunge in stock prices has provoked concerns about the extent of banks' exposure to losses from these loans and raised questions over the level of supervision by the Central Bank of Nigeria and other regulators. Many investors are calling for Nigerian banks to adopt much more transparent accounting procedures.

Victor Osadolor, group chief financial officer for UBA, who met the Soros team, said they were keen for greater transparency. "These are sophisticated investors, so they understand where to come in. There's plenty of bargains," he said.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009

In the Final Throes

2008-12-31T23:11:00.006-06:00

At Midnight U.S. hands Iraq control of the Green Zone. When the clock struck midnight on Wednesday, the U.S. returned the palace to the Iraqi government and relinquished formal control over the Green Zone, a heavily fortified six-square-mile enclave on the Tigris River where key U.S. and Iraqi bureaucracies are situated.

BAGHDAD, Dec. 31 -- The walls of the majestic Republican Palace in Baghdad's Green Zone have been stripped bare. The vaults that secured American cash and classified documents are gone, and the cement blast walls that protected the front entrance were taken down this week. The U.S. military dining facility inside what was once the American Embassy served its last meal New Year's Eve.

"This is the end of the world as we know it," said Sgt. 1st Class Patrick McDonald, 47, who co-authored a guide to historic sites in the Green Zone. "It's not like everyone is shredding documents and fleeing Saigon. But we are stepping away from a building."

The Senate Seat:Still Pawns caught between power brokers.

Bush in New Orleans - [North American Union?]

2008-04-21T17:35:00.032-05:00

Election Reaction: Selma, Alabama
Watching the election from Selma, Ala., one of the emotional centers of the civil rights movement.

Monday

Is Obama the End of "Rights" Politics
Thursday

North American Union meets in New Orleans.

North America Summit Protest

ICE('D)

NWO-NY,NY

Detention In America

Election Reaction: Selma, Alabama
Watching the election from Selma, Ala., one of the emotional centers of the civil rights movement.

Slamfoolery!!

2008-03-07T10:49:00.008-06:00

Vestiges of the Old South: A veritable slave-master system run amuck!!! Whoever doesn't believe the powers at be play this way, are dulled in their senses & held captive by 17th century slave mastery. hlr

State Police Report On Taser Death Due Friday
[KNOE 8 NEWS]
Posted: July 24, 2008 08:50 AM CDT

Updated: July 24, 2008 08:50 AM CDT
WINNFIELD (KNOE 8 NEWS) Prosecutors are awaiting a state police
report on the death of a man who was handcuffed when a Winnfield
Police officer jolted him nine times with a Taser.

A state police spokesman says a report on the January 17 death
of 21-year-old Baron Pikes is expected to be turned over to the
Winn Parish District Attorney's office by Friday.

No charges have been filed against Scott Nugent, the city police
officer who used the 50,000-volt Taser on Pikes while arresting him
on a warrant for a drug charge. Nugent was fired in May but he is
appealing.

District Attorney Christopher Nevils reportedly plans to review
the state police report before his office decides whether to charge
Nugent. Nevils did not return a telephone call for comment.
The parish's coroner, Doctor Randolph Williams, ruled last month
that Pikes' death was a homicide. Williams said he consulted with
two other coroners, who agreed with him that Pikes died of cardiac
arrest as a result of the Taser shocks.

Lawyers Keep 26-Year Secret
Two lawyers tell Bob Simon about their decision to keep the secret that their client had committed a murder while an innocent man went to jail for the crime and remained there for 26 years.

Even the "black, female reporter who 'broke' the story is held captive by plantation paternalism!! "She ought to ask somebody".

State probing Ferriday water system; Mayor Allen claims it’s a political trick
By Tom Bonnette
tbonnette@thetowntalk.com
(318) 487-6340

FERRIDAY -- Mayor Gene Allen is characterizing the timing of a state-initiated lockdown of Ferriday Town Hall three days before he faces off against former Mayor Glen McGlothin in a mayoral runoff election as a racially motivated political trick.

McGlothin, who scoffs at the notion that he has either the clout or will to summon representatives from the Louisiana Attorney General's Office to Ferriday, said he resents Allen injecting racial issues where they don't belong.

Representatives from the AG's office, acting on a call from Legislative Auditor's Office, locked doors at Town Hall for a few hours Wednesday where they reportedly downloaded records from city computers so auditors could review financial discrepancies in the town's water system, which is operating in the red.

Allen said Thursday that he isn't worried what auditors will find because there in nothing to hide in the data collected.
Allen, who is black, said he believes the Legislative Auditor's Office chose to collect the data so close to Saturday's election because some white people in Ferriday with Baton Rouge connections can't stomach the re-election of an effective black mayor.

"If people wanted good leadership, I wouldn't even have an opponent. The white people don't want black leadership in this community, no matter how good a job they do," he said.

Allen said McGlothin, who is white, has friends with connections in state government, including a cousin of former Ferriday Town Clerk Charles Lincecum, and those friends are capable of initiating actions like the lockdown.

"They have friends in Baton Rouge. The previous clerk has a relative. They could make their friends come in and make it look like something is wrong before the election," Allen said.

Allen claimed Lincecum's cousin works for the Legislative Auditor's Office.

Lincecum said he has no relative who works for the legislative auditor, calling Allen's assertion a "damn lie." The only relative who works for the state is a cousin who is employed in the Louisiana Office of Community Development, Lincecum said.

State officials have said they are reviewing the data to be able to advise the town on how to operate its water system more economically.

McGlothin claims he knew nothing about the lockdown until after it happened and couldn't make state officials descend upon Ferriday to better his chances at being elected mayor if he wanted to. He said he doesn't "have a racist bone in his body" and doesn't appreciate Allen's attempt to use race to divide voters.

"This shouldn't be about race, this should be about what's best for Ferriday," he said. "I live in a town that is 70 percent black, and I, in all my life, have never been called a racist by anyone but Mr. Allen."

In last month's mayoral primary election, McGlothin led a seven-candidate field with 48 percent of votes cast, or 598 votes. Allen received 33 percent, or 410 votes. McGlothin lost a runoff election to Allen in 2004 by 71 votes.
-----------------
"If people wanted good leadership, I wouldn't even have an opponent. The white people don't want black leadership in this community, no matter how good a job they do," he said.

If this man has nothing to hide, then he has nothing to worry about. The legislative auditor's office has never, in my opinion, been politically motivated. It is laughable that someone could "force" them to come in and do an audit. The black mayor has a 70% black constituency. I don't think he needed to play the race card on this. To me, it showed a complete lack of character. I wouldn't vote for him.

Posted by: observer on Fri Mar 07, 2008 8:13 am

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Post a Comment
The above comment was posted in the Town Talk. When this American Democratic Republic is toppled by its own racist ideology, everyone from the bottom up will be in a quandery wondering what happened. The communist said decades ago, the nation would be destroyed from within. What will it be when the truth finally comes out. The puppeteers who control the system will experience their own debacle in the Democratic Convention, when the PEOPLE demand FREEDOM. Change!! And No Longer the Staus Quo's modus operandi.

The Systems Of Change

2007-12-25T18:59:00.003-06:00

America in the Palestine. Darfur refuges in Israel. Apartheid settlements!

Faux Pax A false peace, exist in the world in which we live. When we say peace, peace; there will come sudden destruction.

Beyond Mychal Bell!

2007-11-30T19:38:00.000-06:00

Self Destruction or the Outside Influence of destructive forces. A young black man in Ruston, Louisiana; home of La. Tech University, working at a Lowes store was involved in a Noose incident on the job. He reported the alledged incident with evidence. He was told a day later, that he was better off confessing that he did it. Members of the justice community were contacted and the approached was softened somewhat, but the press stayed on, to get the 24 year old black man to confess. By then the man had, wandered through east central Louisiana, and was headed back home to Mom & Dad. STUNNED in America.

The night Gerwoski Washington was found dead in Westlake, Louisiana - we went to Jonesboro, Louisiana, as the new elected black mayor, was threatened with Klan action. TODAY, a report was made of a KKK signature in a hamlet a little ways from Jonesboro called Goldonna.

All the while, the Nationalist Movement is steadily swearing to be in Jena, Louisiana on Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's annual day of parade's and festivities. On the front page of the local newspaper the Jena Times, it is explained that NOOSES will be displayed. The announcement goes on to say that --those displaying the nooses, should not do so in an adversarial manner.

It was explained to the US ATTORNEY for the WESTERN DISTRICT of Louisiana that such an event could be tantamount to inciting a riot. Yet the white folks, are insistent on going forth with this travesty. The locals in Jena of the establishment are trying to pass it off, as something nothing can be done about. Yet, we know the mayor of the town was in the Klan haven, down south Louisiana way near Hammond, a couple months ago.

And still, the Media Litigants have come to Jena, Louisiana to open the files on One Mychal Bell & Mychal Bell Only ,who is the proverbial whipping boy, with the somewhat reputation to repudiate the true facts of the corrupt Judge, DA & the entire adminstering of criminal justice in Louisiana. Mychals Defense in disaray, not knowing what to do; NEGOTIATING WITH THIS, corrupt systematic divesting of absolute truth. WHO DOES REALLY GIVE A TINKERS!! The Louisiana legislature, will; by force of nature - deal with this matter! Juan Lafonta get ready to convene hearings, immediately on the plight of the american negro male in Louisiana. We the people are tired of the buck passing. Do something Now!!

I remember Liberty City!!

Still, to top it all off, the infamous day of December 6th in Jena, Louisiana will go down in history as the biggest travesty on humankind in the events leading to the fall of the envisioned great society "which could of been America", but never was and which never shall be. When Richard Barrett and his crew do their thing in America's Jena, Louisiana; this night, no this the world knows. France will remember the Nazi invasion, Italy will think on Mussolini, Warwaw will recall the Fuhrer and an international uprising will occur. Not because of Mychal, but because of a government, that can go to Afghanistan to fight terrorism, a nation that can go to Iraq and embrace Pakistan, allow the Palestinian purging to persist, and then to in America; demonicly reject the olive branch from King's son, "across the board" attempt to institute a faux pax.

Bring in the entire upper echelon of the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice to Jena's First Baptist Church, but still there IS NO JUSTICE IN AMERICA in Jena, Louisiana.

Bush Must Come!! JENA IS GROUND ZERO FOR THE RACIAL HOLOCAUST that has persisted in America for 500 years.

November 30, 2007
Obama Woos Sharpton at Sylvia's, Sharpton Said Dems Have Marginalized Black Voters

Barack Obama spoke to a packed crowd at the Apollo Thursday night. But the real story happened a few hours before, when he sat down to have dinner with the Rev. Al Sharpton at Sylvia's Restaurant, a Harlem institution.

Obama had showed up at Sharpton's office just a few blocks away earlier in the day to ask the reverend to have dinner with him at Sylvia's so they could talk about the importance of hate crime legislation. The Obama campaign made sure to invite the New York and national press along to photograph the event.

Sharpton said repeatedly that his meeting with Obama was not an endorsement of the senator, though he did praise him for paying attention to the issue of hate crimes, reports NBC/NJ's Aswini Anburajan.

"And we are trying to get hate crime legislation, and I think it showed something for him to call us and bring me to dinner and say I want to come out strong on it," Sharpton said.

Asked if the meeting had moved the reverend closer to endorsing, "Well, we'll wait and see. I didn't go to the Apollo because I'm not endorsing," Sharpton added.

Though this was not an endorsement of Obama, the picture of Obama with Sharpton recalled an image from the 1992 Democratic primary, when the mayor of Chicago insisted that he wasn't endorsing then Gov. Bill Clinton but allowed himself to be photographed with him. It was a tacit acknowledgment of support and helped Clinton considerably in Illinois. The question from last night is whether or not Sharpton was doing the same thing.

"Tonight he came to Harlem, and he came with a message that Harlem might want someone to discuss at a presidential level and that is hate crime," Sharpton praised Obama.

Sharpton added that he was looking to meet with all the Democratic candidates, including Hillary Clinton, on the issue of hate crimes and feels the issue is as urgent as ever because 2007 had been the year of Imus, Jena and hangman's noses, adding that a noose had been found at Obama's alma mater, Columbia University. He said that Obama had promised to bring up the issue during debates.

Whatever Sharpton's feelings, he had sharp words for the Democratic candidates on their treatment of black voters. He called African Americans the "most loyal constituency" of the Democratic party, but said they have been "marginalized" in their treatment by the candidates.

"I think the Democratic candidates take us for granted," he said and later added, "They want 90 percent of the black vote but they want to act like we are a marginal issue. To me that's offensive."

Sharpton also appeared to agree with Jesse Jackson's comments that aside from John Edwards, the Democratic candidates have not focused on issues of racial inequality, but but also praised Obama for reaching out on the issue.

"I've been saying all year that there has not been given a priority given to the concerns of African Americans and the concerns of racial disparity. ... How do our candidates expect our people to vote 90 percent for them and they are not giving any concern. Obama heard that and that's one of the things we talked about in my office and riding over here," Sharpton said.
gssc

The Real FBI

2007-11-21T04:22:00.000-06:00

FBI agent questions image of civil rights martyr
11/9/2007, 12:06 p.m. CST
The Associated Press

MARION, Ala. (AP) — A former FBI agent tried in court to discredit the image of Jimmie Lee Jackson as a martyr of the civil rights movement.

Former agent Coleman Keane said Jackson admitted to him that he tried to grab the pistol of the state trooper who shot him.

Keane testified in Marion in a hearing for former trooper James Bonard Fowler, who was trying to get murder charges against him dismissed.

Fowler was indicted in May for shooting Jackson during a 1965 civil rights protest. Jackson died eight days later at a Selma hospital.

Keane testified he saw Jackson moments after he was shot and then interviewed him a day or two later at a Selma hospital.

Mr. Keane said it's wrong to try to prosecute former Trooper James Bonard Fowler 42 years later.

Mr. Keane testified in the second and final day of a hearing for Mr. Fowler, who is trying to get murder charges against him dismissed. If that does not happen, he wants the trial moved out of Marion, where Jimmie Lee Jackson's death is memorialized by monuments and signs.

Double Standards

2007-11-03T22:26:00.012-05:00

Civil Rights denied-Marshal Law---------------->>>>

Blackwater,like Whitewater,like Watergate!
All Over the World!

I waited a while, to write; in order to see if any thing would really change. We have the same intrigue & disguisings of efficiency and effectiveness. Of owning up to what it is that's really going on. The klan is still the klan in America. The Nazi's are still the nazi's in Germany. The Muslims are still muslims in Islam. Pakistan is still Pakistan.

Louisiana is still Louisiana. Lies, Lies & more lies! Some might say a pessimistic view, but it is just the facts jack, since a June 28th decision led into a July 4th ludicrous-ness. It was ludicrous for a celebrating of that holiday. Young brother in the central Louisiana land, laid low in a systematic methodology set to destroy a race.
And now, we have a brown man as governor a republican to say the least, if only Lincoln could be fair. I said on JFP the "Greatest Societal Need" and the same thing on Alms & Deliverance.

The so-called counter demonstration "Countered" 21Jan08

20Jan08
20Jan Jan 20 2008

20 Jan 08
Press Conference 20Jan

August 2007
Aug07

Two Levels of Justice Aug 07

2Levels of Justice

September 20, 2007

Jena student OK to play
One of 'Jena 6' students gets waiver to play football for Shaw High School
BY JERRY F. RUTLEDGE - jrutledge@ledger-enquirer.com

FORSYTH, Ga. --Shaw High School will have another football player on its sideline Friday night, and one of the "Jena 6" will take a step toward normality in his life, thanks to the Georgia High School Association's decision Monday.

The GHSA granted a hardship waiver from its eight-semester rule to Robert Bailey Jr., one of six black teenagers from Jena (La.) High School charged with beating a white student in December 2006. He immediately is eligible to play for the Raiders. Shaw opens its regular season Friday against Central-Phenix City at Garrett-Harrison Stadium.

The eight-semester rule limits a student's eligibility to play interscholastic sports to eight semesters.

"Once you begin ninth grade in the block system, you have eight semesters of eligibility," said Brandon Wood, Shaw's defensive coordinator

Bailey and family members declined to be interviewed because of pending legal action surrounding the Louisiana case.

The conflict between the block scheduling Muscogee County schools use and the traditional scheduling at Louisiana high schools made some of Bailey's high school credits non-transferable.

Wood, Shaw head coach Scott Newman, Damon Hewitt of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Bailey presented the hardship appeal to the GHSA's 35-member executive committee during a closed session Monday morning in the Central Georgia Convention Center in Forsyth.

After deliberating the case, the executive committee gave its OK to the appeal by voice vote without any dissent.

"Awesome! Awesome!" Newman said, leaving the meeting room as members of the family celebrated. The teenager has been a student at Shaw since January and lives with his step-mother, Kim Bailey, in Columbus. He figures to see playing time early for the Raiders, likely as soon as Friday.

Bailey still is facing second-degree battery and conspiracy charges in Louisiana.

"He's really a great kid," Hewitt said. "He did a great job of speaking for himself. A great job."

--------
Our view: Jena 6 goal still about justice for all
August 26, 2008 Copyright ©2008 The Town Talk

No matter how many interviews convicted "Jena 6" member Mychal Bell gives to the media and no matter how many times he points the finger of blame at racism, justice will remain the most important goal in the case of the Jena Six.

The Jena Six defendants are accused of assaulting a fellow student at Jena High School in December 2006. The victim, Justin Barker, was attacked from behind, knocked down and while unconscious was stomped.

The criminal case became a rallying cry for some who said racism led to the attack and then to escalated charges. The six defendants are black. Barker is white.

That perception led to the nation's biggest civil rights march of the new millennium last September in Jena.

Bell, the only student tried in the attack so far, was first found guilty in adult court of second-degree aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit the same. His verdict was thrown out when a judge ruled the case should have been heard in juvenile court. Bell then pleaded guilty and was sentenced to time served and probation. As part of his plea, he must testify in the trials of the other five defendants.

This case has always belonged in a courtroom and not in the court of public opinion.

Unfortunately, Bell, is taking the case back to the media spotlight. On Sunday he was interviewed by CNN. After admitting that he did, in fact, attack Barker, he went on to say that Jena is a "real racist town."

Bell is entitled to his opinion just like anyone else in this country. He has served his time and is moving on with his life. But it may be time for those who truly wish to help Bell to get him to understand the danger of trying to mitigate his part in the crime by point the blame at racism and address the underlying problems that cause a young man to exhibit little remorse for beating another human being.

Whatever people want to believe about Jena, Ladalle Parish or Louisiana, Bell cannot get around the brutality of the attack. He cannot undo a conviction, and he cannot justify his violence.

Jena, like much of the nation, is a place where race needs to be addressed, and the Jena 6 incident pointedly marked a place to start -- for Jena and the nation. Jena's citizens have begun the hard work that must be done if it is to heal and to move ahead.

Questions about racism will be raised no matter what eventually happens in court. That is the power of this nation's most difficult social issue. At the end of the day, without justice -- blind justice -- we won't ever get beyond the issue of race.
Copyright ©2008 The Town Talk

----------
Bell to CNN: Jena 'a real racist town"
Town Talk staff • August 25, 2008

Mychal Bell, the only "Jena Six" defendant to face trial, admitted to hitting white classmate Justin Barker in the 2006 attack that led to one of the country's largest civil rights demonstrations in decades.

"I hit him, you know, whatever," Bell told CNN during an interview televised Sunday on the Headline News cable channel. "You know, I walked on, I went on about my business, whatever. You know. Ain't anything else about it."

In addition to briefly talking about his part in the attack, Bell -- who is currently living in Monroe with a foster family and under state supervision -- talked about his feelings about the community he was raised in.

"Jena is a real racist town, you know," Bell told CNN. "It always has been like that, you know. You got a couple people say, 'It ain't a racist town,' but it's a real racist town."

Bell and five other black Jena High students were charged in December 2006 of attempted second-degree murder in connection with the attack at the school on Barker, who was knocked unconscious and treated at a hospital for his injuries. Charges against all the students were eventually dropped to aggravated second-degree battery.

After an adult conviction on that charge was overturned by the Third Circuit Court of Appeal, Bell pleaded guilty to juvenile charges of second-degree battery in December.

The other five defendants are awaiting trial. Earlier this month the trial judge in Bell's case -- and the only district judge in LaSalle Parish -- was recused from the cases. Attorneys for the other students have filed motions to recuse the parish's district attorney as well.

Barker and his family have filed a civil suit against the Jena Six defendants, their parents, the school and the School Board.

Bell was sentenced to 18 months to be served concurrent "' where possible "' with sentences he had received for previous juvenile adjudications. Part of the deal also read that he would be required to testify against the other defendants if the cases went to trial.

The Jena Six case sparked national attention and led to more than 20,000 people coming to the rural LaSalle Parish town to march in protest nearly a year ago.

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Bell not likely to play football
By Bret H. McCormick • bmccormick@thetowntalk.com • August 20, 2008

It's likely that Mychal Bell's high school football career is finished.

Bell, the 18-year-old former star at Jena High School who was at the center of the "Jena Six" controversy, has completed his eight semesters of eligibility but was hoping to appeal for a ninth in order to play football at Carroll High School in Monroe.

Carroll football coach Jackie Hamilton said a compliance officer at the school mailed the paper work on Monday for Bell to go before the Louisiana High School Athletic Association's hardship committee next week.

As of late Tuesday afternoon, however, LHSAA Commissioner Kenny Henderson said "no request for an eligibility hearing" had been made on Bell's behalf.

"We mailed it (Monday)," Hamilton said. "I kept it out of my hands. We had a compliance officer to handle all of that. I know we had letters of recommendation, letters from the state and others to be turned in with that. I don't want to give you any false information. Anita Coats, our compliance officer, took care of the paper work."

Henderson said it's unlikely that Bell will be able to go before the hardship committee, particularly since Carroll waited so late to begin the process. It's the stance Henderson has taken since before spring practice, when Bell enrolled at Carroll in January.

"We've dealt with more than 50 eligibility rulings in the last two days," Henderson said. "He's not one of them."

Bell is hoping to regain an extra season because he spent part of last year in jail in connection with the beating of fellow Jena High student Justin Barker. Bell was one of six students charged in the Dec. 4, 2006, incident.

After originally being charged with attempted murder, Bell was convicted in June 2007 of aggravated second-degree battery and missed his senior season. Bell's adult conviction was overturned, however, and he pleaded guilty as a juvenile and was sentenced to 18 months as a ward of the state.

Bell moved into a Monroe-area foster home in January and has since been working with the Carroll team during summer conditioning and preseason practices. Hamilton has said that if Bell does get reinstated, he would most likely play both sides of the ball at running back and linebacker.

The hardship committee is expected to meet on Aug. 27, and Hamilton said he expects to be in attendance to support Bell.

"I want to be there for him," Hamilton said.

"Maybe they'll give me the opportunity to put my two cents in on why he should be ruled eligible. He's a great kid and a great leader. He's the ideal kid -- he does well in the classroom, in the weight room. He already scored an 18 on his ACT as a sophomore. If we get him, we'll be fortunate. It will be another blessing. I think the kid has been through a lot and needs something positive in his life."

Tabby Soignier of Louisiana Gannett News contributed to this report.

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Mychal Bell of 'Jena Six' requests ruling on football eligibility; coach says he's 'the ideal kid'
Louisiana Gannett News • August 19, 2008

Mychal Bell, teen at the center of the "Jena Six" controversy last year, is seeking a ruling his high school football eligibility.

Bell, 18, is asking a panel to rule whether he can regain his senior football season he missed due to spending time in jail after his role in the beating of fellow Jena High student Justin Barker.

The LHSAA Hardship Committee meets three times a year to determine whether players who missed a season due to uncontrollable circumstances should be reinstated for their senior seasons. The committee will meet next week, and Bell is hoping for a ruling from the panel.

Barker was allegedly attacked by at least six high school classmates, including Bell, on Dec. 4, 2006. Bell and the others were initially charged with attempted murder, which sparked a racially charged debate. In June 2007, Bell was convicted as an adult of aggravated second-degree battery and missed his senior season in 2007, while serving time in jail.

This past December, however, Bell pleaded guilty for his role in the beating. As part of his plea agreement, he was sentenced to 18 months as a ward of the state, ultimately landing him in Monroe and enrolled at Carroll High School.

The hardship committee met in February, but it was too soon for Bell and the administration to file the proper paper work.

"We mailed it today," football coach Jackie Hamilton said Monday. "I kept it out of my hands. We had a compliance officer to handle all of that. I know we had letters of recommendation, letters from the state and others to be turned in with that. I don't want to give you any false information. Anita Coats, our compliance officer, took care of the paper work."

The panel will review the paper work before Bell goes in front of the group next Wednesday, Aug. 27.

"I'm planning on going regardless," Hamilton said. "I want to be there for him. Maybe they'll give me the opportunity to put my two cents in on why he should be ruled eligible. He's a great kid and a great leader.

"He's the ideal kid — he does well in the classroom, in the weight room. He already scored an 18 on his ACT as a sophomore. If we get him, we'll be fortunate. It will be another blessing. I think the kid has been through a lot and needs something positive in his life."

Bell moved in an area foster home in January and has since been working with the team to the fullest extent during summer conditioning and preseason practices. Hamilton has said that if Bell does get reinstated he would most likely play both sides of the ball at running back and linebacker.

Bell
Bailey,Jr.

--------

For Release: August 25, 2008
Contact: Ryan Balis at (202) 543-4110
or rbalis@nationalcenter.org

"Jena Six" Defendant Could Provide Example of the Benefit of School Choice

Washington, D.C. - Jesse Ray Beard, the youngest member of the "Jena Six," is reportedly interested in spending a portion of his legal defense fund on private school tuition.

Beard and five other black students attending Jena High School in Jena, Louisiana are accused of beating a white student in a racially-charged December 2006 incident. The case received international attention and protests in favor of the black students. One of the Jena Six - Mychal Bell - has pleaded guilty to a juvenile charge related to the incident. Beard and the others are awaiting trial.

"Without discounting the seriousness of the charges against Jesse Ray Beard, the fact that he now appears to want to take advantage of a means of getting the best education possible is heartening," said Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli. "The fact that the only way he was given this choice was through a tragic series of events points to inherent problems in our nation's educational system that must be rectified."

Borelli, in addition to her work as a fellow with Project 21, is a member of the board of trustees of the Opportunity Charter School in Harlem.

Beard is living in New York with attorney Alan Howard while serving a 16-month sentence of house arrest on unrelated juvenile crime charges. He is allowed to work in a law firm and was accepted to a summer English course at the Canterbury School, a college preparatory boarding school.

Beard applied to be a full-time student at Canterbury, and would like to spend some of the money donated for his legal defense to pay for the school's tuition.

"They say that every dark cloud has a silver lining. In this case, Jesse Ray Beard is laying the groundwork to give himself a second chance through a quality education at a reputable school. This is unfortunately not a choice available to his classmates in Jena," added Project 21's Borelli. "While Beard may still be punished for what he allegedly did back in Louisiana, he is now taking advantage of something that could open up collegiate and career opportunities that were little more than a dream at Jena High. It's a crime that parents and students everywhere don't have a similar ability to go to a school that provides ample opportunity."

According to the America's Promise Alliance, 17 of the 50 largest cities in America have high school graduation rates of less than 50 percent. The Alliance for Excellent Education has estimated that dropouts from the 2007 school year alone will cost the nation over $300 billion in lost wages, taxes and productivity. A new study of the Milwaukee Parental School Choice Program found that 85 percent of students involved in the school choice program graduated high school in 2007 as opposed to 58 percent in the Milwaukee Public Schools.

Project 21, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization sponsored by the National Center for Public Policy Research, has been a leading voice of the African-American community since 1992. For more information, contact Ryan Balis at (202) 543-4110 or project21@nationalcenter.org, or visit Project 21's website at www.project21.org/P21Index.html.
-30-

Beard using 'Jena Six' defense funds for schooling
By Mandy M. Goodnight • mgoodnight@thetowntalk.com • August 15, 2008

Jesse Ray Beard is using his portion of the Jena Six Defense Fund to attend a private boarding school in Connecticut, which has piqued the interest of the attorney representing Justin Barker.

Cost to attend Canterbury School is $39,900 a year, according to the school's Web site.

Beard is the youngest of the six Jena High School students who are accused of attacking Barker in December 2006 at the school. The six students -- known as the "Jena Six" -- are black, and Barker is white.

Five of the six students are awaiting trial, while Mychal Bell pleaded guilty to a juvenile charge in connection with the incident.

The incident sparked international attention and led to a march of more than 20,000 in the rural LaSalle Parish town of Jena.

The Barkers have sued four of the Jena Six defendants and all six families. Bell and Beard are not listed in the lawsuit because they were minors at the time of the 2006 attack.

Henry Lemoine Jr., attorney for the Barkers, has said money from the defense fund could go to make restitution for Justin Barker. The fund was generated from donations given, including $10,000 from rocker David Bowie.

"I am following up on this," Lemoine said Thursday after hearing how Beard planned to pay for his out-of-state education.

This month, 9th Judicial District Judge Thomas Yeager removed the now-17-year-old Beard from house arrest on charges not related to the Jena Six case.

The move allowed Beard to remain out of state and attend Canterbury School, a private boarding school where he had been accepted this summer.

For the latter part of the summer, Yeager allowed Beard to move to New York to live with attorney Alan Howard. The teen had to take an English course, work as an intern in a law firm and be involved in a physical fitness routine.

In a letter to Yeager, Howard said Beard "is an engaging young man, with none of the negative qualities attributed to him by certain media reports."

While living with Howard, Beard applied and interviewed to be accepted at Canterbury School. He also participated in a football camp led by the school's football coach.

"Jesse Ray impressed me as a respectful and clear-thinking young man," coach Tom Taylor said in a letter to the court. "He also indicated a deep desire to have the opportunity to attend Canterbury School, grow as a person and student and realize his dream of going to college."

The school's football program has a 100 percent college attendance rate for players.

David Utter, attorney for Beard, said Beard is paying for the school partly with a scholarship, Jena Six Defense Fund money, and additional money is being raised for the remainder of the cost.

Beard's defense has been done pro bono, so Beard's $20,000 portion of the defense fund went to his education, Utter said.

"It (the money) was held by JJPL (Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana) and used 100 percent for his education," Utter said.

Lemoine said he is going to pursue where the defense fund money is at and the legal uses of that money.

He said he planned to track that money.

----------
A young man who was one of Louisiana's infamous "Jena Six," a group of youths charged with the beating of two fellow students following alleged hate crimes involving nooses displayed at their high school in 2006, is expected to be joining other students at Canterbury School in September.
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Louisiana youth getting a break
By: Emily M. Olson ©New Milford Times 2008

Jesse Ray Beard, 17, was accepted for admission to Canterbury Aug. 1 after meeting with Headmaster Tom Sheehy and the school's director of admissions, Keith Holton, according to a motion to terminate his probation order filed earlier this year in the 28th Judicial District Court, Juvenile Division, in the Parish of Lasalle in Louisiana.
The documents state that Mr. Beard filled out his own application and met in person with Mr. Sheehy and Canterbury's athletic coach, Tom Taylor. This summer, he also participated in a football camp run by Mr. Taylor.
"Coach Taylor, as indicated in his letter to the court, is committed to help Jesse Ray Bear succeed academically and athletically at the Canterbury School, and realize his dream of going to college," the motion states.
Mr. Beard's admission to Canterbury "would provide Jesse Ray Beard with top notch academic support, athletic programs, and spiritual and moral guidance," the motion states. "Significantly, it would also address the two concerns raised at the time Jesse Ray was originally placed on house arrest, namely negative peer influences and a lack of supervision ... [he] would be surrounded by positive peer influences, and there would be a dramatic step-up in supervision and structured activity."
The youth is being represented by David Utter, an attorney and founder of the Juvenile Justice Program of Louisiana (JJPL), who confirmed that Jesse Ray was sent to live in the home of an attorney in Westchester County, N.Y., following his probation. "He has done so well in his current placement," Mr. Utter said during a telephone interview this week. He sent the court documents to confirm his client's attendance at Canterbury in the fall.
Mr. Utter, who left the JJPL in December 2007 to pursue a new venture in Florida, is still representing Jesse Ray and will continue to do so until he receives a fair trial.
Mr. Utter is now the director of the Florida Initiatives for the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization focused on civil rights and hate crime investigation and prosecution.
"It's about the same thing we [continue to do] in Louisiana-we're looking to reform Florida's juvenile justice system," Mr. Utter said. "Like Louisiana, Florida overuses incarceration to deal with juvenile cases. The juvenile justice system is in a shambles, and we're devising a system to repair this broken justice system, as we have done in Mississippi and Alabama.
"It's a constant battle," Mr. Utter continued. "The fact that in Louisiana, in 2006, 2007 or 2008, you can still have a case like this, where if you're [African American] and you don't have a lot of money for a good lawyer, that the presumption is guilt and incarceration, is a pretty sad thing."
Teens, no matter what color they are or where they are from, face many challenges, the lawyer said. "I think that it's always 'cross your fingers and pray' with all teenagers, but I have a lot of faith that with the right support, all these young men are going to be successful," he said, referring to the Jena Six youths.
"Jesse Ray, thus far, has done a great job and it's a great opportunity for him," he said. "It's fantastic. He's getting exposed to all sorts of things. That's what teens need, lots of exposure, lots of support, and the research shows that it works."
Regarding his work with the Southern Poverty Law Center, Mr. Utter said the approach is simple. "We just want a fair trial for juveniles, and juvenile justice reform is so important," he said. "I brought [Jesse Ray Beard's] case with me and I'm doing it in this office."
A published report indicated that money donated for the defense of the Jena Six will partly pay for the youth's tuition at Canterbury.
As part of the court proceedings in the case, recusals were sought for several court officials, including a judge and District Attorney J. Reed Walters. In a motion from Mr. Utter filed in the state's superior court requesting the recusal of the district attorney, the Jena incidents were outlined in detail.
"On August 31, 2006, African American students arrived at school to find two hangman's nooses hanging from a tree that sits in the center of the Jena High School square ... where most students assemble during recess and lunch breaks,'" Mr. Utter's motion reads. "Disregarding the 4,863 recorded lynchings over the past 125 years, almost all in the Deep South and almost all hangings of African-Americans, officials reported to the local media that "most of the 'racial tensions' were more media hype than reality."
Despite a recommendation by the school principal that the three "noose hangers" be expelled, the expulsion hearing committee of the LaSalle Parish School Board voted to suspend the students instead.
"The attorney representing the school board (both in the noose-hangers' cases and also with regard to the expulsions of six African-American students including Jesse Ray) was, and remains, District Attorney J. Reed Walters (Walters): the very person who refused to prosecute these white students but charged Jesse Ray with attempted murder for allegedly hitting a fellow student ... ," Mr. Utter's motion continues.
"On December 4, 2006, after 3 months of racial tension at the school, including but not limited to: 1) protests and a sit-in by African-American students; 2) a meeting of African-American parents and students in response to the nooses; 3) African-American parents' efforts to discuss their opposition to the light punishment of the noose-hangers with the School Board; 4) numerous fights between African-American and white youth that spilled off school grounds; 5) at least one day of the entire school being placed on "lockdown;" and 6) an arsonist's fire that destroyed the main school building, Justin Barker (Justin), a white student, was injured in a battery, allegedly by six African-American students," the motion reads.
Shortly after the incident, sheriff's deputies arrested the young men, now known as the Jena 6, and charged them with aggravated second degree battery. Even though Justin was well enough to attend a school function hours later, Mr. Walters increased the charges against the Jena 6 to attempted second degree murder, and conspiracy to commit attempted second degree murder, and transferred one of the young men-Mychal Bell-to adult court.
Then, in February 2007, Jesse Ray Beard was charged with three misdemeanor offenses: simple battery, simple criminal damage to property less than $500, and simple assault. In a pre-disposition report from that motion, "factors contributing to delinquency were noted to be that 'Jesse is associating with a negative peer group involved in a continuous suspected delinquent behavior' and that 'there is not much supervision in the youth's home.' Jess Ray was given a suspended sentence of custody and placed on probation for a year, and ordered to house arrest with electronic monitoring.
For the following year, he received counseling and attended school. When his probation expired in March 2008, he was allowed to spend a month at the home of Alan Howard in Westchester, N.Y., to engage in an "interim educational plan" including a physical fitness program, an English course, no cell phone and a job. He worked as an intern at the firm of Dewy & LeBoeuf LLP, and followed the other terms of the agreement, according to the motion. In August, he was accepted to Canterbury School.
Ms. Kaplan's biggest concern for Jesse Ray Beard was his privacy, "so he can just be a kid," she said. "We're just hoping he's afforded that opportunity. There's a great level of scrutiny on this."

A Security Detail?!

2007-08-24T05:51:00.000-05:00

For these Times!!

Some one may wonder why, we would need to be protesting the Six's imprisonment for the alledged beating of Justin Barker. Unegual Justice! Mychal Bell & the Jena Six are Political Prisoners. Mychal Bell Faces 22 and one half years. So, A black-man, rather a negroe; can receive anywhere from 22 & one half years to 350 years in prison for any crimes against whites. A Bond Hearing today at 9:00am will set the tone for the rest of the Six's situation. Freedom or No! The tone will be finally set.

The Town Talk-update
Originally published August 24, 2007
Bail denied for 'Jena Six' defendant Mychal Bell

Bail was denied today for Mychal Bell, the only "Jena Six" member who has been convicted in the beating of a student at Jena High School.

During a bail hearing today in Jena, four other crimes of violence involving Bell were revealed.

Bell, 17, could face more than 20 years in prison if given the maximum sentence for aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy to commit that crime. He was convicted of those charges in June.

Bell was one of six students to be arrested and charged with attempted murder in connection with a December incident at Jena High School in which student Justin Barker was left unconscious, bleeding and suffered facial injuries. Bell was 16 at the time of the incident.

Bell is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 20.

The other five students -- Theo Shaw, Robert Bailey Jr., Carwin Jones, Bryant Purvis and an unnamed juvenile -- have not yet gone to trial.

The NAACP, the Rev. Al Sharpton and other black leaders have said the "Jena Six" member have been treated unfairly by the justice system. The "Jena Six" students are black while the beating victim is white. The jury which convicted Bell was all-white.

GRACE AND MERCY
Posted May 21, 2007
MUSIC VIDEO DIRECTED BY ULYSSES SALETT AND SUNG BY ULYSSES SALETT IN ATLANTA GA ULYSSES NOT ONLY DIRECT MUSIC VIDEO AND FILMS BUT IS AN ACCOMPLISH SINGER,

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All of the speculation has just gone out the window. Now we know the truth. If someone has FOUR violent offenses by the age of 16, it's more than the color of his skin that has put him in this predicament.

Posted by: Alexandria Resident on Fri Aug 24, 2007 3:08 pm

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Ty, the sad truth of the matter is that these other four incidents will be used in sentencing. I am afraid that Bell will get some jail time. If he is put into a prison, he will come out even more violent. Does anybody know whether there is any gang activity in Jena?

Posted by: observer on Fri Aug 24, 2007 3:05 pm

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WOW.....let me be the FIRST to say that 4 other incidents of violence against Mr. Bell is more than pretty substantial....it does show a pattern of recklessness and violence. And this is all that he's been CAUGHT doing.....it does make one wonder how many other incidents he has been involved in and gotten away with.

Were the original charges of "attempted murder" a ploy to circumvent juvenile justice system BECAUSE of his previous track record??

Posted by: tyjemison on Fri Aug 24, 2007 3:00 pm

Michael Cobb is a Political Prisoner in Angola State Penitentiary! Michael Cobb received 350 years!

Unequal Justice! Is this! When someone of another race is treated unfairly, in comparison with the way, other races are treated in the criminal justice system. In the Jena Six case & specifically with Mychal Bell, the ways of justice are tilted. Justin Barker was found on the campus with a weapon-a firearm. He was allowed to stay in school. Mychal Bell was convicted of an aggravated battery charge, was given a $90,000 bond prior to conviction and during the trial, he was not allowed to bail, because of the prior juvenile offenses and the probation associated with the juvenile offenses; he was denied a post-conviction bond on today, August 24, 2007.

However, in Bastrop, Louisiana a white-man charged with assessory to the gunning down of two Bastrop Detectives [murder], was allowed to bond out on $40,000.00. All this just an hour and 30 minutes north of Jena. This is UNEQUAL JUSTICE. And it's an unequal justice STATEWIDE that gubernatorial candidates need to address. I want to see what some of the organized groups are going to do now! Say now! Will they now, dump! Mychal Bell!

It is unequal justice, when a boy is convicted as an adult and denied bail, before the original trial, on the basis of a juvenile probation! That's UNEQUAL JUSTICE!!!
When the Louisiana Justice System perverts its methodolgy to just, get a conviction, to send a statement or to clear a case, that is no Justice at all.

We must demand, that the Gubernatorial Candidates from now till October 20th, and the Presidential candidates address the LOUISIANA JUSTICE SYSTEM & its RACIST PAST &
PRESENT!

Mychal Bell left Hanging

2007-07-26T00:56:00.000-05:00

<--Emancipation Oak But help has arrived!

As it would turn out, Bill Quigley; before he left the country, failed to provide certificate of service to the opposing attorneys notifying them of new motions, as per the law.

The attorney now handling Mychal Bell's case has established a team of lawyers to sift through the uncertain.

The scenario of the famed civil rights attorney, forgetting such a mundane legal chore is puzzling to say the least. That, coupled with actions by some ACLU staff is suspect. The new attorney was able to file motions to fire Blane Willaims,
and get a hearing on these actions.

3 August 2007

Revs. Jackson and Sharpton plan trip to show support for Jena Six
By Abbey Brown
abrown@thetowntalk.com

The Rev. Jesse Jackson on Wednesday said the charges against the six black teens known as the "Jena Six" are "disgraceful" and said he is coming to Jena to spread a message of "reconciliation rather than retaliation."
Although the date for his visit isn't yet final, the Rev. Al Sharpton's office confirmed Wednesday that he will be speaking in support of the students some of whom still face attempted murder charges at 11 a.m. Sunday at Trout Creek Baptist Church in Jena.

Robert Bailey Jr., Mychal Bell, Carwin Jones, Bryant Purvis, Theo Shaw and an unnamed juvenile were charged in December with attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit the same after a Dec. 4 attack that left white student Justin Barker unconscious and in need of medical attention.

Bell was convicted in June of aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy to commit that crime the highest charge possible after LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters reduced the charges just before the trial began. He faces more than 20 years in prison when sentenced on Sept. 20.
Shaw, who was behind bars for more than seven months, was recently released in lieu of bond after family and supporters raised enough cash and property for the $90,000 bond. Bell remains behind bars.

The case has captured headlines and airtime across the world in both alternative and mainstream media, including recent segments on CNN, NBC and CBS nightly news.

But one of Bell's appeals attorneys, Bob Noel of Monroe, said he hopes the attention from both the media and national public figures will have no effect on the case positive or negative.

"I would hope not," he said of any possible effects. "I hope the outcome of the case is based solely upon the law as it applies to this case, and if it is, I feel very positive about the outcome."

Noel, along with the lead attorney in the case, Louis Scott, and other Monroe attorneys Lee Perkins, Peggy Sullivan and Carol Powell-Lexing, signed on to represent Bell through the appeals process. The attorneys are all members of the 4th Judicial District Indigent Defenders Board but aren't being contracted to do this.

All agreed to handle the defense work pro-bono after being contacted by Scott, who was contacted by Bell's father, Marcus Jones.

Alexandria defense attorney Mike Small said the widespread attention generated by the cases will virtually ensure that a motion to change venue for the other defendants will be granted.

"Given the polarization caused by these cases, it is difficult for me to imagine fair and impartial juries can be selected in LaSalle Parish," he said.
Grace&Mercy

Jena's Six

2007-07-11T19:23:00.000-05:00

Jena Six Defense Committee
P.O. Box 2798
Jena, Louisiana 71342
jena6defense@gmail.com

Bill Quigley was in Jena today at the LaSalle Correctional Center and the LaSalle Parish Courthouse. Quigley was in the prison to see, Mychal Bell who is awaiting sentencing on July 31st 2007. Mr. Quigley filed papers from Mychal Bell to dismiss Blane Williams as his [Bell's] legal counsel. Working in concord with Tory Pegram of the Louisiana ACLU and others, the process to free Mychal Bell & the Jena Six from this unlawful prosecution is in process. However, a swirl of events are occurring as the LaSalle system continues its denial of equal justice to all of its citizens. The incident at the church is being alledgedly investigated by the LaSalle Parish Sheriff.

The struggle continues as plantation paternalism, which is blind to the fact of its immoral practices; continues to attempt to conquer and divide. Attorneys who are coming in to the fray are wary of the tactics, that seek to dismantle freedoms won long ago. Independent civil and human rights facilitators are working under cover in the Jena area. The Monroe Initiative has focused on the Bell conviction, in an effort to dismantle the denial of equal justice. Monroe, Louisiana is the birthplace of Huey P. Newton, co-founder of the legendary Black Panther Party.

It has been suggested, that attorneys will be acquired pro bono; however, Robert Bailey, Jr., has Sam Thomas of Tallulah; Bryant Purvis has Daryl Hickmon of Alexandria; Carwin Jones has Mike Nunnery of Baton Rouge; Theodore Shaw has George Tucker of Hammond enrolled; and Mychal Bell has a team assembled with a so far unspecified lead attorney. It has been stated that the un-named juvenile, who was named on the BBC has a court appointed attorney. The rarely referenced 7th person Ryan Simmons, charged in the gun incident only has reportedly aggressive white attorney; who took Judge Mauffray to task in earlier hearings.

Also, a LaSalle Parish NAACP Branch resolution was effectively push through the national meeting, by a representative of the Louisiana NAACP State Conference in the National meeting in Detroit, Michigan in progress since July 7th through July 12th. The significance of the National Resolution is that a concerted response from the NAACP can be applied to the Jena debacle, with support from other groups such as Rainbow Push, Urban League, SCLC and BAMN. The ACLU has been in Jena from the out set. The family members have had unparalled access from the state ACLU through Tory Pegram & its New York offices, through King Downing. It is now time for the families of the Jena six to began the long process of living with and moving forward with the actions which must be taken hereafter.

The Nation of Islam in Monroe has sought ways to be of assistance to the efforts in Jena. On the night of Thursday July 5th, the Nation was in attendance, and gave two seperate donations to the Jena Six Defense Committee. The Minister Lawrence Muhammad, has been in contact with numerous officials urging, their assistance in what is happening in Jena. The regional headquarters of the Nation in Houston, is spearheading a national Islamic involvement.

All parties concerned at this point must work in their particular area of expertise and coordinate with all entities involved. Each group must, appoint a person to spearhead its involvement.

It must be a concerted effort. GSSC

World Cultural Economic Forum in New Orleans

2007-06-21T14:07:00.000-05:00

Culture forum planned for La.
State's arts, history will be showcased
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
By Jaquetta White

Hoping to bring international attention to what has been termed the state's cultural economy, Louisiana will host the World Cultural Economic Forum in August, Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu said Tuesday.

The event, a demonstration modeled after the World Economic Forum based in Switzerland, will include a series of meetings and workshops on culture featuring ambassadors and cultural attachés from several countries.

"The topic would be culture in its most general sense," Landrieu said.

While the meetings will discuss culture worldwide, programs, performances and events held throughout the state during the forum will showcase Louisiana's literary arts, visual arts, culinary arts, performing arts and history. The hope is that after the visit, the ambassadors will spread word of the state's recovery in their countries.

Landrieu said the idea for the forum arose from the outpouring of support Louisiana received from foreign nations following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. During February's Louisiana Cultural Economy Summit III, several international leaders expressed interest in helping Louisiana capitalize on its culture. It was a show of that support that led French government officials in March to lend works from French museums to the New Orleans Museum of Art for the "Femme, Femme, Femme," exhibit, which ended earlier this month.

"This is to kind of take it up a notch in response to their support," Landrieu said. "We also want to learn from what other countries have to present to us."

Landrieu's office has been behind a push to use Louisiana's culture to encourage economic development. The culture sector of the state's economy includes entertainment jobs, such as those in broadcasting, film, music and live entertainment, as well as some parts of culinary arts, literary arts and humanities, preservation and visual arts and crafts. A state-commissioned study released this year reported that about 144,000 jobs, or 7 percent of the state's employment, is generated through the sector.

The forum will take place Aug. 16-26 in New Orleans. The dates were selected to coincide as closely as possible with the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The hope is that a successful event will allay fears about hosting major affairs in New Orleans during hurricane season, said Jeanne Nathan, a spokeswoman for the forum.

The forum also is timed to coincide with several other events statewide, including Carnaval Latino, a festival celebrating Hispanic heritage and culture, in New Orleans and the Floodwall Exhibit, an art installation memorializing victims of Hurricane Katrina, in Baton Rouge.
JFAL

Jun 8, 11:11 AM EDT
appeared in The News-Star Monroe, La.
Judge: Fed prosecutors should get involved in whistle-blower case

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The judge who unsealed a federal whistle-blower case accusing insurance companies of overbilling the National Flood Insurance Program says the U.S. Department of Justice should get involved or explain why not.

The case was brought by former insurance adjusters who say they have evidence that insurance companies overbilled the federal flood program while underpaying claims for Hurricane Katrina wind damage.

U.S. District Judge Peter Beer filed a one-sentence motion this week: "The Court, on its own motion, respectfully requests the United States Department of Justice enter this case by July 9, 2007, or show cause on July 11, 2007, at 9:30 a.m., why they are not intervening in this civil action."

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Baton Rouge, which fielded the complaint with the Department of Justice in Washington even though it was filed in New Orleans, referred a call Friday for comment to Washington. The department has no comment, spokesman Charles Miller said.

Beer said he was surprised to learn that the U.S. attorney's office in Baton Rouge planned only to monitor the case, which now is being prosecuted for the U.S. government by a private attorney who represents the whistle-blowers.

"What about the good old general public? Who better to look after the interests of the public than the U.S. attorneys?" Beer said. "This is a case the government should be involved with. The United States should be right in there, and not just monitoring it, given as far-reaching and serious as this case is."

The whistle-blowers say that they've analyzed insurance appraisals of damage and readjusted claims at 150 properties in the New Orleans area. They say all of the flood claims were overpaid - by an average of 66 percent - while the wind claims were underpaid.

The average means the overcharges could total billions out of the $14 billion paid after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in Louisiana.

Because private insurance carriers administer federal flood insurance policies and adjust both flood and wind claims, the theory is that companies may be dumping the bills for wind damage onto the taxpayer-financed flood program to save themselves money.

Insurance companies have said they stand by their claims-handling practices.

Beer's motion was copied to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales or his deputy; Jim Letten, the U.S. attorney in New Orleans; and David Dugas, the U.S. attorney in Baton Rouge.

Delegates to Washington to discuss needs in N.O.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
By Brendan McCarthy
New Orleans Times-Picayune

Top New Orleans legal and law enforcement officials are scheduled to testify before Congress today in an effort to seek additional federal money to fight crime.

"Basically, we are going to talk about how the infrastructure of the criminal justice system here is wholly inadequate," said Robert Stellingworth, the president of the New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation, who is slated to testify. "We are still operating in a crisis mode, which makes it difficult."

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., and Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., are scheduled to brief members of the Senate Judiciary Committee in a hearing titled "Rising Violent Crime in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina."

U.S. Attorney Jim Letten, New Orleans Police Deputy Chief Anthony Cannatella and Orleans Parish Juvenile Court Chief Judge David Bell will also testify.

Cannatella said Tuesday that the hearing is part of the process of strengthening law enforcement.

"Senators Landrieu and Vitter are attempting to help the city and get what it needs to get the criminal justice system back up on its feet," Cannatella said.

The congressional committee will hear stories of a fractured criminal justice system, one with systemic problems that were laid bare and heightened following Hurricane Katrina.

In recent months, law enforcement agencies have heralded several moves back to normalcy. The NOPD crime lab is up and running, albeit not yet at full capacity. Some of the police district stations have been repaired, though many units, including top administration officials, still work out of trailers.

In addition, NOPD Superintendent Warren Riley and Orleans Parish District Attorney Eddie Jordan have agreed to certain steps to make prosecutions more efficient and effective.

Despite the marked improvements since the storm, violent crime has remained steady.

The city's 2006 per-capita homicide rate ranks highest in the country. With at least 91 slayings this year, the city is well on pace to surpass last year's homicide total of 162.

State Police troopers and National Guard troops, deployed here since last summer, are scheduled to remain at least through Sept. 1.

In addition, officers from federal law enforcement agencies are working in the city alongside local police officers.

Full-scale mobilisation as Gonu strikes:-To reach Muscat by 4 pm today

2007-06-06T00:36:00.000-05:00

As Sultanate joins the world to mark World Environment Day
Oman to be Hit: Citizens Depart
Gonu brings rain relief, fear to India
5 Jun, 2007 l 0236 hrs ISTlTIMES NEWS NETWORK

BHUJ/GANDHINAGAR: The heat seems to have gone, thanks to Gonu. Heavy rainfall hit Bhuj and surrounding areas with 25 mm being recorded in just half-an-hour on Monday evening. Rainfall was also reported from Rajkot, parts of Banaskantha, Patan, Mehsana and Sabarkantha in the evening.

District authorities said that the rainfall in Kutch and north Gujarat was due to the impact of the cyclonic storm, Gonu, which was earlier heading towards the state coast. The cyclone is now moving westwards to Oman. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has informed Gujarat government that the cyclonic formation in the Arabian sea is now moving away from the coast, but the state officialdom is taking no chances.

Officials monitoring the weather in the Arabian sea say, the movement of the cyclonic formation, Gonu, is still 'unpredictable'.

"Instructions were given to district collectors of all the coastal districts on Sunday evening to be on the alert. These instructions stand. Fishermen have been asked not to move into the sea for another 24 hours because of the possibility of rough weather.

However, no extra measures are being taken, as the cyclonic formation is still 600 kilometres away from the Gujarat coast," a senior official of the state relief commissionerate said. Mamlatdars of coastal talukas including Abdassa, Mundra, Mandvi and Gandhidham have been asked to stay at their respective headquarters.

The Geography of Dissent New Orleans & Palestine

2007-05-05T18:06:00.000-05:00

Palestine 29May2007 update

Haniyeh wary of possible Israeli assassin!

Lawmaker wants Supreme Court in Baton Rouge

By MARSHA SHULER
Advocate Capitol News Bureau
Published: May 1, 2007

Baton Rouge would become home to the Louisiana Supreme Court if a Shreveport lawmaker has his way.

Sen. Max Malone, R-Shreveport, proposed a constitutional amendment that would move the state’s top court to the capital city by Jan. 1, 2010.

Malone said Monday he’s irked by the court’s failure to follow the law.

Suit filed over indigent defense
Judges vote to pull 4 members off panel
Saturday,
May 05, 2007By Laura Maggi

The judges of Criminal District Court voted Friday to remove four members of the board that oversees the New Orleans public defender office, prompting the entire board to file a federal lawsuit saying the judges are improperly interfering with providing quality legal representation to poor defendants.

All of the judges except Charles Elloie, who has been temporarily suspended by the Louisiana Supreme Court, met behind closed doors Friday morning at the Criminal District Courthouse at Tulane Avenue and South Broad Street. Exiting the judicial administrators' office, Chief Judge Raymond Bigelow declined to comment on the private meeting, which had consideration of the membership of the Orleans Indigent Defense Board at the top of its agenda.

But a lawsuit filed at the U.S. District Court in New Orleans made clear that four members were notified they had been kicked off the nine-member board, which has been operating for many months with just eight members.

The lawsuit, which was assigned to Judge Lance Africk, is based on the constitutional right of poor defendants to get "conflict-free" representation, said Herbert Larson, the attorney for the board.

"The attempted removal of four members of the present board and replacing them with other people is nothing more than an attempt to interfere with the management decisions by what is, by any measure, an outstanding indigent defender board," Larson said. He asked for a preliminary injunction to block the change.

In anticipation of the judges' actions, which came after weeks of negotiation, including sessions with the Louisiana Supreme Court, five members of the board met Thursday to unanimously authorize the lawsuit, said Derwyn Bunton, a terminated board member and associate director of the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana. Three board members did not attend that meeting, he said.
New Orleans Times-Picayune

Bahr asks South Africa to pressure Israel to halt aggressions on Palestinians

2007-05-05T12:04:00.000-05:00

GAZA, (PIC)-- Dr. Ahmad Bahar, the acting speaker of the PLC, has asked a visiting South African delegation, headed by Ronnie Kasrlis the minister of intelligence services, to pressure Israel into halting its aggression on the Palestinian people.

Dr. Bahar briefed the delegates on the sufferings of the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation that doubled over the past year as a result of the "oppressive siege" imposed on them.

He further said that the detention of Dr. Aziz Dwaik, the speaker of the PLC, and locking him up in a small cell "ran contrary to all international norms and the Geneva Convention".

For his part, Kasrlis pointed to his country's strong sense of the injustice befalling the Palestinian people, and appreciated their struggle aimed at restoring legitimate rights of freedom and independence.

In the same context, Kasrlis expressed his condemnation of Israel's detention of 41 Palestinian lawmakers, including the speaker of the PLC.

He also said that the two peoples in Palestine and South Africa underwent the same bitter experience for the sake of freedom and independence, "Hence we should strengthen the relations between the two countries through repeated meetings and visits at all levels".

Changing Times?

2007-04-23T14:16:00.000-05:00

The theory of the unitary executive is a radical vision of executive power in which the president is the big boss of the entire executive branch and has final say over everything that happens within it. At its core, the theory holds that Congress has very limited authority to divest the president of those powers. An expanded version of this theory was the legal predicate for the torture memo: "In light of the president's complete authority over the conduct of war, without a clear statement otherwise, criminal statutes are not read as infringing on the president's ultimate authority in these areas. … Congress may no more regulate the president's ability to detain and interrogate enemy combatants than it may regulate his ability to direct troop movements on the battlefield."

Is America changing or has the nation evolved into a battleground of control by partisans and branches of government? In either case, the people are caught in the middle of such a shoving match, the likes of which can not be compared to any thing in modern media history. The world can explore the facts or non-facts of checks and balances in American governance. The impending doom of an impeachment proceeding, would precipitate a stock market crash as confidence in an unstable American democracy would erode further and trigger a global devaluation of the dollar. All would suffer, especially the poor in such an event. hlr

Seale Jury Pool to be Queried

Desperation in Gaza

2007-03-27T16:27:00.000-05:00

US policy in Palestine hinders basic human infrastructure. A democratic election was held in Palestine. The elected government was not to US government liking. Sanctions continue on the country and its human population. At some point will the palestinian populous realize to vote the american ticket?

Flood of Sewage in Gaza Kills at Least 4
By THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: March 27, 2007

At least 4 people were killed today in the northern Gaza Strip and more than 30 injured when a sewage system collapsed, flooding a village with waste water, according to the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees.
The agency, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which helps Palestinian refugees and their families, posted photographs on its Web site showing Palestinians wading through the muck, and waters rising about half way up structures in the area known as Um al-Nasr.

The local Palestinian news agency, Wafa, reported that at least nine people were killed and scores wounded. Hundreds of houses were flooded or damaged, the U.N. agency and Wafa said.

“The waters destroyed houses, tents, shelters, everything in its way,” Musa Jaber, a 28 year-old Palestine refugee and father of five, told the U.N. agency. “It was very high, more than a meter. And horrifying! Women and children were screaming at the top of their lungs for help.”

The U.N. agency estimated that between 3,000 and 6,000 inhabitants would evacuate as the flood waters spread to outlying areas. The agency dispatched staff to the area, as well as water and food supplies. Bulldozers were sent to create earth barriers.

Village children clung to wooden doors floating on the putrid waters and rescuers paddled through the village in makeshift boats in search of victims, Agence France-Presse reported. It said Palestinian television called the flood a “sewage tsunami.”

Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company {GSSC}

One Voice

2007-03-27T16:15:00.000-05:00

A building sits on its own island of land in Chongqing Municipality, China. The homeowner has refused to sell to a developer, who went ahead with construction around the site.

By HOWARD W. FRENCH
Published: March 27, 2007
CHONGQING, China, March 23 — For weeks the confrontation drew attention from people all across China, as a simple homeowner stared down the forces of large-scale redevelopment that are sweeping this country, blocking the preparation of a gigantic construction site by an act of sheer will.

Chinese bloggers were the first to spread the news, of a house perched atop a tall, thimble-shaped piece of land like Mont-Saint-Michel in northern France, in the middle of a vast excavation.

Newspapers dived in next, followed by national television. Then, in a way that is common in China whenever an event begins to take on hints of political overtones, the story virtually disappeared from the news media after the government, bloggers here said, decreed that the subject was suddenly out of bounds.

Still, the “nail house,” as many here have called it because of the homeowner’s tenacity, like a nail that cannot be pulled out, remains the most popular current topic among bloggers in China.

It has a universal resonance in a country where rich developers are seen to be in cahoots with politicians and where both enjoy unchallenged sway. Each year, China is roiled by tens of thousands of riots and demonstrations, and few issues pack as much emotional force as the discontent of people who are suddenly uprooted, told that they must make way for a new skyscraper or golf course or industrial zone.

What drove interest in the Chongqing case was the uncanny ability of the homeowner to hold out for so long. Stories are legion in Chinese cities of the arrest or even beating of people who protest too vigorously against their eviction and relocation. In one often-heard twist, holdouts are summoned to the local police station and return home only to find their house already demolished. How did this owner, a woman no less, manage? Millions wondered.

Part of the answer, which on meeting her takes only a moment to discover, is that Wu Ping is anything but an ordinary woman. With her dramatic lock of hair precisely combed and pinned in the back, a form-flattering bright red coat, high cheekbones and wide, excited eyes, the tall, 49-year-old restaurant entrepreneur knows how to attract attention — a potent weapon in China’s new media age, in which people try to use public opinion and appeals to the national image to influence the authorities.

“For over two years they haven’t allowed me access to my property,” said Ms. Wu, her arms flailing as she led a brisk walk through the Yangjiaping neighborhood here. It is an area in the throes of large-scale redevelopment, with broad avenues, big shopping malls and a recently built elevated monorail line, from whose platform nearly everyone stops to gawk at the nail house.

Within moments of her arrival at the locked gate of the excavated construction site, a crowd began to gather. The people, many of them workers with sunken cheeks, dressed in grimy clothes, regarded Ms. Wu with expressions of wonderment. Some of them exchanged stories about how they had been forced to relocate and soothed each other with comments about how it all could not be helped.

From inside the gates a government television crew began filming.

“If it were an ordinary person they would have hired thugs and beat her up,” murmured a woman dressed in a green sweater who was drawn by the throng. “Ordinary people don’t dare fight with the developers. They’re too strong.”

Earlier this month the National People’s Congress passed a historic law guaranteeing private property rights to China’s swelling ranks of urban middle-class homeowners, among others. Some here attributed Ms. Wu’s success to that, as well as her knack for generating publicity.

“In the past they would have just knocked it down,” said an 80-year-old woman who said she used to be a neighbor of Ms. Wu’s. “Now that’s forbidden, because Beijing has put out the word that these things should be done in a reasonable way.”

Between frenzied telephone calls to reporters and city officials, Ms. Wu, who stood at the center of the crowd with her brother, a 6-foot-3 decorative stone dealer who wore his brown hair in jheri curls, stated her case with a slightly different spin.

“I have more faith than others,” she began. “I believe that this is my legal property, and if I cannot protect my own rights, it makes a mockery of the property law just passed. In a democratic and lawful society a person has the legal right to manage one’s own property.”

Tian Yihang, a local college student, spoke glowingly of her in an interview at the monorail station. “This is a peculiar situation,” he said, with a bit of understatement. “I admire the owner for being so persistent in her principles. In China such things shock the common mind.”

Ms. Wu will in all likelihood lose her battle. Indeed, developers recently filed administrative motions to allow them to demolish her lonely building. Certainly the local authorities are eager to see the last of her.

“During the process of demolition, 280 households were all satisfied with their compensation and moved,” said Ren Zhongping, a city housing official. “Wu was the only one we had to dismantle forcibly. She has the value of her house in her heart, but what she has in mind is not practical. It’s far beyond the standards of compensation decided by owners of housing and the professional appraisal organ.”

With the street so choked with onlookers that traffic began to back up, Ms. Wu’s brother, Wu Jian, began waving a newspaper above the crowd, pointing to pictures of Ms. Wu’s husband, a local martial arts champion, who was scheduled to appear in a highly publicized tournament that evening. “He’s going into our building and will plant a flag there,” Mr. Wu announced.

Moments later, as the crowd began to thin, a Chinese flag appeared on the roof with a hand-painted banner that read: “A citizen’s legal property is not to be encroached on.”

Asked how his brother-in-law had managed to get inside the locked site and climb the escarpment on which the house is perched, he said with a wink, “Magic.”
Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company {GSSC}

ICF-International, CAPITALIZES on ROAD HOME MISERY

2007-03-27T15:04:00.012-05:00

The capitalization by ICF of the situation in New Orleans is unconscionable. It is appalling that the Washington Times writer, doesn't acknowledge the withdrawal of the Governor of Louisiana from the governor's race. Neither is mentioned the possible run by John Breaux. Both omissions acknowledge the awaiting of business as usual to fully stamp its approval on the demise of Louisiana.

Louisiana State Senator Edwin Murray in a special session committee meeting in December 2006, resolved to have the Security & Exchange Commission determine if the Road Home contract advanced ICF's standing in the global market.

Katrina contract buoys ICF stock
By Tom Ramstack
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
March 27, 2007

ICF International took on a huge contract last summer to administer a federal Hurricane Katrina recovery program in Louisiana that has been hounded by complaints about the time it takes to distribute grant money.
Nevertheless, the Fairfax consulting company's stock value is up by more than 20 percent in the past six months.
Last June, ICF International won a contract valued at up to $756 million over three years to administer grants to homeowners in Louisiana to rebuild their homes after the 2005 hurricane.
The $7.5 billion program, called the Road Home, provides up to $150,000 to each homeowner in federally funded block grants, which are administered by the state.
ICF International beat out BearingPoint and Affiliated Computer Services in a bid for the contract to screen applicants and distribute the money.
By January, ICF International was being criticized by Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco and others for a slow response and unnecessary bureaucracy. The company reportedly received 103,000 applications but gave out fewer than 400 grants. State auditors also raised questions about what appeared to be excessive legal fees and travel expenses.
The company said it was dealing with software problems and disputes with applicants over property values, but denied being behind the state government's schedule. ICF officials also said the size of the Hurricane Katrina recovery is unparalleled. The Road Home program required using more than 2,000 employees, about 700 directly employed by ICF International and the rest by 23 subcontractors.
"It was the largest contract we ever won," said Doug Beck, ICF International's senior vice president of corporate development.
The company normally operates with 2,100 employees internationally, about half in the Washington area.
For the Road Home program, they tried to hire as much local talent as possible.
"Given the amount of devastation, they're very aware of how much money goes back into Louisiana to help the local economy," Mr. Beck said. "We've tried very, very hard to have as much of a Louisiana footprint as possible. Ninety percent of the employees are from Louisiana and 70 percent are storm victims whose homes were damaged."
ICF International officials announced Feb. 28 that they gave out 2,268 grants for the month, prompting Louisiana's governor to tone down her earlier criticisms of the company. The company says it is on schedule to have given out a total of about 6,000 grants by the end of this month.
"I expect continued positive results and will not be satisfied until the application of every homeowner is complete," Mrs. Blanco said. "We jump-started this program by removing roadblocks and holding ICF International accountable."
ICF International has 38 years of experience handling government housing assistance programs. It helped in the recovery after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and after Hurricane Andrew devastated central Florida in 1992.
However, until the Road Home, its contracts for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development were valued at a total of just under $50 million since 2001.
The company has administered other government contracts for environmental work, defense, energy and human services. One of them was announced last week, when the Homeland Security Department awarded ICF International a $22.1 million, five-year contract for consulting services on how to protect U.S. infrastructure, such as power plants, railroads and telecommunications equipment.
The company said it would help the government deploy resources to "offer the most benefit for mitigating risk" from terrorist attacks.
Its stock hit a 52-week high last week after it announced its fourth-quarter revenue more than doubled. ICF International's stock, ICFI on the Nasdaq Stock Market, rose to $18.90 per share yesterday, up 59 cents or 3 percent from Friday's closing price.
The company reported net income of $9.2 million (65 cents per diluted share) on revenue of $113.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2006. One year earlier, it lost $1 million (11 cents) on revenue of $51.8 million, which it blamed largely on tax charges.
Financial analysts say Road Home was a watershed event for ICF International, but one that is unlikely to sustain its earnings for long at the same level as the fourth quarter of 2006.
Nevertheless, the company is making steady progress in winning other government contracts, said Joseph A. Vafi, a research analyst for the financial firm Jefferies & Co.
"Given a double-digit increase in backlog, we feel the base revenue will re-accelerate somewhat over the next several quarters," Mr. Vafi said in a research note. "At the same time, a material slowdown post-Road Home anniversary could be a risk in 2008."
Copyright 2007 The Washington Times {GSSC}

25April2008 50bullets cops set free.
The 60's invasion Amy,Estelle & Van - a new kind of Music? A tune for the times!
Back to Black 2007BBC

RIP The Heart of Amy

Love Is

Some UnHoly War

Mandela 2008 Hyde Park

Amy performs
Amy Winehouse - Free Nelson Mandela (46664 Concert 2008)

Rehab & Valerie