Gustav is even larger in terms of area than Katrina was, and Katrina was humongous.
If she floods this time, this is probably all she wrote. New Orleans really is history.
Cuba's been bashed and creamed. So has Haiti, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. By tomorrow afternoon we should know.
I'm sick.
Showing posts with label Hurricane Gustav. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hurricane Gustav. Show all posts
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Why New Orleans Matters To Us All (One Reason, Among Many)
From The World That Made New Orleans: Spanish Silver to Congo Square (2008) by Ned Sublette, the conclusion to Chapter Two, "The Gift of the River:
[ As of this writing (August 2007), it's too soon to tell how the city will recover, and it's unclear whether there is sufficient protection against a future flood that might once again wreak havoc on the city. The French Quarter's still there, as are other historic neighborhoods. But what made New Orleans such an eloquent piece of living history wasn't only its elegant, termite-ridden housing stock. It was the people of the city, two-thirds of them people of color. The destruction of buildings in 2005 was fearful, but so was the loss of something intangible: African America took a terrible blow when the collective knowledge of black New Orleans was scattered to the four winds. Dispersing that population was like tearing up an encyclopedia in front of an electric fan. This book is dedicated to the people who are trying put that book back together. ]
Without that population, the living cultural history of New Orleans, and further than that, the political and cultural history of this nation, there never would have been Jazz, Louis Armstrong, Dr. John, and Rock and Roll, all the many other great, great music artists and music forms that made the twentieth century the century of this nation. Without them, in their cultural milieu, there will never be another musical genius on the level of Louis Armstrong, and thereby, never another chance for another period in which this nation can be great.
I posted the above, yesterday, elsewhere. Today Larry Blumenfeld posted the same sentiments at TruthDig, at greater length. You can see it here.
Here is the introduction:
[ Yes We Can Can
By Larry Blumenfeld
Sunday night, when Allen Toussaint played "Yes We Can Can" for Democratic convention delegates in Denver, the song sounded tailor-made for the Obama campaign. But he wrote it in New Orleans, in 1970, inspired by a different era of change.
No wonder. New Orleans musicians have for more than a century anticipated and articulated just what this country needs. Now, three years past the floods that followed Katrina, Mr. Toussaint and other bearers of the city's unique (and uniquely American) culture -- jazz musicians, brass-band members, Social Aid & Pleasure Club second-liners, and Mardi Gras Indians --call on the country to respond to their needs, for the good of us all. We must recognize this culture as essential to New Orleans recovery, not to mention the restoration of our damaged national identity. ]
WWOZ, by the way has packed up and gone off the air, evacuated. They will continue streaming content via the web, but there's no one in the studios.
[ As of this writing (August 2007), it's too soon to tell how the city will recover, and it's unclear whether there is sufficient protection against a future flood that might once again wreak havoc on the city. The French Quarter's still there, as are other historic neighborhoods. But what made New Orleans such an eloquent piece of living history wasn't only its elegant, termite-ridden housing stock. It was the people of the city, two-thirds of them people of color. The destruction of buildings in 2005 was fearful, but so was the loss of something intangible: African America took a terrible blow when the collective knowledge of black New Orleans was scattered to the four winds. Dispersing that population was like tearing up an encyclopedia in front of an electric fan. This book is dedicated to the people who are trying put that book back together. ]
Without that population, the living cultural history of New Orleans, and further than that, the political and cultural history of this nation, there never would have been Jazz, Louis Armstrong, Dr. John, and Rock and Roll, all the many other great, great music artists and music forms that made the twentieth century the century of this nation. Without them, in their cultural milieu, there will never be another musical genius on the level of Louis Armstrong, and thereby, never another chance for another period in which this nation can be great.
I posted the above, yesterday, elsewhere. Today Larry Blumenfeld posted the same sentiments at TruthDig, at greater length. You can see it here.
Here is the introduction:
[ Yes We Can Can
By Larry Blumenfeld
Sunday night, when Allen Toussaint played "Yes We Can Can" for Democratic convention delegates in Denver, the song sounded tailor-made for the Obama campaign. But he wrote it in New Orleans, in 1970, inspired by a different era of change.
No wonder. New Orleans musicians have for more than a century anticipated and articulated just what this country needs. Now, three years past the floods that followed Katrina, Mr. Toussaint and other bearers of the city's unique (and uniquely American) culture -- jazz musicians, brass-band members, Social Aid & Pleasure Club second-liners, and Mardi Gras Indians --call on the country to respond to their needs, for the good of us all. We must recognize this culture as essential to New Orleans recovery, not to mention the restoration of our damaged national identity. ]
WWOZ, by the way has packed up and gone off the air, evacuated. They will continue streaming content via the web, but there's no one in the studios.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Fireworks!
There was much to like from Denver last night.
The audience in the stadium was authentically multi-cultural. It looked like the nation as it really is. The shoji-like screen backdrop was quietly elegant. The colors were warm.
And then they set off fireworks! So that's why last night's events were moved to the stadium! As well as to accomodate the evidently 85,000 plus crowd, who went through hell to be there -- standing in long lines, the mandatory hours early arrival, and then they couldn't leave once admitted, couldn't bring food or drink in with them. Yet I heard from the endless blithering of broadcasters that the crowd, inexplicably to them and their superior sense of entitlement, seemed to be having a good time all through the day as they gathered and waited for the main events to start.
Michelle Obama did look rather stunned a few times when they all gathered together after Senator Obama's acceptance speech. She and Mrs. Biden probably don't know each other at all yet. So I'm wondering about that. They will probably be spending a lot of time with each other in the next 60 and change days.
In the meantime, Mayor Nagin walked out of the CON's screening of Trouble The Water. You can read a transcript of what happened when Kimberly and Scott talked with the mayor here.
There evidently were many events during the demCON related to Katrina, but none of the chattering classes with national platforms mentioned them -- until Gustav finally hoved into their superior perview. I swear most of the bs around the Clintons and women that say they will vote for McCain because Senator Clinton was denied the nomination has been created by the chattering classes -- and rethugs, of course. Dirty Trix R reThugs.
Some of our friends are expecting the mandatory evacuation order to come on Saturday. One wonders if the state with get contra-flow vehicular traffic right THIS time ....
Vaquero is doing an hour on a music radio program this afternoon that wants to observe the 'anniversary.' He's not in a good mood about this. He doesn't want to talk about the words 'gumbo' and 'funky.' Which is just all that most people can come up with when they want to talk about New Orleans and her history and her culture -- particularly when they don't know what gumbo is, but of course, think they do. Kind of like the chattering classes who all know better than anyone what's what about everything, while missing what's right under their noses.
Also in the meantime sources such as the L.A. Times and The WaPo are reporting the reThugs are considering postponing their Minneapolis nomCON, if Gustav hits the Gulf and New Orleans hard.
The audience in the stadium was authentically multi-cultural. It looked like the nation as it really is. The shoji-like screen backdrop was quietly elegant. The colors were warm.
And then they set off fireworks! So that's why last night's events were moved to the stadium! As well as to accomodate the evidently 85,000 plus crowd, who went through hell to be there -- standing in long lines, the mandatory hours early arrival, and then they couldn't leave once admitted, couldn't bring food or drink in with them. Yet I heard from the endless blithering of broadcasters that the crowd, inexplicably to them and their superior sense of entitlement, seemed to be having a good time all through the day as they gathered and waited for the main events to start.
Michelle Obama did look rather stunned a few times when they all gathered together after Senator Obama's acceptance speech. She and Mrs. Biden probably don't know each other at all yet. So I'm wondering about that. They will probably be spending a lot of time with each other in the next 60 and change days.
In the meantime, Mayor Nagin walked out of the CON's screening of Trouble The Water. You can read a transcript of what happened when Kimberly and Scott talked with the mayor here.
There evidently were many events during the demCON related to Katrina, but none of the chattering classes with national platforms mentioned them -- until Gustav finally hoved into their superior perview. I swear most of the bs around the Clintons and women that say they will vote for McCain because Senator Clinton was denied the nomination has been created by the chattering classes -- and rethugs, of course. Dirty Trix R reThugs.
Some of our friends are expecting the mandatory evacuation order to come on Saturday. One wonders if the state with get contra-flow vehicular traffic right THIS time ....
Vaquero is doing an hour on a music radio program this afternoon that wants to observe the 'anniversary.' He's not in a good mood about this. He doesn't want to talk about the words 'gumbo' and 'funky.' Which is just all that most people can come up with when they want to talk about New Orleans and her history and her culture -- particularly when they don't know what gumbo is, but of course, think they do. Kind of like the chattering classes who all know better than anyone what's what about everything, while missing what's right under their noses.
Also in the meantime sources such as the L.A. Times and The WaPo are reporting the reThugs are considering postponing their Minneapolis nomCON, if Gustav hits the Gulf and New Orleans hard.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
The reThugCON re Gustav
From Politico.com:
[ Storm could swamp GOP convention
By: Mike Allen and Jonathan Martin
August 27, 2008 07:35 PM EST
Planners of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul held emergency conversations Wednesday about what to do if a tropical storm continues on its track as a potential Category 3 hurricane threatening NewOrleans.
Gustav’s projected path suggests possible landfall on the convention’sopening day — Labor Day.
The storm could threaten everything from President Bush’s Monday night address to the broader Republican message of effective governmentmanagement. Local officials fear a Katrina II — a rerun of the storm that ravished New Orleans and badly damaged Bush’s image. The liberal group Progressive Accountability planned to try to embarrass Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Friday for his response to the Katrina strike, claiming his was the 40th senator to visit New Orleans afterwards.
“We will be making sure everyone knows it is not just Bush who has a Katrina problem,” said the group’s Eddie Vale. “McCain was eating birthday cake with Bush after the levees broke. And then he voted against oversight, against medicaid for victims, and against unemployment benefits for victims.”
Government forecasters said the target area runs from south Texas tothe Florida Panhandle — including the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts devastated by Katrina. The president, Laura Bush and Vice President Cheney are all scheduled to speak Monday on the convention’s opening day. Friday is the third anniversary of Katrina’s landfall.
The sloppy government response still haunts the Bush administration, raising questions about whether the president would address a political gathering if the Southeast coast was being battered by another monster storm. The president is scheduled to fly into St. Paul on Monday, speak at the Xcel Energy Center at 9:40 p.m. Central time, then fly home to spend the night at Camp David.
Spokespeople for the organizations involved in convention planning said they were not ready to comment. “Stay tuned,” e-mailed an official involved in the conversations. ]
Don't you love what they are all worried about re Hurricane Gustav:
"The storm could threaten everything from President Bush’s Monday night address to the broader Republican message of effective government management."
What about the people, the city, the region, the nation? But no, we are worried about the political CON.
Last night Clinton mentioned New Orleans -- the first mention I've heard during the demCON; he referred to the regime's response as "Katrina cronyism." Friends in New Orleans are outraged at how Gustav is what put the levees' catastrophe and New Orleans in play at either CON -- and as a political manuevering, not humanitarian concern.
[ Storm could swamp GOP convention
By: Mike Allen and Jonathan Martin
August 27, 2008 07:35 PM EST
Planners of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul held emergency conversations Wednesday about what to do if a tropical storm continues on its track as a potential Category 3 hurricane threatening NewOrleans.
Gustav’s projected path suggests possible landfall on the convention’sopening day — Labor Day.
The storm could threaten everything from President Bush’s Monday night address to the broader Republican message of effective governmentmanagement. Local officials fear a Katrina II — a rerun of the storm that ravished New Orleans and badly damaged Bush’s image. The liberal group Progressive Accountability planned to try to embarrass Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Friday for his response to the Katrina strike, claiming his was the 40th senator to visit New Orleans afterwards.
“We will be making sure everyone knows it is not just Bush who has a Katrina problem,” said the group’s Eddie Vale. “McCain was eating birthday cake with Bush after the levees broke. And then he voted against oversight, against medicaid for victims, and against unemployment benefits for victims.”
Government forecasters said the target area runs from south Texas tothe Florida Panhandle — including the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts devastated by Katrina. The president, Laura Bush and Vice President Cheney are all scheduled to speak Monday on the convention’s opening day. Friday is the third anniversary of Katrina’s landfall.
The sloppy government response still haunts the Bush administration, raising questions about whether the president would address a political gathering if the Southeast coast was being battered by another monster storm. The president is scheduled to fly into St. Paul on Monday, speak at the Xcel Energy Center at 9:40 p.m. Central time, then fly home to spend the night at Camp David.
Spokespeople for the organizations involved in convention planning said they were not ready to comment. “Stay tuned,” e-mailed an official involved in the conversations. ]
Don't you love what they are all worried about re Hurricane Gustav:
"The storm could threaten everything from President Bush’s Monday night address to the broader Republican message of effective government management."
What about the people, the city, the region, the nation? But no, we are worried about the political CON.
Last night Clinton mentioned New Orleans -- the first mention I've heard during the demCON; he referred to the regime's response as "Katrina cronyism." Friends in New Orleans are outraged at how Gustav is what put the levees' catastrophe and New Orleans in play at either CON -- and as a political manuevering, not humanitarian concern.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Hurricane Gustav
As it was this week three years ago I come out of sleep with my stomach clenched, in a state of anxiety.
Hurricane Gustav's trajectory appears to be heading for New Orleans at the end of this week, or start of next. It's already creamed poor Haiti, and is likely to smash into eastern Cuba. I have much love, much connection to both those islands, just as I do with New Orleans.
Like with Hurricane Ivan, like with Katrina, again this is just at the start of the new school year and fall semester. Lesson learned: end of August, start of September, is the most dangerous time to be in New Orleans. A good friend -- TR, he who is the host DJ for the Afropop Shout Out to New Orleans that Vaquero produced recently -- gives some hope. I'm paraphrasing here what he said last night:
"The extensive flooding from the midwest this year poured rivers of colder water into the Gulf, thereby reducing its temperature some degrees, which has an effect on the power of the hurricane, and even its directon. I think it may go to Texas, not here. In any case I think there is going to be mandatory evacution, and that it is going to organized and will go more smoothly than we fear. In any case we won't have to wait for the National Guard and the army. They're still here."
Here's another friend in New Orleans discussing Gustav.
Hurricane Gustav's trajectory appears to be heading for New Orleans at the end of this week, or start of next. It's already creamed poor Haiti, and is likely to smash into eastern Cuba. I have much love, much connection to both those islands, just as I do with New Orleans.
Like with Hurricane Ivan, like with Katrina, again this is just at the start of the new school year and fall semester. Lesson learned: end of August, start of September, is the most dangerous time to be in New Orleans. A good friend -- TR, he who is the host DJ for the Afropop Shout Out to New Orleans that Vaquero produced recently -- gives some hope. I'm paraphrasing here what he said last night:
"The extensive flooding from the midwest this year poured rivers of colder water into the Gulf, thereby reducing its temperature some degrees, which has an effect on the power of the hurricane, and even its directon. I think it may go to Texas, not here. In any case I think there is going to be mandatory evacution, and that it is going to organized and will go more smoothly than we fear. In any case we won't have to wait for the National Guard and the army. They're still here."
Here's another friend in New Orleans discussing Gustav.
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