Govt Katrina spending may be half level thought

Govt Katrina spending may be half level thought
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050927/ts_nm/katrina_spending_dc

HURRICANE KATRINA DISASTER

HURRICANE KATRINA DISASTER
"City of Jackson Calls a 9-1-1 Meeting"
By Artaymis Ma’at, PG-RNA
For Alvin Brown, PCC 1st Vice Chair

On September 11, a town meeting was held at Mikhail’s restaurant. The Master of Ceremony was Attorney Chokwe Lumumba, who offered big thanks and a warm welcome to all who attended. "I want to apologize that Minister Farrakhan could not make it here. I know if he didn’t come, it had to be a big reason…because he’s come here when I needed help. Right? He’s come here when the Jackson Advocate needed help and he has come here when various other people needed help! He applauded Mayor Frank Melton for attending. "I want to thank Mayor Frank Melton for coming here from the bottom of my heart. I really want to thank him for coming because a lot of people did not come."

This meeting was called to mainly address concerns and demands of Katrina victims, how Black people in particular have been treated during the aftermath and the people of Mississippi. The meeting brought together the Mayors of Mississippi, many leaders, and organizations like the PG-RNA (Provisional Government of The Republic of New Afrika), The MXGM (Malcolm X Grassroots Movement), The NAACP, NAPO (New Afrikan Peoples Organization), NOI (The Nation of Islam) and the overall city of Jackson to share ideas and emphasize that this is a time for unification and dedication.

Lumumba expresses further, "I’m not trying to tell you what to think. But what I am saying is that we have to come together in unity and support the relief efforts. I think that we have to make critical demands upon the government of the united states. If we don’t…we are going to see one of the most grand regentrification efforts in the history of this empire!"
Says Chokwe, "We are for everybody that got hurt—whether they were White, Mexican—whatever! WE are for everybody! I think it is reckless that the federal government or government officials have known about the situation in New Orleans and the levees and the dams for REALLY over a hundred years! Bills were passed to allocate money to repair it a little less than four years ago. Yet they disregarded the threat and Bush cut the funds, which were supposed to be allocated to repair the levee situation and other fixtures. We have problems with that."

Lumumba states that the other problem that should be empathized is how we are going to deal with relief and says that it is crucially important to have everybody on board trying to do everything they can do to give people relief.
"We are dealing with folks who are facing the worst disaster they have in their lifetime. All right? They have lost everything they had."
Lumumba takes us back a ways into our past and relates this disaster to our kin in Afrika. "You live in a small village and all of a sudden your whole village and your children are gone because someone has snatched them and put them on a slave ship. He exclaims, "See what I’m saying? The next thing you know, you wake up and find yourself in a place that is quite like a concentration camp—being promised rides everyday that you don’t get and when you go out for survival purposes to get some bread, then you wind up getting put in jail. Under your picture they say ‘Looter’! Under the white people’s picture they say, ‘Found food!’ Right?"
Lumumba applauds the young white men who got on TV and told the truth. "And the news media was trying to talk them out of the truth! Right? One guy from Jefferson county had a fleet of fishing boats—a white guy organized these boats to go in there and start rescuing people—because at that time the government wasn’t rescuing people! As this man was going in and helping out, they would try to talk to him asking, ‘How can you do this? I know you are being shot at!’ The man said, ‘Ain’t nobody shot at me!’ "The man said he didn’t see anybody get shot! The man went on to say that some of the police officers said they didn’t get shot at either! This is not to say that nobody WAS shot at! That’s to say that it wasn’t such an epidemic that is was stopping anybody from going in there rescuing anybody!"

Lumumba also shares a story of three young white men who were able to get into New Orleans, because they used false identification as newspaper reporters. He says these men were able to go to the spot where people were waiting for bus rides and saw FEMA officials waiting by the side of the road with the buses. Said Lumumba, "The white guys said they didn’t feel threatened. They said the only threat was the people suffering! I didn’t know these three white men. But I bet some are going to say, ‘Chokwe put them up to it!’ I don’t know these men! How do you expect it to be when you are down there and haven’t ate for three or four days? You don’t know if your baby is going to survive! You don’t know whether your sick mother or sick grandmother is going to survive! There have been reports of ambulances passing by poor Black people to go rescue other people. There have been reports of helicopters doing the same thing. If a helicopter is passing over other people to get to other people, then that helicopter might get shot at! Right? I was trying to understand it! I’m Serious! It’s not like these people flew in from another planet some where! You know these people!"

"I’m trying to figure out why would anybody be shooting at hospital workers? They are not shooting at someone just because they are trying to be a thug. I didn’t accept that explanation. People were shooting in the air so they could be rescued! And so, the governor comes out with the ‘Shoot to kill!’ order. I’m not excusing anybody’s criminology. If they violated somebody in New Orleans, on the Gulf Coast or anywhere else during this tragedy, then that person needs to be dealt with!"

"I know there were some that violated all our persons! And they are in Washington D.C. Right?—and out of the governor’s office in Louisiana! Right? So what we need to do is have an investigation on the national and international level. They are killing more people over here than Saddam Husain was killing over there! So I think what’s good for the goose is good for the gander! They need to be investigated," says Lumumba.

"Now this is MY belief! The right to return to New Orleans is important. They want to change New Orleans from a city that was 60-70% Black. NEXT, you wont be able to see anyone except for a Creole or similar. They are already doing it. They are already giving it media justification! They say: ‘Well, we talked to many of the people who don’t want to go back.’ They want to build homes that we can’t afford and call that progress. They tried to do it in Detroit, but Detroit had a plan. In order to build in Detroit, they had to have it approved by the citizens that lived there. So that slowed down the re-gentrification efforts."

Time is running out and Lumumba welcomes Mayor ‘Frank’ (as he likes to be called) Melton to the stage. "I’m not as eloquent as he (Lumumba) is, he jokes with his trademark beaming smile. I met with Lumumba and his staff three or four months ago and we made a commitment. We made a commitment to do what’s right and what’s best for the people of Jackson. First of all, I want to thank my colleague who are with me tonight and that is Councilman Kenny Stokes." The audience applauses. I have been serving the city for about sixty days right now and this I can tell you, that man (Kenny Stokes) stands by his convictions and he stands by his heart. He is very much like me. A lot of people don’t understand him, but it’s real simple, he does what is right! He does what is best! I have enjoyed so much sitting by his side over the last sixty days, learning and listening to him. There is one thing that comes to the bottom line when you dealing with Kenny—and that is what’s best for the people! What’s best for the people. I admire him for that. I love him for that and I’ve learned a lot."

Franks says, "In the last month, we have not had a single homicide. I have been a part of your family for twenty-three years. But I have never been more proud of you that I have been in the last ten days! Because we showed our true colors. We’ve done what's RIGHT and we’ve done what’s BEST, as best we could. Now, let me tell you what I have seen over the last ten days. I would like to take you back a little bit through what I’ve been through…I want you to feel it! I want you to feel what we’ve actually been dealing with.

Here’s how it started ladies and gentlemen:
"…About three weeks ago, the Police Chief and I were together doing some city business and we got this emergency call that there were 105 senior citizens at a Pentecostal church on Highway 18, who had not had water or ventilation for several days. There were other officials who knew about this. It was outside of our jurisdiction—outside the city limits. But we went out there…immediately, after they had been trying to contact people for three or four days. What we saw would make you sick! One lady had already died from heat exhaustion. Other people were scheduled to die because the right things just weren’t happening. When the Chief and I showed up, of course everybody and the world showed up and decided to do the right thing! It is important that you know the truth."

When we first put the call out, AMR refused to come. They refused to come! They have a city contract to take care of those in need. But when they found out the Chief and I were out there…THEN, they all showed up. We were able to take care of the other people. So we get past that. We get them in hospitals. We get them in facilities where they are comfortable. Last week I got into a bunch of controversy with The Red Cross. They went over to The Trade Mart and told people at ten-thirty at night, that they had to be out by eight the next morning. I put a stop to that. Now, I was at the Coliseum today. The Red Cross told the people there that they had to be out by noon tomorrow. Now the bus comes to pick up the kids to go to school. The parents have to be out at noon. How are the kids going to know where the parents are when school is out? It doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. Well…I put my foot down…once again and said that nobody was leaving that coliseum unless they were going to a family, a more comfortable place. We are not under any circumstances going to put our neighbors out on the street. That wont happen! This is the toughest situation we have ever gone through. These are our guests. These are our friends. These are our neighbors. These are our relatives…"

A big rain of applause comes with Frank’s next statement, "…And we are starting the whole process off wrong by calling them refugees! They are not refugees. They are our family and as your newly elected Mayor, I was the first one to take a family to my home. The first one. I’ve got two kids there who are the greatest kids you would want to meet that lost everything. The only thing they have is the clothes on their back. They will go on with their lives. One will enroll at Jackson State tomorrow; the other will enroll in Jim Hill. You know, God works in mysterious ways. I went through hurricane after hurricane and this is the worst tragedy in our lifetime. We have lost our entire Gulf Coast and for the most part, we have lost the city of New Orleans." Frank has another story he wants to tell "…and this time I really want you to visualize what I’m saying. Do me a favor. Close your eyes…You get up one morning and you hear that a hurricane is coming your way. You’ve gone to school. You’ve paid all your dues. You have a good job. You are taking care of your family. You’ve got a great life. In twelve hours, you have nothing. Your house is out in the ocean. You can’t find half of your family. You are put on a bus sent ‘anywhere.’ You can’t find your family. I get 1500 calls from my office talking about somebody’s power being off. But yet, we have babies floating in the Gulf of Mexico. We have whole families, businesses, and homes that can never be restored. We can restore the electricity in Jackson. But…the loss of a life is irreversible. It’s absolute…and it’s final. And let me warn you right now. As the waters of Gulf of Mexico recede. As the waters of New Orleans recede, it’s not going to be a pretty picture. There are more people that will be recovered. God bless their souls…God bless their souls.

Let me take it a step further ladies and gentlemen. I might not have this opportunity again. Everybody is familiar with the inner city. You are familiar with our filling station. You’re familiar with our convenience stores. However, nobody in there, looks like us anymore. So how can some people go and get a two- percent loan and you, can’t even get in the front door? There is something wrong. Frank also says Kenneth Stokes is teaching him how to work with contracts so they can get good and decent people working contracts just like everybody else. "Fifty-fifty is where I want to start and I am looking at putting a lot of Black-owned businesses on the parkway near Jackson State University. We want to level the playing field! That’s what we’re fighting for," he repeats.

Speaking of business, Frank has announced that The Jackson Advocate, which is one of our most prominent African American publications in the country, will be moving back to its home site. He says with eminence, "I do not know whether Alice and Mr.Tisdale will be able to afford the cost of the building, but the last I checked it was going to be for one dollar!"
"The true character of the city of Jackson means two things…‘Patience and benevolence,’ says Frank. We have stepped up to bat in the worst disaster in the history of amerikkka. We have taken care of other people. But the world is finally realizing what Mississippi is all about. How benevolent we are."

"This hurricane disaster has been one that has brought US together! This has been one that sends us the message about our love for each other, about our commitment to each other, about our need to stop fighting each other and get on the same page and help each other. God Bless all of us and thank you."

Asinia Lukata Chikuyu, N’COBRA Jackson branch speaks about a family that are dire need of our help. Briefly, here’s the story:
Tikia Cross is sixteen years old and is the daughter of Lisa Cross and granddaughter, Edna Cross who have been unjustly sentenced to seven years in prison for a brawl with a white family, in which a white woman, Rachael Godwin, threatened a minor, Tikia. Edna Cross reacted in self-defense when Godwin slapped her glasses off her face. Lisa Cross, mother, was on medication and bedridden. Both Lisa and Edna were charged with aggravated assault and sentenced to seven years for a fight they say they didn’t start. Seven years for a first offense and self-defense? How does it add up? Perhaps, seven years for just being Black? Witnesses changed their story consecutively.

Lukata asks that we all write to the judge and grant them a new trial. "We cannot simply be mad, we have got to turn that anger into action," says Lukata. Write to Judge William E. Chapman III, P.O. Box 1626, Canton, Mississippi, 39046. Write to Lisa I. Cross (Mother), #112221, CMCF 2B, C-Zone; Bed 356, P.O. Box 88550, Pearl, MS 38288. Write to Edna R. Cross (Grandmother), #112223, CMCF, 2B D-zone, Bed 474, P.O. Box 885550, Pearl, MS 39288.

Derrick Johnson, President of NAACP presented a sobering message about doing the work and walking the talk. "One of the things that have come out of this situation for me is more than talking about the work. It’s about doing the work. When the hurricane hit, like most people, I didn’t have lights. One of the calls I got was from a brother in Biloxi, who is my branch President in Biloxi, who has lost everything. He went to Atlanta and came back. What he found alarming was not the fact that his house was destroyed, but the fact that our people were left in a state where they had no food, no water and nobody was there!"

"On the Gulf coast, we have a large number of our folks who are now without a home. They were unable to leave…many of them elderly…many of them children…many of them are folks just like you and I. But if you go down to the Coast—and I’ve been down there more than once, it’s like they are living in a third world country. The NAACP began to work on that."
Says Johnson, "We are not a relief organization. We are not The Red Cross. But the one thing that we must do for our folk is take care of our folks. There is applause. Thanks to folks all across the county and country who headed our call for support. We have been taking in truckloads of food, clothing and water across the states. Today, alone we have had deliveries of four trucks from four different communities. We will be organizing a group of folks to leave from Jackson Mississippi to go to the coast to help with the clean up in our community."
The NAACP has set up three distribution centers. One is located here in Jackson if you would like to volunteer your services or donate canned good items. Says Johnson, "Let me tell you what the new needs are. We don’t need any more clothes. Don’t send anymore clothes. We have way to many clothes right now. We need Water! We need cleaning materials like bleach, washing powder, non-perishable foods and most importantly, we need you to help! We need bodies! It is real important to understand that The Red Cross doesn’t owe us anything. We are the only people that owe ourselves something and although we are upset about how The Red Cross is treating our community, we are at fault because we didn’t have anything else to set up to support our community. What has been happening is those who have, GET and those who don’t have, DON’T GET! Our folks were left out."

Johnson presses on to the fact that much of our tax dollars are used to construct property and that we should be largely focusing on how this reconstruction can be put together? "A lot of our people are unemployed and need to be employed for the construction of these projects so that they can regain a part of their lives that was destroyed before the hurricane. There has been a whole lot of contracts given to a whole lot of folks. It’s disheartening when you look around the state and see all the clean-up contracts that have been issued across this state. I have only been able to count one area that has contracted anybody Black for the clean up. If you want to be honest about what’s taking place, then lets be honest. We cannot build our communities if we give six million dollars to someone else. The contracts for Jackson was six million dollars and the people that were working—the last time I looked, didn’t look like anybody in this room. If you go from Jackson straight down into the Coast, and see the money they are spending for clean up, you’ll find that none of us are getting it. So we need to focus on that too, because we can’t support ourselves unless those we put in office, put forth efforts, to make sure the resources are in place when it comes time to doing something."

"Lets talk about how we can continue to support not only the folks on the Gulf Coast, but take I-20 south and all across the state you will find many people who are in desperate need of support. We want to be a direct service to those in need so that whatever is donated to those in need, can receive it. What a blessing it is to be able to sit here with lights today. Because trust me, if you go to the Coast, it is disturbing. It’s disturbing!" Said Johnson.

Johnson says the NAACP office is right down the street from Jackson State in the Masonic Temple on 1072 Lynch Street. "If you would like to assist, the number to my office is 601-353-6906. The time now is for action and we are here to make sure our folks are whole again. "It gets to a point where it ain’t nobody’s problem but ours, because its our community!
"Taking ownership of our community is the best thing we can do. The question I am asking each and every one of you is, what can you do to help?

"Free the land! Free the land! Free the land! For those of you who know me, it’s not very often that the words just don’t come. Usually I have a lot more to say than people have time to hear." She is the representative of the New Afrikan Peoples Organization (NAPO). Safiya Omari says, "I think it has been a wake up call for all of us everywhere. Hurricane Katrina—what they call a natural disaster, has been so overwhelming, not just for those of us who live here in Jackson, not just for the people on the Coast, and not just for the people in New Orleans. What this impact has shown us is that we can’t afford to take the short-term ‘one-day-at-a-time’ view on survival anymore. We can afford to do this. We have known that our communities have been dying and suffering from benign neglect. The face of looting was Black. When white folks went and looted food and supplies, they ‘found food.’ That is the way our communities have always been perceived and portrayed in the dominant media. So, THAT’S no surprise! That’s NO surprise!"
I’m proud of us for refusing to allow them to make that spin—because you know that was going to be the spin! The spin was not going to be that FEMA, and Bush, and all of those people didn’t do what they were supposed to do. The spin was supposed to be that we were so lawless that they couldn’t come in and do what they were to supposed to do. But we did stop that spin and we have to keep telling the truth about what happened. As Derrick said, we can’t just talk anymore. We've done a lot of talking. We some 'good talkin' people! Chokwe can get you all riled up! I can talk! Everybody up here can talk. But we gotta do some action! Be willing to take action and make the sacrifices that come with acting on behalf of our people," says Omari.
If you’re out there in the city of Jackson right now, it feels crowded doesn’t it? A lot more people than ever before and they are Black. But we already had the majority here. That just makes us even stronger right?" The audience applauds. What we have to do is garner this energy and use it to build something positive. We have to say to ourselves: ‘They will not get New Orleans!’ You know this was a blessing to them. They can regentrify without ever having to move anybody! Think about it. They will build New Orleans with a face that we won’t know and won’t be able to afford! They will have built all kinds of condominiums and all types of entertainment complexes and only a few chosen ones will be living there. So, in keeping what I said about not talking to much and moving toward action on behalf of the New Afrikan Peoples Organization, there are several demands that have been made and a call that immediate, complete and total commitment of all government resources be given to the rescue and evacuation of all hurricane survivors still trapped."

"Now we know there are people who are still trapped. But right now we are not hearing about it. We as a people must be committed to being involved in the rebuilding. We must assert the right of return, improving and rebuilding the education system, and insisting that there be adequate health care among many things. Afrikan people must be at the table when the plans to do all of this take place. And of course there has to be full reparations to the survivor populations in New Orleans, but not just in New Orleans, but to all Blacks in amerikkka, who are victims of past and present human rights violations."

Omari comments that if you have been watching the news, the face of relief has been white. Says Omari, "The question I have been asking is where are we? If you see the outpouring on CNN and all of that, it’s all of these
Good-hearted white folk giving to those people who have lost everything—primarily us. What this has shown is that our organizations were not prepared to take care of the people. Most of the time, we’re struggling to get from day-to-day. A lot of times we don’t have time to stop and THINK about what would happen if there were a natural disaster in an area that is predominately people of Afrikan decent. We have been fighting with each other. We have been trying to keep our youth off drugs—just been trying to survive, basically."
"So brothers and sisters these are some points that I think we can all come together to act on regardless of our religion, regardless of our political affiliations, regardless of our levels of education. We can all work toward these things. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to speak here this evening and I leave you with Free the Land! Free the Land! Free the Land!"

David Muhammad, Nation of Islam, Local Representative for the Honorable Louis Farrakhan, courteously greets everyone as he approached the podium by saying "As-Salaam Alaikum. Are we tired of this? The statistics say it would take us 400 years to reach where white people are today. Ain’t nobody in here going to live to be 400 years old. This is real! I can’t stand to see our people suffering! I got children! You got children! Do we want to pass on the same level of struggle to them? Do we want to see them picketing again and getting hit in the head? Do you want your children to go throughout the same school system and just by a stroke of luck, we run into a Chokwe Lumumba or somebody with a final call that gives us some knowledge and turns our heads around because we were spinning?

Minister Muhammad explains the communication rift with the rap community and tells why it is important that we support the MAP (Mississippi Artists and Producers) Coalition. "These are our brothers and sisters who are in the rap community who have expanded. This is not just for their own music agenda but for all of those who don’t get their ‘just due’ in the music industry. Some say that we should ban rap. We should not let them speak the way that they speak. But the way they speak represents the way society is as a whole. So you can’t get mad at them for saying certain languages when we haven’t done anything to build up our communities to give them something to look to!"

I’m going to be real about it! You see someone out here selling drugs. But what do you have to offer that person to do something better? Work at McDonalds? Come on now, do you want to work at McDonalds? So why you expect our people to just settle for that? Why can’t we make some MONEY, man! Why can’t we have money in our pockets? Is something wrong with that? Is it something wrong with us having big homes? Is there something wrong with us having land? Is there something wrong with us being in control? If ain’t nothing wrong with it, then we need to work to make it happen. This is personal to me. This isn’t just some game," says Muhammad.
We see The Red Cross and who ever is doing what they’re doing and we thank you for doing whatever you do, but the masses of our people are suffering! Some don’t even have running water. Some don’t even have power. I urge everyone to come together and register for The Millions More Movement. We meet on Sundays at 3 p.m. So come out and share your ideas. We are not going to preach. We are going to sit the tables down so that you can tell us what we need to do in our communities and tell us what you are doing in your communities so we can help and put it together. Let’s do something today! All praises due to Allah!

"When we say Allah, we are talking about the truth and there is no name that we can really call Allah that encompasses who he really is," says Minister Anthony Muhammad, Nation of Islam, of Memphis Tennessee. He delivers a most gracious and soft-spoken explanation of why the Honorable Louis Farrakhan could not attend. It was very interesting to know the mechanics of it. Minister Muhammad asks the question of why Allah would allow this disaster to happen? He refers back to the Holy Koran where it says that hard trials are sometimes necessary to establish truth.

"Many of you know, if you are in any organization trying to help our people, as soon as you get in the struggle—that’s when your troubles begin! When you try to help, that’s when your problems start! And it seems that those in front of you forget to tell you, ‘This is the way! This is how it goes.’ Unfortunately, you don’t learn that this is how it goes until you are somewhat neck-deep in it and you cant find your way out of it. When you say you are going to clean your life up, then that’s when people look at you strange! They talk about you when you try to do BETTER! As long as you are acting the fool, then everybody is looking up to you. If you are an abuser or womanizer, they look up to you. But when you try to be a good husband and go home, they call you hen-pecked! Whenever you try to do that which is good, struggles and trials come with that which is good. Why is it like that? Why is it that way? What is the truth that needs to be established? Each person that spoke tonight said it! UNITY! So, why is it so difficult to unite with ourselves?" asks Minister Muhammad.

Minister Muhammad notes that it is almost as though integration has made us believe that we have friends in places that we don’t have friends. "It makes us believe that if we have phone numbers, if we can call someone, that we really have a friend. But now, the big bad amerikkka showed US…she cared nothing for US! I don’t care how integrated we are—we can be making millions—and all of us watched that television and can bear witness…Man! They don’t care nothing about us! They don’t care nothing for those people down there! This went all over the world! Here is amerikkka! Land of the FREE! Home of the slave—I mean…brave! There’s laughter in the audience. Amerikkka is beating up nations for democracy saying to them, ‘You should have the type of government that we have.’ If you don’t agree with them and abide, then they drop bombs and try to overthrow your government to set up quote-unquote, democracy. But right down the street, they couldn’t even get the supplies in to the poor people. And you know what it was about!"

"During this hurricane, they said Chaney was out fly fishing! The mayor of New Orleans cursed everybody out! Because they are people who are dying and there are thousands dead! The hard pill to swallow is realizing that it is only us. That’s a hard pill to swallow! Oh, that hurts so bad! The language now is…We have got to do it for ourselves! Because we are coming to the realization, that we don’t have friends where we thought we had friends. He receives applause. Clinton didn’t show up—the Democrats didn’t show up—nor did the Republicans show up! When that flood hit down there, there were Muslims down there, there were Christians down there, The Republic of New Afrika was down there—we had many people that lost everything. So the challenge before us is, are we willing to stand with one another?"

Minister Muhammad makes an excellent point when he talks about working together with our differences and appreciating the fact that we all have a special purpose that we each can benefit from. "We need unity, but unity doesn’t mean that everybody is the same. "Maybe I don’t look the way you need me to look or be what you think I should be. Unity means that you get along with people who may NOT think like you! It’s easy to get along with those who think like you. Unity is the only thing that is going to save us! So if you are not willing to unite with one another and see that we are all brothers and sisters, we will perish. We have no other choice. There is nothing else that will help us. It’s the only way to survive. Unity is the thing that frightens this society. Minister Muhammad asks, "Does that make sense to you?"

"I’m talking about my own kind and you know we will fight over anything and we will become the enemies of each other for life! Some of us are mad at our cousins right now, because he took a piece of chicken ten years ago! He receives applause. Another problem he addresses is that organizations don’t work with each other. There is always someone out there who is trying to do something we are trying to accomplish. There is someone who is already working on that project. But because I don’t like them, then I try to re-invent the wheel myself and we spin our wheels and we spin our wheels! All of us are doing great things wherever we are. You see, we are doing great things but because we are not united—we are like fingers—but the fist is more powerful than the individual fingers. So we have to unite and work with one another. The question now comes: Are we willing?

Mainly, the tremendous blow of Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath and the horrifying concentration-camp-enslavement of the masses of our people should be the final ‘wakeup’ call of what needs to be done to ensure that it never happens again. While this has been a sobering wakeup for some that we are still engulfed in the genocidal madness of the elite powers that be; it was no surprise to most. Something good came out of it. It brought about a tremendous call to action and unification. It’s time to stop watching and start working. It’s about unity. The more unity we have, the more self-determination we build as a united force.

Lumumba sharply points out his belief that we have to demand that the people of authority by referendum and by appointment be made to deal with this situation. This brings to mind the Provisional Government of The Republic of New Afrika’s (PG-RNA) vision of winning sovereignty over the designated ‘Five States’: Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina, because all of us should take this opportunity to advance the work for independence, for land and power and a better life. That vision has never been more real than now. The PG-RNA’s aim is to be an independent free Black nation for those of us who want this; and to win Reparations from the united states. "Free The Land" is the battle cry!

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Texas struggles to manage evacuees’ return

Some bridle at plan to stagger influx; hundreds may be missing in Louisiana
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9389157/

Rita Inflicts Fresh Floods on New Orleans

Rita Inflicts Fresh Floods on New Orleans
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050924/ap_on_re_us/rita_new_orleans_hk2

New Orleans mayor halts city’s reopening

New Orleans mayor halts city’s reopening
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9156612/

No way out: Many poor stuck in Houston

No way out: Many poor stuck in Houston
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/stormcenter/2005-09-22-houston-poor-rita_x.htm

Poll: Storm Changed Americans' Attitudes

Poll: Storm Changed Americans' Attitudes
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050923/ap_on_re_us/katrina_changing_attitudes_hk4

Katrina's Death Toll Climbs Past 1,000

Katrina's Death Toll Climbs Past 1,000

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050922/ap_on_re_us/hurricane_katrina_hk2

New developments

Talk with Robyn Raindancer
Date: 9-21-05


"They are evacuating all the way into houston. Some of the evacuees from new orlearns are moving again."

"We are getting ready we are pretty far inland but that is what they said in Mississippi."

When I told her I was quoting her, she said,"Cool ask them to pray for Texas, since we opened our homes and pocketbooks to them."

The Black 9-11: An Important call from New Orleans

Date: Fri, 16 Sep 2005
From: Jared Ball
Subject: An Important Call From New Orleans: Suncere Ali Shakur

FreeMix Radio: The Original Mixtape Radio Show
http://freemixradio.voxunion.com
202.997.0267

Friday September 16, 2005
Suncere Ali Shakur is on the ground in New Orleans where he is calling for more help from the Black community. He and others need more assistance in dealing with "the Black 9-11."
http://voxunion.com/realaudio/coupradio/SunsCall.mp3

National New Afrikan Elections, 2005

To: pgnews@yahoogroups.com
From: ALVIN BROWN
Date: Sat, 17 Sep 2005
Subject: [PG News] National New Afrikan Elections, 2005

Saturday, September 17, 2005
Brothers & Sisters, Citizens, FREE THE LAND!!!
As the election dates for our National New Afrikan Elections draws near, let us concentrate for a moment on the immediate necessary work! First, let us review the month of September, and what needs to be in place:

September 2005 Deadline for receipt of Bios (biographical profiles) from Candidates for office. According to the Code of Umoja, candidates for office must certify their time-in-service of the New Afrikan Independence Movement (NAIM). Bios can be used for this purpose in place of a certification form. The Bios must certify that he/she meets the following "time-in-service" of the NAIM qualifications:
Within the preceding 10 years, candidates for President, Vice President and PCC Chairperson must have served 2 consecutive years as an active cadre member officer in some organized NAIM formation.
Within the preceding 5 years, candidates for People’s Court Justice must have served 1 year with distinction in some aspect of the NAIM.
Within the preceding 5 year, candidates for District Representatives must have served 6 months as an active cadre member in some formation of the NAIM.

September 30, 2005
The deadline for receipt of all Nominating Petitions before the date of the 2005 election. In order for a candidate to have his/her name placed on the ballot, the Election Commission must receive their nominating petitions before the 2005 cut-off-date. The Election Commission will count the number of signatures that each candidate received. The ballot will only list the names of those candidates that received no less than the minimum number of required signatures on the nominating petition. (The minimum required number of signatures was previously mentioned above in this document.)

Next we need to review and critique October:

October 2005
It is critically important that RNA citizens come together and identify Local Assistant Election Commissioners (LAEC) that the National Election Commission can appoint to monitor the election process at the polling sites in each Election District. The individuals that are selected to serve as the LAEC must not be candidates themselves. The National Election Commission in Jackson, MS will mail the Official National Ballot to the Local Assistant Election Commissioners (LAEC) through out the New Afrikan nation. Candidates for office should not handle ballots. The Candidates should work with and through the LAEC where necessary. The overall duty of the Local Assistant Elections Commissioner (LAEC) is to ensure and protect the honesty and integrity of the election from fraud and corruption. RNA citizens should form District Organizing Committees and work closely with the Local Assistant Election Commissioner (LAEC). Together they will be responsible to reproduce the ballots necessary to hold the local elections. The Local Assistant Election Commissioner (LAEC) and the District Organizing Committee may have to produce 100 to 1000+ copies of the original ballot. Together they will have to determine how many ballots will be needed at each polling site based on their best judgment of potential voter activity. It will be the responsibility of the LAEC and his/her staff to safeguard the ballot boxes at each polling site. Although an exceptionally resourceful Local Assistant Election Commissioners could conduct elections on a limited scale by themselves, it is preferable to work with collective strength, manpower and resources. One Local Assistant Election Commissioner (LAEC) could set up and run a polling site on any street corner or large gather place of our people. At minimum, all he/she needs is the following:

Ballots
Registration forms
Table
Ballot box (preferably Red, Black and Green color scheme)
General PGRNA literature and information
Red, Black and Green Liberation Flag (optional)

October 2005
Deadline for Election Commission to approve or disapprove all Election Districts proposed by RNA units is 30 days before election date. According to the Code of Umoja, election districts are to be "drawn to conform as nearly as possible to any concept of community" recognized by the New Afrikan inhabitants. Each Election District is entitled to 5 District Representatives and 2 District Judges. In addition, three Election Districts can join together and nominate At-Large District Representatives and Judges.




Alvin V. Brown
PCC-1st V. Chair
Dist. Rep..

To post a message: pgnews@yahoogroups.com
To subscribe: pgnews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Democracy Now! The Militarization of New Orleans: Jeremy Scahill Reports from Louisiana

Democracy Now! The Militarization of New Orleans: Jeremy Scahill Reports from Louisiana
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/16/1222257

Highlights of what I saw on FSTV

Jerry Scahill was on the phone, reporting from Baton Rouge:
He called it "New Oraq"
Republican cronyism in New Orleans
Spy drones
Security firms getting government money
Israeli paamilitaries patrolling the streets
FEMA workers being put up in Decatur Hotels (largest chain in Louisiana)
Angola prisoners at Greyhound Station downtown

Pain at the Pump

Pain at the Pump
http://journals.aol.com/dailypulseblog/citizenjournalism/entries/573/

44 oil spills found in southeast Louisiana

44 oil spills found in southeast Louisiana
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9365607/

Katrina forecasters were remarkably accurate

Katrina forecasters were remarkably accurate
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9369041/

KATRINA AFTERMATH: Displaced students get warm welcome at Michigan colleges

KATRINA AFTERMATH: Displaced students get warm welcome at Michigan colleges
http://www.freep.com/news/mich/kcollege16e_20050916.htm

New Orleans Levee Blown Up?

New Orleans Levee Blown Up?
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=52&threadid=1686583&enterthread=y

Nagin foresees early return to parts of city

Nagin foresees early return to parts of city
http://www.nola.com/newslogs/tporleans/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_tporleans/archives/2005_09_14.html

Mississippi Death Toll Begins To Slow

Mississippi Death Toll Begins To Slow
http://www.nbc4.tv/news/4887230/detail.html

my first Katrina-ite family

Today, I was blessed to meet my first Katrina-ite family in Palmdale. They are related to a co-worker of mine. I noticed that they were humble and grateful to be out of the disaster area, they once called home.

I will continue to follow this family. And keep you informed about their well-being (as well as the safety of other scattered and dispersed Katrina-ites).

FBI WARNS OF FAKE SITES FOR CHARITIES

LADY GRAY"
Date: Sat, 10 Sep 2005
Subject: [Chicago_Gang_History] FBI WARNS OF FAKE SITES FOR CHARITIES

FBI warns of fake sites for charities
By Andrew Zajac Washington Bureau 36 minutes ago

Hurricane Katrina has spawned more than 2,000 Web sites dedicated to collecting money for hurricane relief, the vast majority of them designed to defraud their on-line visitors, the FBI's top cyber-crimes official said this week.

"At the close of business last Friday, there were 400. On Tuesday there were 900. It's now approaching 2,300," said Louis Reigel III. "It's growing astronomically. ... We can't keep up."
Reigel said the bureau has waded through about one-third of the sites that have turned up so far. More than half have overseas electronic addresses or some other tie to a foreign location that is usually a tip-off that the charity is bogus.

Because sites sprout up faster than the FBI and other agencies can shut them down, Reigel said the best hope for drying up donations to fake sites is publicity and education.

"Do not donate to any Web site you do not know," Reigel said.

He also counseled against giving money to any purported charity that solicits money via e-mail. "Go to a known Web site and initiate the contact," Reigel said. Established charities collect money online, but they do not send out e-mail solicitations, he said.

Besides seeking money, an e-mailed request for money can also contain a virus that gives a cyber-intruder access to a person's entire computer.

Some of the phony sites mimic the appearance of the Web sites of well-known charities.
The FBI has opened eight criminal investigations of fake Internet-based charities, but to date no one has been charged.

The push is part of a Justice Department effort to combat an array of hurricane-related fraudulent activity, including identity theft and insurance and government benefit fraud.
State attorneys general also are investigating the scams.

Reigel said fraudulent online charities first popped up in significant numbers in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Their numbers greatly expanded in the wake of December's Indian Ocean tsunami.

But in barely more than a week, Katrina sites already outnumber all of those set up to cash in on the tidal wave.

Tribune

Search Broadens for Bodies in New Orleans

Search Broadens for Bodies in New Orleans
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050910/ap_on_re_us/hurricane_katrina

Some follow, others hide from evacuation order

Some follow, others hide from evacuation order
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9156612/

Evacuation showdown looms in New Orleans

Evacuation showdown looms in New Orleans
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050908/sc_afp/usweather_050908084928;_ylt=Aqajzycr8CkARTrUaDo2zClH2ocA;_ylu=X3oDMTA2ZGZwam4yBHNlYwNmYw--

Teams Find New Orleans Holdouts Wavering

Teams Find New Orleans Holdouts Wavering
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050908/ap_on_re_us/hurricane_katrina

Mama Dara is found!

Mama Dara was found by Bro. Bobby Scott of Dallas. he used Family News Network of the International Committee of the Red Cross--Hurricane Katrina site.

Bro. Bobby spoke to one of Mama Dara's relative in Houston, who told him that she was safe in a nursing home.

Family News Network of the International Committee of the Red Cross

Family News Network of the International Committee of the Red CrossHurricane Katrina
http://www.familylinks.icrc.org/katrina

Detroit, MI

Dawn
Date: Mon, 05 Sep 2005
Subject: [thevoluptlounge] Donation Spot for Hurrican Victim Relief

Hey everyone!! I'm sure the people at the hotel in Sterling Heights still need donations... and I also saw in one of my other groups that TV2 will be set up at the Rose Shopping Center on the NE corner of 13 Mile and Little Mack until Tuesday accepting donations of food, clothing, and everything else to be sent to the victimized areas.

I'm sure they could use plus sized clothing or toiletries or anything you may be able to donate!

Yahoo News: Hurricane Katrina Resources

Yahoo News: Hurricane Katrina Resources
http://news.yahoo.com/katrinahelp

CNN Safe List

CNN Safe List
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2005/hurricanes/list/

GIS - DR-1603, Louisiana

GIS - DR-1603, Louisiana
http://www.gismaps.fema.gov/2005pages/dr1603.shtm

Update: Disaster Message Board

Still Missing:
Milton Baker, 48, and William Henry Baker, 50
1737 Burnley Drive
New Orleans, LA
504-348-4218

Source: Sister: Kathy Baker of Los Angeles, CA

States Struggling With Katrina Refugees

States Struggling With Katrina Refugees
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050905/ap_on_re_us/katrina_refugees_hk4

New Orleans Begins Counting Its Dead

New Orleans Begins Counting Its Dead
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050905/ap_on_re_us/hurricane_katrina

Katrina people arrive in California

This morning (Sunday), a few came in to Echo Park, Los Angeles, CA.

They said tonight and in the morning more are coming.

Source: Matronone saw this on Channel 2 News.

Disaster Message Board

Kathy Baker of Los Angeles, CA, is looking for her two brothers. Milton baker and William Henry Baker of the Marrero neighborhood, New Orleans, LA.

If you have any information, leave a message or comment here.

Disaster Message Board

New messages:

Robyn Raine is looking for a related family. Surname: Stromboe. Father's first name is Axel (?).
They have/had a catering business in New Orleans.

Robyn Raine is also looking for online friend, not heard from since last week. Her name is Nancy, from Meridian, MS. Nancy's online names are Chief's Wife on MSN.com, and Cherish Life on Care2.com.

Nancy's son is in Biloxi, MS, at [Kessler] A.F.B.

Survivors describe week of horror in New Orleans

Survivors describe week of horror in New Orleans

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/refugees_dc

Sterling Hts. hotel welcomes Katrina victims, but...

Date:
Sat, 03 Sep 2005 12:13:37 -0000
Subject:
[the volupt lounge yahoo group] Sterling Heights hotel welcomes Katrina victims but they need clothing donations

New Orleans residents, displaced by Hurricane Katrina, have found shelter in a Sterling Heights hotel after a long trek to Detroit.

The 14 people -- five adults and nine children -- lived in an apartment complex before the disaster."We all packed into a Jeep Cherokee. The apartment manager where we lived said, 'I have some quarters and we can use it to get to Detroit where my family lives,' " said Lakeisha Adams, one of the evacuees.The group left in five vehicles, but one by one they ran out of gas. Each time one vehicle would break down, the people would pack into the next car. The 14 ended up in one car that finally brought them to Detroit.

The Best Western Sterling Inn at 15 Mile and Van Dyke is taking the group in."Everyone has been so helpful. The hotel? I mean. I just don't have words for it. I'm really glad that they are having us here," said Adams.The Sterling Inn is the first hotel to answer the call that Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick put out Thursday, urging hotels and motels to take in displaced residents.

Warren Consolidated Schools will register the children to provide them with schooling. They are also giving them backpacks filled with supplies, Local 4 reported.Meanwhile, the children urgently need back-to-school clothing, and the adults also only arrived with limited necessities.

Anyone who would like to donate to the evacuees is urged to drop off clothing and toys at The Best Western Sterling Inn.

Here are details of what is needed:
Clothing for the group is what is most needed.
Adults
28-year-old female. Size 11 to 12, 7½ shoe.27-year-old female. Size 14 to 15, 9½ shoe.
40-year-old male. Size 36 pants, XL shirt, 10½ shoe.
74-year-old male. Size 32 to 34 pant, XL shirt, 10 shoe.
34-year-old male. Size 48 pants, 4X shirt, and 11½ shoe.

Children
Clothing to fit girls, ages 4, 5, 8, 11 and 16.
Clothing to fit boys, ages 8, 11, and 12.

Toys

Convention Center Evacuation Begins

Convention Center Evacuation Begins
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050903/ap_on_re_us/hurricane_katrina

Searching for those Missing

This website was sent to me to try and help anyone searching for those missing.
It is an extensive site.
http://www.firstgov.gov/Citizen/Topics/PublicSafety/Hurricane_Katrina_Recovery.shtml

Mayor to feds: 'Get off your asses'

Mayor to feds: 'Get off your asses'
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/02/nagin.transcript/index.html

Kanye speaks out against Bush on nat'l television

Kanye speaks out against Bush on nat'l television
http://www.pixelmd.com/kanye.html

Katrina comes home to roost

Katrina comes home to roost
http://www.guardian.co.uk/katrina/story/0,16441,1561356,00.html

New Orleans After Hurricane Katrina

New Orleans by Satellite
http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/_national/neworleanssatellite/index.html

U.S. black leaders condemn slow Katrina relief

U.S. black leaders condemn slow Katrina relief

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050902/ts_nm/weather_katrina_race_dc

Topic: ..fimi take on the New Orleans/Katrina tragedy..

Jamaicans.com Community Bulletin Board
Topic: ..fimi take on the New Orleans/Katrina tragedy..
http://www.jamaicans.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=053726

Help the Victims of Hurricane Katrina

Another organization that is helping.

Action CDC
http://www.actioncdc.org/

Draining New Orleans could take 80 days- Army

Draining New Orleans could take 80 days- Army
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050902/ts_nm/weather_katrina_water_dc

New Afrikan Disaster Message Service

New Afrikan Disaster Message Service

Post / Read I Would Like To Help

Please post if you can help.

Please let us know what we can do to help those in such dispear.

If you want to help

Can we help?

Contact Kenneth Kwame Welsh

We would like to help in finding and matching up people and families. We are a research company located in California: Welsh Information Services.

We are interested in helping anyone; but specifically those that are of New Afrikan (Black) ancestry, in the affected areas of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida.

Emails are:
infoseeker560@yahoo.com
infoseeker@MiGente.com
infoseeker@Care2.com
infoseeker@BlackPlanet.com

Rallying and collection points

To help out WE want to use Baton Rouge, LA, and Jackson, MS, as rallying and collection points, AT THIS TIME!

National New Afrikan Disaster

I'm not sure what you have seen or heard on tv or in the newspapers, but we have a National Disaster that is affecting Black People in the Southern United States at this time, because of Hurricane Katrina or other after-effects.

New Afrikans should rally around their brothers and sisters in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

They need water, can goods, diapers, and other non-perishable goods.

Information will be forthcoming, VERY SOON, concerning methods of giving!!!

Other Places to Get Updated Information:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/newafrikanindependenceonline/

Here is a related story:
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050901/ap_on_re_us/hurricane_katrina