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Danger! Bush's "Gulf Opportunity Zone"

Earthside Comments: Just remember: he always LIES. After Bush got us into Iraq based on lies, he and his neocon and radical Republican pals wanted to turn that devastated country into one big experiment into hocus pocus, supply-side economics. Viceroy L. Paul Bremmer III issued all kinds of decrees to Reaganize the 'new' Iraq. Well, we all see the results of that pie-in-the-sky fantasy. So, understand what Bush is lying about when it comes to the Hurricane Katrina rebuilding plan. Bush couldn't care less about poverty anywhere ... he really doesn't even know what being poor is, that is a condition from which he has purposefully removed himself, what it feels like, what it looks like. The "Gulf Opportunity Zone" is meant to try the Iraq experiment again. Maybe it failed in Baghdad because, well, you know, they're Muslims over there. But in Louisiana and Mississippi and Alabama, well, they maybe black, but they're Christians, right? So, here we go with a massive scheme to let international mega-corporations profiteer again from the American taxpayer and from the suffering of the poor and working class.

Link: Let the People Rebuild New Orleans | Naomi Klein

On September 4, six days after Katrina hit, I saw the first glimmer of hope. "The people of New Orleans will not go quietly into the night, scattering across this country to become homeless in countless other cities while federal relief funds are funneled into rebuilding casinos, hotels, chemical plants.... We will not stand idly by while this disaster is used as an opportunity to replace our homes with newly built mansions and condos in a gentrified New Orleans." The statement came from Community Labor United, a coalition of low-income groups in New Orleans. It went on to demand that a committee made up of evacuees "oversee FEMA, the Red Cross and other organizations collecting resources on behalf of our people.... We are calling for evacuees from our community to actively participate in the rebuilding of New Orleans." ... There are already signs that New Orleans evacuees could face a similarly brutal second storm. Jimmy Reiss, chairman of the New Orleans Business Council, told Newsweek that he has been brainstorming about how "to use this catastrophe as a once-in-an-eon opportunity to change the dynamic." The Business Council's wish list is well-known: low wages, low taxes, more luxury condos and hotels. Before the flood, this highly profitable vision was already displacing thousands of poor African-Americans: While their music and culture was for sale in an increasingly corporatized French Quarter (where only 4.3 percent of residents are black), their housing developments were being torn down. "For white tourists and businesspeople, New Orleans' reputation is 'a great place to have a vacation but don't leave the French Quarter or you'll get shot,'" Jordan Flaherty, a New Orleans-based labor organizer told me the day after he left the city by boat. "Now the developers have their big chance to disperse the obstacle to gentrification--poor people."

Link: How to Turn the President's Gulf Coast Pledge into Reality | Heritage Foundation

To generate enterprise and jobs in the Zone, the President calls for tax relief. To be effective, the heart of this tax relief must be a zero capital gains tax for investments made in the Zone. That will spur investors to take business risk in these uncertain times, and the "cost" to the Treasury in lost revenue will only occur on successful investments that add value to the region. Full expensing for tax purposes is also needed to encourage firms in the Zone to purchase new equipment and rebuild facilities. Just as important, however, the President should call for an Emergency Regulatory Relief Board for the Zone. The Board should identify federal, state, and local regulations that unnecessarily impede redevelopment, from EPA rules that might currently block rebuilding in some areas polluted by the flooding to zoning rules that might prevent a temporary school being opened in a vacant building until new schools are constructed.

Link: Hurricane Katrina: Bush's Raw Deal | Doug Kreeger

However, when driven by a political agenda, it is certain that Bush's administration will use the tragedy to their advantage. The result -- school vouchers to solve the education problem, faith-based initiatives to rebuild the communities, and the Gulf Coast's environment fouled by relaxing the EPA rules. ... What happened in New Orleans is, indeed, a tragedy of enormous proportions. There is little question that most of us will rise to the occasion and help our neighbors. But if George Bush and his cronies get their way, we will all suffer in years to come and as they further polarize this nation into the haves and the never-will-haves.

Link: Believe Him Again and End Up Like Charlie Brown | Bob Herbert

The president is Lucy, and he's holding a football. We're Charlie Brown.In an eerily lit, nationally televised appearance outside the historic St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, President Bush promised the world to the Gulf Coast residents whose lives were upended by Hurricane Katrina.He seemed to be saying that no effort, no amount of money, would be spared. Two hundred billion dollars? No problem. This will be bigger than the Marshall Plan. The end of the rainbow is here." Throughout the area hit by the hurricane," Bush said, "we will do what it takes, we will stay as long as it takes to help citizens rebuild their communities and their lives."The country has put its faith in Bush many times before, and come up empty. It may be cynical, but my guess is that if we believe him again this time, we're going to end up on our collective keisters, just like Charlie Brown, who could never stop himself from kicking mightily at empty space, which was all that was left each time Lucy snatched the ball away. ... If you were listening to the radio, you might have thought you were hearing the ghost of Lyndon Johnson. "We have a duty to confront this poverty with bold action," Bush said. He was being Lucy again, enticing us with the football. But before we commence kicking the air, consider the facts. This president has had zero interest in attacking poverty, and the result has been an increase in poverty in the United States, the richest country in the world, in each of the last four years. Instead of attacking poverty, the Bush administration has attacked the safety net and has stubbornly refused to stop the decline in the value of the minimum wage on his watch. You can believe that he's suddenly worried about poor people if you want to. What is more likely is that his reference to racism and poverty was just another opportunistic Karl Rove moment, never to be acted upon. Charlie Brown's sister, Sally, once asked how often someone could be fooled with the same trick. She answered her own question: "Pretty often, huh?"

Total Collapse Near in Bush's Iraq

Earthside Comments: This morning, today, the number of killed U.S. troops, ordered into Iraq by George W. Bush, has reached 1,905. The following news reports and commentaries are further evidence that the situation in Iraq deteriorates into near collapse. When the British-controlled sector in the south erupts in violence (photo is of attack on British tank yesterday), then all that remains stable is the independence-bound Kurdish region -- and that involves a host of other international problems with Turkey, Syria and Iran. What is deeply disturbing in these articles is the reference to U.S. intentions towards Syria and Iran. Bush and his criminal cronies have persistently threatened these two sovereign nations ... is it any wonder then that they do things to bloody us in Iraq? The ultimate military catastrophe for the United States would be to allow ourselves to let Bush be goaded into attacking Syria and Iran. But that looks exactly like the direction in which the neocons and radical Republicans are moving. The Hurricane Katrina crisis has Bush on the ropes, this is the opportunity for Americans to demand his (and Cheney's) resignations. The consequences of permitting them to stay in office with such bad poll numbers may very well be more political war in the Middle East. Time is running short.

Link: British Raid Reveals Basra's Troubled Core | Reuters

Basra was supposed to be a success story, a place where British troops could bring peace and stability after decades of Saddam Hussein's rule. But in recent months, and particularly the last three weeks, order has been steadily unravelling in the mainly Shi'ite city, culminating in Monday's violence, when British troops had to mount a raid to free two of their soldiers held by militiamen. It was some of the worst violence British troops have faced since they helped lead the invasion of Iraq 2-1/2 years ago, and threatens to raise tension sharply between the local population and Britain's 8,500-strong military force. ... Then on Monday, two British soldiers, undercover in civilian clothes, were spotted at a police checkpoint. Fighting broke out, in which Iraqi authorities say two people were killed, and the British pair ended up being taken into custody. When British armoured vehicles went to try and free them, they were stoned by enraged Sadr supporters. One British soldier was photographed leaping from his hatch as flames engulfed him. The debacle led British forces to mount Monday night's raid. But when they got to the jail, and broke down a wall, they found the two men were not in police custody, but had been handed over to one of Basra's militia groups. They were eventually freed. The episode may be over, but along with other recent events, it may mark a turning point, with militias flexing their power.

Link: Iran the Suspect as Militias Step up Basra Attacks | Times of London

The violence that erupted on the streets of Basra yesterday was the result of a simmering struggle between British forces and the increasingly powerful Shia Muslim militias active in southern Iraq. Attention has been focused on the Sunni Muslim insurgency against US-led forces further north, yet the British have been facing a sharp rise in attacks from an increasingly sophisticated and deadly foe. There are strong suspicions that the bloodshed is being orchestrated with weapons and encouragement from Iran. ... Apart from the activities of al-Sadr’s supporters, military intelligence has concluded that Iran has been supporting a local terror group run by Abu Mustafa al-Sheibani, who is blamed for the murder of at least 11 British soldiers. In a secret report, military intelligence warned commanders that attacks on British forces were being deliberately intensified, with the use of a new bomb, developed in Iran, that can penetrate the thickest armoured protection.

Link: This Is a Mess of Our Own Making | Colonel Tim Collins/The Guardian

The consequences of this adventure may run even deeper. Hurricane Katrina has caused a reappraisal of the motives and aims of this war in the US. The storm came perhaps in the nick of time as hawks in Washington were glancing towards Iran and its newly found self-confidence in global affairs. Meanwhile, China and India are growing and sucking up every drop of oil, every scrap of concrete or steel even as the old-world powers of the UK and US pour blood and treasure into overseas campaigns which seem to have no ending and no goal. It is time for our leaders to explain what is going on. It was as a battalion commander trying to explain to his men why they would embark on a war that I came to public notice. The irony is that I made certain assumptions that my goodwill and altruistic motivations went to the top. Clearly I was naive. This time it is the role of the leaders of nations to explain where we are going and why. I, for one, demand to know.

Link: Will Neocon Fanaticism Destroy America? | Paul Craig Roberts

The "cakewalk war" is now two and one-half years old. U.S. casualties (dead and wounded) number 20,000. As 20,000 is the number of Iraqi insurgents according to U.S. military commanders, each insurgent is responsible for one U.S. casualty. U.S. troops in Iraq number about 150,000. Obviously, U.S. troops have not inflicted 150,000 casualties on the Iraqi insurgents. U.S. troops have perhaps inflicted 150,000 casualties on the Iraqi civilian population, primarily women and children who are the "collateral damage" of the "righteous" and "virtuous" U.S. invasion that is spreading civilian deaths all over Mesopotamia in the name of democracy. What could the U.S. have possibly done to give America a worse name than to invade Iraq and murder its citizens? ... With its judgment lost to frustration, the U.S. military has 40,000 Iraqis in detention – twice the number of estimated insurgents. Who are these detainees? According to the Washington Post, "Many of the men detained in Tall Afar last week were rounded up on the advice of local teenagers who had stepped forward as informants, at times for what American soldiers said they suspected amounted to no more than settling local scores." Obviously, the U.S., not knowing who or where the insurgents are, is just striking blindly, creating a larger insurgency. ... According to news reports, at Ted Forstmann's annual meeting of movers and shakers last weekend, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad predicted that US troops will soon enter Syria. Simultaneously, the Bush administration is desperately trying to orchestrate a case that it can use to attack Iran. Stalemated in Iraq, the White House moron intends to attack two more countries. At the Human Rights Conference on Sept. 9, the former prime minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad, described Americans as "people with blood-soaked hands." "Who are the terrorists," asked Mahathir, the Iraqis or the Americans? The entire world is asking this question.

This Says It All

Earthside Comments: This report from Juan Cole just about says it all as far as Iraq is concerned. The so-called constitution has not even been distributed to the people, yet the election is less that a month away. And, here we see that Baghdad, itself, is falling to the resistence. The war Bush started is lost. We should declare that we made a mistake and get out. Besides, with another hurricane approaching the Gulf of Mexico, we might just need our human-power and treasure here, at home.

Link: Security Situation in Baghdad Sinking like the Titanic | Juan Cole/Informed Comment

"The situation has deteriorated in Baghdad dramatically today. Five neighborhoods (hay) in Baghdad are controlled by insurgents, and they are Amiraya, Ghazilya, Shurta, Yarmouk and Doura. It is very bad. My guys there report that cars have come into these neighborhoods and blocked off the streets. Masked gunmen with AKs and other weapons are roaming these areas, announcing that people should stay home. One of my drivers in Amiraya reports that his neighborhood is shut down totally, and even those who need food or provisions are warned not to go out. The government will respond feebly. It will go into a contested neighborhood, and then just like Fallujah, Ramadi, Tel Afar, the insurgents will flee to take over another area on another day. Bit by bit they are taking over the main parts of Baghdad. The only place we are sure they cannot control is Sadr City, unless of course they want to take on Jaish Mahdy [Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army], and that would be bloody.

F-A-I-L-U-R-E!

Earthside Comments: In his own words: Bush is a FAILURE. The entire basis of his self-defined legitimacy in office is his ability to protect America. After four years since 9/11, he must admit that all of his grand schemes have failed ... and that there must be a "comprehensive review" of the government's failure to respond adequately to a disaster -- hurricane or an "act of evil men." It is self-evident, a comprehensive review and changes are not necessary when everything goes according to plan. If, in four years with billions and billions of dollars and the complete political backing of the radical Republican Congress, Bush and Cheney cannot do the job, then they are failures and should not be entrusted with hundreds of billions of more tax dollars to 'reconstruct' the Gulf coast. True accountablity in a true republic should mean their resignations from power ... it really is that simple.

Link: President Discusses Hurricane Relief in Address to the Nation | White House

Four years after the frightening experience of September the 11th, Americans have every right to expect a more effective response in a time of emergency. When the federal government fails to meet such an obligation, I, as President, am responsible for the problem, and for the solution. So I've ordered every Cabinet Secretary to participate in a comprehensive review of the government response to the hurricane. This government will learn the lessons of Hurricane Katrina. We're going to review every action and make necessary changes, so that we are better prepared for any challenge of nature, or act of evil men, that could threaten our people.

Link: Accountability 101 | John Nichols

If George Bush is really going to take responsibility for the renewal of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, his most serious responsibility in the months and years to come will be to ensure that the hundreds of billions of federal tax dollars that are assigned to that endeavor do not merely enrich corporations that have contributed to his campaign and employed his vice president. The president broke faith with the American people when, after Hurricane Katrina hit, he lost sight of his responsibility to provide immediate and sufficient aid to those most in need. If he now seeks to redeem himself, he must take personal responsibility for making sure that the promise of renewal is not squandered on profiteering.

Link: Not the New Deal | Paul Krugman

Now it begins: America's biggest relief and recovery program since the New Deal. And the omens aren't good. It's a given that the Bush administration, which tried to turn Iraq into a laboratory for conservative economic policies, will try the same thing on the Gulf Coast. The Heritage Foundation, which has surely been helping Karl Rove develop the administration's recovery plan, has already published a manifesto on post-Katrina policy. It calls for waivers on environmental rules, the elimination of capital gains taxes and the private ownership of public school buildings in the disaster areas. And if any of the people killed by Katrina, most of them poor, had a net worth of more than $1.5 million, Heritage wants to exempt their heirs from the estate tax. ... Mr. Bush's promise last night that he will have "a team of inspectors general reviewing all expenditures" rings hollow. Whoever these inspectors general are, they'll be mindful of the fate of Bunnatine Greenhouse, a highly regarded auditor at the Army Corps of Engineers who suddenly got poor performance reviews after she raised questions about Halliburton's contracts in Iraq. She was demoted late last month. ... Is there any way Mr. Bush could ensure an honest recovery program? Yes - he could insulate decisions about reconstruction spending from politics by placing them in the hands of an autonomous agency headed by a political independent, or, if no such person can be found, a Democrat (as a sign of good faith). He didn't do that last night, and probably won't. There's every reason to believe the reconstruction of the Gulf Coast, like the failed reconstruction of Iraq, will be deeply marred by cronyism and corruption.

Bush's Iraq Genocide

Earthside Comments: When reading Dahr Jamail's following 'Iraq Dispatch' ... you suddenly come to the realization that what the Bush occupation forces in Iraq are up to is a political if not literal genocide of the Sunnis. Since an actual military 'victory' in Iraq is now an impossibility, the only thing left for Bush is to be able to try and claim some kind of political triumph. That is why the U.S. occupation authority and its puppet Shia government is staking so much on the approval a month from now on a 'constitution' that hasn't even been printed yet. It takes a two-thirds no-vote in three provinces to sink this phony charter. The Sunnis are rightly aghast at what the Shi'ite majority (with the conniving acquiesence of the Americans) have planned for Iraq, that is a fundamentalist Islamic Republic that is a client of Iran. Bush and Cheney don't really care how it all comes out in the long run, they just need a fig leaf to cover-up their abject failure and deceit. So, heavy handed and 'overwhelming force' military operations will be stepped up in all the places where Sunni voters might dare to think about turning out to vote against the so-called constitution. Indeed, if killing lots of Sunnis and calling them insurgents is what the Army and Marines have to do ... that is what will be done. And that, is the equivalent of a political genocide of the Sunni population. As the Reuters report notes, it is in the plans to attack "Ramadi, Samarra, Rawa and Qaim" in the future, a future that is sure to come before the October referendum. In response, naturally, the Sunnis will defend themselves any way they can -- they fight back against their oppressors -- the U.S. troops and the Shia. So, it is true, the Bush-created civil war in Iraq has started.

Link: Iraq Dispatches: Meanwhile, in Iraq... | Dahr Jamail

The Cheney Administration is desperate for something it can spin as "good news" from Iraq; thus, it most certainly behooves them to have the referendum on the constitution to boast about. But in order to do so, the voting ability and power of the Sunni (and Sunni Turkmen) must be severely compromised, as well as punishment meted out for rightfully assuming what will be a Sunni no-vote on the constitution. Both the Cheney Administration and its current puppet-government in Iraq benefit from destroying the voting (and living) ability of the majority of people in the "Sunni triangle," so we have the operation in Tal-Afar, most likely to be followed by similar operations in Al-Qa'im, Haditha, Samarra, and possibly more.

Link: U.S. Says Ready for New Strikes Against Iraq Towns | Reuters

U.S. forces are ready to launch air strikes on towns in western Iraq as they search for Iraq's al Qaeda leader, who has declared war on the nation's Shi'ite Muslims in response to the Iraqi-U.S. offensive in Tal Afar. ... a recent statement by Iraqi Defence Minister Saadoun Dulaimi that government forces were ready to hit insurgents in four other northwestern towns after the strike against the rebel stronghold of Tal Afar in northern Iraq. Dulaimi singled out the towns of Ramadi, Samarra, Rawa and Qaim as targets for future attacks against insurgents, but gave no indication of when the attacks might take place.

Link: "Who said there is no civil war? It has started" | Times of London

JASSIM SWADI, 36, car dealer, Shia: "Who said there is no civil war in Iraq? It has already started, but the Iraqis are trying to hide this fact because they know how awful this term is. We daily hear about another incident in which Sunnis are getting killed by Shias and Shias who are getting killed by Sunnis. We hear about people who had to leave their home cities and towns to go and live in another place because of the death threats they received. What can you call these incidents other than civil war?"

U.S. Not Teaching Freedom in Iraq

Earthside Comments: These three stories perfectly encapsulate why the United States has lost Iraq ... in a war that George W. Bush started. When you have U.S. imposed tyrany -- for instance, the illegal detention of thousands of Iraqis WITHOUT charges -- we are not teaching freedom and democracy, we're teaching rebellion and resistence. When you have a Shi'ite, who was just attacked by Sunnis, saying that things were better under Saddam, then you know you have even lost your 'friends' in Iraq. Finally, the last article, written by a captain with the 2nd Battalion 4th Field Artillery during the invasion of Iraq, shows that even the American troops understand that Bush lied. The best thing for America and for Iraq is for us to have a timetable for getting out. We should be prepared to pay hefty reparations to whatever Iraq government emerges ... you can thank George Bush, Dick "Chickenhawk" Cheney and the radical Republicans for that consequences of their lies and extremism.

Link: Iraq Slams U.S. Detentions, Immunity for Troops | Reuters

Iraq's justice minister has condemned the U.S. military for detaining thousands of Iraqis for long periods without charge and wants to change a U.N. resolution that gives foreign troops immunity from Iraqi law. Speaking to Reuters, Justice Minister Abdul Hussein Shandal also criticised U.S. detentions of Iraqi journalists and said the media, contrary to U.S. policy in Iraq, must have special legal protection to report on all sides in the conflict. "No citizen should be arrested without a court order," he said this week, complaining that U.S. suggestions that his ministry has an equal say on detentions were misleading. "There is abuse (of human rights) due to detentions, which are overseen by the Multinational Force (MNF) and are not in the control of the justice ministry," said Shandal, a Shi'ite judge respected for standing up to Saddam Hussein on the rule of law. Killings and unjustified arrests of Iraqi civilians by U.S. troops risked going unpunished, he said, because of U.N. Security Council resolution 1546, which granted U.S.-led forces sweeping powers following their overthrow of Saddam in 2003.

Link: "This is Ten Times Worse Than Under Saddam" | London Times

Ahad Hussein, 19, came from al-Nasiriya to al-Aruba Square with his brother and cousin to look for work: "There was a very big blast while I was standing there waiting. I was knocked unconscious and woke up here in the hospital and saw my cousin beside me. It took me a while to figure out where I was and what happened, then I asked about my brother. My cousin told me that he had been taken to another hospital as his injury was serious. I hope he is fine. We don't have any relatives here and our family in Nasiriya must be very worried about us now. It really makes you sad and angry when you find yourself a target. You see your friends and relatives getting killed daily without knowing who is doing that and why. What happened was just part of the deteriorating situation in Iraq. After the fall of the regime we thought Iraq was going to be a big workshop, then we ended up in a situation which is ten times worse than it used to be under Saddam."

Link: Why This Soldier Can't Support This War | Justin Gordon

After it was proven that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, our just cause magically changed. In his inaugural address on Jan. 21, 2005, President Bush stated that "the best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world." Expanding freedom at gunpoint has great costs and may not yield the results one would want. Spreading freedom has cost the lives of 1,900 Americans and thousands of Iraqi civilians. It has cost us our credibility as a leader of the free world. It has also cost us $250 billion so far. At the current rate of $6 billion a month, to stay the course for another five years would cost $11,000 per American household. Even if we ignore the costs of spreading freedom, the outcome is still problematic. Regarding the recent draft of the Iraqi constitution, there's a strong chance that we're going to spread sharia law and create an Islamic state that any ayatollah would be proud of, a state where women and non-Muslims have less freedom than they did under Saddam Hussein.

Lies and Cover-Up of Bush Hurricane Disaster

Earthside Comments: They have a track record -- they LIE, LIE, LIE. First, they try and blame the governor of Louisiana and the mayor of New Orleans for the post-hurricane relief problems. But here we see that it was Chertoff, the head of 'Homeland Security' himself, who delayed the federal response. Oh, let's play the blame game ... because we know who to blame! Furthermore, the radical Republicans once again don't want us to ever know the truth about how the Bush regime botched the federal responsibility -- typical of all tyrannies: an informed public is their greatest enemy. Just like the White House made the Environmental Protection Agency lie about the air quality in New York City as the consequences of the 9/11 attack. The consequences of lying and hiding could be very real for the health of residents and relief workers (including the military personnel) in Lousiana. We see here that the EPA is not being forthcoming about the genuine health dangers in New Orleans. Bush will undoubtedly NOT talk about these risks tonight in his little "please love me again" speech. In fact, he wants it to look like the recovery is way ahead of schedule ... just look at the people already walking around the French Quarter. But it may be the height of irresponsibility to trumpet this development if toxins and poisons and pollutants are a still threatening. But, that's what Bush is all about ... LIE, LIE, LIE.

Link: Chertoff Delayed Federal Response, Memo Shows | Knight Ridder

The federal official with the power to mobilize a massive federal response to Hurricane Katrina was Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, not the former FEMA chief who was relieved of his duties and resigned earlier this week, federal documents reviewed by Knight Ridder show. Even before the storm struck the Gulf Coast, Chertoff could have ordered federal agencies into action without any request from state or local officials. Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Michael Brown had only limited authority to do so until about 36 hours after the storm hit, when Chertoff designated him as the "principal federal official" in charge of the storm. ... according to a memo obtained by Knight Ridder, Chertoff didn't shift that power to Brown until late afternoon or evening on Aug. 30, about 36 hours after Katrina hit Louisiana and Mississippi. That same memo suggests that Chertoff may have been confused about his lead role in disaster response and that of his department.

Link: Senate Kills Bid for Katrina Commission | Associated Press

Senate Republicans on Wednesday scuttled an attempt by Sen. Hillary Clinton to establish an independent, bipartisan panel patterned after the 9/11 Commission to investigate what went wrong with federal, state and local governments' response to Hurricane Katrina.

Link: EPA Might Be Withholding Pollution Data | United Press Inernational

The Society of Environmental Journalists said Monday it has been more than a week since the New Orleans Times-Picayune submitted a federal Freedom of Information Act request to determine what and how many dangerous chemicals have leaked into the environment as a result of Katrina? The paper's lead hurricane reporter, Mark Schleifstein, said he has repeatedly asked for information from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, but his requests have been ignored.

Link: Society of Environmental Journalists President Perry Beeman

COSTELLO (CNN Anchor): So you're saying that whatever the EPA released is so general that we really don't know what's in the water right now?

BEEMAN: Well EPA has warned people to stay out of the water, and that's a good idea. But we would like to have the people to have the raw data so they can make their own decisions so they can know whether they agree with EPA's analysis. And not everybody agrees with EPA's standards as well. And in the case of the releases from the factories and the different plants, which are substantial in New Orleans, we really don't know anything.

COSTELLO: And you're talking in regards to the rescue workers who are working so hard in the city of New Orleans. I remember back in 9/11, everybody wanted to know what was floating in the air, because there was that terrible smell. And the EPA was very slow to release any information.

BEEMAN: This was EPA's chance, I think, to make up for that, and so far it just has not performed. Our list serve internally at SEJ, Society of Environmental Journalists, lit up for two days after the press conference that EPA had on September 7, which was the first time it described what it had found. Basically that was about the bacterial readings. And reporters felt that EPA had been evasive, had not responded with the raw data.

Now EPA says they wanted to do some quality control, and that's great, but we ask, you know, if the data were so uncertain, why were you on national press conference, you know, basing your decisions on it.

COSTELLO: Well the EPA did come out and say don't drink the water. They have called the water this toxic soup. They said to stay out of the water. In this press release that I see right here, they say that if you have an open cut you could be in danger of being infected by the water. What more needs to be said?

BEEMAN: Well that certainly was good advice, and it seems like it's somewhat obvious advice. But, for example, now we have questions about whether there are PCBs in the water there. There may be dioxin issues. I see today they made a -- talked about their air emission data, but I don't see any on the Web site yet. So you've got a couple of things there.

I mean we think that people deserve to be able to look at all the information. And they have the information from week old data now, week old samples. EPA is sampling every day, where's the rest of it? We'd like to see it. People deserve it. Americans deserve it. Certainly journalists would like to take a look at it. But the case of these releases that's -- there has been nothing.

COSTELLO: And when you talk about PCBs, you're talking about possible cancer causers and perhaps rescue workers need to know what they're working in to go on.

BEEMAN: That's true. And don't forget the people who never left New Orleans or the people who may want to come back. Some of these chemicals will stick around for a long time. And some of EPA's own people have suggested that it could be many days and years before those are gone.

And, also, we don't know that they're testing sediments. And when you're dumping this in the lake, and if those chemicals are lining the sediment, and the air starts turning it up, it could be, you know, swirling around for quite a while.

Link: Cover-up: Toxic Waters 'Will Make New Orleans Unsafe for a Decade' | Independent

Toxic chemicals in the New Orleans flood waters will make the city unsafe for full human habitation for a decade, a US government official has told The Independent on Sunday. And, he added, the Bush administration is covering up the danger. In an exclusive interview, Hugh Kaufman, an expert on toxic waste and responses to environmental disasters at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said the way the polluted water was being pumped out was increasing the danger to health. The pollution was far worse than had been admitted, he said, because his agency was failing to take enough samples and was refusing to make public the results of those it had analysed. "Inept political hacks" running the clean-up will imperil the health of low-income migrant workers by getting them to do the work.

Talk is Cheap - Bush is Dangerous

Earthside Comments: So little George says he takes responsibility "to the extent that the federal government didn't fully do its job right ..." in response to Hurricane Katrina. Oh, boy. Wow. Is he going to resign? Is he going to fire anybody? Is he going to do any knd of penance? Hey, talk is cheap ... and furthermore he qualifies his 'responsibility' only in so far as anything might have gone wrong. And if there are not any consequences for the failures, then taking 'responsibility' means absolutely nothing. This belated 'admission' is clearly nothing more than another typical manipulative political stunt meant to set the stage for Bush's blather to the nation Thursday evening. In reality, what the Bushites and radical Republicans are going to try to do is use this crisis as a reason seize more power for the executive branch ... and to loot more money from the government and the working American people -- as the suspension of the Davis-Bacon Act reveals.

Link: A Fatal Incuriosity | Maureen Dowd

I hate spending time in hospitals and nursing homes. I find them to be some of the most depressing places on earth. Maybe that's why the stories of the sick and elderly who died, 45 in a New Orleans hospital and 34 in St. Rita's nursing home in the devastated St. Bernard Parish outside New Orleans, haunt me so. You're already vulnerable and alone when suddenly you're beset by nature and betrayed by your government. ... As Louisiana's death toll spiked to 423 yesterday, the state charged St. Rita's owners with multiple counts of negligent homicide, accusing them of not responding to warnings about the hurricane. "In effect," State Attorney General Charles Foti Jr. said, "I think that their inactions resulted in the death of these people." President Bush continued to try to spin his own inaction yesterday, but he may finally have reached a patch of reality beyond spin. Now he's the one drowning, unable to rescue himself by patting small black children on the head during photo-ops and making scripted attempts to appear engaged. He can keep going back down there, as he will again on Thursday when he gives a televised speech to the nation, but he can never compensate for his tragic inattention during days when so many lives could have been saved. He made the ultimate sacrifice and admitted his administration had messed up, something he'd refused to do through all of the other screw-ups, from phantom W.M.D. and the torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo to the miscalculations on the Iraq occupation and the insurgency, which will soon claim 2,000 young Americans.

Link: Bush Says He May Need More Power in Disasters | The State

President Bush on Monday urged Congress to examine whether the White House needs stronger powers to deal with catastrophes like Hurricane Katrina. ... Asked whether the federal government needed broader authority to “come in earlier or even in advance of a storm that (is) threatening?” Bush replied: “I think that’s one of the interesting issues that Congress needs to take a look at.” ...

Link: Bring Home The Davis-Bacon | Beth Shulman/TomPaine.com

Have you no shame? By suspending the Davis-Bacon laws in the areas devastated by the hurricane you are taking advantage of those already suffering. Davis-Bacon laws require federal contractors to pay laborers and mechanics at least the prevailing-wage rates (and fringe benefits) that other similar workers in the area receive. Once again, wealthy contractors, who are being awarded contracts without competitive bidding that guarantee them a certain profit regardless of how much they spend, will reap millions from this disaster. At the same time, the Americans doing the hard work of restoring these ravaged cities are forced to live without even a basic living wage.

Death and Rebellion in Bush's Iraq

Earthside Comments: The civil war in Iraq begins in earnest. The violence, of course, will escalate as the sham 'constitution' referendum election draws nearer. Until the U.S troops are removed from Iraq, the rebellion and resistence will continue because nobody wants an outside power manipulating their future. The link to the article by Aaron Glantz is another report on why the spiral of chaos widens ... and why there is very little hope for the oppressed people of Iraq under occupation. Enough people have died, including the 1,896 American troops. It is way past time to let the Iraqs work out their own destiny -- without Bush's heavy hand on them.

Link: Scores Killed in Baghdad Attacks | BBC News

More than 150 people have been killed and hundreds injured in a series of bomb attacks and shootings across Iraq. In the worst incident, at least 114 people were killed and 160 injured when a car bomb exploded in Baghdad's mainly Shia district of Kadhimiya. During the night, gunmen killed 17 people in the nearby town of Taji after dragging them from their homes. Al-Qaeda in Iraq claimed it had begun a nationwide bombing campaign to avenge a recent major offensive on rebels. In a statement on a website, the group said it acted after US and Iraqi forces attacked insurgents in the northern town of Talafar.

Link: Baghdad Traffic Jam | Aaron Glantz

Try this for freedom. Iraqi police backed by American forces with Humvees and armored personnel carriers set up hundreds of checkpoints around Baghdad last week -- with the goal of checking every driver's license plate. Because of an acute gas shortage and constant traffic jams, Baghdadis are now only allowed to drive every other day. "If you have to go to the hospital or you have an emergency, you can't use your car," complains Mushtak, a taxi driver. On the other hand, he says "there's less traffic on the streets now." Since the beginning of the occupation, Baghdad's streets have been choked by traffic. There have been no working traffic lights, and the U.S. military has closed main streets in the name of security. ... Since Iraq is one of the most oil-rich countries in the world, few Iraqis understand why they don't have easy access to fuel. Sarmad al-Hamdani runs the Iraq4All news service. He notes that while Iraqi petroleum was refined inside the country before the war, it's now sent abroad under occupation. "Turkey takes Iraq's oil and refines it and sends it back as gasoline," says Hamdani. He notes that while Iraqi petroleum was refined inside the country before the war, it's now sent abroad under occupation. Before the U.S. invasion, there were no problems at Iraq's refineries. Like many Iraqis, Hamdani says there's been more corruption under occupation. ... Regardless of the reason for the gas shortage and traffic jams, journalist Isam al-Adami says Iraqis are at the breaking point. It's a vicious cycle. Frustrated people, he says, often turn to violence. "People are like a time bomb," he says. "They can explode any minute, and they can't bear this situation anymore." Alternate-day driving in the most oil-rich country in the world. This is the democracy the Bush administration talks about. This is the freedom.