12/30/2006 Community Gumbo

Democracy Now (12/27/06)

• President Gerald Ford Dies at 93; Supported Indonesian Invasion of East Timor that Killed 1/3 of Population
• Investigative Journalist Robert Parry on Gerald Ford's Legacy and the Bush Administration's Roots in the Ford White House
• Did Gerald Ford Agree to Nixon Pardon Before Taking Office? The Nation's Victor Navasky on Ford's Memoirs and the Lawsuit that Followed
• Barbara Ehrenreich on Poverty, War and Feminism’s Place in the World

Coming Home, Stronger Than Before (re-broadcast)

Excerpted audio from a December 12th panel discussion at St. Dominic Catholic School in Lakeview.

• LSU Hurricane Center scientist Ivor van Heerden, on what a comprehensive coastal protection plan should contain, including both coastal restoration projects and stronger levee systems.
• UC-Berkeley civil engineer Robert Bea, on how a comprehensive hurricane protection system should be built and maintained.
• New Orleans attorney and Washington insider Bruce Feingerts, on the political dimensions of Congress' role in providing money for rebuilding levees.

Not included in this broadcast segment, but available on the Indymedia archive:

• Eugene Schreiber, managing director of the World Trade Center in New Orleans, on how New Orleans' role as a major port affects the national economy.
• Anne Konigsmark, a USA Today reporter based in New Orleans, on the role of the media in explaining the city's post-Katrina obstacles.
• Q&A excerpts.
  

The forum was organized by Jimmy Delery, and moderated by Garland Robinette.

Democracy Now (12/25/06) excerpt

The life and work of Yip Harburg, the Broadway lyricist who wrote such hits as "Brother Can You Spare a Dime" and who put the music into the Wizard of Oz.

Music played:

David "The Nac" Naccari, Katrinalaya, 2005 (available at local shops, KATRINALAYA.ORG, CDBABY.COM, or by email, thenac@katrinalaya.org).

12/23/2006 Community Gumbo

Democracy Now (12/18/06)

Howard Zinn on The Uses of History and the War on Terrorism.

Pledge your support for Democracy Now during their holiday pledge drive.

Literacy Project Celebrates New Orleans Neighborhoods (re-broadcast)

Ashley Nelson and five other students from McDonough Senior High School celebrated their communities in books published just before Hurricane Katrina as part of the Neighborhood Story Project, a program sponsored by the University of New Orleans and the Literacy Alliance of Greater New Orleans.

Listen to Ashley talking about her book, The Combination, and about her love for the Lafitte housing development were she grew up, at New Orleans Indymedia.

Music bed after interview: Me'Shell Ndegeocello, "Mary Magdalene."

Abram Himelstein, along with Rachel Breunlin, was a writing coach in the Neighborhood Story Project, a program designed to inspire students to further explore their creative talents by writing stories about their New Orleans neighborhoods.

Listen to Abram talking about the project, and about New Orleans post-Katrina, at New Orleans Indymedia.

The Neighborhood Story Project books are available at your neighborhood bookstore.

Visit the Neigborhood Story Project for more information about the program.

Related: Learn about the intractable problems of poverty in New Orleans caused in large part by a broken school system -- Left Behind: The Story of the New Orleans Public Schools.

Music played:

Young and Sexy, "Santa Claus Likes Rich Kids Better," It's a Team Mint Xmas, Vol. II.

James Andrews, "Christmas in New Orleans," New Orleans Christmas, Putumayo, 2006.

12/16/2006 Community Gumbo

Democracy Now (12/13/06)

• "Poverty is a Threat to Peace" - Muhammad Yunus Accepts Nobel, Says U.S. War on Terror "Derailed" Global Pursuit of Poverty Reduction
• Microcredit: Solution to Poverty or False 'Compassionate Capitalism?'
• Vandana Shiva on Farmer Suicides, the U.S.-India Nuclear Deal, Wal-Mart in India and More

Coming Home, Stronger Than Before

Excerpted audio from a December 12th panel discussion at St. Dominic Catholic School in Lakeview.

• LSU Hurricane Center scientist Ivor van Heerden, on what a comprehensive coastal protection plan should contain, including both coastal restoration projects and stronger levee systems.
• UC-Berkeley civil engineer Robert Bea, on how a comprehensive hurricane protection system should be built and maintained.
• New Orleans attorney and Washington insider Bruce Feingerts, on the political dimensions of Congress' role in providing money for rebuilding levees.
• Q&A excerpts.
  

Not included in this broadcast segment, but available on the Indymedia archive:

• Eugene Schreiber, managing director of the World Trade Center in New Orleans, on how New Orleans' role as a major port affects the national economy.
• Anne Konigsmark, a USA Today reporter based in New Orleans, on the role of the media in explaining the city's post-Katrina obstacles.

The forum was organized by Jimmy Delery, and moderated by Garland Robinette.

Announcements:



The Big Easy Roller Girls: Santa's Little Sleighers vs. The Tannenbombers
BIGEASYROLLERGIRLS.COM

You'll want to get your holiday shopping done early on Saturday so you can make it out to the 4th Big Easy Rollergirls bout Saturday, Dec. 16, at Mardi Gras World. There are still tickets available for this one, so if you've missed the earlier bouts because you didn't get your tickets soon enough, this is your chance. There are only a couple more bouts left this season, so don't miss out on this inauguration of a new holiday tradition as Santa's Little Sleighers and The Tannenbombers vie for the Glory in Excelsis Derby. Live music by The Vettes, rebel-rousing by MC Trachiotomy, and food by Juan's Flying Burritos and Slice Pizza. Mascot Ruthie the Duck Girl will have her trademark sack of gifts for the crowd.

If you bring an unwrapped toy or ornament to the bout for a needy family, you'll get a beverage ticket at the door!

7:00 tonight at Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World. Your derby ticket stub gets you into the afterparty at the Old Point Bar.

Unified New Orleans Plan District-Level Meetings

A third round of District-level planning meetings is scheduled across New Orleans today. Planning teams will meet with community members about the draft plan for the planning district. More information at UNIFIEDNEWORLEANSPLAN.ORG.

Festivus, the holiday market for the rest of us
Every Sunday until Christmas, 12-4 p.m.
700 Magazine, corner of Girod in the CBD.
FESTIVUSMARKET.ORG

A human-scale alternative to the loneliness of on-line shopping or the hassle of big box holiday parking lots by featuring the best of local cottage industries whose businesses reflects our core values of ecology, fair trade, craftsmanship and personal customer service. Over 40 fair trade, handmade, and recycled tables, hot food, live music, Office of Homeland Serenity with free massage, airing of the grievances, regifting station, immolation station for those grievances to disappear in a puff of smoke, Flattery from celebrity flatterers like the Big Easy Rollergirls, and the world's first Flattery Slam.

Kingpin Holiday Flea Market
Every Sunday until Christmas, 12-5 p.m.
Kingpin Lounge, 1307 Lyons St. at Prytania

Holiday festoonery, stocking stuffers, vintage & designer clothing, handmade crafts, jewelry, used/rare CDs, albums & books, collectibles, household goods, great junk, offered by local artists, designers, musicians, and nonprofits.

Caroling in Jackson Square

Patio Planters, the Social and Garden Club of the French Quarter, is providing candles and song sheets for caroling at 6:00 Sunday evening under the spires of St. Louis Cathedral. Caroling begins at 7:00. For more information, call 319-6226 or visit www.patioplanters.org. Free and open to the public.

Second-line through the Ninth Ward

A second-line parade will roll through the Ninth Ward this Sunday starting at Marky "B's" Bar located at 5119 St. Claude Avenue at noon on Sunday, stopping at Sweet Lorraine's Jazz Club and other destinations.

Holiday on the Boulevard

Ashé Cultural Arts Center is hosting a weekend festival saluting the spirit of New Orleans with music, food, children's activities, a marketplace, today and Sunday. Saturday performers include the New Orleans Dance Collective, Phillip Manuel and his Trio and Bamboula 2000. On Sunday, look for the Rev. Lois Dejean, Jo "Cool" Davis and Zion Trinity. For a schedule of activities and times of performances, visit www.ashecac.org, or call 569-9070. The Ashé Cultural Arts Center is located at 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.

Caroling on the Bayou

Starting at the launch area in Bayou St. John, at Wisner and Mirabeau boulevards. Riding in his sleigh canoe, Santa leads the procession down the bayou for the annual Christmas caroling on the water, 7 Sat. Carolers are to arrive by 6:30 and are requested to wear a Santa hat, bring bells and flashlights and dress for the weather. Song sheets provided. To participate, call Byron of Canoe & Trail Adventures, at 834-5257, or e-mail byron@canoeandtrail.com.

Hanukkah at Riverwalk

Spanish Plaza at Riverwalk, Poydras Street at the River. Chabad-Lubavitch of Louisiana hosts a menorah lighting celebrating the festival of light and community rebuilding, with a children's program, music, Israeli food from Casablanca restaurant, latkes and more, 4:30 Sun.

More community events listings available at NEWORLEANSNETWORK.ORG, and holiday entertainment listings at NOLA.COM/ENTERTAINMENT.

Music Played:

Charles Brown, "Silent Night."
Banu Gibson, "I'll Be Home for Christmas," New Orleans Christmas, Putumayo, 2006.

12/09/2006 Community Gumbo

Democracy Now (12/6/06)

• Robert Gates Unanimously Confirmed by Senate Armed Services Committee; Testifies U.S. is Not Winning Iraq War
• Conservative British MP in U.S. to Challenge Extraordinary Rendition; 3,000 Published Flight Logs Expose New CIA Rendition Activities
• Supreme Court Considers School Integration Case: A Debate

Community Congress II report

At the second citywide Community Congress on December 2nd, about 2500 New Orleanians and displaced residents 21 other cities were polled in a day-long series of questions about how to rebuild their city. It was the largest meeting of its kind since Hurricane Katrina flooded the city. It was also the most demographically representative of pre-Katrina New Orleans. Previous planning efforts failed in large measure because they didn’t achieve a consensus of public opinion about priorities.

And in the latest planning effort, the Unified New Orleans Plan, participation had been extremely low, and the black population was grossly underrepresented.

The Saturday meeting, however, rectified those problems with an extensive outreach effort, childcare and transportation assistance, translation services for Spanish-speaking and Vietnamese participants, live jazz music, painting and poetry readings, and live satellite teleconferencing in the largest evacuee cities: Atlanta, Houston, Baton Rouge, Dallas, and other, smaller cities.

Participants leaving the meeting expressed a sense of satisfaction that they were finally able to weigh in with their own feelings on some of the most pressing issues as they desperately try to reclaim their lives and their neighborhoods fourteen months after they were forced out of their homes.

One of the clearest priorities that emerged from roundtable discussions was a desire to see effective Category 5 levees built following from Dutch successes, and to emphasize wetlands restoration and conservation as part of a holistic approach to flood protection.

Other priorities didn’t emerge with as much clarity, however, owing to a complicated round of questions and follow-up questions which allowed participants to vote both for and against issues.

Moreover, the questions asked of participants lacked specificity. Although they believe it is essential that they be allowed to participate, many complained about the fact that they have no sense about how the Unified New Orleans Plan process will take their input into consideration in the final citywide master plan scheduled to be released in January.

The questions asked at the second Community Congress were much the same as those asked at the first citywide meeting in July. The neighborhood planning meetings which are ongoing have far more detailed lists of priorities, but in the Community Congress, there were no specific proposals offered for participants to vote on, such as the development of new streetcar lines which pass through multiple neighborhoods, or the siting of new medical facilities or housing developments. The meeting ironically lent an air of legitimacy to a process which remains obscure.

Citizens may not be savvy enough to know how to work within the rarified circles of political dealmakers at the local, state, and federal levels in order to achieve their goals. Almost without exception, however, citizens from various neighborhoods, of various backgrounds, races, education, and experience, are generally far better informed than public officials about what’s happening in their neighborhoods, and speak passionately about how government is failing them, because they’re living and feeling the post-Katrina crisis every minute of their lives.

Reactions to the second Community Congress, and the planning process, in this edition of Community Gumbo -- conversations with Rev. Lois Dejean, Deborah Davenport, Joan Smith, Shaunda Collins, and Victoria Lewis.

Photos:

AmericaSpeaks keypads which participants use to enter their preferences.


About 1000 people filled the New Orleans Convention Center.


Participants in other cities provided live feedback on options presented.


Participant input was refined on-the-fly to generate additional rounds of questions.


The Vietnamese community has been very active in their own planning process. This was the first time they showed up in significant numbers to a citywide Unified New Orleans Plan meeting.


A translator booth.


Painters, poets, and musicians entertained and inspired participants.


Mayor Ray Nagin made a rare public appearance to address the crowd at the New Orleans Convention Center.

Related:

Michelle Krupa and Coleman Warner, "Across South, displaced chime in with own ideas for rebuilding N.O.", The Times-Picayune, 12/3/06.

Bruce Nolan, "At tables, options often revised," The Times-Picayune, 12/3/06.

Unified New Orleans Plan Community Congress #2 Preliminary Report

Christian Roselund - Representation and Misrepresentation in UNOP

Announcements:

2nd Congressional District Election
William Jefferson defends his congressional seat from challenger Karen Carter. Polls open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Use the polling place locator by typing in your address at the Louisiana Secretary of State Web site SOS.LOUISIANA.GOV. You may also try to call the Secretary of State office at 1-800-883-2805, or the Orleans Parish Registrar of Voters, 658-8300. The Jefferson Parish Registrar of Voters can be reached at 736-6191. The Secretary of State maintains a list of parish election officials on its Web site.

Le Jour de Noël
Holiday Music of Old and New Worlds
New Orleans Musica da Camera with Vox Feminæ
NOMDC.ORG
Sunday 10 December 3:00pm
Holy Name of Mary Church - 500 Eliza St. - Algiers Point

Festivus, the holiday market for the rest of us
Every Sunday until Christmas, 12-4 p.m.
700 Magazine, corner of Girod in the CBD
FESTIVUSMARKET.ORG
A human-scale alternative to the loneliness of on-line shopping or the hassle of big box holiday parking lots by featuring the best of local cottage industries whose businesses reflects our core values of ecology, fair trade, craftsmanship and personal customer service. Over 40 fair trade, handmade, and recycled tables, hot food, live music, Office of Homeland Serenity with free massage, airing of the grievances, regifting station, immolation station for those grievances to disappear in a puff of smoke, Flattery from celebrity flatterers like the Big Easy Rollergirls, and the world's first Flattery Slam.

Kingpin Holiday Flea Market
Every Sunday until Christmas, 12-5 p.m., Kingpin Lounge, 1307 Lyons St. at Prytania
Holiday festoonery, stocking stuffers, vintage & designer clothing, handmade crafts, jewelry, used/rare CDs, albums & books, collectibles, household goods, great junk, offered by local artists, designers, musicians, and nonprofits.

Music Played:

Low, "Just Like Christmas"
Fats Domino, "Walking to New Orleans"
Charles Brown, "Please Come Home for Christmas"

12/2/2006 Community Gumbo

Democracy Now (11/27/06)

• Tom Hayden: Documents Reveal Secret Talks Between U.S. and Armed Iraqi Resistance
• Anatomy of a Civil War: Writer Nir Rosen on Iraq's Descent Into Chaos
• Hundreds Face Eviction in New Orleans
• Police Detain 160 Uprising Leaders in Oaxaca, Tens of Thousands Protest Governor Ruiz

Who should decide which New Orleans rebuilding projects get funding priority? (re-broadcast)

"Stay Local" this holiday season (re-broadcast)

Announcements:

Community Congress #2
December 2, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
900 Convention Center Blvd., New Orleans
unifiedneworleansplan.org
Thousands of New Orleanians at home and in five other cities will come together to decide how to rebuild New Orleans.

Le Jour de Noël
Holiday Music of Old and New Worlds
New Orleans Musica da Camera with Vox Feminæ
nomdc.org
Sunday 3 December 4:00pm
Ursuline Chapel - 2701 State St. - Uptown New Orleans
Sunday 10 December 3:00pm
Holy Name of Mary Church - 500 Eliza St. - Algiers Point

Left Behind
December 5, Canal Place, 7 pm. Seating will be limited, tickets may not go on sale until that day at 5 pm.
neworleansleftbehind.com
A 60-minute documentary directed by Vince Morelli and Jason Berry which was shot before, during and after Hurricane Katrina, tells the story of three African-American high school seniors as they navigate through their final year in "the worst public school system in America." The film examines the core of our American values, the framework by which we live, and how our most vaunted beliefs and government policies have played a role in our nation's shame.

Festivus, the holiday market for the rest of us
Sunday, December 03 2006 @ 12:00 PM CST - 04:00PM
700 Magazine, corner of Girod in the CBD
festivusmarket.org
A human-scale alternative to the loneliness of on-line shopping or the hassle of big box holiday parking lots by featuring the best of local cottage industries whose business reflects our core values of ecology, fair trade, craftsmanship and personal customer service. 12 noon to 4 pm on the first 3 Sundays of December. Over 40 fair trade, handmade, and recycled tables, hot food, live music, Office of Homeland Serenity with free massage, airing of the grievances, regifting station, immolation station for those grievances to disappear in a puff of smoke, Flattery from celebrity flatterers like the Big Easy Rollergirls, and the world's first Flattery Slam.

Kingpin Holiday Flea Market
Every Sunday until Christmas, beginning Sunday, December 3, 12-5 PM, Kingpin Lounge, 1307 Lyons St. at Prytania
Holiday festoonery, stocking stuffers, vintage & designer clothing, handmade crafts, jewelry, used/rare CDs, albums & books, collectibles, household goods, great junk, offered by local artists, designers, musicians, and nonprofits.