Katrina
On Saturday, 9/10 MTV, VH1, and CMT will air a live benefit concert to raise donations for Hurricane Katrina victims. The shows (taking place in NY, LA, Atlanta and Nashville) will feature Ludacris, Green Day, Gretchen Wilson, Usher, Alicia Keys, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews Band, Rob Thomas, David Banner, and the dude from Linkin Park. (Beck, Kanye, Trent Reznor, and Dashboard Confessional are rumored.)
Probably not your dream line-up, but it's for a good cause. Check out musicforrelief.org for more info.
It's been hard to ignore the Katrina Channel (formerly CNN) this week. The stories of New Orleans in ANARCHY are really insane. Corpses rot on flooded sidewalks and conditions are not improving fast enough. Eliza Jane and I loved New Orleans, a city rooted in music (and delicious gumbo), when we visited a few years ago. Here's a photo I took:
For an easy way to donate to Red Cross via Amazon, click here.
A few weeks ago I had this whole post in mind about the blogosphere's fasciation with the other Katrina (the Illinoisemaker), but Zach beat me to it and dug up some video sure to brighten your day.
Hope everyone's friends and family from the Big Easy were able to evacuate in time.
Related: Think Tank does the "When The Levee Breaks" MP3 post.
Posted at 9:29 AM
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http://hosted.ap.org/specials/neworleanssatellite/index.html
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I live an hour outside of New Orleans, and it is utter chaos and full of despair all around us. I know people who have had houses broken into who live hours away from New Orleans, I've seen people walking around aimlessly as buses drop them off to fend for themselves, and chaos at gas stations. My brother is a police officer in a city near New Orleans, and it's been very rough on him as well. He had to patrol in New Orleans last night and he said it's almost like Iraq down there. They have to get nat'l guard troops to set up convoys because of the looting, carjackings, etc.
We didn't get much damage from anything besides trees where I live, but I can't help but feel guilty because of it. I'm going to volunteer at my local Red Cross in a few hours, because I can't bear to just sit around and not do anything for anyone.
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Thanks for the info Blair. Must be hard for your brother considering many of the NOLA police apparently abandoned the area.
If anyone's looking for REALLY EASY way to donate to Red Cross, just log onto iTunes and click on the, er, red cross. It's as easy as buying a song.
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where's U2?
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Oh no!
http://www.idolonfox.com/showinfo/memphis_cancellation.htm
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Did you guys see this movie called "Oil Storm" on FX? I saw this movie few months ago and it freaked me out then. It seems prophetic in a way with what happened with Katrina... So many coincidences in the movie is making me paranoid!
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The movie Outbreak freaked me out more. Why? Because everyone seems to love monkeys...UNTIL THEY CONTAMINATE YOUR WAY OF LIFE.
In other news, I am sorry for the chaos in New Orleans and other places that have been hit. Also, what the hell is with your government being so damn slow with saving people?
If I was there I'd be looting/finding there too.
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Abby, I'm so glad that someone else has noticed the similarities to OIL STORM too!
Here's what I remember and what has happened
1) Hurricane in the South East knocks out oil processing and ports
2) We go into National Oil Reserve to try and stave off the crisis.
3) The Saudis offer to up their gas production to make up for it.
All this has already happened, coupled with China becoming a major player in the oil demand and outbuying the US very recently (in the last few months)...
Just glad someone else noticed and suprised it hasn't popped up yet. If I recall correctly, the next move on Oil Storm was that the Saudi government had to put down a revolt due to being perceived as caving to American demands and the US ended up having to send in troops...
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"Also, what the hell is with your government being so damn slow with saving people?"
Sadly, New Orleans has been plagued by corruption for years, including with the gov't (even the state for that matter). However it is, Mayor Ray Nagin is HIGHLY pissed by the lack of support and how slow everyone has been moving. This is an MP3 from an interview which aired live on tv and was on the radio. I can't blame him at all about how he feels about this:
http://a901.g.akamai.net/7/901/13186/v002/airamerica.download.akamai.com/13186/aarplace/media/Nagin.mp3
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I lived in New Orleans for three years, and visit frequently. It's a beautiful city, and I hope that peace and reconstruction will come soon.
I'd like to say, personally, to the Internet: please chill with the criticism. We got blindsided, and no-one wants to hear pilot light advice and lectures when their house has burnt down.
I hope the Internet will heed my call.
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Did anyone catch the Katrina Special on NBC Friday night? Kanye West went off on George W. Bush. And at the end of his statement, Kanye said, "Bush dosen't care about black people." I think it represents how many are feeling about the inadequate efforts of the federal government.
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Jay, I didn't get to see it since we're still out of cable here, but sadly, that's about the gist of it. It's definitely a socio-economical issue and I'm glad that the majority of the country (at least from what I've read and was told) are furious with the lack of effort around to help these people.
Being that my parents lived in New Orleans for the better part of their lives and that I live about an hour outside of N.O., I knew there would be racial backlash as soon as I knew the hurricane was coming this way. My friends and I were just discussing this Saturday. We knew that if Hurricane Katrina were to be as devistating as it turned out, it would not only be very tragic and chaotic, but that race issues would be inevitable. We questioned that if this were to happen to majority middle-class white people, they would probably get aid quicker and more effort would be put forward to handle the chaos. Then you also have the issue of a lack of aid, since Bush pumped so much money into Homeland Security and this war he had got us into. And sadly, a large population of New Orleans is made up of poor blacks who are in desperate need of help. So that's a no brainer right there.
Back to Kanye, I have yet to view a clip of this myself, but I've heard different people say different things. Some feel that this further instilled the notion of him being an ass, while others feel that he was right. Normally, I'd say there's a time and a place for everything, but Bush has made me so sick over the past few years that I don't blame Kanye for going off the way he apparently has. Either way, I think a lot of people needed to hear it. Especially the ones who voted for him twice. True, they probably don't give two shits, but it goes to show them that black people aren't stupid.
Yikes, sorry for ranting!
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I caught the show. Kanye went absolutely mad off-script on Bush's attempts to aid the Katrina relief efforts. At the end, look at Mike Myers face and notice how they cut to Chris Tucker.
http://rapidshare.de/files/4662131/Kanye_-_Red_Cross_Benefit_NBC_.mpg.html
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I am an 18 year old girl from Missouri and I couldent believe my eyes when I saw all the CHAOS that our country is in becuse of hurricane Katrina, well acutally since Bush entered office it's been like this. First off Bush is a damn liar and hypocrite! Look at all of the turmoil the U.S is in since Bush entered office. He LIES about everything including raising minimum wage, gas prices, etc... Everything that has happened because of hurricane Katrina is bullshit. Were the richest country in the world and we can't feed our own people? But yet we can bomb oversea countries and rebuild them...good thinking dumbass...As for Kanye, he had a right to say everything he did because he's been there before...Bush dosen't care about middle or lower class people which is clearly a high persentage of blacks...and as for you ignorant people who are to STUPID to respect Kanye for finally addressing the issues out about everything, don't talk shit if you haven't listened to his albums and hear what he has to say. The man woulden't have made the cover of TIME magazine if he was a moron. His albums have scored five stars in almost every music magazine published because he's "The smartest man in music", he speaks his mind and isn't scared of all of you dumbass republicians who only judge people by their bank accounts...
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Kanye West lyrics do in fact deliver pressing issues and are very well crafted for the socio-economic issues that plague our country. HOWEVER, Kanye used his realness to sell out and make more money. Don't let him fool you. Nobody said he was a moron. He's a smart guy. Just another Hollywood press kit to sell to everyone that makes less money than he. Support your local music scene and get over the mainstream. As for Bush? He's goin down. Nobody's gonna vote for him again. And it's true that most lower socio-economic people are black but there are a lot of white people that are poor too in certain areas. Basically President Bush is a moron and Kanye West is a sell out. Get rid of them both.
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p.s.
kanye did that announcement as a pr blitz. It only makes him more money. Doesn't even MATTER if he was right or wrong, it was the timing and the platform he chose to deliver his message. Tacky.
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ha ha...sorry about three posts in a row but I just got done reading more material. I take back what I just said about it being the wrong platform. It was perfect, but I've said this from day one AND dealt with it first hand. George Bush doesn't dislike black people, he dislikes poor people. End of story. That's still BAD and yes Kanye is given props for his bold maneuver but I still think he sold out as a musician (on a side note). And it's upsetting when things get turned into a race conversation because in this day and age it's just not black v. white but poor v. rich. I can attest to this knowing many of all.
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I think people should better understand what New Orleans was like before the hurricane. This article does a good job of explaining the world New Orleans has been for the 20 years. While I wish I still had the idealistic beliefs of our 18 year old counterpart, the truth is that in the 55 years of my life I have found that life is based on money in many instances. Money can trap people, in a good life or in a bad life. Read this article with an open mind if you dare. Good day.
http://tiadaily.com/php-bin/news/showArticle.php?id=1026
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All you uneducated, poor spelling saps who keep knocking Bush should become educated, learn to spell correctly & read this article so you will be somewhat educated.
http://tiadaily.com/php-bin/news/showArticle.php?id=1026
Hats off to Abram !
The rest of you quit blaming the government & take some responsibility !
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The united states is in for a rude awakening. We will see $8/gallon gas before the end of this year, or the beginning of next year. Our lives will never be the same. I know we will survive, but the "good old" days are over. An economy based on overconsumption is like a gasoline fire, it burns real bright for a while, then it dies out faster than it started. Learn to swim!
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