Samedi

WWOZ will be broadcasting
~live from the Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival in Lafayette Square, sponsored by New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation.
~Where'yat, In Dangerous Rhythm?

Free music event makes its way to Houma

Grand Isle gets a little help from its friends

More tempest re: Tempest in Crescent City~richard

Don't Care NOAH More
~We Could Be Famous

New Orleans Council Defers Action On Grant Awards
~Council members heard from a series of speakers including one applicant who was visibly angry and escorted from the chambers by police officers.

Coming to New Orleans:
Man seeks to heal city's bout with violence ~Michael Luke

Overcoming Overwhelmed
and Reinventing Normal
~Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk

Missing ACORN funds spark lawsuit, power struggle
~Michael Kunzelman
~The national activist group dogged by a high-profile voter registration fraud scandal has another bruising item on its agenda when its board of directors meets here this weekend. Leaders of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now are locked in a legal dispute stemming from allegations that the brother of the group's founder misappropriated nearly $1 million of the nonprofit's money several years ago.

Forget the Yanks, Here Come the Dutch~Harry Shearer

Did Termites Help Katrina Destroy New Orleans Floodwalls And Levees?
~Editilla Notellas~We reposted this article for a couple of reasons. Part of what I enjoy about doing this Ladder is watching certain articles move and grow (or not) across the Cyber'verse, particularly as to New Orleans levees and the continued Spin'filtration of that Story by the Exquixotic Corps.
Such is the case with this initial article. Sans our own Casting Bones Search Engineering (CBSE), just type the title into Google for about 240 ledes so far. We hung it "on date", but the story has continued to circulate and grow in "relevancy" amongst the great Aggregates in da'Sky, due in no small measure to the stature of its Subject Author and the reticence of the Exquixotic Corps to ascertain credentialed realities regarding the failure of our levees. I had missed two things about this perfect swarm.
Upon one of my visits this summer to inspect the 17th Street Breach Leak I did see termites, but what of that in New Orleans? What I had focused on then was how brittle the joint seals are in the older sea wall (crusty, flaky, almost gone...and absolutely NOT REPLACED), but had not really even remembered the termites --until this morning, seeing another thing I had missed, this in today's Dallas Morning News: "Louisiana State University AgCenter termite expert Gregg Henderson wrote that engineers are not taking the threat seriously enough. In March 2006, Mr. Henderson presented his concerns to the (Corps) investigative team looking into Katrina breaches. His concerns were not included in the team's reports."

Constant Siege
Deltec Hurricane Resistant Homes, ‘This Deltec home was the first home built in Slidell, LA after Katrina’

Katrina RICO case stayed until mid-December~slabbed

DHS OIG Report: Hurricane Katrina: A Review of Wind Versus Flood Issues~beSpacific

In Ike’s wake. Environmental damage and a nervous oil industry~Stuart Hampton

~Among the statistics:

• 448 releases of oil, gasoline, or other petrochemical pollutants
• 500,000 gallons of crude oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico
• 3,000 pollution reports
• 1,500 sites requiring environment remediation or clean up
• 54 oil platforms (out of a total of 3,800 in the Gulf) destroyed
• 32 more oil platforms badly damaged

Levee's future in question
~The uncertainty has sparked a debate in Louisa County over the future of former Iowa Highway 99. Levee supporters say they need the earthen river barrier to protect grain trucks, school buses and emergency vehicles against flood-induced road closures. But early studies by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers suggest that the levee may not protect enough assets to merit the repairs.

Wetlands contract considered
~Matt Scallon

New Orleans Coffee Port Rebounds From '05 Setback

Business Week Says City Good Place To Ride Out Recession

Open Sound New Orleans ~b.rox

Melisa Cardona at Lady Fest in New Orleans This Sunday!

Ornament Signing;
Final Day in New Orleans
~Silence and Voice

Passing Strange~Joyce Johnson

Balance Studios to Expand

Happy Birthday, Wynton!

Vendredi

90-year-old bridges contribute to flood threat in Industrial Canal ~Sheila Grissett~When two movable railroad bridges were built across the newly dug Industrial Canal in New Orleans in 1919, no one imagined the impact they would have 89 years later on storm surge driven by a hurricane called Gustav.
~Editilla Notellas~ Aside from growing increasingly sick of hearing statements like the above, or "No one imagined that a plane could be used as a missle," or "oooopsee, we measured these new flood wall repairs with out of date data," "Who'da Imagined!" it is with Great Trepidation and Increasing Wariness that I can even look at this "news"paper, let alone post articles now by the Times Picayune, regarding our safety from flooding --due to their ongoing Conflict of Interests with the Corps of Engineers' tax-payer funded advertising in their paper.
I see a problem there. TP Managing Editor Peter Kovacs disagreed with me and sees such practice as no different than covering political candidates who place campaign ads. However, though I am unlikely to confuse the job qualifications of an Exorcists with that of an Engineer and unlike political campaigns donations, I am forced to Pay Taxes for the Corps of Engineers advertising. Also unlike a political campaign, Civil Engineering is based on, well, the Obligation of an Engineer and carries with it the added responsibility of Life and Death in the Veracity of its Statements about the Efficacy of its Work. We can see tragically how the Corps of Engineers and the ASCE built our levees Wrong, how they enlarged the MRGO/Industrial Canal Navigation System over the decades, how that caused their already bad levees to fail, and now how they are the Targets of Liability for this Criminally Negligent Homicide in a Huge Lawsuit due to go to trial, in January, before a Jury picked presumably from the TP readership area. We can see how ASCECORPS has thrown Our Public Trust into a nebulous world of Risk of Failure. That is the crux of their statements now: From Probability of Success, American Engineers now speak to Risk of Failure. Note how their only statement in the article was to recast responsibility for design failures of that canal over to "approach roads". Remember, one cannot dig a hole to shit in next to a Corps of Engineering structure without their written permission in triplicate...
--and especially not without the sufficient Congressional funding for the Corps to first Model how Shit Happens.

What is less obvious is how such a Conflict of Interest influences this paper's presentation of Accurate Information. That is what matters to me, because this paper prints statements by organizations who lied to me about those levee failures and their role in flooding this City, yet are still allowed to spend my tax money for Public Relations Advertising in this paper, in advance of their trial for Flooding this City, as covered by this paper.
I mean, unless we can enact the 8/29 Investigation Bill,
this Lawsuit is the closest we may ever come to having any sort of Legal Redress, let alone any honest answers for what actually happened to our levees that fateful day...
--which we bought and paid for with our lives.

But if you had stood with me in the death water and looked at the flooded Times Picayune Building, you would also feel jumpy around glib opening lines like the one (above) in this article which is, as all articles on This Issue, ultimately about how we came very close to flooding again.
Gentle'rillas can read some history and see that they did not "imagine", but indeed thought ahead about what they did and how they did it way back then, before the Corps got involved:
~Report on the Drainage of the City of New Orleans by the Advisory Board appointed by Ordinance No. 8327, adopted by the City Council, November 24, 1893. Note~Part 2
~The Hurricane of Sept. 29th, 1915, and Subsequent Heavy Rainfalls.

So I have grown severely gun'shy of some of the Times Picayune "reporters", like book author Chris Rose who recently stated that not one of them is objective.
I don't know what such a view does for his book sales,
but This Shit is what "Apparent" Conflict of Interest does for me.
Subtlety in journalism becomes such a strange bedfellow, depending on who you are in bed with.

And as an added concern, it takes an average of 30 seconds to locate some sort of Code of Ethics published on the websites of 9 out of 10 national newspapers that I have checked...
--the 10th "man out" of course being the Times Picayune.
If someone finds such a Code of Ethics by the TP please let me know and I will post it, as we have the NYT for example.

I did ask Managing Editor Kovacs if the Times Picayune could, at the very least, print a disclaimer at the bottom of every article on the Corps of Engineers which states that this paper receives tax-payer funded advertising from the Corps of Engineers. At least be honest.
While I cannot say that he agreed or disagreed, as I truly did not understand, I can say the entire conversation left me confused as to their official policy regarding journalistic ethics and conflicts of interest. I hung up the phone, feeling less informed and empty.

So I hung this article anyway because I want Journalism to succeed as much as I do our Levee System. For me the two are viscerally inseperable. Plus, Sheila Grissett is a Gumshoe I admire and this article in particular is much farther along the lines of what we need: connectible, traceable, actionable information.
Mark Schleifstein is Gumshoe. If necessary Editilla will step in to protect these Bayou Savages from the idiot winds of their
Ethically Challenged Managing Editor and VP of Advertising.

— Distinguish news from advertising and shun hybrids that blur the lines between the two.
— Recognize a special obligation to ensure that the public's business is conducted in the open and that government records are open to inspection.
— Deny favored treatment to advertisers and special interests and resist their pressure to influence news coverage.
~Code of Ethics - Society of Professional Journalist

1) In an era of great and growing dissatisfaction with the media, it is imperative that journalists avoid conflicts of interest, defined as situations in which there are competing professional, personal and/or financial obligations or interests that compete with the journalists' obligation to their outlet and audience.
9) Journalists must avoid all financial entanglements (stock ownership, financial transactions, etc.) with the people and companies they cover.
~NYU Journalism Handbook

~The New York Times Company Policy on Ethics in Journalism

The Times Picayune has no Company Policy on Ethics in Journalism --at least nothing I could find published.

I wanna see the hands. Come on.
Which one of you nuts has got any guts?
~R.P. Murphy

Universal Detection Technology Receives Purchase Order From the Corps of Engineers
~For UNDT's Anthrax Detection Equipment???
Uh Oh....this has What to do with Flood Control?

Comments Encouraged on
Draft Oyster Impact Statement
~Editilla da'Pun~I'd vote for him whateva... --howeva he wanna act.

Coeur Alaska v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council~This case revolves around US Army Corps of Engineers approval for disposal of mining waste in a lake as fill material, instead of as a toxic material. The Corps decision was based on a 2002 regulation that was approved by the Corps and EPA. A lower court overturned the Corps permit for dumping in the lake. The outcome of the case could influence the disposal of many kinds of materials in various waterways.
~Docket on Coeur Alaska case.
Special thanks~Society of Environmental Journalists


~Part 2

The Secret Lives of New Orleans Eaters~Ian McNulty

Our Home at Grace Episcopal Church ~RoM

Music Listening is a Viable Option to Lower Blood Pressure

Taking an axe to jazz
~Graham Reid

Jeudi

"Black Hawk Down", Banned at Louisiana High School!
~Editilla Crowellas~
Kill the dirty little Thought Criminals!
The non-fiction, teacher assigned book about our soldiers' Heroism in the heart of darkness, by
Mark Bowden, was pulled from the classroom Oct. 3, after a parent complained about the author’s use of curse words, officials said. Blaine Degruise, secondary school-instruction supervisor, said he agrees with the ban because the school code of conduct prohibits students from using profanity. "To read a book with such language is contradictory," he said.
The day was the 15th anniversary of the book’s events and the end of the 27th anniversary of Banned Book Week. Just before the class returned their books, students marched to the school’s flagpole and sang “The Star Spangled Banner” as a group.

Liptraps Lament - The Line

Special Thanks Zig Modeliste and Citizen K


Chris Rose: “We’re treated as heroes…we’re the most relevant local paper in the country" ~Kevin Allman
Special Thanks~Library Chronicles
~Editilla Gotta Ax'l Rose! Tag, Bitcha, You ITcha!
Welcome to the PT Barnham School of Shameless Self Promotion! You are so bad ...and I'll bet big... and you can Cuss too! Ooooohhh fella!
Slow Book Sales?~32 used & new, from $3.63
Here's an idea, why don't you do like this fellow'dick, and just buy back 1000s of copies of your own little piece of K'ville and land on the NYT Best Seller List, and then go on Opra... go somewhere --rather than misrepresenting yourself as a journalist from here, free of financial conflicts of interests. Objective Slob'jective!

Price for new lock swells to $1.3 billion, says Exquixotic Corps
~Mark Schleifstein
~Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East

Matt Faust's video 'Home' won "Best Experimental Award" of the 2008 New Orleans Film Fest
~Awards List

LADYFEST NEW ORLEANS!
~casa de Charlotte della luna

An everyday trauma is tinged with the extra pain of violation and betrayal. ~Jim Gabour

Jindal trip raises ethics queries ~Marsha Shuler
~Shortly after being sworn in, Gov. Bobby Jindal took a trip to California that was paid in part by Koch Industries — a private U.S. company whose founder helped start the conservative John Birch Society and whose Louisiana holdings have been granted tax credits by state government.

AIG’s Greenberg spends almost quarter billion to clear his name - then takes the 5th ~slabbed

Disaster Accountability Project Uses Citizens To Help Monitor Emergency Response

Promise of post-Ike jobs a washout for Florida roofing subcontractors

Louisiana helps out with huge collider ~Jordan Blum

Ruhl, Salzman, & Goodman on the Ecosystems Services Mandate


WWOZ Fall Membership Drive! Oct. 6 to 16

Mercredi

State vows to buy property needed to close MR-GO
~Mark Schleifstein

Landrieu/Kennedy Debate: email
8/29 Investigation Questions to candidates
~Editilla schin'schillas~ Landrieu is BEOTCHWOLF on Flood Control in Louisiana. Kennedy is Who'dat?
"It's the Levees, Stupid!"

The Termites That Sank
New Orleans~Mother Jones
~Editilla Notellas~ A little composting here,
as Mother Jones has picked up this story now.
Below is an excerpt of my eye witness inspection of the 17th Street Leak. BTW-Here is Why we no longer Buy
Sheila Grissett's TP/Corps Press PreReleases. (top lede)

The older section seams are what worries me. As far down as a foot in many of the seams (I stopped counting at 20 seams between joints) I could see daylight between the old joint compound and the edges of each section of Wall. I could see day light between the seams within 6 inches of the top on most of the sections, from the breach "repair" to 17th Street. They have done nothing to refit these seams with new compound or even newspapers. All up and down the seams in 3 out of 5 I could stick my index finger up to the first knuckle and on four seams I could stick my thumb up to the first knuckle and on one or two seams I stuck TWO FINGERS UP TO THE FIRST KNUCKLE at about 3-4 feet up from the ground between the compound seal and the old wall. Had I wanted, I could have easily dug out this very old and corroded joint sealant compound with my bare fingers--easily, a baby could do it. Really, the stuff just falls away it is so old. I would like to know why with the water down they did not think of replacing this stuff. I mean on at least half of the seams I looked at along the older sections I could see daylight between the cracks--DAYLIGHT--at the tops and even sometimes little cracks about 2 feet down from the top of the walls.

Creative thinking about flood safety~Lolis Elie

La. panel gets moving on Gustav, Ike recovery

Corps of Engineers to remove debris from Cameron parish

Corps defends contract award
~Bob Brosamer, owner of R&L Brosamer, told the Register that despite his excellent track record on earlier flood work, he had not been given an opportunity to bid on the project. Instead, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a no-bid contract to Suulutaaq Inc., a small construction arm of an Alaskan native corporation eligible for federal minority contracts. “We thought this was probably a $45-$50 million job. We couldn’t figure out where the $65 million came from,” Brosamer said. “Then again, we didn’t price all the pieces.”

Army Corps wrong on landfill
~Was it any surprise that the Army Corps of Engineers is trying to lowball the Town of Tonawanda on the issue of radioactive waste in the Seaway landfill?

Study Leaves Decision On Asian Oyster to States~Lagniappe

Public Input in the Public School Plan~David Winkler-Schmit

World Cultural Economic Forum set for New Orleans

'Inside New Orleans High':
One of the Most Dangerous High Schools in the Country

A New Orleans success story

Tempest in Crescent City ~Metblogs NOLA~It was developed by Global Kids, a nonprofit with a mission of “educating and inspiring urban youth to become successful students as well as global and community leaders.”
This marks its second videogame–the first being Ayiti, in which you help a family in Haiti make their way from poverty to prosperity.

The Man Who Came Back

Reviewing the local attractions
~Library Chronicles

WHAT:
Harvest the Music Thursdays at the Square
WHEN:
This Thursday,
October 16th,
from 5pm to 8pm
WHERE: Lafayette Square, New Orleans, LA
WHO:
NOCM members BayouSalvage and Unique Products~MORE

Leah Chase 'Will Say Like This' ~Ian McNulty

Frenchmen St reqs for group
~Chowhound New Orleans

Head of Music & Media Librarian
~Library Associates Companies (LAC) seeks a creative, dynamic Head of Music & Media Librarian to work within the Public Services Division at an academic library located in New Orleans, LA. Reporting to the Director of Public Services, the Head of the Music and Media Librarian will play a key role in the Library’s efforts to rebuild its world-class music collections, which were heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Mardi

Ladyfest New Orleans
Special Thanks, Geraldine Wyckoff ~photo gallery

NCDC Update II~Laureen Lentz

In Louisiana, nearly 6,500 subsidized apartments sit unrepaired ~Desiree Evans

Snitching Is The New Black
~Big Red Cotton

Louisiana GOPer party censuring Newell Norman and Jack Strain over their endorsement of Mary Landrieu ~Mosquito Coast

It’s a small world after all - which lion will be King? ~slabbed

My God is Bigger Than Your God ~David Kurtz~Special T'anks~wOrdsmiths

John McCain LOVED ACORN before he was against it
~White Noise Insanity
~Editilla believes it or not~Get ready to see This Red State Herring over voter fraud as the Pre Game Frame before contesting the Vote numbers for Obama.

The Decline Of Intellectual Conservatism ~Citizen K

Rising Seas and Powerful Storms Threaten Global Security
~Janet Larsen

Study weighs impact of introducing Asian oysters to bay
~The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will release a key study this week on the questions of restoring the Chesapeake Bay's native oysters and the possibility of introducing a non-native Asian species.

Flood insurance...
necessity or commodity?

Federal Liability for Flood Damage Related to Army Corps of Engineers Projects~CRS
~Congressional Research Service Update: Sept 4th, '08

Did termites help Katrina destroy New Orleans floodwalls?

Rebuilding A Nation:
The New American Revolution
~Pierce O'Donnell

L-1 lands $37M in multiple contracts~The Stamford, Conn.-based company got $20 million from the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and $17 million from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. L-1’s McClendon unit focuses on the intelligence, government and defense markets.

Public records case goes to state Supreme Court ~Laura Maggi

Cup of Responsibility
~Allison Good~Some local roasters are addressing the environmental implications of caffeinating the city.

FEMA van arrives
~Alexandria Burris~Slightly more than two months after Hurricane Gustav slammed across
St. Landry Parish, residents are still seeking help to rebuild their lives. FEMA, in conjunction with the U.S. Small Business Administration, plans to stay at the Opelousas site until 6 p.m. Friday.

Diageo Delivers Natural Disaster Aid Throughout the Country

Energy-efficient home projects dot New Orleans
~Eileen Fleming

Restructuring Pros to Gather for Turnaround Management Association's 20th Anniversary Convention

New Orleans Biennial Annouces Six Grants~Prospect.1 New Orleans has announced the receipt of six grants totaling $935,000.

Parallels of Recovery: Melody Gardot Finds Inspiration in the Spirit of New Orleans
~Craig Cortello

Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival, Lafayette Square
~Editilla Notellas~Thursday in the Park!
Harvest the Music is a free concert series benefiting The Second Harvest Food Bank, every Thursday in the Fall at Lafayette Square at 5 p.m. This week's show is Bonerama! As well you can drop by the New Orleans Craft Mafia. Pristine Lagniappe!

Gonzo~Will Coviello
~"Alex Gibney’s Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson is an excellent film and I highly recommend seeing it in the New Orleans Film Fest
- 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14, Prytania Theatre."

Ian Anderson Meets Sarah Palin ~Adrastos

Lundi

Where the levees broke:
What we learned from Ike
~houmatoday.com
~Terrebonne Parish suffered major flooding when Hurricane Ike made landfall near Galveston, Texas, Saturday, Sept. 13. All of the parish's levees were overtopped during the storm, some for almost two days, two levees were breached by floodwaters and one pump station nearly collapsed. ~Graphic by Robert Holst

Strength in harmony!!

Port insurer pays $127M for Katrina claims

Travelers sees hurricane losses of $1B in 3rd qtr

Mold, Debris Litter Galveston, Houston One Month After Ike

Alexandria asks: "Where's the help?", FEMA explanation doesn't satisfy all

America’s Achilles Heel:
A Tale of Two Gulfs
~James Leigh

EPA Says 'No' to Yazoo Pumps Project, but is It the End?

Extreme IT: Hurricanes,
high winds and heavy seas
~Computerworld
~Wireless networking in the face of wind, lightning strikes and other Gulf weather events

Flood experience led to better disaster planning ahead of Hurricane Ike

7th Ward nonprofit using arts to rebuild

Homemade Nilla Wafers ~Serious Eats

Carnival espionage agent,
Deep Float, follows da'Boo

Louisiana Music: Monetizing An Industry~BBuzz

Iconic Guitar Rebuilding New Orleans Music ‘Note by Note’
~Funky Music Store
~Adorned with a Music Rising graphic designed by U2's The Edge who co-founded the charity, all proceeds from the sale of this guitar will go to Music Rising.
A special inscription on the headstock reads:
"Rebuilding Note by Note."
The inscription on the belly reads: "MUSIC RISING - INSTRUMENTS FOR THE GULF COAST."
Musician's Friend is honored to partner with Gibson to help reverse the devastation suffered by the Crescent City's music community.

Dimanche

Jus'sayin...

Pampy, not so squeezably soft ~Gordon Russell

Freud on fraud - Sam Friedman puts health care on the couch ~slabbed

Manmade floods written out
~Rebecca Mowbray

Firmly Planted~Molly Reid

Urbanism Compared: New Orleans~Urban Prairie Schooner

"Twilight" mania at the
New Orleans Film Festival
~Ken Foster

~First, you must decide if you want to continue to live here, visit or enjoy the finer things that our unique culture provides to the world. The wetlands provide seafood, gas, oil, food, art and music just to name a few.
Are you ready to lose the millions of species of plants, insects, animals and most importantly a people, culture and a way of life that will be lost forever? If these things are important to you then we ask for you to make a VOW now because we need your help!!!~Houma blues man Tab Benoit and his all-star crew of south Louisiana musicians are making noise about the state’s vanishing wetlands, and concerned residents from across the country are starting to join the chorus.~Festival Schedule
~Editilla Notellas~Susan Cowsill is my Hero Rock Goddess Mz Thang these days, and goes on stage right after Amanda Shaw, at around 4pm. Editilla got one request ...well actually a few don't'cha know...
--but wouldn't it be soooo cool if....

--or maybe...juuust maybe even...


State of The Nation~Messages from the Principal Chief Brenda Dardar Robichaux

DHS OIG: Review of FEMA's Sheltering and Transitional Housing Activities after Hurricane Katrina
Hat T'n'T~beSpacific

Are Houston's petrochemicals safe from hurricanes?
~Cain Burdeau~Many of the plants and refineries are protected by a 1960s-era, 15-foot-high levee system built by the Army Corps of Engineers that is strikingly similar to the one around New Orleans that failed catastrophically during Katrina. Hat T'n'T... ~Harry Shearer on Le'Show from lede to this article.

Lee Harvey Oswald
~Squandered Heritage

Katrina survivors tell Galveston what to expect

Organization Continues Building Homes For Katrina Survivors

Volunteers build tables, help Katrina survivors furnish homes

The Word is Survivor~Beautimous Vatul Rock'N'Roll

Wind farm: Lawyers expect precedent-setting ruling

Rare gold coin to be on display at old mint~Talk about an investment in gold.
This one is insured for $2.5 million, although it contains only a half-ounce of the precious metal.
It's an extremely rare 1844 proof $10 gold coin struck at the U.S. Mint in New Orleans as a presentation piece for President James Polk.

Michael Dirda on 'Alphabet Juice'
~Roy Blount's comic, scholarly, idiosyncratic take on the English language.

Econony hitting N.O.'s living dead hard~NO Levee

Citywide Anarchist Meeting, Potluck, and Protest on Oct 26th

Some free stuff I did today…
~Daneeta Loretta

SNOOKS EAGLIN:
Legacy Of The Blues Vol. 2
~Blues Town