Don't Forget the Katrina Victims!

I know, I know--there's too much to keep track of these days and I'm kind of bouncing all over the place here. That's the way things are in the world today. There's always some "bigger" crisis distracting from previous yesterday's crisis. Well, as huricane season approaches, I'm hoping to see more stuff regarding the rebuilding of Katrina.

Now, months and months ago I remember listening to [http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/26/1434217&mode=thread&tid=25|the podcast] from DemocracyNow.Org and hearing about how local government was pretty much handing over control of the rebuilding to big money interests. Private schools, gated communities and resorts and more lack of interest in the non-privatized. I remember, specifically, hearing about a meeting the local government was having to determine what to do about the schools and no one from the board of education was in on the meeting. Nor were any parents of children in the area.

Flashforward to just a couple of weeks ago. Big time movie hunk Brad Pitt is [http://www.smh.com.au/news/people/green-new-orleans/2006/07/15/1152637917831.html|reported] as pushing for New Orleans to be rebuilt green. Here's a clip from [http://www.smh.com.au/news/people/green-new-orleans/2006/07/15/1152637917831.html|a July 16, 2006 article] at SMH.com.au (the website for the Australian news source, the Sydney Morning Herald):

Hollywood star Brad Pitt has joined American architects to urge New Orleans to think green, showcasing a series of environmentally friendly housing projects they hope to build in the hurricane-hit city.

Flanked by prize-winning architect Thom Mayne and Pam Dashiell, president of the neighbourhood association in the Holy Cross area where the first project is slated to be built, Pitt said construction and housing were major sources of pollution.

"There is a real opportunity here to lead the nation in a direction it needs to be going, and that is building efficiently," he said.

At the same time, Pitt said he was disturbed to see how slowly New Orleans was recovering from Hurricane Katrina, which hit nearly 11 months ago and flooded 80 per cent of the city.

Pitt underwrote and chaired the design competition for environmentally friendly housing with the goal of creating a template for New Orleans.

Uh-huh, that's nice--hey Brad, you want to look in on how big business (the folks you're courting) interfaces with the locals, please? What good will a green city be if the poor folks can't afford to live in it?

On top of all of this, a couple of days before Pitt gave face time to his pet-cause, no more than nine members of the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund, a charity founded by Bill Clinton and George H.W. One of those members was the executive director of the charity. Here's a quick clip from [http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2194861|a July 14, 2006 article] from AP.org and ABCNews.Com:

The departing committee members said they were upset with how they had been treated by the charity's Washington staff. They claim the staff repeatedly undermined their grant-making decisions, sending money to churches without properly investigating them.

Folks in Washington blowing off what other people think and just doing what they want? I CAN'T IMAGINE IT!

Obviously, this is an issue that needs to have an eye kept on it. I'll do my best, but there's a lot to cover. If you have any news on Katrina victims, please feel free to post it below.