meta-roj

australia for all men

blues

american music, texas style.

it seems that the bush administration’s alternate-reality field (in which no americans die) extends to press coverage of the greatest human tragedy in the american homeland (i still hate that word).

this piece is quoted here in its entirety, because it represents an important official policy position of the united states government:

U.S. agency blocks photos of New Orleans dead [reuters, 2005.09.06]

The U.S. government agency leading the rescue efforts after Hurricane Katrina said on Tuesday it does not want the news media to take photographs of the dead as they are recovered from the flooded New Orleans area.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, heavily criticized for its slow response to the devastation caused by the hurricane, rejected requests from journalists to accompany rescue boats as they went out to search for storm victims.

An agency spokeswoman said space was needed on the rescue boats and that “the recovery of the victims is being treated with dignity and the utmost respect.”

“We have requested that no photographs of the deceased be made by the media,” the spokeswoman said in an e-mailed response to a Reuters inquiry.

The Bush administration also has prevented the news media from photographing flag-draped caskets of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq, which has sparked criticism that the government is trying to block images that put the war in a bad light.

The White House is under fire for its handling of the relief effort, which many officials have charged was slow and bureacratic, contributing to the death and mayhem in New Orleans after the storm struck on Aug. 29. (Additional reporting by Deborah Charles)

so long, little buddy

at this point, i simply have to put this in public. my department of homeland security is incompetent. my government is incompetent. if this is how we handle a natural disaster with four days warning, i can only imagine what we’d do without notice, when the earthquake hits los angeles or san francisco, or when the tsunami hits seattle.

there is no excuse.

if there is any example of the cost to culture, this could be it. it has apparently been illegal to show eyes on the prize, even in classrooms, since 1993.

Cash Rescues Eyes on the Prize [wired, 2005.08.30]

The 14-part series, which chronicles the history of the civil rights movement in America, has been blocked from television rebroadcast and DVD release by a thicket of copyright restrictions on the hundreds of photos, music tracks and video clips used in its making.

But thanks to a $600,000 grant from the Ford Foundation and a philanthropist’s $250,000 donation, the process of re-licensing that material has begun.

assuming my math is correct, that means it just cost $850,000 to save this amazing piece of work from rotting away in a vault forever (and it could be more, i suppose…)

also of note, this $850,000 ransom to copyright holders, which apparently also includes people singing “happy birthday” to martin luther king, jr., will not be enough to secure rights for home-video release.

more from npr.

things are quiet here, but i had to sneak in and put this on the record for my own sanity.

Schiavo Case Goes To Federal Judge [washington post, 2005.03.21]

The law that Bush flew back to Washington from his Texas ranch to sign at 1:11 a.m. Monday shifted jurisdiction of the Schiavo case from the Florida courts, where the Schindlers have been rebuffed for the past seven years, to the federal courts.

so we know that when something really, really important happens, our president can make it back to washington even in the middle of the night.

Vacation Ends, and Crisis Management Begins [washington post, 2005.08.31]

After a month-long retreat at his Texas ranch, Bush returned to Washington on Wednesday in crisis-management mode, where his administration is likely to remain indefinitely.

we also know what’s not really, really important to this president.

i also heard, in passing, that the comfort would be headed to the gulf coast in the next few days. seems to me that decision is a bit late too.

in the meantime, there’s a classic photo of the president playing fiddling while rome burns….err. i mean… playing guitar while nawlins sinks.

looks like the end for cbgb…

Last dance at famed New York punk rock venue CBGB [reuters, 2005.08.31]

The club’s lease on its premises in the city’s grungy East Village neighborhood ran out on Wednesday and the landlord has refused to renew it after a rent dispute.

this gets blogged here because once upon a time, i actually ran sound for a band in this space… i am one with the cbgb grime.

i’m impressed.

the food was good in the french quarter.

be safe, nawlins.

for decent satellite imagery, nasa goddard has it in has still images (~1m gif) and quicktime ~12M mov) – and man, does that eye just pop overnight

for general information, it looks good at wikipedia.

update (2005.09.21): changed image and movie link to reflect goes archive.