Anyone else watching this riot in NOLA . Dissent over city council's plan to tear down housing

[Skidmore]

for poor people so that it can be cleared for sale. MSNBC has been covering it. Police in NOLA have been macing people and arresting them. City council would not allow people into the meeting per standard practice to participate in discussions of the disposition of this property.

[Occulus]

1. WHAT!??!?

Please post more details, I have heard NOTHING about this and I've been reading DU all day long!

[Skidmore]

8. MSNBC has been intermittently broadcasting

this story over the past 45 minutes approximately. There's this hysterical reporter on the scene who keeps going on about how small a crowd this really is and that the police "were forced to adopt extreme force to deal with it" and that the mayor was alright with the plan for tearing down this housing. Apparently, people came to the city council meeting, which is normally open to as many comers as the meeting site will hold, and today they changed the rules. They have been arresting people and the last time they visited this story about 4 minutes ago people were shown being herded into a cell.

[NOLALady]

22. Try

WDSU.com


http://www.wdsu.com/news/14890551/detail.html

[spanone]

2. thanks for the heads up

[Neecy]

3. this has been coming for a long time

...and I don't blame the people down there one bit for rising up against the housing issue.

[bdamomma]

6. me either, they are being pushed out of rebuilding their own homes

[mth44sc]

4. Notice the number of suits

and big money dilberts over there on the "safe" side of the barricades...

[shadowknows69]

5. When Katrina hit I knew they'd pull this shit

They should occupy City Hall until they are GIVEN new housing. Power to the people. No peace without justice!

[Skidmore]

11. There needs to be a national response of the Jena 5 magnitude.

It is long overdue.

[NOLALady]

23. It's pouring raining.

But, it seems that more people are showing up.

[Orwellian_Ghost]

7. More info here

http://www.defendneworleanspublichousing.org/facts.html

and here:
http://neworleans.indymedia.org/

[uppityperson]

14. Good info there. Thanks.

Myths and facts (for those who have wondered why) http://neworleans.indymedia.org/news/2007/12/11634.php

[Orwellian_Ghost]

9. And K&R n/t

[uppityperson]

10. link to update page on the hearings

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2007/12/city_hall_girds_for_public_hou.html

link to some photos (check nola.com for more)
http://www.nola.com/katrinaphotos/tp/gallery.ssf?cgi-bin/view_gallery.cgi/nola/view_gallery.ata?g_id=9447

[K Gardner]

12. There was a thread a couple of days ago here where they

had temporarily halted the demolition, but were planning to resume. So I saw this coming. Pretty sad that the only way you can get MSM News Coverage is to literally riot in the streets. I'm sure the media is trying desperately to figure out a way to diminish this, just as they try to diminish any "action" that shows anyone in this country is unsatisfied with the status quo. Sad commentary.

[CherokeeDem]

13. This Didn't Have to Happen

The shame of all of this is that thousands of people are suffering, not able to return to their homes and even begin to rebuild their lives, because of the callousness of the Bush Administration. * needed to play with his war toy set while New Orleans drowned. I, for one, while I totally believe in non-violent demonstration am pleased to see that these people are not going quietly. We should give them all the support we can.

[Neecy]

15. wow...

Kiera Phillips, one of the most ignorant dopes to anchor a cable news program, just went on and on about how the housing projects were centers of 'murders, crimes, and drug running'. But she went on to say that HUNDREDS of people lived there (note: hundreds, not the correct figure of many thousands) and want to come home, but the city council says, "nope (her word) there's too much murder and crime". She just finished her report by repeating 'murder, crime and drug running' as though decent, working people don't live in these thousands of public housing units.

Nice way to twist the story, CNN.

[K Gardner]

16. They're also saying the housing is "inhabitable". Bastards. n/t

[stevenwarran]

19. For the record--the housing had been emptied and condemned

before Katrina. However, it is stout brick construction and eminently rehabilitatable. Boy those broads on CNN are DUMB!

[uppityperson]

24. Some had been condemned before Katrina, true. Things have changed since.

http://neworleans.indymedia.org/news/2007/12/11634.php
MYTH #8:
It would cost much more to repair these apartments than tear them down and start over.

FACT:
HANO's own insurance company documents prove that, right after Katrina, cleaning and repairing CJ Peete apartments could be done for less than $5000 per apartment. HANO's own documents right after Katrina also documented that the cost for repairing and modernizing apartments would be far less costly than demolishing and rebuilding. Only after HUD announced that the buildings were coming down (a decision by HUD that HANO did not participate in nor even know was coming) did well-paid consultants go back and re-work the numbers.

[Raster]

26. What do you expect from the Corporate News Network?

We are witnessing government-sanctioned racial "cleansing" of NOLA. The City Council should hang their heads IN SHAME!

[earth mom]

17. Hey Somebody! Oprah maybe-hire a lawyer to help these people!

Oh yeah, I forgot, Oprahs a corporatist.

But somebody with deep pockets and very well connected needs to help these people and fast. This is an absolute outrage! :grr:

[Chovexani]

18. Kick for the people of NOLA

This is an outrage.

[porphyrian]

20. That is so fucked up.

Don't the rich know better than to oppress the poor and angry sort-of-French? Better hope there aren't any working guillotines around.

[NOLALady]

21. A taserd young woman has been sent to the hospital.

I'm watching on local news. It's still live. According to an attorney, one of the city council members taunted the crowd which nearly precipitated a riot.

[Amelie]

25. I know I'm in the minority on this

But these protesters are full of shit. They are from out of town, have absolutely no idea the kind of inhumane conditions these people were living in, and have virtually no support in New Orleans. The majority of former residents of the housing projects are NOT clamoring to return, and many of them are actively involved in the rebuilding of the new housing developments. These rat infested buildings need to come down; it is completely inconceivable to New Orleanians why anyone would demonstrate to have these buildings remain. I have not heard one word of support from locals for them; most people want them to go home.

Live updates and comments, for those interested:
http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2007/12/city_hall_girds_for_public_hou.html#addcomments

Live video:
http://www.wdsu.com/video/14897576/index.html

Flame away.