Scott Crow talks about his new book "Black Flags and Windmills: Hope, Anarchy and the Common Ground Collective" at Monkeywrench Books on February 12, 2012. The video is a long version of an Austin Indymedia show produced for Channel Austin in February 2012.

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By No Tar Sands to the open publishing newswire: Bryan Parras, Esteban Tovar and Cherri Foytlin have been arrested while in DC to protest the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.

"I would challenge President Obama to justify allowing this to happen, given he has just signed a Memo of Understanding with multiple federal agencies to specifically address environmental justice (EJ) issues. This pipeline will impact native communities, low income communities and communities of color. Those are EJ communities." - Bryan Parras, T.E.J.A.S. organizer from Houston, TX and Advisor to the Gulf Coast Fund for Community Renewal and Ecological Health

The Tar Sands action began on August 20th and will run through September 3rd. Organizers aim to persuade President Obama to say "no" to the proposed pipeline, which will run from Canada to Port Arthur, TX, pushing toxic tar sand crude through the heartland of the country.

Esteban Tovar, a concerned Houston resident, made the trek to DC to emphasis the need to rethink our national energy use. "If we raise fuel efficiency standards just two and a half miles per gallon, the pipeline wouldn't even be necessary. We need to look at ways to reduce our need for oil." Esteban Tovar, Houston Resident

More Coverage: DC-IMC: Hundreds arrested at the White House | Portland IMC: Solidarity Actions Prompt Six Arrests [in Idaho] | Tar Sands Action

On January 15, 2011 a second line was held for the victims of the December 28 warehouse fire. On that cold night the squat housed 8 wandering musicians and artists who built a fire for warmth in a building that has not had electric or water since Hurricane Katrina.

Read More & VIDEO (7:56 by FluxRostrum)

Last weekend's protest was part of the Right to Return Weekend in New Orleans. The Right of Return Weekend was organized in conjunction with the May month of actions called by Take Back the Land Movement (TBLM). TBLM is a network of autonomous organizations affiliated with the US Human Rights Network (USHRN) dedicated to realizing the human right to adequate housing and community control over land. Police say Ms. Sharon assaulted a Columbia Parc rental agent during her entrance into the building as part of last week's action. The rental agent did not complain about an assault and continued to work in the office the entire time of the occupation, including when police arrived. While there, police made no mention of an assault when explaining to the group why they should end their protest. The truth is that the City of New Orleans did not arrest Sharon Jasper for assault, they arrested her because she dared to tell that truth and demand that public housing residents of New Orleans have the right to return to their homes. The arrest represents a clear effort by the City of New Orleans to represent the interests of the developers of the Columbia Parc while actively working against the displaced former residents of New Orleans.

Major investors have created enormous economic and political pressures on LSU to build its $1.2 billion hospital in lower Mid-City

Casual observers might think that the pro-Charity vs. LSU teaching hospital conflict is an argument over two competing plans to bring health care back online in New Orleans. It is not. The difference between the two camps is in fact much more fundamental with the pro-Charity coalition valuing health as a human right versus LSU and its supporters valuing health care as a business anchor around which an industry can grow, land values can inflate, and hospitals can make money. No set of facts better illustrates this divide and fleshes out the LSU camp's motivations than the machinations of major real estate developers in Mid-City. In spite of the post-Katrina rise in mortality and morbidity rates — due to the local health care system's bedraggled state — LSU and its allies have stubbornly refused to entertain the notion of reopening Charity, favoring their economic development centered plans over what pro-Charity advocates define as an issue of the human right to medical care.

Into this conflict numerous journalists have intervened with facts and analysis. We (“A. Caritas” is a pen name for several researchers) reported in December about real estate acquisitions of several developers in and around lower Mid-City, questioning the for-profit motivations driving the LSU-VA project. New information about these developers and biotech boosters has compelled us to chime in again, especially in response to Times Picayune reporter Kate Moran's glowing profile of one Mid-City developer published in April.

This article is a critique of a draft proposal by five progressive non-profits providing policy recommendations to the U.S. Congress concerning the promotion of affordable housing in the storm devastated areas of the Gulf Coast. This analysis is the collective work of New Orleans housing activists who have been fighting for affordable housing in the city since Katrina and longer. The main criticism of this analysis is that the proposal of the five non-profits, in general, represents a continuation of the failed private sector driven approach to rebuilding the Gulf Coast begun in 2005 under the direction of the Bush Administration.

Residents of public housing and supporters gathered in the cold outside of the Lafitte development today rallying against evictions and demolition.

The Galveston Housing Authority plans to demolish two public housing developments, reports the Galveston Daily News. In the midst of these plans, public housing residents still struggle to find places to live.

In Galveston three-quarters of all homes were damaged in Hurricane Ike and many public housing units were deemed unlivable. Facing South reported in September 2008 that Galveston's public housing residents were ordered to leave their homes but were given no answers about where they were supposed to go.

Since then, housing has continued to be a major issue for Galveston's poor. And now more than five months after the hurricane, Galveston public housing residents continue to have trouble finding places to live. Galveston Daily News reports. [read full article]
Facing South's Gulf Watch

RELATED: After the Storm: Why New Hampshire Should Dump Unitil

The December ice storm that took out power for millions of people across New England and Upstate New York was the worst ice storm to hit our region in a decade. The aftermath, however, was worse than anything we had to deal with following the last big ice storm back in 1998. Hundreds of thousands of people were without power days after the storm, and thousands of people went over a week without power.The absolute bungling of the response by Unitil management has prompted several towns throughout New England to consider getting rid of Unitil all together and forming their own municipal electric utilities.

Repost from The Nation; an investigative report supported by the Nation Institute. In Algiers Point, white vigilantes shot African Americans with impunity in the days following Hurricane Katrina.

The grassroots campaign to Elect Malik Rahim to Congress has shifted into high gear in recent weeks.  Here are some updates recently posted to the Indymedia newswire: Campaign to Elect Malik Rahim Kicks in to High Gear | Times-Picayune uses their media hegemony to disparage Green Party Candidate | Is Picayune Coverage of Rahim's Candidacy Biased, Inaccurate? | Malik Rahim Campaign Moves into High Media Profile!

Elsewhere, Jason Neville writes in the Indypendent (NYC Indymedia newspaper): In Final Days of Congressional Campaign, Green Party Candidate Fights Local Media Blackout in New Orleans | | | Past Coverage: Malik Rahim honored with 2008 Thomas Merton Award | Malik Rahim Speaks to Northwesterners of Unity, Preparedness, Faith

The Turkey Bowl is an annual flag football game played in Adoue Park in Galveston's East End every Thanksgiving since the 70's. This past Thursday brought around 50 people to the park, in the first Turkey Bowl since Hurricane Ike. By 10:15 at least 25 people had shown up, we gathered in a circle and shared how many turkey bowl's people had attended. This ranged from many people's first game to more than a couple people who have been to more than 20. Many also shared things they were grateful for, many addressed Hurricane Ike and its impact on their families and careers.

Despite the hardships of damage to property, what was a near universal perception of a slow and inadequate State and Federal response, and the cuts of 3,000 jobs at UTMB (described by some as worse than the hurricane), everyone I spoke too was optimistic about the future of the Island, and role that they would play in it. [Full Story, Photos, and Audio]

New Orleans is ringing with the sounds of celebration. Having endured the brunt and brutality of the Bush administration's neoliberal economic agenda and neoconservative political agenda more heavily than any other community in the United States, the city has begun a party like only this town knows how to throw. The sounds of ship horns along the Mississippi River blasting in jubilation mix with cars honking along the main avenues. Cheers of hooray resonate across the town from victory parties at bars and crowded households.

A panel of legal experts, social justice organizers and local indigenous leaders came together to reclaim what is normally "Columbus Day" just a month after another hurricane pummeled southern Louisiana tribes. Read More with Audio

Residents of Galveston's storm-devastated public housing projects were ordered to clear their belongings out by Friday September 27th -- but they're still waiting for answers about where they're supposed to go.Many of the residents never signed a lease, and there's concern they might not quality for federal assistance. In order to stay in a hotel paid for by FEMA, the agency requires a credit card -- but many residents don't have one.

Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas testified before Congress this week about her city's needs, but she did not discuss public housing in her prepared statement. Also this week, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Federal Emergency Management Agency announced an 18-month housing assistance plan for families displaced by Ike, but it's not slated to begin until November. [read full article]

From Comments: A friend who has family on Galveston Island contacted me this evening. She said the City of Galveston was threatening to bulldoze homes below a certain value REGARDLESS OF DAMAGE and had given poor residents until Friday (Oct 3rd) to remove their belongings. She stated that the poorest residents of Galveston were bused the farthest away and many have no way of returing to claim their belongings by the deadline.

More on Housing and development in the gulf:Texas Housers Blog sez A New Orleans obituary has lessons for Galveston and Lessons from Kartina and Rita about rebuilding permanent housing for low income hurricane survivors | Texas Observer on Development on Galveston