HBO Series 'Treme' Takes Us Inside The World of Black Jazz And Culture In A Post-Katrina New Orleans

New Orleans Saints Win Superbowl 2010!

The Definition Of Joy!

Congratulations to the champions. The city needed this win and we hear at 3 Brothers and A Sister join in the celebration. Who Dat!!!

Forgot About The Devastation of Katrina? Here's A Powerful Reminder!

"5 Days On My Rooftop"



This Makes Me Angry All Over Again, And Reminds Me That I'm Blessed!!!

New Orleans, Hurricane, Getting Out of Town... Here We Go Again! But This Time Without Superdome Shelter, You're On Your Own

Does this picture look too familiar. Well it should. It's folks leaving New Orleans over that same bridge they used when Hurricane Katrina hit. Last night city officials, in anticipation of Hurricane Gustav, ordered all roads converted one way, out of town. The only way you are getting into New Orleans is by a helicopter and it better say on the outside FEMA or Homeland Security.

"I'm getting out of here. I can't take another hurricane," said Ramona Summers, 59, whose house flooded during Katrina. She hurried to help friends gather their belongings. Her car was already packed for Gonzales, Louisiana, nearly 60 miles away to the west of New Orleans.

Gustav swelled into a major hurricane south of Cuba on Saturday and could strike the U.S. coast anywhere from the Florida Panhandle to Texas by Tuesday, but forecasters said there is a better-than-even chance that New Orleans will get slammed by at least tropical-storm-force winds.

That raised the likelihood people will have to flee, and the city suggested a full-scale evacuation call could come as soon as Sunday.

Police and firefighters were set to go street-to-street with bull horns over the weekend to direct people to leave. Unlike Hurricane Katrina, there will be no shelter of last resort in the Superdome.

Those among New Orleans' estimated 310,000 to 340,000 residents who ignore orders to leave accept "all responsibility for themselves and their loved ones," the city's emergency preparedness director, Jerry Sneed, has warned.

Proud Of Barack Obama, Michael Jackson... SMH!!!

Obama: I'm Ready to Beat John McCain
Obama Embarks on 67-Day Sprint to Election
Putin Accuses US of Starting Georgia Crisis to Help McCain
Barack Obama's Accidental Kiss with Jill Biden
Oprah on Obama: 'I cried my eyelashes off'
Obama Calls on Black Churches to Register Voters
Cindy McCain's Half-Sister Backs Obama

Michael Jackson Turns 50/Pics Through The Years
Rapper T.I. Sets Record with Singles Chart-Topper
Does Marketing Contribute to Obesity in African-Americans?
DMX Guilty of Trying to Buy Drugs in Miami
Iran, Nigeria to Share Peaceful Nuclear Technology
Terrence Howard Hopes to Be Music Hit Too
Ethnic Cleansing in a Post-Katrina New Orleans

Hold On New Orleans, Hurricane Gustav Is On The Way

Will Mayor Negan And Homeland Security Get It Right This Time?

Almost three years to the day after Katrina devastated New Orleans, disaster-response officials are bracing for Tropical Storm Gustav's projected landfall there as forecasters predict it will strengthen into a major hurricane. Someone wake President Bush, because New Orleans is no where near ready for this.

The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency, criticized in 2005 for its slow response to Katrina, is working with state officials to prepare for the storm. FEMA said it moved 2.4 million liters of water in 137 trucks, 4 million meals in 203 trucks, 478 electric generators and 267 truckloads of blankets and cots into position for distribution in the Gulf Coast states.

Mayor Ray Nagin said that the city's protective ring of levees isn't fully strengthened after some parts failed when Katrina struck on Aug. 29, 2005, contributing to floods that covered 80 percent of the city.

``Although we have made strong strides in rebuilding our infrastructure, the levees have not been fully repaired and we have an $800 million budget gap to complete our sewage and water systems,'' Nagin said in a statement.

Well at least we hav the excuses put togther before the storm. Might as well start blaiming a few people in advance of the mess that will surley occur after the storm.
Will there be another Super Dome cesspool? Find out at Bloomberg.com with the rest of this story.

Barack, Light Skinned Blacks, and New Orleans Tops Today's News

Barack Obama is JFK Heir, Says Kennedy Aide
Edwards Not Giving Up on African American Voters

A New Take on Affirmative Action

Etiquette Advice With A Distinct Black Swagger
New Orleans Unveils Scaled-Back Rebuilding Plan

Is this Easy Rawlins' Last Hurrah?

Columbia Delays, but Gives NYPD Noose Tapes
DJ Cancels Party for 'Light-Skinned' Blacks/Flier
Jesse Jackson Urges Black Students: Don't Quit

Barack Obama Busts A Labor Day Move: From Katrina's Aftermath In New Orleans To White Folks In Iowa!

Over the Labor Day Weekend, presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama was working the crowds along the eastern seaboard.



From the Washington Post: As Sen. Barack Obama led a rowdy mob down the street here during a Labor Day parade, an organizer wearing a Mitt Romney pin stood on the sidewalk and stared in astonishment. "It's going to be tough to beat that guy," he said, shaking his head, to another man with a Romney sign.

Black Women for Obama Join Movement for Change

Last week, however, Obama's team released this video about our people still trying to keep hope alive in New Orleans. If this brother doesn't win, we're gonna be seriously ticked!

Whether it's George Clooney speaking about the senator like a giddy school girl, or Hillary Clinton trying to keep this upstart in his place, this is the time family to be engaged in this fight.

ARE YOU IN???

On The 2nd Anniversay Of Katrina, Black Folks Are Still Dealing With All Kinds Of Vermin... Including Ray Nagin

The deplorable conditions in New Orleans are the single most visible symbol of the state of Black people in this country. While the weapons of mass distraction countinue to take the form of whether a Idaho US Senator Larry Craig is gay, did Owen Wilson's alleged drug use contribute to his suicide attempt, or is Miss Teen South Carolina Lauren Caitlin Upton ever going to live down her youtube blond moment, we better pay close attention to this, family.

Seriously, we are in crisis. Read on:

On the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, anger over the stalled rebuilding was palpable throughout a city where the mourning for the dead and feeling of loss for flooded homes, schools, snow cone stands, old-time hairstylists and hardware stores doesn’t seem to subside.

Katrina's Wrath Impacts 2008 White House Race

Blacks Say They’re Left Out of Katrina Work

Hurricane Katrina made landfall south of New Orleans at 6:10 a.m. Aug. 29, 2005, as a strong Category 3 hurricane that flooded 80 percent of the city and killed more than 1,600 people in Louisiana and Mississippi. It was the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States.

New Orleans Poor Are Ignored, Thanks Ray Nagin

Governor Blanco Refuses To Accept Blame For Deaths

On Wednesday, protesters planned to march from the obliterated Lower 9th Ward to Congo Square, a venerable spot where slaves were able to celebrate their culture. Accompanied by brass bands and wielding megaphones, they will again try to spread their message that the government has failed to help people return.

Folks Are Mourning, And Their Angry, Sad

Bush Taken To Task For Katrina

"People are angry and they want to send a message to politicians that they want them to do more and do it faster,’’ said the Rev. Marshall Truehill, a Baptist pastor and community activist. ‘‘Nobody’s going to be partying.’’

At Charity Hospital, a 21-story limestone hospital adorned with allegorical reliefs, public officials will attend a somber groundbreaking for a victims’ memorial and mausoleum that will house the remains of more than 100 victims who have still not been identified.

‘‘It’s an emotional time. You re-live what happened and you remember how scattered everyone is now. There are relationships now that are completely over,’’ said Robert Smallwood, a New Orleans writer. ‘‘The city has been dying this slow death. In New Orleans, you can’t escape it. It’s bad news everyday.’’

Churches will hold memorial services, including one at the historic St. Louis Cathedral on Jackson Square, and ring bells in honor of the victims.

A candlelight vigil is scheduled in Jackson Square at dusk, right around the time the French Quarter may start getting tipsy with street parties and anniversary revelers, as happened last year.

Several presidential contenders, including Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, have visited in recent days. Meanwhile, an international people’s tribunal has been convened to take testimony from victims.

The tribunal is being spearheaded by legal activists trying to build a case under international law accusing the United States of human rights abuses during and after Katrina.

Black Councilman Oliver Thomas Busted, While Mansfield Brothers Must Now Pony-Up For Showing Their Butts

Is Anyone In New Orleans Politics Legit???

Once believed to be a likely candidate for mayor in 2010, Oliver M. Thomas, Jr, pleaded guilty for accepting $15,000 in bribes. He resigned effectively immediately from the New Orleans City Council after serving 13 years.

The African-American vice president apologized and said he hoped his troubles do not become a distraction to Hurricane Katrina recovery. "I'm sorry I didn't live up to the faith you put in me," Thomas said. "It was wrong and I accept full responsibility for using incredibly poor judgment."

Released on bond pending sentencing on Nov. 14, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The corruption probe apparently took a heavy psychic toll on the 50-year-old brother as he confessed that he even contemplated suicide. His lawyer and family "helped save my life," Thomas said. "I have made peace with my God."

Hurricane Katrina Aid Goes Toward Luxury Condos

Thomas admitted to taking those pretty little green ones in 2002 from Stan "Pampy" Barre, a member of former Mayor Marc Morial's inner circle and a key figure in a long-standing federal investigation into known City Hall corruption.

Urban League President Marc Morial

Barre is cooperating with investigators after pleading guilty in a separate case. Morial, now the president of the National Urban League, has not been accused of wrongdoing. Barre contacted Thomas asking him for help in maintaining a contract to operate two parking lots near the famed French Quarter.

In the separate case, Barre pleaded guilty in January to plotting to skim more than $1 million from a $64 million, 20-year contract for energy management services signed in the last days of Morial's administration in 2002.

Councilman Thomas's troubles come as New Orleans continues to struggling with recovery from Katrina two years ago. "This is a body blow to a community already reeling under a wave of corruption," U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance said at the hearing for Thomas. "If this city is ever to recover, we have to have an end to this kind of venality."

What she wanted to say was bull****! Case in point:

U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, a Democrat from New Orleans, was indicted on corruption charges linked to business deals in Africa. Police found $90,000 in cash in the freezer of his home. And U.S. Sen. David Vitter, a Republican from the New Orleans suburbs, admitted last month to having committed a "very serious sin" after his number was found in the phone records of a woman accused of running a Washington prostitution ring.

Meanwhile, a violent crime problem in parts of the city has further marred the hurricane recovery. New Orleans led the nation in murders per capita in 2006.

“Pull ‘em up or pay up.”

Anyone wearing sagging pants who exposes his or her underwear will face a fine of up to $150 plus court costs, or face up to 15 days in jail under a new law that takes effect in Mansfield.

Starting Sept. 15, folks can now be found guilty of indecent or lewd behavior when found in a “state of nudity, or partial nudity, when your drawals are exposed. Several municipalities and other parish governments in Louisiana have enacted similar laws recently.

Black Action Star Chris Tucker Helps Propel 'Rush Hour' To Top Spot

'Rush Hour 3' Debuts At No. 1

Darfur Forced To Be 'All African'

Two-Thirds Of New Orleans Returns, Services Lag

4th Suspect In Newark Newark Slaying Case Named
Urban Scholars Program Helps Students At Higher Level

Agency Warns Against Black Farmers' Settlement Emails

'Magic' Johnson To Hold Fundraiser For Hillary Clinton

Michelle Obama Decries 'Blackness' Issue Against Barack

Blacks, Latinos In North Carolina Try To Find Commonality

You Know It's Hard Out Here Being Black: Post-Katrina, America Still Devalues The Disenfranchised

A Call to Action: Commemorating the 2-Year Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

On the heels of the success of the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans last month, which brought in more than $120 million to the New Orleans economy, editorial director Susan Taylor along with other civic-minded leaders have sparked a mobilization effort called A Day of Presence.

This event is scheduled for Wednesday, August 29th.

Why are they doing this? Despite the festivities of this year's successful annual festival, a disturbing reality remains:

* 200,000 displaced people from Katrina are still living in trailers; those very trailers are now being reported to have excessive levels of formaldehyde which has been known to cause health problems ranging from respiratory diseases to certain kinds of cancer.

Katrina Victims Will Be Moved from Possibly Toxic Trailers

* More than 250,000 evacuated residents are still scattered throughout the nation;

* There still are no mental health services or hospitals to serve the uninsured poor;

* 70 public schools in Orleans Parish remain closed.

* Nearly a billion dollars in donated foreign aid went undistributed to assist the Gulf coast region and its victims.

What to find out more? Our sistah has details.

DIGITAL DIVIDE: WHILE WHITE FOLKS GO CRAZY OVER THE IPHONE, BLACK FOLKS STILL DON'T "DO" EMAIL!

There's Hype, Hysteria And History!

No, we're not talking about Three Brothers And A Sister getting the most traffic we've ever had since we launched three month's ago!

This is all about Apple Inc. (AAPL)'s upcoming iPhone.

Set to launch Friday, will the gadget - which triples as a cell phone, iPod media player and a wireless Web device - be as "revolutionary" as Apple CEO Steve Jobs has claimed?

Remember the television ads for the Motorola RAZR?

The commercials showed off the sexy, thin profile of the clamshell handset and seduced more than 50 million people from 2004 to 2006 to buy it, making it the most popular cell phone ever sold.

Meanwhile in New Orleans, an older black patron is having trouble signing into the library computer. He approached the help desk, and an employee accompanied him back to the machine to assist.

It turned out that the man was doing signing in properly, but instead of typing in the password "006" he was typing in "OO6."

Are you tech-savvy enough to discern the problem? If so, you just passed the digital divide test.

If not, then I'll tell you that our older friend had confused the letter "O" with zero "0," something that used to be inconsequential, back in the day when cheaper typewriters had neither a "1" nor "0"; instead using the lowercase "l" and uppercase "O".

Now, of course, such a misunderstanding poses a barrier to access, trivial though it might be.

WYNTON MARSALIS INVITES YOU TO THE 'NEW RENAISSANCE'

Photos of Wynton Marsalis can give the impression of a man with a cool demeanor.

Not in that Miles Davis or Dizzy Gillespie kind of way, but in an urbane, upright, elegant and well-scrubbed way.

When Black America Web's Reginal Thomas talked to the 45-year-old jazz trumpeter, he was led to think otherwise.

Beneath the seemingly detached calm is a torrent of passion -- for education, the community, the arts and the synergy among them.

It is the music, however, where Marsalis’ tone seems clearest.

“The groove identifies the dance, and the dance is the vitality of the piece,” he said.

It’s a point Marsalis has been making with his gift since he released his first album. His latest album, “From Plantation to Penitentiary,” echoes some of those same themes, tracking the journey of black Americans from slavery to today.

Now, as artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center in Manhattan, Marsalis is involved in numerous education programs that introduce music to children. Whether it is in the Hurricane Katrina-ravaged streets of his native New Orleans, or the boroughs of New York City, Marsalis is on a mission.

It's his world, and we are just a captive audience:


While getting the latest about 'Confessions Of A Video Vixen' author Karrine Steffans videotaping Bobby Brown's trffling manhood is pure dessert, sometimes we need a hearty meal in our diet family.

Speaking of Bobby....

100 BODIES IN POST-KATRINA NEW ORLEANS STILL NOT BURIED

Dear Mr. President,

Hurricane Katrina Victims are still waiting. Some of the bodies are unidentified, others unclaimed.

Sir, you can't blame this on ex-FEMA Director Michael Brown.

Right now, they're all being stored in an unmarked warehouse near the Superdome in New Orleans.

Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin, your former constituents are waiting!

More than 1000 bodies were recovered by rescue crews shortly after the hurricane. Most have been identified and buried.

Of the almost 100 that haven’t been buried, 30 have not been identified. The rest have been identified but families have not been able to claim the bodies.

New Orleans Coroner, Dr. Frank Minyard, says he has a plan to bury the bodies, but says he dose not yet have the money to build a memorial for the victims in the shape of a hurricane.

The bodies would be paced in mausoleums within the memorial. Minyard says the memorial will cost about $1.5 Million. So far he has raised about $250,ooo.

The coroner refuses, however, to move the bodies from the warehouse, saying: "I just, I mean, you can't spread these victims all over!"

BEST WEEK EVER? NOT IF YOU'RE GEORGE BUSH

GUANTANAMO

GONZALES

IRAQ

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

KATRINA

BLACK CELEBRITY DRAMA INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW

Eddie Will Man-Up If Mel's His Baby's Mama
'Glitter' Aside, Mariah Wants Another Shot At Stardom

Spike Wins Award For HBO "Levees" Documentary

OJ Has Something To Say About Paris - Why?

Timberland Arrested After 'N' Slur Causes Beatdown

Rihanna Says Jay-Z Screens Her Suitors
Barry Bonds Ends Home Run Drought
Rodeo for Black Riders Saddles Up

NOLO COP CAUGHT ON TAPE BEATING ELDERLY BLACK MAN KILLS HIMSELF

Lance Schilling, 30, was accused of beating a retired African-American schoolteacher on Bourbon Street shortly after Hurricane Katrina.

Although a trial for the 2005 incident was set for June 29, looks like Schilling won't be present.

Why? The former New Orleans police officer was found dead in his home in suburban Metairie of a gunshot wound to the roof of the mouth Sunday night. Coroners have concluded it was a suicide.

Franz Zibilich, who represented Schilling, said he was saddened by his client's death. He believed the suspected suicide had no connection to the pending trial. "The truth be known, he was looking forward to having this matter tried and heard," Zibilich said.

Schilling and former officer Robert Evangelist were accused of beating Robert Davis, 64, who had returned to New Orleans to check on his property in October 2005.

The beating incident was captured on videotape by an Associated Press Television News team the night of Oct. 8, 2005.
The tape shows the elderly Black man being kneed and struck at least four times on the head by two police officers. Davis flailed as he was dragged to the sidewalk, where he lay bleeding.

Initially booked on municipal charges of public intoxication, resisting arrest, battery on a police officer and public intimidation, Davis maintained that when police grabbed him, he wasn't drunk and was only on Bourbon Street to buy some cigarettes.

Not surprisingly, all charges against Davis were later dropped.

Joe Bruno, a lawyer for Davis, said that Davis is undergoing psychiatric treatment in Atlanta, where he's lived since the beating. Bruno said Davis is emotionally scarred and is apprehensive about returning to New Orleans.

"He's not doing well emotionally," Bruno said Monday.

Meanwhile, Davis' federal civil lawsuit against the New Orleans Police Department seeking compensation has been put on hold pending the outcome of the criminal case, Bruno said.

New Orleans police spokesman Marlon Defillo said Schilling had not been with the department since December 2005.

FOX NEWS

WHY BLACK WOMEN ARE ANGRY - BROTHERS HAVE OTHER "INTERESTS"

A recent Black Gay Pride Festival over the Memorial Day weekend in Miami was captured on this website.

The site invoked some heated, lively responses about homosexualing in the African-American community and the huge impact it's having on male-female relationships.


If you look closely at the above video clip, you'll catch 'The Apprentice' Season 6 candidate Carey Sherrell, complete with diva attitude, acting a fool. No wonder Donald Trump fired him.

YEAH, I SAID IT - Louisiana Governor: See Ya, Wouldn't Want To Be Ya!

Louisiana Governor Won’t Seek 2nd Term, Thank God!

NEW ORLEANS, March 20 — Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, slammed by her Hurricane Katrina performance, is kicking herself to the curb. Too bad she couldn't take New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin with her.

Yeah, that's right - I said it. All of them need to go!

Dismal poll ratings showed her capturing barely a third of the vote against Republican challenger Bobby Jindal, a New Orleans congressman

Ms. Blanco, 64, never regained consciousness from the widespread consensus she was overwhelmed by the catastrophe. Dems will now likely focus on popular former State Senator John B. Breaux. The primary is Oct. 20, with a runoff if no candidate gets a majority.

Blanco's biggest failure in the public’s eyes, aside from consecutive bad hair days, was her Road Home program, set up to distribute some $7.5 billion in federal aid to homeowners. More than 115,000 people have applied for the grants, hoping to get as much as $150,000 to rebuild. Instead, only 2,300 have gained access to the money. That's a damn shame!