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Nordette's excelent profile of Katina Parker and the New Orleans Labor of Love project highlights the one good thing to come out of the Gulf Coast disaster -- the compassion and spirit of thousands of everyday people who have volunteered their time and treasure to help those in need. But many insist that greater government involvement is needed before the region and its people can experience a real recovery.
That's why the National Organization for Women and others are urging support for the Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act of 2007, introduced in June by Sen. Chris Dodd, (D-IL). The bill would make grants available for demolishing blighted structures, and for low interest loans for home repairs. the House of Representatives passed its version of the bill back in March. It was referred to the Senate Banking Committee since June 20.
Natalie Davis at Grateful Dread wants citizens to put pressure on lawmakers to pass this bill and biring Katrina survivors home. Robert Greenwald has petition you can sign to show your support. You can also check out the gallery of Katrina-related videos.
Then again, Jeffrey Buchanan says the government hasn't even spent most of the recovery funds that Congress has previously allocated.
Jena Six Update
Katrina may be the biggest social justice issue in the Gulf region, but other battles continue there, such as the ongoing travails of the Jena Six.The Jena Six is a group of black teenagers who were charged with attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy earlier this year after a Dec. 206 fight that left a white student seriously injured. The attack came after a series of incidents targeting black students that had inflamed racial tensions, including the beating of a black student.
This summer, the first of black defendants, Mychal Bell, 17, was convicted of aggravated battery and conspiracy. He is in jail pending sentencing, and could be facing 22 years in prison. According to news reports a judge denied Bell's petition to lower his $90,000 bond after prosecutors said that he had four prior juvenile court "adjudications" for violent crimes. Bell is scheduled to be sentenced September 20. The other defendants are still awaiting trial.
Jill Nelson faults the news media for slighting this story in the rush to cover the latest bit of celebrity trivia -- and she's urging support for a petition urging a civil rights probe of the case. Activists are also asking people to show up for the September 20 sentencing to support the families of the defendants.
Combating online censorship
Global Voices has a new campaign against online censorship that includes articles on egregious cases, tools for circumventing censors, and a gallery of screen shots of banned webstes, among other things. You can show your support by putting this badge on your blog:
Zimbabwe's democracy in peril
WorldPress.org reports that agents for the government of president Robert Mugabe have drawn up a list of banned websites and created a "hit list" of journalists it identifies as "enemies of the state:"
"Zimbabwe's government has long itched to end the press freedoms it blames for the country's bad international image. The independent press, civil and human rights activists and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change are viewed as "enemies of the state." The new law is the final nail in democracy's coffin...."
Zimbabwe isn't the only country where press freedom is imperiled. Reporters Without Borders is demanding to know why a Rwandan newspaper editor has been held by police since August 22 on a rape charge that RSF says is unsubstantiated. RSF says the journalist, Gerard Manzi, has a strong alibi and has been denied due process in the investigation of his alleged crime.
Fighting slavery in Mauritania
The Intelligent Indigena draws attention to complaints from activists about Mauritania's new anti-slavery law that carries a 5-10 year prison sentence for subjecting others to involuntary servitude. Activists say the new law is a good first step, but measures are needed to ensure enforcement, and to compensate former slaves.
Nichola at Commentary South Africa says the fact that it took so long to criminalize slavery is a symptom of a larger problem in Africa:
"...Africa, by and large, has simply failed to get with the 21st century program. Sure, colonialism created a lot of very unpleasant circumstances that will take a long, long time to fix. But still, the continent
