bigted

Let me ask you this question, did this many people die when it hit suburban Florida last year? I don't honestly remember the situation being that f****d up 'cause there was help already, maybe it's 'cause there was 90% white people there, hmm..? Well in that case I don't have to worry if a hurricane ever hits my area, lol, but I think it's f****d up how you run to save a lot of people and you let a lot of black people die, tell me why? Will's idol is Malcolm X remember too so he ain't no Uncle Tom, he always stands up for the black community so many times, I hope he decides to release "Tell Me Why" video faster, it'd only be appropriate for this situation, btw right now I turned on BET to see if they're talkin' about hurricane Katrina and I see they're showin' a 50 Cent marathon?!!! :shake: hmmm, I hope 50 gives something since he's making so much money f****n' sell-out, BET should be having continued coverage of this tragedy since it's 90% of the people dying are black I mean what the hell is wrong with them? I guess the government controls that channel too! :word:

Well Jerry Rice was a class act just like Will Smith too, more than just performance, in a day where there's a lot of selfish athletes always complaining about how much money they make including TO, I'm an Eagles' fan but he's a disgrace with the way he handles himself he needs to look to see how Rice handled himself on and off the field even when he slowed down he proved that he was in it for the love of the game by singing with the Seahawks and Broncos for minimum salary most would just would listen to the criticism and retire but he just kept on going 'cause he was part of the team never trying to be better than the team, Jerry Rice always would pour his heart on the field and worked real hard every offseason to keep himself in great shape for 2 decades, nuff respect.

There's rumored that 10,000 people died already!!! :damnyou: DAVID J. PHILLIP/AP Photo Mayor: Katrina Death Toll May Hit 10,000 By DOUG SIMPSON Associated Press Writer METAIRIE, La. - One week after Hurricane Katrina devastated the region, miles-long lines of vehicles crawled into Jefferson Parish on Monday as residents were allowed to return to salvage what was left of their homes. New Orleans' mayor warned that 10,000 people may have died. President Bush began his second trip to the region since the storm hit, landing in Baton Rouge late in the morning to start another inspection tour and consultations with federal and local officials. Traffic began moving into the parish west of New Orleans at about 6 a.m. A curfew was set for 6 p.m., and residents were told they could stay until Wednesday. Among those returning was Diane Dempsey, a 59-year-old retired Army lieutenant colonel who stopped at the water's edge less than a mile from the house where she grew up and where her aunt lives. "I'm going to pay someone to get me back there, anything I have to do," she said, sobbing while standing amid boats beached on Veterans Highway. "A lot of these people built these houses anticipating some flood water but nobody imagined this." Most of the single-story bungalow homes in her neighborhood had water nearly to the rooflines. Homes in the most exclusive neighborhood of the parish, Old Metaire, had little structural damage but some of the worst flooding. Along rows of palatial, six-bedroom homes, a few windows were broken and the live oaks survived but the water rippled up to front-door knobs. The suburban parish, which has 460,000 residents, has been closed since a mandatory evacuation just before Katrina hit. Wide portions of Metairie and Kenner suffered heavy flooding, and authorities said thousands of homes were damaged. A week after the storm, a definitive death toll remained elusive. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin warned on NBC's "Today" that "it wouldn't be unreasonable to have 10,000" dead. Despite the grim estimate, he was more upbeat than in previous days, when he railed against the federal government and broke down sobbing during a radio interview. "We're making great progress now, the momentum has picked up. I'm starting to see some critical tasks being completed," he told NBC. "The 17th Street canal is about or was about 84 percent closed in yesterday afternoon. We have more troops arriving, so we're starting to make the kind of progress that I kind of expected earlier." Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore told ABC's "Good Morning America" that fewer than 10,000 people remained in the city, based on aerial reconnaissance. "This is not a city under siege," he added on NBC. "This city needs help from the big people in America and its technology to get back on its feet. We are focused on the future. We have to finish the search-and-rescue and provide food and water from an area from Mobile (Ala.) to the east side of New Orleans, up to I-20 in Mississippi. This is a pig-big piece of terrain. There are people there that need help. We will do the best we can to get it to them." On Sunday, as authorities struggled to keep order across New Orleans, gunmen opened fire on a group of contractors on a bridge, rescues of stranded residents continued and the flood waters began to recede, leaving the grisly task of collecting bodies. The Times-Picayune, Louisiana's largest newspaper, published an open letter to Bush, called for the firing of every official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. "We're angry, Mr. President, and we'll be angry long after our beloved city and surrounding parishes have been pumped dry," the editorial said. "Our people deserved rescuing. Many who could have been were not. That's to the government's shame." "Every official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency should be fired, Director Michael Brown especially," the letter said. "No expense should have been spared. No excuses should have been voiced." Violence boiled in New Orleans over when 14 contractors on their way to help plug the breach in the 17th Street Canal came under fire as they traveled across a bridge under police escort, said John Hall, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers. Police shot at eight people carrying guns, killing five or six, Deputy Police Chief W.J. Riley said. None of the contractors was injured, authorities said. Besides the lawlessness, civilian deaths and uncertainty about their families, New Orleans' police have had to deal with suicides in their ranks. Two officers took their lives, including the department spokesman, Paul Accardo, who died Saturday, according to Riley. Both shot themselves in the head, he said. A steady stream of reinforcements for police poured down the interstates toward New Orleans late Sunday and early Monday - long convoys of police cars, blue lights flashing, emblazoned with emblems from scattered police, sheriff, and other jurisdictions, in and out of state. Nagin said Monday he was arranging to rotate out beleaguered emergency workers, who have been working virtually around the clock since before the storm hit. He said police officers, firefighters and their families would get five or more days in cities with large numbers of hotel rooms - Atlanta and Las Vegas in particular. In addition to rest and relaxation, he said, they will have time to assess their personal situation since many lost homes and relatives. Counselors will be available, he said. At two of the city's damaged levees, engineers continued making repairs that would allow pumps to begin draining the floodwaters. "The water is receding now. We just have a long ways to go," Mike Rogers, a disaster relief coordinator with the Army Corps of Engineers, said Sunday. Hundreds of thousands of people already have been evacuated, seeking safety in Texas, Tennessee and other states. With more than 230,000 already in Texas, Gov. Rick Perry ordered emergency officials to begin preparations to airlift some of them to other states that have offered help. What will happen to the refugees in the long term was not known. In Jefferson Parish, residents were allowed back as long as they showed a valid ID proving residency, had food, had a full tank of gas and didn't drink the water. Parish President Aaron Broussard warned residents that they would find all traffic signals destroyed, no open stores and a dusk-to-dawn curfew. He recommended that women not come alone. Among those returning was Jack Rabito, 61, a restaurant-bar owner, who bought his home in 1965, and like Dempsey didn't have flood insurance. "I won't be getting inside today unless I get some scuba gear," he said, waiting with Dempsey for a ride in a boat to get to his home. In Old Metairie, residents were angry that the levees were not designed to withstand a hurricane stronger than Category 3. Katrina was a Category 4 hurricane when it made landfall. "My home didn't lose a shingle, but it's got six feet of water in it," said Bobby Patrick, a resident who returned from Houston. ___ Associated Press Writers Robert Tanner, Jim Litke, Dan Sewell and Mary Foster contributed to this report.

This hits home for me since some of my relatives are from Haiti, let's fight the power fellow hip-hoppas!: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hip Hop Declaration of Peace. Second Principle Hiphop Kulture respects the dignity and sanctity of life without discrimination or prejudice. Hiphoppas shall thoroughly consider the protection and the development of life, over and before the individual decision to destroy or seek to alter its natural development. Fellow Hiphoppas I am writing to bring to your attention, the attrocites being commited in Haiti, where innocent Haitian Men, women and children alike are being murdered, even in their own homes, by an illegal government supported by UN peace keeping forces. Haiti is a country that was given independence in 1804 , In February 2004, the President of Haiti, JeanBertrand Aristide, who had already been ousted from government 10 years previously in a coup d'etate, was ousted again ... 4 years after having won a democratic election by a 92% majority vote . Now, this 2004 coup d'etat it seems, was the result of U.S manipulation. During Aristides presidency, there was a full-scale arms embargo imposed on the Haitian government by the United States.... there is evidence to prove that meanwhile, thousands of rifles and over a million rounds of ammunition were sent to the Haitian -- the current Haitian government. Over one hundred members of Aristides government are now imprisoned in Haitan jails, (the whole government has benn removed), meanwhile, the convictions of 38 Haitian former military leaders convicted of atrocities in 1994 have been annulled. Among them could be Louis Jodel Chamblain, the death squad leader who helped lead last year's coup. Aristide himself appealed to the UN and managed to get exile in South Africa, in what he describes as essentially a modern day kidnapping. Initially, America, Canada and France had their troops in there 'keeping the peace' .... this job was handed over to th UN in June 2004.....the way the UN have been since keeping the peace really speaks for itself. The UN peace keeping force have been going around in their hundreds, accompanied by the local armed police (who were never armed until all the guns showed up under the 'embargo'!!) ... under the guise of being in Haitii to DISARM gangs, armed combatants and former soldiers to bring stability to Haiti and stop the Coup D'etat violence.... the levels of attrocity are quite horrendous , and 10,000 people who protesed against the new U.S imposed government have been massacred by in the first year alone.... in an attempt to maintain a control that the people obviously don't want them to have, and was not gained democratically . Q) What can we do? A) At the top of this email is quoted the second principal of the Hiphop Declaration of Peace ..... a document that was presented to the UN in 2002 by some of the founders of Hiphop Kulture, and as a result, Hiphop has the recognition of the UN as 'an international culture of Peace and Prosperity' ..... we are aiming to petition the UN as the Hiphop community, with the support of the Haiti Action Group and the Haitian Lawyers Leadership network, and hope to affect a peaceful outcome to this horrific situation. I ask that all members of the Hiphop community to visit this thread at the Temple of Hiphop, in the streets forum ... from which the petition is being organised, if you are not already a member, register yourself, and state your willingness to participate in the thread itself..... "Haiti ...what WE gonna do" or the same thread .. http://www.templeofhiphop.org/modules.php?...der=asc&start=0 IF for any reason you are unable or unwilling to participate, I urge you to forward this mssage to anybody you know who it may concern .... for people outside of the Hiphop community, information as to how to get involved in other organised petitions for Haiti can be found through this link .. http://www.haitiaction.net/News/HAC/7_12_5.html Please remember ... if the tactics employed in Haiti are succesfull in illegally replacing the government with a more 'desirable' and less independent one, then these tactics could well be employed throughout the Carribean, and through island communities globally. It is time once again for Hiphop to affect positive global changes, as it did at its conception and birth. Peace, Brother Nature - Afrosaxon.

Hey everybody check out the audio of Mistachuck rappin' the poem on his internet radio show!: http://www.airamericaplace.com/archive.php...display&id=2445

KRS-ONE "You Must Learn" "African History needs to be pumped up steadily!"

"Just like I told you, you must learn It's calm yet wild the style that I speak Just filled with facts and you will never get weak in the heart In fact you'll start to illuminate, knowledge to others in a song Let me demonstrate the force of knowledge, knowledge reigned supreme The ignorant is ripped to smithereens What do you mean when you say I'm rebellious 'Cause I don't accept everything that you're telling us What are you selling us the creator dwellin' us I sit in your unknown class while you're failing' us I failed your class 'cause I ain't with your reasoning You're tryin' make me you by seasoning Up my mind with see Jane run, see John walk in a hardcore New York It doesn't exist no way, no how It seems to me that in a school that's ebony African history should be pumped up steadily, but it's not and this has got to stop, See Spot run, run get Spot Insulting to a Black mentality, a Black way of life Or a jet Black family, so I include with one concern, that You must learn Chorus: Just like I told you, you must learn (twice) I believe that if you're teaching history Filled with straight up facts no mystery Teach the student what needs to be taught 'Cause Black and White kids both take shorts When one doesn't know about the other ones' culture Ignorance swoops down like a vulture 'Cause you don't know that you ain't just a janitor No one told you about Benjamin Banneker A brilliant Black man that invented the almanac Can't you see where KRS is coming at With Eli Whitney, Haile Selassie Granville Woods made the walkie-talkie Lewis Latimer improved on Edison Charles Drew did a lot for medicine Garrett Morgan made the traffic lights Harriet Tubman freed the slaves at night Madame CJ Walker made a straightenin comb But you won't know this is you weren't shown The point I'm gettin' at it it might be harsh 'Cause we're just walkin' around brainwashed So what I'm sayin' is not to diss a man we need the 89 school system One that caters to a Black return because You must learn" This is dedicated to the corrupted government of America, "You Must Learn" by KRS-ONE, I just threw this on 'cause he's one of my heroes that represents the mentality of black people to build unity :yeah: :

Much respect to Jerry Rice and hopes for a great retirement, the Will Smith of the NFL! :thumbsup:

Well just 'cause I'm black doesn't mean I'm stupid now, they killed Martin Luther King and threw him in a jail for a peaceful protest and he was an extremely educated black man who won the Nobel Peace Prize who'd preach blacks to turn the other cheek from Ghandi's philosophy and use nonviolence, so of course they don't give a damn about Kanye or any of the rappers in hip-hop since they're only entertainers but we inforce the dream that Martin left for us through our songs but we're trying to be a lil' more agressive like Malcolm X because turning the other cheek don't work, the media wants to ignore hip-hop and twist our words to make it sound like we don't care, they said that KRS was laughing at what happened in 9*11 when, he really said that he found it ironic that the government was running to help immediately where 90% of the people in that building were white and I agree with that, if 9*11 happened in a ghetto area and not Times Square they'd took less action than they did and this is the reason why they're taking so long, but if you can't see that my friend you are ignorant, as intelligent as you sound you are sadly mistaken if you say that race doesn't play a part of this and he's right it doesn't matter who we vote for whether we have Bush, Reagan, or Clinton in office the government's still f****d up, so you know what's the point of Kanye saying anything since nobody cares, what's the point for us blacks to vote for a government that don't care whether they're democrat or republican? I guess your right, us black people should just lie down and die?!: "KRS-ONE’S RESPONSE TO THE DAILY NEWS October 15, 2004 "Like everyone I was shocked to read that I and other African-Americans actually “cheered when 911 happened” and that I have “declared my solidarity with Al Qaeda”. When I read my words taken out of context I was shocked and disappointed that the Daily News would go this far to assassinate my character and distort my views. Such statements with no follow up explanation or interview from KRS-ONE as to what he may have meant or even a complete quote of my point is simply irresponsible journalism on the Daily News’ part. I would never just say something as crazy as “we cheered when 911 happened!” I was making an objective point about how many Hiphoppas as well as the oppressed peoples of the world felt that day. I am a philosopher and a critical thinker, I speak truth and I urge people to think critically about themselves and their environment. Yes, my words are strong. Yes, my views are controversial. But to call me a terrorist is simply wrong! A young lady asked about what we can do beyond voting to change the political state of things in our country? I responded not by irresponsibly stating that “America has to commit suicide if the world is to be a better place” and that’s all. I am a poet and I speak poetically. My full statement was “America has to commit suicide if the world is to be a better place. If you want to go beyond voting American interests must put a gun to its head and commit suicide because as long as we are only interested in American interests we go out and invade the rest of the world. The real question is are you a citizen of the United States or are you a citizen of the world? And so for me, I would say voting in a corrupt society adds more corruption.” I was asked by the New Yorker magazine to discuss “different and personal beliefs musicians hold and the contribution artists like myself can make to the nation’s political dialog”. My views were indeed different and most were personal. However, when I was asked about why Hiphop has not engaged the current situation more (meaning 911) my responds was “because it does not affect us, or at least we don’t perceive that it effects us, 911 happened to them”. I went on to say that “I am speaking for the culture now; I am not speaking my personal opinion”. I continued to say; “911 effected them down the block; the rich, the powerful those that are oppressing us as a culture. Sony, RCA or BMG, Universal, the radio stations, Clear Channel, Viacom with BET and MTV, those are our oppressors those are the people that we’re trying to overcome in Hiphop everyday, this is a daily thing. We cheered when 911 happened in New York and say that proudly here. Because when we were down at the trade center we were getting hit over the head by cops, told that we can’t come in this building, hustled down to the train station because of the way we dressed and talked, and so on, we were racially profiled. So, when the planes hit the building we were like; mmmm justice.” And just as I began to say “now of course a lot of our friends and family were lost there as well” but I was interrupted. My intent is never to demean or disrespect anyone’s loss or gain; and of course I did not literally “cheer when 911 happened”. I made an objective statement about the feelings of those who were oppressed by world trade policies. I was just as saddened as everyone else on 911. However, for many of us that were racially profiled and harassed by the World’s Trade Center’s security and the police patrolling that area as well as the thousands of American protesters that spoke out against the World Trade Organization months before in Seattle, Washington there was a sense of justice, a sense of change, a wake up call watching the twin towers fall. These are not my views only; these views represent a popular truth that few people are really ready to hear. No one wished death on anyone or just sat and “cheered when 911 happened”. But some of us can see through the bulls---! America must change its approach to the world and its citizens. This, I believe is what all Americans should be thinking about. How do we make our country better? For years my career has been one of promoting peace, love, unity and having fun; such has always been Hiphop’s cultural principles. So how all of a sudden now can I be aligned with Al Qaeda? What happened to honest debate and freedom of speech! I don’t speak for the African American community exclusively, I speak for HIPHOP! And let me be clear here; most of the Hiphop community is against the war in Iraq! But to align me with Al Qaeda is clearly an attempt by the Daily News to interrupt the street voice of our Hiphop community, KRS-ONE’s leadership and the increased momentum of our Hiphop political movement. I don’t think Al Qaeda needs my solidarity nor did I ever offer it, so what’s the point. For a major news organization to now align KRS-ONE with Al Qaeda shows the unwarranted contempt that such an organization has for me. Such is grounds for a law suit! Finally, no one should ever believe anything that the one-sided Daily News has to say about the same Hiphop community that it (the Daily News) has tried so desperately to undermine for years. The only thing the Daily News seems to be interested in is scandal and controversy and for years I have challenged the Daily News on its depictions of Rap artists and Hiphop as a whole. I know they don’t like me. However, I don’t give a ---- either! They never cover our efforts toward peace and all the charitable work we do within the Hiphop community. They never air our grievances or how we feel about the state of the world, nor have they ever aired our views on America’s invasion of Iraq simply because they just don’t want to hear them. The Hiphop community forces America to look at itself; and no one likes to take b.l.a.m.e. for their own for immaturity Because Looking At Me ain’t Easy! For the record, I am an American philosopher. I speak and seek truth. If the slander that the Daily News has printed regarding my political views has disrespectfully offended anyone in any way I truly apologize. Again, it was never my or Hiphop’s intent to disregard, disrespect or demean the tragedy of September 11th 2001 and those that died that day. However, we do have a voice and a point of view and if you are not prepared to hear what Hiphop has to say about its view of world events then don’t ask!" I remember watching an interview on BET a couple of years ago and I saw James Brown on TV saying that America is not that much different than it was 40 years ago when we were fighting civil rights, he should know since he's in his 70's and was there, we wouldn't know this since we're all between 15-40 at the most here, I take James Brown's opinion over anyone's here anyday. If we were really free in America when they wrote the constitution 230 years ago they would've let blacks have freedom of speech and they wouldn't lynch us like slaves for so long and make us waiting 200 years to vote, and even though we vote we're still in jail, selling crack, must of us don't want to but we gotta survive, I mean if my family was starving and kicked out on the street I'd naturally wanna do something about it and not lie down and die especially if nobody helps me and if they arrest me I'll tell them that hey if you gave me a place to stay but fortunally I lived in the surburbs and went to a nice school and became an educated 20-year old black man that graduated with honors and is going to college right now thanks to my family luckily being able to live in the subrurbs and not in the ghetto where I'd had to deal with bad schools, bad housing, but I still have struggles to deal with like everybody else of my race, you're not speaking to a basshead who dropped out of school, you're speaking to an and I know what I'm talking about! btw, I'm gonna buy all of Jay-Z' albums too now that I heard he gave $1 million which happened before Bush went down to help, Jigga might not be my favorite but at least he remembers the black community and I stand up and applaud that, Roc-a-fella baby, Sean Carter for president, lol!

It doesn't matter if Kanye said it or not 'cause it seems that the government don't pay attention to what black people said and at this very minute Jessie Jackson's on CNN and just tellin' the reporter not to call the people down in New Orleans refugees! Let's face it they wouldn't call the victims refugees if it happened in a suburban area of 90% of California but it happened in New Orleans where 90% of the people are black, this is racism, Bush doesn't care about black people, the conservatives don't wanna hear that 'cause they have no problems but it's true that's why we deal drugs, that's why we have a hard time finding jobs, and that's why so many of us end up in jail 'cause there's no options for us, this is the truth, "It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back" is more than just the title of the greatest rap album ever but it's the reality which makes it the greatest thing hip-hop has ever said, a nation of millions is holding us back! :shake:

I was watching Jessie Jackson speakin' to a reporter yesterday and he asked the reporter, "Why do you call our people down in New Orleans refugees? They had homes and they're Americans like the rest of us, they're not refugees." and he's right!

It matters when and where Kanye said what he said because he was asked and agreed do what the benefit concert organizers asked him to do... and he didn't... Instead he spoke on his political beliefs and likely turned many people off and caused a lot of outrage at a time and place where he was supposed to be garnering support, funds, and in general, unity. A great number of people have called NBC to protest what Kanye said, accusing him of politicizing a situation in which people were dying. Regardless of whether you agree with what he said or not, his statements did cause controversy at a time when controversy is the last thing that is needed, and even if it wasn't his intention, he politicized a tragedy. Instead of focusing on how the black community abroad, he, and other wealthy musicians and actors could help in the relief efforts, instead of focusing on how all americans could help his people, he chose to devote a large chunk of the time he had to criticize the President and the government, and even worse, at a time that he wasn't fully knowledgeable of the situation. If Kanye had a full understanding of the neglect, he would have first criticized FEMA and the Louisiana governor. Unfortunately, he just became another rapper spitting "knowledge" on an issue he didn't "know" enough about. Where's Barak Obama when you need him. ← There's many people who agree with Kanye too at the same time, you don't watch the news and see all the people criticising Bush? Representives from the Red Cross, the media, and other government leaders from other countries are all saying that Bush dropped the ball. Open your eyes man! In all fairness though whether you agree or disagree with Kanye we're all on the same team ain't we? We gotta work together and unify together to get all the victims out of there in New Orleans, everybody needs to help, Bush needs to help, the black community needs to help, all celebrities need to help, we gotta come together!

We need to tell the media to not criticise the looters too if you're gonna tell Kanye not to criticise Bush, we need unity!

Here's more details, the press is starting to criticise Bush too if you read the article, Kanye West ain't the only one sayin' somethin', you can't tell people to lie down and stay calm when nobody does anything, don't front you'd be angry too if you were there with no food, shelter, or water for 4 days and it'll be a riot if everybody doesn't get rescued soon! :sick: : Rick Bowmer/AP Photo Police Try to Keep Order in New Orleans By ROBERT TANNER AP National Writer NEW ORLEANS - As authorities struggled to keep order across this ruined city, the continuing strain from Hurricane Katrina erupted when gunmen opened fire on a group of contractors and the state's largest newspaper lashed out at the federal government's response. Despite the tensions, rescues of stranded residents continued Sunday as Coast Guard helicopters picked up refugees and the flood waters began to recede, leaving the grisly task of collecting bodies. Federal officials urged those still left in New Orleans to leave for their own safety. Large-scale evacuations were completed at the Superdome and Convention Center. The death toll across the Gulf Coast was not known. But bodies were everywhere: floating in canals, slumped in wheelchairs, abandoned on highways and medians and hidden in attics. "I think it's evident it's in the thousands," Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said Sunday on CNN, echoing predictions by city and state officials last week. The Times-Picayune, in an open letter to President Bush, called for the firing of every official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, saying they failed to rescue thousands of citizens stranded by Katrina. "We're angry, Mr. President, and we'll be angry long after our beloved city and surrounding parishes have been pumped dry," the editorial said. "Our people deserved rescuing. Many who could have been were not. That's to the government's shame." "Every official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency should be fired, Director Michael Brown especially," the letter said. "No expense should have been spared. No excuses should have been voiced." One bright spot to the crisis was to the west, where neighboring Jefferson Parish was to allow residents back in Monday - as long as they show a valid ID proving residency, bring food, have a full tank of gas and don't drink the water. Parish President Aaron Broussard warned the 460,000 residents that they would find all traffic signals destroyed, no open stores and a dusk-to-dawn curfew. He recommended that women not come alone. Violence boiled over when 14 contractors on their way to help plug the breech in the 17th Street Canal came under fire as they traveled across a bridge under police escort, said John Hall, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers. Police shot at eight people carrying guns, killing five or six, Deputy Police Chief W.J. Riley said. None of the contractors was injured, authorities said. Besides the lawlessness, civilian deaths and uncertainty about their families, New Orleans' police have had to deal with suicides in their ranks. Two officers took their lives, including the department spokesman, Paul Accardo, who died Saturday, according to Riley. Both shot themselves in the head, he said. "I've got some firefighters and police officers that have been pretty much traumatized," Mayor Ray Nagin said. "And we've already had a couple of suicides, so I am cycling them out as we speak. ... They need physical and psychological evaluations." At two of the city's damaged levees, engineers continued making repairs that would allow pumps to begin draining the floodwaters. "The water is receding now. We just have a long ways to go," Mike Rogers, a disaster relief coordinator with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said Sunday. Hundreds of thousands of people already have been evacuated, seeking safety in Texas, Tennessee and other states. With more than 230,000 already in Texas, Gov. Rick Perry ordered emergency officials to begin preparations to airlift some of them to other states that have offered help. What will happen to the refugees in the long term was not known. Amid the tragedy, about two dozen people gathered in the French Quarter for the Decadence Parade, an annual Labor Day gay celebration. Matt Menold, 23, a street musician wearing a sombrero and a guitar slung over his back, said: "It's New Orleans, man. We're going to celebrate." In New Orleans' Garden District, a woman's body lay at the corner of Jackson Avenue and Magazine Street - a business area with antique shops on the edge of blighted housing. The body had been there since at least Wednesday. As days passed, people covered the corpse with blankets or plastic. By Sunday, a short wall of bricks had been built around the body, holding down a plastic tarpaulin. On it, someone had spray-painted a cross and the words, "Here lies Vera. God help us." ___ Associated Press Writers Jim Litke, Dan Sewell and Mary Foster contributed to this report

Whether you wanna blame Bush or the looters, this is a bad image for America, the world is gonna be looking down at us again! :therain:

:word: Such knowledge there, it's not as easy as some of you think it is just to leave, put yourself in their shoes, wouldn't you be upset if you were there for 4 days with no food or water? In fact there still people at this very minute that still need help. Most of them are just going into grocery stores so they could get something to eat, I'd do the same thing, so shoot me too right? The media wants to make the situation so they could have another exuse not to help them, I bet if this happened in the suburbs of California, they'd run faster to help them, let's face it there's prejudice still, that's why the blacks are angry, we're not gonna lie down and let them abuse us, we turned the other cheek for 200 years and where has it gotten us? I mean if you be peaceful and nobody helps you or sympathises for you it's only natural to try to take action to say or do something about it, not just lie down and die! It pisses me off how they potray the black people here, they shine the light on the negative things we do but the positive things we do get ignored, Will Smith is one of the few black people that do have recognition for being positive but if he does one thing wrong the public will turn their backs on him and that's what wrong with society.

It's great to hear about a lot of other rappers getting involved! :thumbsup:

It could be just another stupid chainletter, you don't know what to believe on the internet, unless Kanye posts something at his official site like Jazzy Jeff or Chuck D do or if it's a legit news site but if this is what he said it's actually better than what he said there on TV. All these celebrities need to put their money where their mouth is and make a difference to help these people out, they could do more than we could and have more power than we do, we need unity, this could show a different side of celebrities if they all get together to help out even the gangsta rappers we might not like, it can't only be Will Smith, Russell Simmons, and Chuck D all the time, the whole hip-hop community has to get together, Kanye West is the future of hip-hop, hate it or not. There needs to be more emphasis on the positive things entertainers do not just the negative things, I didn't like they spent all that time talking about Ron Artest's immaturity of wanting to leave the Pacers to make his stupid rap album and spent the year talkin' 'bout what he did in that brawl and they spend one day talkin' about Shaq donating money to pay for George Mikan's funeral and how Dikembe Mutombo donates half his salary to build to build a hospital in Africa, there are a lot of celebrities doing good things but they only focus on the negativity 'cause it sells, they only mention Shaq when they talk about his beef with Kobe but he's a generous guy though and doesn't deserve all that negativity around him, whatever happened to that "Good News" magazine Will was talking about starting? It'd be a nice alternative to the trash they put in The Source and Vibe that don't reflect the mentality of the positive rappers that try to make a difference when they only make articles about beefs and who's bitch did you sleep with now?

Yup... Also, the government ignores "hip hop" because the majority of these people don't vote. How can you say, "I want to be apart of the process. I want the government to listen to my concerns" if you're not involved in choosing your elected officials? ← A lot of people in general who complain about the government don't vote not just the hip-hop community, I don't think that's a good enough excuse to ignore the hip-hop community but in all fairness this is something that Russell Simmons and everyone in hip-hop involved with "Vote Or Die" have to work on too I guess..., and here's my point I was talking about earlier about how black celebrities get bad publicity according to Chuck D's terrordome from last November but also 'cause they don't take responsibility for their actions 'cause they're too busy worrying about getting paid instead of making a difference to the community, commercial rappers have dug a hole in my opinion for the image of hip-hop, if you think I could go off-topic in a post, peep this, lol, I personally rather make a post talking the positive things a conscious rapper like Chuck says than make a post about the latest 50 Cent beef, this is knowledge: "When Jay Z said back in the day 'Streets Is Watching, obviously beyond the metaphor he knew that there are few black named streets, and cats own no blocks. Surely the fact of the matter he could've used when it comes to the rapgame is that the 'Kids Is Always Watching' regardless. Now the youth is watching cats 10-20-30 years older than them appear insane. Amerikkka claps loudest when black folks exhibit our worst. Or should i say white folks have been applauding when black people in public have been terrible. Or perhaps the world is puzzled when amerikkkans appear to be at an all time dumbstate. This piece transcends the normal hip hop column, you tell me. From R Kelly-JayZ fiasco, the Vibe awards,ODBs(R.I.P.) treatment after his passing,the Indiana Pacers-Detroit Piston riot...it shows that niggros dont know how to act and thus are even rewarded with twisted publicity in the process. All of this under the fresh 4 year shadow of the second coming of son of a bush. The vibe awards, as much as i love Mr Quincy Jones, the magazine has always been a comic rag. The man has done so much, so he should'nt feel the need to tell these cats hes an OOG from Chicago. Let them elevate, cause a fake ass gangster dont appreciate. DRE who i've known for years is a nice guy who has co signed so much niggitive on the black race, how can he not expect that karma to somehow circle around? Theres never peace if you never loved it from jump. And we can't blame SUGE for everything can we? What was going around in YOUNG BUCKs mind stabbing a cat in front of national cameras? Being that hes signed from 50, whos from EMINEM ,whos from DRE, shouldnt head whiteman JIMMY IOVINE train these people since he stands to profit whether the artist is dead, alive, jailed, or roaming in the so called streets? iles... I've commented on the SHYNe debacle of someone who gets a bidding war and a fat contract while doing time as if he absorbed Millennium Robert Johnson twisted blessings. Beenie Siegal does 5 videos on his way in, to keep the streets hot so he can be celebrated when he gets out. 1.8 million folks in jail, but should the have nots support rappers or celebrities that do short bids, when many dont have the opportunity or clarity to see it for what it is? like who gives a f*ck really....? The entourages become bigger as times become harder, cats show off their excesses more, and bodyguard security gets more massive. Cats are saying all the worst sht about each other in the press, tv, magazines, recordings, while never doing eye to eye anything because theyre buffered by their well paid personal armies. You will never see JA RULE, 50,or JD in your local supermarket picking up some milk for the family, yet they supposed to represent the increasing havenots, while showing off what they got? Too much dollars time and no sense, had frustrated burnt out Ron Artest looking for a break from an NBA career to promote his rap album. Its because he has to spit whats on his mind because ESPNs 3 24 hour networks ain't enough platform. Nah, maybe its a message to the hood, or i should say black people. A fight is a fight ,but the joint in Detroit is what the masses of amerikkkans that re-elected Son of a bush expect out of the projected, priveliged, protected, financed, and endorsed black male. It was if cats acted out their wildest rap fight, video game, gangster rollin,WWF fantasy. And the fans that pay to see the thugworld overlap into the game , get close to their 'money makin cats in action'. Its as 'the worst of both worlds sports and entertainment , or rap and ball emerged to say that they are no longer enough . And anyone who doesnt think racism plays in any of this, peep it. The coaches, managers, general executives, record presidents, and of course lawyer's who MADE them ALL sign a contract, but claim to cant make them do little else as they profit off them, now start to shake a bit as their high priced slaves seem out of control. They wouldn't allow many of these cats in their cribs. Neither will many of you that read this piece. Besides they're the new elitist haves, why would they give a damn about you have nots? Its a shame that there the complaints about the big 'white man ' Dvid Stern puttin the smackdown on ball, as the other big 'white man ' bush says 'what' to amerikkka , the world , and democrats way harder than the rap NORIEGA. Now with all the 'zoo' madness does hip hop expect a big 'white man' to restore order to the form past his profits? You tell me..." http://www.publicenemy.com/index.php?page=page3&item=85 If you wanna read the rest click on the link, I like Chuck D's writing style, he could talk about 100 different things in one essay but links it all together to one point he's trying to make.

Here's some positive feedback for Kanye West's statement: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People" Kanye West is My Hero By JUSTIN FELUX "I hate the way they portray us in the media. You see a black family and they say we are looting, you see a white family and they say they are looking for food. And, you know, its been five days because most of the people ARE black ... We already realize a lot of the people that could help are at war right now, fighting another way. And now they've given them permission to go down and shoot us. George Bush doesn't care about black people." - Kanye West, speaking to a nationally televised audience on NBC "We've never seen anything like this before." I have heard this phrase repeated several times by newscasters describing the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina. However, as I watched the footage of all those black bodies desperately trudging through dirty flood waters, I realized that I actually had seen something exactly like this before. It was one year ago, when Hurricane Jeanne slammed against the coasts of Haiti, a country which like New Orleans is both poor and black. The floods and mud slides ended up killing thousands of Haitians. The media gave scant attention to the matter for a few days; just long enough to get some sexy footage of houses being destroyed and valleys filled with floodwater. Enough to boost ratings for a while. Shortly after that, they packed up their equipment and got out of there faster than you can say "racist indifference." The United States rendered so little aid as to be insignificant, and before long the entire incident had faded from the minds of most Americans. There were few cries of outrage over the fact that this country couldn't care less about the deaths of thousands of black people, but devotes countless hours of TV time to the latest Missing Pretty White Girl (I believe at the time it was Dru Sjodin, not Natalie Holloway). But people dying in Haiti is one thing. Americans have always found it easy to dismiss the deaths of those from other countries, especially when those countries are full of dark-skinned people. But who would think our government would allow something equally devastating to happen to people on our own soil -- to people who are full-fledged American citizens (in theory, anyway)? Enter Kanye West. The future of hip hop. An artist who more than compensates for his less-than-stellar skills as an emcee with his razor-sharp wit and passion for justice and equality, not to mention his bravado. It's hard to imagine any rapper since Tupac Shakur having the guts to get brolic with the Commander-in-Chief on national TV. He will undoubtedly be savaged by detractors on the right and the left for "politicizing" a fundraiser to aid the victims of the flooding. However, I have little doubt that Kanye was saying exactly what most of the black residents of New Orleans are thinking right at this moment. As Kanye said on his last album, "Racism's still alive, they've just been concealin' it," but it's in times of crisis such as this one that America begins to show its true colors, and "black" isn't one of them. The truth is, Kanye West didn't "politicize" a damn thing. George W. Bush did. The hurricane became a political issue the second Bush decided there were more important priorities than shoring up the preventive measures in New Orleans; such as giving tax cuts to billionaires and launching an evil, imperialist war against the people of Iraq. Hurricane Ivan made it abundantly clear that New Orleans was unprepared to deal with such a catastrophe if one were to occur. If only Bush could be half the statesman Fidel Castro is. The Cuban government managed to evacuate over a million people, and didn't lose a single life to Hurricane Ivan. In fact, I'd say Kanye was far too generous. Bush, as well as some of the other players in this affair, don't simply "not care about" black people. They have been proactive oppressors of African Americans for years. As Texas governor, Bush never met a death certificate he didn't like. As a result, he is personally responsible for the executions of numerous black men. Mississippi's governor Haley Barbour warned that all "looters" would be dealt with "ruthlessly." This is a man who has been linked to the Council of Conservative Citizens, a group started from the White Citizen's Councils of the civil rights era. These were groups committed to the preservation of Jim Crow and had intimate connections and overlapping membership with the Ku Klux Klan. And the New Orleans Police Department doesn't need a "shoot to kill" order from the governor to go about attacking black folks. New Orleans consistently ranks among the top cities in the number of citizen complaints of police brutality. Just last month, a black man named Raymond Robair died after the police brought him to the hospital. Witnesses observed the cops brutally beating him, leaving him with four broken ribs and a ruptured spleen. But don't expect the mainstream media to tell you anything negative about the New Orleans Police Department. Their time will likely be devoted to unsubstantiated stories that play into popular white fears about blacks -- stories about wild, black savages engaging in theft, murder, rape, and even cannibalism. White folks will eat it up like candy, and the ratings will soar accordingly. In a time when we are being bombarded by so many images and statements which seem designed to bring out the worst in us, it's very refreshing to see someone like Kanye West step up and call a spade a spade. Let's make sure he still has a career to go back to after the dust settles. First and foremost we should donate money to the relief efforts, but it would also be a good idea cop Kanye's new album, Late Registration. It's a classic. Justin Felux is a writer and activist based in San Antonio, Texas. He can be contacted at justins@alacrityisp.net http://www.counterpunch.org/felux09032005.html"

LL Cool J "Imagine That"

Well this would be more inforced if we had more conscious rappers on the scene, a lot of them do say that we need to respect one another, go to school, think about your future as well as fight the power but they just don't get the airplay that the average gangsta rapper gets, they need to be promoted more like I said earlier, the government'd take hip-hop more seriously if we had more of them and less rappers making songs glorifying violence, explicit sex, and drugs.

I'm not arguing anymore but obviously like usual the conservative Americans who listen to Kanye West probably won't buy his album now they don't wanna open their minds to reality but I think the streets will support Kanye more now, hate it or love what he said 98% of black people feel the same way as he does, if Will doesn't feel that way he'd be a sell-out. I bet if you asked anybody there they'd say "Bush doesn't care about black people" as well. I could relate to the struggle so I will be buying his album definately now, I think speaking up about what the president mistakes are is more important than making meaningless songs anyday this is what hip-hop is; the voice of the black men of America! We need to try to talk things out in order for all of us to be on the same page, the black man has to speak up so society could understand our struggle and if they could feel what we're saying we could unite even more, like Will says in "The Rain": "bout that time god started rapping to me/he said pain is the mother of change/the rain must flow so the seeds of joy might grow", everything happens for a reason in life, this Hurricane could be a wakeup call for all of us, the problem we have here could lead to a solution if we only talk it out!

Hey reborn2reign did u watch the VH1 special about the 25 years of hip-hop? Will said that Public Enemy represents the thoughts of how black people feel and that they don't deserve so much criticism about what they say in their songs, if you heard some of their songs you'd know that they criticized Bush quite a few times. The truth is that the government ignores black people in society the media doesn't wanna hear that but it's true, if Bush really had heart he'd respond to what Kanye West said and say that he does care about black people, I'm done posting and I'm sorry I piss you off so much, peace!

Hey reborn2reign I thought you were a Public Enemy fan, they said: 'Let's Get Bush out of the f****n' office' 15 years ago and Will backed them up on that since JJFP and Public Enemy toured together on and off from '88-91. So it wouldn't surprise me if Will spoke out and said the same thing that Kanye said, so if he did would you stop listening to Will for that? I'm just curious to know and yes like Turntable said the world's been hating on Bush ever since he was elected to office the 1st time 4 years ago, the general thought of America being a major power has gone down ever since he become president. Why are you hating on me anyway reborn2reign? Damn it's just a discussion, if we can't have a mature discussion without offending each other then I won't post here that much anymore. I thought we were all intelligent people here, I honestly don't get what's the difference between saying something on wax or on national television it's just expressing an opinion, everybody else is speaking too so I don't understand why can't somebody from the hip-hop community say something? 98% of the hip-hop community including Will would agree with me on that one: found is when you bleed hard in the mic!