Presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney, during a news conference at the Criticial Resistance 10 Conference in Oakland, California on Sept 28th, 2008, made an astounding statement that backs up several reports that I have received in the last year from contacts in Louisiana regarding unjust slayings of citizens. Listen and watch carefully.
McKinney not only relates what an informant has reported to her, but states that insiders in the Red Cross have confirmed to her that it is true. If this is indeed true, and I regretfully believe it, based on what I have heard and read (see below), then this is a damnable crime of massive proportions, in a word, a massacre of Americans, and must be brought to light.
One might dismiss this whole allegation as absurdly impossible, but if you listen to a broadcast by Malik Halim, a co-founder of Common Ground Collective, which has helped thousands of New Orleanians get back on their feet since Katrina, then you might begin to question the official scenario. Go to another one of my posts by clicking here to listen to his ghastly interview from New Orleans' Algiers district during the middle of the catastrophe.
Meanwhile, Georgianne Nienaber, who has written for OpEdNews on the subject of extrajudicial slayings previously, booached this ghoulish topic in an article entitled Baghdad on the Bayou: Disaster Capitalism and the War on Equality, dated Dec 3, 2007. Here are some excerpts from this article, which was based on an interview with Cajun Blues artist Tab Benoit. In it Benoit is claiming that there were many more people slain by the authorities and Blackwater than is being told. In fact, he is alleging that Blackwater was blowing people (read Blacks basically) away left and right. Check out these quotes from Benoit, but first let me emphasize that this was written well beofre McKinney's above remarks and is in no way an endorsement of McKinney. The two peices stand apart in focus:
"This Katrina thing was handled as if it would have been Iraq. It was handled in a military way for resources; resources were the main focus, and the only difference is that the hurricane scattered people instead of bombs. There were people getting shot, there were bodies everywhere, there was destruction everywhere, and there's oil coming out of the ground like it never has before. Remind you of something else? The only difference is that we didn't have the equipment and the ability to fight back."
"As soon as Homeland Security took over FEMA, people down here started paying attention. I can't say people in New Orleans were because they never had to deal with FEMA. Down here we flood every three or four years from a storm event. But New Orleans doesn't flood as often, you know, when we hear Homeland Security took over FEMA, it's like "Oh my god-now what?"
"So I really started paying attention to things and how things were run. When Homeland Security is running it, that's a whole different agenda. It has nothing to do with rescuing people. Homeland Security is not a rescue operation.
"I did an interview with more than one person from another country. One in particular was a guy from Canada... we [FEMA] had ordered 20,000 more body bags after Katrina, from Canada. Somebody was investigating. And because they were saying 1300 people died, and we had 20,000 body bags in New Orleans and they ran out, and had to reorder another 20,000 body bags." (2)
Blackwater, Terrorism and Casualty Counts
"They found out that Blackwater was killing people. Blackwater was just in there eradicating. If you didn't make it past the checkpoint and got to the dome or the convention center, or the bridge, or whatever, you were fair game.
"They were claiming that they would deputize to confiscate guns. But they were told to shoot whenever they felt like it." (3)
"Everybody here knows that there are more than 1300 people dead. Everybody that actually got into the city and was trying to help, saw bodies floating, saw bullet wounds. The coroner knows what's going on, and he ain't talking. But he knows. Because I know for a fact from some other sources that he was saying to somebody, probably on a private level, that those bullet wounds were military or highly powerful wounds. [Our investigation noted the same reports from multiple, unrelated sources.]
Those were not 22 caliber pistols. Or 9-millimeter pistols. Let's face it; criminals want to save their lives too, in a situation like that. It's not some free-for-all. People are trying to get the hell out of there."
Mass[ive] Media Cover-Up
"The way it was portrayed [by media] was totally wrong. And from what I hear from outside of this country, which really is embarrassing to me, is that our media doesn't touch the stuff. I did an interview with a guy and he was blown away every time he opens a new door, it's a whole other big story that nobody is covering. He said that this thing is like the ten-headed snake. You grab one head and the other one is ready to bite you.
"There is a story trying to go out on the Associated Press right now about oil and how that is why we're in the situation we're in right now, and the guy has submitted it, ready to go, and it's really a huge step, but it hasn't been out yet. This has been over a month that it's been submitted and it hasn't been out on the wire, so, is he gonna print it? That's a whole different thing. At least someone is willing to listen.
"This Katrina thing was handled as if it would have been Iraq. It was handled in a military way for resources, resources were the main focus, and the only difference is that the hurricane scattered people instead of bombs. There were people getting shot, there were bodies everywhere, there was destruction everywhere, and there's oil coming out of the ground like it never has before. Remind you of something else? The only difference is that we didn't have the equipment and the ability to fight back. We didn't have suicide bombers and the things that other people have.
"You get knocked out, and then you get killed. Look how easy this was to do. All the peoples' records were wiped out. Their city hall, their courthouses, their medical records, and their hospitals-all of that is gone. How easy is it to start taking people out at that point? That's the easiest thing in the world to be able to do.
"You hide it from the media, you keep the media focused on the [super] dome and the convention center, and you keep giving opinionated stories about what this picture is, and then you pull the wool over everybody's eyes. I don't know what we're doing outside of this country, but I know what I saw right here."NOTES:
(2) Reports of as many as 70,000 body bags have been published, but have since vanished from Internet archives. In September 2005, the Modesto, California Bee and the AP reported, "The federal government is trying to purchase an additional 50,000 body bags for use in the Hurricane Katrina cleanup and in Iraq,” according to John Hassapakis, manager of Central Valley Professional Services in Modesto. "Those were sent directly to New Orleans." Previously, the Federal Emergency Management Administration purchased 25,000 body bags and shipped them to New Orleans.
(3) George W. Bush instituted a “zero tolerance” for looting in the aftermath of the flood, even if someone was “looting” “food or water.” Louisiana’s governor, Kathleen Blanco, added a “shoot to kill” order to Bush’s “zero tolerance” proclamation (see various media reports from BBC, ABC News, CNN et al). When National Guard troops from other states entered New Orleans five days after Katrina, troops aggressively pointed their rifles at black survivors who approached them while seeking aid (see People’s Hurricane Relief Fund www.peopleshurricane.org). The private military company Blackwater issued a press release stating they were in New Orleans: see www.blackwaterusa.com/press/katrina2.asp. Reporters Jeremy Scahill and Daniela Crespo quoted Blackwater operatives in September 2005: “They say they are on contract with the Department of Homeland Security and have been given the authority to use lethal force” (www.Truthout.org).
Again, the full article, part of a series, is at http://www.opednews.com/articles/3/opedne_georgian_071203_baghdad_on_the_bayou.htm.
IF YOU HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT IS BEING CHARGED IN THIS POST OR WERE A WITNESS TO ANY SUCH CRIMES, PLEASE COME FORWARD AND CONTACT US THOUGH A COMMENT OR BY CONTACTING ME WITH THE LINK BELOW. THE TRUTH MUST COME OUT AND JUSTICE MUST BE DEALT.
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