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FORWARDEVER MEDIA CENTER

Writer Alex Haley writing The Autobiography of Malcolm X with Brother Malcolm.

"The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses."
- Malcolm X

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The Forwardever Media Center is 100% committed to providing unconventional writing workshops and media literacy training to "at-risk" Black youth, particularly males, ages 14 through 24. Working in partnership with The Mentoring Center in Oakland, CA., the Center's writing workshops, website internship, and film forums, help students develop critical thinking skills and discover their creative talents. We recruit youth for our programs from the California Youth Authority (the state's largest prison for youth) as well as from universities and high schools. This cross-pollination of young minds creates dynamic shared experiences.

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Whatchusay Cinema–A monthly film forum hosted at schools or community centers in Northern California that explores issues such as race, class, gender, and society. Students are joined by a panel of activists, educators, athletes, entrepreneurs, etc. to rate the films and convene roundtable discussions about corresponding relevant issues in society. For info about film screenings and schedules contact: cheo@whatchusay.com

Writing Workshops–We offer intensive seminars in journalism, creative writing, cultural criticism, new media, film production, etc. These seminars are taught at the center, located at 1224 Preservation Park, Oakland, CA, 94612. They are also available on location, at schools, community and detention centers, churches, etc. For info about class schedules contact: cheo@whatchusay.com

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Message to Bush: Bagdad is in New Orleans

By Richard Osei

It is obvious the city of New Orleans had and still has NO PLAN for
evacation of any magnitude in case of a natural or man-made disaster.
Basically, the system - from the city manager, mayor, governor, all the way up to President of the United States - is broken. Broken with ineptitude, clueless leadership. 9/11 in New York City was a hint..... but we did not get it. Hurricane Katrina is a hint and we STILL do not get it.

First, with all this country's technology, New Orleans KNEW the
magnitude of this hurricane. The categories range from class 1 to class 5. By the time a hurricane reaches a class 5 category. All
town/city/states should be EVACUATED.... period. Where was the leadership?

Basically, school buses, greyhound buses, private buses, private
citizens should have been used to getting the poor (not just black people, as we now see on TV), elderly and homeless out of New Orleans.... by ANY MEANS necessary - prior to the Hurricane arriving.

No Post-Hurricane Planning

Where do we relocate people? In this case the SuperDome. What happens when the lights go out in the Superdome? What happens when a fire gets started at the Superdome? What happens when the Superdome gets surrounded by water.... which is what happened. What plans do you have to provide basic water and food to people?

THERE WAS NO PLAN

You get 25,000 into a Superdome and claim communication is problem. You mean to tell me the fire dept., police dept., Emergency response do not have a MEGA-PHONE communicate and maintain some order. Shit, You could a air-lift food and water to people at the fity yard
line in the superdome like they are doing in Bagdad.....or like we see on TV at the superbowl! You could deploy some hovercrafts to travel over land and water to evacuate people on their roof tops.

PLAN B

We Send the folks to a the Astro Dome... common sense tells me if
you have been in the "Super" dome. the Astro Dome will never measure
up. It is being moved from one Ghetto to another Ghetto... This is
like going from Western Sudan into Chad! and to top that you are
labeled as a "refugee" from New Orleans. One used to think of Jazz, Cajun food and people, French Quarter, Voodoo when you thought of New Orleans. Now if you meet someone from New Orleans in any part of the country.... what will come to mind....."Are you a refugee"

Tell me this.... if I am homeless in Houston and you tell me the
Astro Dome is going to house folks for New Orleans and there is going
to be free food, water and beds. Damn, I will move in before they
arrive.

The Biggest Insult

It takes the President four days to visit a site after the
nations largest natural disaster... and he calls himself a
compassionate conservative? We cannot even round up folks from harms way in New Orleans and yet "we think" we have "been called" to liberate IRAQ. Called by whom?..... let's use the Lords name in VAIN.

The issue at hand is simple...... The rich are getting richer and the
poor are going to get poorer is this country if people do not rise up
and wise up! President Bush, Wise Up and SEND OUR TROOPS HOME TO BAGDAD, NEW ORLEANS!

Posted on September 2, 2005 3:22 AM