The murder of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom was unknown to me till I was in my hotel room in Las Vegas flipping through channels. I don't normally watch much tv let alone "Geraldo at Large" but the story caught my attention. It was about how two young people were carjacked then killed. After researching it on the net and looking throughout all of the blogs and news sites, the information about the actual events are what disturbed me in more ways than one.

The details of the events that occurred to them after they were carjacked are horrifying. Some sources say Channon Christian was raped repeatedly for days and that they tortured her and killed her boyfriend Christopher Newsom in front of her. Then there are what seems to be more exaggerated claims about them cutting off the private parts of the two teens and actually raping Christopher.

What's quite interesting is how this has become a major topic over the role of race in these murders since it hasn't gained any national exposure in contrast to the Duke Lacrosse team case of a stripper screaming rape in which the charges were later dropped.

Further complicating things are a number of white pride/aryan nation/neo nazi groups trying to use the Christian/Newsom murder as an example of a media bias when it comes to mainstream media attention to hate crimes. One search on youtube.com for Channon Christian brings up many videos cleverly disguised as tribute videos to the teen but contains the not so hidden message that these murders are a result of diversity and multiculturalism.

When you hear about these types of crimes in detail you can only sympathize with their families knowing that they have to deal with the reality of such a horrible death happening to their loved ones. In the words of Channon Christian's father "It's not about race, it's about animals."

I think that just about sums it all up.

If you want to see a legit tribute video without the racist undertones check this one out...

I'm moving, out of the state, out of the country, out of my mind.
As I sit here and type this there are so many good reasons to believe the previous statement.
In New Orleans, Louisiana it seems that some things will always remain the same as they were before Katrina, both good and bad.
Yes we'll still have the gumbo, the music, the people, the laissez-faire attitude towards work and life.
We'll still have the parades, the festivals, the celebrations and second lines.
As strong as the french quarter remains after Katrina, so too lies the power of corruption and scandal in our local government.

It took me a long time, and a big storm, to realize just what corruption actually is, what forms it takes, and how it hurts people.

Most often it comes in the form of an elected official giving out a "no bid contract" to someone they are connected to. In this case what happens is some politician assigns a particular task to a company, i.e. debris removal, selling fema trailers, or retrieving flooded cars. When this happens no other competing company has a chance to "bid" on the job. This is how politicians make the real money. They get a cut from the company they gaive the job to in return for the no bid contract.

It's gone on for decades with little or no adversity from other politicians, or even the citizens that these supposed "leaders" represent. Today I was listening to the inspector general for Louisiana on WWL radio, who is in charge of investigating these types of offenses. There was a case where a shop who sold motorcycles received $112million for selling fema trailers which it didn't even have a permit to do (they had a permit for selling old, used trailers but not the brand new trailers fema was sending). No permit? No problem! Just get your cousin/uncle whoever you have in the state legislature to pull some strings, you might have to pay a little fine of $40,000 but when you're making $112million you can afford such petty fines.

This stuff is still going on while Washington watches, looking for any reason whatsoever to no send more money. While the media is scrutinizing our "shit for brains mayor" Ray Wonka and Governor Blancstare.

Yet nothing happens.

Furthermore, seeing corruption on a local, close up level also educated me on how these things transpire on the national stage. The war in Iraq for instance, is another example of how corruption works. Many no bid contracts were given out to a lot of Pres. Bush's friends. Is this a sign of corruption in the white house? Of cronyism? You betcha. Is it the first time it's happened in the white house? Definitely not, and it won't be the last by far.

I just heard a clip from Rosie O'Donnell claiming that radical christianity is as dangerous as radical Islam. I found this very interesting coming from her point of view. I understand that her sexual orientation makes her a target of christianity and that she probably feels threatened. However there is no comparison between radical christianity and radical Islam. If she was living in Iran, Iraq, Syria or any other country with Islamic law she would be stoned, killed. She wouldn't have to worry about what Pat Robertson says, or people making fun of her, because she would be dead. I think the only way that she would truly understand this is if she was on a plane, about to be hijacked, or possibly about to get her head cut off. I wonder, if she was to be put in that situation, just what would lil ole Rosie say..."Dear God, help me..."???

Conspiracy Theories. Mostly about 9/11 Since 9/11 a lot of people have questioned whether what really happened is what was reported in the 9/11 commission report. I stayed up till 4am listening to people talk about their conspiracy theories. Anything from it being the world's largest insurance scam, to it being set up by the jews, to a new world government. There are somethings that don't fit however. Like the hole in the pentagon, was that really a 757? We may never know, or maybe just not in our lifetime. Look how long it took for JFK to get truly investigated.

This is my first post, I will use this blog to rant to rave, to post my thoughts on here that I do not want to post on myspace. I'm from New Orleans, living uptown. Occaisionally I will talk about how things are in New Orleans, how the recovery is going. Occaisionally I will talk about my band, Vedas. I may also mention things from time to time about the work I do, which is video. I video weddings and other events, as long as the pay is right. I also create videos personally on the side. New World Orleans is the video I made from the whole Katrina experience. Check my myspace webpage to see those videos. Till then, later.