Katrina Coverage

Showing up unannounced:
Rev Jackson said it is "corrupt" that storm survivors have been left jobless and about half of the city's public servants are being laid off in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, while contracts to rebuild the region are primarily being awarded to out-of-state corporations.
"There is no job being done right now by Halliburton and Bechtel that can't be done by people who live here," Rev Jackson said.
...speaking on a roadside in the hard-hit Ninth Ward neighbourhood, Rev Jackson said that responding to the crisis by suspending minimum wage laws, environmental regulations, and race considerations in employment and subcontracting is tantamount to declaring "martial law on civil rights".
..."If the mayor says he doesn't have the money, then where is the money?" Rev Jackson asked.
"Maintaining the local workforce should be a priority. All displaced citizens should have a right to return home to jobs, job contracts, and training."
...Preventing people from returning to New Orleans might alter the demographics of the city, he added.
"It is more than just a black culture... Everyone that was hit by the hurricane, whether they are white or black or brown, those who have been displaced have a right to return home," he said.
He said not rebuilding the Ninth Ward would amount to "racial profiling".