Buddy Spell in New Orleans

This is a transcript of a phone conversation Buddy Spell had with Brendan Clancy as Buddy was driving through New Orleans...be prepared to be shocked.

Just got off the phone with Buddy. He still doesn't have internet access so he's asking me to post this.

Buddy Spell was driving around New Orleans with Armond Richardson, Official Photographer for the Louisiana Activists Network. I could here Armond, Shiek is his nickname, directing Buddy around obstacles while he drove. The reason they went in was to pick up a Readers Digest Photographer that had an accident with a Policeman. Even though it appears to be both of the drivers faults they decided to lock up The Photographer. At 5 pm Buddy was going to grab him from the authorities. They took photos of the accident scene on their way down to prove their point.

Union Terminal has been turned into a jail. They were cruising through some of the areas supposedly hit with massive looting and could only see one small drug store that appeared to be broken into but since many of the most expensive items were left one would assume that someone desperately needed medicine.

"Watcher" and "Train 7" your homes are fine! He has photos to prove it.

They allowed a cop car to pass them. Buddy says all he sees are cops and fireman. Not a single citizen.

They head into the Iberville Projects are in the Treme District. Military Police are everywhere dressed in Black. A red X marks the homes with bodies in them and there are a lot of Red X Marks. They pass a water Depth finder taped to lightpole at about 5 1/2feet up. It stinks to high heaven, they can tell wehn bodies are near.

They stop to take a look at Dookie Chase's a fine Soulfood Restaurant and cannot see any major damage. They turn and start driving the wrong way down Oleans Ave because debris blocks the correct lanes. Shopping carts are everywhere, this is where many people waited for days to be rescued, over by the interstate. In the Central Business Districts the Infrastructure is fine. They pass Carborne Towers (not sure if that's the correct name as the phone started to break up) it was rumored that 200 starving children were in there.

Buddy sees very little sign of rampant looting, he sees stomr damage to high rise windows and calls into question everything that was reported by the MSM. He laughs a bit as they see a 22 ft speed boat with a 200 horse power engine is sitting on the StreetCar tracks in the middle of the business district. He sees abondonned semi trucks, and cannot get used to the smell.

The phone connection breaks up and I am hoping he'll call back later on. Photos of all this should be available as soon as Buddy or Shiek can find a way to upload.

Back on the phone...

Just called again.

He covered about 3/4's of the city in his running around today and said he saw a total of 4 "shops", gas stations and convenient stores that appeared to be broken into. Of course this was most likely done by moms that were tired of watching their kids die in front of them because their Federal Government was not even attempting to get assistance in to them and of course there was no place to shop.

He said expensive stores with expensive objects were left untouched. Again and again he'd pass rolex watches gleaming in the sun, countered of course by the smell of rotting cropses in the streets.

No Flooding Uptown whatsoever, 90 percent of those places could be moved back into today. There is still water in LakeWoods South so that is uninhabotable. But from St. Charles to the river is fine. Streets are clear.

Naomi Klein from The Nation is one of Buddy's house guests and she said that 2 black people she interviewed both said they survived first the Storm, then the Looters, then the White Vigilantes, most of whom spoke with a Texas accent and basically had the Authority to go Hunting Black people with no accountability.

At that point a BlackHawk helicopter flew over head and Buddy's Voice rose in disgust...."You tell me Brendan, what the hell do they need a BlackHawk in New Orleans for?! What are they gonna shoot with that!"

I mentioned that Blackwater Security forces were being deputized by the Governor. He said some few choice words about that crew. And said people at the Bus Station/Jail were starting to look his way. He repeated the statement only louder. Realizing that New Orleans is about to undergo some sort of bizarre federal mutation of some sort he said, I gotta get the hell outta here....I can't take it.

Brendan for Buddy Spell in New Orleans yesterday.