In this section, we take a look at how discourses of development and technological change participate in broader processes of social reproduction.

Britney and the back-lash by Rebecca Boone Off Our Backs,  Jan/Feb 2002 My first feminist role model was Madonna. I was ten years old when Like a Prayer was released, an album that dealt with issues of female autonomy, domestic abuse, damaged parent-child relationships, and religious devotion. Madonna was smart, …

New Orleans and the Third World Mukoma Wa Ngugi    ZNet, September 8th 2005 The devastation of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina is being compared to disasters in the “Third World” but with no specific countries or disasters named. And if not compared to this black hole or repository of …

Hurricane Katrina: The Black Nation’s 9/11! Saladin Muhammad of Black Workers for Justice   September 5th 2005 The magnitude of the destruction and human suffering caused by Hurricane Katrina to the people and communities of the Gulf Coast Region, while not the results of an act of “terror”, is directly …

“Katrina”: An Unnatural Disaster “I hate the way they portray us in the media. You see a black family, it says, “They’re looting.” You see a white family, it says, “They’re looking for food.” And, you know, it’s been five days [waiting for federal help] because most of the people …

 Chasing a Katrina Conspiracy Shields the Real Culprit Earl Ofari Hutchinson  New America Media, September 27th 2005 LOS ANGELES–In the weeks since Katrina hit, the conspiracy theories behind it have multiplied. The Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and a slew of activists and bloggers have spun a huge tale …

 Don’t Let New Orleans Die Jordan Flaherty Left Turn, September 4th 2005 Its been a day since I evacuated from New Orleans, my home, the city I love. Today I saw Governor Blanco proudly speak of troops coming in with orders to shoot to kill. Is she trying to help …

 Hold the United States Accountable Ajamu Baraka The Black Commentator, September 15th 2005 In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the debate is already raging on how to deal with those displaced by the disaster and whether to rebuild New Orleans and other coastal communities. Competing interests combined with poor planning …

Barbara Bush: Things Working Out ‘Very Well’ for Poor Evacuees from New Orleans Editor and Publisher Staff September 5th 2005http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001054719 NEW YORK Accompanying her husband, former President George H. W. Bush, on a tour of hurricane relief centers in Houston, Barbara Bush said today, referring to the poor who had …

 Don’t “Politicize” Tragedy? The Tragedy is Political M. Junaid Alam September 3rd 2005 It is doubtlessly true that some Americans consider the sad and devastating fate meted out to the refugees in New Orleans and other areas along the Gulf Coast to be a strictly “natural disaster,” and therefore dislike …