Rhod Sharp, Kevin Anderson and Chris Vallance blog for Up All Night

Katrina Relief Efforts12-09-2005

by Chris Vallance

The fourth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks passed as America struggled to come to terms with hurricane Katrina. At the start of the pods and blogs segment we take a look at what the disorganised response to the hurricane says about the much vaunted reforms to the US's national security systems in the company of bloggers Laura Rozen of War and Piece and Noah Schactman of Defensetech.org

There was a major row between the media and the authorities in New Orleans as it appeared there were efforts to deny access to reporters and to prevent them taking pictures of the dead. Lawsuits and loud complaining appear to have resolved the issue. However, for all the mainstream media demands access often stories are soon forgotten about as the 24-hour news agenda rolls on. We talk to blogger and activist Bob Brigham of the Operation Flashlight blog in New Orleans who is working to make sure the issues arising from Katrina don't fade into the background.

While there's been plenty of criticism of federal efforts to help after Katrina, the web did admirably. Perhaps the most surprising spontaneous demonstration of people power was on the online classified site Craigslist . Ordinarily a vast online market place, offers of help and accommodation for those affected by the hurricane were posted to the site and rapidly grew to an entire community of assistance and help.

Music is part of the fabric of New Orleans. It's been hurt and it's musicians scattered across the US, but it will come back and there are plenty of people working to make sure this great heritage stays alive. We'll hear a bit of New Orleans blues in the company of David Couvillon - former US military governor of Wasit province Iraq and current president of the Baton Rouge Blues Society . They are organising an email campaign to secure gigs for displaced musicians, with the aim of keeping the music going.

If the blues and jazz have been dealt a heavy blow by Katrina. Politically conscious hip hop has been reinvigorated. We speak to two Houston-based rappers from the group, The Legendary KO about their song distributed free on the web (10,000 downloads in the first day) Inspired by Kanye West's critical remarks about President Bush.

And, last but by no means least, we try our hands at time travel blogging and take a tour of Chinatown era Los Angeles in the company of Kim and Nathan from the crime history blog 1947project . Dragnet for your laptop.

We're always happy to hear from listeners if you've got an idea for the show, or know a blog or podcast you think we should feature, please drop us a line at upallnight@bbc.co.uk

The views expressed in this article are those of the author

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