More than 200 detainees in Guantánamo Bay are in their fifth week of a hunger strike, the UK Guardian reports Sept. 9. The paper cites statements from prisoners recently declassified by the US government, revealing that the men are starving themselves in protest at the conditions in the camp and claimed abuses by guards—including desecration of the Koran.

Reports Sarah Garland of Newsday Sept. 9:

Michael Dardar lost his home when Hurricane Katrina flooded his trailer in Boothville, La., but that is the least of his worries. For Dardar, 43, a Houma Indian, the loss of his land and culture could be far worse.

"An indigenous existence is about people and about place; it's not like we can go buy land in Arkansas," he said from a friend's house in Lafayette, La.

Most of the 15,000 Houmas live in isolated towns dotting the edges of the bayou southeast of New Orleans, an area hard hit by Katrina, and Dardar estimates up to 3,400 could have lost their homes.

Sarah Ferguson of the Village Voice reports Sept. 8 of the feds shutting down yet another citizens' self-help initiative:

Although the effort was trumpeted in the media as an example of grassroots ingenuity in the face of disaster, local officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency have nixed an attempt by Houston activists to set up a low-power radio station at the Astrodome that would have broadcast Hurricane Katrina relief information for evacuees.

The project was unplugged even though it had key support. On Monday, the Federal Communications Commission quickly granted temporary licenses to broadcast inside the Astrodome and the adjacent Reliant Center. The station was also backed by the Houston Mayor's office and Texas governor Rick Perry. But local officials said FEMA bureaucrats KO'd the station—dubbed KAMP "Dome City Radio"—because of "security concerns."

From AP, Sept. 9, via TruthOut:

The deployment of thousands of National Guard troops from Mississippi and Louisiana in Iraq when Hurricane Katrina struck hindered those states' initial storm response, military and civilian officials said Friday.

Contrary to earlier reports, the St. Petersburg Times states Sept. 9 that nobody has yet been arrested for disobeying evacuation orders—but authorities are preparing to carry out forcible evacuations if "hold-outs" continue to resist. The paper acknowledges that this suspension of rights presents a "constitutional dilemma," and quotes the libertarian Cato Institute, which opposes the mandatory evacuation:

Surely we can distinguish houses that are . . . compromised beyond habitation and those that are perfectly livable," said Roger Pilon, vice president for legal affairs at the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C.

From a Sept. 10 TruthOut account by Jeremy Scahill and Daniela Crespo:

Heavily armed paramilitary mercenaries from the Blackwater private security firm, infamous for their work in Iraq, are openly patrolling the streets of New Orleans. Some of the mercenaries say they have been "deputized" by the Louisiana governor; indeed some are wearing gold Louisiana state law enforcement badges on their chests and Blackwater photo identification cards on their arms. They say they are on contract with the Department of Homeland Security and have been given the authority to use lethal force. Several mercenaries we spoke with said they had served in Iraq on the personal security details of the former head of the US occupation, L. Paul Bremer and the former US ambassador to Iraq, John Negroponte.

From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency:

French official praises, blasts Israel
France's foreign minister described Israel's "colonization" of the West Bank as illegal.

Visiting the Jewish state this week, Philippe Douste-Blazy praised the success of the Gaza withdrawal but said that "other steps must follow." "The colonization of the West Bank is against international law," he said, "and any continued colonization called into question the very meaning of the peace process."(JTA, Sept. 9)

For a second day, US war-planes struck a supposed al-Qaeda stronghold in the city of Qaim on the Syrian border. A US military statement said the attack is thought to have killed Abu Ali, a senior al-Qaeda agent in charge of helping foreign fighters enter the country from Syria. The target was just a few miles from the town of Husaybah, where residents said masked insurgent gunmen had taken control, setting up roadblocks and questioning people on the streets. They said snipers were atop buildings and gunmen roamed the streets. Marine warplanes also bombed two small Euphrates bridges being used by insurgents to move weapons and fighters near Karabilah. (AP, Sept. 7) A sign newly posted at the entrance of Qaim by insurgents declared: "Welcome to the Islamic Kingdom of Qaim." A statement posted in mosques described Qaim as an "Islamic kingdom liberated from the occupation." (LAT, Sept. 5) Last week, local hospital workers said 56 had been killed in US airstrikes, including many women and children. (Granma, Aug. 30) Some 200 have been arrested by US-Iraqi forces in sweeps at the nearby town of Tal Affar. (AP, Sept. 9) US forces have ordered all civilians to leave the Tal Affar, as new airstrikes on the town are underway. (BBC News, Sept. 9)