VOICE OF DETROIT: The city's independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought

Video above by Silo Sh3llz “RIP Aiyana Jones”

NOTE: VOD WILL HAVE STORY UP LATER TODAY ON EVENTS IN THE COURTROOM SEPT. 24.

Mertilla Jones (l) weeps in agony at candlelight vigil for Aiyana shortly after her death; Aiyana’s mother Dominika and father Charles are at right.

Aiyana’s grandmother Mertilla Jones broke down weeping uncontrollably on the stand Sept 24 and repeatedly asked Weekley WHY he had killed her granddaughter and then lied about her trying to get his gun.

 She was escorted from the courtroom, and continued directly accusing him as she passed. Numerous relatives seated in the court also began weeping uncontrollably, including a young man who was sobbing and hyperventilating in the hallway outside. After Aiyana’s mother and aunt asked to speak to her to calm her down, Ms. Jones came into the hallway and slid to the floor while Dominika Jones and LaKrystal Sanders consoled her, crying as well. At least six family members in the hallway surrounded her, some weeping as well, for a lengthy time before court officers escorted them outside so Ms. Jones could get some fresh air. Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway, who earlier threatened witnesses with arrest after LaKrystal Sanders similarly broke down prior to Mertilla Jones’ testimony, halted the trial for the rest of the week.

SRT officer says he found shell casing from fatal bullet by front doorway

Evidence techs photographed it in middle of room two hours later

Firearms expert: MP-5 gun could not have gone off accidentally

Police testimony replete with military jargon

 September 23, 2014

 By Diane Bukowski

Charles and Dominika Jones (l), parents of Aiyana Jones (r)
Photo: Facebook

DETROIT – Police testimony in the trial of Officer Joseph Weekley this week for killing Aiyana Jones exposed a glaring contradiction regarding the spent casing from the bullet that killed the 7-year-old child during the military-style assault on her home May 15, 2010.

Sgt. Brian Bowens, part of the “Special Response Team” involved, testified Sept. 22 that he saw the casing directly inside the front doorway when he entered just after two officers rushed the little girl out of the house to St. John’s Hospital. She had been shot “within seconds” after the team broke into her home in the middle of the night according to other testimony.

“It [the casing] was on the floor between the couch [where Aiyana was shot] and the door extending out,” Bowens said. “It was very tight confines. As soon as you walked in, there was a couch directly to your left and another to your right. There was blood on the couch to the left of the door.”

Asst. Prosecutor Mark Hindelang displayed Bowen’s diagram of the scene to the jury, with the casing inside the front doorway circled in red, and Bowens’ initials next to it.

Police evidence photo of couch on which Aiyana Jones was shot by Police officer Joseph Weekley.

Bowens said when he entered the room, four people including murder suspect Chauncey Owens were sitting on the bloody couch where Aiyana had been shot, under police guard. Aiyana’s mother Dominika Stanley-Jones earlier testified that police had ordered herself, Aiyana’s father and grandmother, and Owens to sit there. Bowens said the only people moving about were police officers.

 Owens had just come down from the upper flat where he lived, under police guard. Thus, Owens’ entrance into the lower flat moments after the shooting apparently had not dislocated the casing.

However, a police evidence technician who processed the scene about two hours after the shooting testified today that he found both the spent casing and bullet in front of the couch on its far side near where Aiyana’s grandmother, Mertilla Jones, had been sleeping.

Artist depiction of Aiyana’s shooting, presented by family attorney Geoffrey Fieger shortly after her death and a second autopsy which showed gunshot wound at top of forehead, exiting through neck.

The prosecution showed an evidence technician’s photograph of the bullet and casing with two yellow crime scene markers next to them at that location.

Weekley’s defense attorney Steve Fishman contended in his opening statement and during cross-examinations of several witnesses that Weekley’s gun went off because an individual [Aiyana’s paternal grandmother Mertilla Jones] “interfered” with Weekley, perhaps grabbing his gun. Mertilla Jones had been sleeping with Aiyana on the front couch, on its left-hand side near where the casing was shown in the evidence technician photograph.

Did officers move the bullet casing to that location before the evidence technicians arrived on the scene, to back up Weekley’s story? Many supporters of the family have contended that not only Weekley, but the SRT, and the whole chain of command over them, should have been charged with murder in Aiyana’s death. Only Weekley faces a charge of “involuntary manslaughter.”

Fieger press conference after raid: Mertilla Jones and aunt LaKrystal Sanders . AP photo by Carlos Osorio

Jones is possibly expected to testify Sept. 24, in the face of Fishman’s blistering opening statement during which he repeatedly called her a “liar” for saying Weekley deliberately “murdered” Aiyana, and added that two of her sons are in prison. Asst. Prosecutors Moran and Hindelang offered no objection during his statement.

 “I figured what all of them came to do was murder,” Jones testified during Weekley’s first trial. “From the way they came in, and they knew there were children in the house, they came to kill, and they just killed a 7-year-old. I saw the officer come in, put the gun to Aiyana’s head, and just shoot. . . . The gun was placed right there at Aiyana’s head, and they pulled the trigger. I saw the light leave out of her eyes, and blood gushed out of her mouth. I knew she was dead.”

Denessa, April and Martin Westbrook described similar circumstances in a 2007 lawsuit they filed against Weekley and other SRT members in federal court.

“Defendants entered the home and did not knock or announce their presence,” their lawsuit said. “Immediately upon barging into the home, Defendants had their guns blazing and they began shooting. There were children and an infant present in the home. Without any justifiable reason whatsoever, Defendants shot Plaintiffs’ two dogs, while a child was in the same room as the dog. Defendants wrongfully detained Plaintiffs for nearly an hour. Defendants had their guns pointed at Plaintiffs and the child and infant.”

Brent Sojea, weapons expert, demonstrates MP5 semi-automatic machine gun which killed Aiyana during Weekley’s earlier trial. He testified Sept. 23 again that the gun could not have fired accidentally.

The Westbrook lawsuit for “unconstitutional entry, search, detention and destruction of property” was settled for $27,000 according to Detroit City Council records.

Regarding Fishman’s contention that Weekley did not deliberately fire his gun, firearms and tool markings expert Brent Sojea testified today that was not possible, while other SRT officers testified that they are trained to keep their fingers away from a gun’s trigger even during “firearms retention” if someone tries to seize their weapon.

Sojea confirmed that Weekley’s gun fired the bullet and casing that killed Aiyana, the only ammunition in the room.

Holding Weekley’s Heckler and Koch MP5 submachine gun, Sojea said it could be fired as a semi-automatic or in automatic mode, during which it would fire 800 rounds a minute. He said he tested the gun in numerous ways to see if it could fire without pressing the trigger.

“I tested it by dropping it and banging it on its side, muzzle and butt from different heights onto a rubber mat,” Sojea said. “I used a six-plane safety test, in which I banged on it with a mallet on all sides. It would not fire.”

Sojea said tests showed that the gun required eight to nine pounds of pressure to pull the trigger.

Still from A&E video of SRT team breaking into Jones home May 16, 2010.

The prosecution also showed evidence technician photographs of the scene and the A&E “First 48” film of the actual raid, from a distance. Another video, likely by police, which showed the raid closer up, has not been introduced by the prosecution.

Several photographs showed brightly colored children’s toys on both sides of the two-family flat’s entrance steps, and on the porch near the entrance to the Jones’ family’s door. But all SRT officers who testified said they saw no evidence of the presence of children, including toys, during the raid. One officer testified all he saw during daytime surveillance was “a mess of people.”

Charles Jones is interviewed by Channel 2 reporter Amy Lange the morning of his daughter’s death on family’s porch. Toys shown are also in evidence tech photos of the scene directly after the raid.

Dominika and Charles Jones’ five children, including Aiyana and several toddlers, were staying at the home, rented by Mertilla Jones, during the period of surveillance.

 Surveillance officers also testified that they radioed a “take-down” crew when one saw Chauncey Owens exiting the downstairs flat and walking up Lillibridge eastbound to E. Canfield. That crew was supposed to apprehend Owens if he was seen outside the house, but surveillance officers claimed the take-down crew did not have enough time to get to him before he returned.

VOD walked the distance from the Lillibridge location to E. Canfield and back, which took approximately four minutes. The take-down crews were waiting only a short distance away from the scene. Many have said police were waiting to set up a dramatic night-time raid for the benefit of crews from A&E’s “First 48” series. Weekley and other officers from the SRT team are featured as stars on A&E’s website for “Detroit SWAT,” the predecessor to “The First 48.”

Particularly striking during testimony by several SRT officers yesterday and today was their use of military terms during their descriptions of events.

Officer Joseph Weekley shown as star “Brain” on Detroit SWAT website.

They referred to the black uniforms worn by SRT members as “BDU’s” or battle dress uniforms, to the planned raid as a “mission,” and to the Jones home as a “target.” One SRT officer said he was familiar with the tactics because he had served nine years in the U.S. military.

 The “First 48” film crew tailing the SRT team during the raid was referred to as “embedded,” a term first coined to describe media crews operating with U.S. forces during various wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.

According to earlier published reports on the three days of jury selection, a large number of potential jurors were screened out after Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway, the prosecution and defense read over questionnaires they had filled out. The potential jurors were asked if they had heard about the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, and whether they had read articles about the increasing militarization of U.S. police forces.

The second day of jury selection was dominated largely by the same questions asked personally during voir dire. By the third day, enough jurors had been screened out that “voir dire” focused largely on regular questions regarding their backgrounds and willingness to be fair.

The sitting jury is now comprised of three Black women, two Black men, one woman who appears to be from India, one woman who appears to be Arab, and seven white individuals. The jury in Weekley’s original trial had only one Black member.

One attorney indirectly associated with the case, however, told VOD, “Moran threw the first trial, and it is a conflict of interest for him to prosecute both Weekley and Aiyana’s father Charles Jones, along with Chauncey Owens, for the killing of Jerean Blake.”

Blake was shot to death May 14, 2010, a crime for which both Jones and Owens were convicted, but they are appealing their cases.

On Sept. 18, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Richard Skutt denied Jones’ motion for either a directed verdict or a new trial, based on his jury’s contradictory verdict finding him guilty of second-degree murder while acquitting him of the gun charges that were the base for the murder charge. His attorneys said they plan to appeal. (VOD story to come on this.)

Previous VOD story on this trial:

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2014/09/18/stunning-revelation-in-cop-killing-of-aiyana-jones-7-direct-contact-gunshot-could-have-killed-her/

From: RT

September 23, 2014 08:30

Eight civilians, three of them children, have been killed in the US-led air strikes on Al-Qaeda Nusra front positions, Reuters reported, citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Air strikes by U.S.-led coalition forces in Syria killed 30 fighters from al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and eight civilians including children, a group monitoring the war said on Tuesday.

The strikes targeted a residential building in Aleppo province used by Nusra Front, said Rami Abdulrahman, who runs the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The United States said earlier on Tuesday its forces had carried out eight strikes against al Qaeda-affiliated militants west of Aleppo.

(Reporting by Tom Perry; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

U.S. alleges these cities in Syria and Iraq house ISIS rebels, who have been funded by the CIA from the start.

Washington carried out a series of airstrikes on the city of Raqqa in the early hours of Tuesday. At least 30 militants died in the strikes, which were carried out on IS positions in Syria. Washington informed Damascus about the operation, according to a representative of Syrian Foreign Ministry.

“There is an exodus out of Raqqa as we speak. It started in the early hours of the day after the strikes. People are fleeing towards the countryside,” one local resident told Reuters.

The strikes targeted residential buildings in Aleppo allegedly used by Al-Nusra Front, according to Rami Abdulrahman, who runs the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Store in Syria destroyed by drone in wave of attacks.

The US-led coalition’s targets also included training camps, headquarters and weapon supplies in northern and eastern Syria, with many IS locations “destroyed or damaged” around the cities of Raqqa, Deir al-Zor, Hasakah and the border town of Albu Kamal, Reuters reported.

 In particular, “[Islamic State] fighters, training compounds, headquarters and command and control facilities, storage facilities, a finance center, supply trucks and armed vehicles” were hit.

Raqqa (Al-Raqqa) is a city with a population of over 200,000 people, and is strategically located just 40km east of the largest Syrian dam. Raqqa is believed to be the IS headquarters.

Video posted to a social media website purports to show civil defence workers successfully rescuing a baby from under rubble in Aleppo and clashes involving Islamic Front fighters.2014-09-22 12:31 PM ESTLast Updated: 2014-09-22 01:28 PM EST

– See more at: http://www.ntd.tv/en/news/world/middle-east-/-africa/20140922/222599-rescuers-pull-baby-from-rubble-in-syria39s-aleppo.html#sthash.K1q9UDis.dpuf

By Askia Muhammad -Senior Editor

Sep 17, 2014

Related news: ISIS: Made in the U.S.A.?

U.S. Air Force strike

WASHINGTON (FinalCall.com) – In response to rapidly changing events on the ground in Iraq and Syria, President Obama has authorized U.S. airstrikes for the first time in Syria and their expansion in Iraq against the militant group Islamic State.

In a prime-time address, Obama vowed to hunt down Islamic State militants wherever they are. “We will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country, wherever they are,” Mr. Obama said in a live prime-time address from the White House Sept. 10. “That means I will not hesitate to take action against ISIL in Syria, as well as Iraq. This is a core principle of my presidency: If you threaten America, you will find no safe haven.”

“I want the American people to understand how this effort will be different from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Mr. Obama continued. “It will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil. This counterterrorism campaign will be waged through a steady, relentless effort to take out ISIL wherever they exist, using our air power and our support for partners’ forces on the ground.”

Pres. Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden (r) meet with National Security Council Sept. 10, 2014.

But in a clever exercise of rhetorical dexterity, Mr. Obama also announced he is sending 475 more U.S. military troops to Iraq, bringing the total to 1,600, while insisting the new operation does not constitute a new “war” in Iraq and Syria.

Reactions were predictable and drawn mostly along party lines. Conservative Republicans insisted the president had not gone far enough. Anti-war activists called the new policy wrongheaded.

Dennis Kucinich

“The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.”

This is a direct quote from an interview with then-Senator Obama in the Boston Globe on December 20, 2007, former Congress member Dennis Kucinich revealed in a Facebook status update concerning the President’s apparent flip-flop.

“We agree with the president that there is no military solution to the problems posed by ISIS,” Kevin Martin, executive director of Peace Action said in a statement immediately after the address. “And yet his proposed strategy relies far too heavily on the use of military force. It’s time to stop the bombing and escalation and use the other tools of U.S. foreign policy—working with allies in cutting off weapons, oil and funding streams for starters—which will be much more active in dealing with ISIS.”

“History shows that U.S. arms tends to fall into the wrong hands like in Afghanistan and now ISIS. More weapons in the Mideast is not the solution and is more like pouring fuel on a fire,” added Paul Kawika Martin, political director of Peace Action. Founded in 1957 when it was called SANE/FREEZE, Peace Action is the nation’s oldest and largest disarmament organization with more than 100,000 paid members in 100 chapters in 36 states.

Protesters outside White House earlier this month.

Immediately following the President’s address, on a trip to Saudi Arabia—the chief early funding source for ISIS according to many accounts—Secretary of State John Kerry announced the formation of a new “coalition of the willing,” so-to-speak.

 He said a coalition of 10 Arab countries—Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and six Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar—agreed to help the United States fight the Sunni militants that have seized swaths of Iraq and Syria. The commitment came after foreign ministers from the countries met with Secretary of State John Kerry in Saudi Arabia.

“Arab nations play a critical role in that coalition,” Secretary Kerry said, “the leading role, really, across all lines of effort: military support, humanitarian aid, our work to stop the flow of illegal funds and foreign fighters, which ISIL requires in order to thrive, and certainly the effort to repudiate once and for all the dangerous, the offensive, the insulting distortion of Islam that ISIL propaganda attempts to spread throughout the region and the world.”

Protest against war on Syria in Washington, D.C.

In the one year since the Obama administration floated the idea, and then abandoned it, to engage in military strikes against Syria, U.S. policymakers and their allies in the corporate-owned media, have managed to “flip the script” so that today a majority of the U.S. public favors deeper U.S. intervention in the crisis created by the invasion, occupation, and destabilization of Iraq over the past 11 years.

“I think President Obama has been hounded by the media, by the war hawks in Congress, mostly from the Republican side but also from the Democrats,” Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK and author of “Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control” told Pacifica Radio’s “Democracy Now!”

The U.S. is headed along “this insane (course) not only bombing in Iraq, but also talking about going into Syria, at a time when just a couple of months ago the American people had made it very clear that we were very tired of war,” Ms. Benjamin continued.

Phyllis Bennis

“In fact, when (President) Obama tried to do this a year ago, the American people rose up and demanded that Congress take a vote and that Congress say no, and Obama backed out. So, I think the support of the American people is very skin deep, and that if we, as a peace-loving people, do our job right now in getting out there and making some noise, we can actually have an impact in stopping the U.S. from getting into Syria and, I think, in stopping the U.S. from this insane, never-ending war.”

 The never-ending nature of such military adventures is compounded by their utter futility, according to Phyllis Bennis, director of the Project for a New Internationalism at the Institute for Policy Studies. “This was a speech set in a vortex of solutions,” Ms. Bennis told The Final Call. “Despite what President Obama has said, we all know there is no military solution.

“Calling it something other than a war doesn’t change the fact that it is a war, and we know that wars don’t work to stamp out terrorism. In fact it will make it worse, partly because it’s going to encourage more Iraqi Sunnis to believe that the U. S. is acting as the air force for the Shia and the Kurds against them—against the Sunnis,” Ms. Bennis continued.

Islamic State fighters

“And they are therefore going to look to ISIS as their protector, not because they’re right, not because they agree with them, but rather because Iraq’s Shia dominated government has never done right by them.

 “That’s the lesson of Afghanistan in the 1980s. You can’t create a viable military that can stand up to a powerful militia that has a lot of support, that is fighting with U.S. provided weapons.” President Obama would have done better had he said, “I tell you tonight, my fellow Americans, that the intelligence agencies have confirmed ISIS does not provide a threat to the United States. Period. Stop,” Ms. Bennis said.

Others agree that there are other important issues which should command more national attention. “ISIS is not the only problem facing America,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said in a statement. “The Republicans cannot continue to ignore youth unemployment at 20 percent, the starvation federal minimum wage of $7.25, the unaffordable cost of college education, the planetary crisis of global warming, and the massive wealth and income inequality which exists in our country.”

Diplomats from around the world met in Paris, France September 15 pledging to support the fight against the Islamic State. Leaders from more than 20 nations met with Sec. Kerry for high-level discussions. The reported beheading of British aid worker David Haines—the third in recent weeks—has added increased urgency to the formation of this supposed “broad-based coalition” that aims to neutralize the threat.

A demonstrator holds up a sign portraying French President Francois Hollande wearing donkey ears with a school grade of Zero and which reads, “You, President Resign.” Photo: Reuters

French president Francois Hollande, who hosted the leaders, is very unpopular at present. A recent poll showed nearly 62 percent of voters want him to resign. In Baghdad, Iraq on September 12 during a one-day visit, Pres. Hollande announced that France would provide even more support in the fight against ISIS. It is unclear right now how much his outspokenness and support for military action will help him at home. His term is up in 2017.

 According to The Guardian, the conference participants were Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Arab League, European Union and theUnited Nations.

“They all expressed their commitment to the unity, territorial integrity, and sovereignty of Iraq. They welcomed the formation of a new government under the authority of the Prime Minister, Mr. Haïdar al-Abadi, and offered him their full support to strengthen the rule of law, implement a policy of inclusiveness, and ensure that all components are fairly represented within the federal institutions and all citizens are treated equally,” said a statement released after the Sept. 15 talks.

CNN VIDEO RE: U.S. ROLE IN IRAQ, SYRIA, GAZA, LIBYA ONGOING WARS

LA cops have killed a person every week

Detroit Police Chief James  “CCW” Craig served with LAPD for 28 years

Federal oversight has not improved either LAPD or Detroit police

Detroit police chief James Craig (l) was appointed by Detroit EM Kevyn Orr (r).

(VOD: Detroit Police Chief James “Get your CCW” Craig spent 28 years with the LAPD. He served on an internal panel that whitewashed the infamous Ramparts scandal. The US DOJ then put the department under its oversight. The LA Youth report shows that this action, including years where AG Eric Holder, appointee of Pres. Barack Obama has been in office, has not made one iota of difference, just as the USDOJ consent decree has not affected police conduct here in Detroit.)

LA YOUTH JUSTICE COALITION: This report documents the deaths of 589 people who lived in Los Angeles County and were killed by law enforcement between January 1, 2000 and August 31, 2014.

Suzie Pena, killed by LAPD in 2005 while James Craig was still on force.

In addition, the report documents all cases – with name, age, race, location and where possible incident details – from January 1, 2007 – August 31, 2014 in order to remember each individual; to investigate who is impacted by race, age, gender and community (location of the shooting); and to learn from their experiences in an attempt to save lives in the future.

Based on these specific case histories, the report looks for trends or commonalities among incidents and raises concerns regarding suspicious and troubling patterns.

Finally, the report makes some comparisons between LA and other jurisdictions, and begins to evaluate media’s coverage of officer-involved homicides.

• Don’t Shoot to Kill Summary September 2014
• LA County Law Enforcement Use of Force 2007-2014
• Final Don’t Shoot to Kill Infographic, 2014 – See these full reports and documents at: http://www.youth4justice.org/new-release-of-data-from-yjc-on-law-enforcement-use-of-force-resulting-in-a-homicide#sthash.yt1uulMK.dpuf

LA Youth for Justice

Sign Kamala Harris’ Change.Org petition at https://www.change.org/p/kamala-harris-appoint-a-special-prosecutor-to-investigate-and-prosecute-law-enforcement-use-of-force

Top: Rick Snyder (R), Mark Schauer (D) running for governor; bottom: Gary Peters (D) Terri Lynn Land (R) running for U.S. Senate

September 19, 2014 

By Tim Moore

tim@detiptv.com   

• www.detiptv.com
• www.uintv.net
• www.chicagoiptv.com

What will Dems for the Black population of Michigan?

In this US Senate and Michigan Governor race, Dems can’t win without the Black vote but, do they deserve it?

If there was ever a time that the Michigan Democratic Party needed the Black vote, it is this race to Replace Snyder as governor and the election for Levin’s seat in the US Senate.

Recent polls showed that in the Governor’s race, Mark Schauer has a slight lead and Terry Land is within striking distance of Gary Peters in the US Senate race.

In the past, the Michigan Democratic Party could always count on the usual cast of loyal, undemanding and subservient African American voters. You know, the ministers, the Black masses, labor leaders and political operatives who are happy for a photo op with these office seekers, as if standing next to them conferred some special status for them.

Michigan courts have stalled application of 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision outlawing juvenile life without parole.

As part of the election season ritual, the Democratic candidates have to make their required pilgrimage to the Black churches in Detroit and other urban areas around the state. These appearances are imperative because this is pretty much all they are required to do.

 They don’t have to make promises to push affirmative action, reduce the life sentences of 12 year old Black boys, help Detroit keep its Water Department or throw some crumbs to Black businesses. They are sticking to the script: show up, try to keep up with the rhythm of the choir and smile a lot.

This election year seems to be a little different. More flanks of the party are saying that this is not enough. The number of articles questioning why Blacks continue to support the Dems for nothing in return has increased.

The Black statewide media group (of which this entity is a part of) is threatening to tell their followers to sit this one out. And, a metro Detroit canvasser with hundreds of workers and a huge following through Michigan said he would do the same.

Donna Brazile, national vice-chair of the Democratic Party.

The latter two groups are irritated because Donna Brazile said this past summer that the Democratic Party spends about 2% of its money with Black media, consultants and canvassers. This is all while they spend millions on an increasingly ineffective cable TV ad campaign.

In the past, the voice for these various Black constituents came from the Mayor of Detroit. However, in their infinite wisdom, Detroiters elected “A Great White Hope” Mike Duggan. Talk about confused. Detroit has more people than the next 9 largest cities in the state. They contribute a huge share of sales, income, lottery, not to mention traffic fees and taxes that the state could not function without. Yet, thanks to a biased media, they have accepted the label of “liability to the state”. Or the good old “White man’s burden” crap.

Tim Moore speaking at City Council meeting in 2013.

So the question is, do African American in Michigan make demands for their vote that was paid for with the blood , sweat and tears of their ancestors or do they continue to accept a pat on the head instead?

 Tim Moore is a well-known Detroit-based media entrepreneur, journalist, and commemtator who coordinates www.uintv.net, a national network of internet TV stations dealing with issues affecting the Black community in particular. Links to UINTV’s websites are at the beginning of the story. His family founded Simon’s Pizza, the last Black-owned business in Cobo Hall before its takeover by a regional authority.

Related story:

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2014/04/11/detroit-based-internet-tv-subscription-service-launches-crowd-funding-campaign/

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day march in Detroit, 2011.

Joseph Weekley shown as star on previous series, Detroit SWAT. He is actually dimunitive in height, appearing to be under five feet tall.

Did Weekley deliberately kill child as grandmother testified earlier?

Weekley defense calls grandmother “liar” because lack of stippling indicated Weekley did not shoot at close range

Medical examiner says direct contact gunshot wounds result in no stippling

Post conviction hearing on Aiyana’s father Charles Jones Sept. 19

By Diane Bukowski

September 18, 2014

Aiyana Stanley-Jones and mother Dominika Stanley-Jones. Her mother is shown collapsing after a mistrial was declared in Joseph Weekley’s first trial.

DETROIT—Opening statements in the re-trial of Detroit police officer Joseph Weekley for killing Aiyana Stanley-Jones, 7 in May, 2010 were eclipsed by a revelation from Wayne County Medical Examiner Dr. Carl Schmidt regarding the gunshot wound to the top of the little girl’s head.

 Weekley fired his MP5 submachine gun a few seconds after entering the home, during a military-style raid, according to both the prosecution and defense. Aiyana died at St. John’s hospital after police took her to the hospital. They prevented her mother, father, and grandmother from seeing or holding the child in her dying moments.

“This was not the typical appearance of an entrance wound,” Schmidt testified on direct exam by Wayne County Assistance Prosecutor Robert Moran. “It was irregularly shaped. When the bullet strikes an intermediate target, it can deform the bullet . . . True stippling is when a gun is fired close enough to the surface and gunshot residue is deposited on the skin.”

Wayne Co Medical Examiner Dr. Carl Schmidt

He said “pseudo-stippling” results from a gun being fired through a hard object, but firing through a soft object such as a blanket or other fabric leaves no stippling.

“There was no evidence of close-range firing,” he told Weekley’s defense attorney Steve Fishman on cross-exam.

“Mertilla Jones [Aiyana’s paternal grandmother, who was sleeping with her on a front room couch], lied in court statements, depositions and newspaper stories,” Fishman had said in his opening statement. “She’s going to testify that Joseph Weekley came in the house, walked up to Aiyana Jones, put his gun to her head and assassinated her. That’s a complete and total lie.”

He based his statement for the most part on the absence of stippling.

But this time, Schmidt countered, “If the muzzle of a gun was in contact with the skin, there wouldn’t be stippling.”

Asst. PA Robert Moran

Moran, whose office charged Weekley only with “involuntary manslaughter” involving gross negligence, said in his opening statement that Weekley was not charged with deliberately killing Aiyana, as if the idea of a police officer deliberately killing someone, especially a child, was absurd.

Weekley previously was sued for an incident where he deliberately shot two pet dogs in front of young children during an earlier SRT raid. After Schmidt’s final statement, Moran rushed the M.E. off the stand

A 2012 report from Lindsey Harle, M.D. in Pathology Outlines on the effects of gunshot wounds says,

“Contact: muzzle is pressed against the skin when fired: ● On head, where the scalp is tightly covering the skull, entry wounds can have several different appearances: ● Round wound with blackened, seared skin margins ● Stellate shaped wound, due to tearing of skin from expanding gas dissecting between the scalp and skull ● Round wound with muzzle imprint, also due to gas expanding under the skin causing it to press back against the gun.”

Dr. Harle goes on to say that stippling only occurs with intermediate range gunshot wounds, not contact or near-contact wounds.During a break, VOD asked Moran why he cut off Schmidt’s testimony about the lack of stippling in a contact gunshot wound, but he refused to discuss the issue.

Aiyana’s father Charles Jones and Chauncey Owens during their trials.

In what some have termed a blatant conflict of interest, Moran also prosecuted Aiyana’s common-law uncle Chauncey Owens and her father Charles Jones for killing Je’Rean Blake, 17, on May 14, 2010. That event led to the raid on the Jones home, as police hurriedly tried to solve the crime “within 48 hours.”

A camera crew from the A&E TV show “The First 48,” was embedded with police, filming their every move prior to and during the raid. Their videotape has been used as evidence by the prosecution, but a second videotape, allegedly taken by police, has somehow disappeared from the field, with no objection from Moran.

The second witness, Aiyana’s young mother Dominika Stanley, broke down weeping on the stand at several points. She testified that she and her four young children were staying for a couple of weeks at Mertilla Jones’ home so they could be with their father.

She said Aiyana’s cousins Markwell Robinson and Vincent Ellis, and great-aunt JoAnn Robinson (who has since passed) were also staying in the home.

Mertilla Jones, grandmother of Aiyana, weeps as she shows the child’s photo before hearing on the cop who killed her October 29, 2012.

“I was in the back bedroom with all four of my kids and Charles,” Stanley testified. “Aiyana walked out of the room and went to sleep with her grandmother, which was not unusual.” She said Charles went to check on his daughter afterwards, and then returned to their bedroom without event.

 She testified she suddenly heard Mertilla screaming and weeping, “They killed Aiyana.”

“I just knew I couldn’t be hearing that,” Stanley, who is slightly built and fragile-looking, said. At that point, she curled up, put her head in her hands on her lap and began weeping for some time.

“Charles went out, and then I heard him just screaming,” she finally continued. “I went to the front room, and I saw police guns and flashlights. Charles was on the floor, Mertilla was on the floor, and I just dropped to the floor by the couch. Charles and Mertilla were hugging each other on their knees and still screaming. Markwell and JoAnn Robinson were on the other couch.”

She continued, “The police were wearing all black. A police officer approached me and I jumped to my knees crying. I didn’t know where my daughter was. I asked where she was, and asked to go to her, and they told me ‘not right now.’ I was there four hours, and when I got ready to leave, they told me she was in surgery. Two police officers took me and Charles to the hospital. They sat me and Charles in this room, and police, doctors and nurses came in. The first one said my baby was alive, but at some point they told my my daughter had died.”

From Dominika Stanley-Jones Facebook page. There has been more outrage expressed at the child’s killing across the U.S. and the world than is evident in Detroit, largely due to local media criminalization of her family. But her case is becoming widely known again in the wake of the murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO and the subsequent community rebellion.

Moran showed a photo of Aiyana, clearly destined to be a beauty when she grew up, with big luminous eyes and dimples. Then he brought out the Hannah Montana blanket under which Aiyana had been sleeping for Stanley to identify, which she did.

 At that point, Stanley asked for a break. She could be heard in the witness room sobbing, “I can’t do this” and “It hurts so bad” repeatedly. Weekley remained in his seat at the defense table, stone-faced and immobile, staring straight ahead.

After a half-hour, Stanley returned for cross-examination.

Fishman asked her if she was staying on Lillibridge on May 14 when Blake was killed, and whether she was on the front porch with other members of the Jones family when Owens’s brother Shrrod Hurt, known as “Chinaman” rode by.

Fishman said in Weekley’s first trial in 2012, which ended in a hung jury, that the group heard Hurt talk about the Blake shooting at a nearby liquor store. He cited testimony given in front of a grand jury by Aiyana’s aunt LaKrystal Sanders, in which Sanders referred to Dominique Simpson, the mother of Charles’ other children, not Dominika Stanley, being present.

Aiyana Jones’ father Charles Jones and Dominique Simpson grieve in front of shattered window as child’s aunt watches. Family members say both mothers helped each other looking out for all of Charles’ children. Photo by Diane Bukowski

Simpson is seen in a photo taken by VOD at right consoling Charles the morning of Aiyana’s death.

Fishman implied in that trial that Stanley was negligent for having her children stay in a home where a murder suspect lived upstairs. Stanley, however, testified today that she knew nothing about the killing at the liquor store. She said she did not talk to Chauncey Owens, who was convicted of first-degree murder for the killing.

Fishman asked her whether Mertilla Jones had told her a couple of days after the child’s death that she hadn’t seen anything, and that she was on the floor during the shooting, evidently aiming to impeach Jones’ expected upcoming testimony.

Stanley said yes.

Lyvonne Cargill, mother of Je’Rean Blake, has been publicizing videos she posted on Facebook claiming Jones told differing stories of the events. She is apparently not satisfied that Aiyana’s father and common-law uncle have been convicted and locked up, but has openly stated in her posts that she wants Jones charged with perjury.

An anonymous informant who said he knows people in the Prosecutor’s office told VOD several months ago that prosecutors did plan to charge family members with perjury. He said his friends in the office are upset about the continuing campaign to vilify a family who has already suffered so much.

These same toys were in front yard of Jones home when police surveilled the place the day of May 15, 2014, according to testimony in Weekley’s first trial. Aiyana’s cousin Mark Robinson, who was restrained by Sgt. LaTanya Brooks, told her there were children in the house.

LaTanya Brooks, a retired Detroit police sergeant from the Homicide squad, testified after Stanley regarding the homicide unit’s investigation into the Blake killing and anonymous calls they had received identifying Chauncey Owens as the killer. She said one caller, identifying herself as an “aunt” in the Jones family, gave his address at 4056 Lillibridge, and others claimed he had an AK 47 and a 45 caliber pistol.

Brooks said no AK47 was found in either flat after the raid, which she helped coordinate. Police during Weekley’s earlier trial all testified that they found no weapons at either address.

In “The First 48” video of Brooks’ preparation for the raid, she repeatedly refers to the 4056 address, not to 4054 Lillibridge, where Mertilla Jones lived. Jones family members have said they never saw a search warrant for their own home.

Aiyana Jones’ family at rally on courthouse steps March 8, 2013. (L to r) – mother Dominika Stanley, grandmother Mertilla Jones, aunt, maternal grandfather Jimmie Stanley, aunt LaKrystal Sanders.

There is also police conversation on the videotapes, which were shown to the jury by the prosecution, that the Jones home was likely a drug house. However, testimony at Owens’ trial indicated that Owens’ half-brother Sh’rrod Hurt lived across the street, and was likely running drugs out of that house. Defense attorney David Cripps’ alternate theory of the Blake killing was that Sh’rrod Hurt, who admitted to being at the scene, confronted and killed Blake.

The trial will resume Monday, Sept. 22, at 9 a.m. in Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway’s courtroom, #801.

On Friday, Sept. 19, a post-conviction hearing regarding Charles Jones is to be held in the courtroom of Wayne County Circuit Judge Richard Skutt. Jones’ appeals attorney contends that there is no cause to have convicted Jones of second-degree murder, since the jury in his trial found him “not guilty” of all gun charges. Prosecutor Moran alleged that Jones gave Owens the gun to kill Blake. Jones’ attorney has also filed for a writ of habeas corpus.

RELATED STORIES:

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2014/08/16/police-and-protesters-clash-again-in-ferguson-east-side-detroit-rebellion-aug-13/ 

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/10/22/families-demand-no-police-state-under-detroit-chief-craig-top-cops/ 

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2012/11/09/every-36-hrs-police-in-u-s-kill-a-black-person-demand-pres-obama-take-action/ Continue reading →

Protesters line up across from Cobo Hall as GM CEO Mary Barra speaks inside Sept. 7, 2014.

By Diane Bukowski

 Sept. 15, 2014

 DETROIT – Workers brandishing crutches marched outside Cobo Hall as General Motors (GM) Executive Mary Barra spoke to the “World Congress on Intelligent Transportation” here Sept. 7.

Jorge Parra speaks to protesters outside 2013 International Auto Show in Cobo Hall.

“Hey, Mary Barra, we stand with Jorge Parra,” they chanted, referring to a disabled GM worker in Colombia who was fired after being injured on the job and is now conducting a hunger strike that may end in his death.

It is GM’s policy not only in Colombia, but in plants in the U.S. as well to “dump workers like trash,” speakers said.

As workers at GM’s Colmotores Plant conducted a hunger strike outside the U.S. embassy with their mouths sewn shut in 2012, Parra told Alternet, “This is for all the workers. “We are now prepared to die because this situation is critical. General Motors has given us no choice.”

GM Colombia workers, Jorge Parra center, on 2012 hunger strike, with mouths sewed shut.

Alternet reported at the time, “More than 200 Colmotores employees have been injured while working at the automotive plant outside Colombia’s capital city of Bogota. Herniated discs, severe carpal tunnel syndrome, lumbar scoliosis and chronic tendonitis are among the list of complaints they claim many have suffered after years spent doing repetitive, physical work making GM’s car parts.Instead of providing medical care and changing the work patterns of injured employees, GM fires them, according to the protesters, who last year set up the Association of Injured Workers and Ex-Workers of Colmotores (Asotrecol) in an attempt to defend their rights.”

 Now, according to protest organizer Frank Hammer, GM has carried the same policies over to its plant in Gujurat, India, which Barra recently visited. Hammer said 269 cases of spinal injuries have been documented there, with GM firing those unable to work. GM laid off 800 of 1600 workers and replaced with temporaries, paying the permanent workers 90 cents an hour while the temporaries make 47 cents an hour “for exactly the same work,” Hammer added.

GM workers at Gujurat Plant in India. Photo: Hindu Business Line.

He noted that newspapers in India are now reporting on the Colombian workers’ hunger strike as well.

The Hindu Business Line reported in January, 2014, “Two days after Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s claim about ‘no labour problem in Gujarat’, a workers’ unrest has surfaced at General Motor’s Halol plant near Vadodara where around 450 contractual workers began staging dharna (sit-in) outside the factory premises since Friday, opposing auto maker’s move of giving fresh appointment letters to only a few selected workers.

Out of the nearly 700 contractual workers at GM’s Halol unit, around 450 workers have stopped work since Friday and are sitting outside the factory premises staging protest, a worker union leader said. GM makes Tavera SUV at its Halol plant.”

UAW member Melvin Thompson speaks about conditions in GM plants here and abroad.

The newspaper reported other ongoing labor unrest at GM plants in India. GM workers also conducted a mass strike in India in 2011.

“One company, one workforce,” shouted Melvin Thompson, a GM worker from UAW Local 140, as he strode back and forth with a bullhorn. He has visited Parra and the Colombian workers multiple times.

“We’re all related, Colombia and India halfway around the world,” Thompson said. “We love each other. Jorge and his comrades are on a hunger strike again, and this time he says he’s not going to stop. I’m not comfortable with that because I know his commitment, but GM around the world is readily able to pay workers a wage that spends the same in their country as it does here.”

The Colombian workers make only $350 a month.

Injured GM worker speaks.

Thompson noted that in 1994, GM had twice as many workers and their cars cost half as much as they do now.

“But after bankruptcy, these companies are ruthless,” Thompson explained. “They are building a plan for all working people to be subservient, a plan that has room only for the elite and the servant class.”

Notably, Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr, who is new engineering a phony bankruptcy for the City of Detroit, was on the team of Jones Day lawyers who engineered GM’s Chrysler bankruptcy.

Simone, a Detroit-area Chrysler worker who sustained injuries to her neck and back on the job, recounted her experience with GM’s policies toward its workforce.

“The company only accepted partial responsibility and forced me back to work,” she said. “When you have to walk in pain, it’s very difficult, nobody really understands. We need GM to take responsibility for serious injuries and serious health and safety issues in its plants everywhere.”

The protesters picked up a chant of, “Unsafe plants, unsafe switches, GM bosses count the riches.”

Protesters carried this sign denouncing GM CEO Mary Barra.

Despite $1.3 billion in costs from an ongoing recall of seven million GM vehicles with faulty ignition switches, GM reported net revenue of $37.4 billion in the first quarter of 2014, compared to $36.9 billion in the first quarter of 2013.

“The performance of our core operations was very strong this quarter, reflecting the positive response of customers to the new vehicles we are bringing to market,” Barra told MLive in April. “Our focus remains on creating the world’s best vehicles with the highest levels of safety, quality and customer service, while aggressively addressing our business opportunities and challenges globally.”

Protester Linda Street disagreed. She reported that she suffered permanent injuries from a car crash due to a faulty ignition switch in her GM car. She said that she once worked three jobs at a time, taking nice trips during her vacations, but now is permanently disabled.

Injured driver Linda Street speaks as Frank Hammer (l) and friend (r) hold signs displaying results of her accident.

“In 2007, I was driving my car onto the freeway and had to slam on the brakes to avoid another car,” Street told VOD. “The ignition cut off completely, I could not restart the car, and the airbags did not deploy.”

She said vertebrae in her spine, her rotator cuff and her knees were severely injured when the airbags did not work. She has to walk briefly with crutches, or utilize a wheelchair.

So far, 19 people killed in such accidents have been awarded $1 million each by GM, and 125 more have submitted applications for compensation for fatal accidents, the Wall Street Journal and other news sources just reported. Over 300 more individuals have applied for compensation for serious injuries, according to reports from GM.

The switches were installed in Chevrolet Cobalts, Saturn Ions, Pontiac G5s, Chevrolet HHRs, Pontiac Solstices and Saturn Skys, from model years 2003-07, and some others. GM has recalled up to 2.6 million cars with the switches. When a car is jostled, the ignition switches can turn off the engine, cutting power to its brakes, steering and airbags.

Protesters demand Zero Tolerance for GM anti-labor practices.

Barra was the headline speaker for  the 2014 World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems, which ran from Sept. 7-11 in Cobo Hall, sponsored by the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) in partnership with ERTICO (Europe’s ITS) and ITS Asia-Pacific. The World Congress comes to North America every third year.

Other speakers included Gov. Rick Snyder, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Michigan Department of Transportation director Kirk T. Steudle.

ITS America reported that “more than 10,000 of the world’s leading transportation policymakers, researchers, high-tech innovators, and business professionals from the United States, Europe and Asia will gather to share the latest intelligent transportation systems (ITS) applications from around the globe.”

Protesters brandished walkers and crutches in solidarity with injured workers.

Jim Barbaresso, 2014 ITS World Congress chairman, told attendees in a letter, “We are on the cusp of a transformation, where technology offers realistic solutions to our global mobility, safety, and environmental challenges. Detroit is at the heart of this transformation. The Motor City is made of both grit and silicon, where industry and technology are coming together to forge the next generation of transportation systems.”

But the Congress caused a great deal of mobility problems for metro Detroit drivers.

Not only did it take over Cobo Hall, it also took over at least three quarters of Belle Isle, including all of its interior, for exhibits including vehicle road demonstrations, during all four days of the Congress.

Protesters outside EM Kevyn Orr’s June 10, 2013 talk at Wayne State. Most Black folks have been driven from the island by the State Police. On Sept. 14, the island was taken over by hundreds of whites in bicycle, car, boat and foot races. Regular auto traffic was consigned to one lane.

Public traffic was relegated to one exterior roadway from the bridge eastbound to the Nature Center on the north end of the island, and back the same way.

Belle Isle is now operated by the State of Michigan, under a $0 “lease” imposed by EM Orr. Apparently the state takeover includes a corporate takeover of the island as well.

This reporter, attempting to ride her bike on the island, heard many people telling guards they wanted to take their children to the Aquarium, the Conservatory, and other attractions which were not accessible. No public notice of the shutdown was given.

ITS America hired a private security agency whose employees, mostly young Black men, had to fend off hostile reactions to the shutdown, without signs or literature to explain what was going on. One worker, who said he was on the verge of leaving due to abuse from motorists, reported that they were not even making minimum wage. Apparently ITS has adopted GM’s policies as well.

Related stories:

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/01/22/workers-youths-including-gm-colombian-hunger-striker-besiege-2013-detroit-auto-show/

http://www.alternet.org/world/we-are-prepared-die-workers-colombia-general-motors-plant-sew-their-mouths-shut-protest

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2014/09/15/gm-ignition-swtiches-death-count/15667463/

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/strike-by-contract-workers-at-gms-halol-plant/article5590509.ece

Melvin Thompson shouts at conference attendees, “One world, one workforce.” His T-shirt refers to the School of the Americas, where the U.S. trains torturers and assassins to terrorize workers globally.

SYNCORA MAKES UNTOLD MILLIONS OFF COPS DEAL, WHICH DETROIT EM KEVYN ORR CALLED ‘VOID AB INITIO, ILLEGAL AND UNENFORCEABLE” IN LAWSUIT STILL PENDING BEFORE BANKRUPTCY JUDGE RHODES.”

$44.8 Million in new debt (e.g. principal PLUS interest)

Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, Grand Circus Garage PLUS REVENUES

Syncora clarifies reports: it’s the whole damn POC deal, not just swaps

(VOD: See interview with former Detroit mayoral candidate Tom Barrow in post below this regarding the role of Syncora, racism and the banks in stealing Black Detroit. After we obtain today’s court filing, VOD will follow up.)

By Steven Church – Sep 15, 2014

Detroit bankruptcy holdout Syncora Guarantee Inc. (SYCRF) will recover about 14 percent on what it’s owed in a deal that includes $44.8 million in new debt, as creditor Financial Guaranty Insurance Co. seeks more time to fight the city’s debt-cutting plan.

Syncora has claimed it’s owed more than $333 million. Under its agreement with Detroit, the bond insurer will get two sets of notes, a lease to operate a tunnel to Canada, land near the tunnel and the option for a long-term lease to operate a parking structure.

The deal is a “very favorable one to the city,” David Heiman of Jones Day, a lawyer for Detroit, told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes at a hearing today after he disclosed the accord and Syncora’s estimated recovery. The parties have “laid down their swords,” he said.

While the settlement with Syncora may help speed Detroit’s record municipal bankruptcy to completion, FGIC remains a significant obstacle, as it faces claims on about $1.1 billion in pension debt it insured. The city planned to almost wipe out that debt, offering holders only about 10 cents on the dollar.

Should investors in the pension debt take losses, FGIC may be forced to pay them. Cutting the pension debt is part of the city’s plan to eliminate more than $7 billion in liabilities while shoring up its retirement system with money from the state and private donors.

Pension Debt

Syncora Guarantee insures more than $300 million of the pension debt and also holds some of the debt directly. The company also insured some tax-backed bonds. Shares of parent Syncora Holdings Ltd. fell as much as 1.8 percent to $2.16 today.

Jan. 31, 2005: Wall Street ratings agencies Fitch (Joe O’Keefe speaking) next to Standard and Poor’s (Steven Murphy to his left) with former Detroit CFO Sean Werdlow (l) and Deputy Mayor Anthony Adams (r), push “void ab initio, illegal and unenforceable” $1.5 BILLION Certificates of Participation deal at Detroit City Council table.

FGIC today asked Rhodes to halt the trial over the city’s plan later this week so the company can adjust its strategy to fight it in light of the Syncora settlement. The judge last week put the proceeding on hold to give Syncora and Detroit time to iron out the details of their agreement.

Rhodes asked FGIC and the city to talk later today to come up with a schedule that would give the New York-based company time to collect information about the Syncora deal and hire an expert to testify against it. The trial, in which the judge is considering the feasibility and fairness of Detroit’s plan, then continued with the testimony of a pension expert.

Many city retirees will fall below poverty level through pension cuts; Syncora claimed it was being treated worse than pensioners.

Detroit, a city of about 700,000, filed an $18 billion municipal bankruptcy last year, saying decades of decline left it unable to provide basic services and still meet financial obligations. Since then, Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr has cut deals with city unions, retired workers and some bondholders to pay them less than they are owed.

Two Series

Under its pact, New York-based Syncora will get two series of notes from the city. The B notes will be worth about $23.5 million, while a series of C notes will be worth $21.3 million and bear a 5 percent interest rate.

The C notes will be tied to parking revenue. The company will also have the option to take over and develop additional parcels for development that will be disclosed in the next few days, lawyers for the city said today at the hearing.

Ryan Bennett of Kirkland & Ellis, an attorney for Syncora, told the judge his client planned to withdraw its objections to the city’s debt-reduction plan.

“This is a big day for Syncora and a big day for the city of Detroit,” Bennett told Rhodes.

DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS: Banks already stole Detroit’s art under bankruptcy plan. City Council voted to turn it over into a so-called “trust.”

Detroit’s bankruptcy plan hinges on a bargain with philanthropic foundations and the state government, who agreed to contribute more than $800 million to the city’s public pension system (VOD: while the city said it would not contribute to the system for at least 10 more years.) In exchange, Detroit pledged not to use its art collection to pay debts.

FGIC has said the city could use the collection to boost payments to creditors whose claims the insurer may otherwise be forced to cover.

The case is In re City of Detroit, 13-bk-53846, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Michigan (Detroit).

Syncora Holdings Issues Statement Correcting Reports of Detroit Settlement

NEW YORK, Sept. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Syncora Holdings Ltd. (“Syncora”) today issued a statement correcting certain reports in the media concerning the City of Detroit (the “City”) bankruptcy and the status of settlement discussions with, and recoveries to be received by, its wholly owned New York financial guarantee insurance subsidiaries, Syncora Guarantee Inc. and Syncora Capital Assurance Inc. (the “Companies”).

The Companies and the City have reached tentative settlements of the Companies’ claims in the Detroit bankruptcy proceedings, subject to certain contingencies. Resolution involves settlement of the Companies’ Class 9 claims in connection with the Pension Obligation Certificates of Participation (valued at approximately 13 cents on the dollar) and a settlement of swaps-related and other litigation.

City retirees certainly won’t be staying here at the Reefs in Bermuda, where Syncora is headquartered.

Separately, Pike Pointe Holdings LLC (“Pike Pointe”), a subsidiary of Syncora Guarantee Inc., is advancing development agreements with the City of Detroit and the City of Windsor with respect to the Detroit Windsor Tunnel and related or adjacent properties. Pike Pointe is a holding company for investment in and operation of infrastructure assets (including toll assets and parking, among others) through its American Roads and Detroit Windsor Tunnel LLC subsidiaries (both based in Detroit), which include a lease to operate the U.S. portion of the Detroit Windsor Tunnel. Under the development agreements, Pike Pointe will solidify its long-term business in Detroit by agreeing to invest in and develop assets in the City of Detroit, pending related due diligence.

About Syncora Holdings Ltd.

Syncora Holdings Ltd. (OTC: SYCRF) is a Bermuda-domiciled holding company. Each of Syncora Guarantee Inc., Syncora Capital Assurance Inc. and Pike Pointe Holdings LLC are wholly owned subsidiaries of Syncora Holdings Ltd. For more information, please visit www.syncora.com.

Investor and Media Contact: Michael Corbally +1 212-478-3400 michael.corbally@scafg.com