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

Maryanne Godboldo speaks at rally July 7, 2011 during the long campaign to free herself and her daughter Ariana Godboldo-Hakim.

Heroic mother stood off military police assault in 2011 to prevent seizure of her child, administration of dangerous drugs

Received global acclaim, award from Citizens Commission on Human Rights International

By Diane Bukowski 

May 30, 2013 

(l to r) Atty. Allison Folmar, Maryanne Godboldo, Mubarak Hakim, Penny Godboldo, and their supporters celebrate Judge Ronald Giles’ dismissal of criminal charges against Maryanne Aug. 29, 2012.

DETROIT – A Michigan appeals court has re-instated felony charges against Maryanne Godboldo, a mother who became a world-renowned hero for resisting a Detroit police military team which broke into her home without a judge’s order March 24, 2011, to seize her 13-year-old daughter Ariana Godboldo-Hakim. 

The court directed the city’s 36^th District Court Judge Ronald Giles, who dismissed the earlier charges, to rule on evidence he suppressed as “the fruit of a poisonous tree.” Godboldo’s attorney Allison Folmar said a date for a hearing has not yet been set. 

Attorney Allison Folmar speaks to media in July, 2012.

“It is ironic that these charges are being re-instated at the same time that the trial of the officer who killed seven-year-old Aiyana Jones in 2010 is beginning,” Folmar said. “If the police had gotten in, there is no question in my mind that today Maryanne and Ariana would both be six feet under. The police were not coming to get anything cleared up, they were coming with guns drawn, and somebody was about to die.” 

After an 11-hour stand-off and Godboldo’s eventual surrender, the police took custody of Ariana at the request of state Child Protective Services worker Mia Wenk. Wenk testified during a custody hearing that she wanted to force Godboldo to administer the dangerous anti-psychotic drug Risperdal to her child, despite a medical order which gave Godboldo the right to take Ariana off the drug at any time.

Police tanks roll down Linwood to seize Maryanne Godboldo’s child Ariana on March 24, 2011.

During the stand-off, police tanks rolled down Linwood, reminiscent of Detroit’s 1967 rebellion, and officers with assault weapons and helicopters surrounded Godboldo’s modest west-side home, where she cared for her mother and her daughter. 

The case exposed the State of Michigan Child Protective Services system for seizing children in great numbers without judicial review, particularly in poor communities and those of color.  It brought to light the rampant use of anti-psychotic drugs on children everywhere, frequently at the urging of medical institutions funded by the pharmaceutical industry. 

Some of Maryanne Godboldo’s family members at Hartford Memorial Church rally shortly after her release from jail in 2011. Her sister Penny is third from left.

Godboldo said, “We are remaining strong in prayer, and Ariana is coming along under the circumstances. But it has been hard, because [my sister] Penny’s husband Steve died in February, and then another brother-in-law died. We lost my oldest sister last year, and now Penny is caring for our mother.” 

The Godboldo family is known thoughout the city. Penny Godboldo, who teaches dance at Hartford Memorial Baptist Church, has been a mainstay in the Justice4Maryanne Committee. 

After the police assault, the family, including the child’s father Mubarak Hakim, fought a battle on two fronts, one for for Maryanne’s freedom, and for Ariana’s release from a juvenile psychiatric facility, where she was held for six weeks and medicated with four different drugs. The hospital also forcibly removed the child’s prosthetic leg, which she has worn since she was able to walk, due to a birth-related amputation, and allegedly subjected her to other abuse. 

36th District Court Judge Ronald Giles dismissed all charges against Maryanne Godboldo Aug. 29, 2012. He was later upheld by Wayne Co. Circuit Court Judge Gregory Bill.

On the second front, they successfully conducted a lengthy campaign to end family court supervision of Ariana, facing down predominantly white social workers including Mia Wenk, prosecutors, and judges. 

On Aug. 29, 2011, the city’s 36th District Court Judge Ronald Giles emphatically dismissed the criminal charges against Godboldo, after extensive preliminary exam proceedings. The charges consisted of discharging a weapon in a building, felonious assault, assaulting or obstructing a police officer, and possession of a firearm. 

“We are talking about a person’s constitutional rights including the right to liberty, subjecting them to an order that is grossly inadequate and incorrect,” Judge Giles said. “It is ridiculous to go in to remove in this court’s opinion somebody’s children based on THIS order. It does not even express any situation where we have exigent circumstances where it says the child is at risk. There was no imminent threat of death or severe physical harm. Therefore I am going to quash this order and everything thereafter is null and void. It is the fruit of the poisonous tree.” 

Wayne Co. Prosecutor Kym Worthy.

Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Gregory Bill upheld the dismissal, reiterating Judge Giles’ concerns.

Despite those rulings, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, herself the mother of a daughter Ariana’s age, pursued an appeal, which was filed far out of the time limits but granted regardless. It was heard by a panel composed of Judges William C. Whitbeck, Donald Owens, and Karen Fort-Hood on July 10, 2012. 

“Both the United States and Michigan constitutions ‘guarantee the right of persons to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures,’” the appeals court held May 29, 2013. “To comply with this requirement, police officers must have a warrant to conduct a search, or must be able to establish that their conduct was ‘within one of the narrow, specific exceptions to the warrant requirement.’ If officers violate the Fourth Amendment while obtaining evidence, the evidence is not admissible as substantive evidence in a criminal proceeding. 

Police with assault weapons prepare to storm Godboldo home March 24, 2011.

“However, the trial court need not suppress evidence of crimes that the defendant commits when reacting to an illegal search or seizure: [T]he exclusionary rule does not act to bar the introduction of evidence of independent crimes directed at police officers as a reaction to an illegal arrest or search. If a defendant commits an independent crime in the officers’ presence—even during an otherwise unlawful search or seizure—the officers may lawfully arrest the defendant, and any evidence seized pursuant to that arrest is admissible.”  (Click on Godboldo COA decision 1 and Godboldo COA decision for full text.)

Detroit cop Kevin Simpson, one of three who broke down her side door in March, 2011, at belated evidentiary search for bullet hole Aug. 20, 2011.

The prosecution contended that Godboldo fired a warning shot while inside her house after three officers broke her side door down and ascended a stairwell to break down a second door, which she had barricaded with a refrigerator.  Police obtained a search warrant after the fact, and found a gun and bullets in the home. 

During the extensive preliminary exam, officers who broke into the home admitted that seizing children at the request of Child Protective Services was not in their scope of duties, and that the only evidence of a shot being fired was plaster dust on one officer’s shoulder, and a loud noise. 

Technicians did not conduct a search of the home to find a bullet hole and other evidence until months later. The prosecution did not even attempt to enter any results of that search into evidence. 

The Michigan Supreme Court upheld Angel Moreno, Jr.’s right to physically resist cops breaking into his home without a warrant.

Since the exam, the Michigan Supreme Court retroactively upheld the “common-law” right to resist unlawful arrests, warrantless home invasions, and other unlawful conduct by the police, in a landmark 5-2 ruling on Aug. 29, 2012, People v. Moreno. They threw out an earlier appeals court decision, People v. Ventura, which held that individuals could NOT resist illegal police conduct. 

Several of the charges Godboldo faced involved the statute in question, MCL 750.81d. 

“The whole purpose of the preliminary exam is to weed out bad charges,” Attorney Folmar said. “Maryanne couldn’t be guilty of resisting and obstructing the police because they have to lawfully come in the name of the law. Name one law they came in the name of. Once that’s weeded out, regarding the other charges, not one person testified that Maryanne herself fired a gun, including Judge Deborah Thomas, who the appeals court cites.” 

Folmar said an appeals court is supposed to give preferential weight to the opinion of the judge who actually heard the testimony in the case. She said she believes Judge Giles “will look at the facts and the law and abide by the law.” 

The Justice 4 Maryanne committee has a website at http://www.justice4maryanne . They say more information on events to defend Maryanne Godboldo against this latest attack will be forthcoming.

Video: CCHR Human Rights Awardee Maryanne Godboldo

Maryanne Godboldo receiving a Human Rights Award from actors Danny Masterson and Ethan Suplee at the CCHR International annual human rights awards banquet in Los Angeles. Former Human Rights awardees include members of Congress, state legislators, psychologists, medical doctors, attorneys, whistleblowers, civil and human rights activists. 

RELATED ARTICLES FROM VOD:

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2012/07/09/state-county-pursue-prosecution-of-maryanne-godboldo-and-her-child/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2012/05/18/michigan-supreme-court-upholds-right-to-resist-police-misconduct/ Continue reading →

Aiyana Jones’ mother Dominika Jones (second from left,) with her uncle Dazmond Ellis (l), cousin Markewell Robinson, and aunt La’Kia Sanders gather outside family home May 29, 2013, the evening the trial against her killer, Officer Joseph Weekley, began.

Only one African-American on jury

Aiyana’s father jailed since Oct. 2011 

May 30, 2013 

Aiyana Jones/photo from her mother’s Facebook page.

DETROIT – More than three years after Detroit police officer Joseph Weekley shot seven-year-old Aiyana Jones to death as she lay sleeping, his trial on charges of manslaughter and reckless discharge of a firearm has begun, in front of a Wayne County Circuit Court jury with only one Black member. 

“I am happy and relieved that the trial is finally starting,” Aiyana’s mother Dominika Jones said. “But I want Charles [Aiyana’s father] home.” 

Weekley, a resident of the well-t0-do suburb of Grosse Pointe,  has been free on personal bond since killing the little girl during a horrific military-style midnight raid on the family’s home in a poor east-side Detroit neighborhood, while cameras from A & E’s “First 48” rolled, on May 16, 2010. 

The morning of Aiyana’s death, Charles Jones is comforted by his aunt JoAnn Robinson, now deceased, and her son Mark Robinson. Mark warned the raid team there were children in the house before they entered; toys were strewn on the front yard. Behind Mark’s head is window shattered by stun grenade; couch where Aiyana died is next to Charles.

But Charles Jones has been jailed on charges of first-degree murder since October, 2011. The charges, based primarily on a “jail-house snitch” third-party statement, were brought one and a half years after the killing of Je’Rean Blake, 17, on May 14, 2010. 

“It’s just so wrong that it took so long,” Mertilla Jones, Aiyana’s grandmother, who was sleeping with Aiyana when Weekley shot her, said. “My family is not going to be whole until we are all re-united and can grieve for Aiyana together. I raised eight children, two daughters and six sons, and they never gave me a whole lot of trouble. When my sons got older, many became fathers and are taking care of their children.” 

Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Robert Moran is handling the case against Weekley as well as the case against Charles Jones. He did not challenge the composition of the 13 member jury, which was seated May 30, although forty-two percent of Wayne County’s population is African-American. 

APA Robert Moran.

P.O. Joseph Weekley

The remaining 12 jurors are white. One lives across the street from Weekley in well-to-do suburban Grosse Pointe. Many of the jurors said they have family or friends on police forces in Detroit and elsewhere.

During the May 30 hearing, Moran read off a list of witnesses, including 25 Detroit police officers and seven state troopers.

He named only seven civilian witnesses, including six family members, one of whom, Aiyana’s great-aunt Joann Robinson, has been deceased. There were, however, numerous other family members on the premises during the raid, as well as neighbors who saw it. He did not include as a witness Police Officer Kata-Ante Taylor, who ran Aiyana out of the house before her family members could hold her. Taylor killed 18-year-old Artrell Dickerson in 2008, shooting him in the back as he lay on the ground according to eyewitnesses. The city paid $1.5 million to settle the family’s lawsuit in the case.

Joseph Weekley’s attorney Steve Fishman said he is “proud” to represent him.

“Many witnesses are joint witnesses,” defense attorney Steve Fishman said. “They will likely be winnowed down.” He and Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway several times expressed admiration for Moran’s handling of jury selection. 

The jury voir dire was conducted by all three, with the attorneys largely using the opportunity to lay out their theory of the case. Moran stressed that Weekley is not charged with a deliberate act. 

“He did not wake up in the morning and decide to go out and kill a seven-year-old child,” Moran said. 

However, Denessa Westbrook and her family won a federal court settlement last year against Weekley and other members of the same Special Response Team that raided the Jones home, related to a similar raid in 2007. 

Detroit SWAT team officers in 2006 photo op.

“Defendants entered the home and did not knock or announce their presence,” that suit alleged. “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 the 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.” 

Mertilla Jones earlier told VOD that police pointed guns at Charles Jones’ other children when they arrested him in 2011.

Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway.

Fishman asked jury members whether they believed that Officer Weekley should be held accountable for the circumstances of the raid, which he said was planned by Weekley’s superiors, who have not been charged. 

Throughout Weekley’s numerous  pre-trial proceedings, Moran, Fishman and Judge Gray Hathaway have appeared to collaborate. 

With the assent of both attorneys, Hathaway repeatedly postponed a ruling on a defense motion to dismiss the case until what she termed the “companion case” involving Jones was tried.  Charles Jones is still awaiting a ruling from the Michigan Supreme Court on whether the third-party “jail-house snitch” statement can be used against him at trial. 

Hathaway finally ruled against the motion to dismiss on March 8 and set the jury trial date. 

Wayne Co. Circuit Court Chief Judge Timothy Kenny.

Likewise, all three concurred in eliminating large parts of the physical evidence from the case. 

On Oct. 29, the two attorneys told Judge Hathaway that transcripts of testimony by police officers, detectives and two family members would be the chief records presented at the trial. They agreed everything from the grand jury hearing held by Chief Judge Timothy Kenny should remain sealed. 

“We didn’t provide photos, evidence technician reports and sketches, firearms reports and the autopsy report [to Judge Hathaway] because we felt they were not important to the theory of gross negligence,” Moran told the judge then. 

Expert depiction of Aiyana’s killing based on second autopsy report.

During a press conference shortly after Aiyana’s death, Attorney Fieger said a second autopsy showed that she was shot through the top of the head, as she lay sleeping, from the direction of the doorway, not in the throat as the Wayne County Medical Examiner originally contended. The Medical Examiner later concurred with the second autopsy findings. 

Detroit police contended after the shooting that it was accidental, that Weekley had already entered the room and was shoved by Mertilla Jones, causing his weapon to discharge. 

Demo of flash-bang grenade.

Hathaway told the jury that they will be taken to view a demonstration of the use of the “flash-bang” grenade in controlled surroundings during the trial. Fishman has contended that the grenade further disoriented Weekley as he entered the home. Moran assented to the demonstration. 

Opening statements and testimony in the trial, which is expected to last two to three weeks,  will begin Monday, June 3 at 9:30 a.m. Supporters of Aiyana Jones and her family, including several who picketed outside the Frank Murphy Hall in downtown Detroit March 29, are asking people to pack the courtroom. 

Protesters demand justice for Aiyana and her father Charles Jones during lunch break at trial May 29, 2013.

 VOD: WHERE IS DETROITERS’ OUTRAGE TODAY, THREE YEARS AFTER WE DID NOT RISE UP AGAINST THE POLICE SLAUGHTER OF A 7-YEAR-OLD CHILD? 

The misleaders and naysayers in Detroit, being used by the police and courts, have deliberately whipped up hostility against Aiyana Jones’ family on radio talk shows and elsewhere, although support for the family remains world-wide. The video below, by Kenny Snodgrass, recalls the outrage present several days after Aiyana’s death.  At the beginning, Mertilla Jones is seen weeply loudly before becoming overcome and returning to the house. Charles and Dominika Jones are also seen embracing. Many of Aiyana’s large extended family participated in the candlelight vigil, but a woman who was not a relative said others were there and considered themselves part of the family as well. Imam Dawud Walid says he will ask U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate the case. No federal investigation ever happened.

 THE FOLLOWING VIDEO IS OF BOB MARLEY’S PERFORMANCE OF “WAKE UP AND LIVE.” He calls out “RISE YE MIGHTY PEOPLE!” and admonishes,  “Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy!” Our entire city is being taken from us now by the wealthy white power structure through their divide and conquer strategy.

Support the struggle for justice for Aiyana and Charles Jones and their family members. Pack the courtroom during the trial against killer cop Joseph Weekley!

From the Mayoral Campaign of Krystal A. Crittendon

March 28, 2013

While some candidates were up in Mackinac, rubbing elbows with the people who designed the current attack on Detroit residents’ fundamental right to vote, candidate for Mayor of Detroit, Krystal Crittendon is here in the D, reminding Detroit residents of the importance of the August 6^th primary election.

In the video below, Atty. Crittendon explains why she feels running for mayor is important despite the Emergency Manager takeover by the state, which enables EM Kevyn Orr to overrule all branches of city government.

Mayoral candidate Tom Barrow and his supporters at earlier appeals court hearing on his challenge to the 2009 mayoral election which put Dave Bing (and eventually EM Keyvn Orr) in office.

 Mayoral Candidate Wages Court Battle Seeking a “Legal, Not Political, Decision”

May 30, 2013

Contact: Tom Barrow, 9-BARROW (922-7769), Opt 4

http://www.BarrowforMayor.com

DETROIT (May 30) — Mayoral candidate Tom Barrow, in just minutes, will take the next step in his fight to remove opponent Mike Duggan from the August 6th primary election ballot by going directly to the Wayne County Circuit Court. Barrow filed suit this morning seeking a Mandamus order to force the Detroit Elections Commission to remove Mike Duggan’s name from the primary ballot.

“Last week all we got was a ‘political’ decision,” said Barrow, 64. “No one is above the law, so this week we are seeking a ‘legal’ decision based on a plain reading of our city’s Charter, the case law and legal precedents, not political trickery.”

Mayoral candidate Mike Duggan earlier celebrating his turnover of the DMC to the for-profit Vanguard Health System, 70 percent owned by a Wall Street hedge fund. Duggan bailed out as CEO of the remaining governance agency recently, before hundreds of lay-offs of DMC workers were announced. He also recently left the board of Gov. Rick Snyder’s Educational Achievement (Apartheid) Authority.

Barrow has asked for an emergency hearing on the residency issue and a declarative judgment to settle the plain language interpretation of the Detroit’s charter meaning of the words “at the time of filing” which means the moment an office seeker files documents to become a candidate (Barrow’s plain reading) or does it mean “by a filing deadline date which could be weeks later [May 14]”, which is the position of the Duggan campaign.

Barrow, joined by Citizens United Against Corrupt Government and led by community activist Robert Davis is challenging the 2-1 vote by the Detroit Election Commission. The city’s election board is comprised of the Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey, City Council President Charles Pugh and the Interim Corporation Counsel Edward Keelean. Pugh was the only dissenting vote citing the “plain language of the City Charter”.

Detroit’s Corporation Counsel Edward Keelean, who took the place of Krystal Crittendon after she was fired due to her stance against Miller Canfield and other legal contracts.

Unlike the political opinion delivered by the Corporation Counsel and presented at the Detroit Election Commission last Thursday, containing no citations to Michigan law or legal precedents, Barrow’s court filing presents a detailed legal argument complete with multiple supporting Michigan case law and statutes.

Barrow’s original complaint, filed on May 14, 2013, cited Duggan’s deficiency as a candidate when he failed to fulfill the requirement that he be a registered voter in the city of Detroit for one full year “at the time of filing.” Duggan registered to vote on April 16, 2012 after moving from his home in Livonia, but filed his nominating petitions on April 2, 2013, some 14-days before he was eligible (his one year fell on April 16, 2013).

“This is wrong that there is no objective administrative appeal process which could have avoided any candidate having to spend their own dollars to go to court,” stated Barrow, an accountant ,”but the political elite counts on these barriers and fake polling to maintain their status quo power and influence, but I am committed to defeat that set-up and create a new paradigm for our city, which is what we all believed the new City Charter would do in plain English, not legalese, double-speak and coded political terms. Duggan is not above the law and we’ll ask the judge.”

According to the Third Judicial Circuit Court website, oral arguments on Barrow’s lawsuit are to be heard Tues. June 11 at 2 p.m. in front of Judge Lita Popke.

Fisherman Park, Benton Harbor, owned by the city.

By the Rev. Edward Pinkney 0f  BANCO (The Black Autonomous Community Network Organzation)

banco9342@sbcglobal.net 

May 29, 2013

Rev. Edward Pinkney speaks to rally against EM and Whirlpool takeover of Benton Harbor, during protest against the PGA tournament May 26, 2012.

Every American ought to have the right to vote and their vote should mean something. Everyone ought to have the right to clean air and clean water, to integrity and transparency in a democracy, but the citizens of Benton Harbor, Michigan, do not have a democracy. Public land is about to be stolen by corporate power.

Eminent domain—the power to take private property—is often used by the government or by a corporation that works hand and hand with the government to steal property from the citizens. In Benton Harbor, the Whirlpool Corporation, through the city’s new Emergency Financial Manager, Tony Saunders, (who represents Whirlpool, not the citizens) has come up with a scheme. It is to set up a Conservancy Board or Committee that will steal land without the knowledge of the citizens.

Riverview Park, Benton Harbor

They plan to privatize all of Benton Harbor’s 16 parks and outsource all remaining land that Whirlpool does not control. The main parks they want have waterway access. Fisherman Park has a roadway straight to Lake Michigan. Hall Park lies along Ox Creek. Riverview Park is on the corridor along the St. Joseph River. This is simply a land grab. Whirlpool can’t buy the parks outright, so they are setting things up where everything goes through a board that they control. The Conservancy board would be the new owners of the parks. The Conservancy board doesn’t have to go through the City Commissioners. This is an underhanded way to get the rest of the land. The citizen’s will not have a say.

Youth march by Whirlpool office during May 26, 2012 protest against PGA.

There are many questions that need to be answered: How many parks are recognized in the city of Benton Harbor? Where are the parcels located? What parks would be under the jurisdiction of the Conservancy? Will Jean Klock Park, beach and Fishman’s Park be included? How many acres of land do the parks equal? Will all of the parks’ land be under a lease and for how long? The Board must be a 501C3 but it is not. Why? The City Charter requires 2/3 or six votes to sell, lease or vacate roads or alleys. When will this process be introduced or implemented? Will there be a deed transfer? If so who will sign for the land to be released?

Mr. Tony Saunders: Are the city parks considered assets? Is there a budget for the Conservancy? Are their jobs associated with this initiative? If so, how many? Will the specifications go through the Planning Commission or the Planning Economic Development Committee? How will the park Conservancy board, which is made up of all Whirlpool supporters and Benton Harbor haters, comply with the charter, as it relates to the Benton Harbor elected officials and the citizens?

It is exceedingly important that this initiative be vetted and filtered through the Public Safety and Parks and Recreation Committee so that the people will have a say. Right now the people do not have a say. It is time for the people to take a stand. Get involved. Save your community from complete corporate takeover.

Listen to Rev. Pinkney every Sunday at 5pm

on www.blogtalkradio.com/rev-pinkney ‎ 

Call in at 347-994-3644

The Automotive Components Holdings plant in Saline, formerly Visteon, was Washtenaw County’s largest employer.

Workers say they helped Ford survive, but continue to be exploited

By Pat Meyer

http://www.disputethis.org/

Pat Meyer, retired postal worker and union representative, is now working to help UAW members.

Recently AXS-TV broadcasted a show dealing with American workers who have been displaced by foreign workers in this country. The issue we are dealing with is the “temporary” workers of the ACH (Automotive Component Holdings) Corporation who helped Ford Motor Company to make such a miraculous recovery at the expense of their pay and benefits. Unlike the workers in their piece being from foreign countries, it was the corporation which was brought in from another country to lower wages and benefits. The Ford Motor Company seems to have benefitted greatly by “leasing the business” to another company while maintaining control of property, equipment, process, and workers.

These so called “temp” workers have in fact been working in Ford facilities for seven years, many putting in 10 and 12 hour days, six and seven days a week. Of course being a temporary qualifies them to no insurance, half price pay, and no written contract covering them until the September 2011 contract. They have been dues-paying union members the entire time with no representation or contract of their own. Even the barest essential of bereavement pay has been refused to them under the name of helping Ford survive. All along these temporaries have been promised to have preferential hiring rights to Ford, after the new buyer gives consent to releasing them. It seems these temporary employees had been “sold” along with the business to guarantee the new owner could take over with a skilled workforce that would insure the new company could maintain the productivity and quality of Ford standards.

ROBERT CHASE, THE ANN ARBOR NEWS
Workers at the Milan Automotive Components Holdings LLC plant in Milan take “mules” off the line where bumper covers are made. The mules hold the covers in place as they go through painting and sealing. Buyouts are expected to trim even more auto manufacturing jobs in Washtenaw County in 2007.

Debi Muncy, a Ford worker, has been proud to pay union dues for almost 30 years. She has given of her family time and financial donations to help support many activities that were and still are of importance to raising standards for working people. She feels that the temporary workers have been treated like second class union workers. She has not paid union dues to support this kind of treatment. Debi is ashamed to see that both Ford corporate execs and union “exec” leadership have prospered in pay rates and bonuses while standing on the back of these workers. At some point the union has stopped representing workers and become the employment agents for this corporation. Any objections to this is met with intimidation by both union and company officials.

As we approach the holidays that say how great America is I’m saddened to know how devalued the American workers have become. Debi states, “I love this country and I loved my union, but until it lives up to its guiding words I feel that all workers have been sold out.”

Click on http://www.disputethis.org/debi-muncy-letter-regarding-saline-plant.html

American workers’ lives are better for having had good paying jobs and benefits, but we must recognize that our workers have worked hard to achieve these goals. Do companies stay great because of their plan of operation alone, or do they become great because of the operation plan along with the hard working people who get up every day and come to work and do a good job? How much profit can a corporation make when it decides it doesn’t need to pay their own workers enough to be able to afford the product they make?

Rob Starks, left, and Dave Breitenwischer discuss the situation of the ACH plant in Saline remaining open after they transferred to other plants.

We feel our country needs to know at what price some of our corporations have prospered. We at the LAWS, INC. have been attempting to find some kind of justice for these workers and have been reminded that many things are wrong even though they are not considered illegal. We feel that it certainly should be illegal to profit from workers’ loss.

I would encourage you to contact viewer@axs.tv immediately and let Dan Rather and his associates know what is happening to you and your fellow workers. If you have any questions or comments feel free to contact me at kimshee97@att.net or at 269-998-4609.

MILAN WORKERS of A C H

This is written to clearly show how the Milan membership was set aside from any offers presented to other locations. International UAW officials attended meetings here to explain to the membership what their choices would be upon the sale of the Milan location. They were told by rep Jody Dunn that there was no offer of employment to Ford locations. If they wanted to continue to be employed they could choose to sign up with the INERGY AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS. If this was not acceptable, they could be terminated. No offer of work at other ACH locations, still operating at this time. It was not until other ACH plants reached sale agreements that these workers realized that they had been excluded from offers made to other locations. Pay and benefits were affected for these dues-paying members of the UAW.

THE STORY OF ACH WORKERS Continue reading →

Mass grave of Koreans slaughtered in 1945 by U.S.-imposed government.

 By Jay Janson 

May 27, 2013, Memorial Day 

Jay Janson

This veteran is waiting for the year in which the Veterans For Peace, in its Memorial Day Press Release, states that Veterans mourn first, the lives America took in poor countries, both the civilian men, women and children, and the patriots that fought our illegal and criminal invasions since 1945. 

Only then should they come bitterly mourning GIs who were duped by our elected officials and the CIA and Pentago- fed, corporate-controlled war-promoting media cartel fooling them with lies, misinformation, disinformation and psy-op techniques that deceived them into proudly following homicidal criminal orders, for which they obviously liable for prosecution. 

Orders given, as Martin Luther King Jr. cried out, “for atrocity wars and covert homicide meant to maintain unjust predatory investments overseas.”[see Beyond Vietnam – a Time to Break Silence sermon] 

U.S. soliders in Korean War 1950.

Your writer’s four buddies from basic training, whose corpses are somewhere in North Korea, would have wanted this kind of a press release. They were normal guys, still kids really. We thought going into the army was just something everyone had to do. They would have been pissed off to see cruelly ignorant Americans praising them on Memorial Day for their sacrifice. Jesus knows they did not want to die for any reason, let alone while killing others for lies. They loved waking up in the morning, loved children, all children, cute Korean children, especially. They were asking themselves, why are we killing Koreans in their own country? 

David Patraeus, formally CIA Director and 37-year military veteran who commanded U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

If these four young men knew what I know now, whew! If they could rise up, they would surely be going after those high ranking military with lots of colorful ribbons on their smart uniforms, surrounded by flags and glorifying the US war in Korea and in all the dozens of countries since. 

Damn! In 1945, the US Army landed in a Korea that America had recognized as Japanese territory since 1905 and during a forty year brutal occupation, in return for Japan’s acceptance of the US claim to own the Philippines and other islands in Asian waters. [see Diplomacy That Will Live in Infamy, New York Times, James Bradley, 12/5/2009. See also the Taft-Katsura Agreement.] 

State Department officials quickly shut down the democratic all-Korea government the Japanese commanding general had allowed Koreans to form, once Japan was defeated. Knowing this Korean government would not be pro-US., they set up in its place, a US Army military government; cut the nation in two and installed a brutal Korean from Washington as President. His special services and secret police would account for massacres totaling up to nearly 200,000 men, women and their children, in the years before the army of North Korea invaded and united the peninsula in five short weeks as the army of the Southern dictator defected or went home. 

UNCOVERING THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF THE KOREAN WAR: THE WORK OF SOUTH KOREA’S TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION from Eric Sirotkin’s Ubuntuworks on Vimeo.

These massacres of communists, socialists, unionists and people that did not accept the US partition of their country kept secret by American media have now been fully documented by a Truth and Reconciliation Commission set up by the South Korean Congress. [Korean Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Wikipedia] The US has recently officially apologized for its own massacres of civilians in the South. 

The amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) fires a Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) during a live-fire exercise, Jan. 26, 2013. Kearsarge is conducting amphibious squadron/Marine expeditionary unit integration in preparation for a scheduled deployment this spring. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Tamara Vaughn/Released)

North Korea today is the most militarized nation on the planet because it was leveled twice by merciless bombing, threatened with atom bombs, and for sixty-three years has suffered US-arranged international sanctions meant to cripple it, and a continual campaign of slanderous attack in US media and never ending threats from Washington.

Twice a year, great war game exercises go on so near its coast that the booms of US naval ships’ cannon and missiles are clearly heard in its capital city. Last month saw the largest naval live-fire exercise in history, reportedly with North Korean flags painted on targets. What else could be the explanation of its leader threatening to hit the US with the few nuclear weapons it has, knowing the America that menaces it has 20,000, and the most powerful armed force in the history of the world. 

But we have seen “the crazy North Korean leader story” on prime time for a month. Last year right after US-South Korean war games, a South Korea warship was blown in two, probably by a US mine, but what is believed all over the Western media-dominated world is that was an old North Korean torpedo. Who knows or cares that the Chinese, the Russian Navy and a Japanese investigation found the accusation not credible, that the US and its UN Secretary General stooge refused to consider a North Korea request for a UN investigation of what it was accused of. [see N. Korean Torpedo Accusation Fizzles: Strong Probability of US Mine Strike Investigated, Counter Currents 6/11/2010] No, the torpedo story was featured for weeks to justify tighter that ever sanctions and stronger threats than before, and Libya was a frightening example of what may be awaiting it. 

The U.S.-ordered assassination of Col. Muammar Gadhafi, leader of Libya and the Organization of African Unity.

If the media features for nine months, weaponized pick-up trucks run by tough looking hombres as peaceful demonstrators against the government of oil wealthy Libya, a nation with a living standard higher than nine European countries, it becomes “truth.” The liberator of what was the poorest country in Africa, and leader of African Unity against continuing European exploitation, winds up with a blade up his backside, after being cornered by British and French warplanes. No matter the president of Italy told media, “Gadhafi is loved by his people.” 

Not until US world hegemony is overthrown, will ordinary people come to know that almost one million Libyans, out of a total country population of six, were desperately demonstrating for their government and leader outside Tripoli as British and French high tech war planes were finishing off their nation’s army. [http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=1dc_1314116137 or google for many articles and videos] 

In this March 19, 2011 file photo, supporters of besieged Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi cheer as they rally in support of him in the city of Bamako, Mali. While Western powers herald the death of Gadhafi, killed Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011, many Africans are mourning a man who poured billions of dollars of foreign investment into desperately poor countries. Tens of thousands are now gathering at mosques built with his money and are remembering him as an anti-colonial martyr, and as an Arab leader who called himself African. (AP Photo/Harouna Traore, File)

Note to US media personalities: Among the generals who were imprisoned or hung after trail at Nuremberg, were five media celebrities. 

There are either similar absurd media concocted stories, or no story at all, that excuse US crimes against humanity in the dozens of nations US designated local bad guys have been mass murdered to help a little country out, and protect the American way of life in the US. America is so good to invade and bomb and overthrow violently governments all for the benefit of nearly a billion people. 

Greece, Korea, Guatemala, Congo, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Iran, Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Lebanon, Cuba, Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Pakistan, Serbia/Kosovo, Bosnia, Libya; the list of countries covertly attacked and government overthrown is longer and contains almost every nation in Latin America, many times over if crimes against peace Nuremberg Principle VI are included. 

Remember, invading little countries was nothing new for the US before World War II – Mexico, Nicaragua, Haiti, Philippines, China, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and more. 

Again, this veteran is hoping that the Veterans For Peace Memorial Day Statement Press Release will say that VFP, or at least many if not all VFP, mourn the patriots of US invaded countries that fell fighting against overwhelming odds, and their civilian countrymen and children who also fell in harm’s way of those US invading forces.  Continue reading →

Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix sponsors DO NOT include the City of Detroit, or benefit its residents.

 Race sponsored by banks, corporations which caused EM takeover, devastated Detroit with debt and foreclosures

Run by phony non-profits, brings no benefits to Detroit residents

Portends state theft of island, city 

By Diane Bukowski 

Roger Penske, king of the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix and CEO of a multi-billion dollar corporation.

May 25, 2013 — Since at least March, Roger Penske and his allies in the banking and corporate sector have seized control of a large section of Detroit’s world-renowned Belle Isle, banning public access and despoiling the island’s natural  beauty, all to prepare for the “Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix” June 1 and 2, 2013. 

Penske is chair of Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, Inc. (DBIGP), a non-profit which claims in its IRS filings that it “1) promotes the revitalization of economically depressed areas of the City of Detroit by conducting motor vehicle racing and 2) raise[s] funds for the preservation and improvement of Belle Isle Park.” Therefore it pays no taxes.

Jennifer Britt, whose family including children and uncle were foreclosed by Flagstar Bank after the death of her husband.

He is also CEO of Penske Corporation, which according to its website “manages businesses with revenues in excess of $16 billion, operating in more than 1,800 locations and employing more that 36,000 people worldwide.”  

This is the first time the DBIGP has returned to the Island since 2007 and 2008. Subsequent races were allegedly cancelled due to the “economic crisis of the automotive industry.” 

DBIGP’s Form 990 for 2009, the earliest available on Guidestar, indicate that revenue for 2008 was $10.6 million, with expenses of  $11.3 million. There is no declaration of any expense paid to the City of Detroit for rental of the island or the use of public employees from the recreation, police, fire and other departments. 

Flagstar Bank, one of many banks and corporations sponsoring the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix. Flagstar put Jennifer Britt among thousand of others out of their homes, and was featured in protest signs at the May 4 rally for a moratorium on Detroit’s debt to the banks.

In fact, the form shows “exempt purpose rental” of $909,099 under “Program Service REVENUE,” with an identical amount for concession sales. Nothing is listed under the category “Grants and other assistance to governments and other organizations in the U.S.” in either the 2009, 2010 or 2011 Forms 990 for DBIGP. (Click on DBIGP 2009 990.)

So where are the funds raised for “the preservation and improvement of Belle Isle Park?” 

Detroit’s overall economic condition declined from 2007 to 2008, according to the city’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Statements for 2008. In 2008, the city had a total general fund defict of $219 million, up from $155.6 million in 2007. So evidently the city as a whole did not benefit from the races Penske held in 2007 and 2008. 

Cadillac and Quicken Loans on fenced-off race course.

VOD has submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the city asking for

1. A city budget involving projected city revenues and expenses for the Grand Prix. 
2. A copy of the contract(s) with Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, Inc. and any related agencies such as the Downtown Detroit Partnership, both non-profits, involving use of city-owned public land on Belle Isle for the event. 
3. A complete list of charges to the event’s sponsors from the City of Detroit for allowing the presence of this event on city property, e.g. rent, charges for use of police, fire, recreation and other city personnel during and around the Grand Prix, to prepare for the event, to operate it, and for shutdown. 
4. A list of what improvements to Belle Isle that Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, Inc. has made or plans to make to the island, pursuant to its report to the IRS . . .
5. The cost of those improvements or planned improvements, projected for this year, and during past Grand Prix events.
6. The amount of funds the company has contributed to the preservation and improvement of Belle Isle for this year’s race, as well as previous races held on the island.

Fences and barricades protect the wealthy coming to see the Grand Prix. Here, signs for Penske Corp. and the DMC, which just laid off hundreds of workers after Vanguard Health Care, 70 percent owned by a Wall Street hedge fund, took it over as a for-profit chain. Current Detroit Mayoral candidate Mike Duggan, who was DMC CEO and led the charge for the Vanguard takeover, bailed out just before the disastrous lay-offs. Patients have reported difficulty in obtaining care since the takeover, according to advocacy groups.

There is no indication the situation will change this year, even though Detroit is in such dire distress, running a deficit allegedly exceeding $360 million, that Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr flew in on vulture wings to save the city. 

During a bicycle tour of the island May 21, this reporter took photos of sponsor signs on the raceway from the same banks and corporations which have devastated Detroit with predatory lending to its residents and government, as well as massive illegal foreclosures that have driven 275,000 people out of the city. 

Chase Bank, which counts itself among many of the City of Detroit’s creditors, and has also been responsible for thousands of foreclosures in the metro area and nationally.

 The entire section of the island west of the police station near the beach was cordoned off,  looking like a “concentration camp for the wealthy,” considering three-day ticket prices of up to $155 for adults and $110 for children.  The photos were taken through fences and barbed wire, over concrete blockades lining the raceway, as no other access was available. 

Alma Counts, an 82-year-old Detroit stroke victim, faced foreclosure by Chase after it refused to honor a modification granted by the original owner of her mortgage.

A guard said the public could not even walk on the grassy side of the island next to the river on the other side of the barricades. Fences were set up from the barricades all the way to the water. Photos were taken anyway after the reporter slipped though an open gate, which was locked on her way back, forcing her to straddle the fence in the water to get back to her bike. 

A pair of geese and poor little goslings, not yet able to fly, were however trapped by that fence. Wildlife on the island has been traumatized by destruction due to the races and other incursions on their native habitat for years now. Recently, another family of geese with babies was seen crossing East Jefferson against the traffic. dodging cars, clearly having been displaced from their original nesting place on the island.

Geese and baby goslings were trapped by fences outside of barricades.

Fence blocking public access all the way to the river itself.

Signs for Dan Gilbert’s Quicken Loans dominated the island as well. The wealthy mortgage baron, worth $1.9 billion,  also owns the Cleveland Cavaliers.

NBA star LeBron James.

He was fined $100,000 by the NBA Commission for remarks he made criticizing LeBron James’ decision to leave the Cavaliers for the Miami Heat. The Rev. Jesse Jackson said Gilbert’s feelings “personify a slave master mentality,” and that he was treating James as “a runaway slave”.

The Quicken Loan headquarters in downtown Detroit migrated from the virtally all-white Detroit suburb of Livonia, also the home of current Mayoral candidate Mike Duggan until he moved to Detroit less than one year before he filed to run.

Gilbert is competing with Mike Illitch, worth $2.7 billion and owner of the Detroit Tigers and Red Wings, to buy up huge tracts of land in downtown Detroit and the Cass Corridor at bargain basement prices. 

Residents of Berwin Apartments in Detroit’s Cass Corridor, evicted by mystery buyer who may be Dan Gilbert.

It’s a toss-up which of them is responsible for the recent eviction of extremely low-income residents of three apartment buildings on Henry. Both have plans for the area, urged on by the appointment of EM Orr. 

According to a recent New York Times article, Gilbert has spent around $1 billion acquiring nearly three million square fee of real estate, and is negotiating to buy the Greektown Casino Hotel. Earlier, he bought the historic Dime Building in downtown Detroit for a paltry $15 million.

Dan Gilbert’s Quicken Loans is one of the DBIGP’s sponors. The billionaire may be responsible for the recent evictions of hundreds of poor folks in the Cass Corridor.

The Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix is of course also sponsored by Chevrolet, Cadillac and Corvette, brand names of cars manufactured by that great ally of Detroit’s population, General Motors.  

GM auto worker before massive lay-offs hit.

After devastating the city of Detroit with plant closures through the 1980’s, GM closed 14 factories across the U.S., including seven in Michigan, as part of its bankruptcy and government bail-out/restructuring plan in 2009. Of the company’s remaining 62,000 hourly workers, 21,000 lost their jobs.

Those closings further devastated the majority-Black city of Pontiac, which now also struggles under the whip of an EM, who has sold off a large amount of the city’s assets, including its 11 water department plants. The company has gone on to close plants, most recently in Flint, another majority-Black city run by an EM. It has also hit suburban plants throughout Michigan and the country.

Firestone and Corvette signs adorn the barricades at the 2013 DBIGP.

MGM Grand and Motor City Casino banners were prominent at the DBIGP concentration camp for the wealthy as well. While the casinos have provided jobs for some grateful Detroiters, they have also impoverished a great many more who have become gambling addicts.

Motor City Casino proudly sponsors the DBIGP as well.

Additionally, Detroit’s tax revenues from those casinos now go directly to U.S. Bank NA, which acts as a trustee to make sure its debts to the banks get paid off from that income. The primary creditor is UBS AG, which loaned the city a whopping $1.5 BILLION in pension obligation certificates in 2005, a predatory loan which the city defaulted on twice after the global economic collapse of 2008, costing it another $1 billion in fines.

Improverished family waits for housing assistance.

Despite those factors, the Rev. Wendell Anthony, head of Detroit’s NAACP chapter, recently held its membership meeting at the MGM Grand Casino hotel.

Earlier, after hundreds of thousands of Michigan residents, mainly women and children, were thrown off public assistance, the Rev. Jesse Jackson of Rainbow PUSH came to Detroit to join a protest by the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization. He refused, however, to call a boycott of Michigan businesses and proceeded to hold a Rainbow PUSH Automotive Summit at the same hotel the next week, attended by auto executives from across the globe.

Shinola sponsorship signs on raceway.

 A newcomer to the Grand Prix sponsorship is Shinola, LLC, a white-owned start-up company given an award by City Council President Charles Pugh at the beginning of its session April 9, 2013. The company evidently has quite a bit of money available, since its signs, next to the historic Dodge Fountain, also blocked from public access, were as prominent as those of the major corporations.

Charles Pugh with partners of Shinola, LLC, including CEO Randy Montgomery (3rd from left) at City Council meeting April 9, 2013.

Shinola CEO Randy Montgomery and his partners are making watches, bicycles and other  paraphernalia at the College for Creative Studies, but have not said how many Detroiters they are  hiring. 

Pugh said he met Montgomery at a meeting of the  Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, a corporate front for privatization. The company bought the rights to the name from the makers of Shinola shoe polish, which ran racist ads featuring a Black child shining shoes.

The daily media is currently running outraged articles regarding EM Orr’s alleged announcement that paintings and other art at the Detroit Institute of Arts, which are owned by the City, may be sold to pay off the city’s debt. They make no mention of the earllier loss of actual human beings, city workers who lost their jobs when the DIA was handed over to the management of the Founders Society, run by wealthy suburbanites.

OCCUPY WALL STREET PROTESTERS BLOCK THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE IN NEW YORK CITY IN 2011.

It is more likely that treasures like Belle Isle, which is used primarily by Black Detroiters, particularly Black youth who have few other places for recreation, and the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, run across a six-county area largely by Black city workers, will face the EM’s ax if Detroiters do not rise to defend their home.

VOD RECOMMENDS THAT DETROITERS AND THOSE WHO SUPPORT THEM BOYCOTT THE GRAND PRIX TO PROTEST THE EM TAKEOVER OF THE CITY.

• DO NOT BUY TICKETS.
• DO NOT ATTEND THE FREE DAY WHICH GIVES THE DBIGP THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW OFF BLACKS IN ATTENDANCE, WATCHING WEALTHY WHITE RACE CAR DRIVERS.
• DO NOT VOLUNTEER! DETROITERS NEED PAID JOBS!
• CONDUCT A MASS PROTEST AT THE BRIDGE! BLOCK TRAFFIC! INTERFERE WITH COMMERCE! SAVE OUR CITY!

Some related articles:

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/05/16/detroit-em-orrs-report-envisions-a-nightmare-future/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/05/09/people-demand-moratorium-on-detroit-debt-reparations-as-em-readies-attack/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/05/04/privatizating-detroit-residents-evicted-and-displaced-by-corporate-interests-hearing-with-feds-may-20-4-p-m-uaw-local-600/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/04/18/detroit-city-council-says-yes-to-banks-in-jones-day-vote-people-say-no/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/04/08/only-wall-street-wins-in-detroit-crisis-reaping-474-million-fee/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/03/31/detroit-council-to-vote-on-jones-day-contract-firm-represents-criminal-banks-holding-citys-debt/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/03/27/detroiters-march-in-cleveland-tell-jones-day-and-banks-get-out/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/02/03/bing-will-hurt-detroit-kids-shutting-parks-to-retaliate-for-belle-isle-lease-failure/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/01/27/people-rise-up-against-lease-of-belle-isle-committee-votes-no-council-still-to-meet-mon-jan-28-2-pm-tues-jan-29-9-am/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/01/26/belle-isle-is-black-land/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2012/09/27/peoples-rally-hands-off-belle-isle-council-hearing-thurs-oct-4-1-pm/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2012/09/15/90-yr-belle-isle-lease-entry-fees-go-to-state-fedstate-cops-to-patrol-council-hearing-mon-sept/

Angela Crockett, fighting eviction of herself and her son.

From Detroit Eviction Defense

5pm -11pm, UAW Local 1700 hall
Have fun, help a neighbor

 Detroit resident Angela Crockett has defended herself valiantly to keep her family from being evicted. This dinner-dance will raise funds to help save her home. The hall is located at 8230 E. 8 Mile Rd.

 Ms. Crockett and her son were foreclosed on by Citibank while participating in the Home Affordable Unemployment Program, in complete violation of the rules.

She has been fighting in court and through a public campaign to pressure Citibank to stop foreclosure actions and negotiate a fair solution that reflects the real market value of the home and a low interest rate loan.

 Sliding scale donations are $10 to $25, including food.

 For more information, contact Detroit.save.a.home@gmail.com.

Related story:

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/02/19/stop-government-foreclosures-of-our-homes-hurricane-fannie-freddie-pack-hearing-wed-feb-20-2pm-u-s-judge-nancy-edmunds/

Crowd applauds testimony from S. Baxter Jones at Metro Detroit hearing against foreclosures May 20, 2013. Photo by Jim West

BY DETROIT EVICTION DEFENSE

May 24, 2013

Website: http://detroitevictiondefense.net/

• 200+ people came out to hear testimony May 20
• Homeowners determined to stay and fight

(l-r) S. Baxter Jones and Dave Sole were among the 22 people who testified at hearing.

‘I really wanted you to view me and acknowledge me as a living, breathing, human being and not just another statistical casualty. I guess because you’re not represented here today, I can’t accomplish that. I guess when you don’t have to face me it makes it easier for you to not feel compassion for me or to account for your actions towards me.
“You can just continue business as usual, taking away my home and pushing another faceless person out into the streets.” — S. Baxter Jones, at May 20 hearing on federal agencies evicting homeowners

UAW VP Cinda Estrada. Photo by Jim West.

DETROIT– After months of negotiations with UAW Vice President Cindy Estrada and some stalling, the government-owned Fannie Mae/ Freddie Mac agencies had agreed to send 20 officials to town on May 20 and see first-hand how their hard-hearted policies are devasting our communities.

“Fannie and Freddie, which own or insure more than half of all residential mortgages in the country, have foreclosed on more than 15,000 families in Wayne County since the government takeover by the Federal Housing and Finance Agency [in 2008],” UAW V.P. Cindy Estrada told the Metro Times. “Thousands more have lost their homes in Oakland and Macomb.”

Fannie and Freddie’s empty seats at May 20 hearing.

But after months of planning, just days before the hearing, the officials from our government backed out, saying it would be “awkward” for them to be in the same room with homeowners who are battling them in court to save their homes from eviction. The hearing went on without them.

They can’t hide from the truth — the powerful testimony was being taped, and we’ll make sure it gets to the Feds. Stay tuned for more on that, & more powerful messages from the hearing.

More information:

• During the bank crisis, the U.S. government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which insure and buy mortgages from banks.
• At the hearing, 22 homeowners, neighborhood activists, and members of the legal defense team gave powerful testimony on how Fannie and Freddie are relentlessly evicting families who have trouble paying inflated mortgages. The testimony was broadcast live-to-tape by Tony Trupiano that evening on his “Night Shift” program (WDFN, AM radio, 1130, 7pm). Our new report, “A Hurricane Without Water: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Foreclosure Crisis in Metro Detroit” was distributed at the hearing and can be downloaded from this site at
• Check out Curt Guyette’s story in Metro Times, and be sure to add your comments, at http://metrotimes.com/news/news-hits/news-hits-1.1493699.

We are fighting for three things the federal government can do:

1) Halt Foreclosures & Evictions: Fannie Mae has declared moratoriums for hurricane victims. The 75,000 Michigan families foreclosed on in the last year are also victims— of mass unemployment and mortgage banking fraud.

2) Principal Reduction: Fannie and Freddie should help families in need by by reducing mortgage principal to reflect current market values. Families facing foreclosure can hear from homeowners at the rally who have successfully resisted.

3) Due Process for All: As government agencies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are now governed by the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which says that no person shall be “deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” The case opened Feb. 20 in Detroit.

(VIDEO ABOVE, EXPLAINING ROLE OF FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC IN FORECLOSURE HURRICANE, IS FROM MORATORIUM NOW! WEBSITE at http://moratorium-mi.org/ )

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Cancel Appearance At Metro Detroit Foreclosure Hearing

By David Sands

David SandsBecome a fan

david.sands@huffingtonpost.com

May 18, 2013

DETROIT – Officials from the mortgage financing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have withdrawn from a Detroit event where homeowners are set to talk about the impact foreclosures have had on their lives and communities.

The group Detroit Eviction Defense claims the last-minute cancellation of the May 20 hearing comes after officials for the government-backed agencies told organizers it would be “awkward” to hear testimony from homeowners who are currently litigating against them.

Steve Babson, a spokesman for Detroit Eviction Defense, said organizers received word of the cancellation through a series of phone calls with employees of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which oversees Fannie and Freddie.

“They said, ‘Well, we’ve decided it would be pretty awkward for us to be in the same room in a public event with homeowners who are in litigation against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over potential evictions,'” Babson told The Huffington Post. “This was a phone conversation, as it had been for several months, but this was unfortunately at the 11th hour saying they were pulling out.”

Meg Burns, senior associate director of the Office of Housing and Regulatory Policy, sent a statement to The Huffington Post confirming that officials from FHFA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had earlier committed to attending the hearing but now would be unable to do so.

“We are disappointed we can’t be at the event but we look forward to hearing the concerns of the homeowners and seeing the impact the housing crisis has had on the affected residents,” she wrote. “This information will serve as the basis for the follow-up policy discussion that we remain committed to having with the UAW and other interested parties.”

A spokesperson for Burns said that FHFA would hold a policy discussion with the United Auto Workers and other groups after the event, though no official date has been set. 

In 2007, Metro Detroit led the nation with nearly 5 percent of properties in some stage of foreclosure. Although those rates are declining, 20,000 foreclosed properties in the city of Detroit were auctioned off by Wayne County last year.

About 20 homeowners are expected to speak to an audience of community activists, housing advocates and others. There will also be an open mic session for others who wish to comment. Organizers plan to videotape the testimony and deliver it to Fannie Mae at a later date.

Babson called the mortgage giants’ concerns that testimony at the event would compromise ongoing legal cases a “phony argument,” noting that officials were invited to listen, not to speak, and knew of the event’s format ahead of time.

“I think it’s outrageous,” Babson said. “We find it very insulting and we think it’s pretty transparent that what they find ‘awkward’ is the prospect of being with people who are victims of a foreclosure policy that we think is doing serious damage to Metro Detroit.”

The Detroit Eviction Defense coalition has been working with the UAW and the AFL-CIO on foreclosure issues for about two years. The group defends homeowners against foreclosure and eviction through a variety of methods, including non-violent direct action. The organization is calling for a moratorium on foreclosures by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in Metro Detroit, similar to the one instituted for regions affected by Hurricane Sandy, and a reduction of principal for “underwater” loans that have balances higher than a home’s market value.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were taken over by the government during the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis. They have received more than $187 billion in taxpayer funds and have paid $58 billion in dividends to the U.S. Treasury. The two government-sponsored enterprises provide a secondary market for mortgages, purchasing them from originating lenders, and sometimes selling them as guaranteed securities.

After two recent court decisions, the two lenders may be forced to pay real estate taxes and extend due process to foreclosed homeowners in Michigan.