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At least 80 killed, many of them children, in Houla

Syria Says Houla Massacre Victims Wouldn’t Cooperate With Rebels

By Henry Meyer and Stepan Kravchenko –                                                                   Jun 2, 2012 7:49 AM ET  Bloomberg News

Syria’s ambassador to Russia said terrorists targeted families that refused to follow their orders during the massacre of more than 100 people, including dozens of children, in Houla last week.

“These families were killed because they refused to cooperate with these terrorist groups,”

Riad Haddad, Syrian ambassador to Moscow

Riad Haddad said in an interview at the Syrian embassy in Moscow yesterday. “When the parliamentary elections were held in Syria, these terrorist groups went to villages and towns and stopped people from voting and demanded candidates withdraw.”

The killings in Houla led to new calls for Russia to stop supplying arms to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Russian President Vladimir Putin said he doesn’t support either side in the Syrian conflict. The United Nations Human Rights Council called for a probe into the massacre, which it said was carried out by “pro-regime elements” and government forces.

Syrian "rebels" called perpetrators of massacre in Houla

Among the dead in Houla was the family of a lawmaker who refused to withdraw his name from the parliamentary vote, Haddad said. Several hundred militants carried out the killings in Houla, General Qassem Jamal Suleiman, who heads the Syrian investigation into the killings, said May 31.

The rebel attack on Houla came after they fired two anti-tank missiles at Syrian security forces gathering outside the city, killing 31 troops, Haddad said. Among the civilian casualties in Houla were three families from nearby Shomaliya, whom the rebels killed there, he said, citing his government’s preliminary investigation.

Syria has found evidence that fighters from Libya andTunisia with ties to al-Qaeda are “already among the rebels,”Haddad said, adding that some of the massacre was filmed. “The main aim is to cause failure of the Annan plan and to provoke foreign military interference.”

Putin, speaking at a press conference in Paris yesterday, said additional pressure on Assad’s government risks radicalizing the country. He called for more time to allow UN envoy Kofi Annan’s peace plan to work.

“We want to achieve the situation where the violence ends and there won’t be large-scale civil war,” Putin said.

To contact the reporters on this story:Henry Meyer in Moscow at hmeyer4@bloomberg.net; Stepan Kravchenko in Moscow at skravchenko@bloomberg.net

THE HOULA MASSACRE: OPPOSITION TERRORISTS “KILLED FAMILES LOYAL TO GOVERNMENT”

By Marat Musin

Global Research, June 1, 2012                                                                                              ANNA NEWS (Original Russian) and syrianews.cc

Global Research Editor’s Note

This incisive report by independent Russian journalist Marat Musin dispels the lies and fabrications of the Western media.

The report is based on a chronology of events as well as eyewitness accounts. Entire pro-government families in Houla were massacred. The terrorists were not pro-government shabbiha militia as conveyed, in chorus, by the mainstream media, they were in large part mercenaries and professional killers operating under the auspices of the self-proclaimed Free Syrian Army (FSA):

“When the rebels seized the lower checkpoint in the center of town and located next to the local police department, they began to sweep all the families loyal to the authorities in neighboring houses, including the elderly, women and children.

Several families of the Al-Sayed were killed, including 20 young children and the family of Abdul Razak. The people were killed with knives and shot at point blank range.

Then they presented the murdered [corpses] to the UN and the international community as victims of bombings by the Syrian army, something that was not verified by any marks on their bodies.”
We call on our readers to forward this report far and wide, post it on facebook. .

The massacre in Houla is being blamed on the Syrian government without a shred of evidence. The objective is not only to isolate Syria politically and economically, but to develop a pretext and a justification for waging an R2P humanitarian war on Syria.

The US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice has hinted that if the Security Council does not act, the US and its allies may consider “taking actions outside of the Annan plan and the authority of the [UN Security] Council.”

This report by Marat Musin confirms that crimes against humanity are being committed by terrorist militia.

It is essential to reverse the tide of war propaganda which uses civilian deaths as a pretext to wage war, when those killings of civilians were carried out not by government forces but by professional terrorists operating under the helm of the US-NATO sponsored Free Syrian Army.

Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, Montreal, June 1, 2012

In the weekend of May 25, 2012, at about 2 PM, big groups of fighters attacked and captured the town of Al – Hula of the Homs province. Al-Houla is made up of three regions: the village of Taldou, Kafr Laha and Taldahab, each of which had previously been home for 25-30 thousand people.

The town was attacked from the north-east by groups of bandits and mercenaries, numbering up to 700 people. The militants came from Ar-Rastan (the Brigade of al-Farouk from the Free Syrian Army led by the terrorist Abdul Razak Tlass and numbering 250), from the village of Akraba (led by the terrorist Yahya Al-Yousef), from the village Farlaha, joined by local gangsters, and from Al Houla. Continue reading →

 State’s Position Remains Unchanged

Detroit Corporation Counsel Krystal Crittendon during City Council meeting on consent agreement April 3, 2012.

(VOD: June 1, 2012: An inside source has told VOD that Detroit Corporation Counsel Krystral Crittendon filed a motion for declaratory judgment invalidating the April 4 Consent “Fiscal Stability Agreement” today. More on this from VOD later.)

May 31, 2012

Michigan officials have heard Detroit’s top lawyer make her case against the legality of the city’s consent agreement with the state, but they say they will stand by the terms of the contract.

“There has been no change in our position,” Treasury spokesman Terry Stanton told the Free Press. “We continue to be focused on implementing components of the (financial stability agreement) which was agreed to and signed by all parties involved.”

State Treasurer Andy DIllon at Detroit Financial Review Team meeting March 21, 2012.

Krystal Crittendon, corporation counsel for the city of Detroit, met Tuesday with state Treasurer Andy Dillon and members of Gov. Rick Snyder’s staff to discuss her opinion that the consent agreement is null and void, according to the paper.

City council approved the document in April with the support of the mayor, Dillon and Snyder. It allowed Detroit to avoid the appointment of an emergency manager.

But Crittendon argued in a May 11 letter sent to state officials that the agreement is not valid because Detroit’s city charter and Michigan law forbid the city from entering into agreements with parties that owe it outstanding debts. In that letter, Crittendon alleged the state owes Detroit $4.75 million for a water bill and $224 million in revenue sharing payments.

Crittendon is expected to bring the matter before an Ingham County Circuit Court judge, but has not yet given an indication of when she might file her case. State officials and some city officials remain undeterred.

In a written response on May 16, Dillon disagreed with Crittendon’s claims, saying the water bill was under dispute in an administrative hearing and that the state had no legal obligation to maintain revenue-sharing payments at a specific level.

Mayor Dave Bing (center, with the glassy-eyed stare) with Kirk Lewis (r) in photo released during his illness to prove he was still in the loop on Consent Agreement negotiations

Mayor Dave Bing told the Detroit News Wednesday he was eager to avoid tying up the city in litigation over the document.

“I’m not interested in getting into any legal battle that will distract us from executing my fiscal stability plan,” he told the News in a statement, adding that he would respect whatever decision was reached on the consent agreement’s legality. 

Related VOD stories at:

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2012/05/28/detroiters-begin-ethics-complaint-campaign-against-bing-councils-fatal-five-lewis-and-brown-over-consent-agreement/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2012/05/22/detroits-top-lawyer-to-take-pa-4-consent-agreement-to-court/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2012/04/17/ok-whos-the-mayor-bing-lewis-or-barrow/

Timothy Allen, 44, of Benton Harbor; last seen in police custody before his body was found in Lake Michigan near St. Joseph

BLACKS GO MISSING IN POLICE CUSTODY; TIMOTHY ‘BULLDOG’ ALLEN FOUND DEAD

(Case reminiscent of death of 16-year-old Eric McGinnis in St. Joseph River in 1994.)

By Mary Neal

November 22, 2011

 Timothy “Bulldog” Allen’s body was recovered from the lake near Napier Avenue bridge in St. Joseph, Michigan where police spoke with him last on November 9, 2011.

Rev. Edward Pinkney, director of Benton Harbor NAACP, relayed the sad news that Allen’s remains surfaced on December 29, 2011. Allen went missing after his family called an ambulance for him because he seemed to need emergency medical services. They never saw him again. 

Rev. Edward Pinkney speaks at Detroit rally against PA 4 Jan 2. 2012

Numerous African Americans go missing in police custody or immediately after, especially persons experiencing mental or emotional trauma. Rev. Pinkney suspects foul play. When I spoke with him on December 30, Rev. Pinkney said Allen’s family had not been allowed to view the body at that time. Police refused to drag the lake for Allen’s body although that should have been done when he initially went “missing.”

We understand that Allen was no John Kennedy, III, for whom the Army searched when his plan went down. However, lakes are dragged for many average citizens, but not for Timothy Allen. Decomposition, especially in water, is useful if there is something to hide. I resent it. Please pray for Allen’s family. They loved him, and his friends loved him and will miss his love. People matter. 

 The Allen family called for emergency assistance on November 9, because Bulldog was acting delusional and irrational. He reportedly refused treatment when his ambulance reached Lakewood Regional Medical Center in St. Joseph, and he left on foot. The Allen family reported on the Rev. Pinkney Blogtalk Radio show that the 44-year-old had been suffering from seizures in recent months.

http://marylovesjustice.blogspot.com/2011/11/blacks-go-missing-in-police-custody.html

Stephen Marschke: did he kill 16-year-old Eric McGinnis? Facebook photo

VOD: Police murders and brutality apparently continue unabated in Benton Harbor despite the 2003 rebellion against the death of Terrance Shurn. The story of Timothy “Bulldog” Allen brings to mind the story of 16-year-old Eric McGinnis, whose body was found floating in the St. Joseph River in 1994 after he and several friends had crossed over to St. Joseph from Benton Harbor for a night out. “The Other Side of the River” by Alex Kotlowitz, tells the story of the child’s death and the racial divide between Benton Harbor and St. Joseph.

Stephen Marschke, then Berrien County sheriff, was the last person to see the child alive. He kept the police file on his death secret for over a year. After he lost the race for sheriff afterwards, then Governor John Engler appointed him to head the state Parole Board.  Michigan’s prison population skyrocketed as Marschke declared, “Life means life,” and kept parolable lifers behind bars despite the original intent of their judges to allow them parole after 10-15 years if they demonstrated evidence of rehabilitation. 

Related article by Diane Bukowski at http://michigancitizen.com/gov-granholm-let-our-people-go-p5400-74.htm.

Raphael Adley reads his poem on the steps of the Benton Harbor city hall May 26, 2012.

By Raphael Adley  

Whirlpool, what a Wac company

Whirlpool, it’s a natural catastrophe

Whirlpool, it drags you under the sea

what they do to Benton Harbor they can do to you and me. 

What have they done to your city?

they took your jobs but not your dignity

your elders sent to rot in prison

they mock his word but he is risen

Terrance Shurn was murdered by BH police in 2003, sparking days of rebellion by the city's youth.

your young lay bleeding in the street

they laugh now but the story’s incomplete

they blindly take what Lincoln restored

we shall not rest while rights are ignored 

and its all because of (repeat chorus) 

While one amongst us is not free

with no justice no peace can be

they stole your park a golf course to make

Benton Harbor rebellion against police murder of Terrance Shurn, July, 2003

I WANNA SEE EVERY STUPID GOLF CART SIX FEET IN THE LAKE

police and judges and EFM

a conspiracy of terror it’s us vs them

they plotted in darkness but their cover is blown

thank you Rachel Maddow, they will reap as they’ve sown.

Benton Harbor march July 12, 2003, in support of youth rebellion against police murder of Terrance Shurn/Photo:WSWS.org

Related article: http://voiceofdetroit.net/2011/06/25/hundreds-rally-in-benton-harbor-on-8th-anniversary-of-uprising-against-police-murder-of-terrance-%E2%80%9Ct-shirt%E2%80%9D-shurn/

Rev. Edward Pinkney of BANCO rallies crowd before the march May 26, 2012

By Diane Bukowski

May 30, 2012

BENTON HARBOR – The stark contrast between the rich white corporate elite who showed up for the Senior PGA tournament in Benton Harbor, and the poor Black community they have largely displaced, was stunningly evident May 26.

Rally on steps of City Hall

Rev. Edward Pinkney of the Benton Harbor chapter of the Black Autonomy Community Network (BANCO), and a coalition of groups led an “Occupy the PGA” march from city hall, now under the control of Public Act 4 Emergency Manager Joe Harris. The five-mile march, styled as a funeral cortege, complete with coffin, wound past Whirlpool’s gleaming new $85 million global headquarters on the St. Joseph River, then in front of luxurious new lakefront homes, from which white families emerged to watch.

One of hundreds of new homes built for well-to-do whites in Harbor Shores.

Their homes are part of the Harbor Shores development, which, subsidized by Whirlpool, cost $500 million and includes the Jack Nicklaus golf course where the tournament was played. Most of the Harbor Shores land was deeded to the citizens of Benton Harbor, which is 89.2 percent African-American, as part of Jean Klock Park. It overlooks a spectacular stretch of beach on Lake Michigan.

“We are sending a message to Whirlpool, to Kitchen-Aid, to Mercedes-Benz,” Pinkney called out during the initial rally at city hall. He was swamped by reporters and TV cameras.

Marchers pass Whirlpool's offices adjacent to Harbor Shores.

“Don’t just come here to support the PGA, come here to support the people,” Pinkney said. “Whirlpool promised Benton Harbor’s residents 2,000 new jobs which never materialized, but that promise kept the residents from rising up. Just 25 percent of the profits from this tournament would take care of Benton Harbor’s $5 million deficit. There are people rallying here from all over Michigan, from New York City, Colorado, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, and other parts of the world.”

Pinkney called on the crowd to boycott Whirlpool and KitchenAid. The boycott also covers Whirlpool subsidiaries Amana, Estate, Gladiator Garage Works, Insperience, Jenn-Air, Magic Chef, Maytag, Roper, Acros, Inglis, Bauknecht, Brastemp, Admiral, IKEA and some Kenmore applicances.

Marcher confronts PGA visitors boarding bus.

Signs from Traverse City, Muskegon and Detroit were also seen throughout the parade. Cecily McClellan, vice-president of the Association of Professional and Technical Employees (APTE). Les Little, and member s of the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization made up part of the Detroit delegation.

Jerome Buchanan, a staff representative for Michigan AFSCME Council 25, said he represents city employees in Benton Harbor.

PGA visitors watch from golf course as march passes

“Whirlpool is stealing our water revenues,” Buchanan said. “Lay-offs are looming that could have been avoided if Whirlpool pulled its water from the city’s system so Benton Harbor could collect the revenues.”

Through its publicly-owned water system, Benton Harbor previously provided most of the water to residents and businesses in the area of Benton Township, according to the website WhatistheBigSqueeze.com.

“Benton Harbor has not been able to keep [water] customers,” says an article there.

Benton Harbor's water plant on Lake Michigan

“Benton Township (aka Whirlpool), purchased a pipeline from Benton Harbor–inked by Mr. Harris–and has built its own water plant. Benton Township has recently sued Benton Harbor for over $500,000 in delinquent payments. Prior to independence, Harbor Shores illegally tapped Benton Harbor’s municipal supply. After paying damages ($142,000), Harbor Shores then illegally tapped free water from the Paw Paw River. Without counting Harbor Shores’ thirsty golf course, Benton Township represented 40% of Benton Harbor’s income.”

Part of Detroit delegation with Rev. Pinkney: (l) Cecily McClellan, (r) Les Little

(“Independence” in the article refers to Harbor Shores’ construction of its own water reservoir to feed the development.)

The result of the raid on Benton Harbor’s water has been a 45 percent rate hike for residents and small businesses in the area.

“The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) says it’s absurd for such small towns situated in a close area to have different water supplies,” the article continues. “Furthermore, it devastates the city’s fiscal health. Water provided the second largest source of income for Benton Harbor, next to property taxes.”

Benton Harbor mother shouts at Gov. Rick Snyder as he passes by in 2011 Blossomtime Parade.

Benton Harbor is the poorest city in Michigan, with 48.7 percent of its residents below the poverty level according to official U.S. Census statistics. It also has the highest rate of foreclosures, and worsening police brutality, which Rev. Pinkney has fought for years.

Teacher Ralph Pointer traveled all the way from New York City for the event.

“They are sending our students not to be educated, but to end up in prison,” Pointer said, referring to the devastated state of public schools in Benton Harbor and nationally. “Benton Harbor’s people are now disenfranchised, but this is just a trial run. They are coming to the rest of the country as well. We must awaken people any way we can.”

"Thank you Kitchen Aid" signs sprouted throughout the area in anticipation of the PGA. Rev. Pinkney takes a pause in leading the march to show the enemy.

Raphael Adley of Occupy Lansing read his poem targeting Whirlpool. which is published below.

The march concluded with a picnic and rally at a shelter on the Jean Klock Park beach. Police accompanied the march in large numbers. Rev. Pinkney attempted to lead the march on a sidewalk closer to the PGA itself on May 25, according to published reports, but was threatened with arrest by the police. Pinkney already served over one year in prison for quoting the Bible to a Berrien County judge, on behalf of the cause.

This reporter’s section of the Detroit delegation traveled back from the Benton Harbor beach rally via a PGA shuttle bus, which first passed through St. Joseph, across the river, before stopping back in downtown Benton Harbor. White folks in St. Joseph were out in large numbers, enjoying THEIR beach (why do they need Benton Harbor’s beach as well?) and strolling though a luxurious downtown area replete with fancy shops and restauarants. The homes we saw were for the well-to-do, whereas Benton Harbor homes we saw on the way into town were small wooden frame houses, many foreclosed and vacant.

St. Joseph is 90.7 percent white, with a poverty level of 15.1 percent, slightly over the national average, compared to Benton Harbor’s poverty rate of 48.7 percent.

For more information, click on:
http://www.bhbanco.blogspot.com/ ;
Demand Letter
http://occupythepga.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/demand_letter.pdf

Outline of a Travesty
http://occupythepga.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/outline_of_a_travesty.pdf
Every Sunday 5-6pm: Tune into www.blogtalkradio.com for Rev. Pinkney’s radio program. 

Joshunda Sanders

By Joshunda Sanders

May 29, 2012

Mainstream media often portray African-American youths, especially black men and boys, as criminals, crime victims and predators. These stereotypes, according to social justice advocates, can create a racially charged atmosphere that results in violence such as the shooting death of teenager Trayvon Martin.

U.S. popular culture has become increasingly desensitized to one-dimensional portrayals of Black youths. Perpetuation of them as dangerous has been embedded in American society not only by words and images projected by journalists but also by a wide variety of other media and entertainment sources, including the Internet, movies and video games.

Clearly, the perception of African-Americans and other people of color as inferior to whites is rooted in the nation’s legacy of racial hierarchy, a system of stratification based on belief that skin color makes whites superior. Also contributing to embedding these stereotypes is that even as U.S. Census data show a growing number of nonwhites in America, fewer people of color are in decision-making positions at daily newspapers, television and radiostations, and online news organizations.

Trayvon Martin

Media coverage of the February shooting of Trayvon Martin, 17, in Sanford, Fla., by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman, exemplifies negative treatment of black youths in the media. After a controversial delay, Zimmerman was arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the unarmed teenager’s death.

At the center of the case are issues related to race, gun rights and whether Zimmerman was acting in self-defense.

In most media stories last week, autopsy results showing that Martin’s blood had traces of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, overshadowed other new evidence. An Associated Press report from Orlando, Fla., began: “Trayvon Martin had marijuana in his system. He was shot through the heart at close range.”

Some photos of George Zimmerman claimed to show cuts on his head

Many of these stories were published with photographs showing cuts and scratches on Zimmerman’s face and head. A police report said he”appeared to have a broken and a bloody nose and swelling of his face.”

In the same week, an all-white, six-person jury in Houston acquitted Andrew Blomberg, 29, a white police officer, in the alleged beating of 15-year-old Chad Holley after Holley was arrested for burglary in March 2010.

In video footage from a security camera, which jurors were shown in court, Holley was seen falling to the ground after trying to hurdle a police squad car, the AP reported, and was “surrounded by at least five officers, some who appear to kick and hit his head, abdomen and legs.”

Chad Holley, 14, after Houston police beating

Blomberg testified that he didn’t kick or stomp Holley. Community activists decried the verdict and the racial makeup of the jury.

The presumption of guilt can also apply to young black women. When Rekia Boyd, 22, was fatally shot by an off-duty Chicago police detective in March, her death was overshadowed in mainstream media by the Martin case.

Boyd was with friends on a street near the detective’s home when words were apparently exchanged and he fired several shots, one of which struck Boyd in the head. No charges have been filed in the incident. Boyd’s family has filed a civil lawsuit against the detective and the city.

Rekia Boyd's famly protests her murder by off-duty cop

In its report on the shooting, one Chicago television station noted that Boyd was hanging out with a group “at 1 in the morning.”

Stories about black youths that don’t reinforce stereotypes, don’t involve celebrities and that tell narratives about everyday lives of black people haven’t been a priority in news coverage, says author Bakari Kitwana, executive director of Rap Sessions in Westlake, Ohio. Through Rap Sessions, Kitwana leads discussions on college and high school campuses nationwide to counter mainstream media narratives about the hip-hop generation.

In addition to being stereotyped in media, Kitwana says, black youths are also criminalized by three other circumstances. Continue reading →

Ethics Board, Corporation Counsel have enhanced powers under revised City Charter

By Diane Bukowski

March 25, 2012 

DETROIT – In the wake of revelations that City of Detroit Corporation Counsel Krystal Crittendon advised Mayor Dave Bing and the City Council against signing the “Consent Financial Stability Agreement” (CFSA), Detroiters have begun filing ethics complaints against the Bing, the Council’s “Fatal Five,” Deputy Mayor Kirk Lewis, and COO Chris Brown. 

COO Chris Brown, Mayor Dave Bing, Deputy Mayor Kirk Lewis

The “Fatal Five” are Council President Charles Pugh, President Pro-Tem Gary Brown, and members Saunteel Jenkins, James Tate and Kenneth Cockrel, Jr. They voted on April 4 for the CFSA on the advice of Deputy Mayor Kirk Lewis and attorney Michael McGee, a co-author of Public Act 4, from which the FSA derived.

Phyllis "Chris" Griffiths confronts Council during Sept. 13, 2011 session.

They ignored Crittendon’s advice. New language in the Revised City Charter, Sec. 7.5-209, gives the Corporation Counsel for the first time the power to enforce the charter and remedy violations through “all reasonable actions up to and including . . . judicial action.”

The complaint campaign was begun by a newly formed organization, “Free Detroit.” 

Several of the five complaints filed so far cite the eight officials for violating state and city laws  which say that the city cannot contract with anyone who has defaulted on debts to the city. 

“Based on Michigan Compiled Law 117.5 (a) (f), the City of Detroit, its executive branch departments and legislative branch agencies, is prohibited from making a contract with, or giving an official position to, one who is in default to the city,” says Phyllis Griffiths’ complaint, filed May 22. 

APTE VP Cecily McClellan at Charter Revision Commission meeting Aug. 10, 2010.

Crittendon told State Treasurer Andy Dillon in a letter May 11 that the agreement is null and void because the state has not paid outstanding debts to the city, including $224 million in revenue sharing payments, and a $4.75 million water bill. She is scheduled to hold a “conference call” with State Treasurer Andy Dillon and State Attorney General Bill Schuette next week, a step required prior to taking court action. 

Other complaints cite violations of state and city laws that Crittendon listef in an opinion dated April 1, given to the Mayor’s Office and Council three days before the Council’s vote. 

Cecily McClellan, Vice-President of the Association of Professional and Technical Employees (APTE), cited some of those provisions in her complaint, also filed May 22. 

“.  .  .  . the Consent Financial Stability Agreement relinquished control of City of Detroit finances to the State of Michigan via a Chief Financial Officer, Program Management Director, and nine non-elected and potentially non-Detroit residents. The Detroit City Council does not have the authority to delegate the power of their elected positions to a non-elected body and cause increased financial harm to the city . . . ,” McClellan wrote. 

Attorney Michael McGee, co-author of Public Act 4, and Deputy Mayor Kirk Lewis at Council table.

Her complaint says the eight officials violated state law by approving “unfunded mandates” included in the CFSA, that the CFSA exceeds the “police powers” of the Council, and that there is no legal ground to put a Financial Advisory Board in charge of approving union contracts. 

Crittendon’s April 1 opinion also said there is no statutory authority to establish a Financial Advisory Board period. 

State Treasurer Andy Dillon during FInancial Review Team meeting March 26, confronted by a chanting crowd.

“The five City Council members, Mayor and appointed officials listed above have engaged in willful misconduct, willful or gross neglect of duty, and other misfeasance or malfeasance,” McClellan wrote. “The elected officials of the City of Detroit should forfeit their positions and all appointed officers should be dismissed.”

McClellan also noted that Pugh, Tate and Cockrel, Jr. negotiated terms of the deal secretly with State Treasurer Andy Dillon, although they were not delegated by Council to do so. Lewis named the three during a Council meeting April 2. 

The Revised City Charter’s Ethics Section 2-107(B) newly lists six grounds for mandatory forfeiture of office.  It says, “The office of an elective city officer shall be forfeited for the following: a. Lacks at any time any qualifications required by law or by section 2-101 of this Charter; b. Plead to, or is convicted of, a felony while holding the office; c. Engages in official misconduct; d. Willful or gross neglect of duty; e. Corrupt conduct in office; or f. Any other misfeasance or malfeasance.” 

The Board of Ethics meets in the First National Building, where the City's Law offices are located.

If, after investigation, the Ethics Board finds officials guilty of the complaints brought against the, it can issue a “public admonishments,” recommend disciplinary action against non-elected employees, recommend that the City Council initiate removal or forfeiture [of office] proceedings against elected or appointed officials, impose financial administrative sanctions, or have the City’s Law Department (which is headed by the Corporation Counsel), initiate prosecution of the individual(s) involved. 

According to the city’s website, the Ethics Board is comprised of Executive Director Deborah J. Gaskin, Chairperson James W. Heath, Esq., Vice-Chairperson Hon. Harold Hood, and members Dr. Marsha Foster Boyd, Beth Greenberg Morrow, Esq. and Alicia J. Skillman, Esq. 

 They are not allowed to discuss pending complaints, without the presence of the party being charged. 

Hon.Harold Hood

Gaskin, a criminal defense attorney who has practiced law since 1973, was one of the attorneys who represented Charles Beckham and Darralyn Bowers against 1983 federal complaints involving contract-peddling in the water department, during Mayor Coleman A. Young’s administration.  At the time, many felt the investigation’s real target was Young.

James W. Heath is a Wayne County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in the Public Integrity Section.  The Hon. Harold Hood retired as Chief Judge Pro Tem from the Michigan Court of Appeals after serving in both Recorders and Wayne County Circuit Courts. He currently works with the National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts. 

Alicia J. Skillman, Esq.

Dr. Marsha Foster Boyd is President of the Ecumenical Theological Seminary and a board member of ARISE Detroit. Beth Greenberg Morrow is a criminal defense attorney, a deputy defender at the Legal Aid and Defender Association (LADA), and a research attorney with the State Appellate Defenders’ Office. 

Alicia J. Skillman is Director of LADA’s Fair Housing division, and Executive Director of the Triangle Foundation. 

• To read complaints (with addresses and phones redacted), click on Ethics complaints 2)
• To download a copy of the Ethics Board complaint form, click on  Board of Ethics Complaint_Form_042007 .
• To go to City of Detroit’s Ethics Board page, click on http://www.detroitmi.gov/Departments/BoardofEthics/tabid/73/Default.aspx.
• To read City Charter ethics provisions, click on  Revised City Charter with ethics provisions highlighted.
• To read Crittendon’s May 11 letter, click on Crittendon letter 5 11 12.
• To read Crittendon’s April 1 opinion, click on  Crittendon opinion 4 1 12,

For more information on “Free Detroit” and the complaints campaign, call 313-444-0061.

By Kathy Matheson

Bloomberg News                                                                                                                              May 23, 2012

PHILADELPHIA — Thousands of demonstrators statewide took to the streets Wednesday to protest education cuts they say have decimated school districts across Pennsylvania, and they called for lawmakers to reject further reductions Gov. Tom Corbett proposes for next year.

Philly protesters May 23, 2012

A total of 25 people were arrested during massive demonstrations in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh as they blocked traffic downtown in both cities, police said. Hundreds more demonstrated at the Capitol in Harrisburg, and organizers said similar rallies were scheduled in cities including Doylestown, Hollidaysburg, Bethlehem, Hazleton, and Greensburg.

“We’re demanding that education funding be restored and that they take back this plan to privatize Philadelphia schools, stop threatening to lay off thousands of workers and instead sit down with parents, sit down with workers, sit down with elected officials and figure out a plan that saves our schools,” said Gabe Morgan, Pennsylvania director of the Service Employees International Union chapter 32BJ, which organized the rally in Philadelphia.

PA governor Tom Corbett

Public school instruction and operations this fiscal year, Corbett’s first budget year, shrank by about $860 million, or more than 10 percent. His $27.1 billion budget plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1 would hold most public school aid relatively flat, but eliminate a $100 million grant that helps underwrite full-day kindergarten.

A $27.7 billion budget proposal that passed the Senate earlier this month would add $50 million for the grant program, plus another $50 million for distressed school districts. Corbett spokesman Kevin Harley on Wednesday attributed this year’s funding losses to the end of federal stimulus money, and noted that about 40 percent of the state’s general budget is devoted to education.

“Pennsylvania taxpayers now pay more toward basic education than at any time in the state’s history,” Harley said in a statement.

Children marched with their parents and teachers

About 200 protesters marched to the governor’s office in Pittsburgh. Eleven people were charged with obstructing traffic, according to police spokeswoman Diane Richard. In Philadelphia, hundreds of protesters from SEIU 32BJ and several other district unions — plus concerned parents and community members — marched about a mile up Broad Street from City Hall to school district headquarters where they chanted, “Shame on you!”

The district suffered through more than $700 million in cuts this year, and is considering a radical overhaul that would close 40 buildings, cut hundreds of administrative jobs and allow outside companies to manage “networks” of schools.

Philly protest May 23 2012

SEIU 32BJ represents about 3,000 bus drivers, custodians and others in the school district. Most members have received layoff notices as the district seeks to negotiate $50 million in union givebacks to help balance next year’s $218 million deficit.

Protester Melanie Sullivan, who said she spent 15 years working on Philadelphia school buses and 10 years helping special education students, is among those receiving a layoff notice.

“And for 25 years of doing a good job to get a layoff letter, I don’t quite understand that. Just to get cheaper workers?” Sullivan said. “I’d like to know are you worried about the cost … or are you worried about the children? I feel as though the children should come first.”

Morgan, the state 32BJ director, and five other union members — including local president George Ricchezza — were among 14 people arrested peacefully as the group marched back to City Hall from district headquarters. A police spokeswoman could not immediately confirm the charges.

Follow Kathy Matheson at http://www.twitter.com/kmatheson.

 Associated Press writers Marc Levy in Harrisburg and Joe Mandak in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.