Charles Jones with his daughter Aiyana Stanley Jones in happier days, before her execution by Detroit police; he now faces life in prison without parole
A&E photographer’s indictment says she showed videotape to third party
By Diane Bukowski
October 6, 2011
(VOD Ed: this entire story has been published in The Final Call, Oct. 18 edition. It is on the streets as of Oct. 12, but not online yet.)
Worthy (at left) in court with killer cop Joseph Weekley; she did not attend arraignment of Charles Jones
DETROIT – Seventeen months after a Detroit police “Special Response Team” stormed seven-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones’ home in a poor neighborhood and shot her to death as an A&E TV crew was filming, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has charged the child’s father, Charles Jones, 26, with first-degree murder.
At the same time, she charged a single officer, Joseph Weekley, 36, who lives in the well-to-do white suburb of Grosse Pointe, and a single A&E official with lesser charges of manslaughter and perjury, respectively, related to the horrific raid.
Aiyana’s grandmother, Mertilla Jones, who was sleeping with the child on a couch when police tossed an incendiary grenade through the window above them on May 16, 2010, and saw her granddaughter die, expressed utter anguish after her son was arraigned Oct. 5.
Mertilla Jones (right) in younger and happier days (Facebook)
“This is a sad day for my family,” Jones, the mother of eight. said. “We are not doing well at all. This is the second one of my sons they have railroaded. I have lost two of my sisters in the last six months. It’s not right to charge Charles after he lost his daughter. Are they going to charge the cops that threw the flash bomb and the ones that tried to cover it up? Meanwhile, a seven-year-old innocent little baby girl is dead.”
Police arrested Ms. Jones, drug tested her, and held her for several days after the raid. Assistant Police Chief Ralph Godbee (now head of the department) claimed she had “interfered” with Weekley, causing his gun to go off.
Aiyana had joy in her short life
She was never charged, but the city has reiterated those contentions in an ongoing civil suit brought by Charles Jones and Aiyana’s mother Dominika Stanley in the case.
Charles Jones’ sister LaKrystal Sanders said, “My brother had nothing to do with that case,” referring to the shooting death of 17-year-old Je’Rean Blake two days earlier, the case in which Jones is charged, and the pretext police used for the raid.
Jones’ friends Randolph Monzure and Calvin Carpenter also said he didn’t have anything to do with the Blake shooting.
“They’re trying to railroad him,” Carpenter said. “He already lost his child, and now they’re trying to make more moves.”
Jones was represented at his arraignment by attorney Jonathan Marko of the law firm of nationally noted attorney Geoffrey Fieger. He requested that Jones’ preliminary exam be postponed until Nov. 18 to allow time for discovery. Jones will later be represented by another attorney from Fieger’s firm. Meanwhile he was ordered held without bond.
“He needs representation and deserves representation,” Marko said.
Chauncey Owens with attorney David Cripps pled guilty April 11 but did not name Charles Jones during procedure
Sanders’ fiancé Chauncey Owens pled guilty to second-degree murder as the shooter in the Blake case, but questions remain. His attorneys tried several times to get his confession thrown out, saying it was taken under extreme duress after he found out Aiyana was dead, and that he was not competent to stand trial.
His sentencing has been postponed twice, due to “problems with the plea deal,” according to the prosecutor’s office. It is now set for Oct. 31.
Local media has claimed his plea deal involved saying Charles Jones gave him the gun, but no such claim exists in his court file. Owens was peacefully arrested during the raid, which took place at 12:30 a.m., although police watching the house saw him outside during daylight hours and could have made the arrest then. Continue reading →
Marketta Smith (center) with other students from Catherine Ferguson Academy, and teacher Nicole Conaway at left, compared the takeover of DWSD to attacks on countries in Africa; these students set example for "civil disobedience" called for to keep DWSD.
By Diane Bukowski
October 1, 2011
DETROIT – The Detroit City Council voted Sept. 27 to hire its own attorney regarding U.S. District Court Judge Sean Cox’s Sept. 9 order essentially taking over the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD). On Sept. 28, they heard from workers and residents demanding that Detroiters retain ownership and control of the system they built and paid for.
Councilmembers JoAnn Watson, Brenda Jones, Kwame Kenyatta
“Under the City Charter, the Water Department cannot be sold or disposed of in any way unless a majority of city voters approve it,” Councilwoman JoAnn Watson said. “At one one point, the federal court estimated that HALF the value of the department would be $10 billion.”
Councilwoman Brenda Jones said, “I intend to fight this takeover with everything I have.”
Councilmen Gary Brown, Charles Pugh sit on Cox committee, are gagged from discussing with rest of Council
Cox appointed City Council President Charles Pugh and President Pro-tem Gary Brown to a committee charged with producing a plan to revamp DWSD governance by Nov. 4. He then ordered them not to relay information regarding committee deliberations to the rest of the Council.
“The Council does need advice and action, particularly because of gag orders on two members by the Judge preventing them from even talking to this body,” Councilman Kwame Kenyatta said Sept. 27. “I presume the Law Department is gagged as well. We need someone to represent this body and the citizens of Detroit.”
Attorney Robert W. Palmer
Councilwoman Watson moved to hire attorney Robert W. Palmer of Pitt, McGee, Palmer, Rivers & Golden. All members except Brown voted yes. The council is to hold a closed session to consult with Golden shortly.
The Council has been urged by many in the community to file for intervenor status in the federal lawsuit involved, United States of America vs. City of Detroit (Case No. 77-71100).
The DWSD committee also includes representatives of Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and the Board of Water Commissioners. On Sept. 30, Cox appointed his Special Master David Ottenwess, a medical malpractice attorney who represents hospitals and health care institutions, to head the committee and report back on its progress solely to him.
Rec. Dept. worker speaks against water takeover as Local 207 Pres. John Riehl and Secy-Treasurer Mike Mulholland listen in background.
“None of these people know much about wastewater,” John Riehl, president of the largest water department union local, representing 1,000 workers, said in AFSCME Local 207’s newsletter.
“This could mean that this panel is intended to provide cover for Cox to impose (in his words) ‘a more intrusive remedy.’ Oakland and Macomb County politicians are asking Cox to take the Department from Detroit. If they do take over, massive privatization and job losses are certain, Detroit will be closer to being dismantled and depopulated, and one of the last vestiges of Black political power in the U.S. will be severely diminished.”
During a public hearing Sept. 28, held on short notice, many spoke out vehemently against the attack. Only Council members Watson, Jones, Kenyatta, and briefly, Andre Spivey attended.
Valerie Burris
“Water is a human right,” said Valerie Burris, noting the absence of the other members and any representatives from the executive branch including Bing. “If nothing else, we should be able to count on the Mayor and City Council to defend us.”
Neighborhood association leader Carol Conway said, “It’s time to take this to the streets. All my life I’ve lived here and paid my water bill. All of that belongs to us, and I’ll be damned if I’ll let it go.”
Mary Lacey asked, “What do we need with Cox? We’ve got the people who can handle this system. He has no background in running a water department.”
Detroiter Gwen Gaines demands water rights in Atlanta protest, 2007; Photo Kenny Snodgrass
Riehl asked, “Did the suburbs object when Kwame Kilpatrick hired Victor Mercado to run the department, when he shut down our heavy repair unit, when he shrunk our workforce, when he shut off the water to 40,000 Detroit families, when the fraudulent Synagro contract was approved?”
Riehl said Oakland and Macomb Counties have attacked now only because the department has finally started to hire new workers, 103 in the recent period, and is getting ready to remedy problems on its own. He called for legal action as well as mass street protests. Continue reading →
Drop All Charges on ‘Occupy Wall Street’ Arrestees!
Stop Police Attacks & Arrests! Support ‘Occupy Wall Street’!
SIGN THE ONLINE PETITION AT http://bailoutpeople.org/dropchargesonoccupywallstarrestees.shtml to send email messages to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, NYC City Council, NYPD, the NY Congressional Delegation, Congressional Leaders, the NY Legislature, President Obama, Attorney General Holder, members of the media YOU WANT ALL CHARGES DROPPED ON THE ‘OCCUPY WALL STREET ARRESTEES!
IN NYC, DEMONSTRATE on MONDAY OCTOBER 3 at 5 PM at New York City Hall – 250 Broadway at Park Place, Manhattan and on WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5 join the Community Labor March to Wall St./Zuccotti Park – gather at 4:30 pm Gather at City Hall – 250 Broadway
AROUND THE COUNTRY, Solidarity Occupations have begun in over 100 cities! Find the one near you at www.facebook.com/OccupyWallSt
The arrest of over 700 people on Saturday, Oct 1 on the Brooklyn Bridge by the New York City Police Department is an outrage and an injustice. Numerous videos clearly show top NYPD police officials actually leading the demonstration on to the roadway of the bridge, not the pedestrian walkway. Then they blocked further movement and started arresting hundreds of activists. This is entrapment.
A loose network of organizations and individuals called the occupation named “Occupy Wall Street”. It started 15 days ago. It has no ending date. No one knows how long it will last. But it is now attracting growing and enthusiastic mass support giving voice to the widespread hatred of the banks.
Brooklyn Bridge occupation
The protesters are opposing the domination by the top banks and corporations of every aspect of life in the U.S. today. The only interest of the banks is in maximizing profits, not in meeting people’s needs in the U.S. or anywhere in the world. The protesters are mostly youth, who have heroically congregated by the tens of thousands to “occupy Wall Street” protesting the authority of a small elite over the rest of humanity, “the 99%.”
They have been met with brutality, harassment, and oppression for the crime of raising their voices and fighting for justice.
This brutality is just another instance of the NYPD’s usual standard behavior. The racist murders of Sean Bell and Amadou Diallo, the brutal attacks on all kinds of peaceful protestors from centuries ago, to the police attacks on the demonstrators just one week prior to the October 1 mass arrests, the hundreds of thousands of “stop and frisk” searches on youth of color, and the efforts to attack immigrant workers, all show who the NYPD serves to protect, from whom they recieve their orders.
Wall Street protesters are publishing their own newspaper, The Occupied Wall Street Journal
We demand that those arrested be immediately released, and that all charges be dropped. We also demand that the NYPD pay reparations to all those they unjustly arrested.
The most violent criminals on this earth are not those protesting Wall Street, but those who sit on Wall Street, and own the world’s wealth. In their ruthless drive for greater profits, lower pay and to keep us divided they foment racism, sexism and LGBT bigotry and attacks on immigrants and Muslims. They close thousands of industries and lay off millions of workers here in order to pay 1/10 the wages in oppressed countries abroad. While speaking empty words of democracy they occupy and bomb countries and carry out drone attacks, while shutting down protests here. They profit from endless wars, militarism, environmental destruction, millions of foreclosed homes and the largest prison system in the world.
Media center at Occupy Wall Street
The youth, rallying against them, and crying for justice are heroes and should not be subject to harassment, arrests, and other abuses for their righteous actions.
Emergency protests are called for Monday 5pm at NYC City Hall against the mass arrests and on Wednesday, Oct 5 a mass labor rally of support for Occupy Wall Street.
The arrests of 700 people on Brooklyn Bridge over the weekend have only strengthened the resolve of anti-Wall Street protesters as the campaign entered its third week.
Los Angeles occupation
The protests against corporate America, which began in New York City two weeks ago, have already spread across the country, with demonstrations starting up in Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Denver and Seattle. Continue reading →
The big crooks who belong in the toilet: (l to r) beginning with the two Bushes, Carlyle Group co-founders Frank Carluccia and David Rubinstein, Synagro exec James Rosendall, former Kilpatrick aide Michael Tardif, investigated but not charged in Synagro and Systematic Recycling Council votes, Synagro legal counsel Alvin Thomas II, current Synagro CEO and "Underdover Boss" Dave Massa, and Synagro operative Pamela Racey, still employed despite numerous allegations that she originated bribery deals.
Fox 2 report attacks small Black water contractor Bankston in favor of wealthy white Homrich
September 30, 2011
By Diane Bukowski
U.S. District Court Judge Sean Cox, appointed by Carlyle member former Pres. George W. Bush, used Carlyle/Synagro scandal as excuse for DWSD takeover
DETROIT — One week before U.S. District Court Judge Sean Cox issued his Sept. 9 order taking over the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD), Detroit’s Fox 2 News featured an attack on a small Black-owned water department contractor and virtually every Black official connected with the Water Department contracting process.
It was clearly no accident. One of the problems Cox cited in court filings on the 32-year-old DWSD federal lawsuit was that the city has contracting procedures benefiting resident-owned businesses.
In the piece, aired Sept. 1, Fox 2 reporter Charlie LeDuff interviewed wealthy white suburban contractor Roger I. Homrich, who is contesting the city’s grant of a two-year sludge hauling contract to Bankston Construction, a Black-owned, Detroit-based business. According to AFSCME Local 207 President John Riehl, Bankston has had DWSD ash-hauling contracts for many years.
Roger I. Homrich, suburban CEO of numerous Homrich companies; Fox 2 shows him here in front of Homrich trucks demolishing the historice Cass Technical High School building.
“Remember Synagro, the company that greased more fingers in Detroit than a short order cook?” Fox 2 asked. “It’s the scandal that rocked Detroit city hall, sent Monica Conyers to federal prison and threatens to send disgraced former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his daddy Bernard to lengthy prison stays themselves.”
The comparison of Bankston Construction to Synagro is a giant stretch. According to the business search site Manta, Bankston’s annual revenues run $1 to $2.5 million.
Synagro is a national white-owned technologies corporation owned by the Carlyle Group, an international cartel run by, among other former world leaders, George Bush and son George W. Bush. Carlyle, the world’s largest private equity firm, has $88 billion under management, and another $59.6 billion in equity investments, in 72 countries, according to Dan Briody, author of “The Iron Triangle.”
Fox 2 News reporter Charlie LeDuff
The Fox 2 report (below) featured photos of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, his father Bernard Kilpatrick, former City Council President Monica Conyers, consultant Sam Riddle, and others being flushed down a toilet. All but one of the officials in the toilet were Black. The sole white was James Rosendall, the Synagro executive who entrapped Black city officials and residents in a bribery scheme to obtain a $1.2 billion incinerator contract for his bosses.
Fox 2 made no allegations that Bankston similarly bribed city officials to get his contract.
The photo at the top of this story shows who really belongs in the toilet, among numerous others.
They are: George Bush and George W. Bush, Carlyle co-founders Frank Carlucci (U.S. Defense Secretary under Ronald Reagan) and David Rubinstein, Rosendall, Michael Tardif, a former Kilpatrick aide who was investigated by the federal government with respect to the Synagro and Systematic Recycling contracts, current Synagro CEO Bill Massa (for lack of available photos of former CEO Robert Boucher, Jr.), Synagro General Counsel Alvin Thomas II, and Synagro Vice-President of Business Development Pamela Racey (back to camera, hand in front of face).
Both this reporter and later, Jennifer Dixon of the Detroit Free Press, did articles exposing the fact that these Synagro top executives, as well as J. Paul Withrow, whose photograph was not found, KNEW of the bribery scheme. Articles by this reporter in The Michigan Citizen said Synagro had similarly entrapped Black officials in Philadelphia and elsewhere.
Former Kilpatrick aide Michael Tardif, married Michigan Citizen publisher Catherine Kelly in Aug. 2010; they are shown here at a benefit for the privatized Detroit Insititute of Arts
But only Rosendall went to prison, for 11 months. Meanwhile Rayford Jackson, a Black Detroit entrepreneur Rosendall used, got five years because he would not cooperate with the FBI in naming others. Meanwhile the federal government is busy taking down other Black officials involved, including former Kilpatrick aide Derrick Miller and Emma Bell.
Mysteriously, former Kilpatrick aide Michael Tardif, who is white and was alleged by Detroit Free Press writer David Ashenfelter among others to have been investigated for his connections to Rosendall and Synagro, dropped from sight until he quietly married the publisher of The Michigan Citizen, Catherine Kelly, in August, 2010. There is still no mention of his being charged in current articles naming Miller and Bell.
Synagro CEO Bill Massa (appropriate name) in series "Undercover Boss"
Neither Synagro nor Carlyle as corporate entities were ever charged in the deal THEY set up.
In fact, Massa was recently featured on the reality show “Undercover Boss,” indicating his company’s continued acceptance in the world of corporate finance and big media.
In the center of the toilet photo above is Homrich, president of numerous companies bearing the Homrich name. After Synagro canceled its $1.2 billion contract to build a new private incinerator amid the scandal, the city kept using DWSD incinerators. Mayor Ken Cockrel, Jr. let a contract to haul the sludge to Homrich and Waste Management, Inc. The second company is well-known for federal investigations of its ties to organized crime.
Ken Cockrel Jr. and Dep. Mayor Saul Green at press conference announcing giveaway of Cobo Hall
WMI was a significant contributor to Cockrel’s campaign for Mayor. (Click on KEN CASH CONTRACTS DB MC to read this author’s story on THAT questionable Sludgegate deal, which none of the daily media in Detroit raised a stink about.)
But LeDuff reported Sept. 1, “Both the mayor’s office and the city council – bent over backwards to give Bankston Construction the $47 million contract – despite state law, city law and custom. Despite tax liens, law suits, lack of insurance and bonds and a credit score of 2 out of 100, Bankston got the deal.”
LeDuff proceeded to attack Vincent Bankston personally, claiming he had several drunk driving arrests. (So has Oakland County Chief Executive L. Brooks Patterson, one of the moving forces in the DWSD takeover.)
Patterson stopped for DUI, let off by Oakland County cop; cartoon from Metro Times
According to records obtained from the City Council Research and Analysis Division (click on Bankston contract for full account of contract from RAD), the figure of $47 million was deliberately inflated. The contract is for $23.5 million over two years, with a possible additional two years that Council has not yet voted on. Bankston was the low bidder. Homrich bid $29 million. The city’s Purchasing Division said the contract would save the city over $4 million.
This is not the first time Bankston has experienced problems in the generally mob-dominated sludge-hauling business. Bankston filed suit in 2000 against the city, a suit which was dismissed at all levels. (Click on Bankston lawsuit v Detroit to read Court of Appeals ruling.) However, the language in the COA opinion is illuminating:
Anthony Soave (with guests) sold City Management to Waste Management, Inc.
“Specifically, plaintiff asserted that its offer to haul solidified stabilized sludge was implicitly accepted by the defendant after it submitted the low bid in July 1997, (VOD ed: it is common practice for city departments to have contractors begin work before City Council approval.)and that because the offer was accepted it was entitled to begin hauling solidified stabilized sludge immediately thereafter. Plaintiff contends that it had an output contract with defendant that entitled it to haul a specific amount of sludge, and that defendant’s award of emergency contracts to City Management in 1997 and 1999 to haul raw sludge breached its contract with defendant by reducing the sludge available for plaintiff to haul to an amount less than that established by the contract, causing damages to it by diminishing the revenues that plaintiff was able and entitled to earn under the terms of the contract.”
Wonder why Bankston workers might have sued the company for non-payment, as alleged by Fox 2?
City Management’s owner Anthony Soave (rumored to be part of the mob underground), also a contributor to Ken Cockrel and numerous other city officials’ campaign finances, later sold the company to Waste Management, Inc. Click on http://www.forensic-intelligence.org/waste/cttrash.htm to read “The Offensive, Odorous Underbelly of Trash,” published in the Cheboygan Daily Tribune.
Bankston is certified by the City of Detroit’s Human Rights Department as a Detroit-headquartered business, a small business, and a minority-owned business, while Homrich is certified as a Detroit-based business. Bankston, Homrich, and the Humand Rights Department director did not return calls for comment on this article.
Oasis Trucking Center at 4195 Central
According to state records, Homrich’s only “Detroit base” appears to be Suite H at 4195 Central Street, the address used for the company’s certification. But no Homrich signs or equipment are visible there. This reporter was not able to obtain entry to Suite H on Sept. 28 because no one was in the office that day.
Manta says Homrich employs two people there, and has $98.000 in revenues annually.
But according to State of Michigan records, Roger I. Homrich owns numerous companies using the Homrich name, based mainly in Carleton and LaSalle Michigan.
Located at 12856 Allenhurst Rd. in LaSalle, Michigan, are Homrich Contracting, Homrich Environmental Remediation Services. LLC, andHomrich Industrial Services, LLC.
Aerial view Homrich LaSalle address on Allenhurst, appears to be lakefront property
Located at 200 Matlin Rd, Carleton, Michigan, are Homrich Management Corporation and Homrich Enterprises, as well as Regulated Resource Recovery, another company owned by Roger I. Homrich.
According to Manta, Homrich Wrecking has $7.1 million in revenues, with a staff of 60. It identifies Homrich Inc. at the Detroit address, but also says Homrich Inc. in Carleton rakes in $20-$50 million annually and has a staff of 100 to 249. Resource Recovery, which operates the land-fill on Matlin, has annual revenues of $5 to $10 million and employs 50 workers according to Manta.
Homrich was contractor on Hudson demolition
Homrich already has a huge share of both the City of Detroit and Detroit Public Schools contract pies, among them the notorious demolition of the J.L. Hudson Building, which caused a huge cloud of pollution to blanket downtown Detroit, the implosion of the Jeffries Projects to replace them with “market-rate” housing, only 20 percent for low-income individuals, and the current demolition of the historic Cass Technical High School building.
Of course, Fox 2’s fly-by-night attack on Bankston and Detroit is not surprising, given that Fox is owned by Rupert Murdoch, known for his obscene wealth, anti-unionism, and corruption.
Four towers of the Jeffries Projects demolished by Homrich on April 29, 2011
According to Wikipedia, “Murdoch has been listed three times in the Time 100 as among the most influential people in the world. He is ranked 13th most powerful person in the world in the 2010 Forbes’ The World’s Most Powerful People list. With a personal net worth of US$7.6 billion, he was ranked 117th wealthiest person in the world in March 2011.
“In July 2011 Murdoch faced allegations that his companies including the News of the World, owned by News Corporation, had been regularly hacking the phones of private citizens. He also faces police and government investigations into bribery and corruption in the UK and FBI investigations in the US.”
Rupert Murdoch, owner of Fox News and world's second largest media conglomerate
So, Charlie LeDuff and Fox 2 News Detroit, when are you going to flush Rupert Murdoch’s photo down the toilet? Or are you afraid of being fired like other Fox outlet officials who reported on the Murdoch phone hacking scandal?
Murdoch of Fox News Admits Manipulating the News
Rupert Murdoch of News Corp / Fox News Admits Manipulating the News for Agenda – Admits he supported the Bush Agenda in Iraq – He is part of the Bilderburg group
Also click on http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bin%20talal to for account of the Carlyle Group’s connection to Rupert Murdoch’s news empire. Turns out a major partner in the Carlyle Group owns the remaining stock in Murdoch’s News Group, parent company of Fox News.
The reality is, the majority of people in France do not even know they are at war with Libya, the crown of Africa. I met a young Belgian lady who is a professional architect, and cares about Peace and Love, and yet, even though NATO is headquartered in Belgium, she has never heard of NATO, nor even by its French acronym OTAN. That is the reality. The youth of Europe, do not even know they are at war.
We therefore have to change tactics. It is not enough to talk about NATO, NATO-rebels, and NATO supported terrorism. We must stop talking about NATO, because, even those how have heard of it, then consider it as some abstract or separate entity, and do not even connect it to what it is: the command of the North American (USA, Canada) and west European military forces.
Instead, we must now talk of US-European, or even WHITE countries. The white countries are at war with Black Africa, and Black, includes all Libyans, even those of light skin. We have to elevate the struggle to the ground level, to take it up to the consciousness of the bright educated “westerners”, no, not westerners, whites.
We have to call it as it is, and risk offending a few whites, in our experience, the good ones are not offended, as they realize they are but a tiny speck, an insignificant minority in a sea of millions. For every million whites, there is only one or two, or maybe a half dozen or so, who are “clued up” in any way about reality. Facebook does not educate them, nor the tell-lie-vision.
This is a white war against Black Africa, and the Black people of the world. Let the term Black be political: this includes the true greens, not the fake “environmental” greens of the green parties. Black does not include Obama, nor any other coconuts such as Conomsleeze Lice. Black includes the oppressed poor whites who have a consciousness.
Let us all be Black people then. Otherwise, how are we going to get through to these dumb whites, the millions of them, who refuse to even budge, a handful of them, 3 or 4 to be precise, demonstrated in Berlin against NATO and in support of Libya, and then turned against Mathaba when we reported their demonstration, as they wished people to read about it only on their blog.
White, means selfish. White means racist. White means reactionary. White means slave master. White means devil. Let us take the struggle to this level, for, where are the educated whites, what are they doing about this? Nothing. Only those who are here at Mathaba. What are we going to call ourselves? Black sheep, that is what, as we are the black sheep of this world.
Now it is imperative that we stop being sheep, and that we actually become pro-active, and lead the way, take the initiative. This means, in ever neighbourhood around the world, there must be a local MATHABA where people Meet And Talk Helping All Become Aware. Those committees, no matter what they call themselves, must make up a world wide Green Charter Movement.
Below is a video to educate those a little who don’t know what is going on:
Two bus loads of Detroiters traveled to Washington D.C. going to House Speaker John Boehner’s house to tell him to stop procrastinating and pass President Barack Obama’s projected $447-billion “Jobs Bill.” That would create hundreds of thousands of jobs for Americans and jet start our stalling economy getting it back on track!
A No Struggle, No Development! Production
By Kenny Snodgrass. Activist, Videographer, Author of From Victimization To Empowerment – The Challenge Of African American Leadership – The Need of Real Power
We are about 30 days from filing a class action lawsuit against the M.D.O.C. (Michigan Department of Corrections) and PCS (Prisoner Communication Services), in an attempt to enforce SB 138 Section 272, or completely void the contract due to a suspect bidding process. (Click on PCS prisoner letter to read letter to Attorney General Bill Schuette. It explains our position in depth.)
We have also sent letters and attached the letter we wrote to the A.G. to many groups, including the Detroit Chapter of the NAACP, MI-CURE, AFSC, and CAPPS. We are looking to send that letter to all the Senators and House members.
Last we set up a P.O. Box so family members and inmates alike can send their stories of how the Special Equipment Fund has hurt their relationship with the people they love and care for. It’s at:
The Coalition to Lower Phone Rates
c/o C. Bachus
P.O. Box 2154
Holland, MI 49422
We are determined to fight this money grab by the MDOC. Now is not the time to being Double Taxing those who have loved ones in prison. This is the time we need to focus on building family bonds, not destroying them. I even set up our legal team here to fight this fraudulent Special Equipment Fund. We realize that this will not be undone until we take legal action. Yet, after watching the Arab Spring in the Middle East, we realized the importance of using Social Media to spread the truth, grow our support base, and consolidate the families and friends of those beyond these walls. Social Media allows us to strike back and have our voices heard via our loved ones who have computers, and expose the age-old dirty practices of the MDOC.
MDOC/PCS phone rates in contract; Special Equipment Fund adds most to the cost, can be used for any purpose by both MDOC and PCS
We are not afraid to use our names and stories. We are not afraid, nor will we stop fighting. The team I set up consists of:
·Carl Ashley, #136985, he is the lead paralegal, he will be writing and formatting the brief, and in the past has won a few suits against the MDOC. He is well known throughout the system. He is a Lifer, and well-respected by inmates and staff alike.
·Josh Puckett #250645 will be assisting with any Oral arguments, as well as handling media relations so we can keep the buzz going and grow positive support for our position. He is a Lifer who is well known throughout the system for using Social Media to grow support for his Commutation. (See http://freejoshpuckett.com. ) He is serving on the Warden’s Forum, and is well respected by Staff. He works closely with C. Bachus, to create the sites, and stay in contract with the outside groups and media contacts.
·John English #174718 works with Carl in legal research and analysis of the Bills, and as well as prisoner relations. He will assist also at trial. He is also a Lifer who is well respected by Inmates, and seen as an agent for positive Change on the Warden’s Forum.
·Michael Cheatham-Bey #172290 also assists with obtaining legal documents and provides needed insight into our legal strategies. He only has four more years left, but is still willing to stand against this injustice by the MDOC. He is well respected by his fellow inmates and staff alike.
·Anthony Fawcett #183991 is also a well known “Legal Begal” who got involved with the fight after starting a previous suit against the MDOC on behalf of another inmate who was not being allowed to call his family in the Middle East. He has detailed knowledge of the last phone contract as well as Michigan Compiled Law (MCL). He has argued in court on behalf of himself in a previous lawsuit against the State. He maintains a good relationship with staff and inmates alike.
·Jerry Lashuay #176424 helps with media relations as well as legal analysis. He is the Co-Founder of Juveniles Against Incarcerations for Life (J.A.I.L.) He has a good relationship with staff, works on the Warden’s Forum and is also currently pursuing a Commutation.
Yadira Hiciano (photo from Twitter)
·Yadira Hiciano: she is an experienced paralegal living and working in New York. Her firm is a real estate law firm but her skills allow her to assist in finding obscure laws, researching the Bills, and providing insight into team strategy. She is a good friend of Josh Puckett, and the site administrator of http://freejoshpuckett.com. Being from New York, she saw this same company kicked out of New York and replaced with a far cheaper system where calls are approximately $1.30 for 30 minutes.
·C. Bachus is the free world lead for media relations. She is the significant other of a Lifer, and a well-known community organizer in the fight for fair phone rates. She blogs on behalf of the Coalition and works closely with Josh Puckett to get the word out and write the families and friends of the inmates. She is also the Administrator for the Facebook page.
We are currently looking for a few more family members, as well as someone from the women’s prisons to add to the team. These men and women deserve their recognition for all the long hours of work they are doing to right this wrong. They are the ones who will have to pay the filing fees and who will suffer the staff retaliation when this is filed.
All of them have given me the o.k. to use their names. We hope by putting their names out there it will curtail future retaliation. As well, showcase the diverse group of people working on this cause, thus inspiring hope in those waiting for this to be corrected. They also deserve our thanks for all they are doing and have done on this road.
It will be a long road to come. The MDOC will not easily relinquish the $787,000 a month that they are making [from the Special Equipment Fund of the PCS contract].We expect this fight to take 7-10 months, so we are also asking the court for an initial preliminary injunction to lower the rates back to the Embarq rates of 10-15 cents a minute, which will still make the MDOC $350,000 per month at the minimum level of minutes listed on the contract sample payout chart. If the court grants this it will give some relief to the inmates and their families until the suit is resolved.
So, we have a plan, now we need to get that plan public support, we need to get these websites out there, and we need to get support for our team. We may even need to raise funds if the cost of this suit gets too high. We would even love to have a real Lawyer to help us,but the fact remains if you want something done right you must do it yourself.
Josh Puckett can be reached by mail, Jpay.com, or his own email at:
THE BLACK POWER MIXTAPE 1967-1975 mobilizes a treasure trove of 16mm material shot by Swedish filmmakers, after languishing in a basement of a TV station for 30 years, into an irresistible mosaic of images, music, and narration chronicling the evolution one of our nation’s most indelible turning points, the Black Power movement. Featuring candid interviews with the movement’s most explosive revolutionary minds, including Angela Davis, Bobby Seale, Stokely Carmichael, and Kathleen Cleaver, the film explores the community, people and radical ideas of the movement. Music by Questlove and Om’Mas Keith, and commentary from and modern voices including Erykah Badu, Harry Belafonte, Talib Kweli, and Melvin Van Peebles give the historical footage a fresh sound and make THE BLACK POWER MIXTAPE 1967-75 an exhilarating, unprecedented account of an American revolution.
“The Black Power Mixtape” Is Getting A Theatrical Release!
It’s been awhile it seems since I last wrote about this film; Goran Hugo Olsson’sThe Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975, the documentary that premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and was recently acquired for distribution by Sundance Selects.
I’ve seen it twice already – first at Sundance, and later at the New Directors/New Films Festival here in NYC, a couple of months ago. I also reviewed it on the old S&A site, and you can read it HERE if you haven’t already. Needless to say, I liked it!
Until today, I assumed that, given that it was acquired by Sundance Selects, it would only air on cable TV, on the Sundance Channel; however, I received an email from the PR firm handling the film’s release, inviting me to upcoming press screenings in anticipation of a theatrical release that will happen later this year – specifically, as the email states, it’ll open in limited release, in New York and Los Angeles (of course), in mid-September. It doesn’t give exact dates, just “mid-September. Although, I assume we’ll have a specific date soon enough.
That’s good news! Not that it’s a film that demands to be seen on the big screen, but, it certainly does enhance the experience; and I’m guessing the theatrical release is to ensure that the film qualifies for awards consideration once that season begins.
I should also note that when it eventually makes its way to TV, it’ll be on PBS’ Independent Lens.
Danny Glover is one of the film’s producers by the way.
(note new link for BAMN –click on link for website and to sign up for email alerts)
Appeals Court to Review Ruling in Favor of Affirmative Action This Winter
For five years, the Prop 2 ban on affirmative action in Michigan has excluded thousands of qualified black, Latino/a and Native American students from Michigan’s premier public colleges and universities.
The University of Michigan has seen a 36% decline in the number of underrepresented minorities in the undergraduate school of Literature, Science and Arts and a 26% decline in the undergraduate School of Engineering since 2006. The doors to graduate and professional schools have been shut even tighter – in Dentistry a 44% decline; in Medicine a 48% decline, in Law a 56% decline.
We now have our best chance in years to reverse those attacks. On July 1, 2011, theSixth Circuit struck down Michigan’s Proposal 2 because it violated the Fourteenth Amendment. Further evidence of the turning tide on affirmative action occurred on July 8, when California Governor Jerry Brown filed a brief in the Ninth Circuit supporting BAMN’s claim that Proposition 209, an identical anti-affirmative action law, violates the Equal Protection Clause.
Our victory at the Sixth Circuit was appealed by our opponents and will now be reviewed by the full panel of Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals judges. This en banc hearing will likely be scheduled for late January or February of 2012 in Cincinnati.
Protest against Proposal 2 in Lansing, Michigan
To persuade the Court to reaffirm last summer’s ruling and uphold the real meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment, we need a broad, united PUBLIC campaign in support of these challenges. The 2003 demonstration of 50,000 people outside the U.S. Supreme Court was a crucial factor in the victory for affirmative action in Grutter v. Bollinger. Mass action will play no less a role in this round.
Proposal 2 nullified the Grutter victory for the people of Michigan. But now we have the opportunity to regain the ground that was lost.
2. Circulate Petitions demanding that the Regents and Presidents of the University of Michigan and Wayne State end their “neutrality” and stand with us in court saying these proposals are unconstitutional.
3. Organize conferences, forums, and campus rallies to mobilize support from minority students, from the black, Latino/a, and Native American communities, and from every supporter of civil rights. Call 855-ASK-BAMN (855-275-2266) to schedule a speaker.
To be delivered to: Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. President Barack Obama
IMMEDIATELY CHARGE DETROIT POLICE OFFICER JOSEPH WEEKLEY AND ALL OTHERS INVOLVED FROM THE CITY’S POLICE DEPARTMENT AND GOVERNMENT, AS WELL AS A&E AND THE FIRST 48, WITH FIRST-DEGREE MURDER FOR THE KILLING OF 7-YEAR-OLD AIYANA STANLEY-JONES ON MAY 16, 2010.
On May 16, 2010, a Detroit police Special Response Team, being filmed by A&E’s First 48 reality show, firebombed the home of seven-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones in Detroit, and shot her in the head, killing her. There has been world-wide outrage at this murder, but to date, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has brought no charges against Police Officer Joseph Weekley, who fired the fatal shot, or anyone else from the police department and city government (which had contracted with The First 48), in this child’s death. This qualifies as a first-degree murder because police had ample opportunity to arrest the person they were seeking, who did not live in Aiyana’s home, previously the same day, but waited until the cameras were rolling. Weekley fired immediately upon entrance into the home in a poor Black east-side neighborhood.
There are numerous other articles on Aiyana’s case on the Voice of Detroit, just put her name “Aiyana” in the search engine; be sure to keep going to older posts at the bottom of each page that comes up.
