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EMERGENCY: TROY DAVIS EXECUTION SET FOR TONIGHT 7 PM! SIGN PETITIONS, CALL OFFICIALS!
Troy Davis’ sister Kim: My brother got me out of my wheelchair; please help me save his life
From San Francisco Bay View newspaper
September 18, 2011
The Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole refused to grant clemency to Troy, but we can’t give up — or Troy will be murdered on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET! Right now, call the Board at (404) 656-5651 to ask that they reconsider, and call and sign these three petitions to District Attorney Larry Chisolm, who can withdraw his death warrant: Continue reading
Tagged #toomuchdoubt
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BUS WORKERS, RIDERS BLAST BING
![Bus line on Grand River around corner from Rosa Parks terminal 9 21 11](http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Bus-line-on-Grand-River-around-corner-from-Rosa-Parks-terminal-9-21-11.jpg)
Riders boarding bus on Grand River around the corner from the Rosa Parks Terminal on Sept. 21, 2011; every day there are long lines at that stop despite the fact the terminal is right next door.
Bus stop lines stretch around corners, many riders face 2 to 3 hour waits
Union leaders deny claims of slowdown
Watson questions whether administration plans to privatize D-DOT
![Bus hearing Leamon Wilson](http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Bus-hearing-Leamon-Wilson1-300x246.jpg)
Local 312 President Leamon Wilson denounces administration's "lies," calls for hiring more mechanics, stop privatization of work
By Diane Bukowski
September 20, 2011
DETROIT – Bus workers and their union leaders, community representatives, and many passengers expressed fury Sept. 16 at claims by Mayor Dave Bing’s appointees that current block-long bus lines and hours-long waits result from a deliberate slow-down by mechanics, and threats by union officials against workers if they don’t comply.
Bing’s Group Executive Terrence King and Department of Transportation (D-DOT) Director Lovevett Williams also claimed drivers are colluding with the mechanics by reporting “non-existent” mechanical problems, during a public hearing called by the City Council. King even blamed bus drivers for calling in sick to attend the mass mobilization of unions in Lansing April 13 to stop Public Act 4, the emergency manager act which threatens to remove city officials as well as unions and workers.
Bing colluded with Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and legislators in drafting that act. (See VOD story at http://voiceofdetroit.net/2011/06/21/bing-ricktator-gate/).
“I want to state for the record that there is no slowdown, there is no proof of a slowdown, and as far as us threatening employees, that’s a lie!” Leamon Wilson, president of the bus mechanics Local 312 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) said angrily.
During the hearing, it was King who threatened mechanics and drivers with imminent discharge and discipline. King even said the administration is getting ready to post driver and mechanic jobs to replace those they fire.
“I’ve been president for 20 years and never had my people threaten to kill our fellow members,” Wilson countered. “The problem is gross mismanagement. We have tried to get D-DOT to hire more mechanics, but instead they laid off. As a result of the Mayor’s policies there have been massive retirements in the entire city, and 30 mechanics retired in the last 18 months. They wouldn’t replace them. Instead they gave us unlimited overtime, which was insane. We never wanted that.”
King also claimed mechanics were slowing down due to the Mayor’s recent cut-off of their overtime, and that he had only identified problems with deteriorating bus service in the last three weeks. In denying those claims, Wilson presented a thick document to the Council summarizing the history of problems in the Department.
“Bus service has been bad for over a year even when we had unlimited overtime,” Wilson said. “Management got this body to approve massive vendoring contracts, some of them worth up to $18 million. In the last 18 months, there have been more contracts than ever before, even when we had 600 buses. Vendoring does not work. Check the records, see how long bus 3930 was out of service and how long the vendor had it. It took us two months to fix what they did because they butchered the frame so bad. One vendor had a bus for a full year, and we had to tear it down and re-build it all over again.”
Williams told the council that the department currently has 445 buses, but that up to 200 are not in operation due to the alleged “slow-down.” She claimed the “industry standard” is to have one bus mechanic for four to five buses, while D-DOT has one mechanic for every 2.5 buses.
“They have enough mechanics to fix those buses,” Williams claimed.
There are 145 mechanics, according to a report King made to Council Sept. 20. He said some may be on workers comp leave. Those figures mean there is actually one mechanic for every 3.06 buses.
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has 800 mechanics for 1,781 buses, one mechanic for every 2.23 buses, according to the CTA website.
Wilson said weekends are normally a prime time for mechanics to repair the buses, ever since Bing drastically cut week-end service in 2009 after mass protests by riders at public hearings, leaving more buses in the yards.
![Bus hearing Shandell Crawford speaks (2)](http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Bus-hearing-Shandell-Crawford-speaks-2.jpg)
Youth Shandell Crawford rouses angry crowd at bus cutback hearing in August, 2009; this time, Bing held no hearings before cutting buses again several months ago
“But they’ve only been working skeleton mechanic crews on the weekends,” Wilson said. “At one garage recently, there were only four mechanics, with one assigned to test-driving the buses, leaving three in the garage. But meanwhile there are more foremen than workers, because they are giving the foremen unlimited overtime. The work force is totally demoralized, the ridership out there is suffering, they’re hrowing bricks at buses. Even our service truck drivers scared to drive. The Mayor give less than a damn about the people.”
City Councilwoman JoAnn Watson asked King why the Mayor and D-DOT had not scheduled a meeting with the public, the Council, and the unions to resolve matters. She said the council has no direct power over executive matters. She also asked whether the administration’s allegations are a move to privatize D-DOT.
U.S. District Court Judge Sean Cox issued an edict Sept. 9 taking over the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) through regionalization, abrogating the City Charter, the state Constitution and union contracts. National water service experts have said privatization is likely the next step.
There have been numerous proposals in Lansing over the years to merge D-DOT and the pseudo-public SMART (Suburbuan Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation). As with the DWSD move, many Detroiters fear transportation in their city will be further diminished and that suburban officials will get the lion’s share of federal funds and lucrative contracts.
King claimed the city has been attempting fruitlessly to meet with the union for several months to resolve issues and has been complying religiously with the union contract, a claim Wilson denied.
“We’ve been trying to meet with them for quite some time—there’s a chain of letters in that package,” Wilson said. “When Saul Green was still deputy Mayor, I went to him to talk about the shopload of over 170 buses that were down, and ended up getting threatened in a meeting by [D-DOT administrator] Larry Luckett, who said he would kick my a— in the parking lot. They have called my mother a ‘whore’ and a ‘bitch’ as is documented in the letter you have before you. The Department doesn’t comply with the privatization ordinance or the collective bargaining agreement. We’re over at MERC (the Michigan Employment Relations Commission) right now suing them because they’re violating it whenever they want. That fact is you have an administration that really doesn’t know how to run the city, and they’re blaming the union.”
Local 312 has faced numerous attacks over the years by various administrations, including Wilson’s discharge at one point, which was overturned after union protests.
Wilson said every mayor prior to Bing, including Coleman Young, Dennis Archer, and Kwame Kilpatrick has met in person with him and the union leadership to resolve transportation problems.
Henry Gaffney is President of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 23, pointed at the Council bench and said Bing should be sitting there as well.
![bus hearing_0013](http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/bus-hearing_0013-274x300.jpg)
Helen Moore says Bing and Roy Roberts are colluding to hurt children by forcing them to stay in schools even if they have moved
“Mr. King probably doesn’t know anything about transportation,” Gaffney said. “I suggest he and the Mayor come out and ride that bus. There are 107,000 people a day who have to depend on the buses. It’s reached an all time high. Our drivers are catching hell. The passengers see nobody else out there but the drivers, and they are getting verbal abuse and worse. One driver was just physically attacked on the Dexter route, where three buses were running when there needed to be 14. We are not going to continue accepting this situation where our members don’t know if they’re going to get home to their families. We are at our wits’ end—this is the worst administration I’ve ever seen when it comes to taking care of people.”
![DDOT bus terminal](http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/DDOT-bus-terminal2.jpg)
DDOT spent $18 million on Rosa Parks terminal, which is now closed at night because homeless people use it as shelter, while cutting routes, jobs and equipment
Gaffney said drivers come to work starting at 3:30 a.m., but by 5 a.m. all buses are gone, and they are left waiting for a bus.
“It’s the worst I’ve ever seen transportation, and I’ve been here 20 years,” Gaffney said. He said his drivers have already been forced to take an eight percent pay cut, and that his union also has sent letters to the Mayor and received no response.
“It’ll be dark at 4 pm in a minute—wait until some little girl gets raped,” Gaffney said. “When a bus leaves the Rosa Parks terminal, he’s packed, everybody else on that line, they’re out of luck. These people here right now—they want a bus Monday morning, people are going to lose their jobs if they can’t get to work, but the buses have been running three to four hours late for the last year. Sixty percent of households in the city don’t have a car, they have to get on the bus to go to the grocery store, the doctor, everywhere. Action is needed NOW!”
Many in the audience raised specific problems, among them the transportation of Detroit Public Schools students, mistreatment of riders with disabilities, and Detroiters’ loss of jobs if they have to take the bus to work, due to constant tardiness and absences.
Long-time schools activist and leader of Keep the Vote No Takeover, Elder Helen Moore, said Bing and Detroit Public Schools Emergency Manager Roy Roberts met recently and instituted a new policy forcing children to remain in the schools they were in last year whether or not they have moved out of the neighborhood.
“When these people get together are they really concerned about our children and their safety or what they and the corporations want? Our children are in an unsafe situation, waiting on the bus for two to three hours, through no fault of their own.”
Councilwoman Watson called on Bing and Roberts to put in writing a policy they claim to have enacted, which would allow children to show their student ID cards to get on D-DOT buses free, in the wake of huge DPS transportation cuts.
Lisa Franklin, president of Warriors on Wheels, representing wheelchair disabled riders, denounced recent actions by D-DOT paratransit subcontractor Enjoi.
“Paratransit is just as jacked up,” Franklin said. “We staged a march against poor transportation service Aug. 31, and two days later a memo was sent out to the providers that wheelchair users have to get on the bus backwards, which is correct. But now they are making us RIDE backwards for two and three hours. That’s nothing but retaliation. Since the transition to Enjoi three years ago nothing has changed. There used to be a two hour turnaround before they picked you up, now it’s three hours or “as soon as a vehicle is available.”
D-DOT Director Williams said she did not have information on the backwards-ride policy and “would get back” to the Council.
Other wheelchair users who testified also complained about riding backwards, and about rear-end loaders, which they said are unsafe because there is no exit in the event of a rear-end collision, and they are sitting on top of the bus motor, creating extremely hot conditions. They also said they are frequently passed up by buses that are full.
“I want the driver to stop at the corner when I wave if I can’t get to the bus stop,” said one rider. “That’s the rule. But I know they’re under a lot of stress. I understand when the bus is packed like sardines, people hitting me with purses and elbows, standing in front and back of my chair where they shouldn’t be.”
Sheila Jackson Carter, a job developer for LASED (Latin Americans for Social and Economic Development), said many people lose their jobs or are denied employment if they depend on city bus transport.
“I’ve had employers tell me that it’s a black eye on an application once they check they don’t have transportation—nine times out of ten they won’t get called. I’ve been instructed not to send people to them if they depend on the bus. But people can’t afford cars, gas and insurance rates. People ride bus because can’t they can’t afford to do anything else. Our are people losing jobs—1,2, 3 tardinesses and they’re out. On the temp jobs, you miss one day and you’re out of a job.”
Cynthia Johnson-Brown showed the Council a 2010 report issued by D-DOT.
![Bus hearing speaker with book](http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Bus-hearing-speaker-with-book-281x300.jpg)
Cynthia Johnson-Brown says D-DOT report requires lines with buses having over 61 passengers should be shut down
“The number of people that can ride bus is supposed to be 30 to 50 people. We are hurting—this is a safety factor, there have been up to 75 people packed on bus. Your report says if there are more than 61 people on the bus, you are supposed to shut down the line.”
Mary Williams said she and her son were returning home from a doctor’s appointment at Woodward and Mack, but waited for one and a half hour before she decided to go down the street to a store. She said they saw the bus coming, and were only able to get on it because they were by themselves; the bus had to pass by the long line at Woodward and Mack.
Several riders expressed solidarity with bus workers.
Retired UAW worker Derrick Batiste said he has had to stop passengers from jumping on drivers, and explain to them it is not the drivers’ fault, but that they should complain to the Mayor, the Department and the Council.
“I am a victim,” said Nora Simmons. “I was really late getting to my job in Pontiac because the Seven Mile bus was delayed over an hour. But the Bible says the wages shall not be oppressed of the employees. By them cutting the bus drivers wage, they violated God’s law, according to Malachi 3:5. You cannot take their jobs from 19 to 15 dollars an hour when they have earned their pay.”
Mr. Sweatt said, “I’ve been on the bus for two months. I lost my job about two years ago, I either have to pay rent or get car fixed. It seems like a no brainer—pay your rent. But I’ve seen some violence on the bus. I can’t see myself watching a bus driver get assaulted without me intervening, so I decided to get my car fixed. I’d rather be homeless than carless in the city of Detroit.”
Several bus drivers expressed solidarity with their passengers.
“I apologize to the passengers for rude drivers,” said 25-year bus driver and union representative Mark Williams. “It is not the driver’s fault. The majority of drivers are good hard-working drivers, under a heck of a lot of stress. They might not have got a break for three hours when they get to Rosa Parks, and when they run to bathroom and there are a hundred people out there, they get angry. We understand if it’s your mother, daughter, and child, it’s dangerous, but please don’t take it out on us. This is the worst situation I’ve ever seen.”
Twenty-year bus driver Evans said, “It’s hard for me to come to work and report for a bus and they tell me I can’t have a bus.” Turning to the audience, he said, “Its means I can’t pick you up and I’ve developed relationships with my riders. I’m from the city. Before I was a bus driver, I rode the bus. There have been years of declining service, cutting lines and service times. I was insulted because he (King) said our operators didn’t want to work. We have not been provided with the tools in order to be professional.”
Another speaker pointed out that drastic cuts in routes Bing has made over the last several years have meant that riders are forced onto other routes, overcrowding the buses there.
Donald Harris, a graduate student at the University of Detroit Mercy, said the city administration lacks respect for bus riders and needs to commit to D-DOT with “out-of-the-box” thinking.
“There is a systemic lack of respect for people who take public transportation in city of Detroit. The level of service we get is completely reprehensible. The administration does not care about people who ride the bus. When I was in Chicago, the total wait time on Sunday on a holiday weekend was not more than 12 minutes. They have budget issues also. There is techonology available, green dollars available—where’s the out of the box thinking on this?”
Denise Dansby said she rides the Seven Mile bus and now faces a three hour wait for a bus, sometimes not getting home from work until after 8 p.m.
“In July the Greenfield bus was an hour late, and a young man was robbed at gunpoint in front of all of us,” Dansby said. “Two tires came off another bus with passengers riding down street. Dave Bing needs to be the main one here. Rehire drivers and mechanics, put more buses on the road.”
King and Wilson said they have a labor-management meeting on the problems scheduled for Monday Sept. 19.
UPDATE: On September 20, King reported back to the City Council that city administrators met with Local 312 President Leamon Wilson and seven of his board members. He said they are to meet again Sept. 21 and afterwards for “discovery” purposes.
“Neither party basically changed its opinion as to the cause, but both agreed to do whatever is necessary to get the buses fixed,” King said. “There is a meeting tomorrow where the unions will bring their solutions to table.”
King claimed it would be difficult to change the number of mechanics working on the weekends, and that D-DOT is putting together plans to notify the media at its request of changes in bus schedules due to the alleged “slowdown.” He said buses are being moved to other routes where needed.
Councilwoman Brenda Jones asked what plan there is to rapidly hire more mechanics, a key issue raised by Wilson at the Sept. 16 meeting. King skirted the question, although he claimed Sept. 16 that the city was already working to post jobs for mechanics and drivers (after firing current employees).
Council members JoAnn Watson and Kwame Kenyatta asked that the current 145 mechanics be connected with the 200 non-operable buses “by any means necessary,” including moving stored parts back to the garages. Both called on the city and union to reach agreement to send buses out for repair if necessary. On Sept. 16, Wilson said that such outsourcing has not been productive for years and in fact caused further delays.
To watch entire Council hearing Sept. 16, click on
http://apps.attainresponse.com/MediaF5/liveRecording.htm?id=286066 .
Posted in Transportation
4 Comments
LOCAL 207 PRESENTS SOLUTIONS FOR WATER/SEWERAGE PROBLEMS
![Lansing Watson Garrett Coleman Young](http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Lansing-Watson-Garrett-Coleman-Young-1024x748.jpg)
Detroiters including Councilwoman JoAnn Watson, Council 25 Pres. Al Garrett and State Rep. Coleman Young demand no water takeover in Lansing Feb. 23
FEDERAL JUDGE GIVES PANEL 60 DAYS TO PREPARE PLAN TO IMPROVE THE SEWAGE PLANT
September 16, 2011
On Friday September 9, Federal Judge Sean Cox issued an order giving an appointed panel till November 4, 2011 to present a plan to keep the Wastewater Treatment Plant in compliance with federal pollution standards or he will impose “a more intrusive remedy.”
The judge’s panel is comprised of the City COO Chris Brown, City Council’s Charles Pugh and Gary Brown, and a member of the Board of Water Commissioners. The judge ordered the panel to “disregard” union contracts and the City Charter. That would violate the democratic rights of union members and Detroit citizens. Cox’s “intrusive remedy” would likely be some combination of regional takeover and/or privatization. While disguised as a measure necessary to protect the environment, everyone knows that the underlying racist assumption behind such takeovers is that black people cannot be trusted to administrate or govern. The other absurd implication is that unions and workers are to blame for management’s failures. These are lies.
In the 1970s, the Sewage Plant was in shambles due to mismanagement, underfunding, lack of training and short-staffing. It was a polluting Lake Erie, so the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sued. In 1978, Detroit and the communities that use our sewerage system agreed to oversight by Federal Judge Feikens. Since then the plant has repeatedly fallen out of compliance with federal pollution standards by sending too much suspended solids into the river. Judge Feikens stepped in several times to order more staff, training and equipment. But soon after DWSD management would start cutting back and the plant would start polluting again. In 2002, Feikens installed a private contractor, Victor Mercado as DWSD Director. Mercado slashed jobs, cut overtime, sold off vehicles, cut training and got involved in Kilpatrick’s corruption schemes (privatization always means corruption). Water leaks went unrepaired and the WWTP started polluting again. By 2009 violations were frequent, mostly due – as always – to the lack of operable dewatering units.
Every few years since the 1950’s suburban politicians have tried to assert control over Detroit’s vast water and sewerage system. After the election of Mayor Coleman Young the phony justifications for these takeover attempts became increasingly racist. For years Local 207 has led the opposition to these takeovers.
Toward the end of Mayor Kilpatrick’s reign, Judge Feikens assembled representatives of big business (including Dave Bing) for closed door discussions about regionalizing the water department. Feikens’ plan involved the suburbs paying Detroit for the system. Mayor Kilpatrick’s representative was part of this plot. The problem was that the suburban politicians wanted to steal DWSD for free. Local 207 exposed this conspiracy in the press. After Kilpatrick self-destructed, the plan fell apart for the lack of support in Detroit.
Judge Feikens died last year and oversight passed to Judge Sean Cox, brother of former right-wing Republican State Attorney General, Mike Cox. In July of this year, Detroit asked the State of Michigan to take over monitoring of the plant, and requested that Cox end federal control. Oakland and Macomb counties then asked Cox to take DWSD away from Detroit and convert it to a stand-alone entity. Cox’s order is his response.
Local 207 presented City Council with suggestions to keep the plant in compliance as below. We are preparing legal action to protect union members’ interests. We have urged City Council to do likewise. The crisis at WWTP must not be used as an excuse to pull off a takeover or to privatize the Water Department. Detroiters must not allow ourselves to be stripped of our remaining assets and jobs by a bunch of copper thieves in suits. If they try it, we must be prepared to do whatever is necessary to save our department, our jobs, and our city.
AFSCME LOCAL 207’S Suggestions to Improve the WWTP
HIRE MORE STAFF
There were once approximately 1,000 employees at the WWTP. Positions have been slashed and yet still only 70% of the remaining positions were filled as of the third quarter of 2011. Even though there has been significant hiring over the last 18 months there still are shortages of workers in the Sewage Plant Operator series and Plant Maintenance Mechanic series. Other divisions of DWSD also are short staffed.
CLASS ROOM & ON-THE-JOB TRAINING
With the decline in Michigan industrial jobs, many new hires have little industrial experience. Make sure newer employees are working smart by teaching them the right way from the beginning. This means, in addition to classes that need to be arranged, on-the-job trainers should shadow new employees and those taking on new responsibilities. State certification tests do not equal competency. Detroit’s location on the Great Lakes is an important asset. DWSD should become the training ground for leadership in water and wastewater technology for the nation.
STOP DRIVING OUT EXPERIENCED EMPLOYEES
The Mayor’s threatened concessions have meant a flood of retirement, including early retirements. Threats to expropriate unused sick time accrued through years of good attendance means that some people have decided to retire before much of their sick time is taken without compensation. Others are forced to retire by the maximum ten year look back for average final compensation. Back off the threats to stem the outflow of experience.
INCREASE PAY SCALES
Judge Cox expressed concern that City-wide collective bargaining agreements have set pay scales too low. All that’s required is that those titles be altered to “DWSD” specific classifications, and management could then easily increase wages for the new titles. This would not be hard to do since many of our titles are already “Water” or “Sewage” specific.
GREEN TECHNOLOGY
The WWTP should be using modern green technology such as anaerobic digesters which not only reduce solids but use the sludge to create energy to run the plant. Boston has had them for years. Ypsilanti uses modern fluidized bed incinerators; Detroit still uses redesigned iron furnaces from the 19th century to incinerate sewage sludge.
DEWATERING: THE KEY TO SUSTAINED COMPLIANCE
Purchase and install heavy duty dewatering machines such at belt filter presses and centrifuges, use the best supplies (polymer, lubricants, replacement parts, etc), maintain a steady supply of parts, fully staff and train the maintenance and operations crews. Staff the plant at the former levels to keep the machinery clean and in good running order. Stop being “penny wise and pound foolish” with staffing, equipment, training and supplies.
HUMAN RESOURCES
It is past time to replace the discredited Workbrain and antiquated PPS payroll systems. Unisys has informed IT that it will no longer support PPS beyond next year. Stop the weekly flood of payroll errors that waste Human Resource’s time. Many workers refuse management’s requests to work overtime because they know that they may never be paid for it. Speed up the promotion process. The city must stop relying on tests that include questions that have not changed in sixty years about tools that are no longer used.
REDUCE RELIANCE ON CONTRACTORS
Due to the long lag time to purchase parts, management has been paying contractors a 30% mark-up to buy parts for them as well as supply skilled trades workers. A study in the New York Times just proved that contracting out is twice as expensive as using public workers. We must train our own skilled trades people through our City apprenticeship program.
AFSCME Local 207 General Membership Meeting –
THURSDAY OCTOBER 13 – 4:30 PM
AFSCME Building – 600 W. Lafayette @ Third Ave.
Basement Conference Room “C” – Free Parking in Lot Behind Building
PEOPLE’S OCCUPATION OF WALL STREET HAS BEGUN
![Wall Street Occupation taking the bull by the horsn Julianne Pepitone](http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Wall-Street-Occupation-taking-the-bull-by-the-horsn-Julianne-Pepitone.jpg)
Taking the bull by the horns: thousands occupy Wall Street September 17, 2011/Photo: Julianne Pepitone
Update: Wall Street People’s Occupation has begun, Camping plans drawn, WEBSITE: Occupy Wall Street. Click on live streaming to see events unfold.
Human Rights Examiner
September 17, 2011 – Like this? Subscribe to get instant updates.
Update: Sept. 17, 8:45 pm ET
The human rights defenders gathered on Wall Street had planned to descend there Saturday to “occupy parts of it as an expression of anger over a financial system that they said favors the rich and powerful at the expense of ordinary citizens,” according to New York Times late Saturday.
Earlier Saturday, the demonstrators found much of their target off limits due to the city shutting sections of Wall Street near the New York Stock Exchange and Federal Hall before they arrived according to NY Times.
“By 10:00 a.m., metal barricades manned by uniformed police officers ringed the blocks of Wall Street between Broadway and William Street to the east.”
What was hundreds has now grown to thousands of protesters gathered on Wall Street with intention of preventing people from their offices Monday.”
Occasionally, the masses chant, “Occupy Wall Street! Occupy Wall Street! Occupy Wall Street!”
As the protesters planned for their first night camping in the city, legal information given to them was that it is legal to camp on sidewalks for the purpose of political protest with provisions, such as not blocking the path or erecting a structure such as a tent.
The consensus had been that the rights defenders would remain and camp out on the sidewalks, decided by vote.
Parks close at 10:00 pm.
Instructions were provided, and the group at large repeated them in unison, about the camping laws.
On the livefeed, thousands of people chanted a demand to end the illegal US-led wars.
CODEPINK had issued another Tweet alert shortly ago: “#takewallstreet demands immediate end to #wars!! Gives me chills to hear so many chanting that as #occupywallstreet!!!”
At approximately 8:45 pm, an announcement was made that the property owner where the majority of the thousands are gathered has given permission for them to remain as long as they are peaceful.
The news was repeated by the thousands, following the leader giving it, segment by segment, in unison – after a loud applause and cheers.
“Paul J. Browne, the Police Department’s chief spokesman, said no permits had been sought for the demonstration but plans for it ‘were well known publicly,'” reported the Times.
After a reminder about undercover government operatives who typically infiltrate peace groups, for the purpose of inciting violence, the group shouted together:
“Anyone acting violently,
“Is not part of us!”
Update: Sept. 17, 6:30 pm ET
Over 1000 people have gathered on Wall Street to occupy it. Police presence is heavy.
Protesters are chanting, “Power to the people.”
![People's occupation of Wall Street 9 17 11 Julianne Pepitone](http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Peoples-occupation-of-Wall-Street-9-17-11-Julianne-Pepitone.jpg)
Occupation of Wall Street is indefinite or until Pres. Barack Obama establishes a commission to study taking profits out of the system
The police presence is so heavy at Zucotti Park, one participant has Tweeted, “Zuccotti Park where 1000+ protesters are gathered is being surrounded by police. Suggest prepare to disperse & reform.” (#usdor #takewallstreet)
The revolution will not be televised – but is being live-streamed
As human rights defenders gear to begin the indefinite People’s Occupation of Washington DC starting October 6, Saturday, hundreds of protesters have descended on Wall Street in New York to occupy it indefinitely, or until President Barack Obama establishes a commission to end “the influence money has over our representatives in Washington.”
“The one thing we all have in common is that We Are The 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%,” reads the official website Occupy Wall Street.
Julianne Peptide, a key coordinator of the Wall Street Occupation, stated, “The plan is to crowdsource the decision.”
“Protesters are set to meet and discuss the issue at the iconic Wall Street Bull statue at noon Saturday, as well as at a “people’s assembly” at One Chase Manhattan Plaza at 3 p.m”
IBTimes reports Saturday that “it will be interesting to see whether New York will succeed in transforming Lower Manhattan into an ‘American Tahrir Square.’
“Occupy Wall Street, a leaderless resistance movement, was published by activist magazine Adbusters on July 13, and since then people from groups such as NYC General Assembly and US Day of Rage have participated to organize the event,” reported IBTimes.
Anonops Tweeted Saturday afternoon, “The police asked to speak to our leader. We told them we don’t have one. They didn’t understand.” (#TakeWallStreet #OccupyWallStreet #Sep17)
Again, social media is mobilizing for human need not greed. By noon, hundreds of protesters had already gathered at Bowling Green Park in Manhattan, the iconic charging bull in New York’s Financial District barricaded as they prepared to “take the bull by the horns,” as the flyer advertising the event stated.
ABC News reports that the protest, as other recent demonstrations against human rights abuse injustices, has been “fueled” by social media that it calls, “social media fire, with supporters taking to Twitter under the hash tag #occupywallstreet.”
“The major hacking group Anonymous has also thrown in its support, live streaming the day’s events, reports ABC News.
Hip-hop artist Lupe Fiasco, known for criticizing President Obama, joined the protesters.
“After tweeting his support, Fiasco responded to a tweet by ABC News asking if he was at the park by saying, ‘We Out Chea!!!”
From Wall Street, CODEPINK tweeted Saturday afternoon, “The revolution will not be televised, watch it livestreamed on #globalrevolution http://ow.ly/6xhVq #occupywallstreet” (See Global Revolution livestream on this page left)
The Global Revolution channel is featuring live streams from global non-violent revolution spreading across the globe, with its first broadcasts being from the Wall Street Occupation.
The channel will also feature live stream from solidarity protests and events in Spain, Greece, France, Belgium, Iceland and other places around the globe, the Global Revolution that started with the North African Spring, and is extending to every country around the World.
Suggested by the author:
- Obama, Clinton deaf to ‘No Keystone Pipeline’ fuels pre-revolution
- New Poll: ‘Most congresspersons are crooks.’ Pre-revolution sign?
- Breaking News: People’s Occupation of Wa. DC until Machine stops
- Debt ‘Satan Sandwich’, ‘Deal of Death’ defies human rights (video)
- October 2011 Pledge: Wa. DC Occupation to stop machine, History is knocking
Continue reading on Examiner.com Update: Wall Street People’s Occupation has begun, Camping plans drawn – National Human Rights | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/human-rights-in-national/wall-street-people-s-occupation-begun#ixzz1YJsV4Ibw
BELOW IS VIDEO FROM SEPT. 1 TEST RUN OF OCCUPATION; NINE WERE ARRESTED AS POLICE CHALLENGED THEIR RIGHT TO ASSEMBLE (!!GUARANTEED UNDER THE FIRST AMENDMENT), CHARGES DROPPED.
REPORTS OF ABUSE AT KINROSS PRISON RISE; ACTION DEMANDED
VOD UPDATE: An earlier VOD story on a brutal attack on Edward Sanders, #141545, at Kinross Correctional Facility, elicited a number of comments emailed to me by family members regarding mistreatment of other prisoners there, including the use of racist remarks by white guards such as the “N” word and “boy,” and false allegations made by white prisoners against Black prisoners which were used by prison officials at Kinross to the detriment of the Black prisoners.
I have sent the 83 signatures collected from around the world asking that Edward Sanders be transferred, to Deputy Warden Thomas Mackie, by email and by regular mail, and a copy of this story as well. If there is no action on the case of Edward Sanders, we will be broadening the struggle to call for an investigation of the entire prison at Kinross from every organization available.
I made a phone call to the warden’s office on Friday, Sept. 23, during which the assistant warden assured me that I would receive a return call from the warden by Monday Sept. 26, with respect the package of petition signatures sent to him.
![Edward](http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Edward2-300x218.jpg)
Edward Sanders after the violent attack which nearly took his life July 11, 2011; the other prisoner attempted to stab him in his kidney, spine and his only good eye, but Edward was able to deflect those attacks because he works out every day; however he was slashed as seen in photo and came to the unit station, where the guard somehow had ignored the event, with blood "dripping from head to toe" according to prison records.
Shortly thereafter, I instead received a call from an assistant attorney general in the state AG’s office absolutely denying every allegation made in the earlier story on Edward Sanders. No information was given to me regarding what he based his version of events on: no witnesses, no records, etc. VOD is already in possession of numerous prison records related to the July 11, 2011 attack on Edward Sanders, and is expecting soon to receive both central office files on Edward and the prisoner who attacked him shortly, pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act request that was granted, as well as other information Edward has given permission to obtain. All prisoners’ famlies should be aware that it is the common practice of MDOC under Governor Rick Snyder, as well as Republican state attorney general Bill Schuette, to issue blanket denials of abuse. DO NOT BE FOOLED BY OFFICIALS TRYING TO ENLIST YOU IN THEIR VERSION OF EVENTS.
I am asking that everyone with a loved one at Kinross who is experiencing abuse to please contact me (Diane Bukowski, editor VOD) at 313-825-6126 or diane_bukowski@hotmail.com) to give me the information. It does not have to be published on this website, to avoid retaliation by the administration. I will keep records and together with prison advocacy organizations including legal assistance we will see what can be done.
VOD has published several stories on the People’s Task Force to Free the Wrongfully Convicted, one of whose founders is at Kinross also. See below for links to these stories and contact information for the People’s Task Force, as well as information to contact Warden Thomas Mackie. Kinross is a Level One/Two facility, basicially for low-risk prisoners.
There is no excuse for the reports coming out of there involving prisoner on prisoner attacks (which may have been set up by the guards), as well as problems from the guards. The Muskegon Chronicle reported recently that there are numerous prisoners at higher risk levels housed at Kinross as was the prisoner who attacked Edward. Click on: http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2010/07/near-escape_at_upper_penninsul.html for that story.)
(Click on http://voiceofdetroit.net/2011/09/06/sign-petition-to-transfer-edward-sanders-victim-of-brutal-prison-attack/ to read Edward’s story.Please continue signing this petition, as further signatures will be turned in at a later date, and we are still concerned for Edward’s safety. Link for the petition is http://signon.org/sign/justice-for-edward-sanders.
http://voiceofdetroit.net/2011/09/04/internet-rally-sept-6-12-noon-for-investigation-of-crime-labs/
CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE’S TASK FORCE:
To contact the Detroit People’s Task Force to Free the Wrongfully Convicted, call Marilyn Jordan, at (313) 784-4021, Kevin Carey, at (313) 887-4344, or Roberto Guzman, at (313) 272-1406. This story is being forwarded to them as well.
Deputy Warden Thomas Mackie’s contact information is:
A/Warden Thomas Mackie 16770 S. Watertower Drive Kincheloe, MI 49788 email: mackiet@michigan.gov |
TELEPHONE: (906) 495-2282 OPENED: 1978 |
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BLACK IS BACK COALITION CALLS PHILLY MARCH TO STOP WARS
This is a call to join the Black is Back Coalition (BIBC) for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations in Philadelphia on Saturday, November 5 for a national rally, march and conference entitled “Stop the Wars and Build the Resistance
The U.S.-led attack on the government of Libya is the latest attempt of a dying, parasitic social system to rescue itself at the expense of the happiness and resources of the world’s peoples.
The people are fighting back — in Libya, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Palestine, Egypt and Iran in the Middle East, North Africa and the Persian Gulf.
The people are fighting back throughout the Americas — in Haiti and Venezuela and Cuba and Bolivia and Ecuador, and again in Nicaragua.
The people are also organizing in the North American concentration camps euphemistically referred to as Indian reservations.
These are the Other Wars. They are occurring against the people in the internal colonies — the Barrios and the criminalized African communities of North America, Europe and Australia.
The Other Wars are displacing millions of people on the African Continent, which has experienced hundreds of years of colonial domination, pillage and exploitation, all of which is also experienced by the millions of African people who have been displaced around the globe as enslaved captives.
The other imperialist wars include the Africa Command or AFRICOM, the U.S. military apparatus that projects U.S. imperialist State power, blanketing the entire African continent in a desperate effort to lock Africa into a permanent state of bloody, impoverished servitude.
The Black is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations opposes these imperialist wars and supports the righteous resistance of the people in the struggles to regain their resources, sovereignty, dignity and happiness.
Stop the desperate efforts of a mortally wounded parasitic capitalist system built and sustained by the slavery, colonialism and centuries of genocide that provided the primary accumulation of capital upon which the modern imperialist system depends for its survival!
March and rally in Philadelphia on November 5 to Stop the Wars and Build the Resistance!
Stop the wars against African people in Africa, inside the U.S. and Europe and around the world! Continue reading
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STOP THE EXECUTION OF TROY DAVIS, SET FOR SEPT. 21! CLEMENCY HEARING SEPT. 19 AT GA. PAROLE BOARD
VOD ED: THERE IS A PAROLE BOARD HEARING ON CLEMENCY FOR TROY DAVIS SEPT. 19; BELOW LETTER FROM INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ARE LINKS TO SIGN PETITIONS TO THE PAROLE BOARD: PLEASE SIGN!!!
From: The International Council for Urban Peace, Justice and
Empowerment in conjunction with Peace in the Hood
________________________________________
Mr. James E. Donald
Chairman
Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles
2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr., SE
Suite 458, Balcony Level, East Tower
Atlanta, Georgia 30334-4909
September 17, 2011
Re: Troy Davis
On behalf of The International Council for Urban Peace, Justice and Empowerment, we are asking you to have the courage to stop the execution of an innocent man, Troy Davis. The International Council for Urban Peace, Justice and Empowerment is the largest National Network of grassroots, faith and community based organizations dedicated to Urban Peace, Justice and Empowerment in the United States. The Council serves as an umbrella organization with over 35 affiliates throughout the United States and globally. For over 17 years, the Council has sponsored several National Urban Peace (Street Organization) and Justice Summits. The Council has initiated prevention, intervention and transformation work all over the U.S. and globally to affect change in the lives of youth impacted by racism, poverty, inequality and injustice.
Rarely has a case attracted the international attention and support as this case. The facts are undeniable: 1) seven of the original nine witnesses recanted their testimony stating they were coerced by strong arm tactics of the police who were investigating the murder of one of their own; 2) one of the remaining two witnesses, Redd Coles was himself a suspect at one time; 3) three witness stated that the same Redd Coles confessed to them that he murdered the off duty officer; and 4) there was no physical evidence connecting Mr. Davis to the crime.
Consider the words of U. S. Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun:
“Twenty years have passed since this Court declared that the death penalty must be imposed fairly, and with reasonable consistency, or not at all, and, despite the effort of the states and courts to devise legal formulas and procedural rules to meet this daunting challenge, the death penalty remains fraught with arbitrariness, discrimination, caprice, and mistake.”– U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun, February 22, 1994
Now consider these facts on the death penalty from the Death Penalty Fact Sheet on the Death Penalty in the United States:
• Studies by such organizations as the United States General Accounting Office, the American Bar Association, and The Yale University School of Law have all concluded that the most reliable indicator of whether or not the death penalty will be sought is the race of the victim. Prosecutors are more likely to seek the death penalty if the victim is white and the perpetrator if African American or a person of color.
• The death penalty is not enforced on any geographically consistent basis. Almost 80% of the executions are in the south, yet the South had the highest murder rate in the United States according to the F.B.I. Uniform Crime Statistics in 2008. The Northeast, which had the lowest rate of executions (less than 1%), had the lowest murder rate. (Death Penalty Fact Sheet)
• Of the death row inmates, 42% are Black. In death penalty states, 98% of the chief prosecutors are white.
• In death penalty cases, 75% of murder victims were white. Nationally, only 59% of murder victims were white.
• Execution is more expensive than lifelong incarceration and in some cases, can cost tax payers as much as $250 million dollars per case (California).
The standard for convictions and death penalty cases is clean and convincing evidence. This was clearly not met in the case. Clear and convincing evidence is not the word of two people (one of whom was a suspect). In appeals, the state has argued procedural issues-not the guilt or innocence.
The standard for a civilized society is not what someone has a right to do, but having the moral courage to do the right thing. In this case, we stand as a united organization and say that the right thing to do is to commute the death sentence of an innocent man. Killing people to teach people that killing people is wrong does not make moral sense. The evidence is not there, but the racism and the notorious police blue line of protecting their own and revenging their own is there. We ask you to look within your own conscious and have the courage to do what is right. Do not execute an innocent man. Do not participate in a legal homicide.
Respectfully,
Spokesmen
Amir Khalid Samad, T. Rashad Byrdsong, Jitu Sadiki, Minister Kuratibish Rashid
SIGN ONLINE PETITION AT
http://www.iacenter.org/troydavis
/troydavissept16listlocalactionandjusticefortroy.org Continue reading
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AP, CNN FINALLY ADMIT STRENGTH OF RESISTANCE, GENOCIDE PERPETRATED BY US/NATO/NTC IN LIBYA
Libya & Gaddafi – The Truth you are not supposed to know
What the West has done through NATO is beyond tragic, and all the people who have bought the latest round of lies and manipulation will look to Libya as they now look to Iraq, and they will see another disaster that most can never imagine. Watch video above.
VOD ED: EVEN THE WESTERN MEDIA IS NOW BEING FORCED TO ADMIT THE LEVEL OF SUPPORT MUAMMAR GADHAFI AND THE JAMHIRIYA HAVE IN LIBYA, PER THE AP ARTICLE BELOW:
![Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf at Afro Arab Summit in Sirte where Gadhafi announced $90 billion investment in African countires](http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Liberian-President-Ellen-Johnson-Sirleaf-at-Afro-Arab-Summit-in-Sirte-where-Gadhafi-announced-90-billion-investment-in-African-countires1.jpg)
iberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf at Afro Arab Summit in Sirte where Gadhafi announced $90 billion investment in African countires, Oct. 10, 2010
Gadhafi loyalists push back Libyan forces
Coastal towns of Sirte, Bani Walid protect old-regime snipers
Last Updated: September 17. 2011 1:00AM
by Ryan Lucasand Hadeel Al-Shalchi/ Associated Press
Sirte, Libya— Moammar Gadhafi’s fighters beat back an attempt by Libya’s new government Friday to crush remnants of the old regime, forcing revolutionary troops into retreat in the mountains and turning Gadhafi’s hometown into an urban battlefield of snipers firing from mosques and heavy weapons rattling boulevards.
The tough defense of the holdout towns of Sirte and Bani Walid displayed the firepower and resolve of the Gadhafi followers and suggested Libya’s new rulers may not easily break the back of regime holdouts. It also raised fears the country could face a protracted insurgency of the sort that has played out in Iraq and Afghanistan.
![Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi walks with Comoros President Ahmed Mohamed Sambi at the Sirte airport to attend Arab League summit in Sirte, Libya, March 26, 2010](http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Libyan-leader-Moammar-Gadhafi-walks-with-Comoros-President-Ahmed-Mohamed-Sambi-at-the-Sirte-airport-to-attend-Arab-League-summit-in-Sirte-Libya-March-26-2010-300x219.jpg)
Gadhafi walking with Comoros Pres. Ahmed Mohamed Sambi at Sirte airpot to attend Arab League Summit in Sirte March 26, 2010
“The Gadhafi loyalists have so many weapons,” said Maab Fatel, a 28-year-old revolutionary fighter on the front lines in the mountain enclave of Bani Walid.
“This battle is really crazy,” Fatel said, his uniform splattered with blood from a wounded comrade.
Revolutionary forces began the day by streaming into Bani Walid but pulled back after intense fighting failed to dislodge pro-Gadhafi snipers and gunners from strategic positions. The two sides traded relentless mortar and rocket fire across a 500-yard-wide desert valley called Wadi Zeitoun that divides the town between north and south.
Meanwhile in New York , the United Nations gave strong backing to Libya’s former rebels Friday, handing their National Transitional Council the country’s U.N. seat and then lifting and modifying some sanctions imposed on Gadhafi’s regime.
VOD ED: VIDEO BELOW IS AN ADMISSION BY CNN OF THE GENOCIDE BEING UNLEASHED ON BLACK LIBYANS AND AFRICAN IMMIGRANTS
What has Libyan war unleashed on Africa?
By Askia Muhammad -Senior Correspondent-
Last updated: Sep 10, 2011 – 9:10:13 AM
WASHINGTON (FinalCall.com) – Even as Western European leaders boast of their roles in the overthrow of the Libyan government of Col. Muammar Gadhafi , African leaders who were at first silent about the plot have begun voicing their opposition to the campaign. The African Union (AU) has withheld its recognition of the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC), and a group of 200 concerned African leaders have issued a statement warning about Africa being re-colonized by NATO’s European powers.
![Thabo Mbeki](http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Thabo-Mbeki.jpg)
Former South African President Thabo Mbeki, who succeeded Nelson Mandela to the post; South Africa and Libya have been long-time allies
The leaders, including former South African President Thabo Mbeki, released a letter in Johannesburg Aug. 24, lamenting the “misuse of the United Nations Security Council to engage in militarized diplomacy to effect regime change in Libya,” and the “marginalization of the African Union” in the process. (Click on http://www.uruknet.info/?p=80782 for further information on statement.)
The group accused NATO of violating international law, according to a report published by Business Day. “NATO has empowered itself openly to pursue the objective of regime change and therefore the use of force and all other means to overthrow the government of Libya, which objectives are completely at variance with the decisions of the UN Security Council,” said Prof. Chris Landsberg, chair of the department of political science at the University of Johannesburg said, in behalf of the group.
The letter was signed by more than 200 mostly South African prominent intellectuals, including Mr. Mbeki, Prof. Shadrack Gutto of the University of South Africa, former intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils, Prof. Mahmood Mamdani from the University of Columbia, former deputy minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad, and author and poet Dr. Wally Serote and others.
“The AU stands for peace, democracy and freedom of all people. This is the role that the AU still wants to play whether you talk about the Ivory Coast, whether you talk about Sudan, whether you want to talk about Libya or whichever of the African country on the continent, the AU stands for that. It has a plan to put in place,” said Dr. Serote. The AU’s so-called “Road Map” remains the only way to peace for the people of Libya, he insisted.
The UN Security Council voted to approve Resolution 1973 authorizing NATO’s armed intervention in Libya, “has caused grave concern throughout the African continent, throughout the world, particularly in South Africa itself,” Dr. Gerald Horne, professor of history at the University of Houston told The Final Call. “I think it has, quite frankly, weakened the government of Jacob Zuma, the president of South Africa, and this statement is just more evidence of the grave concern in Africa.
VIDEO ABOVE: RACIST ‘REBELS’ STRANGLE BLACK LIBYAN AT GUNPOINT
“As you probably know, Jean Ping, who is the president of the African Union made a statement, really calling into question the bona fi des of the so-called transitional council, headquartered in Benghazi,” Dr. Horne continued.
“Because, according to Mr. Ping, an eminent statesman, the rebels, so-called, apparently cannot draw distinctions between those who are darkskinned, and those who are, quote mercenaries, un-quote. In other words, there has been a reign of terror unleashed against dark-skinned persons in the regions which the rebels control. This is even more astonishing when one considers that by any measure, a substantial percentage of the Libyan body-politic is dark-skinned. This is a monumental blunder on the rebels’ part, and I think they should be castigated for (it),” Dr. Horne continued.
Concerns about the safety of darkskinned Africans drew the attention even of Amnesty International, which warned on September 1 that Black Libyans and sub-Saharan Africans are at high risk of abuse from rebel forces who were seeking to ostensibly target Gadhafi supporters.
At a camp for migrants near Tripoli, African nationals said they fear for their lives. “Some people are saying that it’s the Blacks who worked with the Libyan soldiers to shoot them or whatever but we were not among them,” a Ghanaian man said, according to Free Speech Radio News. “We are from Ghana, Nigeria—not among (them). We know nothing about that. That is why we are running for our life.”
“If you go out in the streets, people will hold you and say you are fi ghting for Gadhafi ,” said a Nigerian man. “I am not a fi ghter. That is why I keep myself here with my wife. No money to feed. Please, I need your help.” There are even more troubling implications concerning Africa’s political future, according to Dr. Horne. “What is unfolding in North Africa is the creation of a new Afghanistan, this time on North African soil.
“What I mean is, that in order to topple, or at least to weaken the Gadhafi regime, the United States had to make alliances with those we were fighting in Afghanistan—this socalled Islamic fundamentalists who played a vanguard role in terms of the military operations of the rebels. Not only that, but the NATO forces also introduced further instability into North Africa by singling out the Berber minority in Libya to be trained militarily to fi ght the Gadhafi regime.
“The Berber minority plays a pivotal role throughout North Africa, not least in Algeria and in Morocco. And by empowering them thusly in Libya, it seems to me that the NATO forces may be introducing further instability” in the entire region, Dr. Horne said. This may be the fi rst move by NATO to re-establish its colonial control over Africa. This intervention, like the U.S.-Afghanistan intervention against the Soviet Union in the 1980s, may unleash “totally unpredictable forces.”
Related news:
Black Libyans and Workers live in fear after NATO backed coup (WT&R, 08-31–2011)
Gold, Oil, Africa and Why the West Wants Gadhafi Dead (FCN, 06-07-2011)
Ten reasons why the U.S. war in Libya is a CIA operation (FCN, 04-28-2011)
Why the West Want the Fall of Muammar Gaddafi (Analysis by Jean-Paul Pougala, 04, 2011)
A CIA commander for the Libyan rebels (WSWS, 03-28-2011)
Libya, Getting it Right: A Revolutionary Pan-African Perspective (FCN, 03-08-2011)
An Analysis of Muammar al-Qaddafi’s Green Book (FCN, 06-18-2010)
How the U.S. Government destabilized foreign governments (FCN, 07-22-1985)
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SEAN COX RIGHT-WING AFFILIATIONS
![George W. Bush and The Carlyle Group](http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/George-W.-Bush-and-The-Carlyle-Group-300x240.jpg)
Former Pres. George W. Bush, who put Sean Cox on the federal bench, is also a member of the international cartel The Carlyle Group, parent company of Synagro; Cox cites the Synagro scandal at DWSD as one of the reasons for its takeover
FROM “MONEY TRAILS TO THE FEDERAL BENCH”
Michigan: U.S. District Court Judge Sean Cox
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
Nominated: September 10, 2004 | Confirmed: June 8, 2006
Summary: Cox contributed $2,000 to Bush in December 2003 while he was a state judge. Cox gave $790 in statecampaign contributions after his nomination, including $500 to the campaign of his brother, Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, according to state records. He also gave nearly $5,500 in federal contributions to Republicans between 1993-2002, including $3,000 to former Sen. Spencer Abraham.
![mike_cox_michigan_attorney_general](http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/mike_cox_michigan_attorney_general-300x204.jpg)
Sean Cox is the brother of former Michigan AG Mike Cox, who was the only Republican to OPENLY endorse the racist anti-affirmative aciton Proposal 2 (although others supported it behind closed doors); he used his office to ensure its placement on the ballot
Chronology:
• Sept. 10, 2004: Bush nominates Cox.
• Oct. 25, 2004: Local Republican committee receives $200 from Cox.
• Feb. 14, 2005: Bush re-nominates Cox.
• April 4, 2005: Local Republican committee receives $90 from Cox.
• Dec. 1, 2005: Cox’s brother, Michigan’s attorney general, receives $500 from Cox.
FROM RIGHT WING WATCH:
![Justice Antonin Scalia signs copy of U.S. Constitution at Federalist Society Lawyers Convention in 2008](http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Justice-Antonin-Scalia-signs-copy-of-U.S.-Constitution-at-Federalist-Society-Lawyers-Convention-in-2008-300x199.jpg)
ustice Antonin Scalia signs copy of U.S. Constitution at Federalist Society Lawyers Convention in 2008
Sean Cox is a member of the ultra-right-wing Federalist Society.
Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies
Established: 1982 by a group of right-wing law students President/Executive Director: Eugene Meyer
Board of Directors: National Co-Chairmen Prof. Steven Calabresi and David M. MacIntosh, Directors Prof. Gary Lawson, and Eugene B. Meyer, Hon. T. Kenneth Cribb (President of Collegiate Network), and Mr. Brent O. Hatch, treasurer.
Membership: The FS Lawyers Division has 25,000 legal professionals; Student Division has more than 5,000 law students at 145 law schools; 60 metropolitan lawyers’ chapters; 15 nationwide practice groups; and a new Faculty Division with unpublished membership numbers.
Finances: $5,450,536 (total revenue for 2004)
Grants: Since 1985, The Federalist Society has received over $12 million in grants from conservative foundations, such as the Earhart, Bradley, Simon, and Olin Foundations, as well as the Carthage, Koch, and Scaife Foundations.
Publications: Several e-mail newsletters on different topics, a quarterly law journal, a “Conservative and Libertarian Pre-Law Reading List,” and various reports on legal issues.
Read the latest news on the Federalist Society on the group’s Right Wing Watch index page
![March Against Proposal to Ban Affirmative Action in Michigan](http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Prop-2-demo-NAACP-300x225.jpg)
NAACP March against racist Proposal 2, an example of initiatives supported by the Federalist Society
Principal Issues
- The Federalist Society hopes to transform the American legal system by developing and promoting far-right positions and influencing who will become judges, top government officials, and decision-makers. FS is “dedicated to reforming the current legal order.”
- The Federalist Society is a well established network of right-wing lawyers, politicians, pundits, and judges.
- Many members of the Federalist Society advocate a rollback of civil rights measures, reproductive choice, labor and employment regulations, and environmental protections.
In Federalist Society’s guide to forming and running a chapter of the society, FS says it “creates an informal network of people with shared views which can provide assistance in job placement.” - The Federalist Society has 15 different “practice groups” that focus on particular legal issues, such as civil rights and labor and employment law.
- Read PFAW Foundation’s detailed report, The Federalist Society: From Obscurity to Power [PDF file].
Its members include, among numerous others:
Federalist Society Members in the Bush Administration [partial list]
- Former Attorney General John Ashcroft
- Former Secretary of the Department of Energy Spencer Abraham
- Former Solicitor of Labor Eugene Scalia (Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s son)
Federal Judicial Nominees
- Samuel Alito, confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court
- John Roberts, confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court
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Michael Chertoff, confirmed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, currently Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security
- Henry Saad, nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit [withdrawn]
- Susan Neilson, confirmed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- Deborah Cook, confirmed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- Jeffrey Sutton, confirmed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Other High-Profile Federalist Society Members [partial list]
- Justice Antonin Scalia, U.S. Supreme Court
- Senator Orrin Hatch(R-Utah)
- Charles Murray, controversial author who asserted that some races are inherently less intelligent than others
- Don Hodel, former Christian Coalition president
- Former Michigan Governor John Engler
- Former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Maura Corrigan; currently head of the Michigan Department of Human Services, which is about to slash 15,000 families from the public assistance rolls, and is steadily kidnapping poor children, particularly in the Black and Latin communities, from their families for profit through Child Protective Services.
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