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Maryanne Godboldo speaking at rally April 2

Hearing held on Maryanne Godboldo’s right to resist an unlawful home invasion by police

By Diane Bukowski

DETROIT — Thirty-Sixth District Court Judge Paula Humphries stayed all criminal proceedings against Maryanne Godboldo April 6 after a hearing on a defense motion, according to court documents. Godboldo’s attorney Allison Folmar argued during the hearing that a similar case involving resistance to an illegal police home invasion is currently pending before the Michigan Supreme Court.

Michigan Court Rules require that similar cases not be adjudicated until the high court hands down its ruling on the seminal case.

Godboldo's attorney Allison Folmar speaks to media Mar. 30

As a result of the stay, Godboldo’s April 8 preliminary exam on eight felony counts related to her stand-off with police on Mar. 24 has been canceled, along with all other court actions, until the high court decides People v. Moreno 488 Mich. 1010 (2010). The Supreme Court granted leave to appeal Moreno on Dec. 29, 2010.

“The charges stem from police unlawfully and forcibly entering her home on March 24 without a search warrant,” reads the motion filed by Folmar. “Defendant asserts she can claim self-defense for resisting this unlawful and forcible entry into her home.”

In its grant of leave to appeal on the Moreno case, the state Supreme Court said three factors are to be decided, which the motion quotes as follows:

Godboldo family home: is it safe harbor?

“The parties shall address 1) whether a person present in his/her own home can lawfully resist police officers who unlawfully and forcibly enter the home, without violating MCL 750.81d; 2) If not, whether so interpreted MCL 750.81d is unconstitutional. 3) Whether a defendant prosecuted under MCL 750.81d for resisting a police officer who unlawfully and forcibly enters defendant’s home can claim self-defense.”

The investigator’s report in Godboldo’s file makes it clear that the officers involved, Lt. Michael Nied, and P.O.’s Thomas Trewell and Kevin Simpson, did forcibly enter Godboldo’s home, located on Blaine near Linwood. It says first of all that they responded to a “patrol run” to meet Wayne County Child Protective Services, with a “court order” and a “petition” to remove Ariana.

Lt. Michael Nied in Michigan National Guard (Facebook photo)

The report identifies the case worker as Mia Wenk.

“A Black female who was later discovered to be the child’s mother came to the door and refused to unlock the security gate,” says the report. It says a supervising officer came to the scene and entry was again denied.

“Officers forced entry to outside door and officer attempted entry into inner door,” says the report. “Gunshot was fired at officers. Drywall sprayed onto Lieutenant Nied.  Officers exited and declared a barricaded gunman situation.”

Subsequently numerous armored vehicles, helicopters and Special Response Team (SRT, previously known as SWAT) officers descended on the lone mother and child in their home. Members of Godboldo’s family and community organizers came to the scene, along with Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Deborah Thomas.

At about 5 a.m., Godboldo emerged from the home after Judge Thomas spoke with her, and was taken into custody, as was her child. Thomas said in published remarks, “We talked that day mother-to-mother. I asked her to come out on her porch and I promised I would come here today to walk out with her. I never dreamed [the bond] would be set so high and she wouldn’t be free to care for her daughter.”

Judge Deborah Thomas

Thomas was speaking outside 36^th District Court after Godboldo’s arraignment Mar. 30. The newspaper (The Detroit News) also said, “Thomas said she eventually talked Godboldo out with a promise her daughter would be turned over to a relative, but family members say the girl was taken into protective custody anyway.”

Another story later said Thomas indicated there were defects in the documents police used to force their way into the Godboldo home.

Godboldo was later freed on a $200,000 personal recognizance bond by Humphries.

In the Angel Moreno case, the defense’s argument, summarized in the Appeals Court decision last June, was:

Police break down a door

“Defendant contends that police lacked probable cause and that exigent circumstances did not exist to justify a warrantless entry by officers into defendant’s home. As such, defendant asserts he had a constitutional right to refuse entry and resist an illegal and forcible entry into his residence. Defendant also argues that due process was violated because no reasonable person would have known he could be charged under MCL 750.81d for defending his home from an aggressive police officer acting without a warrant or pursuant to any recognized exception to the warrant requirement. In addition, defendant asks this Court to declare that a person’s right to not retreat and defend his home constitutes . . . a defense to MCL 750.81d.”

In the case, officers from the city of Holland, Michigan forced their way into Angel Moreno’s home after he told them they could not enter without a warrant. The officers had told another individual they wanted to enter to “secure the residence while they obtained a search warrant.”

Holland Michigan police officer

“Defendant came to the door and, using vulgar language, refused officers entry into the home,” says the opinion. “Defendant told the officers to ‘get off his porch,’ and demanded that the officers obtain a warrant to enter. Defendant moved to close the front door. At this point,  [officers] DeWys and Hamberg were not inside the house, but were positioned on the sill of the front door. The door was almost closed when Hamberg placed his shoulder to the door to prevent it being closed and a struggle ensued between defendant and the officers. During this physical confrontation, Hamberg and defendant were struggling in the doorway and may have crossed the threshold. Ultimately, the officers were able to physically subdue defendant and remove him from the home’s doorway and effectuate his arrest.”

The officers then entered the home and searched it, allegedly obtaining marijuana in the process.

Moreno’s attorney, Craig Haehnel, of Grand Rapids, said, “It would be outrageous and offend sensibility to think the police can break into a home without a warrant, or that when they knock you to the ground and you defend yourself you could be charged with a felony. It’s a violation of the Fourth Amendment.”

Craig Haehnel, defense attorney in People v. Moreno

He said the MCL 750.81d statute currently on the books was amended from previous law.

“We used to have a resisting and opposing law in which a recognized defense was if it was an illegal arrest,” he said. “We grew up with the notion that you should be able to walk away from an officer conducting such an arrest. But even under the current statute, the definition of ‘obstruction’ requires that it involves lawful activity [by the police].”

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

He said that the U.S. Supreme Court has declared it illegal for states to pass laws that violate the Fourth Amendment.

MCL 750.81d is a state statute that has been frequently disputed by defense attorneys, who believe it is unconstitutional, partially because of its vagueness.

It reads in part, “(1) Except as provided in subsections (2), (3), and (4), an individual who assaults, batters, wounds, resists, obstructs, opposes, or endangers a person who the individual knows or has reason to know is performing his or her duties is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 2 years or a fine of not more than $2,000.00, or both.”*

Maryann Godboldo is charged with three counts under that statute, pertaining to officers Neid, Trewell, and Simpson.

Neither Attorney Folmar nor family members were available for comment on Humphries’ ruling as this article went to press.

To read an excellent article by Darrell Dawsey of MLive.com, “Was a Detroit mother right to resist efforts by Child Protective Services, police to take her child?” click on http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2011/03/was_a_detroit_mother_right_to.html

Dancers who performed "Testify" during rally express their support for Maryanne Godboldo; her sister Penny Godboldo, who choreographed the dance, is at Maryanne's right

Rally draws hundreds along with world-wide support

Judge orders continued confinement of daughter, 13

By Diane Bukowski

DETROIT – Hundreds packed the pews of Hartford Memorial Baptist Church to support Maryanne Godboldo April 2. Her family says thousands more across the world have contacted them to support the battle to bring her daughter Ariana, 13, home immediately.

Maryanne Godboldo speaks at rally

Over $3,000 was raised for Godboldo’s legal fees during the rally, by members of the Church’s Social Justice Ministry, who took collection plates from pew to pew.

Godboldo faces eight felony charges for standing off police armored vehicles, helicopters, and SWAT team members brandishing assault weapons on March 24.  She and her supporters say she was only trying to keep Child Protective Services from forcing a dangerous drug, Risperdal, on her child.

“I want my daughter back TODAY,” Godboldo said from the church’s pulpit. “I’m terrified; I don’t know what is happening to her. If we don’t stand up for our children, we have no future. I am so filled with joy and thankful for your support, Detroit. The only reason I came out of my home was not all those guns out there, not the threats they brought against me, but because of YOU!”

Attorney Allison Folmar with her daughter at rally

Godboldo’s daughter is currently incarcerated at the Hawthorn Family Center at Northville, despite efforts by other family members to have her released to their custody. Attorneys Allison Folmar and Wanda Evans earlier obtained a temporary restraining order preventing doctors there from putting Arianna back on Risperdal.

Despite a large turn-out of supporters at a Wayne County Juvenile Court custody hearing April 6, and evidence that Arianna may have contracted a sexually-transmitted disease while at Hawthorn, Referee Leslie Graves ruled that the child would remain in state custody.

“I received a call from her mother Monday that they were transporting Arianna in an ambulance to Children’s Hospital for treatment for an STD,” Arianna’s father Mubarak Hakim told VOD. “We went down there and stayed all night with her. They took tests and we are awaiting the results. But they took her back to Hawthorn anyway. Her mother and I are visiting her there every day.”

Child's father Mubarak Hakim speaks at rally

After the hearing, Godboldo said, “I’m very concerned about my daughter, I’m trying to hold on, but I don’t think that I can do it. We need more people and more help. It was very hard for me to walk out of there without my daughter.”

During the April 2 rally, Godboldo spoke of the young women she met while she was incarcerated in the Wayne County Jail until she was freed on a personal bond March 30.

“They don’t have anyone to speak for them,” she said. “So many of them were medicated. A nurse would come and they would line up for their medications. One woman told me what Risperdal did to her. She was kidnapped at 17 and forced into prostitution in Chicago. When she got free and came back home, they put her on that drug. She said she felt dizzy, was hallucinating, and couldn’t function on a day-to-day basis.”

Godboldo family members; Rev. Edie Worthy at right

Attorney Evans called for massive help from the legal community, both in the custody battle and to fight the criminal charges.

“We are working hard to get these charges dismissed and Arianna home,” Evans said. “We need at least six attorneys in and out of court filing motions for stays and other actions. Every time they file something, we have to file in return. We need a medical team, of at least six specialists. We need paralegals, private investigators. This case has gone nation-wide. We are receiving emails from all over the world.”

Godboldo’s niece Ambyr Brooks said that the family has been contacted by people from Australia to Canada, many of whom have been similarly subjected to

Attorney Wanda Evans

Another victim of state kidnapping

state abductions of their children and forced medications.

Evans said she has been working in the juvenile system since 1984, but that removing children from their homes is not helping.

“I want to say this is a typical case,” she said, “but here you have an intelligent, articulate, attentive mother who has done her research and gotten preferred medical help for her daughter, and she is asking for assistance. But the system’s attitude is that it is not up to the family. Because she doesn’t want to deal with their plan, they have a whole team come in to bombard her and take away her child. Put yourself in the shoes of Maryanne Godboldo, what would YOU do? Wouldn’t YOU stand up and fight?”

Barbara Ann and Michael Polizzi

Barbara Ann Polizzi, a critical care nurse from New York, drove 13 hours to the rally with her 17-year-old son Michael to tell a story almost identical to that of Arianna’s. Michael too was forced to take Risperdal.

“My son and I could not stop crying when we saw this story, because we know what you have been through,” Polizzi told Godboldo. “Michael lived away from me for six years and I had to fight all by myself to get him back.”

Many in the audience were moved to tears by Michael’s presentation.

“I felt scared and fearful,” he said. “The medicine gave me shortness of breath and made my heart race. I had to get an inhaler and started on heart medication on top of it. I was not Michael anymore.”

He said he was subjected to constant abuse during his placement away from his mother.

“My mother loves me and would not hurt me, but the staff at the school would hit me and yell at me,” he said. “They put me in the basement for six weeks. They would not let me take showers with my friends or play with them. A man did something to me that he shouldn’t have, and my mother came and got me. She took me off Risperdal and I was Michael again, I didn’t feel sad, the stiffness in my ankles went away. My mother never gave up on me.”

Calling Arianna his “new friend,” Michael said he is very worried about her.

“I know she was scared and sad when they took her away, and so was her mother,” Michael said. “The hospital is not a place for you. They force medications on you and if you don’t take them they give you a shot and even put you in restraints. Arianna needs to be Arianna. She must come home today before something bad happens to her. The hospitals never tell the moms what happens behind closed doors.”

Dr. Margaret Betts

Dr. Margaret Betts likened the taking of Godboldo’s child to the days of slavery. 

“You would think this is 1811, instead of 2011, where they forcibly take a child and separate her from her family,” Betts said. “I’m appalled because I’m a physician, a certified allopath and I know that foods, herbs and spices given in the right combination can heal 90 percent of all diseases. The medications Maryanne’s child was given have permanent side effects. She was getting better under the alternative medicines. This was a case of her loving her daughter too much. If it happened to her it can happen to you.”

The Godboldo family is known for their long-time participation in the arts community in Detroit. Maryanne’s sister Penny Godboldo is a Dunham-certified master dance teacher at Marygrove College, and also runs her own dance institute. She choreographed a special dance for her sister and niece, called “Testify,” which was performed during the rally as part of the spiritual service by the Dance Ministry of Hartford, to a song by jazz artist Dianne Reeves

Hartford Dance Ministry performs "Testify"

 “That evening when I saw the police officers there and the tanks and helicopters, I knew only with God’s grace that this would end peacefully,” Penny Godboldo said. “It took a lot to do what my sister did.”

Towards the end of the dance, both sisters joined the purple-and-white robed dancers, poignantly displaying in movement their sorrow and belief that Arianna would come home. Penny Godboldo has coordinated much of the support for her sister, assisted by the Rev. Edie Worthy, head of Hartford Memorial Church’s Social Justice Ministry, and community organizers like Ron Scott, who chaired the rally.

Penny Godboldo attributed their defiant spirit to their upbringing by their parents, Lovey, now 98, and Walter Godboldo, who have a long history in the Detroit community.

Aurora Harris

“Maryanne has always been a good mother,” said the child’s father Mubarak Hakim. “She had Arianna active in dance classes, singing with the choir, and swimming. Maryanne is not war-like, but she is a person who will stand up for truth and justice. The pharmaceutical industry is evil, wicked and barbarous, it’s all about money.  Doctors get perks from the corporations to introduce new drugs and make hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

Aurora Harris, parent of an autistic child, who is fighting the neglect of students with disabilities in the Detroit Public Schools system, read a poem she wrote for the Godboldos, called “No, the drugs make me act like a junkie.”

Paul Taylor of the Inner City Sub Center led a chant, “Save the babies!”

“They said she was holding her daughter hostage, but they were holding Maryanne hostage, she and her child. Maryanne’s father Hakim and I go way back, he has been an organizer of entrepreneurial training for young people with our center.”

Ray Jenkins with wife

Detroit City Councilwoman JoAnn Watson said, “We will not allow the state or any other entity to deny our humanity, and there is no form of humanity higher than motherhood.”

Among supporters at the rally were Ray Kendrick and his wife. Kendrick said that Walter and Lovey Godboldo took him “under their wing” when he was just 13.

“The kids all thought I was their oldest brother for years,” Kendrick said. “Their father was a mechanic, and he taught me how to repair cars.” Kendrick and his son later founded Park Property Management.

Deacon Bridgette McDonald of Hartford

Poster

T-shirt

Memorial said an organizing meeting will be held Monday April 11 at 6 p.m. in the church’s basement.The Justice4Maryanne committee is selling T-shirts for $20 with her photo and the slogan “The state does not own my child,” as well as posters, to raise funds for her defense and Arianna’s return. Contributions can also be made through PayPal on the organization’s website at www.justice4maryanne.com . The support committee can also be reached by calling 313-867-4841 or emailing justice4maryanne@gmail.com; Penny Godboldo said they welcome letters of support, to be presented to the authorities, and asked that they be emailed to the committee.

Youth support Ariana outside Juvenile Court hearing Photo David Coates/Detroit News

Alleged Detroit Census figures for 2010

By Jerry Goldberg

March 31, 2011 

(VOD ed. note: This article relates to Detroit’s census count as recently announced by the federal government. It should be noted that the city government is appealing this count. It should also be noted that if Michigan were to follow the lead of states like New York and New Jersey, and count prisoners in their home districts, Detroit’s population count would be significantly increased. Additionally, the deliberate destruction of the Detroit Public Schools, which are losing 86 percent of their state pupil aid to the banks, has also driven people out of our once great and beloved city.)

Detroit family hears speakers calling for moratorium on foreclosures, government debt to the banks

Detroit lost 25 percent of its population in the last decade, according to the 2010 U.S. Census. (Detroit News, March 23). Detroit’s population declined from 951,270 in 2000 to 713,777 in 2010.

Detroit, an 85 percent African-American city, experienced the greatest population loss of any U.S. city except New Orleans.

Not one of the many newspaper articles discussing this lost population puts the blame where it belongs — on the major banks, which have leveled neighborhoods throughout Detroit with mass foreclosures driven by racist, predatory lending.

Demonstrators demand moratorium NOW at Aug. 28 rally in Detroit

The foreclosure epidemic that has leveled communities throughout Detroit is a direct product of the racist lending practices of every major bank. The Michigan State Housing Development Authority published data noting 62 percent of all mortgage loans to African Americans in metro Detroit in2005-2007 were subprime loans, compared to 28 percent for whites. A huge 87 percent of African-American borrowers in Wayne County, where the city of Detroit is located, were sold subprimeloans in 2006. (Detroit News, Sept. 8, 2007)

A January 2009 report prepared by the City’s Planning and Development Department noted that of 330,000 new mortgages in Detroit from 2004 to 2006, 73 percent were subprime mortgages (mortgages at least 3 percent above the standard interest rate).The report noted that from 2005 to 2009, the city experienced 67,000 bank foreclosures, more than 20 percent of all household mortgages. In addition, there were 4,000 tax foreclosures in the first six months of 2008. The study noted that two-thirds of foreclosed properties were now vacant.

Anthony King (center) was evicted in 2009 from his parental home, where he had lived for 41 years, and cared for his parents; supporters moved him back in but he was eventually forced out; he is featured in Michael Moore's movie "Capitalism: A Love Story."

The foreclosures have continued in the years since this report was published. More than 69,000 homes in the Detroit metro area received delinquency or foreclosure notices in 2009 (foreclosuredeals.com, Feb. 9, 2010) Metro Detroit recorded 43,541 foreclosures in 2010, the third highest number in the U.S. (Detroit News, Jan. 27) Last fall 13,000 tax-foreclosed properties were placed on the auction block. (Michigan Public Radio, Sept. 17). 

The banks knew these subprime loans would fail when they made them, but they didn’t care because of the massive profits they made — until the bubble burst, at which time the banks were bailed out by the taxpayers and continue to be bailed out to this day. Most mortgage loans are owned or backed by such federal government entities as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The federal government pays the bank the inflated value of the mortgage and then evicts the homeowner.

Stop debt service to the banks

Home on Murray Hill in Detroit in 2009; VOD editor grew up here and home is still well-maintained by its current occupants

Detroit had the lowest foreclosure rate of any metropolitan area in the U.S. in 1996. (Black Commentator, Nov. 22, 2007)  An article in Landlord Nation, April 13, 2009, reported that Detroit, a city once known for its high percentage of home ownership for African Americans, now has the lowest ownership rate for single family detached homes out of the 20 largest cities in the U.S. The average sale price of homes in Detroit with HUD-backed mortgages plunged from $46,702 in 2003 to $8,672 in 2008 and $6,035 for the first three months of 2009.

As early as March 2007, the Moratorium Now! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures, Evictions and Utility Shutoffs pointed out to Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm that she could declare a state of economic emergency under Michigan law and place a moratorium on foreclosures based on the 1930s Mortgage Moratorium Act, which was upheld by the Michigan and U.S. Supreme Courts.

Jennifer Granholm

Mayor Dave Bing

Granholm explicitly stated, “The banks wouldn’t like it.”

The coalition similarly approached three Detroit mayors — Kwame Kilpatrick, Kenneth Cockrel Jr. and Dave Bing — to declare a state of emergency in Detroit and formally request the imposition of a foreclosure moratorium for the city. Each of these politicians rejected this demand that would have preserved Detroit’s housing and population base.

Kwame Kilpatrick

Former interim Mayor Ken Cockrel, Jr. and Deputy Mayor Saul Green

Today, with the city’s tax base destroyed by the loss of property values caused by the foreclosure epidemic, the same banks that caused this crisis have the audacity to demand huge cutbacks in city services and jobs in order to be paid debt service on loans made to the city, which are continually renegotiated as the tax base declines.

In fact, the banks exercise direct control over large sections of the city budget, with casino tax dollars and state revenue sharing paid to trustees, so the funds go directly to the banks. Up to [86 percent of state per-pupil school aid] is earmarked for debt service to the banks (Ed. note: go to VOD  articles, “DPS Katrina” Parts One and Two, at http://voiceofdetroit.net/?p=5584 and http://voiceofdetroit.net/?p=5724 to see actual figures from DPS website.)

Young Detroit Builders at City Council hearing last year; Council cut all their CDBG funding

Detroit can be rebuilt and repopulated. The city needs a massive jobs program where youth can be trained as carpenters, plumbers and electricians to rebuild the housing stock that has been destroyed by the banks, so that vacant homes can be returned to their rightful owners or turned over to the homeless and unemployed. This jobs program can be paid for by placing a moratorium on debt service to the banks, as well as collecting reparations from the banks for destroying this once great city.

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Kwame Ture Freedom Ride to Africa (Libya)! – The Inheritor and Continuator of the Revolutionary Theory and Practice of Kwame Nkrumah, Sekou Toure and Kwame Ture!

A Call Issued by the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party (GC) in Honor of and in Tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. and Kwame Ture

April 4, 2011

Click here, to endorse the Kwame Ture Freedom Ride to Africa (Libya)!

Click here, to join the Kwame Ture Freedom Ride to Africa (Libya)!

Kwame Ture, formerly known as Stokely Carmichael, was extremely busy, excited and happy in Africa, during the last week, days, hours and seconds of his life, November 8 to 15, 1998. Among his many political activities, he was anxiously and methodically preparing for the arrival in Conakry, Guinea of a Libyan hospital plane that would take him, members of his family, and a small cadre of All-African People’s Revolutionary Party organizers to Tripoli, Libya. This invitation was extended by Muammar Al Qathafi and the People of the Libyan Jamahiriya. Kwame was also awarded the Qathafi International Human Rights Prize. See the picture below.

Kwame Ture awarded the Quatafi International Human Rights Prize in Libya

WaBun-Inini (Vernon Bellecourt)

The Indigenous Peoples of the Western Hemisphere, thanks to Kwame’s and Wabun-Inini’s work, were awarded the Qathafi International Human Rights Prize in 1991. WaBun-Inini, also known as Vernon Bellecourt, is the late and former national spokesperson of the American Indian Movement Grand Governing Council. Click here, to see AIM’s Statement on the War in Libya.

This flight was to be Kwame’s Last Freedom Ride, a revolutionary act to break, once and for all, the immoral and illegal United States government’s travel bans, sanctions, embargoes and blockades against the Peoples and Governments of Côte d’Ivoire, since 1986; the Democratic Republic of the Congo, since 1998; Cuba, since 1962; Iran, since 1979; Korea (North), since 1950; Libya, since 1981; Somalia, since 1990; Sudan, since 2002 and Syria, since 1986.

Kwame, his family, and the core organizers of the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party who remained at his bedside, knew that he would die in route or shortly upon his arrival in Tripoli. Kwame, consistent with how he lived his life, was determined to die in Africa, in revolutionary struggle and service, sacrifice and suffering. The members of his family, including his mother Mabel Carmichael, and the cadre of the A-APRP who enabled and empowered Kwame to make this Last Freedom Ride, were prepared to die with him. Reverend Jesse Jackson visited Kwame at the hospital in Conakry. Kwame ordered us to inform Jesse about this Last Freedom Ride. Jesse’s response was diplomatic, but non-committal in joining Kwame in this Africa-changing and World-changing Project. He said, “That is what a good conscientious objector should do!” Thirteen years later, we agree with Jesse, this is what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would do, if he were alive today.

Allies Muammar Gadhafi and NOI Minister Louis Farrakhan

Detailed plans were discussed and agreed to by Kwame, his family, and the small number of faithful A-APRP cadre who would accompany him. There were serious political and logistical questions that had to be answered, which included, but were not limited to: (1) what to do if the military government of Guinea refused permission for the plane to land in or for Kwame to leave Guinea; (2) what to do if the plane was shot down by U.S., imperialism in route to Tripoli; (3) how to organize a militant and mass, Libyan-government sponsored Funeral Symposium in his honor in Tripoli; (4) when and how Kwame’s body would return to Conakry, his eternal resting place; and (5) what to do if the Libyan government would not allow him to leave or the government of Guinea would not let him return. The names of organizations and individuals from every corner of Africa, the African Diaspora and the World, were identified and would have been invited, especially Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam and Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. and the Rainbow Coalition, to attend Kwame’s Funeral Symposium in Tripoli, and thereby make their contribution to Kwame’s Last Freedom Ride!

True to his revolutionary, Pan-Africanist principles and fighting for Africa on his death-bed, Kwame Ture authored his last political statement, Hell Yes, We are going to Libya! This Statement was distributed strategically and in advance, worldwide, and embargoed for release until after Kwame boarded that Libyan hospital plane in Conakry. Tragically, the plane never left Tripoli. This Statement, Hell Yes, We are going to Libya! was released posthumously, on November 15, 1998, within minutes of Kwame’s transition, and is republished today worldwide! The “beat goes on,” and the African Revolution continues and intensifies!

Miriam Makeba and husband Stokely Carmichael in Conakry, Guinea in 1968

Kwame Ture was born on June 29, 1941, in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. He made his transition to the ancestors, on November 15, 1998, in Conakry, Guinea. He would be 70 years young this year, and his revolutionary voice and Pan-Africanist vision is still reverberating in every corner of Africa, the African Diaspora and the World. It reverberates despite the unrelenting, massive and word-wide conspiracy to silence, co-opt, contain and crush Kwame’s voice and vision, and his legacy of revolutionary struggle and sacrifice, service and suffering. Plans are being made to hold a gala and V.I.P. 70th Birthday Party in Washington, DC in Kwame’s honor on Saturday, June 25, 2011. For more information, contact: info@a-aprp-gc.org.

Today, 13 years after Kwame’s transition, the United States government, which is the “greatest purveyor of violence in the world today,” and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), an instrument of U.S. imperialism, are interfering in Africa’s internal affairs once again. They are bombing Tripoli and the Muammar Al Qathafi compound and house once again. Africa, from Cote d’Ivoire to Congo to Zimbabwe to Somalia to Egypt to Tunisia in our Motherland, and from Cuba to Haiti to Venezuela and throughout the African Diaspora, is under merciless attack once again, as it has been for more than 3 millennia, by a new generation of international invaders, slave masters, murderers, rapists, thieves, thugs and gangsters.

Ghadafi supporter in Libya

Africa is our Mother! Libya is one of our Mother’s children. Muammar al Qathafi is an African! We will defend the Dignity and Integrity of Mother Africa, our Mother’s children, our sisters and brothers, comrades and friends until death.

The All-African People’s Revolutionary Party (GC) is the inheritor and continuator of the revolutionary theory and practice of Kwame Nkrumah, the late and beloved first president of Ghana; Ahmed Sekou Toure, the late and beloved first president of Guinea; and Kwame Ture. Equally as important, our organizers continue and intensify our almost five decades of struggle, service and sacrifice as well.

Detroit demonstration: Hands off Libya!

The A-APRP (GC) issues an open call to all progressive justice and peace-seeking Humanity in every corner of the United States and the World, especially students, youth and women, to travel with us to Tripoli immediately, or to meet us there. Our Delegation, which will include a wide and diverse spectrum of organizations, movements and peoples, will openly and uncompromisingly declare in the name of African and World Humanity, the second we land on African (Libyan) soil, that the United States, NATO, and European Union travel bans, sanctions, embargoes and blockades against Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cuba, Iran, Korea (North), Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Syria are finished now, immediately, and forever. We will demand that these international gangsters, who commit Crimes against Humanity every day with impunity, and their African puppet Barack Obama, keep their bloody hands off Africa (Libya)!

We ask all of progressive humanity to help us build and to join the Kwame Ture Freedom Ride to Africa (Libya). We remind all, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was clear in his speech against the United States government’s racist, immoral and illegal war against the People and Government of Vietnam, that “[t]he ultimate measure of a [woman or] man is not where [they] stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where [they] stand at times of challenge and controversy.” Dr. King also said, “The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict.”

Click here, to endorse the Kwame Ture Freedom Ride to Africa (Libya)!

Click here, to join the Kwame Ture Freedom Ride to Africa (Libya)!

See you at African Liberation Day on May 21, 2011, from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm, at Malcolm X Park, 16th and Euclid Street NW, Washington, DC.

Click here, to pre-register your attendance to African Liberation Day!

All-African People’s Revolutionary Party (GC)

info@a-aprp-gc.org – http://www.a-aprp-gc.org – (202) 719-0529

Michael I. Roth, CEO and president of Interpublic

Interpublic discloses stake in Facebook

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/e1f2c458-5e14-11e0-b1d8-00144feab49a.html#ixzz1IYYxoNCp

 FT.COM

By David Gelles in New York

Published: April 3 2011

Interpublic, the advertising group, has emerged as an unlikely beneficiary of the surging value of Facebook. (Go to 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpublic_Group_of_Companies to read more about Interpublic. Also go to http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/05/13/businessinsider-meet-facebooks-soon-to-be-billionaire-shareholders-2010-5.DTL to read about Facebook’s other billionaire investors and the ouster of some of its founder.)

Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder of Facebook, owns 24 percent or $53 billion; he met with Pres. Barack Obama, Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt (linked to CIA), and Steve Jobs of Apple in San Francisco in February

The company owns a stake in the social network that is today valued at somewhere between $200m and $300m, depending on Facebook’s valuation and the actual size of the stake.

The exact figures have not been disclosed, but people close to Interpublic say it owns slightly less than a half per cent of Facebook, and paid less than $5m for it in 2006.

Interpublic, which owns McCann Erickson and other agencies and is led by chief executive Michael Roth, secured shares in what was then an emerging site mostly popular with university students.

Investments by an advertising group in a social network are rare, but Interpublic won the privilege by committing to spend $10m for its clients on Facebook, an early win for a social network seeking to bolster its image with advertisers.

(Read: http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/02/steve-jobs-and-eric-schmidt-to-meet-with-president-obama-thursday-in-san-francisco.html to understand Facebook’s connections with those in power. Eric Smith’s Google has been linked to the CIA: to find out more about those connections, click on  http://www.democracynow.org/2010/7/30/google_teams_up_with_cia_to).

Accel Partners CEO Jim Breyer owns 10 percent, worth 22 billion, also linked to CIA

The position in Faceok is not that substantial compared with Interpublic’s overall revenues, which totalled $6.53bn last year. But the value of the stake is welcome for the group, which is recovering from a tough few years during the recession, and has become large enough for Interpublic for the first time to report it in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange ­Commission.

“From time to time, we make investments in privately held companies that we believe may be of interest to the advertising and marketing sectors,” the company wrote in its annual report for December.

“Certain of these investments, the most significant of which is Facebook, have significantly appreciated compared to their cost, but there can be no assurance as to the terms on which we would be able to dispose of any such investments.”

(Ed. note: Go to http://choicelearning.blogspot.com/2006/01/personal-security-cia-and-social.html

When Interpublic took its stake in Facebook, the social network was valued at between $1bn and $2bn. Just a year later, however, Microsoft invested $240m in Facebook at a $15bn valuation.

But as Facebook’s valuation soared last year, thanks to robust trading on the secondary market, Interpublic realised it was sitting on a substantial stake, and was compelled to disclose it to the SEC.

The Russia-based Digital Sky Technologies owns 10 percent of Facebook, worth $22 billion; CEO is Yuri Milner

Based on a valuation of $50bn, an Interpublic stake of 0.4 per cent would be worth $200m. In recent weeks, however, Facebook has been valued at up to $85bn on the secondary market.

Facebook replaces employee over share purchases; Goldman Sachs involved

By Richard Waters in San Francisco

Published: April 2 2011 00:28 | Last updated: April 2 2011 00:28

A Facebook employee was replaced after he bought shares in the company in the private secondary stock market in contravention of the company’s own internal rules. (Go to http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/01/facebook-michael-brown_n_843489.html?ir=Business to read their take on the event.)

Michael Brown, former corporate development manager for Facebook.

In a statement issued through his lawyer, Mr Brown said: “I did buy Facebook stock on the secondary market in early September 2010, and I did so with the absolute best of intentions and only because I believe in Facebook.”

However, he denied a report that his purchases were related in any way to the $1.5bn investment in Facebook that Goldman Sachs tried to arrange at the start of this year. (Also read http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jan/17/goldman-sachs-facebook-private-placement.)

The Goldman-led investment was later revamped and an offering to US investments scrapped after news of the planned private share sale leaked out, potentially putting the sale in contravention of US securities laws.

Goldman Sachs tried to buy into Facebook.

The misstep is a black eye for the social networking company, which has increasingly come to rely on the fast-growing private market in its shares as it has held back from a full public listing.The emergence of a liquid private market for its shares has made it possible for employees to cash in some of their holdings before an initial public offering and let outsiders build big stakes in the company, which is now valued by private share sales at more than $70bn.However, the lower level of transparency around private transactions has at times created headaches for Facebook, given the regulations designed to protect investors in these markets, and the company has been criticised for holding back from a full initial public offering.

Michael Brown, an employee in Facebook’s corporate development department, was replaced after buying shares in the company that contravened rules it had set to limit the timing of such purchases.

“I am saddened by the course of events that led to my departure and the incorrect reporting of it,” Mr Brown said. “I am now focused on moving on past this unfortunate series of events.”

Facebook declined to comment.

Standing ovation for Vanessa Fluker

 By Diane Bukowski

DETROIT – The auditorium of Central United Methodist Church was filled with supporters of Attorney Vanessa Fluker March 25, including victims of foreclosure, and members of numerous groups including Moratorium NOW, the People’s Crime Lab Task Force, the Original Coalition Against Police Brutality, and other activists of all colors, ages, and sexes.

Vanessa Fluker speaks at rally March 25

Fluker is called the “people’s lawyer” by many, since she works 84 hours a week fighting to keep Detroit’s poor and working people in their homes, and has been active in the campaign for a state and national moratorium on the foreclosures that have devastated cities like Detroit.

 Her office mate, attorney Jerome Goldberg, said she takes cases even he wouldn’t take.

“Her legal work has led to significant legal victories,” Goldberg said. “She won the first case in Michigan holding that MERS [a temporary holding organization for mortgages] has no standing to foreclose.  She has won cases asserting that the failure to evaluate loans for modifications is a defense to a foreclosure.  She has testified in front of the U.S. Congress exposing the ‘silent bailout’ of the banks by the federal government through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that occurs with virtually every foreclosure.”

Rubie Curl Pinkins and her attorney Vanessa Fluker demonstrate against her eviction at Bank of America in downtown Detroit

But on March 1, 2011, Michigan Third Circuit Court Judge Robert Colombo, Jr. assessed $12,200 in sanctions against this distinguished attorney and her client for what he called a “vexatious appeal” of an eviction stemming from a foreclosure by RBS Services (Royal Bank of Scotland).  Her support committee is trying to raise $18,000 to allow for late fees to keep her out of jail for contempt.

“It’s not just about me,” Fluker said. “It’s about my client and all those fighting foreclosures. Judge Colombo’s action could have a chilling effect on every attorney, making them fear that vigorous advocacy could result in such sanctions.”

Fluker is an extremely passionate, precise, and articulate speaker with a rapid-fire style that calls to mind the late Kenneth Cockrel, Sr. in his heyday.

Attorney Jerome Goldberg supports Fluker

“Today, we are actually foreclosing on each other,” Fluker told the crowd. “The U.S. government through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now owns and controls 75 percent of predatory, toxic loans foisted on homeowners by the banks and mortgage companies.”

Fluker explained that the government insured those loans and has paid the full cost of defaulted mortgages to the original lenders, who received billions in tax-funded bail-outs to boot. This is despite the fact that only a very small percentage of the lenders complied with the requirements of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) that they negotiate affordable terms with homeowners to keep them in their homes.

“We must understand the vast profit the banks are making off the people,” Fluker said. “I have numerous clients who are making their mortgage payments every month and still get foreclosure notices. But no one will work with them because of the profit the banks can get out of foreclosing on them. We have to let the banks, the legal system and the legislatures know that we will NOT take this anymore!”

Former Third Circuit Chief Judge Mary Beth Kelly presents "Outstanding Judge of the Year" award to Judge Robert Colombo, Jr. in 2007

Other speakers supporting Fluker at the rally along with Goldberg were Rev. Ed Rowe of Central United Methodist Church, U.S. Congressman John Conyers, Wayne County Commissioner Martha Scott, and labor author Steve Babson. Conyers said he will sponsor fund-raisers for Fluker in New York City and Washington, D.C.

Many believe the role of Judge Colombo in this matter should be closely scrutinized for conflict of interest.  Colombo has not filed Campaign Finance Reports since 1988, when he received what is evidently an eternal waiver from the Secretary of State.

James Woodham, spokesperson for the Secretary of State, said that Colombo asserted in 1988 that he was not spending more than $1,000 on his campaigns. Woodham said he does not have to request a waiver again, EVER. This reporter, however, has reviewed numerous campaign finance records in her 11-year career, and NEVER found a candidate who had not filed a single report in 23 years.

Colombo house in Grosse Pointe, financed by RBS, the same bank trying to evict Fluker's client

SOS records confirm that Colombo lives at 754 Lakeland in Grosse Pointe. Wayne County Register of Deeds records show that a $200,000 mortgage on the home, taken out in 2007, was written off  in 2009 by the very same bank that is foreclosing on Fluker’s client, the Royal Bank of Scotland.

One of Fluker’s contentions in her “vexacious” lawsuit was that her client had been named by the Center for Community Justice and Advocacy (CCJS) in a federal Fair Housing Complaint against RBS. CCJA accused RBS of discriminating against Blacks by steering them to high interest loans, and then selling their homes at Sheriff’s auctions for low values, thus precluding their six-month right to redemption which is guaranteed under state law.

“Discrimination complaints are an accepted affirmative defense in eviction cases,” Goldberg noted.

Demonstrator smashes window at RBS branch in London during 2009 G-20 protests

Folks in RBS’ home country are not overly fond of the bank either.  Over a half-million demonstrators protesting huge government budget cuts in London, England last week  included some who chose to target a branch of RBS, throwing paint and bottles at the building.

Colombo ran for State Supreme Court last year, but his candidacy was dismissed by many in labor who still remember his infamous 2008 asbestos case ruling.

According to the National Law Journal, Colombo threw out the testimony of an expert witness on asbestos cases, Dr. Michael Kelly, putting thousands more lawsuits brought by victims of asbestos exposure “in limbo.”

Heat stroke caused deaths of four patients; Colombo sentenced nursing home director to probation

In 2007, Colombo sentenced Kathryn Gillis, R.N., former director of nursing at the Northland Nursing Center, to a term of five years probation for causing the heat-related deaths of four patients in the home. She pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter and could have received 15 years in prison on each count.

An investigation by the Attorney General’s office revealed that “the facility’s air conditioning system was not functioning, the facility’s windows did not open, and there was a lack of fans for residents to use” when temperatures in Detroit reached 87 to 90 degrees during three days in June, 2001. The patients died from conditions related to heat exposure, but Gillis remained free in her (presumably) air-conditioned home.

Prior to that, Colombo, as head of the Third Circuit Court’s docket review committees, recommended that Judge Deborah Thomas, be removed from the bench, allegedly for non-adherence to trial timeline guidelines. Thomas argued back that she was being forced to hold time-consuming jury trials by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, who had ordered no bench trials for judges she felt favored the defense.

Thomas was well known for her battle, begun in 2004, to get more proportionate representation of Blacks on Wayne County juries, another reason Kelly wanted her gone. Colombo was an ardent supporter of Kelly’s. Kelly presented him with a trophy in 2007 that called him the “Third Circuit Court Outstanding Judge of the Year.

Both Kelly and Colombo eventually lost out. A mass community movement in support of Judge Thomas’ advocacy for constitutional jury representation forced her to step down. When judges on the bench voted to replace Kelly with Colombo, the State Supreme Court snubbed them, instead appointing Virgil Smith, who came direct from the Prosecutor’s office.

Checks to the Vanessa G. Fluker Appeal Fund can be sent to 2920 E. Jefferson, Suite 101, Detroit, MI 48207. For more information about Moratorium NOW, call 313-680-5008 or go to their website at www.moratorium-mi.org.

http://hiphopandpolitics.com/2011/03/23/remembering-3-little-girls-for-womens-history-month/ 

Mar 23rd, 2011

Jasiri X

Shout out to Pittsburgh artist Jasiri X who comes with a heartfelt thoughtful joint that focuses on the plight of 3 young girls who were brutally slain…

Here’s what Jasiri penned about the women

For Woman’s History Month we wanted to shed light on how violent this society is especially towards woman and girls. “Three Little Girls” tells the stories of the senseless murders of Christina Taylor Green who was killed during the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Brisenia Flores who was gunned down by anti-immigrant militia intent on starting a race war, and Aiyana Jones who shot to death while asleep in her home, by the Detroit Police Department, while they were filming a reality TV show.

Aiyana Stanley-Jones

I realize these are sad stories, but how can we not be moved to action by the cold-blooded killings of innocent little girls? We have to begin to take an unflinching look at a culture that continues to glorify guns, bombs, and war and sees violence and aggression as the only solutions to its problems.

Written by Jasiri X and featuring 10 year old Hadiyah Yates, “Three Little Girls” was produced by GM3 and directed by Paradise Gray.

Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgcVMvl-k7A&feature=player_embedded to hear Jasiri X on Three Little Girls.

Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIE7efHPIvM to hear Conscious Plat “Aiyana Jones–I wrote this song for you.”

Go to http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_200589719953498 to join the Group “Justice for Aiyana Jones Committee.”

Also go to http://www.clickondetroit.com/video/27070653/index.html to view WDIV interview with Roland Lawrence, chair of the Justice for Aiyana Jones Committee, regarding plans for commemoration of first year anniversary of Aiyana’s death this May 16. Email Mr. Lawrence at rolandlawrence@msn.com to volunteer your efforts to help in this event.

“FOUR WOMEN” PHOTO EXHIBIT BY DALE RICH AT DETROIT PUBLIC LIBRARY DURING WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH  

Photographer Dale Rich at his Four Women exhibit at Detroit Public Library

Detroiter Dale Rich has been photographing the people’s struggles for 40 years, from the days of the civil rights movement in the South, to the newspaper strike in 1995 (which he was part of). He says that strike galvanized him once again to participate in protests and record them for all time.

Nina Simone

He dedicated his “Four Women” exhibit at the main branch of the Detroit Public Library to his great-great-great grandmother, who according to historical documents was sold six times “because she would not be whipped.” He took the theme from Nina Simone’s song, “Four Women,” particularly the fourth stanza: 

Mary Shoemake in photo at bottom left

JUST GO! to former Mayor

Dozens of women from Detroit and around the world were featured in his exhibit. In keeping with the theme, Dale singled out four Detroit women for special honor: Agnes Hitchcock, leader of the well-known activist organization Call ’em Out, Maureen Taylor, President of the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization, Helen Moore of Keep the Vote No Takeover, and Dr. Gloria House, who first became active in the struggle, as did Dale, during the 1960’s, as a member of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee.

(Go to  AGNES HITCHCOCK 2, MAUREEN D TAYLOR,  HELEN MOORE, and Gloria House  to read their biographies as they were displayed in the exhibit.)

More women warriors

Many of the photographs are of struggles organized by these women. Some of the participants featured in the photos were Mary Shoemake of Call ’em Out, Michigan Welfare Rights, UAW Local 6000, and virtually every activist group around, who recently passe on. Also seen were Gwendolyn Gaines, Marie Thornton, Gwen Mingo, Vanessa Fluker and many more. Dale said he is particularly proud of his portraits of Winnie Mandela, taken in South African, and U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama.

But perhaps the photo that summed up the exhibit was of an elder who took part in the original crossing of the Edmund Pettes Bridge in Selma, Alabama, during the famous civil rights march in 1964. Along with many others, she was attacked and beaten unconscious by police. Dale has traveled to Selma for many of the annual Edmund Pettes bridge crossing jubilees, and he photographed her crossing the bridge once again.

Dale plans to sponsor extended slide shows of his portraits of women warriors in the coming weeks

Maryanne Godboldo’s attorney Allison Folmar talks to media as some of many supporters of mother listen

 

Maryanne Godboldo

“She did not shoot at the police”

CPS trying to force dangerous meds on child, attorney says

 Rally Sat. Apr. 2 at 9 a.m. at Hartford Memorial Baptist Church; custody hearing on child Apr. 6; mother’s preliminary exam Apr. 8

 Family calls for write-in campaign 

By Diane Bukowski

DETROIT –An outpouring of national support for Maryanne Godboldo, who refused to surrender her child to an army of police with tanks and automatic weapons, resulted in her release from Wayne County Jail March 30 on a personal bond of $200,000. A rally to support the mother and her right to prevent the administration of a dangerous drug to her 13-year-old daughter is set for Sat. Apr. 2 at 9 a.m at Hartford Memorial Baptist Church in Detroit. Godboldo and her attorneys will fight to regain custody of the child from Child Protective Services Wed. Apr. 6 at Wayne County Juvenile Court.

Godboldo's sister Penny Godboldo comforts crying child as supporters including the Rev. Edie Worthy (to her right) look on March 27; Penny Godboldo is a Dunham-certified master dance teacher

“I feel wonderful and I’m very excited to see my daughter,” Maryanne Godboldo, 56, said after leaving the Wayne County Jail. “The support of the community has been unbelievable.”

Asked whether Godboldo fired a shot, her attorney Allison Folmar responded that it was just an allegation, and that Godboldo  “had to endure the onslaught of police unlawfully taking her child.”

Earlier, dozens of family, community and church members gathered outside 36^th District Court Mar. 27 as Godboldo was arraigned on  charges of “one count of Discharge of a Weapon in a Dwelling, three counts of Felonious Assault,  three counts of Resisting and Obstructing an Officer, and Felony Firearm.” The charges, brought by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, could result in more than ten years in prison.

 “We’re supporting this family, they have been a pillar of the community and of our church,” said Rev. Edie Worthy, who heads the Social Justice Ministry at Hartford Memorial Baptist Church. A rally there, at 18700 James Couzens near Seven Mile, is planned for Saturday, April 2 at 9 a.m. with a march to follow.

Judge Sidney Barthwell, Jr. had just levied a half-million dollar bond (cash or surety) on charges brought by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy against Godboldo.

Police armored vehicles roll down Linwood to battle mother and child March 27

 “The charges stem from an incident that occurred on March 24, 2011 at approximately 5:15 p. m. in the 2500 block of Blaine in Detroit,” Worthy’s spokesperson Maria Miller said.. “It is alleged that Godboldo barricaded herself and her daughter in her home for approximately 12 hours in a standoff with Detroit police officers.”

However, Barthwell contended that Godboldo “allegedly fired a shot and sprayed drywall at one officer.”

During the incident, Detroit Special Response Team (SRT) officers descended on the home with armored vehicles and assault weapons. Video footage shows individual officers staking out the house, taking cover behind trees with their weapons, as in a military operation. Godboldo eventually emerged from the home after discussions with community representatives, and was taken into custody. Her daughter is currently in the Hawthorne Family Center, although she was originally supposed to be released to her aunt Penny Godboldo.

Police with assault weapons stalk Godboldo's home

During the arraignment, Folmar argued for a personal bond, and was passionate in her defense of Godboldo and her concern for the child.

“My client did NOT shoot at the police,” Folmar said afterwards. “Child Protective Services was trying to force her child to take a dangerous medication, Risperdal, against her will. We have been able to get a court order signed by [Wayne County Circuit Court] Judge Richard Skutt, staying the administration of this drug, which is not approved by the FDA (Federal Drug Administration) in such cases. That’s why they put her in Hawthorne, so they could dope her up.”

Folmar said Godboldo has a doctor for her daughter who practices holistic treatment, which she prefers. She said CPS has not told them what medical authority said the child would be endangered without it.

Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO-nVViSEW4&feature=player_embedded#at=116 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lfOGLpb1q24#at=18http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lfOGLpb1q24#at=18 to view videos by two victims of Risperdal and tardive dyskinesia.

Wayne Co. Prosecutor Kym Worthy

Sidney Barthwell, Jr.

A 2007 release from the FDA said Risperdal is approved for the treatment of schizophrenia and “manic or mixed episodes of bipolar I disorder” in children.” Folmar said Arianna has not yet been diagnosed with any disorder, although she may possibly suffer from autism induced by vaccinations she received earlier.

She said the child had been taking Risperdal for months, and experienced adverse side effects, including excessive weight gain and uncontrollable facial grimaces. The last symptom, according to FDA literature, is associated with tardive dyskinesia, a usually permanent, serious and untreatable disorder. The FDA also says treatment with Risperdal can result in the onset of diabetes and hyperglycemia, and in some cases in coma or death.

Child's father, Mubarak Hakim

Folmar called the bond “outrageous,” saying Godboldo is no threat to her child or the community. She and attorney Wanda Evans, who specializes in juvenile law and is representing the child, said a motion to reduce the bond would be filed Monday. Godboldo’s preliminary exam is set for Friday, April 8 at 36^th District Court (time to be posted later).

Mubarak Hakim, the child’s father, said Godboldo set an example for numerous other families, particularly in the Black community, whose children have been forcibly taken from them for questionable reasons.

“Child Protective Services is interfering with her rights as a parent to decide what doctor and what treatment is needed for her child,” Hakim said.

Margaret Warner, Child Welfare Director for the Wayne County Department of Human Rights, said she could not discuss the case individually for confidentiality reasons.

Margaret Warner

But generally speaking, she said, “We don’t just remove children; we have to get court approval, and then the court gives us permission to place the child. The parent(s) or whoever is responsible for the child must have put them in a situation of abuse or neglect. We conduct interviews with the parent, the child or a collateral contact and provide whatever services we can to prevent out of home placement. . . .[Then] if we think the child is at risk, we try to work with the parents to allow us to take custody. We really do work with the police when we have not been able to convince the parent. Parents do routinely resist.”

Starletta Banks in 2005 with photos of her children, who she had not seen since 2000; as of today neither she nor her family members have regained custody.

Warner said a hearing must be held in Juvenile Court within 24 hours of the child’s removal to allow the parent and their attorneys to dispute the removal. Since Godboldo is charged with a multitude of crimes, her ability to regain custody at this point is questionable.

Starletta Banks filed suit in federal court in 2005 after CPS snatched her three small children, Darius, Danielle and Darren from her loving arms in 2000, claiming falsely that X-rays of Danielle showed evidence of old fractures.

“The illegal stealing of our children nation wide is a very serious problem that is happening every day and in every state,” Banks told VOD. “Those involved such as judges, prosecutors, social workers, attorneys, physicians, child placement agencies etc. should be exposed, prosecuted and sent to prison.  The sole reasons that children are being stolen from their families and homes are the financial incentives associated with each child and circumstance.  There is federal grant money given to states and child placement agencies to create situations that do not exist to generate these funds.  The state of Michigan is financially broke, thus surviving on the backs of our children.

Banks’ family friend Irwin Johnson said during a state-wide protest against Michigan’s foster care system, “In Detroit and across the nation, it boils down to a racial issue. How can Black kids be over 50 percent of the foster care system, but make up only 20 percent of the population?”

Go to http://kidjacked.com/conspiracy/mother_sues_state.asp to read complete story by this writer on the Banks-Austin case. Also go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17iqUsACRZM and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSav5qxXPkY&feature=related to view startling videos of testimony on  “Psychotropic Drug Use Among Foster Children,” in front of a Florida Senate Committee in 2009.

Dr. Shirley Moore

Dr. Shirley Moore, National Director of Legislative Affairs for the American Family Rights Association, sued Los Angeles County for wholesale kidnapping through its foster care system.

“My lawsuit showed every foster care case was tainted because officials in Los Angeles County failed to disclose their conflicts of interest,” Moore said. In response to Moore’s actions, as well as an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit and an expose by the Los Angeles Daily News, a judge ordered a review of foster care placements in that county.

“Up to half of the 75,000 children in the systems and adoptive homes were needlessly placed in a system that is often more dangerous than their own homes because the county receives $30,000 to $150,000 in state and federal revenues for each placement,” wrote the Daily News.

For more information on the rally at Hartford Memorial, located at 18700 James Couzens Fwy. between W. Outer Drive and Seven Mile Rd,  call 313-867-4841 or email justice4maryanne@gmail.com.  Ms. Godboldo’s supporters have now set up a Facebook page for her at :  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Justice-for-Maryanne-Godboldo/178678602179610 and a Twitter account at   http://twitter.com/#!/jstice4maryanne.

Additionally, her sister Penny Godboldo is welcoming letters of support as follows:

Attorney Allison Folmar can be reached at (313) 930-2500. Starletta Banks, who has become involved with many other families experiencing custody battles, can be emailed at firststar32004@yahoo.com.  

    

MICHIGAN AFSCME COUNCIL 25 IS ASKING ALL UNION MEMBERS TO ATTEND RALLIES IN THEIR STATE CAPITOLS FROM 12 NOON TO 5 P.M. (DURING WORKING HOURS) ON WED. APRIL 13. CALL 313-964-1711.  

AFSCME IS HOLDING OPEN MEETINGS EVERY WEDNESDAY AT 5:30 P.M. AT THE COUNCIL 25 HALL AT 600 W. LAFAYETTE AND THIRD; MANY DIFFERENT UNIONS ARE ATTENDING ACCORDING TO DETROIT’S CHIEF AFSCME NEGOTIATOR CATHERINE PHILLIPS.

Iris Salters, Michigan Pres. MEA

THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA AND STATE LEGISLATORS HAVE BEEN IN AN UPROAR OVER A LETTER SENT BY MICHIGAN EDUCATION ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT IRIS SALTERS TO 1,100 LOCAL UNIONS ASKING THEM TO TAKE STRIKE VOTES BY APRIL 15.  READ SALTERS’ LETTER TO THE MEDIA BELOW:

  SCHOOLS, STATE CANNOT AFFORD BUDGET CUTS

By Iris Salters, President of Michigan Education Association 

I’m proud to represent 155,000 public school employees who have dedicated their lives to preparing students for a brighter future.

But I’m worried about what the future holds for Michigan students, communities, public school employees, the middle class and the state in general.

Schools face devastating budget cuts that translate into larger class sizes, fewer staff members and reduced programs. Schools will close, and some districts will face financial ruin. For a district that’s already struggling to provide a quality education, what kind of future can be provided to students with a minimum of $470 less per child?

Detroit teachers walked off their jobs in 2001 to rally in Lansing to stop Rep. Kwame Kilpatrick's bill supporting charter schools

As educators, can we stomach the thought that students will be forced to learn in classrooms with 40, 50 or 60 students next year? Or that they’ll continue to do without the most basic supplies — paper, pencils, textbooks and computers? So distraught are educators over the learning conditions of their students, many are considering how to convince lawmakers to provide help, not more hurt.

The educational future of more than a million Michigan students must not be sacrificed. We will not stand silent while Michigan’s public schools and the middle class suffer more.

And suffer they will, especially in light of a new law giving emergency managers of schools the power to take over financial and academic decisions. What kind of future are we offering students when accountants — not trained teachers and administrators — decide curriculum?

A rigorous curriculum, small class sizes, safe and clean buildings, and other important resources to ensure student success don’t just happen. Until now, school employees have used the collective bargaining process to establish learning conditions for students as well as their own working conditions.

With collective bargaining rights in jeopardy, what kind of future do students have when their learning environments are substandard?

If some legislators have their way, schools will have to bid or outsource support services. How do you bid the job of the food service employee who helps a child without lunch money, or a custodian who befriends a troubled student? When those trained and loyal school employees lose their jobs, what kind of economic future does the community have?

Gov. Rick Snyder says lots of things. He says he believes in collective bargaining and shared sacrifice. He says he believes in a better future for Michigan that doesn’t follow the path of Wisconsin.

Well, his actions are speaking louder than his words.

He signed the emergency manager bill that when applied could eliminate collective bargaining for thousands of workers. So far, his definition of shared sacrifice is to increase taxes on seniors and force the poor to pay for a massive business tax cut. And continued attacks on Michigan’s middle class put us squarely on the path to our own Wisconsin.

Snyder talks about the “we” versus “me” mentality that will move us toward a brighter future.

I’m not sure who the “we” is that he’s talking about. We the people have had enough of the attacks on schools, on school employees, on public workers, on voters, on taxpayers, on communities and on the people who built this state and the people who will sustain it.

If there is going to be a better future for Michigan, it will be these people — not the politicians — who create it.

Iris Salters is president of the Michigan Education Association, a union that represents teachers and education support staff.

JUDGE BLOCKS WISCONSIN ANTI-LABOR LAW

 By Jane Slaughter

http://labornotes.org/blogs/2011/03/wisconsin-unions-scramble-beat-new-law

A Dane County (Madison) judge issued a temporary restraining order today to block publication of Governor Scott Walker’s anti-collective bargaining law.

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