Pastors Bill Wylie-Kellerman, Edwin Rowe, David Bullock, Charles Williams II, and Maurice Rudd condemn attacks on working and poor people by the banks, corporations and government at a press conference April 17

Pastor Bill Wylie-Kellerman of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, a life-long activist and advocate for the poor, has penned a profound piece on Corktown resident Steve DiPonio’s beating of another Corktown resident, Charles Duncan, who happens to be homeless, on Oct. 6. BE SURE TO READ THE PASTOR’S COMMENTARY IN THIS WEEK’S METRO TIMES. It says it ALL. Go to:  

http://metrotimes.com/news/looking-for-real-justice-1.1074246.  

According to an article in the Detroit News, published on Nov. 13, long after the incident and only after DiPonio was charged,   

Steven DiPonio

“(Diponio) told the arresting officer he was tired of the man sleeping behind a school near his house,” said Detroit Police Sgt. Eren Stephens.  

Diponio allegedly took a rope from his pickup, tied up Duncan and beat him several times with a baseball bat, said Maria Miller, a spokeswoman for Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy.  

Diponio tied the man to his bumper and dragged him in his car a short distance before neighbors freed Duncan, police said. Duncan was left bleeding on the sidewalk before a witness called police, Stephens said. Details about his current condition or injuries weren’t available late Friday.” 
http://detnews.com/article/20101113/METRO/11130342/Detroiter-accused-of-beating-homeless-man–dragging-him-behind-truck#ixzz17YHKMGrJ  

Pastor Wylie-Kellerman’s commentary targets the gentrification, racism and classism that have struck Corktown in recent years, as well as other areas of Detroit that Mayor Dave Bing has proposed to “down-size” (meaning the people, not the miles).  Wylie-Kellerman  condemns it all and calls on people of conscience to join together to stop this wholesale onlaught.  

Phil Cooley, owner of Slow's Bar-B-Q and development company

Note that the Detroit News article quotes the owner of Slow’s Bar-B-Q, Phil Cooley, who said he is trying to  find other places to put the homeless folks in Roosevelt Park, across from his chi-chi eatery.  Cooley is one of six co-chairs of Bing’s downsizing Detroit Advisory Task Force, and also one of the “Conquistadors” Wylie-Kellerman talks about in his article, who campaigned to shut down his church’s soup kitchen and “the free hand-outs in our neighborhood that facilitate the drugs, crime and general malcontent . . .”   

 (See earlier series of five VOD articles on Bing’s plans for Detroit, which include bios of Task Force members. Another article addresses Bing’s chief planner Toni Griffin’s comments that Detroit presents an opportunity for change that can be compared only to the transformation Hurricane Katrina wrought on  New Orleans.)  

WASHINGTON - SEPTEMBER 18: Democratic U.S. presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) speaks about his tax policy during an address September 18, 2007 in Washington, DC. Obama outlined his plan on reducing taxes for low income families and increasing capital gains and dividend taxes. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

By David Sirota

Newspaper columnist, radio host (AM760), bestselling author

Posted: December 7, 2010 12:40 PM   The Huffington Post

Four pieces of news today about the tax debate leads me to the modest conclusion that America — or at least the capital that governs in its name — has gone entirely, unmistakably and undeniably batshit crazy.

1. We just had an election that focused intently on the problems that come with a growing national deficit and debt. Correspondingly, almost every major poll after the election shows the majority of the country therefore doesn’t want to extend Bush tax cuts on income above $250,000 a year. Nonetheless, a Democratic president who won the biggest electoral landslide in contemporary history on a promise to rescind those tax cuts — that same president is now pushing to extend those very tax cuts, thus seriously increasing the national deficit/debt.

Former President William Clinton backs deal too

2. President Clinton’s former chief of staff, John Podesta — a man who, as head of the liberal Center for American Progress, zealously defends the economic record and model of President Clinton — just issued a press release arguing for an extension of all the Bush tax cuts in order to not “abandon the millions of Americans who are struggling to keep their families afloat.” In other words, President Clinton’s former chief of staff is arguing that returning to President Clinton’s tax rates would “abandon the millions of Americans who are struggling to keep their families afloat.”

3. The Democratic Party, which for a decade rightly argued that Bush tax cuts blew a hole in our budget and didn’t spur serious economic growth, is now suddenly arguing that we must extend all the Bush tax cuts to preserve the prospect of economic growth. Somehow, the party now believes spending $60 billion a year on reducing tax rates for income above $250,000 is a better way to spur economic growth than using the same money to (as just one example cited in the New York Times) make college entirely free for half of all American students.

4. Despite Democrats controlling all branches of America’s federal legislative apparatus, Republicans are governing the country. As the AP reports under the headline “Republicans achieve top goal in Obama tax-cut plan,” the GOP “largely dictated the terms of President Barack Obama’s proposed tax-cut compromise.” This, despite the fact that to stop the Bush tax cuts, all Democrats had to do was pass nothing.

As I said, mark this day down: It’s the day it became undeniably clear that we’ve gone completely batshit crazy.

Systematic Recycling site at 9125 W. Jefferson

Husband of Michigan Citizen publisher advocated for Systematic Recycling, according to former state rep

By Diane Bukowski

DETROIT – Carlyle/Synagro may have been chased from within Detroit’s borders, at least for the time being, but the dog left its wagging tail behind.

The company had ties to Systematic Recycling, LLC, located at 9125 W. Jefferson, across from Detroit’s Wastewater Treatment Plant. Systematic has been operating since 2006 despite complaints from neighbors of “unbearable odors” and at least three fires a year from large piles of compost.

Sam Riddle and Theresa Landrum at Call em Out Dinner in Feb. 2010, holding copy of The Michigan Citizen

“The stench is horrendous,” said community member Theresa Landrum, who has taken part in years of protests to shut the company down. “It smells like something decaying, it takes your breath away. Even if you shut your windows, it still gets into your house. Children on the playground at Delray Neighborhood House are even affected.”

The Detroit City Council approved a two-year “community host agreement” with Systematic in 2007 despite widespread community opposition. Heavy pressure from former Synagro executive James Rosendall and former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s administration was instrumental, according to reports in the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press at the time.

The reports said former Kilpatrick aides Kandia Milton and Michael Tardif, among others, pressed hard for the vote, and for state legislation that would allow Systematic to handle larger amounts of compost.

Tardif, who was a Michigan Democratic Party superdelegate to the national convention in 2008, wed Catherine Kelly, publisher of the Michigan Citizen newspaper, on Aug. 6 of this year, according to marriage registry records.

Despite such heavyweight opposition, southwest Detroiters celebrated a recent court victory against the Systematic.

“On Friday, November 19, 2010, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Kathleen MacDonald ruled in our favor, denying Systematic Recycling . . . a temporary restraining order to prevent the city from issuing tickets for violations,” said a release from Greening Detroit.com.

Homes just blocks from Systematic Recycling site

“Earlier this year, the City of Detroit revoked the zoning grant for Systematic Recycling due to a number of illegal practices that created a nuisance that threaten our community and our health, including the excessively large piles and unbearable odors that violate state law.”

Systematic’s lawsuit has been ongoing in both state and federal courts since April, 2009. The company contended that it was operating on land that was zoned for such usage, was in an already heavily industrialized and polluted area, had not been cited by the City of Detroit, and was being unfairly targeted for reasons including its woman-owned status.

Cindy Rhodes-Victor, attorney for Systematic’s owner Renee Michaels, did not respond to a call for comment on Judge MacDonald’s ruling.

In federal court, U.S. District Judge David Lawson earlier denied Systematic’s motion for an injunction to prevent the city from shutting it down at the end of its two-year host agreement. Lawson said Systematic had other options, including a city appeals process.

Systematic Recycling mounds of compost produce noxious odors, vermin according to MDEQ

Lawson noted in his ruling, “Within the period from December 2006 through November 2008, Systematic Recycling received several citations and warnings from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality  . . . . and Wayne County Department of Environment. . . . for violations of the rule against emission of odors beyond the facility’s property line, accumulating an excessive amount of yard clippings . . . . and fires that occurred from heat generated by compost piles maintained in violation of the Wayne County solid waste ordinances. The MDEQ sent Michaels a warning letter on October 7, 2008 citing problems including improper storage of yard clippings in excess of allowable limits, ponding water, pests between waste piles, and fires requiring Detroit Fire Department responses.”

Lawson added, “In January of 2009, evidence came to light that Systematic Recycling might have secured its Host Community Agreement with the city by means of a bribe carried out by James R. Rosendall, an owner of the company that leased to Systematic its land in southwest Detroit.”

Former Synagro exec James Rosendall, now serving federal time

Alliance Rental and Leasing owns the land on which Systematic is located. According to state records, Rosendall heads Alliance. He is now incarcerated after admitting to bribing city officials to obtain both a $47 million city sewage disposal contract for Synagro, and the two-year “Community Host Agreement” for Systematic. Synagro and the city mutually agreed to rescind that contract after his plea, but Systematic stayed.

In a detailed plea agreement last year, Rosendall agreed to cooperate with federal investigators by naming names in exchange for a lighter sentence. He is serving a sentence of 11 months in the federal prison at Elkton, Ohio, with a release date of May 13, 2011, according to federal records. Wayne County land records show that the U.S. Department of Justice has a lien on the Systematic site.

Landrum said Michaels told residents at a community meeting that she intended to sell Systematic to Synagro after the two year host agreement was up. The land Synagro wanted for its sludge disposal facility, at 7915 W. Jefferson (formerly the proposed site for the Minergy incinerator), is adjacent to Rosendall’s land.

“Rosendall did all the talking at the meeting,” Landrum said. “She [Michaels] just sat there quietly. I’ll never forget that. Why would you open up to operate for two years and then just up and sell the company?”

Former Council member, then vice-president, Monica Conyers reversed her votes on both Synagro and Systematic, allowing the agreements with the companies to pass

Landrum said busloads of southwest community members attended City Council meetings to stop Systematic before the Council vote of 5-4 in May of 2007, months before the Council’s identical vote approving the Synagro contract in November of that year. Systematic had already begun operations in 2006 without the agreement.

“Systematic should have been shut down years ago,” Landrum said. “Citizens had to fight for themselves from the grassroots level. We had called the city to complain when the site went up. Systematic was originally supposed to operate on only five acres, but ended up operating in a much larger area. People testified about the stench and poor maintenance and the effects on the children of our community.”

She commended former State Rep. Steve Tobocman and his successor State Rep. Rashida Tlaib for joining the community in those protests.

Former State Rep. Steve Tobocman

Tobocman told the Detroit News in 2008, “I knew Rosendall was involved in Synagro, but when he showed up for this [Systematic] … that was strange.” He also identified Tardif and Milton as advocates for Systematic.  Milton is now serving time in federal prison for taking bribes to sell the city’s only summer youth camp to a Greek church in Brighton, Michigan.

The article, “Mayoral aides pressed Detroit compost deal,” was written by News reporters David Josar and Christine McDonald, and published July 31, 2008.  According to the article, Tobocman said that Tardif “tried to persuade him to alter legislation that would restrict the amount of compost Systematic could process.”

Delray Neighborhood House and playground, blocks from Systematic

Tobocman told the News that Tardif argued with him as Milton stood by during the Mackinac Public Policy Conference in May, 2007.

“He just kept yelling that I didn’t care about jobs,” Tobocman said. The News said the facility was expected to provide only three to five jobs and bring in $20,000 a year to the city.

According to the News, Tardif worked directly for Kilpatrick through 2004, and then on his campaign staff from 2005-07, during which Kilpatrick paid him $138,500. It is unclear what work he is doing now.

State records show that Tardif founded the Detroit Compost Company, LLC in April, 2007, and the Aggregate Solutions Group, LLC in April, 2006. They are currently listed as “active but not in good standing,” and located at 547 E. Jefferson in Detroit.

Attorney James P. Allen, Sr. of Allen Brothers, PLLC Photo from Allen Brothers website

A request was made a week ago to Tardif’s attorney James Allen, Sr. and to Catherine Kelly and Michigan Citizen editor Teresa Kelly regarding whether these companies were related to Systematic Recycling or Synagro. It has not been answered to date.

Allen responded to an earlier request for information, directed only to the Kellys, regarding Tardif’s role in the Synagro scandal by threatening to sue this reporter over an article that had not even been published in the Voice of Detroit.

“Like the lies you have uttered against my client and as you are about to find out, talk can be anything but cheap,” Allen said in a letter dated Nov. 12. “My client is not going to stand idly by and allow you to defame him with impunity. He is a private citizen, not a public official, and your lies are entitled to no form of protection. You continue to propagate them and you will find out exactly how costly the words you type and speak can be.” (See VOD opinions page for copy of the letter and editor’s response.)

There are no records of any lawsuit brought against the Detroit News or the Detroit Free Press by Tardif or his attorney over numerous stories in which they cited Tardif’s alleged role in the Synagro scandal.  The stories said that Tardif, who is white, “cooperated” with federal officials in the Synagro investigation.

Three of the stories appear at  http://detnews.com/article/20090127/METRO01/901270371/City-Hall-corruption-probe-s-key-figures; http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080704/NEWS01/807040381&template=fullarticle; and http://www.freep.com/article/20090127/NEWS01/301270003/Kilpatricks-Conyers-among-8-named-in-FBI-bribery-probe

Carlyle Group spoof

The Michigan Citizen earlier published numerous stories, most by this reporter, on Synagro and its parent company, the Carlyle Group, in which both former presidents George Bush, along with many other former government officials across the world, are involved.

The stories said that Synagro/Carlyle deliberately targeted Black administrations in cities like Detroit and Philadelphia through bribery entrapment schemes. They stressed that Rosendall, who is white, had received a lighter sentence than Black individuals caught up in the schemes, including Synagro consultant Rayford Jackson, who is currently serving five years in prison, and former City Council President Monica Conyers and her former aide Sam Riddle, who were sentenced to 37 months.

They also stressed that Synagro and Carlyle themselves had never been charged, despite evidence that high-level executives knew about the entrapment schemes.

Meanwhile, Carlyle/Synagro’s tail continues to wag at the Systematic site, along with costly lawsuits, which are pending further action in the courts.

GreeningDetroit.com is asking the southwest community to continue making complaints against Systematic to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality at  (313) 456-4700 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. and (800) 292-4706 after 5 p.m. Such complaints may be instrumental in a final closure of the site.

The International Council for Urban Peace, Justice and Empowerment         

 As salaam Alaikum to the Muslim Ummah and As salaam Alaikum to all of those who bear witness to the one creator of the universe.

I seek refuge in Almighty God Allah from Shaitan, his whispers and those who follow him consciously and unconsciously.  I begin in the name of Allah, most gracious, most merciful and I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship but Allah and I bear witness that Mohammed, peace and blessings be upon him, is his messenger. 

Amir El Hajj Khalid Samad, Cleveland, Ohio

I begin by wishing all of our Muslim brothers and sisters throughout the Ummah Eid Mubarak! May Allah bless all of the returning Hajji’s and Hajja’s with a successful Eid.

On behalf of the International Council for Urban Peace, Justice and Empowerment and in conjunction with the West Coast Urban Peace, and Justice Coalition, I would like to take this opportunity to invite and request all of the Muslims throughout the United States and particularly those in the West Coast region to join with us and the International Council in helping to make the West Coast Peace, Justice and Empowerment Summit a successful one.

 A Call to Universal Oneness!

 We will be gathering Insha’Allah in Los Angeles, California on April 29-May 1, 2011.  As many of you know and for those who are not familiar, the International Council for Urban Peace, Justice and Empowerment grew out of the National Urban Gang Peace and Justice Summits that were held in the early 1990’s throughout the United States.  Those of us that have worked with the National Islamic leadership and many of the National Muslim organizations throughout the country are familiar with our work. 

Black youth listen to NOI Minister Louis Farrakhan Photo: The Final Call

Our organization and those we collaborated with and partnered with in the late 1980’s represent the veterans of the National Urban Peace and Justice Movement.  The Urban Peace and Justice Movement came together through the grace and mercy of Allah and his attribute as Al-Jami (the gatherer) and we reached out to organizations-faith and community based organizations-in all major cities in the United States to confront youth violence, crime, gang and other destructive behaviors that had reached epidemic proportions in our cities.  These efforts and other similar efforts came together and culminated in historical cease fires, truces and peace treaties in many major cities throughout the United States. 

First came Chicago, which was at the time, as it is now, one of the highest homicide rates in the United States.  It experienced a 10 year drop in homicides and gang related violence following the summits, but the promised peace dividends did not materialize and the homicides rose to their current level. Then came California, home to some of the most earth shattering gang violence in the country. 

Urban Peace

Many of the Muslim leadership from these major cities throughout the United States convened in cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Atlanta, New York and Washington, D.C. in order to develop a consensus on how to best approach these efforts.  Thanks to many of the leaders that are alive today, and those that are incarcerated, as well as those that have made the transition, we were able to establish with faith and community based organizations, a national movement that was responsible for what we called an urban peace initiative.  The urban peace initiative revolved for us around what almighty god Allah has enjoined upon us in his Quran as the answer to violent tribalism, within division and gang violence that was rampant and is rampant in many parts of the United States.

Bismilla’-Hir-Rahma’-Nir-Rahim. In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.  And hold fast, all of you together by the Rope which Allah (stretches out for you), and do not be divided among yourselves (being Muslims); And remember with thank Allah’s favor on you; For you were enemies and he joined your hearts together in love, so that by His Grace you became brethren; And you were on the brink of the Pit of Fire, and He saved you from it.  Thus does Allah make His Signs clear to you:  that you may be guided.  (Sura 3:  Iyat 103)

As the Stop the Killing and Stop the Madness Movements began to take root, the seeds that were planted in these major cities throughout the country began to grow.  Coalitions were formed to address the madness from a holistic, cultural specific perspective. Many of those street organizations and their leadership, as well as grassroots spiritual, social, cultural, political leadership and activists came together and actually signed peace treaties, and cease fire agreements to work together to resolve conflicts.

In honor of Imam Jamil al-Amin (H. Rap Brown), incarcerated for life, and Imam Luqman Abdullah, assassinated outside Detroit Oct. 28, 2009

But also while these efforts were going on. Allah brought together like minded people to give structure to this effort including  Imam Jamil Al Amin, Musham-Bey, Minister Louis Farrakhan and members of the Nation of  Islam , Members of the Moorish Science Temple of America, Imam Warith Deen Muhammad, the late El Hajj Omar Ali-Bey, Amir Khalid Samad, Imam T. Rashad Byrdsong, members of Al Ummah, and the leadership of Shurah Councils from throughout the United States.

After the summits, after the cease fires, truces, peace treaties and were declared in Chicago and Los Angeles; we came together in Kansas City and then in Cleveland to give structure to the organization called the National Council for Urban (Gang) Peace and Justice after the Kansas City, Missouri Summit in 1993. Gang related homicides, assaults, and other crimes decreased by as much as 25% in major urban centers like Chicago, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Pittsburgh.

So my brothers and sisters, this is a call to action and mobilization.  Let us continue to work together and let us join hands with our other community and faith partners to make the West Coast Summit successful.

Please contact any of the following people for more information and to see how you can help make this summit a success: 

Jitu Sadiki 760-409-1745 (California) · Nisa Shabazz (678) 480-6555 (Atlanta) · Amir Khalid Samad (216) 538-4043 (Cleveland)· Rashad Byrdsong (412) 371-3689 (Pittsburgh) · Minister Rashid (786) 402-5286 (Flordia)·  Wallace “Gator” Bradley (312) 371-6914 (Chicago) ·Ibrahim “Yanga” Abdul Qahaar (404) 207-7026 (Atlanta)·Minister Damu Crenshaw-El (216) 559-1536 (Cleveland).

As salaam Alaikum,

Amir El-Hajj Khalid A. Samad 

Attorney Joyce Schon at left leads chant of “Bobb must go” at DPS board meeting Oct. 14, 2010

Board meeting set for 6 p.m. Tues. Dec. 7 at New Center One, Welcome Center, W. Grand Blvd. at Second

Ruling comes on the eve of crucial election in Detroit Federation of Teachers

RELEASE

The Wayne County Circuit Court held today that Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb has violated the law for the last 20 months by illegally taking control over the academic affairs of the Detroit Public Schools. 

The Court held that Bobb had no legal authority to seize that power.  It also declared that he had no educational expertise or experience — that “all [Bobb’s] study in education has emanated from unvetted sources, who may stand to benefit financially should his academic plans come to fruition and who have supplemented his pay.”

Finally, it held that his educational plan was a “fix” that was “short on teaching and learning wisdom,” an opportunity where some “stand to profit shielded …from the eye of public oversight of competitive bids” because of Bobb’s one-man rule.

Charter school CEO Doug Ross, Skillman Foundation CEO Carol Goss, and DPS Czar Robert Bobb at "Take Ownership" meeting on DPS

In the words of the ruling, [Bobb] “was empowered to figure out how to pay for education fashioned by the Board. Instead he created education products he proposed to implement. His business paradigm envisions competitive marketplace schools where parents shop like consumers for the best schools with best being dictated by survival of the fittest principles of caveat emptor [buyer beware]. …Schools will compete for the best students, leaving less gifted children or those that come from households that somehow fail to present their children to school in the optimal ready-to-learn state, [to] fall by the wayside. Only schools with the best teachers will thrive and without encouragement to foster cooperation among and between teachers and schools, the weak perish.”

George Washington, attorney for school board and BAMN

George Washington, an attorney who represented the Detroit school board, said “This decision is the beginning of the end of Bobb’s illegal dictatorship and of the pro-charter and anti-education policies that he has attempted to force down the throats of Detroit’s students and citizens.  We will do everything necessary to enforce this decision.”

The decision comes on the eve of a crucial runoff election in the Detroit Federation of Teachers.  Steve Conn, a long-time BAMN member who is a candidate for President on the Defend Public Education/Save Our Students slate, supported the lawsuit and hailed the decision.  Keith Johnson, the current President of the DFT, has supported Bobb from the day he was appointed.   

Shanta Driver, the National Chair of BAMN and one of the attorneys on the case, said “This decision rejects the educational program and the political methods that U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and plutocrats like Bill Gates and Eli Broad have used in their attempt to destroy public education.  The decision and Steve Conn’s election as President of the DFT will vastly strengthen the national fight against Duncan’s pro-charter, market-based competitive education model and will make it possible for us to repair the enormous damage that Duncan, through enforcers like Michelle Rhee and Robert Bobb, has already done to our children’s futures.” 

Contacts:      George B. Washington (attorney) 313-963-1921; 313-715-4886

                        Steve Conn   313-645-9340

                        Joyce Schon (attorney) 313-434-7075

DPS Election flyer   

Link to Baxter opinion and order exceeds limits for this site; link available in Detroit Free Press article at:

http://www.freep.com/article/20101207/NEWS01/12070379/1322/Judge-Bobbs-efforts-to-fix-DPS-classrooms-arent-his-job

Greg Thrasher

By Greg Thrasher

(ed.note: Greg Thrasher has just come on board with the Voice of Detroit as a contributing editor. Please go to the About VOD page to see his bio and credentials.)

Over the years much has been written and spoken about Detroit and its suburbs often the exchange has been negative, emotional, destructive and of course racist depending on what side of 8 mile the comments originated from.

During the evolution of Detroit’s suburbs the early dialogue was often just predictable banter between city versus suburban lifestyles; however after the riots of 1967 the exchange between the two venues became more racial and more adversarial. The emergence of Coleman Young on the scene and the bitter aftermath of the 1967 riot increased the temperature between the city and the suburbs.

This bitter fallout in conjunction with the usual differences of opinions between a city and its outsiders has been a thorn in this region’s side for decades. The depth of interaction between Detroit and its suburbs remains stained with race. Now this interaction is being impacted by the emerging issues of class, non-white ethnic groups and new immigration trends.

As with all things in life change never stops and new realities emerge out of the texture of change. Detroit remains a predominately Black city but now it’s ring suburbs are no longer lily white enclaves. Today Detroit’s suburbs have large Black populations and the usual battles between Black Detroiters and white suburbanites are now complicated by interactions between Black folks on both sides of the border.

Today many black Detroit residents now reside in the suburbs yet they still seek to retain ties with the city. Many of us have family, friends, memories and a special love for the city and we want to be part of its past glory and its future destiny. However, like our white neighbors we face anger, resentment and even contempt we when dare to offer up opinions and ideas on the city’s ills and decay.

It can be stated that some of the attacks from those in the city who resent and reject our overtures are as intense and ugly as the early confrontations between Black detroiters and white suburbanites back in the day.

Detroit residents of course have a right to their own sovereignty and should reject unwanted and unwarranted intervention from outsiders when such intervention insults and causes hardship for Detroit residents. However black suburban residents who have love for the city should also reject and attack those in the city who harm the city.

Backward notions like zip code envy and hometown loyalty based upon denial should never be allowed to block solutions and ideas which enhance the growth of the city. Petty grievances based upon one’s zip code and area code should not be tolerated while the city to falls into an abyss.

Black folks who reside in Detroit’s suburbs have a wealth of intellectual and social capital. Detroit deserves access to these assets. The future of the city no longer resides exclusively with those in the city. We must partner and collaborate because at the end of the day we share the same objectives!

The old paradigm of city versus suburbs and of White suburbanites against Black Detroiters no longer has any currency. I have a lot of interests in the city and I intend to protect, cultivate, and harvest these concerns. I will not allow those who harbor contempt for my zip code and my class status prevent me from being a partner with the city I love…..Let’s share life together over the fence……

John Boyd, head of the National Black Farmers' Association, campaigns for passage of bill AP Photo Alex Brandon

Black Farmers Bill Passed But Tough Road Still Ahead

by Zenitha Prince
Washington Bureau Chief

Afro-American Newspapers

African Americans are still waiting the “40 acres and a mule” promised them by the U.S. government almost two centuries ago. But, this week, Black farmers took one giant step closer to receiving the payouts due them from the settlement of a discrimination case against the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

On Nov. 30 the U.S. House passed the Claims Resettlement Act by a vote of 256-152, thereby releasing $1.5 billion for restitution to Black farmers that were denied loans or otherwise discriminated against by USDA from 1981-1997.

“It took many years of protests, phone calls, and even a mule ride and a tractor ride for the Black farmers to get the attention and support in Congress that could make today possible,” said John Boyd Jr., president of the National Black Farmers’ Association, Tuesday. “Even though this is not a perfect settlement, it is a just settlement and one that we hope will allow the cases to be resolved and provide closure.”

The Virginia farmer said after almost three decades of pursuing justice in this case, the victory this week was “bittersweet” given the many farmers who lost their farms, lost their livelihoods and lost their lives in the process of waiting.

And the waiting is not quite over for the approximately 65,000 claimants covered in the Pigford II suit, officials say. Black farmers will have to go through an arduous process before they can receive a check, due in part to claims of overspending and fraud from mostly Republican lawmakers.

Native American farmer George Keepseagle with family in North Dakota; they are part of Pigford II suit

“This is an outrage and one vote that no member of this Congress should vote for,” Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., said in her statement on the House floor, after a recitation of assumptions and figures that she said do not add up. “This will be an albatross around the neck of any Congress member that votes to fund this obviously fraudulent claim.”

Citing the same numbers Iowa Congressman Steve King said, “It’s got to be fraud.” And, he also alleged that near automatic payments of $50,000 and debt relief in the dispersal of Pigford I’s $ 1 billion allotment – without sufficient proof of the claims – is an example of neo-reparations.

“Forty acres and a mule … that’s been the promise of slavery reparations [and] in truth we have the modern-day version of reparations that is going on here … and it is wrong,” he said.

“Rep. King’s comments have a racial undertone against Blacks,” Boyd told the AFRO, adding in other statements, “We’ve proven our case in federal court, we have a settlement agreement, we’ve done everything right in this case.”

U. S. Congressman John Conyers, D-Detroit

Democrat John Conyers, chairman of the Judiciary Committee who has worked on the Black farmers legislation since its inception, dismissed the figures quoted by King and Bachmann as “erroneous conceptions” and added, “I’m a little dismayed that we come back after this recess and after a struggle that has gone on for generations and we come here and of all my colleagues on the other side of the aisle I am stunned that only one person stands in support of a claim that is so gross, so discriminatory.”

Senate Republicans similarly withheld their support of the funding nine times based partly on concerns about overspending and fraud. However, the final measure – passed by unanimous consent last week – contains “a number of steps along the way to guard against … people trying to seek resources that they are not entitled to,” USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters, Monday.

Among them:
-Claimants must belong to a specific class – Black farmers who missed the original July 1997 deadline for filing a claim under Pigford I and filed sometime after October 1999 and before June 2008.
– Attorneys filing for claimants must furnish a detailed and complete claim form, including a statement affirming – under penalty of perjury – that the claim is legitimate and can be supported with evidence.
-Cases are reviewed by an independent adjudicator, who has the authority to require further documentation and evidence from claimant to further substantiate claim or if fraud is suspected.
– The U.S. comptroller general will evaluate the process – including fraud controls – and submit two reports to Congress.
– USDA’s inspector general will also conduct several performance audits on settled claims.

Additionally, a federal judge has to sign off on the agreement.

Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli said all in all the final measure protects the government against even more spending – if the litigation were to continue – but also false petitions.

“The bottom line for these cases is we think they’re fair deals for the plaintiffs that we settled with and move us into new chapters at both agencies, but they’re also very fair deals for the taxpayers,” he said.

House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C.

House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., questioned just how fair the process was for Black farmers, however. The former director of the South Carolina Commission for Farm Workers said he was concerned that the powers given to the neutral adjudicator to demand more documentation and to the inspector general to perform audits on resolved claims could inspire “witch hunts” and have a “chilling” effect on Black farmers, who may have rightful demands.

“I want the record to show that these two processes are not found anywhere else [only in reference to Black farmers’ settlement],” he said, later adding, “I don’t want anybody to be unjustly enriched, but I hope that nobody will be intimidated by the process.”

Boyd said making eligible Black farmers familiar and comfortable with the process will take time and considerable outreach from the government. “It’s going to take a while for the trust factor between Black farmers and the USDA [to develop] for us to go into these next steps, so I’m hoping we will be able to work something out about conducting outreach on a national scale to these farmers that are waiting for next steps.”

Architect's rendering of new Bayview Library; contract to build it was snatched from Black-owned Liberty Builders, the low bidder, and given to a white contractor with no Black participation

by Joseph Debro

Dec. 2, 2010

The Bayview Library, at Third and Revere, the center of San Francisco’s Black heartland, has long served as a second home for the children and all the people of Bayview Hunters Point. Now the City wants to replace it with a new building, but who will build it? Low bidder on the project was Liberty Builders, located a block from the library and owned by Bay View publisher Willie Ratcliff, who is trusted to hire from the community. But the City just snatched the contract from Liberty and gave it to KCK Builders, a white contractor with no Black participation. Will the community allow KCK to build the library?

The construction industry is infected with the pathology of racism. This infection is chronic. It first occurred in 1867. At that time the practitioners were injecting racism to protect those white people who had less skill than the newly freed slaves who were forced to ply their skills for less money.

Over the years, this infection has evolved under local and national laws. These laws have favored those who bring legacy to the game. Big unions and big contractors have conspired to restrict the number of contractors and workers who may enter the industry. These restrictions do not apply to familial relationships.

Darrell Evans is a member of Liberty’s first crew in 12 years, working on street repairs on Williams Avenue in Bayview Hunters Point. It was 12 years ago that the noose was hung on Liberty’s jobsite at SFO, signaling the lockout of Blacks from construction in San Francisco that has continued ever since. Liberty is owned by Bay View publisher Willie Ratcliff. – Photo: Francisco Da Costa

There is in law a requirement for something called the joint apprenticeship council. This council is composed of big unions and big contractors. Its effective role is to restrict the membership of unions by limiting training opportunities. These training opportunities are generally limited to relatives and friends of those who control the process.

These whites only-organizations can and have limited the number of Blacks admitted to the training programs. Once a limited number of Blacks are admitted to the unions, dispatch is used to limited the work opportunities. Dispatch is the method of placing union members on the job. Those who run the unions make the decisions on who works and who does not. Who gets good workers and who does not.

Constitutional law and local laws are used to limit the number of contractors. Bonds and insurance are required for bidding and for contracts in the public sector. The private sector is closed by practice. Only White contractors are welcome in the private sector. The private sector does not require bonds. Bonds are only required by government contracts.

As I have stated in previous essays, government has requirements not practiced by other sectors of our economy. The government allows unions to set the rules of competition. These rules are designed to use poor people to attract federal money to an urban venue, then to exclude these same people from becoming union members and contractors.

The only open construction opportunity for descendants of former slaves lies in the public sector. The rules of engagement in the public sector are such that elimination is practiced without contest. Insurance requirements are arbitrarily imposed. The bid bond requirement prevents most small contractors from bidding. When this requirement is waived, as it should be, and a small contractor is low bidder, the bond required to perform the work is almost impossible to acquire. The federal government guarantees insurance companies against loss. Yet the bonding companies continue to discriminate.

In the case of the contract to build the new Bayview Library, the City of San Francisco first showed the citizens of Bayview Hunters Point its contempt for them by going out of state to find a white firm to design this structure for a Black community. Let’s assume this structure was being built in Chinatown. Do you think that the City would have contracted with any but a Chinese designer? I think not.

The City then bid this contract in such a way that any contractor could win, without respect to its employment history. A Black contractor with a history of hiring and training Black youngsters was the low bidder. This contractor was awarded the contract and subsequently disqualified for a reason that was correctable. The second lowest bidder was then awarded the contract. This contractor has no history of subcontracting with Blacks. He submitted with his bid no subcontractors who are Black.

Once again our community is disrespected. Rather than making a requirement that the contractor have a history of training and employing Black people, the City showed no interest in the contractor’s history. If we allow the City to contract in this way, it is on us. Bayview Hunters Point is our turf. Dope dealers know how to protect their turf. Perhaps we can learn from them.

Joseph Debro is president of Bay Area Black Builders, co-founder of the National Association of Minority Contractors, a general engineering contractor and a bio-chemical engineer. He can be reached at transbay@netzero.com.

Mary Ratcliff, editor

SF Bay View

(415) 671-0789

www.sfbayview.com

http://sfbayview.com/2010/san-francisco-locks-blacks-out-from-building-our-own-library/

Also read “Union PLA’s Block Blacks from Construction,” at http://sfbayview.com/2010/union-plas-block-blacks-from-construction/ by Harry C. Alford, co-founder, president and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce.

Julian Assange, shown in Wikileaks logo, has since been arrested on bogus charges in Sweden; U.S. companies including Mastercard, PayPal, Amazon and others have cut Wikileaks donation links, but Wikileaks supporters are hacking back, shutting down some of the companies websites for periods of time

 NewsMax.com

Friday, 03 Dec 2010 07:04 AM

(ed. note: The Wikileaks link on the VOD site to the right has been updated to the Swiss-based, currently active link, http://wikileaks.ch. )

To see stunning Wikileaks video of US airstrike that murdered over a dozen Iraqi civilians, including two Reuters journalists, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rXPrfnU3G0&has_verified=1

PARIS – An American company that had been directing traffic to the WikiLeaks website withdrew its services late on Thursday, making the site invisible for several hours.

EveryDNS.net, which helps computers locate the sites of its members, said WikiLeaks had breached its terms of service, and that it had stopped providing services to the controversial publisher of leaked information at 2200 Eastern time on Thursday (0300 GMT on Friday).

However, WikiLeaks announced on Friday on Twitter that it could be seen using a new address, http://wikileaks.ch , which is operated by a Swiss academic network.

Detroit demonstration at Federal Building Dec. 10 demanding freedom for Assange, U.S. hands off Wikileaks

The United States is furious about WikiLeaks’ publication of hundreds of confidential diplomatic cables that have given unvarnished and sometimes embarrassing insights into the foreign policy of the United States and its allies.

“This is a smart move. Switzerland is known for not bending to international pressure,” said Michiel Leenaars, director of strategy at NLnet, a Dutch Internet research charity.

EveryDNS.net said the WikiLeaks web address that it administered had been bombarded by hackers. This had undermined the service that it provides to its other clients, leaving it with no choice but to find WikiLeaks in breach of its terms of service.

“Wikileaks.org has become the target of multiple distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks,” EveryDNS.net said on its website ( www.everydns.com ).

“These attacks have, and future attacks would, threaten the stability of the EveryDNS.net infrastructure, which enables access to almost 500,000 other websites.”

Tens of thousands of such registrars exist worldwide that provide DNS hosting — directory services to locate websites that do not maintain their own domain name services — which would be able to provide alternative services to Wikileaks. 

© 2010 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.

Also read “The Man Who Knew Too Much” at http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LL03Ak04.html

San Francisco Public Defender's office calls for equal rights

Ruling a call to action for next Legislature for public defense reform

For Immediate Release  
Dec. 1, 2010
Contact: Matt Resch (517) 862-2075

Yesterday, the Michigan Supreme Court reversed its own ruling from July and reaffirmed the Michigan Court of Appeals ruling in Duncan et. al. v. State of Michigan sending the case back to the Ingham County Circuit Court for further hearings.

In 2009, the Michigan Court of Appeals rejected the State of Michigan’s request to dismiss Duncan et. al. v. State of Michigan.  In the Duncan case, plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit from three counties asked the court to declare that failures in Michigan’s public defense system violated their right to counsel under the U.S. and Michigan Constitutions.

In April of this year, the Supreme Court affirmed the Michigan Court of Appeals ruling in Duncan only to reverse itself with another ruling three months later.

The following is a statement in response to yesterday’s court action from Laura Sager, executive director of the Michigan Campaign for Justice, the nonpartisan coalition working with lawmakers to reform Michigan’s system of providing defense counsel to people unable to afford an attorney.

“As the nonpartisan coalition working with state lawmakers to reform Michigan’s failing public defense system, we are very pleased that the Supreme Court has reversed course and ruled once again to allow the Duncan case to move forward.   This ruling is good news and it is a call to action for new state lawmakers preparing to come to Lansing in January that as they develop their Michigan reform agenda, public defense reform is an important constitutional problem that requires their attention.”

NOTE:  The Campaign for Justice is not involved with the Duncan lawsuit. For more information regarding the litigation, please contact Michael Steinberg at 313-578-6814.

For additional information about legislative efforts to reform Michigan’s public defense system, please contact Laura Sager at 517-775-3924