BAUAW NEWSLETTER - SUNDAY, JULY 19, 2009

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

U.S. Out Now! From Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and all U.S. bases around the world; End all U.S. Aid to Israel; Get the military out of our schools and our communities; Demand Equal Rights and Justice for ALL!

TAX THE RICH NOT THE POOR! MONEY FOR HUMAN NEEDS NOT WAR!

Bay Area United Against War Newsletter
Table of Contents:
A. EVENTS AND ACTIONS
B. SPECIAL APPEALS, VIDEOS AND ONGOING CAMPAIGNS
C. ARTICLES IN FULL

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

A. EVENTS AND ACTIONS

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

KEVIN COOPER: INNOCENT MAN ON DEATH ROW
COMMITTEE TO END THE DEATH PENALTY TEACH IN:
TUESDAY, JULY 21, 7:00 P.M.
900 ALICE STREET, OAKLAND
(Corner of 9th Street and Alice Street
two blocks from Lake Merritt BART Station)

Kevin Cooper is an innocent man on death row. In 2004, he came within hours of execution. Recently, he was denied by the federal courts. But many judges disagreed. One judge began his opposing opinion by saying, "The State of California may be about to execute an innocent man."

Kevin's case is an example of everything that is wrong with the death penalty--it's racist, it targets the poor, it kills innocent people. Join us for a discussion about Kevin Cooper and find out how you can help stop this injustice.

For more information, visit www.savekevincooper.org or contact the Campaign to End the Death Penalty: phone: 510-394-8625; email: california@nodeathpenalty.org

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!
FAX OR CALL JERRY BROWN - ALL DAY, MONDAY JULY 27TH
DEMAND ALL CHARGES BE DROPPED AGAINST FRANCISCO TORRES!
FREE THE SF8!

Dear friends,

We are asking that you phone and fax CA Attorney General Jerry Brown on Monday, July 27th demanding that he drop the charges against Francisco Torres, the last of the SF8 still facing prosecution. Brown knows there is no case against Francisco, but he needs to get the message from people all over the country.

**In order for this phone/fax campaign to be a success, we need you to help spread the word and take a few minutes to make the call and send the fax. Please send as many individual faxes as possible. We want to flood his office! And please also send us an email when you have done so at FreetheSF8@riseup.net

**You can print out and use the attached letter to fax and/or use the phone
script below, all to Jerry Brown's office.

TO CALL:
916-322-3360 #7 for comments

I am calling to demand that Attorney General Jerry Brown drop all charges against Francisco Torres of the San Francisco 8. The state of California recognized that there was insufficient evidence to move forward with the case and dropped charges against four of the men. There is clearly no basis to prosecute Francisco Torres, the only remaining person facing charges in connection with this 38-year old case which is based on torture-coerced evidence. It is an incredible waste of money in this time of severe budget crisis to proceed with this case, and is a huge injustice to Mr. Torres and his family. Drop all charges immediately!

TO FAX: 916-323-5341

Dear Attorney General Jerry Brown:
Thousands of people around the U.S. and the world have joined the call to drop all charges against the San Francisco 8. On July 6th the state of California recognized that there was insufficient evidence to move forward with the case and dropped charges against four of the men. There is clearly no basis to prosecute Francisco Torres, the only remaining person facing charges in connection with this 38-year old case which is based on torture-coerced evidence. It would be an unconscionable waste of tax payer money and an egregious injustice to Mr. Torres and his family to proceed with this case. I urge you in the strongest possible terms to drop the charges against Francisco Torres immediately!

Sincerely,
Name
Address

For updates on the SF8, including information regarding Cisco's August 10th hearing and Herman and Jalil's fight for parole in New York state, please go to www.freethesf8.org or call 415-226-1120.

Thank you,
The Committee for the Defense of the San Francisco 8

Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

415 863-9977

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

NATIONAL MARCH FOR EQUALITY
WASHINGTON, D.C. OCTOBER 10-11, 2009

Sign up here and spread the word:

http://www.nationalequalitymarch.com/

On October 10-11, 2009, we will gather in Washington DC from all across
America to let our elected leaders know that *now is the time for full equal
rights for LGBT people.* We will gather. We will march. And we will leave
energized and empowered to do the work that needs to be done in every
community across the nation.

This site will be updated as more information is available. We will organize
grassroots, from the bottom-up, and details will be shared on this website.

Our single demand:

Equal protection in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states.

Our philosophy:

As members of every race, class, faith, and community, we see the struggle
for LGBT equality as part of a larger movement for peace and social justice.

Our strategy:

Decentralized organizing for this march in every one of the 435
Congressional districts will build a network to continue organizing beyond
October.

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

B. SPECIAL APPEALS, VIDEOS AND ONGOING CAMPAIGNS

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

Condemn Honduran Coup and Restore Honduran President Zelaya NOW!

Sign the Emergency Petition!
http://www.iacenter.org/honduraspetition/

To: President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

CC: Vice President Joe Biden, Congressional leaders, U.N. General Assembly President d'Escoto-Brockmann, U.N. Secretary General Ban, and major media representatives including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Associated Press, and Reuters.

I demand that the Barack Obama administration and the U.S. Congress unequivocally condemn the unconstitutional and anti-democratic military coup in Honduras and insist that the military regime and the newly appointed but illegitimate president of Honduras restore President Zelaya to office, free all the imprisoned popular leaders and remove the curfew. I further demand that the U.S. Ambassador to Honduras be recalled immediately until such time as President Zelaya is restored to office.

Sincerely,

(Your signature will be appended here based on the contact information you enter in the form)

Sign the Petition Online
http://www.iacenter.org/honduraspetition/

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

URGENT ACTION ALERT: HAITI ACTION COMMITTEE

PROTEST THE UNITED NATIONS ATTACK ON HAITIAN MOURNERS
AT THE FUNERAL OF FATHER GERARD JEAN-JUSTE.

July 6th was the fourth anniversary of the United Nations deadly
assault on the community of Cite Soleil. Now, four years later, the
same type of UN violence continues. Enough is enough. Far from
“peacekeeping”, the UN occupation of Haiti is terrorizing the popular
movement and the poorest communities in Haiti.

On Wednesday, June 17th, United Nations troops from Brazil opened fire
on mourners in Port-au-Prince who had attended the funeral of Father
Gerard Jean-Juste. One young man was killed in the attack.

Father Jean-Juste was a beloved Haitian priest and human rights
advocate whose whole life was dedicated to the poor. He died on May
27th in Miami after battling leukemia that he had contracted while
being incarcerated in Haiti as a political prisoner, from October –
November, 2004 and then again from July 2005 – January 2006. He was
jailed for his vocal opposition to the 2004 kidnapping/coup d’etat
against the democratically elected government of President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide and the subsequent violent repression against
supporters of Fanmi Lavalas, the majority party inHaiti.

The Haiti Information Project reported, “UN troops on the scene began
shooting indiscriminately at the crowd killing a young man identified
only as "Junior" from the neighborhood of Solino. Hundreds more
protestors then took the body of the victim to the front of Haiti's
National Palace.”

This is not the first time that UN forces have murdered unarmed
civilians in Haiti. On July 6, 2005, for example, UN troops shot over
20,000 rounds of ammunition in the crowded, poor neighborhood of Cite
Soleil, a stronghold of support for the Lavalas movement, killing
dozens. In the early morning of December 22, 2006, 400 Brazilian-led
UN troops again carried out a massive assault in Cite Soleil in
Port-au-Prince. This operation took the lives of dozens of
Port-au-Prince residents. Similar operations by UN troops have taken
the lives of innocent women, men and children on other occasions, most
notably in February 2007.

This latest killing takes place in the context of the Préval
government’s denying the right of Fanmi Lavalas, the main political
party in Haiti, to participate in recent Senatorial elections. Lavalas
activists who called for an electoral boycott were ordered arrested.

Former President Bill Clinton is now the UN Special Envoy to Haiti.
Please phone or fax Mr. Clinton to protest this latest murder by UN troops. Help
honor the memory of Father Jean-Juste by continuing to demand real democracy
in Haiti.

Phone: 212-348-8882
Fax: 212-348-9245

END THE UN OCCUPATION OF HAITI
JUSTICE FOR THE VICTIMS AND THEIR FAMILIES
RETURN PRESIDENT ARISTIDE

www.haitisolidarity.net

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

"RESOLUTION: The Torture Song" By David Ippolito
http://www.thatguitarman.com/MP3/resolution.mp3

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

Update on Ward Churchill:

In a stunning and incomprehensible decision, the judge in the Ward Churchill case has ruled that the fired professor will get neither money nor reinstatement. He ruled that since the jury awarded Churchill only a token damage, he could not ignore the jury's presumed wishes (this is false since jury members said after the trial that all but one favored a large money award). And he ruled that since the relationship between the university and Churchill was beyond repair he could not order reinstatement. Plus Churchill did not make a good faith effort to obtain comparable employment since his firing.

See article:

Court Upholds Dismissal of Colorado Professor
By DAN FROSCH
July 8, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/08/us/08churchill.html?scp=1&sq=Ward%20Churchill%20reinstatement%20decision&st=cse

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

Troy Anthony Davis is an African American man who has spent the last 18 years on death row for a murder he did not commit. There is no physical evidence tying him to the crime and seven out of nine witnesses have recanted. New evidence and new testimony have been presented to the Georgia courts, but the justice system refuses to consider this evidence, which would prove Troy Davis' innocence once and for all.

Sign the petition and join the NAACP, Amnesty International USA, and other partners in demanding justice for Troy Davis!

http://www.iamtroy.com/

For Now, High Court Punts on Troy Davis, on Death Row for 18 Years
By Ashby Jones
Wall Street Journal Law Blog
June 30, 2009
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2009/06/30/for-now-high-court-punts-on-troy-davis-on-death-row-for-18-years/

Take action now:
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?c=jhKPIXPCIoE&b=2590179&aid=12361&ICID=A0906A01&tr=y&auid=5030305

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

Committee To Save Mumia Abu-Jamal
P.O. Box 2012
New York, NY 10159-2012

New videos from April 24 Oakland Mumia event
http://abu-jamal-news.com/article?name=jlboak

Donations for Mumia's Legal Defense in the U.S. Our legal effort is the front line of the battle for Mumia's freedom and life. His legal defense needs help. The costs are substantial for our litigation in the U.S. Supreme Court and at the state level. To help, please make your checks payable to the National Lawyers Guild Foundation (indicate "Mumia" on the bottom left). All donations are tax deductible under the Internal Revenue Code, section 501(c)(3), and should be mailed to:

It is outrageous and a violation of human rights that Mumia remains in prison and on death row. His life hangs in the balance. My career has been marked by successfully representing people facing death in murder cases. I will not rest until we win Mumia's case. Justice requires no less.

With best wishes,

Robert R. Bryan
Lead counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

IVAW Member Victor Agosto Refuses Deployment to Afghanistan

Sign our Petition in Support of Victor's Resistance Today:

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5966/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=383

Support Victor by making a donation to his legal defense fund:

https://co.clickandpledge.com/sp/d1/default.aspx?wid=27370

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

Short Video About Al-Awda's Work
The following link is to a short video which provides an overview of Al-Awda's work since the founding of our organization in 2000. This video was first shown on Saturday May 23, 2009 at the fundraising banquet of the 7th Annual Int'l Al-Awda Convention in Anaheim California. It was produced from footage collected over the past nine years.
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTiAkbB5uC0&eurl
Support Al-Awda, a Great Organization and Cause!

Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, depends on your financial support to carry out its work.

To submit your tax-deductible donation to support our work, go to
http://www.al-awda.org/donate.html and follow the simple instructions.

Thank you for your generosity!

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

KEVIN COOPER IS INNOCENT!
FLASHPOINTS Interview with Innocent San Quentin Death Row Inmate
Kevin Cooper -- Aired Monday, May 18,2009
http://www.flashpoints.net/#GOOGLE_SEARCH_ENGINE
To learn more about Kevin Cooper go to:
savekevincooper.org
LINKS
San Francisco Chronicle article on the recent ruling:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/13/BAM517J8T3.DTL
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling and dissent:
http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2009/05/11/05-99004o.pdf

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

COURAGE TO RESIST!
Support the troops who refuse to fight!
http://www.couragetoresist.org/x/
Donate:
http://www.couragetoresist.org/x/content/view/21/57/

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

PETITION IN SUPPORT OF PAROLE OF LEONARD PELTIER
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/parole2008/

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

C. ARTICLES IN FULL

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

1) Mich. minister wins appeal on free-speech grounds
By ED WHITE, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/07/15/national/a114024D50.DTL

2) A Strong Health Reform Bill
Editorial
July 16, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/16/opinion/16thu1.html

3) French Workers Ratchet Up Threats
By DAVID JOLLY
July 16, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/16/business/global/16explode.html?ref=world

4) BOYCOTT EVERYTHING IN ST. JOE UNTIL THE LAND IS GIVEN BACK
By K.T. Schmidt
Black Autonomy Network Community Organization (BANCO)
July 17, 2009
http://bhbanco.blogspot.com/

5) BREAKING! NAACP Passes Resolution for Mumia Abu-Jamal and other prisoners
By Hans Bennett
July 16, 2009
http://www.phillyimc.org/en/breaking-naacp-passes-resolution-mumia-abu-jamal-and-other-prisoners

6) State Tax Revenues at Record Low, Rockefeller Institute Finds
By MICHAEL COOPER
July 18, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/us/18states.html?ref=us

7) Jobless Rate Passes 10% in 15 States
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
July 18, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/business/economy/18jobless.html?ref=business

8) Goldman Executive Named as Obama Adviser
By BLOOMBERG NEWS
Business Briefing | People
July 18, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/business/18bizbriefs-GOLDMANEXECU_BRF.html?ref=business

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

1) Mich. minister wins appeal on free-speech grounds
By ED WHITE, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/07/15/national/a114024D50.DTL

A Michigan appeals court overturned a ruling on Wednesday that had sent a minister to prison for six months after warning a judge that he could be tortured by God.

The Rev. Edward Pinkney was convicted in 2007 of paying people $5 to vote in a recall election in the southwestern Michigan city of Benton Harbor and was sentenced to probation.

Months later, Pinkney wrote a commentary in a Chicago-based populist newspaper that said Judge Alfred Butzbaugh could be punished by God with curses, fever and "extreme burning" unless he repented, a reference to an Old Testament passage. The black minister also described Butzbaugh, a white judge who presided over his case, as dumb, racist and corrupt.

In June 2008, another Berrien County judge sent Pinkney to prison for three to 10 years for violating probation with his words. Pinkney appealed saying his free-speech rights were trampled.

In a 3-0 ruling, the Michigan Court of Appeals agreed.

Judges can restrict First Amendment rights as a condition of probation, but the order must be "narrowly drawn to protect the public from a situation that might lead to a repetition of the same crime," the court said.

In Pinkney's case, the court said, a probation rule barring defamatory or demeaning statements against anyone went too far.

"This is a thrilling victory, one for the people," Pinkney said from his home in Benton Harbor. "I'm so happy I don't even know what to tell you."

The American Civil Liberties Union, which represented Pinkney on appeal, also welcomed the decision.

"To our knowledge, this case marks the first time in modern history that a preacher has been thrown in prison for predicting what God might do," said Michael Steinberg, legal director at the ACLU of Michigan.

Separately, but in the same decision, the appeals court upheld Pinkney's election fraud conviction, rejecting his claim that Butzbaugh made wrong rulings on evidence.

Berrien County Prosecutor Arthur Cotter was pleased that Pinkney's conviction was affirmed. He said the dispute over the probation violation was a "much closer case." He does not plan to appeal.

Pinkney has been on house arrest with an electronic tether since December when the appeals court released him while considering his case. While in prison in 2008, he received 3,500 votes as the Green Party candidate for Congress in Michigan's 6th District.

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

2) A Strong Health Reform Bill
Editorial
July 16, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/16/opinion/16thu1.html

While the Senate continues to struggle over its approach to health care reform, House Democratic leaders have unveiled a bill that would go a long way toward solving the nation’s health insurance problems without driving up the deficit. It is already drawing fierce opposition from business groups and many Republicans. This is a bill worth fighting for.

The bill would require virtually all Americans to carry health insurance or pay a penalty. And it would require all but the smallest businesses to provide health insurance for their workers or pay a substantial fee. It would also expand Medicaid to cover many more poor people, and it would create new exchanges through which millions of middle-class Americans could buy health insurance with the help of government subsidies. The result would be near-universal coverage at a surprisingly manageable cost to the federal government.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that by 2015, 97 percent of all residents, excluding illegal immigrants, would have health insurance. The price tag for this near-universal coverage was pegged by the budget office at just more than $1 trillion over 10 years — at the low-end of the estimates we’ve heard in recent weeks.

The legislation would pay for half that cost by reducing spending on Medicare, a staple of all reform plans. It would pay for the other half by raising $544 billion over the next decade with a graduated income surtax on the wealthiest Americans: families with adjusted gross incomes exceeding $350,000 and individuals making more than $280,000.

Predictably, the idea of raising taxes this way has critics outraged, with some charging that it is unfair to require a small sliver of the population to bear the brunt of the cost.

The wealthy have benefited greatly from Bush-era tax cuts, and their incomes have risen disproportionately in recent years. It seems proper that they should contribute heavily to an effort that is vital to hard-pressed Americans and to the long-term health of the economy.

The legislation also includes some sound ideas for slowing the inexorable rise in health care costs. Such savings are also essential for the nation’s economic health. It adjusts Medicare reimbursements to encourage health care providers to improve productivity, reduce costly hospital readmissions and spend more time on primary care that can head off the need for costly specialists. It expands prevention and wellness activities.

And it establishes a center to compare the effectiveness of various drugs, devices and procedures. Unfortunately, it prohibits the government from requiring public or private insurers to set reimbursement policies based on the findings. These steps may not produce big savings quickly but could lower costs in future years.

The bill makes a mockery of Republican claims that the Democrats are pushing a hugely costly government takeover of medicine.

This bill is clearly not hugely costly. It would expand the government’s role in financing and regulating coverage but would also bolster private coverage. It would increase employer-based coverage, mostly by requiring employers to participate. And it would send more clients to the private insurance industry. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that perhaps 10 million people might enroll in a new public plan, while twice that number might enroll in competing private policies.

The Senate health committee has approved, by a party-line vote, a bill that in many respects parallels the House bill. The Senate Finance Committee, hoping to win over Republicans and conservative Democrats, is balking at a public plan and raising taxes on the wealthy. If there is a deal to be had, it is worth discussing. But the House has set a clear standard for health care reform: It must cover all Americans without driving up the deficit.

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

3) French Workers Ratchet Up Threats
By DAVID JOLLY
July 16, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/16/business/global/16explode.html?ref=world

First the bosses were taken hostage. Now, workers facing layoffs in France have threatened — twice this week — to blow up their factories unless they receive more severance pay. Although the threats have so far turned out to be less than serious, the theatrics are increasing the level of labor tension as the economy shrinks.

Workers at a Nortel Networks research center that is being closed in Châteaufort, near Paris, said on Tuesday that they were prepared to detonate gas canisters around the building. But once government and company officials agreed to talk, the strikers acknowledged Wednesday that it was a hoax.

“The gas canisters, that was just a ploy,” Denis Vinçon, a union member, told Le Parisien. “What we want is for our claims to be heard.”

The Nortel workers took their cue from a situation that began Sunday at a factory owned by New Fabris, a failed auto parts maker in Châtellerault, about 165 miles southwest of Paris. Workers have threatened to destroy their plant and equipment — also by detonating gas canisters — if the carmakers Renault and PSA Peugeot Citröen did not agree by the end of the month to pay each employee 30,000 euros ($42,000) in additional severance. The automakers argue that they have no legal obligation to New Fabris because they were clients, not owners.

The workers have a previously scheduled meeting next Monday with the French industry minister, Christian Estrosi.

The French labor minister, Xavier Darcos, said the government would help find nonviolent solutions. He also warned that more corporate reorganizations, with additional jobs losses, were probable this summer.

“Often the workers in these companies have made enormous efforts,” Mr. Darcos said on LCI television, referring to this week’s cases. “I understand their anger, I understand that their efforts, coming to naught, have caused them great frustration.

“On the other hand, I don’t see how we’re going to fix the situation with desperado tactics.”

The bomb threats come after a spring wave of “bossnapping” situations, in which workers took their bosses hostage. In one case, workers at a Caterpillar factory in the city of Grenoble held company officials for 24 hours, releasing them only after President Nicolas Sarkozy promised he would “save the site.”

“Today, the French don’t take these threats too seriously,” said Guy Groux, a specialist on French unions at the Institut d’Études Politiques in Paris. Not only would blowing up the plants carry the risk of legal action, he said, it would also probably turn the public against the unions.

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

4) BOYCOTT EVERYTHING IN ST. JOE UNTIL THE LAND IS GIVEN BACK
By K.T. Schmidt
Black Autonomy Network Community Organization (BANCO)
July 17, 2009
http://bhbanco.blogspot.com/


There is no comparison anywhere in the Midwest to the relationship of Benton Harbor and St. Joseph, Michigan. History will reveal the crimes that exist there today. A desperate State of Michigan will do desperate things to please the stakeholders. Benton Harbor is again the victim of desperate acts on the part of the State. The greed of land developers coupled with a major international corporation has created a truly immoral act: the theft of public Lake Michigan shore land dedicated to the people of Benton Harbor. The people’s land is becoming a golf course for the elite. Someday history will reveal the true lack of morality of corporate greed. The perpetrators in this case are the infamous Whirlpool Corporation in conjunction with land developers. The victims are again, the Benton Harbor citizens.

Benton Harbor actually stood up and rioted a few years ago. We all remember the outrage after police brutality put the town over the edge. National attention was brought to Benton Harbor and the Governor spent time there promising jobs and grants. The nation looked on and wondered why a town in the 1990s rioted; nobody rioted. Benton Harbor was and is uniquely oppressed. The downtrodden state of Michigan has allowed corporations such as Whirlpool to take whatever they need to stay in a state losing jobs, gaining unemployment, and experience a gigantic shift. Whirlpool has been provided with tax breaks, national representation via a congressman (Fred Upton), and has been able to pull off a “Jim Crow” agenda in St. Joe. Police are on many street corners of both cities giving signs of an odd and almost third world presence, as evidenced also by posters in St. Joe warning of surveillance. Enlightened people will not set foot in St. Joe. It is a town of frightening whiteness as designed by Whirlpool.

The promises made by the original Upton family, the founders of Whirlpool have become a distant echo. Their fraternity heir, Fred Upton, continues to parade his false face while voting against the stimulus package, against the environmental bill, against policies that would benefit the poor. He disguises himself by occasionally working on a program for children. Most people in his district are fed up with him and he was seriously challenged in the last election by a last minute candidate. Only the elite like him.

The Governor of Michigan has lost credibility due to her allegiance with corporations, her promises to create jobs in Benton Harbor by buddying up with Whirlpool, and the recent acceptance of the people’s park land (Jean Klock Park) going to Whirlpool developers. NO one has been hired from Benton Harbor for this heinous project. NO Benton Harbor resident has been hired despite excessive promises made by the governor/developers. The Jack Nicklaus golf course is an insult even if it were not on public land. The lack of morality in this case will make history books. The people involved will be viewed like those who were against Brown v. Board of Education. There is no justice in Benton Harbor and it is high time everyone knew what is really going on there.

Setting foot in St. Joe or playing on this new golf course is like giving money to a corrupt and immoral system. Those educated Chicago residents who like to visit the area will be informed. Those citizens who enjoy the downtown, the restaurants, the huge public shoreline park in St. Joe, the Box Factory, the Children’s Museum, etc., will be informed. Boycott St. Joe, Boycott the Jack Nicklaus Golf Course, Boycott all Whirlpool products until the land is given back to the people of Benton Harbor. Pass the word on, e-mail the word and let justice rise. BOYCOTT EVERYTHING IN ST. JOE UNTIL THE LAND IS GIVEN BACK. --K.T. Schmidt

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

5) BREAKING! NAACP Passes Resolution for Mumia Abu-Jamal and other prisoners
By Hans Bennett
July 16, 2009
http://www.phillyimc.org/en/breaking-naacp-passes-resolution-mumia-abu-jamal-and-other-prisoners

Great News! After all of the agitation and organizing these last few months, the NAACP just passed a resolution for Mumia (and several other prisoners), asking Eric Holder to review the case!

Below are statement from organizers Pam Africa and Suzanne Ross.

For more background on the campaign, please link here to the main page:

http://freemumia.com/civilrights.html

And for more background on why the federal investigation is needed, here is the article I wrote detailing five pieces of withheld evidence, that the jury was never able to hear about:

http://www.sfbayview.com/2009/citing-withheld-evidence-supporters-of-mum...

EMAIL RELEASE:
--------------

Note from Pam Africa: The NY Free Mumia Coalition and ICFFMAJ spearheaded weeklong mass demos, tabling and lots of on the ground work in support of this tremendous effort, and the Baltimore Chapter of the NAACP is to be commended for making Political Prisoners a large part of this convention! Stay tuned for more updates ...
----------------

via: Mumia NYC

A new resolution on Mumia, which also included Troy Davis, Marshall Eddie Conway, and Reggie Clemons, was just passed at the NAACP convention as an emergency resolution. It was addressed to Attorney General Eric Holder and called on him to review these cases!!!

More on our work over this past week at the NAACP convention both inside and outside the convention later, and its many impressive results, THOUGH MUMIA HAS NOT BEEN FREED ... when we can catch our breath.

RALLY TODAY FROM 4 PM TO 8 PM AT THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF 55TH STREET AND 6TH AVENUE. OBAMA IS SPEAKING AT 7 PM SO IT MAY BE A LITTLE CRAZY DOWN THERE. LOOK FOR OUR BANNER AND SIGNS. IF IT'S RAINING WE WILL ONLY HAVE OUR BANNER.

SEE YOU THERE!

Suzanne
=======================

Dear Friends,

This is our last call to those who might want to join us for an exciting day of being with Mumia supporters who have just come off a very productive week at the NAACP convention in NYC, and convincing Congressional Black Caucus members and others who have shown any sign of supporting a civil rights investigation for Mumia to join our campaign. Pam Africa and others will be coming from Philadelphia.

The bus is free BUT is only available to those who have participated in the required training, scheduled for FRIDAY NIGHT, FROM 6 PM TO 9M, AND COORDINATED BY ESPERANZA MARTELL in conjunction with the Coalition. We will be holding the training at St. Mary's Church, 521 West 126th Street, either in the basement or the sanctuary. Look forward to seeing you there and working with you on Wednesday the 22nd. Ona Move!

Suzanne, for the Coalition

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

6) State Tax Revenues at Record Low, Rockefeller Institute Finds
By MICHAEL COOPER
July 18, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/us/18states.html?ref=us

The anemic economy decimated state tax collections during the first three months of the year, according to a report released Friday by the Rockefeller Institute of Government. The drop in revenues was the steepest in the 46 years that quarterly data has been available.

The blow to state coffers, which the report said appeared to worsen in the second quarter of the year, reflects the gravity of the recession and suggests the extent to which many states will probably have to resort to more spending cuts or tax increases to balance their budgets.

Over all, the report found that state tax collections dropped 11.7 percent in the first three months of 2009, compared with the same period last year. After adjusting for inflation, new changes in tax rates and other anomalies, the report found that tax revenues had declined in 47 of the 50 states in the quarter.

All the major sources of state tax revenue — sales taxes, personal income taxes and corporate income taxes — took serious blows, the report found.

As more people lost their jobs, took pay cuts or worked fewer hours, personal income tax collections fell 17.5 percent in the quarter. Weak retail sales sent sales tax collections down 8.3 percent. Corporate income tax collections, which are often highly variable, declined 18.8 percent.

States in the Far West had the largest declines in tax revenue, the report found. Arizona reported the largest drop in personal income tax collections, at 56.1 percent. Alaska experienced the largest overall drop in tax collections, 72 percent in the first quarter, and that was attributed to the state’s unusually high revenue collections in recent years because of high oil prices.

Local governments have fared better during the downturn. The report found that local tax collections rose 3.9 percent in the first quarter, largely because of increased property tax collections, which tend to be relatively stable and which are often based on assessments of value that do not keep pace with true market conditions.

As bad as the first quarter was, the second quarter is shaping up to be even worse, the report said. Preliminary data for the first two months of the quarter, April and May, collected from 45 states, indicated that tax revenues declined by 20 percent compared with the same period last year.

That will force states — many of which are already raising taxes or fees, resorting to layoffs or furloughing employees — to come up with more ways to raise or save money.

“The continuing sharp decline in revenues will likely force more unwanted choices for states in the months ahead,” wrote the report’s authors, Donald J. Boyd and Lucy Dadayan.

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

7) Jobless Rate Passes 10% in 15 States
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
July 18, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/business/economy/18jobless.html?ref=business

WASHINGTON (AP) — Unemployment topped 10 percent in 15 states and the District of Columbia last month, according to federal data released Friday. The rate in Michigan surpassed 15 percent, the first time any state hit that mark since 1984.

The Federal Reserve this week projected that the national unemployment rate, currently at a 26-year high of 9.5 percent, would pass 10 percent by the end of the year. Most Fed policy makers said it could take “five or six years” for the economy and the labor market to get back on a path of long-term health.

To get there, consumers must return to a regular spending groove and housing prices need to start rising again. [Exactly how do you do this without a job?????]

Home to the nation’s struggling automakers, Michigan has been clobbered by lost factory jobs. Its jobless rate of 15.2 percent in June was the highest in the country.

The Labor Department said it was the first time in 25 years that any state had suffered an unemployment rate of at least 15 percent. In 1984, it was West Virginia.

The other 14 states where unemployment topped 10 percent in June were Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Tennessee.

The states with the lowest unemployment rates in June were: North Dakota at 4.2 percent, Nebraska at 5 percent and South Dakota at 5.1 percent.

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

8) Goldman Executive Named as Obama Adviser
By BLOOMBERG NEWS
Business Briefing | People
July 18, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/business/18bizbriefs-GOLDMANEXECU_BRF.html?ref=business

President Obama said Friday he would nominate Robert Hormats, a vice chairman of Goldman Sachs International, to a top economic position at the State Department. Mr. Hormats, 66, will be under secretary of state for economic, energy and agricultural affairs. He was deputy trade representative from 1979 through 1981 and held other posts at the State Department throughout his career. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the secretary of state, said in a speech on Wednesday that she hoped to make economic policy and trade a larger part of United States diplomacy.

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*