Detroit

Join The Movement! Water For Detroit

July 17, 2014 Staff, www.detroitwaterbrigade.org Resist! Democracy, Detroit, Human Rights, Water

40% of Detroit’s population is about to have their water shut off - The Detroit Water and Sewage Department is conducting mass water shut offs in Detroit Michigan which will effect over 120,000 account holders over a 3 month period (June-September 2014) at a rate of 3,000 per week. This accounts for over 40% of customers who are using the Detroit Water system and has been dubbed a violation of Human Rights by various organizations. 70,000 of those accounts are residential accounts which could amount to anywhere from 200,000-300,000 people directly effected. . . Without water, the threat to the health and safety of Detroit residents becomes immediate, the resulting negative effects of mass water shut offs begin just 2 days after shut off and can become endemic in just 60 days time. When taking the scope into account (120,000 water accounts or 300,000+ people ) the implications become clear; this is a disaster zone – and immediate relief and preparation is needed. . . Together, we’re doing something about it

Come To Detroit Link Arms For Water

July 16, 2014 Ben Ptashnik, www.truth-out.org Resist! Activists, Democracy, Detroit, Emergency, Protest, Water

On July 18, thousands of activists and dozens of organizations will converge in downtown Detroit to protest the privatization of the city's assets, and the disconnection of water to tens of thousands of low-income residents - what the UN has called a human rights violation. Demonstrators from around the country will come to rally in Hart Plaza at 1 PM to link arms with the citizens of Detroit to protest the hostile corporate takeover by Wall Street banks and their radical ALEC-led political allies in the Michigan Statehouse. The activist community of Detroit put out this call for help: We call on activists everywhere to come to Detroit on Friday, July 18 for a rally and march to fight the dictatorship of Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr, appointed by millionaire Republican Governor Rick Snyder, and backed by Wall Street bankers and the 1%. Under a state-imposed bankruptcy, the City of Detroit workers face severe cuts to their pensions and tens of thousand people face water shut-offs.

A National Call To Link Arms For Detroit

July 11, 2014 Ben Ptashnik and Victoria Collier, www.progressive.org Resist! Detroit, Human Rights, Protest, Water

On July 18 thousands of activists and dozens of organizations will converge on downtown Detroit to protest the privatization of the city’s assets and the disconnection of water to tens of thousands of low-income residents. The UN has called the shutoff a human rights violation. Demonstrators from around the country will rally in Hart Plaza at 1 pm, linking arms with the citizens of Detroit to protest the hostile corporate takeover by Wall Street banks and their ALEC-led political allies in the Michigan Statehouse, including Governor Rick Snyder. July 18 marks the one-year anniversary of the announcement by Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr that Detroit must file for bankruptcy—a decision that County Judge Rosemarie Aquilina immediately ruled violates the Michigan Constitution and state law and must be withdrawn. “I have some very serious concerns because there was this rush to bankruptcy court that didn’t have to occur and shouldn’t have occurred,” Aquilina stated. Orr and Snyder managed to circumvent her ruling, and the bankruptcy proceeded. The next few months will determine how successful they will be.

Arrests In Detroit Today Over Water Shut-Offs

July 10, 2014 Staff, www.popularresistance.org Resist! Detroit, Human Rights, Water

Police arrested about 10 protesters this morning after opponents of massive water shutoffs in Detroit locked hands and blocked the entrance to a company hired to turn off the utilities of tens of thousands of delinquent residents. Police began making the arrests as the human blockade stopped a red pickup truck from entering the Homrich Inc. facility on East Grand Boulevard. The city is paying the company $5.6 million to handle shutoffs for two years. Among those arrested were pastors and seniors, who were placed in the backs of police cars and hauled off. Some were dragged by police for refusing to move. Protesters said tens of thousands of residents are delinquent on their water bills because they can’t afford them. Water is a human right, they said. The city said the water system is hemorrhaging money and delaying much-needed repairs because of nonpaying residents.

Call For Moratorium On Water Shut-Offs

July 2, 2014 Reem Nasr, www.michiganradio.org Resist! Detroit, Emergency, Human Rights, Protest, Water

Protesters voiced their anger Monday morning over the controversial water shut-offs in Detroit. The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department sent out more than 46,000 shut-off notices this spring and has turned off water to about 4,500 customers. Community activists and religious leaders met outside of Gov. Rick Snyder's midtown office. They asked him to impose an immediate moratorium on the shut-offs. They also want the city to work out an affordable payment plan based on a person's income. The Rev. Charles Williams II said the city is powerless because it is under emergency management, so he is taking his complaint to Lansing. "We have a water board that can’t make decisions because they have an emergency manager that they have to speak to," said Williams. "So in our opinion, this fight is with Gov. Snyder." Last week, the United Nations said the city's decision to cut off water to residents who haven't paid their bills may violate their human rights.

Detroit Citizens Vow Direct Action

July 2, 2014 Lauren McCauley, www.commondreams.org Resist! Detroit, Human Rights, Privatization, Resistance, Water

Rallying on the steps of the Michigan governor's office in Detroit, activists and religious leaders on Monday called for an immediate moratorium on the city's plan to shut off water to tens of thousands of households. “This is everybody's fight, water is a human right!” the protesters chanted. In recent weeks, activists in Detroit have mobilized against the city's efforts to cut off the water supply to 120,000 delinquent accounts, or over 300,000 city residents. News of the shut-offs has spread following a statement issued last week by the United Nations that the city's plan "constitutes a violation of the human right to water." Now, with Detroit under the media microscope, activists are hoping that the state government halts its plan to deprive residents of this essential human right and instead adopt an affordable payment plan based on an individual's income. The threat has catalyzed many individuals and groups in the community to act. The Detroit Water Brigade, which has begun distributing water and information to Detroiters facing shut off, vowed: "We are prepared to take direct action to prevent shut-offs if the city does not immediately cease and desist."

Will Detroit’s Water Be Privatized Or Recognized As Commons?

June 30, 2014 Halima Cassells, www.shareable.net Educate! Commons, Detroit, Privatization, Water

When it comes to a person’s fundamental needs being met - nothing is more basic and human, than to share. Right now the people of Detroit are being attacked by an unelected regime that represents the interests of the banks and large corporations. Their latest campaign has been to turn residents’ water off. Approximately 300,000 people shut off from water, because this makes sense in their corporate model. Detroiters sharing with neighbors hits all-time high. Water is life. We are all 85% water. Water is a Human Right. Happening right now in Detroit, next to the Great Lakes (25% of the fresh water for the world), under the guise of bankruptcy; residents are being targeted and pushed out of their homes and subjected to unreasonable rate hikes, in a bid to ultimately privatize Detroit’s water. "We are not saying that the services of running water should be free, we are saying it should be affordable and accessible by all, and we have put forth the Water Affordability Plan to that end, which was approved by our city council," says Priscilla Dziubek, of the Peoples Water Board.

Detroit Water Brigade Plans Water Distribution

June 28, 2014 Detroit Water Brigade, www.detroitwaterbrigade.org Resist! Detroit, Donate, Volunteer, Water

What a 2nd week it’s been! Thousands of you have visited the site, registered to volunteer, donated to us and come out to canvass the neighborhoods to learn more about people’s needs. We are so amazed! But this is just the beginning. This weekend and next week, we will open up even more resource hubs and begin distributing water and vital information to Detroiters facing imminent shutoff or already living with it. We need hundreds more volunteers, and we’re working to find living places around the city – community centers, churches, hostels, residences – where out-of-town volunteers can stay. Let us know if you have any ideas! We’re also excited to see that after weeks of silence the national media is finally beginning to cover this humanitarian crisis. The United Nations is taking note and the whole world is watching what is happening here and how Detroiters and their allies are responding to this human rights violation. Our own spokesman Demeeko Williams spoke to RT America yesterday, and look for him on Fox 2 Detroit’s Let it Rip Weekend this Sunday at 9am facing off with the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department itself. We have to keep spreading the word!

Charter School Funds Ads To Hide Truth

June 27, 2014 Eclectablog, www.eclectablog.com Educate! Charter Schools, Detroit, Education, Money As Speech

It’s Day Four of the explosive Detroit Free Press exposé of Michigan charter schools and also Day Four of the National Heritage Academies complete takover of the websites of Detroit’s two biggest newspapers with a monstrous ad buy. NHA is Michigan’s largest for-profit charter corporation. Like yesterday, when you open the webpages of the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News today, you’re greeted with an overwhelmingly large NHA banner ad. If you have your browser set for normal view (I zoomed out to grab this screen shot), the ad takes up well over three-quarters of the window. It’s a big damn ad. My friends at Progress Michigan did some research and found that the typical price for just one day of this type of advertising is $37,500. Multiply that by four days at two newspapers and NHA has spent roughly $300,00, over a quarter million dollars, on this ad campaign. And it’s only Wednesday. And the Free Press charter school series runs through Sunday.

UN: Detroit Violating Human Rights

June 26, 2014 AFP, www.yahoo.com Educate! Detroit, Human Rights, UN, US, Water

UN rights experts on Wednesday slammed struggling US city Detroit for violating the basic human rights of its citizens by disconnecting thousands of people from water services over unpaid bills. Cash-strapped Detroit, which last July became the largest US city to ever file for bankruptcy protection, has recently begun disconnecting water services on a large scale, for all households that have not paid bills for two months, the three experts said in a statement. The birthplace of the US auto industry has accelerated the process since early June, with around 3,000 customers cut off each week, and some 30,000 households expected to be disconnected from water services over the next few months, they said. "Disconnection of water services because of failure to pay due to lack of means constitutes a violation of the human right to water and other international human rights," they insisted. "The households which suffered unjustified disconnections must be immediately reconnected," they said.

Groups Allege Human Rights Violation By Detroit Water Turn-Off

June 20, 2014 The Blue Planet Project, www.blueplanetproject.net Resist! Detroit, Human Rights, Protest, Water

Maude Barlow, founder of the Blue Planet Project and Chair of Food & Water Watch, recently visited Detroit, Michigan in the United States and heard firsthand accounts from residents who were having their water services cut off by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD). This report was produced from information gathered by Maude Barlow, the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization, and the Detroit People’s Water Board. The Detroit People’s Water Board is campaigning to have these essential services restored to the thousands of households currently without water service pursuant to a just and affordable rate structure, and to prevent future cut-offs. Read the Submission to the Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation regarding water cut-offs in the City of Detroit, Michigan

Apartheid In Detroit: Water For Corporations, Not For People

June 20, 2014 Carl Gibson, www.occupy.com Organize! Corporatism, Detroit, Water

Bill and Hillary Clinton were up to their ears in more than $10 million worth of legal debt at the end of Clinton’s tenure as president. Donald Trump was bailed out of four bankruptcies. But Detroit residents are having a basic human right – the access to water – cancelled for being late on bills of $150. In the spring, Detroit’s Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr ordered water shutoffs for 150,000 Detroit residents late on their bills. Orr is an unelected bureaucrat accountable only to Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, who appointed Orr and several other “emergency managers” in largely poor, black communities like Detroit, Benton Harbor, Flint, and Highland Park, to make all financial decisions on behalf of local elected governments. Orr’s plan will shut off water for 1,500 to 3,000 Detroit residents each week. Neither Orr nor Homrich, the contracting company Orr hired to shut off residents’ water, answered calls for interview requests.

The UAW vs. The Auto Workers

June 10, 2014 Jerry White, www.wsws.org Educate! Cars, Detroit, Labor, Unions

The United Auto Workers union held its 36th Constitutional Convention in Detroit last week. The meeting had three basic purposes: first, to install a new layer of hand-picked, right-wing union executives to replace those who are retiring; second, to impose a hefty dues increase on the membership; and third, to reassure the auto companies and the ruling class as a whole that the UAW will continue to help slash wages and benefits, impose speedup and increase corporate profits. In every respect, the four-day affair exhibited the antidemocratic, bureaucratic and anti-working class character of the organization. The gathering would hardly have been noticed by rank-and-file auto workers except for the fact that the delegates voted to increase membership dues by 25 percent. In his farewell address, outgoing UAW President Bob King summed up the class interests served by the UAW, telling the assembly of cheering delegates, “We want to show and demonstrate, which we do every day, that having a union workforce is a competitive advantage, not a competitive disadvantage.” Since the early 1980s, when the UAW was first brought onto the board of directors of Chrysler and officially adopted the corporatist program of labor-management “partnership,” the UAW has openly functioned to police the workers and provide the auto bosses with a reliable supply of cheap labor.

Detroit Pensioners Face Vote On Budget Cuts

June 9, 2014 Matt Helms and Susan Tompor, www.freep.com Resist! Budget, Detroit, Elections, Pensions

Among the many questions facing retirees and pension beneficiaries as they vote on Detroit’s bankruptcy grand bargain is one often asked: Aren’t retirees better off rejecting the deal they don’t like and betting on a court appeal to force the city or the state to pay full benefits? It’s a risk Yvonne Jones, 63, says she’s willing to take — although it’s a risk that emergency manager Kevyn Orr and many experts say is a long shot and fraught with the danger of even deeper cuts. Jones says that she’s definitely going to reject the plan because she doesn’t believe that city pensions should be cut at all in the bankruptcy process. “To accept it says we give up all rights to litigate,” Jones said last week. She retired as a manager in the city’s old employment and training department in 2001. “The court cases go away.” Jones said she has lived in Detroit all her life, raised four kids and agrees that Detroit has issues. But she doesn’t believe it’s right for retirees to see more cuts on top of higher health care costs that have already taken place. “This intimidation is wrong,” she said. “I’m not ready to take any cut. I’m fighting to take no cuts.”

Protests Over Water Shut-Off Continue

June 7, 2014 The Michigan Citizen, www.michigancitizen.com Resist! Detroit, Protest, Water

Cleaning up the books at the expense of residents in order to make the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department more attractive to potential buyers outside the city is how one Detroiter described the recent mass water shutoffs in the city. “I was on a payment plan,” Joseph Link II told the Michigan Citizen. “My monthly payment was $190. (So when) they set this up, it automatically put me over the amount (where my water can be shut off).” It’s been over two months since Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr announced DWSD is cutting service for 1500-3000 customers a week for those residents who are behind $150 or more on their water bills, or whose accounts are 60 days overdue. According to DWSD, nearly half of the city’s residential customers — 154,000 out of 296,000 — are delinquent. The department’s delinquency protocol includes the delivery of two delinquent bill notices: - Past Due Notice: When a current bill is not paid in full by its due date, a notice requesting payment will be issued 11 days after the bill becomes due. - Final Notice: A water shut off final notice will be issued when an account is unpaid 32 days after the billing date. The notice will be mailed to the service address and mailing address, if applicable. There are several actions a resident can take following receipt of a shutoff that includes a hearing or entering into a payment plan.

«1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 »

assetto corsa mods

Daily movement news and resources