#OCCUPYFDSF Occupy The San Francisco Financial District
Sat, September 17, 2pm – Sat, December 24, 5pm
555 California/Bank Of America Building, 555 California Building & Civic Center/United Nations Plaza, San Francisco, CA
The Constitution of The United States of America was signed in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787. It represents the greatest expression of statesmanship and compromise ever written. Composed by the founders of our country, it has protected the rights of American citizens and the democratic way for many years. Until now...
The American government today is bought and sold by major corporations who control votes, lawmakers, and our tax money. They have NO moral dedication to the people of this country and have worked for years to destroy the middle class and enslave the poor through impossible debts and mental pollution.
There is no justifiable reason that in a country so rich and powerful that people should be starving, that children should go without education, that people should work their whole lives and have nothing to show for it except a debt.
And yet, The top 1% of Americans own as much wealth as the bottom 95% percent. Something needs to change...
This September 17th 2011.
* We will no longer choose to stand still while one of our country's greatest achievements, The Constitution, is skewed and vandalized by the actions of corporate giants.
* We will no longer stay quiet while our society is destroyed by the downward spiral of mass consumer capitalism.
* We will stand up for our rights and the rights of everyone who call the United States their home.
* And we will Occupy The San Francisco Financial District.
We will not be alone. New York has over 5000 people scheduled to attend in Lower Manhattan on Wall Street. Additionally, cities around the world such as Madrid, Milan, London, and Paris have all reported September 17th occupation plans underway.
Many other organizations are involved right here in San Francisco like Anonymous, US Day Of Rage, and USUncut will be attending in large numbers.
The time has come for us to stop standing by idly while others decide our fate and the fate of our nation. Democratic revolution is taking the globe by storm as people shed their corrupt governments and take command of their future with one collective voice.
On September 17th, We ask that you add your voice to ours in demanding that the control of this nation be given back to its people and not corporations.
Wont you join us?
[http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=234168159960214]
Contact: [occupyfinancialdistrictsf@gmail.com]
[http://occupywallstwestcoast.wordpress.com]
IRC Freenode: #OWSWestCoast
San Francisco, California – September 17th, 2011 – Plans for a peaceful occupation in San Francisco are under way after the #occupywallstreet campaign has gone viral.
Activists and citizens on the West Coast who cannot venture to New York City are gathering to display a sister movement in San Francisco to protest against fiscal irresponsibility, corporatocracy, and general dissent with the United States leadership. Occupy Financial District SF is partnering with the California chapter of US Day of Rage to combine numbers and media attention. The peaceful rally is set to take place on September 17th, 2011, at 555 California Street in San Francisco at 2 p.m.
Occupy Financial District San Francisco is looking for interested persons to discuss logistics. Additional tasks are also in need of fulfillment, particularly PR and marketing. Please direct all questions and suggestions to the contact information provided below.
#OCCUPYWALLSTREET
Sat, September 17, 6:00am – Sat, December 31, 11:30pm
Wall Street, New York (map)
On
September 17, we want to see 20,000 people flood into lower Manhattan,
set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades and occupy Wall Street for a
few months. Once there, we shall incessantly repeat one simple demand
in a plurality of voices.
***
CAMPAIGN TIP:
First, invite all
of your friends to this event, then weigh in on what our "one demand"
should be at
https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=question&id=10150311631011963&qa_ref=qd
***
Alright you redeemers, rebels, radicals and utopian dreamers out there,
A
worldwide shift in revolutionary tactics is underway right now that
bodes well for the future. The spirit of this fresh tactic, a fusion of
Tahrir with the acampadas of Spain, is captured in this quote:
"The antiglobalization movement was the first step on the road. Back
then our model was to attack the system like a pack of wolves. There was
an alpha male, a wolf who led the pack, and those who followed behind.
Now the model has evolved. Today we are one big swarm of people." — Raimundo Viejo, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain
The
beauty of this new formula, and what makes this novel tactic exciting,
is its pragmatic simplicity: we talk to each other in various physical
gatherings and virtual people's assemblies … we zero in on what our one
demand will be, a demand that awakens the imagination and, if achieved,
would propel us toward the radical democracy of the future … and then we
go out and seize a square of singular symbolic significance and put our
asses on the line to make it happen.
On September 17, we want
to see 20,000 people flood into lower Manhattan, set up tents, kitchens,
peaceful barricades and occupy Wall Street for a few months. Once
there, we shall incessantly repeat our one simple demand until Barack
Obama capitulates.
for the wild,
Culture Jammers HQ [www.occupywallstreet.org]
Organizing for this event is happening at the following places:
* On Adbusters: [http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/occupywallstreet]
* Independent site [http://www.occupywallst.org]
* On Reddit: [http://www.reddit.com/r/occupywallstreet]
* On Twitter: [https://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23OCCUPYWALLSTREET]
* On Facebook: [https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=144937025580428]
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Friday, September 16, 2011
ACTION ALERT! (Santa Ana, SoCal) 2011-09-16 Protest/Sit In on behalf of Kelly Thomas
Fri, September 16, 3:00pm – 5:30pm
Orange County DA's Office , 401 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana, California
[http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=118301504938347]
Lets keep the pressure on Tony Rackauckas -he must depose & bring charges against the Fullerton 6 for the murder of Kelly Thomas. Lets have Kelly's Army out in full force!! His record speaks for itself.....
Via Hector Villagra who is the Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California....
In a nation defined by the concepts of justice, due process, and the rule of law, police must obey the law while they enforce the law. So who polices the police?
We depend on the local district attorney’s office to investigate the conduct of police officers. Now the Orange County District Attorney’s office has been called upon to investigate misconduct against Kelly Thomas, the Fullerton man who was beaten to death by six police officers last month.
Can we rely on Tony Rackauckas to police the police? His record speaks for itself.
The OC Weekly reported that as of 2004, “[d]uring Rackauckas’s 10-year reign, the DA’s office has only once pursued charges in an officer-involved shooting case (against Douglas Bates, a customs officer, in 2005)”.
There have been many more shootings—and many more officers cleared. Indeed, between January 2006 and September 2010, there were 73 officer-involved shootings in Orange County, more than half of them fatal. The DA’s office was responsible for conducting investigations into nearly all of them.
In 2007, the DA’s office cleared two Huntington Beach police officers involved in the shooting death of Ashley MacDonald, who was shot 15 times when she charged at the officers with a knife. In that case, the DA’s office upheld the Sheriff’s Department policy that if an armed suspect is less than 21 feet away, an officer who fears for his or her life is allowed to shoot to kill.
In 2009, Rackauckas’ office cleared an Anaheim officer who shot 20 year old Julian Alexander. Alexander had walked into his yard carrying a stick to investigate a commotion while his pregnant wife and in-laws slept inside. An officer shot him twice in the chest and then handcuffed him. Julian Alexander later died at a local hospital.
At that time, I was the Director of the ACLU of Southern California’s Orange County office, and I called for Rackauckas to conduct a complete and rigorous investigation of the officer’s conduct. The officer was back on duty two months later.
So we continue to question whether the DA can be relied on for an impartial investigation of Kelly Thomas’ death. The DA’s response to these concerns — that in 2008 his office filed charges against Christopher Hibbs, an Orange County sheriff’s deputy accused of tasering an armed-robbery suspect who was handcuffed in the back of his patrol car – sounds like the proverbial exception that proves the rule.
It’s time to make a change. Whether it’s having the state attorney general or the federal department of justice investigate or creating a civilian review board to investigate, we need to ensure police accountability — to make sure police officers know that they will be held responsible for their actions when they use excessive force.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
ACTION ALERT: (Oakland) Forum of fight back against police violence
The Oscar Grant Committee presents a forum on Police Racism, Brutality and Violence
Fighting Back against Police Racism, Brutality and Violence
Tue, September 13, 7pm – 9pm
Tuesday, September 13, 2011 7:00 PM
Niebyl-Proctor Marxist Library
6501 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland
Phone: 510-655-5764 or 510-586-0529
[http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/08/28/18688949.php]
Speakers include:
* Gerald Smith presenting a synopsis of the Oscar Grant murder case
* Sean Gillis of the Oakland Fire Department Medical Response Team and his attorney, Phil Horne, on the medical mistreatment of Oscar Grant
* Sharena Curley on the frame-up of her brother, Antioine Thomas
* Anita Wills on the frame-up of her son, Kerry Baxter, Sr.
* Lori Davis on the murder of her son, Raheim Brown, Jr.
* Cary Downs on the murder of his step-son, James Rivera
* Verbena, from Redwood Curtain Copwatch, on the murder of Martin Cotton
Fighting Back against Police Racism, Brutality and Violence
Tue, September 13, 7pm – 9pm
Tuesday, September 13, 2011 7:00 PM
Niebyl-Proctor Marxist Library
6501 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland
Phone: 510-655-5764 or 510-586-0529
[http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/08/28/18688949.php]
Speakers include:
* Gerald Smith presenting a synopsis of the Oscar Grant murder case
* Sean Gillis of the Oakland Fire Department Medical Response Team and his attorney, Phil Horne, on the medical mistreatment of Oscar Grant
* Sharena Curley on the frame-up of her brother, Antioine Thomas
* Anita Wills on the frame-up of her son, Kerry Baxter, Sr.
* Lori Davis on the murder of her son, Raheim Brown, Jr.
* Cary Downs on the murder of his step-son, James Rivera
* Verbena, from Redwood Curtain Copwatch, on the murder of Martin Cotton
Sunday, September 11, 2011
ACTION ALERT: (Oakland) Anti-Police Brutality Community Cook Out!
[http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=241923775851042]
Sun, September 11, 2pm – 5pm
Mosswood Park, MacArthur and Broadway, Oakland, CA
The park is a ten minute walk from MacArthur BART. If you would like a ride from the BART or are driving from SF and can bring people, please FB organizers. Thanks!
Bring your family! face painting! music! *A pig piñata!* friendly folks in the sun! look for the black and red balloons!
*This event is potluck style. **vegetarian friendly. If you know what you can bring please write it in the comment section below so we can keep track of what we need.
* If you would like to table, please bring your own table.
* There will not be speakers or a bullhorn. this is not a rally or demo. this is a community kick it where we can socialize and build community and share our outrage at the pigs in informal convos and over food and just get to know each other outside of protests and meetings. :)
Justice for Raheim Brown Jr! Justice for Kenneth Harding! Justice for Charles Hill!
On the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11th, call for an end to police terrorism!
This most recent wave of cop killings including that of Kenneth Harding, Charles Hill and Raheim Brown Jr. have angered, saddened and frightened Bay Area residents. These murders draw attention to racist policies like the Oakland and San Francisco Youth Injunctions, SF’s Sit and Lie ordinance and anti-immigrant legislation that all intend to empower the police while disempowering the poor and communities of color, making us vulnerable to state terrorism.
Police brutality aims to destroy our communities through intimidation and harassment. Sometimes it takes the form of murder but often, police brutality reveals itself through beatings, arrests and sexual assaults that often go unreported due to fear of stigma and police retaliation. In order to resist, we need to build community and create coalitions that make connections between police harassment and brutality, the parole/prison system, and these local policies that criminalize communities already struggling to survive.
Lets come together for good food and good people so that we can build stronger networks in the anti-police brutality movement!
Sun, September 11, 2pm – 5pm
Mosswood Park, MacArthur and Broadway, Oakland, CA
The park is a ten minute walk from MacArthur BART. If you would like a ride from the BART or are driving from SF and can bring people, please FB organizers. Thanks!
Bring your family! face painting! music! *A pig piñata!* friendly folks in the sun! look for the black and red balloons!
*This event is potluck style. **vegetarian friendly. If you know what you can bring please write it in the comment section below so we can keep track of what we need.
* If you would like to table, please bring your own table.
* There will not be speakers or a bullhorn. this is not a rally or demo. this is a community kick it where we can socialize and build community and share our outrage at the pigs in informal convos and over food and just get to know each other outside of protests and meetings. :)
Justice for Raheim Brown Jr! Justice for Kenneth Harding! Justice for Charles Hill!
On the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11th, call for an end to police terrorism!
This most recent wave of cop killings including that of Kenneth Harding, Charles Hill and Raheim Brown Jr. have angered, saddened and frightened Bay Area residents. These murders draw attention to racist policies like the Oakland and San Francisco Youth Injunctions, SF’s Sit and Lie ordinance and anti-immigrant legislation that all intend to empower the police while disempowering the poor and communities of color, making us vulnerable to state terrorism.
Police brutality aims to destroy our communities through intimidation and harassment. Sometimes it takes the form of murder but often, police brutality reveals itself through beatings, arrests and sexual assaults that often go unreported due to fear of stigma and police retaliation. In order to resist, we need to build community and create coalitions that make connections between police harassment and brutality, the parole/prison system, and these local policies that criminalize communities already struggling to survive.
Lets come together for good food and good people so that we can build stronger networks in the anti-police brutality movement!
Saturday, September 10, 2011
CREATIVE RESISTANCE: A Benefit for Chicano activist Carlos Montes
[http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/08/15/18687783.php]
Sat, September 10, 4pm – 7pm
Parking Lot at San Jose Peace and Justice Center48 South 7th StSan Jose CA 95112 (map)
Join the South Bay Committee Against Political Repression's musical benefit for veteran Chicano activist and victim of political repression, Carlos Montes. Carlos Montes, a former Brown Beret and long-time anti-war and equal rights activist in Los Angeles, is being targeted for his political activities by the FBI.
In May of this year, Montes' house was raided by armed FBI agents, who literally broke down his door, ransacked his house, and confiscated his computer and other private possessions. Montes was arrested and falsely charged with violating firearms regulations, to which he pleaded not guilty. The FBI's raid and arrest of Montes comes alongside a recent FBI harassment campaign against international solidarity and anti-war activists, including unprovoked nation-wide FBI raids of activist offices and homes and grand jury subpoenas for peace activists.
Join us for musical performances by the Word, Ragtop with DJ David8, and Konciensia Directa, and spoken performances by Felicia Montes (Carlos Montes' daughter), Miwa Lyric, Adriana and Cynthia Garcia, Sandra Huerta, and Debora Godinez.
This event is sponsored by the South Bay Committee Against Political Repression, co-sponsored by the Green Party of Santa Clara County, the San Jose Peace and Justice Center, MAIZ, and endorsed by Anakbayan Silicon Valley and San Jose Code Pink.
Sat, September 10, 4pm – 7pm
Parking Lot at San Jose Peace and Justice Center48 South 7th StSan Jose CA 95112 (map)
Join the South Bay Committee Against Political Repression's musical benefit for veteran Chicano activist and victim of political repression, Carlos Montes. Carlos Montes, a former Brown Beret and long-time anti-war and equal rights activist in Los Angeles, is being targeted for his political activities by the FBI.
In May of this year, Montes' house was raided by armed FBI agents, who literally broke down his door, ransacked his house, and confiscated his computer and other private possessions. Montes was arrested and falsely charged with violating firearms regulations, to which he pleaded not guilty. The FBI's raid and arrest of Montes comes alongside a recent FBI harassment campaign against international solidarity and anti-war activists, including unprovoked nation-wide FBI raids of activist offices and homes and grand jury subpoenas for peace activists.
Join us for musical performances by the Word, Ragtop with DJ David8, and Konciensia Directa, and spoken performances by Felicia Montes (Carlos Montes' daughter), Miwa Lyric, Adriana and Cynthia Garcia, Sandra Huerta, and Debora Godinez.
This event is sponsored by the South Bay Committee Against Political Repression, co-sponsored by the Green Party of Santa Clara County, the San Jose Peace and Justice Center, MAIZ, and endorsed by Anakbayan Silicon Valley and San Jose Code Pink.
Friday, September 9, 2011
New African Liberation: Say It Loud, "I'm Black & I'm Proud (& when I say Black I mean Brown)"
[http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=241746492529861]
Fri, September 9, 4pm – 8pm
Youth UpRising 8711 Mac Arthur Blvd Oakland , Ca (map)
The Town hall meeting will begin with a Leadership Panel: Jasiri X, Olis Simmons, Davey D, Min Keith Muhammad, Dr Siri Brown, George Galvis, Fred Hampton Jr and David Muhammad Alameda Probation Chief. Followed by two Youth Panels facilitated by youth who will discuss Black/Black, Brown/ Brown crime, and Police Brutality also the condition of the Black/ Brown Family
These discussions are designed for our youth to discuss, but most importantly that they find solutions to bridge the gap between Black/Black , Brown/ Brown crime bridging the gap between Police and Community, dialogue about what the Black / Brown family look like. Followed by a concert by Jasiri X, Conscious political rapper “What if the Tea party was Black” Oscar Grant Tribute” Real Gangsta's and more political awaking raps. Come see history right before your eyes Fred Hampton Jr, son of Black Panther Party Chicago Chairman Fred Hampton Sr. Alongside him will be the only woman to ever lead The Black Panther Party, Elaine Brown. Come hear our future leaders as they discuss from their respective panel our issues in our community. Other performances by T-Cash, Jazz Monique Hudson, Poet, Artists, Actress, and others
Fri, September 9, 4pm – 8pm
Youth UpRising 8711 Mac Arthur Blvd Oakland , Ca (map)
The Town hall meeting will begin with a Leadership Panel: Jasiri X, Olis Simmons, Davey D, Min Keith Muhammad, Dr Siri Brown, George Galvis, Fred Hampton Jr and David Muhammad Alameda Probation Chief. Followed by two Youth Panels facilitated by youth who will discuss Black/Black, Brown/ Brown crime, and Police Brutality also the condition of the Black/ Brown Family
These discussions are designed for our youth to discuss, but most importantly that they find solutions to bridge the gap between Black/Black , Brown/ Brown crime bridging the gap between Police and Community, dialogue about what the Black / Brown family look like. Followed by a concert by Jasiri X, Conscious political rapper “What if the Tea party was Black” Oscar Grant Tribute” Real Gangsta's and more political awaking raps. Come see history right before your eyes Fred Hampton Jr, son of Black Panther Party Chicago Chairman Fred Hampton Sr. Alongside him will be the only woman to ever lead The Black Panther Party, Elaine Brown. Come hear our future leaders as they discuss from their respective panel our issues in our community. Other performances by T-Cash, Jazz Monique Hudson, Poet, Artists, Actress, and others
Thursday, September 8, 2011
ACTION ALERT: (SF) Disband the Murderous, Inept, Corrupt BART Police Department
[http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=133137180114950]:
Thu, September 8, 4:30pm – 7:30pm
Embarcadero BART Station (map)
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SAVE THE DATE
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
START INVITING PEOPLE
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The next NJNB action is scheduled for Thursday, September 8, at the Embarcadero Center Station, beginning at 4:30 PM. Stay tuned for more information. More details will be posted shortly, and there will be a press conference next Monday (9/5) to let everyone know what to expect from this action.
This action is being planned in coalition with community organizations and groups. This action will be very different than previous NJNB protests. Anyone interested in helping organize should email nojusticenobart@gmail.com.
FYI: There will be roles for people on the platforms as well as above ground and we will maintain a presence at multiple BART stations.
Thu, September 8, 4:30pm – 7:30pm
Embarcadero BART Station (map)
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SAVE THE DATE
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
START INVITING PEOPLE
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The next NJNB action is scheduled for Thursday, September 8, at the Embarcadero Center Station, beginning at 4:30 PM. Stay tuned for more information. More details will be posted shortly, and there will be a press conference next Monday (9/5) to let everyone know what to expect from this action.
This action is being planned in coalition with community organizations and groups. This action will be very different than previous NJNB protests. Anyone interested in helping organize should email nojusticenobart@gmail.com.
FYI: There will be roles for people on the platforms as well as above ground and we will maintain a presence at multiple BART stations.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
documentary screening: Fruits of War
Sun, September 4, 6pm – 9pm
everywhere - internet broadcast (map)
* this is not meant to promote KQED in any way.
Fruits of War is a documentary that explores the US government's role in encouraging the creation of Salvadoran gangs in the 80s and 90s by waging military and police wars on people in Central America and Los Angeles.
this is a very good documentary that can spark discussions, lend to broader self-defense or KNOW YOUR RIGHTS curriculum and aid in community police accountability initiatives that help victims of racial profiling, activists and human rights advocates understand local and federal policing tactics that unleash violence in Black and Latin@ communities. *
KQED's description: Fruits of War explores a devastating cycle of gang violence that has plagued El Salvador for more than thirty years. The film follows four reformed gang members -- Bullet, Rebel, Weazel, and Duke, who escaped to the United States as child refugees from El Salvador's bloody civil war. They settled in the tough east side of Los Angeles, eventually becoming involved in street gangs.
In an effort to suppress an epidemic of gang violence, the US began an aggressive policy of deporting undocumented gang members with felony records. When these four men return to El Salvador, they discover a country ravaged by war, and facing a new wave of violence as the LA street gangs take root in their homeland.
The Salvadoran government, with support from the US, begins a brutal crackdown on the gangs, and these four men find themselves in the middle of a conflict eerily similar to the civil war -- pitting the army and police against thousands of El Salvador's poorest residents, now members of the gangs. As they come to terms with their two countries' violent histories, these former gang members redirect their lives towards helping young people deal with this legacy.
[Original air date: Sun, Oct 05, 2008]
Episode #404 | Duration: 56:24 | Closed Captioned | Stereo | TVG
KQED 9
Sun, Sep 4, 2011 -- 6:00pm PST
watch here: [http://www.kqed.org/arts/programs/trulyca/episode.jsp?epid=205907]
everywhere - internet broadcast (map)
* this is not meant to promote KQED in any way.
Fruits of War is a documentary that explores the US government's role in encouraging the creation of Salvadoran gangs in the 80s and 90s by waging military and police wars on people in Central America and Los Angeles.
this is a very good documentary that can spark discussions, lend to broader self-defense or KNOW YOUR RIGHTS curriculum and aid in community police accountability initiatives that help victims of racial profiling, activists and human rights advocates understand local and federal policing tactics that unleash violence in Black and Latin@ communities. *
KQED's description: Fruits of War explores a devastating cycle of gang violence that has plagued El Salvador for more than thirty years. The film follows four reformed gang members -- Bullet, Rebel, Weazel, and Duke, who escaped to the United States as child refugees from El Salvador's bloody civil war. They settled in the tough east side of Los Angeles, eventually becoming involved in street gangs.
In an effort to suppress an epidemic of gang violence, the US began an aggressive policy of deporting undocumented gang members with felony records. When these four men return to El Salvador, they discover a country ravaged by war, and facing a new wave of violence as the LA street gangs take root in their homeland.
The Salvadoran government, with support from the US, begins a brutal crackdown on the gangs, and these four men find themselves in the middle of a conflict eerily similar to the civil war -- pitting the army and police against thousands of El Salvador's poorest residents, now members of the gangs. As they come to terms with their two countries' violent histories, these former gang members redirect their lives towards helping young people deal with this legacy.
[Original air date: Sun, Oct 05, 2008]
Episode #404 | Duration: 56:24 | Closed Captioned | Stereo | TVG
KQED 9
Sun, Sep 4, 2011 -- 6:00pm PST
watch here: [http://www.kqed.org/arts/programs/trulyca/episode.jsp?epid=205907]
ACTION ALERT: (SF) Protest police killings and repression of civil liberties (October 22nd Coalition)
October
22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the
Criminalization of a Generation [OCT22bayarea@gmail.com] [510-206-0742]
Tue, September 6, 12pm – 4pm
San Francisco City Hall, Polk & McAllister (map)
JUSTICE FOR KENNETH HARDING AND CHARLES HILL
Protest Police Killings and Repression of Civil Liberties
Rally & Press Conference at San Francisco Board of Supervisors
Noon: Protest at City Hall, Polk & McAllister
2:00 pm: Speak-up and Speak-out at Board of Supervisors Meeting
In San Francisco this past month, two people have been brutally killed by police on or near public transit facilities. Kenneth Harding, a 19-year-old Afro-American was shot by the SFPD for supposedly evading a $2 train fare, and Charles Hill, a drunken homeless man was gunned down by the BART police on a train platform. This is outrageous and intolerable! The City of San Francisco and the Board of Supervisors must take responsibility for an independent investigation and the police involved in the killings must be prosecuted! Not only hasn’t the truth been told, the facts and circumstances of these killings have been covered up and distorted, and these victims, Kenneth Harding and Charles Hill, have been lied about and slandered by the police and the media. There have been outrageous attacks on civil liberties: witnesses and people critical of police brutality have been intimidated and hauled into jail, and in an unprecedented act of suppression, cell phone use in BART stations was shut off to prevent a protest against the police killings. We say NO MORE!
This is a call to people who are outraged by these police killings, by the suppression of civil liberties and the ongoing repression of people in the Bayview-Hunters Point district: Come to the protest at City Hall at Noon in San Francisco, and go inside at 2:00 PM to speak out at the Board of Supervisors meeting to demand that they stop the police state actions of the SFPD and BART police.
WE DEMAND:
1. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors conduct an independent investigation of the killings
2. Prosecution of the SFPD and BART police officers responsible
3. An end to the police occupation of Bayview-Hunters Point
4. No suspension of civil liberties
5. No retaliation against truth-tellers
JUSTICE FOR KENNETH HARDING AND CHARLES HILL
Tue, September 6, 12pm – 4pm
San Francisco City Hall, Polk & McAllister (map)
JUSTICE FOR KENNETH HARDING AND CHARLES HILL
Protest Police Killings and Repression of Civil Liberties
Rally & Press Conference at San Francisco Board of Supervisors
Noon: Protest at City Hall, Polk & McAllister
2:00 pm: Speak-up and Speak-out at Board of Supervisors Meeting
In San Francisco this past month, two people have been brutally killed by police on or near public transit facilities. Kenneth Harding, a 19-year-old Afro-American was shot by the SFPD for supposedly evading a $2 train fare, and Charles Hill, a drunken homeless man was gunned down by the BART police on a train platform. This is outrageous and intolerable! The City of San Francisco and the Board of Supervisors must take responsibility for an independent investigation and the police involved in the killings must be prosecuted! Not only hasn’t the truth been told, the facts and circumstances of these killings have been covered up and distorted, and these victims, Kenneth Harding and Charles Hill, have been lied about and slandered by the police and the media. There have been outrageous attacks on civil liberties: witnesses and people critical of police brutality have been intimidated and hauled into jail, and in an unprecedented act of suppression, cell phone use in BART stations was shut off to prevent a protest against the police killings. We say NO MORE!
This is a call to people who are outraged by these police killings, by the suppression of civil liberties and the ongoing repression of people in the Bayview-Hunters Point district: Come to the protest at City Hall at Noon in San Francisco, and go inside at 2:00 PM to speak out at the Board of Supervisors meeting to demand that they stop the police state actions of the SFPD and BART police.
WE DEMAND:
1. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors conduct an independent investigation of the killings
2. Prosecution of the SFPD and BART police officers responsible
3. An end to the police occupation of Bayview-Hunters Point
4. No suspension of civil liberties
5. No retaliation against truth-tellers
JUSTICE FOR KENNETH HARDING AND CHARLES HILL
Monday, September 5, 2011
ACTION ALERT: (SF) No Justice No BART Press Conference
[http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=194810477251965]
Mon, September 5, 4:30pm – 5:30pm
Embarcadero BART Station (map)
Anyone interested in helping organize should email nojusticenobart@gmail.com.
NJNB will discuss details about our next planned action. The action is scheduled for Thursday, September 8, at the Embarcadero Center Station, beginning at 4:30 PM.
* This action will be very different than what we have done before, and we need help organizing and publicizing this event.
* It is being planned in coalition with a number of other community organizations and groups. Spokespeople from these groups may participate in this press conference.
* There will be roles for people on the platforms as well as above ground and we will maintain a presence at multiple BART stations.
* Please get in touch at nojusticenobart@gmail.com if you or your group would like to be a part of this effort.
* Supporters and organizers should save the date (THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 8TH) and begin doing serious outreach for that event.
Mon, September 5, 4:30pm – 5:30pm
Embarcadero BART Station (map)
Anyone interested in helping organize should email nojusticenobart@gmail.com.
NJNB will discuss details about our next planned action. The action is scheduled for Thursday, September 8, at the Embarcadero Center Station, beginning at 4:30 PM.
* This action will be very different than what we have done before, and we need help organizing and publicizing this event.
* It is being planned in coalition with a number of other community organizations and groups. Spokespeople from these groups may participate in this press conference.
* There will be roles for people on the platforms as well as above ground and we will maintain a presence at multiple BART stations.
* Please get in touch at nojusticenobart@gmail.com if you or your group would like to be a part of this effort.
* Supporters and organizers should save the date (THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 8TH) and begin doing serious outreach for that event.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
New African Liberation: Marcus Garvey Upliftment Project Showcase
[http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=140484922708710]
Sat, September 3, 6:00pm – 8:30pm
7911 MacArthur Blvd (map)
The Marcus Garvey Upliftment Project will be showcasing the knowledge and arts the children have obtained while at MGUP! You are invited to join us for a night of fun, self expression and awareness as our campers perform live!
MGUP is a free arts& education center providing a safe environment for tomorrows leaders by teaching skills needed for African comunity self determination.
Tickets on sale for $10
Children 12 and under are free
Sat, September 3, 6:00pm – 8:30pm
7911 MacArthur Blvd (map)
The Marcus Garvey Upliftment Project will be showcasing the knowledge and arts the children have obtained while at MGUP! You are invited to join us for a night of fun, self expression and awareness as our campers perform live!
MGUP is a free arts& education center providing a safe environment for tomorrows leaders by teaching skills needed for African comunity self determination.
Tickets on sale for $10
Children 12 and under are free
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Community Corruption & Fascism in Modesto
2011-09-01 "Government Sponsored Thieves: How local politicians are stealing public funds"
from "Modesto Anarcho" news journal [http://www.modestoanarcho.org/2011/09/government-sponsored-thieves-how-local.html]:
Recently, local politicians and those on the city council have called for a "tough-on-homeless" approach. Citing the threat of crime, business people and politicians like Mike Moradian and Councilman Joe Muratore would like to make public parks private and have a private police force patrol them. In doing so, they tell us that crime would be reduced and the homeless would be driven out of the downtown. Of course, this has nothing to do with creating a safer community and everything to do with making the area safe for business investors; investors that people like Muratore represent and can make money off of. Furthermore, a recent scandal in the city’s power structure shows that the local elites have been breaking their own laws; laws which could land some of them in jail.
Since early 2009, local politicians have been profiting from government funds aimed at fighting the depressed housing market. Recently, a group of nonprofits, government agencies, and faith-based organizations have been accused of severe mismanagement and embezzlement of federal funds that were meant to create jobs and provide housing for poor and working people. After information was leaked from an insider, many city and community bureaucrats have been placed in the spotlight, causing a scandal within the local power structure. While working class people in the Valley have been forced to work jobs for statistically lower and lower pay, and many can't afford basic housing costs, local officials and business elites and have been lining their pockets with public money.
According to the City's website[1], “Modesto applied for and received $25 million from the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program to be distributed through the Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD) to help create jobs and stabilize declining property values in neighborhoods.” This money should have gone to benefit potential homeowners and renters with incomes between 50-120% of Area Median Income ($24,275 - $58,260 for Stanislaus County[2]), and local contractors and laborers who would do necessary repairs. This of course has not been the case.
On July 10th, HUD received an anonymous e-mail from a Stanislaus Housing & Support Services Collaborative member outlining their concerns [3]. The veteran member of more than five years[3] requested that their name be kept confidential for fear of being fired[3]. According to the Modesto Bee, The document contained the following claims[3]:
• Three members of the executive committee work for agencies that receive HUD Supportive Housing Program grants, "yet provide supposed oversight and review of their own projects with no input from the" collaborative.[3]
• Executive committee members Gibbs, Michele Gonzales and Glenn Hutsell "rigged" the application review process to get funding for their "pet projects" year after year.[3]
• The executive committee failed to review whether HUD grant recipients were complying with a grant's requirements. If they had done so, they would have spotted the problems at Community Housing and Shelter Services, a Modesto nonprofit that nearly closed because of mismanagement.[3]
• The Homeless Management Information System, a software program designed to record and store information about the homeless and their needs, still is not running after four years.[3]
• Some executive committee members provided fraudulent information on a 2010 HUD grant application.[3]
All this of course, goes against basic HUD guidelines[4], designed to prevent influence in the decision-making process and financial gain or other benefits from receiving grant funds. This new information, regardless of merit, was enough for HUD's Office of Inspector General (OIG) to take a closer look.[5]
Because of the conflicts of interest involving city officials and their private enterprises, the OIG may take as long as six to nine months to complete the investigation[6]. Julie Hannon with the Modesto Parks, Recreation and Neighborhoods confirmed that SCAP received more than $7 million in taxpayer dollars to renovate 21 foreclosed homes[7]. It was later discovered, as KCRA.com reported, that "Stanislaus County Community Assistance Program is being criticized for allowing family and staff to live in government-subsidized homes that are supposed to be for low-income residents."[7]
Hannon confirmed [8] that Denise Gibbs' parents were living at 913 Rumble Road after $340,000 in taxpayer money was spent buying and renovating the 2,383-square-foot home, and that four to five other homes were occupied by SCAP employees or their relatives[8]. An auditing firm, Moss Adams, that works for the City Council was supposed to begin their investigation in July, but has since been replaced by the HUD's OIG[5]. Leo Briones, "a Southern California political consultant who speaks for SCAP," [9], said the agency will cooperate with city auditors[10]. Members of the organization admit to the allegations and say that these acts are legal because the residents meet the income requirements of the program[8]. As reported in the Modesto Bee on July 6th, "All told, as many as six of the twenty houses renovated by SCAP have been occupied by employees of the agency or their family members. According to SCAP's agreement with the city, the homes were supposed to serve as rental housing for people with special needs, such as seniors, people with debilitating diseases, or families at risk of homelessness." [11]
Joe Gibbs, Grant Writer and Development Director for SCAP[3], received a bonus of more than $637,000 for writing grant proposals according to the Modesto Bee [12]. This is on top of his regular pay. That’s $637,000 of public money, which was supposed to go towards helping Modesto families but instead went to an official who was already highly paid. In fact, Joe and his wife Denise are SCAP's two highest-paid employees[13], raking in more than $712,000 last year[12], and more than $1.32 million in four years[12]. After the Modesto Bee revealed how much he was earning[12], Gibbs agreed to forgo $436,471 of what he said he was owed [14]. In doing so, he claimed that his "contractual agreement was made with fairness and proper legal standards in mind,[12]" although Pastor Darryl Fair, Chairman of SCAP's Board of Directors, says that after "reviewing SCAP's financial data for the year 2010, the board realized… the 4 percent incentive to our director of business and program development exceeded what was appropriate for a nonprofit agency to offer." [12]
Photograph showing Gibbs:
The same Darryl Fair has recently resigned from Stanislaus Housing & Support Services Collaborative's executive committee, along with at least five others that may or may not include Gibbs[10]. SCAP's new board includes Chairman Jonathan Dattilio of Lincoln, Vice Chairman Patrick Pokorny of Riverbank, Secretary Daniel Malakauskas of Stockton, and Tom Drury of Modesto [10]. They are also currently recruiting others in order to meet their guidelines of seven members[10].
On August 2nd, the city notified Councilman Joe Muratore[15] and his business partner Ryan Swehla[15] of a likely conflict of interest after it was found that Benchmark Commercial Real Estate Services, which they own together[15], was paid a $62,500 commission[15] for the sale of an apartment complex to Trinity Renovations[15], which is also co-owned with Swehla[15]. Trinity also hired Mike Moradian to complete the property inspections through his company Peace of Mind Home Inspections[16]. Moradian is the President of the La Loma Neighborhood Association (LLNA) [17] and sits on the city's Blue Ribbon Commission on Homelessness [18](see The New Map of Modesto in Modesto Anarcho #17 for more information). Moradian has been a fierce crusader against homelessness, trying to shut down the expansion of a drug and alcohol treatment center in the Airport District [17] and helping to push anti-homeless initiatives in the city. Both Moradian and Swehla also played a major role in getting Muratore on the council back in 2009 through their influence with the LLNA[19], and the group no longer retains its non-profit status[20]. Benchmark and Trinity were thus nicely poised to funnel funds into the personal bank accounts of government sponsored thieves and their elitist friends.
Photograph showing Moradian
As it was reported in the Modesto Bee on August 18th, Muratore was also found guilty of illegally voting in the council decision that initially allowed the city to accept federal housing funds[15]. Since then, Trinity has had it's NSP funds frozen[6] and been barred from working with the HUD program[6]. Muratore admitted guilt to the accusation and the $62,500 commission has been returned[6]. At a Modesto City Council meeting regarding SCAP on August 3rd, 2011, Muratore said he promptly had his attorney notify the California Fair Political Practices Commission after checking logs and “discovering” that he had placed a vote [15]. The FPPC response was a warning letter with no administrative prosecution or fines[15]. Muratore said that at the time that he was as an inexperienced official when he had made the vote.[15]
But, while this Harvard grad plays dumb, Muratore may face federal prosecution or at the least his expulsion from the council. It’s also telling that while businessmen like Muratore and Moradian have called for a ‘tough on homeless’ approach, including a recent push to have a private security force patrol the parks for homeless people, they have broken more laws than any homeless person with an open container. While they attract support from the upper-middle and some of the working classes through a tough on crime stance, in reality they only care about the law when it rules in their favor. For rich elites like Muratore and Moradian, the law and the police are instruments to use at their will, and against us. Moradian and Muratore’s “tough on crime” façade is just a smokescreen for a push to gentrify and develop the downtown; free of lower and working class elements. Surely, just as they have used the SCAP, they will seek to make money from this displacement of poor people as well. Hopefully this scandal exposes people to the swindlers that people like Muratore and all his friends are; willing to take public money that is designed to help people and make themselves even richer.
Photograph showing Muratore
The current SCAP scandal, just as the current crisis unfolding with the Modesto Police Department and the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department, shows us several things. Firstly, that those in power have organized amongst each other in order to siphon money out of the public’s hands and straight into their pockets. The politicians get the deals, and then have their companies or their friends' companies do the work, looking the other way when they take hundreds of thousands of dollars right off the top. Secondly, this scandal proves that those masquerading as our “leaders” have never had our interests at heart. This isn’t a problem of a few bad apples, but a whole rotten tree. The network of business interests and political big-wigs all needs to be pushed out and overthrown. Thirdly, the corruption going on at City Hall is the same as that within the Federal Government and corporations. Our money goes to fund wars and the bailout of banks, while the CEOs kick back and make record-breaking profits. We must take power into our own hands; we must not wait for the elites in downtown Modesto or Washington D.C. to swindle us again while people are without money, food, and shelter.
The time is now to take what we need and occupy it. We shouldn't wait for government officials to screw us over when we can take over hundreds of abandoned foreclosed houses and apartment units ourselves. Talk with neighbors, agree not to call the police, fix the place up, move right in. If an eviction notice comes, tell the bank to shove it. Get together with family and neighbors to drive off inspectors and the cops. Our neighborhoods become vacant save for boarded-up buildings while the bankers grow rich and the Muratores of the world do as they please. Its time for all of them to go, and for all of us to bring this corrupt system down.
Citations:
Citation 1: "Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2." City of Modesto. Accessed 02 Sep 2011. [http://www.modestogov.com/nsp2/]
Citation 2: "State and County Quick Facts." U.S. Census Bureau. Accessed 02 Sep 2011. [http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06/06099.html]
Citation 3: "Member Criticizes Stanislaus Homeless Aid Panel. Kevin Valine. Modesto Bee. 18 Aug 2011 [http://www.modbee.com/2011/08/18/1821832/member-criticizes-homeless-aid.html]
Citation 4: HUD Guidelines. Document 14169. HUD.Gov City of Modesto, California [http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=DOC_14169.pdf]
"Forty (40) of these homes will be specifically allocated to provide housing for special needs households who are in need of permanent housing. All activities will benefit households whose income is at or below 120percent of area median income, with 25percent of the funds for households at or below 50percent area median income."
Citation 5: "Modesto Auditor Off SCAP Probe." Modesto Bee. Ken Carlson. 03 Aug 2011. [http://www.modbee.com/2011/08/02/1801069/modesto-auditor-off-scap-probe.html]
Citation 6: "Modesto Councilman's Firm Benefitted From Sale of Apartment Complex." Ken Carlson. Modesto Bee. 03 Aug 2011. [http://www.modbee.com/2011/08/03/1802526/modesto-councilmans-firm-benefitted.html]
Citation 7: "Modesto Nonprofit Under Investigation." KCRA.com. 28 July 2011. [http://www.kcra.com/news/28384117/detail.html]
Citation 8: "New Question Surface for Modesto Nonprofit." J.N. Sbranti. Modesto Bee. 28 Jun 2011. [http://www.modbee.com/2011/06/27/1751953/new-questions-surface-for-nonprofit.html]
Citation 9: "Luxuries at Modesto SCAP Homes Described," by Ken Carlson, Modesto Bee, 03 Aug 2011 [http://www.modbee.com/2011/08/02/1800648/modesto-nonprofits-role-under.html]
Citation 10: "SCAP Turns Over Documents to Modesto." Ken Carlson. Modesto Bee. 01 Jul 2011. [http://www.modbee.com/2011/06/30/1756905/scap-turns-over-documents.html]
Citation 11: "More Trouble for Modesto Nonprofit Agency Scap." Ken Carlson. Modesto Bee. 06 Jul 2011. [http://www.modbee.com/2011/07/06/1764704/more-trouble-for-scap.html]
Citation 12: "Cashing In: Salaries of Modesto Housing Agency Attract Federal Scrutiny." J.N. Sbranti. Modesto Bee. 30 May 2011. [http://www.modbee.com/2011/05/28/1709062/federal-investigators-probing.html]
Citation 13: "Stanislaus Community Assistance Project." Informational graph. Modesto Bee. Accessed 02 Sep 2011. [http://media.modbee.com/smedia/2011/05/28/23/Scapcomp.source.prod_affiliate.11.pdf]
Citation 14: "SCAP Worker Gives Up $436k." Ken Carlson. Modesto Bee. 03 Jun 2011. [http://www.modbee.com/2011/06/03/1717879/scap-worker-gives-up-436k.html]
Citation 15: "Modesto Councilman Muratore Broke Law With Vote, State Says." Ken Carlson. Modesto Bee. 18 Aug 2011. [http://www.modbee.com/2011/08/17/1820405/muratore-broke-law-with-votestate.html]
Citation 16: "Modesto CIty Hall Facing Questions of Favoritism." Ken Carlson. Modesto Bee. 21 Aug 2011. [http://www.modbee.com/2011/08/20/1824048_p2/city-facing-questions-of-favoritism.html]
Citation 17: "Modesto Mission Dispute Resolved." Ken Carlson. Modesto Bee. 05 Apr 2011. [http://www.modbee.com/2011/04/06/1631944/mission-dispute-resolved.html]
Citation 18: "Boards, Commissions, and Committees: City of Modesto Blue Ribbon Commission on Homelessness." City of Modesto. Accessed 02 September 2011. [http://www.modestogov.com/council/boards/cag.asp?id=29]
Citation 19: "With Cities Squeezed, Neighborhood Groups Catch On." Leslie Albrecht. Modesto Bee. 22 Apr 2010. [http://www.modbee.com/2010/04/22/1139118/with-cities-squeezed-neighborhood.html]
Citation 20: "Words Matter." Carmen Sabatino. The Voice of Modesto. 30 Aug 2011. [http://voiceofmodesto.org/wordpress/?p=2439]
Citation 21: "Modesto Puts Brakes On Neighborhood Rehab Program." Central Valley Business Times. 03 August 2011. [http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=19039]
Comment:
Just take a small sample, and soon you see the unseen.
If only knew all of these people and who they are related to, you would truely be astonished.
* The Hub Master: [http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1295981851#!/harold.a.petersonIII?sk=friends&v=friends]
* [http://www.facebook.com/gosner?ref=ffa#!/profile.php?id=1446678860&sk=friends&v=friends]
* [http://www.facebook.com/gosner?ref=ffa#!/profile.php?id=1670791404&sk=friends&v=friends]
* [http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1295981851#!/profile.php?id=525467407&sk=friends&v=friends]
* [http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1295981851#!/profile.php?id=100000014458390&sk=friends&v=friends]
* [http://www.modbee.com/2011/09/01/1841274/a-couple-of-good-men-in-modesto.html]
* [http://www.facebook.com/duane.hutton?sk=friends&v=friends]
2012-06-07 "Police Write Ordinance for City Council that Criminalizes Homeless Camps and Occupy Movement"
from "Modesto Anarcho" news journal [http://www.modestoanarcho.org/2012/06/police-write-ordinance-for-city-council.html]:
On Tuesday, June 5th, in a 6-1 vote, the City Council passed an ordinance that would make forms of illegal camping a misdemeanor within Modesto. Despite an over-whelming majority of the crowd coming out to shout down the ordinance, calling it a "war on the poor," and claiming that it was leading Modesto into "a police state," everyone on the Council voted in favor of the move except the new Mayor, Garrad Marsh. But Marsh's nay vote didn't come out of his love for the homeless or freedom itself, he was simply concerned that it didn't contain language that would allow parents with homes to allow their children to camp outside. As for those with children and without homes, perhaps if they couldn't eat cake, they could eat whatever the Mission was serving that night...
The decision for the camping criminalization ordinance came when a subcommittee of the City Council allowed members of the Modesto Police Department to write up and create the ordinance [http://www.modbee.com/2012/06/03/2226879/modesto-council-targets-homeless.html]. But the criminalization of camping is not just aimed at stamping out the homeless. According to the Modesto Bee [http://www.modbee.com/2012/06/05/2229770/modesto-council-passes-anti-camping.html]:
[begin excerpt]
City officials said the camping ordinance will give police a tool to deal with makeshift camps that increasingly are appearing in Modesto. It also will give police the authority to break up any camps tied to the Occupy movement and prohibit residential property owners from charging rent to campers.
Under the ordinance, anyone who stores personal property, including camping paraphernalia, on public or private property without consent of the owner can be cited on a misdemeanor. Those convicted could be sentenced to jail and probation.
[end excerpt]
Council members claim that the push for the ordinance came after businesses began complaining of homeless people living in the back of parking lots along McHenry Ave. as well as from people who have complained that they "can't walk their dogs" along the canal on Briggsmore Ave., due to homeless encampments.
We find this recent criminalization of both the homeless and the Occupy Movement in Modesto to not be at all surprising, although it shows the direction in which local elites are heading; giving themselves the legal tools to lock-up, displace, and fine those which threaten downtown development and those who would seek to possibly organize against it. We do not find this latest move surprising because over the past year, City Council members, either through the general council or through subcommittees, have helped produce a variety of ordinances all aimed at removing the homeless from the downtown area through criminalization. These include a ban on dumpster-diving [http://anarchistnews.org/?q=node/2925], which further criminalized the act of digging through the garbage and threatens the would be trash expropriator with fines and up to six months in jail. The ordinance was pushed by both the La Loma Association, a notoriously anti-homeless group and the Modesto Police Department. There was also the shutting down of a public park, Paperboy Park, or Rose Garden Park, in 2010, which was located across from the Library [http://www.modestoanarcho.org/2011/06/new-map-of-modesto-budget-cuts.html]. Joe Muratore, a city council member who is also involved in the La Loma Association, helped back the ordinance [http://www.modestoanarcho.org/2011/02/joe-muratore-elected-with-your-taxes.html] [http://www.modestoanarcho.org/2011/03/la-loma-association-fights-anti.html]. He claimed that homeless people were ruining the park and making non-homeless people afraid to use it. Paperboy Park became the first park in Modesto that went from public to only being available to those who paid a user fee. Muratore wanted to continue this work even further with the creation of a private park police force that would harass the homeless, youth, and others in local parks and enforce various municipal codes [http://www.modestoanarcho.org/2011/08/joe-muratores-committee-proposes.html].
There is also the looming question of where homeless people will go? The answer from the police, the City Council, and the business interests is quite clear: either into institutions, or hopefully out of Modesto for good. In a recent expose, the Modesto Bee discussed how the local jail is filling up with homeless people who are incarcerated because it is the only place where they can receive medical treatment and also because it is the only place where they can be 'treated' for mental illness [http://www.modbee.com/2012/05/20/2207052/special-report-mental-healthcare.html]. With homelessness on the rise in the local area, compounded and made worse by the economy, increased evictions, and the foreclosure crisis, as well as continued repression of the homeless community, we will only see an increase in the amount of homeless people incarcerated, locked up, and thrown in mental facilities simply for the crime of not having a place to live.
Students at MJC camped out as part of 'Occupy MJC' to protest rising fees. Now, they could face jail time for such an act.
While many will point out that there has not been any sizable Occupy protests and encampments in Modesto, this new ordinance was in part crafted with the understanding that the police could use it in the event that ever such a movement did develop and protesters needed to be scared with possible jail time. Occupy encampments have appeared in other Valley cities such as Sacramento, Merced, Fresno, and Stockton, so it is not far fetched to believe that if the movement was to expand again that camps could spring up here. Furthermore, such anti-camping laws could also be used against Central Valley activists attempting to occupy foreclosed buildings. If police could claim that those inside foreclosed homes are 'camping,' instead of 'squatting' or 'refusing to leave their homes,' then they could easily threaten occupants with misdemeanor charges.
According to City Councilman Dave Geer, police will use their "discretion," and only target "problem" camps and will not use the law to "harass" the homeless [http://www.modbee.com/2012/06/05/2229770/modesto-council-passes-anti-camping.html]. But of course, this is the same police department that shoots people claiming they have guns which turn out to be spatulas [http://www.modestoanarcho.org/2010/09/rip-fransisco-moran-murdered-by-modesto.html]. These are the same police that shoot out a deaf man's back windows' because he's too busy screaming "I'm deaf," to respond to their commands [http://www.modestoanarcho.org/2010/12/modesto-wikileaks-police-insider-sheds.html].
What is clear is that such an ordinance has nothing to do with improving the quality of life for most people in the city, and instead, bending to business interests and controlling a population of people seen as outside of the law. It is also an attempt to stop Occupy protests before they become larger in the Modesto area - strategic thinking on the part of the police and the elites in the City Council.
Marsh: "If you're poor, you're screwed!"
The City Council is made up largely business owners and property developers types who stand to gain from the removal of the poor in the downtown and the coming in of new capital investments. In a recent forum hosted by Marsh [http://cvar.org/a-community-conversation-on-the-future-of-modestos-downtown/], which featured annoying bourgie local muckie muck Chris Richie (X-Fest, etc), Pete Janopaul (who plans to turn the former downtown post office into upscale lofts [http://www.modbee.com/2012/04/21/2168210/developer-has-lofty-ambitions.html]), developer John Giver, as well as a presentation by developer supa-star Joe Minicozzi, who works with a "for profit real-estate company." Joe argues that city governments can increase their revenue by concentrating urban development in their cores with mixed zoning: having lofts and upscale apartments next to fine dining and nice hair saloons [http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2012/03/simple-math-can-save-cities-bankruptcy/1629/]. From Minicozzi's presentation:
[begin excerpt]
Per-acre, our downtowns have the potential to generate so much more public wealth than low-density subdivisions or massive malls by the highway. And for all that revenue they bring in, downtowns cost considerably less to maintain in public services and infrastructure.
[end excerpt]
For developers turned politicos like Muratore, this of course is a wet dream. The city can increase tax revenue by fixing up and re-developing old buildings that are vacant (which surprise, surprise, is exactly that kind of business that Muratore is in!), and making the downtown into a concentrated money making focal point and a play ground for the wealthy and upscale consumers. It's this same kind of 'good old boy' system, in which politician businessmen swinging back room deals with their other businessmen friends that got Muratore in hot water last year, when the SCAP scandal hit and some of Muratore's businesses were involved [http://www.modestoanarcho.org/2011/09/government-sponsored-thieves-how-local.html]. Who cares if the communities of Airport, West-Side, South-Side, Prescott, and working class neighborhoods throughout the city have major problems and in many cases, lack basic services such as sidewalks? For the city elites, what's important is that revenues coming into the city coffers continue to increase and the town continues to look more white, more upper-class, and less like it is now.
It's only in looking at the ultimate goal of 'downtown revitalization' and 'development' that we can begin to see a strategy for local elites becoming clear [http://www.modestoanarcho.org/2010/12/why-is-downtown-dead-homelessness.html]. It makes sense for political, police, and business interests to come together to support each other in a push for greater repression of the poor and the suppression of grassroots organizing. That question as always, is that if they are organized around their interests, why aren't we?
from "Modesto Anarcho" news journal [http://www.modestoanarcho.org/2011/09/government-sponsored-thieves-how-local.html]:
Recently, local politicians and those on the city council have called for a "tough-on-homeless" approach. Citing the threat of crime, business people and politicians like Mike Moradian and Councilman Joe Muratore would like to make public parks private and have a private police force patrol them. In doing so, they tell us that crime would be reduced and the homeless would be driven out of the downtown. Of course, this has nothing to do with creating a safer community and everything to do with making the area safe for business investors; investors that people like Muratore represent and can make money off of. Furthermore, a recent scandal in the city’s power structure shows that the local elites have been breaking their own laws; laws which could land some of them in jail.
Since early 2009, local politicians have been profiting from government funds aimed at fighting the depressed housing market. Recently, a group of nonprofits, government agencies, and faith-based organizations have been accused of severe mismanagement and embezzlement of federal funds that were meant to create jobs and provide housing for poor and working people. After information was leaked from an insider, many city and community bureaucrats have been placed in the spotlight, causing a scandal within the local power structure. While working class people in the Valley have been forced to work jobs for statistically lower and lower pay, and many can't afford basic housing costs, local officials and business elites and have been lining their pockets with public money.
According to the City's website[1], “Modesto applied for and received $25 million from the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program to be distributed through the Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD) to help create jobs and stabilize declining property values in neighborhoods.” This money should have gone to benefit potential homeowners and renters with incomes between 50-120% of Area Median Income ($24,275 - $58,260 for Stanislaus County[2]), and local contractors and laborers who would do necessary repairs. This of course has not been the case.
On July 10th, HUD received an anonymous e-mail from a Stanislaus Housing & Support Services Collaborative member outlining their concerns [3]. The veteran member of more than five years[3] requested that their name be kept confidential for fear of being fired[3]. According to the Modesto Bee, The document contained the following claims[3]:
• Three members of the executive committee work for agencies that receive HUD Supportive Housing Program grants, "yet provide supposed oversight and review of their own projects with no input from the" collaborative.[3]
• Executive committee members Gibbs, Michele Gonzales and Glenn Hutsell "rigged" the application review process to get funding for their "pet projects" year after year.[3]
• The executive committee failed to review whether HUD grant recipients were complying with a grant's requirements. If they had done so, they would have spotted the problems at Community Housing and Shelter Services, a Modesto nonprofit that nearly closed because of mismanagement.[3]
• The Homeless Management Information System, a software program designed to record and store information about the homeless and their needs, still is not running after four years.[3]
• Some executive committee members provided fraudulent information on a 2010 HUD grant application.[3]
All this of course, goes against basic HUD guidelines[4], designed to prevent influence in the decision-making process and financial gain or other benefits from receiving grant funds. This new information, regardless of merit, was enough for HUD's Office of Inspector General (OIG) to take a closer look.[5]
Because of the conflicts of interest involving city officials and their private enterprises, the OIG may take as long as six to nine months to complete the investigation[6]. Julie Hannon with the Modesto Parks, Recreation and Neighborhoods confirmed that SCAP received more than $7 million in taxpayer dollars to renovate 21 foreclosed homes[7]. It was later discovered, as KCRA.com reported, that "Stanislaus County Community Assistance Program is being criticized for allowing family and staff to live in government-subsidized homes that are supposed to be for low-income residents."[7]
Hannon confirmed [8] that Denise Gibbs' parents were living at 913 Rumble Road after $340,000 in taxpayer money was spent buying and renovating the 2,383-square-foot home, and that four to five other homes were occupied by SCAP employees or their relatives[8]. An auditing firm, Moss Adams, that works for the City Council was supposed to begin their investigation in July, but has since been replaced by the HUD's OIG[5]. Leo Briones, "a Southern California political consultant who speaks for SCAP," [9], said the agency will cooperate with city auditors[10]. Members of the organization admit to the allegations and say that these acts are legal because the residents meet the income requirements of the program[8]. As reported in the Modesto Bee on July 6th, "All told, as many as six of the twenty houses renovated by SCAP have been occupied by employees of the agency or their family members. According to SCAP's agreement with the city, the homes were supposed to serve as rental housing for people with special needs, such as seniors, people with debilitating diseases, or families at risk of homelessness." [11]
Joe Gibbs, Grant Writer and Development Director for SCAP[3], received a bonus of more than $637,000 for writing grant proposals according to the Modesto Bee [12]. This is on top of his regular pay. That’s $637,000 of public money, which was supposed to go towards helping Modesto families but instead went to an official who was already highly paid. In fact, Joe and his wife Denise are SCAP's two highest-paid employees[13], raking in more than $712,000 last year[12], and more than $1.32 million in four years[12]. After the Modesto Bee revealed how much he was earning[12], Gibbs agreed to forgo $436,471 of what he said he was owed [14]. In doing so, he claimed that his "contractual agreement was made with fairness and proper legal standards in mind,[12]" although Pastor Darryl Fair, Chairman of SCAP's Board of Directors, says that after "reviewing SCAP's financial data for the year 2010, the board realized… the 4 percent incentive to our director of business and program development exceeded what was appropriate for a nonprofit agency to offer." [12]
Photograph showing Gibbs:
The same Darryl Fair has recently resigned from Stanislaus Housing & Support Services Collaborative's executive committee, along with at least five others that may or may not include Gibbs[10]. SCAP's new board includes Chairman Jonathan Dattilio of Lincoln, Vice Chairman Patrick Pokorny of Riverbank, Secretary Daniel Malakauskas of Stockton, and Tom Drury of Modesto [10]. They are also currently recruiting others in order to meet their guidelines of seven members[10].
On August 2nd, the city notified Councilman Joe Muratore[15] and his business partner Ryan Swehla[15] of a likely conflict of interest after it was found that Benchmark Commercial Real Estate Services, which they own together[15], was paid a $62,500 commission[15] for the sale of an apartment complex to Trinity Renovations[15], which is also co-owned with Swehla[15]. Trinity also hired Mike Moradian to complete the property inspections through his company Peace of Mind Home Inspections[16]. Moradian is the President of the La Loma Neighborhood Association (LLNA) [17] and sits on the city's Blue Ribbon Commission on Homelessness [18](see The New Map of Modesto in Modesto Anarcho #17 for more information). Moradian has been a fierce crusader against homelessness, trying to shut down the expansion of a drug and alcohol treatment center in the Airport District [17] and helping to push anti-homeless initiatives in the city. Both Moradian and Swehla also played a major role in getting Muratore on the council back in 2009 through their influence with the LLNA[19], and the group no longer retains its non-profit status[20]. Benchmark and Trinity were thus nicely poised to funnel funds into the personal bank accounts of government sponsored thieves and their elitist friends.
Photograph showing Moradian
As it was reported in the Modesto Bee on August 18th, Muratore was also found guilty of illegally voting in the council decision that initially allowed the city to accept federal housing funds[15]. Since then, Trinity has had it's NSP funds frozen[6] and been barred from working with the HUD program[6]. Muratore admitted guilt to the accusation and the $62,500 commission has been returned[6]. At a Modesto City Council meeting regarding SCAP on August 3rd, 2011, Muratore said he promptly had his attorney notify the California Fair Political Practices Commission after checking logs and “discovering” that he had placed a vote [15]. The FPPC response was a warning letter with no administrative prosecution or fines[15]. Muratore said that at the time that he was as an inexperienced official when he had made the vote.[15]
But, while this Harvard grad plays dumb, Muratore may face federal prosecution or at the least his expulsion from the council. It’s also telling that while businessmen like Muratore and Moradian have called for a ‘tough on homeless’ approach, including a recent push to have a private security force patrol the parks for homeless people, they have broken more laws than any homeless person with an open container. While they attract support from the upper-middle and some of the working classes through a tough on crime stance, in reality they only care about the law when it rules in their favor. For rich elites like Muratore and Moradian, the law and the police are instruments to use at their will, and against us. Moradian and Muratore’s “tough on crime” façade is just a smokescreen for a push to gentrify and develop the downtown; free of lower and working class elements. Surely, just as they have used the SCAP, they will seek to make money from this displacement of poor people as well. Hopefully this scandal exposes people to the swindlers that people like Muratore and all his friends are; willing to take public money that is designed to help people and make themselves even richer.
Photograph showing Muratore
The current SCAP scandal, just as the current crisis unfolding with the Modesto Police Department and the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department, shows us several things. Firstly, that those in power have organized amongst each other in order to siphon money out of the public’s hands and straight into their pockets. The politicians get the deals, and then have their companies or their friends' companies do the work, looking the other way when they take hundreds of thousands of dollars right off the top. Secondly, this scandal proves that those masquerading as our “leaders” have never had our interests at heart. This isn’t a problem of a few bad apples, but a whole rotten tree. The network of business interests and political big-wigs all needs to be pushed out and overthrown. Thirdly, the corruption going on at City Hall is the same as that within the Federal Government and corporations. Our money goes to fund wars and the bailout of banks, while the CEOs kick back and make record-breaking profits. We must take power into our own hands; we must not wait for the elites in downtown Modesto or Washington D.C. to swindle us again while people are without money, food, and shelter.
The time is now to take what we need and occupy it. We shouldn't wait for government officials to screw us over when we can take over hundreds of abandoned foreclosed houses and apartment units ourselves. Talk with neighbors, agree not to call the police, fix the place up, move right in. If an eviction notice comes, tell the bank to shove it. Get together with family and neighbors to drive off inspectors and the cops. Our neighborhoods become vacant save for boarded-up buildings while the bankers grow rich and the Muratores of the world do as they please. Its time for all of them to go, and for all of us to bring this corrupt system down.
Citations:
Citation 1: "Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2." City of Modesto. Accessed 02 Sep 2011. [http://www.modestogov.com/nsp2/]
Citation 2: "State and County Quick Facts." U.S. Census Bureau. Accessed 02 Sep 2011. [http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06/06099.html]
Citation 3: "Member Criticizes Stanislaus Homeless Aid Panel. Kevin Valine. Modesto Bee. 18 Aug 2011 [http://www.modbee.com/2011/08/18/1821832/member-criticizes-homeless-aid.html]
Citation 4: HUD Guidelines. Document 14169. HUD.Gov City of Modesto, California [http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=DOC_14169.pdf]
"Forty (40) of these homes will be specifically allocated to provide housing for special needs households who are in need of permanent housing. All activities will benefit households whose income is at or below 120percent of area median income, with 25percent of the funds for households at or below 50percent area median income."
Citation 5: "Modesto Auditor Off SCAP Probe." Modesto Bee. Ken Carlson. 03 Aug 2011. [http://www.modbee.com/2011/08/02/1801069/modesto-auditor-off-scap-probe.html]
Citation 6: "Modesto Councilman's Firm Benefitted From Sale of Apartment Complex." Ken Carlson. Modesto Bee. 03 Aug 2011. [http://www.modbee.com/2011/08/03/1802526/modesto-councilmans-firm-benefitted.html]
Citation 7: "Modesto Nonprofit Under Investigation." KCRA.com. 28 July 2011. [http://www.kcra.com/news/28384117/detail.html]
Citation 8: "New Question Surface for Modesto Nonprofit." J.N. Sbranti. Modesto Bee. 28 Jun 2011. [http://www.modbee.com/2011/06/27/1751953/new-questions-surface-for-nonprofit.html]
Citation 9: "Luxuries at Modesto SCAP Homes Described," by Ken Carlson, Modesto Bee, 03 Aug 2011 [http://www.modbee.com/2011/08/02/1800648/modesto-nonprofits-role-under.html]
Citation 10: "SCAP Turns Over Documents to Modesto." Ken Carlson. Modesto Bee. 01 Jul 2011. [http://www.modbee.com/2011/06/30/1756905/scap-turns-over-documents.html]
Citation 11: "More Trouble for Modesto Nonprofit Agency Scap." Ken Carlson. Modesto Bee. 06 Jul 2011. [http://www.modbee.com/2011/07/06/1764704/more-trouble-for-scap.html]
Citation 12: "Cashing In: Salaries of Modesto Housing Agency Attract Federal Scrutiny." J.N. Sbranti. Modesto Bee. 30 May 2011. [http://www.modbee.com/2011/05/28/1709062/federal-investigators-probing.html]
Citation 13: "Stanislaus Community Assistance Project." Informational graph. Modesto Bee. Accessed 02 Sep 2011. [http://media.modbee.com/smedia/2011/05/28/23/Scapcomp.source.prod_affiliate.11.pdf]
Citation 14: "SCAP Worker Gives Up $436k." Ken Carlson. Modesto Bee. 03 Jun 2011. [http://www.modbee.com/2011/06/03/1717879/scap-worker-gives-up-436k.html]
Citation 15: "Modesto Councilman Muratore Broke Law With Vote, State Says." Ken Carlson. Modesto Bee. 18 Aug 2011. [http://www.modbee.com/2011/08/17/1820405/muratore-broke-law-with-votestate.html]
Citation 16: "Modesto CIty Hall Facing Questions of Favoritism." Ken Carlson. Modesto Bee. 21 Aug 2011. [http://www.modbee.com/2011/08/20/1824048_p2/city-facing-questions-of-favoritism.html]
Citation 17: "Modesto Mission Dispute Resolved." Ken Carlson. Modesto Bee. 05 Apr 2011. [http://www.modbee.com/2011/04/06/1631944/mission-dispute-resolved.html]
Citation 18: "Boards, Commissions, and Committees: City of Modesto Blue Ribbon Commission on Homelessness." City of Modesto. Accessed 02 September 2011. [http://www.modestogov.com/council/boards/cag.asp?id=29]
Citation 19: "With Cities Squeezed, Neighborhood Groups Catch On." Leslie Albrecht. Modesto Bee. 22 Apr 2010. [http://www.modbee.com/2010/04/22/1139118/with-cities-squeezed-neighborhood.html]
Citation 20: "Words Matter." Carmen Sabatino. The Voice of Modesto. 30 Aug 2011. [http://voiceofmodesto.org/wordpress/?p=2439]
Citation 21: "Modesto Puts Brakes On Neighborhood Rehab Program." Central Valley Business Times. 03 August 2011. [http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=19039]
Comment:
Just take a small sample, and soon you see the unseen.
If only knew all of these people and who they are related to, you would truely be astonished.
* The Hub Master: [http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1295981851#!/harold.a.petersonIII?sk=friends&v=friends]
* [http://www.facebook.com/gosner?ref=ffa#!/profile.php?id=1446678860&sk=friends&v=friends]
* [http://www.facebook.com/gosner?ref=ffa#!/profile.php?id=1670791404&sk=friends&v=friends]
* [http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1295981851#!/profile.php?id=525467407&sk=friends&v=friends]
* [http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1295981851#!/profile.php?id=100000014458390&sk=friends&v=friends]
* [http://www.modbee.com/2011/09/01/1841274/a-couple-of-good-men-in-modesto.html]
* [http://www.facebook.com/duane.hutton?sk=friends&v=friends]
2012-06-07 "Police Write Ordinance for City Council that Criminalizes Homeless Camps and Occupy Movement"
from "Modesto Anarcho" news journal [http://www.modestoanarcho.org/2012/06/police-write-ordinance-for-city-council.html]:
On Tuesday, June 5th, in a 6-1 vote, the City Council passed an ordinance that would make forms of illegal camping a misdemeanor within Modesto. Despite an over-whelming majority of the crowd coming out to shout down the ordinance, calling it a "war on the poor," and claiming that it was leading Modesto into "a police state," everyone on the Council voted in favor of the move except the new Mayor, Garrad Marsh. But Marsh's nay vote didn't come out of his love for the homeless or freedom itself, he was simply concerned that it didn't contain language that would allow parents with homes to allow their children to camp outside. As for those with children and without homes, perhaps if they couldn't eat cake, they could eat whatever the Mission was serving that night...
The decision for the camping criminalization ordinance came when a subcommittee of the City Council allowed members of the Modesto Police Department to write up and create the ordinance [http://www.modbee.com/2012/06/03/2226879/modesto-council-targets-homeless.html]. But the criminalization of camping is not just aimed at stamping out the homeless. According to the Modesto Bee [http://www.modbee.com/2012/06/05/2229770/modesto-council-passes-anti-camping.html]:
[begin excerpt]
City officials said the camping ordinance will give police a tool to deal with makeshift camps that increasingly are appearing in Modesto. It also will give police the authority to break up any camps tied to the Occupy movement and prohibit residential property owners from charging rent to campers.
Under the ordinance, anyone who stores personal property, including camping paraphernalia, on public or private property without consent of the owner can be cited on a misdemeanor. Those convicted could be sentenced to jail and probation.
[end excerpt]
Council members claim that the push for the ordinance came after businesses began complaining of homeless people living in the back of parking lots along McHenry Ave. as well as from people who have complained that they "can't walk their dogs" along the canal on Briggsmore Ave., due to homeless encampments.
We find this recent criminalization of both the homeless and the Occupy Movement in Modesto to not be at all surprising, although it shows the direction in which local elites are heading; giving themselves the legal tools to lock-up, displace, and fine those which threaten downtown development and those who would seek to possibly organize against it. We do not find this latest move surprising because over the past year, City Council members, either through the general council or through subcommittees, have helped produce a variety of ordinances all aimed at removing the homeless from the downtown area through criminalization. These include a ban on dumpster-diving [http://anarchistnews.org/?q=node/2925], which further criminalized the act of digging through the garbage and threatens the would be trash expropriator with fines and up to six months in jail. The ordinance was pushed by both the La Loma Association, a notoriously anti-homeless group and the Modesto Police Department. There was also the shutting down of a public park, Paperboy Park, or Rose Garden Park, in 2010, which was located across from the Library [http://www.modestoanarcho.org/2011/06/new-map-of-modesto-budget-cuts.html]. Joe Muratore, a city council member who is also involved in the La Loma Association, helped back the ordinance [http://www.modestoanarcho.org/2011/02/joe-muratore-elected-with-your-taxes.html] [http://www.modestoanarcho.org/2011/03/la-loma-association-fights-anti.html]. He claimed that homeless people were ruining the park and making non-homeless people afraid to use it. Paperboy Park became the first park in Modesto that went from public to only being available to those who paid a user fee. Muratore wanted to continue this work even further with the creation of a private park police force that would harass the homeless, youth, and others in local parks and enforce various municipal codes [http://www.modestoanarcho.org/2011/08/joe-muratores-committee-proposes.html].
There is also the looming question of where homeless people will go? The answer from the police, the City Council, and the business interests is quite clear: either into institutions, or hopefully out of Modesto for good. In a recent expose, the Modesto Bee discussed how the local jail is filling up with homeless people who are incarcerated because it is the only place where they can receive medical treatment and also because it is the only place where they can be 'treated' for mental illness [http://www.modbee.com/2012/05/20/2207052/special-report-mental-healthcare.html]. With homelessness on the rise in the local area, compounded and made worse by the economy, increased evictions, and the foreclosure crisis, as well as continued repression of the homeless community, we will only see an increase in the amount of homeless people incarcerated, locked up, and thrown in mental facilities simply for the crime of not having a place to live.
Students at MJC camped out as part of 'Occupy MJC' to protest rising fees. Now, they could face jail time for such an act.
While many will point out that there has not been any sizable Occupy protests and encampments in Modesto, this new ordinance was in part crafted with the understanding that the police could use it in the event that ever such a movement did develop and protesters needed to be scared with possible jail time. Occupy encampments have appeared in other Valley cities such as Sacramento, Merced, Fresno, and Stockton, so it is not far fetched to believe that if the movement was to expand again that camps could spring up here. Furthermore, such anti-camping laws could also be used against Central Valley activists attempting to occupy foreclosed buildings. If police could claim that those inside foreclosed homes are 'camping,' instead of 'squatting' or 'refusing to leave their homes,' then they could easily threaten occupants with misdemeanor charges.
According to City Councilman Dave Geer, police will use their "discretion," and only target "problem" camps and will not use the law to "harass" the homeless [http://www.modbee.com/2012/06/05/2229770/modesto-council-passes-anti-camping.html]. But of course, this is the same police department that shoots people claiming they have guns which turn out to be spatulas [http://www.modestoanarcho.org/2010/09/rip-fransisco-moran-murdered-by-modesto.html]. These are the same police that shoot out a deaf man's back windows' because he's too busy screaming "I'm deaf," to respond to their commands [http://www.modestoanarcho.org/2010/12/modesto-wikileaks-police-insider-sheds.html].
What is clear is that such an ordinance has nothing to do with improving the quality of life for most people in the city, and instead, bending to business interests and controlling a population of people seen as outside of the law. It is also an attempt to stop Occupy protests before they become larger in the Modesto area - strategic thinking on the part of the police and the elites in the City Council.
Marsh: "If you're poor, you're screwed!"
The City Council is made up largely business owners and property developers types who stand to gain from the removal of the poor in the downtown and the coming in of new capital investments. In a recent forum hosted by Marsh [http://cvar.org/a-community-conversation-on-the-future-of-modestos-downtown/], which featured annoying bourgie local muckie muck Chris Richie (X-Fest, etc), Pete Janopaul (who plans to turn the former downtown post office into upscale lofts [http://www.modbee.com/2012/04/21/2168210/developer-has-lofty-ambitions.html]), developer John Giver, as well as a presentation by developer supa-star Joe Minicozzi, who works with a "for profit real-estate company." Joe argues that city governments can increase their revenue by concentrating urban development in their cores with mixed zoning: having lofts and upscale apartments next to fine dining and nice hair saloons [http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2012/03/simple-math-can-save-cities-bankruptcy/1629/]. From Minicozzi's presentation:
[begin excerpt]
Per-acre, our downtowns have the potential to generate so much more public wealth than low-density subdivisions or massive malls by the highway. And for all that revenue they bring in, downtowns cost considerably less to maintain in public services and infrastructure.
[end excerpt]
For developers turned politicos like Muratore, this of course is a wet dream. The city can increase tax revenue by fixing up and re-developing old buildings that are vacant (which surprise, surprise, is exactly that kind of business that Muratore is in!), and making the downtown into a concentrated money making focal point and a play ground for the wealthy and upscale consumers. It's this same kind of 'good old boy' system, in which politician businessmen swinging back room deals with their other businessmen friends that got Muratore in hot water last year, when the SCAP scandal hit and some of Muratore's businesses were involved [http://www.modestoanarcho.org/2011/09/government-sponsored-thieves-how-local.html]. Who cares if the communities of Airport, West-Side, South-Side, Prescott, and working class neighborhoods throughout the city have major problems and in many cases, lack basic services such as sidewalks? For the city elites, what's important is that revenues coming into the city coffers continue to increase and the town continues to look more white, more upper-class, and less like it is now.
It's only in looking at the ultimate goal of 'downtown revitalization' and 'development' that we can begin to see a strategy for local elites becoming clear [http://www.modestoanarcho.org/2010/12/why-is-downtown-dead-homelessness.html]. It makes sense for political, police, and business interests to come together to support each other in a push for greater repression of the poor and the suppression of grassroots organizing. That question as always, is that if they are organized around their interests, why aren't we?
ACTION ALERT: (San Jose) Anonymous 16 Hearing at San Jose Federal Courthouse
[http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/08/29/18689050.php]
Thu, September 1, 1pm – 3pm
280 South First StreetSan Jose, CA 95113-3002Phone: 408-535-5364 (map)
Show your support by gathering outside the courthouse in support of the 14 arrested Anons.
September 1 is the arraignment date of many, if not all of the Anonymous 16 arrested on July 19th. The following is a brief overview of the forthcoming legal process, simplified to be helpful to those who may not be familiar with the U.S. justice system.
Details about the indictment, which arises out of a U.S. federal court in San Jose, California can be found at the Department of Justice website, here: [http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2011/July/11-opa-944.html]
14 of the defendants will be arraigned at the federal courthouse in San Jose. The defendants are charged with conspiracy and intentional damage to a protected computer, in connection with the Paypal DDoS attack #Op Avenge Assange.
Thu, September 1, 1pm – 3pm
280 South First StreetSan Jose, CA 95113-3002Phone: 408-535-5364 (map)
Show your support by gathering outside the courthouse in support of the 14 arrested Anons.
September 1 is the arraignment date of many, if not all of the Anonymous 16 arrested on July 19th. The following is a brief overview of the forthcoming legal process, simplified to be helpful to those who may not be familiar with the U.S. justice system.
Details about the indictment, which arises out of a U.S. federal court in San Jose, California can be found at the Department of Justice website, here: [http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2011/July/11-opa-944.html]
14 of the defendants will be arraigned at the federal courthouse in San Jose. The defendants are charged with conspiracy and intentional damage to a protected computer, in connection with the Paypal DDoS attack #Op Avenge Assange.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)