People's World Headlines

Drink coffee, live longer?

Thomas Riggins — Tue, 22 May 2012 15:27:00 -0400

Some positive science to report: drinking coffee keeps the Grim Reaper away-at lease for a while longer according to a new report in Science Daily ("Coffee Drinkers Have Lower Risk of Death, Study Suggests" 5/19/2012).

That headline may be a little misleading, as everyone's risk of death is 100%. What SD's report actually purports to show is that people who drink at least three cups of coffee a day live longer on average than people who don't. So, that first cup in the morning, the 10 O'clock coffee break and the afternoon pick me up caffeine break are good for you.

The study was done by scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health and also AARP. Although the NCI didn't find any link between coffee drinking and cancer, their figures indicate that coffee imbibers are more unlikely to die from lung diseases, heart diseases, strokes, infections, diabetes - and even accidents and other injuries than those eschewing the bean's beverage.

The full study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine on May 17 of this year. 400,000 Americans of both sexes (ages 50-71) were followed from 1995-96 to the end of 2008 (or until they died during that time frame). SD reported that, "Relative to men and women who did not drink coffee, those who consumed three or more cups of coffee per day had approximately a 10 percent lower risk of death."

Dr. Neal Freedman (PhD) of the NCI had this to say about the results that were found: "Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages in America, but the association between coffee consumption and risk of death has been unclear. We found coffee consumption to be associated with lower risk of death overall, and of death from a number of different causes. Although we cannot infer a causal relationship between coffee drinking and lower risk of death, we believe these results do provide some reassurance that coffee drinking does not adversely affect health."

There are some technical reasons that explain why a causal relationship is not being claimed. Namely, the study was conducted in a limited time period (13 years) so it says nothing about longer periods of time, and also, Dr. Freedman pointed out, "The mechanism by which coffee protects against risk of death - if indeed the finding reflects a causal relationship - is not clear, because coffee contains more than 1,000 compounds that might potentially affect health. The most studied compound is caffeine, although our findings were similar in those who reported the majority of their coffee intake to be caffeinated or decaffeinated."

This would seem to indicate that the protective power of coffee is not linked to caffeine - but nobody knows which of those over 1000 other compounds, or combination thereof, may be doing the trick. At any rate, it seems caffeine won't hurt you and something in coffee is giving its devotees a 10 per cent edge over the non-coffee crowd in keeping the Grim Reaper at bay.

Photo: Espresso flows into a cup at a coffee house. Orlin Wagner/AP

Thousands wrongly convicted

Dan Margolis — Tue, 22 May 2012 15:03:00 -0400

In 1982, two men broke into a Monroe County, Fla., woman's apartment. One of the men, whom she described as a Latino with no shirt and no hair, raped her.

Moments later, cops stopped a group of Cuban-American men at a nearby gas station. One of the men, Orlando Boquete, had no hair and no shirt. He did however have a mustache. The rape victim, who was brought to the scene, testified that Boquete was in fact the man who raped her, though Boquete had been put into a police car and she was 20 feet away. It was only after seeing Boquete that she told police her assailant also had a mustache.

Boquete, who maintained that he had been home with his family immediately prior to visiting the convenience store, was charged with burglary and attempted sexual battery. In court, he was again identified as the assailant.

The only other piece of evidence was the victims clothing, which had been collected by the police. There was semen on it, and this was subjected to testing. An analyst testified that the semen could have come from Boquete - along with about 20 percent of the population.

Boquete was convicted and thrown into prison. He escaped twice, and was caught. In 2003, 20 years after his conviction, he filed a motion, which was approved in 2004, for new DNA testing. The testing concluded that much of the semen could not possibly have been his. He was acquitted and freed in 2006.

Stories like Boquete's, which was provided by the Innocence Project, are far too common. Now, thanks to a joint project of the law schools at Northwestern University and the University of Michigan, it is possible to gauge with better accuracy just how common these wrongful convictions are.

The answer is chilling.

The newly unveiled project, the National Registry of Exonerations, lists 891 people exonerated since 1989, the year of the first-ever DNA exoneration. DNA evidence, according to the Innocence Project, accounts for 291 of these cases. The other reversals include discoveries of mistaken identification, perjury, false accusations, inadequate legal defense and more.

In doing this research, Professor Samuel Gross told MSNBC, researchers found but did not add to the database more than 1,100 mass exonerations based on police misconduct scandals. This means that in less than 25 years alone, more than 2,000 people were falsely convicted - that researchers know of. Researchers argued that there were probably far more cases of people in prison for crimes they did not commit.

"These cases were intentionally omitted so as not to skew the final statistics," according to the Innocence Project's blog. "For example, research produced through the registry shows that 51 percent of the wrongful convictions involved perjury of false accusation, that 43 percent involved eyewitness misidentification, and that 42 percent involved official misconduct."

Northwestern University's Center on Wrongful Convictions lists a number of reasons innocent people are convicted and sent to prison. "Snitches," people with monetary or other incentives to lie have caused nearly 51 people to be wrongfully convicted sentenced to the death penalty. This number only includes those who were exonerated before execution.

Snitches account for 45.9 percent of all U.S. capital conviction exonerations. Erroneous witness testimony accounts for 25.2 percent, false confession 14.4 percent, and false or misleading scientific evidence 9.9 percent.

Police misconduct, Northwestern's website notes, is behind many of these wrongful convictions.

Photo: Auntie P. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Iraq and Afghanistan veterans return medals at NATO protest

Teresa Albano — Tue, 22 May 2012 11:40:00 -0400

CHICAGO - U.S. veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars threw their medals towards the site of the NATO Summit May 20 in what was called the most dramatic antiwar action by ex-GIs since Vietnam. One-by-one, more than 40 service members from all branches of the military took to the stage to tell their stories while thousands of anti-NATO protesters listened and cheered.

"I want to tell the folks behind us, in these enclosed walls where they build more policies based on lies and fear, that we no longer stand for them and their unjust wars. Bring our troops home," said U.S. Marine Iris Feliciano who served in Afghanistan in 2002. Feliciano turned and pitched her medals towards McCormick Place here where the NATO Summit was held May 20-21. (Story continues after slideshow.)

Alongside the veterans on stage were three representatives from Canada-based Afghans For Peace whose speakers condemned the U.S.-NATO war and loss of human life and at the same time expressed solidarity with the U.S. veterans.

Suraia Sahar said she had a message for the NATO representatives meeting in Chicago, "For what you have done to my home country, I'm enraged. For what you have done to my people, I'm disgusted. For what you have done to these veterans, I am heartbroken."

Unlike the Iraq war, which garnered significant opposition before and after the 2003 invasion, opposition to the war in Afghanistan, now in its 11^th year, has been slower to build among Americans. With war fatigue, an economic crisis and draconian budget cuts to vital public programs, recent polls show almost 70 percent of Americans saying the U.S. should not be at war in Afghanistan.

Dressed in fatigues, Iraq Veterans Against the War with a newly formed section, Afghanistan Veterans Against the War, led the anti-NATO protest march, which stretched for several blocks while almost as many police - many in riot gear - lined the streets or waited in buses that flashed "My Kind of Town Chicago Is" signs. Behind the veterans were CANg8 (Coalition against NATO-G8) marshals linked arm-in-arm giving a pre-agreed upon space between the contingents of the two march organizers. The Rev. Jesse Jackson accompanied the veterans.

The veterans addressed numerous issues during their medal ceremony and testimonies. Calls to free Bradley Manning, dedications to Iraqi, Afghan and U.S. children, condemnations of lies, corporate greed and imperialism and pleas for action on veteran suicide rate, widespread post-traumatic stress disorder and the "right to heal" framed the combat vets personal narratives.

Demands to cut military spending and invest in education, jobs and health care were also made.

At the same time, respect for all active duty soldiers, veterans and even police was shown. Some veterans spoke about the positive aspects of service.

"In the military is where I learned what integrity meant, and I believe I served with integrity. At this point in my life, if I want to continue to live with integrity, I must get rid of these [medals]," said Air Force veteran Erica Sloan.

In a particularly moving moment, IVAW organizer and Illinois Guardsmen Aaron Hughes dedicated his three medals to "Anthony Wagner, who died last year" and to "one-third of the women in the military who are sexually assaulted by their peers; we talk about standing up for our sisters in Afghanistan and we can't even take care of our sisters here," he said.

With the final medal, Hughes' voice began to quiver with emotion. "This medal right here is because I'm sorry. I'm sorry to all of you. I'm .... sorry," he said.

The veterans came from around the country including Arkansas, Ohio, Wisconsin and New York. When Iraq vet and Occupy Oakland activist Scott Olsen took the stage wearing a helmet the crowd cheered its recognition. Olsen was almost killed last year by Oakland police when they fired a tear gas canister into the crowd and it struck Olsen in the head.

"My name is Scott Olsen," he said. "These medals once upon a time made me feel good about what I was doing. They made me feel I was doing the right thing. Then I came back to reality, and I don't want these anymore." Olsen threw down his Global War on Terror, Operation Iraqi Freedom, National Defense and Good Conduct medals.

At the beginning of the ceremony the veterans presented the American flag to Mary Kirkland, a mother of a soldier who committed suicide after numerous attempts, which were known by the military.

Kirkland said after two attempts, the military deemed her son Derrick to be at "low to moderate risk" for suicide, prescribing medication and drug/alcohol counseling. He made another unsuccessful attempt, she said, and then on his fourth attempt, he hung himself.

On the day Kirkland buried her son in Marion, Ind., she stopped at a gas station and picked up a newspaper and found a surprising statement from the Pentagon.

"The Department of Defense said that my son was killed in action," she said. They also said the "family declined to comment," she said.

"They start out with lies and they continue the lies," she said, adding she felt honored to be a part of the protest.

This is the first time since the Vietnam War - when antiwar veterans threw their medals at the U.S. Capitol in Washington - that such a large number of veterans protested war in such a dramatic way.

Despite the veterans' call for a peaceful exit from the rally site, a handful of protesters confronted the police, resulting in a show of force and violence by the police with demonstrators getting hurt and numerous arrests made.

Photo: Veterans prepare to throw their medals at the NATO Summit, in Chicago, May 20, 2012. Teresa Albano/PW

Three cheers for Mariela Castro’s visit to the U.S.

Mike Lado — Mon, 21 May 2012 15:06:00 -0400

If there's one person whom I've always wanted to meet, one straight ally who has been a staunch advocate and supporter of LGBT causes, it's Mariela Castro, daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro and niece to Fidel Castro.

As director of Cuba's National Center for Sex Education she has worked to secure the rights of Cuban lesbians, gays and bisexuals. She has been North America's biggest transgender advocate, successfully advocating for and securing funding for the Cuban health care system to provide free gender counseling and transitioning for those who identify as transgender. In the United States there are still places where it is illegal for transgender individuals to have sex reassignment surgery.

And this year she has introduced a same-sex marriage bill into Cuba's National Assembly, to be voted on later this year. But why I am mentioning all this? It's because Mariela Castro is coming to the United States.

The State Department has granted her a visa so she may come and speak at a conference at the Latin American Studies Association in San Francisco May 23-26 where she will chair a panel on sexual diversity. However there are those who would wish to prevent such a staunch ally of the LGBT community and a renowned human rights activist from coming to this country.

Right-wing politicians such as Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., have been rallying for the visa to be revoked.

I am very familiar with Rep. Ros-Lehtinen's respected position in the Florida LGBT community. Why then would she deny human rights advocate Mariela Castro the honor of speaking at a diversity conference? Not only does this visit strengthen American-Cuban relations by promoting a path towards normalization and removal of the unjust U.S. embargo against Cuba, but it promotes an exchange of cultural and human right ideals.

Mariela Castro has done so much for Cuban sexual minorities who were no more than 10 years ago subjected to harassment and abuse. Gays and lesbians can march in government-sanctioned pride parades, counseling and health services are available to LGBT people at no cost, and this year the bill on same-sex marriage was introduced, with included anti-discrimination provisions.

The arguments of people like Rep. Ros-Lehtinen make no sense. The congresswoman claims Mariela Castro and other pro-government Cubans are anti-American. Really? Mariela Castro recently offered praise to President Obama for speaking up in support of marriage equality.

And you know what? If we removed the embargo and stopped our rampant imperialism, I think the Cubans would be more than willing to welcome us to to the inter-American community from which we have been isolated. We can learn a lot from people like Mariela Castro. I guarantee it.

In some respects Cuba and much of Latin America have become more developed than the United States in LGBT rights.

President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela passed LGBT discrimination protections in a new labor code. Additionally there is recognition of relationships through a civil union known as "association by cohabitation." Colombia has legalized same-sex common law marriage and passed anti-discrimination laws, and that was under the conservative government!

Argentina and Brazil have banned discrimination. In Argentina same-sex marriage is legal. And in Brazil civil unions provide many of the benefits of marriage. In Chile a recent hate crime against a gay man which resulted in death spurred the passage of anti-discrimination laws and a proposal for civil unions. Uruguay has legalized civil unions and same-sex adoption.
In Ecuador leftist president Rafael Correa provided for civil unions in the new constitution. Additionally he has banned the harmful "ex-gay" movement from the country, and shut down dozens of those clinics. In Mexico same-sex marriages performed in Mexico City must be recognized nationwide. In Costa Rica the government is considering civil unions as well.

We should be welcoming people like Mariela Castro with open arms! People like her bring knowledge and ideals to this country that would benefit us immensely. Instead we resort to imperialist and fear-mongering. We assume everything about Cuba is bad ,and it leads to racism and homophobia, in the service of imperialism.
It's time to dialogue. It's time to listen to what the Castros have to say. It's time to end the embargo. Take a lesson from gays and lesbians in Cuba. I don't know about you, but I stand by Mariela Castro and her right to free speech and free association, to speak and share her knowledge and values in this country where we supposedly value freedom and diversity.

Photo: Mariela Castro talks with reporters during a celebration marking the 10th anniversary of the National Center for Sex Education (CENESEX) in Havana, Cuba, Aug. 12, 2011. Franklin Reyes/AP

Florida’s progressive forces unite against insurance company

Ben Markeson — Mon, 21 May 2012 14:49:00 -0400

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL - Progressive forces from around Florida converged here May 17 to protest Coventry Health Care's use of its mega-profits to oppose the Affordable Care Act.

They held signs saying "Insurance Companies--Stop Using Our Premiums to Buy Politicians," while chants of "Coventry--Rich and Rude / We Don't Like Your Attitude / Allen Wise--Rich and Rude / We Don't Like Your Attitude" echoed on the sidewalk across from the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, site of Coventry's annual shareholder meeting.

"We're here today to represent the 99 percent against the one percent," Tony Fransetta, president of the Florida Alliance of Retired Americans told the crowd.

"It's great to be a part of the one percent--they're inside," he said. "They insulate themselves from the 99 percent, but... no insurance company can go to the polls."

"We have to get the rest of the 99 percent out here, get them active, get them voting, and representing their own interests," said Fransetta.

Wise, CEO of Coventry--the nation's sixth-largest insurer, was paid nearly $13 million in 2011. He is, according to Forbes magazine, the 53rd highest-paid CEO in the country and fifth-highest in the health-care industry. Top executives at Coventry, including Wise, four executive vice presidents and a senior vice president, brought home a combined $29 million in 2011, including salary, stock options, and bonuses.

Speakers at the rally denounced Coventry for using its profits for lobbyists and for campaign contributions in order to block implementation of the ACA.

"Instead of using their money on health care, they're using it to influence elections and rig pubic policy in their favor," said Organize Now! member Sue Casterline. "We need them to focus on what patients and small businesses are giving them this money for: to provide the health care they need to survive."

"From the day the law was passed, insurance companies, their corporate lobbyists, hacks in Congress, and right-wing Republicans have been trying to repeal it, starting with the parts that protect consumers," said Ylet Cyrus, an SEIU member and retired health-care worker.

"Insurance companies don't want to follow rules that require them to treat consumers fairly," said Cyrus. "They want to go back to the days when they made all the rules, and we had no choice but to accept them even if our health and wallets suffered."

"I'm here to tell Coventry and its shareholders those days are over," she said.

Cyrus was one of two retired workers blocked from attending and speaking at the shareholder meeting despite having proper identification and paperwork indicating that they held proxies for Coventry shares owned by the Service Employees International Union and the Communications Workers of America.

"They had every credential to come in and were denied access because they are regular working people," said Sheena Rolle, program director of Organize Now! Other groups participating in the action included Awake Broward, Florida New Majority, and Health Care for America Now, which works to defend and implement the ACA.

Coventry and other insurers detest provisions in the ACA that stop them from discriminating against those with pre-existing conditions, canceling policies because of unintentional errors on the application and setting limits on how much they'll spend on treatment, which is important for those with very expensive illnesses like cancer.

Coventry was one of three insurers that supported a 2011 request by Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation to soften an ACA rule that mandates insurers spend at least 80 percent of each premium dollar on health care and quality improvement rather than on executive salaries, advertising and other overhead.

Florida regulators claimed that entry barriers in the insurance market and a lessening of consumer choice warranted reducing the minimum "medical loss ratio"--the amount of premium dollars not spent on health care--from 80-68 percent (rising to 72 percent in 2012, and 76 in 2013).

The federal Department of Health and Human Services rejected the proposal, saying that most Florida insurers already meet the standard, are "sufficiently profitable" or are adequately adjusting their business models to comply with the law.

Under the ACA, insurers who fail to meet the minimum "medical loss ratio" must provide rebates to their policyholders. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, insurers will pay an estimated $1.3 billion in rebates this year, with $50 million of that total coming from Coventry. An analysis of insurer filings by the South Florida Sun Sentinel found that Coventry will need to return $5.3 million to policyholders in the Sunshine State.

Perhaps not coincidentally, Coventry contributed nearly $200,000 to non-federal candidates and political committees in Florida during the 2010 election cycle, with almost 55 percent of these funds going to Republicans, according to the Alliance for a Just Society and Organize Now!

In 2011, Coventry spent between $100,000 and $160,000 lobbying members of Florida's Republican-dominated legislature and between $60,000 and $120,000 lobbying the executive branch of Florida's government, which is controlled by ultra-right millionaire Gov. Rick Scott.

Nationally, Coventry, including its political action committees, employees, board members and subsidiaries, contributed more than $850,000 to federal candidates from 1998 to the first quarter of 2012. During that same period, the hugely profitable corporation--with 2011 profits of $543 million, up from $242 million in 2009--and its subsidiaries spent almost $7 million on federal lobbying in an effort to influence public policy. Between 2009 and 2011, Coventry, which has 14,000 employees and is based in Bethesda, Md., saw its profit margin nearly double from 3.6 percent to 7.1 percent.

The south Florida protest was part of the Shareholders Spring, called by Moveon.org, the AFL-CIO, the Working Families Party and other groups to hold corporations accountable for actions that hurt the 99 percent. So far activists have attempted to make their presence felt at the shareholder meetings of Bank of America, WellPoint, Cigna, General Electric, Wells Fargo, Carnival Cruise Lines, Verizon and others.

Members of Occupy Tampa, SEIU, One Miami, Organize Now! and other groups also protested at the JP Morgan Chase shareholder meeting in Tampa on May 15.

Among their demands were that Chase reduce the principle on mortgages it holds when the amount owed is greater than the fair-market value of the properties.

A proxy from SEIU spoke at the meeting asking Chase to take action on wage theft complaints by immigrant janitors who work for the company that cleans Chase branches in the Miami area. SEIU 32BJ, which represents 120,000 property service workers from Connecticut to Florida, is trying to organize the Miami janitors.

Photo: John Bachtell/PW

Tom Morello, Nurses Union gather in Chicago

Blake Deppe — Mon, 21 May 2012 13:42:00 -0400

CHICAGO - "Corporate malfeasants have caused hardship for millions of working families while they line their pockets. NATO is not welcome here. This town is our town." Former Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello said these words as he wrapped up a day of action on May 18 with the National Nurses United. They gathered at Daley Plaza on a sun-filled afternoon to note the problems caused by the one percent, and to highlight the fight against austerity measures hurting families worldwide.

The nurses assembled, wearing green 'Robin Hood' caps to show their support of the Robin Hood tax, a proposed taxing of Wall Street transactions, which would generate hundreds of billions of dollars and give the U.S. economy a major boost. NNU speakers also spoke out against the NATO summit, which took place here in the Windy City this weekend, and a comedic skit was also performed, in which 'Robin Hood and the nurses' scoured the trees for the G8 world leaders, who 'decided to run off into the woods of Maryland' due to the public outcry they faced by Chicagoans.

Morello finished off the event with a 30-minute mini-show, during which he performed songs including "This Land is Your Land."

"For 20 years," said Morello, "I've been part of the [Los Angeles] musicians' union Local 147. But Chicago's my favorite city in the world. It's an honor to be back in my hometown with the Nurses Union."

He added, "The mayor's office tried to shut this thing down." Here he referred to the issue that occurred when he had originally announced his participation in the event: The city had threatened to move the rally to a less visible location, in which less people would have been able to gather, to boot. But in response, the collective outcry of Morello, the Nurses, and much of the public, was too powerful, and the gathering was allowed to continue as originally planned in Daley Plaza.

"They couldn't shut us down, because we stood up," said Morello. In the end, he remarked, "It was a few politicians, their skeevy lawyers, and some trembling NATO generals who caved in. If NATO, the defender of the free world, is afraid of a musician with an acoustic guitar and some nurses, we're in a lot of trouble. We present no threat to the city of Chicago. The only people who have anything to fear are the moneyed interests who have tried to shut us up."

During an interview with Rolling Stone, Morello elaborated on his friendship with the NNU: "My support for the working class is well documented, but, in particular, the grotesque economic inequality that plagues our country and our planet needs to be addressed head-on. And the Nurses Union are one of the louder voices doing it.

"Wall Street has torpedoed the global economy and caused distress for countless millions of families - while at the same time, their executives are giving themselves millions of dollars in bonuses. It's absolutely wrong."

The event and its guitar-shredding conclusion saw nurses and workers of all ages and ethnicities, and from all walks of life, joining together and cheering Morello's encouraging words.

When the city tried to prevent this event from happening, Morello proudly declared, the people "looked [city officials] in the eye and said, 'F*ck you, I won't do what ya tell me!'"

Photo: John Bachtell/PW

Foreclosed homeowner stands his ground on his own porch

John Wojcik — Mon, 21 May 2012 13:10:00 -0400

CHICAGO - A few miles south and west of all the hoopla around the NATO summit here Lamont Newsome stands his ground at a battle post he and his loyal canine partner have maintained every day for a year and three months now - his front porch.

Newsome owned his house on Loomis near 53rd for six years when the bank foreclosed on his mortgage. He was willing to pay rent for the right to stay in his home but the bank is not interested. Bank of America says it will get around to getting him out but in the meantime, with the help of his neighbors he and his dog are holding out on the first floor of the wood-framed house, now in bad need of repair. He is able to pay the electric bill but the city has threatened to shut off the water.

"We need him to stay there and guard his own house," said Charles Brown, a retired Chicago cop who lives two doors down from Newsome on a street lined with vacant lots and abandoned homes. "If Lamont gets kicked out there will be eleven abandoned houses between here and the next corner," said Brown, who walked this reporter across the street to one of those abandoned buildings, surrounded by piles of rubble that included broken tables and sofas.

Brown, who purchased his home in Englewood 40 years ago, explained that all of the homes became vacant since 2008, the year the banks crashed the entire U.S. economy. " People lost their jobs and this is what it meant for us," Brown said. "The drug dealers come in here, operate out of these buildings. The gangs break into other houses, still occupied, and they hide what they steal in these abandoned properties until things cool down. Then they fence the stuff wherever they can.

"If you were a regular person you would get a fine for leaving your property like this," he said as he walked around to the back of the house where the pies of rubble were 20 feet high. "But even when they do come and issue a fine the Bank of America ignores it - they never pay and there is never a penalty. They foreclose, they hold a mortgage but they take no responsibility."

His voice trembling and fighting back tears, Brown looked at the pile of rubble and said, "She was only a child, coming home from school and they dragged her in there last month and raped her."

Back across the street, meanwhile, Newsome's dog started barking. "It's the car that just went by," he said. "It has a bad muffler and that sets him off. I see you're talking to Charles - he knows what's going on," said Newsome. "You can't have a viable city," he said, when he was asked to comment on Chicago having been selected as the host city for the NATO conference. "You can't have a viable city unless you keep the neighborhoods viable. If you don't, Chicago will die. We'll die here first but then the city will die everywhere else."

"I came here 43 years ago and this was a beautiful neighborhood," said Brown. "Now I am ashamed, ashamed for a people who could let this happen but those banks who are responsible - they have no shame.

"They are worried about law and order downtown, at the NATO meeting but every day someone is shot here. Last week there was a dead body in this pile of garbage. Young boys have been killed."

Brown said that despite the tragedy, he and his neighbors say they are not about to give up on the neighborhood they love.

Brown is an active leader in Action Now, a group that has sprung up to fight the effects of the bank foreclosures. The group has joined labor and other groups at demonstrations against the banks.

"We are going after the banks for their predatory lending," said Eileen Kelleher, a lead organizer for the group, "and we fight on every level of government for the funding we need to rebuild. We will be relentless in going after these banks and it's a victory even if we force one mortgage holder of one abandoned property to pay for a guard on that property. 'You foreclosed on a property,' we tell them, 'and now you need to take care of it.'"

"Until they treat us the way they treat NATO," said Brown, "we won't even think about giving up."

Photo: Blake Deppe/PW

Reforming Wall Street is a job for the American people

Sam Webb — Mon, 21 May 2012 11:08:00 -0400

One would think that the near meltdown of financial markets and the larger economy only a few years ago would have dampened Wall Street's appetite for risky money-making strategies.

But the revelation that JPMorgan Chase lost more than $2 billion (reports say it could be twice as much in the end) in what was essentially speculative trading suggests that Wall Street has learned little.

Indeed one has to ask if Wall Street has learned anything at all. But then again: why would they?

For one thing, Morgan Chase and other banks of its size can still count on federal intervention with taxpayer dollars to bail them out rather than let them go "belly up." So why not make big, risky bets?
For another thing, the bank titans of the financial world are in the business of profit making, pure and simple. To do that requires that they pursue financial manipulations and speculations, which can, when successful, result in enormous financial rewards in executive compensation and bank profits - or, when unsuccessful, as we are painfully learning, bring down the economy.

In the immediate aftermath of the collapse of financial markets four years ago, placing "too big to fail" banks under public control or breaking these same banks into smaller units were part of the public conversation.

Both measures, however, were rejected by the Obama administration, the Federal Reserve and Congress. Instead, Dodd-Frank, a far from robust financial reform bill that contains rules (some still being written) to regulate financial institutions, was embraced and became law.

Since then, Wall Street and its K Street gang have been lobbying Congress and other Washington insiders to either strike out, rewrite, or water down any regulatory rules in the bill that impede their financial shenanigans.

At the head of this lobbying effort is none other than the much "celebrated" Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase. More than anybody else, he is leading the charge against Dodd-Frank and its modest regulations. Wall Street, he argues, can regulate itself. Right!

His claims have been echoed by leading Republicans, including Mitt Romney.

Of particular scorn for Dimon is the Volcker rule, named after former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker. This rule, prohibiting "proprietary trading" (banks using federally insured bank deposits - customer money - in trades for stocks, bonds, currencies, commodities, derivatives, or other financial instruments for the purpose of increasing their own accounts), is at the top of his hit list.

And until a week ago it appeared that Dimon would get his way.

The pressure to reform Wall Street had waned as a bit of stability returned to financial markets.

And in the meantime, Republicans in the House of Representatives have shamelessly introduced eight bills to take the teeth out of Dodd-Frank, including the Volcker rule.

But with the revelation of Morgan Chase's loss of at least $2 billion as a consequence of speculative trading disguised as "hedging" (insurance that is supposedly designed to protect against potential losses from other investments), proponents of more stringent regulatory reform in Congress and elsewhere have been given a second wind. Their hope is that tougher regulations can be passed now.

But no one should hold their breath. Despite the hue and cry about JPMorgan Chase's reckless behavior, Wall Street and its friends in Washington are not about to run for cover.

Indeed, as outrage over the reckless actions of Morgan Chase swells, they continue to press their case to eviscerate any restraints on their gambling.

Last week two House committees quietly gave approval to HR 1838, the Swaps Bailout Prevention Act. The bill, which will come to the House floor next month, nullifies one of the positive contributions of Dodd-Frank, the so-called Lincoln rule, which bans any federally insured financial institution, like JPMorgan Chase, from trading in derivatives (derivatives were at the center of speculative manipulations in the last crisis).

In all probability the House, notwithstanding public sentiments to rein in bankers and financiers, will approve the bill. Of course, it will have to go to the Senate where support will be more difficult to garner, although not out of the realm of possibility - which attests to the powerful reach and influence of the nation's leading financial institutions into both parties.

No matter what the outcome, this episode should teach us that the struggle for minor and major financial/regulatory reform - not to mention turning Wall Street into a public democratically run utility - cannot be left to the politicians - even the best of them. It must become the business of an aroused people. The voices of millions must shake the nation's capital, and the voting booth on Election Day.

Photo: Bank titans always played rough: J. P. Morgan, founder of J. P. Morgan bank which later became JPMorgan Chase, strikes a photographer with a stick, New York, 1909. Recuerdos de Pandora CC 2.0

Thousands converge on Chicago on first big day of protests

John Wojcik — Sat, 19 May 2012 00:13:00 -0400

CHICAGO - Thousands rallied and marched peacefully in downtown Chicago Saturday in the biggest protests so far against NATO, the relic of the cold war holding a May 20-21 summit here.

Daley Plaza in the Loop, which officially holds 5,000, was packed to capacity with crowds that spilled out into the surrounding streets and blocks. The rally was called by the nation's largest organization of nurses, National Nurses United, which had declared May 18 , the eve of a G-8 gathering in Maryland and the NATO event here, a day of national action.

Thousands of nurses wearing their red union T-shirts and thousands of their supporters demanded passage of a "Robin Hood Tax," a financial transaction tax on all Wall Street deals which the nurses say would heal the economic disaster engulfing the world.

The highlight of the colorful and festive rally was a performance by the eminent musician and guitarist Tom Morello, of Rage Against the Machine fame.

Chicago, which is Morello's native city, threatened to move the rally away from the heart of downtown when word got out two weeks ago that he would perform. Morello, to the cheers of the thousands gathered at Daley Plaza, said that it was the power of a fighting union (the nurses) and public outcry that forced the city to allow the rally to go ahead at the originally planned location.

"They couldn't shut us down because we stood up," Morello said. "It was a few politicians, their skeevy lawyers and some trembling NATO generals who caved in."

Thousands of nurses in the crowd wore green Robin Hood caps to call attention to their demand for a tax on Wall Street stocks, bonds derivatives and other financial instruments that can raise up to $350 billion yearly to mitigate the economic crisis they say was caused by the banks. "The tax will generate the revenue needed for healthcare, to create jobs, and to build schools and strengthen all basic services," said NNU Executive Director RoseAnn De Moro.

The proposed tax, as little as 50 cents on every $100 of trades, would operate like a sales tax most Americans pay on almost all the goods and services they purchase. "The key difference," said NNU Co-president Karen Higgins, RN, "is this tax targets the banks and financial institutions, not ordinary consumers, whose reckless gambling with people's homes and pensions are largely responsible for the recession that still effects people lives every day."

Members of Occupy Chicago and of a variety of unions, anti-poverty groups and community organizations were present in the crowd and when large numbers of them walked to the rally location beforehand and away from it afterward they literally formed auxiliary protest feeder marches throughout downtown. When they passed the Congress Hotel on Michigan Ave. they joined and swelled the ranks of the handful of strikers who have been picketing the hotel for years in the longest ongoing strike in America.

Police reported only one arrest all day.

According to the National Lawyers Guild that one arrest was unjustified. Police never charged the person with any crime despite extensive questioning and eventually he was released.

The NLG condemned a police raid that took place late Wednesday in the Bridgeport neighborhood where eight were arrested. Police from the city's Organized Crime Department reportedly entered an apartment with guns drawn, handcuffing people to furniture for hours. During the search they reportedly called one of the victims a "commie faggot." By Friday night, 30 hours later, three were still being held by police without charges. {Police said they suspected the arrestees were making bombs in the apartment but cops seized only beer making supplies and a cell phone.)

Community leaders around Chicago are beginning to express concern about how the unnecessarily heavy police presence downtown is draining police protection needed in the areas of the city where there is high crime.

Charles Brown, a retired Chicago cop who has owned a home in the city's Englewood neighborhood for 40 years, told the Peoples World, "There are young people raped and shot around here on a regular basis and they have all the police downtown watching peaceful demonstrators."

In Brighton Park a contingent of twelve mothers of children at the Nathans Davis Elementary School was standing guard outside the school annex all morning. They said they were there to protect their children from gang activity in the neighborhood because regular police protection was inadequate. On normal days there are at least occasional police patrols passing the school, they said, but there were none now because of the NATO summit. "For the last two days we haven't seen a single cop," one of the mothers said. "The children deserve to be safe when they go to school."

Photo: Blake Deppe/PW

Orlando youth say “Zero tolerance for racism”

Joshua Leclair — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:53:00 -0400

ORLANDO, Fla. - In the past few weeks, the public has been inundated with the report of American Front Nazis in St. Cloud, Fla., planning terrorist attacks on local government and leftist groups they saw as threats; the American Front Nazis even planned on infiltrating and attacking an anti-racist skinhead group in Melbourne and Orlando, Fla.

To many who read or saw the story unfold, the news of Nazis attacking an anti-racist skinhead group was shocking and confusing. But, behind the scenes and in the streets, anti-racist skinheads have always had a well-organized movement in the Central Florida area against racism, and yes, fascism.

To the majority of the public, "skinhead" is synonymous with "Nazi," but the subculture actually traces its roots to a multiracial and multicultural heritage. According to John Brown, a member of Red and Anarchist Skinheads in Central Florida, "The original skinheads came from a mix of the 'Mod' subculture of mid [19]60's Britain and the West Indian 'Rude Boys' look and Jamaican music." John went on to say that "many of the first skinheads were Jamaican immigrants to Britain and could be seen dancing to reggae and soul with other white British skinheads."

John Brown describes "Red and Anarchist Skinheads [R.A.S.H.] as a group of antifascist, left-wing skinheads. We are dedicated to fighting the influence of far-right ideas within the skinhead scene, and to creating and spreading antifascist youth culture." He continued, saying, "We are against racism, sexism, homophobia and capitalism; we are for liberty, equality, unity and working-class pride. We feel that it is our duty to protect our community."

Brown also said that R.A.S.H. works with Central Florida Anti-Fascist Action (A.F.A.) to promote concerts and social events. "We share the same values and are often involved in the same subcultures. We have jointly held two Rock Against Racism concerts, one in Cocoa and one here in Orlando this past year. We have marched alongside civil rights organizations and local unions at recent Martin Luther King, Jr. parades." John continued, "We have also been asked on numerous occasions to help with security by immigrant rights groups because they are constantly threatened by people like the Minutemen and other right-wing groups."

Krist Cooper, a female member and organizer with Central Florida A.F.A., characterizes the group as, "A very diverse group of young activists. We are gay, straight, bisexual, black, brown, white, female, male, and come from different parts of the country and the world. We are bonded by love for our community and the need to keep it hate free." Krist went on to say that, "Our monthly social nights reflect this in the diversity of our music. We have DJs that play soul, ska, afro-beat, reggae, hip-hop, punk, hardcore, and more, all while promoting unity. And I feel that this is the reason why we were targeted by the boneheads (a term used to describe Nazis)." Krist Cooper continued, saying that "We go to concerts, we hold our own concerts and bring in national bands, we show zero tolerance for racism wherever we go, so the boneheads have no other place to recruit than in the woods. In doing what we do, we keep our community of Metro-Orlando free of hate crimes and stop the spread of their ideology."

When asked if they were concerned about the American Front members being out of jail and on bail for the moment, both John Brown and Krist Cooper said they will carry on with their regular social nights and concerts, but with the added precaution of increased security.

Photo: Joshua Leclair/PW

Voters may decide fate of Emergency Manager law

John Rummel — Fri, 18 May 2012 11:30:00 -0400

DETROIT - On Thursday the Michigan Court of Appeals heard arguments seeking to force the Secretary of State to place the voter generated repeal of Michigan's draconian Emergency Manager (EM) legislation on the November ballot. Attorneys representing Stand Up for Democracy, a broad coalition of labor and community groups, presented the case.

The EM legislation allows the Governor to appoint managers to govern cities in financial distress with the dictatorial powers to overrule council decisions and throw out previously negotiated union contracts. Its enactment generated a swift response as thousands of petitioners collected the necessary signatures to place the law's future before the voting public.

The appeal followed a shocking April 26^th hearing where the Michigan Board of Canvassers deadlocked with a two - two vote to withhold certification of the petitions. Both Republicans voted to keep the measure off the ballot.

The excuse they gave showed their determination to block the referendum. The state Bureau of Elections, which staffs the Board of Canvassers, had concluded there were 203,238 valid voter signatures, 41,766 in excess of the minimum needed. However they declared the font size on the petition heading was not the correct "14 point" size.

They made that outrageous claim despite the sworn testimony of the petition's printer Bruce Hack, of Inland Printing, who confirmed the font size met all requirements.

Even more troubling is new evidence discovered that prior to the April Board of Canvassers hearing, the Secretary of State's office had consulted Michigan State Professor Chris Corneal, from the schools Graphic Arts Department. His conclusion that the petitions were printed with the correct font was never reported at the hearing.

As courtroom seats for yesterday's appeal quickly filled up, those not able to enter protested in the lobby of the courthouse.

"It's just so sad. Especially when you ask for 161,000 (signatures) and we get over 200,000," said UAW International Rep Oten Wyatt who was part of a large group of autoworkers who came to the appeal.

"It's voter suppression, they are trying to discourage people from coming out to vote in November," he said.

Today's appeal was heard by a three-member court. All three are Republicans with one being a member of the rightwing Federalist Society.

When asked what kind of democracy is this, Wyatt said, "It's the kind that says, I make the decisions and then everyone else do as I say."

A decision is expected next week.

Photo: Oten Wyatt of the UAW. John Rummel/PW

Orlando could be first in South to require paid sick time

Ben Markeson — Fri, 18 May 2012 11:12:00 -0400

ORLANDO, Fla. - Community activists, labor and other forces kicked off a campaign May 16 for a ballot initiative that would require private employers in Orlando to offer their workers up to seven days of paid sick leave per year. Government workers and employers with less than 15 workers would be exempt.

Citizens For a Greater Orlando (CFGO), the group spearheading the campaign, must collect 22,000 voter signatures by the end of July to place the measure on the November ballot. If they're successful, Orlandoans would have the chance to decide if their city becomes the first in the Sunshine State - and in the South - to mandate paid sick time.

Speakers at the City Hall kickoff rally stressed the benefits to people, businesses, public health and the local economy along with the ethical dimensions of making paid sick days available to workers.

"Setting a standard is the right thing to do for our businesses and the city," said Fred Barr, a local business owner and member of the Community Business Association, which advocates for independent businesses in Central Florida.

"There's a strong business case for it," said Barr, noting that paid sick time will engender employee loyalty, reduce turnover costs and produce savings in health care.

Barr predicted that advocates for big business, such as the Chamber of Commerce, would claim that their opposition to the measure was based on concerns about its supposed impact on small businesses.

"If that happens, people should ask the lobbyists who's paying their salaries, and how much of it is coming from big-box stores, chains and other corporate interests that are too big to know their employees by name," said Barr.

Paid sick days would, the speakers stressed, be particularly helpful to working mothers, those with low-wage jobs in general - 80 percent of whom don't have paid sick time - and those employed in the service and hospitality industries, major components of Florida's economy.

"In the past I have been forced to choose between going to work ill, staying home with no pay, or even worse, staying home with no pay and being reprimanded," said Organize Now! member Garrett Poulin, who has worked in the food-service industry for more than 20 years. "The ability to have time away from work to get healthy is an important workplace safety and health right as well as a basic human right."

Advocates for the measure emphasize that it would be an earned benefit, since employees would have to work 37 hours for every hour of paid sick time, and they would have to work the equivalent of 52 40-hour weeks to earn the full seven days (56 hours). Certain conditions would apply, including reasonable notice of foreseeable leave, and employers could require documentation if more than three days leave is taken.

Discrimination and retaliation for taking up to seven days off would be prohibited and the ordinance would be enforceable in court. Employers who already offer the same amounts of paid time off or paid vacation time with the same conditions of use as the ordinance would not have to change their policies.

Nationally, 49 percent of Latinos lack access to paid sick days while 37 percent of working women (more than 13 million) in businesses with more than 15 employees cannot take a paid sick day when they or a family member are ill, according to CFGO.

"From the standpoint of my faith, earned sick time comes down to a simple question of fairness," said Victor Torres, who spoke on behalf of the Hispanic Ministry of St. John's Episcopal Church. Torres, a member of the Amalgamated Transit Union and a Democratic candidate for the Florida State House, District 48, noted that working women who miss work because of illness or to care for an ill family member often face termination or discipline.

"Earned sick time reduces the strain on families living paycheck to paycheck," he said.

An analysis by the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR), found that 55 percent of employees in Florida (and 58 percent nationally) had some access to paid sick days in 2010. However, "many still face restrictions on the use of sick days and may be unable to use sick days to care for sick family members or seek out preventative care," said the IWPR.

"Every family wants the best for their children, but without earned sick time parents are forced to choose between their families' financial stability and their children's health," said Organize Now! member Gracie Fowler, a single working mother of two. "Too often they have no choice but to send their child to school sick, or skip medical care."

Coming to work sick or when a family member is sick "has serious implications for the spread of contagious diseases in workplaces generally, including those where public health is of particular concern such as restaurants, hotels, retail stores, schools, nursing homes, and child care facilities. This inability causes the needless spread of disease, leads to productivity losses at work, and risks the health of those who cannot afford to stay at home without losing pay and, potentially, their jobs," according to the IWPR analysis.

A 2011 IWPR report found that providing paid sick days to workers who lack access could prevent 1.3 million hospital emergency room visits each year in the U.S., reducing medical costs by more than $1 billion annually, with over $500 million in savings for public health insurance programs.

Since 2006, voters or elected officials in San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Milwaukee, Seattle and Connecticut have passed measures mandating paid sick leave. A 2011 IWPR analysis found that the San Francisco ordinance (in effect since 2007) had no negative affect on employment, which grew faster in San Francisco County between 2007-2008 than in surrounding counties. Even during the Great Recession unemployment increased less in San Francisco than in surrounding areas.

Photo via Yes on Question 1 Facebook page.

Attention humans: Today is Endangered Species Day

Marc Brodine — Fri, 18 May 2012 11:08:00 -0400

Today, May 18, is Endangered Species Day. It's a good day to note that the gray wolf in the western Great Lakes, the bald eagle, the Lake Erie watersnake in Ohio, the wood stork, Kirtland's warbler, Okaloosa darter, black-footed ferret and Louisiana black bear are among species that were once on the brink of extinction but have successfully rebounded or are showing significant progress towards recovery. And that means the human species has a better chance too.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and numerous organizations are honoring Endangered Species Day and the nationwide conservation efforts under way to protect America's endangered and at-risk species. This acknowledges the important role that the 1973 Endangered Species Act has played in protecting many species of animals and the ecosystems on which they depend.

Many federal agencies are involved in this work. It is coordinated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Sometimes industry hacks and "conservative" politicians have falsely portrayed the Endangered Species Act as an attack on jobs. They seek to pit the need for millions of jobs against the need to protect the environment including animal life.

But pollution, the spread of persistent organic pollutants, and climate change are threatening many species with extinction. This would turn animal life into yet another non-renewable resource that should belong to all humanity.

Humans count on animal and plant life for many medicines, for regenerating the natural world on which we depend, and for maintaining the complex web of life. We don't yet fully understand all the interactions that happen in the natural world, and we shouldn't destroy parts of it before we do. If we damage the natural world we live in, we run the risk of destroying or diminishing human life itself.

The Endangered Species Act is one small part of the necessary efforts humanity must make to keep functional the ecosystems we use for food, medicine, water purification, and other ecosystem services.

Many of the world's fisheries are being depleted, reducing the available protein sources for human consumption right at the point when we need to increase them. Protecting endangered species is protecting our future.

For more information, including events near you, visit the Fish and Wildlife Service's Endangered Species Day website.

Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southwest

Voter Empowerment Act introduced in House

Special to PeoplesWorld.org — Thu, 17 May 2012 16:14:00 -0400

House Democrats today introduced new voting rights legislation that would modernize voter registration while cracking down on disenfranchisement practices that disproportionately affects low-income, student and minority voters.

The Voter Empowerment Act counters to a growing trend pushed by the Republican Party at the state and national level to require voters to present a photo ID when voting and other hurdles. These GOP voter laws end or curb early voting and discourage voter registration drives because of draconian restrictions.

"The ability to vote should be easy, accessible and simple. Yet there are practices and laws in place that make it harder to vote today than it was even one year ago. ... We should be moving toward a more inclusive democracy, not one that locks people out," said Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., one of the bill's sponsors and a 1960s civil rights icon.

Republicans are inventing the myth of voter fraud to justify these laws. Voter fraud is virtually nonexistent, save for one convicted Republican secretary of state from Indiana.

Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said, "Just six months from a presidential election and amid an unprecedented drive to impose new restrictions on who can vote in states across the country, Democrats will fight for the right to vote and for the integrity of our electoral system."

The bill includes a number of provisions designed to modernize the voting process, such as authorizing online registration and allowing same-day registration.

The bill also includes language barring the practice of "voter caging" - a tactic that involves challenging voter registrations if mail sent to their official addresses is returned - and strengthens prohibitions against voter intimidation.

Civil and human rights leaders applauded the move. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights President Wade Henderson issued the following statement:

"Today's introduction of the Voter Empowerment Act sends a powerful and timely message about the importance of eliminating barriers to voting and improving the administration of our elections. Our nation is strong when our democracy is strong, and our democracy is strongest when every citizen has free and full access to the voting booth.

"The ability to cast a vote and have that vote count is the most precious civil right in America. But as we approach an election with so much at stake, we're seeing new efforts in states across the country to exclude citizens from registering and voting on a scale unheard of since passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

"The days of poll taxes, literacy tests, and brutal physical intimidation may be behind us, but today's disenfranchisement tactics aimed at minority communities, while more subtle, are no less pernicious. Last year, 14 states passed restrictions on the right to vote. This year, similar legislation is pending in 24 states. None of these measures will improve elections; they will only suppress voter participation.

"The Voter Empowerment Act is a comprehensive plan to strengthen elections, combat voter exclusion, and expand voter participation. We applaud the bill's sponsors and urge the House to give it serious consideration as soon as possible."

Photo: Creative Commons 2.0

NATO week: Foreclosure protesters dump furniture at Citibank

John Bachtell — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:53:00 -0400

CHICAGO - Carrying furniture from a foreclosed home through the streets, protesters marched on Citibank and the Cook County Sheriff May 16 to demand a moratorium on home foreclosures and evictions.

The Anti-Eviction Campaign, Occupy Chicago and Coalition for the Homeless organized the action. It's part of a week of actions leading up to the NATO Summit May 20-21.

Shortly after the rally, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart agreed to hold a public meeting on the foreclosure crisis. Dart had previously announced a foreclosure moratorium, only to be stymied by the courts.

The protesters attempted to deposit the furniture at Citibank to highlight refusal of the banks, despite an enormous government bailout, to modify mortgage loans and keep people in their homes.

Protesters also blasted Citibank and the fraudulent role Wall Street played in creating the housing crisis, which caused the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression. Nearly 3 million homeowners were foreclosed in 2011 and millions more are now "under water," owing more to the banks than the homes are worth.

The banks, including Citi, have made billions in profits while people are still being thrown out of their homes.

"There are 100,000 abandoned properties in Chicago and it makes no sense that people are still being evicted," said Loren Taylor of the Anti-Eviction Campaign. "Housing is a human right."

With furniture piled on the sidewalk in front of Citibank, victims of foreclosure blasted the bank for its refusal to work with them to stay in their homes.

Virginia Morales said her parents refinanced their home in 2007. They asked for a modification of the loan agreement from Citibank in 2009. They were granted a trial period to make payments, which they did.

But then Citi refused to give Morales's parents the modification based on some missing documents. The parents faxed the documents but the bank kept finding new reasons to reject the modification.

Now the home is "under water" and the family faces foreclosure.

Morales said it's unjust because Citibank received more bailout money during the financial crisis than any bank.

"Banks are not losing anything. People are losing their homes. No more vacant homes, no more vacant communities. We need to stop this," she said.

Morales works with Communities United Against Foreclosure and Evictions.

"When people join together they can make a difference. Houses are for people, not for banks!" she declared.

Citibank is also foreclosing on Justina Winfrey. Just three weeks ago six sheriffs showed up at her door to evict her and her family. But Winfrey is refusing to move.

"We followed the process to save our home beginning in 2009," she said. "But they cancelled our fourth payment leading to the modification. "

"We entered into a second forbearance plan with Citi and they gave us the bait-and-switch which is what they are doing to families nationwide," said Winfrey angrily.

Winfrey said the courts annulled the foreclosure order but Citi is still pursuing it. The bank refuses to respond to calls by Winfrey for an explanation or to her desire to stay in her home.

"The process is flawed," said Winfrey.

Protesters marched to Daley Plaza where they engaged in some street theater recreating the eviction of a family from their foreclosed home:

The family fights back and calls the media and the anti-eviction campaign. Neighbors and protesters blockade the house and shout, "Fight, fight, fight! Housing is a human right." The bank official and authorities flee.

The Anti-Eviction Campaign announced an "Occupy Homes Chicago" campaign to take over and rehab 100 homes this summer and occupy them with homeless families.

Asked why the protest was taking place this week during anti-NATO protests, Micah Philbrook of Occupy Chicago said, "NATO is an organization that we spend a lot of tax dollars on. The United States has given over $800 million to NATO, and we think that money could be better spent in our own communities, such as keeping people in their homes."

Photo: Victims of foreclosure engage in street threater. John Bachtell/PW

Chicago residents link NATO to neighborhood disasters

John Wojcik — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:47:00 -0400

CHICAGO - A busload of journalists today from local and national media outlets left behind the downtown anti-NATO protests and met with residents of the city's huge Latino community who linked what the military alliance is doing worldwide to the violence and foreclosures they face in their neighborhood.

The bus trip to Pastor Victor Rodriguez's La Villita Community Church took the journalists along the sun-drenched but pothole ridden streets of Chicago's Southwest Side and along the 26^th Street business corridor, home to 600 small shops and stores. The only business street in Chicago that pulls in more money annually than the La Villita shopping strip is the world-famous Magnificent Mile on the city's "fashionable" end of Michigan Ave.

Rodriguez, who runs a boxing club that he says saves the lives of many of the 60 kids who come there every day, is fighting what he calls a life and death struggle to keep kids off the street. "Two percent of the 90,000 people in this community are involved with gangs," he said, "but that's enough so that I can say with certainty that the gym here makes the difference in whether many of these kids will stay off the streets or be out there and get killed. Any cop will tell you that whatever you do to keep kids off the streets between 3 and 8 p.m. is saving their lives.."

What does all of this have to do with NATO?

"Sixty percent of our federal tax dollars go to the military," Rodriguez explained, adding, "In Cook County alone $9.8 billion will go to funding the military and wars. That's a lot of money that could be spent on youth, on addressing the violence and gang wars in our own neighborhoods."

Rodriguez, a conservatively dressed Latino man in his mid-fifties, does not look the part of the stereotypical NATO protestor but says he is proud to be part of the movement protesting the policies of the alliance. "I love my city, I love Chicago, it's the greatest city in the world," he said" but it is time we wake up and get our priorities straight. The city raised $36.5 million for this conference but can't come up with even $600 for a youth boxing club? With $600 we can give 120 kids the equipment they need to keep busy in here for a year."

Rahm Emmanuel, the city's mayor has boasted that the $36.5 million dollars for NATO-related costs, including $14 million for wine and caviar parties for 60 heads of state, was raised by World Business Chicago and not taken from taxpayers.

Leaders of Chicago's community groups and unions note, however, that Chicago taxpayers have already subsidized the summit by subsidizing NATO's corporate donors.

"Forgive us, but we are not impressed with corporations donating money towards champagne and caviar for the world's leading military figures," said Amisha Patel, executive director of the city's Grassroots Collaborative.

"African American and Latino children are dying from lack of jobs and investment in their neighborhoods, foreclosed properties are becoming havens for drug use and sexual assault, schools are being closed and we are supposed to be happy because big corporations raised some tens of millions of dollars for caviar parties. Those so called generous corporations took out tax dollars in the first place," she said.

Public records show that leading corporate members of World Business Chicago have indeed received large amounts of public tax dollars that they then put to their private use. United Airlines received $31 million, Boeing Airlines $24 million and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange almost $10 million. The Mercantile Exchange, Patel noted, spent the tax dollars on renovating its toilets. Many of the big corporations also received multi-million dollar tax rebates from the state, she added.

"Instead of raising funds for corporate junkets and NATO caviar parties," Patel said, "World Business Chicago should put their vigor into raising $100 billion for neighborhood jobs - summer jobs for youth, jobs for parent patrols to keep our kids safe, and jobs to clean up abandoned housing in our communities. A world class city takes care of its neighborhoods."

Photo: Victor Rodriguez, a board member of La Villita's Chicago Boxing Club, says $600 can buy equipment that will keep 120 kids busy in this boxing ring after school, five days a week for a year. Blake Deppe/PW

Report from space: Earth in trouble

Dan Margolis — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:23:00 -0400

According to a message beamed from space, the demands humanity places on the Earth exceed its capabilities.

While the message was from out of this world, it was not from aliens. The World Wildlife Fund's latest "Living Planet Report" was launched by astronaut André Kuipers in a recorded message from the International Space Station, working with the European space agency.

(Story continues after the video)

"We have only one planet. From here I can see humanity's footprint," Kuipers said in introducing the report. "From space, you see the forest fires, you see the air pollution, you see erosion."

The report's findings are sobering. "'Business as usual' projections estimate that we will need the equivalent of two planets by 2030 to meet our annual demands," the report states.

"Natural capital - biodiversity, ecosystems and ecosystem services - must be preserved, and, where necessary, restored as the foundation of human economies and societies."

The report uses the "Living Planet Index," which tracks, according to a WWF press release, "9,000 populations of more than 2,600 species." According to the index, these species show a nearly 30 percent decrease since 1970, with the decline reaching 60 percent in the tropics.

Another report, "Earth's Ecological Footprint," shows that as biodiversity plummets, there is a soaring demand for resources. Humanity's path, based on these reports, is not sustainable in the long run.

The Fund's director general, Jim Leape, said in a press release, "We are living as if we have an extra planet at our disposal. We are using 50 percent more resources than the Earth can sustainably produce and unless we change course, that number will grow fast - by 2030 even two planets will not be enough."

Population growth and over-consumption are the main culprits, the WWF says.

Not surprisingly, the biggest contributors to the problems are wealthy, industrialized countries. "The difference between rich and poor countries is also underlined," said the WWF statement. "High-income countries have an Ecological Footprint on average five times that of low-income countries."

The worst offenders list includes Qatar, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Denmark, United States of America, Belgium, Australia, Canada, Netherlands and Ireland. Still, these countries, which have the highest environmental impacts per person, aren't feeling the brunt of the problems they have taken the lead in creating, and "declines in biodiversity since 1970 have been most rapid in the lower income countries - demonstrating how the poorest and most vulnerable nations are subsidizing the lifestyles of wealthier countries."

Leape said, however, that humanity's future does not necessarily need to be bleak: "We can create a prosperous future that provides food, water and energy for the 9 or perhaps 10 billion people who will be sharing the planet in 2050. Solutions lie in such areas as reducing waste, smarter water management and using renewable sources of energy that are clean and abundant - such as wind and sunlight."

The report set a number of "priority actions," which include "improved consumption patterns, putting an economic value on natural capital, and creating legal and policy frameworks that manage equitable access to food, water and energy."

The report was produced in collaboration with the Zoological Society of London and the Global Footprint Network.

Photo: Woman cutting grass in Nepal, via World Wildlife Fund.

People aren’t buying what NATO is selling

John Wojcik — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:46:00 -0400

CHICAGO - As the 28-country North Atlantic Treaty Organization gathers this week here for its summit, Americans aren't buying much of what the alliance is trying to sell.

Right off the bat, the war in Afghanistan and U.S. military spending are two of the biggest items people are rejecting.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D., N.H., is a member of the U.S. delegation to the NATO summit, and she spoke with the press yesterday on a teleconference called by the National Security Network, a group which aims to "revitalize" America's security policy and bring "cohesion" and "strategic focus" to the "progressive" national security "community."

She said that the biggest priority at the summit this week would be finalization of plans for a "responsible" drawdown of NATO in Afghanistan by 2014.

The cost of funding the "drawdown" is expected to be announced at the summit.

However, Shaheen admitted, under questioning, that the U.S. taxpayers will be responsible for shelling out to Afghanistan most of the $4.1 billion annual cost of that country's permanent 228,000-member force. (It's the Afghan force that takes over after NATO pulls out.)

That amount will continue to be paid until 2018, Shaheen said, and will probably go up, rather than down, in the years after 2018. Currently, there is no end date for bankrolling Afghanistan's army. Shaheen heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's subcommittee on Europe.

"The United States will be paying for this," Afghanistan's foreign minister Jawed Ludin assured journalists in Kabul last week. The U.S. embassy there declined comment on Ludin's assurances.

Pointing to the economic disaster brewing in Europe, Shaheen didn't hold out much hope that any of the alliance's member countries would be stepping forward to shoulder more NATO expenses themselves, particularly in Afghanistan..

The American people have already made it clear that they want nothing to do with any long-term military involvement in Afghanistan, and presumably less to do with funding such involvement. Seven out of 10 Americans (69 percent) believe the U.S. should not be at war in Afghanistan, according to a recent New York Times poll. Opposition to the war cuts across ideological divides, with 68 percent of Democrats saying the war was going somewhat or very badly and 60 percent of Republicans agreeing.

Surprisingly, a plurality (40 percent) of Republicans insisted that the U.S. should exit Afghanistan earlier than 2014.

Reflecting this overwhelming opposition, 40 peace groups nationally have formed the Network for a NATO-Free Future and are hosting a "Counter-Summit for Peace and Economic Justice" here this week.

It's not just the street protesters and peace organizations that are lining up in opposition to NATO, however. The very need for an alliance like NATO is being questioned in capitals around the globe. The alliance, critics note, was formed in 1949 to combat the so-called "Communist threat."

After the collapse of the socialist countries in 1990s, the alliance, rather than closing up shop, however, found new ways to keep itself in existence, first by mounting the biggest cluster bomb attacks in history in Kosovo, and later by fashioning itself as the world leader of the "war on terrorism" launched by former U.S. President George W. Bush.

The recent intervention in Libya, critics note, was an intensification of NATO's role too as champion of big oil interests.

NATO touted its Libya intervention as "different," calling it a "humanitarian" intervention with no boots on the ground like in Iraq and no cluster bombs like in Yugoslavia. Only "precision" weapons were going to be used in Libya!

The UN and human rights groups say today that in Libya 8,000 prisoners are being held without trial, that there is routine torture and death in Libyan prisons and that 12,000 people (black Libyans) from town of Tawerga has been forcibly removed.

The country is plagued by rival warlords and militias while the NATO-installed National Transitional Council passes laws against freedom of the press and speech, gives legal immunity to former rebels, and disqualifies election candidates who criticize the way things are.

According to Human Rights Watch, the "precision" bombs alone killed at least 72 Libyan civilians, at least a third of them children. The NATO-installed National Transitional Council estimated 30,000 dead from the "humanitarian" intervention, civilians and soldiers.

NATO stepped in during March when the death toll from the government of Muammar Gaddafi had reached anywhere from 1,000-2,000, according to NATO's estimates.

As the main funder of NATO, the United States however, is faced with a dilemma that comes down to guns vs. butter, jobs not bombs. Endless military interventions are a lose-lose for all involved.

The protests here this week aim to get across that message.

Photo: Soldiers with Bravo Company, 1-36th IN "Spartans" wait to load helicopters for an air assault mission, May 2, CC BY 2.0

NATO-week protesters demand end to deportations

John Bachtell — Wed, 16 May 2012 10:14:00 -0400

CHICAGO - Declaring, "No human being is illegal", immigration justice activists and undocumented youth marched on the Immigration Court here May 15 to demand a halt to detentions and deportations of undocumented immigrants and their families.

Demonstrators marched from Little Village, the heart of Chicago's Mexican American community to the court where they blocked the building entrance resulting in three arrests.

The protest was part of a week of actions greeting the NATO summit May 20-21 in Chicago.

"We are protesting immigration judges who are ignoring the memorandum issued by the Obama administration to not deport people who don't have criminal backgrounds," said Jorge Mujica, a leader of the protest. "The immigration agent arrests you, but it is the judge that effectively deports you."

"Out of the million that have been deported, 600,000 didn't have any criminal background. They were just workers with jobs. Many were parents of US children who were U.S. citizens," said Mujica.

Also participating were groups opposing the construction of a new 785-bed immigrant detention center in Crete, Illinois, which would be operated by the private Corrections Corporation of America (CCA).

"Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is partnering with CCA, who is making a killing in the prison industry," said Rozalinda Borcila of Moratorium on Deportations Campaign. "This is a parallel prison system that is being built with absolutely no checks and balances."

Borcila said the detention centers are being advertized as spas and family friendly. However, detainees, including children, have no guaranteed right to individual bond hearings or individual due process rights as guaranteed by the US Constitution.

"We need immigration reform to deal with globalization. Instead we are getting detention reform and privatization that pushes more people into detention" she said

"CCA and ICE claim that 200 jobs will be created," said Artemio Arreola of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. "But they will close three other facilities and eliminate 195 jobs to do it."

Arreola called upon the Illinois General Assembly to pass SB 1064, which has already passed in the state senate. The bill would prevent the privatization of the jails.

According to Mujica the privatized jails are charging the United States between $119-$135 to house a detainee over night. There is tremendous pressure by CCA and other private contractors to fill the jails and keep rounding up immigrants in order to maximize profits. The agreement in Illinois calls for a guaranteed 80% capacity which immigrant reform groups fear would fuel more roundups.

"It used to be detainees were held for 24-48 hours before they were deported. Now detainees are held for 4-9 months. Every night counts for the private corporations who are making a business out of immigration," said Mujica.

Further anti-NATO actions include:

Wed., May 16 - Housing is a Right: No Evictions, No Foreclosures!

Thu, May 17 - Planet over profit and war

Sat, May 19 - Health care not warfare

Mon, May 21 - Shut Down Boeing!

May 18 - 19 - Counter-Summit for Peace and Economic Justice Coordinated by AFSC, National Peace Action and others

May 18 - National Nurses Union March against G8

May 20: March and Rally to Protest NATO, starting at noon at Petrillo Bandshell. The Iraq Veteran's Against the War (IVAW) will conduct a March for Justice and Reconciliation, where they will return their medals to NATO.

Photo: Protesters sit down May 15 in front of the Immigration Court in downtown Chicago to draw attention to the draconian deportation and detention practices of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (PW/John Bachtell)

EPA appeals coal mining ruling

Blake Deppe — Wed, 16 May 2012 09:59:00 -0400

A federal judge ruled in March that the Environmental Protection Agency illegally vetoed a large West Virginia coal-mining project. But the Obama administration countered on May 14 that it would appeal that decision.

The U.S. District Court judge, Amy Berman Jackson, stated that the EPA's unilateral decision, in January, to rescind a waste disposal permit for the Spruce No. 1 mine in Logan County, W.Va. was a case of the agency overstepping its mark and violating federal law. She then declared the permit valid, green-lighting the project, which will cover - and pollute - 2,278 acres of natural land.

Jackson, however, believed the EPA's withdrawal of the permit was "a stunning power for an agency to arrogate to itself." She claimed the agency had resorted to "magical thinking" to justify the action.

The EPA's choice to revoke the permit, many environmental activists feel, actually seemed quite justified: It noted that mining in this area would cause unacceptable and perhaps irreversible damage to rivers, wildlife, and communities. The mine would bury hundreds of miles of streams beneath tons of waste.

Advocates of the Obama administration's choice to appeal included the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, Coal River Mountain Watch, and the Sierra Club.

Of the judge's decision to validate the Spruce No. 1 mining permit, those groups said in a joint statement, "It is a sad day, not only for the people who live near mountains and streams threatened by mountaintop removal coal mining, but for all Americans who understand the need to protect our waterways, and the health of the communities that depend on them.

"As the EPA's Spruce veto determination recognized, sound science shows that it is unacceptable for a coal company to destroy more than 2,000 mountain acres and fill over six miles of vital streams with mining waste pollution.

"No one in [this area] or beyond should be forced to live with the water pollution and wholesale environmental destruction that coal companies are wreaking.

"We're glad to see the EPA's decision to stand up to the coal industry and continue defending the basic right of everyday families to clean water."

Photo: Activists march to protest mountaintop removal coal mining in West Virginia. Brad Davis/AP