News aggregator

The latest in a series of videos spotlighting the MOVE 9 parole hearings, this features interviews with several supporters, including:

--Yvonne Orr, the daughter of MOVE 9 prisoner Delbert Africa

--Anne Lamb, New York City Jericho Movement

--Jeffrey Rousset, Students for a Democratic Society

--Rick Burnley, the Poet Laureate of Camp Casey, reading his poem "Raining in America" (see more at rickburnley.com)

• Mike Africa Jr. on MOVE 9 Parole
• Ramona Africa on MOVE 9 Parole
• How MOVE met Mumia Abu-Jamal
• Ramona Africa: the MOVE 9 trial
• Mike Africa Jr: May 13, 1985
• MOVE documentary (narrated by Howard Zinn)

One example of a new fine the PPA is attempting to levy on drivers: A $525 fee for drivers who are either forced or choose to change radio dispatch companies. This completely new fee is added on top of the existing costs of changing companies which average $500. It is important to note that while the PPA incurs no costs when a driver changes companies, this $525 would go directly into the PPA's coffers. And, as recent news reports have shown, the PPA has not lived up to it's promise of using this money to aid the schools or vital services of the city.

Under the newly proposed rules taxi drivers will also be forced to make dispatch pick-ups regardless of where a fare is and how far that fare is going. This may seem reasonable, but it often means a cab driver in the NorthEast will be called to pick up a passenger in South Philly who is only going a few blocks. This does not make sense for consumers or for drivers, and with high gas prices drivers actually lose money on these jobs.

At the same time, in June the PPA will implement meter increases against drivers' wishes; costing passengers more money and hurting drivers' business. The PPA is using these increases to justify the new fees on drivers.

As Philadelphians are feeling the pain at the pump, imagine how rising gas prices are affecting cab drivers. Because of the seriousness of the situation, TWA calls on the community to join us on Thursday morning, as members of the taxi industry comment on the new proposals at a public hearing convened by the PPA. The PPA made these new proposals, it is holding this public hearing, and the PPA board will make the ultimate decision. While this is an opportunity for drivers to voice their opinions, it is questionable if their voices will be heard, unless it is clear to the PPA that Philadelphians are closely watching how they treat the hard workers of the city.

The NY Times passes on a report that's, on first read, very scary. It charges that "four Shiite militia members" (From what country? From which militia?) have provided details on training camps in Iran that have taught Iraqi insurgents such subjects as "how to fire rockets and mortars, fight as snipers or assemble explosively formed penetrators, a particularly lethal type of roadside bomb made of Iranian components, according to American officials."

To take the last item first, there is no evidence that the "explosively formed penetrators" (EFPs) they refer to have been manufactured exclusively in Iran or even that only Iran is capable of making these. There is much evidence that Iraqis are perfectly capable of manufacturing EFPs in local machine shops. Second, Iraq fought a very lengthy war with Iran from 1980 to 1988. The skills of "how to fire rockets and mortars [and to] fight as snipers" are simply not difficult to obtain there. Iraq has millions of veterans of that war that have been more than capable of passing on this kind of knowledge.

The Mideast is a heavily militarized place that has seen much fighting over the last several decades. There is no reason that jihadists can't "hit the ground running," i.e., arrive in Iraq fully competent, equipped and ready to start fighting Americans. There is no reason to think they have to make a stop-off in Iran first. As Juan Cole points out about the weapons themselves:

The really important point to make about this article is that every single, solitary scrap of information included in it comes second-hand from anonymous American "officials." Some also makes its way from Iraqi officials, who were in turn briefed and shown "captured Iranian equipment" by, you guessed it, anonymous American "officials." Absolutely nothing, none of the interrogated prisoners, none of the "captured Iranian equipment," has been personally viewed by reporters or by anyone who might provide anything approaching an objective, non-deeply-compromised point of view.

Everything in the article comes from a Presidential administration that has shown a very deep interest in launching a war against Iran. As Glenn Greenwald points out:

This article ratchets up tension still further. Two NYT Public Editors have been critical of reporter Michael Gordon's work in the past, Byron Calame:

The problem with Gordon's work, however,  is far more extensive than just one article. He collaborated with Judith Miller on many Saddam-Hussein-has-WMD pieces that served as justification for war with Iraq and as we've seen in today's article (May 5th), these problems with uncritically repeating administration claims have hardly stopped. Public Editor Clark Hoyt also criticizes Gordon and Gordon's style of reporting Administration claims:

And in using the language of the administration, the newspaper has also failed at times to distinguish between Al Qaeda, the group that attacked the United States on Sept. 11, and Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, an Iraqi group that didn’t even exist until after the American invasion.

As to claims about Iranian involvement in Iraq being presented by Iraqis as credible, believable sources the Christian Science Monitor reports that Iraqis are feeling squeezed between America and Iran.

"We do not want to start a conflict with Iran," says Iraqi spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh. "We need our own government documentation of this interference, not from the Americans, not from the media."

He suggested Sunday that Iraq had no "hard evidence" of Iran's involvement or of the 2008 markings on seized weaponry, and that a top-level committee would be formed to investigate. 

Very interestingly, this statement appears nowhere in the NY Times article cited above.

Schools to get $6.7 million for art and music: The District is returning $6.7 million in school funds to help offset the cost of the art/music mandate. Every school will get between $18,000-$42,000 (approx.), depending on its size. Every school is required to have either a part time art or music teacher (at a minimum). Schools who already have either art or music will receive the funds to offset their purchase.

SRC holds more public budget hearings:

• The SRC will hold two additional public hearings on the budget: May 7th (in the evening) and May 14th.
• The public can also comment on the budget by emailing the SRC at budget09@phila.k12.pa.us

At the April 23rd budget hearing, more than 20 parents testified to the need for more open, honest dialogue with parents, schools and students, as well as the disconnect between luxuries at the District level ($20,000/day CEO advisory panel, $25,000 in foliage to spruce up the atrium, a $2.5 million SRC budget) and constant struggles at the school level. A number of parents from Nebinger and Southwark raised concerns about declining services for basic translation for immigrant communities even though immigrant populations are increasing. Greenfield parents raised concerns about teacher cuts in ESOL and special ed.

SRC commissioners emphasized that budgets were still in draft format with suggestions from the public welcome. The SRC will hold two additional budget hearings, one on May 7th (likely to be in the evening), the other on May 14th. The budget is scheduled for approval May 28th.

TAKE ACTION! Testify!

City Council public hearings on the School District budget: Tues., April 29th, 1:30 -3 p.m., 5:30-7 p.m. Call Council at 215-686-3407.

School District public budget hearing, Wed., May 7th and Wed., May 14th. Call 215-400-4500 to testify.

Email the SRC: budget09@phila.k12.pa.us with the following points:

1. Return school discretionary funds: While we are grateful for the return of funds, most schools are still struggling to recoup losses. School discretionary funds are cut by around 5% for the third year in a row. Those funds pay for critical things like teachers and programs and aides no longer supplied by the District.
2. Relieve overcrowding: Class size relief may have been implemented for CA2 schools but not for the most overcrowded schools. More than 100 classes are beyond the class size maximum with no plans for reduction.
3. Clarify the District’s plans for cutting academic programs: School operations is the category most vulnerable to reductions in next year’s budget, with almost $60 million to be cut even with a best case scenario for full state funding. What are the top categories where the District plans to cut?
4. Transpasses eliminated for 7,000 kids? Currently the District plans to save $4.27 million by extending the qualifying distance for transpasses from 1.5 miles to 2 miles. Without subsidized tokens this is a punishing situation for children and families in the middle and high school years.
5. Reduce external contracts: There has been very little change in the amount of money going to alternative education providers, EMOs, and other external contractors. Poor contract management has made the news lately from CBOs to charters to the school providers failing to do what’s promised or improperly managing funds (in some cases). Rein in the contracting in the district. Cut the SRC’s $1.68 million contracts account.
6. Clarify plans for school closings: With declining enrollment, the District has stated its intent to consolidate and close schools. It paid a contractor CRE to complete a report. The report must be made public. Any schools targeted for closing or consolidation must be immediately identified.
7. Librarian mandate shelved: The unfunded mandate on school librarians/LIMAs was rescinded but shouldn't be forgotten. Many schools with libraries lack personnel to staff them. Many schools are waiting for their deserved libraries. Most of these are at the elementary level. We can't complain about 48% grade level reading rates for third graders, when we have cut opportunities for children to access books, libraries and literary enrichment. 

This information was provided by Parents United for Public Education, an all-volunteer collective of public school parents working to ensure accountability and achievement as the baselines of the School District's budget, as well as fighting for a full and just funding formula for schools.

The meeting was facilitated and framed with the intention of getting constructive criticism that Mural Arts can implement. Ms. Golden started off, sharing the legacy of political art that she looked to when the program started as the Anti-Graffiti Network. The intention of the program was always to involve youth and other residents where murals were painted. It is rare that a leader with Ms. Golden’s visibility in the city actually shows up to listen to the community. She and the facilitators took copious notes that will turn into a document of the event and will aid in reshaping their community engagement process at all stages of mural development. There was much independent media coverage with video and audio recording, and photography, so the level of accountability should be high.

The meeting was structured in a classic conflict resolution format, beginning with the audience being invited to share comments that recognized the good parts of Mural Arts. These included appreciation for the beauty of the murals and the high-level of technical skill of the artists, the inclusion of children in the process, especially in the absence of art from public school curricula.

The meeting then went on to address things that could be done better. These comments centered mostly on better community inclusion: being able to comment on the design before it is painted, outreach to a larger radius around the mural (Mural Arts typically limits their notification to a 2 block radius). Mural Arts staff answered questions on why artists who live in the community are not hired by Mural Arts. A staff person answered that painting a mural is a special skill set that many artists do not have. One community member said he felt that the ongoing debate during the mural painting should not be viewed as an annoyance or a late arrival, but an opportunity for further discussion and refinement. There were several suggestions about what an appropriate content should be for the murals. Some suggested images of residents, others referred to themes that are ‘historically correct.’

Arriving at an idea about what is historically correct was not possible given the structure of the meeting. Each comment from the audience was limited to one-minute. This did not allow a deep discussion of more complicated concerns. I spoke with Bonita Cummings after the meeting to listen more in-depth to the issues she has witnessed as a resident of Strawberry Mansion. The difficulty with the mural in Mansion was the genesis for the meeting on Monday. Two audio clips are included below in which Ms. Cummings, who works for Strawberry Mansion Community Concern, addresses the content of art and the community outreach process. It seemed that the meeting would have benefited from an answer back session from Mural Arts. Personally, I am curious whether funders and city officials constrain the outreach process or the content of the murals. The history of murals invoked by Golden at the beginning of the meeting is of revolutionary art that expressed the political pulse of a community at a time of intense upheavals, not unlike Philadelphia we live in today. Is that a legacy that can be built on by a non-profit agency held accountable to funders and politicians?

  A Fort Meyers News-Press article published today, details how the high-level executive frequented blogs where the CIW was posting it's media and left libelous messages in an attempt to discredit the coalitions' campaign for fair food. Grover was outed by his daughter, whose online screen name he used to post some of the vicious comments.

This is the second article in recent weeks that has brought to light the use of unethical tactics against the CIW in their current campaign against Burger King. Earlier this month, it was reported that a corporate security and investigative firm, Diplomatic Tactical Services, was attempting to infiltrate the organization by posing as eager students who listened in on SFA conference calls. 

The 75,000 plus people who signed the CIW's petition have declared that they are ready to stop giving Burger King their business until they agree to the Coalition's demands of one-penny-more per pound of tomatoes picked, decent working conditions and that they take a stand against forced labor in the fields.

To sign the CIW's Petition Against Modern Day Slavery , visit www.ciw-online.org

Ms. Jana El Horr, a Fulbright Scholar (2005) from Lebanon, holds a bachelor's degree in Economic Development (2002) and a master's degree in Conflict Resolution (2005) from Eastern Mennonite University.  Currently, she is a doctoral candidate at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University.
Of an Iraqi-Lebanese background, Ms.

El Horr has worked in policy analysis and issue advocacy in the United States and Lebanon, and has delivered many lectures on the impact of Western foreign policy in the Middle East, the pluralistic voice of Islam, and social, political, and developmental challenges in the Middle East region. 

She has served as a consultant to members of Congress and the public policy community on a wide range of issues. Furthermore, Ms El-Horr is a founding member of the Center for Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding (CCRP) in Lebanon, an NGO dedicated to promoting sustainable development and peacebuilding through dialogue, cultural exchanges, and youth training seminars. In the past year, she has led the Save Darfur Campaign and the Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation Project at the American Islamic Congress.

Jana attended the rally at Binn's Park, marched through Lancaster with 700 local citizens, and spoke about peace in Iraq and the Middle East at the Town Hall Meeting at Southern Market. Thank you, Jana.

Police Coercion of Veronica Jones
--Covering up the presence of another person at the Dec. 9, 1981 crime scene

Veronica Jones' 1996 PCRA testimony exposed police coercion of witnesses and further discredited the 1982 testimony of the DA's star witness: prostitute Cynthia White (the only one to actually testify to seeing Abu-Jamal pull the trigger).

The story begins on Dec.15, 1981 when Jones (a prostitute who was working nearby on Dec.9) first told police that she had seen two men “jogging” away from the crime scene before police arrived.

Testifying in 1982, Jones recanted and denied ever making the statement. However, when asked if she had talked to the police since her first statement, Jones testified that police had visited her in jail the next month:

“They were getting on me telling me I was in the area and I seen Mumia, you know, do it...They were trying to get me to say something that the other girl [Cynthia White] said. I couldn't do that.” Jones reported that police offered to let her and White “work the area if we tell them.”

Calling her testimony “absolutely irrelevant,” the DA moved to block the line of questioning and strike the previous statements. Because Sabo happily complied, the jury was ordered to disregard Jones' statement regarding White and a police offer of freedom to “work the area” in return for testimony that Abu-Jamal shot Faulkner.

The DA and Sabo's efforts to silence Jones continued through to the PCRA hearings.
Unable to locate her earlier, the Defense found Jones in 1996, and (over the DA's protests) obtained permission from the State Supreme Court to extend the PCRA hearings for Jones' testimony. Sabo vehemently resisted—arguing that there was not sufficient proof of her unavailability in 1995. However, in 1995 Sabo had refused to order disclosure of Jones' home address to the defense team.

Over Sabo’s objections, the defense returned to the State Supreme Court—which then ordered Sabo to conduct a full evidentiary hearing. Sabo's attempts to silence Jones continued as she took the stand. He immediately threatened her with 5-10 years imprisonment if she testified to having perjured herself in 1982. In defiance, Jones testified to perjury in 1982 when she recanted seeing two men “run away” and “leave the scene.”

She testified to changing her version of events after being visited by two detectives in prison, where she was being held on charges of robbery and assault. Urging her to finger Mumia, the detectives stressed that she faced up to 10 years in prison and the loss of her children if convicted. Afraid of losing her children, Jones testified to having met the police halfway: she didn't actually finger Mumia, but she did lie about not seeing two men running from the scene. Accordingly, Jones only received probation and was never imprisoned for these 1982 charges.

During cross-examination, the DA announced that there was an outstanding arrest warrant for Jones on charges of writing a bad check, and that she would be arrested after concluding her testimony. With tears pouring down her face, Jones declared: “This is not going to change my testimony!”

Despite objections from the defense, Sabo allowed New Jersey police to handcuff and arrest Jones.

While the DA attempted to use this arrest to discredit Jones, her determination in the face of intimidation only made her more credible. Outraged by Jones' treatment, even the mainstream Philadelphia Daily News reported: “Such heavy-handed tactics can only confirm suspicions that the court is incapable of giving Abu-Jamal a fair hearing. Sabo has long since abandoned any pretense of fairness.”

The same coercion of witnesses by police, DA, and judge exposed by Jones' story was rampant in Mumia's case. Documented by Amnesty International, witnesses Cynthia White (a prostitute facing multiple charges) and Robert Chobert (an arsonist on probation, driving his cab without a license, which he had lost twice due to DWI) also “altered their descriptions of what they saw, in ways that supported the prosecution's version of events.”

While the defense did attempt to challenge these discrepancies, Sabo blocked efforts to inform the 1982 jury fully about the vulnerability of these witnesses to police pressure.
Speaking about White, both Veronica Jones (in 1996) and another ex-prostitute, Pamela Jenkins (in 1997) testified that she was blackmailed into her testimony by the police, who had the power to pursue or drop prostitution charges against her, and in January 2002, yet another witness, Yvette Williams, testified that White’s trial testimony against Mumia was the result of her fearing for her life because of threats by the police.

As for the second most important prosecution witness, cab driver Robert Chobert, he was not only vulnerable because he had been driving without a license, but also because he was on probation because he had firebombed a school, and with his probation revoked for illegally driving a cab, he faced a potentially very long time in jail. And yet his probation was never revoked while he continued to illegally drive his cab at least until the 1995 PCRA hearing, with an occasional fine being his heaviest punishment.

A number of Democratic candidates in yesterday's primary won despite opposition from the Democratic party including Larry Farnese, Tony Payton, Kenyatta Johnson, and Vanessa Brown. While a majority of candidates supported by the party won, those victories are evidence of an erosion of the traditional part power and offer hope for future  challengers who can develop bases from outside the traditional party structure.

Support from ward leaders has never been a guarantee of victory but appears to carry less weight than in the past.  The power of the ward leaders comes in their ability to get out the vote for their endorsed candidates.  But in yesterday's primary the ward leaders strength was not enough to overcome a number of well organized challengers.

Another public challange to party machine came last month when Barack Obama refused to give 'street money', a traditional hand out for support on election day.

The party's endorsed candidate and chairman, Bob Brady, also lost last year's Mayoral primary.

While candidates did beat the party, they were not all outsiders. Larry Farnese won the State Senate nomination in the 1st district with the support of outgoing senator and power-broker Vince Fumo. He was also supported by Councilman Frank DiCicco and though he lost the party endorsement he was supported by significant number of ward leaders in the district.

Tony Payton, winner of the State House race in the 179th district, was an incumbent with the support of Mayor Nutter and Governor Rendell.  Payton ended up fighting the party after not kissing the ring of ward leaders Marge Tartaglione and Danny Savage.

See also:

Daily News: 10 and Done for James

Inquirer: Despite Muscle, Newbie Takes it

How can you put a price on education? Why should the quality of my education be determined by funds which are based on local property taxes rather than the needs of the students?

At Martin Luther King High School, students deal with issues associated with a lack of funding. Year after year, we suffer from a lack of experienced teachers, school books and materials, and the horrible physical condition of old school buildings. Currently, we are being run by Foundations Inc. which is a non-profit company in partnership with the school district. Since its initiation in 2001, M.L.K. has remained in Corrective Action II.

CA II schools make up 25% of the district.  Yet, 44% of all teacher vacancies in Philadelphia (57 of 131 vacancies) are in CA II Schools.  Nearly half of the schools that employ first year teachers are managed by Education Management Organizations (EMOs). Qualified teachers must be evenly distributed through out the district. It is becoming an issue for students. The faculty to student ratio is more than the staff can handle. Students are often pushed aside and treated as if we are just a number. It is essential that teachers make an effort to reach out to parents and try to understand what each student needs to succeed.

The school district should do more for us. Teachers are underpaid and that affects the way they teach. Teachers are not given adequate funds to conduct their lessons. Although King is a comprehensive high school, my Health related Technology course, which acts as a vocational class, is not as interactive as it should be. We need more wheelchairs, beds and basic equipment that are used in hospitals. Without these materials, our lessons are dragged.

This corrupts the curriculum, which should be challenging. We are not offered a wide variety of courses to choose from. School has become uninteresting. If the quality of my education does not mean anything to the School District then I do not know what does. If the EMO running my school cannot provide the students of Martin Luther King High School with fully qualified, experienced teachers and equipped classrooms, then they should not be in control. When students struggle to barely meet the states standards on standardized test, and about 50% of my graduating class drops out before their senior year, there has to be more than a ‘reform’ to once again improve our schools, and not to set us up to fail again.

I have faith in this idea of reformation but only when the community is given an opportunity to speak out about their students’ education. I was always told to be all that I can be. Foundations Inc. has yet to recognize my fellow peers and I as hopefuls of tomorrow. 

Homeless Advocates Demand That Candidates Open Their Eyes

Monday Rally To Cite Growing Numbers of Homeless and Severe Cuts in Federal Funding to City

RALLY AND PRESS CONFERENCE

Monday, April 21 - 12:00 noon

National Constitution Center - 525 Arch Street - Center City Philadelphia

[PHILADELPHIA - April 18, 2008]  The number of homeless persons in Philadelphia and other American cities is growing, but the presidential candidates are barely paying attention to the crisis.  That will be the message of a press conference and rally to be held today, Monday, April 21, by Project H.O.M.E., Bethesda Project, Horizon House, the Mental Health Association of Southeast Pennsylvania, Homeless Advocacy Project, and allied organizations.

The rally will take place today at 12:00 noon outside the National Constitution Center. Homeless persons and advocates will speak about the increasing number of persons on the streets at a time when poverty is growing and resources for housing and services are stretched thin.  Between 2000 and 2005, the City of Philadelphia lost $62 million in programs related to affordable housing, community development, and homelessness.  In that same period, the City lost an additional $225 million a year in education, law enforcement, job training and other services.

With the winter ending and some temporary emergency services set to end, homeless advocates anticipate a sharp rise in the numbers of persons on the city’s streets, especially in Center City.   The overall number of persons experiencing homelessness in Philadelphia has risen over the past several years, mirroring increases in the nation’s poverty rate.

“Experience has shown us that even the most chronically homeless persons – those who struggle with mental illness and addiction – want to come in, but there are no appropriate and affordable places for them to go," said S. Mary Scullion, Executive Director of Project H.O.M.E.  “That is just the tip of the iceberg, but it's symptomatic of the much deeper crisis in affordable housing affecting countless adults and families across our nation.  The federal government has to act together with the cities and regions to face this devastating problem."

A letter was sent Friday to the offices of Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and the presumed Republican nominee John McCain expressing concern about the lack of attention to the plight of homeless persons in the presidential election.  It urged each of them to agree to spend time on the streets, either in Philadelphia or another city, before May 31 in an effort to better understand the realities of homelessness.  “We believe such a personal experience can be a dynamic basis for developing effective policies that can help us as a country meet the needs of our most vulnerable citizens and solve one of our most vexing social problems,” the letter said.  The candidates were invited to come or to send a representative to today’s rally to announce their commitment to accepting the invitation.

Speakers will be joined by dozens of blindfolded marchers demanding the government stop turning a blind eye to homelessness.  At the conclusion of the rally, blindfolds will be delivered to the offices of all presidential candidates, urging them to open their eyes, take a stand, and acknowledge that homelessness is not a seasonal or out-of-sight, out-of-mind problem.  They will also deliver to the candidates a list of policy recommendations to address the urgent issues of street homelessness, developed by providers, advocates, and the faith community.   Vote for Homes!, a coalition of 60 organizations working to register, educate, and mobilize homeless, ex-offender, and low-income Philadelphians, will remind the crowd that voting is our way to take a powerful message to our elected officials.

LETTER SENT TO HILLARY CLINTON, JOHN MCCAIN, AND BARACK OBAMA:

We contact you as someone who is seeking to serve this country as President, and who has made many stirring statements about hope and opportunity for all Americans.  We are deeply concerned because we believe that hundreds of thousands of Americans have been invisible during this election campaign: those men, women, and children who are homeless.  We have not heard from you, or from any of the candidates, any hopeful message about how your Administration would address their plight and help our cities and communities address homelessness.

Next Tuesday, millions of Pennsylvanians will be casting ballots in the primary election, in what many feel is a pivotal step in our national election.  These voters are expressing their hopes for the future of our nation.  Meanwhile, on that same day, in our city of Philadelphia, hundreds of chronically homeless men and women find themselves on the streets, while thousands more – including children -- languish in shelters.  With resources shrinking and affordable housing more and more out of reach, they have little hope.

We are working with Mayor Michael Nutter here in Philadelphia to develop effective policies, representing best practices and proven solutions.  We passionately believe that solving homelessness is not only necessary for those men, women, and children who are struggling in such dehumanizing situations, but also for the economic health and vitality of our city.  But the reality is that without a meaningful commitment from the federal government, Philadelphia, like other cities, simply cannot make serious progress in addressing this human and social tragedy.

Many of us, formerly and currently homeless persons and friends, gathered to watch the candidates’ debate on Wednesday.  While we appreciate the commitments being made to address issues of jobs, education, and health care, the focus is almost exclusively on middle- and even upper-income Americans – we heard nothing about those millions of Americans who are struggling with poverty, including those who are forced to live in shelters and on the streets.  Thousands of homeless persons in Philadelphia have registered to vote and gotten politically active – and they are waiting for some positive and hopeful message from you.  So far, they have heard nothing.

In order to help you truly understand the plight and pain of our sisters and brothers who are homeless, we invite you to spend some time on the streets before the end of May.  We can help make it possible here in Philadelphia, or perhaps you can do so in another city based on your itinerary.  We believe such a personal experience can be a dynamic basis for developing effective policies that can help us as a country meet the needs of our most vulnerable citizens and solve one of our most vexing social problems.

Hundreds of homeless persons, service providers, advocates, and friends are gathering this coming Monday, April 21, at 12:00 noon in front of the National Constitution Center, the site of last week’s Democratic debate.  We intend to raise the urgency of the issues of affordable housing and support services to help us address homelessness.  We invite you to attend and tell us that you will commit to spending a night on the streets.  If you cannot personally attend our gathering, please send a representative of your campaign, who can communicate to us your commitment.

We write on behalf of the thousands of men and women who have experienced homelessness and who have demonstrated how lives can be transformed.  We write on behalf of thousands more of our sisters and brothers who deserve a chance to turn their lives around and be able to contribute their gifts and talents to our society.  We are waiting to hear from you.  We are hopeful that you will respond.

Sincerely,

S. Mary Scullion
Executive Director, Project H.O.M.E.

Joseph Rogers
Executive Director, Mental Health Association of Southeast Pennsylvania

David Dunbeck
Director of Homeless Services, Horizon House

Angelo Sgro
Executive Director, Bethesda Project

Marsha Cohen
Executive Director, Homeless Advocacy Project

Judge Jones has set up a system where homeowners will be directed to housing counseling to attempt to negotiate an affordable work out with the mortgage servicer and then a Conciliation Conference presided over by the court would be held between the homeowner and the lender if no solution were reached. The court could refuse to allow a sale if an affordable loan modification or other work out were not offered to resolve the situation. While this is a pilot project with many details to be worked out, the potential is here to have court intervention to press lenders to modify loans so that homeowners can make payments and keep their properties. Investors will benefit from securing performing loans and by avoiding the costs of foreclosure. Philadelphia's housing counseling agencies will have a key role in the program by assisting with work out efforts and often representing homeowners at the Conciliation Conference. The Court Order is attached and links for press coverage of the new system are below.

Howard Zinn narrates this documentary on the MOVE orga- nization formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1972 by John Africa and Donald Glassey. The documentary features a look at the events leading up to the police arrest of MOVE, a radical black political commune based in West Philadelphia. MOVE, had since the 70s been subject to extreme violence and repression at the hands of Philly cops. And while they had consistently stood stood their ground to the police, they were met with some of the most openly brutal and racist violence in the process. In 1 978 during a siege on their Powelton Village home, MOVE members were bru- tally beaten and shot at when a police officer was shot and killed most likely from friendly fire. 9 MOVE members were sentenced to life in prison for the death of Officer Ramp, despite that it had both been technically impossible for them to have shot the fatal bullet and the judge admitting he had no idea who killed Ramp. 7 years later in 1 985, police bombed MOVE head- quarters, subsequently sniping anyone attempting to escape the burning building. On that day police killed eleven people, including John Africa, six other adults and four children.

Almost 30 years after the Aug. 8, 1978 confrontation here in Philadelphia, the eight remaining “MOVE 9” prisoners are now eligible for parole. As their pa- role hearings approach, the defenestrator collective has invited MOVE and supporters to field questions on the current situation of the MOVE political prisoners.

We will pass the hate to raise funds for the defenestrator’s prison mailing.

read more

Free Film Screening (donations will be kindly accepted to fund mailing the defenestrator)

When Hank Deerfield is told by the military that his son Mike, who only recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq, has gone AWOL he travels to the military base to see if he can make any sense of the young man's disappearance. Hank is himself a retired military investigator and is frustrated by both the military and the civilian police's apparent lack of interest in the case. In the end he does manage to get help from Det. Emily Sanders and together they piece together the events that led to Mike's disappearance. In the end, this is a story of how war dehumanizes individuals to the point where the taking of life makes no sense and has no purpose.

read more

Free film Screening (donations will be kindly accepted to fund the mailing of the defenestrator)

When Hank Deerfield is told by the military that his son Mike, who only recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq, has gone AWOL he travels to the military base to see if he can make any sense of the young man's disappearance. Hank is himself a retired military investigator and is frustrated by both the military and the civilian police's apparent lack of interest in the case. In the end he does manage to get help from Det. Emily Sanders and together they piece together the events that led to Mike's disappearance. In the end, this is a story of how war dehumanizes individuals to the point where the taking of life makes no sense and has no purpose.

read more

Film Screening

Free! (donations will be kindly accepted to fund mailing the defenestrator to people in prisons)

When Hank Deerfield is told by the military that his son Mike, who only recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq, has gone AWOL he travels to the military base to see if he can make any sense of the young man's disappearance. Hank is himself a retired military investigator and is frustrated by both the military and the civilian police's apparent lack of interest in the case. In the end he does manage to get help from Det. Emily Sanders and together they piece together the events that led to Mike's disappearance. In the end, this is a story of how war dehumanizes individuals to the point where the taking of life makes no sense and has no purpose. 

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by Hans Bennett

Abu-Jamal-News.com

Watch video here.

Along with excerpts of archival footage from the Cohort Media documentary titled "MOVE", this video features a new interview with MOVE member Mike Africa Jr.

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