News 11/26-30

This week Fawzi Assi, a former engineer for Ford Motors, admitted trying to smuggle high-tech equipment to the Lebanese group Hizballah that has been identified as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government. The 48 year-old resident of Deerborne, a suburb of Detroit, claimed not to know about the group’s terrorist affiliations but knew they were involved in violent activities. Assi was trying to provide the group with night vision goggles, GPS systems, and a thermal imaging camera that he packed in his luggage when he was caught boarding a plane to Lebanon. U.S. District Judge Rosen is being pressured by prosecutors to give a 10-year prison sentence, while Assi’s lawyer is asking for consideration of a 3 or 4 year sentence, although a sentence date has yet to be set. Assi has been in custody for 3 and a half years and will get credit for time served. He is the third person who has pleaded guilty to aiding terrorism in Michigan.

Two boys were said to be responsible for spray-painting racist and lewd comments in Rochester Hills. The homeowner is of Middle Eastern descent and reported finding graffiti, sexual remarks and hate symbols, including a swastika, on his car and home. The teenagers, ages 13 and 14, were also accused of covering a home closeby with ketchup, whipped cream and eggs as well as breaking into three vehicles. Initially, nothing was taken, however there was a box of bullets found in one car, but now some golf clubs have been reported stolen. The teenagers will be tried as juveniles and charges could consist of ethnic intimidation, theft, malicious destruction of property and larceny. Hate crimes are considered to be a serious offense, and ethnic intimidation is a felony punishable with up to two years in prison. These young boys seem to be following the trend of increased cases of hate crimes becoming more apparent throughout the nation.

a twist of "white flight"

Better schools and increased life chances does not always equate happiness. After re-evaluating costs and coming to the conclusion that suburban life would be getting the most bang for their buck, one black family decided to make the move. The biggest problem they are facing is that their children are having a hard time making friends in school, and the entire family feels isolated form the rest of their community, since they are one of two black families that live in the neighborhood. In order to develop relationships with fellow African Americans sometimes a commute to Detroit has to be made. Raising their children to have a strong sense of their ethnic heritage and cultural identity while still being able to move around in all parts of society is an increasingly difficult challenge facing minorities. A Detroit news poll taken in July found 49 percent of whites to prefer living in a racially mixed neighborhood, compared with 81 percent of blacks. Black movement to the suburbs is becoming a trend which looks very similar to “white flight” of the ‘50s and ‘60s. The consensus between a few families going through similar experiences with their entrance into the suburbs is that as soon as the kids finish school, they will be moving back into Detroit.

Blackwater under the public's watch

Erik Prince, founder and chief of Blackwater, one of the best-known providers of overseas security services to the U.S. government, found himself patriotically defending his company after investigations began in regard to fatal shootings executed by Blackwater guards in Iraq. The idea to create Blackwater was in response to the lack of adequate facilities Prince experienced when he was going through his Navy SEAL training. It provided a state of the art facility and training for SEAL platoons on a 7,000-acre lot in North Carolina. Blackwater has had huge success, bringing in close to $600 million dollars just last year, but has been under close watch since March of 2004 when 4 guards were ambushed and killed in Iraq. Their bodies were burned, torn apart by mobs, and their remains were displayed dangled from a bridge. Prince’s interrogation was televised last week as he underwent a hostile questioning session by the U.S. House committee. Prince stood his ground as he defended Blackwater and it’s members patriotism, saying they are just loyal Americans who “bleed red, white, and blue.” When asked about the killing of innocent Iraqis he said that in “the fog of war,” accidents happen, providing support for his statement by noting that 27 Blackwater guards have died during the war. After three hours of examination, an intense Prince left the courtroom after deflecting every charge.

The population growth in Detroit’s central city has been shifting for awhile, with more people spreading out into the surrounding metropolitan area. The white flight of the ‘60s and ‘70s caused a huge decline in the inner city population, leaving black residents without jobs and without hope to accumulate enough money to follow the trend. As we saw in Roger and Me, as well as in recent economic trends nationwide, various areas in Michigan are, and have been, losing the service jobs to keep people in the central city. Efforts are now being made by Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to reform and improve the quality of life in six neighborhoods in Detroit. If everything runs as planned, new opportunities for investment and industry expansion will be offered every year in the five-year plan, an attempt at vast economic restructuring to draw as much national and international business as possible. Over the past five years, Detroit is drawing more economic influence in concern to the advancement of technology. It is home to the Compuware World headquarters, one of the biggest computer companies in the nation. The city also relies on casino’s to draw tourists and their money, which has been successful in increasing the number of jobs in the city as well as tax revenue. However, the economy remains unstable and employment rates high, but these issues are not certainly not being overlooked.

Jena 6, help to pay water bills

This week on Friday there was a protest in support of the six black students who are being accused of assaulting a white student in Jena, Louisiana. About 200 people gathered outside of the Patrick V. McNamara Federal Building wearing black as part of the national campaign to promote equal treatment in this trial which has aroused the nation of the continuing racial disparity that goes on. “Injustice to one is injustice to all. Until all of us are free, none of us are free,” said activist Helen Moore of Detroit. She continued on to say, “we came here not wanting to come here, so we demand justice…we are African people and we are at war.” People all over the nation are joining together to show that this a problem which affects the country as a whole, from Jena to Detroit to L.A., and will not be tolerated in silence.

The incident in question actually begun last fall when several black students sat under an oak tree that is typically reserved for white students. The next day there were three nooses hanging from the tree branches and since then racial conflicts have been rampant. One of these conflicts involved a white student getting severely beaten by six black students, who were accused of attempted murder, and are now known nationwide as the Jena 6. The first student to face trial was convicted, by an all-white jury, of aggravated second-degree battery and is awaiting his sentence, which could be 22 years in prison, while the white students who admitted hanging up the nooses faced no more than a few days of suspension. Robert Bailey Jr., one of the Jena 6, was punched and beaten with beer bottles when entering a predominantly white part of town. The white student was charged with battery and given probation. Bailey encountered one of his attackers a different day and they pulled a gun on him. Bailey managed to strip the gun away but was charged with theft of a firearm soon after. The incidents have been non-stop and most seem to end with a sever punishment for the black students while the whites walk away basically scot free. The other 5 await their trials anxiously in hopes that a less-biased judicial system will show itself. A detailed report of the incidents can be found at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20218937/site/newsweek/page/0/.

Detroit is going to implement a plan to help those in poverty pay their water bills to avoid being shut-off, more than a year after the Detroit City Council pushed for the plan’s creation. The city will pay 25 percent of the unpaid bill at first, and then as long as the applicant continues to pay their discounted monthly bills, the city will pay off the majority of the unpaid bills over the following year. Estimated assistance is $1,500 per customer with the limit being $2,000. The Detroit Water and Sewage Dept. has committed to running the program for one year, but has yet to determine how many people will qualify for help; however, there are 8 to 10,000 people who have had or may soon may have their water shut off. There have been a few delays in getting the program started, but now everything seems to be on track and ready to go. Hopefully everything will run smoothly.

I am going to focus on racial issues that occur in the city as well as political issues affecting the people, such as housing, healthcare, taxes or anything else that may arise.

State income tax to be raised

This week the Michigan House has found itself in a dilemma as opposing parties try to reach a compromise before the new fiscal year, which begins on October 1, in attempts, to deal with a $1.7 billion deficit. A raise in the state income tax from 3.9% to 4.6% has been agreed upon, with the Democratic plan involving implementation of ways to generate revenue, and Republicans offering budget cuts as their part of the solution. Even with the 18% tax raise, the budget gap will remain unfilled, making further cuts a necessity and forcing lawmakers to confront the fact that ignoring the challenge of the budget gap this long was a bad idea. While Democrats and Republicans have been struggling to reach an acceptable bi-partisan solution, time is running out. After a plan is approved in the House it has to go through the Senate, where it must sit for at least five days before it can be acted on. Checks to cover state bills are due Oct. 1, but will have to be processed by the end of the prior week, and missing any deadline will result in a great deal of damaged credit, not to mention negative attention to an already struggling economy.

myths

Sorry, I forgot to include this with the original post, but here it is.

The biggest images I associate with Detroit have to do with major social class distinctions, which may be why I think there are an above average number of violent deaths and other crimes in the city, and an amazing drive to experience and support various sports teams. I do think that the myth of Detroit having a huge number of poor people is true, and I do think that correlates with ethnic and racial minorites, those in poverty primarily being black people. The love of sports is definitely an accurate perception, which can be seen when looking at the most popular headlines of any online newspaper. They tend to be flooded with information on sports idols and what is happening in their life, and I definitely had to dig deeper to get information about what's going on in the rest of the world, outside of sports, if such a thing does exist. I think more of these myths and actualites will become clearer as the semester doing this blog progresses.

news for 9/2-9/9

The Michigan State fairgrounds are undergoing discussions of becoming a year-round facility, adding on to the nine buildings they already have on the 156-acre grounds. As well as the building additions, there are talks of the facility being renamed to be called Home of Our State Fair instead of the Woodward and 8 mile Fairgrounds Center. The Fairgrounds talks of expansion may include a variety of events such as jazz and swing concerts, theater, sporting events, dog and horse shows, and wedding receptions.

Negotiations between management and musicians of The Detroit Symphony Orchestra drug on for hours last Wednesday as the two sides tried to reach an agreement on a new contract that would keep the musicians from going on strike, action which has not been taken since 1987. The biggest disparity in recent talks has been over the musician salaries, to be specific, reductions in salary which may put the DSO’s reputation in jeopardy. With less money coming in, it will be harder to continue to attract and keep the best musicians as members of the symphony. DSO’s players make a minimum of $98,800, with principal players bringing in much more than the minimum, ranking the symphony at 10th in the country, just below Pittsburg at $99,501 and above Minnesota at $90,168. The current proposal would reduce annual salaries by about $6,000 in the first year by having three unpaid weeks, with the proceeding two years having two unpaid weeks, decreasing salary by $1,900. Players seem willing to accept reductions, but a finalized contract has yet to be agreed upon.

Last Friday 18-year-old Justin Blackshear was convicted of two counts of first degree murder for the stabbings of Mark Barnard, 52, of Detroit and Megan Soroka, 49, of Dearborn. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Blackshear was a former busboy and dishwasher at a restaurant owned by Chris Cheli of the Detroit Red Wings who said he was, “sickened… to think that [Blackshear ] was once part of the family,” leaving the lingering question of why to “ forever go unanswered.’’ The judge had a series of harsh comments to say about the convicted, including that she though he enjoyed the attention he received for the murders and that Blackshear was “ the most cool-blooded killer [she had] ever seen, and that she was “ grateful [he would]l not be able to hurt anyone else.’’
When asked to address the court, Blackshear said, "I'd like to say to the families, I'm sorry for their loss."