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64 Pages·2010·6.04 MB·English

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i the road to zimbabwe! l inside occupied
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l the dream that became a nightmare
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W R I T I N G W O R T H R E A D I N G l I S S U E 4 6 l M Ay 2 0 1 0
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By Ron Williams. Photographs by Bruce Giffin
PLUS l the LieS of Liberation l the UnShakabLe trUth of haiti
ColdType
TheReadeR
Issue 46 May 2010
lost in the usa
3. chasing the vutures away from detroit Ron Williams
9. behind the scenes in ariZona Greg Palast
11. my american nightmare Stacey Warde
editor: Tony Sutton 14. we’re on the road to Zimbabwe david Michael Green
([email protected])
17. america: the grim truth Lance Freeman
To subscribe, 22 inside occupied washington dc Stephanie Westbrook
send an email to:
[email protected]
(Write subscribe in the
subject line)
Opinions expressed in The
ColdType Reader are not
necessarily those of the
editor or publisher 24. the unshakable truth in haiti Jesse Hagopian
Cover Photo by Bruce 29. liberation’s lies Felicity arbuthnot
Giffin: Houses slated 34. trying to explain the plunder and the crime danny Schechter
for demolition in Detroit
37. Zero tolerance on workplace slaughter Sam Pizzigati
39. the pentagon papers are public this time david Swanson
41. warmongers of the world, unite John Pilger
43. putting the pope on trial George Monbiot
45. anderson cooper and class solidarity Joe Bageant
48. a grand adventure Fred Reed
50. facing the threat from the far right Chris Hedges
53. shell and the irish fishermen Miriam Cotton
56. collateral damage of smart sanctions ali Fathollah-Nejad
58. is iran really a threat to world peace? Ray McGovern
2 TheReadeR | May 2010
Lost In The USA / 1
Chasing the vultures
away from detroit
don’t write off Motor City, writes ron williams,
like it or not, detroit is the future of the United States
Photographs by bruce giffin
he vultures are picking at the with whom I worked for many years. Bruce’s detroit is the end
T
bones again: “Two French photog- powerful, respectful photographs from the result of a global
raphers immortalize the remains streets of the city are deeply moving. They economic system
of the motor city on film”. That’s are authentic – I doubt if he jumps on the unfettered by labor
how Time magazine describes a recent photo first plane to Paris after a photo session. or environmental
series by Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre After all the political rhetoric, all the cor- standards. the
titled “Detroit’s Beautiful, Horrible Decline”. porate funded white papers and messed up city is the deadly
I’d like to know who appointed these edi- mainstream media coverage, Detroit is the consequence
tors coroner, anyway? Where I come from, truth. Detroit is the end result of a global of capital freely
which happens to be Detroit, anytime you economic system unfettered by labor or en- moving across the
are immortalizing somebody’s remains, they vironmental standards. The city is the deadly planet, forever
are dead. In this case I find it odd to send consequence of capital freely moving across in search of a
in two French photographers to conduct the the planet, forever in search of a lower com- lower common
forensics and perform the cultural autopsy. mon denominator of working conditions, denominator of
Who are these guys? How long did they pollution and corruption. Add an utter lack working conditions,
spend in the city? What do they even know of vision (and too often integrity) on the part pollution and
about Detroit? of the local business and political leadership corruption
Their photograph of a grand old theatre and the result has been an urban implosion
with its roof collapsing is certainly striking. unmatched in scale and depth anywhere in
Only problem is that it could have been tak- the United States. The amount of suffering
en 25 years ago. In fact, it was. When I was and heartbreak is so acute and so real that it
the editor and publisher of the Metro Times can take your breath away.
in the 80’s, we paid photographers to break So does Detroit still matter? Or should we
into abandoned theatres across downtown to just bulldoze what is still standing and scat-
rally the community to save these civic trea- ter the remaining residents across the coun-
sures. Yes, we lost some like the United Artist try as the Bush administration did with the
and Michigan. But we also saved the Fox, the victims of Hurricane Katrina? Blame it on
State, the Gem and the Grand Circus, all in the post-industrial hurricane called global
the same neighborhood. free market capitalism.
If Time wanted to show the world some Part of the answer lies in the city’s history.
images of Detroit, maybe they could have Detroit was the Silicon Valley of the industri-
contacted a local photographer. There are al age with people starting automobile com-
many great ones. Bruce Giffin, for example, panies in their garages instead of tech com-
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brush park: once it housed
the mansions of detroit
detroit was the panies. The world may not have defeated BR
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place, more than fascism and genocide without the “Arsenal c
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any other, that of Democracy” running full tilt with count- G
If
gave real power less women doing the heavy lifting. It was f
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to working men the place, more than any other, that gave real
and women power to working men and women through
through collective collective bargaining. It was a crucible of
bargaining Black pride and Black political power. And
Detroit is birthplace to some of the best R&B,
blues, jazz, rock & roll and hip hop the world
has ever heard.
DO NOT underestimate the capacity of
this city to achieve great things.
Detroit not only still matters, but it is at
this moment the single most important city
in North America. Detroit is coming to a
neighborhood near you – it is an early warn-
ing of what urban communities across the
US and far beyond are facing as those post-
industrial, peak oil hurricane winds gather
strength.
There is a flip side to Detroit’s devastation.
mathias, resident of
With the disinvestment and abandonment
detroit’s highland park.
of the city at such an extreme and criminal
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B
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playground monkey bars covered in blankets as
alternative housing in the shadow of a detroit casino
B detroit not only
R
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c still matters, but it
E
G is at this moment
If
f the single most
IN
important city in
north america.
detroit is coming
to a neighborhood
near you
clothesline from homeless living in the
abandoned detroit public schools warehouse
in the shadows of michigan central depot
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Lost In The USA / 1
B
family walking on hamilton street RU
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in the highland park area (5 degrees) E
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there are now B
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800 community c
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gardens on G
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abandoned lots, f
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peace zones for
public safety, green
retrofitting of
empty houses, new
open source media
projects and an
exploding hip hop
and poetry scene
brush park area
of detroit
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B B
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f f
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walking by the abandoned home sweet
detroit central depot home
level, the usual entrenched interests are far sports cars – they are all good. But today’s hip what better place
weaker and less capable of controlling the “green lifestyle” is overwhelmingly a white, for the united
landscape. Call it the VOID. Nowhere else are academic, upper middle class phenomenon. states to take all
the opportunities to re-invent, re-think, re- I don’t understand how so much passion and that talk about
build and re-imagine a major American city energy can yield so few results and be so dis- building a green
greater than Detroit today. connected from most people’s lives. economy and put
With the city’s current leadership hypno- The Green movement can never succeed it into practice
tized by what they see as a civic death spiral, without placing social justice at its very than the city that
new leadership is coming from the bottom heart. Sustainability will never gain real trac- put the internal
up. This new cycle is a grassroots affair with tion in North America without coming to combustion engine
an astonishing number of people fashioning terms with how it can engage with commu- on every street?
solutions and affirming life. There are now nities of color, those with lower incomes and
800 community gardens on abandoned lots, people who are struggling. How do we make
peace zones for public safety, green retrofit- sustainability relevant to those losing their
ting of empty houses, new open source me- jobs, losing their homes?
dia projects and an exploding hip hop and What we need now is a collaborative ef-
poetry scene. fort that could echo around the world. An
This June, 10,000 people from around the Urban Green Lab. What possible better stage
world will be convening in Detroit for the US than the 11th largest city in the United States
Social Forum, organizing around the state- which is experiencing Depression-level eco-
ment: “Another Detroit is Happening,” and nomic conditions? Let’s take sustainability
have chosen the city because it is ground home. Detroit’s solutions are likely to be the
zero in today’s global financial meltdown. very same solutions every community will
Detroit is ground zero for the sustain- need in the years ahead.
ability movement as well. Green celebrities, Can you imagine if the socially respon-
high-end eco fashion and $125,000 electric sible business community via Social Ven-
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detroit skyline from the
abandoned fisher 21 plant
Ron Williams ture Network, BALLE and SOCAP, powerful are doing unbelievable things with few re-
is president of membership organizations such as the Sier- sources. National organizations such as The
3rdWhale Mobile ra Club, NRDC, Greenpeace and the Nature Apollo Alliance, Green for All, Bioneers and
and Chair of the Conservancy, sustainable urban planning the Green Party are all active in southeastern
Free Speech TV departments, student environmental organi- Michigan but none appear to fully grasp the
board of directors. zations, activists in food security, renewable opportunity in Detroit.
He is the co- energy, green building, new media and al- Barack should come too. The world is go-
founder and ternative currencies, were to join in a shared ing to wake up sooner than it realizes and
former editor and commitment to the people of the city? find that it desperately needs an electric grid
publisher of Metro The result would be a wonder to behold and transportation system that runs on re-
Times (Detroit) – justice and compassion and a powerful newable energy.
and founder of validation of the elusive promise the envi- What better place for the United States
happyfrog.ca. ronmental movement has always held. A gift to take all that talk about building a green
from our brains, our hands and our hearts. economy and put it into practice than the
Bruce Giffin Let’s be clear: The people of Detroit don’t city that put the internal combustion engine
has spent more need anyone to “save” them. But they sure on every street?
than 25 years could use a little help. Ignore the mainstream media. Detroit
shooting pictures Grassroots organizations such as Detroit is not about architectural ruins. The future
on the streets of Summer, Friends of Detroit, Michigan Welfare of Detroit is happening in plain sight. The
Detroit where he Rights, Community Food Security Network, people of the D are re-imagining their lives
wanders with his Boggs Center, 1515 Broadway, Earthworks Ur- and their city in fresh and courageous ways.
wonderfully huge ban Farm, Hush House, Heidelberg Project They are on the front lines and there is a lot
black dog Henry. and East Michigan Environmental Action to learn from them. Ct
8 TheReadeR | May 2010
Lost In The USA / 2
Behind the scenes
in arizona
My investigation in arizona discovered the real intent
of the show-me-your-papers law, writes greg palast
on’t be fooled. The way the me- the first year of the Great Brown-Out, one in when he refused
d
dia plays the story, it was a wave three Phoenix residents found their registra- to fabricate
of racist, anti-immigrant hysteria tion applications rejected. charges of illegal
that moved Arizona Republicans That statistic caught my attention. Voting voting among
to pass a sick little law, signed last week, re- or registering to vote if you’re not a citizen is immigrants,
quiring every person in the state to carry pa- a felony, a big-time jail-time crime. And ar- his firing was
pers proving they are US citizens. resting such criminal voters is easy: after all, personally ordered
I don’t buy it. Anti-Hispanic hysteria has they give their names and addresses. by the president of
always been as much a part of Arizona as the So I asked Brewer’s office, had she busted the united states,
Saguaro cactus and excessive air-condition- a single one of these thousands of allegedly george w. bush,
ing. What’s new here is not the politicians’ illegal voters? Did she turn over even one under orders from
fear of a xenophobic “Teabag” uprising. name to the feds for prosecution? his boss, karl rove
What moved GOP Governor Jan Brewer to No, not one.
sign the Soviet-style show-me-your-papers Which raises the question: were these
law is the exploding number of legal Hispan- disenfranchised voters the criminal, non-cit-
ics, US citizens all, who are daring to vote – izens Brewer tagged them, or just not-quite-
and daring to vote Democratic by more than white voters given the José Crow treatment,
two-to-one. Unless this demographic loco- entrapped in document-chase trickery?
motive is halted, Arizona Republicans know The answer was provided by a federal
their party will soon be electoral toast. Or, if prosecutor who was sent on a crazy hunt all
you like, tortillas. over the Western mesas looking for these il-
In 2008, working for Rolling Stone with civ- legal voters. “We took over 100 complaints,
il rights attorney Bobby Kennedy, our team we investigated for almost 2 years, I didn’t
flew to Arizona to investigate what smelled find one prosecutable voter fraud case.”
like an electoral pogrom against Chicano vot- This prosecutor, David Iglesias, is a pros-
ers … directed by one Jan Brewer. ecutor no more. When he refused to fabricate
Brewer, then Secretary of State, had or- charges of illegal voting among immigrants,
ganized a racially loaded purge of the voter his firing was personally ordered by the Pres-
rolls that would have made Katherine Harris ident of the United States, George W. Bush,
blush. Beginning after the 2004 election, un- under orders from his boss, Karl Rove.
der Brewer’s command, no less than 100,000 Iglesias’ jurisdiction was next door, in
voters, overwhelming Hispanics, were New Mexico, but he told me that Rove and
blocked from registering to vote. In 2005, the Republican chieftains were working na-
May 2010 | TheReadeR 9
Lost In The USA / 2
it is important tionwide to whip up anti-immigrant hyste- website wet-dreams, but their mythic PR
to see the ria with public busts of illegal voters, even power helps the party’s electoral hacks chop
republicans’ latest though there were none. “They wanted some away at voter rolls and civil rights with little
legislative horror splashy pre-election indictments,” Iglesias more than a whimper from the Democrats.
show, sanctioning told me. The former prosecutor, himself a Indeed, one reason, I discovered, that
cops to stop Republican, paid the price when he stood up some Democrats are silent is that they are
residents and to this vicious attack on citizenship. in on the game themselves. In New Mexico,
prove citizenship, But Secretary of State Brewer followed the Democratic Party bosses tossed away ballots
as one more step Rove plan to a T. The weapon she used to of Pueblo Indians to cut native influence in
in the party’s slice the Arizona voter rolls was a 2004 law, party primaries. But what’s wrong with re-
desperate plan to known as “Prop 200,” which required proof quiring folks to prove they’re American if
impede mexican- of citizenship to register. It is important to they want to vote and live in America? The
americans from see the Republicans’ latest legislative horror answer: because the vast majority of per-
marching to the show, sanctioning cops to stop residents and fectly legal voters and residents who lack ID
ballot box prove citizenship, as one more step in the sufficient for Ms. Brewer and Mr. Pearce are
party’s desperate plan to impede Mexican- citizens of color, citizens of poverty.
Americans from marching to the ballot box. According to a study by professor Matt
[By the way, no one elected Brewer. Barreto of Washington State University, mi-
Weirdly, Barack Obama placed her in office nority citizens are half as likely as whites
last year when, for reasons known only to to have government ID. The numbers are
the Devil and Rahm Emanuel, the President dreadfully worse when income is factored
appointed Arizona’s Democratic Governor in. Just outside Phoenix, without Brewer’s or
Janet Napolitano to his cabinet, which auto- Pearce’s help, I did locate one of these evil
matically moved Republican Brewer into the un-American voters, that is, someone who
Governor’s office.] could not prove her citizenship: 100-year-old
State Senator Russell Pearce, the Repub- Shirley Preiss. Her US birth certificate was
lican sponsor of the latest ID law, gave away nowhere to be found as it never existed.
his real intent, blocking the vote, when he In Phoenix, I stopped in at the Maricopa
said, “There is a massive effort under way to County prison where Sheriff Joe Arpaio hous-
register illegal aliens in this country.” es the captives of his campaign to stop illegal
How many? Pearce’s PR flak told me, five immigration. Arpaio, who under the new
million. All Democrats, too. Again, I asked Arizona law will be empowered to choose
Pearce’s office to give me their the names his targets for citizenship testing, is already
Greg Palast and addresses from their phony registration facing federal indictment for his racially-
has investigated forms. I’d happily make a citizens arrest of charged and legally suspect methods.
the illegal each one, on camerwa. Pearce didn’t have I admit, I was a little nervous, passing
disenfranchisement five million names. He didn’t have five. He through the iron doors with a big sign, “NO-
of voters for BBC didn’t have one. TICE: ILLEGAL ALIENS ARE PROHIBITED
Television, Rolling The horde of five million voters who FROM VISITING ANYONE IN THIS JAIL.” I
Stone (with swam the Rio Grande just to vote for Obama mean, Grandma Palast snuck into the USA
Robert Kennedy was calculated on a Republican website ex- via Windsor, Canada. We Palasts are illegal
Jr.), Harper’s, trapolating from the number of Mexicans in as they come, but Arpaio’s sophisticated de-
The Nation and a border town who refused jury service be- portee-sniffer didn’t stop this white boy from
Truthout.org. Palast cause they were not citizens. Not one, in fact, entering his sanctum.
is the author of the had registered to vote: they had registered to But that’s the point, isn’t it? Not to stop
New York Times drive. They had obtained licenses as required non-citizens from entering Arizona – after
bestseller, The Best by the law. all, who else would care for the country club
Democracy Money The illegal voters, “wetback” welfare lawn? – but to harass folks of the wrong col-
Can Buy. moms, and alien job thieves are just GOP or: Democratic blue. Ct
10 TheReadeR | May 2010