Half of call center jobs will be part-time... about half the jobs are part-time, with no health benefits

Concord: Half of call center jobs will be part-time

By Matthias Gafni

Contra Costa Times

Posted:   07/25/2013 05:59:00 PM PDT

 

Link:

http://www.contracostatimes.com/breaking-news/ci_23733818/concord-half-call-center-jobs-will-be-part?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com

CONCORD -- Earlier this year, Contra Costa County won the right to run a health care call center, where workers will answer questions to help implement the president's Affordable Care Act. Area politicians called the 200-plus jobs it would bring to the region an economic coup.

Now, with two months to go before the Concord operation opens to serve the public, information has surfaced that about half the jobs are part-time, with no health benefits -- a stinging disappointment to workers and local politicians who believed the positions would be full-time.

The Contra Costa County supervisor whose district includes the call center called the whole hiring process -- which attracted about 7,000 applicants -- a "comedy of errors."

"The battle for the call center was over jobs with good working wages and benefits; I never dreamed they would be part-time," said Karen Mitchoff, who has heard from complaining constituents and expressed her "extreme displeasure with how it was handled" to call center supervisors.

One recent hire, who last week learned the job would be part-time, said the new "intermittent" employees feel like they've been used as a political tool, and many now regret applying for the positions.

"What's really ironic is working for a call center and trying to help people get health care, but we can't afford it ourselves," said the worker, who asked for anonymity out of fear of losing the job. The county says it had been telling the public and supervisors all along that some positions would be full-time and some part-time. However, portions of staff reports list all 204 jobs as full-time, and a job posting said the same.

It's the latest controversy involving the call center, one of three created statewide to help citizens enroll in various new health care options under President Obama's Affordable Care Act when it goes live at the start of next year.

Contra Costa was selected early on by the state to run the call center, but the deal mandated the county run the operation itself, with state funding, or lose it to another county. Once Contra Costa secured the call center, Concord and Richmond battled for the right to host it. Unions nearly derailed the project before some last-minute wrangling to ensure workers weren't transferred needlessly and would receive appropriate benefits.

The state budget allows for 180 customer service agents, half of them part-time, when the call center opens Oct. 1, said Contra Costa Deputy County Administrator Theresa Speiker. The full-time employees, she said, will handle the core 40-hour work week, while the part-timers will handle the extended hours. For the first three months, the call center at 2500 Bates Ave., off Highway 4 and Port Chicago Highway, will be open 72 hours a week. After that, it drops to 59 hours a week.

"In open session and in (staff reports) we've been pretty clear that not all will be full-time jobs," Speiker said.
Speiker said the 7,000 applications were "totally outside what we anticipated with the demand for these jobs. We were blown away."

The new hires, many of whom left other full-time jobs for the call center positions, were told they were the "cream of the crop," the recent hire said.

Orientation and training started in July, but stopped on the afternoon of July 18, when employees were told they would have private meetings about their positions, the employee said.

"It reminded me of that George Clooney movie where he goes around the country firing people ('Up in the Air')," the employee said. "The woman said, 'I know you were led to believe you would be full time, but things have changed. ... You are actually 'part-time intermittent.'"

The worker said no clear reasons for the change were given.

Those who became part-time were told they would have to pay full freight on their health plans, ranging from $600 to $1,200 a month for a single worker and between $1,400 to $2,900 a month for an employee with a family. That is a steep bill for employees with part-time jobs paying from $15.33 to $18.63 an hour.

Another applicant said he ditched another job offer after getting a congratulatory hiring letter from call center operators in June, only to be given the runaround in the months since.

During negotiations months ago, Service Employees International Union Local 1021, which represents the customer service agents, demanded 80 percent of health insurance premiums be paid by the county, and 20 percent be paid by the employee. SEIU did not return a call for comment.

"It is very disappointing. I was under the impression these were going to be well-paying, well-compensated positions," said County Supervisor Mary Piepho. "We were really hopeful these would be jobs meeting the unemployment needs in our county and offer them the ability to make a living and support their families."

Contact Matthias Gafni at 925-952-5026.

Unity... unity for what? For real change or to back another warmongering Democrat who will ignore people's needs??

In response to my criticisms of these calls for "left unity" I received a phone call yesterday with the angry caller concluding: Can you do better?

Quite frankly, I think I can articulate the need for unity better than what these Obama supporters posing as leftists have done.

Lots of people are talking about "left unity" and all other kinds of "unity."

I agree with the idea we need to be united. But, who are "we." What do "we" stand for? Is support for Wall Street politicians like Obama the basis of creating "left unity;" or even a contributing factor to "left unity?" Is "left unity" all that we seek?

We should be seeking the unity of all Americans "fed up" with the Democrats and Republicans which would include many of those fed up trying to work for change from within and around the Democratic Party and even a few Democratic Party politicians who are just as fed up as the rest of us.

Many of those calling for "left unity" are doing so simply to divert our attention from the fact that they supported a Wall Street imperialist war monger like Obama and this support of theirs of Obama has become detrimental to "left unity" and working class unity and unity of liberals, progressives and the left.

Unity has to be based on the fact that we are, "People united For Peace, Full Employment, Universal Health Care and Environmental Protection."

A movement is in formation and is in various stages of development and these "left" Obama supporters under the guise of saying they are for "unity" are really trying to set us up like sitting ducks for the next Democrat they intend to support under the guise: "we can't allow Republicans to take over."

We do need organized unity. Our strength is in building a united movement for real change.

I don't think it is important that we have an organization with a name at this point. But, we do need to be united around a basic agenda for real change.

Many of those calling for "left unity" are part of the "Progressives for Obama" organization now with a changed name to hide the fact they are Obama supporters that will be used to back, most likely war-monger Hillary Clinton; the organization called "Progressives Rising." These sell-outs have a name but they don't articulate a specific agenda for united action.

We can simply present ourselves as an "Ad Hoc organization in formation" welcoming anyone aboard who agrees on the need for "People uniting For Peace, Full Employment, Universal Health Care and Environmental Protection."

Organizations are in formation all the time and people who we want to reach out to. people who are fed up--- (liberals, progressives and leftists), will understand this... and so will many other people. There has been a lot of talk about all kinds of "unity" without any substance.

We should proceed with drafting a statement explaining how these four issues are related: Peace, Full Employment, Universal Health Care and Environmental Protection; this could be the gist of how we explain ourselves:

Fed up?
 
So are we.
 
We are concerned Americans joining together with the rest of the world's peoples demanding:

Peace.
Full Employment.
Universal Health Care.
A healthy people and planet.

Given the fact that it is our labor that creates all wealth we don't think we are demanding too much.

Without an end to militarism and ending these dirty wars we have no means to finance universal health care without drastically increasing taxes. Our Nation at peace with a peace budget will create millions of jobs providing the American people with no-fee/no-premium, comprehensive, all-inclusive, universal health care that is publicly financed, publicly administered and publicly delivered like FDR's Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins, envisaged--- health care delivered just like public education.

In ending militarism and wars we eliminate the largest carbon footprint of any industry on the planet--- the Military-Industrial Complex.

The "peace dividends" we reap from ending wars and militarism are many; people and the planet will benefit if our struggles in the streets, at work and at the ballot box succeed.

Uniting people is about a struggle for power against the greedy, parasitical Wall Street vultures who bribe Democrats and Republicans so these Wall Street merchants of death and destruction can continue to profit from militarism and wars the same way they profit from the present private, for-profit health care system while reaping super-profits from using large numbers of unemployed people forced into poverty to depress all wages (low wages mean higher profits) and bust unions while destroying our living environment--- the air we breath, the water we drink and the land we grow our food on.

With peace--- and without Wall Street in power--- planet earth will be able to begin recovering from global warming and climate change as the Military-Industrial Complex is finally shut down instead of our basic manufacturing industries which will be brought back to life in environmentally friendly ways putting millions of unemployed and under-employed Americans back to work as  the focus of government turns from looking after Wall Street  to putting people to work solving the problems of the people like the Full Employment Act of 1945 introduced by Texas liberal Congressman Wright Patman called for in making Congress and the President responsible for a peace-time full employment economy.

Through peace we create jobs providing real health care reform while keeping both people and the planet healthy.

Government budgets are a reflection of our Nation's real priorities.

Wall Street dictate through bribing politicians is not what democracy is all about.

Peace. Full Employment. Universal Health Care. For a healthy people and planet.

Only a powerful "people's lobby" can challenge the Wall Street lobbyists.

Is anyone interested? Let's talk about this. Let's respond to these idle calls of the phony "leftists" backing Obama and the Democrats who will continue to deliver what the Republicans promise: wars, unemployment, poverty.

Finding real solutions to our problems is what has the potential for real unity.

This is who we are: the "fed up"... "People uniting For Peace, Full Employment, Universal Health Care and Environmental Protection."

Does anyone disagree these are the basic points of united action and the kind of unity required at this time?

Alan L. Maki

Look what these sleazy Democrats and their shills call the road to single-payer...

Here it is--- hot off the press, maybe the calls are doing some good, at least a little light is being shined; does anyone call this the path to "single-payer universal health care?"

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/07/16/vermont-releases-final-health-insurance-rates/

Vermont Releases Final Health Insurance Rates

July 16, 2013 12:20 PM

WebMD Health News

By Julie Edgar


Reviewed by Katherine Swartz, PhD


July 12, 2013 — Vermonters can expect to pay slightly lower premiums than those initially proposed by the two insurance carriers approved to sell plans on the state’s new health insurance Marketplace, called Vermont Health Connect.


The Green Mountain Care Board — the regulatory authority for insurance and hospital rates in Vermont — announced this week that it negotiated 4.3% to 5.3% rate cuts in individual and small-group plans offered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont and MVP Health Care. The rates go into effect Jan. 1.


Vermont approved six “metal” plans in its health insurance Marketplace, also called an Exchange. There are two bronze, two silver, one gold, and one platinum plan, each with different combinations of copayments, coinsurance rates, and limits on annual out-of-pocket spending.


Every plan must cover the same services, but the companies pay a bigger share of costs going from the bronze to platinum. Bronze plans pay about 60% of the average person’s health costs. Silver plans pay 70%, gold plans 80%, and platinum plans 90%. Customers pay the remaining costs. (For example, customers pay 40% of the costs under a bronze plan.) Bronze plans have the lowest premiums, while the platinum plans have the highest. 


In Vermont, final rates for mid-range silver plans are from $395 (BCBS) to $410 (MVP) per month for a single person. Family plans range from $1,111 (BCBS) to $1,151 (MVP) per month. About 100,000 state residents are expected to buy insurance through Vermont Health Connect.


Lower-income Vermonters can expect to pay 0.5% to 8% of their income on health insurance premiums, according to Robin Lunge, Vermont’s director of health care reform. Financial aid in the form of state subsidies and federal tax credits are available to ease the financial burden for about 49,500 residents.


Under the Affordable Care Act, signed into law in 2010, each state must have a health insurance Marketplace in place by Oct. 1 for coverage starting Jan. 1, 2014. Most Americans will be required to have health insurance starting Jan. 1. Vermont is one of 17 states, along with the District of Columbia, that will run its own Marketplace.


SOURCES:News release, Green Mountain Care Board.Robin Lunge, director of health care reform, state of Vermont.Anya Wallack, chair, Green Mountain Care Board.Emily Yahr, education and outreach manager, Vermont Health Benefit Exchange-Vermont Health Connect.
© 2013 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

 

Vermont "single-payer;" one more Democratic Party hoax and a fraud just like Barack Obama.

The Vermont "Single Payer Legislation" is a hoax.

It is not based on the Canadian model and the Canada Health Act.

Tommy Douglas did not view single-payer as the ultimate goal; in fact, Tommy Douglas was creating a public health care system in Saskatchewan--- socialized health care--- when it began to rapidly catch on and support for socialized health care spread like a prairie fire across Canada which struck fear into the profit-mongers, and a reform agreement was reached resulting in single-payer which is financed mainly through a payroll tax on employers and employees just like Social Security is paid for.

The Vermont "single-payer" will cost families hundreds of dollars a month--- probably well over $700.00 a month. I have called the office of the Vermont governor to ask how much this will cost the people. They refuse to say. I then called 10 members of the Vermont legislature at random--- no one would answer this question.

PNHP dishonestly promotes single-payer as the "ultimate solution" while backing this hoax in Vermont just like they backed the legislation by Minnesota State Senator John Marty which was a hoax--- not single -payer.

The "ultimate solution" is a national public health care system--- socialized health care.

What is real single-payer?

No-fees/no-premiums, comprehensive, all-inclusive, pre-natal through burial; publicly financed, publicly administered and privately delivered.

What is a national public health care system?

No-fees/no-premiums, comprehensive, all-inclusive, pre-natal through burial; publicly financed, publicly administered and PUBLIC DELIVERY.

Doctors should be placed on the public payroll just like public school teachers and health care should be modeled on the same system as public education.

PNHP is looking out for the doctors not for the well-being of the rest of us in promoting these phoney "single-payer" schemes like in Vermont.

No one in Vermont will provide any specifics about cost or what the role of insurance companies will be--- in fact, Vermont Blue Cross/Blue Shield welcomes the Vermont legislation and the only thing people have to look at is their monthly premium they are now paying to them for insurance and by 2017 they will be paying about 30% more under this fraudulent "Vermont Single-Payer" legislation which is titled:

"Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act." Single-payer is not even in the legislation's title.

Again, this is nothing but modified Obamacare with a board stipulating that doctors will continue robbing people just like the insurance companies and the pharmaceutical industries.

No Canadian would view the Vermont legislation as anything similar to Canadian single-payer; so why would we?

Don't fall for this hoax.

Don't believe me? Just sit by and think that you will be getting single-payer as a result of the Vermont hoax which does absolutely nothing for you and me but enshrines continued high fees for doctors.

I challenge anyone who disputes my assessment of this Vermont legislation to post here:

What a family of four will continue to pay out of their pocket for health care.

At best, single-payer should be supported as a step towards a national public health care system.

Public education works because it is public; privatize education and it ceases to work. Same thing with health care--- privatized health care does not work.

What do we want in health care?

Publicly Financed. Publicly Administered. Publicly Delivered.

When do we want it? NOW!

Fund health care not these dirty imperialist wars.

A National Public Health Care System has the added bonus in that it would create some 12-million to 15-million new jobs putting people to work providing the American people with FREE health care for a small fraction of the price Obama's dirty imperialist wars are costing us.

Instead of over 800 U.S. military bases dotting the globe on foreign soil--- put a health care center in ever neighborhood.

Of course, just like in Canada, clinging to this rotten and corrupt two-party trap isn't going to get us anywhere near real single-payer or a national public health care system--- it was Tommy Douglas and his socialist New Democratic Party (then called the CCF) that won single-payer and on his deathbed Tommy Douglas told Canadians that the struggle for health care reform would not be over until socialized health care was finally realized.

The peddlers of this Vermont hoax are also trying to pervert where Tommy Douglas stood on health care reform and how this reform in Canada came about.

Again, I say, bring forward the specifics of the Vermont legislation and let's see how much it will cost and who will pay and how it will be paid for. Very simple. Just give us these facts of what will be and not what some Democratic Party shill would "like to see happen."

Don't fall for this hoax; it is just like Obama--- a Democratic Party fraud.

It isn't even an itty-bitty, teeny-weeny baby step towards real health care reform--- it is another big step backwards just like Obamacare--- the "Health Insurance and Pharmaceutical Industry Bailout and Profit Maximization Act of 2010."

Our goal should be to get us closer to a national public health care system--- anything that doesn't put us on this path should be rejected.

Just received this from a friend in Canada.

There is no end to the crimes against Aboriginal peoples in Canada and the United States.

I suppose the Canadian government "will make everything right" with one more "apology" to Aboriginal people:
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/07/16/hungry_aboriginal_kids_used_unwittingly_in_nutrition_experiments_researcher_says.html

A very good friend of mine, Nelson Scribe--- a former Chief of the Norway House Cree Nation explained, back in 1994 at a gathering of Cree eleders--- what it will take to right the wrongs of the past and put an end to the ongoing injustices:

The Elders took up the first part of the gathering. They met for three days trying to come up with a direction for the renewed Cree Confederacy.

They expressed concerns about injustice, poverty and struggles in their community. All across Cree country, the problems were the same.

The Cree Nation was once a strong and powerful nation according to what the Elders say. It was only when government divided them that they lost that unity and strength.

Nelson Scribe is an Elder and former chief of the Norway House First Nation in northern Manitoba. He says with the creation of a Cree Confederacy, they'll be able to speak with one voice.

"It'll be easier to get government to move on our concerns when we talk to them as one. It will also eliminate the provinces from telling each nation different things because we'll be one nation dealing with one government," Scribe said.

Scribe added the Cree Confederacy will return to the largest and once-powerful nation in North America.

"We are powerful. We just don't know it yet," Scribe said.

- See more at: http://www.ammsa.com/publications/windspeaker/gathering-renews-cree-confederacy#sthash.hsjjIJVb.dpuf

The article in The Star:
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/07/16/hungry_aboriginal_kids_used_unwittingly_in_nutrition_experiments_researcher_says.html

News / Canada

Hungry Canadian aboriginal children were used in government experiments during 1940s, researcher says

New historical research says hungry aboriginal children and adults were once used as unwitting subjects in nutritional experiments by the Canadian government.

By: Andrew Livingstone News reporter, Bob Weber The Canadian Press, Published on Tue Jul 16 2013

Aboriginal children were deliberately starved in the 1940s and ’50s by government researchers in the name of science.

Milk rations were halved for years at residential schools across the country.

Essential vitamins were kept from people who needed them.

Dental services were withheld because gum health was a measuring tool for scientists and dental care would distort research.

For over a decade, aboriginal children and adults were unknowingly subjected to nutritional experiments by Canadian government bureaucrats.

This disturbing look into government policy toward aboriginals after World War II comes to light in recently published historical research.

Photos View gallery

• zoom

When Canadian researchers went to a number of northern Manitoba reserves in 1942 they found rampant malnourishment. But instead of recommending increased federal support to improve the health of hundreds of aboriginals suffering from a collapsing fur trade and already limited government aid, they decided against it. Nutritionally deprived aboriginals would be the perfect test subjects, researchers thought.

The details come from Ian Mosby, a post-doctorate at the University of Guelph, whose research focused on one of the most horrific aspects of government policy toward aboriginals during a time when rules for research on humans were just being adopted by the scientific community.

Researching the development of health policy for a different research project, Mosby uncovered “vague references to studies conducted on ‘Indians’ ” and began to investigate.

Government documents eventually revealed a long-standing, government-run experiment that came to span the entire country and involved at least 1,300 aboriginals, most of them children.

These experiments aren’t surprising to Justice Murray Sinclair, chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The commission became aware of the experiments during their collection of documents relating to the treatment and abuse of native children at residential schools across Canada from the 1870s to the 1990s.

It’s a disturbing piece of research, he said, and the experiments are entrenched with the racism of the time.

“This discovery, it’s indicative of the attitude toward aboriginals,” Sinclair said. “They thought aboriginals shouldn’t be consulted and their consent shouldn’t be asked for. They looked at it as a right to do what they wanted then.”

In the research paper, published in May, Mosby wrote, “the experiment seems to have been driven, at least in part, by the nutrition experts’ desire to test their theories on a ready-made ‘laboratory’ populated with already malnourished human experimental subjects.”

Researchers visited The Pas and Norway House in northern Manitoba in 1942 and found a demoralized population marked by, in their words, “shiftlessness, indolence, improvidence and inertia.”

They decided that isolated, dependent, hungry people would be ideal subjects for tests on the effects of different diets.

“In the 1940s, there were a lot of questions about what are human requirements for vitamins,” Mosby said. “Malnourished aboriginal people became viewed as possible means of testing these theories.”

These experiments are “abhorrent and completely unacceptable,” said Andrea Richer, spokesperson for Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Minister Bernard Valcourt.

The first experiment began in 1942 on 300 Norway House Cree. Of that group, 125 were selected to receive vitamin supplements, which were withheld from the rest.

At the time, researchers calculated the local people were living on less than 1,500 calories a day. Normal, healthy adults generally require at least 2,000.

In 1947, plans were developed for research on about 1,000 hungry aboriginal children in six residential schools in Port Alberni, B.C., Kenora, Ont., Schubenacadie, N.S., and Lethbridge, Alta.

One school for two years deliberately held milk rations to less than half the recommended amount to get a ‘baseline’ reading for when the allowance was increased. At another school, children were divided into one group that received vitamin, iron and iodine supplements and one that didn’t.

One school depressed levels of vitamin B1 to create another baseline before levels were boosted.

And, so that all the results could be properly measured, one school was allowed none of those supplements.

The experiments, repugnant today, would probably have been considered ethically dubious even at the time, said Mosby.

“I think they really did think they were helping people. Whether they thought they were helping the people that were actually involved in the studies — that’s a different question.”

People Over Profits! Help stop the harassment the Marcus family is being subjected to by the Humboldt Greenway Townhome Association.

I have called Michelle Boeck and so far I have received no response. I encourage everyone to call and write to protest this malicious unethical harassment of Marcus Harcus and his family...

Call the property manager, Michelle Boeck:
--> 612.381.8600
--> michelleb@citiesmanagement.com
Humboldt Greenway Townhome Association

Buying a townhome for my family has been one of the worst mistakes of my life. I like our first family home and the location, but I dislike my association board.

These unethical, unscrupulous neighbors are suing me for $701 in past due monthly townhome association fees. For nearly two years, I have suffered with a household deficit due to a significant loss of household income. This means I have not earned enough income to cover all of my basic living expenses, even with as many cuts and deprivations as I can manage. Having to prioritize survival needs like food, shelter, education, childcare, health care, and transportation expenses for my young family, many of my monthly $200 association fees have been late. I'm behind $701, but still making payments to the best of my ability. I have paid several thousand dollars in association fees since we moved here nearly 5 years ago. During my time of financial hardship, when I am down, my white gentrifier neighbors are kicking and stomping me and my young family...

The association board has cruelly SUED my family after threatening us this year and last year. These people lack humanity and cannot fathom ethical considerations - these inhumane neighbors have PILED UP late fees and legal fees that amount to more than $2,400! They have refused to agree to a fair and reasonable payment plan. They're so zealous about $701 that we can't afford to pay at once, that they're trying to artificially inflate this debt to FINANCIALLY RUIN MY FAMILY and make us HOMELESS! This is unscrupulous and usurious like a muthafuka!

I am going to protest my unscrupulous townhome association board and I need your help! I want to organize a press conference in the coming weeks, prior to the next Humboldt Greenway Townhome Association board meeting on July 15 and before my court date on July 18. I need all of the organizers and activists and friends that I have to join me in stopping this madness. I intend to engage in nonviolent direct actions to publicly shame my unethical neighbors, to create enough tension to compel them to change their dirty ways and comply with my demands justice. I have attempted to negotiate with these people in earnest, but they were completely devoid of reason or compassion from the very beginning. Who needs enemies with neighbors like these?

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

Call the property manager, Michelle Boeck:
--> 612.381.8600
--> michelleb@citiesmanagement.com

Please deliver this message to her:

"Hi Michelle,

"I am a neighbor/friend of Marcus Harcus. What you're doing to his family is wrong. Where is your humanity? Drop the frivolous and unscrupulous lawsuit against them now! Drop the fees and change the unethical policies and practices of the Humboldt Greenway Townhome Association board!

"Thx."

Please leave her a voice message and send her an email anytime that you can, but the best time to flood her phone would be on Tuesdays between 9:00am-12:00pm.

If you are able to make the call, which takes no time and will make you feel good, and it might even make you laugh, please let me know that you did call and/or email. Please do both, lol! I'm serious as hell though.

SAVE the DATE:
I will organize a press conference, rally and direct action on July 15, 2013

At this event I will address my fight for justice against the Humboldt Greenway Townhome Association, but I also want to invite a powerful roster of HOUSING JUSTICE activists/advocates isto address housing justice for all. We'll recognize the many efforts and opportunities for the people to get involved and help organize to stop foreclosures. We'll discuss the MN Homeowner's Bill of Rights legislation that was passed and what more needs to be done. I'll also propose some legislative remedies to the widespread problem of so-called "common interest communities" like mine, and the commonality of unethical homeowners association boards cruelly mistreating the association members.

Although I haven't received official endorsement, I know people and I'll be calling on grassroots organizations like the Neighborhoods Organizing for Change, Occupy Homes MN, the Northside Community Reinvestment Coalition and other grassroots organizations and people who stand for housing justice to stand with me now. I hope and believe they will. I hope I can count on YOU!

Please call and email Michelle Boeck. Let's overwhelm her voicemail and inbox! This is the first step, to begin sending a dramatic and resounding message of protest from my community against this HOUSING INJUSTICE!

For more information, please contact me: marcus(at)marcusharcus(dot)org

Thx!

mh
612.226.4093 - My cell is temporarily disconnected (I'm broke, ok?), but it'll eventually get reconnected.

***

I must reiterate that I did attempt to negotiate with the Humboldt Greenway Townhome Association board many times, mostly through writing because they refused for a long time to even meet with me and they only communicate through Michelle Boeck, the property manager. When I did negotiate with them and their attorney face to face, they could not understand and refused to make reasonable moves to accommodate my poverty to resolve this ultimately PETTY debt. They are completely unfair, unreasonable and unintelligent. Common sense ain't common!

I want to publicly shame my association board and shine a bright light on a common issue of homeowner association boards suing their neighbors who suffer hardships, threatening (and actually causing) financial ruin and homelessness. The association board has the power to place a foreclosure lien on my first family home, but I will not let it happen! No justice, no peace!

4830 N. Humboldt Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55430

An Open Letter to Jill Stein and the Green Party, Green Shadow Cabinet and the Democracy Convention

Since there is no interest from any members of the Green Party, Green Shadow Cabinet or the conveners of the Democracy Convention when it comes to the plight of casino workers employed in the Indian Gaming Industry with over 350 casinos and related businesses spread out across the country who are forced to work in loud, noisy, smoke-filled places of employment at poverty wages and without any rights under state or federal labor laws in an industry where a bunch of rich white mobsters own the slot machines and table games once again leaving Native Americans mired in never-ending poverty caused by never-ending debt I don't have any interest in your Democracy Convention. 

More first-time job seekers and more women of child-bearing age are employed in the Indian Gaming Industry than in any other industry.

No other workers in the United States are more oppressed and more exploited.

No other workers of color in any other industry are more victimized by racism than in this hideous Indian Gaming Industry.

No other industry is more riddled with crime and corruption.

No other industry bribes politicians in the manner of the Indian Gaming Industry via its National Indian Gaming Association and the various state and regional gaming associations.

People like the Fertitta Family are typical of the management firms employed by the Indian Gaming Industry. If you aren't familiar with the Fertitta Family operations and the workings of their attorneys--- Brownstein/Hyatt/Farber/Schreck--- I suggest you check them out. Frank Fertitta was caught trying to bribe the Missouri Attorney General.

Part and parcel of this hideous Indian Gaming Industry is the violence spun off which goes along with the illegal gambling, prostitution, loan-sharking, theft rings and drug dealing.

Over the last twenty-five years or so many millions of workers have been forced into employment in this hideous Indian Gaming Industry which is killing workers along with creating poverty--- workers without any rights paid poverty wages are going to be poor--- and corrupting the political processes in this country from the tribal governments to township and county boards, city and state governments, the U.S. Congress and the President.

I wonder if it by intent or chance the Green Party, Green Shadow Cabinet and the Democracy Convention keeps the Indian Gaming Industry off the agenda? It certainly isn't because Jill Stein is unaware of the hazards to human health caused by forcing workers into a smoke-filled working environment day in and day out and all night long 365 days a year.

If workers employed in the Indian Gaming Industry can't rely on the Green Party, Green Shadow Cabinet and the Democracy Convention to stand up for justice; what workers can?

In the past there has been no response from you to our concerns. We will be taking our concerns with you over your indifference to these multiple injustices associated with the Indian Gaming industry in a much more public way.

The National Indian Gaming Association has employed the "services" of the union-busting outfit Altegrity/USIS trying to thwart our organizing efforts which already take place in a very worker-unfriendly environment because of the racist, anti-labor terms of the "Compacts" creating this hideous Indian Gaming Industry.

As workers employed in the Indian Gaming Industry seeking to break free from the two-party trap of which the Indian Gaming Industry has become a component; we would rather work together with all those seeking to challenge Wall Street for power.

For many years the Rockefellers, Mellons, Pillsburys, the Bell family and other Wall Street families have been heavily invested in gambling so it should come as no surprise these wealthy Wall Street families together with mobsters of organized crime dominate the Indian Gaming Industry the same way they do mining, banking and the energy industries.

Alan L. Maki
Director of Organizing,
Midwest Casino Workers Organizing Council

Why did the EAGLE & CONDOR SACRED WALK FOR MOTHER EARTH leave out the demand to end smoking in the Indian Gaming Industry?

The Indian Gaming Industry is now the largest single employer of Native Americans.

I find it ironic no mention is made here by the EAGLE & CONDOR SACRED WALK FOR MOTHER EARTH of the need to end smoking in these casinos since workers are now spending a good part of their lives in these loud, noisy, smoke-filled casinos being paid poverty wages and forced to work without any rights under state, federal and international labor laws and in complete violation of everything the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights stands for.

Putting an end to smoking in these casinos of the Indian Gaming Industry so workers are employed in a healthy and safe working environment should be a very simple reform compared to putting an end to the K-XL Pipeline, fracking and sulfide and peat mining which we also join you in opposing; but remind you, that to many people it seems a bit hypocritical not to include the demand the Indian Gaming Industry be smoke-free.

Failing to insist that the Indian Gaming Industry be smoke-free thus leaves open a door to the energy and mining industries to point out this hypocrisy which severely weakens any movements for clean air and water and protection of the land and all living things.

Is there a reason making these workplaces smoke-free given the medical and scientific findings of the adverse health impact on human beings subjected to second-hand smoke is not included in the EAGLE & CONDOR SACRED WALK FOR MOTHER EARTH?

Second-hand smoke is especially life-threatening to people who already have heart, lung and problems with diabetes, young women of child-bearing age and nursing mothers... thus, second-hand smoking in the Indian Gaming Industry not only adversely impacts the health of tens of millions of casino workers and casino patrons but the health of the unborn, babies and entire families forced to suffer when a loved one gets sick and/or terminally ill.

It seems to me it would be natural to include the demand that the Indian Gaming Industry be smoke-free.

This Sacred Walk through 6 RESERVATIONS, 5 HO-CHUNK NATION COMMUNITIES AND 3 MAJOR MIDWEST CITIES of the EAGLE & CONDOR SACRED WALK FOR MOTHER EARTH would be the appropriate time to bring the need for the Indian Gaming Industry to go smoke-free forward since it is all about the environmental quality of the workplace which is every bit as important as the air we breath, the water we drink and the land we live on and is every bit the threat as pipelines, mining and fracking. With the Indian Gaming Industry now comprising well over 350 casinos across the country the impact on the lives of people when it comes to second-hand smoke becomes just as pressing and important an environmental issue as pipelines, mining and fracking--- especially when it should be so much easier to put an end to second-hand smoke.

But, like with the pipeline, mining and fracking industries it seems that profits are once again the obstacle to ending smoking in the Indian Gaming Industry where profits come before the health and welfare of people.

The Indian Health Service and many Indian Nations have taken up the campaign to end second-hand smoke yet they fail, like the EAGLE & CONDOR SACRED WALK FOR MOTHER EARTH to take up the need to end smoking in the Indian Gaming Industry: why?

And why have the congregations of churches and synagogues engaged in supporting movements for environmental justice which refuse to take up the need to end smoking in the Indian Gaming Industry?

And what about all of these foundation-funded environmental organizations like the Sierra Club? Again, refusing to acknowledge the health and welfare of workers in their workplaces and the right of workers to a healthy and safe working environment.

A SACRED WALK THROUGH 6 RESERVATIONS, 5 HO-CHUNK NATION COMMUNITIES AND 3 MAJOR MIDWEST CITIES

A Sacred Walk with the intent to create public awareness of the global destruction that threatens the fate of our Sacred Mother Earth. With the Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline on the verge of receiving approval for completion in America, we all need to wake up the world and stop the pipeline. As the 7th Generation, it is our destiny and responsibility as caretakers of Mother Earth to unite as Indigenous Peoples of the Americas to preserve this sacred planet for future generations.

With the Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline, Natural Gas Fracking, Frac Sand Mining, Iron Ore Mining, Uranium Mining, contamination of our Sacred Water, Sacred Site Desecration, and the loss of species at an alarming rate...we need to intensify and direct more attention to the ill fated plight of Mother Earth and the impending doom for our youth and the unborn.

How Much longer will this hypocrisy endure?

Alan L. Maki

Director of Organizing, Midwest Casino Workers Organizing Council

Alan Maki and Coleen Rowley talk about defending our Constitutional Rights... see YouTube video

Link to YouTube Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NcTlua3reVA#at=11

• • 

    Wednesday, July 10, 2013
  • 

    7:00pm

• 4200 Cedar Ave S. Minneapolis, MN

• Occupy the FBI Files! Are you an organizer, an activist? Do you ever question the government or corporate power? Do you do or say subversive things? Do you make attempts to exercise your Constitutional rights? If so, do you ever wonder if you have an FBI file? Why would the FBI create a file on you? If the FBI has a file on you, how easily can you find out? What about our “privacy?” Can a person challenge authority without being spied on by voyeuristic government agencies? Occupy MN is bringing in a couple of knowledgeable speakers to answer these and other important questions. What: Occupy MN presents Occupy the FBI Files! Radical organizer-activist (Alan Maki) shows us his FBI file, gives a brief talk and offers a Q & A. Next, former FBI agent, whistle-blower, 2002 Time Magazine person of the year Coleen Rowley expands on FBI-related issues, discusses Edward Snowden, and offers a Q & A. Where: The “American-Nordic Center”: 4200 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55407. When: Wednesday, July 10th, 6:30 pm Occupy updates, 7:00 – 8:00 pm = Occupy the FBI Files, 8:-9:30 pm regular Occupy meeting. Cost: Free! Of course it’s free! It is always free to participate in non-commercialized, authentic Occupy movement! Speaker Biographies: Alan Maki is a northern Minnesota activist who has been involved in the peace, labor, civil rights, and environmental movements for over 30 years. He is a socialist, an agitator, and a dog-lover. Maki's radical activism earned him so much attention from the FBI, they decided to create an FBI file in his (dis)honor. Coleen Rowley is a former FBI agent and whistleblower. As a result of her whistle-blowing around the events of 9/11, she was named a 2002 Time Magazine Person of the Year. Since retiring from the FBI, Rowley has been heavily involved with the anti-war movement, particularly with Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) in the Twin Cities. She also gives regular educational talks and appears on local and national news, i.e. recent appearances in reaction to the Edward Snowden case. Rowley's talk and Q & A will also last 30 minutes. (You can follow Rowley's news feeds on Facebook).

Why the Revival of US Labor Might Start with Nonunion Workers

Why is it the number one reform, the repeal of "At-will Employment," that could bring organized and unorganized workers together is never mentioned in articles like this:

http://www.yesmagazine.org/people-power/revival-of-united-states-labor-movement-karen-nussbaum?utm_source=ABD+Main+Contacts&utm_campaign=a294c14d9b-Working_America6_14_2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8f8392d3f1-a294c14d9b-266616133

I believe the reason is because The Century Foundation is doing the thinking for the AFL-CIO.

The Century Foundation is funded by a bunch of billionaire "philanthropists" whose fortunes are made by exploiting workers, and the "fellows" are more interested in big salaries for themselves than the plight of working people.

How else can one explain why the need to repeal "At-Will Employment" never comes up? Not from the unions; not from the Democratic Party; and not from the liberals, progressives and leftists who continue to support Obama and the Democrats instead of breaking free from this two-party trap.

Working America is an organization born in the thoughts of Century Foundation "fellows." Should we expect this organization to push a working class struggle point of view and agenda? No; class collaboration serves Wall Street's interests: maximum profits.

Working America never brings forward the job killing aspect of these imperialist wars.

Working America doesn't push Full Employment as being a governmental responsibility.

Working America doesn't support the enforcement of Affirmative Action.

Working America pushes to keep the Minimum Wage a poverty wage instead of linking the Minimum Wage to all cost of living factors--- the only fair way to establish a Minimum Wage.

I find it noteworthy the head of Working America walks very effectively between government and organized labor and is now pushing to keep workers trapped in the Democratic Party--- just like Amy Dean who wrote this article in the foundation-funded YES! magazine.

I would also note that workers employed in the Working America call-centers employed to raise funds instead of mobilizing people are treated like shit... what does this tell us about what kind of unions Working America wants to organize the unorganized into?

Workers seeking to organize would be further ahead organizing independently of the AFL-CIO and Change To Win affiliated unions... and they would be more successful.

Jobs, jobs, jobs my ass!

Does morality figure in U.S. government decision-making? Has it ever?

Does morality figure in government decision-making? Has it ever?

This provides us a perfect example of why letter writing and petitioning  this rotten government by themselves and not part of massive movements are useless. Consider this before writing your next letter or signing and circulating your next petition if you aren't going to help build powerful mass movements.

This rotten government doesn't care about morality, well thought out ideas or what most people think.

We only got the New Deal as people in the streets placed the country on the verge to socialist revolution; we only got the Civil Rights Act and Affirmative Action when the cities were burning and the only time this rotten government only considered that it was necessary to end the war in Vietnam is when tens of millions of people had taken to the streets and the country was on the verge of being on the edge of total disruption.

But moral persuasion in letters and a petition was completely ignored when it came to dropping the atom bomb.

Think about this: If moral consideration was not even a factor in deciding whether or not to drop atom bombs on people; do you think arguments based on morality will ever convince this little Wall Street clique which owns and controls the presidency, the House and Senate and all politics down to township boards is going to consider the morality of all these "little" dirty imperialist wars, the need to eradicate unemployment and poverty, racism from which corporations reap so much in super-profits?

We have a government here in the United States that is so out of whack from which the founders of this country (many--- not all--- of whom couldn't even be convinced about the immorality of stealing the land and resources from the First Nations People's or placing human beings in chains bound by "laws" enacting chattel slavery) that morality was not even a second-thought, let alone a consideration--- when it came to using the atom bomb against an entire nation.

And it took a bloody Civil War to end slavery in spite of all the moral pleadings, petitions and writings over decades to end slavery.

Should we stop writing letters and petitioning? No; but let's get real here and realize we have a government that is rotten to the core--- just as thoroughly rotten as the capitalist economic system which has given rise to this rotten political system.

When do we realize the purpose for writing letters and signing petitions articulating the kind of country we want versus the kind of government Wall Street is imposing on us, is for the purpose of...

Resistance. Rebellion. Revolt. Revolution.

The nuclear scientist who had a conscience should have pitched their concerns to the American people not a a worthless warmonger like Harry Truman... their message would then have been delivered through the American people who were on the move towards socialism... and this conscience of the entire Nation is what would have prevented the use of Atomic Bombs.

But, had these nuclear scientists with a conscience have appealed to the American people they likely would have been seated in electric chairs before Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.

This is the kind of dirty rotten government we are dealing with--- completely devoid of all morality.

And Harry Truman was an angel compared to this warmonger we have sitting in the Oval Office today. At least Truman didn't take pleasure in looking at pictures of his victims and knowing their names; barbarity completely lacking all morality best characterizes this rotten government... from brutally slaughtering Native Americans so to steal their land and resources to dropping Atom Bombs to dropping napalm on people to drone warfare in the name of "democracy" and "civilization;" American history doesn't look so good when considered from a moral point of view... and I never even mentioned the exploitation of workers and the brutality embodied in this exploitation nor did I mention the brutal manner in which lands and wealth were stolen from the Mexicans who are now treated like dirt because they come seeking a better life through of all things--- a job.

We really do lack a collective moral conscience in this country--- of the kind which leads to mass action to right the wrongs and injustices because too much time is wasted trying to use arguments to convince thoroughly immoral politicians to do what is right instead of talking to our friends, neighbors and fellow workers.

Democrat and Republican politicians have no moral compass... their needle only points to corporate bribes with their biggest bribes coming from the military-financial-industrial complex.

Was morality ever a consideration before the National Guard opened fire on students at Kent State?

If you aren't going to share your letters and petitions directed to these politicians with your friends, neighbors and fellow workers in a way intended to bring people into massive movements you might as well not waste your time writing letters and signing petitions... maybe you draw different conclusions from what is written below but this is the conclusion I draw.

Read on:

On This Day (July 3) in 1945: The Only Real Attempt to Halt the Atomic Bombing of Japan

Greg Mitchell
July 3, 2013
The Nation

It’s well known that as the Truman White House made plans to use the first atomic bombs against Japan in the summer of 1945, a large group of atomic scientists, many of whom had worked on the bomb project, raised their voices, or at least their names, in protest.

Hiroshima, ,
    
On this date in 1945, the great atomic scientist Leo Szilard finished a letter that would become the strongest (virtually the only) real attempt at halting President Truman’s march to using the atomic bomb—which was two weeks from its first test at Trinity—against Japanese cities.

Each summer I count down the days to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, marking events from 1945 that spurred the decision to drop the two bombs, raising plenty of my own questions along the way. Last year, I wrote nearly daily articles for The Nation. Of course, I won’t do that again, but I thought I’d launch it here with the Szilard letter. Over the next five weeks or so you can check my Pressing Issues blog.

I’ve written hundreds of articles and three books on the subject, Hiroshima in America (with Robert Jay Lifton), and more recently Atomic Cover-Up (on decades-long suppression of film shot in the atomic cities by the US military) and Hollywood Bomb (how an MGM 1947 drama was censored by the military and Truman himself).

It’s well known that as the Truman White House made plans to use the first atomic bombs against Japan in the summer of 1945, a large group of atomic scientists, many of whom had worked on the bomb project, raised their voices, or at least their names, in protest. They were led by the great Leo Szilard. On July 3, he finished a petition to the president for his fellow scientists to consider, which called atomic bombs “a means for the ruthless annihilation of cities.” It asked the president “to rule that the United States shall not, in the present phase of the war, resort to the use of atomic bombs.”

The following day he wrote this cover letter (below). The same day, Leslie Groves, military chief of the Manhattan Project, wrote Winston Churchill’s science adviser seeking advice on how to combat Szilard and his colleagues. The bomb would be tested two weeks later and dropped over Hiroshima on August 6.

July 4, 1945

Dear xxxxxxxxxxxx,

Enclosed is the text of a petition which will be submitted to the President of the United States. As you will see, this petition is based on purely moral considerations.

It may very well be that the decision of the President whether or not to use atomic bombs in the war against Japan will largely be based on considerations of expediency. On the basis of expediency, many arguments could be put forward both for and against our use of atomic bombs against Japan.

Such arguments could be considered only within the framework of a thorough analysis of the situation which will face the United States after this war and it was felt that no useful purpose would be served by considering arguments of expediency in a short petition.

However small the chance might be that our petition may influence the course of events, I personally feel that it would be a matter of importance if a large number of scientists who have worked in this field went clearly and unmistakably on record as to their opposition on moral grounds to the use of these bombs in the present phase of the war.

Many of us are inclined to say that individual Germans share the guilt for the acts which Germany committed during this war because they did not raise their voices in protest against these acts. Their defense that their protest would have been of no avail hardly seems acceptable even though these Germans could not have protests without running risks to life and liberty. We are in a position to raise our voices without incurring any such risks even though we might incur the displeasure of some of those who are at present in charge of controlling the work on “atomic power”.

The fact that the people of the people of the United States are unaware of the choice which faces us increases our responsibility in this matter since those who have worked on “atomic power” represent a sample of the population and they alone are in a position to form an opinion and declare their stand.
Anyone who might wish to go on record by signing the petition ought to have an opportunity to do so and, therefore, it would be appreciated if you could give every member of your group an opportunity for signing.

Leo Szilard



A clip from Hiroshima-Nagasaki 1945 archival footage of Hiroshima and Nagasaki victim - See more at: http://japanfocus.org/-Greg-Mitchell/3581#sthash.ACyE8nsM.dpuf

This article raises all kinds of concerns about how Bay Street and Wall Street do business and bribe politicians and those they appoint who are supposed to be looking out for the public's interests...

First of all, look at this:

"The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has begun developing protection plans for the areas where the trains travel, spokeswoman Samantha Warren said recently."


Question: Why wouldn't this have taken place before the trains carrying these dangerous and hazardous loads?

"Because of limited pipeline capacity in North Dakota's Bakken region and in Canada, oil producers are using railroads to transport much of the oil to refineries on the East, Gulf and West coasts, as well as inland. Harper has called railroad transit "far more environmentally challenging" while trying to persuade the Obama administration to approve the controversial Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast."


Second Question: Is this another example of "disaster capitalism" where Wall Street/Bay Street will get their bribed politicians to approve the K-XL Pipeline?


"Last week a train carrying petroleum products derailed in Calgary, Alberta, when a flood-damaged bridge sagged toward the still-swollen Bow River. The derailed rail cars were removed without spilling their cargo."

Third question: Does this make you feel safe and secure knowing corporations and their government accomplices care about you and the environment?


Comment: For Wall Street and Bay Street everything is about profits before people and the environment--- once again, ass backwards; but, we will now get all the excuses and be assured this will never happen again... ya; sure, you betcha.


Question: Isn't it time to relieve Wall Street and Bay Street of political and economic power?



"Collateral damage" in quest of corporate profits. Is it worth it?

Link:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/07/quebec-train-derailment-deaths-explosions/2496811/

5 dead in Quebec oil train explosions; scores missing

1:12 p.m. EDT July 7, 2013

The derailment and explosion of a runaway oil train has left a town devastated and dozens missing.

(Photo: Getty Images)

Story Highlights

• Authorities expect to find more bodies in small town of Lac-Megantic
• Explosions destroyed much of downtown district
• At least 40 people reported missing

LAC-MEGANTIC, Quebec (AP) - As firefighters doused still burning oil tanker cars, more bodies were recovered Sunday in this devastated town in eastern Quebec, raising the death toll to five after a runaway train derailed, igniting explosions and fires that destroyed the downtown district.
With dozens of people reported missing, authorities expected to find more bodies once they reach the hardest-hit area.
Quebec provincial police Lt. Michel Brunet said Sunday that at least 40 people are reported missing, but cautioned that the number could fluctuate up or down. Brunet confirmed two more deaths early Sunday afternoon after confirming two people were found dead overnight. One death was confirmed Saturday.
Fires were preventing rescuers from reaching part of the 73-car train, and billowing black smoke could still be seen long after the derailment.
The eruptions early Saturday morning sent residents of Lac-Megantic scrambling through the streets under the intense heat of towering fireballs and a red glow that illuminated the night sky.
Local Fire Chief Denis Lauzon likened the charred scene to "a war zone."
"This is really terrible. Our community is grieving and it is taking its toll on us," Mayor Colette Roy-Laroche said.
The search for victims in the charred debris was hampered because two of the train's cars were still burning Sunday morning, sparking fears of more potentially fatal blasts.
Two of the five cars that exploded are still on fire 36 hours later, Lauzon said. He said firefighters are staying 500 feet from the burning tankers, which are being doused with water and foam to keep them from overheating and exploding.
"It's a mess," he said.
The multiple blasts came over a span of several hours in the town of 6,000, which is about 155 miles east of Montreal and about 10 miles west of the Maine border. About 30 buildings were destroyed after tanker cars laden with oil caught fire in the picturesque lakeside town in Quebec's Eastern Townships.
The derailment caused several tanker rail cars to explode in the downtown district, a popular area packed with bars that often bustles on summer weekend nights. Police said the first explosion tore through the town shortly after 1 a.m. local time. The fire then spread to several homes.
Brunet said he couldn't say where the bodies were found exactly because the families have not been notified.
The cause of the accident was believed to be a runaway train, the railway's operator said. The president and CEO of Rail World Inc., the parent company of Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway, said the train had been parked uphill of Lac-Megantic. The tanker cars then sped downhill into the town before derailing.
"If brakes aren't properly applied on a train, it's going to run away," said Edward Burkhardt. "But we think the brakes were properly applied on this train."
Burkhardt, who was mystified by the disaster, said the train was parked because the engineer had finished his run.
"We've had a very good safety record for these 10 years," he said of the decade-old railroad. "Well, I think we've blown it here."
Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced he was heading to the town Sunday.
Because of limited pipeline capacity in North Dakota's Bakken region and in Canada, oil producers are using railroads to transport much of the oil to refineries on the East, Gulf and West coasts, as well as inland. Harper has called railroad transit "far more environmentally challenging" while trying to persuade the Obama administration to approve the controversial Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast.
Myrian Marotte, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Red Cross in Lac-Megantic, said there are about 2,000 evacuees and said 163 stayed at their operations center overnight.
"There are those are still looking for loved ones," Marotte said.
Marotte said many of the evacuees are staying with family and friends. "Some people have lost everything," she said.
Lines of tall trees in the area looked like giant standing matchsticks, blackened from bottom to tip. Witnesses said the eruptions shook residents out of their slumber and sent them darting through the streets.
Patrons gathered at a nearby bar were sent running for their lives after the thunderous crash and wall of fire blazed through the early morning sky.
Bernard Theberge, who was outside on the bar's patio at the time of the crash, feared for the safety of those inside the popular Musi-Cafe when the first explosion went off.
"People started running and the fire ignited almost instantaneously," he said.
"It was like a movie," said Theberge, who considered himself fortunate to escape with only second-degree burns on his right arm. "Explosions as if it were scripted - but this was live."
Firefighters and rescue workers from several neighboring municipalities, including Sherbrooke and Saint-Georges-de-Beauce, were called in to help deal with the disaster. Firefighters from northern Maine were also deployed to the Quebec town, according to a spokesman at the sheriff's office in Franklin County.
The train belongs to Montreal Maine & Atlantic. According to the railroad's website, the company owns more than 500 miles of track serving Maine, Vermont, Quebec and New Brunswick.
Last week a train carrying petroleum products derailed in Calgary, Alberta, when a flood-damaged bridge sagged toward the still-swollen Bow River. The derailed rail cars were removed without spilling their cargo.
The Quebec accident was likely to have an impact across the border. In Maine, environmentalists and state officials had previously raised concerns about the threat of an accident and a spill from railroad tank cars carrying crude oil across the state.
The Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway carried nearly 3 million barrels of oil across Maine last year. Each tank car holds some 30,000 gallons of oil.
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has begun developing protection plans for the areas where the trains travel, spokeswoman Samantha Warren said recently.

Minnesota DFL super majority...

Refuses to raise the Minimum Wage.

Refuses to bring forward anti-scab legislation.

Refuses to bring forward anti-lockout legislation.

Refuses to repeal "At-will Employment."

Refuses to enforce Affirmative Action.

Minnesota DFL moves 2014 state convention to weekend of May 30-June 1

By Joe Kimball | 06/17/13

 

The Minnesota DFL says it is changing the dates of its 2014 statewide convention to May 30-June 1 in Duluth.

The convention had been planned for a week later, but there is a scheduling conflict, officials said. It will still be held in the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC).

Gov. Mark Dayton and U.S. Sen. Al Franken have both said they will seek re-election next year.

In 2010, Dayton did not seek party endorsement and was banned from the floor of the convention, which went on to endorse Margaret Anderson Kelliher. Dayton, though, later won the party primary and went on to win the general election.

Occupy the FBI Files: Guest Speakers, Alan Maki and Coleen Rowley

https://www.facebook.com/events/665774910104173/

Alan Maki is a northern Minnesota activist who has been involved in the peace, labor, civil rights, and environmental movements for over 30 years, and is a socialist. Maki's history of radical activism earned him an FBI file. During the Wednesday meeting of Occupy MN, he will show us his FBI file, give a talk, and do Q & A. His segment will last 30 minutes.

Next, the group will hear from Coleen Rowley. She is a former FBI agent and whistleblower. As a result of her whistle-blowing around the events of 9/11, she was named a 2002 Time Magazine Person of the Year. Since retiring from the FBI, Rowley has been heavily involved with the anti-war movement in the Twin Cities. She also gives regular educational talks and appears on local and national news, i.e. recent appearances in reaction to the Edward Snowden case. Rowley's talk and Q & A will also last 30 minutes.

Following the guest speakers, we will have the regular Occupy MN meeting. 

• • 

    Wednesday July 10, 2013

    
    
  • 

    7:00pm

     

• 4200 Cedar Ave S. Minneapolis, MN

What kind of "People's History of Egypt" can be complete with an attack on Gamal Abdel Nasser?

I seemed to have sparked quite the conversations on FaceBook and on a number of list serves and many e-mail exchanges with my defense of Gamal Abdel Nasser.

This was a response of mine to some attacks on Nasser on a FaceBook page of old SDS'ers:

Look; the various Egyptian Communist Parties had many problems and squabbled amongst themselves making it pretty much impossible for them to play a constructive role when it was required. Some kind of attempt was made to bring several of them together to support the Arab Socialist Union party's goals and objectives. I don't know exactly what happened but when an attempt was made to bring other Egyptian Communist Parties into unity they hit a problem and things kind of exploded.

But, to use the problems within the Egyptian Communist parties to attack Nasser is a very flawed way of viewing history.

I wouldn't exactly call the Rag Blog a friend of Marxism unless it is the pro-Obama Marxists you are talking about.

What was Nasser and the Arab Socialist Union party supposed to do; wait until the many factionalized Egyptian Communist Parties got their act together before doing anything? I have never heard such nonsense.

That would be like waiting for the Obama-loving CPUSA today to stop supporting Obama before building movements for peace, social and economic justice.

In addition, people, including leaders, have a right to develop their thinking as they proceed forward--- the idea is that their thinking is consistent with the arch of history bending towards justice. Nasser was such a leader. In the anti-imperialist movements you will find many such people who turn out to be towering figures capable of moving the masses continually, and often swiftly, on the road to socialism.

It ain't easy; I guess that's why it's called a "struggle." And a lot of times things don't develop as perceived, intended and planned.

But, come on; anyone who can't look at Egypt prior to Nasser and after Nasser and can't see remarkable progress on all fronts from 1952 to 1970 must be kind of out of it. In all of modern Egyptian history--- these were the ONLY good years for the Egyptian masses. And the important thing to consider is there was constant improvement in all facets of life--- not to mention Nasser's stellar, able and capable leadership he provided to the non-aligned anti-imperialist movement which, under his leadership was unified against imperialism.

Who were Nasser's closest associates on the international scene? Fidel Castro, Kwame Nkrumah, Sukarno.

And Nasser had the support of the International Communist and Worker's Parties from all over the world.

Does anyone know how many countries were part of the very important Non-Aligned Movement which Nasser helped to found and lead? It must have been 80 to 100; at least. Supporting national liberation movements in every corner of the world.

Compare Nasser's thinking to that of the publishers of the Rag Blog who support an imperialist warmonger like Barack Obama. And this outfit is now going to provide us with a "people's history of Egypt?" Give me a break.