Website Theme Update

Our website has been due some changes for a while. An update to the theme being used, Mantra, has to be worked through and some of the content has to be reorganized. Occupy Detroit is evolving and the website needs to be doing the same. We need more people able to work in WordPress as writers and organizers of the site.

If you are interested in getting involved on the website, please contact Stephen at fuzzytek@occupy-detroit.us with some information about yourself. Things like how long you’ve lived in Detroit, your interests, how comfortable you are with writing, photography, streaming video, HTML, …

It would also be great to hear through comments what people would like to see from the website. Be prepared to contribute a bit when you have suggestions. This is a participatory group!

Know Detroit Better

Sight seeing in Detroit, with some depth, is probably best accomplished by taking your interests over to the D:Hive on Woodward between State and Grand River, across from where Hudson’s downtown used to stand and is now an empty underground parking lot. Ask for some guidance and look through the assortment of information available. The staff there are regularly collecting pamphlets, flyers, and more about what is happening around Detroit. They hold tours around the cool-places and some are extended into communities. This welcome center approach is something every neighborhood in Detroit has a need to get up and running. Hopefully a central information hub in each district becomes known,

TERMINATE CISPA NOW!

The voting public of the United States has rallied countless times to protect freedom of information. It is one of the sacred rights we have to be able to be informed and retrieving information without barriers is essential. We have had so many people fighting for  freedom of information – including Bradley Manning and Aaron Swartz [1][2][3], who’s death spawned #PDFtribute from researchers opening their copyright work to the public. It is an affront to our rights and the oath of office our government officials take “to uphold the interests of the people” whom they serve. As representatives this is not how you feel about the topic – get it straight, as a representative you REPRESENT OUR INTERESTS!

Earth Day Detroit 2013

A two day event is planned for Earth Day Detroit 2013 – Sunday April 21 and Monday April 22 to connect people with not only survival skills, but how to thrive in the face of an environment that can be difficult. Our risks include the corner store, abandoned properties, waste being dumped in our neighborhoods, and the corporate criminals polluting our air, water, and soil. Our intent is to bring people together not merely for presentation – we intend to have conversation.

Detroit’s Fiscal Emergency – Declared & Responses

An opinion from Stephen Boyle

Detroit’s government continues to be under pressure by the State of Michigan. A Detroit Financial Review Team was assembled January 2013.

Recollect December 27, 2011 as reported by Fox Business:

Michigan’s governor on Tuesday appointed a team to review Detroit’s finances, a move that could end in a possible state takeover of the city as it struggles with a shrinking auto industry and falling revenues.

This leading paragraph might have some believe the auto industry is heavily influencing Detroit’s financial picture. However three decades of push toward globalization, free trade agreements, and segmentation of labor into multi-tier negotiations have moved the auto industry well outside Detroit. The city has become a hallmark of corporate destitution when you drive past hundreds of abandoned assembly facilities. Today corporations in the city are awarded tax abatement to encourage “job growth”. These abated dollars show up as unfunded services such as lighting, water, transportation, and more. The infrastructure supporting new business is not being funded due to abated taxes.

Save Detroit 2013 – Petition

Petition the White House and Department of Justice

We are asking everyone to make a concerted effort to push the effort to gain petition signatures into new realms of friends across the United States. Allied efforts making the appeal are welcome. A case sensitive shortlink to the petition is http://wh.gov/wGJK, if you share the link through Twitter include the tags #NoEM, and #DetroitEFM.