Detroit invites Venezuela

[Commie Girl]

Does anyone know much about Detroit Politics?

Source

With winter’s chill edging into Michigan, Detroit City Council members have sent a letter inviting the Consul General of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to meet with them and the community at large "to discuss more fully President Chávez’s proposal and possible ways of implementing it" in this city. All eight current Council members signed the Sept. 19 letter.

President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, when visiting the United States during the opening of the United Nations General Assembly, offered to help poor communities get oil and gas cheap during this period of high world oil prices. Venezuela is the largest oil producer in the Western Hemisphere.

The Council’s letter made the need clear:

"Detroit, the 11th largest city in the United States, was just reported to be the poorest major city. One in three Detroiters and nearly half of our children under age 17 live below the Federal poverty level. Our unemployment rate is at least 30 percent, much higher than the national average. Our infant mortality rate is around 15 per thousand live births. Our city budget is in deficit, causing cutbacks in city services and in workers’ wages and benefits. Thousands of households have had water service shut off because of inability to pay. This winter, with gas and oil prices skyrocketing, many families will suffer terribly.

"At the same time Detroit has always reached out a fraternal hand to other nations. Our City Council has opposed the U.S. blockade against Cuba, called for an end to the Iraq war and called for U.S. troops to be removed from South Korea. Many of our local community and political leaders are campaigning for ‘Money for our cities, not for war in Iraq.’

"We certainly have watched with hope and support as Venezuela’s current government diverts much of the national budget to programs that benefit the workers and the poor. We oppose all efforts by the U.S. government to interfere in or subvert the progress of Venezuela under the leadership of President Chávez."

Gasoline prices have spiked at around $3 per gallon here, increasing the hardships for car-dependent workers. Already public service announcements on radio and television are issuing advice and "tips" on how to make single-family homes, which are prevalent in this area, more weather-tight. Heating costs reportedly will increase by 40 percent this winter.

But no amount of dialing down the thermostat, putting plastic on windows and increasing insulation will erase the crisis for many families this winter. Utility shut-offs for nonpayment will now cut both heat and light, due to a merger of the Detroit Edison electric company and Michigan Consolidated Gas into DTE Energy.

Every winter children and seniors die in house fires accidentally set when candles or space heaters are used to provide warmth and light. This is why the Metro-Detroit Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, U.S./Cuba Labor Exchange, UAW union presidents and others are enthusiastically supporting the City Council's invitation.

[Anarchist Freedom]

I live about 40 mins outside of detroit. Heating prices are supposed to increase I believe by half im not 100% sure ill have to ask my mother. If anyone has been to detroit they would know how horrible condition detroit is in. Everyone claims that detroit is making a come back but in reality its not its just a small enertainment district near the detroit river. Go to the east side of the detroit and you will see people waving guns around and smoking crack openly. We need this help badly in detroit because my family is well to do and were going to struggle with heating pricers. But I dont even want to imagine the poverty that will strike detroit.

[bolshevik butcher]

Sad to here that about a place in the richest country in the world. Apparently child birth moratality rates in east side detroit are worse than in sub saharan africa.

What will the bush administration ot in repsonse to this?

[Anarchist Freedom]

Originally posted by Clenched Fist@Oct 5 2005, 12:04 PM
Sad to here that about a place in the richest country in the world. Apparently child birth moratality rates in east side detroit are worse than in sub saharan africa.

What will the bush administration ot in repsonse to this?

Obviously none the east side of detroit is not a place one would go to without a damn good purpose. Honestly detroit needs to destroy capitalism more then ever because at the speed things are going it will never get anywhere. I see the economic collapse of detroit spreading farther if things keep it up.

[Ownthink]

I live about 15-20 minutes away from Detroit. All of what they said is, unfortunately, true. Hopefully, Chavez will accept this invitation and do something about it. It would be the bee's knees if he came here.

Ask CommunistLeague about his work in this area, he surely knows more about it than I do.

[Anarchist Freedom]

Originally posted by Ownthink@Oct 5 2005, 03:48 PM
I live about 15-20 minutes away from Detroit. All of what they said is, unfortunately, true. Hopefully, Chavez will accept this invitation and do something about it. It would be the bee's knees if he came here.

Ask CommunistLeague about his work in this area, he surely knows more about it than I do.

Ahh you live 20 mins outside of detroit where do you live? I live in Novi.

[Martin Blank]

Originally posted by Ownthink@Oct 5 2005, 03:48 PM
Ask CommunistLeague about his work in this area, he surely knows more about it than I do.

Yes, I've been in Detroit for the last month helping a comrade from the IWPA in her electoral campaign. It's given me a good opportunity to see Detroit "from the inside".

This winter is going to be especially rough on people in the city proper. It looks like the utilities are gearing up for a massive shutoff sweep soon, in advance of the first snowfall. And now I'm hearing that Delphi, the main supplier to GM, is demanding a 63 percent wage cut, which will send most of those autoworkers down to low-wage levels; no doubt that if Delphi succeeds, the rest of the Big Three and its suppliers will demand the same.

I do hope that Chavez accepts the offer and comes to Detroit. I think it would an educational experience for both the people of Detroit and for Chavez.

Miles

[Ownthink]

Originally posted by CommunistLeague+Oct 7 2005, 11:57 AM--> (CommunistLeague @ Oct 7 2005, 11:57 AM)

Ownthink

@Oct 5 2005, 03:48 PM
Ask CommunistLeague about his work in this area, he surely knows more about it than I do.

Yes, I've been in Detroit for the last month helping a comrade from the IWPA in her electoral campaign. It's given me a good opportunity to see Detroit "from the inside".

This winter is going to be especially rough on people in the city proper. It looks like the utilities are gearing up for a massive shutoff sweep soon, in advance of the first snowfall. And now I'm hearing that Delphi, the main supplier to GM, is demanding a 63 percent wage cut, which will send most of those autoworkers down to low-wage levels; no doubt that if Delphi succeeds, the rest of the Big Three and its suppliers will demand the same.

I do hope that Chavez accepts the offer and comes to Detroit. I think it would an educational experience for both the people of Detroit and for Chavez.

Miles [/b]

I think he will. Actually, the Detroit City Council seems very Socialist to me. They always want more rights and equality for the working class. They opposed the war, they want to fight Big Business, etc. And now they've asked a Socialist leader to come and help them. Very pleasing. There was just another article about Venezuela and the "junk for food" program Chavez has enacted there and it showed him in a very positive light. Good article, I cut it out and saved it.

Viva Chavez!


Oh, and I am in the Sterling Heights area.

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

I'm on Highland Park in the D.


















No I'm not.. I just wanted to be in on the convo, lol. My friend lives there.

But Chavez did make this offer in his speech delivered in Manhattan. For a report on it check this:
http://www.soviet-empire.com/ussr/viewtopic.php?t=35959

[Tekun]

Yep, Chavez is a friend to the lowly
Yet, we should also do our part to help D Town, after all we live in the same country
One idea: form a socialist party to uplift Detroit, food drives/political classes/mentoring/....

Any ideas?
Our revolution has to take action

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Detroit Working People's Association

[Anarchist Freedom]

When I am older I plan to open a collective in detroit for the working class.

[Ownthink]

Originally posted by Anarchist Freedom@Oct 8 2005, 07:51 PM
When I am older I plan to open a collective in detroit for the working class.

If you're serious about this, then I would most likely still be there to help you, Comrade. With the way things are going now with my ideals and Education, I will most likely end up as a factory worker or the like, which would mean I would probably still be here in D.

[Martin Blank]

Originally posted by Anarchist Freedom@Oct 8 2005, 07:51 PM
When I am older I plan to open a collective in detroit for the working class.

Doing what, exactly?

Miles

[Anarchist Freedom]

Originally posted by CommunistLeague+Oct 8 2005, 10:52 PM--> (CommunistLeague @ Oct 8 2005, 10:52 PM)

Anarchist Freedom

@Oct 8 2005, 07:51 PM
When I am older I plan to open a collective in detroit for the working class.

Doing what, exactly?

Miles [/b]

Food not bombs infoshops etc...

[Martin Blank]

Originally posted by Anarchist Freedom+Oct 9 2005, 12:26 AM--> (Anarchist Freedom @ Oct 9 2005, 12:26 AM)

Originally posted by [email protected] 8 2005, 10:52 PM

Anarchist Freedom

@Oct 8 2005, 07:51 PM
When I am older I plan to open a collective in detroit for the working class.

Doing what, exactly?

Miles

Food not bombs infoshops etc... [/b]

Food Not Bombs Detroit/Hamtramck
Trumbull Theater, Trumbull Street
Melissa (Detroit) 313 832 3950
Maureen (Detroit) Steve/Paul (Hamtramck) 313 832 7952
[email protected]
[email protected]
We now serve @ Scripps Park in Detroit every Saturday around noon.
We serve in Pope Park (On Jos Campeau) in Hamtramck every Sunday around 3pm.

From what the comrades here are telling me, there is also something like an Infoshop at the Trumbull Theater.

No sense re-inventing the wheel.

Miles