Young Protestors Take Nuke Objections Downtown

Tomorrow's leaders aren't waiting for us to screw things up (any more).

Greg Harman
gharman@sacurrent.com

Local activist organizations Southwest Workers Union and Fuerza Unida sent a shock troop of high-school-aged student interns into the breach today to protest developing plans to double the size of the South Texas Project nuclear complex.

Outside City-owned CPS Energy’s downtown office building they gathered to chant their opposition as a two-day hearing of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board down in Bay City was wrapping up.

Two years ago, CPS and NRG Energy were the first to break a 29-year gap in nuke power applications. Now the pair top the U.S. Department of Energy’s federal loan guarantee program and are on track to start into the multi-billion-dollar expansion unless San Antonio’s council fails to approve moving forward (and NRG can’t find a replacement partner) or federal regulators find fault with the pair’s plans.

While nuke opponents in Bay City rattled off a long list of objections they hoped would gain traction with regulators, SWU and Fuerza wanted to make sure the flavor of that protest was not lost on San Antonio.

“Over the long run, nuclear is much more expensive and there’s more at risk,” said Diana Lopez, of SWU. “The city is creating this whole sustainability plan that should include [renewables] more than nuclear.”

Blaring from banners and posterboard was word of the young people’s objection to an investment that NRG Energy says will reach $10 billion. Cost projections by opponents have trended toward the deeper end of the debt pool, most recently topping off at $22 billion.

CPS Energy is set to release their cost estimate to the public in the coming days.

The SWU/Fuerza protest was also intended also to send a message to SA Congressmembers Charlie Gonzalez and Ciro Rodriquez (South Texas nuke objectors have given up on Sentators Cornyn and Hutchison) that local residents want a strong climate bill out of the American Clean Energy & Security Act. The bill is expected to be taken up in the House on Friday.


For my part, I couldn't help enjoying the "Hey, Milty!" chant as twin CPS heads Milton Lee and Steve Bartley ducked down the street for lunch...

+ to listen to audio follow http://www.sacurrent.com/blog/queblog.asp

Standing Up, Against the School System

ECISD transportation workers stand up Against Allegations of Harassment

By ADRIANA ACOSTA, Edinburg Review

Published: Tuesday, June 16, 2009 4:09 PM CDT

A group of people stood outside the Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District Administration Building last week, holding up signs that read, “We demand justice” and “Living wage for school workers.”

The ECISD transportation workers united at last week’s school board meeting to speak out against ongoing charges of harassment, retaliation and sexual harassment. The Southwest Workers’ Union represented the group.

Anayanse Garza, of the Southwest Worker’s Union, says there has been a pattern at ECISD for several years, and the school district has not taken the issues of harassment seriously. “We have been told not to believe workers that came up with grievances, if this is what the director of transportation is saying,” she said. “How can we believe that he is going to conduct a proper investigation when it comes to something as serious as sexual harassment?”

Camilo Garza, union labor organizer from the Southwest Worker’s Union, said the biggest issues occurring are favoritism and harassment. Since coming to the Edinburg area in February, SWU has had several grievances brought up. “We are not fighting the small issues, we are fighting the big issues that have a logical solution that has never been applied,” he said.

Garza said the goal of Southwest Workers’ Union is to raise awareness of the types of issues happening in the work place.

The group of transportation department employees contends they have not been fairly represented by the director of transportation, Rudy Zamora.

“Zamora should be helping them solve their issues�-we are trying to bypass that hurtle, and go directly to the board. They are our last resort, issues should be resolved in the lowest level but they are not,” Garza said.

“A healthy school district response quickly to address the wound before it affects the rest of the body,” said Garza, “that’s why we need to hold the school board members accountable to finding a solution.”

http://www.edinburgreview.com/articles/2009/06/16/news/doc4a3808f85f543178257797.txt

Real Change Council reinstated on Federal Judge's order

In a victory for Hondo’s Mexican American community, Judge Fred Biery of the San Antonio Division of the U.S. District Court ordered that all three Real Change Hondo city council members be reinstated to office this morning . The injunction was issued in response to a federal complaint brought by three Hondo residents that detailed multiple violations of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act in the racially-charged recall effort and the city’s administration of the May 2009 recall election. Gina Gonzales, Lucio Torrez, and Chavel Lopez will resume their seats this coming Monday alongside Mayor Danner and the newly elected Clyde Haak and Mike Sanchez.

Prior to today’s injunction, Hondo officials had removed the Real Change council members from office and were preparing for elections to replace them in July. That election has now been cancelled on the judge’s orders.

The Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965 to protect against voter discrimination based on race, color or membership in a “language minority group”. It requires federal oversight of states, including Texas, that have a history of disenfranchising voters of color through poll taxes, literacy tests, and other discriminatory practices.

Read about it in the San Antonio Express-News

Homeland Security accused of retaliation

By Elaine Ayala - Express-News

Amnesty International's visit to a federal detention center in South Texas last week was supposed to address charges of human rights violations made by immigrant detainees, many without access to lawyers and some facing deportation even though they've been in the United States most of their lives.

But now the human rights group's first-ever visit to the Port Isabel Detention Center has spurred more accusations — especially after an inmate who instigated the investigation was suddenly transferred to a Louisiana prison where inmates are readied for deportation.

Rama Carty, 39, a legal permanent U.S. resident in detention for a drug conviction, was transferred in retaliation for his outspoken views, according to both Amnesty and the Southwest Workers Union, a labor organization with an interest in immigration issues. Both groups say the move by federal officials has had a chilling effect on other inmates' testimony, a claim federal officials dispute.

“Mr. Carty's transfer to Louisiana had nothing to do with the group's visit,” said Nina Pruñeda of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “Mr. Carty has a final order of removal.”

The La Salle Detention Center where he was transferred “serves as a staging area for removal of aliens being deported to Haiti,” she said.

Amnesty International has asked Homeland Security officials to halt Carty's deportation, said Sarnata Reynolds of Amnesty's immigrant rights campaign, one of two representatives who visited the facility.

Human rights advocates say the case has garnered widespread attention because Carty, who was born in the Republic of Congo to Haitian parents, is threatened with deportation to Haiti, a country he has never known.

He's one of more than 30,000 immigrants in U.S. detention, three times the number in such prisons a decade ago.

“We've never had anyone transferred in the middle of our interviews before,” said Reynolds, who added that she was shocked by the move. “We're concerned with the timing and manner it took place.”

Anayanse Garza, an organizer for the Southwest Workers Union, said Homeland Security is “making an example of him.”

Carty “has been very outspoken about the lack of due process as well as the physical and verbal abuse,” Garza said. “It was retaliation.”

Reynolds interviewed 11 of 22 prisoners she asked to see. She said Carty's transfer “affected all the other interviews. Everyone was scared. It had a chilling effect.”

The case also has spurred criticism of Amnesty by South Texas immigrant rights advocates, who say the group should have been more public about Carty's transfer last week.

“The community of the Rio Grande Valley welcomed Amnesty International's visit last week,” said Alejandro Guzman of the workers union. “The community is very disappointed with Amnesty International right now.”

Garza said she was “very alarmed and very worried that this happened under Amnesty's nose.”

“The challenge for Amnesty now is to take responsibly for the situation now that they're gone,” she said.

Amnesty has asked to interview the officers who were involved in transferring Carty. Some inmates have already reported that excessive force was used, Garza and Reynolds said.

“I was disappointed,” Garza added. “I expected them to take more of a stand against the abuse. I expected it to be more public. I expected them to take a stand on what happened to Rama Carty. I don't think it's too late. It still has an opportunity to take a stand.”

Reynolds responded, “I know they are disappointed with us.” However, “We work in different ways. We have a methodology. We do thorough investigations, and we're not necessarily immediately vocal.”

Meanwhile, Raymond Joseph, Haitian ambassador to the United States, said he had been contacted by advocates for Carty and told them that if Carty has no official Haitian birth certificate, he would not be allowed to travel there.

Advocates say Carty does not have a Haitian birth certificate and has never been to the Caribbean country.

San Antonio Express News, Web Posted: 06/08/2009 7:17 CDT

Stop the Deportaion of Rama Carty

URGENT CALL TO ACTION

PHONE BLAST AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL AND THE CONSUL GENERAL OF HAITI
TO STOP THE ILLEGAL DEPORTATION OF RAMA CARTY FOR SPEAKING OUT ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE

THIS DEPORTATION IS AN OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE

Los Fresnos, TX-International Human Rights group, Amnesty International (Sarnata Reynolds,
Policy Director, Refugee & Migrant Rights, Amnesty International USA and Daryl Grisgraber) met with Rama Carty June 02, 2009. Carty is an outspoken prisoner at the Department of Homeland Security/Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Port Isabel Detention Center (PIDC).

On the morning of June 3rd, 2009, Rama Carty requested to meet with Amnesty International for a second time, before he was to be illegally deported. Instead, he was beaten and dragged away as fellow prisoners witnessed this abuse. DHS/ICE illegally transferred him to Louisiana to be deported to Haiti as retaliation for denouncing Human Rights Violations at the Port Isabel Detention Prison. Southwest Workers' Union received a phone call at 6:15am that morning by prisoners notifying them that Rama Carty had been moved for transfer and deportation (which happened around 5am or so). Fellow prisoners were extremely worried for Rama Carty.

Southwest Workers' Union was asked to contact Sarnata Reynolds (Policy Director, Refugee & Migrant Rights, Amnesty International USA) and Daryl Grisgraber and ask them to stop his processing. Rama said Amnesty International should call D.C. (because they are now in charge of his case) to try to stop the transfer. His request was that Amnesty International Reps. request to see him on their visit to PIDC.

Amnesty International representatives told Southwest Workers’ Union that it would take time to process Rama because they had to get a ticket for his travel as well. We repeated that we were told that “he will be transferred today”.

Later, Southwest Workers' Union was told by fellow prisoners that the guards dragged Rama (from the back) and beat him (kicked and punched). According to prisoners who witnessed the assault, there were about 4 officers, and 1 ICE officer (Lt. Saldivar-male) involved.

Rama called later that morning, around 8am to confirm what his fellow prisoners had told us. He said he was being processed for transfer to a detention center in Louisiana and that the the next step was deportation to Haiti, where he would receive no medical care, food, or water (due to the crisis in Haiti). He again requested that Amnesty International representatives Sarnata Reynolds (Policy Director, Refugee & Migrant Rights, Amnesty International USA) and Daryl Grisgraber request to see him to stop the transfer. He said it had to be done as soon as possible because his transfer was already being processed. Southwest Workers' Union relayed this message to the representatives shortly after speaking with Rama Carty.

Rama Carty is a U.S. citizen and has the documentation to prove it. The assault and illegal deportation is an obstruction of justice. He had filed a civil action for Declaratory Judgment by Jury Trial in the District of Massachusetts and had not received a response. The Court of Appeals in the First Circuit dismissed his Emergency Stay of Removal because he did not have the legal resources at the Port Isabel Detention Prison to make it happen. He has gone through 5 attorneys. He cites a U.S. Supreme Court case, NKEN VS. HOLDER, which was decided on April 22, 2009. His due process rights are being violated.

We have to focus on phone blast AIUSA
and the Consul for Haiti in Miami.

Amnesty International USA- phone: (212) 807-8400, Ask to speak to the director of Amnesty International regarding Rama Carty.? If they refuse ask to speak to Sarnata Reynolds.? Explain that Rama Carty was taken as retaliation for speaking to AIUSA and abused and illegally deported while AIUSA reps. were present in the Port Isabel Detention Prison.? They have a reponsability to call DHS and demand that Dora Schriro stop his politically motivation illegal deportation.? His deportation is retaliation for speaking out publically about the Human Rights abuses in the Port Isabel Detention Prison and DHS by deporting him is obstructing justice.? AIUSA must follow through with this responsability.


Consul General of Haiti in Maimi: tel. 305-859-2005, Ask to speak to the Consul General of Haiti.? This is an emergency!? Explain that this is an emergency call regarding the illegal deportaion of Rama Carty to Haiti.? He is not a Haitian citizen nor was he born in Haiti.? Explain that this Rama Carty was taken as retaliation for speaking to AIUSA and abused and illegally deported while AIUSA reps. were present in the Port Isabel Detention Prison.? They have a reponsability to call DHS and demand that Dora Schriro stop his politically motivation illegal deportation.? His deportation is retaliation for speaking out publically about the Human Rights abuses in the Port Isabel Detention Prison and DHS by deporting him is obstructing justice. Haitian Government should NOT issue the travel document for ICE to deport Rama.

Embassy of the Republic of Haiti in Washington DC: tel.? 202.332.4090, Ask to speak to the Consul General of Haiti.? This is an emergency!? Explain that this is an emergency call regarding the illegal deportaion of Rama Carty to Haiti.? He is not a Haitian citizen nor was he born in Haiti.? Explain that this Rama Carty was taken as retaliation for speaking to AIUSA and abused and illegally deported while AIUSA reps. were present in the Port Isabel Detention Prison.? They have a reponsability to call DHS and demand that Dora Schriro stop his politically motivation illegal deportation.? His deportation is retaliation for speaking out publically about the Human Rights abuses in the Port Isabel Detention Prison and DHS by deporting him is obstructing justice. Haitian Government should NOT issue the travel document for ICE to deport Rama.

Support Rama Cartly. Keep those phones busy. Let the them know that they can not silence the voice of the people and that will fight for human rights.