NOWTRUTH!!! BECAUSE WE NEED TRUTH AND JUSTICE FROM THE COURTS MORE NOW THAN EVER, NOT HYPERPOLITICIZED, NUANCED LAW COMPLETE WITH THE REQUISITE NARRATIVE!! (LAW= Politically manufactured, orchestrated, strategic opinions, rulings, and orders for injustice to hide behind!)
The Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission has suspended an African-American judge who declared the state’s death penalty statute unconstitutional, accusing her of unprofessional conduct and anti-death penalty bias.
In a 109-page complaint filed on April 6, 2021, the Commission charged Judge Tracie Todd (pictured), a criminal court trial judge in the Birmingham Division of the Jefferson County Circuit Court, “with multiple incidents of abuse of judicial power and abandonment of the judicial role of detachment and neutrality, primarily … in the context of embroilment regarding the issue of the death penalty, prosecutors and the prosecutorial discretion of the executive branch, and personal vindication of her prior rulings and actions.” It alleges that Todd repeatedly improperly refused to recuse herself from cases and engaged in a pattern of conduct exhibiting “lack of faithfulness to the law,” “lack of proper judicial temperament and demeanor,” disregard for the orders of higher courts, and “an apparent predisposition against the death penalty generally.”
In March 2016, Todd barred Jefferson County prosecutors from seeking the death penalty in four cases and declared the state’s death-penalty statute to be unconstitutional. Her decision came in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s January 2016 ruling in Hurst v. Florida striking down Florida’s death penalty scheme on the grounds that it reserved the final authority to determine facts necessary to impose the death penalty to judges, rather than juries. Todd noted in her decision that “Alabama has become a clear outlier” by permitting judges to impose death sentences by overriding jury votes for life and, relying on Hurst, said capital sentences in the state were “being imposed in a wholly unconstitutional manner.”
The complaint alleges that Todd’s order barring prosecutors from seeking the death penalty interfered with their discretion to seek the death penalty because her ruling applied only to exercises of judicial override, not cases in which jurors recommended the death penalty. It also criticized her for relying on secondary sources she had independently obtained, including information that Alabama trial judges were more likely to impose the death penalty during an election cycle in which they were on the ballot, and that unqualified lawyers were being appointed in capital cases based on campaign contributions. Those extraneous sources, the complaint said, “violate a judge’s duty of detachment and neutrality.” The complaint further alleges that Todd improperly refused to recuse herself from other death penalty cases after her decision was overturned on appeal.
The complaint also charges Todd with abuse of power for banning a Birmingham prosecutor from her courtroom and holding him in contempt of court. In that matter, Todd emailed the sheriff requesting increased security in her courtroom, claiming that the prosecutor had “unpredictable mood swings” and that his insistence on appearing in her courtroom “demonstrates willful disregard or mental instability.” She also emailed the district attorney about the prosecutor’s subpar performance in a pair of rape cases in which defendants charged with raping Black victims were acquitted. She then said that a court observer and several lawyers had remarked to her that the prosecutor’s behaved confrontationally towards her because she is a Black woman.
The prosecutor subsequently filed motions to recuse Todd in all future cases in which he was involved. Todd denied the motions and, on appeal, asserted that the motions had been filed in retaliation for her decision striking down the death penalty. “Historically, judges in Alabama who made unfavorable rulings against the interests of the power structure were threatened, ostracized and made subject of personal and political retaliation,” she wrote in opposing the recusal appeal. “The methods employed in these petitions amount to tactical relics of dark days past.”
Judge Todd has been automatically suspended with pay pending resolution of the charges. No Alabama trial judge who overrode jury recommendations for life has ever been suspended for pro-death penalty bias.
A federal judge overseeing a sprawling lawsuit about homelessness in Los Angeles ordered the city and county Tuesday to offer some form of shelter or housing to the entire homeless population of skid row by October.
Judge David O. Carter granted a preliminary injunction sought by the plaintiffs in the case last week and now is telling the city and county that they must offer single women and unaccompanied children on skid row a place to stay within 90 days, help families within 120 days and finally, by Oct. 18, offer every homeless person on skid row housing or shelter.
It’s unclear whether the city and county will challenge the order, which also calls for the city to put $1 billion into an escrow account — an idea that has raised concerns among city officials.
The ruling argues that L.A. city and county wrongly focused on permanent housing at the expense of more temporary shelter, “knowing that massive development delays were likely while people died in the streets.” That element of the order underscores the judge’s skepticism of a core part of L.A.’s current strategy to tackle homelessness. ADVERTISING
“Los Angeles has lost its parks, beaches, schools, sidewalks, and highway systems due to the inaction of city and county officials who have left our homeless citizens with no other place to turn,” Carter wrote in a 110-page brief sprinkled with quotes from Abraham Lincoln and an extensive history of how skid row was first created.
“All of the rhetoric, promises, plans, and budgeting cannot obscure the shameful reality of this crisis — that year after year, there are more homeless Angelenos, and year after year, more homeless Angelenos die on the streets.” Last year more than 1,300 homeless people died in Los Angeles County.
In the last homeless count in January 2020, more than 4,600 unhoused people were found to be living on skid row — about 2,500 in large shelters and 2,093 on the streets. They account for only slightly more than 10% of the city’s overall homeless population, and it’s not clear what Carter’s order might mean for other parts of the city.
The judge wrote that “after adequate shelter is offered,” he would allow the city to enforce laws that keep streets and sidewalks clear of tents so long as they’re consistent with previous legal rulings that have limited the enforcement of such rules. That appears to only apply to skid row.
He also ordered the county to offer “support services to all homeless residents who accept the offer of housing” including placements in “appropriate emergency, interim, or permanent housing and treatment services.” The costs would be split by the city and county, he said.
Rob Wilcox, a spokesman for the city attorney’s office, said Tuesday that city lawyers are reviewing the order. He declined to comment further.
Skip Miller, partner at the Miller Barondess law firm, which is outside counsel for the county in the lawsuit, said the county is “now evaluating our options, including the possibility of an appeal.”
Previously, the county had asked to be removed from the case, arguing that it was about the city and that the county was aggressively responding to homelessness without any direction from the court. It cited efforts that included spending hundreds of millions of dollars annually through the Measure H sales taxand developing innovative strategies such as Project Roomkey in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Project Roomkey is a state program that provides temporary funding for cities and counties to rent hotel rooms for homeless people during the pandemic.
The push for an injunction “is an attempt by property owners and businesses to rid their neighborhood of homeless people,” Miller said.
“There is no legal basis for an injunction because the county is spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year on proven strategies,” he added.
Matthew Umhofer, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights, said he and his clients were ecstatic. Carter’s call for action was what they had been looking for when they filed the case, he said, and why they sought out Carter, who had overseen similar cases in Orange County in recent years, to preside over it.
“This is exactly the kind of aggressive emergency action that we think is necessary on the issue of homelessness in Los Angeles,” Umhofer said.
The Alliance is a coalition of downtown business owners and residents that filed the case in March 2020, accusing the city and county of breaching their duty to abate a nuisance, reducing property value without compensation, wasting public funds and violating the state environmental act and state and federal acts protecting people with disabilities.
Carter’s order came the day that Mayor Eric Garcetti released his budget for the next fiscal year, which includes nearly $1 billion in spending on homelessness. The longtime federal judge also ordered “that $1 billion, as represented by Mayor Garcetti, will be placed in escrow forthwith.”
Of the $1 billion in homeless spending planned by Garcetti, more than a third would come from Proposition HHH, the 2016 bond measure to build permanent housing for homeless residents. Garcetti aides said they expect the city will be building or developing 89 HHH projects over the next fiscal year, for a total of 5,651 housing units.
Whether Carter’s order will disrupt those activities is unclear. In his order, the judge said he wants a report in 90 days of every developer receiving funds from HHH, as well as new regulations to “limit the possibility of funds being wasted.”
At a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Garcetti declined to say whether the city would file an appeal of the order, saying he first wants to read it. But he suggested that Carter’s order could slow down the construction of HHH projects.
“Roadblocks masquerading as progress are the last things we need,” he said.
Because the $1 billion for homelessness doesn’t yet exist — some of it hasn’t arrived from Washington and none of it has been approved by the City Council for the coming year — Garcetti said he also fears the city will be asked instead to put some other source of money in the escrow account.
Carter has also asked for a number of reports from city and county officials about how money for combating homelessness has been and is currently being spent. He has also ordered that the city and county cease any sales or transfers of city or county property before such reports are provided.
The lengthy ruling also skewered corruption scandals involving housing projects, “excessive delays and skyrocketing costs” under the HHH bond measure, and L.A.’s failure to seek federal reimbursement for Project Roomkey rooms.
Councilman Kevin de León, whose district includes skid row, welcomed the judge’s decision. Although L.A. needs more clarity about setting aside $1 billion, he said, the tight timeframe to offer shelter or housing to skid row residents “lights a fire under the city to act with a real sense of urgency and to match the rhetoric with real outcomes to save lives.”
“It’s a strong shot across the bow — and he is expecting action,” de León said. “Not continued negotiations or studying everything to death.”
Pete White, executive director of the skid row-based Los Angeles Community Action Network, which is an intervenor in the case, said his organization had “grown concerned that politicians are using this litigation to justify investment in emergency shelters instead of housing.”
“We all know that shelters won’t solve our housing crisis, and they definitely won’t address the structural racism that got us here in the first place.”
Skid row activist and resident Jeff Page echoed White , saying the tight window for moving people means they won’t be going to permanent housing but instead to “dorm style living that in and of itself is problematic.” What’s needed, he said, is more permanent housing in the neighborhood to be built as quickly as possible.
“We need more housing here. We need more services,” he said.
In his order, Carter outlined historic forms of discrimination that had cut Black people out of housing opportunities, including redlining, segregated systems of assistance during the Great Depression, highway construction that displaced Black families, and criminalization that has disproportionately affected Black communities.
Racial inequity has continued to color government handling of the crisis, Carter concluded, opining that current city and county policies “compound and perpetuate structural racism, threatening the integrity of Black families in Los Angeles and forcing a disproportionate number of Black families to go unhoused.”
The judge has previously compared the situation to the aftermath of the seminal civil rights case Brown vs. Board of Education, saying there are times when the federal judiciary may need to act “after a long period of inaction by local government officials.”
Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School, called the 110-page order a “deep dive into the problems of homelessness in Los Angeles and an expression of Carter’s frustration with how the city and county have responded to this crisis.” She noted that judges in the South during the 1950s and 1960s had used similarly expansive injunctions to make desegregation a reality and in other cases to implement prison reform.
She wasn’t sure how a higher court might rule if this case ends up getting appealed but said it was “certainly a landmark decision.”
“It is an open question whether the appellate court will step in,” she said. “As Judge Carter acknowledges, there is usually a hearing before such an order. However, he has loaded up his decision with facts that he says obviate the need for a hearing. The judge has made a bold move.”
News of the injunction had not trickled down to the streets of skid row Tuesday, but people reacted favorably when informed of it. Hasan Saleem, 58, who was sitting outside his tent on 6th Street, said he would take housing “right away” if offered, even if it takes 180 days. Still, he remained skeptical.
“I wouldn’t mind waiting if it was true,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s true or not.”
“It’s better than how they used to do it when they just take your stuff and put you to jail,” said Peaceful Bolden, who was standing with a small group across the street from the Los Angeles Mission. “At least they’re trying.”
But Bolden said she did not think housing alone would be enough.
“Some of these people are just refugees from whatever life they used to have,” she said. “They need mental health. They need hospice, some of them. A lot of them don’t want to leave because they don’t want to be under anyone’s rules.”
Andy Bales, president and CEO of the Union Rescue Mission, had heard the news and hailed it as the “wall of reality” that the city and county are finally running into.
“It’s what I came to Union Rescue Mission to accomplish,” Bales said. “I’ve always wanted to decentralize skid row and regionalize Services throughout the County. My hope is this will do that.”
The imprint of Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton is indelible. The couple’s presence and impact on the Caribbean island have brought nothing but prolonged despair for the Haitians. Their elusive and opaque deals in the country have not done anything to alleviate the country out of poverty depths. The purported interests of helping Haiti from its myriad of problems have only caused stagnation in Haiti.
The presence of Bill Clinton, who also served as the president of the United States together with his wife who served as the Secretary of State during Obama’s tenure can be traced back to the 90s. Their interests in Haiti are not a new phenomenon. If not, their interests in Haiti have almost become irrevocably entrenched and have had far-reaching consequences in the lives of ordinary Haitian citizens.
Their history with the country dates back to 1975 when they had their honeymoon there. If there is an unpopular couple in Haiti, it definitely has to be the Clintons; for they are held in contempt and in despicable terms. What the Clintons did is unforgivable to the Haitians.
The devastating 2010 earthquake left Haiti in tatters. The country’s economy reeled under the biting and excruciating effects of the earthquake. Because of their history with Haiti, the Clintons seized this chance in the interests of “assisting” Haiti in its times of unparalleled difficulty. But their involvement with the earthquake relief programs was the final proof Haitians needed to show that the Clintons’ true intentions with the country were to rob it for their own parochial interests.
Over 220,000 Killed in Quake
Bill Clinton’s influence in Haiti ranges from the 1990s agricultural policies in Haiti that destroyed the country’s rice industry to the meddling in internal affairs and finally to the earthquake. There is a sense of permanency attached to the Clintons’ name as regards their activities in Haiti, particularly the Clinton Foundation.
When the earthquake struck, the global response was to send in donations to Haiti. But of course, that needed a commission that would be designed to have an oversight role as regards the disbursement of the various relief packages pouring through. The Clintons stepped up to lead the global response. The Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC) was brought into life and Bill Clinton was selected to be its co-chair. At that time, Hillary Clinton was still the Secretary of State and thus responsible for channeling USAID relief spending to Haiti.
One could not have found an escape from their influence. Bill Clinton co-chaired the commission alongside Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive. Some $13.3 billion was pledged by international donors so that Haiti could be rebuilt and the lives of Haitians uplifted.
The IHRC was comprised of two parts: one that had the foreigners and one led by the Haitian Prime Minister. Bill Clinton chaired the foreign part and it had all the donors; they had to the IHRC $0.10 billion over two years or forgive $0.20 billion of Haitian debt. Each and every decision made by the Haiti section of the commission had to be endorsed by the foreign section. And Clinton was at the helm of the foreign part of that commission.
As the money found its way into the possession of the IHRC, it increasingly became arrogant and opaque. The only thing that came out of the post-earthquake relief plans was the construction of an industrial park called Caracol, which cost $300 million. The US was also amenable to financing a power plant. The belief held by the Clintons and their allies in terms of rebuilding Haiti was premised on employing short-term plans espoused in the foreign aid industry that the US had imposed on Haiti all these years.
The industrial park is considered a very big flop by the US. Worse still, several hundred farmers were evicted from there in order to make way for the 600-acre park. Too much emphasis was placed on “outside players” instead of the Haitian government to effect change.
Clinton at Grand Opening
As such, the jobs that Caracol was expected to make fall far below the reality on the ground. The post-earthquake efforts by the Clintons, particularly Caracol, was a damning failure that did nothing to lift the Haitians out of their misery but only lined the pockets of big firms. South Korean textile giant Sae-A Trading Co, which is the main employer at Caracol, gifted the Clinton Foundation with donations between $50,000 and $100,000.
The IHRC had little to show for all the money that came through except the Caracol industrial park. Not much reconstruction in Haiti was done. Where did all the money go? The Clinton Foundation has refuted claims that it had influence in the running of the IHRC, saying, “Since 2010, the Foundation has worked on the ground in Haiti with a range of partners – helping more than 7,500 farmers lift themselves out of poverty; improving the Haitian environment by planting more than 5 million trees and installing more than 400 KW of clean energy; and supporting women through literacy training and job skills for over 2,000 women,” when responding to the BBC.
It has been speculated some of the money that came through the commission found its way towards sponsoring Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign which she lost to the incumbent Donald Trump in 2016 but this is an area she has always been evasive about when probed. They become allegations without proof but to Haitians the more she dodges the question, the more she becomes suspicious and pernicious to the interests of Haitians.
It is estimated that the IHRC collected over $5.3 billion over two years and $9.9 billion in three years but Haitians still find themselves mired in abject poverty. A US Government Accountability Office report circumvented the issue by deciding not to find any iota of wrongdoing, but the gravity of the failure made them mention that the plans by the IHRC, co-chaired by Bill Clinton, “did not align with the Haitian priorities.”
The failure by the IHRC to rebuild Haiti is still haunting Haiti. The failed agricultural policies by the US made sure Haiti, a country that produced its own rice, would be reliant on US food to the extent that Haiti imports food from the US. Foreign aid is continuously pumped into Haiti, and no plan is made to bolster the country’s own capacity to rebuild and produce.
Haiti is still run on which business finds favor with the US, and while the Clintons were in charge of the US, they presided over all these failed policies. It is high time the onus to build Haiti shifts back to the government.
Haiti 10 years later: What happened to the billions pledged to help the people of Haiti?
ByValerie Helm Global NewsPosted January 20, 2020 1:42 pm Updated January 20, 2020 3:13 pm
Haiti has received billions of dollars in relief over the years from around the world, after the devastating earthquake of 2010. So how were Canadian donations spent? – Jan 13, 2020
When Haiti was rocked by an earthquake on Jan. 12, 2010, images of despair and damage struck a chord with people around the world.
American journalist Jonathan M. Katz has closely analyzed the money pledged and how much was actually disbursed. He reports the global response totalled US$16.3 billion in pledges for rebuilding and recovery efforts. Other estimates, including from the L.A. Times, pin it at US$13.5 billion. In the month following the earthquake, Canadians donated $220 million to eligible organizations, which was matched by the federal government. From 2010 to 2018, Canada contributed $1.458 billion, which does not include the $220 donated by Canadians.
A small boy sits outside the tent he lives in with his family in Canaan, Haiti, January 2020. (Valerie Laillet).Photojournalist Barry Donnelly in Canaan, Haiti, Jan. 11, 2020. (Valerie Laillet).
“We’re still living in that same moment in that same time,” Guillano Louis, who lives in Port-au-Prince, tells Global News on the streets of the capital.
In the area of Canaan, a two-hour drive northeast of congested Port-au-Prince, some families still live in tents set up as a temporary measure for displaced residents after the earthquake. A family of seven sleeps in a threadbare tent, without access to running water, electricity or public services such as education. Some of the children were born in these conditions.
A family of seven lives inside this tent in Canaan, Haiti. (Valerie Laillet).Canaan, Haiti. Jan. 11, 2020. (Valerie Laillet).
With 10 years gone by, there are questions from the international community about the lack of progress.
“The headline should be, ‘We screwed up,’” says Katz, reflecting on the global response.
He explains that the international community didn’t keep its promises.
Katz was inside his home in Haiti when it “buckled along with hundreds of thousands of others.” In his book, The Big Truck That Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster, he claims Canada disbursed $657 million in the 20 months since the quake, but only about two per cent was channelled to the Haitian government.
Global News reached out to Global Affairs Canada for confirmation of the figures provided by Katz. In a statement, the department says it is “unable to confirm this figure, as we are not aware of the methodology that was used to arrive at this amount.”
“Canada’s international assistance to Haiti is channelled through international or Canadian partners whose financial capacity and integrity have been verified,” the statement says.
Katz says there’s the notion that governments should not foolishly give money to countries filled with corruption. The Haitian government is widely accused of corruption, mismanagement and misinformation, right down to the number of people it says died in the earthquake. The government estimates 316,000 people died and 200,000 people were injured, figures many believe to be inflated. The BBC cites a draft report commissioned by the U.S. government that puts the death toll between 46,000 and 85,000. Many news outlets report 220,000 lives were lost.
In Port-au-Prince, many Haitians lament their current situation. A vendor selling patties, who did not want to be identified, told Global News she is fed up with the government’s inaction. She says she never saw any of the food and supplies distributed, and believes the government kept things for itself.
Louis, who works in security and was in Port-au-Prince at the time of the earthquake, echoes that sentiment. He says the earthquake is still fresh in the minds of Haitians.
“There’s been no real progress,” he said.
He believes the Haitian government is to blame and voiced that “someone needs to say something.”
Vendors in Port-au-Prince days before Haiti marks the 10th anniversary of the earthquake. (Courtesy: Barry Donnelly).Courtesy: Barry Donnelly.Guillano Louis walks by a vendor in Port-au-Prince. (Courtesy: Barry Donnelly). Courtesy: Barry Donnely
In a statement released on the 10th anniversary of the earthquake, Haitian President Jovenel Moïse said the government still lacks “the basic infrastructure and services to support the people of our country.”
“The initial flurry of attention received from the international community quickly quieted down, with many of the financial pledges not delivered — causing devastating consequences for our recovery,” he said. “Little of the aid that was received ended up in Haitian hands and much of the money that was so generously given was not spent on the right projects and places.”
Katz says there’s a lot of noise about corruption in places like Haiti, but little of the aid is actually going to Haiti. Often, foreign donors choose to give to NGOs due to fears of corruption by the Haitian government. But some NGOs are also accused of mismanagement.
In 2015, NPR and ProPublica released their findings into the US$500 million raised by the American Red Cross for relief efforts in Haiti. ProPublica’s headline read: “How the Red Cross Raised Half a Billion Dollars for Haiti and Built Six Homes.” According to NPR, their investigation found a number of “poorly managed projects, questionable spending and dubious claims of success.”
FILE – A Brazilian soldier of the MINUSTAH force gives food to Haitian children orphaned by the 2010 earthquake, at an orphanage in Port-au-Prince on March 3, 2013. VANDERLEI ALMEIDA/AFP/Getty Images
Katz explains that foreign aid is “a misnomer.”
“It’s usually not aid and it’s not given to foreign countries,” he said.
Katz says that with Canadian aid agencies, as with other aid agencies, a lot of the funds go to Canadian staff, salaries and travel and that the material is purchased in the donor country. He also says people believe that so much money should have fixed everything, but a lot of the money that was pledged wasn’t delivered.
FILE – This Monday, July 11, 2011, file photo shows silhouettes of UN peacekeepers from Brazil at the airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo).
NGOs poured into Haiti to assist, but it’s unclear how many have been on the ground. There are varying reports placing the number of NGOs in the country to as low as 3,000 and as high as 20,000. While NGOs play critical roles in providing basic necessities and health services to people facing difficult times, there are questions as to who oversees them.
The Centre for Global Development has been calling for the implementation of national guilds that would set a national mandatory requirement for NGOs to be registered, and possibly include a code of conduct that would keep their missions in line with one another. It also calls for practices such as annual reports and audited financial statements.
Vocational school in Carrefour, Haiti, built in honour of RCMP Sgt. Mark Gallagher. (Courtesy: Antony Robart).
Canadians responded in the days, months and years after the earthquake. A vocational school was built in memory of RCMP Sgt. Mark Gallagher, who died in the quake.
Gilles Rivard was the Canadian ambassador to Haiti from June 2008 to October 2010 and January 2014 to September 2014. He was in the country when the earthquake struck and says Canada had a fantastic team for the mission. He says Canadian teams brought in food, flew out some 6,000 Haitians and built a new road and a new hospital.
“Now people are complaining that this hospital is not functioning well,” Rivard said. He says if the “Haitian government doesn’t send doctors or nurses to take care of the poor people that suffered, there is nothing Canada can do. But we’re criticized for that.”
FILE – Haitians struggled to rebuild after the earthquake rocked their fragile island in 2010.
Rivard points to issues with UN institutions. He says they “don’t always co-ordinate among themselves.”
“So you can imagine the situation,” he said. “And I think it’s a big problem; the co-ordination and also what we request from the country, the numerous reports, evaluation, audit and so on. They don’t have the capacity to respond.”
Rivard says Haiti needs support from Canada and the U.S., who are main donors.
“Canada does a lot,” he said. “The problem is that if you don’t do enough, you’re going to be criticized. And then if you do too much, they’re going to be accused of telling Haitians what to do. That’s the dilemma.”
Rivard says there is a lot of fatigue from countries that are trying to help Haiti.
“You feel that there is no real progress in terms of governance, of economic situation and so on. So that’s that. See, that’s a vicious circle.”
Dorcius Fritzner speaks to Global News journalist Antony Robart (Courtesy: Valerie Laillet). Courtesy: Barry Donnely
Father of two Dorcius Fritzner makes his living in Haiti’s capital by shuttling people on his motorbike. He told Global News he’s frustrated with the government. Fritzner says resources in Haiti are barren, likening it to a desert. Issues he points to include children not able to attend school, trouble accessing clean water, unemployment and gas shortages.
FILE – A demonstrator walks past a burning barricade during anti-government protests in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Feb. 15, 2019.REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado
Port-au-Prince architect Philippe Léon says the political turmoil and instability has hindered rebuilding efforts. He points to the number of times the government has changed hands; three different presidents and an interim government in the last decade.
“One hundred to 150 years of construction was destroyed, including the presidential palace that was nearly 100 years old,” he said. “It wouldn’t take five to 10 years to rebuild.”
Haiti’s Notre-Dame cathedral is still in ruins 10 years later. (Valerie Laillet).Janurary 12, 2020. (Valerie Laillet).
Still, he says, not much has been done. Léon says a lot of the new construction has been in the private sector and a lot of it is half-built. He points to projects like the Village Lumane Casimir, with 1,500 units. Only about half of the units are built, due to a lack of funds.
More than one million people were displaced by the earthquake. In Canaan, about two hours from the capital, tents were set up to temporarily house displaced residents. But today, some people still live in the very tents that were put up 10 years ago. Others have built homes out of whatever they could find; wood and tin homes cover the mountains. A number of residents have built their homes out of cement blocks. People in Canaan have built a makeshift community with homes out of various materials, schools for those who can afford it, churches and grocery stores.
Léon says the mountains surrounding Port-au-Prince are covered with dwellings, with no roads or order. He says when you fly into or out of Haiti at night, you can see all of the lights emanating from homes, snake roads and lack of organization.
Katz says when it comes to Haiti, people often try to find a single villain. Bill and Hillary Clinton are often singled out. But Katz says “what failed was the system.”
“This should be a wakeup call.”
He says inequality, much more than the earthquake, is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.
National police shoot at protesters demanding the resignation of Haitian President Jovenel Moise near the presidential palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Dieu Nalio Chery. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Dieu Nalio Chery
Over the last year, Léon hasn’t worked on any housing projects due to the political instability and violence in his country. He said there’s no work to be had in new builds. Instead, he’s been working on building fences, steel doors and other measures to make homes impenetrable by rioters. At his office, his windows are covered in wood to fend off rocks and Molotov cocktails.
Léon says the problem with Haiti is that the country is “managing misery.” Poverty, a lack of education and fighting for political power are some of the main issues. He says a lot of things other countries take for granted, Haiti cannot. Everything from water to electricity to roads are systems people have to build themselves, and in challenging circumstances.
Léon believes the development of a country “can only happen through its own people, through people who believe in it and support it.” He says the 10th anniversary of the earthquake is time for a ‘bilan,’ an assessment on the progress so far: “counting the blessings and counting your mistakes.” Léon, who is now in his 60s, says he hopes to see a better Haiti himself.
MEDIA ADVISORY November 6, 2017, Oakland, CA: Contact: Toussaint LeToure, Editor Martin Silverman, Chief Correspondent (510) 394-4701 nowtruth@nowtruth.org;
We are Forming a Legal Coalition for Victory Over Corruption! and ask your organizations to register/join our coalition at: http://nowtruth.org/forming-a-legal-coalition-for-victory-over-corruption/. Please share this proposal with EVERYONE that you think might or should be interested in winning justice and respect for ALL childern, responsile parents and people in general!
TWITTER SUBPOENAED! CLOSED ACCOUNTS FOR #BLACKLIVESMATTER TWEETS! ENGAGED IN CENSORSHIP AND COVER UP OF CRIMES OF GOV. JERRY BROWN, KAMALA HARRIS, DISTRICT ATTORNEY NANCY O’MALLEY AND OAKLAND CITY ATTORNEY BARBARA PARKER!!
Twitter and Google has been subpoenaed and MUST appear in court Wednesday, November 8, 2017 at 9 am, for closing the accounts ajalil, FirstSSM, Nowtruth1, EXWHYAD, griotz, AMWFND, electionwin, and caecay for tweeting and retweeting posts that disclosed criminal corruption of the “COURTEL- Superior Court CARTEL conceived in sin, born of corruption, protected by guard dogs of Hell!” with Governor Jerry Brown, Senator Kamala Harris, California Judges, California Judicial Council, District Attorney Nancy O’Malley and Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker!!
They opposed the motions ONLY AFTER the replies had been served on them, which makes the oppositions invalid. But worst by offering the lamest excuses to conceal their collusion in the corruption case that involves ALL the parties mentioned above!
Twitter completely lied in their opposition saying they just received the subpoena at the same time they have to reply to the motion to compel, the November 8 hearing date! They received the subpoena on August 8, 2017 and were to have their reply back to us by September 8, 2017!! We have received nothing from them until now.
Google claimed in their opposition to the motion to compel they would have to hire techs just to search their own files for the documents and that research would be too expensive to perform!!! GOOGLE, THE WORLDS LEADER IN SEARCH CAPABILITY AND WORTH OVER $500 BILLION!!! What a joke! They also make reference to the FBI, possible illegal surveillance, data mining and gathering of information on Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim, his family, businesses, and communities.
The District Attorney, NAZI NAnZI O’inkMalley filed a completely perjurious document that would indict her, but they “forgot” to sign it! Hummm? They claim they NEVER received the subpoena but have revealed they have 286 page document that was also filed with the court!
The “COURTEL” – the Superior Court Corruption CARTEL, California Judicial Council, and Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker ALL failed and refused to file ANY opposition to the subpoenas and I am sure they will NOT show up in court. Their motions are below for your pleasure.
You MUST read these motions and oppositions as you will NOT believe them!!
You can download or view the subpoenas, oppositions and trial notices here:
Some of the tweets to Shaun King, Deray, Uncle Bobby, and many others as follows:
Effectively NONE of their reasons for the alleged “suspension” are applicable and seem to have an agenda established by those opposed to the retweets and mentions!
It seems that their selective Persecution and prosecution is clearly motivated by their attempt to silence and censor us, deny our freedom of speech and cover up the corruption of those mentioned in the posts that is directly supported with THEIR OWN ADMISSIONS and the EVIDENCE thereto!
Twitters demonstrated extreme bias and prejudice is clearly intended to cause harm to those accounts you have selectively chosen to “close” to the benefit of those with something to lose by the publicity of the tweets/retweets!
Alliance Credit/Bank One, T. Miller, Plaintiff, vs. Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim, Defendant,
SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF ALAMEDA Case No.:OCV0574030 Judicial Council Assignment # 1050144-17 Hearing Date: November 8, 2017 Time:9:15AM Location: Hayward Hall of Justice ) 24405 Amador Street Hayward, CA 94544 Department 519
TO: Vijaya Gadde General Counsel and Custodian of Records for Twitter, Inc. c/o Trust and Safety 795 Folsom Street, Suite 600 San Francisco, CA 94107 Fax: 415-222-0922, 415-222-9958 Vijaya@twitter.com, lawenforcement@twitter.com SeanEdgett@twitter.com, lawenforcement@twitter.com, LeslieBerland@twitter.com, GenelleNg@twitter.com, BenjaminLee@twitter.com, AmyKeating@twitter.com, RobertKaiden@twitter.com, AnthonyNoto@twitter.com, JackDorsey@twitter.com
Faxed and Emailed FROM: Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim DATE: August 28, 2017 NO PAGES: 2+ 89 page RE: Twitter Civil Subpoena per Evidence Code sections 1560, 1561, 1562, and 1271 and Request for Production of Documents per Code of Civil Procedure Section 2031 Attachments in Matter of MILLER VS HAKIM, Case: #OCV0574030
Dear Ms. Gadde,
I am sending you this CIVIL SUBPOENA (DUCES TECUM) for Personal Appearance and Production of Documents, Electronically Stored Information, and Things and REQUESTS FOR PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS, SET NO. ONE Code of Civil Procedure Section 2031attached hereto. This is in the matter of MILLER VS HAKIM, Case#OCV0574030.
TWITTER is being served pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure Section 2031 (CCP 2031) on Responding Party: Custodian of Records for Twitter, Jack Dorsey, Anthony Noto, Vijaya Gadde, Leslie Berland, Robert Kaiden, Genelle Ng, Amy Keating, Benjamin Lee, and ALL their previous and current employees, agents, independent contractors, consultants, representatives, lobbyist, experts, professional organizations, social organizations, charitable organizations, and professional services organizations, et.at.
YOU are requested to produce for inspection and copying, pursuant to Evidence Code sections 1560, 1561, 1562, and 1271 and Code of Civil Procedure Section 2031 (CCP 2031), the DOCUMENTS in the numbered categories. The production shall take place on September 30, 2017, at 9:00 a.m., at 7633 Sunkist Drive, Oakland, California, 94605.
Ms. Gadde, YOU and the Custodian of Records are NOT required to appear in person if within thirty (30) days from the date of the serving of this request upon you on August 28, 2017, you produce (i) the records described in the “DEFINITIONS” Section as part of this attached affidavit and (ii) a completed declaration of custodian of records in compliance with Evidence Code sections 1560, 1561, 1562, and 1271 and Code of Civil Procedure Section 2031 (CCP 2031). (1) Place a copy of the records in an envelope (or other wrapper). Enclose the original declaration of the custodian with the records. Seal the envelope. (2) Attach a copy of this subpoena to the envelope or write on the envelope the case name and number; your name; and the date, time, and place. (3) Place this first envelope in an outer envelope, seal it, and mail it to me at the address herein or email address: ajalil1234@gmail.com. (4) The written response shall be served within thirty (30) days of the service of this request or by September 28, 2017.
As is YOUR custom, you may provide responsive records in electronic format (i.e., text files that can be opened with any word processing software such as Word or TextEdit) or a searchable portable document file (PDF).
If any DOCUMENT requested herein was, but no longer is, in YOUR possession, custody, or control, please state whether such DOCUMENT was lost, destroyed or otherwise disposed of, and describe the circumstances and date(s) of such disposition.
As per the Orders, I am requesting ANY and ALL information you have on this settled account to provide to me in this matter ASAP.
Please call me when the court ordered documents are available so that we can proceed in earnest to a fair resolution of this heinous 20 year matter of Elder Abuse as there is NO place for this in modern society much less in a courtroom before the people!!
Faxed and Emailed FROM: Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim DATE: October 2, 2017 NO PAGES: 2 RE: Respond to the Motions for Production of Documents and Subpoena, etc., MILLER VS HAKIM, Case: #OCV0574030
Dear Ms. Gadde and Twitter Legal Team:
I am in receipt of an email from “Twitter, Inc. Team” via Litigation <litigation@twitter.com> wherein you wrote:
“Dear Mr. al-Hakim:
We are in receipt of your legal process, dated August 24, 2017, in this matter. Please provide us with a copy of the complaint by replying directly to this email.
Thank you.
— Twitter Legal”
The complaint is NOT necessary to respond to the 89 page CIVIL SUBPOENA (DUCES TECUM) for Personal Appearance and Production of Documents, Electronically Stored Information, and Things and REQUESTS FOR PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS, SET NO. ONE served on you in this matter.
Faxed and Emailed FROM: Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim DATE: October 4, 2017 NO PAGES: 2 pages RE: Meet and Confer regarding Subpoena (Duces Tecum) and Request for Production of Documents in Matter of MILLER VS HAKIM, Case: #OCV0574030
Dear Ms. Gadde,
I am the defendant in the above-referenced case. On August 28, 2017, I had served a CIVIL SUBPOENA (DUCES TECUM) in compliance with Evidence Code sections 1560, 1561, 1562, and 1271, for Personal Appearance and Production of Documents, Electronically Stored Information, and Things in addition to a formal Request for Production of Documents, Set One, per CCP 2031 via fax and email. You should have provided the documents to us by September 28, 2017. You have failed and refused to comply with the courts order. This letter asks you to please fully comply with and respond to the Subpoena and Request for Production, Set One by October 6, 2017. If I do not receive these responses, I will file a motion in court to obtain compliance and compel the production of the documents, demand the related costs of the motion with all fees and sanctions, request a contempt order and order a bench warrant for the arrest of those responsible as provided by California Code of Civil Procedure § 2031.300 and others. We have secured a court date of November 8, 2017, at 9:15 AM, in Department 511 of the Alameda County Superior Court, in Hayward California. If you have any objection, response or reply it should be made in the form of a properly noticed, served, and filed motion to the court. Please call me when the court ordered documents are available so that we can proceed in earnest to a fair resolution of this heinous 20 year matter of Elder Abuse as there is NO place for this in modern society much less in a courtroom before the people!!
Faxed and Emailed FROM: Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim DATE: October 9, 2017 NO PAGES: 18 pages RE: Defendants Motion to Compel Subpoena and Request for Production of Documents for Twitter in Matter of MILLER VS HAKIM, Case: #OCV0574030
Dear Ms. Gadde,
Attached please find Defendants Motion to Compel Subpoena and Request for Production of Documents for Twitter. We have secured a court date of November 8, 2017, at 9:15 AM, in Department 511 of the Alameda County Superior Court, in Hayward California.
Faxed and Emailed FROM: Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim DATE: October 23, 2017 NO PAGES: 18 pages RE: Defendants Reply Motion to Compel Subpoena and Request for Production of Documents for Twitter in Matter of MILLER VS HAKIM, Case: #OCV0574030
Dear Ms. Gadde,
Attached please find Defendants Reply Motion to Compel Subpoena and Request for Production of Documents for Twitter. We have secured a court date of November 8, 2017, at 9:15 AM, in Department 511 of the Alameda County Superior Court, in Hayward California.
Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim 510-394-4501
************ I electronically caused such document(s) to be transmitted and served on the parties listed herein by transmitting them via .pdf/email to the email address(es) set forth herein and in the email header above. My electronic proof of service email address for the purposes of legal process only is :processlegalserver@gmail.com. PLEASE NOTE YOU CAN NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL ADDRESS AS IT IS UNATTENDED. Please respond to the party at their email address. You are All herewith officially served via email the foregoing and/or attached document(s) as described in the following:
Defendants Motion to Compel Subpoena and Request for Production of Documents for Twitter.
Alliance Credit/Bank One, T. Miller, Plaintiff, vs. Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim, Defendant,
SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF ALAMEDA Case No.:OCV0574030 Judicial Council Assignment # 1050144-17 Hearing Date: November 8, 2017 Time:9:15AM Location: Hayward Hall of Justice ) 24405 Amador Street Hayward, CA 94544 Department 519
TO: David Drummond Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer and Custodian of Records for Google Google, Inc. 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043 Fax: 650-249-3429, 650-469-0622, 650-649-2939, 650-618-1806, 650-253-0001, 650-618-1499 ddrummond@google.com, legal@google.com, uslawenforcement@google.com, legal-support@google.com, lis-global@google.com, JBerlin@google.com, DChiang@google.com, ADanielvarda@google.com, RDuPree@google.com, JHeileson@google.com, THwang@google.com, AItoi@google.com, JMaccoun@google.com, JManson@google.com, VNguy@google.com, AOrion@google.com, TPham@google.com, KRana@google.com, ARao@google.com, PSanger@google.com, thbeaumont@google.com, nshanbhag@google.com, kwalker@google.com, alo@google.com, jimsherwood@google.com
Faxed and Emailed FROM: Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim DATE: August 29, 2017 NO PAGES: 2+ 89 page RE: Google Civil Subpoena per Evidence Code sections 1560, 1561, 1562, and 1271 and Request for Production of Documents per Code of Civil Procedure Section 2031 Attachments in Matter of MILLER VS HAKIM, Case: #OCV0574030
Dear Mr. Drummond,
I am sending you this CIVIL SUBPOENA (DUCES TECUM) for Personal Appearance and Production of Documents, Electronically Stored Information, and Things and REQUESTS FOR PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS, SET NO. ONE Code of Civil Procedure Section 2031attached hereto. This is in the matter of MILLER VS HAKIM, Case#OCV0574030.
GOOGLE is being served pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure Section 2031 (CCP 2031) on Responding Party: Custodian of Records for Google, Joseph Berlin, Darry Chiang, Annabelle Danielvarda, David Drummond, Renee DuPree, Jeffery Heileson, Tina Chia-Chi Hwang, Anna Itoi, Jonathan Manson, Van Nguy, Andrew Orion, Tim Pham, Kulpreet Rana, Anand Rao, Priya Seshachari Sanger, Theresa Beaumont, Nikhil Shanbhag, Kent Walker, Allen Lo, Jim Sherwood, Jeff Donovan, and ALL their previous and current employees, agents, independent contractors, consultants, representatives, lobbyist, experts, professional organizations, social organizations, charitable organizations, and professional services organizations, et.at.
YOU are requested to produce for inspection and copying, pursuant to Evidence Code sections 1560, 1561, 1562, and 1271 and Code of Civil Procedure Section 2031 (CCP 2031), the DOCUMENTS in the numbered categories. The production shall take place on September 30, 2017, at 9:00 a.m., at 7633 Sunkist Drive, Oakland, California, 94605.
Ms. Drummond, YOU and the Custodian of Records are NOT required to appear in person if within thirty (30) days from the date of the serving of this request upon you on August 28, 2017, you produce (i) the records described in the “DEFINITIONS” Section as part of this attached affidavit and (ii) a completed declaration of custodian of records in compliance with Evidence Code sections 1560, 1561, 1562, and 1271 and Code of Civil Procedure Section 2031 (CCP 2031). (1) Place a copy of the records in an envelope (or other wrapper). Enclose the original declaration of the custodian with the records. Seal the envelope. (2) Attach a copy of this subpoena to the envelope or write on the envelope the case name and number; your name; and the date, time, and place. (3) Place this first envelope in an outer envelope, seal it, and mail it to me at the address herein or email address: ajalil1234@gmail.com. (4) The written response shall be served within thirty (30) days of the service of this request or by September 28, 2017.
As is YOUR custom, you may provide responsive records in electronic format (i.e., text files that can be opened with any word processing software such as Word or TextEdit) or a searchable portable document file (PDF).
If any DOCUMENT requested herein was, but no longer is, in YOUR possession, custody, or control, please state whether such DOCUMENT was lost, destroyed or otherwise disposed of, and describe the circumstances and date(s) of such disposition.
Please call me when the court ordered documents are available so that we can proceed in earnest to a fair resolution of this heinous 20 year matter of Elder Abuse as there is NO place for this in modern society much less in a courtroom before the people!!
SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF ALAMEDA Case No.:OCV0574030 Judicial Council Assignment # 1050144-17 Hearing Date: November 8, 2017 Time: 9:15AM Location: Hayward Hall of Justice 24405 Amador Street Hayward, CA 94544 Department 511
Faxed and Emailed FROM: Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim DATE: October 4, 2017 NO PAGES: 2 pages RE: Meet and Confer regarding Subpoena (Duces Tecum) and Request for Production of Documents in Matter of MILLER VS HAKIM, Case: #OCV0574030
Dear Mr. Drummond,
I am the defendant in the above-referenced case. On August 28, 2017, I had served a CIVIL SUBPOENA (DUCES TECUM) in compliance with Evidence Code sections 1560, 1561, 1562, and 1271, for Personal Appearance and Production of Documents, Electronically Stored Information, and Things in addition to a formal Request for Production of Documents, Set One, per CCP 2031 via fax and email. You should have provided the documents to us by September 28, 2017. You have failed and refused to comply with the courts order. This letter asks you to please fully comply with and respond to the Subpoena and Request for Production, Set One by October 6, 2017. If I do not receive these responses, I will file a motion in court to obtain compliance and compel the production of the documents, demand the related costs of the motion with all fees and sanctions, request a contempt order and order a bench warrant for the arrest of those responsible as provided by California Code of Civil Procedure § 2031.300 and others. We have secured a court date of November 8, 2017, at 9:15 AM, in Department 511 of the Alameda County Superior Court, in Hayward California. If you have any objection, response or reply it should be made in the form of a properly noticed, served, and filed motion to the court. Please call me when the court ordered documents are available so that we can proceed in earnest to a fair resolution of this heinous 20 year matter of Elder Abuse as there is NO place for this in modern society much less in a courtroom before the people!!
Motion to Compel Request for Production of Documents
SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF ALAMEDA Case No.:OCV0574030 Judicial Council Assignment # 1050144-17 Hearing Date: November 8, 2017 Time: 9:15AM Location: Hayward Hall of Justice 24405 Amador Street Hayward, CA 94544 Department 511
Faxed and Emailed FROM: Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim DATE: October 9, 2017 NO PAGES: 18 pages RE: Defendants Motion to Compel Request for Production of Documents on Google in Matter of MILLER VS HAKIM, Case: #OCV0574030
Dear Mr. Drummond,
Attached please find Defendants Motion to Compel Request for Production of Documents for Google. We have secured a court date of November 8, 2017, at 9:15 AM, in Department 511 of the Alameda County Superior Court, in Hayward California.
Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim 510-394-4501
Reply Motion to Compel Request for Production
SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF ALAMEDA Case No.:OCV0574030 Judicial Council Assignment # 1050144-17 Hearing Date: November 8, 2017 Time: 9:15AM Location: Hayward Hall of Justice 24405 Amador Street Hayward, CA 94544 Department 511
Faxed and Emailed FROM: Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim DATE: October 23, 2017 NO PAGES: 18 pages RE: Defendants Reply Motion to Compel Request for Production of Documents on Google in Matter of MILLER VS HAKIM, Case: #OCV0574030
Dear Mr. Drummond,
Attached please find Defendants Reply Motion to Compel Request for Production of Documents for Google. We have secured a court date of November 8, 2017, at 9:15 AM, in Department 511 of the Alameda County Superior Court, in Hayward California.
Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim 510-394-4501
************ I electronically caused such document(s) to be transmitted and served on the parties listed herein by transmitting them via .pdf/email to the email address(es) set forth herein and in the email header above. My electronic proof of service email address for the purposes of legal process only is :processlegalserver@gmail.com. PLEASE NOTE YOU CAN NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL ADDRESS AS IT IS UNATTENDED. Please respond to the party at their email address. You are All herewith officially served via email the foregoing and/or attached document(s) as described in the following:
Defendants Reply Motion to Compel Request for Production of Documents on Google.
Respectfully,
Nanita Strong (BY EMAIL) — PROOF OF SERVICE This email account is exclusively for the purpose of facilitating the service of legal process in the matter herein addressed. I am a citizen of the United States. I live or am employed in the County of Alameda from which this service occurs/originates. I am over the age of 18 years, and not a party to the within cause. I am readily familiar with the normal business practice of depositing electronic correspondence for emailing via the internet within the U.S. On the date set forth hereinabove, following ordinary business practice, I caused such document(s) to be transmitted to the parties listed herein by transmitting it via email to the email address(es) set forth in the email Header thereby serving a true copy of the foregoing and/or attached document(s). I declare under penalty of Perjury under the laws of the State of California that the above is true and correct. Executed via electronic signature on this day hereinabove, at Oakland, California.
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