Arbor Update

Ann Arbor Area Community News

Kiblawi Arrested by Israeli Troops

Posted by Ari Paul on 20. June 2004

U-M grad and Palestinian rights activist Fadi Kiblawi was arrested by Israel Defense Forces “during a West Bank protest against the separation fence on Sunday,” Haaretz reported.

Kiblawi has been living in East Jerusalem this summer traveling through his native land. Last week, Kiblawi photographed and documented occupying soldiers tear gas and open fire on Palestinians praying in the West Bank town of As Sawiya.

Writes Kiblawi,

“Then, the villagers, completely unarmed and impassioned from the destruction, faced the soldiers, who were standing on top of the field now. a small march began with chants of “Allahu Akbar” (God is Greatest). The first Israeli shots rang out, chaos ensued. Everybody scattered, I ducked behind a tree with another Palestinian man. Yelling, somebody was hit, he was quickly carried off by two other Palestinians to an ambulance on the perimeter…What happened over the next hour is a blur, as it was complete chaos. I recall looking in front of me to the left and right there were soldiers and looking to the left of me they encroached. Tear gas cannister fell in front of me, another to the left of me. At first I didn’t feel anything and then all of a sudden my eyes began to burn, I couldn’t breath and I remeber stumbling to the ground to get out of the suffocating cloud. I recall covering my eyes, stinging, with my hands and spitting in my struggles to breath, and just ran as hard as I could.”

Kiblawi was the co-founder of Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, a member of the Michigan Daily’s editorial board for a brief stint, and the Minority Affairs Chair in student government during his tenure at Michigan. He was also the organizer of the Divestment Conference in 2002. He is currently a law student at George Washington University.

Comment [207]

NYT on Clinton Memoirs: "Eye-crossingly dull"

Posted by Ari Paul on 19. June 2004

Ouch! What is often regarded by those on the far-right as a liberal newspaper, The New York Times spoke harsh words of Bill Clinton’s new autobiography.

Said the Old Grey Lady reviewer, Michiko Kakutan:
“The book, which weighs in at more than 950 pages, is sloppy, self-indulgent and often eye-crossingly dull — the sound of one man prattling away, not for the reader, but for himself and some distant recording angel of history.

In many ways, the book is a mirror of Mr. Clinton’s presidency: lack of discipline leading to squandered opportunities; high expectations, undermined by self-indulgence and scattered concentration. This memoir underscores many strengths of Mr. Clinton’s eight years in the White House and his understanding that he was governing during a transitional and highly polarized period. But the very lack of focus and order that mars these pages also prevented him from summoning his energies in a sustained manner to bring his insights about the growing terror threat and an Israeli-Palestinian settlement to fruition. ”

Comment [3]

U-M Email Blocking

Posted by Rob Goodspeed on 18. June 2004

According to a new e-mail blocking and filtering statistics page created by the University’s ITCS, well over half the email recieved by the University’s computers is either deleted or rejected. For the week ending June 6, over 23 million emails were deleted for containing a virus, 10 million rejected, leaving 10 million accepted for delivery to U-M email boxes.

Comment [2]

Ghost Bikes

Posted by Rob Goodspeed on 18. June 2004

A group of bicyclists in Pittsburgh fed up with what they percieved as a city “with an uninviting transportation infrastructure, a government reluctant to accommodate their needs, and a set of laws that leans toward the rights of motorists and ignores unprotected bicyclists,” have decided to take matters into their own hands, chaining white “ghost bikes” near the locations where bicyclists have been killed in recent years.

> See GhostBike.org
> “Ghost Bikes’ are grim reminders”

Comment [2]

Ann Arbor City Council Watch

Posted by Brian Kerr on 18. June 2004

Arbor Blogger Murph has posted an informative Ann Arbor City Council Watch, wherein he notes the following resolution, with comment:

A resolution approving a “priority construction phase” for pedestrian improvements on Plymouth Road—this would involve two 80’ long sections of raised median, one at the Islamic Center and one at Traverwood, each with pedestrian refuge, accessible ramps, crosswalks marked on the pavement, and lit overhead signs. Basically, two more like the one that already exists near Willowtree. Sound like Plymouth is going to be a boulevard pretty soon? Ding! The full proposal calls for a grass median all the way from Nixon to Murfin, and a full signal at Traverwood. Works for me.

Comment [2]

UM Prof on Reagan's Passing

Posted by dilleym on 18. June 2004

From University of Michigan Professor Juan Cole:

“He said that he had heard that some asserted there was hunger in America. He said it sarcastically. He said, “Sure there is; they’re dieting!” or words to that effect. This handsome Hollywood millionnaire making fun of people so poor they sometimes went to bed hungry seemed to me monstrous. I remember his wealthy audience of suburbanites going wild with laughter and applause.”

Comment [21]

Mocha-Makers of the World, Unite!

Posted by Ari Paul on 18. June 2004

Starbucks employees in NYC have formed a union with the Industrial Workers of the World, an anarchist union that shuns the often top-down style of unions in the AFL-CIO.

With now three Starbucks in Ann Arbor, and a IWW campaign to organize the McDonald’s of coffeehouses already underway, it would be interesting if the Ann Arbor Starbucks wage slaves have the same grievences as their comrades in NYC.

The IWW wants:

  1. A HIGHER WAGE
  2. A BETTER WORKPLACE
  3. RESPECT AND DIGNITY ON THE JOB

If you are an Ann Arbor Starbucks worker, or a Starbucks worker anywhere for that matter, and you are interested in improving your workplace, here’s how you get started.

Comment [11]

In Today's Ann Arbor News

Posted by Rob Goodspeed on 17. June 2004

AAPD Chief Oates is still in hot water for using police lights to get to the airport for a flight, the University is set to approve a scaled-back North Campus Arthur Miller theater, Fahrenheit 911 may open at midnight the evening of June 24 at Michigan Theater, an Ebay consignment shop might open its doors in downtown Ann Arbor, and last but not least, the Ann Arbor news is buying into the lies spun by city “leaders” about how flamable couches are and suggests the house fire on Oakland might have started “near one of the couches” on the porch.

Comment [4]

Bike Lockers Now Available Downtown

Posted by Rob Goodspeed on 17. June 2004

The large grey metal boxes which have appeared under the Maynard Parking structure, near the Public Library on fourth, and a variety of other locations are not concealing any mysterious new utilites, but instead are locking bike lockers installed as part of the Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce’s “Get Downtown” transportation program which seeks to, well, get more people downtown. Here’s more information from the “Get Downtown” website:

“Bike Lockers

Bike Lockers can be rented for $60 year plus a refundable key deposit of $25. To rent a bike locker, please call Erica Briggs, getDowntown Program Director, at 734.214.0100.

Bike Lockers are available at the following locations:

* Ann Arbor City Hall * Maynard Street (across from parking structure) * 4th and Washington Parking Structure (Washington Street entrance) * 4th and William Parking Structure (4th Street entrance) * Ann Arbor Public Library Lot (5th Street) * William and Ashley Parking Lot (behind Zydecos) * Coming Soon: Ann and Ashley Parking Structure * Coming Soon: Forest Avenue Parking Structure”

Comment [1]

Georgia O'Keeffe Exhibit Coming to the U-M Museum of Art

Posted by Rob Goodspeed on 17. June 2004

The University of Michigan Museum of Art will debut on July 11 what they descibe as a “major re-evaluation” of the works of Georgia O’Keeffe. The exhibit will feature over 35 of her paintings, as well as “paintings by important American artists such as Albert Bierstadt, Martin Johnson Heade, and George Inness … Also included are photographs by O’Keeffe’s husband, Alfred Stieglitz, and noted American photographer Todd Webb.”

> U-M Museum of Art webpage announcing exhibit

Comment [6]

Keep reading: next previous