I received a call from the FBI today (yes, it really was the FBI, verified by caller ID and checking the FBI number).
The agent told me that he got my name from someone in an environmentalist group as a person who is knowledgeable about the environmental movement and development in Riverwest. He alleged he wanted to speak to me in order to help reconcile the two groups.
I asked him what he was talking about and he responded that he just told me. I asked who gave him my name and he refused to tell me, stating it was requested that he keep it confidential. I asked again for a specific reason he was calling.
Multiple times he said, “If you don’t want to talk to me…” and I said, I’m happy to talk to you if you ask me a specific question and can be honest about why you’re calling. and then he’d say again, “I told you why.”
So I told him, Look, I don’t believe what you’re telling me. First, everyone knows that I’m active on development and environmental issues in this neighborhood. This is no secret. I’m very public, so there would be no reason for anyone to request anonymity. Second, the FBI doesn’t work on reconciliation (this is something he brought up at least 2-3 times).
I told him that if they are calling me because I have posted publicly that we need a radical environmental organization in this city, he should look up what radical means–it means going to the roots.
I asked him to give me one example of the FBI working on reconciling these two groups ANYWHERE. and his response was that the FBI sometimes protects protesters. Poor guy. I had to inform him that this is not reconciliation.
After we hung up, I posted this on Facebook.
Then, someone posted a link to a booklet called “Operation Backfire: a Survival Guide for Environmental and Animal Rights Activists†which is put out by the National Lawyers Guild on my facebook wall. (if you can’t open that, you can see it here)
It starts out, “In 2004, several separate FBI investigations into the animal rights and environmental movements were combined into Major Case #220, also called Operation Backfire. Shortly after, the FBI’s top official in charge of domestic terrorism announced that ‘The No. 1 domestic terrorism threat is the eco-terrorism, animal-rights movement.’â€
The link was removed w/in 2 minutes. Are they monitoring my facebook page? my phone? my email? I don’t know. I reposted the link myself, so if you are a facebook friend, you can view it.
I am concerned that this kind of harassment and intimidation is going to be a challenge for future environmentalists in Milwaukee. As more and more activists work to protect our resources, corporations will be working to take them away, and take the activists down. What easier way than to delegitimize the movement?
If you hear anyone else who has been contacted, have any ideas about what inspired the FBI would be contacting me, I’d love to know.
I realize it’s possible that this isn’t related to development in Riverwest, but has to do with something else I’m active on (Israel/Palestine, water, etc…).
In any case this kind of non-transparent intimidation is scary and creepy, even knowing that I have done nothing against the law, I understand that this might not matter at all.
I hope this is the end of it.
25 Aug 2009 | 3:36 pm | Economic Development, Environmental Sustainability, Uncategorized, Water | No comments yet - Add your comments
This land belongs to us. It’s ours, and not a bountiful commodity to be sold or given away piece by piece.
When are you voting, and are you taking additional comments?
Sura Faraj
Who's Lake? OUR LAKE!
22 Jun 2009 | 5:14 pm | Environmental Sustainability, Water | No comments yet - Add your comments
What do these cities have in common?
Duluth
Milwaukee
Toronto
Chicago
Detroit
Windsor
Toledo
Buffalo
If you guessed that we’re all on the largest freshwater basin in the world, you guessed right.
I believe we need a coalition of Great Lakes citizens to work together for the purpose of protecting the water for our children, our planet, our neighbors and ourselves.
Fresh water is a depleting resource. Agrichemical and other industrial corporations continue to pollute our water by polluting air, rivers and lakes. And those same or other corporations come in to “buy” the rights to filtering, distributing, cleaning and selling the water.
Let me be blunt. Privatization of a water system is stealing water. Water is a human right, a natural resource that is necessary for all life on the planet. It can’t — or at least shouldn’t — be sold to a venture whose purpose is to make a profit.
As citizens, we’ve been negligent in allowing corporate control over this precious, life-giving resource. Milwaukee, and many other cities are experiencing the water grab and we’re beginning a public battle to keep our water in the hands of the people.
Join us.
Email me here to get in touch.
14 Jun 2009 | 1:32 pm | Representation, Water | No comments yet - Add your comments
of course not.
So why would we sell it to another corporation? (Answer: Because city leaders lack the creativity or guts to figure out other ways to increase revenue or decrease spending). This is a critical issue and here’s how you can help:
1) Sign the petition at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/Stop-Water-Privatization-Wisconsin
2) Come to the Common Council’s public hearing on Monday, June 15 at 12:30, at City Hall. 200 East Wells. (Some of us will bike or carpool together — depending on weather — from Riverwest on Monday. Email me if you’re interested.)
3) Call your alderperson and tell them NO to privatizing our public assets. 414 286-2221
The City of Milwaukee Water Works is a well-managed, efficient public utility. As a result, water rates are relatively low and the water quality is high.
Clean water is vital for families, businesses and community safety. It is a major resource for jobs and economic development. But now, in a desperate effort to generate revenue, some city leaders have proposed privatizing the system through a long term lease. Privatization in other cities has led to soaring water rates, unhealthy contaminants in water, declining investment in water system infrastructure, political corruption, and a lack of accountability.
This plan hurts the people of Milwaukee. We have already seen the private corporation operating MMSD dumping raw sewage into Lake Michigan to save money. If the city privatizes drinking water system, costs will soar and water quality will go down as has happened in other cities, including Indianapolis, Cleveland, Stockton, Gary, Peoria and others. We can find other ways to support city services.
Many water companies are foreign-owned. That means taking our money as profit and sending it overseas. The following are just some of the foreign owned water companies, including those with American names: American Water Works, Illinois-American Water Co, RWE, Siemens, Suez, United Water Resources, U.S. Filter, US Water, Veolia, Vivendi.
We need to ask our Mayor and Alders “Whom are you representing — Multinational corporations or the people?”
KPOW! (Keep Public Our Waters)
12 Jun 2009 | 2:37 pm | Representation, Water | No comments yet - Add your comments
The City of Milwaukee is moving toward privatizing Milwaukee Water even as they speak of making Milwaukee the Fresh Water Capitol of the world (privatization is part of that scenario too).
Other cities and communities that have privatized water have seen
terrible results, including skyrocketing prices, neglect of
infrastructure maintenance, reduced water quality and destroyed public
confidence. Water is becoming more precious by the day and it makes no
fiscal sense to bid it out at today’s values.
If you want to be involved and active on fighting this short-sighted, fiscally irresponsible idea, join the “Keep Public Our Waters” group by sending an email to kpow-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
You can find your Alder here. Their email addresses are below or you can call them at 286.2221
1. Ashanti Hamilton <ahamil@milwaukee.gov>
2. Joe Davis <jldavis@milwaukee.gov>
3. Alder Nik Kovac <nkovac@milwaukee.gov>
4. Robert Bauman <rjbauma@milwaukee.gov>
5. Jim Bohl <jbohl@milwaukee.gov>
6. Milele Coggs <mcoggs@milwaukee.gov>
7. Willie Wade <wwade@milwaukee.gov>
8. Bob Donovan <rdonov@milwaukee.gov>
9. Robert Puente <rpuent@milwaukee.gov>
10. Michael Murphy <mmurph@milwaukee.gov>
11. Joe Dudzig <jdudzi@milwaukee.gov>
12. James Witkowiak <jwitko@milwaukee.gov>
13. Terry Witkowski <twitko@milwaukee.gov>
14. Tony Zielinski <tzieli@milwaukee.gov>
15. Willie Hines <whines@milwaukee.gov>
21 May 2009 | 2:41 pm | Environmental Sustainability, Representation, Water | No comments yet - Add your comments
Have you heard of the Transition Movement? or the Transition Handbook?
There are Transition Towns all over the world, but very few in the U.S. Folks in Milwaukee are working to change that.
Essentially, TTs are a way to create a thoughtful, deliberate transition to the world we are now facing, the one that’s post-peak oil, that is experiencing greater climate change. It is creating change on a very local level, so our community can become resilient in facing upcoming food, water, transportation, economic and other problems.
TTs build and thrive on community.
From Wikipedia:
Central to the Transition Town movement is the idea that a life without oil could in fact be far more enjoyable and fulfulling than the present “by shifting our mind-set we can actually recognise the coming post-cheap oil era as an opportunity rather than a threat, and design the future low carbon age to be thriving, resilient and abundant – somewhere much better to live than our current alienated consumer culture based on greed, war and the myth of perpetual growth.”
17 Dec 2008 | 4:31 pm | DIY - Do It Yourself, Environmental Sustainability, Water | No comments yet - Add your comments
Dear City Plan Commissioners,
I am objecting to the proposal to build a new UWM dorm on the Milwaukee River. I’m asking you to consider the consequences of this project, and take the long view.
I’m not sure why each of you are on the CPC—perhaps it’s because you truly want to see better development in this city, and give a voice to citizen perspective, or maybe it’s just to put another notch in your resume belt.
Right now, you have an extraordinary opportunity. You can rubber stamp this project and let it go the way of another “done deal,†or you can be heroes, and change the tide of what is surely coming upon us—the development of all of the Milwaukee River, north of North Ave.
Please be clear. Neighborhood leaders who have been meeting over the last several months on UWM and river issues do not want this development. The UWM dorms as proposed:
- Are too big, doubling the population of Riverside Park neighborhood without addressing infrastructure needs.
- Are environmentally shameful. High-density developments should never abut a primary environmental corridor.
- Open up development of all of the Milwaukee River at a time we are working to protect it.
- Don’t meaningfully address resident concerns.
- Add more dorm density to North Ave. Three dorms is too many.
- Add more dorm density to the Milwaukee River for a total of almost 1200 students.
- Use public funds in the form of bonds to help finance it.
Continue reading ‘Letter to CPC re: UWM Dorm Development on the River’
8 Dec 2008 | 2:04 pm | Development, Environmental Sustainability, UWM, Water | No comments yet - Add your comments