http://www.fatcatvideo.net/ Watch and Share videos and photos from all over the web! http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification Argotic Syndication Framework 2008.0.2.0, http://www.codeplex.com/Argotic Wed, 23 May 2012 05:38:54 GMT One of the few ways citizens can hold police accountable for their actions is to positively identify them by their badge number. During this weekend's anti-NATO protests in Chicago at least one officer refused to give his badge number when asked. The officer who appears at :45 and 2:14 of this video has placed black tape over his badge. A Chicago police spokesperson says the tape is to honor a fallen fellow police officer. However, the same spokesperson says the officer is required to give his badge number when asked. The officer does have a name plate on the other side of his chest that identifies him as "Jalakas 023 District Town Hall". Coincidentally, it appears the same officer was quicker than others to raise his baton in a threatening manner. Video by Tracey Pollock and Katherine Quinn http://www.fatcatvideo.net/VideoDetail.aspx?pv=yt&assetId=KhftHduPqOc Tue, 22 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT a href="www.theuptake.org src="www.theuptake.org alt="" title="Click image of Micah Philbrook to hear why NATO should be disbanded" width="300" height="168" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-54380" //aNATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance, was formed to fight the cold war. That war is long over and it's time to disband NATO says Occupy Chicago's Micah Philbrook. " Right now all they're doing is they're the military arm of the one percent. They steal our tax dollars. We paid, the US paid 800 million last year in tax dollars to support NATO when that money can be better spent to support our own community. They're stealing money from our own communities, closing clinics, closing schools, closing libraries here in Chicago and we feel that money could be better spent here in our own communities." Philbrook says the money that a small sliver of the money Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel raised from corporations to fund the NATO conference could have been used to keep mental health facilities open in Chicago. That's one of the many reasons he was protesting in Chicago this weekend outside the NATO summit. "This machine is not working. We have to tear it down," said Philbrook. "We're as responsible for the murders and the wars that NATO causes if we don't stand up." Video by Tracey Pollock and Katherine Quinn http://www.fatcatvideo.net/VideoDetail.aspx?pv=yt&assetId=uDU4_WBb8Oc Mon, 21 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT After the devastating tornado swept north Minneapolis a year ago, architect Alyssa Lipke-Pier and Raymond Dehn mobilized a group of architects and designers. Their goal: provide free consultation and assistance to anyone who wants or needs it to help rebuild their house like it was before. In the past year, more than 80 architects and designers donated their time and more than 40 homeowners have received consultation. Within days, contractors showed up to help rebuild homes on the northside. Insurance companies wanted to keep repair costs on the homes low. Lipke-Pier says Rebuild it Right recommended what was appropriate for the homes and helped many homeowners advocate for themselves. ?Quality was taken out so quality should be put back in,? says Rebuild it Right will be part of Minneapolis? 100 green homes initiative. The city has pledged to build energy efficient and affrodable homes for people living on the Northside. Says Lipke-Pier, ?I want people to move to the Northside because of the houses. This is a great community.? http://www.fatcatvideo.net/VideoDetail.aspx?pv=yt&assetId=KnQasy5c0Xk Mon, 21 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT President Obama talks about winding down the Afghanistan war at the opening session of the NATO summit in Chicago on Sunday. Video provided by the NATO-TV channel and used by permission. http://www.fatcatvideo.net/VideoDetail.aspx?pv=yt&assetId=1hsn3Q8ger4 Mon, 21 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT Tracey Pollock, a credentialed photographer for The UpTake, is attacked by police in Chicago during an anti-NATO protest on Saturday. Before the attack, police were using their bicycles as weapons to force back the crowd which was staging a march without a permit. Police had formed a barricade; as you can see from the video, there was some sort of incident along the barricade. Pollock tried to get closer to see what was happening when a police officer reached up, grabbed her lens and tried to rip her camera away. The officer then pushed her over some bicycles. Pollock was wearing a large press badge and as you can hear from the audio, even bystanders could tell she was part of the press. Protesters behind the bicycles pulled her to safety. Pollock was bruised in the incident but not seriously injured. She says she never crossed the police barricade. A larger anti-NATO protest is planned for Sunday as the summit gets underway. http://www.fatcatvideo.net/VideoDetail.aspx?pv=yt&assetId=qGEoxDdurHg Sun, 20 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT SEEDocs tells the story of restoring and revitalizing the Owe'neh Bupingeh pueblo in Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico. Produced by The UpTake for Design Corps. Funded by Fetzer Institute. http://www.fatcatvideo.net/VideoDetail.aspx?pv=yt&assetId=fTSHLAt9kSg Sat, 19 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT What are the civil rights implications of a proposed Minnesota constitutional amendment requiring a photo ID to vote and creates a whole new provisional balloting system for Minnesota? A panel featuring representatives from the St. Paul NAACP, the ACLU, Ramsey County, the League of Women Voters, and state legislators recently examined that question at the William Mitchell College Of Law in St. Paul, MN Panelists include : Jeff Martin, St Paul NAACP Teresa Nelson, ACLU Legal Counsel State Senator Jeff Hayden Joe Mansky, Director Ramsey County Elections Jim Hilbert, Center for Negotiations Justice http://www.fatcatvideo.net/VideoDetail.aspx?pv=yt&assetId=YDkWOAcPe3I Sat, 19 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT Workers at Fairview hospital see there?sa link between Fairview, a hospital that is being investigated for aggressive debt collection, and Wells Fargo, a bank that aggressively forecloses on people?s homes. That link is a Wells Fargo Vice President who serves on the Fairview board. The workers want that link cut. Fairview Hospital workers rallied at the Wells Fargo Bank office closest to the Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center. They said that Wells Fargo?s behavior on home foreclosures and other negative actions made them unsuitable for the Fairview Board of Directors. The ?bottom line first? mentality promoted by the banks has been detrimental to hospital attitude witness recent disclosures about the practices of Accretive Health in patient payment collection. The group stated that, ?In the wake of the Accretive hospital debt collection scandal, members of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and the community argue that the hospital chain should make a clear statement that patients come before profits by replacing Campbell (Wells Fargo Vice President Jon Campbell) with patient representatives on its board.? A strike vote on contract issues had been scheduled and that was later resolved with a negotiated settlement the day before the strike was scheduled. http://www.fatcatvideo.net/VideoDetail.aspx?pv=yt&assetId=_PTTuZXHmk8 Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT Nearly a year ago, a tornado destroyed 2600 trees on Minneapolis' Northside. Now the Minneapolis Park Board is partnering with organizations such as Best Buy to plant more than 3100 trees ?more trees than were lost in the storm. Species such as Linden, Hackberry and Kentucky Coffee will once again create the urban canopy that was lost after the devastation. Ralph Seevert, who works in the forestry division of the Park Board is calling it, "Arbor Week." Homeowners such as Laura Kidd, who lost trees and shade in front of her house on Plymouth Ave. North is very excited. http://www.fatcatvideo.net/VideoDetail.aspx?pv=yt&assetId=b_6ZlodYQGU Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT Corporate money may have illegally influenced Wisconsin's state government says a report from the Center for Media and Democracy in Madison, Wisconsin. It's report on the influence of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in Wisconsin details how at least 17 legislators have received thousands of dollars in gifts from the corporations that pay for ALEC and those gifts have often not been disclosed to the public. According to the report: "ALEC has created a ?scholarship? scheme to help cover the costs for legislators to travel to out-of- state resorts for these meetings, where the children of lawmakers and lobbyists are entertained and state legislators and their spouses are wined and dined. On these trips, ALEC arranges ?task force? meetings that take place behind closed doors, away from the view of the press and public, where corporate lobbyists and elected officials vote as equals on 'model' legislative templates to change the laws in states across the country." http://www.fatcatvideo.net/VideoDetail.aspx?pv=yt&assetId=cZL5uGF3Sns Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT A group of women and men gathered together to discuss the issue of infertility is probably a rare event ? particularly within the Minnesota Somali community. But this week, several hundred Twin Cities Somalis attended Insuroon, a conference on women's infertility issues. Insuroon is a Somali word that means, "Woman who can take care of herself." http://www.fatcatvideo.net/VideoDetail.aspx?pv=yt&assetId=BYK3jnMNaqM Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT Twin Cities Faith Community and citizen activists met in front of US Bank headquarters to urge the bank to perform a fundamental banking function and help homeowners refinance and keep their homes. This was followed by a 60 person canvas that visited homes in the Twin Cities that had been foreclosed by US Bank or Wells Fargo. http://www.fatcatvideo.net/VideoDetail.aspx?pv=yt&assetId=9Ns3sWenvzg Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT 3M shareholders at annual meeting were asked to stop all corporate contributions to political campaigns and to disclose corporate political lobbying efforts. As expected, the resolutions were voted down, but the activists pledged to continue efforts. http://www.fatcatvideo.net/VideoDetail.aspx?pv=yt&assetId=a5kFoDGFCTs Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT Occupy coalesced activists from many neighborhood and civic groups to protest bank actions: Home foreclosures, refusing Somali funds transfer, voter photo ID, anti-immigrant actions. http://www.fatcatvideo.net/VideoDetail.aspx?pv=yt&assetId=QF0KWMPq-ok Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT The absence of the Broadway Liquor Outlet six blocks away on the corner of Broadway and Penn ? the most prominent local business before the storm ? has also been a blessing, says Anthony, who cynically jokes that "a liquor store to a black man is always good in your neighborhood." (Ironically, the sole piece of legislation to come out of the Minnesota State Capitol during the 2012 session was a move to help that liquor store re-open on the other side of Broadway Ave.) That store was decimated by the tornado and looted just 10 minutes later, allegedly prompting Minneapolis police to forcibly vacate the apartment buildings on Golden Valley Rd., and send Anthony, Shemeika and their neighbors to the North Commons community center, where the Red Cross converted the gymnasium into a temporary shelter with hundreds of cots lining the floor. After a couple of weeks they moved into a hotel room in Brooklyn Center, where their bill was covered and where they were given bus cards. By last summer, the Strongs had decided that their apartment building was livable, and they moved back in, despite an orange condemned sticker that the City had slapped on the front door. Anthony became the building's de facto superintendent, and they've been there ever since. Story by Jacob Wheeler: Video by Matt Johnson http://www.fatcatvideo.net/VideoDetail.aspx?pv=yt&assetId=vXznher9ExI Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT Governor Mark Dayton signs the $975 million stadium bill, Tuesday, May 14th, before a vocal crowd in the State Capitol rotunda. Both supporters and opponents of the legislation expressed their viewpoints throughout the nearly twenty minute ceremony. The governor, Sen. Julie Rosen, R-Fairmont, and Mayor RT Rybak, Minneapolis, expressed gratitude to all who worked together to bring the stadium bill to a successful conclusion in the legislature. http://www.fatcatvideo.net/VideoDetail.aspx?pv=yt&assetId=XErm2rLztVw Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT Governor Dayton's feel good stadium signing got interrupted by members of the Welfare Rights Committee's chanting, "Vikings Got Bailed Out We Got Sold Out!" http://www.fatcatvideo.net/VideoDetail.aspx?pv=yt&assetId=YuaZXNdMiXU Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT Senator Gretchen Hoffman gives her farewell speech. She decided to run for Congress and lost. http://www.fatcatvideo.net/VideoDetail.aspx?pv=yt&assetId=TdMtKSPkEfA Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT Saying the Governor may have "burned the last bridge" with the legislature, Republican legislative leaders expressed their displeasure with Governor Mark Dayton's veto of their tax bill. http://www.fatcatvideo.net/VideoDetail.aspx?pv=yt&assetId=_BV4q5DiQ0o Sat, 05 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT How far would you go to protect a homeowner from being evicted? Occupy Homes activists defending Alejandra and David Cruz's foreclosed home in South Minneapolis have built an elaborate if not provocative home defense system to stop police from evicting the Latino family. They say they won't leave until either PNC or Freddie Mac renegotiates the mortgage. At both the front and back doors, activists have planted a bucket filled with cement, save for a pipe that stretches through its midsection. Two activists sit on either side of the bucket with their arms chained together inside the pipe. ?If you pulled on me and tried to yank me out of there, the best you could really do would be to break my arm,? said an Occupy activist named Randall. http://www.fatcatvideo.net/VideoDetail.aspx?pv=yt&assetId=2UOnz6iiZL0 Sat, 05 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT House Speaker Kurt Zellers says his "head got ahead of his mouth" and he misspoke during a radio interview yesterday. He wants the Minnesota Vikings to stay, but he doesn't support the current Vikings Stadium bill and will not vote for it. He says denying Governor Dayton a victory on the Vikings stadium would be "petty" and "small". http://www.fatcatvideo.net/VideoDetail.aspx?pv=yt&assetId=Y3-Te35aedE Sat, 05 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT "Monday is game day and its a game we intend to win," says Metropolitian Sports Facility Commission Chair Ted Mondale. The legislative engineers behind the Vikings stadium proposal walked through it for the press on Friday in advance of Monday's scheduled House vote. Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak said the bill isn't perfect, but is a good example of a "bipartisan group solving a big tough issue." Bill author Senator Julie Rosen (R-Fairmont) says as other lawmakers have examined the bill they tell her it's a good bill. "It will pass. You don't work on a bill this hard to have it fail." http://www.fatcatvideo.net/VideoDetail.aspx?pv=yt&assetId=ESvrqBHjULM Sat, 05 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT Governor Mark Dayton meets with the media Friday, May 4th, to announce that he has vetoed the omnibus tax bill. Following, GOP leaders respond. Approved by the House and Senate, the bill would have provided a variety of business tax incentives, including holding firm the statewide business property tax. The measure, HF 2337, sponsored by Senate Tax Chair Julianne Ortman, also included tax credits for research and development and tax incentives for investments in developing companies. Furthermore, homeowners facing rising property taxes would have found relief through increased property tax refunds. http://www.fatcatvideo.net/VideoDetail.aspx?pv=yt&assetId=rEokKl7GqoM Sat, 05 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT Jennifer Martinez is a US citizen living in Wisconsin with four children. Her husband of 14 years and the sole provider of income for the family has been deported to Mexico. Martinez says her husband doesn't have a criminal record, but that's the excuse the US used to send him to Mexico. Martinez says it's another example of US Immigration policy go awry. "They're breaking apart family and their breaking apart family on the basis of you know my husband and others being criminals and that's exactly what they're not. My husband doesn't have a criminal record. There just has to be a legal venue in order for us to actually get a legal status and right now there isn't anything." Being married to a US citizen is often the fast track to getting a "green card" which can lead to permanent citizenship. And under a new rule proposed by the Obama administration, people in the US illegally can be given a family hardship waiver in cases where they have immediate family in the US. But that waiver does not apply if there the immigrant has a criminal record. Again, Martinez says her husband has no criminal record. Martinez marched with other immigration rights supporters in Milwaukee to call attention to cases such as her husband's. The impact on her family has been devastating. ""It's almost like if a would meteor hit, that's the only way I can explain it. You know I have four kids, he's my husband of 14 years. He was a sole provider. So imagine just having the world drop out on you. Now ... http://www.fatcatvideo.net/VideoDetail.aspx?pv=yt&assetId=KjKXwURVKx8 Fri, 04 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT A bill that would give business owners a tax cut is hailed by Senator Geoff Michel (R-Edina) as the "best piece of legislation" to be considered his year. Senator John Marty (DFL-Roseville ) counters it deserves a "smoking' hot veto pen" because it isn't paid for. The bill passed the Senate 41-25. Governor Dayton has indicated he does not support the broad business property tax relief but has not said if he will veto or sign the bill. http://www.fatcatvideo.net/VideoDetail.aspx?pv=yt&assetId=QmBcyo-BLkA Thu, 03 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT