MetaFilter posts tagged with council

The people who drive the Motor City

Oriole Adams — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 00:06:46 -0800

Can Detroit be saved? Its future is in their hands . Meet Detroit city council president Monica Conyers, whose children are chauffered to the pricey Cranbrook Schools in suburban Bloomfield Hills daily by on-duty cops, and who recerntly publicly rebuked a white Teamsters official for daring to speak the name of President Obama during a meeting. She also wasn't interested in the estimated 16,000 jobs that would be created by the proposed Cobo Hall expansion because most of those jobs would be filled by people who "don't look like her." Also on board is Barbara-Rose Collins, a bona fide queen ("with all the responsibilities and privileges afforded to royal family members,” according to her web page) who occasionally bursts into song during council meetings. Let's not forget Martha Reeves, who has a city-paid assistant accompany her after hours to the casino because she's afraid to go out in the city alone. How dire is the state of the city? Sam Riddle, former policital consultant to Conyers, has said that the only difference in terms of corruption between Detroit and a Third World nation is that Detroit doesn't have goats wandering the streets.

A Shed By Any Other Name...

amyms — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:55:41 -0800

"As a great architect once said, 'Buildings should look like what they are'." John Jessop became so frustrated with the red tape required for his company to get permission to build a farm shed, he submitted a sarcastic application . Read his full "Planning Application for Erection of Agricultural Implement Shed" here [pdf, 3 pages]. No word yet on whether the shed was approved. Via.

Cameron: "Death activists" are "weakening the U.S."

barjo — Sun, 31 Jul 2005 08:53:26 -0800

Don't like the results of legitimate scientific research? Make up your own! Conservatives (including GW) love to quote Paul Cameron of the Family Research Council on the effects of gay parenting. This Boston Globe articles tells what everyone should know about the man and his methodology.

UN Security Council.

SandeepKrishnamurthy — Tue, 23 Sep 2003 06:41:19 -0800

Does India belong on the UN security council? A fascinating analysis of UN politics from a developing country's perspective.