2000

by J.R. Johnson and Tiny

Lola Mckay’s body lies at rest now after a long battle against eviction. On Sunday Oct. 29th, 2000, The protest crowd against evictions, of nearly 50 people, in a way presented a requiem to honor Ms. Mckay.

It all started in January of 1999. Not the beginning of someone’s life. But the slow, vicious journey to someone’s untimely death. The death of an elder in our community. A death by eviction.

In January of last year, 83 year old Lola McKay was served an Ellis act eviction from her home of 40 years by a real estate speculator associated with Vanguard Properties.

After a life frought with crisis and tragedy which left Lola with no living kin, she had only hoped to live the rest of her life in her own home. Now she faced eviction and homelessness. She decided to fight.

With legal representation from Raquel Fox at the Tenderloin Housing Committee and the organizing efforts of the Tenants Union, a rally was planned at the courthouse at 100 McAllister where her court hearing would take place. This would be the first and last time that Lola Mckay would appear in public. They lost in court , and rather than face a lengthy, strenous battle that she might not win Lola and her attorney accepted a settlement offer. Twelve more months in her home. Twelve more months to live...I think that’s how she saw it. In March of this year Lola Mckay died in her sleep...of natural causes they say....

The postscript of this story is the live eulogy to Lola - and the thousands of tenants like her who are being evicted from their residences ....

The sun was glistening on a carmel colored door in the middle of a four unit flat. 55 Alvarado street. This was Lola Mckays home. An open house was planned for today. Her unit would be sold for 1/2 a million dollars as a “new” and improved unit. In the middle of the carmel door was the only ray of hope for this reporter; OPEN HOUSE CANCELED

“What do we want? - to stop evictions..When do we want it? Now!!!” As I studied the small white cancellation notice scotch-taped to the glistening front door, protestors marched in front of the building in a rally organized by The San Franciso Tenants Union and Housing Rights Committee to protest the selling of Ms. Mckays unit as million dollar condo. They canceled the open house because of the protest. Some part of Lola’s misery would be vindicated.

“Twenty apartments per week are being sold empty- with no record of eviction on file” Ted Gullickson from the Tenants Union explained, “the Ellis Act has too many restrictions, so most landlords try to avoid actually filing them and send out notices to evict or inform the tenants about their plans to evict and then the tenants respond by leaving. We track all the vacant apartments sold each month and who is actually selling them, we will continue to protect these illegal sales...” He took a breath.. “Lola Mckay was a very healthy woman and she would have lived for several more years, this eviction killed her ..there’s no doubt about that.

by Chris Barrett

People are dying to make towels. 45 workers were killed last week in Narsingdi, Bangladesh in the latest catstrophe involving a garment factory. 10 children were among the dead in a fire sparked from an electrical short at the Sagar Chowdury Garment Factory in an Industrial Area near the capital of Dhaka. 900 workers were on duty making towels and the situation could have been far worse considering the state of the building. Obserevers claim that the collapsible gates of the building were locked, as they were routinely, and had to be broken down by local people and firefighters. (From a report by The Bagladesh Observer, Dhaka ,Sunday November 26,2000) No number of death has been attributed to stampede, but it is assumed that many were trampled trying to escape.

This latest and worst incident of the year comes scant months after workers rallied to protest dangerous conditions following a similar fire in August that killed 12. A one-day strike was carried out by the National Garment Workers Federation in Bangladesh on September 4th to demand better working conditions improved safety measures and compensation for the families of the dead.

Over 150 garment workers, mostly women and children, have died in fires in the last 10 years in the Dhaka region. Many of these fires take places in factories where workers live in the building that houses the factory and warehouse. The 12 that died in august had no means of escape. They were on the third floor and the only staircase was out was blocked off.

Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh. If you visit the government website you will find out that the city has a history as a "Centre for fine silk and muslin". It's current standing in the garment industry is as a new player. It's economic standing as a Least Developed Country means that it must produce garments at the cheapest possible prices in order to compete with other developing countries. It competes with such third wave Asian economies as Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Vietnam to undercut garment producing exports that face higher

MFA (The Multi Fibre Agreement is a set of quotas introduced by importing countries to protect their own garment industries and give them time to adapt to the racing pulse of globalisation) regulations in Indonesia and Thailand. The MFA tends to benefit retailers who search out new developing countries to exploit. Factories in Bangladesh have a competitive advantage only by being the cheapest.

Women are disproportionately represented in the garment labour forces in these LCD's. A recent research study conducted found that workers in a factory in Bangladesh earned half a percent of the sale price of Nike jackets they were sewing. The same study found that garment workers in Bangladesh could hope to earn about 3% of the hourly wage of garment workers in the U.S. The study was conducted by the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development.

Factory conditions are deplorable in Bangladesh. The three tier factories that support living areas for workers are there to mandate longer hours. They increase exposure to toxic chemicals used in the factories. Most factories have one exit and no emergency exits. The exit was locked in the latest fire and the results were tragic.

The situation seems dire considering the need women have for these jobs. The families that these women support surely benefit with better medical care, education and housing accesible with money from outside the country. The women themselves don't see these benefits as they are offset by the health hazards, debilitating working conditions and imminent deaths promised in the factories. Local efforts by garment workers need to be supported through import country efforts to hold exporters and retailers accountable. Media attention is necessary as are efforts to publicize retailer histories of the clothing they sell. The Clean Clothes Campaign at www.cleanclothes.org is a good source of information on current issues

It is difficult to find mention of these fires in U.S. news sources. The New York Times had a three line mention the following day in their ghettoized world news section. Worker attempts to generate interest, like the August protest are ignored by the mainstream media, though they are the best hope for changing working conditions in the region. Sweatshop news from the U.S is also underreported. Articles on globalisation tend to have a top to bottom bias focusing largely on a monolithic US economy with its day to day health as primary focus. Stock Prices of retailers are highly reported. Labor issues in the United States are marginalized to a large degree and tend to find only local coverage, if that. Preventable tragedies among communities of women in Bangladesh are not newsworthy aspects of the world economy.

by Aaron Salter

The battle for a piece of San Francisco's budget began Saturday when
members of various social organizations met in the Mission as the People's
Budget Collaborative. The main concern the group discussed was the amount
of support they could expect from the new Board of Supervisorís, who help
determine how the cityís funds are distributed.

"We are identifying the needs," Riva Enteent, a member of the National
Lawyers Guild, said.

The Peopleís Budget Collaborative, in its fourth year, is an umbrella group
of over 40 community based organizations who are fighting for an acceptable
share of the cityís tax revenue and the elimination of waste from the
budget. Since the Collaborative has no actual money, their power comes from
their ability to convince politicians that certain issues should be funded.
Seniors, immigrants, homeless, and disabled are an example of the many
sectors of the population the Collaborative represents. Housing, health,
economic justice, and civil rights are the areaís the group highlighted for
this fiscal year.

The budget is important because a resolution can be passed, but if it does
not receive funding from the city the integrity of the bill is lost.
Rebecca Vikomerson explained that a few years ago the Homeless Family
Resolution was passed; the intention was to provide shelter to homeless
families. Since the passing of the resolution, a minimal amount of action
has taken place due to a lack of funding.

The San Francisco budget, $4.2 billion for the past fiscal year, is divided
into two categories; money that is received from taxes and funds that are
received from the state and federal government. The government payments
make up 70% of the budget and is dedicated for specific programs. This is
unwavering. The other 30% comes from taxes paid by individuals and
companies. This is what the cityís departments and programs are fighting
for. This year the money raised from taxes in the city is approximately
$1.2 billion. Public health programs receive about 20% of these funds. In
comparison, social services receive about 10%; yet approximately 40% is put
towards public protection such as the police and fire department.

The Collaborative feels that areaís such as public protection are
necessary, but are receiving to a double helping of the pie. The group used
the issue of police overtime as an example. They stated that a great
amount of money is being taken away from social programs to make unnecessary
payments to other departments. In addition they would also like to see
greater accountability as to how each city department manages their budget.

The corporate community is another target of the collaboration. Robert
Lehman, a member of San Franciscans for Tax Justice, explained that the city
is currently involved in a lawsuit with the Committee on Jobs; a group
representing the rights of corporations. If the city loses the lawsuit it
will be forced to pay approximately $100 million dollars to the
corporations. A move which could strip the city of its economic reserves.

The Collaborative is encouraging to city to expand its thinking to a future
that reaches beyond a single year. Their position is that money spent now
to help individuals will save the city money in the future.

"Our proposal is just the tip of the iceberg," Enteent said.

If you would like additional information about the Peopleís Budget

Collaborative contact Riva at (415)285-1055.

by Tiny

The tall shade trees swept down, almost touching the tops of cars and sides of houses, the street was short, lined with clapboard houses with an occasional apartment building looking out of place. I never liked this street when I lived here because I never felt like I belonged. From the first day my mother and I moved in, we were told by the landlord that he wanted to get more for this place - I nodded in agreement, like I understood, like I agreed, empathized in fact, about his plight as a short changed apartment owner, getting a bad lot in life - but as we spoke, I tried desperately to cover the terror in my eyes with a cheerful glaze of excitement at all he'd done for the place and how much I admired his efforts. I tried to keep my voice light and extract all possible traces of the screams and tears that proceeded that one Wednesday afternoon in July when we begged that apartment owner for a chance.

We had looked at over thirty places and found absolutely nothing, we had called apartment after apartment but if we did find something we were summarily rejected because of an eviction on our credit record for a previous place we had that had attempted to fight . No, he could not know how much we needed that place and who we really were….

Yesterday I was there again, two years on that street, on 36th street, near Telegraph in Oakland. My body shook with the lingering terror of that day and the days to follow - the second eviction, the second fight, the threats of violence from the landlord, the never ending danger. But it wasn't mine alone anymore….

"I lived in this apartment for 11 years, I was a good tenant “ Oakland resident Ron Curry was talking to me on the sidewalk outside of one of those bright white clapboard houses on 36th street, he continued, “ I raised three children as a single parent in that house, my son asked the realtor why they were evicting us, she said the landlord wanted to paint the place and raise the rent – they evicted all five families - and now when I look for an apartment, there are six people in line trying to get the same place- or I am turned down due to this eviction which appears on my record” As he spoke – members of JustCause Oakland stood near – holding signs about eviction and profit.

“People are being evicted from their houses for no reason at all- this is the only city in the Bay Area that allows tenants to be evicted for no reason” a spokesperson for Just Cause Oakland –was outlining the current situation for Oakland renters.

“What if you can’t find a place-will you give up and leave the Bay Area?” I nervously asked Mr. Curry, hoping the answer would be no

“I’m not giving up – I am going to fight- and I am not leaving the Bay Area”
I nodded, slivers of the last ten years of my life - eviction on top of Oakland eviction circled above the trees and through the wood panels and landed on that narrow messy street in the form of resistance- we could fight and we would. That’s why my mother and I are still alive – because we never stopped fighting – and we didn’t leave!

To get involved in the resistance against the eviction of low income people, communities of color and elders in Oakland call Just Cause at (510) 464-1011 or email them at: justcauseoaklnd@yahoo.com

by Joseph Bolden, staff writer,

My problem with this old then new news item titled: The Body Brokers
to me is so vast that even reading and down loading some of it was
a chore. I first hear of this stuff Saturday on KFSO1s Barabara
Simpson. As she in-terviews Mr. Mark Kathches of Orange County Register.
It began in No-vember of 1999 with interviews of people in diverse
medical fields, rela-tives of the deceased, documented laws and
loopholes to them - real inves-tigative reporting.

As Ms. Simpson said 3This is important.2 I did go on the web the
next day and saw those stories getting paranoid by the second. Please,
I urge everyone on the web whether you1ve read my columns or not,
if you can... down load every last bit of 3The Body Broker1s2 at
the Orange County Register.com . Look for yourselves.

Imagine if your spouse, brother, best friend, a parent, or any
beloved relatives dies suddenly or had a natural death usually they
are buried, cre-mated, or if they dicide to take one last chance
on science and techn-ololgy signs up for Cryonics, the after death
freeze choice where they might be back among the living while you
do the old, reincarnation through womb, or test tube birth. Others
may want to donate their bodies, organs to peo-ple, science or both
this is where trouble begins.

Some companies not all make millions of dollars off skin, heart
valves, veins, bones, and tendons. One cadaver can be worth $220,000.
Here are a few names of those companies some are non profit some
are for profit:University of Florida Tissue Bank a spinoff of a
private firm Regen-eration Technologies Inc. 1998 (dosen1t
it sound like a life giving, rejuve-nation, revitalization company?)
Osteotech Inc., Intermountain Tissue Center, a Salt Late City, a
non profit bank.

There are others all over California, New York, Chicago, where
every people die these places are they have to be where the bodies
are. Cadaver skin plumping the lips of fashion models $1,050. Ground
bones dentists use to treat patients 200,000 times a year and glossy
catalogs ad-vertise 650 products made from body parts. Do you know
a single dead body part (raw material) is worth tens of thou-sands
of dollars. Its stock is even traded on Wall Street. Folks this
looks like it is international!

Grieving families are not told their Œdonated1 gifts (loved
ones) fuels and industry predicted to hit 1billion within three
years.

Again, I say LOOK THIS UP, THEN DIG AROUND AND BEYOND OUR
COUNTRY THIS I S ALREADY QUIETLY GONE INTERNATIONAL.

The National Organ Transplant Act approved by Congress in 1984,
banned Profits from sale of Tissue. But no Tisssue Bank has been
prose-cuted. 3The law has never been tested in court2 Jeanne Mowe,
Executive Director of The American Association of Tissue Banks.
100 of millions of dollar selling products crafted from donated
human bodies even though its illegal to profit from parts.

Like space we1re back in it again supplying material for the
interna-tional space station. The Orange County Register1s story
is not just timely its a warning that the future is not through
with us even after death we be-come another valuable product.

Bye.

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by Tony Harris

A large coalition of housing advocacy groups organized a rally for affordable housing in downtown Boston today. The speakers called for more units of affordable housing, stabilized rents, and a moratorium on profit-motivated evictions.

A large procession of puppets and chanting housing advocates marched through downtown Boston on its way to Government Center and the State House today. Rally organizers, such as the Boston Tenant coalition, the Cambridge Eviction Free Zone, Homes for Families, and the Fenway CDC, brought together a diverse group of activists which protested rent gouging and profit-based evictions. Their demands at City Hall included 10,000 units of affordable housing.

The Boston Tenant Coalition claims that nearly 700 thousand households in Massachusetts must forgo food or health care necessities in order to pay rents or mortgages. The median income earner in Boston cannot afford half of the advertised median rent.

The Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance encourages Boston residents to attend a city-wide meeting on November 15th. (St. Mark's Church, 1725 Dorchester Ave, 7pm. 822-9100)

Courtesy of HOMELESS PEOPLE'S NETWORK 9000+ articles by or via homeless & ex-homeless people Year 2000 posts INFO & to join/leave list - Tom Boland Nothing About Us Without Us - Democratize Public Policy @earthlink.net>//projects.is.asu.edu/pipermail/hpn/>//aspin.asu.edu/hpn>

by Joseph Bolden, staff writer,

2000 is as important a year as 2001. In November of 2000 its time
to get out the vote. I didn1t see the MTV Awards on Thursday and
I1m hear-ing the usual adult (Oh Damn, I1m One) blab on its coverage,
inart-iculate guests, too much T Œn A on stage. Give Me A Break,
MTV was and is made to shock people and its done its job again splendidly
remember it was cre-ated expressly for shocking grown folks and
is a creative outlet for a younger generation - to angry, shocked,
adults single or with children Get Over It as for Rap/Hip Hop
Its Here and Won1t Go Away.

Deal With Reality. Rap and Hip Hop is INTERNATIONAL, GLOBAL,
PROBABLY INTERGALACTIC SPEEDING THROUGH SPACE.

If you can1t stand the message or music don1t listen. Rap been
disre-spected, Œdissed, banned, and people have been arrested for
selling it, the powers that be tried to overide market forces, that
didn1t work either so now what? If rap still pisses people off because
of messages they don1t want to hear then it too still does its job
as informing, warning inner city folk and those that care enough
to listen that we1re all are being are getting fucked over! If my
phrasing is raw this is as bad as it gets - darn it.

MTV folks, your turn to voice your opinion, views, likes, dislikes,
out-right hate too. Many adults believe you won1t go to the poll,
do your civic duty. 3Actually they don1t want you to vote so
prove Œem wrong show Œem your generation and ones coming behind
you that your Œgen knows the game.2

We will leap forward or stumble backward. Me, I want more political
parties like Life Extension Party, Immortalist Party, or L5-Spacer1s
Party. The L5 or Lagrange Point between earth and the moon and spacer
is for people who are willing to go into space to live on asteroids,
planitoids, or H.O.M.E.1s (High Orbital Mini Earths) yet another
future political party. How about independant asteroid mining for
fun and profit.

.

Had a good laugh, well this could be our future if a couple of
guys get elected and there are seats open for the Supreme Court.
Call all Grrrrls, Girls, Women, and Wimmin think of your choices.
Doc-tor1s being maimed, killed because of the abortion debate, embryo,
or stem cell research and medical benefits of cloning. (grow brainstem,
nervous system separate from bodies) then you have parts that cannot
be rejected and not another human being and no creepy moral dilema.

Think of homosexuals being beaten up, killed for sexual orientation
alone. There is no Gay/Lesbian/Transexual/agenda, the only agenda
is to stop killing for being slighly different from so called 3normal
heterosexual lifestyles. The Eternal made all of us without errors,
the only Biological Errors are in Peoplekind none of us are perfect,
genetically speaking hu-manity are full of flaws.

In Coeur D1Alene, Idaho a American Mother and child attacked and
beaten in 1998 by Aryan Nations guards outside the white supremacist
group1s North Idaho headquaters is awarded $6.3 million thusday.
Richard Butler says 3You can1t stop us, This is nothing.2 3We have
planted seeds.2 Butler1s chief of staff, Michael Teague said 3This
does not stop the message.2 (Mr. B. the message is dying, its been
heard too many times its old, ugly, filthy, untrue and twisted most
people know you are wrong - GET OVER IT., IS THAT REASON ENOUGH
TO VOTE!!

BYE.

by Dee

Well, well, well, imagine me, Lester the cat, writing about pigeons- whatever
I know about pigeons could go in a cook book, along with all of the other
tasty things that I¹ve eaten.

Hands tells me secretly, "Why don¹t we invite those pigeons over
for dinner sometime soon?"

"Good idea," I tell him.

The reason I¹m writing about pigeons is that this guy named Joe sent
me something that he wrote about pigeons taking over the world (not with
us cats around, someone should tell him). This Joe wrote to me and Hands:

"Pigeons and cats mostly run Planet Earth!" Human¹s destructive
capacities are their own traits. Let the humans believe that they¹re in
control, stumble on to discoveries that we drop in their minds. Their
hidden control continues: These are Birdview, Pigeon mind(s). Are
You Sure That What You Think Is You Or Are They P-Minds?"

And he also sent us some photos- I¹m including a few. Don¹t notice if
they¹re a little spotty: me and Hands had a little trouble with our spit
the day that we looked at them. We had a drooling problem for
some reason.

As soon as I finish this column, which is now, I think I¹ll send this
guy Joe a Hands-written invitation to dinner with me and Hands- for him
and for his pigeons. We¹ll talk Joe (humor him) into going out
and taking many more rolls of film of many more pigeons, lots and lots
of pigeons. We¹ll give him categories: most beautiful pigeon, most happiest
pigeon, and so on- whatever takes him the longest.

Meanwhile me and Hands will amuse ourselves, discussing with the pigeons
this plan for taking over the world, and how "Pigeons and cats mostly
run Planet Earth", and the Delicious Dinner we will make OF, for,
I mean, the pigeons that this Joe guy leaves with us.

by Joseph Bolden, staff writer,

Joe welcomes your letters, comments and advice 

write to him at: poormag@sirius.com 

Henry Pellum writes from Hollywood,Ca 

Dear Joe, 

I wish to know more about IPO's, how do I begin to invest in them, also
if you are so poor how come you know so much about Mutual Funds? 


Anyway, I work as a Rent-a-cop, its boring work, I gotta get out. At 35
my life seems set in this rut. Someday I'd like to be married, can you
help me? 

************************* 

ASK JOE responds; 

Dear Mr. H. Pellem, 

Thirty-five is young these days, just feed your body and mind the proper
nutrients, vitamins, minerals-trace minerals and exercise regularly, cut
down or out on smoking, drinking and be careful with sex partners. Please
get tested regularly too. All these precautions may help you live longer. 

I bought a Mutual Fund for $300 I was unable to place $25 each month
due too homeless and sleeping in shelters but the fund (Bless 'em) didn't
close my account.  Visiting their office one day, surprised me the
money had increased slightly. 

DON'T demean your job, so being a Security Guard bores you, read financial
magazines, Wall Street Journal, bone up on companies you'd like to own
stock in, or quiz your buddies. Save money, open a savings account, go
to free seminars or paying ones. THIS SAME BORING JOB CAN HELP YOU. 

I.P.O (Initial Public Offerings) is new to every one. 

One problem is if it's heard on radio, TV people buy the stock quick plus
if your thinking of Day Trading you must   have $50,000 to start,
it must be fun win/lose money not savings, pension money. You heard a
psychopath killing his whole family then goes to Day Trading building
to kill more people because of a $250,000 loss. Personally I believe he
was unhinged to begin without the money loss. 

Research Day Trading, go to a free seminar or pay. 

I've read 70% of Day Traders lose money. 

While E-Trade(Electronic Trading) is slower paced. You can begin with
a broker as your guide through trading on the internet. When you safely
learn how to navigate economically then find your stocks, research then
buy, sell or keep and the rest is up to you. Any you won't loose your
mind on each transaction on the web. 

Mr. Pellem, relax. People want your boring job don't be too quick to
trash it, set a time table, be frugal, use that job and your time wisely.
Good by, Mr. HP. 

by Dee

BY HANDS, THE CAT. AND DEE.

During a Just Cause Eviction meeting, I, Hands, had the misfortune of
meeting a Puppy... A Shameless Puppy.

This pup felt so comfortable in his surroundings that he exposed all
his parts to anyone looking his way. Iwanted to scratch him and teach
him a lesson. For this shameless behavior, he got the most attention from
everyone in the room; way more than me, I might add.

Not only was he shameless; he was happy about his indecent behavior,
and everything else as well.

Happy to be on the couch, happy to be in the room, happy to be alive.

The night I had to see him was the first night he was in this place,
the place where they had the eviction meeting.

One of the occupants had bought him from a guy pushing a shopping cart.

Apparently the little pup had been riding around on this guy’s shopping
cart for some time, and I guess that’s why he would easily fall asleep
in odd places.

The occupant that bought him felt very proud of himself because
he had "saved this poor pup from a hellish existence riding around on
a shopping cart", he said. And everyone at the meeting was happy as well
that this happy pup was saved from such a dire existence.

Of course, I could see this pup’s future: loved and admired by all.
Hand-fed delicious morsels from the plates of the occupants. Bathed in
special soaps and perfumes.

I wasn’t envious. I had my own happy life to go back to. And I thought
maybe this pup would learn some manners from these people that saved him
from his shopping cart owner, and not have to shamelessly expose himself
all night in front of everyone again.

So, being curious as I am, I listened to the conversation the next day
of the gals I live with. I found out that the occupant who had saved this
pup from the horrible existence of a shopping cart home had taken the
pup to the pound. The occupant decided the pup would be lonely when the
occupant went to work.

Besides, it would just be too much trouble to care for the pup; therefore,
he said he would do the humane thing and take the pup to the pound, and
maybe someone would adopt him; and if not, he’d be put out of his
misery by the pound.

What luck, for this shameless pup to be rescued by such a caring person
as this occupant. Just think what a terrible life it could’ve been
for this pup; to ride around, alive and cared for, in a shopping cart,
for the rest of his life.

by Joseph Bolden, staff writer,

On December 10, 1948 the
General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (U.D.H.R.) This Declaration
guarantees the rights of all people and encompasses a broad spectrum
of economic, social, cultural, political and civil rights. The Human
Rights USA Steering Committee.

That was 52 years ago, 6 months more or less. Tell that, to Mr.
Mumia Abu-Jamal Geronimo Pratt now known as Geronimo Dijaja
and other falsely accused, wrongly convicted, faulty eye witnessed
individuals in prison or anyone that has been stopped for no other
reason than "reasonable suspicion." Dust off your old books, pamphlets,
or papers; you know, your Bill of Rights. Its: The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.

I keep hearing America's economy is breaking records, creating
more wealthy individuals while at the same time people, families,
and single adults on fixed incomes, struggle with two or three jobs
because their low wages does not keep pace up to this "miracle market"/
economic boom. People are working longer, harder without a living
wage. As science and technological innovations place more people
on the unemployment line. One of many bright spots in this bleak
picture is we're living longer, are healthier, of course no one
wants to be a healthy, lusty individual at 80 without the means
to forfill those urges.

Imagine, being retired with little or no savings and though your
65, 70, 80 or more and your brain, hormones and you act and feel
10-20 years younger and though your at an age when your not suppose
to be working you may have not saved enough money or none at all
now you must work another 15 years. This cuts down on your personal
pleasure principle drastically. The elderly should be knowledgeable
sages about banks showing life is a process in motion,we don't just
grow older but change, improve, keep on growing wiser, stronger
more independent.

 top of article 

WE ARE THE PEOPLE, ELECTING PEOPLE TO BETTER
OUR LIVES NOT LINE THEIR POCKETS, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE MORE OF US
THAN THEM - PLEASE REMEMBER THAT. Folks, take a rest, nap, walk
outside, do other life affirming things... and when you're ready
read on... Our government, Yes our government needs to change too.
It doesn't have be drastic but in incremental fundamental ways.
Now that there is a surplus of funds built up by the I-net, Dot-
Com, real estate, foreign, and domestic investments created by Global
Capitalism shouldn't all the people benefit?

What I'm proposing isn't new, it has been said, written, thought
of two or more decades ago by brilliant, creative, and thoughtful
people and if by chance some readers know what I'm writing about
and want to contribute to the discussion please go to e-boards,
e-mail, each other, Congress, both President and Vice President
and on down the line so there is a ground swell of support.

Sounds radical, could be, all I'll say for now to excite your neurons
is:

When corporations have economic downturns our government supplies
extra cash we regular working stiffs call it a subsidy or
bailout. When people are out of jobs, strapped for cash, in need
of temporary or long term assistance or being-on-the-dole- its Welfare.
Think a minute or two ECONOMIC INCENTIVE, or WELFARE, THE ONE DIFFERENCE
IS THE WORDING, yet both need cash replenishment. Next time Part
2: The N0-WORK-SOCIETY. Bye.

(back to top) 

WE ARE THE PEOPLE, ELECTING PEOPLE TO BETTER
OUR LIVES NOT LINE THEIR POCKETS, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE MORE OF US
THAN THEM - PLEASE REMEMBER THAT. Folks, take a rest, nap, walk
outside, do other life affirming things... and when you're ready
read on... Our government, Yes our government needs to change too.
It doesn't have be drastic but in incremental fundamental ways.
Now that there is a surplus of funds built up by the I-net, Dot-
Com, real estate, foreign, and domestic investments created by Global
Capitalism shouldn't all the people benefit?

What I'm proposing isn't new, it has been said, written, thought
of two or more decades ago by brilliant, creative, and thoughtful
people and if by chance some readers know what I'm writing about
and want to contribute to the discussion please go to e-boards,
e-mail, each other, Congress, both President and Vice President
and on down the line so there is a ground swell of support.

Sounds radical, could be, all I'll say for now to excite your neurons
is:

When corporations have economic downturns our government supplies
extra cash we regular working stiffs call it a subsidy or
bailout. When people are out of jobs, strapped for cash, in need
of temporary or long term assistance or being-on-the-dole- its Welfare.
Think a minute or two ECONOMIC INCENTIVE, or WELFARE, THE ONE DIFFERENCE
IS THE WORDING, yet both need cash replenishment. Next time Part
2: The N0-WORK-SOCIETY. Bye.

(back to top) 

by HOMELESS PEOPLE'S NETWORK

LONDON, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Shelter, Britain's best-known charity for the
homeless, hit out on Monday at a government drive against begging.

A publicity campaign asks Good Samaritans not to hand out their spare
change to the estimated 1,600 people who sleep rough on British streets
every night.

The government's Change a Life campaign says people who want to help should
instead volunteer at their local soup kitchen, or give money to the
charities that help those forced to make their bed in a cardboard box.

Shelter said the campaign could make life worse for beggars.

``However carefully communicated, this initiative could increase the stigma
of homelessness and make life even worse for people who are already subject
to high levels of abuse and violence,'' Shelter Director Chris Holmes said
in a statement.

The government's Rough Sleepers Unit, set up to get people off the streets,
courted controversy by suggesting that giving money to beggars only fuelled
drug and alcohol addiction.

The unit's chief, Louise Casey, last year dubbed handouts to beggars as
``misplaced goodwill.''

But her unit said on Monday Change a Life was not an anti-begging campaign.

``Few human beings can walk past their fellow man in the street and not be
moved by a desire to help.

``This campaign is part of a government's responsibility to inform the
public of the best ways they can help make a real difference. It is not an
anti-begging campaign.''

Government figures show that some 1,600 people sleep on the streets every
night. Shelter says the figure is probably higher.

Social policy experts last week attacked the campaign ahead of Monday's
launch, British newspaper the Independent reported.

The experts said in an open letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair that the
advertising campaign was ``potentially harmful'' and could force people
into crime and prostitution.

Shelter said the best way to fight begging was to look at why people were
on the streets and to find alternatives.

``The priority must be to find alternatives for those on the streets,
whether homeless or not,'' Holmes said.

by Joseph Bolden, staff writer,

I am deadly serious on:
'Traditional Death In America' mainly about Black Americans
but other people's in the United States who're also seen the raw,
mean underside of America. Our people have done everything proving
we are a loyal, dedicated, and sacrificed as Americans can be, Lord
knows our blood and bodies are all over this land, we’ve bled
and died in every war, on foreign soil yet we are always told "It
ain't enough, Never Enough."

Traditional Death:
America is a Kill Zone Pt. 1)

Think about it, let it
sink in... America is in the title but it could be Japan/China/Philippine,
Great Britain/Scotland/Ireland/India, or Jewish/Catholic/Protestant/German
to Russian/Slav /Polish/ Armenian/Syria/Palestinian/Arab/Africa/South
Africa.

They all have a common
thread at one time each has had near genocidal destruction rained
down on them either because of their race, religion, country, and
perceived inferiority. Everyone of them have physical and psychological
scars handed down from generation to generation all have persevered
in spite of terror, death, tricks, and threats set apon them plus
all if people dig beyond the surface have fantastic, glorious his/herstories
of literature, music, poetry, dance, architecture, past of noble
deeds, daring, great lives of survival, lived, lost, and struggled
to surpass the darkness; all in their unique humanity becoming a
shining people on the world's stage.

If I have forgotten nations
(besides African Nations) forgive me, though ignorance is no excuse
there are simply too many great nations and people's for me to remember
but they too are included in humakinds tapestry. African's may know
more of their own genealogy, his/herstory than we hybrid African
Americans (yes, hybrid A-American's ) we're so diluted by
American slavery I cannot say I'm pure anything. We like other mixed
races are unique, we are the new people of the new world and we
breed true, sterility is not our propblem living and staying alive
is.

But as African's do we
too multiply that has been American's waking nightmare seeing these
multicolor faces all over America! Except concentrating on killing
us they sometimes forgot about Mexicans, Chinese, Japanese, and
the rest of the rainbow crowd. Because we do so intimately know
America so well she/he the Bitch or Bastard does its best ignoring
our cries, warnings to others coming to shore "America can one hell
of an opportunity or simply Hell."

America's Tradition besides
using black women as breeding stock, black men to stud, sex/love/lust
was mixed, feelings of slaves didn't matter-it was all about creating
a commodity to raise, sell or one day do both. We in untold billions
died, committed suicide killing our children rather have them live-in-hell
chained forever in this New World called America.

We read of White masters
cohabiting with slave woman black sometimes white but mainly black.
white women were deemed to dainty, pure, genteel, to be handled
so roughly and because of the patriarchal power black women are
blamed for being lascivious, I wonder how many white woman revenged
themselves by taking black males as secret lover's never revealing
him and as for children, they could be sold with no one the wiser.

Scientific Racism: [Pseudo
or false-fake Science justifying racist policies, laws and/or beliefs.]

In 1851 Dr. Samuel A.
Cartwright, a respected physician created a mental illness peculiar
to Black people. "The effort of the slave to gain his freedom
by running away from the plantation, he said was a symptom of
a serious mental disease called "DRAPETOMAIA." Dr. Cartwright
maintained that this hideous condition could be cured by
recapturing the 'patient', rubbing him down with oil and
beating him into submission.

Scientific racist scholarship
has emerged to justify police against Blacks. These studies, such
as Bell Curve, argue that behavior, such as intelligence and criminality,
are genetically determined.

Blacks, they insist,
are genetically coded to commit violent crimes and are beyond the
bounds of society and civil rights. Sounds like Scientific Racism
again. African American men are 45% of those on death row, although
they are but 6% of the population.[excerpt from Antonio Monteiro,
07/28/00,We Charge Genocide!!]

by Scott Clark

The building at 255 9th St. in San Francisco is, by comparison to a lot of office buildings nowadays, a dinosaur. The words: Warehouse Union Local 6, I.L.W.U. stand out over top of a mural of an infamous labor struggle, which is partially obscured at all hours by two semi-clasping trees . The look of the place inside, with its muted sunlight, and red oak paneling, is a quieting influence in contrast to the flow of traffic up 9th St.. Except, that is, when there are union meetings going on, the occasional early evening or a Saturday; or early in the morning when the dispatch office opens. This is also the home offices for I.L.A. Local 38-44 Weighers, Warehousemen, & Cereal Workers; and the San Francisco Bike Messenger Association, The United Farm Workers and POOR Magazine, as well as the aforementioned I.L.W.U. Local 6.

The warehouse industries mentioned above are facing new challenges as commerce changes into ecommerce, and new styles of doing business accommodate themselves to the fast-changing paradigms of the 21st century. The presence of POOR Magazine in the same location, and the fact that POOR is an Internet-based nonprofit that has a reporting focus on, among others, issues of class struggle, were the influencing factors behind this article.

To shed light on the issue I sought out Fred Pecker, Business Manager for Local 6.

POOR: I'm here to talk to you about the ecommerce delivery companies that are not union-based.

Fred: Well., just so you know, a lot of them are union-based. What did you want to know?

P: Why can't a union-based company do just as good a job as a non union-based company?

F: They can. Traditionally, the union does not necessarily get all the contracts that are out there. With companies that have been around for awhile, there is more opportunity for unions to do the work and the organizing that is required to get those contracts.
Webvan, for example. They have their main warehouse, which they stock from the big Webvan trucks centrally. They stock the big warehouse with items that are currently in demand, and the central warehouse provides stock shipments and delivery/pickup services to the smaller warehouses, which are satellites of the main location.

But the situation in a large operation such as Webvan is that you get some of the locations becoming union-based, while others remain unorganized. This is really due to two things: the efforts of local unions to organize the workers; and the response of the workers themselves. It takes a certain type of person to organize a company, it's not easy work sometimes, and sometimes the employees themselves may be unresponsive, for whatever reason.

P: Some of the assertions in my reading material is that the unions are not actively working to organize the employees of ecommerce or attempting to get the ecommerce contracts. What do you have to say about that?

F: Well, with a lot of these companies, they will subcontract out to the unions to provide certain services to them. Say a company sets up to do web sales, they set up a catalog on the web. They may link up with a warehouse union locally that can store and stock all of their catalog items. Then they may want to do the delivery themselves, or they may contract out the delivery, as well. But whoever they contract out to is going to have to administer the billing, and the accounts management, and the time it takes to deliver the items in question, etc.

So, quite often the companies or unions doing the subcontracting will have their administrative services in a separate location from the warehouses and other services. So, again, you get down to the question of how many of these different locations and services are part of a union, and what parts have a history of not being organized, or organized with some success, and also, again, the people doing the organizing. It takes a certain amount of mettle, and perserverance; these are the main qualities of a successful organizer. It may be just one or two people, or it may be several. If these people do not appear, or they appear briefly and then move on, or if the workplace itself remains unresponsive from a worker perspective, then organizing within some part of a company, old or new, could take a very long time.

P: What are your future plans around the ecommerce warehouse industry? I see some new styles of delivery services taking place currently, as far as companies like Kozmo.com that do delivery of essentially whatever the customer wants, in under an hour. Do you have any response as to how this will affect expectations within the delivery industry overall?

F: Well, it won't really affect the companies that already have their contracts set up, and that do more large scale warehousing and delivery. What you’re going to find more with companies like Kozmo, and that you already find taking place, is that they’ll be using other people to provide the delivery, such as bike messengers used to do when it was business-to-business and they would just be delivering somebody’s important documents.

P: Yeah, I've noticed the Bike Messengers' Union is here in the same building as you guys (ILWU Local 250). So you think that they're going to have more involvement with the ecommerce industry than they do now?

F: Sure, well they are already involved with it. But the situation in an increasingly urban environment is that if people want something delivered quickly, they’re better off using bikes or motorscooters to do it, because these are the best types of vehicles for getting around when you have traffic jams all day long.

Tune in next week for Part 2 of “E-What?”. I will be interviewing Chris Johnson, research analyst for the I.L.W.U. International.

by Lester the Cat And Dee

Well, well, well, imagine me, Lester the cat,
writing about pigeons- whatever I know about pigeons could go in a cook book, along with all of the other tasty things that I’ve eaten.

Hands tells me secretly, Why don’t we invite those
pigeons over for dinner sometime soon?

Good idea, I tell him.

The reason I’m writing about pigeons is that this
guy named Joe sent me something that he wrote about
pigeons taking over the world (not with us cats
around, someone should tell him). This Joe wrote to
me and Hands:

Pigeons and cats mostly run Planet Earth!
Human’s destructive capacities are their own traits.
Let the humans believe that they’re in control,
stumble on to discoveries that we drop in their minds.
Their hidden control continues: These are
Birdview, Pigeon mind(s). Are You Sure That What
You Think Is You Or Are They P-Minds?

And he also sent us some photos- I’m including a
few. Don’t notice if they’re a little spotty: me and Hands had a little trouble with our spit the day that
we looked at them. We had a drooling problem
for some reason.

As soon as I finish this column, which is now, I
think I’ll send this guy Joe a Hands-written
invitation to dinner with me and Hands- for him
and for his pigeons. We’ll talk Joe (humor him)
into going out and taking many more rolls of film of
many more pigeons, lots and lots of pigeons. We’ll
give him categories: most beautiful pigeon, most
happiest pigeon, and so on- whatever takes him the
longest.

Meanwhile me and Hands will amuse ourselves,
discussing with the pigeons this plan for taking over
the world, and how Pigeons and cats mostly run
Planet Earth, and the Delicious Dinner we will
make OF, for, I mean, the pigeons that this Joe guy
leaves with us.

by Tiny

A cold grey mist carpeted the cement floor- and gathered at the base of the massive palm trees. Those large, brown, dusty trees that lined the path of what looked like a half-constructed Taj Majal. As I drove in to the circle of municipal art structures in the interior of Golden Gate Park towards an event entitled; Painting The Picture, Raising Awareness About Homelessness’ I started to get nervous.....

It was 2:00 pm and I couldn’t see any humans - only those dusty trees and empty benches that surrounded The Golden Gate Park Bandshell. The event sponsored by Community Action Now (CAN) a youth organization whose mission is to train young adults from diverse backgrounds to be leaders and life long learners by engaging them in service to develop their leadership potential was already supposed to be in progress and yet I saw noone.

And then suddenly through the trees and fog - I saw a small crowd gathered on the stage - sitting in a circle talking on a microphone-" Do you know what homelessness feels like...Do you know how hard it was for myself and my children......?"
As I got closer I noticed a young woman from Homeless Prenatal Program (HPP) on the verge of tears grappling with words to describe the pain of "being homeless"....how do you describe the pain of outsideness...I thought back on my own description of that experience;

"I climbed out of my chair, unable to say a pleasant goodbye, and tumbled outside. I watch the masses pass me, certain each of their twinkling laughs was unfetteredby the imminent danger of homelessness. I had never felt so desperately sad. My bones ached with the overwhelming sadness of it all. Dry tears welled in the corners of my eyes, large gulps of unused air throttled my breathing. I could not explain this sadness to the minions of apartment dwellers that surrounded me-to be able to know your kitchen sink, look at it comfortably and know it will always be yours. To sit on your back step and fondle your light weed growth, look calmly upon your front door with no danger of not seeing it again, to lavish in insideness - your walls, your light fixtures, your toilet paper holders....

Eventually I climbed up on the stage where the small group was talking about what none ever really talks about - and of course the fact that it was only a few of us, representatives from organizations like Huckleberry House, Coalition on Homelessness, Youth Industry, Delancey Street, Homeless Prenatal Program and POOR Magazine, made complete sense, because that is the reason we were meeting... to talk ... to think and to... Paint the Real Picture.about homelessness.

by PNN Staff

Why did the San Francisco Hilton and the Building Owners and Managers' Association (BOMA) contribute so generously to Earl Rynerson's Propostion E campaign?

Proposition E is an initiative that will be on the March 2000 ballot. It's main function is to cut public assistance checks by 85%. It mandates vouchers for housing and other services but does not ensure that these services exist. The proponents of this measure, themselves in the hotel business, have lied about the vacancy of hotel rooms in San Francisco. Everyone actually attempting to get shelter in San Francisco knows that there is a severe housing crisis, and in fact, no available single room occupancy hotel rooms.
The backers of this initiative; The Hilton Hotel, ( $1, 900.00), the Business Owners Management Association ( $2,500.00 ), The Marriot Hotel ( $1,500.00) and many more, seem to have a conflict of interest in regards to the hotel vacancy rate. They falsely claim there are 3,400 vacant rooms in San Francisco. What would they have to gain by disinforming the public about the real vacancy rate in San Francisco? What do they really have to gain by creating an inititatve that would empty all the downtown SRO's. Perhaps more hotels that they could buy? Perhaps more opportunities to gentrify the Tenderloin, making these once affordable neighborhoods permanently unaffordable to low income San Franciscans. This is the first in an ongoing series on Propostion E.

by Kaponda

But for the texture of their skin, Theresa and her Barbie were created in the same image of innocence. Before her velvety baby shoes touch the delicate carpet, the toddler and Barbie will have developed the kind of relationship that is reserved only for the most classical literature of romance. Like the rays of sunlight that seep through her candy-striped drapes onto the pink walls of protection, the tender solicitude of the toddler will warm the Barbie doll of her nursling until she and it are separated by natural forces. The toddler will pass through this state of candescene and will carry with her the sweet memories of an idyllic affair with a doll name Barbie.

Theresa Cruz is one of the millions of women, worldwide, who have been riding on that merry-go-round of fantasy. And like Theresa, the desires of so many other women have been to infuse their youthful passion of virtue into the hearts and minds of the babies to whom they have given birth.

"But the mother's yearning," according to a quote from George Elliot, "that completest type of the life in another life which is the essence of real human love, feels the presence of the cherished child even in the debased, degraded man."

The pink walls of protection of Theresa and other women like her will crumble under the pressure of their emotional separations; and, in particular, the separation between Theresa and her partner will ravage every part of her life, the lives of her four lovely children, the members of her family's lives, and the life of the partner from whom she attempted to separate. Theresa had become a victim of domestic abuse by her partner for over five years. The images of her youthful innocence had become numb to her and she had fallen into the grasp of the slayer of hope. In 1985, Theresa Cruz separated from her partner, patched up what remained of her loving heart, gathered her four sucklings and entered the ranks of single parenting.

It was the kind of fear whispered only in the darkness of secret caverns. After her separation, Theresa was stalked, beaten, threatened with a gun, cut with a knife and violated on every psychological, physical, financial and emotional front. She endured the kinds of major stressors discovered in a study published in the March 2000, edition of the Journal of Family Psychology. It states, in part, "Major stressors diminish parenting by resulting in more controlling, abusive and primitive behaviors, and less nurturing, spontaneous and parenting behaviors." Furthermore, according to the study, women such as Theresa lose their ability to "cope and balance the demands of their home and parenting."

She was driven to the kind of mood-altering, mind-boggling medication that has caused many people in the past to use the sought of judgment which results in bad choices. During her period of medicating, Theresa became addicted to the sedative prescription drug Xanax, as her condition and world cascaded into a state of desperation. She decided to share her problems with a confidant. The decision to confide in someone else would be a decision that would change the course her life forever.

His rage from hearing how, not only his friend, but any woman could be subjected to the type of torturous treatment could not be contained. He knew what to do, and he knew how it should be done. The demon in Theresa's life would soon be cast out by her friend. He would bring down the man who had abused her for so long by shooting him in his legs.

Four days later, Theresa Cruz was arrested and accused of assault and then conspiracy to commit murder. Theresa Cruz had become one of over 146,000 women who are in America's prisons and jails, seventy-five percent of which are mothers and, of that seventy-five percent, two-thirds have children under the age of 18. The Campaign 2000 JusticeWorks Committee estimates that approximately 250,000 children are currently separated from their mothers in prison. Furthermore, the phenomenon of mothers in prison is not unique to America. There are also 100,000 mothers is prisons throughout Europe countries, as well. In addition, the Social Health and Family Affairs Committee on Mothers and Babies in Prison revealed in a June 9, 2000, report, that the 100,000 mothers in Europe's prisons have over 10,000 babies from whom they are separated.

********************************

It has been 10 years since Theresa Cruz was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder. She is currently serving a life sentence. Experts who have covered her trial believe that her case points up the discrimination in the criminal justice system and how laws affecting cases involving domestic violence are either inadequate or underutilized.

Domestic violence is defined as the actual or threatened physical, sexual, psychological or economic abuse of an individual by someone with whom they have or had an intimate relationship, according to the Family Violence Prevention Fund. In 1992, seven percent of American women (3.9 million) who were married or living with someone as a couple were physically abused; 37 percent (20.7 million) were verbally or emotionally abused by their partner or spouse. Each year women experience more than one-half million violent victimizations committed by an intimate.

Diana Block, an expert on domestic violence and an attorney with the California Coalition for Women Prisoners, has been following the case of Theresa Cruz and women like her for years and noted to me that domestic violence laws do not adequately serve women who go before either the courts or the parole board in the state of California. I discussed Theresa's case with Diana.

"Assemblywoman Sheila Kuehl, D-L.A., introduced, successfully, AB 231," according to Diana, "a bill that directs the parole board to take into account a history of domestic violence when considering prisoners for parole. In the wake of this bill, along with Theresa's very good behavior before, during and after the crime, her past and present attitude, she should have easily been eligible for parole. However, the parole board in May of 1996 did not take into account the new law and denied parole to Theresa Cruz."

Furthermore, according to Diana, "The battered mother of five years and woman prisoner who has served 10 years of a life sentence had her conviction overturned by a federal appeals judge on the grounds that the original attorney in her case was grossly incompetent. However, after Theresa won her freedom through the appeals process, she was remanded back to prison after the state of California lodged a successful appeal.

On Tuesday, September 12, 2000, the California Coalition for Women Prisoners coordinated a rally and speak out at the Board of Prison Terms in Sacramento to draw attention to cases like Theresa's. Diana Block stated that there is a "de facto" parole policy in place in California and that Governor Gray Davis has gone on record as saying he would not agree to parole anyone convicted of any type of murder charge."

I asked Denise Schmitt, Public Information Officer for the California Parole Board, if there is, in fact, an existing policy of the parole board to deny parole to prisoners with murder-related crimes? According to Denise, notwithstanding Governor Davis' statement, "There never was such a policy." I then asked her why had the Parole Board disregarded AB 231 in May of 1996 when it considered the case of Theresa Cruz? The spokeswoman for the entire state of California's policies on liberty stated that she was "not familiar with AB 231."

The circuitous path of Theresa Cruz continues to be shaped by the expedience of political savvy. She and the millions of women who have been violated by both our criminal justice system and their domestic partners will probably always, as was expressed by Blanche DuBuois in Tennessee Williams', A Streetcar Named Desire, depend on the "kindness of strangers" for their daily survival.

During the week of September 25, 2000, Governor Davis reversed his de facto no-parole policy by following the recommendation of the Board of Prison Terms to parole a woman, Rose Anne Park, who had been incarcerated for over 15 years for a domestic-violence related murder case. I asked Diana Block what impact would this decision by Governor Davis have on cases which come before the Board of Prison Terms in the future?

"If I were an optimist, I would say it is a positive step forward and good a precedence. However, it is very unclear whether Governor Davis is using it as a token case, in order to take away the flood of criticism which assailed his no- paroled policy. Since he has agreed to this one release, which is very positive, we as advocates of women prisoners want to make sure that it is not a way of diverting legitimate anger."

"However," Diana continued, "virtually the same time as Park was given parole Theresa Cruz was denied parole. This implies that Governor Davis and the Board of Prison Terms are not changing their overall policy regarding prison terms. The Boar;d of Prison Terms' decision concerning Theresa was that she would have wait another year until her next parole hearing."

Cassie Pierson, Coalition for Battered Women in Prison, stated that the decision by Governor Davis did not address the issue of clemency, which is part of the duties of the Board when it meets. Cassie indicated that in the wake of the recent decision to let the Board of Prison Terms' decision to parole Rose Anne Park stand, that the Coalition for Battered Women in Prison will re-visit the files of many of its clients.

California Coalition of Women's Prisoner's (CCWP) raises public consciousness about the cruel and inhumane conditions under which women in prison live and advocates for positive changes. We promote the leadership of and give voice to women prisoners, former prisoners, and their families and publish a quarterlynewsletter The Fire Inside. For more information contact CCWP, 100 McAllister St., SF, CA 94102, 415-255-7036 ext. 4.

by PENNSYLVANIA ABOLITIONISTS

PHILADELPHIA (October 20, 2000) -- Today in Philadelphia, a jury came back with a not guilty verdict in the retrial of William Nieves, first arrested for a murder in 1992. Nieves will be 35 on October 31, 2000. Nieves, who has spent the past eight years on death row, except for the period of his retrial when he was held at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility on State Road, is a free man. The jury deliberated for about a day.

Nieves was granted a new trial in 1997 by the trial court in post-verdict motions, when his attorney, Jack McMahon, argued that Nieves' trial attorney had improperly advised him not to testify, against his wishes. The re-trial was delayed for over two years while Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney Roger King appealed the trial court's decision and struggled to preserve the conviction and death sentence.

Nieves has steadfastly maintained his innocence. At the retrial McMahon again represented Nieves, and it became clear that the prosecution suppressed evidence in the initial trial.

Among the evidence was the testimony of eyewitnesses --including an informant the prosecutors themselves sought out-who identified the shooter as a physically large African-American male; Nieves is a Latino of medium size. Zealous advocacy and judicious evidentiary rulings from Judge Mazzola, who was assigned the retrial, resulted in Nieves obtaining discovery the Commonwealth had previously withheld. Despite overwhelming evidence that they had the wrong man, the prosecution persisted, withholding evidence until the last possible moment.

At one point prosecutors attempted to introduce traffic tickets from three years prior to the offense that purportedly placed someone named Nieves -- with a different date of birth -- in a vehicle similar to the one at the shooting. Judge Mazzola denied the prosecutor's attempts to introduce the traffic tickets on the grounds that they would not prove anything, but declined to comment on the fact that the prosecution had evidently held onto the tickets since 1992. McMahon, however, noted in argument that it was strange that the tickets had suddenly appeared, after eight years, halfway through the retrial.

Nieves took an active part in his own defense. He is well liked by other inmates on death row and has been helping out in the CFCF law library for the past few months.

************************************************************

PENNSYLVANIA ABOLITIONISTS

United Against the Death Penalty

P.O. Box 58128, Philadelphia, PA 19102

Phone: 215-724-6120 Fax: 215-729-6189

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