2002

by Joe B.

To all Editor’s, Publisher’s, Literary Agents, and hard working industry people.

I, Joseph Bolden as a POOR Magazine’s columnist appreciate comments on my work on PM’s-website.
If time permits to read and respond by email or snail me.
Please Do At.

askjoe@poormagazine.org or snail

P.O. Box #645 1230 Market St.

San Francisco, CA. 94102-4801
I’ve no phone but working on it.

Whatever help you can to a struggling scribbler is priceless.

I’m not thinking of anything in particular to write about this Thursday, March, 15, 2002 except if and when life exstension and immortality humans coexisted side by side how would our perceptions change?

The time between birth, death, and living inbetween would become awkward, odd, and continue as utterly strange.

The right to Life, Death With Dignity, Neptune Society, and Immortalists, Eternals, Cryoic-Iced people both full body and neuro-cold (Frozen Heads Only) will have lively discussions [minus frozen dead body or/ head folks.

The ultimate political stake: long people will want to live.

Question:Do we really want politicians and corporate entities deciding how long we or our children's children lives will be?

If like me the answer is no then there now is the time to begin a process of tackling these questions face on in a public forum, and not only by people in in business, politics.

I believe most of the scientist and researchers are with us because they to have families and want to personally see themselves, friends, friends, and loved ones benefit from the booming bio-sciences.

Lets start an on going debate on the most important
decision in all our lives.

The Extension of and eventual Immortality in our or vastly extended lives.

There might be underground networks of shadowy corporate research scientists, techicians, nano-molecularists working individually or in groups make money the new feild of sleeper/ extension/Immortalism.

Longer life may become a both open and gray market business.

From legitimate Life Ex/ ‘Emmortal clinics to places like the Brain Wash, or other spots in San Francisco may really have temporary and perminent hormonal, intelligence/paranormal increasing drugs, serums, med-tech devices, combined with cyber-organism with mutual parasitic and symbiotic properties to not only maintain health but when possible nanosecond by nanosecond subtly improves all germ/stem cells in the system.

These healthier humans will look and and like us still subject to death even if it no longer age related, better control of interior and exterior biological systems though still not gods just the first of long lived humans full of lifetimes of experiences, worries, regrets, and whatever human folly they are subject to - in other words...

Look in the mirror, that is the face of immortality.

Stronger, faster, intelligent using 40 to 60 or more percent of increase brain capacity and dormant paranormal abilities.

Stay on earth, travel starward, live on other worlds, create human made ones in space, greet aliens, or become so genetically changed that our species become alien to our ancestors and descendants, parallel or altinate world traveling, or through time itself.

When one has time its hard close off other possibilites of study, living, exploring.

It may not be in your or my life times [that’s what cryonics and hibernation chambers, and suspended animation is for].

Now a surgeon name Joe says he can make it possible for humans to fly; he’s talking real flapping wings (High Flying Angel) X-Man/Woman wings.

I’d go for it but first I need time to see the pitfalls.

I can already see and feel the joy of complete freedom from the ground but I’ll deal with one hard science miracle at a time.

For now life exstension and immortality is what I want and need and with time I just might want and need wings in a long future.

How about it readers extremely long lived to immortal humans able to fly under our own power?

Would you if you had long life go for winged flight too?
'Kinda makes that
"Men wern't made to fly, "I can't stand to fly "Superman" song obsolete, well not yet but someday soon. Bye.

by T.J. Johnston

"I'm gonna kill ya!" Spring arrived only a few hours earlier, but my vernal equinox began with a threat to my life. This being a new experience, I was a little thrown off by the verbal assault. "I'm gonna kill ya!" repeated the man. No doubt this stranger was speaking directly to me. Thank God he was shouting at me from thirty yards at Saint Francis Circle, where I was waiting for Muni.

The man in question wore bulky winter clothing and carried an equally cumbersome pack. I caught only a glimpse of a snake-style tattoo under his sleeve. I looked around to see if the other commuters were paying attention. No such luck, but I can't blame them for wanting to stay out of harm's way. I also checked for nearby men in blue: none were visible.

"I've seen you with that dog," the red-bearded stranger continued, "And I saw you in that truck. I'm gonna kill ya!" Absolutely jarring. Did this person know I used to walk dogs? Sounds plausible, but where did the truck come from? And who the hell was he to talk shit? Who was he, period?

I wasn't in the mood to refute his accusations and I am certainly unaccustomed to threats of extermination from apparently unstable people. "You must have me confused with someone else," I countered. Honestly, I didn't know what else to do. He went on his way to another bus stop. I walked further down the median. I'm not good with confrontation, especially the physical kind. So I let him walk away. Surreal as it was, the encounter lasted only a minute.

As if I didn't have enough crap in my life. The bus came, proving some public services were more reliable than others. At least I had fresh news for POOR's Community Newsroom…

There's a scene from Nick Hornby's novel, High Fidelity (it also appears in the movie starring John Cusack) where the protagonist, Rob, imagines different scenarios with a romantic rival. Like Rob, I immediately played script doctor with my bus stop scene.

SCENE 1. TJ whips out a camcorder and captures the images of his assailant. Very Norma Desmond, the crazed person plays to the camera. "I'm ready for my close-up," he says. "Now, I'm gonna kill ya!" TJ makes a run for it.

SCENE 2. TJ extends his wrist and shoots a web at his adversary, who struggles with his entanglement. A note is attached: "Courtesy of the Poor Man's Spiderman."

SCENE 3. TJ touches his earpiece. "5150 him." A team of cop cars and a padded truck speed in the perp's direction. Cops emerge, point their weapons and yell "freeze," and a now-straitjacketed perp is carted in the truck. With a smirk, TJ tells him, "Say hello to Nurse Ratched, Bubba."

SCENE 4. TJ imitates Robert Deniro in Taxi Driver. "Are you talkin' to me? There's no one else here, so you must be talkin' to me." He whips out a gun and empties it into him, just like Deniro did to the child pimp portrayed by Harvey Keitel. The local press heralds TJ as a hero defending himself against scum.

SCENE 5. A symphonic rendition of "Pop Goes the Weasel" induces TJ to act like Curly from the Three Stooges. He runs in place, slaps his head, and goes "woo-woo-woo." He then charges into him head first and beats the hell out of him. The number crescendos as TJ thrashes him about.

As writers for POOR Magazine, we represent ourselves in relationship to poverty (in my case, I describe myself as at-risk). Through POOR and the Raising Our Voices program at Media Alliance, I'm continually apprised of the plight of the indigent, the profiled, and the marginalized and their chronic subjugation. This particular person immediately lost my sympathy when he threatened me and became just another motherfucker. Call me "the liberal who just got mugged."

Admittedly, my account is subjective. Broaching the topic in Community Newsroom, I got a varied response. My colleagues inquired how I knew this person was homeless, mentally ill, and specifically targeting me. The consensus was that I acted properly in defusing the situation, and not just for my sake. One questioned the wisdom of involving police and psychiatrists. Another agreed that I had indeed been violated. Dee, one of our editors, suggested speaking to a counselor.

As I write this, I'm still attempting to make sense of this senseless act. Historically, I've had abuse heaped upon me by people who knew what they were doing and stood to gain from it. What distinguished this situation was the randomness of this occurrence, not to mention the wasted opportunity to fuck him over. It was a scene out of a Jim Thompson novel in an un-Thompsonlike neighborhood of West Portal. If I weren't already a light sleeper, I'd be downright insomniac. If this guy provokes someone more ill tempered than he, I'd enjoy it as much as "The Killer Inside Me."

by Fiona Gow/PoorNewsNetwork

Crossing the Bay, from San Francisco to Oakland is always reassuring to me. Oakland has been described as where the real people live, meaning I suppose that it was not hit by the dotcom boom and the turf wars that hit San Francisco. But this is changing. Even though Oakland did not boom with the rest of the Bay Area, it is not immune from the housing crunch, and right now it appears that while Jerry Brown encourages economic development, many renters are finding themselves at the mercy of greedy landlords, many of whom have no qualms about evicting tenants if it means they can double or triple the rents. In Oakland, it is far easier than in other Bay Area cities to evict tenants, as there is no Just Cause protection. In a city where 65 percent of the residents are renters it is unbelievable that they have so few protections. According to community member Rebecca Kaplan, one of the protesters at the January 22 renters’ rights rally I attended, "Under the current law, it is legal for a landlord to tell a young woman that he will evict her if she doesn't sleep with him."

As renter John Barnett knows from his long and arduous battle with his landlord Madison REIT, it takes a great deal of confidence and resources to be able to fight these increases. He, along with 15 other tenants petitioned the Oakland Rent Arbitration Board after their rents were raised by 20-65 percent by a landlord who claimed exemption from Oakland rent control laws. The petitioning process took almost a year, during which time the tenants had to reserve enough money for back rent in case they lost their cases. Tenants pooled their money for an attorney, demonstrating their seriousness and knowledge of current law. Early on Madison REIT had suggested that the tenants negotiate. But, as Barnett said, "There was nothing to negotiate. Either you're exempt or you're not." Madison REIT apparently was not, and rescinded the rent increases.

Cases like Barnett's are becoming more common, though few tenants have the information and finances necessary to challenge their landlords. Renters' rights groups, now more than ever, are making a powerful push to educate renters and to organize them to fight for more protections. Hundreds of such renters' rights groups gathered outside Oakland City Hall on January 22 to stage a protest rally before the City Council Meeting at which a new rent ordinance was to be voted on.

The evening of January 22 was a bone-chilling one, but the mood of the ralliers was generous and excited. A dozen or so high school students from the students' and youths' rights group OLIN brandished signs saying, "Help Jerry Out of Oakland" and "No Renticide", while chanting passionately with the rest of the demonstrators. Also marching was a seven-year-old girl named Jasmine who was there with her mother to demand better living conditions for her family, in particular a sister who was suffering from severe lead poisoning. Many renters told their stories of unfair evictions—Ramona was served with a 30-day notice for renovations that were never done. "He {the landlord} got so tied up in his own lies that the judge dismissed the case," she explained.

John Ryman of the Campaign for Renters' Rights suggested that we all look back at history, to the Oakland General Strike of 1946 that shut down the entire city, "We have to stop this bloodsucking system from functioning." Another speaker, Mr. Basset, sees the new ordinance as perpetuating racism, "You want to keep us as renters, on the plantation. Black people own nothing in this city except for some homes."

After the rally everyone moved inside for the Oakland City Council meeting. The chambers were packed. Over 60 speakers took center stage to give their opinions on the proposed ordinance. The overwhelming majority, of both renters and landlords, asked the council not to pass this ordinance. Many boos and applause rang out in the chambers, as did shouts of "Bloodsucker" and "Bull". Phil Rapier, of Just Cause Oakland, was so passionate in his plea for getting Just Cause protections in place that he eventually was escorted from the floor by guards.

The new ordinance gets rid of the 3 percent cap on rent increases. Instead, rent increases would be calculated from on a formula based on the Consumer Price Index for San Jose and San Francisco, which is the average of the percentage increase in the CPI (all items) and the CPI minus shelter for the twelve months starting on March 1 in each calendar year and ending the following February. Renters are worried that without any cap, the annual allowable rent increases could potentially skyrocket. For the time being though they are better off, since the increase presently would only be about 1.9 percent. Council member Nancy Nadel who opposed the ordinance said, "I would have liked to see a floor and cap of perhaps 1 and five percents, with an overall cap of 12 annually that would include banked rents and any capital improvement pass-throughs."

Section 8 renters, of which there are approximately 20,000 in Oakland have been specifically excluded from rent control protections in this ordinance. This means that after one year of tenancy, Section 8 landlords can raise the rents as high as they want. According to Andrew Wolff of Just Cause Oakland, this is a move to attract landlords to rent to accept Section 8 renters.

Another point of contention is that renters would be forced to pay any rent increase, even while they were petitioning the increase with the Rent Arbitration Board. In the past, such petitions have taken over a year to get heard. If a renter cannot or will not pay the increased rent, they can be evicted. With such a law it is easy to imagine people being evicted simply because they don't have the funds to wait for their case to be heard.

Under the new ordinance, landlords are not penalized for unjust rent increases, though they will be penalized for unjustly evicting someone. Unjust in this case means that the landlord is found to have evicted someone simply so the rent could be increased above the permissible amount. Under this ordinance, landlords are not allowed to evict a tenant and then raise the rent indiscriminately for the new tenant. The new tenant will instead "step into the shoes" of the previous tenant and can only incur the increases in their rent that the old tenant would have incurred. Under the new ordinance, such landlords will be forced to pay the tenant $1000 plus two months' rent. The city will supposedly keep track of a landlord's history of evictions and rent increases, though it is most likely that the onus will be on new tenants to find this out.

According to the new ordinance, landlords will not be required to inform renters about possible recourse for rent increases and evictions through the Rent Arbitration Board unless the renter is affected by an increase or eviction.

Though the criteria for determining which landlords are exempt seems clear, renters claim that there are far too many loopholes in the ordinance for landlords to use if they wish to jack up the rent. Capital improvements as well as banked increases are big ones. There is no place where tenants can go to find out which landlords are or are not exempt from rent control laws. Very few landlords qualify, and yet many renters are faced with situations like Barnett and his fellow tenants, where landlords claim exemption. (There are two ways that a landlord can be exempted from rent control. One way is to own a building that was built after 1983, a law meant to encourage development in Oakland, and the other way is for landlords to invest at least 50 percent of the cost of the building in improvements.)

Another point of contention is the fee used to fund the Rent Arbitration Board. It now costs $24 dollars a year, per rental unit and half of that is paid by the tenant. Organizer Linda Carson fears that the rate will climb, as it did in Berkeley, where the fee is now $150 dollars. However, the new ordinance states that this fee will remain the same through 2003, at which point it will sunset.

There are serious questions about the Rent Arbitration Board itself and how well it is able to fulfill its role. According to renters at the rally, their experience with the Renters Arbitration Board proved abysmal. The Board did not schedule a hearing within 30 days as they are supposed to, neither did they respond to phone calls and other inquiries. The new ordinance is supposed to address these complaints, yet it was not clear how. Their funding at the moment is 1.6 million, an amount which seems preposterously large for a body that is so irresponsible.

Even after all the public comment criticizing the ordinance, council voted to pass it anyway, without much discussion. Council member Nancy Nadel, who voted against the ordinance stated, "I think the ordinance proposed and later passed is a series of band-aids on an originally weak concept. What the city needs and what tenants need is Just Cause for eviction protections." This lack of discussion on such an important issue was reprehensible, considering the council spent an hour discussing a nightclub license before the rent ordinance item was heard.

Spirits among community members and tenants’ rights groups still seemed very strong after the vote though. There was no doubt in people's minds that they would gather the 30,000 signatures needed to get the Just Cause initiative on the November ballot. As Phil Rapier said, "It is clear that the challenge is on us and we have to organize the people in Oakland." Support for Just Cause and greater tenants’ rights can only grow as more and more people are affected by evictions and outrageous rent increases.

by Staff Writer

Who is Poor?

My neighborhood:

All people of color

Bitterness

Pollution

Tight banging music

I am

I am Peruvian, Filipino, Irish,

and Black mixed with all that,

a beautiful sista who originated

from this world. I'm a youth

a singer, a lover, a bringer

of joy, a freedom fighter, party until

da whole nighter, an activist

a woman, a soul, a poet, a student

a teacher, somebody's girl, a cheerleader

cheering for rights.

by Isabel Estrada

In the 1950’s McCarthyism was the government’s way of infusing the United States population with fear so that it would remain silent when its civil rights were being trampled. Now the government is choosing Ashcroftism as their new method to silence the population. Is one of the first victims John Walker Lindh, also known as the "American Taliban"?

Elia Kazan, a Turkish immigrant of Greek descent, directed "On The Waterfront", "A Streetcar Named Desire", "East of Eden", "Viva Zapata" and others. He started out in a very leftist ensemble called the "Group Theatre" and was a member of the communist party in 1934 and ’35. In 1952, at the height of McCarthyism, Kazan was one of many called before the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) to be questioned on his subversive (communist) past. At first he refused to "name names", but after realizing that he would never work in Hollywood again if he didn’t, he capitulated. On April 10th he named eight people who had been members of the Communist Party. In doing so he ruined some careers, forced others to "name names", and perpetuated the power of the blacklist. Subsequently Kazan has attempted to justify his actions by stating that he was justly exposing a corrupt party. In his movie "On the Waterfront", Kazan uses a classic scene in which, as a glorification of his own actions, Marlon Brando proclaims that he is justified in exposing the mob to the FBI because of their cruel dealings. It seems a sorry justification, however, to correlate the United States Communist Party with the Mafia.

When I first heard that Kazan was to receive the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Lifetime Achievement Award, I wasn’t sure what to think. On one hand, I have grown up with too much respect for wonderful movies to believe that the director’s personal life should be questioned when determining the merit of his or her movies. On the other hand, the Award is supposed to be for "Lifetime Achievement." Because of the title I think the criteria must encompass more than just his movies. However, what is most important are the implications of allowing a person who, in my opinion, chose his career over his integrity to receive such a prestigious award, and one with so much media coverage. As David Walsh put it in his article "Filmmaker and Informer", "Whatever the board members' conscious motives, their collective decision to honor Kazan is a means of absolving those who collaborated with and assisted HUAC and the McCarthyites. It is likewise an announcement by the film industry establishment that it would do nothing to oppose and resist a new witch-hunt, should it emerge."

Today, we have "Ashcroftism." John Walker Lindh a/k/a Suleyman al-Faris, a/k/a Abdul Hamid is the 20 year-old white male from Marin who converted to Islam at 16, went to Yemen to study Arabic and eventually fought with the Osama bin Laden’s organization, the Al-Qaeda. He is currently being charged by the United States with, (1) engaging in a conspiracy to kill nationals of the United States outside of the United States, namely, United States nationals engaged in the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan; (2) providing, attempting to provide, and conspiring to provide material support and resources to designated foreign terrorist organizations, namely, al-Qaeda and Harakat ul-Mujahideen ("HUM"); and (3) engaging in prohibited transactions with the Taliban. However in the Media he is on trial for being a traitor; his parents are on trial for being too lenient, and; Marin County is on trial for being too liberal.

In a December 11th commentary "Kids do the darndest things" from Townhall.com, a collection of Conservative Columns, Bill Murchison writes, "A pity, you say, that someone closely related to him -- a parent, say -- didn't take a hand in teaching him. Of course, that would have required taking a closer interest in the old assumptions most people used to make -- parenthood as maybe the highest of responsibilities; childhood as a school rather than a playground; wisdom to be praised, dumb actions to be rebuked and sometimes prevented. Gee whiz, dad, it sounds almost like the '50s. And doesn't it sound good?" It is frightening that Murchison refers to the 1950’s with nostalgia. This was a time when, out of fear of communism, the extreme civil rights abuses that occurred mirrored those of which the United States government so vehemently accuses totalitarian states of indulging.

In her commentary "American Taliban", Ellen Goodman of The Washington Post Writer’s Group talked about possible causes for Walker actions. She wrote, "We now hear that the culprit is cultural liberalism, permissiveness to the point of no return. The problem is Marin County, that much-lampooned suburb of San Francisco, tolerant to a fare-thee-well." Summing up the instances that lead to a person’s actions is not so easy.

I grew up in a very open-minded household in San Francisco. I was always taught to make my own conjectures rather than blindly accept what I was told. I am going to college in the Fall. I also read The Autobiography of Malcolm X around the time when I was sixteen. The discipline he describes certainly does have a romantic appeal. I was extremely moved by his dedication to his people. But I mostly felt inspired by his later experiences after returning from Mecca where he saw people of every color praising Allah and came to feel that below Allah, he and all other believers were equal.

Suggesting that liberalism breeds terrorism directly contradicts the supposed United States ideal of free thinking. I’m also especially concerned about the constant and flippant use of the word "traitor" as a description for John Walker. It may be true that Walker is a traitor in the sense that he betrayed his country. However, the word traitor connotes amorality and lack of integrity. Walker is certainly no traitor to his beliefs; on the contrary he risked his life for them.

Of course George Bush Sr. made an unhelpful and offensive comment in an ABC interview, "Make him leave his hair the way it is and his face as dirty as it is and let him go wandering around this country and see what kind of sympathy he would get." As a POOR Magazine intern I was personally offended by this insensitive remark. There are people who have no choice but to walk around "dirty" because they are tossed aside by our materialistic society and become members of the poor and houseless. My editors, Dee and Tiny, commented that it seems as though the Media is attempting to make some mistaken connection between Walker and all those "scary poor" people in order to turn public opinion against him.

The other day I was talking to some people at POOR Magazine about the Walker case since it is so odd. I did not exactly know what to make of it. What is very interesting is that in Walker’s case, what usually would be to his advantage in the eyes of the law, the fact that he is middle class and white, is in this case working against him. It seems almost a sly and purposeful move on the part of our government to react harshly to Walker's case. They are showing that they will not be lenient; Ashcroft stated in a rather hypocritical speech, "We in America have a country respected for cherishing freedom and tolerating dissent. We have fought wars in defense of our freedom and our right to criticize our government. And when criticism turns to violence against these very values, we must once again defend our nation. The United States Department of Justice will defend the values reflected in our laws by prosecuting John Walker."

However, Walker is not receiving any of the major support from the left, or from anybody, that would usually accompany a case in which the defendant has not been allowed to get a lawyer or even speak for himself. Every article I have read about Walker makes different conjectures about his behavior, but none has really been able to get information directly from him. He is an easy target for the government. There are no huge masses mobilized to defend white middle class males. If he were a female, a person of color, gay or poor he might get some backing, but as it is activist organizations have basically been silent about his case. I personally wonder why this is?

I’m reminded of the statement by Pastor Niemoeller, a victim of the Nazis.

"First they came for the Jews,

and I did not speak out

because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for the Communists,

and I did not speak out

because I was not a communist.

And then they came for the trade unionists,

and I did not speak out

because I was not a trade unionist.

And then they came for me,

and there was no one left

to speak out for me."

--Pastor Niemoeller (a victim of the Nazis)

by Staff Writer

Who is Poor?..I am

I am poor

I am Filipino

I am strong

I am loved

I am me

by Staff Writer

Dear John Walker,

I wasn’t sure what to call you so I just chose the first name that came to my head. My name is Isabel Estrada. I am an 18 year old Youth in the Media intern at POOR Magazine. I’m really upset with mainstream media coverage of your story because all I see is a bunch of unsubstantiated commentary. Some say that you fought with the Taliban because your parents were too liberal, then there are the columnists spouting off that you are a traitor, and yet we haven’t heard anything at all from your perspective. Perhaps it’s because nobody has been allowed to communicate with you? It seems odd that people would talk about too much liberalism when in fact you chose a very orthodox religion for which to follow and fight. I attempted to interview the lawyer that your parents got for you, James J. Brosnahan, but he wasn’t talking to any press. I really want to get your perspective on what’s happening. It seems obvious to me that you are the person most qualified to talk about your own situation, not all the mainstream reporters and columnists. I already wrote one article about you. It basically discussed your general situation and also talked about how the media seems to be putting you on trial. I’ll send you the article if you want. It would be great if you could answer my questions and add anything else that you want.

Isabel Estrada

1.
What attracted you to Islam?

2.
Is it true that you posed as an African-American once on the Internet? Why did you do that?

3.
How have you been treated by the military so far?

4.
Do you even want James J. Brosnahan to be your lawyer?

5.
Do you consider yourself to be a traitor?

6.
How are your civil rights being abused?

7.
How was it to be on the battlefield in Afghanistan?

8.
Were you able to communicate with your fellow fighters?

9.
Is it true that at the school in Yemen you didn’t want women in your religion classes? Why?

10.
Do you think you’ve done anything illegal? If so, what would you consider to be the best punishment?

11.
What’s your impression of Ashcroft?

12.
What’s your impression of Bush?

13.
What is it about the United States that Osama bin Laden objects to?

by Staff Writer

I am

Do you see me?

I am what your are

you are what I am

what you say

what you see

Do you see me?

I see you drunk

on drugs

I see you abuse

kill us

I see you dead

us revenging

Do you see me?

by Isabel Estrada/PoorNewsNetwork

"If they don't come to us, we'll go to them. Mainstream media, you're going to
get your ass picketed. We ain't got nothing to lose!" This was David Aldape's message to the members of mainstream media who did not trouble themselves to attend the Disability Advocates for Minorities Organization (DAMO) press conference at the ILWU building on Ninth and Howard streets.
.

DAMO was founded by now Executive Director Leroy Moore 5 years ago
because he was fed up with working for disabled people's organizations
that focused mainly on Caucasians. They made no concessions to
minorities even though, while disabled people in general do not receive the
rights they deserve, those who are poor or of color suffer the most.

During the conference Leroy carries with him Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr.'s book Why We Can't Wait. The reasons he and others cannot wait are
many. Though the unemployment rate for disabled people in general is
60-70%, for disabled communities of color it is up to 90%. Leroy spoke
of a disabled youth who died after being beat up for no reason on his way
home. And then there are cases like that of Idris Stelley who was shot
by a police officer in the Metreon after his girlfriend had called them
for help. They are "no longer going to tolerate" the lack of initiative
on the national, state and local levels to make specific policies and
programs for disabled people of color in accordance with the American
Disabilities Act.

DAMO's aims include educating people about what it means to be disabled,
providing a public space for disabled people and advocating for rights
and services. Their new campaign BOSC will be focusing directly on San
Francisco, going into the Inner Mission, Excelsior, Bayview and Fillmore
Districts.

Interim President David Aldape has plenty of experience in getting what
he wants. In 1992 he halted the construction of a COSTCO because they
wouldn't hire the neighborhood Latinos because many of them had tattoos
on their necks. Instead they were advertising in places outside of the
city. Finally, after being picketed and after Aldape threatened them
with graffitiing the entire building, they acquiesced. He was also able
to stop construction on the Mission Police station on Valencia and 17th
until they hired some Latino workers. He knew that that jail was being
built for our people and so he figured we deserved to get some jobs out of it.

After becoming disabled, Aldape, who suffered two heart attacks, had ten
bypasses and a stroke in 1997 that paralyzed the right half of his body,
decided to focus his organization ALIANZA, formerly for Latinos in general, specifically on those who are disabled. He came to see that "one of the biggest issues facing the Latino community is illegal immigrants and their inability to qualify for services." In one case a 25-year-old illegal immigrant fell 10 stories in an accident that occurred while washing windows. He is now disabled and cannot get the appropriate care.

Jean Lin of Asian and Pacific Islanders with Disabilities spoke of how in
the Asian community disability is "not spoken of." She pledged her
support to DAMO and stated that it is time for people with disabilities
to "live our own lives the way that we want."

Next Spoke Diana Lee of the Sickle Cell Community Health Network. She
came to support DAMO and also with the idea of establishing a Center for
Disabled Children of Color. Sickle Cell Anemia is an incurable genetic
disease that mostly affects people of color. What happens is any type of
strain on the body, like temperature change or stress, can cause the red
blood cells to sickle. This then causes blockage in the blood which
means that oxygen will not be distributed correctly. Lack of oxygen to
parts of the body causes extreme pain and can eventually cause organ
damage which can then lead to death. Lee stressed the need for all
disabilities to get equal support and coverage.

Rarely do we see African-American, Latino, and Asian communities coming
together for one cause. However people with disabilities simply cannot
wait any longer. They are discriminated against by non-disabled people
from within and from outside of their own communities. As Diana Lee put
it, "Don‚t discuss or dismiss us. We know what we need. Engage us, talk
to us, hear our struggles."

If you're interested in supportng DAMO and it's goals please check out these
events:
- Discussion about the future of Disabled people of color. Where to go
from here. San Francisco Main Library Saturday, Feb. 16th 1-4

For More Information Call: 510 649-8438
- The Dis-Ebonics tour, with Disabled, African ˆAmerican poets Leroy Moore
and Samuel Irving

For More Information E-mail: sfdamo@yahoo.com

by Joe B.

“Requiem For Mortality"

What does the above title mean? I means sooner than later humanity must deal with a concept that has always been a given... Death.

Yes, we still die by various means accident, suicide, homicide, freak of nature, non and malfunction genes, lethal radiation, drowning, thirst, lack of food, heart-lung-liver-brain-bone-cellular disease.

You name it we’ve die from it, we live fragile lives in anything September 11, 2001 forever drilled that into cores of our being as all the wars, diseases, and nature has taught us over and over.

But with every set back we learn anew how we tick and though we still die we are ever closer to preventing or retrieving our lives from death’s door.

Man-Womankind has called death friend, savior, salve, implacable enemy, scourge when youth is taken before they’ve learned to taste sweetness and bitter of life’s joy and pain.

I just pray this so called war on terrorism does not derail applied science and research to the fact that as a species we are suppose to rise from these terrible scenes of carnage and steadily improve our lot.

Right now our political and economic systems seems bent on a backward bent while advancing technologies to improve and save lives are left wanting.

We need more than two political parties that are 200 plus years old and are two sides of the same coin.

Isn’t it time many more parties as alternatives to what we’ve known?

Though it feels safe and comfortable sticking with old tried and true brands each new century demands changes.

It is now time to have other views that are as politically viable,
edgy, and valid as the two Grand Old Parties.

What is needed now is N.P.P. New Political Parties.

I really shouldn’t be thinking of this since I’m not really that political; but if the personal is political then here where I’m at.

The Life Extension, L5’vers, Cryobiology (Cryonics), Neptune Society, Cloning and Elimination of Death Society, and Immortalists, everywhere must come together.

Neptune Societies “Death with dignity” is not in conflict with any of their life affirming sister’s and brother’s because freedom and dignity at the end of live is equally as precious as living prolong, extended lives.

These organizations must now form strong parties, develop their podiums, rules for membership, and regulations, and have economic clout to place their ideas on ballots for people to vote on and be able to have their party official elected to offices to further their crossing agendas.

Snickering, outright horse laughs at first but as science advances or own minds must also.

Life extension, cloning, gene manipulation or modification is no longer a party joke are any of you out there laughing now or are you thinking beyond and can imagine a time when organ transplants cloned from you or anyone else could save your life and those of loved ones?

Our S-President and others are in the throes of religious, war fever and can not or will not see that all God cares about is we be good to each other and if living longer, improving, saving lives is not what humanity is about they we can unhook all or science and return back to the middle ages where darkness and superstition reigned.

This administration will soon pass by 2004 or ‘08 either way we must move on beyond both narrow sighted parties, the future of our continued survival depends on advancing forward - not at breakneck speed but in a steady pace.

I am sure others reading this have many more ideas and dialogs can begin so the parties mentioned and others not even imagined will pop up.

It will be confusing, exasperating, and headache making but it is one way of braking out of our stale two party system.

In the 22nd 23rd or 24th century would you want your great to the 4th or 5th power grandchildren still to be deal with a two party system or a lively free for all of many different parties?

As for poor folks in this new age the stakes are even higher.

Imagine the Newsom’s great grandkids, some progressive, doing what they can to ensure everyone has safe, longer, healthier lives but their are a few new-old guard in both GOP’s with power to shorten lives without using the death penalty.

The Death Penalty is finally seen as useless and banned forever in the United States.

Now people can chose how long or short their lives are but their are a few in political power that want to choose long and short for others not economically or deemed socially acceptable.

Again besides having little or now money, seen as a drag on society, ideas of “Shortening” the POOR’s life span as a way to help them cope with life extended individuals in the city and everywhere in America and the world.

Yes the poor are healthier, more intelligent, and able to travel to where high tech jobs and better, more secure career choices may be end up able to afford longer life extensions or cryo-cases for temporary death/sleep stasis until revival.

But for a vast multitude trapped in dead-end jobs, crumbling neighborhoods, dying town and cities prolonged life is a dream and only by life-lotto, cryo-bets, or rich benefactor, corporations can longer life be possible.

The Newsom Points (sound familiar) are to help easing housing crunch by shorting working poor, and homeless by 20 to 50 years and 200 to 300 add life spans given to people who are worth the effort.

At first voluntary and later mandatory so if any child is born in a certain sections of the city (Another New York model) their spans or shortened unless they show genius in “official categories” deemed by political/scientific/education/ and or entertainment, sports minded leaders.

This in a hypothetical tale and can only happen if we continue on the same unwavering path.

We must make our choices know, gather people and money then begin the painful and eventually healthy process or multiple political party system.

Let September 11, 2001 - be the watershed and beacon pointing to change and renewal.

What do you say people? Bye.

by Gretchen Hildebran/PoorNewsNetwork

I was confused as I sat in the back of the Board of
Supervisor's Chambers two weeks ago. POOR Magazine
editors had sent me to witness Gavin Newsom
introducing his twenty-some-odd point plan to "solve"
homelessness but all I could find in the SF Board Agenda were
two insidious items about shopping carts and public
toilets. Then Supervisor Newsom got his turn on the
microphone and his plan became clear. Throughout his
15 minute speech he moved like a synchronized swimmer
performing his first solo routine, making himself
larger and more competent with every word.
Every hand gesture practiced and perfected, the
dynamics of his voice became at each turn of policy
appropriately passionate or concerned. While softening
all the ideological justifications of his plan to
further manage, exploit and police the homeless and
the poor, his deeper strategy emerged. All eyes were
fixed on the tall and well-suited man, who knows that
talking about getting rid of the homeless will
guarantee you a sound bite on TV and keep downtown
interests, ever hopeful about rising property values,
watching your back and calling you "mayor material."

When Newsom was done grandstanding, it took several
minutes to recover and review my notes. By then the
new golden boy of the Democratic Machine was outside
the Chambers, surrounded by a semi-circle of fawning
reporters and TV cameras. I elbowed myself half-way
in to the scene, hoping to catch a few of KRON's
hard-hitting questions. These appeared to be in short
supply as reporters nodded to Newsom's explanation
that he found it ìmean-spirited to watch people
suffer.î

Back in October, this same kind-hearted politician
voted down the 24-hour notice legislation. That law
would have required the police to notify homeless
people that their possessions would be seized, giving
them time to salvage precious items such as ID,
medicine and clothes. Newsom spoke out against the
legislation and orchestrated its failure. I jumped
into a gap between the smiles to ask him why.
Suddenly a large finger was pointed in my direction.
Sternly the Supervisor protested, "I have been a
champion on services and SRO reform!" A wild glimmer
appeared in his eye and his finger waved at me again,
No need to resort to name calling, he said. I waved
my hands in confusion and backed out of the crowd. I
had expected defensiveness, maybe a slippery
explanation, but not a counter attack. For a couple
of seconds I wondered what explicative had slipped out
of my mouth by accident. But no such slip of the
tongue had occurred. I had merely pointed out a
contradiction between the politician's stated
compassion and his consistent actions against basic
property rights of homeless folks. I was guilty only
of lightly scratching the surface of the slick new
paint job that Newsom is getting in preparation to
look and act like a contender in the 2003 mayor race.
When the new Board of Supervisors was elected in late
2000, Gavin Newsom was one of a few Brown-aligned
incumbents to hold onto his seat. His lasting power
may be related to the fact that he ran uncontended in
District 2, which covers the Marina and Pacific
Heights and is home to the cityís richest and whitest
populations. He was originally appointed in 1997 by
Mayor Brown to the Board of Supervisors seat vacated
by State Assemblyman Kevin Shelley. At the time,
Newsom was little more than a local rich boy with a
poly-sci degree from Santa Clara University. His
status as the owner of a Napa vineyard and Marina wine
shop inspired glee among the business community. The
Chronicle splayed the headline, SF's New Supervisor
Bold, Young Entrepreneur.

What didn't get as much attention was the system of
political patronage which garnered Newsom this
appointment. His father, William A. Newsom, was a
California Appeals Court Judge and is a close friend
and advisor to the likes of John Burton and
billionaire Gordon Getty. In political terms,
Supervisor Newsomís appointment secured Willie Brownís
connection to these families and kept the Board of
Supervisors stocked with cronies who would not
challenge his pro-business, pro-development brand of
machine politics.

Newsom is highly defensive about his privileged
background, and insisted in an profile in the SF
Sentinel that he is basically a normal guy: ìUntil
about five years ago, Iíve never made more than
$22,000 in my life.î While that figure may show up on
his tax return, there is no doubt that Newsom reaps
the rewards of the company he keeps. Gordon Gettyís
son William, (known in society columns as Billy) is a
friend and partner in Plumpjack, a vineyard and chain
of wineshops, restaurants and resorts. Gavin and
Billy make frequent investments together, such as the
Pacific Heights house they sold during the boom years
for about $4 million dollars. The two also dominate
society pages, typified by the media circus which
surrounded Newsomís marriage to D.A. Kimberly
Guilfoyle, which the Gettys hosted at their SF
mansion.

While the mainstream media delights in the whirlwind
affairs of the rich and powerful, they have also
allowed Newsom to portray himself as a self-made man
who will steer clear of Brownís party line. In small
ways Newsom earned this reputation. One of his
distinguishing stands on the Board was to work towards
decriminalizing drug abuse. He successfully promoted
the OBOAT (Office Based Opiate Addiction Treatment)
legislation which would allow private physicians to
administer methadone to people trying to kick heroin
or other opiates.

This initiative was applauded by people suffering due
to lack of substance abuse treatment and the providers
who work with them. However, providers I spoke with
felt that Newsom had aligned himself with the harm
reduction movement for personal and political
advantage. This made him an unpredictable ally to
those fighting against the War on Drugs.
Longtime frontline health worker Rachel McClean found
he aligned himself only with narrowly specific issues.

She suspects that his motives are related to rumors
of family experiences with drug abuse rather than
moral belief in a right to treatment. "Office based
methadone is great, we have worked for it for a long
time. But it definitely serves the interests of the
rich junkies out there who want to be spared the
indignity of going down to the methadone clinic."
McClean recalls Newsom listening to testimony of
addicts in City Hall and benevolently offering them
help. "It makes him look O.K. to all the folks in the
city who are against the war on drugs, who believe in
decriminalization." But this one isolated program
doesn't go very deep she concluded, adding, "The war
on drugs is really a war against poor people and he
couldnít care less about that."

Which brings us back to Newsom's many-pointed plan and
his claim to be promoting it out of compassion. Much
popularized in the Chronicle, Examiner, and even
scoring a story in the New York Times, Newsom's office
released a Policy Advisory Update on January 7th
which claims to work towards a comprehensive
solution to homelessness. The catch phrase "New York
model" has repeatedly appeared in coverage of his plan
due to the fact that many of the most controversial
points of Newsom's are drawn from Guiliani policies in
New York.

When promoting the centralized intake process and
fingerprinting of homeless people, Newsom called these
"the best practices from other cities." He also
borrowed directly from the ideology behind the New
York model when he stated, "This is not a housing
problem, this is a substance abuse and mental health
problem."

The popularity of this ideology and its re-emergence
in the rhetoric of Willie Brownís wanna-be heir is no
accident. This same philosophy is the lynchpin in the
"Ready, Willing and Able" program that has grown into
the "success story" of New York's homeless services.
The program's website details how its founder, George
McDonald, lived in an SRO for years in order to prove
that it could be done, that people could work at
minimum wage, live in SROs and make it. That is,
make it without government assistance, without a
meaningful living wage job, and without addressing the
root causes of homelessness, especially the endemic
lack of affordable housing.

Instead, the Ready Willing and Able program is work
oriented. Their slogan, ìwork works, is the
rhetorical answer to the question what do we do with
all the homeless?î Put them in shelters and require
their labor 40 hours a week at minimum wage. The
program acts as their employers and can lease the
workforce out at cut rates for services such as street
cleaning, bulk mailings, housing maintenance and more.

Success in the program means that you stay sober
(checked with regular drug testing), hand over $65 a
week for room and board from your paycheck and give up
ìentitlementsî such as General Assistance. It also
means that you must remain a docile and compliant
worker in order to receive shelter and treatment.
Chance Martin of the Coalition on Homelessness
commented, ìThis program commodifies homeless people.
There is no investment in the individual, it is only
about filling a certain number of slots to make your
numbers work.î

The RW&A website now boasts of a ìworkforce of 800î
which it gladly offers up to any corporation at the
lowest prices around. Companies such as Toyota,
Citibank and Canon contract with the programís labor.
Graduates of the program often continue to work for
many of the companies who donate to or whose officers
sit on the board of the Doe Fund, the parent funder of
the program.

As was reported last week in the Bay Guardian, the
California-based property management giant CB Richard
Ellis has taken time to promote Ready Willing and Able
as a ìsolutionî right here in San Francisco. Bringing
the program into the cityís range of services was a
hot topic at luncheons between Willie Brown, George
Smith (Head of the Department of Homelessness), Newsom
and CBRE reps. The companyís interest may lie in
raising property values but they may also feel
inspired by the thought of a cut-rate workforce
available for maintenance contracts on their
widespread holdings in San Francisco. Whatever the
motivation, it shouldnít escape notice that in 2001 CB
Richard Ellis was bought out by a private group of
investors known as the Blum Capital Partners, headed
most insidiously by Richard Blum, Senator Dianne
Feinsteinís husband.

The power luncheons with a corporate agenda put
Newsomís plan into context. Homelessness is a popular
ìhot-button issue, that Newsom can use to develop his
leadership profile while serving the interests of the
powerful political leaders who are now grooming him
for a mayoral run. Newsom isnít the regular guy he
wants us to think he is, and he clearly isnít separate
from the machine politics that dominates the Bay Area
and beyond.

Jenny Freidenbach, also of the Coalition On
Homelessness, was standing behind the circle of
reporters as Newsom blurted sound bites at City Hall.
She wasnít impressed. ìHeís not talking about
housing, treatment or living wage jobs, only more
bureaucracy,î was her explanation of why the C.O.H.
wasnít receptive to Newsomís plan. He worked with no
service providers in forming the plan and again has
followed the "New York model" and Willie Brown's lead
in blaming providers and advocates like the C.O.H. for
protecting the rights and dignity of homeless people.
Newsomís homeless policy is inspired by a stingy
political climate and motivated by personal ambition.
The Supervisor has tried to convince more than one
homeless person or advocate that his heart is in the
right place. Freidenbach reported that back in 1998
when the Board of Supervisors voted on whether to cut
G.A. benefits, a man named Garth testified on the
devastating effects of having his monthly check cut to
even less. Although Newsom voted in favor of cutting
the benefit, he approached Garth after the hearing and
apologized.

These kinds of gestures only further indicate that
Newsom is aware of the people he is stepping on to get
ahead. Said Freidenbach, "He knows what he's doing is
wrong, but he does it anyway because he always stays
true to his constituency."

by Joe B.

I saw the buzz about Att. Gen. J. Ashcroft thanks to Ms. Beverly Lumkin.

Our brave, courageous Top Law Man 'feels dirty with pictures taken next to Lovely Lady Liberty, her hands up one breast in full veiw with him in the photo's.

Come On, He's suppose to know why she is/was blindfolded or use to be and bare of breast.

If this guy has trouble with a female representation of Justice or types of cats like Calico, Chocolate Tip, Or Malomar? or something that he relates to devil worship and such.

I worry for the our country maybe the "General" needs a long rest or early retirement from threats within and without.

With the cat-satan connection his mind didn't go back to the 1950's but way, way back to the Salam Which Trials.

Burning women for living longer, knowing medicinal herbs, plants.

As midwives bringing all infants male and female safely into the world before men; fearing woman's power in lust 'n love, creating life itself in the world.

Hmmm, is 'Ashy suffering "VAGINA ENVY"?

Mind Travel can be dangerous or reincarnation if certain past lives aren't forgotten or astral traveler's make a wrong turn in time or is "mentally" trapped temporally in a past, life mindset in the wrong continuum.

Ummm, its just a theory, no one actually travels that way especially a smuck like me.

Between him and "Select 'Prez with a borrowed "Let's Roll" which incidently is an Amored Tank Division's motto I think or the animated Autobot Optimous Prime's battle cry?

If you want to know which, tell me if any readers can.

More war, non combatant prisoner's of war, more intrusive snooping on citizen's from raiding law enforcement with suspicions without facts confiscating a kid's server for "subversive evidents" or more likely the spread of information (free for now) to everyone.

Naked males, females. Don't ever tell me someone won't foist their belief system(s) when they gain the power to act on them.

Does it look a little like the Bush family imploding is a family trait?

I don't know folks, but I'll remember in 2004 the Father-Son Bush Legacy will end so all American's will have our country back.

by Isabel Estrada/PNN youth in the media intern

"Now, number one, look behind you.  Now, without pushing, running, or shoving, walk towards the door." The drill sergeant's voice is oppressively slow and mocking as he says these words to the rows of girls and boys.  They start out with fear in their eyes until they have to close them.  They seem to be choking.  They are drooling on themselves and waving their hands around frantically.  Most of them are crying.  They are being gassed in the so-called "gas chamber" as a part of basic training, otherwise known as boot camp. The drill sergeants are laughing and commenting on how people look as they repeat the phrase for every row of ten kids.  As one girl, who is obviously having a much worse time than the others, jumps up and down to relieve herself of the burning and stinging feeling caused by the gas penetrating her pores, another sergeant's voice chimes in to say, "Get that dance going."  When the girls start to leave before he is done with his little speech, he makes them go back and then starts the whole speech over again, this time talking twice as slow.  If a person does run out the door, they are made to go through the whole process again.  This video is the army's way of congratulating Mari on her completion of boot camp.  I had to stop it there.  

"A better way of life." According to the many recruitment officers that visited her various high schools in Texas, this was what joining the Armed Forces would provide for Mari.  The high school that she attended for the longest period of time was LaMarque, where most of the kids were poor and African-American. "Our school looked like a cemetery," she said.  At first I was surprised to find out that Mari did not even hear about the option of going to college the entire time she was there. At my arts high school it seemed as though most of us were basically ushered by teachers and the college counselor right into college, as if there were no other choice.  But then again, my school is in San Francisco and attended mostly by middle class kids, I think the majority of whom were white.  Mari's counselors, on the other hand, acted as though the army was the only option.  Mari couldn't even choose to get a job. In order to get a job in Texas, she would need a car as everything is very spread out.  But in order to get a car, she would have needed a job.  Where Mari lived, they did not even have public transportation.

So at 17, seeing no other viable option, Mari joined the army.  She also figured that along with having housing and food, she would be able to get money for college.  As it turned out, the requirements for acquiring college money through the Montgomery GI Bill are so stringent that she wasn't even able to get any. Because she was unaccustomed to regular exercise before joining the army, where she was forced to participate in strenuous workouts every day, Mari immediately began to have health problems. Luckily for her, she was discharged after about 6 months.   

As far as I know, Indy Media (sf.indymedia.org) has been the only organization to print an article about the bill H.R. 3598 that proposes to reinstate the draft.  H.R 3598, the Universal Military Training and Service Act of 2001, was introduced on December 20th, 2001 by Republicans Nick Smith of Michigan and Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania.  The bill would require all men between the ages of 18 and 22, whether citizens or residents of the United States, including Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam, to be inducted into the armed services and to receive military training and education for a period of six months to a year.  The basic training is to be "established by the Secretary [of defense]" and "specialty training [is provided] as the Secretary concerned considers appropriate."

The census predicts that this would include about 9 million men.  Exemptions would be granted for those with "extreme hardship" (undefined, but sons of the rich and powerful probably fit in here somewhere) and mental or physical disabilities at the discretion of local draft boards.  Conscientious objectors would still be inducted, only their training would not include instruction in combat. High school dropouts would get an additional 6 months and help to receive their diploma.  Women would be authorized to volunteer.

This would be a bunch of sexually frustrated boys trying to discover their manhood, thrown together to learn how to maintain the United States' oppressive world order.  It sounds like Lord of the Flies, right wing reactionary style.  I don't envy the sweet boys from my San Francisco art school.  However, maybe they would be the lucky ones, at least they would know that this is just another annoying semi-imprisonment to deal with, not "a better way of life."

When my friend Aaron Perlstein, a student at Humboldt University, heard about this new proposal, he said that if he knew he wouldn't have to fight in a war, he could probably deal with six months to a year of military training.  However, as far as the prospect of having to fight, this was his response: "No one consulted me in the decision to kill thousands and thousands of Afghani people. Why should they expect me to fight their war? The politicians started the war; they can go over there and fight it.  Damn it, I'm just trying to get an education, and I really don't need to be programmed into a fighting machine."

by Clive Whistle/PoorNEwsNEtwork

In atlanta when the olympics came I was harassed, arrested, had my
belongings seized and finally was put in jail for the duration of the
olympics- at which time I made the mistake of asking the "nice" black cop (that's what he called himself when he arrested me) why I was arrested - to which he replied, shortly, " Because you know as well I do - you are a bum, and they don't want to see no bums in Atlanta right now"

Well, that "right now" lasted a whole year and even exists today -
it seems that the olympics fever rolled over into city policy - so much so that nowadays you can't even commit the crime of walking at night in downtown (Atlanta) in old clothes or you will be picked up on suspicion of "being a vagrant" (read; poor)

So I left. I went to New York just in time to be met by the demon named
Guiliani. But let's back up - I should tell you something about myself, I
am a low-key, loving kind of guy. I really don't have a lot of motivation to
be "all that I can be". I did an over long stint in the Army - which sort
of tore my brain out of my head - leaving me unable to handle much
stress-or really deal with a job at all - and I have had my share of em' I
have done everything from cleaning floors to hauling trash, and I still
work from time to time, when my back lets me . So I guess you could call
me a bum- but what's a bum?- I don't do no stealin' or lyin - I don't
bother noone- so really by who's standards am I a bum?-

So anyway, I make the terrible misstep of going to New York, at the
nexxus of Giuiliani's campaign of terror against "peddlers, panhandlers and
prostitutes" those are his words, and what a lot of people don't know is he
went after the street artists and hot dog vendors as vehemently as he went
after the so-called bums like me - it really should have been called
Giuliani's War on the Poor.

Well, anyway, I hit town and got a job in Soho moving and hauling trash -
and very soon I got an old truck with a messed-up rear end. I used it do
haulin' and within seconds the cops were on me for having an old car - it was
hilarious - Driving While Poor was in full effect- I had my white
co-worker drive so as to be sure of no DWB(driving while black) risks -but
he was stopped repeatedly - eventually - I gave up and took to livin in an SRO and then on the streets, which is no easy task in NYC. But then I began my relationship with the Business Improvement District ( read: the new fascism in AmeriKKa) These are areas such as Times Square in New York that hire their own cops to patrol the poor folks, the artists, the sex workers and anybody who doesn't resemble Mickey Mouse, i.e, a member of the Disney Family out of the area where tourists go. I was arrested and/or harrased so many times I can't count. And I wasn't even panhandling! Anyway, I finally borrowed enough money and went to San Francisco.

Well, I guess I just have bad luck! cause little did I know I was on the unofficial tour of the meanest cities in America. As a poor black man, who grew up in the south I really don't think it has ever been this bad!

In San Francisco I have lived in Shelters and SRO's. Most of the shelters are similar to jails and I have been in the Army and in jail too much of life to be havin' anymore of that. So I have attempted to live quietly outside, mindin' my own business. I have lived in the most godawful hideaways and the SFPD or the Department of Public Works has found me and harassed me, seized my meager belongings and thrown me in jail for nothin at all. I think the only good thing about SF is POOR Magazine, The Bayview, Street Spirit and The Street Sheet - cause at least they help folks get the truth out.

I know there are good places in the US - but according to the recent report by the NAtional Coalition on Homelessness, even the possiblity of a hawaiian vacation isn't a good idea (Honolulu, Hi was voted 10th on the list of meanest cities to homeless folks) anyway, I don't really know where to go now. But the message is clear - they don't want poor folks like me in most of America - and as I marched in the Dr. King march yesterday along side my Black, white, Asian and Latino brothers and sisters I wondered who our oppressed folks really are in 2002.

Clive Whistle is a staff writer at POOR - through POOR's Writer-Facilitation project, which aims to give a voice to very low and no income writers and artists
The entire Meanest Cities report can be viewed at: www.nationalhomeless.org/criminalizationrelease.html

by Carol Harvey/PoorNewsNetwork

Christmas 2001. I slid through the slipstream of the Powell Street foot
traffic past Barnes and Noble towards Union Square where the flood light
from the Disney store shone on Carolin Jack. I looked for her feet and
>the footrest of her wheelchair projecting out from behind the red
>newspaper boxes happy at the thought that maybe generous shoppers would
>donate money to her and her cats.

On Halloween night, a woman gave her a headband with an orange pumpkin
>stalk on top. Would she be sporting a red Santa Claus hat? I approached
>and caught my breath. The air got cold. Where were her feet sticking out
>on her wheelchair footrest? A black hole opened in space where she should
>have been.

Returning at 9:30 p.m., I hoped Caroline would be there. A figure
>hunched over on the sidewalk. "Oh, no! They stole her chair. Now she has
>to sit on the ground." In Carolin’s place a sad young girl enveloped in a
>dark blackish-blue aura kneeled, head bowed, eyes closed, praying. I
>realized how much light and color Carolin leant that corner sitting in the
>glow of the Disney store like Mrs. Claus. When I finally caught up with
>her, she said, "Oh, I know that girl. The guy she’s with beats her."

She told me that, as she lay on the cold sidewalk trying to sleep, nothing
>about this year resembled Christmas. She disappeared because, "I was
>hiding from that cop. I just couldn’t afford to lose my cart or any more
>cats. A couple days before Christmas, the Animal care and Control drove
>by here. I didn’t have a single cat with me in the daytime. She waved at
>me, and clapped her hands. She was making fun. She said, 'Ha. Ha.’ She
>was saying she finally caught me out here without animals." They also
>came down where I sleep. They have my file confused with another woman
>who abused 30 cats. I never even had 30 cats. So, I had to hide under the
>freeway."

"She has no conscience. My kitty cats love me, and I love them, and I
>don’t let anything happen to them. "Tomorrow this guy’s bringing me a
>little black kitty. It’s about five or six pounds."

I asked, "Where is this little black kitty coming from?"

"From his backyard, I believe. She’s been in and out. Let’s see if he
>catches her. He doesn’t want her."

She reached down and petted the tiny black head poking out from her

blanketed lap. "This is the little Queen of Egypt. See how delicate her
>features are? Me and black kitties get along just okey-doke. I always
>love little orange kitties, and little black kitties love me." Carolin
>pays $10, $20, $40 to animal salesmen who care only for the money, not the
>cats.

She talked about police harassment. "The older cop told me, ‘Go down to
>Geary, off my beat.’ He told me, 'You just use the cats to make money.’
>That cop never asks if I’m a fake. He runs off High Smiley who has
>something wrong with his legs. He’s got something against wheelchairs.
>He’s seen too many stand up from wheelchairs and walk. He thinks they are
>all trying to scam the public."

She said, "There are people who scam in wheelchairs, but they leave them
>because they are not making any more. Some homeless guy on TV or radio
>said he makes $75 more a day because of the wheelchair. Guys like that
>say stuff like that, and it makes people think all people in wheelchairs
>are scams."

"People have been scammed a lot for diseases. Even Jerry Lewis has to go
>into the background of each person extensively and say exactly where the
>money goes before they will give."

After that Examiner article two weeks ago saying how the homeless are all
>scam artists and drug addicts, I tell people, 'I’ve been written about in
>the paper. You believe that bad story. Why can’t you believe a good
>story?’"

"That article made Willie come unchained. Within four days, he came out
>on the carts and everything else. He said, 'Get all of the carts off
>>Market Street,’ so DPW has been sweeping the homeless out ever since."

"The younger cop told me, 'Somebody’s got something against you,’ a
>powerful woman on the Board of Supervisors for the downtown businesses.

She’s the boss of the little security men in red jackets and caps." Sure
>enough, in late January, Carolin said they are cementing the newspaper
>boxes in place next to her spot, and no one can sit on that corner
>anymore.

"There’s been too much loss," said Carolin, shaking her head, "Too much loss."

by TJ Johnston

The sign was staring right at me, declaring itself (and the rest of America) "Open For Business." I was transfixed by the "shopping flag" design for about 20 minutes. This was about as long as I could stand. The door would automatically open unless whoever was inside would walk out of the pay toilet on his own volition. But in the interim, the kneejerk reaction against such obvious advertising ploys didn't kick this time. I stood in front of the newly fashioned, ubiquitous logo long enough to realize America is indeed Open For Business.

His Willieness called upon San Francisco merchants to display these new signs on their storefronts and to ascribe a higher purpose to their customers' year-end shopaholism. Does it matter pocket money might be scarce this year? No, because just as my family in WWII bought bonds, I'm buying retail. Ba-da-da-da-dee-dum. Charge! Or, in my case, Cash!

Most people who hang Stars and Stripes outside their homes probably aren't even registered to vote. But, I bet they're registered at Radio Shack. I bought headphones there with a ten-dollar bill and the guy asked for my address and phone number. I told him, "Do you want me to make a purchase or go on a date with you?"

Where the red, white, and blue is plastered on windows, so was their tricolor merchandise on sale. Macy's had racks of patriotic wear and wasted no time in urging their credit card holders to donate to the American Red Cross (and for a 10% saving). No telling whether the consumer or the Red Cross would max out first.

Old Glory merch also abounded at Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger. If the color scheme flatters their professional anorexics, then an average Joe like me can drape himself with pride.

Patriotism as a selling point isn't limited to just goods, but also services. Erica is also Open for Business, so said the ad in which her star-spangled panties are obviously Photoshopped. Isn't it funny how I abhor the flag-waving used to sell SUV's, but I can forgive the flag-wrapping of our nation's sex workers?

The declaration "These Colors Do Not Run" prevails in the tie-dyed Haight-Ashbury, where hippie imagery has long been co-opted and marketed to weekenders and tourists. One store was able to reconcile peace symbols with the ensign. A T-shirt on sale incorporated "peace" in the blue field.

At a leather shop, both Old Glory and Union Jack were emblazoned in their clothing lines and camouflage wear was prominently displayed. Maybe they recognized jingoism as the latest fetish. I'll keep an eye out for this new kink next time I visit the Power Exchange.

And curiously, I finished my outing empty-handed. Instead of a new wardrobe and dates with Erica and the Radio Shack guy, I walked away with the realization this excursion would leave a Daisy cutter-sized hole in my pocket. I might have been fashionably patriotic, but I can't afford to look this cool in a recession.

This well-timed epiphany prevented me from possible destitution. I'm glad that this flash appeared more quickly than my original notion to shop 'til I drop. I already knew there were better ways to spend my disposable income: after food and shelter, there are ways to alleviate suffering and injustice. All in all, this lesson relearned didn't set me back much. It cost me the price of a set of 'phones, plus the quarter at the john whose broad stripes and bright stars started it all.

by Gretchen Hildebran/PoorNewsNEtwork

I almost didn't notice the small sticker on the streetpost at 27th and Mission. As I lit a cigarette and waited for the bus, I had time to appreciate its easy formula. It read, "2001=1984". On this same night, January 8h, bombs were dropping on Afghanistan and Iraq in the name of freedom and the governor of California gave his State of the State address. Gray Davis gave a rosy overview of the "bright future" of our state despite the 12.5 billion dollars that has disappeared from the state's budget in the last four months.

In 1984, George Orwell describes a "fictional" world of fascist society and political double-speak where phrases like "Peace is War" justify an insatiable war machine and the obliteration of human rights. In his speech and the proposed budget that followed two days later, Governor Davis did a terrific job of bringing life in 2002 even closer than last year to the nightmare world of that novel. He fell over himself pronouncing the tremendous progress of California's social services network, claiming that in providing health care to all Californians, "the results are stunning!" What we need to focus on now, he insisted, is building our public safety against terrorism. At the same time, he would remedy the shortage of state funds by cutting social services a total of $742 million.

Davis and the California legislature get to decide what to do with the taxes from my paycheck (when there is one), from my food and my cigarettes. I wanted to find out how he could justify collecting taxes for anti-terrorism measures while turning his back on basic services. I found a copy of the budget online at the government website, but found it nearly impossible to understand, as every cutback is neatly disguised in the shiny wrapping of prudent financier lingo. So I checked out the California Budget Project, a non-profit that posts an independent analysis of the budget on their website and explains a little more of what this budget will do to actual people, especially those who depend on Medi-Cal and similar public programs for daily survival. There I discovered that California's public health care system alone is slated to lose $407 million. The proposed budget scrapes money off numerous programs, like those designed to sign more people up for Medi-Cal and the Healthy Families Program. It instates a co-pay by Medi-Cal clients for doctor's appointments and emergency care. The fees charged appear nominal, $1 to $5. But this cost is an erosion of the basic concept of accessible public health care and hands off a total burden of $30.6 million to the state's poorest people.

On the provider's end, government reimbursements to Medi-Cal doctors and clinics will be cut back, rescinding the rate hike they earned in 2001. In addition, public hospitals, including the UC health system, will be charged an $85 million dollar provider fee. The combination of higher fees owed to the government and lower payment for the doctors, clinics and hospitals that provide public health care has raised complaints from public health care institutions. But the people who will shoulder the burden of these cutbacks will be those who depend on Medi-Cal to receive timely, decent care. Recently a friend on Medi-Cal was relating to me her experience of being referred to a UC Urgent Care clinic by telephone. Even though she was told on the phone that she could be treated at the clinic until 5pm, she arrived to be told that the clinic had accepted its last client at 4:15. This meant she had to go to the emergency room or put off her urgent medical problem until tomorrow. When she complained, the attending physician brushed her off, saying, "We're operating on a shoestring budget." This kind of negligent treatment negates the successes that Davis touted in his speech. While he bragged of enrolling record numbers into Medi-Cal, he plans to severely reduce access and quality of care that poor people will receive. One of the other biggest "savings" planned in the budget is in freezing Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) for many state employees and programs, including foster-care programs, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments, and CalWORKS employees. The millions of poor folks who depend on SSI as a safety net will again be left behind in the face of rising costs for housing, food and other basic necessities. The state will save a tidy $132.2 million again on the backs of those who have the least resources.

Some other folks who are left behind are those who depend on California for food stamps. 83,066 people who cannot receive federal food stamps due to their immigration status will be cut off from California's food stamp program starting on July 30 of this year. Davis justifies this move by declaring that these folks will be eligible for federal food stamps in October. While it is questionable whether the federal government is even willing to pick up the $35 million tab for this shift, only a politician who has never had to survive on food stamps could find this time gap acceptable. What exactly are people supposed to do without food for two months?

In addition to the cornucopia of open cuts to social service, there is a hidden strategy behind this budget's planning around federal aid. Instead of explicitly cutting another $400 million from Medi-Cal, Davis is expecting this amount to be made up by the federal government. While this hope may simply appear naive, it leaves the fate of California's public health care system up to a Bush administration hell-bent on spending billions on war and entirely eliminating its social service spending. A child could anticipate that federal Medi-Cal funding is not guaranteed. Davis is setting up our state for an enormous health care collapse that he can then blame on Republicans in an election year. Call it a $400 million dollar contribution to Davis' reelection campaign by the poor and underserved clients of Medi-Cal. Davis plans on using federal money to "bridge the gap" for $50 million worth of undefined social service programs, probably substance abuse and mental health treatment programs, both of which will experience severe cutbacks and are always easy sacrificial lambs for politicians. His other funding strategy borrows against state bonds that have not even been passed yet. This is a dismal situation for affordable housing programs. The 2002 allocation in this budget to the Department of Housing and Community Development drops from $559 million to $37.7 million, a 93.3% reduction. Davis plans this cut around the passage of a $2 billion dollar affordable housing bond that was supposed to create one million new affordable homes. If the bond passes this year in conjunction with this budget, it will just be making up for these cuts.

The Legislative Analyst's Office, another independent group that interprets budget and state finance, calls Davis' budget proposal "overly optimistic." They call into question the amount of available resources and the balancing act which will so heavily rely upon federal help. Davis isn't just going to use federal money to prop up Medi-Cal. He is planning on another $350 million in assistance from Bush for security "enhancements" in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks. In this case it seems like Davis and Bush are on the same page (maybe accounting for Davis' excessive use of Bushisms in his speech: "Make no mistake, I will not raise taxes.") The plans for California anti-terrorism measures are as sweeping as the spending cuts that plague social services. The "Security and Public Safety" section of the budget outlines pages of plans to patrol and police highways and bridges and borders, as well as introducing federal surveillance and alert systems to state emergency services, including hospitals, clinics and pharmacies. Early in his speech Davis also stated, "We'll ensure that law enforcement officials- with the authority of the court- can monitor communications by suspected terrorists and allow 'roving' wiretaps on suspects."

But if you are worried about losing your right to privacy, don't worry. Later in his speech Davis assured us that "we've already made significant strides" in protecting our privacy against telemarketers. Several anti-terrorism bills are currently working their way through the State legislature already, like AB-1647, authored by Orange county Assemblyman John Campbell. The bill would allow any law enforcement official, including deputy sheriffs, Child Protective Services and tax officials, to record any conversation with "suspects" without their knowledge. If it comes down to a scarcity of resources, there is no doubt that these security measures are more likely than Medi-Cal to see funding from the federal government. Rather than safeguarding our social services and safety net from the Bush administration, Davis is playing the budget shortfalls for whatever advantage he can in an election year. By promoting "security" measures rather than things like public health and housing, he sacrifices the well being of poor folks to cater to the 1984-like actions of our political leaders. As POOR co-editor Dee mentioned to me upon hearing about Davis' budget, "who needs Bush when we already have Davis doing his work for him?"

Check out the budget yourself at www.cbp.org

by Staff Writer

One out of every ten children in America is living in a state of poverty. And that's one too many American Dreams broken. One too many American childhoods at risk, threatened by the daily struggle to secure enough food, enough shelter, enough medicine just to survive. Nearly 12,000.00 precious lives hanging in a brutally uncertain balance. Sixteen percent of all our children- a poverty rate that's higher than any other age group. but who cares to notice?

For more information contact the Catholic Campaign for Human Development @ 1.800.946.4243 or contact www.povertytusa.org

by Aldo Dellamaggiora/PoorNewsNetwork

I watch the shiny cars and taxicabs roll through the San Francisco streets as the Saturday nightlife awakens. As the night begins a spark of fire ignites at the Women's Building. Featured speakers gather to discuss the war on terrorism. The discussion is lead by Omali Yeshitela, chairman of the African Peopleís Socialist Party (Uhuru Movement leader), Jess Ghannam from the Palestinian Right to Return Coalition, Kawal Ulanday of the Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, Quetzaocelacuia from the Barrio Defense Committee, Russell Redner of the American Indian Movement, and Abdul Mobin Akhunzda from the Afghan Muslim Association.

'Tierra libertad', we say 'tierra libertad' reminding our gente and the whole world about our fundamental struggle for raza: the indigenous people of this land, the Mexicans, Salvadorians, Nicaraguans. We are the indigenous people of this land, we won't be free until we reclaim our land. Quetzaocelacuia begins the night reminding us about the 500-year struggle of raza. Quetzaocelacuia, as well as this reporter, believe that the word raza represents anyone of indigenous decent from North to South America. Raza people represent about 35 million in the United States, and contribute greatly to the economic wealth of this country.

ìSince the U.S. government was formed out of the genocide of indigenous people, our political and law and enforcement sectors use Mexicans as scapegoats, stereotyping us into criminals, illegal aliens, nortenos, surrenos, Hispanic in order to divide the raza. The colonization of Indios and exploitation of Africans has developed the American economy. Indios and Africans were used by the government to extract natural resources, such as gold and silver, build the railroads for mass transportation, and harvest the agricultural fields so that the government could establish a strong economy for themselves.î Quetzaocelacuia continued to discuss the U.S. government's history of oppressive acts against the raza.

Back in 1848 the U.S. had declared war on the Mexican Nation. The Mexican Nation came into existence due to European rule wanting to dominate indigenous people. This was a struggle of independence from European oppression. The U.S. government was also moving in to take territory from the Mexican nation. The Mexican government had a gun to its head, signing the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo on February 2nd, 1848 by which over three fifths of Mexican land was stolen by the American government. This included various southwestern states including California, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Arizona, and Wyoming. The Government took away the right for the Mexican people to have their own plot of land. This agreement was part of the treaty of Guadalupe.

When the American government saw raza organizing in the fields, factories and railroads to debilitate their labor struggles, the U.S. government began to deport Mexicans and put them in federal prisons.

Today police institutions are used to brutalize raza. The largest population in the California prison system is raza; the same can be said for a prison program called the SHU (Security Housing Units) that denies people the use of their five senses, breaking down inmates physically and mentally.

The economic situation of the raza right here in California is dismal: the medium income is less then $25,000 a year, three fourths of the prison is composed of the raza, less then 1% of university and professional people are raza, the people of the raza are killed by U.S. police agencies everyday. That means that the U.S. government, with its laws and policies, are controlling our people economically, socially, and politically. We are a colonized people, and the U.S. government maintains us in a colonial state. The situation of the raza in the U.S. is an important backdrop in the discussion of the war on terrorism.

Freedom Freedom NOW

Freedom Freedom NOW

Freedom Freedom NOW

Freedom Freedom NOW

U.S. U.S. OUT

U.S. U.S. OUT

U.S. U.S. OUT

U.S U.S. OUT

This chant was lead by Kawal Ulanday, a Filipino youth who delivered a very strong message for justice. According to Kawal, the Philippines have had a long history of military occupation. This militarization has resulted in the deaths of many innocent civilians, over ten of whom were killed by official orders. Troops are being deployed in the South of the Philippines, the Mindanao, and near Manila to go after a Muslim rebel group of 500 men. The people in the Philippines have not overlooked what has recently happened in places like Afghanistan, Palestine, Brazil, Oakland, Hunters Point, etc. ìWe are all up against the same enemy,î Kawal points out. According to Kawal, the reason why the Philippines is in economic and social crisis is because of the American intervention that has spread feudalism, imperialism, and capitalism. ìThere are a small number of betrayers that are in government dividing and conquering, and the majority of the people are side by side.î The people in the Philippines are proud about the Muslims in Mindanao because Spanish colonialism could not take them out. Kawal concluded with another chant.

Keynote Speaker Omali Yeshitela explained, ìWe as American citizens have the responsibility to educate and speak about the war on terrorism. The people of Afghanistan are suffering genocide aggression administered by the U.S. government. After George W. Bush stole the election, he declared a world war that has no defined enemy, duration, definable borders, nor any war terms, which the congress has supported, except for Barbara Lee.î

Omali continued, ìAfter America launched its attack on Afghanistan, mainstream media has told the public that a letter survived the fire at the World Trade Center proving that Osama Bin Laden was responsible for bombing the World Trade Centers, even though Osama Bin Laden is a U.S. creation." Omali is convinced that the airplane that flew over Pennsylvania was shot down by the U.S. government. "They have not explained how four airplanes could be off-course for forty minutes without any movement of U.S. air force. The U.S. government has bought all of the satellite imaging of Afghanistan; every piece of news has been filtered through the U.S. State Department and the Pentagon.î

According to Omali, George W. Bush went into office with a War Cabinet after he stole the election. Colin Powell, the Secretary of State, was a General; Former Secretary of Defense, Richard Cheney, is now Vice President; Donald Rumsfield is also former Secretary of Defense; Condoleeza Rice was National Security Advisor; and last is the Christian fundamentalist right-winger, John D. Ashcroft, appointed as Attorney General.

Omali discussed important events surrounding the the U.S. conflict with Afghanistan, "Diplomats around the world were concerned when Bush came into power for several reasons. President Bush wanted to change the balance of nuclear arms by establishing a Nuclear Defense Shield project that would be capable of defending against any arms threat from around the world, while simultaneously eliminating defensive strategies against U.S. aggression. On September 10, 2002, George Bush opposed protection for the planet from the toxic emissions coming from the industrial countries. From August 30 to September 7, 2002, worldwide officials meet in Durban, South Africa, and the majority stood with the Palestinian movement against their oppressors- the Bush Administration and Israel. After this on September 11, the world was told that a fundamentalist Muslim group attacked America. Thousands of innocent Afghani families, incapable of defending themselves, are being bombed over Osama Bin Laden, who may be dead. These are our courageous U.S. troops. The U.S. government bombs Afghanistan and then sends in the Northern Alliance. A series of more bombs follows. After the military Special Forces are sent to go into the caves to find Osama and his network, they bribe the Afghanis with money and food to go into the caves. That is what makes them special ops, just because they are carrying the money around to bribe somebody else to do the dirty work.î

ìWe live in a frightening time where lofty moral terms can justify American acts of terror all over the world. Now that the terror has hit the U.S., people want to take a patriotic stance to protect the American way of life (consumerism), which has nothing to do with human dignity. Being a patriotic American means being able to unite with the oppressions, against the people of the world This ideology in patriotism is rare and maybe a reason why John Walker may be in jail. He could not find a meaningful movement in Marin County that would help him find a way to deal with the history of American exploitation.î

ìGeorge Bush claims he wants peace but he will not stand in solidarity with oppressed people of the world. In fact, President Bush would rather subdue resistance against U.S. domestic and foreign policy anywhere around the world. Should the slave rise up and kill the slave master and destroy a system of slavery? Of course!î

Omali expressed concern regarding the lack of people acknowledging the reality of Imperialist America and its terrorism. ì This is why we always feel like we are standing on shaky grounds, because it is shaky grounds.î This country was founded on the exploitation of Africans and Native Americans. This country has invaded Cuba, Haiti, Central America, Colombia, Somalia, Wounded Knee, Palestine, Rwanda, Iraq, Vietnam, Korea, and here they have invaded our Liberation Movements- the Black Panthers, the American Indian Movement, and many others.

Omali advocated for organizing a broad coalition of people around the world exercising unity and respect for human rights. The Palestinian crisis canot be ignored because they are faced with aggressions backed by U.S. dollars and a mainstream media that twists information.

ìUnder the guise of humanitarian aid, the U.S. went to Somalia in 1993. U.S. backed ruler Siad Barre was overthrown in the midst of a civil war. . Apparently the U.S. was interested in the oil that was bought by four oil companies in Somalia that extends into Sudan.î

ìBush wanted a coalition government rather than one strong central government because four major oil companies had bought two thirds of Somalia from the previous leader who was head of state. So when former President George Bush ordered the military into Somalia, the people of Somalia shot down a helicopter killing eighteen U.S. troops. This resulted in an eighteen-hour blood bath where an estimated 7000 Somalis died.î

Recently the Pentagon supplied troops, planes, and bases to Hollywood to make a movie called Black Hawk Down which is supposed to shape public opinion and help justify American troops returning to Somalia under the guise of fighting terrorism. The real intention, however, is to manipulate the government in order to get oil. American Somalis send from 200 to 400 million dollars annually to their country. President George W. Bush claims that this money has been funding terrorism in Somalia.

Russell Redner of the American Indian Movement spoke next. ìIndigenous People are misrepresented amongst the different Freedom movements. This is due to the lack of the indigenous population. But there are Native American Movements still standing strong in the struggle for justice. We could not figure out a way to connect with the rest of the movements that are still active. Like the Black Panthers and the Brown Berets, all these movements were very strong, but we could not figure out a way to connect with these movements because we did not have the intelligence, connection, or the words. We did not know how to rap or to sing, we did not have all the stuff that you had to have to be an activist. But by the same token, they did not know how to sing and dance our Indian songs. The Native Americans hosted these movements on their land. There was never a strong effort to bridge those Movements of the Native Americans and the other Freedom movements." Russellís message is to not forget the Native brothers and sisters because we all need each other.

The speaking continued on with Jess Ghannam with the Palestinian point of view. "Fifty-three years ago 90% of Palestine was farmed and owed by Palestinian Arabs. In 1948, the British and U.S. governments formed a Jewish colony on the claim that God gave the Jews that land. The government of Israel justified its occupation of Palestine by declaring a war of independence that was their propaganda used to cover up their colonization of Palestine. This occupation protected oil interests."

Ariel Sharon is a war criminal. When the world came together to fight racism, the only two countries that decided to walk out were Israel and the United States. The liberation of Palestine scares the U.S., scares Israel, because we know when Palestine is liberated, the rest of the colonized world will be liberated. 900 Palestinians have been murdered or assassinated, 25% of these murders have been children. 18,000 Palestinians have been injured, and 8,000 of these were injured children. Israeli Defense forces have carried out these acts of brutality. American tax dollars pay for the weapons Israel uses. The Palestinian Right to Return Coalition represents the four and a half million Palestinian refugees scattered throughout the world that canít go home." Jess expressed gratitude and and felt "privileged to be amongst the other keynote speakers.î

Abdul Acasa spoke as a representative of the Afghani Muslim Association. His views on freedom are that it is an obvious right of human existence. "This Freedom did not exist after September 11, where 50,000 women were raped in the city of Kabul. The war in Afghanistan is about oil, not the Taliban. The women in Afghanistan are not liberated, the women cannot come out of their houses today in Afghanistan. They are in the worst situation anybody could ever be- raping, killing, and destruction. Become an Ambassador of Truth, tell the people the truth. Tell the people that the oppressed have got to get together. Oil for blood." Abdul said that the war in Afghanistan is truly unjust.

At the end of the teaching I got a chance to speak to Omali Yeshitela. Omali had advised me to continue with the truth and to expand my education.

I stepped back out into the busy San Francisco nightlife thinking that even though it would be difficult to rise up from corruption and all its distractions, it would be a rewarding state of mind, fueling self-respect.

by Joe B.

There's a 3 for on deal here, it could be those tae Bo tapes or boost dring giving me extra energy

When 'Prez Bush AIDS Policy Director Scott Evertz say's "bad time's were ahead for HIV/AIDS research, prevention care.

"I'm thinking "BAD TIMES" FOR THE ABOVE PEOPLE".

Then a Dr. Tom Coates, UCSF's Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, said the then upcoming appointment (Thursday) of this guy signaled that funding and support of AIDS could be slashed under the Bush administration. [I'm paraphrasing Dr. Coates]

I'll get right to it, Mr. Tom Coburn, who is not only a Republican, former conservative, congressman [still conservative] openly believes "homosexuality is morally wrong" appointing Tom Coburn, to the President's advisory council essentially tells Gay commumnities everywhere "We Don't Care, We Just Don't Care About You."

Its like having Att. Gen. John Ashcroft... oops its happened as wiretapping all phones land based, cell, including digital and PC's becomes the norm.

Lets say, Having some guy that hates eggs, and chicken's is in charge of egg production and the health and welfare of chickens.

What happens maybe not right away but eventually hens, rooster's, baby chicks, begin to die and eggs getting smashed.

Can you hear what I'm saying.

This guy has a big psychological problem or
"HARD-ON"against Gay folks as it is, so he's given power to affect the lives of very people he has no compassion for.

Can we spell PINK TRIANGLESboys and girls?

Coburn challenges the effectiveness of condoms in HIV prevention campaigns.

As Co-chairman of a 35-member Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS with Louis Sullivan, former Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Bush.

It gets better every time I thing of falling down "Sober" Bush supposedly overseeing these important things.
As a House-Care Watcher

Professional or [H.C.W. P.]

I'm a non drug user, smoker, drinker, pill popper - drug test me anytime. Light vacuum, no windows or laundry.

Pets have their routine - make a list of walking times, foods, and moods.

Prices:$25 a day apartments/flats

$50 a week for 2 to 4 bedroom cottage.

$2000, or $3,000 a month depending on home not area.


$50,000 to $100,000 monthly for homes with 7to10 rooms


INFORM FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS, POLICE; IN FACT
INVITE THEM PERSONALLY TO SEE ME, ASK QUESTIONS
THEN NO MISUNDERSTANDING, MISHAPS OR ACCIDENTS OF IDENTITY CAN HAPPEN.