2002

by Mari/PoorNewsNetwork

I woke up from a short nap the other day and glanced at the red framed mirror near my bed- my weary eyes found a note and a one hundred-dollar bill. The note was from my friend Mark. It said, "I do not want to go on living like this," and many other things showing how unhappy he was with his life. The $100 dollars was supposed to be for my broom he accidently broke earlier, "and for anything else". I was left feeling scared, shocked, and unsure of what to do.

I called a mutual friend of ours. I asked her if she had seen Mark. She said she hadn't seen him. Then I told her the story of what had happened, and read her the letter. She was going to contact his mom, and the transitional living program where he used to be a resident. I then called the Suicide Prevention hotline. I told the volunteer the situation. The volunteer told me to call 911.

At this time I was still scared to call 911, because I did not want the cops to come out and hurt, kill, or scare my friend into killing himself. At this time I was supposed to be at a Youth Commission retreat, so I thought maybe Mark went there to go find me or someone else. I called Colleen, the Director of the Youth Commission, to see if Mark was there. I also told her what was going on. She also told me to call 911. Next, I get a call from a staff person from a youth shelter. I told him the situation also, and he told me to call 911.

So, here it is: I dial 9, then 1, and then 1. I am expecting an operator to talk to, but instead I get put on hold. My friend wrote me a note stating he doesn't want to live anymore, and I get put on hold! Then after being on hold for a while, the operator came on and I told him what happened with Mark. He said he was going to send out the cops. I told him I didn't want the cops to come; I wanted the Mobile Crisis Van to come out instead. The operator said he couldn't do that because I didn't even know if Mark was in his room or not. I hung up the phone and started praying that nothing bad would happen to Mark.

Knock, knock, knock was the sound I hear on my door. Two police officers were standing in front of me. ìI called 911,î I said, and the woman asked me ìWhat happened?î While I am telling her the story, she interrupts and asks, ìWhat is this place?î I tell her its apartments. This question has followed me for a year and a few months. I happen to live in the first housing in the nation that was created in the hopes that every tenant would be a houseless youth between the ages of 18-23. So her response was ìOh, there is just so many youth around here." She asked me more questions about what happened. She asked me if Mark had any weapons, or was on drugs. I said no in a heartbeat. I did not want the cops to take Mark as a threat. He might already seem a threat to some cops because he is a tall, black, young man. Then, the male cop asked me, ìWhat happened?î At this point in time, I already explained the whole story of what had happened. So I had to go over the story again. The guy cop asks me, "Is he white or black?" I paused for a minute. I was scared to tell the cops that Mark is black. I didnít know if they would treat Mark different if they knew he was black. I ended up telling him Mark is black.

Next, the cops knocked on the building managerís door, but she wasnít there. At this time, I thought Mark might be in his room, but just not answering the door when I knocked. The female cop kept on stating she didnít want to kick Markís door down. Then one of my neighbors was passing by and said he knew how to break into the apartment. Then I think he realized he just said this to the cops, and so he further explained that he has had to break into his own apartment before, due to being locked out of his place. Then the female cop said, ìI donít care as long as I donít have to kick down that door.î So we all walked down the hallway to Markís apartment. It felt like it took so long to walk down the hallway. Time seemed almost suspended. Then my neighbor opened Markís apartment. Then all of a sudden time seemed to start again when I saw the cops pull out their guns. I started crying and praying in my head, Oh, God please donít let the cops kill Mark. I grabbed onto my friend and he was holding me to give me comfort. I kept on thinking Why do they have their guns out? They are going to hurt Mark.

The cops came out eventually and told me Mark was not in there. Then they asked me if I had a current picture of Mark. The cops said they were going to file a missing persons report, and if I see Mark to call 911 to get him off the missing persons list.

One to two hours passed while I wondered where Mark was and if he was OK. I got a knock on my door, I rushed to my door and I saw Mark. He was all right. I hug him closely, and just thank God my friend is all right. I tell him that the building manager wants to talk to him about what is happening in his life, and that a staff person at Larkin Inn Shelter wants to check in with him. During this time I call 911 again to tell the operator Mark has been found and that he is all right. The operator told me that someone would be coming to the apartment complex to make sure Mark is all right. The operator made it seem like a mental health check was going to be done, and that a mental health professional would be performing it. But, I was so wrong.

My friend tells me she sees a cop car outside, and then I look and see that there are two cops heading towards my building. I walk downstairs to see if the cops are there for Mark. I hope not because I am expecting Mental Health professionals. While I am walking down the stairs, the cops are walking up the stairs. I asked them if they were here for the 911 call. They said yes, and I told them I placed the call. I also told them Mark was across the street and told them to follow me. Then the more plump, uneasy-looking cop says, ìWait, hold up I want to know if this guy is going to run up on me or something.î I thought to myself that I called 911 because Mark wrote me a note that he didnít want to live anymore, that means my friend is not trying to think about hurting other people, only himself. I wanted to scream at this cop and tell him: How dare you come into a situation where a person needs help and you are thinking of him like a criminal already? That your first reaction is he is going to run up on you, and not is he OK? Then I wanted to tell him he should take the Police Crisis Intervention training on how to deal with people who are mentally ill. But I tell the cop ìNo. He is not going to hurt anyone.î Then the same cop asks me, ìDoes he have any weapons? Is he on drugs?î Again I say no to both questions. So we walk across the street and Mark comes out of Larkin Inn Shelter.

The cops' first reaction is to handcuff Mark's wrists. Mark says over and over ìWhy am I being handcuffed? I do not want to be handcuffed.î I ask the cops, ìWhy is he being handcuffed?î The plump cop's response is, ìThis is mandatory policy, we do this to protect ourselves, and protect you. You are not under arrest. You are being detained.î I keep on stating, ìHe does not need to be handcuffed.î The plump cop states, ìYes he does. He might try to run out into the street to get hit by a car, and then he dies.î Then I thought, Markís hands are cuffed, not his feet. He can still run if he really wanted to. Then the other skinny-looking cop says, ìWe are going to take you to the hospital to get some help.î Then all of a sudden a light bulb goes off in my head and I understand what is happening: the cops are pulling a 5150 on Mark. A 5150 is where a person is involuntarily taken to the hospital in order to have a 72-hour psychiatric evaluation.

Mark said, ìCan we at least go inside the apartment building instead of being outside on the street?î The cops said ìNo.î Mark said, ìI want to talk to someone in charge.î Then the cops called for their Sergeant to come out. Then the plump cop said, ìWhile we are waiting, letís put you in the patrol cruiser.î Then Colleen and I very loudly and clearly said ìWhy?î The plump copís explanation was that Mark seemed vulnerable. That someone could just come up and kick him or hurt him. Then I said, ìBut you canít even tell that he has handcuffs on because his back is towards the wall.î Then the cop gave up trying to put him in his car. Then Mark said, ìI donít need to be handcuffed. Why am I handcuffed?î Then the plump cop said, ìBecause you might go inside that building and kill twenty people.î Colleen and I were disgusted by what this cop had just said. Then we spoke up about his comment. Then of course the plump cop tried to justify what he had just said. During all this I ask the plump cop ìAre you pulling a 5150?î He says, ìI have to see what my Sergeant says.î Then the skinny cop pulled me aside to talk to me. He was telling me that Mark has go to the hospital. The hospital will decide if Mark is mentally ill, and at the hospital they will take off the handcuffs. He wanted me to talk to Mark and make him understand that he needs to go to the hospital.

Then shortly after the Sergeant finally came and confirmed that Mark needed to go to General Hospital. So, the cops put Mark in the back of the patrol cruiser and waited for Colleen and I to follow them. Colleen and I got in her car and waited for the patrol cruiser to move. The cop car started to drive off, and we followed.

We arrived at General Hospital. The cops checked Mark into General hospital. They told Colleen and I to wait in the lobby, and that they would be back in two minutes. Well, it was way longer than two minutes, but they eventually came out and gave me a number to call to talk to someone in the psychiatric ward about Mark.

All in all, I am glad that Mark went to the hospital to receive help. He can actually admit he has a mental illness. He goes to therapy. The thing that makes me uneasy is the way he got to the hospital. Why did he have to be handcuffed and driven in a cop car? Mark was treated like a criminal, not as a person who just needed help. My friend is now traumatized and humiliated by this event.

I asked Mark to reflect on this event in his life and how he sees police interaction with people who are going through a psychiatric crisis. His response was, "Too many people have lost their lives because of their interactions with the police, because of their lack of training in psychiatric crisis situations."

by Joe B.

Sup. Gavin Newsom tries his hand at cloning but the original may be flawed.

I wonder if He's thought about rasing the minimum wage maching the "Cost Of Living" index or more advanced training for people who want more than to be in low wage dead-end jobs, or that former Mayor "G"s clean city has a few holes and is possibly that the NYC model can improved upon - because cloning a program from somewhere else may not work the same the exact same way.

I'd really, really like to know the difference between Newsome's stumping for votes from anonymous human's on the street, in homes, or in banquets from pandhandlers's selling wares, performing tricks for money in streets, in cafe-restaurants, or in private homes?

Could it be the clean, pressed suit, neat hair, slick delivery, or possibly family connections?

All I want [when my work at POOR's done] is to House Sit or House Care to earn extra dough.

What I do is usually a long list of prices and lots of blah, blah about what I won't do in that capacity.

I say for anyone reading this who'll be choosing the next Mayor in 2003 or 4 please be absolutely sure which face your voting for.

In fact background check all the candidates.

If Mr.Newsom wants finger printing, checking puptents - do the same for his campaign too.

We don't need another crusader who only looks to be doing right but is constantly making deals left, right, and center for more power.

I'd like to go begging and have bags full of money, free food (oh, I forgot a few sponsor's to help grease 'um, I mean ease the the way to higher power)

All I want is to Housesit to earn a few extra dollars on the side.

I guess Newsom too needs an extra job too.

When I go for free meals its mostly on long lines with other folks waiting on the same line.

Can anyone out there tell me which one of us is the begging panhandler? Now below the House Care Ad. Bye.

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.

by Staff Writer

After 10 years in the HipHop industry, Askari X, of the Black Imperial Society, is ready to promote the revolution on an international stage. On his new album, Revolutionary Suicide, due to drop on Huey Newton's birthday on February 17, Askari is taking his lyrical capabilities to new heights. He has teamed up with Tajai of Souls of Mischief, M-1 of Dead Prez, The Righteous Black Guerrillas, Mahasin, Nuttso, and Hittaz on the Payroll to put down some historical collaborations. His past albums were Ward of the State which dropped in 1992, Message to the Blackman which dropped in 1996, and The Return of Askari X which dropped in 2G. Revolutionary Suicide will be Askari's fourth album, and is named after a book of the same name written by Huey Newton, cofounder of the Black Panther Party.

Within Askari X's decade long career, his lyrics have made him a legend in the streets of "The Town" of Oakland, California. Revolutionary lyrics like these from the song "I Ain't Scared to Die" on the new Revolutionary Suicide, "I know that the system is responsible for the condition of my Black folkz in the ghetto/all across America, the funk is deep/I put the message in the music to wake you up out your sleep/ but how could I keep/ my head above the waters when the source of the currents is pulling me harder than I can swim" are exactly what has made Askari a household name in the West. He has been featured on almost every Delinquents album, he did a number of songs with 3x Crazy, and recently recorded a song by the name of "Taha" with D'Wayne Wiggins of Tony Toni Tone. 2002 will be a big year for Askari because he is scheduled to do songs with Yukmouth of the Luniz, Mystic, Digital Underground, The Coup, Planet Asia, Zion I, Hieroglyphics, and Keek the Sneak.

If you are interested in seeing Askari X online, you can go to launch.com to see the "Oakland Streets" video. When the album drops you will be able to order it online from urbanfacez.com. If you are interested in getting more information or booking Askari for a show, you can contact the Black Imperial Society at bis@scientist.com.

by Joe B.

Sup. Gavin Newsom tries his hand at cloning but the original may be flawed.

I wonder if He's thought about rasing the minimum wage maching the "Cost Of Living" index or more advanced training for people who want more than to be in low wage dead-end jobs, or that former Mayor "Gs" clean city has a few holes and is possibly that the NYC model can improved upon - because cloning a program from somewhere else may not work the same exact same way.

I'd really, really like to know the difference between Newsome's stumping for votes from anonymous human's on the street, in homes, or in banquets from pandhandlers's selling wares, performing tricks for money in streets, in cafe-restaurants, or in private homes?

Could it be the clean, pressed suit, neat hair, slick delivery, or possibly family connections?

All I want [when my work at POOR's done] is to House Sit or House Care to earn extra dough.

What do I do? Its usually a long list of prices and lots of blah, blah about what I won't do in that capacity.

I say for anyone reading this who be choosing the next Mayor in 2003 please be absolutely sure which face your voting for.

In fact background check all the candidates.

If Mr. wants finger printing, and checking puptents do the same for his campaign too.

We don't another crusader who only looks to be doing right but are constantly making deals left, right, and center for more power.

I'd like to go begging and have bags full of money, free food (oh, I forgot a few sponsor's to help grease I mean ease the
the way to higher power) All I want is to Housesit to earn a few extra dollars on the side I guess Newsom too needs and extra job too.

When I go for free meals its mostly on long lines with other folks waiting on the same line.

Can anyone out there tell me which one of us is the begging panhandler? Now below the House Care Ad. Bye.

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.

by Staff Writer

WE love you all and are soooooo happy and inspired that you exist on this planet with us - that you speak and print truth and wisdom 'bout poor folk like us and others who would otherwise not get their truths and voices heard! and that you’all activate the world of media in such a way as to inspire, revive and wake-up all people who need wakin’,educatin’ and inspirin’….

by Joe B.

Poor folks with millions or dollars or more?

Able to cast economic clout to what they deem important (you know minor things) such as housing, education, health technologies, alternatives to incarceration and the death penalty, mental health for those who need it not warehousing.

There's so many simple ways less expensive in the long run than how we do things now.

Problem is most people with more than enough cash
concentrate on more way to take it from already poor folks.

How can poor folks fight back when voting boxes get lost, destroyed, votes not counted or worse discounted
period?

My answer isn't as new as it sounds and isn't radical but it does take time, patience, and strong nerves to pull off what at first seems daunting but will later become easier when practiced over time.

N.A.S.D.A.Q..

(National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations)

Here's a short history of the 'NAS:
( from the nasdaq.com website.)

As the world's largest electronic stock market, Nasdaq® is not
limited to one central trading location.

Rather, trading is executed through Nasdaq's sophisticated computer and telecommunications network, which transmits real-time quote and trade data to more than 1.3 million users in 83 countries.

Without size limitations orgeographical boundaries, Nasdaq's "open architecture" market structure allows a virtually unlimited number of participants to trade in a company's stock.
[

Reader's of my work already know where I'm 'goin with this, for those who don't, stop scratching your heads and keep reading.]

Today, Nasdaq lists the securities of nearly 4,100 of the world's leading companies and each year, continues to help hundreds of companies successfully make the transition to public ownership.

1961 Congress authorizes the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) to conduct a study of fragmentation in the over-the-counter market.

The SEC proposes automation as a possible solution and charges the NASD with it implementation.

1971 On February 8, Nasdaq begins trading.

1984 Small Order Execution SystemSM (SOESSM) becomes ready for use to execute small orders automatically against the best quotations-making greater volume and efficiency in trading
possible.

1990 SelectNet®, an online screen negotiation and execution service debuts, enhancing opportunities for finding and executing transactions at the best prices at greater volume than allowed by SOES.

1994 Nasdaq surpasses the New York Stock Exchange inannual share volume.

1997 Final phase for implementation of Order Handling Rules.

1998 In conjunction with The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, Nasdaq announced a partnership to provide investors worldwide with information about their respective markets on a new, joint Internet Web service.

1999 Nasdaq becomes the largest stock market in the U.S. by dollar volume and repeatedly breaks share and dollar volume records.

In June, Nasdaq signed an agreement in Tokyo with Softbank Corporation, jointly capitalizing a new company-Nasdaq JapanSM.

This proved to be the first leg in Nasdaq's global strategy to link Asian markets with European and American markets.

2000 NASD membership votes overwhelmingly to restructure the organization.

The restructuring spins off Nasdaq into a shareholder-owned, for-profit company.

Nasdaq completes the first phase of its restructuring.

Nasdaq formally opened the new MarketSite in the heart of New York's Times Square.

Nasdaq continued to be the engine for capital formation and job creation.

Between 1997 and 2000, it brought 1,649 companies public, and in the process raised $316.5 billion and added hundreds of thousands of jobs to the American economy.

Nasdaq continues to build capacity for the trading volumes of tomorrow, with a capacity to trade 6 billion shares a day, a ten-fold increase since 1997.

2001 SuperMontage SM proposal approved by SEC. Phase II of NASD's private placement is completed.

Whew, I have to again thank the NASDAQ webside webmasters for its information on this fairly new electronic era of Stock Market touted as "The Stock Market for The Next Hundred Years."

Now, what my concept or idea is wealth sharing directly to poor folks and affecting global change.

On the tv, radio, and especially the net for a few years there's been talk about financial freedom short cuts from no money down real estate deals, on-line businesses, selling on-line items on customized websites, or website designing itself and also e-trading.

The latter is my interest because of its potential to change lives instantly.

I know about the guy who after losing most of his wealth in on- line investing goes home, armed with an assortment of semi automatic weapons kills his family then returns to work killing fellow worker's.

This gave insider trading a purple swollen eye for a few months maybe years however I maintain that guy was slighly unhinged before the blood bath to go off on a killing spree.

Poor folks equipped with PC's electronically connected to NASDAQ before in vest could take a free two weeks or montly course, to make sure they know what they are getting into.

A modest goal is making $100 to $500 or more by a day or week.

Next a little more and what they make is there's

To graduate a student invests and makes anywhere from $20, $50, to $100,000 dollars.

This means the student can make money this way and can save too.

Losing money is what most poor folks fear, maybe put in jail for own and not able to pay.

It is possible for this to happen that's why most on-line investors must be emotionally detatched or have a investment limit or if their making lots of if another money making limit and hours when to stop.

With so many pc's being thrown out many can be donated free to the poor for this indepence making program.

The problem is one poor folks get the nack of making money this easy they tend to vanish from view that's why it should be taugh en mass and the ones who still want to help others and use their new found wealth to reopen hospitals, schools, have new foundations, grants, even after they stop giving or die can still be helping others long after they're gone.

Everyone reading this won't believe it possible but as with a virus some people will sucumb end up on drugs, drink, gambling, while others will do more and have families, find tax lawyers, support their parties, and set free PC's for jumpstart-to-riches programs everywhere.

Just because something has not been done does not mean it cannot be tried.

Poor people try hard to feed themselves and their family, we work harder and get less as taxes gobble up what little we make, and yet as the economy worsen's there is no cost-of-living ajustment or its to slow 'n low to matter.

I say lets jumpstart from poverty to at least being comfortable and able to breathe economically with a few 100 thousand to million dollars in new networhs.

The beautiful thing is when people learn a few economic rules and have the means to use high tech for an economic boost the possibilities though not endless is doable.

I think it will take a few self made millionaries or scions wealth to see this as possible. Why not really give poor a chance to jump into wealth?

Unless poor folks with real wealth make so called established wealthy feels threatened with these new million and billionairs.

As for myself I might try and jumpstart my own wealth then see if this can be done a few more times.

Sooner or later this idea has to be implimated, tried, and for the successful there will be struggle to see how well they can survive being in the leisure class where everyday is a struggle not to be bored. Any ideas how this can begin all over our fifty states? ...

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.

by TJ Johnston

I cursed myself because I couldn’t find the Boston-themed sports bar that was supposed to be on Polk Street. What better place to watch the 2002 Super Bowl (forgive me, but they should lose the Roman numerals) than amongst expatriate New Englanders such as myself? It was almost 1:00pm: kickoff was two and a half hours away, but I was missing out on most of the pre-game festivities.

Normally, I would abstain from the bread and circuses this championship game provides. The last time I decidedly glued myself to the TV on Super Sunday was in 1991 (to refresh your memory, it was Buffalo vs. the New York Giants amidst a Gulf War backdrop). Like this year, I wasn’t focused on the game as much as the zeitgeist surrounding the event. It was also a worldwide pep rally for the US Military.

My search for the Boston bar proved fruitless, so I had to take three buses back home.

At my place, I tuned in to a musical number featuring Patti Labelle, Wynonna Judd, James Ingram and Barry Manilow surrounded by a chorus in tricolor spandex. I later learned that Manilow penned this ditty, "Let Freedom Ring." What happened to Up With People? Were they unavailable?

Naturally, the salute to US Militarization did not end there. This year’s spectacle became the first sporting event ever to be designated a National Security Special Event. The US Secret Service coordinated with ten other law enforcement agencies to avert disaster (I wonder if anyone rented Black Sunday?). No automobile was allowed with a two-block vicinity of the Louisiana Superdome, not even limousines. Purportedly, everyone had to be searched, patted down and produce some ID (meaning Paul McCartney couldn’t skirt past security with the standard, "I’m with the band.").

Less than sixty minutes before zero hour, actors potraying the Founding Fathers recreated the signing of the Declaration of Independence. For the performers, that must have been a step up from their usual hygiene film gigs.

Milking the "Spirit of 1776" theme, Fox cut to a recitation of the Declaration of Independence by former NFL players. Telling off the King of England were Jim Brown, Navy veteran Roger Staubach, ex-Congressman and HUD Secretary Jack Kemp, and Minnesota Attorney General Jim Marshall. The Boston Pops Orchestra, who played Aaron Copland under the collective speech, accompanied them, as well as the living former presidents and Nancy Reagen.

Any subtlety in that segment was lost when they incorporated footage of the collapsing World Trade Center. The Iwo Jima recreation also seemed a bit much. Especially egregious were the PSAs from the Drug Czar’s Office. In these spots, they equated recreational drug use with supporting terrorism. Makes you long for the "frying egg" ads, doesn’t it?

When they weren’t cutting away to Kandahar, where troops were watching courtesy of the US Armed Services Network, the star-and-stripe-studded affair continued. Sir Paul is still alive and plugging a new album and tour. Mariah Carey even performed a relatively low-key rendition of the national anthem, saving the high note for "the land of the freeeeee" (the Xanax must be working). Stay tuned to see if airplay of her cover outdoes Whitney’s.

Did I mention that men in uniform were featured at every available opportunity, including graphics of the player line-up? Comedian George Carlin long ago delineated the martial imagery of football. Including a team called the Patriots must have been gravy to jingoists, including John Ashcroft.

I had mixed feelings about U2’s halftime show (brought to you by the NFL, E-Trade, and Clear Channel). During their set, the names of the September 11 casualties scrolled on a screen. They performed some good numbers ("Beautiful Day," "MLK," and "Where the Streets Have No Name," if you’re interested), but they could have turned up a notch if they included snippets of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Bullet the Blue Sky." I knew that wouldn’t happen when Bono exposed the US flag sewn in the lining of his jacket. It would be so much easier to dismiss them if their last album sucked.

After Adam Vinatieri’s game-winning field goal was greeted by a blizzard of red, white and blue confetti, the event’s nationalism persisted. "Spirituality and faith are the cornerstones of our democracy," sermonized Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft."Today, we are all Patriots."

One of the players stretched things a bit: "We believed we would win and people died for their beliefs. Our belief came true." You’ve just won a football game. Why not just stick to the standard "I’m going to Disneyland?"

My memories of the 1991 game resurfaced. Like this year’s championship, it was a match that went down to the wire. The military hoopla surrounding the New York-Buffalo contest was brazen in comparison (plus New Kids On The Block played halftime). I feel better that a Boston/NE team overcame a history of heartbreak, but that doesn’t mean I’ll buy Bush’s "hearts and minds" campaign.

So, how about those Red Sox?

by Joe B.

In case I have not explained creating Rich Poor Folks, here's one way it can be done.

1)Any hall or large building with 100 or more computers.

2)These banks of machines
electronically connected to
the NASDAQ digital speed is even to New York, Hong Kong and other excahages globally.

3) Person's participation in program must leave their substance, gambling problems
outside concentrating on lessons to learn.

4) A short history of old and new stock exchange.

5) Type of trades. Good/Bad of those trade cycles.

6) Each person picks what they want to learn how to invest practice before using real money for two weeks or more. mayby less for advanced students.

7)After practice some of their and school's money is put to a small test seeing what students have learned.

8) Graduation is when a students earns from trading
on the market between $100,000 - $500,000 - to 1 million or more.

9) if student has housing they'll be able to have checks come to them or P.O. Box.

10) If no housing a student may now have the means to live in a regular apartment complex or place down payment on a house while "working the market.

11)To help students keep eanings, appointments are set for a bank of their choosing for interest bi, tri, or quaterly baring account that can be mailed to them at regular interval insuring no problems as they continue to earn money.

12) If some fall back into the same old habits other people or former students can help and if this fails too. Backsliding
does happens.

13) But for strong individuals who triumph over addictioins or non drink, drug, gamblers, their lives will be changed drastically.
Surving success will be their on going test of will.

That's it and if anyone who's has done this without any program as this has really economically chaged their dire circumstances - I'd like to hear from them on how and why they did it and what pit falls they fell into or avoided. That's It - That's All... Bye.

by Tom McKay

This is an autobiographical account of a southern California woman who was made into a U.S. Government mind-controlled slave. She was controlled by her family as well as Bob Hope and Henry Kissinger. She was used as a sexual slave to provide favors to carefully selected individuals, and to gather information from important people around the world. She was sometimes used to seduce people and create situations so people could be compromised and blackmailed. She was used to carry secret messages from the 5-man Council who dictated policy to the presidents of the United States, JFK, LBJ, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton. The secret Council is working behind the scenes to create a Global Dictatorship of the Secret Elite which is sometimes referred to as the New World Order.

Susan was born in 1951 in southern California to a multi-generationally abusive family. Her father deliberately tortured her from the earliest months of her infancy in order to create multiple personalities. Since her ordinary personality didn’t know what her alternate personalities experienced, this created total amnesia and forgetfulness about the secret slavery and exploitation of her other personalities. Her ordinary personality thought she was having a rather ordinary life. For some strange reason, this trauma-based mind control created several personalities with photographic memory and extremely powerful mental abilities to see and remember exact wording of long and technical documents.

Her father also began abusing her when she was several months old, so that she could be used and exploited for child prostitution and pornography by the age of two years old. The trauma that she experienced as a child broke her will and she gradually became accustomed to obeying orders unquestioningly. She was never allowed to learn that she could have a will and a mind of her own.

When Susan was several years old she was "sold" to Bob Hope as a mind-controlled slave. Shortly after Bob Hope bought her, Susan was introduced to Henry Kissinger. Together, Bob Hope and Henry Kissinger trained her and prepared her for her secret government services. Bob Hope helped to create social occasions where Susan could be introduced to a wide variety of political leaders and other important people. Bob Hope did not use Susan for his personal sexual pleasure until after her puberty when she was more developed.

Kissinger used the mental abilities of some of her alternate personalities as a mind-file and memory bank, but never used her sexually for his own pleasure. He was also clever enough to get other people to perform the regular torture and traumatization which was necessary to maintain the forgetfulness by switching her to alternate personalities. Nevertheless, Kissinger exploited her slavery in every way by using her to seduce and give pleasure to carefully selected people that he wanted to manipulate, blackmail, and exploit.

Susan says, "The trauma and torture was endless, occurring nearly every day and night of my childhood" (page 17). It seems that she survived and eventually escaped from her ordeal as a result of Divine intervention. She says, "I have had so many near-death experiences that I am familiar with dying. Death is not at all frightening to me. My life has been restored through Divine intervention countless times and I trust that when God is ready for me to leave this world, I will go, and I won’t go until that Divine timing is completed" (page XXXI). At least once during her childhood torture she had an out-of-body near-death experience in which she saw angels who helped her survive her ordeal.

For many years Susan witnessed the criminal activities of the people who are secretly controlling our government and the world. She says, "People in America think they elect their Presidents, but from what I witnessed, they do not – as the process of putting them into office is a highly controlled and corrupt one. The media is so controlled that the American people never get the full and accurate story. The presidents are selected long before they are ‘voted’ into office" (page 115).

In 1987, when Susan was 36 years old, she had a horseback riding accident in which she smashed her head into a tree and broke her back. During her recovery process she prayed deeply and intensely for healing and became spiritually closer to God. As she began to recover the memories of torture and abuse she was very confused about what was happening.

Susan became dysfunctional and was hospitalized in a mental hospital. As she continued to recover her memories, the government tried desperately to traumatize and torture her back into forgetfulness but it no longer worked. Susan’s alternate personalities were accustomed to being tortured, and her ordinary personality was determined to heal herself and understand what was happening. Her deep prayers brought the guidance and healing powers of the Holy Spirit into her life.

One day George Bush and Henry Kissinger discussed what to do with Susan. George Bush said, "We’re going to have to waste her Hank" (page 257). Henry argued against that approach because there were so many other mind-controlled slaves who could experience a similar recovery process that they would need to devise a strategy for all of them.

The government harassment against Susan continued, but so did her healing process. Writing her memories in a journal was an important part of her healing process. In 1995 Susan self-published her first book under the pseudonym of "Brice Taylor," "Starshine: One Woman’s Valiant Escape from Mind Control." This first book was a dramatization of her recovery process and escape from slavery.

"Thanks For the Memories" is the second book that Susan has self-published under the pseudonym of "Brice Taylor." This second book is not a dramatization, but "is a documentation of events as they happened from the best of my recollection" (page XXXII). This book is a magnificent story of a victim of abuse who has managed to turn the tables on her torturers and expose their sadistic insanity. This book exposes the scandalous and criminal manner in which members of the Secret Elite control people.

I believe Susan’s story because I have personally experienced covert criminal harassment and abuse from our government for more than seven years. I am also in e-mail communication with hundreds of other people who have been experiencing covert government torture and abuse. All covert government abuse must be stopped immediately.

This book deserves to be in every library and every person should read it. The American people need to know about the secret criminal behavior that our leaders have been perpetrating on innocent people. Susan Lynne Ford Eckhart is profoundly worthy of our respect and admiration.

by Aldo Arturo Della Maggiora

I could hear the gritos, (screams)….

vecinos unidos; jamas sera’n vencidos.

Aqui estamos y no nos vamos!

?Que Queremos?

!Viviendas Dignas!

Cuando?.

Ahora!….

Hard sidewalks, leafs blowing cold, old cars parked in the Mission neighborhood. As I walked towards the building where five Latino families were being discriminated against, I reminisced on the time when my landlord violated my rights. He entered my unit while I was housing a friend who had been a victim of eviction for unjust rental policies. My request for maintenance put my tenancy in jeopardy. I ended up having to move out and live in different homes until I could "reestablish" my housing situation. What hit me the hardest during my experience was that I did not have a voice. The power of voice is a privilege, and the access to media to voice issues is necessary in the 21 century!

On Tuesday, January 15, 2002 .,I attended a rally and press conference ,sponsored by five primarily mono-lingual Latino families who were tenants of 2389 Folsom Street and their advocates, St. Peter’s Housing Committee who were protesting the conditions of their building and the mistreatment by their landlord .

Most of the tenants were present, many people walking by stayed to support the protest, and cars honked in support. The cold air hit my face, I began my interview in my second language, Spanish. " Hola me llamo Aldo Arturo y trabajo para la revista de los Pobres ayudando gente de todas las comunidades . ¿Puedes explicar que esta pasando aqui?" "Tenemos muchos problemas en el apartamento, de que el dueno , siempre que lo queremos hablar nunca nos escucha. El Sabado vino muy aggressivo, boracho y golpeando todas las purtas, y no sabiamos por que el motivio que vino asi aggressivo. Y queremos que nos escuche," said Francisca Sanchez.

Tenants made several complaints to the landlords, Maurine and John O’Neill. They sent a letter complaining about the new rental agreement that jeopardized the tenants’ occupancy, putting them at risk of eviction and misleading the tenants into believing that they only had one day to sign the new agreement in case of a "fire". The letter protests the signing of the new rental agreements. This letter also opposed the landlords eliminating the five-day grace period, insisting that the tenants pay their rent on the first of each month before 4:00 p.m. Eleven tenants signed this letter.

What happens to the tenants who have to pay the rent on the fifth of the month due to getting their salary late? According to the new landlords policy, a $50.00 late fee is charged for late rent.

Maintenance and repair concerns continue to be a problem. All units at 2389 Folsom St. lack repairs from sink leaks, bathroom leaks, humidity, poor ventilation, worn down carpets, linoleum, broken fire alarms, etc.

According to the California Civil Code Section 1941.1 (Warranty of Habitability) and the San Francisco Municipal Code, the O’Neill’s are responsible for taking care of the damages in the units at 2389 Folsom St. If the tenants’ claims are not met after thirty days, the tenants could call the Code Enforcement Outreach Program. In addition to this, California Civil Code Section 1942.5 prohibits the landlords from striking back against the tenants for exercising their legal right to request repairs.

On November 27, 2001 the O’Neill’s received a notice of violation from the Department of Building Inspection Housing Inspection Services (City and County of San Francisco complaint # 200122994). In the notice the O’Neill’s were ordered to abide with the request of the tenants and asked to call Andrew Kares, Housing Inspector, at 415 558-6465 to inspect the apartment complex.

"What are some of the issues that are going to be addressed today?" I asked. Lauren Porter, of the St. Peter’s Housing Committee, replied, "The landlords’ blatant disrespect for the rights of the tenants. We just want the tenants to have opportunity to be heard on these issues and to get some response because they have been working since last August to try and get these repairs taken care of, and up until now nothing has been done."

The rally began and several tenants voiced experiences they have faced. I approached a young man named David, "What is your point of view on what has happened here?" David said that his friend, Hector, has resided at 2389 Folsom St. his whole life. They complained to the landlord about the conditions of the apartment, but no action had been taken to maintain safe, livable conditions in the apartment. I asked a tenant, Juvenal Alcantar, what the problem was with his apartment. "Los problemas con el apartamento es que no quire arreglarlos . ¿Y con tu apartmento? Pues el plomeria."

Another person spoke loudly into the megaphone. "The bathrooms have leaks and the landlords has ignored our request for maintenance. This is why we have united and nobody will be alone, everyone will unite, so that we can triumph." Many residents have taken a day off from work and school to attend this public meeting. One tenant, Juan Garcia, complained that the landlord did not want to hear their complaints and wanted to charge the tenants $50.00 for not paying rent on the first of the month.

I approached Lupe Arreola from St.Peter’s Housing Committee and asked her who could be contacted to deal with the lead poisoning and asthma which pose serious health issues for the tenants. She told me that the Department of Health and Building Inspections would deal with the health issues.

Another issue that was important to me was the discrimination the tenants might face because the O’Neill’s refused to meet with the tenants because they could not speak English. I tracked this issue by talking to Lupe. She pointed out that this issue could be pursued by contacting those from the Human Rights Advocate.

As a POOR Magazine advocate (we don’t just "report – we support), I called and left a message for Housing Inspector Andrew Kares to see if the O’Neill’s had addressed the concerns of the tenants. Although I have not yet received a response from Andrew Kares, Clarie Flahive, a counselor and organizer for St. Peter’s Housing Committee, revealed to me that since the press conference the O’Neill’s have begun some of the repairs at 2389 Folsom St. As I mentioned before, I wish I had knowledge of a support group that could inform me about my rights, such as the Civil and Municipal Codes that protect tenants from landlords that harass and discriminate against them.

by Joe B.

The Newsom Plan:Will it Help Homeless People and Working Poor
with a firm just hand, or the old velevet covering taloned hands of steel?

Thursday, Feb. 7, 2002 - Wet streets, gray skies, and less nippy, even a tad warmer today.

10:30 am or 1pm 'kinda heard out of one of my ears.

City Hall Supervisor Gavin Newsom is trawling for votes for his 23-25 or 28 point plan on helping homeless and working poor people.

I don't know if its fix or hide a glaring, growing divide between haves and have nots - it's a big deal.

Me, I'd like to rerun this day with me firmly in bed sleeping knowing I don't have to work, preferably with feminine companion, under cover too warm, snugly- yes, except I have to be up 7-8pm 'um am.

See! I don't get enough sleep. I mean my Bio rhythms are off.

After wallowing in throws of afterglow I'd go to a gym for exercise and then return to snuggling again if she has a day off too.

Nice dream isn't it? But reality beckons Reality Sucks.
I dream simply but doable.

Because yay or nay people will live, do their thing, to get over any way they can.

I don't think Newsom is really 'gonna get over on this because too many people know and have experienced the hype before, unless he has a real vision of the problems.

Just up-dating hand-me-down non solutions from others before him don't work.

Being next to former Sup. The Honorable, Reverend Amos Brown and soaking up some of his ideas doesn't sit right with most working poor and homeless folks.

I hope this Newsom guy is not another joker in a pack of cards that are only playing at helping people down and out.

Unlike "The Rock who can possible be hurt wrestling in the circled ring.

Newsom's replanting New York's Model instead of being original in using San Francisco's unique situation seems the easier deal.

Don't know how this guy will fare but I say find out and know every thing possible about this Pol's family, friends, and how he rose to prominence and his ultimate ambition in political circles.

Now, looks like I'll miss this City Hall Whoop Whoop, guess I'll have to go across the bay, dial a woman or two and snuggle for a few hours.

Its a bad alternative but life is what one makes of it and I am out of here.

Anyone know about the Newsom 'Pol machines give
folks at POOR Magazine a buzz, e-mail, or snail mail letters.

'Gotta go folks, call some numbers and have a good 'um, rest.

by by Josh Brandon

I live under a San Francisco bridge and panhandle to survive. It’s a hard
life -- one that I did not choose, nor want to continue.

As a longtime San Franciscan I have lived in housing ranging from a
Haight-Ashbury flat to a Tenderloin residential hotel. I have earned my
living here by working for a community newspaper, a non-profit agency,
and for San Francisco’s Department of Public Health.

My only immediate family are two Siamese cats, Dungee and TL, and a wide
circle of friends.

Contrary to the recent sensational headlines in our daily newspapers, I did
not wake up one morning and decide that my life would be better if I simply
camped beneath a bridge and asked people for change.

I did, however, wake up one morning, go to work for the Health Department
as a homeless death researcher (as I had for nearly three years), and was
told I was laid off. The last thing my supervisor told me as I cleaned out
my desk was that perhaps I could get on SSI -- a Federal income security
program for disabled people.

The bone in my right hip is dying from lack of circulation, which restricts
my mobility. Since I have lived on the streets, my hip condition has
worsened with severe arthritis. As a result, I now use a cane to go with my
pronounced limp.

My meager unemployment benefits barely covered my rent, and when they ran
out I tapped into my pension to keep my housing. Soon, faced with dwindling
resources and a tight job market, I had no other option but to move.

It was an inevitable situation. No income usually makes for grumpy
landlords, and mine was no different. My choices were now as slim as my
wallet.

Going to a shelter came with many problems. For one, shelter space was as
rare as warmth in Mayor Brown's heart. People are routinely turned away, or
compete with one another in a Dickensian lottery where the WINNER gets to
sleep in a chair or on the floor. By the time one lottery is over for one
shelter, the others are closed, or too far away. And there’s no guarantee of
space, either, once you do get to the next one.

To make matters worse, most shelters kick people out at 6 am and then ban
them from returning until they reopen for the following night.

But the biggest problem is that shelters are a dead end if you really want
to leave the streets. Too few people ever enter a shelter and later leave
with a key to their own room or apartment. As rare as the shelter spaces
are, affordable housing here is even more rare, with even longer waiting
lists and even more people competing in housing lotteries for housing
vouchers.

I couldn’t carry all my possessions on my back or in a cart all day long,
not while using a cane and with my two cats to care for as well. So I gimped
over and through San Francisco’s many bridges until I found one with a nook
and cranny away from public view -- a place where I could set up a permanent
camp where I could keep my clothes and food… and my cats.

Once I settled in, I had to earn money, which I have done since I held my
first job picking blueberries when I was five years old. Although I had
papered businesses and non-profits with job applications, I still needed to
eat, to buy my medications, to keep my clothes clean, and to feed my cats.

By that time two other homeless people had moved in nearby, and they had
money they earned everyday -- enough for them to eat well and take care
of their daily needs. They were panhandlers, and they laughed when I told
them I could never do that. I am a child of the fifties, when being a beggar
was as loathsome as being a politician or lawyer today.

But they became my mentors.

They explained that they panhandled differently than most people, and they
did it by using two cardinal rules: They never asked for change and they
were always polite to the people who passed by -- even if they swore at you,
or called you names, or vented all the fears and frustrations and anger from
their own lives at the one group of people who could do nothing in return.

The first day I panhandled was, and continues to be, a hardship. Panhandling
is one of the most difficult jobs I have ever had.

I have a morning shift across from Pac Bell on Third Street between Folsom
and Harrison Streets. I wake up at 5:30 am, feed my cats, gather my gear,
and get cleaned up at a nearby drop-in center or the bus station. By 7:30
am, I am at my spot.

In order to panhandle, I have to psychologically convince myself that I am
not begging. I know that I am not the village drunk or the village idiot,
but when I am working I do become the village greeter. I never ask the
people who pass by for anything, but simply say, "Good morning, Sir (or
Ma’am)," and smile. I never sit down, so I can look them directly in the eye
with as much pride and confidence as I can pull up from deep inside.

By 10 am the sidewalks are nearly empty, so I take a break and read the
newspaper over a cup of coffee. If I need to, I go to St. Anthony’s for a
meal, then head for my afternoon shift.

I go to a fire hydrant between the Museum of Modern Art and one of the
luxury hotels. Here I work, sometimes for several hours, never sitting down,
greeting people, and trying to make the best lemonade I can from the worst
tasting lemons.

By the end of the day, after four or five hours of standing stationary on
cold concrete, I can usually make anywhere from $25-35, roughly minimum
wage. But because I am always at those spots at the same time, I can earn
this amount almost every day. There are worse days, and there are better
days, but both are seldom. I now know several panhandlers; most are happy to
get $15-20 per day and they usually work longer than I do, so I consider
myself fortunate.

I have panhandled during the wettest February and December in San
Francisco’s history, as well as during the hottest July. I have shivered
from the cold so violently that my hands turned blue, my cup shook and
I could not count my money. I have sweated in the sun so much that my clothes were
as damp as if I’d been rained upon. My hip has hurt so much from standing
that I could barely walk back to my camp, and sometimes I had to crawl to
make it up under the bridge.

So when I read our daily newspapers and see the latest media Jihad against
homeless infidels who panhandle and don’t use shelters, I can only shake my
head in disbelief at their arrogant ignorance. Because I am a beggarman
troll, I do not steal, or rob, or become violent. I earn my money, and it
comes at great personal cost. And I earn my privacy away from the public eye
as I quietly, desperately apply for jobs.

But I am still standing on my own two feet… and my cane.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Josh Brandon was an editor for the now-defunct Tenderloin
Times, and originated the "homeless deaths story" for that publication,
later publishing exclusive articles on that topic under his byline for the
Chronicle and Examiner. He was also my writing coach back when I was still
busy determining whether I wanted to write about homeless deaths, or become
one myself. -- chance martin)

by Staff Writer

Who is Poor?

I know a homeless guy who I say hi to

when I walk to school. He seems really smart

and he warns me to stay in school.

He sleeps in a sleeping bag on Bartlett where you

can smell the smell of raw fish being taken into

the big food market.

I am

I am white/Latino

I am not poor and not rich

and I don't care what

people think about me.

I am me and

that's all I will be.

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 Joe B.

If our applied science is so good, why is it I have to rewrite my whole column I finished yesterday?

Its frustrating to come up with an idea, theory, or use someone Else’s. [naming source of course]

If I remember here how it went. Either the late Science fact/fiction writer Issac Azimov or two brother’s by the name of Mc Kenna if its David or Terrence or even if that’s the correct names.

Any-who There is a working theory of a 60 year shift in the first discovery and everyday use of the newly discovered technology in common use.
The theory goes: it takes 60 years to complete a cycle where a new technology or science becomes advanced enough to be tailor made for the population of average people to use when cost is low enough. I sound halfbaked though the theory works.

Take three inventions the Automobile, Electric Light,
and the Telephone all three had their beginnings in the 19th century except for the car which may have arrived by the 1890’s. [correct me if I’m in error] It takes time for new ideas of change plus technology, science and applied science [where T&S are researched until applications can be used for governments, business-commercial-consumers uses.
[I was looking for person(s) coming to that and other conclusions be for writing this, OH, Well.

War makes looks of money for companies selling arms America included but the downside is lost of best and brightest
citizens and tech improving lives is on the wane.
Peace is a time when applied science can soar without budget concerns because the economy is not straining to keep death creating arms flowing to soldier in warzones.
Just because a story about a young teen who no longer suffer from a malaria preventing blood sickling in Africa which in America is no advantage but a painfull deadly or trait carrying one. Mr. Keone Penn’s A type blood, changed by an unknown stranger’s type B umbilical cord blood has left no trace of Sickle Cell disease! Even though he’ll have to go through more operations, has arthritis, he won’t die of sickle cell.
Mr. K. Penn may even beat arthritis before he’s in his early 40’s. Meanwhile the war in Afghanistan is slowly winding down as breakthrough here and abroad continues.
It is hard to disengage from 9/11/01 especially on Dec. 7, 2001 because of 1941 and comparing them but peace is coming, it will be here and applied science or the bitter now cursed word progress will be an ongoing.
A war protects, kills, stimulates or speeds technological progress but ultimately war is massive death on vast scales of the young, best and brightest who futures or cut short, derailed, delayed, and forever changed a few for the better.

And for the not as gifted it can be a career during and after surviving killing grounds where these conflicts are fought.

Warriors and Soldiers are the ultimate peacekeepers because they know first what war does human bodies and spirit.

All this means is this war will end, our recession could deepen but don’t forget we humans are an adaptive, creative, inventive species.

We must destroy war, it is backward, devolutionary and not worth our precious mortality.

If I’ve have failed to connect and disconnect war and technology and that peace will always reap more rewards than conflict… It proves teaching is not my future to observe scribble is.

May all of us come out this conflict better, smarter stronger, more sensitive to global and local concerns. Bye.

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Poor Magazine or

C/0 Ask Joe at 255 9th

St. Street, San

Francisco, CA. 94103 USA

For Joe only my snail

mail:PO Box 1230 #645

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CA 94102

Email:askjoe@poormagazine. org.

by Staff Writer

Black, Dark, Deep Abyss

rotten, decomposing, , evil spirit surrounds

the thoughts of the negativity that people think about those "other" people,

those "homeless, lazy, why don't you go home" youth.

But look into our soul to see if your assumptions are false.

Because if you look inside just for a second, you will see struggle, heroism, survivor
instincts, and warrior traits.

You will also see the pain, hurt we feel from the foster care system, gentrification,

our families, and our communities who have chewed us up and spit us up

and now call us "outcasts".

For once try to comprehend our pain, happiness, sadness, and our joy.

Please don't judge us, next time don't think we’re lazy, stinky, nasty, or just bums.

Because you just might be wrong about your assumptions.

by Joe B.

I have wondered, how did a successful stand-up comic with equal success with a sitcom show 'about nothing?

Nothing unsual about that except he actually pitched it to prospective tv execs who bought the concept, it was even in one of the episodes.

I also wonder how "nothing" has saved many lives just think of 9-11-01 and people who survived because at the time they were out of work, on vacation, or decided that particular day to do nothing.

Think about the adverse affect to if medical, law, or armed forces to a man said "We're doing absolutely nothing for the next year or more."

There would be uproar and hoopla and loose talk of mass dishonorable discharges or court-martials.

The ultimate nothing is Quantum Mechanics or theory where at atomic and subatomic levels strange stuff happens like nutrino's race through earth and our bodies making the speed light look old and slow.

Molecules in both places simultaneouly and we as observers with our thoughts are changing reality on a quantum level changing it in ways we don't understand yet.

I usually stop thinking now because the nerves impulses making up graymatter in my brain begins throbbing causing brain freeze.
[simular to eating icecream too fast] I'm still thinking of housesitting but being bonded means if something breaks or the place is robbed I'm responsible.

That's why there are $10, 20, 50, to 100,000 bonds - starting at $300 to 500 dollars would be a start until former customers can vouch for my sterling trustworthy self.

Its over, this experiment in zero, abyss, nothingness, empty,
nebulous void. How's your "nothing" life doing folks"? Bye.

Please donate what can to
Poor Magazine or

C/0 Ask

Joe at 255 9th St.

Street, San Francisco, CA. 94103 USA

For Joe only my snail

PO Box 1230 #645

Market St.San Francisco,

CA 94102

Email:askjoe@poormagazine. org