2003

by Mariluna/PNN Youth in the Media report

Por Jose Rizal (1896)

AdiÃ3s, Patria adorada, regiÃ3n del sol querida,

Perla del Mar de oriente, ¡nuestro perdido Edén!

A darte voy alegre la triste mustia vida,

Y fuera más brillante, más fresca, más florida,

También por ti la diera, la diera por tu bien.

En campos de batalla, luchando con delirio

Otros te dan sus vidas sin dudas, sin pesar;

El sitio nada importa, ciprés, laurel o lirio,

Cadalso o campo abierto, combate o cruel martirio,

Lo mismo es si lo piden la Patria y el hogar.

Yo muero cuando veo que el cielo se colora

Y al fin anuncia el dÖa, tras lÃ3brego capuz;

Si grana necesitas para teñir tu aurora,

Vierte la sangre mÖa, derrámala en buen hora

Y dÃ3rela un reflejo de su naciente luz.

Mis sueños cuando apenas muchacho adolescente,

Mis sueños cuando joven ya lleno de vigor,

Fueron el verte un dÖa, joya del Mar de oriente,

Secos los negros ojos, alta la tersa frente,

Sin ceño, sin arrugas, sin manchas de rubor.

Ensueño de mi vida, mi ardiente vivo anhelo,

¡Salud! te grita el alma que pronto va a partir;

¡Salud! ah, que es hermoso caer por darte vuelo,

Morir por darte vida, morir bajo tu cielo,

Y en tu encantada tierra la Eternidad dormir.

Si sobre mi sepulcro vieres brotar un dÖa

Entre la espesa yerba sencilla, humilde flor,

Acércala a tus labios y besa al alma mÖa,

Y sienta yo en mi frente, bajo la tumba frÖa,

De tu ternura el soplo, de tu hálito el calor.

Deja a la luna verme con luz tranquila y suave,

Deja que el alba envÖe su resplandor fugaz,

Deja gemir al viento con su murmullo grave,

Y si desciende y posa sobre mi cruz un ave,

Deja que el ave entone su cántico de paz.

Deja que el sol, ardiendo, las lluvias evapore

Y al cielo tomen puras, con mi clamor en pos;

Deja que un ser amigo mi fin temprano llore

Y en las serenas tardes, cuando por mÖ alguien ore

Ora también, ¡oh, Patria, por mi descanso a Dios!

Ora por todos cuantos murieron sin ventura,

Por cuantos padecieron tormentos sin igual,

Por nuestras pobres madres, que gimen su amargura;

Por huérfanos y viudas, por presos en tortura

Y ora por ti, que veas tu redenciÃ3n final.

Y cuando, en noche oscura, se envuelva el cementerio

Y solos sÃ3lo muertos queden velando allÖ,

No turbes su reposo, no turbes el misterio,

Tal vez acordes oigas de cÖtara o salterio,

Soy yo, querida Patria, yo que te canto a ti.

Y cuando ya mi tumba de todos olvidada

No tenga cruz ni piedra que marquen su lugar,

Deja que la are el hombre, la esparza con la azada,

Y mis cenizas, antes que vuelvan a la nada,

El polvo de tu alfombra que vayan a formar.

Entonces nada importa me pongas en olvido.

Tu atmÃ3sfera, tu espacio, tus valles cruzaré.

Vibrante y limpia nota sera para tu o–do,

Aroma, luz, colores, rumor, canto, gemido

Constante repitiendo la esencia de mi fe.

Mi Patria idolatrada, dolor de mis dolores,

Querida Filipinas, oye el postrer adiÃ3s.

AhÖ te dejo todo, mis padres, mis amores.

Voy donde no hay esclavos, verdugos ni opresores;

Donde la fe no mata, donde el que reina es Dios.

AdiÃ3s, padres y hermanos, trozos del alma mÖa,

Amigos de la infancia, en el perdido hogar;

Dad gracias que descanso del fatigoso dÖa;

AdiÒs, dulce extranjera, mi amiga, mi alegrÖa,

AdiÃ’s, queridos seres. Morir es descansar.

MY LAST FAREWELL(in English)


By Jose Rizal

Farewell, dear Motherland, clime of the sun caressed,

Pearl of the Orient seas, our Eden lost!

Gladly now I go to give thee this faded life's best,

And were it brighter, fresher, or more blest,

Still would I give it thee, nor count the cost.

On the field of battle, 'mid the frenzy of light,

Others have given their lives, without doubt or heed;

The place matters not - cypress or laurel or lily white,

Scaffold or open plain, combat or martyrdom's plight,

'Tis ever the same, to serve our home and country's need.

I die just when I see the dawn break,

Throught the gloom of night, to herald the day;

And if color is lacking my blood thou shalt take,

Pour'd out at need for thy dear sake,

To dye with its crimson the waking ray.

My dreams, when life first opened to me,

My dreams, when the hopes of youth beat high,

Were to see thy lov'd face, O gem of the Orient sea.

From gloom and grief, from care and sorrow free;

No blush on thy brow, no tear in thine eye.

Dream of my life, my living and burning desire,

All hail! cries the soul that is now to take flight;

All hail! And sweet it is for thee to expire,

To die for thy sake, that thou mayst aspire,

And sleep in thy bosom eternity's long night.

If over my grave some day though seest grow,

In the grassy sod, a humble flower,

Draw it to thy lips and kiss my soul so,

While I may feel on my brow in the cold tomb below

The touch of thy tenderness, thy breath's warm power.

Let the moon beam over me soft and serene,

Let the dawn shed over me its radiant flashes,

Let the wind with the sad lament over me keen;

and if on my cross a bird should be seen,

Let it trill there its hymn of peace to my ashes.

Let the sun draw the vapors up to the sky,

And heavenward in purity bear my tardy protest;

Let some kind soul o'er my untimely fate sigh,

And in the still evening a prayer be lifted on high

From thee, O my country, that in God I may rest.

Pray for all those that hapless have died,


For all who have suffered the unmeasur'd pain;

For our mothers that bitterly their woes have cried,

For widows and orphans, for captives by torture tried;

And then for thyself that redemption thou mayst gain.

And when the dark night wraps the graveyard around,

With only the dead in their vigil to see;

Break not my repose or the mystery profound,

And perchance thou mayst hear a sad hymn resound;

'This I, O my country, raising a song unto thee.

When even my grave is remembered no more,

Unmark'd by never a cross or a stone;

Let the plow sweep through it, the spade turn it o'er

That my ashes may carpet thy earthy floor,

Before into nothingness at last they are blown.

Then will oblivion bring to me no care;

As over thy vales and plains I sweep;

Throbbing and cleansed in thy space and air,

With color and light, with song and lament I fare,

Ever repeating the faith that I keep.

My Fatherland ador'd that sadness to my sorrow lends,

Beloved Filipinas, hear now my last goodbye!

I give thee all; parents and kindred and friends;

For I go where no slave before the oppressor bends,

Where faith can never kill, and God reigns e'er on high!

Farewell to you all, from my soul torn away,

Friends of my childhood in home dispossessed!

Give thanks that I rest from the wearisome day!

Farewell to thee, too, sweet friend that lightened my way;

Beloved creatures all, farewell! In death there is rest!

by Alex Cuff, Newsbrief Editor

by Jaxon Van Derbeken

San Francisco police officers improperly searched two girls last year and violated the rights of a 14-year-old boy they arrested, according to departmental charges that could cost five officers their jobs. The internal charges -- signed this month by Acting Chief Alex Fagan -- stem from a confrontation between police and three youth in Hunters Point that outraged the city's African American community. The incident occurred on Jan. 21, 2002 -- the national holiday set aside to honor slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. -- and led to an investigation by the Office of Citizen Complaints, resulting in the charges.

Charged are Officers Marcial Marquez and Adam Choy and Sgts. Sherman Lee and Walter Cuddy. A fifth officer has also been charged but remains unnamed and has not yet been served
with the complaint. The five officers will face hearings before the San Francisco Police Commission, which must determine what action to take against them.

According to the internal complaint, police were summoned by a report of a woman screaming as well as word that two African American men were seen taking guns out of a burgundy-colored
car near the Boys and Girls Club in Hunters Point. The complaint alleges that Marquez and Choy, after arriving at the scene, improperly searched two girls for weapons after ordering them out of the car at gunpoint.

Marquez searched a 12-year-old girl, who offered no resistance but wondered why she was being searched, according to the charges. During the search, Marquez allegedly groped her with his open hands. Marquez's search violated the department policy that specifies that such searches of girls be done by female officers and was "unnecessarily intrusive, " according to the charges.

Choy was also charged with being "unnecessarily intrusive" in his search of a 14-year-old girl.
According to the complaint, Jerome King-Brown, a 14-year-old boy, started to protest the treatment of his 12-year-old cousin. King-Brown, who is 6 feet tall, afterward needed 11 stitches to close a wound received when an officer kneed him into the concrete, the complaint
alleges. "Several officers descended on the juvenile," the charges state, "forcing him face-first onto the asphalt pavement, and handcuffed him."

The officers left the boy with a lacerated lip that was bleeding heavily, the complaint states.
No excessive-force charges were lodged against any officer in the handling of King-Brown.
The acting lieutenant at the Bayview station that day, Sgt. Lee, is charged with six counts of misconduct related to the follow-up to the confrontation.

Lee allegedly allowed an unjustified criminal check on
the
youths involved. He is also accused of abandoning the
investigation of the initial report of armed men, of
failing to
properly advise King-Brown of his rights under
questioning at
the station and of failing to see that King-Brown got
proper
medical attention.

Lee also allegedly did not respond to efforts by the
boy's father
to lodge a brutality complaint and did not conduct the
mandated
use-of-force investigation after he complained that his
son had
been brutalized.

Sgt. Cuddy is accused in the complaint of neglect of
duty for
allegedly failing to follow the department's rules
governing
juvenile suspects.

Witnesses have said -- and one police official has
confirmed
-- that someone at the scene asked the fifth unnamed
officer
why guns were pointed at kids. The officer allegedly
replied:
"As long as you people are here, we will act like this."

The specifics of the allegations against the fifth
officer were
not available.

A representative of the officers suggested that she
would
challenge the charges based on a failure to file them in
time to
meet a one-year of statute of limitations, which
normally
would have lapsed last January.

"We'll be looking at all aspects, including whether they
are in
compliance with the statute of limitations," said
Katherine
Mahoney, attorney for the Police Officers Association.
"The law
does provide exceptions, including cases involving
multiple
officers as well as for when civil lawsuits have been
filed. "

Mahoney declined to comment on the specifics of the
case,
saying she had not seen all the allegations against the
five
officers.

Police have said officers were compelled to restrain
King-Brown because he was shouting and cursing and
displaying a "violent demeanor" and ignoring repeated
commands to "get back.''

Police had cited King-Brown for delaying arrests, but
juvenile
authorities said the case had been investigated and the
citation
dropped.

Susie McAllister, the mother of the 14-year-old girl,
whose
family has sued the department, says her child still
fears and
distrusts police in San Francisco.

"My child was violated," she said.

Witnesses have said that during the searches of the
girls, their
screaming, crying mothers were ordered by police to stay
back.

McAllister said the whole department needed to change.

"The San Francisco Police Department has a bad
reputation,"
McAllister said.

"It is not going to stop with those officers -- they
need to redo
the whole structure of the Police Department and the
training."

She said the "few bad apples" reflected negatively on
the entire
department.

"It makes it hard on the community," she said. "Who can
we
trust and turn to in the time of need?"

She criticized the lack of excessive-force charges
involving the
handling of King-Brown.

"That's child abuse. . . . You don't need to use that
much force on
anybody's child," McAllister said. "You can't go around
grabbing, pulling on them, not giving them their rights,
ignoring their parents."

She said officers would not respond to the angry parents
at the
scene. "The officers refused to communicate with us --
we
wanted to know, 'What in the hell is going on here? Why
are
you treating our kids like this?'

"In turn, we got guns pointed to our face; we were told
if we
moved, we were going to be shot," she said. "In the
meantime,
our kids are screaming. They didn't know what they had
done
-- they were treated like animals."

Ishmael Tarikh, director of Bay Area PoliceWatch,
lamented
that officers were not charged with excessive force
against
King-Brown.

"I thought that allegation should have been sustained,"
Tarikh
said. "The underlying cause for them to ever interact
with
those people was bogus -- they had no right to get
involved
with those people that night, let alone taking a
14-year-old
and body-slamming him to the pavement.

"They acted like thugs."

by Joe B.

Last week in a bar with a few people I venture forth first buying a beer, going to the rear and given ear plugs began playing pool.

Enjoyable, peaceful, slow with music set at various speeds and emotive ranges it felt good.

Wrote of evolution and those that may have escaped mortality without dying, don’t know if any mortal has done that but it’s what I was pondering after playing pool and sitting around.

Three women, two guys dancing then four women by themselves I didn’t join in being my first time in the bar and didn’t want to disrupt the female vibe there.

The second time its easier especially going their quickly after work.

One glass, one bottle of beer and only DJ, and bartender are there.

A coworker arrived but left for a home meeting something about lease renewal she said she’d be back by 9 p.m.

Sure I’d wait my place is going through leasing too.

It got later, and later, but not many people came in.

By 9:25 p.m. I’m on my beer #2 this time in a bottle along with salted pretzels.

I wish I could wait longer but its time to leave even if I didn’t dance I am becoming comfortable in this Mission Street bar.

While riding the bus home I thought about women’s buried anger and how guys are always know and don’t car or don’t know and in the dark about what, how, when, to say stuff to them.

Did you get the 2nd one I tried to be as close to
my first thought.

Me, sometime I admit I provoke angry, frustrated response from a girl or two because just as they see and laugh at us I do the same but lately I’ve thought what it can mean in future in femme/male relationships.

Thing can be an explosion as women’s pent up anger overflows.

Some of it has happened in tiny releases as if a valve to let water or steam out but the build up continues unless its fully let go the whole boiler room explodes.

That is what women are experiencing now and have been experiencing in decades past. They're already at bursting point all it takes is one jerk to set them off.

Don't worry Wimin, a stupid loud mouth jerk will make it happen; I just don't want to be in any women's crosshairs when she's at Ready. Aim. Fire.

They've held in so much psychic/physical pain for so long it won't take much for a spark to ignite emotional rage and That's all I can think of.

We, so called men better watch ourselves I don’t mean walking on eggshells around women its too stressful.

I myself have been making bonehead errors from waking up someone about video rentals they didn’t know was due in one day to being frantic about a Muni bus pass, then I was out all day and night for two days straight without calling as I’d usually do.

It’s a typical male dork stuff, sleeping around, doing my own "Whore of Babylon" getting home way past 2 sometimes 4 am.

Feeling unclean and free at the same time after showering the odor of a debauched afternoon or night to dawn then I feel refreshed.

Between my own somewhat safe sex lifestyle and a looming explosiveness of women’s justified full blown anger and violence I’d rather take their demanding, estrogen charged, separate lust from love, physical punishment.

It will leave me exhausted, trembling, afraid, psychologically shaken, feeling wretched, aching, and raw but limp and alive.

The other choice is being the eye of a woman or women’s ire, a raging storm of unfettered violence every bit as unforgiving and deadly.

Again, to be alive and breathing shallowly than caught in a woman’s maelstrom where killing is what really gets ‘em off psycho/physically.

From now on I’m stepping lightly, listening and
though won’t be no slave to them I’ll just be a bit more sensitive than in the past.

I want to live to be and old man with grandkids about be (Ok, they might be other people’s grandkids but I’ll be their favorite trusted play uncle.

I’ll be checking other bars, staying out being a male version of "W.O.B." You know what it means folks. … Bye

PS. Any bar hoppers out there know where watering holes are in and out the cities where dancing is optional and not automatic and dress codes are casual and no V.I.P. B.S.[you know what that means too].

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Poor Magazine or in C/0

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San Francisco, CA. 94103 USA

For Joe only my snail mail:

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PO Box #645

San Francisco, CA 94102

Email: askjoe@poormagazine.org

by Joe B.

Mob Majority?

Maybe its hearing Mr. Gavin Newsome, a glossy, glammed up, Supervisor ‘pol gunning for a quickie mayoral win with his "Care Not Cash" Initiative best known as Proposition N.

Have I seen this before or possibly being born with a "veil" My mama not me.
It may be genetic because I’m having lousy day mares
[daytime nightmares] about the CNC keening of the crowd, there’s something slightly ominous about it.

Yes, that CNC recently struck down by The Honorable Judge Quidachay.

Prop(N) You know the one; instead of money earned by poor folks on GA (General Assistance) and Work-fare its redirected into some general slush fund while houseless individuals and families now have $59 dollars in cash to by whatever they can while living in what use to be emergency shelter’s becomes a semi or permanent condition?

In exchange for monies given up Services for job vocational training, education, or upgrades (relearning)jobs people had worked at before becoming houseless.

Funny thing though, the services hyped as the main component in Mr. G’s (not the former New York, Mayor 'Guli guy).
but Gavin who traveled to the Golden Apple and returning with his 23-Point Plan.

As we now know there are lots of worms squirming in the shining city as people formally employed now live underground in the very bowels of New York.

Its like the old ‘Fritz Lang’ classic "Metropolis" or and updated "The Time Machine" with Morlocks and Eloi.

Guess who’s the beautiful people living above ground and their fate each night sundown arrives?

Today I personally saw how it might begin happening!

Supervisor Gavin Newsome had a love in today with like minded people enthralled with his "Care Not Cash" slogan.

"Its hard, but we need a change" I paraphrase but its essentially what he said to his constituents.

Tiny and I from POOR Magazine and a few brave people from Coalition on Homelessness and organizations I didn’t get the names of others who braved crowds wishing Newsome well.

"We need more bullhorns." I say looking at the people-for-Newsome.

It didn’t feel right, like an ache in the pit of my belly began to churn much different than hunger pangs.

When Tiny heard about Newsome’s continuing bid for a flash finish mayor win using working poor and house-lessness she is hopping mad and tried calling up troops to be combat the ‘Nukem ‘um Newsome’s love fest over at City Hall, me, I thought we needed critical mass of people to be there for an even fight but its almost too late to gather our like minded anti-Newsome forces.

Weaving in and out of the crowd I see frustrated people who love their city to the point of voting in sweeping changes in a misguided, muddle headed thinking of saving their city from the so called masses of crack dealing, drinking, drug addicted houseless, jobless nomads.

One slight, minor problem

Could that be next? No assets no votes?

Suddenly! It hit me when a man of color says to me
"We Are The People!"

I took issue with that
"You Are Not The People, you’re not all the people."
The nerve, The absolute gall to say because they’re in a larger group than we, that they consist of all the voices that day.

Obvious they don’t know or read human his/herstory or worse don’t care about the fact that this nation was founded, fought, blood spilled, lives lost by a determined minority not the majority that finally saw the light long after others tried dragging them into it.

These people I likened to a mob wore clean clothes, slacks, and ties though didn’t turn violent the one voice of Newsome guiding them like dodo’s to extinction or lemmings over a cliff reminds me of some one else and their famous poem before he died in World War II.

It was about speaking up but since he didn’t when the German’s in that war came for him no one was there to speak on his behalf.

Anyone know of whom I speak?

It looks like working poor individuals, houseless and mentally ill are being set up as new/old targets of opportunity.

Remember Coalition on Homeless worker Mr. Willie Warren, a big robust man was attacked by two or three men last year for being a homeless advocate being black was just a bonus.

Are these modern day brown shirted thugs believing in Newsom’s plan?

They may be in the minority but Man! if that’s a taste of what’s to come I dread this guy as mayor or any higher office he aspires too.

Folks we have an early heads up, find out everything we can about this guy and all is connections.

I might not have a veil like mama but "Damn, he make my sense twinge and its a bad feeling.

That’s all I’m going to say. Bye,

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by Joe B.

A birthday’s coming up, mine.

Don’t want to celebrate it with calories, fat, icing, and ice cream or any sort of food except home cooked in one of two cities away from San Francisco.

Thought of mortality arriving and contingencies if not avoiding the inevitable being prepared to both let go and embrace Mr./Ms. Grim Reaper and the most high while hedging applied science will help in my return.

I’ll just be in bed with someone most of the night and some the next and maybe a few days after that.

I’ll be on the cusp of 50 feeling great doing my utmost to keep it that way.

My plan, go into a gym use it to workout whatever frustrations, problems, errors making the body a fortress of solid lean muscle and nerves.

Other friends have gone through horrific scenes and survival meant temporary loss of dignity because survival’s what most important at the moment not dignity in death.

Thinking back a few years I sardonically laugh at my pointless half hearing gripes, blaming others for inner turmoil created within my psyche.

I’ve jokingly say I only want three things in life.
1) Immortality
2) Time Travel
3) Parallel World Travel or "Sliding" as in TV Science Fiction show.

Not much only three things in life.

Immortality for me has to be first because with this I’ll have no time for learning the science and technologies to achieve the rest.

I must write a list of goals achieved and yet to be accomplished.

Nearly dying of double pneumonia twice a few years ago made a coward out of me, this was before being mugged by two guys after that I seemed to slowly regain my regular self though it took time I believe that’s why my room became such a mess; there are still unresolved issues.

There are times where fear of rain, cold, or misty fog the kind that seeps into your bones kept me in my apartment for weeks at a time.

I knew I was really ok when I actively sought one of guys who mugged me and when I saw him I went up to him, looked into his eyes, "What Are You Looking At?"


"Nothing."

Then I left slowly keeping my eyes on him until I’m at my apartment.

"I want to kill him with a palm to bridge of his nose which would send bits of bone and cartilage into his brain instantly but it came to me, he wasn’t worth killing, going to jail for.

$60 dollars was stolen from me by the two thieves but the money was quickly spent they stole from someone on General Assistance not from a Nob Hill, limo riding owner of a trendy restaurant, dance club/bar so they’d have to do again and sooner or later they’d rob the wrong person and get knifed or shot for their attempts.

I have to prepare for travel abroad and don’t know how long gone I’ll be but it could be a few years before returning between 2010 or ’11.

Some people have done this at younger ages and its second nature when they travel to older folks like myself it is a big deal, being older only makes it more poignant than younger people because of relatively less time we older folks supposedly have.

I’ve thought of lots of place America to visit especially where you college, university females would be when half soused and in aggressive amorous mood.

Then I thought "nah, I really want to go overseas to learn all kinds or things without distractions America would have.

I’d like to return from my extended travel if not a different person but slightly better than I left and be more of an adventurer. [Wait, isn’t using cryonics trying to trick or beat death the ultimate risk taking adventure second to doing it while one is still alive?

To all those lovely women 45 or some young as 24 thank you.

You’ve made e-dating less of a problem and one more option.

I hope to meet a few of you before taking that long trip abroad – I might meet some of you on my journeys.

You have my web site if not it’ll be shown at the end of the column. Bye….

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by Clive Whistle, Ace Tafoya and Tiny/PoorNewsNetwork

The War on the Poor

is in full EFF-ECT!

From Frisco and Oakland

To The Phillipines and Iraq

But now there’s a new form of house to House

Com-bat

Yes, I said the War on the Poor

Is in Full EFF-ECT

This time the "soldiers" are police, social workers and Politi-SHunS

Comin’ to Col-LecT…

…..an excerpt from The War on the Poor by Tiny/Po’ Poets Project

"This isn’t official yet but you people need to know what’s coming…" One of the case managers at my shelter stood at the front of our over-stuffed line of nervous poor folk – it was 9:00 am and we were about to be shoved out of the shelter for our collective days of wandering, food gathering and/or job hunting depending on our respective abilities or more important our Dis-abilities…

You see, ever since the voters of San Francisco voted in Prop N (Care Not CasH) ie the voters of SF went for rich-white-boy-Newsomes campaign lies about "helping homeless San Franciscans" when he really meant ; Help me get elected as mayor on the backs of homeless people, Prop N has been racing toward a July 1st implementation date, in other words ASAP…

"Once it is implemented – it will mean that people who are not currently receiving CAAP (welfare) will not be able to stay in the shelters cause the beds will be reserved for CAAP recipients. That means people on SSI, .. and any of the seniors will need to be transferred to State funded homes for the elderly" What?, I screamed inwardly first for my own disabled vet self and then for my two elderly friends in the shelter… why don’t they just put us all in jail right now and get it over with…..

" Senor..senor – what about me – what about people who are just working but don’t have enough to afford rent in this town?

"Yea brother, what about us working poor folks?" Two men from the line, one an immigrant from Mexico, one a refugee from eviction in The Fillmore asked the case manager…

"No you two will not be given beds over the GA/CAAP residents – of course, if there are beds left over then hey – sure you can – but they will be given first priority.." Yea, I thought and the fact there are over 12,000 homeless folks in SF, and only 1,350 beds in all of San Francisco for single adults, over 2900 homeless CAAP recipients – not to mention that over 20% of the houseless are seniors 40% are disabled vets like me %25-40 disabled, 13% immigrants and 15% working poor – yea we’ll get a bed alright – in the county jail.

"Your button should say, "I’m scared " because obviously you are scared of the homeless and trying to get rid of homeless people" I thought about the Prop N implementation meeting that occurred last week – fellow POOR Magazine reporter, Ace Tafoya, started by addressing the Gavin Newsome supporters that filled the room all wearing a hypocritical button "I Care" on their lapels.

Ace went on to address the other frightening aspect of Prop N, " why is DHS’ planning to install Bio-metric imaging machines into shelters. This will frighten people, immigrants, people with mental health issues and even veterans. They might think they are being arrested and may not want to seek help. We strongly urge you to use this type of money on other services we really need" 

The meeting at City Hall like this shelter line was filled with several hundred people
( mostly of color) who would be affected by this new form of racial and economic cleansing – at the end of the meeting I could only cry – cry for all the poor in San Francisco, cry for all the Gavin pawns that thought they were doing the "right thing" (including some important black folk like Mother Brown of Bayview) and cry for all the babies and mamas in Iraq who like the poor in SF are just being wiped out cause someone else with more power, more money and more connections is in control..

To read more on this frightening "proposition" and its history of reisistance click on Prop N/Gavin Newsome Resistance on PNN. To get involved with the ongoing resistance call POWER at (415) 864-8372 or Coalition on Homelessness at 415 346-3740

by Joe B.

Last time I was trying to dispel some myths about handsome and ugly guys, talking about cell phones as yet another emotion packed game most women experts at.

I don’t know the protocol of with c-phones.

Though I have it on good authority that its a psycho/emotional power play.

What I’ve observed is sketchy at best not having a cell phone of my own but have seen, how others use them.

One glaring observation, while walking on sidewalks, in cars, in café’s, or restaurants when these phones ring, beep, sing songs, buzz, or vibrate (except for vibrating ones) are disruptive especially at weddings, in movie-opera theaters or any venue where artistic or public endeavors where people gather as a community.

Some people walk slower crossing streets and unlike home where one can loudly speak without being overheard in the street one can get hit by a car.

I hear people talking loudly about supposedly private conversations.

My main discovery in people dating with cell phones in toe.

The cell phone can be used as ongoing commentary on how good/bad a date is going while women or young girls are on dates.

Most men are clueless at being no-second-date-guy.
I never assume a woman will have a second date with me but when it happens it’s a pleasant surprise.

Remember, I mentioned a psycho/emotional context, its confusing but here goes: as usual men and women give out their phone numbers if they like someone sometimes they give each other fake numbers to get rid of those they don’t really care to know at the moment.

It all changes with C-phones.

In bars/dance clubs, or where ever people congregate it still holds true except women can control their love life by handing out their numbers to as many men as they can.

The reason, they give their number is so men become emotionally invested in calling
"We don’t ask, threaten, or force them to call, they just do, its not our fault they get emotional about it."

Yet, isn’t odd that if the men women gave their numbers to don’t call they at a predetermined time (girls/women) get angry at them not calling while describing those that do as "weak, lead by their "smaller heads."

The male sex loses both ways in this phone game condemned because they do want to hook up with women who may or may not necessarily want to date but collect numbers as part of an elaborate "How many can I string along game."

Like the movie "War Games"

When the super computer says "Curious, the best way to win is not to play the game."

Men do learn not to play, loneliness may be a result for awhile but soon a few of the opposite sex also leaves the tired game.

Its like a stacked deck of cards women play with full of aces, kings, queens, ten’s, and deuces.

Men have all low losing cards.

But if men begin leaving the tables empty with women holding all these cards they turn into colorful useless jokers.

Men don’t have to play women’s games as women rarely play men’s men can do the same.

But there are always new players uninformed getting caught in the game they must be warned off earlier and earlier until the phone card game becomes less attractive to both player and played.

Now they may not be thinking that like that at the moment but it happens because men let it happen and woman say their blameless will keep stoking the fire keeping men like moths drawn to light.

All things being equal men do the same more bed partner’s to chose from too.

The Hook: Total control of the dating rules, a c-phone locks in that control even though women say "I’m not doing anything but give numbers to men."

Men feel they must call anyway its up to woman to pass or fail, deciding when or if they call. This is control.

And you wonder why I’m always get all the rejections out of the way so you can have the 1 or 2 yes’s that really see you as you are and is serious and not just play a bed-good by-females.

Women as usual are better at it because they use both left and right sides of hemisphere’s of the brain.

Most men either because of societal or cultural upbringing are trapped with one side more dominant than the other.

I believe men can do this too if we keep switching right to left as women do.

As with everything there always exceptions to every rule.

So, they have lots of male’s to choose from and men have a two or three days to call or they’re deleted from the phones memory.

No fuss, pain, or heated arguments just off-line.

Thing is, for many its mere dalliance to show how desirable they are without doing the actual deed, pre-electron notches of potential lovers.

Men can play the game one of three ways.

1) Play it the way women have it now advantage their’s.

2) Do the same as woman advantage to male’s.

3) Go to same bars/clubs or where ever both sexes mix, see which women collect phone number’s then refuse playing any of the games.

What women and men really think of all the tricks of emotional in-jokes on evolving cell phone power plays? ….Bye

PS, more to come in Pt. 3.

by TJ Johnston/PoorNewsNetwork Community Journalist

Outside radio station KMEL in San Francisco on May 29, some 200 media activists (including several POOR Magazine (PNN) reporters and supporters) gave a shout out. The station, owned by Clear Channel, couldn’t help but hear us. Apparently, they turned down the volume in anticipation of the Federal Communications Commission’s 3-2 vote in favor of more media deregulation which happened on June 2.

On the eve of the FCC decision allowing the expansion of media empires, a coalition featuring Media Alliance, Global Exchange, The SF Bayview, Code Pink, the Youth Media Council and others jammed on stage to keep the airwaves free. The action was a reminder that KMEL should still be "the people’s station."

Bay View staff writer JR and Straight Outta Hunter’s Point filmmaker Kevin Epps drew a cinematic analogy for the Texas-based conglomerate: "(Clear Channel) is the Matrix plugging into people’s minds."

In case you’ve just joined us, Clear Channel is already the world’s largest radio broadcaster, concert promoter and billboard firm. It is also a symptom and symbol of what’s wrong when six companies own 80% of the stations we hear. Since the Telecommunications Act passed in 1996, their 40 stations ballooned to over 1200. In the Bay Area alone, they own nine stations and run several performance venues. If the FCC votes to further relax media ownership rules, this corporate beast will swell to Hulking proportions.

Clear Channel’s checkered past has invited public scrutiny. Here’s a short list of their misdeeds:
1) They fired KMEL’s community affairs director Davey D for interviewing antiwar Congresswoman Barbara Lee. In general, KMEL’s service to the urban community diminished under Clear Channel ownership.
2) Their infamous musical blacklist banned about 150 songs. According to a leaked memo, John Lennon’s "Imagine" and Cat Stevens’ "Peace Train" are banished from their frequencies. Just recently, innocuous country combo the Dixie Chicks got removed from their playlists for speaking against George W. Bush.
3) Their sponsorship of prowar rallies is only the latest example of their corporate editorial slant. President Glen Beck has little patience for dissent. In a Memorial Day address, he proclaimed, "If you five me any crap, (the police) are taking you down!"
4) Public service has been compromised. After a toxic spill in a North Dakota town, authorities called all the stations in that town to broadcast the emergency. Unsurprisingly, no one answered the phone at the Clear Channel owned outlets----most of the workforce was laid off after they were purchased.
5) Programming has become homogenized. Voicetracking, the practice of recording one voice for numerous markets, has become the norm. And did you ever notice the repetition of the same songs?

Our afternoon’s festivities were led by the lovely and talented Andrea Buffa of Global Exchange and United for Peace & Justice. Our hostess with the mostest led us through chants of "Whose airwaves? Our airwaves!" and "Monopolies don’t speak for me. Protect the airwaves, FCC!"

The Brass Liberation Orchestra provided musical interludes. The 12-piece outfit played Bob Marley’s "Get Up, Stand Up" and "Fala Kute." A band member said their gig reflects their belief in community music and radio.

Adorned in Code Pink, Global Exchange founder Medea Benjamin explained why the US is isolated from the world community: "It’s the media, stupid!" (I would point out it’s our stupid media). Citing the Dixie Chicks backlash, Benjamin declared the US media to be the most undemocratic in the world. Despite this adversity, she announced that so far the FCC website has had 428,000 comments posted, 98% of which opposed further conglomeration. Chairman Michael Powell, listen up! Benjamin closed her set by leading us into singing a John Lennon song. Care to guess which one?

A bit of vaudeville was performed as a performer dressed as Clear Channel CEO Larry Mays thanked us for our support (yeah, right) and gave a huge check to the FCC. "Just fill in the amount ," he said. As the rally closed, I passed a sign reading "No McRadio." In the wake of the FCC vote, a healthy media diet provided by independent media outlets like The SF Bay View and PoorNewsNetwork is more essential than ever .    

by Dee

President George Bush just put SARS on the list of diseases that can be quarantined.

Doctors say SARS is a variant of the flu that has killed people in the past all over the world. In other
words, not really a lot different from what is a known illness. The flu was never placed on a quarantine list.

When AIDS and HIV first appeared there was talk of quarantine but Act Up and others actively made sure that
didn't happen.

If an airline passenger shows symptoms of SARS they can now be detained against their will; in other words, forced
treatment. Can illegals also be detained and deported by this quarantine?

Is this quarantine another insane step in the homeland security to limit our civil rights - forced medical treatment?

SARS should not be put on a quarantine list.

In my opinion, it is just another factor, like small pox inoculations, to get around current patient protections from
government forced medical treatment and as a way to interfere with our civil rights.

-the editors

by Joe B.

Ok, Pt. 3 of C-Phones Dating

Getting to the ‘um, meat of the issue on C-phone dating or dates.

You probably know of the blocking features on c-phones where both parties know who or whom is being blocked.

All I can figure is it’s kind of an electronic dog house for men or anyone else making serious errors in relationships.

It goes like this "He knows he messed up with me seeing another girls, women, a big blow out argument or missing some important event; so I’ve block access on my phone."

Of course this guy is now in an endless loop blocked by a pissed off girlfriend, he keeps dialing up anyway which is what she says she doesn’t want but makes sure he still calls.

Paradoxically, the guy might decide to disconnect, unhook himself from his self inflicted hell not knowing the relationship is still viable in her eyes but not saying anything to the guy until she’s ready.

"Enough, phone blocks, I cannot see or call her fine, time to re-circulate, [date again] she’s angry won’t talk, talks cheap, wants action.

My action, date all her girlfriends I can ‘cause I’ve no time to pine, or worry.

I don’t know if its over and since she won’t tell me maybe it is; "F-it then."

If a guy is in emotional turmoil and yet he can stop it by simply not calling or emailing the girl and drop it for a while unless she or he’s far away and it’s the only way of communicating the poor guy is screwed.

See how this can backfire on women because revenge feels delicious having someone dangle on tender hooks, tell other friends about how he’s so into me, it’s great having that much power over any human being especially when dating boy, young men, or casual dating, laughing, joking to gal pals on the phone she really stuck it to him and will keep doing as long as he into to her, yes lets hear for girl power.

But guys have an option too either stop, calling, get on with their lives which the girlfriend really want she likes or loves him but still want but to keep the guy suffering to teach him a painful emotional lesson.

But as time goes by guys figure "No More, if she want’s it that way fine and he goes about his business gradually forgets her name, phone number, address because another woman has entered her life.

I know, women say oh well, no most don’t they get angry because the guy moved on when in her reality she’s suppose to publicly humiliate him before dumping him complete with water or hot meal in his lap or over his head

Problem is when he disengages from the girlfriend going about his business other women may drop into his life.

This may be one of the reasons women will get back together and everything is fine then brake up with him publicly.

Guy’s, if you ever dump anyone don’t make up and go back, be ready for re-dumping this goes for girls, young women too also guys, gals, don’t go back no matter how you ache for them especially if you’ve broken up with each other many times before.

That’s what activities are for while the girlfriends away and what do you young girls and women do when their men are away different thins or whatever they want too.

Men learn slow but we do learn. What gets me is as soon as men do find someone to relate to and cherish it is then some women will start testing them its almost if their trying to break the relationship especially if its going well, too well.

I refuse to play the romance games because fun, excitement, lust, sex, and crazy making out is great but is it worth losing that someone because at the time they didn’t look or act cool.

When men really do reveal themselves to women many are taken aback, some immediately shy away which means their as much cowards when an emotionally, intelligent, and mature man steps up to the plate being real.

Like I said to one women "If she really met a mature, emotionally, intellectually, sensitive, balanced Man… in other words her perfect mate she'd run away from him because of shock.

Her carefully constructed thoughts on men now in not shattered has become less firm and it’d be worse the more they multiplied as she grew older.

Too bad women, men do sometimes have to reject so many mates all the bed-fun they had is a phase as real adult(s) wait in the wings find others while some still play being part of the with-it crowd.

But as we all know with-it crowds come and go but truly finding someone even if they’re not perfect who one can relax with is the heaven most people seek.

No one is listening so the games go on luckily most men and woman do want to find someone to share their lives with let the lonely gamers find the truth in their own time lets just hope its not to late… Bye.

Please send donations to

Poor Magazine or in C/0

Ask Joe at 1448 Pine Street,

San Francisco, CA. 94103 USA

Email: askjoe@poormagazine.org

by Joe B.

Well, Federal Communication Commission head Mr. Michael Colin Jr. didn’t listen to protests, questions, or logic.

His "Merger are good for business" says where is head was at.

What a crock of… load of …!

The F.C.C. isn’t a business but a government agency to keep freaking merger’s of large multi corporations from dining on smaller entities [radio, tv, stations, and or news outlets].

Folks, I don’t know how you feel about this #^*%
but this stinks and the smell will worse as mergers, acquisitions, or acquired assets begin getting bought out in a piranha like feeding frenzy.

We can give in to the 21st century hyper theft hijacking of public airways or we can do what American’s and other freedom loving people’s have always done when having little money to fight these Giant’s.

Be thousands, millions, or billions of little rainbow ants and like them begin dining on the fat over bloated carcass attacking from all sides in and out.

What fool thing is Joe gabbing about now?

We don’t have to listen to Creap, Clip, Crock oh, uh, Clear Channel or it Octagon, Crummcon, Globitron, Arbitron oh, uh, Orbitron stuff, you know the so called arbitrators of what we like to hear?

What happens when radio’s are tuned to independent stations or tv’s to other than what corporations are playing?

They go by bottom-line ratings the less people tune into their media, switch or completely turned off.

It’ll take time for these fat behemoths to figure out what’s happened to their profit margins.

Meanwhile stealthy underground micro radio/tv can fill in that niche.

Technology is here for ultra miniaturized one or multi person station.

They move, gather, and get news out faster then conglomerates with heavy business attachments.

Its just something I was thinking of.

There’s a couple of shows on currently but people have told me they and their friends don’t watch it there’s a kind of "cool" factor and the show may not be cool.

There’s only one problem with the "Cool-with it" factor, not everyone buys into it, some of the friends may say they don’t watch to seem cool but watch anyway.

That’s why Star Trek, Twilight Zone, in their current incarnations are still on the air because though at first if wasn’t cool to watch science or speculative fiction people still watched lying to their friends about what their supposedly not watching.

The money that Media Corps. are using to buy up smaller media is our money!

We must find ways not to give up our money if they don’t listen to their audience their money should dry up as we turn off, tune out, switch channels, otherwise see other products already done.

There are DVD’s of old, and current movies, TV, series, specials, whatever was shown years past and currently.

The greedy Media Maven’s make so money from video, cable, and Digital Video Disk home viewing that now we can buy maybe copy (just an idea)
radio/TV shows and no longer pay even have cable de-scrambler’s (I hear this stuff all the time doesn’t mean most people do it).

Lots of D V D’s, CD’s auto radio taping or buying cassette tapes seems to be what I can afford besides turning off TV and Radio and legally not having my cash go a media that thinks they’ll keep taking money, giving what they deign as education and entertainment to me as part of the masses.

Right now I cannot afford a TV/D V D combo or even buy a used TV and D V D attachment so I’ll probably save money not buy anything for a few months and stick with Yoga workouts everyday.

Folks, this is your public airways not corporate media’s so do what you can to bleed ‘em dry of profits by not tuning in, turning off, or switching to independent public stations.

Show corporations that without influx of public money they are simply starving corpse’s. Bye

Donations C/0 Poor Magazine
1448 Pine Street #205
San Francisco, CA 94103

For Joe only my snail mail:

Email: askjoe@poormagazine.org

by Mauricio Guiterriz/PNN Youth in the Media Correspondent

So there we walked - all colors, sizes and ages in step with justice - in step with peace - in step with solidarity - yes there we all walked... in Oakland - in the same streets that the Black Panthers and Dr. King and Malcolm and all the great leaders known and unknown who have walked to call on justice for people all over the world being wrongly assaulted, harassed and murdered for no reason at all....

Conscious Soundz from hip Hop scholars such as Blackalicious and DavyD charged up the growing crowd at Mosswood Park on Saturday, April 5th at the 10,000 strong march against war and racism in Oakland - after many inspiring speeches youth, adults and elders of all ages, cultures and colors commenced down the sleepy streets of Downtown Oakland, " this is a march for Peace Not war!" The crowd screamed back "NOT War" - we all danced in unison with the salsa, samba and african rythems that followed us to Frank Ogawa Plaza

" Schools Not bombs...Healthcare Not Bombs... Seniors not Bombs" The rally began for me when I had the privelege of hearing state assembly speaker Wilma Chan, the first Asian American woman who is leader of the assembly speak up In our names - speak truth to power and not be afraid.

She was followed by the truly courageous Barbara Lee who has had the ongoing strength to speak up against this illegal war when noone else did..." I am so glad to be in Oakland - you have the power - you have the strength", she was followed by a chant frm the crowd, "impeach Bush, Impeach Bush...."

Organizer and activist Hari Dillon came up to the podium next, " I have asked the next esteemed speaker to come to California to march with us in January and he said no I asked him to march with us in February and last month I asked him to come to the march on the 15th - each time he said he couldn't make it - last time i asked him why and he answered, " When you march in Oakland , I'll come... " Mr. Dillon went on to describe the wonders of Harry Belafonte, the keynote speaker of Saturdays' march

" We need to deal with the terrorism of poverty, ignorance and oppression.." A shimmering Harry Belafonte began to speak to the rapt crowd, "the kind of money they are spending on this war means less money for schools, or health care"

So there we walked - all colors, sizes and ages in step with justice - in step with peace - in step with solidarity - yes there we all walked... in Oakland

by Tiny

But it is an emergen…” The last part of my sentence was cut off by the saliva draining into my throat at a rate of several quarts per second.

“No, Miss Garcia, I don’t think so…” The admitting clerk mistook my choking pause for uncertainty, and started shaking her head from side to side while she filled the silence with her persistent rant: “We can only see you if it is a life-threatening emergency, and of course that is only if there is no other ‘county’ emergency room available.”

‘I’m…tell…ing…you…I can’t…breathe…It is an emer…”

She was still shaking her head. I managed to spit out one last sentence. “Can you ask your sup…ervis…or?”

She made a small snort of frustration and/or confusion and walked away.

I hadn’t had an asthma attack quite this bad in several months. After my last one I vowed never to go to an emergency room again. This was because of my experience of what I call “hellth care” – sitting in a county hospital emergency room for no fewer than 16 hours before receiving treatment.

Illness, unfortunately, is an untamable beast which strikes unexpectedly and when you are least prepared. For poor people, that is always.

But this day started simply. The sun was cool and flat. Mountain and ocean breezes from opposite ends of the sky collided in the San Francisco atmosphere. And then, all of sudden, a bit of fresh pollen and several hundred wayward dust mites entered my nose and mouth.

It began as just a difficulty breathing and turned into a monstrous cough/wheeze. At that point, logic and all other normal thoughts disappeared in adrenaline-fueled terror and extreme states of anxiety.

I walked into the emergency room of a hospital owned by Catholic Healthcare West, a private non-profit corporation, and began an odd sort of battle to prove how ill I really was.

The supervisor returned with the admitting clerk 20 minutes later. The clerk was still shaking he head, in a permanent state of no.

“Miss Garcia, we will admit you this time but…” The supervisor’s voice was loud and smashed through the glass window between us “…because you have no insurance we will have to bill you.”

I thought this was a strange comment from the admitting nurse’s supervisor, but somehow it meant I could be considered an “emergency.”

“But I have no money to pay a bill…”

I attempted to spit out one last retort, but they had stopped listening. Eventually, I got care. I saw the doctor for four minutes, was hooked up to a breathing machine for 10 minutes and received a prescription for an inhaler. Two weeks later I received a bill for several hundred dollars.

Despite the growing numbers of medially uninsured San Franciscans, The City’s three largest private hospitals (Catholic Healthcare West’s St. Mary’s Medical Center and St. Francis Memorial Hospital and Sutter Health’s California Pacific Medical Center) reduced their charity care spending by almost 16 percent during the past four years.

Presented at a recent Board of Supervisors hearing were results of a study by the Service Employees International Union. In 1998, the three hospitals spent less than half of 1 percent of their revenues on charity care – approximately one-sixth the national average for tax-exempt hospitals. Together, these hospitals control more than half The City’s licensed hospital beds.

In exchange for receiving millions of dollars in tax breaks, tax-exempt hospitals are expected to provide charitable services to poor and uninsured patients.

Their tax breaks include exemptions from property and income taxes, access to tax-free bonds issued through government agencies and access to tax-deductible donations from the public.

To avoid the unjust treatment of thousands of indigent patients by these so-called “non-profit” institutions, the City and County of San Francisco should require that hospitals:

>Meet minimum charity-care spending standards of at least 3 percent of net patient revenues or contribute any shortfall to pay for the cost of charity-care services at county and other major providers of free care.

>Provide patients with adequate notice that charity care is available.

>Use uniform charity-care applications, eligibility criteria, and appeals procedures.

>Publicly disclose charity-care policies and expenditures.

Then, perhaps, there will be a clear distinction between a medical emergency and a financial emergency.

by Eric Wason/PNN media Intern

The Plant by Eric Wason (June 1, 2003)

The water sprayed over its solid green leaves. My corn plant welcomed its care as

it leaned toward the dimming sunlight. I took a step in reverse to admire its healthy stalk

and the beauty it added to my living room. I flexed my water bottle again. The plant

happily absorbed its food.

It took me nearly three minutes to give attention to my earthy companion. The

pleasant moment was a soother in a week filled with demands, requests, and appointments.

I sat on my couch and looked out a window to a view of my neighborhood. The events of

the week seemed distant now. Though, I was not completely relaxed. I glanced at my

plant yet another time. I began to relect on my attendance of yesterday's protest against

Clear Channel Communications and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in

San Francisco.

This Monday marks a crucial vote for the FCC regarding media ownership rule

changes. According to a KRON-TV of San Francisco report done last Friday, seven

corporations own an alarming amount of the 1,800 newspapers, 11,000 magazines, 11,000

radio stations, and 200 television stations in North America. An approval of the proposed

changes will allow these big media institutions to buy out more of our local television and

radio stations, newspapers, and magazines that our communities trust as ours.

A collective gathering of 100 or more concerned citizens assembled in front of

Clear Channel Communications at 340 Townsend Street early Thursday evening. The site

of the protest was fitting due to the company's overwhelming media reach. Its radio and

television stations, outdoor displays (billboards, street furniture, and transit panels), and

entertainment venues (music concerts and tours) have a span of 66 countries around the

world.

The protest against media monopoly by corporations like Clear Channel was a cry

for the protection of diversity and the free flow of ideas. One of the many examples of this

issue during the protest was hearing the name of "Davey D" on many occasions. Davey D

was the former Community Affairs Director and popular radio host for KMEL who got

fired by Clear Channel after interviewing critics against the past war in Afghanistan. In

fact, his position of Community Affairs Director, representing a voice for the community,

was eliminated altogether.

The references of the unfair firing of Davey D in front of Clear Channel made me

think about how Davey D's radio personality affected my life. Hearing Davey D's thought-

provoking words as I grew up in San Francisco was a seed for my development from a

teenager to adulthood. I recall moments on his show when he challenged my thinking by

exploring vital issues about politics, race, and society. He helped me learn that it is

important to think about what happens in our communities. I see him as the first among a

few people in my teen years who watered me with honest thought and real issues affecting

the streets where I live.

Mostly all of what was exposed to me on television and radio when I was in

grammar and high school was content that did not let me think about issues from all

perspectives. Davey D was the only outlet for me within this sphere that transcended big

media. FCC Commissioner Michael Kopp, in a KRON-TV interview, remarked that

media is the "lifeblood of our democracy and if we let that (protection of free flow of

ideas) go, we're doing significant injury to ourselves and our democracy." Now, as I lean

toward the sun of our future, I fear what the FCC's possible media consolidation on

Monday will mean for the development of all human beings.

The moonlight has crept its way into my living room. My water bottle remained at

my feet. I looked proudly at my plant as I thought about the care that I gave it to spur its

growth. Then, my eyes carried me to my television. I paused for a few seconds and took

a deep sigh. We are days away from a possible information drought.

by Refuse and Resist

Police and federal agents nationally have escalated their efforts to collect information on
dissenting individuals and organizations. On May 30, 2002, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced
new guidelines which removed even minimal restrictions on the FBI which had required a showing of
some criminal activity in order to conduct political surveillance and monitoring. The new watchword
is to go after critics of the government before any laws are broken. Restrictions barring NYPD
surveillance of political activists and religious organizations (The Handschu Agreement) are
completely removed as of February 2003.

The new guidelines for allowing greater monitoring of political dissidents is rooted in the needs of
the government's "war on the world", presently focused on Iraq. They are designed to repress
opposition as law enforcement did during the 1960s when they targeted civil rights activists and
anti-Vietnam war protesters, and later against the women's, environmental, and Central American
solidarity movements. Their activities aimed (often with unfortunate success) to disrupt
organizations, promote divisions, even foment acts of violence that resulted in the death of
political dissidents. (See War At Home, by Brian Glick, South End Press, 1989).

NYPD INTEL Interviews and Friendly Cops

Demonstrators arrested at recent anti-war protests have reported being questioned by the arresting
officer about their identity. They are interviewed by a second officer from the NYPD Criminal
Intelligence Section (INTEL), which is led by NYPD Deputy Commissioner David Cohen, who spent 35
years with the Central Intelligence Agency. The INTEL officer uses a "Demonstration Debriefing
Form" to ask an arrested demonstrator for information such as "Organization Name", "Organization
Position", and "Prior Demonstration History". You do not have to answer, and should not answer,
these questions.

There is also reason to believe that the long delays to release of people merely charged with
Disorderly Conduct, and the NYPD refusal to allow lawyers to interview arrestees and advise them of
their rights, has been part of INTEL's strategy to pressure arrestees to cooperate and provide
political information in exchange for an expedited release. Anti-war arrestees have also reported
that police officers in the jail appear to be friendly, even sympathetic, to the protests. And ask
protesters questions such as:

What do you think of the President?

What do you think of the leaders of today's protest?

Do you vote?

Be wary of the "friendly cop" who is "only doing his job" but is "really perplexed by what's going
on in the world and respects our decision to demonstrate" (quotes from a jailed anti-war protester).

IF YOU ARE ARRESTED AND QUESTIONED BY THE POLICE

The fundamental lesson to remember if you are arrested is: DON'T TALK and ASK FOR A LAWYER. (The
only exception to DON'T TALK! is that it is OK to give only your true name, address, date of birth,
fingerprints, and photo for purposes of release from jail).

You can never tell how a seemingly harmless bit of information might be used to hurt you or someone
else. You have the right to say that you want to talk to a lawyer even if you do not already have
one.

The police are allowed to lie to you when they question you. However, lying to a federal agent is a
crime. Simply state: "I am going to remain silent; I want to speak to a lawyer".

Refuse & Resist!
For specific legal information, contact your lawyer or your local National Lawyers Guild or check on
line at www.nlg.org

--

On behalf of the

National Office of Refuse & Resist!

305 Madison Ave., Suite 1166

NY, NY 10165

http://www.refuseandresist.org

info@refuseandresist.org

Tel: 212.713.5657

or 510-704-5293

Also for Know Your Rights, go to the National Lawyers Guild office nearest you. In SF Bay Area the
number is: 415-285-1011
or 415-285-1055.

by Lynda Carson

Oakland CA-Despite the passage of Oaklands new rent
law Measure EE which went into effect on December 27,
2003, some landlords choose to blatantly defy aspects
of the ordinance no matter how well informed they may
be, or pretend to be.

Renters of Effies House at 829 E. 19th Street, are
presently being threatened with demolition crews,
partial evictions, and the threat of illegal
occupations in their homes by their landlord, East
Bay Asian Local Development Corporation, known as
E.B.A.L.D.C.. An Oakland non-profit housing
organization that's been around for nearly 25 years.

The landlord planned to partially demolish 4 of the
rental units in the nearly ninety year old building,
as part of a planned illegal occupation to create 2
new common areas in the building without offering any
sort of compensation to the renters or any sort of
rent reduction. An estimated 35 square foot of space
per rental unit would be lost to each of the renters.

E.B.A.L.D.C., just planned to take what they want from
the renters in full defiance of the renters contracts
and in total violation of every law in the book
pertaining to rental contracts or lease agreements.

E.B.A.L.D.C. was so blatant about abusing the rights
of tenants at Effies House that they never even
attempted to modify the rental agreements before-hand
as a means to try to make it appear to be a legal
take-over of the rental units.

The story first broke in the April Issue of Street
Spirit in an article written by Lydia Gans, and when
the landlord received notice of the article the
planned schedule of the demolition crews were stopped
within 24 hours.

Oakland activist Vivian Haine says that this landlord
is one of the worst around, abusing Oakland Tenants
even if they do offer affordable rents, and people
need to know what these bastards are up to, Haine
said.

E.B.A.L.D.C. manages over 700 rental units, and rents
out nearly 100,000 square foot of commercial retail
space in the East Bay.

Tenant activist Sue Doyle said that some of these
landlords never learn, and that this landlord went way
beyond the norms of some of the worst landlords in
Oakland. Measure EE was passed by the voters to stop
the most blatant sort of abuse by the landlords, but,
some just don't seem to get it and continue to abuse
the renters in spite of the new rent laws, Doyle said.

In addition to the story breaking into public view
during Aprils Street Spirit Issue, Katie Davis the
property manager was informed by one of the tenants
that there was nothing in the written rental agreement
that allowed the landlord to enter the rental units
and occupy them, and that they would be sued if they
followed through with their plans.

The project was immediately halted until a new plan
could be devised, and within a week some renters were
being coerced into signing new addendums to their
contracts that allowed the landlord to claim that
parts of the rental units were no longer a part of the
premises agreed upon in the original rental
agreements. One of those tenants an employee of
E.B.A.L.D.C. (landlord), was called away from his job
to the office of the property manager Katie Davis, and
told to sign an addendum giving up part of his home to
the landlord without any compensation or any deduction
in monthly rental payments. Fearful of losing his job
and home all at once, the tenant immediately signed
the addendum without the advice or presence of an
attorney.

Another tenant advised the property manager that she
would never sign any such agreement to allow the
landlord to occupy her apartment so long as she is
residing there, and on May 14, 2003 received a 30 Day
Notice changing the terms of the tenancy. The notice
stated that the room in question (35 sq foot of space)
would no longer be considered as part of the premises
in the rental agreement, and that the landlord plans
to demolish it for a planned common area.

Not only was this notice considered harassment, but,
the notice is in total violation of Measure EE because
the landlord was informed in advance that the tenant
would not agree to signing an addendum or agree to a
material change in the terms of the existing contract.

Under Measure EE Oakland renters do not have to agree
to changes in their contracts that materially change
the terms of their contracts, and it is unlawful for
landlords to retaliate or harass tenants that refuse
to go along with such far reaching proposals to the
rental agreements.

This feud over the possession of the rental units
started after E.B.A.L.D.C. was notified by the City of
Oakland that the newly built four flights of outside
exterior stairs would not be signed off on because it
blocked access to 2 rental units out of the 6 rental
units needing access to them. The original stairs
allowed access to all 6 rental units before being torn
down due to being unsafe, and $47,853 was spent so far
on the botched stairway project.

As the new stairs were being rebuilt, tenants spoke
out when they noticed that 2 out of the 6 units were
being passed over and blocked by the new stairs.
E.B.A.L.D.C. told the complaining tenants that it was
all perfectly legal and they hired an attorney to go
after any tenants that tried to interfere in the
building of the stairs. One of the complaining tenants
was threatened with eviction by Ed Nagy of the
EVICTORS for interferring with the construction of the
stairs.

When noticed that the City of Oakland would not sign
off on the new stairs that now blocked 2 of the rental
units, the landlord stopped claiming that the stair
project was perfectly legal and started to look for
ways out of the delemma without drawing up new plans
to rebuild the stairs all over again.

A January 6, 2003 meeting took place at Oaklands
Building Department between the landlord, the building
contractor, and city officials of the planning and
building department, in an effort to cover their ass
from this botched project. A leaked memo from the
meeting details how the three parties attempted to
find a solution to the problem, with no tenants being
involved or invited to the meeting.

The leaked memo of January 6, reveals that city
officials Alain Placido and George Wonderly stated
that we could provide access to the blocked units by
either opening a passageway at the dividing walls
between the units, or remove the dividing walls all
together.

Since neither city official Placido or Wonderly ever
looked at the dividing walls in question, the memo
states that George Wonderly (3rd District Building
Inspector of Oakland) asked the contractor about the
dividing walls in question. The memo goes on to reveal
that based upon the description of one of the
contractors, a Francisco Ruiz of Jasper Design and
Construction, Building Inspector George Wonderly
concluded and stated to the group that the dividing
walls in question most likely were built illegaly
without a permit, and could be torn down.

With the problem being neatly solved by city officials
who never bothered to inspect the alleged illegal
dividing walls, E.B.A.L.D.C. quickly proceeded to
harass the tenants into giving up part of their rental
units so that their new plans to partially demolish
and occupy 4 rental units would result in the new
stairs being signed off on by the Building Inspector
George Wonderly.

Weeks later, during a curious call to Wonderly, he
stated that he never bothered to cite the landlord for
code violations for the alleged illegal dividing
walls, and said that this is what the tenants get for
complaining about the stairs.

Meanwhile, E.B.A.L.D.C. is rushing ahead full steam to
demolish their way through any resistance to the new
plan that they hope will result in the signing off of
the stairway project.

Housing activists are outraged by what is occurring at
Effie's House, and hope that by exposing the corrupt
nature of Oakland's Code Compliance Office that city
officials may be able correct the failures of the
system.

Local activists are urging people to be a part of a
phone in protest & join others to call the staff of
E.B.A.L.D.C., in Oakland, to leave a message that the
planned demolitions must stop, no occupations by
management should occur, and that the rights of
renters must always be respected.

The activists also urge the community to contact
Oakland City Council Members to demand an
investigation into what is occurring at Effies House.

Activists urge you to call now, and to call often as
part of the protest during the last 2 weeks of May,
2003.

Call, Property Manager, Katie Davis; Call; 510/5353
ext 528

Call, Executive Director of E.B.A.L.D.C., Lynette Lee;
Call; 510/287-5353 ext 596

For more info, contact; TenantNation@yahoo.com

by A.Faye Hicks/Po' Poet Laureate

Harlem Harms

Bomb blasted

Babes in Arms

Molested

The Crime Element: Up in Arms

Harlem Harms

Baton wielding, grenade throwing cops… for our protection?

Oh, Say Can you See, The Bombs Bursting In Air

"Bombs bursting in Bedrooms"

Childish memories from grade school

This Song stands for what ? Justice?

Hands over Hearts

Pledging Allegiance to What ? Life

Standing Proud, My Country Tis of Thee

Harlem Harms

This grand mom of this self-same generation

Loving God, and loving this country

Oh proudly we hailed, that the Flag was still there

Standing for what? Liberty

No, crime element, police element

Eager Beaver Cops

Leaves nothing to the imagination

Bombs Blasting in Bedrooms

The Innocence dragged out in Chains

The drugged out, Dragged out, destroyed

From Sea To Shining Sea…?

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

Grenade kills Harlem Grandmother

by Lloyd Williams reprinted from The SF Bayview

The letters N Y P D may as well stand for Now Your People Die. Whether it’s being shot 41 times as you enter your home or homicide by hand grenade, New York City still is not a safe place to be if your skin is black. With Al Sharpton off busily campaigning and debating other Democratic presidential hopefuls, it looks as though the death of Alberta Spruill won’t register more than a blip on the outrage meter.

But African-Americans should not need the inspiration of a Reverend Al to march on City Hall after yet another senseless killing of an innocent black person by racist cops. Everybody should have been automatically up in arms all on their own, demanding answers.
How could such a tragic mistake have been made? How could it have been averted? Who’s head will roll as a consequence? Why does this sort of state-sponsored slaughter happen so often in the black community?

And until adequate assurances arrive that it won’t happen again, the city should have been shut down. Afterall, Spruill, a 57 year-old church-going grandmother with a heart condition, died when a dozen police officers, in a pre-dawn raid on May 16, broke down the door to her sixth-floor apartment and tossed a flash grenade inside. The explosion was powerful enough to rattle the apartment, shattering a glass top table and sending the poor sister into cardiac arrest. Then the terroristic task force handcuffed her, denying any medical attention until it was too late.

Miss Alberta, as she was referred to by everyone in her neighborhood, was a much beloved member of the Convent Avenue Baptist Church. So, what had she done to bring the wrath of NYPD down upon her head? Absolutely nothing. As the cops later explained it, they had operated on an erroneous tip from a confidential informant that a man was barricated inside with drugs, pit bulls and a cache of weapons.

As if turns out, that suspect, Melvin Boswell, 35, lived on the ninth, not the sixth, floor of the building. He was arrested three days later. Curiously, the break-in to Alberta’s home was conducted by officers from the 25th Precinct, even though her apartment building, located at 310 West 143rd Street, is situated in the 32nd Precinct.

Prior to the raid, police investigators made a routine check which suggested that Ms. Spruill was the apartment’s sole tenant. They went ahead anyway and compounded their first mistake with the decision to stun any occupants with a flash grenade. Munitions experts will tell you that this allegedly non-lethal device can cause death in certain circumstances. It’s the type of item best used outdoors for crowd control, for instance to keep an advancing army of angry, bottle-tossing demonstrators at bay.

Being confronted by a flash grenade in the street is one thing; being awakened by one exploding in your apartment quite another. This offensive tool delivers far more than a mere flash, as it is designed to provide cover by way of a conclusive explosion combined with a temporarily blinding cloud of smoke.

The employment of such a potentially destructive device in Harlem in this case is proof positive that black people simply do not have equal protection under the law. For there is no way the police would ever even think of igniting such a grenade so recklessly in the Upper East Side or any other white enclave.

While trillions are wasted looking for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, pockets of police resistance – cops armed to the teeth and already embedded among us – are far more inclined to terrorize the African-American community.

by Joe B.

Ok, folks not ‘yakin on this so called "Easy As Pie" war complete with rescued P. O.W.’s, Heroic Iraq soldiers and citizens treatment of said prisoners, collateral damage, bombed out buildings, dead families, children, and friendly fire.

Whew, got through that bit of painful reality.

As our esteemed (leaders?) say do your normal everyday mundane tasks showing the world and
especially those wanting American’s to be less free
(Patriot Acts 1+2 may do that for ‘em).

that we are still free.

I’m doing so by not talking about the war.

While I still can write about other mundane things.

My email is finally fixed so lots more are getting through.

Some is junk mail though I wouldn’t call making money or some give-a-ways junk I do need money.

Most important is some of the readers can finally send me their mash notes, hate mail, or questions (nothing on science or money) anymore many folks out their know way more than I ever will.

I’m on a few e-dating sites giving so many user and, handles, or passwords I’ve confused myself utterly.

This is a dark side of the creative process.

At home there are lots of paper with the names on them.

I don’t understand it, when going to a bar, café, or dance club which is done rarely because of economics speaking to the opposite sex is easy just open my yap and conversations happens especially when shutting up and listening.

But emails, with digital photo’s online showing yourself still scares me a little though because there is still stigma’s on a persons looks and sadly with my lazy left eye it is real easy to seen as gross, ugly, not esthetically pleasing to wimin’s eyes.

Are wimin that shallow?

Sad to say some are equal to their male counter parts saying they would date someone nice, gentle, fun, and intelligence and when they find him/her they make an excuse leaving the person(s) to stew.

They have make up, surgical science, face, breast enlargements, uplifting cocktail bra’s, and clothes that hide, shape and otherwise flatter them.

Even with men’s fake six pack, face lifts, eyebrow tweezing, invisible clear plastic to straighten teeth,
fake or artificial colored hair, nails, pedicure, facials, fake additions/fat falsely elongation of male reproductive organs or our own shape flattering clothes.

Between these two camouflaged and or enhanced
made people it looks like regular slobs as I will always be slightly behind the curve that’s why Yoga, Tai Chi, and other inner disciplines work for me at least on my interior is getting as healthy as the exterior.

I’m the one with two of the same or slightly differing profile on one of the in-crowd sites.

Or the over 50 bunch where thinking it unfair to write without showing an image of myself I’ve temporarily left it until I can show what I really look like warts and all.

But the good thing is my email is now ready to receive an expanded amount of writing.

Who knows maybe one or more of those fem readers living in the city will contact me (I know "fat chance, good luck, and you haven’t a chance Joe.")

This is why I don’t listen to no-negatives, only pos-yes’s.

I have yet to check out the new Chinese Museum.

It would be nice quiet place to find date, and talk of his/herstory, likes, dislikes, and quiet fun.

I’ll end on that note of no drinks, bar hopping, dancing to prove anything just two or more people enjoying antiquity for a few hours without most of the camouflage and fancy loud look at me costumes.

My one stipulation, a slight inverted ageism if you are 22 to 25 you’re in college or university and young for me, don’t know what you want or need still searching, and my energy might tire you out.

Women in their mid 30’s, early 40’s have been through the male mill takes less crap and either want to have families, or definitely know if they don’t want families last and best there experience is refreshing.

Here’s where being young is a hindrance until there older.

See some of you intelligent, sensitive, wicked minded, thoroughly actualized women there.
"Not if we see you first
. And to those with somewhat more tender sentiments lets have ruby red grapefruit juice, English muffins with cream cheese, butter, margarine, jam or all of them. Bye..
Until truly meet.

Please send donations to

Poor Magazine or in C/0

Ask Joe at 1448 Pine Street,

San Francisco, CA. 94103 USA

For Joe only my snail mail:

1230 Market St.

PO Box #645

San Francisco, CA 94102

Email: askjoe@poormagazine.org

by Ace Tafoya/PoorNewsNetwork (PNN)

On my way to the Department of Human Services (DHS), I was sitting on the back of the 14 Mission bus with a picket sign that read ‘Shelter For All’ with members of POWER (People Organized to Win Employment Rights), Food Not Bombs, Coalition on Homelessness, the Day Labor Program and other homeless advocate organizations in the city. I was here to re-port and sup-port for PoorNewsNetwork and as a POWER member, I would be part of a staged ‘sit-in’ at the offices of DHS. We were going to Plant ourselves, our furniture and our household items in front of 140 Otis with a message: Trent Rhoehr (DHS’s director) - please don’t mess with us! Our lives are at stake!

With Gavin Newsom trying to conjure up more support for his mayoral race and his Proposition N/Care Not Cash initiative the day before on the steps of City Hall with hundred’s of misinformed people, our protest at the Department of Human Services was simple but effective. Picket signs and chants along with desks, furniture, lamps and plants were boldly placed near the entrance of DHS as we walked in a circular motion.

"(The United States Government) needs to take care of our people first," shouted Facheezee out of the megaphone speaker as we circled around him. "San Francisco, we love you and we’re not going nowhere!" He was referring to Newsom’s Prop. N and shelter expulsions and evictions. Even though Prop N was overturned by Superior Court Judge Ronald Quidachay last week, people are still being evicted from city shelters. People are still receiving eviction notices. 

"We don’t need anyone to tell us what we can do with our money. I’m gonna be in the rich neighborhoods and camping out," Mikal Yasin a new member of POWER told the crowd of about 30. "We want to be treated equally. You need to help everybody. We don’t want your cash, we want the cash we earned!"

I walked around other supporters of our protest with my picket sign waving in the air and pointing at the people looking at us through the windows. We chanted:

Forced shelter

Where’s the care?

Work for $1.84

Where’s the care?

Evicting Immigrants?

Where’s the care?

Fingerprinting

Where’s the care?

The Care’s Not There!

Lafayette Ricks shouted through the megaphone: "We’re here to fight you (DHS) to the bitter end. You’re beating on the poor. The poor will fight ‘til the end," he said sounding like Martin Luther King Jr. Lafayette used his powerful voice to talk about shelter evictions and expulsions and poor people being picked on by DHS and Newsom.

Trent Rhoehr, the director of DHS was no doubt hiding out somewhere in that building. ‘The Lizard’ as Nora from POWER calls him never came out to talk to us. 

"Everyone needs a place to stay. A place to call home," Bernadette Belle told the enthused crowd. "Power to the People!" Andre Rucker added, "Prop N is fascism. Gavin Newsom represents fascism. He represents corporate America."

After our rally, we all huddled together and did our unity clap and I felt a sense of satisfaction that we are making a difference and letting our voices be heard. This fight is far from over. And we will soon be making another appearance somewhere to let these people and politicians know that what DHS is doing is not acceptable!

by Dee

It is obvious that the bush administration and their posse wants to recall Gov Davis in order to put a Republican (Arnold Schwartzenegger perhaps?) in his place, or worse, a Republicrat. They want California to "vote" for bush in 04,and to stop all those pesky anti-war demonstrations

They think we won’t mind if they put in Republicrat Diane Fienstein.

They use all of the budget cuts Davis has made against him. Never mentioning, of course, that a lot of the budget Cuts are a result of the rip off of California energy by the Bush/Enron crew, and the cash California had to spend just to keep the lights on during those fake blackouts.

I have no particular loyalty to Gray Davis, in fact I am adversely affected by his budget cuts and support of the prison industrial complex, but I do object to the obvious set up by the evil right wing republicans who will lie, cheat, and steal to control California’s voting by their recall as a way to get one of their puppets in office as Govenor of California

So people who see the set up of Davis that has occurred and who don’t want an evil Republican or Republicrat governing California, start circulating petitions to RECALL THE RECALL !!!!!