Story Archives 2000

by Aaron Salter

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

If you would like additional information about the Peopleís Budget

Collaborative contact Riva at (415)285-1055.

by Leroy Moore

The night was crisp and the red sun was about to set as the radiant moon covered the star filled sky. The crowd hovered inward, to share body heat and shelter each other. A warm, respectful and supportive family-like crowd of twenty to thirty friends, family members and supporters of Idriss Stelley and his mother gathered outside the Sony Metreon Theater on September 13th to pay respects and to remember the colorful life of Idriss. More than fifty people shed their own light on the Metreon, where Idriss was shot more than twenty times by police officers of SFPD on June 13, 2001.

The warmth and light that beamed around the circle came by many creative outlets. Some fifty candles were lit as artists, activists, family and friends called on Idriss’ spirit through Congo drumming, with spoken word from The Po'Poets of POOR Magazazine, stories and personal comments and songs. Food Not Bombs nurtured our stomachs with French bread and soup. The beautiful words gave strength to our souls. Mesha’s candle was lit as she spoke about her son and what it meant for her and other poor people to be standing at the mouth of a symbol of capitalist corporate culture. Candle after candle illuminated the altar, handmade from pictures of Idriss and people’s healing and gorgeous words and artwork.

A rainbow of supporters, youth and elders, all shared the mike to reflect on the life and the endless fight for justice of Idriss and other people with mental illness. The candlelight ceremony closed with a traditional salute to our ancestral spirits as we faced North, South, East and West. The last words came from Sam, Idriss’s soulmate, who encouraged, “Don’t give up the fight.” He also announced a hearing at the Board of Supervisors on the shootings of people with mental illness, such as Idriss Stelley.

When the crowd dispersed, I stared at the Sony Metreon Theater. A man pushed his shopping cart, heading away from the theater. The warmth left.

by Joseph Bolden, staff writer,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bye.

(back to top) 

by Joseph Bolden, staff writer,

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

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

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

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

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

.

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

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

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

BYE.

by Joseph Bolden, staff writer,

Joe welcomes your letters, comments and advice 

write to him at: poormag@sirius.com 

Henry Pellum writes from Hollywood,Ca 

Dear Joe, 

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


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

************************* 

ASK JOE responds; 

Dear Mr. H. Pellem, 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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