Story Archives 2001

pstrongPeace inside the warbr / /strong/p pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby Staff Writer/p pBoom! Boom! Boom! Ahhhh! pop,pop,pop. HELP! HELP! br /br / Mad terror, all over the world. br /br / FEAR in our cities, br /br / Kaos in our homes, br /br / Buildings that once stood tall, br /br / are now just rubble. br //p pPeople dying, People crying. br /br / Gunshots, Bombing, screaming, fighting, wanting this nightmare to be over! br /br / Digging through the rubble to find my sisters and brothers! br /br / Feeling the dusty, polluted, grimy air go through my body. br /br / No more tastes of happiness, I can just taste sadness. br /br / Praying that this terror will end soon, before I am the next victim under the rubble waitng to found./p pwarm ivory marble walls, br /br / yellow rose curtains, br /br / clear splashing water, br /br / the smell of strawberry fields, br /br / sounds of waves moving back and forth, br /br / cool relaxing water running through my hands, br /br / breathing in, breathing out, br /br / an end to my sorrows.br / /p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p

pstrongWe Can Destroy Ourselvesbr /br / /strong/p pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby Staff Writer/p pWe can destroy ourselves......../p pI see many people hurting each otherbr /br / hurting themselves... br /br / the terrorism begins with us... good vs. evil/p pRevenge against the middle east is Patriotism. huh? br /br / Where is patriotism in our streetsbr /br / fear distrust paranoia --we are the terroristbr /br / where is patriotism in our family -- resentments revenge and jealously/p pWe are terrorizing ourselvesbr /br / United blood thirst against the Eastbr /br / AMERICAN- brown people, Indians, Middle Easterners here in our own U.S. Soil/p pFiguring us out,to seek those that may fit in America’s fight club mentalitybr /br / And yet hating us for taking patrotic measuresbr /br / questioning media coverage/p pWho let 4 planes come in; unreported and unshotbr /br / What and Who provoked terroristsbr /br / Why censor free speech opinon in major news networksbr /br / Vague evidence of Bin Laden- br / leaving out Americans who were in alliance with this set upbr /br / common sense/p pMulticultural peoples join America fight clubbr /br / forgotten that the flag they support is the same flag that supports the killingsbr /br / of our great great grandparentsbr /br / People of colorbr /br / humanity’s mentality wake up/p pWe who wave the flag in the name of revengebr /br / they are using us for their lies. br /br / Lies that continue to exploit third world countries/p pThey have forgotton that the flag they supportbr / is the same flag that kills mexicansbr / who cross broadersbr / the ones that work in the fields for low pay/p pA country that treats our children like criminalsbr /br / bringing crack to the ghettoes and inner city./p pTell KMEL, ABC, CBS, NBC br / leave our people alonebr /br / send the President’s daughters to the east to fightbr /br / but he'd rather send our people and let his dauthers get drunkbr / and brainwash them into thinking they are not part of our human family/p ptogether human beings have to unitebr / or we can destroy each other and our planet/p pOr we can heal ourselves... br /br / into cold airs where pigeons fly above blue skies/p pHeal ourselves into tree trunk rootsbr /br / surrounded like statues expressing slow movement with a focusbr /br / like the wind and stillness of the treesbr /br / winds blowing soundlessly and birds flying by br /br / make their presence known with their echoing flaps /p pWe must heal ourselves call on our ancestorsbr / with hand foot coordinations that reflect our flow of the environment br /br / sometimes nothing is tasted br / other times it taste fresh like clouds passing by br /br / strong tastes that leave your stomach warmbr / burning with fire/p pthese are only freedom tastesbr /br / our water is our fire./p pWe can heal ourselves and each otherbr /br / confronting the liesbr / /p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p

pstrong pI'm not thinking or sayingbr / anything thatcan be misconstruedbr / as Anti-American./p pUnless I've done it alreadybr / and if that'sthe case...br / I believethe US has abr / thick skin./p/strong/p pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby Joe. B./p pbThursday, Sept. 28, 2001 10:54 am. What a couple of weeks in the new world!/b /p pFour U.S. commercial planes hyjacked by brave, suicidal young to middle aged men. /p pBillionaire or is it mult- millionaire Osama bin Laden, is supposedly behind the New York World Trade Center bombings./p pPersonally dazed and confused wondering how this could happen I could not write "Mess on Market Street" series for a while until I let sink in what happened on Tuesday, September, 11th 2001./p pWent to bed, have a restless sleep./p p Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2001 7:30 am seven people including myself walking on Market Street. /p pGray skies meet me with a puff of a cool wind. /p pUsually a taperecorder, an aide to voice and memory, is in my hand./p pA week or two ago it is lent to someone who need was greater than mine hopefully today or in days to come it will safe in its owner's possession soon./p pPlease send donations to Poor Magazinebr / C/0 Ask Joe at 255 9th St. Street,br / San Francisco, CA. 94103 USA/p pFor Joe only my snail mail:br / PO Box 1230 #645br / Market St.San Francisco, CA 94102br / Email:askjoe@poormagazine.br / org/p p/p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p

pstrong*A Peaceful Warbr /br / *Boot Camp.....Melting Pot!/strong/p pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TDIMG SRC= "../sites/default/files/arch_img/497/photo_1_supplement.jpg" //td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby PNN Staff/p pbA Peaceful War/b/p pI a Sojournerbr /br / Traveling through the Sierra Mountainsbr /br / Awed by Tree filled skylinesbr /br / Pearly Cloudsbr /br / Along the Truckee River! br /br / Meanderingbr /br / Flowingbr /br / The Highway of Life!/p pThe Greyhound Bus wheels churning! br /br / Going Bumpy Bump de Bump. br /br / Silence! br /br / All the Passengers Relaxed, Peaceful! br /br / Their sounds drowned outbr /br / By the Beauty of the Scenery engulfing us!/p pNothing moving outsidebr /br / Except a Whispery Windbr /br / Flowing silently through the Treesbr /br / The Water of Life/p pSilence! br /br / The Animal Kingdom no longer roam Here! br /br / Deer, Antelope, Beaver, Bears, Wolvesbr /br / Shot downbr /br / Destroyed, by Huntersbr /br / For Profit Pleasurebr /br / The Greedy Search for gold./p pChildren have Perished Here! br /br / Consumed by Devilsbr /br / Demons with a Cannibalistic Nature! br /br / Demons with Blood-Stained Hands/p pWhich brings out the Warbr /br / From within my Nature! br /br / Battling against an Unknown Foe. br /br / My Gray Sidebr /br / My inner Shadow is my Eternal Woe!/p pI am a Warrior Woman! br /br / Running along a Treacheous Riverbr /br / Protecting my Innocence Soulbr /br / Battling against a Demonic Beast!/p pReady to bring out the Blood-Lust in mebr /br / To Protect my Child, Like a Lioness protects her Cubbr /br / Then a Magical shield surrounds me. br /br / Wonder Woman, br /br / All the forces of good evil comes to my Rescue!/p pRescuing me against my invisible Foe! br /br / Truth with my Golden Lasso./p pTraders and or World Traitors and or Investorsbr /br / World Bossesbr /br / Speak out on World Issues! br /br / The Truth is being forced down the World’s Throat! br /br / The Gold Standard!/p pThe People are Dying and Starving World-Widebr /br / For Profit! Stock dividend!/p pRiches Pleasures over Pain, Suffering Sorrowsbr /br / Staying Power in a War Zonebr /br / Biological war-farebr /br / Forced Child Laborbr /br / Argricutural Slavery! br /br / Diamond Fields Wars. br /br / Human Lives mean nothing/p pNo Peacebr /br / For the Animal Kingdombr /br / On land or sea. br /br / No Peacebr /br / For humankindbr /br / Eitherbr /br / On land , air, or sea!/p p************/p pbBoot Camp....... Melting Pot!/b/p pWe all the same color now! Ya hear! br /br / The Political Bosses shout at the Top of their voices. br /br / Radio Americabr /br / Put off your homeless ragsbr /br / Put on the uniforms of your Country. Dog-tag-boys. br /br / Tear down your cardboard houses. br /br / Get an Army tent and Marines Rations./p pRally around the Flag Boysbr /br / Where we can all be Men! br /br / Let's win against our Mutual Enemies, br /br / Who are trying to take away our Freedom. br /br / Your Blood has seeped in all Wars. br //p pFrom the Revolutionary war, Civil war, Viet nam, br /br / To the fight for freedom, liberty and justice for all. br /br / Jews, Negroes, Latinos, Whitemen all. br /br / Let freedom ring. Blink, Blink! br /br / What's the Slogan! br /br / We'll hunt 'em down in all their burrows holesbr /br / Smoke 'em out and send them running!/p pYou know your President has spoken, Boy. br /br / You know the one you didn't vote for! br /br / Or at least tried not to vote for. br /br / Rally around the Flag Boys. br /br / Oh, girls too. You know you got Liberated. br /br / You can grab a gun also. br /br / Equal Rights for allbr /br / Stars and stripes forever. br //p pStars on your Backs! br /br / Stripes on your Backs! br /!br / Buy your War Bonds! br /br / Out your Homeless Checks! br /br / We need everybody's support. br /br / We all the same color now./p pOne Nation under One God, br /br / Freedom and equality and injustice for all. br /br / Keep that Liberty Ball ringing. br /br / The pentagon has been Breached! br /br / Get your Homeless Ass down here and Register. br /br / Like you registered to Vote. br //p pWe will give you a good address. br /br / A burial plot wrapped in the Stars Stripes forever. br /br / With a medal! br /br / A fork-tongued metal, that is./p pBoot Camp America,/p pHey Dude, why do you get to ride in the Cherokee Jeep. br /br / I am closer to an Injun than you ever been, br /br / In facto we are Blood brothers. br //p pHey Sarge, you know I need my Lap Top. br /br / I want my designer "Back Pack," this thing weighs a ton./p pHey Bitch you make my bedroll neat! You were my Whore out there, br /br / You still mine in here. I don't care how high they promote you, br /br / Give me a back rub too and make my money./p pLt, sarge, man! My Cell phone is not working right here in Arab Country, call ATT./p pWhat's wrong with you, You nuts, talking about riding a Camelbr /br / I'll smoke one first, I need my Limo! /p pHey SARGE, I need a little Puff (Pfuff) br /br / This sand is "F"ing with my Hooter, br /br / Hey this Dust is Fuckin with my Syringe. br /br / What about my rubbers. br /br / Hey Sarge! Where is my Woman?/p p/p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p

pstrongA Low income youth of color responds to the Call For War!? /strong/p pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TDIMG SRC= "../sites/default/files/arch_img/482/photo_1_feature.jpg" //td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby Staff Writer/p piPNN contributor Lawrence Ashton is an intern in the Youth in the Media Program at POOR Magazine, a media and multi-media training program for low income youth in the Bay Area/i /p pI didn’t show up for me - even though it would be me that would be affected - I didn’t wake up early on a Saturday morning for me even though it was me that was missing my extra non-school day sleep - I didn’t march for me even though it was me that had to miss my basketball practice that day... no, I was at 24th and Mission streets on a Saturday morning at 11:00 am for This is Not Our War! a Youth and Community Speakbr / Out!! March and Rally.... for my father./p pMy father left our home a long time ago with his nightmare screams, his cold sweats, his heroin addiction and.... his shopping cart. /p pBefore he completely stopped talking my father used to visit my mother and me and whisper “ ..no matter what”, and he would always stop in the middle of his sentence and look away cause he didn’t want me to see the tears puddling in his eyes and then continue, .. “please don’t ever... no matter what, don’t let another war happen without speaking up!!...” he always punctuated his comment with a short laugh as though he hadn’t really begged me to do something so huge - so impossible- so important. /p pMy father was a soldier in vietnam, involved in a war he never understood - fighting against an enemy he never knew, for a country who had already treated him with contempt because of the color of his skin. He had lived in the south and was barely out of school - and right before he was shipped off to be the human bullit in some else’s gun, he fell in love with a girl - he fathered a son, (my brother) he had a dream of going to college, or at least, of getting out of the South. Within weeks of getting drafted he was sent very faraway, to a small city in Vietnam. Sometimes he would mumble the name but most of the time he would say he couldn’t pronounce the name of the place - and he didn’t want to cause he wouldn’t be doing that beautiful language any justice- and that would be disrespectful of another person’s culture./p pMaybe some folks could have seen the killing that my father saw and still come out of it ok, maybe some folks could have felt the terror my father felt and been ok but my father was sensitive, young and already kind of unstable due to his already broken apart life - heroin easily slipped into his veins , like a warm blanket of something over his terrified soul- and for a short minute he had some peace in that strange place. /p pSo on Saturday morning I listened to speakers from Loco Bloco, Company of Profits and other community based organizations speak out about how they aren’t being represented in this onslaught of Bush-Loving media coverage that accepts everything the Bush Government says as though it is the holy sacrament. About how they are not willing to go to war and how this is NOT OUR WAR! /p pAs low income youth and youth of color we are not being represented in this country. I, for one am very sorry about what happened in New York, I am very sorry for the families and the folks who died on that day, and it must not happen again, but the answer is not to start shooting at some vague enemy and in the process take out entire cities filled with schools, filled with children and families, adults and elders. /p pAs we set out on the march I let the voices of resistance wash over my body - hoping, praying, that if my father has managed to survive the battle of homelessness, mental illness and substance abuse, he knows that I am taking his pleas seriously and that I know that this is not now, nor has ever been OUR WAR!!br / /p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p

pstrongWe Can Destroy Ourselves/strong/p pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TDIMG SRC= "../sites/default/files/arch_img/497/photo_1_supplement.jpg" //td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby PNN Staff/p pWe can destroy ourselves......../p pI see many people hurting each otherbr /br / hurting themselves... br /br / the terrorism begins with us... good vs. evil/p pRevenge against the middle east is Patriotism. huh? br /br / Where is patriotism in our streetsbr /br / fear distrust paranoia --we are the terroristbr /br / where is patriotism in our family -- resentments revenge and jealously/p pWe are terrorizing ourselvesbr /br / United blood thirst against the Eastbr /br / AMERICAN- brown people, Indians, Middle Easterners here in our own U.S. Soil/p pFiguring us out,to seek those that may fit in America’s fight club mentalitybr /br / And yet hating us for taking patrotic measuresbr /br / questioning media coverage/p pWho let 4 planes come in; unreported and unshotbr /br / What and Who provoked terroristsbr /br / Why censor free speech opinon in major news networksbr /br / Vague evidence of Bin Laden- br / leaving out Americans who were in alliance with this set upbr /br / common sense/p pMulticultural peoples join America fight clubbr /br / forgotten that the flag they support is the same flag that supports the killingsbr /br / of our great great grandparentsbr /br / People of colorbr /br / humanity’s mentality wake up/p pWe who wave the flag in the name of revengebr /br / they are using us for their lies. br /br / Lies that continue to exploit third world countries/p pThey have forgotton that the flag they supportbr / is the same flag that kills mexicansbr / who cross broadersbr / the ones that work in the fields for low pay/p pA country that treats our children like criminalsbr /br / bringing crack to the ghettoes and inner city./p pTell KMEL, ABC, CBS, NBC br / leave our people alonebr /br / send the President’s daughters to the east to fightbr /br / but he'd rather send our people and let his dauthers get drunkbr / and brainwash them into thinking they are not part of our human family/p ptogether human beings have to unitebr / or we can destroy each other and our planet/p pOr we can heal ourselves... br /br / into cold airs where pigeons fly above blue skies/p pHeal ourselves into tree trunk rootsbr /br / surrounded like statues expressing slow movement with a focusbr /br / like the wind and stillness of the treesbr /br / winds blowing soundlessly and birds flying by br /br / make their presence known with their echoing flaps /p pWe must heal ourselves call on our ancestorsbr / with hand foot coordinations that reflect our flow of the environment br /br / sometimes nothing is tasted br / other times it taste fresh like clouds passing by br /br / strong tastes that leave your stomach warmbr / burning with fire/p pthese are only freedom tastesbr /br / our water is our fire./p pWe can heal ourselves and each otherbr /br / confronting the liesbr / /p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p

pstrongbroken arrow n bow /strong/p pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TDIMG SRC= "../sites/default/files/arch_img/497/photo_3_supplement.jpg" //td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby PNN Staff/p pbreakin down crystal coated greenbr /br / turmoil of temperment cellsbr /br / evened out on vega leaf or sweet brown paperbr /br / fire burnin smokin risin tickle spotsbr /br / mind states chaos locked away in alienationbr /br / tunes spill from lady day’s gardeniabr /br / when did it beginbr /br / when did it end/p psips grape juice slowlybr /br / forever lickin salty oceans waves puritybr /br / arms spread wingsbr /br / Ho Chi Min knows strategy wellbr /br / u gotta know strategybr /br / in a socratic way 2 survive...2 manifestbr /br / wit out it’s a tragedybr /br / on da battlefield of life n death/p pu r @ sum kind of war everydaybr /br / emotions draw swordsbr /br / thoughts trample soulbr /br / dividin...conquerin... br /br / gainin...losin...refusinbr /br / preparin fo attacks reacts of behaviorbr /br / mapped programmed plannedbr /br / constant ambulancebr /br / policebr /br / helicoptersbr /br / shoutin addicts! br /br / illusioned... wit chemicalsbr /br / we feel ease da pain. br //p pfire trucks rush down gravelbr /br / off 2 save like Jesusbr /br / military of USAbr /br / travels wit preyed on folksbr /br / 2 suit up uni form 2 stormbr /br / tellin dem 2 defendbr /br / a legislationbr /br / a masonic demonic politicianbr /br / World Tradin Center...Pentagon...got bombedbr /br / durin a mornin of comfortin consolin/p pnewz casts u parts 2 playbr /br / panic attacksbr /br / fosterin discriminationbr /br / hate toward Arab Muslimsbr /br / its fucked up Jackbr /br / how Uncle Sam fucks ubr /br / so u know how 2 fuck us good. br //p psymbolisms of capitalism burnbr /br / in mi heart I yearn git excitedbr /br / yet hurt fo da many countless non-expendable livesbr /br / leaks blood thru steel iron pipebr /br / fuel box cutters rumorsbr /br / who did wut n how/p pNew World Order cum 2 mi lipsbr /br / when I speak on da recent explosion in Americabr /br / where da disillusioned thinkbr /br / we r free safe not @ warbr /br / how tricked dey r wit a treat of luxury @ constant Halloweenbr /br / Patriots thro da flag out n upbr /br / az if dey r XIV LNS CRIP SURTRECE BLOODSbr /br / Patriots representing a lie a holocaustbr /br / threaded in stripes stars./p pPeople war iz constant consistentbr /br / can u # WWI WWII WWIIIbr /br / question markbr /br / da world has been @ war since da beginning/p pgive me peace or I’ll git it miself wit da helpbr /br / of many birds freed from a cage of bondagebr /br / in pain madnessbr /br / who ain’t afraid 2 revolt!/p pShowdown!br /br / Wut u gonna Throwdown? /p p/p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p

pstrongPeace inside the warbr / /strong/p pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TDIMG SRC= "../sites/default/files/arch_img/497/photo_5_supplement.jpg" //td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby PNN Staff/p pBoom! Boom! Boom! Ahhhh! pop,pop,pop. HELP! HELP!br /br / Mad terror, all over the world.br /br / FEAR in our cities, br /br / Kaos in our homes, br /br / Buildings that once stood tall, br /br / are now just rubble. br //p pPeople dying, People crying. br /br / Gunshots, Bombing, screaming, fighting, wanting this nightmare to be over! br /br / Digging through the rubble to find my sisters and brothers! br /br / Feeling the dusty, polluted, grimy air go through my body. br /br / No more tastes of happiness, I can just taste sadness. br /br / Praying that this terror will end soon, before I am the next victim under the rubble waitng to found./p pwarm ivory marble walls, br /br / yellow rose curtains, br /br / clear splashing water, br /br / the smell of strawberry fields, br /br / sounds of waves moving back and forth, br /br / cool relaxing water running through my hands, br /br / breathing in, breathing out, br /br / an end to my sorrows.br / /p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p

pstrong*Disabled World Nationbr /br / *Peace/ Warbr /br / *Do Unto Others/strong/p pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TDIMG SRC= "../sites/default/files/arch_img/497/photo_2_supplement.jpg" //td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby PNN Staff/p pbDisabled World Nation/b/p pWar, torture, poverty, pollutionbr / br /Increasing disabled populationbr / br /No rehabilitation, no medication, no educationbr / br /The poorest of the poorbr / br /Government don’t needs you anymorebr / br /War torn countriesbr / br /Creates lack of mobilitybr / br /Limbs blown to piecesbr / br /Can’t miss a non-moving targetbr / br /Don’t you get itbr / br /We’re becoming a Disabled World Nationbr / br /Police brutality government sanctionsbr / br /Are the womb of this creationbr / br /Got raped impregnated with greed corruptionbr / br /Passed down policies charitiesbr / br /So people can make moneybr / br /Off disability n povertybr / br /The majority of Disabled World Nationbr / br /Are in third world countriesbr / br /Where disabled children die before they’re twentybr / br /Millions are starvingbr / br /And many more are hungrybr / br /In war and peace timebr / br /While the United Nationbr / br /Celebrates Disability Awarenessbr / br /Many become disabled cause of the UN’s actionsbr / br /Missiles chemical warfarebr / br /No health care or welfarebr / br /The only occupation is beggingbr / br /Force to relie on your enemiesbr / br /To bring economic stabilitybr / br /Foreign laws, theories therapybr / br /Invading Third World countriesbr / br /The Disabled World Nationbr / br /Has the numbersbr / br /But lacks political economic powerbr / br /Different country but same storybr / br /Walking on land minesbr / br /War, disables the body, soul and mindbr / br /No vaccine for common illnessbr / br /Police shooting people with mental illnessbr / br /All die because of a lack of humanitybr / br /Children playing in the rubblebr / br /Stepping on their parents dead bodiesbr / br /Have to deal with war, poverty disability with no familybr / br /Developed undeveloped countries have many things in commonbr / br /Under the Disabled World Nationbr / br /Institutionalizing, segregation, malnutritionbr / br /Misrepresentation pitybr / br /Molded, formed displayed by the mediabr / br /Gifts and donationsbr / br /Don’t trickle down to the needybr / br /We aren’t even in control in our own organizationsbr / br /Who will break this cyclebr / br /Nothing About Us Without Usbr / br /Slogan held up high by disabled South Africansbr / br /But their voices are buried by day-to-day strugglesbr / br /Who will take a stand against warbr / br /On a disabled platformbr / br /Radicals and revolutionaries go against the normbr / br /Leaders of the Disabled World Nation are lukewarmbr / br /Barbara Lee created a healthy and vibrant tornadobr / br /The Disabled World Nation is cradle in the eye of her stormbr / br /Her vote is dressing for the casualties and woundedbr / br /While the stripes and stars are internally inbred on foreign landsbr / br /A virus corrupting the souls and cultural normsbr / br /Creating a society with a stomach full of wormsbr / br /The Disabled World Nation scattering for food droppingsbr / br /Treated worst than animalsbr / br /Exploiting their disabilities so they can eatbr / br /Crawling on their hands and kneesbr / br /Cause technology is not even a dreambr / br /Living on a different type of plantationbr / br /In which the government, sometimes your parents,br / br /And yes, our own organizations are the Mastersbr / br /I can go on but this is getting depressingbr / br /It’s time to stop the growth of the Disabled World Nationbr / br /No war would subtract a huge part of the equationbr / br /That fuels the Disabled World Nation/p p***/p pbPEACE/bbr //p p/pp"Georgia Georgia on my mind Just an old song"br / br /Bouncing off cream plaster wallsbr / br /Yellow beamin throughbr / br /Toasting my skinbr / br /Po,po,pop sizzling baconbr / br /On a hot greasy skilletbr / br /Sidewalks in ovensbr / br /Beneath the humid city/p pbWAR/b/p pPop, pop sizzling baconbr / br /Turns into boom, boom bombsbr / br /Interupt Ray Charlesbr / br /Late breaking newsbr / br /Sunday church colorsbr / br /Turns to White, White, White/p pbr /White reportersbr / br /White Congresspersonsbr / br /Want my Black, Brown Yellowbr / br /Brothers sistersbr / br /Crips on sidewalksbr / br /Protecting the hood from Uncle Sam/p pbr /Snatching our youthbr / br /For his dirty deedsbr / br /Like a boomerangbr / br /It comes back to hit youbr / br /Unannouce and no warningbr / br /Force to stand behind the manbr / br /Presenting an united force/p p*** /ppbDO UNTO OTHERS/bbr //p pDecades of internal bleedingbr /br / The US has been force feedingbr /br / Imperialist ideals and apple pie overseas/p pClosed our bordersbr /br / Following Uncle Sam’s ordersbr /br / On foreign lands/p pThinking we’re almighty br /br / Don’t need to listenbr /br / No need for elections/p pLike an eggbr /br / The Red White Bluebr /br / Has been cracked open/p pSmelling the rotten yolkbr /br / That lies insidebr /br / Window dressing is not a scab/p pThere is no band-aidbr /br / Big enough to hidebr /br / Our self-inflicted wounds /p pAn external forcebr /br / Have penetratedbr /br / US’s utopian shield/p pRevealing the stench and bloodbr /br / We can’t and wont learnbr /br / Like the Crips and Bloods, US looking for revenge/p pProtecting our turfbr /br / Trading in justice forbr /br / An eye for an eye/p pThe Twin Towersbr /br / Holding economic powerbr /br / While people stand on each others' shoulders/p pTrying to escape the jaws of povertybr /br / All come tumbling down br /br / Next to the Statue of Liberty/p pSeptember eleventhbr /br / The US woke upbr /br / With no utopian makeup/p pStars Stripesbr /br / Have returned homebr /br / To find terror in its own suitcase/p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p

pstrongWhispered Media Releases an important new documentary on The Dot-Com Boom in the Bay Area/strong/p pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TDIMG SRC= "../sites/default/files/arch_img/498/photo_1_supplement.jpg" //td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby Tiny aka Lisa Gray-Garcia/p pThe movie began with a bang... or should I say, a BOOm.. after a sepia tinged narrator espouses the wonderful attributes of the 1950's in the Bay Area, with the carmel-toned Golden Gate Bridge as a backdrop -The audience is jarred out of this moment of collective history into the knife-like images of white men in suits spewing out bullits of real estate statistics at various dot-com conferences, such as the fact that 35% of all the "capital" in the world is here- meaning real estate "capital" and "here" being the Bay Area. /p pThose kind of strange large statements of financial masturbation were rampant less than a year ago - before the Dot-com- bust, that is, and whenever i overheard them,if i happened to sneak into a yuppie health food store for my daily dose of stolen bulk food, I always got a shudder in my spine- after all, in their "capital"- based reality there was no room for poor folks on welfare like me and my mom, or anyone without wealth privelege and property, for that matter in the crazy world of the Bay Area between 1998 and 2000, instead there was a concerted effort to sweep us out of here. BOOM, The New movie by Whispered Media attempts to chronicle that time from the voices of all concerned - with an emphasis on the organizing efforts of some of the coalitions formed to try to help folks like me not have to go, at least not as fast./p pAfter a few too many of the "suits" the documentary traveled to the "other side" i.e, the organizers, the tenants, the victims of the "the BOOM" /p p"Most of the immigrant workers I work with live under the bridge, most of the immigrant families i work with live three families to a studio - and are getting evicted by the Dot-Comers" whispered Renee Saucedo from La Raza Centro Legal speaking to the camera until she was halted by tears by the memory of her clients plight, she continued, "we are seeing literally an invasion"/p pThe cameras then travel to the mock funeral of Lola Mckay, an event attended by POOR Magazine staff of "insider" reporters, i.e., all of us were victims of dot-com based evictions. The Lens focused in on Ted Gullickson, a personal hero of mine who outlines the experience of poor 86 year old lola mckay, who died from the heartbreak of being evcited from her long-time residence in the outer mission.br / "I loved Lola, because she didn't stop fighting, Ted relates," she said, they can't evict me - where would i go?"/p pWe are then introduced to MAria poblet, Oscar Grande and other staff members from MAC- Mission Anti-displacement Coalition, an or ganizing coalition that grew out of the insane pace of evictions and displacement of low income folks and folks of color from the mission./p pWe were also introduced to a tenant sufferring from a painful eviction in Oakland - and the way the family attempts to almost be ok with it. I am unclear as to whether the filmakers lost some of the sorrow in the editing floor or the family just couldn't bare to get that deep with the filmakers- but as a gentrification victim, i empathed the families' situation of loss and confusion./p pAlmost at mid-point in the film we follow one of the filmakers into a potential condo purchase- this was one of the most powerful moments in the film as i start to see a world, intimately that i rarely hear or understand- and not from a perspective of propaganda- like in the begining - but from the "inside" . This position of capitalist-voyeur is thrilling, almost scary, as the realtor lists the "artistic " qualities of the live-work loft which was built on the graves of a thousand poor elders, low income artists and families of color. /p pThe film is a powerful statement on a now-sleeping giant, high-speed gentrification and displacement, a statement that must be made so we as very low income folks with no equity, no property, and little money (read: capital) are prepared for the next invasion /p p ibr / For information on the upcoming showings of BOOM.Call Whispered Media at (415) 626-4942br / /i/p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p