Story Archives 2002

by Joe B.

Poor folks with millions or dollars or more?

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

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

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

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

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

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

(National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1971 On February 8, Nasdaq begins trading.

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

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

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

1997 Final phase for implementation of Order Handling Rules.

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

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

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

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

2000 NASD membership votes overwhelmingly to restructure the organization.

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

Nasdaq completes the first phase of its restructuring.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As a House-Care Watcher Professional or [H.C.W.P.]

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

Pets have their routine - make a list of walking times, foods, and
moods.
Prices: $25 a day apartments/flats

$50 a week for 2 to 4 bedroom cottage.

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


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


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

by Joe B.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by Aldo Arturo Della Maggiora

I could hear the gritos, (screams)….

vecinos unidos; jamas sera’n vencidos.

Aqui estamos y no nos vamos!

?Que Queremos?

!Viviendas Dignas!

Cuando?.

Ahora!….

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by by Josh Brandon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But they became my mentors.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by Fiona Gow/PoorNewsNetwork

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by Isabel Estrada

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"First they came for the Jews,

and I did not speak out

because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for the Communists,

and I did not speak out

because I was not a communist.

And then they came for the trade unionists,

and I did not speak out

because I was not a trade unionist.

And then they came for me,

and there was no one left

to speak out for me."

--Pastor Niemoeller (a victim of the Nazis)

by Staff Writer

Dear John Walker,

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

Isabel Estrada

1.
What attracted you to Islam?

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

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

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

5.
Do you consider yourself to be a traitor?

6.
How are your civil rights being abused?

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

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

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

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

11.
What’s your impression of Ashcroft?

12.
What’s your impression of Bush?

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

by Isabel Estrada/PoorNewsNetwork

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by Joe B.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hmmm, is 'Ashy suffering "VAGINA ENVY"?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by Carol Harvey/PoorNewsNetwork

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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