Story Archives 2011

p strongIn addition to the allegations of police misconduct that is affecting criminal cases, the span data-scayt_word="D.A.'s" data-scaytid="1"D.A.#39;s/span office is facing overwhelming caseloads, and the city is preparing for the forthcoming influx of potentially thousands of prisoners after a recent span data-scayt_word="U.S" data-scaytid="2"U.S/span. Supreme Court decision ordered the state {of California} to release or transfer more than 33,000 inmates because of overcrowding./strongbr / --from It#39;s experience versus change in DA#39;s race, by Heather span data-scayt_word="Cassell" data-scaytid="8"Cassell/span, in the June 30-July 6th Bay Area Reporter/p p As POOR Magazine and others have said repeatedly, the span data-scayt_word="PIC--Prison" data-scaytid="9"PIC--Prison/span Industrial Complex--which can also be called Poor People Housing or The New Slave Plantation System--is an interlocking set of corporate economic interests and the logical end result of a lot of labor and union-busting activities going back to (maybe much further back-in-the-day...) Ronald Reagan#39;s confrontation with and ruination of span data-scayt_word="PATCO" data-scaytid="10"PATCO/span, the air-traffic controllers#39; union.nbsp; Believe me, if the airline and airport industries could use cheap prison labor to manage air traffic in span data-scayt_word="Amerikkka's" data-scaytid="11"Amerikkka#39;s/span span data-scayt_word="skies...they" data-scaytid="5"skies...they/span would./p p Slave-wage prisoners fight fires in California and other Western states when the fire seasons get to span data-scayt_word="goin" data-scaytid="12"goin/span#39;.nbsp; Outside of getting to be Outside, I don#39;t get what prisoners get for doing it.nbsp; The state and rich people who have their zillion dollar homes and vacation lodges saved get a lot for nearly span data-scayt_word="nuthin" data-scaytid="13"nuthin/span#39;.nbsp; State and Federal prisoners make license plates and other things for less money (by corporations with sweetheart deals with the states) than other companies can afford to.nbsp; Unfair competition?nbsp; You bet./p p Corporations like Wells Fargo Bank invest megabucks in corps like GEO that build prisons and lobby for more to be built while education and other needs go begging for money.nbsp; The victims of starved education systems, low-paying jobs or no jobs, Sit-Lie Laws, etc., go to jail/prison or face massive risky struggles not to go there.nbsp; Can you say Sex Worker?nbsp; Can you say Employed and living in the car?nbsp; I knew you could!/p p Thirty-three thousand-plus prisoners equals about 570 people per county, though the span data-scayt_word="B.A.R" data-scaytid="6"B.A.R/span. quote, while at least a little bit span data-scayt_word="fear-mongerish" data-scaytid="14"fear-mongerish/span, is accurate if you take into account they might really mean the Bay Area--San Francisco County, San Mateo County, Alameda County, Marin County, etc--though it is possible for San Francisco to actually see four digits-worth coming to a street (or 850 Bryant) near you./p p If they don#39;t go to jail, where do they go?nbsp; A new ordnance on the ballot in San Francisco aims to reform ex-Mayor Gavin span data-scayt_word="Newsom's" data-scaytid="15"Newsom#39;s/span CARE NOT CASH (span data-scayt_word="CNC" data-scaytid="16"CNC/span) program because it created gridlock in the homeless shelter system.nbsp; People on General Assistance were sent to shelters, but then the shelter system classified shelters as full of span data-scayt_word="CNC" data-scaytid="17"CNC/span clients whether they are there or not.nbsp; The Phantom of the Full Shelters has been playing this mad tune in the Care Not Cash Cafe basement for years./p p Whether or not the ordnance passes, whether or not it creates a better result or wreaks more span data-scayt_word="havok" data-scaytid="18"havok/span on a system that has always been a Twilight Zone with Rod span data-scayt_word="Serling" data-scaytid="19"Serling/span firmly at the helm (Dead or Alive), there#39;s not much breathing room in those shelters, nor is there much in SRO hotels.nbsp; There are at least two fewer SRO#39;s this summer.nbsp; Tiny aka Lisa Gray-Robles wrote about a recent SRO fire and she, I, and others were on Facebook shortly after that freaking out over a SOMA (South of Market Street) SRO hotel that burned a few weeks later./p p There#39;s so much unmet need for housing: elders, families, singles of all sexes and transgender, youth.nbsp; There#39;s an Elephant in the middle of the room.nbsp; Organizations that have great mission statements but fail to deliver on them.nbsp; POOR Magazine has its span data-scayt_word="Homefulness" data-scaytid="20"Homefulness/span Project, a radical/revolutionary co-housing set-up not requiring its future tenants to opt-in with money they don#39;t have.nbsp; Co-housing and other DIY (Do It Yourself) collective housing arrangements aren#39;t generally Poor People Friendly./p p That must change.nbsp; We hope readers see what we#39;re doing and get inspired.nbsp; You should!/p p The courts are a useful tool for forcing what isn#39;t happening to happen--if you win.nbsp; They are also a blunt instrument with not much flexibility.nbsp; The span data-scayt_word="U.S" data-scaytid="3"U.S/span. Supreme Court decision#39;s impact on California and its criminal justice system is one honking huge example./p p Still, I would love to see Housing Rights lawyers go to the span data-scayt_word="U.S" data-scaytid="4"U.S/span. Supreme Court with cases focusing on things like the failure of San Francisco government to force developers to make at least 50% of housing units in new apartment buildings be for poor tenants.nbsp; The Booker T. Washington community center at Sutter and Presidio Streets has been trying to create a youth transitional housing facility next door to it; the project began as a 10-story structure, then the neighborhood demanded fewer floors.nbsp; span data-scayt_word="NIMBY" data-scaytid="21"NIMBY/span:nbsp; NOT IN MY BACK YARD!!!/p p The new San Francisco Supervisor for that part of San Francisco back-stabbed Booker T. Washington after more complaints were made, and the project has been forced to shrink still more.nbsp; Young people aged out of foster care at age 18 without anywhere else to go will go where you would expect them too--the streets, shelters, jail, prison.nbsp; That#39;s another lawsuit that needs to go all the way!/p p Let#39;s decriminalize squatting.nbsp; Let#39;s get foreclosed houses out of the grubby paws of the banks and put them to the good use of organizations working to get people housed.nbsp; C#39;mon Lawyers!nbsp; Lawyer up!nbsp; If our various levels of government can#39;t or won#39;t do it, you#39;re just about all we#39;ve span data-scayt_word="got...other" data-scaytid="7"got...other/span than ourselves./p

p img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/u26/poor.child_.image_.2_0.jpg" style="width: 568px; height: 376px;" //p p nbsp;/p p The 2014 World Cup Soccer Tournament and the 2016 Olympic Games will be hosted by Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.nbsp; What happened to the people who lived near the nice new stadium we saw on span data-scayt_word="tv" data-scaytid="5"tv/span during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa?nbsp; The same thing that happened to the people who once lived near the Bird#39;s Nest stadium used for the Olympics in Beijing, China--they were span data-scayt_word="86'd" data-scaytid="6"86#39;d/span, evicted, disappeared, their homes and neighborhoods destroyed./p p POOR Magazine has a relationship with the span data-scayt_word="Shackdwellers" data-scaytid="7"Shackdwellers/span Union of South Africa.nbsp; Twenty years after Nelson Mandela was released from span data-scayt_word="Robben" data-scaytid="9"Robben/span Island Prison, nothing much has changed for Black South Africans.nbsp; Why is there a span data-scayt_word="Shackdwellers" data-scaytid="8"Shackdwellers/span Union?/p p The span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="10"Po#39;Lice/span and military have begun sending a tough message to the poor people of the shantytowns near the span data-scayt_word="Maracana" data-scaytid="11"Maracana/span stadium, which will be the site of the World Cup Final and the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games.nbsp; They have invaded like bedbugs, tightening whatever control they already have./p p This is a double-whammy for the poor of Rio.nbsp; They can#39;t relax after the World Cup--the Olympic Games come span data-scayt_word="slammin" data-scaytid="12"slammin/span#39; through right after.nbsp; What will Rio and Brazil look like after this socio-economic earthquake rock #39;n rolls the city, the country, the continent?nbsp; That#39;s a question that needs answers NOW--not 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 years from now./p p The Olympic Games have a well-deserved reputation for corruption, but all anyone ever seems to want to talk about is regional or national pride, or the money that supposedly flows from visitors and tourists to the community--though the only real economic winners are the organizers of the events and the government officials and the governments that get the taxes on sales and the kickbacks and whatever other goodies trickle-down to them.nbsp; I wonder what Hugo Chavez of Venezuela thinks about all this./p p How would the World Cup or the Olympic Games be different if they were held in Venezuela?nbsp; Call or email your Brazilian Consulate or Embassy, or contact the American Embassy in Brazil with this and any other question concerning this situation.nbsp; Contact anyone you think may have influence.nbsp; The poor of Rio de Janeiro deserve to be left unmolested in their homes and neighborhoods, they deserve justice./p p Consulate General of Brazil (San Francisco)br / span data-scayt_word="brazilsf@brazilsf.org" data-scaytid="1"brazilsf@brazilsf.org/spanbr / span data-scayt_word="consul@brazilsf.org" data-scaytid="2"consul@brazilsf.org/spanbr / Phone: (415) 981-8170br / *****************************br / *****************************br / span data-scayt_word="U.S" data-scaytid="3"U.S/span. Consulate General in Rio de Janeirobr / span data-scayt_word="acsrio@state.gov" data-scaytid="4"acsrio@state.gov/spanbr / Phone: (21) 3823-2000 during Consulate#39;s working hours (span data-scayt_word="8am" data-scaytid="13"8am/span to span data-scayt_word="5pm" data-scaytid="14"5pm/span)br / Phone: (21) 3823-2029 after hoursbr / *************************br / *************************/p p nbsp;/p

p I think back to my first time inside a cell. I remember my first time in prison as an inmate.nbsp;nbsp;I remember everynbsp;return to custody. The anger rises up. The pseudo-reality of incarcerated life threatens to sweep me into the past. I focus on the story and move on--abandoning the lost years to the past.nbsp; It wasnbsp;2002 at Arizona State Prisonspannbsp;/spanBuckeye.nbsp; We stopped eating and working to protestspannbsp;/spanpolicy decisions made regarding meals and vocational programs.nbsp;We felt the pressure of our mail being shorted but not stopped, visitors being refused entry, midnight shakedowns and increases in disciplinary reports and imposed sanctionsnbsp; A feeling of span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="invevitable" data-scaytid="3"invevitable/span defeat was felt by everyone.nbsp; After 17 days we gave up.nbsp;The wheels of progress had rolled over us. I hope that doesnrsquo;t happen to thenbsp;incarceratednbsp;men innbsp;resistance at span class="il"Pelican/span Bay.nbsp; The years of losing battle after battle with prison officials does notnbsp;inspire much hope other thannbsp;that no-one is hurt in this clash of wills./p p nbsp;/p p The issues atspan class="il" Pelican/span Baynbsp;may not be the same ones as the hunger strike at Buckeye, but the manner in which the prison officials will deal with it are identical. Complete cessation of recreational activities, increases in disciplinary reports and imposed sanctionsnbsp;are some of the ways that the badge will fight the organization of prisoners in opposition to departmental policy.nbsp; I can hear the span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="doubletalk" data-scaytid="5"doubletalk/span from here./p p nbsp;/p p The men at span class="il"pelican/span Bay State Prisonspannbsp;/spanin the span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="SHU" data-scaytid="7"SHU/span (security housing unit) are labeled as the worst of the worst--the gang leaders, killers, threats to peaceful society--real bad men. We know that such persons exist so--we as free persons--accept this designation at face value, never looking closer at who can end up there and what kinds of evidence gives the department of corrections the right to give a man that kind of label. nbsp;These are the issues which are now under counter-attack by organized prisoners, their families and supporters./p p nbsp;/p p Notorious for inhumane conditions, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has in the past few years undergone a superficial dog and pony show type transformation, giving itself the extra designation of a lsquo;Rehabilitativersquo; agency.nbsp;Formerly known only as CDC, they are now the span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="CDCR--a" data-scaytid="13"CDCR--a/span change in span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="acronyn" data-scaytid="15"acronyn/span only--giving inmatesnbsp;no more access tonbsp;rehabilitation than prior. I personally watched the closure of the education department at Tracy--the span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Deuel" data-scaytid="17"Deuel/span Vocational Institution--as well as the final meeting of alcoholics anonymous, where we were informed that the unpaid volunteers--due to lack of funding--would no longer be given access to the prison for meetings which cost nothing, required no extra supervision, and helped inmates with alcohol problems gain tools to better cope with their lives upon release./p p nbsp;/p p The list of little things that prison officials and guards do to inconvenience prisoners is almost without limit. Mail gets slow. Visitors get turned away. Expensive collect phone calls are terminated at crucial points by guards who eavesdrop for security purposes.nbsp; These are what they do to the average prisoner every day in a General Population prison.nbsp; span class="il"Pelican/span Bay is not one of these yards.nbsp; span class="il"Pelican/span Bay is the place that the prison system uses to throw away human garbage.nbsp;nbsp;Anyone who goes as an inmate to this place is categorized exactly that way to discourage belief in the horror stories they would tell if they thought someone would credit them as the truth.nbsp; Most men donrsquo;t have that hope after a span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="SHU" data-scaytid="9"SHU/span term./p p nbsp;/p p I barely believe that bringing to light the abuses by guards and prison officials is worth the time because emno one cares /emis the first lesson you learn in prison--they make sure of that. Part of the experience of incarceration--a huge part--is the intentional separation from family and friendsspannbsp;/spanthat the prisoner is subjected to.spannbsp; /spanI could write five of these papers and barely scratch the surface of the tricks and methods employed by prison workers to destroy the bonds which tie us to the society we were cast away from. The struggle to be treated fairly hurts to the extent that many men don#39;t try to fight anymore. Uprisings, strikes, and sit-downs are some of the methods employed in previous generations to combat prison policies which were unfair or inhumane . Today almost any cooperation between rival factions or gangs of prisoners is unheard of and so, conveniently for the prison guards and policy makers, they present no real threat to any decisions made or policy enacted./p p nbsp;/p p The hunger strike at span class="il"pelican/span bay is an exception to the rule as all reports make this out to be a multi-racial issue (unilaterally the prisoners have agreed). That makes this one different. The Worst of the Worst have gotten together to fight the oppressive conditions which they and others live in daily./p p nbsp;/p p emEditors Note:/em/p p emHunger Strike Reaches 6,600 Prisoners and is Going Strong /em/p p ema href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/" target="_blank"The span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="CDCR’s" data-scaytid="19"CDCRrsquo;s/span own figures/a acknowledge strong6,600 prisoners/strong participated in the hunger strike across strong13 prisons/strong (out of a total 33) in California this past weekend. While the span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="CDCR" data-scaytid="21"CDCR/span claims the number of prisoners participating has dropped to 2,100 people yesterday, we know this hunger strike is strong, and strongmany prisoners are in it for the long haul/strong./em/p p emstrongThousands/strong of prisoners have come together in solidarity with the prisoners at Pelican Bay span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="SHU" data-scaytid="11"SHU/span, while being locked up in brutal conditions themselves. This massive resistance and support is a testament to peoplersquo;s undying will and ability to build collective power in the face of disappearance and death./em/p p emstrongNowrsquo;s the time to really make the prisonerrsquo;s voices heard!!!/strong/em/p ol li ema href="http://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/take-action/cdcr-and-california-elected-officials-contact-informaion/" target="_blank"Call the span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="CDCR" data-scaytid="23"CDCR/span, span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Gov" data-scaytid="25"Gov/span. Brown and your local representatives/a and urge them to negotiate with the prisoners and honor their demands!/em/li li emSign circulate a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/support-prisoners-on-hunger-strike-at-pelican-bay-state-prison" target="_blank"the online petition!/a/em/li li emMake sure to attend rallies and demonstrates in cities near you, and if there isnrsquo;t one yet planned, a href="http://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/take-action/call-for-action/" target="_blank"get together/a with your friends, networks, communities and make some noise for the Pelican Bay Hunger Strikers!/em/li /ol p nbsp;/p p emnbsp;For more information go to http://span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com" data-scaytid="1"prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/span/em/p p iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Ifepv8s3nRE" width="480"/iframe/p

p img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/u26/MEAT.jpg" style="width: 236px; height: 214px;" //p p nbsp;/p p During July 4th celebrations this poverty span data-scayt_word="skolah" data-scaytid="3"skolah/span watched The San Francisco Mime Troupe perform in Dolores Park.nbsp; The fun began at span data-scayt_word="4p.m" data-scaytid="1"4p.m/span.nbsp; We went to the squat site, led by the Brass Liberation Orchestra (span data-scayt_word="BLO" data-scaytid="4"BLO/span), me, and Tiny aka Lisa Gray-Robles (with span data-scayt_word="Tibu...not" data-scaytid="2"Tibu...not/span dancing...) performing a great Samba dance./p p This poverty span data-scayt_word="skola" data-scaytid="5"skola/span quickly found a place to relax in the squat, an abandoned 40-unit SRO (Single Room Occupancy) hotel at 21st and Mission.nbsp; Three span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="7"Po#39;Lice/span arrived, as I was touring the site (hanging out on the roof), ostensibly concerned about a bottle of flavored water spilled on the ground.nbsp; The span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="45"Po#39;Lice/span officer with authority over the other officers, aka The Sergeant, thought I was in charge, being the oldest fart in sight./p p I said I wasn#39;t the leader.nbsp; He asked someone else.nbsp; Someone else said, This is a collective, we have no leaders.nbsp; Unknown to me at that moment a young span data-scayt_word="Raza" data-scaytid="14"Raza/span man was getting introduced to the sidewalk the hard way, betting shoved face-first into it.nbsp; One of the span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="8"Po#39;Lice/span announced over the radio:nbsp; The meat is on the ground./p p I looked down to see what was happening.nbsp; There was a span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="9"Po#39;Lice/span knee in his back.nbsp; I later found out he got a broken tooth and a split lip--for trying to get himself into shelter.nbsp; Only cannibals think humans are a piece of meat.nbsp; The Sergeant replied, We#39;ve got a powder keg in here and you#39;re throwing gasoline on it?nbsp; Cool it down there!/p p They rushed the young man down the street to a span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="10"Po#39;Lice/span cruiser to get him out of sight out of mind.nbsp; Three Plain-Clothes span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="11"Po#39;Lice/span in an unmarked black sedan (resembling linebackers for the San Francisco span data-scayt_word="49ers" data-scaytid="16"49ers/span...), and Twelve span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="12"Po#39;Lice/span cars suddenly appeared, as if a new episode of The Streets of San Francisco was being filmed.nbsp; One of my POOR Magazine family, span data-scayt_word="Muteado" data-scaytid="17"Muteado/span span data-scayt_word="Silencio" data-scaytid="18"Silencio/span, tried to ask some questions about what they were going to do and got shoved away like a skunk at a Prom dance--thankfully, no damage was done to anything but his pride./p p The Sergeant, apparently, didn#39;t mind the gasoline that much.nbsp; Almost everyone, including members of the media present for the event, was nervous.nbsp; I and the Homes Not Jails folks weren#39;t, but I didn#39;t blame anyone for feeling that way.nbsp; Activists and the Poor are used to seeing span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="13"Po#39;Lice/span act like the San Francisco Giants#39; closer about to beat up a Gatorade cooler, but most civilians aren#39;t.nbsp;/p p This poverty span data-scayt_word="skola" data-scaytid="6"skola/span reporter will be interviewing the young span data-scayt_word="Raza" data-scaytid="15"Raza/span man who was beaten and hustled away from the squat site for a later article.nbsp; More stories from this event are also coming.nbsp; Stay tuned to this Bruce Channel./p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p

p img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/u26/DIGITAL.jpg" style="width: 259px; height: 194px;" //p p nbsp;/p p On the surface, the article in the July 8th, 2011 San Francisco Examiner makes the debit span data-scayt_word="card-ing" data-scaytid="1"card-ing/span of Unemployment benefits seem both cool and a money-saving winner.nbsp; Government at every level is looking for ways to save money, and going to an electronic benefits transfer (span data-scayt_word="EBT" data-scaytid="2"EBT/span) card, like the Food Stamps card I use, will save California#39;s government $4 million in postage.nbsp;/p p I#39;m guessing the Post Office won#39;t like that very much, and they won#39;t like what comes next Spring when the Unemployment system goes totally paperless and forces unemployed folks to submit their every-two-weeks status reports electronically, saving more dough.nbsp; Nowhere in the article does the Associated Press, the source of the story, remind readers of the struggles so many are going through to find work or stay on unemployment benefits if they can#39;t find work./p p Nowhere in the article does the Associated Press mention the Digital Divide.nbsp; The gap between rich and poor which grows ever larger also makes stuff like iPods, span data-scayt_word="iPads" data-scaytid="3"iPads/span, Blackberry span data-scayt_word="superdupersmartphones" data-scaytid="4"superdupersmartphones/span and whatever else the electronic elite want to buy or sell either too expensive or more complicated and less user-friendly the deeper into the Digital Age we go.nbsp; We at POOR Magazine were happy to get the website promoted from Web 1.0 to 2.0.nbsp; It looks great, but some of us are still uncomfortable with this Brave New Digital World./p p There is no mention in the article of things like Smart Meters, which are sold as a way to help the electric power industry provide efficient, also money-saving service to customers despite the fact that many customers don#39;t want them and are even more unhappy about the negative biological environmental effects that all of these electronic intrusions into our lives have on bodies and minds.nbsp;nbsp; There are more things like them to worry about, though I know at least one reader of POOR Magazine will probably be commenting that I am, once again, wasting my time writing about something like this in the way that I have./p p Am I really wasting my time?nbsp; Is efficiency and saving money the thing that I and others want?nbsp; Oh yes, we#39;d like to not have to stand in long lines for everything from drivers licenses to identity cards to Welfare benefits to you-name-it, we#39;d like a lot of things to change, but taking the Unemployment system digital looks nice on the surface while it continues the process of making the people who need the benefit a voice on the end of a phone line, invisible fingers reporting their owners status via a cell phone, a pad, or a computer, while the Unemployment workers (if they hold onto THEIR jobs through these and whatever changes come next...) also remain faceless voices./p

p img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/u26/BART.jpg" style="width: 201px; height: 251px;" //p p br / Part 1:nbsp; Another BART Murder/p p strongFrom what I know at this point, yes, I#39;m comfortable with what has occurred/strongbr / --BART Police Chief Kenton Rainey, at a Monday, July 4th, 2011, press conference/p p Friday, July 8th, 2011, I worked with Bruce Allison on his report on Homes Not Jails squatting protest, put some other articles on the POOR Magazine website, indulged in Facebook addiction and, later, was unpleasantly reminded of the BART span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="1"Po#39;Lice/span shooting of a man at the Civic Center (San Francisco) BART station on the night of July 3rd, 2011./p p The San Francisco Examiner, usually ultra-conservative about virtually everything they cover, published a Just My Opinion span data-scayt_word="op-ed" data-scaytid="18"op-ed/span piece by emAntioch Herald/em editor Dave Roberts, who was very much UNCOMFORTABLE with the BART shooting.nbsp; The Oscar Grant shooting produced a lot of mixed results, including a mandatory annual 40-hour training regimen for BART span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="2"Po#39;Lice/span./p p That 40 hours isn#39;t enough.nbsp; Roberts asks some good questions, including--did the BART span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="3"Po#39;Lice/span officers panic?nbsp; There have been so many shootings of, usually, non-White men, some of them under the influence of alcohol or something else, or suffering an emotional or mental crisis.nbsp; The BART span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="4"Po#39;Lice/span said that this particular man who was shot to death was waving a bottle of booze around, and a knife, and looked wobbly./p p I must be naive.nbsp; I mean, if you put the Military uniform on and get sent into Harm#39;s Way nobody should be surprised if you come back in a coffin.nbsp; Why are span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="5"Po#39;Lice/span such cowards they shoot to kill, all the time, even when the person in crisis is in a wheelchair?nbsp; We#39;ve had at least one of those kind of span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="6"Po#39;Lice/span shootings happen in span data-scayt_word="Amerikkka" data-scaytid="19"Amerikkka/span this year too./p p Why are they so unable to do the job the entire community expects of them, even those of us who push shopping carts full of cans and bottles, etc?/p p Part 2:nbsp; Midnight in the Garden of Concrete and BART/p p I got home in time to find out, via the San Francisco Giants#39; Midnight Replay on span data-scayt_word="KNBR" data-scaytid="20"KNBR/span radio station, that the Mets won the first game of the series.nbsp; BART seems to have won a battle with an elderly African-descended man in a wheelchair, via, you guessed it, the BART span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="7"Po#39;Lice/span./p p When I got to the bus stop to wait for the last #49 there was a BART span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="8"Po#39;Lice/span car parked in the span data-scayt_word="MUNI" data-scaytid="21"MUNI/span bus stop zone, and two BART span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="9"Po#39;Lice/span talking to the Elder (Poverty) span data-scayt_word="Skola" data-scaytid="22"Skola/span in the wheelchair.nbsp; They moved from the span data-scayt_word="Walgreen's" data-scaytid="25"Walgreen#39;s/span store entrance over to the concrete territory between the bus stop and the BART elevator.nbsp; One BART span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="10"Po#39;Lice/span was White, the other Asian./p p They blocked the elevator doors and insisted BART was closed.nbsp; Then the white BART cop left the other one alone with the old man while he went underground to talk to somebody.nbsp; I didn#39;t see him again./p p The Asian BART span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="11"Po#39;Lice/span talked with the Elder span data-scayt_word="Skola" data-scaytid="23"Skola/span, asking where he lived and if he planned to stay outside all night.nbsp; The old man, who looked to me to be a True Elder Poverty span data-scayt_word="Skola" data-scaytid="24"Skola/span if I#39;ve ever seen one, said he lived in Oakland or Vallejo, and the way that part of the conversation progressed I couldn#39;t tell if he was unable to remember where he actually lived, or if he was just trying to out-wait the BART span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="12"Po#39;Lice/span.nbsp; I suspected he just wanted the span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="13"Po#39;Lice/span out of his hair./p p This is what the BART span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="14"Po#39;Lice/span are for, I guess.nbsp; They exist to kill any non-White person who disturbs the peace too much, and they exist to not give a damn or an iota of real assistance to any poverty span data-scayt_word="skola" data-scaytid="26"skola/span who is obviously in need.nbsp; I was at least as unhappy as emAntioch Herald/em editor Dave Roberts is over the Civic Center shooting, not least because there was no help I could offer the elder poverty span data-scayt_word="skola" data-scaytid="27"skola/span./p p I don#39;t know what happened after my bus took me home.nbsp; I do know the BART span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="15"Po#39;Lice/span are useless and should be replaced with people who know how to respond to people in crisis.nbsp; BART span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="16"Po#39;Lice/span Chief Kenton Rainey sounds just like the clueless drone he replaced.nbsp; If BART doesn#39;t improve its span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="17"Po#39;Lice/span force substantially, I have another suggestion for them./p p Replace Rainey with somebody who gives a damn.nbsp; The San Francisco Sheriff#39;s Department is losing someone who might actually make BART safe for EVERYONE who rides it.nbsp; Hint!nbsp; Hint!nbsp; Just do it./p

pPaper trail/p pDiploma, BA, 1040EZ/p pLed to SSI that is real/p pMight be broke at the end of the month/p pBut busy like a bee/p pDon’t need a time card to punch/p pTraveled the world/p pMet my girl/p pDollar is not what I need/p pGot my section eight condo/p pDancing with Uncle Sam twisted feet in the Tango/p pOn fix income gives me freedom/p pGot to do what I got to do/p pCreative paperwork/p pDoctor's note proof of income/p pThis is work/p pCrossing my t’s dotting my i’s/p pReading what’s between the lines/p pNo, Jerry Lewis didn’t heal me/p pSo why do I have to convince u annually/p pI still have a disability/p pKripple US President/p pGave me what Congress now trying to take back/p pFDR hide his disability and aired his racism/p pLiving with contradictions/p pAmerican dream/p pKilling MLK’s dream/p pSleeping in the middle of the day/p pCapitalism is not my hands of time/p pGreek culture rocking me in a siesta/p pThe state gives takes it away/p pPolitical winds blows each every way/p pWe know what is right what should stay/p pDon’t need political winds in my ear/p pThe Deaf can hear the truth/p pPutting it on the mic in the studio booth/p pAll of this more on fix income/p pPaying landlord for a home/p pElders youth in a nursing home/p pNow I’m alone/p pAtt cut off my phone/p pDoctor’s note in my pocket cause I always need proof/p pOn fix income/p pBut my life is not fix/p pProperty manager won’t fix shit/p pFirst of the month/p pRent but my nephews are always sick/p pMildew, windows closed but feels open/p pRing ring ring/p pBill collectors doing their thing/p pI continue to do mine/p pDays blend together/p pOut weathering the storm/p pOn the man’s plantation picking cotton corn/p pBudget cuts/p pPeeps jumping out of windows/p pStreets flooding with blood/p pUp and down San Francisco’s hills/p pPoor people know how to survive on little/p pWhile the rich popping pills/p pRip up paper/p pBroken promises/p pNow student loans in default but isn’t my fault/p pDay after graduation they came knocking/p pWhile states can’t balance their own budget/p pUncle Sam’s hands in my pocket/p pMove over yeah right there/p pNow jerk me off god damnit/p pNothing but balls so play pocket pool you fool/p pWon’t never have/p pA two-car garage/p pWhite picket fence a mortgage/p pMy people were already property/p pYou can fool me once I already took out a loan/p pSo I don’t have the urge to own/p pDirect deposit/p pEverything under the table/p pBlack man can’t ever get comfortable/p pCointelpro 24/7/p pCameras in certain communities/p pReality TV shows without commercials/p pIn the middle of the month eating mac cheese another day/p pEaster hunt for spare change for bus fare/p pBoss doc my pay cause public transportation was late/p pFuck it I’ll stay home/p pCollect a monthly check/p pNo more playing tug of war/p pI know what I get/p pAnd when it comes/p pLiving on fix income/p pBy Leroy Moore/p

p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" strongfont size="3"font face="Times New Roman"Deep span class="yshortcuts" style="border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"East Oakland/span/font/font/strong/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"nbsp;/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font size="3"font face="Times New Roman"Black, span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1310600318_1" style="border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"Browns/span, Latinos, Africans Americans= East Oakland/font/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"Coming Back from span data-scayt_word="Dat" data-scaytid="6"Dat/span Side Shows back in 1999, when we Black and Brown folks would see the sun rise, when we would NOT shoot at each other over span data-scayt_word="turfs…and" data-scaytid="7"turfshellip;and/span it was all about kicking span data-scayt_word="it…..riding" data-scaytid="1"ithellip;..riding/span on span data-scayt_word="homiez" data-scaytid="8"homiez/span Mustang span data-scayt_word="5.0…" data-scaytid="2"5.0hellip;/span/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" nbsp;/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"see cause we are working class folks hellip;not enough capital to hit the Movies span data-scayt_word="theatres" data-scaytid="9"theatres/span, or the Clubshellip;so we got down on the Parking lot Chillinghellip;to get span style=""nbsp;/spanthe munchies, Tacos, or span data-scayt_word="BK" data-scaytid="10"BK/span what ever your Choicehellip;and put up the Smokehellip;and pour drink on the concrete floorhellip;for our love ones who are no longer with ushellip;./font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"nbsp;/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"See it wasnrsquo;t alwaysspan style=""nbsp; /spanthat much dirthellip;in East Oakland/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"nbsp;/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"Until they turn our communities into concentration camps, build span style=""nbsp;/spanjail cells, and police department, why ride all the way to Downtown to cage black and brown span data-scayt_word="folks..when" data-scaytid="3"folks..when/span they can cage ushellip;in our own turf, community, barrios, and hoodshellip;./font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"nbsp;/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"All in the name of making Safe, for WHO I askhellip;/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"See cause we need more jobs, and opportunities to come uphellip;./font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"Not more cops../font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"nbsp;/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"I remember getting Fit ithellip;. buying my clothes from mom and pops stores at span data-scayt_word="Eastmont" data-scaytid="11"Eastmont/span span data-scayt_word="mall…..before" data-scaytid="4"mallhellip;..before/span span data-scayt_word="D’Ds" data-scaytid="12"Drsquo;Ds/span came alonghellip;/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"span data-scayt_word="EastMont" data-scaytid="13"EastMont/span mallhellip;Where folks went got fit ithellip;get the latest Nike shoes, and span data-scayt_word="hella" data-scaytid="14"hella/span good Chinese foodhellip;/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"nbsp;/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"To get ready for the sideshows../font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"nbsp;/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"But then some of us start going Dumb, Stupid and Retarded/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"Donrsquo;t get me wrong I love the song../font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"nbsp;/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"But hate Black against Black, Brown against Brown Killing each other over span data-scayt_word="turfs" data-scaytid="15"turfs/span/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"nbsp;/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"And we no longer are span style=""nbsp;/spanspan data-scayt_word="Ghostriding" data-scaytid="16"Ghostriding/span the whip, the Po Po, hitting us with whip../font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"nbsp;/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"Black, Browns, Latinos, Africans Americans hellip; = East Oakland, community, span data-scayt_word="havenscourt" data-scaytid="17"havenscourt/span, span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1310600318_2" style="border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); cursor: pointer;"Melrose/span, span data-scayt_word="Castlemont" data-scaytid="18"Castlemont/span, span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1310600318_3" style="border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); cursor: pointer;"Fremont/span, span data-scayt_word="calvin" data-scaytid="19"calvin/span span data-scayt_word="simmons…high" data-scaytid="20"simmonshellip;high/span street and foothill, 106supspan data-scayt_word="th" data-scaytid="21"th/span/sup and span data-scayt_word="Macarthur" data-scaytid="22"Macarthur/span, pack and save parking lothellip;/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"nbsp;/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"Where we came together in mass, until the man in blue would break us aparthellip; /font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"nbsp;/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"See it wasnrsquo;t alwaysspan style=""nbsp; /spandirthellip;in East Oakland/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"nbsp;/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"nbsp;/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"Until we stop been a community, when we stop waving or nodding to our neighbors, letrsquo;s be real the economy does help us eitherhellip;and more guns in the streets than jobs is not a good recipehellip;for any city/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"nbsp;/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"See but the elders span data-scayt_word="say..Home" data-scaytid="5"say..Home/span always calls you Backhellip;Until we meet again Deep East Oaklandhellip;/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"nbsp;/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"span data-scayt_word="Te" data-scaytid="23"Te/span span data-scayt_word="llevo" data-scaytid="24"llevo/span en mi span data-scayt_word="Corazon" data-scaytid="25"Corazon/span/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"I carry you in my heart/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"nbsp;/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"With your shine/font/p p class="yiv1308901841MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" font face="Times New Roman" size="3"And Flaws/font/p

p On July 3rd, 2011, at 9:45 pm, a 45 year oldnbsp;scruffy-looking man of Euro descent, only span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Id'd" data-scaytid="15"Id#39;d/span 8 days later through his driver license picture , Charles Blair Hill, described by the corporate press as a wobbly drunk, and a crazy hippy, met a violent fate on a SF Civic Center BART Platform at the hands of white and Asian BART Thugs in Blue.nbsp; 3 bullet casings were recovered on the platform. nbsp;Charles was declared dead at San Francisco General Hospitalnbsp;an hour later.nbsp; Merely a case of span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="BARTIng" data-scaytid="17"BARTIng/span while Homeless and possibly intoxicated that has now become a justifiable death sentence on the street in the Land of the Proud and the Free, 2 hours before Independence Day./p p strongThe people of San Francisco will not stay silent on any BARTnbsp;Police killingsnbsp;!/strong/p p Eight days later, On July 11 2001, 5 pm, commemorating Charles#39; Stolen Life at the hand of BART Police, an estimated crowd of 200nbsp;civil rights protesters(although the corporate press estimated numbers at 60 or 80), of all races, ages and economic backgrounds descended en massenbsp;on the Civic Center BART Platform where Charles was executed like a rabid dog,br / where we met a barrage of hundreds of cops in full riot gear, some flanked with huge K-9 dogs, pre-civil rights style, while we chanted: No Justice, No Peace! Cops, Pigs, Dismantle the BART Police!/p p nbsp;/p p strongQuiet as kept:nbsp; Charles Blair Hill#39;s killing by BART Police if the fifth occurrence since 1992/strong/p p Those who are relatively new to the Bay Area may not know that this is the 5th BART police killing--all People of Color-- to the exception of Charles Hill.nbsp; In the previous cases, BART#39;s internal investigations concluded that the officers felt threatened by the victims and were justified in pulling the trigger. It#39;s unbelievable given the circumstances of the killings:/p p - In 1992, 19-year-old African American span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Jerrold" data-scaytid="19"Jerrold/span Hall (only son of Cornelius Hall, who at the time was the Fire chief of Oakland !) was shot in the back by a BART officer as he tried to leave the parking lot of a station. The officer was responding to reports of an armed robbery and said he suspected that Hall and a friend were involved. The officer tried to detain the two. Hall ran and then the officer shot him in the back and killed him. Hall was unarmed, but the officer said he thought Hall was on his way to get a gun and return for a showdown.br / span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Jerrold's" data-scaytid="21"Jerrold#39;s/span assassin later committed suicide..../p p - In 2001, an African American schizophrenic man, Bruce Seward was the next victim of the rogue force. Seward, 42, was naked and had been sleeping on a bench outside the BART station when an officer approached him. Seward did grab the officer#39;s nightstick at one point, but there were several options for subduing him. Instead, the officer shot and killed him. At the time, 2 weeks before the span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="S.F.P.D" data-scaytid="1"S.F.P.D/span. killing of my own son span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Idriss" data-scaytid="23"Idriss/span span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Stelley" data-scaytid="27"Stelley/span, 23 year old African American student, I had the opportunity to listen to an archived audiotape of that homicidal investigation. Excerpt: (Investigator): So, you felt you had to kill the suspect? (BART Cop): span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Dunno" data-scaytid="31"Dunno/span, he just had this look on his face like he wanted me to shoot him/p p - On January 1, 2009, African American Youth Oscar Grant was assassinated, handcuffed, face down, by BART officer Johannes span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Mesherle" data-scaytid="33"Mesherle/span, (who was released from custody last June 12, 2001, for Good Behavior following a substantial reduction of his incarceration for time already served from indictment to trial)./p p - Mid August,2010, BART police killed a distraught man of interracial descent, Fred Cook, 34./p p - Shortly after, Robert Greer died from am alleged fall after being taken into BART police custody./p p strongAt first I thought it was fireworks/strong/p p At first I thought it was fireworks, and we didn#39;t pay any attention, said Edwin Li, a San Franciscan who was on a train stopped at the station when the shooting of Charles Blair Hill occurred.nbsp; He got off the train and saw the two officers with Hill nearby on the ground.br / There was this one girl who was kind of freaked out, saying, #39;Oh my God, oh my God,#39; Li said. There were people on the platform./p p (The killing endangered the lives of innocent bystanders.... WHO do you mean to Serve Protect, again?)/p p A BART commuter sent me a private message two nights ago, right after seeing Charles #39;photo in SF Gate: Dear God ! I knew him ! I used to give him quarters all the time, sweet guy, he would not have hurt a fly !/p p strongN... SAY YOU span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="WANNA" data-scaytid="35"WANNA/span DIE ! YOU KNOW YOU span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="WANNA" data-scaytid="37"WANNA/span DIE, SAY IT, N... !/strong/p p A young African American man, husband of one of my staff at Hayward Emergency Shelter of which I was the program director in Nov, 2001, jumped fair at South Hayward Bart as he was late to go pick up his new born baby from childcare. 4 BART cops brought him to the ground and started hitting him with sticks, one was recording and kept yelling at him:br / N..., say you span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="wanna" data-scaytid="39"wanna/span die, you know you span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="wanna" data-scaytid="41"wanna/span die, say it N........br / so that he could become yet another BLACK SUICIDE BY COPbr / There were witnesses in the platform, and the young Brother started screaming,br / NO ! My wife and I just had a beautiful baby boy, I don#39;t span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="wanna" data-scaytid="43"wanna/span die !br / Someone PLEASE ! Call the police, the REAL police !./p p the BART cops gave him a citation and let him go..../p p He and his wife were so shaken by the occurrence that I had to conduct two emergency counseling sessions with the couple, and an interactive Know Your Rights seminar with the entire family of the victim.../p p strongCOMMUTERS UPSET IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN A STOLEN, ANONYMOUS LIFE.../strong/p p a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v"http://span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="www.youtube.com" data-scaytid="3"www.youtube.com/span/watch?v/a​=span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="qIw1Z-H1WIA" data-scaytid="45"qIw1Z-H1WIA/spanfeature=span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="player_em​bedded" data-scaytid="47"player_em​bedded/spanbr / BART protestbr / a href="http://www.youtube.com/"http://span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="www.youtube.com" data-scaytid="5"www.youtube.com/span/a/p p The corporate press whines on and on about the major delays and distress incurred through last evening#39;s Stolen Lives protest at Civic Center BART Station for the decent commuters trying to get home. Charles, a transient, on the dark side of the conservative middle class, who considers the Homeless as a nuisance...will never enter a shelter, let alone attend a function with his grieving family and friend./p p I am yet to read ONE word of compassion towards Charles#39; Grieving Family. I wholeheartedly hope that his family members and friends do not read the hundreds of hateful,vilifying and degrading comments,entered below corporate press coverage of the killing, Assault compounding horror and injury, stabbed through the heart each time they would read wobbly drunk about their Loved One, posted by cops on company time, budget and equipment, and by their unconditional police culture lovers./p p Alcohol is a LEGAL drug,br / late stage alcoholism is an ILLNESS,br / a DISABILITY,br / not a CRIME !/p p strongYET, ANOTHER WASTED, STOLEN LIFE./strong/p p Yet, another wasted, Stolen Life, white this span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="time...probably" data-scaytid="7"time...probably/span to the immense relief of Law Enforcement, as it dilutes allegations of longstanding illegal Racially biased Policing.br / Or would it be that on the BART Plantation, poor, Black, Brown, and the Homeless,br / Are span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="N...s" data-scaytid="9"N...s/span of our World ? Don#39;t Drink BART, if you have a preference for staying alive ?/p p I would like to understand how a distraught subject, with unsteady balance, could possibly lunge at an officer with allegedly a broken vodka bottle in one hand and a knife in the other,br / without falling down in the process ?nbsp; I am a female disabled Elder, and with the basic self defense training I took, I have, to this day, no difficulty to quickly bring down to the ground any large aggressor with my cane..../p p strongALWAYS SHOOT AT CENTER MASS/strong/p p But Police organizational culture has it that one should not merely impair the fine motor skills of a subject while bringing her/him safely to the ground, hence protecting the subject from self harm and near onlookers, but to always emshoot at center mass/em, which I was taught for 15 weeks at my span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="SFPD" data-scaytid="49"SFPD/span Academy Citizens Training in 2003. What happened with the much praised CIT (Crisis Intervention Training) modeled after the Memphis PD training ? More smoke, more mirrors, more assassinations./p p If you witness police misconduct, and shoot pictures or a video with your cell phone,br / * stay 10 ft away from the scene,br / * loudly assert that you are Exercising Your Constitutional Right to Observe,br / * and if at all quickly possible take the chip out of your cell and hide it inbr / your mouth after filming your evidence !/p p An Injustice to One is an Injustice to ALL/p p Rest in Glory Brother Charles,br / You will not be forgottenbr / One lingering regret...br / I never got a chance to give you a quarter, a span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="ciggie" data-scaytid="51"ciggie/span, a sandwich with a bottle of water..../p p a name="18684585"/a/p div class="addcomment" strong class="heading-attachment"a class="child" href="http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/07/13/18684574.php#18684585"more photos after Charles Killing/a/strong div class="author-attachment" by span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Idriss" data-scaytid="25"Idriss/span span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Stelley" data-scaytid="29"Stelley/span Foundation emWednesday Jul 13th, 2011 2:01 AM /em/div /div pcenter/center/p div class="media" img alt="_charles.jpg " height="360" src="http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2011/07/13/_charles.jpg" width="640" /br / strongspan class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="_charles.jpg" data-scaytid="11"_charles.jpg/span/strong/div pbr / /p div class="article" photo#1br / Charles is wheeled out if Civic Center BART On a collapsible gurney towards an ambulance, his body twisted on one side, probably dead.... p Photo #2.br / Civic Center BART entrances all cordoned off last evening, after all of us protesters and commuters were encircled and pushed towards upstairs escalators to get to street level, by a barrage of cops in full riot gear, some with HUGE span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="K9" data-scaytid="55"K9/span dogs. p[re civil rights style./..../p/div div class="link" a href="http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#%21/groups/203548939693413?ap=1"http://span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="www.facebook.com" data-scaytid="13"www.facebook.com/span/?ref=home#!/groups.../a/div

h3 span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 0);"Support striking prisoners by writing to them, a href="http://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/take-action/cdcr-and-california-elected-officials-contact-informaion/"calling officials/a, a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/support-prisoners-on-hunger-strike-at-pelican-bay-state-prison"signing the petition/anbsp;/span/h3 p emstrongby Marilyn McMahon, executive director of California Prison Focus/strong/em/p p Prisoners are about to die in California prisons, possibly by the dozens or even more. Conditions are so bad they have preferred to starve themselves to death rather than live another week in such torturous conditions and let future prisoners endure the same conditions. Their actions scream to Californians to listen, to act, to prove that we do not want such torture in our names./p p Please read the urgent bulletin below and contact your elected officials to demand that the hunger strike be addressed in a humane and rational way. The span data-scayt_word="CDCR" data-scaytid="7"CDCR/span (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation) has so far refused to negotiate with either the prisoners or their outside representatives and refused to end even the most egregious injustices or improve conditions. If it continues on this path, span data-scayt_word="CDCR" data-scaytid="8"CDCR/span willbr / soon have a lot of blood on its hands./p p emstrongby Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity/strong/em/p div class="img alignleft size-full wp-image-22003" style="width: 300px;" a href="http://sfbayview.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/SHU-cell-by-CDCR.jpg"img alt="" height="299" src="http://sfbayview.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/SHU-cell-by-CDCR.jpg" width="300" //a div Donrsquo;t let our brothers and sisters ndash; yes, women prisoners are striking too ndash; die alone in a hard concrete windowless dungeon like this span data-scayt_word="SHU" data-scaytid="21"SHU/span cell. Take action and spread the word NOW! ndash; Photo: span data-scayt_word="CDCR" data-scaytid="9"CDCR/span/div /div p The Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity coalition received an urgent update from medical staff at Pelican Bay State Prison that the health of at least 200 hunger strikers in the span data-scayt_word="SHU" data-scaytid="22"SHU/span is rapidly worsening. A source with access to their current medical conditions who prefers to be unnamed reported:/p p ldquo;The prisoners are progressing rapidly to the organ damaging consequences of dehydration. They are not drinking water and have span data-scayt_word="decompensated" data-scaytid="25"decompensated/span rapidly. A few have tried to sip water but are so sick that they are vomiting it back up. Some are in renal failure and have been unable to make urine for three days. Some are having measured blood sugars in the 30 range, which can be fatal if not span data-scayt_word="treated.”" data-scaytid="1"treated.rdquo;/span/p h3 style="text-align: center;" span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 0);"A few have tried to sip water but are so sick that they are vomiting it back up./span/h3 p span data-scayt_word="SHU" data-scaytid="23"SHU/span prisoners at Pelican Bay have said they are willing to risk their lives and will continue to strike until their demands are met. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (span data-scayt_word="CDCR" data-scaytid="10"CDCR/span) continues to refuse to negotiate./p p Prisoners across California continue to refuse food in solidarity with the Pelican Bay span data-scayt_word="SHU" data-scaytid="24"SHU/span hunger strikers./p p This past weekend, families and friends gave encouragement and support to their loved ones during weekend visits at prisons across the state, witnessing the toll the hunger strike is taking on their bodies. Families have said their loved ones are extremely pale, shaking and have already lost 20-30 pounds. Some families of prisoners who have only been drinking water for 12 days now witnessed their loved ones faint or go into diabetic shock in visiting rooms over the weekend./p h3 style="text-align: center;" span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 0);"Families say their loved ones are extremely pale, shaking and have already lost 20-30 pounds. Some families of prisoners who have only been drinking water for 12 days now witnessed their loved ones faint or go into diabetic shock in visiting rooms over the weekend./span/h3 p People locked up across the state have been telling their friends and families about the tactics prison officials have been using to break the strike./p p Many prisoners have said that medications are being denied to prisoners on hunger strike./p p Prisoners have reported that guards in at least Pelican Bay general population and span data-scayt_word="Calipatria" data-scaytid="26"Calipatria/span State Prison have been calling throughout blocks and units: ldquo;The hunger strike is over! The five demands have been met!rdquo; which is not true. According to family members of prisoners at span data-scayt_word="Calipatria" data-scaytid="27"Calipatria/span, participation at span data-scayt_word="Calipatria" data-scaytid="28"Calipatria/span was huge ndash; at least 1,500 prisoners throughout that prison alone joined the hunger strike ndash; until the guards spread rumors of the strike ending. Some prisoners at span data-scayt_word="Calipatria" data-scaytid="29"Calipatria/span remain on hunger strike, however./p p While the span data-scayt_word="CDCR" data-scaytid="11"CDCR/span released its estimate of 6,600 prisoners participating in the hunger strike during the Fourth of July weekend and declared the numbers dropping to over 2,100 in the following days, of course the span data-scayt_word="CDCR" data-scaytid="12"CDCR/span failed to mention how and why that happened. The decline in numbers in no way demonstrates a lack of support or dedication to this struggle from the prisoners, rather how eager the span data-scayt_word="CDCR" data-scaytid="13"CDCR/span is to make this issue go away quickly and quietly./p p One prisoner writes to a supporter: ldquo;Irsquo;m sincerely sick with end stage liver disease (span data-scayt_word="ESLD" data-scaytid="30"ESLD/span) and a severe case of related diabetes. Irsquo;m going to end up in the hospital almost immediately and will be effectively isolated. Due to my dedication to the struggle, I will continue with my strike. I wonrsquo;t know when to stop. If the demands have been met in whole, negotiated part, etc., I will not take the copsrsquo; word, for the pigs have proven their word to be hollow. I will need the word of you or your outside span data-scayt_word="support.”" data-scaytid="2"support.rdquo;/span/p p Families and community organizations like Prison Moratorium Project continue to rally support outside of Corcoran and other striking prisons, sharing information and trying to visit their loved ones as regularly as possible. a href="http://julie-tackett.blogspot.com/"Families and community members are also supporting the strike outside Pelican Bay./a/p h3 Take action TODAY! Call NOW!/h3 p Support for this hunger strike is at a crucial point, where we need to pressure the span data-scayt_word="CDCR" data-scaytid="14"CDCR/span to negotiate with the prisoners immediately./p p Call span data-scayt_word="Gov" data-scaytid="31"Gov/span. Jerry Brown, (916) 445-2841, and say something like this: ldquo;Hi, my name is _________. Irsquo;m calling about the statewide prisoner hunger strike that began at Pelican Bay. I support the prisoners and their reasonable five core demands. I am alarmed by the rapidly deteriorating medical conditions of the hunger strikers and the inaction of the span data-scayt_word="CDCR" data-scaytid="15"CDCR/span. I urge you to make sure the span data-scayt_word="CDCR" data-scaytid="16"CDCR/span negotiates with the prisoners immediately and in good faith before prisoners are force-fed or even die. Thank span data-scayt_word="you.”" data-scaytid="3"you.rdquo;/span/p p Also a href="http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/officials"call your legislators/a and urge them to make sure the span data-scayt_word="CDCR" data-scaytid="17"CDCR/span negotiates with the prisoners in good faith./p p Call span data-scayt_word="CDCR" data-scaytid="18"CDCR/span Secretary Matthew span data-scayt_word="Cate" data-scaytid="32"Cate/span, (916) 323-6001, and say something like this: ldquo;Hi, my name is __________. Irsquo;m calling about the statewide prisoner hunger strike that began at Pelican Bay. I support the prisoners and their reasonable five core demands. I am alarmed by the rapidly deteriorating medical conditions of the hunger strikers and the inaction of the span data-scayt_word="CDCR" data-scaytid="19"CDCR/span. I urge the span data-scayt_word="CDCR" data-scaytid="20"CDCR/span to negotiate with the prisoners immediately and in good faith before prisoners are force-fed or even die. Thank span data-scayt_word="you.”" data-scaytid="4"you.rdquo;/span/p h3 Other ways to support the hunger strike/h3 p The prisoners need international support! No matter where you are geographically, you can help amplify the prisonersrsquo; voices and demands:/p ul li Check thenbsp;a href="http://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/"Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity blog/a daily./li li Attend a href="http://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/take-action/demonstrations-actions-events-in-the-us-canada/"solidarity events and demonstrations/a! Rallies are scheduled over the next few days in Oakland, Chicago, span data-scayt_word="Tuscon" data-scaytid="33"Tuscon/span and Montreal./li li a href="http://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/take-action/call-for-action/"Organize/a a solidarity event or action in your city or town!/li li a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/support-prisoners-on-hunger-strike-at-pelican-bay-state-prison"Sign the online petition/a!/li li Share this information with everyone you know through phone calls, emails, Facebook, Twitter and more!/li li Use grassroots and mainstream media to raise awareness and amplify the prisonerrsquo;s demands!/li /ul p If you have a loved one locked up and want support contacting him or her about the hunger strike, reach out to the coalition by sending an email to a href="mailto:prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity@gmail.com"span data-scayt_word="prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity@gmail.com" data-scaytid="5"prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity@gmail.com/span/a. It is important that they have updates on the status of the hunger strike both at Pelican Bay and across California, including how people are showing solidarity and support for the hunger strike outside./p p The coalition also needs help getting updates and information to prisoners throughout California. If you know people who are locked up in California, please either send us their information or send them updates of the strike, including how people are supporting outside. The hunger strikers need our support and need to know how much support is growing for them outside prison./p p span data-scayt_word="Lucasville" data-scaytid="34"Lucasville/span Uprising prisoners, who held a victorious hunger strike in January, are chanting: ldquo;From span data-scayt_word="Lucasville" data-scaytid="35"Lucasville/span to Pelican Bay, fighting back is the only way!rdquo;/p h3 style="text-align: center;" span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 0);"ldquo;From span data-scayt_word="Lucasville" data-scaytid="36"Lucasville/span to Pelican Bay, fighting back is the only way!rdquo;/span/h3 p An emergency press conference will be held tomorrow, Wednesday, July 13, 11 span data-scayt_word="a.m" data-scaytid="6"a.m/span., outside the California State Building in San Francisco, at Van Ness and McAllister./p p emThis story, to which Bay View staff contributed, first appeared on a href="http://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/2011/07/12/urgent-hunger-strikers-health-rapidly-deteriorates/"span data-scayt_word="PrisonerHungerStrikeSolidarity" data-scaytid="37"PrisonerHungerStrikeSolidarity/span/a.nbsp;/em/p