by by POOR staff

As part of our Media Studies Program at POOR, we provide extensive media and poverty training for visiting students and professional journalists. One such visitor is Jean McGeorge from New Zealand, who wrote to us to explain why she was interested in visiting POOR magazine. After she had visited our Community Newsroom, our Media Studies interns interviewed her to gain an understanding of her work and her dilemma with mainstream media coverage of poor communities in New Zealand.

Jean first contacted POOR via e-mail:

"Hello, my name is Jean McGeorge and I am a journalist from New Zealand. I became really interested in the media portrayal of poverty while working as reporter on a community newspaper in one of New Zealand's poorest areas. I got sick of reading headlines (in other papers of course) like 'Welcome to the Underworld' and 'Otara as Bad as We Thought.'

I am now putting together a proposal for a research grant to put together guidelines to help improve mainstream media coverage of poverty and poverty-related issues in my country.

The grant I'm applying for allows for travel to go to media organisations overseas that could provide useful models.

I would love the opportunity to come and spend some time observing at Poor Magazine and to talk with you about ways in which these issues can be reframed and addressed better in New Zealand.

If I got the grant, I would probably be traveling in February or March next year and imagine I would need to spend a week or two with you.

Please get back to me, let me know what you think and I can tell you more about New Zealand and the work I would like to do."

In further correspondence, Jean discussed the multi-cultural, and often poor, communities of New Zealand:

"South Auckland, where I worked, has a reasonably large Maori population, and also a high immigrant population. There is a large Pacific Island population (Samoan and Tongan communities) and smaller communities of Indians, Asians and the country's refugee resettlement programme is based here."

POOR asked Jean, "What, if any, writing groups are in existence with low income folks in New Zealand?"

She replied, "Pretty much none, I'm afraid. The only thing I have found so far is a newspaper in Wellington, our capital, called the City Voice. This uses a large volunteer staff and focuses on issues affecting inner-city people. It also practices advocacy journalism and is run as a collective.

Unfortunately, New Zealand is so small ( 3.5 million people) there is not the market for many niche publications, and most of the smaller community papers which could serve this function have been bought up by the two large multi-national publishing companies operating in New Zealand. Plus, the main media writes ABOUT, very seldom FOR, low-income communities."

An Interview with Jean McGeorge

by Vlad Pogorelov

I remember when, still a romantic young man, I watched the Australian film ìCrocodile Dundeeî a number of times. I had a big world map on my study desk, underneath the Plexiglas. Instead of practicing Algebra or Russian Grammar I would sit there for hours, dreaming of traveling to all those exotic places of the world. New Zealand was definitely one of them. As in the Moody Blues song, ìthinking is the best way to travel,î and so I traveled in my imagination. New Zealand was a place of dangers and adventure, where the native tribes are ready to ambush you at any moment and exotic prehistoric animals are roaming free in the wilderness.

Twenty years later I still havenít made it to New Zealand or Australia, but I am much closer to that part of the world than I was before. Yet after living here in America for the last 8 years and even becoming an American citizen, I eventually had to say good-bye to my romantic notions of the ìNew Worldî that were shaped by the books of Maine Reed and Fenimore Cooper. California turned out not to be the place of Wild West cowboys or Gold Rush miners. It is more prosaic, more regulated and at times inhumane. Keeping that in mind, I prepared for the interview with Jean McGeorge, who came to POOR all the way from New Zealand.

A woman in her twenties, Jean embodies an air of ingrained intelligence and a calm, but firm, self-confidence. For a second she reminds me of portrait I have seen of Florence Nightingale, just arrived at the battlefield of the Crimean War. Jean is sitting in her wooden armchair in POOR’s conference room and is facing a crew of interns, staff writers and other prominent figures of the New Journalism movement. With quiet determination she withstands an assault of curiosity and thorough journalistic inquiry into her life and work.

Having heard so much about her from co-editors Dee and Lisa, I finally have a chance to ask her the questions that Iíd prepared the day before. Knowing that I will not have enough time to satisfy my curiosity about her work and New Zealand, I settle on two questions. As other members of the interviewing group have questions as well, I am confident that we will gather enough vital information to understand the motives behind her mission of reporting on New Zealand’s poor.

Jean, who graduated with a degree in Journalism, could have a bright future as a young and promising journalist of the mainstream media. Instead, ever since her days with Papatoe Toe Otahuhu, a small but influential community newspaper of South Auckland, Jean has reported news concerning poor and underprivileged people. According to Jean, she was “inspired to cover the poor because there was not enough coverage on them in New Zealandís mainstream press.”

Currently, Jean is on a fact-finding tour about news organizations that cover poverty issues here in the US. She received her scholarship to research the broad subject of poor coverage in press thanks to her own energy and enthusiasm as well as the support of some representatives of New Zealandís newspaper industry. After an extensive search on the net, looking through dozens of different organizations that advocate and inform on the subject of poverty, Jean chose POOR Magazine and POOR News Network as the main place where she would learn.

According to Jean, New Zealand has a population of 3 million people, with one million concentrated in South Auckland. The poor and indigenous people are concentrated in the suburbs of South Auckland, areas formerly populated by white working class. Jean tells us of the segments of the population which are most at risk: the Pacific Islanders, the Indians, the Africans and of course the recent immigrant arrivals from variety of countries. Jean writes about the oppression and neglect suffered by these people under New Zealandís conservative Government. “The poverty is portrayed here,î Jean says with a sad smile, ìas if it is because the poor are lazy. And thatís what made me interested in this subject, made me write about them.”

Jean thinks that her Government betrayed her people when it privatized healthcare, reduced welfare or dole, as they call it, and abolished the trade Unions. She tells us that a few years ago her Government started a campaign of harassment against poor people, calling it “daubing dole bludger.” As a result, many poor and disadvantaged people were pushed into even greater poverty. Yet despite obvious class oppression, New Zealand is an apolitical country. “We donít like to make a fuss. Somehow, we see it as embarrassing.” Jean says.

As I hear Jean talking about all the injustices done to the poor workers and indigenous people of New Zealand, I realize how much needs to be done in the US to revert the current situation of unjust welfare reform, reduced social spending and private healthcare. The way Jean describes her now ìindependentî country is so similar to what is happening hereóin Uncle Samís backyard. The fact that a majority of Americans are as apolitical as New Zealanders is not a surprise. It seems that it is very symptomatic for the English speaking post-British Empire worldóespecially if the people who are running the show are not the oppressed, the indigenous, the descendants of slaves or the minorities.

Describing her journalistic work, Jean tells us that big businesses recently evicted seventy families from their homes, in order to expand the motorways. The homes were demolished and the evicted families had no money or political influence to get proper compensation. Despite Jeanís involvement, she was unable to prevent it from happening. ìA lot of dirty dealing was going on,î she says, shaking her head. ìAnd unfortunately there was not enough feedback from the community.î I am wondering if Jean knows about the housing crisis here in the Bay Area, and how thousands of San Franciscans have been evicted due to influx of high-tech money and enormous greediness of the landlords. I personally know a number of people who have been evicted, including myself. And some of them have been thrown out on the street more than one time.

Jean explains she eventually left her newspaper because the company that owned it was uninvolved with the staff and did not provide benefits for the workers. It reminded me my last ìreal jobî as a part time case manager in a chain homecare agency. I was fired for talking about fair benefits for the employees and the possibility of organizing a Union.

I ask Jean if there are other alternative newspapers or magazines in New Zealand writing on the issues of poverty and class oppression. To my surprise, Jean admits that that there are not. Apparently, the subject of poverty and class oppression is not covered very well in New Zealand, and that is why Jean is on her fact-finding tour. “Youíve got a lot of facts to gather, sister,” I think. “And one of them is that you can organize against the System, even if your number is small and you have holes in your pockets. POOR Magazine is a good example of that.”

For more information on POOR's Media Studies/Poverty Scholarship Program, please call us at (415) 863-6306 or email, tiny@poormagazine.org

A Journalist from New Zealand

Takuya Arai

Recently, I broke my rib. Since I do not have a health insurance and cannot afford to have a doctor, I was unable to get a proper medical care for my broken bone. Although I saw a doctor once right after I broke my bone, high medical expense, which was just an astronomical figure to my monthly budget, disqualified me for further medical care. I just needed to stay calm and depend on the natural healing ability of my body. It seems that my bone is healing this time, but I get scared when I imagine myself in a situation that requires more serious medical care, which I basically do not deserve because of the lack of adequate financial resources.

"Pacific Islanders, like Maori, have pretty bad health statistics." Jean answered. "We have a huge problem of communicable disease, such as tuberculosis, diabetes, measles, etc." Issues concerning health are more serious than any other threat to the poor community.

Jean has the same perception as POOR News Network does with regard to the point that issues concerning poverty are only the subjects of the news for mainstream media, which helps create a "sense of isolation" of poor community from the rest of the society. She was a journalist writing for Maori community newspaper called "Papa Toe Toe Ota Huhu" in Auckland, New Zealand, where she became interested in issues of poverty. With her New Zealand English accent, which sounded very fresh to me, Jean willingly answered our questions about the situations surrounding poverty in her country.

"Are minority people organized?" Joe, one of the POOR media studies interviewers, asked.

"There are a number of ethnic communities in South Auckland and very few white people. Pacific islanders, such as Samoans, Tongans, Indians, Muslims, and other Asian Immigrants do not really have political or organized voice." Despite the seriousness of the issues, she never raised her voice or became emotional when she was answering our questions. Her calmness and concise language reflected a sense of intelligence to me.

However, more importantly, what she told us reminded me of my own experience when I first came to the United States 9 years ago. I was 19 years old with full of hope and anxiety (fuan). People, culture, food, climate, everything was new to me. Living in a small city in Ohio and being Asian at the same time introduced me to a lot of unique and eccentric experiences, which I enjoyed so much.

However, being different from everybody around me also caused a lot of difficulties and hardships. (Toriwake) More than anything, my inability to speak English affected me the most in every aspect of my life. Sometimes I was being culled from the community. Stress accumulated when I could not say what I wanted to say when I confronted mean racists who consistently tried to make me the target of public ridicule, and when the same type of things happened a number of times a week over the period of 1 to 2 years until I became relatively communicable and capable of verbally fighting them back.

"In South Auckland, there are a lot of working class people. They do not have enough resources to fight. They have no money. Language barrier is a big factor." Jean explained. Their HAGAYUSA resonated in my mind. "Mainstream media like TV, radio and newspaper do not have consistent coverage of issues concerning poverty. People in poor communities are reluctant to open themselves up to the mainstream media because their experience with media was negative ones in the past." She added.

"How are minorities in New Zealand acting against threats from its government and society?" I asked this question because I was inspired by the news last week that Zapatista rebel leaders in Mexico are calling on the Mexican government to pass the Indian rights law. "A lot of people want their lands back." Jean answered. "Because of the land occupation, minorities are claiming compensation from the government."

by Carol Harvey

On Saturday, August 3 at 1:00 a.m. I emerged wide-eyed from "Signs" at the Coronet on Geary and walked down to Cala Market for an Odwala. In the check-out line was a skinheaded-looking blond guy and his spikey-headed girlfriend.  She giggled, "I have to take out a loan to live in this city."  He commiserated, saying something about her staying at his place for the time being. 

Out on the street with my drink, I passed a hooded young guy on the corner.  A perfectly curved stream gushed copiously upwards from his pants into the street.  His friend, hands slung in pockets, slouched idly a few yards up by the bus stop, waiting.  The golden stream guy finished and stepped past me spritely saying a bold, "Hello!"  "I just peed in front of you in the street, Lady, and you can't do nothin' about it," smirked all over his face."

I walked a few yards East up Geary.  The skinheaded-looking blond guy emerged from the bushes pulling up his zipper.  He joined his girlfriend.  I called as I walked up behind him fast, "Are you homeless?"

"No."  He said, turning.

"They are arresting homeless people for what you just did in the bushes."

"They can arrest me," he screamed. "In fact, you can tell them my name," and he hauled up the front of his shirt.  Blazoned across his very white chest in huge Gothic letters was the word, "Stortz."

"What's that?" I said.

"My name, Bitch!  You can tell the police, and they can come and get me."

"You make it hard on homeless people," I said.

("Note to self: I'm mad enough about the unfairness of this that I am willing to commit the foolhardy act of confronting a nonhomeless skinheaded-looking guy in the middle of Geary at 1:30 a.m. on a dark Friday night.)

He's not alone.  They do it outside the bars in the Marina. Their kids do it behind the trees in Alta Plaza, and in the street next to their cars on Valencia in the Mission.  Some of them are adults, some children.  Most have homes.

So, send out the SFPD with the quality of life citations!   It's "Storz!", folks, and he ain't homeless.  He's a housed San Franciscan, a guy with the Goth tattoo of his name on his chest, over there right now doing his civic duty by watering the bushes. 

And, me, I'm over here trying not to drag it home on my shoes. 

by PNN staff

One flyer from Zephyr Realty advises landlords that
they can raise the value of their buildings by 20% if
they sell buildings that are empty of any tenants.
Another flyer lists property bought a few years ago
and then re-sold in the last year at huge profits-the
flyer notes "Come In And Ask About Ellis
Evictions."

These practices, and the involvement of Zephyr
Realtor’s buying buildings, evicting tenants and
converting the apartments to condos was the focus of
a tenant protest and picket at Zephyr Reality in Noe
Valley.

Zephyr is one of the leading players in real
estate speculation in San Francisco leading to
the evictions of tenants for condo
conversions. Their ads for condos often say
"VACANT" or "DELIVERED VACANT."
These condos are being sold empty because
the tenants have been evicted, usually under
the state Ellis Act. Real estate investors are
buying up buildings, evicting tenants under
the Ellis Act, and then using loopholes in the
condo conversion law, the units are sold as
condos-usually for about $425,000 per
apartment (with the real estate speculator
typically getting $500,000 profit per
building).

These evictions-for-condos are the leading
cause of evictions in the city.

Using the state Ellis Act, real estate have evicted
about a thousand tenants in the past year for the
purpose of condo conversion.

Even though the city’s condo conversion law limits
conversions to 200 a year and prohibits senior
evictions for condos, these real estate investors utilize
loopholes in the condo law to convert thousands of
units. The Tenants Union is putting a measure on the
November ballot to bring all types of
"condominium-type" conversions into condo law.
When such a law is passed, all rental units which are
sold as condos will be covered by the condo law,
regardless of how the sale is structured or recorded
on the deed.

INFORMATION:

Ted Gullicken 282-6543

Pager: 791-1528

558 CAAP STREET- SAN FRANCISCO,
CA 94110 - PHONE (415)
282-6543-FAX:(415) 282-6622

Z

by tiny aka Lisa Gray-Garcia, Daughter of Dee

In light of the recent protests by students on campuses across califas to the proposed %32 tuition increases- POOR stands in solidarity with the students - but we also want to remind you all as you struggle for justice – and take batons and other weapons of capitalism – to remember that formal institutions of learning are only one form of knowledge that has unfairly cornered the market as the only form of valid education while on our stolen land and with our stolen resources.

And formal institutions of learning have been for rich people from the beginning , and when us poor people get in – its by way of crumbs being thrown or begged for ( aka scholarships) and/or loans that indebt us to them for the rest of our life- for the sole privilege of attending their "universities".

So we at POOR urge you all on to contunue that fight – but also to encourage you to re-think education itself- and its racist , classist separatist tests and studies and obstacles – and that you are all welcome to come through to POOR Magazine’s Peopelskool which begins its winter semester with a knowledge and art exchange we call Mercado de cambio on December 16th at POOR Magazine - see below for more info.

by Muteado/PNN Migrant and Poverty Scholar

Scroll down for English

El tambor hablo y el humo difundió una energía positiva por todo el sitio. “Dicen que toma un pueblo para criar a un niño, sin embargo, también toma un pueblo para poder mandarlo al colegio. Entonces el pueblo salió y hablo. El concierto, “Educación or the Bullet” (Educación o una bala) tomo lugar en el centro cultural de SOMArts. Organizado por HOMEY (Homies organizando a la Misión para apoderar la juventud) el evento se enfoco en la prevención de la violencia y la enseñanza de jóvenes, para que busquen maneras creativas para poder expresarse y motivar a los jóvenes que vayan al colegio.

Varias organizaciones comunitarias como: POWER, que se enfoca en temas que afectan a comunidades de color, MECHA, una organización estudiantil, Back Student Unión (Unión Morena de Estudiantes), Clínica Martín Baro, Huaxtec, Cultura Pherma Indígena, la comunidad Filipina y POOR Magazine vinieron a apoyar el evento.

El evento se comenzó con danzantes que bendijeron el edificio. Los MC’s presentaron a Deuce Eclipse, un artista de la área de la bahía, que hizo que comenzara la fiesta al compartir su música de consciencia. Desde el comienzo hasta el final, el evento estuvo lleno de grandes talentos, poetas, y raperos, no solo de la bahía, pero también de Los Angeles. Cihuatl-Ce Una Mujer MC compartió una letra poderosa, hablando sobre la opresión de las mujeres en todo el mundo. Cuando se le pregunto porque tomo parte de el evento, ella respondió, “Amo el área de la bahía y la energía de la juventud que hay aquí.” Le pregunte porque no hay tantas mujeres MC’s y ella respondió diciendo, “Hay muchas mujeres MC’s. Hasta hice un MySpace de solo mujer MC’s pero algunas veces no somos invitadas. Eso es lo positivo de este evento que organizo HOMEY.” La presentación de Cihuatl-Ce Una Mujer fue impactante, con un “slide show” pasando en el fondo mostrando estadísticas y datos sobre la realidad de la opresión de las mujeres en todo el mundo, mientras que ella cantaba.

“Como la historia ha sido escondido de nosotros”

El grupo HAIRDOO también bendijo el escenario con consciencia e unidad como siempre lo hacen. Tuve la oportunidad de hablar con Shaka, uno de los miembros de HAIRDOO y pregunte, “¿Por que vinieron a el evento de “Education or the Bullet?” Bueno, tenemos una conexión intima con Alejandro y BRN BFLO. también pensamos que apoyar este evento es importante porque hay hermanos convirtiéndose a victimas de homicidios y alguna de nuestra propia gente son los que están matando, la separación entre la comunidad morena y latina. Nos tenemos que unir para no solo derrotar al imperio, pero para también levantarnos, para poder conectar ese puente hacia la liberación como seres humanos.”

“Tenemos que conseguir nuestra educación por cual quieres medios necesarios.”

Big Dan de el grupo BRN BFLO que también participaron en el evento dijieron, “Nosotros estamos aquí apoyando a HOMEY, apoyando el movimiento y apoyando a los estudiantes indocumentados, porque todos merecemos una educación. Entonces tenemos que ser el cambio que queremos ver, hay que hallar lo que nos gusta hacer y hacerlo.”

“Welfare Queeeens!”

Las WelfareQueens de POORMagazine también estuvieron presentes. Hablando sobre la opresión de la mujer, que viene de el sistema y la separación de generaciones impuesto por la manera de pensar de el Oeste. “Las mujeres bien portadas nunca se meten en problemas” y las WelfareQueens no se portan bien. Compartiendo la verdad y hablando sobre las condiciones en que vivimos, trajeron con ellas su energía y compartieron su palabra.

“Ayude a su gente”

Somos One, de BRN BFLO, también compartió algunos pensamientos sobre el evento, “No, nomás somos artistas, somos maestros, estamos en el movimiento, estamos para apoyar a la juventud, para apoyar el evento de HOMEY. El evento estuvo muy bien organizado gracias a Alejandra, Nancy, Erik y que sigan participando en lo que les guste y ayude a su gente.”

“Que se joda la policía, que se jodan!”

Ise Lyfe también estuvo y compartió sus rimas y difundió consciencia sobre la opresión policíaca en nuestras comunidades de color y hablo sobre la matanza de Oscar Grant en una de sus nuevas canciones.

“Ahora salio un articulo donde decía que los latinos son el mayor porcentaje de gente encarcelada en Los Estados Unidos de Amérikkka.”

Mientras que tomaba el BART para regresarme al Este de Oakland, Sagnicthe- de Huaxtec y un organizador de la área de la bahía- hablo sobre la comunidad Latina y la educación. “HOMEY y Huaxtec han trabajado juntos y han tratado temas que afectan nuestras comunidades Latinas. Nosotros entendemos que la educación o la falta de educación es un problema con que la comunidad tiene que liriar. Vemos que lo que se le ofrece a la comunidad es la militar, el complejo industrial de las prisiones, o las calles. Es triste que mucha gente peleo por el sistema educativo que hoy tenemos y no lo aprovechamos, algunas veces lo recibimos con una actitud de resistencia y nos enfocamos en maneras negativas de expresarnos. Necesitamos cosas positivas para nuestra comunidad.

El evento de HOMEY, “Education or the Bullet” fue un concierto impactante que discutió la educación en los Estados Unidos de Amérikkka. Como sobreviviente del sistema publica de escuelas, veo la necesidad que hay, en apartarnos del enfoque europeo, y salir del sistema que ha sido construido para que comunidades de color salgan derrotadas.

-------------------------

Education Not the Bullet

HOMEYSF sponsors an event focusing on the education system in Amerikkka

As the drum spoke and the smoke spread positive energy through the room, the danzantes blessed us with their moves. A voice spoke, “Every danza has a meaning and the next danza is meant to clear the bad energy in the room.” They say it takes a village to raise a child but it also takes a village to send a child to college and so the village came out and spoke. The "Education or the Bullet” concert took place at the SOMArts cultural center. Organized by HOMEY (Homies Organizing the Mission to Empower Youth) the event focused on violence prevention, teaching young people to look for creative ways to express themselves and encouraging young people to go college.

At the event, different grassroots organizations like POWER, who deals with issues that affect communities of color, MECHA, a student organization, Black Student Union, Clinica Martin Baro, Huaxtec, Indigenous Pherma Culture, Filipino Community and Poor Magazine came out to support.

The event was kicked off by some powerful Danzantes who blessed the building. The MC’s introduced Bay Area’s own, Deuce Eclipse, who busted out some conscious lyrics and got the party started. From beginning to end, the event was packed with amazing talents, poets and rappers not only from the bay, but also L.A. Cihuatl-Ce Una Mujer MC ripped the mic with powerful lyrics, speaking on the oppression of women in the world. When asking her why she took part of the event she replied, “I love the bay area and the energy that the youth have out here.” I also asked why there are not as many women MC’s and she answered: “There are a lot woman MC’s. I even created a myspace with only MC women, but sometimes, we don’t get invited. This is the positive thing about this event that HOMEY organized.” Cihuatl-Ce Una Mujer’s performance was powerful; she had a slide show and put out facts and statistics on the oppression of women in the world, while performing.

“How history has been hidden from us.”

HAIRDOO also blessed the stage with consciousness and unity like they always do. I had the opportunity to talk to Shaka, one of the members of HAIRDOO and asked, “What is HAIRDOO doing out here in ‘Education or the Bullet’?”

“Well, we have a close connection with Alejandro and BRN BFLO. [We] also think is important to support this event, because there are brothers becoming victims of homicide and some of our people are doing the killing, the black and brown separation. We need to unify ourselves not only to defeat the empire, but to also uplift each other, to be able to connect the bridge to the path to liberating ourselves as human beings."

“We need to get our education by any means necessary.”

Big Dan from BRN BFLO who also participated in the event said, "We are here to support HOMEY, support the movement and support the undocumented students, because we all deserve an education. So be the change that you want to see, find what you love to do and just do it.”

“Welfare Queeeens!”

Poormagazine’s own WelfareQUEENS were also in the house speaking on the oppression of women by the system and the separation of generations imposed by Western thinking. “Well-behaved women don’t get in trouble” and the WelfareQUEENS are always in trouble. Speaking powerful truths and telling it like it is, bringing their offspring into the stage, and sharing their powerful words.

“Ayude a su gente”

Somos One, of BRN BFLO, also dropped a couple of thoughts about the event, “No, nomas somos artistas, somos maestros, estamos en el movimiento, estamos para apoyar a la juventud, para apoyar el evento de HOMEY. El evento estuvo muy bien organizado gracias a Alejandra, Nancy, Erik y que sigan participando en lo que les guste y ayude a su gente.”

“Fuck the police, fuck em!”

Ise Lyfe was in the building, sharing rhymes and spreading conciousness about police oppression in our communities of color and speaking on the killing of Oscar Grant with his new piece.

“Ahora salio un articulo donde decia que los latinos son el mayor porcentaje de gente encarcelada en Amerikkka.”

“Today, I saw an article that said Latinos are the highest percentage of people incarcerated in Amerikkka.”

While riding BART back to East Oakland, Sagnicthe-from Huaxtec and an organizer in the Bay Area-spoke about the Latino community and education. “HOMEY and Huaxtec have done work together on issues that affect our Raza communities. We understand that education or the lack of education is a problem is our community that we have to deal with, we see that what is offered to our community is the military, prison industrial complex or the streets. It is sad that a lot of our people fought for the education system that we have now and we don’t take advangtage of it, sometimes we have an attitude of resistance and tend to focus on negative ways to express our selves. We need positive things for our community.”

“It takes a village to raise a child.”

HOMEY’s ‘Education or the Bullet’ concert was a powerful event that addressed the education in Amerikkka. As a survivor of the public school system, I see the need to ‘un-euro-centricize the educational system and move to be a more diverse curriculum in order to become relevant to our youth, who often drop out because they feel left out, powerless and cannot relate to an educational system that has been set up for them to fail.

by Anastacia, aka Stacey D. Langley/PNN Texas correspondent

Ingles sigue

I’m not currently homeless, but with the fickle stoner landlady that my partner and I have, that could change at any moment. We don’t want to be homeless again. If we lose our place here, we can’t afford another one here in Austin.

I’ve been homeless on and off since 1992, when I left home because my mom just refused to get along with me. At first I lived off my savings, but when that ended, I started crashing with friends and occasionally sleeping with guys to have a place to stay for the night. I smoked pot and dropped acid, so I don’t really remember much from 1992 to 1995. .

At the drop of a hat, if I ended up with some money from a little job, friends, or church, I’d decide to go off to Austin, Nashville, Dallas, or some other town. I’d work there for a while, but never could save enough to find a place. .

I met a guy with a lot of privilege and we dated all summer. I guess he liked having a little street girl to fool around with for a while, until his rich psychiatrist daddy freaked out after I got pregnant (I found out later that Daddy-O paid for my abortion.) Then my boyfriend literally dropped me off in front of a teen homeless shelter. Two months of depression and drug use ensued. .

I met a British space physicist and had a semester-long affair with him, once again ending up pregnant. This time, I was not going to terminate my pregnancy. I was able to find a supportive midwife who moved me to North Texas, where I gave birth to Maya in 1996.

I returned to college in 1997,but it only lasted a year. My parents and I had reconciled by that point, so I ended up moving in with them in El Paso. I was able to find a good job as a telephone operator, but once again, depression reared its ugly head, and I got fired. .

My parents told the State that I was not fit to care for my daughter because of my mental illness, so they took her from me, promising me that they would give her back when I was more stable. Then the State charged me with child endangerment because some anonymous asshole reported that I had left my child alone and didn’t feed her. I got probation, but pissed it away after my mom told me not to see my daughter. I ran off to Houston in 1999 after CPS refused to assist me in obtaining mental health services. .

I got pregnant again the next year after a fling with an eighteen year old. I went off to San Francisco, but returned to Austin after six weeks. I moved in with some friends from the LGBT community, and gave birth to Ethan in 2001. .

I had odd jobs and help from friends, and that’s how I survived with Ethan then. We traveled around the country, but the grass was not greener on the other side. We always returned to Houston. .

In 2004, we were living in a mentally ill group home in Houston when I met Todd, a fellow resident. We quickly fell in love and got our own place, but that didn’t last long, because I was so afraid of CPS and the State coming to get me. I left for Austin that summer, and Todd followed me a few months later. .

I became pregnant and we moved to Albuquerque, where we stayed until Zen was born in early 2005. We returned to Austin, where we stayed at the Salvation Army for six months until we qualified for a housing program. We moved into our own apartment in a nice area and Ethan began school. Almost immediately after moving, I once again got pregnant with Serenity, born in 2006. We spent that year moving from one apartment’s “$99 move in special” to another. .

Todd got a part-time job in 2007 and we moved into a house. Unfortunately, he became physically disabled in addition to his mental illness, so we lost the house. We spent most of 2007 going around the country trying to find him better health care for his neurological disorder, caused by the negligence of his psychiatrist. .

In September of 2007, we moved back to Austin and briefly stayed in the Catholic Worker house. Unfortunately, the woman there didn’t like Todd and threw him out, so the kids and I left the next day. Unbeknownst to us, she called CPS on us. .

We got help from the School District to move into an cramped apartment in a bad area of town. To help pay the rent, I started stripping, but fell back into drug abuse, so I just wasn’t able to take care of the kids like I should have. Todd was basically bedridden at that point. CPS came, but they saw nothing wrong, so they closed the case. .

March 2008 was when the shit hit the fan. Our apartment complex was sick of fixing our windows broken by the neighbors playing soccer, so they threatened to evict us. The next day, I received a call at work from CPS saying they were removing my children because of neglect. My house was a total pigsty because I was too depressed to care, and the police were called. They discovered my warrant for probation violation, arrested me, and sent me back to El Paso. They sent Todd to the mental hospital. .

After I was sentenced in El Paso, I was arrested for child endangerment again in Austin, and was transported back. The whole time I was incarcerated, I only got one visit from friends. I ended up serving my sentences concurrently, and was released from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in December of last year. .

Todd and I went to court and had our parental rights terminated and so our children went to foster care, then adoption. It is still very hard on us ten months later. .

I finally was able to access mental health services and chemical dependency treatment, and now I am receiving Supplemental Security Income as well as Todd’s. Unfortunately, it is hard to locate affordable housing in Austin nowadays, so we rent an RV month to month. We don’t know when our college student landlady is going to flake out on us and want us to move. I don’t know what is going to happen then, but I am a survivor, so I know I’ll make it through. .

by Staff Writer

September 14, 2001

Dear " ",

I decided to take you up on your suggestion that I put some of the
opinions I expressed at last night's meeting on paper. I am by no
means an authority on military or foreign affairs and these are just
my personal opinions, but for what they're worth, here are some notes.

I believe the Sept. 11 attacks are ushering in a major rightwing
offensive, both global and national. It is likely to be sustained for
some time and become a historical watershed. The rightwing of the
ruling class and its ultra-right allies could not have asked for a
better opportunity to aggressively move to reshape the world in their
image. In the absence of a major countervailing force, they have
serious grounds to feel that they will be successful. Appealing to
the American psyche, which sees its relatively peaceful surroundings
as a birthright (when it is really a national privilege), the
rightwing seeks to capture the moral high ground, whipping up
patriotism and "anti-terrorist" fervor. Wielding its superior
military and financial strength, Washington will seek to rally its
First World allies into a world "anti-terrorism campaign," bring its
erstwhile and vacillating allies into line, and destroy or mortally
cripple its enemies, especially in the Middle East and South Asia.

In some ways, this is reminiscent of the late 1940s and early 1950s.
But this time there is no socialist camp, no equivalent revolutionary
national liberation movements, and little domestic left opposition.
This means the ruling class has much greater maneuverability. They
can exert powerful military force abroad when necessary; and sugar
coat the undermining of democratic rights at home under the notion of
national consensus and the defense of democracy and freedom.

Although progressives have been thrown deeply on the defensive, there
are also openings to be part of the public discussion, if we are bold
as well as very careful. We must be bold in building extremely broad
coalitions, bold in attempting to enter the biggest media and
political platforms. If we craft our messages correctly, we have many
allies, and we should aggressively pursue working with them. We
should not self-isolate. Peace, international solidarity, religious,
anti-globalization, student, and civil rights groups should be
approached. We should also use this opportunity to get labor,
women's, anti-racist, and community organizations that tend to eschew
international issues to get involved. This new situation will affect
everyone to the core. We should actively build broad coalitions, not
be content to hang on the left, hold "small but militant
demonstrations" and expect others to come to us. We should try to get
to the forefront of the fight for peace and basic democratic rights,
spearhead largescale education campaigns, and get government bodies
on record for peace and against unwarranted racist attacks on Arabs
and South Asians.

But we must be extremely careful about our public messages (and our
internal rhetoric), lest we isolate ourselves and even make ourselves
vulnerable to physical attack. We need to demonstratively express
deep grieving over the death, destruction, and loss of security felt
by most Americans. Most of us genuinely feel this, but sometimes we
do not express it properly. Almost everyone in the country knows
someone that was somehow directly affected by the attacks, and all of
us know in our hearts that life will never be as safe as it once
seemed. Symbolism and emotions tend to run higher than rationality at
times like this, and if we do not understand this, it will be
difficult to get a hearing on other issues.

We need to avoid leftwing rhetoric and revolutionary posturing, be
concrete and address actual issues on the public agenda and not make
premature anticipations or apocalyptic predictions. Internally we
need to try to see as far ahead as possible and try to go deep
analytically in order to be as prepared as possible, but externally
we need to speak to facts on the ground, avoid concepts or images
that are adamantly rejected by even peace loving people, and avoid
prematurely polarizing with potential allies. All this while still
drawing firm lines against the right.

I believe, at this time, we have two main entryways into the broad
public discussion. By far the most important is by addressing the
issue of why this attack happened and how to respond. Even the
mainstream media is increasingly addressing this question, in its own
ways. I believe our main message should be that U.S. life will become
increasingly insecure and dangerous unless this country improves its
international behavior. In the era of globalization, peace at home is
linked to peace abroad. And increased insecurity would likely result
in lost civil liberties. We need to oppose a precipitous response by
the government to the September 11 attacks and urge restraint. We can
no longer allow our government to make war on others withou expecting retaliation, whether one thinks that retaliation is fair or
not. Peace and freedom are increasingly globalized, or not. We need
to oppose U.S. isolationism and aggression. Our loss of life should
lead not to an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, but to join
others who have experienced war in the aspiration for peace.

In taking on these issues, we should studiously avoid leftwing
shorthands like "chickens come home to roost" (which will be read as
a justification for the mass deaths of innocent people) and "no
justice, no peace" (which will be read as a justification for further
attacks). Peace, No Violence, etc. are much more directly to the
point. What we are talking about is a new kind of peace movement.

The second main entry way is through opposing attacks on Arabs and
South Asians in the U.S. Such attacks are already underway, and are
even being widely addressed by political leaders, civil rights
groups, and the mainstream media. Again, building broad coalitions
and using popular language is key. We should appeal for peace,
fairness, and oppose violent racial stereotyping. I actually think
that the more farsighted sections of the ruling class will want to
stem these attacks so that their broader offensive does not lose the
moral high ground. Minimally, they must make a nod in this direction.
We should take full advantage of this opening.

While responding immediately to these huge events, we also need to
embark on deep thinking about the implications for the future.
Apparently, war, like capital and labor, has now been globalized. We
are into war without borders. New and readily available technology
means that very small groups, even individuals, can wreak mass
destruction. The U.S. may be relatively invulnerable to direct
assault, but it is eminently vulnerable to attack by small groups.
And it has aggressively alienated millions of people, at home and
abroad, some of whom will surely take advantage of the new means at
their disposal. Israel is making the assassination of opposing
political leaders a central part of its war strategy-others are
likely to respond in kind.

This is not an altogether new situation. Most of us have known this
for some time and expected some kind of significant attacks within
the U.S. But now the genie is out of the bottle-and in a most
spectacular fashion. It is no longer theoretical. What are the
implications of this new situation for our attitude and strategies
towards war and peace, how do we distinguish between the government's
overbroad definition of terrorism and actual terrorism? How will the
ruling class and public react and what platform can we stand on? What
about the copy cat lunatic fringe and ultra-right fanatics who until
now has confined themselves to comparatively small-scale shootings
(except for Oklahoma City)? How do we break the fragmentation,
disorganization and isolation of the left under these harsh
conditions?

Finally, we should all be prepared for events to move fast. In
particular, when the U.S. mounts its counterattacks (which I believe
is likely to eventually include the murder of Saddam Hussein), a wave
of jingoism (and racism) is likely to sweep the country. We need to
work hard ahead of this wave, prepare to weather it without getting
too terribly isolated, and smartly fight our way through it. We're in
for hard times, and our allies abroad even more so. We will all be
struggling to find our bearings. We will make mistakes. Let's be
tolerant of each other, keep our eyes on the real enemies, and seek
clarity and unity. Let's think big and get organized. Maybe we can
build something for the long run.

I hope this is helpful to you in some way. Feel free to share it with
others if you deem it useful.

In peace and solidarity,
Bob Wing
Editor of Colorlines

by Joe B.

KO, oops, meant to say OK. Our hypothetical alchemist has just completed the great work his mind, body in flux, voices living, dead, in his/her head until God commands her/him to rest which is done.

Most likely lost knowledge is regained, psychic powers ordinarily never discovered would’ve stayed dormant unrealized but now they emerge simultaneously full force hence the Lord’s rest command protecting the alchemist from accidental self harm.

A minor power is possibly invisibility whether physically or clouding human minds.

She or he may unconsciously use their new powers to reshape their appearance improving themselves down to the molecular level.

Mind travel through time would give our new alchemist access to lingering trapped thoughts in air.

Slowly she/he is able to control these vast powers and realizing they must be away from humanity to truly help them secretly.

Predicting outcomes of horse races, spinning wheels in casino’s, or knowing the winning lottery numbers makes it simple to win money or using the same knowledge for options, known and unknown stocks is beyond insider trading.

This is all hypothetical all I know about alchemist’s is what I’ve read and imagine.

Our alchemist has rested, learns about vast powers may by accident in a fit of pique will a human to stop living utter "Drop Dead" not realizing tragic results after that he/she will be most careful of power wielded because they will always know when a soul leaves its flesh vessel.

Other of her/his kind will contact, visit, befriend, or instruct in use of new found powers.

Now what if an Alchemist loves the dark side and is able to have any woman/man being an irresistible force?

An amoral illuminated one can wreck havoc on human psyche’s under their control.

from hypnotic trances, pheromone derived potions, to as in an Arthurian legend Merlin arranged after the Duke died while in battle against Uther's armies Merlin helps Uther who took Igraine (the Duke’s Wife) seduced Igraine by making Uther magically take on the appearance of her husband, Gorlois.

Uther made Igraine Queen by becoming his wife.
This is part of the Arthurian Legend. Look up www.britannia.com/history

An evil alchemist would eventually figure out how to switch or take over bodies borrowing them to be with which ever boy, girl, woman, or man that takes their fancy.

No human will be safe.

I don’t have this info in my head like mythical or real alchemist’s would.

An evil alchemist would eventually figure out how to switch or take over bodies borrowing them to be with which ever boy, girl, woman, or man that takes their fancy.

No human will be safe from his or hers amorous.

What kind of high would that be to see a man or woman you want to physically try out or be with temporarily you could and no one but God, another alchemist, or and unusually aware human.

They’ed get bored after a time the main theme is what would any of us do with these untapped power if they we had them at a moments notice?

That’s all there could be more but you have the main points.

So, Women, Men, boys, girls, young adults what would you do as a newly minted alchemist with a few hundred or thousand years with these power? Bye.

Please send donations to

Poor Magazine or in C/0

Ask Joe at 1448 Pine Street,

San Francisco, CA. 94103 USA

For Joe only my snail mail:

1230 Market St.

PO Box #645

San Francisco, CA 94102

Email: askjoe@poormagazine.org

by NJ WOLLMAN

We are continuing our battle to get the TIAA-CREF (TC) higher education
pension system to do "positive investing" with a small portion of its
socially responsible "Social Choice Account" (SCA). It can mean up to $300
million going toward such things as loans for low-income area housing and
business start-ups, and venture capital for companies championing a new
socially/environmentally responsible product. Companies thus supported can
become stronger models for other new companies and the very prominent TC
could become a model for other institutional investors. A survey taken by
T-C revealed that 81% of SCA participants want this proactive, positive
approach for the fund.

TC does token low-income housing investment in a different fund of theirs,
and are using that as an excuse for not doing so in the SCA. But, first of
all, the Social Investment Forum (trade association) recommends putting 1%
of a fund's assets in such investment, while the Methodist pension fund
puts in 3-5%. TC's investment in low-income housing is pitifully below such
levels and you might ask them why. And there is no reason they can't do
such investing in the SCA, where it certainly belongs. Additionally, there
are other things we propose that are not being done at all in any of their
funds. A number of socially responsible funds are already doing what we
suggest, so why can't TIAA-CREF. ASK THEM WHY THEY REFUSE TO CONTACT THOSE
IN THE SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT FIELD WHO HAVE VOLUNTEERED TO TALK
TO THEM..

Our original effort to get the SCA started took five years, so, after four
years, "We have just begun to fight." We have a long list of prominent
group/individual endorsers and media stories keep coming--Wall Street
Journal, L.A. Times, etc.. But with a group as large as TC ($300 billion in
assets; 2 million participants, etc.), the inertia and paternalism is
strong. We started a tactic that takes a few minutes weekly-- and your
involvement could really help. THANKS, Neil (mark your calendar or ask if
you want brief bi-weekly campaign updates and reminders about
calls--njwollman@manchester.edu)

PLEASE TAKE THREE MINUTES A WEEK TO LEND YOUR VOICE in support of the
proposal for "Positive Investing" for the Social Choice Account: (a)
positive screening looking for more socially responsible companies, such as
those with good labor practices (b) low-income area housing and business
startups, and (c) venture capital for companies championing a new
socially/environmentally responsible product. And ask them to dramatically
increase investment in low-income housing in their TIAA Account, where they
now do a token amount out of $100 billion.

Call John Biggs, their CEO, at.1-800-TIA-CREF (842-2733), ext. 4280.; or
212-490-9000. You'll likely have to leave a message with his secretary, but
do ask for a response if you can. We are creating a weekly "presence" that
will continually remind him of our concerns! And email Mr. Biggs, as well,
or instead of, if you can't make a call:(WWW.TIAA-CREF.ORG, then click
"Contact TIAA-CREF", then "General Information")

If you are interested in getting further involved in the effort, we do
everything from gather signatures for petitions, to "visiting" TC trustees
around the country, to demonstrating at TC headquarters in NYC or at their
local offices around the country. Contact us if you want to get further
involved at your local level or in national strategizing and organizing
(219-982-5346).

--more info:
http://ARES.manchester.edu/department/PeaceStudies/njw/disclaim.html
-PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD

by Boys and Girls Club of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe

Tricia

Slam Bio

My color is brown

My taste is spicey



My touch is soft

I think I would be a cute little fish

That swims with lots of other fish

My tribe is Ute

I think we function very well with lots of things im grateful for that other tribes don’t have