|
Alternative
Links
Portal:
Here are some links that we have found useful
and you may find useful as well.
Alternative Media
Chemtrails
Cell Towers and Phones
Good News: The British have decided to stop using
Depleted Uranium.
Environmental Links
Fluoridation
Genetically Modified
Organisms
Homelessness
Peace and Justice
Political
Prisoners
The 9-11 controversies
|
|
Click here to see the
Pagesincolor.com archives
WAR IS OVER!
If you Want It
Happy Christmas From John and Yoko
Click
Here For John Lennon and Yoko Ono Video
See how Mumia Abu-Jamal Is
Innocent
http://www.pagesincolor.com/RachelW.html
|
Who Else Wants
Peacemovies.com
by John Thielking
8-17-11 (As published in the Connection Magazine
October 2011 issue)
[Editor's note: Peacemovies.com is the new name for
Pagesincolor.com. Visit the new homepage by
clicking here.
Since there have been more pageviews in the past
year on media.html (the old homepage) than the new
homepage, look for some more new stories on this
page too in the coming weeks.]
Thank you for continuing to visit the
Peacemovies.com web site in the troubled times of
late. Peacemovies.com started in July 2010,
reviewing non-violent movies currently in theaters
and on dvd. From about October 2010 to August 2011
Peacemovies.com experienced a funding shortage and
economic uncertainty which made it undesirable to
continue with the practice of reviewing non-violent
movies currently in theaters. Buying movie tickets
and running ads costs money after all. Since the
debt ceiling debacle was recently resolved in a
manner that no longer immediately threatens the
author's SSDI payments, the author figures that
between SSDI and a part time job there is now a
stable source of funding for Peacemovies.com for at
least the next year, possibly 2 years.
Peacemovies.com seeks to be one piece of the puzzle
for how to solve the problem of violence in the
world. There are many root causes of violence, as
can be seen by reading Christian Parenti's “Tropic
Of Chaos”, including global warming that is making
ordinary resource shortages much worse. Of
particular interest is the notion that people seek
out stimulation through either sex or violence. The
people who achieve a satisfying sexual or sensual
experience are much less likely to become violent,
as was demonstrated in a study of 49 different
societies of varying sexual mores done by James W.
Prescott, located here:
http://www.violence.de/prescott/bulletin/article.html
. Since it is not desirable in our society to
promote sexual promiscuity or underage sex, it may
be helpful to own a pet. The web site http://thepetwiki.com/wiki/How_Children_Benefit_from_the_Family_Pet
claims that violent behavior perpetrated by children
may be prevented by having them take care of a
family pet.
Peacemovies.com attempts to use the free market to
attack the problem of promotion of violence by US
culture and the military-industrial-complex
controlled mass media by supplying people with
accurate information about how much violence is in
each movie. Each movie reviewed on Peacemovies.com
is put into one of four categories: little or no
violence, non-violent, iffy and too violent. [Note
that movies that are rated Too Violent are listed
but not reviewed.] A mini survey done a couple of
years ago reveals that about ½ of the people
want to watch non-violent movies. The other ½
don't care one way or the other. Only about 10% of
the people seek out violent movies as their
favorite. 50% of the movies on the market are
already non-violent. Since non-violent movies may
appeal to 90% of the population, this means that in
the ideal free market the market share of
non-violent movies could be as high as 90% of ticket
sales. If we can get to a place where the only
movies that make it to blockbuster status are movies
like Eat Pray Love, Tin Cup, Mrs. Doubtfire and ET,
we may start turning out generations of leaders who
think of non-violent solutions to international
conflicts and make those solutions stick.
John Thielking is a peace and environmental activist
who lived in Santa Cruz from 1984-2005 and who
currently lives in San Jose, CA. You can e-mail John
at pagesincolor@yahoo.com. |
May
Day
2008 Solidarity Statements And
Celebrations
Editor's note: There will be a May
Day March and Rally in San Jose, CA that
kicks off at 4PM at King and Story Road on
Thursday, May 1, 2008.
April 28, 2008
BREAKING NEWS: Members of the Port
Workers Union of Iraq plan to shutdown the
ports of Umm Qasr and Khor Alzubair for
one hour on May Day in solidarity with the
shutdown of all West Coast ports by
members of ILWU in opposition to the
occupation of Iraq.
The second message is a May Day greeting
from a broad cross-section of union
leaders
from many different unions and labor
federations in Iraq as an expression of
their
appreciation for the solidarity
demonstrated by organized labor, working
people and
all peace-loving people of the world in
support of their efforts to end the
foreign
occupation of Iraq and the sectarian
violence that occupation has spawned.
[This statement continues to be circulated
in Iraq and as additional signers become
known, their names will be added to the
copy posted on the USLAW website.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May Day Message
From: The General Union of Port
Workers in Iraq
To: The International Longshore and
Warehouse Union in the United States
Dear Brothers and Sisters of ILWU in
California:
The courageous decision you made to carry
out a strike on May Day to protest against
the war and occupation of Iraq advances
our struggle against occupation to bring a
better future for us and for the rest of
the world as well.
We are certain that a better world will
only be created by the workers and what
you
are doing is an example and proof of what
we say. The labor movement is the
only
element in the society that is able to
change the political equations for the
benefit of mankind. We in Iraq are
looking up to you and support you until
the
victory over the US administration's
barbarism is achieved.
Over the past five years the sectarian
gangs who are the product of the
occupation,
have been trying to transfer their
conflicts into our ranks. Targeting
workers,
including their residential and shopping
areas, indiscriminately using all sorts of
explosive devices, mortar shells, and
random shooting, were part of a bigger
scheme
that was aiming to tear up the society but
they miserably failed to achieve their
hellish goal. We are struggling
today to defeat both the occupation and
sectarian
militias' agenda.
The pro-occupation government has been
attempting to intervene into the workers
affairs by imposing a single
government-certified labor union.
Furthermore it has
been promoting privatization and an oil
and gas law to use the occupation against
the interests of the workers.
We the port workers view that our
interests are inseparable from the
interests of
workers in Iraq and the world; therefore
we are determined to continue our struggle
to improve the living conditions of the
workers and overpower all plots of the
occupation, its economic and political
projects.
Let us hold hands for the victory of our
struggle.
Long live the port workers in California!
Long live May Day!
Long live International solidarity!
The General Union of Port Workers in Iraq
An Affiliate Union with General Federation
of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq
(GFWCUI)
28-4-2008
EMPHASIS ADDED
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May Day 2008 Statement
From: The Iraqi Labour Movement
To: The Workers and All Peace Loving
People of the World
On this day of international labour
solidarity we call on our fellow trade
unionists
and all those worldwide who have stood
against war and occupation to increase
support for our struggle for freedom from
occupation - both the military and
economic.
We call upon the governments, corporations
and institutions behind the ongoing
occupation of Iraq to respond to our
demands for real democracy, true
sovereignty
and self-determination free of all foreign
interference.
Five years of invasion, war and occupation
have brought nothing but death,
destruction, misery and suffering to our
people. In the name of our
"liberation,"
the invaders have destroyed our nation's
infrastructure, bombed our neighbourhoods,
broken into our homes, traumatized our
children, assaulted and arrested many of
our
family members and neighbours, permitted
the looting of our national treasures, and
turned nearly twenty percent of our people
into refugees.
The invaders helped to foment and then
exploit sectarian divisions and terror
attacks where there had been none.
Our union offices have been raided.
Union
property has been seized and
destroyed. Our bank accounts have
been frozen. Our
leaders have been beaten, arrested,
abducted and assassinated. Our
rights as
workers have been routinely violated.
The Ba'athist legislation of 1987, which
banned trade unions in the public sector
and public enterprises (80% of all
workers), is still in effect, enforced by
Paul
Bremer's post-invasion Occupation
Authority and then by all subsequent Iraqi
administrations. This is an attack
on our rights and basic precepts of a
democratic
society, and is a grim reminder of the
shadow of dictatorship still stalking our
country.
Despite the horrific conditions in our
country, we continue to organise and
protest
against the occupation, against workplaces
abuses, and for better treatment and
safer conditions.
Despite the sectarian plots around us, we
believe in unity and solidarity and a
common aim of public service, equality,
and freedom to organise without external
intrusions and coercion.
Our legitimacy comes from our
members. Our principles of
organisation are based on
transparent and internationally recognised
International Labour Organisation
standards.
We call upon our allies and all the
world's peace-loving peoples to help us to
end
the nightmare of occupation and restore
our sovereignty and national independence
so
that we can chart our own course to the
future.
1) We demand an immediate
withdrawal of all foreign troops from our
country, and
utterly reject the agreement being
negotiated with the USA for long-term
bases and
a military presence. The continued
occupation fuels the violence in Iraq
rather
than alleviating it. Iraq must be
returned to full sovereignty.
2) We demand the passage of a
labour law promised by our Constitution,
which
adheres to ILO principles and on which
Iraqi trade unionists have been fully
consulted, to protect the rights of
workers to organize, bargain and strike,
independent of state control and
interference.
3) We demand an end to meddling in
our sovereign economic affairs by the
International Monetary Fund, USA and
UK. We demand withdrawal of all
economic
conditionalities attached to the IMF's
agreements with Iraq, removal of US and UK
economic "advisers" from the corridors of
Iraqi government, and a recognition by
those bodies that no major economic
decisions concerning our services and
resources can be made while foreign troops
occupy the country.
4) We demand that the US government
and others immediately cease lobbying for
the
oil law, which would fracture the country
and hand control over our oil to
multinational companies like Exxon, BP and
Shell. We demand that all oil
companies be prevented from entering into
any long-term agreement concerning oil
while Iraq remains occupied. We
demand that the Iraqi government tear up
the
current draft of the oil law, and begin to
develop a legitimate oil policy based
on full and genuine consultation with the
Iraqi people. Only after all
occupation
forces are gone should a long term plan
for the development of our oil resources
be adopted.
We seek your support and solidarity to
help us end the military and economic
occupation of our country. We ask
for your solidarity for our right to
organise and
strike in defence of our interests as
workers and of our public services and
resources. Our public services are
the legacy of generations before us and
the
inheritance of all future generations and
must not be privatised.
We thank you for standing by us. We
too stand with you in your own struggles
for
real democracy which we know you also
struggle for, and against privatisation,
exploitation and daily disempowerment in
your workplaces and lives.
We commend those of you who have organised
strikes and demonstrations to end the
occupation in solidarity with us and we
hope these actions will continue.
We look forward to the day when we have a
world based on co-operation and
solidarity. We look forward to a
world free from war, sectarianism,
competition and
exploitation.
Endorsed by:
Hassan Juma'a Awad, President,
Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU)
Faleh Abood Umara, Deputy, Central
Council, Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions
(IFOU)
Falah Alwan, President, Federation
of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq
(FWCUI)
Subhi Albadri, President, General
Federation of Workers Councils and Unions
in
Iraq (GFWCUI)
Nathim Rathi, President, Iraqi Port
Workers Trade Union
Samir Almuawi, President,
Engineering Professionals Trade Union
Ghzi Mushatat, President, Mechanic
and Print Shop Trade Union
Waleed Alamiri, President,
Electricity Trade Union
Ilham Talabani, President, Banking
Services Trade Union
Abdullah Ubaid, President, Railway
Trade Union Ammar Ali, President,
Transportation Trade Union
Abdalzahra Abdilhassan, President,
Service Employees Trade Union
Sundus Sabeeh, President, Barber
Shop Workers Trade Union
Kareem Lefta Sindan, President,
Lumber and Construction Trade Union,
General
Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW)
Sabah Almusawi, President, Wasit
Independent Trade Union
Shakir Hameed, President, Lumber
And Construction Trade Union (GFWCUI)
Awad Ahmed, President, Teachers
Federation of Salahideen Alaa
Ghazi Mushatat, President,
Agricultural And Food Substance Industries
Adnan
Rathi Shakir, President, Water
Resources Trade Union
Nahrawan Yas, President, Woman
Affairs Bureau
Sabah Alyasiri, President (GFWCUI)
Babil
Ali Tahi, President (GFWCUI)
Najaf Ali Abbas, President (GFWCUI)
Basra
Muhi Abdalhussien, President
(GFWCUI), Wasit
Ali Hashim Abdilhussien, President
(GFWCUI) Kerbala
Ali Hussien, President (GFWCUI)
Anbar
Mustafa Ameen, President, Arab
Workers Bureau (GFWCUI)
Thameer Mzeail, Health Services,
Union Committee
Khadija Saeed Abdullah, Teachers
Federation, Member
Asmahan, Khudair, Woman Affairs,
Textile Trade Unions Adil
Aljabiri, Oil Workers Trade Union
Executive Bureau Member
Muhi Abdalhussien, Nadia Flaih,
Service Employees Trade Unions
Rawneq Mohammed, Member, Media and
Print Shop Trade Union
Abdlakareem Abdalsada, Vice
President (GFWCUI)
Saeed Nima, Vice President (GFWCUI)
Sabri Abdalkareem, Member, (GFWCUI)
Babil
Amjad Aljawhary, Representative of
GFWCUI in North America
|
|
Why The Trump
Institute Is Not All That It Is Trumped Up
To Be
by
John Thielking
4-13-08
I
went to the free seminar at the Windham
Hotel in downtown San Jose on Sunday,
April 13, 2008 to hear what the great
capitalist had to say about making money.
Donald Trump may be able to pull off some
great real estate deals for himself and
get connected to bankers who will let him
swing some deals in real estate. But
for the rest of us "Chumps On The Street"
this talk about making money in Real
Estate is all pie in the sky. I saw
through all the hype when the presenter
(Bill?) started talking about how Donald
Trump would teach us how to rescue people
from forecolsure. For the record: In
California, in order to be completely
legal when you are even just prospecting
for potential deals to close in the
foreclosure market, you MUST have all of
the following: 1) A real estate license;
2) A surety bond in an amount equal to 3
times the value of the property that is in
foreclosure. Any schmuck selling get
rich quick in real estate seminars who is
not also advising you to have a real
estate agent in hand to handle all of your
real estate transactions, and in some
cases ALL OF YOUR PROSPECTING, is sending
you down the primrose path that will land
you in jail, or in court being sued, or
both. If Donald Trump can't tell you
the right, legal way to buy and sell real
estate to make the quick and easy bucks,
no one can. So my advice is to save
your $3000 and stay away from all of these
schmucks.
On the other hand, if you want to make a
worthwhile investment, how about this: Pay
me $50K-$100K/obo to cover my business and
living expenses while I research and write
my "Peace Movies" book. In return, I
will give you 40% of the lifetime profits
from the book. I plan to offer the
book in a frequently updated e-book format
and may also have a subscription web site
for movies in theaters and new releases to
video. I have a small survey that I
conducted among SJSU students and peace
activists that shows there is a big demand
for the book and the subscription web
site. (The non-violent movie market
is at least a 5x bigger market than horror
movie market for example.) So much
for "non-disclosure" as advocated by
DT. Contact John Thielking at
408-914-2751 or pagesincolor@riseup.net
for more information. |
Protest for Mumia
Abu-Jamal
Saturday April
19, 2008 from 12PM-2PM
Cesar Chavez
Park (Market and San Carlos)
San Jose, CA
For you early birds, a special
outreach about Mumia to Physicians will take
place at 6:30AM, Saturday April, 19,
2008 at the Parkside Hall, one block West of
Cesar Chavez
Park, next to the Tech Museum.
The Parkside
Hall event has been moved to 3:30PM.
Thanks.
For more
information on the latest travesty in Mumia's case
see Dissident
Voice. |
Mumia
Abu-Jamal NEWS FLASH
3-27-08
PROTEST!!
Abu-Jamal Appeal Denied!!
Fri 3/28 - SF
Sat 4/19 - SF and National
Sat 4/26 - Philadelphia
Please call the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition
Hotline in NYC (212)330-8029, or Pam Africa (215)
476-8812 or Suzanne
Ross (917) 584-2135 for East Coast protest
information. See below for SF.
Press Release:
The Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal
P.O. Box 10328
Oakland, CA 94610
510-268-9429 or 510-387-7714
jmackler@lmi.net
March 27, 2008
PRESS CONFERENCE/Media Release/EMERGENCY PROTEST!
For Immediate Release
For further information call: Jeff Mackler, Director
510-268-9429 or 510-387-7714
PRESS CONFERENCE/PROTEST SCHEDULED FOR:
FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 5 PM
FEDERAL COURT HOUSE
7TH AND MISSION STREETS
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
In Oakland, march Friday, March 28. Meet at
4:30 PM at 14th & Broadway
From: Kiilu Nyasha <kiilu2 {AT} sbcglobal.net>
The U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
REJECTS ALL APPEALS FOR INNOCENT
DEATH ROW INMATE MUMIA ABU-JAMAL
STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA ORDERED TO HOLD NEW SENTENCING
HEARING WITHIN 180 DAYS. IN SUCH A HEARING JURY'S
DECISION WILL
BE LIMITED TO A FINDING OF LIFE IMPRISONMENT OR
EXECUTION BY LETHAL INJECTION
JURY PROHIBITED FROM FINDING OF INNOCENCE
LOCAL PROTESTS SET FOR FRIDAY, MARCH 28 (Federal
Court House, 7th and Mission, SF, 5 PM) FOLLOWED BY
NATIONAL PROTEST
APRIL 19 (SAN FRANCISCO) AND APRIL 26
(PHILADELPHIA).
"THE DECISION OF THE THIRD CIRCUIT IS A TRAVESTY OF
JUSTICE," SAID JEFF MACKLER, DIRECTOR OF THE
MOBILIZATION TO FREE
MUMIA ABU-JAMAL. "DESPITE MASSIVE EVIDENCE OF
INNOCENCE THE COURT REJECTED OUR DEMAND FOR A NEW
TRIAL WHERE THE TRUTH
COULD BE HEARD FOR THE FIRST TIME."
In a shocking decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Third Circuit rejected all Mr. Abu-Jamal's
demands for a new
trial. In 1982 Mr. Abu-Jamal was falsely convicted
of the murder of Police Officer Daniel Faulkner in a
trial where 11
of 14 Black jurors were systematically excluded and
where critical evidence proving the defendant's
innocence was
excluded.
On death row for 26 years, Mr. Abu-Jamal, an award
winning journalist and the author of nine books, has
led a campaign
for a new trial and freedom that has won the support
of groups ranging from Amnesty International and the
European
Parliament to the San Francisco, Detroit, and
Berkeley city councils.
Massive new evidence proving Abu-Jamal's innocence
has been systematically excluded from court
consideration.
Abu-Jamal's attorneys will appeal today's decision
to the U.S. Supreme Court.
|
Why The Low
Application Rate Of LBAM Spray Is Not
Reassuring
by John Thielking
3-26-08
These are my EIR scoping comments concerning the
CDFA program to eradicate the Light Brown Apple
Moth, as submitted to Jim Rains of the CDFA on
March 20, 2008 by e-mail. A simillar document was
submitted to the USDA for the Environmental
Assessment fo the LBAM eradication program. This
document is not a CASS consensus document. It
is entirely my own work, except for the references
of course, and except for some help/critcism I
received from my good friend and Chemistry Professor
Dr Roger Terrill ( San Jose State University).
3-20-08
Jim Rains, Staff
Environmental Scientist
CA Department of
Food and Agriculture
Plant Health and
Pest Prevention Services
1220 N Street, Room
A-316
Sacramento, CA
95814
Dear Jim Rains:
I am writing to you
to present my comments concerning the
Environmental Impact of the program to eradicate
the LBAM in California.
It has now been documented by a researcher at UCSC
who traveled recently to New Zealand that LBAM
will likely be controlled by
natural predators if toxic pesticides that
interfere with natural predators are not used in
an attempt to control LBAM.
http://www.lbamspray.com/00_Documents/2008/HarderNZReportFINAL.pdf
The LBAM
“emergency” is therefore mostly an emergency that
exists on paper and affects trade, more than it is
an emergency
concerning possible crop damage caused by
LBAM. Please stop funding eradication of
LBAM that uses the questionable methods
of ground and aerial spraying of potentially toxic
materials.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
John Thielking
1346 The Alameda
Suite 7-318
San Jose, CA 95126
Investigation of
correlation between possible concentration of
Methyl Trioctyl Ammonium Chloride (MTAC) at ground
level during spraying to control LBAM in Santa Cruz, CA
on Nov 8-9, 2007 and appropriate exposure limits
By John Thielking
BA Physics
3-20-08
John Thielking
1346 The Alameda, Suite 7-318
San Jose, CA 95126
Summary Statement:
It is unacceptable
that the actual concentrations of the methyl
trioctyl ammonium chloride (MTAC) and other inerts
in the Checkmate aerial spray used over Santa Cruz
on Nov 8-Nov 9, 2007 were not fully disclosed.
Disclosing the concentrations would make it
possible to evaluate weather or not reported
health effects could be due to the chemicals in
question. Although the proposed DOE TEEL’s for
MTAC may be high enough to seemingly rule out such
a possibility, the way in which the TEEL’s
themselves are derived(4) leaves open some rather
large uncertainties in what minimal level of toxic
exposure may produce health effects in some
people. Between the spray being applied unevenly,
as documented by the drift cards which had only
1/10 of the expected amount of capsules on them,
and the uncertainties involved in converting an
LD50 or LC50 to an appropriate TLV, the total
uncertainty in what intended application rates
will produce what type of health effect could be
off by +/- a factor of 800 or more. In
layman’s terms, It is quite possible that MTAC is
more toxic than the DOE estimated, by up to a
factor of 82, and it is also possible that the
spray was applied unevenly, such that certain
areas received up to 10 times more spray than was
intended. Although this latter point is not
documented on drift cards, the actual number of
drift cards in the treatment zones was small
enough that this could have been overlooked.
Also we have some anecdotal reports that when
people were affected by the spray, sometimes whole
families in one household got sick, which lends
credibility to the unevenly applied spray
hypothesis.
Please completely
disclose the concentrations of the inerts and also
provide data on how much total chemical was
applied by each aircraft in each treatment area.
Only in this way can we get a good handle on what
the peak concentrations of the spray might be for
1%-5% of the population and also define what the
possible health effects might be.
Discussion:
The concentration of the MTAC in the spray was not
fully disclosed. All we know for sure is that
it is a component of the spray that was applied on
Nov 8 and Nov 9, 2007 in the Santa Cruz area and
that it is less than 3% by weight of the entire
mixture. We also know that the MTAC was used as a
surfactant and so was likely a component of the
water portion of the mixture, not part of the
capsules. If we make the reasonable assumption
that the MTAC is in fact 1% of the mix, then we can
derive the following argument:
The active ingredient (pheromone) was intended to be
applied at a rate of no more than 20 grams per acre.
This was supposed to be 25% of the total mix.
This implies that no more than 80 grams per acre of
Checkmate LBAM spray was intended to be applied on
Nov 8 and Nov 9, 2007. 1% of this total is 0.8
grams per acre. An acre has about 43,500 sq ft,
which implies that no more than 0.0000183 grams
(0.0183 mg) per sq foot of MTAC would have been
applied. If this MTAC were uniformly dispersed in a
cloud 10 ft high right on top of the ground, this
would imply a concentration of MTAC no more than
0.0183/10= 0.00183 mg/cu ft. Multiplying by 27
to convert from mg/cu ft to mg/m3 gives 0.049
mg/m3.
The Dept of Energy (DOE) has published proposed
Temporary Emergency Exposure Limits (TEELs) for
MTAC. (1) The TEEL-0 is 0.75 mg/m3, while the
TEEL-1 is 2.5 mg/m3. The TEEL-0 is defined as
“The threshold concentration below which most people
will experience no appreciable risk of health
effects.”(4) The TEEL-1 limit is “The
maximum concentration in air below which it is
believed nearly all individuals could be exposed
without experiencing other than mild transient
adverse health effects or perceiving a clearly
defined objectionable odor.”(4) I guess “nearly all”
or “most people” does not include the 643 people who
reported health complaints in Santa Cruz and
Monterey after the Checkmate aerial spraying there
(5). Note that TEEL-1 is normally considered
to be a 1 hour exposure limit, although ref (4)
suggests using 15 minute TWA’s for some
reason. How people are expected to breathe
residual concentrations of chemicals that remain in
the environment 24/7/365 is not explained.
Since the only toxicity information available for
MTAC on the corresponding MSDS is for oral LD50 for
rats, there may be grounds for saying that there is
significant uncertainty in the values of the
DOE TEEL’s. In a Japanese paper (
2 ) an equation is derived for converting LD50 to
TLV. However, in order for the linear
regression to work, both this paper and one other
similar paper (3) concede that the LD50 and TLV
numbers have to be plotted on a log-log plot.
Otherwise the regression coefficients are not within
acceptable ranges. In layman’s terms, what
this means is that while the correlations on a
log-log plot are good, the possible real world
variations in the final answers are so big that they
will only fit within the boundaries of a sheet of
graph paper if a log-log plot is used. Log-log plots
show results plotted in increasing factors of 10, ie
10, 100, 1000, 10,000 etc, corresponding to what
would be 1, 2, 3, 4, etc on a linear plot.
What the Japanese paper in effect says is that the
available toxicity data for MTAC (oral LD50 for Rat)
uses the testing method that has the lowest
correlation between LC50 or LD50 and TLV of any of
the estimating methods used in the paper. In
the real world, what that means is that if the DOE
only used oral LD50 for the rat to derive the
TEEL’s, those TEEL’s could be either too high or too
low. If they are too high, you could
reasonably divide the numbers by 57. If they are too
low, you could reasonably multiply the numbers by
57. Those two possible answers would be within the
range of three standard deviations of the average or
what is otherwise known as the 95% confidence
interval. That is also assuming that the correlation
between LD50 and TEEL/TLV is improved since the
units are kept the same between the two values
(mg/kg or mg/m3 in this case compared to mmole/kg vs
ppm in air which gave a better correlation of LD50
to TLV in the Japanese paper). If the correlation is
not as good, then dividing by 82 would be
appropriate.
What this means in practical terms for people
exposed to MTAC after the spraying is that any
concentration higher than 0.75mg/m3 divided by 57 (=
0.013 mg/m3) or even possibly as low as 0.75 mg/m3
divided by 82 (= 0.009 mg/m3) could reasonably be
expected to possibly cause a noticeable health
effect in some portion of the general population.
There is also the possibility that LD50’s correlate
better with short term exposure limits than these
numbers suggest. While LC50’s were shown to
correlate better with short term exposure limits in
the Japanese paper, LD50 correlations of this type
were not discussed at all for some reason.
Note that the proposed TEEL-1 for MTAC of 2.5 mg/m3
divided by 57 is only 0.043 mg/m3, which is just
under the estimate of 0.049 mg/m3, which leaves open
the possibility that the govt could officially
concede that classical, mild, reversible health
effects could be experienced by the general
population if MTAC were in fact 1% of the mix
sprayed on Nov 8 and Nov 9, 2007. This
requires no hypothesis of Multiple Chemical
Sensitivity, at least not for the initial one hour
of exposure.
All of these numbers assume of course that the spray
was uniformly dispersed and the MTAC completely
evaporated, condensing in a heavier than air cloud
near the ground. The actual experience is more
varied than that. The concentration of pheromone
capsules captured at official recording stations was
on average only about 1/10 of the expected
amount. Unofficial reports say that the spray
mixture actually came down in giant globs, some of
which slimed entire fence stakes (but only 2 fence
stakes out of a whole set). Plus, the planes flew in
an overlapping grid pattern that could have caused
some areas to get sprayed more than once. Obviously,
when there is a big negative deviation (1/10 of
expected concentration) in one place, there should
also be a big positive deviation (higher than
expected concentration) somewhere else. Throwing
these additional factors of 10 into the equation for
what is the minimum concentration of MTAC expected
to produce a health effect in some portion of the
general population opens up the possibilities even
more.
In addition, the
recent reaffirmation by Robert Leavitt that the
average droplet size of a water droplet incasing a
typical pheromone capsule is on the order of 1000
microns in diameter during the spraying process(6)
completely obliterates the estimate that only 80
grams of total spray mixture was applied over each
acre. If you do the math, a maximum 800
capsules applied per sq ft as estimated at one of
the hearings on the issue(7) implies that up to a
whopping 30 kilograms of spray [correction: this
should be 18 kg] would have been applied per acre
if the 1000 micron droplet size estimate is
accurate. How much of this additional water
component has surfactant such as MTAC in it is not
clear.
Because of these uncertainties in the possible
concentrations of MTAC and the possible
concentrations of MTAC required to produce health
effects, it is
essential that the following steps be taken to
ascertain more completely the scope of these
variables:
1) The total amount of aerial spray applied in Santa
Cruz and Monterey Counties should be disclosed,
broken down by individual aircraft, specific areas
and specific dates.
2) The actual concentrations of all of the
ingredients in the spray should be disclosed.
Only in this way can better defined limits be placed
on what inert ingredients if any may be contributing
to the reported health effects due to the spray.
Notes on other
chemicals that are proposed to be used in ground
spraying to control LBAM :
Permethrin is planned to be used in concentrations
of 6%(8). This chemical is highly toxic to
house cats. A few drops of 45%-60%
concentration of the flea control products normally
used on dogs can be fatal to cats.(9) For this
reason, pet experts recommend using flea control
products for cats that have 0.1% or less Permethrin
concentration.(9) The animal testing of Permethrin
has apparently not included house cats in the
analysis, and so gives a false sense of safety for
that chemical.(10) Cats are notorious for
climbing trees and fences and so they will likely be
exposed to Permethrin, especially if the clay-like
substance used to contain the Permethrin is not
fully dried. It may not wash off in the rain,
but it will likely transfer to the exposed skin on
the bottoms of cats’ paws.
The use of Bt is also problematic, as some of the
strains used are genetically engineered and
therefore may not fit the definition of “organic” as
well as being closely related to and under some
circumstances indistinguishable from bacteria known
to cause food poisoning in humans. (11)
References:
1) DOE Rev 19 TEEL’s (2003)
http://hss.energy.gov/HealthSafety/WSHP/chem_safety/teel/TEELs_Rev_19v.xls
Note that DOE has not included MTAC in subsequent
TEEL Revs for some reason, nor is MTAC included in
the PAC REV 23 Online Data base at
http://hss.energy.gov/HealthSafety/WSHP/chem_safety/teel.html
2) The Contribution of Acute Toxicity in Animals to
Occupational Exposure Limits of Chemical Substances
http://www.journalarchive.jst.go.jp/english/jnlabstract_en.php?cdjournal=indhealth1963&cdvol=37&noissue
=1&startpage=22
3) Regression method to estimate provisional
TLV/WEEL-equivalents for non-carcinogens
http://annhyg.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/44/5/361
4) Derivation of Temporary Emergency Exposure Limits
(TEELs)
http://orise.orau.gov/emi/scapa/files/TEELMethodExtension-Tox%20Data-Searchable.pdf
5)Appendix to CASS Health Complaint Letter
http://www.lbamspray.com/00_Documents/2008/Mike%20Lynberg%20Health%20package%202008
_01_03/Complaints%20of%20Adverse%20Reactions_names%20removed.pdf
6)Robert Leavitt March 13, 2008 Letter To CDFA
http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/pdep/lbam/pdfs/ETF/Letter_and_LBAM-F_PSA.pdf
7) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PzAMzsQdyE
8) USDA APHIS Document on EA of LBAM Eradication
Program
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/ea/downloads/lbam-treatmentprog-02-14-08.pdf
9) Cat Fanciers’ Association: Health Committee
-- Cats and Flea Control Products
http://www.cfainc.org/articles/flea-products.html
10) Roy Upton “Permethrin – Safety
Review” 2-5-08
11) Roy Upton “Bacillus thuringiensis – Safety
Review” 3-6-08
|
The
Deadlines for submitting written comments to
the CDFA and the USDA about the Light Brown
Apple Moth Spraying Program Are Fast
Approaching.
Submit written comments to:
Oral and written comments will be
accepted. The deadline for written comments is March
20, 2008. They may be sent to:
Jim Rains, Staff Environmental Scientist
CA Department of Food and Agriculture
Plant Health and Pest Prevention Services
1220 N Street, Room A-316
Sacramento, CA 95814
The USDA APHIS document is viewable at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/ea/downloads/lbam-treatmentprog-02-14-08.pdf
Comments may be sent by March 18, 2008 to the
address in that document and also to
Ed Schafer, Secretary of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20250
and
STOP the USDA
PO Box 681
Pescadero, CA 94060
|
Emergency
Vigil Monday and Tuesday Nights Feb 11 + Feb
12 at Berkeley City Hall:
Code Pink is having an overnight and all
day vigil to counter the demo planned by the
right wing that wants to undo the Berkeley City
Council resolutions that told the Marine
recruiters that they were not welcome in
Berkeley. For more info, visit indybay.org.
Berkeley Threatened With Loss Of State and
Federal Funds Over Marine Recruiting Center
Flap
by John
Thielking
2-8-08
Last night it was reported on the TV news
and in the Berkeley
Daily
Planet that Berkeley might lose $5 million
in Federal and State funding for such vital
services as transportation and school lunch
programs because of the Berkeley City Council's
principled stand opposing the location of a Marine
recruiting center within Berkeley city limits. It
was also reported that because of this backlash,
some of the Berkeley City Council people were
considering toning down their proposed letter to
the Marines and modifying the resolution to make
it clear that they support the troops even if they
don't support the war.
It should be pointed out that the movie "Sir! No
Sir!" made it clear that the story about
servicepeople being spat on as they returned to
the SF airport after returning from Vietnam is a
myth. We know this is a myth because the
servicepeople did not go through the normal
airport screening process at that time in history.
The movie "Rambo" made this story into a myth that
the averge movie-goer took as fact because the
average movie-goer had no direct experience to
contradict the Rambo character's statement that
the returning troops were spat on.
In response to the threats voiced by some State
and Federal Lawmakers, I made the following
statement on Indybay.org
:
If the city of
Berkeley has Federal and State funding pulled
due to this incident, I will personally pony
up a $100 donation to do my part to make up
for the funding shortfall. I think the
city should take a stand and demand that the
Marines leave. Having the Marines
in Berkeley is like having Checkmate aerial
spray or a Navy ship in Santa Cruz. It
just doesn't wash. I don't see Santa
Cruz being sanctioned for rejecting the Navy
ship a few years ago.
The fighters
in Iraq and Afghanistan are fighting for
capitalists and their cronies, not to protect
the people of the US. Have the National
Guard troops come home from Iraq and help
rebuild New Orleans and the rest of the state
of LA.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog
|
A humanitarian crisis is underway as the Gaza Strip's only power plant began to shut
down on Sunday, and the tiny coastal territory entered its third full day without
shipments of vital food and fuel supplies due to Israel's punitive sanctions.
Read more and leave
comments in the Pagesincolor.com blog
|
|
What Chemical
Aerial Spraying
May
Be Doing To You, Your Children's &
Pets' Health
Way of Life
Health Lecture Series Presents
An
Evening
With
New
York Best Selling Author of
"Your
Toxic
World:
A Wake Up Call"
Dr.
Doris Rapp MD
Thursday
Evening
January 10, 2008
Rio
Theater
1205
Soquel
Ave,
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Admission is FREE (donations gratefully
accepted). Everyone Welcome (crying room
available).
Who is Dr Rapp? Doris J Rapp, MD, F.A.A.A.,
F. A. A. P., is a board-certified
environmental medical specialist and
pedatric allergist. She is clinical
assistant professor of pediatrics at the
State University of New York at Buffalo. The
founder of the Practical Allergy Foundation
in Buffalo, Dr. Rapp is a past president of
the American Academy of Environmental
Medicine and was an honored speaker at the
First World Conference on
Non-Pharmacological therapies identifying
substances that cause illness and behavioral
changes in children & treatment
ideas. And her new book "A Toxic Wake
Up Call: Understanding The Cumulative
Effects Of Chemical Exposure." Dr Rapp will
be addressing specific reasons why our
community needs to be concerned about aerial
spraying. Dr Rapp has been seen on Oprah
& Larry King Live.
Read
more on Pagesincolor.com
|
|
Request To Put
Speed Limits On All Sections Of The Autobahn
Network In Germany Petition
To: German Federal Government
To Angela Merkel (current Bundeskanzlerin of
Germany)
and the German Parlament:
This is a petition to be signed by the many people
of the world and is addressed to the German
Parlament and to the current Bundeskanzlerin
(Federal Chancellor) of Germany, who has a PhD in
Physics, to highlight how putting speed limits on
all of the German Autobahn network could curb global
warming world-wide.
The existence of “no speed limit” sections of the
Autobahn network in Germany increases world-wide
consumer desire for faster and more powerful cars
and increases the desire of manufacturers to
endlessly hype power and speed as being essential
components of automobile design. The gas wasted by
cars using the “no speed limit” sections of the
Autobahn network in Germany is not as important as
the problem of the internationally over-hyped “need
for speed” that is made possible in part due to the
mere existence of roadways with no speed limits.
The power required to propel the average compact car
at normal USA freeway speeds of 55-65mph is about
11hp on a level road. (Electric vehicles use only
about 80 amps @ 100V @ 55mph.) Having a 200+ hp gas
engine under the hood ends up burning a lot of extra
gas, proportional to the displacement volume of the
engine.
In contrast, it seems reasonable to expect that if
the trend towards ever higher acceleration rates and
ever heavier cars with more powerful engines were
reversed, incredible savings in fuel consumption
could be realized using off the shelf technology.
Some compact cars sold in USA in the 1990’s achieved
40-50mpg highway using 1 liter 55 hp engines.
Scaling down a 2007 model, 2 Liter, 200 hp, 30mpg
sports car engine to 65hp would result in a 650 cc
engine that could get even better gas mileage. A
hybrid with such an engine could have better gas
mileage than any hybrid on the road today.
We urge you to set an example for the rest of the
world and retire the legend called the “no speed
limit Autobahn”, thus reducing the hype that creates
the “need for speed” and the resulting world-wide
wasting of fuel in high performance automobiles.
Please impose binding speed limits on all sections
of the Autobahn network. And please publicize what
you have done so that others will reduce or
eliminate their “need for speed”. The resulting
world-wide fuel savings could power all of Germany’s
energy needs. Thank you.
Sincerely,
The
Undersigned
See the complete petition online at http://www.petitiononline.com/pagesin2/petition.html
Read or
leave comments in the Pagesincolor.com blog
|
Come To The Court
Hearing For The Lawsuit Against The Checkmate
Spraying: 10AM Tuesday, Nov 20, 2007
US Federal
Court, 280 S 1st St, San Jose, CA, in
Courtroom 8.
The USDA is
attempting to have the lawsuit to stop the
Checkmate spraying in Monterey and Santa Cruz
Counties dismissed.
Checkmate is a pheremone based spray designed to
disrupt the mating of the light brown apple moth in
an attempt to control the population of the
LBAM. Checkmate also contains 3% inert
ingredients other than water, some of which may
cause various forms of irritation or health problems
in humans. Checkmate has not been tested for
effectiveness against the LBAM or for safety in
humans. The CA Dept of Food and Agriculture has
declared a poorly pubicized "emergency", attempting
to justify circumventing California and Federal
environmental laws to promote their spraying
program.
If you care about your health and the health of your
neighbors, please show up for this event. The
number of people who show up will be recorded in the
court records and possibly influence the case.
For more information visit:
http://www.lbamspray.info
http://www.drrandy.org
http://www.pagesincolor.com
The hwy 17 bus runs from downtown Santa Cruz to 1st
St and Santa Clara St in downtown San Jose. To
get to the courthouse, get off the bus at 1st St and
Santa Clara St. and walk 3 or 4 blocks South to San
Carlos St. The courthouse is on the Northeast
corner of 1st St and San Carlos.
For more background on the Checkmate spraying of
Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties, check out:
Biochemical Spraying Over Santa
Cruz Scheduled to start TONIGHT!
http://www.indybay.org/santacruz/
Update: The
lawsuit was dismissed due to conflicts with the
11th amendment. The City and County of Santa
Cruz are continuing their lawsuits in State court.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com Blog
|
The CA Dept of Food
and Agriculture sent me an e-mail at 8AM
November 9 to tell me that Checkmate spraying
over Santa Cruz had already occurred on Nov 8.
So much for being warned BEFORE
the spray starts by the e-mail alert system:
****************************************************************
On the evening of November 8 and in the early
morning hours of November 9, CDFA applied Light
Brown Apple Moth pheromone in Santa Cruz County.
Treatment began at 8:01 p.m. and was completed
after 4 a.m. The results are as follows:
Zone CASC 1 - 100 percent complete
Zone CASC 2 - 100 percent complete
Zone CASC 3 - 38 percent compete
Zone CASC 4 - 15 percent complete
Zone CASC 5 - 58 percent complete
Zone CASC 6 - 100 percent complete
Please click on the following link for a map
with more detail.
Treatment Map of Santa Cruz :
http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/PDEP/lbam/pdfs/maps/LBAM_AERIAL_08_11_07_SCRUZ.pdf
The tentative plan for Friday evening, November
9, is to complete treatment in Santa Cruz
County, weather permitting. Then, if time and
weather permit, we would move to the
Prunedale/Royal Oaks treatment area and then to
the North Salinas/Boronda area. We will have
additional details later today.
To reply to this message, email LBAM [at]
cdfa.ca.gov
For more information call the toll-free LBAM
Program hotline (1-800-491-1899) and visit the
Program's web site.
*********************end of CDFA
report**************
I did see a plane making overflights at a low
altitude as I was leaving the Western Service
Workers office on Mission st at about 9:30PM on
Nov 8. I couldn't smell or taste anything at
that moment.
I do have a copy of the intake form that WSW
uses for their free medical services and I went
through the admission process with a client at
their office. However, WSW were unwilling to
help me directly with screening people who may
have health complaints about the Checkmate
spray.
If you have experienced symptoms, visit the
emergency room or your personal doctor if the
symptoms are severe. Emergency rooms have to
admit you even if you can't afford to pay.
Doctors are required to report illnesses due to
pesticide use within 24 hours of seeing the
patient with symptoms.
If your symptoms are not severe but still
troublesome and you feel you can't afford a
doctor visit, then please call me at
408-924-0846 or 408-914-2751 or e-mail me at pagesincolor
[at]
aol.com and I will use your testimony in
an effort to round up some doctors who might be
willing to at least give you an exam for free.
This free medical exam concept will continue to
be explored even if the results from this week's
spraying don't pan out since the spraying will
probably resume in the Spring and Summer months
of 2008.
For more background on the Checkmate spraying of
Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties, check out:
For the latest update on CDFA
spraying check out:
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/11/09/18459506.php
Now they are saying that they will send us complete
info on areas sprayed AFTER they are sprayed.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com Blog
|
Pagesincolor.com
Retail Store is NOT closing October 30, 2007
I am in the process of finalizing a deal to keep the
store open for at least one more year. Stay tuned
for details. For the most part, the 50% off
sale has ended. However, some items being sold
by my current landlord are still 50% off, since he
may be moving his stuff out at the end of October.
The home delivery discounts and home delivery
options have been discontinued at the request of the
new business partner, who is taking over on November
1, 2007. However, a couple of the UFW store
items will be sold at a discount until further
notice. The adult UFW T-shirts will sell for
$10 (instead of $18) and the mini UFW flags will
sell for $7 (instead of $8). Over 5000 fair trade
items can be special ordered, with no shipping
charges and no minimum order, and will be available
for store pickup. For more information on
that, check out http://www.pagesincolor.com/storepickup.html
.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog.
|
Being zapped by a taser is like being struck by a
bolt of lightning. Only Marty Mcfly in Back To
The Future, or Ben Franklin flying his kite in the
rain would be so stupid as to deliberately be struck
by a bolt of lightning. In real life people die when
they are tasered, just like what happens to most
people who are struck by lightning.
Since 2004, when SJPD started having all of its
officers carry tasers, 5 people in San Jose have
died after being tased. Over 200 people
nationwide have been killed by tasers. Too
often tasers are used on people who are being
detained, but who are not resisting. Sometimes these
people are very young or very old or disabled. This
has to stop.
The San Jose March and rally follows the following
path: 5:00 PM gather outside the DA's office
at 70 West Hedding St. Then march to the San
Jose police dept. Then the march continues,
arriving at San Jose City Hall at 200 E Santa Clara
St. at 6:30 PM.
Click
here
to see pictures from the rally.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog.
|
|
Visit Zoe
Lofgren 4-6PM, Monday, July 23, 2007
Pagesincolor.com is organizing a protest at
Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren's office on
Monday July 23, 2007 from 4PM - 6PM
Show up, be
respectful, but demand action! And try not to
get arrested. Lofgren's office closes at
6PM.
Demand the
impeachment of George Bush and Dick
Cheney. This is in concert with Cindy
Sheehan who will be marching
on Washington DC on the same day.
While we are
there we might also remind Zoe to not allow Bush
to attack Iran.
Anyone who
shows up to this protest will get a free Orange
No Sweat T-Shirt, while supplies last. The
color Orange symbolizes the Orange Revolution,
for impeachment.
Zoe Lofgren's
office
635 N 1st
Street, Suite B
San Jose, CA
Thanks.
Sincerely,
John Thielking
Pagesincolor.com
888 E Santa
Clara St.
San Jose, CA
95116
408-924-0846
Read or leave comments in the Pagesincolor.com
blog.
|
|
Michael Moore's
Movie "Sicko" Is A Step In The Right
Direction
7-15-07
by John Thielking
Michael Moore's latest movie, Sicko, portrays the
dismal state of the health insurance industry in the
United States. Short on statistics, Moore
focuses on anecdotal cases to make his point that
many people in the US are being denied appropriate
treatments by insurance companies that do not
pre-approve treatments that are needed.
Critics of Sicko, such as Michael
F
Cannon and Deroy
Murdock in the National Review claim
that Moore is leaving out certain key facts when he
makes his case for Single Payer Healthcare.
They point out that if everyone in the US had access
to whatever health care they wanted, there would be
massive increases in costs as everyone accesses the
services or there would be rationing of available
services with waiting lists for major operations
stretching into weeks or months. Murdock also points
out the fiasco at Walter Reed Medical Center where
the govt was supposed to be paying for Veterans'
medical treatment.
What the critics leave out is that the current
system in the US makes many people wait until they
are dead and they still don't receive treatment. How
is this any different than being put on a month's
long waiting list as in David
Gratzer's nightmare vision of socialized
medicine? Plus, they neglect the fact that in
Britain the doctors who have patients with healthier
lifestyles make more money. People live longer in
these countries than in the US, dispite the long
waiting lists for some treatments as claimed by
Cannon, Murock and Gratzer. Moore does not
neglect to point out that in Britain and France the
people in charge of their governments are the ones
running scared from people protesting in the streets
in massive numbers every time their governments try
to weasel out of their obligations to their social
safety nets in some small way or another. Ronald
Reagan and Bill Clinton wouldn't be nearly so famous
for their "Welfare Reform" packages if people
protested in the US the way they do in Britain and
France.
In Canada, Moore didn't mention that there were
massive protests. Rather he pointed out that
about 50 years ago one Canadian, Tommy
C.
Douglas, who is now regarded as a national
hero in Canada, convinced both Liberals and
Conservatives of the merits of Single Payer
Healthcare.
It is clear that if the people in the US want Single
Payer Healthcare they are going to have to fight for
it, and remain vigilant after the goal is
achieved. Unless we want to wait for some dead
Canadian hero to come back to life to convince
everyone of the merits of Single Payer Healthcare,
we will just have to roll up our sleeves and get to
work. Start by defunding the war in Iraq, and
don't allow a war to get started with Iran.
The payments we will have to make on the spending
spree so far in Iraq may unfortunately constrain the
national budget for some years to come. But if
we continue to fund endless wars we will never have
enough money for Single Payer Healthcare or
childcare for new mothers or free college education
or whatever other wonderfull programs they have in
Britain and France.
Read
or leave comments in the Pagesincolor.com Blog.
|
|
Cindy Sheehan
Is Back On The Anti-War Path
National
Conference Scheduled For July 4th In
Philadelphia, PA
6-28-07
by John Thielking
It was widely reported in the mainstream press that
Cindy Sheehan recently stepped down from her role as
a national anti-war activist, citing her
disillusionment with the Democratic party. She
claimed that as soon as she attempted to hold the
Democrats to the same standards as the Republicans,
she was attacked by the Democrats too. They
seemed to have little genuine interest in ending the
war. Certainly, the Democrats' behavior after
the election has left little room for doubt.
The primary front runner, Hillary Clinton, has said
essentially that the war in Iraq is going just fine,
the only problem is that Bush is running it.
With talk like that, the Democrats don't stand a
chance of turning things around.
Now Cindy Sheehan has jumped back into the fray. She
has teamed up with Michael Moore in radio spots
advertising the anti-war convention in Philly. She
has also embraced the 911-truth movement, claiming
that 911 could have been an inside job.
For more details on the conference, visit http://www.actindependent.org/
.
For more background, visit http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2007/06/361555.shtml
.
Read
or leave comments in the Pagesincolor.com Blog
|
|
"El Gigante
Awakens" Premieres In Downtown San Jose, CA
6-19-07
John Thielking
On May 1, 2006 in downtown San Jose, over 200,000
people marched in support of immigrant rights and
against the draconian HR4437 that would have made it
a felony to be in the US illegally. The 45
minute English/Spanish DVD "El Gigante Awakens"
doccuments the march that occurred in downtown San
Jose, CA. The movie will be shown on June 22,
23, and 24th at CET, 701 Vine St, San Jose, CA.
There will also be live bands and poetry readings at
the 5 showings of the movie. For more
information and tickets visit http://www.elgiganteawakens.com
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com Blog.
|
|
Poll Shows That
Majority Support Negotiations To End
Hamas/Fatah Gaza Standoff
6-19-07
John Thielking
Last week, the militant group and majority coalition
member of the Palestinian Government, Hamas, siezed
control of Gaza from the rival militant group
Fatah. International support of Fatah's contol
of the remaining territory in the West Bank and
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas'
dismissal of the Hamas-led government has led to the
virtual isolation of the Gaza Strip. Nations
such as the US and the European Union states have
promissed to lift sanctions against the now Fatah
controlled government in the West Bank, while
isolating the Gaza strip. Israel holds open the
possiblity of invading the Gaza Strip to throw out
Hamas if any rocket attacks are perpetrated against
Israel.
A recent poll conducted by http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/rosnerMain.jhtml
suggests that a majority of
readers support either letting Hamas and Fatah
work it out or to have international negotiators
talk to Hamas. Only
12% support military action against Hamas. Only 35% support
sanctions/isolation of Gaza.
For more background opinions on
the situation, check out:
Whose
Coup,
Exactly?
AlterNet:
Palestine:
How Will the Hypocritical West Deal with a Coup
D'état by an Elected Government?
Towards
a
Geography of Peace: Whither Gaza?
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com Blog
|
|
SF 8 Bail
Reduction Hearings Scheduled For The Week Of
6-18-07
6-19-07
by John Thielking
The San Francisco 8 are 8 African American former
members of the Black Panthers who are being charged
with the1971 killing of a San Francisco police
officer. Many of the charges have already been
tried in court previously and have also been
presented to numerous Grand Juries without any
indictments being handed down. Some of the
"evidence" against the 8 was extracted under torture
when they were orginally arrested in the 1970's.
The SF 8 have called on John Conyers, Chair of the
Judiciary Committee in Congress, to reopen the
COINTELPRO hearings to examine why it is that
African Americans who were framed up by COINTELPRO
30 years ago are still behind bars.
Read
more
at Indybay.org
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog.
|
|
Meeting to Honor
Leonard Peltier
6-13-07
LPSG South Bay is honoring Leonard Peltier on
Tuesday 26th June in San Jose, 32 years after the
shoot-out. We will be showing the film
"Incident at Oglala". We are meeting at 7:00pm at
Pagesincolor.com Fair Trade Store located at 888
East Santa Clara Street, near 19th Street and across
the street from Roosevelt Park in San Jose.
Refreshments are potluck.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com Blog.
|
|
Berkeley, CA
Passes New Downtown Ordinances
6-13-07
John Thielking
Berkeley has just passed a new set of ordinances
that would criminalize their homeless
population. It makes it illegal to posess a
shopping cart or to sit or lie on the
sidewalk. Where are the mass protests (akin to
the 1994 Santa Cruz protests against the sitting
ban)?
1st unintended consequence or selective enforcement
non-action: Those little old ladies with their
walker/baskets could be targeted for having
"shopping carts". I seriously doubt that
homeless people with suitcases bungy corded to hand
trucks will be let go. But the cops will never
ticket a little old lady with her pushcart.
Read more at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/11/BAGVUQD2GO1.DTL
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com Blog.
|
From
alternet.org
Iraqi
Parliament Sets The Stage For Troop
Withdrawl From Iraq
6-7-07
Up until now, the Iraqi government has been little
more than a rubber stamp for US foreign
policy. Now however, there is a movement
within the majority of lawmakers in Parliament to
attach conditions to and/or not renew authorization
for the UN mandate for peacekeeping forces to remain
in Iraq. This would mean that if the current binding
resolution that has passed Parliament requiring
renewal of authorization of the UN mandate every 6
months is not vetoed by the Prime Minister and
if the authorization is not renewed in
December 2007, the US forces could be asked to
withdraw on some kind of timetable. Read the
complete article at alternet.org.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog.
|
|
Rally To Free
Mumia Abu-Jamal
Thursday, May 17, 2007 from 4-6PM
San Jose Federal Building
2nd and San Carlos St
San Jose, CA
Death Row prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal is going to have
essentially his last best shot at a new trial on May
17, 2007. Robert Bryan will be presenting one
hour of oral arguments before the third circuit
court of appeals. Mumia Abu-Jamal was wrongfully
convicted of killing Philadelphia police officer
Daniel Faulkner in an altercation that took place on
Dec 9, 1981. Lots of evidence exists to
suggest that Mumia is innocent, including the
confession of a hit man, Arnold Beverly, who
claims that he, not Mumia, shot and killed Officer
Faulkner. Bryan will be focusing on a few main
points as part of the appeal:
* The prosecutor's attempt to dilute the presumption
of innocence by stating that if Mumia were convicted
he would have appeal after appeal.
* The racist exclusion of a majority of the black
jurors in the jury pool from serving on Mumia's
jury.
* The racist bias of Judge Sabo during the appeals
process.
Read or leave comments
in the Pagesincolor.com blog
|
|
San Jose Events
For The Week Of April 29-May 5, 2007
Sunday April 29,
2007 1:00 pm Justice
March for Immigrant Children, from
Federal Building, 280 South First St, San Jose, CA
.to San Jose City Hall.
Tuesday, May 1,
2007 4:00 pm Immigrant
and Workers' March from Mi Pueblo Center,
South King and Story Roads, San Jose, CA to
San Jose City Hall. Organized by Voluntarios
de la Comunidad.
Tuesday, May 1,
2007 7PM -8:30PM Root
Force
Road Show
Pagesincolor 888 E Santa Clara St, San Jose, CA
95116
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com Blog.
|
From
Indybay.org
Root Force Road Show Comes To San Jose
May 1, 2007
7PM-8:30PM
Pagesincolor.com
888 E Santa Clara St.
San Jose, CA 95116
PUPPETS * FILM * SLIDES * MUSIC
The Root Force Road Show is coming to San Jose!
Are you tired of talking about “the system” and
ready to do something about it? Are you looking for
a way to fight the onslaught of corporate
globalization beyond summit hopping and buying fair
trade?
Root Force is a strategic campaign designed to
exploit weak points in the global economy and hasten
the system’s collapse. Using direct action, Root
Force pressures all those involved in specific
infrastructure construction projects in Latin
America to end their participation in ecocide and
genocide.
This FREE event will feature:
* Segment from a new film on Plan Puebla Panama
called “La Conquista Sigue” (The Conquest
Continues), produced in Chiapas, Mexico.
* A puppet show on international solidarity
* Slides from communities of resistance in Mexico
and El Salvador
* A talk on the Root Force campaign
For more information, visit http://www.rootforce.org.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LA GIRA DE FUERZA RAIZ
¡La Gira de Fuerza Raíz viene a San
Jose!
TITERES * PELICULA * DIAPOSITIVA * MUSICA
¿Está cansado de quejarse sobre "el
sistema" y listo para hacer algo en contra?
¿Está buscando una manera de luchar
contra la globalización corporativa
además de protestar en las cumbres o comprar
"comercio justo"?
Fuerza Raíz es una campaña
estratégica, diseñada para aprovechar
de los puntos debiles de la economía global
para apretar el paso de su derrumbamiento.
Utilizando la acción directa, Fuerza
Raíz presiona a todos que están
involucrados en unos cuantos proyectos de
construcción de infraestructura en
América Latina, hasta que ponen un fin a su
participación en el ecocidio y genocidio.
Este evento es GRATIS e incluye:
* Un segmento de "La Conquista Sigue," una pelicula
nueva acerca del Plan Puebla Panama producido en
Chiapas, México
* Una presentación de títeres sobre la
solidaridad internacional (solo en inglés)
* Diapositivas de comunidades de resistencia en
México y El Salvador
* Una plática sobre la campaña Fuerza
Raíz
Para más información (en
inglés), visita a http://www.rootforce.org.
For
the
complete event listing, check out Indybay.org.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com Blog.
|
|
"Yellow
Journalism" about the Post Office on
Pagesincolor: How The Post Office Shredded
My Letter On Behalf Of Mumia
by John Thielking
4-27-07
A letter and check that I sent to the Black United
Fund in January 2007 on behalf of Mumia Abu-Jamal
was shredded by the Post Office after sitting in the
dead letter office for 3 months. I always have
postage and return address on all mail that I send
out. There can be no excuse.
Read
the
complete story at Indybay.org.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com Blog.
|
From Indybay.org:
In
Preparation for Cinco De Mayo Cop-Watch:
Know Your Rights Training
Sunday, April 29th 3pm-6pm @ PagesInColor 888 East
Santa Clara St. San Jose, CA 95116
Know your rights when interacting with the police.
Free and open to the public.
Preparation/refreshment for Cinco de Mayo
Copwatching. Will also include a
discussion on strategy for the 5th.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog
|
www.Catalysts
of HOPE.org
Healing Our
People & Earth
Cross
Continental Bicycle Journey
for
Peace & Sustainability
will facilitate a discussion on
Building Community
Earth Day
Sun 22 April 2007
Potluck 5:00 PM
Bring your utensils & locally grown food
Discussion 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Pagesincolor.com
Fair Trade Craft Store
888 E. Santa Clara St
San Jose, CA 95116
corner of 19th St.
541-829-3379
The cyclists arrived in San Jose on Friday and are
staying over for a discussion of their work.
Join them for a potluck and discussion.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com Blog
|
|
Sustainability
Week
April
16th - 19th, 2007
San
Jose State University
San Jose, CA
Earth Day
April 18th 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Join the celebration! Featuring organizations,
vendors, dancers, a mini farmer's market, a speech
from Ocean Robbins, and a memorila tree planting for
Gaylord Nelson, Earht Day founder. Central
Plaza off of 7th street.
Carmencita "Chie"
Abad
April 17th 12:30 PM
Chie speaks from personal experience about the
hardships endured by millions of workers in
sweatshops around the world. Her story is an
inspiring example of how people can win if they
stand up for their rights. Martin Luther King
Library Rm 255/257 (MLK Library is located at E San
Fernando and 4th Streets.)
David Bacon and Juan
Manuel Sandoval
April 17th, 1:30 PM
David Bacon is a photojournalist and writer who
spent twenty years organizing labor unions.
Juan Manuel Sandoval is a leading social activist
and academic. MLK Library Rm 255/257
Fair Trade Faire
April 17th, 18th and 19th, 10AM-3PM
Sales of crafts from Ten Thousand Villages.
Fair Trade Certification ensures that workers are
paid fair wages, are free from abusive labor
practices, and use environmentally sustainable
methods. Central Plaza off of 7th Street.
For more information and the complete schedule,
visit
http://www.sjsusustainabilityweek.org
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog
|
|
China Blue
10:30PM
Tuesday, April 3rd, 2007
Pagesincolor.com
888 E Santa
Clara St.
San Jose, CA
95116
This movie documents the
life of a 16 year old girl who works in a
sweatshop in China making blue jeans. The
owner of the sweatshop claims that his is one of
the better factories in China, hence he
graciously allowed the uncensored filming of the
factory. Even so, the film reveals that
the workers suffer under deplorable conditions,
working 12+ hours per day 7 days per week.
This movie will be broadcast on KQED Channel 9
at 10:30PM Tuesday April 3rd, 2007. You
are welcome to see the movie at Pagesincolor.com
and make a donation to Pagesincolor.com to cover
the cost of the room. Discussion preceeds
and follows the movie.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com Blog
|
|
Race
To Execution
Wed, March 28th, 2007 6PM
Pagesincolor.com
888 E Santa Clara St.
San Jose, CA 95116
"Race To Execution"
follows the cases of two Death Row
inmates, Robert Tarver in Russell
County, Alabama and Madison Hobley in
Chicago, Illinois to illustrate how race
plays a role in jury selection and in
sentencing in capital cases.
This movie is being
broadcast on KQED Channel 9 at 6PM, Wed,
March 28th, 2007. Come watch the
movie at Pagesincolor.com and have a
discussion afterwards. You can
contribute a donation to
Pagesincolor.com if you like and/or
visit the fair trade crafts store.
The movie will be viewable on the 24" TV
upstairs and the 13" wheelchair
accessible TV downstairs.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com Blog.
|
|
On the 4th
Anniversary of the US Invasion of Iraq
Protesters, and US and Iraqi Soldiers, Still
Marching In Circles.
Congress
still talking in circles about redeployment,
instead of plain old withdrawl.
Details taken from Peace Times.
Posted 3-11-07
If you plan to join the protesters, check this out:
March 17th San Jose
11:30AM Rally at Santana Park (Monroe and Tisch, San
Jose)
12 noon: March to Peace Crossroads (Stevens Creek
and Winchester, Santa Clara)
2:30PM: Closing rally at Santana Park (Monroe and
Tisch, San Jose)
Initiated by South Bay Mobilization
March 18th
Peace Train to San Francisco Mass March and Rally
Sign in at San Jose's Diridon station 8:45AM-9:30AM
for the #427 train departing at 10AM. Or catch
the train in Mountain View (departing 10:19AM0, Palo
Alto (departing 10:31AM) or the other Caltrain
stops. Get on the train and change to BART at
Milbrae, then exit BART at Embarcadero.
March assembles at Justin Herman Plaza and ends at
Civic Center (also a Bart stop). SBM has arranged
with Caltrain for our own car on the train
(rear-most car next to engine). For more info
on the Peace Train, call 408-998-8504.
Sponsored by South Bay Mobilization.
408-998-8504
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com Blog
|
|
Posted
2-28-07
On
the CA State Holiday of the Birthday of
Cesar Chavez, Saturday, March 31, 2007
7PM-9PM
at Pagesincolor.com 888 E Santa Clara St,
San Jose, CA:
DVD
Movie: Fighting For Our Lives: The United
Farm Workers 1973 Grape Strike
This movie is a look back at
the history of the United Farm Workers movement.
In 1973, the growers brought in the
Teamsters in a failed attempt to break up the 1973
Grape Strike. This movie is in
English, but it has a fair amount of protesters’
dialog in Spanish, so if you only know Spanish you
might get the gist of it.
This movie will be preceded by
the 15 minute movie “Realizing Cesar Chavez’s
Dream” (Realizando el Sueno de Cesar Chavez) in
Spanish.
The movie will be followed by
two other short films:
“Celebration of Life: United
Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO” in English
And
“No Grapes”, Narrated by Mike
Farrell, in English
Suggested donation of
$5-$20. No one turned away for lack of
funds. All proceeds, minus a small fee to cover
the cost of the room, will be donated to the
United Farm Workers.
The movies will be simulcast on a 24”
TV that is not wheelchair accessible and on a 13”
TV that is wheelchair accessible. The
restroom is not wheelchair accessible.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog
|
|
Posted
2-28-07
Video: Buyer Be Fair: The Promise Of Product
Certification
Saturday,
March
24th 7PM
Pagesincolor.com
888 E Santa Clara St.
San Jose, CA 95116
Come see a review of the
product certification processes for coffee and
wood products that are certified as being fair
trade and sustainably produced.
For more information visit http://www.buyerbefair.org
The movie will be simulcast on
a 24” TV that is not wheelchair accessible and on
a 13” TV that is wheelchair accessible. The restroom is not
wheelchair accessible.
Suggested donation of $5-$10. No one turned away
for lack of funds. Proceeds benefit
Pagesincolor.com.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog
|
|
Short Films and
Report-Backs: The Peoples' Resistance
In Oaxaca
Short films from Mal de Ojo TV with Vladimir
Flores & Shannon Young
Oaxaca correspondents for Free Speech Radio News
Photo Slideshow and report-backs
with Danielsan & Ariel
Local Oaxaca solidarity activists
Thursday, March 1st, 8PM, Brown Berets
Office Watsonville, CA
406 Main St, behind Ritimo Latino
Friday, March 2nd, 7PM, Veterans' Hall,
Santa Cruz, CA, 846 Front St.
Saturday, March
3rd, 2007 at 7PM, Pagesincolor.com, San
Jose, CA
888 E Santa Clara
St (@ 19th st)
$5-$20 sliding scale. No one turned away for lack of
funds. Proceeds benefit Mal de Ojo TV, maldeojotv.net
& Free Speech Radio News, fsrn.org
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog
|
|
Zapatista
Update: Mexican Govt Tries To Use
Paramilitaries To Provoke Zapatistas In
Chiapas, Mexico
Posted 2-17-07
by John Thielking
In 1994 the Zapatista movement mobilized in response
to the adoption of NAFTA by Mexico, Canada and the
US. They took to the streets with wooden
imitation rifles and took over various small towns
in the Mexican state of Chiapas as a form of
protest. Since then, the Mexican govt has been
in negotiations with the movement. The
Zapatistas are demanding restoration of indigenous
people's rights. Lately the Mexican govt has
resorted to guerilla tactics to attempt to justify a
possible crackdown against the Zapatistas.
Read more about that at the Portland
IMC.
Shameless plug: The Pagesincolor.com retail store
now carries the Higher Grounds Mut Vitz dark roast,
fair trade, organic, shade grown coffee, which is
produced in Chiapas by a group of coffee farmers
that was derived from the Zapatistas in 1997.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog
|
|
Haiti
Update: UN Attempts To Downplay The
Strength Of Aristide Supporters, Despite
Massive Demonstrations in Haiti
Posted 2-17-07
By John Thielking
It is claimed that the UN has acted in the interests
of the United States and against the interest of
supporters of the former president of Haiti, Mr
Aristide. President Aristide has always
maintained that he was kidnapped and forced to leave
Haiti. Read the latest update on Portland
IMC. Also check out http://haitiaction.net/
.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog
|
|
Governor
Schwarzenegger's Health Care Plan for CA
Criticized by Supporters of Universal Health
Care
Posted
2-17-07
by John Thielking
OneCareNow.org
has a side by side comparison of Governor
Schwarzenegger's Health Care plan vs SB 840
here.
It
is quite obvious that the governor's plan
falls short in many areas. There is no
incentive for insurance companies to provide
quality health care coverage. The
deductables will be high (MINIMUM of $5000
for individuals). There will be no
coverage for mental health, which is
hypocritical. If they don't want to
cover mental health with a quality plan that
pays for drugs, then why are they
essentially mandating that people with long
term mental health problems take drugs
instead of finding them alternative
treatment programs.
Read or leave
comments in the Pagesincolor.com blog
|
|
Eight Former Black
Panthers Arrested On Charges Of Killing A SF
Police Officer In 1971. Evidence
Available Is Based On Testimony Obtained
Through Torture.
Posted 2-16-07
by John Thielking
A total of 8 former Black Panthers are being brought
up on charges of killing or conspiracy to kill a San
Francisco Police Officer in 1971. The evidence
available is mostly testimony that was obtained
through the use of torture. The testimony has since
been recanted, obviously. There have been more than
a few attempts to get indictments against the SF 8
by means of Grand Juries. This time, the Grand
Jury process was bypassed and the SF DA simply had
the suspects arrested. Bail was set at $3
million to $5 million per suspect.
Story about upcoming hearing and upcoming screening
of "Legacy Of Torture" on Indybay
Indybay.org
Synopsis of what transpired at the bail reduction
and arraignment hearing for four of the SF 8 on Feb
14, 2007: http://www.indybay.org
Interview
with
Claude Marks about the San Francisco 8
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog
|
|
Posted
2-2-07
STRUGGLE! On A Continent With No Name:
Sonora's Indigenous
Crisis In Baja
California
The Seri, Mayo, Pima, Yaki and Tohono O'odham
Mexican Indigenous communities are under assault
by the government. Having their water
stolen, causing death and harm to children and
elders. Have dinner and see the film:
"Kumiai: The Land"
Hear and see the story of the Indigenous
Peoples of Sonora, and participate in Q/A session
with a commandante of the indigenous Resistance,
facilitated by Indegenous activists from both
North and South America; Wanbli Watakpe [Russ
Redner] -- NorCalAIM, and DJ Tania -- Berkeley
Liberation Radio.
Sunday,
February
4th
Start
time,
4:30 PM
MACLA
510
S. 1st Street
San
Jose,
CA
408-998-2783
Help the people,
donations welcome at the door, no one turned
away...!!!
Endorsed by: Committee in Solidarity With Latin
America And Cuba, Peninsula Anarchist Collective,
Black August Organizing Committee, Northern
California Indian Movement, Black Berets, No
More.../No Mas... MSA/MSM, La Raza Unida Party...
|
From Indybay.org
"Warrior:
The Life of Leonard Peltier"
Tuesday, February 6, 2007 in San Jose, CA
Posted 1-30-07
LPSG (Leonard
Peltier Support Group) South Bay is showing the
film
"Warrior: The Life of Leonard Peltier"
on Tuesday 6th February in San Jose, to honor him
on his 31st year of wrongful incarceration.
Warrior is the shocking true story of Leonard
Peltier, the American Indian leader locked away for
over 30 years, now incarcerated in Lewisburg Prison
in Pennsylvania, wrongfully convicted of the alleged
murder of two FBI agents during a bloody shootout on
the Pine Ridge Reservation on June 26, 1975. Around
the world his trial and conviction have been
denounced as a sham. Amnesty International, the
Archbishop of Canterbury, Desmond Tutu, and more
than fifty members of the U.S. Congress have
appealed for a new trial for the man who has come to
symbolize the continued oppression of America's
indigenous peoples.
Warrior takes us back to the violent confrontations
at Wounded Knee and Pine Ridge in the seventies, and
then to today's Indian reservations where the
government's plans for urnanium mining and waste
dumping are still being heatedly resisted by Indian
activists. The heart of the film, though, is a
detailed, painstaking account of Peltier's harrowing
odyssey through the American justice system. In
color, 85 minutes long.
Please come to this event, bring your family and
friends.
Date: Tuesday 6th February
Time: 6:00pm - 10:00pm
The film will start at 7:00pm
Place: Pagesincolor.com Fair Trade Store, (upstairs
in the Temekula Gallery)
Address: 888 East Santa Clara Street
(near 19th Street, across street from Roosevelt
Park)
San Jose, CA 95116
Come early for light refreshments, socialize and
time to look around the only Fair Trade store in San
Jose.
We will have an update on Leonard's case.
Stay for questions and answers after the film.
For more information, please call Donna at (408)
293-4774 or cell (408) 569-6608 or email dbwall [at]
earthlink.net
FREE LEONARD PELTIER!
FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS!
http://www.leonardpeltier.org
There are features in the store that allow
wheelchair users to watch the movie. The
restroom is not wheelchair accessible.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog
|
From
Indybay.org
Jan 29,
2007 Protest Against Calpine's Plans To
Build Geothermal Plants At Medicine Lake,
CA, Held At Calpine Headquarters, San Jose,
CA.
Posted
to
Pagesincolor.com 1-30-07
by John Thielking
Medicine Lake is a tiny lake in Northern CA, near
Klamath Lake, which dwarfs Medicine Lake by
comparison. A San Jose company, Calpine, has
been making plans to drill boreholes near Medicine
Lake to use an untested and unproven technology to
extract geothermal energy to power one or more power
plants at the lake. Local Indian tribes
consider the lake to be the equivalent of a religious temple and do
not want it disturbed by drilling. In addition, they
point out that geothermal energy itself is not
totally benign environmentally. Geothermal
energy as envisioned by Calpine is not simply
"capturing steam" or mining hot water from
natural Gysers. An online
document from the Save Medicine Lake Coalition
suggests:
The EGS
process requires the use of large volumes of
concentrated acid, spent acid and highly
mineralized fluids which are produced during the
acid injection and extraction to enhance
fracturing. Accidental releases of the
concentrated or spent acids, or the extracted
geothermal fluids at the surface would easily
and quickly percolate through the porous
volcanic soil to the shallow water table below –
the same water table that supplies Medicine
Lake, the many springs and smaller lakes in the
area and it’s also the source for water wells
that supply drinking water to the campgrounds
and local cabins.
It appears that Calpine may simply be a straw man
example of how NOT to do geothermal power
generation. They are going bankrupt. They are
potentially polluting the environment. They are
desicrating Indian land. All that is really
needed to do EGS geothermal properly is to inject
high pressure plain water into hot, dry rock, just
about anywhere, and control sulfide emmissions. A
typical EGS process is described here.
But then there are people such as the DOE, who think
it is perfectly ok to promote fracturing (to enhance
energy extraction) by using an underground nuke!
Using acid (and under Indian land) is probably just
one step below that and is not intended as a
practical project. Its primary effect,
intentional or not, is to give geothermal a bad
name.
Geothermal is most often associated with mining of
natural hot water or steam that produces
gysers. Sometimes the
natural
gysers go south or the land subsides as a result
of the mining. As the above link describes,
steam or water extraction is not pollution free. But
injecting water or acid into dry rock is an unproven
technology that at this rate may never see the light
of day.
A recent court ruling has been decided in
favor of the Indian Tribe. Calpine has only a
few days to file an appeal. Hence the protest,
urging Calpine to not appeal the decision.
Pictures
and
story on Indybay.org
Update:
The
BLM has decided to appeal the court
decision. There is a protest planned for
Tuesday Feb 20, 2007.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com Blog.
|
From
Indybay.org
Jan 27,
2007 San Jose Protests President
Bush's "Troop Surge" In Iraq
posted 1-30-07
About 200 protesters
gathered at the corner of Stevens Creek and
Winchester Blvd in Santa Clara, CA on Saturday,
Jan 27, 2007. Some of them protested the
troop surge. Some of them protested against
the war. Others called attention to a San
Jose company (Jeppesen) that profits from
extraordinary rendition (i.e. torture of prisoners
flown overseas to places where torture is
allowed). The pictures from this event
were published on Indybay.org.
Read or leave comments in
the pagesincolor.com blog.
|
From indybay.org
The
Police in San Jose - 2nd Community Forum
Posted 1-18-07
Thursday, January 18,
2007 6:30PM - 8:30PM
East Side Union
High School District, Administrative Offices,
830 North Capitol Avenue, San Jose, CA (cross
street Mabury)
What's working, what isn't & what can be
improved? The City of San Jose Human Rights
Commission & the Independent Police Auditor want
to hear from you. The purpose of the forum is to
offer members of the community the opportunity to
provide testimony to the HRC and the IPA regarding
issues and experiences involving the San José
Police Department. Over 200 individuals attended the
1st Forum held last November and 45 offered
testimony. For more information, please call (408)
794-6226.
Spanish & Vietnamese translation will be
availalbe.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog.
|
|
Posted 1-10-07
In concert with Move-on.org and others:
Protest
The Iraq War And The Impending Troop Buildup
4:30PM-6PM
Thursday, Jan 11, 2007
Roosevelt Park
19th St & E Santa Clara St
San Jose, CA 95116
Bring signs to hold in the park. No
bullhorns please.
Directions: From hwy 101 just South of the 880
interchange take the Santa Clara St/Alumn Rock
exit. Go West on E Santa Clara St. to 17th
St. Free all day parking is available on N.
17th St. The park is located at 19th St.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog.
|
|
MoveOn Screening
of An Inconvenient Truth at Temekula Gallery
behind Pagesincolor.com store
Saturday, Dec 16, 2006
by John Thielking
12-10-06
I just signed up to host a See the Truth Movie
Party run by MoveOn.
On Saturday, December 16, 2006 thousands of us
are going to get together in living rooms around
the country, watch the blockbuster documentary "An
Inconvenient Truth," and press Congress to
take action to solve our climate crisis.
If you haven't seen the movie, you have to. If
you have, you can help raise awareness and push
Washington to take action on the biggest crisis
facing our planet. In America, political
will is a renewable resource and together we can
build the will to do what has to be done.
Host your own See the Truth
Movie Party or sign up for an event near you.
You can sign up for the See the Truth Movie Party
I'm hosting, or to host your own, at:
http://political.moveon.org/event/seethetruth/29037
Here are the details of my event:
Sreening of Inconvenient Truth
Downtown San Jose, CA (free parking avail on 17th
street)
Pagesincolor.com @ 888 E Santa Clara St @ 19th
St..
San Jose, CA 95116
Saturday, 16 Dec 2006, 5:45 PM
I hope you'll sign up.
This free screening fetures a conference call with
Al Gore, beginning promptly at 6PM. There
will be a small donation requested to cover the
cost of renting the space.
The meeting space is not wheelchair accessible.
However wheelchair users will be accomodated in
the store downstairs (a 13" TV is available to
watch the movie there). The restoroom is not
wheelchair accessible.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog
|
|
The Police in
San Jose
A Community Forum
What's working,
what isn't & what can be improved?
What are your concerns?
The City of San Jose Human Rights Commission &
the Independent Police Auditor want to hear from
you!
Thursday, November
30, 2006 6PM-8PM
San Jose
City College
Community
Arts & Lectures Program
2100
Moorpark Ave, San Jose, CA
College
Theater
The Theater is
located about 1/2 way between South Bascom Ave and
Leigh Ave, on the North edge of campus, next to
Moorpark Ave.
For public comment,
Spanish and Vietnamese translation will be
available. For more information, please call (408)
794-6226. In accordance with the Americans with
Disabilities Act, City of San Jose Materials can
be made available upon request in alternative
formats such as Braille, large print, audio tape
or computer disk. Requests may be made by calling
(408) 535-8100 (v) or (408) 294-9337 (TTY)
For more info visit: http://www.sanjoseca.gov/ipa/
|
From
information
on Indybay.org.
Protest
Against Police Brutality Scheduled for
4:30PM Monday, November 27, 2006 at Valley
Health Center at 500 Tully Road, San Jose,
CA
Posted 11-26-06
By John Thielking
Curly Estremera, a long time activist and former
member of the Black Liberation Army, was arrested
and brutalized by San Jose Police after he was
assaulted by an off duty Santa Clara County
Sherriffs deputy on Nov 7, 2006. Curly was
picking up his medication at the pharmacy at the
Valley Health Center at 500 Tully Road in San Jose
when without warning he was pepper sprayed from
behind by the Sherriff's deputy. The deputy
was moonlighting as a security gaurd at the
clinic. Not knowing who was assaulting him,
Curly eventually retreated to the parking lot and a
car that was going to escort him from the area. He
was then approached by SJPD officers. He tried
to complain to them that someone had assaulted him
and pepper sprayed him. They informed him that
the Sherriff's deputy had done that and that he was
being arrested for assaulting a police
officer. He was subsequently brutalized while
in custody on the way to the police station.
Curly later required treatment at a hospital for
injuries sustained when he was arrested and
brutalized.
A protest against this intollerable treatment of one
of San Jose's upstanding citizens is planned for
4:30PM Monday November 27, 2006 at the Medical
clinic where Curly was arrested. For more info
and to download copies of flyers in Spanish and
English, visit Indybay.org.
Read or leave comments in the
Pagesincolor.com blog.
|
|
Posted 11-22-06
Teach-In About
Mumia Abu-Jamal Saturday, Dec 9, 2006
10AM-2PM
at Temekula Gallery behind the
Pagesincolor.com store at 888 E Santa Clara
St, San Jose, CA.
Mumia Abu-Jamal has been on Death Row in
Pennsylvania since 1982, wrongfully convicted of
killing police Officer Daniel Faulkner.
Faulkner died and Mumia was wounded in the
early morning hours of Dec 9, 1981. Pagesincolor is
sponsoring a benefit and Teach-in for Mumia
Abu-Jamal. The presentation includes:
* A videotaped confession of a hit man, Arnold
Beverly, who claims that he, not Mumia, was the one
who shot Officer Faulkner.
* Video of one of Mumia's former attorneys Elliot
Grossman talking about how Mumia's original trial
attorney could have won the case by simply asking a
few important questions.
* The Video "Framing an Execution: The Media &
Mumia Abu-Jamal", exposes the bias behind ABC's
20/20 episode called "Hollywood's Unlikely Hero", a
hit piece about Mumia Abu-Jamal.
All donations will be given to Mumia Abu-Jamal's
legal defense.
The video portions of the presentation are
wheelchair accessible, via a 13" TV located
downstairs in the Pagesincolor.com store. The
bathroom is not wheelchair accessible.
Read or leave comments
in the Pagesincolor.com Blog
|
Posted 11/19/06
From http://www.indybay.org
Protests
Planned In Solidarity With The People Of
Oaxaca Mexico, November 20, 2006
For the last 5 months the people of Oaxaca Mexico
have been on strike, demanding that the Mexican
government stop privatizing public schools, among
other demands. Recently, the Mexican govt sent
in police to break up the strike and was met by
people puting up barricades. The struggle
continues in the streets of Mexico and now also in
the streets in the USA. Go to Indybay.org
to find out about the protests planned at UCSC
and in San
Francisco for Monday, November 20, 2006.
Protests
in
other cities.
For previous coverage on Indybay.org of
the situation in Oaxaca, go here
and here.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com Blog
|
|
Stealing
America: Vote By Vote
a new
documentary by award winning filmmaker Dorothy
Fadiman
.
"What Happened in
Ohio? A Documentary Record of Theft and Fraud in
the 2004 Election."
.
Friday, November
3, 2006
7:00-9:00PM
.
at 888 E
Santa Clara St @ 19th St, San Jose, CA
95116
(in the Temekula Gallery above the
Pagesincolor.com Fair Trade Store)
Free Screening
(donations accepted)
.
"Stealing America: Vote By Vote" the new
feature-length documentary by Emmy-winning and
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Dorothy Fadiman, documents
significant irregularities in the Presidential
election of 2004 while underscoring the fact that
election fraud and reform are not partisan issues.
.
"Stealing America: Vote by Vote" weaves together
dramatic behind the scenes experiences of poll
workers, computer security experts, journalists,
politicians, activists and voters of all ages.
We hear from those who feel their communities were
targeted for intimidation during the election, side
by side with descriptions of irregular machine
tallies, in which the number of votes tallied don't
equal the number of votes cast.
.
.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog.
|
Posted
10-25-06
From http://www.internationalanswer.org
March
and Rally Against The Iraq War
Saturday,
October
28, 2006
12 noon Gather at
UN Plaza, San Francisco, CA (Market between 7th
and 8th)
March to
follow.
Only the People Can
Stop the War!
The Iraq war is a total disaster-for the people of
Iraq and of the United States. Tens of thousands of
Iraqis have been killed. Iraqi society has been torn
to shreds. More than 2,700 U.S. soldiers are dead
and 20,000 wounded in a war based on lies.
The war costs $250 million each day. The total cost
is now $317 billion—equal to 2.8 million new housing
units and 5.5 million teachers' salaries. Working
people pay more for housing, health care and
education each year. Some 47 million people have no
health care, and 13 million children go to bed
hungry each day.
The government tells us there isn't money for social
services. Yet they always have billions for war.
Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans will end
the war. People in the streets are the only force
that can stop the war.
Get involved in the struggle! Volunteer meetings
every Tuesday at 7 p.m.
2489 Mission St #30 (at 21st St), SF (near 24th St
BART, #14 MUNI)
For more info, call A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop
War & End Racism) Coalition
415-821-6545 | answer
[at] actionsf.org
http://www.internationalanswer.org
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com Blog
|
State Building @ 2nd street between San Carlos &
San Fernando, San Jose, CA
(San Antonio South Light Rail Station)
*Music
*Unity
*Spirit
*Power
*Join the movement for universal single payer health
care today!
Rally at the State Building @ 3PM
March leaves for City Hall at 4:15PM
Rally at San Jose City Hall (East Side) at 4:45PM
Grand Finale/Candlelight Vigil at State Building
5:30-7:00 PM
Everybody In, Nobody Out!
Sponsored by: ONE CARE NOW
AFSCME Local 101, MEF Chapter, California Alliance
for Retired Americans (CARA), California Nurses
Association (CNA), California School Employees
Association (CSEA), Coalition for a Downtown
Hospital Communication Workers of America Local 9423
(CWA), Community Homeless Alliance Ministry (CHAM),
East Side Teachers Association, Democratic Activists
for Women Now (DAWN), FORUM of Santa Clara County,
Health Access, The Interfaith Council, Health Care
for All Californians (Silicon Valley), Labor Party
(San Jose), 9 to 5 Bay Area, League of Women Voters
SJ/SC, Low-Income Self-Help Center, Moorpark
Democratic Club, Santa Clara County Council of
Churches, Santa Clara County Democratic Central
Committee, SEIU Local 715, SEIU Local 715 Retiree
Committee, Silicon Valley De-Bug, UFCW Local 428
Voluntarios de la Comunidad, Women’s Internat’l
League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) – SJ &
Peninsula
(partial list)
as part of the OneCareNow Campaign
For more information call 408-278-9443
Cuidado
Medico
Para Todos Ahora!
Manefestacion
Y Marcha
Jueves El
26 De Octubre, 2006, 3-7PM
Edifico Estatal, Calle 2nd Entre San Carlos &
San Fernando, San Jose (Estacion San Antonio South
De Light Rail)
*Musica
*Unidad
*Espiritu
*Poder
Maefestacion al Edifico Estatal 3PM
Marcha Empieza a las 4:15PM
Reunion a San Jose City Hall
(lado del este) a las 4:45PM
Reunion Final y Vigal al Edifico Estatal 5:30-7:00
PM
Cada Uno Incluido, Nadie Excluido!
Patrocinado por
ONE CARE NOW
AFSCME Local 101, MEF Chapter, California Alliance
for Retired Americans (CARA), California Nurses
Association (CNA), California School Employees
Association (CSEA), Coalition for a Downtown
Hospital Communication Workers of America Local 9423
(CWA), Community Homeless Alliance Ministry (CHAM),
East Side Teachers Association, Democratic Activists
for Women Now (DAWN), FORUM of Santa Clara County,
Health Access, The Interfaith Council, Health Care
for All Californians (Silicon Valley), Labor Party
(San Jose), 9 to 5 Bay Area, League of Women Voters
SJ/SC, Low-Income Self-Help Center, Moorpark
Democratic Club, Santa Clara County Council of
Churches, Santa Clara County Democratic Central
Committee, SEIU Local 715, SEIU Local 715 Retiree
Committee, Silicon Valley De-Bug, UFCW Local 428
Voluntarios de la Comunidad, Women’s Internat’l
League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) – SJ &
Peninsula
(partial list)
Para mas informacion llame a 408-691-6153
Info posted from info obtained from a flyer at
pagesincolor.com
|
Stop Police Brutality Event
in San Jose, CA Oct 22, 2006
posted 10-15-06
Article by Donna Wallach
Sunday October 22nd is a national day of protest
against police brutality, repression and
criminalization of a generation. The police
throughout the South Bay are no exception to the
brutality, repression, oppression and suppression of
the youth, the poor and especially all non-European
people living in and traveling through this area.
Friday and Saturday nights in downtown San Jose is
something like the West Bank in Palestine, although
there are not
real check points, there are virtual check points
and if you are not the right color or if you are not
the right age or if you are not in the right
financial range, then you are subject to being
illegally detained and illegally searched and often
times illegally ticketed and sometimes illegally
arrested. Then of course, any day of the week the
popo illegally murder human beings, who are usually
unarmed.
We are inviting you to come to an event in San Jose
on Sunday 22nd October to hear from people whose
loved ones have been murdered by the popo, whose
loved ones have been illegally arrested and
wrongfully convicted and sentenced to decades in
prison and also to
hear from people who were attacked and illegally
arrested and being charged with false charges by the
popo and are awaiting trial.
When: Sunday October 22nd, 2006
Time: 4:00pm - 8:00pm
Place: 888 East Santa Clara Street
(between 17th & 19th Streets, across the street
from Roosevelt Park)
San Jose, CA, 95116
at the Pagesincolor.com Fair Trade Arts and Crafts
Store.
We will be meeting upstairs in the gallery, please
let us know if you are coming so we can have enough
chairs.
Thank you, hope to see you on Sunday October 22nd at
Pagesincolor.com Fair Trade
Arts and Crafts store.
in solidarity
Donna Wallach
Yes please, give all my contact info, email and
phone numbers.
(h) 408-293-4774
dbwall [at] earthlink.net
Read a summary what
the people discussed at the event here.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog.
|
|
Posted 10-12-06
Celebrate
Fair Trade Month and Help Free Mumia
Abu-Jamal
by John Thielking
There will be a potluck celebration, speakers,
discussion and video showing about Fair Trade and
Mumia Abu-Jamal at the upstairs gallery behind the
Pagesincolor.com retail store at 888 E Santa Clara
St, San Jose, CA on Sunday October 15, 2006 from
12PM-6PM.
The schedule includes the following:
12PM-2:00 PM Food, ice cream, fair trade
Reggae music in African Languages, Mumia's
commentaries in English and Lori Berenson’s
commentaries in both English and Spanish. To
download these commentaries visit http://www.prisonradio.org
.
2:00-2:10 PM Fair Trade Video DVD
2:10-2:25 PM John Thielking and Donna Wallach on
Fair Trade and Mumia
2:25-2:50 PM Videos: Status of Mumia's case after
the suspension of the death sentence by Judge Yohn
in 2001 and Arnold Beverly Confession presented by
Elliot Grossman.
2:50-3:30 PM Howard Keylor from the Labor Action
Committee to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal and possible
speakers from Partisan Defense Committee and/or
Curly.
3:30-4:05 PM Video: Mumia on The Prison Industrial
Complex (and why this relates to Fair Trade)
4:05-4:15 PM Intermission
4:15-5:05 PM Video: Framing an Execution: ABC News
and the Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal.
5:05-5:30 PM Video: Elliot Grossman on Mumia
5:30-6:00 PM Edouard Rollet of Alter-Eco on Fair
Trade (possibly moved up if Edouard arrives early).
6:00-? Discussion and socializing.
Note that if you park in Roosevelt Park parking lot
you will need to move your car after 7PM. (The park
closes at sunset).
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog
|
Reposted
10-1-06
From Revcom.us
The
Torture Bill: Compromising Your Way To
Fascism
This is how fascism comes—with a show of
opposition followed by high-profile compromise,
and assurances that all is well.
This is how fascism comes, with quiet streets
and everyone going about their business.
This is how fascism comes, oh so
democratically.
The new bill submitted to the Senate on September
22 [2006]—and almost certain to be approved within
the week—gives the U.S. president chilling new
powers.
- The new bill gives Bush the legal power to
order any torture techniques which do not rise
to the level of “grave breaches” of the Geneva
Conventions.
- It does other things too, such as shreading
500 years of Habeas Corpus law.
Read more at Revcom.us.
Editor's note: According to Robert Norse on Bathrobspierre's
Broadsides, this bill was approved by both
houses. According to the LA
times, this bill passed both houses of
Congress with little but token opposition.
Read or leave comments in the
Pagesincolor.com blog
|
|
Posted
10-1-06
Oct 5 , 2006 Is A Day Of Resistance Against
The Bush Regime.
Take off from work, leave school, and come to a
massive protest in San Francisco, CA.
Assemble at 12 noon on October 5, 2006 at Justin
Herman Plaza, at the foot of Market St. at the
Embarcadero. There will be an overnight vigil and a
9AM press conference on Friday Oct 6, 2006.
For more details, visit Indybay.org.
Or
go to http://www.worldcantwait.org.
If you can't make it to San Francisco, come to
Roosevelt Park at 19th and E. Santa Clara St. in San
Jose, between 11AM-2PM on October 5 for some sign
holding and banner waving to the cars passing on E
Santa Clara St. There is parking at Roosevelt
Park off of N. 21st St.
Pagesincolor.com will be closed that day. For
a complete event description, see indybay.org.
Pictures
of
this event are posted on Indybay.org.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog.
|
|
Posted 9-7-06
Rally
to Free Mumia! Mumia Abu-Jamal Is
Innocent! For Labor Action To Free
Mumia! End the Racist Death Penalty!
Location: Alameda County Courthouse, 12th &
Fallon, South side, Oakland.
Time: 4PM-6:30PM Friday, September 15, 2006.
Rally inititated by the Labor Action Committee To
Free Mumia Abu-Jamal
P.O. Box 16222 Oakland, CA 94610
510-763-2347
LACFreeMumia@aol.com
Initial endorsers include: The Mobilzation To Free
Mumia, Frances Goldin (Mumia's literary agent),
Marsha Feinland (PFP)*, Todd Chretien (Green
Party)*, Robert Irminger (IBU, ILWU)*, Jack Heyman
(ILWU)*, Bob Mandel (exec board, Oakland
Educational Association)*.
* Organization listed for purposes of
identification only.
A
big piece of the puzzle explaining why Mumia is
innocent.
******************** ************************
************************
BENEFIT FOR MUMIA ABU-JAMAL, A NIGHT OF
MUSIC AND POETRY featuring BOOTS RILEY from The
Coup, 2 SF Poet Laureates
devorah major, Jonathan Richman and many others.
Date: Sunday, September 17, 2006.
Doors: 7:00 PM, Show: 7:30 PM
The Great American Music Hall, 859 O'Farrell St.,
San Francisco, CA
TICKETS go on sale Sunday, August 20: $20
General Admission
Order online: musichallsf.com
Order via phone:
1-800-225-2277
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog
Pictures
from
the Sept 15th, 2006 Mumia Rally in Oakland and
more about Mumia's case.
|
|
Labor Day
06 Immigrant Rights March In San Jose Draws
10,000 To Downtown San Jose, CA
John Thielking
9-5-06
The Labor Day 06 march for immigrant rights
drew about 10,000 people to downtown San Jose. The
march started at King and Story roads and proceeded
to Alum Rock Ave/E Santa Clara St before arriving at
San Jose city hall at 4th and E Santa Clara St.
There were the usual suspects, including the people
with the long banner that had people's names that
were signed opposing HR 4437, the
anti-illegal-immigrant bill that would make being in
the US illegally an agravated felony.
For
pictures,
check out Indybay.org.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog.
|
|
Haiti
Update: Aristide Prevented From
Returning To Haiti Despite The Election Of A
Sympathetic New President
Posted 8-27-06
by John Thielking
Haiti's ousted president Jean-Bertrand Aristide
visted an audience of 1000 people in Miami, along
with the officially elected president René
Garcia Préval. The two together
received an enthusiastic welcome. The election
of Préval on Feb 7, 2006 was chaotic and he
was sworn in only after he was declared the victor
after a first round of balloting that was plagued by fraud, as well
as massive street protests supporting his election.
Because Préval's election occurred under this
cloud, he had to make a deal with the international
community to "perform". One of those
requirements is that he not allow Aristide to return
to Haiti.
Read
the complete story at sfbayview.com
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog
|
From http://www.indybay.org
New
Orleans Set To Seize Poor Peoples' Homes
That Were Damaged by Hurricane Katrina
Posted 8-27-06
If people can't come up with $10,000 to gut their
homes that were damaged by hurricane Katrina, the
city of New Orleans will seize their properties via
imminent domain beginning on August 29, 2006, the
one year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's
devastating landfall.
For the complete story, check out www.indybay.org
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog.
|
|
Las Vegas Outlaws
Feeding The Poor And Only The Poor In Parks
Posted 8-27-06
The ACLU is decrying the latest move to outlaw
feeding indigent people in parks in Las Vegas.
A violation of this ordinance would be a
misdemeanor.
|
|
The Carrot Cake
and The Stick
Plans To
Celebrate The Lebanon Cease-Fire Agreement In
San Jose, CA
August 18, 2006
by John Thielking
8-13-06
The UN has come up with a cease-fire agreement for
the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon. Both
sides have agreed to it in principle. The
cease-fire goes into effect at 8AM GMT August, 14,
2006. August 14 is my birthday.
Hence, I have decided to take on the task of
celebrating this cease-fire agreement. If the
cease-fire goes into effect on time and holds
through the last time I check the news on the web on
Friday, August 18, 2006, I will bring a carrot cake
to the peace rally at 2nd and San Carlos in San
Jose, CA at 5PM on August 18th. All sides are
welcome to have some cake, for as long as it
lasts. Bring your own cake too if you want.
Click here to see the
pictures of the event.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog
|
|
Posted 8-6-06
Protests
Set To Mark 61st Anniversary Of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki Atomic Bombings
Livermore Labs in CA was
the site of a protest today marking the 61st
Anniversary of the atomic bombing of
Hiroshima. For full coverage, check
out http://www.indybay.org.
More
protests are planned for Monday August 7 and
Wednesday August 9.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com Blog
|
Posted
8-6-06
from
http://www.sbm4peace.org
National Emergency March: Defend the
People of Palestine & Lebanon
Stop
The US-Israeli War!
Saturday, August 12, 11 AM, Civic Center,
San Francisco, CA (intersection
of
Polk and Grove , SF)
Stop Arming Israel!
Cease-Fire Now! Stop giving $3Billion
US Tax Money To Israel!
Stop the Ethnic Cleansing of Lebanon &
Palestine!
Do you know what our government and Israel
are doing in Lebanon?
--Israel has destroyed the infrastructure of
Lebanon-- This
is a war crime!
by targeting power plants, hospitals,
airports, roads, bridges, grain silos, all
highways leading into or out of Lebanon and using
phosphorus bombs and cluster bombs against
civilians. Entire Lebanese
villages lie in ruins.
--- Israel has destroyed Lebanon's
environment with spilled and burning oil,
toxic waste flows & soot, causing forest
fires and growing garbage heaps.
--- Israel planned this war on Lebanon over
a year ago (SF Chronicle, 7/21/06)
--- The UN Human Rights Council accuses
Israel of war crimes!
Over 1/4 of
the Lebanese population have been turned
into permanent refugees in 2 weeks!
In a fit of Orwellian
double-speak, US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice calls these war crimes:
"The birth pangs of a new Middle East".
Express
your outrage! Contact your Congressperson
at 202-224-3121 and write to your local
papers!
Donate to South Bay Mobilization to help pay
for ads in the newspaper! Donate
online at http:///www.sbm4peace.org/about/donate.htm
For more information, contact South Bay
Mobilization http://www.sbm4peace.org
408-998-8504
Read or leave
comments in the Pagesincolor.com blog.
|
On July 15, 2006 the Group of 8 (G8) gathered in St.
Petersburg, Russia for the start of a 3 day meeting
focusing on massive expansion of oil, gas and coal
exploration projects as well as massive investment
in the building of new nuclear power plants.
Activists in Russia were preempted in their efforts
to protest by national decrees outlawing protest
gatherings on July 15, 2006. Many protesters
were arrested and some report being mistreated while
in captivity. Read
more
on Indybay.org
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog.
|
In an article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
(7/2/06), distributed by Progressive Media Project,
Moustafa Bayoumi describes a decision by District
Judge John Gleeson in Brooklyn that asserts that it
is ok for the US govt. to detain non-citizens on the
basis of race, religion, or national origin and
furthermore that it is ok for them to be imprisoned
indefinitely so long as their eventual deportation
is "reasonably forseable". Read
more at merip.org
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog
|
|
TrueMajority:
Tell Congress Not To Repeal The Estate Tax
6-4-06
by John Thielking
Currently, the Estate Tax exempts the first $2
million of a person's estate. Next week, the
Senate is scheduled to vote on repealing the Estate
Tax or "reforming" it in such a way that 84% or more
of the tax would be repealed. Tell the Senate
to vote "No" on any such reforms. The budget
is being cut too much already. Cutting the
Estate Tax would eliminate $1 trillion in funding
over the next 10 years. Click
here
to visit the TrueMajority website to send a
message to your Senator.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com Blog
6-11-06 update: Note that the Senate has since voted
not to repeal the Estate Tax.
|
|
CALPIRG: Tell
Congress To Protect Internet Freedom
by Steve
Blackledge, CALPIRG
6-4-06
If you are like me, you use the internet every day
to do things like read your local paper online,
download music, share photos with friends and family
and keep in touch through email.
We take all this for granted, but a handful of the
largest cable and telephone companies are trying to
limit our Internet access by deciding who and what
gets priority. Don't let these corporations decide
what's important for you to see and hear online.
You can help us put a stop to this by signing our
Internet Freedom petition which we will deliver to
your member of Congress and to Senators Boxer and
Feinstein. Then, ask your friends and family to help
by forwarding this e-mail to them.
To take action, click on this
link to be taken to the CALPIRG website.
Read
more
on Pagesincolor.com
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com Blog
|
|
New Article About
How The 2004 Election Was Stolen
6-4-06
Robert Kennedy Jr. just published a story in Rolling
Stone Magazine about how there is plenty of evidence
from exit polls and other sources suggesting that
the 2004 Presidential election was stolen by people
sympathetic to George W Bush. To find that
article go here.
Also, Newsweek just came out with an article
about how the new Diebold electronic voting machines
are highly vulnerable to tampering.
Editor's note: Since little if any of this
conspiracy between 13,000 separate voting precincts
is being talked about in the mainstream media, is it
any wonder that the 9-11 "conspiracy" is so easily
"covered up"? People say that the biggest
argument against there being a 9-11 conspiracy is
that no one has talked about it. Yet, look at
how few election officials in Bush Country are
talking about or admitting election fraud in the
November 2004 election, even though they have no
connection to or coordination with each other
besides sharing a common ideology.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com Blog
|
|
Tombstone of The
Unborn Soldier Displayed At The Santa Cruz,
CA Town Clock, May 26, 2006
by John Thielking
6-4-06
The Tomb of the Unborn Soldier is a concept invented
by Lowell Darling. The tomb represents the
idea that the wars we are fighting today are being
waged over conflicts that started before any of us
were born. And the conflicts we have today
will quite possibly turn into wars that will be
waged by people who have not even been born
yet. Lowell Darling wants to give one of these
tombstones to every country of the world to remind
their leaders to think carefully about the
decisions they make today which could lead to wars
many years down the road. The tombstone was
displayed briefly at the town clock in Santa Cruz,
CA on Friday May 26, 2006. To see a picture of
the tombstone, go here
and click on the center button. Click
here
for background on Lowell Darling.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog
|
|
Protesters Gather
At Capitola, CA Army/Navy Recruiting Center
3-5PM Friday, May 12, 2006 For Pre-Mother's
Day Protest
Photos and story by
John Thielking
5-21-06
Mother's Day was started soon after the Civil War as
a way of speaking out against sending mother's sons
(and daughters) off to war. Today of course it
has been subverted into an excuse to send Mom a
present, just in case you missed out sending her one
on Valentine's Day. Or maybe we should just say
"Thank you for not letting me get drafted". On
Friday, May 12, 2006 about 50 people gathered at the
41st Avenue sidewalk in front of the military
recruiting center in Capitola, CA for a
pre-Mother's Day protest against the invasion of
Iraq and against President Bush's policies. The
Raging Grannies sang songs and various drivers
honked their horns in approval as they went by on
41st Avenue. Some drivers gave the thumbs down
or the middle finger.
See
photos
here...
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog
|
|
San Jose Police
Arrest And Brutalize Cop Watchers On Cinco
De Mayo, 2006
Posted 5-21-06
by John Thielking
There was a peaceful gathering of 200 people at the
parking lot at King and Story Roads in San Jose, CA
on the evening of May 5, 2006. According to a
report on indybay.org
About 6 people were beaten and arrested and had
their cameras confiscated by the Police. One
of these cop watchers somehow came between a police
batton and a woman bystander. That cop watcher
has been charged with "lynching". This
incident follows a specific warning by Laurie Smith
of the Santa Clara County Sheriff's department that
anyone who gets in the way of a Sherrif's weapon
would be charged as being part of a "lynch mob",
which carries severe penalties.
Read more
on Indybay.org
1st
account
2nd
account
Audio
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog.
|
|
The Costs of
U.S. Middle East Policy
by Rachelle Marshall
4-30-06
published 5-4-06
The alliance between the United States and Israel is
a central component of U.S. Middle East policy, and
in this talk I’ll discuss some of the dangers of
that policy. But first let’s look at present day
reality. Israel’s 38-year military occupation of the
West Bank and Gaza has robbed 3 million Palestinians
of their land and their rights, and left them
imprisoned inside a maze of walls and checkpoints.
There are 640 checkpoints on the West Bank. If
you’re a Palestinian, whether you can work in your
fields, or make it to school on time, or get to a
doctor on any given day depends entirely on the whim
of the soldiers who guard the checkpoints. The
Israeli government can seize your land, demolish
your home, and destroy your olive trees when it
suits them to do so. An Israeli air strike aimed
at suspected militants could hit your house or
your child. Yet the mantra from Washington is that
Israel is only defending itself and it is the
Palestinians who must renounce violence.
Read more....
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog
|
|
May 1, 2006
March Against HR 4437 Draws 100,000 To
Downtown San Jose, CA
Article and photos by John Thielking
5-3-06
The May 1, 2006 rally for immigrant rights started
out at 11AM at the parking lot at King and Story
Roads in San Jose, CA. There, people lined
both sides of the street and filled up the parking
lot. There were at least two bands playing to
the crowd from a stage or the back of a flatbed
truck. The people were against HR 4437, which
would make being in the US illegally an agravated
felony. It would also make criminals of the
many service workers and others who help illegal
immiagrants find food and housing.
During the march, an airplane flew overhead with a
banner from http://www.americaisfull.com,
proclaiming "Close The Borders". There were
more than twice as many people in this march as
there were on April 10, 2006, judging by the fact
that on May 1, all 4 lanes of Santa Clara St were
filled with people, compared to only 2 lanes on
April 10. May 1, 2006 was also a nationwide
boycott day, with many people staying home from work
or school and not shopping or selling anything. Pagesincolor.com
was closed that day.
To
see
more pictures, click here.
To see
coverage of the other marches around the country,
click here.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog.
|
|
Bush Unwelcomed
By Protesters In San Jose, CA
4-21-06
Pictures
by
John Thielking
Posted 4-23-06
President Bush visited Northern
California on Friday 4-21-06. He
stopped in San Jose at Cisco and was
also scheduled to stop at Stanford
University's Hoover tower, but was
diverted to an alternate location when
about 1000 protesters blocked access to
the campus. After Stanford, Bush
went to St Helena, CA (just North of
Napa, CA) where he spent the night, but
not before being Unwelcomed by
protesters there as well. Protesters
also scheduled a wake up protest in St
Helena, CA at 8AM. No sleep
for Mr Bush!
To
see
the pictures of the San Jose protest,
click here.
Read or leave
comments in the Pagesincolor.com blog
|
|
Massive
Protest
Against HR 4437 Snarls Downtown San Jose, CA
By John Thielking
4-11-06
Simultaneously with other
protests around the country (SF at least also had
one) San Jose was greeted on Monday 4-10-06 at
4PM-7:30 PM by a massive march and demonstration
numbering 5000-10000 people.
The protesters were demonstrating against
HR 4437, the bill passed in December 2005 by the
US House of Representatives that would make being
in the US illegally an aggravated felony. This bill would also
make it a felony to help an illegal immigrant by
for instance providing food or shelter. The march proceeded in
both right hand lanes of the 4 lane street past 19th
and Santa Clara St where Pagesincolor.com is
located. It proceeded to the City Hall at 6th
and Santa Clara. The street at 4th
street to 6th street was filled with
people across all 4 lanes and the sidewalk. Soon
after arriving at City Hall, breakaway marches
proceeded back along Santa Clara St both East and
West.
To
see more pictures, click here.
Read or
leave comments in the Pagesincolor blog.
|
Posted 4-10-06.
Info and statements taken from a flyer by The
Labor Action Committee To Free Mumia Abu-Jamal
(with a few web additions by John Thielking).
http://www.laboractionmumia.org
Join
us To Help Celebrate Mumia's Birthday
3PM, Saturday April 22, 2006 in Oakland, CA
West Oakland Public Library, 1801 Adeline St
@ 18th
Speakers include:
Robert R Bryan, Mumia's
lawyer, Jack Heyman, ILWU Local 10, Mel Mason,
Seaside, CA NAACP, former Black
Panther, Gerald Smith, Copwatch, former
Black Panther, Pierre
Labossiere, Haiti Action (Organizations
listed for identification purposes only.)
Video: 1999 West
Coast Longshore Port Shutdown to Free Mumia
Donations to
Mumia's Legal Defense
Info: (510)
763-2347
(The Oakland Public Library does not advocate or
endorse viewpoints of meetings or meeting room
users.)
Still On Death
Row, and... FRAMED!
Mumia
Abu-Jamal Is Innocent
"In over three
decades of litigating death-penalty cases, I have
not seen one in which the government wants so
badly to kill a client." -- Robert R Bryan,
attorney for Mumia Abu-Jamal
Read more on
Pagesincolor
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor Blog....
|
|
Congress Still
Refuses To Consider Impeachment Of Bush. Or
Is This Changing?
4-9-06
by John Thielking
Initial reception of the Senator Feingold resolution
to censure President Bush was essentially laughed
off by the mainstream media. However, this
resolution is quietly gaining
support among Democratic Senators, as is
the movement to actually impeach President Bush.
According to Harper's Magazine, House of
Representatives member John Conyers, Jr
(D., Mich) has introduced on Dec 18, 2005 a
resolution calling for “a
select committee to investigate the
Administration's intent to go to war before
congressional authorization, manipulation of
pre-war intelligence, encouraging and
countenancing torture, retaliating against
critics, and to make recommendations regarding
grounds for possible impeachment.”
Check out Conyers'
website to find out more.
There is a small possibility that impeachment
hearings may proceed sometime after the November
2006 elections.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog....
|
|
Watsonville, CA
Police Charge Brown Berets For Peaceful
Action!
PLEASE PASS WIDELY!
IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED!
From Liberation News
3-26-06 (posted 4-2-06)
Open letter To The
Community: Help the Brown Berets Get Charges
Dropped for Peaceful Action on March 25 in
Watsonville, CA
On Saturday, March 25, 2006 Watsonville saw the
largest March for Peace and Justice in the history
of the city. Documented and Undocumented Workers,
families and allies marched in total solidarity with
Anti-War Activists, led by Fernando Suarez Del
Solar, Pablo Paredes and Medea Benjamin in a 2,000+
citizen, strong & peaceful march though the city
of Watsonville. It was beautiful....
Editor's note: Many people also demonstrated
in San Jose against HR 4437. Santa Clara
street outside the Pagesincolor.com store had people
marching by off and on from 10AM until 2PM on
Saturday March 25. Marches also happened on
Sunday the 26th. Students walking out also
went by on Monday the 27th.
Read more on
Pagesincolor.com
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com Blog...
|
|
Santa Cruz County
Workers Prepare To Go On Strike
received 3-12-06
from laborcouncil@mbclc.org
Your action is requested to support 1800 Santa Cruz
County workers preparing to strike this week. Please
forward this message to co-workers and progressive
email lists. In addition to the action requested
below, please contact your local union leadership to
ask them to take action as well.
Background: Any day now, 1800 Santa Cruz county
workers will launch a one-day strike against a
Board of Supervisors that so far refuses to
provide wages comparable to that of comparable
workers in comparable counties. Their struggle is
the same struggle facing all working families in
our communities--farm and food processing workers
fighting for decent pay and basic human rights, UC
workers fighting for pay parity, Ralph's employees
fighting the company's scheme to de-unionize their
workplace, Natividad workers fighting the
"privatization of that county hospital, hotel
workers rising up to fight for a living wage--and
this strike will be an opportunity for us to
express and build our solidarity across the
Central Coast.
How can the labor movement support this strike?
Read more on
Pagesincolor.com
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com Blog
|
International
Answer Sponsors 3rd Anniversary Protest
Against The Invasion Of Iraq at 11AM
Saturday, March 18, 2006 in San Francisco,
CA
The
protest
will be located at the Civic Center
Plaza in downtown SF, at Polk and
Grove. Some parking is located at
the garage underneath the plaza.
The protest is expected to last until
4PM. Protests will be happening
around the country on Saturday March 18,
Sunday March 19 and Monday March 20,
2006. There will be a local
protest at noon on Sunday March 19, 2006
at the Town Clock in downtown Santa
Cruz.
|
|
New Ordinance
Proposal Threatens Earth First! Tabling and
Food Not Bombs Feeding Near Wednesday
Farmer's Market in Downtown Santa Cruz, CA
3-12-06
by John Thielking
The Santa Cruz Downtown Commission is going to be
having a special meeting this Thursday, March 16,
2006, at 8:30 AM at City Council Chambers at 809
Center St in Santa Cruz, CA to discuss the latest
proposal for a Santa Cruz City ordinance that would
outlaw any activity other than parking a car or
parking a bicycle from taking place in a city owned
parking lot or garage. It would also limit the total
amount of time that a person can linger after
parking their car or bike to 10 minutes. Exceptions
would be granted only by applying for an event
permit. This will effectively outlaw free speech
activity conducted by Earth First! at their table
which is often technically within the confines of
the parking lot next to the Farmers Market on
Wednesdays as well as outlaw the gathering of people
for the Food Not Bombs feeding there. There will be
a protest gathering outside the meeting location at
809 Center St in downtown Santa Cruz beginning at
7:30 AM on March 16, 2006. I have included the text
of the proposed law for you to review.
Additional incidental things that would be outlawed
by this ordinance include:
Waiting for a tow truck to do a jump start of a dead
battery or open the car when the keys are locked
inside.
Fixing a flat tire on a bike or a car.
Charging an electric vehicle at one of the City
supplied electrical outlets located in some City
garages.
Changing a diaper.
Read more at
Pagesincolor.com
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com Blog.
|
|
New Zogby Poll
Finds That 52% Of Americans Support
Impeachment Of Bush For Wiretapping
2-18-06
by John Thielking
Major polling firms have refused to ask the
question:
"If President Bush wiretapped American citizens
without the approval of a judge, do you agree or
disagree that Congress should consider holding him
accountable through impeachment."
So an independent Zogby poll was conducted, backed
by the founders of afterdowningstreet.org.
When asked the question, it was found that 52%
of Americans agreed with the statement. 43%
dissagreed and 6% were undecided. Read more at
http://www.worldcantwait.net...
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog.
|
|
Michael Morales
Is The Next Person Scheduled To Be Executed
In CA On Feb 21, 2006
2-18-06
by John Thielking
Michael Morales,
convicted of the rape/murder of a Lodi, CA girl named Terri
Winchell in 1981, is scheduled to be executed at
12:01 AM on Feb 21, 2006. Among his many appeals
to the higher courts is the assertion that the
method used in administering the death penalty,
lethal injection, is cruel and unusual punishment.
It is true that in the case of Stan Tookie
Williams it took more than 30 minutes to set up
the IV’s and actually administer the drugs until
Tookie was dead. Read more on
Pagesincolor.com.
To read more about the case
visit Indybay.org’s
page
on Michael Morales
or The
Death Penalty Focus page on Michael Morales
2PM 2-21-06: News
Flash! The execution of Michael Morales
has been delayed because the anesthesiologists
required by a court order to attend the
execution have refused to participate. If
Morales is not executed by 12:00 Midnight Feb
21, 2006, then the execution order expires and a
new order would have to be issued, taking 30
days or more.
6PM 2-21-06 update (uploaded at 2:30PM
PST 2-22-06): The execution of Michael Morales
has been postponed indefinitely, because the
State of CA is unable to comply with court
requirements that a medical professional
adminsiter the drug or drugs that would be used
to kill Morales. The medical professionals are
refusing to directly participate in the
execution! Read
more
at indybay.org.
Read
or leave comments in the Pagesincolor.com blog
|
|
Proposal For A New
Health Care Initiative for the CA State Ballot
by John Thielking
2-11-06
I don't have any money for this, but someone else
might. It seems that based on the defeats at
the polls of various health care oriented
initiatives (prop 86 Health Care for All and an
appeal to the voters about former Gov. Dukemajan's
legislation requiring all employers over a certain
size to provide health insurance) that it is clear
that the people of California will need to be
extensively educated about the dismal state of the
current health care system before they will vote for
any progressive change.
I propose that the following initiative be put
before the voters in 2008: Require that all
employers with 20 or more employees in the state of
CA who offer health insurance to their employees
post the plan details on their website and make such
doccuments available to all employees, contractors
and job applicants. For those job applicants
not able to access the web, or for those who have
for whatever reason not been notified of the plan
details before a job offer is made to them, those
prospective employees have a minimum of 48 hours to
review the plan doccuments before accepting a job
offer. No penalty may be imposed upon the
prospective employee for excercising the 48 hour
option. The plan details must include at least: The
cost of the plan to the employee, both as a full
time worker and as a COBRA or cal-COBRA participant,
the copays and coverages for doctor's visits and
medication, as well as any items that are not
covered under each plan offered by the
employer. No category of employer, except the
federal government, is expempt from these
requirements. Contractors doing business with the
federal govt. are NOT exempt. Those employers who
contract out their health care plan must still
provide a means for all job applicants to access the
plan doccuments at the sub-contractor's website or
by other means.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog.
|
Jan
21, 2006 Counterdemonstration Against The
Walk For Life
posted 1-20-06
by John Thielking
Anti-choice, anti-abortion marchers are scheduled to
show up and go for a march from Justin Herman Plaza
to the Marina Green Park in San Francisco on
Saturday Jan 21, 2006. Many of these marchers
will be bussed in from around the state of CA and
elsewhere. If you believe in a woman's right
to choose, you are invited to join a counter
demonstration that will be gathering in Justin
Herman Plaza at 11AM at the non-intersection of
Embarcadero and Market Streets in San
Francisco. It is reccomended to park at the
Civic Center at Polk and Grove (near 9th and Market)
and walk or take Bart to the foot of Market
St. For more info click here
or here.
Be forwarned. This counterdemonstration may
involve civil disobedience. So stay away from
any cops or sit-ins if you don't want to get
arrested.
Pictures
from
the Demo and Counterdemo
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog
|
Reprinted with
permission 1-15-06
Kevin Cooper
Saved From
Execution
Still
Fighting For Justice
Kevin Cooper was wrongfully convicted of the 1983
murders of the Ryen family in San Bernadino,
California. He came within hours of execution
on Feb 9, 2004. The 11th hour stay was granted
after a battle inside and outside of the courtroom
shed light on his innocence and the numerous
problems that exist in the state's case against him.
The case has been sent back to the federal district
court. Further evidence testing has begun, and
activists expect a long legal fight to ensure that
the issues of tampering and police and prosecutorial
misconduct are raised. Overall, the defense
attorneys have found new evidence and witnesses that
corroborate Kevin Cooper's innocence claim, and that
show the errors and concious misconduct on the part
of the state of California.
Read more...
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog
|
|
Clarence Ray
Allen: Due to be Executed Jan 17, 2006
by John Thielking
When first hearing about Clarence Ray Allen's case,
both sides were investigated a little bit and the
disturbing conclusion was reached that this would be
a difficult case to argue about. Allen was in prison
for life without parole for the 1970's murder of a
woman who gave him keys to a market that he robbed.
She was killed allegedly because she was fingering
him for the robbery.
He is accused of ordering the murders of one witness
to that crime and two other
employees of the same market while his original case
was on appeal. Some accounts describe the
other two victims as witnesses to the original
crime, while another account describes the two as
employees of the market. Clarence Allen is
currently 75 years old and will turn 76 one day
before his scheduled execution. He is very
infirm, has suffered from a heart attack and
diabetes and uses a wheelchair. He will be
forced to walk the final few feet to the death
chamber at San Quentin. The prosecution's case rests
primarily on the testimony of some of the
accomplices involved in the second crime.
They have all since stated at one time or another
that they lied at Mr. Allen's 2nd trial. That,
plus the fact that Mr. Allen is an American
Indian has some very concerned that his execution is
unjust. Others simply say that while there is
no excuse for how the victims died, the death
penalty is wrong and Mr Allen should be given
Clemency. Governor Schwarzenegger has
refused to hold any kind of Clemency hearing
for Mr. Allen. Read
more
on santacruz.indymedia.org...
Read the rest of the story
or leave comments in the Pagesincolor.com blog...
|
SF Giants Welcome
Homeless Families To Giants Stadium For
Holiday Party
Posted 1-5-06
For more info check out the article at the San
Francisco
Sentinel .
I always wondered why the Giants Stadium couldn't be
used as a homeless shelter for part of the
time. Well, at least this small step is a step
in the right direction -- Ed
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com Blog
|
Ace Washington
Brutalized by San Francisco PD December 30,
2005
by Donna Wallach
posted 1-5-06
Greetings all,
Mesha of Idriss Stelley Foundation just called
me to inform me that Ace Washington, an
African-descent man in his fifties, who is
well-known in the Bayview/Hunters Point
neighborhood, and has been a community activist
for decades, was brutally beaten by SFPD Friday
night, 30th December 2005, outside Rassala's club,
a jazz club located at Divisadero and 7th Streets
in San Francisco. I understand that there were
lots of witnesses.
Some of Mr. Washington's activities in and for
the community: he volunteers at KPOO radio, he is
on the San Francisco Community Policing Board
(this might not be the accurate name), he is the
official cameraman for Court TV and City Hall on
Channel 29 in San Francisco and he is also the
house manager for Idriss Stelley Foundation.
|
DIY Last
Night Parade Santa Cruz, CA, 5PM
Dec 31, 2005 at the Saturn Cafe at Pacific and
Laurel St.
12-27-05
By John Thielking
Last year, on Dec 31, 2004 in Santa Cruz, there was
a parade put on by an Artsy-Fartsy group aligned
with the city. It was called "The River of
Life". This type of parade was almost a
tradition, accompanying the "First Night" series of
celebrations on New Years Eve. First Night included
not only a parade, but also included musical
performances in the various theaters around downtown
Santa Cruz. The festivities may have seemed
open to some, but in reality they were for the most
part a closed minded event. The parade
organizers decided that they would not allow any
political signs in the parade and pointedly
discouraged and attempted to exclude any type of
political themes from the parade in 2004 and the one
in 2003 as well. The venues hosting the other
events were also not open to various guerilla
tactics such as serrepetitiously plugging in a TV in
the lobby to play the Arnold Beverly
confession. (That year the Arnold Beverly
confession was aired on the public sidewalk with the
aid of a battery and inverter). In 2005, it
was announced that the people organizing the
traditional First Night celebration had run out of
money and that the events would be cancelled.
Click here to find out
what people are going to do this year to replace
the traditional First Night Parade.
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog....
|
Major court
victory for Mumia Abu-Jamal
BY
JEFF MACKLER
12-07-05, posted
12-11-05
In a decision that will
likely stun the Pennsylvania legal establishment
that has been trying to railroad innocent death
row political prison and award winning journalist,
Mumia Abu-Jamal to the execution chambers for 24
years, the U.S. Court of Appeals of the Third
Circuit, reversed two critical Federal District
Court rulings. Read more...
Read or leave comments in
the Pagesincolor.com blog...
|
|
America loves a reformer! But
Arnold Schwarznegger may simply be vindictive, or
overly concerned with proving to his "base" how
tough on crime he is.
Aside from the dozens of reasons why the death
penalty is wrong generally, in Tookie's individual
case, there was prosecutorial misconduct involving
comparing Tookie to a tiger in a jungle for the
all-white jury. That death penalties are awarded
black men disproportionately to any other segment of
the population is a known fact. That hundreds of
former death row inmates were cleared completely by
DNA tests which were unavailable at their
convictions shows that we cannot trust this
verdict (or any other verdict for that
matter) sufficiently to take a human life for
it. Read more...
Read or
post comments in the Pagesincolor.com blog
|
PLEASE
DISTRIBUTE
WIDELY!
Subject:
[Ppnews]
Solidarity with Political Prisoners events -
SF
Date:
November
16, 2005 11:09:46 AM PST
DEMONSTRATION IN SUPPORT OF POLITICAL
PRISONERS
Friday, December 2nd
12 - 2 pm
Oakland Federal Building
1301 Clay Street
INTERNATIONAL DAY IN SOLIDARITY WITH
POLITICAL PRISONERS
Saturday, December 3, 2005
7 pm
First Unitarian Church
14th and Castro, Oakland
EVENTS HELD IN 25 CITIES WORLDWIDE!
|
|
Posted 11-15-05
On Friday November 18th, from
3-5PM, TAKE SOME TIME OUT TO HELP STOP THE WAR IN
IRAQ!
Enough is Enough. It is Time to Say NO louder and
stronger to the War and the Bush Regime!!! Our tax
dollars are funding it - WE must stop it!
PLEASE JOIN PEOPLE IN COMMUNITIES
ALL OVER THE COUNTRY FOR NATIONAL STAND DOWN* DAY
(NSDD), a day of coordinated actions calling for
an end to this war, being held at Military
Recruitment Centers all over the United States!!
THE SANTA CRUZ COUNTY ACTION happens on Friday,
November 18th at the Military Recruitment Center
on 41st Avenue (2121 41st Ave) - from 3 to 5PM.
Read
more
at http://www.santacruz.indymedia.org...
Read or post comments in the
Pagesincolor.com blog...
|
Execution of CA
Death Row Inmate Stan "Tookie" Williams set
for Dec 13th, 2005
11-06-05
John Thielking
The co-founder of the Crips street gang in Los
Angeles is set to be executed on Dec 13, 2005.
This case sets a precident for courts nationwide
being allowed to look the other way when allegations
of prosecution misconduct surface after a murder
conviction. Specifically, in this case the Supreme
court let a 9th Circuit court ruling stand that
affirms that it is ok for prosecutors to exclude
blacks from a black defendant's jury on the basis of
race* and it is ok for prosecutors to have prisoners
shackled in front of the jury, that it is ok for
prosecutors to make strongly biased statements to
the jury likening the defendant to a wild animal in
a zoo, and that it is ok for the police to beat
witnesses until they give the story that the
prosecution wants (as long as a couple of years pass
between the beating and the trial). It also
raises disturbing allegations that Williams may be
innocent of the crimes he was convicted of as
numerous pieces of physical evidence point to his
innocence. The 9th circuit court did make
history, however, when it reccomended clemency for
Tookie, citing Tookie's work writing children's
books urging kids to avoid joining gangs and avoid
violence. This work has inspired former gang
members from around the world to give up on being
members of a gang.
Read more, including an
analysis of the Governor's denial of clemency...
Stan Tookie Williams was executed at 12:35AM, Dec
13, 2005, despite massive
protests in opposition to his execution, including
the assembly of over 3000 people at the gates
of San Quentin on the night of his execution.
Read or leave comments in the
pagesincolor.com blog
|
Post
Katrina Relief Efforts Underway
John
Thielking
9-7-05
The Red Cross is not the only game in town when it
comes to hurricane relief efforts. While some stores
such as Rite Aid are matching contributions 50/50
for those who donate to the Red Cross, there
are some concerns that the Red Cross siphons
money off from the donations received from one
disaster and uses the money to prepare for the next
disaster, sometimes with ideological twists added
such as preparing for the war on terrorism after the
Sept 11 attacks. The Red Cross did for
instance donate an additional $10 million to the
city of San Francisco after the 1989 Loma Prietta
Earthquake, in response to the mayor's complaints
that not all of the money raised was going to help
earthquake victims. After Sept 11, there was
controversy when it was revealed that only $150
million had been spent to help vicitims of Sept 11,
after $500 million had been received. (footnote)
If you want to contribute to a number of groups that
are locally focused on New Orleans and are
accountable to the people, check out this
link.
Read or leave comments in the
Pagesincolor.com blog
|
|
How did it get
started and where is it going?
The
Pagesincolor.com Story
Click the banner below to visit the Global Exchange
Fair Trade Online Store:
One of the top
rated fair trade online stores in the Pagesincolor.com
performance review! Check it out:
World Centric Online
Fair Trade and Eco Store
Store
#4: The Veriuni Store.
Pagesincolor has completed a performance review of all
of the stores displayed on the website, to see if they
can deliver products by Christmas 2005 when ordering by
Sunday Dec 18th, 2005. Six out of eight stores
were able to deliver at least one gift by Dec 25!
For a complete report
click here.
Contact_Us
Store #1 Policies
Frequently_Asked_Questions
Refer
a friend to Pagesincolor.com.
Don't fall for
those paid $$ to read e-mail scams! Read more....
Free Speech TV
(which re-broadcasts Democracy
Now! and also shows IMC
NEWSREAL ) is now available on Dish Network's 60
channel satellite TV basic package.
Total cost: $31.99 /month.
Free installation. See below.
The
Hazards
Of Being Male: Surviving The Myth Of Masculine Privilege inspired me
to get on board with the feminist movement in 1979, when I
was 16.
-- John Thielking
Who is John Thielking?
Read more here.
|
