Because People Matter

Progressive News and Views November / December 2006

Sacramento Backs Sheraton Grand Hotel Workers

Seeking higher wages and lower workloads
By Gail Ryall
Over 200 union hotel workers and their supporters
from many Sacramento unions, community organizations
and churches, participated in a spirited picket line out-
side the Sheraton Grand Hotel in downtown Sacramento
recently, chanting and singing to the accompaniment of
drums and noisemakers.
The UNITE HERE Local 49 “Hotel Workers Ris-
ing” campaign, to gain better union contracts for hotel
employees in Sacramento, has been escalating this fall. In
support, a coalition of local clergy, community leaders,
elected officials and even some small businessmen have
been sending delegations to meet with the management
of the Sheraton Grand Hotel to urge better health care and
working conditions for their employees.
The Stonewall Democratic Club sponsored a commu-
nity support event, featuring Cleve Jones, national found-
er of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. Jones is
spearheading a national campaign
called “Sleep With the Right People”
www.sleepwiththerightpeople.org.
The Sheraton Grand is the largest
and newest of the five union hotels in
Sacramento. Negotiations have been
underway for several months. Work-
ers have been doing informational
leafleting outside the hotel.
At a Sacramento community
meeting in August, hotel workers
described the physical drudgery and
speed-up that they endure. Christine
Troughton, a cook at the Sheraton
Grand, told of lifting heavy pots and
50-pound sacks of onions or pota-
toes. She needs surgery and therapy
for her shoulders, but can’t afford it,
so she takes Tylenol or Motrin to keep
going. “I have to get my paycheck to pay my bills, so I keep
working through the pain,” Troughton said.
Eva Tuaga, who has a sick husband, has worked for
16 years as a hotel maid, earning $8.50 an hour. She pays
$156 every two weeks for health insurance. In an 8-hour
shift she is required to clean 16 messy rooms, including
making two luxury beds with heavy mattresses, thick cov-
“Many people clock out at the end of
the day and then go back to finish their
rooms on their own time.” Eva Tuaga,
hotel maid at the Sheraton Grand.
ers and several pillows in each room. “Many people clock
out at the end of the day and then go back to finish their
rooms on their own time,” Tuaga told the audience.
UNITE HERE labor contracts, expiring across the US
this year, provide a key opportunity to raise workers’ liv-
ing standards.
In San Francisco, UNITE HERE Local 2 has just
won a contract struggle with 13 of the city’s largest hotel
corporations. In addition to gains in health care, wages,
pensions and workload protections, the five-year contract
gives workers the right to remain union when a hotel
changes hands. In Chicago, hotel workers have ratified a
new contract with the Hilton Hotels, raising wages nearly
21 percent and cutting workloads.
In both cities, the unions will
now call on other major hotels to
sign similar agreements.
Half of the recent increase in US
service jobs is in hotel maintenance,
in hotels owned by large national and
international companies. Most hotel
workers are women and people of
color, and many are immigrants.
The hotel workers’ struggle Above and left: drums and bullhorns, and cans filled with
requires them to confront interna- peas accentuated a sea of signs, as over 300 workers and
tional companies on a national level. community supporters wearing Hotel Workers Rising t-
Vivian Rothstein, deputy director of shirts marched in front of the Sheraton Grand Oct. 19.
photos: Ellen Schwartz
the Los Angeles Alliance for a New
Economy, spoke at the Sacramento
community meeting in August. “All the last century is what we have to do for the service sec-
of us need an economic and social tor now,” she said.
justice movement,” Rothstein said. For more information about the “Hotel Workers
Through the process of confronting poverty, clergy and Rising” campaign in Sacramento, contact UNITE HERE
communities can strengthen their own organizations, Local 49 at (916) 564-4949 or Josh Eidelson at jeidelson@
while helping to rebuild the labor movement, she added. unitehere.org
“The “Hotel Workers Rising” campaign is fundamen-
tally about raising the working poor out of poverty,” said Gail Ryall is a long-time labor activist, and a delegate to
Sherry Chiesa, UNITE HERE international vice president. the Sacramento Central Labor Council from the California
“What the auto workers union did in the private sector in Capital Chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women.

Freedom From War as an intelligence community The final good news bulletin: FFW will soon have a Sac-

David Dionisi’s work for a insider, is prodigious.

peaceful world
by Tom King
“They also serve who only stand and wait.” This
famous sentence from the pen of John Milton, himself a
passionately politicized writer, might just be the maxi-
mum encouragement to us who stand with our signs at
intersections promoting the dream of peace. Sometimes
we grow discouraged out there when it seems the weeks
pass without evidence of sufficient change. That’s why,
when something remarkable does happen, right in
Sacramento’s backyard, it’s so inspiring.
“A peace movement sweeping up
all the little “pieces of peace” into a
strong, unified force field.”
Sacramento’s backyard? No offense, Davis, but that
means you! What has come forth in Davis is a world-
beating organization with a world-beater at its helm! This
is Freedom From War, created by David Dionisi, who in
less than a year after its founding has already made it an
international organization active in four countries.
This man Dionisi is many admirable things. In 1985,
while an army intelligence officer in Korea, he first began
to question this country’s foreign policies. A book he’s
written to reawaken our sleep-walking world to the all-
too-real nightmare of nuclear weapons, American Hiro-
shima, is translated and available even in Korea, and the
source for a motion picture being made in England. His
fund of information on world affairs, much of it gathered
Dionisi will address the
public wherever they’re will-
ing to listen, and as a speaker
he’s not just good, he’s formi-
dable. More than just a highly
talented tongue, however, he’s
a humanitarian who organizes
and serves orphanages in third
world countries. In fact he’s taken all
his inordinate capabilities and trained them
one objective: to rescue the world from the terminal
upon
disaster that appears about to swallow it.
Now I come to one final talent of this man: his
genius for organization, with its fruition in the rapidly
swelling membership of Freedom From War.
So what distinguishes FFW? The paramount dis-
tinction must be Dionisi’s vision of a peace movement
sweeping up all the little “pieces of peace” into a strong,
unified force field. “Our open source peace model and
sharing of best practices,” he writes, “has the potential
to change the insular and often ineffective efforts of
many peace organizations.”
In terms of community service, its umbrella covers
world-beating undertakings, some of them truly heart
lifting. Umbrella is the operative word here: Dionisi is
the systemic unifier, administrator and servant to other
folks’ independent projects.
One of the most impressive of the projects being
advanced is the effort by FFW member Nadia McCaf-
frey to create homes to care for soldiers shattered to the
point of dysfunction. Now in the process of becoming
a separate organization, the homes for veterans pro-
gram, while so far only a concept, illustrates how FFW,
disapproving of war, reaches out to the victims of war.
ramento chapter! To learn more about Freedom From
War, visit www.freedomfromwar.org. You can reach
David Dionisi at ddionisi@sbcglobal.net. Those
interested in purchasing his book can visit www.
americanhiroshima.
Tom King is a retired college professor who lives
and writes in Sacramento.
Inside this issue:
Editorial.............................................. 2
Demonizing Arabs & Muslims.......... 2
Teen and Youth Violence..................... 3
Rethinking Jesus................................. 4
Poem: Destiny Calls........................... 4
Black Panther Party reunion.............. 5
Bottling Public Water......................... 6
Project Censored 2007........................ 7
The Case for Impeachment:.
The White House &.
Hurricane Katrina........................ 8
Book Reviews.................................... 10
Media Clipped................................... 11
Peace Action...................................... 12
Hugo Chavez: Hero........................... 13
Poem: This Time Oaxaca.................. 14
Calendar............................................ 15
Progressive Media............................. 16
 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER November / December 2006
because
People Matter
Volume 15, Number 6
Published Bi-Monthly by the
Sacramento Community for
Peace & Justice
P.O. Box 162998, Sacramento,
CA 95816
(Use addresses below for
correspondence)
Editorial Group: Jacqueline
Diaz, JoAnn Fuller, Seth
Sandronsky
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On the cover
On October 19, outside the
Sheraton Grand hotel in down-
town Sacramento, as over 300
union hotel workers and their
supporters marched in a spirited
picket line, four clergymen, rep-
resenting Catholic, Protestant and
Jewish faiths, attempted to deliver
a statement to the hotel manage-
ment called “On Hospitality and
Human Dignity”, signed by 47
local Catholic, Protestant, Jewish
and Muslim clerics. They were
told none of the managers were
available.
Before the demonstration broke
up, the participants outside the
hotel chanted to the manage-
ment that wasn’t there, “We’ll be
back, we’ll be back,” promising
to return in even larger numbers
on November 2.
See story on Page 1.
photo: Ellen Schwartz
Editorial
Seth Sandronsky, Coordinating Editor for this issue
Perils and Promises
D
o you like shorter days and longer
nights? Whatever your answer, fall is
here. And winter is fast upon us. It is
a fine time to look back and catch your breath.
What a year 2006 has been, full of perils and
promises. This mix can and does spur regular
people to use their creative energies to try to
solve some of our pressing issues and problems.
BPM is a progressive voice in these struggles.
In this edition of the paper, our writers offer
analysis, artwork, events, news, poetry, and more
to help you better understand our world, and to
get a glimpse of what ordinary folks are doing to
try and make it better. Your participation in these
efforts is most welcome. In fact, it is necessary to
create the progressive change we so dearly need
now!
Mazda Majidi decodes the schemes of the
Bush White House over Iran’s presumed mili-
tary threat to the US. Once again, he notes, the
administration is trying to make the American
people fear a foreign government. Sound famil-
iar? The same president and his (wo)men made
the case for Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction
(still missing!) as an excuse to invade that nation
in March 2003.
Tom King and Jeanie Keltner (BPM editor
at-large) join Majidi in critical thought about war,
focusing on local people laboring for peace and
understanding. Bob Richards discusses a very
Demonizing Arabs and Muslims
Strategic Islamophobia and the US imperial project
By Jeanie Keltner
Khaled Umbashi was worried. After 9-11, his
wife had been harshly insulted at a gas station,
and at school his 10-year-old son Mohamed had
been accused of being a terrorist because of his
name. And now here was a textbook from the
boy’s school—World Geography by McDougal
Littell—that seemed to Khaled to portray Mus-
lins and Arabs as terrorists. This could only make
things worse for Muslims.
Umbashi is an activist—we’ve worked togeth-
er on several issues over the years—so he went to
The Bee and the Sacramento News & Review, both
of which published thoughtful articles about his
concerns. And the text’s publishers, Houghton
Mifflin, agreed to take Umbashi’s objections into
account when they put out a new edition.
But that is hardly the end of the story. Khaled
is right to worry.
A recent report by the nation’s largest Muslim
organization, the Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR), says complaints of discrimina-
tion, harassment, and violence against Muslims
in the US jumped over 30% from 2004 to 2005.
One fourth of respondents to a CAIR survey
believed stereotypes such as “Muslims value life
less than other people” and “The Muslim religion
teaches violence and hatred.” Over four in 10 said
they associated fanaticism with Muslims (www.
antiwar.com/lobe/?articleid=9716). Recent polls
by Gallup and the Washington Post/NBC show
46% holding a negative view of Islam. Obviously
all these stereotypes make it easier to victimize
Muslims.
Yet nearly 60% of US citizens say they have
never met a Muslim—so these opinions are creat-
ed by political discourse and by the media—from
Mohamed’s textbook to the networks to the news
to the rightwing shock jocks who specialize in
riling up anger.
Interesting and alarming proof that media
images and info work on the mind below the
level of consciousness and rationality is the Uni-
versity of Michigan study reporting that although
most non-Muslims feel the media depicts Arabs
unfairly, they still hold negative opinions (Wash-
famous social activist, Jesus, in relation to the
violent empires of Rome and US.
Violence in war cultures is both global and
local. Rhonda Erwin details who is mobilizing
to address Sacramento’s awful crisis of teen and
youth violence, and why.
A.J. Crisostomo reports on a new student
group struggling to improve the Multi-Cultural/
Women’s Resource Center at CSU Sacramento.
Enjoy the poetry of Felicia Martinez and Shayana
“Please join us to help
strengthen BPM, to keep it
going as a voice in struggle.”
Mendes about Mexico and the US.
Dan Bacher lauds Hugo Chavez, president
of Venezuela, who recently criticized President
Bush’s concern for the freedom of foreign peo-
ples. How can the White House with Democrats’
backing export freedom while crushing human
rights here in the name of security?
On that note, Kevin Wehr has a major piece
in our centerfold (pages 8 and 9). He argues that
impeachment of the president and vice president
for what they did not do to help innocent Ameri-
cans during the Hurricane Katrina disaster and
flood is a punishment that fits their crimes.
Water is where all life began and what life
ington Post 3-9-06)!
Anti-Arab/Muslim feeling is not new.
Michael Parenti showed in Make-Believe Media:
The Politics of Enter-
tainment (Wadsworth “Stereotypes make it easier
Publishing, 1991) that
Hollywood felt free to
to victimize Muslims.”
slur Arabs as a group
when other subgroups became protected by polit- still drive various terrorist groups around the
ical correctness. Now, however, Islamophobia is
an essential strategy in the Bush/Cheney regime’s radical religious motives, began to emerge in the
move to control the mineral/oil/gas wealth of the late 20th century. The goal of these terrorists is
Middle East and Central Asia. As we are seeing
(with war on Iran looming on the horizon), this
entails war on many Muslim nations. And to
make the massive killing and brutalizing accept-
able to the US public, the targets must first be
demonized.
Thus Islamophobia is cultivated con-
stantly—from Bush’s initially entitling the attack
on Iraq a crusade and his current reiteration of
Islamofascism as the enemy to the Pope’s recent
attack on Islam as violent and irrational (when
in fact Islamic societies historically have actu-
ally been more tolerant of other religions than
Christianity).
Anti-Arab/Muslim sentiment is being
encouraged since this regime needs every dis-
traction it can muster to deflect a populace that
seems to be rousing itself to opposition. Hatred
of the Other is such a convenient and blinding
distraction that racism is a necessary part of all
fascist regimes—a way to focus anger created
by one’s oppression away from the tyrant above
toward the Other below.
This has happened, perhaps, to a greater
extent and intensity with Muslims than with
previous US enemies—maybe because the Bush/
neocon imperial project is so grandiose, requir-
ing not only harsh aggression abroad but also
harsh repression at home, that the enemy must
be big to justify it. Immediately after 9-11 Bush
introduced the concept of evil into the discus-
sion: the evil-doers, the axis of evil. This moves
the discussion from the political to the meta-
physical. Evil: “The force of nature that governs
itself requires. Nancy Price explains the corporate
privatization of that natural resource, and what
people can do to stop it.
I consider some press coverage of the US
health care system. The rising price of health care
has propelled the recent walkout of thousands of
Sacramento County workers. Gail Ryall reports
on some hotel workers in the city struggling for
better health care and pay from their employers.
Mary Bisharat and Leon Lefson review books
penned by journalists of diverse eras. Charlene
Jones reviews a volume of news analysis by Proj-
ect Censored, based at Sonoma State University.
Elbert “Big Man” Howard of the Black Pan-
ther Party brings us a bit of hidden history from
the 1960s. Then, Panthers were on the move,
bringing various peoples together for the com-
mon good.
Then and now, as 2007 approaches, overcom-
ing our divisions of class, gender and race is a
big key to creating a better society. BPM is part
of this freedom movement, which has its unique
strengths and weaknesses.
Please join us to help strengthen BPM, to
keep it going as a voice in struggle. Does that
interest you? On behalf of the many volunteers
who produce and distribute this paper, we look
forward to working with you.
Seth Sandronsky is a co-editor with Because
People Matter.
and gives rise to wickedness and sin,” associated
with Satan (Random House Dictionary).
We see this magnification clearly in the
textbook: “The tradi-
tional motives, such as
gaining independence,
expelling foreigners,
or changing society,
world…. But other kinds of terrorists, driven by
the destruction of what they consider the forces
of evil. This evil might be located in their own
countries or in other parts of the world. These
terrorists often threaten to use weapons of mass
destruction, such as chemical, biological, or
See Umbashi, page 14
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 November / December 2006 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 

Responding to Teen and Youth Violence

Community versus government solutions
By Rhonda Erwin
our suffering was not very newsworthy. support when

O
Meanwhile, our teens and youth are killing many people,
ur community is responding to teen and one other. One shooting is copying the other. consciously and
youth violence. Why do we need to rec- One funeral copies a funeral the day before. The unconsciously,
ognize these community members? government has been slow to respond to families’ feel that we
The first reason is to destroy the myth that cries and pleas for teens and youth of color dying deserve our
we don’t care. We are not motionless in address- these violent and senseless deaths. pain and sor-
ing the violence within our communities. In early fall, media reported high-school row. In spite of
Recently, I saw the Nation of Islam men doing shooting stories, acknowledging the emotions this negativity,
foot patrol in heavy violent crime areas of both of the teens and youth involved. In contrast, the community Sacramento
Meadowview and Valley Hi. As members of the news coverage for the violent deaths of our teens is creating crime Rhonda Erwin Progressive
community, the deeds and labor of the NOI are and youth is sensationalized. Our children are prevention photo mrzine.monthlyreview.org Events
not going unnoticed, and they are appreciated. dehumanized. solutions. Calendar on
These men come in peace, Current news coverage There are many events being planned to the Web
stand for peace and leave “We are mobilizing to save of our suffering from vio- address teen and youth violence. While our gov- <www.
in peace. lent crime comes packaged ernment shows its lack of concern towards our sa cleft.or
Secondly, we need our daughters and sons.” with what the Sacramento suffering, many citizens are rising to the call to g>
to help teens, youth and County Sheriff ’s Depart- show support towards the families whose hearts Labor, Peace,
Environment, Human
families involved and affected by violent crime, ment, Department of Justice and Sacramento City have been broken and who drown in sorrow and Rights, Solidarity…
to transcend their collective suffering. Recently, I Police Department are doing to round up crime tears. We are mobilizing to save our daughters
spoke by phone with Reynaldo Placencia (the 22- suspects. I question these law enforcement priori- and sons. Send calendar items
year-old brother of Robert Placencia, a 17-year- ties. Why is all the emphasis on apprehending Rhonda Erwin is a violence prevention activ- to Gail Ryall,<gryall
old killed this summer in south Sacramento). suspects? Where is the money and time for pro- ist and mother who lives in Sacramento, and @cwnet.com>.
Reynaldo participated in a revival for teens from viding solutions to preventing more crime that, in welcomes those who can help <amomscry@yahoo.
Sacramento, Modesto and Stockton who were turn, creates, more suffering? com>.
coming together to address youth violence. Rey- Where are the crime prevention policies based
naldo is using his brother’s tragic death to reach on research into the violent deaths of our teens and
out to teens involved in or affected by violence. youth? Why is the solution to our community’s
Finally, we need to prevent teens and youth pain the building of more jails and prisons? Why is — Legal Notice —
from aping gang culture/membership as a mas- a blanket pulled over our suffering? Why is it con- JUVENILE CLASS ACTION STRIP SEARCH SETTLEMENT
querade for youth leadership. The Zeta Beta tinuously assumed that we human beings of color IF YOU WERE BOOKED, ASSIGNED TO A UNIT, AND STRIP SEARCHED AT
Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, feel no pain for the violent deaths of our children THE SACRAMENTO COUNTY JUVENILE HALL BETWEEN JANUARY 1, 1998,
in partnership with Consumes River College and and the separation of our families? AND OCTOBER 1, 2004, YOU WILL BE ENTITLED TO MONEY UNDER A
the Greater Sacramento March of Dimes, is coor- We’re on our own, saving our own. Just as STRIP SEARCH CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT
dinating the Alpha Academy workshop, held one with Hurricane Katrina, the government that col- There is a proposed Settlement of a Class Action lawsuit, Robinson, et al. v. Sacramento
County, et al. and Kozlowski, et al. v. Sacramento County, et al., pending in the United
Saturday a month. The workshop brings adult lects our taxes, who calls us all Americans, claims
States District Court for the Eastern District of California. The lawsuit concerns the strip
professionals together with middle school and we are all equal, will force some to save ourselves, search policy and practices of the Sacramento County Juvenile Hall.
high school teens (12 to 18 years old), with the but reach out to lift others from feeling pain. Why What is the Litigation About?
focus being to improve academic performance, does our government think the color of your Plaintiffs alleged that Defendants violated various federal and state laws by strip searching
prevent teen pregnancy and enhance career goals. skin makes you immune from the pain of violent juveniles booked at the Sacramento County Juvenile Hall between January 1, 1998, and
In early fall, several school children were crime? October 1, 2004.
maimed and murdered in school shootings The sad thing is that our government won’t Who is Involved?
across the US. I cried for the school teens as I see our suffering and continues to build more jails You are a member of the Settlement Class if you were booked, assigned to a unit and strip
searched at the Sacramento County Juvenile Hall between January 1, 1998, and October 1,
have cried a river of tears for teen and youth and prisons. This is not a policy to prevent future 2004. To see if you qualify for a payment you should check the website or call the toll free
murder victims in Sacramento. teen and youth violence. We know that. That is number below.
President Bush spoke out about ways to pre- why we are mobilizing to save our daughters and What are the Terms?
vent future youth murders. I watched news media sons from the violence which disproportionately If you were a juvenile booked and assigned to a unit at the Sacramento County Juvenile
reports on the teens who witnessed the school affects underprivileged communities of color. Hall and strip searched during the class period (January 1, 1998, through October 1, 2004),
killings. Teens and families affected by the school This movement has been stalled. Why? The you will be entitled to compensation depending on the number of times you were booked
and assigned a unit, the charges on which you were booked, and your probation status at the
shootings were given support and helped to move answer in part is the news media. It fosters false
time of booking.
on. Our children, on the other hand, have died images of people affected by teen and youth vio-
Up to $4.0 Million will be available to satisfy claims under this settlement. Class Counsel
senseless deaths for decades, and until recently lence. Thus this media bias makes it hard to rally will apply to the Court for an agreed fee of $1.5 Million for reimbursement for attorneys’
fees and reimbursement of costs and expenses. Representative plaintiffs will collectively
share $280,000 (Two Hundred Eighty Thousand Dollars), and $500,000 (Five Hundred
Thousand Dollars) will be reserved for Claim Administrator expenses, for a possible total of
$6,280,000 (Six Million, Two Hundred Eighty Thousand Dollars).
For more information or to receive a claim form, consult the website or call the toll free
number below.
How Much Will I Get?
If 25% of those entitled to share in the settlement submit Claim Forms, the average payout
will be $2,000 per person. You may be entitled to more or less than this amount.
What are My Legal Rights?
If you wish to share in the Settlement Fund you must file a claim as discussed below. If the
Court approves the Proposed Settlement, you will receive a payment if you qualify. You
will also be bound by all of the Court’s orders. This means you will drop any claims you
may have against the Defendants covered by this Settlement.
If you wish to file a claim you must complete a Claim Form. You can get a Claim Form by
contacting the Claims Administrators, in writing, at the address given below, or by calling
the toll free number. Claim Forms must be signed and post-marked no later than January 8,
2007.
If you do not wish to be a member of the Settlement Class, you must sign a Request for
Exclusion letter as outlined in the Stipulation of Settlement and Notice which you can
download from the website or get from the Claims Administrator. Your Request for
Exclusion must be filed with the Court no later than February 16, 2007.
When Will the Settlement be Approved?
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California will hold a Fairness
Hearing to decide if the proposed settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate at 10:00 a.m.
on March 2, 2007, at the United States District Court, 501 I Street, Courtroom 2,
Peace Arts Xchange 2007 calendar now available Sacramento, California 95814. At the hearing the Court will also consider whether Class
Counsel’s request for attorneys’ fees and costs are fair, reasonable, and adequate.
If you remain a member of the Settlement Class you or your counsel have the right to
Peace Arts Xchange (PAX) presents Children’s Art about Peace, its 2007 calendar. The color- appear before the Court and to object to the Settlement. However, in order to object, you
ful wall calendar is now available at The Avid Reader, East West Books, Sacramento Area Peace must file a written objection, as outlined in the Stipulation of Settlement and long form
Action, and the UNICEF Store, all in Sacramento. The artwork above is a detail from June 2007, notice. Objections must be filed with the Court by January 8, 2007.
by Kindergartner Ariana Mirmobiny. To see images from the works of Sacramento area students, FOR INFORMATION ON THE PROPOSED SETTLEMENT,
or for a full list of outlets, go to www.sacpeace.net. More Info: 736-1678 or 393-7676. YOUR RIGHTS, AND A COPY OF THE NOTICE:
VISIT: www.robinsonvsacco.com or Call: 1-800-401-0541 or
This project is funded in part by the ArtScapes Grant Program of the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission with
Write: Sacramento County Juvenile Strip Search Class Action,
support from the City and County of Sacramento.
c/o Claims Administrator, P.O. Box 1110 Corte Madera, CA 94976-1110
PLEASE DO NOT CALL THE COURT
 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER November / December 2006

Jesus: Social Activist

Justice on earth
By Bob Richards
Roman soldiers and curious Pharisees. But Jesus

J
esus lived at the height of the most dominant,
hierarchical, militaristic empire in ancient
history. Romans completely lorded over
the Mediterranean world and parts of the Mid-
East with their military, engineering, and eco-
nomic empire. Jesus grew up four miles from the
Roman-Greek center of Galilee, where the Herod
“Jesus’ true followers have
struggled against empire and
worked to build a humane
global community.”
dynasty exploited the region.
Unlike his cousin, John the Baptist, who
focused on “goodness” and future salvation, Jesus
focused on present day life, healing and build-
ing community among the poor. He walked the
back roads with the homeless, with dispossessed
farmers and frustrated fishermen. Jesus ate with
people and taught about what he surely deliber-
ately called, “The Kingdom of God”—meaning a
different kind of political organization. His teach-
ings—based on Torah, prophetic, and wisdom
writings—were thoroughly the opposite of impe-
rialism: “The land belongs to God” and we share
it fairly, and take care of relationships with our
workers and animals, and the earth. All people
deserve Sabbath (rest, peace, healing). “Love your
neighbor” comes from Leviticus. Injustice and
violence of any kind toward anyone were heavily
decried.
Jesus and his followers met the Samaritans
(a hated enemy among Jews). He related to
denounced puritanical, self-righteous, hypocriti-
cal legalistic busy-bodies—and also the Zealots,
who continually planned for and awaited the
time of armed resistance—and who eventually
brought on the complete Roman destruction of
Jewish organization in Palestine.
When Jesus and his large group went to Jeru-
salem just before his death, in stark contrast to
the Roman military contingent out in full force,
they entered Jerusalem with symbols of peace,
humility, and poverty. The next day he called the
temple, where the poor and “unacceptable” were
not allowed, a “Den of Robbers.” Threatened by
Jesus’ messages, the priests sought to get rid of
Jesus but couldn’t because of the crowd’s support.
Jesus’ teaching and example remain at the
heart of so much of what our struggle is about.
Jesus’ followers, such as Martin Luther King,
Jr. and myriads of justice workers, named and
unnamed, have given their lives in non-violent
protest, working to end child labor and unjust tionalized religion is a long history with many
working conditions. Theocracy periodically has and frequent divergences into its own terrible
raised its ugly exclusivity within Christianity, but injustices, domination, and hierarchy. But for
Jesus was entirely inclusive, without any barriers centuries, Jesus’ true followers have struggled
for gender or differing groups, especially for the against empire and worked to build a humane
outcast, the poor, and the marginalized. global community. And, importantly, those who
Now the empire is again in full swing. The practice non-violence, community building, and
past trend in the US toward more and more just and loving relationships—even when seem-
social/political justice is being pushed back by ingly unsuccessful in the short term—always find
consumerism and social control. Our govern- a basic meaning in life!
ment vilifies enemies and emphasizes power,
competition, wealth, global control. We see more Bob Richards is a retired junior high school
and more breakdown in justice, in good teaching teacher, a bible and theology student, and social
and in equity-producing social, economic, and justice activist.
political organization. And so many of us seem For further reading: How Jesus’ Apostle
ignorant or unconcerned about this drift. Opposed Rome’s Empire with God’s Kingdom by
The history of Christianity as an institu- John Dominic Crossan, 2004.

Destiny Calls
By Shayana Mendes be nerability. I am drowning in the Within. But, I have, you
Heard. Being out here is Monsoon. When will people See.
When Cheney’s in- Oh look at the flut- My responsibility. That’s what’s hap- Learn that war scars So truly, I tell
side, tery, So, I treat it pening, One for life? You.
When Cheney’s in Wings of the dove. As such. It doesn’t make
town. From its wings, The pain hurts To people fighting Them strive? Don’t let them brain-
emerge Too much. this You think it’s a wash you.
Surely, there will be Golden, effulgent- Oh, the aching War. Joke? Or, you’ll become a
Ruckus- all around. Rays. Daggers cut They don’t know victim too.
Because we will A hole in my chest. The real reason of What? I’m being dragged
drive People can stare, What they’re fight- Do you find down,
Bush out. And be hypnotized I feel the pain, ing for. Me annoying? By the rabid- tide.
We will unravel for Deep within my For the rabid, tumul- Well, too bad I’m being told to
Confusion and Days. Breast. tuous For you. Come along for the
doubt. On September I am sensitive, Storm. Because I’m not toy- Ride.
We are the people. 11th, I will So sometimes I The waves of sorrow. ing. I wish I It’s as Martin
We hold the power. fast! Can feel other Makes me wish it Were. Luther King Jr. once
In we go into the I’ll show them that People’s pain. Were tommorow. Man, everything Said.
Majestic tower. We won’t let this They’re only feeling The poison that is Swings by in That which you
The tower of light, War last. No, I won’t this because entering in, A blur. Don’t fight to
Love, and peace. rest. All Bush wants to Controlling them Everything is blurry. Change, you’ll
Time to make the from outside, Time to tell you all Be forced
war cease. I won’t give them the Do is gain, As well as from A story. To accept or
Time of day. Gain, gain. Believe.
Oh look, at the I refuse to sit He doesn’t Within. A story of peace, Now, do you see
Vivid, magenta hue. Silent as the power- Care that others are That’s what poison Love, and hope. why my anger doth
I pause as I stare Hungry men have in pain. is. At one time, seethe?
At you. Their way. He is such an It is a venom to I too was guillable. It is our destiny.
What a breathtak- I won’t do it! Ignorant man. The mind. It is our fate.
ing- No way! Ughh, people like It’s this same venom, I too was naïve. Lets spread love and
View! I won’t give them This, I just That has those I didn’t know what to Peace,
As I gaze into The time of day! Can’t stand. Soldiers chained, it expect, Before it
You’re eyes, I’m Why should I? It makes me Has them bind. Nor what to per-
Once again, When many inno- Want to go on They are chained ceive. Gets too
cent A storming down. So, certain people Late!
Feeling mesmerized. People have died? Rampage. They are thrown to started brainwash-
The tsunami- blue It makes me The ground. ing. Shayana Mendes is a
Wave. It enrages and sad- Want to As the ropes tighten, They started toying
community college stu-
Indicates those dens me that Bush Rip this page. It pulls deep within with me.
Of us who are lied. The melancholy, the skin. They thought that dent in Sacramento.
Brave. How dare he take Gloomy day. I’d never open
Out here to speak Advantage of the The morose, riveting, It controls outside Up my eyes, to the
our voice, we will Innocent youth’s vul- glowing moon. and Truth.

Remembering the Black
Panther Party
A catalyst for solidarity and unity
By Elbert “Big Man” Howard
Unity in the Community! Black Power to Black
People! White Power to White People! Brown
Power to Brown People! Yellow Power to Yel-
low People! Red Power to Red People!
These cries emanated from black communi-
ties throughout this nation in 1968, initiated by
the Black Panther Party. Many organizations were
formed after hearing those calls.
Who were these groups and how did they
come into existence? The Patriots were a group
of poor young white working-class people, many
from street-turf gangs, originally formed in
Chicago. Their chapters and Ten Point Program
were modeled after the Black Panther Party’s. The
Patriots supported and closely followed the BPP’s
example and dedicated themselves to serving the
basic needs of their communities, such as free
breakfast programs, free health clinics and other
services. The Patriot Party, like the Panthers, pub-
lished a newspaper.
The Young Lords also followed, in purpose
and actions, many of the examples set by the BPP.
These young Puerto Ricans formed chapters in
Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Jersey, Mas-
sachusetts, and Puerto Rico. Their female leader-
ship strongly pursued the fight for women’s rights
and formed prison solidarity groups for incarcer-
ated Puerto Ricans. By 1976, the Young Lords
had been all but destroyed by the FBI. However,
other groups formed and continued to pursue
their goals.
San Francisco’s Red Guard was patterned
closely after the BPP. In 1969, the federal govern-
ment wanted to shut down a tuberculosis testing
center in San Francisco’s Chinese community. At
the time, Chinatown had the highest TB rate in
the country. The young Asians in the Red Guard
organized the community and staged successful
demonstrations to keep that TB testing center
open. Through these protests and the programs
that the Red Guard initiated, Chinatown’s citizens
were enlightened and became open to more
progressive politics. In 1970, members of the Red
Guard were part of a delegation invited to join
the Panther’s Minister of Information, Eldridge
Cleaver, in a visit to China, North Korea, and
North Vietnam. After about two and a half years,
due to political and police repression, such as
office raids, arrests without warrants, false arrests,
and armed stand-offs with police, the organiza-
tion collapsed.
Cesar Chavez’s United Farm Workers
brought attention to the plight of Hispanic and
Filipino farm workers in this country. Because
of his influence, and that of the Black Panther
Party, young Chicanos from the barrios came to
realize that struggle against oppressive conditions
was necessary for change, and the Brown Berets
organization was formed in 1967, with a 13-Point
Party Platform similar to that of the BPP. In the
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summer of 1968, the Brown Berets marched
with the Rainbow Coalition in the Poor People’s
“In the 1960s and 1970s diverse
groups formed strong bonds
with the Black Panther Party.”
Campaign in Washington, DC. Among their
many contributions, they organized Vietnam War
protests, exposed police brutality, and started
the Chicano movement for self-determination.
Unfortunately, this organization met with a simi-
lar fate to that of the BPP—police infiltration and
oppression.
The American Indian Movement (AIM)
was organized in the summer of 1968 when
approximately 200 members of the Native Ameri-
can community met to discuss various critical
issues in their communities—police brutality,
slum housing, 80% unemployment, and racist
and discriminatory government policies. Today,
despite many legal battles and repressive actions
on the government’s part, including the impris-
onment of leaders such as Leonard Peltier, AIM
has grown and still continues to serve its com-
munity from a base of Native American culture.
In Minnesota, AIM’s birthplace, organizations
have developed to institute schools, housing and
employment services. In November of 1969, the
world took notice when young Bay Area Native
American students and urban Indians occupied
Alcatraz Island for 19 months, claiming it in the
name of Native Nations.
In the 1960s and 1970s these diverse groups
formed strong bonds with the Black Panther
Party. We came to understand that we had com-
mon problems; our communities were suffering
from similar social and economic conditions. We
were being oppressed and exploited by the same
perpetrators. These groups met with the BPP and
discussed and set forth plans to resolve some of
these issues. The Panthers’ 10-Point Platform and
Program was a basic plan of action spelling out
clearly what we wanted and what we believed.
This program and platform was so powerful
and so on-target that many of those solidarity
groups drew up similar programs tailored to their
communities.
Because of strong solidarity with these many
different groups, the BPP was able to amass great
numbers of people to participate in demonstra-
tions such as Free Huey Newton (BPP co-found-
November / December 2006 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 
Angela Davis and Elbert “Big Man” Howard meet
before the BPP Reunion.
Photo: Billy X. Jennings 2006
er), stop the military draft, and end the Vietnam
War rallies, which occurred all over the country.
Included among these supportive organiza-
tions were many splinter groups such as the Gay
Liberation Front, the Peace and Freedom Party,
the woman’s liberation movement, the Yippies,
the Gray Panthers and groups that formed for
CAAC Goes
the rights of disabled people. These solidarity to the Movies
groups did not go unnoticed by the FBI and Almost Every
were also subjected to the FBI’s dirty tricks and Month
Cointelpro program. For example, the groups’ The Central America
offices and residences were bugged; they were Action Committee
infiltrated by government spies, and set-up for shows interesting
and informative
frame-ups and false arrests. Although the other
videos on social
groups were harassed and brutalized, only the justice, labor
Black Panther Party was singled out for complete struggles, and so
extermination. much more! Call to
Many members of the Black Panther Party see what’s playing
were tortured, murdered, and/or locked away in this month…
WE ALSO HAVE A
dungeons, where many still remain. However,
VIDEO LIBRARY YOU
they did not get us all. We, the survivors, have a CAN CHECK OUT.
duty and a responsibility to continue to fight for 1640 9th Ave (east
those same 10 Points, for what we want and what off Land Park Dr)
we believe <www.itsabouttimebpp.com/home/ INFO: 446-3304
bpp_program_platform.html >.
Elbert” Big Man” Howard went to Merritt Col-
lege in Oakland with Huey Newton, co-founder of
the Black Panther Party. Howard joined the Pan-
thers at the very beginning. He was the first editor
of the Panther newspaper. Later, Howard became
the Panthers’ deputy minister of information and
spokesperson.
 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER November / December 2006
Capitol
Outreach for a
Moratorium
on the
Death Penalty.
Third Mondays,
11:30am to 1:30pm.
L Street at 11th.
We bring petitions,
Bottling Public Water
literature and banners.
You bring yourselves.
Cafe nearby for coffee
after the vigil.
INFO: 447-7754
Selling nature for profit
By Nancy Price
Bottled water is a private diversion of our
public water commons. An intense 15-year public
relations campaign has turned bottled water into
a multi-billion dollar-a-year business. Bottled
water sales outpace all other beverages except
soda pop. At the same time, beer, coffee and milk
sales are flat.
Consumers now want bottled water at any
time and place. What’s more insidious, we have
been convinced that our tap water is not safe, and
that buying bottled water up to 1,000 times the
cost of water from a municipal system–that we
have already paid for with our tax dollars–makes
sense.
“We are being conditioned to
look for and accept individual,
private, and costly solutions
to local water problems.”
We are being conditioned to look for and
accept individual, private, and costly solutions to
Peace Action local water problems. Instead, we should work
with public officials and others on communal
on the Web
Keep up to date
strategies. The strategies are: testing water, iden-
on peace activism tifying and stopping pollution, and adequately
in Sacramento. funding our public water works.
Check out
<www.sacpeace.org>. Three bottled water giants:
Coca Cola with its Dasani brand and Pep-
siCo with Aquafina both contract with local gov-
ernments and pay pennies to just turn on the tap
to “make” plain bottled water, with some added
filtration. Nestlé Waters North America, an affili-
ate of Nestlé, SA, the number one Swiss food
and beverage multinational, taps directly into
our fresh springs and aquifers and dominates
the spring water market hiding behind regional
brand names, such as Arrowhead and Calistoga
in California.
Northern California a target
In 2003, Nestlé signed a 50-year contract, renew-
able for 50 years, with the McCloud Community
Services District to build a 1-
million square-foot bottling/
distribution center in this rural
community. The center is just
south of Mt. Shasta on Route 89
off I-5, and is similar to centers
in Michigan and Maine.
Nestlé will use 1,800,000
gallons of spring water per day,
with access to unlimited ground
water and 8,500 acre-feet annu-
ally of water from the McCloud
River upon purchase of the old
Cal-Cedar Mill property. Nestlé
will pay only .000087 cents per In 2003, Nestlé signed a 50-year contract, renewable for 50
gallon for the water it takes from years, with the McCloud Community Services District to build a
McCloud’s springs, or only 8.7
1-million square-foot bottling/distribution center just south of
Mt. Shasta.
cents for 100,000 gallons. A 16-
ounce bottle of the same water
sells for around $1.29, or $10.32 per gallon. At Less often mentioned is the contamination
a shelf price of $10.32 per gallon, 1600 acre-feet of our bodies by even trace amounts of pollu-
would gross $5,380,451,712 dollars. If Nestlé nets tion. This has serious health consequences for all
1/5 of what that water sells for it would make ages. See “Water for Life Not Corporate Profit”
over $1 billion a year. in the Alliance for Democracy’s newsletter
Already, Crystal Geyser bottles water in Justice Rising: www.thealliancefordemocracy.
Weed, northwest of Mt. Shasta, and Coca-Cola org/html/eng/2363-AA.shtml.
has just purchased a Mt. Shasta plant that uses To get involved, support the McCloud Water-
500 gallons of water per minute in a 150,000- shed Council effort to stop the Nestlé/McCloud
square-foot building. Nestlé and Coca-Cola are project. Learn more about this campaign at www.
also bottled water partners in Indonesia. mccloudwatershedcouncil.org/nestle. Statewide
and national mobilization has generated over
What is our public water commons worth? 2,000 expert legal, scientific and citizen com-
Groundwater is pumped 24 hours, 7 days- ments, which were received by the Siskiyou
per-week from surrounding wells and habitats. County Planning Department on the Draft
This process creates a staggering depletion of Environmental Impact Report. Finally, join the
water supply that scientists have documented. Yet Women’s International League for Peace and
industry disputes it, repeatedly. Freedom’s “Save the Water Campaign” at www.
Just as important, petroleum and natural wilpf.org/campaigns/water. To order Tap Into It
gas are used to make the multi-billions of plastic bumper stickers (see top of page) call 530-758-
bottles that contain water. Plastic water bottles 0726 or nancytprice@juno.com.
(and their later disposal) leave a world-wide
toxic trail of land, air and water pollution. This Nancy Price is co-chair, Alliance for Democ-
petroleum-fueled trail from plastic bottles begins racy and Western Coordinator of the Defending
at manufacturing centers and travels to wholesale Water for Life Campaign; member, leadership
and retail outlets. This transit mode contributes team of Save the Water Campaign of the Women’s
to global warming, and air and water pollution. International League for Peace and Freedom.
Quick Facts
on Bottled Water versus cleaning up the drinking water supply
• Members of the United Nations estimate that if the world took half of
what it currently spends on bottled water ($100 billion annually) and invest-
ed it in water infrastructure and treatment, everyone in the world could have
access to clean drinking water.
• But bottled water is cleaner, right? Actually, the U.S. EPA sets more strin-
gent quality standards for tap water than the FDA does for bottled beverages,
and roughly 40% of bottled water is actually just tap water.
• 1.5 billion barrels of oil are consumed each year to produce the plastic for
water bottles, enough to fuel 100,000 cars.
• According to the Container Recycling Institute, only 14 percent of plastic
water bottles are recycled.
• A water bottle in a landfill or lying around as litter will take over 1,000
years to biodegrade.
Source: www.organicconsumers.org/foodsafety/Bottled020606.cfm
 November / December 2006 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 

Project Censored, 30 years and counting

Covering what big media covers up
By Charlene Jones

P
roject Censored celebrates 30 years of In the AP chapter corporate media malfea-
digging up what was buried by corporate sance is illustrated by a broadcast blackout of an
newsmakers with the September release American Civil Liberties Union press release,
of Censored 2007. Each year the media analysis containing American military sources, which
project, headquartered at Sonoma State Uni- announced dozens of deaths from US torture.
versity, publishes research and exposes stories The ACLU posted to their website 44 autopsy
overlooked or under-covered by mainstream reports of civilians who had died while in US
news. This year’s anniversary edition features a military prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan from
bounty in addition to 2002-2004, indicating
its annual top 25-cen- “No. 1 stories from past and widespread torture by
sored picks. US forces.
Emblematic of present have addressed the The AP wire ser-
the project’s mission, investigative theme of news vice made the story
the No. 1 censored and efforts by corporate available to US media
story for the 30th nationwide. However,
year focuses on interests to curb and contain it.” research showed 95
information means percent of the daily
and media, titled Future of Internet Debate papers in the United States did not carry the
Ignored by Media. It alerts readers to the largely story nor did AP conduct follow-up coverage.
underground debate regarding the future of the Censored 2007 also gives readers a glimpse
Internet as Congress sets its sights on re-writing at 29 years of No. 1 censored stories with an
the nation’s sweeping telecommunications laws. update on each and a retrospective by project
Referred to as “network neutrality,” ensuring the founder, Carl Jensen, Ph.D. Teaching at Sonoma
Internet remains open to all voices and ideas State in 1976, Jensen produced a cablevision pro-
became a fierce contest among telecommunica- gram titled “CENSORED: The Great American Deregulation: Closing Up America’s “Market-
tion companies, public interest groups and Inter- Media Mystery.” It revealed mainstream media place of Ideas; 1993, The Great Media Sell-Out to
net service providers. Meanwhile corporations gave little coverage to important consequential Reaganism; 1992, CBS and NBC Spiked Footage
pour millions into public relations and political news and Project Censored was launched. of Iraq Bombing Carnage; 1991, The Gulf War:
coffers, insisting web access and its worldwide From 1977’s No. 1 Jimmy Carter and the Tri- Truth was the First Casualty; 1990, Global Media
content must come only at a price, their price. lateral Commission to last year’s Bush Adminis- Lords Threaten Open Marketplace of Ideas; and
The next 24 censored stories are an assort- tration Moves to Eliminate Open Government, 1988, The Information Monopoly.
ment of disturbing disclosures including: Oceans Project Censored has provided original research, For 30 years students and faculty, com-
of the World in Extreme Danger, US Operatives vital information and commentary from a munity experts, research interns, guest writers
Torture Detainees to Death in Afghanistan and broad selection of non-conformist reporters and and national evaluators have assisted Project
Iraq, Hunger and Homelessness Increasing in scholars. Censored, which remains critical to the public
US Pentagon Exempt from Freedom of Informa- No. 1 stories from past and present have dialogue that underpins US democracy. Pick up
tion Act and Chemical Industry is EPA’s Primary addressed the investigative theme of news and the book or a few of them for those who read and
Research Partner. In addition to regular yearbook efforts by corporate interests to curb and contain those who desperately need to do so. Contact
features such as Junk Food News and News it. Three decades of Project Censored publica- www.projectcensored.org or (707) 664-2500.
Abuse, the expanded volume adds chapters on tions find corporate media has not been the Charlene Jones is a member of the Sacra-
corporate media cross-ownership, media activist First Amendment’s friend—2003, FCC Moves to mento Media Group and writing team for Project
groups and bias by the Associated Press. Privatize Airwaves; 1996, Telecommunications Censored.

Useful Web Sites

Institute for Middle East
Understanding
http://imeu.net/

Union for Radical Political Economics “Political

Economy of the Iran Crisis”
http://urpe.org/Iran_Crisis.htm
 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER November / December 2006
A Case for Impeachment
The White House and Hurricane Katrina
By Kevin Wehr, Ph.D.
T
he US Constitution provides for the
removal of an authority from a position
of power—impeachment—based on
“high crimes and misdemeanors,” including
treason, perjury, and abuse of power. In the case
of the Bush administration, mishandling of one
of the most crucial issues of our time—global
climate change—constitutes a clear and danger-
ous case of the abuse of power. Further, the
administration’s stunning incompetence and
criminal recklessness
in the face of Hurricane
“The president’s Katrina and decades of
response to Katrina was foreknowledge of the
dangers of storms to New
criminally delayed.” Orleans also constitutes a
sufficient justification for
the removal of Bush and
Cheney from any position of authority.
A human-made disaster: predictable
tragedy
There are really few totally “natural” disas-
ters. It was a social decision to build a city in
the way of a natural, predictable (if very pow-
erful) storm. Social disasters don’t just come
about from the ignorance of where a city grew
up, but also from the actions of the state (poor
planning, cronyism, and ideologically-motivat-
ed politics) and the needs of capital (on whose
behalf action is often undertaken by the state).
What caused Hurricane Katrina’s dev-
astation? First, the natural waterways of the
delta were reconstructed, canals were cut and
dredged, the river was re-routed, and levees
were built, all of which denied the delta the
natural changes it needs, allowing the city to
sink.
Then the wetlands were drained to make
room for subdivisions. This, too, is not separate
from the racialized and class-based character
of the tragedy: capitalism requires a continual
and stable use of natural resources, but it also
requires laboring bodies, and the most easily
dominated groups are those that are most mar-
ginalized. White flight to the suburbs on those
drained wetlands left the city under-funded
in terms of taxation, and with concentrated
communities of color and poverty. The rural
outlying areas are also subject to this urban
and classist framing of the disaster. While
New Orleans gets the lion’s share of money
and media attention in the post-disaster scene,
whole (poor, rural) towns in Mississippi were
literally wiped off the map and got almost no
media coverage.
Decision-based fact-making
Blind emphasis on pro-business and anti-
environmental policies, such as the refusal to
negotiate or ratify the Kyoto accord (on cli-
mate change), the promulgation of ineffectual
voluntary pollution control measures, broad
development policies based on market needs,
and privatized solutions to public problems all
add together to constitute an abuse of power in
the face of scientific consensus on global climate
change. Virtually all credible scientific stud-
ies now agree that the earth is warming due at
least in part to anthropogenic (human-induced)
causes.
An important outcome of global warming
is an increase in the power of hurricanes. MIT
Professor Kerry Emanuel, in several papers
published in Nature between 1987 and 2005, has
demonstrated that “in most cases, the evolu-
tion of hurricane intensity depends mainly on
three factors: the storm’s initial intensity, the
thermodynamic state of the atmosphere through
which it moves, and the heat exchange with the
upper layer of the ocean under the core of the
hurricane.” The warmth of the ocean is directly
affected by global climate change: the warmer
the globe, the warmer the ocean, the stronger the
hurricane.
The Bush administration must be held
accountable for denying global climate change
and for not taking appropriate actions. This
abuse of power connects to the fury of Hurricane
Katrina as it destroyed New Orleans and much
of the Gulf Coast. Katrina could not have been
stopped—if we put cities in the way of nature, we
have to expect to be slapped. But the power of
Katrina was fueled by global warming, and action
should have been taken years ago to reduce the
probability of such supercharged storms. These
conditioning factors are ideologically-driven, and
reflect a gross incompetence by those in power.
And yet even the solutions to Katrina’s devasta-
tion are similarly ideological: large private firms
have benefited from no-bid contracts (just as in
Iraq), pollution controls were “temporarily” put
on hold, a gulf opportunity zone is established
similar to export zones in developing nations
(not subject to normal state controls), and
money has been thrown at a problem rather than
employing careful thought and analysis.
Fiddling while New Orleans floods
The president’s response to Katrina was crim-
inally delayed, indifferent, and inept. As Kanye
West’s public comment exhibits, many observers
concluded that “George Bush doesn’t care about
black people.” Just after the disaster in New
Orleans Bush spoke of “taking aggressive action
against deep and persistent poverty with roots in
a history of racial discrimination.” In the span of
about two weeks, however, the Republicans were
busy blaming the victims themselves, saying that
the poverty of the evacuees was clear evidence
that the last three decades of governmental pov-
erty alleviation programs had clearly not worked.
Such comments denigrated the people of New
Orleans, suggesting that entitlement programs
were at fault for creating dependency amongst
the destitute. And yet the most damaging form of
entitlement is the gift of a political office based on
political connections rather than ability, and this
cronyism contributed directly to the devastation.
In the year before Hurricane Katrina hit, the
Bush administration continued to cut budgets
and deny grants to the Gulf Coast. In June of
2004, the Army Corps of Engineers levee budget
for New Orleans was cut. It was cut again in June
of 2005, this time by $71.2 million or 44% of their
budget. Adding insult to injury, in 2004 FEMA
denied a Louisiana disaster mitigation (reduc-
tion) grant request. Bush, in other words, did
worse than nothing. The administration slashed
budgets for levee restoration, downgraded FEMA
from a cabinet position, and considered privatiz-
ing the entire agency.
Since Watergate, the classic question has
become “What did they know, and when did
they know it?” The answer, in this situation,
is they knew it all, and they knew at least 24
hours in advance. The White House was given
multiple warnings that Hurricane Katrina had
a high likelihood of causing serious damage to
New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. At 10 am on
Sunday 28, August 2005, the day before the storm
hit, the National Weather Service published an
alert under the title “DEVASTATING DAMAGE
EXPECTED.”
The Homeland Security Department also
briefed the White House on the scenario,
warning of levee breaches and severe flooding.
According to the New York Times, “a Homeland
Security Department report submitted to the

White House at 1:47 am on Aug. 29, hours before
the storm hit, said, ‘Any storm rated Category 4
or greater will likely lead to severe flooding and/
or levee breaching.’” This document, made public
by a Senate investigation, clearly contradicts the
statements made by both President Bush and
Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff,
immediately after the storm, that such devasta-
tion could not have been predicted. On Septem-
ber 1, 2005, President Bush said “I don’t think
anyone anticipated the breach of the levees.” But
the devastation was predicted, and both Bush
and Chertoff were informed. And then they lied
about it.
So the weather service told them it was
coming. So did the only FEMA agent on the
ground. So did members of the DHS itself. What
was it that administration officials did while
New Orleans flooded? Bush, Cheney, and other
members of the cabinet were not inconvenienced
by the Gulf Coast disaster. The President gave
an unrelated speech at a Naval air station in San
Diego, comparing himself favorably to FDR, with
a media photo-op of him strumming a guitar
(not fiddling, as Nero did). The vice president
remained fly-fishing on vacation in Wyoming.
What did people do in response to this gov-
ernment bungling, this death, and destruction?
They organized themselves so as to overcome.
What is most brilliant in this disaster is the ability
of the people themselves to solve the problems
that the authorities cannot solve or will not face.
The people of New Orleans did not all act with
integrity—that much is clear—but most of them
did, most of the time. While race and class clearly
constructed the chances of individuals to get out,
these same folks responded to such indignities
by developing the types of systems that actually
solve problems, rather than denying disaster and
then merely giving lip-service, as those of the
Bush administration did.
A New Orleans hurricane survivor, Denise
Moore, was evacuated to the Ernest Morial Con-
vention Center. There she and family members
found a nightmare. They were there for two days
without food or water. Shelter was not conducive
to human existence; she thought she was in hell,
and that the authorities had left her and her fam-
ily (including a 63-year-old and a 2-year-old)
there to die. When authorities did come, they
came only to drop off more and more people,
November / December 2006 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 
people who had been rescued from rooftops. people in front, women and children next, men
They arrived delirious from dehydration and in the back. Just so that when the buses came,
sunstroke. The authorities said that the bus- there would be priorities of who got out first.
ses would come, but they did not, not for days. She also saw some men shoot at the police,
Denise reported that the “police drove by, win- because after some time “all the people thought
dows rolled up, thumbs up signs. National Guard the cops were coming to hurt them, to kill them
trucks rolled by, completely empty, soldiers with all.” They all believed they were sent there to die.
guns cocked and aimed at them.” “If it wasn’t for them,” she said “we wouldn’t have
But those in the Convention Center were had the little water and food they had found. I
not entirely dispirited. Denise reported that there will never look at thugs and gangsters the same
were young men with guns there, but they were way again.”
the ones who organized the crowd:
They went to Canal Street and “looted,” and Kevin Wehr is an assistant professor of sociol-
brought back food and water for the old people ogy at California State University Sacramento.
and the babies, because nobody had eaten in Wehr’s article is adapted from his essay in a col-
days. When the police rolled down windows lection of essays titled Impeach the President: The
and yelled out “the buses are coming,” the young Case Against Bush and Cheney edited by Dennis
men with guns organized the crowd in order: old Loo and Peter Phillips, (Seven Stories Press, 2006).
This year, the hurricanes took a break. But what will happen in the future?
“The strongest hurricanes in the present climate may be upstaged by even
more intense hurricanes over the next century as the earth’s climate is warmed
by increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Although we cannot say at
present whether more or fewer hurricanes will occur in the future with global warming,
the hurricanes that do occur near the end of the 21st century are expected to be stronger
and have significantly more intense rainfall than under present day climate conditions.
This expectation (Figure below) is based on an anticipated enhancement of energy
available to the storms due to higher tropical sea surface temperatures.”
From the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. www.gfdl.noaa.gov/~tk/glob_warm_hurr.html
This image shows two curves. One
curve (white dots) is a histogram
of hurricane intensities for current
climate conditions. The second
curve (black dots) is a histogram
of intensities for warm climate
(high CO2) conditions. The warm
climate curve (intensities) is shifted
toward lower central pressures
(higher intensities) compared to
the present climate curve. The
caption above provides details on
the experiments that produced
the data.
10 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER November / December 2006

Book Reviews

A Red in the House: The Unauthorized Memoir of S.E. Fleischman

by Stephen Fleischman
Paperback: iUniverse, February 25, 2004. 382 pages.
Reviewed by Leon Lefson
This “unauthorized memoir” is the biting, yet with the potential for commodifica-
delightful, story of the author’s 30 years in the tion—for being turned into a saleable
early network news era of TV. It was a time in the product—was (and is) grist for the
50s, 60s and 70s when the three great conglomer- market economy. Today it’s called
ates—NBC, CBS, and ABC—were organized and privatization.
Some of the ruled the roost. It was a heady period of business Stephen Fleischman is one of the
Places You Can expansion in the communications field, as well great talents and unsung heroes as a
Find BPM writer, director, producer, and much
“Unknown to his bosses, he else in the field of media. Unknown to
Sacramento Area was from his early years a his bosses, he was from his early years a
Coffee Works Marxist who understood the inner work-
Crest Theater Marxist who understood the ings and dynamics of the capitalist system.
Dimple Records, Arden
Wy
inner workings and dynamics That knowledge pulled him through many a
difficult phase in his working career. Miracu-
Flowers Restaurant of the capitalist system.” lously, he managed to escape the ravages of
Galleria (29th & K)
Grinders the McCarthy period (of anti-communist
Hart Senior Center as in the cultural realm, whose full potential was witchunts), or so it would appear from his
Light Rail: yet to be tested. Much of what occurred during book.
65/Folsom those years had promising intervals of cultural In the course of three decades in network
2nd Ave/Freeport enhancement that provided opportunities for news, Fleischman encountered and worked with
Los Jarritos
Luna’s Cafe & Juice Bar
talented, creative people to work in the new some of the bright stars in network news: Walter
Mercy Hospital, 40th/J booming communications industry. And it was Cronkite, Edward R. Murrow, Fred Friendly, Dan book I couldn’t put it down. For this reviewer,
Mother India Restaurant a period as well of vast changes and advances in Rather, Howard K. Smith, Eric Sevareid, Peter much of it is déjà vu, reliving a segment of histo-
National University technology that made possible today’s CNNs, Jennings and others. On a personal note, in my ry that, with all of its negatives, stands as a lode-
Pancake Circus, 21st/ HBOs, C-SPANS, and Clear Channels. very early years, I worked for a period of time in star compared with the dolorous times in which
Broadway During those years, the evolving techniques the US post office in New York City and delivered we live today. I highly recommend A Red in the
Planned Parenthood:
and methodology for deeply influencing the mail to some of these notables. House as an informative and stimulating read.
Franklin Blvd, Watt
Ave., 29th St. thinking of Americans about all aspects of our For people of Fleischman’s generation, these
Queen of Tarts daily lives took a quantum jump. Brainwashing names will live longer in history than the Lim- Leon Lefson is a veteran political activist
Quick Market through advertising and public relations became baughs, Hannitys and the George Wills of our and retired state worker who lives and writes in
Sacramento Bagel, perhaps America’s biggest industry. Everything time. From the moment I started reading this Sacramento.
47th/H
Sacramento Natural
Foods Coop
Sacramento Public

The Lemon Tree, by Sandy Tolan

Library (Main & many
branches)
Starbucks (B'wy & 35th)
Taco Loco
Hardback: Bloomsbury Publishing (May 2, 2006). 304 pages.
The Beat
Time Tested Books Reviewed by Mary Bisharat
Tower Theater (inside)
Tupelo (Elvas & 57th) Sandy Tolan, international journalist, documen-
Underground Books tary producer, and current I.F. Stone Fellow at
(35th St. near B'way) UC Berkeley’s School of Journalism, has woven
Weatherstone Coffee together thousands of elements of the complex
historical realities of Palestine and Israel, based
Chico Area on reporting, research, interviews, and archival
Davis
documents, both published and unpublished.
Bogey’s Books Some eight years in process, The Lemon Tree
Espresso Cafe Roma displays with great richness of understanding
Davis Natural Food and skill the human complexities in the story of
Coop “An Arab, A Jew, and the Heart of the Middle
Newsbeat East”—a story of one house and 2 families.
University Mall
Nevada City “The narrative describes the
US Post Office
experiences of Dalia, an Israeli
Jewish woman, and Bashir,
Where would you like
to see BPM? Let Paulette a disposessed Palestinian,
Cuilla know, 422-
1787. over a 40-year period.”
The Khairis are a large and prosperous
Palestinian Arab family from the ancient city of
Al Ramla. Since CE 714, Al Ramle had been an
exclusively Arab town, but when Israel was being
created in 1948, all its citizens were expelled by
the order of young Yitzhak Rabin (the late Israeli
Prime Minister). They fled to Ramallah, a 20-
mile walk under the hot sun with their children,
among whom was six-year-old Bashir. Many
Palestinians died in such marches.
The other family, the Eshkenazis, are descen-
dants of Sephardic Jews expelled from Christian
Spain in 1492, but welcomed into the Muslim
Ottoman empire—Bulgaria. Frightened by the
horrific events in Europe and the roundup of
Jews in Bulgaria, the Eshkenezis started a new life
in Palestine in 1948, when Israel was declared a
state for Jews. They brought with them their tiny
daughter Dalia.
The narrative describes the
experiences of Dalia, an Israeli
Jewish woman, and Bashir, a dis-
posessed Palestinian, over a 40-year
period. In 1967, Bashir goes to Israel
to search for his lost home in Ramle.
Dalia opens the door and invites him
in. They tour the house, Bashir finds
out his old room has become Dalia’s
room, and also finds the lemon tree his
parents had planted long ago.
Tolan switches back and forth
between the histories of the two families,
giving a context for what happened to
Dalia’s family—“the essence of secular
Zionists.” When Dalia wondered who had
lived in the house, she was told the Arabs
“preferred to leave.” But why, she wondered,
would anyone leave so willingly?
Dalia learned to live a life of discernment,
to see the whole and not judge solely by sur-
faces. And on the intuitive level, she must have
been aware of that history, for she remembered
it when she opened the door, she thought “Wow!
It’s them! It’s as if I’d always been waiting for They were residing within a contradiction:
them.” When they left, she felt welling up inside they were enemies and they were friends. The
her a sense of akhrayet—an ability to respond to ensuing chapters are gripping. Bashir was impris-
the other. oned for 15 years and brutally tortured. Dalia felt
Meanwhile, Bashir matured and specialized her “spirit was being crushed by an historic wheel
in labor matters. He became an Arab nationalist. of inevitability.”
He reasoned, “force expelled us, and only force Dalia’s parents passed away and she
would get the land back.” approached Bashir about what she should do
It is impossible to read this book without with her house. She offered Bashir reparations,
developing strong ties to these two individuals which he quickly rejected, suggesting instead that
caught in a moral dilemma. When Dalia visited Dalia and her husband Yehezkel Landau make
Bashir’s family in Ramallah, he showed her a the house into a pre-school for the town’s Arab
cabinet containing a lemon, now shriveled, which children.
she had given him from the tree. He says, “This The original lemon tree had died—but a new
lemon is more than fruit. It is land and history.” one was planted and is growing.
She replies “We can see ourselves in you, Bashir.
We can remember our own history of exile over Mary Bisharat is a human rights activist and
thousands of years.” retired social worker in Sacramento.
 November / December 2006 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 11

Media Clipped
Seth Sandronsky
US Health Care in Crisis
T
he cost of US health care has climbed 43 with health care provision for its populace. care bill would have done away with a main force
percent over the past nine years, accord- Leonhardt does not consider universal health driving up the costs of medical care—private
ing to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This care for Americans. Thus his column echoed con- health insurance. These same insurers such as
price jump is close to ventional thinking on Blue Cross/Blue Shield are also a source of ad
double the over-all “How is it that Canada spends our system. Consider revenue for media such as The Bee and campaign
rate of inflation (price this: The day after cash for the political system.
increases) of 26 percent less per person for health Sacramento County
in the same nine years. care than the US, while workers walked out, Seth Sandronsky is a co-editor with Because
David Leonhardt, in the in no small part due People Matter.
New York Times of Sept.
Canadians have longer life to management push-
27, wrote that the spiral- expectancies than Americans?” ing them to pay more
ing prices for the US for health care, Cali-
health care system “are fornia Gov. Arnold
slowly creating a crisis.” Schwarzenegger vetoed state Sen. Sheila Kuehl’s
However, he continued, we fool ourselves (D-Santa Monica) Senate Bill 840 to provide all
if we think that American health care is over- Californians with high-quality, comprehensive
priced. In fact the nation’s health care is priced health care.
right for what the American people get. We are “SB 840 relies on the failed old paradigm of
living longer and as a result are paying more for using one source—this time the government—to
health care that includes “defibrillators, chemo- solve the complex problem of providing medical
therapy, cholesterol drugs, neonatal care and care for our people,” the governor said in a press
other treatments that are both expensive and statement.
effective.” Without a mention of this vetoed universal
05/08/2006—California Nurses march on
I have a question for Leonhardt. If US health health-care bill, an unsigned Sacramento Bee edi- Sacramento, demanding clean money, fair
care is such a great deal for what it provides the torial of Sept. 7 urged county workers to get used elections, and healthcare for all. Shown here with
people of the world’s best democracy—please to health-care costs, rising for “everyone.” It is state Sen. Sheila Kuehl, author of SB840.
explain how is it that Canada spends less per per- worth noting that Sen. Kuehl’s universal health- photo: California Nurses Association
son for health care than the US, while Canadians
have longer life expectancies than Americans?
Total health expenditure per person for 2004
was $6,102 in the US versus $3,165 in Canada,
according to the Organisation for Economic Co-
operation and Development. As of two years ago,
Americans were paying 45 percent more than
what Canadians pay for health care.
Spending on health care per person in the
US was $1,776 versus $1,264 in Canada in 1985.
Health care spending was $2,752 for the US and
$1,737 for Canada in 1990. By 1995, US health
care spending per person was $3,670 compared
with $2,055 in Canada. US health care spending
per person reached $4,588 as Canadian spending
was $2,503 per person in 2000. Canada’s per per-
son health care costs went from 71 percent of US
spending levels in 1985 to 55 percent in 2004.
Meanwhile, Canadians can expect to live
longer than Americans. Life expectancy was 79.3
years for Canadians versus 76.8 years for Ameri-
cans in 2000, according to the OECD. Canadians
could expect to live 75.3 years compared with
Americans’ 73.7 years in 1980. Canadians’ life
expectancies were 77.6 years versus life expec-
tancy of 75.3 years in the US in 1990.
As US per person health care spending rose
relative to Canada’s expenditures, Canadians’ life
expectancies increased faster than Americans’.
How can that be? The OECD does not provide Peace in the Precincts volunteers working to elect Dr. Bill Durston to Congress and Jim Cook
that answer. What we do know is that Canada to the State Assembly. Durston and Cook teamed up to support each other’s campaigns. They
provides its citizens with universal health care. In have many enthusiastic supporters. For more information about Peace in the Precincts and to
other words, health care is the right of all Cana- volunteer, go to www.ippcampaign.blogspot.com, or call 225-5670.
Photographer: Harold Fong
dians. The US has gone in a different direction

Students, Faculty Rally for Change at CSUS

Multi-Cultural Center
By Anthony “A.J.” Crisostomo
Eight students in C-COLORS (Coalition
for Cultural Opportunities in Leadership and
Overall Retention of Students) rallied with six
faculty members at California State University,
Sacramento in mid-October to voice concerns
about the direction of the Multi-Cultural/
Women’s Resource Center.
Students first introduced themselves at a
press conference. Later, they submitted over
a dozen completed job applications for a new
clerical position in the Center.
C-COLORS wants more employment
diversity in the Center. There are many stu-
dents who have the drive and qualifications to
work with various ethnic groups on the CSUS
campus.
C-COLORS’ goals include effectively
boosting the retention rates of CSUS students.
The group suggested mentoring and tutoring
outreach as two methods for the Center to use
to improve student retention.
Also, C-COLORS wants the Center to
bring in more cultural organizations on cam-
pus, and to actively affirm diversity. This is only
the first step for C-COLORS.
For more information, contact (916)
215-0894.
Anthony “A.J.” Crisostomo is a second
year student at CSU, Sacramento, and actively
involved with the local Pilipino community.
12 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER November / December 2006
The US Threat To Attack Iran
Bush White House Pounds Its War Drum Again
By Mazda Majidi
M
ohammed el-Baradei, International
Atomic Energy Agency director, issued
a report to the IAEA Board of Gov-
ernors and the UN Security Council on August
31, 2006. The report contained the obvious truth
that Iran had not halted activities related to ura-
nium enrichment. But another part of the report
received far less coverage in the corporate media.
Inspections “have not uncovered any concrete
proof that Iran’s nuclear program is of a military
nature,” the report stated. In other words, as the
IAEA has consistently reported, there is no evi-
dence of a nuclear weapons program in Iran.
The UN Security Council passed Resolu-
tion 1696 on July 31. The stated objective of the
resolution is to halt the development of Iran’s
progress in uranium enrichment, an important
phase in nuclear technology.
IAEA Director Mohammed el-Baradei.
In late May, a ministerial meeting of the
Non-Aligned Movement—which includes over
100 states—defended Iran’s right to develop its
peaceful nuclear program. The NAM views the
pressures on Iran as another example of the
major capitalist powers stifling independent tech-
nological progress.
Iran’s ambassador to the UN, Mohammad-
Javad Zarif, agreed with the NAM’s view. “To
demonstrate the peaceful nature of its program,
Iran submitted its nuclear facilities to an unprec-
edented inspection by the IAEA in the preceding
years,” Zarif said, “which enabled the agency to
organize the most robust inspection it has ever
carried out. It included more than 2,000 inspec-
tor-days of scrutiny in the past three years.”
John Bolton is the US ambassador to the UN.
He indicated that the US will pursue an “inde-
pendent” coalition for penalizing and sanction-
ing Iran,” reported the Aug. 26 LA Times. “You
don’t need Security Council authority to impose
sanctions.”
To the extent that the US can use the cover of
the UN Security Council to advance its objective
of “regime change” in Iran, a diplomatic, multilat-
eral approach is, of course, desirable. If and when
that ceases to serve the US purpose, or becomes
irrelevant, then the US will act unilaterally.
UN Security Council Resolution 1696 is
unfair and baseless from the standpoint of inter-
national law. Iran is a signatory of the Treaty
on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
(NPT). The other nuclear-armed countries in
the region—Israel, Pakistan and India—have
refused to sign that treaty, with no threats or
consequences.
Originally signed in 1968, the NPT entitles
its signatories to the peaceful development
of nuclear energy. Further, the NPT obligates
nuclear-armed nations to dismantle their nuclear
weapons and provide technical assistance to non-
nuclear nations. gram would not put an end to the relentless drive
The US, Britain and France have no inten- for regime change. At best, it would only force
tion of dismantling their huge arsenals of nuclear the White House to find a different pretext.
weapons. US threats of direct military interven- In the buildup for the invasion of Iraq, the
tion and the possibility of sanctions against Iran Bush administration used a multitude of pretexts,
have no more to do with nuclear arms in Iran from Iraq’s supposed development of weapons of
than the invasion of Iraq was about weapons of mass destruction to its alleged connections to the
mass destruction. Washington’s strategy in the Sept. 11 attacks to Saddam Hussein’s repression
Middle East has long consisted of bringing down of Iraqi Kurds.
independent states and breaking down mass Similarly, the Bush White House has opened
resistance. Recent events in Palestine and Leba- various propaganda fronts against Iran. Besides
non are two examples. the nuclear question, there is Iran’s support for
“terrorism”—meaning the liberation forces in the
“There is no evidence of a Middle East. Unable to squash Iraqi resistance
and unwilling to admit its widespread support
nuclear weapons program within the Iraqi population, the Bush administra-
in Iran.” International tion has pulled out the bogey man of the “foreign
Atomic Energy Agency. agitator.”
“Iran is responsible for training, funding and
Sanctions and wars, in addition to diplomatic equipping some of these Shia extremist groups”
maneuvers, are all at the service of this strat- in Iraq, said US Brig. Gen. Michael Barbero. The
egy. When 12 years of Washington’s genocidal irony is, of course, is that the foreign agitator
sanctions against Iraq failed to bring about the interfering in Iraq is the US military!
desired regime change, invasion became the best Yet another pretext that the US government
imperialist option. Recall the imperialist dream routinely uses is the defense of ethnic and reli-
that Condoleezza Rice recently termed the “new gious minorities. This was the main justification
Middle East”—a region where no independent used for the US attack on Yugoslavia in 1999.
state or popular resistance movement exists. The population of Iran—which is majority Per-
Meanwhile, transnational corporations control all sian—also has Kurds, Azeris, Baluchis, Arabs
the key resources. and others. Alongside the majority Shia Muslim
With the majority of Arab governments population, there are Sunni Muslims, Christians,
beholden to Washington or in shambles, the two Zoroastrians and Jews.
states that now stand in the way of a “new Middle Any outbreak of ethnic conflicts in Iran
East” are Syria and Iran. This is the essence of could provide a suitable pretext for US interven-
the current conflict. The Iranian nuclear issue tion in defense of these minorities. Of course,
only serves as a convenient pretext for the US these ethnic and religious conflicts could also be
government. orchestrated if necessary. Recently, Iranian offi-
Given the array of forces lined up against cials accused British and US officials and agent
Iran and the possibility of a devastating US mili- provocateurs of backing the riots and bomb-
tary attack, it would be understandable for Iran ings in the oil-rich, majority Arab province of
to bow to such pressure and abandon its pursuit Khuzestan.
of nuclear technology for the sake of self-pres-
ervation. According to this view, whatever gains Mazda Majidi is an Iranian-American activist
that could be made from nuclear technology are and member of the Northern CA chapter steer-
more than offset by the devastation that would ing committee of the ANSWER Coalition. He is a
result from sanctions and war. regular contributor on Iran and the Middle East
The Iranian leadership is keenly aware, how- for Socialism and Liberation magazine and the
ever, that the abandonment of their nuclear pro- web site www.pslweb.org.
Sacramento Area Peace Action is an all-volunteer organization that
works to educate and mobilize the public to promote a non-interven-
tionist and non-nuclear US foreign policy and to promote peace through
international and domestic economic, social, and political justice. Join us!
JOIN SACRAMENTO AREA PEACE ACTION
Annual dues are $30/individual; $52/family; $15/low income.
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CA 95814. Or call us! 448-7157, email: sypeaceact@jps.net, web: www.sacpeace.org

Why Hugo Chavez is My Number One Hero
The Venezuela president who roared
By Dan Bacher
Hugo Chavez, the feisty
leftist president of Venezuela,
delivered one of the most
electrifying speeches ever
given to the United Nations,
when he called US President
G.W. Bush “the devil,” before
the General Assembly on
September 20.
The great speech, com-
bined with Chavez’s previ-
ous history of making fun
of Bush and Condoleezza
Rice in his speeches and his
commitment to serving the
poor of Venezuela and the world,
makes Chavez my number one
hero in the world during a time when heroes are
hard to find.
“Yesterday the devil came here,” said Chavez.
“Right here,” crossing himself. “And it smells of
sulphur still today.”
Chavez accused Bush of “talking as if he
owned the world,” and said, “we could call a psy-
chiatrist to analyze yesterday’s statement made
by the president of the United States,” referring to decisions.”
Bush’s speech before the UN the day before.
In contrast with his ridiculing of Bush,
Chavez openly praised Noam Chomsky, whom
he described as “one of the most prestigious
“I applaud Hugo Chavez
for exposing Bush and
his henchmen for the evil
folks that they are!”
American and world intellectuals.” He urged
everybody to read Chomsky’s latest book Hege-
mony or Survival: the Imperialist Strategy of the
United States, as he held a copy of the book and
waved it in front of the General Assembly.
“As Chomsky says here, clearly and in depth, location. Maybe we have to put the United
the American empire is doing all it can to con-
solidate its system of domination. And we cannot south.” We’ve proposed Venezuela.
allow them to do that. We cannot allow world
dictatorship to be consolidated.”
As a result of Chavez’s recommendation, the
book rocketed on the bestseller lists nationwide,
becoming the number one paperback on amazon. es, Chavez has called Bush “the king of vacations” coup failed. Since that time, the US government
com!
In Chavez’s fiery address, he cited not only
Chomsky on US imperialism, but Aristotle on
the nature of democracy. Chavez blasted the US
for harboring a terrorist, Luis Posada Carrilles,
responsible for the bombing of a Cubana Airlines Bush. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called “mister danger,” or whatever insulting term he
plane in 1976.
He also castigated the US and Israel for their Rangel, a persistent critic of the Bush administra- Chavez’s ridiculing of Bush, the worst president
aggression in the Middle East. “This is imperial-
ist, fascist and genocidal, the empire and Israel


 




November / December 2006 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 13
Hugo Chavez takes on Bush at the UN and the next day at a Harlem church
firing on the people of Palestine and Lebanon,” he in the United States, also chastised Chavez for his
stated. comments about Bush.
Chavez outlined his four-point plan for mak- “It should be clear to all heads of government
ing the United Nations more democratic and that criticism of Bush Administration policies,
effective: either domestic or foreign, does not entitle them
• Expansion of the Security Council. to attack the president personally,” said Rangel.
• Development of “effective methods to “George Bush is the President of the United
address and resolve world conflicts, transparent States and represents the entire country. Any Sacramento
demeaning public attack against him is viewed by Soapbox
• Immediate suppression of the “anti-demo- Republicans and Democrats, and all Americans,
Progressive Talk Show
cratic mechanism” known as the veto of the as an attack on all of us.” Access Sacramento,
Security Council. I absolutely disagree with Pelosi and Rangel Channel 17
• Strengthening the role and the power of the and consider Chavez’s address to be one of the with Jeanie Keltner &
secretary general of the United Nations. most humorous, riveting and refreshing speeches Ken Adams.
The members of the Assembly applauded by a political leader that I’ve ever heard or read. Monday, 8pm, Tuesday
noon, Wednesday, 4am.
wildly throughout the speech, particularly when Chavez is describing Bush as how most of the
Chavez described Bush as “el diablo.” world sees him – and Pelosi and Rangel somehow Now in Davis, Channel
15, Tuesday, 7pm.
As he wrapped up his speech, Chavez believe that criticism of Bush should be an exclu-
exhorted the Assembly, “We want ideas to save sive right of US residents and political leaders.
our planet from the imperialist threat. And hope- This is incongruous when you consider how
fully in this very century, in not too long a time, the Bush administration and the Republicans
we will see this new era, and for our children and have continuously attacked Chavez for being a
our grandchildren a world of peace based on the “dictator” and “despot” when, unlike Bush, he
fundamental principles of the United Nations, a was elected democratically by a majority of the
renewed United Nations.” Venezuelan people in open and fair elections, in
He quipped, “And maybe we have to change contrast to the stolen US elections of 2000 and
2004 in the US.
Nations somewhere else; maybe a city of the Not only has the Bush regime constantly
personally attacked Chavez, but Bush and the
On the following day during a visit to a Har- Republicans also engineered a coup attempt in
lem church accompanied by actor Danny Glover, Venezuela in 2002 to oust the democratically
Chavez further made fun of Bush, calling him an elected Chavez. However, because of massive out-
Coffee from
“alcoholic” and a “sick man.” In previous speech- pouring of support for Chavez in the streets, the
Nicaragua
and “mister danger.” has funded the opposition in Venezuela in an Support Sacramento’s
Unfortunately, while the Bush administration attempt to bring the Chavez government down. sister city, San Juan de
Oriente, Nicaragua,
declined to comment on Chavez’s speech, two After what the Bush regime has done to by purchasing organic
House Democrats, incredibly, castigated Chavez Chavez and the people of Venezuela, Chavez whole bean coffee
for comparing Bush to “the devil” and defended is entitled to call Bush “the devil,” “a sick man,” grown in the rich
volcanic soil on the
Chavez an “everyday thug.” Congressman Charlie feels like. Unlike Rangel and Pelosi, I don’t see island of Omotepe,
Nicaragua.
Thanks to the efforts of
tion, while praising the government of Venezuela in US history and a war criminal, as an attack on
the Bainbridge-Omotepe
for providing heating oil to low-income people “all Americans.” Bush is not my president – and I Sister Island Association
applaud Hugo Chavez for exposing Bush and his in Washington, we are
henchmen for the evil folks that they are! able to bring you this
wonderful medium roast
Dan Bacher is an outdoor writer, alternative coffee.
journalist and satirical songwriter in Sacramento. Your purchase helps the
farmers on the island
and helps support
Sacramento’s long
relationship with San
Juan de Oriente.
All profits go directly
back to the Nicaraguan
communities.


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  www.timetestedbooks.com
14 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER November / December 2006

Umbashi, from page 2 Interested in joining

nuclear weapons, to kill their enemies.”
Such rhetoric transforms the enemy from
beaten down survivors of colonial exploitation
and greedy autocratic rulers to malignant associ-
ates of the power of the Evil One. Muslims, in
this view, are not struggling against injustice;
they are innately bad, irrationally, irremediably
violent.
And here we come to the problem at the
core of Islamophobia, the problem at the core of
US policy in the Middle East. One sees it in this
superficial, misleading, disingenuous explanation
of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the World
Geography text: Some terrorist groups want
territory, like Palestinian extremists who use
violence trying to gain a homeland in Southwest
Asia.” Before the Iraq war, most US people got
their mental pictures of Arab/Muslims from the
heavily biased mainstream media accounts of
Palestinian suicide bombers in Israel. Obviously,
if you can’t speak the true facts about Israel’s
historic and on-going seizure of Palestinian land
and daily violence against Palestinians and other
Arabs—and in the US corporate media you
can’t—Muslim anger seems unmotivated, irratio-
nal, and fanatical.
In the years since the first Gulf War the US
has transformed Iraq, a relatively advanced,
functioning nation, to smoking rubble and just
since March 2003 has brought violent death to
between 400,000
and 600,000
Iraqis. And the
arrests without
warrants, the
imprison-
ments without
charges, the
indefinite
detainments,
the beatings, the sod-
omizings and other sexual humiliations
and tortures, the attacks with dogs, the rockets
and the giant bombs, the little bodies laid out in
bits of blankets and tablecoths. If all those bod-
ies* had had blond hair and white skin, would
there have been the same public (non)reaction?
What the Bush regime has done in Iraq, what
it’s doing in the US, would not have been possible
without this consciously cultivated Islamopho-
bia. In that sense, Khaled and his family, like
hundreds of thousands of other Muslim families,
are tragic collateral damage of the Bush/neocon
imperial project.
*And of course if you’re not tuned into the independent
news—like Amy Goodman’s Democracy Now (see BPM’s
progressive media listings )—you’re not seeing any Muslim
bodies at all!
Jeanie Keltner is BPM editor at-large.
a writing group?
Many people begin new activities in the autumn,
and this is not just a new season, but a new loca-
tion for the Writers of the New Sun / Escritores del
Nuevo Sol.
The group, founded in 1993, will keep its affiliation
with La Raza Galeria Posada (LRGP), newly locat-
ed at 1024 22nd Street, in midtown Sacramento.
The philosophy of the writing group is similar to
the philosophy of LRGP, which serves to foster ,
preserve and present the best of Chicano/Latino
and Native American culture.
Membership is open to all who sincerely wish to
develop more quality to their writing, whether
poetry, fiction, or nonfiction.Some members write
only in Spanish, some only in English, some write
bilingually. The group is considering adding a sec-
ond, Spanish-only, group of writers.
Typical meetings are the first Saturday of each
month, 11 AM, and include work on a writing
exercise, sharing of members’ writings for critical
feedback, and a potluck. The final 2006 meetings
are November 4, and December 2.
The group also sponsors a series of special read-
ings during the year, usually scheduled at LRGP.
The next one will be in early November, the an-
nual reading that celebrates Day of the Dead/Dia
de los Muertos, honoring those who have passed
but are not forgotten.
For more information on activities and member-
ship, call 456-5323 or check the web site: www.
escritoresdelnuevosol.com.

On Line Petition
This Time Oaxaca Therapists for Social Responsibility has created a petition on
line calling on our public leaders “To Support Policies, Legisla-
tion And Programs That Reflect The Core Principles And Values
By Felicia Martinez of The Mental Health Profession And to Oppose Those That Do
Not.”
It is an old story remember protest songs
classrooms without chairs when they cuff you If you are in the Mental Health or Social Services fields or an
teachers without housing remember women enraged Affiliate please go to www.petitiononline.com/8values/petition.
children without breakfast will take anything html and sign the petition now and forward this information to
make your demands airwaves stations colleagues and professional organizations throughout the country,
the state TV with your personal note, as well as to your general e-mail lists.
The governor will respond
no money no funds Now caravan We anticipate that by collecting thousands of signatures, a
he’ll release helicopters to the capitol resounding statement can be made by the mental health commu-
k-9 units carry our demands nity that is heard by our public leaders, the press and the general
clear the streets to the president’s door public.
of protest he must halt the navy
More information can be found on our web site
for the elders tear gas that circles our plaza
for students pepper spray at dawn www.therapistsforsocialresponsibility.org
a knight stick will fall
a woman and the little Now we bury teachers
rebel in her womb who will not return
take narcotics to class
to Radio Plantón now we bury fear
guerillas can be poisoned now we caravan
from the inside to the capitol The Marxist School of Sacramento
unleash on the plaza on foot P.O.Box 160564 Sacramento, CA 95816
5,000 police 6,000 thick September–October 2006 Activities
fly our banner
But the people barricade in town after town
with what they have cry with the people Point of View Speaker Series
trucks sing with the people Lectures are held in Sierra 2 Ctr, Green Room, 2791 24th St., 7–9pm
portable toilets make ourselves strong Thursday, Nov. 16: Doug Orr, PhD., Prof. of Econ., Eastern Washing-
themselves march on ton U. “The Attack on Retirement Income: class war in slow motion.”
face to face
with helmets Oaxaca Tuesday, Dec. 12: David Bacon, photo presentation on NAFTA and
terrible blue 70,000 teachers Immigration. Bacon is a photojournalist and writer based in San Fran-
people push five months cisco, who documents labor, migration and globalization issues.
back back no classes Book Discussions/Classes
tonight the plaza no salary
stays ours no way to eat Book discussions are held in Sierra 2 Ctr, Rm. 11, 2791 24th St.,
port towns report 7–9pm.
March ships fill the water Tuesday, November 7: “Electoral Politics” Discussion led by Jackie
march on let the word travel Carrigan.
1 million people faster than the tanks
is one hundred all revolutions begin Tuesday, December 5: “Perspectives on Anarchism” Discussion led by
thousand ten times like this Kevin Wehr.
in the streets Tuesday, December 19: Reform or Revolution, by Rosa Luxemburg.
Oaxaca has no governor Oaxaca Discussion led by Ellen Schwartz.
we can trust Make your demands
the people will rule “Capital” Reading Group
with the people
Still on chapter 1! Extended book discussion, Vol. 1 of Capital, by Karl
stay alert Felicia Martinez has been involved Marx. will meet 7-9pm, 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month, starting Sep-
the assassin government in local immigrant rights organizing tember 6 through December 20, at SMUD, 6301 S St. (the new building!),
returns tonight and is pursuing a master’s degree in Timberline Rm. 3, 3rd Floor. Any edition of Capital will do; we will read to-
in t-shirts and jeans creative writing at Mills College. gether and discuss at each class. It’s not too late to join!
remember to quell
the reckless ones INFO: <www.marxistschool.org>; <info@marxistschool.org>; 799-1354.
no one can name All activities are free and open to the public.
 November / December 2006 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 15

Mondays
ONGOING EVENTS
FRIDAYS
November / December Calendar
Sacramento Poetry Shiny Object Digital Sunday, November 5 Send calendar items for the Jan.–Feb. 2007 issue to <bpmnews@nicetechnology.com> by Dec.
Center hosts poetry Video/Fools Founda- PoemSpirits Series. Fatherhood and maleness 10, with “calendar item” in the subject line. Make it short, and in this order, please: Day, Date.
readings. 7:30pm.
1631 K St. INFO:
tion Film Series. Weekly themes recur in the latest poetry reading by Sac Name of event. Description (1-2 lines). Time. Location. Price. INFO: phone#; <email>.
independent/foreign State Professor Joshua McKinney. Tom Goff will
4 4 1 - 7 3 9 5 ; < w w w. films, documentaries. also present an overview of the work of Marie
s a c r a m e n t o 7pm. 1025 19th St. For online calendars of progressive events, go to www.sacleft.org and
Ponsot. 6 pm. Unitarian Universalist Society of
poetrycenter.org>.
$5. INFO: 484-0747or www.sacpeace.org.
Sac., 2425 Sierra Blvd. Free. Open mic. INFO:
1st Mondays <www.shiny-object. 481-3312, or 451-1372.
Organic Sacto: Coun- com/screenings/>.
Tuesday, November 7 Saturday, November 18, 2006 Tuesday, December 12
ter ongoing threats Sierra College Veterans Club Road March to Marxist School of Sacramento, photo presentation
1st Fridays Marxist School of Sacramento, Book Discus-
to our food. 6:30pm. honor our fallen service members by raising on NAFTA and Immigration, by David Bacon, San
Beginner/intermediate sion. “Electoral Politics” discussion led by Jackie
INFO: <www.Organ- scholarships for children who have lost a parent Francisco-based photojournalist. 7-9 pm. Sierra 2
tango class. 8-9pm. Carrigan. 7-9 pm. Sierra 2 Center, 2791 24th
icSacramento.org>. in war. All are invited to join! March starts 10am Center, 2791 24th St, Green Room. Free. INFO:
Social tango dancing. St, Room 11. Free. INFO: 799-1354, or info@
9pm–12am.YWCA, marxistschool.org. from Johnson/Springview Park to Memorial Park 799-1354, or info@marxistschool.org.
2nd & 4th MONDAYS
UUSS/SAPA Peace and 17th & L, Sacto. $10 in Rocklin. INFO: Catherine Morris, Sierra College
Saturday, November 11 Veterans Counselor, (916) 789-2879; cmorris@ Tuesday, December 19
Sustainability Com- for lesson and social
El Dorado Peace and Justice hosts “Empty Bowls”, sierracollege.edu. Marxist School of Sacramento, Book Discussion.
mittee. 6-8pm. INFO: dancing. INFO: <Ken-
fundraiser to raise funds to feed hungry people, “Reform or Revolution” by Rosa Luxemburg,
Peace Action, 448- dra.kambestad@
raise awareness about the issues of hunger and Saturday November 18, discussion led by Ellen Schwartz.7-9 pm. Sierra
7157. tango-renaissance.
inequality, and remind us that through art, we Peace Pyramid convocation, highlighting World 2 Center, 2791 24th St, Room 11. Free. INFO:
com> or <www.tango-
3rd MONDAYS can create positive social change. Local potters Service Corps and the Dept. of Peace. Includes 799-1354, or info@marxistschool.org.
renaissance.com>.
Capitol Outreach for donate handmade bowls. Guests donation $15- Open Forum. 5 pm. Home of Zohreh Whitaker,
2041 Campton Circle, Gold River. INFO: Tom and Saturday, December 23
a Moratorium on the 1st FRIDAYS $50 for their meal of soup, bread and beverage
Dar King, 916-728-2391, tjking@rcip.com. Intergenerational, Interfaith Winter Solstice
Death Penalty. 11am Community Con- and keep the bowl as a reminder that hunger PEACElebration. 3pm-5pm: Labyrinth walk;
–1pm, L Street @ 11th. tra Dance. 8-11pm; exists all year long. Proceeds go to The Upper Tuesday, Nov21 5-6pm: pot luck dinner (main dish provided);
INFO: 447-7754. 7:30pm beginners Room, an El Dorado County food kitchen, and Shadow Company—documentary invesigating 6-8pm: ritual with pagan carols and Dances of
lessons. Clunie Audi- Mercy Corps Hunger Relief Fund for relief to
TUESDAYS the mercenaries in Iraq. 7pm. Crest Theater, Universal Peace. Unitarian Universalist Society
torium, McKinley Pk, Lebanon. 5-8pm. Placerville Shakespeare Club,
Sacramento Area 1013 K St, $10 benefit for Soapbox and Media of Sacramento, 2425 Sierra Blvd (1 block N of
Alhambra & F. INFO: 2940 Bedford Ave., Placerville. INFO: 530-622-
Peace Action Vigil. 4- Edge. (see Announcement page 16) Fair Oaks Blvd between Howe and Fulton) . Free
641-7781. 6900, 530-622-9569, or 530-642-1120.
6pm. 16th & J Sts. - donations. INFO: Laurie Jones, 743-0459, or
Friday, Dec 1 laurievaljo@yahoo.com.
INFO: 448-7157. 2nd Fridays Monday, Nov 13
Dances of Universal Sir! No Sir! The Suppressed Story of the GI
Depleted Uranium and U.S. Weapons of Mass De-
1st TUESDAYS Peace. 7:30–9:30pm. Movement to End the War in Vietnam. 6:30pm. Wednesday, December 27
struction. Presentation by international expert on
Amnesty Int’l, Da- Sierra 2 Ctr, 2791- 24th Hinde Audit., Univ Union, CSU Sac, 6000 J St, Sac. Area Black Caucus, the Black United Fund
radiation and public health issues, Leuren Moret.
vis Chapter Meeting. St., Rm. 10. $5–$10. INFO: 391-0737 of Sac. Valley and the All African Peoples’ Revo-
7pm. Newman Center, 5900 Newman Ct.
International House INFO: 361-3153. lutionary Party co-sponsor the Annual Kwanzaa
Friday, December 1 Celebration. This year’s principle is Kujichagulia
(10 College Park). Monday, Nov 13
3rd FRIDAYS Concert. Brian McNight. Opening acts are (Self-Determination), to define ourselves, name
7pm. Free Pizza. In- Elk Grove Peace and Justice Forum: “Needed:
Progressive Free LaToya London and Sacramento’s own poet ourselves, create for ourselves & speak for
vited speakers. INFO: Living Wages & Benefits”, Katy Rose-Hodess and
Thought Exchange. Terry Moore. 7pm. Memorial Auditorium 1401 ourselves. Please bring a dish to share. 6-8pm.
<www.humanrights. Josh Eidelson, union organizers with Blue Dia-
Discuss topics of in- J St, Sacramento. INFO: www.iSoundTracks.net Jamieson Washington Collins Multipurpose
ucdavis.edu/>. mond workers and hotel workers who are in the
terest to atheists, or 1-800-225-2277 to purchase tickets. Ctr, 2821 29th Ave. Free. INFO 453-0190,
midst of contract negotiations. 7pm. Elk Grove
2nd Tuesdays agnostics, human- United Methodist Church, 8986 Elk Grove Blvd, ksomadhi@comcast.net, 484-5025, or fayek@
Sunday, December 3
Gray Panthers. 2–4pm. ists. INFO: <pfxofsac Elk Grove, Info: 689-6943, or 685-3612. springmail.com.
PoemSpirits Series, poetry reading. Albert Gar-
Hart Senior Ctr., 27th @prodigy.net>.
cia, Dean of the English Dept., Sacramento City
& J St. Info: Joan, Tuesday, November 14
Saturdays College. 6 pm.,Unitarian Universalist Society of
332-5980. Video Presentation. David Ray Griffin’s “9/11 The
Workshops at La Raza Sacramento, 2425 Sierra Blvd. Free. Open mic.
Myth and the Reality”, enhanced with graphics
4th TUESDAYS Galleria Posada. 1– INFO: 481-3312, or 451-1372.
and video clips, will be shown by Ken Jenkins,
Amnesty Int’l. 7pm.
Sacto. Friends Meeting
3pm. 1421 R St. Under
18, $1; Students over
activist and videographer; powerpoint presenta-
tion to follow film. 7 pm. 909 12th St. Free. INFO:
Sunday, December 3
Book Award Ceremony. A.D. Winans has been
The Freedom Equity
House, 890-57th St.
INFO: 489-2419.
18, $5; Adults, $10.
Info: 446-5133.
916-372-8433, sac911truth@gmail.com. awarded the PEN Josephine Miles Literary
Achievement Award for his book, This Land Is
Group presents:
Wednesday, Nov 15
4th Tuesdays 1st Saturdays Not My Land. Book award ceremonies will be
Health Care for All. CAAC Goes to the Movies: Fidel, the Untold Story.
Peace and Justice Films. held at 3pm at the Oakland Main Library. INFO:
10am. Hart Senior Ctr, 7:15pm 1640 9th Ave. INFO: 446-3304.
7pm. Peace Action of- slowdancer2006@netzero.com
fice at 909 12th Street. 27th & J. For universal “THE SHOW”
Thursday, November 16 Poetry Series with live band LSB. Sacramento’s
INFO:448-7157. access to health care. Tuesday, December 5
Marxist School of Sacramento. Doug Orr, PhD., biggest poetry event featuring poets from
Info: 424-5316. Marxist School of Sacramento, Book Discussion.
Prof. of Econ., Eastern Wash. U.. The Attack on around the world!
WEDNESDAYS “Perspectives on Anarchism” discussion led by
1st SATURDAYS Retirement Income: class war in slow motion. 7-9
Christ Unity Church: Kevin Wehr. 7-9 pm. Sierra 2 Center, 2791 24th
Sacramento Area pm. Sierra 2 Ctr., 2791 24th St, Green Rm. Free. Last Saturday of every month. 7-9 PM,
Speakers and Music. St, Room 11. Free. INFO: 799-1354, or info@
Peace Action Vigil. INFO: 799-1354, or info@marxistschool.org. Wo’se Community Center, 2863 35th Street
7pm. Cost: Donation. marxistschool.org.
11:30am–1:30pm. Ar- (just south of Broadway). ONLY $5.00!
9249 Folsom Blvd. Thursday, November 16
INFO: 368-3950. den and Heritage (en- Tuesday, Dec. 5
Lecture. “Labor in the 21st Century”, by Allan Saturday, November 25
trance to Arden Mall). Annual Candlelight Vigil for Peace & Justice.
Benjamin, Editor, Newspaper and Labor Party Or- Divine from Phoenix, Arizona
1st WEDNESDAYS INFO: 448-7157 4-6pm. 16th & J Streets. After the vigil, gather
ganizer. Presented by the Sac. Community Forum Talaam Acey from Baltimore, Maryland (In-
Peace & Freedom Par- at Juliana’s Kitchen, 1401 G Street (vegetarian
2nd & 4th Sats & Not in Our Name. 7pm. Coloma Community ternational Slam Champion)
ty. 7pm. INFO: 456- Middle Eastern food available). Bring signs and
Community Contra Center, 4623 T St. Free, donations accepted.
4595. a flashlight or windproof candle. Only severe Saturday, December 30
Dance. 8-11pm; 7:30 INFO: 455-1396. weather cancels. INFO: 448-7157; sypeaceact@ Red Fox poet Brigit Truex
2nd WEDNESDAYS lessons. YWCA Audito- jps.net.
Sacto 9/11 Truth: Luke Breit
rium, 17th & L Street.
Questioning the “War LSB (live band jam session)
INFO: 641-7781

Protest Torture
on Terror.” 6–8pm. Juli-
ana’s Kitchen, 1401 G 3rd SATURDAYS
Street, at 14th. INFO: Sacramento Area
<sac911truth@gmail. Peace Action Vigil. The “UNDERGROUND POETRY SERIES”

(The Military Commissions Act)

com>. 372-8433. 11:30am-1:30pm. Every third Saturday. Come on out!
Fulton and Marconi. 7-9 p.m. Underground Books, 2814 35th Street
3rd Wednesdays (at Broadway). $3.00. 737-3333
CAAC Goes to the Mov-
INFO: 448-7157

Sundays
Saturday, Nov. 11 Saturday, November 18
2–4 pm
ies. 7:15pm. Info:
446-3304. Sacto Food Not Bombs. Crawdad Nelson
1:30pm. Come help Brett Freeman
Thursdays
Daddy’s Here (Father
distribute food at 9th North side of Capitol Park (“L” Street side) Saturday, December 16
and J Streets.
Enhancement Program). The Military Commissions Act denies all non-US citizens detained in the Jamie Kilstein from NYC
Men’s support group; 1st SUNDAYS USA the right of habeas corpus, meaning that they may be detained indefinitely Born 2B Poets
info on custody, di- PoemSpirits. 6pm. Re- without the right to challenge their imprisonment. Bloom Beloved
vorce, raising children. freshments and open
7-8:30pm. Free! Ctr for mic. Free. UUSS, Rm. The Military Commissions Act intentionally makes the definition of “enemy INFO: T.Mo at 208-POET,
Families, 2251 Florin Rd, 7/8, 2425 Sierra Blvd. combatant” extremely vague. <fromtheheart1@hotmail.com>
Ste 102. INFO: <terry INFO: 481-3312; 451- ALL AGES ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND!
@fathersandfamilies. 1372. The Military Commissions Act modifies the war crimes Act so that if any
com>. 424-3237x 205. US officials have recently violated international human rights laws (e.g., the Ge-
1st Sundays neva Convention), they can no longer be accused in court of having committed a
Thursdays Zapatista Solidarity
House of Spoken
war crime. It also allows our current president to decide what interrogation methods Peace Action Vigils
Coalition. 10am–noon.
Words. 7–10pm. Co- should be allowed, thus potentially legalizing the abuse of prisoners taking place at
909 12th St. Info: TUESDAYS: 4-6pm. 16th and J Streets. Be
lonial Café, Stockton 443-3424. Guantánamo Bay detainment facility and permitting it within the USA.
Visible For Peace.
Blvd. & Broadway. $5.
INFO: 308-2766. 2nd SUNDAYS
“Enemy combatants” may be tried in special courts set up by President Bush, 1st SATURDAYS : 11:30am-
courts which would allow the prosecution to use evidence that would not hold up in 1:30pm. Arden & Heritage
Atheists & Other Free-
3rd Thursdays other courts, as well as not requiring the defendants to be told what evidence was (entrance to Arden Mall).
thinkers. 2:30pm. Si-
National Organization being used against them. 3rd SATURDAYS: 11:30am-1:30pm. Ful-
erra 2 Center, Room
for Women (NOW). 10, 2791 24th St. ton and Marconi.
7pm. INFO : 443- INFO: 447-3589.
INFO: vgimpelevich@yahoo.com; get flyers at: www.fearchar.net/cal-mca-fliers/ INFO: 448-7157
3470.
Because People Matter
November / December 2006

Hotel Workers Rising....................................... 1

Demonizing Arabs........................................... 2
Taking our water and selling it back to us...... 6
Global climate change: no help from D.C....... 8
Progressive News and Views

INSIDE:

Access Sacramento TV
Cable Channels 17 and 18
Sacramento Soapbox: Progressive Talk Show
w/ Jeanie Keltner & Ken Adams. Mon 8pm, Wed
4am. (In Davis: Channel 15, Tues, 7pm.)
Being Gay Today: Thurs 6am, 10pm, Sat
6am.
Democracy Now!: Weekdays 6pm, 12mid-
night, 5am.
Media Edge: progressive documentaries,
including local productions.Sundays 8–10pm
Other sources for Media Edge
Davis, Channel 15, Sundays, 8–10pm.
Nevada County, Channel 11, Mondays,
10:30pm –12:30am. West Sacramento,
Channel 21, Mondays, 9–11pm.
Dish Network Satellite TV
▼ Channel 9415, Free Speech TV.
Democracy Now!: News and Analysis. Mon-
day–Friday: 8am, 12pm, 7pm ET.
▼ Channel 9410, Link TV
Democracy Now!: Monday–Friday, 11am.
Mosaic—World News from the Middle East:
Tues–Saturday, 4:30am and 10:30am; 4:30pm
and 10:30pm.
Radio
▼ KVMR 89.5 FM
BBC News, M-F 6, 7, 8am;
News & Attitude with Travus T. Hipp, M-F
7:30am; KVMR Morning News, M-F 8:05am;
Stories & Songs with U. Utah Phillips, Sun
11am; Soundings (Science), Tues noon;
Rabble Rousing, Wed noon; Full Logic
Reverse, Thu noon; Who Cares? (Health),
Fri noon; KVMR Evening News, 6pm daily;
Democracy Now!, Mon-Thu 7pm; Women’s
Show, Mon 8pm.
▼ KCBL Cable 88.7 FM
▼ KYDS 91.5 FM
Saturdays, approx. 3–4 pm., followed by Coun-
ter Spin from the media watch group FAIR:
Progressive Media
▼ KDVS 90.3 FM
Democracy Now!: Mon–Fri noon.
Free Speech Radio News (FSRN) Mon–Fri
4:30pm.
Printed Matter on the Air (interviews with
local writers) alternating with
Panic Attack (attorneys and guests discuss
what makes people panic): Mon 5pm.
Making Contact (int’l radio seeks to create
connections): Tue 8am.
Proletarian Revolution (focusing on politi-
cal, social, and economic issues) alternating
with The Simple Show (talk show on human
rights): Wed 8am.
Speaking in Tongues (labor, environmental,
social, and political topics. Callers welcome,
interviews frequent): Fri 5pm.
Memo Durgin and Eddie Salas (Public
affairs and music of the Chicano/Mexicano
people): Sat 6–8pm.
▼ KPFA 94.1 FM Berkeley
Democracy Now!: Reports on US and world
news. M–F 9am.
Living Room: Chris Welch. M–F Noon.
Seven Generations: M–F 1pm.
New Directions: including visionary astrolo-
ger. Thur 2pm.
Flashpoints: News and analysis. M–F 5pm.
▼ KSQR 1240 AM (TalkCity Radio Sacramento)
Progressive talk radio all day long with
Christine Craft, Thom Hartman and others.
▼ KCTC 1320 AM (AirAmerica Radio)
Progressive talk radio all day long with Randi
Rhodes, Al Franken, and others.
▼ KZFR 90.1 FM Chico
People Powered Radio! managed and operated
by volunteers, provides mostly locally produced
and community oriented programs.
Chew On This!
“Chew on This!”, a monthly progressive
TV show, can be seen on these cable
channels:
Access Sacramento Channel 17 (Com-
cast, SureWest) and Davis Community
Television Channel 15 (Comcast) the first
Sunday of the month at 8pm.
West Sacramento Community Access
Channel 21 (Charter) the first Monday
of the month at 9pm
Nevada County Television Channel 11
(Comcast) first Mondays at 10:30pm.
Check out our Web site <www.pcwp.
org> and click on “ChewOnThis!” We
need volunteer help in many ways. If
you have video production skills, or-
ganizational skills, writing or research
ability, or if you just have ideas to share,
please email us at <chewonthis@pcwp.
org>
Sacramento and Central Valley Indymedia: <www.sacindymedia.org>.
Community TV
needs
Community Support!
Soapbox and Media Edge, Sacra-
mento’s own progressive TV shows,
invite you to see the hard-hitting docu-
mentary, Shadow Company. This film
investigates the mercenaries who are
doing so much of the fighting in Iraq
today—with interviews with former
mercenaries, private military contrac-
tor owners, staff, lobbyists, academ-
ics, and journalists. The film explores
the moral and ethical issues private
military solutions create for Western
governments and addresses the risks
of allowing profit-motivated corpora-
tions into the on-the-ground business
of war.
Tuesday November 21, 7pm
Crest Theater 1013 K
$10 to benefit Soapbox and Media
Edge
NON-PROFIT
ORGANIZATION
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
PERMIT NO. 2668
SACRAMENTO, CA