From gerrygras at earthlink.net Tue Jan 3 08:51:06 2006 From: gerrygras at earthlink.net (Gerry Gras) Date: Tue, 03 Jan 2006 08:51:06 -0800 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Proposed Agenda for County Meeting Message-ID: <43BAAB7A.8080806@earthlink.net> Proposed Agenda for County Meeting Tuesday, January 3, 2004 Location: Banjara Indian Restaurant - http://banjarainc.com 407 Town & Country Village, Sunnyvale Directions available at above web site 6:30 Socializing and Dinner 7:30 Meeting NOTE: The order of items in this agenda is not necessarily the order we will be discussing them. -- Preliminary Items -- Choose Facilitator(s), Note-Taker(s), Time Keeper, and Vibes Watcher(s) (5) Introductions and Short Announcements (5) Revise and Affirm Agenda (5) -- Main Part -- 1. Treasurer's Report (5) Adam 2. State Party Business Plenary Report (10) plenary attendees 3. Old Business 2006 Tabling Calendar (5) Warner Planning Meeting - review the year (5) Gerry 4. New Business Review County Council functions, seek candidates (10) Bylaws change re Regional Rep selection process (10) Warner Tian Harter - U.S. Senate candidate (15) Tian Fair Wage Campaign strategy (15) Warner 2006 Elections (15) (Total scheduled time: 1 hour, 45 minutes) -- Future Events -- Next GPSCC meeting Tuesday, February 7, 2006 -- Disclaimer -- The items summarized above are agenda suggestions, only. The actual meeting agenda is affirmed at the meeting by those who are present. Additionally, the times allotted to agenda items may be changed during the course of the meeting, and some items may not e reached during the meeting because of time limits. Persons receiving this email are invited to make additional suggestions or corrections regarding potential agenda items, time estimates or the agenda sequence. Please share this information with individuals who do not have email. From vdf at juno.com Tue Jan 3 09:40:25 2006 From: vdf at juno.com (Valerie D. Face) Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2006 17:40:25 GMT Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Petition in Lieu of Filing Fee: Laura Wells for State Controller Message-ID: <20060103.094120.10327.289654@webmail50.lax.untd.com> An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed... Name: not available URL: From thinkgreen at threeparty.org Tue Jan 3 10:33:11 2006 From: thinkgreen at threeparty.org (Roy) Date: Tue, 03 Jan 2006 10:33:11 -0800 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] New Year countdown clock In-Reply-To: <8C7DB7148A68277-B64-12913@FWM-M05.sysops.aol.com> References: <1d4.4b6a6f9a.30e5cd84@aol.com> <8C7DB7148A68277-B64-12913@FWM-M05.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <43BAC367.6090909@threeparty.org> alexcathy at aol.com wrote: > The only countdown that really matters is the months, weeks, days, > hours, and minutes until the end of Bush's term. > > Having said that, I am nevertheless prepared to publicly declare that > if the Democrats nominate another pain-in-the-ass "moderate" like > Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2008 I'll be right back in the streets > campaigning for our Green Party candidate. Even five years of "Dubya" > and two years of Arnold have not changed my opinion of clueless > Democrats one bit. > > > Alex > _ Alex I'm curious, what Democrat(s) who you would campaign for? Since 9-11 it's quite obvious to me that except for a few exceptions they are all supporters of empire and the ignorance and arrogance of privilege. Hell I knew it before 9-11 but didn't think it was as bad as it actually is. Peace Roy From thinkgreen at threeparty.org Tue Jan 3 10:33:39 2006 From: thinkgreen at threeparty.org (Roy) Date: Tue, 03 Jan 2006 10:33:39 -0800 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Have you heard about this story? In-Reply-To: <2b.129552b.30e4cf2d@aol.com> References: <2b.129552b.30e4cf2d@aol.com> Message-ID: <43BAC383.1090607@threeparty.org> TNHarter at aol.com wrote: > > > > http://www.trearrow.org > > I was surprised... > > Tian > Quite disturbing..as usual. Too late to write though. Peace Roy From thinkgreen at threeparty.org Tue Jan 3 11:46:15 2006 From: thinkgreen at threeparty.org (Roy) Date: Tue, 03 Jan 2006 11:46:15 -0800 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Code Pink statement In-Reply-To: <6.0.3.0.1.20060103095933.032867d0@pop.mindspring.com> References: <6.0.3.0.1.20060103095933.032867d0@pop.mindspring.com> Message-ID: <43BAD487.9090305@threeparty.org> I agree with this gentleman's assessment. I'm surprised at Code Pink. Maybe on a first draft language like that may have gotten put in by someone who's a little bit mentally lazy and fell victim to the rhetoric of empire, but on a final draft? I haven't decided if that's a wee bit scary or disheartening. Peace Roy > While in general I agree with the Code Pink / Int'l women's call around > Iraq and think it will have a positive effect, I wonder about the > following: > > > Consideration of a temporary international peacekeeping force that is > truly multilateral and is not composed of any troops from countries that > participated in the occupation. < > > Certainly there are other ways one can imagine -- a large presence of > unarmed women, for example, or armed Iraqi women -- instead of relying > on foreign nation states to send in armed troops ..... Shifting the > country of origin for the occupying army solves nothing. > > Also, > > > Together, we will pressure our governments, the United Nations, the > Arab League, Nobel Peace Prize winners, religious leaders and others in > the international community to step forward to help negotiate a > political settlement. And in this era of divisive fundamentalisms ... < > > It is not the job of governments, etc. to negotiate a political > settlement. That is the job of the Iraqi people themselves, for > themselves. And the defining feature of this era is NOT "divisive > fundamentalisms" -- unless one considers GREED FOR OIL AND EMPIRE to be > the divisive fundamentalist value underlying the colonization of Iraq. > This statement passes the burden for the war onto religious > fundamentalists, when the real culprit is unbridled capitalist > globalization and empire. > > I would not sign the code pink statement ... Then again, I haven't been > asked. > > ******************************* > From wrolley at charter.net Tue Jan 3 12:16:14 2006 From: wrolley at charter.net (Wes Rolley) Date: Tue, 03 Jan 2006 12:16:14 -0800 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Another Blog Message-ID: <43BADB8E.7000705@charter.net> As most of you know, I have been keeping PomgoWatch going for quite a while now. I have just started another blog: California Greening. You can view it at http://cagreening.blogspot.com/ I hope that it will create discussion about the direction of the Green Party and how we go forward. I know that it will give an alternative opinion to what I see elsewhere. -- "Anytime you have an opportunity to make things better and you don't, then you are wasting your time on this Earth" Roberto Clemente Wes Rolley http://www.refpub.com/ Tel: 408.778.3024 From vdf at juno.com Wed Jan 4 13:43:13 2006 From: vdf at juno.com (Valerie D. Face) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2006 21:43:13 GMT Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Fw: [CFW] Fair Wage Initiatives - Details Message-ID: <20060104.134408.10327.303061@webmail50.lax.untd.com> An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed... Name: not available URL: From jsheldon at ucsc.edu Thu Jan 5 13:37:49 2006 From: jsheldon at ucsc.edu (James Richard Sheldon) Date: Thu, 05 Jan 2006 13:37:49 -0800 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Fw: [CFW] Fair Wage Initiatives - Details In-Reply-To: <20060104.134408.10327.303061@webmail50.lax.untd.com> References: <20060104.134408.10327.303061@webmail50.lax.untd.com> Message-ID: FYI, Santa Cruz residents are starting a campaign to raise the minimum wage there to $9.25. -James On Wed, 4 Jan 2006 21:43:13 GMT "Valerie D. Face" wrote: > Hi folks, > > Summaries of the two versions of the minimum wage >initiative that were discussed at last night's GPSCC >meeting are in the email below. > > The website for Californians for Fair Wages is >www.cafairwage.org. > > If anyone would like to donate to the campaign, the >address is: > Californians For Fair Wages > 1710 Broadway #144 > Sacramento CA 95818 > > ***** IF YOU DONATE ***** > Please include your name, address, occupation and >employer for campaign finance reporting purposes. > > CFW's FPPC Number is 1276193. > > To subscribe to their email list, send an email to: > sympa at lists.riseup.net > with the subject: > subscribe cfw > > Best wishes, > Valerie > > > ---------- Forwarded Message ---------- > > Date: Wed, 04 Jan 2006 00:00:16 -0800 > To: cfw at lists.riseup.net >From: civillib at cwnet.com > Subject: [CFW] Fair Wage Initiatives - Details > > If everyone hasn't seen it yet, the basic info is on the >website re: the 2 versions of our ballot initiatives. > > See >http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/elections_j_122805.htm#1179 > > Note that our deadline to collect the signatures is May >26, 2006. Although we may have to have them submitted by >April 16, or so, in order to qualify for the Nov. 2006 >ballot. > > > > 1178. (SA2005RF0111, Amdt. #1-S) > > Minimum Wage. Increases and Future Adjustments. >Initiative Statute. Summary Date: 12/27/05 Circulation >Deadline: 05/26/06 Signatures Required: 373,816 > Proponent: Barry Hermanson (916) 484-5888 > > Increases California?s minimum hourly wage to $7.25, >effective January 1, 2007, and then to $7.75, effective >January 1, 2008. Establishes annual automatic adjustment >of minimum wage beginning January 1, 2009, to be >calculated each year by multiplying the minimum wage then >in effect by the percentage of inflation that occurred >during the previous year, using the California Consumer >Price Index for All Urban Consumers, or its successor >index. Directs Industrial Welfare Commission to adopt >minimum wage orders consistent with this initiative. >Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director >of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local >governments: Potential net reduction, but probably not >significant, in annual state and local government >revenues. Annual state and local governmental costs ? >primarily in health and child care programs ? in the high >tens of millions to over $100 million. (SA2005RF0111, >Amdt. #1-S.) > > > 1179. (SA2005RF0112, Amdt. #1-S) > > Minimum Wage. Increases and Future Adjustments. >Initiative Statute. > Summary Date: 12/27/05 Circulation Deadline: 05/26/06 >Signatures Required: 373,816 > Proponent: Barry Hermanson > > Increases California?s minimum hourly wage to $7.50, >effective January 1, 2007, then to $8.25, effective >January 1, 2008, and then to $8.75, > effective January 1, 2009. Establishes annual automatic >adjustment of > minimum wage beginning January 1, 2010, to be calculated >each year by > multiplying the minimum wage then in effect by the >percentage of inflation that occurred during the previous >year, using the California Consumer Price Index for All >Urban Consumers, or its successor index. Directs >Industrial Welfare Commission to adopt minimum wage >orders consistent with this initiative. Summary of >estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance >of fiscal impact on state and local governments: >Potential modest net reduction in annual state and local >government revenues. Annual state and local governmental >costs ? primarily in health and child care programs ? >potentially in the low hundreds of millions of dollars. >(SA2005RF0112, Amdt. #1-S.) > > > > From TNHarter at aol.com Thu Jan 5 16:39:38 2006 From: TNHarter at aol.com (TNHarter at aol.com) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2006 19:39:38 EST Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Tian for Senate Announcement Message-ID: Late last year I found myself wondering what I could do to dramatically bring attention to the fact I don't like the way we are involved with an oil war in Iraq. I decided to throw my hat into the ring as a Green Party Candidate for US Senator. The time had come for me to see what I can do with the soapbox that comes with the path to the ballot box. I started by making a flier and handing out copies at the Statewide Green Party meeting. Since then I have made myself a candidate website at http://tianharter.org and begun working on how to do this in a real way. The main issue is going to be "our fuelish ways", but I'm also going to bring to light something about the relationship between corporate responsibility and grass roots participation in public debate via my photo blog and walking my talk. Last Friday I went down to the Registrar of voters and took out papers as a candidate. My first signature gathering stop was San Francisco's Critical Mass ride that day. Now I'm looking for other places to gather signatures. I'm seeking endorsements, speaking opportunities, money, and any other thing that you think might help. For example, if you know an artist that would donate a good interpretation of "DON'T BE FUELISH, VOTE FOR TIAN" for my new campaign sticker, I'll do my best to decorate California with it. If you can help with this in any way, I would be so grateful. My most immediate need is to gather about 98 more signatures from California Green Party members, and even one from you would be appreciated. Please let me know at tnharter at greens.org. -- Tian Harter http://tianharter.org Now gathering signatures to get on the ballot as a Green Party Candidate for U. S. Senator. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From alexcathy at aol.com Thu Jan 5 18:44:08 2006 From: alexcathy at aol.com (alexcathy at aol.com) Date: Thu, 05 Jan 2006 21:44:08 -0500 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] The New "Moderate" Arnold In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8C7E08233BCACA0-D14-3562@mblk-r12.sysops.aol.com> Dear Green Friends, GOVERNOR ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER has just conclude his "move-to-the-center" state of the state address in Sacramento. The highlight was the proposal of a stupendous $222 billion public works program partly financed by $68 billion in new general obligation bonds. Dammit! I wish the Green Party had the resources to do an "Instant Rebuttal" the way the Clinton Democrats used to do in their heyday. I would love to know what our Green Party gubernatorial candidate, PETER CAMEJO, who is after all, an expert on finances and budgeting, thinks about this. Well, you know I hate both the Republican Party cronies and crooks and the Democratic Party cronies and crooks. $222 billion worth of filthy lucre? C'mon, you know the next Jack Abramoff is already booting up his Excel spreadsheet. My gut level feeling is that this is a golden once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Green Party to emerge, at long last, as the true party of reform. My gut tells me we Greens should resist the temptation to play the Democrats' game and instead come out AGAINST this boondoggle even while continuing to insist on a serious, grown-up, consideration of the structural deficits built into the corrupted state budget process and promoting the idea of California as the World Leader in sustainable green technology. Let Democrats try to defend their 20th Century "Big Government" philosophy. We Greens will be the party of 21st Century Reform! Alex Walker = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Posted by The San Francisco Chronicle, www.sfgate.com, Thursday, January 5, 2005. - 15 minutes Ago SETTING BIPARTISAN TONE, SCHWARZENEGGER PROPOSES MASSIVE BOND By Tom Chorneau, Associated Press (01-05) 17:38 PST SACRAMENTO, (AP) -- Attempting to rekindle his image as a bipartisan populist, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday urged cooperation among lawmakers and proposed a sweeping $222 billion public works program that would require the largest bond package in state history. The governor's annual State of the State speech addressed issues basic to the lives of most Californians, including more funding for public schools, rebuilding freeways and transit systems, improving air quality and raising the minimum wage. He asked Californians to move beyond a year filled with acrimony over the special election he had called and devoid of significant political accomplishment. "I have absorbed my defeat. I have learned my lesson. And the people, who always have the last word, sent a clear message ? cut the warfare, cool the rhetoric, find common ground and fix the problems together," Schwarzenegger said before a packed Assembly chamber. "To my fellow Californians, I say, 'Message received.'" The governor's speech was his third State of the State address but was widely viewed as among the most pivotal appearances of his political career. Facing re-election in November, his task was to persuade Californians to set aside any lingering bitterness over last year's election campaign and regain the bipartisan image that made him so popular his first year in office. The vision Schwarzenegger laid out in the 23-minute speech proposed a bold program for rebuilding the state's aging freeways, bridges, schools, universities, court systems and levees. He also proposed building two new prisons and improving the state's air quality. The governor proposed spending $222.6 billion in public works improvements over 20 years, to be paid in part by $68 billion in new general obligation bonds. The bonds would go before voters in a series of elections between 2006 and 2014. The governor also pledged that his plan would ensure fiscal prudence for a state that grappled with multibillion dollar budget deficits before he took office in 2003. One aspect of his "Strategic Growth Plan" would constitutionally cap debt payments, limiting them to no more than 6 percent of the state's general fund revenue. Schwarzenegger said his plan is necessary to keep pace with California's expanding population, which is expected to hit 46 million people by 2025. The state has not embarked on such a massive series of public works projects since the 1960s. "We cannot spend more than we have, but at the same time cannot afford costly delays in investing in critical infrastructure," he said. "The reality is that we face more than $500 billion in infrastructure needs over the next 20 years." The address by California's 38th governor contrasted sharply with his speech a year ago. At that time, he threatened a special election if lawmakers didn't meet his demands on a variety of budget and government reforms. It was his first statewide speech since voters rejected all four of his ballot measures on Nov. 8. He acknowledged the defeat, showing flashes of his trademark humor. "And what a difference a year makes. A year ago, USC and I were No. 1. What happened?" he said in a reference to the University of Southern California's loss Wednesday night in the college football title game. He acknowledged turning a deaf ear to the majority of California voters, who told pollsters they didn't want a special election in 2005, but said he begins the new year "happy and hopeful and wiser." Throughout the speech, Schwarzenegger tried to reposition himself in the political center, a step that could be crucial for his re-election chances as a Republican running in a state where two-thirds of voters are registered as Democrats or independents. "I hope the members of the Legislature also heard the message that the people want us to work together," the governor said. "I have always felt that the people are my partners." His proposed budget for the 2006-07 fiscal year is expected to include $4.3 billion more for public schools and a freeze in university fees. A predicted $5.2 billion in extra, unanticipated tax revenue next fiscal year gives the governor a welcome boost. He also has proposed a $1-an-hour raise over two years in the state's minimum wage. Public opinion of Schwarzenegger soared after he won office during the 2003 recall of former Gov. Gray Davis, in part because his cooperative approach had wide political appeal. He took a partisan turn last year, angering labor unions, teachers and Democratic lawmakers with his proposed changes to the state budget process, pensions, legislative districts, union campaign fundraising and teacher pay and tenure. His popularity plunged, and voters ultimately rejected all four of the initiatives he placed on the special election ballot. Since then, the governor has reached out to Democrats ? the state's majority party ? in a variety of ways. A political strategy that strikes a conciliatory tone and focuses on issues important to California residents makes sense, said Thad Kousser, an assistant professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego. "What we're seeing is the first public attempt to do what Schwarzenegger has been doing privately for awhile ? that he's moving back into the middle," Kousser said. "(Voters) still believe he cares about the things they do. Schools, traffic, crime ? these are the issues that consume most people's lives." = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = From gerrygras at earthlink.net Thu Jan 5 22:30:36 2006 From: gerrygras at earthlink.net (Gerry Gras) Date: Thu, 05 Jan 2006 22:30:36 -0800 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Draft minutes of 1/3/05 GPSCC Meeting - #1 Message-ID: <43BE0E8C.4040401@earthlink.net> Here is the first draft mintues of the GPSCC meeting on Tuesday, January 3rd. Please review and make comments, especially in case of error. And look for omissions, I have not taken notes in a while, these may be too sketchy. Also, who was the timekeeper? According to my notes it was Jim Stauffer, but I remember someone else calling the minutes remaining. Also, I think that a list of attendees should be included. Does anyone disagree? (I have added the names I could remember, but I would appreciate a list.) Thank you, Gerry ======================================================= Minutes of the January 3rd, 2006 of the Green Party of Santa Clara County. Agenda included at the end. Location: Banjara Restaurant, Sunnyvale Facilitator: Ed Blackman Notetake: Gerry Gras Timekeeper: ?? Vibeswatchers: Dana St. George, Tian Harter Attendees: Jim Doyle Warner Bloomberg Jim Stauffer Cameron Spitzer Ed Blackman Dana St. George Valerie Face Carol Brouillet Pamela Hughes ?? Hughes Tian Harter Mary Lyle Gerry Gras Meeting began at 7:40 PM. 1) Intro and Announcements 2) Revise and affirm agenda Jim Stauffer observed that there were many new faces and suggested we add one item: "Introduction to the Green Party". This suggestion was accepted. 3) Introduction to Green Party - Jim Stauffer gave a description of decentralization and the relations between the local, state, and national parties - Jim Stauffer gave description of the consensus process - There was a general discussion about the 10KV. 4) 2006 Tabling - Jim Doyle recruited volunteers for Freedom Train flyering - Warner Bloomberg spoke about the need for advance planning of all tabling for 2006. Warner provided a list that he had thought of and asked for additional items. The list was circulated around the room. - Jim Stauffer spoke about the need for repleneshing our supplies of literature and buttons. - Jim Doyle will order some literature. [Was anything resolved about the buttons?] 5) Planning Meeting - The last GPSCC meeting agreed to ask the CC to arrange a planning meeting. 6) Bylaws re Regional Rep Election - Warner Bloomberg spoke about the possible need to modify the bylaws to be more specific about the process for selecting the Regional Rep and alternates. Gerry Gras was given the task of contacting the GPSMC and starting a discussion about it. - Dana St. George and Gerry Gras provided some of the history of past concerns of the GPSMC. 7) Plenary Report - Warner Bloomberg spoke about productive Working Group meetings - some discussion of the Fair Wage Initiative - Carol Brouillet provided some observations from the point of view of a frist time attendee. - Gerry Gras spoke about the GPUS Affiliation Agreement proposal, and the failed attempt to lower the voting threshold on policy items to 2/3. 8) County Council Election - Jim Doyle and others spoke about the upcoming County Council (CC) election and the desirability of having more on the CC, particularly 8. 9) U.S. Senatorial Candidate speech - Tian Harter gave a sample stump speech for his campaign for the U.S. Senate (against 2 Greens for Dianne Feinstein's seat). - Others provided feedback. 10) Fair Wage Campaign Strategy - There will be 2 initiatives to collect signatures for. - There will be about 4 months to collect signatures. - It is unknown when the period begins because we have not heard from the Attorney General's office yet. - The number of signatures needed is about 400,000. - Valerie asked if we wanted to donate money to the state campaign. It was decided to postpone this to next month. 11) Election 2006 - Green Party candidates that Santa Clara County voters can vote for include: - U.S. Senate - Todd Chretian, Tian Harter, and one other - Governor - Peter Camejo - Secretary of State - Forrest Hill - Controller - Laura Wells - and maybe U.S. Congress (Anna Eshoo's seat) Carol Brouillet - Some discussion about Pombo and the impact of Wes Rolley's blog. Signed, Gerry Gras -------------------------------------------------------------- Proposed Agenda for County Meeting Tuesday, January 3, 2004 Location: Banjara Indian Restaurant - http://banjarainc.com 407 Town & Country Village, Sunnyvale Directions available at above web site 6:30 Socializing and Dinner 7:30 Meeting NOTE: The order of items in this agenda is not necessarily the order we will be discussing them. -- Preliminary Items -- Choose Facilitator(s), Note-Taker(s), Time Keeper, and Vibes Watcher(s) (5) Introductions and Short Announcements (5) Revise and Affirm Agenda (5) -- Main Part -- 1. Treasurer's Report (5) Adam 2. State Party Business Plenary Report (10) plenary attendees 3. Old Business 2006 Tabling Calendar (5) Warner Planning Meeting - review the year (5) Gerry 4. New Business Review County Council functions, seek candidates (10) Bylaws change re Regional Rep selection process (10) Warner Tian Harter - U.S. Senate candidate (15) Tian Fair Wage Campaign strategy (15) Warner 2006 Elections (15) (Total scheduled time: 1 hour, 45 minutes) From baalavi at yahoo.com Fri Jan 6 05:05:28 2006 From: baalavi at yahoo.com (Bob Alavi) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2006 05:05:28 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Threat of nuclear terrorism Message-ID: <20060106130528.14038.qmail@web52108.mail.yahoo.com> http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=%20CH20060103&articleId=1714 Nuclear War against Iran by Michel Chossudovsky January 3, 2006 GlobalResearch.ca Email this article to a friend Print this article The launching of an outright war using nuclear warheads against Iran is now in the final planning stages. Coalition partners, which include the US, Israel and Turkey are in "an advanced stage of readiness". Various military exercises have been conducted, starting in early 2005. In turn, the Iranian Armed Forces have also conducted large scale military maneuvers in the Persian Gulf in December in anticipation of a US sponsored attack. Since early 2005, there has been intense shuttle diplomacy between Washington, Tel Aviv, Ankara and NATO headquarters in Brussels. In recent developments, CIA Director Porter Goss on a mission to Ankara, requested Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan "to provide political and logistic support for air strikes against Iranian nuclear and military targets." Goss reportedly asked " for special cooperation from Turkish intelligence to help prepare and monitor the operation." (DDP, 30 December 2005). In turn, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has given the green light to the Israeli Armed Forces to launch the attacks by the end of March: All top Israeli officials have pronounced the end of March, 2006, as the deadline for launching a military assault on Iran.... The end of March date also coincides with the IAEA report to the UN on Iran's nuclear energy program. Israeli policymakers believe that their threats may influence the report, or at least force the kind of ambiguities, which can be exploited by its overseas supporters to promote Security Council sanctions or justify Israeli military action. (James Petras, Israel's War Deadline: Iran in the Crosshairs, Global Research, December 2005) The US sponsored military plan has been endorsed by NATO, although it is unclear, at this stage, as to the nature of NATO's involvement in the planned aerial attacks. "Shock and Awe" The various components of the military operation are firmly under US Command, coordinated by the Pentagon and US Strategic Command Headquarters (USSTRATCOM) at the Offutt Air Force base in Nebraska. The actions announced by Israel would be carried out in close coordination with the Pentagon. The command structure of the operation is centralized and ultimately Washington will decide when to launch the military operation. US military sources have confirmed that an aerial attack on Iran would involve a large scale deployment comparable to the US "shock and awe" bombing raids on Iraq in March 2003: American air strikes on Iran would vastly exceed the scope of the 1981 Israeli attack on the Osiraq nuclear center in Iraq, and would more resemble the opening days of the 2003 air campaign against Iraq. Using the full force of operational B-2 stealth bombers, staging from Diego Garcia or flying direct from the United States, possibly supplemented by F-117 stealth fighters staging from al Udeid in Qatar or some other location in theater, the two-dozen suspect nuclear sites would be targeted. Military planners could tailor their target list to reflect the preferences of the Administration by having limited air strikes that would target only the most crucial facilities ... or the United States could opt for a far more comprehensive set of strikes against a comprehensive range of WMD related targets, as well as conventional and unconventional forces that might be used to counterattack against US forces in Iraq (See Globalsecurity.org at http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/iran-strikes.htm In November, US Strategic Command conducted a major exercise of a "global strike plan" entitled "Global Lightening". The latter involved a simulated attack using both conventional and nuclear weapons against a "fictitious enemy". Following the "Global Lightening" exercise, US Strategic Command declared an advanced state of readiness (See our analysis below) While Asian press reports stated that the "fictitious enemy" in the Global Lightening exercise was North Korea, the timing of the exercises, suggests that they were conducted in anticipation of a planned attack on Iran. Consensus for Nuclear War No dissenting political voices have emerged from within the European Union. There are ongoing consultations between Washington, Paris and Berlin. Contrary to the invasion of Iraq, which was opposed at the diplomatic level by France and Germany, Washington has been building "a consensus" both within the Atlantic Alliance and the UN Security Council. This consensus pertains to the conduct of a nuclear war, which could potentially affect a large part of the Middle East Central Asian region. Moreover, a number of frontline Arab states are now tacit partners in the US/ Israeli military project. A year ago in November 2004, Israel's top military brass met at NATO headqaurters in Brtussels with their counterparts from six members of the Mediterranean basin nations, including Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania. A NATO-Israel protocol was signed. Following these meetings, joint military exercises were held off the coast of Syria involving the US, Israel and Turkey. and in February 2005, Israel participated in military exercises and "anti-terror maneuvers" together with several Arab countries. The media in chorus has unequivocally pointed to Iran as a "threat to World Peace". The antiwar movement has swallowed the media lies. The fact that the US and Israel are planning a Middle East nuclear holocaust is not part of the antiwar/ anti- globalization agenda. The "surgical strikes" are presented to world public opinion as a means to preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. We are told that this is not a war but a military peace-keeping operation, in the form of aerial attacks directed against Iran's nuclear facilities. Mini-nukes: "Safe for Civilians" The press reports, while revealing certain features of the military agenda, largely serve to distort the broader nature of the military operation, which contemplates the preemptive use of tactical nuclear weapons. The war agenda is based on the Bush administration's doctrine of "preemptive" nuclear war under the 2002 Nuclear Posture Review. Media disinformation has been used extensively to conceal the devastating consequences of military action involving nuclear warheads against Iran. The fact that these surgical strikes would be carried out using both conventional and nuclear weapons is not an object of debate. According to a 2003 Senate decision, the new generation of tactical nuclear weapons or "low yield" "mini-nukes", with an explosive capacity of up to 6 times a Hiroshima bomb, are now considered "safe for civilians" because the explosion is underground. Through a propaganda campaign which has enlisted the support of "authoritative" nuclear scientists, the mini-nukes are being presented as an instrument of peace rather than war. The low-yield nukes have now been cleared for "battlefield use", they are slated to be used in the next stage of America's "war on Terrorism" alongside conventional weapons: Administration officials argue that low-yield nuclear weapons are needed as a credible deterrent against rogue states.[Iran, North Korea] Their logic is that existing nuclear weapons are too destructive to be used except in a full-scale nuclear war. Potential enemies realize this, thus they do not consider the threat of nuclear retaliation to be credible. However, low-yield nuclear weapons are less destructive, thus might conceivably be used. That would make them more effective as a deterrent. ( Opponents Surprised By Elimination of Nuke Research Funds Defense News November 29, 2004) In an utterly twisted logic, nuclear weapons are presented as a means to building peace and preventing "collateral damage". The Pentagon has intimated, in this regard, that the ?mini-nukes? (with a yield of less than 5000 tons) are harmless to civilians because the explosions ?take place under ground?. Each of these ?mini-nukes?, nonetheless, constitutes ? in terms of explosion and potential radioactive fallout ? a significant fraction of the atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. Estimates of yield for Nagasaki and Hiroshima indicate that they were respectively of 21000 and 15000 tons ( http://www.warbirdforum.com/hiroshim.htm In other words, the low yielding mini-nukes have an explosive capacity of one third of a Hiroshima bomb. The earth-penetrating capability of the [nuclear] B61-11 is fairly limited, however. Tests show it penetrates only 20 feet or so into dry earth when dropped from an altitude of 40,000 feet. Even so, by burying itself into the ground before detonation, a much higher proportion of the explosion energy is transferred to ground shock compared to a surface bursts. Any attempt to use it in an urban environment, however, would result in massive civilian casualties. Even at the low end of its 0.3-300 kiloton yield range, the nuclear blast will simply blow out a huge crater of radioactive material, creating a lethal gamma-radiation field over a large area. http://www.fas.org/faspir/2001/v54n1/weapons.htm --------------------------------- Yahoo! DSL Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From alexcathy at aol.com Fri Jan 6 07:34:42 2006 From: alexcathy at aol.com (alexcathy at aol.com) Date: Fri, 06 Jan 2006 10:34:42 -0500 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Quote for the Day: "If God did not wish you to be fleeced ... " Message-ID: <8C7E0EDD927E9D7-9AC-3667@FWM-R09.sysops.aol.com> Dear Friends, Here is your quote for the day: "If God did not wish you to be fleeced, He would not have made you sheep." I was surfin' the Internet this morning in search of commentary about Our Dear Great Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's long-awaited "move to the center" in last night's State-of-the-State message (as a good Green Party man, I don't buy the Democrat-Republican "bipartisan" bullshit for one second). After telling us the State of California was so "broke" that widows, orphans, and old people needed to be thrown out on the street and "illegal aliens" hunted down like dogs, the "bipartisan" hackarama proposes a $222 billion public works program to buy votes in the 2006 election. Here is the quote in the context of an article about California Green Party leader, Peter Camejo: = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Excerpted From "Recalling Camejo" by Bruce Patterson, Anderson Valley Advertiser . . . A while back when California's "energy crisis" began picking my wage money out of my wallet, I remembered that long ago rap by Peter Camejo. Unregulated, profit-driven, free trade, dog-eat-dog capitalism is a hustle. Elect politicians who promise to "unleash the productive capacities" of the capitalists and they will always strangle the golden goose; always turn a boom into a bust. It was the apprehension of this elementary fact of life by most of my dad's and granddad's generations that led to the election of FDR and the New Deal, the attempt to introduce a bit of logic and to put a human face upon an economic system that was, left to its own, mindless and inhuman. As the Titans of California's newly "privatized" and "bankrupt" public utilities were busy robbing me (they could have stole my wheels and left me better off), I got to listen to an endless chorus of professional journalists "people who know who butters their bread" patiently explain to me how my money was actually getting sucked up into the cosmic vacuum called "market forces," those nebulous, nuanced, ephemeral episodes and "trends" that so confound the experts and are therefore way beyond anything a rummy like myself should be worrying about. In other words, when with the collusion of bought politicians a roomful of monopolists corner the market in electricity and heartlessly milk it for all its worth, it's an act of God. As in, "If God did not wish you to be fleeced, He would not have made you sheep." . . . = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Ha! Ha! Ha! I love that line. CAMEJO FOR GOVERNOR, 2006! Alex From wrolley at charter.net Fri Jan 6 07:40:12 2006 From: wrolley at charter.net (Wes Rolley) Date: Fri, 06 Jan 2006 07:40:12 -0800 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Draft minutes of 1/3/05 GPSCC Meeting - #1 In-Reply-To: <43BE0E8C.4040401@earthlink.net> References: <43BE0E8C.4040401@earthlink.net> Message-ID: <43BE8F5C.5070504@charter.net> >Here is the first draft mintues of the GPSCC meeting on >Tuesday, January 3rd. Please review and make comments, >especially in case of error. And look for omissions, I >have not taken notes in a while, these may be too sketchy. > > > >11) Election 2006 > - Green Party candidates that Santa Clara County voters can > vote for include: > - U.S. Senate - Todd Chretian, Tian Harter, and one other > - Governor - Peter Camejo > - Secretary of State - Forrest Hill > - Controller - Laura Wells > - and maybe U.S. Congress (Anna Eshoo's seat) Carol Brouillet > - Some discussion about Pombo and the impact of Wes Rolley's blog. > Two comments: the "one other" for senator is Kent Mesplay. There is a list of all currently known candidates for office in California in 2006. It is at http://216.92.191.78/elections/races.php?stateId=6&year=2006 Other state wide offices that you have missed are: Insurance Commissioner: Larry Cafiero Lt. Governor: Donna Warren Treasurer: Mehul Thakker I am keeping the State Wide offices and candidate actions reviewed at my new blog, http://cagreening.blogspot.com/ Note, we have 2 contested primaries that are known so far this year. One is for the senate seat. The other is for State Assembly District 44 (Los Angeles). That is maybe a good sign as contested primaries will generate discussion about the direction of the party. wes -- "Anytime you have an opportunity to make things better and you don't, then you are wasting your time on this Earth" Roberto Clemente Wes Rolley http://www.refpub.com/ Tel: 408.778.3024 From alexcathy at aol.com Fri Jan 6 23:02:55 2006 From: alexcathy at aol.com (alexcathy at aol.com) Date: Sat, 07 Jan 2006 02:02:55 -0500 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Tian for Senate Announcement In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8C7E16F84F9111E-E64-1F265@MBLK-M40.sysops.aol.com> Dear Tian, I just visited your web site. You've got good issues. I just have a couple of, shall we say, show business suggestions. (1) You may have to spring for a few bucks to get a professional photographer to take a suitable campaign photo with the appropriate "costume" to play the "role" of a candidate for the United States Senate, that is, dark business suit and necktie. Even more important than the costume is that you can't see your face very well in the picture. Tian, one of your assets as a candidate is that you have a friendly face. You look like a guy people can trust (unlike me, who makes people lock their car door -- Click! -- if I walk by on the sidewalk while they're stopped for a red light). Unfortunately, in that picture on the web site you look like Satan lurking in the Garden of Eden. (2) The thing with the coins takes up too much space on the page. (3) You've got good issues. However, I was surpirsed that you are kind of weak on the Iraq War. You do not actually say "Bring Our Boys Home A.S.A.P." Your statement is too vague. Please don't get me wrong! It would be a mistake to come on too radical too early, but polls say the war is the #1 issue for Congress this year and you gotta be at least two steps to the Left of Diane Feinstein. I know this sounds like nitpicking, but at this early stage, even most Greens do not know who you are. They will hear that you've announced and if they are web-savvy the first thing they'll do is check out your web site. It's like a first date. You gotta give 'em a good first impression. Alex Walker From alexcathy at aol.com Sat Jan 7 09:46:12 2006 From: alexcathy at aol.com (alexcathy at aol.com) Date: Sat, 07 Jan 2006 12:46:12 -0500 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Some MSM Criticism of Arnold Message-ID: <8C7E1C9623809CD-51C-2398@FWM-R13.sysops.aol.com> Dear Green Friends, I've been surfing the Internet this morning and we are starting to see a trickle of criticism of Arnold's boondoggle in the mainstream media. Here are some points of interest to Greens. FINANCING -- Much of the money would come from the federal government and "private investment" -- uncertain. Assemblyman John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, noted that for every dollar California taxpayers pay to the federal government, just 79 cents is returned to the state. He said recent cuts imposed by Congress will make that ratio smaller. Voters will be asked to approve a $68 billion bond with no idea of how all this money is really going to be spent Jon Coupal, president of the [rightwing] Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, said the group is pleased with Schwarzenegger's efforts to improve the state's business climate and his refusal to raise taxes. "But we have concerns about the magnitude of the debt that's being talked about here," he said. LEGISLATURE -- a two-thirds majority will be required to put it on a ballot. Several Republicans said they want to see more private industry involvement in public works projects and fewer environmental controls. "We need to be innovative about getting more bang for our buck by harnessing private initiative, demanding quicker design processes and reforming overly burdensome and bureaucratic environmental laws that have crippled this state," said Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth, R-Murrieta. Obviously, the Republicans will tolerate no changes in California's crazy tax laws while simultaneously insisting on the relaxation of "burdensome and bureaucratic environmental laws" (a la Bush in New Orleans) in order to "save money." The assumed cost savings of using private enterprise was disputed by Ted Toppin, a spokesman for the 10,000-member Professional Engineers in California Government. He said it *COSTS LESS* to use state employees than private firms to do design work. HIGHWAYS, HIGHWAYS, AND MORE HIGHWAYS -- Nearly half of the governor's proposed spending -- $107 billion -- is consumed by transportation projects. Of that, $88 billion is targeted for highway and road improvements. Rail transit would receive $4.5 billion over the 10-year life of the proposal. The first transportation bond the governor proposes for the June ballot spends half of its $6 billion on highway projects, $2 billion on port improvements and $400 million for intercity rail expansion. "It completely ignores funding for transit, in my opinion," said Tony Rice a lobbyist for the California Transit Association. "Why build freeways so someone can live 75 miles from work. Why not make it easier to live near where you work?" Rice cited a study commissioned by the state Senate three years ago that found a $100 million unfunded need for transportation projects, of which one-third was transit. The governor also wants to remove from the November ballot a $9.95 billion bond to provide seed money for a high-speed rail system linking Northern and Southern California. NO GREEN PLANNING OR LAND-USE -- "The governor made a critical campaign pledge to cut the state's air pollution in half, and he's committed to an aggressive plan to tackle global warming. How does this new proposal get us on a path to achieving those goals?" said Ann Notthoff, legislative director of the Natural Resources Defense Council in California. "The state shouldn't throw big money at infrastructure projects without efficient land-use policies," said Bill Allayaud, a lobbyist for the Sierra Club in Sacramento. NOTHING FOR HOSPITALS AND HEALTH CARE -- Doctors and other health care providers and advocates were perplexed by Schwarzenegger's failure to mention California's burdened emergency rooms and high number of uninsured citizens. [Source: San Francisco Chronicle] SANTA CLARA COUNTY -- ROADS AND HIGHWAYS -- The extra state aid means that millions could be set aside to: ? Widen Highway 101 from Morgan Hill south to the San Benito County line. ? Help pay for ramps at the intersection of Highways 152 and 156 east of Gilroy. ? Widen portions of Highway 156 in San Benito and Monterey counties. ? Add merge lanes on 101 along the Peninsula. ? Add a northbound carpool lane on I-680 from Milpitas to Pleasanton. [Source: San Jose Mercury News] EDUCATION -- CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS -- NOTHING FOR REFORM SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS EDITORIAL: GOVERNOR IS LIGHT ON EDUCATION REFORM Friday, January 6, 2006 In disclosing his plans for public school spending in advance of last night's State of the State address, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger quieted critics and may have quelled a source of contention with Democrats in the Legislature. To our disappointment, he apparently also has deferred until his second term -- assuming he gets one -- the larger goal of tying significant increases in spending to major education reforms. The additional $4.3 billion that Schwarzenegger is proposing would bring K-12 spending to $49 billion -- a 16 percent increase over two years. That's more than school districts assumed a year ago that they'd get. But they argue they're legally entitled to more. It's also less than they deserve. The extra money for education comes from projections for a state surplus this year, although a deficit is predicted for 2007. Nonetheless, the increase is a healthy chunk of change and a fair increase, given the extra pot of money. Unfortunately, districts with declining enrollment, like San Jose Unified and other local districts, won't see that much of a bump. And they won't be free to spend some of the new money on basics: new texts, smaller classes, heating, health care or higher pay. Schwarzenegger wants to direct more than $300 million to new grants for arts and physical education, support for new teachers in low-achieving districts and extra help for students struggling with the high school exit exam. In general, local districts should be left alone to set their own priorities, to choose between smaller math classes or a middle school band. But in order to instigate systemic change, force efficiency and create equity in funding, there are times when the governor and Legislature should attach strings. We're disappointed that a governor who favors merit pay, smaller schools and incentives to teach in poor districts didn't steer more new money in those directions. * * * SUMMARY AND PREDICTIONS FINANCING -- Democrats, once again, will fight for passing the bond issue, but will not dare talk about Proposition 13 and taxes. The expectation of help for "blue" California from "red" Washington is pure fantasy. Any California congressman or state legislator, Democrat or Republican, who thinks Washington will help us is clearly unfit to serve and shouls be voted out of office for that reason alone. LOCAL TAXES -- In order to qualify for matching funds from Sacramento, urban areas around Los Angeles and San Francisco will have to try to raise local taxes, thus triggering the usual demagoguery about "Tax and Spend Liberal Democrats." HIGHWAYS -- Democrats will fight for more money for projects in the coastal cities where they live, but will not challenge the strategic priorities. on "mass transit" notice how even Arnold's liberal Democrat critics don't even mention buses. Poor people ride buses. Buses are not "sexy" and don't generate construction jobs. One unintended consequence of this program will almost certainly be MORE sprawling development, including more sprawling development along Highway 101 in Santa Clara County. HEALTH CARE AND HOSPITALS -- Unbelievable that this big issue is ignored. Greens can talk about what's happened with the San Jose Medical Center and the Drew Medical Center in Los Angeles, in the latter case, including a critique of the cronyism and incompetence of the Democratic Party Bosses. EDUCATION -- Democrats will fight for more money and the Teachers Union will pressure the Dems to fight for more money for teachers. Greens should emphasize nothing will be solved by giving more power to Sacramento and "throwing money" at schools. Alex Walker From alexcathy at aol.com Sun Jan 8 07:27:34 2006 From: alexcathy at aol.com (alexcathy at aol.com) Date: Sun, 08 Jan 2006 10:27:34 -0500 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Alameda Greens - A Discussion with Peter Camejo Message-ID: <8C7E27F2EE1FECD-A30-9A5@MBLK-M29.sysops.aol.com> F.Y.I. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Posted on www.acgreens.org ALAMEDA COUNTY GREEN PARTY A DISCUSSION WITH PETER CAMEJO Sunday, January 8th 5:00 - 6:30 pm A talk by Green Party gubernatorial candidate, Peter Camejo. Peter will speak about the 2006 election cycle and his views on the role of the Green Party. His talk will be followed by what promises to be a lively and interesting discussion period. Beverages and snacks will be provided. LOCATION: Niebyl-Proctor Library 6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland. DIRECTIONS: One block north of Alcatraz on the West side of Telegraph, wheelchair accessible. Served directly by AC Transit routes 40, 64 & 17 with 6, 51 & 43 nearby. Ashby BART is approximately 7 blocks away. SPONSOR: Green Sundays are a series of free programs & discussions sponsored by the Outreach Working Group of the Green Party of Alameda County. They are held on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The monthly business meeting of the County Council of the Green Party of Alameda County follows at 6:45 p.m. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = From jean_comfort at yahoo.com Sun Jan 8 13:49:31 2006 From: jean_comfort at yahoo.com (Jean Comfort) Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2006 13:49:31 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Mark your Calendar for these events scheduled for March 2006 Message-ID: <20060108214931.79211.qmail@web50715.mail.yahoo.com> In response to the posting by Bob Alavi on Jan. 6 concerning the ?Threat of nuclear terrorism?: I thought it was such a good source that I passed it on to my husband, Arlen, because he was already working on an email on this subject (Peak Oil) for some other internet groups of which he is a part. Since he isn?t a part of ?Sosfbay-discuss? I am forwarding his posting here. His total posting is below. -Jean - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1) March 20, 2006 Iran is scheduled to begin trading oil for Petroeuros on their own ?newly minted? Iranian Oil Bourse (Non English stock market). http://www.energybulletin.net/8379.html 2) March 23, 2006 the publication of the M3 money supply ceases. http://tinyurl.com/9297o 3) The end of March 2006 is the deadline for Israel launching a military assault on Iran. The coalition partners, which include the US, Israel and Turkey are in "an advanced stage of readiness." Will the coalition use ?mini-nukes?? http://tinyurl.com/7lepw (This one is frightening) More on the Iranian Oil Bourse: Is it mere coincidence that the Fed will begin hiding M-3 the same month that Iran will launch its Iran Oil Bourse, or is there a direct threat to the stability of the U.S. dollar, the U.S. economy, and the U.S. standard of living? Are Americans being set up for a collapse in our economy that will make the Great Depression of the 1930?s look like a bounced check? If you cannot or will not make the value and stability of the U.S. currency of personal importance, if you are unwilling to demand from your elected officials, an immediate abolishment of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 and the fiat money scheme that the banking cartel has used for nearly a century now to keep our government and our people in a state of perpetual debt, then YOU ARE FACED WITH BUT TWO ALTERNATIVES, ABJECT POVERTY, OR INVADING IRAN. http://www.teamliberty.net/id209.html On the one hand, if Iran goes ahead with their Oil Bourse they threaten to push the value of the dollar to unimaginable lows. (We must take ?em out) On the other hand, Iran is the second largest producer of oil and they have anti-ship missiles overlooking the Strait of Hormuz. (We can?t take ?em out) The stakes are too high for me to comprehend but I?m betting we will do whatever looks best for Halliburton. Is there an optimist in the crowd? Will anyone back-down? Will there be a monetary compromise? Will other countries boycott the Iranian oil bourse? Can there be a positive outcome from this situation? - Arlen (Menlo Park) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Jean Comfort 48 Lorelei Lane Menlo Park, CA 94025 jean_comfort at yahoo.com (650)323-7188 From baalavi at yahoo.com Sun Jan 8 20:12:04 2006 From: baalavi at yahoo.com (Bob Alavi) Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2006 20:12:04 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Mark your Calendar for these events scheduled for March 2006 In-Reply-To: <20060108214931.79211.qmail@web50715.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <20060109041204.12025.qmail@web52111.mail.yahoo.com> Thank you for your follow up. I think all three points are superbly right on the money when it comes to understanding the real substance of "terrorist threat". ba Jean Comfort wrote: In response to the posting by Bob Alavi on Jan. 6 concerning the ?Threat of nuclear terrorism?: I thought it was such a good source that I passed it on to my husband, Arlen, because he was already working on an email on this subject (Peak Oil) for some other internet groups of which he is a part. Since he isn?t a part of ?Sosfbay-discuss? I am forwarding his posting here. His total posting is below. -Jean - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1) March 20, 2006 Iran is scheduled to begin trading oil for Petroeuros on their own ?newly minted? Iranian Oil Bourse (Non English stock market). http://www.energybulletin.net/8379.html 2) March 23, 2006 the publication of the M3 money supply ceases. http://tinyurl.com/9297o 3) The end of March 2006 is the deadline for Israel launching a military assault on Iran. The coalition partners, which include the US, Israel and Turkey are in "an advanced stage of readiness." Will the coalition use ?mini-nukes?? http://tinyurl.com/7lepw (This one is frightening) More on the Iranian Oil Bourse: Is it mere coincidence that the Fed will begin hiding M-3 the same month that Iran will launch its Iran Oil Bourse, or is there a direct threat to the stability of the U.S. dollar, the U.S. economy, and the U.S. standard of living? Are Americans being set up for a collapse in our economy that will make the Great Depression of the 1930?s look like a bounced check? If you cannot or will not make the value and stability of the U.S. currency of personal importance, if you are unwilling to demand from your elected officials, an immediate abolishment of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 and the fiat money scheme that the banking cartel has used for nearly a century now to keep our government and our people in a state of perpetual debt, then YOU ARE FACED WITH BUT TWO ALTERNATIVES, ABJECT POVERTY, OR INVADING IRAN. http://www.teamliberty.net/id209.html On the one hand, if Iran goes ahead with their Oil Bourse they threaten to push the value of the dollar to unimaginable lows. (We must take ?em out) On the other hand, Iran is the second largest producer of oil and they have anti-ship missiles overlooking the Strait of Hormuz. (We can?t take ?em out) The stakes are too high for me to comprehend but I?m betting we will do whatever looks best for Halliburton. Is there an optimist in the crowd? Will anyone back-down? Will there be a monetary compromise? Will other countries boycott the Iranian oil bourse? Can there be a positive outcome from this situation? - Arlen (Menlo Park) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Jean Comfort 48 Lorelei Lane Menlo Park, CA 94025 jean_comfort at yahoo.com (650)323-7188 _______________________________________________ sosfbay-discuss mailing list sosfbay-discuss at marla.cagreens.org http://marla.cagreens.org/mailman/listinfo/sosfbay-discuss --------------------------------- Yahoo! Photos Ring in the New Year with Photo Calendars. Add photos, events, holidays, whatever. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From TNHarter at aol.com Sun Jan 8 23:14:25 2006 From: TNHarter at aol.com (TNHarter at aol.com) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2006 02:14:25 EST Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Jan 15th - Speaking Out For Truth, Peace, and Justice Message-ID: <1a2.430c723c.30f36751@aol.com> ??????????????????? Speaking Out-?????? For Truth, Peace, and Justice Sunday, Martin Luther King Jr.?s birthday,????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? January 15, 2006???????? 11 am to 1 pm Lytton Plaza, (University x Emerson, Downtown Palo Alto, just a few blocks from the University Ave. Train Station) Americans and people throughout the world honor the life, words, actions and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.????? The day is also the anniversary of a March upon Congresswoman Anna Eshoo?s office in 2002 Demanding a Congressional Investigation of 9/11.????? In 2003, a subsequent March took place- Demanding an End to the 9/11 Cover-Up,??? Repeal of the Patriot Act,??? and the Pre-Emptive Impeachment of Bush.? Lytton Plaza is also the site of the weekly Listening For A Change Project, held since October 2001, ( inspired by a Colombian woman?s efforts to defuse violence using the most gentle, non-violent means possible- ?listening.?) Time to speak truths censored by the mainstream press,? truths which birth the movements for social change, for peace and justice.? A range of activists will speak, including-? newly elected City Councilman Peter Drekmeier, Swami Beyondananda, T.U.C.?s Maria Gilardin, Taking Aim?s Ralph Schoenman, Ken Jenkins, John Bass, Ed Rippy, David Kubiak,? Christian Pecaut, Green Candidates Laura Wells, Tian Harter,? and? Carol Brouillet? who will publicly launch her Congressional Campaign with a short statement- ???? ?Like Martin Luther King, Jr., I have a dream, too.? A dream of a world, without war, a dream of a world where resources are not squandered on weapons to protect the rich from the poor , a dream of a world where there is no need for armies, nor weapons of mass destruction, nor terrorism, and wealth is measured by the health and well being of our relationships, our children, our community, our planet. ????? ?Truth is the first casualty of war.? The official 9-11 story is a lie.? Lies are used to sell unjustifiable wars.? The PATRIOT Act was anything, but patriotic, and an attack upon the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, dissent. Congress was terrorized and pressured into passing it quickly. ?????? ?When we demanded an investigation of 9-11, Bush and Cheney limited the investigation and had it overseen by the CIA and the men, who should have been investigated for their role in the attacks, Goss and Graham.? The systemic destruction of evidence and cover-up culminated in the deeply flawed official Report directed by Philip Zelikow, part of the Bush National Security transition team, who co-authored a book with Rice.? The Commission ignored, omitted and distorted evidence that didn?t fit within the parameters outlined by the official narrative. ????? ?Congresswoman Eshoo, has supported the official story and championed the Intelligence Transformation Act, based upon the Commission?s recommendations.? ????? ?It is time to challenge and abolish the National Security State, Homeland Security, F.EM.A. which seem designed to protect the few from the many.? False Security depends upon having the most sophisticated weapons, surveillance devices, and control over communications systems. .? The obscene military transformation of the country threatens the health, well being, and civil liberties of its citizen and the world. Real Security means water, food, shelter, health, and healthy relationships between people, people and planet. ???? ?The ?War on Terrorism? is a bogus war, a war of terrorism against all people, a war on truth, a war on freedom, launched by a terrorist attack which has all the fingerprints of a special operation, a Reichstag Fire. 9-11 was one of the false pretexts, lies, used to sell the war on Iraq.?? ????? ?We need a national dialogue on Impeachment, the responsibility of the American people and Congress to rein in a criminal regime that is capable terrorizing its own people, as well as pursuing illegal, immoral, wars of aggression against other countries, and stealing elections. ???? ?I hope that others share my dream for transforming this country from a violent, dominating bully, to a respectful, helpful friend. ????? ?I hope that those who share my belief that ?Impeachment,? Repeal of the PATRIOT Act, Redirecting Resources from Killing to Healing, are our best hope for the country and will support my campaign.? I cannot do this alone; there must be a powerful social movement.? Apathy, Disengagement, Fear and Cynicism are the forces which perpetuate the war economy, corporate globalization. Engagement, Empowerment, Hope, Courage, Truth, Growing Real Communities within our society can transform it to serve and nurture life.? ???? ?Another? world is possible.? We can do together what none of us can do alone.? I have no experience within government nor corporations, but I do have experience in mothering, organizing, building community, learning how to work cooperatively, finding the deeper truths and purposes which bind us with all of humanity.? As citizens,? our greatest duty, to ourselves, to our families, to the world, is to rein in our own government, and hold it accountable for its actions, this is why I am running for office, to champion Truth, Peace, Justice, and Ecological Wisdom. ??? I hope you will join us on January 15th for the Speak-Out, Rally for Truth, Peace and Justice.? I hope it doesn?t rain.? After over four years of the weekly Wednesday? ?Listening for a Change,? Project.? I believe I will change the title to ?Listening and Speaking for a Change? and reserve the first hour for Listening and the second hour for Speaking and organizing. If you cannot join us on the 15th, please join us on a sunny/cloudy/non-rainy Wednesday from 11 am to 1 pm at Lytton Plaza.????????????????????????????????????? Carol Brouillet,? www.communitycurrency.org , ?cbrouillet at igc.org, PO Box 60511, Palo Alto, CA,? 650-857-0927???? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From TNHarter at aol.com Sun Jan 8 23:31:57 2006 From: TNHarter at aol.com (TNHarter at aol.com) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2006 02:31:57 EST Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] =?iso-8859-1?q?Fwd=3A_=A0_Upcoming_speaker_of_i?= =?iso-8859-1?q?nterest_to_Greens=2E_You_are_all_invited=2E?= Message-ID: <19f.438ddb7d.30f36b6d@aol.com> -- Tian Harter http://tianharter.org Now gathering signatures to get on the ballot as a Green Party Candidate for U. S. Senator. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: certifiedhypnotist Subject: Upcoming speaker of interest to Greens. You are all invited. Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2006 22:42:33 -0800 (PST) Size: 5763 URL: From wrolley at charter.net Mon Jan 9 13:25:53 2006 From: wrolley at charter.net (Wes Rolley) Date: Mon, 09 Jan 2006 13:25:53 -0800 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] [Fwd: [G-C-F] Call For Articles - GREEN FOCUS - Distribute Widely] Message-ID: <43C2D4E1.5040704@charter.net> We have good writers. Let's start making noise. -- "Anytime you have an opportunity to make things better and you don't, then you are wasting your time on this Earth" Roberto Clemente Wes Rolley http://www.refpub.com/ Tel: 408.778.3024 -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: Don Boring Subject: [G-C-F] Call For Articles - GREEN FOCUS - Distribute Widely Date: Mon, 09 Jan 2006 12:23:43 -0800 Size: 5082 URL: From andid at cagreens.org Mon Jan 9 11:31:25 2006 From: andid at cagreens.org (Andrea Dorey) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2006 11:31:25 -0800 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] The New "Moderate" Arnold In-Reply-To: <8C7E08233BCACA0-D14-3562@mblk-r12.sysops.aol.com> References: <8C7E08233BCACA0-D14-3562@mblk-r12.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <6ed8286fe5f721a6df0787f3a2e867ee@cagreens.org> This Green has NOT rented her lucrative rental property ALL this year while she slowly, methodically, thoroughly, etc., etc. etc., does repairs. Who knows how long she will have to do this? Maybe until Camejo (or his equivalent) is elected to Sacramento? May-be. Andrea On Jan 5, 2006, at 6:44 PM, alexcathy at aol.com wrote: > Dear Green Friends, > > GOVERNOR ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER has just conclude his > "move-to-the-center" state of the state address in Sacramento. The > highlight was the proposal of a stupendous $222 billion public works > program partly financed by $68 billion in new general obligation bonds. > > > Dammit! I wish the Green Party had the resources to do an "Instant > Rebuttal" the way the Clinton Democrats used to do in their heyday. I > would love to know what our Green Party gubernatorial candidate, PETER > CAMEJO, who is after all, an expert on finances and budgeting, thinks > about this. > > Well, you know I hate both the Republican Party cronies and crooks and > the Democratic Party cronies and crooks. $222 billion worth of filthy > lucre? > > C'mon, you know the next Jack Abramoff is already booting up his Excel > spreadsheet. > > My gut level feeling is that this is a golden once-in-a-lifetime > opportunity for the Green Party to emerge, at long last, as the true > party of reform. My gut tells me we Greens should resist the > temptation to play the Democrats' game and instead come out AGAINST > this boondoggle even while continuing to insist on a serious, grown-up, > consideration of the structural deficits built into the corrupted state > budget process and promoting the idea of California as the World Leader > in sustainable green technology. Let Democrats try to defend their > 20th Century "Big Government" philosophy. We Greens will be the party > of 21st Century Reform! > > > Alex Walker > > > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = > Posted by The San Francisco Chronicle, www.sfgate.com, Thursday, > January 5, 2005. - 15 minutes Ago > > SETTING BIPARTISAN TONE, SCHWARZENEGGER PROPOSES MASSIVE BOND > By Tom Chorneau, Associated Press > > > (01-05) 17:38 PST SACRAMENTO, (AP) -- > > Attempting to rekindle his image as a bipartisan populist, Gov. Arnold > Schwarzenegger on Thursday urged cooperation among lawmakers and > proposed a sweeping $222 billion public works program that would > require the largest bond package in state history. > > The governor's annual State of the State speech addressed issues basic > to the lives of most Californians, including more funding for public > schools, rebuilding freeways and transit systems, improving air quality > and raising the minimum wage. > > He asked Californians to move beyond a year filled with acrimony over > the special election he had called and devoid of significant political > accomplishment. > > "I have absorbed my defeat. I have learned my lesson. And the people, > who always have the last word, sent a clear message ? cut the warfare, > cool the rhetoric, find common ground and fix the problems together," > Schwarzenegger said before a packed Assembly chamber. "To my fellow > Californians, I say, 'Message received.'" > > The governor's speech was his third State of the State address but was > widely viewed as among the most pivotal appearances of his political > career. Facing re-election in November, his task was to persuade > Californians to set aside any lingering bitterness over last year's > election campaign and regain the bipartisan image that made him so > popular his first year in office. > > The vision Schwarzenegger laid out in the 23-minute speech proposed a > bold program for rebuilding the state's aging freeways, bridges, > schools, universities, court systems and levees. He also proposed > building two new prisons and improving the state's air quality. > > The governor proposed spending $222.6 billion in public works > improvements over 20 years, to be paid in part by $68 billion in new > general obligation bonds. The bonds would go before voters in a series > of elections between 2006 and 2014. > > The governor also pledged that his plan would ensure fiscal prudence > for a state that grappled with multibillion dollar budget deficits > before he took office in 2003. One aspect of his "Strategic Growth > Plan" would constitutionally cap debt payments, limiting them to no > more than 6 percent of the state's general fund revenue. > > Schwarzenegger said his plan is necessary to keep pace with > California's expanding population, which is expected to hit 46 million > people by 2025. The state has not embarked on such a massive series of > public works projects since the 1960s. > > "We cannot spend more than we have, but at the same time cannot afford > costly delays in investing in critical infrastructure," he said. "The > reality is that we face more than $500 billion in infrastructure needs > over the next 20 years." > > The address by California's 38th governor contrasted sharply with his > speech a year ago. At that time, he threatened a special election if > lawmakers didn't meet his demands on a variety of budget and government > reforms. > > It was his first statewide speech since voters rejected all four of his > ballot measures on Nov. 8. He acknowledged the defeat, showing flashes > of his trademark humor. > > "And what a difference a year makes. A year ago, USC and I were No. 1. > What happened?" he said in a reference to the University of Southern > California's loss Wednesday night in the college football title game. > > He acknowledged turning a deaf ear to the majority of California > voters, who told pollsters they didn't want a special election in 2005, > but said he begins the new year "happy and hopeful and wiser." > > Throughout the speech, Schwarzenegger tried to reposition himself in > the political center, a step that could be crucial for his re-election > chances as a Republican running in a state where two-thirds of voters > are registered as Democrats or independents. > > "I hope the members of the Legislature also heard the message that the > people want us to work together," the governor said. "I have always > felt that the people are my partners." > > His proposed budget for the 2006-07 fiscal year is expected to include > $4.3 billion more for public schools and a freeze in university fees. A > predicted $5.2 billion in extra, unanticipated tax revenue next fiscal > year gives the governor a welcome boost. > > He also has proposed a $1-an-hour raise over two years in the state's > minimum wage. > > Public opinion of Schwarzenegger soared after he won office during the > 2003 recall of former Gov. Gray Davis, in part because his cooperative > approach had wide political appeal. He took a partisan turn last year, > angering labor unions, teachers and Democratic lawmakers with his > proposed changes to the state budget process, pensions, legislative > districts, union campaign fundraising and teacher pay and tenure. > > His popularity plunged, and voters ultimately rejected all four of the > initiatives he placed on the special election ballot. > > Since then, the governor has reached out to Democrats ? the state's > majority party ? in a variety of ways. A political strategy that > strikes a conciliatory tone and focuses on issues important to > California residents makes sense, said Thad Kousser, an assistant > professor of political science at the University of California, San > Diego. > > "What we're seeing is the first public attempt to do what > Schwarzenegger has been doing privately for awhile ? that he's moving > back into the middle," Kousser said. "(Voters) still believe he cares > about the things they do. Schools, traffic, crime ? these are the > issues that consume most people's lives." > > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = > _______________________________________________ > sosfbay-discuss mailing list > sosfbay-discuss at marla.cagreens.org > http://marla.cagreens.org/mailman/listinfo/sosfbay-discuss > > Chinese Proverb: "If you do not climb the mountain, you will not see the plain." Andrea Dorey 408-306-1900 (cell phone, short messages please) From andid at cagreens.org Mon Jan 9 11:25:24 2006 From: andid at cagreens.org (Andrea Dorey) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2006 11:25:24 -0800 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Fw: [CFW] Fair Wage In-Reply-To: References: <20060104.134408.10327.303061@webmail50.lax.untd.com> Message-ID: <9d8d4d979730bf0dd5dbf70ed27f9f3d@cagreens.org> I still believe in a Cost of Living Wage. Otherwise, we just create slave and serf classes that cannot afford to live in Silicon Valley and other places of privilege. Andrea On Jan 5, 2006, at 1:37 PM, James Richard Sheldon wrote: > FYI, Santa Cruz residents are starting a campaign to raise the minimum > wage there to $9.25. > > -James > > On Wed, 4 Jan 2006 21:43:13 GMT > "Valerie D. Face" wrote: >> Hi folks, >> Summaries of the two versions of the minimum wage initiative that >> were discussed at last night's GPSCC meeting are in the email below. >> The website for Californians for Fair Wages is www.cafairwage.org. >> If anyone would like to donate to the campaign, the address is: >> Californians For Fair Wages >> 1710 Broadway #144 >> Sacramento CA 95818 >> ***** IF YOU DONATE ***** >> Please include your name, address, occupation and employer for >> campaign finance reporting purposes. >> CFW's FPPC Number is 1276193. >> To subscribe to their email list, send an email to: >> sympa at lists.riseup.net >> with the subject: >> subscribe cfw >> Best wishes, >> Valerie >> ---------- Forwarded Message ---------- >> Date: Wed, 04 Jan 2006 00:00:16 -0800 >> To: cfw at lists.riseup.net >> From: civillib at cwnet.com >> Subject: [CFW] Fair Wage Initiatives - Details >> If everyone hasn't seen it yet, the basic info is on the website re: >> the 2 versions of our ballot initiatives. See >> http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/elections_j_122805.htm#1179 >> Note that our deadline to collect the signatures is May 26, 2006. >> Although we may have to have them submitted by April 16, or so, in >> order to qualify for the Nov. 2006 ballot. >> 1178. (SA2005RF0111, Amdt. #1-S) Minimum Wage. Increases and Future >> Adjustments. Initiative Statute. Summary Date: 12/27/05 Circulation >> Deadline: 05/26/06 Signatures Required: 373,816 Proponent: Barry >> Hermanson (916) 484-5888 >> Increases California?s minimum hourly wage to $7.25, effective >> January 1, 2007, and then to $7.75, effective January 1, 2008. >> Establishes annual automatic adjustment of minimum wage beginning >> January 1, 2009, to be calculated each year by multiplying the >> minimum wage then in effect by the percentage of inflation that >> occurred during the previous year, using the California Consumer >> Price Index for All Urban Consumers, or its successor index. Directs >> Industrial Welfare Commission to adopt minimum wage orders consistent >> with this initiative. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and >> Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: >> Potential net reduction, but probably not significant, in annual >> state and local government revenues. Annual state and local >> governmental costs ? primarily in health and child care programs ? in >> the high tens of millions to over $100 million. (SA2005RF0111, Amdt. >> #1-S.) >> 1179. (SA2005RF0112, Amdt. #1-S) Minimum Wage. Increases and Future >> Adjustments. Initiative Statute. Summary Date: 12/27/05 Circulation >> Deadline: 05/26/06 Signatures Required: 373,816 Proponent: Barry >> Hermanson >> Increases California?s minimum hourly wage to $7.50, effective >> January 1, 2007, then to $8.25, effective January 1, 2008, and then >> to $8.75, >> effective January 1, 2009. Establishes annual automatic adjustment of >> minimum wage beginning January 1, 2010, to be calculated each year by >> multiplying the minimum wage then in effect by the percentage of >> inflation that occurred during the previous year, using the >> California Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, or its >> successor index. Directs Industrial Welfare Commission to adopt >> minimum wage orders consistent with this initiative. Summary of >> estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal >> impact on state and local governments: Potential modest net reduction >> in annual state and local government revenues. Annual state and local >> governmental costs ? primarily in health and child care programs ? >> potentially in the low hundreds of millions of dollars. >> (SA2005RF0112, Amdt. #1-S.) > > _______________________________________________ > sosfbay-discuss mailing list > sosfbay-discuss at marla.cagreens.org > http://marla.cagreens.org/mailman/listinfo/sosfbay-discuss > Andrea Dorey Santa Clara County Green Party Chinese Proverbs: "Serving the powerful is like sleeping with a tiger." "It is difficult to get off a tiger's back." From andid at cagreens.org Mon Jan 9 11:16:02 2006 From: andid at cagreens.org (Andrea Dorey) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2006 11:16:02 -0800 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Clemency - and humanity - DENIED In-Reply-To: <439BA518.10ED@california.com> References: <439E1124.3000002@earthlink.net> <8C7CD95CFEA48E5-4FC-1143D@FWM-D35.sysops.aol.com> <439BA518.10ED@california.com> Message-ID: <8327f78ef1ee54959cdf734995ab79aa@cagreens.org> I cannot understand how they got away with killing this man. He and his books received several prestigious nominations, including the nobel peace prize. Andrea On Dec 10, 2005, at 8:03 PM, E. Alan Meece wrote: > Yeah; our governator is a political lightweight and tool of corporate > America. The death penalty and its use in this case underscores for me > that we live in a semi-barbarian land. And we even have a self-titled > "barbarian" as our governor! > > Eric the Green > > alexcathy at aol.com wrote: >> >> And if I ever hear anyone describe that rightwing creep, Arnold >> Schwarzenegger, as a "Social Moderate" and "a different kind of >> Republican" ever again, I may need to be restrained. Except for >> "style" and a certain kind of bullshit that, unfortunately, appeals to >> some of my Euro-American brothers who ought to know better, there is >> not a dime's worth of difference between the "Governator" and George >> W. >> Bush. >> >> Alex Walker >> _______________________________________________ >> sosfbay-discuss mailing list >> sosfbay-discuss at marla.cagreens.org >> http://marla.cagreens.org/mailman/listinfo/sosfbay-discuss > _______________________________________________ > sosfbay-discuss mailing list > sosfbay-discuss at marla.cagreens.org > http://marla.cagreens.org/mailman/listinfo/sosfbay-discuss > > Andrea Dorey Santa Clara County Green Party Chinese Proverbs: "Serving the powerful is like sleeping with a tiger." "It is difficult to get off a tiger's back." From andid at cagreens.org Mon Jan 9 11:11:17 2006 From: andid at cagreens.org (Andrea Dorey) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2006 11:11:17 -0800 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Pomo: Federal Land Sale In-Reply-To: <20051206203636.85889.qmail@web31009.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <20051206203636.85889.qmail@web31009.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Or create a sustainable people's park with low income, low impact senior housing? Andrea On Dec 6, 2005, at 12:36 PM, jodi embry wrote: > I wish that greens would look to the use of these > public lands as they did in BARC. Federal lands could > be used to grow food or plants for animals (natural > inhabitants) or alternative energy. > "Private use and mining is not necessarily > sustainable. > Jodi S.C.Co Greens > > > > __________________________________________ > Yahoo! DSL ? Something to write home about. > Just $16.99/mo. or less. > dsl.yahoo.com > > _______________________________________________ > sosfbay-discuss mailing list > sosfbay-discuss at marla.cagreens.org > http://marla.cagreens.org/mailman/listinfo/sosfbay-discuss > > Andrea Dorey Santa Clara County Green Party Chinese Proverbs: "Serving the powerful is like sleeping with a tiger." "It is difficult to get off a tiger's back." From wrolley at charter.net Tue Jan 10 09:38:09 2006 From: wrolley at charter.net (Wes Rolley) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 09:38:09 -0800 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Public Transportation Message-ID: <43C3F101.8050602@charter.net> In the coming year, public transportation is going to continue being a major issue. A significant part of the Governor's State of the State Speech, his public "SOS", was devoted to infrastructure funding and a major portion of that on New Roads. The "Bart to San Jose" question is still open, at least as to the extent of the project and also as to how it will be funded. VTA is under increasing attacks as it is not now and never will be able to operate without subsidy. Here is a set of points that I feel are pertinent to this question and should be considered as part of any Green Party statement - there will always be significant opposition to BART to San Jose in South County, especially when it comes to increasing sales tax to pay for it, because South County will get little or no benefit from it. Case in point, tie editorial in the January 6, 2006 Morgan Hill Times headlined "BART Still a Bad Idea" and beginning with the statement "The VTA's sudden and suspicious "discovery" of $2 billion dollars in previously unaccounted- for sales tax revenue doesn't change the basic fact that extending BART to San Jose is a bad idea." - I have lived for a number of years in two metropolitan areas with extensive public transportation systems, New York and Tokyo. In both cases, it is often true that you can get within a few blocks of where you want to go by taking mass transit. That is almost never the case in the bay area. The implication of this is that it will not be possible to have a comprehensive, highly utilized mass transit system based solely on CalTrain, BART and the San Jose Light Rail System. The key to the effectiveness of the system in Tokyo (a mix of public and private lines) is that suburban rail became subway in the City, buses and trains served the same major stations and those stations were the centers of retail development. The best example was the Seibu Line in Tokyo which terminated at a major stop in Tokyo where the same company also had a Seibu Department Store as the core of a commercial district. - VTA financial management needs ongoing scrutiny. It has not proven to be able to give full accounting of the sales tax revenues. It's political management is a worse. According to the VTA web site: "VTA Board of Directors sets VTA policy. The Board has 17 members and 2 ex-officio members, all of whom are elected officials appointed to serve on our Board by the jurisdictions they represent. Fourteen Directors are city council members and three are County Supervisors." These political appointments are strongly motivated to make sure that their own city gets a fair share, which does not lead to the type of coordinated planning that we neeed. If we are ever going to end up with something that is even a little bit Green, there must be some fundamental changes in the manner we go about planning. You can not separate transportation issues from land use issues. You can not optomize the system by sub-optomizing the benefit for each segment. The real battle ground for transportation may be South County, especially the plans that San Jose has for development in Coyote Valley, plans that I do not trust as the major objective is to maximize the real estate tax base for San Jose. Is this an issue for the SCC Green Party or for local candidates in 2006? Will we have local candidates in 2006? Wes -- "Anytime you have an opportunity to make things better and you don't, then you are wasting your time on this Earth" Roberto Clemente Wes Rolley http://www.refpub.com/ Tel: 408.778.3024 From vdf at juno.com Tue Jan 10 09:59:34 2006 From: vdf at juno.com (Valerie D. Face) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 17:59:34 GMT Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Fw: Laura Wells Statement Message-ID: <20060110.095950.14905.354314@webmail15.lax.untd.com> An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed... Name: not available URL: From wrolley at charter.net Tue Jan 10 10:15:55 2006 From: wrolley at charter.net (Wes Rolley) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 10:15:55 -0800 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Fw: Laura Wells Statement In-Reply-To: <20060110.095950.14905.354314@webmail15.lax.untd.com> References: <20060110.095950.14905.354314@webmail15.lax.untd.com> Message-ID: <43C3F9DB.4070005@charter.net> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From alexcathy at aol.com Tue Jan 10 11:40:16 2006 From: alexcathy at aol.com (alexcathy at aol.com) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 14:40:16 -0500 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Clemency - and humanity - DENIED In-Reply-To: <8327f78ef1ee54959cdf734995ab79aa@cagreens.org> References: <439E1124.3000002@earthlink.net> <8C7CD95CFEA48E5-4FC-1143D@FWM-D35.sysops.aol.com> <439BA518.10ED@california.com> <8327f78ef1ee54959cdf734995ab79aa@cagreens.org> Message-ID: <8C7E434D0D5F671-D28-10387@mblk-r30.sysops.aol.com> O Andrea, Andrea, My Dear Innocent Child, What we are struggling against here is exactly the sort of thing Hannah Arendt wrote about in the "Origins of Totalitarianism." We are literally struggling with a regime that based on terror. Terrorism from below is when some scumbag sets off a bomb on a crowded bus or marketplace. We fear violence, but the "Terror" is the thought of just arbitrarily being blown away with absolutely no connection to being either "guilty" or "innocent." The psychology is the same in a totalitarian state. In the worst days of the Soviet Union people got picked up and arrested for absolutely no reason. It's the same thing here. The fact that Tookie Williams did indeed have certain redemptive qualities was all the more reasons why they had to execute him. -----Original Message----- From: Andrea Dorey To: Green South Bay Discussion Sent: Mon, 9 Jan 2006 11:16:02 -0800 Subject: Re: [Sosfbay-discuss] Clemency - and humanity - DENIED I cannot understand how they got away with killing this man. He and his books received several prestigious nominations, including the nobel peace prize. Andrea From Mjsmith55 at aol.com Tue Jan 10 12:53:41 2006 From: Mjsmith55 at aol.com (Mjsmith55 at aol.com) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 15:53:41 EST Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Event Announcement: January 11 Green Talk Message-ID: Welcome to gpsmc-news, the occasional online newsletter of the Green Party of San Mateo County. You'll find subscription (and unsubscription) instructions at the end of this message. You'll find all this information, as well as directions and links to maps, at our online calendar: <_http://cagreens.org/sanmateo/calendar.html_ (http://cagreens.org/sanmateo/calendar.html) >. Most calendar items have contact persons noted, but you can always inquire at _gpsmc at cagreens.org_ (mailto:gpsmc at cagreens.org) or 650-366-6603 for more information on anything concerning GPSMC. ========================================= The January 11th Green Talk will be on Sustainability in Suburbia--growing food, improving soil, and using local resources in a suburban setting. Please join us. Wednesday, November 9th Peter's Cafe, Millbrae Millbrae Ave and El Camino at the Bart/CalTrain station or automobile parking next to the Cafe 6 pm - no host dinner 7 pm - welcome and announcements 8 pm - Sanda Everette speaking on Sustainability in Suburbia. Principles of sustainability have always been important to folks who care about the environment, but the need to produce more of our own food or get it from sources closer to home has been increased with our growing awareness of the crisis associated with "peak oil." Hear how the San Mateo Ecovillage has been set up to grow some of its own food and learn ways you can do it as well. Find out about additional local sources of organic food which they use such as "Community Supported Agriculture" and Farmers' Markets. Learn how to improve your soil so that you can garden...and what to do if you have no soil. Sanda and Brian Everette are Permaculture Designers and Master Composters and you can read more about their project at _http://www.greensolutions.org/smcc.htm_ (http://www.greensolutions.org/smcc.htm) ========================================= -- Mailing List Information We try to keep the traffic on this list to a minimum, but if you'd rather not get any messages, follow the link at the end of this message and unsubscribe. If you have trouble, send me a note at <_mjsmith55 at aol.com_ (mailto:mjsmith55 at aol.com) > and I'll take care of it directly. If you have an announcement that you'd like to see posted to the news list, send the announcement, well in advance of the event, to Mitch Smith <_mjsmith55 at aol.com_ (mailto:mjsmith55 at aol.com) >. We also have an email discussion list for San Mateo Greens. Subscribe to this list at <_http://lists.cagreens.org/mailman/listinfo/gpsmc-d_ (http://lists.cagreens.org/mailman/listinfo/gpsmc-d) >, and then post messages by sending them to <_gpsmc-d at cagreens.org_ (mailto:gpsmc-d at cagreens.org) >. This list is for the discussion of issues and other items of specific interest to San Mateo Greens. You'll also find instructions for signing up at our GPSMC Get Informed! web page: <_http://cagreens.org/sanmateo/inform.html_ (http://cagreens.org/sanmateo/inform.html) >. -- Mitch Smith -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wrolley at charter.net Wed Jan 11 20:20:42 2006 From: wrolley at charter.net (Wes Rolley) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2006 20:20:42 -0800 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Another OpEd Message-ID: <43C5D91A.7070009@charter.net> I had another OpEd in the Morgan Hill Times this week. I published it on my own blog also. You can read it at http://www.refpub.com/archives/2006/01/dont_rely_on_growth.html I think that a lot of what I say about Morgan Hill applies to other communities in the County. This was written back in November, but they just published it now, along with another article headlined "Sales Growth Anything but Stable" and aimed at the idea of financing BART expansion through sales tax, something that the paper is against. This was not my choice, but the two do connect in a way. -- "Anytime you have an opportunity to make things better and you don't, then you are wasting your time on this Earth" Roberto Clemente Wes Rolley http://www.refpub.com/ Tel: 408.778.3024 From cbrouillet at igc.org Fri Jan 13 13:10:28 2006 From: cbrouillet at igc.org (Carol Brouillet) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2006 13:10:28 -0800 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Rally Sunday in Palo Alto Message-ID: <7.0.0.16.2.20060113130244.05626380@igc.org> Dear Greens, I used to be on this list years back, and I am finally resubscribed. I hope people will be able to come and table at the rally. Details on speakers are posted at http://www.communitycurrency.org/CampaignLaunch.html . Unfortunately, I have been sick and unable to do all the stuff that I wish I could have done in preparation for this, so it won't really be a campaign launch, as much as publicly announcing that I'm forming a committee and intend to run. It will be an organizing opportunity and I hope that we can spread the word and get Greens to come. All the Green candidates are in dire need of signatures. Thank-you for any help/advice you can offer. Let me know if you want to be on the committee! FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, January 12, 2006 Contact: Christian Pecaut 415-573-5655, workoutwellforall at gmail.com MLK 'Truth, Peace & Justice' rally Sunday will focus on Bush impeachment, third Party campaign in Palo Alto for Congress PALO ALTO - The impeachment of Pres. George Bush will be among other "Truth, Peace and Justice" topics discussed here at a Martin Luther King Jr. rally and celebration Sunday, Jan. 15, 2006, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Lytton Plaza, in Downtown Palo Alto (University & Emerson). The day also marks the anniversary of a March in 2002, organized by 9/11 activist Carol Brouillet, to demand a Congressional investigation of 9-11, and a 2003 March to demand an end to the 9-11 Cover-Up, repeal of the PATRIOT Act, and the pre-emptive impeachment of the current administration. Brouillet, who will be joined by other Green Party candidates, will announce she is forming an exploratory committee to run for Congress in the 14th District (Palo Alto). "Like Martin Luther King, Jr., I have a dream, too. A dream of a world, without war, a dream of a world where resources are not squandered on weapons, a dream of a world where wealth is measured by the health and well being of our relationships, our children, our community, our planet," said Brouillet. "Truth is the first casualty of war. Lies are used to sell unjustifiable wars. The PATRIOT Act was anything, but patriotic, and an attack upon the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, dissent. We need a national dialogue on Impeachment, and the responsibility of the American people and Congress to rein in a criminal regime," she added. "I believe that 'Impeachment,' Repeal of the PATRIOT Act, are our best hope for the country, the world. Apathy, Disengagement, Fear and Cynicism are the forces which perpetuate a war economy. Engagement, Empowerment, Hope, Courage, Truth can transform it to serving human needs. As citizens, our greatest duty, to ourselves, to our families, to the world, is to rein in our own government, to hold it accountable for its actions. Regime Change should begin at home." Activists from all over the Bay Area are expected to attend, including several candidates for statewide office on the November 2006 ballot. There will be a wide variety of speakers, light snacks, and music provided by Annie and the Vets. See http://www.communitycurrency.org/CampaignLaunch.html. -30- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From TNHarter at aol.com Sat Jan 14 22:13:21 2006 From: TNHarter at aol.com (TNHarter at aol.com) Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2006 01:13:21 EST Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] The first interview of my campaign Message-ID: <245.53a4e6f.30fb4201@aol.com> http://www.conscious-slaves.com/podcast/tian.mp3 I know I need to trim the "um.. you know, like whatever stuff" out of my vocabulary, but other than that it's interesting. Please let me know any suggestions you have for next time I speak! -- Tian Harter http://tianharter.org Now gathering signatures to get on the ballot as a Green Party Candidate for U. S. Senator. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From TNHarter at aol.com Wed Jan 18 16:27:24 2006 From: TNHarter at aol.com (TNHarter at aol.com) Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2006 19:27:24 EST Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Carol Brouillet's Congressional Campaign Begins Message-ID: <9d.6f8604ce.310036ec@aol.com> Notable news that came out of the event includes Dennis Kyne's announcement that he is running for San Jose's 3rd City Council District seat. For more of what happened there, and links to the sites of the speakers, please visit: http://tian.greens.org/PaloAlto/BrouilletCampaign06Start/index.html -- Tian Harter http://tianharter.org Now gathering signatures to get on the ballot as a Green Party Candidate for U. S. Senator. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From andid at cagreens.org Wed Jan 18 15:13:24 2006 From: andid at cagreens.org (Andrea Dorey) Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2006 15:13:24 -0800 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Tian for Senate Announcement In-Reply-To: <8C7E16F84F9111E-E64-1F265@MBLK-M40.sysops.aol.com> References: <8C7E16F84F9111E-E64-1F265@MBLK-M40.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: Good advice. Andrea On Jan 6, 2006, at 11:02 PM, alexcathy at aol.com wrote: > Dear Tian, > > I just visited your web site. You've got good issues. I just have a > couple of, shall we say, show business suggestions. > > (1) You may have to spring for a few bucks to get a professional > photographer to take a suitable campaign photo with the appropriate > "costume" to play the "role" of a candidate for the United States > Senate, that is, dark business suit and necktie. Even more important > than the costume is that you can't see your face very well in the > picture. > > Tian, one of your assets as a candidate is that you have a friendly > face. You look like a guy people can trust (unlike me, who makes > people lock their car door -- Click! -- if I walk by on the sidewalk > while they're stopped for a red light). Unfortunately, in that picture > on the web site you look like Satan lurking in the Garden of Eden. > > (2) The thing with the coins takes up too much space on the page. > > (3) You've got good issues. However, I was surpirsed that you are > kind of weak on the Iraq War. You do not actually say "Bring Our Boys > Home A.S.A.P." Your statement is too vague. Please don't get me > wrong! It would be a mistake to come on too radical too early, but > polls say the war is the #1 issue for Congress this year and you gotta > be at least two steps to the Left of Diane Feinstein. > > I know this sounds like nitpicking, but at this early stage, even most > Greens do not know who you are. They will hear that you've announced > and if they are web-savvy the first thing they'll do is check out your > web site. It's like a first date. You gotta give 'em a good first > impression. > > > Alex Walker > _______________________________________________ > sosfbay-discuss mailing list > sosfbay-discuss at marla.cagreens.org > http://marla.cagreens.org/mailman/listinfo/sosfbay-discuss > > Chinese Proverb: "If you do not climb the mountain, you will not see the plain." Andrea Dorey 408-306-1900 (cell phone, short messages please) From andid at cagreens.org Wed Jan 18 14:55:12 2006 From: andid at cagreens.org (Andrea Dorey) Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2006 14:55:12 -0800 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Fwd: Health Care for All thanks you--FYI Message-ID: <19ac9c89de7c89756e9d73e8ce66dfd7@cagreens.org> In case you haven't seen this; it's timely. Andrea Begin forwarded message: > From: > Date: January 16, 2006 3:01:40 PM PST > To: > Subject: Health Care for All thanks you for supporting civil rights > > > As we remember one of America?s greatest heroes, we at Health Care for > All want to thank you. > ? > Thank you for continuing Dr. Martin Luther King?s fight for civil > rights.?? > ? > Thank you for taking the time to fight to ensure every person in > California has the civil right to quality, affordable health care. > ? > Thank you for taking the high road when it is so much easier to take > the low. > ? > Together, we shall overcome the insurance companies? deceit, money and > lies.? Together, we shall let the truth shine on the fact that > California can easily afford to provide everyone quality affordable > health care without spending any more money.? We can no longer allow > greedy health insurance bullies to deny people their civil rights. > ? > Together, we shall stand for what is true and just and we will > overcome. > ? > Together, we have accomplished a lot and yet there is much work to be > done.? > ? > In 2005, Health Care for All: > ? > ? Led the grassroots campaign that passed SB 840 (Universal Health > Care) in the California Senate and the Assembly Health Committee. > ????????Joined California Senator Kuehl when she released The Lewin > Group Economic Impact Study, sponsored by HCA, which shows how much > money a ?single-payer? or ?one care? system could save Californians. > ? Garnered hundreds of co-authors and endorsements for SB 840 > ? Publicized SB 840 through a radio ad campaign on Air America, a > flyer in English and Spanish, op-eds in newspapers and local events > throughout the state. > ? Quadrupled our size and started five new HCA chapters (in Nevada > County, Orange County, San Fernando Valley, Sonoma Valley, and Ventura > County). > ? > We need more help to enact SB 840 into law.? Please bring more friends > and family into battle for our civil rights, our right to quality > affordable health care.? > ? > Right now, please forward this email to at least one friend or family > member and ask them to join Health Care for All. > ? > Join, renew or donate to Health Care All Political Action Fund > ? > Tax deductible donations to the Health Care for All Education Fund > ? > ? > If Dr. King were alive today, he would be proud of all the work you > are doing.? > ? > ? > Sincerely, > ? > Geoff Cunningham > Membership Chair, Health Care for All > www.healthcareforall.org > ? > ? > ? > ? > ? > If you would no longer like to receive emails from Health Care for All > click here to remove from list. > Sent from: > 8620 Wilshire Blvd Suite?101 > Beverly Hills, CA? 90211 > ?p: 310-289-1163 > ?geoffchca at dslextreme.com? > Andrea Dorey Santa Clara County Green Party Chinese Proverbs: "Serving the powerful is like sleeping with a tiger." "It is difficult to get off a tiger's back." -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 11061 bytes Desc: not available URL: From drpesto at hotmail.com Thu Jan 19 22:05:01 2006 From: drpesto at hotmail.com (Michael Fischetti) Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2006 22:05:01 -0800 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] community tv project Message-ID: on wed the 25th of january at 7 pm we are having a meeting at my house to continue discussing a progressive community tv series. several attendees have experience producing tv shows including andrea dorey, roy harrison, rob weltman and ray shuster. we have discussed a wide variety of possible topics, involving deanza and other community college students, fundraising and training for those of us with little experience. if you are at all interested in this project and in attending the meeting let me know mike fischetti From jean_comfort at yahoo.com Thu Jan 19 22:34:28 2006 From: jean_comfort at yahoo.com (Jean Comfort) Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2006 22:34:28 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] After Oil: Transition to a Clean Energy Economy Message-ID: <20060120063428.48001.qmail@web50702.mail.yahoo.com> FYI------ speaker at NASA Ames on January 24 Title: After Oil: Transition to a Clean Energy Economy Presenter: Daniel M. Kammen, Professor, University of California Berkeley Date and Time: January 24, 2006 at 2:00 p.m. Location: NASA Ames Research Center Bldg. 943 (outside of main gate on Moffett Blvd.) Cost: Free Talk description: Professor Kammen will explore the evolution of the United States' fossil fuel economy to identify the times and opportunities where there have been significant levels of innovation and change. He will also look at current technology policies, as well as what may come in the future to initiate and develop a low-carbon economy. This talk will cover scientific, technical, and policy aspects of our evolving energy system, and will make the case that 'tipping points' and opportunities for change are plentiful, should we choose to take action. Bio: Daniel M. Kammen is a Professor at University of California Berkeley, specifically in the Energy and Resources Group, the Goldman School of Public Policy and the Department of Nuclear Engineering. He is also the founding Director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory, and the co-Director of the Berkeley Institute of the Environment. His work spans the science and engineering of renewable energy systems, risk analysis, and energy policy. His publications and current projects can be found online at: http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~kammen, and http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~rael Registration: http://environment.arc.nasa.gov/pub_events.php Jean Comfort 48 Lorelei Lane Menlo Park, CA 94025 jean_comfort at yahoo.com (650)323-7188 From thinkgreen at threeparty.org Sat Jan 21 15:54:46 2006 From: thinkgreen at threeparty.org (Roy) Date: Sat, 21 Jan 2006 15:54:46 -0800 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Tian for Senate Announcement - Portraits for Green Candidates In-Reply-To: <8C7E16F84F9111E-E64-1F265@MBLK-M40.sysops.aol.com> References: <8C7E16F84F9111E-E64-1F265@MBLK-M40.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <43D2C9C6.3090701@threeparty.org> alexcathy at aol.com wrote: > Dear Tian, > > I just visited your web site. You've got good issues. I just have a > couple of, shall we say, show business suggestions. > > (1) You may have to spring for a few bucks to get a professional > photographer to take a suitable campaign photo with the appropriate > "costume" to play the "role" of a candidate for the United States > Senate, that is, dark business suit and necktie. Even more important > than the costume is that you can't see your face very well in the > picture. > Save your bucks Tian (and any other green candidates on this list) I'll gladly do a portrait shot of you. A location shot and or a studio type shot. some of my portrait work can be seen at www.duendevision.com/portraits Peace Roy From alexcathy at aol.com Sun Jan 22 08:24:52 2006 From: alexcathy at aol.com (alexcathy at aol.com) Date: Sun, 22 Jan 2006 11:24:52 -0500 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Why Am I Green? -- Phil Angelides the "Un-Schwarzenegger" ?? In-Reply-To: <20060122154702.88376.qmail@web407.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <8C7ED8781B23142-150-AB0F@MBLK-M06.sysops.aol.com> One more thing about Phil Angelides. My wife informed me that Angelides has already been endorsed by the California Teachers Association. The endorsement flyer states "he does not limit his ideas to the resources available." I guess not, considering his scam involving Sacramento wetlands now paved over to enrich his pocketbook. On the flyer, A is quoted as saying he has been "running (my) own environmentally conscious company" for over 30 years. Could this be his real estate development company?? Exploring his real activities related to environmental protection seems worth further exploration, certainly. From wrolley at charter.net Sun Jan 22 20:07:42 2006 From: wrolley at charter.net (Wes Rolley) Date: Sun, 22 Jan 2006 20:07:42 -0800 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Justice In Santa Clara County Message-ID: <43D4568E.4090605@charter.net> After a long walk late this afternoon with my wife, I came back, turned on Channel 11 news, and heard the story of Miguel Sermeno. Sermeno was arrested on felony hit-and-run charges after walking the half-block from his house to the scene of an accident. An overzealous deputy district attorney ignored evidence that pointed to a more likely suspect, instead winning a wrongful conviction. This led me to the Mercury News. Todays MN had the first of a five part series on IN justice in Santa Clara County. It is appalling and, from my own observations just in traffic court, has a racial side to it that de facto punishes those who are "different." I urge everyone to read this series by Fredrick Tulsky. Then, I would hope that there is a way to turn this into a formal protest of the lack of social justice in our INjustice system. We often take shots at the "Murky News" but this time they are doing something right. Wes -- "Anytime you have an opportunity to make things better and you don't, then you are wasting your time on this Earth" Roberto Clemente Wes Rolley http://www.refpub.com/ Tel: 408.778.3024 From alexcathy at aol.com Tue Jan 24 10:35:43 2006 From: alexcathy at aol.com (alexcathy at aol.com) Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2006 13:35:43 -0500 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Sacramento Bee on Angelides Message-ID: <8C7EF2C1E336852-1054-16D6@FWM-R21.sysops.aol.com> Dear Friends, Whenever I see an inflammatory expose like that San Jose Metro piece on Phil Angelides, I always look for a "respectable" mainstream media source for confirmation. See pasted below an article from The Sacramento Bee from around the time Angelides announced his candidacy for governor last spring. Wes Rolley may have seen this because Wes regularly reads the SacBee. It's basically a "puff piece." The Sacramento Bee likes "business-friendly" politicians. But it confirms the facts about Angelides relationship with Angelo Tsakopoulos and his experience as a developer around Sacramento. Some people look at the life story of William Jefferson Clinton and they see a poor boy from Arkansas who went off to Georgetown, Oxford, and Yale Law School and then came home to "do good." Similarly, some people may look at the life story of Phil Angelides and see a nice Greek-American grandson of immigrants who went off to Harvard and then came home to "do good." I do not. I think Angelides' story, like Clinton's story or, for that matter, Sammy Alito's story or Arnold Schwarzenegger's story goes to the heart of why I'm a Green and those guys are Democrats and Republicans. I look at the life story of Phil Angelides and I see a guy who, life me, was fortunate to be born into a family with educated parents and, like me, was fortunate enough to get an excellent education who then went off to Harvard and came back with that peculiar sense of entitlement that these guys have about ruling the world and doing well while doing good. The guy ran for the Sacramento City Council. . . and lost (hell, Tian Harter did that). Finally, in 1998, after he was filthy rich enough to spend millions of his own money and after having raised millions for other Big Shot Democrats, Angelides, schlepped his way into office as State Treasurer (and we know how closely voters follow those elections). That's it! That's the whole foundation for all these endorsements for making this guy the governor of the largest state in the U.S. and the world's fifth largest economy. If Angelides gets in there and screws up, which is likely, then it'll be our duty as "good liberals" to concoct rationalizations and apologies for his screw-ups. Alex = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Published by The Sacramento Bee, www.sacbee.com, April 11, 2005. THE MAN WHO WOULD BE GOVERNOR by Alexa H. Bluth -- Bee Capitol Bureau At age 19 and not yet a Harvard graduate, lifelong Sacramentan Phil Angelides did something that many local politicians regarded as amusing. Even a little cute. He came home early from college to run for Sacramento City Council against a popular incumbent. It was, Angelides reflected, his campus-based fight against Richard Nixon's re-election that compelled him to dive into the local political scene in 1973 with virtually no warning, no experience and no support. "God knows what I was thinking," Angelides, now 51, recently confessed. "I was so excited about my experience as a college political activist that I really believed that you could change the world." The snickers subsided, however, when it became clear that the young Democrat's anti-establishment message had penetrated, at least enough to force an unexpected runoff. He did not win. But in the process, Angelides met a band of liberal Democrats who would become friends and political allies. And Sacramento was introduced to a man who would spend the next few decades as a key player in shaping Sacramento's landscape and Democratic Party politics in California. Angelides veered away after his first dips into politics, instead building a career and fortune in development. But, among those who have known him over the years, few doubted that someday he would run for governor. Late last month, well into his second term as state treasurer, Angelides became the first to formally enter the 2006 race for governor. If Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger seeks re-election, and Angelides wins the Democratic primary, he will face a megastar who easily won his job from Democrat Gray Davis. It is a position Angelides has sought out and relished unabashedly for more than a year, boasting of his efforts to take on a titan when other Democrats didn't. Colleagues, friends and foes describe the same fearless - even starry-eyed - determination in Angelides' endeavors long before he took public office. The grandson of Greek immigrants and son of a mechanical engineer who urged him to secure his own financial comfort and engage in public service, Angelides finished at Harvard and returned home. He had lived in Sacramento since birth, leaving only for prep school in Ojai and college. With a liberal arts degree, Angelides landed a job in the state's Housing and Community Development agency, where he would begin to sharpen his dreams of shaping neighborhoods. He also met his wife, Julie, then a legislative staff member. After a courtship over lunches at Vic's Ice Cream in the Land Park neighborhood where Angelides grew up and the family still lives, the two married in 1983 in a modest Greek ceremony. Many times, Angelides said he considered going to business school. He had been accepted at Harvard and Stanford. But he chose to stay in Sacramento, where he had begun to build a close network of friends, including the late Mayor Joe Serna and Capitol lobbyist Steve Thompson. Angelides ran for City Council again in 1977, and lost. During that race, he was beginning to form a bond with another figure who would prove pivotal in his private and public life, developer and Sacramento fixture Angelo Tsakopoulos. Tsakopoulos said Angelides sought his support during his first failed City Council bid. "He came to see me," Tsakopoulos recalled. "He was so enthusiastic with what he wanted to do and so sure of himself and sure that he could really serve and he could contribute to society in a positive manner that he got my attention." That led to an enduring friendship and business relationship between the two men, who share a heritage and are both active in the local Greek American community. In 1984, Tsakopoulos hired Angelides as president of his AKT Development Corp., which built projects from Folsom to Elk Grove. Over time, Tsakopoulos would become a mentor and a key political contributor to Angelides. Tsakopoulos said Angelides had no problem transitioning to his new career. "Within 90 days he knew every deal that we were working on and every problem that we were facing," he said. Though he continued to partner with Tsakopoulos, Angelides eventually formed his own development company, River West. As a developer, Angelides at times found himself on the other side of local activism. He angered neighbors in Folsom's Lexington Hills, where residents said they had to scrounge for a park site after the federal Environmental Protection Agency found that the park and school site that Angelides had designated was a protected wetland. Longtime local environmental activist Vicki Lee said some of the stumbles and developments have achieved just the opposite of the "smart growth" that Angelides had embraced. "He has definitely contributed to the sprawl problem in this community, using his wiles and his connections to just wedge little projects and big projects in places that were premature and simply bad judgment," Lee said. "I live in this town, there's sprawl everywhere and that's Phil's legacy from before he was treasurer." Angelides bristles at the criticism but does not deny it. He said he learned and improved with each development and preaches the importance of building high-density housing to preserve natural resources. As he learned the lessons of developing, he also was quickly learning how to influence politics from behind the scenes. In 1988, he became a key fund-raiser for another prominent Greek American, Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis. Angelides soon was elected as state Democratic Party chairman, at a time when the party was plagued by losses and fiscal troubles. Under his watch, Democrats made huge gains in 1992, including securing a victory for Bill Clinton in California and electing Democratic women to both of the state's seats in the U.S. Senate. Angelides' state office is adorned with photographs of his three daughters, all of whom have attended Sacramento's St. Francis High School, and of mementos of those political victories. Among them is a photograph of Clinton in the Angelides home, which has been host to dozens of elaborate political functions - from presidential fund-raisers to the recent wake for the late U.S. Rep. Robert Matsui. Meanwhile, as he was emerging as a political force, Angelides and Tsakopoulos were beginning a project that would become among the most discussed developments on Angelides' resume: Elk Grove's Laguna West. The development started with his vision to turn a swath of farmland into a community designed to transform the way that communities developed their suburbs. Angelides recently sat in his own home, a majestic Spanish-style house on the edge of William Land Park, and said that it was his neighborhood that inspired Laguna West and still shapes his ideal for what neighborhoods should be. He envisioned a pedestrian-friendly enclave with tree-lined streets, parks, a central plaza and a bevy of small businesses close enough for residents to reach on foot. It would, Angelides said, attract nearby jobs and help to usher in an era of "new urbanism." "The concept of the development and its execution were very forward-looking," said Scott Syphax, one of Laguna West's first homeowners and chief executive of the Nehemiah Corp. of California. But the project was built as the housing market tanked, and got off to a slow start as the developers struggled to sell the homes. Angelides said he "barely survived economically." "He's incredibly brave," said Peter Calthorpe, the architect of Laguna West. "In Laguna West, he had a surefire project, it was all approved. They could have just rolled it out like any other project and made a bundle of money (but) he just said to me, there's got to be a better way." More than a decade later, Laguna West gets mixed reviews. Lauded for its tight-knit feeling, lines of shade trees and parks, it has failed to attract the promised nearby businesses or to coax residents from their cars any more than any nearby suburban development. Angelides said he struggled to persuade all of the homebuilders to go along with its core concepts, including front porches and granny flats. On a recent afternoon, Angelides returned to Laguna West and surveyed the neighborhood. "My view is, the measure of a community is how it works after 30 or 50 years," Angelides said, pointing to the lakefront public park that stretches along what Angelides said would have been a profitable spot to build expensive and exclusive houses. "I put everything on the line. We shot for 100; we didn't make 100. I'm not ready to grade myself yet, I'll look at it in another 10 years," he said. "But I know this: It's measurably more livable, it's a better place to live than a standard subdivision, and it was the start of what's become a very powerful movement." In 1994, Angelides sought again to win public office, this time as state treasurer. He lost in a general election race in which he spent more than $1 million of the money he had earned in development. Four years later, Angelides won the office, defeating then-Anaheim lawmaker Curt Pringle, and became the state's chief investment officer. Though Angelides' career had focused on Sacramento, the new statewide role suited his personality in many ways, said Tim Hodson, director of the Center for California Studies at California State University, Sacramento. "He's a policy wonk," Hodson said. "Policy wonks have strengths and weaknesses, and one of the weaknesses is that policy wonks tend to think that everybody else is as fascinated as they are about the details of policies." Lee, though critical of some of Angelides' local development pursuits, said today environmentalists applaud his activism as a California Public Employees' Retirement System trustee, one of his duties as treasurer. Among the efforts, Angelides and state Controller Steve Westly, also a trustee in the nation's largest public pension fund, launched an initiative to pressure automakers, utilities and other public firms to reveal their efforts to curb global warming. "He has managed to move past all the sprawl stuff and that's exactly why so many people support him today because he's taken that intellect and energy that he put into sprawl and moved it into government," Lee said. Angelides said he makes no distinction between his accomplishments in the public and private sectors. Having served in public office six years, he said he hardly considers himself a longtime politician. Instead, he views himself as a pragmatist and an idealist, and a devoted Sacramentan who leads a "simple life," playing tennis with friends on weekends and spending time with his daughters. "Throughout my life I've always tried to pursue my beliefs, what I thought was right, no matter what the odds were. I've not been afraid of taking the risk of losing," he said. "I'm driven by a set of beliefs, and I want to see them become real." = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = From jims at greens.org Tue Jan 24 13:56:11 2006 From: jims at greens.org (Jim Stauffer) Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2006 13:56:11 -0800 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Justice In Santa Clara County References: <43D4568E.4090605@charter.net> Message-ID: <43D6A27B.C715222A@greens.org> Wes Rolley wrote: > ------- snip > > I urge everyone to read this series by Fredrick Tulsky. Then, I would > hope that there is a way to turn this into a formal protest of the lack > of social justice in our INjustice system. We often take shots at the > "Murky News" but this time they are doing something right. > > Wes > And upcoming acts of injustice should be one of our actions, too. Here's an alert from So Bay Mobilization: -- Jim Action Alert: Write a Letter to Asst DA Karyn Sinunu, Attend HRC Hearing on Tuesday, January 24 Brought to you by South Bay Mobilization: www.sbm4peace.org www.sbm4peace.org/about/join.htm To unsubscribe from this list, scroll to the bottom and follow the simple instructions. PLEASE JOIN US IN COMMUNITY SOLIDARITY! Attend the Santa Clara County Human Relations Commission Meeting!!! Tuesday, January 24, 6 p.m. 70 West Hedding (at the corner of First Street), San Jose On the Agenda: * The Case of the De Anza 8 ? Racial Profiling and Police Brutality in Santa Clara County * Resolution to Urge the U.S. to Pull Out Now From Iraq * Resolution to Bring the California National Guard Home From Iraq We need to show the county HOW MUCH WE CARE about these issues and encourage the county to act on our behalf through PASSAGE of the anti-war resolutions and through JUSTICE for the young men unfairly singled out, injured, and threatened with serious charges! Please come to the meeting to show your support, and to hear the shocking testimony of what happened to the De Anza 8 when they protested against war criminal Colin Powell last November. In Addition: Please write to Assistant District Attorney Karyn Sinunu expressing your concerns about the pending charges against the De Anza 8. Here's a sample letter: Karyn Sinunu Chief Assistant District Attorney 70 W. Hedding San Jose, CA 95110 Re: De Anza Protest Dear Ms. Sinunu: I am concerned about the arrest and pending prosecution of the "De Anza 8". I am aware that the Office of the District Attorney is now reviewing the arrests and is contemplating bringing charges against some of the eight arrestees. I urge you to consider the inherent racism and the brutality of the arrests in making your decision. There can be no doubt that the overwhelming majority of the crowd at the Colin Powell protest was white. Equally, there can be do doubt that only minority people were arrested outside the Flint Center. I believe that before any charges are brought in this case you first have to explain this apparent racist response by the Sheriff's Department. I understand that the Sheriff has said in her defense that earlier in the evening it was impossible to make arrests, and that later in the evening (when additional officers were present) people were arrested only where there was 'probable cause'. I want to point out to you that statement is inherently unbelievable. The existing photographs and videotapes of the demonstration clearly show a large force of officers at all stages of the protest. Likewise, official Sheriff's Office press releases and statements claim truthfully that ALL of the problems are due to a small group of "protestors" dressed in black and wearing ski masks. If you look at the photos you will see that only white people were wearing ski masks, and we know that NO white people were arrested outside the Flint Center. I understand that several responsible people in the community (from all sides) have suggested that this is a case where formal mediation might be helpful. I ask you to consider this in making any decisions about this case. Clearly, no one should throw rocks at sheriff's deputies, or police officers. Just as clearly, the sheriff's deputies should not arrest Muslims (not dressed in black, not wearing ski masks) for the actions of others. Very Truly Yours, Educate, Involve and Mobilize for peace & justice www.sbm4peace.org This is an announcement from South Bay Mobilization, an organization working to oppose U.S. interventions that violate rights of self-determination abroad and undermine civil liberties, economic rights, and environmental protections here at home. Send comments or calendar items to info at southbaymobilization.org From Mjsmith55 at aol.com Wed Jan 25 13:58:16 2006 From: Mjsmith55 at aol.com (Mjsmith55 at aol.com) Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2006 16:58:16 EST Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Event Announcement: Lecture on Nuclear Energy with Green Party Message-ID: <26a.4a1ff80.31094e78@aol.com> Green Talk with the Green Party of San Mateo County Michael Bock of Helen Caldicott?s Nuclear Policy Research Institute, showing the film "Nuclear Deception" and speaking on the dangers of nuclear power. When: Wednesday February 8 at 7-9pm. Preceded by free refreshments 6-7pm. Where: Green Party Office, 212A Miller St, South San Francisco, 94080 Cost: free. Public is invitedContacts: For more info contact the GPSMCEmail: _gpsmc at cagreens.org_ (mailto:gpsmc at cagreens.org) Phone: 650-366-6603 Website: greens.org/cal/sanmateo/calendar.html Event coordinator: Mitch Smith Email: _mjsmith55 at aol.com_ (mailto:mjsmith55 at aol.com) Downloadable flyer at _http://www.greens.org/cal/sanmateo/files/GT20060208.pdf_ (http://www.greens.org/cal/sanmateo/files/GT20060208.pdf) . Please distribute widely. Speaker Bio: Michael Bock is an activist who has been working with the Nuclear Policy Research Institute. Of his work on this issue, Michael says, "To me the challenge with the nuclear issue is to integrate it with solutions. In this way the problem become the motivation for the solution and the solution becomes yet another strike against the problem." NPRI was established by Dr. Helen Caldicott, who for the last thirty-five years has lead an international campaign to end the nuclear age. Dr. Caldicott is the author of five books, most recently The New Nuclear Danger. NPRI seeks to educate the American public about the greatest single threat to the world's public health, namely the profound medical, environmental, political and moral consequences of perpetuating nuclear weapons, power and waste. *****This event is wheelchair accessible***** Every month, the Green Party of San Mateo County hosts lectures on topics important to residents of our region.Speakers may be local residents discussing their area of expertise or nationally-recognized activists Whether thesubject is taxes, health care, public transportation or airport expansion, you will find something at the Green Talksthat impacts you and your neighbors. Everyone is welcome! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From baalavi at yahoo.com Wed Jan 25 16:01:50 2006 From: baalavi at yahoo.com (Bob Alavi) Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2006 16:01:50 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] FYI! (Economy; Energy; Iran Oil Bourse) Message-ID: <20060126000150.33103.qmail@web52110.mail.yahoo.com> Well worth your reading: http://energybulletin.net/12125.html While reading, keep in mind that: The real threat of a "Nukular Iran" (the Oil Bourse) is scheduled to launch in March 2006; The FED has decided to stop publishing M3 (global volume of $$$ trade???) in March 2006. and the Israeli threat to stop "Nukular Iran" was also for March 2006. --------------------------------- Bring words and photos together (easily) with PhotoMail - it's free and works with your Yahoo! Mail. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From andid at cagreens.org Thu Jan 26 20:20:27 2006 From: andid at cagreens.org (Andrea Dorey) Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2006 20:20:27 -0800 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Fwd: Budget Fight CALLS NEEDED--FYI Message-ID: In case this has not come up yet, here's a good source of information about the Feb 1st vote. Andrea Begin forwarded message: > From: Cathy Deppe > Date: January 26, 2006 9:29:05 AM PST > To: C Deppe > Subject: Budget Fight CALLS NEEDED > > Hi 9to5 Members and Friends, > ? > ???? I am forwarding you an alert from Working America (AFL-CIO) > urging phone calls to oppose the federal budget reconcilliation > package - the free phone number to use is: 1-800-393-1082 and just ask > for your congressperson.? Mine is Mike Honda, already voting against > this. > ??? Thanks for your calls.? By the way, if you need voter registration > forms, I'll mail you ones that can be mailed in.? Just reply to this > email. > ? > In Solidarity, > Cathy Deppe > 9to5 staff organizer > > Working America wrote: >> Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2006 19:48:23 GMT >> From: "Working America" >> To: "Cathleen Deppe" >> Subject: Budget Fight Continues >> >> Dear Cathleen, >> >> On Feb. 1, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on a >> budget reconciliation bill that will cut $39.7 billion from >> vital programs for working families and low-income families. >> These cuts include $12.7 billion from the federal student loan >> program and $2.4 billion from Medicaid. >> >> Together, we've already delayed this vote by a few months. And >> together, we can stop these unjust cuts--if we act now. >> >> Please ask everyone you know who cares about working families >> and the poor to call their representative toll free and oppose >> the budget reconciliation bill: >> >> 1-800-393-1082 >> >> This budget would: >> >> - Slash health care funding for the poor. >> - Cut enforcement for child support, making it harder for single >> parents to raise their children. >> - Push the American dream beyond reach for many young people by >> cutting $12.7 billion from the federal student loan >> program--the largest cut in the program's history. >> - Force states to cut child care assistance to hundreds of >> thousands of low-income working families. >> - Cut foster care funds for children cared for by grandparents >> and other relatives. >> >> And do you know where the savings would go? To offset $70 >> billion in new tax cuts for the rich. >> >> It's time to get everyone we know who cares about working >> families and families in need to call their representative and >> say: >> >> - I oppose the budget reconciliation bill coming before >> Congress. With cuts to vital programs, like federal student loan >> programs and Medicaid, it is an attack on working families and >> the poor. >> - Our government needs to support working families, not make our >> lives more difficult. >> >> We cannot let Congress pass a budget that hurts families who are >> already struggling for a better life. >> >> Call your U.S. representative on our "Stop the Cuts" hot line, >> toll free: >> >> 1-800-393-1082 >> >> As always, thank you for all you do for working families. >> >> Sincerely, >> >> Working America, AFL-CIO >> Jan. 25, 2006 >> -------------------------------------------------- >> >> Tell your friends about this urgent budget campaign. >> >> If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for >> Working America at: >> >> http://www.unionvoice.org/wa/join.html >> >> -------------------------------------------------- >> >> Chinese Proverb: "If you do not climb the mountain, you will not see the plain." Andrea Dorey 408-306-1900 (cell phone, short messages please) -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 3917 bytes Desc: not available URL: From tnharter at aol.com Fri Jan 27 13:12:12 2006 From: tnharter at aol.com (tnharter at aol.com) Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2006 16:12:12 -0500 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Sacramento Bee on Angelides In-Reply-To: <8C7EF2C1E336852-1054-16D6@FWM-R21.sysops.aol.com> References: <8C7EF2C1E336852-1054-16D6@FWM-R21.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <8C7F19D799B8F73-128C-1630@MBLK-M03.sysops.aol.com> > >In 1984, Tsakopoulos hired Angelides as president of his AKT >Development Corp., which built projects from Folsom to Elk Grove. Over >time, Tsakopoulos would become a mentor and a key political contributor >to Angelides. > >Tsakopoulos said Angelides had no problem transitioning to his new >career. "Within 90 days he knew every deal that we were working on and >every problem that we were facing," he said. > >Though he continued to partner with Tsakopoulos, Angelides eventually >formed his own development company, River West. > >As a developer, Angelides at times found himself on the other side of >local activism. > >He angered neighbors in Folsom's Lexington Hills, where residents said >they had to scrounge for a park site after the federal Environmental >Protection Agency found that the park and school site that Angelides >had designated was a protected wetland. > >Longtime local environmental activist Vicki Lee said some of the >stumbles and developments have achieved just the opposite of the "smart >growth" that Angelides had embraced. > >"He has definitely contributed to the sprawl problem in this community, >using his wiles and his connections to just wedge little projects and >big projects in places that were premature and simply bad judgment," >Lee said. "I live in this town, there's sprawl everywhere and that's >Phil's legacy from before he was treasurer." > >Angelides bristles at the criticism but does not deny it. He said he >learned and improved with each development and preaches the importance >of building high-density housing to preserve natural resources. > The developers really are a major force in Sacramento Politics. So much so that when I put my name on the ballot running for City Council people told me "You can't get elected without the support of the developers." It was true. Lots of people gave me $25 and $50 donations. Meanwhile, candidates the developers were interested in were getting lots of thousand dollar donations. That kind of money buys so much air time people will vote for them on name recognition. I had an epiphany. The media wouldn't support me for Congress because I hadn't sat on the City Council. I couldn't sit on the City Council because the developers didn't like my message. I got the message the only thing the system liked was whatever made the rich richer. The only way I was going to get ahead was to start singing that tune. Being who I am, I decided I would rather exercise my right to remain silent. Here and now, Mountain View is in a situation where the developers have moved on to greener pastures. The big money is in turning farm land (earns a few dollars an acre in perpetuity) into suburbs (sells that land with new buildings for many thousands of dollars an acre once). We are buiding the suburb that now sits where fruit orchards used to into a real community, but it is slow going. I am proud of the progress though. What troubles me is going to a place like the Eastern Shore of Virginia, where I went last fall for my step sisters wedding.It's an old farming and fishing community where things have been fairly constant for hundreds of years. Lots of the talk at the reception centered around how the developers were raising property values so fast and so far that nobody with an honest job could pay the property taxes. One by one people were selling out. The father of the groom (a real estate salesman) was obviously doing well in that, but a lot of other people were hurting. I imagine the same kind of thing had been going on here in the 1950s or 1960s. Tian Harter tianharter.org From tnharter at aol.com Sat Jan 28 00:59:02 2006 From: tnharter at aol.com (tnharter at aol.com) Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 03:59:02 -0500 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Why Am I Green? -- Phil Angelides the "Un-Schwarzenegger" ?? In-Reply-To: <8C7ED8781B23142-150-AB0F@MBLK-M06.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <8C7F200382C9873-132C-754F@MBLK-M05.sysops.aol.com> He had to be concious of the damage he was doing. Sacramento Environmentalists spared no pains in their efforts to inform him they didn't like what he was doing. These are also the people that taught me the term "greenwashing" to describe the behaviour of people like Phil Angelides. Tian Harter http://tian.greens.org -----Original Message----- From: alexcathy at aol.com To: sosfbay-discuss at cagreens.org Sent: Sun, 22 Jan 2006 11:24:52 -0500 Subject: Re: [Sosfbay-discuss] Why Am I Green? -- Phil Angelides the "Un-Schwarzenegger" ?? One more thing about Phil Angelides. My wife informed me that Angelides has already been endorsed by the California Teachers Association. The endorsement flyer states "he does not limit his ideas to the resources available." I guess not, considering his scam involving Sacramento wetlands now paved over to enrich his pocketbook. On the flyer, A is quoted as saying he has been "running (my) own environmentally conscious company" for over 30 years. Could this be his real estate development company?? Exploring his real activities related to environmental protection seems worth further exploration, certainly. _______________________________________________ sosfbay-discuss mailing list sosfbay-discuss at marla.cagreens.org http://marla.cagreens.org/mailman/listinfo/sosfbay-discuss From andid at cagreens.org Sat Jan 28 12:10:40 2006 From: andid at cagreens.org (Andrea Dorey) Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 12:10:40 -0800 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Fwd: from United Farm Workers--Hazard ALERT! Message-ID: FYI, in case you have not seen this. Critical info! Andrea This came to the attention of Peninsula Raging Grannies: > ? > Stop the Registration:? Send your comment to EPA before February 6. > The Montreal Protocol, a 1992 commitment by the world's nations to > phase out methyl bromide--one of the five deadly pesticides targeted > by Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers--gave hope that farm > workers and others would finally stop being put at risk by this deadly > pesticide.? Unfortunately, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency > (EPA) is not only backpeddling on this, but is also facilitating the > chemical industry and agribusiness efforts to introduce methyl iodide, > a fumigant that may be even more hazardous to human health than methyl > bromide. The state of California lists it as a carcinogen under > Proposition 65. > EPA found that methyl iodide caused thyroid tumors--and introduced a > previously unheard-of cancer ranking of "Not likely to be carcinogenic > to humans at doses that do not alter rat thyroid hormone homeostasis." > The EPA's Cancer Assessment Review Committee used only a single study > to come to this conclusion?in which 62-66% of the rats in both the > control and the high dose group died during the experiment. In > addition to thyroid tumors, the study showed significant changes in > thyroid hormone levels, which are closely tied to metabolic disorders. > According to Pesticide Action Network, if methyl iodide is injected > into soil as a fumigant, even tarps can not stop it from escaping into > the open air and endangering nearby farmworkers and communities. The > EPA recommends that workers handling methyl iodide be required to wear > respirators, and that buffer zones the size of several football fields > may be necessary to keep the poisonous gas from drifting into nearby > communities. But on many farms, agricultural workers are regularly > denied basic safety equipment, and growers have objected strenuously > to buffer zones of any size. Under actual agricultural conditions, > methyl iodide cannot be safely used. > In recent years, researchers and farmers have made great progress in > improving the productivity and cost effectiveness of growing crops > without fumigants. Studies at the University of California at Davis > comparing organic strawberry fields to fumigated plots found that the > organic fields actually enjoyed higher yields, and both methods > produced a profit. Studies in many countries in Europe, Latin America > and other regions are finding successful alternatives as well. > Take Action today and call on the EPA to deny registration of methyl > iodide for use as a soil fumigant. > Andrea Dorey Santa Clara County Green Party Chinese Proverbs: "Serving the powerful is like sleeping with a tiger." "It is difficult to get off a tiger's back." -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 3165 bytes Desc: not available URL: From WB4D23 at aol.com Mon Jan 30 17:43:14 2006 From: WB4D23 at aol.com (WB4D23 at aol.com) Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2006 20:43:14 EST Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Fwd Msg: CAMPAIGN TO RAISE THE CALIFORNIA MINIMUM WAGE Message-ID: <1f4.1a25a90f.31101ab2@aol.com> Here is a message from/about the two petitions for initiatives to increase the California minimum wage. I am expecting to get petitions. Tim Smith, who is advocating the $7.75 per hour version (but not the $8.75 per hour) initiative, has proposed an orientation session on Saturday, February 11th. I emailed that information to the joint SC/SM County Council email list and got zero/nada/no response. Warner In a message dated 1/25/06 5:58:14 PM Pacific Standard Time, jaredl at sbcglobal.net writes: (Please Forward Widely) CAMPAIGN TO RAISE THE CALIFORNIA MINIMUM WAGE AND INDEX IT TO INFLATION!! Supporters of social justice, Californians for Fair Wages, a statewide coalition of progressive activists, has come together to campaign for a higher statewide minimum wage, indexed yearly to inflation to keep up with cost of living increases. There are two versions of this initiative; one raises the minimum hourly wage to $7.75 over one year, with yearly adjustments for inflation thereafter. The other version raises the minimum hourly wage to $8.75 over two years, with yearly adjustments for inflation thereafter. By working to qualify both of these initiatives for the ballot, we preserve all of our options for winning something tangible for workers this November. We now have petitions ready to circulate -- anyone eligible to register to vote in California may circulate these petitions. If you are interested in helping us gather the hundreds of thousands of signatures needed to bring millions of Californians closer to a living wage, or finding out more about what is involved, please contact us immediately. People are going to be eager to sign this petition, so the key is having enough volunteers to reach out to the overwhelmingly supportive public. You may contact myself, Jared Laiti, at 707-792-2381 or _JaredL at sbcglobal.net_ (http://us.f812.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=JaredL at sbcglobal.net) regarding both initiatives, Tim Smith at 707-206-0260 or _Rioryon at aol.com_ (http://us.f812.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=Rioryon at aol.com) regarding the $7.75 initiative, and Cres Vellucci _civillib at cwnet.com_ (http://us.f812.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=civillib at cwnet.com&YY=58916&order=down&sort=date&pos=0&view=a) and Pat Driscoll _pat at sonicfrog.com_ (http://us.f812.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=pat at sonicfrog.com&YY=58916&order=down&sort =date&pos=0&view=a) regarding the $8.75 initiative. If you can't gather signatures yourself (or even if you can!), please consider making a financial contribution to our efforts -- _http://www.cafairwage.org/pages/contribute.html_ (http://www.cafairwage.org/pages/contribute.html) . Together we can make a difference for California's workers! Californians For Fair Wages FPPC Number: 1276193 1710 Broadway #144, Sacramento CA 95818 Phone: (916) 484-5888 _www.cafairwage.org_ (http://www.cafairwage.org/) The following organizations are sponsors of the CFW campaign: Green Party of California Peace and Freedom Party ($8.75) Mexican American Political Association ($8.75) San Francisco Democratic Central Committee Wellstone Democratic Club Code Pink Living Wage Coalition of Sonoma County Sacramento UNITE People United for a Better Sacramento ($8.75) If you know of, or participate in, an organization that might consider endorsing this effort, please see _http://www.cafairwage.org/pages/endorse.html_ (http://www.cafairwage.org/pages/endorse.html) . In Solidarity, Jared P.S. Though the CFW campaign is an all-volunteer effort, there are also paid petitions that can be circulated simultaneoulsy that we can give you information about. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From smrfpwr at yahoo.com Mon Jan 30 21:14:16 2006 From: smrfpwr at yahoo.com (Amie) Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2006 21:14:16 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] speaker suggestions Message-ID: <20060131051416.44038.qmail@web33112.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hey everyone I am looking for suggestions or a contact for possible speakers. I am working with a group that is putting on a Fair Trade fair on campus in April at SJSU this semester. We are looking for speakers on any topics relating to fair trade, and I am especially looking to bring in a speaker on the environmental aspects of fair trade. If you have any suggestions or ideas, please let me know! Thanks. -Amie -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From vdf at juno.com Tue Jan 31 09:09:01 2006 From: vdf at juno.com (Valerie D. Face) Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 17:09:01 GMT Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Fwd Msg: CAMPAIGN TO RAISE THE CALIFORNIA MINIMU M WAGE Message-ID: <20060131.090934.14128.196298@webmail26.lax.untd.com> An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed... Name: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- Content-Type: message/rfc822 Content-Description: Message Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="Message" From vdf at juno.com Tue Jan 31 09:22:54 2006 From: vdf at juno.com (Valerie D. Face) Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 17:22:54 GMT Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Fwd Msg: CAMPAIGN TO RAISE THE CALIFORNIA MINIMU M WAGE Message-ID: <20060131.092353.717.118330@webmail51.lax.untd.com> An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed... Name: not available URL: From WB4D23 at aol.com Tue Jan 31 10:26:15 2006 From: WB4D23 at aol.com (WB4D23 at aol.com) Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 13:26:15 EST Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Requests for agenda items for next Tuesday's GPSCC meeting (Feb 7th) Message-ID: <1a3.449f887a.311105c7@aol.com> Treasurer's Report (including confirmation that end of year paperwork was filed by Jan 31st) Consideration of changing meeting from First Tuesday to First Wednesday of the month Report from Regional Rep on response from San Mateo County about ideas for reciprocal Bylaws regarding future Regional Rep selection Discussion of Minimum Wage Inititiative Campaign -- Tabling issues; Petitions distribution; Outreach opportunities; Tim Smith availability on Saturday February 11th Report from County Council on its activities since the last meeting; Status of County Council candidates -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wrolley at charter.net Tue Jan 31 15:59:40 2006 From: wrolley at charter.net (Wes Rolley) Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 15:59:40 -0800 Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] San Mateo County Supervisors support ESA Message-ID: <43DFF9EC.7090804@charter.net> Good news here: I would like to hear the Santa Clara County Supervisors take this on also. Story at KPIX (CBS5) http://cbs5.com/topstories/local_story_031143923.html. __ / SAN MATEO/ In a unanimous vote, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution Tuesday in support of the Endangered Species Act. The 33-year-old act "provides for the conservation of species that are endangered or threatened with extinction and the conservation of the ecosystems on which they depend," according to Supervisor Jerry Hill. Since it was passed in 1973, the act has worked as a "safety net" helping to protect many species on the brink of extinction, Hill said. "This community has demonstrated time and again its commitment to protecting the environment." The San Bruno Mountain Park houses several endangered species including, the San Bruno Elfin, Mission Blue, Callippe Silverspot, and Bay Checkerspot butterflies, according to the San Mateo County Web site. Another threatened species, the San Francisco Tree Lupin Moth, once inhabited San Bruno Mountain Park, but urban development decimated the population, according to the county Web site. The Endangered Species Act has "done more to preserve the quality of life in San Mateo County," said Brent Plater, staff attorney for the Center of Biological Diversity. Hill stated that "over 200 species in the Bay Area alone, many of them residing in San Mateo County refuges such as Montara Mountain, Edgewood Preserve, San Bruno Mountain and the wetlands of Rockaway beach and those adjacent to Belle Air Elementary School in San Bruno, are officially designated species of concern." While many support the Endangered Species Act, U.S. Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, has spearheaded legislation that looks to modify the act. Pombo's bill, which was passed by the House in September, would revise various sections of the Endangered Species Act "relating to determinations of endangered or threatened species, recovery plans for such species, and the role of states and private property owners in protecting such species," according to the bill. "The Endangered Species Act is not perfect, but gutting such a vital protection is not the answer," Hill said. "Protections are working." Plater said there is other legislation currently in circulation that follows a similar path as Pombo's bill, but that Pombo's is "the most drastic." "He has an ideological belief that endangered species should not be protected," Plater said. More information on endangered species in San Mateo County can be found on the Web site, http://www.co.sanmateo.ca.us. -- "Anytime you have an opportunity to make things better and you don't, then you are wasting your time on this Earth" Roberto Clemente Wes Rolley http://www.refpub.com/ Tel: 408.778.3024