From mikeburke99@yahoo.com Wed Jul 10 00:42:21 2002 Return-Path: Delivered-To: dryerase@lists.cu.groogroo.com Received: by imsahp (Postfix, from userid 1006) id 762CA17326; Wed, 10 Jul 2002 00:42:21 -0500 (CDT) Received: from web20509.mail.yahoo.com (web20509.mail.yahoo.com [216.136.226.144]) by imsahp (Postfix) with SMTP id C552216D91 for ; Wed, 10 Jul 2002 00:42:13 -0500 (CDT) Message-ID: <20020710054212.50010.qmail@web20509.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [172.174.57.37] by web20509.mail.yahoo.com via HTTP; Tue, 09 Jul 2002 22:42:12 PDT Date: Tue, 9 Jul 2002 22:42:12 -0700 (PDT) From: mike burke To: Dryerase@lists.cu.groogroo.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Spam-Status: No, hits=3.0 required=6.0 tests=FROM_ENDS_IN_NUMS,RCVD_IN_OSIRUSOFT_COM version=2.20 X-Spam-Level: *** Subject: [Dryerase] 11 Articles From July Indy (Venezuela, Iraq, death penalty, AIDS, civil liberties...) Sender: dryerase-admin@lists.cu.groogroo.com Errors-To: dryerase-admin@lists.cu.groogroo.com X-BeenThere: dryerase@lists.cu.groogroo.com X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.11 Precedence: bulk List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: A news syndication / sharing wire for independent newspapers. List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: It is great to see this list up and running. At the Indypendent we just published our July issue. Below are links to 11 articles with national relevance for your consideration. mike burke the indypendent new york city * * * * * AIDS Project Creates Hope in South Africa http://www.nyc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=27187 “Tell Tale Signs”: America Drifts Toward Police State http://www.nyc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=27196 Iraq: Smart Sanctions Still Kill http://www.nyc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=27213 Venezuela: Apocalypse When? http://www.nyc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=27216 Rallying Against Nukes: Peace Activists Seek to Revive Slumbering Movement http://www.nyc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=27217 Indigenous Voices Heard at U.N. http://www.nyc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=27210 Making Change: Ithaca Leads Local Currency Movement http://www.nyc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=27208 Pacifica: Rebels Rebuild Battered Radio Network http://www.nyc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=27204 Court Rules Against Death: Justices Bow to Increasing Opposition http://www.nyc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=27200 National Briefs http://www.nyc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=27197 International Briefs http://www.nyc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=27214 USE POLICY: We haven’t drafted a formal policy but please use this for now: All of these articles may be reprinted in any not-for-profit publication if the original source of the article (the Indypendent) and our website (www.nyc.indymedia.org) is included. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Sign up for SBC Yahoo! Dial - First Month Free http://sbc.yahoo.com From wires@the-alarm.com Thu Jul 11 21:56:20 2002 Return-Path: Delivered-To: dryerase@lists.cu.groogroo.com Received: by imsahp (Postfix, from userid 1006) id A93A71738E; Thu, 11 Jul 2002 21:56:20 -0500 (CDT) Received: from the-alarm.com (the-alarm.com [209.204.179.100]) by imsahp (Postfix) with SMTP id AC9891738C for ; Thu, 11 Jul 2002 21:56:07 -0500 (CDT) Received: from fhar ([192.168.0.3]) by the-alarm.com (AppleMailServer 10.1.4.0) id 10382u via TCP with SMTP; Thu, 11 Jul 2002 19:56:06 -0700 Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 19:56:05 -0700 Mime-Version: 1.0 (Apple Message framework v482) Content-Type: text/plain; charset=WINDOWS-1252; format=flowed From: Alarm!Wires To: dryerase@lists.cu.groogroo.com Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Message-Id: X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.482) X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.5 required=6.0 tests=PLING version=2.20 X-Spam-Level: Subject: [Dryerase] The Alarm! Editorial, 7-12-02 Sender: dryerase-admin@lists.cu.groogroo.com Errors-To: dryerase-admin@lists.cu.groogroo.com X-BeenThere: dryerase@lists.cu.groogroo.com X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.11 Precedence: bulk List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: A news syndication / sharing wire for independent newspapers. List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Hey all, The following is our editorial for the issue we put out earlier this=20 evening. It is perhaps the most pertinent to folks outside of our=20 region. Enjoy! Fhar Do we live in a world of exceptions? Last week when Donovan Jackson and his father were pulled over for=20 expired tags on their vehicle neither expected to find themselves in the=20= national headlines. Had it not been for the impulse of an amateur=20 cameraman they wouldn=92t have. What was captured on camera shocked viewers: a 16-year-old being flung=20= onto a police car and then brutally assaulted by an officer. According=20= to reports, the footage comes after the bulk of the Inglewood incident=20= had occured. Of course, there has been an outcry, as citizens of=20 Inglewood and others demand the immediate termination of the officer in=20= question. What does not come to the forefront in this incident is the=20 need to examine our overall surroundings and institutions. This week George W. Bush gave a speech addressing the recent=20 wrong-doings of a number of corporations. He called the behavior of=20 corporations, such as Enron and Worldcom, deplorable, and he outlined a=20= need for stiffer penalties for those =93caught=94 doing misdeeds. The=20 markets did not respond favorably, and the general public changed the=20 news station. Two weeks ago a young mother was convicted of a hate-crime against an=20 man of Arab descent. She faces three years in jail for running her=20 vehicle into his, and then assaulting him on a San Jose street. Locally,=20= there was minimal response. All three of these incidents are treated as relatively isolated=20 situations. When Donovan Jackson was assaulted by the officer in=20 southern California, he was immediately compared to Rodney King. When=20 Worldcom was found to be cooking their books, they were in the same=20 company as Enron. When this woman in San Jose was convicted there were=20= not immediate comparisons, and the response was simply a stern sigh.=20 These are presented to us, the public, as isolated situations, as=20 exceptions to our average expectations. But are they? The fact of the matter is police aggression is a constant reality;=20 corporations constantly fudge their books or act in ways that are less=20= than ethical; and hate crimes are occurring everyday that are related to=20= or independent of 9/11. Yet, these three events are said to be=20 exceptions. People often comment that if the =93corrupt=94 exceptions within our = society=20 are rooted out, we will live in a =93just and civil society.=94 What we = need=20 to recognize is that all of these =93exceptions=94 are not isolated = events;=20 they are all a part of systematic issues within our society. As a matter=20= of fact, when we identify these events as isolated, it distracts us from=20= looking at systemic problems. These events are actually necessary to=20 maintain the power of both capitalism and state over personal or=20 community relationships, because they reinforce the ideology that the=20 system works by rooting out such exceptions. This ideology creates an=20 atmosphere where exploration into systemic issues does not occur;=20 indeed, it creates safe harbor for these incidents to occur. When people do not take notice of the police and their activities, some=20= cops will act cavalier. When people invest their money and hope for the=20= best, never checking up on their investments, corporations will give the=20= bosses raises and inflate their actual earnings reports. When the=20 general public allows for people to say and act as they wish towards=20 anyone who is =93not a true American,=94 we become a xenophobic society. We have to awaken our senses and sensibilities. We need to recognize our=20= role as members of a community, and become accountable to one another.=20= Let corporate America pretend to be accountable to itself; it is our job=20= to recognize that corporations are NOT a part of our communities. We=20 need to look at what we invest in=97corporations or communities. Is there a tangible link between these three incidents I have mentioned=20= above? There is the obvious link; these are our headlines. Then there is=20= the implicit link; all of these incidents happen in an environment ripe=20= with apathy. Once we recognize that each of these events are not=20 exceptions to the status quo, but rather a result of the status quo, we=20= can respond accordingly. It should not take the beating of a=20 developmentally disabled young man to make us take notice=97or maybe it=20= does. Can the beating of Donovan Jackson bring about something better in=20= our communities? Can we begin to look closely and become more=20 accountable to one another; if not, we will never be members of a=20 community. =97Michelle Stewart =00 All content Copyleft =A9 2002 by The Alarm! Newspaper. Except where = noted=20 otherwise, this material may be copied and distributed freely in whole=20= or in part by anyone except where used for commercial purposes or by=20 government agencies. ----- The Alarm! Newspaper a local weekly newspaper for an engaged populace http://www.the-alarm.com/ info@the-alarm.com P.O. Box 1205, Santa Cruz, CA 95061 (831) 429-NEWS - office (831) 420-1498 - fax From wires@the-alarm.com Thu Jul 11 22:13:50 2002 Return-Path: Delivered-To: dryerase@lists.cu.groogroo.com Received: by imsahp (Postfix, from userid 1006) id 7EDDC17390; Thu, 11 Jul 2002 22:13:50 -0500 (CDT) Received: from the-alarm.com (the-alarm.com [209.204.179.100]) by imsahp (Postfix) with SMTP id B29D51738D for ; Thu, 11 Jul 2002 22:13:38 -0500 (CDT) Received: from fhar ([192.168.0.3]) by the-alarm.com (AppleMailServer 10.1.4.0) id 10464u via TCP with SMTP; Thu, 11 Jul 2002 20:13:38 -0700 Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 20:13:36 -0700 Mime-Version: 1.0 (Apple Message framework v482) Content-Type: text/plain; charset=WINDOWS-1252; format=flowed From: Alarm!Wires To: dryerase@lists.cu.groogroo.com Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Message-Id: <5B3C79AE-9545-11D6-B276-003065F4865E@the-alarm.com> X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.482) X-Spam-Status: No, hits=4.4 required=6.0 tests=MORTGAGE_RATES version=2.20 X-Spam-Level: **** Subject: [Dryerase] The Alarm--Deadly Illusions Sender: dryerase-admin@lists.cu.groogroo.com Errors-To: dryerase-admin@lists.cu.groogroo.com X-BeenThere: dryerase@lists.cu.groogroo.com X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.11 Precedence: bulk List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: A news syndication / sharing wire for independent newspapers. List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: The following is a commentary piece from Conn Hallinan, a regular=20 contributor to our paper. Most of his work appears originally in the=20 San Francisco Examiner, but he retains the copyright outside of the SF=20= area. He is aware of our copyleft policy and is apparently fine with=20 being included under its rubric. You might want to contact him before=20= printing. I, unfortunately, am not the one with his address, but you=20 can likely find it on the SF Examiner page. Deadly Illusions By Conn Hallinan The Alarm! Newspaper Contributor =00The Middle East has always been a place where illusion paves the road=20= to disaster. In 1095, Pope Urban=92s religious mania launched the=20 crusades. In 1915, Winston Churchill=92s arrogance led to the WWI=20 bloodbath at Gallipoli. Illusion tends to be a deadly business in those=20= parts. And once again, illusions are about to plunge the Middle East into=20 catastrophe. The first of these is George W. Bush=92s =93vision=94 for peace between=20= Israeli=92s and Palestinians, a =93vision=94 consistent with the = President=92s=20 uncomplicated =93See Spot Run=94 world of good guys and bad guys. Since the Palestinians are =93bad guys=94 the message is simple: Develop=20= democracy (but only elect people we approve of), create free market=20 capitalism, halt resisting the thirty-five year occupation, and stop=20 causing trouble. If the Palestinians somehow manage all this while under=20= occupation, then in three years they might get an =93interim=94 state = with=20 =93provisional=94 borders and sovereignty=97if Israel agrees. The Sharon=20= government, on the other hand, are the =93good guys,=94 so it gets to = keep=20 building settlements, occupying territory, and besieging West Bank=20 cities until the Palestinians complete all the above tasks. Does anyone=20= really take this seriously? Ariel Sharon is a man obsessed with illusions. He has always fantasized=20= that combining violence with appointing leaders he can manipulate will=20= get him his way. He was a supporter of the secret Israeli operation=20 that, according to Tony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic Studies,=20= funneled funds to Hamas in the late =9170s as a way to undermine the=20 secular Palestine Liberation Organization. We know how that one turned=20= out. Then he invaded Lebanon in 1982 to destroy =93terrorism,=94 killed = 17,500=20 Lebanese and Palestinians, and appointed Bashir Jumayil President.=20 Jumayil was promptly assassinated, and Israel found itself in the middle=20= of an 18-year war, which it ended up losing. And once again he is using=20= massive force in the West Bank and Gaza and trying to pick who leads the=20= Palestinians. Sharon=92s latest illusion is to fill the occupied territories with = Jewish=20 immigrants from France, Argentina, the U.S. and Russia, so that he will=20= not have to remove a single settlement. According to Sharon, =93Netzarim=20= in Gaza is the same as Tel Aviv.=94 Netzarim is a tiny settlement of = fifty=20 families in the Occupied Territories that takes up as much land as the=20= Jebalya refugee camp, which holds 100,000 people. Tel Avid is the=20 largest city in Israel. A recent study by the human rights organization B=92Tselem, shows that=20= while the settlements only occupy about two percent of the West Bank,=20 through strategic placement and a network of roads restricted to=20 settlers, they control forty-two percent of the Territories. Under=20 Sharon, existing settlements have been expanded, and thirty-four new=20 ones established. That millions of Jews will immigrate to Israel and live on the West Bank=20= is sheer fantasy. Indeed, according to surveys by Peace Now, some sixty=20= percent of the Jewish settlers would move back to Israel proper if the=20= government would offer the same incentives it does for them to live in=20= the West Bank: reduction in income taxes, low mortgage rates, and=20 subsidized education. Peace Now projects that this =93re-transplant=94 = would=20 cost $700 million. It now costs $1.4 billion a year to subsidize the=20 settlers and occupy the West Bank. There are illusions on the Palestinian side as well, the most glaring=20 being that suicide bombers will drive the Israelis out of the Occupied=20= Territories. In fact, the bombers only yield the moral high ground to=20 Sharon and strengthen the annexationists in Tel Aviv. These illusion are=20= ruining both Palestinians and Israelis. The former live in what is a=20 virtually a national prison, with tens of thousands of their young men=20= incarcerated, their economy destroyed, and a death toll approaching=20 2,000 since Sept. 2000. The Israelis may not be imprisoned, but they=20 live in fear. The burden of empire has drained their treasury, forcing=20= huge social service cutbacks, driving inflation to eight percent, and=20 filling the jobless rolls. More than 550 have died. But sometimes illusion produces clarity. While Americans tend to think=20= of Israel as Sharon and the Palestinians as suicide bombers, the reality=20= is far more complex. Sharon has called up the reserves, but he will have=20= to do without the 466 reservists who refuse to serve in the Occupied=20 Territories. Hamas has pledged a new round of suicide bombers, but it=20 will have to do so in the face of call by fifty-five leading=20 Palestinians to stop the bombings in Israel. The call has already had an=20= effect, according to the Financial Times, which reports that Palestinian=20= support for suicide bombings is declining. There are people of goodwill on both sides, people not blinded by the=20 illusion that violence solves everything. For the moment they are=20 marginal, but their numbers are greater than they were last month, and=20= they will be greater yet next month. They grow in numbers because their=20= =93vision=94 is the only way out illusion. =00 All content Copyleft =A9 2002 by The Alarm! Newspaper. Except where = noted=20 otherwise, this material may be copied and distributed freely in whole=20= or in part by anyone except where used for commercial purposes or by=20 government agencies. ----- The Alarm! Newspaper a local weekly newspaper for an engaged populace http://www.the-alarm.com/ info@the-alarm.com P.O. Box 1205, Santa Cruz, CA 95061 (831) 429-NEWS - office (831) 420-1498 - fax From wires@the-alarm.com Thu Jul 11 22:15:00 2002 Return-Path: Delivered-To: dryerase@lists.cu.groogroo.com Received: by imsahp (Postfix, from userid 1006) id 1519A17390; Thu, 11 Jul 2002 22:15:00 -0500 (CDT) Received: from the-alarm.com (the-alarm.com [209.204.179.100]) by imsahp (Postfix) with SMTP id BFE941738D for ; Thu, 11 Jul 2002 22:14:47 -0500 (CDT) Received: from fhar ([192.168.0.3]) by the-alarm.com (AppleMailServer 10.1.4.0) id 10477u via TCP with SMTP; Thu, 11 Jul 2002 20:14:47 -0700 Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 20:14:45 -0700 Mime-Version: 1.0 (Apple Message framework v482) Content-Type: text/plain; charset=WINDOWS-1252; format=flowed From: Alarm!Wires To: dryerase@lists.cu.groogroo.com Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Message-Id: <841716E2-9545-11D6-B276-003065F4865E@the-alarm.com> X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.482) X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.0 required=6.0 tests= version=2.20 X-Spam-Level: Subject: [Dryerase] The Alarm--Pacific Agoraphobia Sender: dryerase-admin@lists.cu.groogroo.com Errors-To: dryerase-admin@lists.cu.groogroo.com X-BeenThere: dryerase@lists.cu.groogroo.com X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.11 Precedence: bulk List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: A news syndication / sharing wire for independent newspapers. List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: This piece is from one of our loyal contributors. A fabulous fellow=20 with a tendency toward high-falutin language. We've forced him to tone=20= it down for us, with mixed success. Manuel is a very smart writer and=20= rhetoritician. He generally approaches problems of international=20 significance. This is one exception where his commentary is based on=20 local events. You may still find it interesting Pacific Agoraphobia By Manuel Schwab The Alarm! Newspaper Contributor 5-12-02 Agoraphobia, which is the clinical term for the fear of open spaces, is=20= derived from the Greek words =93agora=94 and =93phobia.=94 The Agora was = a large=20 public square at the center of Athens. It was open to the Athenian=20 citizen class, although only about 5 to 10 percent of the population of=20= Athens could afford to live a leisurely life that included hours spent=20= debating and talking in the Agora. As opposed to the theater=97in which=20= the distinction between spectators and orators was clearly marked=97the=20= Agora was the center of participatory political discussion in Athens, a=20= place in which discourse was fragmentary rather than dominated by a=20 single citizen. In modern Greek, the meaning of =93agora=94 has been altered. =93Agora=94 = now=20 refers not to a public forum but to a marketplace. Nevertheless,=20 =93agoraphobia=94 still carries the connotation of a fear of public=20 engagement: a phobia of putting oneself at stake in front of one=92s=20 fellow citizens. If the public documents about the current debate on the use of downtown=20= space are any indication, it would serve us at this time to reflect on=20= the shifting definition of =93agora.=94 In response to a series of=20 =93incidents=94 that are perceived as threats to the placid face of our=20= beloved Pacific Avenue=97a shooting, a stabbing and agressive = panhandling=97 the Santa Cruz City Council has held public forums and formed a special=20= committee on downtown issues. Close on the heels of this chorus of=20 concern, the July 3=9610 edition of Metro Santa Cruz treated Santa=20 Cruzians to =93The Reality Check Issue,=94 in which it attempted to =93put= =20 some overdue perspective on the controversy over safety in downtown=20 Santa Cruz.=94 The institutional and media responses from the community demonstrated=20 the heartening fact that Santa Cruz is actually concerned about its=20 public space. But the terms of the debate led to the unavoidable=20 observation that we cannot, at least as far as the dominant perspectives=20= of our community are concerned, imagine the difference between civic=20 spaces and commercial districts. What becomes clear in both the framing=20= of the Council Committee=92s recommendations, and the response of the=20 Metro article=97which relies heavily on community testimony=97is that = the=20 Santa Cruz community works from extremely narrow assumptions about what=20= a downtown should be, about whom it serves, and what constitutes the=20 good health of a public space. What was once the politically heated=20 public space, perfectly suited for the exchange of debate, has become=20 marketplace, suited only for the exchange of goods and services. Yet=20 even with this devolution of public space into the relative safety of=20 rule=97bound economics, we in Santa Cruz still retreat from any trace of=20= the old political friction once associated with the Agora. The Downtown Issues Committee, for its part, is so split in its=20 recommendations that it is difficult to understand where they would have=20= us go with downtown. One minute they want the City Council to take a=20 clear position regarding =93anti-social behavior.=94 But in the same=20 statement they re-affirm their commitment to =93protecting public = space.=94=20 These commitments may not at first seem at odds, until we realize that=20= =93anti-social behavior=94 has come to include any form of friction,=20 encompassing many activities that were once an integral part of =93public=20= space.=94 =93Public space,=94 in turn, has become emaciated, left with = nothing=20 to flourish around but money transactions, so that merchant interests=20 are the only ones that count. Not recognizing that these developments=20 have transformed the defense of the space now considered public into an=20= attack on the social sphere in all of its fertile messiness, the council=20= is proposing to take measures that work in the exact opposite direction=20= they intend Sarah Phelan=92s article in the Metro illustrates the tension between = the=20 desire to regulate downtown and to still allow the space to be genuinely=20= public. In the article we find the County Supervisor telling us in no=20 uncertain terms that fears about downtown safety are generated and=20 defined by the commercial interests in downtown. =93Usually the = merchants=20 plan a campaign [to crack down on downtown problems] just before=20 Thanksgiving,=94 Mardi Wormhoudt tells Phelan, =93but this year it=92s=20= earlier, maybe because of the economic downturn=85=94 Perhaps, but if so the economic downturn clearly has the business sector=20= peculiarly worried. Phelan claims she sees =93no signs of Armageddon,=94 = and=20 while I agree, it seems clear that signs of a new brink in the battle=20 between private and public space is at hand. On the one side, we have=20 the usual fare of self-indulgent overstatements by those who frequent=20 downtown and clearly have a lot to gain by painting themselves as the=20 targets of excessive oppression. Most glaring among these is Est=E9ban=20= Fox, who seems to think that getting a ticket for sitting on a planter=20= (yeah, we all know how ridiculous that is) puts us one step closer to=20 building a =9320-foot-high wall around downtown=85and a military = takeover of=20 downtown.=94 This claim seems excessive, especially in light of=20 developments in Palestine and Israel, where citizens have every tangible=20= reason to fear draconian governments. On the other hand, there are legitimate reasons to suspect the=20 merchants=92 new campaign. New-Corp-on-the-block Borders has the = audacity=20 to publicly admit =93we=92re considering installing an ATM that would = limit=20 loitering [around the Borders store] to 50 feet.=94 Reality check: with=20= laws on the books like the one that would provide Borders with a 50 foot=20= buffer for its ATM, town ordinances already fall clearly on the side of=20= the merchants. No matter how self indulgent the =93gypsy kids=94 on the=20= streets may get, there is a higher power indulging the commercial=20 interests. This indulgence becomes even more clear when we look at the remaining=20 recommendations of the Downtown Issues Committee. While they include a=20= few more gestures like the promise to protect public space (the hiring=20= of a Downtown Social Worker, for instance), the committee=92s=20 recommendations, aimed ostensibly at restoring a downtown =93out of=20 balance,=94 bend over backwards to accommodate the merchants who feel so=20= deeply threatened. Take a close look and you will recognize that the committee=92s=20 recommendations for Ordinance Modifications=97made under the guise of=20 simplifying the understanding and enforcement of the present ordinances=20= on soliciting and sitting down on sidewalks=97and you see that they are=20= actually engineered to clear the mall of any such activity by=20 =93undesirables.=94 =93The proposed adjustment is to make the distance = for all=20 of the above situations 14 feet.=94 Apparently, Borders will not have to=20= bother with the 50 foot buffer around their store=97by my estimation, a = 14=20 foot distance from storefronts puts panhandling =93gypsy kids=94 in the=20= street for almost the entire length of the Mall. The threat that these =93gypsy kids=94 pose, as Glenn Rogers informs us = in=20 Phelan=92s collection of interviews, is not that they are dangerous.=20 Rather, Rogers informs us that he tends to avoid =93walking along = Pacific=20 Avenue because I don=92t want to get hit up for money all the time.=94 = The=20 irony, of course, is that extracting money from customers is precisely=20= what every mall is engineered to do. The entire shopping district is a=20= place where people go to be solicited for their money in exchange for=20 one commodity or another. The fact that this economic exchange is an acceptable replacement for=20 the democratic confrontations of the past is symptomatic of the time in=20= which we seem no longer to have a social sphere, but an economy instead.=20= In fact, as Greg Kindig rightly points out later on in the =93Nuz=94 = section=20 of the Metro the entire list of downtown issues =93reads like a list of=20= symptoms.=94 But nobody seems to be understanding the disease. Focusing=20= only on symptoms=97from the disruptive presence of panhandlers to=20 hacky-sack projectiles=97amounts to establishing scapegoat issues to = avoid=20 the fact that our public engagement is bankrupt. Downtown=92s status as = a=20 shopping/public district in which it seems that the stores themselves=20 are the only citizens who ultimately have a right to occupy downtown=97 with prospective consumers as their temporary guests=97is testimony to=20= this. As is the repeated reference to the Beach Flats as the source of the=20 dangerous elements in downtown=97references that seem acceptable across=20= the board, as they are made by residents, merchants, and homeless=20 citizens alike. We are afraid of confrontations with difference, of=20 heterogeneity, of any form of friction=97we are agoraphobic, scared of=20= others, afraid of precisely that which we need to make us strong. Of=20 course this superstitious disposition is neither the fault of Sarah=20 Phelan, nor of the Metro Editorial Staff, nor for that matter of the=20 City Council. What all three entities should be taken to task for,=20 however, is that they present this superstition without challenging it=20= systematically. After glossing over the myth of the =93dangerous=94 Beach Flats and the=20= victimized chain store=97or rather allowing these myths to speak for=20 themselves=97it is downright aggravating to see Phelan take on the quite=20= evident process of gentrification and dismiss it as mythical. One almost=20= gets the impression that Phelan is bent on ignoring the facts. Has she=20= forgotten that the fear that the Cinema 9 would drive out the Del Mar=20 cannot be so quickly dismissed, as the theater actually did go under,=20 and the =93beautiful renovation=94 touted by one of her interviewees was=20= made possible only by a city government bailout. And while the Dotcom=20 bomb may have made a serious dent in the office rentals downtown, it has=20= not made a dent in the rent prices that the previous Dotcom boom helped=20= drive skyward. Luckily, it seems that there are still plenty of us left who realize=20 that the replacement of the social considerations with economic=20 transactions is an unacceptable compromise. For now, even the Committee=20= Forums and Reality checks that offered such a startling illustration of=20= the problem also offered us a good picture of those people left in=20 resistance. The biggest danger, then, is that we will slowly be taught=20= to underestimate the import of this struggle to maintain our spaces for=20= civic confrontation. When that happens, we will have lost a monumental=20= battle in the fight for self determination. In the final analysis, what=20= must become more and more clear to all of us is that ironically, the=20 capacity for self determination depends on our willingness to be=20 confronted, often uncomfortably, by others. =00 All content Copyleft =A9 2002 by The Alarm! Newspaper. Except where = noted=20 otherwise, this material may be copied and distributed freely in whole=20= or in part by anyone except where used for commercial purposes or by=20 government agencies. ----- The Alarm! Newspaper a local weekly newspaper for an engaged populace http://www.the-alarm.com/ info@the-alarm.com P.O. Box 1205, Santa Cruz, CA 95061 (831) 429-NEWS - office (831) 420-1498 - fax From wires@the-alarm.com Thu Jul 11 22:15:55 2002 Return-Path: Delivered-To: dryerase@lists.cu.groogroo.com Received: by imsahp (Postfix, from userid 1006) id 68E4817390; Thu, 11 Jul 2002 22:15:55 -0500 (CDT) Received: from the-alarm.com (the-alarm.com [209.204.179.100]) by imsahp (Postfix) with SMTP id C17671738D for ; Thu, 11 Jul 2002 22:15:48 -0500 (CDT) Received: from fhar ([192.168.0.3]) by the-alarm.com (AppleMailServer 10.1.4.0) id 10491u via TCP with SMTP; Thu, 11 Jul 2002 20:15:48 -0700 Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 20:15:46 -0700 Mime-Version: 1.0 (Apple Message framework v482) Content-Type: text/plain; charset=WINDOWS-1252; format=flowed From: Alarm!Wires To: dryerase@lists.cu.groogroo.com Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Message-Id: X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.482) X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.0 required=6.0 tests= version=2.20 X-Spam-Level: Subject: [Dryerase] The Alarm--Eye on the INS Sender: dryerase-admin@lists.cu.groogroo.com Errors-To: dryerase-admin@lists.cu.groogroo.com X-BeenThere: dryerase@lists.cu.groogroo.com X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.11 Precedence: bulk List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: A news syndication / sharing wire for independent newspapers. List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Michelle Stewart, who wrote our editorial this issue, does a weekly=20 column focusing on the INS and immigration policy, mostly in the=20 southwest. Eye on the INS A weekly focus on the INS and immigration policy Was it really news on July 4, 2002? By Michelle Stewart The Alarm! Newspaper Collective=00 Case Study: Mohammad Nour al-Din Saffi On Wednesday, July 3, 2002, federal agents stormed a hotel suite across=20= the street from the Miami International Airport. Their target was=20 Mohammad Nour al-Din Saffi. Saffi, a naturalized New Zealander and employee of Tiger Lines Cargo (a=20= New Zealand-based airline company), entered the US last Wednesday via=20 LAX where he was detained and questioned about his visit. Saffi stated=20= he was going to Miami to take a recertification course for flight=20 engineers; he was entering on a tourist visa. He had the appropriate=20 documentation from his employer and the flight school had confirmed his=20= immigration status with the Department of Justice. Despite his long=20 interrogation by a battalion of INS and FBI agents, he was eventually=20 allowed to continue on his trip. As Saffi boarded the plane for Miami, the agents at LAX called the=20 Florida INS authorities to inform them that he was on his way. A=20 surveillance operation was offically underway. INS agents then called=20= the flight school, Aeroservice Aviation Center, to ask Saffi=92s intent.=20= They were informed he was scheduled to take a course to recertify his=20 license to fly Boeing 747s. The INS identified this as a different act=20= than was reported by Saffi, and declared that he had lied to an INS=20 official upon entry into the US, and that he entered without the correct=20= visa. Saffi was picked up at his hotel room that same evening and the=20 news broke on July 4, 2002. Who is Mohammad Nour Al-Din Saffi? Why was this news? To an outsider, Saffi is a 36-year-old man of Arab descent who works as=20= a flight engineer for Tiger Lines Cargo, and has been a naturalized New=20= Zealander for the past six years. To the FBI and INS, Saffi is a man of=20= Arab desent who was last in the United States just days before 9/11,=20 and this latest visit would have been to go to a flight school on the=20= July 4th weekend... oh, and his stepfather is Saddam Hussein. =93The circumstances are somewhat disturbing,=94 said Jim Goldman, INS = chief=20 of investigations. =93It=92s an awful long way to come to take a = refresher=20 course. Post 9-11, an individual such as this definitely comes onto our=20= radar screen.=94 But are the circumstances really so disturbing? Not=20 really, once the facts become evident. According to Saffi=92s employer and the flight school, they followed all=20= of the immigration rules related to entering the US and taking the=20 flight engineering class. The school ran all of Saffi=92s immigration=20 information per the instructions on the new Department of Justice=20 webpage to ensure that he was cleared to attend the class. Both the=20 school and employer are stumped, and contend that the incident is just a=20= simple mistake of failing to acquire a student visa. Berton Beach , Vice President of operations at the flight school=20 outlines the confusing immigration polices regarding student visas and=20= flight school, =93There is no requirement on any information we have = from=20 the Department of Justice or from the FBI or from INS that a [student]=20= visa is required,=94 (CNN, 7/6/02). Indeed, the Aeroservice Aviation=20 Center is likely one of the best-informed flight schools because it=20 holds the dual distinction to be the best flight school in the nation as=20= well as one of the schools to train an alleged 9/11 hijacker. It is only under recent immigration reform that Saffi is required to get=20= a student visa for this type of course, and, according to INS, he is=20 being detained and deported for failing to get the student visa, not=20 for =93lying=94 to an INS officer about his intentions at the flight=20 school. Saffi has admitted to misunderstanding the need for a student=20= visa to attend the class, and the school has broadcast that they were=20 misinformed. Yet Saffi sits in detention, waiting to be deported, and=20 will be barred from entering the US for five years. A rather steep=20 penalty for a simple mistake. Well, there are a few inflammatory details that need to be addressed.=20 First, Saddam Hussein, many years ago, married Saffi=92s mother. There = is=20 much gossip surrounding the affair that pre-dated the marriage, and the=20= incidents of violence surrounding the marriage. Suffice it to say, that=20= I will not be further engaging this gossip, but feel free to visit CNN=92s= =20 webpage for the whole soap opera. At the end of the day, Saffi has no=20 relevant ties to Saddam Hussein since the connection is only through his=20= mother and he lives a totally autonomous life. The second factor is his=20= presence in the US days before 9/11. The Department of Justice claimed=20= this was suspicious. The simple fact was that he was here on a flight=20 (he is a flight technicican) en route to London. Finally, there is the=20= question of why he came to the US on the 4th of July weekend to go to=20 flight school. According to his employer, it is the best school for the=20= training he needed and it seems obvious that the school would have had=20= openings and smaller classes on the Independence weekend. What do we do with all of this then? Do we chalk it up to an=20 under-handed deed by Saffi=97as did the federal authorities? Do we=20 recognize that immigration law is changing so rapidly that no one really=20= knows what type of paperwork to file and when=97as is the contention of=20= all of the affected parties in this case? Or do we admit to the larger=20= issues? Mohammad Nour al-Din Saffi made the mistake of entering into the US as a=20= man of Arab descent looking to go to a flight school. This is the=20 baseline fact, all that comes before and after are secondary. His link=20= to Saddam Hussein is simply the icing on the cake; first and foremost,=20= Saffi was seen as an Arab looking to fly. If it were anything less, the=20= feds would not have stormed the hotel room, made a big splash on=20 Independence Day, and then deported him for something as silly as a visa=20= mistake. Saffi entered the US and declared his intention, and when he made a=20 mistake he admitted fault. Yet, he sits in detention. And there are=20 dozens more stories like this; stories where immigrants are not aware of=20= the varied nuances of immigration policy and paperwork. Immigration law=20= changes at such a rapid pace, little time or attention is devoted to=20 disemminating the facts. Post 1996 immigration law was changing at this=20= same speed; again there was no effort to really explain to immigrants=20 and visitors the policy changes, and it has extreme effects on many=20 people. In many cases, small mistakes then resulted in people being=20 barred from the US for five to ten years. This recent mistake for Saffi=20= will result in a five year bar from the US. We are in ridiculous times,=20= measured easily by this ridiculous hysteria and penalties. The only reason we heard about this case was because the headline could=20= read that Saddam=92s stepson was in jail, that he wanted to fly a plane,=20= and that he was caught just before the 4th of July. Many in the country=20= read the first paragraph of this story last week and breathed a=20 collective sigh of relief. We need to read past these shock-value=20 headlines and see what is happening to people in this country. One close=20= read of any of the details of this story should have instigated a=20 collective outcry. And yet, these stories are only on the increase. Since detention is still a secretive process there is limited=20 information available, and there are currently over 1,000 people being=20= held in INS detention with infractions that range from the mundane to=20 the exteme. Until we bring all of these cases out into the open we will=20= continue to hear about stories such as that of Mohammad Nour al-Din=20 Saffi. Your comments are welcomed and encouraged at michelle@the-alarm.com All content Copyleft =A9 2002 by The Alarm! Newspaper. Except where = noted=20 otherwise, this material may be copied and distributed freely in whole=20= or in part by anyone except where used for commercial purposes or by=20 government agencies.=00 ----- The Alarm! Newspaper a local weekly newspaper for an engaged populace http://www.the-alarm.com/ info@the-alarm.com P.O. Box 1205, Santa Cruz, CA 95061 (831) 429-NEWS - office (831) 420-1498 - fax From wires@the-alarm.com Thu Jul 11 22:16:52 2002 Return-Path: Delivered-To: dryerase@lists.cu.groogroo.com Received: by imsahp (Postfix, from userid 1006) id 58C6517390; Thu, 11 Jul 2002 22:16:52 -0500 (CDT) Received: from the-alarm.com (the-alarm.com [209.204.179.100]) by imsahp (Postfix) with SMTP id 465631738D for ; Thu, 11 Jul 2002 22:16:49 -0500 (CDT) Received: from fhar ([192.168.0.3]) by the-alarm.com (AppleMailServer 10.1.4.0) id 10505u via TCP with SMTP; Thu, 11 Jul 2002 20:16:48 -0700 Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 20:16:47 -0700 Mime-Version: 1.0 (Apple Message framework v482) Content-Type: text/plain; charset=WINDOWS-1252; format=flowed From: Alarm!Wires To: dryerase@lists.cu.groogroo.com Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Message-Id: X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.482) X-Spam-Status: No, hits=2.3 required=6.0 tests=SOCIAL_SEC_NUMBER version=2.20 X-Spam-Level: ** Subject: [Dryerase] The Alarm--HIV Surveillance threatens anonymity Sender: dryerase-admin@lists.cu.groogroo.com Errors-To: dryerase-admin@lists.cu.groogroo.com X-BeenThere: dryerase@lists.cu.groogroo.com X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.11 Precedence: bulk List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: A news syndication / sharing wire for independent newspapers. List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: This was our front page story last issue and was continued in this=20 issue. Most of the interviews are from local folks, and it focuses=20 primarily on California State, but it could be relavent elsewhere. HIV surveillance threatens anonymity By Caroline Nicola The Alarm! Newspaper Collective California implemented new regulations Monday to enhance the State=92s=20= existing system of HIV reporting. The legislation requires health care=20= clinics and laboratories to provide local health officers with=20 information on persons infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS,=20 using =93non-name codes.=94 HIV tests done anonymously will not be=20 reported. However, in order to get access to medical services, a=20 confidential test is required and the results will be reported using the=20= non-name codes. State officials claim the codes will ensure individual privacy, but some=20= health care workers worry that the new reporting requirements will scare=20= people away from being tested. =93One of my biggest fears is that it = will=20 decrease the number of people tested,=94 said Saji Seven, African = American=20 HIV Prevention Coordinator at the Equinox, an HIV prevention center in=20= Santa Cruz. Seven pointed out that the HIV case reporting system could=20= be intimidating for those concerned with privacy. Roy Jimenez, Health Program Director of Salud Para La Gente in=20 Watsonville, said just walking through the door of a clinic to be tested=20= is a major decision for many people, and includes an understandable=20 level of anxiety and fear. People may back off from being tested due to=20= the new reporting requirements, he said. Sally Cantrell, HIV Prevention Services Coordinator of the Berkeley Free=20= Clinic shares his concern. =93People at the highest risk for being HIV=20= positive are the most reluctant to take a HIV test if they have to=20 divulge personal information,=94 she said. The non-name codes will consist of an individual=92s Soundex code (a=20 phonetic, alphanumeric formula which is used to convert the last name=20 into an algorithm), complete date of birth, gender and the last four=20 digits of the patient=92s Social Security number. The California Department of Health Services (CDHS) will use the=20 reporting system to track the number of individuals in the state with=20 HIV in order to provide access to prevention and treatment programs and=20= to apply for federal funds, according to the State Department. =93The confidential reporting of HIV will allow more accurate=20 epidemiological surveillance to better monitor the HIV/AIDS epidemic,=94=20= said State Health Director Diana Bonita. =93It will also provide for=20 targeted planning, resource allocation and evaluation of HIV prevention=20= programs.=94 Prior to the new regulations, Santa Cruz County already tracked=20 communicable diseases and reported their findings to CDHS and the Center=20= for Disease Control, a federal agency. The problem with that system is=20= it didn=92t give exact numbers, according to Cantrell. When people with=20= positive results were tested more than once, the data did not indicate=20= that the multiple positives were from one person, she said. Even though the State claims the new regulations ensure individual=20 privacy, Cantrell argues the new HIV case reporting system compromises=20= people=92s anonymity. =93People can be clearly identified with that=20 information,=94 she said. Cantrell said the health care system is not=20= being up front with its clients. However, Leslie Goodfriend, Health Services Manager at the Santa Cruz=20 Health Agency said the new tracking system is a very positive and=20 necessary step in dealing with AIDS. She says it would be difficult, if=20= not impossible to link people to their codes. The State has been interested in tracking HIV more effectively because=20= of an increase in concern about HIV transmission, particularly among=20 immigrant populations, according to Jimenez. He said the new reporting=20= requirements will track where the disease emanates from and look at=20 patterns, clusters and analyze how it affects local populations. Jimenez is concerned that the data might be misused to blame immigrants=20= for the spread of the disease. =93Many of us in the health care = movement=20 will monitor that very closely,=94 he said. =93We want the data to be = used=20 to identify and treat diseases when they are noted, not to make=20 accusations that might target any number of populations, whether they=20 are Latinos, Asians or other folks who have immigrated here.=94 Currently, seven states (Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland,=20 Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont) have established HIV=20 surveillance systems using codes in lieu of names. Five states=20 (Delaware, Maine, Montana, Oregon and Washington) use a hybrid reporting=20= system in which names of HIV-positive individuals are initially=20 reported, but later replaced with codes. By the beginning of the fiscal year 2004, the distribution of federal=20 funds to States will be based on the number of HIV cases reported=20 through the HIV tracking system. Next week will explore the Soundex code and other =93Unique Identifiers=94= =20 options used by health care agencies. =00 HIV Surveillance Part 2: The Soundex Code By Caroline Nicola The Alarm! Newspaper Collective On July 1, California joined seven other states in reporting people who=20= test positive for HIV using codes in lieu of names. Most other states=20= that track HIV use a name-based system. This article is the second of=20= two parts on the new HIV surveillance system in California. Advocates and people living with AIDS have waged a tough battle for the=20= right to be tested anonymously, a battle lost in many states. People=92s=20= health can not be protected if their civil rights are compromised, said=20= Anna Forbes, an AIDS policy consultant, writer and teacher. That=20 dilemma is fundamental to concerns about the new HIV surveillance system=20= in California. Unlike other conditions, funding for AIDS has been based on a numbers=20 count since its beginning. Because State and Federal agencies want the=20= funding to be based on the number of people who test positive for HIV=20 rather than the number of full-blown AIDS cases, some case reporting=20 system is needed. To get an accurate epidemiological account of how many people are HIV=20 positive and in what populations, an HIV case reporting system needs to=20= have a low duplication rate, meaning that people testing positive for=20 HIV are not listed more than once. In order to do that, unique=20 identifiers (UI) are needed. UI consists of a combination of public or=20= private data elements used to distinguish people. The non-name codes used in California=92s HIV case reporting system=20 consist of an individual=92s Soundex Code (a code based on the way a=20 person=92s name sounds phonetically), complete date of birth, gender and=20= the last four digits of their Social Security number. In an effort to prevent duplications, people=92s privacy erodes in the=20= process, said cryptographer Philip Zimmermann, creator and founder of=20 Pretty Good Privacy, Inc. He said there are two pressures working in=20 opposite directions: one is to create a unique identifier, the other is=20= trying to make it anonymous. =93Those two are working at cross = purposes. =20 The more unique you make a code, the easier it is to break its=20 anonymity,=94 he said. Zimmermann has received numerious technical and humanitarian awards for=20= his pioneering work in cryptography. He said there may be people who=20 believe the non-name system using Soundex is anonymous, but those people=20= are probably not software engineers or data security professionals. =93It= =20 is possible to break an anonymity scheme as flimsy as one based on=20 Soundex, especially if it has other information in it like date of=20 birth,=94 he said. All that would be needed to crack the non-name code would be a computer,=20= a secondary data base that has all the necessary data elements in it and=20= a copy of the algorithm used to produce the Soundex codes. So why use the Soundex code if it can be cracked? It is easy, cheap and=20= States have been using it to report AIDS cases to the Center for Disease=20= Control since the beginning of the AIDS outbreak, according to Forbes. =20= She said if a State develops a different UI system, it would be harder=20= to cross-match HIV data against other relevant databases such as the=20 AIDS registry and the national death registry. =93It is a question=20 between do you give your State a really good UI system that protects=20 people=92s privacy, or do you go with another system like Soundex that = is=20 easier and cheaper to use, but doesn=92t protect privacy as well,=94 she=20= said. Forbes argues that any UI system is still more secure then=20 name-based systems because they are harder to crack. =00 All content Copyleft =A9 2002 by The Alarm! Newspaper. Except where = noted=20 otherwise, this material may be copied and distributed freely in whole=20= or in part by anyone except where used for commercial purposes or by=20 government agencies. ----- The Alarm! Newspaper a local weekly newspaper for an engaged populace http://www.the-alarm.com/ info@the-alarm.com P.O. Box 1205, Santa Cruz, CA 95061 (831) 429-NEWS - office (831) 420-1498 - fax From wires@the-alarm.com Thu Jul 11 22:17:39 2002 Return-Path: Delivered-To: dryerase@lists.cu.groogroo.com Received: by imsahp (Postfix, from userid 1006) id EF1EF17390; Thu, 11 Jul 2002 22:17:38 -0500 (CDT) Received: from the-alarm.com (the-alarm.com [209.204.179.100]) by imsahp (Postfix) with SMTP id ED6311738D for ; Thu, 11 Jul 2002 22:17:34 -0500 (CDT) Received: from fhar ([192.168.0.3]) by the-alarm.com (AppleMailServer 10.1.4.0) id 10519u via TCP with SMTP; Thu, 11 Jul 2002 20:17:34 -0700 Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 20:17:33 -0700 Mime-Version: 1.0 (Apple Message framework v482) Content-Type: text/plain; charset=WINDOWS-1252; format=flowed From: Alarm!Wires To: dryerase@lists.cu.groogroo.com Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Message-Id: X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.482) X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.0 required=6.0 tests= version=2.20 X-Spam-Level: Subject: [Dryerase] Casa Bienestar Sender: dryerase-admin@lists.cu.groogroo.com Errors-To: dryerase-admin@lists.cu.groogroo.com X-BeenThere: dryerase@lists.cu.groogroo.com X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.11 Precedence: bulk List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: A news syndication / sharing wire for independent newspapers. List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: This was our feature story this week. It focuses on a harm-reduction=20 center in Watsonville, a primarily latino community south of Santa=20 Cruz. It has versions in both English and Spanish. Casa Bienestar =00By/Por Halie Johnson Translated By/Traducido Por Armando Alcaraz The Alarm! Newspaper Collective / Collectivo del Peri=F3dico =A1La = Alarma! =00The Center solidifies the relationship between three organizations = that=20 provide similar services in Watsonville =00The last school bell rings, and you decide to join some friends who = are=20 walking to a nearby youth center. You imagine a large room with=20 fluorescent lights and too many rules. You and your friends walk up to a=20= building with teens playing basketball in the parking lot. When you see=20= a sign in front that reads =93Casa Bienestar=94(House of Wellbeing), you=20= realize one would be in for something different than what you expected Inside the building, more people your age are playing pool, and you=20 recognize your favorite radio station in the background. You overhear=20 someone explaining safe condom use to a group of teens. A woman with a=20= warm smile takes a break from helping someone else with her homework to=20= welcome you and offer you some chips and salsa. When Casa Bienestar, =93An HIV Prevention, Harm Reduction and Community=20= Health Resource Center,=94 opened its doors in December 2000, it sealed=20= the working relationship between three local organizations. The Santa=20 Cruz Needle Exchange Project (SCNEP), the Santa Cruz AIDS Project (SCAP)=20= and the Homeless Persons Health Project (HPHP) had been collaborating in=20= various ways for nearly a decade, creating and staffing the Santa Cruz=20= Drop-In Center and providing street-level services in Watsonville and=20 Santa Cruz. All three organizations work to prevent the spread of HIV,=20= through meeting at-risk community members at their own level to provide=20= assistance and education. For several years, SCAP, SCNEP and HPHP volunteers have been setting up=20= weekly needle-exchange and HIV prevention sites in the parking lot of=20 Watsonville=92s Del Sol Market. HPHP provides health services while SCAP=20= help provide free HIV testing. SCNEP provides a one-for-one syringe=20 exchange, where injection drug users can trade one dirty syringe for a=20= clean one. Needle exchange programs are based on the idea that lowering=20= the number of contaminated syringes on the streets lowers the risk of=20 new HIV infections. SCNEP also conducts regular outreach on foot,=20 exchanging needles and giving out free condoms in areas where drugs are=20= bought and sold. But according to SCAP Director of Education and Prevention Timothy=20 Maroni, all three organizations needed a more permanent site in order to=20= be as effective as possible. =93It was sort of hectic because we didn=92t=20= have a site for the services that we wanted to offer,=94 he said. In an=20= effort to provide such a site, members of the three organizations=20 founded Casa Bienester. In addition to providing HIV prevention and=20 services to injection drug users, the center was developed to serve as a=20= recreational space for Watsonville residents, with a focus on at-risk=20 youth, ages twelve to twenty-four. =93Kids come in, they hang out, they check us out before they say =91okay,= I=20 need help,=92=94 said Linda Valdez of HPHP. The Center offers free = condoms,=20 birth control, food, entertainment, advice, encouragement, clean=20 syringes and a safe place to rest. =93Basically whatever their need is = we=20 try to meet it for them,=94 Valdez added. =93If we can=92t, we do = referrals.=94 HIV testing and needle exchange sites still show up behind Watsonville=92s= =20 Del Sol Market every Wednesday afternoon. Now volunteers often refer=20 participants to Casa Bienestar where they can access the same services=20= with more comfort and privacy. =93I think [the center has] been able to=20= expand the scope and quality and quantity of the services that we offer=20= [in South County],=94 Maroni added. The line-staff at Casa Bienestar, who oversee the day-to-day operation=20= of the center, represent all three of the collaborating organizations.=20= Their goals include providing =93a home-like environment for youth to=20 drop-in, hang out and access health services, which are all free of=20 cost.=94 Martha Zabale of SCAP was born and raised in Watsonville. =93There are a=20= lot of people who come here and basically need someone to talk to, so I=20= get a chance with them before they decide to run away or something like=20= that,=94 she said. =93I feel that they are comfortable here because we = know=20 Watsonville.=94 Ronaldo of SCNEP has lived in Watsonville for thirteen years and has=20 volunteered with other local organizations. =93I=92m still able to reach = the=20 people who I grew up with and help them,=94 he said. A Space for Many Purposes Casa Bienestar, much larger than the Drop-In Center in Santa Cruz,=20 offers a =93hang out=94 room equipped with a pool table, TV/VCR, a = stereo, a=20 computer with scanner and internet access, a full kitchen and a=20 conference room. =93We=92ve had a lot of students who come in here, and = we=20 help them out with their homework or r=E9sum=E9s,=94 Zabale said, = pointing out=20 the computer station. Casa Bienestar also provides plenty of lounging areas where staff and=20 volunteers can sit with youth and spark up conversation about school,=20 sex, family or whatever is on a participant=92s mind. There are two bulletin boards listing jobs, events, activities and other=20= resources that might be of interest to young people. A health care=20 office provides health and medical services from pregnancy tests to=20 Hepatitis B vaccines. The Needle Exchange room has a separate entrance from the main reception=20= area to facilitate the anonymity of clients. =93If there=92s a bunch of = kids=20 playing pool out front, they can come in through the side and go,=20 without being seen by family members or having to go through the=20 embarrassment of seeing non-injectors,=94 explained Heather Edney,=20 Executive Director of SCNEP. There are three offices for private meetings to help people feel more=20 comfortable talking about difficult subjects. Edney feels that the=20 awareness of young people in HIV prevention is crucial. A lot of what=20 SCNEP, HPHP and SCAP do is geared towards youth. =93Almost all of the=20 literature we produce is by youth and for youth. =91Fuck safe, shoot=20 clean=92 speaks to youth,=94 Edney said. The Drop-In Center as a State-wide model for effectiveness The success of the Drop-In Center in Santa Cruz is what made Casa=20 Bienestar possible, according to Maroni. The State Office of AIDS in=20 California agreed that the Santa Cruz Drop-In Center, which opened in=20 1988, met an important need in North County. In fact, the State Office=20= of AIDS used it as a model for the establishment of twenty similar=20 centers throughout the State of California. The Drop-In Center in downtown Santa Cruz is not specifically=20 youth-targeted, but approximately fifty percent of the participants who=20= utilize it are below the age of twenty-four, according to Maroni. Harm Reduction In contrast to other drug counseling centers in Watsonville which=20 generally work from an abstinence-based model, Casa Bienestar is set up=20= to be a place where participants can obtain support even when they are=20= not ready to kick the habit. =93A lot of people don=92t want to be fixed today,=94 Maroni added. = =93They=20 might want to be in a couple of months from now, or a couple of years=20 from now, but they know they can=92t do it in a half an hour. So they=92re= =20 living their lives, and we=92re just there to live their lives with = them,=20 more or less how they tell us they want to live them.=94 =93There=92s no yes or no, there=92s no right or wrong,=94 said Edney. = =93We give=20 people as much information as we can and then they do what they want=20 with it=85. We=92re just kind of trying to step in before things get = worse.=94 =00 [Spanish version follows] El Centro solidifica la relaci=F3n existente entre tres organizaciones = que=20 prov=E9en servicios similares en Watsonville. =00Suena la campana de salida de la escuela y decides acompa=F1ar a = algunos=20 amigos que se encaminan a un centro jouvenil cercano. Te imaginas un=20 cuarto grande con luces fluorecentes y con demas=EDadas reglas. T=FA y = tus=20 amigos llegan a un edificio donde hay adolecentes jugando baloncesto en=20= el estacionamiento. Cuando ves el letrero de enfrente que dice =93Casa=20= Bienestar,=94 te das cuenta que esto puede ser muy distinto a cualquier=20= cosa que te hubieras imaginado. Dentro del edificio hay otros de tu edad jugando billar, y reconoces a=20= tu estaci=F3n de radio favorita tocando m=FAsica en el fondo. Alcanzas = a=20 escuchar a alguien que explica a un grupo de adolecentes sobre el uso=20 seguro del cond=F3n. Una mujer con una sonrisa c=E1lida deja de ayudar = a=20 alguien mas con su tarea para darte la bienvenida ofreciendote chips y=20= salsa. Cuando la Casa Bienestar, =93Un Centro de Recursos para Prevenci=F3n del=20= VIH, Reducci=F3n de Da=F1o, y Salud Comunitaria,=94 abri=F3 sus puertas = en=20 diciembre de 2000, se solidific=F3 la relaci=F3n de trabajo de tres=20 organizaciones locales. El Proyecto de Intercambio de Jeringas de Santa=20= Cruz (SCNEP), El Proyecto SIDA de Santa Cruz (SCAP), y el Proyecto de=20 Salud para Personas Desamparadas (HPHP), hab=EDan trabajado en=20 colaboraci=F3n durante casi una d=E9cada, creando el Santa Cruz Drop-In=20= Center y proveyendo servicios en las calles de Watsonville y Santa=20 Cruz. Las tres organizaciones trabajan para prevenir el contagio del=20 VIH reuni=E9ndose con miembros de la comunidad de alto riesgo en su=20 propio nivel para proporcionar as=EDstencia y educacion. Los voluntarios de SCAP, SCNEP y HPHP han estado colocando sitios=20 temporales para prevenci=F3n del VIH por varios a=F1os en los=20 estacionamientos del Mercado Del Sol en Watsonville. HPHP prov=E9e=20 servicios de salud y SCAP ayuda a proporcionar pruebas gratis de=20 detecci=F3n del VIH. SCNEP ofrece un intercambio de uno a uno de = jeringas,=20 donde quienes usan drogas inyectadas pueden intercambiar sus jeringas=20 sucias por nuevas sin usar. Los programas de intercambio de jeringas=20 operan bajo la premisa que al disminuir el n=FAmero de jeringas=20 contaminadas en las calles tambi=E9n se disminuye el riesgo de nuevas=20 infecciones de VIH. SCNEP tambi=E9n conduce campa=F1as de alcance a = pie,=20 intercambiando jeringas y distribuyendo condones gratis en areas donde=20= hay compra y venta de drogas. Pero seg=FAn Timothy Maroni, Director de Educaci=F3n y Prevenci=F3n de = SCAP,=20 las tres organizaciones necesitaban un lugar mas permanente para poder=20= ser lo mas efectivas posible. =93Era muy dif=EDcil porque no teniamos = un=20 lugar para los servicios que quer=EDamos ofrecer,=94 el dijo. En un = esfuerzo=20 conjunto para proporcionar tal lugar, los miembros de las tres=20 organizaciones fundaron la Casa Bienestar. Adem=E1s de proveer = prevenci=F3n=20 de VIH y servicios a usadores de drogas inyectadas, el centro fue=20 desarrollado con el objetivo de servir como un espacio recreacional para=20= los residentes de Watsonville, enfoc=E1ndose en j=F3venes de entre los = doce=20 y veinticuatro a=F1os de edad considerados como alto riesgo. =93Los muchachos y muchachas vienen, y est=E1n aqu=ED un rato viendo el = lugar=20 y ech=E1ndonos un ojo antes de decir =91necesito ayuda,=92=94 dijo Linda = Valdez=20 de HPHP. El Centro ofrece condones gratis, m=E9todos anticonceptivos,=20= comida, entretenimiento, consejos, apoyo, jeringas limpias y un lugar=20 seguro para descansar. =93B=E1sicamente, cualquiera que sea su = necesidad=20 tratamos de atenderla,=94 a=F1adi=F3 Valdez. =93Si no podemos, les=20 proporcionamos referencias.=94 Los lugares de pruebas de VIH e intercambio de jeringas a=FAn aparecen=20= detr=E1s del Mercado Del Sol en Watsonville cada mi=E9rcoles por la = tarde. =20 Ahora los voluntarios refieren a los participantes a la Casa Bienestar=20= donde pueden tener acceso a los mismos servicios pero con m=E1s = comodidad=20 y privacidad. =93Creo que [el Centro] ha sido capaz de expander el=20 enfoque, calidad y la cantidad de los servicios que ofrecemos [en el=20 Condado Sur],=94 a=F1adi=F3 Maroni. El personal =93de linea=94 de la Casa Bienestar, que se encarga de las=20= operaciones diarias del centro, representa a las tres organizaciones=20 colaborantes. Sus objetivos incluyen el proveer =93a los j=F3venes con = un=20 ambiente hogare=F1o donde puedan venir, disfrutar, y tener acceso a=20 servicios de salud, los cuales son libres de cargo.=94 Martha Zabale, de SCAP, naci=F3 y creci=F3 en Watsonville. =93Hay mucha = gente=20 que viene aqu=ED que b=E1sicamente necesita de alguien con quien hablar, = =20 entonces tengo una oportunidad con ellos antes que decidan escapar de=20 sus casas o algo as=ED,=94 ella dijo. =93Siento que est=E1n c=F3modos = aqu=ED porque=20 conocemos Watsonville.=94 Ronaldo de SCNEP ha vivido en Watsonville por trece anos y ha trabajado=20= como voluntario para otras organizaciones locales. =93A=FAn puedo = alcanzar=20 la gente con quien crec=ED y ayudarlas,=94 el dijo. Un Espacio de UsosM=FAltiples La Casa Bienestar, mucho mas grande que el Drop-In Center en Santa Cruz,=20= ofrece un cuarto de estancia equipado con una mesa de billar,=20 televisi=F3n, videocasetera, est=E9reo, y una computadora con =93scanner=94= y=20 acceso al internet, as=ED como una cocina completa, y un cuarto de=20 conferencias. =93Hemos tenido a muchos estudiantes que vienen aqu=ED, y=20= nosotros los ayudamos con su tarea o con sus r=E9sumes,=94 dijo Zabale,=20= se=F1alando la estaci=F3n de la computadora. La Casa Bienestar tambi=E9n prov=E9e suficientes lugares donde el = personal y=20 los voluntarios pueden sentarse a conversar con los j=F3venes y=20 adolecentes sobre la escuela, el sexo, la familia, o cualquier otra cosa=20= que tengan en mente. Hay dos pizarrones con enlistados de trabajos, eventos, actividades y=20 otros recursos que pueden ser de inter=E9s para los j=F3venes. Una = oficina=20 de salud prov=E9e servicios m=E9dicos y de salud, desde pruebas de = embar=E1zo=20 hasta vacunas contra la hepatitis B. El cuarto del Proyecto de Intercambio de Jeringas tiene una entrada=20 separada del =E1rea de recepci=F3n principal, para as=ED facilitar el=20 anonimato de los clientes. =93Si hay un mont=F3n de muchachos jugando=20= billar enfrente, pueden entrar y salir por el costado, sin ser vistos=20 por familiares o sin tener que pasar por la incomodidad de ver a=20 personas que no se inyectan,=94 explic=F3 Heather Edney, la Directora=20 Ejecutiva de SCNEP. Hay tres oficinas para entrevistas privadas para ayudar a las personas=20= sentirse mas c=F3modas al hablar sobre temas que encuentren dificiles. =20= Edney cree que es crucial la conciencia de los j=F3venes sobre la=20 prevenci=F3n de VIH. Mucho de lo que hacen SCNEP, HPHP, y SCAP est=E1=20= encaminado hacia la juventud. =93Casi toda la literatura que producimos=20= est=E1 escrita por j=F3venes para los j=F3venes. El fuck safe, shoot = clean le=20 habla a la juventud,=94 explic=F3 Edney. El Centro Drop-In como un modelo estatal para la efectividad. Seg=FAn Maroni, el =E9xito de el Drop-In Center en Santa Cruz fue lo que=20= hizo posible que se hiciera la Casa Bienestar. La Oficina Estatal del=20= SIDA en California (SOA) decidi=F3 que el Drop-In Center en Santa Cruz,=20= abierto en 1988, atend=EDa una necesidad importante en el Condado Norte. = =20 Incluso, el SOA lo us=F3 como modelo para el establecimiento de veinte=20= centros similares a lo largo del Estado de California. El Drop-In Center en el centro de Santa Cruz no est=E1 exclus=EDvamente=20= orientado a los j=F3venes, pero aproximadamente cincuenta por ciento de=20= los participantes que lo utilizan est=E1n por debajo de los veinticuatro=20= a=F1os de edad, seg=FAn Maroni. Reducci=F3n de Da=F1o A diferencia de otros centros de apoyo para drogas en Watsonville que=20= generalmente trabajan con un modelo basado en la abstinencia, la Casa=20 Bienestar est=E1 dise=F1ada para ser un lugar donde los participantes=20= pueden obtener apoyo a=FAn cuando no est=E1n listos para dejar el h=E1bito= del=20 consumo de drogas. =93Mucha gente no quiere cambiar hoy,=94 a=F1adi=F3 Maroni. =93Podr=E1n = querer=20 cambiar en un par de meses, o en un par de a=F1os de ahora, pero saben = que=20 no pueden hacerlo en media hora, as=ED que est=E1n viviendo sus vidas, y=20= nosotros solo estamos aqu=ED para vivir con ellos sus vidas, m=E1s o = menos=20 de la manera en que ellos nos dicen querer vivirlas.=94 =93No hay un si o un no, y no hay un bien y un mal,=94 dijo Edney. =93Le = damos=20 a la gente tanta informaci=F3n como podemos y ellos hacen lo que quieran=20= con ella=85 S=F3lamente estamos tratando de intervenir antes que las = cosas=20 se pongan peor.=94 =00 All content Copyleft =A9 2002 by The Alarm! Newspaper. Except where = noted=20 otherwise, this material may be copied and distributed freely in whole=20= or in part by anyone except where used for commercial purposes or by=20 government agencies. ----- The Alarm! Newspaper a local weekly newspaper for an engaged populace http://www.the-alarm.com/ info@the-alarm.com P.O. Box 1205, Santa Cruz, CA 95061 (831) 429-NEWS - office (831) 420-1498 - fax From wires@the-alarm.com Thu Jul 11 22:28:26 2002 Return-Path: Delivered-To: dryerase@lists.cu.groogroo.com Received: by imsahp (Postfix, from userid 1006) id 8F78217391; Thu, 11 Jul 2002 22:28:26 -0500 (CDT) Received: from the-alarm.com (the-alarm.com [209.204.179.100]) by imsahp (Postfix) with SMTP id E8890172E9 for ; Thu, 11 Jul 2002 22:28:17 -0500 (CDT) Received: from fhar ([192.168.0.3]) by the-alarm.com (AppleMailServer 10.1.4.0) id 10535u via TCP with SMTP; Thu, 11 Jul 2002 20:28:17 -0700 Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 20:28:12 -0700 Mime-Version: 1.0 (Apple Message framework v482) Content-Type: text/plain; charset=WINDOWS-1252; format=flowed From: Alarm!Wires To: dryerase@lists.cu.groogroo.com Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Message-Id: <65F75771-9547-11D6-B276-003065F4865E@the-alarm.com> X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.482) X-Spam-Status: No, hits=3.7 required=6.0 tests=INCREASE_TRAFFIC,FREE_MONEY version=2.20 X-Spam-Level: *** Subject: [Dryerase] The Alarm--Transience in Santa Cruz Sender: dryerase-admin@lists.cu.groogroo.com Errors-To: dryerase-admin@lists.cu.groogroo.com X-BeenThere: dryerase@lists.cu.groogroo.com X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.11 Precedence: bulk List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: A news syndication / sharing wire for independent newspapers. List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: This comprises the first two of a three-part series on "Transience in=20 Santa Cruz". It is obviously fairly specific to the area, but it=20 touches on issues of importance everywhere: entrenched bureacracies=20 beholden economically and politically to a tax base which is itself=20 dependent on a transient, insecure workforce. It is particularly=20 applicable to college towns and tourism hubs. It is also some of our=20 most biting journalism so far (if i do say so myself). Transience in Santa Cruz In this series, I address the role of transience in Santa Cruz=97how it=20= affects our community economically, politically and psychologically. To=20= accomplish this analysis, however, requires a redefinition of transience=20= which includes more than the narrow colloquial version of =93the=20 transient=94 limited to homeless vagabonds. Without this redefinition, = it=20 becomes far too easy to scapegoat the homeless for the problems stemming=20= from a much broader and more systemic transience. Part One: The economy By Fhar Miess The Alarm! Newspaper Collective Transience, in a very literal sense, is a perennial phenomenon in Santa=20= Cruz, and it is by no means a new one. The Ohlone tribes, who were=20 likely the first people to settle here, are said to have migrated=20 between the mountains and the low wetlands seasonally, as the weather=20 and availability of food changed. As broad-leaved plantain (which some call =93White Man=92s Foot=94 = because of=20 the way it tended to spring up wherever settlers tread) began to=20 populate the area, seasonal migrations took on a slightly different=20 character, but they were still determined, to a large degree, by=20 shifting weather and availability of natural resources. As those resources=97mostly forests=97became denuded at the end of the = 19th=20 Century, tourism began replacing the resource-intensive manufacturing=20 base that had come to define the Santa Cruz area. It was still a very=20= transient set of communities, but that transience was driven less and=20 less by seasonal weather changes and more and more by market=20 fluctuations. It=92s interesting to examine what we mean by =93transient=94 in this=20 historical context. Most people in Santa Cruz, when asked to point out=20= a transient, will look about for the nearest person they can identify as=20= being homeless. In a sense, they are right. In one=97somewhat=20 superficial=97respect, the homeless in Santa Cruz are transient much as=20= the native Ohlone were: their need for shelter and the shelter options=20= they choose are largely determined by what the climate dictates. This climate, however, is very different from the climate known to the=20= Ohlone before missionaries and settlers arrived. Contrary to the local=20= natural climate, which was (and is) ideal for human habitation and=20 cohabitation, our present climate is marked economically by inflated=20 housing costs and deflated wages, with the availability of both being=20 determined to a large extent by a much more significant transient=20 population than the homeless: namely, the student and tourist=20 populations. For those who are homeless, it is also a social climate marked by=20 violence. The Homeless 2000 Needs Assessment survey for Santa Cruz=20 County, conducted by Applied Survey Research, indicated that seventy-six=20= out of 811 people said they had been physically beaten, sixty-five said=20= they had been robbed and thirteen had been sexually assaulted. The=20 Santa Cruz Police Department noted in a memo that homeless people are=20 more likely to be victims of crime than the housed. The survey also noted that more than three quarters of respondents had=20= lived in Santa Cruz County for over five years. Almost thirty percent=20= grew up here. Respondents=92 biggest daily problem, after lack of work = or=20 income, was transportation, which indicates that their transience is=20 more of an unpleasant necessity than a choice. But this is only one sliver of the transience that characterizes our=20 region. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the=20 agricultural sector accounted for some 12,940 documented workers in the=20= county in the peak growing season of 2000, with only 4,469 employed that=20= winter. Many of those displaced are forced to relocate after the=20 growing season. UCSC students account for some 13,000 people during the school year, but=20= only 2,900 during the summer vacation. The tourism industry offsets this to an extent. On its own, the Seaside=20= Company and its concessionaires employ over 1,200 people to keep the=20 Boardwalk running during the summer. Many of these are travelers from=20= outside the country, participating in Seaside Company=92s =93Work & = Travel=20 Program=94 which houses seasonal travelers and employees in La Bahia=20 apartments, displacing the largely student population which resides=20 there the rest of the year. Students planning to stay in Santa Cruz=20 over the summer must vacate to make room. The UCSC community accounts for a large part of the transient nature of=20= our community. In early summer, while the departure of the students=20 allows locals to breathe a sigh of relief for a week or so until the=20 tourists show up in droves, it also strains the region economically. =20 The housing market goes totally out of whack as students who live in=20 town try to find subletters before they leave town for the summer, and=20= students who live on campus or in seasonal housing such as La Bahia try=20= to find off-campus housing, and often for longer than just a summer=20 sublet will allow. The job market goes through similar spasms. Graduation marks another period of transience, where many will venture=20= over the hill to find decent-paying jobs. Many of these graduates will=20= stay to live on this side of the hill. When they do find high-paying=20 jobs, particularly in high-tech fields, this exerts an enormous amount=20= of pressure on housing costs and availability in Santa Cruz County, as=20= well as other counties to the south and east. This climate is what prompted the National Association of Homebuilders=20= in January to label the Santa Cruz/Watsonville housing market the least=20= affordable in the nation (we have since dropped back down to third=20 place, after San Francisco and Salinas). UCSC Chancellor MRC Greenwood=92s overhaul of the institution to make it=20= a =93Gateway to Silicon Valley=94 can only exacerbate this situation. = It is=20 evident, between increased funding priorities for applied sciences and=20= engineering and the gutting of the Narrative Evaluation System (NES),=20 that the UCSC administration is bent on turning the University into a=20 well-oiled machine to churn out skilled workers and bases of knowledge=20= for the Silicon Valley. Manuel Schwab, who advocated the retention of NES during the 1999-2000=20= school year, described the battle this way: =93One of the issues that=20= gave the NES fight much broader significance beyond the desire for a=20 certain intellectual atmosphere was that many of us realized that=20 quantifiable evaluation was one way to facilitate the transition of=20 students from the intellectual laboratory to the =91real-world=92 = workforce. =93It was yet another method to make it difficult for us to think of=20 ourselves outside of the career track,=94 he said. Still, the University administration boasts of its contribution to the=20= community through money students, faculty, staff and visitors to the=20 campus spend in Santa Cruz County. =46rom July 1, 2000 to June 30, 2001=20= it valued this contribution at $413.8 million. While a portion of that=20= money goes toward well-paid workers, particularly in the construction=20 trades, members of the campus community spend nearly the majority of it=20= to support low-wage positions in the retail sector. Those same retail workers are the ones to serve travelers when the=20 transient demographic of Santa Cruz changes from students to tourists. =20= According to Bureau of Labor Statistics records from the year 2000, the=20= retail sector is the second largest employer in Santa Cruz, after=20 services, with the lowest average weekly wage of any sector at $374. =20 The largest portion of employers in the retail sector is eating and=20 drinking establishments, with an average wage of $232 per week (of=20 course, these are statistics for documented labor)=97hardly a living = wage=20 in Santa Cruz. Even I make more than that (barely). Merchants all over Santa Cruz County depend on revenues from tourism,=20 but their particular brand of transience is even more insecure than that=20= of the campus community. If it=92s a bad year, whether due to recession=20= or fears of terrorism, merchants become neurotic at the prospect of lost=20= revenues. This neurosis surfaces in the form of proposals for draconian=20= ordinances in shopping districts, where that other population of=20 transients=97the homeless=97already complains of constant harassment by = law=20 enforcement. Results from the Homeless Needs Assessment Survey of 2000=20= indicate that over 15 percent of respondents listed =93problems with=20 police=94 among their most troublesome daily problems. It seems ironic for merchants to blame problems caused by the=20 capriciousness of Santa Cruz=92s tourist transients on some of Santa=20 Cruz=92s most stable transients=97the homeless. It is particularly = ironic=20 when one considers that those same merchant=92s wages and hiring = policies=20 (transient student and youth populations are favored over more stable=20 residents who are less likely to accept such low wages) encourage=97more=20= than any other sector=97the sort of economic climate that forces people=20= out into the weather. In Part Two of =93Transience in Santa Cruz=94, I will focus on the = political=20 apparatus that solidifies much of what happens on the economic level=20 into policy and bureaucratic practice. =00 Transience in Santa Cruz Last week, I examined the role of transience in the local economy of=20 Santa Cruz. In this installment of =93Transience in Santa Cruz,=94 I=92ll= be=20 drawing attention to the political apparatus that both encourages, and=20= is determined by, that transience. Readers may remember from the last=20= installment that I conceive of transience not primarily as the homeless=20= and the transient poor, but as tourists and students. Part 2=97The Politics of Transience By Fhar Miess The Alarm! Newspaper Collective In the late 1920=92s, as Ku Klux Klan chapters grew around Santa Cruz,=20= Fred Swanton, Santa Cruz Mayor, industrialist and town booster, lead=20 caravans promoting the area=92s tourist attractions, most of which he = had=20 built himself (or, more accurately, paid others to build for him). In 1933, during the last year of Swanton=92s five-year mayoral term, he=20= transferred title on a few acres of public land at the current location=20= of the Boardwalk parking lot and some of its rides from the City to the=20= Santa Cruz Seaside Company. The Seaside Company has owned and operated=20= the Boardwalk since Swanton himself bankrupted the operation in 1915. Santa Cruz politics has changed a lot since then. Certainly, one would=20= hope that a KKK rally would not last long here these days. But, in other ways, the old guard is still very much in power. =20 According to maps from the 1850s, the land that Swanton sold to the=20 Seaside Company was below the =93mean high tide=94 level, in what are=20 called =93tidelands=94, properties owned by the State of California and = held=20 in trust by the City of Santa Cruz. According to the State=20 Constitution, those tidelands should never have been transferred to any=20= private party. In 1998, activists challenged the City Council to file suit against the=20= Seaside Company to reclaim the land and restore the tidelands to natural=20= habitat for Coho and Steelhead. The San Lorenzo Estuary, which was=20 largely filled in after the construction of the river levee, is deemed=20= essential for the ability of the fish to survive upon entering the briny=20= waters of the Monterey Bay. Apparently, the State Lands Commission=20 found the evidence compelling enough to offer to back up the City if it=20= were to take the case to court. The City Council ceded eighty percent of the land to the Seaside Company=20= in October of 1998 rather than suing for the entire property. But a few=20= months later, a new council=97populated by councilmembers such as=20 Kristopher Krohn and Ed Porter who had been elected partly on their=20 pledge to advocate for the return of the land to the City=97reversed the=20= decision. Unfortunately, according to Beach Flats resident Phil Baer,=20= the weight of the tourism industry giant leaned hard upon the=20 professional city staff (City Manager Richard Wilson and City Attorney=20= John Barisone) who advise the council. The city staff in turn leaned on=20= the City Council. =93My observation is that the City Council rarely, if=20= ever, does anything other than what the staff suggests and advises that=20= they do,=94 he says. Metro Santa Cruz reported on July 4, 2001 that the council held private=20= negotiations that summer with the Seaside Company. Despite vigilant=20 protests from activists and claims of violations of the Brown Act, which=20= mandates open access to public meetings, the council eventually dropped=20= the case. Tourist transience is big money in Santa Cruz. Former Santa Cruz Mayor=20= Mike Rotkin estimates that between one-third and two-thirds of Santa=20 Cruz tax revenues come from the tourism industry. The City Admission=20 Tax, which comes primarily from the tourism industry and the Boardwalk=20= in particular, accounts for about $1.5 million of city tax revenues=20 annually. The City also levies a Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) on hotel=20= patrons, which accounts for over $3 million annually, and sales taxes=20 from money spent by tourists amount to millions more. When it comes to=20= local politics, that big money talks, and=97as the tidelands case=20 illustrates=97often behind closed doors. Baer notes that the Seaside=20 Company exerts =93this quiet, behind-the-scenes pressure that you can=20 never seem to trace exactly, but things always seem to go their way.=94 The City spends big money to keep tourism in Santa Cruz as well. =20 Upwards of $400,000 per year is allocated from the City=92s General Fund=20= to support the Convention and Visitor=92s Bureau (CVB) which promotes=20 tourism in Santa Cruz. The primary benefactor of this subsidized=20 advertising is the Seaside Company with its various tourist attractions. But city subsidies for the tourism industry are not always so direct. =20= The City also contributes significant funds for public works (which go=20= toward cleaning up sidewalks and beaches, etc.) and police protection. =20= =93A lot of our police efforts are directed towards tourism,=94 says=20 Rotkin. =93When you put police officers on Pacific Avenue or in the = beach=20 area, that=92s pretty much tourist-related.=94 Several people I spoke with would like to see some hard numbers=20 detailing the amount of money that tourism actually brings to the Santa=20= Cruz community as well as the social, environmental and economic costs=20= of accommodating tourists. Those numbers are hard to come by. In the=20= course of conducting interviews for this series, I have found=20 politicians and bureaucrats alike reluctant to offer solid figures on=20 either the costs or the benefits. I was lucky to get approximations. Fred Geiger, an activist who follows the Seaside Company and the local=20= tourism industry, had a few things to say about it. =93I don=92t think = the=20 business community wants to have that kind of information out there=20 because people might decide that it=92s simply not worth it,=94 he says. = =20 =93Many other towns have condemned these types of operations [like the=20= Boardwalk]=97Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Venice, Long Beach=97because = they=20 bring blight to the community.=94 Of particular concern to activists is the sort of vehicle-intensive=20 =93day-tripper=94 tourism attracted to the Boardwalk which contributes=20= little to the local community except reduced air quality, increased=20 noise and traffic, and drunken rowdiness. Folks like Baer and Geiger=20 claim that much of this day-tripper tourism precludes lower-impact,=20 =93conceivably beneficial=94 tourism, not to mention the health and = sanity=20 of locals. Student transience There is, however, a dearth of political will to move away from tourism=20= as a local tax base. =93I don=92t think anybody is thinking that = there=92s=20 some other industry that=92s going to replace tourism in Santa Cruz,=94 = says=20 Rotkin. But he does note the way in which Santa Cruz=92s economic and=20= political establishment of the 1950=92s dealt with the lack of any=20 off-season industry by pushing for the location of a UC in town. In some ways, though, they ended up shooting themselves in the foot. =93I= =20 don=92t think they understood the political impact of bringing a major=20= university here,=94 says Rotkin. After all, the voting age was still = 21,=20 and students were not allowed to vote outside of their home districts=20 for some time. Vietnam-era state and federal legislative changes=20 reversed those conditions. This, in combination with the student body=20= that was attracted to one of the most radical experiments in higher=20 education at the time, led to a strong progressive shift which gave the=20= town the nickname =93The People=92s Republic of Santa Cruz=94. Santa Cruz still carries that reputation across the country=97undeservedly= =20 so, according to many. Contrary to the high ideals which originally put=20= people like John Laird, Mike Rotkin, Ed Porter and others into local=20 government, Baer now describes the City Council as a =93dynasty=94. = =93The=20 local politics are so entrenched that you=92re basically choosing = between=20 incumbents and former council members, selecting from this handful of=20 people who can get elected any time they want and just sort of pass it=20= back and forth between each other because we have some regulation on the=20= books that no council member can sit on the council for more than eight=20= years,=94 he says. =93They then have to take a two-year break, and then=20= they can go for another eight years, on and on until they=92re senile = and=20 attending council meetings from the retirement home.=94 To a large degree, this state of affairs can be attributed to the=20 transience of the political powerhouse that is the student body. =20 Eight-year term limits do little good in a population with at best a=20 four-year attention span. =93As much as I like the students and the=20 university and higher education,=94 says Baer, =93in general, I don=92t = think=20 of the average UCSC student as being particularly cognizant of what=92s=20= going on in city politics or what the impacts are of the votes that they=20= somewhat casually cast. =93I think they get played by the people who are influential up there = [on=20 campus], notably Mike Rotkin,=94 he says. =93Their vote is being used = by=20 people to do some things I=92m not sure students would really want done = if=20 they understood how it was really playing out.=94 What Baer is referring to is the myriad controversies that Rotkin, who=20= teaches a class on Marxism at UCSC, has gotten himself embroiled=20 within. Rotkin, along with councilmembers Scott Kennedy, Cynthia=20 Mathews and Mike Hernandez consistently found himself in hot water with=20= local activists over issues such as the Beach Area and South of Laurel=20= Plan, which included converting La Bahia apartments into a convention=20 center, an expansion of the Boardwalk and the razing of affordable=20 housing in the Beach Flats, among other things. The plan was meant to=20= =93revitalize=94 (many would say =93gentrify=94) the area and bolster = tourism. The Rotkin-Kennedy-Mathews-Hernandez council majority also came under=20 fire for supporting the Gateway Plaza and Costco developments. Rotkin,=20= who is running for a fifth term in November, cites this as an attempt to=20= take advantage of a potential non-tourist tax base and stem the flow of=20= capital out of the community into big-box havens such as Fremont and=20 Sand City. Community activists countered that these developments would=20= only support low-wage jobs and the profits of huge corporate chains. Those other transients When asked what the city had done to mitigate the tourism industry=92s=20= tendencies to draw down wages in the area with the proliferation of=20 low-skill, poorly-paid jobs, Rotkin responded, =93It=92s led to people=20= thinking that we need to help try and support organizing so that people=20= in those industries can organize and provide an economic defense for=20 themselves.=94 As evidence, he cited a case in 1981 in which, as Mayor,=20= he supported a strike at a local hotel. He was hard-pressed to cite=20 more recent examples, but noted that the City requires that contractors=20= pay prevailing wages in the building of city developments and that, had=20= the La Bahia Conference Center idea gone through, the City would have=20 required the employer to pay prevailing wages. The City=92s recent passage of the Living Wage Ordinance, which requires=20= the city and its contractors to pay their employees an annually-indexed=20= =93living wage=94, indicates that=97at least ideally=97the City Council = is in=20 support of decent wages and workers=92 rights to organize on the job. =20= While this may tend to exert an upward pressure on regional wages, it=20 will likely be limited to workers specifically identified in the=20 ordinance. There are some notable exceptions, such as the Santa Cruz=20 Community Credit Union, which this spring voted to tie their lowest=20 wages to the city=92s annually-indexed =93living wage=94. = Unfortunately,=20 those workers in the largely tourism-driven retail sector are least=20 likely to share in the ancillary benefits. When it comes to material, systemic support for decent wages and working=20= conditions, the City=92s record is not so impressive. Continuing=20 no-strings subsidies for the exploitive tourism industry are a notable=20= example. =93Police protection=94, which, according to Rotkin, comprises = a=20 large portion of public subsidies for tourism, is particularly=20 problematic. When asked who it was that was being policed in this case,=20= Rotkin answered =93everyone.=94 However, the casual observer will note=20= that, at least when it comes to Pacific Avenue, the scruffier transients=20= are targeted overwhelmingly over the more well-to-do tourist transients=20= who visit the area. Again, hard numbers are hard to come by on this=20 issue, as law enforcement officials are reluctant to keep records to=20 track it. Even stricter downtown ordinances and more rigorous enforcement of=20 existing downtown and anti-homeless ordinances can only compound this=20 problem. As tempers flared around the time of the police-instigated=20 riots of 1994, members of the Santa Cruz General Membership Branch of=20 the Industrial Workers of the World (the IWW, or =93Wobblies=94) put it=20= succinctly: =93All low-paid waged laborers=85are essentially being = warned=20 by anti-homeless legislation to =91play it safe=92 on the job so as not = to=20 end up on the street. =93The effort to stigmatize and outright vilify an economic circumstance=20= that all waged workers must constantly struggle to avoid is a very=20 useful strategy for keeping labor in line. In Santa Cruz, a worker=92s=20= existence is primarily defined by the constant struggle to maintain=20 legal housing where over half of one=92s monthly wages may go towards=20 rent. The criminalization of the condition of being unable to pay rent=20= functions as a very real demand that workers remain ever-grateful for=20 current employment, regardless of conditions or pay. =93By securing access to a subdued and fearful service-industry = workforce,=20 supporters of anti-homeless legislation (almost entirely bosses) seek to=20= simultaneously sweep the streets of the homeless while assuring that=20 there will always be a willing employee to hold the broom.=94 Where to now? This piece began in 1920=92s Santa Cruz, when the Wobblies were as = active=20 here as they were in 1994, then struggling against the timber barons in=20= the Santa Cruz Mountains. Tom Scribner, whose bronze statue perches on=20= the Pacific Avenue sidewalk facing the St. George Hotel and whose=20 portrait graces the wall of the Poet & Patriot, was a Wobbly during=20 those times. He devoted most of his life to organizing with the=20 unemployed and downtrodden against the financial system that kept them=20= down. He was later known for his skill in playing the musical saw,=20 which he often did in public spaces. If only our eclectic street=20 musicians were treated with such respect nowadays. Still, it is positive that we have a statue of an old-time radical and=20= no such visible monument to the racial and class bigotry which ran=20 rampant in the =9120s in Santa Cruz (at least until Louis Rittenhouse=20 erects=97as Bruce Bratton claims he plans to=97a commemorative plaque to = his=20 grandfather, a major proponent of the =93Keep California White=94=20 movement). But, we cannot rely on a transient and unrooted student=20 radicalism to maintain the pseudo-progressive majority in Santa Cruz. For one thing, the political power of the student body is likely to=20 become increasingly fragmented as a new student demographic is brought=20= to UCSC by bolstered Economics and Engineering departments and a waning=20= commitment among faculty to non-traditional education. For another, it=20= is clear that the student body has enormous political power, but that=20 political power will be easily mobilized, as it always has been, to=20 serve the interests of the political elite who have in turn enslaved=20 themselves to the economic interests of the tourism industry. The solution does not lie in City Government. As Phil Baer notes about=20= his experience in City Council meetings, =93It just seems like a=20 predetermined process. You go there, you say your spiel, but you get=20 the sense the decision has already been made.=94 How we vote matters = far=20 less than how we relate to our bosses, our landlords or those who would=20= presume to police us. It also matters far less than how we all relate=20= to each other=97the community ties and the alternative institutions we=20= build together. My next installment of =93Transience in Santa Cruz=94 will focus on how=20= transience affects these interpersonal relationships. It will not=20 appear in the next issue, but rather in the following one, to give all=20= of you time to relate your stories and register your opinions on this=20 topic. Please send us your thoughts to our P.O. Box or e-mail me at=20 fhar@the-alarm.com. =00All content Copyleft =A9 2002 by The Alarm! Newspaper. Except where = noted=20 otherwise, this material may be copied and distributed freely in whole=20= or in part by anyone except where used for commercial purposes or by=20 government agencies. ----- The Alarm! Newspaper a local weekly newspaper for an engaged populace http://www.the-alarm.com/ info@the-alarm.com P.O. Box 1205, Santa Cruz, CA 95061 (831) 429-NEWS - office (831) 420-1498 - fax From wires@the-alarm.com Thu Jul 11 23:03:16 2002 Return-Path: Delivered-To: dryerase@lists.cu.groogroo.com Received: by imsahp (Postfix, from userid 1006) id B688517396; Thu, 11 Jul 2002 23:03:16 -0500 (CDT) Received: from the-alarm.com (the-alarm.com [209.204.179.100]) by imsahp (Postfix) with SMTP id 6DE8717391 for ; Thu, 11 Jul 2002 23:03:05 -0500 (CDT) Received: from fhar ([192.168.0.3]) by the-alarm.com (AppleMailServer 10.1.4.0) id 10593u via TCP with SMTP; Thu, 11 Jul 2002 21:03:04 -0700 Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 21:03:02 -0700 Mime-Version: 1.0 (Apple Message framework v482) Content-Type: text/plain; charset=WINDOWS-1252; format=flowed From: Alarm!Wires To: dryerase@lists.cu.groogroo.com Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Message-Id: <43406019-954C-11D6-B276-003065F4865E@the-alarm.com> X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.482) X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.0 required=6.0 tests= version=2.20 X-Spam-Level: Subject: [Dryerase] The Alarm--Re-tool Sender: dryerase-admin@lists.cu.groogroo.com Errors-To: dryerase-admin@lists.cu.groogroo.com X-BeenThere: dryerase@lists.cu.groogroo.com X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.11 Precedence: bulk List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: A news syndication / sharing wire for independent newspapers. List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: This was a column i attempted to do for three weeks, but dropped it as=20= the workload became to high. It highlights new, not-so-new, and=20 emergent technologies and critiques them. Target technolgies: cell=20 phones, IBM and the "Segway Human Transporter". They are current, but=20= not especially timely, in many cases. They are not locally-specific. 6-21-02 Segway or non sequitor? By Fhar Miess The Alarm! Newspaper Collective In December of 2001, inventor Dean Kamen unveiled his newest=20 development: a two-wheeled machine called the =93Segway Human = Transporter=20 (HT)=94, which looks remarkably like a push mower, but functions as a=20 small one-person vehicle. The machine, which comes in both consumer=20 versions and customized versions for corporate clients, weighs some=20 65lb. and is able to travel up to speeds of 12.5 mph. Through some very=20= sophisticated engineering and a parallel system of microprocessors that=20= surpasses the computing power of many desktop personal computers, the=20 machine is able to respond to slight tilts and shifts in weight so that=20= it moves forward as the driver shifts forward and stops when he or she=20= stands up straight. The Segway HT can turn on a dime by the use of=20 simple handlebar controls. Segway LLC (the partnership which Kamen formed to develop, produce and=20= market his invention) boasts an executive management team with some=20 impressive credentials. Members of the team have cut their teeth=20 working for such heavyweight organizations as Subaru, IBM (see last=20 week=92s Re-tool), the Rand Corporation, Johnson & Johnson Medical, = Inc.,=20 Ford Motor Company, General Electric Company, The Gillette Company,=20 Martin Marietta Data Systems and various arms of the United States=20 Government. Segway LLC=92s business savvy and its executives=92 years of experience = in=20 corporate culture show through. Until the personal consumer version of=20= the Segway becomes available, the company is focusing on marketing to=20 large corporate clients. The Segway HT=92s major selling point, = according=20 to its manufacturer, is that it =93increases worker productivity by=20 allowing workers to do everything more efficiently. Greater speed and=20= capacity will enable them to carry more and cover greater distances. =20 Machines can be outfitted with customized accessories, allowing workers=20= to transport enough equipment to perform multiple operations and reduce=20= the need for re-supply trips.=94 True to standard corporate rhetoric,=20= these machines are represented as =93labor-saving devices=94 which are=20= liberating to workers. The Segway HT is billed as a solution to=20 repetitive stress and other work-related injuries, although not in order=20= to improve health and safety for workers, but to =93allow=94 them to = remain=20 on the job longer. It will not =93allow workers to do everything more=20= efficiently=94; it will mandate that they work more efficiently. Such=20= technological tools do not save labor, they exploit it in order to=20 enhance productivity. As for the personal consumer model, Segway LLC executives remain=20 confident that the Segway HT will fundamentally change the way people=20 move from place to place in their personal lives, as well as at work. =20= They likely derive this confidence from their army of lobbyists urging=20= state and federal legislatures to revise laws prohibiting motorized=20 vehicles from sidewalks. Many other individuals and groups, however,=20 are not so buoyant about this eventuality. Consumer and medical groups=20= such as the Consumer Federation of America and the American Academy of=20= Pediatrics, for example, are pressing for greater restrictions on the=20 speed at which these vehicles may travel and the safety gear their=20 drivers must wear. Others are not so circumspect. =93I think the Segway is evil,=94 says=20= Christopher Congleton, half jokingly. Congleton is a graduate=20 researcher at the Institute for Transportation Studies at UC Davis. =20 =93Like any transportation tool, people don=92t think about anything = beyond=20 the direct experience of the technology itself=97they don=92t consider = the=20 effects on public space from a mixed-use environment populated by=20 Segways.=94 As Congleton notes, the Segway is not without its analogs = in=20 the realm of motor vehicles: =93The Segway is the pedestrian SUV: =20 although lacking the emissions and inefficiency of its larger cousin,=20 the Segway caters to similar character traits as most SUV markets. It=20= may encourage a new class distinction with aristocrats atop elevated=20 roving pedestals dominating those on foot. One can imagine a sidewalk=20= with varying densities and speeds of traffic, with the Segway=20 marginalizing the elderly, the multi-mobile [=93the disabled=94 in = common=20 parlance], children, and those who cannot=97or chose not to=97afford the=20= Segway.=94 Referring to the possibility of road rage spilling over onto=20= sidewalks, trails, and other mutli-use and pedestrian areas, Congelton=20= claims, =93the chance for injuries could be high, quite possibly = stemming=20 from intermodal aggression.=94 But, as noted by Chris Carlsson, one of the progenitors of =93Critical=20= Mass=94, =93there=92s a huge market for finding ways to move people = around in=20 ways that negate their ability to propel themselves under their own=20 power=94. At first glance, one would be tempted to think that many of = the=20 wonders of modern innovation are the result of pure laziness. But, upon=20= closer examination, it becomes abundantly clear that innovation has been=20= driven by some very industrious individuals who are not content to allow=20= simple laziness to determine product demand. At the same time as these=20= individuals manipulate demand for =93labor-saving devices=94 through = cunning=20 and aggressive marketing ploys, they operate organizations that mandate=20= high levels of worker productivity. Laziness is not an inherent human=20= trait; rather, it is a by-product of a sped-up workforce with little or=20= no control over its own productive activities. After working 50, 60 or=20= more hours per week in an environment where productivity is paramount,=20= is it any wonder that we find it hard to derive satisfaction from such=20= quaint activities as walking, kneading dough, growing food, or any=20 number of other activities made obsolete and horribly =93inefficient=94 = by=20 new-fangled techno-fixes? For the most part, Dean Kamen has in the past stuck to medical gadgetry,=20= his most recent invention before the Segway HT being a self-balancing=20 machine for wheelchair users. Of Kamen=92s over 150 US and foreign=20 patents, this is his first major invention developed without regard to=20= any discernible medical condition=85or is it? Is it not possible that = the=20 Segway HT was developed for a consumer base that has been crippled in=20 even more profound=97if less obvious=97ways? In Japan, they at least = have a=20 word for this condition: karoshi, which roughly translates as =93death = by=20 overwork.=94 It is no surprise that a group of career corporate executives such as=20 those who populate Segway LLC should find it mutually beneficial to=20 partner with a man most well-known for inventing high-end gadgets to=20 facilitate the mobility of disabled people. Why should they limit=20 themselves to the congenitally sick and the accidentally disabled when=20= there is money to be made from those maimed=97with symptoms ranging from=20= simple laziness to diagnosable karoshi=97by an economic system they have=20= invested their entire careers into perpetuating? After having broken=20 our legs, literally and figuratively, they are eager to find someone to=20= develop some value-added crutches they can sell to us at a premium. As=20= long as we fail to recognize how the crippling work habits we=92ve=20 inherited have been foisted upon us, we will remain perpetually=20 frustrated by technological solutions that are in fact nothing more than=20= disempowering half-measures by design. This brutal feedback loop will=20= not be interrupted by government or industry because both depend on it. =20= It can only be interrupted by each of us as producers, consumers and=20 living, breathing, loving human beings determined to make our destinies=20= together on terms we=92ve decided collectively. =006-14-02 IBM and the impending holocaust By Fhar Miess The Alarm! Newspaper Collective This Tuesday (June 11), International Business Machines Corporation=20 (IBM) made an announcement that their researchers had developed a new=20 technology for data storage which surpasses the capabilities of any=20 other storage technology by 20 times. This new development comes as a=20= result of a technique originally exploited in the 1880s by the founder=20= of the company which eventually became IBM. That technique is the use=20= of punched cards as a means of storing, tabulating and eventually=20 processing data. The primary difference, of course, is size. IBM=92s = new=20 machine, developed by its Millipede program, uses nanotechnology to=20 create a pattern of indentations, each measuring only 10 nanometers=20 (about 6,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair). The original punched-card system, developed by Herman Hollerith, was=20 first used on a massive scale during the 1890 US Census. Ultimately,=20= the need of the government to accurately gather intelligence on its=20 citizenry was what drove the technology (it also enabled Hollerith=92s=20= monopolistic business practices). A constitutional mandate in=20 combination with large upsurges in population at that time meant that a=20= technology needed to be developed which would make the Census feasible. =20= The Hollerith system was the solution (true to IBM=92s present motto). When Adolf Hitler ordered a census of all Germans in the first weeks of=20= his ascension to power in 1933, IBM=92s Hollerith machines were equally=20= indispensable for the first steps toward what would eventually become=20 the Third Reich=92s =93Final Solution=94. In fact, Dehomag (IBM=92s = German=20 subsidiary, in which it held a 90% stake) was contracted by the NSDAP=20 (the Nazi Party) to conduct the entire census process (with the=20 exception of the actual collection of data, which largely fell upon the=20= Storm Troopers and SS) in Prussia, Germany=92s most populous state. The=20= application of the Hollerith machines, as well as the export of training=20= and technical personnel and resources by IBM New York, was not limited=20= to this early case, either. As has been well documented in Edwin=20 Black=92s IBM and the Holocaust, IBM resources and personnel were used=20= throughout the Reich, not least of all in the Race Political Office. =20 The Dehomag Hollerith machines=92 assistance in the areas of = demographics=20 and information management is what made the Nazi dream of a Final=20 Solution a viable possibility. In February of 2001, when Edwin Black released his book clearly=20 outlining collusion between IBM, Thomas Watson (IBM=92s head), Dehomag=20= (IBM=92s German subsidiary) and the NSDAP, it generated a flurry of=20 denunciations and denials from the company as well as great deal of=20 overall hoop-lah in the media. While the historical facts are very much=20= significant, particularly in light of the reparations suit filed at the=20= same time against the firm, they may possibly pale in comparison to the=20= ramifications of the technology IBM is currently developing. In August of 2000, IBM announced the formation of its new Life Sciences=20= Division, dedicated to producing machines and technologies capable of=20 serving the needs of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in the=20= growing disciplines of genomics, bioinformatics and proteomics. Despite=20= the fact that it entailed the allocation of millions of dollars, the=20 move went largely unnoticed in the media by all except the business=20 press. One of the stars of the Life Sciences Division is IBM=92s =93Blue Gene=94=20= supercomputer. The machine was developed to be able to efficiently=20 manage and process enormous volumes of genetic information. It will be=20= used by various sectors of the biotechnology industry (pharmaceuticals,=20= agricultural biotechnology and animal genetics) to map plant and animal=20= genomes (including the human genome), analyze and simulate protein=20 folding (with applications primarily for pharmaceuticals development)=20 and study the roles of certain portions of genetic codes in plant and=20 animal development and living functions. IBM and its Blue Gene clients=20= are quick to assure us that all of these new developments will only be=20= utilized for the betterment of the human condition. We =93alarmists=94 are not so sure. This past week (June 9=9612), the=20= Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) held its annual conference,=20 this year in Toronto, Ontario. For each of the past several years, the=20= conference has been marked by protests from activists who consider the=20= current trend of biotechnology development anathema to the betterment of=20= the human condition, not to mention that of the planet. This year was=20= no exception (see article, page 9). On the second day of the BIO conference, Carl Feldbaum, President of=20 BIO, delivered a speech to the conference in which he outlined his=20 ten-point platform for =93Biotechnology=92s Foreign Policy=94. This = platform=20 was modeled after Woodrow Wilson=92s 14 points, which were meant to=20 inaugurate the League of Nations and marked the beginning of an era of=20= internationalist liberal democracy and economic development. Here are=20= some highlights: Point One states, =93The industry must work with=20 governments and international bodies to integrate biotechnology into=20 compelling responses to public-health crises.=94 And how is it that we=20= should come to conclusions about what constitutes a =93public-health=20 crisis=94? Well, that brings us to Point Five, which states, =93For=20 biotech=92s positive outcomes to truly flourish, we need to agree that=20= both international and national regulatory regimes be based on=20 science.=94 Feldbaum goes on: =93As more and more nations upgrade = their=20 regulatory systems to consider complex biotechnology products, we urge=20= them to detach that process from politics and ideology, even=20 superstition.=94 Apparently, Mr. Feldbaum is one of the old guard who=20= still believe that reductionist scientific inquiry is utterly devoid of=20= politics and ideology, even superstition. Take, for instance, the=20 investigations of the very scientifically-inclined eugenicists and=20 statisticians whose work informed and facilitated the Final Solution. =20= One would be hard-pressed to conceive of a basis for these scientists=92=20= endeavors which wasn=92t political, ideological or even superstitious. In Point Ten, Feldbaum declares, =93biotechnology should be used to=20 develop treatments and protective products for both military personnel=20= and civilians, but it must never be used to develop weapons.=94 Well,=20= that=92s all very nice, but it=92s too little, too late. Biotechnology = has=20 been used for the purpose of weapons development for some time, and it=20= is not likely to stop now. The case of anthrax is well known, but=20 recent news shows only increasing trends toward weapons development. =20 IBM recently (November of 2001) partnered with Lawrence Livermore=20 National Labs to develop a new Blue Gene supercomputer specifically for=20= nuclear weapons development and storage. Indicating more deliberate=20 collusion between nuclear weapons research and the biotechnology=20 industry, Compaq Computing, Sandia National Labs and Celera Genomics=20 agreed in January of 2001 to work together on a project to develop a=20 supercomputer comparable to IBM=92s Blue Gene. It is being developed=20 openly and specifically for nuclear weapons research. Underlying Feldbaum=92s tenth point is the assumption that it is = possible=20 and advisable to keep the power of biotechnology and bioinformatics =93out= =20 of the wrong hands=94. If there=92s anything we should learn from the = case=20 of IBM, it is that it is neither possible nor advisable. That power is=20= always already in the wrong hands. The governmental and economic forces=20= which drive the vast majority of scientific development are problematic=20= from the beginning. Those scientists who uncritically respond to those=20= pressures are not absolved of responsibility for the very political and=20= ideological (even superstitious) forces which drive their work. To go back to Feldbaum=92s fifth point, he says, =93every new technology=20= inevitably provokes a political confrontation between alarmists=20 [*snicker*] and the scientific community. =85Again and again, the = science=20 proves the alarmists wrong.=94 For one, this assumes consensus among = the=20 scientific community, which is rarely present. Consensus among the=20 so-called alarmists is scarcely monolithic, either (for instance, we=20 have no presentiment about the computer chip implants being the =93Mark = of=20 the Beast=94). And, on the contrary, science does not prove the = alarmists=20 wrong; history suggests that wherever science succeeds in erasing its=20= inherently ideological and political nature, it invites disaster and=97at=20= the risk of sounding =93alarmist=94=97holocaust. =00 6-7-02 Cell phones suck more than just your brains By Fhar Miess The Alarm! Newspaper Collective Union Network International (UNI) inaugurated its =93global week of=20 organizing=94 among workers at mobile phone companies around the world = May=20 27-31, highlighting an aspect of cell phone culture that has gone=20 largely ignored: its effect on working people and work habits. Much has been made of the controversy surrounding the safety of cell=20 phone use and of proximity to transmission towers and antennas (a great=20= survey of how this plays out in our community can be found in the May=20 issue of the Green Press). And the popular annoyance with cell phones=20= and their users in public spaces like movie theaters and restaurants has=20= given rise to an abundance of jokes, comics and regulatory signage. But=20= these are largely coping mechanisms and safety valves for a perhaps more=20= deeply held anxiety about cell phones: that they are fundamentally=20 calling into question the way we relate to each other and the spaces=20 around us, and the boundaries we place between work and leisure time. It is easy to get caught up in chicken-and-egg discussions when=20 considering the role of cell phones in a sped-up and over-worked=20 society. Is the popularity of cell phones attributable to their=20 inherent virtue as nifty and useful gadgets (with a few unintended=20 effects of a destabilized, flexible workforce)? Or did the popularity=20= of cell phones arise in the first place because of worker=92s needs to=20= keep up with a hyper-connected and highly-casualized global economy=20 around them? It would be easy to say that the popularity of cell phones=20= paralleled the privatization and casualization of the global economy in=20= an organic fashion, much as the telegraph and railroads grew alongside=20= one-another. Unfortunately, this analysis erases the role of leading=20 executives in shaping global market forces, just as it would denigrate=20= the deliberate market and labor-force manipulations of industrialists in=20= the late 19th century which led to fourteen-hour (and more) workdays in=20= that era. On the consumer end of the equation, a number of mobile phone operators=20= across the globe=97many of which are comprised of mergers and joint=20 ventures between the Baby Bells*=97have spearheaded the=20 telecommunications =93revolution=94 which has made =93telework=94 both = possible=20 and, in some instances, necessary, for a flexible, just-in-time global=20= market structure. Those of us who have had cell phones know the=20 always-on-call, perpetual-multitasking modes we get sucked into, despite=20= our best attempts to avoid these patterns and limit cell phone use to=20 keeping in touch with the people who are most important to us. But, these deliberate attempts to affect generalized work speed-ups and=20= increased =93flexibility=94 throughout the global workforce become most=20= evident in the attitudes of telecommunications company executives toward=20= their own workers. At the end of the summer of 2000, 87,000 workers at Verizon=20 Communications=97which owns Verizon Wireless, the largest mobile phone=20= operator in the country=97went on strike for eighteen days. The issues? = =20 Forced overtime, forced relocation, job security and the right to=20 organize. In essence, the striking workers at Verizon were protesting=20= precisely the conditions (high stress, long working hours, insecurity=20 and enforced mobility) that are the corollary of the technology they=20 were being paid by Verizon to operate, maintain and support. The strike=20= won Verizon workers significant gains in all of the issues over which=20 they went out. Verizon=92s experience apparently taught a few lessons to other cellular=20= providers facing mounting pressure from workers in the months leading up=20= to the fall surge in new phone orders from incoming students. A change=20= in tactics was in order. A year later, in August of 2001, Cingular Wireless, the second largest=20= mobile phone operator in the United States, signed a =93card-check and=20= neutrality=94 agreement with Communications Workers of America (CWA), = the=20 union which represented 72,000 of the 87,000 workers striking against=20 Verizon. This paved the way for relatively unimpeded union organizing=20= campaigns. The executives at BellSouth and SBC Communications (two of=20= the remaining four Baby Bells), which co-own Cingular Wireless, have=20 clearly learned a few things about how to make their joint venture run=20= smoothly without the risk of costly work stoppages. Cingular has=20 recently even introduced special discounted deals to CWA members on=20 mobile products and services offered by the company: the carrot to=20 Verizon=92s stick. If they can=92t enforce =93Taylorism=94, = =93rationalization=94,=20 =93workflow management=94, or =93flexibility=94 (or any other of the = various=20 industry euphemisms for work speed-ups and lack of job security) on the=20= shop floor, they=92ll do it through the lure of product marketing and=20 incentives. CWA has apparently accepted these dubious shows of goodwill=20 uncritically. A joint press release by CWA and Cingular has touted the=20= amicable partnership between the two parties, and the wonderful services=20= (as well as the pre-packaged sense of =93self-expression=94) to be = offered=20 by Cingular Wireless. There is no outward recognition of the effect of=20= telecommunications products and services on the work habits and=20 employment relations the CWA claims to have as its primary concerns. To=20= the contrary the CWA advertises these products and services glowingly. =20= Evidently, CWA has become blinded by the prospect of thousands of new=20 dues-paying highly-skilled and well-compensated telecommunications=20 workers in the ranks. As a result, they have sacrificed long-term=20 working and living conditions for a large swath of the global working=20 class in exchange for short-term gains in job security limited to those=20= workers CWA directly represents. To have rejected the card-check and=20 neutrality agreement would have been suicide for the organization, but=20= to do so uncritically is fratricide (and also suicide, if one takes some=20= of the health and safety warnings about cell phones seriously). The=20 United Auto Workers (UAW) and International Longshore and Wherehouse=20 Union (ILWU) made similar concessions to employers over automation and=20= containerization (respectively), leading to declines in both the power=20= and relevancy in two of the most militant mainstream unions in the=20 United States. So long as we remain attached to the ideal of an ultimately amicable=20 partnership between capitalism and an organized working class, the=20 former will win out over the latter. So long as we maintain that=20 capitalism and technological =93progress=94 for the sake of profit is=20 inevitable, we will ensure the same. * The =93Baby Bells=94 were the seven companies set up to provide = local=20 telephone services after the US government broke up the AT&T telephone=20= monopoly in 19