Progressive Calendar 08.26.06 | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: David Shove (shove001tc.umn.edu) | |
Date: Sat, 26 Aug 2006 03:50:23 -0700 (PDT) |
P R O G R E S S I V E C A L E N D A R 08.26.06 1. PeaceJam car wash 8.26 10am 2. Airport dike appeal 8.26 10:30am 3. Katrina 8.26 11am 4. Hmong festival 8.26 11am 5. AWC volunteer day 8.26 11am 6. Bike tour/BBQ 8.26 3pm 7. SpiritRoad/AM950 8.26 3pm 8. Gray panthers 8.26 3pm 9. Jesse's sweet corn 8.26 5pm 10. MUI 8.26 6pm 11. Marv b-day 75 8.26 6:30pm 12. Likely stories 8.26 7:30pm 13. CPUSA picnic 8.27 1pm 14. Civil rights/WWII+ 8.27 2pm 15. KFAI/Indian 8.27 4pm 16. Peterson/Dechert - Let Ken Pentel debate 17. - Women's equality day 18. Green Party - Dems & Repubs downplay health care crisis 19. Justin Clark - Tiny lot urban gardening 20. Albert McKeon - GOP candidate says 9/11 attacks were a hoax --------1 of 20-------- From: "Krista Menzel (Merriam Park Neighbors for Peace)" <web [at] mppeace.org> Subject: PeaceJam car wash 8.26 10am Como Park Senior High Students PeaceJam Trip Benefit Car Wash Help send these students to the PeaceJam conference in Denver! Saturday August 26, 10am-4pm Midway Family YMCA, Parking Lot 1761 University Avenue, St. Paul $5.00 minimum donation for each car washed, additional donations greatly appreciated. Who We Are: We are members of the conflict Resolution Team at Como Park Senior High in St. Paul. We are all trained Peer Mediators and have been involved in PeaceJam for 2 years. Our team has been active in our school and community for over 12 years. What We Need: We are trying to send 8 members of our team to the PeaceJam 10th Anniversary Conference in Denver, Colorado, next month. We need to raise $700.00 per person. We are holding a car wash from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 26, to raise the necessary funds for our trip. Please stop by the YWCA at 1791 University Avenue in St. Paul to have your car washed for a $5.00 minimum donation, or call Sue Grosse Macemon at (612) 770-1885 to contribute. We appreciate your support! About PeaceJam: Since 1996, PeaceJam has been putting youth together with Nobel Peace Prize winners, creating a new generation of leaders committed to positive change. On September 15-17, 2006, the PeaceJam Foundation will be celebrating its 10th anniversary with an international conference in Denver, Colorado. This conference will bring together 12 Nobel Peace Laureates from the PeaceJam Foundation as well as 3,000 youth from around the world for 2 1/2 days to discuss strategies to create positive change in the world, gain skills, network, and celebrate the accomplishments of the PeaceJam Foundation. More Information: For more information, contact Sue Grosse-Macemon at (612) 770-1885. --------2 of 20-------- From: Elizabeth Dickinson <eadickinson [at] mindspring.com> Subject: Airport dike appeal 8.26 10:30am We are on for meeting at 10:30 AM Saturday the 26th. This Saturday at Swede Hollow Cafe. John has been our go to guy on the legal and is working to coordinate our efforts. The amount of work he has done so far is amazing. He is also working on lining up some pro bono help and drafting documents. It still is important for anyone who has contacts to explore them for possible help. Nothing is final yet and we can not wait to ask around for help. Hopefully by Saturday we will have more information. Send checks to Friends of the Parks 1621 Beechwood Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55116. Make sure to write on the Memo line "Floodwall" so it gets to that account. We sure are lucky we have elected officials like Kathy and Sheldon working on our behalf. Besides they are just darn nice people. TOM DIMOND and SUSAN DIMOND 2119 Skyway Drive St. Paul, Minnesota 55119 (h) 651-735-6667 --------3 of 20-------- From: wamm <wamm [at] mtn.org> Subject: Katrina 8.26 11am Memorial Celebration Honoring the One Year Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina Saturday, August 26, 11am-4pm Sabathani Community Center, 310 East 38th Street, Minneapolis. March, speakers, Louisiana style cooking, entertainment. FFI: Call Terry at 612-821-2350 or Trudy at 612-821-2398. --------4 of 20-------- From: Anne R. Carroll <carrfran [at] qwest.net> Subject: Hmong festival 8.26 11am This should be fantastic, as usual, so do stop by if you're around on Saturday and enjoy this great festival at the Western Sculpture Park across from Sears near downtown, 11am-7pm. For more information contact: Kathy Mouacheupao Executive Director Center for Hmong Arts and Talent 651-603-6971 --------5 of 20-------- From: Tracy Molm <molm [at] umn.edu> Subject: AWC volunteer day 8.26 11am Volunteer Day Saturday 8/26 @ 11am @ AWC office in UTech Building in Dinkytown (1313 5th Street SE, Mpls) Suite 213 Help the Anti War Committee paint signs, visual art and othe exciting stuff for our 9/11 protest! It's a great time to learn more about the AWC and use your artistic skills. --------6 of 20-------- From: North Country Co-op <northcountrycoop [at] yahoo.com> Subject: Bike tour/BBQ 8.26 3pm For the next two weeks, FWD-MN (the Federation of Workplace Democracies- Minnesota) is holding the first Minnesota Worker Cooperative Conference. Check out their fascinating Field Trips and practical workshops: BICYCLE HISTORY TOUR AND BARBECUE, Sat August 26, 3-6pm, Meet on the Stone Arch Bridge at 3pm to start_Suggested donation $1, Join us for a brief bike tour of cooperative and radical labor sites in Downtown and South Minneapolis, with some sites dating back to the 1880s. Each site will be described as we go, and there might even be some dramatic reenactments on location! The tour will end with a reception at North Country Coop with a barbecue on the West Bank near North Country Coop. (If you are interested in performing or otherwise helping out with the bike tour, contact Katie Manthey at kateape [at] yahoo.com) --------7 of 20-------- From: Burt Berlowe <berlowe [at] tcinternet.net> Subject: SpiritRoad/AM950 8.26 3pm Spirit Road Radio will broadcast live from the Minnesota State Fair Saturday at 3 p.m. on Air America 950 AM. We will be at the Air America booth at Judson and Liggett on the north end of the fair near the horse barns. We will feature live music, special guests and audience participation. Come and visit us. --------8 of 20-------- From: hangerseeley [at] aol.com Subject: Gray panthers 8.26 3pm If you are not booked this coming Saturday, August 26 from 3 pm to 5 pm; you might want to join the annual meeting Birthday celebration of the Twin Cities Gray Panthers-- at East Side Neighborhood Services at 1700 Second Street NE, Mpls. MN 55413. The theme is "The Best Age Is The Age You Are".....a Maggie Kuhn quote. We are hoping to have a representative of every age--from 0 to 100-!! At the event, we will have some fun games and activities planned to provide people with energy and enthusiasm to address ageism issues. And there will be cake and punch and party games but no black balloons. Do spread the word. If need more information call me at 612-378-2713 (home) or work 612-787-4036. Thanks. Jane --------9 of 20-------- From: Jesse Mortenson for 64A <jesse [at] jessemortenson.com> Subject: Jesse's sweet corn 8.26 5pm We've got more fun lined up for you. Tom Taylor, former Green candidate for the House, and Tom Dunnwald are hosting a party for us with some fresh sweet corn up in Northeast Minneapolis. 5 to 9pm, Saturday, August 26th 1501 26th Ave. N.E. http://www.jessemortenson.com/party/ne It is on the corner corner of Lincoln and 26th, 1 block north of Lowry, and 1 block west of Johnson IN North East Minneapolis. Call Tom Taylor - 612-788-4252 - or Tom Dunnwald - 612-789-0397 - with questions. Everybody welcome! Jesse Mortenson Green Party Candidate for Minnesota House of Representatives District 64A www.jessemortenson.com --------10 of 20-------- From: Rebecca <mn_united_ireland [at] lycos.com> Subject: MUI 8.26 6pm Minnesotans for A United Ireland will meet on Saturday Aug 26th,6 PM at Arise Bookstore 2441 Lyndale Av S,Minneapolis Agenda 1 Orientation 2 Irish Fair 3Chicago Hunger Strike Com 4Ad in papers 5 Samhain 6Fundraising Info or directions call Mike 651 645-9506 Minnesotans for a United Ireland 612-871-7110 --------11 of 20-------- From: Charles Underwood <charleyunderwood [at] hotmail.com> Subject: Marv b-day 75 8.26 6:30pm Saturday, 8/26, 6:30 pm, living legend (famous for Honeywell and ATK protests, etc) Marv Davidov birthday celebration ("I'm still alive at 75!") and world premier of the documentary made about him, O'Shaughnessy Education Center, St Thomas Univ, Cleveland & Summit, St Paul. 612-874-7715. --------12 of 20-------- From: Larry Johnson <elent7 [at] comcast.net> Subject: Likely stories 8.26 7:30pm We're doing our STORYTELLING FOR ADULTS again 7:30 p.m. at Dunn Bros by Loring Park (329 West 15th st., just east across Hennepin from the Walker). We called it POLITICAL ANIMALS AT THE STATE FAIR but who knows what stories will show up. We did pieces of this idea on AM950 Radio a year ago when we did a storytelling show there once a month so we know Elaine might tell about meeting Coya Knutson as a 13 year old, or she might tell about competing in the 4H musical talent show. Larry might tell about what happens when you try to KNOCK OVER THE HAIRY DOLLS AND WIN A TEDDY BEAR or about being taken special as a third grader to meet President Dwight D. Eisenhower . . . or they might tell about COUSIN CAMP and taking grandchildren to see Paul Wellstone . . . . . and some of you who come to listen might have your own short stories about the state fair for the second half. Many of you also know that we've been part of an effort to raise money to build THE SPIRIT OF PEACE STATUE at the Peace Garden by Lake Harriet, as well as to replace the crumbling bridge with a new one. The statue is going up before the October 25 children's ceremony where we honor the memory of Sadako Sasaki, the courageous little girl in Hiroshima who died of radiation sickness but in her dying inspired a movement by her crane-folding and her prayer to the last crane to "fly around the world and tell people to never again drop such a bomb on any human city". We're still raising money for the bridge, and we'd gladly take your donation either at Dunn Bros or through the mail. Call us at 612-747-3904 for more information on the STORYTELLING or the PEACE GARDEN PROJECT Larry Johnson and Elaine Wynne KEY OF SEE STORYTELLERS 612-747-3904 --------13 of 20-------- From: Doris G. Marquit <marqu001 [at] umn.edu> Subject: CPUSA picnic 8.27 1pm ANNUAL PWW PICNIC & BOOK SALE . Sunday August 27, 1 - 3:30 pm, Indian Mounds Park (Earl St & Mounds Blvd), St. Paul Brats, burgers, veggie fare, & books. Free. Speaker: Jose " Pepe " Lozano, staff writer for People's Weekly World Sponsored by Minn CPUSA FFI: Harry McAllister 651- 776-2027. --------14 of 20------- From: Stephen Feinstein <feins001 [at] umn.edu> Subject: Civil rights/WWII+ 8.27 2pm Ongoing at Minnesota History Center St Paul >From US Holocaust Memorial Museum New Lives: Civil Rights after World War II Sunday August 27, 2006, 2pm. As newspaper and firsthand accounts revealed the horrors of World War II, communities across the nation were inspired by the battle won overseas against tyranny and inhumanity toward political and civil rights movements at home. Join a panel of historians and activists to learn about Minnesotans' responses to World War II, and the movements that developed in its wake. Iric Nathanson, a Minneapolis writer and researcher who specializes in Jewish history will offer historic context on the Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC), the executive order signed into law in 1941 to outlaw racial discrimination in the workplace. Sally Sudo, education liaison for the Japanese American Citizens League - Twin Cities Chapter will address the unique issues that Japanese-Americans faced in the aftermath of World War II and throughout interment camps in postwar society. Susan Shapiro, scholar and former president of the Jewish Community Relations Council, to moderate. --------15 of 20-------- From: Chris Spotted Eagle <chris [at] spottedeagle.org> Subject: KFAI/Indian 8.27 4pm Uprising, August 27, 2006 KFAI's Indian Uprising, August 27, 2006 BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE'S CENSORED SOUNDS by Brenda Norrell for Indian Country Today, August 9, 2006. PHOENIX - Nearly two decades after Cree singer and songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie's song ''Universal Soldier'' was released and shipments of her records mysteriously disappeared, the truth of the censorship and suppression by the U.S. government became public. Now, in federal court, Charles August Schlund III stated he is a covert operative and supports Sainte-Marie's assertions that the United States took action to suppress rock music because of its role in rallying opposition to the Vietnam War. Sainte-Marie says she was blacklisted and, along with other American Indians in the Red Power movements, was put out of business in the 1970s. ''I found out 10 years later, in the 1980s, that [President] Lyndon Johnson had been writing letters on White House stationary praising radio stations for suppressing my music,'' Sainte-Marie said in a 1999 interview with Indian Country Today at Dine' College. http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096413424. Note: Sainte-Marie's song, The Universal Soldier (2:15), released by Vanguard, 1970 on a set of two records, having 24 songs under the title, The Best of Buffy Sainte-Marie.. ARTWORK IS THE ONLY CONSTANT IN CHEROKEE MAN'S LIFE by Brandon Harris, Paragould Daily Press, posted by the AP August 23, 2006. PARAGOULD, Ark. (AP) - Don't try to guess what David Wayaneetah's next move will be. He couldn't even tell you himself. Wayaneetah, Cherokee, has done a little bit of everything. He grew up on a reservation in North Carolina, went to military school, served in Vietnam, went to law school and worked as a lawyer. But perhaps the most pervasive aspect of Wayaneetah's life is his artwork. Wayaneetah, 59, has been involved with carving artwork out of wood and stone since he was a young boy. It began as a hobby and a way to help support his family's income on the reservation, but it has since transformed into a lucrative business with pieces selling for thousands of dollars each at shows around the world. ''I'm a product of my years,'' Wayaneetah said. ''That's my life. This is part of what I do. It just kind of happens, and I just go with what happens.'' http://www.Indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096413486. * * * * Indian Uprising is a one-half hour Public & Cultural Affairs program for, by, an about Indigenous people broadcast each Sunday at 4:00 p.m. over KFAI 90.3 FM Minneapolis and 106.7 FM St. Paul. Producer and host is Chris Spotted Eagle. KFAI Fresh Air Radio is located at 1808 Riverside Avenue, Minneapolis MN 55454, 612-341-3144. --------16 of 20-------- Let Ken Pentel debate From: Diane J. Peterson <birch7 [at] comcast.net> I guess those organizations are afraid of or unconcerned about having truly lively environmental statements coming from a person who has biked his talk. Sounds like it will be the same old same old DULL. If only for the purpose of pizzazz, and keeping the audience awake, they should invite Ken Pentel. The Establishment hates pizzazz, eh? Or maybe they just hate democracy? The event announcement claims: "Sponsored by Envision Minnesota to elevate issues of growth, energy, and conservation" Well, they can't desire too strongly to "elevate" all those issues if the Green candidate, the one candidate UNBEHOLDEN to corporate destroyers of the environment, is excluded. It'll be a Green victory if we can cause them to invite Pentel to participate. His presence will make the event less dull. Anyone want to pitch this method of putting more sparkle into the event to the decision makers? Down with dull, Diane J. Peterson White Bear Lake, Minnesota birch7 [at] comcast.net --- From: Richard Dechert <ldechert [at] webtv.net> That is incredible!!! I'm a regular viewer of Twin Cities Public Television's "Almanac," the longest running and most respected public-affairs program in Minnesota--which airs throughout Minnesota. As he has in previous years, Mr. Pentel recently appeared on "Almanac" as the Green Party of Minnesota's candidate for governor, and again surpassed his DFL, GOP and Independence Party of Minnesota (IPM) rivals as the most knowledgeable and articulate candidate on environmental issues. Therefore, to arbitrarily exclude him from the so-called Envision Minnesota convention is to turn "grass roots democracy" on its head. But perhaps that exclusion can be explained by this description of Envision Minnesota in the Dovetail Partners, Inc. News: "Dovetail Joins the Envision Minnesota Project "White Bear Lake, Minnesota - Minnesotans live in a special and remarkable place we have inherited from the generations before us, clean and prosperous, and filled with natural abundance and a superior quality of life. "Over the past year, dozens of Minnesota leaders have enthusiastically responded to a call to take the long view. Working through a series of focus groups and team deliberations, the dedicated volunteers of the Envision Minnesota Project have endeavored to identify the most significant environmental priorities facing our state and to strategize about how we might address those priorities in a focused, thoughtful, meaningful way. "Envision Minnesota, is comprised of business and community leaders, as well as former elected officials from both parties including former governor Wendell Anderson, and former congressmen Tim Penny and Vin Weber. "The group, which was originated by the conservation organization 1000 Friends of Minnesota, aims to circulate its policy views to state leaders at various levels of government. It also plans a Sept. 16 convention in St. Cloud, to which gubernatorial candidates will be invited. "Dovetail Partners recently signed on as a partner to the Envision Minnesota Project." Apparently, there is no place for true Green on that stretch of DFL/GOP/IPM Astroturf. Richard Lee Dechert Maplewood, Minnesota A member of Progressive Democrats of America --------17 of 20-------- Women's equality day Brutal Treatment of Women Suffragists at Occoquan Workhouse There's an email circulating that tells of the brutal treatment in 1917 at Occoquan, Virginia, prison, of women who had picketed the White House as part of the campaign to win the vote for women. The point of the email: it took a lot of sacrifice to win the vote for women, and so women today should honor their sacrifice by taking our right to vote seriously, and actually getting to the polls. The author of the article in the email, though the emails usually omit the credit, is Connie Schultz of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland. Is the email true? a reader asks - or is it an urban legend? It sure sounds exaggerated - but it's not. Alice Paul led the more radical wing of those who were working for women's suffrage in 1917. Paul had taken part in more militant suffrage activity in England, including hunger strikes that were met with imprisonment and brutal force-feeding methods. She believed that by bringing such militant tactics to America, the public's sympathy would be turned towards those who protested for woman suffrage, and the vote for women would be won, finally, after seven decades of activism. And so, Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and others separated in America from the National American Woman Suffrage Association headed by Carrie Chapman Catt, and formed the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage (CU) which in 1917 transformed itself into the National Woman's Party (NWP). While many of the activists in the NAWSA turned during World War I either to pacifism or to support of America's war effort, the National Woman's Party continued to focus on winning the vote for women. During wartime, they planned and carried out a campaign to picket the White House in Washington, DC. The reaction was, as in Britain, strong and swift: arrest of the picketers and their imprisonment. Some were transferred to an abandoned workhouse located at Occoquan, Virginia. There, the women staged hunger strikes, and, as in Britain, were force-fed brutally and otherwise treated violently. I've referred to this part of woman suffrage history in other articles, notably when describing the history of the suffragist split over strategy in the last decade of activism before the vote was finally won. Feminist Sonia Pressman Fuentes documents this history in her article on Alice Paul. She includes this re-telling of the story of Occoquan Workhouse's "Night of Terror," November 15, 1917: Under orders from W. H. Whittaker, superintendent of the Occoquan Workhouse, as many as forty guards with clubs went on a rampage, brutalizing thirty-three jailed suffragists. They beat Lucy Burns, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head, and left her there for the night. They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed, and knocked her out cold. Her cellmate Alice Cosu, who believed Mrs. Lewis to be dead, suffered a heart attack. According to affidavits, other women were grabbed, dragged, beaten, choked, slammed, pinched, twisted, and kicked. (source: Barbara Leaming, Katherine Hepburn (New York: Crown Publishers, 1995), 182.) Related Resources: A firsthand account of this is in Doris Stevens' Jailed for Freedom (New York: Liveright Publishing, 1920. The History of Women's Equality Day (http://www.nwhp.org/events/equality-day/history-of.html) for Danene Provencher --------18 of 20-------- Greens: Dems & Repubs downplay health care crisis GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES http://www.gp.org Greens accuse Democrats and Republicans of downplaying the health care crisis *Green candidates call single-payer national health insurance as the lone solution to 45 million Americans without coverage WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Green candidates across the U.S. have made health care for all a top campaign issue, demanding single-payer national health insurance, and accusing Democrats and Republicans alike of sweeping the health care crisis under the rug while accepting major insurance company contributions. "Greens are calling health care a national emergency, while many Democratic and Republican candidates are talking about it as little as possible," said Bob Levis, Wisconsin Green candidate for the U.S. House (5th District). Mr. Levis is running against incumbent F. James Sensenbrenner, who owns over three million in pharmaceutical stock and has voted against reforms such as the patients' bill of rights. "More than 45 million Americans, including 9 million children, have no health coverage. Millions of other Americans have inadequate coverage. The U.S. leads in medical technology, but the worst access to health care among industrial nations." "The only solution to the crisis is single-payer national health insurance, which will cover every American, regardless of age, income, residence, or prior medical condition, with quality coverage," added Mr. Levis. "Single-payer national health insurance will cost working Americans far less than they now pay for private coverage. Single-payer also takes the burden off businesses to provide health coverage for employees, and creates a lot less paperwork and aggravation for hospitals, physicians, and other health professionals." "Many people believe that 'government inefficiency' would make national health insurance more expensive than private insurance, when the facts indicate the opposite," said Art Myatt, Michigan Green candidate for the U.S. House (12th District). "Medicare delivers 98 cents to health care providers out of every dollar of Medicare income. The private insurance industry does well to deliver 70 cents. National health insurance would actually lower the total amount that society spends on health care." Greens note that the Democratic Party removed national health insurance from its national platform during the Clinton-Gore Administration. President Clinton introduced a complex 'managed care' plan, which would have placed coverage under the control of a few giant insurance firms. Even though the Clinton plan failed, most Democrats continue to favor reforms that leave powerful HMO and insurance corporations in control of health care. None of these plans will solve the health care crisis, say Greens, because HMO and insurance corporations are the root of the problem - they don't want to cover Americans who are old or poor or have prior medical conditions that may interfere with profits. "While Greens accept no corporate contributions, Democratic and Republican politicians receive millions from corporate health lobbies that don't want single-payer national health insurance," said Carol Brouillet, Green congressional candidate in California's 14th District "Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) is the top 2006 recipient in Congress of contributions from the insurance industry, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Both Democrats and Republicans are listed among the top recipients of money from the insurance and pharmaceutical industry." (Green candidate Howie Hawkins is challenging Sen. Clinton for her Senate seat.) One exception among Democrats is Rep. John Conyers (Mich.), who each year introduces legislation for single-payer national health insurance in the U.S. House. The Green Party has consistently supported the Conyers bills. Corporate pharmaceutical lobbies also made sure that Congress passed its prescription drug 'reform' bill in 2003 - which benefited drug companies but did little to help older Americans who need their prescription medicines. Under single-payer, all seniors will have full access to their prescription medicines at zero or minimal cost. Some states, such as California, have been considering state-wide single-payer plans. Greens in these states have supported such proposals. The chief obstacles have been Democratic and Republican politicians who, under the influence of corporate lobbies, work to obstruct single-payer, and advertising by HMOs and insurance companies that misleads the public. In Tennesse, Green gubernatorial candidate Howard Switzer is challenging incumbent Phil Bredesen (D), who has been dismantling one of the nation's few state provided health care systems, dropping 330,000 (many of them in need of care) from TennCare's rolls during the past year. Mr. Switzer's campaign slogan is "Healthcare for All." "Americans will win universal coverage and quality health care under a single-payer plan when voters elect candidates who are on the side of Americans who need health care, not on the side of corporate lobbies," said Jeff Kravitz, Green candidate for the U.S. House in California's 5th District. "The health care crisis and the demand for single-payer national health insurance are at the top of the list of reasons why America needs the Green Party." MORE INFORMATION Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org 1700 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 404 Washington, DC 20009. 202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN Fax 202-319-7193 Green campaign listings, news, photos, and web sites http://www.gp.org/2006elections Database of 2006 Green candidates http://www.greens.org/elections Video clips of Green candidates http://www.gp.org/2006elections/media.shtml Physicians for a National Health Program http://www.pnhp.org Contacts: Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty [at] greens.org Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene [at] greens.org --------19 of 20-------- www.energybulletin.net Published on Friday, July 28, 2006 by San Francisco Chronicle Back(yard) to the land Family grows its meals on tiny urban lot By Justin Clark Natural Home magazine For most people, eating organic means a trip to the local whole-foods store and, often, a hit to their wallets. For the Dervaes family, eating organic requires only a trip to the garden. The family of four raises 3 tons of food each year - enough to supply three-quarters of their diet and maintain a thriving organic produce business to boot. Jules Dervaes, along with his three grown children, lives on 1/5 of an acre in suburban Pasadena and cultivates about half the property, or 1/10 of an acre. Given that the average American's diet requires 1.2 acres of farmland per person, the Dervaeses are eating quite well off one-fiftieth of the land the rest of us require. The California Department of Food and Agriculture reports that most California corn or rice farms produce an annual yield of less than a 1/2-ton per acre and the average bean farm 1/5-ton per acre. The Dervaeses' operation is about 60 to 150 times as efficient as their industrial competitors, without relying on chemical fertilizers and pesticides. "Everybody wants more land," Dervaes says. "We decided to find out how much we could accomplish on this piece of land." Path to freedom Dervaes had been running a small lawn-maintenance business six years ago when he and his family started their self-sufficiency garden project, dubbed Path to Freedom. They started the garden because of their growing concerns about genetically modified organisms and other potentially harmful additives in mass-market produce. Since then, the Dervaeses have raised everything from asparagus and jicama to kiwis and cotton - all of it organic. They've been successful using space-maximizing gardening techniques, including raised earth beds and potted plants that hang between trellised plants. Jules Dervaes' genius lies in his ability to adapt his back-to-the-land vision to an urban environment. Ultimately, he realized that in addition to providing food for his family, this garden also could help sustain them financially if he sold its bounty to local businesses. Rather than competing head-on with larger produce suppliers, the family raises niche products that only a city full of gourmet restaurants could support: nasturtiums and Khaki Campbell duck eggs, for example. The Dervaeses' garden exemplifies both sustainability and frugality: manure (sweepings from local stables) used as fertilizer, trellises made from old bicycle wheels, planter dividers made from recycled glass bottles and homemade pots-within-pots that save water. In addition, the family drives one vehicle, a black Chevy Suburban that runs on biodiesel refined from discarded cooking oil provided by local restaurants. The Dervaeses reach out to their community by using their garage to screen environmental films and by holding seminars on going solar. They also took advantage of Pasadena's home-greening rebates by installing a $14,000, 2-kilowatt solar-cell system for less than half the retail cost. The family is installing a wastewater reclamation system, a dual-flush toilet and a composting toilet. Already, they rely on hand-crank appliances and a pedal-power grain mill. Urban gardening tips "Anyone can do this, if they have dedication," says Dervaes of his wildly productive garden. "Don't be afraid to start small with something like herbs that you know will survive." For aspiring urban gardeners, Dervaes has plenty of advice. 1. Get to know your backyard's ecology. As an example, Dervaes points out a patch in his yard that doesn't appear to be shaded but that feels cool. He uses a canopy with a shade cloth and squeezes out one more round of lettuce in summer. 2. Let natural ecosystems develop. Dervaes recommends exercising patience when aphids invade because the solution already may be in the local insect population. Recalling Path to Freedom's first infestation, he says: "I tried spraying soapy water, but I actually had to let the aphids spread. Their natural ladybug predators needed the aphids to max out before they got to work." Now, says Dervaes, an entrenched ladybug and praying mantis population takes care of most of his pests. 3. Keep a nursery. Dervaes keeps a large workbench with dozens of seedlings that he uses as guinea pigs to help him figure out when to plant. If one type of plant fails, he simply pulls it out and substitutes another. He also rotates plants that like it hot and dry (beans, cucumbers, corn and peppers) with cool crops (kale, mesclun, snow peas). 4. Start a skyscraper farm. Most of the Dervaeses' backyard was initially covered in concrete, so they experimented with multistory container plantings, with each plant occupying its own "story" in the skyscraper (for instance, broccoli, a tall, strong plant, paired with endive, a low-growing salad green. Dervaes plants three or sometimes four crops vertically, using trellises to support vine plants that grow above their downstairs neighbors. 5. Take a holistic approach. "It's so important to feed the soil," Dervaes says. He fertilizes between plantings using a mixture of kitchen compost, bat guano pellets and droppings from his rabbits, ducks and chickens. Every week during growing season, he dilutes 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of a kelp fertilizer in a gallon of water and sprays it directly on the plants. (Salad greens, such as lettuce, should not be eaten right after contact with kelp fertilizer, especially without washing, because it can leave a fishy taste.) Excerpted from Natural Home magazine. Read the full story at www. NaturalHomemagazine.com or call (800) 340-5846 to subscribe. Copyright 2006 by Ogden Publications Inc. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Editorial Notes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Our contributor UrbanPioneer writes: Not only does this family grow much of its own food, their urban homestead is a model of sustainable actions and projects in an urban environment. Follow their path... Organic Gardening, Urban Permaculture, Solar Energy, Homebrew Biodiesel, Citified Farm Animals, Cob Oven, Waste & Water Reclamation, Appropriate Technologies & More! ~ A pioneering journey towards self sufficiency, one step at a time ~ Their extensive website can be found at www.pathtofreedom.com Article found at : http://www.energybulletin.net/newswire.php?id=18645 Original article : http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/07/22/HOGTMK219B1.DTL&hw=dervaes&sn=001&sc=1000 --------20 of 20------- GOP Candidate Says 9/11 Attacks Were a Hoax By Albert McKeon The Nashua (NH) Telegraph via Truthout Aug 25, 2006 http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/082506B.shtml A Republican candidate for this area's congressional seat said Wednesday that the U.S. government was complicit in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. In an editorial board interview with The Telegraph on Wednesday, the candidate, Mary Maxwell, said the U.S. government had a role in killing nearly 3,000 people at the World Trade Center and Pentagon, so it could make Americans hate Arabs and allow the military to bomb Muslim nations such as Iraq. Maxwell, 59, seeks the 2nd District congressional seat. The Concord resident opposes the incumbent, Charles Bass of Peterborough, and Berlin Mayor Bob Danderson in the Republican primary Sept. 12. Maxwell would not specify if she holds the opinion that the government stood by while terrorists hijacked four domestic airliners and used them as weapons, or if it had a larger role by sanctioning and carrying out the attacks. But she implicated the government by saying the Sept. 11 attacks were meant "to soften us up ... to make us more willing to have more stringent laws here, which are totally against the Bill of Rights ... to make us particularly focus on Arabs and Muslims ... and those strange persons who spend all their time creating little bombs," giving Americans a reason "to hate them and fear them and, therefore, bomb them in Iraq for other reasons." She said this strategy "would be normal" for governments, citing her belief that the British government - and not the Germany military - sank the Lusitania ocean liner in 1915. The deaths of Americans on the cruise liner helped galvanize U.S. support to enter World War I, and benefited England, she said. In turn, the Sept. 11 attacks "made the ground fertile" for more stringent laws, such as the Patriot Act, and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, Maxwell said. Near the end of the interview, Maxwell pounded her fist on the table and asked editors of The Telegraph why they weren't publishing more stories about the government's role in the terrorist attacks or proliferation of nuclear weapons. Maxwell has no political experience. She lived abroad for the past quarter-century with her husband, George, a pediatrician, and only recently returned to the U.S., she said. In the hour-long interview, Maxwell spoke at length about Constitutional law, U.S. law, nuclear weapons proliferation, and other domestic and foreign policy issues. Maxwell said the U.S. should withdraw from Iraq. She also questioned whether Congress authorized the war and said its members can't explain that 2002 vote. (Congress authorized the use of force to defend this country's security and enforce United Nations resolutions on Iraq.) "Legally, we shouldn't have gone to Iraq if Congress can't explain why," she said. Maxwell described herself as a strict Constitutionalist, a candidate who wants to bring the country "back to basics." The Constitution grants more power to the legislative branch than the other two branches, but Congress has allowed the executive and judicial branches to diminish its influence, she said. She also said the U.S. shouldn't immerse itself in the international community by signing trade and security pacts. These agreements have weakened national sovereignty, she said. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - David Shove shove001 [at] tc.umn.edu rhymes with clove Progressive Calendar over 2225 subscribers as of 12.19.02 please send all messages in plain text no attachments
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