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This elección has left me with a bitter taste

I am not a mainstream newspapers reader or TV viewer for many years, but even though I don’t trust them, to know more about the election, I went and read their stuff in an effort to learn some of the latest on the upcoming and then post election. I noticed that each of our daily newspapers and TV networks’ election coverage were far from being honest and fair.
Way before the election started, local mainstream media kept on spreading that Mayor Ed Lee had no opponents, while continuously belittling the five opposing candidates as no threat to the incumbent, when in fact Lee had a significant opposition, which included several candidates with more deep vision for the City and its residents than the Mayor’s!
But, then, if the dominant media is getting paid with significant advertising dollars to bang the name of Ed Lee day and night in the media (that most people watch and believe), then we know why Lee ‘had no opposition.’ No opposition in their media of course. The media decide who will be more visible.
Apart from purposely ignoring or not mentioning them enough (except their paid clients), they ignored big time the presence and the mayor’s opposition in the campaign for the Mayor’s throne.
A mayoral debate forum organized by the League of Women Voter, which was the only one out of three scheduled debates that Lee attended, seemed like the questions submitted by the attendees for the mayoral candidates were carefully picked as not to allow controversial issues to be asked that would embarrass the Mayor, like media mentions that the mayor was possibly involved in illegalities related to the mafia and gun running. This was now mentioned in the media in post election. Why now and not before the election?
This election was the most significant one in the latest history of the San Francisco’s Mission District, especially for Latinos.
An Oct. 28 report indicates that in 10 years, the Latino population in the Mission will drop from 48 percent to 31 percent.
The Save the Mission website states that for the last 70 years, the Mission has served as the epicenter of Latino life and culture in San Francisco. It is well documented in the press and in academic studies that this historically working-class neighborhood is being overrun by rampant gentrification. Since 2000, over 8,000 Latinos have been displaced and no longer make up the majority of residents in the neighborhood.
Most of the Latino-owned bars and restaurants in the Mission are no more, and with the recent advent of new market-value, luxury condos, which the current City administration has contributed to happen, rents have exorbitantly gone up as never before. Rents that only those making over $200k a years can afford. And the lack of building enough affordable housing has also contributed to this massive displacement Latinos and no Latinos.
This election had a historically voter turnout, according to housing advocates, and had some wins for affordable housing. Proposition A passed allocating $310 million bond for affordable housing. This is an important win for building more housing for low-income and middle-class individuals and families. However, nothing is free, with this, the powers to be just put more financial weight (taxes or confiscation of wealth) on the back of the working-class and the slowly-dying middle class. More debt for the people who can’t barely pay their current rents and support their families.
Proposition K, another cushion for the housing crisis, passed, making affordable homes the first priority for the re-use of public land. This is a significant win for using public resources to serve the needs of marginalized communities.
In other propositions in the ballot that would have helped minimized the housing crisis were rejected by the voters.
Proposition F failed. Voters rejected to limit and regulate Airbnb’s practices. While many housing activists organized to expose how Airbnb’s practices exacerbate the displacement crisis, Airbnb responded by spending over $8 million in its campaign against Prop F. Neighborhood and tenant groups now hope to bring the enforcement and regulation of short-term rentals to the Board of Supervisors.
Proposition I failed. Voters rejected to pause luxury-housing construction in the Mission District for 18 months and require the city to work to work with the community to create a Neighborhood Stabilization Plan. Neighborhood residents and activists will continue to fight against rampant real estate speculation to preserve and sustain their community.
There were other winnings for the people vs. housing speculators. Mayoral candidate Francisco Herrera voting numbers were so significant, that he’s been suggested that a run for a Supervisorial seat would be a solid win in the next supervisor election either in the Mission or the Excelsior District. Maybe Herrera for Excelsior and Roberto Hernández in the Mission.
However, because at press time there was still a significant number of votes not counted yet, Herrera still has hopes that the equation could change and go to a run-off against the incumbent mayor.
With this said, my best suggestion is that all tenants in SF organized and hit the polls next time, because only the people united can make the change needed.

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Turmeric produces ‘remarkable’ recovery in alzheimer’s patients

by Sayer Ji
GreenMedInfo.com

Alzheimer’s Disease: A Disturbingly Common Modern Rite of Passage
A diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), sadly, has become a rite of passage in so-called developed countries.  AD is considered the most common form of dementia, which is defined as a serious loss of cognitive function in previously unimpaired persons, beyond what is expected from normal aging.
A 2006 study estimated that 26 million people throughout the world suffer from this condition, and that by 2050, the prevalence will quadruple, by which time 1 in 85 persons worldwide will be afflicted with the disease.
Given the global extent of the problem, interest in safe and effective preventive and therapeutic interventions within the conventional medical and alternative professions alike are growing.
Unfortunately, conventional drug-based approaches amount to declaring chemical war upon the problem, a mistake which we have documented elsewhere, and which can result in serious neurological harm, as evidenced by the fact that this drug class carries an alarmingly high risk for seizures, according to World Health Organization post-marketing surveillance statistics.
What the general public is therefore growing most responsive to is using time-tested, safe, natural and otherwise more effective therapies that rely on foods, spices and familiar culinary ingredients.
Remarkable Recoveries Reported after Administration of Turmeric
Late last year, a remarkable study was published in the journal Ayu titled “Effects of turmeric on Alzheimer’s disease with behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia.” [ii]  Researchers described three patients with Alzheimer’s disease whose behavioral symptoms were “improved remarkably” as a result of consuming 764 milligram of turmeric (curcumin 100 mg/day) for 12 weeks.

According to the study:
“All three patients exhibited irritability, agitation, anxiety, and apathy, two patients suffer from urinary incontinence and wonderings. They were prescribed turmeric powder capsules and started recovering from these symptoms without any adverse reaction in the clinical symptom and laboratory data.”
After only 3 months of treatment, both the patients’ symptoms and the burden on their caregivers were significantly decreased.
The report describes the improvements thusly:
“In one case, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score was up five points, from 12/30 to 17/30. In the other two cases, no significant change was seen in the MMSE; however, they came to recognize their family within one year treatment. All cases have been taking turmeric for more than 1 year, re-exacerbation of BPSD was not seen.”
This study illustrates just how powerful a simple natural intervention using a time-tested culinary herb can be.  Given that turmeric has been used medicinally and as a culinary ingredient for over 5,000 years in Indian culture, even attaining the status of a ‘Golden Goddess,’ we should not be surprised at this result. Indeed, epidemiological studies of Indian populations reveal that they have a remarkably lower prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease relative to Western nations,  and this is true for both rural and more “Westernized” urban areas of India.[4]
Could turmeric be a major reason for this?
Turmeric’s Anti-Alzheimer’s Properties.
The GreenMedInfo.com database now contains a broad range of published studies on the value of turmeric, and its primary polyphenol curcumin (which gives it its golden hue), for Alzheimer’s disease prevention and treatment.
While there are 114 studies on our Turmeric research page indicating turmeric has a neuroprotective set of physiological actions, [5] 30 of these studies are directly connected to turmeric’s anti-Alzheimer’s disease properties.
Two of these studies are particularly promising, as they reveal that curcumin is capable of enhancing the clearance of the pathological amyloid–beta plaque in Alzheimer’s disease patients,[6] and that in combination with vitamin D3 the neurorestorative process is further enhanced.[7] Additional preclinical research indicates curcumin (and its analogs) has inhibitory and protective effects against Alzheimer’s disease associated β-amyloid proteins.

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Journalism practice in Mexico is dangerous, says report

by the El Reportero’s wire services

Mexico is the most dangerous country for journalists in America today, says a report of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
The document released by the Mexican daily La Jornada, says that one out of three murders documented since 2010 to date was committed in this country.
During the last five years, 150 journalists and media workers were deprived of life in the Americas, which means that in the region a journalist is killed every 14 days.
The increased risk and the high number of attacks against Mexican journalists, results in self-censorship and the forced displacement and exile of journalists, says the Rapporteur.
Other countries reporting significant numbers of media workers killed are: Colombia, Guatemala, Peru and Paraguay.
According to the study, violence is exacerbated in areas or territories with a strong presence of organized crime.

Salvador: Charges against ex President Flores confirmed
The Attorney General’s Office confirmed the charges of embezzlement and disobedience pressed against ex president Francisco Flores, and a now he faces legal action for money laundering.
In a preliminary hearing in courts in this capital, the Attorney General’s Office also requested that ex president Flores (1999-2004) remains under house arrest despite all evidence presented, which has generated desatisfaction among the plaintiffs.
In the opinion of Ramon Villalta, from Social Initiative for Democracy, it is deplorable that the Attorney General’s Office, after evidence proves clear commission of crimes, has failed to include money laundering in its petition.
“All the evidence presented clearly proves that the crime of money laundering was committed,” Villalta told Prensa Latina.
He added that much more regrettable is “the deplorable role of the Attorney General’s Office” in requesting to keep the accused under the preventive measure of house arrest.
If the perpetration of acts of corruption was in fact proven, “I don’t see a reason why a person that has committed crimes of this nature is being given privileges, specially when we have all witnessed that the money donated by Taiwan was supposed to go to projects to improve the quality of life of poor people and deal with damages caused by quakes in 2001,” he stressed.
How come that with the social effects this causes, and this can only be related to crimes against humanity, the Attorney General’s Office is considering Flores remaining under a preventive measure of house arrest, so that he continues getting benefits,” he wondered.
The hearing is likely to run until tomorrow, when it will be decided if the ex president is brought to trial, accused of money laundering, and taken to prison.

Nicaragua: Venue of the Duty-Free Zones Conference of the Americas
The 19th Conference of Duty-Free Zones of the Americas starts today in Nicaragua with the participation of some 150 industrialists, investors, exporters and experts of several countries and the objective of strengthening that regime in the area. Under the slogan The Americas, the continent of new opportunities, the meeting includes panel discussions on the latest trends and developments of that industry, will look to promote investment possibilities offered by the region in that modality.
Among the issues to discuss, there is how to innovate productivity and logistics; how to invest in Nicaragua and the region to boost this sphere; the policies of duty-free zones and the regional chain of added value, point organizers.
The executive director of Duty-Free Zones of the Americas, Camila Moreno, said in statements to news media that among the objectives of the venue stands out the promotion of business meetings and business alliances.

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One of the most important scientists in the world: “Most cancer research is largely a fraud”

by Arjun Walia

“Everyone should know that most cancer research is largely a fraud, and that the major cancer research organizations are derelict in their duties to the people who support them.”
The above quote comes from Linus Pauling, Ph.D, and two time Nobel Prize winner in chemistry (1901-1994). He is considered one of the most important scientists in history. He is one of the founders of quantum chemistry and molecular biology, who was also a well known peace activist. He was invited to be in charge of the Chemistry division of the Manhattan Project, but refused. He has also done a lot of work on military applications, and has pretty much done and seen it all when it comes to the world of science. A quick Google search will suffice if you’d like to learn more about him.
This man has been around the block, and obviously knows a thing or two about this subject. And he’s not the only expert from around the world expressing similar beliefs and voicing his opinion.
Here is another great example of a hard hitting quote when it comes to scientific fraud and manipulation. It comes from Dr. Marcia Angell, a physician and long time Editor in Chief of the New England Medical Journal (NEMJ), which is considered to be one of the most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals in the world. I apologize if you have seen it before in my articles, but it is quite the statement.
“It is simply no longer possible to believe much of the clinical research that is published, or to rely on the judgment of trusted physicians or authoritative medical guidelines. I take no pleasure in this conclusion, which I reached slowly and reluctantly over my two decades as an editor of the New England Journal of Medicine.”
The list goes on and on. Dr. John Bailer, who spent 20 years on the staff of the National Cancer Institute and is also a former editor of its journal, publicly stated in a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science that:
“My overall assessment is that the national cancer program must be judged a qualified failure. Our whole cancer research in the past 20 years has been a total failure.”
He also alluded to the fact that cancer treatment, in general, has been a complete failure.
Another interesting point is the fact that most of the money donated to cancer research is spent on animal research, which has been considered completely useless by many. For example, in 1981 Dr. Irwin Bross, the former director of the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Research Institute (largest cancer research institute in the world), said that:
“The uselessness of most of the animal model studies is less well known. For example, the discovery of chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of human cancer is widely-heralded as a triumph due to use of animal model systems. However, here again, these exaggerated claims are coming from or are endorsed by the same people who get the federal dollars for animal research. There is little, if any, factual evidence that would support these claims. Practically all of the chemotherapeutic agents which are of value in the treatment of human cancer were found in a clinical context rather than in animal studies.”
Today, treating illness and disease has a corporate side. It is an enormously profitable industry, but only when geared towards treatment, not preventative measures or cures, and that’s an important point to consider.
Another quote that relates to my point above was made by Dr. Dean Burk, an American biochemist and a senior chemist for the National Cancer Institute. His paper, “The Determination of Enzyme Dissociation Constants ,” published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society in 1934, is one of the most frequently cited papers in the history of biochemistry.
“When you have power you don’t have to tell the truth. That’s a rule that’s been working in this world for generations. And there are a great many people who don’t tell the truth when they are in power in administrative positions.”
He also stated that:
“Fluoride causes more human cancer deaths than any other chemical. It is some of the most conclusive scientific and biological evidence that I have come across in my 50 years in the field of cancer research.”
In the April 15th, 2015 edition of Lancet, the UK’s leading medical journal, editor in chief Richard Horton stated:
“The case against science is straightforward: much of the scientific literature, perhaps half, may simply be untrue. Science has taken a turn toward darkness.”
In 2005 Dr. John P.A. Ioannidis, currently a professor in disease prevention at Stanford University, published the most widely accessed article in the history of the Public Library of Science (PLoS) entitled Why Most Published Research Findings Are False. In the report, he stated:
“There is increasing concern that most current published research findings are false.”
In 2009, the University of Michigan’s comprehensive cancer center published an analysis that revealed popular cancer studies are false, and that there were fabricated results arising due to conflicts of interest. They suggested that the fabricated results were a result of what would work best for drug companies. After all, a large portion of cancer research is funded directly by them.
There is so much information out there, and so much of it is coming from people who have been directly involved in these proceedings. There is really no shortage of credible sources willing to state that we live in a world of scientific fraud and manipulation.
All of this can be attributed to the “corporatocracy” we live in today, where giant corporations owned by a select group of “elite” people have basically taken control over the planet and all of its resources.
This is precisely why so many people are flocking towards alternative treatment, as well as focusing on cancer prevention. Much of what we surround ourselves with on a daily basis has been linked to cancer. Everything from pesticides, GMOs, multiple cosmetic products, certain “foods,” smoking, and much much more. This is something that is never really emphasized, we always seem to just assume that donating money to charities will make the problem go away, despite the fact that their business practices are highly questionable.
That being said, so many people have had success with alternative treatments like cannabis oil – combined with a raw diet or even incorporated into their chemotherapy regimen – that we should not feel as though there is no hope for the future.
The official stance on cannabis is a great example of the very practice of misinformation that I’m talking about. Its anti-tumoral properties have been demonstrated for decades, yet no clinical trials are taking place.
I am going to leave you with this video, as I have done in previous articles. It provides a little food for thought. Ignorance is not the answer, although this information can be scary to consider, it’s nothing to turn a blind eye towards.

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“Right now we need to hear the voice of the families”

NOTA DEL EDITOR: Elections in November of 2015 for mayor of San Francisco and the ‘Proposition I’ were the hottest issues, according to leading human rights and residents of the Mission District of San Francisco, since winning the Latino candidate Francisco Herrera and approving the ‘proposition I, it would have been the hope of the Latino and the community at large who are tenants, to stop the constant evictions that families are suffering.
If he was elected Mayor, Francisco Herrera had already committed to stop luxury and market-rate housing constructions, govern for the people and not serve as an instrument of the real estate industry as it has been the case with Mayor Ed Lee.
At press time, the total count of the votes had not been done, but the votes so far counted were showing Lee with a significant lead over Herrrera and ‘Prop. I’ failing.
At the end, however, the chess pieces moved to the side where it will hinder the work of the Mayor in favor of his rich allies. – Marvin Ramírez.

por Fernando A. Torres
Especial para El Reportero.

– The triumph of Aaron Peskin over Supervisor Lee Julie Christensen (52.4 per cent against 43.6 per cent) in District 3, was not only listed as the most important victory for the opposition in the past elections on Tuesday, Nov. 3, but also a severe defeat to Mayor Ed Lee, and put again on the table of local politics the growing discontent with the performance of the Mayor.
Peskin is now the sixth vote among supervisors in opposition to the policies of the Mayor, a shift in the political balance. Now the opposition at the Board of Supervisors has a majority of the votes, which will force the Mayor to listen to them more carefully.
Thus expressed the Latino leaders who, despite the defeat of proposition F and I, the loss of the Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi and the re-election of Lee, were optimistic.  “Despite of losing I, we earned much and the most important was that we now have the infrastructure to start another campaign,” said via telephone Roberto Hernández, a face most recognized in the movement to halt the evictions and displacements in the popular Mission District.
“We will now join with Asian residents, with African-Americans, with the people of North Beach, the residents of Sunset, Richmond, Excelsior. Now we will give the city a deadline of 90 days, and if they don’t do what we need, we will propose new measures for elections in the months of June and November of next year,” said Hernández, who runs the organization Our Mission no to Evictions.
Francisco Herrera, the only Latino candidate in the race, received the higher number of votes than the rest of the other opposition candidates. According to the latest figures supplied by the San Francisco County Department of Elections as of Nov. 5 (4 p.m.), Herrera had 21,534 votes, 14.6 percent, and Mayor Lee had 83,453, 56.8 percent. A total of 155,675 votes had been counted, which means 34.8 percent of all registered voters went to the polls.
Local media and political analysts agreed that Lee’s victory was not as strong as expected. The sum of the votes of the five candidates gives a total of 62.989 votes and those received by the Mayor added to 83.453.
Herrera was pleased but cautious. He said that resolving the housing crisis “will take a lot of work, we have many challenges to make (the municipality) understand the wishes of the people and not the those of the investors. They are nothing more a part of the mix. Right now we need to hear the voices of families,” Herrera said.
With the 32.9 percent of the votes, the defeat of Sheriff Mirkarimi, was strongly against Vicky Hennessy, who got 61.1 percent of the vote.
Proposition I, a temporal stop to the construction of luxury homes in the Mission, lost 57.5 per cent against 42.4 per cent; however, Prop. A, the financing for the construction of affordable housing, won easily with a 73.8 percent.
Hernández said that it is important to consider the next year, because it will be the presidential election. “We will win this time because (on this election) there was a low turnout at the polls, but next year we know that this will increase because they are presidential elections.”
Hernández added that there are also talks about a campaign to impeach the Mayor. “Many people are speaking about that, if the Mayor does not do a good job between now and the next elections in June,’ he said.
Reflecting about what was his campaign, Herrera said that it has “very strongly demonstrated that the housing crisis is a serious issue and that 40,000 jobs that (Lee) has created, are for people not living in the city. I am very happy because we have made it very clear that people in San Francisco want a city for working people and set the foundations for a broad civic alliance. I loved the level of participation of the Latino community. The community participated and it was felt,” he said.

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Art to to classroom through Unique Parnership

Compiled by the El Reportero’s staff

As part of its educational programming to bring art to local schools, The Mexican Museum has partnered with Esperanza Academy in Oakland to support its Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) program for students in grades K-5. The program allows students to explore world art with an emphasis on Mexican and Latino art.
Guadalupe Rivera y Marín, Ph.D. will be giving a talk to Esperanza Academy students. The daughter of famed Mexican artist Diego Rivera, Guadalupe is a long-time supporter of the Mexican Museum and serves as Honorary Trustee and Co-Chairs the Arts & Letters Council.
“The presentation will be especially meaningful as the students just finished studying Diego Rivera’s art,” said Sandra Brod, Esperanza Academy facilitator for the Visual Thinking Strategies program.  “Students are engaged in observing and practicing art at least twice per month in each classroom. Rivera y Marín will do a reading from her book Mi papá Diego y yo (My dad Diego and I) which details the culture of México, her dad’s art and traditions that she remembers as a young girl in Mexico.”
Ms. Rivera y Marín’s talk will be on Monday, Nov. 2 at 10 a.m., in the auditorium at Esperanza Elementary a K-5, a dual language public school, located at 10315 E. Street in Oakland (X street103), part of the Oakland Unified School District.

Caltrain to hold public hearing on proposed fare changes
Caltrain will host a public hearing next week to gather feedback on proposed changes to fare rates and daily parking charges. The hearing will take place during the Caltrain Board of Directors meeting on Thursday, Nov. 5.
As part of the proposed changes, Caltrain would increase its adult base fare by 50 cents. That would also mean increases for the Day Pass, 8-ride tickets and Monthly passes. Eligible discount fares would remain at 50 percent of adult ticket prices, and Clipper card holders would continue to get an approximate 15 percent discount. More information on the proposed fare chart is available here.
Along with the fare change proposal, Caltrain is considering increasing the daily parking fee at station lots from $5 to $5.50, and raising the monthly parking permit fee from $50 to $55.
Caltrain convened four community meetings earlier this month to collect input on the proposed changes. The agency will continue to gather feedback from the public until the public hearing.
The public hearing on the proposals will be held at the following place and time, on Nov. 5, 2015, 10 a.m., Second Floor Auditorium Caltrain Administrative Headquarters, at 1250 San Carlos Ave, San Carlos.
Comments may be sent by mail, e-mail or phone to Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, JPB Secretary P.O. Box 3006, San Carlos, CA 94070-1306, by email changes@caltrain.com , by phone 1.800.660.4287.

StudioSoad present its fall SF Open Studios 2015
Lots art for sale. Don’t let your wall be empty or with crap. We have the finest art by the finest artist in the city. Friday, Oct. 30, 6-9 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 31, Sunday, Nov. 1, at 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. At Arc Studios & Gallery, Beyond the Gallery Wall,  StudioSoad Arc Studio #101, at 1246 Folsom Street, San Francisco, between 8th & 9th Streets SOMA.

Salsa around the Bay

Come burn energy while learning Salsa dancing
At El Valenciano Club and Restaurant. Class on Thursday, at 8:30 p.m. with Salsa Holic Ron and party until 2 a.m. to the music of ELDJX spinning the best in salsa, bachata, merengue, and cha cha! Discount flyers at salsaholicthursdays.com. At 1153 Valencia Street, SF.

Salsa, Bachata in the Bay Area
At Dance Milano – Live concerts every Saturday with some of the best local and International bands. Cover $15 Includes Salsa & Bachata dance lessons. Huge floating wood dance floor, plenty of safe free parking. Doors open at 8 p.m. and beginner salsa, bachata dance classes by world champions every week at 8:30 sharp, no partner or experience necessary.

At 394 South Second Street, San Jose, Calif. Dress to Impress.

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Prominent Guatemalan writer receives Nobel Prize

by Isabel Soto Mayedo

Although the Nobel Prize sparked controversy due to its unmerited award to certain characters, still it is celebrated with satisfaction the one given today to the Guatemalan writer Miguel Ángel Asturias.
In particular, Latin America is still proud of the prize delivered 48 years ago the author of Mr. President (1946), Men of Corn (1949), and the epic trilogy Strong wind, The Green Pope and The Eyes of the Buried, to name a few.
These latter novels marked the literary career as a few who managed to outline the profile of a Latin American dictator, in the form of satire, and denounce in a clear way the excesses of the fruit monopoly US United Fruit Company.
The review of the work of the Nobel Prize for Literature on Oct. 19, 1967, while serving as ambassador of Guatemala in France, confirms the accuracy of the arguments used to announce it.
Asturias (1899-1974) was the third Latin American and Caribbean to receive it -after Gabriela Mistral (Chile, 1945) and Saint-John Perse (Guadalupe, 1960) – and is one of the novelists of this continent that had an impact on the development of world literature.
At the same time, it is considered by specialists as the first to show the way in which Anthropology and Linguistics studies could influence in the narrative.
Despite this, for many years the Swedish Academy denied this recognition due to his alleged Marxist affiliation and the radical nature of his statements regarding the arms race and the lack of commitments of those involved in this artistic demonstration towards their people.
‘I think it is necessary to publicize the problems of our country and the best way is through the novel and literature’ said Guatemalan journalist and diplomat, in the field of tributes around the announcement of the Nobel Prize awarded to him.
At the same time he insisted that the important thing was that the great strength of this prize, amounting to about 62,000 dollars, to go to a writer from a very small country and not one with an arsenal of atomic bombs.
‘What is also important is that the prize was given to a writer who represents committed literature, not the free literature’ he said then, when was about 68 years old.

 

Juan Luis Guerra will perform for the first time in Canada
The singer from the Dominican Republic Juan Luis Guerra, winner of 15 Latin Grammy Awards, will perform for the first time in Canada, where he will offer two concerts in the context of his international tour Todo tiene su Hora, according to the media.
According to the company organizing the show, JEP Concerts, the singer, winner of two Grammy, will perform on February 12 at the L’Olympia of Montreal and on the 14th in the Powerade Centre in Toronto.
Guerra, one of the most internationally recognized Dominican artists, is promoting his latest album Todo tiene su hora, consisting of 10 songs covering several genres such as bachata, merengue, salsa and son.
The phonogram, the twelfth studio album by the singer, has achieved several nominations for the 2015 Latin Grammy Awards in the categories of Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Tropical Song and Best Contemporary Tropical Album.

Venezuelan Rafael Cadenas wins poetry Prize Federico Garcia Lorca
Venezuelan poet Rafael Cadenas today won the International Poetry Prize Federico Garcia Lorca-Granada City in its twelfth edition.
The jury, chaired by the mayor of Granada, José Torres, highlighted the deliberately marginal, very quiet and lucid poetry of Cadenas, poet, essayist, university professor and National Literature Award of Venezuela in 1985.
He was selected among 43 authors of 18 nationalities and joins with this prize the list of winners that includes Rafael Guillen (2014), Eduardo Lizalde (2013), Pablo García Baena (2012), Fina García Marruz (2011) and Maria Victoria Atencio (2010).
José Manuel Caballero Bonald (2009), Tomás Segovia (2008), Francisco Brines (2007), Blanca Varela (2006), Jose Emilio Pacheco (2005) and Angel Gonzalez (2004) are also part of the list.

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Is “Jury Nullification” a cause to go to jail for? Yes

I’m getting arrested tomorrow

by NJWeedman

I ask and answer this because I’ll probably be arrested on Monday Oct. 24 in front of the Ocean County Courthouse for passing out JURY NULLIFICATION awareness literature in defiance of an illegal verbal order issued by Lieutenant Green of the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department at the behest of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office. I feel no remorse for not complying with this unconstitutional order. So I expect to be jailed; the only question is, for how long?
 How this came to be:
Last week libertarian activist and Fully Informed Jury Association (FIJA) member Jim Babb was ordered to leave the public area in front of the Ocean County Courthouse before being threatened with arrest and told he was being investigated for jury tampering for passing out fija.org—jury rights literature! (Please watch this video: http://fija.org/2015/10/23/juror-rights-educator-threatened-at-ocean-county-courthouse/)
This is bogus—it’s the prosecution that tampers with a jury. They are they ones who make sure the JURORS are uninformed of their rights, to ensure an advantage, to steal true justice from US—we the people.
Most people have no idea what jury nullification is, which is a shame because it was the intended barrier the Founding Fathers put in place in this country’s judicial system to prevent oppression by the government in the form of unjust, unpopular laws. So I will explain.
It’s the reason we have the Sixth and Seventh Amendments right to a JURY TRIAL—and a FAIR TRIAL. The founders of our country empowered juries to reject unpopular or unjust laws!
Jury nullification occurs when a jury returns a verdict of “not guilty” even though its members believe the defendant is in fact guilty of the violation with which he or she is charged. The jury effectively nullifies a law that the members believe is either immoral or being wrongly applied to the defendant (whose fate they are charged with deciding).
The New Jersey Constitution actually very clearly gives jurors this right to reject a law (article 1, paragraph 6): “In all prosecutions or indictments…the truth maybe given to the jurors as evidence…the jury may judge the law as well as the facts.” It is an absolute fact that jurors in NJ have the right to judge a law and reject any law. I believe in this and have tried for years to get this information out to potential jurors. I could just as easily be called Jury Nullification Man.
Prosecutors, judges, and even defense attorneys have self-servingly conspired to withhold this information from NJ jurors, as the Ocean County authorities are doing now. They all reap the benefits of an uninformed jury; they get to pretend they are the final arbitrators of the law, when that is Constitutionally false. I’ve been to numerous trials—judges actually lie to jurors by omission. When they give instructions to a jury, NJ judges NEVER inform the jury members that their duties entail the right to judge the very law the defendant is charged with violating, as per NJ Const. art. 1, par. 6.
As a very active marijuana legalization proponent, I know the stats—the marijuana laws are the most violated and unpopular laws on the nation’s books, and most people believe marijuana should be legal. I’ve always thought, even in the most Baptist of churches, members wouldn’t want to send someone to prison for a plant “GOD” created. If they did, plenty of Baptist churchgoers would say “not guilty” in the face of actual “guilt.”
I’ve been a proponent of utilizing jury nullification as a means of ending the WAR on POT for decades. It has been clear to me since the ‘90s that if the American people knew they could simply ignore the prosecutors’ and judges’ explanation of a law and JUDGED it themselves, certain laws like the marijuana laws wouldn’t be enforced by juries. I believe there would constantly be hung juries, which is what occurred during alcohol prohibition in the 1920s and with regard to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Juries rejected those laws themselves and refused to convict citizens for violating them. These actions of jurors helped destroy these unpopular laws, and I believe this is one route to ending cannabis prohibition now.
I openly have never complied with the marijuana laws. My signature quote is “F the law, smoke it anyway.” I’ve gone on trial three times for marijuana in the last 15 years. All three times I’ve tried to get my jurors to reject the law and find me not guilty despite my actually being guilty. (2-1)
During the first trial (September 2000), I was confident I could get at least one juror to reject the law and say “not guilty.” But on the third day of the trial I capitulated and accepted a plea deal. Yet, as part of my acceptance of the plea the judge—Judge Thompson—allowed me to poll my jurors after I accepted the deal. Four members of my jury indicated they would have said “not guilty” despite my having admitted to violating the NJ marijuana laws, and my insistence that the law was wrong, not I. I always regretted that plea, and my not standing by my beliefs. It was a rare moment of weakness on my part that cost me a couple years behind bars.
So when I went on trial a second time in May 2012 for possession with intent to distribute, I refused to hear any plea deals from Burlington County Prosecutor M. Luciano. Instead I represented myself and recited art. 1, par. 6 numerous times. Protestors, including Jim Babb, distributed jury nullification literature outside the BurlCo Courthouse, and the newspapers wrote about it.
I again presented a defense that I wasn’t wrong, the law was wrong. Unfortunately for Luciano, he got quite a shock when the jury hung 7-5. I knew seven jurors obviously rejected the law’s claim that I was trying to distribute.
Instead of leaving it at that “hung jury,” Unlucky Luciano decided to re-try me for the same charge in October 2012. I expected another hung jury but to my shock, the jury found me “not guilty” (12-0) despite the fact that I admitted to everything. Factually I was GUILTY of violating the law; I had a pound of marijuana, but obviously the members of my jury rejected that and found me “not guilty.” I tout this as a jury nullification verdict, as Trentonian Column Jeff Edelstein wrote at the time “JURY UPENDS MARIJUANA LAWS, WEEDMAN WALKS.”
I put my life and freedom on the line to prove a point and to bring public awareness to this concept as a means to defeat the Lawyer Associations’ WAR on POT and to support those who reject the lies of government that this most beneficial plant is a Schedule I controlled substance. By law a Schedule 1 substance has no medical value. So it’s clear marijuana is not a Schedule I drug, the government lies about this—especially in court. Hypocritically, NJ even passed its own medical marijuana law in 2010. Just look up the definition of “Schedule I drug” and you’ll see marijuana doesn’t fit, so in my opinion all jurors should acquit. The law is a lie.
I am free to write this column solely because the members of my Oct 2012 jury nullified the law in my case—thank you again. Otherwise I’d be three years into a 10-year sentence.
Which brings me back now to Ocean County. There is a trial going on there—a citizen named John Peditto, a Facebook friend of mine, is facing 10 years in prison for having 17 plants. He followed my case and decided to use the NJWeedman Defense: admit to everything and hope his jury utilizes jury nullification and rejects the law as well. I feel a connection with him, and an obligation to help him. He is attempting to pull his life/freedom out of the tyranny of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s vise like I did with the Burlington County Prosecutors in 2012.
If my getting arrested on Monday for passing out jury nullification literature makes the Tuesday morning papers and one of his jurors sees the explanation of jury nullification and realizes they too could simply say “NOT GUILTY,” I feel it will have been worth it.

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What San Francisco voters need to know about Prop. I

FROM THE EDITOR:

Dear readers: Reacting to the urgency of the existent housing crisis that is displacing our long-term residents – entire families from all ethnic groups – in the San Francisco Mission District and everywhere in San Francisco, El Reportero ran into the following article – written by Keren Moros – that describes point by point what Proposition I is all about and why every San Franciscan must Vote Yes on Prop I.
And we also take the opportunity to endorse for Mayor of San Francisco, a gentleman that has demonstrated his love for our community and housing rights for all San Franciscans: Francisco Herrera.
And in addition we also ask you to also vote for another great human being who is running for re-election and who has demonstrated during his past term, to be the right person for the job of Sheriff of San Francisco: Ross Mirkarimi.  And in the name of the spirit of Liberty, we ask you to Vote no on very proposition that calls for more taxes. More taxes means bigger government. Bigger government means more repression against the people, less wealth and more government dependency. Election Day is November 3.

by Keren Moros

Once known for its up-and-coming artistic community, San Francisco’s Mission District is now a hot topic in the conversation surrounding the city’s growing housing crisis. Gentrification in the Mission has led to rapidly rising rents, forcing long-time residents out of their neighborhood. On Nov. 3, San Franciscans will vote on the controversial Proposition I, which aims to address the issue head-on. But what does this mean for the the neighborhood and what would be the consequences? Here’s what you should know about Proposition I before checking the ballot box on Nov. 3.
What Does Proposition I Say?
Proposition I calls for the suspension of market-rate housing development in the Mission for at least 18 months. Additionally, it proposes the City develop a Neighborhood Stabilization Plan by Jan. 31, 2017, which would “propose legislation, policies, programs, funding, and zoning controls so that at least 50 percent of all new housing would be affordable to low- and moderate-income households.”
If passed into law, Proposition I would put a hold on not only construction but also the demolition and renovation of market-rate housing developments with five or more units. It would also suspend construction and development of buildings that the law determines are used for production, distribution and repair such as businesses like furniture making and auto repair.
What Proposition I does not propose is to stop those seeking permits to build low- and moderate-income housing. Rather, if passed, it would allow for the suspension on market-rate housing to be extended for another year if the Board of Supervisors approves.
What Led to Proposition I?
Since the tech boom of the late 90s, San Francisco has become increasingly gentrified. As people continue to move into the city’s developing sectors, SF hasn’t produced housing to keep up with demand. The new affluent population has encouraged landlords to increase rents, says Jasper Rubin, associate professor at the Urban Studies and Planning Program at San Francisco State University, and the combination of factors has created a dire living situation for the city’s low- to moderate-income residents.
“It’s wealth, not a huge housing stock and a lot of demand,” Rubin says of the crisis. “Costs for rental units have skyrocketed as well as ownership, and it’s been incredibly disruptive. Even though there is rent control and tenant protections are fairly strong, evictions have increased dramatically.”
While Francisco’s affordable housing policy requires developers to dedicate 12 percent of new units as affordable housing units, tenants in buildings not protected by rent control worry about losing their homes to new market-rate housing or being evicted unfairly.
Gabriel Medina, Policy Manager at the Mission Economic Development Agency, says the area has seen the displacement of 8,000 Latinos in the last 15 years and the Mission has lost more than 3,000 residents between 2000 and 2013. In addition, the neighborhood sees 230 evictions per year.
“We’re not growing as city in the Mission because of the glut of luxury condos that have come and changed the Mission from an immigrant gateway for the Irish, Italians and then Mexicans and Central Americans because it was affordable to essentially a rich person’s playground with tons of bars, tons of high-end restaurants and housing that 85 percent of the city of San Francisco can’t afford,” Medina says.
“[Culture] is what makes us so special and we’re slowly homogenizing that with luxury towers, and as a result, we’re having high income disparity because those middle class, living-wage, blue collar jobs are being displaced for service industry jobs which don’t pay the rent.”
Rubin says the Mission has long been the site of unrest because of the housing market and believes the proposition is a response to several developments in the neighborhood that have pushed local residents to action.
“Folks in the Mission are saying, ‘There’s just not enough affordable housing. We need to stop any development until we can get a better project that will serve the neighborhood and not just introduce another gentrifying building.’”
Rubin calls the proposition symbolic and understands why many in the Mission are behind it.
“I completely understand the frustration, and I understand the desire to say, ‘Okay, we don’t really care if this is effective or not. We just want to do something. You do lose some money for affordable housing, though not much. On the other hand, if you do prevent those buildings from being developed, and if you actually could because of the moratorium, negotiate better terms, then it’s an effective measure.”
What Good Will Proposition I Do?
Supporters for the proposition like Medina say it will give the city an incentive to plan for the community and give the Mission a chance to come up with strategies to stall evictions, stabilize businesses and create affordable housing, all the while preserving the history and culture of the neighborhood. It’s also an opportunity to set a positive precedent for future legislations.
“[Proposition I] shows that people here are not only thinking about our own needs for the neighborhood but we’re thinking about how this can be a model for other neighborhoods that are going to face the same income-inequality crisis,” Medina says.
What Do the Opponents Say?
Those against Proposition I, including U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein and Mayor Ed Lee, say Proposition I is against state laws and will ultimately cost taxpayers more than $1 billion. They also say passing Proposition I will stop the construction of nearly 1,500 homes, both market-rate and below market-rate, doing nothing to solve the housing crisis.
In addition, the city’s Office of Economic Analysis released a report in September that concluded the temporary moratorium of market-rate housing would not change rent rates, prevent resident displacement or stop upper-income families from moving into the neighborhood. The report, written by office Chief Economist Ted Egan, also states that market-rate housing lowers nearby property values and notes that market-rate housing developers “are required to either dedicate a certain percentage of the project’s units as affordable, build affordable units off-site, or pay an in-lieu fee to the Mayor’s Office of Housing for affordable housing”
To that Medina argues, “It actually delays 85 units for up to 18 months. So it doesn’t stop housing…100 percent affordable housing will still get developed. They’ll just be delayed 18 months. But the process to develop housing is typically three to five years. It’s not significant. And of those 85 units, only 12 percent of those are affordable, and in our analysis, the current approved pipeline for housing is only 7 percent affordable. So really, of those 85 units, you’re looking at like 10 or less of those would even be affordable,” he says. “[After] losing 3,184 people from our neighborhood who now need homes, we know that just building luxury condos does not restrict supply in the sense — it houses more people.

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California now throwing people in jail for refusing vaccination

The American people, young and old, now face the prospect of being thrown into jail unless they accept vaccinations

Posted by Neon Nettle
Linked In

In case you haven’t noticed, there’s an incremental push right now by the controlling elite to force vaccinations on all Americans, both young and old. And this agenda is gaining considerable traction in California, where legislators are now moving forward with plans to force childhood vaccines on all adults who work in daycare centers, both private and public.
Senate Bill 792, also known as the “Day care facilities: immunizations: exemptions” act, was presented quietly alongside SB 277, which eliminates personal, philosophical and religious vaccine exemptions for children who attend both private and public schools in the Golden State. The bill, as recently heard by the California Assembly Human Services Committee, reads as follows:
This bill, commencing September 1, 2016, would prohibit a day care center or a family day care home from employing any person who has not been immunized against influenza, pertussis, and measles.
If passed, SB 792 would represent the first adult vaccine mandate in the U.S. that disallows exemptions for personal reasons, and that threatens criminal penalties for those who fail or refuse to comply. Here’s how Vaccine Impact describes SB 792:
SB 792, would eliminate an adult’s right to exempt themselves from one, some, or all vaccines, a risk-laden medical procedure.
This bill would make California the first state to require mandated vaccinations for all childcare workers, including all private and public school early childhood education programs (Headstart, Private preK and preschools), family daycares, and daycare centers.
SB 792 represents medical violence against adults
An affront to both medical and religious liberty, SB 792 appears to be the wave of the future in New America, where the perceived health of the “herd” is now more important than the health of the individual. Never before in the history of the United States have legislators pushed this hard to literally force vaccine injections on the public under duress.
But why do they feel the need to do this if vaccines really work and are truly safe as claimed? The answer is that vaccines aren’t safe and effective, and more people than ever are acknowledging this truth and opting out of the “requirements” of the system through vaccine exemptions, hence the rush to eliminate these exemptions as quickly as possible, starting with California.
“This bill eliminates medical autonomy, crushes religious freedom, undermines personal freedom, and burdens quality providers with a non-optional series of medical interventions in the form of mandated vaccines that are not even 100% effective,” adds Vaccine Impact.
Contact California legislators and say NO to SB 792
As of this writing, SB 792 awaits a hearing by California’s Committee on Appropriations, having recently passed through the Assembly Human Services Committee with a 6-1 vote. The official vote tally reveals that the following members of this committee voted in FAVOR of passing SB 792:
Ian C. Calderon
Kansen Chu
Patty Lopez
Brian Maienschein
Mark Stone
Tony Thurmond
You can contact the above individuals here and let them know how you feel about their betrayal of medical freedom in California.
You can also contact the individual members of the Committee on Appropriations and tell them to vote AGAINST SB 792 by visiting: pro.assembly.ca.gov
If Americans sit idly by while corrupt legislators pass incremental bills like SB 277 and SB 792, it will only be a matter of time before even stricter bills come along mandating vaccinations for additional groups of people, until eventually everyone is forced into being vaccinated by the state for the benefit of “public health.”
“Laws like these are forging a burden of responsibility that is collectively shared by everyone,” writes Joshua Krause for GlobalResearch.ca.
“It won’t be long before they try to force vaccines on every adult and child in California. And if they pull it off there, legislators in other states will try to see if they can use the sheepish tyranny of majority rule to force vaccines on their citizens as well.”

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