Volume 136, Issue 4
Protesters united
against war, occupation, recall
Manifold crowd gathers at Civic Center, including mayoral candidate
Tom Ammiano
By
Jim Powell
Guardsman Staff Writer
Diversity was the unifying theme during a demonstration held at San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza on Sunday, Sept. 28.
 photo by Jorge Parada President Bush was the main target of most of the activists. |
Everything from the United States occupation of Iraq to the California gubernatorial recall was protested by groups as varied as Queers for Peace and Justice, the Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America and the National Lawyers Guild.
"It's amazing to see different interest groups joining to stand against illegal occupations," said Jess Ghannam, an organizer of the event and a member of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. "The Iraqis don't feel liberated by the United States. People are beginning to see that what the US is doing isn't out of the goodness of its heart."
Guest speakers addressed the crowd (which Ghannam estimated to be 7,000) from a stage erected at the east end of Civic Center Plaza, near the San Francisco Public Library. Almost all of the speakers were vocal in their opposition to President George W. Bush and his policies.
San Francisco City Supervisor and mayoral candidate Tom Ammiano drew cheers when he demanded a recall of the Bush Presidency and the Patriot Act. "$87 billion to continue the war? Bullsh**t! We need that money for the homeless and for healthcare."
Another of President Bush's critics, Maureen Griswold from Veterans for Peace, took the stage and proceeded to outline Bush's "spotty" military record. "Our president is 30 years late for his court martial!" Griswold declared.
Griswold then went on to demand a boycott of retailer Kay-Bee Toys for selling George W. Bush action figures clad in miniature flight suits.
Josh Savala, a UC Davis student attending the protest, was skeptical about the situation in Iraq. "The people don't have water or electricity and they're being occupied by a foreign army," said Savala. He also noted that while the military occupation would eventually end, the economic occupation would likely go on for a long time.
Police
on hand for the event declined to estimate the size of the crowd.
Students
seek Board of Trustees Endorsement
Encounter unexpected adversary in Libertarian mayoral candidate
By
Zuri Berry
Guardsman Staff Writer
The Young Workers United (YWU) attended the City College Board of Trustees meeting on Sept. 25 seeking support on Proposition L, only to find the Libertarian mayoral candidate, Michael Denny, trying to head them off.
Proposition L, which will be on the November 4 ballot, would increase the minimum wage for San Franciscans from $6.75 to $8.50 an hour. The proposition is already endorsed by 20 local community groups such as the San Francisco Labor Council, the Chinese Progressive Association, and the Green Party. District Attorney Terrence Hallinan and nine of the 11 San Francisco Board of Supervisors, including mayoral candidates Tom Ammiano and Matt Gonzalez, also endorsed the proposition.
The YWU, came with hopes of gaining individual endorsements from board members, were surprised that such a response came from mayoral candidate, Denny.
What seemed like a clash of the middle-aged and the young came down to a debate of the merits and possible future economic effects of the proposition. Michael Denny argued that with the increase of minimum wage there also would be an increase in loss of jobs due to operating costs for small businesses.
"Nobel Prize winning economists have repeatedly demonstrated that the minimum wage laws make less skilled workers less employable," Deny added.
Denny then said economics have "well established principles just like physics (whose) laws cannot be dismissed by legislation anymore than the law of gravity."
A report issued by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and authored by Michael Reich, a professor of economics at UC Berkeley, and Amy Laitinen, a master's candidate in public policy, found that proposition L would effect some 50,000 workers in San Francisco. An estimated 21,000 Asian-Americans, 12,000 Latin-Americans, and 4,500 African-Americans would receive a raise if the measure were to pass, giving an estimated $70 million in spending power to minorities.
Workers under the age of 25 would directly be effected as well. An estimated 17,000 young adults make under $8.50 an hour, 1,200 of which are under 18. Prop L would put an estimated $24.7 million in spending power in their hands .
The Young Workers United, represented by Ismael Baines, Katie Salas, and Ruby Kalson-Bremer, responded to Denny by speaking from their own experiences.
Baines, a student at City College, said that "if $6.75 could be lifted to $8.50 then it could help me pay for another math class or language class," referring to the recent raise in tuition.
Kalson-Bremer, 20, told the board that she's worked two jobs while attending City College trying to get the board to understand her monetary issues.
Kalson-Bremer said to the board that "when I think of my chances of being able to move out my (parent's) home before I'm 21 I'm extremely depressed." Later adding "I was taught that adulthood means independence and I don't see any source of income or independence for me if minimum wage remains $6.75."
If the measure were to pass there are no real estimates what could happen to small businesses in the aftermath. The affect could balance the possible loss of jobs by boosting consumer spending. Although with the current slump of the economy there are no sure bets.
In response the Board thanked both parties for attending, but declined to make an official endorsement or denial in the forum.
Trustee Julio J. Ramos said "I don't want to endorse or support or oppose any proposition here in this public forum but that's the economic reality that I know," referring to San Francisco's cost of living.
Lieberman
and Bustamante "Cruz" the Mission Campus
Address community college needs
Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante and presidential candidate Sen. Joe Lieberman visited City College's Mission campus on September 22 to highlight job training as well as promote Bustamante's new budget plan which will reverse recent increases in community college student fees.
 photo by Jorge Parada |
Bustamante, acknowledging the 60 percent fee increase in California community colleges and its affect on students, commented that "more than 123,000 Californians are being forced out, just when they need help the most?That's wrong and we shouldn't tolerate it."
Bustamante's recent budget proposal includes $90 million earmarked to reverse the increased student fees and $200 million for the restoration of classes cut by the recent gubernatorial budget.
"I want to give more money to city colleges," Lieberman added.
Anarchists
deliver message to Greek Consulate
Demand freedom for protestors arrested in June during European Union
meeting
By
Ian Liebert
Guardsman Staff Writer
A group of 25 activists, all dressed in black, took their protest from the front door to the front desk of the Greek Consulate on Gough Street in San Francisco on Friday, Sept. 26.
 photo by Jorge Parada Protesters make their voices heard by the Greek Consulate, denouncing the mistreatment of imprisoned Greek activists. |
The Anarchist Library Club at City College organized the demonstration. According to Chris Kendrick, co-founder of the Anarchist Library, the four-page letter was intended to let the Greek state know "that resistance will assuredly continue in San Francisco until the immediate release of all militant anarchists illegally incarcerated." Seven activists still behind bars
The militant anarchists referred to in the letter were arrested on June 21, 2003 during a demonstration in Thessaloniki, Greece, attended by more than 25,000 trying to disrupt the European Union's private negotiations. The Greek protesters were met by riot police who made dozens of arrests. The police allegedly used chloracetophenon and tear gasses to incapacitate the crowd.
Although the great majority of those arrested in Thessaloniki have been released, many of the prisoners claimed that they were beaten and tortured while in custody. Seven of the prisoners are still behind bars facing severe punishment for crimes they say they did not commit.
"No justice no peace!"
San Francisco protesters chanted "No justice no peace! Free the seven in Greece!" and "EU (European Union) respect human rights, EU expect a fight" to the accompaniment of homemade drums. They called for the release of Simon Chapman, a man from London, England who allegedly had a backpack full of explosives planted on him by Greek riot police after his arrest.
Protestors an inspiration
"Today we send a manifestation of solidarity to the imprisoned assuring them that though their captors seek to minimize their impact, their actions and resistance have been an inspiration to the political struggles around the world," read a quote from the letter delivered by the protesters in San Francisco.
