By Ramsey El-Qare
The Guardsman

San Francisco Police Chief George Gascón apologizes during a news conference at the Holiday Inn Hotel San Francisco Golden Gateway on April 2 for his previous comments on the Middle Eastern communities. RAMSEY EL-QARE / THE GUARDSMAN

If you just inherited a police department that made headlines last year because its officers unjustly attacked and brutalized Arabs at an anti-war demonstration, you probably shouldn’t kick things off by making a racist crack about the San Francisco Middle Eastern community attacking the Hall of Justice.

Apparently, San Francisco Police Chief George Gascón never got the memo.

While speaking at a breakfast about the importance of an earthquake safety bond measure, he felt the need to emphasize that earthquakes are not the only thing the Hall of Justice needs to worry about: He said the city’s Middle Eastern community might destroy the building with a car bomb.

Gascón defended himself by saying he never mentioned certain Middle Eastern or Arab communities and that only Yemeni and Afghan communities pose a terrorism threat. What makes him think pointing to these two communities would make his statements acceptable?

The term “Middle East” is problematic because it is so loosely defined. Some people include Afghanistan and some do not. Gascón’s misuse of the word shows how little he knows about the people he’s attacking. Not all Middle Easterners are Arab, nor are they all exclusively Muslim.

The word terrorism is and has been used to justify abhorrent actions like the stripping of civil liberties and spying on the American people.

With his remarks, Gascón was not only scapegoating Yemeni and Afghan U.S. citizens, he was also endangering the lives of anyone from Arab, Muslim or Middle Eastern descent. The chief and the organization behind him are supposed to ensure our safety. Instead, entire communities are being put in harm’s way to get extra cash in the name of safety at the Hall of Justice. Shame on you, Chief Gascón.

The police chief holds a powerful position. While some may perceive his remarks as an accidental blurb, others will hear them and think that people from the Middle East can be mistreated, scapegoated and dumped upon because they are the lowest humans on the totem pole.

Gascón made a quick entrance and an even quicker exit at the media conference on April 2 where he apologized to the Yemeni community. His apology did not appear sincere and he didn’t answer any questions from the audience.

The San Francisco Police Department needs to demonstrate real commitment to equality for all oppressed communities in this city. Words are not enough.

An apology without actions following it makes no difference. All members of our society, regardless of what community they identify with, need to be treated with the respect they deserve.

By William Chamberlin
The Guardsman

Osama bin Laden released a new tape March 24 promising that the day the United States makes a decision to kill Khalid “Hero Warrior” Sheik Mohammed is the day bin Laden will order the execution of all American hostages.

Bin Laden often starts his messages in the name of Allah and peace, then proceeds to proclaim his will is that of the righteous, and that the U.S. is a vile oppressor unjustly tyrannizing his people with its support of Israel. He delivers them in a soft and confident tone, reassuring the listener that he deeply believes what he speaks.

In a tape released earlier this year, addressed to President Barack Obama, bin Laden begins by saying blessed are the followers of peace. The followers of peace?

Bin Laden holds no regard for human life. He professes godliness while subscribing to racism in the same sentence. He feels that U.S. support of Israel’s Palestinian occupation offers him spiritual immunity on all grounds. In his mind he is acting in the name of what is right.

He has followers who definitely believe in him. The temptation to be called apart from the rest of humanity — to have a greater purpose in life — is tantalizing. The promise of this purpose appeals to core elements of human nature: to be a part of a coalition, to have brothers in arms, and to make the world a better place.

But the reasoning behind threatening to kill all American hostages if a man who organized the death of thousands of innocent people is brought to justice, is so skewed it verges on madness. Bin Laden believes he can do no wrong.

What should have taken place is a prompt response upon delivery of the Fűhrer’s newest mandate: that every single American hostage be released and we will just give Mohammed life in prison (period). Let Mohammed rot in a cell instead of killing him, if it saves the lives of our families and loved ones.

Bin Laden has complained we mistreat his soldiers. To that, we can respond that his people wouldn’t have ever been in our custody had he not taken it upon himself to escalate this war in the Middle East by bringing it into the daily lives of U.S. citizens.

The situation with bin Laden is that he hates the West. That’s it. He’s got a blame-thrower and a bad case of trigger-finger. There is no reasoning with this man who, in his eyes, lives a righteous life.

The best response to this newest bin Laden tape is to capture him and hold him accountable for his crimes at all costs. Bin Laden is good at tying all these separate issues together and rallying the troops for a war. He’d probably be an amazing used car salesman. Perhaps another radical leader — one who opposes violence and hatred — could pick apart bin Laden’s reasoning for bringing more bloodshed to this planet.

Maybe there is no way to end this global issue aside from taking down the organizers of this war. In that line of reasoning we would need to hold Mohammed accountable in the most severe manner. We need to understand that submitting to bin Laden’s demands ensures that he keeps making them. It is time to make a serious counter offer: release the captives and Mohammed’s life will be spared.

Let’s put the ball in his court.

By Matt Gomez
The Guardsman

Health care was reformed last month, and while the effects may not yet be evident, benefits for students could be great in the future.

Although this reform does not bring the country closer to a universal, single-payer system or include a public option, it will make necessary changes to what many consider a corrupt handling of people’s health.

Children of policyholders will now be allowed to stay covered under their parents’ insurance plan until the age of 26. This means there will be less of a financial burden for those who may have been told not to get sick because they don’t have insurance.

It also means, students will be able to focus more on school if they aren’t constantly concerned with either paying for their own insurance or risking their life by having none. When jobs are scarce and school alone is hard to pay for, one less bill, or the assurance of access to medical care, is appreciated.

The bill was also bundled with reform that concerns the student loan program. Instead of private banks lending government loans to students, the government itself will loan the money, essentially eliminating the middle man who wasn’t necessary in the first place.

This will save taxpayers some $68 billion. President Obama plans to re-invest the savings into education. His re-investment will increase Pell Grants, help students pay off loans and upgrade community colleges.

According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, this reform will cost about $950 billion over the next decade, but will lower federal deficits by $148 billion.  It will also extend coverage to 32 million previously uninsured people.

Republicans in office, who hope to see the reform fail, are calling this bill the Democrats’ Waterloo.

Democrats, of course, see this as their greatest victory in a long time.

Each side hopes to prevail, but the victory of this reform is owed to the people of this country – the people whom both Republican and Democratic congressman are elected to represent.

The U.S. is not the superpower it once was and it will take time to regain that status. That can’t be achieved by constant bickering between two parties who dislike each other solely because they hold different ideals.

The Democrats compromised a lot for this bill to become reality. Now that it is, both parties need to take every possible step to see this opportunity is not wasted because some grown-ups in Washington want to be able to say, “I told you so.” $1 trillion is still $1 trillion.

This bill could be a Waterloo or a victory, it all depends on how the situation is handled. This reform isn’t a revolution and it still hasn’t granted anyone anything, but it does present an opportunity with the potential to change the lives of many citizens of this country.

Editor,
Thank you for publishing Robert Romano’s story “Peace between Palestine and Israel is possible.” This is an excellent article and one which I’ve forwarded to many friends and contacts.
Keep up the good work and journalism.

Steve Sosebee

Dear Mr. Romano,
Thank you VERY MUCH for writing the piece “Peace between Palestine and Israel is possible.” More than ever, we need people to bring to light the truth and the tragedy of Palestine and the Palestinian people.

With respect,
Rima El-Kawa

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Democrats are celebrating their first major legislative victory, Pyrrhic or otherwise, in a long time. But when the confetti settles, U.S. citizens will be no closer to universal access to health care.

Barack Obama took office with a promise to “sign a universal health care plan into law by the end of my first term in office.”

Unless the president has a plan to mend the bruised feelings on the other side of the aisle, it seems unlikely that he will be able to make good on this lofty goal.

The failure of the Democrats to secure anything remotely resembling universal health care is only slightly mitigated by the portions of the bill that eliminate loss of coverage for pre-existing conditions and extend youth access to their parents insurance until age 26.

The Democrats are screaming “victory,” the Republicans are screaming “socialism” and the rest of the country is left scratching their heads trying to figure out the implications of more than two-thousand pages of dense legalese.

Some important questions remain unanswered. Like how does a bill that started as a move towards universal coverage for all U.S. citizens turn into mandating that more than 30 million people purchase health insurance from private companies, bolstering their profits?

One thing is certain: the once hopeful prospects of the Obama administration’s push for universal health care have all but evaporated.

Unless those “hopes” were just for show.

By Robert Romano
The Guardsman

Mariam El-Shafai, 16, expresses her veiws on her trip to the U.S. outside of World Market in Daly City, Calif. on March 14. ROBERT ROMANO / THE GUARDSMAN

Mariam El-Shafai, 16, is back home in Gaza with a new faith in humanity and Americans specifically.

El-Shafai came to the U.S. to receive medical attention through the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, an American nonprofit organization that funds medical treatment for children in Palestine.

“I was a student in 10th-grade. My injury happened during an assault on Gaza. On Jan. 4, 2009, I was sitting, in the morning, in our kitchen eating breakfast when the Israeli military bombed our home and I was hit by a flaming hot shrapnel in my left eye,” El-Shafai said.

Israeli-born Tami Etziony, an environmental studies major at City College who moved to the U.S. after completing her mandatory military service, said she has always been appalled by Israel’s treatment of Palestine.

“I have learned much since leaving Israel about the Palestinian plight and the horrendous treatment of Palestinians by Israel,” she said. “Even then, instinctively, I knew that if I was born Palestinian I would either become a terrorist or leave the country.”

Although excited to come to the U.S., El-Shafai was confused that an American organization would be fully funding her treatment. She was equally surprised that two Jewish doctors would be performing her surgery.

“When I came here I did not know that people here supported peace and freedom for Palestine,” she said. “I came to the U.S. and I saw the face of the American people. Many Americans are against the Israeli Government, including all colors and all religions.”

There are many victims out there, including the Israeli people, but if a 16-year-old Palestinian girl who lost her eye to an act of Israeli aggression believes unity is possible, then it is.

Our American government spends $3.55 billion per year in military aid that supports genocide by attempting to wipe out the Palestinian people, including El-Shafai.

This massacre in Gaza started on Dec. 27, 2008 and continued until Jan. 18, 2009. Gaza suffered $6 million worth of damage to water and waste-water infrastructure according to Amnesty International.

El-Shafai spoke Feb. 6, 2010 at a Gaza commemoration in Burlingame that was a fundraiser for the Middle East Children’s Alliance, which brings water purification systems to schools in Gaza.

The Netanyahu administration refuses to stop displacing Palestinians in a systematic plan to claim all the land for themselves. U.S. policy can no longer be one of excusing Israel for war crimes. Every one of us must stand up for El-Shafai and the estimated 4 million other Palestinians who are threatened with extinction because the world refuses to act.

After interviewing El-Shafai, I was given hope that peace is achievable in Palestine and that through individuals like her a one-state solution is possible. She has promised to promote the idea of a solution that does not involve bloodshed, one which does not include Israeli fighter jets and Palestinian hand grenades.

My experience with El-Shafai left me with the idea that no one country has to win. There is a solution besides war. If human beings can work together toward peace we can finally achieve it.

The situation in Palestine is a humanitarian issue that can no longer be avoided. We must raise our voices collectively and demand that the Israeli government not be allowed to indiscriminately commit genocide in the guise of defense.

“Seeing is believing,” said Hatem Bazian a UC Berkeley professor of near eastern studies. “The best way for Americans to help is to visit Palestine. To see the negative effect U.S. policy is having on the Palestinian people.”

El-Shafai is now back in Gaza, according to Nadel Saleh, who acted as surrogate father during her stay in America.

“She sounded happy to see her family. However, Israeli war planes were heard,” Saleh said.

‘Face2Face works as a deterrent’

Editor’s note: This letter is in response to an opinion article by Matt Gomez published in the Feb. 24 issue of The Guardsman titled “Ugliness as a deterrent fails to win war on drugs.”

Matt Gomez is criticizing a program that he has never seen. It is unfortunate. Just as bad is his assumption that teenagers do not place a premium on their appearances. They do and that’s why Face2Face works as a deterrent.

I am also curious to find out how many years Mr. Gomez spent in law enforcement. Sheriff Allman, who came up with the concept for Face2Face has tried for many years many different ways to communicate the dangers of using crystal meth. After using Face2Face he now has the proof that the approach works.

Laslo Vespremi
Owner, Abalone LLC
(The company that makes the Face2Face product)

‘Recommendation re graffiti: leave it’

Editor’s note: This letter is in response to a news article by Liska Koenig published in the March 10 issue of The Guardsman titled “Vandals promoting March 4 Day of Action cost City college thousands.”

I graduated from CCSF in 1978 and have been writing for the Laney College paper in Oakland for twelve years.
I have a recommendation re graffiti: leave it up. It will avoid any removal costs and keep students focused on the issue at hand.

Joe Kempkes

The board proposal includes the removal of Thomas Jefferson and Seneca Falls Convention while ‘pretending Hispanics don’t exist’

By Greg Zeman
The Guardsman

Texas has seceded from the United States of sanity.

I know I’m not supposed to “mess” with Texas, but enough is enough. I apologize in advance if my vitriol boils-over here, but I’m not going to tiptoe around the feelings of the cowboy dumbasses who let JFK get shot and invented Tex-Mex — a bastardization of Mexican cuisine so awful it borders on racist.

The Texas Board of Education is trying to rewrite U.S. history to read like a fascist-evangelical fairy tale. They’ve proposed removing from textbooks any mention of the Seneca Falls Convention, which kick-started the women’s equality movement in America, and the Double-V campaign, black WWII veterans’ demand for full equality. So, let’s just say, Texas isn’t big on the whole “full equality” thing.

The Double V campaign was an unprecedented, self-generated campaign created by the black press during WWII to promote the interests of the U.S. at war and the freedom and equality of returning black veterans. It should come as no surprise that Texas, a place with an abundance
of suspected “sundown towns” – towns where blacks are not allowed after sunset – would reject the campaign’s historical significance.

Also, their SeaWorld sucks —especially when compared to the one in San Diego.

When board member Mary Helen Berlanga tried repeatedly to have Latino historical figures added to the curriculum, she was obstructed by the 15-to-10 Republican majority every time.Exasperated, Berlanga finally walked out of the hearings because the board was “pretending Hispanics don’t exist.”

It is one thing to add something to a textbook; we progressives have made additions to include neglected chapters of history — those not performed by white men — and the country is better for it. It is altogether different to remove something.

The board has also proposed removing Thomas Jefferson from the list of individuals whose writings and ideas inspired the U.S. revolution. That isn’t a typo. Thomas Jefferson — the third President of the U.S., the guy on the nickel, the guy who purchased Louisiana and — oh yeah — the guy who wrote the Declaration of Independence — he’s off the list.

So who will take Jefferson’s place? A few gentleman you may have heard of, namely John Calvin and St. Thomas Aquinas, who are thinkers of the 13th and 16th century, respectively. So, why didn’t they just add these thinkers?

Because the stone-age, hocus-pocus theories of Calvin and Aquinas generally wither like so many fig leaves when exposed to the enlightened glow of Jeffersonian philosophy.

And herein lies the key to all of this — Texas, as a shining beacon of “American conservatism”
(Read: faith-based Fascism) has a case of ideological inadequacy way too massive to hide under 10 ten-gallon hats.

So Texas can shuffle the deck all it wants. They can even take out a few kings and queens and replace them with their favorite jokers. But the end result is all hat and no cattle.

And the next time a person says that Austin is the “Berkeley of Texas,” I will feel an overwhelming urge to spit in their mouth, but I won’t be able to because I’ll be too busy vomiting into my own.

By William Chamberlin
The Guardsman

The mishandled cases of Amy Bishop, who killed her brother, and Rodney Alcala, who raped a child, led twenty years later to a murderous professor and the conviction of a serial killer.

Bishop, 44, killed three of her fellow biology professors in February. In 1986, at age 21, Bishop shot and killed her brother with a shotgun, but was released without charges.

Alcala, 66, was found guilty in a series of murders that he committed in the 1970s, including
those of four women and a child. He was tried twice for the rape and murder of Robin Samsoe, but was acquitted both times based on technicalities.

I guess that’s sweet home America, where our citizens pay taxes to keep the prisons full of drug violators while murderers get the chance to roam free.

Both Bishop and Alcala were recently apprehended and will have to face up to their crimes. They probably won’t be able to go out on any more killing sprees, but we’ll see. There has been a lot of slapping on the wrists recently in our justice system.

Justice is not too much to ask.

Bishop shot her brother in the abdomen after they had an argument, the Boston Globe reported. The police chief at the time ordered that the paperwork be stopped and Bishop released to her mother; that paperwork has been missing since 1987.

Bishop killed her brother. She admitted it, and they let her go home to her mother.

A revolutionary technique the respective authorities could try to implement would be to prevent preventable tragedies! Let’s just make some basic across-the-board rules, like if you kill your brother or rape a child, you go to prison for a long time.

The current system of filling over-crowded prisons while more mass shootings and serial killers are materializing is faulty at best.

Now, to say that any law enforcement agency should be able to anticipate all serial killers and psychotic breaks of professors would be unfair. In fact it’s impossible. The only way to anticipate such a thing is if there were slight warning signs which drew attention … like fratricide or child rape.

When two stories of this nature are in the news in a month, maybe it’s time to analyze the processes by which we are pursuing and prosecuting our criminals.

Take the recent December exoneration of James Bain, a man who innocently served 35 years for the alleged kidnapping and rape of a boy, as reported by CNN.

Donald Gates was also released last December, after 28 innocent years of incarceration for the murder of a Georgetown University student, according to the Washington Post. DNA evidence proved Gates did not kill the student.

And good job on cracking down on the grandma with the ancient marijuana charge a few weeks back. Homenella Cole, 74, who caught a marijuana charge over 30 years ago, was recently jailed while committing the terrible crime of visiting the U.S. from her Canadian home. Oh, the lives that were saved in that epic apprehension!

The criminal justice system in this country is a sad joke at times and all at the expense of the citizens. Whether it’s spending an absurd amount of tax dollars to house “criminals” like Bain and Gates or the total absence of justice in the case of Seth Bishop, the system has big cracks.

Recently, the California prison system was ordered by three San Francisco federal judges to release up to 40 percent of its criminals due to overcrowding, which they ruled “violates the rights of prisoners,” according to the Examiner.

The criminal justice system in this country having its weak moments is fair. The criminal justice system in this country having its Johannes Mehserle moment: completely unacceptable.

Let’s keep it simple; put killers and rapists in prison. The concept is not that difficult.

By William Chamberlin
The Guardsman

David Margolis, associate deputy attorney general, handed down a memo Jan. 5 stating that Jay Bybee and John Yoo are not going to face criminal misconduct charges for their collaborated Bybee Memo.

The Bybee Memo was drafted and signed by Office of Legal Counsel lawyers Jay S. Bybee and John Yoo, who served in the Bush administration, to essentially authorize serious torture techniques. One infamous technique was waterboarding, consisting of someone lying on their back as water is poured over their head which simulates drowning and can cause brain damage due to a lack of oxygen.

Did the bloody gloves not fit? Well, actually, they fit surprisingly well, Margolis just decided not to act on the information.

The Office of Professional Responsibility, a watchdog over the Department of Justice, issued a report July 29, 2009 that reviewed the Bybee Memo. The OPR concluded that Bybee and Yoo were guilty of professional misconduct, that their analysis was not thorough, and that they needed to be reported to their respective state bar jurisdictions for disciplinary action.

Margolis came to a decision of his own, finding Yoo and Bybee not guilty of professional misconduct, but rather that they used poor judgment in coming to their decision. He felt since there was no direct violation of the law, the lawyers could not be charged with a crime.

This is a country that has laws prohibiting “cruel and unusual punishment,” but perhaps Yoo and Bybee meant well and they were truly expressing their patriotism. Maybe they should be hailed for their initiative in approving torture. It’s too bad the majority of this country has a conscience, otherwise we could take the old chisel back to Rushmore on behalf of these progressive thinkers.

Be careful if you shake Yoo’s or Bybee’s hands , they just got their wrists slapped pretty hard; though they should be able to find a way to get by since they have moved on to jobs that don’t require them to make important decisions or have an excellent ability of presenting information. Oh wait! John Yoo is currently a professor at the University of California at Berkeley and Jay Bybee is a federal judge.

Torture is the most sensible way to get the enemy to renounce their ties. Damage their brains and then perhaps they’ll spill the beans on where Bin Laden is hiding, what other rebel armies are training, and where the good oil is at?

There are never any easy answers when dealing with prisoners of war, especially when dealing with individuals who have killed many innocent people. Resorting to an option that puts this entire country behind a letter that not only legalized, but endorsed torture techniques seems like submitting to the old philosophy of “if you can’t beat them, join them.” The Bybee Memo nearly adopts the attitude of the enemy and applies it to the terrorists U.S. forces are now terrorizing.

The memo Bybee and Yoo drafted and signed was essentially a document that allowed the U.S. to participate in these acts of barbaric torture, to participate in the cruelty, mutilation and exploitation we’re fighting a war to stop. We did not vote that into office.