A Mid-year Review
This blog has taken shape, kind reader you have been most patient.
As of today, an evolving organic structure has taking form:
A) A People Service are useful sites and other references that has help me muddle through
B) Gastronomy is the living through better eating approach of the Bay Area
C) Local Action towards deep root setting in my hometown (home grown activism)
D) Musings and Muttering or tid bits and not insights are stuff of interest to me and maybe to you--helps me from talking to myself regularly
E) Ah the all important Other section, the general and miscellaneous(presently includes rules of engagement on this site, pictures etc...)
Pledging to flag the sections as they come up, if overlooked, let me know
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
A Restatement
A summer revisit
Friends and Colleagues:
Welcome and I wish to extend an invitation to use this space. Share your thoughts, triumphs, and challenges faced as we meet the day walking towards a just society. Let us know how this community of friends could lend support, offer insight or guidance, or simply if you need a pulpit.
Basic rules for using this space.
1) Introduce yourself (example: My name is and I am from or I believe )
2) Dialogue is critical (including a critique or to suggest an amendment)
3) Diatribe/Disrespect intentional or not is not permissible (future messages will be blocked)
4) Commitment to conscientious acts (do something)
5) Fraternity is welcome (option of taking your conversation offline)
6) Ideology is your personal compass, be open to others and foster understanding
7) Self Moderate (a good skill to develop)
8) If you post material not in the public domain --give credit
9) If you have a non-commercial blog and wish to link, simply do so
10) If you refer others, inform them of the rules and the intent of the site
Thank you for taking the time to read this and looking forward to reading from you about topics of mutual interest.
Friends and Colleagues:
Welcome and I wish to extend an invitation to use this space. Share your thoughts, triumphs, and challenges faced as we meet the day walking towards a just society. Let us know how this community of friends could lend support, offer insight or guidance, or simply if you need a pulpit.
Basic rules for using this space.
1) Introduce yourself (example: My name is and I am from or I believe )
2) Dialogue is critical (including a critique or to suggest an amendment)
3) Diatribe/Disrespect intentional or not is not permissible (future messages will be blocked)
4) Commitment to conscientious acts (do something)
5) Fraternity is welcome (option of taking your conversation offline)
6) Ideology is your personal compass, be open to others and foster understanding
7) Self Moderate (a good skill to develop)
8) If you post material not in the public domain --give credit
9) If you have a non-commercial blog and wish to link, simply do so
10) If you refer others, inform them of the rules and the intent of the site
Thank you for taking the time to read this and looking forward to reading from you about topics of mutual interest.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
BAY AREA Women nominated for Nobel Peace Prize (people service no 14)
San Francisco Chronicle
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
London -- When organizers set out to find nominees for a project called "1,000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005," they hit pay dirt in the Bay Area. Fourteen of the nominees -- a third of all the American women selected for the international project -- call the Bay Area home.
The names of all 1,000 nominees for the project, which seeks to recognize the work of women as peacemakers, are to be announced this morning at press conferences in San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Hong Kong, Kabul, New Delhi, Boston and other locations across the globe. They have already been submitted to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee in Oslo, which will announce the Peace Prize winner this fall.
Though the local nominees were chosen collectively for the Peace Prize, they are a pretty diverse group, reflecting what organizers conceded was "a broad definition of peace.''
Ellen Barry, for instance, is a prison rights activist and lawyer who speaks out for women in U.S. jails and prisons. Candi Smucker co-founded fair- trade stores to help workers of the world earn a living wage. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, was the only member of either house of Congress to vote against the post-Sept. 11 resolution giving military force powers to President Bush.
"It's an honor to be included with all these women who have done so much to promote peace in our planet," said Lee, who was selected not only for that vote, but for her work on AIDS, housing and homelessness, ending genocide, education, health care and other issues.
The idea behind the project, organizers said, was to find 1,000 exemplary women to collectively receive the Nobel Peace Prize, representing the millions of nameless women all over the world who work for justice, education, political rights and security.
The project originated in Switzerland in March 2003, when Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold, a member of the Swiss Parliament and the Council of Europe, visited refugee camps in Bosnia, Chechnya and other war-torn countries.
"Everywhere I meet courageous and resolute women who perform reconstruction and peace work in extremely dangerous circumstances," she said. "Yet their work leaves scarcely any trace. I wanted to render visible the work of these women."
Since the Nobel Peace Prize was first awarded in 1901, all but 12 of the recipients have been men.
During 2004, the Swiss team and 20 international coordinators -- influential women from all continents -- searched the globe and collected thousands of candidates, from whom they selected the 1,000 nominees. They are farmers, teachers, activists, artists and politicians. They come from more than 150 countries and work at all levels of society.
"We chose women working in armed conflict zones, but also those doing work in health, family planning, sexual orientation advocacy, environmental activism and sustainable economic development,'' said international coordinator Margo Okazawa-Rey, former director of the Women's Leadership Institute at Mills College in Oakland, who was responsible for finding nominees in North America, Japan and Korea.
"It is our conviction that there is no peace without justice, so we included nominees in many aspects of the justice work," she said. "We also tended to highlight women who have been at it for a while, who have a distinguished track record, who broke new ground, who inspired others, who showed courage, vision and integrity."
The $3.8 million project is funded through foundations, institutes and individuals, mainly in Switzerland.
From across the United States, 114 candidates were proposed, and 40 women made the final cut, including 14 from the Bay Area.
"We tried very hard to get candidates from most regions of the U.S., but none were as active as in the Bay Area -- typical of activism and the kind of women living here," Okazawa-Rey said.
The Bay Area nominees are a multiracial group of philanthropists, artists, grass-roots activists, academics and political figures.
Barry has worked for 28 years with female prisoners, their children and families. "In working toward a world that does not look to imprisonment and torture as the first response to keeping the 'have nots' in their place, we are working toward peace," Barry said. "Without a system of justice that all of the population can believe in and accept as equitable and fair, the U.S. will never be able to achieve peace within its borders and will never be able to defend a position of peace around the world.''
Smucker is the co-owner of Baksheesh fair-trade stores in Sonoma and Healdsburg. "In my work growing fair-trade retailing in the U.S., I have found that the greatest change happens from the ground up," Smucker said. "When I have the opportunity to visit artisans whose goods we sell and ask them what difference our purchases make in their lives, I know that every drop of purchasing we can do contributes to an ocean of change."
The project's team is putting together a book about the lives, strategies and visions of all the nominees and a 1,000 postcards exhibition, with photos, short biographies and testimonies.
"This is one of the most inspiring projects I have been involved in," said Okazawa-Rey. "Both my students and I are often overwhelmed by the dire conditions facing the world. This project demonstrated that thousands, millions of women -- as well as men -- in the world are out there, struggling against great odds, under threat, to make it a better place for us all.''
- "It's an honor to be included with all these women who have done so much to promote peace on our planet." Barbara Lee, Member of Congress -
For more information call Chloe Drew at 510-663-1207 (Lee for Congress).
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Note: News item opposing the "if it bleeds it leads" mantra of the media. Women who contribute to world peace and are not in beauty pageants. Kudos to everyone nominated and those who do what they can to "be part of the change they envision (Gandhi)"
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
London -- When organizers set out to find nominees for a project called "1,000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005," they hit pay dirt in the Bay Area. Fourteen of the nominees -- a third of all the American women selected for the international project -- call the Bay Area home.
The names of all 1,000 nominees for the project, which seeks to recognize the work of women as peacemakers, are to be announced this morning at press conferences in San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Hong Kong, Kabul, New Delhi, Boston and other locations across the globe. They have already been submitted to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee in Oslo, which will announce the Peace Prize winner this fall.
Though the local nominees were chosen collectively for the Peace Prize, they are a pretty diverse group, reflecting what organizers conceded was "a broad definition of peace.''
Ellen Barry, for instance, is a prison rights activist and lawyer who speaks out for women in U.S. jails and prisons. Candi Smucker co-founded fair- trade stores to help workers of the world earn a living wage. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, was the only member of either house of Congress to vote against the post-Sept. 11 resolution giving military force powers to President Bush.
"It's an honor to be included with all these women who have done so much to promote peace in our planet," said Lee, who was selected not only for that vote, but for her work on AIDS, housing and homelessness, ending genocide, education, health care and other issues.
The idea behind the project, organizers said, was to find 1,000 exemplary women to collectively receive the Nobel Peace Prize, representing the millions of nameless women all over the world who work for justice, education, political rights and security.
The project originated in Switzerland in March 2003, when Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold, a member of the Swiss Parliament and the Council of Europe, visited refugee camps in Bosnia, Chechnya and other war-torn countries.
"Everywhere I meet courageous and resolute women who perform reconstruction and peace work in extremely dangerous circumstances," she said. "Yet their work leaves scarcely any trace. I wanted to render visible the work of these women."
Since the Nobel Peace Prize was first awarded in 1901, all but 12 of the recipients have been men.
During 2004, the Swiss team and 20 international coordinators -- influential women from all continents -- searched the globe and collected thousands of candidates, from whom they selected the 1,000 nominees. They are farmers, teachers, activists, artists and politicians. They come from more than 150 countries and work at all levels of society.
"We chose women working in armed conflict zones, but also those doing work in health, family planning, sexual orientation advocacy, environmental activism and sustainable economic development,'' said international coordinator Margo Okazawa-Rey, former director of the Women's Leadership Institute at Mills College in Oakland, who was responsible for finding nominees in North America, Japan and Korea.
"It is our conviction that there is no peace without justice, so we included nominees in many aspects of the justice work," she said. "We also tended to highlight women who have been at it for a while, who have a distinguished track record, who broke new ground, who inspired others, who showed courage, vision and integrity."
The $3.8 million project is funded through foundations, institutes and individuals, mainly in Switzerland.
From across the United States, 114 candidates were proposed, and 40 women made the final cut, including 14 from the Bay Area.
"We tried very hard to get candidates from most regions of the U.S., but none were as active as in the Bay Area -- typical of activism and the kind of women living here," Okazawa-Rey said.
The Bay Area nominees are a multiracial group of philanthropists, artists, grass-roots activists, academics and political figures.
Barry has worked for 28 years with female prisoners, their children and families. "In working toward a world that does not look to imprisonment and torture as the first response to keeping the 'have nots' in their place, we are working toward peace," Barry said. "Without a system of justice that all of the population can believe in and accept as equitable and fair, the U.S. will never be able to achieve peace within its borders and will never be able to defend a position of peace around the world.''
Smucker is the co-owner of Baksheesh fair-trade stores in Sonoma and Healdsburg. "In my work growing fair-trade retailing in the U.S., I have found that the greatest change happens from the ground up," Smucker said. "When I have the opportunity to visit artisans whose goods we sell and ask them what difference our purchases make in their lives, I know that every drop of purchasing we can do contributes to an ocean of change."
The project's team is putting together a book about the lives, strategies and visions of all the nominees and a 1,000 postcards exhibition, with photos, short biographies and testimonies.
"This is one of the most inspiring projects I have been involved in," said Okazawa-Rey. "Both my students and I are often overwhelmed by the dire conditions facing the world. This project demonstrated that thousands, millions of women -- as well as men -- in the world are out there, struggling against great odds, under threat, to make it a better place for us all.''
- "It's an honor to be included with all these women who have done so much to promote peace on our planet." Barbara Lee, Member of Congress -
For more information call Chloe Drew at 510-663-1207 (Lee for Congress).
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Note: News item opposing the "if it bleeds it leads" mantra of the media. Women who contribute to world peace and are not in beauty pageants. Kudos to everyone nominated and those who do what they can to "be part of the change they envision (Gandhi)"
Sunday, July 03, 2005
Summer is here (gastronomy 2005 cont)
To mark its arrival, feasted through the Month of June in San Francisco/Bay Area style.
And a banner birthday month, befitting celebrations with dear friends and family.
Birthdays included: 71st for my mother, Evelyn, Betty, Albert, nephew Justin, Marshall, and my late father.
Jeanty at Jacks in the Financial District with Betty. The quenelles and the galette de pomme are worth writing about, telling friends and returning for. Weds eves are quiet, allowing for conversation and reflection. With a range of affordable french wines available, how can you go wrong. We chose a 2001 Bordeux from Chatteau Faizeu St. Emillion, paired nicely with the roast pork and short ribs.
Limon in the Mission --Peruvian Fusion with Albert. Noteworthy: ceviche with cream sauce and the exceptional bottle of Cain blend (Bordeux style of 3 varietals, the wine had sophistication of St Emillion, Chateauneff de Pape) a Napa vineyard -- limited production. Restaurant is newly opened, the chef and crew needs settling in. Suggested to the owner partner and wait staff to suggest to the Chef "a little less in achieving complexity" with the food --the 3 other appetizers were 2 ingredients too many. Ambience reminded me of Pearl in Rockridge. Modernist chic. A highlight is running into a former schoolmate and his mom (Armando/Berkeley, Mom/Oakland), it was an unexpected delight to reconnect at a place were none of us live. I am in regular contact with Teresa, sister to Armando, a classmate from middle school. Of half Peruvian parentage, Armando's expectation and dining reality was tempered by the efforts to suit Norteno palates.
A revisit at Oola in the South Market with a regular food bud Bill. The foie gras was sumptious. The bottle of Hogue Merlot held its own while grazing (Anchovy, Asparagus, and the fois gras). Festive environment. Informed the dining room manager to not accept a reservation for 8pm if one is not seated till 8:30, simple good practice. If the food and the ambience were less, it would be easy to not return. It is a scene. An earlier note, four of us dined there in the fall shortly after it opened. Chef owner came from Chez Papa, at the time one of my favored food destinations.
A return (5th) to Dopo on Piedmont Avenue, consistently high quality (a pizza take out and a sit down with Howard in June alone). A return trip (5th) to Lucas, Howard and I ate a mediterranean repasse of antipasta, salad greens and mussels. Both venues are worth their price and frequent returns. Cote de Sud, is getting a little less rigorous. However, because of location and competetition, it will be there a while. I may go back next year.
You're correct in thinking, Daniel has been saving up his ducats for summer feasting. I'll post yet another gastronomy Bay Area missive again, perhaps at the arrival of fall.
And a banner birthday month, befitting celebrations with dear friends and family.
Birthdays included: 71st for my mother, Evelyn, Betty, Albert, nephew Justin, Marshall, and my late father.
Jeanty at Jacks in the Financial District with Betty. The quenelles and the galette de pomme are worth writing about, telling friends and returning for. Weds eves are quiet, allowing for conversation and reflection. With a range of affordable french wines available, how can you go wrong. We chose a 2001 Bordeux from Chatteau Faizeu St. Emillion, paired nicely with the roast pork and short ribs.
Limon in the Mission --Peruvian Fusion with Albert. Noteworthy: ceviche with cream sauce and the exceptional bottle of Cain blend (Bordeux style of 3 varietals, the wine had sophistication of St Emillion, Chateauneff de Pape) a Napa vineyard -- limited production. Restaurant is newly opened, the chef and crew needs settling in. Suggested to the owner partner and wait staff to suggest to the Chef "a little less in achieving complexity" with the food --the 3 other appetizers were 2 ingredients too many. Ambience reminded me of Pearl in Rockridge. Modernist chic. A highlight is running into a former schoolmate and his mom (Armando/Berkeley, Mom/Oakland), it was an unexpected delight to reconnect at a place were none of us live. I am in regular contact with Teresa, sister to Armando, a classmate from middle school. Of half Peruvian parentage, Armando's expectation and dining reality was tempered by the efforts to suit Norteno palates.
A revisit at Oola in the South Market with a regular food bud Bill. The foie gras was sumptious. The bottle of Hogue Merlot held its own while grazing (Anchovy, Asparagus, and the fois gras). Festive environment. Informed the dining room manager to not accept a reservation for 8pm if one is not seated till 8:30, simple good practice. If the food and the ambience were less, it would be easy to not return. It is a scene. An earlier note, four of us dined there in the fall shortly after it opened. Chef owner came from Chez Papa, at the time one of my favored food destinations.
A return (5th) to Dopo on Piedmont Avenue, consistently high quality (a pizza take out and a sit down with Howard in June alone). A return trip (5th) to Lucas, Howard and I ate a mediterranean repasse of antipasta, salad greens and mussels. Both venues are worth their price and frequent returns. Cote de Sud, is getting a little less rigorous. However, because of location and competetition, it will be there a while. I may go back next year.
You're correct in thinking, Daniel has been saving up his ducats for summer feasting. I'll post yet another gastronomy Bay Area missive again, perhaps at the arrival of fall.
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