gdp's Comments

San Francisco Bay View : Mumia’s fight for medical treatment

Mon, 11 Jan 2016 17:21:54 +0000

It's corrected, Chris. Thanks.

San Francisco Bay View : Beloved political prisoner Hugo ‘Yogi Bear’ Pinell, feared and hated by guards, assassinated in

Sat, 22 Aug 2015 00:02:48 +0000

Pelican Bay is not California's only SHU. He was in other SHUs before Pelican Bay opened, and in January 2014, he was moved to the SHU in New Folsom Prison. He'd been released from the SHU to the mainline for only a day or a few days; we don't yet know the exact date of his release.

San Francisco Bay View : Beloved political prisoner Hugo ‘Yogi Bear’ Pinell, feared and hated by guards, assassinated in

Wed, 19 Aug 2015 00:15:14 +0000

The Bay View thanks the haters, especially those employed by CDC, for proving our point.

San Francisco Bay View : Is Pacifica one foot in the grave?

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 07:56:51 +0000

From Don DeBar: I have never identified myself as a member of J&U. And I record all of my presentations on videotape. I don't believe that there is much more to say on this. I will make the video available if this becomes necessary. Now should I hang you with your statement "If you start off with this dissembling, then it's pretty hard to take anything else you say with anything other than a huge grain of salt"? Or should I continue presenting the relevant facts? The viability of a suspended corporation is not restored upon filing - it is restored upon filing, processing and acceptance. Had anyone on the board, or anyone advising the board, done due dilligence, they would have used a corporate service like XL Corporate Services (one of the firms who do this work that is known around the country to law firms specializing in corporate law) and effected the restoration of the corporation within a few days of submission, thereby protecting the name that was exposed by the negilgence of your board. After all, you have been sitting on that board for almost FOUR YEARS, as you relate above. Was the corporation susended for that entire time? Or did it happen during your tenure? I have yet to get an answer from anyone on the board. Why? The question is an essential one: either no one took notice of the suspension in the years since you took over the corporation, or the suspension took place during your tenure (and, it should be noted, corporations are only suspended upon notice) - in either case, an act of gross negligence which, until someone 'blabbed,' the board hid from the membership (and, BTW, was this effective and concealed during the election cycle?) AND also hid from donors during the intervening fund drives. I am not in the least bit culpable for your negligence, nor am I in the least bit responsible for what happened during your tenure or during the tenure of any prior board. Again, I am not a member of J&U. I have on occasion supported their candidates, primarily in opposition to your bloc and the purging of its political opponents across the network. As for the canard that, but for Hurricane Sandy, you would have raised $1+ Million instead of the $530,000, all one need do is look at the record of fund raising prior and since, which has been in decline a heluva lot longer than that. Not all of this is due to your mismanagement, although much of it is. I don't know about California, but here in New York, people are only so concerned about their colons, and prefer to support organizations that serve their community needs AS PERCEIVED, DEFINED AND ARTICULATED BY THEMSELVES. Endless fund drives - RECORD LENGTH fund drives - that push quackery and other themes not related to the needs of New York communities do not draw the support of those communities, formerly the backbone of WBAI's fundraising. The links between WBAI and local communities have been seriously damaged by your bloc in its tenure over the past four years, and, if one is to follow the rhetoric that accompanied the election of your bloc to the boards, this was a deliberate choice, done in the belief that programming to poor people was untenable and instead more emphasis had to be given to more affluent audiences, who would, in turn, support the station. Aside from its obviously racist basis (given the facts of income and wealth distribution in NY and, of course, elsewhere in the US), this 'strategy' was clearly delusional. The reprogramming of the station by a series of people with NO ties to New York's communities - amd, thus, ignorant of their wants and needs - was destined to fail. You are now reaping the results, as are we all. Posted by sfbayview for Don DeBar

San Francisco Bay View : Is Pacifica one foot in the grave?

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 04:06:56 +0000

From Don DeBar: First of all, I am not now, nor have I ever been, a member of Justice & Unity, although i have supported their effort to restore local control of WBAI to the listeners and activist community in NY. Secondly, I am not now, nor have I ever been, a devotee of anything. Ad hominem doesn't substitute for substantive argument, but when that's all you have, it's what you use. More to the point, everything attributed to me in the above article was factually correct at the time (this past Wednesday/Thursday). The only thing that has changed is that Pacifica Foundation Radio (the new name, necessitated not by "a con operation' but gross mismanagement) was finally restored as of Friday, March 22, 2013. The corporation was NOT restored in January - had this been true, Pacifica Foundation Inc. would not have been able to use the name when it was formed on February 26, 2013. Also true is the fact that, under IRS regs, the suspension or dissolution of a corporation with IRC Section 501 (c) (3) status automatically, by operation of law, results in the suspension of that status, requiring a separate filing with IRS requesting restoration of its tax exempt status. This application must include a.) evidence of the revival of the corporation and b.) a statement of the term of the suspension, both of which must come from the state authorities where the corporation is domiciled. There is a pending eviction proceeding against Pacifica for the Empire State Building transmitter - this is a matter of record. This happened entirely during the control of Pacifica of the current majority management. And the idea that someone 'blabbed' - that is, exposed the mismanagement of the Foundation by this group to the extent that Pacifica lost its charter for the first time since 1946 (!!!) and jeopardized the tax exempt status of the Foundation, risking huge liability to donors for taxes, penalties and interest - tells more about the secrecy that this group practices than anything else. Posted by sfbayview for Don DeBar, who, for some unknown technical reason, has not been able to post this comment all day.

San Francisco Bay View :

Fri, 8 Jun 2012 01:15:18 +0000

That's bothered me too. I wonder if the whole thing was a CDCR setup. Mary Ratcliff, editor SF Bay View

San Francisco Bay View : Let’s rock! The musings – or mental fog – of a hunger striker

Wed, 9 Nov 2011 18:43:24 +0000

He is a great philosopher and a brilliant writer. He has put the importance of solidarity in terms that no one who reads this will be able to forget. Mary Ratcliff SF Bay View

San Francisco Bay View : Lies, deception and betrayal sparked the war against Libya

Wed, 9 Nov 2011 17:47:25 +0000

Thanks, Dania. I'll remove it. I didn't even notice the flag. Mary Ratcliff, editor SF Bay View

San Francisco Bay View : More videos reveal illegal searches, theft, brutality by SFPD

Fri, 20 May 2011 06:27:34 +0000

Lily, the lawyers at the Pubic Defender's Office examined and exposed these videos and used them to set a lot of folks free. Is your husband incarcerated in San Francisco? Does he have a public defender? If so, or even if not, show this story to his lawyers and ask them if they can do the same thing. Good luck! Mary Ratcliff, editor SF Bay View

San Francisco Bay View : New slavery

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 04:21:12 +0000

State laws vary. This map makes the variations real clear: http://www.aclu.org/map-state-felony-disfranchise.... In California, you can't vote if you're in prison or on parole. But no one tells you when you're eligible again, so many former prisoners never vote after their release. In a number of states, once you're convicted of a felony, your voting rights are gone for life no matter what. You're absolutely right that these laws are not well known. We need to get the word out - and we need to change the laws so everyone can vote, at least after they're released. Mary Ratcliff, editor SF Bay View

San Francisco Bay View : Protesting injustice

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 05:24:36 +0000

Thanks, Sistah. I just added that info to the story, and here it is to make it extra handy: Contact Warden Michael Martel by phone at (415) 454-1460 or by writing to him at San Quentin State Prison, San Quentin, CA 94974. Mary Ratcliff, editor SF Bay View

San Francisco Bay View : The stolen life of Jimon Clark

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 18:40:49 +0000

Dear Anonymous, Mr. Debro agrees with you. Read again what he wrote: "Jimon Clark, a young bright Black male, 13 years old, was executed on the mean streets of East Oakland on Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2010. His execution was a one-day news story. His young life was so much more. There has been no recognition of the loss the Black community has suffered. "We cannot afford to continue to lose young Black men." Thank you for telling us more about this young man and how tragic his loss is to his family and the entire community. Mary Ratcliff, editor SF Bay View

San Francisco Bay View : Let the people’s will be done in Egypt and Haiti!

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 23:18:45 +0000

The correction is made. I apologize for the oversight and appreciate your catching it. Mary Ratcliff, editor SF Bay View

San Francisco Bay View : Let the people’s will be done in Egypt and Haiti!

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 18:50:14 +0000

Do you see the need for a correction? Please explain. Mary Ratcliff, editor SF Bay View

San Francisco Bay View : Black population drops to 3.9% in San Francisco

Sun, 6 Feb 2011 01:49:14 +0000

In the past, I've deleted very few comments - usually just those that contained death threats. But that may change. Your comment was the height of white supremacy - extremely disrespectful. That's not the purpose of this website or our newspaper. The comments sections here are an opportunity for frank but respectful dialog on where we go from here. Your apparent hatred for Black people does not belong on this site. It must be eating you up inside. I hope you can figure out what you're afraid of. And I hope you can find redemption ... and another website for your comments. Mary Ratcliff, editor SF Bay View

San Francisco Bay View : Dedoceo Habi explores juvenile rape

Fri, 14 Jan 2011 17:37:18 +0000

Corrections made. Thanks for your help, Naru! Mary Ratcliff, editor SF Bay View editor@sfbayview.com

San Francisco Bay View : Fifth Annual Kwanzaa Celebration 2010: Uniting to strengthen our families and communities

Thu, 23 Dec 2010 06:08:32 +0000

Thank you very much for catching that! It's fixed. Mary Ratcliff, editor SF Bay View

San Francisco Bay View : Why not celebrate Nadra Foster and the Black community on KPFA?

Sun, 19 Dec 2010 20:17:20 +0000

To "a listener": Nobody can prevent lawsuits being filed against KPFA, but what attracted so many of them over the past decade or so that I've been involved is KPFA's eagerness to pay huge settlements to get rid of them. That is no longer possible, and I doubt that the very expensive lawyers KPFA has used in the past are still in charge. The suit Brian Edwards Tiekert filed is ridiculous - he even charged KPFA with reverse discrimination against him as a white male! But Nadra Foster, who has a real, justified complaint, never even filed a suit. She can't afford a lawyer in the first place and anyway, she's an exceptionally peaceful, non-combative person. With all its faults, KPFA is well worth all the financial support we can give it - not so much because of what it's doing but because of its potential to rival the mainstream media, which brainwashes its "consumers," with a station and network that educates, agitates, organizes and mobilizes the people. The real solution to making KPFA financially sustainable - with influence as powerful as its huge 59,000-watt signal - is to vastly expand the audience, especially to younger, much more diverse listeners. Suppose youngsters in the hoods and barrios could hear news and views they can identify with often enough on KPFA to say "I am KPFA!" the way they say "I am Oscar Grant" - imagine how revolutionary that would be! Mary Ratcliff, editor SF Bay View

San Francisco Bay View : 11th Annual Community Giveback: ‘Invisible’ people give bikes to children of incarcerated parent

Sat, 11 Dec 2010 17:21:41 +0000

Your point is very well taken. Sorry I didn't think of that. The word "forgotten" has been removed. Thanks for writing. I hope you and your child and everyone who attends have a wonderful time today. Mary Ratcliff, editor SF Bay View

San Francisco Bay View : San Francisco locks Blacks out from building our own library

Thu, 9 Dec 2010 20:15:19 +0000

@Pat, I had the same experience, but I did find the license. It's under K C K Builders (spaces between the letters). What's listed by the Contractors State License Board as their office is a little room inside another contractor's office, at 1320 Egbert on the edge of Bayview Hunters Point. Mike Hannegan didn't even list a Black "front" as a joint venture partner as the other bidders did. From the looks of his "office," with a desk and a couple of chairs and devoid of people when Willie Ratcliff stopped by, Hannegan looks like a front himself. For whom, who knows? Mary Ratcliff, editor SF Bay View