July-August 1998 Newsletter

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Thurs., July 9, 10:00 a.m.noon
SAN. SemiAnnual Bake Sale. First Unitarian Church, Franklin and Geary.
July 1623
Jewish Film Festival at the Castro Theater.
Fri., July 17Sun., July 19
Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute conference , "Building Democracy in the
Aftermath of the Cold War: Lessons from the Events and the Survivors."
Berkeley. Info 510/848-0599; <mcli@igc.org>
Sat., July 25, 7:0010:00 p.m.
Two Videos on Chiapas. St. Paulus Lutheran Church, 930 Gough St.
Info 415/626-4114
Mon., Aug. 3, 7:30 p.m.
Green Party. New College, 766 Valencia St.
Wed., Aug. 5, 1:303:00 p.m.
Board meeting at the office. All Welcome!
Thurs., Aug. 6, 5:308:30 p.m.
Third workshop for a revitalized Civic Center Plaza and Historic District.
Civic Auditorium, 99 Grove St.
Sat., Aug. 8 Regional Gray Panthers meeting in Walnut Creek. Call the office for details.
Sat., Aug. 22, 9:00 a.m.1:00 p.m.
OWL. Room 1213, 870 Market St., The Flood Bldg.

Summer Party
The summer meeting will be held August 2 in

celebration of the season and the outdoor

entertainment and activities available to us at Stern Grove. Though we were unable to
reserve a table for Mozart's The Magic
Flute on July 12, we have selected instead, the Ethnic Dance Festival.
Planet Dance will perform native dances
from Africa, Ireland, India, Mexico and Tahiti.
This program promises to be a colorful and
spirited entertainment. We will share a potluck
alfresco meal before the performance which starts at
2:00 p.m.
Join us for an afternoon of socializing,
relaxation and fun:
Sunday, August 2, 1998 at Stern Grove
18th Ave. at Sloat Blvd. 12:30 p.m.
There will be no regular meeting in
August. Our next meeting will be held September 15
at the First Unitarian Church.

Free Poetry Reading/Discussion
All at the Cafe International, 508 Haight St.
· Tues., July 7 at 8:00 p.m.: Performance by Steve
Arnston; host, Kirk Lumpkin.
· Tues., July 14 at 8:00 p.m.: Performer to be an-
nounced; host, singer/songwriter Carla Fay.
· Tues., July 21 at 8:00 p.m.: Performer to be an-
nounced; host,poet/songwriter Kimi Sugioka.

Call 415/552-7390 for more info.

Some Local E-mail Addresses
Central Contra Costa:<Dcopperman@earthlink.net>
Marin County: <AldrichL@pennsnet.com>
San Fernando Valley <shawkes@igc.apc.org>

If you did not receive your
Network from national dated AprilMay 1998, please call the office.

Stirring Memorial for the
Man and His Work
At a packed meeting in June Ed Biderman

was memorialized by a sensitive read-

ing of his heroic poem, Cry The Unborn.
In addition to long-time Gray Panthers,
Ed's family and friends and admirers from the arts and the press filled the Community room at
the Park Branch Library. A refreshment table was prepared by Franklin Devore and he joined
Deetje Boler and Caty Powell in the dramatic reading.
A. E. Biderman was born into the
literary world in 1978 at the age of sixty-three,
while convalescing from a bout with stomach
cancer. Since then he became the founder and curator
of the Koret Living Library of the Fromm Institute For Lifelong Learning, University of San
Francisco. This unique Library collects, shelves
and preserves unpublished and published works of writers over the age of fifty. He was editor
of Leaves, an anthology of poetry, co-editor of
Scenes From Our Lives, anthology of prose poetry,
and author of The Silly Grandpa and King
Canute.
Ed was a consistent peace activist, an
early member of the Gray Panthers and an earnest contributor to GPs' causes and activities.
His wife, Fannie, joined him in his activities and carries on his enthusiams in her own,
dedicated way. Fannie has donated several copies of
Cry The Unborn to the Gray Panthers for those who wish them.Call the office.

U.N. Resolution
Commemorating the passage of the U.N.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights fifty years
ago and protesting the failure of the world to
implement said declaration, on Monday, June 8, the Gray Panthers marched with representatives
of American Friends Service Committee, Abolition 2000, and Peace Action to City Hall for a
press conference at which we presented a resolution
to the Board of Supervisors specifying the need
for the federal government to reduce its spending
of our taxes for the military, particularly for
nuclear weapons, and return that funding instead
to local communities to meet human needs.
Supervisor Ammiano accepted our
petition and introduced the resolution that day to
the Board of Supervisors.
We got good coverage on KPFA, whose
intrepid reporter, Wendell Harper, gave a good summary of the sense of the resolution, played
a section of Karen Talbot's presentation and an interview of Peace Action's representative
describing how shockingly out of proportion federal military spending is.
In addition, the demonstration was filmed
by a movie team from Montreal for an upcoming documentary, "The Other Way of Aging."
The resolution points out the need for a change

in federal budget priorities, not only on
the grounds of the obvious and particular unmet needs in our communities, but also in
recognition of the unmet terms of the U.N.
Declaration of Human Rights.
We will keep you informed of the progress
of this resolution as it moves through the S.F.
Board of Supervisors.
We hope other cities also will pass
similar resolutions. We would be happy to provide
copies to other Networks for their use.

Our Co-convener, Karen Talbot,
will be the keynote speaker at the 12th Annual
August Women's Peace Event on Thursday, August 6,
in Sacramento.

Californians for Indian
Self-Reliance has sent us information about an initiative they are
circulating for the November ballot allowing
California Indian tribes to keep their gaming
casinos, and share the benefits with non-gaming tribes.
California SB 2123 calls for a study of the
single payer health care system and other options.
California SB 1098, introduced by
Senator Quentin Kopp, forbids the firing of older
persons and the hiring of younger persons to
replace them at a lower wage.

People In Plazas Music Festival
From July 1September 30 professional
musicians perform free in downtown plazas. Info 415/362-2500.

The Newsletter of the San Francisco Gray Panthers is published each month, and distributed free of charge to members and friends of this nonprofit organization.

Editorial Board: Rebecca Hirshleifer, Mitzi Raas; Publisher, Astrid M. Spector; Art Director, Fannie Biderman; Proof, Lurilla Harris; Circulation: Harold Greenblatt and Mary Francis Smith. Printed by Graffik Natwicks; Webpage design: Barry Simpkins



	CALENDAR OF EVENTS Thurs., July 9, 10:00 a.m.noon SAN. SemiAnnual Bake Sale. First Unitarian Church, Franklin and Geary. July 1623 Jewish Film Festival at the Castro Theater. Fri., July 17Sun., July 19 Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute conference , "Building Democracy in the Aftermath of the Cold War: Lessons from the Events and the Survivors." Berkeley. Info 510/848-0599; <mcli@igc.org> Sat., July 25, 7:0010:00 p.m. Two Videos on Chiapas. St. Paulus Lutheran Church, 930 Gough St. Info 415/626-4114 Mon., Aug. 3, 7:30 p.m. Green Party. New College, 766 Valencia St. Wed., Aug. 5, 1:303:00 p.m. Board meeting at the office. All Welcome! Thurs., Aug. 6, 5:308:30 p.m. Third workshop for a revitalized Civic Center Plaza and Historic District. Civic Auditorium, 99 Grove St. Sat., Aug. 8 Regional Gray Panthers meeting in Walnut Creek. Call the office for details. Sat., Aug. 22, 9:00 a.m.1:00 p.m. OWL. Room 1213, 870 Market St., The Flood Bldg.

			Summer Party The summer meeting will be held August 2 in celebration of the season and the outdoor entertainment and activities available to us at Stern Grove. Though we were unable to reserve a table for Mozart's The Magic Flute on July 12, we have selected instead, the Ethnic Dance Festival. Planet Dance will perform native dances from Africa, Ireland, India, Mexico and Tahiti. This program promises to be a colorful and spirited entertainment. We will share a potluck alfresco meal before the performance which starts at 2:00 p.m. Join us for an afternoon of socializing, relaxation and fun: Sunday, August 2, 1998 at Stern Grove 18th Ave. at Sloat Blvd. 12:30 p.m. There will be no regular meeting in August. Our next meeting will be held September 15 at the First Unitarian Church.
	Free Poetry Reading/Discussion All at the Cafe International, 508 Haight St. · Tues., July 7 at 8:00 p.m.: Performance by Steve Arnston; host, Kirk Lumpkin. · Tues., July 14 at 8:00 p.m.: Performer to be an- nounced; host, singer/songwriter Carla Fay. · Tues., July 21 at 8:00 p.m.: Performer to be an- nounced; host,poet/songwriter Kimi Sugioka.

Call 415/552-7390 for more info.

	Some Local E-mail Addresses Central Contra Costa:<Dcopperman@earthlink.net> Marin County: <AldrichL@pennsnet.com> San Fernando Valley <shawkes@igc.apc.org>

		If you did not receive your Network from national dated AprilMay 1998, please call the office.



Stirring Memorial for the Man and His Work At a packed meeting in June Ed Biderman was memorialized by a sensitive read- ing of his heroic poem, Cry The Unborn. In addition to long-time Gray Panthers, Ed's family and friends and admirers from the arts and the press filled the Community room at the Park Branch Library. A refreshment table was prepared by Franklin Devore and he joined Deetje Boler and Caty Powell in the dramatic reading. A. E. Biderman was born into the literary world in 1978 at the age of sixty-three, while convalescing from a bout with stomach cancer. Since then he became the founder and curator of the Koret Living Library of the Fromm Institute For Lifelong Learning, University of San Francisco. This unique Library collects, shelves and preserves unpublished and published works of writers over the age of fifty. He was editor of Leaves, an anthology of poetry, co-editor of Scenes From Our Lives, anthology of prose poetry, and author of The Silly Grandpa and King Canute. Ed was a consistent peace activist, an early member of the Gray Panthers and an earnest contributor to GPs' causes and activities. His wife, Fannie, joined him in his activities and carries on his enthusiams in her own, dedicated way. Fannie has donated several copies of Cry The Unborn to the Gray Panthers for those who wish them.Call the office.		U.N. Resolution Commemorating the passage of the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights fifty years ago and protesting the failure of the world to implement said declaration, on Monday, June 8, the Gray Panthers marched with representatives of American Friends Service Committee, Abolition 2000, and Peace Action to City Hall for a press conference at which we presented a resolution to the Board of Supervisors specifying the need for the federal government to reduce its spending of our taxes for the military, particularly for nuclear weapons, and return that funding instead to local communities to meet human needs. Supervisor Ammiano accepted our petition and introduced the resolution that day to the Board of Supervisors. We got good coverage on KPFA, whose intrepid reporter, Wendell Harper, gave a good summary of the sense of the resolution, played a section of Karen Talbot's presentation and an interview of Peace Action's representative describing how shockingly out of proportion federal military spending is. In addition, the demonstration was filmed by a movie team from Montreal for an upcoming documentary, "The Other Way of Aging." The resolution points out the need for a change
		in federal budget priorities, not only on the grounds of the obvious and particular unmet needs in our communities, but also in recognition of the unmet terms of the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights. We will keep you informed of the progress of this resolution as it moves through the S.F. Board of Supervisors. We hope other cities also will pass similar resolutions. We would be happy to provide copies to other Networks for their use.

Our Co-convener, Karen Talbot, will be the keynote speaker at the 12th Annual August Women's Peace Event on Thursday, August 6, in Sacramento.
Californians for Indian Self-Reliance has sent us information about an initiative they are circulating for the November ballot allowing California Indian tribes to keep their gaming casinos, and share the benefits with non-gaming tribes. California SB 2123 calls for a study of the single payer health care system and other options. California SB 1098, introduced by Senator Quentin Kopp, forbids the firing of older persons and the hiring of younger persons to replace them at a lower wage.

	People In Plazas Music Festival From July 1September 30 professional musicians perform free in downtown plazas. Info 415/362-2500.