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Mendocino County Today: Monday, Feb 15, 2016

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UNSETTLED TIMES, HIGH AND LOW. At the low end, the other day we fielded several breathless messages telling us a dead baby, probably murdered, had been found in Ukiah. (A breathless message, incidentally, is an excited voice on the telephone. In print, a breathless message is heavy on caps and exclamation points.)

THE UKIAH PD soon announced that they'd searched the area of Brush and Orr with a police dog and found nothing but dead trash and faint memories of the Buddy Eller Center. The whole show turned out to be based on the vaguest of vague rumors that may or may not have begun with a homeless person.

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ATTENTION TABBY AND MUFFY. Tell your owner that according to the Department of Fish and Wildlife autopsies of "107 mountain lions killed last year legally under provisions of special depredation permits," found "52% percent were found to have eaten cats, dogs or other domestic animals." Only 5% had eaten deer, which are supposed to be their favorite prey, but are harder to catch, often involving a lot of running, and mountain lions are only good for relatively short sprints. Cat-on-cat, however, Tabby is a quick and easy meal for her much bigger brothers and sisters.

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THE HUFF has teamed up with 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben and a bunch of enviros to introduce the “Keep It In the Ground Bill." Sixteen other Congresspeople have signed on, but our very own rep, Congressman Jared Huffman, wrote the thing. McKibben put it this way: "The legislation would prohibit new leases for coal, oil and gas on all federal lands and waters, halting new leases for offshore drilling in the Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico and permanently protecting the Arctic and Atlantic coasts.

"ANYONE who does the math of climate change knows we need to keep most fossil fuel underground,” said McKibben. “Public lands — as multiple presidential candidates have pointed out — are the logical place to start, and this is even more obvious in the wake of the Supreme Court stay on the president's Clean Power Plan. In a record hot world, let's hope Congress acts on this at record speed; we will do all we can to make it happen."

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WAFTING IN OUT of cyber-space this interesting question: "Does anybody know anything about this small (pygmy sized) pond, bandstand, picnic ground and island on Albion Ridge, west of “J” Road. It is artfully carved into the middle of the pygmy forest. Who owns it? What has it been used for?"

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COMMENT from the District Attorney’s facebook page regarding last week’s piece by Bruce McEwen about Mr. Watkins, who had been arrested for marijuana transportation, but who also had a serious criminal record.

(https://www.theava.com/archives/52611)

“For those who aren't Anderson Valley Advertiser subscribers, it is worth noting that Bruce McEwen, the author of this article, is not an anti-marijuana crusader; in fact, in recent years he took a sabbatical from the newspaper to work at a grow in Humboldt County. Bruce is merely someone who believes in telling the truth as he sees it.”

— Josh Rosenfeld, Mendocino County Deputy DA

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MENDOCINO’S QUACK ADDICTION

Editor,

I was alarmed at Mendocino’s quack addiction. Especially after watching a Kemper Report. Finding that over 15,000 minutes of mental health services had been reportedly provided there last year. By faith-based quacks.

So I shot ‘em an email the other day. According to their agreement with Ortner Management Group, they promised to get a license. But never did. My email was brief: ‘Are you in compliance?’ Their response was even briefer: ‘Yes we are.’ Then they directed me to Ortner Management Group’s chief compliance officer. A lady named Connie Drago. Which is funny. Because Ms. Drago isn’t an attorney. Nobody at Ortner is. Ms. Drago’s a lowly nurse. Which is fine if you’re running a temperature. Otherwise, she’s a quack too.

The street folk who got all that quack therapy might not be too happy about that right about now. Especially the dangerous ones. Like that old Apple Computer ad said. Imagine the possibilities! Which takes us back to the Hospitality House. And their attorney. It’s easy to see how much they spend on legal advice. By looking at their tax returns. Over the past five years, what did they pay for that? A whopping $73. Yeah. But it’s better than Ortner. They spent nothing. Then I realized something. This is a problem that’ll solve itself.

Hospitality House got themselves into this. Along with all their church-going, property-owning board members. A class action lawsuit is the least of their worries. Board meetings are now public. Held at 9:00am on the third Thursday of every month at the Old Coast Hotel. Which isn’t convenient for working people. But ideal for unhappy clients. Especially when all those meds wear off.

Scott M. Peterson
Mendocino

PS: You can see more nonprofit nonsense at my weekly video comic strip, Mendopia.

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EUREKA? A DANGEROUS CITY?

by Oliver Cory

What’s this? A list of the “20 MOST DANGEROUS CITIES IN CALIFORNIA” from some website called Home Security Shield. Yikes! And Eureka is number two. Uh-oh, we better let people know. Let’s just check the date on this. September. Ok, it’s a little old. 2014. Wait, what!?! It’s almost a year and a half old. Why is this on our Facebook feed now?

That’s what went through our heads earlier. This “listicle” has been making it’s way around Facebook locally.

Well, we did a little digging, and this story was dealt with a long time ago. LoCO’s Ryan Burns pointed out when the list came out that the stats used are misleading. For one, the stats are from 2012, and the system treats everything from petty theft to first degree murder exactly the same.

The truth of the matter is that back in 2012 Eureka had a high property crime rate, while several other cities ranked above Eureka in violent crime.

We did a quick Google search for the “most dangerous cities in California.” The first thing that popped up is called “These Are The Ten Most Dangerous Cities in California.” It’s from October of 2015, and Eureka isn’t even on that list.

Now, we aren’t going to claim that Eureka isn’t dangerous. We’re just going to point out that the FBI says these ranked lists made from their data are misleading.

Why do stories resurface on the internet months or years after they’ve lost their relevance? We may never know. But remember, don’t trust everything you read on the internet and check your freakin’ dates.

(Courtesy, KymKemp.com)

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Eureka (Misleadingly) Named Second Most Dangerous City in California

by Ryan Burns (September 11, 2014)

So the website for Home Security Shield, a company that sells security systems, alarms and cameras, today published a list called “20 MOST DANGEROUS CITIES IN CALIFORNIA.” Oakland tops the list, surprising no one. But take a look at second. It’s our very own county seat, Eureka

“Your chance of becoming a victim of a crime in Eureka?” the site rhetorically asks. “One in 13.”

To quote our good pal Shaggy:

Maybe we should all invest in the Premium Protection Plus plan, a steal at just $53.99 per month.

But hold on a second, Scoob. Let’s look a bit closer. The stats used to compile this list come from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s most recent “Uniform Crime Reports,” which show the most recent available data (from 2012). Fine. But Home Security Shield’s list is still extremely misleading.

Here’s why: The ranking system treats all crimes as equal: First-degree murder is the same as petty theft, danger-wise. Forcible rape is equivalent to getting graffiti on your fence. Nonsense, right?

That said, there is a reason why Eureka wound up No. 2. Namely, among cities with a population of at least 20,000, Eureka has the highest property crime rate in the state. We’re No. 1. (Sad face.)

Eureka’s total crime rate for 2012 came in at 77 per 1,000 residents. Of those 77 crimes, 71.2 were nonviolent property crimes. Only 5.8 were violent crimes. Oakland, by contrast, had nearly 20 violent crimes per 1,000 residents, fully earning its “Most Dangerous” title.

Stockton had nearly triple Eureka’s violent crime rate and yet it ranks below Eureka on the dubious danger list. In fact, literally dozens of cities have higher violent crime rates than Eureka’s — Alturas, Clearlake, Compton, Merced, Richmond, San Bernardino and San Pablo are a few of the highest ranked.

But Eureka zoomed up the security system company’s rankings on the strength of its property crime rate. So you could maybe say that Eureka is THE MOST DANGEROUS CITY IN CALIFORNIA — for your stuff. You personally, on the other hand, are relatively safe.

The FBI itself warns against such ranked lists, noting that “they provide no insight into the many variables that mold the crime in a particular town” and “lead to simplistic and/or incomplete analyses that often create misleading perceptions … .”

But I bet they sell plenty of security systems.

(Courtesy, LostCoastOutpost.com)

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ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

In the mounting, panicky attempts of elites to derail the Sanders candidacy, one strand dominates.

You find it woven through every sage piece from the old-school pundits of the Times and the hip insider websites like Vox. Yes, they say, he’s saying some useful things. But he can’t really make them happen. He’s talking “puppies and rainbows.” Real “reform is hard.” The Times editors, in their endorsement of Hillary Clinton, managed a matchless condescension: His ideas about breaking up the banks or guaranteeing health care for everyone, they intoned, “have earned him support among alienated middle-class voters and young people. But his plans for achieving them aren’t realistic.” Wait ’til you’re older and richer like us, and then you’ll understand how change happens.

In fact, these pundits couldn’t be more wrong about where change comes from. And neither could Hillary Clinton. Here’s how she put it a few months ago, backstage at a tense and fascinating little confrontation with Black Lives Matter activists:

“I don’t believe you change hearts. I believe you change laws, you change allocation of resources, you change the way systems operate.”

That sounds sensible, grown-up, wise. It’s what Washington pundits always say — they said it over and over again when we launched, say, the fight to stop the Keystone pipeline. But in fact it’s completely backwards.

Change comes precisely when you do change hearts — and once that change has come, then the laws and the “allocation of resources,” and the “way systems operate” follow pretty easily.

Look, for instance, at gay marriage, which I’m pretty sure that President Obama will be holding up as one of the accomplishments that happened on his watch. And it did, but not much thanks to him. It came from a big, impassioned movement that cleverly changed the zeitgeist: that introduced Americans to their gay neighbors, that won a few court cases and then used that progress to show that the world wouldn’t fall apart with gay marriage, that argued in a series of referendum votes for the new right. By the time that Obama (and Clinton) came on board (a decade or two after Sanders), the battle was mostly won. There was mopping up to do, but the change had come, and it had come from changing hearts.

Or look further back in American history. LBJ’s the favorite example for this “effectiveness” argument, and indeed he was the legislator that twisted the final arms to get landmark civil rights legislation in place. But it was only because people had spent a generation building a movement that he had an opening. The hard, desperate part was changing the zeitgeist, which involved changing enough hearts. The Voting Rights Act didn’t propel the civil rights movement; it was the other way round.

By this token, Bernie Sanders has already changed the world more than Hillary Clinton, despite all her vaunted years of experience. She manages process, but he moves the argument. Because of him there’s a reasonable chance now that the TPP trade agreement will fail (he’s already moved one of its authors, Hillary, into opposition). He’s made it necessary to take inequality seriously — he’s the next stage, after Occupy, in moving the issue to the center of the stage, and the longer he lasts and the better he does the more attention it will get.

No, none of his plans will pass Congress intact. (Nor hers — see, for instance, her badly mismanaged effort at health care reform in the first Clinton administration). As the Prussian chief of staff once remarked, “no plan survives contact with the enemy.” Instead, what survives is momentum, trajectory. Movement. If Sanders can keep building a movement, then he has a far better chance of changing history than she does. Hillary promises constantly that “I’ll be there every day, fighting for you.” Bernie’s slogan is #NotMeUs. There’s all the difference in the world.

Now, you could argue that a manager is better suited to the presidency. We’ve had one the last eight years, and he’s done a good job of cleaning up after the mess he inherited; the country, by and large, has been well run. So if you think that there’s already enough momentum around issues like inequality and climate change, then it makes sense to elect another manager president. Washington pundits like the world pretty much as it is; it’s working pretty well for them.

But younger people and poorer people may not see the world the same way. They may sense an urgent need for change. I mean, we’ve just broken the planet’s temperature record two years in a row. If you think that we need a leader who will push to change the way we see the world then it makes perfect sense to imagine Bernie as the realistic candidate, the one who will get things done.

My guess is that the establishment pundits actually understand that, and I think they fear it a little. The polls in Iowa showed that rich people were backing Hillary while poorer people — who can’t endure much more of the status quo — came out for Bernie. That should make you think.

— Bill McKibben

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SO LONG, MANNERS

Editor:

I have no problem with people saying "no problem" instead of "thank you." The culture we live in is constantly changing. Language and manners are no exception. Not that long ago, girls were expected to curtsey and men remove their hats, and of course they were wearing one, everyone did. Women were never referred to as "Ms." Smoking at the dinner table, in a car with the windows rolled up, on an airplane or in the waiting room at the doctor's office was considered normal. One day not too long from now, someone will be wondering, as Socrates did 2,000 years ago, why the upcoming generation is so ill-mannered and why in the world doesn't anyone say "no problem" anymore.

Bill Hildebrand, Sunnyvale

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MACK NABBED

Mack
Mack

On February 8, 2016, at approximately 9:47 p.m., Officers of the Fort Bragg Police Department were dispatched to 717 Cedar Street for the report of a residential burglary. Upon arrival Officers discovered that a young white male suspect had kicked in a window of a vacant residence on the property, and then entered the structure. The suspect then continued through the residence and out the back door. The suspect began to collect items from the property before being confronted by the tenant at 717 Cedar Street. After being confronted, the suspect dropped the items, and fled eastbound from the location. During a search of the area, Officers located a male subject fleeing from a vehicle that he had just entered and taken property from. After a brief foot pursuit, Officers detained Donald Mack in the area of Florence Street. In addition to the burglary at 717 Cedar Street, the investigation that followed revealed Mack had also committed a burglary at 228 North Harold Street. After leaving that location, Mack continued with entering unlocked vehicles, and removing property from them. Mack was arrested on several charges, and later transported to the Mendocino County Adult Detention Facility in Ukiah, where he is awaiting arraignment.

(Fort Bragg Police Department)

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NO BAIL FOR WILLITS RAPIST

Jones
Jones

On 2/13/2016 around 08:45 AM Deputies responded to the 24000 Block of Birch Circle in Willits in regards to a sexual assault call. Upon their arrival they contacted the 21 year old victim who reported the suspect assaulted her, against her will, over an approximate 5 hour time frame the previous evening, in her home. The victim indicated the suspect was an acquaintance who was visiting her residence. The victim stated the suspect made threats towards her and her family while committing numerous sexual assaults against her. The suspect left the location upon the arrival of another member of the victim's family. The Mendocino County Sheriff's Detective Unit conducted the investigation and interviewed the victim and witnesses. They ultimately identified and located the suspect, Jedidiah Jones, a 36 year old male also from the Willits area. At the time of the assault the suspect was on felony probation for cultivation of marijuana with the Mendocino County Probation Department. He was subsequently arrested and charged with the above listed violations. Jones was booked into the Mendocino County Jail and held on a "No Bail" status. Anyone with information related to this case is encouraged to contact the Mendocino County Detectives Division via the Mendocino County Tip Line at 707-234-2100. Charges: Rape by Force, forced Oral Copulation, False Imprisionment, Violation of Probation, Crimanal Threats, Penetration with a Foreign Object.

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V.I. LENIN, JACK LONDON & ME

by Jonah Raskin

When I was in college, I learned about ambiguity by reading the novels and the essays of Henry James, the Anglo-American author who was born in New York and who died in London, England in 1916, the same year that Jack London died in Californa. Almost all of my professors — Thirties lefties who become Fifties conservatives — adored James and expected that their students would adore him, too. I did that for a time — I also became an anglophile — and learned to love ambiguity. A crucial essay in my own education was Edmund Wilson’s “The Ambiguity of Henry James.” After I immersed myself in Wilson, I saw ambiguity everywhere I turned in fiction and poetry. I even wrote a thesis about Henry James’ ambiguity.

Then the Sixties of sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll and radical protest came along and my sensibilities (to borrow a Jamesian term) shifted. From V. I. Lenin and from Mao, I learned to appreciate “contradictions,” which was once a word and concept used almost exclusively by and on the left, but that has now been taken over by authors and thinkers on the right and in the so-called center. That’s a story in and of itself.

Lenin’s surprisingly insightful essay, “Tolstoy as the Mirror of the Russian Revolution” opened my eyes not only to Tolstoy and his work, but also to Lenin and Leninist literary criticism. “The contradictions in Tolstoy’s views and doctrines are not accidental; they express the contradictory conditions of Russian life in the last third of the nineteenth century,” Lenin wrote. That was a valuable lesson: to see that the contradictions contained in the work of an individual writer might reflect the larger contradictions of the era in which he or she lived.

Lenin read London, especially his collection of essays, War of the Classes. Moreover Lenin’s wife, Krupskaya, read to him from a collection of London’s short stories, at least one of which he enjoyed, while another, “The Seed of McCoy,” he dismissed because it expressed “bourgeois morals.” Lenin died two days later. Literary Russians are familiar with the connections between Lenin and London; few American scholars are. That’s our loss; we tend to be focused on our own little world and exclude the rest of the world.

Over the years, ambiguity and contradiction have served as tools for my own critical thinking and literary analysis. I would not and probably could not do without them. They are so ingrained in my habits of mind that to give them up would require brain surgery or at least a fundamental restructuring of my brain waves.

But recently I’ve heard readers, teachers and critics use the terms to avoid coming down on one side or another of an argument or divide. Or so it seems to me. I can understand the reluctance to chose sides, condemn a writer or critic and take an unambiguous stand.

I have often hailed Keats’s notion of “negative capability” a term that he defined as a state of being and thinking “when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason.” Then, too, I have borrowed from F. Scott Fitzgerald who noted that, “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” Then, too, there’s George Orwell’s notion of “doublethink” when someone is unaware of any contradiction, as for example in the slogans from the novel 1984, including, “Love is Hate” and “War is Peace.”

In the last year or so, I’ve thought deeply about biographers and literary critics — Jay Williams and Cecilia Tichi come to mind — who habitually refuse to acknowledge what might be called Jack London’s belief in white supremacy and his almost instinctive anti-Semitism, or to see that he was a profoundly divided writer who scorned the working class as much as he identified with it. Read The Sea-Wolf carefully. London describes the sailors abroad the Ghost as exploited workers who are easily besotted with alcohol and diverted from any desire to protest or mutiny against their boss and captain, Wolf Larsen.

For the most part, the clubby London critics who praise one another’s work don’t begin to appreciate Lenin’s approach to Tolstoy or apply it to London. They seem unwilling and or unable to recognize that London’s contradictions express the contradictions in American society from about 1900, when he broke into print, until he died in 1916 at the age of 40. Indeed, they’re too eager to turn London into a heroic figure who had no contradictions at all and who stood firmly on the side of truth, justice and the American way. What they write might be called hagiography. Since 2016 is the one-hundredth anniversary of London’s death there has been an outpouring of work about him.

In Author Under Sail: The Imagination of Jack London, 1893-1902, Jay Williams describes his hero as an academic writer, a Christian socialist, a bohemian, and more but says nothing about his allegiance to white supremacy, his muddle headed thinking about class, race and sex. Williams takes a Freudian approach and concludes his book with a discussion of London’s contract with the Macmillan publishing company and the start of a relationship with his long time editor George Brett. “He had finally found a father and a home,” Williams writes. Not really. He soon abandoned Macmillan and found another house to publish his work.

In Jack London: A Writer’s Fight for a Better America, Professor Tichi portrays the author as a “progressive” who “set the stage” for the New Deal and specifically for the Social Security Act of 1935 and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. She begins her book by describing London as “the great American public intellectual” and does not see fit to explore the work of other America intellectuals active in the same period, including W.E.B. Du Bois, the author of the pioneering The Souls of Black Folk. Henry George and Thorstein Veblen, two significant thinkers from the same era who might be considered “great American public intellectuals,” are mentioned only in passing in Tichi’s work.

Reaching conclusions about London can be challenging. After all, he wrote 50 books. He changed his mind over the course of his life; one can comb through his work and find expressions of contradictory statements about all kinds of subjects and issues. Still, if one examines, weighs and judges all his work, unambiguous conclusions seem unavoidable. Namely, that he believed that there were inferior and superior races and classes. London insisted that Anglo Saxons were superior to Africans, Asians and Latin Americans. He thought that the American worker was superior to all other workers.

Yes, he was of his time. Social Darwinians expressed many of the same ideas that he expressed. However, other notable thinkers and writers — including Mark Twain and William Dean Howells — held more enlightened views than London did. They transcended the jingoism and the chauvinism of their own era and condemned American empire building and imperialism. The London faithful might include critical thinking in their scholarship.

They might not circle their own literary wagons and defend their favorite writer against anyone to challenges conventional thinking. They might read Lenin on Tolstoy and see that Lenin’s ideas about contradictions can help to understand London life, work and times. Indeed, you don’t have to be a Leninist to appreciate Lenin’s literary criticism. And please no hero worship or demonization, either, of the father of the Bolshevik Revolution. Contradictions infuse the life and the work of Lenin himself.

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Larson13

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LIBRARY EVENTS

Teen Tech Week 2016

(March 8th - March 12th)

  • Zine-Making Workshop, Tuesday, March 8th 3-6 pm
  • Minecraft Build-Off, Wed. March 9th 2-6 pm
  • Wii-U Gaming, Thursday, March 10th 3:30-5 pm
  • Texting Challenges, Friday March 11th 3-5 pm
  • Teen Lock-In, Saturday March 12th 6 pm -12 am

Local teens will be tuning in at the library as Mendocino County Library celebrates Teen Tech Week™ [March 8th - March 12th]. They join thousands of other libraries and schools across the country who are celebrating this year’s theme, Create It at Your Library, to raise awareness about how Mendocino County Library creates a space to extend teens’ learning beyond the classroom where they can explore, create and share content.

Zine-Making Workshop - On Tuesday, March 8th from 3-6pm, we’ll be learning how to make our own zines (pronounced “zeens”). Zines are cut-and-paste, self-published magazines that are reproduced on copiers and can be distributed to friends and others in your community.

We’ll present a Minecraft Build-Off for Young Adults (aged 11-18) on Wednesday, March 9th from 2-6pm. The build-off will incorporate STEAM learning methods through playing and building in Minecraft. Registration is required: 467-6434 or carrm@co.mendocino.ca.us

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First Friday Art Walk Featuring Artist Volkhard Sturzbecher

Friday, March 4th – 5:00 p.m. through 7:30 p.m.

Come and enjoy visions of the starry sky from around the world at the Ukiah Library. There will be a hands-on surface-tension experiment throughout the evening and an artist presentation at 6 p.m. showing the Vitamin C molecular structure as it grows and compacts. There will also be a Friends of the Library book sale. This event is for all ages and free of charge.

For questions, please contact Roseanne at (707) 463-4490 or wetzelr@co.mendocino.ca.us. Sponsored by the Ukiah Valley Friends of the Library.

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A Wacky Cat People Party!

Caturday, February 27th – 3-5 pm

Adults are invited to don their ugliest cat sweaters & join us at the Ukiah Library for a Wacky Cat People Party. Cat lovers of all stripes can share cat stories, watch cat videos, challenge their friends to cat trivia, meet adoptable shelter cats & kittens c/o Sage Mountainfire & Ukiah’s local shelter, and make cat-butt coasters. We look forward to seeing you there.

For more information, please contact Melissa at the Ukiah Library: 467-6434 or carrm@co.mendocino.ca.us Sponsored by the Ukiah Valley Friends of the Library.

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Catapults & Trebuchets

On Friday, February 26th from 3:30-4:30, Ukiah Library is offering kids from 7-11 a chance to build catapults and trebuchets. Once we have completed our models, we’ll test our machines and fine tune our designs.

Children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult and adult participation and assistance is encouraged.

This event is supported by the Ukiah Valley Friends of the Library.

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Ongoing Chess Night on Thursdays from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. This event is open to children and teens.

Want to learn how to play chess? Then this is the club for you. We are looking for hands-on participants who want to learn the ancient game of chess. And for those who would like to learn other games, Chess Night coincides with our Game Night, so there are lots of other games to play, and checkout with the family.

For questions, please contact Richard Fourzon at 707.328.2827 or email him at docrf@sonic.net or ukiahchess.com.

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Seed School in a Day

A Seed Saving Workshop

At the Ukiah Library

Saturday February 20th, 10:00-4:00pm

Seed School in a Day will offer a comprehensive yet accessible overview of the science, business, and craft of seeds. This course is for gardeners, farmers, and anyone interested in rebuilding a vibrant regional seed system for our community. This event is appropriate for teens and adults.

Space is limited and pre-registration is required by February 17th

Call 707-463-4490

This free event is sponsored by the Ukiah Valley Friends of the Library.

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The second meeting of “The Lunch Bunch,” Ukiah Library’s new Cook Book Club on Friday, February 19th at noon.

On Friday, February 19th, at noon, the Mendocino County Library, Ukiah Branch is hosting the second meeting of The Lunch Bunch, a new cook book club.

During this meeting, we’ll be sampling and critiquing g the recipes we chose at the January meeting, and discussing and choosing new recipes from popular cookbooks for our next meeting in March. Join us in the Meeting Space in the Northeast corner of the library at noon. If this is your first meeting, prepare something from a new recipe to share with the group.

The Lunch Bunch is supported by the Ukiah Valley Friends of the Library.

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AND WHAT'S VISHNU WITH YOU?

How to Succeed in Environmental Direct Action without Really Trying

On Sunday February 14th, Swami Tattwamayananda lectured on the Mahavakyas, at the Northern California Vedanta Society new temple in San Francisco. He focused on the Mandukya Upanishad, and precisely the fundamental Vedic teaching: "I am the Atman". In great detail, he explained that the meaning of this is that the Atman, or divine spark within everybody, is essentially identical to the spiritual Absolute. Further, the yogic practice recommended by the ancient Rishis, is to concentrate the mind within at its Source, or Atman; and then, one will realize one's true nature, afterwards going where one needs to go, and doing what one needs to do, in a continuous effortless flowing movement. This is the key to success, insofar as anything environmentally activist related is concerned. In sum, the Vedantic approach is to center the mind within at its Source, and when it is anchored, live from there! All of one's thoughts and actions will flow properly, and effectiveness in the defense of Mother Earth will happen automatically, by following the authentic way of the ancient Vedic Rishis. NO COMPROMISE IN THE DEFENSE OF MOTHER EARTH!

Craig Louis Stehr

EMAIL: CraigStehr@inbox.com

 

50 Comments

  1. Jim Updegraff February 15, 2016

    Bill McKibben’s bill on fossil fuel is going no where. The GOP is a party of climate change deniers and will block it. And of course many of the GOP Bible thumpers believe Rapture is near and will use that as an excuse for blocking any bills doing with climate change.

  2. Rick Weddle February 15, 2016

    re: Lenin, London, me and contradiction…

    Recently got a whiff of London’s being a loudly confirmed racist. ?! Had no idea Lenin was a London fan. Figures, doesn’t it?

    I did see recently that a little-known-here London title, “The Iron Heel,” while almost unheard-of anywhere near a school in the U.S., has been read by every one of the folks in Palestine, for instance. There’s another little dollop of synchronicity, with contradiction sprinkles.

  3. BB Grace February 15, 2016

    RE: MENDOCINO’S QUACK ADDICTION

    Social services are the bread and cash flow for religious organizations, so the fact that secular government is now involved, I guess I would have said, Mendocino’s Guv’nmint Addiction, because the great thing about the Quacks running social services is the Quacks pay for the social services. In this case, we’re all forced to pay for quackery in the name of social services, which I enjoy Peterson’s mastery of comic box thinking and communicating.

    Social services needs to have compassion for the human being, and that’s not government’s job, no matter what George Bush said.

  4. Rick Weddle February 15, 2016

    London’s work goes on with a heave and pull he’d have been amazed at, and not a little proud of, I betcha. Intercontinental, transgenerational, multi-lingual, indifferent to borders of geography or culture, exercising a reach and grasp and expression of Human sensibility that’s still moving like a debris-flow through and around our world. Pretty good work, for a longshoreman.

    • BB Grace February 15, 2016

      David Duke is a HUGE fan of Jack London. See David Dukes website for Jack London book releases, reviews, and much much more (All you want to know about Jack’s influence in Palestine.. ’cause David Duke helped! LOL). David Duke may put “I love Jack London more than anything I’ve ever known”, on his tombstone, unless he can manage to be buried next to Jack London in some way.

      “Since 2005, Duke has appeared three times on Current Issues, a Lafayette, Louisiana–based television show hosted and produced by Palestinian-American Hesham Tillawi, which has recently been picked up by Bridges TV. Tillawi gave Duke the opportunity to discourse at length about his beliefs on Jewish supremacism. On a show in October 2005, Duke claimed that Jewish extremists are responsible for undermining the morality of America and are attempting to “wash the world in blood.”[152] wiki david duke

      • LouisBedrock February 15, 2016

        Zionist Chaim Weismann was a close friend of South African Prime Minister (General) Jan Smuts who was a long-time supporter of Zionism and who granted de facto recognition to the State of Israel, just two days before his United Party was voted out of office.

        Zionist Theodor Herzl was an admirer of South African colonial ideologue, Cecil Rhodes, and sought to employ Rhodes methods to rid Israel of Palestinians.

        South African investors and venture capitalists established Africa-Israel Investments to purchase land in Palestine starting in 1934.

        Jack London was a great writer and a great advocate of socialism. He is not around to protest Duke’s embrace of him.

  5. Lazarus February 15, 2016

    No Booking Logs continues…thanks for the cream though, AVA style.
    As always,
    Laz

    • Bruce Anderson February 15, 2016

      The Sheriff assures us the book logs will be back up soon.

      • Stephen Rosenthal February 15, 2016

        Comments the poster of multiple daily moronic videos in this section of the AVA. Well Ms. de Castro, you, for one, are not the publisher of this newspaper.

        • Stephen Rosenthal February 15, 2016

          In that case I’ll have to post more often.

        • Lazarus February 15, 2016

          Seems you got a problem…? but last I looked you ain’t the Pub neither.
          As always,
          Laz

          • LouisBedrock February 15, 2016

            I have the same problem with assholes filling the comments column with videos.
            I’m not the editor or publisher either, but I subscribe to the paper and like it a lot.
            It’s a shame a few jerks like Marmon and de Castro fill the paper with drivel day after day.

            • Lazarus February 15, 2016

              I have a problem with name callers…last I looked this is an equal opportunity comment room.
              Maybe Mr. AVA should address the issue, since none of us have anything to do with anything except paying the 25 bucks a year. Laz thinks you be take’n yourself a little to serious Louie…
              As always,
              Laz

              • Bruce Anderson February 15, 2016

                I think we’re going to ban videos and limit the frequent fliers to two comments a day. I go whole years at a time without it occurring to me that I have a thought worth sharing. But that’s just me. The Ukiah Daily Journal, by the way, had to do away with their comment line altogether because of the insults, profanity, and general low expression.

              • james marmon February 15, 2016

                Mr. Anderson

                I will stop all videos and limit my comments to a minimum, please don’t implement rules on others.

  6. Alice Chouteau February 15, 2016

    Thanks Scott, for shedding some light on this problem. And BB, though I usuually agree with you, we differ on this if I understand your comment. If I were in need of social services, I would rather see a licensed, well trained social worker, than someone with a faith-driven intention to do good.
    I brlieve the separation of church and government is important.
    Alice

    • james marmon February 15, 2016

      Amen!!!!! on separation of church and state.

      James Marmon MSW

      • BB Grace February 15, 2016

        I’m for seperation of Church and State too, but…

        Chaplins, Spiritual leaders play a big role helping the public at their own expense. Chaplins and Spiritaul leaders are far more informed today about mental health and suggest medical/ licensed professional help. Many people still believe mental health is “spiritual” and not medical, so informed spiritual leaders make good networking connections. People still inform spiritual leaders with their confessions.

        Many of the religious organizations on the HC board are because they provide facilites and services. When I volunteered at Our lady of Good Counsel Gleaners, the Church did not charge for the use of the Hall, and many times, people who needed help that came for lunch went to see the Priest and got help. So I’m not going to disconnect the valuable and important role religious organizations and their members, who are all volunteers, do. They do a lot.

        Social services on the other hand, we’re talking about processing people among many departments and it’s such a mess, while many are not processed because the government has the right to discriminate against, for example here in Mendocino County, medical marijuana patients, who wind up at the Church.. homeless have dependend on spiritual organizations for thousands of years, so we can’t just change that, especially with poor to no social programs that actually work.

        The way I see it, spiritual leaders are a resource the public should employ for the lack of taxes they pay. It’s a shame the County isn’t providing the Spiritual leaders with more licensed therepists to suggest to those who come to them for help they know they can’t provide.

        Not only do I usually agree with you Alice Chouteau, but I am proud of you and your husband, I admire your beautiful marriage, and grateful for the good difference you both make to Mendocino County. THANK YOU!

        • LouisBedrock February 15, 2016

          Religious organizations do not pay property taxes.
          If they did, municipalities wouldn’t need their paltry handouts: they would be able to better finance schools, shelters, and soup kitchens.

          In my small community there are about 20 storefront churches. I’d prefer to have heroin dealer snd whores instead of these charlatan parasites.

          • BB Grace February 15, 2016

            Mr. Bedrock, My favorite atheist is Pat Condell. I’ll spare you a video, but I promise you, you don’t hold a candle by comparison when putting religion in a secular place.

            If you would sincerely like to improve your insults aimed at religious people, take a few classes from Pat Condell (I promise you will love him and get a good laugh!).

            That said; If the County was to replace the Churches and give them to Hospitality House, do you think the homeless would be off the street?

            If the Hospitality Center closed, and the property reverted back to a property tax paying restaurant and hotel, do you think there would be the same amount of homeless on the streets?

            Which cost tax payers more? Churches or Hospitality Center?

            • LouisBedrock February 15, 2016

              BB, please don’t equate me with that Muslim hating bigot.

              • BB Grace February 15, 2016

                Mr. Bedrock, Please be assured that I do not equate you with Pat Condell, who does not neglect Islam in his comments against ALL religions.

                Why do you spare Islam your wrath?

                • BB Grace February 15, 2016

                  Can you imagine Palestine without Jews?

                  I can’t.

          • Harvey Reading February 15, 2016

            Religious charities also qualify for public funds these days, though they are exempt from paying taxes, including property taxes on the eyesores they call churches. Georgie, the little boy who now plays with his paint set down in Texas, saw nothing wrong with handing over tax money to them for “charitable” work — that always comes with a side dish of proselytizing. Obama continued the practice. Just another sign of a country whose time has come and gone.

  7. Bill Pilgrim February 15, 2016

    re: Eureka. I know two valley residents who had a fairly successful retail business in Eureka. They just sold the business after getting fed-up with the frequency of robberies and burglaries: four a month, on average.
    Eureka is now a Tweaka’ Town.

    • Harvey Reading February 15, 2016

      I call ’em speed freaks. The term more correctly describes what speed makes of them. “Tweaker” evokes a harmless being, who likes to play with stuff, maybe take it apart, just another cute little kid.

  8. Jim Updegraff February 15, 2016

    Suzie there are 20 comments if which 8 are yours. Keep going and 50% of the comments will be yours.

    • LouisBedrock February 15, 2016

      You are such an asshole.

      • james marmon February 15, 2016

        Because Cocaine is illegal.

        • LouisBedrock February 15, 2016

          Too bad.
          That diminishes the possibility of you dying from an overdose.

          • LouisBedrock February 15, 2016

            I withdraw and apologize for this idiotic comment. It was made in the heat of the moment.

            • Harvey Reading February 15, 2016

              I understand the apology, for what that’s worth, but the comment itself gave me a good belly laugh.

            • james marmon February 15, 2016

              Mr. Bedrock, you never need to apologize for speaking your mind to me. I also got a belly laugh from your comment.

    • james marmon February 15, 2016

  9. LouisBedrock February 15, 2016

    You have the awareness of a vegetable.

  10. Jim Updegraff February 15, 2016

    Louis: FYI our Quaker Meeting does pay property taxes. We made the decision for several reasons but primarily because we felt we should pay for the fire and police protection we get. Personally I think every church with property should pay for their fired and police protection as well as other city services.

  11. LouisBedrock February 15, 2016

    I’m not surprised.

    I worked with the American Friends Service Committee (opposing the imperial war in Vietnam) and met some of the most compassionate, committed, humane, and intelligent people I’ve ever known. And they never lost their sense of humor, despite the horrors against which we were fighting

    • james marmon February 15, 2016

      Bedrock, why don’t you and Updegraff take that shit to the bedroom?

      • LouisBedrock February 15, 2016

        I thought it was occupied by you and de Castro.

  12. Jim Updegraff February 15, 2016

    Mr Bedrock did you know the name of a good psychiatrist that we could refer Mr Marcom to since the poor chap appears to be deranged.

    Mr. Updegraff

    • james marmon February 15, 2016

      Don’t send me to Ortner!!!!!!!!

      • BB Grace February 15, 2016

        Speaking of which, I have a question about Ortner I haven’t gotten an answer.

        I see Ortner handles MediCAL. Anything else?

        I don’t think so.

        Ortner data dash boards names MediCAl, nothing else.

        I believe you’ll need to have MediCAL to be a number in Ortner’s administration service organization. But you might want to check out the Buddist Temple and see what meditatation services they’re offering first. :))

  13. Jim Updegraff February 15, 2016

    just back in from working in the yard. Most my fruit trees are in or coming into bloom. I turned on the TV to see what was happening in the political world – and there was George Bush at a Jeb’s rally. Same Bush, less hair, but the 8th grade vocabulary and smirking look. First, Jeb has his Mommy at a rally, then his big bro, what next his sick daddy. What a loser.

    Had to answer Mr. Marcom’s e-mail before doing this e-mail. I pity the poor fellow going through life with his problems.

  14. Jim Updegraff February 15, 2016

    Louis: Mr Marcom and Ms. de Castro sharing a bed! Now that’s a real love match. Each so busy talking they can’t hear the other.

    • LouisBedrock February 15, 2016

      Damned Internet is bringing out the high school wise-ass I used to be.

      Jim, the Quaker communities seem to have a better job of realizing a functional socialism than commies like me.

  15. james marmon February 15, 2016

  16. Craig Stehr February 15, 2016

    You are correct, Susie, in that the mind may be centered, such as in deep meditation, and then go outward and attach itself to objects, and then again be directed to its Source using one’s will power, and then it goes back outward, etcetera. When I was in India in the summer of 1994, this was discussed at the Sivananda Ashram. The question emerged as to why the mind was being identified with at all, rather than the mind’s Source. If one identifies with the Source of the mind, then the mind’s natural movements are alright, including the “thinking factory”. Stop identifying with the body and the mind, and your problem is solved. Indeed, you are NOT a person! ;-)

    • Mike February 16, 2016

      yeah, last point important…..just bring into the forefront of ones awareness and feeling the always existing source condition of awareness and the feeling of being and the natural movements of the mind, senses, etc are not only AOK but quite jazzy and fun. Sahaj Samadhi baby!

  17. Jim Updegraff February 15, 2016

    Louis perhaps we do although many Quakers look to other industrialized countries for an effective health plan, family maternity leave, and so forth do not think in terms of this would “socialism’. It is a bugaboo term in the U. S. by those who do not have a true concern for their fellow humans.

  18. mr. wendal February 15, 2016

    a comment about the “Mendocino’s Quack Addiction” article:

    After the uninformative Hospitality Center presentation at the meeting, two councilmen asked Gary Johnson a couple of questions that show that they don’t know all that much about the Hospitality Center, the organization that they sent grant money to support.

    One councilman asked “So the Access Center isn’t the mental health portion of the program?” When he was told that it is, his next question was “It is…so it’s not the upstairs?” Gary Johnson said that the upstairs will be turned into transitional housing.

    Another councilman asked about mental health services “Is that function going on somewhere else?”

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