Help to stop an endless occupation in Iraq

Hi,

Have you seen the news? President Bush is negotiating a deal with Iraq to keep our troops there indefinitely--it could include permanent bases and a massive military presence for years! Bush is trying to tie the hands of the next president.

Congress can stop him from setting up permanent bases in Iraq and block an indefinite occupation--but they need to hear a groundswell of pressure from us immediately and loudly so they act on this quickly.

I just signed a petition demanding that Congress stop the president from committing to a massive military presence in Iraq for decades. Can you join me?

http://pol.moveon.org/endless/?r_by=11723-7456724-dorgQY&rc=comment_paste


Thanks!
Allie :)

Help Protect Sierra National Forest

The Sierra National Forest is an outdoor lover's paradise with
stunning mountain scenery, abundant fish and wildlife, and a
wealth of recreational opportunities. The forest encompasses 1.3
million acres of rolling, oak-covered foothills, heavily
forested slopes, and starkly beautiful alpine landscapes. This
forest is nothing short of spectacular, and deserves our highest
protection.

The Sierra National Forest is considering designating trails for
motorized use in several Roadless Areas. This action would
threaten the most pristine areas of the forest with off-road
vehicles (ORV) use. Unrestricted motor vehicle use on the forest
has resulted in hundreds of miles of unplanned roads and trails
that cause erosion, watershed and habitat degradation, as well
as long-term detrimental impacts to wildlife and cultural
resources. ORVs rank among the most serious human-made threats
to safety and health on public lands. Allowing ORVs in Roadless
Areas will result in the harassment of critical wildlife and the
disruption of quiet backcountry recreation, including hiking,
camping, hunting, fishing, and horseback riding.

Help us stop this plan: Tell the Forest Service not to build
more roads for ORVs that will endanger this national treasure.

Click below to take action.
http://action.wilderness.org/campaign/sierra_forest

Gypsies fight back to beat Guardia Civil

By: thinkSPAIN

A team of Gypsies from the Anakerando Kaló Association in Lepe (Huelva) had to work hard after trailing for most of the game, but finished the stronger to take the honours with a 6-4 final victory against a team from the local Guardia Civil barracks.

The match was one of the most-eagerly awaited of a series of actvities organised in the town this week to promote cultural integration, and drew a large enthusiastic crowd.

Other activities have included: a conference on Gypsy culture followed by a poem recital, and a presentation by a group of Gypsy children on the importance of education and not bunking off school.

In addition, the Romani flag was hoisted over the Town Hall to a rendition of the Gypsy anthem.


Tuesday, November 27, 2007

I Don’t Want To Be a Gypsy Anymore

By Ella Veres

Many Eastern European immigrants carry over to the USA their racism and homophobia. This is an account of two incidents that i had to go thru in NYC as a part-Gypsy writer.

A racist incident occurred at my show and I don't know what to do about it. I hope you can tell me a way of dealing with it.

This fall I produced off-off Broadway my dramatic collage, Three Eco-Friendly Self-Propelled Clowns, in an attempt to make American audiences aware of the homophobia and racism that still exist in Romania, my place of birth. My intention was and still is to take the show back there to try to improve the situation.

Some of the text is based on actual words said by real Romanian people, and it was traumatic just translating their words. See, they talk about turning Gypsy people into soap, and I am partly Gypsy. Gypsy people are not hippies that have a romantic life style. They are Europe’s people of color and face situations similar to those that African American here faced before the sixties.

I didn’t know I was Gypsy until I was in my mid-twenties, when I was a student in American Studies and I came home to work on my genealogical tree for an exam. We were in the kitchen and my mom whispered our grandpa, the blacksmith, was a Gypsy, but we shouldn’t dream of saying anything to our father! Can you imagine a life like that? When I gave birth to my son, the first thing she asked was not if the baby was a boy or a girl, but if his skin was dark!
I came to America not to pursue a life of prosperity but to lead a free, authentic life, yes, to celebrate who I am and make sure my son is proud of his heritage and doesn’t face discrimination. I came here believing what JFK in his 1963 Address on Civil Rights said, that is “…every American ought to have the right to be treated as he would wish to be treated, as one would wish his children to be treated.”

Based on the facts I describe below, I fear it is not so.

1. Last week I had the director of the Romanian Cultural Center, a non-profit put together by anti-communist immigrants in the '70s, disrupted the show during an anti-racism/pro-Gypsy monologue. The gentleman heckled the actress and then when I asked him to keep his comments for after the show, he left in a huff, disparaging the show and saying to his companion, but loud enough for my crew to overhear it, “Who the fuck gives a shit about the Gypsies?!”

Earlier, when I told this same gentleman over the phone (he had called to make reservations as a result of my mailing out the show press release) that I am myself part Gypsy, he remarked that I for sure was a temperamental woman and he was eager to meet me. Then over coffee he asked me to read his palm. I didn't tell him to fuck off with his stereotypical, racist remarks because I was taken by surprise. It was the first time that I’d made it publicly known to Romanians that I am part Gypsy, and because I respected his anti-communist activities and we were looking for a sponsor to go with the show to Romania, I didn’t want to make waves. But it offended me.

2. In an attempt to reconnect with the local Romanian arts community I attended a Romanian production at la Mama Theater sponsored by the Romanian Cultural Institute, a state agency. The play, about a lesbian nun who was killed during an exorcism in a monastery in Romania in 2005, was based on a book of interviews, so we got a realistic depiction of Romanian day-by-day life and speech. That is, from beginning to end we heard homophobic, racist/anti-Gypsy, and anti-Semitic discourse going on in Romanian on stage and translated accurately in supra-titles. The anti-Semitic remarks, however, were not translated. The play’s racism was not addressed either in the Q&A session or in the playbill. The homophobia was slightly touched upon, but all that we really heard was how fantastic the director was. The intention of the creator was not clear: Was he attempting to portray Romanian reality in order to make us react against it, or he was unaware of its homophobia and racism? If he was going for reaction, then why didn't he translate the anti-Semitic remarks too?

Could it be that he is well aware that in America, in NYC, the Jewish community would have been highly offended and likely to react negatively to his enterprise, whereas he knows that as Edward Said remarked, “Gypsies are the only group about which anything could be said without challenge or demurral”?

It hurts me that such shows get applauded in NYC, today. I left a racist society, and here it is again in my face, in my hometown.

It is sickening what's going on in Europe. People, journalists, even the Foreign Minister say incredibly racist things and they go unchecked. Examples, “Gypsy people are monkeys, scumbags, sub-humans, thieves, and born criminals.” “Too bad Hitler didn't exterminate them.” “We should relocate the Gypsies in the Sahara Desert.” This was the Romanian Foreign Minister during his visit to Egypt commenting on Roma immigrants being expelled from Italy.
Also, as I was reading the supra-tiles I realized it is so weird, all nation names are written in English with capital letter. But Gypsy is always lower case… Basic respect denied.

I would like to do something about it, but I don't know how and what. I hoped there was a mechanism that concerned citizens could use, but wherever I called in NYC, they told me we have freedom of speech here and everybody can say whatever they want, so the only thing I can do is raise awareness thru the media.

I got in touch with the Roma writer of the pro-tolerance/Gypsy monologue and he said this situation is explosive and he’d raise hell in Romania. Well, I am torn about raising hell. I don’t want my incidents to create more conflict, but to make all parties involved that racism is unacceptable. Also, I asked him if it was safe for my parents and sister who are unprotected back home. He said I shouldn't worry and nothing will happen to them. Well, I do worry. Gypsy villages do get burnt down in Romania!

I hope you advise me on what to do, or connect me with some organizations that might take interest in the issue.

On my part, I’m writing letters to all people I’ve mentioned above, asking them to explain and rectify their positions and to be aware of the impact their racism has.

This experience was depressing. Whoever’s idea it was for me to come out of the closet publicly as a Gypsy should go to hell. Were it up to me, I wouldn't want to be a Gypsy anymore.

People are so busy with their Christmas shopping, they don't hear you. Gypsies? Who? What? I think it’s everybody’s issue, but it seems that American people have forgotten their own past, both with its horrors and victories. Again, as JFK said, “This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.”
Someone, can you help, please?

Happy holidays.

Ella Veres is a writer/performer/image maker living in NYC, hailing from Transylvania.

By Ella Veres http://www.ellaveres.com

Artist Marianne Konvalinka creates opportunities for art through the Gypsy Gallery

BY DANA OLAND - doland @ idahostatesman.com
Edition Date: 11/18/07

Marianne Konvalinka was meant to become an artist. She's certainly creative enough. Just take her creatively cluttered studio, for example: She draws, paints, shoots photography and explores digital and new media. But all things happen in their time.
Konvalinka discovered art late in life, she said. Now it's part of her daily existence.

She has always been creative and found that balancing her analytical career as a sales representative with creative pursuits, such as gardening, needle work and home crafts highly rewarding.

When she turned 40, she decided to try something more formal. She took an art class.

"I found out I could paint."

She started at The Drawing Room in a class taught by Kathy Wren, who died last year of cancer. The Drawing Room no longer exists. But Konvalinka still takes inspiration from Wren every day, she said, and passionately expresses her artistic side in a variety of media.

She also works to help others do the same through her Gypsy Gallery, a collective of artists like herself - busy professionals with the need for an artistic outlet.

"It's a method of communication," she said. "There is something really cool about having someone touched by something you've created, and wanting to look at it on their wall. Bringing happiness to someone is the main thing. If I make them smile or make them feel calm, I'm happy. That's what my artwork does for me. That's what I hope to share."

Exploring art helps keep her sane, she said. "Art is a great balance. My job is very analytical."

And that sanity is paying off. Konvalinka is finding more success with every passing year. Her paintings and photography are getting stronger. One of her digital pieces, "Raining Violets" is now part of Boise's Digital Art Collection, and her gallery group is taking a larger presence in the arts community.

This holiday season you can find Konvalinka's digitally created cards at Carpenter's Custom Florists at Edward's Greenhouses. And next week and during First Thursday you can see a robust Gypsy Gallery celebrating its fifth anniversary in the Alaska Building.

Konvalinka represents a different approach to an art career. She works her day job, as a sales representative for The Wrigley Company, (yes the gum people), out of her North End home. She travels often throughout the region and tries to be creative every day, fitting in artistic pursuits where she can. Her goal is simply to make art part of her life, she said.

"I'm just happy if I get the cost of my art supplies back," she said. "It would be great to make a living doing something creative, but that would be a whole different thing and a very tough row to hoe."

The row she's chosen is hard enough. Konvalinka works on her art as hard as she does on her day job. It's more than enough work keeping up with her own ideas and her new puppy, Halle, as well as managing the Gypsy Gallery and keeping all her artists connected.

The gallery shows four times each year, but rarely in the same place. Konvalinka must shop around for a location. That's why they're called gypsies, she said. The gallery serves an important role in Boise's arts community by offering a place where artists can show their work in Boise's increasingly competitive gallery scene, said Karen Bubb, interim director of the Boise City Arts Commission.

"It diversifies the opportunities for artists to show and sell," Bubb said.

Bubb met with Konvalinka before she started the Gypsies. Konvalinka wanted to know where where she could show her work Downtown.

"I didn't have a definitive list," Bubb said, so Konvalinka did the research herself. The development of the gallery highlights one of the key qualities of Boise's arts community, Bubb said.

"If you want to make something happen, you can. I appreciate Marianne's initiative and her willingness to do the research. When she didn't find the opportunities she was looking for, she created them, and she created them for other artists as well," Bubb said.

As a result, Konvalinka's own work has become noticeably stronger over time, Bubb said.

"I really loved her piece in the Digital Art Collection. It's ethereal and subtle. I think because she's organizing and looking at so many other artist's work, you get challenged in different ways and it's a great opportunity to grow," Bubb said.

Konvalinka is particular about the artists who participate, she said. They need to be serious, dedicated and responsible, she said.

"We only have a short time to set things up. We need to have people we can count on," she said.

The artists currently involved with Gypsy Gallery are Kristy Albrecht, Michael Falvey, Jenifer Gilliland, Jany Seda, Cherry Woodbury, Rich Kenny and the newest edition to the group, Miriam Woito.

Woito moved from Art Source Gallery to the Gypsies after graduating with her master's degree in education. Now with her own nonprofit business, her schedule doesn't allow as much time for art.

"I'm too busy for Art Source now," she said. "This keeps me working on my own stuff and keeps me fresh and connected."

"Marianne is wonderful, she really makes an effort to create a community. We don't get together often but she keeps us on track with a common goal," Woito said.

She, Konvalinka and some of the gypsies have started painting on Saturday mornings at Boise Blue, to share ideas, get inspired and talk.

Because the gallery only shows four times each year, the exhibits become more of an event, Woito said.

Dana Oland: 377-6442

One child dead, four others injured in Bologna fire

One child died and other 4 were injured in a fire on Monday morning in a gypsy camp in Bologna’s outskirts in Northern Italy, news agency ANSA announces. The improvised camp was next to the Guglielmo Marconi airport.

Police at the scene said that a four year old child died and four others were severely injured.

According to preliminary information, the fire broke in a Gypsy barrack near two abandoned houses.

The barracks are located right next to the highway, at less than a hundred meter from the airport exit.

The incident comes shortly after the Italian daily Corriere della Sera published a document mapping where improvised Gypsy camps are situated.

Italian PM Romano Prodi said he was deeply sorrowed by the Bologna event.

HotNews.ro, Nov 19, 2007

Gypsy child 27 times more likely to be in 'special' school

Written by Sean Sampson
Monday, 19 November 2007

Czech separate schooling illegal

Gypsy children in the Czech Republic must be taught in mainstream schools and not separately, the European Court of Human Rights decided last week.

The Strasbourg-based court found that the Czech authorities had discriminated against 18 Roma children in Ostrava (eastern Czech Republic) by educating them in schools for children with learning difficulties irrespective of their level of intelligence.

Discriminatory argument wins

Lawyers acting for the Roma litigants successfully argued that the practice of separate schooling was in violation of article 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights, which bans discrimination.

“The court has made clear that racial discrimination has no place in 21st century Europe,” said James A. Goldston, counsel for the plaintiffs and executive director of the Open Society Justice Initiative.

“Roma children must have the same access to quality education as everyone else,” he added.


Cosmetic changes won’t do

Although the Czech Republic has reformed its education system since the Roma first complained, there is widespread suspicion that the changes are merely cosmetic and that the practice continues with renamed schools. In its judgement the court noted that the practice is widespread in other European countries.

The court ordered the Czech government to pay each of the successful litigants EUR 4,000 in damages.

Gypsy children are 27 times more likely than other Czech citizens to end up being educated in a special school, according the European Roma Rights Centre. According to Viktória Móhácsi, an MEP, 60% of Roma children in Hungary are in segregated schooling.

Italy expels Romanians, condemns attack

Phil Stewart
Reuters

Saturday, November 03, 2007

ROME (Reuters) - Authorities tore down a gypsy camp and expelled around 20 Romanians from Italy on Saturday while condemning a "racist" attack in Rome apparently triggered by this week's murder of an Italian naval officer's wife.

Masked assailants brandishing knives, clubs and canes stabbed and beat four Romanians outside a Rome supermarket late on Friday. One of the victims is in serious condition.

The attack partly overshadowed the Rome funeral on Saturday for Giovanna Reggiani, 47, who police believe was fatally wounded by a Romanian man as she exited a Rome train station.

"We're looking for justice -- severe, austere -- but not intolerance," chaplain Patrizio Benvenuti said at Reggiani's funeral service, according to Italian media.

Reggiani's death was a tipping point in Italy and prompted authorities to level the Rome gypsy camp where the Romanian suspect lived, a job they finished on Saturday.

It also prompted them to start expelling Romanians deemed to be dangerous. Seventeen expulsion orders were signed in the city of Genoa and three others in Rome on Saturday, local media said.

The tragedy has also sparked a war of words over centre-left Prime Minister Romano Prodi's immigration policy and, officials fear, raised the threat of racist violence.

"We must prevent this terrible tiger, which is xenophobic rage, the racist beast, from getting out of control," Interior Minister Giuliano Amato told La Repubblica newspaper.

The Romanian embassy, alarmed by the attack on its citizens, called on Rome to ensure "acts of xenophobia like this one don't repeat themselves."

The archbishop of Lecce, Cosmo Francesco Ruppi, warned against targeting foreigners and following the "dangerous path of racism."

Italians have fumed for years over petty crimes by poor immigrants from Romania and elsewhere.

But, after Reggiani's attack, Prodi on Wednesday issued a decree giving prefects the ability to expel European Union citizens who were considered to be dangerous.

The targets of the decree have so far been immigrants from Romania, which joined the bloc this year, and have the same right as other EU citizens to freely travel across borders.

"Nobody imagined having to face 500,000 poor souls, that in one year have left Romania for Italy," Amato said.

A judge must sign off on the expulsion order but no criminal history is necessary and nor is a trial, according to the interior ministry.

Milan's Prefect Gianvalerio Lombardi expelled the first four Romanians on Friday, sending them home.

"There is no exact list of people to send home. We have to do it on a case-by-case basis," Lombardi told Italian media.

(Additional reporting by Antonella Cinelli in Rome)

Coloring book fills in Gypsy influences

By Ruth Milne, Journal staff

RAPID CITY — Bianca Boll believes people of all ages enjoy coloring books on some level.

“Maybe you don’t sit around and color anymore, but I think we all fondly remember our coloring days,” Boll said.

In a salute to scribblers of all ages, Boll recently published “Gypsy Doodles.”

Boll is director of the Gypsy, Black Hills Belly Dance troupe, and her interests were the source for the coloring book’s content.

“My doodling has heavily been influenced by my Middle Eastern dance and cultural studies,” Boll said, identifying henna art and belly dance influences as well as the Romany (Gypsy) language it teaches.

“The more I study about the Romany people, the more I know that we don’t know very much about them,” Boll said. “I’m kind of trying to help create some interest in their little world ... to maybe inspire people to do some of their own studies, about the Romany people or any world culture.”

“Gypsy Doodles” boasts a whimsical innocence and a childlike approach, giving the Romany word for everything from guitar to rainbow to fish, along with a quirky line drawing of each for children to color in.

The book is intended to appeal to amateur artists of all ages.

“There’s not monsters or trucks or superheroes, so I don’t know if older boys will be as interested, but younger boys and girls of all ages —from little bitty to grown-up women — I think would enjoy it,” Boll said.

The coloring book is the first book of any kind that Boll has written, and its creation was something of an accident.

“I have been doodling my whole life almost, as a way to stay out of trouble in class, and stay awake in lectures ... like most people, I can doodle when I’m a little bit bored,” she said.

After receiving compliments on her idle doodlings and hearing from several people that they would love to color her sketches, Boll realized homemade coloring books would make a nifty — and thrifty — Christmas gift for young relatives.

When she sat down to draw, the plan was to do five drawings to give to nieces and nephews for Christmas. After 17 pages, Boll ran out of paper — “or I probably would have kept on going,” she said with a laugh.

The completed book, which is self-published, features 20 colorable pages plus the front cover, which children can embellish as they please as well.

“Gypsy Doodles” is available at Global Market in Rapid City and Spearfish, Motions Dancewear, the Best Little Hairhouse in the Black Hills, Java Junction between Black Hawk and Piedmont, Valley Washhouse in Piedmont and Gypsy Rose Tattoo Studio.

It also will be for sale at upcoming book signings.

All proceeds from sales of “Gypsy Doodles” will be given to Camp Friendship, a summer camp in the Black Hills that caters to individuals age 8 and older who have physical and developmental disabilities.

The camp is staffed by a family of more than 150 volunteers that provide one-on-one care and assistance for each camper as well as creating all of the program activities.

“They work so hard, and it would benefit so many people to have just a little bit more money to work with,” Boll said.

Camp Friendship is a cause near and dear to Boll’s heart. Her own son, Joshua, to whom the book is dedicated, has enjoyed stays at Camp Friendship for the past three years.

Joshua, now 10, was diagnosed at an early age with a genetic abnormality that created delays in all areas of development.

“He inspires my husband and I both just to keep going every day. We get up and face the music, so to speak, and he’s really a driving factor for that. He’s just very special to us,” Boll said.

“He’s a special, sweet, amazing little kid; he touches everyone’s hearts.”

On the Web: Camp Friendship, www.campfriendship.org

Contact Ruth Milne at ruth.milne @ rapidcityjournal.com.

U.N. Report Describes Risks of Inaction on Climate Change

By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
New York Times

VALENCIA, Spain, Nov. 16 — In its final and most powerful report, a United Nations panel of scientists meeting here describes the mounting risks of climate change in language that is both more specific and forceful than its previous assessments, according to scientists here.

Synthesizing reams of data from its three previous reports, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for the first time specifically points out important risks if governments fail to respond: melting ice sheets that could lead to a rapid rise in sea levels and the extinction of large numbers of species brought about by even moderate amounts of warming, on the order of 1 to 3 degrees.

The report carries heightened significance because it is the last word from the influential global climate panel before world leaders meet in Bali, Indonesia, next month to begin to discuss a global climate change treaty that will replace the Kyoto protocol, which expires in 2012. It is also the first report from the panel since it was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October — an honor that many scientists here said emboldened them to stand more forcefully behind their positions.

As a sign of the deepening urgency surrounding the climate change issue, the report, which was being printed Friday night, will be officially released by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday.

The full report was embargoed from news organizations until Saturday. But drafts have been circulating for weeks, and descriptions of its findings began to appear on Web sites and in news agency reports on Friday. Bush administration officials held a news conference to discuss the report but insisted that their comments be withheld until after its official release.

(MORE)

Tell the Bush administration not to let mining companies destroy valleys and streams

Special alert: Tell the Bush administration not to let mining
companies destroy valleys and streams with mining waste
Comments are due November 23rd, so take action now at
http://www.nrdconline.org/campaign/nrdcaction_111407

======================================================

The Office of Surface Mining is proposing changes to its stream
buffer zone rule, first adopted in 1983, that would make it
easier for mining companies to bury natural streams and valleys
under piles and ponds of mining waste. The changes would relax
environmental standards for the same mountaintop removal mining
operations that, even under the stricter existing buffer rule,
have flattened over a half-million acres and buried hundreds of
miles of streams. The headwater streams threatened by the rule
changes provide valuable habitat and feed larger waters that
provide drinking water, fishing and other recreational
opportunities.

In 2004, when the Office of Surface Mining first proposed
relaxing the buffer rule, NRDC urged the agency to abandon its
proposal and to focus instead on better enforcement of the
existing rule. The agency responded by conducting an
environmental review of its proposal, which was released in
August. The review confirms that the proposed changes would
result in the destruction of hundreds more miles of streams and
valleys in Appalachia, a region already hard-hit by mining
practices. But despite these conclusions, the agency is pressing
ahead with its proposal.

The Office of Surface Mining is accepting public comments on its
proposed rule change through Friday, November 23rd.

== What to do ==
Send a message, before the November 23rd comment deadline,
urging the Office of Surface Mining not to allow mining
companies to profit by destroying America's streams.

== Contact information ==
You can send an official comment to the Office of Surface Mining
directly from NRDC's Action Center at
http://www.nrdconline.org/campaign/nrdcaction_111407

Or use the contact information and sample letter below to send
your own message.

Attn: RIN 1029-AC04
Brent Wahlquist, Director, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation
and Enforcement
1951 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room 252 SIB
Washington, DC 20240
Fax: 202-219-0253

== Sample letter ==

Subject: Don't change the current stream buffer zone rule

Dear Director Wahlquist,

I urge the Office of Surface Mining to abandon its proposal to
relax the decades-old stream buffer zone rule to make it easier
for mining companies to fill natural streams with mining waste.
Your proposal would destroy the headwater streams that support
important drinking, fishing and recreational uses; is at odds
with the Clean Water Act and other laws; and endorses decades of
destructive mining practices.

Your agency's environmental impact analysis on the proposed rule
changes estimates that over 700 miles of streams in central
Appalachia have already been buried by valley fills, and that
over 1,200 miles of streams in the region were directly harmed
by mining activities, including waste disposal, between 1992 and
2002 alone. The analysis also estimates that mining projects
approved between 2001 and 2005 will directly affect over 500
miles of streams. The rule changes would accelerate these trends
by relaxing the conditions under which mining companies,
particularly those engaged in mountaintop removal mining, may
obtain approval to permanently bury streams and fill valleys
with rock, soil, mining sludge and other wastes.

Instead of turning its back on the existing buffer zone rule,
which was adopted in 1983 to protect natural streams from the
most direct impacts of mining, the Office of Surface Mining
should commit itself and the state mining agencies it oversees
to strictly enforcing that rule. Mountaintop removal mining has
already flattened a half-million acres and buried hundreds of
miles of streams. Mining companies should not be given a new
opportunity to profit at the expense of America's fragile
headwater streams.

I urge you to abandon your proposed changes to the stream buffer
zone rule and to instead focus the Office of Surface Mining's
efforts on better enforcement of the existing rule.

Sincerely,

[Your name and address]

Gypsy caravan site may get go-ahead

Nov 14 2007

by simon halewood, Crewe Chronicle

CONTROVERSIAL plans for a Gypsy caravan site at Moston are expected to be given the green light by planning chiefs despite scores of objections.

A site for three Gypsy families, with two transit pitches and hard-standing, is proposed for Horseshoe Farm at Warmingham Lane.

Both Moston and Warmingham Parish Councils have objected to the plans arguing that ‘the Middlewich area is already well supplied with Gypsy sites’.

But supporters say the space is desperately needed to support the area’s growing number of Travellers and to reduce the number of illegal sites across the borough.

In total the council has received 53 letters and e-mails objecting to the plans from local residents.

One argued that ‘the potential overload to the community could be catastrophic’ while another claimed ‘Gypsies are abusive and intimidating to local people.’

A further letter of objection was received from the CW10 Residents’ Community Action Group. It stated: ‘The current public services and facilities within Middlewich are already at breaking point in respect of schools, doctors, dentists and the like.

‘The application is too vague and open to abuse in respect of the amount of caravans which could cover extended families.’

Planning permission is being requested by Rugby-based Philip Brown Associates Ltd on behalf of Oliver Boswell, of Horseshoe Farm.

In a report to the Congleton Borough Council planning committee, a development control manager concluded: ‘Residents refer generally to Gypsies having a lack of respect for other road users, fly tipping, causing disturbance, fighting, stealing and intimidating residents. In my opinion these issues are not of such weight as to sway the determination of this application.

‘The question of need can no longer be substantiated as a reason for refusal and therefore I must recommend approval.’

Borough mayor and representative to the Gypsy Council, Cllr Mike Parsons, believes the site is urgently needed.

He said: ‘It is a simple fact that we will continue to have problems until there are a sufficient number of sites.

‘People moan when police move them on but this site will provide somewhere Travellers can keep themselves to themselves.’

Congleton has the highest amount of Travellers’ accommodation in the county.

As the Chronicle went to print last night, the planning committee was due to make a decision.

The Gypsy exception

Richard R O'Neill
November 14, 2007 5:30 PM

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/richard_r_oneill/2007/11/the_gypsy_exception.html

"My mother said I never should/ Play with Gypsies in the wood." That old rhyme used to be taught to children as a warning to stay away from Gypsies. Of course they didn't have things like inclusion, diversity and a multicultural society for most of the last century. Anyway, a group of outsiders appearing in your village - even if they were there to sell much-needed products and specialist labour like blacksmithing - was bound to cause alarm, wasn't it?

But we know better now than to generalise about a whole race. Or do we? The Children's Society reports that nearly nine out of 10 children and young people from a Gypsy background have suffered racial abuse. Nearly two-thirds (63%) have also been bullied or physically attacked.

I have personal experience of this, having attended almost 30 schools as a child and now hundreds more as a visiting storyteller and diversity trainer. I know that there is a deep-rooted fear and loathing of Travelling people, and an acceptance that it is still acceptable to openly discriminate and to make jokes about our culture and ethnicity. I don't blame the children: in fact they are often completely shocked when they find out how hurtful their behaviour is. No, we have to look further than the children, to teachers, parents, governors and the media. No real row ensued when Marco Pierre White used the term "pikey" on ITV, which sent a very clear message that there is a definite hierarchy where racism is concerned, with Gypsies very firmly at the bottom.

When challenged about their hatred and fear of Gypsies, most people can't give a genuine reason. Often the best they can do is a "well, everyone knows what they are like, don't they?" This attitude led one young Gypsy in a secondary school in the north to tell everyone that he was Asian rather than Gypsy.

Think hard about the last time you heard, read or saw something positive about a Gypsy Traveller person. What about something negative? That's much easier. Take, for example, the recent case in Italy of Nicolae Mailat, a Romanian Roma Gypsy who admits to attacking Giovanna Reggiani, a 47-year-old Italian naval officer's wife, in northern Rome. Early reports suggested that she had been tortured, raped, robbed and ferociously beaten. In fact, she was neither tortured nor raped, though the attack was a horrific one from which she died two days later. Mailat admits he snatched her bag, but denies murder. His Roma neighbours say he is mentally disturbed.

Whatever the truth about this crime - and I know of no Gypsy person who would even attempt to excuse it - it has given racists an excuse to perpetrate equally vicious crimes. A band of thugs beat up and stabbed three Romanians in a Rome suburb. Several immigrant encampments were flattened with bulldozers, and the violence and abuse towards Roma shows no signs of abating. Did this happen in Spain to British expats when one of them was accused of murder?

But back to the UK. What harm can a bit of name-calling do to Gypsy children, eh? Ask the mother of 15-year-old Johnny Delaney, who was kicked to death by a group of boys in 2003. As the final kick to his head was delivered, one of the attackers told a witness: "He deserved it; he's only a fucking Gyppo."

Gypsy, Roma and traveller children speak out over racism

Posted: 13 November 2007

writes Corin Williams


The Children’s Society called today for increased efforts to combat prejudice against gypsy, Roma and traveller groups.

A report from the children’s society outlines the abuse and disadvantage faced by young people from these communities.

It asked 201 children and young people in London about public attitudes towards them and their families. Of those questioned, 86% had been racially abused and 63% had been bullied or physically attacked.

Respondents also asked why their racist persecutors were not punished and why newspapers were not prosecuted for printing anti-gypsy stories. They felt that there were “marked differences in responses to prejudice against them compared to the racism aimed at other minority groups”.

Half of those questioned had attended school at some point, but the average age of those who dropped out was just 11-and-a-half-years-old. Reasons given for leaving school included bullying, other children's atttiudes, failure to act against prejudice by authorities and an irrelevant curriculum.

Penny Nicholls, strategy director for the Children’s Society, said: “The report highlights worrying levels of prejudice and discrimination, which have a corrosive effect on these young people’s self-esteem and confidence. We hope this research will generate debate and encourage better understanding of gypsy, Roma and traveller communities, who are rightly proud of their culture and traditions.”

The Children’s Society also recommended that youth offending teams should receive cultural sensitivity training to work better with children and young people from those communities. It was found that 36% of those surveyed had been in trouble with the law, which the charity called “a high number from such a small sample”. Roma children were found to be more vulnerable than those who identified themselves as gypsies or travellers.

A Youth Justice Board spokesperson said: “The YJB is committed to promoting equal opportunities, and eradicating discrimination. We would expect local authorities to ensure that all staff are made aware of their responsibilities to this group under the Race Relations Act 1976.”

Romanian Gypsy royalty embroiled in leadership struggle

Variously known as fortune tellers, musicians and beggars, the Gypsies in Europe are both romanticised and persecuted.

There are about eight million living in Europe, while Romania is home to the continent's biggest population - an estimated two million - and it is there that the Gypsy royalty live.

The Gypsy festival in the village of Costesti is a carnival of feasting and merriment. It is a time to indulge in some medieval-style decadence where the good life means a big belly and lots of bling.

The women wear long, colourful skirts, scarves over their hair, gold hoops in their ears and gold teeth in their mouths. The men flash their round midriffs, drink whisky straight from the bottle, admire their gold watches and rings and gnaw meat off the bone.

Every year, the massive party spreads across a village field in south-west Romania.

Each family seems to own a BMW or a Mercedes Benz. Their tables are bursting with food - roast meat piled on roast meat - and the music just does not stop.

It is a scene of fun and extravagance that belies the reality for most Gypsies.

Arguably Europe's most despised minority, they are more likely to live with disadvantage and discrimination. Even the term 'Gypsy' is a centuries-old misunderstanding, based on the notion that these travellers were from Egypt, hence the misnomer 'Gypsy'.

In fact, their ancestors came from northern India and the name they call themselves in their own language, 'Roma', is slowly taking hold.

Even though the Roma have been in Europe for centuries, they are still regarded as outsiders. In Romania, the Gypsy presence is strong - from the ghettos of the capital Bucharest, to the countryside villages.

And it is here in Romania that you will meet the gypsy elite, like Florin Cioaba. He is a politician, a businessman, a preacher - and wait there's more - because he is also His Royal Highness, the King of the Roma.

The King's palace, in the town of Sibiu, is a three-storey mansion with a throne room adorned with portraits of his late father. He was the first King Cioaba - a survivor of a Nazi concentration camp and a union official.

He crowned himself king in the early 1990s after the Communists were thrown out, and his son inherited the title.

King Cioaba usually wears a suit and tie, the trappings of a modern monarch, as he likes to call himself. On special occasions, he pulls out the good stuff - a gold crown, sceptre and medallion.

"As a king, I fight to defend their rights, because the Roma have to have a symbol to believe in - a man that they know is on their side and fights for them," King Cioaba said.


Vying for the throne

But the King of the Roma is not the only monarch in the neighbourhood.

Just around the corner, barely half a kilometre down the road, there is another ruler to meet, a man who claims to be the real leader of the Gypsies.

He is the self-declared Emperor of all Roma Everywhere - Iulian Radulescu.

A big man in his 70s, the Emperor walks slowly down the steps of his palace. He wears a gold robe and proudly boasts it was made in Turkey to looks just like one worn by the Pope.

Emperor Radulescu is King Cioaba's cousin and his biggest rival.

"Everybody you ask will say I am the greatest leader, that is what everybody will say," Emperor Radulescu said.

The Emperor says he has the noble blood to prove it - his father was a prominent Gypsy chieftain, too. He explains that in the late 90s, he was voted in by thousands of Gypsies unhappy with the rule of the King. So now he calls himself the Emperor.

Their long-running feud has descended to the level of personal slurs, with the Emperor accusing the King of "crowing like a rooster".

He says he thinks the King might be "sick in the head" and has told him to go check himself in to a mental hospital.

But King Cioaba stands firm in his position.

"Anybody can call himself the king of soccer or the king of beer, but I am descended from a family who led this nation and everybody knows that the real King is Cioaba," he said.


'Self-serving businessmen'

Both the King and the Emperor have a loyal following, but their conflict lies at the upper echelon of a society that lives on the fringes.

The Roma are at or near the bottom of just about every social indicator there is - employment, housing, education and general living standards.

At the village of Bratei, the Roma are traditional craftsmen, making copper pots and trays by hand. They once sold their wares from village to village.

But they have given up the travelling life to set up shop at home. Now they eke out a living day by day and dismiss the King and the Emperor as self-serving businessmen.

"He is King Cioaba and a king just for his type," one man said.

"He does things just for them. He says up front that he is on our side and he does something for us, but we get absolutely nothing."

The King and the Emperor at least agree on one thing - they both brush aside the complaints.

But they also both believe in the innate decency of their people.

The fortune told for the Roma has often been bleak, but these outsiders have also proved themselves to be survivors, enduring inequity and injustice to remain free in spirit, at least.

Racism in Italy. Gypsy woman murdered in Milan

Gypsy woman murdered in Milan, her makeshift shelter set on fire

EveryOne Group is carrying out a campaign against the discrimination and instigation to racial violence that is becoming more and more desperate every day. Write your comment to : info@everyonegroup.com

Our members, who are people with modest or normal incomes are donating their own savings to help Roma people in difficulty - by paying their rent, or by sending sums of money to prevent the extreme poverty entire families are subject to leading to more tragedies - more deaths in an Italy in which we are experiencing a climate that resembles more and more the one that hung over our country when Fascism came to power, and when in Germany the idea of the Holocaust took shape.

We are committed to raising the alarm against this new xenophobia, alerting the authorities and the institutions of the existence of racist gangs of murderers, like GAPE, who claimed responsibility for the murder of four gypsy children in Livorno in the ill-famed fire. In this case, as in others, the authorities chose to protect the neo-fascist criminals, in spite of the evidence supplied by members of EveryOne Group. Instead the children's parents were charged with "abandonment of minors". Last night another makeshift shelter in Via Forlanini in Milan caught fire, in the abandoned Carabinieri barracks near the East bypass bridge. The authorities who rushed to the site carried out the usual procedure used when looking for the causes of a fire : a candle, a gas ring. But everyone knows how most of the fires that break out in gypsy camps are caused. This time, however, the scenario the police officers were faced with was different. Outside the shelter, lying face down over brambles, they found the body of a 36-year-old Roma woman. As they took away the body, the anaesthetist found injuries and bruises defined as "incompatible with life". One of the injuries was caused by a blunt instrument that could well be the cause of death. This news has circulated in the press which is a positive thing for those who hope that the truth will come to light. Now not even the police doctor can deny it and explain the woman's death away with an accident. The doctor present at the emergency central operations service confirmed "traumas compatible with an aggression". The woman's body was found by her partner, who alerted the authorities at 41 minutes past midnight : "My girlfriend is lying on the floor, she's not answering, I think she's dead", he shouted in a panic and racked with pain. The aggression took place in the middle of the racial campaign against gypsies triggered off by politicians, police authorities and media after the death of Giovanna Reggiani - the dynamics of which have still to be established. The dynamics of this case is typical of a racist attack : fire and aggression. The climate over the last few days had caused us to fear episodes of violence, and EveryOne Group on various occasions has attempted to raise the alarm through press releases. These, unfortunately, were never published or broadcast by newspapers and television - which are now so compliant towards those in power that they have practically become accomplices. What must we expect from this inquiry ? Now the possibility of putting the death down to an accident is ruled out (seeing it is now common knowledge) it is to be feared that there will be an attempt to explain the death away with a violent gesture from the woman's partner or another Romanian, claiming it was a fit of jealousy or a case of score-settling. We must keep an eye on the investigation, and how the media reports this case, which today, amazingly, inspired the journalist from Corriere della Sera to ask (in spite of the evidence) : "Accident, revenge or xenophobia" ? To be noted the first theory : accident. Absurd, unjust, worthy of this Italy which is sliding into a climate of terror.

Olberman Special Comment - MSNBC

http://onegoodmovemedia.org/movies/0711/ko110507specialcomment.mov

Gypsy Gala coming

There is now a third gypsy-style fair on the circuit and it will be in Palmerston North this weekend.

The Gypsy Gala, fresh from the winterless north via Taranaki, is ready to brave the fickleness of Palmerston North weather.

"Local stall holders are welcome to join us," said organiser Nerida Joyce during a promotional visit yesterday. "We've been going for six months and have 10 to 15 permanents in the touring group and it's growing each week."

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On Gypsy Pastors and Consecrated Persons

"Preparation for the Pastoral Duties Among Their People"

VATICAN CITY, NOV. 6, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is the final statement from the First World Meeting of Gypsy Priests, Deacons and Religious Men and Women, promoted by the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers. The meeting was held Sept. 22-25 in Rome.

* * *

I. THE EVENT

From September 22-25, 2007, the First World Meeting of Gypsy Priests, Deacons and Religious Men and Women, promoted by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, took place in Rome. The theme of the meeting, "With Christ at the Service of the Gypsy People", was inspired by the Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of Gypsies, a Document published by the Pontifical Council on December 8, 2005. It proposes, among other things, the preparation of the Gypsies themselves for the pastoral duties among their people and calls for a pastoral care of vocations to facilitate an authentic implantatio Ecclesiae in this environment.

Approximately forty people attended the event, including 33 consecrated Gypsies from nine European countries (France, Italy, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Spain, Ukraine and Hungary) and from Brazil. At the last moment the delegates from India were prevented from attending.

The meeting was officially opened on Sunday, September 23rd, with the Eucharistic Concelebration presided by H.E. Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, the Secretary of the Dicastery, who also gave the Homily.

The work sessions started off with the opening address. After a warm welcome, Archbishop Marchetto expressed gratitude to God for the gift of the vocations of particular consecration among the Gypsy people. He then described the consecrated Gypsies as a "tangible sign" of the realization - albeit amidst none too few difficulties - of the implantatio Ecclesiae in the Gypsy environment spoken about in the Guidelines (Cf. No. 101). Next, the Archbishop Secretary recognized the value which the vocation to the priesthood and to religious consecration represents for the evangelization and human promotion of the Gypsy people. He stated that through the courageous witness of the consecrated persons, "the Church discovers in her children that she is still too stifled by stereotypes and prejudices with regard to the Gypsies, but wishes to renew the dialogue and give a cordial welcome". The Prelate also recalled that the meeting was taking place ten years after the beatification of Ceferino Jiménez Malla, the first Gypsy elevated to the honours of the altars who is proposed by the Church as a significant example of the universal vocation to holiness, especially for the Gypsies that have close cultural and ethnic ties with him.

Rev. Msgr. Novatus Rugambwa, the recently appointed Under-Secretary of the Dicastery, introduced the theme of the meeting to the participants. First of all, Monsignor stressed how the meeting should offer the participants an opportunity and a stimulus to compare themselves with what the Guidelines say about the Gypsies, their way of being, acting and living, but also with the needs entailed by the specific pastoral care of the Gypsies. Msgr. Rugambwa expressed appreciation for the role the consecrated persons are called to carry out in the Gypsies' process of reconciliation in society and the Church. Next, he briefly focused on the social aspect of the Gypsies' life which, unfortunately, still leaves a lot to be desired.

At noon, the Congress participants took part in St. Peter's Square in the Sunday appointment with the Holy Father for the recitation of the Angelus. After the prayer, Pope Benedict XVI addressed the following words to them: "Dear brothers and sisters, may the theme of your Congress, "With Christ at the Service of the Gypsy People", become more and more a reality in each of your lives. For this I pray and entrust you to the protection of the Virgin Mary".

In the afternoon, the group went to the Shrine of Divine Love where in the little "church" dedicated to Blessed Ceferino Jiménez Malla, they recited the Rosary in honour of Our Lady and in homage to their Patron martyr of the Rosary. The participants in the meeting were greeted there by Msgr. Bruno Nicolini, the person-in-charge for the Diocese of Rome for the Pastoral Care of Gypsies. He was accompanied by a small group of Gypsies, and some delegates were also present from the Comunità di Sant'Egidio, that makes notable efforts to promote the Gypsy people. In this way they were able to experience 'the unity in diversity' for which the Gypsies themselves hold great hope.

The first presentation on Sunday, September 23rd, on the theme "Vocation as a Gift and Commitment", in the context of the general theme "With Christ at the Service of the Gypsy People", was made by Msgr. Mario Riboldi, one of the pioneers in the specific pastoral care for the Gypsy people, to which he has been dedicated for over fifty years. Starting from the biblical consideration about the vocation of prophets and priests, the speaker offered an overview of the situation of vocations among the Gypsies. Subsequently he focused on the events in the past that favoured the growth of vocations and then reported on how many and which vocations are known today. From the picture he presented, it appears that there are more than 100 consecrated Gypsies from the Rom, Sinti, Kales, Manousche, Bhill and Jajabor groups living in 16 countries of Europe, the Americas and Asia. After stressing the importance of their mission among their people, the speaker did not fail to point out the problematic aspects, such as the scorn both on the part of the gağé and their own ethnic groups (Cf. the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 6). Msgr. Riboldi concluded his report by stating that the consecrated Gypsies must be characterized by a great heart dedicated to the mission, following the example of Saint Paul, the Apostle of the nations.

The next intervention was made by His Excellency José Edson Santana de Oliveira, the Bishop of Eunapolis and Episcopal Promoter of the Pastoral Care for Nomads of Brazil, on the theme: "With Christ in the Service of the Gypsy People – In a Spirit of Charity and in the Communion of Charismas". The speaker divided his report into two parts; in the first part he considered the historical and cultural conditions of the Gypsies in Brazil. This country can boast having had a President of the Republic of Gypsy origin, and a year ago, the National Day of the Gypsy was created by a decision of the Government. In the second part of his report, the Bishop focused on the pastoral work of the local Church with regard to the Gypsy people and stressed that despite the many successes achieved in twenty years of commitment, there are still many more challenges that need to be faced.

The evening of the first day was dedicated to dialogue between the participants and the speakers and a mutual exchange of experiences, which had particularly rich and significant results for the pastoral care of the Gypsies. First, they presented the complex reality in which the Gypsy people are living today. The difficulties that need to be faced "to affirm themselves" in the Church and society were also pointed out. The results of the discussion are reported synthetically in the Conclusions and Recommendations of the present document.

The following day, Monday, September 24th, opened with the Eucharistic Concelebration presided over by His Eminence the President of the Pontifical Council, Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino. In his Homily based on the Liturgy of the Word for the day (Luke 8:16-18), the Cardinal proposed the binome light/darkness and emphasized how the power of darkness is trying to obscure the splendour of divine light today. His Eminence stressed that manifestations of darkness are the rejection of God, religious relativism, the "culture of death", wars, terrorism, the negative aspects of globalization, cultural uprooting, the loss of identity, and so on. With regard to the Gypsy reality, the Cardinal recalled that there is "darkness whenever respect succumbs to hatred, when marginalization and disinterest prevail over acceptance and commitment, and whenever good gives in to evil". Likewise, whenever we witness acts of violence and injustice against the Gypsies - and vice versa - darkness and the shadow of sin fall over the communities. It is not easy to get out of the darkness, as His Eminence the President stressed, because it calls for taking the side of truth, justice and solidarity; it means taking the side of the poor, the oppressed, the marginalized and the weakest. The first appearance of the light that overcomes the darkness is recorded when there is respect for every person, for his dignity and his convictions. Christians, therefore, and in a particular way persons consecrated to God, are called to be the luminous transparency of Christ in the environments where they work.

The first report of the day was given by Rev. René Bernard, SJ, the former National Director in France, which dealt with: "The Spiritual and Liturgical Dimension of the Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of Gypsies". The speaker organized his presentation around three points: 1. Spiritual Dimension of the Guidelines; 2. From Reconciliation to Communion, and 3. What Liturgy for Baptism? He tried in this way to identify the ways in which the Catholic Church is present among the Gypsies and the periods of time needed to make the Gypsies' participation in the Church active and fruitful. First, Father Bernard stressed the importance and validity of the mission and the fundamental presence of consecrated Gypsies "at the frontier" of two cultures and in a Gypsy world encompassed by the society of the gağé. Next, in speaking about the Catholic Church's presence among the Gypsies, the speaker proposed an attitude of listening to the Gypsies - also the consecrated Gypsies - regarding their view of the Churches and the ecclesial Communities today since the Catholic Church is not the only one at this crossroads. The speaker asked if the Church is seen by the Gypsy people as a community that recognizes them on the local, regional, national and international levels. Next, Father Bernard considered the way in which the passage from reconciliation to communion takes place between the Gypsies and the gağé in order to "live together" and "be the Church". He maintained that this requires knowledge on the part of the pastoral workers about the reality in which the future of the Gypsy people is taking place. Regarding the Sacraments, the speaker noted that Baptism is a priority for the Gypsy family, but the question remains open regarding the real motivations that lead the Gypsies to ask for this Sacrament.

Rev. Claude Dumas, the current National Director of the Pastoral Care for the Gypsies in France and the first Gypsy priest to occupy this position, made an intervention on: "The Challenges for Evangelization and Human Promotion in the Light of the Guidelines", always in the context of the general theme, "With Christ at the service of the Gypsy People". First, the speaker denounced the various forms of intolerance, rejection of others and racism towards the Gypsies, which do not allow them to feel like "brothers" of the gağé, or be considered as such by the Church. According to the author, fraternity between the Gypsies and the gağé is difficult to achieve in a Church which is perceived by the Gypsy community as belonging to the gağé, distant and inaccessible. In a situation of this kind, it is necessary to build bridges, which presupposes real dialogue and reciprocity, and this can only succeed if Gypsies and gağé are ready to take steps "in two directions". The speaker concluded that the "Guidelines" call upon the consecrated Gypsies, given their position, to sensitize their ethnic brothers and sisters to "have the courage" to approach the gağé.

The participants took up the subjects of the reports again during the work groups which examined the many difficult problems of evangelization and human promotion.

The work sessions on the day concluded with the reading and general approval of the Conclusions and Recommendations that are presented below.

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Hot Club sizzles with gypsy swing

By TERRY RINDFLEISCH / La Crosse Tribune.

The music could have come from a small, smokey jazz club in Paris in the 1920s.

But was it coming so sassy and sweet Sunday night from the Hot Club of San Francisco on the Viterbo University Fine Arts Center Main Theatre stage. The gypsy jazz string quintet was sizzling and dazzling in a Bright Star Season evening of pure delight.

The Hot Club of San Francisco easily entertains and keeps the music of Django Reinhardt alive and jumping with joy. Lead guitarist Paul Mehling led more than 800 people in the crowd on a journey of Django’s life and music interspersed with American jazz.

Mehling is a fabulous acoustic guitarist, who improvises with brilliance whether it’s a solo, a duet with violinist Evan Price or playing with bassist Clint Baker and two rhythm guitarists. Price is a phenomenal violinist with a great jazz ear and bowing, and Baker plays a bouncing, beautiful bass.

Hot Club played several good old Django tunes with gorgeous interplay. The ensemble also gave wonderful renditions of “The Man I Love” and “All Of Me.” The group especially had a lot of fun adding a gypsy style to a Fats Waller tune, “Jitterbug Waltz.”

This is a string chamber jazz group of virtuoso musicians who bring a passion, warmth and a sentimentality to this great genre of music.