Senate to Vote on Critical Bill- Don't Wait!

Any day now, the Senate could vote on a package of public lands bills that will greatly benefit our national parks and public lands. Some of NPCA's top priorities-- reauthorization of the Park Service's Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program, the Cesar Chavez Study Act, and the Acadia National Park Improvement Act to name a few--are all in the mix. These bills have strong bi-partisan support, and yet they’ve been held up for more than a year.

It's about time the Senate take action on these bills to protect and interpret our national heritage.

TAKE ACTION: Americans care about our national parks and public lands. The House of Representatives has already passed these bills--and its time for the Senate to do the same. Write your Senators and urge them to vote in favor of S. 2739. Write your Senator today!

Thanks for all you do.

Dionna Humphrey, Associate Director of Advocacy

Please help! First baby seal killed this morning

Dear Friend,

Just before dawn this morning, the annual hunt for baby seals began in Canada.

Over the next few weeks, 275,000 harp seals will be brutally clubbed or shot for their fur. Incredibly, though, many people believe that Canada ended this hunt in the 1980s. But it's still happening, right now. That's why the sealers don't want us here -- with our cameras rolling.

For four years, The Humane Society of the United States' ProtectSeals team has stood its ground as Canada's extraordinary harp seal nurseries are transformed each spring into bloody killing fields. The sealers have rammed our cars, smashed our boats, and brandished the very same clubs that they use to kill baby seals -- all in a vain attempt to intimidate us.

Then yesterday, Canada’s government took an unprecedented step: It refused to issue hunt observation permits to our team -- and to journalists -- in time for us to document the slaughter this morning. This means that sealers, if they have reached the seals by now, are killing baby seals without witnesses. Which is exactly what they want.

Watch our video to see what we're up against. It's hard to watch (and you can skip it if you prefer). But it shows why we'll remain here, steadfast, until Canada ends this barbaric hunt for good. Exposing the hunt is the surest way I know to stop it forever.

As another year's slaughter begins, watch our video now -- and then please make a donation to sustain our team on the ice and end this hunt once and for all.

The seal hunters don't want us here, but with your support, we'll continue the fight until the cruel hunt ends.

Sincerely,
Rebecca Aldworth
Director of Canadian Wildlife Issues
The Humane Society of the United States

Sign our Petition: Save the Giant Sequoias

I have good news and I have bad news.

The good news is that thanks to the support of our Sierra Club members and supporters we were able to block a staggering 5,000-acre timber sale in the Giant Sequoia National Monument.

But the bad news is our fight to protect the majestic Giant Sequoias is not over. More than half of the remaining groves — located in Giant Sequoia National Monument — are in jeopardy because, despite being rebuked by the federal courts, the Bush Administration is refusing to back off its plan to log this irreplaceable ancient forest. That’s why we are asking you to act now and sign our petition to Forest Service Chief Abigail Kimbell, asking her to implement the strongest possible protections for Giant Sequoia National Monument.

Without these protections, loggers would be permitted to cut down trees of any species 30” in diameter or larger — a size that normally takes two centuries or more to grow. In addition, timber companies would be entitled to take 7.5 million board feet of lumber from Giant Sequoia National Monument each year — enough trees to fill 2,500 logging trucks — that’s a truck almost every three hours!

Your signed petition to Abigail Kimbell will put the U.S. Forest Service on notice that the American people won’t stand by as commercial logging damages this fragile ecosystem and threatens our remaining Giant Sequoia groves. And with your backing we will work to extend permanent protections to these magnificent and imperiled trees — by transferring management of the Giant Sequoia National Monument to the National Park Service.

The future of our cherished Giant Sequoia National Monument is hanging in the balance — please sign our petition today - and help preserve these awe-inspiring trees for generations to come.

Sincerely,
Greg Haegele
Director of Conservation

PS. Some Sequoia trees have lived as long as 3,500 years — but they are facing their biggest threats yet during the Bush Administration’s two terms — please act now.

Sierra Club
85 Second Street, 2nd Fl.
San Francisco, CA 94105
membership.services@sierraclub.org
(415) 977-5653
http://www.sierraclub.org/

'Racist' slurs mar gypsy consultation

Published Date: 27 March 2008
Location: Bedford

By Paul Fisher

Council says it can't publish more than 3,000 responses to a document seeking views on where to put new traveller caravan pitches in Mid Beds.

'Racist' comments from more than 3,000 residents have overshadowed a public consultation on plans to provide new pitches for travellers in Mid Bedfordshire.

Mid Beds District Council asked its taxpayers' for their views late last year – but of the 3,500 responses received, only 400 can be published.

The overwhelming majority refer to criminal activity or feature other racist remarks, the authority has said.

The council, which needs to find 25 more caravan pitches for travellers under the Government's Local Development Framework, has now been forced to extend the consultation period until May, to allow residents to submit revised opinions.

Cliff Codona, chairman of the National Travellers Action Group, said the consultation just proved the type of racism the gypsy community regularly faces.

He said: "There is racism against travellers and I think you could not have picked a better area of the country to prove that fact. It is nothing to do with gypsies or travellers, it is just everyone jumping on the bandwagon. However it should not stop the council following through Government legislation that says traveller sites should be provided. They should get on with it and provide sites that are desperately needed. Every time plans are put on hold it gives people time to put the boot in."

Mid Beds District Council is now writing to the 3,100 people who submitted unacceptable comments to ask whether they would like to resubmit their views, but based on planning issues and not stereotypes.
Mark Hustwitt, spokesman for the council, said: "It would not be responsible for us to publish any racist responses.

"If someone objects because of a planning reason, like being against a development because it is on a greenfield site, then we will publish it, but we cannot discriminate against any group because of stereotypes.

"No-one would now say someone should not get planning permission because they are black or gay; this applies equally to gypsies and travellers.

"I must say we were very surprised at the response. I think it is one of those areas where people find it acceptable to be racist and they are wrong."

The 400 comments that are acceptable will be published on the council's website this week.

The council will look at the preferred sites for development in May.

Mr Hustwitt added: "There are already many gypsy families living quietly in Mid Beds who are part of their communities. We are obliged to find 25 sites in Mid Beds to help control unauthorised encampments."

Bedford Borough Council is is under the same Government obligation to provide between ten and 15 new pitches for travellers across the borough. It expects to announce a consultation period soon.

The full article contains 479 words and appears in n/a newspaper.

Last Updated: 27 March 2008 3:01 PM

Bulgaria's childrens homes creak under weight of social ills

SOFIA (AFP) — Faced with the urgent problem of some 8,000 abandoned children, Bulgaria is desperately trying to modernise its network of dilapidated orphanages amid revelations of paedophilia and cruelty.

Deliberately built in isolated settings by the previous communist regime, its 144 state "homes for children deprived of parental care" have an odd formal purpose, given orphans account for just two percent of their population.

Social affairs minister Emilia Maslarova explains that many are readily given up by their parents, but that these parents refuse to sign away parental rights which prevents the children from entering adoption programmes.

The depth of the sector's problems hit home earlier this month when an adolescent girl in an orphanage in the western town of Tran was killed, with another boy and girl injured by a man who subsequently committed suicide.

The killer, a 67-year-old paedophile with a rape conviction already on his record, apparently succumbed to jealous rage over special attention paid to the injured gypsy girl by a member of the orphanage's staff.

Meanwhile, in northwestern Bulgaria, three young girls at an orphanage in Berkovitsa told New Television station that three men paid them "to undress" and "to play doctors."

The centre's director acknowledged that "paedophiles have shown interest in the children."

At Plovdiv, in the south, several children were able to eat rat poison held within their dormitories, which they thought was candy.

And in Sofia, another young girl was injured when she fell from a window while trying to hang herself with an improvised cord made out of bed sheets.

According to the management of one orphanage, these incidents can be explained due to poor supervision as it is difficult to attract qualified staff with salaries of 170 euros (265 dollars) per month.

Prosecutors have launched investigations into the conditions at state orphanages in the country of 7.7 million inhabitants, still struggling to cope with the transition from a communist to a capitalist economy.

"Homes right across the country are in a deplorable state and incidents such as these can happen anywhere," Zoia Sokolova, director of Sofia orphanage 'Assen Zlatarov' told AFP.

This centre, held up as a model for the system, "barely keeps (its) head above water" and is also toiling with a dearth of qualified personnel.

Centralised efforts to move away from the cruel practice of isolating mentally handicapped or delinquent children have created a strain on resources which is proving very difficult to manage.

"Twenty percent of our children come from families with serious problems, 14 percent have been convicted of crimes and another eight percent have suffered from sexual violence," Sokolova added.

"People expect that our homes can produce miracles.... Without (proper) support from the authorities, it's an absurd expectation."

On the grounds of poor care, the government agency charged with protecting children's rights has recommended the closure of sites such as the one at Tran and a home for mentally handicapped children at Mogilinio, in the north.

But these orphanages continue to operate because their staff have jobs which cannot be given up.

"The homes produce marginals, outsiders," says Slavka Koukova of Bulgaria's Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, part of an international network of independent, not-for-profit watchdogs which has been monitoring these homes for years.

"The problems within these homes stem from incompetence at every level," she underlined.

Efforts at reform have been underway since 2001, with the very worst orphanages closed and families, usually Roma (gypsy), given encouragement to take their children back.

Some adoptions, however, have been snarled up in red tape for as long as three or four years, whereas the very fact of living in these establishments hinders a child's development, Sokolova said.

In 2003, Bulgaria began reforming its adoption system to bring it into line with international norms and in an effort to stamp out corruption and child trafficking.

But the net result has been a sharp fall in the numbers finding new families: just 708 children were adopted in 2007, against 1,600 per year prior to the changes.

Copyright © 2008 AFP. All rights reserved.

Music Review: Gabi Lunca - Gabi Lunca: Sounds From A Bygone Era - Vol.5

Written by Richard Marcus
Published March 23, 2008

When my mother's grandfather came to Canada in the 19th century from Bucharest, Romania, (according to family legend he knifed a Cossack during a pogrom and had to leave in a hurry) they chose Quebec because they were fluent in French. Bucharest, along with a couple other cities, considered itself the Paris of the Danube. It was common for educated Romanians to be bilingual, and even favour French over their native tongue as a sign of their cultural refinement.

While this influence waned in the twentieth century, especially after Romania was "protected" from the corrupting influences of the West by the Iron Curtain, French cultural influences could still be found in certain areas. At the same time, while Romania's gypsy population had suffered horrible deprivations in World War Two due to being one of the Nazi's targeted inferior races, the influence of that culture on popular music that was performed in clubs in the cities, or community events like weddings in the country, was undeniable.

While the music was undeniably gypsy, with the familiar sounds of the tzimbal, violin, and accordion leading the way, and the language being sung was Romanian, the first time I heard Gabi Lunca sing I was reminded of Edith Piaf and others of the great French chanteuse tradition. Perhaps it's because I wasn't paying any attention to the lyrics, as I don't speak any Romanian, but only listening to the sound of the singer's voice, that I made the connection. Whatever the reason, there was no denying to my ears the connection between the two singers.

(MORE)

STREET PEOPLE: Flamenco dancer Lakshmi Basile's gypsy spirit

Named after the Hindu goddess of beauty (and nicknamed "La Chimi" by Spaniards who can't wrap their tongues around it), flamenco dancer Lakshmi Basile jetsets between Seville, Spain and her hometown of San Diego to present her vein-blistering-hot work.

Meet the most authentic gypsy-style flamenco dancer in town (or see her Luna Flamenca troupe's "Trois" at the Lyceum this month).

Age: 26

Your artistic motto, in two words: Amor y disfrutar (love and enjoyment)

Care to elaborate? When I dance I feel like I'm connecting to my ancestors, to my great-grandfather who was an Arabic gypsy [from Egypt]. When I dance flamenco...it messes with my soul.

What else can you dance? Ballet, modern dance, jazz, tap, breakdancing, Irish dancing...but I've never been able to express myself and get something across to other people like I do with flamenco.

Tell us about your new show: The reason why it's called "Trois," which means three in French is because of the storyline. It's like a love triangle. There are three dancers, including myself, backed by musicians...and it [shows] a woman who has her partner and all of a sudden is swept off her feet by an older man.

How'd you get into Flamenco? I grew up around it...My mom [worked] in Barcelona when she was young as a flamenco dancer. My aunt in Paraguay has a flamenco and folk dance academy.

What's flamenco mean? There are a couple of different takes on the meaning. The song, the dance and the guitar didn't come until the 19th century, when a large contingent of gypsies went through Flanders, the Flemish [region]. The Spanish word for that is "Flemings."

Is there a general theme to the dances? There's not a general theme, there are so many different colors to it. It's just expression overall of a current feeling. We have various styles called "palos." There's "alegria," which literally means happy. "Soledad," which means loneliness.

I'd say the majority of the palos are somber, the older styles are definitely more somber. And as it developed it became happier, when the gypsies got more settled in Spain...the style became more of a party style. If you look at the oldest palos, [they're about] not having food, being a peasant, being a fugitive.

Is it hard getting acceptance as an American flamenco dancer, even though you studied with the legendary Farruco family? Especially being American born, it's not easy being accepted in the flamenco world, and even less so in the gypsy world. But people don't think I'm from there, because of my features. [Editor's note: Basile's family hails largely from South America] But it hasn't all been enjoyable.

The nature of the arts is already very competitive; they already bring a lot of drama. Working in Spain the first year at Tablas I'd go home every night crying, because people were downing me. I've even had moments when my master teacher took me to add me to a list of artists and an agent laughed in my face. It was like, ugh, ouch...I grew up dancing, just like them. I was born in the arts. But when it comes to me dancing, it's been wonderful, and I feel like I'm free.

Where she hangs: I definitely stop by the Turquoise in PB; it's like a little European Bar. The owner Basilio Ceravolo, he's the one who had all the impromptu flamenco parties when I was a little girl. This was my mom's first friend [when she came] from Argentina. On Tuesdays he has flamenco night. And every time I go I get treated like a queen.

Then other than there, my house in Encanto. I have a big family and we're all musicians and artists and the next thing you know the guitar comes out and the piano...

Where she eats: Thai Time over in North Park.

Perfect San Diego weekend: I would say lunch out there in Seaport Village and then a little walk there or anywhere near the beach -- PB or Coronado.

Then in the evening going to some bar like Basilico's, where you get some kind of ethnic music, because I'm not into the typical techno. Then the next day, I'd be happy to have another beach day, then go to the movies. I love the Gaslamp, over the years it's been getting better and better. And definitely being with my family. They're very key to me.

Then to finish up the weekend, just have a flamenco party at my house or someone else's house with wine and friends and by 2 in the morning we start singing and dancing. I live for those. I'm going to do this for my birthday. A flamenco "juerga," [which] means party. I love parties, I grew up at parties, I'll probably die partying.

Favorite Books:
"Maldito Gitano" by Ronald Lee
"Libro de Poemas/Romancero Gitano/Llanto por Sanchez Mejias" etc. by Federico Garcia Lorca
"The Art of Flamenco" by Donn Pohren
"The Dirty Girls Social Club" by Alisa Valdés-Rodríguez
"Tao Of Jeet Kune Do" by Bruce Lee
"The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe

Top 10 songs:

1. "Se Nos Rompe el Amor" by Fernanda de Utrera
2. "Ruthenian Rock" by The Electrocarpathians
3. "Cry Baby" by Janis Joplin
4. "El Poeta Lloro" by Bambino
5. "Wish You Where Here" by Pink Floyd
6. "Let´s Stay Together" by Al Green
7. "Rumanian Tune" by The Electrocarpathians
8. "No Ordinary Love" by Sade
9. "Kaya" by Bob Marley
10. "Bulerias" by Manuel Molina

Lakshmi Basile's troupe, Luna Flamenca, will perform "Trois" at the Lyceum March 27-28.

Saunders - From Romany to Beijing

By Chris Dennis

Billy Joe Saunders is aiming for boxing gold at the Beijing Olympics but may have created history already.

As far as he knows, the 18-year-old welterweight from Hatfield is the first person from the Romany gypsy community to qualify for an Olympic Games.

Billy Joe clinched his place at a qualifying event in Italy earlier this month and is one of seven boxers to make Team GB for Beijing.

Billy Joe Saunders is not the only British boxer with genuine medal prospects for Beijing, but his background has to be the most fascinating.

He comes from the Romany gypsy community and lives on a caravan site near Hatfield in Hertfordshire.

Boxing runs deep in the Saunders family, who are immensely proud of their heritage.

His brother Tommy is a professional, his Dad Tom was an amateur and his great, great grandfather, the wonderfully named Absolom Beeny, now aged 96, used to make his living fighting in the old boxing booth at fairgrounds.

Billy Joe admits he has heard all the stories a hundred times, but once he and his brother had visited the local boxing club, he was hooked.

I hope what Billy Joe has done will help people understand a bit more about our Romany culture - Tom Saunders

"Boxing has kept me off the streets, stops me smoking and drinking and gives me something to do", he said.

His background may be colourful, but make no mistake, Billy Joe Saunders is one very special boxer.

As a boy he wasn't the most naturally gifted, but had an inner toughness that set him apart from other fighters.

His trainer, Danny Hoy, said: "When I saw him have to dig down into his boots against much older boys, I thought this kid is not the same as anyone else. There is something with this kid".

It is that something which made Billy Joe a real prospect for London 2012, so qualification for Beijing means he is effectively four years ahead of schedule.

But he is not just going to China for a holiday or for the cultural experience.

He remembers watching Amir Khan win silver in Athens four years ago, and wants to go one better. "I'm aiming for gold, simple as that", he said.

His achievement has made a real splash not just in the Saunders family, but in the gypsy community at large.

Billy Joe's father, Tom, hopes the British public will get behind his son in Beijing:

He said: "I hope what Billy Joe has done will help people understand a bit more about our Romany culture. That would be fantastic."

For the moment Billy Joe is enjoying the limelight but he knows there is plenty more hard work ahead.

He is proud of his achievements, proud of his roots and does not seem to have a care in the world.

His only worry is not knowing all the words to the national anthem.

Now there is confidence for you.

Story from BBC SPORT:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport1/hi/olympics/boxing/7302418.stm

Published: 2008/03/18 11:22:39 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

'No legal status' for Scotland's gypsies

UK, 17.3.2008, 11:11, (The Scotsman )

SCOTTISH gypsy travellers are not a separate ethnic group under the Race Relations Act and therefore not entitled to make racial-discrimination claims, a tribunal has ruled. Kenneth MacLennan, of Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, had complained of racial discrimination, alleging he was victimised by being dismissed for "taking a stance on behalf of gypsy travellers".

But employment judge Nicol Hosie rejected his complaint. In his written judgment he said: "While there may be a body of opinion that Scottish gypsy travellers should be treated as an ethnic group and should enjoy the protection of the 1976 act, there is no legislation, as yet, which affords them such protection. "Although under the 1976 act, (as amended in 2000) English Romany gypsies and Irish travellers are protected as ethnic groups, Scottish gypsy travellers are not protected in the same way.''

Help Save Polar Bears and Other Arctic Wildlife

The news for polar bears is bleak -- polar bears could disappear entirely from Alaska within 50 short years due to a drastic decline in Arctic sea ice.

But Big Oil and their allies in Congress are willing to sell out our vanishing polar bears for a few barrels of oil. Well, I'm doing something to protect Arctic wildlife and our polar bear's last stand -- and I hope you will, too.

It's easy to get involved -- Just take action online at the website below:

http://action.defenders.org/arcticwilderness

Polar bears and other Arctic wildlife are facing a double-barreled threat from Congress and the Bush/Cheney Administration.

President Bush is calling for Arctic National Wildlife Refuge drilling in his budget. And Sens. Ted Stevens and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have introduced legislation to link drilling plans to gas prices -- despite federal estimates that such drilling would do next to nothing to reduce gas prices.

Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would, however, threaten the most important land-based habitat that America's vanishing polar bears have left.

Please urge your Senators to reject the latest Arctic Refuge drilling plans and permanently safeguard this special place by designating portions of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as federally protected wilderness -- take action online now at:

http://action.defenders.org/arcticwilderness

Thanks for your help...

Yellowstone Buffalo Headed to Slaughterhouse. Save Them Now.

Yellowstone's wild, free-roaming buffalo herd is under siege.

The Bush Administration is turning America's greatest national park into a killing ground for hundreds of mighty bison -- better known as American buffalo.

We must speak out against this cold-blooded cruelty NOW -- because every week, more of these noble creatures are being herded into cattle trucks to be slaughtered.

This winter alone, more than 1,000 wild bison have been brutally killed by the National Park Service and the Montana Department of Livestock -- or shipped to slaughterhouses.

And come May, newborn calves are just as likely to be killed as their mothers.

We cannot stand by and let this massacre continue: Send a protest message now.

Right now, it's still winter in Yellowstone, and these unsuspecting buffalo are following historic migratory routes in search of food at lower elevations where there is less snow.

When the buffalo venture near or beyond the park's boundary, they will continue to be rounded up and killed -- unless we start a national outcry.

What makes this sacrifice so senseless is that it's all to protect 12 to 16 domestic cows and steers that graze near the park from the theoretical risk of a disease -- brucellosis -- that has never been transmitted from bison to cattle in a natural setting.

Yes, you read those numbers right: 1,000 wild bison slaughtered to protect a little more than a dozen cows outside the park that have most likely been vaccinated against the disease, or easily could be.

Please speak out and stop the slaughter. Yellowstone's buffalo are a national treasure: America's last, free-roaming herd. The National Park Service should be their guardian, not their executioner.

Our goal this week is to create a virtual "stampede" of 50,000 protest messages that will convince the National Park Service to call a halt to the killing.

Together, we must speak out to spare the lives of Yellowstone's surviving buffalo so that they can again roam wild and free.

Sincerely,

Frances Beinecke
President
NRDC Action Fund

A knock-out blow for British racism?

Thought Leader
Tony Jackman

The word is not as incendiary as “kaffir”. It does not offend the ear as would “nigger” or “jewboy”. It is, in fact, a rather beautiful word. But in the United Kingdom, utter the word “gypsy” and rooms go quiet; looks are exchanged, brows furrowed and lips pursed. And arguments rage.

A gypsy is to many an Englishman or -woman what a “kaffir” was to many a white South African or a “nigger” to a Southern plantation owner: one to be marginalised, one presumed lesser than oneself, one who could not be trusted, one best not associated with.

The country that (correctly) had so much to say to South Africans about racism in the apartheid years is yet to address its own attitudes to a marginalised people on its own doorstep: Romany gypsies, more often euphemistically referred to as “travellers”. This moniker will bring an ironic smile to the lips of South Africans who remember how the Nats, in the Eighties, came up with the idiotic “plurals” and the even dafter Afrikaans equivalent, “plurales“, for black South Africans.

Every fight worth fighting needs a catalyst, and the gypsy community in the UK has been presented with the perfect trigger, on a golden platter, for highlighting its own marginalism within that country: a young Romany gypsy boxer, Billy Joe Saunders, has been selected for the British team to the Beijing Olympics. His trainer is Terry Edwards, who guided Amir Khan to his own Olympic glory earlier in the decade.

And he’s apparently a true Romany gypsy, rather than a “diddicoy“, the (offensive?) term used for people in that part of the world who live as gypsies without necessarily being true Romany gypsies.

What a name the lad has. He sounds as though he’s stepped right out of an American trailer park, or he could be the star turn at the Grand Ole Opry. In fact, a trailer park isn’t far from the truth, for many gypsies in the UK live in prefabricated homes set up, often illegally, on informal land. The old, romantic image of gypsies clad in scarves and much jewellery and living in wooden caravans in sylvan glades, treading toadstools underfoot, is only the stuff of fairy tales today.

Billy Joe Saunders now bears on his young shoulders the chance to bring pride and glory to arguably Britain’s most sidelined community, shunned by “proper” Brits as a bunch of inveterate rubbishes, criminals and worse.

When I lived in the south of England, in West Sussex, a clan of travelling gypsies set up camp on a farm near our small town. I’m not going to argue the appropriateness of them settling on land they may not own. What interested me, however, was the reactions of locals to this unwanted community on their doorstep. Their attitudes reminded me so much of racist white South Africans’ attitudes to other races.

They were “those people”, “them”, “not like us”. I remonstrated with a newspaper colleague at the time. But they’re just people, I said. I mean, if you passed a Romany gypsy in the street, you wouldn’t even know it. They aren’t even recognisable by physical characteristics. They’re just people with their own traditions and ways.

Not at all. I was given a stern lecture on why these people were not to be regarded as you would ordinary people. They were morally corrupt, useless, good-for-nothing thieves. To a man, woman and child. And as a group.

I pointed out that to classify an entire group in such terms was virtually the definition of prejudice, but was met with derision. Obviously I had no experience of the gypsy community or I wouldn’t say that, she told me.

Now imagine if you or I were to say the same things about “blacks” or “Jews”? The same people would instantly chide us and correct our racist attitudes. But many Britons simply do not see it in the same way.

Here and there while in the UK I brought up the subject of gypsies with other people, and always I was met with a similar response.

The support of many Britons for the anti-apartheid cause was a superb and hugely helpful thing, and I treasure it, but isn’t it about time that nation addressed its own prejudices towards Romany gypsies? And, for that matter, for “diddicoys“?

Go to the blog entry and comment:
http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/tonyjackman/2008/03/12/a-knock-out-blow-for-british-racism/

'Student Gypsy' Opens at Eureka Theater on 03/29

by BWW News Desk

42nd Street Moon continues its fifteenth season of Uncommon Musicals in Concert with Alameda native Rick Besoyan’s riotously funny The Student Gypsy (or “The Prince of Liederkranz”), the 1963 follow-up to his smash-hit operetta-spoof, Little Mary Sunshine. Maureen McVerry, who made her highly-acclaimed company debut last year in Pardon My English, returns to play the role of gypsy queen Zampa Allescu. The show previews on March 27 & 28, opens on March 29 at 6 pm, and runs through April 13, with a special family matinee on Saturday April 5 @ 1 pm.

A wacky hybrid, like a Romberg operetta crossed with a zany Marx Brothers farce, The Student Gypsy is set in turn-of-the-century Singspielia, where Merry May Glockenspiel, a charming but myopic young woman, takes up with a band of gypsies in her search for romance. Her mentor, Zampa the Gypsy Queen, has a dark secret involving the true identity of the Prince of neighboring Liederkranz. The show opened to good reviews, but a newspaper strike kept much of the public from reading opinions such as the NY Daily News that hailed it as “fresh, delightfully tuneful, and achingly funny.” Songs include Romance, Seventh Heaven Waltz, and the show’s hit, the daffy bell-ringing number Ting-a-Ling Dearie.

Maureen McVerry, winner of five Bay Area Theatre Critics' Circle Awards and two Drama-Logue Awards, has appeared with such Bay Area theater companies as A.C.T., TheatreWorks, and San Jose Rep., and was most recently featured in the Aurora Theatre’s Sex. Since 1994 she has performed her evolving one-woman cabaret show, Verry McVerry. Film and television credits include Nine Months, True Believer, Big Business, The Ox and the Eye, and Full House.

The Student Gypsy will be directed by 42nd Street Moon’s Founding Artistic Director, Greg McKellan. Dave Dobrusky is Music Director and Staci Arriaga will choreograph. Rena Wilson, recently featured in the Willows Production of Cats, stars with McVerry as Merry May Glockenspiel, the role originated by Eileen Brennan. Recent New York transplant Gabriel Grilli is Rudolph Von Schlump and Tony Panighetti takes Dom DeLuise’s old role as medicine show entertainer, Muffin T. Ragamuffin. Papa Glockenspiel is played by Richard Pardini, with Tyler Kent as Col. Helmut Blunderbuss. Juliet Heller as Ginger Glockenspiel, Jarrod Quon as Zampa’s son, the evil Gryphon Allescu, and Buzz Halsing as King Osgood the Good. Other cast members are Brandon Finch, Lillian Askew, Molly Coogan, Samantha Bartholomew, Erin Hoffman and Christopher Nelson.

Moon at 15! continues with the André Previn/Alan Jay Lerner tribute to the fascinating world of Parisian fashion, Coco (1968). Cabaret and concert star Andrea Marcovicci brings her captivating high style to the role of the mercurial fashion doyenne Coco Chanel. Coco will be presented April 24 – May 11, 2008.

Tickets ranging from $22 - $38 are available through the 42nd Street Moon Box Office at 415/255-8207 (Open Tues. – Fri. from noon to 5 p.m.), or through the website www.42ndstmoon.org . All performances are presented at San Francisco’s intimate Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson St. in San Francisco.

Travellers' tales

We need to know who our Gypsy pupils are...

Janette Owen
Tuesday March 11, 2008
The Guardian


In June, schools across the country will have the opportunity to take part in the first Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month, aimed at raising awareness and exploring the history, culture and languages of these communities. But the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) hopes that the themed lessons will have an additional impact.
According to the schools minister Lord Adonis, many Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils are among the lowest-achieving in our schools and the situation is not improving. Fear of prejudice and bullying has meant that many children and families are too scared to identify themselves, and without that knowledge schools are unable to apply for the extra support and funding that is available to help them.

The DCSF has produced a document, called The Inclusion of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Children and Young People, which aims to persuade schools and local authorities to stamp out prejudice and ensure that the children get the extra support they deserve.

What can governors do to boost this initiative? They need to support the head in identifying which families need help. The guide says: "Schools and local authorities cannot comply with their duties under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 unless they are aware of the ethnicity and cultural diversity of their school population."

It suggests schools try to recruit governors from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller backgrounds. Governors should devise strategies to encourage parents to volunteer, and not feel they lack the skills required.

The vulnerability of these pupils must be recognised in the school's behaviour and anti-bullying policies. According to the guide: "It is equally important for schools to have, within their anti-bullying policy, examples of racist terminology pertinent to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities."

Heads should provide governors with information on racist incidents at least annually and ideally once a term. Governing bodies are required to inform their local education authority annually of incidents.

Adonis says: "Children from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities should feel safe and cherished in school, and therefore parents and pupils will be proud to identify themselves. Schools now have a duty to promote community cohesion, and this is a real issue for their attention."

The Inclusion of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Children and Young People can be downloaded from the online publications section of teachernet.gov.uk.
Education.governor@guardian.co.uk

Wolf Opponent for McCain's Vice President?

With last week’s primary wins in Texas and Ohio, Senator John McCain is the last Republican presidential candidate standing.

Unfortunately, one name being circulated as a possible pick for his Vice President is someone who has made the slaughter of wolves a personal goal... first-term Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

Wildlife conservation is not a partisan issue. Tell Governor Palin that you believe that no one should support her in a bid for the Vice Presidency or any office until she cleans up her act.

This is the same Sarah Palin who…

-Introduced legislation that could deny more than 50,000 Alaskans the right to vote on aerial killing of wolves and bears.

-Has condoned a $400,000 state-funded propaganda campaign to convince Alaskans to support the state’s shooting of wolves and bears from airplanes -- even though wildlife biologists from around the world say that it is scientifically unfounded.

-Nominated her high school basketball coach a man with no wildlife management experience to sit on the state’s powerful Board of Game.

-Proposed a $150 bounty to spur wolf killing in specified management zones.

Sign our petition and help us turn the national spotlight on Governor Palin’s shameful record.

As the last eight years have demonstrated, leadership counts. Please sign our petition today and let Governor Palin know that dedicated conservationists across America expect better from our elected leaders.

For the Wildlife!
Rodger Schlickeisen
President
Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund

Pigs Scalped in the Name of Medicical Education - There is a Better Way!

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD is one of the last schools to use live animals for surgical training.

Tell the Dean of Johns Hopkins to stop teaching cruelty to animals and start teaching compassionate medicine!

One of their heartless practices involves anesthetizing pigs and cutting into their bodies with scalpels while they are still alive.

When the class is over, the poor creatures are killed and their bodies end up in waste disposal bags.

It’s time for every single medical school to stop inflicting pain and suffering on defenseless animals and start using human-focused or computer simulated teaching alternatives!

Last year the American Medical Student Association passed a resolution encouraging non-animal alternatives in medical education. Already, more than 90 percent of schools have eliminated live animal labs from their curricula altogether. Urge Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine to follow suit >>

Thank you for doing what's right for every living creature.

Gypsy music in KC

By TIMOTHY FINN
The Kansas City Star

The Gipsy Kings perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Uptown Theater, 3700 Broadway. Tickets cost $59.50 to $95. The music of Romany — gypsy music — has been influenced by so many cultures, it’s nearly impossible to declare any of it “genuine” or pure.

In an online essay, “The Never-Ending Roma Question,” Ivan Sever, an associate professor at Harvard University, wrote: “Ranging the whole gamut from painfully slow laments to incredibly carefree whirling dances, Romany music has always carried a clear and very emotional message. From classical musicians like Liszt, Bizet, Brahms, Dvorak, Verdi, Rachmaninov and Bartok to flamenco, klezmer and jazz, the influences of Romany music are undeniable.”

The next two evenings, Kansas City’s music menu includes two bands who have tapped into that rich, flamboyant heritage: the flamboyant and frenetic gypsy-punk band Gogol Bordello, who performs tonight at the Beaumont Club; and the more traditional seven-piece gypsy-flamenco troupe, the Gipsy Kings, who perform Friday night at the Uptown Theater.

The two are about as similar as “Monty Python” and “Masterpiece Theatre,” as different as the Pogues and Spyro Gyra; but they both incite similar responses from their audiences: lots of motion and glee. A look at each:

Gogol Bordello: This eight-piece band was founded by a Ukranian, Eugene Hutz, who coined the term (and the music) gypsy punk. (See related story on Hutz on Page 39.) His band is a melting pot — it includes an Ethiopian-born bass player, a Russian violinist, a Slavic accordionist, an Israeli guitarist and a South American percussionist — and so is its music.

Writers struggle to define their sound and their live shows, which are an orgy of sights and sound and a cauldron of rhythms and energy. Time Out New York called it “Transylvanian rural avant-hard” and “Ukranian punk cabaret.” Its latest album, “Super Taranta!” expresses the rich, fluent brew of music styles and theatrical twists and gimmicks. But check out the live show, which takes its transcendent music to another giddy level.

Gipsy Kings: The Kings are two sets of brothers: Nicolas, Canut, Paul, Patchaï and André Reyes; and Tonino, Paco and Diego Baliardos. They are from France; they sing in Gitane, a hybrid “gypsy dialect” that comprises French, Spanish and Catalan.

The Reyeses learned flamenco from their father, the famous singer Jose Reyes.

In the 1970s the Reyes brothers started performing with their cousins, the Baliardos (sons of Jose Reyes’ guitarist, Manitas de Plata). They would eventually call themselves the Gipsy Kings, and play the more pop-oriented flamenco rumba and gypsy rumba styles. In 1987, they released “The Gipsy Kings,” which included their first international hit, a rumba version of the Julio Iglesias hit “Bamboleo.”

Some of their other hits include covers: “Volare,” “A Mi Manera” (a cover of the Frank Sinatra hit “My Way”) and a cover of the Eagles’ “Hotel California.” On this tour, the band is going more acoustic and traditional, meaning no synthesizers and more organic percussion, like hand clapping.

Vt. Towns Approve Bush 'Indictment'

Another reason to LOVE VT:)

By JOHN CURRAN Associated Press
Writer
BRATTLEBORO, Vt. Mar 4, 2008 (AP)

Voters in two Vermont towns approved measures Tuesday calling for the indictment of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for what they consider violations of the Constitution.

More symbolic than anything, the items sought to have police arrest Bush and Cheney if they ever visit Brattleboro or nearby Marlboro or to extradite them for prosecution elsewhere — if they're not impeached first.

In Brattleboro, the vote was 2,012-1,795. In Marlboro, which held a town meeting on the issue, it was 43-25 with three abstentions.

"I hope the one thing that people take from this is, 'Hey, it can be done,'" said Kurt Daims, 54, who organized the petition drive that led to the Brattleboro vote.

(MORE)

Gogol Bordello founder blends his heritage, rock's energy

By BRIAN MCCOLLUM
Detroit Free Press

Teenage boy flees the Soviet Union, his gypsy family fearing fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Spends formative years in European refugee camps. Winds up in Vermont, U.S.A. Eventually gravitates to New York and forms a band that will become known as one of rock's hottest live acts, playing to increasingly adoring audiences around the world.

It's all so colorful and exotic it sounds like a fanciful short-story plot. But it's the real-life tale of Eugene Hutz, fountainhead of the band Gogol Bordello and an artist who's emerging as one of modern music's true renaissance men.

The charismatic Hutz and his compatriots call their music "gypsy-punk" - a flamboyant, mosh-ready style draped in the whirling sounds of Eastern European folk. As the Pogues did with Celtic styles two decades ago, so Gogol Bordello has done with Roma music, the band's accordions and fiddles leading the fiery sonic charge.

The group's records have started to garner attention - last year's "Super Taranta" landed on many critics' best-of lists - but it's the Gogol Bordello live show that seals the deal. The band's high-energy concerts have been hailed by both punk purists and world-music buffs for offering that most fundamental of musical pleasures: primal release.

History is filled with artists who have broken new ground by viewing a musical form from the outside, processing it through their unique filter and emphasizing traits the natives may have missed or taken for granted. The Beatles did it with American rock `n' roll, the British did it with the electric blues, and now Hutz just might be doing it with punk - spotting the cathartic energy it shares with the age-old folk music of his nomadic ancestors.

"There are not so many things that can provide that," says Hutz, speaking in the clipped but melodic accent that exposes his native Ukraine. "I have artists who were that release for me, so of course I want to reinvent that outlet in my own way, and to maximize it, actually. So there's a lot of merging of different cultures - cultures that rely strongly on that music as almost a drug to keep them high."

(MORE)

Different strokes, different folks

Tolerance is at the heart of equestrian troupe Zingaro's newest performance, 'Battuta,'which follows a day in the lives of gypsies with a crew from diverse backgrounds.

By Lynne O'Donnell
AFP, HONG KONG
Sunday, Mar 02, 2008, Page 19


Bartabas, enigmatic visionary behind one of the world's most spectacular circuses, says his latest equestrian extravaganza is a celebration of life that transcends nationality, religion and race.

The show - in which 36 horses and their riders gallop around an arena for 90 minutes of fast-paced, acrobatic and comic story-telling - is a showcase, he says, for his philosophy of tolerance.

The theme is in the show's name: Battuta - a term he created from a combination of words cherry-picked from his native French, Romanian and Romany which he says aims to convey the energy and beauty of Gypsy music.

"I went to Romania and I was very surprised to see how these people (Gypsies) are treated," said Bartabas, who is known only by his stage name.

"In Europe they are outsiders, even though more than 20 years ago, people in Europe were talking about open borders. But we don't accept that people live differently, because their values are different."

Sitting in the stalls of the four-pointed tent erected on the northern shore of Hong Kong harbor in which the show takes place, Bartabas said this latest production by his company Zingaro - Gypsy in Italian - continues a tradition of drawing inspiration from a variety of cultures and lifestyles.


"It is a very important idea for Zingaro, to be able to live with people of all religions, nationalities and philosophies," he said.

"They come and live with us," he says of Zingaro's performers and musicians who hail from across Europe.

"We live always in the theater - not because we are a family of gypsies, but because we need to live with the horses and live together. The idea is that we have to learn from one another."

Bartabas is regarded in Europe as an almost mythical figure because he insists on using his stage name only, and stories abound of his origins stretching from Romania to Rajasthan.

A day in the life of a gypsy family

But as he watches riders exercise two of the 38 horses who arrived in Hong Kong aboard two Boeing 747 jets, he says there is no mystery about him.

"I come from outside Paris, my father was an architect, I did not grow up riding, but I was always fascinated by horses and I followed many disciplines - racing, dressage, bullfighting, jumping - before I came to this."

From his base near Versailles, Bartabas has built an equestrian academy, with support from the French government, where he trains horses and riders and creates his narrative spectacles.

The current show, which has been thrilling Hong Kong audiences since early last month, took three years to perfect, he says.

It portrays a day in the life of a Gypsy community, beginning with the breaking of camp at dawn through a rambunctious series of events from women fighting over stolen washing, to a young bride eloping with her lover, being chased and brought home by her irate father and brothers - all on horseback.

Two Gypsy orchestras - a brass ensemble from Moldova and fiddlers from Transylvania - provide a jolly, pace-setting soundtrack to the breathtaking acrobatics.

Riders perform somersaults, headstands and stripteases on horseback; they dance, ride two horses at once and swap mounts mid-stride; one rider makes her horse skip in double-time; another leaps on and off a cantering draft horse.

A gang of youths show off to each other by throwing their hats on the ground and picking them up again, all the while maintaining a frenetic gallop, standing in their saddles, beating their chests and shouting at each other like young men hanging out on street corners the world over.

The pace never wanes - and Bartabas described Battuta as the most ambitious show he has produced since Zingaro was established in 1984.

"Now I'm working a lot on the energy and physical impact," he said. "It is not an intellectual show - it gets your heart first, and then your head. I have no text, there's no reason for me to use language."

"I don't make the performance to show the horses - I want to show the reaction and relationship between man and horse. The way you are with the horse is the way you are with others," he added.

"The horse gives you back what you give - like a Stradivarius," he said, referring to the rare violins made by the Italian Stradivari family in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

"If you teach him the language of love and sensuality and sensibility, you will get it back."

Spectacular acrobatics

The logistics of Battuta are head-spinning - the 38 horses, which include two standbys in case any are injured during training or performing, eat about 17kg of food each a day, or a daily total of around 640kg.

They follow a strict diet of straw and mixed cereals served at intervals, including a supper of hay after the show. They snack on a total of 25kg of carrots a day and bed down on wood shavings that over the course of their two months in Hong Kong will amount to 23,200kg.

They are exercised for at least an hour each day to make sure they stay in peak fitness for the furious pace of the show, are put to bed at 10pm each night and woken with breakfast at 7am.

Each horse performs for a total of about 15 minutes, appearing several times during the show - running free, performing acrobatics and pulling carts.

The show runs in Hong Kong until March 23. Bartabas said he plans to take Battuta to Moscow, Tokyo, Sao Paulo and Brussels.

Romanian Gypsy Child Groom Jilts Bride Sparking Fight Involving 200 Villagers

February 28, 2008 1:28 p.m. EST

Linda Young - AHN Editor

Sinesti, Romania (AHN) - After the family of a 14-year-old groom canceled his wedding to a 12-year-old bride a fight broke out between the two families of Gypsies in Romania. That event caused about 200 people to fight each other with fists, knives swords and guns in the Romanian village of Sinesti, where 12 people were injured - but no one was killed.

Although the bridal couple was too young to marry even under Romania's relaxed age law for gypsies, the gypsies, or Roma, believe that children should marry when they reach puberty. In Romania it is legal for gypsy children to marry at age 16 with parental permission, while the normal legal age for marriage there is 18.

According to reports, the fight broke out on Wednesday because the bride's family was unhappy over the groom's decision to cancel the wedding and began fighting, the fighting soon spread to involve many villagers.

Before the country joined the European Union, a similar wedding cancellation in 2003 lead to a fight that sparked a debate about Roma weddings, but nothing changed.

About 500,000 people identify themselves as gypsies, but officials think the number is about double that, however, widespread prejudice reportedly causes people to conceal their identities.

Police are holding several people on various charges, including on man who was charged with attempted murder and destruction of property.