Articles Posted in 2011
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Congress Should Reject US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement
The negotiated U.S.-Colombia FTA will give market access for U.S. agricultural, consumer, and industrial products, and will immediately remove all tariffs on about 80 percent of U.S. goods entering Colombia. This includes immediate duty-free treatment of beef, cotton, wheat, soybeans, many fruits, and other agricultural products. The remaining 20 percent of tariffs will be phased out over a period of 10 years for both agricultural products and industrial products. In addition, the agreement provides protections for U.S. investors that will be enforced through a binding international arbitration program.
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Fallen San Francisco Firefighters Memorialized,
Laid to RestSan Francisco firefighter Lt. Vincent Perez, 48, and firefighter-paramedic Anthony Valerio, 53, both from Engine Company 26, were fatally injured June 2 while battling a house blaze in Diamond Heights.
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Sunday Streets Updates Bayview Route this Sunday
For the second year in a row, The Third Street Corridor Project, the Bayview Merchant Association and the Renaissance Entrepreneur Center will host the Bayview Music Festival in conjunction with Sunday Streets. This festival, which will feature live music, arts and local merchant exhibits and two cook-off contests, will take place on Galvez Avenue off 3rd Street near the Bayview Plaza.
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Will U.N September Vote be Palestine’s Last Hurrah?
The last thing Israel wants is for the issue to end up in the U.N with a vote for Palestinian statehood. But why not the U.N.? Consider that at the creation of Israel in 1947, the U.N. partitioned the land, allotting the Jews 55 percent of Palestine. The Arabs did not agree to this partition. The action of the UN conflicted with the basic principles for which the world organization was established, namely, to uphold the right of all peoples to self-determination. By denying the Palestine Arabs, who formed a two-thirds majority of the country, the right to decide for themselves, the U.N. had violated its own charter. Now is the chance for the U.N. to rectify its 1947 action and give the Palestinians a chance, denied them in 1947, to have a say in their future.
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Overheard in Fog City: Will Adachi Run?
That potential candidate is Public Defender Jeff Adachi who is singularly responsible for making this year’s mayor’s race a referendum on pension reform, the Care Not Cash, if you like, of 2003 that helped to elect then Supervisor Gavin Newsom over former Board of Supervisors President Matt Gonzalez to Room 200.
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Canada Hits Political Breaking Point and What it Means for Us
Unlike the US, Canada has a parliamentary system. But for those who don’t know too much about the way our northern neighbor runs elections, they actually elect their Parliament in exactly the same way we elect our House of Representatives. In other words, in the most absurd manner possible -winner-take-all, first past the post, with geographically delineated districts by province.
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Mayor Lee Presents Budget Proposal
To help balance the budget, Lee’s proposed budget includes $106 million in reductions to city departments, including $32 million from the Department of Public Health, $26 million in salary increase deferrals and $14 million in cuts to Human Services.
The Hunger Site
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