The Commons San Francisco
189 Ellsworth St.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110
ph: 415-970-9306
alt: 415-948-4265
info
Events
Upcoming & recent programs:
Poetry Feed
feeding the public poetry
&
feeding poets cash
The Commons SF seeks poetry moving the hearts and minds of the public to feel and see the earth as the birthright of all people,
possibly in the way that we of
The Commons SF
see the world.
Poets are encouraged to submit one or two sample poems to the following address:
info@TheCommonsSF.org
by March 6, 2013
We'll pay $40 to five prized poets to read their work on the Telegraph Hill stairs on Saturday, April 6 2013.
Thank you for your submissions. Poets will be selected by March 16.
The format of April 6 is 1-3 pm on the Telegraph Hill stairs. Poets will be stationed at five locations and will read their work (repeating their poems as necessary) as pedestrians ascend and descend. This is performance art extolling the commons through spoken word. Words floating, feelings sifting, patterns of thought arrested, perturbed, disturbed, elevated, enlarged.
The event will be advertised and promoted by us, you, buzz.
Food will be served.
If you wish to know more about TheCommonsSF,
ask HERE!
__________________
Sunday, January 27
Nat Turner meets MLK, jr.
film screening and
youtube competition
Sunday, January 27, 1-5 pm
playground behind the playground behind
the Bernal Branch library
500 Cortland Avenue
San Francisco
Occupy Bernal Education Workgroup and The Commons SF invite you to a "Get your art in gear" rondez-view. Come to a short talk, a long screening, and a $1,000 prize competition regarding the Occupy Movement!
First, Salty Oldhmann of the Occupy Land Values collective will render a perspective on Nat Turner's desperate uprising of 1831, connecting its objectives with those of the 1860's Radical Republicans' "Forty Acres and a Mule" campaign, and too with Martin Luther King, jr's non-violence social reform ideals.
Second, The Commons SF will screen Ronin Gai, the story of tired, flabby social justice workers (in the guise of retired samurai at the end of the shogunate era in Japan) who are at last roused to fight on behalf of the marginalized and afflicted (the poor in Jesus' ministry). A tale sure to rouse the tingles in wannabe Occupy Activists.
And third, DG of The Commons SF will explain and award a $1,000 prize for creation of a 3 minute youtube from amongst those in attendance. Let's repeat that: DG will describe the youtube project, call for an on-the-spot hand-written half page submission for the project, and make the award for the prize then and there.
Any and all of the events open to everyone, fee-free.
Wednesday, January 9
Charles Eisenstein's
SACRED ECONOMICS
book club
4 Wednesday evenings, 7-9 pm
189 Ellsworth St. San Francisco
If you're interested in creating community, then joining this book group may be for you! The Commons SF is paying $40 to those willing to read Charles Eisenstein's text, SACRED ECONOMICS and attend 4 evenings of group discussion. Along the way you'll encounter public policy, economic paradigm shift, and a fresh evaluation of money and debt. The group begins Wednesday, January 9, 2013, and runs consecutive Wednesdays through January 30. Books supplied. Meets 7-9 pm in Bernal Heights. Teachers and artists particularly encouraged to participate, with a view to integrating Eisenstein's thought into your professional labor.
To reserve your place among six in this book group,
RSVP here
_______________________________
Saturday, Dec. 1
Talking to Republican, Tea Party kin walking tour
9:30 am 312 Mason St. San Francisco
Talking politics or religion at home can be wearying for many a San Franciscan. Come along on this walking tour and we'll set you up with a whole new angle to take that will have you and your kin step outside the usual lines of battle, and quite possibly find substantial new swards of common ground!
And we'll pay you $15 to do it!
__________________
Saturday, Nov. 24
Prop. 30 and Texas vs California business friendliness walking tour
9:30 am 312 Mason St. San Francisco
Texas is the favored home and destination of business folk and businesses according to the business community itself. Why? Because there is no state income tax. There is a state sales tax of 6.25%, but that compares favorably with California's Prop. 30 rate of 7.5%.
The primary reason Texas can afford no state income tax is because it levies a significant severance tax on oil production. California doesn't have a severance tax on oil production in despite of being the #3 oil producing state.
Come along on a walk that blends SF social movement history with the white-hot 1879 San Francisco social philosophy advocating the equivalent of a 90% severance tax on timber, oil, and urban land ownership. That philosophy was so hot UC Berkeley suppressed its teaching (and still does) in 1880; so hot Karl Marx condemned it; so hot former Senator Phil Gramm of Texas publicly vilified it and its progenitor in 2002; so hot Jim Hightower urged progressives keep silent about it; so hot it nearly melts New York's Wall Street gang because it emanates from the poem Emma Lazarus wrote just before she penned The New Colossus which is graven on the base of the Statue of Liberty; so hot it would bankrupt Dianne Feinstein's husband, Richard Blum; so hot it would lower rents in San Francisco by 20%; so hot it would raise enough public revenue to obviate the need for a state income tax and state sales tax; so hot it would make California at once the most business friendly, labor friendly, and social programs friendly state north of the equator.
And, good golly, the walk's free!
The Giant's ain't got nuthin' on this San Francisco story, fog-bathers; come out and rub some good stuff all over your brain.
Wednesday, October 10
Benefit walking tour for IndyBay
10 am
312 Mason Street
San Francisco
$20 donation requested
RSVP mandatory HERE
_________________________________
Saturday, September 8
Burning the Sacred Cow Walking Tour
9:30 am
American Youth Hotel 312 Mason Street
San Francisco
Come along on a walking tour of San Francisco history unlike any you've ever trod before!
California's got a big deficit and Jerry Brown wants to raise the sales tax and other taxes, direct and indirect, on working.
San Francisco renters face stiff and rising rents, and land owners--and even double-crossing Master Lease Holders are in on the action (enjoying Rent Control but subletting at Market Rent)--are rolling in the dough, evicting on their way to selling, etc.
Obama's the main man, but he's talking tough about beating up the two-bit bullies who have been bullied by the eight-bit First World nations.
Come along on a FREE walking tour of San Francisco social movement history that asks, "What SACRED COW did all the torch song of social change singing social causes of the past all decline to cremate?"
Meet the Mormons, the Black Panthers, the Occupy, the Diggers, the Erhard Seminar Trainingites, the Love-in-ers and the Coming-Outers, meet the People's Temple, the original Bohemian Club-ers, the Statue of Liberty in Bejing Falun Dafa, the United Nations, and, lest we forget, meet your own prejudices.
Intellectually challenging, spiritually renewing, eschewed by 37 current San Francisco politicians, media-jockeys, and academics. Be the first on your block to call for more than singeing in the reign of the mother of all
Sacred Cows.
___________________________
Tuesday, September 4
King Kong
& Foreclosures
7-8:30 pm
515 Cortland Avenue
Our popular “comedy and a realtor” series illuminating
the different sorts of real estate debt and speculation that drove the foreclosure fiasco continues
Join Occupy Bernal for a short film, a live performance
(metaphorical) interpretation of the 500 lb. gorilla in the foreclosure room,
and a serious discussion of real estate debt
Jake Person, another Real Estate agent,
will guide us through a post screening/performance discussion
of the nature of real estate debt, addressing the issue of
speculation
This program is part of Occupy Bernal strategy to build a profound understanding of the foreclosure debacle, leading to City and State-wide policy change.
Tuesday, September 4 7 - 8:30 pm
Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center
515 Cortland Avenue
Your neighbors, our neighborhood!
Contact: David 415-948-4265 OccupyBernal.org
____________________________
Tuesday, August 7
Two Cows
& Foreclosures
A popular, comedic explanation of world
economic systems reveals the truth behind foreclosure debt
Join Occupy Bernal for a short film, a live performance
reenactment of the foreclosure version of the
Running of the Bulls in Pamplona,
and a serious discussion of real estate debt
Paul Neal, Real Estate agent,
will guide us through a post screening/performance discussion
of the nature of real estate debt, addressing the issue of
speculation.
This program is part of Occupy Bernal strategy to build a profound understanding of the foreclosure debacle, leading to City and State-wide policy change.
Tuesday, August 7 7 - 8:30 pm
Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center
515 Cortland Avenue
Your neighbors, our neighborhood!
_____________________________________
Wednesday, July 11
Real Estate for Ransom
and
Crisis of Credit
A 37 minute film and an 11 minute video introduction to
SOLUTIONS to the housing crisis in San Francisco:
What every working persons household
should know about
the real estate business, mortgages, and foreclosure
Followed by a panel and Q&A:
Rana Chang of the Henry George School
Jessica Arena of the Sustainable Economies Law Center
and a housing provider advocate TBA
The panel will critique the films argument that real estate plays by monopoly rules
And then you, the audience, get to get in on the act!
Wednesday, July 11 7 8:45 pm
Eric Quesada Center
518 Valencia Street
we support Labor Fest
_________________________________________
Tuesday, July 3
Foreclosure and Monopoly,
The history of a game and its war on oppression
Occupy Bernal hosts an evening of thought-provoking fun at the
Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center
515 Cortland Avenue
7-8:45 pm
The game of Monopoly has its roots in a 1904 game called
The Landlord's Game.
It's inventor, Lizzie Magie, intended the game to illustrate why there are cyclically so many foreclosures and related housing hard times.
The evening begins with a short made-for-TV film about the origins of Monopoly, followed by game historian Richard Biddle sharing the relevance of Monopoly to Occupy Bernal's efforts to preserve community in the face of foreclosures.
And then we'll play a quick round of Monopoly using the original game's anti-foreclosure alternate rules!
visit
http://www.OccupyBernal.org
for the full calendar
Saturday, June 23
Red Hill Jumps !
Join us at Notable House, 189 Ellsworth St.
2-5 pm
For an afternoon of word music and thought-starting meter. Bernal poets rend the air with political jab, personal turn, scenic scape, paean, elegy,
terse humph, epic drawl, celebration!
There will be music, dance and poets,
as well as
Eats, Drinks and Making Merry
and
poesy posing puppets for the kids.
___________________________________
Saturday,
June 16
The liberal-conservative film series
hosts you and friends for a screening of
The Cocoanuts
Yes, the Marx Brothers' send up of Florida,
Marco Rubio, and Departments of Economics everywhere
Door opens at 6:30 pm, film starts at 7:00 sharp!
at Notable House
189 Ellsworth St. in San Francisco
No charge. Film discussion follows from the perspective of the Commons
Real Estate shenanigans ain't anything new, folks. The "bid up land values and watch the suckers get burned" routine began about 5,000 years ago in Sumeria, and most recently struck in 2006, but this time we're just going to take a look at the nineteen-twenties with the Marx Brothers. Nobody put the matter madder or more succinctly than Groucho, Harpo, and Chico. And word is, Henry George-o may show up to say a few words about . . . Mockingbirds. It's not nice to do. Mocking birds just makes you look foolish. Come on out Saturday and we'll explain!
Film at 7:00 sharp. Discussion 9:00-9:30. Everyone expelled by 10:05.
__________________________________
Saturday, June 9
Costume Picnic!
Dress up, come out, step up, show your face!
The Henry George Historical Society
presents
our First Annual Costume Picnic
Saturday, June 9
2 pm
Dolores Park
West of the kids' play area below 19th St.
Come one, come all, to a summer picnic celebrating the life and ideas of Henry George through games, costumes, free food, and new friends. We invite you to dress as your favorite historical figure and participate in
the "Who am I?" game
in which other picnic-go-ers ask questions to find out who you are. PRIZES go to the first people to guess the hosts' identities!
Wednesday,
May 9
The liberal-conservative film series
hosts you and friends for a screening of
Amarcord
Door opens at 7 pm, film starts at 7:30 sharp!
at Notable House
189 Ellsworth St. in San Francisco
No charge. Film discussion follows from the perspective of the Commons
What's it like to be three-dimensional? Fellini challenges us to speak, much less articulate public policy that would elevate some in society to the role of Tyrant, enabling them to detrmine who must pay the tyrant for the mere right to be alive in society! Aren't we all HERE by mysterious force? Who, simply by bad luck of public policy should be obliged to pay obeisance to others by working for them involuntarily?
Join us for a night of Frederico Fellini as hedabs pity on us all.
Film at 7:30 sharp. Discussion 9:30-10. Everyone expelled by 10:05.
Movie Info from Rotten Tomatoes:
Federico Fellini's warmly nostalgic memory piece examines daily life in the Italian village of Rimini during the reign of Mussolini, and won the 1974 Academy Award as Best Foreign Film. The film's greatest asset is its ability to be sweet without being cloying, due in great part to Danilo Donati's surrealistic art direction and to the frequently bawdy injections of sex and politics by screenwriters Fellini and Tonino Guerra. Fellini clearly has deep affection for the people of this seaside village, warts and all, and communicates it through episodic visual anecdotes which are seen as if through the mists of a favorite dream, playfully scored by Nino Rota and lovingly photographed by Giuseppe Rotunno. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
R, 2 hr. 5 min.
Drama, Art House & International, Comedy
Directed By: Federico Fellini
Written By: Federico Fellini, Tonino Guerra
In Theaters: Feb 13, 2009 Limited
On DVD: Apr 3, 1998
Janus Films
___________________________________
Wednesday,
April 11
The liberal-conservative film series
hosts you and friends for a screening of
City of Hope
7 pm
at Notable House
189 Ellsworth St. in San Francisco
No charge. Film discussion follows from the perspective of the Commons
This time everybody wants in on the urban action. Where's the easy money to be made? Where's the free ride? What special interests take whatever's left of the social good at the end of the day? Hint: They collect the ground rent.
Join us for a night of John Sayles as he assails the unacknowledged 500 pound guerrila in the commons.
Beware! After this screening and discussion we'll invite you to tackle California's Cap-and-Trade of air pollution privileges.
Film at 7 sharp. Discussion 9-9:30. Design resistance to Cap-and-Trade action 9:30-10. Everyone expelled by 10:05.
-from Rotten Tomatoes
A city pulses with racial problems, political corruption, and small-time crime in this ambitious microcosm of urban life, written and directed by John Sayles. Nick Rinaldi (Vincent Spano), a lost soul usually high on drink and drugs, has spent his life in one New Jersey city, getting free rides from his connected father (Tony LoBianco) and hearing the locals talk of his brother's death in Vietnam. Searching for more control, Nick quits the cushy contractor's job provided by his Dad, feeling that major events are about to happen to him. That feeling proves accurate -- by film's end his life will change, as will the lives of many others. Nick is only the center of the movie's sprawling collection of people and plotlines; Sayles takes full advantage of this expansive landscape, as he often begins shooting one conversation, only to pull back and eavesdrop on another, in one smooth, intriguing shot. By listening in, we slowly learn about the citizens and their dilemmas, as the city's woes bubble to a narrative climax. Many of Sayles' regular players are on-screen (the movie features 52 roles), including Joe Morton as a frustrated councilman and David Strathairn as a disturbed street person. ~ Norm Schrager, Rovi
R, 2 hr. 9 min.
Drama
Directed By: John Sayles
In Theaters: Oct 11, 1991 Wide
On DVD: May 20, 1992
Samuel Goldwyn Company
_________________________________
Wednesday,
March 21
The liberal-conservative film series
hosts you and friends for a screening of
Casablanca
7 pm
at Notable House
189 Ellsworth St. in San Francisco
No charge. Film discussion follows from the perspective of the Commons
Everybody wants out of town! Vichy France and the NAZIs are imposing a virtual fence around Marrakech, and freedom's just another word fro nothing left to lose. The ability to leave heirarchy, domination, unilateral decision making is the prerequisite of liberty.
Join us for a night of Bogart, Bergman, and new friendships!
Beware! After this screening and discussion we'll design an Occupy SF education action.
Film at 7 sharp. Discussion 9-9:30. Design a foreclosure moratorium action 9:30-10. Everyone expelled by 10:05.
One of the most beloved American films, this captivating wartime adventure of romance and intrigue from director Michael Curtiz defies standard categorization. Simply put, it is the story of Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), a world-weary ex-freedom fighter who runs a nightclub in Casablanca during the early part of WWII. Despite pressure from the local authorities, notably the crafty Capt. Renault (Claude Rains), Rick's caf (C) has become a haven for refugees looking to purchase illicit letters of transit which will allow them to escape to America. One day, to Rick's great surprise, he is approached by the famed rebel Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) and his wife, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), Rick's true love who deserted him when the Nazis invaded Paris. She still wants Victor to escape to America, but now that she's renewed her love for Rick, she wants to stay behind in Casablanca. "You must do the thinking for both of us," she says to Rick. He does, and his plan brings the story to its satisfyingly logical, if not entirely happy, conclusion. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
PG, 1 hr. 42 min.
Drama, Romance, Classics
Directed By: Michael Curtiz
Written By: Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Howard Koch
In Theaters: Jun 1, 1943 Wide
On DVD: Feb 15, 2000
Warner Bros. Pictures
Sussing Dr. Seuss
A deconstruction of Dr. Seuss'
The Lorax
released as a film March 1
Join us Wednesday, February 29
7-9 pm, 189 Ellsworth St. SF, CA 94110
Dr. Seuss was a good guy, but his political economic thinking was atrocious! Join historian David Giesen in a reading with commentary of Dr. Seuss' would-be enviromental tale, The Lorax.
You'll come away ready to engage friends, acquaintances, and new-encounters with elevating social philosophy and Occupy-relevant public policy advocacy following a night out with The Lorax.
And we're so confident that you'll find the evening worthwhile, and may even take away the evening's insights, that we're paying $10 for you to attend!
What?!
Hey, it's good advertising for good ideas.
________________________________________
Restore the Frontier
introductory meeting
Saturday, February 18 7-9 pm
189 Ellsworth St. SF 94110
36 minute film: Real Estate for Ransom
5 minute street theater conversation starter
40 minutes of conversation
40 minutes of nosh and josh (eating and socializing)
There's been something missing from the discussions and events we've attended addressing social justice, and notably absent from the Occupy/resist foreclosure events we've attended, and that something is a philosophical and cultural norm conversation regarding justice.
Come to an evening The Commons SF is hosting that takes up this conversation. A 36 minute film, Real Estate for Sale, followed by a five minute piece of political street theater will lead into a conversation titled, "Securing natural (land) opportunity is the basis of social justice."
Rigorous regulation of the banking industry is needed, no doubt. An emphasis on meeting human needs, not corporate bottom lines is essential. Deconstructing many instances of centralized planning and control will foster democracy and provide real-time political issues feedback. But these remain causes of balkanized social interests in the absence of a cultural normative regarding essential principles.
If you're willing to consider that equality of access to the material universe--to the earth, air and water that no human made--is the fundamental, irreducible basis of justice, then we'd like to see you at this evening, titled "Restore the Frontier."
We'll pay you $5 to attend. If you like what you see and hear, we'll pay you $10/ hour to take up to 10 hours of our social justice philosophy training.
Be on time.
RSVP
____________________________________________
Restore the Frontier
introductory meeting
Thursday, February 2 7-9 pm
Social liberty and economic opportunity require equality of access to geography, to land, to place. The frontier, the place where land is accessible to all and any on an equal basis with others, is the starting place for understanding what liberty and opportunity are truly about.
And then, considering the social nature of human beings, restoring the equality of the frontier by eliminating private gain from mere ownership of nature--and positively stated as the socialization of land values--we seek to enable fuller social liberty and broadly increase economic opportunity by Land Value Taxation.
Are you prepared to consider going public in declaring, "The earth, by which is meant land and the entire material universe, is the birthright of all people" ?
Are you prepared to consider working with social movements and social justice movements in advocating that the community-generated value of land belongs to the community?
If so, come to a paid introduction to Restore the Frontier. We'll pay you $20 to attend this two hour in-service on why socializing land values is morally righteous, economically sound, and socially therapeutic. If you like what you hear, we'll pay you to become an advocate for world transformation through the socialization of the market rent of land. The end of of debt for nature.
You must RSVP HERE
__________________________________________
Film screening: 7 pm, Thursday, Jan. 26
Real Estate for Ransom
This 35 minute film produced by Prosper Australia identifies root causes of land speculation and land rent privatization, and proposes public policy that resolves those social and economic banes.
Crazy high real estate prices are not the high price of housing, they are the high price of land. Foreclosures are not, in a meaningful economic or moral sense, foreclosures on debt for housing, they are foreclosures on the debt owed for land values. Land values have retreated, but the debt owed for the mortgaged land values ha not. The result is foreclosure, depressed wages, business recession, and a great deal of confusion.
Real Estate for Ransom opens up the profound question, who owns nature, and who should benefit from the value of nature?
Thursday, January 26, 7-8 pm screening, with 8-9 pm roundtable discussion hosted by the Henry George School.
189 Ellsworth St. in San Francisco 94110 FREE
___________________________________
Saturday,
January 14
"Occupy Housing" solutions
walking tour
9 am start, 312 Mason Street
Occupy Wall Street events are popping up like bread yeast proofing, but a frequent refrain from pedestrian on-lookers is, "But what are you proposing as solutions?"
Come along on a walking tour through San Francisco's financial district that proposes specific solutions to the banking/debt-germinated economic crisis.
Provocative at least. Credible certainly . . . as credible as China's booming economy which employs policy presented on the walk. It's a hands-on land use and public revenue primer, and a mind-bender that is also a perfect antidote to Foreclosure prattle.
Land, we take it, is a gift of nature. Existentially speaking, land precedes humanity and is not anything other than a common birthright. Its economic value is a function of the growth of community, both in population and wealth-producing capability. Land values are the evidence of the social and commercial desirability of community. Land values reflect the sum total of human activity. The private use of land necessarily inhibits every other interested party's use of that birthright land.
On the other side, buildings, businesses, and commercial activity are products of human labor. Existentially speaking, labor and capital depend upon the activity of human beings. The economic values of work and of capital goods (and buildings) are a function of suitability for others' use of those human-produced goods and services. The exchange of goods and services is a matter between private parties, e.g. my labor exchanged for your labor does not impose upon anyone else's access to exchange or use of their own labor abilities.
What we of The Commons SF advocate is recognizing that land values are overwhelmingly the product of community and therefore belong to community. We spend very little time arguing the housing (literally the building) rights of citizens, but instead argue for the land value rights of community. We propose that upwards of 90% of potential market land (location) rent belongs to the community as the community appears in its several layers of jurisdiction--precinct, city, county, state and nation. Without elaborating at all on the corollary, I will simply state that the corollary to socializing land values is to massively reduce taxation of goods and services.
How this relates to housing and urban development is clear. When potential land rent is no longer privatized, but submitted as public revenue,
1)land speculation ceases
2)owners of land, deriving income only from activity, rather than from mere ownership of land, will optimize use of land: building to suit the market, filling up buildings since land rent income no longer subsidizes vacancies in structures
3)private owners of land no longer hold land hostage against community use for parks or housing or whatever; where the greater part of potential land rent is removed from private pockets, the sales price of land descends towards ZERO (no income potential from land = no capitalized sales price of land); in short, where potential land rent is community revenue, society will face no high purchase price of land hurdle in acquiring parcels.
Consideration of just these three circumstances will suggest to your imagination the increase in provision of housing that would follow as owners of land desperately competed (through construction and lower building rents) with other land owners to optimize use of their land to offset the reduction of income from mere ownership of land.
_________________________________
Saturday,
December 24
"Occupy Bernal" solutions
benefit walking tour
9 am start, 312 Mason Street
It's true, the Leon Phat for SF Mayor campaign is offering $10 to Occupy Bernal.
Occupy Wall Street events are popping up like bread yeast proofing, but a frequent refrain from pedestrian on-lookers is, "But what are you proposing as solutions?"
Come along on a walking tour through San Francisco's financial district that proposes specific solutions to the banking/debt-germinated economic crisis.
Provocative at least. Credible certainly . . . as credible as China's booming economy which employs policy presented on the walk. It's a hands-on land use and public revenue primer, and a mind-bender that is also a perfect antidote to Columbus/invasion week prattle.
And the kicker is that we'll donate $10 to the Occupy Bernal (in San Francisco) action fund for every person who comes on this walk!
_______________________________________
Thursday,
November 3
Drinks in Common hosts Seasteading advocate Michael Keenan addressing
When land's hard to come by, build on water! Seasteading: What are the environmental, social, and business COST/Benefits?
7 pm
at Notable House
189 Ellsworth St. in San Francisco
Complimentary supper at 7, remarks at 7:30,
Q & A at 8 pm.
FREE
for more about seasteading, visit
Seasteading Institute
Michael Keenan - President
Michael Keenan is a software developer and entrepreneur from New Zealand. At First NZ Capital, he helped develop the software that launched the company from New Zealand's market leader to a world-class financial services platform. Since then, Michael joined The BECC Consulting Group, developing software that has been used by almost all Taiwan's top multinational companies, and has helped consolidate BECC's position as the premier solution for companies seeking communications consulting in Taiwan. The son of two economic scholars, Michael has been interested in improving governments since he was a youth. Before becoming president of The Seasteading Institute, Michael was a seasteading member and volunteer, traveling all the way from Taiwan to donate months of work to the mission. He had also traveled from the UK to attend the first seasteading conference in California in 2008, and he flew from Taiwan to participate in the seasteading cruise conference out of Florida in 2011.
_________________________
Thursday,
October 27
"What's The Big Deal?"
come share the Society's quarterly awards supper. This quarter we award one $300 prize for creative writing regarding the commons.
Poet on a tear, with stories aplenty, Dee Allen is the recipient of the Kate Kennedy Prize.
7 pm
at Notable House
189 Ellsworth St. in San Francisco
No charge, but you must RSVP
RSVP here
________________________
Saturday,
October 22
"Occupy Wall St." solutions
benefit walking tour
9 am start, 312 Mason Street
It's true, the Leon Phat for SF Mayor campaign is offering $10 to Occupy Wall Street and $15 to KPFA for each person who comes along on this walk.
Occupy Wall Street events are popping up like bread yeast proofing, but a frequent refrain from pedestrian on-lookers is, "But what are you proposing as solutions?"
Come along on a walking tour through San Francisco's financial district that proposes specific solutions to the banking/debt-germinated economic crisis.
Provocative at least. Credible certainly . . . as credible as China's booming economy which employs policy presented on the walk. It's a hands-on land use and public revenue primer, and a mind-bender that is also a perfect antidote to Columbus/invasion week prattle.
And the kicker is that though the walk is free to you, we'll donate $10 to the Occupy Wall St. San Francisco action food bank for every person who comes on this walk! And another $15 to KPFA ! !
Be on time!
Feel free to repost on any and all social networks.
___________________________________
-----Rained out-----
Monday,
October 10
"Occupy Wall St." solutions
benefit walking tour
Cable-car turn-around, Powell St. at Market St in San Francisco, 3 pm start; 2 hours long
Occupy Wall Street events are popping up like bread yeast proofing, but a frequent refrain from pedestrian on-lookers is, "But what are you proposing as solutions?"
Come along on a walking tour through San Francisco's financial district that proposes specific solutions. Provocative at least. Credible certainly . . . as credible as China's booming economy which employs policy presented on the walk. It's a hands-on land use and public revenue primer, and a mind-bender that is also a perfect antidote to Columbus/invasion day.
And the kicker is that though the walk is free to you, we'll donate $10 to the Occupy Wall St. San Francisco action food bank for every person who comes on this walk!
Be on time!
Feel free to repost on any and all social networks.
______________________________________________________________
Thursday,
September 22
"What's The Big Deal?"
come share the Society's quarterly awards supper. This quarter we award one $300 prize for creative writing regarding the commons.
Poet on a tear, with stories aplenty, Dee Allen is the recipient of the Kate Kennedy Prize.
7 pm
at Notable House
189 Ellsworth St. in San Francisco
No charge.
_______________________________
Wednesday, July 20
Film: Boom- the sound of eviction
9 pm
Corner of 20th St. and Valencia St. in
San Francisco
Join SF mayoral candidate Leon Phat when he inaugurates his 2011 campaign with the screening of an outdoor film, and stumps (very briefly) from his campaign truck.
"Boom! The sound of eviction" is a film produced during the housing mayhem of the Tech Boom of 1998-2000 here in San Francisco. The film begs the question, "What do we, as a community, do about an economy that leaves many behind?"
Leon Phat has some big ideas. Let's deliberate together.
___________________________________
Sunday, July 3
A walking tour through a bit of SF Hotel and Restaurant strike history
amateur historian Dave Giesen
leads this LaborFest survey of the roots of labor stress as it relates to Hotel and Restaurant Employees & Bartenders workers
1-3 pm
cable-car turnaround, Powell at Market
Some hands-on fun and you'll get to picket!
FREE
__________________________________
Thursday, June 16
Natural Law and public policy
a round table discussion
We'll survey Aristotle, the Stoics, John Locke, Thomas Jefferson, and the latterday natural law dunderheads before relating natural law thinking to public policy
Thursday evening, June 16
7-9 pm
Notable House
189 Ellsworth St.
San Francisco, 94110
Supper provided
RSVP HERE
__________________________________
Thursday May 5
7 pm
Don't shoot the messenger!!
but SF real estate stories will make you seeth
former national magazine--Business Week-- editor Elizabeth Lesly Stevens addresses the juiciest San Francisco real estate stories of 2010 and 2011.
Ms. Stevens currently writes on real estate matters for the online San Francisco city focused newspaper Bay Citizen.
Visit here for an introduction to that journal and Ms. Stevens.
Door opens at 6:30, supper provided from 7 pm, remarks at 7:35, and Q&A followed by open discussion on topic from 8 until 9.
We hope to toast you there! Pass this along to friends. An RSVP is appreciated in deed, but not obligatory.
_____________________________
Red wounds in a green earth
Sat. March 12 2-4 pm
24th Street and Mission to start,
then we move to two other Mission District sites,
not yet selected
Revolutionary Poets Brigade members Dottie Payne, Maketa Smith-Groves, James Byron and Jiancarlo Campagna decant their politically charged combustible poetry from the mobile stage of "Pickup Line Theater's" 1985 white Toyota truck.
The lifeforce of blood turns red when it reaches the light of day, and these poets turn the oxygen on when the issue of justice on planet earth finds utterance in their voices.
This program continues The Commons SF's season of "poetic political punch" scenes.
________________________________
Red Hill Jumps!
Three poets:
Jack Hirschman, Dee Allen,
Kristine Brown
shake the ground we walk on Saturday, March 5 7 pm
Notable House
189 Ellsworth St. in San Francisco
these poets of the Revolutionary Poets Brigade chant the social possibilities of humanity in a world of abundance straitened by scarcity-mongering privatization of Nature. Food, drink, music and punchy poetic politics kick off a season of word and performance hosted by the folks who define justice as "opportunity for all, privilege for none when it comes to nature."
FREE
_______________________________________
Critical Reading Group:
Our next text is Glenn Beck's BROKE
Join The Commons SF in examining Beck's analysis of portions of America's economic history. Beck makes a case for America's trajectory towards state collapse because of the multi-trillion dollar national debt. Moreover, he argues for a flat tax as part of the remedy. Let's read this hefty, content-rich tome together.
FULL DISCLOSURE: the leader has some significant criticisms of Beck's scholarship, but this is a discussion circle, not a lecture
Four Thursdays beginning January 27, and running through February 17.
7-9 pm (with light supper supplied)
Notable House 189 Ellsworth St. in
San Francisco.
RSVP: HERE
____________________________________
Auditions!!
vaudeville, circus and music acts
requested for
Ack-Act Theater's
theater on the back of a truck program.
Using music, theater and vaudeville, Ack-Act Theater aims to attract publicconversation regardingneighborhood issues of the day and year as we travel around the city with our mobile show.
When: Tuesday through Thursday, December 21-23, 4-8 pm by appointment.
Where: Our studio at 189 Ellsworth in San Francisco's Bernal Heights.
contact: info@TheCommonsSF.org
for more information or to make an audition appointment.
______________________
Readers' Theater
Dogs and Coyotes,
Baseballs and Rabbits
Saturday, July 10
11 am
Bernal Heights Branch Library
500 Cortland Avenue in SF
What's a 13 year old boy and his grandma to do when the mayor of San Francisco wants their house and garden for his girlfriend? Unionize? Burn down the Mission? Or simply use a red rock from Bernal Heights to fight Goliath?
produced in coordination with LaborFest
http://www.laborfest.net
_____________
Auditions
for
Camp Hank Theater's
LaborFestreaders' theater production
Auditions: Thursday,July 1 6-8 pm
Five adults: 4 men,1 woman
Performance: Saturday, July 10
11 pm
Rehearsal: once by arrangement the week of July 4-8
189 Ellsworth St. in San Francisco
Call 415-948-4265, or
email: info@TheCommonsSF.org
the play concerns five 13-14 year olds, living in San Francisco in 1914
Have fun!
______________
Sacco Vanzetti Immigrants' Rights Supper
Join us Friday, May 28 on Mission Street in San Francsico, between 17th and 18th Streets for a complimentary supper. Supper talk will includediscussion of humanity's rights in the context of the commons.
We'll alsoraise our hearts andour glasses toSacco and Vanzetti for inspiring commitment to community!
Wednesday, August 8
Red Hill
Jumps!
Though the bumper stickers and road signs say something different,
Please Mix with Texas!
This Wednesday evening,
August 8, 7-10 pm, a Texas duo of musician-nephews are in town to celebrate CommonsUnity. The Austin City limits extend all the way to 189 Ellsworth in SF's Bernal Heights neighborhood, and these goad-ropin' bucks will sing and strum in-between bouts of poetry, card and board games (and other hijinks), and a short (very short) paean to The Commons advocacy in Texas that keeps college tuition hikes there to a minimum (California has something to learn!). Challenge the privatization of everything by your presence Wednesday evening
at 189 Ellsworth Street
which is where we hope to see you for some veggie barbecue, southern greens, East Texas chili beans, and cornbread like the Texas Populists used to make.
___________________
Friday, July 27
Foreclosure and Monopoly,
The history of a game and its war on oppression
Occupy Bernal hosts an evening of thought-provoking fun at the
Notable House
189 Ellsworth St.
7-8:45 pm
The game of Monopoly has its roots in a 1904 game called
The Landlord's Game.
It's inventor, Lizzie Magee, intended the game to illustrate why there are cyclically so many foreclosures and related housing hard times.
The evening begins with a short made-for-TV film about the origins of Monopoly, followed by sharing the relevance of Monopoly to current efforts to preserve community in the face of foreclosures.
And then we'll play a lightning round of Monopoly using the original game's anti-foreclosure alternate rules!
RSVP as there are only 20 seats!!
___________________
Sunday, July 15
LaborFest walking tour
of SAN FRANCISCO hotel strike history.
Produced by The Commons SF
11 am
FREE
departs from the
Powell St. cable-car turnaround
www.laborfest.net
__________________
Tuesday, July 3
Foreclosure and Monopoly,
The history of a game and its war on oppression
Occupy Bernal hosts an evening of thought-provoking fun at the
Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center
515 Cortland Avenue
7-8:45 pm
The game of Monopoly has its roots in a 1904 game called
The Landlord's Game.
It's inventor, Lizzie Magie, intended the game to illustrate why there are cyclically so many foreclosures and related housing hard times.
The evening begins with a short made-for-TV film about the origins of Monopoly, followed by game historian Richard Biddle sharing the relevance of Monopoly to Occupy Bernal's efforts to preserve community in the face of foreclosures.
And then we'll play a quick round of Monopoly using the original game's anti-foreclosure alternate rules!
visit
http://www.OccupyBernal.org
for the full calendar
___________________
Saturday, June 23
Red Hill Jumps!
Saturday, June 23, is an afternoon poetry read in Bernal Heights.
Red Hill Jumps! is an occasional spoken word gathering sponsored by The Commons SF.
This time around we're featuring Bernal resident poets. Open mic, $1 a poem. That is, poets are paid $1 a poem. Must live between Bayshore and Mission, Crescent and Cesar Chavez to read.
But the rest of San Francisco is welcome.
Food and drink provided.
RSVP would be nice.
Notable House
189 Ellsworth St.
SF 94110
really old news:
Two hour introduction to
The Commons
Friday, August 5
3-5 pm
55 2nd St. in downtown San Francisco
$10 (refunded if you come on our walking tour Saturday morning, August 6)
______________
Two hour introduction to
The Commons
Saturday, August 6
3-5 pm
189 Ellsworth St. in San Francisco's Bernal Heights
$10 (refunded if you come on our walking tour Saturday morning, August 6 or August 13)
_______________________
Auditions
for
Bernal Youth Theater's
production of
Dogs & Coyotes, Baseballs & Rabbits
Auditions: March 24-April 1
Five 12-14 year olds: 4 boys,1 girl
Performances: May 6-7; 13-14
189 Ellsworth St. in San Francisco
Call 415-948-4265, or
email: info@TheCommonsSF.org
the play concerns five 12-14 year olds, living in San Francisco in 1914
Have fun!
______________
Tuesday, Jan.18
Commons Economics/ Real Estate & Politics
class begins
7-9 pm
for 4 consecutive Tuesdays
Equip yourself with the knowledge, insight, and zap with which to counter, variously, the prevailing inadequate leftie arguments in favor of more state intervention, and the prevailing rightie arguments in favor of simply letting "the market" heal all.
Each two hour session includes plenty of hands-on work, a bit of reading, and guided discussion time.
Click here to register for the class.
$25 includes everything!
189 Ellsworth St. in Bernal Heights
_________________________
Sunday, Jan. 9
Intro to
Commons Economics
2-4 pm
Tuesday night's SF Supervisors' concession of land values to the Haas family et al via the Civic Center CBD is reason enough to encourage a thoughtful citizen to whet his/her chops on Commons Economics!
Spend two hours this Sunday afternoon (after meeting in the Mission with Matt Gonzales and friends regarding founding a "Free San Francisco University"), then decide for yourself whether joining TheCommonsSF isn't for you.
Click here to register for the two hour intro.
It's free, and a late Sunday lunch will be on hand.
189 Ellsworth St. in Bernal Heights
_________________________
Sunday, Jan. 2
Benefit Walking Tour for KPFA, KALW &
Democracy Now!
Come along on a special edition of our walking tour benefiting KPFA radio, KALW radio, and/or Democracy Now!
This survey of social movements originating in or moving to SF starts at the cable-car turnaround, Powell at Market Street in downtown SF
Departs at 1 pm for two hours plus of insight and provocative thought.
All proceeds go to your choice of KPFA, Democracy Now! or KALW
Sliding scale $10-50.
_________________________
Sunday, Dec. 19
The End of Poverty?
Screening of one of the most provocative films of the past ten years challenging Capitalism as the poors' best friend.
Is charity or an end to private property the answer?
Join the Assistant to the Producer in Q&A after the 5:30 pm showing.
Noshes, nibbles and notable potables from 5 pm.
at Notable House
189 Ellsworth St.
SF, CA
__________________________
Saturday, July 17
7-10 pm
the SF Politico-DaDa Society
invites you to
Chihuahuas
to
Chiapas
At our club house at 189 Ellsworth St., we'll host you to supper as Dr. Phineas Wiggle addresses the proposal to give dogs the right to own land, with license to collect rent.
This satire of privatiztion of the commons is sure to please and provoke (outrage) all at once.
Please RSVP, or contact us for more information.
__________________
Saturday, July 9 program
A benefit edition walk for
Put Revolution on the Map!
Join us at 1 pm at the Cable Car turn-around, Powell at Market streets in
San Francisco
$15 per person:
all proceeds to
the Put Revolution on the Map campaign
_________________
Friday, July 2 program
Alanna Hartzok speaking
on The Commons
What meaningful public policy and wholesome social atmosphere is possible when land and natural resources are treated as a commonwealth fund for the community budget?
Rancho Parnassus
132 6th St.
San Francisco
6:30 refreshments
7 pm talk
Alanna Hartzok, M.A.is Co-Director ofEarth Rights Institute http://www.earthrights.net , a civil society organization working for economic justice and peaceful resolution of conflicts. Her 2001 E.F. Schumacher Lecture was published asDemocracy, Earth Rights and the Next Economy.Her articles are referenced in the literature of the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) in California, a recent issue of theFederal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review,Dialogues, a publication of the Canada West Foundation, and in several books, including the Worldwatch Institute book by David Roodman,The Natural Wealth of NationsandCreating a Sustainable World, an anthology edited by Trent Schroyher and Tom Golodik. She is one of several people featured inPlanet Champions: Adventures in Saving the World- New Paths to Peace, Prosperity & Human Rights, authored by Jack Yost.
Alanna is currently Director of a 34 member International Advisory Group which is developing a Land Value Tax/Capture Program in association with the United Nations Habitat Global Land Tool Network. Her book,The Earth Belongs to Everyonehas just been released.
She is a United Nations ECOSOC NGO Representative for the International Union for Land Value Taxation based in London and as such is working to develop land value taxation policy trainings worldwide. She is also a psycho-spiritual counselor and maintains a small private practice.
189 Ellsworth St.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110
ph: 415-970-9306
alt: 415-948-4265
info
