Menu Labeling: a scrumptious piece of legislation I live near the intersection of 24th and Mission streets, a part of San Francisco that’s “colorful”, in the parlance of my soon-to-be-in-laws. The corner boasts a plethora of visual and auditory stimulants that some of us prefer to battle with noise-canceling headphones and sunglasses. But, to your average out-of-towner who steps off the BART train and struggles to look straight ahead, there is one beacon of comfort and familiarity. Lodged between the skulking gangbangers and the raving preachers sits our local McDonald’s, open 24 hours, selling Big Macs at a noticeably brisk...

Dear blog readers, I am pleased to announce that the Spring 2008 edition of the print journal "PolicyMatters" is now up on the blog for your reading and linking pleasure. Read the full issue in PDF format. The individual articles (in PDF format) are linked in the navigation box to the right. Enjoy!...

In a landmark decision, the California State Supreme Court ruled that California's ban on same-sex marriage - in place for 31 years - is unconstitutional. The narrow 4-3 victory is cause for celebration in cities across the state. However, a dark cloud looms. The history of the LGBT movement in the US shows that no great victory goes unchallenged. Already, opponents of marriage equality have submitted 1.1 million signatures to the Secretary of State in an attempt to place a constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriages on the November ballot. Of the 1.1 million signatures submitted, 694,538 must be verified to...

In a May 10, 2008, article in the Asia Times "The case for invading Myanmar" Shawn W. Crispin writes: A unilateral - and potentially United Nations-approved - US military intervention in the name of humanitarianism could easily turn the tide against the impoverished country's unpopular military leaders, and simultaneously rehabilitate the legacy of lame-duck US....

Come to this talk on Monday afternoon if you can! A Voice From the Burmese Grassroots: a Talk by a Representative of Burma's Only Grassroots Human Rights Organization Date: Monday 5/5/2008 Time: 1:00 pm Place: UC Berkeley's Goldman School of Public Policy Room 250 2607 Hearst Ave. (Cross Street: LeRoy Ave) Berkeley, CA 94709 This guest speaker is one of the co-founders of the Human Rights Defenders and Promoters Network (Burma), and a Visiting Scholar at the UC Berkeley Human Rights Center. He will be presenting about his organization's work. In 2002 the HRD started organizing human rights trainings in...

An article on "Black April": For many in Little Saigon, memories of what they went through still shape their reality. Others -- many born here -- look to Vietnam for opportunities and for ways to improve lives. By My-Thuan Tran, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer (April 30, 2008) http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-me-saigon30apr30,1,1738706.story?page=1&track=rss">Lives remembered, lives rebuilt, attitudes changing -- 33 years after South Vietnam fell...