They're Talking About You ...

Trolls need not apply.


There's an on-line conversation pit called All About 19118.

It's a discussion group where trolls will have to ID themselves in order to post. Given the history of the wingnuts seen here, it's doubtful that they'll do little but burn up the phone and discussion list lines amongst themselves.

Have you heard about the FoCHers yet? An election is coming up.


Update: It appears I wasn't clear about trolls. They aren't the people posting by name or running the site. I recommend this site to people and like the idea that someone is getting a discussion board going.

S

Voices of Africa

Journey of the Drum Selected to Perform in Malaysia & Ghana

"Voices Of Africa", is posed to make an international impact on the World Community, as part of the Philadelphia local community and representatives from the USA. On Sept. 28, 2007 we will have an African Gala & Cabaret, 5000 Springfield Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19143, from 8-2 PM . It will be one of our fundraisers for this tour.

We are embarking on our first "Journey of the Drum World Tour, 2007." We have been selected to go to Malaysia and perform at the 1st Annual World Drum Festival, November 3-10. Ten different countries from around the world will be represented. From a selection of 8 US applicants, the "Voices Of Africa", was chosen to represent the USA. "This festival will present an arena for diversity and harmony in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan for local people and from all over the world and it will widely announce the cultural identity, history and internationality of Malaysia." Visit the World Drum "performer's profile" page at for more details.

We have also been invited to participate in Ghana's 50th Anniversary of Independence Celebration Dec. 6-20, 2007. "The theme for the anniversary is: Championing African Excellence. Ghana's first President, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, envisioned this country as the guiding light of African independence and solidarity" (www.ghana50.gov.gh). We were chosen to represent African-Americans in the Diaspora, who are perpetuating African culture here in the United States. While there we will perform at several NGO's, women-centered organizations, and schools, with the theme of "empowerment through the arts" You can view the official letter of invitation from each country at www.voicesofafrica.net.

We have also been invited to participate in Ghana's 50th Anniversary of Independence Celebration Dec. 6-20, 2007. "The theme for the anniversary is: Championing African Excellence. Ghana's first President, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, envisioned this country as the guiding light of African independence and solidarity" (www.ghana50.gov.gh). We were chosen to represent African-Americans in the Diaspora, who are perpetuating African culture here in the United States. While there we will perform at several NGO's, women-centered organizations, and schools, with the theme of "empowerment through the arts" You can view the official letter of invitation from each country at Voices of Africa.

Needless to say, we are both thrilled and honored by both invitations. Both countries have agreed to take care of our lodging, meals, and ground transportation while we are there. But, we are responsible for raising the money to pay our airfare. We are working tirelessly to get as much press as possible about these opportunities so that we can gain the support of the local community and media, once again.

Nana Baakan Agyiriwah
Managing Director/Founder
"Voices Of Africa"
Choral & Percussion Ensemble
Voices of Africa

Move Along. Nothing to See.

Why Net Neutrality is Important ...

We're from a large corporation and we're here to help you. We promise to protect your rights.

Right.

This'll Tell 'Em ...

Here. Argue at this place about racists, CHCA and more.

Via Atrios.

Who's Watching?

Now we turn to those spy cameras on the Hill. Is surveillance effective? The Surveillance Scam in the June 2007 issue of Philadelphia magazine suggests why those cameras are installed.

Homelessness & Chestnut Hill ...

Do the homeless cause jitters in Chestnut Hill? This is a heads up on a story in the Monday, August 6, Philadelphia Inquirer.

A More Measured Response ...

Ed Feldman forwarded this comment to Chestnut Hill Notebook as his response to the CHCA board's scarlet letter, an epistle posted earlier this month. Being too long for a comment to a post, it's been moved here for easier viewing.

In response to the Executive Committee's Letter of Admonishment and attendant threat, I will not apologize, but rather correct and elaborate.

First, as to the sequence of events as described in their letter, my use of profanity did not follow their objection of my questioning of Jon Levittes, it came after their vote to refuse to know anything about the Business Association's program of surveillance cameras on the avenue. The only thing more dangerous in a democracy than ignorance is institutionalized ignorance, mutually agreed upon.

Now, to explain my use of a "shorthand" term to describe those in attendance, allow me to amplify in a way denied me at public meetings.

Jon Levittes: My first encounter with Jon was a meeting at his store, Jon Alexander Antiques. Its' purpose was an attempt to censor language I had used in my duck. This has been discussed before and will not be repeated here. My first question to Jon was, "Why do you use name 'Alexander' on your sign and not your real last name?" (which I knew to be of Jewish origin, as I am). His reply? "Well, you know Chestnut Hill." This was a most telling revelation because at once it indicated that Jon thought the community in which he chose to locate his store was anti-Semitic, that he could fool those who might hold those beliefs, that denying his heritage was proper, and that he could use this subterfuge to make money. Step back and admire the construction. A veritable Mandala of every Jewish stereotype imaginable, embodied in a single act. His actions since then have been equally despicable. He refused to tell the Board about Snowden's unpaid dues, and now he refuses to tell the community about a surveillance program. And finally, rather than confront my personal insult personally, he called the teacher instead. My mistake. An affront to one's manhood is moot when none is evident.

Dina Hitchcock: She was present during the financial mismanagement of the Dornemann Presidency and, as Secretary, "misplaced" official minutes that were her responsibility to keep. These minutes (and her personal but unspoken recollections) are evidence in the continuing investigation of, among other things, a signature by Dornemann securing a bank loan, altered documents securing government grants, and CHCA funds used to secure contracts for friends of the Dornemann regime. While Maxine has been shamed, Dina, one of her prime assistants, has now consolidated new and frightening powers under the new order, seeking to, once and for all, bury the misdeeds of her past by blocking an independent audit, recruiting new fellow travelers like Moss Disston and Tolis Vardakis who all have a suspicious and unhealthy love of secrecy and an aversion to any examination of a past that has already been exposed as ugly. Dina has, on many occasions, extolled to me personally her past as a "sixties- (or was it seventies?) activist" as if acts of decades ago can mitigate her present adherence to secrecy, authoritarian, in short, "Nixonian" rule. But God is subtle, for the disease of her soul shows clearly on her face, atrophied into a device unable to display joy, only grimness and the occasional smirk.

Lou Aiello: Of all those who have, unsuccessfully, tried to deceive me as to their motivations for Board membership, Lou fooled me longest. Now I know better. He conveys the wishes of Lord Snowden to the public without their knowledge of the origins, and has consistently used his position to advance his own well-being. He has attempted to censor this Blog, using syntax so tortured it might well have come from Abu Gharib. His reasons for being Snowden's messenger Boy are undoubtedly financial as well.

Tom Fleming: You have repeatedly joked about and ridiculed, to myself and others, in the most descriptive terms, Richard Snowden. Yet you serve him faithfully. You claim to represent an "ad hoc" committee that no longer exists but to serve him and him alone. You ran for the Board, most vociferously, on a platform of financial transparency, speaking out on, and voting in favor of, an independent audit. You, more than anyone, based your candidacy on this issue. And now you have joined those who seek to "move on," the Hill code words for denial, lest those who committed the acts be exposed and punished. Whose charm converted you? A man of your status and wealth couldn't be threatened. Or have you simply forgotten your stance of a few short months ago? You once proposed to me (and others) a by-law that would limit Board membership to those less than eighty years of age. I can think of no better evidence of its merit than your recent actions.

Jeremy Heep: In your desperate attempt to fit in with the "contemporary community standards" (to quote a Supreme Court Decision) of the Hill, you have flaunted your private life in a most public manner. Cavorting at concerts, rushing into meetings à deux, for all to see and snigger at. For all the value you place on discretion in the matters of the Board's public acts, these standard seem to vanish when it comes to your embarrassingly public "private" life. Every experienced practitioner of the art knows this simple axiom. "Don't Sh*t Where You Eat." It shames your ex and you. Your "friends" talk about it constantly in private. Am I the first one to tell you?

Jane Becker: The reason I sent my daughter to private school. A prison guard masquerading as an educator. If her actions, demeanor, and facial expressions in Board meetings in any way approximate how she conducted herself in the classroom, one can only guess at the generations of damaged, bullied, and terrified students left in her wake. And, most importantly, if a teacher's first responsibility is to help nurture an inquiring mind, her adherence to the official secrecy surrounding her actions on the board and her refusal for openness bodes ill for those charged to her care.

Ned Mitinger: Although not at the meeting, I take this opportunity to repeat what Ned said at a political meeting last year. I suggested, as a way to increase participation in the CHCA, canvassing Chestnut Hill Village, the predominately Black apartments at Mermaid Lane. Ned, seated next to me, said " Let's not rile up the natives." There was silence in the crowded room as I assimilated what had been said. I will not repeat my reply, but it was my first use of profanity in a Hill public meeting, making sure that Ned knew exactly what he could expect from me when Racism is exhibited in my presence. He has shown the same standards of character since. As a member of the Second Opinion, he has subverted each and every platform position we held, and was a colossally incompetent Treasurer.

So there you have it. No Cursing. All True. And to correct myself once more on the exact word I used at the meeting: No, I don't really believe any of you have ever had sex with your mother. But you shame her nonetheless.

Ed (Ain't I a Stinker?) Feldman

P.S. Vetted by my attorney for Libel. And anyway, I am a professional writer and you are the subjects of a book I am now shopping. It includes your shenanigans, plus Sanjiv, Maxine and Doug Doman's Magic Castle.

The Gang of 16 ...

Oversight Committee? CHCA don't need no oversight committee.

Thus, by a 16-14 vote, the Chestnut Hill Community Association dissolved the committee deemed responsible for looking into the financial knot that is the association's own Abu G department. This happened on the evening of July 26.

"We don't need no steenkin' independent audit," an on-the-scene observer quotes Buffy as saying. "It's sooooo unseemly and low class. We must have civility."

The Feldman Report ...

While awaiting Ed Feldman's treatise on the most recent conflict between fact and fantasy (see the letters in the July 26, 2007, Chestnut Hill Local), we offer this background letter for your examination. Ed has promised us additional commentary. When it comes, we'll post it. Things won't be the same on the Hill when Ed moves to the Left Coast.

Dear Mr. Feldman,

This letter is sent to provide you with notice of the Executive Committee's concern with your offensive and entirely inappropriate conduct at our meeting on Thursday July 12 and to inform you that such conduct is unacceptable at any Community Association meeting and that the continuance of such conduct will result in action to ban you from Community Association meetings in the future.

For the-record, at the Executive Committee meeting on July 12,2007 you continually interrupted the meeting without being recognized and proceeded to conduct an entirely inappropriate cross-examination of a community member present at the meeting. Further, and even more unacceptable, when you were asked to stop, you called the Executive Committee members "Motherf_ckers" and made entirely inappropriate remarks about that same community member's spouse along with raising the possibility of physical confrontation.

The Community Association is an important forum for community members to present varying, even opposing points of view. However, to allow the Association to function, those present must abide by rules of order and decorum. It is never appropriate to personally disparage or attack any person present regardless of how outraged you are by their answer or their conduct. Derogatory personal comments, curse words, and even the notion of violence will not be tolerated.

You are welcome, as are other community members, to make your point of view heard, but only if you abide by the rules of conduct that are expected of every other community member attending such meetings. As has already been stated, your continued failure to abide by the simple rules of order under which such meetings are conducted, will result in action to ban you from attending all future meetings.

Dina Hitchcock
Vice President/Operations

Cc: Lou Aiello
Jane Becker
Ed Berg
Moss Disston
Tom Fleming
Jeremy Heep
Jane Piotrowski