Saturday, October 13, 2018

Global Val in Litquake 2018!

Hello Good People,

In these times of tumult and change, why not come out to some groundbreaking spoken word?! We'll be shaking up LITQUAKE prime time on Friday night October 19th at Cafe du Nord. I'm honored this year to share the stage with local jazz legends the Broun Felinis and a cast of phenomenal performance poets in San Francisco's Literary Festival!

Word/Jazz
In the great tradition of San Francisco jazz and spoken-word basement readings first forged by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Kenneth Rexroth, and Bob Kaufman, witness this contemporary blowout. Litquake's Word/Jazz features world-class poets accompanied by improvised music created on the spot. With Paul S. Flores, Valerie Ibarra, outgoing SFJAZZ Poet Laureate Genny Lim, and Rico Pabón. Music by Afro-futurist jazz trio Broun Fellinis. $15 adv / $20 door

*You can get tickets here: https://sched.co/FQRv

Cafe du Nord
Fri. 10/19
8pm sharp! (I'm on in the first hour)

I hope you can make it out to the show :)

Peace,
Val

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Global Val's Election Season Coverage 2018

Local San Francisco politics are never dull. With the untimely death of Mayor Ed Lee, the rush of an abbreviated run for Mayor has the City in political overdrive. There are multiple Mayoral Candidate Forums being hosted all over town. I have made it to five forums and two kick-off parties so far. What I have seen is an interesting slate of candidates who are primarily focused on the same issues: homelessness, housing, transit, and public safety. With that, San Franciscans are more or less assured that whoever ends up in Room 200 will be getting to work right away to try to tackle these vital and complex situations. Thus, the personalities and the policies are the meat of this election season. Who speaks to your sensibilities, whose record can you trace to embrace your unique brand of San Francisco values, and who do you think you can trust to get the job done?

Another intriguing factor to consider is that San Francisco voters get to rank their top three candidates. In short, you can choose up to three candidates and rank them 1-2-3. If one candidate gets over 50% of 1st choice votes, they automatically win. The candidate with the smallest number of 1st choice votes is eliminated, but if that was your 1st choice candidate, your 2nd choice vote will be counted. If your 2nd choice is eliminated, only then will your 3rd choice receive a vote. This "instant run-off" continues until someone has a simple majority to win. Somehow, your vote still only counts once. Even the politicos on the campaign trail sit perplexed at the way this numbers game could work out, especially with a field of candidates who each garner a lot of community support!

Well, in case you're not quite the political nerd as I am, going to forums all over town - even on VALentine's Day! - I want to help you all figure out who you might want to vote for on June 5th. No, no, I would never tell you WHO to vote for (or who I'M voting for, for that matter), which is why I have been inviting and interviewing some of the candidates for Mayor on my weekly radio show "Women's Magazine with Global Val" and in some instances "The Common Thread Collective" (with Diamond Dave) on MutinyRadio.fm. It's best to let the candidates speak for themselves, while engaging them in robust conversation.


Tune in! Here are links to the podcasts:

CANDIDATES FOR MAYOR OF SAN FRANCISCO:

Candidate AMY FARAH WEISS

1. Common Thread Collective - February 23rd 2018
(starts at minute 24)

2. Women's Magazine - May 11th 2018 > As part of a larger conversation about creative housing solutions, Amy Weiss discusses her pilot SOS (Safe Organized Spaces) Transitional Villages for homeless. Amy's part starts after the music around minute 35.

3. Common Thread Collective - May 11th 2018


Candidate ANGELA ALIOTO, ESQ.

Women's Magazine with Global Val - March 9th 2018
(starts at minute 16 and there's a little overlap into the Common Thread Collective...)

Common Thread Collective - March 9th 2018
(starts at minute 15)


Candidate LONDON BREED, President of the Board of Supervisors from District 5

Women's Magazine with Global Val - March 23rd
*Went a little long, and thus into the Common Thread Collective podcast


Candidate Mark Leno - rescheduled

Candidate Jane Kim - no response

Candidate Michelle Bravo - Women's Magazine 01-June-2018
Women's Magazine - June 1, 2018 (Min 30-45)
Common Thread Collective - June 1, 2018 (Min 15-30)

OVERVIEW OF SF PROPOSITIONS ON THE JUNE 5th BALLOT

Women's Magazine with Global Val on 30-March-2018
(starts at minute 18)

Women's Magazine 18-May-2018
(min 13-25)


OVERVIEW OF CALIFORNIA PROPOSITIONS ON THE JUNE 5TH BALLOT

Women's Magazine with Global Val - May 4th 2018 (Just an intro, but more homework is needed)

Prop 68 - Parks & Water Bond > Guest: Deb Callahan, Bay Area Open Space Council (Min ~ 10-25)


CANDIDATES FOR GOVERNOR & US CONGRESS:


1. Green Party Candidates on Common Thread Colletive on 12-January-2018
Barry Hermanson for US Congress, SF
Josh Jones for Governor
Sadie Fulton, Campaign Manager for Josh Jones

2. Shahid Buttar for US Congress:


Common Thread Collective 06-April-2018

(starts at the 1 hr mark)

Common Thread Collective 18-May-2018 (a lost tape from March!) - a great intro to this candidate (min 20-50)


3.Ryan Khojasteh for US Congress

Common Thread Collective - May 11th 2018
(Our conversation with Ryan comes on after Amy Weiss, in the first 20-30 mins of the podcast.)

4. House of Representatives D12 Candidate Forum! (Starts at minute 30)
Shahid Buttar
Ryan Khosjasteh
Barry Hermanson


OTHER PODCASTS OF POLITICAL INTEREST:

Common Thread Collective - Dec.8, 2017: We spoke with Art Persyko of the Progressive Democrats of America

Common Thread Collective - Jan. 26, 2018

Tim Mayer of the California Association of Voting Officials - discussing the need for open source voting software

Common Thread Collective - Feb. 16, 2018
Democratic Socialists of America SF Chapter



All these shows & more can be found on MutinyRadio.fm in our Podcast section!
They are also available on iTunes under Free Podcasts :)


Be sure to register to vote!



~ And now, a haiku ~

Civilization
looks like cooperation
in an earnest way
- V.I.


Peace,
Global Val

Friday, April 14, 2017

Spring 2017

Greetings to all as we come out of the haze of this dark season and into the light of Spring, where anything is possible and life can flourish wildly!

Here are some upcoming FREE events that may help soothe your soul ~

Sunday, April 16th 4-6pm: KASSIDAT III
Adobe Books: 3130 24th St, San Francisco, CA 94110

A poetic showcase of some of San Francisco's finest and funnest poetic voices. This one falls on Easter Sunday, so bunny hop down the Mission for some inspiration.
Hosted by Blood Flower


Tuesday, April 18th 7-9pm: The Word Party
Piano Fight: 144 Taylor St.

Jazz + Poetry Open Mic! This amazing event is held every 3rd Tuesday at Piano Fight. This month celebrating National Poetry Month AND National Jazz Month.
Featuring EK Keith and YOU!
Hosted by Jennifer Barone, Ingrid Keir, and Nova Jazz.


Wednesday, April 19th 7-9pm: Sacred Grounds Poetry Open Mic
Sacred Grounds Cafe: 2095 Hayes St, San Francisco, CA 94117

Open mic every Wednesday, but we'll also be drawing a name for a guaranteed reading slot at City Hall on the 27th.
Featuring Global Val Ibarra and Aja Couchois Duncan
Curated by Kim Shuck
Hosted by Dan Brady


Saturday, April 22nd 11am-6pm: Earth Day SF
San Francisco Civic Center Plaza

Celebrate Earth Day with the March for Science: teach-ins, music, food, play, community. You might see Global Val on the main stage or in the Radish Dome as one of the MCs for the day!
www.earthdaysf.com


Thursday, April 27th 5:30-8pm: Poems Under the Dome XII
San Francisco City Hall: 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, SF (in the North Light Court)

Celebrate National Poetry Month by reading a poem inside beautiful San Francisco City Hall! Poems Under the Dome is the largest poetry open mic in San Francisco all year long!
Drop your name in the hat for a chance to read ONE poem in 3 minutes or less (yes, a haiku = one poem). This all-ages event invites you to exercise your poetic expression inside the halls of government. Come to read, or just come to listen for the love of poetry!
www.poemdome.net


Every Friday 3-6pm: The Common Thread Collective: Community Open Mic
Mutiny Radio: 2781 21st St., SF, CA 94110

Join our open door, open heart, open mind open mic and be heard around the planet on the internet live & as a free podcast on www.MutinyRadio.fm. Music, poetry, activism, community, LOVE! Hosted by Diamond Dave & Global Val



Monday, May 23, 2016

Are Americans Giving Up (on) their democracy?

Are Americans Giving Up (on) their democracy?
By Valerie A. Ibarra

In the last half of the 19th Century, voter turnout in Presidential elections ranged from 69.9-81.8%. The highest year of the 20th Century was its first year, 1900, which saw 72%, but thereafter ranged from 49.2-65.4%. In the 21st Century, that percentage has ranged from 50.3-57.1%. Though a number of factors can affect voter turnout - war, conviction or imprisonment, and other forms disenfranchisement - we must look at what we have and ask ourselves: Are Americans giving up (on) democracy?

When Bernie Sanders calls for a political revolution, he’s asking for people to get involved in their communities, states and nation at large. He’s asking for people to exercise their rights to free speech, to peaceful assembly, and to vote. With a growing 21st Century population and a seemingly low interest in participating in general elections for the highest office in the land, maybe it’s not really a revolutionary idea to actually use the tools – the rights – we have. After all, isn’t democracy the “freedom” that all this fighting has supposedly been for?

Many people casually or indignantly say that voting doesn’t matter because it doesn’t have any effect, or that the whole system is rigged. Yet it is troubling to look at this voter turnout trend and not try to imagine what a larger number of representative voices could look like… and how the establishment might take the population more seriously when taking corporate contributions so handily and making policy accordingly.

Take a look at what happened during Democracy Spring in April 2016. People marched from Philadelphia to Washington D.C. for a week of protests and peaceful sit-ins outside the Capitol. Their message to Congress was, “The American people will no longer accept the status quo of big money corruption and voter suppression.” Fourteen-hundred non-violent protesters were arrested outside the Capitol (check out Lady Liberty in handcuffs!), but it also prompted nearly 100 representatives to call for hearings on voting rights & campaign reform legislation.

Elected representatives inside may be seeing the wolves at the gate, even if the mainstream media largely ignores them. Yet protesters are not savage beasts, but concerned human beings whose livelihoods are affected by the decisions made at a national level; whether it’s subsidizing the Wall Street banks and their insurers (and rewarding them with tax loopholes) instead of bailing out homeowners, or pouring $1.5 trillion dollars into building the F35 fighter jet (which hasn’t proved itself to be anything but a persistent lemon) instead of investing in education, infrastructure, clean energy and the jobs thereby afforded.

If it’s not feasible or desirable to take a week off to cross the country for sit-ins at the Capitol, or for marches during the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, July 25-28, don’t feel left out of the process. You can be like the over 1.5 million newly registered voters in California, and vote.


***

Californians 18 and over can register to vote online:

http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration

To vote in the CA Presidential Primary on June 7th - register by May 23rd.
To vote in the General Election on November 8th - register by October 24th.

***
NOTE: This is an introductory op-ed that I plan to expand upon, and I've rushed to get it out by May 23rd. Any suggestions as to where I should submit it, please leave a message below or on my Facebook page > Women's Magazine with Global Val

Valerie A. Ibarra holds a BA in Political Science & International Relations from the University of California Santa Barbara, and is currently: a Radio Host/Producer for KPFA 94.1FM and MutinyRadio.fm, and an English teacher & administrator at an international language school in San Francisco.

Friday, April 15, 2016

Springing Into Action!

Such abundance!

Spring of 2016 is proving to be bustling with poetry and civic engagement.

I kicked off the season at the Beat Museum, featuring in an all-women's poetry showcase "Women of a Different Beat" for International Women's Day. Thanks to Justice Morrighan of North Beach Press for curating that riveting event!

Furthermore, I'm honored to be returning to my high school Alma Mater, St. Ignatius College Preparatory, to speak with the students who have designed Writing Week. Coming full circle to share my love of poetry and see what these young writers are up to!


Here are some FREE EVENTS in San Francisco where I'll be popping up in April & May:


Saturday, April 23rd/ 11am-6pm

Pleased to be the MC for Cesar Chavez Day & Earth Day SF ~ two festivals for the greater good of people, food, and planet. Participants of BOTH fests are marching from Dolores Park at 11am to the Cesar Chavez Celebration, where I'll be presenting the Speakers starting at 12:15pm. Later, I'll be on the Main Stage at Earth Day 1:40-2:15pm.

Ceasar Chavez Day - Sowing the Seeds of Change
www.cesarchavezday.org (24th & Treat)

Earth Day SF
www.earthdaystreetfest.com (22nd & Mission/Valencia @ Main Stage afternoon)


Thursday, April 28th / 5:30-8pm sharp!

Join us inside beautiful San Francisco City Hall for the 11th Annual Poems Under the Dome, a free, all-ages event welcoming everyone to celebrate National Poetry Month at the Mother of All Open Mics! Put your name in the hat for a chance to read a poem (original or an old favorite) or simply enjoy the show.

Reading will begin at 5:30 in the North Light Court, but don't miss the opening ceremony under the Rotunda!

*We are very close to meeting our fundraising goals. If you'd like to help sponsor this year's event, please contact me privately by email: valibarra.poet@gmail.com. We'll be happy to thank you on our website: www.poemdome.net


EVERY Thursday in May/ 7:30pm

Featured on BAVC Poetry TV - Comcast Channel 29 or U-Verse 99. My first foray into TV. Tune in!


Saturday, May 7th/ 7:00-9:30pm

Co-Featuring with Eileen Malone at La Promenade Cafe (3643 Balboa @ 38th Ave. SF) & hopefully bringing some live music into the mix.


EVERY FRIDAY on MutinyRadio.fm / Live & Podcast

Women's Magazine with Global Val (2-3pm)
http://podcasts.pcrcollective.org/WomensMagazine/

Common Thread Collective open mic with Diamond Dave (3-5:45pm)
http://podcasts.pcrcollective.org/CommonThreadCollective/

www.mutinyradio.fm

***

Grateful for the abundance & for your continued support! I'll check in again soon as Summer is just around the corner, and to every season...turn turn turn...there will be a reason to share more :)

PEACE

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Global Val hosts the 1st SF Mayoral Forum 2015 on Mutiny Radio

Mutiny Radio has been at the forefront of local media talking to three of the candidates for Mayor of San Francisco. Amy Farah Weiss, Francisco Herrera, and "Broke Ass" Stuart Schuffman - all of whom decided to run independently to disrupt pay-to-play politics and try to set SF on track for a better future amidst a housing & cultural crisis - decided to form a people-powered coalition to use ranked choice voting to replace the incumbent, Ed Lee. Francisco Herrera affirms this is not a "symbolic" action, but rather a determination to bring the people and the wisdom of the neighborhoods into City Hall.

We hosted the "1-2-3 to Replace Ed Lee" coalition at Mutiny Radio on September 18th 2015.

Listen/Download the two shows at www.MutinyRadio.fm > Podcasts > Fridays:
- Candidates in conversation: The Weekly Review with Roman & Molly: 1-2pm on 9/18
- SF Mayoral Candidate Forum: Women's Magazine with Global Val: 2-3pm on 9/18


Sunday, July 26, 2015

Global Val hosts the #1 & #5 shows at MutinyRadio.FM!

What a year!

With a tingling ambition to put on a show or two EVERY Friday at Mutiny Radio in the Mission District of San Francisco, 2015 has proven to be a year of exponential growth in our worldwide audience.

I'm proud to announce that "Women's Magazine with Global Val" - Fridays 2-3pm on MutinyRadio.fm - was the #5 show at Mutiny Radio in June 2015. With over 3,000 downloads in that month, I am humbled to know that so many people are out there listening and hungry for unique content that is otherwise lost on mainstream channels.

Speaking of unique content, "The Common Thread Collective" with Global Val & Diamond Dave - our weekly community open door, open minds, open hearts, open mic - Fridays 3-6pm - has been reaching FAR & WIDE; and with 22,237 downloads in the month of June alone!, it has risen to become THEE #1 SHOW AT MUTINY RADIO!!!

I always post the content from the previous week's shows/podcasts on our Facebook pages, and it truly has been an inspiring season of music, poetry, activism and community.
Women's Magazine with Global Val
The Common Thread Collective

Thank you for listening and please know that Mutiny Radio is here for you :) Join us LIVE and feel free to send people our way as we pride ourselves on providing an online radio presence for free speech and free expression.

"Cast a wide net. Find the common thread. Let life flourish. Don't panic. Just keep it organic." - D.D.

Peace,
Global Val