From the Brooklyn Paper via Albany Project comes a disturbing piece of news: apparently, four New York City residents have been arrested in Beijing for protesting against the Chinese occupation of Tibet.

The Chinese, who are hoping that their efficient oversight of the Beijing Games will wipe away memories of Tiananmen Square, have arrested one of Williamsburg’s best-known multi-media artists after discovering that he planned to project a pro-Tibet message on a building in the Chinese capital.

Artist James Powderly has been in a Chinese jail since Aug. 19 — though the official charges are unknown.[...]

Though Powderly was apprehended alone, he traveled to Beijing to collaborate with five activists from the group Students for a Free Tibet — including Brooklynites Samantha Corbin, Jacob Blumenfeld, and Lauren Valle — who were arrested later that day after unfurling a light-up “Free Tibet” banner in front of the famed “Bird’s Nest” stadium, the student organization said.

The whereabouts of Powderly and his American compatriots remain unclear. A spokesman from Beijing’s Municipal Publicity Security Bureau refused to comment on Powderly’s arrest, according to the Associated Press.

Bad things happen to people who wind up in the jails of authoritarian regimes. Please act today to start bringing pressure on China to free its prisoners. Call China's representatives here in the United States, and the Department of State to act quickly to get our citizens released.

Chinese Embassy, Washington: (202) 328-2500
Chinese Consulate General, New York: (212) 244-9456
United States Department of State, Washington: (202) 647-4000

If you've ever been to a Democratic event in New York City, you know this gentleman, Ronnie Weintraub:

Via Liz, here's an email from Councilman Eric Gioia:

Dear Friends,

I'm writing on behalf of Ronnie Weintraub.

You probably know Ronnie already, and if you don't know him by name you'd probably recognize him if you saw him. He is exuberant, always smiling and very proud of the Special Olympics medals he wears around his neck. He is a tireless worker for Democratic causes and is a constant presence on many of the campaigns we've worked on together.

I first met Ronnie almost a decade ago working on Vice President Gore's presidential campaign. Now, Ronnie is trying to go to the convention in Denver but he needs help in purchasing his bus ticket, which costs $283. I'm asking my friends to make small contributions, no more than $25. Please give what you can; I'll be contributing myself. Let's get him the bus ticket and some meal money for when he's in Denver.

We've set up a PayPal account for Ronnie that will allow you to make a secure contribution. To do so, please send an email to GetRonnieToDenver@gmail.com and we'll send you a link to the account.

Thank you in advance for your generosity. If you have any questions please feel free to give me a call or send me an email.

Eric

I don't really know Ronnie better than in passing, but it is almost literally true that he is almost everywhere Democrats gather. If I had to sum him up in a quip, it's that he just radiates kindness. So please be generous.

Thank you

After conflicting media reports, The New York Times, citing a Cleveland Clinic spokesman, confirms the passing of Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Ohio, at 6:12 PM today.

The Congresswoman was most recently a startlingly effective advocate for the Presidential campaign of Senator Hillary Clinton, though she endorsed Democratic nominee Barack Obama in June.

Tubbs Jones was one of those rare figures that combine instinctively compelling leadership abilities with the grace of true humility. She will be sorely missed, and the nation is poorer for her passing.

Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg addressed a conference in Nevada, saying he wanted NYC to get 10% of its electricity from wind power in ten years. It's a great idea, and we should support the effort -- but what will it take?

Currently, NYC's peak electricity demand is about 13,000 megawatts (MW). (Note: Some reports say 34,000MW, but on July 19, 2005, Con Ed issued a press release saying they had reached a new peak at 12,365MW, and four years earlier they said there was a record at just over 12,000MW so I'm guessing the 34,000MW reports are wrong). Average use in NYC seems to be about 8,000-8,500MW. Assuming growth in demand, let's say we want to get 1,000MW from wind power in a decade.

A reader emails what is likely to be a packed event.

I noticed a sign in the window at the local Barnes & Noble on Court Street this morning. Markos of Daily Kos is going to be there on Thursday, Sept 4, at 7:00 pm. I thought you might want to check it out. Let me know if you plan to go because I'm definitely going.

Markos, obviously, is the founder of Daily Kos, the world's biggest blogging site, currently on tour to promote his newest book, Taking On The System - Rules for Radical Change in a Digital Age.

The book is getting rave reviews, and there are few places more demanding of systemic change than our very own cherished home state, so consider marking your calendar.

Via an emailed press release, the National Organization of Women's New York chapter has endorsed Steve Harrison in the Congressional primary for NY-13.

(Staten Island/Brooklyn) -- The National Organization for Women (NOW) will announce its formal endorsement of Steve Harrison as the strongest supporter of women’s rights in the race for New York’s 13th Congressional District (Staten Island/Southwest Brooklyn) Democratic nomination in a 2:00 PM Wednesday Aug. 20 press conference at the Staten Island Hotel, 1415 Richmond Ave., Staten Island, NY.

Harrison is running against New York City Councilman Michael McMahon in the Democratic Primary which will be held Tues., Sept. 9.

"NOW PAC is pleased to endorse Steve Harrison for the U.S. House of Representatives from New York," said NOW Political Action Committee Chair Kim Gandy. "We look forward to voters in Staten Island and Brooklyn sending a strong supporter of women's rights to Washington. Steve has the values we need to improve the lives of women and families in this country."

The Brooklyn Queens NOW Political Action Committee (BQ NOW PAC) recommended that the Washington-based organization headed by Gandy endorse Harrison. With a member-base of over 500,000 NOW is the largest organization of feminists in the country.

“We were impressed with Steve Harrison’s grasp of and support of our core issues: constitutional equality for women, reproductive rights, equal economic opportunity, stopping violence against women and ending gender and sexual orientation discrimination,” said Shirley Ranz, the chair of the local NOW PAC.

BQ-NOW Vice President Rachelle Suissa added, “If given the opportunity, Steve will definitely be the candidate who holds true to the values of women and minorities and who works to uphold civil rights and liberties each and every day. His ideology, experience, and candor all speak for themselves when it comes to these issues.”

McMahon’s record opposing abortion and his lukewarm support of other gender issues in general while a member of the New York City Council was also a factor in the endorsement, NOW officials said.

“McMahon is a political conservative who opposed choice when his vote counted in NYC Council,” noted BQ NOW Secretary Sherry Rogers. “We cannot support someone who waivers in his support of our issues to placate his RTL constituency. They have the Republicans for that. Who will speak for women; Steve Harrison!”

That's a very notable endorsement, especially if national NOW follows through on it. It also further substantiates that the primary in that district will be heavily tinged by an identification of the two candidates with the left and center-right wings of the party. Whether that's entirely in congruence with the personalities of the two candidates seems to me at least to be somewhat doubtful, but that certainly seems to be the positioning both camps are aiming for.

I'm supremely unqualified to be a theater critic. But I do suggest that if you have some extra dollars lying around, take them, and run, don't walk, to go see August: Osage County. The play won the Tony for Best Play and a Pulitzer Prize, and when I saw it tonight, on a Tuesday shortly before Labor Day for a three-hour performance, there were, maybe, ten empty seats, and a standing ovation at the end. It really is that good.

Via Liz,Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos has categorically ruled out tax increases on the super-rich to help balance the budget, relying instead on average New Yorkers to carry that burden.

Meanwhile, the Assembly has passed legislation incorporating the so-called circuit breaker, a prime objective of the Working Families Party, which is opposing the governor's plan of a tax cap. The legislation links property taxes to an owner's ability to pay. To that, via email, WFP's Dan Cantor said:

“Speaker Silver and members of the Assembly have offered a roadmap to solving the very real problem of property taxes that bear no relation to what working and middle class families can afford. They should be congratulated today for the triumph of common sense. The Assembly bill would provide real cuts in property taxes for working and retired families – paid for in a fiscally responsible way – while preserving our state’s commitment to quality public education.

“It’s time to let democracy work. It’s time the State Senate notices that more than 15,000 New Yorkers reached out to their legislators and the Governor to say that the so-called property tax cap is nothing more than an arbitrary restriction on local investment in public education that does nothing to address the property tax mess.”

I see competing one-house bills coming, what about you?

Over on Room Eight, our former contributor Gatemouth - he was banned yesterday - is discussing the circumstances of his banning, as follows.

In an unrelated, yet perhaps karmic event, I was “permanently banned” today by the left-of-center site, the Daily Gotham. Although I started publishing on that site after a rather emphatic invitation from its publishers, I was uncomfortable from the start about whether my centrist (for lack of a better term) Democratic views, however partisan, were really suitable for the site. Clearly, events have proven that my qualms were well founded, and that we were not a good fit.

I hadn't intended to write about this incident - specifically, I wrote Gatemouth that "I wouldn't piss down your throat if your balls were on fire, let alone write about you" - however, given that he's now publicly materially misrepresenting the decision to remove him as a fruit of clashing ideologies or a history of conflicting views, which is not our policy at all, I'm forced to set the record straight. This blog exercises a very light hand with regard to what content or what contributors we accept, and the assertion that we banned Gatemouth in some spat over positions he holds is ludicrous and false.

Yesterday morning, I received the following email from Gatemouth, or rather from his real-life email address. It was addressed to myself, the entire editorial team, the Observer's Azi Paybarah, Liz Benjamin of the Daily News, Eric Engquist of Crain's, and Senator Marty Connor.

The newest Siena Poll, released yesterday, shows a hunger for change among New Yorkers, a stronger governor, and conflicting positions on how to resolve what is widely viewed as a serious budget crisis.

Specifically, 48% of New Yorkers describe the state's fiscal position as poor, 37% as fair, and 11% as good. Voters are divided as to a proper remedy, however; support for the governor's tax cap plan clocks in at 66%, with 23% opposed; support for a circuit-breaker as endorsed by the WFP polls at 75% support, 18% opposed, and asked to choose between the two, 58% support the circuit-breaker proposal, 33% a tax cap. However, by 55% to 43%, New Yorkers aren't confident that the state's leadership will effectively address the crisis.

Good news for Governor Paterson: his favorability rating is holding steady at 59%. Better news for Senate Democrats: 47% of voters support a Democratic State Senate, 42% a republican majority. Generically, an individual incumbent polling under 50% at this point in the cycle is considered endangered.