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tv   [untitled]    November 3, 2012 11:00pm-11:30pm PDT

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our delegation has the pleasure of entering into the permanent record the life, service, legacy of ambassador stevens. additionally, a flag has been flown over the capitol by democratic leader nancy pelosi, represented by her daughter christine pelosi. this flag has been presented to the family. in celebration of ambassador stevens life and in honor of his tremendous legacy. as i mentioned, we entered into the congressional record our testimony honoring the life of ambassador john christopher stevens. in the interest of time i won't read the entire congressional record but only an excerpt. it said mr. speaker, i rise
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with my colleagues to honor, celebrate and remember ambassador john christopher chris stevens. a son of northern california and the bay area, ambassador stevens tragically lost his life in the greatest service to his country. selflessly and courageously representing american values in a foreign nation he knew intimately and cared for deeply. in his diplomatic capacity, ambassador stevens brought a profound and prolific knowledge of arab world and middle east to his assignment. his exemplary gift for making personal connections was invaluable as his role as specific representative and ambassador to one of the most complex and challenging regions of the
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world. therefore as we join in recognizing ambassador stevens am myself midst a sober outpouring of praise from his family, colleagues, fellow americans and the leaders of this nation, we remember also that chris stevens was beloved by many libyans as well. therefore on behalf of the residents of northern california and our entire state, we join president barack obama, secretary of state hillary rodham clinton, democratic leader nancy pelosi and expensive network of people in saluting ambassador chris stevens who will be remembered for his strong sense of dignity, his humility and his generous service to others. he will be truly missed by all who loved him and by
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all he served throughout the magnitude of his life's work. thank you for this honor. [applause] members of christopher stevens family, ladies and gentlemen, let me first thank chris stevens' brothers and sisters for their warm and delightful insights into what he was really like. thank you so much. that was fantastic what you did for us. christopher stevens was obviously an extraordinary
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human being and contributor. every year at stanford we have a group of what we call national security fellows come. they were roughly army, navy, air force, state department. a couple weeks ago we had a meeting and the first person i called on was an army colonel. i said where were you last? he said in libya. i said did you know christopher stevens? he said everybody knew christopher stevens. he was our leader, fluent in arabic, constructive, positive, doing something, he was our leader. this spontaneous practically eruption from him. he was a foreign service officer. anybody who has served with a foreign service as i did as the secretary of state
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knows, what a very special group of people this is. they are very able people. dedicated. they work hard for our country. chris was extraordinary and stood out. i thought what image can i think of that might express our way of thinking about him. i thought of the great seal of our republic. i don't know how many of you have ever looked carefully at it. the center is an eagle. in one talon the eagle is holding an olive branch. the eagle is looking at the olive branch to show that
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the united states will always seek peace. the other talon, the eagle is holding arrows to show that the united states understands if you will be effective and successful in seeking peace, you must be strong. let me expand. because it only only peace but a better kind. the elimination of poverty, better lives all over the world for ourselves and other people. the arrows don't just stand for military strength but capability, they stand for the idea that the underwill try to recruit the best and most capable to apply
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themselves to those grand objectives. as i studied the life of christopher stevens, he embodied that and sought the grand objectives that our dwok si stands for. we gather to mourn his loss and demonstrate to his family how much we understand their grief. we also gather to celebrate the immense accomplishments this man has made for us. i picked out of my closet a tie. says on it democracy is not a spectator sport. christopher stevens was a
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participant. a full, strong, effective participant in his beloved democracy. chris, thank you. [applause] >> good afternoon, my name is tom pickering. chris stevens was a friend and a colleague. more than that he was among the very best our foreign service has to offer in support of our people and our country. a man destined for even greater challenges and successes. it is a special honor for me to be asked to be here
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and say a few words in his memory. i must begin by offer approximating my sincere condolences and passion to his family and friends gathered here this afternoon to honor his memory. in truth, what we say here our words, can only be a pale shadow for his service and sacrifice for his nation and people. indeed that of his colleagues, glen dougherty, sean smith, tyrone woods. i know you all join me in honoring and appreciating their service and devotion as well. chris and i worked together for a time almost a dozen years ago. he was even then fully committed to his work. an authority already in the middle east. a fine student of arabic. much more. he gave me careful and cogent advice and council
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as we wrestled together with the many growing problems that even back then were en endemic to the country's work. i learned about benghazi, as the critical changes in libya began to unfold. his leadership there at a time of great importance and danger was a tribute to his courage and bravery. his skill and dedication as a diplomat. to his commitment to a new and better libya. benghazi in a real sense, as you have heard today, became his city. as it is with a deep sense of fate that in benghazi he and his colleagues gave that last full measure for his country and his many friends in the city where
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he died, continuing to defend and prosper their hopes and their aspirations for the future. many have commented since on chris's salient commitment to the people of benghazi. john thorn writing in the christian science monitor noted that when he passed in the street, the young men would call out, hello, chris. they knew his face. would laugh and say hello always. this is the right way to deal with our people, he said. libyan friends said he was always ready to put his country first. he shone by being himself, interested in the lives of ordinary people. his death was met with shock and sadness in libya.
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feelings with regard to americans that are rare in that part of the world these days. for me that judgment captures key characteristics of chris and his approach to life and work. secretary of state hillary clinton noted chris's swearing in as ambassador to libya on an earlier tour, he was visiting roman ruins at one of the tourist sites in libya. he was trailed by gadhafi security men who were obviously intimidating to other tourists. as she recounted it, he reached over to one of the men, stole his camera out of his hands and started taking pictures of the men who had been following him. they were so dumbfounded that they had to laugh. after a quick conversation, chris convinced them to stand down. from a colleague at the
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embassy in tripoli i learned chris had a humble style of diplomacy libyans responded to after he became ambassador and returned to tripoli, the embassy posted a photo, ordering a juice in a cafe. that went viral because libyans were amazed at the site of a senior government official doing mundane activities without a huge entourage and demanding vip treatment. chris had a great knowledge of libyan history and culture. he would often crack jokes with government counter parts. not just in arabic but in the libyan dialect, which the libyans loved to hear him speak. another told me when i saw him in may as newly appointed ambassador in tripoli he had not changed, despite the promotion and accolades. he was the same guy. lingering one night after dinner to help me with a
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difficult table, i referred to him as sir or ambassador. he looked at me for a second, he sighs and he said i wish everyone would just call me chris. he loved the work, loved the people, but he never took himself too seriously. people talk about what a good diplomat he was. he knew how to motivate others to be the same. even those down on their careers, lost faith, in hardship. this was a tough task to inspire other to serve with dignity and self-respect. chris knew how to do that. nothing we can say here can make up for the heart ache and pain which brings less to his family. we hope family members will draw solace and strength in
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our coming together around his life and service in a joyful way that shows how deeply we miss chris. i still have chris last message on my e-mail. he wrote hello, tom. it is exciting times in tripoli. with election and new congress coming together. as i read libya's recent history it is a bit like we are reliving the post world war ii years. how right he was. that was chris. always thinking, always sharp, always ready. public service is too often looked down upon by some in this country. often my colleagues in the foreign service la meant they don't make them the way they used to anymore. today we remember a man, chris stevens, whose life and service just proves how
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wrong my colleagues really are. chris shows us they still make them the way they used to, only an awful lot better, thank you. [applause] >> chris's family would like to invite everyone to a reception after the ceremony. it will be held over there. you are all welcome. let us pray. oh lord, support us all the day long until the shadows lengthen and the evening comes and the busy world is hushed and the fever of life is over and our work is done. then in your mercy grant us a safe lodging and a holy
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rest and peace at the last. may the author of all life bless us and keep us. in god's name we pray, amen. ♪
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♪ ♪
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>> hi, my name is andrew belie and i'm running for district 7 supervisor. thank you very much for watching this video. your time is precious and i deeply appreciate you giving me five of your minutes. since entering this race people constantly ask why the heck would i want to be supervisor. my answer is as simple as it is idealic. kess tick. my love, dedication and concern for our glorious city. i offer a uniquely fresh perspective and core belief in responsible, practical accountable government. it's not sexy, but it's what we need. professionally i'm a
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cartographer. san francisco department and the environment, law firms, national park service and many more. i'm a father, a husband, a homeowner. our daughter is a fifth generation san franciscan. my lifelong record of volunteerism is one major way i stand out among the other candidates. while living in the dorms at san francisco state i started and ran the recycling program which reaches over 5,000 campus residents. after moving off campus i delivered thousands of meals for project open hand and tutored literacy to adults. enteredctionv a -- supervisor elsbernd appointed me, i worked with sfpd, play guitar, give blood several times a year, and going over this list, hoping to demonstrate to you my core belief in civic duty and community involvement. i also believe that the next step in my ability to
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contribute is to help govern as supervisor. now just a few of the many important issues. we are in economic straits and need to be conservative with our finances now and for the future. pension, salary and benefit reform has come a long way, but we need to do more. let's work with all stakeholders to assure that rules are based on fairness and financial realism for all, not for the personal enrichment of a few. i would rewrite the public flaping rules which are costing the city millions. why should a candidate receive up to 150,000 city tax dollars then spend that money on consultants in walnut creek or in san jose which is being done now? i'm not one of the quarter million dollars candidates but i've raised several thousand dollars, buttons, website, campaign essentials all produced here in san francisco. homelessness and panhandling, when friends visit from out of town they are aghast at the
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number of people on the streets. some are truly destitute. on the other end of the spectrum, some have homes. compassion, resources and outreach are crucial, but we also need city government to know that we won't tolerate people fighting, stealing, making messes or harassing residents, shoppers and visitors. i applaud the mayor for recently working with police, dph and the courts to institute mandatory treatment for the most chronic and costly individuals. but we also need law enforcement to tell people that they can't rome around town or come in from outside the city to block sidewalks and beg for change. this is a tough topic to tackle without sounding like some uncompassionate right wing jerk, but the situation is getting worse and we need to do what is best for everyone, including residents, small business owners and visitors. let's raise all schools up to excellence. we won't have to send our kids
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across town because the school lottery didn't work out. city college: let's follow the state restructuring report and learn from the operational dysfunction that has plagued the college for years. this brings up proposition a. we should not be burdening homeowners and small businesses with another tax, but city college is too important to jeopardize so i will put aside my taxation reservations and vote yes on a. public safety, using a number of methods let's encourage our police and firefighters to live here in the city. we will have another earthquake and we need them here, not up in pet lululemon a, not down in half moon bay. speaking of earthquakes are you prepared? right choice voting, like it or not it will be a factor in this race. i hope you'll choose me in this race. if you're already committed please consider me for second or third. whether you vote for me or not, please just be sure to vote. it's our right, it's our privilege and frankly i believe it's our duty and i won't tell you who to vote for for
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president, but my candidate handled don't ask don't it will and we share. thank you very much. >> my name is francis xavier crowley. as a district 7 native, i want to represent the twin peaks neighborhoods because i care about the community i grew up in and want to serve my fellow residents. my record as a dedicated public servant, community volunteer and leader of the international alliance of theatrical
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demonstrates my commitment to san francisco. performing arts, symphony, television, motion picture industry in san francisco. i am proud of the work i've done to bring both labor and management together. the stagehand has a strong working ship with management. we forge contracts and deals that bring both sides together and provide compromises that give working people excellent salaries and benefits and management to operate beneficially and turn a profit. in my mind this is the type of leadership and the type of relationship building that is exactly what we need from district 7 at city hall. during my 15 years as leader of the stagehand, i distinguished myself as a skillful negotiator and leader in one of the most competitive sectors, san francisco economy, managing several hundred contracts and generating 1.3 billion in wages. in lead he ship with stagehands i played a vital role as
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president of the public utilities commission, and a member of the chamber of commerce. during my time as president with the puc, i managed the time on budget, the largest infrastructure project of the generation. and the 4.6 billion hetch hetchy project that ensures the protection of our water sister. during my time in the port commission i led the charge of the development of the james r. herman cruise terminal which serves multiple purposes by creating jobs and protecting the industry that has been part of the backbone for the port and part of the future in terms of fishing transportation and mobile goods and services. i have no ambition for any other than this job as district 7. i was born in the district, graduated from here, i lived in san francisco my entire life. i raised my family here. i know the people and residents, not just my district, but the entire city. i would be an excellent
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representative of district 7 but the entire city. i am the number one choice of the democratic party and number 2 chartion of the bay guardian and number 3 choice of the republican party. conservatives, moderates and progressives support me because they trust me. i have a record of putting the city first and demonstrating capacity to work with different viewpoints. as supervisor i will make funding of public safety initiatives which includes training new police and firefighters my number one budget priority. i will make sure that promises made at park merced are kept. make sure that the boat house at lake merced is built with input from the community and becomes a beacon for local residents and their families. i will also make sure there is a real pipeline for students and a local academic institutions. return thousands of jobs that are becoming available as companies seek to improve and move into the city and hire and thrive. my career has been prepared for
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me for this job. i have the record of experience to serve and the ability like no one else in this race for district 7. i humbly ask for your vote in the election district 7. please vote fx rally number 1 on november 6. >> hi, i'm joel, the only candidate endorsed by the san francisco chronicle to be your next supervisor in district 7. i'm running for supervisor because we don't need city hall to ban toys and happy meals. we need city hall to fill potholes. you know, we paid to fill those potholes twice. first in taxes and then a bond. but do you think our streets are twice as good? we need accountability for our money. we also need common sense. i know common sense is a buzz word, but people are hungry for it. i love john stewart in the daily show, but san francisco has to stop giving him such easy material for his jokes.
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if you're tired of city hall not focusing on the basic, if you're tired of your house being the city's atm and if you're tired of the same old politics and the same old choices, i offer you an independent choice for supervisor. i'll be your advocate. if you're like me, you want san francisco to be an off beat tolerant and fun. but you also expect a functioning city that buses run on time, potholes get paved, and city programs are held accountable nor how they spend our money. i'll be your common sense supervisor. the reality is we need to raise revenue and cut spending. we can't pretend we're immune to what's happening 100 miles away in stockton which is going bankrupt on pensions. we have to face the reality of basic arithmetic. i'm not against taxes, but just have to be spent smartly and with accountability. we need to audit programs and pay for only what works. we can't just keep going back to