If you have happened to catch a Golden State Warriors basketball game in the last few years, then you have seen 6'10" Adonal Foyle in action. Adonal plays center for the Oakland, California-based NBA team, and has been with the Warriors since the 1997 draft. The average fan may think of him as any other player, but then the average fan would be wrong.

On top of playing basketball and pursuing a Masters Degree from John F. Kennedy University in Moraga, California, Adonal is the founder of Democracy Matters, an organization advocating for campaign finance reform. Yes, that's right, campaign finance reform! He is dedicated to working with high school and college-aged youth on campuses across the country to change the political environment in the United States.

After leaving the islands where he was born and raised, Adonal attended high school in the US and college at Colgate University. He is an avid reader and poet, and has gotten numerous awards for his community service. On top of juggling all that, he made time recently to answer some of my burning questions.

WireTap: What was it like growing up in the islands? Were you conscious of politics in St. Vincent and the Grenadines?

Adonal Foyle: I grew up on a tiny island, Canouan, which is one of the small islands that are part of the country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. On Canouan there were less than 1,000 people, no electricity, and my tiny house had no in-door toilet and a kitchen outside. I was raised by my grandmother and great-aunt who "gardened" -- growing peanuts and other ground crops. I grew up working in the garden and doing many other chores all day when I was not in school.

Everyone is aware of politics in St. Vincent because the country is so small. Also, people on Canouan and the other small Grenadine islands think that they get ignored and shortchanged by the main island where most of the politicians are from, so we are very aware of what is going on.

WT: When you were a child what did you think you would be doing when you grew up? What was your dream?

AF: When I was a child I dreamed of becoming a judge but I knew that I would end up like everyone else on Canouan -- fishing, gardening, or working for the government in a road crew doing maintenance work.

WT: Why did you decide to come to the US for high school?

AF: Two American professors came to my island to do research and I met them. They asked if I would like to get an education in the US and I immediately said yes though I did not know them at all. Everyone I knew dreamed of coming to America and getting a chance to get ahead because there was little chance if you stayed in the Grenadines.

WT: When you left high school you decided to go to Colgate University and studied history. Why did you decide to go to a small school, as opposed to a school with a large focus on basketball? Do regret that decision?

AF: I decided to go to Colgate for one main reason: I really wanted to be sure I could get the most out of my college education. I loved small classes where you could have discussions and really get to know the faculty. Colgate is a school that is highly ranked on the academic side but still plays division one sports so I thought I could have the best of both worlds that I loved: basketball and education. I was worried that at a school that was a basketball power I would be forced to neglect my studies. I have absolutely no regrets!

WT: How did you get interested in politics?

AF: I have always been interested in politics -- but when I came to the US at age 16 I of course wanted to understand this new country, and understanding politics is an important part of that. In addition, my American parents -- the Colgate professors who brought me to the United States -- were very politically involved. Both Joan and Jay Mandle were part of the Civil Rights Movement and the struggle to end the War in Vietnam. Joan was director of Women's Studies at Colgate, and Jay has written many books on globalization and poverty. So our dinner table was always an education in itself -- mostly about politics and social change.

WT: It seems to me that athletes are often very present in the media but only for playing sports. Are there other athletes who are interested in politics? Do you talk to your teammates about politics?

AF: Not too many athletes like to speak out about politics. They may be interested in it but I think they are cautious because they don't want to stand out of the crowd and be controversial in that way. But in fact I talk to my teammates and other basketball players about politics all the time and they are very interested.

WT: As a professional basketball player you are a role model for many people. Why is it important to use your influence to interest people in politics?

AF: We are role models as professional basketball players whether we want to be or not. I am using my influence to get young people and others interested in politics because I believe that a democracy can only work well if everyone is involved and participates. It isn't really much of a democracy when only a small proportion of people vote and most feel that their government isn't interested in them and doesn't represent them. When this happens, like today, it is very dangerous because important decisions that affect everyone like issues of war and peace, education, health care, the economy, civil rights, the environment and many others are decided by only a tiny fraction of the American people. I believe that everyone has the right and the responsibility to decide what kind of world we live in and ought to be involved in making these important decisions.

WT: What is the point of Democracy Matters? Why campaign finance reform?

AF: The mission of Democracy Matters is to activate young people around the issue of money and politics as a way to deepen democracy in the United States. Campaign finance reform sounds boring but it is the most important political issue to work on because it affects all the issues I care about. It is the reform that will allow all other reforms to occur.

When we see that the clean air laws are being eroded or that college tuition is rising or that the unemployment rate is climbing, these are all policy decisions made by politicians. When we see this country spending billions of dollars in Iraq, or cutting basic services to homeless people or children, or putting new restrictions on Internet access, these are political decisions made by the people we elect. They affect us but we have little influence because we can't contribute big bucks to politicians' campaigns.

Democracy Matters wants to elect representatives who care about all the people, not just the funders. We can do that by publicly financed election campaigns like they have in Arizona and Maine, where anyone can run for office whether they are rich or poor. That is the American dream and that is real democracy. It affects everything happening around us and to us, even though we may not realize it. If we change how elections are funded -- supporting public financing -- we can change America.

WT: Right now is a very important time in our country, this being an election year. What are you doing to support voting? Are you working on the "youth vote?"

AF: I am working on the Youth Vote. I am part of an effort called the New Voters Project and of course Democracy Matters, on our 60 campuses around the country, has been deeply involved in a non-partisan way. We do not endorse candidates, but Democracy Matters students have been registering new voters, holding mock candidate debates, distributing information on candidates, sponsoring teach-ins and discussions on money and politics, and holding Democracy festivals, all-day dialogues, and parties! Politics should be fun too. Check out our website www.democracymatters.org to see more about how to make political engagement fun and how to make a difference.

WT: The perception of youth culture is that youth are concerned with friends, school, sports, entertainment, driving and money. That is it. How do we get these youth interested in current events and politics?

AF: The way to get youth culture involved in politics is to show that friends, school, sports, driving and money are all affected every single day by politics. Whether your friends will be drafted to fight a future war or not; whether your school has funding for after-school programs, art classes, and sports or not; what college tuition and student loans cost and whether you can afford the gas to drive your car or not; and whether you have a job when you finish school so you can earn any money -- these are all affected by POLITICS!!! They are affected by who is elected and who they listen to. Right now politicians listen to their campaign contributors and big bucks, but we can change that. You too -- young or old, rich or poor -- should be able to influence those decisions in a democracy. We need to show young people these connections and the vision of how they can take their democracy back and have fun doing it. That is what Democracy Matters is all about!

WT: You are a basketball player and you are involved in your organization. How do you juggle the NBA with Democracy Matters?

AF: I am very busy with basketball, but everyone has some time that they can and should give to making the world around them a better place -- especially for people who are disadvantaged. I am lucky because I have a great staff at Democracy Matters who can carry out a lot of the functions of the organization. So I talk to my Executive Director all the time, making decisions, and try to speak out publicly whenever I am not involved in basketball.

WT: What books are you reading right now? What do you recommend?

AF: I am reading Bob Woodward's book, "Plan of Attack" and I just finished reading Paul O'Neill's "The Price of Loyalty." Both of these are about the present political situation. I like reading non-fiction that gives me information about what is happening in the world. I would recommend these books, as well as Al Franken's "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them." I also read and write poetry, but I can't recommend anything specific because I like so many different poets!

WT: How do you spend your free time? What do you do to unwind?

AF: I don't have a lot of free time, but I listen to music a lot and I like to watch movies as well as hanging out with close friends and my family. I also am the Vice President of the Basketball Player's Union and that takes up a lot of my time.

WT: What is next for you? What is in the future?

AF: What is next for me is unknown because I have just become a free agent. I played with the Golden State Warriors for the last seven years and now I get to choose where I will play. I will be interviewing teams that want me to play for them and will make a decision about where I will go later this summer. I know I will be playing basketball next year but I don't know where. I am also getting a Master's Degree in Sports Psychology, but I am not sure yet what I want to do after my basketball career is finished. I know I will keep working with Democracy Matters and our effort to get young people interested in important political issues.

WT: Is there anything else you would like to tell Wiretap readers?

AF: I would like to tell Wiretap readers that every one of you can make a difference in the world around you. Young people will inherit this world. I urge you to go beyond trying to help only a few people to thinking BIG! Thinking about how you can affect the MOST people at once through involvement in big political issues like poverty, civil rights, peace, and democracy. These issues remain crucial both before and after elections. They need new creative ideas that only young people can offer. JOIN WITH OTHERS AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

Darla Walters Gary is a staff writer for WireTap. She is 17 and impatiently awaiting high school graduation in June. She will be finally leaving the Bay Area to go to Sarah Lawrence College in August.

Soybeans can be processed to make biodiesel.

Think about the last time you were stuck in traffic behind a big-rig diesel truck, fumes seeping into your car, making you gag. Now imagine that instead of toxic gas smells, you smelled french fries or popcorn. Imagine how much nicer your drive would be. If you were behind a biodiesel truck that is exactly what you would smell.

Although it seems far-fetched or like something out of a children's book, biodiesel is becoming more and more common. Organizations ranging from a coffee company in the northwest to school districts on the east coast are chucking their diesel oil for biodiesel. Even the United States Army is a huge consumer of biodiesel.

So what is biodiesel, and why does it smell so good? Biodiesel is an alternative fuel that can be made out of anything from organic canola oil to used cooking grease from Burger King. It is made from plant products, not fossil fuel, which means it is renewable. Unlike gasoline, which is processed from oil that is pumped from the ground from a limited supply, biodiesel is processed from vegetable or soybean oils. Biodiesel is literally fuel that you can grow. It does not have to be drilled out of the ground, we do not have to fight wars in Iraq to get permission to drill for it, and we do not have to rip up the national parks in Alaska to get fuel. It can be grown right here, in your backyard, and it smells pretty much like whatever you make it out of.

The process of changing the veggie oil into biodiesel is a relatively simple scientific process that strips the oil of glycerol (which can be used later to be made soap). Ester is left and processed further to make biodiesel. Amazingly enough, the whole process can be done in your own home.

History Lesson

Mayor Jason West

In a Fall 2003 interview with RiseUp Radio, New Paltz , New York Mayor and Green Party member Jason West discussed biodiesel. He spoke about how in New York (and elsewhere) "we can have biodiesel rather than petrodiesel and support this newer technology that is a cleaner burning fuel." Mayor West is correct in pointing out that biodiesel is cleaner burning, but he is wrong to state that it is a newer technology. In fact, biodiesel is not at all new, but has been around for almost a century.

When Rudolph Diesel initially designed the internal combustion engine, it was made to run on peanut oil. The original Fords, beginning with the Model T in 1908, ran on ethanol (another biofuel). It wasn't until the 1920s when car engines were modified to use fossil fuel-based gasoline, which was being sold at cheaper prices than biodiesel.

Things are now starting to come full circle with people getting back to the basics of biodiesel. The current biodiesel movement is big and getting bigger. Biodiesel is being revived by people from all over the political and environmental spectrum. From those who are concerned with the environment to the genetically modified soybean industry looking for a bigger profit, people are increasingly trying to get biodiesel in use. Cooperatives have sprung up all over the country and more and more people are learning about this alternative product.

"I'd say there are a couple of biodiesel movements happening in this country; the movement of the small producer and that of industry interests," explains Johanna Shultz, the Director of Environmental and Social Policy at Northern California's Thanksgiving Coffee. A small independent business, Thanksgiving has used biodiesel in their trucks for a year, and it is one of the many things they do to cut down on their emissions. "We started using biodiesel right around when the U.S. starting bombing Iraq last year, and were overjoyed that there's a renewable fuel that can be produced domestically by small businesses to fuel our fleet, and that we can support a solution like biodiesel."

Thanksgiving represents the biodiesel movement being driven by small producers. At the other end of the business spectrum are large corporations. According to Schultz, "The National Biodiesel Board advocates for biodiesel. Their governing board is also made up almost entirely of pro-GMO (genetically modified organism) soy interests." Since biodiesel can be made from soybeans, the soybean industry could profit greatly from an increased use of biodiesel. Although the movements and motives are varied, small businesses, environmental activists, and large corporations all have the same focus: to get biodiesel used.

The Drawbacks

Dave Williamson of the Ecology Center in Berkeley holding up some biodiesel.

For all the benefits of being renewable and cleaner burning, biodiesel, like everything else, has a downside... four actually. First of all is the cost. Depending on where you are getting your materials or if you are buying from a dealer, biodiesel is usually 80 cents more per gallon, according to Dave Williamson of the Ecology Center in Berkeley, California. His organization has been using biodiesel in recycling trucks for a long time and has recently overseen the transition to running all Berkeley diesel vehicles on biodiesel, including its emergency vehicles. It is slightly more expensive, but businesses and districts can get tax cuts and grants.

One other drawback is that biodiesel, according to Williamson, gets 17% less miles per gallon than gasoline-powered cars. The big problem with biodiesel, however, is the output of nitrogen oxide, which is a part of pollution, or smog. Biodiesel vehicles put out slightly more nitrogen oxide than normal diesel. Biodiesel supporters claim that these are offset by the absence of other toxic chemicals and the absence of problems relating to normal diesel. Williamson points out that with biodiesel there are "no oil refinery, oil fields, oil slicks, and oil wars." As Schultz puts it, "100% biodiesel is ten times LESS toxic than table salt, has 80% less carbon dioxide emissions than petrodiesel, and 44% less carbon monoxide emissions."

Even with these relatively minor downsides, the thing that seems to turn most people off is that biodiesel is only used in diesel cars. You cannot fill up your 1997 Taurus with fryer grease (but you can fill up that new turbo diesel Beetle across the street with biodiesel). To use biodiesel, your car has to have a diesel engine.

A bug that runs on biodiesel.

Though people come in contact with diesel every day, they do not seem to get it if they drive gasoline fueled cars. "When people hear for the first time or understand for the first time that [biodiesel] is only for diesel engines and not for gas engines -- which is what most people have -- they just turn off. They don't make the connection that all the food that they buy in a supermarket was brought there using diesel engines, which could be running on biodiesel. That their trash is always picked up with diesel technology not gas technology," explains Jon Bauer or the Berkeley Biodiesel Collective.

Just because you cannot fill up your own car on biodiesel does not mean that you should forget about it. You can be a part of getting biodiesel into use -- even if you are not using it directly -- by pushing your city or district to implement biodiesel in their fleets. Fleets of buses, trucks, and farming machinery are the largest users of diesel fuel, and pushing them to use biodiesel will greatly reduce the amount of diesel fuel used.

Bio vs. Electric

Biodiesel Fuel Pumps So you like the idea of biodiesel, but you don't want to make it yourself. Well biodiesel is becoming more and more available. Pumps are springing up everywhere. For a list of stations to pump your great smelling, non-war causing biodiesel, try: http://www.biodiesel.org/buyingbiodiesel/retailfuelingsites or http://afdcmap.nrel.gov/locator/LocatePane.asp

Even though biodiesel is a good solution, there are other alternative fuel choices that are being introduced to consumers. Everywhere you look there are advertisements for hybrid cars, gas and electric vehicles that are smooth and sleek. The Toyota Prius as well as Honda's Civic and Insight, have all done well on the market.

Is biodiesel a better alternative? Well, that depends on whom you ask. Shultz believes biodiesel is better because there is nothing left over. "Though most vehicle manufacturers are focusing on electric, there are still batteries that must be disposed of, therefore generating more waste. Biodiesel can be made by either growing it or by recycling used vegetable oil -- nothing is wasted. Even the by-product of the manufacturing process can be made into products like soap!"

Williamson seems to see problems with both. "In the future we will have all sorts of fuels: biodiesel, ethanol, biogas, electric (from solar) and hydrogen (from solar). None can entirely replace petroleum by itself. Nor should they. We need to get more productivity out of our energy resources and make intelligent transportation decisions. Walk. Ride a bicycle. Catch a train."

Calling all Youth

Cities, schools, and adults are catching the biodiesel bug, but what about the younger generation? What about high school students who are getting their first car and their first taste of buying their own fuel? People who are my age are growing up with impending problems, such as major environmental instabilities and global warming. Unless something is done we are going to have even bigger problems, and it is our generation that is going to have to be the backbone of the change. "In the near future we will either have no oil or very little oil. Future generations will lament that we burned it all instead of making something good and lasting," comments Williamson.

I was at a recent biodiesel event in Berkeley and was amazed at the diversity of the cars, but frustrated with the diversity of the drivers. Everyone was an adult. Where is my generation in this movement? Young people are growing up and learning to drive in a pivotal time in history. We have many choices now on how to fuel our cars. Why not chose what is obviously better for our planet? We may have to live with the mistakes of our parents' generation, but we do not have to continue with them. We can make a difference. Biodiesel is obviously not going to change everything -- it may not even be the ideal fuel -- but it is a start, and a very important step.

What You Can Do:
Look into biodiesel for your diesel automobile.

		Websites: veggieavenger.com greasecar.com biodieselnow.com biodiesel.org

Buying a new car? You can get an older diesel or a brand-new one (you may need to change a couple of hoses on new cars but this is very simple). You don't have to give up style -- I recently ran across a biodiesel Jetta that I fell in love with.

If you are a youth and your school has an auto shop, talk to your teachers and administration about biodiesel. It can be made in chemistry class and used for drivers ed and auto shop.

Let your city officials know that you want them to look into biodiesel. It is so easy for the city to run biodiesel in buses, trash and recycling trucks, and many more vehicles. This will make the air a lot cleaner.

Darla Walters Gary is a staff writer for WireTap. She is 17 and impatiently awaiting high school graduation in June. She will be finally leaving the Bay Area to go to Sarah Lawrence College in August.

A young journalist is always learning. There are always experienced journalists, teachers and editors teaching you different rules. The first and most important thing you learn is to tell the truth. Never make up sources or say that you were somewhere that you were not. What a journalist writes is taken as fact.

"Shattered Glass," the new film written and directed by Billy Ray is based on the true story of Stephen Glass. Hayden Christensen of "Star Wars" and "Life As A House" fame stars as the young reporter who does not follow these rules. By his mid-twenties, Glass was a well-known writer at the famous New Republic Magazine. Glass was everyone's favorite guy; he was funny and smart and always got great stories. Then the trouble comes. A writer at an online magazine uncovers Glass's deceptions. When confronted about his lies, he finds himself with so many excuses that he cannot keep his story straight.

The movie is wonderful and the cast, also including Chloe Sevigny, Steve Zahn and Peter Sarsgaard, are magnificent. My only complaint is with Christensen. Now do not get me wrong, I love this guy. I think that he is brilliantly talented, but his whiny youth act is getting over played. Every time he started to complain to his editor about what was happening, I started having flashbacks to "Star Wars," when he is begging for Queen Amidala's love. He needs to do something different (like a comedy role) and get away from always playing the torn youth. I like Christensen and I hope that he is not typecast, because the young Jedi images are getting annoying.

Regardless of my flashbacks, I found the film extremely powerful. Some may believe that Glass, at such a young age, was unable to keep up with the fast paced environment of the journalism world, and others may think that he simply found the lies more interesting. In the movie, he is portrayed to not have much confidence, so maybe he did not think he was good enough and had to make up stories to measure up.

No matter why you think he did it, there is no denying that he played the media and the readers for all he could, and to be honest that makes for a really interesting story. The film starts with a likable and seemingly talented young man, and ends with a pitiful cheater. The viewer cannot help but feel bad for the guy, no matter what bad things he did, and in the end he came out looking sad and pathetic, not evil. The whole aspect of cheating and getting caught is intriguing.

Watching Glass completely ruin everything he had gotten by making up stories makes you think about every time you have cheated. Let's be honest, we have all cheated on a test or two… or ten. But could you completely make up a story that is read by thousands of people? I could not, but I definitely enjoyed watching him do it. This movie is a must see for any aspiring journalist and anyone who has ever cheated on a test.

Darla Walters Gary is a WireTap staff writer. She lives in Oakland, California and is a senior at Far West High School.

Have you ever looked at your own picture and not recognized yourself? Or spent only a few days with someone but knew that they would have an effect on the rest of your life? In the new film by Sofia Coppola, "Lost In Translation," the characters, no matter how seemingly different they may be, go through everyday feelings of longing, confusion and affection.

The viewer will be taken aback by the new, forlorn side of Bill Murray, so drastically different from his early days on Saturday Night Live or my favorite, the Ghostbusters movies, but occasionally his trademark sarcasm makes an appearance. The character of Bob Harris, an actor in the middle of a midlife crisis, is made for him.

Bob is in Japan making whiskey advertisements. Whether talking on the phone with his distant wife, or running along the bright streets of Tokyo, along side Charlotte, ("Ghost World's" Scarlett Johansson), Murray is brilliantly dull and at the same time fascinating. The only thing better then watching Murray is watching co-star Scarlett Johansson.

Johansson is spectacular as Charlotte. As the wife of a photographer who is always busy at work, Charlotte needs something to do. When she and Bob Harris meet, the two make a strange yet perfect pair.

The characters in the movie bring the audience on a trip lit by the neon lights of Tokyo and propelled by the fascination of a new face, a new city and a newfound view of life. Viewers will really care about the characters and get to know them by the end of the movie. Though some people (for example, my dad) may complain that it starts out too slow, I found it perfect. It is realistic yet completely unlike anything you might expect.

One of the most interesting things about Sofia Coppola is her unique way of capturing how eerie and sad life is. The shots of Johansson sitting alone in her hotel room listening to self-help tapes or fading away in the crowded Tokyo streets, and the scenes of Murray drinking alone in the bar, give off a feeling that they don't know themselves any better then you do. As with her last film, The Virgin Suicides, some of the most striking scenes in the movie are stripped bare. No sound, no words, just silent images of the characters' isolated lives.

Even though I spent $10.00 on the ticket, which is a lot of money for someone with my limited bank account, it was completely worth it. As my friend said, it's the second best Bill Murray film ever�"Who you gonna call, Ghostbusters!"

Darla Walters Gary is a WireTap staff writer. She lives in Oakland, California and is a senior at Far West High School.