Fred “the Hammer” Williamson held his 4th annual Wounded Warrior Project Golf Tournament at Fantasy Springs Resort Spa Eagle Falls Golf Course on Sat. Jan. 5th. Many have seen Williamson on Television as the spokesperson for Wounded Warrior Project that helps our wounded servicemen from Iraq and Pakistan and their families. This group is different from the Wounded Warrior charity.

Over 30 well known Sports figures and celebrities played in the golf tournament. A pairings party was held on Friday night prior to the golf at the 12th floor of the Fantasy Springs Resort Spa hotel. Golf started at 10 on Saturday with an awards gala following golf. An Awards Gala was held after golf on Saturday at the LIT Lounge at Fantasy Springs
Resort Casino Spa.

The tournament filled up fast as golfers wanted the opportunity to play golf with some of sports greatest figures and well known stars. Fred called on his friends to come and support this really needed and worthwhile charity. Some of the celebrities included actor Richard Roundtree, Sports Icons like Christian Okoye, Tommy Davis, Tom Flores and Paul Warfield to name just a few.

Boys and Girls Club Heat Wave band played prior to golf on Saturday. Over 200 participated in this event to raise money and awareness for our wounded warriors. Wounded Warriors Project is a National organization that helps our brave veterans. All photos  by Pat Krause

Only weeks after a meeting of the International Telecommunication Union in Dubai sparked worldwide outrage, the UN’s telecom branch remains adamant about re-writing the rules of the Web.

Following a meeting of ITU members last year, participants involved in the United Nation’s telecom group announced that they hoped to re-write a multilateral communications treaty, in turn causing a whole new set of international laws to structure the way the Internet works.

Although the United States and dozens of other countries have refused to sign the proposal, the ITU is nevertheless powering through with plans to put new rules and regulations on the world’s Internet, including implement sweeping deep-packet inspection powers and other efforts that could censor the Web.

With the US contributing the lion’s share of the organizations funding, advocates for an open Internet are asking for all that to change.

According to the just-launched website defundtheitu.org, the UN group currently spends around $180 million annually to advocate for that revamped treaty. But while the United States opposes the very actions the ITU seeks, they at the same time contribute a massive amount of the group’s resources.

“The ten most oppressive countries in the Open Net Initiative’s ranking of online freedom all sided against the Internet, and none of them are giving the ITU as much as the US is,” the site claims. In fact, insists the site, the US government gave nearly $11 million to the ITU in 2010 — almost 8 percent of its total budget — all the while opposing the group’s attempt at creating a bill that some say would change the Web as we know it.

“It’ll be the biggest power grab in the UN’s history, as well as a perversion of its power,” blogger Arthur Herman wrote for Fox News last month.

Dr. Hamadoun I. Toure, the general secretary of the ITU, has said his group has no interest in threatening free speech and instead insists a new treaty is a “chance to chart a globally-agreed roadmap to connect the unconnected, while ensuring there is investment to create the infrastructure needed for the exponential growth in voice, video and data traffic.” US lawmakers say the ITU would do so much more, though — censor the Web, in fact — which caused the US House of Representatives to unanimously agree to reject the proposal.

“The unanimous vote is meant to send a signal – as a show of strength – to other countries meeting at the telecommunications summit that both the White House and its lawmakers oppose any role the U.N. might take in Internet governance or regulation,” ZDNet reported in December.

With the ITU still bankrolled by millions of dollars from around the world, though, their plans for an international Internet treaty is still a possibility. While the US formally opposes their plan, they continue to fund the group regardless. On the just-launched petition, some aim to change that.

“This petition seeks to cut this self-defeating expenditure from the State Department’s budget, allocating the savings to constructive work supporting a free and open Internet. By reducing the budget the ITU uses to oppose us both government and private sector will realize indirect savings in time and money as a result of having to spend less to defend ourselves and the Internet against the ITU’s attacks,” the website says. “This is merely the logical follow-through to the Senate and House resolutions condemning the ITU’s attack against the Internet and directing the State Department to combat it.Paying for both sides of a conflict is unsustainable and illogical, and should simply be corrected.”

On WhiteHouse.gov, a separate petition by the same people behind the ‘Defund the ITU’ website has been created imploring US President Barack Obama to immediately reduce his government’s funding of the group by half. So far it has accumulated only 338 signatures.

The ITU is expected to next meet in February 2013.

The DESERT CLASSIC FILM SOCIETY will be presenting the 1936 Sci-Fi classic THINGS TO COME by H.G. Wells on Friday, January 11  at 7 p.m. at the Bijou Cinema in Yucca Valley.

H.G. Wells’ startling vision of the future is presented in this ground breaking feature film.. This rare film print is uncut, and contains scenes that were previously deleted and are not seen on dvd.  H.G. Wells not only wrote the original book, he also wrote the screenplay and even designed the costumes(although we wish he hadn’t).

Mini-Lecture before the films will be presented by National Public Radio Film Critic Randy Fischer.

Monthly film presentations will feature film genres such as Film Noir, Classic Comedy, Classic Animation, Science Fiction, Silent Film, Screwball Comedies, dramas and more.

WANT ADMISSION FOR 25 CENTS???  Since movie tickets in the 1930’s and 40’s could be bought for 25 cents we will give you admission for 25 cents in change if the coins are silver(that means dated before 1965).

The Bijou Cinema is located at 57482 Onaga Trail in Yucca Valley.  Admission is $5 per person.

For information and to join the society go to the website www.meetup.com/DESERT-CLASSIC-FILM-SOCIETY   Seating is limited.  Reservations are recommended and can be made on the website.  There is no charge to become a member .       The DESERT CLASSIC FILM SOCIETY is  a Non-Profit  501 (c) (3) Organization.

For other information contact Christopher Perry at 760-365-0475.

Start your day off right with your local Chamber of Commerce and our Presenting Sponsor, Mission Springs Water District.