I went down to the Bayfront Hilton on Monday and snapped a few pictures. There were a couple of hundred people there and plenty of press. Speakers included Lorena Gonzalez, Congressman Bob Filner, the Citizens Trade Campaign, the Machinists Union, the Longshoremen, United and Friends of the Earth addressed the crowd. Meanwhile, the six hundred lobbyists and their friends were inside the hotel plotting in secret to create a Pacific Rim Trade Agreement.
Doug Porter
Doug Porter was active in the early days of the alternative press in San Diego, contributing to the OB Liberator, the print version of the OB Rag, the San Diego Door, and the San Diego Street Journal. He went on to have a 35-year career in the Hospitality business and decided to go back into raising hell when he retired. He won numerous awards for his columns from the Society of Professional Journalists in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Doug is a cancer survivor (sans vocal chords) and lives in North Park.
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Thanks for coming down to the Hilton yesterday, Frank. It was a fine rally with occupy people, environmentalists, poor people, and a great deal of support from labor. Inside I got there at 11 a.m. to register for the first of a series of NGO meetings, many of whom had gripes with the Trans Pacific Partnership. I went down the hall close to the registration desk on the 4th floor and was enjoying a cup of coffee when an attendant approached me saying you don’t belong in this area because you only have a red badge. There must have been some secretive bargaining meetings going on there. I finished my cup of coffee before I went to an anti-tobacco meeting on the second floor. I left there to take part in the rally in front of the Hilton. The Occupella group was slated to sing inside at 1:00 p.m. , and I wanted to go in to support them in hostile territory. I, then, learned that they had been shunted into a room almost by themselves, with a half dozen of us in the audience. They still belted out some rich classics with anti-TPP words in them. The whole non-transparent, secret set of meetings fit the character of the Trans Pacific Partnership that our country is
involving other Pacific countries in to beat the regulations on labor and the environment. There are a fine set of evening meetings, the first of which was held at the Logan Heights Library last night, taking on individual issues related to the TPP.
John, meet Doug.
alas, John, t’was not Frank there. T’was me. I remember it like it was just yesterday….