Tens of thousands gathered in Hillcrest on Saturday as this year’s gay pride parade traveled along University and Sixth avenues and beyond. The two-hour parade showcased more than 200 floats, and is currently the largest in nation.
This year marks the first that active duty military have participated, while the anti-gay group―standing stone-faced and dressed in black on the sidelines at one minute section of the parade line―continues to shrink in size. [Read more…]
AlterNet / By Nicholas Powers
Early morning July 20, we cheered the new Batman movie as a thousand miles away a crowd watching the same film screamed as a gunman, barged in, flung a smoke bomb and began shooting. In San Francisco, we left the cinema laughing at the stupid politics ofThe Dark Knight Rises. In Aurora, Colorado, 12 were killed and 59 wounded as the shock spread to the nation in the morning news. Already one truth stands out; the shooting is not isolated but like a mirror reflects the dark logic of the film, itself a reflection of America’s romance with violence.
One thing we know about gunman James Holmes is that he wanted a stage. Like the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre gunman Seiung-Hui Cho, who mailed videos of himself; or the 1999 Columbine gunmen, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who meticulously recorded themselves prepping for the massacre; the Dark Knightgunman wanted to be seen. In killing others, he tried to secure for himself the image of a strong powerful man who could wreck havoc on the world. And this is exactly the role that Bane (acted by Tom Hardy), the anarchist villain in The Dark Knight Rises, plays as he bombs Gotham City and unleashes enraged prisoners on the rich. He and Wayne Enterprise executive Miranda Tate (played by Marion Cotillard) avenge those trapped in The Pit and forgotten by society. Already theHerald Sun reports that the Dark Knight gunman was dressed in armor and gas mask, like Bane. [Read more…]
By Jag Davies | Sourced from AlterNet
The International AIDS Conference will be held in the U. S. for the first time in 22 years this July 22-27, in Washington DC. Activists, public health professionals, and distinguished world leaders are mobilizing in Washington with a clear message: the criminalization of people who use drugs — and especially backward government policies that restrict syringe access — are driving the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Throughout the world, research has consistently shown that drug criminalization forces people who use drugs away from public health services and into hidden environments where HIV risks become significantly elevated. Mass incarceration of nonviolent drug offenders also plays a major role in spreading the pandemic, as inhumane conditions and lack of HIV prevention or treatment measures in prison lead to HIV outbreaks and AIDS cases behind bars – and among families and communities once those imprisoned are released.
There is a coordinated, nationwide effort right now to enact voter ID laws that do nothing to impact alleged voter fraud and instead disenfranchise voters and infringe upon the fundamental American right to free and fair elections… which is, of course, precisely what the proposed laws are intended to do.
Photo ID laws have been introduced or passed in at least 15 states. They discriminate against those who don’t have driver’s licenses — disproportionately the poor, elderly and minorities. Nationally they could disenfranchise about five million voters. Several states are also pushing legislation to restrict voter registration and to limit early voting.
A quick check of the facts vis-à-vis voter fraud: The Bush Justice Department conducted a massive, five-year investigation into voter fraud that resulted in a mere 86 convictions nationwide. [Read more…]
You can’t go from one end of Lemon Grove to another without seeing the telltale signs of a virtual construction boom. There are so many construction projects going on right now in this East County city of 25,000, just 10 miles east of downtown San Diego, that you’d think the recession was over and things were … well, rosier than they are.
Yet in Lemon Grove, there are half a dozen construction projects in process, exhibiting the fact that both public and private money are at work here. And on top of that, city officials broke ground yesterday at a ceremony welcoming yet another project – the promenade and park centered around the city’s primary trolley station, just next to Main Street and Broadway.
Let’s take a quick look at all these projects.
Another Pharmacy
At the southwest corner of the very busy Massachusetts and Broadway intersection, Walgreen Pharmacy is financing a new facility. I spoke briefly to superintendent Andy Dipalma of Savant Construction while inside his trailer. Being somewhat distrusting of strangers wandering through his site, Andy told me that the new pharmacy should be completed in September of this year. He estimated that the project employed about 45 people – bringing jobs to this sector of the economy. [Read more…]
In case you haven’t heard, this is LGBT Pride weekend in San Diego. It’s a really big deal. The biggest event will be the Pride parade, attracting a projected 250,000 spectators along its route, and lasting two hours. Starting off at the intersection of Normal & University (11am) it will proceed west on University to Sixth Avenue, turning south to Balboa Park. Literally hundred of groups will be participating in this year’s parade, and we’d like to bring your attention to two contingents in particular. Gay pride events around the country started out as acts of defiance and protests against discrimination, and this year’s event in San Diego has revived some of that original spirit, along with the social events and pageantry that are commonplace in modern day celebrations.
Marching under the banner of ‘Join the Struggle, Not the Wars’, the San Diego coalition for Peace and Justice will join the San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality(SAME) and Canvass For A Cause(CFAC) at this year’s LGBT Pride Parade. Joining them will be the San Diego Green Party, UniteHere Local 30, the Peace Resource Center, the International Socialist Organization, and others . They are marching as an open contingent (#113) this year, and are inviting like minded folks and organizations to march with them. More info on Facebook.
While politicians of all stripes are part of the annual Pride Parade, Mayoral candidate/City Councilman Carl DeMaio’s participation (#81) has sparked plans for a protest and counter-protest. [Read more…]
To celebrate my mom’s 70th birthday, my family took her out on birding tour extraordinaire―complete with personal guide Claude Edwards, co-founder of the San Diego Bird Festival and bird expert for the past 40 years. His knowledge was only surpassed by his enthusiasm.
I had no idea what to expect, and was mostly just looking forward to my mom’s reaction given her recent passion for bird watching. The adventure that unfolded opened my eyes to a completely different world. We saw more than 20 different types of birds―from a Red-shouldered Hawk and Black-crowned Night Heron to a Great-tailed Grackle and a Red-winged Blackbird. And a whole host of others. [Read more…]
I think the Boy Scouts just set in place the demise of the organization. I say that because the BSA (Boy Scouts of America) just declared that gays are officially not welcome, and I know that some scout leaders and or parents will take it upon themselves to make sure that “Morally Straight” means no gays in attendance.
The official Boy Scout policy, as I understand it, states that the BSA does not proactively inquire about the sexual orientation of employees, volunteers or members. But we know that people do stupid things, and my intuition tells me that sure as the Pope is Catholic, and a bear goes in the woods, some homophobic leader or parent will decide to make it their job to insure that no gays are involved in their troop. [Read more…]
We have just heard that the San Diego Planning Commission this morning voted 4 to 1 against authorizing the so-called Quail Brush Power Plant, planned next to the Mission Trails Regional Park.
For now the power plant is dead. The plant applicant will most likely appeal to the San Diego City Council. The actual vote was to deny an application to order staff to conduct a full study on rezoning the area near Santee. The gas-fired plant application was to initiate a review of the East Elliott Community Plan by Charlotte, N.C.-based Cogentrix.
[Read more…]
At 8:30 p.m. yesterday, July 18, a lot of people milled around the illuminated American flag on the eastern side of the small federally-owned Mount Soledad Veterans Memorial in La Jolla, as City Parks and Recreation Department tested a new idea to keep Old Glory flying 24/7 up there year-round.
Members of the La Jolla Parks and Beaches advisory committee had been notified to witness this run-through. I too was invited at mid-afternoon yesterday, as I was one of several who testified at that group’s last meeting against electrification and in favor of keeping the greater Mount Soledad Natural Park a dark park for viewing the night sky and the spectacular 360-degree panorama of the city below. Parks and Beaches chairman Patrick Ahern put off voting on this matter in both May and June, though it was heatedly discussed. [Read more…]
Set in the barrios of Los Angeles, Zoot Suit takes us back to the early 1940’s and dramatizes a portion of American history in which anti-Mexican prejudice affected the courts, the press, and the attitudes of the general public. Although the show was first performed in Los Angeles more than three decades ago, (It went on to be the only Chicano theater piece ever to go to Broadway), the current version staged at the San Diego Repertory Theatre demonstrates its enduring power as a window into history with relevant lessons for today’s cultural and political realities.
The SD Rep version skillfully combines a compelling history lesson, authentic-feeling slices from the lives of the characters, along with eye-popping song and dance numbers that move the show smoothly through what might otherwise be a pedantic political polemic. Integrated into the cast with equity actors are students from San Diego’s own School of the Creative and Performing Arts(SCPA). A live orchestra composed entirely of SCPA students plays throughout the show, giving the musical numbers an added punch. [Read more…]
By A feleségül
Here’s the scenario:
Horny person; No lover; Playboy or Playgirl magazines; Sex talk on line; Porn available on paid television; Libido going wild.
What’s a nice person to do? (Or…what’s a “not- so-nice” person to do?) What is acceptable in today’s society? How does one relieve the tensions building up in the body? What “aids” are available for the average person? How would you feel if you went into an adult store and saw your neighbor there? Would it matter if your neighbor was a woman or a man? Would you be embarrassed?
[Read more…]
