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Wargasms Won’t Stop More Paris Bombings

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As long as people are dying in Paris, nobody important is dying in Doha or Riyadh… Charles P. Pierce, Esquire

News out of Paris dominated the media over the past few days. Shock and horror turned to anger and disgust.

At least 129 people were killed in a coordinated terrorist attack on Friday evening. At least 350 people were wounded, 99 of them in critical condition.

The terrorist group known as the Islamic State has claimed credit, and law enforcement investigators are inclined to agree these attacks were coordinated out of Syria via Belgium.

Seven people killed themselves in the course of the attacks, an eighth attacker is the subject of a massive manhunt. Scores of arrests have been made as police in France and Belgium have raided homes and picked up some of the usual suspects. Belgian national Abdelhamid Abaaoud –who may have already fled to Syria– has been identified as the leader of the group.

And the French are bombing the sh*t out of Syria.   [Read more…]

#BlackOnCampus, #MillionStudentMarch Create ‘Chaos’ At Colleges

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There were demonstrations on college campuses coast-to-coast yesterday. Some were in response to the recent success of students at the University of Missouri at calling out racism.

Others were responding to an earlier call via social media to protest the increasingly desperate economics of getting an education.  And some events were inclusive of both causes.

The far-right media, eager to fan the fires of the rabid uncle on Facebook set, actually provided more comprehensive coverage than their ‘objective’ mainstream brethren. Breitbart News even sent reporters to UCSD, looking for chaos. They didn’t find any.     [Read more…]

Just Say No to Highways in SANDAG’s Sales Tax Increase Proposal

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The board of the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), the county’s regional planning agency, is putting together a proposal for a one-half cent sales tax increase for voter consideration in November 2016. The proposed name for this package is “Keep San Diego Moving Forward,” but it’s also been referred to as the quality of life measure.

Two things need to happen for this sort of scheme to reach the two-thirds voter approval threshold; large numbers of endorsements from governments and groups in the region, and a wish list of projects to draw in voters who would then feel they’re getting some benefit from the additional taxes.

Since SANDAG essentially failed (they agreed to look at it again in the future) to modify its long-term regional planning away from prioritizing auto-centric projects, the subject of more immediate funding for transit and alternative transportation will likely play a significant role in selling this idea.   [Read more…]

Will the City Council Join the Anti-Starbucks Holiday Coffee Cup Crusade?

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The San Diego City Council unanimously approved a resolution on Tuesday opposing the mere thought of a transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees to the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

This was an act of political cowardice based on fear-mongering, led by Councilman Chris Cate, seeking to bolster his conservative cred. Now he’s officially a “manly man,” capable of staring down imagined threats no matter where they are imagined.

The fact of San Diego not being under consideration as a detainee destination wasn’t as important as a four-year-old assessment survey that included a look at local facilities. Sites actually under consideration are in Colorado, Kansas, and South Carolina. In addition, Congress has passed a defense spending measure barring the transfer of prisoners to US soil.   [Read more…]

San Diego, We Have a Use of Deadly Force Problem

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It should surprise no one that County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis called a press conference yesterday announcing that charges will not be filed against the San Diego Police officer who shot and killed Fridoon Rawshan Nehad in the Midway District last April.

Her conclusion may or may not be reasonable. The DA said Officer Neal Browder’s fear for his life was reasonable, based on the totality of evidence. She also said the dead man was mentally ill and DRUGS! were found in his system.

So there you have it. A “drug-crazed foreigner” got what was coming to him. Today we’ll look at developments in that case and one Customs and Border Patrol story in the news.   [Read more…]

Missouri Students Stand Against Racism, Sexism and Homophobia

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One week ago University of Missouri graduate student Jonathan Butler began a hunger strike as a protest against “a slew of racist, sexist, homophobic, etc., incidents that have dynamically disrupted the learning experience.” His decision to undertake this hunger strike followed months of futile attempts by different groups to get the school to pay attention to what was going on their midst.

This non-violent challenge to the status quo garnered nationwide attention. This morning University President Timothy Wolf announced his resignation as protests on the campus continued to build.

The media caught on to the story when MU football team has announced it would no longer practice or compete. Faculty members called for a walk out, and the student Missouri Student Association executive board joined in Butler’s call for the removal of school president Tim Wolfe, saying he has “enabled a culture of racism and has disrespected and ignored the concerns of students.   [Read more…]

Tuesday Fight for $15 Protests in San Diego Part of Nationwide Strategy

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Fast food restaurants in 270 cities nationwide will see strikes and picket lines next Tuesday as organizers with the Fight for $15 seek to widen the impact of the movement to include influencing the 2016 general election. These rallies will include a protest by several thousand workers at the Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee.

In San Diego, media have already been alerted to strike activity at a McDonalds location on Park Boulevard starting at 7am. Other fast food locations will be targeted throughout the day.

Twin rallies at City College (3pm) and the Front Street State Building (4pm) will feed into a citywide mass rally at San Diego City Hall at 5pm. California Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins and Assemblymember Shirley Weber will be among the featured speakers at that event.   [Read more…]

Are You Scared Yet? Proposition 47 Anniversary Marked by Fear Mongers

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One year ago this week, California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 47.  The measure downgraded many non-violent offenses from felonies to misdemeanors and contained provisions allowing those already incarcerated to petition for release.

Passage of the law marked an important second step (the first being a voter-approved measure in 2012 easing “three-strikes” convictions) in moving the state apparatus away from an incarceration-centric approach to law breakers.

Those with vested interests, both moral and economic, in what I’ll call the prison-industrial complex, remain horrified at the implications of reshaping society’s treatment of bad behaviors. Prior to and since the passage of Proposition 47 law and order types warned of impending doom as evil-doers, freed from the prospect of prison, would spark a crime wave.   [Read more…]

The End of the Keystone XL Pipeline (We Hope)

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A major defeat for proponents of dirty energy is in the works, as news reports indicate the Obama administration is set to block the permits needed for the Keystone XL pipeline. Construction of the project has been a political hot potato, with supporters using big-money lobbying and opponents focused on a grass-roots activist campaign.

In 2008 the Canadian company TransCanada applied for approval of a transnational pipeline designed to carry 830,000 barrels of petroleum per day from the tar sands of Alberta province to oil refineries and ports on the Gulf Coast.

Proponents point to estimates of a $3.4 billion dollar contribution to the economy and say it will create jobs. Environmental groups have opposed the project because it would provide a conduit for marketing petroleum extracted from tar sands using methods requiring far more energy and water than conventional drilling.   [Read more…]

Republican Debators Not Demanding Removal of Brown M&Ms

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The latest act taking the center ring in the Republican presidential campaign circus involves a candidate revolt against debate formats, followed by a revolt against the revolt. You could say these are the most revolting developments yet in the revolt against the incumbency of the Black Guy in the White House.

Following a failed attempt by CNBC to spice up a debate format burdened by the reality of a dozen large egos competing for prominence, Republican candidates responded by agreeing to cut their own party out of the negotiating loop.

The campaigns held a summit over the weekend at the Hilton Alexandria Old Town to formulate demands for future debate ground rules, starting off by exempting the Fox Business debate scheduled for November 10th.   [Read more…]

The Fall of the Haggen Grocery Chain: A 21st Century Morality Story

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The collapse of the Haggen grocery store chain just over month ago was a sad moment for neighborhoods and thousands of employees throughout California. More than two dozen stores in the San Diego region will soon be (or already are) closing, leaving some vacant properties behind and about a thousand employees wondering about paychecks as the holidays approach.

Now, thanks to reporting by the Seattle Times, we know the inside scoop on how this deal came down, and it ain’t pretty. Private equity investors flipped the real estate for cash, handed operations to an overwhelmed management team and will see their risks marginalized by the bankruptcy courts.

It’s all legal; another example of greed run amok. They win, we lose. And we’re supposed to accept this as the “natural order” of things in a market economy.   [Read more…]

San Diego Free Press Is Moving … To a New Server

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The server hosting company we’ve been using for the past three years has become less and less functional in recent months, with crashes, lost images, lost articles, and the like. Despite the pay raise we gave ourselves last month, this all-volunteer crew has reached its limit with the extra workload. We’re only human after copious amounts of coffee all.

Therefore, the San Diego Free Press will be moving to a new host over the weekend. You won’t see much activity on our site on Saturday and Sunday. We’ll be back in full force on Monday, November 2.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause when trying to post comments or read an article. We’ve done a lot of research, and believe this move will help make the San Diego Free Press more reliable and efficient for everyone.

We will be posting updates and any news items that can’t wait on our Facebook page, so feel free to head over there this weekend.

Come inside for stuff to do…   [Read more…]

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