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A Long Dark Night: Gun Violence and the New Batman Movie

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How our society reinforces masculine violence

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…]

Infographic: We Can’t Stop AIDS Without Ending the Drug War

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By Jag Davies | Sourced from AlterNet 

Millions of people have died of AIDS because of bad drug policy — and millions more lives hang in the balance.

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.

  [Read more…]

San Diego Planning Commission Votes Against Power Plant Near Mission Trails Park

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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…]

San Diego Planning Commission to Vote July 19th on Power Plant Near Mission Trails Park

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The folks at the Save Mission Trails applaud the San Diego Planning Commissioners for their diligence and the votes which opposed initiation of regulation changes to site the Quail Brush power plant. One more vote is needed on July 19th, 9 AM at the Planning Commission (PC) Hearing to finalize their opposition.

County residents are asked to immediately step-up written notes of opposition by sending each a message to the San Dieog Planning Commission, San Diego City Council and the California Energy Commission (CEC). (See this sample message). Residents are asked to their thoughts about why open space in the Mission Trails Design District of East Elliot is too valuable to convert to industrial uses. The Mission Trails Task Force will also be considering this issue on July 19th at 1 PM.   [Read more…]

Is awareness of HIV enough?

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By Kit-Bacon Gressitt / Excuse Me, I’m Writing

July is National HIV Awareness Month. Increasing awareness is one of those concepts that has a nice noncontroversial quality, and there are all manner of things happening to that end. There’s the International AIDS Conference coming up July 22-27 in Washington, D.C., the paraders and booths that will populate PRIDE San Diego (July 20-22), even the sociable North County Connection ad in San Diego Gay & Lesbian News, which links to lots of HIV information.

But is awareness enough?

If you’re approaching 45 years or more, you might remember the discovery of AIDS in 1981 and its cause, HIV, shortly thereafter. Remember the controversies? Remember the panic? Remember the prejudice? Remember the deaths?

A lot of us lost loved ones — gay and straight — in the early days of HIV/AIDS awareness.

Then testing and treatment progressed, we learned more about the virus and its transmission — most commonly through anal or vaginal sex or sharing needles with an infected person — and a whole lot of us were more careful. We got tested regularly, we practiced safe sex, we insisted our partners get tested before we bedded them down.

Now a lot of us have loved ones — gay and straight — who are living long lives with HIV treatment, having families even.

So, is awareness enough?   [Read more…]

You Can’t Outsource the Real Work – Living Simply

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Recently, I had the great pleasure of visiting a Buddhist monastery to do a walking meditation on a luminous summer morning. It was a beautiful experience but what struck me afterward was how quickly even many of those bent on being here now reached for their cell phones to check their text messages or play Angry Birds. As charmingly ironic as this is, it is also a perfect manifestation of what most ails us. We just can’t stop working/amusing ourselves to death.

Not too long after my encounter with the texting Buddhists, I came upon an illustrative article in the Travel section of the New York Times entitled “Call Waiting: ‘It’s Me, Vacation’: Can’t Let Go? Eight Rules for Getting the Most Out of Your Time Off” by Matt Richtel. Richtel’s article starts with the story of a failed vacation that left him “exhausted, defeated, and irritable” rather than refreshed and at peace. He then turns to the wisdom of neuroscientists, behavior experts, and business executives to learn that “letting go” is something you have to “practice on a daily basis.”   [Read more…]

Nuclear Dread on Both Sides of the Pacific – Japan and San Onofre

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By Michael Steinberg

For those of an apocalyptic bent, the beginning of the final half of 2012 was near perfect.

True, the walls didn’t all come tumbling down, though those retaining the spent nuclear fuel pool atop Fukushima Unit 4 were bulging. But the signs seemed to be everywhere, from the eastern shores of Japan to the west coast of California.

The most widely reported such event was the July 1 restart of a Japanese commercial nuclear power reactor at the Ohi nuclear plant. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda pushed for this restart, despite a massive protest in front of his office in Tokyo only days before. Digital Journal reported that 200,000 protested there on June 29   [Read more…]

Pictorial: Sunday at the Hillcrest Farmers Market

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In our house we much of the grocery shopping on the weekends, and this includes regular trips to the Hillcrest Farmers Market. It’s always a thrill to come down the hill from Washington Street to the point where you can see the magnificence of the market spread out along Normal Street. Typically there are more than 140 vendors, selling everything from raspberries to falafel to hand puppets. Much of the produce is locally grown and virtually everything is sold with the kind of pride that only comes from having a personal connection with your product.  There are Farmers Markets throughout San Diego County every day of the week and even a magazine (Edible San Diego) that keeps up with all the seasonal events associated with locavorism. Here’s a handy list of those markets and their days/hours of operation.

This year marks the fifteenth anniversary of the Hillcrest Market. Besides being one of the larger markets in town, they have a robust web site, complete with a list of all their sellers and even a blog that shares impressions of the weekly event.  I took a boatload of photos last Sunday that I’d like to share with you here. Bon appetit!   [Read more…]

Eyewitness Report: The Nightmare of the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

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By Dave Patterson
We visited with Chieko Shiina, mother and organic farmer – whose life was tied to the earth, when she came to San Diego on July 7, 2011 to help us understand what happened to the people of Japan when the earthquake and tsunami destroyed the Fukushimi Diachi nuclear plant, and what she and others have done there. What we learned is that the nightmare has only begun for the people of Japan, and how the efforts of Chieko Shiina and others are empowering the people to help themselves, as the Japanese government appears powerless, to help.

Chieko’s organic farm was 25 miles away from Fukushima when the disaster struck, and she had to stop growing food because of the nuclear contamination. Later when the radiation reached levels that equaled a continuous mammogram (0.7mSieverts), she moved to Fukushima city. Unfortunately the standard down-wind models of airborne radiation contamination do not apply, as there are now many places in Japan at great distances from Fukushima that are very contaminated. Hot spots in Fukushima City itself measure 10~30mS or higher, the equivalent of living in a full body CT scan 24 hours a day. Japan right now is not a healthy place to be, particularly for children and women.   [Read more…]

I Hate the 4th of July

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What is it about shooting off firecrackers that reduces big men to small boys? What is the thrill of the loud bang? What is the thrill of the possibility of doing real damage to property and living things? Why is it necessary to bring these illegal noise makers into neighborhoods that already famous for their firework shows year after year after year?

I have an eleven year old Golden Retriever. He is well trained; well mannered and scared to death of loud noises. When a fire cracker is shot off he tries to hide. Everywhere. He tries to get under the covers; he tries to get under the carpet; he tries to get under clothes in the closet. He will try to get into the shower; He runs through the house like the firecracker is tied onto his tail. Buddy is not a small dog. He weighs close to 115 pounds. Yet he is tormented by unthinking people that are into instant gratification every year at this time. …   [Read more…]

Ten Reasons the San Diego Planning Commission Should Save Mission Trails Park on July 19th

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Editor: On July 19th, the full San Diego Planning Commission will vote on whether to deny an amendment to Open Space land to accommodate a power plant being proposed very close to Mission Trails Regional Park. A local citizen – Stephen Goldfarb – sent a letter to the Planning Commission and some elected officials outlining ten reasons to deny the amendment. The content of that letter is as follows:

Preface. I was in the audience at the Planning Commission June 28, 2012 meeting. I would like to comment on several matters. I am also writing in anticipation of the July 19, 2012 Planning Commission meeting when a vote will be completed as to denying implementation of an amendment to zone land dedicated to Open Space conservation to heavy industrial use to accommodate a power plant.

It is unclear at this time whether only the two Commissioners who were not present at the June 28 meeting will vote, or whether all Commissioners may vote anew.

Introduction. The issue of denying the applicant initiation of an amendment to install a large power plant on environmentally conserved East Elliott land is unusual for several reasons.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Wingnuttia on Parade; Vignettes from the Fringe

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July 3, 2012 – The politics of the absurd… No matter what the issue, from health care to immigration, conspiracy theories email chain letters, and lies direct from the mouths of politicians abound. We’ve been saving up little snippets from these alternative realties for a while now, and today seems as good as any to air them out. After all, we’ll be celebrating the birthday of this great nation tomorrow and what better way to do it than to take a walk on the wild side of free speech. Remember, just because it’s free, doesn’t mean it’s true.

Kindergarten crime wave…Let’s start up in the great state of New Hampshire, where Representative Bob Kingsbury reported that, after careful study, he had concluded that kindergarten attendance contributes to higher crime rates, among other things. Kingsley told his colleagues in the state legislature last week that he’s been working on a theory since 1996, when he analyzed local crime rates and compared them to a list of communities that offered public kindergarten. “We’re taking children away from their mothers too soon,” Kingsbury concluded.  Kingsbury also associated the rise of crime to the decline of gun ownership and the fact that boxing is no longer taught in school or offered as a sport. Perhaps that’s why kids who attend kindergarten earn an extra $39,100 over a lifetime–they steal it.   [Read more…]

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