Author: Source

By Colleen O’Connor

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine dominates the headlines; with good cause. Diplomacy is failing. Inflation is raging. Europe is reliving the nightmare possibilities of more Russian tanks, troops and trenches on its borders.

The current carefully scripted takeover of the two Ukrainian “state-lets” is a repeat of Putin’s takeover of the former Soviet state of Georgia, and more recently, the seizure of Crimea.

“August 7th, 2008, Russia launched a full-scale land, air and sea attack against its tiny neighbor, across an internationally recognized border.

The conflict pitted 70,000 Russian troops against Georgia’s army of about 10,000 soldiers and another 10,000 reservists. Needless to say, the “war” did not last long—it was over by August 12.”

That invasion lasted 5 days.

By Joni Halpern

Today there is a raging controversy, especially on the part of White Americans, about “critical race theory.” There seems to be a belief commonly held among White Americans that critical race theory is being taught in K-12 schools, or that teachers who might have learned about it in the course of their academic education are going to use it to make White children feel guilty about their race and culture.

People who believe this do not know what critical race theory is. They are wrapped in rage without understanding the theory. In the process, they are making school boards and teachers afraid to engage in any legitimate teaching about the racial history of this country. The unfortunate truth is, most people who oppose critical race theory don’t even know what it is or how it came about.

Brenna Olsen of Whomp Burger & Brew in Her Own Words

Table Talk by Sal Mineo (@snackdiego)

Welcome back to Table Talk,fellow OBceans – where we get friendly with those in our community keeping the peace by slaking our appetites. This is a hangry-free zone.

Cruising around on my bike a couple of weeks ago, I saw a neon banner hanging off of the old Sundara spot (R.I.P), that says “Whomp Burger & Brew” – I’m sure you must have seen it by now. I know, I know; some of you are thinking ‘another burger?’ and some of you are thinking ‘another burger!’ I say, the more the merrier and judging by the lines outside some of our existing establishments, there’s no shortage of burger enthusiasts in our little hamlet (see what I did there).

Let’s get into some table talk with Brenna Olsen of the soon-to-be-open-in-early-March Whomp Burger & Brew, who with her business partner Brian Freye hopes to bring us another joint to kick back at after the beach.

Are Cannabis Retailers Weaponizing Drug Prevention to Prevent Equity?

By Terrie Best – San Diego Chapter Americans for Safe Access

The San Diego chapter of Americans for Safe Access (SDASA), the nation’s largest cannabis patient advocacy group, has been working to advance access to medical cannabis since 2002. We are not surprised at the length drug and alcohol prevention contractors will go to keep medical cannabis over-regulated. One of their strategies is to push policy making it nearly impossible to enter the industry.

In San Diego County, preventionist contractors were instrumental in pushing onerous land use restrictions on commercial cannabis. This placed retailers in the far flung rural areas as if they were radioactive. Placing medicine out-of-reach created large cannabis access deserts and an undue burden on patients throughout the county.

But the coordination between cannabis retailers and the drug prevention community to keep it that way is new.

By Mat Wahlstrom/ Times of San Diego / Feb. 18, 2022

On Wednesday, Feb. 16, the City Council’s Rules Committee took up its final consideration of the changes to San Diego’s email record retention policy proposed by Mayor Todd Gloria and endorsed by City Attorney Mara Elliott, voting unanimously to move them to the full council as soon as possible to meet a Feb. 1, 2023, implementation date.

Foremost among these is the elimination of the current policy of forever retaining emails with one that mandates that most all city correspondence before Feb. 1, 2018, and going forward be permanently deleted five years to the day after being sent.

This is being praised as a win for transparency because these changes aren’t as bad as shorter alternatives.

Editordude: OB is lucky. Not only does the community have an historical society, but the president of that society is a good writer and a good writer of local history. The following by Eric Duvall, head of the OB Historical Society, is the most comprehensive historical account of “Duckville” written in modern times. What’s Duckville? Read on …

By Eric DuVall / Point Loma – OB Monthly / Feb. 16, 2022

We’d like to take you all out to Duckville this weekend. Be a hoot, wouldn’t it? Nice and quiet, catch some halibut maybe, tell some tall tales around the wood stove.

We’d like to, but no can do. Duckville isn’t there anymore. Where was Duckville? T

Here are some heart-warming charts from the San Diego County Department of Health and Human Services that clearly show falling numbers of COVID here.

By Edwin Decker

Dear SWAT, my wedding is coming up in a month and I couldn’t be more thrilled. The only problem is, I can’t stand the thought of my fiancé going to a strip club for his bachelor party.

I swear I’m not a prudish person but the idea of him staring at all these women, getting lap dances, throwing money at them to see their private parts up close etc., truly creeps me out. At the same time, I don’t want him to think I’m some sort of controlling prude. I’m really not prudish or controlling at all. There’s just something about this activity that grosses me out. What do you think? Should I ask him not to go or keep my mouth shut?

Sincerely,
Not-a-Prude
Mission Valley San Diego

Dear Prudence, won’t you come out to play-ay-ay?

Just kidding! I don’t think you’re a prude. But even if you are, so what? You do you. It is your right, nay responsibility, to express your feelings to your mate

By Volodymyr Ishchenko / Al Jazeera / Feb. 16, 2022

The Ukrainian political leadership must not allow great powers to decide the country’s future.

In late January, as Western countries escalated their rhetoric about an “imminent invasion” by Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy questioned this narrative at a press conference with foreign reporters. “I’m the president of Ukraine and I’m based here and I think I know the details better here,” he said following his phone call with US President Joe Biden.

I felt proud and I think many other Ukrainians did so, too. In the 2019 presidential elections, 73 percent of voters supported Zelenskyy, a comedian with no political experience, in an act of total rejection of the dinosaur of Ukrainian oligarchic politics, Petro Poroshenko, who ran on an aggressive nationalist platform.

The following is from the Mandy Havlik for City Council campaign:

Point Loma resident and community activist Mandy Havlik has announced that she is running for City Council, District 2.

The announcement came during a Feb. 3rd Zoom call to media representatives and a public rally on Feb. 5 at Famosa Canyon, the last five acres of uncommitted open space on the Peninsula and a rare freshwater inland disturbed wetland.

“I am the only viable coastal candidate living in Point Loma or Ocean Beach,” Havlik said.

Havlik has been involved in community issues ever since arriving in 2009 with her husband, Cameron, a now-retired Senior Naval officer.

Join the Ocean Beach Historical Society Thursday February 17 in celebration of their 28th year for a LIVE Program:

The Extraordinary Adventures of Ocean Beach Historical Society 1994-2022.

ACE, Albert C Elliott, caught these surfers at the Big Jetty in Ocean Beach just recently. Including the memorial to George Barnes.