OB Rag

Late Tuesday afternoon, I received what could be very good news for Ocean Beach. Having just gotten off the phone with Jane Gawronski, Chair of the OB Planning Board, I can report that she told me that the Board has received a letter from Mayor Bob Filner, in response to their “Open Letter” to him and calls for a “Moratorium” on variances.

I can generally say that it appears to be good news and that the Mayor is siding with the Board in its on-going battle with the City Planning Department granting improper variances to property owners on the 5100 block of West Pt Loma Blvd.

“Showdown” Between Board and City Over Douma Residence at 5168 West Pt Loma Blvd Enters Next Phase

At tonight’s meeting of the Ocean Beach Planning Board, the Board will review the application of property owners who want their lot on West Point Loma Boulevard to be the next gentrified property on the 5100 block.

The Board meets at 6:00 p.m., tonight, Wed., Feb. 6th, at the Ocean Beach Recreation Center – 4726 Santa Monica Ave.

The owners of the Douma residence at 5168 West Pt Loma Blvd are applying to be the third property that is allowed to circumvent the OB Precise Plan by obtaining variances from the City permitting them to demolish the existing duplex and build their huge, 3-story, single family residence.

By Michael Isikoff, National Investigative Correspondent / NBC News / February 5, 2013

A confidential Justice Department memo concludes that the U.S. government can order the killing of American citizens if they are believed to be “senior operational leaders” of al-Qaida or “an associated force” — even if there is no intelligence indicating they are engaged in an active plot to attack the U.S.

Read the entire ‘white paper‘ on drone strikes on Americans

The 16-page memo, a copy of which was obtained by NBC News, provides new details about the legal reasoning behind one of the Obama administration’s most secretive and controversial polices: its dramatically increased use of drone strikes against al-Qaida suspects abroad, including those aimed at American citizens, s

Dirty Wars: Jeremy Scahill’s antidote to Zero Dark Thirty’s heroic narrative

By Amy Goodman / The Guardian

In this new documentary, the Nation’s investigative reporter lifts the lid on the ugly reality of US counter-terror operations

As President Barack Obama prepared to be sworn in for his second term as the 44th president of the United States, two courageous journalists premiered a documentary at the annual Sundance Film Festival. Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield reaffirms the critical role played by independent journalists like the film’s director, Rick Rowley, and its narrator and central figure, Jeremy Scahill.

By Frank Rich / RSN – New York Magazine / February 4, 2013

Not long after President Obama delivers his State of the Union address this month, Hollywood will offer its own annual summation of the national Zeitgeist, the Oscars.

They’ve lately been an irrelevancy: Best Pictures like The King’s Speech and The Artist have been footnotes, nostalgic European footnotes at that, to America’s kinetic pop culture in the day of Homeland.

Not this year.

Whatever the explanation – and little in show business happens by design – the movie industry has reconnected with the country.

By Noam Chomsky, David Barsamian / RSN – TomDispatch / Feb 4, 2013

This piece is adapted from “Uprisings,” a chapter in Power Systems: Conversations on Global Democratic Uprisings and the New Challenges to U.S. Empire, Noam Chomsky’s new interview book with David Barsamian (with thanks to the publisher, Metropolitan Books). T
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Does the United States still have the same level of control over the energy resources of the Middle East as it once had?

The major energy-producing countries are still firmly under the control of the Western-backed dictatorships. So, actually, the progress made by the Arab Spring is limited, but it’s not insignificant. The Western-controlled dictatorial system is eroding. In fact, it’s been eroding for some time.

By Chris Hedges / OpEdNews – Truthdig/ February 4, 2013

Chris Hedges gave this talk Saturday night (Feb 2) in Brooklyn at the People’s Recovery Summit.

The corporate state has made it clear there will be no more Occupy encampments. The corporate state is seeking through the persistent harassment of activists and the passage of draconian laws such as Section 1021(b)(2) of the National Defense Authorization Act–and we will be in court next Wednesday to fight the Obama administration’s appeal of the Southern District Court of New York’s ruling declaring Section 1021 unconstitutional–to shut down all legitimate dissent. The corporate state is counting, most importantly, on its system of debt peonage to keep citizens–especially the 30 million people who make up the working poor–from joining our revolt.

UPDATE: Councilman Kevin Faulconer Not Happy With Court Ruling (see inside)

By Save Our Heritage Organization

After a two-year battle, Save Our Heritage Organization is ecstatic about its major legal victory made final today when Superior Court Judge Timothy Taylor ruled today that the City Council violated municipal law and used faulty logic last July in approving the Plaza de Panama Committee plan to build a massive bridge and freeway-style road off the iconic Laurel Street/Cabrillo Bridge, …

Restaurant Review: Baci, Italian Fine Dining

1955 West Morena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110
619-275-2094

Every now and then I get to get dressed up and go to a grown-up restaurant. Tonight was one of those nights. I drove the few miles to Baci on West Morena Blvd just in time to place my order with my five dining partners, several of whom were family members.

What a menu. It started out with Antipasti ranging from $11.95 to $14.95. There were 8 different items to choose from plus a soup for $5.95.

You can bet Mayor Bob Filner now knows about the gopher holes in Robb Field’s soccer field.

At his very first “open-house” session that Mayor Filner held last Saturday, Feb. 2nd, he heard about the holes from a group of kids who play soccer and their parents at Robb Field. Filner’s office will hold these open house sessions the first Saturday of every month.

Maya Freedman told the new mayor about the gopher holes. Later, she told local media:

“There are gopher holes. There’s just so many over there. They keep going down into the ground. They just make holes that people could trip in.”

Someone posted it on facebook, a picture of me silhouetted in a vision of rich colors, sharing a poem. I wanted to write about the experience when I first saw the striking image but didn’t know how to go about it right away.

Then it came to me as I was reading Leslie Marmon Silko’s “Ceremony,” a masterpiece about the Native American world, a brilliant tale about Tayo, an army veteran of mixed ancestry who returns to the reservation, scarred by his experience as a prisoner of the Japanese in World War II.

—— It’s the beginning of the new semester at San Diego City College where I work, so I thought this would be a good time to evaluate some of Jerry Brown’s bold moves on the educational front. In terms of funding, the passage of Proposition 30 has stopped much of the bleeding in schools and colleges across the state, but it still does not do enough to restore all that has been cut in recent years. Therefore, despite some very good news, challenges remain ahead.