OB Rag

By Al Carlos Hernandez / La Prensa San Diego / Originally published November 4, 2011

Lalo Alcaraz is a nationally syndicated political cartoonist and the creator of La Cucaracha, the daily comic strip. He hosts a radio show called Ponchos Hour of Power at LA’s KPFK radio 90.7.

Mr. Alcaraz is considered the most prolific Chicano artist in the nation. He has worked diligently for over twenty years chronicling the political ascendancy of Latinos in America and vigorously pushed the boundaries of Chicano art in the post Chicano art era. His cartoons are pictures that are truly worth one thousand words – words that have provoked and inspired millions of conversations, arguments, and dialogic discussions regarding the state of Latino affairs all over the country.

by Tony Manolatos / San Diego Rostra / November 7, 2011

I published a blog post [editor: see below] Friday that questioned Mark Fabiani’s criticism of Mayor Jerry Sanders’ Convention Center expansion plan. Fabiani, who serves as special counsel to the San Diego Chargers and is the team’s point man on stadium talks, sent me a response on Saturday. Here it is:

by Jill Richardson / La Vida Locavore / Originally published Oct. 25, 2011

What could be so terrible? Palm oil, of course. I wrote this piece for Alternet (the original has links) and was so scandalized by what I learned while writing it that I’ve decided to cross-post it here.

On August 10, police and security for the massive palm oil corporation Wilmar International (of which Archer Daniels Midland is the second largest shareholder) stormed a small, indigenous village on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. They came with bulldozers and guns, destroying up to 70 homes, evicting 82 families, and arresting 18 people. Then they blockaded the village, keeping the villagers in — and journalists out. (Wilmar claims it has done no wrong.)

We are weeks into the Occupation of America and, despite struggles with police in numerous cities the public discussion of economic injustice and inequality persists. At the nation’s paper of record, The New York Times, the debate continues with David Brooks furiously trying to belittle and dismiss the message of Occupy Wall Street. In his latest column he bemoans that we are focused on “the wrong inequality” and tells us:

That’s because the protesters and media people who cover them tend to live in or near the big cities, where the top 1 percent is so evident. That’s because the liberal arts majors like to express their disdain for the shallow business and finance majors who make all the money. That’s because it is easier to talk about the inequality of stock options than it is to talk about inequalities of family structure, child rearing patterns and educational attainment. That’s because many people are wedded to the notion that our problems are caused by an oppressive privileged class that perpetually keeps its boot stomped on the neck of the common man.

We know the San Diego U-T is working hard to balance its coverage of the Occupy Wall Street protests here in town. Today, the print edition had a very nice spread about seven of the activists from Occupy San Diego. Thanks to Matt Hall.

But did anyone else notice that today’s U-T covered protests against banks in Oakland and Los Angeles but didn’t speak hardly a word about similar actions right here in downtown San Diego?

Several hundred San Diegans marched and rallied in downtown San Diego yesterday (Nov 5, 2011) against Bank of America. It was Bank Transfer Day, and as hundreds of thousands of Americans withdraw their monies from the large banks, locals too were closing their accounts.

Sponsored by Occupy San Diego, MoveOn and Veterans for Peace, a crowd gathered at the Civic Center Plaza about 10:30 in the morning. The Plaza has been the site on the on-going Occupy San Diego movement as it enters the anniversary of its first month.

By Credit Union National Association / November 4, 2011

WASHINGTON (11/4/11)–At least 650,000 consumers across the nation have joined credit unions in the past four weeks, reflecting consumers’ reactions to rising fees at banks, according to a survey by the Credit Union National Association (CUNA).

They have joined credit unions since Sept. 29, when Bank of America (BofA) unveiled its plans to charge $5 a month for debit cards. The public outcry the past month has forced BofA and other big banks to reconsider their debit fees.

Editor: Today’s San Diego U-T ran a nice series of portraits by Matthew T. Hall of seven of the occupiers of Occupy San Diego, accompanied by excellent photos by U-T staff photographer K.C. Alfred. The piece is much more sympathetic to our own Occupy Wall Street protesters than the standard fare from the U-T. And Hall, at least, has spent some time out on the quad and at bank actions in an sincere effort to get to know just who is doing the daily occupying.

By Matthew T. Hall / San Diego U-T SignOnSanDiego / November 4 – 6, 2011

On Monday, the Occupy San Diego movement will mark a milestone many locals may not have seen coming: Its first month of occupation.

True to the word’s double meaning, camping out on downtown city property has become a job for dozens of demonstrators who protest corporate greed and economic inequality by day, and sleep (or not) outside the Civic Theatre at night.

This week’s news of the movement takes place against the backdrop of two reports also released this week that detail how the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer .” We knew that already. Now we can update our signs…

The leading story is Occupy Oakland’s successful general strike and temporary port shutdown this past Wednesday. Estimates are all over the map about how many people participated over the course of the day to protest the violent eviction of Occupiers and wounding of an Iraq War vet by police during the previous week. Check out this raw chopper video of the march to the port and do a head count yourself!

SAN DIEGO—Several groups, including MoveOn.org, Veterans for Peace, the Gray Panthers, and Occupy San Diego will be holding a “Death of the American Dream” mock funeral outside of Gaslamp Bank of America, 455 Island Ave. at noon.

The rally is part of the national bank transfer day (www.banktransferday.org), in which customers are urged to move their money out of banks and into community credit unions.

Protestors want Centre City Coffee and Brooklyn Dogs to reopen and set new business records Occupy San Diego will not…

Occupy San Diego to Promote Bank Transfer Day, November 5 – Group plans to march through downtown San Diego

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Saturday, November 5th at 10:30 AM, Occupy San Diego is holding a Big Banks Funeral March from the Civic Center to Petco Park to Bank of America, to stand in solidarity with National Bank Transfer Day and to encourage people to switch from large Banks to Credit Unions. TARP bailouts, illegal foreclosures and government bribery are out of control and the Occupation Movement is sending a message that American citizens will not take it any longer.