OB Rag

My new friend, who works for the Border Patrol, resists my use of the word “wall” to describe the vast system of barriers being erected along the length of the U.S.-Mexico border. He would prefer that I – and others who oppose current U.S. border policy – talk about the barriers by referring to them as “tactical infrastructure.”

I want a plug-in hybrid. A vehicle with lithium-ion batteries good for 40-45 miles, two wheel drive, a six speed computer controlled transmission with a computer that starts a small generator; an 11 hp portable generator is rated for 6200 watts, and yes, burns gas, for now. Modular construction would make it easy to replace the gas power generator with a fuel cell or other non-internal combustion power source.

Veterans For Peace will be hosting a rally & protest on the exact date of the sixth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, on March 19th, 2009 4:30pm to 7:00pm at Horton Plaza. This will be from 4:30pm to 7:00pm, and will be held near the NBC 7/39 studios. We will have banners & signs, and hope to get some media attention.

As it helps push for legislation that would make it easier for workers to organize, the country’s fastest-growing union is engaged in its own labor dispute with employees it is seeking to lay off.

The Service Employees International Union, considered the most influential union in the nation, has notified the union that represents about 220 of the SEIU’s national field staff and organizers that it is laying off 75 of the employees.

Tonight outside a rally for San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom in City Heights, a local activist – and writer for the OB Rag blog – was prevented from taking her sign about the lack of funds for public transit into the rally site, a local City Heights school auditorium.

(Originally posted July 30, 2008)

by Frank Gormlie

Oh, my god! The Union-Tribune is about to be sold – or at least – is up for sale. What will San Diego do now? Do we care? What does it mean for a one-paper town like San Diego to have its monopoly print media exchange owners … or even close down altogether?

Today we heard (tip to Voice of San Diego) that our favorite monopoly press – the San Diego Union-Tribune – has been sold to Platinum Equity – a private equity firm in Beverly Hills. Here is how they describe themselves:

Why is it that our society’s response to the tent cities that have sprung up of late been to send in the police who roust the inhabitants and slash up the tents?

Dozens of Ontario police and code enforcement officers descended upon the homeless encampment known as Tent City early Monday, separating those who could stay from those to be evicted.

Scratch a counterintelligence officer in the U.S. government and they’ll tell you that Israel is not a friend to the United States.

At a “Great Conversations” event at the University of Minnesota (March 10), legendary investigative reporter Seymour Hersh may have made a little more news than he intended by talking about new alleged instances of domestic spying by the CIA, and about an ongoing covert military operation that he called an “executive assassination ring.”

The Employee Free Choice Act was introduced in Congress this week, but the action wasn’t all in Washington. Around the country, grassroots efforts are growing to pass this critical bill to restore workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain.

Hundreds of phone calls and handwritten letters have gone to U.S. senators this week, urging them to support the Employee Free Choice Act.