Archive for November 11th, 2004


Tanks in Westwood

A reader comments on our story and photo about the armored personnel carriers at the peace demonstration on Tuesday in L.A.



I was at the Westwood protest too on Tuesday the one where the two tanks showed up. 


The official LAPD story is that the tanks were returning from a training exercise — training where??? Brentwood? Santa Monica? I know those two bastions of liberalism are both our own little Fallujahs, but WTF?


There’s a Army Reserve center about 1/2 mile away on Wilshire, does seem odd they couldn’t find it, doesn’t it?



But if we go with the Lost Tank story — I was much closer than most of the protesters to the 405, about 125 feet west of the main demonstration — there was a lull in traffic during which I talked to the soldiers briefly about my old friend who is deployed in Iraq.  It was a friendly conversation, they were giving the thumbs up — they could sure have asked me for directions.  I am a very non-threatening middle-aged, well-dressed woman and all my sign said was “Bring them Home Now.”


But don’t our military get maps???  Don’t they have sat phones to call home base on to ask directions?  And imagine the coincidence — two tanks go by an anti-war demonstration TWICE?  I have lived in LA/So. California on and off for 25 years, the last four about a mile from the Federal Building to the west just off of Wilshire — I have never seen a tank before, ever.


These are very good points indeed.



The bottom line is this, if these bozos driving vehicles of mass destruction cannot figure out how to get off the 405 and go the right way,  if they were indeed going to the VA (why?) and chose to round the block to GO BACK and antagonize a group of peaceful protestors, how can we trust their dumb asses not to shoot us?

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Green elected to S.F. Board of Supervisors

Green Party member Ross Mirkarimi, in an election using instant runoff voting (IRV) came in first in his district, winning election to the Board of Supervisors. This is a very big deal, indeed (even if I am late in reporting it.)



Newly elected District 5 Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi is the son of a Jewish Russian mother and a Muslim Iranian immigrant, was schooled by Jesuits in Rhode Island, he says, with coalition-building DNA.


Sleeper campaign issue: First Iranian-American supervisor in S.F. “That really awoke a sleeping giant” in the Middle Eastern community.


Activist politics: “There is such a huge vacancy sign in American politics left of center that the Green Party can be anything it wants to be as long as it stays true to its progressive and populist values.”

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David Cobb demands recount in Ohio

Yes, I’ve mightily bashed Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb many times here. However, he and Michael Badnarik of the Libertarian Party are now absolutely doing the right thing now and are calling for a recount in Ohio. They need to raise $110,000 to do it.


Only losing candiates can call for a recount, leaving one to ponder just why Kerry isn’t doing the same. Cobb and Badnarik are to be congratulated for their efforts.


You can donate here. I just gave $20, you can too!

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Gonzalez

Alberto Gonzales is seen as more moderate than Ashcroft but advocates strong wartime powers.


Wow, should we rejoice? He’s “more moderate than Ashcroft!” Would be difficuult to be less moderate than Ashcroft, methinks.


Yet Gonzalez helped craft the “enemy combatant” madness at Gitmo that has just been ruled to be illegal.


More moderate? I think not.

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What are we fighting for?


US concedes Falluja assault won’t break insurgency

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We’re back

This blog hiccupped for a few hours but now the errors have vanished as mysteriously as they appeared.

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