IndyMedia Presentation at Activist San Diego
Jonathan,

San Diego IndyMedia will be doing a short presentation at Activist San Diego's meeting this month. Please come if you would like to know more about IndyMedia.

When: Monday, August 14, 7PM

Where: Please join us at 4246 Wightman, 1 block south of University on Van Dyke, 2 blocks west of Fairmont Av in City Heights.
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Protest the Circus: The Cruelest Show on Earth
repost from e-mail SD Animal Advocates,

For animals in circuses, there is no such thing as “positive reinforcement” —only varying degrees of punishment and deprivation. Animals do not voluntarily ride bicycles, stand on their heads, or jump through rings of fire. They don’t perform these and other difficult tricks because they want to; they perform because they’re afraid not to. Trainers use bullhooks, whips, sticks, electric prods, and other tools that intentionally cause pain and injury in order to force animals to perform. Constant travel means that animals are confined to boxcars and trailers for days at a time in extremely hot and cold weather, often without access to basic necessities, such as food, water, and veterinary care.

SD Animal Advocates and other groups are organizing a protest and leafleting at the Barnum and Bailey Circus at the Sports Arena, August 9-13:
Wed Aug 9 6-7:30pm
Thurs Aug 10 6:30-7:30pm
Fri Aug 11 10-11am, 6:30-7:30pm
Sat Aug 12 10-11am, 2:30-3:30pm, 6:30-7:30pm
Sun Aug 13 12:30-1:30pm, 4:30-5:30pm
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San Diego Indymedia August Events
sdimc volunteer,

Monsterous neocons, bloodthirsty imperialists, hateful bigots, fascist war criminals, the inhuman prison industrial complex, greedy capitalists and lying corporate media aren't taking August off, so neither are we.

SDIMC 101
Learn How to Be the Media, Cover an Event, Compose a Story, Post to SDIMC Website, Participate in SDIMC.
Wed August 9, 7-9PM FREE

Open Hack Nite
ACTIVISTS, HACKERS, and ARTISTS get together, share, teach and learn tech skills. This month: intro to Ruby on Rails web design software and DIY music videos.
Wed August 16, 8-10PM FREE

SDIMC Film Nite
Berlusconi's Mousetrap. This film chronicles the massive anti-G8 protests in Genoa, Italy and the violent response of the Italian Prime Minister.
Wed August 23, 7PM $3-$5 donation requested.

All events at Voz Alta, 1544 Broadway, one block from City College, downtown San Diego.
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Food Not Bombs Wants You This Sunday 8/6
San Diego Food Not Bombs,

Come out this Sunday to Food Not Bombs we always need new people! Food Not Bombs is a group that takes food that would otherwise be wasted, cooks it and distributes it for free. We will be cooking at 11am, and then around 1pm we will distribute food at the North Park Park. (between Oregon and Idaho by Howard) Contact us to get directions to where we will be cooking.

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Show the Indies Some Respect
John Rippo/ ESPRESSO Coffeehouse Newspaper,

Creativity is an individual gift to his or her community. It needs to be respected by fellow creatives whether in business or culture if a human scale, organically derived way of life is going to thrive in the face of mass market consumerism.
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Queer Pride Events in San Diego
Mark Gabrish Conlan/Zenger’s Newsmagazine,

San Diego held its 37th annual LGBT [Queer] Pride celebration July 28-30, and while most of the speeches, parade floats and festival booths were assimilationist, parts of the celebration did hearken back to the radical, liberationist roots of Queer pride. Rev. Troy Perry, founder of the Metropolitan Community Church, dominated the July 28 rally, though his sermon-like speech which opened the July 28 pride rally was nearly equaled by the heartfelt poem read by San Francisco-based Queer African-American rapper Juba Kalamba as a memorial to his friend, AIDS activist Rocky Williams, who committed suicide July 24 after he became homeless when he could no longer afford San Francisco's astronomical rents.
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Bareback Videos Bring Back Natural Sex
Mark Gabrish Conlan/Zenger’s Newsmagazine,

Bill Gardner and John Singleton founded Hot Desert Knights Video in 1998 to bring natural sex back to Gay pornography. Their videos feature "bareback" — condom-free — sex and avoid the highly staged and artificial action of more mainstream Gay videos. They insist they're not propagandizing for bareback sex and that Gay men who aren't HIV-positive should use condoms to help stay uninfected, but they also defend their right to make bareback videos as a civil liberties issue and say they're helping Gay men sublimate their desire for condom-free sex.
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Powerful Gay Art on Display in North Park
Mark Gabrish Conlan/Zenger’s Newsmagazine,

Queer artist Al Walz's stark, sexually explicit images stand out in the current exhibit of Queer artists called "Gay Seduction" at the Arts & Entertainment Center, 3026 University Avenue in North Park, San Diego. His works depict Gay men's objectification of each other and feelings of unworthiness and suicide. He sat for an interview for the August 2006 issue of Zenger's Newsmagazine and revealed that he's a quite different person — quieter, more settled, less sex-obsessed — than he was when he created the works in "Gay Seduction." The gallery is open Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoons and may be reached at (619) 260-1731 or  http://www.theaecenter.com
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San Diegans Protest Queer Executions in Iran
Mark Gabrish Conlan/Zenger’s Newsmagazine,

About 10 San Diegans participated in a demonstration held July 19 as part of an international commemoration of the first anniversary of the execution of two 17-year-old Queer boys in Iran. Though some Leftists questioned the timing of a protest targeting Iran just when the U.S. is threatening an imperalist attack against the country, participants said that they felt a need to make a statement that the executions were wrong and in any case it was highly unlikely that President Bush would use Queer rights as a pretext to attack Iran when he is so adamantly opposed to Queer rights in the U.S.
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War Protester Arredondo Speaks in S.D.
Mark Gabrish Conlan/Zenger’s Newsmagazine,

When Carlos Arredondo first heard the news that his son Alexander had been killed in combat in Iraq, he literally went ballistic. He attacked the van of the Marines who had come to notify him with a hammer, then broke into it carrying a can of gasoline and a blowtorch, and set the van — and himself — on fire. Since then he's found more constructive outlets for his grief, including joining Cindy Sheehan's Gold Star Families for Peace and touring the Boston area, where he lives, and the entire country with a display featuring a coffin and photos of his late son. He and his wife Melida told their story July 8 in San Diego and left an audience intensely moved.
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San Diego Food Not Bombs needs volunteers
San Diego Food Not Bombs,

Food Not Bombs is trying to start up again. We need people who want to be involved. In case you don't know FNB is a group of people who take food that would otherwise be wasted prepare it and distribute it to people who want it. We are looking at serving in the North Park area. Contact us if you want more info.
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THE DEATH MARCH-DEL MAR'S RACE TO DEATH
Janice Jordan-P&F Gubernatorial Candidate,

Today the Del Mar Racetrack should be called the Death Mar Racetrack. In 1998 at least nine horses died during the summer racing season and at that time the track was blamed for the fatalities, calling the "course's surface deep and even". (The Independent, London, August 19, 1998) Since the racing season began this year (less than three weeks ago) 7 horses have died, and it appears no one in charge at the racetrack can offer an explanation for the high number of deaths. What can you do?
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Stop Israeli War! Demonstration: Interviews
queer-j brad,

Following abductions of one Israeli soldier on the Gaza/Israel border on June 25 and two Israeli soldiers on the Lebanon/Israel border on July 12, Israel has engaged in massively destructive attacks on both Gaza and Lebanon, resulting in over 90 Palestinian deaths and over 325 Lebanese deaths to date, along with mass arrests of Palestinian elected officials, widespread destruction of crucial infrastructure in Lebanon and looming humanitarian crises in both Gaza and Lebanon. These war crimes have prompted protests around the globe, including a demonstration of about 200 people in downtown San Diego in front of Horton Plaza on Thursday.

Video interviews with protesters reveal information and opinions that are not appearing in the corporate media, including:
"... the overwhelming might of the Israeli army, the fourth largest army in the world, essentially means that Israel can continue to act with impunity, and that the Arabs are left to fight back or retaliate with very limited means and when they do we can see that Israel has no regard for international law, no regard for humanity, no regard for civilian life, no regard for anything except apparently for the master plan of destroying the whole region and being the sole power in the region."
"... Israel has 10,000 prisoners of war, meaning Palestinian or Lebanese, and ... on almost a daily basis kidnaps fighters from the opposite side. These fighters are held in long-term detention, they are tortured.."
"We want to ask our government to not support Israel, to not send our tax dollars to Israel, to spend it on education and not on war."
"... to sit home and just watch the news, which is so nauseatingly one sided, is very frustrating, it's very difficult for us to listen to the essentially Israeli line on CNN, MSNBC, FOX and all the other news stations..."
"This is the place where decisions come from, they come from the streets..."
"They had one civil war, which they rebuilt and now all of that is gone in a matter of nine days! It seems like people just have callous hearts. And we're trying to say, please wake up, people are dying! ... Hopefully this will get to someone, it will move someone to action."


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Secular Humanism in San Diego (UPDATE)
Jeff Graves,

It has become more and more common in San Diego for Christians to attack secular humanists and non-believers more and more. Due to the conservative climate in San Diego, we see even self-professed "progressives" simultaneously claming to be "Christian". The hypocrisy seems overt, but still many are blind to its overtness.
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Quartet from India performs in San Diego
Vijay Venkatraman,

A unique quartet named Indian Ocean is scheduled to perform a fund-raising concert for Association for India's Development, San Diego on Aug 13 in El Cajon. Their music is a soothing amalgamation of Indian cultural tunes with Western jazz and rock. AID-SD is organizing this concert to generate support and create awareness for various developmental projects in India.
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Global Warming Destroys Wine Industry
Amy Goodearth,

Global Warming spells disaster for much of the multibillion-dollar wine industry.

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DEA Raids SD Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
repost from Americans for Safe Acess,

On Thurday, federal agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) raided as many as 13 San Diego-area medical marijuana dispensaries and arrested at least two of the dispensary operators.

“The DEA continues to waste valuable resources on attacking medical marijuana patients,” said Steph Sherer, executive director of Americans for Safe Access, the leading national medical marijuana advocacy group. “The vast majority of Americans believe the sick and suffering should have legal access to marijuana if they are helped by it.”
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Former Ugandan Parliament Member Speaks in SD
Mark Gabrish Conlan/Zenger’s Newsmagazine,

Miria Matembe, former member of the parliament of Uganda and longtime women's rights activist there, spoke at the Mission Valley library July 2 and rankled many local activists — including Ugandan émigrés — with her insistence that the government's treatment of the Acholi people in the north is not an act of genocide but an attempt to protect them against terrorists. Matembe also described the horrible state of Uganda's rape and domestic violence laws and the issue that led her to break with her long-time ally, Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni: his insistence on amending the constitution so he could run for a third term as president.
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Low Turnout, Negative Campaign Sank Busby
Mark Gabrish Conlan/Zenger’s Newsmagazine,

The victory of Republican Brian Bilbray over Democrat Francine Busby is being hailed throughout much of the political establishment and the corporate media as an indication that Republicans don't have to worry about losing Congress this year. San Diego Democratic party chair Jess Durfee and activist Ira Lechner spoke to the predominantly Queer San Diego Democratic Club June 22 to challenge that notion. According to Durfee and Lechner, what really sank Busby's campaign were low voter turnout and a relentlessly negative campaign by both candidates that discouraged many people from voting at all. Durfee argued that Republicans in particular deliberately run such negative campaigns to solidify their base while driving down turnout among those likely to vote Democrat.
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Bill Freyer on the Pleasures of Fisting
Mark Gabrish Conlan/Zenger’s Newsmagazine,

Veteran San Diego Queer activist Bill Freyer recently opened his new clothing and novelty shop, Pleasures and Treasures, at 2228 University Avenue in North Park. In this interview, reprinted from the July 2006 Zenger's Newsmagazine, he described the store and also discussed his work in promoting understanding of the sex practice known as "fisting" or "handballing," usually though not exclusively associated with Gay men. Freyer organized Red Hankies of San Diego over a decade ago in San Diego and it's now a worldwide organization dedicated to promoting healthy and safe fisting and providing would-be handballers a way to meet and teach each other.
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Palast Skewers Democrats in New Book
Mark Gabrish Conlan/Zenger’s Newsmagazine,

Journalist, economist and activist Greg Palast came to San Diego June 10 in defiance of his publishers to promote his new book, "Armed Madhouse." The book attacks American politicians of both major parties and celebrates independent figures like Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, former U.S. Presidential candidate H. Ross Perot and the late Louisiana governor Huey Long. It also offers a provocative explanation of what the war in Iraq is really about — not getting Iraq's oil, but quite the contrary: keeping it off the market in order to raise the price and increase the already swollen profits of Big Oil.
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Math Professor: Why "HIV/AIDS" Doesn't Add Up
Mark Gabrish Conlan/Zenger’s Newsmagazine,

Rebecca Culshaw, Ph.D., a mathematics professor at the University of Texas in Tyler, won her Ph.D. by modeling the replication of HIV inside the human body — but her researches eventually led her to the conclusion that HIV, the so-called "AIDS virus," cannot possibly be the cause of the syndrome. In this interview, reprinted from the July 2006 Zenger's Newsmagazine, she explains how fundamentally illogical the HIV/AIDS hypothesis really is and how biologists in particular have broken the rules of science to maintain their false belief that HIV causes AIDS.
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AIDS (Hype) at 25
Mark Gabrish Conlan/Zenger’s Newsmagazine,

In early June the corporate media were swept by a wave of hype surrounding the 25th anniversary of Dr. Michael Gottlieb's identification of a new syndrome in Gay men that later became known as AIDS. This article, repeated from the "First Word" column in the July 2006 Zenger's Newsmagazine, examines the hype surrounding "AIDS at 25" and how the AIDS establishment is getting more and more hysterical in the face of greater public indifference.
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San Diego Critical Mass - June Interviews
queer-j brad,

The last friday of every month, cyclists from over 400 cities worldwide participate in Critical Mass, a group bicycle ride. To many riders, Critical Mass is a leaderless celebration of cycling and other responsible forms of transportation. To others, it is a way to reclaim the streets for social interaction and fun, rather than being locked away and isolated in cars. To still others, Critical Mass is a way to feel safe as a cyclist on the streets by riding together in a group. And for some, Critical Mass is a protest against the car culture that is polluting the air, causing global warming and consuming natural resources that formed over millions of years in little more than a century.

The past few months of San Diego Critical Mass have seen disagreements about its goals and how to interact with drivers and pedestrians. As with almost any endeavor in our macho, competitive culture, only the loudest, most privileged voices tend to be heard. In an attempt to provide an outlet for a broader spectrum of opinion, I talked to 13 riders prior to June Critical Mass.

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Remember the 4000+ Dead from Gatekeeper
repost from e-mail,

July 1st Vigil (III) at Border State Park 1200 noon to remember the 4000
plus that have died since operation gatekeeper began October of 1994. At the nationwide "immigration" hearings beginning in San Diego and Philadelphia on Wednesday July 5th, we are asking faith and human rights groups across the country to place 4000 crosses (or other faith/peace symbols) at each respective site the day of the hearings.
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ALEXANDER PROPOSING HOME BANK LEASING
Stewart A. Alexander,

Stewart Alexander wants to make home ownership available to everyone and he says the way to accomplish this is to offer Home Bank Leasing. His idea is similar to the automobile leasing programs that General Motors and Ford Motor Company began offering in the mid 1990’s. Now Alexander says Home Bank Leasing is the future way to make home ownership affordable and the needed boost for the housing market.



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Support Arrested Immigrants Rights Activist!!
Support Josh,

Support and Witnesses Needed for Arrested Immigrants Rights Activist!

On June 3rd, Immigrant Rights Activists held a rally in San Ysidro, CA to protest the militarization of the U.S.-Mexico border and the oppressive, racist Hagel-Martinez bill. A small group of racist vigilantes from the Minutemen Project were confronted in a vocal, but very peaceful manner. During this confrontation the police assaulted and arrested Josh, a pro-immigrant rights activist, claiming that he had thrown a punch at an officer.

Josh is no longer in custody but is facing legal charges. The charge that a punch was thrown at an officer is an outright fabrication. We are calling on all who were present at the event and witnessed the arrest or any other incidents of police brutality to contact the support committee at  standuptopower@yahoo.com
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Drive Free - Veggie Fuel for your car
Tonya Kay,

how you can turn Free vegetable oil into diesel fuel for your cars.

No more Expensive Gas stations.

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Independent Journalists Visit, Report on Iraq
Mark Gabrish Conlan/Zenger’s Newsmagazine,

Independent journalists and filmmakers Mark Manning and Dahr Jamail spoke at the Thomas Jefferson College of Law June 2 and showed a short film, "Caught in the Crossfire," documenting the utter destruction U.S. forces in Iraq leveled against the city of Falloujah in November 2004. Jamail talked about how the U.S. military actions in Iraq have consistently violated international law and how the corporate media helped build support for the war — itself, he argued, a war crime — while Manning said the U.S. people are ultimately responsible for stopping the war in Iraq and bringing their country back to the norms of legal behavior.
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May Day Rally, San Ysidro, VIDEO
Jonathan,

On May 1, 2006, people all over the U.S. and Mexico protested unfair immigration policy in the United States. This video is from a protest that took place in San Ysidro, California, only a few steps north of the U.S. / Mexico border. People from both sides of the border took the day off from work and school to participate in this protest and to change the world! This film was made by the San Diego Independent Media Center. Music is by the B-side Players.
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