Posts from the ‘politics’ Category
I Went to the LAPD Police Commission
to document bicyclists suggesting the LAPD to take hit and runs more seriously and to not support raising speed limits. Here are some photos.
Photos from the All City Ridazz Summit
From Midnight Ridazz:
All City Ridazz Summit
01.14.12
*Written by Roadblock*
4-7pm @ PAN PACIFIC PARKPOTLUCK PICNIC!
2012.
DEAR RIDAZZ
We all know… when it comes to getting bicycle shit, the city of Los Angeles is a glacier of bureaucracy.
Yet somehow, we, the mangey, scrappy DIY bike community has for the past few years, been relentlessly and wrecklessly agitating and poking at the ribs of this beast and getting change happening on the streets with no budget, no corporate backer and no particularly strong allies in the political scene (though we certainly do have some to thank!)
Every year we have been able to look back and be proud of things that we’ve accomplished. THIS YEAR I want to get even MOAR proactive, subversive, and F.U.N. I’ve talked with many of you, the ride leaders about how we can take this party up an notch. We will be getting together to talk it all out, throw out ideas strategize, and FOCUS.
This summit will be organized like a general assembly. EVERYONE will have a chance to weigh in and form the plan to move bike culture forward in Los Angeles, get more service from the city and the police get more infrastructure and GET MORE PEOPLE ON BIKES.
Issues:
Hit and Run crimes
Increasing the bike love
Major Bike Events
Group rides
Driver / Cyclist relations
Media relationsWHAT TO BRING:
Ideas on advocacy
Ideas on increasing the FUN
Ideas on daytime rides
Ideas on how to involve “regular” people in bikes
Ideas for the websiteCome with an open mind y’all and come ONLY if you are serious about cycling in Los Angeles.
THIS WILL BE A POT LUCK PICNIC! BRING THE NOMZ!
Posted by Rosiekins
I’m Sad Christopher Hitchens Died
From Wikipedia:
Hitchens was known for his admiration of George Orwell, Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson and for his excoriating critiques of, among others, Mother Teresa,[12] Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Henry Kissinger. His confrontational style of debate made him both a lauded and controversial figure. As a political observer, polemicist and self-defined radical, he rose to prominence as a fixture of the left-wing publications in his native Britain and in the United States. His departure from the established political left began in 1989 after what he called the “tepid reaction” of the Western left following Ayatollah Khomeini’s issue of a fatwā calling for the murder of Salman Rushdie. The 11 September 2001 attacks strengthened his internationalist embrace of an interventionist foreign policy, and his vociferous criticism of what he called “fascism with an Islamic face.” His numerous editorials in support of the Iraq War caused some to label him a neoconservative, although Hitchens insisted he was not “a conservative of any kind.”[13]
Identified as a champion of the “New Atheism” movement, Hitchens described himself as an antitheist and a believer in the philosophical values of the Enlightenment. Hitchens said that a person “could be an atheist and wish that belief in god were correct,” but that “an antitheist, a term I’m trying to get into circulation, is someone who is relieved that there’s no evidence for such an assertion.”[14] He argued that the concept of god or a supreme being is a totalitarian belief that destroys individual freedom, and that free expression and scientific discovery should replace religion as a means of teaching ethics and defining human civilization. He wrote at length on atheism and the nature of religion in his 2007 book God Is Not Great.
Occupy LA | Night 20
On 20 October about a dozen LA Occupiers tented overnight in front of the Los Angeles Police Department on 1st Street between Spring and Main.
Sorry there haven’t been many updates or photos. I ran out of internal and external hard drive space and ended up buying a new computer >.< with software that I couldn’t run on my old computer. So many doors have been opened at once (Hello Lightroom, Traktor, Adobe CS, and Final Cut). I can’t believe I’ve been working on a Power PC processor for this long.
Battlefield 3 Advertisement | Occupy LA Remix
This photos needs some context. Battlefield 3 is a first person shooter video game that is being released the 25th. This advertisement is on a bus stop shelter on North Spring St. between Temple and 1st. Someone remixed the ad by adding 3 cardboard signs making the soldiers appear to be protesting. You can also see the reflection of City Hall (and some steps with chalk on them) on the left side of the photo and some palm trees and a traffic light on the right, making it look like the soldiers are walking through Downtown LA.
Photos from Occupy LA Night 11
It’s day 18 at Occupy Los Angeles, so here are some photos from night 11.
Occupy Los Angeles | Day 6
Dr. Cornel West spoke twice today. In the audience was Tavis Smiley. The Library has more books and is more organized. Waste management improves. Relationship with the local police continues to grow. Even the bikeshop has even seen some love.
And according to Occupy La Media, “Current TV’s Countdown host, Keith Olbermann, and CNN’s Anderson Cooper will both be at City Hall tomorrow, at 5pm, to report on the Occupy LA movement.”
Christine Dahab Bail too Low for Drunken Maiming
After maiming a bunch of my friends this bitch human is on the streets after a measly $15,000 bail? Every friend I’ve had go to jail went for a longer period for less a crime with higher bail. What gives?
Sean Bonner’s reaction to the LAPD preliminarily blaming the cyclists. From blogging.la:
If I told you that someone driving a car ran into a stationary object, would you think the fault rested with the driver or with the stationary object? What if that object was a person? Now whose fault is it? What if that person was actually several people. A large group in fact? And what if I told you the driver had been drinking? Still with me? And what if I told you the driver made no attempt to stop, left no skid marks, and by some eyewitness accounts may have even sped up? Any idea who might be at blame here? And what if this collision sent many of those people to the hospital, some in critical condition, many with broken bones?
So just to clarify. If a driver, who had been drinking ran into a large group of people who were standing still (that is, they didn’t jump in front of the car or anything stupid like that) without making any efforts to avoid them – who do you think is at fault?If you said the driver, congrats, you have some shred of common sense. If you said it must have been the fault of the people the driver hit, you must work for the LAPD.
From The Dirty:
THE DIRTY ARMY: Nik, since ABC 7 is feeding the city with complete bullsh*t on the topic I figure why not send to people that will get the word out. 27 year old Christine Dahab was buzzed texting and drove into a group of cyclist at 1:46 am. After rolling through the crowd (without stopping) she then kept going with a person through her windshield, one on her roof and another under the car. I know the people involved and hearing the news of her misdemeanor charge due to the fact she was under the legal limit is bs. The city is going to give her a slap on the wrist and leave these people without justice. I refuse to let the person in a coma, person with a broken jaw/nose/shoulder/leg, person with 2 broken legs and people with broken bones down. Just looking at these pictures of her car makes me sick.
And on the douche fucks at ABC NBC LA Channel 4 that mentioned condoms at the scene, here is an email response from a reporter on the matter:
Mr. Cardoza,
The officers mentioned the condoms, I believe, to stress the point both sides were not following all the rules that night. I certainly understand your point about its direct relevance to the crash itself, but that is what they said.
As for our main source from the LAPD yesterday morning, it was a veteran officer who asked us not to use his name on camera. I know that’s a frustrating response for you to hear. It was especially frustrating for us as well on scene.
If you have questions for the LAPD, the lead agency heading up the initial investigation was the Valley Traffic Division. Their number is (818) 644-8000.
Again, I’m sorry about your involvement in this horrific tragedy. Best of luck to you going forward!
Elex Michaelson
Fucking wow. Who knew safe sex was a crime in Culver City?
