As if!

2 Comments

pd-1-stop-marchmid.jpg

Photo by A-LA Indymedia

Chief Bratton is now trying to shift blame from his department to a group of what he claims are “50-100 outside agitators.” According to Bratton, these “highly organized” agitators show up to marches in order to confront police. He claims they always have a woman in front, a line of agitators behind them and a line of cameras behind the agitators. What a load of crap! Channel 7 has begun to refer to this “highly organized group of trouble makers” as “Anarchists” claiming “this is the same group of people in Seattle and at the DNC. ” It doesn’t help that the organizers of the marches including CARACEN and CHIRLA are also fingering “Anarchists.” For now, Bratton has seemed to find a group he can lay the blame on. Expect this story to grow more fantastic and outrageous everyday as the LAPD tries to shift the blame.

update: May 5, 2007

LA Times decides to investigate the role of Anarchists in the Mayday marches.

Continue reading →

net banging

3 Comments

…is my favorite new term. It’s when gang members proclaim their affiliations through web pages, blog posts, guestbooks and myspace comments. In other words, digital grafitti.

The owner of the blog In the Hat describes his blog as:
“Gangs, crime, cops and politics in Los Angeles. I welcome commentary by interested parties. Comments are moderated so don’t waste my time net banging. All correspondence remains anonymous.” For voyeurs and chismosas like me, In the Hat is a fascinating read. Who knew cholos could be so articulate?

iturbide_cholas5×7.jpg
photo by Graciela Iturbide

dérive: san francisco to south san gabriel

11 Comments

eucalyptus.jpg

dérive: san francisco to south san gabriel

Last weekend, I participated in a group dérive around San Francisco. We wandered between various SF bars, restaurants and other places. Meeting places were designated every three hours (it was an ambitious 24 hour derive) and in each place a few new people would appear. It was quite fun. Most people naturally walked their way through the city. We being true to our Los Angeles roots jokingly referred to our mobile method of getting around as a derive minus the “e.”

Allowing oneself to wander through the city to encounter unexpected experiences is a very attractive way to spend the day. In fact, today I had one such amazing experience. I met the most extraordinary man purely by chance and by merely asking him a simple question. In a cul-de-sac, a block away from my family home on a street I haven’t visited since I was in the eighth grade, I discovered a surprising bit of wild space and more impressive, an old man and his backyard Shangri-la.

Continue reading →