SFist: No Torch For Chinatown

Palo Alto Hippie

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 15:53:09 -0800

Mayor Newsom is a cheerleader for corporate Hillary. What do you expect from corporate America? They love Chinese Communist dictatorship. A little ironic, no?

Belgand

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 09:07:20 -0800

In all fairness designated smoking areas are specifically designed to put an activity that most find objectionable to be around (i.e. second-hand smoke) out-of-the-way. Being inconvenient does not diminish in any significant way your ability to smoke there. "Free speech zones" are just a way to corral protesters to a place where they won't be able to effectively protest by both limiting the chance of anyone being able to see them and by penning them in to reduce their apparent numbers to a very small footprint. In his defense I'm willing to bet that Newsom really is right: people happy to see the torch will be in a very dominant majority. These are also the same people who voted him back into office by a landslide because they don't bother to read the news and somehow think he's been doing a great job. This isn't about appeasing the majority or even doing something that's going to get China to notice or care. It's about principles and making a symbolic statement.

Belgand

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 09:07:20 -0800

christineb

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:24:18 -0800

LOL, free speech zones. Are those like the out-of-the-way, slightly hidden designated smoking areas in airports and theme parks? Let all the disagreeables linger there.

jnice

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:06:08 -0800

darfur!

bluecanary

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 11:24:51 -0800

and to all those who expressed disagreement when I've been saying all along that Newsom is just a slightly more articulate Bush, I do my little "toldja so" dance. "free speech zone," indeed. Because nothing affirms our freedom of speech like being herded into a cage like friggin cattle. And I'd love to see Newsom's little permit-granting process. Perhaps he took the rules from Bull Connor's playbook.