Los Angeles Indymedia : Activist News

Susan Forrest, a member of the AIDS social services community, writes about a new social marketing campaign that may fail to reach at-risk communities:
There is a LOT of hand-wringing in L.A. HIV circles about men who have sex with men who don’t identify as gay - and how to get them HIV tested and how to target prevention to them. [Many of those men are purported to be men who are not white.] This campaign will not speak to them...

It is generally acknowledged that those guys do not identify as "gay" and are not seen as members of 'The Gay Community' (of course, there are many communities in LA, but 'The Gay Community' in LA – the West Hollywood, entrenched crowd who self-identify as 'The Gay Community' generally are white.) So if these posters are going up in West Hollywood or in areas where people who identify as part of the gay community are, they will miss the very population they are saying they want to reach.

From the newswire: HIV is a Gay Disease (!?!) by Susan Forrest.

LOS ANGELES, October 5, 2006 - Downtown Los Angeles saw a full day of demonstrations and marches this Thursday, beginning at Noon in Pershing Square and going on into the evening. Protesters marched for various reasons but all were united in their call for an end to the Bush regime. Other issues included the US war on the people of the Middle East, Bush’s policy of domestic spying and the torture of suspects in custody. Also in the march was a 911 Truth Movement contingent and a bike block by Bikes Not Bombs.
From the Newswire: USA, ANTI-BUSH/WAR RALLY by Stephen Sakulsky
Drive Out the Bush Regime by Leslie Radford

The Federal Communications Commission finally announced that its first official public hearings on media ownership will be held at two locations in Los Angeles on Tuesday, October 3.

Please come to one or both of these events to let FCC Chairman Kevin Martin know that large media conglomerates like Tribune Company, Clear Channel and News Corp. are not serving your community. There will be an afternoon and an evening session -- with opportunities for public testimony at both:

FCC Hearing on Media Ownership (Part One) 1 p.m. - 4:30 p.m., Oct. 3, 2006 University of Southern California Davidson Conference Center Embassy Room Los Angeles

FCC Hearing on Media Ownership (Part Two) 6:30 p.m. - 10 p.m., Oct. 3, 2006 El Segundo High School 640 Main Street El Segundo

These are the first -- and so far only -- public hearings addressing media ownership and its impact on local communities. Without your input, Chairman Martin will likely decide to unleash a new wave of consolidation -- allowing large media corporations to seize more control of local news and stifle diversity on the airwaves.

All five FCC commissioners are expected to be at both places, and so are plenty of Big Media lobbyists who will argue for more media consolidation. This may be the public's last chance to speak out against Big Media before Martin lifts the last significant holds on runaway consolidation. Related Article: FCC Destroys Report by Gary Wrightwood

LOS ANGELES, October 2, 2006 – With less than a day's notice, anti-war, and anti-bush regime activists are scrambling to organize some kind of protest against the widely unpopular president. The president will be in town for only four hours from 4pm to 8pm to attend a republican party fundraiser at the Holmby Hills home of Elliott Broidy. The visit comes coincidentally in the same week as the Drive out the Bush Regime day of protests on Thursday planed by the World Can’t Wait organization Bush visits to Los Angeles have become increasing secretive. It is thought that he can no longer appear in public places without causing large protests. Last year Bush was able to seek in out of town without any protests. From the Newswire: Protest Bush in Holmby Hills this Tuesday 4pm - 8pm