Local news in San Diego labeling the protest there as "Biofizzle"
One local news radio has labeled the San Diego protest effort as Biofizzle 2001, citing little to no real display of organized opposition to the biotech message. Except for Sunday's march, which demonstrator organizors claim 1,500 attended but the actual count was less than 1,000, the protest location in front of the Convention Center was largely empty throughout the week. Protestors, very frustrated by the miniscule turnout were quick to cite the large police presence and also claimed widespread harassment or brutality as being a deterrent for people to attend. Most claims have been unsubstantiated and the overwhelming response from San Dieagans has been in support of the police presence. Several polls place overall acceptance of the police response at over 80% in the excellent catagory. Convention insiders claim the weeklong convention brought San Diego over 25 million dollars in tourism revenue. Most claim this easily justified the 2.5 million the city has reportedly spent on the police response. "A tenfold return on investment made the expense money well spent," one Convention official has said.
The convention event, will probably not go down as much of a showcase event for the demonstrator, who have already set their sights on other events planned in other cities.
MM-2001
Original: SAN DIEGO- "BOIFIZZLE"