Obama Come Home!



TelesurTV is reporting that Barack Obama's visit has been the cause of protests in Brasil and is expected to be met with protests in Chile, as well. Friday's protest ended in front of the American consulate and was dispersed by military police using tear gas and rubber bullets according to Brazilian news outlets.

According to the press release cited by Telesur, the protest is against the "imperialism of the United States and the demagoguery of Obama, who practices a militarist and interventionist policy, while he uses a rhetoric of defense of human rights."

Telesur is also reporting that the American consulate has announced that Obama's speech will no longer take place in a central square in the open air, but in an indoor location.

Folha.com has published numerous photographs related to the event and will surely publish many more in the next few days which promise to be very colorful, as well as videos, although their videos don't seem to load.

Poor Imperial Chief.

Carless Board of Supervisor to Run for SF Mayor

David Chiu, who is currently the President of the Board of Supervisors of the city and county of San Francisco has announced his candidacy for mayor. He also doesn't own a car and has pledged to work to improve mass transit. He said, "As your candidate for mayor who doesn’t own a car, who gets to City Hall either on the number 49 or on my bicycle, I think we can do better.”

Wow. That's someone I can take seriously. I hope that his candidacy raises the profile of mass transit as a campaign issue throughout California. I believe that there is only so much a city or county can do to improve mass transit without responsible mass transit policy by the state or federal government.