Yesterday, it was the Counter Culture.
Today, it’s… all about us.

Est. 1964 Re-Incarnated by Popular Demand

This is the original, 60’s, counter culture, LA Free Press. Today’s Best Alternative View & Our Old Hippie Headlines, Too! A Head Trip for Smart Minds.

Been There. Done That.

Now, A Chance to Get it Right.

April 29, 2013 – May 3, 2013

Published throughout the Week

It was Ron Cobb, the LA FP’s storied political cartoonist, who created the Ecology Symbol from the letters “e” and “o” (“environment” and “organism”) superimposed one on the other.

Look Magazine later used the Symbol (April 21, 1970) placing it into a flag similar to that of the United States.  It had thirteen alternating green and white stripes, with Ron’s Symbol centered in its green canton.

Unfortunately, the symbol that Ron created was then associated with the Greek letter Θ (Theta) and, thereby, the Greek word thanatos (death)… seemingly justified by the human pummeling of the environment.

The Flag, in those early years, was said to have been seen by more than 200 million Earthlings!  Whether understood with Ron’s original meaning, or that given to it by Look, the Symbol is still so strongly associated with the Environmental Movement that even a ‘New Age’  group has incorporated it into its name; Decocidio #ϴ is an anonymous, autonomous collective of hacktivists who are part of Earth First!, a radical environmental protest organization that adheres to Climate Justice Action.

In all, it’s yet one more example of the influence — more than 40 years later(!) — of the Los Angeles Free Press.

We thought it appropriate to bring this piece of history to light: the VERY beginning of what came to be known as……… ‘The Dark Years’ of the LAPD… in that the Civil Rights Conference (Justice for Our Communities! Families Organizing to Resist Police Brutality and Abuse.), is about here.

Hmmm…. we wonder, why wasn’t that Conference held back then?  Oh, yes, that’s right ~ ~ it was a time of ‘direct’ action; the Black Panthers were, daily, holding more ‘intimate’ confabs with their local police officers.  (We’ll post more about that organization at our FBPage (facebook.com/LAFreePress)).

For now, I’ll just add a bit more to the historical memory-jog and say that it was shortly after this article was published, when Gates DID become the LAPD Chief, that the UCLA Shootout occurred, Panthers died, and ‘our finest’ seemed to be co-conspirators with the FBI’s COINTELPRO .

And, just curious – does anyone recall exactly what ‘The Dark Years’ of the LAPD refers to?

Police Kill Homosexual / Court Ruling "Excusable Homicide"

Technorati Tags: Gay Civil Rights, LA Free Press Archives

More than 60 newspapers have refused to run “Doonesbury” cartoons humanizing the struggles of women under Texas’s demeaning ultrasound law.

Demand the truth from newspapers—let them know that censorship is unacceptable.

(FYI – we don’t have copyright clearance to run Doonesbury cartoons…. but… click here:  http://www.doonesbury.com/strip)

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=GCifH1nMm9EvTeFdX+/4Oi3I0U78wCG2

Dear Carol,

Why are some newspapers so afraid of the truth?

As of today, we’ve received the names of more than 60 newspapers that have refused to run “Doonesbury” cartoons that are simply trying to humanize the struggles of women under Texas’s demeaning ultrasound law.

Thousands of you have helped us identify the newspapers in question, and I hope you join us in calling them out for censoring pro-choice voices from their pages.

Take action NOW. Tell these newspapers to stop censoring the truth.

Some of the editors refusing to run the cartoons have said that the content “goes over the line of good taste.” But if they think the comics go over the line—what does that say about the ultrasound law?

I wish that we were just arguing about creative license and satire, but the truth is that these cartoons represent a very real and dire situation. Right now, every woman seeking an abortion in Texas will be FORCED to get an ultrasound, view the image and hear a government-mandated description of the image from her doctor—even if she says NO.

Wouldn’t you say that goes over the line?

Demand the truth from newspapers—let them know that censorship is unacceptable.

The Center for Reproductive Rights filed a lawsuit against Texas’s invasive ultrasound law and took it all the way to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which declined to give us a full hearing—despite clear violations of the rights of women and their doctors.

While we continue to fight for Texas women, we’re also battling ultrasound laws in North Carolina and Oklahoma. The “Doonesbury” cartoons help to show just how outrageous these laws are, and your activism will make sure the voices of reproductive rights aren’t censored.

Thanks, as always, for all you do,

Nancy Northup
President & CEO

LA Free Press Archives, Circa 1967, Radio Free OZ

From the LA Free Press to you, and all who heard Peter, Philip, Phil and David start a revolution on radio, and perform like nothing seen before… we, together, mourn Peter’s passing and praise his legacy.
The moment below is further testament to who he was and the kind of impact he had…. after he coined the word ‘Love-In’, we were delighted to have Sponsored his effort of making it ‘happen’. Here he is, on stage, at that very first – ever – event. Happy times, good memories to you all.

********* LA Free Press Archives, Circa 1967 ********* Peter Bergman's Love-In

Technorati Tags: Los Angeles Free Press, Los Angeles Free Press Archives, Peter Bergman, Radio Free Oz