Canadian Ships are taking part this weekend along with the Snowbirds from Canada in SFO. I thought the Snowbirds had been cancelled as the Blue Angels were taking part but nephew said he thinks both teams are participating.
My nephew just phoned as he has been invited aboard one of the ships putting out to sea to perform in the ceremonies - he feels very honored and moved when we talked. He is pleased
he was able to walk without crutches or assistance.
Like me - nephew enjoys anything which includes both Canadians and Americans working or playing together - as we are both.
Amid all the controversy - the show is going ahead....
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/07/BA3PSLIMT.DTL
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Newsom welcomes the fleet with fierce
defense of San Francisco as pro-military
Susan Sward, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, October 7, 2007
More...
(10-06) 16:55 PDT SAN FRANCISCO - -- Mayor Gavin Newsom, attending Fleet Week festivities on the Marina Green on Saturday, lashed out at conservative critics who mocked San Francisco's consideration of a measure to ban the Navy's Blue Angels from flying over the city during this week's celebration.
He cited that criticism and reports that the city turned down a Marine request to make a television recruitment commercial in the Financial District as examples of what he called exploitation by conservatives who don't "allow the facts to get in their way."
"Shame on the extreme right," Newsom told The Chronicle. "I am sick and tired of this city being depicted as anti-military. The extreme right exploits the exception, when I believe there is a predominant respect in this city for the military, vets and those serving today."
The mayor praised the Board of Supervisors for rejecting Supervisor Chris Daly's proposal to ban the Blue Angels from flying over the city, and he said the Marines "were offered multiple locations" to shoot their commercial before they selected the Marin County site of Kirby Cove near the Golden Gate Bridge.
Newsom said the issue of the Blue Angels' safety - which Daly cited when making the case for his ban - was a valid one in the aftermath of a crash that killed a member of the famed flight demonstration team in April. Since the team was established in 1946, Daly said, 26 of its members have died in crashes.
But Newsom said proposals such as a flight ban play into the hands of conservative commentators and other critics "and end up hurting the city." He added that other approaches work better.
He said that after the April crash in South Carolina, his office "reached out to the Blue Angels" to discuss safety issues during Fleet Week.
"They said, 'Here are our safety records.' They gave us a level of confidence, and we moved forward - I think that's how you approach it," Newsom said.
Daly, informed of the mayor's comments, said: "It's unfortunate the mayor is more concerned about politics than about the safety of San Franciscans."
Fleet Week, an event intended to honor men and women serving in the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard and Marines, has been held annually in the city since 1981.
Saturday's events began with a string of eight U.S. and Canadian ships - frigates, mine sweepers, cutters, a destroyer and the World War II Liberty ship Jeremiah O'Brien - steaming beneath the Golden Gate Bridge and into the bay under a brilliant blue sky.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., watched from a Marina Green reviewing stand as the parade of ships passed by. Asked about the Blue Angels' flights, she said the team should be appreciated for what it is - an amazing display of superb technical proficiency.
"When I was mayor, I went up with the Blue Angels, and we did a loop," she said. "It was the most exciting day of my life."
The Blue Angels took to the skies in the mid-afternoon, to the delight of thousands of onlookers who craned their heads, looking for a glimpse of the F/A-18 Hornet jets.
Steve Wilson, a 51-year-old optometrist, took his 11-year-old and 13-year-old sons out of school in West Virginia for a few days to bring them to see the Fleet Week events.
Wilson said he had followed the controversy over whether the Blue Angels should fly over the city and said, "If there were any reason to be against it, it would be about safety - not about 'we shouldn't be in Iraq.'
"We're there and we're going to be there for a long time to come," Wilson said. "I've talked to a lot of military people, and it's unfortunate, but it's the way it is. This Fleet Week event gives us a chance to honor the military - we owe them a huge debt of gratitude."
Fleet Week events
-- Today
Noon to 4 p.m. - Ship tours
1 p.m. - Air show begins
3 p.m. - Blue Angels
-- Monday and Tuesday
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. - Ship tours
-- On the Web: fleetweek.us/fleetweek.
-- Photos and video: View more at sfgate.com.
My nephew just phoned as he has been invited aboard one of the ships putting out to sea to perform in the ceremonies - he feels very honored and moved when we talked. He is pleased
he was able to walk without crutches or assistance.
Like me - nephew enjoys anything which includes both Canadians and Americans working or playing together - as we are both.
Amid all the controversy - the show is going ahead....
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/07/BA3PSLIMT.DTL
/* */
Newsom welcomes the fleet with fierce
defense of San Francisco as pro-military
Susan Sward, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, October 7, 2007
More... (10-06) 16:55 PDT SAN FRANCISCO - -- Mayor Gavin Newsom, attending Fleet Week festivities on the Marina Green on Saturday, lashed out at conservative critics who mocked San Francisco's consideration of a measure to ban the Navy's Blue Angels from flying over the city during this week's celebration.
He cited that criticism and reports that the city turned down a Marine request to make a television recruitment commercial in the Financial District as examples of what he called exploitation by conservatives who don't "allow the facts to get in their way."
"Shame on the extreme right," Newsom told The Chronicle. "I am sick and tired of this city being depicted as anti-military. The extreme right exploits the exception, when I believe there is a predominant respect in this city for the military, vets and those serving today."
The mayor praised the Board of Supervisors for rejecting Supervisor Chris Daly's proposal to ban the Blue Angels from flying over the city, and he said the Marines "were offered multiple locations" to shoot their commercial before they selected the Marin County site of Kirby Cove near the Golden Gate Bridge.
Newsom said the issue of the Blue Angels' safety - which Daly cited when making the case for his ban - was a valid one in the aftermath of a crash that killed a member of the famed flight demonstration team in April. Since the team was established in 1946, Daly said, 26 of its members have died in crashes.
But Newsom said proposals such as a flight ban play into the hands of conservative commentators and other critics "and end up hurting the city." He added that other approaches work better.
He said that after the April crash in South Carolina, his office "reached out to the Blue Angels" to discuss safety issues during Fleet Week.
"They said, 'Here are our safety records.' They gave us a level of confidence, and we moved forward - I think that's how you approach it," Newsom said.
Daly, informed of the mayor's comments, said: "It's unfortunate the mayor is more concerned about politics than about the safety of San Franciscans."
Fleet Week, an event intended to honor men and women serving in the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard and Marines, has been held annually in the city since 1981.
Saturday's events began with a string of eight U.S. and Canadian ships - frigates, mine sweepers, cutters, a destroyer and the World War II Liberty ship Jeremiah O'Brien - steaming beneath the Golden Gate Bridge and into the bay under a brilliant blue sky.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., watched from a Marina Green reviewing stand as the parade of ships passed by. Asked about the Blue Angels' flights, she said the team should be appreciated for what it is - an amazing display of superb technical proficiency.
"When I was mayor, I went up with the Blue Angels, and we did a loop," she said. "It was the most exciting day of my life."
The Blue Angels took to the skies in the mid-afternoon, to the delight of thousands of onlookers who craned their heads, looking for a glimpse of the F/A-18 Hornet jets.
Steve Wilson, a 51-year-old optometrist, took his 11-year-old and 13-year-old sons out of school in West Virginia for a few days to bring them to see the Fleet Week events.
Wilson said he had followed the controversy over whether the Blue Angels should fly over the city and said, "If there were any reason to be against it, it would be about safety - not about 'we shouldn't be in Iraq.'
"We're there and we're going to be there for a long time to come," Wilson said. "I've talked to a lot of military people, and it's unfortunate, but it's the way it is. This Fleet Week event gives us a chance to honor the military - we owe them a huge debt of gratitude."
Fleet Week events
-- Today
Noon to 4 p.m. - Ship tours
1 p.m. - Air show begins
3 p.m. - Blue Angels
-- Monday and Tuesday
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. - Ship tours
-- On the Web: fleetweek.us/fleetweek.
-- Photos and video: View more at sfgate.com.
