On November 14th, students in the EA Hall Middle School MEChA Club held a free community arts event at the Brown Berets Bike Shack warehouse in Watsonville. The event was initially supposed to be held at the city owned Youth Center, however City Staff were opposed to a fee waiver for this event due to the "political nature" of the bands lined up to perform. This has created a stir with some conservative people in the community who are afraid of anything that promotes Mexican or Xicana/o identity.

Boca Floja, Para La Gente, Poetic Stimulator, Shannon Michelle, the Guerrilla Queenz and the young MC's from EA Hall brought together folks of all ages from the community. Parents, students, teachers, and others came out to do graffiti art, listen to music, eat and build solidarity with the MEChistas from EA Hall. It was a positive, powerful and peaceful event.

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Rainbow Theatre, the only multicultural theatre arts troupe in the UC system, will be kicking off their 16th season on November 5th and continuing through November 15th. In the tradition of Teatro Campesino, the San Francisco Mime Troupe, and Theatre of the Opressed, Rainbow strives to bring the untold stories of people of color to light. This year Rainbow's plays are feminist oriented, focusing on issues of queer identity, domestic violence, rape, abortion, interracial relationships, and homophobic violence.

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About 200 advocates of a single-payer health care system, which would eliminate the private health insurance industry, chanted and sang in front of the Market Street offices of United HealthCare starting in the early morning of October 28. At about 8:00am they then marched to the Blue Shield office on Beale St., where 30 of the demonstrators staged a sit-in, blocking access to the health insurer's office.

The San Francisco demonstration was part of a national day of direct action against the insurance industry. Protests at ten other locations took place the same day in other cities; a similar national day of civil disobedience at insurance company sites was held earlier this month. Protesters advocated a single-payer system in which the state or federal government would create one system of health insurance to cover everyone, as would be created by Rep. John Conyers’ H.R. 676.

At the Beale Street location, protesters were joined by a local contingent of “Billionaires for Wealthcare” in formal wear and accompanied by a maidservant. The Billionaires held signs supporting the status quo and sang several numbers including “We Shall Overcharge” to the traditional tune "We Shall Overcome". Other artistic action included music and chants led by Brass Liberation Orchestra and a giant "Octopus of Death" representing insurance industry profiteering. The octopus extended large tentacles choking protesters who portrayed needy patients denied care by Blue Shield.

Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | Mobilize for Healthcare

On October 11, San Francisco’s Arab Cultural and Community Center will present the 15th Annual Arab Cultural Festival, the largest celebration of Arab heritage in Northern California. This day-long event will showcase the arts, entertainment, food, traditions, and most importantly the spirit of the Arab and Arab-American people, and their contributions to the Bay Area’s cultural landscape.

Since 1995, the Arab Cultural & Community Center has produced this one-day event celebrating the diversity and beauty of Arab and Arab-American cultural expression. Taking place in Golden Gate Park, this event marks the largest celebration of Arab heritage in Northern California. Enjoyed by Arab and non-Arab audiences of 4000-6000 each year, it celebrates a rich tapestry of performing and visual artists, food, traditional clothing, and other cultural traditions.

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15th Annual Arab Cultural Festival

Ten years ago Indy Arts was founded to provide resources for media, arts and cultural programs and producers left out of the mainstream of traditional forms of support. The celebration of a decade of help for independent artists culminated in a huge display of some of the best and most innovative acts in the Bay Area, integrating live acting, music, dance, art and media production demonstrations in Golden Gate Park.

Tabling on the Music Course brought to light some little known independent documentary producers and a representative from CounterCorp, San Francisco's anti-corporate film festival. San Francisco 'Zine Fest was one of the most popular booths for young adults, while children sang along to new lyrics put to old tunes by the Raging Grannies promoting healthy eating. Visitors of all ages crowded around demonstrations of recycled art projects including Trash Mash-Up, where plastic bags were instantly turned into hats and accessories before a wide-eyed audience.

Non-profit Independent Arts and Media/Indy Arts provides production, sponsorship, promotional, and other services that are always free or affordable. Their stated goal is to "strengthen a culture of democracy in which individuals fully participate in their communities through vibrant arts, media and public affairs experiences".

Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

Independent Arts and Media

About 300 protesters gathered in front of Anthem Blue Cross' San Francisco headquarters September 22nd to bring attention to the company's opposition to health care reform. Demonstrators converged on California's Blue Cross office before noon and continued their loud protest for over two hours. They set up two sound systems, one for entertainment that playfully mocked the health insurance company's large profits, a second for speakers who told emotional stories of their problems with denied claims and treatment at the hands of one of the nation's largest insurers.

Satirizing the wealthy lifestyle of investors who profit from health care companies, a street theater group called Billionaires for Wealthcare gave speeches insisting that profits must be considered before the needs of people. They aped the rich with fake diamonds, golf clubs and top hats, and hoisted a placard reading "Blue Cross/Palin 2012". Following the Billionaires' exuberant performance, speakers, including real doctors and patients, took to a second sound system to chastise Anthem Blue Cross for what one person called the company's "unforgivable arrogance".

Later while the gathered crowd marched around the building chanting loudly, fifteen delegates from the protest attempted to enter Anthem Blue Cross' 13th floor office in the Embarcadero Center with a list of demands. Blue Cross personnel refused to open the door but listened to the delegates through an intercom, giving no response. The Billionaires, who joined the delegation to the high rise headquarters, insisted that they be allowed to enter the office saying, "after all, we OWN you." They were also rebuffed.

Video | Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Billionaires for Wealthcare

On August 22, in San Mateo, "Billionaire" activists stood at a busy intersection in front of a branch of Ameritrade and spread their message: Private Health Care--Because Corporations Know What's Best for You!

The group calling themselves "Insurance Executives Against ObamaCare" stated that: "We're the wealthy health care insurance execs and pharmaceutical execs who are making a killing (pardon the pun) off of the status quo in the health care industry. We elite refer to it as Wealthcare. And since we Billionaires are a minority in this country, we desperately need your support so that we can continue our profiteering...so that one day it may trickle down to you lowly people. Thanks for your support! Huzzah!!"

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Activists for Health Care Reform Offer Counseling at San Jose "Tea Party"

On Sunday, August 2, the documentary William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe will feature at the Roda Theatre in Berkeley as part of the Jewish Film Festival. The late civil rights attorney William Kunstler was one of the most famous and controversial lawyers of the 20th century. He represented civil rights and anti-war activists, as well as accused terrorists and murderers. In William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe, filmmakers Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler explore their father’s life, from middle-class family man, to movement lawyer.

Among those represented by Kunstler were the Chicago 7, who faced jail for protesting the Vietnam war; the American Indian Movement during the heroic struggle of Wounded Knee; inmates who took over Attica prison; Joey Johnson, who is also interviewed in the film, for whom the Supreme Court upheld the act of flag burning as protected speech under the First Amendment; and Adam Abdul-Hakeem (Larry Davis), who won the first and only acquittal on self-defense of a person who shot at and wounded police officers.

In another famous case, Kunstler defended Yusef Salaam, a 14-year-old kid who was accused of participating in a near fatal gang rape. The media, captivated by the case, ran headlines calling the accused “monsters.” Kunstler argued that it was racism and a biased legal system that tried and latter convicted Salaam. Six and a half years into his sentence, Salaam and another four black teenagers convicted of that crime were exonerated by DNA evidence. Read more

Related story: Pro-Apartheid Forces, SF Israeli Consulate Pressure SFJFF to Cancel Screening of Rachel

On Saturday, July 25, the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival will show Rachel, a documentary about Rachel Corrie, at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco. This film by Simone Bitton is a critical, in-depth look at the life and tragic death of Rachel Corrie, the American activist killed in Gaza in 2003 by a Caterpillar bulldozer operated by the Israeli military. Rachel, working with the International Solidarity Movement, was killed while trying to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian family's home. The film examines Rachel's life and activism, as well as the inadequate military investigation into her death. A Q&A session will follow with Rachel Corrie's mother, Cindy.

This is Simone Bitton's eighth film. In 2004, a film made by Bitton called Wall, a documentary about the building of the Apartheid Wall in Israel, won the Best Documentary Film award at the Jerusalem Film Festival and the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. In another film called Mahmoud Darwich - As the Land Is the Language, directed by Simone Bitton in 1998, Bitton interviews the famed Palestinian poet about his art, life, and relationship with his homeland.

For showing a glimpse of Israel's brutal occupation, Rachel has been targeted by pro-apartheid forces headed by the San Francisco Israeli Consulate, who started a campaign to censor and cancel the film showing; the JFFSF has (so far) stood firm in its decision to screen the film, although a speaker representing a right wing Zionist organization will be allowed to speak before the screening of the movie. Read more

Rachel shown at the Castro Theatre | Dr. Michael Harris from SF Voice for Israel speaks at Rechel- what's so Jewish about that? | Remembering Rachel, and resisting without despair | Rachel Warmly Applauded at Packed Castro Theater | San Francisco Jewish Film Festival: What happened on Saturday? | Urgent!: Zionist Censorship Attempts at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival‏

Interview with Simone Bitton, Director of Rachel | Pictures of 23 year old ISM activist Rachel Corrie -- crushed by an Israeli bulldozer | Joe Carr, an eyewitness to Rachel Corrie's killing speaks about what happened March 16, 2003

Waltz With Bashir, Based on Memories of Soldiers who invaded Lebanon in 82', in Theaters | "Where We Come From", Emily Jacir's Exhibit of Photograph from Palestine, At SF MOMA | ADL Fails in Its Defamation Campaign Against UCSB Professor

On Saturday, July 25, the 2nd annual Bay Area Bike 4 Life will be held in Oakland, starting at 468 Perkins St. near Lake Merritt. Bikes for Life (B4L) is a community social enterprise in West Oakland promoting peace and a call for a gun truce.

The end destination of the bike ride is DeFremery Park at 1651 Adeline St. where Oakland Parks and Recreation will be celebrating its 100 year anniversary. (The park is known in the community as Lil' Bobby Hutton Park.) Bike 4 Life will feature a scraper bike video shoot, skateboarding, rock climbing, basketball tournament, baseball game, and Circus Bella all happening simultaneously. Read more

Bikes 4 Life - Stop the Gun Shoots | Scraperbikes.net | East Bay Bicycle Coalition