May 14th was the first anniversary of the incarceration of Indian human rights and public health activist Dr. Binayak Sen. People gathered in front of the Consulate General of India in San Francisco to protest his continued imprisonment by the Indian government. Protesters presented a petition demanding, "Free Dr. Binayak Sen," to the Indian Consul General.

Photos

Dr. Binayak was a gold medallist from the prestigious Christian Medical College (CMC) in Vellore. He moved to southern Chhattisgarh in 1981. There, in the iron ore and dolomite mines surrounding the Bhilai Steel Plant, the pioneering trade union leader, Shankar Guha Niyogi, was building not only a labour union, Chhattisgarh Mines Shramik Sangh (CMSS), but also a social movement among 30,000 mostly-Adivasi mine workers. With the Bhilai Steel Plant refusing to provide health care to mine workers, Niyogi recognized that it was left to the union to fill the need and expand its base of support. Binayak Sen joined him, along with Dr. Ashish Kundu and Dr. Saibal Jana, in a makeshift clinic operating in a shed carved out of the side of the union office in Dalli Rajhara in Durg District.

On May 14th 2007, police arrested Dr. Binayak Sen, charging him with sedition, criminal conspiracy, making war against the country, and knowingly conveying the "proceeds of terrorism." He was charged under draconian state and central laws -- the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act (CSPSA) of 2006 and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) of 1967. Since then three courts have denied him bail, including the Supreme Court on December 10th 2007. Additional Solicitor General of India, Gopal Subramaniam, alleged that Dr. Sen was a key figure in a Naxalite "network of terrorism."

The charges against Dr. Sen were a pretext for silencing him because of his and PUCL's investigations revealing rampant human rights violations and atrocities by police and government-supported vigilantes. Salwa Judum is a vigilante movement sponsored and armed by the government in southern Chhattisgarh since June 2005. It was created in an attempt to counter the Maoist insurgency that has taken over the entire Bastar-Dantewada region because of either the government's utter neglect of social services or callous land-grabs by private corporations. The militarization of the region and the presence of the Salwa Judum have triggered a near civil war that has cleansed more than 600 villages, displacing more than one lakh (100,000) people from their homes.

Free Binayak Sen Campaign | Free Binayak Sen | Wikipedia: Dr. Binayak Sen

Unconventional Action Santa Cruz writes, "Continued wars, housing foreclosures and ecological crises have proven that neither docile street marches nor electoral campaigns will solve the problems plaguing our daily lives. We can only have leverage over our rulers by showing our own power, and we must back our demands by demonstrating that we can interfere with their business as effectively as they interfere with our lives.

"Santa Cruz! People are gathering at Zami Co-op on Saturday, May 10th for an exciting chance to develop skills and social bonds for direct action of all kinds. This will be an opportunity for people to deepen their local connections and strategize for a variety of campaigns, including this summer’s Democratic and Republican National Conventions.

"Workshops include: Medic Training, Affinity Groups, Self-Defense, Knowing your Rights, and Tricks n Tools of Direct Action. We will also be practicing our new found skills on Sunday, location TBA." Get the Flyer

Unconventional Action | DNC Disruption 08 | RNC Welcoming Committee

Modesto Anarcho writes, "The central valley's journal of insurrectionary class struggle, Modesto Anarcho, is happy to announce the publication of it's seventh issue. In this issue you'll find articles on crime in the valley, indigenous resistance at D-Q University in Davis, the rise of taser gun use by local police, poetry, direct action and repression reports, and much more!

"Modesto Anarcho is a project to document and expand resistance to class society, specifically in the Central Valley of California. We want to use this publication to focus on local issues and highlight what regular people are doing in this area to confront and combat the misery of daily working class life."

download the PDF file | Modesto Anarcho #6 | Modesto Anarcho #5 | Modesto Anarcho Distro Catalogue!

anonymous anarchists write, "A Wells Fargo in downtown Santa Cruz was paintbombed during the night. Wells Fargo invests in the GEO Group, the contractor which runs the gulag in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Wells Fargo tries to pass itself off as a neutral, respectable institution when in fact it is directly contributing to the continuous torture going on in that prison.

"In addition to running GTMO, the GEO Group is also contracted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to run its immigration detention facilities. Wells Fargo has more blood on its hands than people realize. Wells Fargo is a bank, just like all the rest, and it obeys only the commands of capital. Death and torture mean nothing to the heads of Wells Fargo or any bank. As long as their investments are bringing in solid returns, they will continue to fund them." Read More

On April 9th, filmmaker Simón Sedillo led a bilingual multi-media presentation that included scene selections from three films, "El Enemigo Común" (2005), "El Machete" (2007) and "Paz Sin Justicia" (2008), in order to illustrate neoliberal atrocities and community based resistance to them in Oaxaca, Mexico.

"El Enemigo Común" documents paramilitary activity in Oaxaca from 2000-2005, leading up to the arrival of Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, Oaxaca's current governor. "El Machete" was filmed and edited by indigenous women and youth from communities in Oaxaca, during the winter of 2007, and documents a more profound look at the day to day struggles for land, water, transportation, culture, dignity, justice, liberty, and peace. "Paz Sin Justicia," a 41 minute film by the Committee in Defense of the Rights of the People - CODEP, examines what Oaxaca looks like today in 2008, and what it really means for Oaxaca to return to normal after the 2006 uprising. Corruption, institutionalized repression, and economic slavery are the standard through which a weak government attempts to hold itself together and stay in power. Read More

see also: April 6th at Station 40 in SF | April 7th at the Long Haul in Berkeley | April 10th at the Watsonville Brown Berets Office | la paz de los pocos...

Every March, anarchists from around the Bay Area and the Americas come together for a week in which they celebrate anarchism with a number of different kinds of events. 8 Days of Anarchy started on Tuesday, March 18th with a discussion based on Crimethinc's "your politics are boring as fuck." On Day 2, Wednesday, there will be a movie and radical discussion at the Long Haul in Berkeley. Day 3 will be Radical Strategy Game Night at 924 Gilman in Berkeley.

On Friday night, the Anarchist Cafe will return after a one-year hiatus. This drug-free and alcohol-free event will take place from 7pm to 10pm at 225 Potrero in San Francisco. SF Food Not Bombs will serve at 16th and Mission Streets from 5:30 to 6:30pm on Friday. The 13th annual Bay Area Anarchist Bookfair will take place on Saturday from 11-6 (Photos) and on Sunday from 11-5. At 2pm on Saturday, there will be an open discussion on current struggles at California universities with panel speakers from SFSU, UCSC, UCSB and DQU. Indybay volunteers plan to be outside on Saturday. Panel discussions during the bookfair will include "Responses to the Occupation of Palestine" and "Anarchist Parents." Day 6 of 8 Days of Anarchy, Sunday, will be the 8th Annual BASTARD Conference. (Workshop Info) 8 Days of Anarchy will close with a dance party on Monday and a discussion at the Anarchist Study Group on Tuesday, March 25th.

Post additional events to Indybay's calendar | Indybay's Previous Anarchy Week Coverage | 8 Days of Anarchy | 13th Annual Bay Area Anarchist Bookfair

On September 1-4 of 2008, the Republican Party is holding their convention in Minnesota. The RNC Welcoming Committee wants to make sure that "this time the fear-mongers will be met with their own biggest fear: people mobilized, organized, and taking the future back into their own hands."

The RNC Welcoming Committee's Infotour will make six stops in Northern California to share their plans and get input to take back to Minneapolis on their preparations to crash the convention in the Twin Cities in September. The RNC Welcoming Committee states, "understanding that most people can’t make it out to Minnesota before the Convention, we see this tour as an opportunity to bring the Welcoming Committee to you, and to bring your thoughts, ideas and voices back to Minnesota."

March 2: The Long Haul in Berkeley (3124 Shattuck Avenue)
March 3: Peace and Justice Center in Santa Rosa (467 Sebastopol Ave)
March 4: Station 40 in San Francisco (3030B 16th Street @ Mission)
March 5: (8pm, Bound Together Books, 1369 Haight St)
March 6: Arcata (7pm, Salmon House, 2950 Janes Rd)
March 7: Santa Cruz (6pm, Zami!, 807 Laurel Street)

At Station 40 in San Francisco, the Welcoming Committee and a member of Bay Area Unconventional Action gave an overview of organizing in Denver against the DNC. Someone from Direct Action to Stop the War (DASW) spoke about the upcoming anti-war actions in the Bay Area on March 15th and 19th.

No RNC website

Modesto Anarcho writes, "Modesto Anarcho #6 is out now and ready for download and distribution! Feel free to copy and reproduce this text at will, share it with friends, pass it along, and add it to your distro.

"This issue is packed full of insurrectionary class struggle analysis about what's going on in the California Central Valley area. Included within are extensive direct action and repression reports, poetry, news about ongoing struggles and happenings, a report back from the Feral Visions gathering, an in depth look at the recent Modesto dumpster dive ban, an article detailing the resistance to development at Jesse Morrow Mountain in Fresno, and much more!"

download the PDF file | Trash the Rich: Criminalizing Dumpsterdiving and Poverty in Modesto | Modesto Anarcho #5 | Modesto Anarcho Distro Catalogue!

On Saturday January 26th, more than 200 protesters crowded the street in front of Dianne Feinstein's estate calling for an end to disaster capitalism and neo-liberalism New Orleans, Louisiana.

Protesters were participating in the World Social Forum's Global Day of Action, which brings together national and international movements for human rights, economic and social justice and was part many of nationwide solidarity actions for Gulf Coast recovery.

Demonstrators targeted Senator Feinstein due to her ambivalence on Senate Bill 1668, the "Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act of 2007," which would allocate funding for housing in New Orleans and guarantee one for one replacement of any destroyed public housing units.

Protesters were appalled that the post-Katrina housing crisis has reached a state of emergency. There are currently more than 12,000 homeless in New Orleans and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is set to demolish more than 4,500 habitable public housing units. In March, FEMA plans to begin trailer evictions, leaving 50,000 more families without homes. HUD's corrupt secretary Alphonso Jackson continues to exacerbate this crisis by cutting New Orleans housing recovery monies another $600 million last week.


Photos: 1 | 2 | Global Indymedia Coverage Of the WSF Global Day of Action | World Social Forum 2008 | Previous Indybay Katrina Coverage

On December 12th, Sharon Delgado read selections from her new book "Shaking the Gates of Hell: Faith led resistance to Corporate Globalization" at the Capitola Book Cafe. She is a Reverend of Earth Justice Ministries, a former organizer with the Resource Center for Nonviolence, and a global justice activist. Delgado outlined portions of her book, and some of the ideas and philosophies behind her resistance to corporate globalization. Read More and Listen to Audio

Delgado, an ordained United Methodist minister who lived in Santa Cruz until recently, served as pastor of First United Methodist Church on California Street in the 1990s. Rev. Sharon Delgado organized delegations to Seattle (in late 1999) and to Cancun (in 2003), where Santa Cruz residents joined people from around the world to witness and to protest the workings of the WTO.

The day after Thanksgiving in the United States has traditionally been called "Black Friday." It is the biggest shopping day of the year, and thus it has put many companies' ledgers into the "black," eliminating debts that would have been indicated in "red" ink. Animal liberation activists use this day as an opportunity to present anti-fur messages, while others use "Buy Nothing Day" to make a statement about consumerism and its effect on society and the environment.

924 Gilman Street in Berkeley hosted "Screams of the Turkey" on Thanksgiving Day, starting with a potluck, video screening, board games, and a punk show. Friday kicked off with an Anti-Fur Exhibit and Outreach Event & Protest in Union Square, starting at 12pm. A Fur-Free Friday event in the East Bay was also planned.

Also on Friday, Berkeley Women in Black spoke out against war at Bancroft and Telegraph. At Geary and Stockton Streets in San Francisco, Globalize This! led Buy Nothing Day Caroling from 2pm to 4pm. In Santa Cruz, a Buy Nothing A-Cafe was held to support the community's resistance to UCSC's Long Range Development Plan, starting at 2pm with a visit to the community space below the tree-sit on campus. The day included skill-shares, discussions, food, games, and live entertainment.

Bicyclists gathered at 4pm at MacArthur BART for an Emeryville Buy Nothing Critical Mass Ride. Report Later that evening, 5LOWERSHOP hosted an "East Bay Punk" show. The holiday shopping resistance continued on Saturday with a Buy Nothing Day Really Really Free Market in San Francisco's Dolores Park from 1pm to 5pm.

Buy Nothing Day | Christmas Resistance | Indybay's past coverage of Buy Nothing Day