On Thursday, October 22nd, Ehud Olmert, a war criminal and Israel's former prime minister, will be speaking at the The Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco for the World Affairs Council. During his last weeks as Prime Minister of Israel, Olmert unleashed a horrific war on the people of Gaza, that left over one thousand dead, a majority of them unarmed civilians, and hundreds of them children. It destroyed thousands of homes, leaving tens of thousands homeless. A demonstration organized by Stop AIPAC, calling for Olmert's prosecution for war crimes will be held at Union Square at 5:30 PM.

During Israel's offensive on Gaza many hospitals, schools and homes of civilian people were devastated. Israeli forces used explosives containing white phosphorus which are forbidden by international law in civilian fields.

During his presidency Olmert have also approved the 2006 Israeli invasion into Lebanon, after two Israeli soldiers were kidnapped by the Hizbulla. Olmert refused to negotiate an exchange of POW, and instead pushed for a full attack on Lebanon where more then 1,200 people were killed. Currently, Olmert is facing charges in Israel for corruption and bribery. Read more

Citizens arrest and mass disruption of former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert in San Francisco | 22 Bay Area residents arrested for disrupting former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's

EI exclusive video: Protesters shout down Ehud Olmert in Chicago

Gaza "ceasefire" reveals more dead and more than 50,000 left homeless | Gaza: Over 600 Palestinians Killed. Humanitarian Crisis Faces 1.6 Million | Israel ’s Prime Minister Announces Resignation After Two Investigation For corruption

On Thursday, October 15, hundreds came to Civic Center, to protest president Obama's appearance at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in a fundraiser for the Democratic National Convention. Earlier in the day another demonstration took place at SF City Hall to oppose the continuous cuts in education funding.

At the SF City Hall, unions, teachers, politicians and students gathered in hopes of rallying people to mobilize and take action over the continuous cuts in education funding. People also expressed their frustration over the lack of leadership in the City and State governments when it comes to education.

Among those holding signs and protesting at Union Square were physicians supporting single payer health care, Code Pink submitting petitions that call on the government to withdrew from Afghanistan, 9/1-Truth activists demanding for new investigation of 9/11, and Green Peace raising attention about global warming.

Photos from the Union Square protest: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

September 28th was called as an international day of protest against the coup d'etat in Honduras. In San Francisco, demonstrators gathered at the Honduras Consulate at Powell and Market streets to demand the immediate suspension of all U.S. financial aid to the coup government; stop endorsing the Arias Plan; and immediately recall the U.S.Ambassador until the reinstatement of President Zelaya.

San Francisco, California se hizo eco de la convocatoria mundial para solidarizarse con el pueblo de Honduras este Lunes 28 de Septiembre. La coalicion BALASC (Bay Area Latin American Solidarity Coalition), de la que el FMLN-Norte de California es miembro fundador, convoco a una manifestacion frente al consulado de Honduras en el centro de San Francisco. Cerca de un centenar de personas se hicieron presentes en una de las manifestaciones mas grandes en defensa del pueblo Hondureño que se han realizado durante los ultimos 90 dias.

Video | Photos: 1 | 2 | Announcement

Previous Related Indybay Feature: Ousted President Zelaya Returns to Honduras

On Tuesday, September 29th, Max Blumenthal will discuss his new book Republican Gomorrah at First Congregational Church of Berkeley. Republican Gomorrah is an exposé of the dysfunction, scandal, and crime from the heart of the Religious Right; the fringe movement that has come to define the Republican Party. Blumenthal describes establishment Republicans, and how moderates have been systematically purged from party ranks.

Max Blumenthal is an award-winning journalist and documentary videographer, and has become one of the most important people writing about how the Religious Right fringe movement became the Republican Party mainstream. Whether it was his revelation of Sarah Palin's involvement with a Kenyan pastor who boasted of epic battles with witches, or his exposé of the eccentric theocratic multimillionaire behind California's Prop 8 anti-gay-marriage initiative, Blumenthal's reporting goes almost instantly viral, and shocks thousands.

Read more | Max Blumenthal | Republican Gomorrah: Inside the Movement that Shattered the Party | "Feeling the Hate" Videos Show Culture of Hate Among Israelis

On September 21st, ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya returned to the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa and appeared on several television stations from within the Brazilian embassy. TeleSur showed images of uniformed Honduran National Police officers, with billy clubs, shields, helmets and guns, surrounding the zone near the Brazilian Embassy, apparently to close access to the area, blocking anti-coup demonstrators from entering or leaving.

Coup leader Roberto Micheletti appeared on television after Zelaya's return became public and demanded Brazil hand over Zelaya to stand trial. The coup regime also imposed a militarily enforced curfew and shut down airports until at least 6pm Tuesday.

On the morning of September 22nd, police moved in and attacked protesters in front of the Brazilian embassy, firing tear gas at the crowd. Reuters reports that at least two tear-gas canisters landed inside the embassy compound. Chiapas Indymedia reports 2 people were killed as police shot live ammunition at protesters.

On June 28th, the Honduran military ousted the democratically elected government of Honduras, detaining and then exiling Zelaya to Costa Rica. The crisis began when the military refused to distribute ballot boxes for an opinion poll on a new Constitution. Zelaya fired the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who refused to step down and sent the military in to detain the President. The Congress and a Supreme Court sanctioned the coup after it had taken place, appointing Roberto Micheletti to be the new President. The OAS, all governments in the region and most countries around the world have refused to accept the new government.

Sept 21 Breaking News From NarcoNews | Seven Million Hondurans Under House Arrest as Micheletti Writes of "Democracy" | Ousted leader returns to Honduras | TeleSur Coverage | Sept 21st FlashPoints Coverage | Sept 22nd Democracy Now Coverage | Honduran Campesino Blog

Live radio from Honduras | Indymedia Chiapas/Honduras Breaking News, Photos And Audio

Previous Indybay Coverage: SF Protest Against Honduran Coup | Military Coup In Honduras

On August 17, 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court took the rare step of ordering a new hearing for Georgia death row prisoner Troy Anthony Davis. The nation’s highest court ordered a federal district court in Georgia to “receive testimony and make findings of fact as to whether evidence that could not have been obtained at the time of trial clearly establishes his innocence.”

In 1991 Davis was convicted for the 1989 killing of an off-duty police officer Mark MacPhail. There is no physical evidence tying Davis to the crime scene and seven out of the nine non-police witnesses have since recanted or altered their initial testimonies. Others have implicated the prosecution's key remaining witnesses as the actual perpetrator of the crime.

Justice Scalia’s dissenting opinion states: “This Court has never held that the Constitution forbids the execution of a convicted defendant who has had a full and fair trial but is later able to convince a habeas court that he is 'actually' innocent. Quite to the contrary, we have repeatedly left that question unresolved, while expressing considerable doubt that any claim based on alleged 'actual innocence' is constitutionally cognizable."

In a separate opinion answering Scalia’s dissent, Justice Stevens, joined by Justices Ruth Brader Ginsburg and Stephen Bryer, wrote “The substantial risk of putting an innocent man to death clearly provides an adequate justification for holding an evidentiary hearing.”

Read More: 1 | 2 | Capital Defense Weekly blog | TroyAnthonyDavis.org

Previous Indybay Feature: Global Day of Action for Death Row Inmate Troy Davis

Michael Steinberg writes: "on August 11 protesters gathered at 5 p.m. in front of the Honduran Consulate to protest the coup that removed elected President Manual Zelaya, and called for an end to repression in Honduras and the return of Zelaya to office."

"Zelaya was seized at gunpoint in his pajamas during the early hours of June 28 and forced onto a plane that flew him to Costa Rica. Honduran General Romeo Vasquez, who ordered this action, is a two time graduate of the notorious School of the Americas at Ft. Benning, GA, also known as the School of Assassins.

"The coup regime has refused to allow Zelaya back into Honduras. When Zelaya attempted to return to Honduran by plane in July, he was refused landing at the main airport in the nation’s capital, Tegucigalpa. But, according to the July 19 Independent /UK, permission to land was subsequently also refused at Palmerola Air Force base, HQ of the Honduran Air Force, as well as the US Joint Task Force-Bravo, from which Black Hawk helicopters operate in support of the US War on Drugs in Central America. Read more

Military Coup In Honduras | Will Venezuelan Destabilization Follow the Honduran Coup? | Honduras Coup: Template for a Hemispheric Assault on Democracy | Honduran coup collaborator calls Obama equivalent of "Field Ni**er"

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!!"

Photos: 1 | 2

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

Cynthia Papermaster and Susan Harman write: "Ninth Circuit Judge Jay Bybee was confronted by three torture accountability activists in a Pasadena courtroom who called out to him to resign for giving legal approval to interrogation techniques amounting to torture. He was so surprised that he stopped and listened to the three women, Cynthia Papermaster, Susan Harman, and Dianne Wright while they told him he is unfit to be a judge and should resign. No cameras or video were allowed inside the courtroom."

"It's a problem that Jay Bybee is a judge on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. How can he serve as a judge when he seriously violated the laws against inhumane treatment of detainees and gave legal approval to interrogation techniques that amount to torture. We agree with Patrick Leahy, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, that if Bybee's a decent human being, he'll resign. We agree with MoveOn and People for the American Way, who've submitted 140,000 petition signatures to John Conyers, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, asking him to impeach Bybee. And we agree with the New York Times, which called for his impeachment twice in April."

"As part of the June 25 national Torture Accountability Day, Cynthia wrote and filed a formal judicial misconduct complaint against him. The Court Executive let her know that Bybee has a copy of her complaint. Last Wednesday, July 1, Cynthia discovered that Bybee would be hearing a case in Pasadena on Monday, July 6. We quickly organized Code Pink, Progressive Democrats of America, and World Can't Wait to do an inside-outside action: protesters outside the court starting at 8:30 to greet him on his arrival, and incognito protesters inside the hearing room at 11:00 to stand up and speak out at the right moment. Caught up in the moment, we both decided we had to be there. We flew to Los Angeles from San Francisco at 7:00 a.m. (ugh!), were picked up at Union Station in LA by Tobi Dragert, and arrived at the Ninth Circuit Courthouse in Pasadena at 10:00." Read More with Video

Protests at 9th Circuit Court in SF Demand Judge Bybee Be Disbarred and Prosecuted

Berkeley Pedestrian Bridge becomes an awareness activist action against torture/censorship | Impeach Bybee

Legislators and hundreds of Delta advocates held a rally at the State Capitol in Sacramento on Tuesday, July 7th, to oppose the peripheral canal -- what they call a budget-busting and environmentally destructive project that would approximate the Panama Canal in width and length.

"I'm not going to vote for a plan that builds a Panama Canal down the middle of the 15th Assembly District,” exclaimed Assemblymember Joan Buchanan to loud applause from a crowd of recreational anglers, commercial fishermen, Delta farmers, farmworkers, Indian Tribal members, environmentalists and community activists. “I will do all I can to make that the Delta is protected.”

As she spoke, Delta family farmers from North Delta CARES and others held up banners proclaiming “The Peripheral Canal=Panama Canal North,” along with signs saying, “Fewer Water Exports, Not Fewer Delta Fish” and “Give the Delta a Voice!”

Read More: 1 | 2

See Also Right Wing Rally for Water Declares It's "Fish vs. People"