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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. 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."
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is helping put together the largest Iraq war spending bill yet.
The aim appears to be to fund the war for nearly six months into the next president's term to prevent a new Democratic President from having to vote for the war without risking the war actually ending.
On April 28th, Code Pink started a peace vigil on the front porch of Pelosi's house in San Francisco to urge her to not give the President another blank check for the occupation of Iraq
African-American activist Metteyya Brahmana sent an email on March 19th urging voters in an April 13th Obama caucus at Cabrillo College to vote down Mayor Ryan Coonerty. Delegate candidates were competing for two seats for the 17th Congressional District, one male and one female. E-mail correspondence between Metteyya and the Mayor reposted to Santa Cruz Indymedia shows Coonerty's rationale for some of his positions as well as his short fuse.
The international network demanding accountability for the murder of US journalist Brad Will released secret documents detailing proposed military support for Mexican security forces implicated in murder, torture and continuing arbitrary detentions.
On January 24th, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Chuck Conner announced the availability of $74.5 million in emergency funding to combat the light brown apple moth (LBAM) "infestation" in California. President Bush's recent budget proposal sent to Congress sets aside $330 Million to eradicate plant pests, like the LBAM. It is unprecedented to design a long term plan to spray chemicals on people, which are untested for safety.
On March 10th, Judge Paul Burdick of the Santa Cruz County Superior Court ruled that the University of California's lawsuit was an attack on the first amendment rights of at least two tree sit supporters. A motion to strike from the lawsuit tree sit Media Support person Jennifer Charles and tree sit supporter Oliver Schmid was granted. Because the case involved the first amendment, the University will be asked to pay Charles' and Schmid's lawyers fees, on top of the money spent serving the injunction and on the University's own lawyers.
On becoming Santa Cruz Mayor last November, Ryan Coonerty laid down a new set of procedures at City Council requiring members of the public to get his permission before talking on "Consent Agenda" subjects. The afternoon Consent Agenda makes up more than half of what City Council acts on. Hence this new ruling removes Public Comment on the majority of Council actions.
Traditionally, members of the public could require the Council remove an item for comment by the public. Such comment was usually limited to 3 minutes. In 2005, then-Mayor Rotkin further limited comment on the entire Consent Agenda to 5 minutes. So, if you wanted to talk on two items, you could only talk 3 minutes on one and then 2 on the next one and were banned from speaking on any other items.
Coonerty's new rules, as explained by the Deputy City Clerk (and by Rotkin and Coonerty) are as follows: If you want to talk about an item on the Consent Agenda, you have a 2-minute period to explain to the Council why they should allow you to do so. However, during this time, according to Coonerty, you cannot talk about the "substance" of the item, until given permission to do so... Read More
see also: Santa Cruz Mayor Lashes Out, Stonewalls on Public Meetings
On February 21st, the Bush administration finalized its controversial decision to remove the Northern Rockies gray wolf from the list of species protected under the Endangered Species Act. The removal of federal protections for the gray wolf puts its continued survival in the Northern Rockies at the mercy of the woefully insufficient state management plans developed by Wyoming, Idaho and—to a lesser extent—Montana. George Cadman of Free Radio Santa Cruz 101.1 FM interviewed Mike Leahy, Rocky Mountain Region Director for Defenders Of Wildlife, about the recent decision.
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." From March 2-8, 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.
On February 7th, the Australian Government released graphic photos of whales being slaughtered by a Japanese whaling fleet to the media. The Australian Government has also extended the mission of the Oceanic Viking in documenting the whale slaughter in preparation for an international legal case against Japanese whaling. The graphic images apparently show a mother minke whale and its calf being winched aboard a Japanese vessel after being shot with explosive tipped harpoons.
Direct Action to Stop the War organized protests for Tuesday, February 5th, the day California voters go to the polls for the 2008 presidential primary, to demand that Democratic presidential candidates take stronger anti-war positions.
Direct Action to Stop the War called into question the "anti-war" credentials of both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Protesters gathered at 5pm on both sides of the Bay-- in San Francisco's U.N. Plaza and in Oakland's Frank Ogawa Plaza. The groups then marched respectively, to Clinton's and Obama's headquarters.  SF Clinton Photos
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Oakland Obama Photos
With the theme “Will the Real Peace Candidate Please Stand Up?,” activists hoped to send a strong message to the candidates that they should not take for granted support from the antiwar camp.
“Hillary Clinton still refuses to acknowledge that her vote to authorize war with Iraq in 2002 was wrong,” said DASW member Kate Raphael before the protest. “She has said that the troop surge is working, and gave it a standing ovation during the State of the Union Address. She voted for a resolution threatening military action against Iran.”
“Barack Obama wants to end the war in Iraq only to escalate it in Afghanistan and attack Pakistan,” Vern Nuanez stated. “He recently wrote a letter justifying Israel’s refusal to allow fuel, food and medicine into Gaza, where people are literally starving and freezing to death.”
DASW is looking ahead to actions on March 19th, the 5th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq; as well as a protest at the Chevron refinery in Richmond on March 15th.
Feb. 5th protest announcement | Five years later, Direct Action to Stop the War reemerges | Direct Action to Stop the War
On January 20th, Retired Army Col. and US diplomat Ann Wright spoke in Santa Cruz to an audience of about 70 people about her new book "Dissent: Voices of Conscience". The afternoon opened with songs from the Raging Grannies, and an introduction by Santa Cruz County Supervisor Neal Coonerty and Diane Rejman of the GI Rights Hotline.
The book profiles government officials whose loyalty to the Constitution and the American people ultimately transcended partisan politics. Originally scheduled for release in 2007, publication has been delayed until now by the State Department’s clearance process. Author Colonel (ret.) Ann Wright resigned from the U.S. Foreign Service on March 19, 2003, while serving as Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Mongolia, in protest of the war in Iraq and unnecessary curtailment of civil liberties.  Read More and Listen to Audio
On January 10th, Boatamo Mosupyoe, Professor of African Studies at CSU Sacramento, spoke at the Veterans Memorial Building in Santa Cruz. Dr. Mosupyoe is an expert on mediation and interest-based negotiation, conflict resolution and civil society’s role in mitigating and resolving conflicts. Mosupyoe addressed Africa’s unique contribution to the growing appreciation of mediation and conflict resolution methodologies and ethics in addressing regional and world problems.
On Saturday, January 19, the San Francisco Tenants Union will be holding a "Save Rent Control Convention" from 1:00pm to 4:00pm to raise awareness and organize against an anti-rent control ballot measure that recently qualified for the June 2008 elections.
The "California Property Owners and Farmland Protection Act" purports to be about reforming eminent domain laws. Opponents, who are calling the measure the "Hidden Agendas Scheme," point out that it would also abolish rent control in California, erode environmental protections, negatively affect local land-use planning, and stop future water projects. The "Hidden Agendas Scheme" is being broadly opposed by tenants, labor, environmentalists, and local and state government officials.
If passed, the anti-rent control measure would adversely affect more than 180,000 San Francisco households currently protected by rent control. With only 25% of San Francisco tenants able to afford market rents, passage of the measure would push many residents out of the city and would fundamentally change the character of many of San Francisco's neighborhoods.
The "Save Rent Control Convention" will be held at El Centro del Pueblo (474 Valencia St. at 16th St.) from 1 pm to 4 pm and will include a teach-in and organizing/brainstorming session.
Save Rent Control Convention | Flyer | Campaign Launched to Save Rent Control | In San Francisco, Tenants Have Rights! | San Francisco Tenants Union Website | Statewide Campaign Website | Oppose the Landlord Scheme Blog | Alternate Eminent Domain-Reform Measure
Anti-war organizers in the Bay Area have resurrected Direct Action to Stop the War. The next meeting of DASW will be on Sunday, January 20th at 4pm at the La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck (near Ashby BART) in Berkeley. DASW is organizing actions related to convincing presidential candidates to take a stand against the war during the 2008 presidential campaign, and to exposing companies such as Chevron that profit from the US-led war and occupation in Iraq. Several affinity groups have joined in the organizing, and many more are likely to join in the months between now and the anniversary of the beginning of the war.
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