Newsitem List

On 6/2, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote on a sweeping plan which would weaken or eliminate rules that limit the size and power of media companies. Industry hacks and their politicians/spokespeople claim that "media diversity" and "democracy" would be better served if print and broadcast cross-ownership rules were repealed. Critics say we will see "a wave of...

An initiative that would make it a misdemeanor to block traffic on public streets, or even pedestrian traffic on sidewalks will most likely be on the ballot in Nov. The Citizen's Action Network, a conservative lobbying group, will have its plan sponsored by Supervisor Tony Hall, putting it forth as a "law and order" issue, not one of First Amendment rights. The costs to the city and police associated with harrassing and intimidating non-violent demonstrators would be passed on to those very d...

The how best to "solve" the issue of homelessness in San Francisco has elicited countless responses from a wide range of self-proclaimed social experts and others that "care" and have "compassion" for those that struggle to survive on the streets. In the early 90s, the Matrix was the proposed solution. It was a social cleansing program run by then-mayor Frank Jordan, notable for its harrassment of Food Not Bombs' free public meals. These days, the so-called "quality of life" crimes are...

Despite the passage of Oaklands new rent law Measure EE which went into effect on 12/27/02, some landlords choose to blatantly defy aspects of the ordinance no matter how well informed they may be, or pretend to be. Renters of Effies House at 829 E. 19th Street, are presently being threatened with demolition crews, partial evictions, and the threat of illegal occupations in their homes by their landlord, East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation, known as E.B.A.L.D.C.. An Oakland non-profi...

"We declare our right on this earth...to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence by any means necessary." -Malcom X Today, on what would have been the 78th birthday of El Hajj Malik El Shabazz, a.k.a. Malcolm X, the issues facing not only African-American communities, but poor and working class peoples of all colors around the world, have not decreased in s...

Breaking news at Biotech IMC | Listen to Sacramento Live Web Radio Ministers of Trade, Agriculture and Environment from 180 nations, including all member states of the World Trade Organization (WTO), are expected to participate on June 22-25 in Sacramento in a conference hosted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), USAID, and the US State Department. This meeting will be a stepping stone to the September WTO Ministerial in Cancun and the Summit of the Americas on FTAA scheduled for M...

Breaking news at Biotech IMC | Listen to Sacramento Live Web Radio Ministers of Trade, Agriculture and Environment from 180 nations, including all member states of the World Trade Organization (WTO), are expected to participate on June 22-25 in Sacramento in a conference hosted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), USAID, and the US State Department. This meeting will be a stepping stone to the September WTO Ministerial in Cancun and the Summit of the Americas on FTAA scheduled for M...

On 4/23, Secret Service agents visited Oakland High and interrogated two 16 year-old male students in connection with comments they had allegedly made during a classroom discussion concerning President Bush and the U.S. Government's role in Iraq. When one of the students asked if he had to talk to the agents now, could he talk to them later with a lawyer present, the student said one of the agents told him, "We own you, if you don't talk to us now, and we find out you haven't told us everythi...

5/12: The antiwar movement returned to the Port of Oakland on Monday to picket war profiteer American President Lines (APL) and corporate colonist Stevedoring Services of America (SSA), with an additional message for OPD and Mayor Brown: "No police violence at the docks or in our communities!" Last month's picket was the scene of a "less-lethal" police onslaught as riot cops opened fire with wooden bullets and concussion grenades, injuring dozens of protesters and portworkers -- none of whom...

5/7: At an annual fundraising dinner on 5/7, about thirty students protested the presence of executives from ChevronTexaco and the I-House's acceptance of funding from Bechtel -- corporations that stand to benefit immensely from the rebuilding (read: pillaging) of Iraq. Report/Photos |...