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Fifteen people occupied the San Francisco office of Speaker Nancy Pelosi on November 3rd, stating they would remain there, risking arrest, until Pelosi explained why she has turned her back on key promises related to health care reform. After three hours twelve people inside Pelosi's office were arrested for creating a disturbance on federal property. The charge against them was based on a technicality; singing and chanting for single payer was deemed not in accord with the rules and regulations of the federal building.
Canadian authorities, acting at the behest of U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency officials, arrested seed distributor, activist and magazine publisher Marc Emery, often referred to as the "Prince of Pot", on July 29th, 2005 on charges of conspiracy to distribute marijuana seeds, conspiracy to distribute marijuana and conspiracy to engage in money laundering. His arrest was politically motivated, based on drug legalization efforts. Emery and supporters spent years fighting extradition, however he surrendered into the custody of the British Columbia Supreme Court on September 28th, 2009 and is awaiting extradition to a US federal prison.
On September 24th, San Francisco-based Twitter.com shut down an account that was monitoring the movement of police and military through the city of Pittsburgh during protests against the G-20 summit on September 24th and 25th. The Pennsylvania State Police also arrested Elliot Madison and Michael Wallschlaeger and accused them of "criminal use of communication facility" and other charges. On October 1st, the FBI raided Elliot's home in Queens.
Palestine Freedom Walks are taking place in almost 30 cities across the United States on Saturday, October 10th. The Palestine Freedom Walks will be silent marches, on behalf of an equitable U.S. policy toward Palestine that advances freedom for the Palestinian people. In San Francisco the march will start at 11am at UN Plaza sidewalk near the Civic Center.
Ryan Harvey has published an analysis of militant-street protest, movement strategy, and the state of anarchism. The analysis is based around the G20 Pittsburgh demonstrations.
UPDATE via G20 radio, 9/24/09: 1100 protesters march despite dispersal orders. Police use tear gas and LRAD accoustic weapon on demonstrators. Post-G20 update: Video Appears to Show Pittsburgh Police Using Arrested Student as Prop for Group Photo
The second G-20 summit of 2009 is due to take place this week, bringing the leaders of 20 wealthy nations to Pittsburgh, PA, to make economic decisions affecting billions of people. Held annually since 1999, the G-20 has recently been meeting twice a year in response to the global economic crisis. Throughout the week, economic justice and climate activists from across the country will seek to upstage the official story through marches, educational forums, tent cities, a climate camp and other tactics.
Jesse James Forrey, 27, was arrested at the 2008 Republican National Convention (RNC) in St. Paul, MN. After little and conflicting evidence from the prosecutor, a Minnesota jury convicted him on August 7th, 2009 of a felony charge of damage to property in the first degree. Jesse maintains his innocence. On September 17th, Judge Flynn sentenced Jesse to 120 days in jail.
The Shock Doctrine is the latest documentary from acclaimed director Michael Winterbottom, co-directed by Mat Whitecross. Based on Naomi Klein's bestselling book, The Shock Doctrine argues that America's 'free market' policies have come to dominate the world through the exploitation of disaster-shocked people and countries.
On August 17, 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered a hearing on the innocence claim of death row prisoner Troy Anthony Davis. For years, courts have shown little interest in establishing Troy Davis' innocence, asserting that it was legally irrelevant as he had exhausted his appeals. But now Supreme Court justices have declared that “The substantial risk of putting an innocent man to death clearly provides an adequate justification for holding an evidentiary hearing.”
On August 3rd, Kevin Kumashiro spoke with Teachers for Class War on Free Radio Santa Cruz about reframing education debates, politics of education and realities of classrooms from grade 2 through teacher training programs, looking at intersections of race and sexuality for youth, as well as Asian American experiences.
Leonard Peltier, a sixty-four-year-old activist and political prisoner being held at the Lewisburg prison in Pennsylvania, who was illegally extradited from Canada, tried in a sham trial, and has been denied justice for over thirty-three years, had a parole hearing on July 28th. The results have not yet been announced.
On the day of the hearing, the American Indian Movement of San Francisco held a sunrise prayer and vigil in support of Leonard, as well as a press conference, at the Old Federal Building in SF. On July 31st, Wanbli from the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee spoke with danielsan on Free Radio Santa Cruz to provide an update on the legal struggle to free Leonard.
 Audio Update from Wanbli | Vigil and Press Conference in SF | Silence Screams | Interview from Prison in 2000 |  Eric Seitz, Leonard Peltier’s attorney, on Democracy Now! | Leonard Peltier support sites: 1 | 2 | 3
On Sunday, August 2, the documentary William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe will screen 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.
Raj Jayadev writes: "What would have happened to Dr. Gates if he were not an acclaimed scholar and author, friend to the President, and someone whose stardom could greatly embarrass a city and county justice system? What would have happened if Dr. Gates, were he not a noted scholar, was arrested in my city, San Jose, California, with the same fact pattern, even as described by the police report?"
Health care reform activists in the San Francisco Bay Area rallied on July 30th in solidarity with a major demonstration held in Washington, DC. "Medicare: Made in America Rally and Lobby Day" marked the 44th anniversary of the creation of a single-payer health care system for seniors. Demonstrators celebrated by serving up slices of "single layer, single-payer Medicare birthday cake."
On July 13th, defense attorneys for Joseph Buddenberg, Maryam Khajavi, Nathan Pope and Adriana Stumpo (the AETA 4) presented oral arguments on their motion to strike down the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA). The AETA 4 are being represented by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), Civil Liberties Defense Center (CLDC), and other well-respected civil rights attorneys, including Tony Serra. The defense demanded that AETA be struck down as unconstitutional before Judge Ronald Whyte of the United States District Court, Northern District of California in San Jose.
On July 6, People gathered at Harry Bridges Plaza in the Embarcadero to remember the day, July 5, 1934, when two strikers were gunned down and killed by police. Several hundred union members and their supporters, many from around the world, marched in a reenacted funeral procession of the fallen men, Howard Sperry and Nick Bordoise. As the procession passed the memorial at Mission and Steuart Streets, across the street from the site of the deaths, they took off their hats.
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."
A Committee of Outside Agitators, write: "On September 24-25th, leaders from the 20 richest and most powerful economies of the world will assemble in Pittsburgh, PA to discuss how they can further entrench their power in the face of the most devastating global depression seen in the last 70 years. We will meet them there."
On June 24, nearly five months after opening an investigation of University of California sociology professor William I. Robinson for alleged faculty misconduct, university officials abruptly announced that they have dismissed all charges and terminated the case. Robinson has been targeted by the Anti-Defamation League for forwarding images that made a historical comparison to the state violence of the Israeli military actions in Gaza with that of German Nazi Wehrmacht in Warsaw.
Fresno County homecare providers reported scores of incidents of voter intimidation, illegal threats, and ballot manipulation by SEIU staff in an election for workers to quit the scandal-plagued union and join the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW). SEIU spent an estimated $10 million on attack mailings, robo-calls, TV and radio ads, but failed to win enough support from workers to win the election without breaking the law.
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