Feature Archives

On November 10th, the Stanislaus County District Attorney was not interested in anything less than a misdemeanor conviction against two volunteers arrested for offering syringe exchange, and harm reduction services in the Airport District of Modesto. In an act of punishment and criminalization of public health service, the District Attorney offered the defendants a plea bargain that included jail time, three years probation, and a "Stay Away Order," requiring them to stay out of the park where they were arrested. The stay away order was added the day after defendants began conducting syringe clean-ups and public education about safe disposal in the Mono Park area.

On November 8th, the SF Bay Area Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal organized an event in San Francisco focused on three innocent men, Troy Davis, Kevin Cooper, and Mumia Abu-Jamal, who may soon be executed depending on upcoming court rulings. Laura Moye, the Director of Amnesty International's Death Penalty Abolition Campaign spoke about Troy Davis, and Moye will also be speaking on behalf of Amnesty International at a press conference in Washington DC on November 12th.

A memorial mural of Gary King Jr was painted on a support column underneath the BART tracks on Martin Luther King Boulevard after Oakland police officer Patrick Gonzales shot and killed Gary King Jr at the spot in 2007. On September 24th, 2009, the mural was removed by BART employees. The new mural also includes images of Anita Gay, Andrew Moppin, Casper Banjo, and Oscar Grant — all murdered by police in Oakland and Berkeley.

On October 30th, Doug Zuidema, Director of Judiciary Affairs at UCSC, notified a collection of students that they were potentially subject to disciplinary proceedings. Occupy California writes that, "The University increasingly functions like a police apparatus: taking surveillance photos at protests, compiling dossiers on individuals, modifying response protocols and manufacturing phony charges against students and workers for kangaroo courts."

Raj Jayadev writes: "On Oct. 24, the San Jose Mercury News released the video of a San Jose State math major getting beaten and tased by the San Jose Police Department in his home on Sept. 3, 2009. Police were called to the scene after 20-year-old Phuong Ho allegedly wielded a knife during an altercation with his roommate. All the viewer can hear, in between groaning cries of pain and calls for mercy, are the cracking sounds of the batons as they meet 20-year-old Phuong Ho’s head and body, and the torturous zapping of a Taser gun. It is, in a word, disturbing."

On Wednesday, October 21st, Ezra Nawi was sentenced to 30 days in jail, a 750 Shekels fine (about $150), 500 Shekels compensation to each of the two Israeli soldiers who accuse him of attacking them, and another 6 months in jail if he is convicted in the next three year of “illegal gathering”. Illegal gathering can be declared by any police officer, and basically means that Ezra will not be allowed to keep doing his solidarity work in occupied Palestine.

On October 19th, in a federal court house in Los Angeles, Alex Sanchez was once again denied bail. Sanchez, a nationally recognized activist and peacemaker, is accused of maintaining ties to his former gang and participating in a conspiracy to murder. Bail was denied after Judge Real suppressed testimony from father Greg Boyle, an expert in Los Angeles gangs.