Feature Archives

On August 27th at around 10:30am, 5-6 police officers from three agencies made their way into the Long Haul Infoshop in Berkeley, broke down every door, and confiscated all computers on the property. Computers taken included those used by the Slingshot Collective and East Bay Prisoner Support. The police stated that the computer equipment "may have been used to commit a felony." This is the first time there has been a raid since the infoshop opened 15 years ago.

Family and friends of Anita Gay, the 51-year-old grandmother gunned down by the Berkeley Police on February 16, held a two-hour street rally at the corner of Ashby and Martin Luther King Drive in Berkeley to draw attention to the large number of murders by police in the East Bay.

On August 24th, the ACLU of Santa Cruz County held their 2008 Summer Awards Celebration and Fundraiser at the Long Marine Lab's Seymour Center. The local ACLU presented Santa Cruz Mayor Ryan Coonerty with the 'Hammer of Justice' award. Meanwhile, homeless rights advocates tried to educate ACLU members about what they say is the true nature of Mayor Coonerty.

On August 12th, the police of Orissa, India detained David Pugh, a teacher who lives in San Francisco. The Orissa Police have also detained two anti-displacement activists, Protima Das and Pradeep, who accompanied Pugh. Pugh has been released from detention, but the Orissa police have ordered him to stay at his hotel to await further interrogation. In a press release, the movement against displacement in India has called on people to urgently contact various officials in Orissa and India and demand the release of all the activists.

Update! Pugh has been released from detention and he has issued a statement.

California based political prisoner Sara Olson was released from prison on March 17, 2008 and re-arrested 4 days later. What was behind this bizarre incident which played out in the mainstream media? For the first time anywhere, Sara tells her story about what was behind her release and re-arrest.

On August 7th, police raided a home on the 700 block of Riverside Avenue in Santa Cruz. It is the same home that was raided on February 24th, 2008. In the February raid, police assert that the home, or the people who were inside of it, were somehow connected to what they proclaim are animal rights activists that held a protest that allegedly ended with a scuffle at a UC Santa Cruz researcher's house. The raid on August 7th was apparently carried out by at least the Department of Justice, FBI, and UCSC police.

On July 10th, Bush signed into law the FISA Amendment Act. The law allows the government to spy on emails, phone calls, web surfing, and other communications without warrants. The law also guarantees immunity to telecommunication companies who participated in the secret and illegal spying conducted by the Bush Administration. Many have stated that the bill excuses President Bush's lawless behavior, is an assault on the first and fourth Amendment, and is a further justification to spy on activists.