Feature Archives

From the newswire: "From Oakland to San Francisco, heavily armed BART police are roaming the BART trains, terrorizing passengers under the guise of protecting passengers from terrorists, and smiling all the way to the bank, for this is all about protecting their jobs and increasing the profits of the munitions makers and police gear manufacturers, while conditioning the population for fascism." The "homeland security" initiative, involving SWAT teams and other extra officers, bomb-sniffing dogs, and BART administrative employees randomly patrolling trains, is scheduled to continue through the election on Tuesday, Nov. 2nd. Read more: 1 | 2 | 3

Leonard Peltier is a warrior for his people who hopes to be united with his children and grandchildren, an artist and writer with dreams of teaching oil painting, raising buffalo, and continuing to help Indian people. He is also the 2004 Presidential candidate of the Peace and Freedom Party in California. He is seeking a presidential pardon-- Some will recall that Peltier has been serving a double-life sentence in federal prison since his conviction in 1976 for the murders of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota in June of 1975.

A Chippewa/Lakota activist with the American Indian Movement, Peltier is one of many political prisoners still doing time as a result of the U.S. government's notorious Counter Intelligence Program of the 1960s and 1970s that spied on and disrupted the Black Panther Party, AIM, and other groups that were fighting for justice. While some who were wrongfully convicted as a result of official misconduct, like Black Panther Geronimo Pratt ji Jaga, have been released after decades of legal lobbying by supporters, Peltier remains locked up in Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary as one of America's longest-held political prisoners. Peltier's conviction was upheld in three different appeals, including a 1986 decision in which the U.S. government admitted that it "(does) not know who killed the agents." Prosecutors in essence changed their theory that Peltier was the shooter, stating that he was guilty of "aiding and abetting," and he has remained in prison. He turned 60 years old on September 12, 2004. On November 4, 2004, ANSWER will screen the film Incident at Oglala", which tells the story of the incident that led to Peltier's arrest.
More info about Peltier's Clemency and Presidential Campaigns | More information about Peltier's case | 2004 Denial of Appeal | Congress Urged to Investigate Misconduct | Information about the Peace and Freedom Party | Peltier's Book | 1973 Siege at Wounded Knee | Prison Activist Resource Center Political Prisoner/POW info

The American Civil Liberties Union is one of many organizations that have condemned the FBI's "October Plan". The plan could, amongst other tactics, use "aggressive - even obvious - surveillance" techniques on individuals who are not even suspected of having committed a crime, in advance of the November 2 general election. An internal e-mail notice to FBI agents, distributed by the bureau's "'04 Threat Task Force," described an intensified law enforcement effort to "to foster the impression that law enforcement is focused on individuals who may be a threat." According to CBS News, mosques will be revisited and worshippers questioned. ACLU affiliates have received calls from Muslims panicked by aggressive FBI action.

The ACLU says that The "October Plan" is the fifth incidence of an explicit FBI dragnet, targeted at American Muslims and Arabs. Over the past three years, Middle Eastern and South Asian neighborhoods and communities have experienced the brunt of the federal government's response to 9/11. After the attacks, more than a thousand, and possibly over 2,000 men were rounded up secretly by the Justice Department, only to be later found to have no connection to the attacks. The fact that this campaign comes right before the presidential election has many observers worried that Muslim and Arab Americans might be afraid to vote, since this kind of intimidation reminds them of political repression in their countries of origin. "The FBI plans to deliberately tail people based on their religion or ethnic origin during a month that is both religiously and politically crucial," said Dalia Hashad, the ACLU's Arab, Muslim and South Asian Advocate. "Instead of bolstering security, the FBI’s ‘October Plan’ is going to stop Muslims and Arabs from attending mosques during the month of Ramadan, and participating in the upcoming election." In monitoring the October Plan, the ACLU is joined by Amnesty International, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Arab-American Institute, Council on American-Islamic Relations, and the Muslim Public Affairs Council.
ACLU's Safe and Free Campaign's Know Your Rights Brochures | Rights Working Group | American Muslim Voice

October 22nd, 2004: Every year on October 22nd, thousands of people all over the United States wear black to remember people who have been killed by law enforcement. The week after the National Conference on Police Accountability comes the 9th Annual National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression, and the Criminalization of a Generation, on Friday, October 22nd. A variety of events are taking place around the Bay Area during the week, providing a way for families and loved ones of people who have been killed by law enforcement officers or while in custody to speak publicly about their losses, as well as addressing other problematic interactions between police and civilians. This year's call to action focuses on the parallels between what is happening in Iraq and Palestine, and what is happening in neighborhoods like San Francisco's Bayview/Hunter's Point; exposure of the problems related to racial profiling in the US, particularly of new groups such as Arabs and Muslims, and the criminalization of the right to protest by programs such as Homeland Security. Endorsers. People who have been killed by law enforcement in Northern California since 2001. People who were killed in New York and New Jersey since September 11, 2001.

On Thursday the 21st in San Jose, family members of people who died in police shootings spoke of their concerns at a meeting of the Justice Review Committee of the Santa Clara County Human Relations Commission. Photos Members of the Rudy Cardenas Family, Bich-Cau Thi Tran Family, and Zaim Bojcic family attended the meeting and spoke about their issues. Speakers at the meeting also addressed the use of tasers/stun guns by law enforcement, since tasers were involved in the last two killings by police in San Jose. More info about tasers Members of the Coalition for Justice and Accountability, which formed after the tragic death of Bich-Cau Thi Tran last year, the October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation, Amnesty International, and Justice for Rudy were in attendance.

On Friday, October 22nd, an event to sensitize people to the history, culture, customs, and different concerns that European immigrant communities face was held in San Jose, in order to make people more aware of the different issues that refugees have to deal with in their lives here in the US. This event was inspired by the death of Zaim Bojcic.

Also on October 22nd, over 100 people attended a press conference and rally will be held at the Idriss Stelley Foundation office in the Bayview District. (Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4)

A demonstration was also held in Fresno that day. Later in the evening on October 22nd, the No on Measure Y Campaign screened the film Every Mother's Son as a fundraiser, from 8-10 at the Humanist Hall, 390 27th Street (near 27th and Broadway) in Oakland. From 9pm till late, Lioness and Mr. E presented: SF Uprock 5, with members of October 22nd supporters Loco Bloco, as well as SAKE 1, Jennicyde, Ren, and Mr. EB-boy & B-girl Psyher; hosted by: Hound Dog Truckers-- at Club Six in San Francisco.
Indybay Coverage of October 22nd, 2003

From October 5th to 10th, FSM @ 40: Free Speech in a Dangerous Time took place at UC Berkeley. It was a public celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Free Speech Movement. The program of 42 events honored the past and focuses on current controversies, presenting what organizers believed was the broadest teach-in on civil liberties issues yet in the nation. Friday October 8th included one of the week's highlight events: At 12pm there was a rally around a police car in Sproul Plaza. Photos Speakers included activists from the free speech movement, current campus activists, attorney Tony Serra with a dissection of the Patriot Act, and representatives of the ACLU. Additional speakers included Molly Ivins, Howard Dean, Gavin Newsom, Jackie Goldberg, the Erowids, leading representatives of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, MOVE ON, and much more. Later Friday afternoon, as well as on Saturday, there will be teach-ins and panels about current civil liberties issues. Read more List of events FSM @ 40 Website Criticism of the anniversary celebration.
Photos From The Event:1  2  3

What is known is that the Transportation Safety Administration administers two lists: a "no-fly" list and a "selectee" list, which requires a passenger who is attempting travel to go through additional security measures. The names are provided to air carriers through Security Directives or Emergency Amendments and are stored in their computer systems so that an individual with a name that matches the list can be flagged when getting a boarding pass. A "no-fly" match requires the agent to call a law enforcement officer to detain and question the passenger. In the case of a Selectee, an "S" or special mark is printed on their boarding pass and the person receives additional screening at security. The TSA has withheld the number of names on each of the lists. Results of Electronic Privacy Information Center's FOIA request.

On September 21st, Yusuf Islam (also known as singer Cat Stevens), was on a flight from London to Washington, DC. While the plane was in the air, he was identified by the Advanced Passenger Information System and the plane, along with all of its passengers, was diverted to Maine, where he was separated from his daughter, interrogated by the FBI, and denied entry into the country. Islam is a devout Muslim and has largely left his music career behind since he converted to Islam. However, last year he re-recorded his 1970's hit "Peace Train" to express his opposition to the US invasion of Iraq. In a statement on his website, he says, "What makes the situation even more distressing is the fact that I have now been prevented from entering the United States - a part of God’s earth that I love and whose people have always been great friends to me." So far, he has not been told why he was denied entry into the country. Perhaps his name was confused with that of another man whose name is spelled differently. It has been said that the authorities claim to believe that donations from Islam may have helped fund Omar Abdel-Rahman, the blind cleric who was convicted for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and Hamas, a Palestinian militant group that the U.S. and Israeli governments consider a terrorist organization. Whatever the reason, he is taking legal action to find out why he was denied entry into the US. Many in Muslim communities worry that this event could be the first of a series of detentions of Muslims before the election. UK Yusuf Islam Website

Tariq Ramadan, a Swiss scholar known for his work on Islamic theology and the place of Muslims in the modern world, was appointed to teach Islamic philosophy and ethics at the University of Notre Dame. He received a visa from the State Department and was scheduled to start teaching classes in late August. But just days before he was set to travel, his visa was revoked without explanation at the behest of the Department of Homeland Security. Apparently Ramadan was barred under a section of the Patriot Act, which bars entry to foreigners who have used a "position of prominence . . . to endorse or espouse terrorist activity." Democracy Now report

The ACLU earlier this year filed a national lawsuit challenging the No-Fly list. Massachusetts Sentaor Ted Kennedy found himself on the no-fly list, and it took him several weeks to get his name removed. Other political activists including members of the Green Party have also been targetted in the post-911 attempt at creating a sense of "security" for passengers of airplanes in the US. The list is notoriously inaccurate- earlier this month, the name of Alaska Republican Donald E. Young, the chairman of the House Transportation Committee, was mistaken for the name of a person who is on the list. Many in the US are critical of the list 2002 Indybay Article about Passenger Blackout List

This year alone over half a dozen people have been killed by the police in San Jose. Corina Cardenas writes on the newswire: "On February 17, 2004 my father, Rudy Cardenas, became one of them. He was taken from my life forever. My father was shot in the back by state narcotics agent Michael Walker." Michael Walker and Brian Link, another agent who chased Cardenas that day, are on the board of the Central Coast Gang Investigators Association (CCGIA), an organization that trains law enforcement on how to deal with gangs. On September 4, 2004, around one hundred people, including Cardenas' family and members of the NAACP, the Coalition of Vietnamese Americans, and many other groups, protested a CCGIA conference at the Double Tree Hotel in San Jose and demanded that Walker, who has been indicted on voluntary manslaughter charges, stop teaching tactics to other officers. Story by Corina Cardenas | rudycardenas.net | More Indybay Coverage of the struggle for justice for Rudy Cardenas and his family