Feature Archives

On the morning of September 22nd, settler security personnel in Silwan in East Jerusalem shot and killed Samir Solhan. Solhan, a father of four, was a well known figure in Silwan. The Palestinian residents of Silwan rioted in the following days protesting the murder. Although the police readily accepted the settlers' security personnel's version that he was in fear of his life, testimonies and video tell a different story.

A new poll released Thursday by the Public Policy Institute of California shows Proposition 19 — the statewide initiative to control and tax cannabis (marijuana) — leading 52-41, with just 7 percent of likely voters still undecided. "Controlling and taxing cannabis is polling higher than anything else on California's ballot, including the gubernatorial and Senate candidates, as well as all the other initiatives," said Richard Lee, a proponent of Prop. 19.

On the morning of September 24th, FBI agents served grand jury subpoenas and raided the homes of several anti-war and social justice activists in Minnesota, Michigan and Illinois. The federal law cited in the search warrants prohibits, "providing material support or resources to designated foreign terrorist organizations." The Supreme Court recently rejected a free speech challenge to the material support law from humanitarian aid groups.

A protest took place in San Francisco on Tuesday, September 28th at the Federal Building at 7th St. and Mission St.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) houses prisoners of every faith imaginable; Islamic, Catholic, Protestant, Episcopalian, Baptist, Jewish, Mormon, Buddhist, Hinduism, Taoism, Paganism, Voodooism, Satanism and many other beliefs. Just like many Americans in large and small cities and towns throughout this country, men and women who practice their beliefs behind prison walls have a right to do so without bias, prejudice, or interference. Unfortunately, this was not the case for four Muslim prisoners serving out their sentences as fire fighters at the Ben Lomond fire camp in the remote hills of Santa Cruz County, California.

Dylan Powell of The Vegan Police recently interviewed Joseph Buddenberg of AETA 4, four animal rights activists who were charged with violating the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. Although the case was dismissed in July, it is not over. A federal magistrate signed a warrant in August ordering Joseph to provide a DNA sample to the FBI. In the interview, Joseph discusses the AETA 4 case and its implications for activists.

In another move clamping down on public use of previously public space, the city of Santa Cruz posted "closing hours" on the City Hall grounds for the first time, without any kind of public hearing, announcement, or rationale. When then-Mayor Mike Rotkin tried to close down City Hall in 1996 to end another homeless protest against the Sleeping Ban, the City Council declined to back him and Judge Samuel Stevens ended up granting a very limited injunction requiring that folks there "obey all laws." This time, without a hearing, Parks and Recreation, which controls virtually all the public space around public buildings, issued an edict closing the area.

Anarchist activist and former parade organizer Wes Modes was found guilty on August 16th of walking in the DIY New Year's parade on December 31, 2009. Santa Cruz Superior Court Judge Jeff Almquist rejected arguments that the citation was discriminatory and that the city's permit requirements were unconstitutional. Almquist also denied a lengthy challenge to the City's permit requirements without addressing all of the points it brought up.