Feature Archives

The death toll for American soldiers in Iraq now stands at 2500. Vigils are planned in Fresno, Santa Cruz, Sacramento and other cities in California. The number of Iraqis who have died as a result of the US occupation is unknown but a study done over a year and a half ago by the British medical journal The Lancet estimated the number of civilian casualties at 100,000.

Thomas Leavitt writes: "If you agree that we need to end the war NOW and that the Bush administration is a clear and present danger to the health and well being of the average American citizen and to liberty and freedom, then you need to join SDS and help bring the noise. Help start Students for a Democratic Society in Santa Cruz and take the anti-war movement to the next level!

Students for a Democratic Society, one of the most influential anti-war groups of the 1960s, has been re-formed, and is preparing for its first national meeting later this year.

My goal in forming the "Ohlone Chapter" is to have SDS in Santa Cruz act as a catalyst for radical, in your face protest, civil disobedience and direct actions aimed at ending the war NOW and disrupting the ability of the powers that be to further their fascist agenda of eliminating civil liberties, imposing a police surveillance state, and shredding the last strands of the safety net." Read more

ucsc student asks: "What about the current, robust, student antiwar movement that is already here in Santa Cruz county?...Is the new SDS going to repeat the problems of the old SDS...?"

[ Students For A Democratic Society | SDS Blog ]

Having been the target of numerous recent anti-war demonstrations, the Oakland Military Recruitment Center on Broadway at 21st Street met a different type of adversary on June 7th. The Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army (CIRCA) invaded and occupied the military recruitment center in downtown Oakland for about 45 minutes until they were forced out by city police and the center shut down for the day.

Major Mischief reports: We went to see if us clowns could fly big planes and drive big cars too, but the army people were too serious and tried to kick us out. Once we played some games and explained consensus to them, they were a little happier with us. We decided their army was boring and set up our own recruiting table for the "Army of Fun" outside while the rest of us tried to get them to laugh.

Read More with Photos

Tuesday June 27th was a "National Day of Action" in solidarity with U.S. Army Lt. Ehren Watada. Outside the gates of Fort Lewis, Washington, hundreds rallied to support Watada – the first commissioned officer to resist the illegal war and occupation of Iraq. Photos
In San Francisco, people gathered at 5pm in Justin Herman Plaza. Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | Audio: 1 | 2 | Video

On June 7th, U.S. Army First Lieutenant Ehren Watada held a press conference in Tacoma, WA to announce his intention to disobey the illegal order to deploy to Iraq. Ehren Watada is believed to be the first U.S. military officer to publicly refuse orders in the Iraq War due to its illegality. Photos
In the lead-up to the national day of action, supporters of Lt. Watada rallied in Fort Lewis on June 24th and Olympia on June 26th. Photos: 1 | 2 | Audio

On May 17th, students, workers and unions were at the UC Regents meeting held at UC San Francisco, primarily in response to University of California's plan to cut workers' pensions. The unions were united and unapologetic, cheering loudly as three California State Senators, including Figeroa (D) and Maldonado (R), called for President Dynes' resignation. ( Audio | Photos)

For the second straight year, anti-nuke/demilitarization activists from around the state disrupted the second day of the UC Regents meeting at UCSF on May 18th. In addition to concerns of corruption on behalf of top UC officials, students continued the decades old tradition of opposition to UC's vital role in the production of weapons of mass destruction. Through it's management of both Los Alamos National Lab and Lawrence Livermore, UC employees have designed every nuclear weapon in the U.S. arsenal. As such, the University of California would be complicit in the event of a nuclear strike on Iran. Read more and view photos.

past coverage: DeNuke UC! -- UCSC Students Rally Against Bechtel and Nuclear Proliferation || UC Regents Ignore Massive Resistance, Vote to Build Nukes

Update: Government Withdraws Environmental Finding, Divine Strake Test Delayed Indefinitely

Divine Strake is the government’s latest venture into the realm of broken treaties, state-sponsored terror and the desecration of Mother Earth - a “bunker-busting” bomb which was scheduled to be detonated this June in the Nevada desert. The Shundahai Network, founded by Shoshone Elder Corbin Harney, says “this test could be a precursor” to a nuclear strike against Iran, “with massive civilian casualties.”

The Divine Strake Test, a test sponsored by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), is a detonation of a 700 ton buried heavy ammonium nitrate/fuel oil charge above a tunnel structure. The DTRA reports that the main purpose of the test is to study ground shock effects on deeply buried tunnel structures. Environmental activists and analysists predict, however, that the test is a preparation for the development of new nuclear weapons.

This affects all of us, but especially the Shoshone People downwind of the Nevada Test Site. Oral arguments were heard on May 25th and 26th, at the Nevada District Court in Reno, Nevada. May 28th was declared an International Day of Action and dozens of indigenous, environmental justice and peace and disarmament organizations converged at the Peace Camp outside the Nevada Test Site near Mercury, Nevada to protest the Divine Strake test scheduled for June 2nd, but now apparently postponed indefinitely.

Video: Explanation of Divine Strake and Bechtel's Management of the Test Site || Audio: Information and Call to Action

[ Divine Strake || Stop "Divine Strake" Bombing in Newe Sogobia (NTS) || Western Shoshone and Downwinders Again Ask Federal Court to Stop Mushroom Cloud Blast || Stop the Divine Strake || Disarmament Activist || Come Rebuild Our World || Earth Cycles Radio Project || Nevada Desert Experience || Citizen Alert || Utah Organizations || Send an Online Letter to a Local Publication ]

In San Francisco: Anti-Nuke Activists Disrupt UC Regents Meeting
In DC: Don't Attack Iran petition delivered to White House

For over 20 years, May 15th has been celebrated as International Conscientious Objectors Day. Each year activities are focused in a country where war objectors are being harassed or persecuted. This year the international focus is on the United States' denial of the right of soldiers to object.

This year coordinated activities were held in the U.S. in New York, Washington DC, and the SF Bay Area. Courage to Resist and the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors initiated an Oakland action. A rally with spoken word, music, and theater will be held at 4:00pm at Oakland Civic Center (12th and Broadway). The protest in Oakland started with a rally near Oakland's Civic Center. People marched down Broadway to 21st St., where they blockaded the Oakland Military Recruiting Center. They pasted signs with statements such as "Resist, Don't Enlist" and "Army of None" to the windows of the center. In San Francisco, Project Safe Haven and Courage to Resist coordinated a visit of eight war resisters to the Canadian Consulate.
Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | Video: 1 | 2

This mobilization was held in support of ongoing campaigns to support GI objectors, resistance of military recruitment and a possible draft, and end the war and occupation in Iraq and global policies of empire. Read more