Feature Archives

"The biggest political street theater ever west of the Mississippi" took place in Union Square at 2:30pm on Saturday August 13th. Raging Grannies from throughout California and the US were joined by the recently released Tuscon Raging Grannies, the Ronald Reagan Home for the Criminally Insane, and others for street theater and more to say "No More Torture!" There were a sing along, free home-made cookies, and more. The Tuscon Raging Grannies were arrested for trying to enlist at their local military recruiting station. The Peninsula Raging Grannies, with assistance from Ronald Reagan Home for the Criminally Insane, spoofed the California National Guard and Governor Schwarzenegger for spying on the Grannies, Code Pink, Veterans for Peace, and others. Photos This street theater event was held in solidarity with Amnesty International's campaign against torture. Read more

Women's International League for Peace and Freedom | Peninsula Raging Grannies | Tucson Raging Grannies | Amnesty International Chapter 19 | Bay Area Code Pink | Ronald Reagan Home for the Criminally Insane

7/28 update: Benderman found guilty of one charge, sentenced to 15 months

After serving in the military for eight years, including a tour of duty in Iraq, Kevin Benderman decided he could not participate in the Iraq war and occupation. He filed for conscientious objector status in December 2004. His application was denied, and on the weekend of Jan. 7th, 2005 Benderman refused to re-deploy to Iraq with his unit. He was charged with Desertion and Missing Movement by Design. On May 10th, 30 cities held public support events for Kevin Benderman and Navy refuser Pablo Paredes. On May 11th Kevin’s court martial judge overturned his hearing, citing a biased investigation, and ordered a new hearing. On Wednesday May 25th, the military filed a new court martial against Kevin, which was heard on July 28th. Last Friday, a military judge threw out charges of larceny against Benderman in which he had been accused of stealing $2,922 in unearned combat pay after his refusal to deploy to Iraq. Free Speech Radio News Audio Report

Courage to Resist organized protests all over the country on July 28th to support military resistance, including a spoken word/poetry Read Out at the Armed Forces Recruiting Center in Oakland. Photos | Report

Indybay Coverage of May 10th, 2005 National Day of Action for GI Resisters | More about Kevin Benderman's Case | Courage to Resist

Marking the anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, a protest was held at the Livermore Lab on August 6 calling for an end to nuclear armaments. Demonstrators planted sunflowers at the gate to the Lab, the flowers being a symbol of nuclear protest. Photos: 1 | 2 | Audio
Protest organizers say that the development of nuclear weapons in the Bay Area puts communities at risk. The Bay Area's Livermore Lab acts as the "brain" of the U.S. nuclear weapons complex, as its scientists are developing new and modified nuclear weapons and spurring the U.S. to spend billions of dollars upgrading the U.S. arsenal. This year's Seeds of Change theme "reminds us that our actions now are laying the foundation for the peace of the future."

August 6th and 9th are National Days of Action to mark the 60th anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States. List of nationwide actions. On August 9th, there were candlelight vigils at City Halls in communities across the country. Read more On August 6th at 6:30pm there was a vigil at the Aquatic Park in Berkeley.

A new Seeds of Change CD has been released - it documents some of the voices, music and poetry of six decades of resistance to nuclear weapons. Several CD release parties were held in the weeks before August 6th to boost awareness of the Livermore rally and march.

Why We Will Gather to Stop Nuclear Weapons | Western States Legal Foundation

7/14/2005: At Antioch's Deer Valley High School, Students for Peace and Justice has won a victory against the administration and will be able to hold an anti-war rally on campus. The school's administration had denied the students their free speech rights, while the military was permitted to have a rock band play on campus. The ACLU was contacted after the students were suspended on charges of allegedly harrassing military recruiters. The students' two days of on-campus suspension coincidentally included the very day their anti-war rally was supposed to be held. After negotiations with the ACLU, students won the right to hold a rally, and the suspensions were removed from their files. An open forum has been created on campus during lunch periods, and starting this fall, all student clubs now have the right to free speech. Full story

A Hunger Strike for Economic and Social Justice was held in Geneva, Switzerland from June 15th to June 30th 2005. International social justice activists from Iraq, the U.S., the U.K. and elsewhere gathered at the United Nations to demand economic justice for Iraqi citizens and draw attention to debt cancellation, reconstruction and war reparations claims against Iraq. The fast in Geneva coincided with the final meeting of the United Nations Compensation Commission (U.N.C.C.) which is determining how much of a remaining $65 billion in war reparations claims will be imposed against Iraq. These claims relate to the invasion and occupation of Kuwait in 1990-91 by Saddam Hussein’s regime. Demands of the fasters included a U.N. Security Council resolution canceling all reparations imposed against Iraq, elimination of all debt incurred by Saddam Hussein’s regime, and full funding for the reconstruction of Iraq directed by the Iraqi people and without any strings attached.
Read More | Photos From Geneva | Sacramento activist Leisa Faulkner's Journals From The Fast: 1 | 2 | Photos From Palo Alto Solidarity Fast
Jubilee Iraq | Voices in the Wilderness

Watsonville - On June 29, The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees voted in favor (4 to 3) to increase student and family awareness of the OPT-OUT choice parents have to deny military recruiters access to private student information. The Board of Trustees finally approved the motion to include the OPT-OUT choice on the mandatory emergency card for all high school students.

Section 9528 of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act, requires high school administrations to release student contact information to military recruiters. Students and parents may “Opt-Out” of the information release list, but notification of this option is careless-to-nonexistent. Schools administrators, parents, and students are beginning to find ways to counter this breach of privacy. In Berkeley, there is an OPT-IN policy, and other districts like San Francisco have adopted resolutions regarding the military's new access to students' private information. Santa Cruz IMC Story and Photos

photos and notes: PVUSD Supports Student Privacy

audio: Hidden Clause in No Child Left Behind Act Lets Parents Opt-Out
audio: Pajaro Schools Support Opt Out Option

see also: Being a Military Recruiter Must Suck || All around the U$, Recuiters are Feeling the Heat || 4/20 Watsonville Counter-Recruitment Action || UCSC Students Kick Military Recruiters Off Campus || Berkeley High School Teach-In (March 2005) Report || Video

The World Tribunal on Iraq is a worldwide initiative that works together in a non- hierarchical system as a horizontal network of local groups worldwide. The project consists of commissions of inquiry and sessions held around the world investigating various issues related to the war on Iraq, such as the legality of the war, the role of the United Nations, war crimes and the role of the media as well as the destruction of the cultural sites and environment. In these sessions, a platform was provided for people from Iraq, as well as experts and activists to articulate their concerns and demands and to present their reports.

The Istanbul session of the Tribunal will consist of three days of hearings investigating various issues related to the war on Iraq, such as the legality of the war, the role of the United Nations, war crimes and the role of the media, as well as the destruction of the cultural sites and the environment. The session in Istanbul is the culminating session of commissions of inquiry and hearings held around the world over the past two years. They have compiled a definitive historical record of evidence about the invasion and the occupation.

Enemy Combatant Radio will be providing an audio stream of the sessions live between 11pm-8:30am PST.
There is also a live video stream of the Tribunal | Watch WTI teaser Video.
Istanbul Indymedia