Feature Archives

SF IMC News Sheet (pdf)
Sat, 10/27: Several hundred people attended a teach-in at Mission High School to hear speakers put the current crisis in perspective. The event was sponsored by A.N.S.W.E.R.
Sun, 10/21: Upwards of 5,000 people rallied in downtown Oakland against war and in support of Barbara Lee, the lone member of Congress to vote against giving Bush unlimited war powers. Radio host Davey D, recently fired from KMEL for inviting Lee onto his show, was MC, while Alice Walker and Danny Glover were among those who spoke. Watch a video by an SF IMC videographer. KPFA | Davey D's Hip Hop Corner
Photos: Elias Rashmawi | Richard Becker | Jaggi Singh | Crowd
Sat, 10/20: Several thousand people rallied and marched in San Francisco against the war in Afghanistan, racist attacks and the crackdown on civil liberties. Video | Photo - Read a report with comments.
Wed, Oct 17: As President Bush sashayed into town for a meeting with elite business leaders, over 100 people gathered in Sacramento to demand an end to the bombing of Afghanistan. Police barricaded the area surrounding Memorial Auditorium, preventing the peaceful demonstration from nearing the conference; the march then proceeded through the downtown shopping district. Verbal clashes erupted as pro-war onlookers, intent on glimpsing the President, jeered the protesters. Police took one anti-war activist into custody; there were unconfirmed reports of further arrests. Following a brief stop at Travis Air Force Base, Bush departed for Shanghai, where he will promote his free trade agenda before the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. Full Report Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 Anti-War News

Sun, Oct 21: Dick Cheney told The Washington Post on that the war on terrorism that began Oct 7 "may never end. At least, not in our lifetimes." And Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Cheney's assessment "may be correct." -CNN

SF-IMC Anti-War Page
A carpet-bombing terror campaign by the US Military killed hundreds of Afghani civilians 11/16 around the town of Kunduz. Catch up on local discussion about anti-war organizing, and global discussion of diversity of tactics in the anti-corporate/anti-war movements

As bombs began to fall in Afghanistan on Sunday morning, emergency protests were organized in San Francisco and the East Bay. On Sunday night, a large crowd of about 3,000 people converged at Powell & Market to oppose more death and violence. The group marched to 24th & Mission and ended up at Dolores Park. People spoke and sang out against violent U.S. policy that perpetuates a global state of insecurity. The group also called for the end of bombing in Afghanistan. An emergency demo in Oakland was also held -- hear audio. In Palo Alto, 500 people held a protest against the bombings.

Monday Protests in Berkeley: On Monday, Berkeley protests were held at noon and 5pm. During the day, thousands of Berkeley students participated in a National Student Walkout. About a thousand more people gathered in the afternoon at downtown Berkeley BART. The loud and high-energy crowd took a direct path towards I-80, a historical protest spot against war in the Bay Area, where they were met by a line of riot police.

Protests Worldwide Against U.S. Violence: In New York City, 10,000 people marched to demand that more innocent lives are not taken in their name. Protests also broke out in London against the British government's involvement in the war. Protests were also held in Washington DC, Portland, New Jersey, Minneapolis, Chicago and across the U.S. In Pakistan, an anti-U.S. protest turned into a violent riot. Protests also took place in Israel and the West Bank. In Britain, Sayed Tabibi of the Society for Afghan Residents said: "This is not a matter of being pro-Taliban or anti -- There are over one million people living in Kabul.

On Oct 7 the United States government began bombing Afghanistan, a country already ravaged by years of war with the Soviet Union and by the mercilessly repressive Taliban regime that holds power. This military response marks the beginning of what government officials and their stenographers in the corporate media are calling a "new kind of war".

Propaganda isn't only a thing of totalitarian regimes. The American public, captivated by the the news on television, will not see images of the death and destruction caused by US and British bombs after they hit "unintended" civilian targets; newspaper readers will not get in-depth background coverage of the US's history of military aggression and support for brutal dictatorships abroad; nor will radio listeners hear reporters postulating on whether or not the military attacks on the Afghani people, though the stated target is Osama bin Laden, will actually increase the amount of violence and frustration amongst peoples all across the world who already despise the US for its actions and policies; and can you imagine Dan Rather asking the parade of generals and ex-State Department officials on television if the "war on terrorism" is perhaps a cover for the interests of US business elites?

People in the US are asked to move forward and spend our way to a revitalized economy, to wave our flags and bow in deference to our omnipotent president without a questioning peep. Those who protest war and decry US militarism as completely ineffective tools for creating a truly free and just world are labelled as sympathizers of terrorists, and mocked by the jingoistic upholders of the status quo. But you would be hard-pressed to find anyone, anarchist or republican, who wasn't appalled by the Sep 11 suicide attacks that caused the deaths of over 6,000 people. The "with us or against us" attitude is partly at the root of the anti-US fervor pervading the Middle East and elsewhere.

A more complex analysis is needed. These acts of terror did not occur in a vacuum. Amidst the din of blind nationalist rhetoric have emerged many opinions and voices that run counter to the monolithic war-is-the-only-solution current in the government and corporate media, opinions that look for the root causes of this violence and seek to find an alternate response that might break the cycle we're currently caught in. Context and history are crucial, and Indymedia readers and conscientious journalists around the globe have provided much of value. Here is but a sampling:
• A Just Cause, Not a Just War by Howard Zinn
• Now is the Time to Act, by Starhawk
• RAWA 10/18 Statement
• A War of Lies by Rahul Mahajan and Robert Jensen
• No Palestinian Ever Called Me a Nigger, by Lorenzo Komboa Ervin
• Counter Terrorism by Brianna Chesser
• The Ongoing War: U.S Conflicts with Muslims
• Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan: Statement; More, including movie clips
• Statement from Japanese Peace Activists
• Audio: Bush Administration's Indiscriminate Violence; Religious Leaders Respond
• Hold the Vision, by Starhawk
• Osama bin Laden: How the US helped midwife a terrorist, by Ahmed Rashid
• A letter from a Palestinian
• UKGuardian: They can't see why they are hated
• An American dissident's reaction to terror at home, by angka
• Black Radical Congress statement - BRC -
• War Resisters League statement - WRL

Many sources for progressive and radical viewpoints exist on the web:
No War Collective | infoshop.org | Common Dreams | Z Magazine | KPFA | Flashpoints Radio | IMCs: En: indymedia.org/peace | NYC, DC, Es: Argentina, Barcelona, Columbia, México Pt: Brasil, Portugal Fr: France He/Ar: Israel

Saturday, September 29th- Approximately 7000-10,000 people gathered in Dolores Park in San Francisco to unite in a rallying cry against war and racism. The crowd assembled at 11am, and after preliminary speeches, marched for several blocks through the Mission district, then reconvened back at the park for music and numerous speakers. Read perspectives on the day’s events. Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14
Also on Saturday, hundreds participated in a women's march for peace in Santa Rosa, CA. The demonstration was held in solidarity with mass actions in D.C. in which thousands took to the streets with a thundering Anti-War and Anti-Capitalist message. Around the world, resistance against U.S. military retaliation to the September 11th attacks continues to grow.

18 people were arrested, cited and released, on 9/19 after the Daily Californian office was occupied for over 12 hours by up to 130 people demanding the newspaper issue an apology and meet six demands. Supporters - most of whom had occupied the Daily Cal office until a police dispersal order was given - cheered as the protesters were released one-by-one through the doors of Eshlemen Hall. Members of several student groups met with a representative of the Daily Cal editorial board and were refused their demands. Come out and support the continuous encampment in front of the Daily Californian office (in Lower Sproul Plaza) against racist scapegoating. Full Report