Feature Archives

On March 14th, Greek anarchists from Athens, along with an American who has been living in Barcelona, spoke about the Greek uprising of December 2008 at the 11th annual Anarchist Theory Conference held at UC Berkeley. They addressed where the rebellion came from and where it is now. More than just presenting the story of Greece, their talk was about sharing ideas that could be useful to the social struggles in England, Barcelona, and the U.S.

Four of the nation's biggest banks — Bank of America, Citibank, Chase and Wells Fargo — are ruining the American economy, say activists who are taking to the streets this month to urge bank customers to "break up that affair with your big bank." In the San Francisco Bay Area members of the Raging Grannies launched a culture jamming action at banks in three cities to give the message some "real teeth".

February 7th marks the anniversary of Hampshire College's "divestment" from the Israeli Occupation of Palestine, the first institution of higher education to wash its hands of the systematic exploitation of the Palestinian people by the Israeli state. Following a two-year campaign by Students for Justice in Palestine, the Board of Trustees agreed in 2009 to withdraw its investments from six companies targeted by SJP because they profit from the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

On January 27th, Howard Zinn died at the age of 87. Zinn was a historian, and professor in the Political Science Department at Boston University. He was the author of more than 20 books, including A People's History of the United States which he published in 1980.

This is the third in a series of profiles of activist and alternative media workers in the Bay Area by Indybay contributor Peter M. Featured in this profile is Bill Hackwell, a photographer/activist who lives in Oakland. His career spans four decades.

From the Olympic Resistance Network:, "The 2010 Winter Olympics will take place in Vancouver and Whistler, on unceded Indigenous land, February 12–28. We call on all anti-capitalist, Indigenous, housing rights, labor, migrant justice, environmental, anti-war, community-loving, anti-poverty, civil libertarian, and anti-colonial activists to come together to confront this two-week circus and the oppression it represents. We are organizing towards a global anti-capitalist and anti-colonial convergence against the 2010 Olympic Games."

UPDATES: First-hand video, photos, and reports from Vancouver are being posted to Indybay by the Friendly Fire Collective.

On the first anniversary of the Israeli military assault on Gaza, the Gaza Freedom March, trapped in Cairo, marched not only against the Israeli siege on Gaza, but also against an Egyptian blockade. On New Year’s Day 2010, Gaza Freedom March delegates ratified the historic Cairo Declaration, launching a global boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaign against Israeli apartheid. On January 9th, Egypt announced it will ban all aid convoys travelling to Gaza, tightening its blockade against the people of Gaza.