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Thu Nov 21 2019 (Updated 11/22/19)
Solidarity with Chile's Rebellion in San Francisco
Chilean high school students began to protest a fare hike on the subway system of Santiago by jumping turnstiles en masse on October 6. Protests against economic inequality quickly spread across Chile and escalated to huge public demonstrations and work strikes. In response, Chilean president Sebastián Piñera directed police and military to use violence against protesters. Thousands have been arrested and injured, including hundreds who have lost sight because the Chilean military is targeting protesters' eyes. Actions in solidarity with the people of Chile have been held around the world, including several in San Francisco.
Tue Nov 19 2019 (Updated 12/16/19)
Unhoused Mothers Make Vacant House a Home
Two homeless mothers reclaimed possession of a vacant investor-owned property in West Oakland on November 18. The mothers, Dominique Walker and Sameerah Karim, are the founding members of Moms for Housing, created to address the extreme challenges working mothers face in finding safe and affordable housing for themselves and their children. The Moms for Housing have announced their intention to remain in the home until it is returned to the Oakland community. Their supporters are surrounding the home, and will remain in place until the transfer of the home to community control has been negotiated.
The Kincade Fire has created a calamitous path through Northern California’s wine country, forcing nearly 200,000 people to flee their homes. Many of them are reliving the disastrous fire that raged through the same area in 2017. On October 25, PG&E admitted its electrical equipment may have ignited the inferno, despite electrical blackouts imposed across Northern California to prevent blazes. In the San Francisco Bay Area, activists say we need to replace private control of utilities. Two new campaigns, Let's Own PG&E and Utility Justice Campaign, are calling for a publicly-accountable takeover of the monopoly. Protests have been held in San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and other cities.
Businesses are closed and rail service suspended, as China's Special Administrative Region Hong Kong is in chaos this weekend. A ban on wearing masks, set to take effect October 4, apparently backfired as street violence increased; at least one train was set on fire. The Hong Kong protests have now spread to several large cities in the United States, with hundreds gathering in San Francisco ahead of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Critics say that despite claims in the press about the protesters being advocates of democracy and freedom, demonstrators carrying U.S. flags are asking the ironically tyrannical President Trump to come to their aid.
Trump tried and failed to keep his September 17 Silicon Valley fundraiser location secret, putting out misleading information to get protestors to go to the wrong place or simply give up. Then, he misused secret service and local police to try to block protestors from the only road with access to the Palo Alto Republican fundraiser. Despite his efforts, protesters managed to discover the true location as a home owned by Sun MicroSystems co-founder Scott McNealy and created a spectacle that the presidential motorcade and shuttle buses with rich donors would see.
Thu Aug 29 2019 (Updated 09/02/19)
Palantir Headquarters Swarmed Over Contracts with ICE
Angry activists mobilized on August 16, blocking the cafeteria entrance at Palantir Technologies' headquarters in Palo Alto. They were protesting the $20 billion data-mining company's ICE Investigative Case Management contract that enables Immigration and Custom Enforcement to track the every move of undocumented immigrants. After Palantir announced on August 20 that they would be renewing their ICE contract, the Coalition to Close the Concentration Camps Bay Area called for an emergency mass mobilization.
On June 17, at demonstrations that drew up to two million people, protesters in Hong Kong continued demands that the government withdraw an extradition bill they fear would allow people to be sent to the mainland for actions disapproved of by Beijing. Protesters insisted that police be held accountable for brutal tactics at demonstrations held earlier in June as well. In the Bay Area cities of Palo Alto and San Francisco, hundreds demonstrated in solidarity with activists in Hong Kong.