Feature Archives

"el enemigo común" scratches beneath the surface of neoliberalism, at some of the most hidden atrocities in recent North American history. The film documents instances of paramilitary activity against indigenous communities in Oaxaca, Mexico from 2002 through 2005 while including scenes from an international human rights movement in 2003, in Miami against the Free Trade Area of the America's, and in Cancun against the World Trade Organization. The three locations in isolation expose the disparity of North American resistances, but together bring us closer to understanding the nature of an emerging common struggle. The film has recently screened in San Francisco, Oakland, Santa Cruz and Santa Ana.

Watch Trailer | Austin Inymedia | El Enemigo Común

Audio from Santa Cruz Screening: Simon speaks on El Enemigo Común || Ryan Harvey performed: COINTELPRO | Open Song to the U.S. Occupying Forces | Remember Me | Freedom | New Orleans Got Iraqed | The Plan Puebla Panama | Give It Time

Upcoming Screenings: Berkeley March 1st, San Francisco March 3rd and Oakland March 4th

Over 100,000 activists from throughout the world have arrived for the start of the sixth World Social Forum (WSF), which began on January 24, 2006, in Caracas, Venezuela. Under the unifying slogan of “Another World is Possible,” participants at the WSF have gathered to build a powerful movement against neoliberalism, capitalism, and imperialism.

The WSF is organized in a decentralized format that encourages grassroots participation. This is accomplished through a series of workshops and forums that bring together political activists from throughout the world to give them the opportunity to share experiences and build social networks. Each day, during the six days of activities, there will be hundreds of forums, discussions, and meetings to choose from.

The opening event at this year’s WSF was a march with over 60,000 participants demonstrating against War and Imperialism. There were large delegations from all over South America - including Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, and of course Venezuela.

 Feb. 1 World Social Forum Wrap Up || Jan. 29 Photos and Report || Jan. 27 Photos and Report || Jan. 25 Photos and Report || Jan. 26 Audio Interview || Report on Building Coalitions for Fair Trade! || An Anarchist Perspective ||  Marcha por todas nuestras luchas || Global Women flex power at World Social Forum

The 6th Ministerial Conference of the WTO is taking place from December 13th through 18th in Hong Kong. Negotiations have been continuing on key controversial issues such as agriculture, services, and market access for industrial goods and natural resources. This ministerial will shape the final agreement of the Doha Development Agenda, which members hope to complete next year.

Conferences, cultural events, mass mobilizations, and direct actions are being planned for the dates between December 11th and 18th. Organizations that are mobilizing to protest the WTO meeting and corporate globalization, and to present alternative proposals, include peasants and small farmers from the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand, and Korea. Events A new media and social transformation conference and workshop will take place in early December. Global Exchange will bring a delegation/reality tour to Hong Kong and parts of China in December.

On Saturday, December 10, three days before the 6th Ministerial World Trade Organization summit, Hong Kong police raided the offices of the Indonesian Migrant Worker's Union (IMWU). Although no one was injured or taken away, activists see the raid as part of a general build-up of state repression on activists.In an interview, Revitriyoso, an Indonesian artist and organizer with Institute for Global Justice, speaks about the raid.


Direct Action Against the WTO | Go Media (videos) | People's Radio Hong Kong | Indymedia.org article | Stop the New Round Coalition | Hong Kong People's Alliance on WTO | Global Policy Forum article | Transnational Institute: Beyond the WTO | Global Exchange's WTO Page | International Forum on Globalization | Peoples Global Action | Global Issues article | Asian Americans in Hong Kong

The World Trade Organization wrapped up its six-day ministerial meeting on Sunday December 18th with a partial trade agreement. The 149 member nations have until April 30 to agree to the framework for the completion of the Doha round by the end of 2006. In other words, they must carry out in just four months what they have failed to do in the four years since the round began. Throughout the six days of negotiations the main sticking point was agriculture and the commitment by the European Union to end export subsidies.
Bay Area Delegation | Democracy Now Report | Deciphering the Language of Globalization | WTO Reaches Compromise Trade Accord | WTO talks keep trade round on life support

On Saturday the 17th, police arrested 900 protesters during widespread protests on the streets of Hong Kong led by farmers, peasants and union members. At the end of the confrontation, around 1000-1500 other activists, from Korean groups and Via Campesina, as well as individuals from Hong Kong, other parts of Asia the US, and Europe were involved in an all night standoff with police who had surrounded them. They sang, danced, and chanted, while police fired more tear gas and threatened them with rubber bullets.
Bay Area organizers Puck Lo and Handle have been posting regular dispatches from Hong Kong:
Dispatch 9: Lapsing Into CrimethInc Jargon on the Day After the Big One
Dispatch 8: EMERGENCY: Arrests Have Begun at the WTO Protests in Hong Kong
Dispatch 7: WTO MC6, Hong Kong, Day 4: “We’re Hungry. We’re Angry.”
Dispatch 6: Humility, Strategy, and Boldness: Emo Reflections on the Third Day of the WTO Protests in Hong Kong
Dispatch 5 part 2: Farmers Procession Sways Hearts and Minds at WTO Protests in Hong Kong
Dispatch 5 part 1: Low Wage Workers and Migrants Lead Opposition to GATS and Imperialism
Dispatch 4: WTO MC6, Day 2: Face-Off at the Barricades, Stand-Off at the Summit
Dispatch 3: WTO 6, Day 1: Just The Beginning
Dispatch 2: Raids Target Migrant Workers as WTO Summit Nears
Dispatch 1: As The Tide Rushes In: Four Days Before the WTO in Hong Kong

Photos: - First Day: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Second Day: 1 | 2 | 3 | Third Day: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Fourth Day: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Fifth Day: 1 | 2 | 3

Asian Americans in Hong Kong

The Buy Nothing Day movement continued this year, with groups all over the country organizing people to not go shopping on the day after Thanksgiving. To counter the rabid consumer culture that has engulfed society, activists use this day every year to encourage people to curb their consumption for at least one day.

Some people organized creative protests at Wal-Mart stores: Adbusters Whirl-Mart page Outside of the Bay Area, Buy Nothing Day was observed in cities such as San Diego and New York.
In the East Bay, the Shellmound Peace Walk ended at 7:00am at the Bay Street Mall in Emeryville. In the North Bay, the People's Revolutionary Organization hosted a full day of direct action, starting at 9am and lasting until approximately 4pm. Events were held at various shopping centers in Petaluma, Rohnert Park, and Santa Rosa. The began at 9am at Kohl's in Petaluma, and continued at 10am at the Target in Rohnert Park, then at 11am at the Wal Mart in Rohnert Park, at 1pm at the Coddingtown Mall in Santa Rosa, at 2pm at the Santa Rosa Mall, 3pm at Best Buy in Santa Rosa, and 4pm at Target in Santa Rosa. Read more In San Jose, Buy Nothing Day Bike Party gathered at 5:30pm.

People are accustomed to going to San Francisco's Union Square shopping district for Buy Nothing Day protests, and this year was no exception. A Fur-Free Friday march and leafletting event started at 11:30am in the center of Union Square in San Francisco. Photos Berkeley Women in Black switched sides of the Bay, appearing in Union Square at 12pm. Photos Riot Folk was part of a free show that included folk music, a poetry slam, dance performances, and more. People were encouraged to bring art, paint pictures, sing, dance, play, act, and to otherwise participate in the event. People gathered at 12pm at Powell and Market.
There will be a Buy Nothing Day event at Artists' Television Access at 8:00pm, with video screenings, art installations, and music.

Past Indybay Coverage of BND | Other IMCs' coverage of BND: Miami | Binghamton | Adbusters Buy Nothing Day Page | Buy Nothing Day UK on 11/26 | Walmart Protest Site | Wal-Mart Watch

On Saturday, November 19th at 12 Noon, a protest was held outside the Oakland Wal-Mart at 8400 Edgewater Drive, Oakland (near the Oakland Airport). Organizers educated Wal-Mart shoppers about struggles for health care, fair labor practices, and local and independent businesses-- all of which are endangered by Wal-Mart's expansion. Read more

November 13th through 19th was "Higher Expectations Week," with events planned in over 1200 locations to hold Wal-Mart accountable for its negative impacts on communities. A major complaint that many people have is that Wal-Mart's growth has been thus far nearly unchecked. At the beginning of the week, in hundreds of churches, mosques and synagogues across the country, congregations heard messages of economic justice, respect for community and fair labor practices. Robert Greenwald's new documentary "Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price" has been shown in thousands of homes and public places all over the US. Search for screenings

A leaked internal document recently detailed the company's plans to open or expand 484 stores next year alone. The document lists 100 more expansion sites than Wal-Mart had previously disclosed. Another recently-leaked memo reveals the disregard with which Wal-Mart's executives view their more than 1.3 million employees in the U.S. It confirms facts that Wal-Mart has long denied, including that 46% of the children of Wal-Mart's U.S. employees are uninsured or on Medicaid. This memo lays out plans to remedy Wal-Mart's healthcare crisis, the memo lays out plans to cut spousal benefits, hire more part-time employees and encourage faster turnover, and discourage older and unhealthy people from working at Wal-Mart by requiring more jobs to require physically challenging tasks. Read more

Some are calling for Buy Nothing Day protests to target Wal-Mart on the day after Thanksgiving.

WalMartWatch's Full list of events | WalMartWatch's report from the beginning of Higher Expectations Week | WSWS Report: US Labor Department and Wal-Mart’s secret agreement on child labor | Sprawl Busters

Berkeley has a new Really, Really Free Market, which takes place on the first Saturday of each month. On Saturday, August 6th, an "Anarchist Masseur" provided free massages next to blankets that held books, clothing, and other assorted items...all for free! Photos The really, really free market is like a flea market, except that everything is free! Anyone can bring stuff and set it out for people to browse and take home.

The first Really, Really Free Market in the Bay Area was held in Union Square in June of 2004, during the week of Reclaim the Commons protest against a biotech industry conference. (Report | Photos) Really, Really Free Markets are now held on the last Saturday of each month in San Francisco's Dolores Park (Read more). San Francisco Really, Really Free Market website

Really, Really Free Markets are held in Berkeley from 12-4pm on the first Saturday of the month, at MLK Park, next to the Farmers' Market, at Martin Luther King Way and Allston Way. People are encouraged to bring their talents such as juggling, poetry, music, bodywork, and art, as well as stuff that is still cool or working, and set it out for people to take...for free! So far, there have been two markets in Berkeley (July and August). The next Berkeley Free Market will be on September 3rd.