Feature Archives

From June 8-10, 2004 the leaders of the world's largest and richest industrialized nations (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States), who are known collectively as the Group of 8 or G8, will meet at Sea Island, Georgia in the US. At the meeting, Bush and company will discuss the war on Iraq, terrorism, the global economy, and the policy in the Middle East. They will enjoy such luxuries as golf courses, fine food and exotic hotels. Protest organizers have been planning their events for months, but have had to change many of their arrangements because of the repression that is coming from the government. Protests in Georgia in early June will cover a range of issues, such as reparations for Black farmers who were forced off of their land after the US Civil War, and for the millions of Africans who are affected by HIV/AIDS; creating alternatives- for example, there will be a counter-conference called The Other Economic Summit (TOES) in Brunswick, and a Fair World Fair; Peace Marches; and other activities. Some events that were scheduled for Savannah have been moved to other cities because of intimidation tactics used by the police.

West Coast G8: People in the Bay Area are organizing several events during the days of the G8 summit. On June 8th at 5PM in UN Plaza West Coast G8 and Reclaim the Streets will throw a Mutant Street Party to "To UNwelcome the Biotech Conference to San Francisco (June 3-9), toast the death of the G8, and dance for Mutant Freedom Now!"

Read more about the repression that organizers in Georgia are facing on the Government page. Other G8 Websites: G8 Resistance | Criticism of Counter-Summits | Fix Shit Up call from the Southeast Anarchist Network | How You Can Help the Georgia protesters

The co-authors of We Are Everywhere: the irresistible rise of global anticapitalism Jennifer Whitney and Andrew Stern, along with filmmaker David Martinez and British activist with the Boomchucka Circus Jo Wilding, who have recently returned from Iraq, have been conducting reportbacks around the country. In late May, they presented images and inspirational stories from the Iraqi uprising and from resistance movements around the world to crowded rooms in spaces such as the Long Haul and New College of California.

Beginning on Friday June 18th in Fresno, people gathered in Fresno for Occupied Territory, a west coast gathering for anarchist and anti-authoritarian activism.

Occupied Territory is no longer envisioned to be just a "conference." The organizing collective took what it felt was "the final step," and make the gathering the most interactive and self-managed gathering they could think of. Instead of creating another conference, they decided to make the participants decide what the direction of the gathering will be. OT was created to showcase anti-authoritarian activism and anarchist collectives, and also to create a platform to talk about organizing and networking on the west coast. "This gathering, like the future, is up to us."
Occupied Territory Website | OT Gathering FAQ | OT Call-Out Report from first day

On April 29, the The Yes Men, known for pioneering the concept of "identity correction," took their newly-formed model think-tank to the Heritage Foundation’s annual Resource Bank meeting in Chicago. The conservative Heritage Foundation and its $25 million dollar annual budget have helped mold some of the most odious governmental policies of the past 30 years by providing ready-made propoganda for conservative pundits and Congresspeople on everything from the Reagan-era "Star Wars" program to toppling public education, social security and other "liberal government hand-outs". Last month's meeting proved to be no exception to this on-going campaign, with different speakers advocating for everything from freemarket corporate control to instituting a new Social Security program wherein African-Americans would not qualify for benefits as they have "shorter life expectancies" - and thus it is assumed they will not live to collect their benefits.
The Yes Men decided to try and disseminate some propoganda themselves, and over the next couple of days they did everything from nominate Reagan Attorney-General Ed Meese for President to enlist the aid of a gorilla to help with a petition drive.

The Yes Men will be distributing their first movie this summer! Stay tuned to Indybay for updates.

The 60th anniversary of the founding of the IMF and World Bank was met during the week of April 22-24 with protests in Washington, DC. Protesters flocked to DC with the demands: Open all World Bank and IMF meetings to the media and the public; Cancel all impoverished country debt to the World Bank and IMF, using the institutions' own resources; End all World Bank and IMF policies that hinder people's access to food, clean water, shelter, health care, education, and right to organize; Stop all World Bank support for socially and environmentally destructive projects. Read more about the demands. Protesters were focusing on such issues as water rights, the effects of the IMF and WB on women, and the environment. On April 22nd, Earth Day, there was a press conference denouncing genetically engineered trees. Protests during the week included a fast to call attention to the forced displacement of people due to World Bank "infrastructure" projects, a cacerolazo, a festival of resistance, a teach-in, a debate, a really really free market, and participation in the March for Women on Sunday. Look for more coverage of the protests on DC Indymedia.

The government of President Carlos Mesa has begun to lose what little control it had over the political and social situation in Bolivia. Monday, more than 5000 university students, who marched on foot almost a hundred kilometers, arrived in the city of La Paz, threatening to paralyze the urban center with marches and street blockades. [more (en/es)] Tuesday, more than 20,000 workers marched in La Paz in opposition to the privatization and export of gas, the key issue in last October's "gas war" uprising, which brought down the government of Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, now in exile in Miami, and left more than 79 people dead, nearly all of them at the hands of government forces. 5,000 more marched in Potosí, while in Santa Cruz labor leaders occupied the offices of transnational oil company Transredes. [report (es)] The Central Obrera Boliviana (COB) and other social forces across the country are promising to begin an indefinite general strike and road blockades on May 2[(es)] to bring down the government and its neoliberal policies and replace it with a Constituent Assembly [(es)]. Meanwhile, growing reports of a U.S.-Chile backed coup-in-the-making have been confirmed by both the popular sectors and (obliquely and defensively) the president himself.
Reports: CMI Bolivia | ZNet Bolivia Watch | clajadep-La Haine |

The biotechnology industry met in San Francisco from June 6-9th, to "celebrate the benefits of biotech to health, agriculture, the economy and the environment." BIO 2004 was countered by an alternative gathering called Reclaim the Commons, from June 3-9th. Although BIO's website claims that the Bay Area "is the world's leading bioscience corridor," the Bay Area is also renowned for its recent resistance against global capitalism, protests against destruction of the environment, and the US war on Iraq.
On Friday, 6/4/2004, a press conference was held to announce the opening of the Convergence Space and Welcome Center, which was located at 960 Howard Street, adjacent to the 6th Street neighborhood, and around the corner from the IMC media lab at 6th Street Books. The new, anti-GMO Radical Family Collective provided fun and educational activities for children during the mobilization (mailing list). Food Not Bombs and Seeds of Peace served food at many of the events.

Events: Reclaim the Commons held a teach-in from June 3rd through 5th. On Saturday, June 5th, a Reclaim the Commons contingent participated in the anti-war march and a temporary autonomous zone was set up in at the entrance of Golden Gate Park later in the day. New College held a film festival to benefit Reclaim the Commons on June 6th. Events on June 6th also included Really, Really Free Market (Report Photos: 1 | 2) and a Food Fight to show third world responses to GMO food aid. There was a Racial Justice Day of Action on June 7th. Direct actions took place as part of a planned shut-down of the BIO conference at Moscone Center early on June 8th, and a mutant Reclaim the Streets party took Market Street later in the day. Arrests at the RTS continued until nearly midnight. The week closed with eco-actions on June 9th (Photos: 1. The week also included a variety of trainings and action spokescouncils so affinity groups could help to make decisions about the actions.
On Channel 29 in San Francisco, StreetLevel TV aired an exclusive interview with Professor Ignacio Chapela, whose scientific findings on the transferrence of transgenic materials have raised the ire of the biotech industry. Photos and Video from RTC's May 19th Press Conference. Radio public service announcement
Read a list of events on the Reclaim the Commons Calendar. For more info: Biotech IMC | BioDev | West Coast G8 Protests