Feature Archives

Reclaim the Streets: Valentine's Day Street Party Reclaim the Streets is coming: The RTS Valentine's Day Street Party will meet at 12 noon at Haight & Stanyan streets on Saturday 2/14. There will be music, art, poetry, dancing, punk rock, pirates, bicycles, and more... See Arts + Action Page

On December 17, 2003 the United States coerced Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala into signing the controversial Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). Costa Rican negotiators walked out of the talks over disagreements related to opening their telecommunications and insurance markets. There were protests and educational activities in cities in North and Central America where CAFTA talks were held, including Managua, Nicaragua, San Francisco and Washington, DC. Read More Under the Trade Act of 2002, Congress has to be notified at least 90 days before signing the agreement. The US will tell Congress early next year of its intent to sign the CAFTA. 10 Reasons why people oppose CAFTA. More links.

Video Reportback From Bay Area Activists: 1   2   3
Bay Area Activists In Miami:1  2

Miami Activist Defense (MAD), the legal support group for those arrested during the Free Trade Area of the Americas protests, reported a total of 282 arrests over the period from November 11-22. There were dozens of reports of injuries sustained from the vast array of weaponry, which included batons, tear gas, pepper spray, plastic and rubber bullets, concussion grenades, tasers and electric shields. Over thirty people were injured from projectile weapons, five of which suffered head wounds, and at least two people were hospitalized with serious head injuries. MAD reported at least ten beatings of arrestees, seven people held at gunpoint, and at least one person physically assaulted while in jail. There were also four reports of sexual assault while in custody.read more

Democracy Now! Producer Ana Nogueira Arrested (Update)
NLG Legal Observers Arrested And Beaten
Wellness Center Attacked By Police
Police Surround ICH
Activists of Color Tortured in Miami Jails
Summary of Police Brutality Incidents
Steelworkers Call for Solidarity Against Miami Police
United Steelworkers of America Call For Timoney To Be Fired

11/22 summary: Reports of brutality within the jail have come in to the legal team. A Latino man was brutalized within the prison walls and is now at a hospital. Another man who had sustained injuries to his head during the protests has been neglected and is suffering from a hemorrhage (more from Chicago Indymedia). There are also reports that two transgender people have been sexually abused.

11/21 summary: Reports on arrest figures at a jail solidarity incident indicate around 75 people were arrested today when police broke up the jail solidarity rally. Report   |   Pictures  1   2   3

11/20 afternoon summary: The FTAA IMC in Miami reported extensive police brutality: riot police fired rubber bullets, pellet bags, extensive use of pepper spray, tear gas and batons, concussion grenades and stun guns, as well as using tazers and pointing guns at people. Police setup multiple check points to search people and their bags. 185 buses were "detained" and kept from joining the rally. ID-checks, barricades, roving gangs of undercover cops, and agents provocateurs were also documented. Protesters were at the fence, but were brutally attacked by police when trying to move further. So far there have been 100-150 arrests and many injured protesters. Read more for a summary about morning events.

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Audio: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18
Radio: 1   2  |   Summary: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
Solidarity Protests around the world: 1   2  |   Breaking News for latest updates and timeline please visit: FTAA IMC   FRAA Resistance Radio   Global IMC: 1   2   |   StopFTAA   Why-War.Com FTAA Coverage     Infoshop FTAA background information   Infoshop coverage

Thursday, 11/20 at Artist's Television Access, the SF Bay Area IMC screens a series of films to get you in the mood for tearing up the FTAA! Come check out shorts from Cancún by local media activists, plus a film produced by Kino Kiptik, The Struggle For Water, on the Chiapas Water Project. We will also be screening the film produced by the Cancún Indymedia Center, Kilometer Zero. If you missed this year's convergence in Cancun, then see for yourself how the people united to topple the WTO! We'll start things off with some shorts from the Indymedia Newsreal, including coverage of the SOA/WHISC. Screening starts at 8pm, at 992 Valencia Street in SF, $5 to benefit the SF Bay Area IMC and media activist groups in Mexico.

As delegates and heads of state from around the western hemisphere arrive in Miami to move forward on the FTAA agreements, so are tens of thousands of protesters who will oppose the expansion of treaties that expand capitalist power. Many protests, direct actions and convergences are taking place leading up to an enormous collective action on Thursday. The largest contingent of protesters comes from labor's AFL-CIO, relying heavily on steelworkers, whose livelihoods were destroyed during the late 80s and 90s because of trade agreements like NAFTA and GATT. The AFL-CIO has promised to bring many tens of thousands of workers out to confront the FTAA negotiators. But the protesters will be an extremely diverse group of people, with tens of thousands more people representing for Mexico solidarity, immigrant workers, the broad Coalition of Immokalee workers, environmental activists, Latin American solidarity, communists and anarchists.

In addition to the AFL-CIO protests, two more coalitions have called for direct actions, including a call for a padded bloc. The padded bloc will be the first-ever nationally coordinated defensive bloc in North America, with planning consultas held in Pittsburgh, Chicago, Denver, Oakland and elsewhere. The padded bloc will carry shields and wear padded clothing to protect themselves from police brutality, and a call has been issued for bloc participants to tear down the fence that has been built around the FTAA meeting place.

Full coverage is at FTAA Indymedia in Miami. More information is available from AntiFTAA.org, StopFTAA.org, ftaaresistance.org

As the FTAA ministerial summit in Miami approaches, the Free Radio Area of the Americas is relaying reports from Miami and across Latin America, including a special report today from Guatemala on the presidential elections. Tune in: FRAA Read more at Chiapas Indymedia.

Trade ministers from most of the Western Hemisphere will meet in Miami from November 19-21 to chart the future of neoliberalism; meanwhile the hemisphere's top CEOs will gather for the parallel Americas Business Forum, and even the Republican Governors will meet in nearby Boca Raton. Popular resistance from the streets to the airwaves is planned, despite severe new "public protection" ordinances to criminalize dissent.

Legal Update: Charges have been dropped and the one person left in custody at Martinez County jail has been released, after initially being charged with 2 felonies.

Saturday's peaceful Anti-WTO march through Richmond, CA, featuring colorful props and festive music, turned ominous as police brutally arrested the seven demonstrators outside the Chevron refinery. Approx. 300-500 people braved the toxic drizzle to hear speakers detail the atrocities of multinational corporations and the World Trade Organization, in particular their devastating effects on local communities and the environment. When police violently apprehended an activist who had been painting on the nearby underpass, the crowd surrounded a squad car to demand his release; at least one officer responded by pepper spraying bystanders.
Chevron Fun Facts | Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 Video: Art & Revolution Performance | Starhawk Interview

Hundreds of people took to the streets in SF on Nov 9, to rally against corporate greed and environmental racism and call for public control of power. The day's primary target was local robber barron, PG&E. There were 18 arrests and at least one activist still remains in custody, charged on 4 counts, including 2 felonies. Audio: 1 | 2 Photos: 1 | 2