Feature Archives

Reclaim the Streets and Desires: The RTS Valentine's Day Street Party began at 12 noon at Haight and Stanyan streets on Saturday February 14th. Hundreds of people, many dressed as pirates, marched from Golden Gate park and eventually took over Haight St between Ashbury and Masonic. The party included a sound system with rotating djs, a pirate marching band, street theater, couches, mattresses, paint splattered on GAP, and an impromptu soccer game in the middle of the street. Reports: 1 | 2 | Photos: 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11 | More info on the Arts + Action Page.
At around 2:30 PM, half of the crowd left Haight St and marched to the Fulton St. Safeway. The police had the Safeway completely surrounded and since nobody was allowed in, it was effectively closed for over an hour. Safeway Photos: 1  2
Read more about the Southern California grocery strike and Northern California solidarity actions on the Labor Page.

Buy Nothing Day 2000 Reclaim the Streets Party San Francisco, November 24, 2000 Shoppers were confused and disoriented as a Reclaim the Streets party closed down business-as-usual for Buy Nothing Day. The Gap and Banana Republic were forced to close, as the party and enormous police presence stopped traffic on the busiest shopping day of the year.

BUY NOTHING DAY 2000	RECLAIM THE STREETS / S26	MORE INFORMATION
Buy Nothing Day 2000 in SF	Berkeley S26 IMF Protest/Party Pictures	Reclaim the Streets - SF/East Bay
Sheep Take Over Downtown Shopping	Report from Berkeley S26	International Buy Nothing Day
Stop Shopping -- Start Living!	Video from Berkeley S26	Steal Something Day
Anti-Christmas Parade	Corporate Media on S26 (Video)	RTS London

Pictures from Buy Nothing Day 2000 in San Francisco
Stop shopping, start living banner.	Music, creativity impede shopping efficiency.	Animal rights protesters in the march.	When police threaten violence, the party moves on.
Bush supporters, fuck off!	Black Bloc argues with Bush supporter.	Buy nothing... steal something.	Cop stares at flag that says, "Steal"
Crowd chants "Let him go!" during an arrest.	Badge number photo of the one arrest.	Cops corral the party with motorcycles.	RTS shares road with motorcycle cops.
Mounted cops try to threaten violence.	Cops close down the Gap to protect it.	Cops out spying on free-thinking anarchists.	Cops wonder ... "why am I here?"

The Digital Independence 2004 Conference took place the weekend of January 30 - February 1st, 2004 in San Francisco. It opened Friday with a block party at The Battery Street Digital Space and then the conference officially began on Saturday. The schedule was a combination: subversive and compromising crossbreeds of technology sector meets entertainment industry, meets an array of public interest panelists and democracy warriors. Read more See the schedule. Hear Enemy Combatant Radio's interview with D. Rosen: Part 1 | Part 2

1/26: Riots broke out on International Blvd between 35th Ave. and 90th Ave. For a few weeks, Oakland Police have publicly declared their intention to attack crowds of people standing around outside after the game. As it turns out, OPD went after mostly East Oakland neighborhoods with wooden bullets and tear gas.

[ Reports:  1 | 2 | 3 | 4 ]    [ Photos:  1 | 2 | 3 | 4 ]

Thousands of people were on the street. A spirit of comraderie and friendship was literally everywhere as people had fun in the streets together, mourning their Super Bowl loss. Things got scary when the police attacked the crowd with tear gas and wooden bullets. Police cars were trashed and some other cars as well as several buildings (including a McDonalds near 63th and International) were ransacked and set on fire. At several points there were barricades of burning dumpsters in the street as thousands of angry Oakland residents fought with the police.

Although the crowd was diverse and was mostly nonviolent before the police arrived, the corporate media has been playing up "random" violence. The corporate media seems to have been afraid of talking to people in the crowd and their one-sided coverage sparked anger directed at their vehicles. A KRON 4 news van had its windows smashed and a KPIX (CBS) news van was also trashed. A police officer interviewed by KRON TV said he saw the police action as a "dry run" (perhaps for larger riots when the war starts?)

On 8/17, the local anarchist soccer team Kronstadt FC faced off with the local communist soccer team, Left Wing, in the first of a three game tournament. The score was tied 2/2, when the police shut down the game in the last quarter called by disgruntled members of the Piedmont School board. Ever since Marx expelled Bakunin and the anarchists from the First International in 1872, the tension between the camps of anarchism and communism has built up considerably, notably during the Bolshevik seize of power in Russia in the early 1900's and the Spanish Civil War in the 1930's. These historical conflicts and philosophical incompatibilities have persisted over the years and it remains to be seen whether it will be resolved on the pitch during this tournament. Time and date of next game is TBA.
Reports & Photos: 1 | 2 | 3

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers and anti-war activists showed up in kayaks at McCovey Cove at PacBell Park during game 5 of the World Series, where Taco Bell had a floating target with a promise of a free taco for the entire country if a home run ball hit it. CIW has called for a Taco Bell boycott to combat the exploitative working conditions they face as Taco Bell suppliers. Confounded by the flagrant free speech exercise in a public waterway, SFPD crimefighters attempted to enforce a questionable unlit watercraft code. 3 min. quicktime video | Boycott the Bell

10/26/02: Kronstadt FC defeated the Left Wing FC 3-1 in the final game to win the Bay Area's first Revolutionary Soccer Tournament Cup. Report Kronstadt FC may split up the current roster to form multiple teams and create a local league. Left Wing plans to continue playing together and will hold a benefit party to help them rent their practice field. There are plans underway for an anarchist soccer tournament to take place during the week of the SF Anarchist Bookfair in March 2004. More info