Feature Archives

"Young folks are listening to KMEL, not the news, " said Nicole Lee, organizer for Let’s Get Free. "We need the station to include the voices of our youth leaders, not blame them, and be willing to look at the public policies that are the root causes of the problems in our communities." Looking at root causes is not something that the corporate media is accustomed to doing, and KMEL, a Clear Channel station, is no exception, who last year fired popular host Davey D after he dared to question the patriotic party line after 9/11. A new report put out by media activists Media Alliance and the Youth Media Council details the extent to which KMEL ignores the most basic issues of its largest target demographic. Full report | Media Alliance | Youth Media Council |

On 4/27, People's Park celebrated its 34th year in existence with a festival of music, politics, and history. Speakers ranged from Ed Rosenthal to Barbara Lee, representatives from the Emma Goldman Papers and the Arab Anti Discrimination Committee to East Bay Food Not Bombs and the X-Plicit Players. The small square of green land on the south side of UC Berkeley's campus has been a lightning rod of protest for a wide range of political causes, an important one being over who owns the park. An international campaign has been launched in an attempt to purchase the land from the UC Regents, who have done nearly everything in their power to "clean up" the park by encouraging the harrasssment and arrest of the homeless that inhabit the land, given that there are few other places open in Berkeley to go.

PeoplesPark.org | Photos: 1 | 2

Thousands gathered in Berkeley on 6/15 to listen to punk rock heroine Patti Smith and others during an anti-war benefit concert for ANSWER.

Photos & Video: 1 - 2 - 3 | Why Patti Smith Mattered

The 5th annual 911 Power to the Peaceful Festival drew over 30,000 to Speedway Meadow in Golden Gate Park on Saturday, September 6. Originally called 911 because of the emergency nature of the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, Power to the Peaceful now reflects the desire to be rid of "terrorism and the war on terrorism," in the words of organizer and musician Michael Franti. Over 100 social and political organizations were represented at the Festival, and a good time was had by all. Photos: 1 | 2

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On 8/17 & 8/18 Counter Productive Industries will present "Collective Pranks, Protest Graphics, and Space Reclamation" which includes a west coast tour of Retooling Dissent, the video documenting creative resistance projects from protests against the World Economic Forum. Accompanying the video is a series of presentations drawing on a network of critical art projects and activism from Chicago. One of the projects presented is the Department of Space and Land Reclamation (DSLR), an ambitious three-day campaign which sought to reclaim all the space, land, and visual culture of Chicago back to its public citizens. DSLR is organizing a three-day campaign in San Francisco October 2-5th. Learn how to get involved with DSLR. | Details about video screening.

Thirty years ago a group of American radicals announced their intention to overthrow the U.S. government. In "The Weather Underground", former members, including Bernardine Dohrn, Bill Ayers, Mark Rudd, David Gilbert and Brian Flanagan, speak publicly about the idealistic passion that drove them to "bring the war home." Outraged over racism and the Vietnam War, the Weather Underground bombed targets across the country that they considered emblematic. The group's carefully organized clandestine network managed to successfully evade one of the largest manhunts in FBI history.

On Friday, 7/25, "The Weather Underground", a new documentary by independent filmmakers Sam Green (SF-based) and Bill Siegel opens at The Castro Theatre in San Francisco. The Tuesday 7/29 7pm show will be a benefit screening for the Video Activist Network and SF-IMC. There will also be a benefit screening for the Jericho Movement and the Friends of Marilyn Buck on Wednesday 7/30 7pm at the Shattuck Cinema in Berkeley. Please come out to support these projects and see a great film!
theweatherunderground.com

What happens when a trigger-happy cowboy with a pocket full of loot aims his guns on an oil-rich, people-poor nation?

"We Interrupt This Empire..." is a collaborative work by Bay Area independent video activists which documents the direct actions that shut down the financial district of San Francisco in the weeks following the United States' invasion of Iraq. With the audio backdrop including live broadcasts of Enemy Combatant Radio from the SF-IMC, the documentary takes a look at the diverse show of resistance from the streets of San Francisco as well as providing a critique of the corporate media coverage of the war and exploring such issues as the Military Industrial Complex, attack on civil liberties, and the United States' current imperialist drive. The Video Activist Network | WE INTERRUPT THIS EMPIRE... screens Tuesday 6/10 at 7:15 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. and Wednesday 6/11 at 2 p.m., 7:15 p.m. and 9:15 p.m.The Red Vic Moviehouse