Feature Archives

Eric McDavid, who was arrested in Auburn, CA in January as part of the government’s recent Green Scare, is very ill and needs to see a doctor. He is passing out, losing weight rapidly and is unable to hold down most of what little vegan food he is given. After 98 days of pretrial incarceration, Eric is still being denied vegan meals by the jail. Now, after this protracted period of malnutrition Eric's health has taken a turn for the worse. A doctor and nutritional nurse within the jail have both suggested that Eric be given vegan protein shakes yet the jail continues to pretend that they are unable to accomodate his health and nutritional needs. Eric has not seen a doctor in over a week and his health has not improved. The cause of Eric’s poor health is not known because he is not getting proper medical attention. All that we know at this time is that Eric is ill, suffering from medical neglect and needs food he can eat to help recover. Full report here

The National Socialist Movement (a nazi white supremacist group) plans on holding an anti-immigration rally on the west steps of the state capitol in Sacramento on Saturday, April 22nd at 2:00pm.

Anti-racists from all over Northern California plan to converge upon the nazi rally and stop them from spreading their message. Protesters will meet at the cactus garden at the capitol near 15th and N streets at 1:30pm. Read more

President Bush will be in San Jose on Friday, April 21st, and in West Sacramento on April 22nd. Protests and mobilizations are being organized now. Information can be found here, and here

On Friday, over 10 students at UC Davis, entered the Mark Hall on the campus in order to meet with the chancellor. In the past, students were informed that the chancellor rarely if ever meets with students, so students staged a sat-in, while waiting to speak to the chancellor. Students were then to leave due to "fire codes." After a while of ocupying the space, students negoitated a call to the presidents office, and a possible meeting with the chancellor in the near future was obtained. The action is partly in response to President Dynes cancelling his meeting with USAS students twice, and the UC administration arresting 18 students at UC Berkeley, and 10 students at UC Riverside on Tuesday. Students are asking for the passing of the Designated Suppliers Program. Report and pictures here.

A website dedicated to exposing the supposed mistreatment of Foster Farms’ chickens is under attack for allegedly infringing on intellectual property and defaming the company’s name. A lawyer representing Foster Farms, a family-owned American poultry company since 1939, ordered the operators of fosterfacts.net to turn over the domain and “refrain from any libelous or slanderous activity toward Foster Farms” or risk legal retribution. Fosterfacts.net details alleged health violations such as unsanitary living conditions and inadequate veterinary care uncovered in surreptitious investigations of Foster Farms facilities. The website is owned by the East Bay Animal Advocates (EBAA), an animal rights group based in Martinez. Full report here.

FBI repression against eco-activists continues! Four new indictees include Darren Thurston, Joseph Dibee and Rebecca Rubin who have already been indicted in relation to the large, overarching Oregon cases. Also indicted is Justin Solondz, 26, who has not been charged in any of the other Northwest allegations. Defendants are alledged to have committed acts during the time period of September 1, 2001 through or on October 15, 2001 in Lassen County, CA. Charges are "Conspiracy to Commit Arson, Arson of a Government Building and Use & Carrying of a Destructive Device and in Relation to a Crime of Violence." Alledged acts took place at the Bureau of Land Management's Litchfield Wild Horse and Burro Corrals located at Susanville, CA. Full report here.

In Fresno, federal immigration agents arrested 51 illegal immigrants during a targeted sweep Thursday and Friday, according to a spokeswoman with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. ICE agents arrested 49 Mexican nationals and two people from El Salvador, all of whom were under court orders to leave the United States, said Virginia Kice. "The people we're targeting are people who have had their day in court, had their due process, and been ordered to leave," said Kice. Three of ICE's "fugitive operations" teams conducted the sweep in cities across the county, in many cases making arrests before dawn. ICE is the enforcement arm of the agencies created from the old Immigration and Naturalization Service under the auspices of the Department of Homeland Security. Full report here. Also, an organizer with the Industrial Workers of the World, recentally wrote this piece, on the movement against HR 4437. Report here.

On Friday, about 150 students staged a protest inside Fresno High during morning classes. When they tried to jump the fence to join other protestors downtown, they were charged by the police and forced back on campus. There was a report of 2 students being hit with tasers and a parent being arrested for assulting an officer. In all, 220 students were detained on Friday. That compares to 200 who were detained on Wednesday. Other students from some middle and high schools found their way downtown. A group of about 150 gathered in Courthouse Park and attempted to march down the Mariposa Mall to City Hall, where they believed they would be safe and not arrested. As the students came to “N” street, which is about 2 blocks from City Hall, they were confronted by patrol cars with their lights flashing, police on bicycles, and officers from the Gang Suppression Unit of the FPD (MAGIC). The students were told that they would not be allowed to move any further toward City Hall and were forced to return to Courthouse Park. Full reports here, and here.

Hundreds of students from multiple high schools in Fresno walked out today in protest of HR 4437. The students marched to City Hall where they held a rally. Photos here. Also, in Ceres, students at the local high school walked out of their classes and protested for over two hours on Friday. Over 100 were suspended, and some were detained and cited by the police. Info here.

Thousands of students have continued to walk out in Fresno, and have done so in increasing numbers. On Wednesday, walkouts continued, and police began detaining students, and steped up monitoring of the protests. Report here.