Feature Archives

On the day after President Obama's State of the Union address, young people and elders gathered in front of the Federal Building in San Francisco for a rally and press conference to demand more job creation efforts. They stood together to commit to the fight to save social security, calling it "America's promise to its people."

On January 25th, rallies were held in San Jose, San Francisco, and other cities across the U.S. in response to the FBI raids on seven homes and an anti-war office on September 24, 2010. The FBI also has served subpoenas to testify before a federal grand jury to 14 activists in Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan. These activists are involved in many groups, including the Twin Cities Anti-War Committee, the Palestine Solidarity Group, the Colombia Action Network, Students for a Democratic Society, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

In a day of protests in Egypt, hundreds of thousands of people marched in the streets on January 25th, facing down riot police, water cannons, baton charges and tear gas. The people are chanting for freedom and an end to the corrupt administration of Hosni Mubarak, in power for 30 years, with the demand that he join the Tunisian dictator Ben Ali in Saudi Arabia.

On January 28th, hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets again as the government cut access to internet and phone service for much of the country. By the evening, government buildings on fire and many protesters dead and wounded from tear gas canisters and live ammunition. As the army took to the street, replacing the police, and initially not attacking protesters, many thought the revolution had achieved its goal but Mubarak appeared on state television in the early evening to say he had fired the rest of the government but intended to stay in power.

On February 1st, millions took to the streets of Cairo, Alexandria and other Egyptian cities to demand an end to the Mubarak regime. Mubarak responded that he will not run for re-election in September but demonstrators will not let him steal another rigged election for his military junta; a protest is scheduled for Friday February 4th to march on the Presidential Palace in Heliopolis and force a change in regime.

On January 29th, hundreds took to the streets in San Francisco to stand in solidarity with the protesters in Egypt.

San Francisco women's rights activists turned out some of their best street theater for an anti-abortion crowd of thousands that marched through the city on Saturday. Following an opening rally, which at least one anti-choice visitor tried to interrupt, women's rights demonstrators walked along the Embarcadero, shadowing the "Walk for Life" march. A couple performed racy dances at various spots alongside the anti-choice march, shocking their opponents. Pro-choice activists said that what is more shocking, however, is "the extremes to which the right wing will go to deny women health care."

On January 20th, a meeting on the USF campus was held in protest of the sudden and unannounced shutdown of 34-year-old college station KUSF the day before. The station's FCC license was sold for $3.75 million on January 18th, in a secret deal of which almost nobody at the station had prior knowledge. Shocked and outraged station personnel, supporters, students, a media studies professor, and other media made up close to 500 people who rallied outside the packed auditorium. Supporters plan to attend the Board of Supervisors meeting January 25th at City Hall.

As the Obama administration moves closer to introducing the NAFTA-style Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) to Congress, on January 14th, 2011, citizens and activists joined Kim Kyung-Ran, Director of External Relations for the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, in a rally at San Francisco's new Federal Building to oppose the deal. Labor, faith, environmental, fair trade, and family farm organizations called on Minority Leader Pelosi, Congress and President Obama to stop pursuing the KORUS FTA, an agreement expected to cost American jobs and grant corporations in each country rights to subvert public interest laws.

On January 22nd, the 38th anniversary of the passage of Roe v. Wade, the anti-choice, anti-gay Walk for Life organization bused people into the city of San Francisco for a march in support of criminalizing abortions. Pro-Choice activists countered them with a rally and march along the Embarcadero. This was the 7th year an organized march against womens' choice was held in the city.