Feature Archives

On Thursday, April 19th, at 5:00 p.m., a rally was held at Civic Center in San Francisco to oppose the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the Federal "Partial-Birth" Abortion Ban. Many say that the decision, which was announced on April 18th, will endanger women's health by eroding the scope of Roe v Wade. In a 5-4 decision, the justices upheld the Federal Abortion Ban that had been passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush in 2003. This federal ban will come into effect within a few weeks. It will trump California's strong pro-choice laws and ban certain abortions, without an exception to preserve the health of the woman.

In 2006, a historic mobilization for immigrant rights swept the US as millions took to the streets. Corporate news media predictably covered the marches with a mix of surprise, ignorance, and racism, yet grassroots media activists were there to document the voices and the stories behind this mass movement. ¡Gigante: Despierta! ("Giant: Awake!") is a DVD compilation of short films from around the U.S. documenting the story of May Day 2006, due to hit the streets in the weeks before May 1, 2007. The project was shot, edited, and brought together by a network of independent video activists, graphic designers, community organizers, musicians, and immigrant rights activists.

Tuesday, May 1st was the first anniversary of the Great Boycott of 2006, in which immigrants led walkouts, boycotts, and protests all over the US. Protests were held in cities such as Davis, Fresno, Modesto, Oakland, Sacramento, Salinas, San Francisco, and Watsonville. The ILWU stopped work in 6 west coast ports, in part to support the Alcatraz ferry workers and their struggle against Hornblower Cruises. May 1st was also a day of nationwide student walkouts.

On April 14th, tens of thousands of people gathered across the country to call for action on climate change. The group Step it Up spearheaded the national day of action. Over 1,300 rallies, demonstrations and actions were held in all fifty states to call on Congress to cut carbon emissions by 80 percent by the year 2050.

On April 9th at The Carter Center in Atlanta, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and McDonald's announced a landmark agreement to work together to improve the wages and working conditions of the farmworkers who pick Florida tomatoes. After two years of escalating pressure by the CIW and its allies, McDonald's has agreed to all of the CIW's demands and more.

When Jeff Englehart, Thomas Cassidy, and Joe Hatcher joined the Army in early 2001 they were looking for a change of pace and some college money. A few months later, however, the Twin Towers were smoldering, the ‘war on terror’ was growing from their ashes, and what it meant to be a US soldier was changed dramatically. They three strangers met in the Army and soon found themselves stationed in Iraq, where they served in and around the violent Sunni Triangle from February 2004 until February 2005.

Staring off of my porch toward the river I see dozens of buildings: dilapidated, sinking into the river, being demolished, and wasting away. I scan the horizon, and through the blizzard I see a huge city, a once bustling metropolis, now eerily silent. I look down my street, and on either side are vacancies; some in bad shape but the majority are inhabitable. I stand on the porch of the biggest one I could find and smile, and then I go back inside and stoke the fire. Life is good to me, and I feel invincible. There is an old Earth First! slogan that comes to mind: “visualize industrial collapse.” Not only can I visualize it by looking out the window, but I am living here—right smack dab in the midst of it—like a king.