Feature Archives

On October 11th, Palestinian and Jewish LGBT/queer activists held a protest against promoting LGBT tourism to Israel in front of the Tel Aviv gay center. The protesters intercepted a group of travel agents and other guests attending the conference that took place inside the gay center. While entering, the guests went by the protesters, who were wearing T-shirts that read "Queers Visit Palestine, Not The Occupiers & Oppressors".

Canadian authorities, acting at the behest of U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency officials, arrested seed distributor, activist and magazine publisher Marc Emery, often referred to as the "Prince of Pot", on July 29th, 2005 on charges of conspiracy to distribute marijuana seeds, conspiracy to distribute marijuana and conspiracy to engage in money laundering. His arrest was politically motivated, based on drug legalization efforts. Emery and supporters spent years fighting extradition, however he surrendered into the custody of the British Columbia Supreme Court on September 28th, 2009 and is awaiting extradition to a US federal prison.

Avital writes:, "Last week I spent Rosh HaShanah (Jewish New Year) in the Tel Aviv/Petach Tikva area, no one around cared too much about actually observing the holiday. Of course, as an officially Jewish state, most businesses and transportation services shut down on these days. But that doesn’t stop most Israelis from maneuvering their way around these ‘inconveniences ‘and taking shared taxis, crowding into the few open coffee shops, and going to the beach."

On September 21st, ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya returned to the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa and appeared on several television stations from within the Brazilian embassy. Coup leader Roberto Micheletti appeared on television after Zelaya's return became public and demanded Brazil hand over Zelaya to stand trial. The coup regime also imposed a curfew until at least 6pm Tuesday. On the morning of September 22nd, police moved in and attacked protesters in front of the Brazilian embassy, firing tear gas at the crowd. Reuters reports that at least two tear-gas canisters landed inside the embassy compound. Chiapas Indymedia reports 2 people were killed as police shot live ammunition at protesters. Live radio from Honduras

UPDATE via G20 radio, 9/24/09: 1100 protesters march despite dispersal orders. Police use tear gas and LRAD accoustic weapon on demonstrators. Post-G20 update: Video Appears to Show Pittsburgh Police Using Arrested Student as Prop for Group Photo

The second G-20 summit of 2009 is due to take place this week, bringing the leaders of 20 wealthy nations to Pittsburgh, PA, to make economic decisions affecting billions of people. Held annually since 1999, the G-20 has recently been meeting twice a year in response to the global economic crisis. Throughout the week, economic justice and climate activists from across the country will seek to upstage the official story through marches, educational forums, tent cities, a climate camp and other tactics.

On Friday, September 18, about 300 protesters -- Israeli, Palestinian and international -- attended the weekly demo against the apartheid wall in Ni‘lin. In a joint collective action the protesters succeeded in moving one of the wall blocks (weighing a few tons), causing substantial damage to the wall, and opening a gap in which a person can pass.

On Wednesday, September 16, Maya Wind and Netta Mishly from the refusenik group "Shministim" spoke at the MLK, Jr. Building at UC Berkeley. Maya Wind and Netta Mishly both signed the 2008 Shministim Letter: a declaration by Israeli high school students that they would not enlist in the IDF to occupy Palestinian territories and rule over Palestinian life. Since military service is mandatory for Israeli Jews upon completing high school, Maya, Netta, and many of the dozens of teenagers who signed the letter have been sentenced to military prison, sometimes for multiple terms.