Feature Archives

Since December, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has been disrupting whaling operations by a Japanese fleet that illegally hunts whales under the guise of "research." Confrontations included Sea Shepard lobbing rotten butter onto the decks of the whaling ships as well as directly ramming whaling ships on the open seas at times. The whalers in turn have used sonic weapons to retaliate. After three months of operations attempting to prevent the illegal whaling, the Sea Sheperd crew are returning to better prepare for future battles with the whalers.

Last week, "Waltz With Bashir" opened in theaters across the Bay Area. The movie concentrates on stories and experiences of Israeli soldiers who invaded Lebanon in 82'. Following Ari Folman's journey to retrieve his memory, the viewers are shown a glimpse of the atrocities and war crimes committed by the Israeli Army and its allies in Lebanon.

On Thursday, February 12th, scientists, educators and students will observe a worldwide celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Robert Darwin. Darwin's insight that all biological species have evolved from common ancestors through natural selection, which he first discussed in his monumental book On the Origin of Species in 1859, and then expanded upon 12 years later in The Descent of Man, has become a cornerstone of modern biology.

Schachaf Polakow, a member of Anarchists Against the Wall, will give presentations in the Bay Area on February 5th and 6th that will include film and photos, and will focus both on AATW's recent work in solidarity with Gaza and their ongoing work in the West Bank. Anarchists Against the Wall is a direct action group that fights against Israeli apartheid and oppression in all its forms, most recently the atrocities in Gaza. For five years the group has waged a constant struggle against Israel's Wall.

On January 22, police seized an Indymedia server in Manchester, England. Kent Police had e-mailed UK Indymedia earlier in the day in regards to two comments containing the address of a judge that had been posted to the site. It is believed the search and seizure was connected to postings about a recent Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) trial in the UK. The seizure specifically targeted a server named "Strummer" which functions as a mirror of the UK site and does not actually receive submissions from users. The server was reportedly handed over to police by hosting company UK Grid without a warrant being served.

On January 18th, Israel announced it was ending its attacks on Gaza and after Hamas agreed to stop rocket fire the next day, Israeli troops have begun to withdraw. Gazans who survived the 22-days of Israeli attacks are starting to venture outside and some reporters are starting to get in to the the destruction. At least 1314 Palestinians were killed and 50,000 were left without homes as a result of the fighting. Israeli officials have said that one reason they ended their attacks was to prevent distracting news stories from getting in the way of Obama's inauguration in the US.

On Saturday January 3rd, Israeli ground troops moved into Gaza, cutting the territory in two and surrounding Gaza City. At least 600 Palestinians have now been killed with thousands wounded and an even larger number left without water and other basic services. As protests occur around the world and many world leaders denounce the massacre, the US is trying to delay a ceasefire and US politicians like NY mayor Bloomberg and Democratic Congressman Gary Ackerman have flown to Israel to show their support for the continuation of the killing.

In San Francisco, an emergency protest took place Saturday at Powell and Market. Over one thousand protested in San Jose Sunday. On Monday morning in San Francisco, a thousand protesters marched from Market and Montgomery to the Federal Building, demanding that Israel halt its invasion of Gaza. A small delegation attempted to enter the Federal Building to deliver a message asking the US government to stop supporting the Israeli military.