Feature Archives

On July 7th through 9th, the G8 countries held their annual meeting high above Lake Toyoaka in Hokkaido Japan at an exclusive spa resort. The one agreement that was reached at the summit was that the G-8 countries would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by the year 2050, 42 years from now. Fidel Castro commented in his reflections of July 15, that this "is about the time that hell freezes over".

On July 19th, three activists were arrested for breaking through police barricades around Pelosi's Pacific Heights mansion and "dying in" on her walkway to protest against war with Iran. Many banners and signs focused on House Concurrent Resolution 362 and the $400 million the US is spending on covert operations in Iran.

On July 31st, there will be an eyewitness report-back at the SF Women’s Building from two Iranian American activists just back from Iran.

On July 16th, a prisoner exchange took place between the governments of Israel and the Hezbollah. Israel has returned 199 bodies of Hezbollah fighters and five live soldiers to Lebanon in exchange for the bodies of two Israeli soldiers who were killed on an occupied territory on the border between Israel and Lebanon. The government of Lebanon stated that “the agreement marks a big failure to Israel’s tactics and policies.”

In the past year the price of food has risen sharply, creating food crises and starving the global poor. Contrary to claims made by policy makers, the crisis has been caused by three decades of neo liberalism, American industrial agriculture, the World Bank with its structural adjustment policies, economic speculations on food and oil prices, and the diversion of arable land to bio-fuel production.

Seventy years ago this month, Mussolini's government published a "Manifesto of Race", which lead to racial laws persecuting Jews, Roma and members of other ethnic minorities groups. Now, the country's rightwing government has again stepped up special measures against an entire ethnic group. In late June, the Italian Interior Minister announced that a file is to be drawn up containing a DNA data base with digital fingerprints and photos of every Roma in Italy, irregardless of their citizenship. One popular Italian magazine, Famiglia Cristiana, denounced the move as "an indecent and racist proposal" reminiscent of "when Jewish children were identified with a yellow star on their sleeves".

On July 4th, peace and humanitarian organizations celebrated a Canadian federal court decision favoring Iraq war resister Joshua Key that could have substantial implications for other American war objectors. Canada's ruling conservative government may still try to ignore the will of its citizenry.In a nationwide action July 9th, US protesters drew attention to the imminent deportation from Canada of AWOL GIs. Across the country 14 events were held in support of US war resisters attempting to remain in Canada. Activists were pleased with a surprise decision announced just hours after San Francisco's noon hour protest; a Canadian Federal Court granted Corey a last minute reprieve of at least several months while his lawyers are given an opportunity to appeal earlier negative rulings.

Japanese police continue to escalate repression against protesters of the Group of 8 Summit, part of a growing trend of human rights suppression in Japan. Police in full riot gear are supported by the Japanese Army, called the Self Defense Forces (SDF). Air and sea missions near the summit are being carried out in a joint deployment of the SDF and the US military.