Feature Archives

On February 7th, the Australian Government released graphic photos of whales being slaughtered by a Japanese whaling fleet to the media. The Australian Government has also extended the mission of the Oceanic Viking in documenting the whale slaughter in preparation for an international legal case against Japanese whaling. The graphic images apparently show a mother minke whale and its calf being winched aboard a Japanese vessel after being shot with explosive tipped harpoons.

Direct Action to Stop the War (DASW) organized protests for Tuesday, February 5th, the day California voters went to the polls for the 2008 presidential primary, to demand that Democratic presidential candidates take stronger anti-war positions. DASW called into question the "anti-war" credentials of candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Protesters gathered at 5pm in San Francisco's U.N. Plaza and in Oakland's Frank Ogawa Plaza for marches to Clinton's and Obama's campaign headquarters in SF and Oakland.

On January 20th, Retired Army Col. and US diplomat Ann Wright spoke in Santa Cruz to an audience of about 70 people about her new book "Dissent: Voices of Conscience". The book profiles government officials whose loyalty to the Constitution and the American people ultimately transcended partisan politics. The afternoon opened with songs from the Raging Grannies, and an introduction by Santa Cruz County Supervisor Neal Coonerty and Diane Rejman of the GI Rights Hotline.

On January 10th, Boatamo Mosupyoe, Professor of African Studies at CSU Sacramento, spoke at the Veterans Memorial Building in Santa Cruz. Dr. Mosupyoe is an expert on mediation and interest-based negotiation, conflict resolution and civil society’s role in mitigating and resolving conflicts. Mosupyoe addressed Africa’s unique contribution to the growing appreciation of mediation and conflict resolution methodologies and ethics in addressing regional and world problems.

On Saturday, January 19th, the San Francisco Tenants Union will be holding a "Save Rent Control Convention" from 1:00-4:00pm to raise awareness and organize against an anti-rent control ballot measure that recently qualified for the June 2008 elections. The measure, which purports to be about reforming eminent domain, will abolish rent control in California, erode environmental protections, negatively affect local land-use planning, and stop future water projects.

Anti-war organizers in the Bay Area have resurrected Direct Action to Stop the War. The next meeting of DASW will be on Sunday, January 20th at 4pm at the La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck (near Ashby BART) in Berkeley. DASW is organizing actions related to convincing presidential candidates to take a stand against the war during the 2008 presidential campaign, and to exposing companies such as Chevron that profit from the US-led war and occupation in Iraq. Several affinity groups have joined in the organizing, and many more are likely to join in the months between now and the anniversary of the beginning of the war.

The Wireless Radiation Alert Network (WRAN) educates Santa Cruz County community members on the adverse health effects related to Electro Magnetic Frequency (EMF) exposure in the extremely-low frequency (ELF) and radiofrequency (RF) band of the electromagnetic spectrum (1-300GHz). Energies of these frequencies, called non-ionizing, are used in electrical transmission, distribution and electrical use by the public, by radio and tv broadcasts, cellular transmissions, wireless internet access and more. WRAN promote alternatives to wireless communication systems, for example the use of fiber optics and coaxial cables and to preserve existing landline phone networks.