[Sfbay-news] Indybay Weekly Update For Saturday May 3rd 2008

Sat May 3 22:32:33 PDT 2008

Indybay Weekly Update For Saturday May  3rd 2008
http://indybay.org

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Publish Upcoming Events on the Indybay's Calendar!
http://indybay.org/calendar/event_add.php

* Upcoming Events
* Code Pink Protests As Democratic Leaders Arrange For Largest War Funding Bill Yet 
* May Day 2008 Actions in Santa Cruz and Watsonville
* All Charges Dropped Against Jason Paschal
* After Six Years, Al-Jazeera Cameraman Freed From Guantanamo
* Somalia: US Assassination Adds To Humanitarian Disaster
* May Day Protests in Arcata
* San Francisco State Students Walk Out, Join Workers on May Day
* Reclaim the Streets In San Francisco
* Bill in Assembly Committee Would End California Law Enforcement Help in DEA Raids
* DASW Calls for End to the Targeting of Immigrants and Latinos to Enlist
* Modesto Anarcho #7 Hits The Streets

UPCOMING EVENTS

May  4th  6:00 AM: Eyes Wide Open: The Human Cost of the Iraq War (Vigil/Ritual)
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/04/17/18493530.php

May  4th  3:00 PM: LMNOP Weekly Peace Walk, 3PM (Protest)
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/04/27/18495416.php

May  5th  8:00 AM: Rise Women Rise - Reclaim Mothers Day: Week of Actions at the MRS (Protest)
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/05/03/18496543.php

May  5th  9:00 AM: Bay Area Groups Demand Halt to Polluting Power Plant Project (Protest)
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/05/02/18496288.php

May  5th  1:30 PM: Truth in Recruiting meeting with Adam Kokesh (Speaker)
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/05/02/18496224.php

May  5th  6:00 PM: Organizing Meeting to Stop the State's Spray Plan (Meeting)
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/04/28/18495612.php

May  6th 12:00 PM: Winter Soldier in Oakland, Marin: IVAW's Adam Kokesh tour (Teach-In)
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/04/28/18495537.php

May  7th 12:00 PM: No on 98 SF Rally to Save Rent Control (Protest)
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/05/03/18496664.php

May  7th  7:00 PM: WORKER OWNED COOPERATIVES: PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE (Speaker)
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/04/29/18495622.php

May  8th  7:00 PM: Learn About the Spray! SF TOWN HALL MTG - Thurs. May 8th, 7pm (Meeting)
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/04/30/18495955.php

May  9th  6:00 PM: Sing Out for Peace and Justice â€“ in San Jose (Party/Street Party)
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/04/22/18494512.php

May 10th 11:00 AM: Worldwide Protests Against the Scientology Cult/Criminal Racket (Protest)
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/05/01/18496015.php

May 10th 12:00 PM: Richard Gage AIA on 9/11 Truth (Speaker)
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/04/23/18494806.php

May 10th 12:00 PM: Nakba-60, FREE Palestine, Peace and Solidarity Festival (Party/Street Party)
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/04/26/18495163.php

May 10th  2:00 PM: 9/11 Truth For Peace: WEST COAST CONVERGENCE in SF May 10 + 11 (Protest)
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/05/02/18496234.php

More Events On Indybay's Calendar:
http://www.indybay.org/calendar/

Code Pink Protests As Democratic Leaders Arrange For Largest War Funding Bill Yet 
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Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is helping put together the largest Iraq war spending bill yet.  The aim appears to be to fund the war for nearly six months into the next president's term to prevent a new Democratic President from having to vote for the war without risking the war actually ending.  On April 28th, Code Pink started a peace vigil on the front porch of Pelosi's house in San Francisco to urge her to not give the President another blank check for the  occupation of Iraq
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/05/03/18496771.php

May Day 2008 Actions in Santa Cruz and Watsonville
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The Movement for Immigrant Rights Alliance (M.I.R.A.) called for a rally at UCSC and march to Santa Cruz on May 1st, May Day, to demand the DREAM Act be passed in the U.S., a stop to ICE raids, the construction of a day laborer center in Santa Cruz, a fair contract for AFSCME workers and an end to the militarization of borders. Hundreds of families, students and workers participated in May Day activities in Watsonville which included free legal consultations, a rally in the plaza with speakers, musicians, face painting and a brinkolin (jump house) for kids.
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/05/03/18496745.php

All Charges Dropped Against Jason Paschal
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Jason Paschal, an African-American tarot card reader, has successfully ended a 9-month battle to beat charges against him--after he called the Santa Cruz police last summer to complain that a patron of O'Neill's Sports Shop on Pacific Avenue called him a "nigger" and spat on him.
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/05/03/18496725.php

After Six Years, Al-Jazeera Cameraman Freed From Guantanamo
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On Thursday May 1st, Al-Jazeera reporter Sami al-Haj was released after six and a half years at Guantanamo. Al-Hajj, arrived in Sudan early on Friday, was carried off a US air force jet on a stretcher and immediately taken to a hospital. Al-Hajj told reporters at the hospital that "rats are treated with more humanity", than the inmates at Guantanamo, whose "human dignity [is] violated".  10 journalists have been held for extended periods by the U.S. military and then released without charge. The U.S. military continues to hold Jawed Ahmad, a journalist for Canada's CTV, at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.     
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/05/03/18496717.php

Somalia: US Assassination Adds To Humanitarian Disaster
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On May 1st, the US assassinated Aden Hashi Eyrow, one of senior leaders of Somaliaâ€™s Islamist movement, in an air strike that killed at least 10 other people.  Many in Somalia have taken up arms to resist a US backed occupation by Ethiopian troops. Violence has increased in the past year and there have been many well documented cases of war crimes by Ethiopian troops. The upsurge in violence comes as the country is on the brink of a severe drought. The number of people in need of assistance in Somalia has increased to 2.6 million people (35% of the total population), an increase of more than 40% since January 2008.   
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/05/03/18496646.php

May Day Protests in Arcata
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On May Day, a series of protests began with Arcata Food Not Bombs serving a vegan meal  on the Plaza. The Infernal Noise Brigade marched from the Plaza to the HSU Quad where they met up with Humboldt United Students Against Sweatshops (HUSAS) . Together, they then marched up to President Rollin Richmond's office to deliver a petition demanding no more sweatshop labor products at HSU. The students want Richmond to endorse the Designated Suppliers Program, which promotes living wages and freedom of association. 
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/05/03/18496495.php

San Francisco State Students Walk Out, Join Workers on May Day
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Over 600 SFSU students walked out of their classes and blocked traffic May 1st to protest further cuts to California's education system. The students protested a proposed increase to next semester's fee increase, which is an increase of 113 percent since 2002. The proposed increase of student fees are a part of a $14.65 million cut to next year's SFSU budget and part of a larger $4.8 billion budget cut to California's education system. As a result essential services will have to be cut, people will lose their jobs, students will have fewer classes and be forced to pay more for less.
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/05/03/18496481.php

Reclaim the Streets In San Francisco
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On May Day, there was a Reclaim the Streets action in San Francisco. A little over 100 people participated. The mobile party started in Civic Center and went all the way to Golden Gate Park. There was some confrontation early on while leaving Civic Center. The participants were pushed back onto the sidewalk for about five blocks and then claimed the streets once again. 
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/05/03/18496469.php

Bill in Assembly Committee Would End California Law Enforcement Help in DEA Raids
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On April 29th, California's Assembly Committee on Public Safety  passed A.B. 2743. The bill, authored by Assembly Member Lori SaldaÃ±a  (D-San Diego) and spearheaded by the Marijuana Policy Project, or MPP, would direct state and local law  enforcement officers to not assist in federal raids on medical  marijuana patients and providers.  The bill will now continue on to the appropriations committee.
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/05/01/18496145.php

DASW Calls for End to the Targeting of Immigrants and Latinos to Enlist
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Direct Action to Stop the War brought its anti-war focus to May Day actions in San Francisco and Oakland on  May 1st.  Starting at 5:45 a.m. at West Oakland BART, DASW lead a community picket to shut down the Union Pacific rail lines at the Port of Oakland.  From 12:30-2:30pm, DASW marched from Justin Herman Plaza to protests at the Armed Forces Recruiting Center (670 Davis St. at Broadway) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (630 Sansome St. at Washington St.).  DASW also had a contingent at labor and immigrant rights demonstrations on May Day.
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/04/30/18495885.php

Modesto Anarcho #7 Hits The Streets
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Modesto Anarcho writes, "The central valley's journal of insurrectionary class struggle, Modesto Anarcho, is happy to announce the publication of it's seventh issue. In this issue you'll find articles on crime in the valley, indigenous resistance at D-Q University in Davis, the rise of taser gun use by local police, poetry, direct action and repression reports, and much more!"
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/04/28/18495616.php

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