June Open Hack Nite
queer-j brad,

June's Open Hack Nite featured an introduction to video editing, zine making facilitated by Grrrl Zines A-Go-Go, and human-to-human nonhierarchical wireless networking.

July's Open Hack Lab will include more technological skill-sharing - an introduction to old school GNU/Linux (command line/typing as a more powerful alternative to pointing and clicking) - and zine making.

Wednesday, 19 July 2006
8:00 PM - 10:00 PM (note later start time)
Voz Alta 1544 Broadway downtown 1 block from City College

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Largest on-shore oilfield is hidden from view
Sharat G. Lin,

Whether viewed from the ground or the air, the vast landscape is blighted by a maze of dirt roads, myriad drilling pads, a web of crude oil and steam pipelines, tank farms, and a forest of electric power poles. Apparently, the oil companies make no secret of their dislike of people coming to photograph the oilfields for fear that public awareness of the sheer intensity of drilling and production will bring about increased regulatory scrutiny. Security guards in white pick-up trucks scurry after cars that stop on the shoulders of public roads to photograph the activity. On one occasion, the author was pursued up Mocal Road out of the Midway-Sunset oilfield and into the dead end of Crocker Springs Road.

The largest oilfield in the lower 48 states in not in Texas, but in California. And it's not off-shore. If fact, it straddles the California Aqueduct that supplies much of Los Angeles' drinking water. Guess what? The oil companies don't want you to know about it.
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From Manila IMC: Killing Season in the Philippines
Herbert Docena (Focus on Global South) repost,

MANILA - Political activist Cathy Alcantara was gunned down by unidentified assailants last December 5, outside the resort where she had helped to organize a conference on farmers' rights.

Two months later, the lifeless body of her activist friend, 19-year-old Audie Lucero, was found in a remote rice field. Lucero was last seen surrounded by police officers and soldiers in a hospital lobby, inexplicably crying.

Annaliza Abanador-Gandia, another left-leaning activist, had frequently marched with the two victims, often at the forefront of demonstrations calling for various sorts of political change, including the ouster of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, an end to US military exercises in the Philippines, and overhaul of the World Trade Organization's free-trade policies.

On May 18, it was Abanador-Gandia's turn to die. It's unclear exactly what happened, because she was alone inside her shop that night. Her body was found slumped on a table, eight bullets through her face, chest and stomach. The gunpowder found on her face indicated that she had been shot at point-blank range.

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Derrick Jensen Benefit for Green Scare at Che Cafe
John Bongo,

Question: Which one book would you give to every politician?

Answer: One that explodes.

Before you freak out, let’s change the question and see what you think: Which one book would you give to Hitler, Goering, Himmler, and Goebbels? Let’s ask this another way: Would a book have changed Hitler? I don’t think so. Unless it exploded.

And before you freak out at the comparison of modern politicians to Hitler and his gang, try to look at it from the perspective of wild salmon, grizzly bears, bluefin tuna, or any of the (fiscally) poor or indigenous human beings. Those in power now are more destructive than anyone has ever been. And they are for the most part psychologically unreachable. And if someone does reach some politician, that politician will no longer be in power.

I recently shared a stage with Ward Churchill. He said the primary difference between the U.S. and the Nazis is that the U.S. didn’t lose.

I responded with one word: “Yet.”

Fanning the Flames of Resistance. A benefit for those resisting the Green Scare ...featuring Derrick Jensen
Friday, July 28th 7-9:30PM
Che Café (Building 161)
UC San Diego
Off I-5 / La Jolla Village Dr. / Gilman Dr.
 http://checafe.ucsd.edu/

$10 sliding scale/No one turned away
All proceeds benefit non-cooperating victims of Green Scare
* Government agents subject to a $975 surcharge*

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Cop Crackdown On the Eve of G8 in Russia
repost from email,

Russia is on the verge of the G8 summit which is to be hosted in Saint Petersburg.

The activists belonging to different political and grass root organizations and groups scattered all over Russia are coming to Saint Petersburg to participate in the alternative "summit". These persons are being harassed and persecuted by the local police and security services agents on their way to Saint Petersburg.

Up to this date at least 100 people have been detained under various pretexts having no legal force. People are forcefully deprived of their documents, transportation tickets, stalked by unknown individuals and then once again arrested by police on the pretext of protecting their personal safety (!). On different occasions people have brutally been mishandled by police and secret service agents.

We are appealing to all people in the Western countries and asking them to voice their solidarity with the Russian political and social activists at this critical moment on the eve of the G-8 summit. We suggest that you picket the Russian embassies and consulates.

For more info about anti-g8 actions in russia, see
 http://int.ru.indymedia.org/

UPDATE:
Despite the fact that as many as 200 potential anti-G8 protesters have been already arrested just before the arrival of Bush in Russia, activists yesterday successfully organised a large carnival protest in Moscow without a single person being detained. "Russian citizens desperately need international help. The government, police and the justice system are only oppressing popular dissent. We urge people to put pressure on the Russian embassy wherever they live." The police have today cancelled the one previously permitted demonstration against the G8, making all public dissent now officially illegal.
 http://sandiego.indymedia.org/en/2006/07/116615.shtml




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Police Violence in Hollywood, Cops Riot
la indymedia repost,

MEANWHILE, in LA...

HOLLYWOOD, July 8, 2006 - Police violence erupted in Hollywood today as a crowd of anti-Minutemen protesters and innocent bystanders were caught in the midst of a spontaneous police riot. As the Minutemen and their supporters held a protected rally on the southeast corner of Hollywood Blvd. and Argyle Street, the opposition overflowed to the nearby corners with the biggest crowd on the southwest corner. Having already surrounded the opposition protestors, members of the LAPD aggressively approached. This despite the fact that the opposition activists were non-violent even when approached by Minutemen provocateurs that frequently drifted across the street. Full Story by Next Move | | Also from the newswire: anti-Minutemen protest photos by Bob Morris VIDEO: video of protestors beat up at minutemen protest by phuk minutemen

UPDATE: Press Conference to Denounce LAPD Brutality this Tuesday

Eric Baskauskas @ Voz Alta
Akemi Hong/ Camilo Ontiveros/ Eric Baskauskas,

||Eric Baskauskas | A Renewed Spirit of Discovery | July 5 – August 5, 2006

With permanent human colonies on Mars within the century the ultimate goal of his “revitalized” space program, President Bush has introduced a future not unlike the naïve visions of space travel and Martian conquest from fifty years ago. Somberly contrasting this optimism is a hidden negativity – our days on Earth may finally be numbered. A Renewed Spirit of Discovery is a collection of work that looks to the future of humankind with these things in mind.
(end transmission) .



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Earth First! Blockades Coal Plant in Virginia
EF!,

- Early this morning, activists with Earth First! and Rising Tide North America set up a non-violent blockade of American Electric Power's (AEP) nearly 50 year old Clinch River coal fired electric facility. Emitting millions of pounds of pollutants yearly, the Clinch River coal plant threatens the health and lives of thousands of downwind residents and the surrounding environment. Burning coal is not only a primary factor behind global climate change, but also drives the expansion of large scale strip mining. Large scale surface mining destroys forests, streams and communities as it alters the Appalachian landscape forever.

UPDATE:
As activists crowded the bridge, they strung banners that read 'The beauty of the mountains runs deeper than a coal seam - abolish strip mining', and 'Clean energy can never come from coal', as well as 'Stop mountain top removal mining'. All coal and other vehicle traffic was blocked to the site for the remainder of the business day. Forming a human roadblock to reinforce the blockade, the assembled activists sang protest songs and engaged in dialogue with police, coal truck drivers, and plant employees. By the end of the day the state police had dispatched more than fifty cars, an armored vehicle, a helicopter, and at least sixty troopers. Having successfully delivered their message to AEP and the wider public, activists negotiated with police to secure the release of people physically locked to the blockade and incurred no arrests.
 http://www.mountainjusticemedia.org/test.php?obj_id=53&story_id=20

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Film Screening: Juarez Femicides -- July 26th
sdimc,

FILM SCREENING:
On the Edge: The Juarez Femicides by Steev Hise
The Mothers of Juarez by Zulma Aguiar
Discussion with Steev Hise
Wed July 26 6:30 p.m.
Bard Hall, First Unitarian Universalist Church
4190 Front St. Hillcrest
$5 Donation Proceeds to Nuestras Hijas de Regreso A Casa (May Our Daughters Return Home) and SDIMC.

For more than a decade, the cities of Chihuahua and Juarez, near the US-Mexico border, have been killing fields for young women, the site of over 400 unsolved femicides. Despite the horrific nature of these crimes, authorities at all levels exhibit indifference, and there is strong evidence that some officials may be involved. Impunity and corruption has permitted the criminals, whoever they are, to continue committing these acts, knowing there will be no consequences.
Small advances in the struggle for justice are due to the perseverance of victims' families who cannot be silenced despite the efforts of state and federal authorities to keep them quiet. Campaigns by local, national and international non-governmental organizations are also important. Often grassroots groups work in a climate of threats and defamation by government officials for making one simple demand - STOP THE FEMICIDE!

Rather than provide an easy, murder-mystery style solution to the crimes, On The Edge sets out to explain the social, cultural, and economic factors that have created this situation where the killings can continue, and continue to go unpunished.


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Camejo pushes for 3-way debate, not democracy
Paul Burton,

Green Party Gov. candidate Peter Camejo is appealing for funds to air TV ads to raise his profile and get himself into the 'debates' with Guvenator and Angelides. But there seems to be no effort to link the call for his inclusion with the right of the candidates of the other three ballot qualified parties to also be included. Janice Jordan, is the Peace and Freedom Party candidate for Gov. and should be in any 'debates' alongside Camejo and others. She's the only woman on the ballot for Guv.

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Oaxaca Initiates Alternative Government
Nancy Davies, repost from narconews.com,

The Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (APPO, by its Spanish initials) declared itself the governing body of Oaxaca on the morning of July 5.

During a student march of several thousand, the Popular Assembly convened representatives of Oaxaca’s state regions and municipalities, unions, non-governmental organizations, social organizations, cooperatives, and parents. They met for several hours in the teachers’ building to decide the next steps of this social movement. Meanwhile perhaps 2000 citizens milled around outside in the zocalo.

The establishment of the Popular Government of the State of Oaxaca is an attempt to revitalize and broaden the historic form of government familiar to peoples in Oaxaca. This form of government is known as usos y costumbres (literally, “practices and customs”) and is recognized as a legitimate form of local self-rule in the Oaxaca state constitution. Usos y costumbres don’t acknowledge political parties; the system functions by consensus.

For the population of Oaxaca, the idea of governing by consensus remains part of the common cultural heritage. Therefore, as APPO was convoked, the modest people who comprise 80% of Oaxaca’s population, recognized it immediately. And they support it, despite the obvious difficulties of convening authorities from around the state. Since these authorities receive no pay, a trip to the capital city is not easy. But it’s happening.
**read more here.

UPDATE: The spirit of unity that has been a hallmark of the teachers’ and popular movement in Oaxaca was put to test yesterday, July 6th, after a series of disagreements and misunderstandings fractured the spirit of festive resistance that has permeated the city.
**read more here.

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DEA Raids SD Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
repost from Americans for Safe Acess,

On Thurday, federal agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) raided as many as 13 San Diego-area medical marijuana dispensaries and arrested at least two of the dispensary operators.

“The DEA continues to waste valuable resources on attacking medical marijuana patients,” said Steph Sherer, executive director of Americans for Safe Access, the leading national medical marijuana advocacy group. “The vast majority of Americans believe the sick and suffering should have legal access to marijuana if they are helped by it.”
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Former Ugandan Parliament Member Speaks in SD
Mark Gabrish Conlan/Zenger’s Newsmagazine,

Miria Matembe, former member of the parliament of Uganda and longtime women's rights activist there, spoke at the Mission Valley library July 2 and rankled many local activists — including Ugandan émigrés — with her insistence that the government's treatment of the Acholi people in the north is not an act of genocide but an attempt to protect them against terrorists. Matembe also described the horrible state of Uganda's rape and domestic violence laws and the issue that led her to break with her long-time ally, Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni: his insistence on amending the constitution so he could run for a third term as president.
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BLACKFIRE, Fri 8PM da Blackdoor, North Park
repost from e-mail, durango indymedia,

BLACKFIRE, with Dias Tristes

"BLACKFIRE's style comprises traditional Native American, Punk-Rock and 'Alter-Native' with strong sociopolitical messages about government oppression, relocation of indigenous people, ecocide, genocide, domestic violence and human rights."

"i think we need to recognize that all our struggles are connected, whether they be sexism, heterosexism, destruction of the earth, exploitation of indigenous people and their land to the war- invasion in Iraq, all of these things are connected. There are some roots in a belief system and the value of "success" and the value is not in life but in money. All of these corporations, free trade agreements, all of these things are fueled by globalization that is connected to the colonization of our people. It's the same thing, the same force, the same form that we've been fighting for over 500 years on this continent, and it's on a larger scale now. It's something that is connected to all these struggles that we really need to recognize and build the bridges and build the solidarity. And solidarity means action." [durango indymedia, from interview with clayton dewey]

Friday, July 7th doors open at 8pm

da Blackdoor
3925 Ohio St. North Park, SD
[off University 1 blk E of 30th]

$8 at the door
proceeds benefit local organizations fighting the minutemen and supporting migrant families currently under attack

 http://www.blackfire.net
 http://www.savethepeaks.org
 http://colorado.indymedia.org/newswire/display/7836/index.php

...also playing Saturday night at the MultiKulti in TJ...

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POLICE BRUTALITY AT FARM!
repost,

For update see latest comment posted below story.

The bulldozers have entered the South Central Farm. Activists have jumped the fence to commit civil disobedience. One person has been arrested. The activists are asking that people go to the farm (at Alameda and 41st) to bear witness to the arrests. (posted 8:32 AM)

more updates at  http://la.indymedia.org
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Mexican Election Deadlocked: Actual Count Wed
repost: nyc.indymedia.org, by John Tarleton ,

Both of the leading candidates in Mexico’s presidential election have claimed victory. Conservative free marketer Felipe Calderon holds a narrow one-point lead according to preliminary tallies of Sunday’s vote. The actual vote count doesn’t begin until Wednesday and could drag on for days. Supporters of leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador suspect he may be a victim of fraud after some exit polls showed him winning but they are taking a wait-and-see attitude until the final results are released.

From the blogwire: Greg Palast: Stealing Mexico, Bush operatives' role in Mexican Elections

Election Cliffhanger: Collins: Mexican Election in Limbo || Giordano: A Closer Look at Mexico’s Preliminary Election Results || Palast: Stealing It in Front of Your Eyes || Siegal: PAN Won Because It Got More Votes || Mailer & Pascarella: Election Day Journal || Oaxaca: The Day After the Election Election Analysis: Mexico on Edge || The Zapatistas Risk All w/Election Day Protests || Election Analysis “From Below and to the Left” || Bush Team Helps Floridize Mexican Election||Ominous Shadow of Stolen ‘88 Elections Hangs Over Mexican Presidential Vote || Mexico’s Left Turn || Baja California Sur Leaning Toward Lopez Obrador on Eve of Mexican Election || Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador || Sixth Declaration of the Selva Lacandona Uprising in Oaxaca: Popular Government to Be Installed July 5 || A Teacher in Every Town || Oaxaca Uprising: How Far Can It Go? || Four Weeks That Shook Oaxaca || Oaxaca Teachers Repel 3,000 Police from City Center || Indymedia Roundup The Battle of Atenco: 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 For More Coverage: IMC-Chiapas || IMC-Mexico|| Radio Pacheco || Radio ke Huelga ||Narco News ||La Jornada

JULY 4000/JULIO 4000
July 4000 Committee,

Join the JULY 4000 Committee
July 4th, 9am at 25th and Imperial Ave. in San Diego

for a symbolic display of 4,000 white flags, strung together down Imperial Avenue in remembrance of the casualties of “citizenship”

According to official estimates, more than 4,000 people have died crossing through the borderlands since Operation Gatekeeper began in 1994. Human rights advocates place the number at more than 10,000. Each year sets a new record for number of deaths.

History will not be kind when it judges the 4th of July 2006. Our children’s children will one day have the clarity to peel back the star-spangled veneer of patriotic allegiance, revealing the hypocrisy of “freedom and justice for all.” Exposed will be the cold and vicious crimes against humanity done in the name of flags.

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Mexico's Continuing Revolution: A Dispatch
rocky neptun,

Whether the election is stolen or not, the Mexican people and its continuing revolution will be strengthened today.

Today, Mexicans will move to the left. They have no choice. The forces of greed and privilege continue to exploit workers, destroy the rural economy (under U.S. dominated trade laws), and stands poised to hand over to foreign corporate control all of Mexico's natural resources - oil, gas, water, and, even, the land itself.

The big question for this evening, will be whether the Mexican power structure will allow democracy to work; whether they will turn over the Presidency to Andres Manuel Lopez Obredor.
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San Diego Critical Mass - June Interviews
queer-j brad,

The last friday of every month, cyclists from over 400 cities worldwide participate in Critical Mass, a group bicycle ride. To many riders, Critical Mass is a leaderless celebration of cycling and other responsible forms of transportation. To others, it is a way to reclaim the streets for social interaction and fun, rather than being locked away and isolated in cars. To still others, Critical Mass is a way to feel safe as a cyclist on the streets by riding together in a group. And for some, Critical Mass is a protest against the car culture that is polluting the air, causing global warming and consuming natural resources that formed over millions of years in little more than a century.

The past few months of San Diego Critical Mass have seen disagreements about its goals and how to interact with drivers and pedestrians. As with almost any endeavor in our macho, competitive culture, only the loudest, most privileged voices tend to be heard. In an attempt to provide an outlet for a broader spectrum of opinion, I talked to 13 riders prior to June Critical Mass.

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Senate poised to destroy the Internet
lotu5,

Network Neutrality — or "Net Neutrality" for short — is the guiding principle that preserves the free and open Internet.
Net Neutrality ensures that all users can access the content or run the applications and devices of their choice. With Net Neutrality, the network's only job is to move data — not choose which data to privilege with higher quality service.

The nation's largest telephone and cable companies — including AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and Time Warner — want to be Internet gatekeepers, deciding which Web sites go fast or slow and which won't load at all.

They want to tax content providers to guarantee speedy delivery of their data. They want to discriminate in favor of their own search engines, Internet phone services, and streaming video — while slowing down or blocking their competitors.

I swear that shit like this really puts a fire under my ass to get community wireless networks going, because the net as we know it is about to disappear, and we're basically at the mercy of rich guy senators doing what their corporate funders tell them to.

Senate committee approves broadcast flag, about to nix net neutrality

 http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060628-7151.html
 http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004777.php

The Corruptibles:
 http://www.eff.org/corrupt/
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