9/24/04: This year alone over half a dozen people have been killed by the police in San Jose. Corina Cardenas: "On February 17, 2004 my father, Rudy Cardenas, became one of them. He was taken from my life forever. My father was shot in the back by state narcotics agent Michael Walker." Michael Walker and Brian Link, another agent who chased Cardenas that day, are on the board of the Central Coast Gang Investigators Association (CCGIA), an organization that trains law enforcement on how to deal with gangs. On September 4, 2004, around one hundred people, including Cardenas' family and members of the NAACP, the Coalition of Vietnamese Americans, and many other groups, protested the CCGIA conference in San Jose and demanded that Walker, who has been indicted on voluntary manslaughter charges, stop teaching tactics to other officers. Story by Corina Cardenas | rudycardenas.net | Read more about the struggle for justice for Rudy Cardenas on Indybay's Police Page •

Mistrial Declared in Pepper Spray Case -- Jury Deadlocked.

On Monday, Sept.21, the defense in the "Pepper Spray by Q-Tip" civil rights trial rested after calling only four witnesses. Highlights included cross-examination by plaintiff's attorney Bob Bloom, when retired Humboldt County Sheriff Dennis Lewis stated that in authorizing his new methods of applying pepper spray he intentionally "used pain as a means of coercion" to gain compliance. Bloom then asked, "did you know that is the dictionary definition of torture?"; "No!" replied Sheriff Lewis.

The lawsuit stems from three Headwaters Forest protests in 1997, at the height of the campaign to save ancient redwoods. Activists had locked themselves to each other in a circle at sit-in protests in rural northern California. As Sheriffs' deputies tried to remove them, the officers used the unprecedented tactic of application of pepper spray by Q-tip. When police footage aired on national tv, the horrified public saw officers force activists' heads back, pry open their eyes and precisely smear the burning chemical into their eyes. Most of the activists were young, some were first time protesters. Read more •

Indybay's newspaper, Fault Lines, has once again hit the streets!
Issue 4 is our best yet and includes articles about:
* Homeland Security sweeps on Latino immigrants
* Landlords milking Section 8
* The referendum in Venezuela
* Chile's 9/11
* The DEA bust on the largest medical marijuana farm in California
* RNC reports, and many many other topics.

Grab a hard copy at friendly locations throughout the Bay Area, or download a PDF of the 4th Issue. And check out back issues online at the Fault Lines website. •

On Saturday, September 25th, the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors (CCCO) will be holding a GI Rights Hotline Training in Oakland. The training will last from 9am to 4pm, and organizers ask that participants RSVP

The GI Rights Hotline provides a variety of services to soldiers and enlistees who call in. It tells people how to get out of the Delayed Enlistment Program (also known as Delayed Entry). It advises and keeps track of soldiers who are on Unauthorized Absense, or who are AWOL (absent without leave). It also advises and refers people who wanbt to file grievances or who have experienced sexual assault, hazing, and domestic violence at the hands of members of the military. Read more on Indybay's Anti-War Page •

9/16: Naomi Klein Reports: Kidnapping Has Mark of Undercover Operation
9/15: Tens of thousands marched in Italy today to demand the release of the Italian NGO workers and their Iraqi co-workers after their kidnapping last week, and to demand a full withdrawal of Italian forces from the US-led occupation of Iraq. Witnesses said about 20 men with AK-47 assault rifles and pistols fitted with silencers stopped their vehicles on September 7 in broad daylight in a busy commercial area of Baghdad and raided the offices of Un Ponter Per Baghdad (A Bridge to Baghdad), a volunteer association established after the end of the 1991 Gulf War, to promote humanitarian aid to Iraq and to fight the sanctions imposed by the United States. They took Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, both Italians, out by their hair, along with Ra'ad Ali Abdul Azziz and Mahnoaz Bassam, both Iraqis - the first time a native Iraqi has been kidnapped since the occupation began. Eye-witness accounts stated that the men were dressed professionally and acted with swift efficiency, singling out the women as leaders in the organization. All of the kidnap victims were staunchly and openly anti-war and anti-occupation.
Local groups such as Global Exchange and independent journalists have been working on an appeal for the release of the humanitarian workers.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE APPEAL

Democracy Now! 9/9 | Democracy Now! 9/15 | Democracy Now! 9/16 | Democracy Now! 9/17 •

9/8/2004: A protest was held at the federal building in San Francisco today (Photos: 1 | 2 | 3) in response to recent DEA raids, and another was held in Sacramento, as well. Just days after Americans for Safe Access released a report about law enforcement violations of the rights of medical marijuana patients in California, the offenses began again. On August 18th, federal agents raided Eddy Lepp’s medicinal garden, ministry, and home, known as Eddy's Medicinal Gardens, in Roseville. Lepp was growing 32,524 Medicinal Cannabis plants on 25 acres of land in Upper Lake California, for the patients his ministry is helping.

On September 3rd, federal agents raided one of the Sacramento area’s only licensed medical marijuana dispensaries- Capitol Compassionate Care, in Roseville. CCC has approximately 1,000 registered patients. It was shut down in a Drug Enforcement Agency action that also included the home of the center’s owner in nearby Newcastle. A defense fundraiser will be held at Eddy's Medicinal Gardens on September 25th The next court date will be October 4th, in Federal Court in San Francisco, and there will be a protest at the corner of Turk and Larkin that day. More details will be posted as they become available.
Read more about this story on Indybay's Drug War Page •

From the Newswire - Today is Labor Day in the United States (of course the authentic workers’ holiday is May 1). What does “Labor” mean though to most Americans? Perhaps images of factory workers, construction workers, or even teachers and nurses come to mind. Indeed, workers in these occupations and others traditionally associated with organized labor will be out in force at marches, rallies, and those ubiquitous Labor Day picnics.

However, a whole new set of workers has begun to organize to rise out of poverty, gain access to health care, and make their workplaces safe. Even though most people would never associate this group of working people with organized labor, many unionists believe that as jobs are outsourced en masse, these workers may represent the final hope of reviving the labor movement in the United States. They are the working people we interact with every day of the week and many of them are employed by the most well-known brands in the world. Read more in Indybay's Labor Section •