A Call has been put out for people to keep Mexican consulates and embassies all over the world from opening on Monday morning, October 30th. List In SF, protesters met at the Mexican Consulate at 7am (photos), and will return at 4pm. People gathered at the Mexican Consulate in San Jose at 7am. There will also be an electronic blockade of Mexican Embassy and Consulate websites on Monday.

On Sunday, tanks and large machinery were used in efforts to tear down barricades. Thousands of women, children, and men were in the streets, enduring attacks with tear gas and other chemical weapons. There were reports that several protesters were killed by the police, including one child. Many who have been abducted are being taken to Ixcotel Penitentary and military camps and are being beaten there. They are also raiding and destroying homes in Oaxaca, as happened in Atenco.

A film screening will be held at Station 40 on Wednesday night at 7pm, with funds raised going to people in Oaxaca.
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According to Friday evening's reports from Radio APPO and other sources, paramilitaries began an assault on Oaxaca, which has been held by the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (APPO) for over 5 months. People were killed, injured, disappeared, and hospitalized. New York City Indymedia reporter Brad Will (William Bradley Roland) was shot in the chest and killed, while Oswaldo Ramírez, photographer for Milenio Diario, has also been shot and is injured. Brad Will's Video from Friday APPO also confirmed that schoolteacher Emilio Alfonso Fabián died from three bullet wounds after an attack by shooters for Ulises Ruiz Ortiz outside the state government palace. Reportes en español: 1 | 2 | English: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 There were several protests over the weekend. People gathered Saturday at 7pm at San Francisco City Hall for a vigil for Oaxaca and the 5 people who were killed there on Friday. Photos: 1 | 2

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People in several cities around the US heeded ANSWER's Call to Action to organize anti-war activities for Saturday, October 28th. ANSWER said, "The people will force the issue of the Iraq war onto the U.S. political stage by taking to streets in demonstrations in cities and towns throughout the United States." In the Bay Area, there were protests in San Francisco (Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Video ), and in Berkeley.

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Several local hard rock bands have organized a show that will be a fundraiser for Sandra Tellis, the 45 year-old woman from Oakland who was was beaten, tied up, and set on fire on September 1st. She survived, and is reportedly recovering slowly in a Bay Area hospital. The bands will play on Friday night, October 27th at the Uptown, at 1938 Telegraph Ave. in Oakland. Doors are at 8pm for this 21+ event. Participating bands in the show include Placenta, Soul Broker, The Greenhouse Effect, and Stonecutter. The bands' share of admission will go to a fund that has been set up to benefit Tellis.

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Two FCC commissioners will appear at the Oakland Marriott this Friday, October 27th, at 5pm to hear comments from local broadcasters, listeners and media activists as they debate new media ownership rules that would allow a few big corporations to own even more of what we read, watch and listen to. This is the only hearing in the Bay Area dealing with corporate media consolidation and lack of diversity in the media. Details

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Two Fresno women tell their stories of what it is like to be homeless in Fresno. Pictured: Pam Kincaid, as she told her story to the press in front of Fresno City Hall.

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On October 25th, Judge Charles Breyer dismissed three counts involving marijuana cultivation against Richard Watts, ruling that the U.S. Attorney's Office had violated the Speedy Trial Act. Judge Breyer, who sentenced Ed Rosenthal to one day in jail after the previous trial, openly challenged Assistant U.S. Attorney George Bevan several times about the federal government's justification for retrying Mr. Rosenthal and Mr. Watts. Attorneys have to submit several documents before a December 6th appearance about how to proceed with the case.

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Read a report on the meeting with Subcomandante Marcos of the EZLN in Tijuana during the Zapatista's La Otra Campana taking place throughout Mexico.

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On Thursday, October 26th, Gabriel Meyers was told that the DA's office can proceed with the felony criminal charge that Meyers attempted to lynch himself at the anti- G8 demonstration in July of 2005. Meyers made a statement to the court before he left today that he feels that the government is "railroading and scapegoating" him. Gabe is to have a trial setting hearing on Friday, December 8th at 9am in Dept. 22 of 850 Bryant (3rd floor). Gabe is the only person who faces criminal charges from the July 8th, 2005 anti-G8 protest in which an SFPD officer was injured.

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A Rally for Police Accountability was held in Berkeley on Wednesday October 25th. Berkeley Copwatch, the Clown Army, and the Tactical Ice Cream Unit called for people to gather at the Berkeley Public Safety Building (Martin Luther King at Center St) at 6 pm, and then march to North Berkeley Senior Center (Hearst and Martin Luther King) for a Public Hearing on "The Future of Civilian Review in Berkeley," beginning at 7:30 pm. The march and rally demanded that the Police Review Commission (PRC), the nation's oldest independent civilian review organization, take bold action to preserve civilian review.

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October 23rd: Oaxacan Teachers Reject Return to School: SNTE Still on Strike!

danielsan reports from Oaxaca City, Mexico - There have been two APPO supporters killed this week: a painter and a teacher. Two autopsies filmed by human rights observers, two memorials in the Zocalo. There have been many more over the past few months, but as more time passes it seems like the violence comes in waves. They're starting to use the term "death squads" to describe the teams of out-of-uniform cops and military that are always found responsible for the shootings at the barricades or at the building occupations. There are some soldiers and cops around from time to time. Read more, photos and audio

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UC Santa Cruz students and workers held a protest against various UC policies and practices when the Regents visited the campus on October 18th, 2006. Their two central demands were the democratization of the UC system and that UCSC fix a series of core problems before considering expansion. After a standoff lasting hours, police targeted three activists, using their batons and pepper-spray against the crowd as they dragged the three into the building. Eventually, a deal was struck and the 3 students were charged and released, only after the Regents exited the building. Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

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Sunday, October 22nd was the 11th National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression, and the Criminalization of a Generation. Events were held in cities all over the country, with people wearing black and remembering the names of people who have been killed by law enforcement. An update to the book "Stolen Lives: Killed by Law Enforcement" was released on October 22nd. In San Francisco, a 2pm rally was held at Haight and Stanyan. Hundreds marched to Jefferson Square Park for a second rally. Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Video: 1 | 2 In San Jose, people whose lives have been directly impacted by police use of force and repression spoke out at an indoor event in the late afternoon. In Fresno, people marched from Justice Corner to N street and Mariposa for a rally and vigil. Photos

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At noon on October 18th, 2006, members of AFSCME 3299 and their supporters marched from the Bay Tree Plaza to the base of campus, where a roving picket line was held, followed by a rally. The workers have been engaged in a year-long struggle to receive wages similiar to those of neighboring colleges and universities where people can make up to 30% more for the same (or less) work. Over the summer, the California State Assembly passed legislation funding these wage increases, yet UC President Dynes has been holding the money hostage as a way of forcing union concessions over pension issues. Photos: 1 | 2

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On Saturday October 21st, an indoor rally to call for freedom for Mumia Abu-Jamal took place at the YWCA, at 1515 Webster St. in Oakland, from 2-4:30pm. This event was organized by the Partisan Defense Committee and Labor Black League for Social Defense. They say that Mumia's life is in danger, and now is the time to organize. Flyer

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Free Battered Women presented Our Voices Within: Out of the Shadows, on Saturday October 21st from 2:00pm to 5:00pm, at the Humanist Hall in Oakland (390 27th St. between Telegraph & Broadway). Flyer/Volante This event celebrated the freedom of formerly incarcerated survivors of domestic violence, and honored those who remain imprisoned. Arts and crafts by incarcerated battered women were featured, and battered women who have been released from California prisons were present.

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10/19 update: Temporary restraining order halts destruction.
10/17: At a press conference on the steps of Fresno City Hall, the ACLU and other civil rights groups announced a lawsuit against the City of Fresno, accusing the city of violating the constitutional rights of homeless people whose personal possessions are being destroyed and confiscated in ongoing raids. Clothing, medication, tents and blankets, as well as irreplaceable family photographs, personal records and documents have been destroyed by Fresno’s Police and Sanitation Depts., who use bulldozers and garbage trucks to confiscate tents and shopping carts full of personal belongings, usually crushing them on the spot, often with the homeless owners watching and protesting. Photos

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On October 16th, New York attorney Lynne Stewart was sentenced to 28-months and is now free on bail, pending appeal. Stewart was convicted of releasing a statement by her client, Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, to the media. Her co-defendant Ahmed Abdel Sattar was sentenced to 24 years, while translator Mohamed Yousry received 20 months in prison and was also released on bail.

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On Monday, October 16th, hundreds of people gathered on the steps of San Francisco City Hall to call for an end to what they describe as officially-sanctioned depopulation of the poor and people of color from their neighborhoods in Bayview Hunters Point, Western Addition, the Mission, and South of Market. Reports: 1 | 2 | Photos

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The San Francisco Bay Area is a Mecca for vegetarians with nearly 100 vegetarian restaurants in the region. Bay Area Vegetarians (BAVeg) sponsors the annual "Best of Veg" survey to recognize the top vegetarian restaurants in the area and to raise awareness of how easy it is to dine with compassion and good health, vegetarian-style. The public is encouraged to dine at vegetarian restaurants of their choice and vote for their favorites in several categories through November 15th.

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