LOS ANGELES, November 4, 2006 – Students at Los Angeles City College are demanding action against sheriff deputies over remarks they allegedly made to two female students during the investigation of a reported rape. Outraged students marched to the local sheriff’s station for an explanation and to file a complaint. Unsatisfied with the response from the sheriff’s department students are planning a demonstration this coming Monday. From the Newswire: Sheriff's Detective at LACC: people who report rape were "just drunk" night before by Julia Wallace

LOS ANGELES, November 2, 2006 – In response to the ongoing repression of the people of Oaxaca the Mexican consulate has been the site of continuing protests and vigils this week. A local coalition of diverse groups are coming together on the issue to demand that the Mexican government stop its campaign of violence against its own people in Oaxaca and elsewhere throughout Mexico. They are demanding that the current governor of Oaxaca step down and that the Peoples' Popular Assembly of Oaxaca, APPO, be recognized as the legitimate representatives of the people of Oaxaca.

The Bi-national Front of Indigenous Organizations FIOB and a coalition of other local human rights groups have called for a mass march this Saturday, see: Marcha por Oaxaca - Saturday 10 AM

Latest reports from the newswire: 11/01 Demonstration of Oaxacans and Supporters at Mexican Consulate, with Audio Interview | | Oaxaca Solidarity Demonstrations in the US on Thursday, November 2nd | | Weds 7:10 pm - Protest and Vigil at MX Consulate Happening Now

LOS ANGELES, October 30, 2006 – Oaxacans living in Los Angeles with friends and family under siege in their hometown staged a protest today outside the Mexican Consulate. Spokespersons from the local Oaxacan community say they will hold vigils at the consulate throughout the week and are organizing for a large demonstration at the consulate this Thursday Nov 2nd. They are demanding that the state violence against the people of Oaxaca stop immediately and that both sides work toward a peaceful solution to the current crisis in Oaxaca. From the Newswire: Photos: Protest at Mexican Consulate | | MP3 Audio: Protest at Mexican Consulate in LA

NEW: VIDEO: Oaxacans protest at MX Consulate

UPDATE: Full week of Protests Planned: Demonstrations and Vigils at Mexican Consulate

Independent journalists and media activists around the world are mourning the loss of one their esteemed colleagues. Brad Will fell victim to paramilitary forces of the Mexican government while documenting the current struggle of the people in Oaxaca. Brad was well known and respected within the Indymedia network. Candlelight vigils and demonstrations have already begun at Mexican consulates throughout the nation. A press conference is planned here in Los Angeles this Monday, (see: Oaxaca: Press Conference, Monday in LA) Indymedia newswires have been flooded with articles and commentary in response to Brad’s death. Below are a few selected articles from our newswire:
Reflections on Indymedia: Brad Will, Bravery, and our Common Struggle by salaud | | Commentary: A Lesson from Brad Will by Leslie Radford | Brad Will: El Jardín de la Esperanza by carlos vigueras | Photograper of Indymedia killed by Narco News

Link to the video Brad was filming when he was shot and killed Brad Will's Final Video

And from New York:
Bombs and Shields: Bradley Roland Will 1970-2006 | | NYC Vigil for Brad Will and Emilio Alfonso Fabian | | Bradley Roland Will, U.S. Journalist and Camerman, Killed By Oaxaca Paramiliaries

LOS ANGELES, October 28, 2006 – A march and rally against the US government’s continuing war on the people of the Middle East was held this Saturday in Hollywood. Speakers included Cindy Sheehan, Ron Kovic, Mike Farrell, Arun Ghandi. Estimates range from a low of 1,500 to a high of 5,000 people that took part in the march. Reports from the newswire:
Photos and videos by Susan Forest: images from the 10/28/06 march and rally in Hollywood. | | 10-28-06 Demonstration | | images from the 10/28/06 march and rally in Hollywood. | | images from the 10/28/06 march and rally in Hollywood. | | images from the 10/28/06 march and rally in Hollywood. | | 10/28/06 march and rally in Hollywood. | | video from from the 10/28/06 march and rally in Hollywood | | 10/28/06 Demo | | Speakers at the 10/28 Rally | | Speakers at 10/28/06
Photos by Don Hodges: Hollywood Peace March 10-28-2006 [Part 1/2] | | Hollywood Peace March 10-28-2006 [Part 2/2]
Photos by Michelle: Peace March Oct. 28 | | Peace March Oct. 28
Photos by Cornelius Cardew: Hollywood Peace March and Rally10-28-2006
Photos by Impeach07: Yet Even More Hollywood Rally Pics

Oaxaca City, Mexico - October 27, 2006 - A shooting occurred today in Oaxaca City, Mexico, leaving New York City Indymedia journalist Bradley Will dead after being shot in the chest. He died before reaching the hospital, according to La Jornada. A photographer from the newspaper Milenio Diario, who was at Will's side, was shot in the foot and reported injured, his status unknown.

Radio APPO, the radio of the Popular Assembly of the Oaxacan People, is reporting truckloads of armed paramilitaries entering the city. They are calling for people to reinforce the thousands of barricades that have been constructed for months as part of the statewide teachers' strike and popular uprising that has demanded the removal of PRI governor Ulisis Ortiz Ruiz. Oaxaca IMC

LOS ANGELES, October 22, 2006 – Victims of police brutality marched with their friends and families in downtown Los Angeles today. The march took a route down Broadway to the LAPD headquarters at the Parker Center where a rally was held. About 450 people took part in the march. No arrests or incidences with police have been reported at this time.
From the newswire: VIDEO: march against police brutality | | October 22 March | | October 22nd Costa Mesa | Photos: Protest Against Police Brutality by Marcus

Audio Interviews: Victims of Police Brutality Speak Out, part 1 | | part 2

Extra: POLICE BRUTALITY CAUGHT ON VIDEO

LOS ANGELES , October 17, 2006 - A coalition of groups seeking an end to the criminalization of youth by California’s juvenal prison system protested outside the campaign office of the current governor yesterday. At issue is the brutal treatment of youth, some as young as 12 years old, that are caught a system with a 75% recidivism rate. Families and friends of those who have been victimized by the system want it shut down and replaced with a program that provides real rehabilitation and education for their children. VIDEO | | PHOTOS: Books Not Bars Protest

LOS ANGELES -- On Thursday, October 12, East Los Angeles College hosted a public memorial dedicated to the memory of the 70 to 100 million indigenous people who were killed by European acts of genocide. The event was organized by the Anahuac Studies Club of ELAC and the Mexica Movement, an indigenous education organization. The memorial was held on Columbus Day, a date marking the beginning of the European presence in the Western Hemisphere, and the starting point for what professor David Stannard calls "the greatest act of genocide in the history of humanity." From the newswire: Genocide Memorial on Columbus Day by Manuel A

Joseph Turner, a Southern California white nationalist and leader of the anti-immigrant group Save Our State, is asking San Bernardino voters to choose him to guide the education of San Bernardino children in the Board of Education race there. On October 7, this aspiring educator sent an apocalyptic, white supremacist message to his Save Our State supporters:

Our enemies are bloodied and beaten. We cannot relent. Our boot is on their throat and we must have the willingness to crush their "throat" so that we can put our enemy down for good.

The sovereignty of our nation and the future of our culture and civilization is at stake. The United States is a beacon of salvation unto the rest of the world. Our freedoms, our culture is mans salvation. If we perish, man perishes.

Read the story:Joe Turner: School board candidate or demagogue? by Leslie Radford

Susan Forrest, a member of the AIDS social services community, writes about a new social marketing campaign that may fail to reach at-risk communities:
There is a LOT of hand-wringing in L.A. HIV circles about men who have sex with men who don’t identify as gay - and how to get them HIV tested and how to target prevention to them. [Many of those men are purported to be men who are not white.] This campaign will not speak to them...

It is generally acknowledged that those guys do not identify as "gay" and are not seen as members of 'The Gay Community' (of course, there are many communities in LA, but 'The Gay Community' in LA – the West Hollywood, entrenched crowd who self-identify as 'The Gay Community' generally are white.) So if these posters are going up in West Hollywood or in areas where people who identify as part of the gay community are, they will miss the very population they are saying they want to reach.

From the newswire: HIV is a Gay Disease (!?!) by Susan Forrest.