On February 15, 2007, students at UC Santa Barbara, Columbia University, and Columbia College went on strike against the war. Solidarity actions took place at more than a dozen other schools - including 5 in the Bay Area: San Francisco State, Lowell High School, Mills College, UC Berkeley, and UC Santa Cruz. The Feb15 protests were initiated by activists at UC Santa Barbara who have been organizing a student strike for weeks.

Read more on Indybay's Anti-War or Education & Student Activism pages

On February 14, 2007, Fresno Marriage Equality USA chapter members requested marriage licenses at the County Clerks office. They got as far as the front counter when the assistant Registrar of Voters told them State law prohibits them from being married. In response, one member said, "We are proud to be a part of this annual event to put a local face on marriage discrimination around the country." Photos | Video

Read more on Indybay's LGBTI / Queer or Central Valley pages

Axis of Love San Francisco is calling for medical marijuana patients, disability activists, HIV/AIDS activists, and other allies to protest the huge increase in the fees for state medical marijuana cards. The protest took place at 12pm on Wednesday, February 14th at San Francisco General Hospital's "Love Statue." Photos and Report The state plans to increase the fees that it charges for the cards by 1000% on March 1st. Americans for Safe Access has called for people to tell Governor Schwarzenegger and CDHS Director Sandra Shewry how outraged they are about the proposed fee increase for Californians' access to their medicine.

Read more on Indybay's Drug War or California pages

On February 9th, an Alameda County judge ruling against the City of Berkeley's Police Review Commission essentially banned open hearings about police officers and blocked public access to records of police misconduct. Berkeley Copwatch says, "The community must come together and take action against this blow to public safety and police accountability!" Copwatch will hold a meeting on Monday, February 19th at 8pm in the Grassroots House, 2022 Blake St. in Berkeley.

Read more on Indybay's Police State or East Bay pages

February 14 , 2007 - In yet another strange twist in the case against San Francisco independent journalist, Josh Wolf, U.S. District Judge William Alsup, who has rejected several defense requests to free Wolf, one as recently as last month, issued a brief order Tuesday saying he was referring the case to U.S. Magistrate Joseph Spero "in the interest of reaching a resolution satisfactory to both sides.''

Read more on Indybay's San Francisco page

February 14, 2007 - The Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that Jeffery Luers' case will be reversed and remanded back to the Circuit Court for re-sentencing as a result of Judge Velure's errors in imposing the original draconian sentence. The opinion just came out this morning and Jeffrey's Support Network is still reviewing it for details, but it looks like Jeff could potentially get about 15 years taken off his 266 month sentence.

Read more on Indybay's Environment & Forest Defense or U.S. pages

Four of the San Francisco 8, the former Black Panthers who were recently arrested on charges related to the 1971 killing of an SFPD officer, appeared in court on Wednesday. The February 14th arraignment and bail reduction hearing took place at 850 Bryant Street in San Francisco. Report

The new film "Legacy of Torture," about the San Francisco 8, will be screened at the Long Haul on Sunday February 25th . The evening will also include dinner as well as speakers about the SF 8, and updates about another California political prisoner who is in need of support.

Read more on Indybay's Police State page

Monster Cable, a wealthy Bay Area company producing high-end cables and accessories, laid off over 120 immigrant workers in Oct. 2006 and outsourced their jobs overseas. The workers have been demanding a fair severance and community fund, and on Feb. 5, 2007 they launched a boycott calling on consumers to stop buying Monster products until the company resolves their demands. While it would cost only $500,000 to pay fair severances to the workers, "Head Monster" Noel Lee spent $6 million to name "Monster Park" in San Francisco, and the company has annual sales of $1 billion.

The laid-off workers and supporters will hold a boycott action at noon on Wednesday Feb. 14th at Powell and Market Streets.

Read more on Indybay's Labor & Workers page

On Thursday, February 1st, Peter Young walked through the doors of the Victorville FCI II facility and into the free world. He was greeted by a small crowd and immediately taken to a celebration dinner in Los Angeles. To quote Peter’s toast (of coffee) that afternoon: “Here’s to being liberated”. Federal officials had accused him of freeing some 8,000 mink from fur farms in Wisconsin, South Dakota and Iowa.

Read more on Indybay's Animal Liberation page

Three years after it was raided by armed federal marshals, SFPD and FCC agents, SF Liberation Radio will have its day in court on Wednesday, Feb. 14th, in a special federal court session convening on the UC Berkeley campus. SFLR, through counsel Mark Vermeulen and other pro bono attorneys from the National Lawyers Guild, will argue that the federal government violated the station’s first amendment rights when it obtained a warrant for the seizure of the equipment through a back-door, ex parte procedure. The US Government utilized a maritime law to conduct the raid without giving advance notice to the station, arguing that a radio station is literally like a ship that may sail away in the night.

Read more on Indybay's Indymedia page

On February 16th, 2007, a protest targeting Sam Farr, Representative for the 17th Congressional District, was held at the Santa Cruz County Building to demand, "Cut Off The War Funds!" Sam Farr has voted a number of times for the billions of dollars that have been used to wage war and murder hundreds of thousands in Iraq. He has promised to vote against the $93 billion emergency war appropriations bill that Bush has forwarded to congress, but Farr still consistently supports and votes for massive general appropriations for the military budget. These are votes for war.

Read more on Indybay's Anti-War or Santa Cruz Indymedia pages

Women have not only acted as participants in the ongoing popular movement in Oaxaca, but have also profoundly shaped the course of its history. They have created some of the most powerful stories and moments in the past nine months, and have helped tell them. Stories of women who have built the movement are everywhere in Oaxaca.

Read more on Indybay's International or Americas pages

February 7th was an International Day in Solidarity with the People of Haiti. The day was part of a campaign against the US/UN Occupation by the popular movement in Haiti, leading up to February 15th, when the UN Security Council is due to renew its Haiti mandate.

In San Francisco, people gathered at 4:30pm for a rally at Powell and Market Street, followed by a march to the Brazilian Consulate. Brazil commands the UN military force in Haiti. Photos | Audio
In San Jose, people gathered from 5pm to 6pm at the South end of Cesar Chavez Plaza.

Read more on Indybay's International or Haiti pages

Aaron Glantz reports (#3 Audio) that on the third day, Wednesday, February 7th, a mistrial was declared in the Lt. Ehren Watada court-martial. He was covering the trial in Fort Lewis, Washington, for KPFA and Free Speech Radio. Jeff Paterson's analysis of the situation after the mistrial.
Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | Audio: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Read more on Indybay's Anti-War page

Scott Kennedy of the Resource Center for Nonviolence in Santa Cruz co-led a delegation to Israel and the West Bank of Palestine from November 4–18, 2006. Ken Carlson of Santa Cruz was also on the delegation which was cosponsored by the Washington, DC based Interfaith PeaceBuilders and the Middle East Program of the national American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). Audio

Read more on Indybay's Palestine or Santa Cruz Indymedia pages

On Tuesday, February 6th, there was a noontime press conference in support of Josh Wolf on the steps of San Francisco City Hall. A benefit for Josh's legal defense was held on Tuesday night at 8:00pm at House of Shields in SF. The Free Josh Coalition says that Josh has become the longest-imprisoned journalist who has ever been held on contempt charges in the United States. Audio | Photos and Words from Josh | Video: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Read more on Indybay's Police State or Indymedia pages

On January 30th, Bush ordered on a second aircraft carrier strike group to the Gulf region, raising the US naval presence in the region to its highest level since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. A U.S. buildup for war against Iran may currently be underway. President Bush has ordered the US military to "seek out and destroy" Iranian networks in Iraq, and confirmed last week that he has authorized American troops to capture or kill "Iranian agents". The chief accusation being levelled against the Iranian regime is that its agents are supporting and arming Shiite militias inside Iraq to attack US troops—a charge that has yet to be substantiated with concrete evidence. The US, on the other hand, is confirmed to have armed the main Shia militia group, the Badr Brigade, through arms transfers to the Iraqi army.

US policy towards Iran may also be shaping US policy towards the Palestinans, with some seeing the current fighting between Fatah and Hamas in Gaza as part of the US's larger policy against Iran.

Read more on Indybay's Iraq page

The Sacramento Coalition to End the War has been holding a "peace-in" at the district office of Rep. Doris Matsui since January 8th. The Coalition of dozens of peace, religious and veterans groups said it will not leave the office until Rep. Matsui publicly commits to vote against any supplemental funding for the war and occupation beyond the $70 billion budgeted for 2007.

Read more on Indybay's Anti-War or Central Valley pages

On January 29th, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Barbara Miller issued a Preliminary Injunction barring the University of California at Berkeley's proposed removal of a century-old stand of native Coast Live Oaks in response to motions filed by the California Oak Foundation and its co-petitioners including Save the Oaks at the Stadium. Audio

Read more on Indybay's Environment & Forest Defense or East Bay pages

Two years ago this spring, Free Skool Santa Cruz started as an idea between friends. It was a resuscitation of an old idea: interactive and informal learning in a non-institutional, non-hierarchical setting outside of the monetary economy. And in two years, Free Skool has offered over 260 different classes on everything from DIY-philosophy such as bike repair and knitting to more academic subjects such as local and radical history.

Read more on Indybay's Education & Student Activism or Santa Cruz Indymedia pages

On Monday, January 29th, Pit River Indian Tribe members and Indigenous and environmental justice supporters delivered an eviction notice to Calpine Corporation in downtown San Jose, demanding they drop their decades-long attempt to build polluting power plants in the Medicine Lake Highlands near Mount Shasta. Tribal members and supporters vowed to nonviolently defend Medicine Lake from any attempts to build power plants at this area that is profoundly sacred to area Native peoples.
Photos: 1 | 2 | Audio

Read more on Indybay's Race or South Bay pages

On January 29th, Army prosecutors of Lt. Ehren Watada dropped two charges of “conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.” These two charges—each of which carried a one year possible prison sentence—were based on interviews Lt. Watada held with Oakland-based independent journalist Sarah Olson and Greg Kakesako of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. In exchange for the dropping of the two charges, Watada agreed to testify that he made the comments attributed to him by the reporters. Watada still faces up to four years' confinement on three other charges. Sarah Olson will no longer be forced to testify.

Read more on Indybay's Anti-War page

On Saturday, January 27th anti-war protests were held around the US to tell the new Congress to "represent the truly nationwide peace majority." United for Peace and Justice organized the largest march in Washington DC, where over one hundred thousand anti-war protesters circled the US capital.
In San Francisco, there was a rally and march that started at Powell And Market and ended at Pier 31/33 to support IBU-ILWU/MMP workers, who are under attack by Terry MacCrae and Hornblower Tours.
Report | Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | Video: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Audio
In Sacramento, more than 100 people gathered at the intersection of Arden Way and Heritage Lane to protest the continued war and occupation. Photos
In San Jose, two hundred people lined the busy intersection of Stevens Creek Blvd and Winchester Blvd to protest the war. Photos: 1 | 2
In Fresno, there was a demonstration at the Peace Corner: Blackstone and Shaw. Photos: 1 | 2 | Video

Read more on Indybay's Anti-War or U.S. pages