The 4th Annual Old Time American Flag Burn takes place on Thursday, July 3rd at the Far West Fire Ring on Seabright Beach in Santa Cruz. This BYOF (Bring Your Own Flag) event is a ritual celebration of the First Amendment to the Constitution which protects freedom of speech, including the burning of the United States flag. Instead of flag desecration, this is flag consecration.

Two years ago congress attempted to amend the constitution to ban flag desecration and it failed by one vote. Since then congress has continued to attempt to generate a bill that would pass muster, but support has decreased. Justice William Joseph Brennan, Jr. noted that the "Principal function of free speech under our system of government is to invite dispute; it may indeed best serve its high purpose when it induces condition of unrest, creates dissatisfaction with conditions as they are, or even stirs people to anger." Organizers say their "intention is not to anger folks, but to create a safe place for our community to exercise this seldom used freedom. Read More

previous years: 2005 | 2006

A group of San Francisco residents called The Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco are gathering signatures for an initiative to be put on the November ballot. The Initiative will ask to rename Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant the George W Bush Sewage Plant.

The group has managed to collect 8,500 signatures so far (15,000 are needed for an initiative). The initiative is going to read: Should The City And County of San Francisco Rename The Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant the George W Bush Sewage Plant?

Some San Francisco residents strongly object to the resolution. One commentator on Indybay writes "sewage plants are a vital necessity to our survival, and fertilizer is necessary for plant growth upon which our food depends". The commentator goes on to say that we should "respect the labor that makes possible the work of the sewage plants" and passage of the resolution "honors Bush" and thus should be opposed.

Photos | Video | The Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco

In October 2007 the United States, the European Community, Switzerland and Japan simultaneously announced that they would negotiate a new intellectual property enforcement treaty, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, or ACTA. Australia, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand and Mexico have joined the negotiations. Although the proposed treaty's title might suggest that the agreement deals only with counterfeit physical goods (such as medicines), what little information has been made available publicly by negotiating governments about the content of the treaty makes it clear that it will have a far broader scope, and in particular, will deal with tools targeting "Internet distribution and information technology." To date, disturbingly little information has been released about the actual content of the agreement. However, despite that, it is clearly on a fast track; treaty proponents want it tabled at the G8 summit in July, and completed by the end of 2008.

Skidmark Bob of Free Radio Santa Cruz interviewed media analyst John Anderson about ACTA and H.R. 4279, the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property (PRO IP) Act of 2007. The PRO IP Act proposes to make substantial changes to federal copyright law, including the appointment of a copyright Czar. Read More and Listen to Audio

see also: Audio Collage on Sharing Music in the Digital Age

Armed with bazookas, instruments and colorful posters, residents of Santa Cruz will show their support on Tuesday, June 10th at 3:30pm in favor of a pending city resolution requesting that all US military aid to Colombia be re-directed to domestic drug prevention and rehabilitation programs, which have been shown to be more effective in the “war on drugs.” Bert Muhly of Tres Americas will speak on the issue, as well as Sandra Alvarez, long time Colombia activist and Ph.D candidate at the University of California Santa Cruz.

“The US has put almost five billion dollars into the Colombian military, and the army has committed massacres and collaborated with death squads and drug traffickers with almost total impunity,” said national campaign organizer Liza Smith of the Fellowship of Reconciliation’s Latin America program. “It’s time US communities stand up for how they want their tax dollars spent.”

Military spending in Colombia was supposed to cut cocaine production in half by 2005. Instead, retail prices for the drug have dropped and purity has increased, according to the Office on National Drug Control Policy. Meanwhile, a recent study showed that killings of civilians by the Colombian army has increased since the U.S. overhauled military training of its forces. Read More

California held an election on June 3rd. Proposition 98 failed to pass and Proposition 99 passed. In the CA Assembly, Nancy Skinner beat Kriss Worthington and in the State Senate Mark Leno beat Carole Migden.
Leno Victory Marks New Era in San Francisco Politics | State Election Results | San Francisco Election Results | Alameda County Election Results

Propositions 98 and 99 were aimed at changing the government’s power to take private property. Proposition 98 would have abolished rent control and other renter protections. Proposition 99 will block the government from taking single family homes or condominiums to transfer to other private parties, but will allow eminent domain for public uses and will not ban rent control.

Prop 98 loses, Prop 99 wins | Tenants Speakout Against Realtors For Supporting Prop 98 | Protect rent control, print out a No on 98 sign | San Francisco Tenants Rally Against Prop 98, Then Vote Against It | Prop 98 can provoke a city-wide rent strike | Four days to Save Rent Control | Oakland, Berkeley renters oppose Proposition 98 | No on Prop 98 Update | RHANAC's Steve Edrington Accusses Renters of Being Entrenched Tenants | Prop 98 Continues To Lose In The Polls | Expose the Landlords' Scheme | Non Profit Housing Developers May Be Selling Out The Poor | Prop 98 would eliminate rent control and tenant protections | How To Defeat Prop 98 | Progressive Politicos Preach to the Choir | Housing California Conference Will Have Prop 98 Discussion | Housing California Conference To Have Bush/McCain Supporter As Speaker On Prop 98 & 99 | Save Rent Control & Tenant Protections Update | Prop 98 Trailing Badly; Californians Support Rent Control

In San Francisco, Proposition G passed and Proposition F failed to pass. Propositions F & G focused on development by Lennar Corp in Bay View Hunters Point. Proposition F would have required that half of all Lennar's housing be available to people making less than the median area income, which is $75,000 for a family of four. Prop. G is the deal Newsom and Lennar were pushing; it will give the financially troubled developer the right to build 10,000 new housing units, office and retail space, and a new football stadium, along with 300 new acres of parks, in one of the city's most economically depressed areas.

Optimism in the Face of Defeat in the Bayview | Election fraud probably committed for Prop G | Election Fraud Watch in SF on Prop G-2d 49er Stadium Swindle | The people are for Proposition F and that is what really matters | Say Yes to F | Big Labor Sells Out | The Labor Council of San Francisco has helped Propostion F is a big way | Bayview Residents: the Hidden Treasure | Hold out for Hunters Point

Chris Daly's Blog | San Francisco Tenants Union | NoProp98.org | PropositionF.com | SF Bay Guardian Endorsements

On becoming Santa Cruz Mayor last November, Ryan Coonerty laid down a new set of procedures at City Council requiring members of the public to get his permission before talking on "Consent Agenda" subjects. The afternoon Consent Agenda makes up more than half of what City Council acts on. Hence this new ruling removes Public Comment on the majority of Council actions.

Traditionally, members of the public could require the Council remove an item for comment by the public. Such comment was usually limited to 3 minutes. In 2005, then-Mayor Rotkin further limited comment on the entire Consent Agenda to 5 minutes. So, if you wanted to talk on two items, you could only talk 3 minutes on one and then 2 on the next one and were banned from speaking on any other items.

Coonerty's new rules, as explained by the Deputy City Clerk (and by Rotkin and Coonerty) are as follows: If you want to talk about an item on the Consent Agenda, you have a 2-minute period to explain to the Council why they should allow you to do so. However, during this time, according to Coonerty, you cannot talk about the "substance" of the item, until given permission to do so... Read More

see also: Santa Cruz Mayor Lashes Out, Stonewalls on Public Meetings

Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez sent ten battalions of 600 soldiers each to the border with Colombia and put his air force on alert after the Colombian military crossed the Ecuadorian border on March 1 and killed 18 members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. Among those killed was Raúl Reyes, who was second-in-command and top negotiator for the FARC. Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa also fortified his border with Colombia after the incident. Both Ecuador and Venezuela withdrew their ambassadors from Colombia on March 2.

Chávez is in the midst of negotiations with the FARC to release hostages, several of whom have already been freed. He warned that a Colombian operation against the FARC inside Venezuela would be a “causus belli,” or cause for war, and charged the Colombian government is acting at the behest of the U.S. He called Colombian President Álvaro Uribe a "criminal" and Colombia a "terrorist state."

Democracy Now: With U.S. Assistance, Colombian Troops Attack and Kill 20 FARC Rebels Inside Ecuador | Build-up of troops on Colombia's borders sparks fears of war | Colombia raid angers Chavez | Colombia Kills FARC Negotiator | Ecuador & Venezuela order troops to Colombia border | Colombia accuses Ecuador's Correa of FARC ties | en español: Indymedia Ecuador | Indymedia Colombia