Political Action, TrueMajority, MoveOn.org, and Democracy For America have called for vigils to be held Wednesday evening, August 17th in solidarity with Cindy Sheehan, who is camping in Crawford, Texas as she waits for President Bush to agree to meet with her. Her son Casey was a soldier who was killed in Iraq last year. One sign of how large the movement to support Sheehan is is that as of 11 pm Tuesday, there were 1378 vigils planned for Wednesday night.

Read More On Indybay's Anti-War Page or U.S. Page

Community groups from Northern California and allies came together on Wednesday, August 17th to have an action that will send a message to legislators in Sacramento that immigrants have a right to an unmarked driver's license, and to respond to the Governor's open invitation to the vigilante group the "Minutemen."

Read More Stories Like This On Indybay's Immigrant Page

On August 15th, clashes broke out in the Gaza Strip as Israeli troops prepared to evict Jewish settlers. While the removing of settlers is often presented as a complete Israeli withdraw, the Palestinians in Gaza will likely still be under indirect Israeli rule with no control over their own borders. Some Palestinians see the "withdrawal" as merely a smokescreen that is being used to prevent the world from questioning the expansion of settlements in the West Bank and the wall Israel is building within the 1948 borders, dividing Palestinian communities and likely resulting in expulsions.

Full story and links | Palestine news page

"The biggest political street theater ever west of the Mississippi" took place in Union Square at 2:30pm on Saturday August 13th. Raging Grannies from throughout California and the US were joined by the recently released Tuscon Raging Grannies, the Ronald Reagan Home for the Criminally Insane, and others for street theater to say "No More Torture!" There were a sing along, free home-made cookies, and more. This street theater event was held in solidarity with Amnesty International's campaign against torture.

Photos | Street theater info
Read more on Indybay's Anti-War News Page

8/11/2005: Eight women workers at KPFA announced that they are filing complaints with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) against the station's General Manager, Roy Campanella II, charging gender descrimination and sexual harassment. Additionally, the employees' union is filing with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on behalf of seven male and female staff members, alleging violations of labor law and the union contract. 80 KPFA workers have signed a statement that they have no confidence in Campanella's ability to manage the station.

Full story | Announcements: 1 | 2 | Daily Planet article

Last week, Vacaville resident Cindy Sheehan decided that she would pay a visit to George Bush while he is on vacation at his ranch in Crawford. Sheehan's son Casey was killed in action in Iraq on April 4th, 2004. Ms. Sheehan arrived in Crawford on August 6th and plans to camp out until he “tells me why my son died in Iraq. I’ve got the whole month of August off, and so does he.”

Read Updates on Indybay's Anti-War News Page

A march and rally was held in Madera California (about 20 miles North of Fresno) demanding justice in the murder of Everardo Torres. Torres was killed while handcuffed in the back of a police car. Madera police officer Marcy Noriega shot him through the heart at point blank range. On the night of October 27, 2002, Everardo Torres was arrested, handcuffed, and put into the back of a Madera police car. Read More

More News From The Central Valley

The Taser recommendations are in response to the Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury's report on tasers. The report includes the suggestion of creating a "Force Response Report" in which officers list what happened at the scene of a use of force. This would include details such as events before the officer used force, and what method of assault the suspect used before the officer responded with force.

Read more on Indybay's Police and Prisons News Page

Protest organizers say that the development of nuclear weapons in the Bay Area puts communities at risk. The Bay Area's Livermore Lab acts as the "brain" of the U.S. nuclear weapons complex, as its scientists are developing new and modified nuclear weapons and spurring the U.S. to spend billions of dollars upgrading the U.S. arsenal. This year's Seeds of Change theme "reminds us that our actions now are laying the foundation for the peace of the future."

Vigil at the Aquatic Park in Berkeley
Read More on Indybay's Anti-War Page

In light of grassroots community organizing, pressure on local police, and people making connections between the Maribel Cuevas case and larger issues of police brutality, the Fresno Police have dropped the felony assult charges against 11-year old Maribel Cuevas. A message on the Free Maribel website states, "The family looks forward to recuperating for the rest of the summer before school starts up again for Maribel. The Cuevas family and their attorneys are very grateful for the international and national support that everyone has provided! Thank you all!" More Info

Read More On Indybay's Central Valley Page

A Stop the Megaplex meeting will be held on Thursday, August 4th, at 7:30 pm at The Garden Room behind the Home of Truth, 1300 Grand Avenue, at the corner of Alameda Avenue. This meeting will include an update on the latest developments, set a strategy for the City Council meeting that will take place at 7:30pm on August 16th, and answer as many questions as possible. Plans will also be made for a phone calling campaign prior to the 16th. Read More

Read More On Indybay's Globalization Page