Feature Archives

Alan Clements has been on a quest for freedom that’s taken him to Myanmar, Yugoslavia, Australia, Bali, and even to Santa Cruz. He’s been a Buddhist monk, a performer, and an investigative journalist in areas of war and extreme conflict. Clements’ books, stage performances, and World Dharma meditation retreats have always grappled with the challenge of living open-hearted and authentic in a world of suffering and violence. His latest book — Extinction X-Rated — is part autobiography and partly a “dark satire about good and evil.”

Actions marking May Day across Northern California demanded worker rights, housing for all, and racial justice, expressing solidarity with the Chilean general strike. Marches and rallies were held in San Francisco, Oakland, San José, Fresno, Mountain View, and other cities. In Oakland, a vacant house was reclaimed and a nighttime march called for abolishing the police. In Alameda, protesters rallied outside the homes of those who called police on Mario Gonzalez.

As Mumia Abu-Jamal has aged behind bars, inadequate medical care has led to several scares when his health deteriorated rapidly. In February, Mumia believed he was infected with COVID-19 and suffering skin lesions. After public pressure, authorities transferred Mumia to a hospital for emergency treatment. He was diagnosed with coronavirus. While Mumia's health remains a concern, he is stable now and has been returned to general population. Reopened legal appeals are currently being litigated.

Protests to demand that every vote be counted spontaneously became celebrations of Trump losing after the presidential election was called by the major corporate news networks on November 7. Rally speakers reminded their audiences that though they celebrate, they must continue to agitate for change. The damage done by Trump is extensive, including stirring up a new generation of racist hate groups, and pre-Trump struggles for justice and equality, such as the Black Lives Matter movement and the fight against climate change, will carry on.

Worried about the possibility of an electoral emergency, many organizations are mobilizing people across the U.S. to be ready to protect the election results and ensure that all votes are counted. Over 500 events are scheduled for November 4, their activation to be decided by 9am PST that day. In the San Francisco Bay Area, activists have already held demonstrations saying waiting wasn't necessary. On October 29 in Oakland, artists painted a giant street mural with the words "Choose Democracy, Stop a Coup.".

Erica Aitken of Reimagine Santa Cruz writes: The next City Council elections will decide the future of Santa Cruz. Do we open our doors to Silicon Valley with luxury rentals and our very own Santana Row? Or do we take control and build beautiful affordable housing for those who work and would like to live here? If we ask ourselves this question, it is because we have recently been the victims of a particularly galling breach of trust from our current City Councilmembers.

President Trump has said little about the wildfires raging in California, Oregon and Washington for weeks, other than to suggest poor forest management was primarily to blame. “These are climate fires,” says Timothy Ingalsbee, an Oregon-based wildland fire ecologist and former wildland firefighter. “Though some scientists hesitate to attribute a single event to climate change, these are exactly the conditions predicted by climatologists.”