Los Angeles Indymedia : Activist News

SANTA BARBARA, November 14, 2007 - The CIA was scheduled to hold an “infosession” for students interested in jobs with the agency. Right as the session began, four activists entered the room and began to demonstrate waterboarding, a torture technique used by the CIA. After only one minute of the waterboarding demonstration the room was plunged into chaos by a group calling itself the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army.

The Rebel Clowns, joined by several dozen antiwar organizers took over the meeting room and began passing out information on the CIA’s use of illegal torture techniques and literature related to the agency’s long history of subverting foreign governments, assassinating foreign leaders and subverting democracy.

The CIA agents fled the room but were pursued by a crowd of protestors chanting, “C-I-A, Go Away!” The agents were caught totally off-guard by the direct action. Protestors were overheard shouting to the escaping agents never to come back to UCSB.
From the Newswire: CIA Expelled from UCSB Campus by Richard McChesney

The Semi-Tropical Spiritualists’ Tract is a hidden oasis amidst humankind’s wholesale assault on nature. “This is an uninterrupted space from Elysian Park all the way through to our hill,” says Cheryl Parisi, a resident of 25 years. “So all the wildlife is able to traverse from Elysian Park; up along the ridge, which you can see [from] Riverside; and they just come straight into this whole open area. So it’s really magnificent: there are hawks, owls. (We have an owl in the neighborhood.)” The area also has protected trees, including California Black Walnuts.

Cindy Ortiz, another long-time resident, says that one of her neighbors can hear coyotes being born every spring. She herself witnesses another spring phenomenon: “the carpet of morning doves as [they’re] feeding.”

However, this wildlife corridor would be truncated if developer and landowner Henry Nunez implements his plans for 15 two-story homes on two acres in the hillside at Allesandro and El Moran streets. This project has faced harsh opposition by neighbors, and. . .
From the newswire: Hidden Oasis Threatened by Development by Ross Plesset

[The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the LA Indymedia Center editorial staff. The article has been featured for the purpose of debate and not as an endorsement or promotion of any viewpoint or candidate.]

Six years ago, listeners to a progressive radio network called Pacifica won a lawsuit that allowed KPFK members to elect representatives to their local station board, and through them, to determine who sat on the Pacifica National Board. The demand for democracy was an eruption against a board of directors that considered selling one of the stations to finance a string of smaller Black stations in the South. The settlement instituted the first democratically-run radio network in the U.S., another groundbreaking advance in the network's long history. Such are the contradictions of democracy.
From the newswire: (another, smaller) Stolen Election by Leslie Radford
Related: Battle of the Board at KPFA in Northern CA by Daniel
UPDATES: KPFK: Welcome to the Madhouse by Leslie Radford, KPFK LSB candidate | | A Letter from the Interim GM of KPFK by Jim Lafferty | | KPFK and Pacifica Need Good Governance by Grace Aaron | | KPFK Programmer Plugged Assistant Running as Listener Sponsor in LSB election by Miles Copeland | | Response to Lila Garrett by Jim Lafferty | | KPFK is biased, still, while pretending to be "fair" by sidestepper | | Donna Warren and John Wenger are not recommended by Independents and Grassroots Greens by Jack Lindblad

About 40 people turned out at Leimert Park last night (November 7th) to protest the racism in Jena, Louisianna. This was one of many such actions that took place across the country, including San Francisco and Chicago. Traffic at this crowded intersection responded enthusiastically. Six to eight police officers watched us from afar in the parking lot.

One of the speakers, Linda, expressed gratification at seeing people of different races participating. “It’s going to take more than black people doing this,” she said. “Doctor Martin Luther King wanted all the different races with us. That’s how we got to where we are now. We had to have all different races to help us. . . .”
From the newswire: Protest to Free the Jena 6 by RP

PASADENA, October 26, 2007 – Anti-war activists were able to close an army recruitment center this Friday in Pasadena. Protesters marched from Pasadena City College to the nearby center, strung yellow caution tape across the doors and then physically blocked entry to the center. Police were called to the scene but no arrests were made. Frustrated by efforts to reopen recruiters closed the center for the remainder of the day.

Reports from the newswire:

Civil Disobedience, Demonstration at Recruiting Center Near Pasadena City College

Counter Recruitment Protest - Pasadena