An Occupation to End the Occupation.  August 2007, I was one of about 15 activists who occupied the office of congresswoman Loretta Sanchez until she committed to no more funding for the occupation of Iraq.  The sit-in lasted some 14 hours (we spent the night on the floor in her office) until the remaining 6 of us were carried away in handcuffs by 21 police officers.  After a court appearance in October, all charges against us were dropped.  Nevertheless, because we had the temerity to challenge the only congressional Democrat in Orange County, we were the target of  many smear campaigns, not by the political Right, but by those to the Left of the spectrum.  Ultimately, collectively we were voted one of Orange County's Scariest People for 2007 by the alternative publication the OCWeekly. 

Me & Blackalicious March 1, 2007 at UC Irvine.  Blackalicious performed at "Make You Feel That Way" UCI's Urban Art Event sponsored by the Hip-Hop Congress.  As always, Blackalicious put on a blazing performance. 

January 21, 2007 Me & Marv Davidov - long time civil rights & anti-war/pro-peace activist.  Marv spoke at the Unitarian Church of Anaheim about his 55 years of activism - from having been arrested in Mississippi in 1961 for purposefully violating Jim Crow laws to founding the Honeywell Project during Vietnam.

January 11, 2007 On January 11,  I

 participated in an incredible action demanding that Guantanamo be shut down!  January 11 marked 5 years since the first prisoners ("detainees" is a terrible euphemism) were sent to Guantanamo.  To date, there are over 400 prisoners still being held without access to attorneys, without knowledge of the charges brought against them, and without any court date.  Moreover, they are being subjected to harsh conditions of confinement and torture.  Amazingly, Americans remain largely unaware that the U.S. government offered large bounties ranging from $3000 to $25,000 to Afghani and Pakistani citizens who agreed to hand over known or suspected "terrorists" without any proof of evidence.  Given that both rank among the poorest of nations, what resulted was a dragnet, with detainees as young as 12 years old. 

 

With Habeas Corpus is a legal tradition dating back to the Magna Carta, on January 11, folks gathered around the world to demand that the Guantanamo prisoners be put on trial or released.  Specifically, in DC hundreds marched through the streets  winding a path from the Capitol to the Supreme Court and ending at the U.S. Federal District Court House. Throughout the morning other activists entered the court house to file Habeas Corpus petitions and await the presentation of the prisoners. After filing a motion with the Chief Judge of the Federal Court, activists gathered inside the atrium of the court house and began reading the litany of prisoners. Many dropped banners reading "Shut Down Guantanamo" from the balconies overlooking the atrium. The activists were then ordered to leave and arrested. The action inside of the court house was complemented by a multi stage march of 200 men and women in hoods and orange jumpsuits, representing the prisoners of Guantanamo.

 

Those in the atrium were joined by 300 supporters as they marched solemnly to the Supreme Court, where a prisoner account was read, and then to the U.S. Federal District Court, where 40 people representing detainees - myself among them - tried to enter the court house for their day in court. The 40 detainees were denied access and proceeded to block the entrance to the building, which they held for several hours. The rally that unfolded in support of them included a reading of the litany of Guantanamo prisoners, a puppet show and a demonstration of water boarding.

 

Those arrested refused to give their own names or even carry ID.  Instead, they  gave the names of Guantanamo detainees which the Bush Administration to date has refused to release.  Because there has never been a protest inside the DC Federal Court, the DC Marshalls were not equipped to process 89 people and  had no precedent as to how to proceed processing folks who have no identity.  Therefore, the DC Marshalls decided to issue citations using the names of the Guantanamo prisoners!  While we've been essentially guaranteed that those arrested will not be charged and that the case will be dismissed, our group walked away from the action knowing that the names of 89 Guantanamo prisoners have finally been registered with a U.S. federal court.  On purely symbolic grounds alone, this was an amazing success.

 

But the action was successful in gaining enormous media attention as well.  We were prominently featured in the Washington Post, New York Times, on CNN, on Yahoo News, Pacifica Radio, Democracy Now and a host of other news outlets.  It is now imperative that as people continue to oppose the war on Iraq, the activist community not lose sight on the broader war on terror - including Afghanistan, Guantanamo and the USA PATRIOT ACT.  To that end, please consider making a contribution to www.witnesstorture.org and support the amazing work they've accomplished. 

October 2, 2006.  I was one of 78 activists arrested at Alliant Technologies - producer of landmines, cluster bombs and depleted uranium munitions.  Each arrestee had a supoena for the CEO demanding that he appear in court to answer charges that Alliant Technologies is in violation of international and U.S. law.  Clearly, we made it up to the corporate lobby, but no further. 

Here, you can vaguely see me being handcuffed in the left side of the photograph. On two occasions, two separate juries have acquitted protesters on grounds that their actions were justified since  Alliant is indeed in violation of U.S. and international law. Visit Alliant Action for more information.

LOS ANGELES, September 25, 2006 – I was part of a coalition of faith based groups that succeeded in closing the army recruitment center in Hollywood.  A group of about 50 marched down Hollywood Blvd. to the recruitment center and proceeded to block the entrance. We were prepared to risk arrest but it did not come to that. Police monitored us but did not interfere. It is believed that the center knew in advance of the action and closed because of the demonstration.

About 25 people set up an all day vigil at the front doors to make sure the recruitment center did not try to reopen.

One of the people who took part, Ann Bishop, said of the action “We may have saved a few lives. Somebody didn’t sign up, and maybe having a day to think it over they won’t sign up, and they won’t go some where and be killed or kill any body”. We have all agreed that we will be back.

UC BERKELEY June 2006 - On behalf of the Justice Studies Association, I was able to present Medea Benjamin - founder of Code Pink for Peace -  with the 2006 Noam Chomsky Award for Social Justice. 

KUCI RADIO STATION February 16, 2006 Me with members of the One Earth Collective, just days before the grand opening of their library and action space in Costa Mesa. Enlightened talk accompanied by live music.  Proof that youth of today are our hope for tomorrow.

The "Justice, or Just Us?" radio program broadcasts from the University of California, Irvine.  The station offers the finest in non-corporate programming and is staffed completely by volunteers.