Hoping someone out there might be interested in my new Web site on power, politics, and social change. It includes documents on national and local power structures as well as an updated photo essay on the Bohemian Grove and suggestions on new directions for progressive social change.

Who Rules America: Power, Politics, and Social Change is a Web site with many different aspects, created with the hope that everyone will be able to find something of use to them. It is based on social science research, mostly in sociology, but it can be applied in activism, media endeavors, or teaching.

[ WhoRulesAmerica.net ]

Call out for Santa Cruz DIY New Year's Eve parade and party

After several years of city-sponsored mediocrity, First Night Santa Cruz officially goes belly-up. To hell with city-sponsored anything anyway. Let's do our own parade. A Last Night celebration. A last night of waiting for governments, institutions, or anyone else to entertain us, satisfy us, bring us security, freedom, or joy. We reclaim our streets and usher in the new year with our own celebration.

We're not asking for permits or permission. We're just gonna do it. We'll start at one end of the mall and march down Pacific. Extra bonus points if we can pull off a swell dance party to rollicking live music on the other end. This is your parade, your celebration, and your new year. Interested?

Don't wait to see who else is involved or whether we will really pull this off. Fuck it. Jump in.

[ Last Night Santa Cruz DIY Parade ]

Hurricane Katrina swept through the Gulf Coast region, August 29 leaving a path of death and destruction. With the eyes of the world focussed squarely on the relief efforts there, we are hearing alot of stories about the inadequate response of the federal government. Rather than complain, some people have decided to take matters into there own hands, and provide some measure of relief to whoever they can. One such person is Santa Cruz resident Gary McGlaughlin, a construction contractor who got in touch with some old friends in Tennesee working with the group Plenty International.

Audio: Download the mp3 (33:48 minutes / 15.5 MB)

See related: Story from the front - the hippie bus makes it through military lines

Check New Orleans Indymedia for breaking news on the aftermath of Katrina, Houston Indymedia's Katrina page and Katrina.Indymedia.us for local features from IMCs across the US. Indybay's poverty page has a Katrina timeline detailing 5 days with little federal response leaving thousands dead.

An ongoing contract dispute between bus drivers, and Santa Cruz Metro Transit officials has reached a breaking point. Drivers have threatened to walk off the job September 8 if no deal is reached.

FRSC reporter Vinny Lombardo has more.

Audio: Download the mp3 (4 minutes)

see also: Santa Cruz METRO | METRO's page on the Labor Situation || United Transportation Union Local 23

Saturday: Over 10,000 Feared Dead

Reports are pouring in about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina that hit the Gulf Coast this week; residents of the decimated and submerged City of New Orleans have been severely affected. An estimated 25,000 people have filled the New Orlean's Superdome where they are packed together in exhausting heat without working toilets or clean running water. Because a rescue worker was reportedly shot, evacuations were stopped on Wednesday. Despite the fact that people are dying in the streets, rescue workers were diverted from their work of humanitarian assistance to protecting buildings from looting, according to reports.

Breaking News: New Orleans IMC, Houston IMC and Indymedia.us

Audio: New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin || Malik Rahim, former BPP memer, in New Orleans

More: Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans || 1,200 People Stranded in Hospital || Hurricane Katrina Causes Unfathomable Damage in Southeastern US || Call to Action || Private Property Over People

[ BBC Reports on the Disaster in New Orleans || New Orleans Makes Desperate 'SOS' For Relief || Links to video of New Orelans residents || Treatment of Victims Corresponds to Gov't Feelings About Poor, People of Color || Toxic New Orleans: 'The Worst Ever' || Why Aren't The National Guard There? || Liberal Blogger's Hurricane Relief || Network for Good || National Housing Drive ]

More Hurricane Coverage On Indybay's Poverty Page

The No Border Encuentro took place on August 27-28th at the Sherman Heights Community Center in San Diego/Aztlan. Two days of events including a maquiladora tour, a benefit concert and a day of forums, panels and encounters took place with over 100 people from San Diego, Los Angeles, Fresno, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Orange County, Eugene, Portland, Tijuana, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia participating. On the walls hung photos of recent actions to stop the Minutemen, a poster of the PGA Hallmarks, and maps of Calexico, where the No Border Camp will be in September. [Complete Summary, another account]

Radio coverage was done all weekend by Blast Furnace Radio, due to some technical difficultues at radioActive sanDiego.

Audio: Beats Against Borders with Dias Tristes, Boomerang Politick and Entartete Kunst | Encuentro Opening and Border History Panel | History of the Border Part 2 | Closing presentation by Ashanti Alston | Migration and Indigenous Nations 1 | 2

Photos: Maquiladora Tour | More | Beats Against Borders | Encuentro

This is only part of a large movement against the MinuteMen, La Migra and the Border itself. Thursday night before the conference, La Raza Rights Coalition held a community forum to present their demands around these issues to legislators. Next weekend, Sept 2-4, BorderHack 2005 will be taking place in Tijuana. Also that weekend, on the 3rd, is a forum against the Minutemen in Chula Vista.

The Encuentro was planned as a space to strategize about how to create a world without borders, how to effectively challenge racism and how to put an end to the Minuteman Project. These strategies will be put into action from September 16-18th in a series of actions and a No Border Camp in Calexico.

see also: Sep. 16-18: Confront & Shutdown the Minutemen! No Borders, No Racists!

Deja vu.

Local Santa Cruz night club, The Catalyst, is bringing another reggae singer to town who advocates for violence against queer people. In October 2004, Capelton was scheduled to perform and was eventually cancelled due to community protest. Now, Sizzla, a self-professed murderer of gay men, is supposed to perform on Septemeber 11th at the club.

The GLBT Alliance is asking the community to exercise their collective consumer voice and tell the Catalyst management to cancel this hate-filled show.

See also: Fight Homophobia at the Catalyst

Photos: Protest Against Catalyst and Sizzla's Hatred

Me encuentro en la Plazuela del Carmen, entonces escucho susurros, que se hacen más fuertes. -"...educación primero al hijo del obrero, educación después al hijo del burgués...". Camino aprisa para encontrarme con la marcha de estudiantes de la UABJO (Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez de Oaxaca), jóvenes no mayores de 25 años que caminan en dos filas, en medio de estas marcha la gente con pancartas, que acusan al rector Neri de utilizar el Plan Juárez, para disminuir la calidad de la educación, algunas de las propuestas de este plan son: privatizar la educación, aumento de cuotas, recorte de matriculas, eliminar el derecho de los estudiantes para poder elegir a su director, entre otras cosas. Lee más...

I was in the Carmen Plaza and I heard whistling and the chants were getting louder, “…education first for the children of the workers, educucation later for the children of the rich….� I quickly walked to encounter the march of students of the UABJO (Benito Juárez Autonomous University of Oaxaca), youth no older than 25 years that were walking in two lines, in the middle of the march was the students that were carrying large signs accusing the director of the university, Neri, of using Plan Juarez to decrease the quality of the education. Some of the main points of this plan are: privatize the education, increase the tuition, decrease the number of students, eliminate the students´ rights to elect their director, and other such cutbacks in overall quality of the education.

English Translation || Texto de Aviador || Fotos || Mas Fotos

How the Santa Cruz City Council Fails To Respect the Spirit and Intent Of The Brown Act and First Amendment

As citizens, we have certain rights, guaranteed by the 1st Amendment to the Constitution, and further enhanced and procedurally detailed by California's Ralph M. Brown Act, whose introductory section reads thusly:

“In enacting this chapter, the Legislature finds and declares that the public commissions, boards and councils and the other public agencies in this State exist to aid in the conduct of the people's business. It is the intent of the law that their actions be taken openly and that their deliberations be conducted openly.

The people of this State do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created.�

Overall, the Seabright Brewery seems like a fun, locally-owned brew pub that makes some decent beers on site. The employees and locals seem to like it and it's conveniently located in Santa Cruz near the beach. However, a peek into the women's restroom shows outmoded imagery that makes light of the victimization of women. What's behind the Women's Room door?