Ralph Nader was in Santa Cruz Monday night on his Anti-War Tour speaking about government corruption and the Iraq War. He gave the crowd numerous reasons to be outraged by the current political situation in the U.S. and urged them to take action.

His presentation was a variation on his lifelong message: outrage against a system completely corrupted by corporate influence. Citing everything from the grossly inflated military budget that charges tax payers $220 million for a single F-22 plane to the systematic conditioning of children for commercial gain by corporations, he implored the crowd to become active in politics, especially at the grass roots level.

“The forces of injustice never take a day off. We cannot afford to.�

Audio: Ralph Nader Rocks the Rio
Photos: Dance Brigade at the Rio Theater
Photos: Nader, Gonzalez, and more...

Another Reportback: Ralph Nader and Matt Gonzalez speak at the Rio

George Cadman of Free Radio Santa Cruz, 101.1 fm, interviews Elise Cohen of the Fellowship of Reconciliation about her work with the organization and the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. George's show is called "Peace Talks" and is on Sundays from 3 to 6 pm.

Elise Cohen is a Sephardic Jew, born in Atlanta, Georgia. She is co vice-chair of the National Council of the Fellowship of Reconciliation. She has lived in Israel and worked with Palestinians and Israelis. She has also led three delegations to the Middle East, to Israel/Palestine and Iraq.

She will be leading a discussion on Wednesday, Jan. 26th at the Monterey Senior Center. The event starts at 7 pm. and is a strategy session to make commitments to Middle East peace work. The Monterey Peace and Justice Center is sponsoring the event.

Audio: Listen to the Stream or Download the mp3

More than 400 protestors turned out in Santa Cruz for a march and rally to coincide with the 2nd inauguration of George W. Bush as President of the United States. People gathered on the steps of the Santa Cruz County Courthouse and heard musicians and speakers, before collectively taking an oath of office as President Pro-Tem of the United States. Since no bible's were on hand, a copy of Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States" was used.

Soon after, the crowd made its way to the Town Clock, site of the Collateral Damage statue, where a number of drummers and other musicians performed. Speakers there cited a need for better health care, slammed Bush's environmental record, and called for an end to the US military occupation of Iraq. George McGovern, former South Dakota Senator and the Democrat Party's presidential candidate in 1972, addressed the crowd, and said members of the Bush Administration are masters of fear and deception.

Audio: FRSC: Inaugration Demonstration call-ins
Photos: Counter-Inauguration pix, part 1 I part 2
Video: Freedom, January 20, Santa Cruz
Audio: Counter-inauguration protest wrap
Photo: Lady Liberty at the Town Clock

Local activists danielsan & brian went to Washington D.C. to provide alternative news and information about the actions and events coinciding with the coronation of King George II. Among the tactics used to dispatch news out of our nations occupied Capitol were phone calls to free radio santa cruz as well as publishing serveral articles on santa cruz indymedia's open publishing newswire.

They attended a Code Pink action where chapters from across the country organized a chilly welcome for attendees of the Gold and Boots Ball the night before the Coronation, greeting fur-and-heel-wearing, cowboy themed tuxedo couples and corporate gentry with Hallibacon, snout-wearing well-wishers, and stacks of cash with everyone's favorite Dick printed on them. [ read more and view photos ]

danielsan & brian also attended a Black Block March to the security perimiter as the official Inaugural Parade began. Several skirmishes with police resulted and the march was turned back from the security perimeter. Smaller groups eventually broke through the fence, burned some pieces of red, white, and blue cloth, clashed with pepper sprayering riot cops, and mingled with lines and lines of Bush supporters waiting to get through security. [ read more and view photos ]

One of the most fun and creative actions of the week might have been the Backbone Campaign's trip to the Democratic National Headquarters in Washington D.C. A huge spine wound its way to the national headquarters of the Democratic Party the day after the Unauguration, a special delivery that recieved no notice from the office-bound democrats. Activists from all over the country carried the spine, singing (to the tune of that Hip Bone song--you know, "the hip bone's connected to the.... thigh bone"). I think it's called "Dry Bones" [ read more and view photos ]

[ Code Pink I Inaguration Media Coalition I Counter-Inaugural I Infoshop I Backbone Campaign I DC Indymedia ]

A coalition of local organizations invited the entire community to honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by joining in activities to promote peace, equality and social justice on Monday, January 17th. People throughout Santa Cruz County commemorated the holiday by engaging in community service activities - making MLK's birthday a "Day on, not a Day off."

"We believe that helping to put food on the table of a hungry family or providing reading material to help educate someone in jail are perfect examples of things that bring us one step closer to Dr. King's dream of an equitable, just society" notes Volunteer Center Director Karen Delaney. YouthSERVE hopes to collect 1,000 books for Friends Outside and 10,000 pounds of food for Second Harvest Food Bank between Dr, Kings' Brithday and Cesar Chavez day in March.

Pat Clark, former NAACP President and one of the local organizers, hopes that people will use part of their holiday to help spread Dr. King's message of hope, equality, compassion and peace. "People think of Dr. King saying "I have a Dream." We want people to remember that Dr. King was also an advocate for ending poverty, promoting peace and taking personal responsibility for making the world a better place."

Video: Download it here! (32.4 megabytes) I Photos I More Photos

[ Martin Luther King remembered in Fresno I Shut down PG&E Contingent at MLK march in SF I Indybay's Race page ]

A speech read by Steve Stormoen of UCSC Students Against War at the November 30th "De-Nuke UC" Day of action at UC Santa Cruz, against the nuclear weapons labs at Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore. The protest featured a wedding ceremony between the UC and Bechtel, many informative speakers, and a community art project in the form of an 8 foot papier-mache warhead.

On Wed. 11/30, University students in California, Colorado and New Mexico, took part in a day of action to call for nuclear abolition, demilitarization, and an end to their schools' involvement in nuclear weapons research and development. A noon rally at UCSC drew about 50 people, and dozens of curious onlookers. The students held a mock wedding ceremony, symbolizing the 'marriage' of the UC with the Bechtel.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ACTION AT MILITARY RECRUITMENT CENTER, 2121 41ST AVENUE, CAPITOLA TUESDAY, DEC 6TH, 3:30-5PM
CONTACT: DAVID HOFVENDAHL [831] 588-4875

On Tuesday, Dec. 6th, the United States Supreme Court will decide if schools that ban recruiters from their campuses can lose federal funds. There will be protests and actions at military recruitment stations all across the nation.

This is the complete statement concerning "CIA torture flights" read by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, this morning, December 5, 2005 as transcribed by the US State Department.