On October 4, Malik Rahim, a longtime community activist in New Orleans and San Francisco, spoke at the Women's Building in San Francisco about the situation in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the disastrous response by the Bush administration and other government agencies. Malik, who lives in the Algiers community of New Orleans, discussed the grassroots community relief and rebuilding efforts underway through the Common Ground collective. (39:39 minutes)

Audio: Malik - download the mp3 or download the torrent

As part of a national anti-sweatshop campaign taking place at over 40 colleges and universities in the U.S., students and workers from UC Santa Cruz held a rally and march to demand that UCSC apparel no longer be produced in sweatshops.

The marchers, a few of whom had family members currently working in sweatshops overseas or have had personal experiences themselves, initially educated the many passerbys in busy Baytree Plaza before marching to the Chancellor's office where a list of demands was presented to an administrative representative. The administration's follow-through will be closely watched.

On Sunday October 2, I met up with The Progressive Animal Rights Alliance of Santa Cruz at the Food Bin on Mission St. in Santa Cruz. We marched a few blocks to the KFC on Mission St. to call attention to KFC's cruelty to animals.

Economically, most Afghans see neither an improvement in their personal lot, or view the rebuilding of their country happening at an acceptable pace.

Santa Cruz Indymedia volunteer Hiraeth called the Indynewswire show on Free Radio Santa Cruz 101.1 FM to give a brief update from the various protests taking place in Washington DC on September 26. (5:03 minutes / 2.3 MB)