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Democracy Now! stories, posts and pages that relate to California

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Dozens Arrested at Occupy Oakland as Police Raid Encampment, Tear Down Tents

Oakland police stormed the Occupy Oakland protest encampment outside City Hall just before 5:00 a.m. PDT. Police lobbed flash grenades and reportedly fired tear gas. Initial reports say at least 70 people have been arrested and the police tore apart the protest camp. We get a live report from the park by legal observer Marcus Kryshka. Nearly 2,500 people have now been arrested in protests since the start of Occupy Wall Street movement on September...
Oct 25, 2011 | Story
Freed U.S. Hikers Speak at Occupy Oakland, Express Support for California Prisoners on Hunger Strike

Shane Bauer, Josh Fattal and Sarah Shourd, the three American hikers once imprisoned in Iran, made a surprise visit to Occupy Oakland on Monday, less than a month after Bauer and Fattal were released from prison. In July of 2009, the three were arrested while hiking near the Iran-Iraq border. Shourd was released last year. On Monday, the hikers were welcomed by a thrilled crowd of supporters at Occupy Oakland. "These occupations were just...
Oct 18, 2011 | Story
"San Francisco Bay Area’s BART Pulls a Mubarak." By Amy Goodman

What does the police killing of a homeless man in San Francisco have to do with the Arab Spring uprisings from Tunisia to Syria? The attempt to suppress the protests that followed. In our digitally networked world, the ability to communicate is increasingly viewed as a basic right. Open communication fuels revolutions — it can take down dictators. When governments fear the power of their people, they repress, intimidate and try to silence them,...
Aug 17, 2011 | Columns & Articles
Bay Area Rapid Transit Accused of Censorship for Blocking Wireless Services to Foil Protests

The operators of the San Francisco area subway system are facing intense criticism for temporarily cutting off underground cell phone and mobile-internet service at four stations in an attempt to foil a protest. On Thursday, authorities with the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) removed power to underground cell phone towers at four stations to disrupt a protest against the recent death of Charles Hill, a homeless man who was shot dead on a train...
Aug 16, 2011 | Story
Protests Grow in Solidarity with California Prisoners as Hunger Strikes Enter Third Week

Thousands of inmates in at least 13 prisons across California’s troubled prison system have been on hunger strike for almost two weeks. Many are protesting in solidarity with inmates held in Pelican Bay State Prison, California’s first super-maximum security prison, over what prisoners say are cruel and unusual conditions in "Secure Housing Units." We play an audio statement from one of the Pelican Bay prisoners and speak to...
Jul 15, 2011 | Story
"Darrell Issa, Step Away From the Corporations" By Amy Goodman

The new Republican majority threatens a barrage of investigations. California Republican Darrell Issa is the new chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and he has reportedly sent letters to 150 trade associations, companies and think tanks, seeking advice on which regulations to investigate.
Jan 05, 2011 | Columns & Articles
Republican Ex-CEOs Challenge Veteran Dems in California's Heated Gubernatorial, Senate Races

California’s gubernatorial contest has already become the most expensive non-presidential race in US history. The billionaire Republican candidate, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, has reportedly spent an unprecedented $140 million of her own fortune, nearly fourteen times as much as her challenger Jerry Brown, a longtime California politician, former governor and the state’s current attorney general. Meanwhile, in California’s Senate,...
Oct 14, 2010 | Story
Green Party Candidate Excluded from California Governor's Debate

While governor hopefuls Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman debated on Tuesday night in San Rafael, the Green Party candidate for governor was being arrested outside the hall. Police charged Laura Wells with trespassing after she tried to get into the debate that she was not allowed to participate in. [includes rush transcript]
Oct 14, 2010 | Story
Backing Prop 19, California NAACP Calls Marijuana Legalization a Civil Rights Issue

California’s Proposition 19 would authorize possession of one ounce of marijuana for personal consumption by people twenty-one and older, legalize marijuana use in private homes, and allow marijuana growth in private residences for personal use. Supporters of Proposition 19 argue that legalizing and taxing marijuana could help the cash-strapped state and reduce arrests of nonviolent drug offenders, who are disproportionately Black and Latino...
Oct 14, 2010 | Story
Ananya Roy on California's Education Battle and "Poverty Capital: Microfinance and the Making of Development"

Protests were held on several California campuses last week as part of the National Day of Action to Defend Public Education and Social Services. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger also restored some $300 million of funding following months of statewide protests, rallies and walkouts over the drastic budget cuts. We speak to Ananya Roy, a University of California, Berkeley professor who was a part of the Solidarity Alliance at the height...
Oct 14, 2010 | Story