When Cops Attack Online: New Media Can Still Mean Old Politics

June 29, 2009

raj

By Raj Jayadev

(this article was originally published by New America Media and is re-posted here with the author’s permission)

A few months back, I wrote an article called “Copwatch 2.0”.  It was about the shooting death of Oscar Grant by law enforcement, the fact that the act was shown on YouTube, and how our internet cutlure has changed the landscape of police accountability.

I think the San Jose Police Officers Association just read the title because based on their recent Internet postings, they have their own ideas of what happens to police accountability in a hyper-communications era.  They feel that if activists are using new media to expose what they feel is police abuse – posting videos and blogs of civilians getting tased, beaten, or otherwise mistreated – cops can create their own media as well. Read the rest of this entry »


Sweatshop on Wheels: SF’s Attempt to Pillage the Taxi Industry

April 8, 2009

san-francisco-taxi1By Veena Dubal

“I drove you to Harris’ Steak House once.  Do you know that I have never eaten there? The best I can do is McDonald’s.  And you want to take the happy meals out of the mouths of my children to make yourselves happy!”

–Taxi driver to a SFMTA Board Member during the Taxi Charter Reform Meeting

 

A few months ago, via the SF Chronicle, Mayor Newsom announced a scheme that would fix part of the City’s Budget Crisis.  The City would take medallions (permits that give taxis the right to be on the road) away from working drivers and put them on auction.   This, Newsom, surmised, would generate millions of dollars for the City and improve service.  

Mayor Newsom has since been called on his bluff. Read the rest of this entry »


ALC & Thai Temple Coverage in WSJ

February 19, 2009

thai-temple-2 Asian Law Caucus staff attorneys Debbie Sheen and Veena Dubal played a critical role in advocating on behalf of the Thai Temple in Berkeley, California. Check out the news article printed in the Wall Street Journal! Read the rest of this entry »


Unity and Change – Hearts and Minds

February 3, 2009

tawalBy Tawal Panyacosit Jr.

I cried twice on Election Day.

The first time around Obama had just been declared the winner. Albeit a little tired from campaigning against Prop 8 since 5 A.M. that morning, the surge of energy and accompanying tears Read the rest of this entry »


Asian America Must Be Ready to Battle Injustice with President Obama

February 2, 2009

kamisugi1

By Keith Kamisugi

Originally posted on ningin.com

A Black man born in Hawai’i with an Asian sister was sworn into office Tuesday as our President. He took the oath of office on the same bible used by Abraham Lincoln Read the rest of this entry »


“Dreams of My Father” – Specters of the Other

January 27, 2009

arc72_zsBy Zafar Shah

In 1989 my father went to Washington, D.C. to attend a conference. The inauguration of George H. Bush must have been a quaint affair by today’s standards — because my dad rather incidentally and casually took part in the street-side festivities. Read the rest of this entry »


Choosing Hope Over Fear in Immigration Policy Reform

January 23, 2009

golden-gateBy Angela Chan (Juvenile Justice and Education Staff Attorney, Asian Law Caucus) and Evelyn Sanchez (Executive Director, Bay Area Immigrant Rights Coalition)

Note: Originally Posted on New America Media, Jan 21, 2009

The legacy of fear and violence from the Bush administration’s immigration policies Read the rest of this entry »


The Power of Community Organizing

January 20, 2009

raj1

By Raj Jayadev

The Obama administration is here, and I am more excited by the excitement, than the man himself. Don’t get me wrong, I am a Obama believer, and have been so after first reading his Dreams from My Father. Never have I read Read the rest of this entry »


Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.