check out my review of the SDS graphic novel, published by the fine folks at Toward Freedom:

Off the Page and Into the Streets

Toward Freedom | “From Art Spiegelman’s Maus to Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, the graphic form has proved a powerful narrative tool. Combining memoir and social commentary in a visually appealing package, such illustrated stories blur the boundaries of art and history, reality and fantasy. It should be no surprise, then, that social movements—those rare hybrids of reality and fantasy—are finding themselves increasingly illustrated. Walter Benjamin’s argument that radicalism politicizes art seems more relevant now than ever.” Read the full review

Reviewed:Harvey Pekar, art by Gary Dumm, edited by Paul Buhle, Students for a Democratic Society: A Graphic History . (New York: Hill & Wang, 2008) 224 pages, hardcover, $22.

Review:
Learning From Africa
Dan Berger

Reviewed: Matt Meyer, Time Is Tight: Urgent Tasks for Educational Transformation: Eritrea, South Africa, and the U.S. (Trenton: Africa World Press, 2007), 202 pages, paperback, $24.95.
Particularly since the fall of apartheid, the U.S. left has not looked to African social movements for political mentorship. Many who rightly look to Bolivia, Mexico, and Venezuela for inspiration do not similarly focus on the emerging movements of Kenya, Nigeria, or Tanzania. The difficult challenges of building socialism under post- and neocolonial conditions have, too often, superseded the varied lessons that many movements on the African continent have to offer a global left bent on securing a viable alternative to empire.

Young Jewish and Left
reviewed by Dan Berger

Left Turn | The truism that Jews historically have been disproportionately represented in the Left is more the material of Woody Allen films than a topic of conversation in the movement. At the same time, the actions of the Israeli state and settlers, the debates of what constitutes anti-Semitism and the visible presence of some reactionary Jews in the US political mainstream often obscure the rich history of Jewish radicals and radicalism. Difficulties have been replicated within many Jewish communities where disputes rage over Zionism, religion, and gender. Many activist Jews face a dichotomy: either one is Jewish or a radical, each with its own set of implicit assumptions. But what of the majority of Jewish radicals, who strive to combine both their Jewish heritage and their radical commitments without apology or explanation?
Read more…

Here’s a report on the bail hearing from the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights:

Bail Reduced!

Addressing a tense courtroom packed with both supporters and police, Judge Philip Moscone electrified supporters when he announced major bail reductions for the six bailable defendants in the SF 8 case.
                Ray Boudreaux: $ 385,000
                Richard Brown: $ 420,000
                Hank Jones: $ 600,000
                Richard O’Neal: $ 200,000
                Harold Taylor: $ 350,000
                Francisco Torres: $ 660,000
Moscone noted that “danger to public safety” was not an issue in his decision, and arrived at the varying amounts based on 1) the seriousness of allegations against each individual in the Ingleside charge and the overt acts of the conspiracy charge, and 2) likelihood of appearance, noting that all the men have had stable residences for a long time and have strong family and community ties.

Moscone preceded his announcement with the statement that “not everyone” would be happy with what he was going to do. Following the bail announcement, scores of police, including Detective Erdelatz (the SFDP zealot who has pursued the men for three decades) left the courtroom.
Family members and supporters stated that they expected to be able to raise the reduced bails. Supporters who wish to discuss offering their property as collateral towards bail should call for an explanation of the process: (415) 226-1120.

Problems with discovery compliance

The rest of the morning addressed discovery issues.

Stuart Hanlon, attorney for Herman Bell, summarized a major problem: Although the prosecution has turned over the equivalent of more than 200,000 pages, the documents are so disorganized it is as if those pages were strewn on the floor randomly. After months of effort by 20 workers over hundreds of hours, the defense still cannot locate the documents it needs. In addition, countless portions of the documents, including contact information for every single witness, have been blacked out.

Hanlon also argued that the basis of the current prosecution was supposed to be “new” evidence relating to DNA and ballistics. But where was the evidence?

DNA

Michael Burt, attorney for Ray Boudreaux, added that the prosecution denied having DNA reports for over a year, but when reports were provided a few days ago, it was clear the government had had them since 2006 - and they were still incomplete. “We need every test that they have done,” Burt said. The defense noted that the partial DNA reports released by the state recently not only show no matches to any of the eight, one of them matches the profile of one of the state’s experts, indicating contamination of evidence.

Hanlon added that instead of ballistics reports the prosecution has given them statements by police. “Declarations don’t mean a thing,” Hanlon asserted. “After 25 years of seeing police lie outright in the case of Geronimo Pratt, I want to see evidence, not declarations.”

Next court date

Moscone ordered the discovery issues to continue on Tuesday, August 28. He will meet with the attorneys alone at 9:30, and the official court hearing will begin at 1:30. Motions about timeliness and prosecutorial delay will be filed after discovery is resolved.

Check it out!

Til then.

dan