Calendar

Or next Politics of Debt meeting will be a presentation by Chong Kee Tan on Bay Bucks, a local alternative currency.  We’ll hear him speak and then have a Q&A period, perhaps leasing into a broader discussion.

Or next meeting will be one week following, on September 24th,  instead of two. We’ll discuss chapters 21-23 of Ellen Brown’s Web of Debt.

Meeting of the City of Oakland’s “Privacy and Data Retention Ad Hoc Advisory Committee” – open to the public.

When:
2nd & 4th Thursdays
6:00pm – 8:00pm

Where:
Council Chambers
Oakland City Hall
14th & Broadway

Read the announcement from the City of Oakland City Administrator’s Weekly Report (April 25, 2014):

This committee was created by City Council action during the discussions earlier in the year about the Port Domain Awareness Center (DAC). The goal of the DAC is to improve readiness to prevent, respond to and recover from major emergencies in the Oakland region and ensure better multi-agency coordination across the larger San Francisco Bay Area. The goal of the Privacy and Data Retention Policy is to ensure there are safeguards to protect against potential misuse of the data or violations of individuals’ privacy rights and civil liberties. The meeting is open to the public. For questions about the Ad Hoc Committee, please contact Joe DeVries, Assistant to the City

We need to show up to these meetings and pressure the City to adopt a privacy policy that makes privacy a priority, not only “security” or administrative convenience.

The Zim Shanghai has changed its estimated arrival back to Saturdays (September 27th) in the morning.

The critical picket is back to 5AM Saturday. Gather at W.Oakland BART.

We will still be at W. Oakland BART at 5pm tonight to meet anyone who wants to help plan for tomorrow’s picket.

Please continue to check text messages, Twitter and Facebook alerts.

Text: “Join” to 88202 for alerts on ship location and picket status

Twitter: @StopZIMOak

Facebook: facebook.com/events/545270232240123/

Inquiries: stopzimoak@gmail.com / (415) 282-1908

To track the Zim Shanghai: http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/477634600

Port of Oakland map: http://www.portofoakland.com/pdf/maritime/mari_map.pdf

End the Siege of Gaza!

Endorsed by:

End the Siege of Gaza! Picket the Zim Shanghai Starting September 27 at the Port of Oakland!

Israel and Hamas agreed to a set of conditions for a ceasefire on August 26th, after Israel had killed more than 2,100 Palestinians in Gaza – mostly civilians, more than a quarter children – and destroyed much of Gaza’s infrastructure, housing, hospitals, schools and water supply.

Israel claims it does not “occupy” Gaza, yet it has complete control of Gaza’s land crossings, seacoast and air space. Israel severely restricts Palestinians’ movement and their access to food, medical supplies, and construction materials.

In 1984, protesting against South African Apartheid, the Bay Area longshore workers union, ILWU Local 10, went on strike for 11 days against the Nedlloyd Kimberley, a ship carrying South African cargo.

In 2010, responding to the deadly Israeli attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, Local 10 honored a picket of an Israeli-owned ZIM ship by 1,200 community and labor activists, refusing to unload the ship for 24 hours. In August 2014, Palestinian, community and labor activists, in an historic victory, blocked the Zim Piraeus for five days and forced it to leave the Bay with most of its cargo still on board.

We ask the ILWU to carry on its long historical tradition of opposing injustice and honoring community picket lines. Let’s keep the pressure on and continue this tradition of labor blockades against oppression.

Please come to a sustained community and labor activist picket beginning on September 27th to stop the Zim Shanghai from unloading or loading any cargo – from when it arrives in Oakland until it leaves. This will also send a message to stevedoring companies such as Stevedore Services of America (SSA) who are pushing for concessions right now against longshore workers who are working without a contract.

Picket Lines Mean Don’t Cross!
An Injury to One is an Injury to All!
Solidarity with the Palestinian people!

Stop ZIM Action Committee

================

Text “Join” to 88202 for alerts on ship location and picket status
Twitter: @StopZIMOak
Webpage: snurl.com/stopzims27

A “sustained picket” means we will picket the Zim Shanghai from when it arrives until it leaves the Bay.

Morning assembly: 5am, West Oakland BART (starting September 27th)

Afternoon assembly: 4:30pm, West Oakland BART

Carpools will be available from West Oakland BART to the picket site. The ship is expected at the SSA terminal in the Port.

Typically, each picket will last only a few hours until longshoremen decide not to cross the picket. It may last longer depending on the situation. Volunteers are need for all shifts, but especially morning shifts and the first day (morning of September 27th).

Please check your phone/Twitter/FB for updates on the ship location and picket status, particularly the day before. ZIM may delay the ship’s arrival to avoid picketers.

======================

Unions around the world, including the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (Gaza) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) have called for action against Israeli Apartheid.

We are asking that longshore workers honor this picket line as they have done before for the Zim Piraeus, and other ships such as the Nedlloyd Kimberley which carried cargo for the oppressive and discriminatory Apartheid regime of South Africa in the 1980s.

We understand the ILWU is currently in contract negotiations with the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and that there is no contract in effect at this time. Further, SSA is one of the most aggressive stevedoring employers in the PMA going after the ILWU on work rules and concessions. ILWU longshore workers in the Pacific Northwest have been fired for work stoppages over health and safety violations despite the fact that there is no contract in effect. Working now under no contract as negotiations continue, there is more opportunity and reason to take action on behalf of workers and the community.

There is no arbitration procedure without a contract and longshore workers cannot be compelled to cross a labor and community picket line to comply with a contract. Honoring a picket line of the Israeli shipping line ZIM actively supports the Palestinian people, and shows that union members care about what happens to others who suffer discrimination and oppression. Supporting the community in this struggle further strengthens community support for the ILWU in fighting to keep the hiring hall, work rules, and other benefits union members have.

ILWU members should be aware that Israeli unions actively discriminate against Palestinians – who make up a significant portion of the labor force within Israel. As many of you are well aware, longshore workers in San Francisco and the entire West Coast established the hiring hall after the strike in 1934 to end discrimination in hiring based on union membership and race.

We’re excited to let you know about the 2nd training in our “Support
from Outside the Walls” series.

The invite is here https://www.facebook.com/events/663599277069128/
Please help us spread the word.

People in prison are often required to exhaust internal, administrative
complaint processes before they can take a case to court. In California,
non-lawyers and lawyers can be a huge help to people with their
complaints against the prison system. Learn how to assist California
inmates with their administrative appeals in this session led by Sajad
Shakoor of the Tayba Foundation.

Please RSVP & complete this poll so we can customize the training and
connect you with projects http://tinyurl.com/Walls-Pre-Training-Survey

Materials from last training and this training are here
http://caitlinkellyhenry.com/support/

This training will focus on practical skills development for activists,
legal workers, and lawyers to understand the nitty gritty methods and
best practices for “Supporting People in California Prisons to Address
and Appeal Grievances.”

The blockade of the Zim Shanghai continues tonight, after all but one longshore worker refused to take the job at morning dispatch.

Gather at W. Oakland BART by 4:30pm tonight to march and/or carpool to the port, or come directly to the SSA Terminal, Berth 57, at the Port of Oakland by 5pm.

Please continue to check text messages, Twitter and Facebook for alerts and messages.

Text: “Join” to 88202 for alerts on ship location and picket status

Twitter: @StopZIMOak

Facebook: facebook.com/events/545270232240123/

Inquiries: stopzimoak@gmail.com / (415) 282-1908

To track the Zim Shanghai: http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/477634600

Port of Oakland map: http://www.portofoakland.com/pdf/maritime/mari_map.pdf

End the Siege of Gaza!

Endorsed by:

Continuing the blockade from the morning shift.

See the morning shift announcement for details.

The Zim Shanghai has left the Golden Gate and is now near the Farallon Islands. It has long passed the point at which the Zim Piraeus did its U-turn last month. Current destination on Marine Tracker is Los Angeles, ETA 11pm Monday night.

No need to gather at 5am this morning, but please check text messages and Twitter at about 6am, just in case ZIM is up to its previous tricks.

Text: “Join” to 88202 for alerts on ship location and picket status

Twitter: @StopZIMOak

Facebook: facebook.com/events/545270232240123/

Inquiries: stopzimoak@gmail.com / (415) 282-1908

To track the Zim Shanghai: http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/477634600

Port of Oakland map: http://www.portofoakland.com/pdf/maritime/mari_map.pdf

End the Siege of Gaza!

Endorsed by:

After the Zim shanghai had been prevented from being unloaded for two shifts today, the call has gone out to continue the blockade.

The #StopZim committee has put out a call for a 5AM picket tomorrow morning at SSA Berth 57, 1717 Middle Harbor Rd. #BlockTheBoat

— Not Frantz Fanon (@violentfanon) September 28, 2014

Pickets tonight were successful. We urgently need you at Sunday AM shift at 5AM W Oakland BART. Please bring friends. #Blocktheboat #stopzim

— Stop Zim Action Comm (@StopZIMOak) September 28, 2014

All six cranes at SSA sit motionless. Zim ship won't unload tonight. What a beautiful sight! #StopZim #BlockTheBoat pic.twitter.com/LAC6Blj2ZN

— Not Frantz Fanon (@violentfanon) September 28, 2014

Come to a forum about militarization and repression in our communities, from
Ferguson to Gaza to Oakland. Hear speakers actively fighting to stop this.
– “Uncle Bobby” Johnson (Oscar Grant’s uncle), reporting back from Ferguson
– Clarence Thomas, ILWU Local 10 member, former SFSU BSU leader, with a worker’s
perspective on the Block the Boat for Gaza campaign, which stopped an Israeli Zim ship from
unloading most of its cargo at the Port of Oakland

Sponsored by the Black Student Union in conjunction with Workers World Party

The Postal Service has put the Berkeley Post Office up for sale!!

The Postal Service outsourced Post Office services to Staples, replacing union jobs with low-paying, low benefit work.

And we’re fighting against both!

Come help us plan our next steps.

On July 29th, at our invite, Ralph Nader spoke on the steps of the Berkeley Post Office against privatization and corporatism. Watch and listen to his talk here.

We began the “Don’t Shop at Staples” campaign with some awesome… what else? … postcards to send to Staples management!  Here’s the front of the postcard. The campaign has been adopted by a large number of national and local unions, including teachers’ unions and the AFL-CIO.

All four Postal Unions have joined together to support maintaining full service, public Post Offices in every community, with expansion to include postal banking, and to oppose subcontracting and privatization of services. The California Federation of Teachers passed a resolution in support of opposition to Staples.  The American Federation of Teachers, AFCSME and UNITE HERE did too.

Check out our correspondence with the President of the American Postal Workers Union, Mark Dimondstein. The APWU has been leading the charge against Staples.

For almost three months the Berkeley Staples has been ‘occupied’ 24/7 by an intrepid band of San Francisco occupiers with solidarity and support from BPOD members distributing literature and convincing people not to shop at Staples.  They’re still there! Come hang out with them outside Staples at Durant & Shattuck.

And we need to be prepared if the Post Office announces a sale! The Advisory Commission on Historical Preservation came out with its report, recommending that sales of Historic Post offices be halted until the USPS conforms with historical preservation law. Here is our response.  Also the Office of Inspector General’s report on the sale of Historic Post Offices came out  recently – anything could happen now since Congress’ “request” that no historic Post Offices be sold until it had come out has been honored and no further Congressional request or mandate has come down. Come help us plan our response.

We have joined with other activists in Berkeley to put a ballot initiative on the ballot to rezone the Berkeley Post Office and other areas in the Historic District to prevent privatization, and also to insure a better Downtown Berkeley.  We succeeded in getting the necessary signatures; it will be voted on in November, but Tom Bates and the City Council have nefarious plans to undermine our coalition.  The City Council passed the ordinance in a first reading on September 9th. The 2nd reading is September 30th.

Encouraging articles are still coming out about using Post Offices as banking facilities for the unbanked. The National Conference of Mayors recently endorsed Postal Banking.  Pew Research held a day-long seminar on Postal Banking.  The Postal unions and other groups have announced plans for a conference on postal banking in November.

AND CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE.

BPOD is an offshoot of Strike Debt Bay Area, an offshoot of Occupy Oakland and a chapter of the national Strike Debt movement, which is an offshoot of Occupy Wall Street.

Thousands of Oakland’s tenants are being intimidated by their landlords, harassed, or neglected in the landlords attempts to push them out.  We have worked with Council member Dan Kalb to draft an ordinance that will stop this behavior and fine landlords that intimidate or threaten tenants, and we need your support to get the council to pass it.

The Tenant Protection Ordinance (TPO) will define harassment to include 16 different methods that we have seen landlords use to push tenants out of their homes in Oakland.  In its definition of harassment it names: neglect to make basic repairs, physical and verbal threats, the threat of calling ICE, and a number of other actions that will be punishable with administrative and civil penalties. It gives tenants the ability to both make complaints directly to the city and take legal action against landlords who violate the rights that all tenants have to healthy housing.

Tell Your Story
Let’s show the media and City government just how serious the situation is in Oakland. Post your story about harassment or eviction on our blog today. Each entry will be sent directly to the City Councilmembers and the press to build the case for this new law. We wont use your name unless you include it. Don’t have a personal experience with harassment? Check out the BLOG to see stories others are posting.

Tell it to the Council
Come out Tuesday, September 30th at 1pm to Oakland City Hall for a rally followed by the hearing that starts at 2pm AND BRING PEOPLE WITH YOU! We want to get 50 people to fill out speakers cards in advance to show community support. Fill out a Speakers Card HERE. Put in Agenda Item 4. EVEN IF YOU DONT WANT TO SPEAK, but just want to show your support, Fill out a Speakers Card. You can click the box for “In Favor” and also indicate if you wish to speak or not.
RSVP Here

EMERGENCY DEMONSTRATION

HANDS OFF PRESIDENT ARISTIDE AND THE LAVALAS MOVEMENT!
HUNDREDS OF SUPPORTERS RALLY OUTSIDE PRESIDENT ARISTIDE’S HOME AFTER MASKED AND HOODED POLICE SURROUND IT!

ON SATURDAY MORNING, MASKED HAITIAN POLICE SURROUNDED FORMER PRESIDENT JEAN-BERTRAND ARISTIDE’S HOUSE, AS HAITIAN RADIO STATIONS BROADCAST NEWS THAT HE WOULD BE IMMEDIATELY ARRESTED. HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE RALLIED IN FRONT OF THE HOUSE, VOWING TO STAY THERE TO PREVENT HIS ARREST.

THIS IS THE HAITIAN GOVERNMENT’S RESPONSE TO THE LAVALAS MOVEMENT’S CALL FOR DEMONSTRATIONS ON TUESDAY TO MARK THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE SEPTEMBER 30TH, 1991 COUP AGAINST PRESIDENT ARISTIDE. IT IS PART OF A PATTERN OF INTIMIDATION THAT HARKENS BACK TO THE DAYS OF THE DUVALIER DICTATORSHIP.

ON SEPTEMBER 12TH, AT 1 A.M., THE HAITIAN GOVERNMENT REMOVED THE SECURITY DETAIL THAT HAS BEEN GUARDING FORMER PRESIDENT ARISTIDE AND HIS FAMILY SINCE HIS RETURN TO HAITI IN 2011. THIS CAME A DAY AFTER A JUDGE ORDERED PRESIDENT ARISTIDE, HAITI’S FIRST DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED PRESIDENT, TO BE PLACED UNDER “HOUSE ARREST.” UNDER CURRENT HAITIAN LAW, “HOUSE ARREST” DOES NOT EXIST, BUT IT WAS USED FREQUENTLY AS A FORM OF REPRESSION BY THE DUVALIER REGIME.

WE VIEW THIS WITH THE GRAVEST CONCERN AND CONSIDER THESE DEVELOPMENTS A DIRECT THREAT TO PRESIDENT ARISTIDE AND HIS FAMILY.

PLEASE CALL THE U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT’S HAITI DESK.

THE UNITED STATES HAS BEEN A KEY SUPPORTER OF THE HAITIAN GOVERNMENT OF MICHEL MARTELLY. LET THEM KNOW — GIVEN THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE MARTELLY GOVERNMENT – THAT WE HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE SAFETY AND WELFARE OF PRESIDENT ARISTIDE AND HIS FAMILY, AND THAT WE DEMAND AN END TO THIS HARASSMENT AND REPRESSION AGAINST PRESIDENT ARISTIDE AND THE LAVALAS MOVEMENT.

Please Call:
Haiti Special Coordinator Thomas ADAMS
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE
202 647-9510
AND
Pamela White, Ambassador of the United States in Haiti
Embassy of the United States
Tabarre, Haiti
Tel: 011-509-2229-8000
Fax 011 509 2-229-8028

Initiated by Haiti Action Committee
www.haitisolidarity.net

https://twitter.com/OccupyUCBerk/status/516317564792619008/photo/1

Join with us across the generations in celebrating and continue the fight for social, environmental, economic, civil and racial justice and world piece.

Cal Progressive Coalition.

Save CCSF Coalition General Assembly: Hear about about Restoration status, the legal suit, Board of Trustees status and elections, etc. Plus update on Alex Nieto case.

COME TO SET DIRECTION AND PLAN ACTIONS

To influence the Board of Trustees race, to lobby the Board of Governors to bring back our democratically elected BOT, fight against enrollment sabotage and class cuts, etc. etc…

COME TO HELP SAVE OUR CITY COLLEGE
Keep our college a community college!

He’s a very good dog,
and he’ll make a very good Mayor.

What? A press conference to formally announce Einstein’s candidacy.
Why?  The Oakland Mayoral campaign needs a voice for the City’s oppressed residents.

A dog for Mayor of Oakland?!  Sound crazy?  But the question, as we see it, is not, “Can a dog run the City?” The question we should all ask is, “Can any individual be accountable for running the City?”

Of course, the Mayor doesn’t run the City single-handedly. Nevertheless, who do we hold responsible when residents suffer from mismanagement of the City’s tremendous wealth of resources? Is it not the highest elected official in City Government? This system allows residents to blame the Mayor for not solving the social problems facing Oakland.

Without a fallible human in the Mayor’s Office, we must all play our parts in determining the route Oakland will take into the future. Please read Einstein’s Platform and Blog (links are provided below) and see if you agree that if Einstein is elected, the interaction of residents with City officials – and with each other – will change, radically. No longer will we ask what the City Government can do for us. Instead, we will see the way clear to changing the City ourselves, to expanding the power of residents of modest income, to shrinking the power of the rich by establishing a larger and more representative City Council. No longer will we have a single individual to blame for our problems. After all, how can a very good dog like Einstein cause social problems?

Please come and show your support for the only dog in the race!

Facebook event & RSVP.

A selection of planks in Einstein’s platform:

• Greatly expanded democratic representation for the residents of Oakland
• An end to Orwellian surveillance and a restoration of privacy
• The rights of Oakland’s residents supersede the rights of police officers.
• Einstein will facilitate the creation of the Public Bank of Oakland and the Oakland Debtors’ Assembly.
• Maximum-wage requirement to eliminate the inflationary pressures that render minimum-wage requirements ineffective at increasing the purchasing power of Oakland’s hardest-working and most unappreciated residents
• Penalties for crimes must be apportioned according to wealth.

Einstein intends be a voice in this campaign for what is right and what is needed by many Oakland residents, without concern for what is legal or politically feasible. A role in government for everyone is what is meant by democracy; financial independence for all benefits all; and the protection of civil rights by governing officials is necessary for full democratic participation in our society.

Einstein For Oakland    Einstein’s Platform   Einstein’s Blog

Einstein on Facebook   Einstein on Twitter

An unpaid political advertisement   Q&A With Einstein.

The beginning of Einstein’s rise to political prowess.

Einstein in the media:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tCOiHrkoCk4

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q4DNfJz24A

http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2014/07/16/Einstein-the-dog-throws-his-collar-into-the-ring-in-the-Oakland-mayoral-race/5571405525022/

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/07/15/dog-from-occupy-encampment-joins-pack-hoping-to-become-oaklands-mayor/

http://www.usatoday.com/media/cinematic/video/12727893/einstein-the-dog-running-for-mayor-of-oakland/

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-California/2014/07/16/Dog-Runs-for-Oakland-Mayor

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/weird/2014/07/16/dog-running-mayor/12734791/

Climate change is taking place. Will we have the wisdom to survive?

Transition Berkeley invites you to join us for an inspiring film that focuses on how we can live creatively and even joyfully in the face of this catastrophe. The Wisdom to Survive features thought leaders and activists in the realms of
science, economics and spirituality: Bill McKibben, Richard Heinberg, Joanna Macy, Gus Speth, Roger Payne and more.

We’ll meet and greet from 6:30 to 7:00. Please bring locally grown snacks to share. The film will be at 7:00 and followed by a discussion about how we can form strong communities to meet the challenges we face.

According to Joanna Macy:
“ If you want an adventure, boy! What a time to be alive! Don’t waste time in self-pity over darkness. Don’t waste time trying to figure out better circumstances that you might like. You’re born into this and you’re here to love it! And to see that it goes on ..”

This evening promises to be thought-provoking and action promoting. See you there.

For more info: info [at] transitionberkeley.com
website: http://www.transitionberkeley.com

This event is cosponsored by Transition Berkeley, Obsidian Farm and BFUU’s Social Justice Ctee.
Wheelchair accessible.