Calendar

US sanctions are not new and have been applied by the US in both recent history (Venezuela, Iran) and well prior (Japan 1937-45, Latin America, Africa). However, the scope & magnitude of US sanctions against Russia today represent a quantitative, as well as qualitative, higher stage and escalation of sanctions as a tool of US imperialism. The presentation will describe what’s in the US six packages of sanctions announced to date, distinguish between financial sanctions from goods & trade sanctions and individuals’ sanctions, and estimate their current stage of implementation of each. How US capitalists are enormously benefiting from the Russian sanctions. Thereafter, the discussion focuses on what’s been the impact of sanctions on Russia’s economy to date, as well as the growing consequence for Europe, US, and emerging markets economies – in terms of inflation, recession, and growing global financial marrkets’ fragility and potential instability. The presentation concludes with an assessment of the contradictions of sanctions for US imperialism and why sanctions on Russia represent a de facto declaration of economic war on Russia by the US as US imperialism comes under increasing challenge in the 21st century, becomes more aggressive in decline, and seeks to restore its prior hegemony, first in Europe and soon therefore in Asia.

Dr. Jack Rasmus, Ph.D Political Economy, teaches economics at St. Mary’s College in California. He is the author and producer of the various nonfiction and fictional works, including the books The Scourge of Neoliberalism: US Economic Policy From Reagan to Bush, Clarity Press, October 2019; Alexander Hamilton & The Origins of the Fed, Lexington books, March 2019; Central Bankers at the End of Their Ropes: Monetary Policy and the Coming Depression, Clarity Press, August 2018; Looting Greece: A New Financial Imperialism Emerges, Clarity Press, Sept. 2016.

LOGIN INFORMATION

Our Zoom room will be opened up, as usual, at 10:15 for anyone to join and discuss technical matters, catch up with each other, say Hi, etc.. The program (and recording) will begin as close to 10:30 am as possible and will end at 12:30, but the Waiting Room will remain open until about 1 pm for informal discussion.

ZOOM LINK
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2591082607?pwd=eGFXUElQNzZFYjdLOG1Hb3pIdDV0dz09

Meeting ID: 259 108 2607
Passcode: ICSS2610rs
One tap mobile
+16699006833,,2591082607#,,,,*4265173285# US (San Jose)
+13462487799,,2591082607#,,,,*4265173285# US (Houston)

Dial by your location
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kc4RrpvAiQ

NOTE: During the Plague Year of 2020 GA will be held every week or two on Zoom. To find out the exact time a date get on the Occupy Oakland email list my sending an email to:

occupyoakland-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

The Occupy Oakland General Assembly meets every Sunday at 4 PM at Oscar Grant Plaza amphitheater at 14th Street & Broadway near the steps of City Hall. If for some reason the amphitheater is being used otherwise and/or OGP itself is inaccessible, we will meet at Kaiser Park, right next to the statues, on 19th St. between San Pablo and Telegraph. If it is raining (as in RAINING, not just misting) at 4:00 PM we meet in the basement of the Omni Collective, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland. (Note: we tend to meet at 3:00 PM during the cooler months from November to early March after Daylights Savings Time.)

On every ‘last Sunday’ we meet a little earlier at 3 PM to have a community potluck to which all are welcome.

OO General Assembly has met on a continuous basis for over six years, since October 2011! Our General Assembly is a participatory gathering of Oakland community members and beyond, where everyone who shows up is treated equally. Our Assembly and the process we have collectively cultivated strives to reach agreement while building community.

At the GA committees, caucuses, and loosely associated groups whose representatives come voluntarily report on past and future actions, with discussion. We encourage everyone participating in the Occupy Oakland GA to be part of at least one associated group, but it is by no means a requirement. If you like, just come and hear all the organizing being done! Occupy Oakland encourages political activity that is decentralized and welcomes diverse voices and actions into the movement.

General Assembly Standard Agenda

Welcome & Introductions
Reports from Committees, Caucuses, & Independent Organizations
Announcements
(Optional) Discussion Topic

Occupy Oakland activities and contact info for some Bay Area Groups with past or present Occupy Oakland members.

Occupy Oakland Web Committee: (web@occupyoakland.org)
Strike Debt Bay Area : strikedebtbayarea.tumblr.com
Berkeley Post Office Defenders:http://berkeleypostofficedefenders.wordpress.com/
Alan Blueford Center 4 Justice:https://www.facebook.com/ABC4JUSTICE
Oakland Privacy Working Group:https://oaklandprivacy.wordpress.com
Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity: prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/
Bay Area AntiRepression: antirepression@occupyoakland.org
Biblioteca Popular: http://tinyurl.com/mdlzshy
Interfaith Tent: www.facebook.com/InterfaithTent
Port Truckers Solidarity: oaklandporttruckers.wordpress.com
Bay Area Intifada: bayareaintifada.wordpress.com
Transport Workers Solidarity: www.transportworkers.org
Fresh Juice Party (aka Chalkupy) freshjuiceparty.com/chalkupy-gallery
Sudo Room: https://sudoroom.org
Omni Collective: https://omnicommons.org/
First They Came for the Homeless: https://www.facebook.com/pages/First-they-came-for-the-homeless/253882908111999
Sunflower Alliance: http://www.sunflower-alliance.org/
Bay Area Public School: http://thepublicschool.org/bay-area

San Francisco based groups:
Occupy Bay Area United: www.obau.org
Occupy Forum: (see OBAU above)
San Francisco Projection Department: http://tinyurl.com/kpvb3rv

RSVP to action@sunflower-alliance.org

Save the date for a discussion with California climate justice leaders about the growing movement to oppose the weak and inadequate draft climate plan proposed by the California Air Resources Board. Learn how we can join the push for a plan that would rapidly phase out fossil fuels and bring justice to frontline communities.

The CARB draft plan

• Doesn’t shut down any of the gas power plants that currently pollute our neighborhoods; keeps all fossil fuel gas plants operating
• Builds many new polluting power plants
• Plans for excessive greenhouse gas emissions (30 MMT ) from the electric sector every year through 2050, never reaching zero emissions
• Relies extensively on unproven technologies (Carbon Capture and Sequestration [CCS] in addition to direct air capture) instead of renewable energy
• Would not achieve carbon neutrality until 2045.

More information and a petition demanding a better plan here

We will hear from Francis Yang of the Sierra Club and the coalition that has been campaigning for a stronger plan. More speakers to be announced.

In the 1960s, students organized a Free Speech movement to resist the University of California, Berkeley, to counter administrative bans on flyering on the campus. 53 years later, there is a new battle brewing over Peoples Park with its community advocating for civic space and the University offering housing projects. As tensions grow between the City’s establishment and Park protesters, many people are caught in the middle trying to navigate college, Covid-19, and Berkeley’s unaffordable housing crisis.

One of the greatest challenges facing the Peoples Park community is that UC Berkeley and the Berkeley City Council have agreed on the development. In fact, they have already allocated over $325 million dollars to displace the homeless encampments to the Rodeway Inn and build “over 1,100” beds for students and “formerly unhoused people.”

But, there are growing concerns about adding more students to Berkeley. The Save Berkeley’s Neighborhood group sued UC Berkeley for over enrolling students, but the Supreme Court decision in their favor was nullified by the California Legislature. The UC Regents then bought a $6.5 million dollar home in Berkeley for its president while thousands of students sleep on the streets during the summer months. These groups argue that the more students we have in Berkeley, the more open space we need to protect them, and that Peoples Park is the only green space available in the neighborhood outside of UC Berkeley’s main campus.

As tensions grow between the City’s establishment and the Anarchists of Peoples Park, thousands of students, businesses, and passersby will be caught in the middle of a potential war brewing in the Southside community, echoing the 1960’s invasion of the National Guard which changed Berkeley’s history forever.

What is the quality of life like at the Rodeway Inn?

What brought you to Peoples Park and why do you fight for it? and

Is there a sustainable future possible for Peoples Park?

Join the Green Party of Alameda County for a roundtable discussion with Peoples Park activists where we ask these questions and more during our monthly Green Sunday.

~~~~
Green Sundays are a series of free public programs & discussions on topics “du jour” sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County and held on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The monthly business meeting of the County Council follows at 7 pm, after a 30-minute break. Council meetings are open to anyone who is interested.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89559844652

Meeting ID: 895 5984 4652

PS  Organizers asked that people go to the Park whenever they can to witness what’s happening and support.   There will likely be at least one Copwatch training at the park, TBD.

https://www.savepeoplespark.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxyZYPTwZTc

PPS CONGRATS to our Left Unity Slate which helped secure our ballot access.  It was a good strategy!  Thnx for voting for them.  Press release:
https://www.cagreens.org/left-unity-strategy-pays-californias-green-party-and-peace-and-freedom-party

Staged reading of ROE produced by Actors Ensemble of Berkeley performance of Roe by Lisa Loomer directed by Susannah Wood and organized by Carol Marasovic of the City of Berkeley Commission on the Status of Women

Admission is free – reservations are highly recommended,

https://www.aeofberkeley.org/productions/upcoming-shows/378-roe-by-lisa-loomer

donations to cover the production costs are welcome send to:

Berkeley Actors Ensemble / ROE, PO Box 663, Berkeley, CA 94701

ROE at 7 pm at the Marsh 2120 at Allston Way

Staged reading of ROE produced by Actors Ensemble of Berkeley performance of Roe by Lisa Loomer directed by Susannah Wood and organized by Carol Marasovic of the City of Berkeley Commission on the Status of Women

Admission is free – reservations are highly recommended,

donations to cover the production costs are welcome send to:

Berkeley Actors Ensemble / ROE, PO Box 663, Berkeley, CA 94701

OTU’s Mission

The Oakland Tenants Union is an organization of housing activists dedicated to protecting tenant rights and interests. OTU does this by working directly with tenants in their struggle with landlords, impacting legislation and public policy about housing, community education, and working with other organizations committed to furthering renters’ rights. The Oakland Tenants Union is open to anyone who shares our core values and who believes that tenants themselves have the primary responsibility to work on their own behalf.

Monthly Meetings

The Oakland Tenants Union meets regularly at 7:00 pm on the second Monday evening of each month. Our monthly meetings are held in the Community Room of the Madison Park Apartments, 100 – 9th Street (at Oak Street, across from the Lake Merritt BART Station). To enter, gently knock on the window of the room to the right of the main entrance to the building. At the meetings, first we focus on general issues affecting renters city-wide and then second we offer advice to renters regarding their individual concerns.

If you have an issue, a question, or need advice about a tenant/landlord issue, please call us at (510) 704-5276. Leave a message with your name and phone number and someone will get back to you.

Photo Action in Oakland

12 minute walk from 12th St/Oakland BART station

June 14 is the day for coordinated photo stunts at fossil fuel infrastructure across California to challenge the narrative that high gas prices mean we need to drill for more oil. Actions are happening to communicate all the ways that Californians pay for big oil’s profits: at the gas pump, at the emergency room and with our very future. We  call on Governor Newsom to stand up to big oil’s greed, stop permitting new fossil fuels, and end neighborhood oil drilling for good. Join us on Tuesday!

Please email contact@oaklandprivacy.org a few days before the meeting to get up-to-date location information or obtain Zoom meeting access info.

Join Oakland Privacy to organize against the surveillance state, police militarization and ICE, and to advocate for surveillance regulation around the Bay and nationwide.

We fight against spy drones, facial recognition, tracking equipment, police body camera secrecy, anti-transparency laws and requirements for “backdoors” to cellphones; we oppose “pre-crime” and “thought-crime,” —  to list just a few invasions of our privacy by all levels of Government, and attempts to hide what government officials, employees and agencies are doing.

We draft and push for privacy legislation for City Councils, at the County level, and in Sacramento. We advocate in op-eds and in the streets. We stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and believe no one is illegal.

Check out some of what we worked on in 2022, 2021, 2020 and 2019.

Oakland Privacy originally came together in 2013 to fight against the Domain Awareness Center, Oakland’s citywide networked mass surveillance hub. OP was instrumental in stopping the DAC from becoming a city-wide spying network.  We helped fight and helped win the fight against Urban Shield.

Our major projects currently include local legislation to regulate state surveillance (we got the strongest surveillance regulation ordinance in the country passed in Oakland!), supporting and opposing state legislation as appropriate, battling mass surveillance in the form of facial recognition and other analytics, mass aerial surveillance, ubiquitous license plate readers, and pushing back against ICE.

On September 12th, 2019 we were presented with a Barlow Award by the Electronic Frontier Foundation for our work, and on March 16th, 2021 s James Madison Freedom of Information Award by the Northern California Society of Professional Journalists.

If you are interested in joining the Oakland Privacy email listserv, coming to a meeting, or have questions, send an email to:

contact@oaklandprivacy.org

Check out our website: http://oaklandprivacy.org/

Follow us on twitter: @oaklandprivacy

“WATCHING YOU WATCHING US”

Oakland Privacy works regionally to defend the right to privacy and enhance public transparency and oversight regarding the use of surveillance techniques and equipment.  Oakland Privacy drove the passage of surveillance regulation and transparency ordinances in Oakland and Berkeley and is kicking off new processes in various municipalities around the Bay.  To help slow down the encroaching police and surveillance state all over the Bay Area, join us at the Omni.

APTP general meetings are held on the third Wednesday of each month. These meetings are a great way to get updates about our work and plug in. ASL and closed captioning is provided.

Join our General Meeting

Thank you all for your time and energy,

Anti Police-Terror Project is a Black-led, multi-racial, intergenerational coalition that seeks to build a replicable and sustainable model to eradicate police terror in communities of color. We support families surviving police terror in their fight for justice, documenting police abuses and connecting impacted families and community members with resources, legal referrals, and opportunities for healing.

Donate

Speak up this Thurs 6/16 for #CARTSF to provide a future of care not criminalization for unhoused residents of San Francisco.

Don’t let the city divert money it promised to #GetCARTrolling last year! Sign up for text alerts to make public comment at: https://t.co/Ybc9MheMMa pic.twitter.com/oir6vyztQL

— SF Public Defender (@sfdefender) June 15, 2022

Staged reading of ROE produced by Actors Ensemble of Berkeley performance of Roe by Lisa Loomer directed by Susannah Wood and organized by Carol Marasovic of the City of Berkeley Commission on the Status of Women

Admission is free – reservations are highly recommended,

https://www.aeofberkeley.org/productions/upcoming-shows/378-roe-by-lisa-loomer

donations to cover the production costs are welcome send to:

Berkeley Actors Ensemble / ROE, PO Box 663, Berkeley, CA 94701

ROE at 7 pm at the Marsh 2120 at Allston Way

Staged reading of ROE produced by Actors Ensemble of Berkeley performance of Roe by Lisa Loomer directed by Susannah Wood and organized by Carol Marasovic of the City of Berkeley Commission on the Status of Women

Admission is free – reservations are highly recommended,

donations to cover the production costs are welcome send to:

Berkeley Actors Ensemble / ROE, PO Box 663, Berkeley, CA 94701

Please join KPFA for a very special Zoom Event when we welcome Britt Wray and her new book, Generation Dread: Finding Purpose in an Age of Climate Crisis, in conversation with KPFA’s Sabrina Jacobs.

“Wray proves to be consistently empathetic. Climaate activists feeling near the end of their rope will find this full of wisdom.”\Kirkus Reviews

Generation Dread: Finding Purpose in an Age of Climate Crisis is an impassioned generational perspective on how to stay sane amid climate disruption.

TICKETS AND MORE INFO AVAILABLE HERE

This Saturday we will have an MH First Training open to ALL community members…

Register for MH First Training

Where: East Oakland � Location will be shared upon registration

Accessibility: This is a 7 hour training in person with no virtual option. We will provide materials for you to access in advanced if needed. Breaks will be provided. Lunch will also be provided for all participants. Please include any accessibility needs in the registration form.

*Participants will be required to wear a mask throughout the training, except when eating lunch, and will be socially distanced from each other.*
Register for MH First Training
We deserve community crisis response that doesn’t harm us and instead honors our lives.

Come to our annual Alameda County Budget 101 Training presented by the Care First Community Coalition.
 
You’re invited to the annual Alameda County Budget 101 Training presented by Restore Oakland, American Friends Service Committee & the Care First Community Coalition

This will be a zoom webinar, registration is required.

In this training, we will provide you with fundamental tools to demystify the county budget process and who the decisionmakers are. You’ll also learn about Care First Community Coalition‘s budget demands that are being made by incarcerated folks, their loved ones, service providers, and advocates.

That is a budget which divests from incarceration, and invests in mental health and housing resources that truly make our community safe.

Our goal is to empower Alameda County residents to make a Care First budget a reality.

REGISTER

Email strike.debt.bay.area@gmail.com a few days beforehand for the the online invite.

For May, 2022 we’re reading the first four chapters of A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things. A Guide to Capitalism, Nature, And the Future of the Planet, by Raj Patel and Jason W Moore. UC Press, Amazon

For June, 2022, we’ll be finishing the above book.

All are welcome!

“Nature, money, work, care, food, energy, and lives: these are the seven things that have made our world and will shape its future. In making these things cheap, modern commerce has transformed, governed, and devastated Earth. In A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things, Raj Patel and Jason W. Moore present a new approach to analyzing today’s planetary emergencies.

Bringing the latest ecological research together with histories of colonialism, indigenous struggles, slave revolts, and other rebellions and uprisings, Patel and Moore demonstrate that throughout history, crises have always prompted fresh strategies to make the world cheap and safe for capitalism. At a time of crisis in all seven cheap things, innovative and systemic thinking is urgently required. This book proposes a radical new way of understanding—and reclaiming—the planet in the turbulent twenty-first century.”

Strike Debt Bay Area hosts this non-technical book group discussion monthly on new and radical economic thinking. Previous readings have included Doughnut Economics, Limits, Banking on the People, Capital and Its Discontents, How to Be an Anti-Capitalist in the 21st Century, The Deficit Myth,  Revenge Capitalism, the Edge of Chaos blog symposium , Re-enchanting the World: Feminism and the Politics of the Commons, The Optimist’s Telescope, Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism, Exploring Degrowth, The Origin of Wealth, Mine! and The Dawn of Everything.

That’s the intent of the pending Supreme Court decision, a draft copy of which has already been leaked to the media. This will be a human rights disaster for women. On May 11,2022  the U.S. Senate voted down the Women’s Health Protection Act 49 to 51. The WHPA would have made abortion legal, eliminating the role of the Supreme Court on the issue of abortion and nullifying the pending Supreme Court decision,  How do we fight back against this grossly undemocratic decision? We certainly can’t trust the Democratic Party leadership.

Our speaker is Rosa Astra, an Oakland-based militant journalist, community organizer, and activist with the ANSWER coalition.

LOGIN INFORMATION

Our Zoom room will be opened up, as usual, at 10:15 for anyone to join and discuss technical matters, catch up with each other, say Hi, etc.. The program (and recording) will begin as close to 10:30 am as possible and will end at 12:30, but the Waiting Room will remain open until about 1 pm for informal discussion.

ZOOM LINK

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2591082607?pwd=NnYwL1Z1RU9kcURQeG1NbnNZZXRqdz09

Meeting ID: 259 108 2607
Passcode: ICSS1962rs

Dial by your location
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)

Passcode: 7952417642
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kc4RrpvAiQ

NOTE: During the Plague Year of 2020 GA will be held every week or two on Zoom. To find out the exact time a date get on the Occupy Oakland email list my sending an email to:

occupyoakland-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

The Occupy Oakland General Assembly meets every Sunday at 4 PM at Oscar Grant Plaza amphitheater at 14th Street & Broadway near the steps of City Hall. If for some reason the amphitheater is being used otherwise and/or OGP itself is inaccessible, we will meet at Kaiser Park, right next to the statues, on 19th St. between San Pablo and Telegraph. If it is raining (as in RAINING, not just misting) at 4:00 PM we meet in the basement of the Omni Collective, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland. (Note: we tend to meet at 3:00 PM during the cooler months from November to early March after Daylights Savings Time.)

On every ‘last Sunday’ we meet a little earlier at 3 PM to have a community potluck to which all are welcome.

OO General Assembly has met on a continuous basis for over six years, since October 2011! Our General Assembly is a participatory gathering of Oakland community members and beyond, where everyone who shows up is treated equally. Our Assembly and the process we have collectively cultivated strives to reach agreement while building community.

At the GA committees, caucuses, and loosely associated groups whose representatives come voluntarily report on past and future actions, with discussion. We encourage everyone participating in the Occupy Oakland GA to be part of at least one associated group, but it is by no means a requirement. If you like, just come and hear all the organizing being done! Occupy Oakland encourages political activity that is decentralized and welcomes diverse voices and actions into the movement.

General Assembly Standard Agenda

Welcome & Introductions
Reports from Committees, Caucuses, & Independent Organizations
Announcements
(Optional) Discussion Topic

Occupy Oakland activities and contact info for some Bay Area Groups with past or present Occupy Oakland members.

Occupy Oakland Web Committee: (web@occupyoakland.org)
Strike Debt Bay Area : strikedebtbayarea.tumblr.com
Berkeley Post Office Defenders:http://berkeleypostofficedefenders.wordpress.com/
Alan Blueford Center 4 Justice:https://www.facebook.com/ABC4JUSTICE
Oakland Privacy Working Group:https://oaklandprivacy.wordpress.com
Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity: prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/
Bay Area AntiRepression: antirepression@occupyoakland.org
Biblioteca Popular: http://tinyurl.com/mdlzshy
Interfaith Tent: www.facebook.com/InterfaithTent
Port Truckers Solidarity: oaklandporttruckers.wordpress.com
Bay Area Intifada: bayareaintifada.wordpress.com
Transport Workers Solidarity: www.transportworkers.org
Fresh Juice Party (aka Chalkupy) freshjuiceparty.com/chalkupy-gallery
Sudo Room: https://sudoroom.org
Omni Collective: https://omnicommons.org/
First They Came for the Homeless: https://www.facebook.com/pages/First-they-came-for-the-homeless/253882908111999
Sunflower Alliance: http://www.sunflower-alliance.org/
Bay Area Public School: http://thepublicschool.org/bay-area

San Francisco based groups:
Occupy Bay Area United: www.obau.org
Occupy Forum: (see OBAU above)
San Francisco Projection Department: http://tinyurl.com/kpvb3rv

Catch the premier of this new short film from the People vs Fossil Fuels coalition. Dear President Biden, a new documentary film by Jon Bowermaster,  shares the stories of leaders from the People vs. Fossil Fuels coalition and the fossil fuel resistance movement who are fighting to protect communities, water, and public health.

Online. Register here

The screening of this 35-minute short film will be followed by a discussion with the filmmaker, and the organizers and climate activists featured in the film. The discussion will also share ways to get involved and hold President Biden accountable to his climate promises, as well as information on how to host your own screening.

Speakers:

• Carolyn Raffensperger, Science & Environmental Health Network (Iowa)
• *Fermin Morales, Philly Boricuas (Pennsylvania)
• *Jean Su, Center for Biological Diversity
• *Jessica Wiskus (Iowa)
• *John Beard, Port Arthur Community Action Network (Texas).
• *Joye Braun, Indigenous Environmental Network (Cheyenne River Sioux)
• *Kate Delany, Food & Water Watch (New Jersey
• Peter Kalmus, climate scientist and writer
• *Russell Chisholm, Protect Our Water, Heritage and Rights (Virginia)
• *Sandra Steingraber, Science & Environmental Health Network, Concerned Health Professionals of New York
• Sharon Levigne, Rise St. James (Louisiana)
• Wenonah Hauter, Food & Water Watch