Calendar
Happening tomorrow:
More than 100 Oaklanders and Bay Area neighbors joined us for our first People’s Assembly of the year. We grounded in what People’s Assemblies are, clarified strategy, and began organizing to protect Oakland’s Black and Brown immigrant communities in this moment of escalating state violence.
Now we deepen the work.
This is a working assembly to advance the strategy already underway. We will continue refining our collective response to ICE activity and strengthening the infrastructure needed to keep our people safe.
Committees formed include Outreach (youth-led), Mutual Aid, Rapid Response, Community Education/Propaganda, Logistics, Access, Security, and Medics and Wellness. If you missed the first assembly but want to plug into real organizing work, this is your entry point.
RSVP here:
bit.ly/Oakland-PA0218
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 privacy, surveillance regulation of both corporations and the state, and government transparency, around the Bay and nationwide.
We fight against spy drones, facial recognition, tracking equipment and online tracking, 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 pursue lawsuits as necessary to protect our rights. We stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and believe no one is illegal.
Check out some of what we worked on in 2024, with links back through 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 in 2018 we 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, online tracking and ID requirements, street surveillance, and fighting to ensure local governments adhere to State privacy and transparency regulations.
On September 12th, 2019 we were presented with a Barlow Award by the Electronic Frontier Foundation for our work, and on March 16th, 2021 the 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:
Check out our website: http://oaklandprivacy.org/
Follow us on twitter: @oaklandprivacy, and/or on Mastodon at https://mastodon.social/@oaklandprivacy, and/or at Bluesky at @oaklandprivacy.bsky.social
Register here for the February 21 XRUS Open House
xrus_chapter_engagement@
I don’t know how to do this, but I’m going to keep doing it anyway.
To Join Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom.us/j/
Meeting ID: 873 8882 4824
Passcode: 042428
Speaker: Amit Singh
Based on personal experiences during his two to three weeks stay in China with his partner and child, the speaker will put forward observations, stories and interesting encounters. The speaker will try to highlight contradictions in Chinese society, capital and state, and would focus upon the present state of the Chinese economy, education, health and other parameters. The talk will also dwell upon how to characterize China. Should China be characterized as capitalist/state-capitalist or market socialist (socialism with Chinese characteristics) or semi-peripheral or imperialist or semi-colonial or oppressed or oppressor? Should the emergence of China as a competitor of the US in many areas be seen as a great anti-imperialist development? Or, can it be argued that Chinese capitalist development will lead to inter-imperialist conflicts and wars throughout the world? How much power do the Chinese working class assert in China? Should the present Chinese model be followed by other countries? The speaker will also touch upon the state of productive forces, science and technology in China, and will also assess the Chinese military capabilities. During the whole talk, the speaker will aim to compare Chinese, Indian and the US development with the help of figures, tables and other visuals.
Dr. Amit Singh finished his Masters and PhD in Mechanics from University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, where he had been involved with anti-war and labor organizing efforts at Minneapolis. Currently, he is a faculty at IIT Bombay, India, where he is involved in the struggles around working class-caste issues including resistance against attack on freedom of expression, on academic freedom and attack on national minorities.
https://www.me.iitb.ac.in/
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
An immersive archival documentary that reanimates the clash between the then-emerging World Trade Organization (WTO) and the more than 40,000 people who took to the streets of Seattle to protest the WTO’s impact on human rights, labor, and the environment.
Want to chart the degraded trajectory of the U.S. power elite even further? Then grab a ticket to the mind-melting mash-up film HELLO DANKNESS, which takes surrealistic satirical aim at our present political calamity. Together, these films form a double-header charting the precipitous decline of the AmeriKKKan ruling class
In Person + Virtual
Join us at:
The People’s House � 893 Willow Street, Oaakland
Or online (link shared after registration)
Be part of the movement for real change.
This month’s key topics include:
� Reclaim MLK Week of Action Debrief
� Community Updates including Flock, surveillance, and oversight : Program and Event Updates
� Staying Ready in 2026
Our General Meetings, held every third Wednesday, are where our broader community is briefed on APTP’s work, learns how to support committee efforts, and participates in concrete calls to action.
K/N95 masks required. COVID tests provided.
Please share any access needs when you register.
RSVP here:
bit.ly/APTP0225
This is how we stay organized. This is how we stay ready.
Show up. Plug in. Build power.
To Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/
Meeting ID: 873 8882 4824
Passcode: 042428
• +1 646 931 3860 US
• +1 669 444 9171 US
Speaker: Roger Harris
On February 12, the imperialist newspaper Financial Times published the results of a poll claiming that 72% of respondents felt Venezuela was ‘moving in a positive direction’ after the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 3rd. They also claimed that US-supported Maria Corina Machado enjoys commanding popularity over interim President Delcy Rodriguez, even though President Trump has admitted that Machado doesn’t have enough support or respect within Venezuela to lead the country.
The poll was commissioned by a senior adviser with the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and was conducted by a USAID-aligned non-profit organization.
Roger Harris, a Venezuela solidarity activist and independent journalist, has just returned from Venezuela and will update us on current developments in Venezuela since January 3rd, as well as resistance to the US attack within Venezuela.
Roger Harris is on the board of the Task Force on the Americas and the secretariat of the US Peace Council. He is active in the Sanctions Kill campaign and the Nicaragua Solidarity Coalition. He is a founding member of the Venezuela Solidarity Network. His writings may be regularly found at Counterpunch, LA Progressive, Antiwar.com, and the Orinoco Tribune.
Israel and the United States have struck Iran. In the last hour, large clouds of smoke could be seen billowing from areas in central Tehran. The site of impact in the downtown area appeared to be in close proximity to Iranian government buildings. A US official confirmed that the United States is participating in the strikes, and that the US is coordinating with Israel in launching the attack.
The United States and its proxy military base of Israel are openly and brazenly attacking a sovereign nation’s capital. They are doing so in an attempt to ignite a regional war that would multiply the suffering of the Iranian people and the people of the wider region. The US and Israel continue to demonstrate that the real threats to the Middle East are Zionism and imperialism.
This escalation would not be possible without the military cargo being sent from the US to the Zionist entity. The only way to curb US imperialism worldwide is through a people’s arms embargo.
From the belly of the beast, we say: Hands off Iran, hands off our region! Arms embargo now!
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
Because of the COVID pandemic we will be meeting virtually via Zoom on the first Monday of the month.
Meeting ID: 828 0976 4186
The Oscar Grant Committee Against Police Brutality & State Repression (OGC) is a
grassroots democratic organization that was formed as a conscious united front for justice against police brutality. The OGC is involved in the struggle for police accountability and is committed to stopping police brutality.
In alliance with the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) we organized the October 23, 2010 labor and community rally for Justice for Oscar Grant. On that day the ILWU shut down the Bay Area ports in solidarity. Our mission is to educate, organize and mobilize people against police and state repression. Sisters and brothers! The Oscar Grant Committee invites you to join us in this vital struggle.
We meet on the 1st Monday of each month
You can join our discussion list by sending a blank (doesn’t even need a subject) email to
oscargrantcommittee-subscribe@lists.riseup.net
Suds, Snacks, and Socialism
at the Starry Plough
The Global Struggle for
Women’s Rights
March is the month when we honor the history of approximately half the world’s population. On this day before International Women’s Day, our speakers will discuss some pioneers in women’s reproductive freedom in the U.S., and women’s movements in Ireland, Iran, and beyond.
Emer Martin – Award-winning Irish novelist; Co-founder of Saoirse Hurriya (Palestinian/Irish Solidarity Committee); member of Fremont Education Association
Negeene Mosaed – Founder, Berkeley Network for Palestine; member, Democratic Socialists of America; owner/operator, Berkeley Community Physical Therapy, a community clinic for the people of Berkeley
Marsha Feinland – Member, Peace and Freedom Party State Executive Committee, and California Teachers’ Association (retired); Former commissioner, Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board
*Organizations listed for identification purposes only.
Please help us celebrate our return to the Starry Plough by ordering food and/or drinks.
Please arrive early to place your order so that you do not miss any of the presentations.
An open discussion will follow the presentations.
We will be accepting donations which will be divided among the sponsoring organizations.
This event is sponsored by the Alameda County Peace and Freedom Party,
the Alameda County Green Party and Bay Area System Change Not Climate Change.
-
Dr. Roger Bales, PhD, environmental engineer and climate scientist
-
Kathleen Dowd, CNM, NP, MSN, nurse midwife and maternal-health leader
-
Dr. Nina Hasen, PhD, Vice President of HIV and TB Programs at Population Services International
-
Fred Lipschultz, PhD, senior climate scientist and expert in global warming research
-
Devorah Lyn, co-chair of the Jewish Earth Alliance, mobilizing the Jewish community on climate change and ecological stewardship
-
Dr. Ernest Moy, MD, MPH, previous Executive Director of the VHA Office of Health Equity
-
Dr. Greg Spooner, PhD, physicist and nonviolent activist in climate justice movements
-
Dr. Sharon Goldfarb, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, clinician-scientist, nurse practitioner, and public health advocate
Email strike.debt.bay.area@gmail.com a few days beforehand for the online invite. All are welcome!
For our February, 2026 meeting we will be reading and discussing the first three chapters of A Paradise Built in Hell by Rebecca Solnit (Amazon) (Alibris). For our March meeting we will finish the book.
The most startling thing about disasters, according to award-winning author Rebecca Solnit, is not merely that so many people rise to the occasion, but that they do so with joy. That joy reveals an ordinarily unmet yearning for community, purposefulness, and meaningful work that disaster often provides. A Paradise Built in Hell is an investigation of the moments of altruism, resourcefulness, and generosity that arise amid disaster’s grief and disruption and considers their implications for everyday life. It points to a new vision of what society could become-one that is less authoritarian and fearful, more collaborative and local.
Strike Debt Bay Area hosts this non-technical book group discussion monthly on new and radical economic thinking. Our first book was Doughnut Economics, and our most recent books were What’s Left – 3 Paths Through the Planetary Crisis, The Age of Insecurity and Elinor Ostrom’s Rules for Radicals. For the rest of our reading list see here.
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
On Saturday, March 14, we’re coming together for a Mass Training to prepare to shut it down on May Day: No Work. No School. No Shopping.
This is bigger than organizing towards a single day of action. This is about building a mass non-cooperation movement to confront fascism and defend our communities.
We are watching an authoritarian project consolidate power in real time. Billionaire oligarchs hoarding wealth. Corporations collaborating with repression. Immigrants targeted. Dissent criminalized. Rights and public goods stripped. This is how fascism advances: by dividing working people, concentrating power, and normalizing cruelty.
But history teaches us something else: fascism is not inevitable. It is defeated when ordinary people come together and refuse to comply.
Mass non-cooperation looks like working people withholding our dollars and our labor.
It looks like students walking out.
It looks like knowing your rights to call out sick if you fear retaliation for striking.
It looks like communities standing together so tightly that attacks on one of us are met with collective resistance from all of us.
And it requires practice. Preparation. Strategy. Skills. Courage. Coordination for mass power to reach mass disruption.
That’s why we’re inviting you to join us on Saturday, March 14th, from 9-3 pm at Mission High School in San Francisco for the Bay Resistance Mass Noncooperation Training. We’ll cover:
- How to build mass participation for May Day
- How to take on corporations enabling ICE, including Palantir, Home Depot, and Target
- Skills to strengthen campaigns, escalate actions, and expand our organizing
- How to organize your neighbors to stand together against ICE attacks
- How to build a united, sustained movement capable of stopping these attacks for good
This May Day, we will demonstrate our collective power against the greed of billionaires and the politicians they bankroll who are waging wars on working people. But that kind of power doesn’t appear overnight. We build it together.
Whether you’ve been to several Bay Resistance trainings or this would be your first, this is the next step. If you’re experienced, come deepen your skills and help scale this movement. If you’re new, this is your entry point.
Come build the muscle we need for sustained mass action to defend our communities, defend elections, and defend each other. RSVP HERE
Speaker: Grover Furr
To Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us06web.zoom.us/j/
Meeting ID: 873 8882 4824
Passcode: 042428
Khristian Rakovsky, born in Bulgaria, 1873, was a physician, a political activist. He was a Trotsky ally from early on, who helped found Nashe Slovo, a journal edited by Menshevik leader, Julius Martov. He served as a diplomat during the Russian Civil War. He was chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars from 1919 to 1923. From 1923 he was with the Left Opposition. In 1929 Khristian Rakovsky was exiled for his participation in Trotsky’s faction. In 1934 Rakovsky “capitulated” and swore off future Trotskyite conspiracy. The Soviet leadership had evidence that he was lying. Despite this, Stalin permitted him to return to Moscow and gave him a responsible job.
At the 1936 and 1937 Moscow Trials Rakovsky went far beyond criticizing the defendants. He called for their executions before they had even testified!
Grover Furr is a historian of the Stalin period of USSR socialism 1917 -1991. He teaches Medieval English Literature at Montclair State University in New Jersey. Among his previous numerous books: Khrushchev Lied, Blood Lies, Trotsky’s Lies, Yezhov vs. Stalin, Stalin…Waiting for the Truth.
****************************
FOR OUR FULL SCHEDULE OF UPCOMING PROGRAMS,
AS WELL AS PAST PROGRAMS, GO TO ICSSMARX.ORG
NOTE: Our past programs have been recorded, and placed on YouTube. For a listing of our past programs, see the “Icss Marxist” channel on YouTube, and at icssmarx.org.
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
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 privacy, surveillance regulation of both corporations and the state, and government transparency, around the Bay and nationwide.
We fight against spy drones, facial recognition, tracking equipment and online tracking, 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 pursue lawsuits as necessary to protect our rights. We stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and believe no one is illegal.
Check out some of what we worked on in 2024, with links back through 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 in 2018 we 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, online tracking and ID requirements, street surveillance, and fighting to ensure local governments adhere to State privacy and transparency regulations.
On September 12th, 2019 we were presented with a Barlow Award by the Electronic Frontier Foundation for our work, and on March 16th, 2021 the 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:
Check out our website: http://oaklandprivacy.org/
Follow us on twitter: @oaklandprivacy, and/or on Mastodon at https://mastodon.social/@oaklandprivacy, and/or at Bluesky at @oaklandprivacy.bsky.social