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“At the dances I was one of the most untiring and gayest. One evening a cousin of Sasha, a young boy, took me aside. With a grave face, as if he were about to announce the death of a dear comrade, he whispered to me that it did not behoove an agitator to dance. Certainly not with such reckless abandon, anyway. It was undignified for one who was on the way to become a force in the anarchist movement. My frivolity would only hurt the Cause.
I grew furious at the impudent interference of the boy. I told him to mind his own business. I was tired of having the Cause constantly thrown into my face. I did not believe that a Cause which stood for a beautiful ideal, for anarchism, for release and freedom from convention and prejudice, should demand the denial of life and joy. I insisted that our Cause could not expect me to become a nun and that the movement would not be turned into a cloister. If it meant that, I did not want it. “I want freedom, the right to self-expression, everybody’s right to beautiful, radiant things.” Anarchism meant that to me, and I would live it in spite of the whole world — prisons, persecution, everything. Yes, even in spite of the condemnation of my own closest comrades I would live my beautiful ideal.”
-Emma Goldman
This is a Mobile Event–it will take place wherever Occupy Oakland decides to set up camp
Come one Come all. Feel free to bring your kids and a dish of food to share.
There will be live painting, hoola hooping, and dance music.
Bring your donations for the campers. Lets build a community again.
! ! ! LINE UP ! ! !
Mermaid – disco & stuff
Atish Mehta – funky deep house
Dao & Pwny Show – dirty funky tech house tag team
Skye X – drum & bass/techno
Brian Demodulate – post acid crunky dubstep
Bert – 2 step/garage
Indigo – drum & bass or psy breaks
Drag’n’fly – tech trance (or whatever she calls it these days)
Br@in – breaks
Please note – this lineup is subject to change. no refunds in case of rain. by attending this event, you accept all liability for train wrecks, dirty hippy hugs, tear gassing, billy clubbing, seal clubbing, bad dancing, and regime change. offer not valid in NV or where legal.
Love to bake & cook? There will also be a potluck brunch, for ourselves and the camp as a whole while we are there, & we would love it if you want to bring something. Even a carafe of coffee, or a dozen bagels is a welcome contribution – home cooked brunchy goodies are also greatly encouraged!
Join us while we dance our way into a new era!
Facbook Event page: Occupy Oakland Renegade
Got thoughts on Occupy?
The Applied Research Center (publisher of Colorlines) is conducting focus groups with young organizers (between 18 to 30 years of age) to understand what motivates you to participate in the Occupy movement.
The focus group will run an hour and a half, from 3:00 to 4:30pm, this Thursday, 3/8 at The Holdout, 2313 San Pablo and 19th St., Oakland.
Participants will receive a $25 gift certificate from Arizmendi Pizza or AK Press (both are worker-owned coops!) for their time.
RSVP here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/occupyoakland
Contact millennials@arc.org if you have any questions.
In response to the May 1st vandalism of small businesses and private property in this largely working class neighborhood, we at the Brooms Collective are planning on gathering at the 16th Street Mission BART Station at 11:30 on Saturday morning to participate in a neighborhood clean-up and outreach action. Many people seem to believe that these deplorable actions were attributable to supporters of the Occupy Movement, and even Occupy Oakland in particular. Many of us in the Brooms Collective found this truly senseless destruction wholly out of step with our beliefs, political, social or otherwise, and we believe that many others feel the same way. An action such as this is the only way that we could even hope to repair the damage that was done in the name of a movement that many of us believe would never have condoned it in the first place.
RALLY TO DEFEND ILWU !
International Day Of Action
Stop Mitsui Union Busting and Concessionary Contracts
Fight the Lockout of ILWU by United Grain
in the Port of Vancouver, Washington
Friday March 15, 2013 – 4:30PM
1 Montgomery/Market Sts., SF
On March 15, 2013 there will be international actions and protests against the union busting lockout of ILWU Local 4 members by the Mitsui-owned company United Grain in the Port Of Vancouver, Washington.
Since the concessionary contract at EGT in Longview, Washington, other grain handlers have imposed a similar contract in NW grain ports after longshore workers voted 94% to reject it. The contract eliminated the union hiring hall, imposed a 12 hour day and allowed the replacement of union members if they stopped work for health and safety reasons. The other anti-union grain monopoly Cargill/Temco signed a separate agreement which includes many of these draconian measures which is being heralded by union officials as a “victory” because, they say, Cargill is American-owned. Longshore workers in Portland, the West Coast’s largest grain port, voted that concessionary contract down.
Already there have been fires and dangerous accidents working under these contracts.
Mitsui-owned United Grain locked out the ILWU members and have brought in scabs who have been training for many months to bust the ILWU. This attack on the union hiring hall, a key victory of the 1934 West Coast Maritime strike, is a major defeat for members of the ILWU and all workers whether in unions or not. This also whets the appetite of all maritime bosses who are want to impose EGT-type concessions in 2014 when the West Coast longshore contract expires.
The ILWU International leadership, using racist, flag-waving nationalism, is attacking Japanese capitalist bosses like they did during the lockout of ILWU Local 30 miners who were locked out in Boron, California by British-based Rio Tinto. This is a reactionary diversion. Only international labor solidarity actions can beat these union busters. Many companies are global. Whether British-owned company, Japanese-owned or American-owned, these companies are intent on destroying union labor here and around the world.
The ILWU Local 8 Executive Board in Portland and Japanese Doro-Chiba railway union have taken the initiative to call for action against Mitsui in solidarity with ILWU grain workers. The Transport Workers Solidarity Committee (TWSC) is supporting this International Day of Action.
Join us on Friday March 15th at 4:30 PM at 1 Montgomery Street in San Francisco at the headquarters of Mitsui in California. Let them know: Union busting is disgusting!
For more information go to www.transportworkers.org Or call 510-501-7080
There are lots of important reasons to protest at the CPUC, not only ‘Smart’ meters, but also Diablo Canyon’s nuclear power plant, massive toxic dumping by PG&E (remember Hinkley, Hunters Point, and many more), AT&T’s push to get rid of landlines (an accessibility issue), gasline explosions due to neglect, etc etc etc.
These issues are about environmental health, community defense, disability justice, and labor. The people who are most immediately impacted by the decisions of the CPUC are the workers forced to implement them.
For example, this former PG&E meter reader was fired for refusing to be silent about the fact that ‘Smart’ meters are a fire hazard, and lays out the financial reality that these meters are actually more expensive than meter readers, who were the only people working for the utility who regularly checked for gas leaks like the one that preceded the San Bruno explosion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnxIoItNUek
One of the victims who died in a fire caused by ‘Smart’ meters was Larry Nikkel, of Vacaville, a member of Stationary Engineers Local 39: http://stopsmartmeters.org/2013/06/21/when-smart-meters-kill-the-story-of-larry-nikkel-details-emerge-of-vacaville-ca-smart-meter-fire-death/
Please mobilize your friends and comrades to come out on Thursday – Peevey’s last day – and bring your friends and your own grievances against this supposed watchdog agency that acts more like a lapdog of the corporate utilities. Tell Peevey: Good Riddance!
Details below.
PRESS CONFERENCE/ DEMONSTRATION AT CPUC IN SAN FRANCISCO OPPOSING “SMART” METER POLICIES AND GENERAL CORRUPTION
California Public Utilities Commission
Thursday, December 18 8:30 AM
Van Ness at McAllister, San Francisco
Give CPUC President Michael Peevey the send-off into retirement that he deserves after a dozen years of corruption and complicity with corporate utilities.
Protest the CPUC’s proposed decisions in the ‘smart’ meter opt out proceedings. Show strength in unity against their proposals that:
• Ignore serious public safety hazards including toxic injuries, fires, homelessness, violations of privacy, higher bills, loss of meter readers, and no promised energy savings.
• Continue to impose coercive extortion opt out fees
• Violate laws, and deny customer and disability rights
• Prohibit opt-outs for communities, apartment buildings, and businesses
• Reward utility companies with millions $$$ more for smart grid failings
Join us in demanding that the CPUC:
• Reject the proposed decisions
• Rescind and refund ‘opt out’ extortion fees
• Halt the ‘smart’ meter program
Bring any other past or present grievances against the CPUC (toxic dumping, nuclear plants, gas line explosions, accessibility, public power, etc.)
We will be raising our demands both outside before the meeting, as well as inside. Please come prepared to make some noise and be seen. Wear black if you can. Rain or shine.
For more information about the proposed decisions, go to these links:
The proposed decisions would (as summarized by the EMF Safety Network):
- Give 37 million dollars to the Investor Owned Utilities (PG&E, SCE, SDG&E, and So Cal Gas) for providing the opt-out program.
- Adopt permanent fees for residential customers who “do not wish to have a wireless smart meter.”
- Continue the same interim fees of $75 initial fee plus $10/month, and $10 initial fee plus $5/month for low income.
- Local governments and multi-unit dwellings may not collectively opt out of smart meter installations.
- Charging an opt-out fee does not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
- They will not address health and safety impacts in this decision.
- Assess fees on a per location basis, for example if you have two or more meters on your property, that will be one fee, per utility company.
- If you have two utilities, they can both charge you fees.
- President Peevey proposes putting a cap on the opt-out fees at 3 years.
- Neither proposal considers a no-fee option.
Ecological Options Network
EMF Analysis
EMF Safety Coalition
EMF Safety Network
No Nukes Action
Smart Meter Health Alert
Stop OC Smart Meters
Smart Meter Harm
Stop Smart Grid
Stop Smart Meters!
Stop Smart Meters Irvine
United Public Workers for Action
Wireless Radiation Alert Network
Which way for the ILWU-
Militant Unionism or Business Unionism?