Calendar

The City Council’s Public Safety Committee will consider proposals from the Ad Hoc Privacy Committee (agenda item #5) on

• the DAC privacy policy the Ad Hoc Committee was constituted to create
• a standing committee to create and monitor a city-wide privacy policy
• a surveillance equipment acquisition ordinance.

The Oakland Privacy Working Group invites you to come and support these recommendations IN THEIR ORIGINAL FORM, WITH NO WATERING DOWN.

The Oakland Livable Wage Assembly builds community and power among those who seek higher wages and better work life conditions for area workers. We meet every second and fourth Tuesday of the month at the SEIU Local 1000 union hall, 1433 Webster Street, 2nd Floor in downtown Oakland. These assembly meetings occur from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm.

Our work together encompasses:

• (1) the concerns of precarious, contingent and care workers;
• (2) current campaigns to improve wages for low-wage workers; and
• (3) efforts by unionized workers and unions to improve wages and quality of work life.

We share stories and information in an egalitarian and participatory way to build relationships and build the movement.

We look forward to learning with you and making change for the better. Please love and support one another. We have a duty to fight. We have a duty to win.

The following items, postponed twice, are scheduled for early consideration.

D. Berkeley Police Department Use of Police Vehicle In-Vehicle and Body-Worn Cameras
Recommendation: Refer to the City Manager to develop a plan to implement the use of dash cameras and body-worn cameras for the Berkeley Police Department. The report should be presented to the City Council within 3 months.
Contact: Darryl Moore, Councilmember, District 2, 981-7120

E. Support the National Demands by Ferguson Action 
Recommendation: 1. Adopt a motion endorsing the National Demands from Ferguson. 2. Advocate for changes to the Alameda County District Attorney policy to include investigations to all in-custody deaths. 3. Issue a statement of concern and support for people of color and their families who have been affected by injury or death by law enforcement agencies.
Contact: Jesse Arreguin, Councilmember, District 4, 981-7140

F. Amendments to BPD General Orders C-64 (Crowd Control), M-2 (Mutual Aid) and U-2 (Use of Force) (Continued from January 20, 2015 – Item includes revised recommendation.)
Recommendation:
1. Refer to the Police Review Commission (PRC) and City Manager the attached changes to BPD General Orders C-64, M-2, U-2, and request that they return to the City Council with recommended revisions to the General Orders. The proposed changes are modeled after the Oakland Police Department’s recent amendments to their Crowd Control Policy and address issues raised with the police response to the December 6, 2014 Ferguson protests.
2. Adopt a motion declaring as a temporary City of Berkeley policy that the use of chemical agents (tear gas etc.), Specialty Impact Less-Lethal Weapons (“projectiles” or rubber bullets, wooden dowels, stinger grenades, rubber bullets) and over the shoulder baton strikes, are prohibited uses of force in responding to crowd situations, until such time as an investigation is conducted as to the Police response to the December 6, 2014 protests, and a review of General Orders C-64, M-2, and U-2 is completed.
Contact: Jesse Arreguin, Councilmember, District 4, 981-7140

G. Independent Investigation of Police Response to December 6, 2014 Protests
Recommendation: Direct the City Manager to initiate an independent investigation into the police response to protests on December 6, 2014 and to return to Council as soon as possible, but no later than 60 days with a contract to hire a qualified independent investigator. In considering who to select to conduct the investigation, the City Manager should give preference to former police chiefs or law enforcement officials with experience conducting internal investigations. To avoid the appearance of or possibility of conflicts of interests, the City Manager should avoid selecting an individual or firm who previously worked for the Berkeley Police Department or who previously or currently worked for any law enforcement agency in the San Francisco Bay Area. The City Manager shall ensure that the selected individual or firm has no apparent conflicts of interest.
The Council also refers the questions attached to the report for the City Manager and outside investigator to consider in conducting their investigation.
Contact: Jesse Arreguin, Councilmember, District 4, 981-7140

The first of eight meetings is January 28th.

This seminar will study the corporate structure, its historical development, and its modes of political control.

Save CCSF Coalition meeting to discuss current situation at CCSF including the shut down of Civic Center Campus, the failure to go forward with the Performing Arts Education Center, reorganization, pushout policies and the attack on noncredit and the diversity departments.
Help plan actions and organize for this semester.

For our next meeting we’ll cover Chapters 3, 4, and 5 of PART FOUR (which is the “Organisation and Ownership” section) of E.F. Schumacher’s book, “Small is Beautiful” (which is here:  http://www.ditext.com/schumacher/small/small.html ).

These are the chapters about “Socialism” and “Ownership” (which Gar Alperovitz recommended)!  In addition, people might also find this article by David Graeber, entitled “Hope in Common”, worthwhile: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/david-graeber-hope-in-common.

We’ll also have a brief discussion of the recent Greek elections if Syriza, the anti-austerity party, wins, and the global ramifications thereof.

The Politics of Debt Reading Group is associated with the Bay Area Public School and Strike Debt Bay Area.

The BART Board will consider the following resolution proposed by BART Board member Rebecca Salztman:

The General Manager is directed to notify the Alameda County District Attorney that the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District urges her office to forgo the prosecution (including seeking restitution and/or community service) of the Black Friday 14 for their November 28th actions at the West Oakland BART Station.

BART meeting agenda.

The BART Board of Directors are meeting again – time to turn up and show them that we haven’t forgotten: it’s time for them to “PASS THE RESOLUTION: DROP THE CHARGES & RESTITUTION!”

Meeting starts at 9am; arrive early to grab a seat in the Board room and sign up for public comments to ask the BART Board.

Facebook event.

Please join us on Thursday, February 12th for oral arguments in Ashker v. Brown, a federal lawsuit on behalf of prisoners at Pelican Bay State Prison who have spent between 10 and 28 years in solitary confinement.

CCR President Jules Lobel will be in court urging the court to expand the case to cover prisoners recently transferred from solitary confinement at Pelican Bay to another California solitary confinement unit, under the new step down program. California must not be allowed to continue its torturous solitary confinement practices merely by changing the location of the abuse. As Plaintiffs alleged in the proposed amended complaint, “the cruel and unusual treatment [the prisoners have] experienced, and its debilitating effects, have not abated, but instead continue under a different name in a different prison.”

Facebook event.

Yesterday, three Muslim college students have been executed in their home at UNC Chapel Hill. Deah Shaddy Barakat (23 years old), Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha (21 years old), and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha (19 years old).

We at the Political Action Committee at Cal wish to express our utmost condolences to the grieving families of these three martyrs. We also strongly condemn the brutal execution of our fellow Muslims in what appears to be a blatant hate crime.

Please join us for an emergency vigil.

Due to the large number of participants, we ask people to bring a candle with them if they can. Some Candles will be provided, but please bring your own if you can to accommodate those that can’t bring a candle with them.

AFFIRMATIVE RESISTANCE TO
San Leandro Paramilitarization & Terro

Join San Leandro SAFE in Organizing an Affirmative Strategy to Demand the Changes We Need in Our City

Bring your solutions to this meeting and/or get involved.  Some ideas might be:

• DEMAND THE CHANGE WE NEED: Wasting money on paramilitarization means we don’t have resources our community needs to thrive.  What do do want instead?  Living wages, education, housing, roads, innovation? Let’s set a positive agenda for San Leandro.
• SHADOW REPORT ON SAN LEANDRO POLICING:  The San Leandro Police Department presents its own list of “accomplishments” annually to the City Council. It’s time the community created its own report back for the Council, documenting our opposition to:
  • (SLPD) profiling/harassment of people of color and other groups
  • Police shootings: 3 shootings of people of color in 3 months
  • SLPD slandering the life of Latino SLHS/SLAM graduate homicide victim
  • SLPD militarization, including BearCat & military-grade weapons
  • Increased surveillance on residents and those under no suspicion
  • Increased police presence in schools, including more police, creating dossiers on students starting in elementary school, and attempts to divert education funds from classrooms to the Police budget, taking education from our children
• STOP MARKETING OF MILITARY VEHICLES AS MEDICAL VEHICLES.  Join San Leandro SAFE’s petition to get red crosses off military vehicles marketed to our cities!

For more information e-mail notanks@sanleandrosafe.org

No other information available.

Facebook event.

Come show your solidarity in court for the Ferguson 3 on Friday Feb 13th, 9am Dept 11 at Rene C. Davidson Courthouse.

This is an important hearing so please come out rain or shine!

Come out and support the Ferguson 3!!! 2 of these guys have been in since late November and are facing some serious jail time.This is their last pretrial hearing and is a super crucial court date to show up for. 9amRené C. Davidson Courthouse (the one by the lake, 12th/Oak St, not the one downtown) As always, please help us share this widely!!!

No other information available.

March Against the Police State #Oakland Friday, February 13th; 14th and Broadway 6pm for all lives stolen by #police pic.twitter.com/UtAS3WJADv

— Occupy Oakland (@OccupyOakland) February 2, 2015

The planting was a few weeks ago.  The gardening work continues. Join us!

More information on  the Berkeley Post Office Defense against the sale and privatization here.

Pictures and videos of the soil preparation and planting here.

PROTEST, MARCH, DANCE!!!
On Saturday Feb 14th there will be a Sea of Red – Remembering the Stolen Lives march gathering at the Oscar Grant Plaza 14th & Broadway at 5:30pm.

The event organizers are asking folks to wear red for the march to create a sea of red as we march to symbolize the blood OPD has shed in our streets.

The march will go from the plaza to OPD HQ at 7th & Broadway where names of stolen lives will be read, from there the sea of red will go from OPD HQ to Alan’s House, aka The Alan Blueford Center For Justice where there will be a night of revolutionary love & dancing.

Facebook event for the march. 

Facebook event for the dance party.

While millions will be celebrating their love, many families will still be grieving the loss of their loved ones who were ripped away from them.

4MileMarch has called for a nationwide action to recognize the black lives stolen from their families by police violence with the Sea of Red Action

The Oakland Sea of Red will start with a rally at Oscar Grant Plaza then march to OPD for a vigil and a reading of the names of the Stolen Lives. The march will continue on to The Alan Blueford Center For Justice for the Revolutionary Love Dance at Alan’s House! Because it ain’t a Revolution unless we’re dancing!

Please dress in red, bring candles, and red ribbons with the names of lives you would like to honor. We’ll be tying them to the trees and posts beginning at the steps of the OPD and along the path of the march. The route will be a Sea of Red to mark the bloody trail that police violence has left behind right up to Alan Blueford’s front door.

In Solidarity we unite. In Solidarity we grow strong.

#SeaofRed #NoJusticeNoLove #BlackHistoryMonth # BlackLivesMatter

Facebook event.

“At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality.” – Che Guevara

OAKLAND PALESTINE SOLIDARITY MURAL / off the wall series; Art Forces, the Arab Resource Organizing Center (AROC) and Nor Cal Friends of Sabeel invite you to join us for an evening of dance, refreshments, and activism:

REVOLUTION IS LOVE

a benefit for AROC’s Boycott, Divestment, Sanction organizing
at the Oakland Palestine Solidarity Mural Project

VALENTINE’S DAY
Saturday, February 14, 2015

6:30 – 7:30 Cocktails, Music, and Performances
Adhamh Roland, Young Gifted and Black, Chris Kazaleh, Lubna Morrar, Al-Juthoor Dabke Dance Troupe and other surprises

7:30 – 8:30 Dancing at the Wall
Tango Lessons by Jonas Aquino and Monza Lui from Abrazo Queer Tango
and Music at the Oakland Palestine Solidarity Mural

8:30 DJ Rumorosa Dance Party and Celebration

“If I can’t dance, then I don’t want to be part of your revolution.” – Emma Goldman

Another march tomorrow in #Emeryville #YuvetteHenderson @GonzOakland pic.twitter.com/ySjfeukzh5

— David DeBolt (@daviddebolt) February 14, 2015