Calendar
Occupy Forum PresentsResilience Resources
in the face of
“Slow Violence”and “Enduring Emergencies”
A Dialogue with Dennis Rivers, Writer, Activist
& Communication Skills Trainer
Many of the problems that we face are going to unfold over decades or even centuries, for example, climate change and radioactive contamination. But our models of political mobilization and participation are often models more of the hundred-yard dash than of the marathon. In this dialogue and discussion, writer and activist Dennis Rivers will explore ideas about resilience drawn from the work of eco-philosopher Joanna Macy, Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, communication skills trainer Marshall Rosenberg, and the Appreciative Inquiry school of organizational development consultingAccording to Rivers, we need to be concerned about resilience because the crises of the world gradually become the crisis of the self. As we work on social problems that embody blatant insanities, such as nuclear weapons that are actually global suicide devices, we necessarily build mental models of those blatant insanities inside of our own minds, which can induce a disabling sort of mental and emotional indigestion.
Resilience studies focus on how people mobilize new inner resources to overcome seemingly impossible obstacles.
Dennis Rivers is a long time antinuclear activist, nonviolence trainer, communication skills coach/author, and Internet publisher. In 1978 he was arrested for the felonious planting of wildflowers on a nuclear reactor site, and has been continuously involved in political protest and social change movements ever since. In the mid-1970s Dennis trained for the Unitarian ministry, but found it impossible to fit into the social role of a parish minister, and instead became a nonviolence trainer and informal chaplain for antinuclear and antiwar groups in the 1970s and 1980s. Dennis studied with Marshall Rosenberg in the 1980s, and with Joanna Macy from the 1990s to the present time.Dennis received his MA in interpersonal communication and human development from the Vermont College Graduate Program, and has written several books. His workbook on communication skills, combining NVC with Appreciative Inquiry, is available free of charge as a PDF file at www.newconversations.net. The inspirations for his activist and scholarly work include Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Joanna Macy, Rachel Carson, Albert Schweitzer, Marshall Rosenberg, Carl Rogers, Archbishop Oscar Romero, and the Austrian Catholic conscientious objector and martyr Franz Jägerstätter.
Come learn about continuing developments in the battle save the Berkeley Post Office and the Postal Service from privatization, support our Occupiers and help us plan our next steps in opposition to the theft of our public commons.
The postal service wanted to sell the post office to Hudson-mcdonald, a local developer. The city of berkeley sued the post office to stop the sale. Hudson-mcdonald backed out of the deal in early december.
Get an overview of the sale announcement here. Here’s a good more general overview piece.
There was a hearing in Federal Court on December 11th.
The next hearing is March 19th. The federal judge will decide whether the lawsuit will continue or be dismissed – he’ll decide sometime after march 19th.
There will be a townhall on the lawsuit and other Post Office defense developments on February 19ths.
The Postal Police had been raiding the Occupation intermittently in the wee hours of the morning, but the Occupiers refused to leave. Read about one of the eviction attempts here. There haven’t been any raids since a few days before Christmas, but they might start up again at any time.
Check out the new Community Garden at the Post Office.
Also check out our website and the Save the Berkeley Post Office website, and First they Came for the Homeless Facebook for updates.
BPOD is an offshoot of Strike Debt Bay Area, which itself is an offshoot of Occupy Oakland and a chapter of the national Strike Debt movement, which is an offshoot of Occupy Wall Street.
Dennis Bernstein will be interviewing Andrew Ross, Dawn Lueck, Ann Larson and others today on Flashpoints on KPFA, 5:00-6:00pm, 94.1FM.
BAY AREA: @dancohen3000 will speak at UC Berkeley about situation in Gaza. Tues, Feb. 24th, 6:30PM, 240 Mulford Hall. pic.twitter.com/WcUYXS8VTQ
— Occupy Oakland (@OccupyOakland) February 20, 2015
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.
26. Establishing a Two Year Moratorium on Drones in Berkeley
From: Peace and Justice Commission
Recommendation: Adopt a Resolution adopting a two year moratorium on drones in Berkeley.
The Berkeley Peace and Justice Commission sent this to the Council last June! Council promised, at its Worksession on Drones in April, to pursue a more comprehensive Policy on Drones. Yet it never voted on the comprehensive recommendation the Commission sent it before the Worksession and it has not taken a next step toward working on the issues to create a drone policy in Berkeley.
Here is the link to that recommended policy:
1. a. Drone Policy for the City of Berkeley
From: Peace and Justice Commission
It is unfortunate that Council, so far, has not taken a next step to work on this yet.
The proposed recommendation “Establishing a Two Year Moratorium on Drones in Berkeley” that Council will consider Tuesday night, gives it an opportunity to place a band-aid on this potentially critical wound, for two years, while it figures out a grand plan. More and more, drones are and will be filling the skies. It will be easier to regulate them now, sooner than later. The new guidelines that the FAA is proposing were just released this week. We do not know if or when they will be implemented. But they were originally intended to take effect by the end of this year.
Whether or not you can attend the meeting, you can contact the Mayor and the eight City Councilmembers and urge them to vote to Establish a Two Year Moratorium on Drones and to then put some time and energy into the details of the issues, as they promised to do at the end of the Workshop on Drones last April 29th, in order to have a more comprehensive plan for a Drone Policy in Berkeley. Their contact info (email addresses and phone numbers) is here: http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Clerk/City_Council/City_Council__Roster.aspx
Thank you.
In Peace and Resistance,
Sincerely,
Bob Meola, Vice-Chairperson, Berkeley Peace and Justice Commission
The first of eight meetings is January 28th.
This seminar will study the corporate structure, its historical development, and its modes of political control.
Film evenings begin with optional potluck refreshments & social hour at 6:30 pm,
followed by the film at 7:30 pm, followed by optional discussion after the film.
JFK to 911: EVERYTHING IS A RICH MAN’S TRICK
by Francis Richard Conolly
The first 50 Minutes of this film will be shown.
For the complete film, see YouTube.
Humanist Hall is wheelchair accessible around the corner at 411 28th Street
We’ll be discussing the Russian economy this time:
Here is the reading for the next meeting:
Hudson on the Russian Pivot:
http://michael-hudson.com/2014/12/russian-pivot/
Putin’s gold for oil scheme:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/grandmaster-putins-trap-russia-is-selling-oil-and-gas-in-exchange-for-physical-gold/5421567
The Russia-China Currency Swap deal:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/russia-and-china-the-dawning-of-a-new-monetary-system/5423637
The Politics of Debt Reading Group is associated with the Bay Area Public School and Strike Debt Bay Area.
Dante Cano is currently being held in Santa Rita jail for participation in a demonstration against police brutality and murder in the Bay Area and across the United States. At the time of his arrest, police in near-by Emervyville had just killed Yuvette Henderson in early February. At the same time, police also had just shot people in San Jose, East Oakland, and also the courts had exonerated the police that shot and killed Alex Nieto in San Francisco. This happened against a back-drop of ongoing police murder and violence across the US as well as a deep and furious revolt in the Bay Area against this repression.
Since the revolt against the police began in the Bay Area in the winter of 2014 – the State has specifically targeted young people, just like Dante Cano. We need to stand behind Dante and all others that fight for their freedom in the streets.
@crustyrustyMAD ago. The hearing will be in Dept 112
— Russell Bates (@crustyrustyMAD) February 24, 2015
Always check AntiRep website and facebook for last minute changes, postponements, cancellations.
We, the tenants at 812 Guerrero, have been fighting our Ellis Act eviction by Google lawyer Jack Halprin for one year now. Join us as we deliver a petition with over 1,500 signatures to Google’s San Francisco office.
Join us to demand the eviction be rescinded and we be allowed to stay in our home and community.
Now is the time to make a stand. Google states that as a corporation, “We care about the communities where we live and work.” If so, how is that they are permitting their head of e-Discovery to evict two teachers, an artist, a three-year-old, a cab driver, and a woman with disabilities who have all shared a community at 812 Guerrero for years.
In case you have not yet signed the petition, you can do so here:
https://www.change.org/p/
Skyrocketing San Francisco rents can spell displacement from the city for long time residents who must find new homes. For example, Susan, who lived in our building for nearly 20 years, was evicted first. Unable to afford an apartment in the city for her and her 9-year-old nephew, she was forced to move out of the city. Now, fighting to remain in our homes and our community are: Alex and Claudia (a taxi driver and public school teacher with a 3-year-old son), Becky (a therapist), Johnny (who works in support services), and Evan, a high school teacher. Our building was once a mini-community, diverse in ethnic and economic backgrounds, but like Susan, we will all face displacement from San Francisco if Jack Halprin succeeds in evicting us to create his personal mansion or to pocket millions.
Please bring friends and loved ones to this event- its important that we show support for the tenants facing eviction and everyone in San Francisco who is at risk of losing their home.
Farm update: 60 trees are down and being hauled out. They are spraying Round Up along fence on South Side where development planned to go.
— Occupy the Farm (@occupyfarm) February 26, 2015
Ppl are gathering at farm right now to make signs+banners, start planning next steps. 5pm MEETING on North Side, everyone please come RT plz
— Occupy the Farm (@occupyfarm) February 26, 2015
Dear Friend of the Open Internet,
JOIN US!
FCC Chairman, Tom Wheeler, wants to do something monumental: reclassify broadband access providers under Title II of the Communications Act.
Translation: we’ve made huge progress in the fight to protect the Open Internet. And it’s time to celebrate!
The Internet Archive & Electronic Frontier Foundation invite you to VICTORY FOR THE NET! An evening of celebration, conversation, and sharing what’s next. The party will be Thursday, February 26 at the Internet Archive, 300 Funston Avenue, San Francisco, from 6-9 p.m.
The FCC still has to vote on Chairman Wheeler’s proposal and we don’t know the exact details yet. What we do know is that we’ve all worked hard to get the agency on the right track at last. We’re not done yet, but we have a lot to celebrate.
We are joining hands with our friends and co-hosts from:
Free Press, 18 Million Rising, Center for Media Justice–home of the Media Action Grassroots Network, Common Cause, Daily Kos, Demand Progress, Fight For the Future,Media Alliance, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Public Knowledge, San Francisco Bitcoin, San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Civic Innovation, The Greenlining Institute, The Utility Reform Network and to take stock of how far we have come, and where we are headed in the movement to protect the Open Internet.
Hope to see you next Thursday! RSVP Today!
Brewster Kahle
Founder & Digital Librarian
Internet Archive
Fania E. Davis, Oakland attorney and director of Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth (RJOY), will speak at the Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club meeting on Thursday, February 26, 2015, at 7 pm at the Humanist Hall, 390 27th Street, Oakland. Ms. Davis will discuss Restorative Justice principles, practices, data, with applications in Oakland. She will also touch on how Restorative Justice might be used to address police violence and structural racism. A potluck dinner begins at 6 pm; please bring food to share.
The dramatic successes of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in healing the wounds of mass violence in South Africa and of restorative juvenile justice legislation in making youth incarceration virtually obsolete in New Zealand inspired civil rights attorney and community activist Fania E. Davis to explore the possibility of an Oakland initiative.
A leader since 2005 in bringing restorative justice policies and practices to Northern California, Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth interrupts cycles of violence, incarceration, and wasted lives by promoting restorative justice policies and practices in schools, communities, and in the juvenile justice system. RJOY’s advocacy and successes at its first pilot site in eliminating violence, reducing racially disparate suspensions, and increasing academic outcomes led the Oakland school district to adopt restorative justice as official policy in 2010. In 2007, there was only one restorative justice school site. Today, there are almost 30. RJOY’s work with formerly incarcerated youth has led to lowered recidivism.
KPFA Radio 94.1FM presents:
ROBERT SCHEER
“They Know Everything About You”
Hosted by Philip Maldari
A Benefit for KPFA
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Tickets also at: Pegasus (3 sites) Moe’s, Walden Pond Bookstore, Diesel a Bookstore, Mrs. Dalloway’s Books SF: Modern Times,
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Robert Scheer’s robust conversations with KPFA’s Sunday morning host Philip Maldari have become legendary for their intellectual ferocity and rich humor. Now they meet in an open public forum for the first time.
Data-collecting corporations and snooping government agencies are destroying democracy, insists Robert Scheer. In the first week of June 2013, the American people discovered that for an entire decade, they had abjectly traded their individual privacy for the chimera of national security. The revelation that the federal government has full access to all phone records and the vast trove of presumably private personal data posted on the Internet has brought the threat of a surveillance society to the fore.
But the erosion of privacy rights extends far beyond big government. Big Business has long played a leading role in hollowing out our personal freedoms. In They Know Everything About You, Robert Scheer reveals how our most intimate habits, from private correspondence, book pages read, and lists of friends and phone conversations have been seamlessly combined in order to create detailed maps of individuals’ social and biological DNA.
The Constitution’s Fourth Amendment guarantee of the sovereignty of the individual —“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated”— is being treated as an irrelevant relic of a bygone civilization. Our freedom has been squandered in the dubious name of national security and consumer convenience. We must challenge, Scheer argues, the assumption that protecting national security demands sacrificing the constitutional rights of the individual.
Robert Scheer, former national affairs correspondent and columnist for the Los Angeles Times, is the editor-in-chief of the online magazine Truthdig and professor at U.S.C.’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. He is the author of many books, including The Great American Stickup.
PHILIP MALDARI is the longtime host of KPFA’s Sunday morning show.
Tmrw! 11am, Oakland City Hall – press conf on Measure FF! $12.25/hour + 5-9 paid sick days is reason to celebrate! @CalOrganize @unitehere
— EBASE (@workingeastbay) February 26, 2015
Follow the sounds of singing to find us! We should be near a ticket/turnstile entrance somewhere inside. We may have to relocate elsewhere in the station if other musicians have claimed the space. Walk around and listen for us if you don’t see us. No rehearsal needed; we’ll have lyric sheets which are also available for download at www.occupella.org
Please invite your friends; even folks who don’t want to sing can help a lot by holding signs. And please do bring signs to make our solidarity clear. As we learn how to be allies in this movement, we believe that our predominantly white group cannot claim slogans such as “I Can’t Breathe” or “Hands Up Don’t Shoot.” But signs such as “Silence = Violence,” or “Black Lives Matter,” or “Justice for Michael Brown” make the clear connection that we support the Black Lives Matter protests. For future sings check www.occupella.org
Yesterday, 60 heritage trees from farmer Gill’s arboretum met a violent death at the Gill Tract. This was the UC’s initial move to begin clearing the way for their proposed housing and shopping complex. They caught us off guard, and for good reason: there is an active lawsuit on appeal in the county courts, contesting the development’s detrimental environmental impact.
Knowing the community would mobilize to defend the trees, the UC hired a huge demolition team, cutting down the trees with lightening speed. The last trees were in the process of being destroyed at 9am, as farm supporters arrived.
This is a blatant escalation on the part of the UC and in return, we shall hold a TREE MURDER PROTEST and rally. Meet at the corner of Monroe and San Pablo Ave in Albany tomorrow, Feb 27, at 5pm. It is very important to be on time.
“This is structural violence. They have come and destroyed the trees, and they brought their security forces with them. They were in and out before anyone could do anything about it. They took everything.” – Hank Herrera
“The 60 trees that were cut down present a massive environmental injustice to the local community. This area has long been known for its dangerous air pollution from the freeway and the Pacific Steel Casting factories. It is already in the 78th percentile for asthma, and this destruction is happening right next to children in Oceanview Elementary and the University Village. The EIR highlights that the proposed development would be bringing in 6,500 new cars per day on Monroe street. This has got to be stopped, and we must replant.” Vanessa Raditz
“UC Berkeley’s determination to develop the Gill Tract at all costs reveals the privatization of a university that is not meeting the needs of or representing its students or community. This has been a 20 year struggle, one that does not end with the destruction of trees. The Gill Tract has been suddenly and violently altered, but our courage to envision more fuels our fight to defend this soil.” – Camille Fassett
As the movement” Black Lives Matter” shakes the nation Sensible Cinema will take part by screening Fruitvale Station by director Ryan Coogler.
Fruitvale Station, a true story follows the twenty-year old Oscar Grant on the eve of his last day of life, December 31, 2008, when early the next day, New Years Day ,January 1, 2009 he was murder in cold blood at the Fruitvale Bart station .
The program will include discussions and plans for a day of action on April 14,2015 with the cosponsor Stop Mass Incarceration Network .
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.
