The Democratic primary campaign of Bernie Sanders has ignited a new enthusiasm among many who are fed up with the status-quo of politics in the United States. Tens of thousands have joined rallies to hear Sanders decry the billionaire class and call for an end to inequality. Many on the socialist left have embraced the campaign. Others have argued against support for Sanders, calling instead for socialists to organize independently of the Democratic Party.

Join the International Socialist Organization in a panel discussion on the question of support for the Sanders campaign and socialist strategy during elections. Speakers will represent both support and opposition to supporting the Sanders primary campaign.

Black is… Black Ain’t is a 1994 award-winning feature-length documentary by Marlon Riggs. It explores the multiplicity of expressions of African American identity with a backdrop of Creole cooking.

Synopsis: Riggs uses his grandmother’s gumbo as a metaphor for the rich diversity of Black identities. The film traverses the country interviewing African Americans young and old, rich and poor, Northern and Southern, rural and urban, gay and straight, as they discuss the numerous, often contested definitions of Blackness. Riggs mixes performances by choreographer Bill T. Jones and poet Essex Hemphill with commentary by noted activist Angela Davis, and cultural critics bell hooks, Cornel West, Michele Wallace, Barbara Smith and Maulana Karenga to create a flavorful stew of personal testimony, music, and history.

While Black Is…Black Ain’t looks at Black diversity, many speakers tell of their pain at having been silenced or excluded because they were perceived as “not Black enough” or conversely “too Black.” Black Is…Black Ain’t also provides a critique of sexism, patriarchy, homophobia, colorism and cultural nationalism in the family, church and other Black institutions.

Riggs himself is a participant in the film. He is shown in a race against time to finish the film, struggling with his precarious health and mortality. Riggs died of AIDS in April 1994 at the age of 37 before the film was completed. Adhering to Riggs’ notes, his colleagues on the production team completed the film.

Sponsored by Optik Allusions. Doors open at 6, screening at 6:30. Suggested donation of $5, and there will be complimentary popcorn as usual!

Lessons from the Landless: Food Sovereignty, Occupation, and Public Universities

What is the connection between occupations, food sovereignty, and public education? The Landless Workers Movement (MST) in Brazil has some answers! As important educational spaces, their occupations challenge the capitalist orientation of agricultural education in the conflicts between agribusiness and agroecology, private property and the public good. A leader from the MST will facilitate a discussion on how occupations of University farmland in Brazil and California can create bridges for important exchanges of experience and help build the Food Sovereignty movement.

Joelci Dannacena has been a militant organizer with The Landless Rural Workers Movement of Brazil (MST) sector of the MST for over twenty years, with degrees in economics and cooperative administration. Her main tasks have been the organization of agroindustries for the produce of agrarian reform settlements. She is currently hosted here in the Bay Area as one of several young organizers sent by the MST to deepen relations with US-based movements for food sovereignty, agrarian reform, and anti-oppression.

Joelci will introduce the MST and explain why they struggle for land, agrarian reform, and the transformation of society. Then she will talk about the current MST occupation of farmland owned by the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil. (http://www.mstbrazil.org/news/students-declare-support-landless-families-occupying-esalq-area).

She welcomes and invites all those interested in food sovereignty and justice to join in discussion, especially those who have participated in Occupy the Farm and the local food sovereignty struggle over the Gill Tract Farm at UC Berkeley.

Also present will be:
– Gustavo Oliveira, a PhD candidate in geography at UC Berkeley. He has worked as translator for La Via Campesina since 2009 and currently participates in the Friends of the MST solidarity network in the US.

– Rebecca Tarlau, part of the national coordinating committee of the Friends of the MST in the United States and also a scholar of the MST Education system. She is currently a Postdoctoral Scholar in Education at Stanford University.

Bayview/Hunters Point has historically served as an industrial dumping ground and suffers from a shockingly high degree of environmental degradation. This predominately low to very-low income community suffers from chronic health problems as a direct result of the toxic environment. Within BVHP, residents experience among the highest rates of breast, cervical and prostate cancer, asthma and respiratory illnesses in California.

Environmental Racism refers to the institutional rules, regulations, policies or government and/or corporate decisions that deliberately target certain communities for locally undesirable land uses and lax enforcement of zoning and environmental laws, resulting in communities being disproportionately exposed to toxic and hazardous waste based upon race. Environmental racism is caused by several factors, including intentional neglect, the alleged need for a receptacle for pollutants in urban areas, and a lack of institutional power and low land values of people of color. It is a well-documented fact that communities of color and low-income communities are disproportionately impacted by polluting industries (and very specifically, hazardous waste facilities) and lax regulation of these industries.

Come to OccupyForum to hear updates and discussion about fighting back in the Bayview including:

Toxic and radioactive contamination and gentrification;

New information on incorrect government air quality monitoring; and new community monitoring and October 6^th 2 pm meeting of San Francisco Health Commission at 25 Van Ness, Room 338;

The new Bayvieew Hunters Point Environmental Justice Task Force and how it is helping residents file pollution complaints and hold industry and government accountable;

Impacts of climate cchange and sea level rise;

Proposal from Greeenaction for an action this fall targeting the notorious developer/gentrifier Lennar Corporation, and government, on these issues of pollution, climate change and gentrification.

There will be a hearing on the joint motion for preliminary approval of the settlement agreement in Ashker v. Brown before JudgeWilken.

Her order for the hearing stated that she was leaning in favor of issuing a preliminary approval.

Everyone is welcome to attend.  It’s a public hearing.

Worksession:
Stanford Study: Electronic Control Weapons Study (e.g. Tasers ©)
Public Comment – Items on this agenda only

Here is the Stanford Criminal Justice Center Report on Tasers, which will be discussed:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/35320626/2015-10-06%20Agenda%20Packet.pdf

TASING MINORITIES, HOMELESS, AUTISTIC, MENTALLY ILL AND ANY OTHER HUMAN IS NOT THE SIGN OF AN ENLIGHTENED SOCIETY.

NO TO TASERS FOR THE BERKELEY POLICE!
YES TO DE-ESCALATION AND POLICE DE-MILITARIZATION.

Come speak out against the madness. Tell the City Council no to police tasers at Old City Hall, Allston & MLK.

=====

Taser Fact Sheet

TASERS CAN CAUSE DEATH

Police say that Taser use saves lives because they don’t have to shoot someone if they use Tasers effectively. However, Tasers are NOT AN ALTERNATIVE to using lethal force. Sure, it would be nice, but police are trained to meet a lethal threat with a gun-not a taser. In fact, Tasers are mostly used against unarmed people, not people who could really kill or injure an officer!

From 2001 until February of 2014, the ACLU and the website www.electronic village.blogspot.com have documented 547 Taser related deaths. There have been even more since then.

In May of 2012, the American Heart Association’s premier journal, “Circulation” published a study by Dr. Douglas Zipes, of Indiana University’s Krannert Institute of Cardiology. He found that a shock from the Taser “can cause cardiac electric capture and provoke cardiac arrest” as a result of an abnormally rapid heart rate and uncontrolled, fluttering contractions. Yes, Taser shocks, especially to the chest, can kill.

TASERS DON’T REDUCE IN CUSTODY DEATHS OR OFFICER INJURIES

According to a recent study published in the American Journal of Cardiology, the main reason to employ Tasers is the belief that they reduce officer injuries and in custody deaths. After a comprehensive study involving 10 years worth of data from over 100 departments from across the country, this myth was disproved. “In conclusion, although considered by some a safer alternative to firearms, Taser deployment was associated with a substantial increase in in-custody sudden deaths in the early deployment period, with no decrease in firearm deaths or serious officer injuries.” (Am J Cardiol 2009;103:877� 880)

MISUSE OF TASERS

After completing an analysis of Phoenix Police Department use-of-force reports, The Arizona Republic found 377 incidents involving the use of a Taser. In nearly nine out of ten of the incidents, the subjects had posed no imminent threat to officers with any weapons.

As of May 28, 2014, the ACLU has called on Baltimore Police to put a moratorium on the use of Tasers since their use by police has DOUBLED since 2009.

According to Gabriel Russell in Law Enforcement Magazine (September 2013), Tasers are so “safe” and “effective” that they are “overused” by police. “So much so that over-dependence on it has resulted in an avalanche of use-of-force lawsuits and unfavorable court decisions across the county.”

TASERS CAN INVITE LITIGATION

Courts have found Tasers constitute the use of “excessive force” and thus violate the Fourth Amendment, provided the Taser was used in an instance when its deployment was unjustified. Victims of Taser use can seek compensation, but only if an agency’s use guidelines are deficient and if training is so poor that it could be considered “deliberately indifferent.

In September, 2009, Taser changed its product warnings. Taser’s ECDs weapons are now branded as “less lethal” instead of “non lethal,” and its training materials warn that “exposure in the chest area near the heart � could lead to cardiac arrest.”<

80-90% of those who are tasered, were unarmed when they were arrested and tased. Most policies guiding Taser use allow police to follow a “Continuum of Force” that directs officers to use Tasers as an alternative to the use of hands, feet and a baton. It also instructs them to use Tasers to overcome “active resistance” by an individual, including behavior that does not pose a physical threat to anyone. This is basically giving police license to use Tasers against little old ladies who ask too many questions (as happened recently in Texas and elsewhere across the country).

POLICE CHOOSING ALTERNATIVES TO TASERS

As taser-related deaths and injuries have continued to rise (as well as the amount of Taser litigation), many departments are starting to abandon the weapon in favor of other means of suspect control. Currently, Memphis, Tennessee, San Francisco, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada have opted to ban the use of tasers by law enforcement. Additionally, a federal court has ruled that the pain inflicted by the taser gun constitutes excessive force by law enforcement. The courts don’t want police to electrocute people with their tasers unless they pose an immediate threat.

TASERS CONSTITUTE A FORM OF TORTURE

In 2007, The United Nations Committee on Torture declared that TASER electronic stun guns are a form of torture that can kill. At the time, it was recommended that Portugal “should consider giving up the use of the Taser X26,” as its use can have a grave physical and mental impact on those targeted, which violates the UN’s Convention against Torture”.

TASER STUDIES BIASED AND SAFETY OVERRATED

Peyman N. Azadani, MD, research associate at UCSF’s Department of Medicine and senior author Byron K. Lee, MD, associate professor of medicine in UCSF’s cardiology division, set out to gauge the accuracy of 50 published studies on the potential dangers of using TASER® products. The new study’s authors report that among the product safety studies they analyzed, the likelihood of a study concluding TASER® devices are safe was 75 percent higher when the studies were either funded by the manufacturer or written by authors affiliated with the company, than when studies were conducted independently.

PEOPLE OF COLOR AND THE MENTALLY ILL EXPERIENCE PROFILING

A 2011 report by New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) found widespread misuse of tasers. Albany police disproportionately deployed Tasers on blacks compared to whites. In the Albany incidents analyzed, 68 percent involved a Taser being used on a black person, while 28 percent of the city’s population is black. (10-18-14 The Times Union)

Approximately 30% of Taser incidents are against a people with mental illness.

In addition, the June 2014 issue of “The Psychiatric Bulletin” explains that”… the psychological effects of Taser use have not been investigated.”

As a result of our first mobilization (with SURJ) Emeryville City Counsel is holding a special session on policing and use of force. As Part of our campaign against police militirization we need to pack the house and make our voices heard! Please mark you calendars. Additional info to follow.

— APTP

Initially performed in 1965, Bread and Puppet Theater presents a revival of FIRE. FIRE shows six days in a Vietnamese community, followed by a bombing raid and ending with a self-immolation. Dedicated to three Americans who immolated themselves in protest against the Vietnam War, FIRE is performed with life-size puppets that resemble their masked manipulators. (This show may not be appropriate for young children.)

There is also a performance on Friday in San Francisco.

Hosted by Brian Edwards-Tiekert, the host of KPFA’s outstanding weekday show, UpFront.

KPFA benefit http://www.kpfa.org/events

“A century from now historians will take note of a mere handful of scientific luminaries from the second half of the 20th century who changed not just their science but their culture.  First among them will surely be Richard Dawkins, unquestionably one of the great minds of our time who is also an eloquent writer.” — Michael Shermer, Scientific American columnist

In Brief Candle in the Dark, Dawkins explores the halls of intellectual inquiry and stardom he encountered after the publication of The Selfish Gene; affectionately lampooning the world of academia, publishing, and television. Studding the pages with funny stories about the great men and women he’s known, Dawkins offers a candid look at the events and ideas that encouraged him to shift his attention to the intersection of culture, religion and science, culminating in that stunning blockbuster, The God Delusion, which was a huge factor in transforming him into the vibrant and controversial public intellectual he is today.

Among Dawkins’ other books are: An Appetite for Wonder, Climbing Mount Improbable, Unweaving the Rainbow, The Ancestor’s Tale and The Greatest Show on Earth. He is a fellow of the Royal Society and was the inaugural holder of the Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University.

advance tickets: $20 (1 admission) , $40 (1 admission & one book), $50 (2 admissions & one book) Pre-paid books to be picked up at event. 800-838-3006 or Pegasus (3 sites) Moe’s, Walden Pond Bookstore, Diesel a Bookstore, Mrs. Dalloway’s, S.F. – Modern Times.

Protest TODAY, 5:30 pm, of #KunduzAttack at Market & Montgomery. US bombing of @MSF hospital in #Afghanistan #independentinvestigation

— SF 99% Coalition (@SF99Percent) October 7, 2015

BITTER LAKE, Part 1 
By Adam Curtis

Bitter Lake, Adam Curtis’ aesthetically sublime and politically incisive new documentary, was commissioned for BBC’s iPlayer because it is presumably, as Russia Today writes, “too dangerous for television.” After consuming the film by way of a 21st-century samizdat, I can tell you that the propaganda arm of the Kremlin is correct on one score: Bitter Lake is politically dangerous for Western states, especially the US and UK. But it’s also an affront to Russia, and virtually every other state that has attempted to force strategic advantage in Saudia Arabia and Afghanistan. And it is, literally, too dangerous for television: Curtis was given access to years of footage of Afghanistan from the BBC archives. That includes every shot they refused to air on TV.

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.

More info on the f ilm.

Vijay Prashad is a prominent & charismatic scholar and critic of US foreign policy. Two of his 17 books have been named “Books of the Year” by the Village Voice. Currently Professor of International Studies at Trinity College in Connecticut, he was previously Edward Said Chair at the American University of Beirut.

In addition to speaking about Palestine, Vijay Prashad will give an overview of ever-changing events in the Middle East – not to be missed!

Vijay Prashad edited “Letters to Palestine”, tracing the “swelling American recognition of Palestinian suffering, struggle, and hope, in writing that is personal, lyrical, anguished, and inspiring.” For example, after the 2014 Gaza assault, polls revealed that a majority of Americans under thirty found Israel’s actions unjustified.

Benefit for aid to Palestinian children, cosponsored by KPFA, Arab Resource and Organizing Center, and Jewish Voice for Peace – Bay Area. Wheelchair accessible. ASL interpreted.

From Cadine Williams: “FACEBOOK FRIENDS AND FAMILY I KNOW THAT THIS IS A VERY SHORT NOTICE. MY FAMILY AND I WILL BE HAVING A CANDLE LIGHT FOR O’SHAINE ON 10-07-15 @ 9:00 PM IN SAN FRANCISCO WHERE O’SHAINE WAS KILLED – ON THE CORNER OF JACK LONDON ALLEY BETWEEN 2ND AND 3RD HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE .

TOMORROW WILL BE ONE YR SINCE SFP TOOK HIS LIFE.”

After all of the pressure from the community, Sheriff Ahern will finally be presenting about his secret jail plan at the Public Protection meeting next Thursday.

We want you to join us and our allies as we flood the room to demand more answers to our questions: Will there be new jail beds? Why a mental health unit in the jail, instead of more services in the community? What better alternatives to incarceration could this money be spent on?

We hope to see you!

Stand with us and our allies as we voice our opposition to the Alameda County Sheriff’s secret plans to expand the jail, and demand that the Board of Supervisors increase transparency and community involvement in their decisions over our public safety realignment funds.

The Board of Supervisors needs to know that we are united, that we are powerful, and that we demand that things change. Please come out and support #JobsNotJails.

Dear Oakland Coal Fighters and Allies,

Thank you so much for attending the Public Hearing on Coal Exports on September 21st and/or sending in comments to the Oakland City Council on this issue. We are hosting a community debrief to get feedback about our organizing and talk about next steps of the campaign for a Coal Free Oakland.

What: Community debrief of the No Coal in Oakland campaign’s participation in the Oakland city council public hearing on September 21st.
Who: Anyone who attended the public hearing or is interested in helping us build the campaign for a Coal Free Oakland!
When: Thursday, October 8th 6-8pm
Where: California Nurses Association, 2000 Franklin Street, Oakland, CA 94612
**Dinner will be provided**
Please RSVP to Jess@sfbaysc.org by 5pm on Wednesday so we know how much food we need.�

Hope to see you there!
Hosted by the Sierra Club.

“They Were Promised the Sea” is an Award-winning documentary by Kathy Wanza that tells the story of the 1960s exodus that virtually emptied Morocco of its Jewish population. A visually beautiful and musically rich film that explores loss and longing, it also exposes the political manipulation that resulted in the breaking up of communities that had been living together for 2,000 years.

Sponsored by the BFUU Social Justice Ctee as part of our Conscientious Projector series.

Wheelchair accessible.

pic.twitter.com/dEm4lMiBF7

— Occupy Oakland (@OccupyOakland) October 8, 2015