Calendar

Stop the US War on the World!
Part of the International Days of Action against Sanctions and Economic War
Learn more at Sanctionskill.org

Sanctions Kill!
Sanctions are War!
End Sanctions Now!

Join us for a Bay Area educational forum as part of the international days of protest against US-imposed sanctions and war on Saturday, March 14, 2:30 – 5:00 p.m. at Restore Oakland, 1419 34th Avenue (at International) in Oakland. Help us build a strong movement against US-imposed sanctions and war. Sponsored by the International Action Center – Bay Area.

Speakers include:
Rhonda Ramiro-Director, BAYAN
Pierre Labossiere, Haiti Action Committee
Bilal Mafundi Ali, Black Alliance for Peace
Teresa Walsh and Nesbit Crutchfield, Venceremos Brigade – Bay Area
David Paul, Embassy Protection Collective

Local endorsers include: BAYAN-USA, Black Alliance for Peace, Task Force on the Americas, International Committee for Peace, Justice and Dignity, International Action Center – Bay Area, Venceremos Brigade, Bay Area, David Paul, Embassy Protection Collective, Workers World Party – Bay Area, Socialist Action, Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu Jamal.

Sanctions are imposed by the United States and its junior partners against countries that resist their agendas. They are a weapon of Economic War, resulting in chronic shortages of basic necessities, economic dislocation, chaotic hyperinflation, artificial famines, disease, and poverty. In every country, the poorest and the weakest – infants, children, the chronically ill and the elderly – suffer the worst impact of sanctions.

US imposed sanctions, violate international law and are a tool of regime change. They impact a third of humanity in 39 countries. They are a crime against humanity used, like military intervention, to topple popular governments and movements. They provide economic and military support to pro-US right-wing forces.

The US economic dominance and its +800 military bases worldwide demands all other countries participate in acts of economic strangulation. They must end all normal trade relations, otherwise they risk having Wall Street’s guns pointed at them. The banks and financial institutions that are responsible for the devastation of our communities at home drive the plunder of countries abroad.

Many organizations have been fighting Sanctions and Economic War for some time. NOW is an opportunity to combine efforts to raise consciousness on this crucial issue.

This broad campaign will include protests and demonstrations, lobbying, petition drives and all forms of educational efforts.

We are sad to announce that this event has been postponed due to the plague. #COVID19. Stay tuned for a rescheduled date after the public health situation stabilizes. #OICC https://t.co/yxnwEgb6zW

— Media Alliance (@twrling) March 11, 2020

Did you know that crooked landlords are making big money depriving renters in Oakland of the power to choose their Internet Service Provider (ISP)? Exclusive agreements between landlords and incumbent ISPs eliminate your ability to choose providers that charge less money or offer better service, like higher speeds or a commitment to net neutrality and user privacy.

Join People’s Open Network and the Oakland Internet Choice Coalition on Saturday March 14 for our 7th Build Your Own Internet event. We’ll have a panel discussion about preserving internet choice in Oakland, as well as a series of hands-on activities to learn about how the internet works.

The panel will be presented by the Oakland Internet Choice Coalition, a partnership between internet access nonprofits like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Media Alliance, Greenlining Institute and alternate internet service providers (ISPs) like Monkey Brains, Open Fiber, Sonic, and People’s Open Network.

We will talk about why we need to crack open the secretive kickback deals between big landlords and the big three ISPs, and how we’re working to get an ordinance passed in Oakland to protect your right to choose the ISP you want. San Francisco’s law got the big ISP companies so upset they tried to get the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to stop pre-empt it, but they failed. Now we want to bring these user protections to Oakland and everywhere — and we can’t do it without you.

You will also hear about People’s Open Network’s work to build a community-owned wireless mesh network in the East Bay, as well as their project to set up mobile access for homeless encampments in the Bay Area.

Hands-on activities:
– Antenna building
– Ethernet crimping

Sponsored by
People’s Open Network / Sudo Mesh
Media Alliance
Electronic Frontier Foundation
MonkeyBrains
Greenlining Institute
TURN
MediaJustice
Oakland Tenants Union

You believe in making a difference, but when it comes to racial justice, are your actions aligned with your beliefs? The work begins with looking in the mirror. Without intentional learning and reflection, white people may uphold beliefs and systems that perpetuate injustice. Join us for an intimate and interactive workshop in which we will unpack how whiteness has shaped our lives and discuss how white people who care can take action for racial justice.

This workshop offers those who are new to racial justice work an opportunity to reflect on and analyze the role that whiteness has played in their lives. Through individual, small-group, and whole-group activities, participants will be invited to:

*Reframe racism as a system, rather than a product of individuals who are “good” or “bad”
*Reflect on how their own racial identity has influenced their experiences in the world
*Create a plan for taking at least one action in their own lives to deepen their commitment to racial justice

This workshop welcomes anyone who would like to participate, but it is especially well-suited for white people who are:

*In the early stages of exploring what it means to be white
*Seeking to grow their skills in analyzing and discussing the effects of racism
*Feeling ready to take action to create a more just world

ASL Interpretation: Requests must be made at surjbasebuilding@gmail.com no later than Thursday, March 12 at 9 PM.

Carbon Trading?  Carbon Offsets?  Net Zero?  In the prophetic words of Chief Seattle, “How can one sell the air?”  Join Idle No More and friends to find out why many Indigenous people and frontline communities say these are false solutions to the climate crisis.

Speakers are:

• Casey Camp-Horinek
• Daniel Ilario
• Gary Graham Hughes
• Pennie Opal Plant

Sponsored by Idle No More SF Bay and Indigenous Women of the Americas Defending Mother Earth Treaty.

RSVP on Facebook.

Hey #Oakland the Town Hall on homelessness that was supposed to be at BeeBe Memorial is now an online one hosted by Mayor Schaaf on March 16th, 6-8 pm. Spread the word! #oakmtg https://t.co/kCw1gQ9BUh

— TDL (@tdlove5) March 11, 2020

The Dimond Branch Library invites you to “She’s beautiful when she’s angry” a documentary about the birth of the Women’s Liberation Movement in the 1960’s. Snacks and a brief discussion will follow the film.

Monthly reading and discussion series for those interested in a better understanding of a socialist perspective.

Suggested readings for this topic (readings are recommended but optional):
1) The Future is Socialism by Speak Out now {link}
https://speakoutsocialists.org/the-future-is-socialism-2/

2) What it Will Take; Beyond Capitalism (Chapter 21) by Carol Dansereau {pdf download}
https://speakoutsocialists.org/wp-content/uploads/what-it-will-take_dansereau_ch21.pdf

3)What Socialist America Will Look Like (1953) by James Cannon {link}
https://www.marxists.org/archive/cannon/works/1953/socialistamer.htm

4) Introduction to Marxism; The Coming of the Classless Society (Chapter 15) by Ernest Mandel {pdf download}
https://speakoutsocialists.org/wp-content/uploads/intro-to-marxism_mandel-ch15.pdf

5) Socialism on Trial (selections) by James Cannon {pdf download}
https://speakoutsocialists.org/wp-content/uploads/socialism-on-trial_cannon-selections.pdf

The Police Commission is considering changes to the Oakland Police Department’s use of force policy. This is an opportunity to let the Commissioners know your thoughts and experiences to help them make the right decisions!

Californian’s face a drinking water crisis. Pat Elder’s 20 city California Military Poisons Tour calls attention to the military’s role in contaminating land and water on bases and in nearby communities with PFAS “forever chemicals” linked to chronic and life-threatening illnesses. Former residents of California’s George Air Force Base will tell of the toxic legacy across generations of exposure while serving there. We’ll discuss what California is doing about this crisis and Next Steps for Action. Help us build a movement for human rights, environmental and health justice, and peace for present and future generations.

Speakers are:

Pat Elder, an investigative journalist with Civilian Exposure and Board Member of World BEYOND War.

Patricia Hynes, a retired Professor of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, and Director of the Traprock Center for Peace and Justice.

Gar Smith, an award-winning investigative journalist for Project Censored, author, editor, co-founder of Environmentalists Against War and a board member of World BEYOND War.

Lisa McCrea and Denise Torri served at George Air Force Base and Lauren Coletrain who was born there.

Liz Rosenbaum, an organizer of Fountain Valley Clean Water Action Coalition, (link www.fountainvalleycwc.wixsite.com/water ) in Colorado that has one of the largest and most contaminated populations in the country.

Sponsored by the Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom’s Earth Democracy and Disarm/End Wars Committees, BFUU Social Justice Committee, Code Pink, WorldBeyondWar, Veterans For Peace and Civilian Exposure.

Forum details and speaker bios here.

Register at https:/eventbrite.com

Let’s get together and share prayers, quotes, and poems for spiritual nourishment. Everyone and all traditions are welcome. Information to connect via zoom is below. You can download the free app at: https://zoom.us

“Thy name is my healing, O my God, and remembrance of Thee is my remedy. Nearness to Thee is my hope, and love for Thee is my companion. Thy mercy to me is my healing and my succor in both this world and the world to come. Thou, verily, art the All-Bountiful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.” ~ Bahá’u’lláh
“Remember the saying: ‘Of all pilgrimages the greatest is to relieve the sorrow-laden heart.'” ~ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

https://zoom.us/j/6699780656

See invite list
GoingMaybeNot Going

Zach Norris, ED of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, has a new book titled We Keep Us Safe: Building Secure, Just and Inclusive Communities. In this moment of heightened anxiety and growing white supremacy, Norris will talk about the need to distinguish between crime and harm and how each of us can take steps toward achieving real safety and prosperity

RUSSELL JACOBY

ON DIVERSITY: The Eclipse of the Individual in a Global Era 

With Steve Wasserman

advance tickets: $12: brownpapertickets.com ::T: 800-838-3006  or Pegasus Books (3 sites), Books Inc (Berkeley), Moe’s, Walden Pond Bookstore, East Bay Books, Mrs.Dalloway’s Books $15 door, benefits KPFA Radio 94.1FM

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

“Russell Jacoby is one of the most prescient and important writers in the United States. His prose is as lucid and penetrating as his intellect. His moral compass makes his observations prophetic.” — Chris Hedges

Diversity is a word much repeated in the news, in universities, in casual conversations, even at television awards’ shows. But what does the word actually mean? How do we square our seeming love of the word with the fact that our world is actually becoming increasingly less diverse and more homogenous all the time? That conformity in virtually every way is in fact rapidly accelerating? That we are all too often marching to the same potentially fatal drumbeat?

At last, one of America’s greatest intellectual gadflies directly takes on this question with straightforward prose . On Diversity: The Eclipse of the Individual in a Global Era delves into language, fashion, politics and even childhood experience to present a surprising, often

penetrating analysis of our cultural moment. When so many of our public thinkers appear to be tangling with one another in order to be credited with the latest proper opinion, Russell Jacoby offers a fresh, dangerous, liberating injunction: just stop and think.

The author bracingly affirms the importance of the individual distinction that our classic thinkers identified as the ultimate aspiration for an age of increasing conformity in how we raise our children, what we wear, how we talk, even how we hobble our own brains.

“On Diversity is first-rate intellectual history and penetrating cultural criticism.”

— George Scialabba, author of What Are Intellectuals Good For?

Steve Wasserman, Publisher & Executive Director of Heyday Books, is former Editor of the Los 

Angeles Times Book Review and was Deputy Editor of the Los Angeles Times‘s Sunday Opinion

Section and Op-Ed Page, after which he became editor-in-chief of New Republic Books.

He also served as Editorial Director of Times Books/Random House and Publisher of Hill &

Wang and The Noonday Press, both divisions of Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

Main Street’s Victory over Wall Street:

New California Law Creates Public Banking Pathway

Starting a bank costs money. Starting a public bank is no exception. So we’ve invited Assemblymember David Chiu, one of the two co-authors of AB 857, to come speak about the law and the future of public banking in California. We’re hosting a brunch in a lovely backyard spot in Berkeley.

Tickets are limited, and the cost for an individual is $50.00 ($20 seniors/students/unemployed/ no one turned away for lack of funds). We’d love to have you join us. To purchase a seat, click the donate button at the top the right of

We are settling into crazy times, but it’s still a good time to share hope, support, compassion, and ACTION. You are invited to a Friday gathering to boost our spirits, get activated together, and make some online activism posts and calls.

All are invited! We will:
– “Meet” & greet each other,
– Take some time to get grounded,
– Share resources AND
– Take Action

Where: Zoom

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/727108084?pwd=YVhTOTk1TFlodzMwc3ZqWkg2ckNoZz09

Meeting ID: 727 108 084
Password: 082166

If you just love Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1352373044953911/

Monthly interfaith prayer meeting, held on second Sundays, dedicated to healing.

The Bahá’í community of Oakland is organizing this gathering for the community to connect, share prayers, writings and poems from all spiritual traditions, reflect and recharge and build coalitions interested in healing.

Come share prayers, quotes, poems, and favorite passages from your scriptures with us. Refreshments will be served.

Doors open: 10:00 AM
Prayers: 10:30-11:30 AM
Refreshments and socializing: 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM

Sunrise is a movement to stop climate change and create millions of good jobs in the process. We’re building a movement of young people to make climate change an urgent priority across the US, end the corrupting influence of fossil fuel executives on our politics, and elect leaders who stand up for the health and well being of all people. This presentation will cover our approach to the Green New Deal, as well as our mobilization to the covid crisis and beyond.

Karaline Bridgeford has been with the Sunrise Bay Area hub for over a year and  serves on the solidarity and presentations teams. She got her start in organizing as an undergrad student with the university fossil fuel divestment movement and now works in City government.

Itxaso Garay is originally from Barcelona but has lived all over the US (Florida, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, California, etc) since she was 7, and she currently calls Oakland home. She had the privilege of growing up on the ocean and the beach in all of the places she has lived; rising oceans encroaching on her tiny town in Rhode Island and the threat of hurricanes in Florida was her first exposures to the threat of climate change and motivation to mediate these issues. Since the shelter in place order happened she has been comforted by calls from old friends and trying out yoga; her partner has been baking a lot and she have been lucky enough to be the taste tester for his creations.

Elizabeth Villano is a native of Illinois and grew up swimming in Lake Michigan. As much as she misses the fresh water, she’s already acclimatized to the winters out here so isn’t positive she can ever leave. She’s been with Sunrise Bay Area for about a year, serving as the presentations coordinator, and with action planning for different events.
More info about Sunrise, is here:  https://www.facebook.com/BayAreaSunrise/  and here:  https://www.sunrisemovement.org/

April 12th, 5:00 to 6:00 pm
Via Zoom: please see access info below

Green Sundays are a series of free public programs & discussions on topics “du jour” sponsored by the Green Party o f Alameda County and held on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The monthly business meeti ng of the County Council of the Green Party follows, at 6:15 pm. Council meetings are open to anyone who is interested.

Zoom Topic: Green Party of Alameda County

Description: Green Sunday presentation at 5 PM
(Followed by County Council business meeting at 6:15. All are welcome to attend)

Time: Apr 12, 2020, 5:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/498225054?pwd=REV3MUFTWno3UWM2b2JMMVlRaUhnUT09

Meeting ID: 498 225 054

Password: 2020

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PLANET PEOPLE PEACE
befor e profit!

EMAIL STRIKE.DEBT.BAY.AREA@GMAIL.COM FOR CONNECTION INFO.

Strike Debt Bay Area proudly hosts a non-technical book group discussion monthly on new and radical economic thinking. Previous readings have included Doughnut Economics, Limits, Banking on the People, and Capital and Its Discontents.

We will be reading the first half (Chapters 1-3) of How to Be an Anti-Capitalist in the 21st Century (Amazon, Abe Books, Verso) for the April 18th meeting and the rest of the book for the May 16th meeting.

What is wrong with capitalism, and how can we change it?

Capitalism has transformed the world and increased our productivity, but at the cost of enormous human suffering. Our shared values—equality and fairness, democracy and freedom, community and solidarity—can provide both the basis for a critique of capitalism and help to guide us toward a socialist and democratic society.

Erik Olin Wright has distilled decades of work into this concise and tightly argued manifesto: analyzing the varieties of anticapitalism, assessing different strategic approaches, and laying the foundations for a society dedicated to human flourishing. How to Be an Anticapitalist in the Twenty-First Century is an urgent and powerful argument for socialism, and an unparalleled guide to help us get there. Another world is possible. Included is an afterword by the author’s close friend and collaborator Michael Burawoy.

Join us for an online panel discussion of leading attorneys, human rights defenders and social justice activists as the London trial of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is underway. If Assange is extradited to the United States, he faces the first-ever charges under the Espionage Act of 1917 for the publication of truthful information in the public interest. Speakers will present the critical legal and policy issues involved as well as rebut government efforts to undermine the reputation and credibility of Assange. In these difficult times for civil liberties and democratic rights we demand: Free Julian Assange! Defend Free Speech and the First Amendment!

Register for the panel event here

Sponsors: Bay Area Julian Assange Defense Committee  National Lawyers Guild Bay Arrea, Courage Foundation United National Antiwar Coalition

Initial co-sponsors: CodePink Bay Area, Social Justice Center of Marin, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, US Section  Kevin Zeese, Popular Resistance, advisory board, Courage Foundation, past Steering Committee member Chelsea Manning Support Committee, Marin Peace and Justice Center, Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal

The Courage Foundation is an international whistleblower support network that campaigns for the protection of truthtellers and the public’s right to know. For ongoing updates, resources, and more information on Assange’s case, visit defend.wikileaks.org

Where:

Online Panel Event