Exactly what harmful organic compounds have our friends in Benicia been breathing during all the years the Valero refinery failed to report its emissions?  BAAQMD has scheduled two important informational meetings to discuss the ongoing Serious Emission Violations incurred by the refinery.  Jack Broadbent, the Air District’s Executive Officer/Air Pollution Control Officer, has said:

“Valero’s disregard for air quality regulations and public safety in the surrounding community warrants decisive action and significant penalties to deter violations in the future.  Valero did not report or control the emissions from this source as required by Air District regulations, state and federal law, so we are requesting approval of an abatement order to provide transparency as we seek to hold Valero accountable for its actions.”

Broadbent describes this as a “major shift” in the handling of enforcement cases.

The next public meeting, a legal hearing, will be held on March 15 from 9:30 AM – 5 PM.  The newly revived Air District’s Hearing Board will consider approving the proposed abatement order (information below).   We can view the agenda and provide written comment to the Hearing Board here.   We can also provide verbal comment to the Hearing Board during the Hearing in the following ways:

Zoom webinar:

https://bayareametro.zoom.us/j/88980571855

Webinar ID: 889 8057 1855

Participate remotely via phone:  (669) 900-6833 or (408) 638-0968.

Sunday Morning at the Marxist Library – Forum

The presentation will be a combo, the overall political-strategic outlook and, of course, the military aspect of the campaign.  References will be made to such Soviet era theorists as Mikhail Tuchachevsky, Mikhail Frunze, Alexander Svechen an artillery specialist and Leon Trotsky, and such generals as Georgi Zhukov, Vasili Chuikov, defender at Stalingrad and armored theorist, Pavel Rotmistrov.  And, of course, the importance of airpower will be included, with a comparison to the United States.

Our speaker, Mark Alberstson, is the historical research editor at Army Aviation magazine in Monroe, Connecticut; and, the historian for the Army Aviation Association of America. He has authored numerous books and has taught at Norwalk Community College. In May 2005, Mark was presented with a General Assembly Citation by both houses of Congress in Hartford, Connecticut for his commemoration of the centennial of battleship Connecticut.

LOGIN INFORMATION

Our Zoom room will be opened up, as usual, at 10:15 for anyone to join and discuss technical matters, catch up with each other, say Hi, etc.. The program (and recording) will begin as close to 10:30 am as possible and will end at 12:30, but the Waiting Room will remain open until about 1 pm for informal discussion.

ZOOM LINK

GOOD FOR SUNDAY, Mar 13, 2022 ONLY

Raj Sahai is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Time: Mar 13, 2022 10:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2591082607?pwd=TWVMZkFTOVRxRkppRWRVYzhQMHFTQT09
Meeting ID: 259 108 2607
Passcode: ICSS0313rs
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Meeting ID: 259 108 2607
Passcode: 3606619995
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kc4RrpvAiQ

MARRIOTT – STOP YOUR BUSINESS OPERATIONS IN RUSSIA! DEMONSTRATE AT THE MARRIOTT HOTEL IN DOWNTOWN OAKLAND SUNDAY, MARCH 13, 1 PM

Hundreds of international corporations have suspended their business operations in Russia. Coca Cola stopped business with this statement: “Our hearts are with the people who are enduring unconscionable effects from these tragic events in Ukraine.” Starbucks said on Tuesday it is suspending all business activity in Russia, including shipment of its products and closing cafes. But there are many corporations that continue to do business in Russia. The Marriott Hotel chain is one of them. Why hasn’t Marriott Hotel pulled out?

Join us for a demonstration and vigil outside the Oakland Marriott City Center Hotel at 1001 Broadway, two blocks south of the downtown Oakland BART station, on Sunday the 13th.

NOTE: During the Plague Year of 2020 GA will be held every week or two on Zoom. To find out the exact time a date get on the Occupy Oakland email list my sending an email to:

occupyoakland-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

The Occupy Oakland General Assembly meets every Sunday at 4 PM at Oscar Grant Plaza amphitheater at 14th Street & Broadway near the steps of City Hall. If for some reason the amphitheater is being used otherwise and/or OGP itself is inaccessible, we will meet at Kaiser Park, right next to the statues, on 19th St. between San Pablo and Telegraph. If it is raining (as in RAINING, not just misting) at 4:00 PM we meet in the basement of the Omni Collective, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland. (Note: we tend to meet at 3:00 PM during the cooler months from November to early March after Daylights Savings Time.)

On every ‘last Sunday’ we meet a little earlier at 3 PM to have a community potluck to which all are welcome.

OO General Assembly has met on a continuous basis for over six years, since October 2011! Our General Assembly is a participatory gathering of Oakland community members and beyond, where everyone who shows up is treated equally. Our Assembly and the process we have collectively cultivated strives to reach agreement while building community.

At the GA committees, caucuses, and loosely associated groups whose representatives come voluntarily report on past and future actions, with discussion. We encourage everyone participating in the Occupy Oakland GA to be part of at least one associated group, but it is by no means a requirement. If you like, just come and hear all the organizing being done! Occupy Oakland encourages political activity that is decentralized and welcomes diverse voices and actions into the movement.

General Assembly Standard Agenda

Welcome & Introductions
Reports from Committees, Caucuses, & Independent Organizations
Announcements
(Optional) Discussion Topic

Occupy Oakland activities and contact info for some Bay Area Groups with past or present Occupy Oakland members.

Occupy Oakland Web Committee: (web@occupyoakland.org)
Strike Debt Bay Area : strikedebtbayarea.tumblr.com
Berkeley Post Office Defenders:http://berkeleypostofficedefenders.wordpress.com/
Alan Blueford Center 4 Justice:https://www.facebook.com/ABC4JUSTICE
Oakland Privacy Working Group:https://oaklandprivacy.wordpress.com
Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity: prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/
Bay Area AntiRepression: antirepression@occupyoakland.org
Biblioteca Popular: http://tinyurl.com/mdlzshy
Interfaith Tent: www.facebook.com/InterfaithTent
Port Truckers Solidarity: oaklandporttruckers.wordpress.com
Bay Area Intifada: bayareaintifada.wordpress.com
Transport Workers Solidarity: www.transportworkers.org
Fresh Juice Party (aka Chalkupy) freshjuiceparty.com/chalkupy-gallery
Sudo Room: https://sudoroom.org
Omni Collective: https://omnicommons.org/
First They Came for the Homeless: https://www.facebook.com/pages/First-they-came-for-the-homeless/253882908111999
Sunflower Alliance: http://www.sunflower-alliance.org/
Bay Area Public School: http://thepublicschool.org/bay-area

San Francisco based groups:
Occupy Bay Area United: www.obau.org
Occupy Forum: (see OBAU above)
San Francisco Projection Department: http://tinyurl.com/kpvb3rv

For Zoom link, RSVP to action@sunflower-alliance.org

Join local activists with the Veterans for Peace Climate Crisis & Militarism Project and Code Pink for a discussion of how US militarism—the single largest institutional source of greenhouse gases on the planet—fuels the climate crisis, and the growing movement to expose and fight this dangerous threat.

Vince DiJanich, a longtime activist in Veterans for Peace and the Climate Reality Project, will present the Veterans for Peace “Climate Crisis and Militarism” slide show that the horrific climate impacts of US military operations. He will describe the work of this project to raise awareness of this huge, little-discussed factor in climate destruction.

Cynthia Papermaster, longtime activist with Bay Area Code Pink, will describe their work to fight militarism and climate change.

The Veterans for Peace Climate Crisis & Militarism Project calls for  “reducing the unsustainable annual military budget; closing military bases around the world; de-militarizing US foreign policy; and redirecting funds towards mitigating the climate crisis.”

The project’s areas of focus include:

• Promoting full reporting of and reduction of US military emissions;
• Supporting peace, opposing US militarism, and working to reduce and redirect the US military budget for human needs;
• Standing for climate justice and against racism;
• Educating and mobilizing fellow veterans, journalists, politicians, workers, environmental activists and the general public about the role of the military in aggravating the climate crisis.

The Oakland Unified School District board majority has again moved to close schools this school year, with others looming in the near future.  As with other rounds of such arbitrary action (most recently in 2019), the brunt of such austerity measures is felt in flatland schools overwhelmingly populated by black  and brown students.

Hillary Chen is both a teacher in one of these schools and a community anti-racist activist involved in the Oakland Education Association (OEA) and the DSA.  She will discuss her experiences and the campaign of resistance  to these closures.

Additional speakers are pending confirmation.

Hillary Chen is an education and anti-racist activist, who is a member of East Bay DSA and Action 2020.  She is currently teaching at Parker Elementary School in East Oakland, one of the schools targeted to be closed this year.

Green Sundays are a series of free public programs & discussions on topics “du jour” sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County and held on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The monthly business meeting of the County Council of the Green Party follows at 7:00 pm, after a 30-minute break. Council meetings are open to anyone who is interested.

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 895 5984 4652

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Meeting ID: 895 5984 4652

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbmHLDhwS9

OTU’s Mission

The Oakland Tenants Union is an organization of housing activists dedicated to protecting tenant rights and interests. OTU does this by working directly with tenants in their struggle with landlords, impacting legislation and public policy about housing, community education, and working with other organizations committed to furthering renters’ rights. The Oakland Tenants Union is open to anyone who shares our core values and who believes that tenants themselves have the primary responsibility to work on their own behalf.

Monthly Meetings

The Oakland Tenants Union meets regularly at 7:00 pm on the second Monday evening of each month. Our monthly meetings are held in the Community Room of the Madison Park Apartments, 100 – 9th Street (at Oak Street, across from the Lake Merritt BART Station). To enter, gently knock on the window of the room to the right of the main entrance to the building. At the meetings, first we focus on general issues affecting renters city-wide and then second we offer advice to renters regarding their individual concerns.

If you have an issue, a question, or need advice about a tenant/landlord issue, please call us at (510) 704-5276. Leave a message with your name and phone number and someone will get back to you.

We will gather on the steps of the CPUC at 9 AM, where we will hear from coalition partners followed by a collective call-in to the virtual PUC meeting taking place at 10 AM. Donuts and coffee provided!

If you cannot join in person, please RSVP to call in to the virtual meeting by clicking here.

Learn more about #diversionprograms & #alternativestoincarceration policies and practices.

Join @urbanpeace IG live this Thursday, March 17th 5-6:30pm PT.

JOIN HERE👉 https://t.co/xz5HpSgACC pic.twitter.com/nRRSAMSQap

— Anti Police-Terror Project (@APTPaction) March 17, 2022

Email strike.debt.bay.area@gmail.com a few days beforehand for the the online invite.

For February, 2022 we’re reading the first three chapters of The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by the late David Graber and co-author David Wengrow.

For March, we’re reading the next four chapters, 4-7.

For April, we are finishing the book.

All are welcome!

“A dramatically new understanding of human history, challenging our most fundamental assumptions about social evolution―from the development of agriculture and cities to the origins of the state, democracy, and inequality―and revealing new possibilities for human emancipation…”

Strike Debt Bay Area hosts this non-technical book group discussion monthly on new and radical economic thinking. Previous readings have included Doughnut Economics, Limits, Banking on the People, Capital and Its Discontents, How to Be an Anti-Capitalist in the 21st Century, The Deficit Myth,  Revenge Capitalism, the Edge of Chaos blog symposium , Re-enchanting the World: Feminism and the Politics of the Commons, The Optimist’s Telescope, Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism, Exploring Degrowth, The Origin of Wealth and Mine!.

Description: Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine on the 24th of February 2022. As of now, hundreds of civilians and thousands of soldiers of both sides have lost their lives. Oil Prices have risen steeply. Working classes in the US and Russia and in fact all over the world will be poorer as a result of additional inflation, which in the past year in the US was already very high, at 7.9%. However, this war did not start in 2022, but rather in 2014, with the Maidan counter Revolution aided and encouraged by the US. There is a great present danger of this war spreading beyond Ukraine, if the US either directly or indirectly expands it.

The world is passing through a very dangerous moment . Why is this happening now? Our speaker, Raj Sahai. of ICSS, will try to explain it using Lenin’s thesis on Imperialism and War.

LOGIN INFORMATION

Our Zoom room will be opened up, as usual, at 10:15 for anyone to join and discuss technical matters, catch up with each other, say Hi, etc.. The program (and recording) will begin as close to 10:30 am as possible and will end at 12:30, but the Waiting Room will remain open until about 1 pm for informal discussion.

ZOOM LINl GOOD FOR SUNDAY, Mar 20, 2022 ONLY
Raj Sahai is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: ICSS Sunday
Time: Mar 20, 2022 10:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2591082607?pwd=NytIdFQwMU5UL3dWbjZ1YWN5R1J4Zz09

Meeting ID: 259 108 2607
Passcode: ICSS0320rs
One tap mobile
+16699006833,,2591082607#,,,,*7800486472# US (San Jose)
+13462487799,,2591082607#,,,,*7800486472# US (Houston)

Dial by your location
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
Meeting ID: 259 108 2607
Passcode: 7800486472
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kc4RrpvAiQ

BDS – Boycott, Divest, Sanctions is a set of strategies and demands that come from Palestinian civil society, and they are a way that we can help support. They demand equal rights under the law, an end to the occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Golan Heights, and the right to return to their old homes.

Folks may have heard some controversy around DSA member and Representative Jamaal Bowman, and his votes and actions in support of Israel. The East Bay chapter passed a resolution in support of DSA BDS & Palestine Solidarity Working Group’s statement to expel Bowman. Please join us to learn more about this history and why the support of this struggle is so important for socialists.

NOTE: During the Plague Year of 2020 GA will be held every week or two on Zoom. To find out the exact time a date get on the Occupy Oakland email list my sending an email to:

occupyoakland-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

The Occupy Oakland General Assembly meets every Sunday at 4 PM at Oscar Grant Plaza amphitheater at 14th Street & Broadway near the steps of City Hall. If for some reason the amphitheater is being used otherwise and/or OGP itself is inaccessible, we will meet at Kaiser Park, right next to the statues, on 19th St. between San Pablo and Telegraph. If it is raining (as in RAINING, not just misting) at 4:00 PM we meet in the basement of the Omni Collective, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland. (Note: we tend to meet at 3:00 PM during the cooler months from November to early March after Daylights Savings Time.)

On every ‘last Sunday’ we meet a little earlier at 3 PM to have a community potluck to which all are welcome.

OO General Assembly has met on a continuous basis for over six years, since October 2011! Our General Assembly is a participatory gathering of Oakland community members and beyond, where everyone who shows up is treated equally. Our Assembly and the process we have collectively cultivated strives to reach agreement while building community.

At the GA committees, caucuses, and loosely associated groups whose representatives come voluntarily report on past and future actions, with discussion. We encourage everyone participating in the Occupy Oakland GA to be part of at least one associated group, but it is by no means a requirement. If you like, just come and hear all the organizing being done! Occupy Oakland encourages political activity that is decentralized and welcomes diverse voices and actions into the movement.

General Assembly Standard Agenda

Welcome & Introductions
Reports from Committees, Caucuses, & Independent Organizations
Announcements
(Optional) Discussion Topic

Occupy Oakland activities and contact info for some Bay Area Groups with past or present Occupy Oakland members.

Occupy Oakland Web Committee: (web@occupyoakland.org)
Strike Debt Bay Area : strikedebtbayarea.tumblr.com
Berkeley Post Office Defenders:http://berkeleypostofficedefenders.wordpress.com/
Alan Blueford Center 4 Justice:https://www.facebook.com/ABC4JUSTICE
Oakland Privacy Working Group:https://oaklandprivacy.wordpress.com
Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity: prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/
Bay Area AntiRepression: antirepression@occupyoakland.org
Biblioteca Popular: http://tinyurl.com/mdlzshy
Interfaith Tent: www.facebook.com/InterfaithTent
Port Truckers Solidarity: oaklandporttruckers.wordpress.com
Bay Area Intifada: bayareaintifada.wordpress.com
Transport Workers Solidarity: www.transportworkers.org
Fresh Juice Party (aka Chalkupy) freshjuiceparty.com/chalkupy-gallery
Sudo Room: https://sudoroom.org
Omni Collective: https://omnicommons.org/
First They Came for the Homeless: https://www.facebook.com/pages/First-they-came-for-the-homeless/253882908111999
Sunflower Alliance: http://www.sunflower-alliance.org/
Bay Area Public School: http://thepublicschool.org/bay-area

San Francisco based groups:
Occupy Bay Area United: www.obau.org
Occupy Forum: (see OBAU above)
San Francisco Projection Department: http://tinyurl.com/kpvb3rv

Public Service Loan Forgiveness is a broken promise. On Oct. 6, 2021, the Biden administration announced a limited waiver intended to finally fulfill the promise of loan cancellation for millions of public servants. So far over 100,000 have gotten their debt cancelled because of the PSLF waiver, but many others are encountering problems.

The Debt Collective is co-hosting a webinar with the Student Borrower Protection Center that will focus on how to troubleshoot those problems.

6 p.m. ET Monday, March 21: Troubleshooting the PSLF Waiver

We will cover some of the unwritten rules about how to fill out the form that might trip up or delay the process, how to tell if a message you have gotten is false or misleading, and what steps to take if you think there is a problem. Our goal is to make sure that everyone gets the cancellation they were promised.

RSVP here.