Calendar
Jazz virtuoso
Gilad Atzmon meets Peter Barshay on bass and Bryan Bowman on drums
7:00pm @Uptown Body & Fender
401 26th St. Oakland
Phone: (510)224-3518 19th St. BART
a benefit for the Palestine Children’s Welfare Fund
SPIED UPON: SURVEILLANCE AND RESISTANCE
Between the ever-present fear of informants to the profusion of metadata collection and the construction of the Domain Awareness Center (DAC) in Oakland, the growing problem of surveillance has made it into the mainstream dialogue, but the people and communities most affected are sometimes being left out of the conversation.
Join us for an evening of ideas, discussion and questions about solidarity in the face of this intimidation. How do we support one another and our movements when being targeted by police, surveillance and informants? What are the legal, community and political responses that can best keep the larger “us” safe and allow our movements to flourish?
•SPEAKERS•
JASON KIRKPATRICK, filmmaker and activist, will show clips of and discuss his upcoming film, Spied Upon. Interviewing activists across the world and telling his own personal story, Jason will take us on a journey into one of the biggest political surveillance scandals in Europe, documenting growing movements of resistance to surveillance along the way.
ZAHRA BILLOO, Civil rights attorney and Executive Director at the Bay Area Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), speaks on the use of informants in a post-9/11 context, their impact, community resistance, and lessons learned.
RICHARD BROWN, Black Panther and member of the SF8, will share his history with undercover police and surveillance, imparting the ‘long view’ of solidarity learned from a lifetime of activism.
•PANEL DISCUSSION•
Moderated by Nadia Kayyali of the EFF
(Electronic Frontier Foundation)
Q & A with the speakers will follow in conversation with representatives from:
Bay Area Anti-Repression Committee
Bay Area Coalition to Stop Political Repression (at AROC)
Legal Workers of the Bay Area National Lawyers Guild (NLG)
Oakland Privacy Working Group (OPWG / anti-DAC)
Some links:
Domain Awareness Center on Oakland Wiki (general info on DAC, not OPWG’s site):
http://oaklandwiki.org/
Spied Upon film:
http://spiedupon.com/
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR):
http://www.cair.com/
Richard Brown / SF8::
http://www.freethesf8.org/
Anti-Repression Committee:
https://
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF):
https://www.eff.org/
Coalition to Stop Political Repression (AROC):
http://araborganizing.org/
NLG:
http://www.nlgsf.org/
Oakland Privacy Working Group (OPWG):
https://
What can we learn about the state’s repressive strategies from the case of the ACAC 19? What does it mean? What doesn’t it mean?
There were several repressive tactics used in this case: apparently random attack, brutality, and arrest; the inclusion of the gang task force, felony charges, outrageous bails, DNA collection, cell phone confiscation and searches; social media subpeonas, mass media attacks and persisting with prosecuting a case with little or no grounds.
Some tactics were historically typical and some were not. Hear from defendents how it went down, from the street to the court. Then we will discuss what we can learn from this case.
There will also be a fundraising raffle and donation to benefit the restitution fund of the ACAC 19.
“Compassion is not religious business, it is human business, it is not luxury, it is essential for our own peace and mental stability, it is essential for human survival.”
A Conscious Commons Festival
As you may know, the US Postal Service is trying to sell and privatize Berkeley’s Downtown Post Office. Community members continue to mobilize to save our commons in what has become a national effort. We are involved in spreading the word through festivals and action and by participating in judicial and political efforts to let public officials, developers and buyers know that the people are defending our public resources and do not want post offices sold.
Activities hosted at the Post Office will include:
- Invocation, and meditation
- Information sharing on: postal banking, postal jobs and direct action defense of commons
- letter writing, and art
Come join us! Bring your friends! Bring your lunch!
Sponsored by Berkeley Post Office Defense
http://berkeleypostofficedefenders.wordpress.com/
Our Concerns
Self-professed Buddhist’ Richard Blum is chairman of the CBRE board of directors–the agent for the sale of US post offices. The sale of our constitutionally guaranteed post offices promote the transfer of public commons and resources to private corporations which brings higher prices, worse quality of services, higher profits and non union lower paid jobs without benefits. Now, US postal services have been shifted into {84} private US Staples stores including Berkeley and San Francisco.
The Berkeley Post Office and post offices all over the US are under threat of being sold by questionable means. (For example: Goldman Sachs is one of the largest shareholders with CBRE, which has been involved in both selling and purchasing postal property and numerous sale prices appear to be below documented value. Please see: Going Postal: U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein’s husband sells post offices to his friends, cheap by Peter Byrne.
From: The Thirteenth Dalai Lama, Thupten Gyatso
During his exile in India, the Dalai Lama was fascinated by the modern world and he introduced the first Tibetan currency notes and coins. On 13 February 1913, he made public the five-point statement reasserting Tibet’s Independence. Also, in 1913 he established the first post office in Tibet
“it is not enough to be compassionate, we must act.”
David Rovics, Eric Drooker & Tristan Anderson
will perform together on Sunday, Feb. 23rd at the Art House in Berkeley, 2905 Shattuck Ave. The event will be a benefit for Justice 4 Tristan.
Schedule:
- 5 PM Potluck dinner
- 6 PM Welcoming
- 6:15-6:45 Tristan Anderson slide show
- 6:45-7:15 David Rovics amplified set
- 7:15-8:00 Eric Drooker Multimedia Performance
- 8PM-….. David Rovics acoutic set
David Rovics is a great folk singer of songs of social significance. You can download most of his music at his web site or over at Soundclick and other places.
Eric Drooker is an artist, painter, graphic artist, and animator from New York.
Tristan Anderson is an activist and photographer who was critically injured by an Israeli tear gas cannister in 2009 during a peaceful protest. Tristan is hemiplegic- mostly paralyzed on the left (formerly dominant) side of his body. He uses a wheelchair. He has lost sight in his right eye, suffers chronic pain in his paralyzed limbs, and has had pronounced, life changing cognitive and emotional repercussions as a result of the injury that was done to his brain. He has an ongoing lawsuit against the Israeli government.
Click on image to get printable PDF
Click HERE for 11×17″ Poster Image.
And HERE to get a letter sized 4-to-a-page flyer for small handbills.
Col. Ann Wright, peace activist “extraordinaire,” coming to Occupy Beale AFB this month.
Please join us for one or both days! Together we can stop the War Machine and ground those drones for good!
For three years activists have been gathering monthly at Beale AFB, near Marysville, CA. This month
Col. (ret.) Ann Wright joins us to protest and will be speaking at several local events.
Monday, February 24th Protest/Vigil: 3-5 p.m. at Wheatland Gate,
(Intersection of So. Beale Rd. and Ostrom Rd.)
5:30 p.m. Teach-in and Encampment at Main Gate (N. Beale Rd.)
Tuesday, February 25th Vigil: 6-9 a.m. at Wheatland Gate
(S. Beale Rd. and Ostrom Rd.)
Hear Col. Ann Wright!
Noon: Yuba City College, Room 716, Math & Science Bldg.
2:30-3:45 p.m. Eating Well Cafe, 1908 North Beale Rd., Linda
6-8 p.m. Brick Coffe House, 316 D St., Marysville
Carpool from the Bay Area: Contact Toby Blome, 510-215-5974, ratherbenyckeling@comcast.net
The Postal Service has put the Berkeley Post Office up for sale!!
The Postal Service has started to outsource Post Office services to Staples, replacing union jobs with low-paying, low benefit work.
And we’re fighting against both!
Come help us plan our next steps.
The City Council is on a path to pass some sort of Zoning Overlay which may protect the Post Office against various commercial uses, or be totally ineffective. We need to stay on top of it.
The American Postal Workers Union is planning more actions against Staples; we need to support them. We have some ideas of our own too!
Encouraging articles have come out recently about using Post Offices as banking facilities for the unbanked and we need to be on the leading edge of that. And Barbara Lee has introduced even stronger language into legislation to stop the sale of Historic Post Offices.
We are planning an outreach event for sunday, February 23rd, a Conscious Commons Festival. Come out and enjoy the experience!
THINGS ARE HAPPENING!
AND CHECK OUT OUR SPIFFY NEW WEBSITE.
David Rovics tours on four continents, playing for audiences large and small at cafes, pubs, college campuses, churches, union halls and protest rallies. Many activists consider him a leading voice of the Occupy Movement in that he has visited and performed at 30 Occupy tent cities throughout the U.S. Our Steve Jacobson traveled to Mendocino with David last year and says whether David is performing for an audience of 10 people or 100, he gives it his all. This should be really great; inspiring and galvanizing.
The Sunflower Alliance is pleased to host a series of forums in northern Contra Costa County on the dangers of the fossil fuel industry’s turn to extreme energy in recent years. CoCoCo and Benicia are home to five refineries, specializing in the dirtiest and heaviest crude oils, and the industry has proposed five major projects to expand refineries and bring in crude oil by train.
In Pittsburg, Martinez, and Richmond, we will have panel discussions with experts and community activists, featuring a special guest from Lac-Mégantic, Canada, which suffered a devastating oil train explosion last July that killed 47 people. They’ll educate us on Big Oil’s plans and the local, regional, and global effects.
Learn about the consequences for your community, and learn how communities are organizing to fight back and protect our health and safety!
The forums will be held on the following dates:
Pittsburg: Monday, February 24th, 2014, from 7pm to 9pm at First Baptist at 204 Odessa Ave. Facebook event here.
Martinez: Wednesday, February 26th, 2014, from 6:30pm to 8:30pm at the Veterans Memorial Building at 930 Ward St. Facebook event here.
Richmond: Saturday, March 1st, 2014, from 12pm to 2pm at the Bobby Bowens Progressive Center at1021 MacDonald Ave. Facebook event here.
Speakers
Each forum will have a slightly different set of panelists, tailored for the concerns of that area. However, every panel will feature:
- Marilaine Savard: spokesperson for a citizens’ group in the region of Lac-Mégantic, Québec.
- Antonia Juhasz: oil industry analyst, journalist, and author of The Tyranny of Oil: The World’s Most Powerful Industry and What We Must do to Stop It and Black Tide: the Devastating Impact of the Gulf Oil Spill.
Look at the descriptions in the Facebook events for each location (see above) to find out more about each panel’s members.
We look forward to seeing you at one of the panel discussions!
Hundreds of thousands of Korean workers are striking F25 to defend the basic right to organize unions and their right to strike.
In December some 5000 police were sent to the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions headquarter; 138 unionists were arrested, rail workers were fired upon, and the union was fined millions of dollars for “obstructing business.”
We demand:
- Free all jailed workers.
- No reprisals, rehired fired workers, drop charges and fines.
- Stop government repression against unions
- Defend the right to strike and stop privatizaion.
On February 26th (6pm-8pm) the City of Oakland will host a session in City Council Chambers for “Public Input to the DAC Privacy Policy Framework.” The Oakland Privacy Working Group will conduct a meeting the day before (Tuesday, February 25th 7pm) at the Sudo Room. If you are an active participant please attend this meeting. We will be discussing and solidifying our overall approach and plan for addressing City Council as one voice.
Note: Our regular meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 28th, at 8:30 PM in the same location (Sudo room), after the Privacy Policy Framework meeting at City Call.
SAN FRANCISCO TENANTS’ GROUPS TO HOLD “MARCH ON GREED” IN PROTEST OF LOCAL LANDLORD AND “SERIAL EVICTOR”
San Francisco – Next Wednesday, February 26, a coalition of tenants’ rights activists and and local economic justice groups, led by the rising direct action group Eviction Free San Francisco, will hold a march in protest of a local landlord Kaushik Dattani, who has been receiving increased notoriety as a “serial evictor” due to him recently being added to the “dirty dozen” by the Anti Eviction Mapping Project, for being one of the worst Ellis- Act evictors in San Francisco. The event, titled “A March on Greed: Housing is a Human Right”, aims to make Mr. Dattani an example of real estate speculation that has been directly affecting the displacement of the City’s lower and middle income renters.
The meet-up for this event is to happen at 11:30am on Wednesday, at the 24th Street BART station. From there, the group plans to walk to Mr. Dattani’s office at 3232 22nd Street. The event is anticipated to last no longer than an hour, and is expected to have a similar crowd size as past protests led by the group, which has shown to be 50 to over 100 participants.
Rally & March.
We Aer All Trayvon Martin. The whole Damn System is Guilty.
Youth Are Not Suspects, They Are Human Beings.
The murder of Trayvon Martin was, and still is, a towering outrage. Remember: when the verdict came down many thousands rejected the call for “calm reflection” from Obama and others and took to the streets in outrage.
Many more asked: Why does this happen? And, what can we do about it? There is a challenge before us: What kind of world are we going to live in? On February 26, 2014 we must answer that challenge with a day of outrage and remembrance for Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, Andy Lopez, Renisha MeBride and all the thousands of others like them.
These are modern day lynchings. They sent a message that Black and Latino youth have a bulls-eye on their backs that cops and any ordinary racist can use as target practice.
In response we must deliver our own message: we will not stand by in silence as our youth are brutalized, locked up, murdered and more. On Feb 26th, in Oakland and EVERYWHERE across the country we must say NO MORE! to the criminalization of whole generations of Black and Latino youth.
Come speak out on a “privacy policy” that allows the City of Oakland to violate our 1st and 4th amendment rights with impunity.
Staff is taking a new and aggressive approach to public engagement around this draft framework. Distribution of this framework will happen via EngageOakland, a survey monkey, and broad dissemination via the Neighborhood Service Coordinators. This framework is being disseminated for a thirty day public comment period. During that time period there will be two public meetings scheduled for Wednesday, February 26th in City Council Chambers, and Thursday, March 13th at the Dimond Branch Library located at 3565 Fruitvale Avenue. Both meetings will occur between 6 to 8pm.
“During Phase 2, City/Port staff will develop a Privacy and Data Retention Policy that governs the collection, retention, storage, and dissemination of information processed by the DAC ensuring the protection of privacy rights by individuals, and will return said policy to the Council for approval no later than March 2014.”
Oakland Police were video taping anti-surveillance activists at City Council meeting tonight. #DAC #OAKMTG via @guelo pic.twitter.com/RlTynCD40N
— Domain Awareness (@domainawareness) February 19, 2014
The Sunflower Alliance is pleased to host a series of forums in northern Contra Costa County on the dangers of the fossil fuel industry’s turn to extreme energy in recent years. CoCoCo and Benicia are home to five refineries, specializing in the dirtiest and heaviest crude oils, and the industry has proposed five major projects to expand refineries and bring in crude oil by train.
In Pittsburg, Martinez, and Richmond, we will have panel discussions with experts and community activists, featuring a special guest from Lac-Mégantic, Canada, which suffered a devastating oil train explosion last July that killed 47 people. They’ll educate us on Big Oil’s plans and the local, regional, and global effects.
Learn about the consequences for your community, and learn how communities are organizing to fight back and protect our health and safety!
The forums will be held on the following dates:
Pittsburg: Monday, February 24th, 2014, from 7pm to 9pm at First Baptist at 204 Odessa Ave. Facebook event here.
Martinez: Wednesday, February 26th, 2014, from 6:30pm to 8:30pm at the Veterans Memorial Building at 930 Ward St. Facebook event here.
Richmond: Saturday, March 1st, 2014, from 12pm to 2pm at the Bobby Bowens Progressive Center at1021 MacDonald Ave. Facebook event here.
Speakers
Each forum will have a slightly different set of panelists, tailored for the concerns of that area. However, every panel will feature:
- Marilaine Savard: spokesperson for a citizens’ group in the region of Lac-Mégantic, Québec.
- Antonia Juhasz: oil industry analyst, journalist, and author of The Tyranny of Oil: The World’s Most Powerful Industry and What We Must do to Stop It and Black Tide: the Devastating Impact of the Gulf Oil Spill.
Look at the descriptions in the Facebook events for each location (see above) to find out more about each panel’s members.
We look forward to seeing you at one of the panel discussions!
- Come to this event to find out what’s going on in Venezuela. For another source that is not from the “elite” point-of-view, see http://venezuelanalysis.com/
NOTE: We are meeting at 8:30 tonight so we can attend the first public meeting on the DAC “privacy” policy.
http://oaklandwiki.org/Public_Meeting_on_DAC_Privacy_Policy
Join Oakland Privacy Working Group to organize against the Domain Awareness Center (DAC), Oakland’s citywide networked mass surveillance hub.
We aim to have 2 monthly meetings, every 2nd and 4th Wednesday at 6:30 at the SUDOROOM. Stop by and learn how you can help guard Oakland’s right not to be spied on by the government & if you are interested in joining the Oakland Privacy Working Group email listserv, send an email to: oaklandprivacyworkinggroup-subscribe@lists.riseup.net
The entrance to the sudoroom is on 22nd Street, ring the buzzer and come up the stairs or take the elevator.
For more information on the DAC check out the DAC FAQ, the Oakland Wiki Domain Awareness Page and the Oakland Privacy WordPress.
A Kentucky-based company called Bowie Resource Partners wants to turn Oakland’s Jack London Square into a hub for shipping dirty coal to Asia.
CREDO activists have helped fight off similar proposals in Oregon and Washington over the past few years, but the coal industry is desperate to ship its dirty product overseas, so it is now targeting California for coal exports.
The Port of Oakland’s Board of Commissioners will be discussing the proposal at its meeting on Thursday � and it wants to hear whatt local residents think. Can you be there to urge the Board of Commissioners to reject the disastrous proposal to export dirty coal through the Port of Oakland
We’d recommend arriving at 3 p.m. to sign up to speak.
Allowing coal to be exported through the Port of Oakland would pollute our air and water with dangerous coal dust and undermine our efforts to fight climate change. It’s a bad deal for Oakland and the Port’s Board of Commissioners needs to reject it without delay.
The Board of Commissioners’ own staff report detailed several problems with the proposal, including increased greenhouse gas emissions, coal dust pollution, conflicts with the port’s policies and the likelihood of community opposition.
It is outrageous that the Port of Oakland is even considering proposals to export dirty coal. With a big turnout at Thursday’s public meeting we can make it clear to the Port’s Board of Commissioners that the Bay Area won’t stand for a dirty coal export terminal at Jack London Square.