Calendar

In partnership with Freedom Archives, the NLG-SFBA will host a series of outdoor film screenings and discussions on Saturday, August 28 and Saturday, September 11. Topics will include COINTELPRO, the life of George Jackson, the Attica uprising, and “We Know Our Rights,” a multimedia toolkit produced by the chapter for people dealing with law enforcement.

August 28th – Screening of COINTELPRO 101 and George Jackson Commemoration
September 11th – Screening of Attica (1974) and We Know Our Rights

These events commemorate the 50th anniversary of George Jackson’s assassination in San Quentin State Prison, the 50th anniversary of the Attica Uprising, and the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and ongoing resistance against state targetting in the wake of 9/11.

Tickets for both in-person and virtual attendance will be available. The panels, guided discussions, and films will be livestreamed. While we are optimistic about hosting this event outdoors and in-person, we are prepared to fully transition this event as virtual-only in case of circumstances beyond our control.

Sunday Morning at the Marxist Library

Is the US Global Empire Actually in Decline?

It is almost taken for granted, if not an article of faith, in the progressive milieu that the US empire is in decline. Does this hold up or is it comfort food for the frustrated hoping for the revolution? In the 40-year period between 1917 and 1959, socialist revolutions occurred in Russia, China, Korea, Vietnam, eleven countries across Eastern Europe, and Cuba. Yet during this era, thought to be a period of US ascendency, the US had to confront the former world Communist bloc, its associated parties in capitalist countries, and Third World national liberation movements.  Now, in the period of alleged US decline, it has been socialist revolution that experiences catastrophic defeats.

In the last 30 years, the US and its subordinates have not only blocked successful revolutions but have overturned socialism in most of the former Communist sphere. The socialist countries that continue have all had to backtrack. True, China is an economic powerhouse today, with the US empire unable thwart its continued rise. Yet the US imperial system still maintains decisive economic, political, and ideological hegemony, backed by tremendous military muscle. It can still impose crippling sanctions and blockades on most any country, and the world can do little in response.  The US media still shapes how most people view contemporary events. What would a world look like if the US lost the ability to be world cop?

Our speaker, Stan Smith, will explore these questions based on a manuscript that he and Roger Harris have been researching, followed by a Q&A in which both will participate.

Stan Smith last spoke at the Marxist Library in November on “How the US Dominates the World Economy.” His writings include: Inadequacy of Modern Monetary Theory and the Power of the US Dollar in the World Economy and Why the US Can Keep Increasing its Debt and not Suffer Inflation. Roger Harris on the Library’s program committee.

LOGIN INFORMATION

We Intend to start the presentation as close to 10:30 am as possible, but the 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 end at 12:30, but the Waiting Room will remain open until about 1 pm for informal discussion.

Raj Sahai is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
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Children and families in California frontline communities are sick and dying because the agencies that should be protecting them are in bed with corporate polluters and developers.

Join Sunflower Alliance and 22 other sponsoring groups to demand that CalEPA and the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) take immediate action to protect environmental justice communities across California.

For Bay Area carpool info, email action@sunflower-alliance.org.

EJ communities from Laytonville to LA will converge on the CalEPA Building in downtown Sacramento to speak out and act up against these agencies’ refusal to follow science and protect the health of vulnerable communities.

A full bedroom set will be brought to the protest, with volunteers representing CalEPA, DTSC, lobbyists, corporate developers and polluters in bed, drinking champagne and smoking cigars.

Following the hour-long protest, we will gather at Cesar Chavez Plaza across the street for an optional EJ training by California Environmental Justice Coalition. We’ll be on our way home by 3 p.m.

You can learn more on the CA-EJ protest website, which includes information about the groups involved and the demands they’ll present to CalEPA and DTSC.

Masks and social distancing are required!  Let’s be smart and safe.

Register
This fire season we’ve seen the largest known wildfire ever in California, bringing the climate crisis literally to our front doors. This is not an isolated event. Climate scientists have been warning that extreme weather would be coming if we continued to burn fossil fuels, and yet, because of capitalism, we’ve only seen the use of those fuels skyrocket. In the past month reports about this crisis have come out with dire warnings, letting us know that tipping points that mean an unavoidable cascade of the irreversible climate crisis, are approaching rapidly if they haven’t had already been reached. All of this means that our task is enormous and urgent. Climate change is a direct result of the capitalist system, and we will not be able to address the climate crisis without getting rid of it altogether.

Join the East Bay DSA Political Education Committee and Green New Deal Committee as we look at why capitalism is incapable of addressing the climate crisis, and why the fight for socialism is our only way out.

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Reading List

Part 1: THE CURRENT CLIMATE CRISIS
(very brief articles about the current state of the climate crisis)

‘Nobody’s Safe’: 10 Takeaways from New International Climate Change Report

Climate crisis: Scientists spot warning signs of Gulf Stream collapse: Article from The Guardian

Part 2: CAPITALISM AND CLIMATE CHANGE

(Don’t mourn organize! These are the main readings, start with the first one, or chose whichever you would prefer!)

What it Will Take: Ch.27 Beyond Capitalism by Carol Dansereau 

A good place to start: a general introduction to why socialism is the only answer to the climate crisis

Introduction and First Chapter of Red Green Revolution by Victor Wallis

A deeper dive into the concepts of ecosocialism

Part 3: ON THE GREEN NEW DEAL

Climate Change Is Class Struggle by Matt Huber

A review of On Fire: The Burning Case for a Green New Deal by Naomi Klein that highlights the need for class struggle in the fight for the Green New Deal

2021 DSA Convention: Decade of the Green New Deal: Planetary Crisis and Socialist Power

Register Here

What role does the immigration system have in upholding the prison industrial complex? What is a “direct transfer” & how have direct transfers impacted our communities? What is the Vision Act and how can you get involved? Learn this and more as we speak with directly impacted community members around these topics. General member meetings take place every 1st Wednesday of the month and are open to everyone!

*Due to concerns over the spread of COVD-19 variants, our monthly member meetings will remain virtual for the remainder of the calendar year.

Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85817209915

Interesting Agenda Items

4. Surveillance Equipment Ordinance – OPD – Body Worn Camera impact report and proposed use policy – review and take possible action

Join CCWP (CA Coalition for Women Prisoners) for a special event this coming Thursday featuring four amazing storytellers, two of which are formerly incarcerated CCWP members who will be sharing about Life Without Parole. You can read more about the Stories in Living Color series here.

*This event is free and will stream on YouTube, but you must register here to receive the link.

Raj Sahai is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Join Zoom Meeting
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Marx and Engels left a legacy of social and economic theories which have influenced the world in numerous ways. However, there are some significant theoretical gaps for which they left little guidance. These gaps include the ‘withering away of the state’ and how exactly it occurs, the true nature of the ‘communist Party’ and its relationship to the state, the ‘dictatorship of the Proletariat’, the consciousness of the working class and therefore the very essence of communism itself. All are very lightly sketched. Blue Revolution seeks to understand where the 21st Century working class needs to go, to fulfil Classical Marxism’s aim of creating a socially and economically ‘just’ society.  Many people have ‘filled in’ these gaps in ways that have led ‘socialism’ to become characterised by the control of the people by the state. Blue Revolution seeks to escape this avoidable human tragedy by interpreting Marx and Engels within the context of 21st century political and economic reality. There is a way to liberate people, end the class system and create a fairer and ‘just’ society by way of ‘revolution’, whilst avoiding the top-down or totalitarian power of bourgeois and authoritarian single-party states. If this is achieved this revolution will, we believe, be true to the liberating aims of Karl Marx and Frederick  Engels.

Our speaker, Michael Gilbert, studied modern philosophy and political economy at the Polytechnic of North London, and social work law and social policy at The University of East Anglia in Norwich.

Before embarking on his studies and in his late teens Mike was affiliating himself with a branch of the International Communist Party. He was also involved with an Unemployed Workers Group and a group of libertarians. He saw no contradiction between Marxism and libertarianism.

Following his studies, Mike left political activism and married and had children. Following his second divorce in 2010 he had time to reflect on politics since his graduation and realised that western society needed a revolution. He was drawn back to radical politics, but with a characteristic ‘libertarian twist’.

Having been disillusioned with the British left for its sectarianism, elitism, and complete disregard for the working class (seeing the role of the state as controlling the working class as opposed to the working class controlling the state) he decided to put his past learning to some use and began to study classical Marxism again. His hope is to unite all working people. His efforts have resulted in the publication of four booklets aimed at introducing working people to Marxism as well as creating a political Group Called Blue Revolution.

For background, folks are urged to read the four booklets on the website. Www.ABlueRevolution.org (booklets)

Maybe you’ve been getting our emails for months or years but never come to a DSA event. Maybe you’re a veteran leftist with decades of battles under your belt. Maybe you’re a new member ready to take the next step and get organized.

Wherever you’re coming from, we want to hang out with you!

🌹  Hear what we’re currently working on

💪  Get more involved in critical fights right here in the East Bay

🍪 Eat some snacks

Right now, we’re grappling with raging fires, looming climate catastrophe, and a Democratic establishment eager to yank the housing and unemployment checks away from regular people in the middle of a pandemic. Meanwhile, billionaires are hoarding workers’ money to fly to space.

➡️➡️➡️There’s never been a more pressing time to make the jump from socialist to *organized* socialist. ⬅️⬅️⬅️ And that starts with meeting your comrades and taking action. Plus, it’ll be fun, we promise. Join us!

Invite all your union friends and the socialism-curious!

Look for us at Snow Park (the corner of Harrison St and 19th Street next to Lake Merritt).

This Wednesday!! #BuildAbolition101 session 4 is on #CareNotCops with @CART_SF @TheCoalitionSF speaking, alongside Fabian Fernandez from @dphmustdivest @DoNoHarmUCSF. The Zoom is FREE, BIPOC-centered, and open to all: https://t.co/DfoCUIlhNM pic.twitter.com/azGlRgTjaj

— CCSF Collective (@CCSFCollective) September 6, 2021

BAY AREAAAAA! Support me and a mighty team fighting to end all ICE collaborations in Alameda County! You can support by
1) sending an email to public protection committee
2) joining via zoom Thursday at 10am
Check out more info in https://t.co/t8nHhTOQZl #StopICETransfers pic.twitter.com/3yIBbpLL0F

— SV (@arreenitta) September 8, 2021

Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/97811379848

Police in #BerkeleyCA have taken up 40% of meeting time for "Re-Imagining Public Safety". Tonight we want to hear from the PEOPLE. #GiveEmHell #BlackLivesMatter #PublicCommenthttps://t.co/XWkN6f6q89 pic.twitter.com/8mB3aq6Pll

— Berkeley Copwatch (@Copwatch411) September 9, 2021

Please attend the RIPSTF meeting and make a public comment!

1) Copwatch member, Andrea, will be the first presenter who will be critical of the BPD…finally! Andrea will explain why many in Berkeley don’t trust the police, how the BPD continues to erode the community’s trust and then will provide suggestions for how to actually create safety in our city. According to the agenda, Andrea’s presentation should be around 7:15 or so.

2) Zoom in with us on Thursday at 6pm and MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT — specifically, let’s empower the task force to take control of the process from here on out. Comments are right after roll call on the agenda, so be there at 6pm!

3) For some info on the Reimagining process thus far, read “Is the Reimagining a Farce?”, from the Berkeley Times

In solidarity and with love,
Berkeley Copwatch

*Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81983354907

*Meeting agenda: https://www.cityofberkeley.info/uploadedFiles/Clerk/Level_3_-_Commissions/Reimagining-Public-Safety-Task-Force%209-9%20Meeting%20Packet.pdf

*Comment inspiration: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10daG-nz4lVUbCII3ZI9BISEMf1bgI78X6xCyGnt4_MI/edit?usp=sharing

*”Is the Reimagining a Farce?”: https://reimaginingberkeley.medium.com/is-the-reimagining-a-farce-a31f1d86d7f0

Join Amazon Watch, Youth vs Apocalypse, Brasil Solidarity Network, Diablo Rising Tide and more for Fires, Forest, Finance, and our Future. This action, at the SF BlackRock headquarters, is part of a Global Week of Action for the Amazon, in solidarity with indigenous organizations in Amazonia.

The action will call out financial institutions responsible for financing rainforest destruction and talk about  “How the destructive projects in the Amazon are affecting the next generation, who is financing them, and how we feel the impacts of the Amazon destruction here in California.”

Info/RSVP

The Global Week of Action for the Amazon will include:

Sunday, September 5: live-streamed panel with the Coordinating Body of Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon

Monday, September 6: Online day of action for the Amazon

Tuesday, September 7: Defend the Defenders: solidarity with the indigenous and earth defenders under attack

Wednesday, September 8: Amazon Health in Crisis: Webinar on covid-19 impacts in the Amazon

Thursday, September 9: Climate Justice — Stop False Solutions

Friday, September 10: Forest, Fires, Finance, and Our Future

Saturday, September 11: Honoring and Celebrating Life and Cultures in the Amazon.

More information and details on how to participate here