Calendar

Please join us for a talk by Jenny Odell in celebration of her new book How to Do Nothing / Resisting the Attention Economy.

”A galvanizing critique of the forces vying for our attention—and our personal information—that redefines what we think of as productivity, reconnects us with the environment, and reveals all that we’ve been too distracted to see about ourselves and our world

Nothing is harder to do these days than nothing. But in a world where our value is determined by our 24/7 data productivity . . . doing nothing may be our most important form of resistance.

So argues artist and critic Jenny Odell in this field guide to doing nothing (at least as capitalism defines it). Odell sees our attention as the most precious—and overdrawn—resource we have. Once we can start paying a new kind of attention, she writes, we can undertake bolder forms of political action, reimagine humankind’s role in the environment, and arrive at more meaningful understandings of happiness and progress.

Far from the simple anti-technology screed, or the back-to-nature meditation we read so often, How to do Nothing is an action plan for thinking outside of capitalist narratives of efficiency and techno-determinism. Provocative, timely, and utterly persuasive, this book is a four-course meal in the age of Soylent.”

Jenny Odell is a multi-disciplinary artist and writer based in Oakland, California. Her work generally involves acts of close observation, whether it’s birdwatching, collecting screen shots, or trying to parse bizarre forms of e-commerce. She created The Bureau of Suspended Objects, a searchable online archive of 200 objects salvaged from the San Francisco dump, each with photographs and painstaking research into its material, corporate, and manufacturing histories. She is compelled by the ways in which attention (or lack thereof) leads to consequential shifts in perception at the level of the everyday.

Odell’s visual work has been exhibited at The Contemporary Jewish Museum, the New York Public Library, Ever Gold Projects, the Marjorie Barrick Museum (Las Vegas), Les Rencontres D’Arles, Fotomuseum Antwerpen, Fotomuseum Winterthur, La Gaîté Lyrique (Paris), the Lishui Photography Festival (China), the Pratt Manhattan Gallery, apexart (NY), East Wing (Dubai), and the Google headquarters. She has been an artist in residence at Recology SF (the dump), the San Francisco Planning Department, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the Palo Alto Art Center, Facebook, and the Internet Archive and has taught internet art and digital/physical design at Stanford since 2013.

Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, SFMOMA’s Open Space, McSweeney’s, The Creative Independent, Sierra Magazine, Topic, and Real Future.

Sun, May 12
Turkey at the cross roads of imperialism
Turkey is struggling to find a new and better position in the world while fascism erodes the economy, human rights, freedom of press and all opposition.  New “elections” on March 31 is only a sham as mounting evidence of corruption piles.  Turkey has lost on Syria, a quagmire it planned on winning big with the bog guys.  As Turkey oscillates between European Union, the USA and Russia, it finds itself more and more irrelevant.  Contrary to the big plans of becoming a leader in the Middle East, Turkey has been relegated to a position where it is only trying to find who to follow.  Such is the position of those who accept imperialism instead of standing up to it. ICSS member Mehmet Bayram will present and lead our discussion. TENTATIVE

Sun, May 19
¡VIVA MEXICO!
Mexican President Díaz (1876-1880 and 1884-1911) famously commented: “Poor Mexico, so far from God and so close to the United States.”
Diaz got it at least half right. Mexico has suffered in the shadow of the Colossus of the North, but Mexico is not poor. Mexico is rich in many ways, yet it also has been impoverished. And Mexico has been greatly underappreciated by North Americans. This presentation will emphasize the many poorly known accomplishments of Mexico, while uncovering the role of US imperialism.
Mexico is bucking an international right-wing tide, shifting its government from right to left-of-center with the presidential inauguration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) on December 1. Speaking for international capital, The Economist is worried. The other 99% of humanity is hopeful.
Roger Harris will present a PowerPoint-illustrated cautionary history of this trice conquered land. A longtime activist with the Niebyl-Proctor Marxist Library, Roger is on the board of the Task Force on the Americas (http://taskforceamericas.org/), a 33-year-old human rights organization, and is active with the Campaign to End US-Canadian Sanctions Against Venezuela (https://tinyurl.com/yd4ptxkx). He last visited Mexico in March.

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND
Sun, May 26, 2019: 10:30 am to 12:30 pm
Report from Venezuela Delegation
Venezuela is in the cross hairs of imperialism.  It has the largest oil reserves in the world, but more than that, Venezuela is determined to use its resources for the benefit of its own people instead of handing them over to transnational corporations or imperialist rulers.  In the age of imperialism, these trends are enough to make any country the target of imperialist plunderers.  We are under a media barrage of lies, misinformation, and open US propaganda about Venezuela. With this intense muddying of waters it becomes very hard to know and understand the events happening around this Latin American, Bolivarian, country.
In order to observe what is really going on there, recently Bay Area residents Mehmet Bayram, ICSS member and journalist, and Laura Wells, Green Party Congressional Candidate, visited Venezuela with the “End Venezuela Sanctions” delegation.  They will present their experience and lead the discussion afterwards.

Sun, June 9, 2019: 10:30 am to 12:30 pm
A Socialist Defector: From Harvard to Karl-Marx-Allee
After 24 years in the USA, 38 years in the (East) German Democratic Republic as a McCarthy-era exile, then nearly 30 years in unified Germany, Victor Grossman, the ex-pat journalist and author examines the rise and fall of a socialist experiment as he observed and participated in it. He tries to clear through a fog of misinformation and distortion regarding it, describing its achievements, its successes as well as its blunders and negative aspects. Its position regarding Nazis and fascism is compared with that in West Germany. Its school system, women’s rights, both models in many ways, cultural questions and other matters are examined from a personal, anecdotal and sometimes humorous perspective. 
The book then turns to a broader examination of possible lessons to be learned when searching for solutions to present-day problems: the growing gap between rich and poor, alarmingly malevolent dangers for a crippled environment, the menace of racism and new fascist movements, the almost ignored danger of atomic annihilation – and who is to blame for them. But the book also looks at newly invigorated hopes for a better, a socialist future despite the many barriers to its realization – seen through the prism of a veteran of the “old Left” in the USA, Communist rule and the Cold War in the shadow of the Berlin Wall, and expresses his views on current fears and hopes on both sides of the Atlantic – and the Pacific. 
(Copies of Victor’s book will be available for purchase, cash or checks only, NO CREDIT CARDS.

Sun, Jun 16, 2019: 10:30 am to 12:30 pm
Cuba”s Democracy
Constitutional Referendum and grassroots political processes.
Cuba is always described as a “dictatorship” by the mainstream media and the U.S. government, thus providing a pretext for the economic blockade and talk about regime change. But Sharat G. Lin found a remarkable democratic process in the recent Constitutional Referendum in Cuba and months of nationwide discussions involving millions of voters. (Awaiting confirmation)

~~~~~THE FILM~~~~~~

A feature-length documentary about the history and resurgence of socialism in America.

Socialism: an American Story (socialismmovie.com) features the stories of ordinary Americans across the United States. From a Marine veteran turned socialist legislator, to a teacher on strike, to the son of Cuban immigrants organizing to free deportees, today’s surging interest in socialism manifests across demographics. Through their stories and a historical road trip through the old socialist hub of Wisconsin, we learn what a uniquely American form of socialism might look like.

Two years ago, 13 million Americans voted for a socialist presidential candidate for the first time. Millions more flirted with socialism, feared it, or scratched their heads and moved on. We want to reach people who are unfamiliar with socialist thought but feel its growing influence in their lives. For the first time in decades, there are socialists in both houses of Congress. Americans deserve an opportunity to evaluate socialist ideas without the usual Cold War stigma or fear-mongering.

The word “socialism” can be alienating. “Medicare for All” now enjoys wide majority support even among Republicans, but the socialist project goes beyond healthcare reform. We journey through a vision of America transformed by that project.

~~~~~~Q&A DISCUSSION FEATURING~~~~~~

Yael Bridge is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, recently produced Netflix’s Saving Capitalism.

Bhaskar Sunkara is the founder and editor of Jacobin and author of new book The Socialist Manifesto: The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality.

Meagan Day is a staff writer at Jacobin. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, Vox, Mother Jones, The Week, The Baffler, In These Times, n+1 and elsewhere.

~~~~~~COSPONSORS~~~~~~

Democratic Socialists of America
Young Democratic Socialists of America
Jacobin
Our Revolution
Socialist Alternative

Details

When: May 12, 2019, 1:00pm – 2:30pm
Where: The New Parkway

Join us for part 2 of Marx on the US Civil War! This class was created with the intention of bringing in folks who are unfamiliar with Marx. Come through!

Here is the handout from the previous class: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DpOmmMkhyrzYxNQXIuonwi3To93v2RJnJsRdUArFLNU/edit?usp=sharing

Note: The meeting space is up a flight of stairs.

What is the state of rule of law and the role of precedent in our federal courts?

With the appointment of Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, the United States Supreme Court accelerates the federal courts’ return to early 20th century jurisprudence on legal disputes long considered settled concerning labor rights, women’s rights, minority rights, and proportional electoral power. For example, last year’s Janus vs. AFSCME decision overturned over four decades of precedent that public employees must pay fees to unions to cover the costs of collective bargaining.

Eduard Meleshinsky will discuss several key cases from the last two Supreme Court terms and potentially a few lower court decisions to illustrate the troubling jurisprudential trends developing in the federal courts, and will leave plenty of time to discuss the implications of these trends for the health of our democracy so please bring your questions, concerns, etc.

Eduard is a Senior Associate Attorney at B ryan Schwartz Law, an Oakland-based employment civil rights firm, and represents workers in class actions against private and public employers who have engaged in systematic wage theft and discrimination. Eduard also represents individual workers in asserting whistleblower retaliation, discrimination, and harassment claims. Eduard is an active member of the California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA), has co-authored amici briefs on behalf of CELA in cases pending at the California Supreme Court and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and regularly writes and discusses practical issues arising in employment law litigation.

SPONSOR: Green Sundays are a series of free programs and discussions sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County and are held on the 2nd Sunday of each month. Snacks are potluck. Vegetarian and vegan snacks are always welcome, but we appreciate whatever you can bring! The monthly business meeting of the County Council of the Green Party of Alameda County follows at 6:45 pm; council meetings are always open to anyone who is interested. Please visit our website: https://acgreens. wordpress.com

https://acgreens.wordpress.com/
Express your green ideas and “like” us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/greenpartyofalamedacounty/

AB 392 simply mandates that law enforcement must exhaust every possible alternative before they use deadly force.  This is common sense legislation that will save lives. Yet and still, some of our legislators at the State Capitol are hesitant – or flat out refusing – to vote for the bill.  The Law Enforcement Lobby is strong. But nothing is stronger than the power of the people! On Monday, May 13th – we are heading up to Sacramento to spend the day lobbying legislators.  Impacted families, advocates and organizers will gather at the capitol to demand that they #letuslive.

The California Act to Save Lives #AB392 will save lives and stop police from using deadly force when there are alternatives. So far, we have passed AB 392 out the first committee – now we must overcome the biggest hurdle yet, the Assembly Floor.  Let’s keep up the momentum at Lobby Day. Join us to make your voice heard at the Capitol on May 13!

To join us, REGISTER here https://forms.gle/Rv99wmMRNx7qnHQu8 by this Friday, May 10. We need everyone to register in order to sort you into Capitol lobby visits and you can also sign up for buses, car pools and gas cards here.

And here is our Facebook page, co-hosted with the Anti Police-Terror Project: https://www.facebook.com/events/1176274515877129/
For those in Sacramento or traveling on their own:

Lunch and ‘homebase’ at South Steps of Capitol (Intersection of 11th St. and N. St.)
Parking at Capitol:

–10th and L St., $20 / day

–14th St. — between H and I, $6 / day

–J and 11th St., ~$15 / day

If you can’t make it on Monday, call your legislators and let them know you support AB 392 and ask them not to #copout.

Assemblymember Rob Bonta
Assemblymember Buffy Wicks

A 6-week series to help us develop a deeper analysis and to call attention to the kinds of changes needed in the City’s budget and policies.

4/15 – Housing
4/22 – Economy
4/29 – Education
5/6 – Public Health
5/13 – Neighborhood Life
5/20 – Public Safety

The first week’s workshop on the Housing Indicators is the first of a 6-week series to help us develop a deeper analysis and to call attention to the kinds of changes needed in the City’s budget and policies.

Join us for this deeper dive into the Equity Indicators Report for the City of Oakland. Released last year, it clearly shows the effects of white supremacy on our community. Oakland posted a failing score of 33.5 out of a possible 100 across all indicators. This was the lowest score of all cities that participated in this national study.

Carroll Fife, the founder of Black Women & Elected Leadership, the Executive Director of Oakland ACCE, and one of the founding members of Community READY Corps, will join us as a guest speaker to provide some deeper analysis of the report’s findings and point us to actual solutions that will advance racial justice and equity in our housing market.

KPFA Radio 94.1 FM presents

Bhaskar Sunkara
The Socialist Manifesto: The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality

MONDAY, MAY 13, 7:30 PM
First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way, Berkeley
Hosted by: Sasha Lilley

advance tickets: $12: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4069692: T: 800-838-3006 or Pegasus Books (3 sites), Moe’s, Books Inc (Berkeley), Walden Pond Bookstore, East Bay Books, Mrs. Dalloway’s $15 door, benefits KPFA Radio 94.1FM info: kpfa.org/events

“Accessible, irreverent and entertaining. Bhaskar Sunkara has delivered a razor-sharp guide to socialism’s history, transformative promise, and path to power. This book also serves as an irresistible invitation to join in building that power, and in shaping the radically democratic future that is our best hope in these make-or-break times.”
– NAOMI KLEIN

The success of Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign revived a political idea many had thought dead. But what, exactly, is socialism? What would a socialist system in America look like?

In The Socialist Manifesto Bhaskar Sunkara explores socialism’s history since the mid-1800’s, and presents a realistic vision for the future. The editor of Jacobin magazine, Sunkara shows that socialism, though often seen primarily as an economic system, in fact offers the means to fight all forms of oppression, including racism and sexism. The ultimate goal is not Soviet-style planning, but to win rights to health care, education, and housing, and to create new democratic institutions in workplaces and communities. A primer on socialism for the twenty-first century, this book is for anyone seeking an end to the grotesque inequities of our age.

Bhaskar Sunkara is the founder and editor of Jacobin, which he launched in 2010. He has written for The New York Times, LeMonde, Vice, and The Washington Post.

$12 advance, $15 door.

More information: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4069692

KPFA Radio 94.1 FM presents

Advance tickets: $12: brownpapertickets.com :: T: 800-838-3006  or

Pegasus Books (3 sites),
Moe’s,
Books Inc (Berkeley),
Walden Pond Bookstore,
East Bay Books,
Mrs. Dalloway’s

“Accessible, irreverent and entertaining. Bhaskar Sunkara has delivered a razor-sharp guide to socialism’s history, transformative promise, and path to power. This book also serves as an irresistible invitation to join in building that power, and in shaping the radically democratic future that is our best hope in these make-or-break times.”

— NAOMI KLEIN

The success of Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign revived a political idea many had thought dead. But what, exactly, is socialism? What would a socialiist system in America look like?

In The Socialist Manifesto Bhaskar Sunkara explores socialism’s history since the mid-1800’s, and presents a realistic vision for the future. The editor of Jacobin magazine, Sunkara shows that socialism, though often seen primarily aks an economic system, in fact offers the means to fight all forms of oppression, including racism and sexism. The ultimate goal is not Soviet-style planning, but to win rights to health care, education, and housing, and to create new democratic institutions in workplaces and communities. A primer on socialism for the twenty-first century, this book is for anyone seeking an end to the grotesque inequities of our age.

Bhaskar Sunkara is the founder and editor of Jacobin, which he launched in 2010. He has written for The New York Times, LeMonde, Vice, and The Washington Post.

Sasha Lilley is the editor of Capital and Its Discontents: Conversations with Radical Thinkers in a Time of Tumult.She is also a contributor to the Turbulence Collective’s What Would it Mean to Win?, and a co-founder and host of the Pacifica Radio program Against the Grain.

KPFA benefit

Did you know that if a tenant lives in a duplex or triplex in Oakland & the owner or their relative moves into one of the units ALL of the tenants lose rent stabilization & protections from both harassment & landlords that refuse to make necessary repairs?

Do you think that the housing affordability crisis in Oakland is out of control and that all tenants in Oakland deserve strong protections against displacement, homelessness, and rent gouging?

Then come out and demand City Council close a loophole that already exempts ~3,000 units in Oakland from rent control and that threatens the future stability of thousands more.

Landlords have been turning out to protest this ordinance in mass and we have to show City Council that they must act to protect the diversity of our city.

Invite your friends! City Council especially needs to hear from tenants in 2-3 unit buildings AND from small property landlords who believe that strong renter protections keep Oakland thriving.

5/14 12:30pm Community & Economic Development Committee Sgt. Mark Dunakin Room – 1st Floor Oakland City Hall

Stay tuned and continue to mobilize for the second vote by the full City Council on the evening of 5/21

The SF Board of Supervisors will consider a Surveillance Equipment Regulation Ordinance, including a provision to ban all use of facial recognition technology by City/County agencies.

Passage of the ordinance would force the City to reveal all of its currently used surveillance equipment, and bring the request and purchase of new equipment and the use of new surveillance techniques before the Board of Supervisors for a hearing and approval (or denial) before it could be used.

a *MEMORIAL/VIGIL for all whom we know who have died in Berkeley in the last 12 months*.

Many Consider The Homeless Volunteers will remember *KK… died June 2018*, and *Michelle Larson, died October 22018*. Some may remember hearing about *Lisa Blowers*, found dead on Telegraph Ave with her wheelchair and her dog back in *May 2018*, about a week after her encampment was raided… About a month later, her partner *RICHARD* died. In the last month a woman was found dead in her tent, her name was *MELINDA*.

A few days ago we heard of *Eric Sibbald*’s death. He was one of thee resident’s of the old *9th St. Shelter*, and one that we interviewed while trying to save it. You can watch it here, https://www.facebook.com/ConsiderTheHomeless/videos/453801608448409/

Eric was lucky enough to get one of the few spaces that were available for the 9th St. Shelter’s residents. The reduced size was only capable of sheltering one-half of what they were able to do on 9th St. Last week, an ambulance was called to the new Vet Bldg Shelter, as Eric was having another heart attack. Eric died at the hospital.

Frank Bombo

Sadly, he was one of three residents we had met while on this campaign to *Save The Shelter* that have died since shelter moved to ½ capacity.

Last month we were informed that *Frank Bomba* died. We knew him as one of the un-housed workers at the shelter. When 9th St. Shelter closed, he lost the job there, and ended up back on the streets battling his personal demons. Sometime, in April of 2019, Frank lost that battle and died of an overdose.

Another guest at the old *9th St. Shelter* that we had the opportunity to meet and interview was *Mary Evans* and her husband, David. Both were sick, and in need of regular care.

Mary Evans

At the time, Mary was doing a series of kemo trearments and was worried about what they would do after the shelter closed. Both Mary and her husband were also lucky enough to get space to remain with the Dorothy Say House Shelter when it moved to the Vet Bldg. Not sure of the circumstances of Mary’s death, only that she crossed over in *February 2019*.

There has  been _NOTHING_ in the papers about these three friends and am sadly reminded that officially, there is NO count of how many un-housed die every year.

Join us tonight to ask Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney to #DefundOPD & support a #PeoplesBudget.

District 3 City Budget Forum w/ Councilmember McElhaney’s Office

Mayor Schaaf’s proposed budget underfunds crucial city services and efforts like affordable housing, public works, race & equity, and parks, recreation & youth – while policing consumes an ever-greater share of the city’s General Purpose Fund.

Join Ethics In Technology for our reception and comedy night in San Francisco on May 17th.

6 to 7 PM. Reception hosted by Ethics In Technology a new non-profit based in San Francisco.

Brett Wilkins, Independent Journalist and Board Member of Ethics In Technology will be presenting Bug Splat.

Bugsplat: Can Technology Really Make War Less Deadly for Civilians?

There is a school of thought that posits advances in technology will make war less deadly for innocent civilians. But is that really true? We’ll examine the notion that “smart,” “precision” and other technologies have made armed conflicts less dangerous for civilians by looking at case studies from decades of US wars in the Middle East and beyond.

We will be showing the Movie “Drone”- Directed by Tonje Hessen Schei and Produced by Interfaith Network on Drone Warfare

Bob Chandra has worked in high-tech since 1996; serving in Product Management roles for Twitter, Amazon, and Walmart Global E-Commerce. His talk is on the commercialization of military weapons including technologies such as Active Guardian (a pain beam used for crowd control) and LRAD (a long range acoustic weapon that produces ear splitting targeted sound). These weapons have made their way into private markets and can be purchased by anyone with sufficient finds, with very few state of federal regulations. The talk will delve into this new generation of Frequency Weapons, how they work, their potential for harm, instances of usage among civilians and what must be done to prevent putting the civilian population at risk from such weapons.

Our comedian for the evening is Will Durst- “Quite possibly the best political satirist working in the country today.” NY Times. The Boston Globe: “A modern day Will Rogers.”

San Francisco Examiner: “Heir apparent to Mort Sahl & Dick Gregory.”

Vahid Razavi is the host of previous NSA Comedy Shows and Big Tech Comedy Roast. Previously employed at Amazon and many tech firms in the Valley. Author of a new book Ethics In Tech and Lack Thereof. Copies of the book will be shared with the audience for a small donation.

All net proceeds to benefit Ethics In Technology a new 501 (c)3 organization.

ROAR is a free conference, focused on Revolutionary anti-racism, solidarity, and strategy, rooted in the legacy of anti-colonial, anti-fascist, anti-imperialist, feminist and queer movements and fighters who have come before us.

MISSION STATEMENT
Punks With Lunch is a non-profit organization run by volunteers dedicated to building community by providing life-saving services, along with harm reduction resources to underserved and marginalized individuals.

VISION STATEMENT
Our vision is to promote consistent access to basic living necessities and harm reduction services for those in need – with non-judgmental unconditional compassion. Our volunteers engage in direct community outreach while encouraging destigmatization of drug use and poverty. By connecting with our program participants, we empower and provide a safe space for individuals to make informed decisions regarding their own lives.

CALL TO ACTION
Contact us if you would like to be part of our ever-expanding team of volunteers. We fully endorse efforts to start your very own chapter in support of your surrounding community.

No outside beverages.