Calendar

Berkeley Copwatch would like to invite you to get involved in the movement to abolish policing, defend human rights, stand up for the rights of Black people, Indigenous people, Unhoused people, and all the marginalized members of our community. Since 1990, Berkeley Copwatch has taken a stand against police brutality, injustice, and the overreaching arm of authoritarian capitalism. Stand with us now and refuse to be abused! There are so many different ways to get involved in Copwatch (writing, art, activism, data entry), and no experience is necessary.

Meeting ID: 819 0627 1400

Passcode: assata

Let Us Know You’re Coming

Every day on Facebook, Donald Trump lies with impunity about the outcome of the 2020 elections. His posts, including recent ones claiming, “I won the election,” and calling the election fake, rigged, and a hoax, have been shared literally hundreds of thousands of times.

By providing a megaphone for these lies to be spread and amplified with minimal correction, Facebook and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, have undermined our social fabric for profit.

Please join us outside of Mark Zuckerberg’s house in San Francisco on Saturday to say we’ve had it.

Since Election Day, our rejected, soon-to-be ex-President and his enablers have been swamping Facebook with lies and conspiracy theories about his defeat in the election. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has only made half-hearted and anemic efforts to slow the onslaught.

Changes to Facebook’s algorithm could have been made long ago to stop it from amplifying posts that contain disinformation about both the election and coronavirus. Instead, these posts have generated billions of views – putting the public’s health and democratic rights at rissk. That’s why it’s high time San Francisco took his name off of our general hospital,”

Sponsored by Global Exchange, Media Alliance, Protest Facebook Coalition, CodePink Golden Gate, SumofUS, Diablo Rising Tide, Indivisible SF Peninsula and CA-14, Raging Grannies Action League, MediaJustice, Resistance SF, SF Green Party and others.

NOTE: During this event, we will wear masks, practice social distancing, and respect SF public health rules re COVID19..

Can’t come? You can help us and sign the petition: Demand Facebook and Twitter end the spread of dangerous election disinformation immediately.

“If Trump is the criminal, then Mitch McConnell is the get-away driver. With McConnell and Trump’s other enablers, it’s about lust for power and greed, but also fear of what the nation is becoming. We need a massive turnout in Georgia now to put McConnell in the backseat.”
-Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II

The #PoorPeoplesCampaign protest livestream returns on November 23 at 11:30 AM PT
(2:30 PM ET), with a special Moral Monday Car Caravan Protest on McConnell!
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SACRAMENTO CAR CARAVAN PROTEST

Monday, November 23rd. Email to join and receive exact time & directions

Join the California Poor People’s Campaign’s Car Caravan on November 23rd in Sacramento to demand an immediate and just stimulus package, and to support voter turnout in Georgia for the runoff senate election!

Inspired by the powerful Moral Monday Caravans organized by the Kentucky and Washington DC Poor People’s Campaign, states across the nation are taking the fight to their Senators’ offices with caravans and a massive call-in campaign to all US Senators demanding they stop McConnell’s Meanness, Misery and Mayhem now!

We need just and full policies at the state and federal levels that remembers the loss of our loved ones, our jobs, and our housing. In the richest country ever to exist we deserve more than crumbs, we need a stimulus package that ensures poor and low-income people survive the pandemic.

We are not of those who shrink back and we won’t be silent because everybody has
a right to live!

To participate please e-mail us to receive directions: california [at] poorpeoplescampaign.org

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SAFETY DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

NOTE: Mask & Social Distancing Required

If you have the following symptoms, please DO NOT participate in person. Even if you test negative for COVID-19 but have these symptoms, please refrain from in-person actions:
–Fever
–Shortness of breath
–Cough
–Headache
–Loss of smell or taste

CDC: Older adults and people who have severe underlying medical conditions like heart or lung disease or diabetes seem to be at higher risk for developing serious complications from COVID-19 illness.

CDC COVID-19 link: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html
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VIRTUAL PROTEST LIVESTREAM & DIGITAL ACTION

Monday, November 23 @ 11:30 AM – 1 PM PT

Poor People’s Campaign livestream here:

https://www.facebook.com/anewppc/
or
https://vote.poorpeoplescampaign.org/

Digital protest actions on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell here:

https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/moral-monday-mcconnell/

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CALL TO ACTION

Flood the phones of Majority Leader McConnell to demand a full and just relief package.
Call and demand passage of the HEROES Act now!

PPC special phone calling link (esp. for those outside of Kentucky):

https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/moral-monday-mcconnell

The system will call your phone and patch you through.

PLEASE HAVE YOUR PHONE READY.

OR

317 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510

ph: (202) 224-2541

fax*: (202) 224-2499

general switch board: (202) 224-3121

*Anyone can send a faxed letter from any state. No need to be in Kentucky.

ALSO CALL OR EMAIL YOUR SENATORS & REP:

Tell your senators you support them to keep fighting for the HEROES Act which remains stuck on McConnell’s desk, and that you protest McConnell’s Meanness, Misery and Mayhem!

Senator Kamala Harris: https://www.harris.senate.gov/contact

Senator Dianne Feinstein: https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact

Find your Congress House member here: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative
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WHY: COVID Pandemic Relief is Needed Now!

The HEROES Act was passed by the House of Representatives back in May, but Majority Leader McConnell has not allowed the bill to be taken up by the Senate.

The HEROES Act would grant a second round of $1200 stimulus checks including to noncitizens/immigrants who file yearly income taxes, extends the $600 weekly unemployment enhancement benefit through January 2021, has an eviction moratorium & emergency rent payment assistance, and allocates funds for safe, secure voting during COVID as well as US Postal Service funds.

Then, the House passed the separate Delivering for America Act to at least protect and fully fund the USPS in time for the November election. That legislation was completely stalled by McConnell, as well.

Instead, McConnell and GOP Senators back the Senate HEALS Act which does not extend the federal moratorium on evictions, has inadequate housing relief, would cut the unemployment enhancement down to $200, allocates enormous sums for the military, and has ZERO provisions for safe voting or the US Postal service.

Under Mitch McConnell’s leadership, Senate Republicans have proposed a bill that will leave citizens and states with fewer protections and funds. However, no second stimulus relief package has been passed so far.

We’re excited to announce Community Dialogs, a public education program offering events on topics related to mass incarceration and higher education. Events will feature guest speakers including students, our local community, and national experts; film and book discussion groups featuring Mount Tamalpais College faculty; and online workshops free of charge.

The first event is scheduled for Tuesday, December 1, 6:30pm-7:45pm, and will feature the premiere screening of With This Knowledge, a short documentary series following two former students on their reentry journey. Film subjects Sumit Lal and Sajad Shakoor, and filmmaker R.J. Lozada will discuss the film, facilitated by Aly Tamboura. Please RSVP for this free virtual event here.

We hope to see you there!

With warm regards,
Mount Tamalpais College

RSVP Here

Berkeley Copwatch:

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO FILM
An introduction to your constitutional rights as they pertain to filming the police.

The training will cover:
I.    Introduction and Principles of Copwatching
II.   Legal Rights and how they play into filming the police
III.  Three Types of Stops, Violations, and Police Misconduct
IV.  Copwatching Techniques
V.   How to Film
VI.  How Can You Fight Back

Sliding scale donations start at $0
SIGN UP & GET ZOOM LINK
DONATE

In the face of multiple crises – COVID-19, massive unemployment, climate chaos, systemic racism – DSA chapters around the country are rising up with #FightForOurLives. The Biden administration will pursue austerity unless we unite and pressure them to help the multi-racial working class instead.

Join us on December 12 as we raise 5 key demands for federal action:

✔️ A Federal Jobs Guarantee Act
✔️ The Health Care Emergency Guarantee Act
✔️ The Protect the Right to Organize Act
✔️ The #ClimatePresident Action Plan
✔️ Stop the Wars at Home and Abroad

We’ll convene at the Oakland Federal Building (1301 Clay St.) starting at noon to rally for the programs we urgently need and deserve. We will wear masks and practice physical distancing.

Bring banners, picket signs, noisemakers, musical instruments, and high spirits, because now’s the time to #FightForOurLives!

California passed the Racial Justice Act…now what? Join the community teach-in on Tuesday, Dec. 15th to learn more about this new law and how we can use it to fight racism in the court system! To register: https://t.co/8Eg5QQxcBM pic.twitter.com/QZ1h65ZOMF

— Ella Baker Center (@ellabakercenter) December 9, 2020

Do you want to learn effective techniques to intervene in an unjust world?
Do you want to plan effective and powerful direct actions?

East Bay DSA’s Direct Action Working Group is excited to continue our Direct Action Training series this weekend! The training will take place on Zoom from 10 am-12 pm on Saturday and Sunday. Attending both days is highly recommended. This training will cover the same ground as the previous Direct Action training which was very well received.

As racist violence, unemployment, evictions, and climate chaos keep increasing, we need to expand our capacity to leverage our collective power. This training series will introduce creative ways to escalate ongoing campaigns, participate in mass uprisings, and keep each other safe in our confrontations with capital and the state.

The training is 4 hours spread across two days. Please attend both days.

Direct Action Part 1: Sat Dec 19 (10 am-noon)
•History and examples of Direct Action
•Action Team roles, action design
•De-Escalation
•Affinity Groups & Decision-Making
•The Police

Direct Action Part 2: Sun Dec 20 (10amnoon)
•Gear/equipment
•Messaging
•Security Culture
•Basic First Aid

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEqdeqhqjkuEt0GhjejXGHpkw-AyFwtvcnf

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Do you want to learn effective techniques to intervene in an unjust world?
Do you want to plan effective and powerful direct actions?

East Bay DSA’s Direct Action Working Group is excited to continue our Direct Action Training series this weekend! The training will take place on Zoom from 10 am-12 pm on Saturday and Sunday. Attending both days is highly recommended. This training will cover the same ground as the previous Direct Action training which was very well received.

As racist violence, unemployment, evictions, and climate chaos keep increasing, we need to expand our capacity to leverage our collective power. This training series will introduce creative ways to escalate ongoing campaigns, participate in mass uprisings, and keep each other safe in our confrontations with capital and the state.

The training is 4 hours spread across two days. Please attend both days.

Direct Action Part 1: Sat Dec 19 (10 am-noon)
•History and examples of Direct Action
•Action Team roles, action design
•De-Escalation
•Affinity Groups & Decision-Making
•The Police

Direct Action Part 2: Sun Dec 20 (10amnoon)
•Gear/equipment
•Messaging
•Security Culture
•Basic First Aid

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEqdeqhqjkuEt0GhjejXGHpkw-AyFwtvcnf

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

#oakland Join us next Monday (12/21) at 4pm in Temescal Creek Park as we rally to oppose the city’s new Encampment Management Policy.This policy empowers cops to harass people with no where to go and provides no new pathways off the street!#oaklandprotest pic.twitter.com/YY5pajPJya

— the United Front Against Displacement (@TheUfad) December 14, 2020

Free Julian Assange NOW! Drop The Charges Against Assange & Snowden

Now is the time to stand up for the freedom of journalist Julian Assange and whistleblower Edward Snowden. The trial decision will be read at the UK court hearing on January 1, 2020 at 12 noon and we will be rallying in San Francisco at the British consulate to demand that he be immediately freed.

He is a journalist who is in jail for exposing the crimes of US, British imperialism and the multi-nationals that run the world. WikiLeaks has taken the mask off the real criminals and terrorists running the US government.

We demand that all charges be dropped against him and Edward Snowden who is also faced with being arrested for being a whistleblower against the crimes of the US war machine.

This action was initiated by
The Bay Action Committee To Free Julian Assange.
It is endorsed by
United Front Committee For A Labor Party.
To endorse or speak contact
info(at)BayAction2FreeAssange.org

This space is to support the difficult emotional work of dismantling white supremacy within ourselves and our communities in order to fortify our hearts, minds, and bodies to continue to show up for racial justice.

We will provide opportunities to explore internal barriers that are holding us back from living out our desire to work for racial justice and practice how to deeply listen to each other to create a culture that supports calling people into the movement from a place of love.

We utilize large group and small group dialogues that are grounded in theories of social change and anti-racist white identity development. We see this space as open to any white person who is interested in honest conversation, reflection, and confrontation with race, racism, and white privilege. This space is intended to be a support to help people to build resilience in order to move into a more active role in dismantling white supremacy.

This session, part of our series exploring Calling In VS. Calling Out, focuses on the difference between calling in and calling out; what calling in looks like; and when and why to use this skill.

More info and register here: https://www.surjbayarea.org/events/saturday-dialogues-creating-a-call-in-culture9918536

Part II on January 23rd Facebook Event page

UFCLP Statement on the Storming of the Congress: Don’t be Shocked, Organize! Workers’ United Front against Fascism!

https://foramasslaborparty.wordpress.com/2021/01/06/ufclp-statement-on-the-storming-of-the-congress-dont-be-shocked-organize-workers-united-front-against-fascism/?fbclid=IwAR0CwekQPkusgb_otfOVoKNbf3ucUgCc4y3pSTynN_Ucj47h6lWwIDmR_fA

Fascists marching with a Dixie flag into the Capitol, Washington DC
Fascist Trump supporters demanded that Trump be declared president again, even though he lost the popular vote. An all-white regiment of men armed to their teeth marched into DC and stormed Congress to stage an outright coup. The photos taken from the scene of the crime speak volumes. The aggressors meant business; they were carrying automatic guns, ropes and handcuffs to take hostages, and Dixie flags with “Trump is President” inscriptions. There are also photos of the police opening the gate and encircling the gunmen to protect them against… arrests by other policemen!

Within a few hours of the siege on Congress, right-wing paramilitary gangs in other states such as Oregon and Kansas took it to the streets. There is no way that the FBI and other security agencies were oblivious to plans of violence by the Facists on a mass scale. They allowed it to happen nonetheless. There is no question that Black Lives Matter protesters, leftists, workers, or people of color organizations would have been shot dead for much less havoc! Events in both DC and around the country point to a synchronized, tightly-knit organization by the fascists, in tandem with the police.

None of this should be a surprise to anyone. The pandemic combined with Trump’s racist rhetoric and policies has untethered the vile racism that has existed in this country since its inception. The US is based on both the genocide of the indigenous population and upon slavery. Capitalist politics has pit one ethnic group against the other for years, driving down the wages of all workers. US imperialism has uprooted workers internationally, especially from Latin America, and forced them to migrate to the states. This has added fuel to the fire for these racist thugs. Trump speaks hatefully about the oppressed while his actions continue to widen racial divisions within the working class. These tensions can only result in racist violence. We should not have been surprised. In fact many of us, especially revolutionaries, have predicted this for years.

For the last few months, the UFCLP has warned against the violence unleashed both by the police and by the paramilitary gangs against protesters who demand justice for the victims of police terror. We called attention to the increasingly organized nature of the so-called “counter-protests” called for by white supremacists. We demanded that the Left and the organized working class form United Fronts and Public Safety Committees. When the Republicans seemed to be retreating in the face of the slim Democrat victory, we pointed out that this concession was a tactic to buy time and whip up support. Our warnings didn’t come out of the blue but from careful observation of Trump’s tactics and actions. Throughout the summer, Trump did everything in his power to put down the anti-racist popular revolt and steal the election. He deposed the Commander of the Armed Forces when the latter refused to deploy troops against the people in revolt. Trump’s threats to overturn the election and stay in power no matter what the results dictated were commonplace. Today, we are witnessing their culmination! This is not the ordinary racist “mob” that this country is unfortunately used to. This is an organized fascist attack.

The trade union leadership has been missing in action, allowing the capitalist politicians, both Democrat and Republican, to follow the lead of their bosses, permitting Trump to become leader of the “free” world. Trump did not just appear from thin air. The ground has been laid for him for more than four decades. By the 1970s working class people began to take a hit: outsourcing became the lynchpin of capitalist development, privatization of public services held sway, and many workers were barely able to hold on to their jobs. At the same time, the Southern Strategy was employed, pitting white working class people against workers of color. The union leadership took no stand against the cuts. In fact, when air traffic controllers went on strike in 1981, the workers were left high and dry by the bureaucrats who refused to call for a general strike to support them. Capitulations like this eventually threw white workers into the clutches of a demagogue like Trump. Nonetheless, the trade union so-called leaders have been supporting Democrats who have time and again demonstrated that are as anti-worker as the Republicans. We are still asked to put our faith in the police who are the same goons that shoot Black people daily. The chickens are now coming home to roost! THIS OUTBURST WAS INEVITABLE!

We shouldn’t harbor any illusions that the Democrats will come to our rescue, for they are unwilling to fight even for their democratically won election. Today’s events proved irrefutably that relying on the forces of “law and order” to uphold their own rules is a deadly mistake. In fact, the mayor of Portland has now said he is gunning for Antifa instead of the Proud Boys who created the crisis in Portland in the first place. Ted Wheeler, a Democrat, went on national TV to announce that he will no longer tolerate dissent and therefore will be going after Antifa. One can expect this kind of rhetoric more and more from public figures. We have seen this all before. Capitalism has already plunged the world into two world wars and countless others killing untold millions. The capitalists and their politician servants are criminals against humanity.

This kind of carnage will continue if we let it, impacting people of color the worst. This country is in deep crisis because capitalism is gasping for breath in its death throes. Unless there is a working class movement to cohere a coordinated challenge against this capitalist assault, repression against people who are fighting for their legitimate rights will go on. The police will come down harder on people of color for any perceived transgressions.

We need to build a political party based on working class self-activity, and eventually, we need a society that is built and controlled by workers. The only way we will survive the devastation of wars foisted on working class people globally is to change society from one based on profits to one based on human cooperation.That means building a socialist society. As a first step, we need to form a labor party independent of capitalist politicians that will guide the working class to fight for their rights and the rights of all oppressed people.

This incident at the Capitol will be the first of many. We have to decide as workers how to stand tall and firm against fascists to defend and expand our democratic conquests, and how we can eventually rid the world of capitalism.

Forward for Workers’ United Front against Fascism! Forward for a Workers’ Party! Down with the Fascists! General Strike to defend and expand our democratic conquests! Millions of fellow workers, to the streets on the 20th!

United Front Committee for Labor Party, UFCLP

January 6th, 2021

committeeforlaborparty(at)gmail.com

Are you feeling angry by the continued killings of Black people by the police and vigilantes and want to do something about it? Come learn about SURJ Bay Area at a virtual introductory meeting and find out how SURJ moves white people to act for justice, with passion and accountability, as part of a multi-racial majority.
​
Hear about our current work and activities including SURJ’s pathways for engaging in the work such as Study & Action, committee work, upcoming workshops, and events. We’ll answer your questions and share how you can get involved in the movement for racial justice. ​

Green Eco-Socialist Network – 3 part series with David Cobb, Meleiza Figueroa, David Bond, Chey Bell!

Join us for a deep dive into Eco-Socialism, and learn how the capitalist status quo deprives us of our human rights and aspirations. The first presentation in this 3-part series is an introduction to Eco-Socialism vs. Capitalism including a discussion of what Eco-Socialism may mean to you.
The world we need and deserve is not only possible, it is an imperative. We and our children will not survive the status quo.

Event is FREE – advance registration required: https://rebrand.ly/GreenEcoSocialism.

Here’s the Facebook event page.

Event opens with Comedian Chey Bell !

The two following presentations in the series will build on the first event and will be held on Feb. 20th and April 10th, 2021. Presentations will focus on Eco-Socialist platforms and programs and institutions being built around the country to shift away from capitalist systems and into a just, sustainable future.

2020 showed us how corporate America tripled their riches while we scrambled to feed our families and keep a roof over our heads. It’s time to break up big corporations! The Green Party platform and our Green New Deal seek to build an alternative economic system based on ecology and decentralization of power. We believe private ownership of production and state ownership of production are not ecologically sound, socially just, or democratic and that both contain built-in structures that advance injustices. We seek democratic decision making in communities and workplaces in balance with nature. This decentralized system is knows as co-ops, communalism, or ecological socialism (eco-socialism).

Please join the Ecosocialist Network for this kick ass kick off with California Greens: Cooperation Humboldt co-founder David Cobb, 2016 press director for Stein/Baraka presidential campaign & UC Berkeley PhD candidate Meleiza Figueroa, and David Bond of Los Angeles who was Kenneth Mejia’s campaign manager.  Cobb is an attorney who was the 2004 Green Party candidate for U.S. President.
This is sure to be a riveting panel, with kick ass comedy, to boot, to kick off the series!

Fascism and racism are on the rise! Covid-19 is claiming lives! Poverty, unemployment and homelessness are suffocating the working class! Biden is not going to save us with his neoliberal agenda and suppressive policies!

Join us in this rally to raise workers’ own united, independent voice against racism, fascism, poverty and the virus!

Make sure to bring your masks and keep socially distant.