Calendar
WE DID IT! AFTER 14 MONTHS OF WORK, THE ZONING OVERLAY ORDINANCE PASSED ON SEPTEMBER 30th. It will take effect on October 30th.
Read more about our victory here.
Nonetheless the Postal Service still has the Berkeley Post Office up for sale!!
And the Postal Service outsourced Post Office services to Staples, replacing union jobs with low-paying, low benefit work.
We’re still fighting against both!
Come help us plan our next steps.
On July 29th, at our invite, Ralph Nader spoke on the steps of the Berkeley Post Office against privatization and corporatism. Watch and listen to his talk here.
We began the “Don’t Shop at Staples” campaign with some awesome… what else? … postcards to send to Staples management! Here’s the front of the postcard. The campaign has been adopted by a large number of national and local unions, including teachers’ unions and the AFL-CIO.
For almost four months the Berkeley Staples has been ‘occupied’ 24/7 by an intrepid band of San Francisco occupiers with solidarity and support from BPOD members distributing literature and convincing people not to shop at Staples. They’re still there! Come hang out with them outside Staples at Durant & Shattuck.
We have joined with other activists in Berkeley to put a ballot initiative, Measure R, on the ballot to cement the rezoning of the Berkeley Post Office and other areas in the Historic District to prevent privatization, and also to insure a better Downtown Berkeley. (The City Council could undo what they just wrought at any time; a ballot initiative become law can only be undone by another vote of the people).
Come help us plan our next steps.
BPOD is an offshoot of Strike Debt Bay Area, which itself is an offshoot of Occupy Oakland and a chapter of the national Strike Debt movement, which is an offshoot of Occupy Wall Street.
Pt. 2 (of 3) of Jasper Bernes’ seminar “Value, Capitalism, Communism”‘ will investigate the question of what value is in capitalism, and what types of non-capitalist societies would either preserve or abolish it. We will engage with the most speculative of communist and anarchist writings — those that begin to imagine modes and mediums of social coordination and reproduction beyond capitalism.
Some texts we might read:
Marx, Critique of the Gotha Program Grundrisse, selections on critique of Proudhonian labor money Dauve, Eclipse and Re-emergence (new introduction addresses this directly) Spufford, Red Plenty GIK, Fundamental Principles of Communist Production and Distribution (council communist program, critiqued by Dauve) Kropotkin, Conquest of Bread
Sponsored by the Bay Area Public School
Occupy Forum F I E L D T R I P
VANDANA SHIVA
The Rights of Mother Earth
Vandana Shiva is an internationally esteemed Indian environmental and anti-globalization activist. Trained as a physicist, she received an Integrated M.Sc.Honours Degree in Particle Physics from the University of Punjab prior to earning a PhD in the Philosophy of Science at the University of Western Ontario. In 1987 she founded the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology, which led to the creation of Navdanya, a national movement to protect the diversity and integrity of living resources, especially native seed, and the promotion of organic farming and fair trade. For the past two decades Navdanya has worked with local communities and organizations.
Vandana Shiva has steadily fought for change in the practice and paradigms of agriculture and food, intellectual property rights, biodiversity, biotechnology, bioethics, genetic engineering, all fields in which she has contributed both intellectually and through grassroots campaigns.
Join KPFA and Global Exchange for an evening with renowned environmental activist and anti-globalization author, Dr. Vandana Shiva.
Shiva will speak on the Rights of Nature – a global movement working to establish legal standing for the environment in law. From promoting food sovereignty in India, to challenging global corporations destroying local economies, to authoring more than 20 advocacy books, Dr. Shiva consistently speaks on the critical issues of our time, with a vision for a better future.
OccupyForum has tickets for Occupy @ $12.00 each:
contact andy g.:� candymansf@yahoo.com
Hosted by Carleen Pickard of Global Exchange
$15 advance tickets
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/864925
brownpapertickets.com :: 800-838-3006
or Pegasus (3 sites) Moe’s, Walden Pond, Diesel a Bookstore, Mrs. Dalloway’s Books
SF: Modern Times, $20 door Benefits KPFA, GX & Navdanya
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON RIGHTS OF NATURE:
http://therightsofnature.org/rights-of-nature-tribunal/
http://therightsofnature.org/rights-of-nature-tribunal/
http://therightsofnature.org/2014-ron-conference/
Tenants Rights Tuesday is here again in Oakland. Come to City Hall at 5:00pm, Tuesday, 10/21, for a rally and to help push through the Tenant Protection Ordinance at its first hearing in front of the full council!
The Gritty, Moral Solution to the Housing Crisis with David Giesen
Part of Sustainable Economies Legal Center’s “Rethinking Home” Teach-in Series
Fixing the housing crunch isn’t easy, but there is a permaculture solution. Dave Giesen, economist and playwright, makes the case for socializing the rent of land in a hands-on, interactive seminar that identifies the value of what real estate agents mean by “location, location, location” as the lynch-pin in a holistic, sustainable economy.
We’ll also welcome Ben Grieff, Campaign Director for Evolve Prop 13, to discuss the California Prop 13 reform campaign as an example of Geogist social philosophy in practice.
Join us for this lively, provocative, and practical conversation, asking: “Is there one good reason one human being should pay another for merely occupying land itself?”
19th Annual Nation Day to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation.
Press Conference & Rally 1:00 PM.
March beginning 2:00 – 2:30 PM.
A video from the Alan Blueford Center for Justice regarding October 22nd.
– Consistently use our hashtags #Oct22 and #o22 in all tweets
-Trending hashtags, that are also important to add to our tweets as much as possible are: #Ferguson #FergusonOctober #BlackLivesMatter #AllLivesMatter
-Follow, tweet at, and retweet things from Carl Dix (@Carl_Dix), SMIN (@StopMassIncNet), and NYCRevClub (@NYCRevClub)
songs They drone you you can watch tv david nadel they shoot us down w o shame occupy song marytrs of new Orleans more on youtube.com/orionorion99 on uploads and playlists
More than a conference
LNE Oakland is designed to be different from any event you’ve attended before. Drawing inspiration from hackathons, conferences, networking events, festivals, and jams, the result is a unique event that has components of each. More than a conference, this is a convergence.
We have an exciting lineup of speakers, but you’ll do more than listen to talks. You’ll meet and collaborate with other participants and launch project ideas. You’ll learn about New Economy initiatives here in the Bay Area, and draw connections between them while connecting with each other.
Be part of the first of an annual event that will introduce you to new ideas and new people, and leave you inspired to co-create a new economic reality in the Bay Area and beyond.
Meeting of the City of Oakland’s “Privacy and Data Retention Ad Hoc Advisory Committee” – open to the public.
When:
2nd & 4th Thursdays
6:00pm – 8:00pm
Where:
Council Chambers
Oakland City Hall
14th & Broadway
Read the announcement from the City of Oakland City Administrator’s Weekly Report (April 25, 2014):
This committee was created by City Council action during the discussions earlier in the year about the Port Domain Awareness Center (DAC). The goal of the DAC is to improve readiness to prevent, respond to and recover from major emergencies in the Oakland region and ensure better multi-agency coordination across the larger San Francisco Bay Area. The goal of the Privacy and Data Retention Policy is to ensure there are safeguards to protect against potential misuse of the data or violations of individuals’ privacy rights and civil liberties. The meeting is open to the public. For questions about the Ad Hoc Committee, please contact Joe DeVries, Assistant to the City
We need to show up to these meetings and pressure the City to adopt a privacy policy that makes privacy a priority, not only “security” or administrative convenience.
Join Strike Debt Bay Area at the Living the New Economy Conference’s social / party, where we’ll have a table, discuss debt and the new economy, and our radio team, Mike and Cassie, will be live on-stage performing one of the Strike Debt Radio segments.
An organizer of the Ferguson project: a Canfield Watchmen named David Whitt will be here and able to report from ground zero. Jacob Crawford from WeCopwatch went out and helped train and raise funds to help them buy over 100 video cameras already.
It is gonna be powerful footage and conversation.
Join Ferguson MO Copwatcher David Whitt, Berkeley Copwatch, and Jacob Crawford of WeCopwatch for a report back on the recent Police attacks in Ferguson, as well as the formation of The Canfield Watchmen, a newly formed Copwatch group in the neighborhood where Mike Brown was killed.
Event includes video presentations of The State of Emergency, as well as Canfield Copwatch efforts.
This presentation is for the people so no on turned away, but consider donating to help build and sustain our stipend for Copwatch efforts in Ferguson.
WeCopwatch T-shirts are also available for donations
These Streets Are Watching (Copwatch DVD)
Speakers include
David Whitt – The Canfield Watcmen
Jacob Crawford – WeCopwatch
Andrea Pritchett – Berkeley Copwatch (two people)
Alex Salazar – Former LAPD Cop turned whistleblower
Members of SF Mission Copwatch and people doing Copwatch projects in Oakland
The Internets Own Boy Written and Directed by Brian Knappenberger, 2014 105 min, (Documentary, Biography, Crime ) Hackers Directed by Iain Softley, 1995 107 min, (Action, Comedy, Crime)
Film Nights are held in the basement of Omni and start at 7pm; the theater dims no later than 7:15, so don’t be late!
BYO; Drinks, snacks, pillows, cushions, beanbags, etc.
Come help us mobilize!
See this article for detailed information and background links on the sale.
The event will coincide with the earlier Helping Hearts 2 Heal event sponsored by the Alan Blueford Foundation Participants will proceed to ESAA for our From Ferguson, Florida, Georgia, Chicago to Oakland event. There they will be joined by other mothers and family members of slain youth, including the family Kendrick Johnson-Georgia, the family of Joseph Andrews-Tampa Florida, the family of Emmett Till-Chicago, the family of Marlon Brown-Deland Florida, the family of Jordan Davis-Jacksonville Florida, and families from California – Alan Blueford, Kenneth Harding, Ernest Duenez, James Rivera, Dinyl New, Mario Romero, and many others.
The program:
1. Introduction and Libation
2. Performance and presentation (Prosperity Movement)
3. ABPsi presentation
4. Report back from Ferguson (Ferguson youth)
5. Recognition of families from out of state
6. Families speak
Joining Us Elaine Brown, Only female chairman of BBP
Ferguson Youth from the front line
Also joining us Tef Poe of Ferguson
Hip Hop artist and activist from an area just outside of Ferguson, Missouri. Tef Poe has been organizing in Ferguson since the beginning of protests and is partly responsible for bringing the incidents to national attention via social media. Tef Poe has written for Time Magazine and was recently honored by The National Association of Black Journalists for his work in documenting the events in Ferguson.
This is a Love Not Blood Campaign sponsored Event
UPDATE 10/25/14 10:00 PM. Press release:
Our community power is disrupting Israeli business as usual. Our strength is challenging US-Israeli repression
The Israeli Zim ship is on the run, but we are closely tracking the ship. And based on our calculations, the Zim Beijing cannot make it this weekend, but it could change course and arrive this week. Let’s show Zim what they can expect if they try to come back. Let’s show the world that the Bay Area says no to Zionism.
3pm
Meet at West Oakland Bart and march to Port of Oakland
We are calling on all to join us on Sunday and take a stand to stop the US and Israeli relationship, their wars, militarization and repression by disrupting international commerce. Lets make sure Zim knows it will be met with the strength of our sustained movement should it attempt to come this week. As we mobilize at the Port, Block the Boat protests are being planned all over North America with solidarity actions taking place in New York, Long Beach, Tacoma and Vancouver. ALL OUT on Sunday to show our strength and to remind Zim that Israeli business is not welcome on the West coast! Please spread the word.
UPDATE 10/24/14 9:30 PM:
Zim is on the run, but we are tracking the ship closely!
Based on our calculations, the Zim Beijing cannot make it this weekend, but it could change course and arrive this week. Let’s show Zim what they can expect if they try to come back. Meet at West Oakland BART at 3pm SUNDAY to march and rally at the Port of Oakland. It is important we are ALL OUT on Sunday to show our strength and to remind Zim that Israeli cargo is not welcome on the West coast!
———————————-
The Block the Boat Coalition calls on the SF Bay Area to join us as we stop ZIM at the Port of Oakland once again.
Stay tuned for updates!
Subscribe to text-alerts by texting “join” to (510) 346-5951
Follow us on twitter @BlockTheBoat
To get involved, contact info@araborganizing.org
Facebook event & RSVP.
================
August 2014
Longest Blockade of Israeli Ship in History
ZIM ship turned away from SSA in Oakland!
For four days straight the San Francisco Bay Area community blocked the Israeli ZIM ship from unloading at the SSA. And today, we salute the rank and file workers of ILWU local 10 for standing with us against Israeli Apartheid by honoring our pickets and letting the ship go from the SSA terminal yesterday afternoon!
Saturday we mobilized thousands of our community to show the world that Oakland does not welcome racism, apartheid or Zionism, from Ferguson to Palestine. We flooded the streets and marched towards the Port only to discover that the ZIM ship decided to stay at Sea rather than dock and be confronted by the power of our numbers. The ship attempted to dock and unload on Sunday, but within a half hour’s time hundreds of us organized community pickets requesting that workers to stand with us on the side of justice and not unload the Apartheid ship. And as ILWU rank and file always have, and as they did during South African Apartheid, they demonstrated their solidarity with the global fight against oppression and honored our picket. The following Monday and Tuesday saw both an organized call to action as well as autonomous protests determined to keep the ship from being unloaded. These efforts coupled with worker solidarity continued the success of the weekend’s total blockade of the ZIM ship.
Tuesday we declared a historic victory for Palestine as Oakland held down the longest blockade of an Israeli ship. Not only did we block the boat, but we also showed the world that racist exclusionary state of Apartheid Israel has no place on our port, and will soon find that it has no place on any port on the West Coast. After being blocked from unloading at the SSA Terminal, the ZIM ship was forced to leave and unload at another Terminal where it was met with protests by autonomous activists. This even further delayed the unloading of the ship.
From the use of tear gas to the training of police by Israeli military, Oakland feels firsthand the brutality of Israeli war-making. And Palestine knows too well the role the US plays in facilitating the ongoing ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Palestinian people. From the policing and militarization of our local communities perfected with Israeli tactics of repression to the billions that the US provides Apartheid Israel, the connections are clear and are made for us. And over the last four days we showed the world that we stand shoulder to shoulder from Palestine to Oakland to Ferguson as we struggle bring down every wall, every Apartheid system and every racist state.
Palestine will be free.
Block the Boat was organized by a coalition of autonomous activists and the following organizations:
AF3IRM
Al-Awda New York
All African People’s Revolutionary Party (AAPRP)
American Friends Service Committee
American Muslims for Palestine
ANSWER Coalition
APEN: Asian Pacific Environmental Network
Arab Youth Organizing (AYO)
AROC: Arab Resource & Organizing Center
ASATA: Alliance of South Asians Taking Action
Bay Area Women in Black
BAYAN-USA
Bay Area CodePink
Bay Area Latin America Solidarity Coalition
Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Social Justice Committee
Black Organizing Project (BOP)
Black Organizing Leadership and Dignity (BOLD)
Black Workers For Justice
Catalyst Project
CodePink Washington
Committee for Open Discussion of Zionism (CODZ)
Communist Party of San Francisco
Critical Resistance – LA
Critical Resistance – Oakland
Critical Resistance – Portland
Descoloniza a Oakland/Decolonize Oakland
Free Palestine Movement
Freedom Archives
Friends of Deir Ibzi’a
Fuerza Mundial/Pueblos en Movimiento
General Union of Palestine Students – SFSU
Global Women’s Strike
Gray Panthers of San Francisco
Green Party of Alameda County
Haiti Action Committee
International Action Center
International Jewish Anti Zionist Network
International Solidarity Movement – West Bank/Gaza
International Socialist Organization
International Tribunal of Conscience for Camilo
ISM-Nor Cal
IWW Bay Area Branch
Jewish Against Genocide
Jews for Palestinian Right of Return
Justice for Palestinians
La Voz de l@s trabajadores/Worker’s Voice
Labor for Palestine
Lake Merritt Neighbors Organized for Peace
Malcolm X Grassroots Movement
Marcha Patriotica (Colombia) – California chapter
Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA)
Movement Generation
National Lawyers Guild SFBA Chapter
Noam Chomsky
NorCal Friends of Sabeel
Occupy SF Action Council
ONYX Organizing Committee
The Palestine-Israel Action Committee
Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions
Palestinian Youth Movement
Queers Undermining Israeli Terror
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
San Francisco Green Party
School of the Americas Watch East Bay
Socialist Alternative – Bay Area Branch
Socialist Organizer
SOUL: School of Unity and Liberation
Southern Anti-Racism Network
Stanford Students for Justice
Stop the War Machine
Students for Justice in Palestine – Cal
Totally Radical Muslims
UAW Local 2865 (Academic Student Workers at the University of California)
US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation
US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott
US Palestinian Community Network
Veterans For Peace Chapter 69
World Can’t Wait Bay Area
Workers World Party
Xicana Moratorium
Is Diablo our Fukushima?
DEMONSTRATE ON MORNING OF TRIAL
THE STAKES?
OPEN ACCESS FOR ALL vs SUCCESS FOR A FEW!
Join us At the long awaited trial in the lawsuit of SF City Atty Dennis Herrera vs the ACCJC.
Join us On the street to demonstrate against the ACCJC and its corporate allies who are trying to downsize and change the mission of California Community Colleges.
Join us In the courtroom to let Judge Curtis Karnow know that San Francisco supports CCSF!
Please sign up for shifts at AFT 2121 website: www.aft2121.org/justice
Demonstration on Monday, Oct 27th, 7:30 am – 9:00 am
Court sessions start at 9:00 am daily
Read highlights of the long legal fight
.
THE POSTAL SERVICE HAS
THE BERKELEY POST OFFICE
“UNDER CONTRACT.” !!!!!!!!!!!
Come help us plan our next steps in opposition to their proposed theft of our public commons.
Obtain more information of the status of the sale here.
Also CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE. and the Save the Berkeley Post Office website for updates.
BPOD is an offshoot of Strike Debt Bay Area, which itself is an offshoot of Occupy Oakland and a chapter of the national Strike Debt movement, which is an offshoot of Occupy Wall Street.
Information, discussion & community! Monday Night Forum!!
Occupy Forum is an opportunity for open and respectful dialogue
on all sides of these critically important issues!
Occupy Forum presents
CRISIS HEAD-ON:
Prop G and CARES Campaigns
Attack Roots of San Francisco’s Housing Woes
Most of us have heard the grim statistics: Ellis Act evictions up 170% in the last three years; 10,000 San Francisco tenants have been displaced by the Ellis Act since 1997, and most of us know many people who’ve been evicted, often long time residents, and with low incomes so they can’t afford to stay in SF and must leave their community behind. And we also know how the tech boom has brought a wave of young, single people with high salaries to the city which has resulted in huge hikes in rents and house prices making housing unaffordable to people with low or even average incomes.
And while the tech companies take in astronomical profits every month, they aren’t the only ones raking in the dough. Real Estate companies and speculators have been making a killing with their investments in housing, often seeing at least a 25% return on their investment in a year. Much of the current crisis has been fueled by these large speculators who don’t live in the city, don’t intend to live in the buildings they buy and don’t even want to be landlords – their interest is purely profit. When their financial speculation includes our homes, we say “Enough is enough.”
While there have been several attempts to address this crisis, they have mostly dealt with small symptoms of the overall problem such as making in-law units rent-controlled. And neo-liberal politicians have approved every development in hopes that more expensive condos would somehow dilute the market — (this has been a complete failure). Efforts to reform the Ellis Act by State Sen. Mark Leno were defeated by Real Estate-funded Republicans. However, this coming election on Nov. 4, Prop G is on target to become the first significant legislation to address real estate speculation head-on.
Proposition G would levy a hefty tax on real estate speculators in San Francisco if they buy and then flip a mutli-unit building in less than 5 years. So Prop G would act as a significant disincentive for speculators to buy buildings, evict tenants and then resell them for huge profits. It’s supported by most progressive and moderate politicians such as Mark Leno, Tom Ammiano, David Campos, John Avalos, Jane Kim and by groups like the SF Democratic Party, the SF Tenants Union, the Harvey Milk Democratic Club and many more.
Of course the real estate agents who profit so handsomely by selling our homes from under us aren’t going to let this huge source of wealth generation be slowed in any way and so the national, state and local realtors associations have put well over $1.5 million into the NO ON G campaign, providing them with ten times the budget of YES ON G which is mostly grass roots. They also know that this prop could be a trend-setter for other parts of the country which are also experiencing speculation-fueled increases in housing costs. We need all hands on deck to get this legislation passed and to cool the artificial boom in SF real estate.
Fred Sherburn-Zimmer is an organizer with Housing Rights Committee and a founder of Eviction Free SF. Benito Santiago is also an Eviction Free SF member who has successfully fought the eviction of he and his neighbours from their Mission area homes. Both are active workers for the YES ON G campaign and they will explain in more detail what the Proposition is and how it will significantly help reduce evictions and slow increases in rents and house prices.
Then Julien Ball of ACCE will discuss the current state of the housing crisis in SF and what other measures are being proposed such at ACCE’s CARES program. This is based on the City of Richmond’s bold plan to use eminent domain to take over foreclosed upon homes from banks when they won’t re-negotiate loans to keep people in their homes. ACCE is hoping to get San Francisco to join Richmond and adopt CARES to help the thousands of people whose homes are currently or may enter foreclosure here.
ACCE Action is part of Families for an Affordable San Francisco, a community labor coalition that’s been campaigning for YES ON J (increase in the minimum wage to $15 per hour); YES ON G; and David Campos for State Assembly.
James Tracy, a long-time Bay Area activist and author will discuss the crisis and his new book on the topic Dispatches Against Displacement in which he promotes the vision of cities constructed, not just for profit, but “developed by and for the people who bring them to life and keep them running.”
Donations to OccupyForum to cover our costs are encouraged; no one turned away!