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The global Insure Our Future campaign focuses on pressuring insurance companies to stop insuring fossil fuel projects. Join a global week of action to bring this demand to the streets.
Insure Our Future writes:
“In order to build a new fossil fuel project, companies need three things: permits, money and insurance. Without insurance, most new fossil fuel projects cannot go ahead, and existing ones must close. This makes insurance the Achilles heel of the fossil fuel industry. . . .
Insurance campaigning has already made new coal power plants almost uninsurable, threatening their viability, Coal companies are finding it increasingly difficult to access insurance cover even for their ongoing operations. Now we need your help to do the same for oil and gas expansion.”
The Oil and Gas Action Network is hosting the Bay Area action.
The Bay Area climate community is planning a local action in coordination with the “Insure our Future” Global Week of Action. Together we will hold the insurance industry accountable for its role in the climate crisis. Without insurance, most new fossil fuel projects cannot go ahead and existing ones must close. This makes insurance the Achilles heel of the fossil fuel industry.
More information: https://global.insure-our-future.com/global-week-of-action-2024/
On March 2, millions across the world will march for Gaza! Join us in San Francisco as we join the call to hit the streets!
Gaza is facing famine, its hospitals are besieged, threats of ground invasion in Rafah loom near, and Israel continues its onslaught on the over 2 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The mass movement for Palestine has led to the isolation of the US and Israel on the world stage. With growing internal divisions and heightened political pressure on Israel and the United States, it’s time to push even harder.
Our mobilizations in this moment can be more decisive than ever, and we must show our full strength now to ensure a lasting ceasefire and an end to the siege on Gaza.
All out for Rafah! All out for Gaza! Stop the genocide!
Please register in advance at
to receive your personal link to participate in this event online
One year ago, Pamela Price took office. She was elected Alameda County District Attorney on a reform platform that focused on rehabilitation and addressing police misconduct and corruption within the D.A.’s office. Less than 7 months later the recall campaign, part of a backlash to criminal punishment reforms and fear-mongering over crime by police and their political allies, began.
At this forum we will discuss what a criminal justice reform agenda looks like and examine the forces advocating a return to repressive measures that have never kept us safe. Our panelists are:
Walter Riley – civil rights attorney
Linton Johnson – Protect the Win Campaign
Please arrive early to place your order so that you do not miss any of the presentations.
An open discussion will follow the presentations.
We will be accepting donations which will be divided among the sponsoring organizations.
This event is sponsored by the Alameda County Peace and Freedom Party,
the Alameda County Green Party and Bay Area System Change Not Climate Change.
For more information email <info@sudssnackssocialism.org>
Speaker: Radhika Desai, International Manifesto Group.
Our program addresses the rapidly changing world order. This last year has been a time of summits: BRICS, G20, and G77 and the UN General Assembly. That these summits have been so hectic and have felt like such a whirlwind of events is because each marks the accelerated tempo of change on the international plain.
At the NATO summit in July, Zelensky failed to get even a timetable to get into NATO. The BRICS summit in Johannesburg in August admitted six new members. Then Putin hosted the vitally important meeting of the Eastern Economic Forum to showcase Russia’s own pivot to Asia, which was a friendly one. The Far Eastern economies are increasingly the dynamic center of the world economy. At the G77 plus China meeting in Havana, China restated its commitment to the development of the majority of humankind as the principle that should govern international relations. Then came the United Nations annual meeting in September.
Our speaker, Radhika Desai, is especially qualified to address these global changes. She is the convener of the International Manifesto Group (https://
Radhika Desai is Professor at the Department of Political Studies, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada. She is the author of Geopolitical Economy: After US Hegemony, Globalization and Empire (2013), Slouching Towards Ayodhya: From Congress to Hindutva in Indian Politics (2nd rev ed, 2004) and Intellectuals and Socialism: ‘Social Democrats’ and the Labour Party (1994), a New Statesman and Society Book of the Month, and editor of Revitalizing Marxist Theory for Today’s Capitalism (2010), and Develop
The website for the Internationam Manifesto Group is:
Thee Intercept is coming to San Francisco!
Join me for a discussion on the progressive political movement at Book Passage Nico Pitney, my former colleague at HuffPost and co-founder and senior director of More Perfect Union, a nonprofit advocacy journalism organization, will moderate the conversation. Attendance is free and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
During the event, I will be discussing my new book,“The Squad: AOC and the Hope of a Political Revolution,” which explores the history and future of the progressive movement and takes a deep look at the role of AIPAC and the super PAC Democratic Majority for Israel in shaping the contours of political debate on Israel–Palestine.
I’m proud of it and I know that as a reader of The Intercept, it’s a book you’ll be glad you read. (I can’t guarantee you’ll enjoy it, though.)
I look forward to seeing you there.
Ryan Grim
D.C. Bureau Chief
President Biden campaigned to close the off-shore gulag, we must hold him to account.
Email strike.debt.bay.area@gmail.com a few days beforehand for the online invite.
For our February meeting we will be reading the first half (Chapters 1 -6) of How Infrastructure Works, Inside the Systems that Shape our World by Deb Chachra. (MIT Press) For our March meeting we will finish reading the book.
“A new way of seeing the essential systems hidden inside our walls, under our streets, and all around us.
Infrastructure is a marvel, meeting our basic needs and enabling lives of astounding ease and productivity that would have been unimaginable just a century ago. It is the physical manifestation of our social contract—of our ability to work collectively for the public good—and it consists of the most complex and vast technological systems ever created by humans.
A soaring bridge is an obvious infrastructural feat, but so are the mostly hidden reservoirs, transformers, sewers, cables, and pipes that deliver water, energy, and information to wherever we need it. When these systems work well, they hide in plain sight. Engineer and materials scientist Deb Chachra takes readers on a fascinating tour of these essential utilities, revealing how they work, what it takes to keep them running, just how much we rely on them—but also whom they work well for, and who pays the costs.
Across the U.S. and elsewhere, these systems are suffering from systemic neglect and the effects of climate change, becoming unavoidably visible when they break down. Communities that are already marginalized often bear the brunt of these failures. But Chachra maps out a path for transforming and rebuilding our shared infrastructure to be not just functional but also equitable, resilient, and sustainable. The cost of not being able to rely on these systems is unthinkably high. We need to learn how to see them—and fix them, together—before it’s too late.”
Strike Debt Bay Area hosts this non-technical book group discussion monthly on new and radical economic thinking. Previous readings have included Doughnut Economics, Limits, Banking on the People, Capital and Its Discontents, How to Be an Anti-Capitalist in the 21st Century, The Deficit Myth, Revenge Capitalism, the Edge of Chaos blog symposium , Re-enchanting the World: Feminism and the Politics of the Commons, The Optimist’s Telescope, Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism, Exploring Degrowth, The Origin of Wealth, Mine!, The Dawn of Everything A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things, Beyond Money, Less is More, Cannibal Capitalism, Debt, the First 5000 Years , Poverty, By America, End Times, Jackson Rising Redux and The Feminist Subversion of the Economy.
Speaker: José Luis Granados Ceja
Our program is about the México Solidarity Project (https://mexicosolidarityproject.org/), which recognizes the 2018 presidential election of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) as a watershed moment. AMLO and his progressive Morena party offer the first opportunity to end the corruption, impoverishment, and subservience to US interests that has marked the 70 years of neoliberal dominance.
The project offers critical support for Morena, a left-leaning populist political party rooted in anti-neoliberalism and a staunch defender of national sovereignty. It is immersed in the social movements in México struggling for basic rights for workers and people in all marginalized groups. These voices for radical change sometimes line up with Morena and sometimes, as with the Zapatistas, do not. The project’s most basic goals are to promote people-to-people understanding across borders and to concentrate efforts to oppose the US dominance that undermines México’s national sovereignty.
Our speaker, José Luis Granados Ceja, is with the México Solidarity Project and is on the staff of Venezuelanalysis (https://venezuelanalysis.com/) and formerly with TeleSUR. He was born in Mexico City and spent his life migrating throughout the Americas. It was his experience as a migrant that led to his development of class consciousness at a young age. In 2005 he would travel to Venezuela to participate in the World Festival of Youth and Students, an experience that would change him forever and instill in him a passion for resisting imperialism and defending popular power.
In 2018, he realized his dream of returning to Mexico as writer and photojournalist to produce stories about the people of Latin America: workers fighting to improve the lives of their families and communities, thinkers teaching the world about how to secure justice, and activists on the frontlines of social change putting their beliefs into practice every day.
Some of José Lius’s articles:
Venezuela, Non-Aligned Movement Condemn Israel’s ‘Illegal’ Assault on Gaza, https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/venezuela-non-aligned-movement-condemn-israels-illegal-assault-on-gaza/.
Protests Against AMLO’s Reforms Reveal the Strongholds of Mexico’s Ancien Régime,
https://www.thenation.com/article/world/protest-mexico-amlo-ine/.
Latin American Leaders Reject US-Imposed Migration Policies at Palenque Summit, https://truthout.org/articles/latin-american-leaders-reject-us-imposed-migration-policies-at-palenque-summit/
LOGIN INFORMATION
Our Zoom room will be opened up as usual at 10:15 am for anyone to join and discuss technical matters, catch up with each other, say Hi, etc.. The program (and recording) will begin at 10:30 am and will end at 12:30pm.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89531900427?pwd=mXg1rSZe3ONl4pfWlALW4ornc32Eez.1
FEMINISTS STAND FOR PEACE, Not Genocide & Occupation
FREE PALESTINE NOW!
Join CODEPINK SF Bay Area as we RISE UP FOR GAZA on the Golden Gate Bridge for International Women’s Day 2024. Echo our demands for reproductive justice in Palestine and every where else!
Reproductive justice includes the right of all to raise a family in a safe and healthy place: END THE SEIGE ON GAZA; Stop the Bombing! PERMANENT CEASEFIRE FOREVER! Israel Stop Blocking Humanitarian Aid NOW! No to 21st Century Holocaust!
Bring friends, family, keffiyehs, and signs. (Maximum Signs allowed on bridge: up to 2×3).
Reproductive Freedom for All and CEASEFIRE EVERYWHERE!
Honoring Aaron Bushnell’s Ultimate Sacrifice:
“From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be FREE!”
FREE PALESTINE!
The Golden Gate Bridge is THE icon for the Bay Area!
Join Us in Unity: San Francisco says NO to GENOCIDE! FREE GAZA NOW!
GATHER: 11:30 am: Gather at Welcome Center Plaza, Southeast end of GG Bridge
NOON: March begins on Eastern Walkway
1:30pm: Rally at Welcome Center Plaza after the march.
Optional: Bring food to share after the rally to celebrate International Women’s Day and our shared commitment for Global Peace Everywhere, from Gaza to Ukraine!
If you drive, arrive early due to limited parking!
BE GREEN AND CARPOOL
For public transit options: http://tripplanner.transit.511.org
Golden Gate Transit Buses 10, 70, 80
Ken Hammond is professor of East Asian and global history at New Mexico State Unive rsity. He holds a PhD in History and East Asian Languages from Harvard University. He lived in Beijing from 1982-1987, and has taught and travelled in China many times over the ensuing years. From 2007 until 2017 he was co-director of the Confucius Institute at New Mexico State. He has written numerous books and articles on early modern Chinese intellectual and cultural history, and is most recently the author of China’s Revolution and the Quest for a Socialist Future.
The talk will explore China’s efforts to achieve the stated objective of building an “ecological civilization” as part of the global struggle with climate change and planetary warming. I will discuss China’s achievements in alternative energy development and carbon emissions and the country’s commitments to meaningful environmental goals. I will also consider the problems facing the leaders and the people of China as they pursue these goals, including the efforts of the U.S. government to slow or stall China’s economic development, the questions surrounding population trends, and the balancing of raising material living standards while striving to reduce fossil fuel use, especially coal.
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Join Zoom Meeting:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88083342274
Meeting ID: 880 8334 2274
+1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/k39IUnw59
Ken Hammond is professor of East Asian and global history at New Mexico State University. He holds a PhD in History and East Asian Languages from Harvard University. He lived in Beijing from 1982-1987, and has taught and travelled in China many times over the ensuing years. From 2007 until 2017 he was co-director of the Confucius Institute at New Mexico State. He has written numerous books and articles on early modern Chinese intellectual and cultural history, and is most recently the author of China’s Revolution and the Quest for a Socialist Future.
The talk will explore China’s efforts to achieve the stated objective of building an “ecological civilization” as part of the global struggle with climate change and planetary warming. I will discuss China’s achievements in alternative energy development and carbon emissions and the country’s commitments to meaningful environmental goals. I will also consider the problems facing the leaders and the people of China as they pursue these goals, including the efforts of the U.S. government to slow or stall China’s economic development, the questions surrounding population trends, and the balancing of raising material living standards while striving to reduce fossil fuel use, especially coal
Green Sundays are a series of free public programs & discussions on topics “du jour” sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County and held on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The monthly business meeting of the County Council of the Green Party follows at 7:00 pm, after a 30-minute break. Council meetings are open to anyone who is interested.
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88083342274
Meeting ID: 880 8334 2274
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STUDENT & COMMUNITY PANEL
Presented by: Hong Seng Campaign, Grad Students for Justice in
Palestine, People’s Park Berkeley, & Blackstone Divestment Campaign
Where is our tuition money going?
Learn about the UC’s unethical investments
and what WE can do about it.
Join our march against UC Berkeley’s proposed development of People’s Park, a cornerstone of Berkeley’s countercultural legacy and values. This protest unifies us in our plea against the commercialization of our park and demands that UC Berkeley consider alternate locations for development, such as the vacant chancellor’s mansion. People’s Park stands as a beacon of community empowerment, environmental stewardship, and social justice.
Event Title: March for People’s Park: A Stand for Green Space and Justice on Regent St.
Date & Time: March 15, 2024, from 5 PM to 8 PM
Location: The march begins at Willard Park and progresses along Telegraph Avenue to Sproul Plaza, ending at the People’s Park Mural/Chess Club at Haste and Telegraph.
The march is a declaration against the militarization of our shared spaces, supporting peace and the rematriation of Ohlone land. We denounce UC’s financial motives and call for investments that truly enrich our community. We urge the Regents to acknowledge the cultural and environmental importance of the park, returning it to the community that maintains it.
Route Map:
Beginning at Willard Park, the march continues down Telegraph Avenue, incorporates a rally at Sproul Plaza, and culminates at People’s Park (Haste/Telegraph).
Key Activities:
- 5 PM: Gathering at Willard Park
- 5:15 PM: March starts, led by prominent community figures
- 5:45 PM: Rally at Sproul Plaza featuring speakers and artists
- 6:30 PM: Cultural engagement at People’s Park
Safety Measures:
Ensuring safety is paramount. Community medics, volunteers, and traffic coordinators will be present. Masks and hand sanitizers will be distributed, and social distancing is encouraged.
Support and Contributions:
Participate as a volunteer, spread our message, or join the march. For remote supporters, a live stream will be available. Use our hashtags to engage online. Financial contributions should go to the Long Haul Info shop and the People’s Park Council.
Contact Information:
Stand with us on March 15 to express our resolute desire to protect People’s Park. Our unity can ensure this vital green area remains a symbol of communal strength and ecological preservation.
The University of California, Berkeley is admired worldwide as a bastion of innovatiion and a hub for progressive thought. Far less known are the university’s roots in plunder, warfare, and the promotion of white supremacy. As Tony Platt shows in his latest book, The Scandal of Cal, these original sins sit at the center of UC Berkeley’s history.
Tony Platt is the author of thirteen books dealing with issues of inequality, power, and justice in American history. Platt, a longtime activist, is currently a Distinguished Affiliated Scholar at Cal Berkeley’s Center for the Study of Law & Society.
LOGIN INFORMATION
Our Zoom room will be opened up as usual at 10:15 am for anyone to join and discuss technical matters, catch up with each other, say Hi, etc.. The program (and recording) will begin at 10:30 am and will end at 12:30pm.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89531900427?pwd=mXg1rSZe3ONl4pfWlALW4ornc32Eez.1
NOTE: Our programs are all recorded and a link will be placed on our website soon after they are finished.
Join the Zoom
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8759275991
Have you ever wondered how socialists should engage with elections? With the threat of Trump back in office in 2024 and a Democratic Party insistent on sacrificing Palestinian lives even if it means losing the presidency, the question has never been more urgent.
This Night School is a 101- and 201-level dive into the way socialists approach running for office and governing, which we call class-struggle elections. It’s geared toward new members and old heads alike. Bring a coworker, a mentee, or a friend! We’ll be joined by NYC DSA’s Zohran Mamdani from the New York State Assembly, plus EBDSA-endorsed Oakland School Board member Valarie Bachelor, who will talk about how they use their offices to build movements.
We encourage everyone to do the readings, but everyone is welcome regardless of whether they’ve done the readings.
Readings:
Class-Struggle Politicians Are Organizers First, Legislators Second, by Jack McShane, 2019 – https://socialistcall.com/2019/08/01/class-struggle-politicians-dsa-elections/
How a Grassroots Movement is Building Political Power: Notes From Richmond, California, by Mike Parker, 2020 – https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/11/26/how-a-grassroots-movement-is-building-political-power-notes-from-richmond-california/
Mike Parker on Political Action, 2021 – https://socialistcall.com/2022/01/20/mike-parker-electoral-strategy/
Palestine, labour activism and the US presidential elections, by Neal Meyer, 2024 – https://links.org.au/palestine-labour-activism-and-us-presidential-elections-interview-neal-meyer-bread-roses-dsa
Join us for a lively and informative discussion at the ROE V WADE: PROTECTING ABORTION RIGHTS PANEL event.
Our panelists, Liberty Crochet Mural Artists, TEACH (Training in Early Abortion for Comprehensive Healthcare) and other activists/practitioners will delve into the history, current status, and future of abortion rights in the US. Get ready to hear diverse perspectives and engage in thought-provoking conversations.
Don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn and connect with others who are passionate about this important issue.
PANELISTS:
Flor Hunt (TEACH)
Kathryn Vercillo (Liberty Crochet Mural)
Ujjayini Sikha (WOMEN RISING Artist)
Tisha Kenny (Artist, activist and health care practitioner)
Dr. Cynthia Farner (OB/GYN)
More info: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/roe-v-wade-protecting-abortion-rights-panel-tickets-859205295167