Calendar

EFFecting Change Livestream Series:
Digital Rights & the New Administration

January 16

What direction will your digital rights take under Trump and the 119th Congress? Find out about the topics EFF is watching and the effect they might have on you.  Join our panel of experts as they discuss surveillance, age verification, and consumer privacy. Learn how you can advocate for your digital rights and the resources available to you. Following the discussion, our panelists will be answering your questions. Participate in the live Q&A

 Join Cat Brooks this week for an evening of light and love, our concert fundraiser, Love Is Our Armor: A Music-Filled Fundraiser for the Anti Police-Terror Project, to kick off our 11th Annual Reclaim MLK March and Week of Action.

Love Is Our Armor: A Music-Filled Fundraiser for the Anti Police-Terror Project

PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS HERE TODAY!

Cat Brooks will be hosting and we will convene at BAM House, a “Black culture driven space dedicated to the growth, cultivation, and sustaining of Black livity, (good strong life)”. I am so grateful to be joined by movement musicians Jenn Johns and Luv Phenomena, as well as my journalist and activist comrade Davey D who will join me for a conversation about this current political moment.

As we do every year at this time, we will recommit ourselves to embodying the radical legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in our work, communities and daily lives. Of course this year we know that our continued resistance and fortitude is so needed, as we face down increasing fascism, state violence and ongoing genocides.

Join us for powerful movement music, drinks, food, highlights of our current work, and a look ahead to what’s next for APTP as part of interconnected movements for justice and the world King dreamed of!

COVID protocols and access information: We encourage people to test at home before attending and will have some tests and KN95 masks on hand at the door. Please stay home if you are experiencing symptoms of illness so as to protect our community. We will also have HEPA filters in the space at BAM House. BAM House is wheelchair accessible and the bathroom is also accessible.

The Bay Area Climate Emergency Mobilization Task Force will present its first Virtual Summit of the year on the topic “Climate, Colonialism, and the Rights of Humans and Nature.”

More info and registration here.

Kicking off MLK Week with The People’s Clinic!
Healing space for impacted families & the West Oakland community.

1/17/24 | 🕒 3–7 PM | The People’s House

👉 Book: https://t.co/88WZhUZh8X

Walk-ins welcome! KN95 masks & COVID testing on-site. pic.twitter.com/Iiyagd4psE

— Anti Police-Terror Project (@APTPaction) January 11, 2025

• The previously posted Civic Center march is now marching in solidarity and partnership with the efforts of the Immigration Rights group in The Mission. While this is a multi-issue focused moment, we have decided to combine our efforts in The Mission by marching to Dolores Park where a full rally will be held to keep our energy up as we head into a new era of administration.
• Lineup may begin at 10:00 AM at 24th St and Bryant St in THE MISSION
• Rally will take place at 24th St and Bryant St at 11:00 AM
• March is set to step off at 12:00 PM SHARP from 24th and Bryant
• Route: 24th & Bryant
  24th & Mission
  19th & Mission
  19th & Dolores
• Rally will take place at Dolores Park, information TBC

• Masks Highly Recommended
• This is a 1st Amendment March, no host is liable, march at your own risk
• Bring your family, friends, signs, water, snacks, mask, hand sanitizer, put on some sunscreen, check the weather and dress with layers, a hat and comfy shoes.
• All ages, and genders (& GNC) are welcome
• Signs and bullhorns are welcomed
• March will happen Rain or Shine

Email strike.debt.bay.area@gmail.com a few days beforehand for the online invite.  All are welcome.

For our January, 2025 meeting we will be reading the first seven chapters Making Sense of Chaos by by J. Doyne Farmer (Yale University Press, Amazon). For our February meeting, we will be finishing the book.

We live in an age of increasing complexity—an era of accelerating technology and global interconnection that holds more promise, and more peril, than any other time in human history. The fossil fuels that have powered global wealth creation now threaten to destroy the world they helped build. Automation and digitization promise prosperity for some, unemployment for others. Financial crises fuel growing inequality, polarization, and the retreat of democracy. At heart, all these problems are rooted in the economy, yet the guidance provided by economic models has often failed.
 
Many books have been written about J. Doyne Farmer and his work, but this is the first in his own words. It presents a manifesto for how to do economics better. In this tale of science and ideas, Farmer fuses his profound knowledge and expertise with stories from his life to explain how we can bring a scientific revolution to bear on the economic conundrums facing society.
 
Using big data and ever more powerful computers, we are now able for the first time to apply complex systems science to economic activity, building realistic models of the global economy. The resulting simulations and the emergent behavior we observe form the cornerstone of the science of complexity economics, allowing us to test ideas and make significantly better economic predictions—to better address the hard problems facing the world.

Strike Debt Bay Area hosts this non-technical book group discussion monthly on new and radical economic thinking. Previous readings have included (in chronological order) 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 , The Feminist Subversion of the Economy, How Infrastructure Works, Inside the Systems that Shape our World, Wealth Supremacy, The Persuaders,  The Path to a Livable Future, Solidarity,  Mutual Aid and Breaking Together.

Speaker: Stansfield Smith

To Join Zoom Meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89531900427?pwd=mXg1rSZe3ONl4pfWlALW4ornc32Eez.1

The CIA helped to build and subsidize a “compatible left” in the 1940-1960s to help counter the Communist bloc and associated organizations. This anti-communist compatible left still exists today, giving backhanded defense of US imperialism’s endless wars. They harshly criticize the same nations the US seeks to overthrow and cover up US covert operations and economic warfare against these countries; e.g., Qaddafi’s Libya, Assad’s Syria, Iran, Chavistas in Venezuela, Sandinistas in Nicaragua. They condemn Russia or China (or both) as imperialistic, while painting Trump as a fascist and the Democrats as preferable. In short, their politics aligns with the national security police state propaganda against its perceived enemies.

The compatible left is also closely involved in pushing the issue of “identity” as equal to or even more important than class. But we can work with the compatible left. Some compatible leftists take progressive positions in opposing the blockade on Cuba, gender issues, condemning Israeli mass murder and the Democratic Party hierarchy, and in defending the increasing labor union struggles.

Our speaker, Stansfield Smith, is a member of Chicago ALBA Solidarity. He is a long time anti-war activist and has opposed US interference over the years in Latin America. He produces AFGJ’s Venezuela & ALBA Weekly News and the online newsletter for the Nicaragua Solidarity Coalition. His website is ChicagoALBASolidarity.org.

Stansfield Smith has written:

• “Compatible Left Joins Imperialism in Celebrating Defeat of Syria,” https://libya360.wordpress.com/2024/12/18/compatible-left-joins-imperialism-in-celebrating-defeat-of-syria/
• “The Function of the Compatible Left Seen in Its Attacks on the Venezuelan Revolution,” https://orinocotribune.com/the-function-of-the-compatible-left-seen-in-its-attacks-on-the-venezuelan-revolution/
• “US National Security State Censoring Anti-Imperialists to Control ‘Compatible Left,” https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2022/07/02/censorship-anti-imperialists-compatible-left/
• “Anti-Imperialism in the US Today: What It Is and Is Not,” https://orinocotribune.com/anti-imperialism-in-the-us-today-what-it-is-and-is-not/

Also see this YouTube by Ben Norton, “How the CIA supports a ‘compatible left’ to aid US imperialism,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1sJ2uZ4aaQ&t=474s

The day before Inauguration Day, January 19th, people from across Northern California will come together in San Francisco to demand a future that centers the needs of the people over the interests of the wealthy elite. With voices raised for workers’ rights, immigrant rights, environmental justice, and an end to the genocide in Gaza, we will stand for working people, not a billionaire’s agenda-from the local to the global, from defending people at home to ending the U.S. war machine.

NOTE: During the Plague Year of 2020 GA will be held every week or two on Zoom. To find out the exact time a date get on the Occupy Oakland email list my sending an email to:

occupyoakland-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

The Occupy Oakland General Assembly meets every Sunday at 4 PM at Oscar Grant Plaza amphitheater at 14th Street & Broadway near the steps of City Hall. If for some reason the amphitheater is being used otherwise and/or OGP itself is inaccessible, we will meet at Kaiser Park, right next to the statues, on 19th St. between San Pablo and Telegraph. If it is raining (as in RAINING, not just misting) at 4:00 PM we meet in the basement of the Omni Collective, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland. (Note: we tend to meet at 3:00 PM during the cooler months from November to early March after Daylights Savings Time.)

On every ‘last Sunday’ we meet a little earlier at 3 PM to have a community potluck to which all are welcome.

OO General Assembly has met on a continuous basis for over six years, since October 2011! Our General Assembly is a participatory gathering of Oakland community members and beyond, where everyone who shows up is treated equally. Our Assembly and the process we have collectively cultivated strives to reach agreement while building community.

At the GA committees, caucuses, and loosely associated groups whose representatives come voluntarily report on past and future actions, with discussion. We encourage everyone participating in the Occupy Oakland GA to be part of at least one associated group, but it is by no means a requirement. If you like, just come and hear all the organizing being done! Occupy Oakland encourages political activity that is decentralized and welcomes diverse voices and actions into the movement.

General Assembly Standard Agenda

Welcome & Introductions
Reports from Committees, Caucuses, & Independent Organizations
Announcements
(Optional) Discussion Topic

Occupy Oakland activities and contact info for some Bay Area Groups with past or present Occupy Oakland members.

Occupy Oakland Web Committee: (web@occupyoakland.org)
Strike Debt Bay Area : strikedebtbayarea.tumblr.com
Berkeley Post Office Defenders:http://berkeleypostofficedefenders.wordpress.com/
Alan Blueford Center 4 Justice:https://www.facebook.com/ABC4JUSTICE
Oakland Privacy Working Group:https://oaklandprivacy.wordpress.com
Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity: prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/
Bay Area AntiRepression: antirepression@occupyoakland.org
Biblioteca Popular: http://tinyurl.com/mdlzshy
Interfaith Tent: www.facebook.com/InterfaithTent
Port Truckers Solidarity: oaklandporttruckers.wordpress.com
Bay Area Intifada: bayareaintifada.wordpress.com
Transport Workers Solidarity: www.transportworkers.org
Fresh Juice Party (aka Chalkupy) freshjuiceparty.com/chalkupy-gallery
Sudo Room: https://sudoroom.org
Omni Collective: https://omnicommons.org/
First They Came for the Homeless: https://www.facebook.com/pages/First-they-came-for-the-homeless/253882908111999
Sunflower Alliance: http://www.sunflower-alliance.org/
Bay Area Public School: http://thepublicschool.org/bay-area

San Francisco based groups:
Occupy Bay Area United: www.obau.org
Occupy Forum: (see OBAU above)
San Francisco Projection Department: http://tinyurl.com/kpvb3rv

A great way to spend Inauguration Day — in community with other progressives at the 11th annual March to Reclaim Martin Luther King’s Radical Legacy, demanding “freedom from white supremacy, war, genocide, colonialism, extractivism, and imperialism.”

The event is hosted by Oakland’s Anti Police-Terror Project , which writes:

“Are you enraged because of the deepening facism and police state in this country? Disgusted and heart sick by the ongoing genocide in Palestine? Appalled at the attacks against our unhoused neighbors?

“Oakland will not concede to fascism. We knew no matter the outcome of this election, this system was never meant to serve the people: WE take care of US.”

The Office of Health Care Affordability, (OHCA), is a relatively new office tucked inside one department of California’s Health and Human Services Agency. Its three stated aims are to “slow spending growth, promote high value, and assess market consolidation”.

Doctors James G. Kahn, moderator, and Ana Malinow, presenter, are both single-payer advocates. Along with participating panelists, they will share information about the office and the actions it has taken so far and share their views about how it might impact healthcare in the state.

Until we shift to a single payer system, it looks like this office will be a focal point for proposing reductions in healthcare spending and changes in provider payment models. It will also study the effects that market consolidation is having on our healthcare.

To get some background and more out of the forum, you can acquaint yourself with the part of the bill SB 184 – Health that created OHCA in 2022. Scroll down to Section 19, and begin with part 127500.5. This section describes existing healthcare problems and needs along with the intentions and structure of the office.

This forum is hosted by The Movement to End the Privatization of Medicare.

A CELEBRATION OF

THE LIFE OF HOWARD KEYLOR

Longtime “Militant Longshoreman” and political activist Howard Keylor passed away in October 2024, two months before his 99th birthday. His friends, family and comrades invite you to attend a memorial meeting and educational in his honor on:

January 25, 2025, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Local 10, International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU)
Henry Schmidt Room
400 North Point Street, San Francisco (near Fisherman’s Wharf)

Light Refreshments Will be Provided

A veteran of the Battle of Okinawa – an experience that led him to become an anti-militarist, anti-racist and anti-imperialist revolutionary socialist – Howard opposed the atomic bombing of Japan. He quit college to support Filipino agricultural workers in the 1948 asparagus strike and became a labor organizer and activist during the McCarthy period, joining the longshore union in Stockton in 1953.

Like the core founders of the ILWU, Howard fought to replace capitalism with socialism. During his decades on the waterfront, including twelve years on the Local 10 Executive Board, he initiated, organized and participated in countless picket lines and protests, most notably the historic 11-day strike in 1984 against unloading a South African container ship, the Nedlloyd Kimberley, and the 1986 community picket of South African cargo in support of the anti-Apartheid movement. (See the biography below for other actions Howard participated in or organized.)

Please Join Local 10 and Howard’s Friends, Family and Comrades in a Celebration of Howard’s Life and Work.

Howard Keylor – a Brief Biography

Born in rural Ohio, Howard Keylor attended a one-room country schoolhouse. He became a member of the National Honor Society when he graduated from Marietta High School.

After enlisting in the U.S. Army, Howard fought in the Pacific Theater in World War Two, during which he participated in the Battle of Okinawa as a Corporal. The 96^th U.S. Army Division, which Howard trained with, had casualty rates above 50%. The incompetence and racism of the military command, the destruction of the capital city of Naha and the deliberate killings of tens of thousands of Okinawan civilians – a third of the population – made Howard a committed revolutionary communist, anti-imperialist, anti-militarist and anti-racist for the rest of his life.

Upon completing his military service, Howard enrolled in the College of the Pacific, but dropped out to support Filipino agricultural workers in the 1948 asparagus strike. During that strike, Howard began his lifelong association with labor leaders Ernesto Mangoang, Chris Mensalves and Larry Itliong. He became a longshore worker in Stockton in 1953. As members of the Communist Party, Howard and his wife, Evangeline, were attacked in the HUAC (McCarthy) hearings in San Francisco. Later, Howard transferred to ILWU Local 10. In 1971 he, along with Brothers Herb Mills, Leo Robinson and a majority of ILWU longshore workers, opposed the proposed 1971 contract which codified the 9.43 steadyman system. This led to the longshore strike of 1971-1972, which shut down 56 West Coast ports and lasted 130 days. It was the longest strike in the ILWU’s history.

In Local 10 Brother Keylor was a founding member of the Militant Caucus, a class struggle rank-and-file opposition grouping supported by the Spartacist League (SL), which based its work on Trotsky’s “Transitional Program” and published a regular newsletter, the “Longshore Militant”. The Militant Caucus was involved in organizing protests and boycotts of military cargo bound for the bloody Chilean junta in 1974 and 1978; and a picket of a ship carrying South African cargo in 1977. In 1975, the Caucus spearheaded mass picketing during ILWU Local 6’s strike at KNC Glass in Union City, during which picketers physically defeated police and scabs and won a contract for a workforce composed primarily of undocumented Mexican immigrants. Later, when the SL and the Caucus politically degenerated, Howard left the Spartacist League and the Caucus and published his own newsletter, the “Militant Longshoreman”, which was aligned with the Bolshevik Tendency.

Brother Keylor advocated deliberate defiance of the “slave-labor” Taft-Hartley law through illegal secondary boycotts and mass pickets. Running openly on the Transitional Program, calling for 30 hours’ work for 40 hours’ pay, breaking with the Democratic and Republican Parties, forming a worker’s party to fight for a worker’s government, expropriating the capitalists without compensation and creating a planned economy, Howard won election to the Executive Board of Local 10 for twelve years.

In 1984, Brother Keylor made the motion, amended by Brother Leo Robinson, which led to the eleven-day longshore boycott of South African cargo on the Nedlloyd Kimberley. Howard presented the motion to Local 10’s Executive Board, where it passed unanimously. In 1986, Howard participated in the Campaign Against Apartheid’s community picket line against the Nedlloyd Kembla. When Nelson Mandela spoke at the Oakland Coliseum in 1990 after his release from prison, he credited Local 10 with re-igniting the anti-Apartheid movement in the Bay Area.

Other actions that Brother Keylor initiated, organized or participated in included the successful mass picket by 1,000 union members which ran scabs off the docks at Levin Terminals in Richmond, in 1983; organizing a defense guard for the Oakland bookstore of the Socialist Workers’ Party in 1985, which fought off several hundred ex-ARVN Vietnamese soldiers; the 1995-98 struggle of the Liverpool dockworkers; the 1999 coastwide shutdown and march of 25,000 in San Francisco to demand freedom for Mumia Abu-Jamal; the 2000 Charleston longshore union campaign; the 2008 May Day anti-imperialist war shutdown of all West Coast ports; the shutdown of Northern California ports in protest of the murder of Oscar Grant; the blockades of Israeli ships to protest the war on Gaza in 2010 and 2014; the 2011 ILWU struggle against the grain monopolies in Longview; Occupy Oakland’s march of 40,000 to the Port of Oakland, and countless other militant job actions and protests. Throughout his life, Brother Keylor always extended solidarity where it was needed. He was a revolutionary communist who fought racist police murders and fascist terror, defended abortion clinics, and fought for survivors of psychiatric abuse. Having grown up in Appalachia, he has always been an environmentalist, and helped shut down a Monsanto facility in Davis in 2012, as well as fighting pesticide use and deforestation in the East Bay.

Perhaps most importantly, Howard stood by and upheld the Ten Guiding Principles of the ILWU. They teach that workers should never cross or work behind a picket line, even if directed to do so by their union leadership. “Every picket line must be respected as though it were our own.”

NOTE: During the Plague Year of 2020 GA will be held every week or two on Zoom. To find out the exact time a date get on the Occupy Oakland email list my sending an email to:

occupyoakland-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

The Occupy Oakland General Assembly meets every Sunday at 4 PM at Oscar Grant Plaza amphitheater at 14th Street & Broadway near the steps of City Hall. If for some reason the amphitheater is being used otherwise and/or OGP itself is inaccessible, we will meet at Kaiser Park, right next to the statues, on 19th St. between San Pablo and Telegraph. If it is raining (as in RAINING, not just misting) at 4:00 PM we meet in the basement of the Omni Collective, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland. (Note: we tend to meet at 3:00 PM during the cooler months from November to early March after Daylights Savings Time.)

On every ‘last Sunday’ we meet a little earlier at 3 PM to have a community potluck to which all are welcome.

OO General Assembly has met on a continuous basis for over six years, since October 2011! Our General Assembly is a participatory gathering of Oakland community members and beyond, where everyone who shows up is treated equally. Our Assembly and the process we have collectively cultivated strives to reach agreement while building community.

At the GA committees, caucuses, and loosely associated groups whose representatives come voluntarily report on past and future actions, with discussion. We encourage everyone participating in the Occupy Oakland GA to be part of at least one associated group, but it is by no means a requirement. If you like, just come and hear all the organizing being done! Occupy Oakland encourages political activity that is decentralized and welcomes diverse voices and actions into the movement.

General Assembly Standard Agenda

Welcome & Introductions
Reports from Committees, Caucuses, & Independent Organizations
Announcements
(Optional) Discussion Topic

Occupy Oakland activities and contact info for some Bay Area Groups with past or present Occupy Oakland members.

Occupy Oakland Web Committee: (web@occupyoakland.org)
Strike Debt Bay Area : strikedebtbayarea.tumblr.com
Berkeley Post Office Defenders:http://berkeleypostofficedefenders.wordpress.com/
Alan Blueford Center 4 Justice:https://www.facebook.com/ABC4JUSTICE
Oakland Privacy Working Group:https://oaklandprivacy.wordpress.com
Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity: prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/
Bay Area AntiRepression: antirepression@occupyoakland.org
Biblioteca Popular: http://tinyurl.com/mdlzshy
Interfaith Tent: www.facebook.com/InterfaithTent
Port Truckers Solidarity: oaklandporttruckers.wordpress.com
Bay Area Intifada: bayareaintifada.wordpress.com
Transport Workers Solidarity: www.transportworkers.org
Fresh Juice Party (aka Chalkupy) freshjuiceparty.com/chalkupy-gallery
Sudo Room: https://sudoroom.org
Omni Collective: https://omnicommons.org/
First They Came for the Homeless: https://www.facebook.com/pages/First-they-came-for-the-homeless/253882908111999
Sunflower Alliance: http://www.sunflower-alliance.org/
Bay Area Public School: http://thepublicschool.org/bay-area

San Francisco based groups:
Occupy Bay Area United: www.obau.org
Occupy Forum: (see OBAU above)
San Francisco Projection Department: http://tinyurl.com/kpvb3rv

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

Participation and/or donations appreciated!  https://acgreens.wordpress.com/donate/
FLIER to print, post, distribute please:
https://acgreens.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/gpcaac_gs.png

Panelists:

Bob Mandel, founding member of the ILWU Militant Caucus; OEA Executive
Board (ret.) co-founder, Adult School Teachers United

Tom Riley, co-founder, with Howard Keylor, of the External Tendency of the
iSt / Bolshevik Tendency

Mary Jane Galviso, lifelong Marxist, Communist and comrade of Howard
Keylor; founding member, Filipino Farmers Cooperative and its parent
organization, the Rural Communities Resource Center

Howard Keylor was a long-time communist militant in International
Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 10. A veteran of the Battle of Okinawa, he
made the motion in Local 10 for the 11 day strike of the Nedlloyd Kimberley in 1984
against South African apartheid. For twelve years, Howard was elected to the
Executive Board of Local 10 on an open class struggle program which described
the government as the “executive committee of the capitalists” and the class
collaborationist labor leadership as its tool.

The Howard Keylor Conference Room at the DSA offices is named in his
memory. To dedicate the conference room, Howard’s comrades present a panel on
his work, beginning with Howard quitting college to support Filipino agricultural
workers in the Stockton asparagus strike in 1948, the bi-coastal ILA/ILWU boycott
of Chilean cargo against Pinochet in 1974, to the three community pickets against
Zim ships for Palestine in 2014, and more.

Link to event:
bit.ly/3Chw5zC

To learn more about Howard’s life:
http://bit.ly/42953VH

Audio and video about Howard:
https://linktr.ee/howardkeylor

Most immigrants come to this country to escape violence and persecution and to work to support their families. While Trump is virulent in his threats against them, politicians of both capitalist parties spew the rhetoric and advocate various policies including detention and deportation to ban immigrants, even while they and their allies benefit from their labor.

Join our speakers who will present a picture of what may be coming from the Trump administration and how we can resist.

David Bacon � photojournalist, author of Illegal People: How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants

Marisa Almor � community organizer, East Bay Sanctuary Covenant

Jesus Moctezuma � educator, organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation

*Organizations listed for identification purposes only.

Speaker: Roger D. Harris

To Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85175860127?pwd=bfZRQOSMuhX9Pfm4qhPMOZMrmE9Ohm.1

Forecasts are favorable for Venezuela’s quarter-century-old Bolivarian Revolution. Initiated by Hugo Chávez and seamlessly carried forward by Nicolás Maduro, it is threatened by an increasingly aggressive Yankee hegemon. Venezuela’s regional role will be pivotal with key left-leaning presidents in Brazil and Colombia up for reelection in the next two years.

Our speaker, Roger D. Harris, accompanied the January 10 presidential election in Venezuela and the concurrent antifascist conference. He will report back on what happened there as well as on Washington’s campaign to delegitimize the country’s Bolivarian Revolution with the ultimate aim of regime change.

Roger is on the executive committee of the US Peace Council. He is active with the anti-imperialist human rights group Task Force on the Americas, the SanctionsKill Campaign against unilateral coercive measures, is a founding member of the Venezuela Solidarity Network, and is on the secretariat of the US Peace Council. He is also on the ICSS program committee.

Some of the recent articles by or co-authored by Roger on Venezuela and Latin America:

• Maduro Assumes a Third Term: Prospects and Problematics for Venezuela https://orinocotribune.com/venezuelan-president-maduro-assumes-a-third-term-prospects-and-problematics/
• Whether Biden or Trump, US’s Latin American Policy Will Still Be Contemptible https://www.pressenza.com/2025/01/whether-biden-or-trump-uss-latin-american-policy-will-still-be-contemptible-migration-drugs-and-tariffs/
• US Media Promotes Military Intervention in Venezuela https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/01/28/us-media-promotes-military-intervention-in-venezuela/
• US-backed Venezuelan Opposition Never Tried to Win the Presidency https://dissidentvoice.org/2024/11/us-backed-venezuelan-opposition-never-tried-to-win-the-presidency/
• What Venezuelans Think about their Presidential Election https://popularresistance.org/what-venezuelans-think-about-their-presidential-election/
• How the US Could Have Won the Venezuelan Election https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/08/26/how-the-us-could-have-won-the-venezuelan-election/

We are living in a time like no other, with incredible challenges to our democracy and to communities. Thankfully, our strong values continue to drive productive work, with common goals. Health Care for All – California’s work is focused on helping create an equitable, efficient, cost-effective healthcare system for all Californians, from birth to death. Given the current political climate, we realize that there are major challenges right now to such changes. But great progress has been made over the years in educating the public, producing studies that validate the goal we seek, and writing legislation that is moving us in the right direction. Public opinion and increasingly the opinion of healthcare providers are on our side.