Calendar
Information, discussion & community! Monday Night Forum!!
Occupy Forum is an opportunity for open and respectful dialogue
on all sides of these critically important issues!
OccupyForum presents
Environmental Justice for West Oakland: Stop Coal Trains
with Natalie Berns and others from Oakland Fossil Fuel Resistance
Fossil fuel industries are pushing hard to expand the export of oil and coal from Bay Area ports. Refineries are seeking new permits for terminals to import extremely dirty crude oil from Canadian tar sands and the Bakken fields in North Dakota. The crude oil will come here by train. Coal exporters want to bring coal here in mile-long trains with open-top cars running through densely populated Bay Area neighborhoods. Once processed, both the oil and coal will then be loaded onto ships in the Bay and sent out the Golden Gate.
More oil coming into the Bay Area by rail will increase the risk of accidents that could spill oil into San Francisco Bay and its watershed. More than a million gallons of crude oil was spilled in rail accidents in the US last year. Past oil spills in the Bay have been very harmful to the ecosystem, but trains bringing in crude oil aren’t covered by even the basic safety regulations that tanker ships must meet.
Coal shipped by rail also poses dangers. It is usually shipped in open cars that typically lose hundreds of pounds of coal as they travel, spreading highly toxic coal dust into surrounding areas. Moreover, parts of the Bay Area are at increased risk for flooding due to sea level rise caused by global climate change. Expanded refineries and oil and coal storage facilities could be flooded by rising Bay levels, causing even more pollution in the Bay. The coal and oil slated to be shipped here for export are also extremely dirty; when they are burned as fuel, it will worsen global warming.
Come to OccupyForum right before a number of important actions to get the background.
Time will be allotted for Q&A, discussion and announcements.
Donations to Occupy Forum to cover costs are encouraged; no one turned away!
Sandra Bland, a young black woman, was pulled over for failure to signal in a small town in Texas, and then arrested. Three days later, on July 13th, 2015 she was found dead in her cell. The police claim she hanged herself, but the Bland family and her friends do not believe a word of it.
“…friend and mentor LaVaughn Mosley, 57 [[said]] “She was making plans for the future, so there’s no way she was in a suicidal state.”
Join those who stand against police terror and the outrage of in-custody deaths, in especial memory of Sandra Bland.
After Sandra Bland was pulled out of her vehicle and thrown to the ground a bystander video has her saying
You just slammed my head into the ground. Do you not even care about that? I can’t even hear! … You slammed me into the ground and everything.
AT FIRST THEY USED A NOOSE, NOW ALL THEY DO IS SHOOT #BlackLivesMatter #SandySpeaks https://t.co/O23QJytGVn
— Sandra Bland (@a_sandybeach) April 8, 2015
Join others who have signed a petition calling for the Department of Justice to do an autopsy on Sandra Bland.
We will stand in memory and we will let the world know about Sandra! Bring signs.
This event will be repeated each day this week and possibly into the future.
Sandra Bland memorial. This is where she was pulled over. #WhatHappendToSandraBland pic.twitter.com/nnfchdMQYC
— Rhys (@rhysism_) July 19, 2015
#SandraBland didn’t assault that damn officer. He assaulted her, threatened her, violated her rights. https://t.co/mIKNbdm3ua
— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) July 20, 2015
3:00 PM — Board of Supervisors Meeting to approve Planning Commission’s Mitigated Negative Declaration to circumvent a full Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The BOS is rushing to apply for $80 million from the state to build new cages. We can’t allow more money to fund jails!
On 6/25, the No New SF Jail Coalition rallied at the hearing on our appeal against the SF Planning Department’s decision to forgo a full EIR DESPITE many clear social and environmental impacts on housing, transportation, and outdoor space for the SOMA community, which is predominately working-class Filipinos.
Our appeal was rejected and the Planning Department’s decision was upheld. The city is rushing through the Environmental Review process because they are applying for state funding from the BSCC for $80 million. We need to show up and make sure that NO MORE MONEY goes to funding cages in San Francisco!
Stand up for Rent Control & Just Cause for Eviction Tenant Protections
Let’s speak up to get these important measures passed by Council in July. Tell the Council you want this ordinance on the books before the August recess! Staff will be bringing back draft versions. Let the Council know you want strong and effective protections. Last estimate was that Rent Control could apply to 9400 units here. Help promote Development without Displacement.
Sandra Bland, a young black woman, was pulled over for failure to signal in a small town in Texas, and then arrested. Three days later, on July 13th, 2015 she was found dead in her cell. The police claim she hanged herself, but the Bland family and her friends do not believe a word of it.
“…friend and mentor LaVaughn Mosley, 57 [[said]] “She was making plans for the future, so there’s no way she was in a suicidal state.”
Join those who stand against police terror and the outrage of in-custody deaths, in especial memory of Sandra Bland.
After Sandra Bland was pulled out of her vehicle and thrown to the ground a bystander video has her saying
You just slammed my head into the ground. Do you not even care about that? I can’t even hear! … You slammed me into the ground and everything.
AT FIRST THEY USED A NOOSE, NOW ALL THEY DO IS SHOOT #BlackLivesMatter #SandySpeaks https://t.co/O23QJytGVn
— Sandra Bland (@a_sandybeach) April 8, 2015
Join others who have signed a petition calling for the Department of Justice to do an autopsy on Sandra Bland.
We will stand in memory and we will let the world know about Sandra! Bring signs.
This event will be repeated each day this week and possibly into the future.
Sandra Bland memorial. This is where she was pulled over. #WhatHappendToSandraBland pic.twitter.com/nnfchdMQYC
— Rhys (@rhysism_) July 19, 2015
#SandraBland didn’t assault that damn officer. He assaulted her, threatened her, violated her rights. https://t.co/mIKNbdm3ua
— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) July 20, 2015
From Ferguson to Charleston, Hempstead to Oakland.
In recent months, there has been a horrifying number of accounts of police and white supremacist vigilantes murdering Black people; from Charleston to Cleveland to Ferguson. Now, our attention is turned to Hempstead, TX and the suspicious death of Sandra Bland who was found hanged in a jail cell. Only 28-years old, this young woman had been detained and labeled “high risk” after failing to signal a lane change. And just as we begin to collect ourselves to respond, we find that another young Black man has died after a routine traffic stop on Sunday evening in Oakland.
We are organizing this gathering because white communities are too often insulated from the violence meted against Black people and Black communities. When we ignore or remain silent in the face of the daily violence that results from living under white supremacy, we become complicit in the deaths of our neighbors.
Everyone is invited to participate and we are especially calling on white people to stand up and speak out in neighborhoods so sheltered from this lived violence and trauma.
Join us in amplifying this call, please bring signs and candles!
Timeline
5:30pm :: Collect at Rockridge BART Station.
6:00pm :: Short walk up College to Oak Grove Ave intersection for Vigil to honor black lives lost to police and vigilante violence.
7:00pm :: Walk back to Rockridge BART, travel home safely.
his is a meeting to express concerns directly to the Berkeley police review commission. The public can demand a thorough investigation into policing strategy during the #BlackLivesMatter protests in Berkeley. Public comment is at the start of the meeting, and a second time for public comment is at the end of the meeting. The police review process doesn’t work if the public doesn’t speak.
This a meeting for the general public, but there is a special interest into surveillance research, investigative journalism and police militarization.
The review commission cannot make effective recommendations to changing police procedure, if the review commission doesn’t have a full understanding of what the police did in suppressing the protests.
In December of 2014, a series of protests took place in Berkeley and Oakland against systematic racism in policing.
1. How did police agencies use undercover operatives in the #BlackLivesMatter protests?
On the night of Wednesday December 10th, an undercover cop pulled a gun on press photographers and protesters, after being exposed. The officer, who was trying to entice people into breaking windows, was confronted by protesters who were trying to keep the focus on the march. (http://www.dailydot.com/politics/oakland-black-lives-matter-undercover-cop/)
2. How did the FBI use surveillance technology? On December 8th, a low flying plane flew over Berkeley at low altitudes, circling over Berkeley. This summer, information about the FBI’s “secret airforce” was revealed. The FBI owns and operates a fleet of light aircraft under the guise of dummy companies. These aircraft can be used for cellphone surveillance. (http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/02/fbi-surveillance-government-planes-cities) (https://bgr.com/2015/06/03/fbi-dirtbox-stingray-spy-plane-program/)
3. How did police agencies coordinate operational conduct ad information sharing?
Police from the University of California, Hayward, Pleasanton, Oakland, and other agencies were present at the protests. Yet only representatives from Berkeley police have appeared at Police Review Commission meetings. Was there a command structure that set operational standards between the different departments, or were the departments acting independently with their own different standards of conduct? As outside police agencies gathered information about the protest, did those agencies give their data to Berkeley police, or did each police department keep their own data?
On the one-year anniversary of the Israeli bombing of Gaza, Jewish Voice for Peace will hold an outdoor, public prayer service in Downtown Berkeley to mourn the deaths of more than 2000 of our Palestinian brothers and sisters, 500 of them children.
Jewish tradition provides us with language and tools to cope with this unfathomable loss, as well as a framework to discuss accountability. We invite all Jews and allies to join us in the Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead. Mourners are encouraged to bring candles and small stones to place on an altar. The service will be led by Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb, and will include music and special guests. All are welcome.
Jewish Voice for Peace is a national, grassroots organization that provides a voice for Jews and allies who believe that peace in the Middle East will be achieved through justice and full equality for both Palestinians and Israelis.
Sandra Bland, a young black woman, was pulled over for failure to signal in a small town in Texas, and then arrested. Three days later, on July 13th, 2015 she was found dead in her cell. The police claim she hanged herself, but the Bland family and her friends do not believe a word of it.
“…friend and mentor LaVaughn Mosley, 57 [[said]] “She was making plans for the future, so there’s no way she was in a suicidal state.”
Join those who stand against police terror and the outrage of in-custody deaths, in especial memory of Sandra Bland.
After Sandra Bland was pulled out of her vehicle and thrown to the ground a bystander video has her saying
You just slammed my head into the ground. Do you not even care about that? I can’t even hear! … You slammed me into the ground and everything.
AT FIRST THEY USED A NOOSE, NOW ALL THEY DO IS SHOOT #BlackLivesMatter #SandySpeaks https://t.co/O23QJytGVn
— Sandra Bland (@a_sandybeach) April 8, 2015
Join others who have signed a petition calling for the Department of Justice to do an autopsy on Sandra Bland.
We will stand in memory and we will let the world know about Sandra! Bring signs.
This event will be repeated each day this week and possibly into the future.
Sandra Bland memorial. This is where she was pulled over. #WhatHappendToSandraBland pic.twitter.com/nnfchdMQYC
— Rhys (@rhysism_) July 19, 2015
#SandraBland didn’t assault that damn officer. He assaulted her, threatened her, violated her rights. https://t.co/mIKNbdm3ua
— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) July 20, 2015
OAKLAND, CA:
Thursday evening, July 23rd, the San Francisco MIME TROUPE will perform at Oakland’s Lake Merritt in back of the bandstand.
Please come volunteer to help set up the model SHU (mock solitary confinement cell) beginning at 3:30 PM.
We will distribute information and people can get a feel for the small space that 10’s of thousands of people are confined to 23+ hours a day, often for years.
Please call Penny to let us know if you can be with us for this important date. As the trial in the Pelican Bay class action lawsuit approaches in December, the public needs to know current news and see the model SHU again.
END LONG TERM SOLITARY CONFINEMENT !!
3:30pm– Set up mock SHU
5:00pm– Distribute literature and show mock SHU
Report by Western States Legal Foundation Executive Director Jackie Cabasso on the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference held at the United Nations in New York from April 27 – May 22, and the Peace & Planet Mobilization for a Nuclear-Free, Peaceful, Just and Sustainable World: an international conference, rally, march, festival and petition presentation to UN officials April 24 – 26.
Enjoy reasonably priced, delicious Chilean and Latin American cuisine, find out about plans for the 70th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima at the Livermore Nuclear Weapons Lab August 6, hear what’s new with Mayors for Peace, and more!
Donations to Western States Legal Foundation gratefully accepted!!
Buy your own dinner, starting at 6 pm; Program at 7 pm.
Sandra Bland, a young black woman, was pulled over for failure to signal in a small town in Texas, and then arrested. Three days later, on July 13th, 2015 she was found dead in her cell. The police claim she hanged herself, but the Bland family and her friends do not believe a word of it.
“…friend and mentor LaVaughn Mosley, 57 [[said]] “She was making plans for the future, so there’s no way she was in a suicidal state.”
Join those who stand against police terror and the outrage of in-custody deaths, in especial memory of Sandra Bland.
After Sandra Bland was pulled out of her vehicle and thrown to the ground a bystander video has her saying
You just slammed my head into the ground. Do you not even care about that? I can’t even hear! … You slammed me into the ground and everything.
AT FIRST THEY USED A NOOSE, NOW ALL THEY DO IS SHOOT #BlackLivesMatter #SandySpeaks https://t.co/O23QJytGVn
— Sandra Bland (@a_sandybeach) April 8, 2015
Join others who have signed a petition calling for the Department of Justice to do an autopsy on Sandra Bland.
We will stand in memory and we will let the world know about Sandra! Bring signs.
This event will be repeated each day this week and possibly into the future.
Sandra Bland memorial. This is where she was pulled over. #WhatHappendToSandraBland pic.twitter.com/nnfchdMQYC
— Rhys (@rhysism_) July 19, 2015
#SandraBland didn’t assault that damn officer. He assaulted her, threatened her, violated her rights. https://t.co/mIKNbdm3ua
— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) July 20, 2015
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CryptoParty will be in the foyer, following open lunch at the Internet Archive. Bring your laptop and a USB drive (to be formatted). Ryan Taylor will be leading open discussions and workshops covering the importance and implementation of Free Software, Tails, Tor, PGP, Off-The-Record messaging and other anonymity, privacy, and security tools.
Users of all ages, skill levels and backgrounds are welcome to attend and participate. Learn how to create and use a Tails USB boot drive, then we’ll go over the features and vulnerabilities that exist in contemporary encryption/anonymity software to make yourself and your data more difficult to track and attack.
Experienced attendees are encouraged to lend their knowledge in the discussions and workshops. Let’s collaborate!
Above all else, we come to share and learn the latest accurate information to help everybody be more safe in their digital existence.
Some food and drinks will be provided by Ryan. Feel free to bring more to share! (Did someone say birthday cake?)
This event will be livestreamed (with respect for the privacy concerns of all attendees): https://youtu.be/FPMAVwdBLok
SAY HER NAME: Vigil for the murder of Sandra Bland and countless others + Speak Out against state violence.
#sayhername is about recognizing that police and state violence not only destroys black male lives, but has historically done the same to black women.
This is a time for folks to come together to garner strength from the community, as we mourn many lives- many black women- who have been victimized by state violence.
The “Speak Out” portion will be a time for black women to share their art, stories, emotions and testimonies around the major issue of violence against black women.
All are welcome so long as the space is respected.
Feel free to bring family, children, friends.
We must acknowledge our need to mourn and feel, all while knowing that we will continue to resist in this war on black mothers, friends, sisters, nieces, daughters and individuals.
Oakland 1946 General Strike Walk – “We Called it a Work Holiday”
With Gifford Hartman of the Flying Picket Historical Society.
This walk will revisit the sites of Oakland’s “Work Holiday” that began spontaneously with rank-and-file solidarity with the striking – mostly women – retail clerks at Kahn’s and Hastings department stores whose picket line was being broken by scabs escorted by police.
Within 24 hours, it involved over 100,000 workers and shut down nearly all commerce in the East Bay for 54 hours. In 1946 there were six general strikes across the U.S.; that year set the all-time record year for strikes and work stoppages. The Oakland “Work Holiday” was the last general strike to ever occur in the U.S.. This walk and history talk will attempt to keep alive the memory of this tradition of community-wide working class solidarity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCKs-lhBgiM
The birthday of our public Post Office will be celebrated this year in Berkeley on Saturday, July 25th, from 12:00 noon till 2 pm, with music going on after that.
The postal unions have written to President Obama, asking that the occasion be celebrated every year as Postal Heritage Day. In Berkeley, we’ve been celebrating it every year at 2000 Allston Way since our struggle to save the P.O. began in July of 2012. So we’ll be celebrating three years of so-far successful struggle to prevent a sale of the building. Portland, Seattle and other cities are also holding Postal Heritage Day celebrations.
2015 also marks the 100th anniversary of the opening of the new Berkeley Main Post Office in 1915.
LET’S CELEBRATE !!!
National Postal Heritage Day
101st Birthday of Berkeley’s Main Post Office
240th Birthday of the United States Post Office
Hear Peter Byrne, Author of Going Postal,
Comedian Mrs. T. Bill Banks, Music by Anna de Leon,
Occupella, Redd Welsh, Hali Hammer, and others
Information, discussion & community! Monday Night Forum!!
Occupy Forum is an opportunity for open and respectful dialogue
on all sides of these critically important issues!OccupyForum presents
Nuclear Whistleblower Bob Rowen:
Is Nuclear Energy a “Safe, Clean, and Economical” Alternative?
It is clear that nuclear power is unaffordable in every way. A reliance upon nuclear power impedes our efforts to develop and implement the production of electricity by safe, affordable, sustainable means, such as solar, wind, and geothermal.
Robert Rowen: My Humboldt Diary: A True Story of Betrayal of the Public Trust, Nuclear Power at Humboldt Bay
http://peaceandjusticeonline.org/2011/05/19/nuclear-power-dangerous-dirty-expensive-20-key-facts/
Time will be allotted for Q&A, discussion and announcements.
Subject: Special City Council Meeting
From: Council President Gibson McElhaney
Recommendation: Hold A Special City Council Meeting On Council And Committee Meeting Protocols, Including Discussion Of, And Possible Recommendations Regarding, The Council Rules Of Procedure, Brown Act And The Sunshine Act Regarding Meeting Rules In Article II
We will rally to Protect, Improve, and Expand Medicare to All. Nationally, the legislation we are campaigning for is HR 676 sponsored by 49 congress members.