Calendar
- student debt resistance
- organizing for public banking.
- advocating for Postal banking.
- fighting modern day debtors’ prisons and exploitive ticketing and fining schemes
- helping out America’s only non-profit check-cashing organization and fighting against usurious for-profit pay-day lenders and their ilk
- our famous Strike Debt radio program
- staging Debtors’ Assemblies
- Working on debarring US Banks that have been convicted of felonies from municipal contracts
- Working on ways to kickstart the drive for basic income
- and much more! Bring your own debt-related project!
If you are new to Strike Debt and want to come early and meet one or two of us before the formal meeting starts, email us at strike.debt.bay.area@gmail.com .
Strike Debt – Principles of Solidarity
Strike Debt is building a debt resistance movement. We believe that most individual debt is illegitimate and unjust. Most of us fall into debt because we are increasingly deprived of the means to acquire the basic necessities of life: health care, education, and housing. Because we are forced to go into debt simply in order to live, we think it is right and moral to resist it.
We also oppose debt because it is an instrument of exploitation and political domination. Debt is used to discipline us, deepen existing inequalities, and reinforce racial, gendered, and other social hierarchies. Every Strike Debt action is designed to weaken the institutions that seek to divide us and benefit from our division. As an alternative to this predatory system, Strike Debt advocates a just and sustainable economy, based on mutual aid, common goods, and public affluence.
Strike Debt is committed to the principles and tactics of political autonomy, direct democracy, direct action, creative openness, a culture of solidarity, and commitment to anti-oppressive language and conduct. We struggle for a world without racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and all forms of oppression.
Strike Debt holds that we are all debtors, whether or not we have personal loan agreements. Through the manipulation of sovereign and municipal debt, the costs of speculator-driven crises are passed on to all of us. Though different kinds of debt can affect the same household, they are all interconnected, and so all household debtors have a common interest in resisting.
Strike Debt engages in public education about the debt-system to counteract the self-serving myth that finance is too complicated for laypersons to understand. In particular, it urges direct action as a way of stopping the damage caused by the creditor class and their enablers among elected government officials. Direct action empowers those who participate in challenging the debt-system.
Strike Debt holds that we owe the financial institutions nothing, whereas, to our friends, families and communities, we owe everything. In pursuing a long-term strategy for national organizing around this principle, we pledge international solidarity with the growing global movement against debt and austerity.
ps if u want bernie to win he should make barbara lee his vp NOW
JOIN US FOR A SHIFT: LATE NIGHT MASS COPWATCHING
· February 12, 10 PM – 1 AM
· February 27, 8 PM – 11 PM
Since October 2015, Berkeley Copwatch has been holding “mass copwatch” events that invite folks to join us for a shift. It’s been fun and very empowering to have up to five cars full of copwatchers patrolling our city and on the scene when police stop people.
This month we have two shifts scheduled. Please join us; we will train you in the essentials of copwatching, how to document and how to stay safe!
Contact us at (510) 548-0425 or berkeleycopwatch@yahoo.com to learn where we will be meeting.
We’ll teach you how to use common encryption technologies like Signal, Tor, and password managers. We’d also like to have speakers, email jehan.tremback@gmail.com if you’d like to present.
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STEALING DEMOCRACY – HAITI FIGHTS BACK FEB 28th 3-5PM at EASTSIDE ARTS ALLIANCE, OAKLAND |
| Join Haiti Action Committee to mark the 12th anniversary of the February 29, 2004 U.S.-backed coup d’état that overthrew the progressive, democratically-elected Lavalas government headed by President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and to stand with Haiti’s popular movement at a critical moment in its longstanding struggle for democracy.Eastside Arts Alliance Sunday, Feb 28th, 3-5PM2277 International Avenue, Oakland See the statement issued by 68 grassroots organizations in Haiti calling for solidarity with their struggle for free and fair elections, dignity and justice. The statement was written as tens of thousands of Haitians have taken to the streets – braving assassination, tear gas, beatings, and police torture – demanding the annulment of the fraudulent elections that gave the lead positions in the legislative and presidential races to the hand-picked candidates of President Michel Martelly, the corrupt “Haiti is Open for Business” government head imposed on Haiti. by Hilary Clinton.
The postponement of Haiti’s rigged January 24th presidential run-off election is a dramatic and hard-won victory for the people’s movement, which has insisted that no election take place until it could be free and fair and democratic. The response of the Obama administration? Blame the protesters. The struggle for the right to vote and for all Haitians to participate in the political process continues.
See this August 2003 publication Hidden From The Headlines: The U.S.War Against Haiti. to understand the relentless U.S. campaign to sabotage and destroy Haiti’s democratic government that led to the 2004 coup d’etat and military occupation. Hidden from the Headlines exposed a highly organized U.S. propaganda offensive against the Aristide government aimed at progressive activists who might otherwise have defended a democratically elected government committed to social change. We invite you to attend this challenging and informative event and come out ready to support Haitians’ struggle for democracy.  |
As a direct result of incredible community organizing over the past year, Oakland City Council is holding a special hearing of the Community Economic Development Committee, where the three proposals for development on E 12th – including A People’s Proposal – will be presented publicly. A People’s Proposal is available online here.
We need to show the depth of community support for 100% affordable housing on public land. Please join us on Monday 2/29:
- 4:00 Community gathering on steps of Oakland City Hall
- 4:30 Special CED Committee Meeting on E 12th Proposals
The fight for the E 12th A People’s Proposal is not just about one piece of public land. We need to lift up the voices of the people who are being impacted by our housing crisis and push back against development-as-usual in Oakland. Join us to demand real solutions to the housing crisis and public land for public good, not luxury towers and segregated housing.
Please sign up here to speak on Monday 2/29 at 5:30 and share your support for A People’s Proposal for E 12th. We are the only agenda item, so enter “1” where it asks for the agenda number. You can also cede your time to another speaker. (Remember to print out your confirmation page and bring it with you.)
Help us keep the public pressure up by calling or emailing Council Members, or contacting them on Twitter or Facebook!
Sample Tweet: Dear @Abel_Guillen @DanKalb @annieforoakland @LynetteGM @desleyb, please support @peoplesproposal for 100% affordable housing! #SaveE12th
www.facebook.com/AbelGuillen;
www.facebook.com/DanKalb;
www.facebook.com/anniewashington;
www.facebook.com/desleyb;
www.facebook.com/lynettemcelhaney
Sample call-in script or email:
“My name is ____ and I am calling to ask City Council Member ____ to support A People’s Proposal for 100% affordable housing on E 12th St. We need to maximize affordable housing for working families on public land, not a luxury tower. Please support A People’s Proposal when it comes before you.”
District 2 Council Member Abel Guillen (510) 238-7002, aguillen@oaklandnet.com
District 1 Council Member Dan Kalb (510) 238-7001, dkalb@oaklandnet.com
District 3 Council Member Lynette Gibson McElhaney (510) 238-7003, lmcelhaney@oaklandnet.com
District 4 Council Member Annie Campbell Washington (510) 238-7004, acampbell-washington@oaklandnet.com
District 6 Council Member Desley Brooks (510) 238-7006, dbrooks@oaklandnet.com
We are inspired by how many people and organizations have helped A People’s Proposal over the past year, and deeply grateful for every single call, email, and public support for this effort. Thank you & together we can make community-led housing development a reality in Oakland! #SaveE12th #PublicLand4PublicGood
Occupy Forum is an opportunity for open and respectful dialogue
on all sides of these critically important issues!OccupyForum presents
“Heist: Who Stole the American Dream” a Documentary,
and discussion with director Donald Goldmacher
Today, politics is the playground of the rich and powerful with no thought given to the hopes and dreams of ordinary Americans. HEIST goes deep in explaining the greatest wealth transfer of our time. Moving beyond the white noise of today’s polarizing media, HEIST provides us with an explanation of the crisis in which we find ourselves, and the steps we must take to restore representative democracy.”
Donald Goldmacher will lead discussion on the system as it is intentionally pushed toward oligarchy, and the problematic nature of this system in any case.
Time will be allotted for announcements.
Early Morning Picket to Defend San Francisco’s Leeville Tent City! 4:30 AM @ division and 11th in SF. We just got confirmation from the homeless outreach team that riot police are going to be trying to arrest and throw out homeless folks possessions at early in the morning on tuesday at the division underpass.
We call on the entire working class to stand with the Leeville Tent City and together build a movement to build housing and community autonomy for working class, working poor, and homeless people. Please bring pickett signs and banners. We need to mobilize a mass of people to copwatch and defend the mostly black/brown and working class/poor. On Friday Morning 100 working class people stopped an eviction of a homeless encampment by getting in the way of the police to prevent eviction of the#leevilletencity. Tomorrow morning please meet at soma streat food at 11th and division today 4:30 AM tomorrow morning!
We demand:
1. Build Single Room Occupancy (SRO) Housing not Luxury Condominums.
2. Repeal The Ellis Act and stop evicting working class and poor people.
3. A Living wage and Union Jobs for all!
The Oscar Grant Committee was born from the struggle for justice for Oscar Grant, mudered by BART police on Jan 1, 2009. We organize working class resistance in support of families whose loved ones were murdered by police.
We meet on the first Tuesday of every month.
Come fill the court to show love for Jean and Jean, who put their bodies on the line for the land at the #GillTract! Let’s show the judge it’d be best to dismiss all charges!
- $15 by October, 2017.
- Sick leave standards equivalent to Oakland and Emeryille.
- Prevent tip theft.
Learn about the initiative and how you can help. Brief training for signature gathering. Join a team to go out and gather signatures. Get additional petitions.
On Wednesday, February 24th, 2016, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, three young men, Adam Mekki, Muhannad Tairab, and Mohamed Taha Omar, were killed in a horrific act of violence.
Please join us on Wednesday to remember them and recognize the injustice that was committed against them.
Please note that this event is meant to be a healing space for Black Muslims and their communities.
In addition to attending, please sign this petition to bring justice to our three brothers: http://
Sponsored by:
Mills College Muslim Student Alliance
UC Berkeley Muslim Student Association
UC Berkeley Black Student Union
Homes Not Jails is a consensus-based collective of squatters and squat supporters who believe housing is a human right. Our goal is to open as much vacant housing as possible and to keep it open as long as possible. HNJ is a place to organize mutual aid among squatters and squat supporters and housing rights advocates in the bay. We actively fight to make our space inclusive and safe for everybody and combat oppression in all forms.
Time to stop the large increases in rents and out of control evictions. In 2015 rent for a two bedroom in Oakland increased 40% to an average of $2950/month.
Join us to present a resolution to the Oakland City Council demanding a moratorium on Evictions and Rent Increases.
We encourage all Oakland residents to attend the weekly No Coal in Oakland meeting.
Up until its February 16th meeting, the position of a majority of Oakland City Council members on permitting coal shipment from the city’s port may have been in doubt. Even now the proposal remains on the table. But at that meeting, council members took concrete steps toward banning coal exports once and for all. Thanks to the efforts of Mayor Libby Schaff, local clergy, State Senator Loni Hancock, and community activists, the Council has signaled its intention to enact an outright ban on coal exports. In fact, it passed a moratorium on the issuance of any permits for the terminal until the question has been resolved. Read details on the latest developmemts here.
(And for more background, see A Coaltastrophe Threatens Oakland on this website.)
n March, EBC will begin hosting mail nights at our office to respond to the increase amount of correspondence we’ve been receiving from people in prison across the Country. We are getting lots of questions about upcoming ballot initiatives, Prop 47, requests for pen pals and EBC’s work at large.
Please RSVP to emily@ellabakercenter.org
Join us for a film and discussion about the tiny home movement. A screening of “Tiny: A Story About Living Small” will be followed by a panel discussion led by members of Tiny House In My BackYard (THIMBY), an interdisciplinary collaboration of UC Berkeley students designing and building a zero-net-energy tiny house on the Berkeley Global Campus.
About the film: “The film follows one couple’s attempt to build a “tiny house” from scratch, and profiles other families who have downsized their lives into homes smaller than the average parking space. TINY is a story for a society redefining its priorities in the face of a changing financial and environmental climate. More than anything, TINY invites its viewers to dream big and imagine living small.”
Potluck snacks and meet and greet at 6:30pm; film at 7pm, followed by discussion. Purchase tickets ahead of time, or just drop in!
Event Website: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/250094
Event Phone: (510) 548-2220 x239
Event Email: carrie [at] ecologycenter.org
This event is co-sponsored by Transition Berkeley, the Ecology Centerand BFUU’s Social Justice Ctee.
Suggested donation $5-$20. No one turned away.
Wheelchair accessible.
For occasional email notices of peace/eco/social justice alerts and related events at BFUU, send any email to:
bfuusjev-subscribe [at] lists.riseup.net
For weekly notices of BFUU services etc. go to:
http://www.bfuu.org/signup.html
The time that we need you is now. Please join us in solidarity every day of the trial at the federal court building on 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco.
BREAKING BREAKING NEWS! Witness Justin Fritz apologizes to the Nietos for calling the police on Alex Nieto! Fritz claims Alex Nieto had done nothing wrong that day. Witness Antonio Theodor testifies that police officers killed Alex Nieto in cold blood! Full news tomorrow morning. Amor for Alex!
http://missionlocal.org/2016/03/witness-testified-alex-nieto-never-drew-weapon/
The federal civil action filed by Refugio and Elvira Nieto v. SFPD and the City and County of San Francisco for the wrongful death and civil rights violations of their son, Alejandro “Alex” Nieto goes to trial on March 1.
Four San Francisco Police Department officersLt. (then Sgt.)) Jason Sawyer and officers Nathan Chew, Roger Morse, and Richard Schiff fired 48 bullets at Alex Nieto, killing him on Bernal Heights Park on March 21, 2014.
For more information about evidence in the trial check Case Status and Alex’s Story.
Amor por Alex Nieto and our community of justice and peace!
Watch our trial rally song here on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShxnYj6t-Sk
The trial will last approximately ten days.
March 1st Report filed by A. Camarena � New information learned:
59 bullets were fired. 20 and 23 by Sgt. Sawyer and Ofc. Schiff who were first to arrive on scene. Both reloaded their .40 caliber guns once and kept shooting at Alex because they claim that he took a prone tactical position and kept pointing the taser at them. Ofcs. Morse and Chew arrived and make the incredible claim that Alex was still alive and threatening them with taser in a prone tactical position on the ground and fired 11 and 5 more shots until Alex dropped his head and taser. A crime scene photo of Alex turned over on his back, riddled, and bleeding out was shown.
Day 2 WED March 2 Testimony of Officer Schiff (the he Rookie) and partial testimony of Lt. Sawyer (the Vet)
Mini update by Adriana Camarena
Summary of testimony of rookie Ofcs. Schiff and partial testimony of Lt. Sawyer Schiff shot 23 rounnds, Sawyer 20. We learned today that the guns used by the officers who killed Alex are semi-automatic. It means that the officers had to squeeze the trigger on their .40 caliber gun each time to fire each shot. It means that each of those 59 shots fired were actually 59 individual decisions. Officers testified that it is their duty to continuously assess the situation for every shot fired.
They can only draw or fire their weapons if they have reasonable cause to believe that they themselves or someone else are at risk of death or serious bodily injury. This is why today we heard sworn testimony that Alex was still standing in a punched out tactical position pointing his taser the laser light visible after these two officers unloaded each a clip (13 bullets each, 26 total) and reloaded and kept firing (another 10 and 7 respectively). At some point Alex jumps down into a prone (belly on floor) punched out tactical position with his taser laser light pointed at them. Schiff and Sawyer both unloaded each almost another clip.
The testimony is that Alex kept threatening them as if he were a supernatural being, immune to bullets. There was sworn testimony that Alex was agonizing, breathing in gurgling distressed sounds, when they approached and decided to handcuff him because they assessed he could still be a threat. There were contradictions between the two officers we heard today as to what they said they saw Alex do. More on that tomorrow I suppose.
