A message from Kevin Pina:
Many of you are aware of my work in Haiti and the documentaries I produced about the struggle for justice by the Haitian people. While reviewing footage from the spectacle of violence created by the Oakland Police Department against Occupy Oakland protesters, I was often reminded of experiences in Haiti where I saw US Marines, and later UN military forces, draw their guns on those protesting against the 2004 coup.
Many times a brutal Haitian police blatantly gunned people down in broad daylight in their neighborhoods in joint operations with US Marines and UN forces. This was almost always followed by mass arrests in those same neighborhoods and a campaign to demonize the victims in order to justify state violence against those who would dare to resist and continue to fight. For me the parallels with Occupy Oakland are undeniable and as such, I would also like to share proceeds from this screening of #OO (Occupy Oakland) to support the work of the Haiti Action Committee as they continue to work in solidarity with the historic movement of the Haitian people for real democracy and change.
As fate would have it, October 9, the date of this screening, is also the day of presidential elections in Haiti where the possibility for real change exists in the spirit of the Lavalas movement and the candidacy of Dr. Maryse Narcisse. She carries a heavy burden of history upon her shoulders especially as the elections are being threatened with violence by those who oppose real change in Haiti as well as those would buy votes and use corruption to forestall change. This event offers an opportunity to also support her and the Fanmi Lavalas movement against the forces of violence and repression.
So please join us for this benefit screening which I hope brings together a community of activists and supporters of Occupy Oakland, the Oscar Grant movement and those fighting alongside our Haitian sisters and brothers. Please consider forwarding this invitation to your personal and organizational e-mail lists along with the attached event flyer.
Join us to share and work together to support these causes we hold dear as only our communities can.
Alone we are weak, together we are strong!
Sincerely,
Kevin Pina
Producer/Director
#OO (Occupy Oakland)
Since 2004, when he made Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism, Robert Greenwald has become a vital and dogged investigator whose no-nonsense approach with its accent on digging up the profit motive is reflected in his titles: Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers, Koch Brothers Exposed, and the eye-opening and influential Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price.
Greenwald’s new film, Making a Killing: Guns, Greed, and the NRA, is a look at how money is the secret motivator behind American gun culture. It is a crucially underreported story — at least, if you compare it to the media’s focus on the gun-control debate, or to the drumbeat of nightly news tragedy that can be linked to the American obsession with firearms. Overall, gun companies from Smith & Wesson to Glock have given $20 million to the NRA, essentially funding the organization, which is why the NRA, before it’s anything else, is a corporate lobbying group.
Making a Killing: Guns, Greed, and The NRA tells the stories of how guns, and the billions made off of them, affect the lives of everyday Americans. It features personal stories from people across the country who have been affected by gun violence, including survivors and victims’ families. The film exposes how the powerful gun companies and the NRA resist responsible legislation for the sake of profit – and thereby put people in danger.
The film looks into what we can do to put an end to this profit-driven crisis. Through this film and campaign, Brave New Films will work with partners to fight for a country where public safety is more valued than profit.
www.bravenewfilms.org/makingakilling
Announcements will follow. Donations to OccupyForum to cover our costs are encouraged;
no one turned away!
An invitation to a class on the
Structures of Racialization
At the Bay Area Public School
A free university in the Omni Commons
When the English first got to Virginia, in the early 1600s, they didn’t see themselves as “white.” It took a century for their colonialism to produce the concepts of race and white supremacy.
We’ve been fighting racism, white privilege, white supremacy, and institutional racism since then. And still, a Trump can come along with his “dogwhistle” politics, and get an instant white following at varying degrees of frenzy. Today even the most liberal cities cannot stop police racial profiling – while thee illiberal ones officiate over “stop and frisk.”
Ø What are we missing?
Ø If racism is just a “divide and rule” strategy, why has it always worked so well? Why does it still work so well?
Ø How is it that new groups, like immigrants and Muslims, can be continually targetted for racial assault (victim de jour)?
Ø If race is a social construct, what is the structure that has been constructed?
Ø Is it an economic structure? A cultural structure? What?
Ø How deep culturally does it reside in this country?
Ø Is “race” a noun or a verb?
This class will look at the the structures of policing today, of segregation yesterday, and of colonization and slavery the day before that. If the “modern concept of race” was constructed socially at a particular moment, does that imply an ending we can programmatize?
This class will be mostly discussion and dialogue. We will have to address our prejudices about prejudice in order to get to the issues of structure. There will be non-mandatory readings on line for the class. It will also be open to other texts that class members wish to propose.
Facilitator: Steve Martinot
Join us at the Oakland Public Library to march over to the Board of Supervisor’s chambers to support the implementation of the reentry hiring program which allots 1400 quality, fulltime county jobs for formerly incarcerated people in Alameda County.
Join us for Press Conference and to pack the Board Meeting
10am-11am Press Conference
11am-4pm Pack the Board Meeting
We want to show our power and presence at the beginning of the meeting and encourage people to show up at any point and to stay as long as they can. Coalition members will be there until the very end with signage and ready to speak about the Coalition’s report on the impact and the alternatives to Urban Shield Urban Shield: Abandoning Hope not Building Hope .
The S.F. Bay Area Stop Urban Shield Coalition has been working hard to end the militarization of Police Forces along with other organizations and individuals considered to be first responders. Yes, we need to be prepared for emergencies/disasters, but we do not need our responses to be militarized. In the face of disaster, we need our first responders to act humanely and to put the needs of ordinary people first. Hence, we are asking you help us convince the Alameda County Board of Supervisors (BOS) to refuse funding for Urban Shield 2017.
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors will hold its regular public meetings on at October 4th and Oct 11th. In a closed meeting, on October 14th, the BOS will vote on funding Urban Shield for 2017. Please help us convince the BOS to refuse funding for Urban Shield 2017. Help us convince the BOS to use available funds for building healthy communities.
Attend the next two BOS public meetings and speak out against renewing funding for Urban Shield. While the BOS does not control Urban Shield, it has the power to cut its funding. The next two BOS meetings are scheduled for: 9:30 AM on Oct. 4th and Oct 11th.
Join or stay in contact with the Stop Urban Shield Coalition at:
We can win but to do so, we need your help. We know time is short, but please take the time to do as much as you can either as a group or as individuals to Stop Urban Shield. And … please share this information with others.
WANTED FOR HIT AND RUN!
On October 10, 2005 in Oakland, Diallo Neal was murdered when a CHP motorcycle officer struck the rear end of Diallo’s motorcycle, launching Diallo into a bus stop, pole, and concrete bench. The CHP fled the scene.
OPD began an investigation, but CHP took it over and closed it saying there was no case because they were never there.
Diallo would have turned 34 the next day, October 11th.
Work is underway to revive the truth of this tragedy, regardless of legal statutes of limitations, and bring it to the public eye.
Stand with GILDA BAKER, mother of Diallo Neal, as she demands:
– CHP accept responsibility for the cover up
– Release the name of the officer
– And hold the murderer accountable for his crime.
#Justice4DialloNeal
#NoJusticeNoPeace
#IfWeDontGetItShutItDown
This training will put gentrification and displacement in an historical context so we understand the racialized political and economic drivers. We will use this historical analysis to discuss the ways we can challenge gentrification today.
The analysis that we are presenting is based on the work of Causa Justa :: Just Cause and we are asking for $5-$20 donation, sliding scale, which will go to support CJJC’s work challegning gentrification and fighting displacement. However, no one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Our workshop has space for 66 people. To reserve your spot in advance, please purchase tickets at http://
ACCESS NEEDS: This event is wheelchair accessible. If you have specific access needs, please email surjbasebuilding@gmail.com
SCENT FREE: We ask that guests do their best to be as scent free as possible. Please refer to this resource from the EastBay Meditation Center for more information on what that means. There will be a scent free section of seating offered. http://
SPREAD THE WORD, INVITE YOUR FRIENDS!
Directed by Suree Towfighnia (2015)
When Debra White Plume’s drinking water tests high for radiation, she sets out to determine the cause. What she finds alarms her.
A nearby uranium mining operation is extracting ore from deep in the ground by tapping the High Plains/Ogllala Aquifer, a huge underground cache of water covering 174,000 square miles from Texas to South Dakota which supplies drinking water to 82 percent of the people who live within the aquifer boundary. The mine’s planned expansion further threatens the aquifer.
At a public hearing in Hot Springs, SD, Lakota tribal members and white ranchers sound off about pending permits that would expand the uranium mining industry in the area. The question on the table among those assembled boils down to this: Can we afford the depletion and possible contamination of our water supply?
Crying Earth Rise Up is an intimate portrait of the human cost of uranium mining and its impact on sacred water. It tells a timely story of protecting land, water and a way of life.
Doors open at 7pm, film starts at 7:30. $5 donation appreciated! Free snacks and popcorn!
Two native women on Pine Ridge reservation expose the human cost of u
ranium mining and its impact on the water, land and people of the Great Plains.
When Debra White Plume’s drinking water tests high for radiation, she sets out to determine the cause. What she finds alarms her.
A nearby uranium mining operation is extracting ore from deep in the ground by tapping the High Plains/Ogllala Aquifer, a huge underground cache of water covering 174,000 square miles from Texas to South Dakota which supplies drinking water to 82 percent of the people who live within the aquifer boundary. The mine’s planned expansion further threatens the aquifer.
Elisha Yellow Thunder intimately understands the dangers of contaminated water. A young mother and a geology student, she unknowingly drank water with high levels of radiation while pregnant with her first daughter, whose severe medical anomalies are life-threatening.
Directed by Suree Towfighnia, 2015
Vigil to End Deportations & Crimilization
Join us in solidarity on indiginous resistance day. We will have activities for families who have been victims of deportation/crimilization.
Vigilia para No Mas Deportaciones y Crimilizacion!
Acompañe nos para un dia de solaridad en el dia de resistencia indigena. Tendremos actividades para las familias que han tenido un familiar que ha sido victim@ de la deportacion/crimilizacion.
Many have been alarmed by the recent spectacle of law enforcement in full riot gear and armored vehicles moving through peaceful demonstrations. At first glance, it’s easy to suspect our police forces are preparing for war or terrorism instead of protecting and serving citizens exercising their civil rights. In Craig Atkinson’s disquieting documentary, such suspicions are reinforced as we learn that since 9/11, the Department of Homeland Security has given police departments $34 billion in grants to purchase equipment, while the Department of Defense has contributed additional billions in free military equipment. What changed and where are we heading? Have the War on Drugs and the War on Terror formed an alliance that apparently justifies the use of military technology, including preemptive surveillance systems on civilians? Sure to spark debate, Do Not Resist thrusts the viewer into the action on the streets and seeks to examine the growing culture of militarized policing.
A multi-faceted documentary filmmaker, Craig Atkinson is a notable producer, editor and cinematographer. Most recently, Craig was an additional cinematographer on documentaryNorman Lear: Just Another Version of You. Craig also produced, and was the co-cinematographer on feature length documentary Detropia, a lyrical exploration about the city of Detroit trying to re-invent itself in a post-manufacturing United States. The film premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and won the Editing Award for U.S. Documentary. Detropia went on to win ten additional awards worldwide and was short-listed for an Academy Award. While in Detroit, Craig was also a cinematographer on The Education of Muhammed Hussein, a 40-minute short documentary exploring the Muslim population in the Detroit area. The film, made for HBO, was short-listed for an Academy Award in 2012. Earlier is his career; he was Enat Sidi’s (The Wolfpack, Jesus Camp) assistant editor during 12th and Delaware, an HBO film that takes a compelling look at the ongoing abortion debate in America. The film was an official selection at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Craig holds a MA in Visual Media Arts from Emerson College.
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PRECEDED BY
THE DEAN SCREAM
US 2016, 10 min
Director Bryan Storkel
A case study of how the media can take a simple, innocent moment in time and spin it into something completely different.
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#JusticeForColbyFriday
#JusticeForJamesRevera
Transportation to a protest / rally in Stockton from Oakland, and back. Meet at OGP at 2:30 PM.
JOIN CODEPINK, WORLD CAN’T WAIT, OCCUPYSF Action Council and others at the huge PEACE banner
Theme this week is: “REFUGEES…”
Feel free to bring your own signage, photos, flyers, …Additional signs and flyers provided.
Stand (or sit) with us and the huge PEACE banner.
Two Black revolutionary socialists from Workers World Party are running for president and vice president – Monica Moorehead & Lamont Lilly 2016. Both will be reporting back from the Nogales SOA Watch Convergence at the border with Mexico. Lamont Lilly just recently returned from a WWP campaign solidarity delegation to Standing Rock.
We’re not running to win the elections – we’re running to help to build the struggle in the streets and connect with activists and freedom fighters doing the work in communities across the country – from Black Lives Matter, the struggle for migrant rights, LGBTQ liberation, solidarity with Standing Rock, women’s liberation, building international solidarity with workers across the globe resisting US imperialism, and more.
Find out more about our campaign and our revolutionary 10 point program at our website (http://www.workers.org/wwp/our-campaign/) and come out to share your thoughts, experience, and ask questions!
Location may change, check the event page for updtes. Refreshments will be provided. Wheelchair accessible.
Our weekly PARTY to get this hackerspace together, to provide a venue for those things that otherwise cannot be worked out through day-to-day practice.
Potluck! – bring your own tasty dish!
Sudo room, located in the southwast corner of the ground floor, is a creative community and hackerspace. We offer tools and project space for a wide range of activities: electronics, sewing/crafting, 3D and 2D manufacturing, coding, and good old-fashioned co-learning!
Hours: The space is open whenever a member is present. Come visit! Best times to drop in are evenings between 7 and 9pm. See the calendar for recurring meetups and upcoming events: https://sudoroom.org/calendar
WHAT: Tenants and allies, rally against deceptive campaign and delivery of formal FPPC complaints
WHO: Campaigns from Alameda, Burlingame, Mountain View, Oakland, Richmond, and San Mateo.
Representing big landlords and sending misleading mailers to voters, the California Apartment Association (CAA) is running a deceptive campaign against renter protection ballot measures in cities throughout the Bay Area. The CAA recently sent literature that falsely claims the State Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) has taken a position on the 5 ballot measures for new rent control. Tenants will hold a day of action in protest of the CAA’s deceptive campaign calling on the CAA to stop using renters’ money to subsidize lies, and will release its formal FPPC complaint against the CAA.
Residents and renters from throughout the SF Bay Area are calling for common sense solutions to protect our communities & renters amidst the worst displacement crisis in recent history.
Conscientious Projector Presents Book Party for “Nuclear Heartland”
“Nuclear Heartland Revised Edition: A guide to the 450 land-based missiles of the United States” edited by Arianne Peterson and our guest speaker John M. LarFarge of Nukewatch, an educational project based in Wisconsin which raises public awareness of nuclear weapons, reactors and waste.
Dr. Helen Caldicott states that every American should read this book, learn that under our farms and prairies are the ICBMs with nuclear warheads and take on the entities that imperil our survival. Much of the original content was by the late Sam Day who was most helpful to our SJC on past anti-nuclear actions.
www.nukewatchinfo.org
Watch, Discuss, Organize!
