An online webinar on the way forward for policy and practices for sex worker rights in LA and California.

Register

The Stop the Raids Committee (https://stoptheraids.org/) formed to address the onslaught of raids and arrests of members of our sex work community – including our clients. We fully expect that those raids will ramp up in the run up to Super Bowl LVI, which will be held Sunday February 13th, 2022 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

** Large sporting events like the Super Bowl see a huge increase in raids and arrests of sex workers, our clients, houseless people and others. Poverty and survival are being criminalized.

** Research shows that anti trafficking raids result in the devastation of everyone’s lives, and that actual victims don’t get help. See the IHRC report – https://humanrightsclinic.usc.edu/2021/11/15/over-policing-sex-trafficking-how-u-s-law-enforcement-should-reform-operations/.

Free COVID-19 Vaccine Fair happening this weekend! No appointment or ID needed. Please help spread the message, and stay safe! pic.twitter.com/wrEUQIx4Yd

— The Unity Council (@TheUnityCouncil) February 8, 2022

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

For February, 2022 we’re reading the first three chapters of The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by the late David Graber and co-author David Wengrow.

For March, we’re reading the next four chapters, 4-7.

For April, we are finishing the book.

All are welcome!

“A dramatically new understanding of human history, challenging our most fundamental assumptions about social evolution―from the development of agriculture and cities to the origins of the state, democracy, and inequality―and revealing new possibilities for human emancipation…”

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 and Mine!.

Free COVID-19 Vaccine Fair happening this weekend! No appointment or ID needed. Please help spread the message, and stay safe! pic.twitter.com/wrEUQIx4Yd

— The Unity Council (@TheUnityCouncil) February 8, 2022

Bourgeois ideologists have been successful in obscuring the class basis of various international conflicts. Too few on the Left actively counter those narratives.  We will discuss the consequences of this failure for the struggle for working class power, using Ukraine  as a kind of case study.  Attendees are invited and urged to bring their insights and knowledge to the discussion.  Richard Fallenbaum, a member of ICSS will make a brief introduction..

LOGIN INFORMATION

Our Zoom room will be opened up, as usual, at 10:15 for anyone to join and discuss technical matters, catch up with each other, say Hi, etc.. The program (and recording) will begin as close to 10:30 am as possible and will end at 12:30, but the Waiting Room will remain open until about 1 pm for informal discussion.

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Please join us this evening for a Green Sunday based on the themes in Michael Goldstein’s recently published book, Blessed Disillusionment: Letting Go of What Cannot Save Us, Turning to What Can. Goldstein’s presentation will basically track the book, explaining the limits of mobilizing people to protest every new ruling-class abomination, working to take over the Democratic Party, once more electing new and better people, seeking constitutional amendments to reform the political system, and “yes,” third parties. The thesis is that these are useful, sometimes necessary, but that the political system absorbs such expressions of discontent while averting the fundamental change we need. Moreover, we face a real danger of neofascism, which the Democratic Party cannot stop.

“What Can . . . Save Us”? An actual popular revolution, i.e., structural change based on compelling the current regime to step aside in favor of our own self-rule. This can be brought about by a movement that invokes the image of the beloved community, embodies the values of such a community as its movement is building, and relies on nonviolent means. Goldstein has proposed, in some detail, a way to facilitate the emergence of such a revolutionary movement. Much of this analysis is new and therefore controversial, so we’ll have plenty of time for  questions and answers, which our presenter believes will serve both him and us.

Michael Goldstein is an Oakland author and retired attorney who defended men on death row, worked in factories and on highways, joined Standing Rock water protectors, and ran against Nancy Pelosi under the slogan, “New faces in Washington cannot stop the rise of fascism or create a caring society. Michael will use the office to help build the movement that can.” Blessed Disillusionment has been endorsed by Cornel West, Joanna Macy, longshore leader Clarence Thomas, and others. His previous book was Return of the Light: A Political Fable in Which the American People Retake Their Country.

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.

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TONIGHT Feb. 16, 5pm: #DebtStrike victory party & panel WHEN DEBT IS POWER!
Featuring Jane McAlevey @rsgexp, Astra Taylor @astradisastra, @AFSCMELocal3299 & Veritas Debt Strikers discussing Veritas debt strike, tenant unions & organizing to win!
Register: https://t.co/Jt1JKqAllK pic.twitter.com/fbPKs5pX5R

— Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco (@housingrightsSF) February 16, 2022

The U.S. Postal Service is one of our nation’s oldest institutions, and it’s a lynchpin of our communities — allowing us to communicate with one another affordably, vote from our homes, and receive necessary supplies.
But if privatizers in Congress and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy get their way, the USPS will soon cease to exist.
The destruction of the post office is a national crisis, and we must rally to stop it.

You’re invited to a sneak peek of Cinema Libre’s new documentary, The Great Postal Heist, an investigation into the effort to dismantle the U.S. Postal Service. The event will feature highlights from the film and a panel discussion by the filmmaker, activists, and labor organizers about what we can do to save the post office.

Click here to register for our special sneak peek of The Great Postal Heist!

For two years, the USPS has found itself in the middle of the nation’s greatest debates, from mail-in ballots to special rates for Amazon and FedEx to skyrocketing stamp costs and slowing service. The Great Postal Heist shows how we ended up in this situation. The film is directed by Jay Galione, the son of a postal clerk, and includes interviews with Ralph Nader, Richard Wolff, former Rep. Blake Farenthold, Rep. Stephen Lynch, and historians, legislators, and postal workers.

Courage California is standing up against the privatizing of the post office, and we want you on board with us.
Our event will show you how you can get involved in the fight to save the USPS — sign up today!

Click here to register for our sneak peek of The Great Postal Heist!

Curious about #Abolition work happening in California? Unsure where to plug in?

Join @C_Resistance this Thursday, February 17th at 5:30pm to get up to speed on @curbprisons #CloseCAPrisons Campaign & how you can get involved 💖

➡️ Register here: https://t.co/egop7gNiAm pic.twitter.com/vhIJvCg5Vn

— CURB (@CURBprisons) February 15, 2022

On February 2022, Vladimir Putin, President of Russia joined Xi Jinping, Presideent of the PRC, to take part in the opening ceremonies of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. They also released a 5000 word document, “Joint Statement of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China on the International Relations Entering a New Era and the Global Sustainable Development.”

This document expresses the views of two of the world’s largest nuclear powers, both permanent members of the UN Security Council. As such, it merits the closest attention by anyone concerned with the survival and well being of our species.

The document can be viewed at

http://en.kremlin.ru/supplement/5770

Our speaker will be Eugene E Ruyle, Emeitus Professor of Anthropology, Cal State, Long Beach, and a member of ICSS.

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Meeting ID: 259 108 2607
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Meeting ID: 259 108 2607
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Join @ellabakercenter this Sunday 2/20 for a mutual aid event from 12-3PM. Scan the QR code on the flyer attached or visit https://t.co/sTQNknvZuj register! #WeKeepUsSafe pic.twitter.com/ojbvU1uddO

— Bay Rising (@_BayRising) February 15, 2022

Links to join will be shared upon registration.
RSVP Today

In 57 out of 58 California counties, a district attorney election or recall will be on the ballot this June. Gain insight from our organizing experts and get prepared to influence the outcome of these upcoming elections.

Here’s what we’ll cover during the one-hour webinar:

• Key district attorney races in priority regions
• How you can elect a DA who shares your values
• How you can work with ACLU NorCal to help get out the vote

Reserve your spot and learn – or relearn – what the role of a DA looks like in your community. Register today for this virtual, community-powered event.

We look forward to seeing you there,

Ashley Morris
Organizing Director, ACLU of Northern California

This 5-part course is designed for anyone interested in studying technology and data as the new frontier in organizing against the systems of enforcement and criminalization that harm our communities.

Three years since beginning our monumental #NoTechForICE campaign, we’re launching this course to share resources we’ve developed and to create a digital space for deepening our collective understanding of the ever-expanding state of surveillance––and how to organize against it.

By signing up for this course, you will hear from organizers, professors, and movement leaders who contribute towards this powerful movement for a surveillance-free future. Lessons will cover: data colonialism, race and policing, immigration enforcement, border militarization, global migration, organizing tools, and more.

Alongside key speakers, you will engage with selected readings, reflection questions, and meet other people thinking through these issues of 21st century technologies in their own communities. Join us every two weeks for one hour as we learn together and continue to build a path that centers communities targeted by the detention and deportation machinery, policing, and military operations.

We know that left unchecked, we will be facing down a new world order designed and controlled by big tech and enabled by the government.

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH US!

Session Dates

Live sessions will take place biweekly on Wednesdays for one hour at 3pm PST/5PM CST/6pm EST. Lesson materials and content for each lesson will be unlocked prior to the live session.

Session 1: February 23rd
Session 2: March 9th
Session 3: March 23rd
Session 4: April 6th
Session 5: April 20th

Put POTUS On Notice: Digital Rally

President Biden campaigned on being a climate champion. But a year into his presidency – after millions of Black, Brown, Indigenous, and froontline communities and young people turned out in record numbers to the polls in the middle of a global pandemic to elect him – we’ve seeen Biden fail to tackle the climate crisis with the urgency it demands. Biden will give his first State of the Union address on March 1st. Before then, we’re gathering with partners in the Build Back Fossil Free coalition for a Peoples State of the Union to demand that Biden stop approving fossil fuel projects and declare a climate emergency.

JOIN the Build Back Fossil Free coalition for an energizing digital rally on Feb 24th at 5:00pm.

RSVP here.

Meet Oakland's very first independent Inspector General, Friday 2.25 hosted by the African American Chamber of Commerce and others pic.twitter.com/isDq8KqkKU

— Oakland Police Commission (@OakPoliceComm) February 17, 2022