Calendar

This Friday at 6:30 pm! Join the DSA SF International Solidarity Committee for the final part of the film screening and discussion of Patricio Guzmán’s documentary The Battle of Chile: The Struggle of an Unarmed People. Register: https://t.co/3YNuZI76D8 pic.twitter.com/vAZGrEjjFh

— DSA San Francisco (@DSA_SF) March 29, 2023

To participate in this event online, please register in advance at
https://bit.ly/WorldPeace_230401 to receive your personal link

ZOOM LINK

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81133350622?pwd=dUUyUWppbWt6djVTaElISUhocXpSUT09

Silicon Valley Bank – previously the 16th largest bank in the US and reportedly a source of funding for half of all the tech startups in the US – has collapsed.

It’s now become clear the more general banking crisis that has emerged is not due simply to a rogue, mismanaged bank that over-extended itself during the recent tech boom and then somehow mysteriously imploded in just 72 hours, March 7-9, until seized by the FDIC on the morning of March 10, 2023.

Deeper, more systemic forces are at play- in the case of both the SVB collapse and the now spreading contagion to US regional banks as well as to European banks. The SVB is just the tip of the current financial instability iceberg. In Europe the focus is the now collapsed big Credit Suisse bank announced today, March 19, by Switzerland’s central bank. The problem is thus now not just US regional bank centric, but is rapidly becoming global systemic.

What then are the systemic forces responsible for the SVB collapse and now spreading instability to US regional banks and European banks?

Dr. Jack Rasmus, Ph.D Political Economy, teaches economics at St. Mary’s College in California. He is the author and producer of the various nonfiction and fictional workers, including the books The Scourge of Neoliberalism: US Economic Policy From Reagan to Bush, Clarity Press, October 2019; Alexander Hamilton & The Origins of the Fed, Lexington books, March 2019; Central Bankers at the End of Their Ropes: Monetary Policy and the Coming Depression, Clarity Press, August 2018; Looting Greece: A New Financial Imperialism Emerges, Clarity Press, Sept. 2016; Systemic Fragility in the Global Economy, Clarity Press, January 2016; ‘Obama’s Economy: Recovery for the Few‘, Pluto Press, 2012, ‘Epic Recession: Prelude to Global Depression‘, Pluto Press, 2010, and ‘The War at Home: The Corporate Offensive from Ronald Reagan to George W. Bush‘, Kyklosproductions, 2006. He has written and produced several stage plays, including ‘Fire on Pier 32‘ and ‘1934‘. Jack is the host of the weekly radio show, Alternative Visions, on the Progressive Radio Network, and a journalist writing on economic, political and labor issues for various magazines, including European Financial Review, World Financial Review, World Review of Political Economy, ‘Z‘ magazine, and others. Before his current roles as author, journalist and radio host, Jack was an economist and market analyst for several global companies for 18 years and, for more than a decade, a local union president, vice-president, contract negotiator, and organizer for several labor unions, including the UAW, CWA, SEIU, and HERE. Jack’s website is www.jackrasmus.com

ZOOM LINK

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81133350622?pwd=dUUyUWppbWt6djVTaElISUhocXpSUT09

Meeting ID: 811 3335 0622
Passcode: ICSS2717rs
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Come join us for our bi-weekly reading of The Wretched of the Earth! Tomorrow (04/02) we will be picking up on Chapter 4: On National Culture @omnicommons from 4-6pm. DM us for the link to join virtually if you cannot make it in person. *Masks are required to be worn at all times pic.twitter.com/dfInN7TWLA

— Community Liberation Programs (@comlibprograms) April 1, 2023

you must register in advance.

     Do you think the Left needs to move beyond critique and towards constructive action? Can we do so in a way that’s honest, vulnerable, and respectful of differences?

     If so, please join Margaret Kimberley, Gloria Mattera, and former Green candidate for US Pres David Cobb.  Explore how to build deeper unity while encouraging responsibility for our feelings and actions.  We’ll apply this framework to the question “What Is To Be Done?”

Host: Green Eco-Socialist network.

We will be discussing what class struggle is all about, and how it grounds our politics. Readings to come.

RSVP

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Meeting ID: 857 5873 6005

Passcode: 090614

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Join the Black Studies Collaboratory at UC Berkeley on Wednesday for a panel on Black trauma and healing justice featuring our very own leader and co-founder, Cat Brooks!

April 5th, 2023, 12:30pm – 2:30pm at Osher Theater, BAMPFA. Register at: https://t.co/XlUo7mgWp7 pic.twitter.com/PA9uIi4dOR

— Anti Police-Terror Project (@APTPaction) April 3, 2023

Agenda Items:

4. Dept. of Housing and Community Development – Rental Registry
a. Review for compliance with City of Oakland’s Privacy Principles and take possible action
5. Federal Task Force Ordinance – OPD – Annual Reports – Review and take possible action
a. US Marshals
b. DEA
c. ATF
d. Secret Service
e. FBI Child Exploitation
f. FBI Violent Crimes
6. Surveillance Technology Ordinance – DOT – Mobile Parking Payment Proposal
a. Review and take possible action on the Impact Statement, proposed Use Policy, and Professional Services Agreement

Bringing together union members, labor activists, and local officers, a Troublemakers School is an incredible space for networking, building solidarity, and sharing successes, strategy, and inspiration. It’s a real shot in the arm for newbies and seasoned activists alike.

You will be inspired. Hear speakers from the front lines of recent struggles.

You will learn new skills. The one-day conference features interactive workshops, panels and meetings, ranging from crucial basic skills like helping your colleagues beat apathy to advanced topics like winning first contracts and running for union office.

Registration (scroll down to bottom): https://labornotes.org/events/2023/bay-area-troublemakers-school

Workshops will include:

• Beating Apathy
• Turning an Issue into a Campaign
• Opening Bargaining
• Climate Justice and Labor
• Strikes!
• New Organizing
• Race and Labor
• …and more!

Workshops and schedule subject to change! Detailed program to come.

Registration fee (covers event registration and lunch):
$40 – Regular registration
$15 – Hardship rate registration (choose if you need)

Childcare will be provided. Complete the form that you will receive in an email after you register in order to sign-up for childcare.

Labor Notes is committed to making this event safe for all, including those who are medically vulnerable. Therefore, we strongly encourage masking. Masks will be provided for attendees.
If possible, take a rapid test before you attend. As well, if you are not feeling well, please stay home.

Questions? Ideas? Want to get involved? Email Barbara barbara@labornotes.org

For those who have asked how to support our library as we keep fighting for the digital rights of all libraries, there will be a rally on the steps of the @internetarchive next Saturday (4/8) @ 11am PT #EmpoweringLibraries #DigitalRightsForLibraries
RSVP👇 https://t.co/dDD7XHGA3u

— Internet Archive (@internetarchive) March 30, 2023

Panel Discussion:

After brief presentations by three ICSS members, Gene Ruyle, Raj Sahai, and Roger Harris, we will have an open discussion on this important topic.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81133350622?pwd=dUUyUWppbWt6djVTaElISUhocXpSUT09

Meeting ID: 811 3335 0622
Passcode: ICSS2717rs
One tap mobile
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+16699006833,,81133350622#,,,,*5892135124# US (San Jose)

Prior registration required.

What constitutes a progressive position on the war in Ukraine?  What factors might bring about peace?  Should the United States continue to send military aid, and other support, to Ukraine?  What should be done about the parts of Ukraine currently occupied by Russian forces?  What should be done about NATO?

Please join us on April 9th to hear Howie Hawkins and Jill Stein present their perspectives on the Ukraine war and how peace might come about.  Jill and Howie are the Green Party’s two most recent Presidential candidates, Jill having run in 2012 and 2016 and Howie having run in 2020.  Following their presentations, we’ll have time for questions and answers.

Howie Hawkins has been a Green Party candidate for city council, mayor, and auditor in Syracuse, New York, winning 48% for a district council seat in 2011, and 35% of the citywide vote for city auditor in 2015.  Prior to becoming the Green Party’s Presidential candidate.in 2020, he was the Greens’ Governor candidate in New York in 2010, 2014, and 2018.  He was a co-founder of the anti-nuclear Clamshell Alliance in 1976 and the Green Party in the US in 1984.  Howie moved to Syracuse in 1991 to develop cooperatives for CommonWorks, a federation of cooperatives.  Howie’s articles on politics, economics, and environmental issues have appeared in Against the Current, Black Agenda Report, CounterPunch, Green Politics, International Socialist Review, Labor Notes, New Politics, Peace and Democracy News, Roll Call, Society and Nature, Z Magazine, and other publications.

Dr. Jill Stein is a graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Medical School and was a practicing physician for 25 years. She has served on the Greater Boston board of Physicians for Social Responsibility. Stein co-founded and served as Executive Director of the Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy Communities. She has worked with Clean Water Action, Toxic Action Center, Global Climate Convergence, Physicians for a National Health Program, and the Massachusetts Medical Society.  She previously served as an elected member of Lexington Town Meeting, and ran for Massachusetts governor in 2002 and 2010. She also ran for Massachusetts House of Representatives in 2004 and for Massachusetts secretary of state in 2006, and in 2012 and 2016 she was the Green Party’s Presidential candidate.

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.

 Landlords are mobilizing against permanent teenant protections and your voice is needed on Tuesday, April 11!

Black renters are TWICE as likely to face eviction as white renters. The eviction moratorium will soon end in Oakland and we are calling on all tenants and allies to come out in person to Oakland City Hall to speak in support of strengthening permanent tenant protections.

Although this proposal is hardly radical and is more than fair to landlords, they are guaranteed to turn out in numbers to oppose it. If YOU are a tenant and the eviction moratorium has helped you, your voice is needed!

• Press Conference @ 1pm at 1425 Harrison Street, Oakland
• City Council Meeting @ 4pm at Oakland City Hall (start gathering at 2pm)

Note: We’re asking for as many people as possible to show up to City Hall (*masks required*) and begin to take a seat in the chambers by 2pm – sadly, a fringe group of landlords and extremists plan to pack the chambers to erase the voice of renters, so we must fill the chambers! Public comment will begin shortly after 4pm.

If there isn’t any way you can make it in person, you can also join at 4pm by video conference (Zoom), or by dialing (669) 900-6833, Meeting ID: 861 3539 1880 (if asked for a participant ID or code, press #).

Your community is counting on you to take action!

United in struggle and liberation,

Anti Police-Terror Project

TOMORROW, 4/11, 4:15 PM, Grand Lake Theatre: Free screening & discussion of Birthing Justice, a feature length documentary highlighting the issues fueling the maternal health crisis within the African American community.https://t.co/lij0h1E4qq

— Supervisor Keith Carson (@Keith_Carson) April 10, 2023

Mark your calendar and c’mon down to Richmond City!
David Solnit is hosting an art build for People’s Earth Day 4 Water Justice (4/23 at Lake Merritt)

What: 1-2 banners, signs
=> RSVP to action@sunflower-alliance.org required (it’s a gated space, we’ll need to contact folks to let them in).

Volunteers, comrades at partner organizations, impacted family members welcome!

Email guadalupe@antipoliceterrorproject.org to RSVP and with any questions.

Last month we were honored to host partners, community members and impacted family members for a beautiful weekend dedicated to healing at The People’s House.

Special thanks to impacted families for trusting us to be part of their healing journeys, and to our healers who created such a warm, calm, and peaceful space.

Our aim is to offer healing services at The People’s House every 3rd weekend of each month, which is coming up in just over a week.

We invite volunteers, comrades at partner organizations, impacted family members, and local Black, Indigenous and other people of color to join us at our upcoming healing portal at The People’s House! **This April we are also appreciating our local librarians with an hour of healing dedicated to them.**

A healing portal is an intentional space meant to interrupt state violence and make room for healing, community care, and wellness. We’ll be offering healing services including acupuncture, massage, reiki, auricular therapy, talk therapy, and more!

Note: Masks are required indoors at The People’s House. The space is wheelchair accessible. Children are welcome to receive services with parent or guardian present.

Email guadalupe@antipoliceterrorproject.org to RSVP and with any questions.

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

For our March, April and May meetings we are reading Debt: The First 5000 Years  by David Graeber (Warwick, Amazon).

For  our March meeting we’ll be reading the first five chapters.
For  the  April  meeting  we  are  reading  chapters  6 through  9.
For our May meeting will are reading the remainder of the book.

Before there was money, there was debt. For more than 5,000 years, since the beginnings of the first agrarian empires, humans have used elaborate credit systems to buy and sell goods—that is, long before the invention of coins or cash. It is in this era that we also first encounter a society divided into debtors and creditors—which lives on in full force to this day.

So says anthropologist David Graeber in a stunning reversal of conventional wisdom. He shows that arguments about debt and debt forgiveness have been at the center of political debates from Renaissance Italy to Imperial China, as well as sparking innumerable insurrections. He also brilliantly demonstrates that the language of the ancient works of law and religion (words like “guilt,” “sin,” and “redemption”) derive in large part from ancient debates about debt, and shape even our most basic ideas of right and wrong.

We are still fighting these battles today.

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, Mine!, The Dawn of Everything  A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things, Beyond Money, Less is More, and Cannibal Capitalism.

Sunday Morning at the Marxist Library

Ann Garrison will discuss US foreign policy and struggles for self-determination in Africa, particularly in the Horn of Africa and the African Great Lakes Region. She spent the spring of 2022 in Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Our sppeaker is Ann Garrison, a Contributing Editor to Black Agenda Report, and a contributor to The Grayzone, Counterpunch, the San Francisco Bay View Newspaper, LA Progressive, and Pacifica Radio.  In 2014 she received the Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza Democracy and Peace Prize for reporting on conflict in the African Great Lakes Region. In 2014, she received the Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza Democracy and Peace Prize for her reporting on conflict in the African Great Lakes region.
Ann has invited an Eritrean scholar, Elias Amare, to join her.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81133350622?pwd=dUUyUWppbWt6djVTaElISUhocXpSUT09

Meeting ID: 811 3335 0622
Passcode: ICSS2717rs
One tap mobile
+16694449171,,81133350622#,,,,*5892135124# US
+16699006833,,81133350622#,,,,*5892135124# US (San Jose)

Dial by your location
+1 669 444 9171 US
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)

Since we won in City Council last year, we’ve been hard at work making sure the City of Oakland uses public land for public good. As a result of that hard work, we are currently in an exclusive negotiating agreement with the city to build a people’s proposal on the E. 12th remainder parcel.

It’s been a long, hard-fought battle, and though the work isn’t over, there is a lot to celebrate. So we thought we’d invite you to come join us to do that. RSVP here for a reminder.

We will be gathering on Sunday, April 16th for a celebration! We’ll bring refreshments and good vibes; you bring a friend, neighbor, or family member and your best ideas for the E. 12th parcel. In addition to celebrating our victories, we’ll do some updating to the visioning work we did together in 2015.

RSVP here for a reminder about this event.

Please share this invitation with people you know in the neighborhood! Everyone is welcome.