Calendar

Calling 911 is the usual way people fearing threats to their safety reach out, and currently the 911 response is to send the police. However, there are times when this response is not appropriate.

The call may not concern a crime requiring police. A person may be going through a serious mental health crisis. It can involve long-term issues between domestic partners, problems with alienated youth, or a person undergoing trauma, such as homelessness or job loss. In some instances, a person may distrust police and be unwilling to call 911 or be unwilling to cooperate with an officer. On these occasions, the presence of a mental health professional rather than a police officer could defuse tension.

A number of East Bay cities have creative projects and new ideas for responding to these crises. On Monday, January 24th at 10:30 AM, Ashby Village will hear from a panel of those working on police reform in Richmond, Oakland and Berkeley. Please RSVP below to join us!

The panelists include:

• Kitty Calavita, Berkeley Police Accountability Board
• Amy Coulter, Family Member and Mental Health Advocate
• Andrew Greenwood, Retired Berkeley Police Chief
• Claudia Jimenez, Member, Richmond City Council
• Rebecca Kaplan, Vice Mayor, Oakland
• Zach Norris, Outgoing Executive Director, Ella Baker Center

The panel will be moderated by Judy Appel of the Ashby Village Board of Directors.

The Ashby Village Elder Action Committee and the Berkeley Friends Meeting are pleased to co-sponsor this panel at this time when police reform is a community topic of concern.

 

Moderator: Prof. Walter Turner (College of Marin); Speakers: Margaret Prescod (Sojourner Truth Radio Show); Borgela Jeantine aka Kafenol (Community Organizer and Radio Show Emisyon Fanmi Lavalas, Montreal, Canada); Leslie Mullin (Haiti Action Committee); Prof. Frantz Jerome (Community Organizer, Editorialist/Translator – Dekantasyon Radio Show)

Haiti is now at a crossroads. Hundreds of organizations, including Fanmi Lavalas, the people’s party, have signed onto the Montana Accord, calling for the end of the dictatorship and a new transitional government. The ruling PHTK party is now totally isolated, dependent on US support for survival.

REGISTER HERE
—
Haiti Action Committee
PO Box 2040
Berkeley,CA 94702
https://haitisolidarity.net

Please direct your donation for Haiti earthquake relief to the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund www.haitiemergencyrelief.org.Thank you.

By a large margin, US military veterans favored Donald Trump for president in 2016�and voted for him again by a  smaller margin in 2020. As Trump gears up for another White House run, he continues to woo veterans and their families, plus active duty military personnel, as part of his right-wing political base.
   Progressive veterans organizations, like Common Defense, Veterans for Peace and About Face are working with unions and other allies to counter these efforts. Among the issues they are organizing around are the parallel threats of privatization of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the US Postal Service, two of the biggest unionized employers of former military personnel.

Speakers: Suzanne Gordon and Steve Early, co-authors of “Our Veterans: Winners, Losers, Friends and Enemies on the New Terrain of Veterans Affairs” (Duke University Press, June, 2022). In their new book, “Our Veterans,” Richmond-based journalists Suzanne Gordon and Steve Early report on these and other struggles which affect millions of poor and working class people who have served in the military�and need more support from labor and the left.

Suzanne Gordon is an award-winning journalist and author. She has written for The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Nation, Washington Monthly,  American Prospect, Jacobin, and many other media outlets. She has co-edited a series on the Culture and Politics of Health Care Work for Cornell University Press. She is the author of two previous books on veterans healthcare.

Steve Early was a national staff member of the Communications Workers of America for thirty years and continues to be active in the CWA/NewsGuild. He is the author of four previous books about labor or politics, including “Refinery Town: Big Oil, Big Money, and the Remaking of an American City” (Beacon Press, 2018), about municipal reform struggles in Richmond, CA.

LOGIN INFORMATION

We Intend to start the presentation as close to 10:30 am as possible, but the 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 end at 12:30, but the Waiting Room will remain open until about 1 pm for informal discussion.

ZOOM LINK

GOOD FOR SUNDAY, Jan 30, 2022 ONLY

Raj is inviting you to an ICSS Sunday scheduled Zoom meeting
on Sunday 30 January 2022.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2591082607?pwd=QmhvdWU5NStid1hjd3V5TWk0b0IwQT09
Meeting ID: 259 108 2607
Passcode: ICSS0130rs
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Dial by your location
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Meeting ID: 259 108 2607
Passcode: 6023432288
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kc4RrpvAiQ

Register

Join Indivisible East Bay for our monthly All Members Meeting (AMM)! We’ll discuss our work to elect progressive candidates in and pass progressive legislation at local, state, and federal levels. We’ll also hear from guest speakers from organizations in our community and beyond.  Long-time members, potential new members, and their friends and family are always welcome!

We will get a 2022 strategy preview from our partners at Indivisible Northern Nevada and hear about potential opportunies later in the year to travel (and call in) to Reno to help hold that vital Senate seat in what’s looking to be a tough midterm election. Info on additional speakers and topics coming soon!

We’ll be holding the meeting virtually on Zoom (and we’ve hosted some faraway guests as a result- from Arizona, DC, and more!) If you’re new to Zoom or need a refresher, please check out our guide here.  We’ll open the meeting room at 12:45 PM so that folks can test and troubleshoot their tech: you’re welcome to join then or wait until we start the meeting officially at 1:00 PM.

For more information about Indivisible East Bay, visit https://indivisibleeb.org

Want to do more? Here’s how:

• Volunteer with IEB or find out how we work: info@indivisibleeb.org
• Subscribe to our weekly email newsletter
• IEB uses Slack, a chat system for talking about important issues, planning events, and team discussions. Want to join? Please drop us a line at info@indivisibleeb.org.

NOTE: During the Plague Year of 2020 GA will be held every week or two on Zoom. To find out the exact time a date get on the Occupy Oakland email list my sending an email to:

occupyoakland-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

The Occupy Oakland General Assembly meets every Sunday at 4 PM at Oscar Grant Plaza amphitheater at 14th Street & Broadway near the steps of City Hall. If for some reason the amphitheater is being used otherwise and/or OGP itself is inaccessible, we will meet at Kaiser Park, right next to the statues, on 19th St. between San Pablo and Telegraph. If it is raining (as in RAINING, not just misting) at 4:00 PM we meet in the basement of the Omni Collective, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland. (Note: we tend to meet at 3:00 PM during the cooler months from November to early March after Daylights Savings Time.)

On every ‘last Sunday’ we meet a little earlier at 3 PM to have a community potluck to which all are welcome.

OO General Assembly has met on a continuous basis for over six years, since October 2011! Our General Assembly is a participatory gathering of Oakland community members and beyond, where everyone who shows up is treated equally. Our Assembly and the process we have collectively cultivated strives to reach agreement while building community.

At the GA committees, caucuses, and loosely associated groups whose representatives come voluntarily report on past and future actions, with discussion. We encourage everyone participating in the Occupy Oakland GA to be part of at least one associated group, but it is by no means a requirement. If you like, just come and hear all the organizing being done! Occupy Oakland encourages political activity that is decentralized and welcomes diverse voices and actions into the movement.

General Assembly Standard Agenda

Welcome & Introductions
Reports from Committees, Caucuses, & Independent Organizations
Announcements
(Optional) Discussion Topic

Occupy Oakland activities and contact info for some Bay Area Groups with past or present Occupy Oakland members.

Occupy Oakland Web Committee: (web@occupyoakland.org)
Strike Debt Bay Area : strikedebtbayarea.tumblr.com
Berkeley Post Office Defenders:http://berkeleypostofficedefenders.wordpress.com/
Alan Blueford Center 4 Justice:https://www.facebook.com/ABC4JUSTICE
Oakland Privacy Working Group:https://oaklandprivacy.wordpress.com
Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity: prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/
Bay Area AntiRepression: antirepression@occupyoakland.org
Biblioteca Popular: http://tinyurl.com/mdlzshy
Interfaith Tent: www.facebook.com/InterfaithTent
Port Truckers Solidarity: oaklandporttruckers.wordpress.com
Bay Area Intifada: bayareaintifada.wordpress.com
Transport Workers Solidarity: www.transportworkers.org
Fresh Juice Party (aka Chalkupy) freshjuiceparty.com/chalkupy-gallery
Sudo Room: https://sudoroom.org
Omni Collective: https://omnicommons.org/
First They Came for the Homeless: https://www.facebook.com/pages/First-they-came-for-the-homeless/253882908111999
Sunflower Alliance: http://www.sunflower-alliance.org/
Bay Area Public School: http://thepublicschool.org/bay-area

San Francisco based groups:
Occupy Bay Area United: www.obau.org
Occupy Forum: (see OBAU above)
San Francisco Projection Department: http://tinyurl.com/kpvb3rv

Speak out against an unnecessary war with Russia which could possibly lead to the use of nuclear weapons.
If the war starts before Feb. 1, this action will still take place, to voice our opposition.

Emergency Action to say  “Negotiate, Don’t Escalate: No War With Russia”
February 1, 2022 at 11:30- 1:30pm (PST)
Ferry Bldg., San Francisco
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2022/01/26/18847610.php

There will be banners, flyers asking people to call the White House and their member of Congress, and an info table.  Capitol Hill: 800-826-3688
We are on the brink of a massive war between the US and Russia�two nucclear-armed states. The time to speak out is now!

Biden just ordered 8,500 US troops to be on heightened alert for possible deployment to Eastern Europe, as the dangerous escalation at the Russian/Ukrainian border standoff intensifies. Biden is also considering sending more warships and aircraft, and has already delivered more “lethal aid” to Ukraine. The $500 million Congress is set to pass through a fast-track vote, could and should be used on communities and climate. The Pentagon has said that there is the possibility of sending as many as 50,000 troops!

Join the Feb 1 emergency action to say “Negotiate, Don’t Escalate: No War With Russia.”
Sponsored by CODEPINK
Endorsers:  Green Party of Alameda County, Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Committee

CODEPINK’s recent webinar with Medea Benjamin and Larry Wilkerson: “Is the U.S. going to war with Russia over Ukraine?”

    http://www.GP.org
PLANET PEOPLE PEACE
before profit!

WORK WITH PUBLIC BANK EAST BAY:

If you would like to get involved, we have lots for you to do, including advocacy with local organizations, educational events like this one, social media, and more.

We are devastated to report the untimely death of our Board member, activist and engineer Jake Varghese. Read our tribute to Jake here. Our Revolution East Bay is planning a memorial for Sunday, January 9 at 4:00 pm – we’ll post details on our website when we have them.

Donate to Public Bank East Bay!

We’ve worked closely with Hank Levy, Alameda County Treasurer and Tax Collector, since he was first elected in 2018. He’s running again in 2022, and (even though his website hasn’t fully caught up), he’s including “Developing a public bank to provide access to much-needed funds for those without such access” on his campaign materials. This public acknowledgment of his intentions is a big boost for our goals; being aligned with the County Treasurer is invaluable.

Our viability study, a report mandated by the California Public Banking Act, is in revision stage and will be released soon for approval by the founding members’ governing bodies.

We expect to submit our business plan and charter application to the regulatory agencies in the middle of 2022. That is the last major step in the process of opening the bank doors!

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

Six minutes on “The Big Picture: How We Got Into this Mess and How We Get Out of It” with former United States Secretary of Labor Robert Reich.

WHAT IS A PUBLIC BANK?

A public bank is owned and controlled by the people of the city, state, or region it serves. It takes revenue deposits from the governments in its region (and can take deposits from semi-governmental organizations such as EBMUD or BART). Because it is a public entity, rather than a completely profit-driven corporation, it is in a position to both save money and make money for its depositors and — much more important — for the people who live in the cities, states, and regions using the Bank.

Instead of being a retail bank, our Bank will work with local community banks and credit unions to make better, more favorable loans to local businesses, and local individuals. Public banking has several strongholds around the world, including Germany — where public banking profits are largely responsible for the green energy surge — Costa Rica, and Vietnam. Public banks currently hold about ⅓ of the money in circulation in the world.

Learn More: http://www.publicbankinginstitute.org/

The California Public Banking Alliance has published a comprehensive resource booklet highlighting the ideas behind public banking and statewide efforts of the California public banking movement. It neatly organizes many of the overall intentions and purposes of imminent public banks, along with frequently asked questions. Some key points include:

• Statewide list of emergent public banks
• What is a Public Bank? A government owned nonprofit lending and depository institution by/for localized infrastructure and community investments
• Benefits of Public Banks
• 2019 Legislative support for Public Banks via AB 857
• Why Public Banks?
• How Public Banks will work
• We need Public Banks now
• 2021 Legislative support for the California Public Banking Option s via AB 1177
• Frequently Asked Questions … and answers

📣 It's not too late to join us! Click https://t.co/dUZC7675EC to join the discussion as we talk about Black Future Month, current updates, and the ongoing fight for Black liberation at our monthly member meeting! OPEN TO ALL! pic.twitter.com/RETUY4syE8

— Ella Baker Center (@ellabakercenter) February 3, 2022

A monthly meetings for new members, prospective members, and anyone else who would like to learn about how DSA SF works. We review
– Chapter structure and organization!
– What are our chapter priorities for the next year?
– What is socialism and why do we keep talking about it?

Register

The U.S. and Russia have 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons. Call on Congress, the White House and the media to listen to the people of Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. who Don’t Want War, don’t want NATO expansion, don’t want to further enrich the war industry or risk nuclear annihilation.
Instead, we want universal healthcare, quality education, eco sustainability, housing for all. green jobs!

Bring signs or borrow Code Pink’s. Hold a sign and/or pass out flyers urging people to email and call the White House and Congress.
Cheryl Davila and a few others will speak briefly at a short rally on the grass just west of the peace wall fountain in the park.
Then we’ll spread out along MLK Jr Wy with signs, banners, informational action flyers, also outside the Farmers Market entrance.

Click below for more info or to please RSVP:
Berkeley, CA: No War with Russia Rally 

 
Stephen Gowans investigates why, when all the tools to avert a catastrophe were available, the world failed to prevent the Covid-19 disaster. He examines the business opportunities and pressures that helped shape the world’s failed response. His conclusion:  the novel coronavirus, a killer, had a helper in bringing about the calamity: capitalism, the killer’s henchman.

Exposing the role profit-making played in creating the disaster, Gowans shows how capitalism, its incentives, and its power to dominate the political process, impeded the protection of public health and prevented humanity from using the tools available to solve one of its most pressing problems.

Bio:

Our speaker, Stephen Gowans, is an independent political analyst and writer whose principal interest is how public and foreign policy is formulated, particularly in the United States. His writings, which appear on his What’s Left blog, have been reproduced widely in online and print media in many languages and have been cited in academic journals and other scholarly works. He is the author of three acclaimed books Washington’s Long War on Syria (2017), Patriots, Traitors and Empires, The Story of Korea’s Struggle for Freedom (2018), and Israel, A Beachhead in the Middle East (2019) all published by Baraka Books. He lives in Ottawa, Canada

We highly recommend his blog post: The pandemic is done. Except for the burials.  His new book on Covid is coming out in June:

The Killer’s Henchman, Capitalism and the Covid-19 Disaster

LOGIN INFORMATION

We Intend to start the presentation as close to 10:30 am as possible, but the 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 end at 12:30, but the Waiting Room will remain open until about 1 pm for informal discussion.

ZOOM LINK

Raj is inviting you to an ICSS Sunday scheduled Zoom meeting
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2591082607?pwd=QnpGYXAzNlNQblZOck9lWUZMQTNIQT09

Meeting ID: 259 108 2607
Passcode: ICSS0206rs
One tap mobile
+16699006833,,2591082607#,,,,*6940540785# US (San Jose)
+13462487799,,2591082607#,,,,*6940540785# US (Houston)

Dial by your location
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
Meeting ID: 259 108 2607
Passcode: 6940540785
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kc4RrpvAiQ

NOTE: During the Plague Year of 2020 GA will be held every week or two on Zoom. To find out the exact time a date get on the Occupy Oakland email list my sending an email to:

occupyoakland-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

The Occupy Oakland General Assembly meets every Sunday at 4 PM at Oscar Grant Plaza amphitheater at 14th Street & Broadway near the steps of City Hall. If for some reason the amphitheater is being used otherwise and/or OGP itself is inaccessible, we will meet at Kaiser Park, right next to the statues, on 19th St. between San Pablo and Telegraph. If it is raining (as in RAINING, not just misting) at 4:00 PM we meet in the basement of the Omni Collective, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland. (Note: we tend to meet at 3:00 PM during the cooler months from November to early March after Daylights Savings Time.)

On every ‘last Sunday’ we meet a little earlier at 3 PM to have a community potluck to which all are welcome.

OO General Assembly has met on a continuous basis for over six years, since October 2011! Our General Assembly is a participatory gathering of Oakland community members and beyond, where everyone who shows up is treated equally. Our Assembly and the process we have collectively cultivated strives to reach agreement while building community.

At the GA committees, caucuses, and loosely associated groups whose representatives come voluntarily report on past and future actions, with discussion. We encourage everyone participating in the Occupy Oakland GA to be part of at least one associated group, but it is by no means a requirement. If you like, just come and hear all the organizing being done! Occupy Oakland encourages political activity that is decentralized and welcomes diverse voices and actions into the movement.

General Assembly Standard Agenda

Welcome & Introductions
Reports from Committees, Caucuses, & Independent Organizations
Announcements
(Optional) Discussion Topic

Occupy Oakland activities and contact info for some Bay Area Groups with past or present Occupy Oakland members.

Occupy Oakland Web Committee: (web@occupyoakland.org)
Strike Debt Bay Area : strikedebtbayarea.tumblr.com
Berkeley Post Office Defenders:http://berkeleypostofficedefenders.wordpress.com/
Alan Blueford Center 4 Justice:https://www.facebook.com/ABC4JUSTICE
Oakland Privacy Working Group:https://oaklandprivacy.wordpress.com
Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity: prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/
Bay Area AntiRepression: antirepression@occupyoakland.org
Biblioteca Popular: http://tinyurl.com/mdlzshy
Interfaith Tent: www.facebook.com/InterfaithTent
Port Truckers Solidarity: oaklandporttruckers.wordpress.com
Bay Area Intifada: bayareaintifada.wordpress.com
Transport Workers Solidarity: www.transportworkers.org
Fresh Juice Party (aka Chalkupy) freshjuiceparty.com/chalkupy-gallery
Sudo Room: https://sudoroom.org
Omni Collective: https://omnicommons.org/
First They Came for the Homeless: https://www.facebook.com/pages/First-they-came-for-the-homeless/253882908111999
Sunflower Alliance: http://www.sunflower-alliance.org/
Bay Area Public School: http://thepublicschool.org/bay-area

San Francisco based groups:
Occupy Bay Area United: www.obau.org
Occupy Forum: (see OBAU above)
San Francisco Projection Department: http://tinyurl.com/kpvb3rv

oscargrantcommittee-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

In alliance with the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) we organized the October 23, 2010 labor and community rally for Justice for Oscar Grant. On that day the ILWU shut down the Bay Area ports in solidarity. Our mission is to educate, organize and mobilize people against police and state repression. Sisters and brothers! The Oscar Grant Committee invites you to join us in this vital struggle.

We meet on the 1^st Monday of each month
You can join our discussion list by sending a blank (doesn’t even need a subject) email to

oscargrantcommittee-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

Email bayareadebtorsunion@gmail.com for Zoom link.

Twice monthly meetings, 2nd and 4th Wednesdays.

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