Calendar
Of the five people arrested in Berkeley over he weekend, three people’s charges were not filed. (These were the three people facing felony charges.) Two people’s arraignments got pushed to tomorrow (TUESDAY). One is at 9am in 107, and one is at 2pm in 112. Please come out tomorrow and support!!!
Check updates here before going.
Tuesday city council meeting must be shut down. City government needs to be brought to a halt. In response to the tear-gassing of Telegraph Ave and the People’s Park area, Mayor Bates must resign. Bates resignation must be requested during the city council meeting of Dec 9th. It needs to be made clear that Bates political career is over; he does not represent Berkeley.
Shut down Berkeley city government. The police are waging war on the populous.
If Bates won’t protect citizens from the police, then there needs to be mayor who will.
Furthermore, the police chief Michael Meehan must be terminated. The dissolution of trust has been too great.
The system is corrupt. Shut it down.
Converge at Berkeley City Hall tomorrow at 7pm and demand an end to police terrorism and repression. #Berkeley #BerkeleyProtests #Oakland
— Occupy Oakland (@OccupyOakland) December 9, 2014
#Berkeley Any group converging 5pm Telegraph&Bancroft march/regroup @ MLK Jr. / Civic Center Park for 7pm convergence. 2options. #ShutItDown
— Domain Awareness (@domainawareness) December 9, 2014
Postal Police have raided/harassed the Occupation/Vigil at the Post Office opposing its sale and the privatization of the Postal Service for four mornings: Thursday, 12/4, Friday, Sunday and Monday.
They did not show up again Tuesday morning, fortunately. Let’s make sure they don’t again, or if they do, have a crowd waiting for them, as we did Monday morning and again on Tuesday.
Berkeley Post Office Defenders welcomes your support!
Update: live-from- #Ferguson tribunal moved to 2537 Haste St. to accommodate larger crowd 4pm; then march from Telegraph and Bancroft 7pm
— Occupy Oakland (@OccupyOakland) December 10, 2014
Tribunal 4PM @ Room 174 Barrows Hall, UCB (near Bancroft + Telegraph); afterward MARCH gathers @ Bancroft + Telegraph
#berkeleyprotests
— Occupy Oakland (@OccupyOakland) December 10, 2014
The night of December 6, over 500 UC-Berkeley students and community members marched to demand justice for Mike Brown and Eric Garner. Police from across the East Bay rioted against the peaceful crowd, with batons, tear gas, and rubber bullets. They broke one person’s leg, inflicted other injuries, and indiscriminately arrested members of the crowd.
But UC-Berkeley students and community members poured into the streets to protest this violent onslaught and STAYED STRONG FOR NINE HOURS. Inspired by the heroic example of Ferguson, we showed that WE WON’T BACK DOWN!
Protesters voted to MARCH AGAIN this MONDAY, DEC. 8 at 5:00pm at the intersection of Bancroft and Telegraph, for THESE DEMANDS:
* Jail Darren Wilson, Daniel Pantaleo, and All Killer Cops
* End the Racist Coverups by the District Attorneys and Grand Juries
* Down with the New Jim Crow! Down with the Police From Ferguson to Ayotzinapa to Staten Island: March Against State Repression
* Release the Berkeley protesters arrested and drop all charges.
*** BERKELEY ASKS OTHER CAMPUSES AND COMMUNITIES TO JOIN US IN SOLIDARITY ***
*** SHARE PHOTOS + VIDEO FROM THAT DAY TO GET OUT THE TRUTH ***
“Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.”
— United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Across the world, December 10th is commemorated as Human Rights Day. Having access to a job, education, healthcare, and safety in Alameda County is a human rights issue! Join us, along with faith leaders and community members, for a vigil in front of the Alameda County Administration building.
Let’s tell the Alameda County Board of Supervisors that we oppose the ongoing cuts to reentry job training, education, healthcare, and housing. We need more funding for community-based programs and services, not jails.
To learn more about the 50% for Jobs Not Jails Campaign visit www.ellabakercenter.org/
he grand jury’s decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson for the August 9 murder of Ferguson resident Mike Brown is simultaneously shocking and predictable. The same is true of a Staten Island grand jury’s decision not to indict Daniel Panteleo for the choking death of Eric Garner, spitting in the face of the people around the country who took to the streets to protest Wilson’s escape. The global spotlight on police murder after the rebellion in Ferguson makes the decision to let both walk all the more surprising, but the ugly reality is that police routinely murder Black and Brown people across the U.S. without facing consequences. The number of people killed by police last year was the highest number in 20 years, according to the FBI itself. Come to this meeting to discuss why the police are so out of control and what we can do to demand justice.
Speakers: Michael Chase (ISO) and student from Stanford that participated in recent walkouts
Originally scheduled for November 10th, now scheduled for December 11th, although the time is not certain. Check back for additional possible changes and verification of time.
Plaintiffs City of Berkeley and Mayor and Members of the City Council of the
City of Berkeley have filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary
injunction, to enjoin defendants United States Postal Service, Patrick R. Donahoe, Tom A.
Samra, and Diana Alvarado from completing a sale of the Berkeley Post Office. According to
that motion, “the City believes that USPS will attempt to convey the Post Office property at any
moment,” even though USPS reportedly has not performed the reviews required by the National
Historic Preservation Act or the National Environmental Policy Act.
This order hereby ENJOINS the named defendants from completing the sale of the
Berkeley Post Office until a hearing on the motion for preliminary injunction can be conducted…
(signed)
WILLIAM ALSUP
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
During the Mario Romero Second Annual BBQ on September 1st folks marched in solidarity with the call-out from Ferguson to take to the streets & to halt traffic at busy intersections for 4’30” to symbolize the 4 hours and 30 minutes that Mike Brown lay in the streets after he was murdered by officer Darren Wilson. The police began pushing people towards the side walk in an aggressive & intimidating manner. Noticing that all the police had lapel cameras that were not turned on Ali politely requested the officers to activate their cameras, and that is when he heard a threat from behind him from one of the officers to “get off the street or you know what is going to happen.” Ali asked him what he meant by that when he was confronted by a sergeant and threatened with arrest. Ali continued to ask the sergeant to order his officers to turn their lapel cameras on so the crowd would feel safer, knowing that their actions were being recorded. While Ali was talking to the sergeant on the edge of the side walk (the officer was in the middle of the street), the policeman came from the middle of the street and arrested Ali for PC 148, Obstructing a Police Officer.
Court support is requested to show solidarity with the families of Vallejo who have lost loved ones to arbitrary police violence and are being continuously harassed to this day.
with Jesse Jackson
for Good Jobs & Equality
This year Reverend Jackson pushed tech companies to release demographic figures revealing appallingly low percentages of employees who are Black, Latino and women calling the battle for job parity “the fourth stage of the civil rights movement.” (USA Today) We all see every day in our neighborhoods how the Bay Area tech driven economy is not providing good jobs to the people in our communities who need them the most.
Tech companies do create some jobs that go mostly to people of color: contracted service jobs in janitorial & security. But tech CEOs are leaving our Black and Latino communities behind by hiring low-road contractors that pay low wages and benefits. (USA Today)
Together we can challenge income inequality by holding big tech accountable! Let’s build a bay area economy where all workers and their families can thrive!
We invite you to be a part of this movement:
RSVP on Facebook, reply to this email, or join the action planning committee meeting:
Tuesday, 11/18 4pm at Working Partnerships, or call-in option 712 432 1212 code: 383 793 014
You can also sign your organization on to endorse the rally or let us know if you need transportation to the event from San Jose or San Francisco.
Endorsed by:
Jesse Jackson & the Rainbow Push Coalition, SEIU USWW, Working Partnerships USA
UPDATE (12/11 5:45): 2 Comrades are being released tonight! One of them is being released no charges filed, the other is our injured comrade who just got bailed out. They need rides from Santa Rita TONIGHT!
Press Conference to Call for DOJ Prosecution of Professor John Yoo for Torture
Our message is that prosecution is mandatory under the law. Eric Holder must do his duty and indict and prosecute Yoo.
- We will set up a waterboard and do a mock waterboarding and forced feeding. We will have orange jumpsuits for people to wear.
- Codepink will attempt a citizen’s arrest of John Yoo. Some will attempt to pink slip him.
- Codepink and allies will deliver a message to UC Law School Dean Choudry that we are calling for the prosecution of John Yoo, as well as a UC investigation. We will also demand that UC take Yoo’s endowed chair away from him and that his relationship with UC be severed immediately. We will no longer accept that UC employs a torture enabler to teach law.
- Alumni are especially encouraged to speak at the press conference if they have decided not to donate to UC any longer because of Yoo.
- Codepink and allies gathered over 100 signatures of UC alumni and current students and members of the community on petitions during the FSM 5th Anniversary events. The petitions call for Yoo to be investigated by UC and prosecuted by Eric Holder and the Department of Justice. We will present the petitions to the media and law school at the press conference
The Bay Area Civil Liberties Coalition works actively to empower individual efforts and collective initiatives to support civil rights and defeat illegal government spying.
TODAY Bike Ride for Black Lives – 5pm Friday, Dec 12th @ 14th & Broadway #Oakland #ShutItDown #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/95HfdLynVq
— Occupy Oakland (@OccupyOakland) December 12, 2014
2014 Worst Boss of the Year: Hs. Lordships, Don’t Steal Our Healthcare!
Workers at H’s Lordships restaurant have been bargaining a contract for four years. These longtime workers are asking for a fair contract, however management continues to propose drastic takeaways. Workers have offered to give up sick days and vacation time and participate in a new plan with a high deductible and reduced benefits. But the restaurant is proposing to increase healthcare eligibility so that as many workers would lose their health insurance all together. For those who still qualify, they are also proposing shifting another $290 per month of the cost of family medical from the Employer to the worker.
To make matters worse, they are now threatening to unilaterally implement these takeaways effective January 1. UNITE HERE Local 2850 is declaring H’s Lordships the “Worst Boss of the Year.”
Join us for Christmas carols and cookies at our holiday action, where we will ask for worker justice this holiday season. Let’s tell management to stop being a Grinch!
Questions or need a ride? Contact Nicole Zapata at nzapata@unitehere.org or 925-639-7588.
ANSWER Community Forum: All Welcome
The Movement to End Police Brutality: What’s Next
Share the Facebook Event
Featured Speakers
Maile Hampton, ANSWER Coalition
Akbar Muhammad, International Representative of the Nation of Islam
Frank Lara, Party for Socialism and Liberation& New Video on the Struggle for Justice
Wheelchair accessible. Refreshments provided.
Find out why Harvey Milk is on a stamp as a pioneer for the gay community. (Documentary) The film won an academy award. Free.
Long Haul is screening a move the second through last Sunday of each month in December, January and February.
The Internet is great because it belongs to all of us equally, providing a level playing field. The web as we know it today is founded on the principle of ‘Net Neutrality’ — the idea that data, no matter who it is coming from or who is receiving it, should be given the same priority. Policymakers in the US are currently considering whether or not to adopt rules that protect Net Neutrality.
Come to this exciting event to learn a little bit about your digital rights and what Net Neutrality means for you.
We will have speakers who can talk to us about these issues and how they might impact everyone.
Bring your devices to learn about your privacy options and settings in a hands-on workshop with volunteers from Sudo Room and join us for a short maker party where we will craft buttons, posters or zines inspired by this conversation. We will tweet and post your creations #InternetFreedom or #OpenInternet
Speakers
MALKIA CYRIL grew up believing that “everyone deserves a public voice.” Inspired by her mother’s work editing the Black Panther’s newspaper in Brooklyn, Cyril recognized the power of media and culture at an early age. Today, Cyril is founder and executive director of the Center for Media Justice and co-founder of the Media Action Grassroots Network (MAG-Net), a national network of 175 organizations working to expand media access and rights for marginalized communities. For more than a decade MAG-Net members have been winning fights for open Internet protections, digital inclusion, wireless and phone equity, community radio and public media at the local and national levels. A prolific writer, Cyril’s articles — on issues from Net Neutrality to prisoners’ communication rights to corporate accountability — have appeared in The New York Times, Politico, Huffington Post, Democracy Now, Essence Magazine and dozens more. In 2012, Cyril received the prestigious Donald H. McGannon Award for her work to advance the roles of women and persons of color in the media reform movement.
http://mediajustice.org/ | http://mag-net.org/
JEREMY GILLULA is a staff technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, where he focuses on privacy and civil liberties issues arising from new and existing technologies, including the Internet, machine learning algorithms, and autonomous ground and aerial vehicles. Prior to joining EFF, Dr. Gillula was a postdoctoral scholar at UC Berkeley in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, where he developed novel methods for guaranteeing the safe operation of machine learning algorithms. He earned his master’s and doctoral degrees from the Stanford University Computer Science department, and his bachelor’s degree from the California Institute of Technology Computer Science department.
SPONSORED BY Oakland Public Library with Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Center for Media Justice, Oakland Wiki, The Sudo Room, Media Alliance, and EveryLibrary CA.
EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO VIOLENT UNDERCOVER COPS!!
On Wednesday night, in the middle of a protest in Oakland, an undercover cop pulled out a gun and pointed it indiscriminately at protestors in the crowd. OPD was later quick to absolve themselves of blame and assert the aggressor was a CHP cop. ACAB.
Come express your rage at the racist police state in all its acronyms – rally, speakout, and march against CHP and all pigs.
Material Print Machine is a newer collective at the Omni Commons building, in the basement. We are hosting an Open House on THIS Saturday. We’ve been working over the past few months to set up a community print shop at the Omni. Come learn more about the project and the resources we are offering, and celebrate what we’ve done so far.
We’ll be printing letterpress posters, binding books and drinking cider.
If you’d like to be a collective member, we are actively seeking new members! We invite collaboration with anyone who is interested! Search for the “Material Print Machine” group on Facebook if you’d like to find updates that way. We are constantly growing and changing and have work parties where we are preparing the equipment to be used!
Currently, this is our schedule for work parties, held in the Omni Commons basement:
Fridays:
12-4 PM Work party
Sundays:
6-7 PM Work party
7-8 PM Collective meeting (and we stay around to work later into the evening often)
Come join us and check out what we do! We also plan to start doing workshops in the space soon, so come ask a collective member about that!
Speakers:
Jack Heyman, boycott support organizer, later ILWU Local 10 Exec. Board member (retired)
Howard Keylor, co-leader of boycott, longtime ILWU Local 10 Exec. Board member (retired)
For eleven days in November-December 1984, a ship full of cargo from South Africa sat and rusted in San Francisco harbor as 300 longshoremen refused to touch the apartheid freight on board.
This dramatic act of militant labor solidarity by members of Local 10 of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) with the embattled black masses of South Africa sent a powerful message that reverberated world-wide. The longshore action was actively supported throughout by hundreds who rallied at the gates of Pier 80 to show their solidarity.
The 1984 Bay Area boycott originated with a motion put forward at a Local 10 Executive Board meeting by International Bolshevik Tendency (IBT) supporter Howard Keylor. Jack Heyman, who later became a leading militant in Local 10, played an important role in organizing support for the unionists.
The success of the 1984 anti-apartheid boycott helped lay the basis for subsequent political labor actions such as:
– The 1986 community-labor blockade of the Nedlloyd Kembla at Pier 80 by the Campaign Against Apartheid and the IBT
– The 1999 shutdown of all ports on the U.S. West Coast in support of Mumia Abu-Jamal
– The 2008 one-day West Coast strike against the occupation of Iraq
– The 2010 Bay Area port shutdown to protest the murder of Oscar Grant by BART police officer Johannes Mehserle
– Occupy Oakland’s November 2011 “General Strike” and the December 2011 Port Shutdown
– The recent blockades of Israeli ZIM Line vessels in defense of the Palestinian people by Block the Boat and the Stop ZIM Action Committee
Come celebrate and learn about how this historic political strike was organized from two ILWU militants who played instrumental roles in an action which Nelson Mandela hailed as having “established [the ILWU] as the frontline of the anti-apartheid movement.”
Organized by the International Bolshevik Tendency (IBT)
For more information:
www.bolshevik.org
facebook.com/Bolsheviks
twitter.com/ibt1917
Interfaith Prayers for Victims and Survivors of Violence
Second Sundays:
Interfaith prayer meeting for healing, dedicated to the survivors and victims of violence and police terrorism in Oakland.
We are organizing this gathering for the community to connect, share prayers, writings and poems from all spiritual traditions, reflect and recharge and build coalitions interested in healing.
Please feel free to bring quotes or passages to share
All are welcome
We will serve simple breakfast.
