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Our current gas-car-based transportation system accounts for about half our greenhouse gas emissions and worsens all our inequities. Join experts and activists to hear about ways to strengthen transit, make it easy to walk or bike, and replace gas cars with EVs everyone can afford.

Picture a privileged person ensconced in a costly car that glides between privileged destinations, passing GHGs and toxins over the homes of the less advantaged, who drive clunkers or line up for buses that cost too much and too often don’t arrive.  And join the discussion about how to change that picture!

This is the third installment in the second series of summits on United Actions for an Environmentally Just and Regenerative Future, hosted by the Climate Emergency Mobilization Task Forcel

Schedule for this summit:

9:  Land acknowledgement/welcome Cheryl Davila & Amos White, CEMTF

9:15: Assemblymember Phil Ting: How can we accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles?

9:30: Dan Sperling, Director of Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis and member of California Air Resources Board

9:45- 10:45: Panel: Encouraging Transit, Walking, Biking
* Facilitator: Yusra Arub, UC Berkeley Urban Studies student
* Speakers:
* Chirag Rabari–Metropolitan Transportation Commission, Plan Bay Area Implementation Team
* Jovanka Beckles–AC Transit Board member
* Jenn Guitart–California Bicycle Coalition
* Peter Miller–San Francisco Taxi Workers Alliance, AFL-CIO

10:45 – 11:45: Panel: Electrification of Transportation
* Facilitator: Elena Engel, 350 Bay Area Transportation Team
* Speakers:
* Carleen Cullen–Drive Clean Bay Area
* Lily Cohen–No New Gas Campaign
* Brian Beveridge–West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project
* [speaker on EV charging TBD]

11:45 – 12:00: Toolkit for Transportation Actions by Cities/Counties
* Jack Lucero Fleck, CEMTF steering committee & 350 Bay Area Transportation Team

Closing remarks–Cheryl Davila

Oakland! TODAY from 12-4pm, celebrate Black August with @togetherABC, @LSPC_ & @AllofUsorNone at a community BBQ supporting the Oakland Rejects Slavery / Abolish Bondage Collectively campaign! At Lil' Bobby Hutton Park in West Oakland – more info at https://t.co/9mrnq5Uecy. pic.twitter.com/EPTju6yrNu

— Ella Baker Center (@ellabakercenter) August 21, 2021

Assuming it is open, we will be meeting in-person at our old haunt, the OMNI, and, as an experiment, with a Zoom live link for those who can’t be there physically.  Check back here a few days before the event to insure the availability of the OMNI, otherwise we will meet again solely online.

Due to the exponential growth of Delta COVID in Alameda County we will still be meeting online in July.  The August meeting may be held dually online and at the OMNI Commons.
Stay tuned!

Email strike.debt.bay.area@gmail.com for up-to-date status and the online invite.

Our current topic is degrowth. Our book is Exploring Degrowth: A Critical Guide, by Liegey and Nelson, available from its publisher Pluto Press and elsewhere, including Amazon.  We will be reading the first half of the book this month, constituting the first three chapters, through page 85 of the paper back edition, and the second half of the book for our August meeting.

“A sense of urgency pervades global environmentalism, and the degrowth movement is bursting into the mainstream. As climate catastrophe looms closer, people are eager to learn what degrowth is about, and whether we can save the planet by changing how we live. This book is an introduction to the movement. As politicians and corporations obsess over growth objectives, the degrowth movement demands that we must slow down the economy by transforming our economies, our politics and our cultures to live within the Earth’s limits. This book navigates the practice and strategies of the movement, looking at its strengths and weaknesses. Covering horizontal democracy, local economies and the reduction of work, it shows us why degrowth is a compelling and realistic project.”

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, and Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism.

Sunday Morning at the Marxist Library

A Good question – which we hope to help answer with some serious analysis and information in the following upcoming activity

PLEASE JOIN US for what will be an excellent panel discussion on the dangers and opportunities Cuba is now facing in today’s world

This online activity will include:

Gloria La Riva – ANSWER Coalition co-founder, member of the SF Bay Area Cuba-Venezuela Committee, and recent visitor to Cuba

Cheryl LaBash – co-chair of the National Network on Cuba.

Pablo Menendez – North American musician/composer and resident of Havana, Cuba since 1966.

This event will be moderated by long-time Cuba solidarity activist Tony Ryan.

At the program’s end, there will be sufficient time for Q & A and comments.

Please share this announcement with your friends and contacts.

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.
Raj Sahai is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meeting
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Amongst ourselves we often talk over the lack of accountability within our community “family business”, which like the country seems to be only getting worse. The premise is that the identifying label of Polyamory brings an patriarchal hierarchy image to mind. Also that misogyny is not the only deep dive that needs to be addressed. Racism, One penis policy translating into a heterosexual norm that is actually a negative.

Join us at this donation based event with our normal cast and special guests. Interactive deep dives on deep topics.

We are really reaching outside the comfort zone box.
Why are POC not represented in the BDSM/Kink community?

Is there acceptance of the LGBTQ community within the Polyamory community?

How does racism/sexism effect all of these communities? We want to hear your ideas. The Oakland Greens Virtual Townhalls are designed to hear your ideas & thoughts. At these events we want to listen to you, not talk at you. Join us in ZOOM Sunday August 29 room opens at 5:45 PM PST, discussion at 6:15 PM PST, with unique topics & unique discussions.

These are donation only events and as always

NO ONE TURNED AWAY FOR LACK OF FUNDS.

In partnership with Freedom Archives, the NLG-SFBA will host a series of outdoor film screenings and discussions on Saturday, August 28 and Saturday, September 11. Topics will include COINTELPRO, the life of George Jackson, the Attica uprising, and “We Know Our Rights,” a multimedia toolkit produced by the chapter for people dealing with law enforcement.

August 28th – Screening of COINTELPRO 101 and George Jackson Commemoration
September 11th – Screening of Attica (1974) and We Know Our Rights

These events commemorate the 50th anniversary of George Jackson’s assassination in San Quentin State Prison, the 50th anniversary of the Attica Uprising, and the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and ongoing resistance against state targetting in the wake of 9/11.

Tickets for both in-person and virtual attendance will be available. The panels, guided discussions, and films will be livestreamed. While we are optimistic about hosting this event outdoors and in-person, we are prepared to fully transition this event as virtual-only in case of circumstances beyond our control.

Sunday Morning at the Marxist Library

Is the US Global Empire Actually in Decline?

It is almost taken for granted, if not an article of faith, in the progressive milieu that the US empire is in decline. Does this hold up or is it comfort food for the frustrated hoping for the revolution? In the 40-year period between 1917 and 1959, socialist revolutions occurred in Russia, China, Korea, Vietnam, eleven countries across Eastern Europe, and Cuba. Yet during this era, thought to be a period of US ascendency, the US had to confront the former world Communist bloc, its associated parties in capitalist countries, and Third World national liberation movements.  Now, in the period of alleged US decline, it has been socialist revolution that experiences catastrophic defeats.

In the last 30 years, the US and its subordinates have not only blocked successful revolutions but have overturned socialism in most of the former Communist sphere. The socialist countries that continue have all had to backtrack. True, China is an economic powerhouse today, with the US empire unable thwart its continued rise. Yet the US imperial system still maintains decisive economic, political, and ideological hegemony, backed by tremendous military muscle. It can still impose crippling sanctions and blockades on most any country, and the world can do little in response.  The US media still shapes how most people view contemporary events. What would a world look like if the US lost the ability to be world cop?

Our speaker, Stan Smith, will explore these questions based on a manuscript that he and Roger Harris have been researching, followed by a Q&A in which both will participate.

Stan Smith last spoke at the Marxist Library in November on “How the US Dominates the World Economy.” His writings include: Inadequacy of Modern Monetary Theory and the Power of the US Dollar in the World Economy and Why the US Can Keep Increasing its Debt and not Suffer Inflation. Roger Harris on the Library’s program committee.

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.

Raj Sahai is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meeting
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This fire season we’ve seen the largest known wildfire ever in California, bringing the climate crisis literally to our front doors. This is not an isolated event. Climate scientists have been warning that extreme weather would be coming if we continued to burn fossil fuels, and yet, because of capitalism, we’ve only seen the use of those fuels skyrocket. In the past month reports about this crisis have come out with dire warnings, letting us know that tipping points that mean an unavoidable cascade of the irreversible climate crisis, are approaching rapidly if they haven’t had already been reached. All of this means that our task is enormous and urgent. Climate change is a direct result of the capitalist system, and we will not be able to address the climate crisis without getting rid of it altogether.

Join the East Bay DSA Political Education Committee and Green New Deal Committee as we look at why capitalism is incapable of addressing the climate crisis, and why the fight for socialism is our only way out.

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Reading List

Part 1: THE CURRENT CLIMATE CRISIS
(very brief articles about the current state of the climate crisis)

‘Nobody’s Safe’: 10 Takeaways from New International Climate Change Report

Climate crisis: Scientists spot warning signs of Gulf Stream collapse: Article from The Guardian

Part 2: CAPITALISM AND CLIMATE CHANGE

(Don’t mourn organize! These are the main readings, start with the first one, or chose whichever you would prefer!)

What it Will Take: Ch.27 Beyond Capitalism by Carol Dansereau 

A good place to start: a general introduction to why socialism is the only answer to the climate crisis

Introduction and First Chapter of Red Green Revolution by Victor Wallis

A deeper dive into the concepts of ecosocialism

Part 3: ON THE GREEN NEW DEAL

Climate Change Is Class Struggle by Matt Huber

A review of On Fire: The Burning Case for a Green New Deal by Naomi Klein that highlights the need for class struggle in the fight for the Green New Deal

2021 DSA Convention: Decade of the Green New Deal: Planetary Crisis and Socialist Power

Register Here

What role does the immigration system have in upholding the prison industrial complex? What is a “direct transfer” & how have direct transfers impacted our communities? What is the Vision Act and how can you get involved? Learn this and more as we speak with directly impacted community members around these topics. General member meetings take place every 1st Wednesday of the month and are open to everyone!

*Due to concerns over the spread of COVD-19 variants, our monthly member meetings will remain virtual for the remainder of the calendar year.

Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85817209915

Interesting Agenda Items

4. Surveillance Equipment Ordinance – OPD – Body Worn Camera impact report and proposed use policy – review and take possible action

Join CCWP (CA Coalition for Women Prisoners) for a special event this coming Thursday featuring four amazing storytellers, two of which are formerly incarcerated CCWP members who will be sharing about Life Without Parole. You can read more about the Stories in Living Color series here.

*This event is free and will stream on YouTube, but you must register here to receive the link.

Raj Sahai is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2591082607?pwd=eFpBNHgwaU9Eem1vNitTclAzeWdKZz09

Marx and Engels left a legacy of social and economic theories which have influenced the world in numerous ways. However, there are some significant theoretical gaps for which they left little guidance. These gaps include the ‘withering away of the state’ and how exactly it occurs, the true nature of the ‘communist Party’ and its relationship to the state, the ‘dictatorship of the Proletariat’, the consciousness of the working class and therefore the very essence of communism itself. All are very lightly sketched. Blue Revolution seeks to understand where the 21st Century working class needs to go, to fulfil Classical Marxism’s aim of creating a socially and economically ‘just’ society.  Many people have ‘filled in’ these gaps in ways that have led ‘socialism’ to become characterised by the control of the people by the state. Blue Revolution seeks to escape this avoidable human tragedy by interpreting Marx and Engels within the context of 21st century political and economic reality. There is a way to liberate people, end the class system and create a fairer and ‘just’ society by way of ‘revolution’, whilst avoiding the top-down or totalitarian power of bourgeois and authoritarian single-party states. If this is achieved this revolution will, we believe, be true to the liberating aims of Karl Marx and Frederick  Engels.

Our speaker, Michael Gilbert, studied modern philosophy and political economy at the Polytechnic of North London, and social work law and social policy at The University of East Anglia in Norwich.

Before embarking on his studies and in his late teens Mike was affiliating himself with a branch of the International Communist Party. He was also involved with an Unemployed Workers Group and a group of libertarians. He saw no contradiction between Marxism and libertarianism.

Following his studies, Mike left political activism and married and had children. Following his second divorce in 2010 he had time to reflect on politics since his graduation and realised that western society needed a revolution. He was drawn back to radical politics, but with a characteristic ‘libertarian twist’.

Having been disillusioned with the British left for its sectarianism, elitism, and complete disregard for the working class (seeing the role of the state as controlling the working class as opposed to the working class controlling the state) he decided to put his past learning to some use and began to study classical Marxism again. His hope is to unite all working people. His efforts have resulted in the publication of four booklets aimed at introducing working people to Marxism as well as creating a political Group Called Blue Revolution.

For background, folks are urged to read the four booklets on the website. Www.ABlueRevolution.org (booklets)

Maybe you’ve been getting our emails for months or years but never come to a DSA event. Maybe you’re a veteran leftist with decades of battles under your belt. Maybe you’re a new member ready to take the next step and get organized.

Wherever you’re coming from, we want to hang out with you!

🌹  Hear what we’re currently working on

💪  Get more involved in critical fights right here in the East Bay

🍪 Eat some snacks

Right now, we’re grappling with raging fires, looming climate catastrophe, and a Democratic establishment eager to yank the housing and unemployment checks away from regular people in the middle of a pandemic. Meanwhile, billionaires are hoarding workers’ money to fly to space.

➡️➡️➡️There’s never been a more pressing time to make the jump from socialist to *organized* socialist. ⬅️⬅️⬅️ And that starts with meeting your comrades and taking action. Plus, it’ll be fun, we promise. Join us!

Invite all your union friends and the socialism-curious!

Look for us at Snow Park (the corner of Harrison St and 19th Street next to Lake Merritt).