Calendar
This open circle will continue the dialogue and planning around support, goals, and long-term strategy in addressing the issues of disproportionate degrees of police brutality and killings of black people and people of color, systemic racism, state violence, militarization of police, and more that have been brought to the forefront once again due to the recent surge of such atrocities.
Let’s kick this meeting off with a potluck at 3:00 pm followed by the Open Circle at 3:45 pm. Please bring a dish or snacks to share!
Open circle will begin with report backs and announcements of upcoming actions followed by breakout group discussions and the formation of new projects.
There will be breakout groups to allow time for networking and collaboration on projects and affinity groups.
The facilitation team welcomes suggestions, guidance, and participation. Please get in touch by commenting on this page if you want to offer any of these.
Notes from last meeting:
omnicommons.org/connect
Link to our previous meeting:
https://www.facebook.com/
Until the end of February (22nd) 2015 GA will meet at the Omni Collective basement, mostly at its regular time, 4PM Sunday. But on February 8th we will meet at 5 PM so folks can also attend the Open Circle meeting at the Omni Ballroom at 3 PM.
The Occupy Oakland General Assembly generally meets Sundays, at 4 PM at Oscar Grant Plaza amphitheater at 14th Street & Broadway, often on the steps of City Hall. “If it is raining (as in RAINING, not just misting) at 4:00 PM we meet in the basement of the Omni Commons, 4799 Shattuck Ave, Oakland Directions
We have met on a continuous basis for more than three years! 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.
The bulk of the work of Occupy Oakland does NOT happen in the General Assembly. It happens in various committees, caucuses, and loosely associated groups whose representatives voluntarily come to the GA and report on past and future actions. 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
- Discussion Topic (Optional)
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)
Occupy Oakland Kitchen Committee: (kitchen@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
Come learn about continuing developments in the battle save the Berkeley Post Office and the Postal Service from privatization, support our Occupiers and help us plan our next steps in opposition to the theft of our public commons.
THE POSTAL SERVICE WANTED TO SELL THE POST OFFICE TO HUDSON-MCDONALD DEVELOPMENT GROUP. HUDSON-MCDONALD BACKED OUT OF THE DEAL IN EARLY DECEMBER. THE CITY OF BERKELEY SUED THE POST OFFICE TO STOP THE SALE. A TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER WAS IN PLACE UNTIL DECEMBER 17th, BUT WAS LIFTED BY THE JUDGE WHEN HUDSON WITHDREW. `
Get an overview of the sale announcement here. Here’s a good more general overview piece.
There was a hearing in Federal Court on December 11th.
The next hearing is March 19th.THE FEDERAL JUDGE WILL DECIDE WHETHER THE LAWSUIT WILL CONTINUE OR BE DISMISSED – HE’LL DECIDE SOMETIME AFTER MARCH 19th.
THE POSTAL POLICE HAD BEEN RAIDING THE OCCUPATION INTERMITTENTLY IN THE WEE HOURS OF THE MORNING. BUT THE OCCUPIERS ARE NOT LEAVING! Read about one of the eviction attempts here. There haven’t been any raids since a few days before Christmas, but they might start up again at any time.
Check out the new Community Garden at the Post Office.
Also CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE. and the Save the Berkeley Post Office website, and First they Came for the Homeless Facebook for updates.
BPOD is an offshoot of Strike Debt Bay Area, which itself is an offshoot of Occupy Oakland and a chapter of the national Strike Debt movement, which is an offshoot of Occupy Wall Street.
The Oakland Tenants Union is an organization of housing activists dedicated to protecting tenant rights and interests. OTU does this by working directly with tenants in their struggle with landlords, impacting legislation and public policy about housing, community education, and working with other organizations committed to furthering renters’ rights. The Oakland Tenants Union is open to anyone who shares our core values and who believes that tenants themselves have the primary responsibility to work on their own behalf.
Monthly Meetings
The Oakland Tenants Union meets regularly at 7:00 pm on the second Monday evening of each month. Our monthly meetings are held in the Community Room of the Madison Park Apartments, 100 – 9th Street (at Oak Street, across from the Lake Merritt BART Station). To enter, gently knock on the window of the room to the right of the main entrance to the building. At the meetings, first we focus on general issues affecting renters city-wide and then second we offer advice to renters regarding their individual concerns.
The Oakland Livable Wage Assembly builds community and power among those who seek higher wages and better work life conditions for area workers. We meet every second and fourth Tuesday of the month at the SEIU Local 1000 union hall, 1433 Webster Street, 2nd Floor in downtown Oakland. These assembly meetings occur from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm.
Our work together encompasses:
- (1) the concerns of precarious, contingent and care workers;
- (2) current campaigns to improve wages for low-wage workers; and
- (3) efforts by unionized workers and unions to improve wages and quality of work life.
We share stories and information in an egalitarian and participatory way to build relationships and build the movement.
We look forward to learning with you and making change for the better. Please love and support one another. We have a duty to fight. We have a duty to win.
The first of eight meetings is January 28th.
This seminar will study the corporate structure, its historical development, and its modes of political control.
Save CCSF Coalition meeting to discuss current situation at CCSF including the shut down of Civic Center Campus, the failure to go forward with the Performing Arts Education Center, reorganization, pushout policies and the attack on noncredit and the diversity departments.
Help plan actions and organize for this semester.
For our next meeting we’ll cover Chapters 3, 4, and 5 of PART FOUR (which is the “Organisation and Ownership” section) of E.F. Schumacher’s book, “Small is Beautiful” (which is here: http://www.ditext.com/schumacher/small/small.html ).
These are the chapters about “Socialism” and “Ownership” (which Gar Alperovitz recommended)! In addition, people might also find this article by David Graeber, entitled “Hope in Common”, worthwhile: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/david-graeber-hope-in-common.
We’ll also have a brief discussion of the recent Greek elections if Syriza, the anti-austerity party, wins, and the global ramifications thereof.
The Politics of Debt Reading Group is associated with the Bay Area Public School and Strike Debt Bay Area.
AFFIRMATIVE RESISTANCE TO
San Leandro Paramilitarization & Terro
Join San Leandro SAFE in Organizing an Affirmative Strategy to Demand the Changes We Need in Our City
Bring your solutions to this meeting and/or get involved. Some ideas might be:
- DEMAND THE CHANGE WE NEED: Wasting money on paramilitarization means we don’t have resources our community needs to thrive. What do do want instead? Living wages, education, housing, roads, innovation? Let’s set a positive agenda for San Leandro.
- SHADOW REPORT ON SAN LEANDRO POLICING: The San Leandro Police Department presents its own list of “accomplishments” annually to the City Council. It’s time the community created its own report back for the Council, documenting our opposition to:
- (SLPD) profiling/harassment of people of color and other groups
- Police shootings: 3 shootings of people of color in 3 months
- SLPD slandering the life of Latino SLHS/SLAM graduate homicide victim
- SLPD militarization, including BearCat & military-grade weapons
- Increased surveillance on residents and those under no suspicion
- Increased police presence in schools, including more police, creating dossiers on students starting in elementary school, and attempts to divert education funds from classrooms to the Police budget, taking education from our children
- STOP MARKETING OF MILITARY VEHICLES AS MEDICAL VEHICLES. Join San Leandro SAFE’s petition to get red crosses off military vehicles marketed to our cities!
For more information e-mail notanks@sanleandrosafe.org
- organizing for public banking in Oakland and elsewhere.
- advocating for Postal banking.
- saving the Berkeley Post Office and stopping the Staples non-union takeover of good Post Office jobs
- working with the City of Richmond and other municipalities for eminent domain seizure of underwater mortgages from the banksters
- ongoing study group
- student debt resistance
- helping out America’s only non-profit check-cashing organization and fighting against usurious for-profit pay-day lenders and their ilk
- our famous Strike Debt radio program
- and much more!
The first of eight meetings is January 28th.
This seminar will study the corporate structure, its historical development, and its modes of political control.
Join Oakland Privacy Working Group to organize against the Domain Awareness Center (DAC), Oakland’s citywide networked mass surveillance hub, surveillance systems from facial recognition to license plate readers, Urban Shield and other invasions of privacy by our militarized police and benighted City Government.
We are currently pushing to get a strong privacy policy for the DAC enacted by the City Council, for the Council to create a privacy committee that will create a private policy for all of Oakland, and for a surveillance equipment acquisition ordinance which provides transparency and prior notification before such technology is obtained to be passed.
Stop by and learn how you can help guard Oakland’s right not to be spied on by the government & if you are interested in joining the Oakland Privacy Working Group email listserv, send an email to:
oaklandprivacyworkinggroup-subscribe AT lists.riseup.net
For more information on the DAC check out
Monthly APTP meeting, held on every 3rd Wednesday (changed from Thursday) of the month.
The Anti Police-Terror Project is a project of the ONYX Organizing Committee that in coalition with other organizations like The Alan Blueford Center For Justice, Idriss Stelley Foundation, Workers World and Healthy Hoodz, is working to develop a replicable and sustainable model to end police terrorism in this country.
We are led by the most impacted communities but are a multi-racial, mutil-generational coalition.
Presentations will be given by Attorneys Tony Rossmann (lawyer for the City of Berkeley’s lawsuit against the Post Office) and Brian Turner (lawyer for the National Trust’s similar lawsuit against the Post Office).
Others will also be there to share information about the Community Garden, the Occupation, and anything else relevant to the fight to Save the Berkeley Post Office.
A Radio-Media Network event with Community and KPFA Staff to help develop live, diverse grassroots radio-media channels for sharing local actions, news, public affairs and alternative culture.
On the 3rd floo,r administrative wing, look for KPFA signs.
This event, sponsored by the KPFA Community Advisory Board is open to the public and is especially for individuals, community groups and social justice activists who want to be involved with KPFA’s free speech radio-media network. We want to explore new possibilities for KPFA live streaming, outreach interviews, Twitter, and other radio-media resources. We want to support the dissemination of people’s stories, perspectives, and thinking to foster effective coverage about local events as well as our responses to national and global actions such as those we witness in Ferguson, New York and Cleveland.
Join us in building a KPFA Community and Staff Network, addressing issues of democratization and justice in our lives, in our communities and for the planet.
6th Open Circle ~Connect & Collaborate on Ending Police Brutality,
Systemic Racism and Disenfranchisement of Black People & People of Color
Let’s kick this meeting off with a potluck at 3:00 pm followed by the Open Circle at 3:45 pm. Please bring a dish or snacks to share!
Open circle will begin with report backs and announcements of upcoming actions followed by reflection and dialogue around the current state and thoughts or approaches on how to effect change.
We will end with breakout group topics and time to connect with folks with similar interests. Some great affinity groups have formed out of the breakout groups segment. Solidarity is afoot so bring your ideas!
Notes from last meeting:
omnicommons.org/connect
Come learn about continuing developments in the battle save the Berkeley Post Office and the Postal Service from privatization, support our Occupiers and help us plan our next steps in opposition to the theft of our public commons.
The postal service wanted to sell the post office to Hudson-mcdonald, a local developer. The city of berkeley sued the post office to stop the sale. Hudson-mcdonald backed out of the deal in early december.
Get an overview of the sale announcement here. Here’s a good more general overview piece.
There was a hearing in Federal Court on December 11th.
The next hearing is March 19th. The federal judge will decide whether the lawsuit will continue or be dismissed – he’ll decide sometime after march 19th.
There will be a townhall on the lawsuit and other Post Office defense developments on February 19ths.
The Postal Police had been raiding the Occupation intermittently in the wee hours of the morning, but the Occupiers refused to leave. Read about one of the eviction attempts here. There haven’t been any raids since a few days before Christmas, but they might start up again at any time.
Check out the new Community Garden at the Post Office.
Also check out our website and the Save the Berkeley Post Office website, and First they Came for the Homeless Facebook for updates.
BPOD is an offshoot of Strike Debt Bay Area, which itself is an offshoot of Occupy Oakland and a chapter of the national Strike Debt movement, which is an offshoot of Occupy Wall Street.
The Oakland Livable Wage Assembly builds community and power among those who seek higher wages and better work life conditions for area workers. We meet every second and fourth Tuesday of the month at the SEIU Local 1000 union hall, 1433 Webster Street, 2nd Floor in downtown Oakland. These assembly meetings occur from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm.
Our work together encompasses:
- (1) the concerns of precarious, contingent and care workers;
- (2) current campaigns to improve wages for low-wage workers; and
- (3) efforts by unionized workers and unions to improve wages and quality of work life.
We share stories and information in an egalitarian and participatory way to build relationships and build the movement.
We look forward to learning with you and making change for the better. Please love and support one another. We have a duty to fight. We have a duty to win.
The first of eight meetings is January 28th.
This seminar will study the corporate structure, its historical development, and its modes of political control.
We’ll be discussing the Russian economy this time:
Here is the reading for the next meeting:
Hudson on the Russian Pivot:
http://michael-hudson.com/2014/12/russian-pivot/
Putin’s gold for oil scheme:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/grandmaster-putins-trap-russia-is-selling-oil-and-gas-in-exchange-for-physical-gold/5421567
The Russia-China Currency Swap deal:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/russia-and-china-the-dawning-of-a-new-monetary-system/5423637
The Politics of Debt Reading Group is associated with the Bay Area Public School and Strike Debt Bay Area.