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OccupyForum Presents…
The Square
Tahrir Square film with Ahmed Salah
We have all heard of and even followed news of the Egyptian revolution when it kicked back in 2011. On this event we shall be watching The Square together, with commentary of Ahmed Salah, the Egyptian revolutionary living in SF. We will see the journey of the revolution in Egypt, and learn what happened to the revolution, and whether it is over or is it still an ongoing matter.
The Square is an intimate observational documentary that tells the real story of the ongoing struggle of the Egyptian Revolution through the eyes of six very different protesters. Starting in the tents of Tahrir in the days leading up to the fall of Mubarak, we follow our characters on a life-changing journey through the euphoria of victory into the uncertainties and dangers of the current “transitional period†under military rule, where everything they fought for is now under threat or in balance.
Ahmed Salah, an Egyptian Revolutionary. Salah was one of the co-founders of the Kifaya Movement (the Egyptian Movement for Change) in 2004 and remained a member of the Coordinators Council of Kifaya until mid-2008. He led the first, and only, youth movement in Egypt during the years 2005-2006, called Youth For Change. In addition, he was also the co-founder, strategist, and foreign affairs representative of the April 6 Youth Movement. In these capacities, Salah served as a principle organizer for the January 25th revolution.
Donations accepted for OccupyForum; no one turned away.
Q& A and Announcements after the film.
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.
Tue 2/10 at 9:00 am, Anti Police-Terror Project is gathering at 34th & Hollis, to carry on the struggle for justice for #YvetteHenderson
— هدهد (@thehoopoe) February 10, 2015
From that point, we will disperse to deliver demands to Home Depot, Sports Authority, Extra Storage and the Police Department. Pls join us
— هدهد (@thehoopoe) February 10, 2015
Turn Up for Taja
Taja was stabbed to death on the streets of San Francisco’s Bayview neighborhood on February 1, 2015.
Taja is the fourth known trans* woman of color to be violently murdered in California in the last four months and the fifth in the United States in 2015.
We recognize this epidemic of violence as being deeply rooted in systemic racism, trans* misogyny, class inequity, and lack of access to affordable housing for trans* communities.
This is a national crisis in which the most vulnerable members of our community are fighting for their lives. In Taja’s memory, we will not relent in demanding justice.
A call to action has been issued for: Trans* Liberation Tuesday on Tuesday, February 10th 2015 to demand an end to the systemic violence targeting trans* communities.
RSVP on the facebook event here.
The agenda for the action is:
1:30pm: Gather at SF City Hall for a Die In and Press Conference (Polk St)
3:00pm: Board of Supervisors Meeting Public Comment Perio
TAJA’s Coalition has issued the following demands in advance of Tuesday’s action:
- We demand that cisgender people end violence against trans* communities, and particularly transgender women of color. Transphobia and violence against trans* people is not a trans* problem. It is a problem rooted in and created by cisgender people, and there is a call to see active support of and participation in local and national efforts to create resources, access and justice for our trans* communities.
- Trans* communities need safety and access to resources, not jails. We demand that all plans for a new jail in San Francisco be ceased, and that no new jail construction is included in any City planning or budget with funds being routed instead to trans* community programming, especially re-entry support and anti-violence work, with respect for the depth of work not the quantity.
- We demand safe, affordable, and accessible housing for trans people. The rising cost of living in San Francisco, fueled by municipal protections for corporate interests at the expense of our most vulnerable residents, has forced countless trans* people into unsafe living situations. Additionally, the massive gentrification of the Mission, Tenderloin, and SOMA neighborhoods in the past two years has displaced countless residents. San Francisco must shift its priorities away from protecting corporations and toward providing affordable housing for all who need it and particularly creating affordable housing services, safe housing programs and more safe spaces for trans* people.
It takes community power to end the war on Black communities. Join us Tues, Feb 10th @ 5:30pm to demand Berkeley City Council take legislative action to address police brutality and militarization of the Berkeley Police Department.
We will meet at Oxford Ave and Center St. at 5:30PM.
We will march to the city council and rally for black lives.
We need the city of Berkeley to act RIGHT NOW and be in solidarity with the growing movement for Black Lives.
Background:
There is a growing movement for Black Lives which escalated when the people of Ferguson took to the streets in response to Officer Darren Wilson’s murder of Mike Brown. Back in December, Berkeley joined the national call to disrupt business as usual to elevate the declaration that #BlackLivesMatter.
The police responded to the peaceful protesters with high technology military grade weaponry. As a result, women, children, students and community members were tear gassed and beat with over the shoulder baton strikes and jailed by the Berkeley Police. Community members often say Ferguson is everywhere, and we felt that in December with the grotesque police response to peaceful protesting in Berkeley.
We also felt this back in 2013 when the police brutally murdered Kayla Moore, who was a black transgender woman with schizophrenia. Kayla Moore was experiencing a psychiatric emergency when police pinned her down and suffocated her to death in her own home. She was a Berkeley resident living on Allston Way apartments.
Additional Information
The city council will be voting on two resolutions dealing with police brutality & militarization and Ferguson’s National Demands.
The first item is a resolution of Ferguson’s National Demands. The second item is in regards to the December protest that erupted throughout the nation, including in Berkeley, CA.
The motion will prohibit police forms of violence such as over the shoulder baton strikes and use of tear gas against protesters until the Police Review Commission makes a recommendation to the council.
The mayor has delayed this item since December. He hoped that the energy would dissipate, that people will stop paying attention. After months of delay, the resolution is finally up for a vote. The police are fighting back against this simple policy.
The Berkeley City Council has a choice on Tuesday. Which side will they stand on? We are on the freedom side.
#BlackLivesMatter
#DecarcerateBerkeley
#Ferguson2Cal
#CalBSU #AfroHouseCal
#OnyxExpress
#BCCBSU
#BerkeleyBSU
ASUC EAVP Action Page
https://www.facebook.com/
Ferguson National Demands
http://fergusonaction.com/
Berkeley City Council Agenda http://
The City Council’s Public Safety Committee will consider proposals from the Ad Hoc Privacy Committee (agenda item #5) on
- the DAC privacy policy the Ad Hoc Committee was constituted to create
- a standing committee to create and monitor a city-wide privacy policy
- a surveillance equipment acquisition ordinance.
The Oakland Privacy Working Group invites you to come and support these recommendations IN THEIR ORIGINAL FORM, WITH NO WATERING DOWN.
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 following items, postponed twice, are scheduled for early consideration.
D. Berkeley Police Department Use of Police Vehicle In-Vehicle and Body-Worn Cameras
Recommendation: Refer to the City Manager to develop a plan to implement the use of dash cameras and body-worn cameras for the Berkeley Police Department. The report should be presented to the City Council within 3 months.
Contact: Darryl Moore, Councilmember, District 2, 981-7120
E. Support the National Demands by Ferguson Action
Recommendation: 1. Adopt a motion endorsing the National Demands from Ferguson. 2. Advocate for changes to the Alameda County District Attorney policy to include investigations to all in-custody deaths. 3. Issue a statement of concern and support for people of color and their families who have been affected by injury or death by law enforcement agencies.
Contact: Jesse Arreguin, Councilmember, District 4, 981-7140
F. Amendments to BPD General Orders C-64 (Crowd Control), M-2 (Mutual Aid) and U-2 (Use of Force) (Continued from January 20, 2015 – Item includes revised recommendation.)
Recommendation:
1. Refer to the Police Review Commission (PRC) and City Manager the attached changes to BPD General Orders C-64, M-2, U-2, and request that they return to the City Council with recommended revisions to the General Orders. The proposed changes are modeled after the Oakland Police Department’s recent amendments to their Crowd Control Policy and address issues raised with the police response to the December 6, 2014 Ferguson protests.
2. Adopt a motion declaring as a temporary City of Berkeley policy that the use of chemical agents (tear gas etc.), Specialty Impact Less-Lethal Weapons (“projectiles” or rubber bullets, wooden dowels, stinger grenades, rubber bullets) and over the shoulder baton strikes, are prohibited uses of force in responding to crowd situations, until such time as an investigation is conducted as to the Police response to the December 6, 2014 protests, and a review of General Orders C-64, M-2, and U-2 is completed.
Contact: Jesse Arreguin, Councilmember, District 4, 981-7140
G. Independent Investigation of Police Response to December 6, 2014 Protests
Recommendation: Direct the City Manager to initiate an independent investigation into the police response to protests on December 6, 2014 and to return to Council as soon as possible, but no later than 60 days with a contract to hire a qualified independent investigator. In considering who to select to conduct the investigation, the City Manager should give preference to former police chiefs or law enforcement officials with experience conducting internal investigations. To avoid the appearance of or possibility of conflicts of interests, the City Manager should avoid selecting an individual or firm who previously worked for the Berkeley Police Department or who previously or currently worked for any law enforcement agency in the San Francisco Bay Area. The City Manager shall ensure that the selected individual or firm has no apparent conflicts of interest.
The Council also refers the questions attached to the report for the City Manager and outside investigator to consider in conducting their investigation.
Contact: Jesse Arreguin, Councilmember, District 4, 981-7140
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.
The BART Board will consider the following resolution proposed by BART Board member Rebecca Salztman:
The General Manager is directed to notify the Alameda County District Attorney that the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District urges her office to forgo the prosecution (including seeking restitution and/or community service) of the Black Friday 14 for their November 28th actions at the West Oakland BART Station.
The BART Board of Directors are meeting again – time to turn up and show them that we haven’t forgotten: it’s time for them to “PASS THE RESOLUTION: DROP THE CHARGES & RESTITUTION!”
Meeting starts at 9am; arrive early to grab a seat in the Board room and sign up for public comments to ask the BART Board.
Please join us on Thursday, February 12th for oral arguments in Ashker v. Brown, a federal lawsuit on behalf of prisoners at Pelican Bay State Prison who have spent between 10 and 28 years in solitary confinement.
CCR President Jules Lobel will be in court urging the court to expand the case to cover prisoners recently transferred from solitary confinement at Pelican Bay to another California solitary confinement unit, under the new step down program. California must not be allowed to continue its torturous solitary confinement practices merely by changing the location of the abuse. As Plaintiffs alleged in the proposed amended complaint, “the cruel and unusual treatment [the prisoners have] experienced, and its debilitating effects, have not abated, but instead continue under a different name in a different prison.”
Yesterday, three Muslim college students have been executed in their home at UNC Chapel Hill. Deah Shaddy Barakat (23 years old), Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha (21 years old), and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha (19 years old).
We at the Political Action Committee at Cal wish to express our utmost condolences to the grieving families of these three martyrs. We also strongly condemn the brutal execution of our fellow Muslims in what appears to be a blatant hate crime.
Please join us for an emergency vigil.
Due to the large number of participants, we ask people to bring a candle with them if they can. Some Candles will be provided, but please bring your own if you can to accommodate those that can’t bring a candle with them.
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
No other information available.
Come show your solidarity in court for the Ferguson 3 on Friday Feb 13th, 9am Dept 11 at Rene C. Davidson Courthouse.
This is an important hearing so please come out rain or shine!
Come out and support the Ferguson 3!!! 2 of these guys have been in since late November and are facing some serious jail time.This is their last pretrial hearing and is a super crucial court date to show up for. 9amRené C. Davidson Courthouse (the one by the lake, 12th/Oak St, not the one downtown) As always, please help us share this widely!!!
No other information available.