Calendar
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 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.
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!!!
The Atlas of the Albany Bulb is a participatory oral history and mapping project that aims to capture the natural and cultural history of this unique spot on San Francisco Bay. The collection of narratives about this former landfill will grown into a quilt of diverse stories and imagines over time as more people contribute.
(The exhibit actually runs from February 12th – March 14th)
No other information available.
The planting was a few weeks ago. The gardening work continues. Join us!
More information on the Berkeley Post Office Defense against the sale and privatization here.
Pictures and videos of the soil preparation and planting here.
Dare To Divest!
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Join 350Marin on Valentine’s Day: Do you have the courage to break up with oil/gas/coal and meet some renewables? Hear Jody Timms, Chair, Divest~Invest, “Stranded Assets-Stranded Ethics,” and J. Patrick Costello, “Green Investing: More Than Being Socially Responsible.”
- 350marin.org
PROTEST, MARCH, DANCE!!!
On Saturday Feb 14th there will be a Sea of Red – Remembering the Stolen Lives march gathering at the Oscar Grant Plaza 14th & Broadway at 5:30pm.
The event organizers are asking folks to wear red for the march to create a sea of red as we march to symbolize the blood OPD has shed in our streets.
The march will go from the plaza to OPD HQ at 7th & Broadway where names of stolen lives will be read, from there the sea of red will go from OPD HQ to Alan’s House, aka The Alan Blueford Center For Justice where there will be a night of revolutionary love & dancing.
Facebook event for the dance party.
While millions will be celebrating their love, many families will still be grieving the loss of their loved ones who were ripped away from them.
4MileMarch has called for a nationwide action to recognize the black lives stolen from their families by police violence with the Sea of Red Action
The Oakland Sea of Red will start with a rally at Oscar Grant Plaza then march to OPD for a vigil and a reading of the names of the Stolen Lives. The march will continue on to The Alan Blueford Center For Justice for the Revolutionary Love Dance at Alan’s House! Because it ain’t a Revolution unless we’re dancing!
Please dress in red, bring candles, and red ribbons with the names of lives you would like to honor. We’ll be tying them to the trees and posts beginning at the steps of the OPD and along the path of the march. The route will be a Sea of Red to mark the bloody trail that police violence has left behind right up to Alan Blueford’s front door.
In Solidarity we unite. In Solidarity we grow strong.
#SeaofRed #NoJusticeNoLove #BlackHistoryMonth # BlackLivesMatter
“At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality.” – Che Guevara
OAKLAND PALESTINE SOLIDARITY MURAL / off the wall series; Art Forces, the Arab Resource Organizing Center (AROC) and Nor Cal Friends of Sabeel invite you to join us for an evening of dance, refreshments, and activism:
REVOLUTION IS LOVE
a benefit for AROC’s Boycott, Divestment, Sanction organizing
at the Oakland Palestine Solidarity Mural Project
VALENTINE’S DAY
Saturday, February 14, 2015
6:30 – 7:30 Cocktails, Music, and Performances
Adhamh Roland, Young Gifted and Black, Chris Kazaleh, Lubna Morrar, Al-Juthoor Dabke Dance Troupe and other surprises
7:30 – 8:30 Dancing at the Wall
Tango Lessons by Jonas Aquino and Monza Lui from Abrazo Queer Tango
and Music at the Oakland Palestine Solidarity Mural
8:30 DJ Rumorosa Dance Party and Celebration
“If I can’t dance, then I don’t want to be part of your revolution.” – Emma Goldman
Another march tomorrow in #Emeryville #YuvetteHenderson @GonzOakland pic.twitter.com/ySjfeukzh5
— David DeBolt (@daviddebolt) February 14, 2015
PARTY LIKE IT’S 1984!!
• Learn security techniques & software.
• Understand why responsible security is important.
• Meet with other proactive residents!
Bring your laptop! Bring your phone!
All skill levels welcome, from novice to expert!
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED TO A DATE IN THE INDEFINITE FUTURE. STAY TUNED.
THIS EVENT WILL NOT BE HAPPENING ON FEBRUARY 15th!!
The City Council Public Safety Committee will next discuss the Privacy Policy et al in early April at the earliest.
Domain Awareness Center Teach-In
Here are video highlights from the last teach-in on January 18th.
KPFA Benefit: $12 advance tickets, $15 /door. Tickets available in Berkeley: Pegasus (3 locations), Marcus Books, Moes, Walden Pond, Diesel a Bookstore In S.F: Modern Times.
Radical economist Richard Wolffs most recent book, Capitalism Hits the Fan, is a passionately concerned response to current events, chronicling Wolffs brilliant public response to what he sees as an unworkable economic system. He closely monitors international economic shifts, much as Noam Chomsky does political happenings, and presents us with clear new perspectives.
Richard Wolff is the leading social economist in the country. This book is required reading for anyone concerned about a fundamental transformation of the ailing capitalist economy. Cornel West
A powerful and challenging vision that takes us beyond both corporate capitalism and state socialism. Richard Wolff at his best!
—Gar Alperovitz, author American Beyond Capitalism
Professor of Economics Emeritus from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Wolff is a Visiting Professor in the Graduate Program in International Affairs at the New School University in New York. In recent years he has been delivering public lectures at colleges and universities, and community centers and trade union gatherings. His speaking style has become famous for its charismatic wit, frankness, and sardonic charm.
Richard Wolff is the author of many books, including Democracy at Work: A Cure for Capitalism, Occupy the Economy: Challenging Capitalism, as well as Capitalism Hits the Fan: The Global Economic Meltdown and What to Do About It. He hosts the weekly hour-long radio program Economic Update on WBAI (Pacifica Radio) and writes regularly for The Guardian, Truthout.org, and the MRZine.
TONIGHT’S PROGRAM STARTS AT 6:00 sharp!
on all sides of these critically important issues!
OccupyForum Presents
The Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP)
“Housekeys Not Handcuffs”
The HBR campaign is more than an effort to pass state legislation. It is a way of working collectively with groups possessing different talentsto address the injustices that we face in our communities. Even if there isn’t an immediate victory, we are building the power to create a social justice movement that will eventually enable a more decent society.
Laws that segregate, that make criminals of people based on their status rather than their behavior, or that prohibit certain people’s right to be in public spaces are not just sad relics from the past: Today, numerous laws infringe on poor people’s ability to exist in public space, to acquire housing, employment, and basic services, and to equal protection under the law.
Our Homeless Bill of Rights Campaign (HBR) stands on the shoulders of social justice campaigns of the past to alleviate poverty and homelessness while protecting homeless and poor people from unjust laws and ensuring all people’s right to exist in public spaces. — WRAP
Donations to OccupyForum gratefully accepted. No one turned away.
Q&A and Announcements will follow.
| Join ACS for an illuminating brown bag panel discussion on the First Amendment and the criminal laws that threaten it. Attorneys Nancy Hollander and Vincent Ward (civilian counsel for Chelsea Manning) join Trevor Timm (Exec. Dir., Freedom of the Press Foundation) to discuss the expansion of the Espionage Act to prosecute journalists under the Obama Administration, the threat to journalists during the Ferguson protests, the selective prosecution of individuals for government leaks, and more. Professor Ghappour to moderate. Sponsored by ACS. |
new Authorization for Use of Military Force
& support for non-military responses to ISIL
Speakers include Stephen McNeil of AFSC, Jackie Cabasso of Western States Legal Foundation, Paul Cox of Veterans for Peace, Janet Weil of CODEPINK, and others.