Calendar
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85175860127?pwd=bfZRQOSMuhX9Pfm4qhPMOZMrmE9Ohm.1
Speaker: Paul Larudee
Recently back from a humanitarian mission to besieged Gaza, which was denied entry by Egyptian authorities, our speaker will explain how the ongoing genocide against the Palestinians is a natural outcome of Zionism. The social dynamics of domination inevitably lead to genocide given sufficient time. This is the logical consequence of exceptionalism.
The resistance forces of the Palestinians and their allies have planned for a confrontation of unlimited duration, while Israel plans only short, massive attacks designed for a quick, decisive victory, which in this case is illusive. This is the main reason they have chosen genocide as a tactic. They reason that massive, horrible deaths of vulnerable civil Palestinians, mainly women and children, will force Hamas, Hezbollah, and their allies to take risks and expose themselves. But genocide is not working. And when it doesn’t, Israel’s answer is to use more genocide.
Paul Larudee, our speaker, is an Iranian-born American political activist who is a major figure in the pro-Palestinian movement. Based in the San Francisco Bay area, he has been to Palestine many times since 1965. He is active with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a nonviolent resistance group, and the Syria Solidarity Movement (SSM). Paul is a co-founder of the Free Palestine Movement (FPM) and the Free Gaza Movement (FGM), whose boats broke a 41-year-old Israeli naval blockade of Gaza in August 2008. He was a member of the US delegation aboard the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, which was attacked by Israeli forces on May 31, 2010.
Paul has a PhD in linguistics and spent fourteen years in Arab countries, supervising a Ford Foundation project in Lebanon, working as a Fulbright-Hays lecturer in Lebanon, and a US government adviser to Saudi Arabia. He is also a Registered Piano Technician.
Paul received the Lifetime Peacemaker Award from the Mount Diablo Peace and Justice Center. Another, albeit inadvertent, tribute to Paul’s dedication and effectiveness is this disgusting doxing.
https://www.israellycool.com/2006/06/06/the-loathsome-paul-larudee/) by the blogsite Israellycool.
Recommended background reading: https://syriasupportmovement.org/2023/11/12/genocide-is-israels-strategy/.
Paul tells the story of the founding of ISM here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H6OUStQR9c. Here Paul talks about Syria: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHbivUckqC0.
Dear Greens and Supporters,
Celebrate the Holiday Season with old friends and new. We’ll have good fun, yummy food, and open dialogue at the 2023 Annual Potluck Holiday Party
Please bring a drink or dish of your choice to share!
**See you there!**
(There will be no Green Sunday Program or Green County Council meeting in December. We’ll party instead. The next regular Green Sunday program will be the second Sunday in January, 2024, followed as usual by the Alameda Green Party County Council.)
NOTE: During the Plague Year of 2020 GA will be held every week or two on Zoom. To find out the exact time a date get on the Occupy Oakland email list my sending an email to:
occupyoakland-subscribe@lists.riseup.net
The Occupy Oakland General Assembly meets every Sunday at 4 PM at Oscar Grant Plaza amphitheater at 14th Street & Broadway near the steps of City Hall. If for some reason the amphitheater is being used otherwise and/or OGP itself is inaccessible, we will meet at Kaiser Park, right next to the statues, on 19th St. between San Pablo and Telegraph. If it is raining (as in RAINING, not just misting) at 4:00 PM we meet in the basement of the Omni Collective, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland. (Note: we tend to meet at 3:00 PM during the cooler months from November to early March after Daylights Savings Time.)
On every ‘last Sunday’ we meet a little earlier at 3 PM to have a community potluck to which all are welcome.
OO General Assembly has met on a continuous basis for over six years, since October 2011! 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.
At the GA committees, caucuses, and loosely associated groups whose representatives come voluntarily report on past and future actions, with discussion. 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
(Optional) Discussion Topic
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)
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
“Join us on Human Rights Day 2023 for a poignant exploration of our shared humanity. Amidst the tumult of global conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, this event delves into the relentless assault on human rights. Through gripping narratives and thought-provoking discussions, comedy, and music we aim to unveil the pain echoing across continents. Yet, within this darkness, we aim to discover glimmers of hope that illuminate a path towards a future where dignity prevails. Stand with us, embrace the urgency, and let’s collectively envision a world where human rights are not just given lip service but defended and celebrated.”
Event details:
https://youtube.com/@EthicsInTechnology
Musician- Pete Kronowitt
If Steve Earle threw a margarita at Elvis Costello and got pissed enough to write political tunes, they would sound like Pete Kronowitt songs. Following in the footsteps of folk singers advocating to better humanity, Pete has organized, marched and sang his way across this land. Pete founded Face the Music Collective, a guide for creative activists utilizing performances to inspire targeted individual action, and is on the board of Music Declares Emergency US, a climate music industry nonprofit with a mission to activate fans.
Franchesca Fiorentini-
American Journalist, Correspondent, activist, and stand-up comedian. Host of Newsbroke and The Bitchuation Room Podcast.
Will Durst- Acknowledged by peers and press alike as one of the premier political satirists in the country, Will Durst has patched together a comedy quilt of a career, weaving together columns, books, radio and television commentaries, acting, voice-overs, and most especially, stand up comedy, into a hilarious patchwork of outraged and outrageous common sense. His abiding motto is, “You can’t make stuff up like this.” The New York Times calls him “possibly the best political comic in the country.” Fox News agrees “he’s a great political satirist,” while the Oregonian hails him as a “hilarious stand-up journalist.
Ousman Noor studied law at SOAS: University of London, and social anthropology at the University of Oxford. He worked as a human rights barrister (lawyer) in London for 9 years, specializing in refugee and detention law, and taught as a Senior Teaching Fellow at SOAS. For 3+ years, He was Government Relations Manager at Stop Killer Robots, a coalition of 250+ NGOs from 70+ countries. Following a personal Tweet calling for an end to occupation, apartheid and ethnic cleansing in Palestine, his employment was terminated.
Kevin Welch is the president of EFF-Austin, a digital civil liberties organization founded alongside the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and continues to be a member of their Electronic Frontier Alliance (EFA). At EFF-Austin, he leads their push to educate the public and politicians about important legal and cultural issues confronting society in emerging technological spaces. He has spoken at diverse venues on these topics including at SXSW and at State Department. He is a Caltech graduate with degrees in Bioengineering and English.
Brett Wilkins is a San Francisco-based writer and activist whose work focuses on issues of war and peace, and human rights. He is a staff writer at Common Dreams.
Rev. Martin Todd Allen is an Associate Minister at the Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples. Previously, Rev. Allen worked as a prison, hospital and military Chaplain and currently works as a hospice chaplain in the South Bay. In addition, he serves on the board of directors of The Human Agenda.
Bill Budington is a long-time activist, cryptography enthusiast, and a Senior Staff Technologist on EFF’s Public Interest Technology team. His research has been featured in the The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, and cited by the US Congress. He is the lead developer of Cover Your Tracks, led HTTPS Everywhere from 2015-2018, and has contributed to projects like Let’s Encrypt and SecureDrop. Bill has spoken at USENIX Enigma (2016), HOPE (2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022), CCC (2017), InfoSec Southwest (2017), ShmooCon (2019, 2020), and other infosec conferences. Bill’s primary interest lies in dismantling systems of oppression, building up collaborative alternatives and, to borrow a phrase from Zapatismo, fighting for a ‘world in which many worlds fit.’ He loves hacker spaces and getting together with other techies to tinker, code, share, and build the technological commons.
Organizer, Host and Panel Discussions By:
Vahid Razavi Founded Ethics In Technology 10 years ago and is now the Founder of No Ethics In Big Tech, is the author of two books, The Age of Nepotism and Ethics in Tech and Lack Thereof. As a lifelong activist and humanitarian, he has produced hundreds of videos on various social issues, including Ethics In Technology, Silicon Valley, regional politics, poverty, war, and social injustice.
In loving memory of all our departed parents especially Parivash Gharavi.
This event is not financed, endorsed or supported in any way by any government, for-profit, or nonprofit corporation.
The event is free of charge and does not require registration. We ask if you like the content to subscribe to our channel and share the video with friends.
Please join the SF Gray Panthers in a public reading the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights) on Monday, December 11, 2023 @ noon on the steps on the Polk Street side of SF City Hall! (In cooperation with the office of SF Board of Supervisor Dean Preston). For more information, please email us at ! -SF Gray Panthers
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 (General Assembly resolution 217 A) as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations. It sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected and it has been translated into over 500 languages. The UDHR is widely recognized as having inspired, and paved the way for, the adoption of more than seventy human rights treaties, applied today on a permanent basis at global and regional levels (all containing references to it in their preambles).
OTU’s Mission
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.
If you have an issue, a question, or need advice about a tenant/landlord issue, please call us at (510) 704-5276. Leave a message with your name and phone number and someone will get back to you.
Come join your neighbors in connecting, learning and resource sharing!
This month’s theme is FOOD PRESERVATION – exploring all the ways people process fresh food to lengthen their shelf life, add extra nutritional benefit and just make things tasty!
The next event will be on Tues, Jan. 9th.
BRING: Some preserved foods and recipes if you would like to, things you have in abundance…some extra garden harvest, clothes, books, tools…
AND/OR: a dish or beverage to share (and your utensils/plate) or just your interest in building a resilient community – all are welcome!
(Note: please be responsible for taking items or food you bring if they are left at the end of the event)
Event sponsored by: Transition Berkeley
SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA‼️ Join us on Wednesday, Dec 13 at 3:30pm to show that youth from all walks of life are UNITED. WE WILL NOT BE CENSORED. The youth stand united for Palestine. Bring your friends and classmates.
Some folks are organizing a unity response to the apparent destruction of the Lake Merritt menorah installation tonight. pic.twitter.com/oQBUVRvIGx
— Trash Night Heron (@hyphy_republic) December 13, 2023
Please email contact@oaklandprivacy.org a few days before the meeting to get up-to-date location information or obtain Zoom meeting access info.
(THE JANUARY 17TH MEETING, 2024 WAS MOVED TO JANUARY 24TH)
Join Oakland Privacy to organize against the surveillance state, police militarization and ICE, and to advocate for privacy, surveillance regulation of both corporations and the state, and government transparency, around the Bay and nationwide.
We fight against spy drones, facial recognition, tracking equipment, police body camera secrecy, anti-transparency laws and requirements for “backdoors” to cellphones; we oppose “pre-crime” and “thought-crime,” — to list just a few invasions of our privacy by all levels of Government, and attempts to hide what government officials, employees and agencies are doing.
We draft and push for privacy legislation for City Councils, at the County level, and in Sacramento. We advocate in op-eds and in the streets. We stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and believe no one is illegal.
Check out some of what we worked on in 2022, 2021, 2020 and 2019.
Oakland Privacy originally came together in 2013 to fight against the Domain Awareness Center, Oakland’s citywide networked mass surveillance hub. OP was instrumental in stopping the DAC from becoming a city-wide spying network. We helped fight and in 2018 helped win the fight against Urban Shield.
Our major projects currently include local legislation to regulate state surveillance (we got the strongest surveillance regulation ordinance in the country passed in Oakland!), supporting and opposing state legislation as appropriate, battling mass surveillance in the form of facial recognition and other analytics, mass aerial surveillance, ubiquitous license plate readers, and street surveillance, and fighting to ensure local governments adhere to State privacy and transparency regulations.
On September 12th, 2019 we were presented with a Barlow Award by the Electronic Frontier Foundation for our work, and on March 16th, 2021 s James Madison Freedom of Information Award by the Northern California Society of Professional Journalists.
If you are interested in joining the Oakland Privacy email listserv, coming to a meeting, or have questions, send an email to:
Check out our website: http://oaklandprivacy.org/
Follow us on twitter: @oaklandprivacy, and/or on Mastodon at https://mastodon.social/@oaklandprivacy
Labor Demands:
A Permanent Ceasefire
No US Military Aid for Israel
End the Occupation
Gather at Senator Alex Padilla’s San Francisco office to demand immediate unconditional ceasefire, provide immediate humanitarian relief, and end US military aid to Israel.
For more information: https://www.facebook.com/events/s/action-sf-demand-senator-alex-/1443942336170673/
The Tales of The Town screening and live performance will be another chance to checkout the unreleased movie Tales of The Town: The Film, as well as experience a live band performance of the film’s original score!
The film captures the landscape, and the people and their stories in a poetic tribute to generations of Oaklanders – both the living and our ancestors! The score was magically composed by Wax Roof, Andrew “Bear” Benford, Waymond Mckissick, Carl Nash, and Anthony Mills-Branch.
T
Speaker: Dan KovalikJoin Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85175860127?pwd=bfZRQOSMuhX9Pfm4qhPMOZMrmE9Ohm.1
Just back from the West Bank, international human rights advocate and lawyer Dan Kovalik will discuss the current situation in Palestine in light of historical developments. In addition to Gaza, the West Bank has been under ferocious Israeli attack and repression. The general population in the West Bank is experiencing increased Israeli settler violence with over 300 Palestinians murdered and 3000 arrested since October 7. Last month, our speaker visited Cairo with the first international solidarity delegation, which tried unsuccessfully to enter Gaza and bring humanitarian aid through the Rafah crossing.
Dan Kovalik has written extensively on international human rights and US foreign policy. He has lectured throughout the world on these subjects and frequently appears on RT. He is the author of books exposing the machinations of US imperialism in Nicaragua, Venezuela, Iran, and Russia, and an upcoming one on Palestine and Israel. Other books include a progressive case against cancel culture and how the US violates international law. He teaches international human rights at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He graduated from Columbia University School of Law. He then served as in-house counsel for the United Steelworkers, AFL-CIO (USW) until 2019.
In this video, Dan Kovalik is interviewed by George Galloway on the situation in the West Bank: https://twitter.com/moatstv/status/1734543611906363762?s=46
In this video, Dan Kovalik addresses the UN Security Council on threats to international peace and security: https://media.un.org/en/asset/k12/k128iiykjr.
NOTE: During the Plague Year of 2020 GA will be held every week or two on Zoom. To find out the exact time a date get on the Occupy Oakland email list my sending an email to:
occupyoakland-subscribe@lists.riseup.net
The Occupy Oakland General Assembly meets every Sunday at 4 PM at Oscar Grant Plaza amphitheater at 14th Street & Broadway near the steps of City Hall. If for some reason the amphitheater is being used otherwise and/or OGP itself is inaccessible, we will meet at Kaiser Park, right next to the statues, on 19th St. between San Pablo and Telegraph. If it is raining (as in RAINING, not just misting) at 4:00 PM we meet in the basement of the Omni Collective, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland. (Note: we tend to meet at 3:00 PM during the cooler months from November to early March after Daylights Savings Time.)
On every ‘last Sunday’ we meet a little earlier at 3 PM to have a community potluck to which all are welcome.
OO General Assembly has met on a continuous basis for over six years, since October 2011! 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.
At the GA committees, caucuses, and loosely associated groups whose representatives come voluntarily report on past and future actions, with discussion. 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
(Optional) Discussion Topic
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)
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
Organizations: Peace Action of San Mateo County & Jewish Voice for Peace South Bay
On Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3289220486?omn=88635762762
In Gaza with the ceasefire’s end, we don’t know if or when more hostages and prisoners will be released, the killing will stop, and anything close to sufficient vital humanitarian aid will come in.
We hold out hope for some common sense and the elevation of human rights on both sides of the conflict – and steps that are truly needed to bring peace to the region and solace to its people. The temporary ceasefire was surely a clear demonstration that more diplomacy will go significantly further toward that goal than more fighting.
Jewish Voice for Peace has been at the forefront of those calling for such developments – both before and during the conflict – as well as a ceasefire.
On Sunday, December 17, Dorah Rosen of JVP’s South Bay chapter will join us on the Zoom platform – using words and images to address the current situation, as well as possible next steps toward a ceasefire, and options for a subsequent peaceful solution. She will bring her personal experience of spending time in the West Bank some years ago as a “witness-escort” with Community Peacemaker Teams – formerly known as Christian Peacemaker Teams. Dorah also visited Israel during that time, giving her a perspective on different sides of the situation.
We look forward to seeing you on Sunday the 17th for some constructive discussion about the tragic situation in Gaza, and what can be done.
ABOUT: Dorah Rosen, Jewish Voice for Peace South Bay
Dorah Rosen has been a member of JVP South Bay since 2011, and is active in other circles on the Israel-Palestine issue. She has also volunteered and advocated on behalf of the local indigenous Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, which stewards land in what we now call the South Bay and Monterey Bay Counties. Dorah is retired from the Santa Cruz Public Library System.
BAY AREA: we need you to show up and #PackTheCourt for the #BayBridge78!!
Last month, while President Biden was hosting cocktail parties in San Francisco, hundreds of people shut down the Bay Bridge to demand an immediate ceasefire and an end to US military aid to Israel. Now, 78 protestors are facing charges for their civil disobedience — arraignments begin on Monday, 12/18.
We’re packing the court for the #BayBridge78 all week in solidarity!
Join us for a press conference and rally on Monday, December 18 at 8:00 AM on the steps of 850 Bryant in SF. Wear your keffiyehs in solidarity as we demand the San Francisco District Attorney #DropTheCharges, and continue to call for a #FreePalestine!
Then, we’re packing the court Monday through Friday for the #BayBridge78. Show up to let the San Francisco District Attorney know: the Bay rises with Palestine! #DropTheCharges now!
* PRESS CONFERENCE + RALLY: Monday, 12/18 @ 8:00 AM 850 Bryant St, San Francisco
* PACK THE COURT: Monday-Friday, 12/18-12/22 – gather @ 8:30 AM, court begins @ 9:00 AM 850 Bryant St, San Francisco
#BayBridge78 #DropTheCharges #CeasefireNow #FreePalestine
Protect the Sanctity of Life: From Steven Taylor to Gaza!
There will be a candlelight vigil and rally before the San Leandro City Council Meeting, so be there by 6:30pm. Stand in solidarity with San Leandro 4 Ceasefire, the Social Justice Academy, and Justice 4 Steven Taylor to demand that the San Leandro Mayor and City Council protect the sanctity of life and pass an Emergency Ceasefire Resolution🍉 We, the youth of the social Justice Academy of San Leandro have made it our duty to pass a ceasefire resolution in the city of San Leandro. Though our first council meeting in December 4th proved unsuccessful, the community engagement and people power was undeniable. We are hoping to pass an emergency ceasefire resolution December 18th and pack out our city hall with as many people as we can.
Please join us to speak out against the use of dangerous scattershot munitions and the wide-open, unrestricted use of drones by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office. This was pulled from the Board’s agenda last week by Supervisor Marquez.
BAN SCATTERSHOTS and REGULATE DRONE USE