Calendar
In anticipation of a major development in one of the most significant cases brought by prisoners in the struggle against solitary confinement, Ashker v. Brown, activists, prisoners’ family members and loved ones, and prisoner advocates will be holding a press conference and rally.
Come out and support those struggling against solitary confinement.
solitary-confinement-settlement
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n February, Emeryville police killed Yuvette Henderson, a 38-year old Black woman and mother of two after she was assaulted at the Home Depot. It was clear from the different sizes of the bullet holes that multiple weapons, including an AR-15 assault rifle, had been fired at her.
It has been more than 6 months and not one official police report on Yuvette’s killing has been made public. The Alameda coroner is unnecessarily withholding the autopsy results of Yuvette’s death, which is key to the family’s ongoing fight for answers and accountability.
Come to the Emeryville City Counsel meeting to demand that the Council directs the coroner to release Yuvette’s autopsy report to her family.
Visit www.showingupforracialjustice.org for more info
Statewide action to expose and address racial profiling by law enforcement. The action seeks to ensure that the Senate passes, and the Governor signs AB 953 (racial profiling reporting bill).
WHAT WE NEED: As many people to attend the action as possible.
To attend the event and/or get a ride, register at: tinyurl.com/statewideaction
Communities United Coalition is calling for a statewide day of action to demonstrate the urgency for the California Legislature and Governor Brown to take action that will curb racial profiling and demonstrate that black and brown lives matter in California and improve public safety for everyone.
There will be a public program on the Capitol lawn and delegations will meet with California State Senators.
PLEASE JOIN US FOR A “TEACH-IN” ON URBAN WARFARE IN OUR BACKYARD.
WHY ARE OUR POLICE BEING MILITARIZED?
WHY IS THIS TREND SO DISTURBING?
WHAT IS THE “URBAN SHIELD” CONFERENCE?
HOW CAN WE ADDRESS THIS ISSUE?
PANEL INCLUDES:
George Lippman – Berkeley Peace and Justice Commission
ADDITIONAL SPEAKERS ARE BEING CONFIRMED – CHECK WEBSITE FOR UPDATES
6 PM Potluck, 7 PM Presentation
This is a FREE EVENT— Please bring a dish to share if attending potluck.
Tax deductible donations will be accepted to help us cover costs.
PLEASE REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT SO THAT WE CAN KEEP YOU INFORMED AS SPEAKERS ARE CONFIRMED AND TO ASSESS SPACE NEEDS. GO ONLINE TO: www.ourpeacecenter.org
Presented by Mt. Diablo Peace & Justice Center
The Bay Area Public School will be hosting a free, horizontally-organized, art critique group every other Thursday starting August 6th. The crit group will be geared towards the creation of new works, with each artist presenting work each class.
All media are welcome. Time based work should be limited to 8 minutes of work per artist per meeting. Work can be at any stage of development.
For more info:
https://bayareapublicschool.org/events/art-crit-group/
http://bayareapublicschool.prg
Inspired by Dr. Vandana Shiva’s book, Soil Not Oil, the 2015 Soil Not Oil Conference examines the crisis on food security while highlighting the implications of oil-based agro-chemicals and fossil fuels in soil depletion and climate change. The first edition of this conference will focus on educating, through national and international experiences, about the multiple problems and possible practical solutions that surround the profound consequences resulting from synthetic enhanced agriculture in industrialized nations.
The conference organizer, Soil Not Oil Coalition, is a cross-sector, multi-level and inter-ethnic alliance of over 50 organizations, scientists, farmers, businesses and individuals coordinated by the Biosafety Alliance.
Join international leaders, farmers, scientists, community members and environmental and food justice advocates for workshops, presentations and networking opportunities.
Get the knowledge you need to support the movement and advocate for a sustainable future for all living beings. For more information, registration or volunteering opportunities go to: http://soilnotoilcoalition.org/application-for-conference-proposals-2/about-the-conference/
or contact us at: soilnotoilcoalition@gmail.com
Dr. Vandana Shiva keynote speech is on Friday, Sept. 4, 7:00 pm
Focuses on Regenerative “Carbon Farming” to Mitigate Climate Change
Dr. Vandana Shiva keynote speech is on Friday, Sept. 4, 7:00 pm
International conference on agriculture and climate change, Soil Not Oil, Sept. 4-5, in Richmond, CA, features speakers Vandana Shiva, Fritjof Capra, Anna Lappé, former EPA senior scientist Ray Seidler, soil scientist Rattan Lal, agro-ecologist Miguel Altieri, environmental and land use attorney Claire Hope Cummings, and others.
Richmond, CA (July 29, 2015) — Getting to the root of global climate change, the 2015 Soil Not Oil International Conference will bring together farmers, ranchers, scientists, policy makers, NGOs and community leaders on Sept. 4-5, 2015, at the Memorial Civic Center Complex in Richmond, CA, to explore how sustainable, regenerative agriculture practices can help mitigate the planet’s global warming.
Soil Not Oil speakers include, from left: Dr. Vandana Shiva, Fritjof Capra, Anna Lappé and Ronnie Cummins.
“The goal of the two-day conference is to provide practical information, research, and networking to help society create a more vibrant, healthy future via better farming practices. Along with reduced reliance on fossil fuels and increased availability of green energy, we need to shift to carbon farming to mitigate climate change,” said Miguel Robles, conference organizer and Director of the Biosafety Alliance.
Vandana Shiva Headlines Conference
Inspired by Dr. Vandana Shiva’s book, Soil Not Oil, the 2015 Soil Not Oil International Conference examines the crisis on food security while highlighting the role of oil-based agro-chemicals and fossil fuels in soil depletion and climate change. The conference will focus on practical carbon farming solutions including cover crops, planned grazing, compost application on range land, tree planting and other holistic land use practices.
The conference will feature a keynote address by Dr. Vandana Shiva on Friday, Sept. 4, 7:00 pm, along with presentations featuring noted soil scientist Rattan Lal; author Fritjof Capra; environmental and land use attorney Claire Hope Cummings; Earth Guardians director and youth leader Xiuhtezcatl Martinez; author Anna Lappé; agro-ecologist Miguel Altieri; Adelita San Vicente Tello, Ph.D., director of Seeds of Life; Regeneration International and Organic Consumers Association co-founder Ronnie Cummins; John Roulac, CEO and founder of Nutiva; and other international leaders, farmers, researchers, climate change experts, and environmental and food justice advocates.
“We are pleased to host this important gathering in the San Francisco Bay Area, the heart of the organic food industry,” said Richmond-based John Roulac, founder and CEO of organic food leader Nutiva. “To secure a livable planet we need to both de-carbonize energy and re-carbonize our soils via regenerative agriculture.“
Carbon Farming Defined
Carbon farming (also known as regenerative agriculture) is an agricultural system that improves the rate at which CO2 is removed from the atmosphere and converted to plant material and/or organic matter in the soil. Today, mainstream industrial food and farming and unsustainable land use generate the majority of all greenhouse gas emissions, with carbon that is stripped from the soil ending up in our atmosphere and oceans, creating acidic conditions that threaten plant and animal species. In removing carbon from the atmosphere and oceans by implementing the practices of regenerative organic agriculture, we can sequester carbon into the soil and expand the soil’s water-holding capacity.
As a 2014 Rodale Institute report states, “Organically managed soils can convert carbon CO2 from a greenhouse gas into a food-producing asset.” In fact, says Rodale after conducting more than 30 years of ongoing field research, regenerative, organic farming practices and improved land management can move agriculture from one of today’s primary sources of global warming and carbon pollution to a potential carbon sink powerful enough to sequester 100% of the world’s current annual CO2 emissions.
Or, as the Wall Street Journal reported in May 2014, “Organic practices could counteract the world’s yearly carbon dioxide output while producing the same amount of food as conventional farming…”
About the Soil Not Oil Coalition
The conference organizer, Soil Not Oil Coalition, is a cross-sector, multi-ethnic alliance of over 60 organizations, scientists, farmers, businesses and individuals coordinated by the Biosafety Alliance to promote research and further understanding to optimize soil carbon sequestration and sustainability to aid in the development of adequate food production for future generations and to help reverse of the effects of global warming. We believe that restructuring land management practices is key to combating climate change, restoring water cycles, reducing global environmental pollution, stopping ocean acidification, re-establishing biodiversity, improving food production and revitalizing local economies across the planet. For more information, registration or volunteering opportunities visit www.soilnotoilcoalition.
Soil Not Oil Conference Sponsors include Nutiva, Dr. Bronner’s, RSF Social Finance, Good Earth Natural Foods, Burroughs Family Farms, International Development Exchange, Organic Consumers Association, Regeneration International and Food Democracy Now.
1990 American documentary film directed by Jennie Livingston. Filmed in the mid-to-late 1980s, it chronicles the ball culture of New York City and the African-American, Latino, gay, and transgender communities involved in it. The film is considered to be an invaluable documentary of the end of the “Golden Age” of New York City drag balls, and critics have praised it as a thoughtful exploration of race, class, gender, and sexuality in America.
Group discussion will follow the film. Snacks will be served.
Solidarity With John Crawford & Walmart Workers
“How can a black man walk into walmart and Not come out alive?”
It’s been a year since the police killing of John Crawford at an Ohio Walmart. Local “OW” and racial justice activists are linking walmart police brutality with walmart economic brutality. “Shopping while black is not a crime and working for walmart should not be a death sentence” We Demand Justice for John Crawford and demand a living wage for walmart workers.
Urban Shield is a county-wide war games, swat training and weapons expo, held each year involving hundreds of local, federal and international agencies including those from Apartheid Israel. The Stop Urban Shield Coalition successfully stopped the Urban Shield expo from being hosted in Oakland any longer. But activities still take place in Oakland, and the expo still happens in our backyard and still involves local agencies, local money and targets our local communities. Join us in a town hall on why we should all join forces to stop this from happening anywhere.
Featuring:
Art exhibit curated by Art Forces, art and sign making for upcoming actions, and community testimonies.
Part of Art Forces Dispossession(s) event series.
Hosted by The Stop Urban Shield Coalition
This Friday Sept 4th is First Friday in #Oakland once again, and while the vibe out on the street may not be what it used to be, what happens insideThe Alan Blueford Center For Justice is by the people & for the people, and so therefore, it is amazing every 1st Friday up in Alan‘s House where our message has been #BlackLivesMatter since the day we opened our doors heart emoticon
When I say that 1st Fri is “by the people”, I specifically express my deep gratitude to Tatu Vision, De Anna, Alicia Marie Cornish, Mike Brown, Jada Imani, Maleik Dion, Shawn Carter, & Stoney who I am pretty sure doesn’t mess w/FB but definitely BRINGS IT every 1st Fri;)
This Friday! At Alan Blueford Center for Justice! 2434 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. We will have a showcase of artists, food, and good vibes. 7-10 p.m.
Barcelona has been a site of squatting and community building for several decades, and has been especially influential in recent years. In 2009 it was the birthplace of Spain’s PAH (Movement for People Affected by Mortgages), which pursues direct action to stop evictions and secure housing rights. Out of the 2011 “Indignados” movement came Can Batlló, an autonomous community workspace in the city’s Sants district, which was the site of an abandoned factory planned for development. Activists took over this space and have transformed it and held it for four years, building on earlier projects such as the residential community of Can Vies. This year has seen the recuperation of el Ateneo Enciclopedico Popular, a historical free cultural center in the Raval District. Iban Ek and Aina Gallego are longtime Barcelona activists who will discuss these projects and the culture of community that has created them.
*Who*: You–at ANY level of skill (newbs encouraged to attend)!
*What*: Work Party (fun, learning, labor, love)! — Also see TASKS list below!!!
*When*: *Sat 9/5 @ 12 noon* (And Every Saturday, FOREVER)!
*How*: With our bare hands, feet, noses, etc — plus tools and stuff!
*Why*: Omni Commons needs some serious elbow grease to get ship-shape, for the safety, accessibility, and delight of all!
*TASKS*
* Doors (re-hanging and installing closers)
* Carpentry in the basement
* Plumbing, tile, and other water-related activities
* Drywall ’til you drop
* Felt the feet of our ballroom furniture
* Protect our building from confused critters like pigeons!
* General cleaning / tidying / arranging / creativity / expression / explosions / excitement / activity!!!!!!!
* much much much more!
Please join your fellow volunteers, especially the zany and rambunctious
Building and Maintenance Working Group (woooohooooooooooooooooooooo)!
Join Sunnyside farmers and other Soil Not Oil attendees for some post-conference socializing, relaxation, and action plotting. The Occupy the Farm Documentary will be screened at dusk, followed by a Q+A with OTF organizers. We’ll be serving handmade falafel, but bring a dish to share if you can, and BYOB 🙂
Sunday Morning at the Marxist Library
Essentials of Scientific Socialism: Part of a Continuing Series
“Clarity about the aims and problems of socialism is of greatest significance in our age of transition.” Einstein’s comment remains true in our Century, when the growing interest in socialism is matched by a growing confusion about socialism. This workshop, led by Gene Ruyle of the ICSS, will be part of an ongoing series seeking to overcome this confusion through study and discussion, focusing on the classics of scientific socialism. This session will continue our close reading of the Critique of the Gotha Program (1875). In preparation, participants are urged to read, or re-read, this important document and bring a copy along with them. (It’s online at the Marx Engels Archive, and I will also have in on my computer to project it on the screen.)
We will also honor the working class struggles which gave us Labor Day with a discussion of “Labor Day and May Day: Two Workers’ Holidays,” By Eugene E Ruyle. (Available online at http://www.peaceandfreedom.org)
Seating is limited, so plan to come early. We start promptly.
FREE – but hat will be passed for donations to NPML
About Sunday Morning at the Marxist Library
A weekly discussion series inspired by our respect for the work of Karl Marx and our belief that his work will remain as important for the class struggles of the future as they have been for the past.
For our full schedule, go to icssmarx.org
Join Phat Beets Produce at Dover St. Edible Park for a plant sale to benefit a paid job for William Jackson. Phat Beets Produce and Jackson have propagated numerous perennial and annual veggies including:
-Purple/Green Tree Collard
-Kosmic Perennial Kale
-Cape Goosbery
-Mint (Chocolate, Pinapple, Apple, Moroccan, Persian, Laotian n’ more)
-Thyme (lemon, lime, silver, creeping, n’ more)
-lemon grass
-Horseradish
-New Zealand Spinach
-Cuban Oregano
Plus lots of annuals…
Jackson is an elder and recycler in our community, who was helped take care of Dover St Edible Park for over 3 years as a volunteer. Support green jobs in our neighborhood! Stay for some tasty garden treats too!
Join Biosafety Alliance & the CSG (formerly known as the California State Grange), in the historic:
SOS Save Our Seeds March and Rally
Fight back the California Seeds Law AB-2470
We will meet in Sunday September 6th at 11:00 AM at the Embarcadero, to walk to Civic Center for a rally.
Speakers – Information – Music – Solidarity
FACTS About the California Seed Law AB-2470
– AB-2470 makes it illegal for a farmer to sell, trade, exchange or barter their seeds more 3 miles from their farm or garden
– AB-2470 redefines “neighbor” as not to exceed 3 miles from one another
– AB-2470 makes illegal community seed exchanges, swap meets, and seed libraries due to the 3 mile restriction
– AB-2470 makes it illegal for a farmer to share their seeds to a friend 3 miles down the road
– AB-2470 unfairly creates competition and threatens the disruption of organic, heirloom seeds, favoring genetically modified (GMO) seeds
– AB-2470 gives the Secretary of Food & Agriculture full authority to dictate what can and cannot be grown in California counties and cities
– AB-2470 provides that any ordinance adopted by a county or municipality after January 1, 2015 that would restrict the production of GMO crops is subject to a veto by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA)
– AB-2470 limits the rights of local governments from making decisions for the health and safety of it’s citizens and constitutes a state preemption of local control
– AB-2470 redefines “person” to include “corporations”
Come see The Coup at 4pm today at Hiero Day. 3rd and Chestnut.
— Boots Riley (@BootsRiley) September 7, 2015
2015s Line Up will host another monumental day of performances in Oakland as this years list of performers is better than ever! We also have unannounced special guest that will grace the stage!. You know Hiero always has a top notch line.
BART Police Chief: Kenton Rainey:
We demand that BART publicly release the body camera footage from the West Oakland BART shooting immediately.
Phone: 510.464.7022,
E-mail: krainey@bart.gov
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bartsf?fref=ts
Twitter: @SFBART
Last week, a man was shot and critically injured at the West Oakland BART Station after a struggle with two BART police officers. BART police allege that the man shot himself in the stomach with his own gun after resisting arrest on the platform.
However, one witness who took a video of the incident says that he heard a “pop” from across the platform. He then saw a black man on the ground and a policeman on top of him and the man on the ground was yelling, “They shot me! They shot me!”
The two officers involved in the incident were wearing body cameras, and an official statement from BART claims that the footage is being reviewed. BART’s statement also declared their intention to charge the man with attempted murder.
But past incidents involving BART police, like the murder of Oscar Grant in 2009, demonstrate that we cannot trust BART police’s account of the events, or to review the footage without oversight from the public.
For the next #72hours, we are urging the public to call, e-mail, Facebook and Tweet BART, and demand that they #releasethetapes. If their version of events is accurate and true, they should have no problem sharing the body camera and BART station surveillance footage with the public.
While body cameras cannot provide a comprehensive recounting of the incident, they can shed some light and increase transparency. BART needs to know that we are watching, and that we are seeking accountability. We demand that BART publically release the body camera footage from the West Oakland BART shooting immediately.
BART Police Chief: Kenton Rainey
Phone: 510.464.7022,
E-mail: krainey@bart.gov
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bartsf?fref=ts
Twitter: @SFBART
Please use the hashtags #72hours and #releasethetapes.
Supporters:
Anti-Police Terror Project
Black Power Network
Coalition for Police Accountability
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
National Lawyers Guild
A comprehensive proposal—not simply to prohibit fracking, but all additional oil and gas extraction—is up for approval by the Alameda County Planning Commission. Under the current East County Area Plan and the Alameda County Zoning Ordinance, conditional use permits can be granted for oil and gas operations. Under the proposed changes to the zoning regulations, such conditional use permits would no longer be available, effectively preventing the expansion of oil extraction in Alameda County.
Opposition includes E & B Natural Resources, operator of wells in East Alameda County, which objects to any limitation on its current operations, and Californians for Energy Independence, a petroleum industry front group, which argues that the County should defer to the State of California in these matters, despite—or because of—the many failures of state agencies to adequately regulate oil producers.
Because we expect opposition to come out in force, we need to pack the auditorium with our own folks, pumped up (you should pardon the expression) and ready to testify, or to hold signs during the hearing.
Will Alameda join Santa Cruz, Mendocino, San Benito and Butte counties in saying no pasaran to the oil industry? Passage of this proposal by the Planning Commission is the last hurdle before the Board of Supervisors makes the final decision. Come join this historic effort!
Need a ride? Contact bstebbins14@gmail.com.