Calendar
WHAT’S THIS ALL ABOUT? DON’T KNOW WHO KALI IS? Here’s the not-so-short version:
Monday will mark another year since a beloved part of our community was ripped away from us and locked up behind bars…because he dared to love and fight for a better life and something bigger than himself.
WHY WAS HE ARRESTED? As absurd as it sounds even now, he was initially taken into custody for sitting on a public bench with a blanket. But we know the real reason they brutalized him and locked him away for 3 more years (nearly giving him a life-sentence!) was for being a bold, beautiful, black man they want so badly to break.
He was one of many arrested during the post-camp Occupy Oakland Vigil but unlike most of us who have since been released or served out our time, he is currently serving out a 3+ year sentence in state prison.
My hope is that you will join me in sending him some mad love and letting him know he is not forgotten.
WHAT CAN YOU DO? Come out on Sunday to be part of the group photo and/or sign the card we’ll send him. Write him a letter of your own. Put some money on his books. Let him know he is loved and will not be forgotten!!!
The Long Haul Infoshop will be showing the documentary ‘Soweto to Berkeley’ this week, and is welcoming anti-Apartheid activists to speak.
From Soweto to Berkeley
Documentary (1987), 50 min, dir. Scott Wiseman
“Soweto to Berkeley” explores the student protests and debates at UC Berkeley in the 1980s which led to the Board of Regents decision to withdraw $3.1 billion in funds from companies doing business in South Africa. With the students’ tactics including occupations and direct actions, their organizing efforts, and their successes and failures, still resonate today.
Discussion to follow. Folks who were involved in the anti-apartheid movement in the 1980s are invited to attend and speak about their experiences.
The Postal Service has put the Berkeley Post Office up for sale!!
The Postal Service has started to outsource Post Office services to Staples, replacing union jobs with low-paying, low benefit work.
Five weeks ago the Planning Commission passed on to the Berkeley City a proposed Zoning Ordinance that would make the Post Office property less desirable to potential purchasers of the capitalist variety. We are still waiting for action on this from the City Council.
The Postal Service has announced that they are contracting with Staples to provide Post Office window services inside Staples stores, using Staples employees instead of Post Office employees. There is already a pseudo Post Office operating inside the Berkeley Staples store (Shattuck & Durant)
Come and help plan our next actions in defense of our Post Office and against privatization and non living-wage jobs. We want to send a message to CBRE, the Post Office, Staples and Berkeley politicians that the sale will not be tolerated!
We will likely be planning an action at the Berkeley Staples for Saturday, Dec 21st. Come help up!
Check out the video of Peter Byrne’s talk at our latest Save the Post Office Rally!
Occupy Forum is an opportunity for open and respectful dialogue
on all sides of these critically important issues!
The Spirit of CODEPINK: More than Marches!
with Nancy Mancias and Inder Comar
On April 3, 2014, the class action lawsuit targeting six key members of the Bush Administration will come before the United States District Court in San Francisco. Sundus Shaker Saleh, an Iraqi single mother of four, is the lead plaintiff in the class action lawsuit. George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, and Paul Wolfowitz are the six key members mentioned in the lawsuit and all will be represented by the Department of Justice. In Saleh v. Bush, Saleh alleges that the Iraq War was not conducted in self-defense, did not have the appropriate authorization by the United Nations, and therefore constituted a crime of aggression under international law — a designation first set down in the Nuremberg Trials after World War II. The aim of the suit is simple:
to achieve justice for Iraqis, and to show that no one, not even the president of the United States, is above the law.
Nancy Mancias is a campaign organizer for CODEPINK. Mancias is a contributing writer to Beautiful Trouble: A Toolbox for Revolution. Beautiful Trouble brings together ten grassroots groups and dozens of seasoned artists and activists from around the world to distill their best practices into a toolbox for creative action. Among the groups included are Agit-Pop/The Other 98%, The Yes Men/Yes Labs, CODEPINK, SmartMeme, The Ruckus Society, Beyond the Choir, The Center for Artistic Activism, Waging Nonviolence, Alliance of Community Trainers and Nonviolence International. Mancias be talking about creative tactics taken from the book.
Attorney Inder Comar will join Nancy to discuss the class action lawsuit to hold Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Powell and Wolfwotiz accountable for the illegal invasion & occupation of Iraq. CODEPINK’S creativity and strength demonstrates what has become increasingly clear: we need more than marches to successfully address the enormous problems facing our society and our democracy.
Time will be allotted for Q&A, discussion and announcements.
Mail Carrier Tyson Jerome Barnette was killed recently while delivering mail after dark in Maryland. He would never have been delivering mail after dark but for USPS mismanagement, under staffing, and the mass closings of mail processing centers. Monetary reasons are the why of after dark mail delivery. Never again should the USPS “lose a life to save a dollar.”
Join us for
SINGING ON THE STEPS
OF THE BERKELEY MAIN POST OFFICE
with Hali Hammer, Dave Welsh & Anna DeLeon
and remembering Tyson Jerome Barnette.
(Event will be cancelling if raining)
100 trees on public community farmland are slated for destruction… to build a parking lot and supermarket!
The Albany, CA Planning and Zoning Commission just approved a development plan for UC Berkeley’s Gill Tract, one that includes the destruction of these 100 beautiful trees and paving of acres of open green space to build a purely commercial development with no educational value.
Jeff Bond, Albany’s “community development director” graciously agreed to give a tour of these trees to the public. Please come and bear witness yourself!
We hope it will inspire you to join us in defending this precious resource from the bulldozers and the chainsaws!
For more info on the campaign to stop this development: www.boycottsprouts.com
Strike Debt Bay Area has been working with ACCE and the Richmond Progressive Alliance against the Big Banks and for Richmond homeowners, attempting to create national awareness on the issue of principal reduction and the use of eminent domain to help. Read about the issue in an essay written by two SDBA’ers.
Now another key vote is set on the issue at the Richmond City Council:
Tuesday, December 17, 5 PM
Critical Vote on Anti-Blight/Save Our Communities
There will be national media coverage. We must show that the Council has overwhelming support in the city. Please come for the rally at 5pm in front of the City Council and plan on staying until 8 pm. Refreshments and signs will be provided. Sign up to speak.
Saturday, December 14, 2-6pm
ART VS WALL ST BANK FORECLOSURES
Help paint and make art and visuals for the December 17 mobilization to Stop Wall St Foreclosure in Richmond
SAT DEC. 14, NEW TIME: 2-6pm
Bobby Bowens Progressive Center
1021 Macdonald Ave
Rally and attend the City Council meeting that will vote to move forward with the local principal reduction program (eminent domain). The resolution:
- Establishes an upper cap on the size of mortgage balance allowed into program;
- Establishes that the program will prioritize neighborhoods hard-hit by the crisis, predatory lending and foreclosures;
- Clarifies that the use of eminent domain, if needed, will be reserved for times of crisis, when underwater rates and foreclosure rates are particularly high; and
- Instructs staff to make a final attempt to see if the financial industry owners of these loans want to negotiate a resolution
Rally includes awesome visuals, a Grinch and images projected onto the side of City Hall! ACCE will be providing pizza, water and coffee in between the Rally and the Council Meeting.
Join and invite friends on Facebook:
Chelsea (formerly Bradley) Manning is the US soldier sentenced to 35 years in jail for leaking thousands of documents to Wikileaks exposing US and other governments’ war crimes and corruption. She is 26 years old on this day. Ever since she was detained and tortured in 2010, international protests, including from LGBTQ people, have demanded her release.
Demonstrate your support for her courageous whistleblowing, and for all who blow the whistle on corruption, dictatorship and dirty government secrets.
Join Eviction Free San Francisco and all allies in the fight for housing justice in San Francisco as we take on a landlord (to be named at the action) in San Francisco’s Mission District.
We Say “HELL NO” to the displacement of seniors, artists, immigrants, and workers from this vibrant, diverse, working-class Neighborhood and citywide!
Join two long – time San Franciscans (one disabled senior) who refuse to leave the city they love! By standing up for this household, we stand up for all of our Mission homes…all of us together!!
We believe the Oakland City council is meeting on January 7th to vote to select a new contractor to implement Phase II of the Domain Awareness Center build-out (after SAIC was disqualified since it could not comply with the provisions of the Oakland nuclear-free city ordinance). The Privacy Working Group is organizing a protest on the day of the City Council meeting, so this get-together is to plan that demonstration. Right now thoughts are that we will meet at the Plaza at 5:30, there will be food at 6:15. then going in to the council chambers to speak out against the selection of a new contractor. (It seems like Motorola is the front-runner at this point.)
We also might discuss plans for demonstrations at City Council member houses complete with camera props, maybe even a drone!
http://oaklandwiki.org/Domain_Awareness_Center
On July 31st after midnight the Oakland City Council voted unanimously to approve allocating $2 million to continue to develop the Domain Awareness Center that would integrate surveillance cameras from all over the Port of Oakland, the city, BART, AC Transit, traffic cameras, and other sensors into a local ‘fusion’ center that could effectively track private citizens movements throughout the region. Video and data feeds from all over Oakland are to be aggregated and monitored at the DAC, then analysed with license plate recognition software, thermal imaging and body movement recognition software, possibly facial recognition software, and more, all with absolutely no privacy or data-retention policies in place, or substantive debate at the committee or council level about the program. November 20th, again after midnight, the City Council voted 6-1 to find a new contractor for the DAC after it came to light that the previous major contractor, SAIC, was involved in nuclear weapons development in contravention of Oakland’s nuclear free policy.
The Oakland Privacy Working Group and others are continuing to organize against these encroachments upon our liberty and privacy.
If you are interested in joining the Oakland Privacy Working Group listserv send an email to this address:
oaklandprivacyworkinggroup-subscribe@lists.riseup.net
The meeting will be at the sudoroom, 2141 Broadway, but the entrance is actually on 22nd Street upstairs.
HALT THE HEIST – SAVE OUR PUBLIC COMMONS
We need to work together to:
- Address the privatization of retail postal services in Staples stores.
- Respond to the killing of the Mail Carrier, Tyson Jerome “T.J.” Barnette, after dark on Nov. 23, 2013 in Maryland.
- Address the environmental cost of the extra driving is needed by patrons’ picking up their mail, which is no longer at nearby post offices.
- Contact our Mayor and our City Council Member by Phone or Email, and ask him/her to vote to pass the Zoning Overlay Ordinance to save Berkeley’s Historic District and historic Post Office.
HALT THE HEIST – SAVE OUR PUBLIC COMMONS
On October 22nd, Andy Lopez, a 13 year old boy was shot and killed by deputy Erik Gelhaus,(a supposed firearms expert that writes columns for many militia magazines) who says he mistook the toy gun that Andy was carrying for a real rifle. The deputy ended up shooting 8 rounds – 7 hitting and killing Andy. 2 months later, no justice has been served, initial findings from the Sheriff’s Department show that the deputy acted according to procedure in his use of deadly force, and on December 10th, Gelhaus returned to administrative work at the Sheriff’s Department.
Information source and livestream info.
BREAKING:
Brothers and sisters,
Due to encouraging steps forward in resolving the problems at the Oakland Airport, we are postponing the Unfair Labor Practice strike planned for tomorrow. Please join us instead for a holiday action at the airport from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm. Bring holiday treats to share! And thanks for all of your support of the airport workers throughout their struggle for justice!
Si se puede!
ALL DAY – MOBILIZATIONS AT 7 AM, 12 NOON, 5 PM
At Thanksgiving, workers at Walmart, fast food restaurants, and Oakland Airport food and retail came together to stand up for fair wages and workers’ rights! By supporting each other’s struggles, we build a movement with the power to win! Check out Brooke Anderson’s photos of the December 5th fast food strike and the Oakland Airport workers’ Thanksgiving Day of Action, and the Mercury News’ article about WalMart workers’ Black Friday protest!
Now the low-wage workers’ movement for justice is rolling strong into the winter holidays! Oakland Airport workers are still struggling against Unfair Labor Practices including a backward contract proposal that would strip away crucial benefits and plunge many of their families into poverty.
Join the workers for a holiday Day of Action at the Airport and help workers take care of their families at Christmas and through the coming year!
For questions or rides, contact Sarah Norr at snorr@unitehere.org or 510-502-5344.
Si Se Puede!!!
UNITE HERE 2850
www.facebook.com/unitehere2850
www.unitehere2850.com
UNITE HERE Local 2850, 1440 Broadway, Suite 208, Oakland, CA 94612,
Don’t Steal our Postal Services Rally
In front of the Staples store
2352 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley
The Berkeley Post Office and post offices all over the US are under threat of being fraudulently sold!
In a new attack, US postal services have been snuck into 84 Staples stores all over the country – including Berkeley. Postal services are being provided by low-wage Staples employees, not living-wage Postal professionals.
Please join us to:
- Oppose privatization of the US Postal Services and all public resources. Privatization brings higher prices and worse quality.
- Oppose union busting – replacing union jobs with low paying jobs that offer poor or no benefits.
Non-union pay lowers everyone’s standard of living (USPS compensation $20-$30/hr + benefits. Staples $8 – $12/hr, few if any benefits)
Sponsored by Berkeley Post Office Defenders. Supported by Strike Debt Bay Area.
Rally Poster.
Our weekly open meeting for members and supporters to discuss the weeks tasks and projects. Come get plugged into ongoing housing defense work! We have abundant and varied work for all folks in any number of meaningful projects.
Rain location: SF Pizza, 1500 Broadway, Oakland
Our weekly open meeting for members and supporters to discuss the week’s tasks and projects. Come get plugged into ongoing housing defense work! We have abundant and varied work for all folks in any number of meaningful projects.
Rain location: SF Pizza, 1500 Broadway, Oakland
Through the end of January we will have General Assembly at the sudoroom on 2141 Broadway, Oakland, CA.
Here are instructions to access the room, the entrance is on 22nd Street:
https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Getting_there
This Sunday will be a Cryptoparty at the sudoroom, along with the third Sunday in January, these will be opportunities to update your digital profile so the government can’t easily track your every move. More blather on this to follow this afternoon when I have a moment.
Our General Assembly is a participatory gathering of Oakland community members and beyond, where everyone who shows up is treated equally and has equal decision-making power. Occupy Oakland’s General Assembly uses a participatory decision-making process appropriately called, “Occupy Oakland’s Collective Decision-Making Process.” Our Assembly and the process we have collectively cultivated strives to reach agreement while building community.
Autonomous Action & the General Assembly
The bulk of the work of Occupy Oakland does NOT happen in the General Assembly. It happens in various committees, caucuses, and associated groups that report back to the general assembly. Everyone participating in Occupy Oakland should be part of at least one associated group. Occupy Oakland encourages autonomous actions that do not require consensus from the General Assembly. This encourages political activity that is decentralized and welcomes diverse voices and actions into the movement.
General Assembly Standard Agenda
- Welcome
- Welcome Announcements
- Agenda Overview
- Forum
- Reports from Committees, Subcommittees, Caucuses, & Working Groups
- Action Announcements
- General Announcements
The Occupy Oakland General Assembly will convene over food and libation this week at Mike’s house in El Cerrito. We normally meet at 2:00 PM, but our holiday GA, hike and social will begin later than our usual time: 3:00 PM for a hike on the Albany Hill, 4:30 PM for a short meeting, 5:30 PM for a holiday meal.
If you would like to attend either:
– send email to Mike (electionamend@gmail.com) for directions
– call Mike at 510-299-0493 for directions
– show up at the Oscar Grant Plaza amphitheatre by 2:30 for a ride to Mike’s house. Or call Ed at 510-763-0591 for a ride
All are welcome! Please bring something to share if you can.
